May it please God to bless us
together this evening as we meditate in his word. Let us turn to the
book of Psalms and Psalm 37 and we'll read verse 23. The book
of Psalms, Psalm 37 and reading verse 23. The steps of a good
man are ordered by the Lord and he delighteth in his way this of course does not refer
to a naturally good man because as the Apostle Paul tells us
in me that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing so clearly David
is speaking here of that new nature, that new man, that God-given
blessing of the new birth. And as such, the steps of those
are indeed ordered by the Lord. It's a wonderful consideration,
it's a tremendous thought to think that Almighty God, nonetheless,
the ruler of the universe the one who created all things orders
each of our steps in our life here below we don't take a step
without the knowledge of God and sometimes those steps don't
seem to be very orderly they don't seem to be going perhaps
in a right way in a right pattern but the truth is they are going
in the way that God has ordered for us because God has a right
way, God has a perfect way a way which is beyond our understanding
and yet a way which by the grace of God will bring us each at
last home to glory and that surely should be the great concern of
all of us, to be directed, to be led in a right way. Again,
a verse which I often quote, 107th Psalm, He led them forth
by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation. See, God makes no mistakes. We may make mistakes, But those
mistakes are ordered by God. All our steps are ordered. And we can look at the next verse,
verse 24, which tells us, Though he fall, that's a step ordered
by God. Though he fall, he shall not
be utterly cast down, for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand
what it directs us to is this the strength of our God we cannot
rely on our own strength we cannot think and rest in our own ability
to keep ourselves indeed the Word of God tells us no man can
keep alive his own soul perhaps we wish we could perhaps sometimes
but you know if we if we could in and of ourselves we would
be thanking ourselves and acknowledging ourselves and it would be pride
and it would reduce the wonderful blessing that God gives so we
have to prove that it is God that indeed deals with us in
our down sittings and our uprisings. And they are all to bring us
down in our own estimation and to make the Saviour ever more
precious and more real. That is the pathway of the child
of God. So when we come to the end of
our journey, the end of our pilgrimage, then we shall be as a shuck of
corn ready to be gathered into the heavenly Ghana. Yes, the
time would have come to bring us home. The work of grace
would have been completed. And so what a mercy to know we
have a God who does lead by the right way. The steps, every step,
every step you and I make, is ordered by the Lord. Surely that should be a wonderful
encouragement to us. You know, as I mentioned in prayer,
David wrote this psalm when he was an old man. He'd had a long
life, and he'd proved the truth of the words that he wrote. I know they're inspired by God,
but none other than this. David had proved them, and that's
why he's able to say, I have been young and now I'm old. Yet
have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging
bread. He is ever merciful and lendeth
and his seed is blessed. How true that is. His seed is
blessed. We are eternally blessed. And to think, therefore, that
our steps are ordered by the Lord, to walk in that path that
God has ordained. That path which has been ordained
to lead us about, to be instructed, you know, just like Jacob was. We're told the Lord found him
in the desert place, in the wasteland wilderness. He led him about,
he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye. You
and I might read the account of Jacob and we might not think
that was absolutely true but it is absolutely true because
God was dealing with Jacob graciously and lovingly so that his life
would be for the honour and glory of God. He had some distressing
times but he had some blessed times and he had to prove The
Lord was with him. The Lord was with his family.
He hadn't been left. He hadn't been forsaken. And so how true this word is. He is ever merciful and lendeth
and his seed is blessed. We should be encouraged by such
words as we have in this chapter. And we are encouraged in this
a number of times here, but perhaps it's running down to verse 31.
The law of his God is in his heart. Now that's to those who
are these good men or good women. It's that which God puts within
us. The law of his God is in his heart. None of his steps
shall slide. well they won't slide out of
the right way they may slide backwards sometimes we do slide
backwards and God sometimes permits that for our instruction to prove
to us that we can't keep alive our own soul that we can't walk
without God's help we need the Lord to be with us continually
every day every hour, every minute, indeed every second, to rejoice
in the great God. Well, it is wonderful to know
that God's saints, God's servants, have been led right through the
ages. We know we can start at Adam,
can't we? And we can see how Adam was led. His steps were ordained by God. It wasn't a path that we would
think was particularly good but the Lord ordained it and he ordained
it in this specific way to show the weakness of man and to show
the power of God and to set forth the Gloria of the salvation of
the Saviour. And so we see how Adam's steps
were indeed ordered and how We shall be thanked for today if
our steps are ordered. In the case of the book of Samuel
we speak about, we read about the song of Hannah and we're
told in that chapter, the second chapter of the first book of
Samuel, the Lord killeth and maketh alive. Yes, he kills us
to ourselves. makes us spiritually alive it's
not a very comfortable place, the first part but it's a good
place and it's ordered by God and you bring it up, the Lord
maketh poor and maketh rich naturally and spiritually he
bringeth low and lifteth up spiritually what a blessing that is and what
we prove in that path it's the Lord which is leading us because
when we are brought low we can't lift ourselves up but there is
One the Blessed Saviour who does He comes to us where we are and
lifts us up we thought didn't we about the Samaritan on Lord's
Day morning and that Samaritan he came with that poor man was. Came right where he was and lifted
him up. He couldn't lift himself up,
he was wounded. And that's often the case with us. But the steps
are ordered. He raises up the poor as a dust
and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill to set him among
princes and to make them inherit the throne of glory. For the
pillars of the earth are the Lord's And He has set the Word
upon them. He will keep the feet of His
saints. And the wicked shall be silent
in darkness, for by strength shall no man prevail. Not our own strength. We do prevail,
but it's by the strength of Almighty God and how thankful therefore
we should be because of that. And so these steps of a good
man are ordered so many characters are written in the Word of God
which this applies to we can think of Joseph, a well-known
character can't we? Jacob's son and how the Lord
ordered his steps it was a very difficult path he lived for many
years the promises of God the visions of God were being sorely
tested the Word was tried, were told when he was in prison The
word of the Lord tried him. Well, he was still, this word
is still true of him. His steps were ordered by the
Lord. And of course, we know in due
time, the Lord wonderfully appeared and brought to pass those dreams
that he'd had many years ago in his father's house with his
brethren. How true that was. they were
ordered by the Lord everything had to be worked out sometimes
we're a bit impatient in our life and especially we might
think if God has spoken to us with regard to a certain thing
and we might expect it to happen very quickly well the Word of
God tells us your time is always but my time is not yet because
God has a right time God has a perfect time and what we have
to realise is that our little life which we ought to realise
is pretty insignificant has to fit in to the great plan of God
we're just a little cog and what a blessing if we are a little
cog in that great plan. And that plan is being worked
out for his honour and for his glory. And what a privilege to
be part of that plan and therefore to rest in the truth of this
word. True it is the steps of a good
man are ordered by the Lord. You know the words in Proverbs
speaks to us There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but
the way thereof is the way of death. You see, if we lean to
our own understanding, we easily make errors. We need to lean
upon our God, and He will direct us, and He will direct our way,
like He has done to all the Church of God. every member that's passed
out of time has gained glory at last the Lord doesn't leave
his people but there is an ordained path for them every step therefore
is before Almighty God and what a favour it is then to be blessed
like that sometimes the Lord doesn't allow
us to do certain things doesn't mean to say the way is that we're
walking is a wrong way but sometimes the Lord graciously hedges up
our way and we have occasions recorded in the Word of God to
instruct us in these things and he tells us in the 16th of Acts
where they were directed in this way and after they had come to
Micea they were forbidden of the Holy Ghost and they had come
to Micea, they had said to go into Bithynia but the Spirit
suffered them not well they thought they were going there and again
in the previous verse, the 6th verse Now when they had gone
throughout Phrygia and the regions of Galatia and were forbidden
of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia. They think well
that's very strange. Well it was God's purpose. Their
steps were ordered by the Lord. We know what happened you see.
And a vision appeared to Paul in the night, the ninth verse.
There stood a man of Macedonia, prayed, saying, Come over into
Macedonia and help us. Now that was a time of wonderful
blessing. First of all, he'd been stopped
going to a certain place. And now he'd come down to Philippi,
and to the chief city of that part of Macedonia and a colony
and we're in the city abiding certain days and on the Sabbath
we went out by a city of the city by a riverside where prayer
was wont to be made we sat down and spake unto the women which
resorted thither and a certain woman named Lydia a surah of
purple the city of Thyatira which worshipped God heard us whose
heart the Lord opened that she attended unto the things which
were spoken of Paul what a wonderful blessing for that woman that
the apostles feet were directed to that place and of course in
that chapter that wasn't the only place of blessing because
they preached and then they were arrested for preaching and they
were put in prison you may remember the account of Philippi there
they were imprisoned for preaching the gospel well there are many
people today who are imprisoned for preaching the gospel we're
very blessed today in our country with freedom we shouldn't forget
our brethren in other lands who are often imprisoned for preaching
the gospel but God was with Paul and Silas and their steps were
being ordered by the Lord and of course there was that wonderful
conversion of the Philippian jailer what a wonderful occasion
that was and what a blessing it was and so how thankful we
should be to realise that we come today to the same God the
same God who leads us naturally our steps and leads us spiritually
in our steps what a great God we have how good it is if we
are thankful and to realize these truths and you see Jeremiah tells
us he says O Lord I know that the way is not of man it's not
of man you and I can make so many mistakes we look as natural
man looks we need to continually do what the psalmist said in
this fifth verse commit thy way unto the Lord you want direction? you want your steps ordered?
that's what we do commit thy way unto the Lord trust also
in Him and he shall bring it to pass. That's a good place
of resting. And again, coming back to what
David said, he was an old man and he had seen this word being
fulfilled in his life. How many times he'd had to commit
his way unto the Lord. How many times God had appeared
for him. how many times God had blessed
him the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord and then
we read this quite remarkable statement and he delighteth in
his way the Lord delights to see the path his children are
walking because our blessed God knows the end from the beginning
He knows the end's going to be good. He knows they're going
to be brought safely home to Zion. He knows that they'll be
delivered from all the difficulties and trials and therefore how
glorious this statement is. And he delighteth in his way. The Lord delights to see us walking
through this world because every day for his children is a day's
march nearer home. It's a path, it's steps nearer
home. The Lord is leading us, the Lord
is watching over us, the Lord is preserving us. It's a great
blessing isn't it to be found like that and yet Sometimes the
Lord condescends, as it were, to what it appears to be, to
leave us. There's a word in Daniel, in
the 11th chapter in Daniel's prophecy, it's a long chapter,
coming towards the end, verse 35. Well, let's read, perhaps,
34. Now, when they shall fall, they
shall be hopin' with a little help, but many shall cleave to
them with flatteries, and some of them of understanding, spiritual
understanding, some of them of understanding shall fall. The reason? To try them. and to purge and to make them
white. The Lord is dealing with his
people in love to their souls. He permits these things sometimes
to come into our lives, to bring us down in our own estimation,
to stain our pride, even to the time of the end, because it is
yet for a time appointed. there's a set time to favour
Zion a set time to bless her a set time to direct her to the
glorious plan of salvation a set time to show to us the path of
the Saviour you know His steps were ordered weren't they? every
step what a wonderful truth it was And he walked that way that
was ordained for him. And it wasn't an easy path. It
wasn't easy at all. But he walked it willingly. He
walked it to the cross. He endured the cross. He suffered
the shame. The steps of a good man were
ordered by the Lord. And he delighted in his way. Indeed, he did the way his father
had ordained for him. We know a number of times the
blessed father said, this is my beloved son in whom I am well
pleased. Oh, what a mercy for us today,
if by the grace of God we walk that way that God has ordained
for us. And we're not left to complain.
but able to say it is the Lord let him do what seemeth him good
because we have a good God a gracious God who doesn't learn us more
than we're able to bear but with every situation he makes a way
of escape and he himself is that great and glorious strong tower
whereunto we may continually resort as we walk through this
wilderness of this earth with many things to distract us many
things to upset us but to realise that we are travelling home to
God in the way the Fathers trod they are happy now and soon we
their happiness shall see. That's a great and blessed prospect
for the Church of God. And as we journey on then, day
by day, to be able to confirm humbly, truthfully, with David
and all the saints, this great truth, the steps of a good man
are ordered by the Lord and he delights it in his way. I think
that God is looking upon us, unworthy sinners, favourably,
because we're walking in that ordained way, step by step, every
step, nearer to our eternal home. The steps of a good man are ordered
by the Lord, and he delighteth in his way. Amen.