I please Almighty God to bless
us together this morning as we meditate in his word. Let us
turn to the book of Job and chapter 42 and we read verses 1 and 2.
The book of Job chapter 42 and reading verses 1 and 2. Then
Job answered the Lord and said, I know that thou canst do everything
and that no thought can be withholden from thee. We should be very thankful really
that God in his wonderful providence guided Job to write this account
of his part of his own life and the many conversations that he
had with his three friends and also the statement that Elihu
made to him and then finally the great and glorious words
that the Lord spoke to Job directly. And we realize the wonderful
effect, as we can read these first few verses in this 42nd
chapter of Job, to realize that God's Word had a wonderful effect
upon Job. You know, there were all those
different words which had been spoken previously by those three
men, who would appear to be gracious men, And also by Elihu, who spoke
some good words. Again, there were sometimes those
words which were ill-advised and not good, but nonetheless,
generally, they were good. But then as we come to chapter
38, we read this. Then the Lord answered Job out
of the whirlwind and said, I won't read it all now, but you may
well go and when you get home perhaps read Job 38, 39 and 40. And apart
from just a very small few words from Job himself, they are all
the words of the Lord to Job. And it really put Job in his
right place. And I believe as you and I read
this great statement of God, it will put us in our right place
to realize that here we have a God who is gracious and a God
who has done everything, created all things in this world, indeed
is high and lifted up. And in these first few words,
when the Lord spoke to Job, he said, who is this that darkeneth
counsel by words without knowledge. How often sometimes we speak
words without knowledge. So easy, isn't it, to listen
to our own understanding and conclude that our own understanding
is right and yet the Lord had to remind Job and sometimes he
has to remind us. And what a mercy it is because
God loves us. And therefore God doesn't leave
us to our own opinions. He doesn't leave us to our own
thoughts. But he brings us to that position
like he brought Job to realise how great God was and what he
knew about Job. And so therefore God comes and
speaks to Job and says, gird up now thy loins like a man,
for I will demand of thee and answer thou me. Well, the Lord
then spoke these words in 38, 39 and 40, the words to Jonah,
sorry, to Job rather. And then the response that Job
was able to give in these verses in this 42nd chapter. And it's good just to read the
first five verses. We've read the first two. And
the second one, of course, says, And that no thought can be withholden
from thee. And again, it's a blessing if
you and I understand that God is so great that he understands
our every thought, every thought, The thoughts which no one else
knows about. Good thoughts, bad thoughts,
right thoughts, wrong thoughts. God knows everything. No thought, Job says, can be
withholden from me. And that should be a very important
consideration in our lives, as to realize that God weighs up
our thoughts. whether they are for his honor
and glory, whether they are in accordance with his word, or
whether they are for our own gratification. It's a wonderful
blessing to realize we have such a God. And as I've said, Job,
it took him a long time to come to this consideration, to come
to this knowledge. And it wasn't until the Lord
himself spoke And what a mercy that is. If the Lord takes us
in hand, we may have many people who advise us, many people who
give us what they may think are their good ideas and good thoughts.
But when we wait up before God, does it correlate with the word
of God, with God's words? And so Job is able to come and
continue and say, who is he? that hideth counsel without knowledge. Yes, we might sometimes hide
counsel without knowledge. We may think, perhaps, that we
have the mind of God, but we need to be very careful. You
see, we are very foolish. We're very sinful in our thoughts,
and our motives can often not be good. Often we may think we
have good desires and we think we have good motives. And what
a blessing it is when the Lord enables us to search our hearts
and to see if there'll be any wicked way in us. Any. Yes, we may on the surface think,
well, no, my desires are good, I'm sure. I've prayed about it
and I've thought about it. Well, we may have done, but we
may not have prayed in a right way. You see, it's very easy
to pray in a wrong way and therefore not receive answers to our prayers. He says, therefore, who is he
that hideth counsel without knowledge? Therefore have I uttered that
I understood not things too wonderful for me, which I knew not. Now, it's a great blessing when
God touches our hearts as clearly Job's heart was touched when
the Lord spoke to him. And that's the wonderful blessing,
isn't it? Sometimes we have uttered things
we didn't really understand because we didn't really bow down before
God and we really didn't work out as to whether that which
we thought was right was God's word, whether it was our word.
and our interpretation upon his word. And then he says things
too wonderful for me, which I knew not. What a blessing when the
Holy Spirit shows us the wonderful words of God. You see, the words
of God are without any error, without any fault. They are pure
words. They are righteous words. And
it's good, therefore, if we do have a gracious understanding
for them. Things too wonderful for me,
which I knew not. And it's good, therefore, when
we see that Job here is submitting himself to the mighty hand of
God. There were those times when he
spoke many things that he thought were right and good and proper.
But now, you see, under the influence of the Holy Spirit. We see a
great change in Him. We see a wonderful confession
in Him. As you realize that this God
can do everything and that no thoughts withholden from Him,
He's able to come and say things too wonderful for me, which I
knew not. It's very easy, you know, to
read the Word of God and to draw a conclusion. We have to compare Scripture
with Scripture. We have to study the Word of
God, to understand His Word, to understand His knowledge,
which He gives to us in His Word. But it's easy for us to come
and take words out of context and put an application upon them
and think they're right, whereas, you see, we don't really understand. The fullness of God's Word. Things too wonderful for me,
which I knew not. Confession. Isn't it wonderful
when God comes and gives us that confession to realize, well,
I've been foolish. I've spoken things too wonderful
for me, which I knew not, left to ourselves. It's very easy
to fall under the snare of Satan. And so he goes on to say, here
I beseech thee and I will speak. I would demand of thee and declare
thou unto me. He wanted that personal word
from God. And what a mercy when you and
I desire to hear God declaring his word unto us. And so he comes then and says,
I have heard of thee. by the hearing of the ear, but
now mine eye saith thee. The difference was that he'd
heard by his ear, but now God had given him the eye of faith
to look beyond just the mere things on the surface, but to
enter into that great truth the deep which couches beneath what
a blessing it is when the Holy Spirit directs us to that view
the depth, the deep that couches beneath because what that does
is to reveal to us the glory of the Saviour the Lord Jesus
Christ what a mercy it is when God gives us grace to seek the
Saviour in the words of Scripture, and not to just read them very
casually, perhaps seriously, and yet not really having a desire
to see beyond that which appears on the surface. And so Job comes,
having been brought to this position, And what a good position it is.
And so finally, he tells us, wherefore I bore myself and repent
in dust and ashes. That's a God-given position.
What a blessing it is when God brings us to view ourselves,
to view that which Job speaks about here, and to come to the
same conclusion that Job did. Wherefore, I bore myself one
statement. And secondly, and repent in dust
and ashes. Well, we see here the gracious
work of the spirit of God. And that's a wonderful thing
to be able to trace out the work of the spirit of God in our own
life. So as we comes to the end of
this book of Job. We see here the concluding words
of Job, not the concluding words of the book of Job, but the concluding
words of Job as he spoke really to God and acknowledged his position
and realized how unworthy he was. Well, it's a good thing
to become just like he did. Indeed, if we see it, we trace
out in the Word of God so many testimonies of God's children. They were brought down to have
a very low opinion of themselves. They did have a high opinion. But you see, God brings us down. He brings us down so that Christ
is all and in all. What a mercy, therefore, for
us to realize we have such a God who is so kind and gracious to
us and who does not deal with us as our sins deserve. You see, the the effect of God
speaking to Job was quite dramatic, quite dramatic. Job lost all
his self-confidence. Yes, and he bowed down before
his God. There weren't a lot of people
all gathering around to hear his confession. It was before
his God. You see, that's a blessing when
you and I are able to come and confess our sins and confess
our faults and confess our foolishness to our kind and gracious God
and to be very thankful that God hasn't dealt with us as our
sins deserve. but that he's been gracious to
us. And we can come and say, in love to our soul. What a blessing that is then
to realize that we have such a God. So come back then to this
second verse. I know that thou canst do everything. The great truth is God has the
heart of all men in his hands. And sometimes we think We can
influence people by saying this and saying that. Well, the great
truth is that it's only God that can affect His Word. And what a mercy then if we're
able to come and commit our way, ourselves, unto God. And He then
produces the result. And I'll tell you the great benefit
of that position, it's this. When you and I, you see, pray,
sometimes and perhaps people hear those prayers and sometimes,
perhaps, we expect our prayers to have a direct influence upon
the people or the person. And perhaps it doesn't. But we
need to just stop and wonder and think, well, why is that?
Well, it's very simply explained, we are sinners. And the reality
is, if God answered those prayers in the way that we wanted them
answered, then we would claim some of the glory ourselves.
We would pat ourselves on the back and say, oh well, you see,
you prayed like that and God heard and God answered. So often
we are commanded to pray in secret. And those things that we pray
in secret, God rewards openly. You see, then you see there's
no self gratification. God receives the honour and God
receives the glory. And we must remember that our
lives are for that very great reason. We're not there to claim
any glory ourselves. We are to Commit our way unto
the Lord. We are to pray unto the Lord
in secret. Indeed, the word of God tells
us when we shut our door in our closet, in our private room,
no one hears. But God. God then rewards us
openly. You know, the answer is the secret
of the Lord is with them that fear him. The Lord graciously
hears and graciously answers. But it's only the answer between
what we prayed ourselves and our God. What do we then say? To God be the glory. We don't receive any gratification
from people, but we have that wonderful evidence that our God
has graciously heard and answered our prayers. Well, here is his
statement. Job was able to say, I know that
thou canst do everything. And that means what it says.
Job knew that God could do everything. He didn't have to trumpet it
all around the world. No, he knew that he was able
to commit his way unto the Lord and the Lord could and would
answer if it was His will. And again, how necessary it is
for us to realise that. That you see, we must always
submit ourselves to the will of God. Sometimes the Lord doesn't
answer. Sometimes the Lord answers us
in a negative way. He's still answered, but He hasn't
answered in accordance with our plan. we need then to submit
ourselves under the mighty hand of God. What a blessing it is
that God knows what is good for us and above all things what
will bring honour and glory to his great and holy name. I know,
says Job, that thou canst do everything. So we shouldn't be
disconsolate or disappointed if perhaps we look in our lives
and we see many occasions when perhaps prayers haven't been
answered. Perhaps we need just to analyse
them, whether we've prayed so that men would hear or whether
we just prayed so that God would hear. And therefore then if we
are able to perhaps Revise our prayers and pray to our God in
secret. And then when God does answer,
oh, then you see, we can be encouraged, can't we? That God's heard an
answer in our prayers. He hasn't cast us away. He hasn't
turned us away. No, he's heard an answer in our
prayers. And we know then to God be the glory. It's all that
he's done in his great mercy and great favour. I know, says
Job, that thou canst do everything, everything. There are no limits
to what God can do. No limits to what God can do
in providence and in grace. And if we need any encouragement
to answer that, we only have to read through the word of God. And you remember that Jesus himself
spoke and he said these words In Matthew 19 verse 26, he says,
But Jesus beheld them and said unto him, With men this is impossible,
but with God all things are possible. You see, God is able to do far
more, exceeding abundantly then you and I can ask or even think. What a wonderful truth it is
to know that we have therefore such a kind and gracious God
who doesn't deal with us in accordance to what we deserve. Naturally,
you see, we look to ourselves. Naturally, we need to examine
ourselves. So often, we need to examine
our motives. so often, because as I often
say, the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. You know, when man was on the
earth before the flood, when times became very evil and very
wicked, to such an extent the Lord brought that solemn judgment
upon the earth, so that all men and women and children and babies
were destroyed apart from those that were in the ark, just those
eight souls. But prior to that, God said to
Noah, and what he said was this, and that's in the sixth chapter
of Genesis. The thoughts and intents of the
heart are evil continually. That's a very solemn statement.
Sometimes perhaps we may feel perhaps it applies to us as we
go about and we see again and again wrong and evil thoughts
in our heart. Well, in that day and age it
was only evil continually. What a sad time it was. The Lord
came to me and dealt with the world and destroyed it. Well, we should be thankful the
Lord hasn't destroyed us. If he still has been gracious
to us and if he's still mindful of us. I know that thou canst
do everything and that no thought can be withholden from thee.
And I think it's good just to remind ourselves of that, because
it'll make us perhaps cry out sometimes. Can ever God dwell
here? Can ever God dwell in my heart,
when I have so many wrong and so many evil thoughts which no
one knows about, apart from God? And yet, here we have this statement,
poor Job obviously, brought to this position, we realised that
God was so great. He knew everything about him,
every single thought. You see, as we're here this morning
sitting in chapel, God knows every thought that we've thought. And if we had to write down those
thoughts, or if those thoughts were perhaps placed on a screen
for everybody to see. Might be a bit embarrassing,
mightn't it? And we might wish, therefore, that then we hadn't
had such thoughts and we didn't have such thoughts. Like you
see, it brings us not to David when he prayed that God would
create in him a new heart and give him a right spirit. How
easily the devil knows your weakness and he knows my weakness. He
knew Joe's weakness. He knew the three friends' weaknesses. He knew what they would bring
up. He knew how sinful they were. My friends, the devil knows how
you and I are. What a blessing it is if we have
the powerful effect of the work of the Holy Spirit touching our
hearts. Indeed, the Apostle Paul knew
what it was. The Word of God. The Word of
God. And he describes it. He says
this, Thy Word is quick and powerful. and sharper than any two-edged
sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and
of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and
intents of the heart." You see, God's Word, how often we pass
over it. But it's good if you and I have,
therefore, a greater appreciation of whom we stand before and who
we're dealing with. And yet we must realise that
we have a compassionate God. We have a gracious God. We have a God of love. And it's a great blessing if
we see the Lord's hand upon us because of his love, because
of his mercy, because of his grace, dealing with us as his
sons and daughters, as his children, dealing with us in love to our
soul. It was just the same with Job,
wasn't it? in love to Job's soul. That's what it was. And you see, it had a wonderful
effect upon Job. It brought him, as we read in
that 40th chapter and the fourth verse, he says, Behold, I am
vile. What shall I answer thee? I will
lay mine hand upon my mouth. Once have I spoken, but I will
not answer. yea, twice, but I will proceed
no further. Yes, the blessed work of the
Holy Spirit upon Job brought him, you see, to this great and
wonderful statement. And then as the 38th chapter
starts, the Lord answered Job as the whirlwind and said, and
this fourth chapter continues, In verse six, with the same statement
really, then answered the Lord unto Job out of the whirlwind,
and said, gird up my loins now like a man, and I will demand
of thee, declare unto me. What a blessing it is, therefore,
if the Holy Spirit directs us to such a position as that. What a mercy we have a God who
is great and high and lifted up. You see, just to encourage
Job, then God shows him something of his greatness in the things
that were created, especially Behemoth and Leviathan, those
two great animals described in this book of Job, the only place
where they're really described. You see how great God is. What
a good thing it is when we see how great God is and how he therefore
puts before us his love toward us. Because what
it does, it brings us down. And when it brings us down, it
causes us to cry unto God. And he will have mercy upon us. You see, we don't cry for mercy.
We don't cry out for forgiveness until the Holy Spirit shows us
we have a need of forgiveness and we have a need of mercy. But when God brings us there,
we're brought to that position where the hymn writer says, no
help in self, I find ye oft have sought it well. Sometimes we
have looked to ourselves to try and cure our own problems. Well, what a mercy when we come
to the Saviour. The Lord Jesus came into this
world to seek and to save those which are lost. To save us from
ourselves. To save us from our sins. Yes, and to direct us to Himself. To Himself. You see the God's
servant Job says, I have heard of thee by the hearing of the
ear, but now mine eye seeth thee. The eye of faith to view the
Lord Jesus Christ as his saviour, as his glorious salvation. The eye of faith, what a blessing
it is. Then when God brings us to look
out of ourselves Yes, to the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ,
and to you. Not only what he's done in creation
and in the world, which is good to meditate upon because it's
so wonderful and so great, but then to direct us to his great
and glorious work at Calvary. Oh, to realise what the Saviour
did in order to redeem our souls. This will bring us into a right
condition, into a right situation. This will bring us down in our
own estimation. This will raise the Saviour up
as a great and glorious God. A wonderful plan that was wrought
in eternity past to save unworthy sinners and to think for that has a personal application
to each one of us if we are a true believer. What a mercy that is. God is so great, so high and
mighty, yet he looks down upon each one as unworthy sinners
and has compassion upon them. And that's why we know those
words in the Psalm 107 is so true. He, the Lord, led them forth
by the right way. Yes, he leads us in the right
way to bring us to the Saviour, to view the Saviour as such a
kind and gracious God, so compassionate that we're not cast off. He has
mercy to us. You think what compassion he
has. You think what difficult people we are. How rebellious
we are. How we disagree so often, perhaps,
with God's Word. We think we know better. And
we adjust God's Word to suit our case. No, no, no, no. God's
Word is there. We adjust ourselves to suit God's
Word. What a blessing it is then to
be led to the Saviour, that One who did so much. Never weary in thinking upon
the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, the opposition He had, the many
suggestions He had, that He could do differently. No, the Lord
did His Father's will. And it is our great blessing
today to do the will of our God. The will of our God revealed
to us in his word. It's there for us to understand. And it's there for us to glorify
God through. To think that there was that
plan. And there is that plan. And it
was done for you and me. in our little lives, totally
unworthy to think that God is still looking upon us and gracious
to us and merciful to us. That God who has power, that
God who has made the heaven and made the earth by his great power,
that God has created us by his great power. It's good sometimes
to just think of the wonder of conception and how that is a
great truth and a great position which elevates God to think that
from virtually nothing we were created and we grew and we grew. The Lord blessed us with a living
soul. Perhaps sometimes there may be
that thought, I wish I'd never been born, because I never would
then have such an evil nature. I would never then have a fear
of ending up in hell. But just look at it the other
way. If we hadn't been born naturally,
we would never have been born spiritually. And we would never
have enjoyed the glory of the plan of salvation. And we would
never rejoice in what Christ has done. And we would never
eventually be found with him in glory for eternity. It's good sometimes to ponder
these two aspects. And then what I wonder is if
perhaps we may think, well, I wish I'd never been born, just to
come round and then be thankful that we have been born because
there is that great prospect of an eternity with pure happiness
and joy with the Saviour and with the whole Church of God,
which we would never, ever had had we not been born. So be thankful
therefore if the Holy Spirit has brought that about so that
we do realise now what a favour it is to have been born and to
have the evidence and I hope we do and if we don't pray earnestly
that we all may have the evidence that we are born again in the
Holy Spirit of God And to realise this great truth, I know that
there comes to everything. Yes, the Lord can touch our hearts. The Lord can give us good desires. The Lord can give us right prayers. There is nothing impossible with
God. Yes, well, what a mercy to realise
this. In this day and age in which
we live, my friends, God hasn't changed. is still able to do
far more exceedingly abundantly than we can ask or even think. But let us always realise that
our life on this earth is to be shown the glory of the Saviour,
the wonder of the work of salvation, and to look forward to the inheritance
which is undefiled and that fadeth not away which was reserved in
heaven, for you are kept by the power of God, through grace,
under salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. May that truly be a time of great
thankfulness, to be able to thank God that we have an account like
this in the book of Job, to strengthen and encourage our faith. Amen.