May it please almighty God to
bless us together this evening as we meditate in his word. Let us turn to Psalm 37 and we'll
read verse 5. Psalm 37 and reading verse 5. Commit thy way unto the Lord. Trust also in him and he shall
bring it to pass. You might just be interested
to know that 36 years ago at Christmas we were out in Cyprus
for a holiday and we went to a brethren church in the morning
and got on very nicely there and after the morning service
the Minister this came up to me and he said oh you're gonna
preach tonight. I Said well, I'll think about
that Yeah, it was I never preached before I had been concerned about
the ministry for a long time, even up to that time. And I went
home, or to our hotel where we were staying, and pondered the
situation. And these words, which we've
read here tonight, came into my heart. And the Lord gave me
some thoughts and some meditation upon them. So I phoned the chaplain
up and said, well, as God shall help me, I will speak a few words. And so I did speak a few words. It wasn't very many. I think
I spoke for about 20 minutes. But I do remember very clearly
there was one woman who was sitting quite near the front whose eyes
were riveted on me and what I said. And I often wonder, what the
effect was in her life. But one thing I remember, as
I read through this psalm, which we read tonight, was the expression
from David, and it's in verse 25, and he tells the people,
he says, I have been young, and now am old. Yet have I not seen
the righteous forsaken. nor is seed begging bread. I remember making the comment
that this was a psalm, therefore, written by an old man. A man
with much experience had proved the words that he was able to
write under the influence of the Spirit. Well, I don't think
I've told people that really before, but I thought you just
might be interested. 36 years ago, I didn't start
preaching then really officially for another six years. But nonetheless,
the Lord was gracious and mindful of me. Well, this is a very instructive
verse anyway. Commit thy way unto the Lord. It's a very full statement, isn't
it? And then, trust also in him,
another full statement. And then the result, and he shall
bring it to pass. We should be very thankful that
the word of God has very positive conclusions on many occasions. And in this case, there is a
very positive conclusion. Well, it's a blessing if you
and I can commit our way unto the Lord. And commit means really
to not deviate. If we commit ourselves to do
something, we don't want to change our course or to have different
ideas. We want to keep to that course
and not deviate. And so this word here, commit. Thy way. Well, we all have a
way, don't we? We all have a life to live. We all have a different life. We all have a different way. But it's a great blessing if
you and I can truly commit our way unto the Lord. There's no
safer place, there's no better place, because the Lord and the
Lord alone knows the end from the beginning. He knew what was
before David, he knew what's before all the patriarchs and
the saints of God recorded in the Word of God and indeed He
knows all about you and me today. Indeed, we read, he knoweth the
way that I take. When he has tried me, I shall
come forth as gold. That's a wonderful promise, to
think that the Lord does bring us through his way. Commit thy way. That way the
Lord is leading us in to desire, therefore, that we can come and
indeed cast all our burdens upon the Lord. So we all have our
individual life to live. They're different lives. They're
individual lives. And the Lord knows the way that
he will lead us. You think of Abraham, you think
of Isaac, you think of Jacob. The Lord led them in the right
way that they might go to a city of habitation. You think of Abraham's
servant who went to find a wife for Isaac. And what did he do? He committed his way unto the
Lord. And that's a good thing for our
young people today, in this situation, seeking for husbands and wives,
to commit your way unto the Lord in this respect, to seek that
He will provide for you. It's very easy, you know, for
all of us to look around and fancy this one and that one and
think, well, that'll make a good wife or a good husband, and that's
the one I want. It may not always be God's will,
but the blessing is, if you and I can commit our way unto the
Lord, we can be sure that what the Lord provides will be best
for us. May not always, perhaps you think
it is, but the Lord knows. The Lord knows what you and I
need in our lives. And that's a wonderful comfort,
isn't it? And so, we can therefore commit
our way, all our way, with regard to everything. You know, our
schooling, our college and university life, in the workplace, whatever
it is, our home life, whatever it is, we can come and commit
our way unto the Lord. casting all our care upon Him,
believing He cares for us. I can tell you there is wonderful
relief, there's wonderful freedom, when you and I are able to stop
making our own plans and relying upon God to plan our life for
us. You can be sure, that'll be a
good plan. It may not be the plan that you
and I want. It may not be the plan that you and I expected.
But you can be sure of this, it'll be a good plan. You say,
why do you say that? God never makes a mistake. We
do. We often make mistakes. God never
makes a mistake. If we try and organise our lives
without God, without committing our way to the Lord, we can be
sure that there will be errors in it. And the reason for that
is, again, very simple. It's this, because our motives
may not be right. Our motives may be wrong. It's
good, you know, when the Lord takes us and tests us and tries
our motives. And then you see when the Lord
then appears, which he will and which he does in his time and
his way, we know that it is the right way. And so David, as I
say, wrote this when he was an old man, had many years experience,
was able to give many testimonies, As you read through the history
of David in Samuel and in the Psalms and other places, how
God was with him. God was with him. His life wasn't
a smooth life, but God was with him in it. God taught him. God directed him. God blessed
him. And so what a good thing it is,
therefore, to recognise that here we have a very important
verse which David was able to write from a personal experience. He wasn't relying on what other
people told him. He was able to rely on what he
had experienced himself. Commit thy way. unto the Lord. Again, it's important to not
commit it to other people. You know, you and I can sometimes
think, well, I think I'll ask so-and-so. What's his advice?
What's her advice? You and I can make big mistakes
doing that. Because if the advice of someone
else fits what we want to do and what we want to say, we'll
grasp hold of it and take that path. It may not be a good path. It may not be the right way.
It may not be the way which brings honour and glory to our God. And yet, you see, if the Lord
gives us that grace to come and commit our way unto the Lord,
that's a very safe way. That's a very safe place. And you and I can be sure that
it will work out well. And when I say that, I really
mean this. It'll work out well for our spiritual
life. So that's the essential thing,
isn't it? That it works out well for our
spiritual life. And it's very wonderful if God
gives us grace, and it is grace, it's his free unmerited favour,
to commit our way unto the Lord in this direction. that it may
be for our spiritual good so that we're able to say, choose
thou the way and still lead on and if the Lord has chosen the
way if the Lord has given us a promise with regard to the
way he's leading us you know the wonderful benefit of that
is you can come to the Lord And you can say, Lord, thou didst
say, Lord, thou didst direct me in this. And that's a solid
foundation. And you can plead that to Almighty
God. But if you've no evidence of
God's direction, and no evidence of God's leading, but you've
chosen your way that seemeth right, How can you come and plead
to God that he will be in it? You see the difference. You see
the importance. And so, we have a word like this
then. Commit thy way unto the Lord. It's very comprehensive, isn't
it? It doesn't give any detail as
to what that way is. And therefore, whatever our situation,
Whatever our path is, we can apply it to that situation. Commit thy way unto the Lord. Well, it's a great blessing then,
if you and I are able to do just that. It means that we really
have a confidence in God. It really means that we believe
in the living God. We're not believing in a false
God, in a vain God. We're trusting in that God who
speaks, in that God who directs, and that God who guides us. Because
the great important thing is, that you and I in our little
lives are guided and directed through our life on this earth. However long it may be, many
years, few years, we want the Lord to guide us. We want the Lord to be with us. We want to feel and know that
his presence is with us. As Moses said, if thy presence
Go not with me, carry me not up hence. Have a beautiful the
path may look, have a wonderful it might appear. It's good to
pray just like Moses did. If thy presence go not with me,
carry me not up hence. Now Moses was able therefore
to pray that. And God was faithful and God
said, my presence shall go with thee and I will give thee rest. He proved it. All those 40 years
in the wilderness, God was with him. We know there was that occasion
when he left himself He did that which he thought was obvious
by smiting the rock instead of speaking to the rock. Be very
careful not to do that which seems right. You might say, well,
everything's pointing to it. Everything seems right. Surely
this must be the way. We are to try the spirits, whether
they be of God. You know, Gideon was told what
to do. And what did he do? He tested whether that which
God had told him to do was right. He had a fleece, didn't he? One
time he wanted water on the ground and not on the fleece. Another
time he wanted water on the fleece and not on the ground. And the
Lord graciously answered those prayers. So then, you see, Gideon
was able to go in the strength of God. And the Lord wonderfully
appeared for him. He brought down his vast army
to a mere handful, 300 soldiers. And they didn't have to fight
either. You see, when the Lord appears, when the Lord has the
right way. You can see all things working
together for good. And the result will be that you
and I won't be able to look at ourselves and say, well, you
made a good decision there. You really did the right thing.
You'll have to come and say, the Lord directed me. Blessed be his holy name. And what will be the result?
His name will receive the honour and glory. And as I often say,
I never tire of repeating it, our lives, if we are the children
of God, are for his honour and for his glory. And such a path,
very often, is different to what we want and what we expect. But we will look back and be
able to concur is the right way. The Lord hasn't left me. I have, by his grace, and it
is by his grace, committed my way unto the Lord. He's heard
my cry. How humbling, isn't it, to think
that God hears the cry of an unworthy
sinner. He doesn't turn a deaf ear. He
may do if it's the wrong way. If you come like this, with an
open mind and an open heart, to receive God's instruction,
you will find he directs in that right way. Now you see, the important
thing is, that we are directed through our little life on this
earth to come safely home to our celestial home, which is
the city of God. We don't want to listen to the
evil advice of Satan, because he will instruct us to put other
things first, He will instruct us to please ourselves. He will tell you, well, it's
obvious what you should do. There's no need to pray about
it. There's no need to worry about
it. It's obvious what you should do. Remember, as I've said, there
is a way that seemeth right unto a man or a woman, but the way
thereof are the ways of death. You and I don't want to walk
that way, do we? just because it seems right. We want to know
that it is right. And you and I will know if it
is right when God hears and answers our prayer. God does hear and
answer prayer. You only have to read, don't
you, the accounts of God's children in the Old and the New Testament. How wonderfully the Lord appeared
on so many, many occasions. In impossible situations, the
Lord worked. The Lord appeared. You can think,
can you not, of the case of Joseph. It's a well-known case, isn't
it? God blessed him with dreams. No doubt you thought those dreams
would be fulfilled very soon, but it was many years, many years
of opposition, many years of hardship, many things appearing
to go in an opposite direction. Joseph was tried. We're told
Joseph was tested. But in the end, what a wonderful
result there was. Poor little puny man, could never
have envisaged it. Joseph could never have envisaged
that he would have been next to the throne of Pharaoh. But you see, God was preparing
Joseph. So when things don't appear,
to be working out right in accordance in the way that you and I anticipate.
Just remember this little verse, commit thy way unto the Lord. Commit thy way unto the Lord.
And as David goes on to say, trust also in him. Don't trust anyone else. temptation
is to trust people, especially when they produce a nice and
pleasant solution. It looks all nice and smooth.
No, it says, David, trust also in Him, not in man, in Him. What a blessing it is when you
and I can come to that situation and that understanding and realise
it is indeed a very wonderful place. It's a very favoured place. Again, David in the 62nd Psalm,
he tells us this. Truly my soul waiteth upon God. Waiteth upon God. We're told
in the 40th Psalm, I waited patiently for the Lord. And he heard my
cry. You and I sometimes will need
patience. The Lord does give patience. And he says further on in the
62nd Psalm, my soul Wait thou only upon God. Commit thy way
unto the Lord. Trust also in him. Commit thy
way to him. Trust also in him, my soul. Wait thou only upon God, for
my expectation is from him. It's good, isn't it, to realise
that David had a humble expectation that God would hear and answer
prayer. And you and I today can also
have a humble expectation that God will hear and God will answer
our prayer. But be very careful to understand
that that answer will be God's answer. That'll be his way and
not necessarily your answer or your way. And he comes down and
says, In God is my salvation and my glory, the rock of my
strength, and my refuge is in God. You see, the psalmist is
confessing here that in his times of need, where did he go? To his refuge, a refuge for sinners. The gospel makes known, it is
found in the merits of Jesus alone. And verse eight, trust
in him at all times, all times, not just when it suits, all times. Ye people, pour out your heart
before Him. That's a lovely expression, isn't
it? So you and I can come and we can pray to God. It doesn't
have to be fancy words. You can just pour out your heart
to God because He knows. He knows the way, His way, the
way. Yes, trust in him at all times,
ye people. Pour out your heart before him. God is a refuge for us. David had confidence in his God. And you see, when the Lord graciously
hears our cries, hears our prayers, and answers them, having committed
our way unto the Lord, and we've trusted him and something occurs
and it comes to pass. What does that do? Sure, it gives
us confidence in our God. It's a blessed position to be
confident in God. Yes, cease from man whose breath
is in his nostrils. Trust in the Lord at all times. This place, a refuge, this sure
place. And so, of course, in Joseph's
case, and it came to pass. How many times can we read in
the word of God, and it came to pass? Things which appeared
impossible. It was in Joseph's case. You
might say it was in Jonah's case, it's a different analogy really,
but in Jonah's case it seemed impossible. And it was impossible
really until Joseph and Jonah committed himself to his God
in the world's belly. Took a long time, didn't it?
Took a lot of hardship, didn't it? But in God's time, Joseph
said, after those three days in the well at Wellsbury, I will
look again unto thy holy temple. Once again he would pray when
things perhaps don't always go right. The Lord may be dealing
with us. It's not very pleasant. When
the Lord deals with us, we might term it being chastised. for going the wrong way, for
looking to our own strength, to our own ability. But what
a blessing when we're humbled under the mighty hand of God. And we can come and say, we're
Jonah, I will look again unto thy holy temple. I will once
more commit my way unto the Lord. Jonah didn't deserve any answers
to his prayers, did he? But how wonderfully the Lord
appeared. You and I should realise nothing
is too hard for the Lord. We may think sometimes that our
case is impossible. Doesn't seem to be any way out.
Seems to be mountains before us. Again, what does the Word
of God tell us? What does the Lord say? I will
make all my mountains away. The mountains may flow down at
God's presence. You won't be able to make them
flow down. You won't be able to remove them, but God can.
The benefit will be to lead you to the Lord. And trust also in
him. Well, it's a great, wonderful
truth, isn't it, to be found trusting in him. But you only
have to look through the word of God to find out how people
did trust in him. Moses, we're told, what did he
do? Choosing rather to suffer affliction
with the people of God than to enjoy the treasures of sin for
a season. God was with him. God brought
Moses safely home to glory. The great and real issue is,
where will we spend eternity? Our life really on this earth
is very secondary with regard to our eternal life. and therefore
to be able to come and to trust in the Lord that he will lead
us in that right way that leads to our eternal home. That eternal home of glory. And that the blessed Lord will
lead us to the Saviour. You may think, well, do I really
want that? Yes, we do. And it's a wonderful
place to be led to the cross at Calvary. It's a wonderful
leading of the Holy Spirit to commit our way unto the Lord,
to trust also in him that he would direct us to view the suffering
Saviour dying upon Calvary's cross to atone for our sins,
your sins and my sins. We're all sinners. We all need
salvation. That's our greatest need. We
sometimes think we need this and we need that. The greatest
need for every one of us is salvation. Indeed, the words are so true. Give me Christ. or else I die. What a mercy that the Holy Spirit
is directing us to pray like that. We're committing our way
unto the Lord that he will lead us in all truth, direct us to
the Lord Jesus Christ. There will have been a time in
our life when we saw no beauty in the Lord Jesus Christ. We knew no need. We had no need. You, praise God, if the Lord
has shown you your need of a saviour, that's produced a wonderful change. Commit thy way unto the Lord.
Trust also in him. that He would go on to instruct
you. And He would go on to bless you. And He would go on to bring you
to the cross at Calvary. Because there, my friends, is
the most glorious transaction which the world has ever seen.
The Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of life and glory, giving His
life, that you and I might receive the gift of eternal life. There's no greater blessing.
When we're young, we think we need this and we think we need
that. Don't forget the words of the Saviour. One thing is
needful, one thing. To know my Jesus crucified by
far excels all things beside. That means committing our way
unto the Lord. That means trusting also in Him. And it also means receiving faith
to believe that He shall bring it to pass. Bring these blessings
to pass. Well, you know, this is a situation
which is between your soul and God, between my soul and God.
No one else can assess exactly your spiritual standing, your
spiritual state. My friends, the Lord knows what
a blessing it is that we have a God who is compassionate and
a God who instructs us in such wonderful words as this. And
remember, David gives us good advice in the early words of
this psalm. The first words really, fret
not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against
the workers of iniquity. We see how the people perhaps
appears to be prospering, but even if they are prospering in
this life, The most important issue is to prosper in our soul,
to have the evidence the Lord is with us. Because David says,
for such, now sue me, cut off like the grass and wither as
the green herb. I won't stand the test. They'll fail, they'll fall down,
they'll be vanquished. But oh, bless God, if he has
come and given us this desire. You know, it may not perhaps
be a very strong desire. And in actual fact, you may have
to pray in effect against your natural desire. Because you have a plan and you
want God to work to it and you're very reluctant to give up that
plan and to pray that God and God alone will guide and direct
you. But it's a wonderful privilege
and blessing so to do. Because you can be sure the way
God leads is the right way. And will bring you safely through
life. There will be battles. There
will be difficulties. The devil says you must be walking
in a wrong path. Because your life should never
be hard like that. It should never be difficult.
There should never be crosses where you can tell the devil
he doesn't know the Bible very well. Because the Bible tells
us, through the words of the Saviour himself, it is through
much tribulation that we shall enter the kingdom. And you can
tell him, that's what God says, but It is a situation where we
can indeed truly rejoice because of what God has done and we're
thankful indeed that we have the great and glorious truth
of the Gospel to encourage us in the wonderful way of God. And he tells us in the end of
the 16th chapter in John. Behold, the hour cometh, yea,
is now come that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own,
and shall leave me alone. And yet I am not alone, because
the Father is with me. These things have I spoken unto
you, that in me, remember that, in Christ, in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation,
no doubt about it, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the
world. And as the Apostle Paul says,
we are more than overcomers through Christ, through what he has done. And so, and he shall bring it
to pass. He will bring us safely home
to glory. And that is the vital thing.
Don't listen to the devil who tries to distract you. Remember
the vital need of true religion. The vital need of coming to this
position and being willing in the day of his power to do just
what David directs us here in. Commit thy way personal to each
one of us. Commit thy way unto whom? The Lord God. Trust also in him. Don't trust anyone else. And
he shall bring it to pass for his honour and for his glory
and for our eternal good. Amen.