I please God to bless us tonight
as we meditate in his word. Let us turn to the epistle of
Paul to the Hebrews chapter 13 and we'll read verses 5 and 6.
Hebrews chapter 13 and reading verses 5 and 6. Let your conversation be without
covetousness and be content with such things as ye have. For he hath said, I will never
leave thee, nor forsake thee, so that we may boldly say, the
Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto
me. We have some very wonderful and
very positive statements in these words. and they can be positive
statements because they are the truth of God's Word and because
they apply to the Church of God. And so may we be encouraged tonight,
especially with these words, the Lord is my helper. How needful
It is that we know that day by day as we travel on through this
world, not to rely on ourselves for anything natural or anything
spiritual, but to realize we have a God who has said, the
Lord is my helper. And we are encouraged to speak
this boldly because of the great truth it is. as we read here,
so that we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper and I will
not fear what man shall do unto me. Well this of course we lead
into this from the previous verse really and the previous verse
instructs us when it says let your conversation be without
covetousness and be content with such things as you have for he
has said I will never leave thee nor forsake thee and these are
great and important truths and they're wonderful instruction
for us all because by nature we are covetous and we are told
not to covet but we are told to covet earnestly the best gifts
that means spiritual gifts so that we are not to therefore
covet natural things but we are to covet those things which are
spiritually beneficial for us and what a good thing therefore
if we are able to concentrate on those things and not be carried
away with covetousness of the things of time. It is that which
is in our nature. Our sinful nature wants things
that we haven't got, and desires things, and if we analyse them,
very often, not always, but very often, They do not really, and
will not really, profit us. They will not really be beneficial
to our spiritual life. We may think they'll add some
comfort to us, perhaps some enjoyment to us. Well, they may do in a
natural sense, but those things soon pass away, and they're gone,
never to be recovered. And so what a blessing it is
if we hear such a word with this, that your conversation Those
things that we speak, and indeed our actions also, don't show
that we are covetousness. We are covetous. But here it
tells us, let your conversation be without covetousness. And
of course, the Lord doesn't leave a vacuum. The Word of God never
leaves a vacuum. And it gives a very positive
position now, when he tells us, and be content with such things
as ye have, for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor
forsake thee." Now surely that is a wonderful blessing, isn't
it? To have God tell us that he will
never leave us, nor forsake us. That means whatever we do and
say in this world, however we're directed, however we're perhaps
misdirected by our own hearts and our own minds, to realise
we have a God who is so gracious and so kind and so merciful and
so wonderful to say such words to such unworthy sinners of the
earth words of glorious truth I will never leave thee nor forsake
thee that means that you and I will be carried into glory
that means we shall never be forsaken never If we are those
who are the true Church of God, those who are true followers
of the Saviour, those who desire to do that which is right, and
to follow His gracious words and gracious instruction, and
to be concerned that we are not covetous in our conversation,
and that we are content with such things as we have. Again,
so easily we are discontented, aren't we? We look on this, and
we look on that, and we think, well, I really like that, and
I think that would be really beneficial, I can really enjoy
that. And yet, if we realise how content we should be, remember,
And perhaps some of you remember, my father used to sometimes quote
a little anecdote about a woman, a poor woman, who had virtually
nothing. I think she had just a small
piece of bread. And she was able to say, all
this and Jesus Christ. And that really puts things in
a very good perspective, doesn't it? Because if we have Christ,
we have everything. We have everything. Because we
will know peace in this world, and we shall know eternal happiness
and joy in glory. All this and Jesus Christ. Well, all of us here today have
much more than a crust of bread, don't we? We all have many comforts,
don't we? And I hope we're all really thankful
for the things that we have. And again, we want to always
realise that those things which you and I possess, God has indeed
given to us. And so, may we also be able to
humbly say, yes, all this and Jesus Christ. And that meant
to that woman that the Lord Jesus Christ was far more precious
the vanities of this world. And how true it is. Solomon speaks
to us, doesn't he? When he wrote the Ecclesiastes,
when he searched out to find happiness in this world. And he was able to covet and
then obtain the things that he thought would bring him happiness. But his conclusion was, all is
vanity and vexation of spirits. vanity of vanities and it's good
you know often I think if we were to read Ecclesiastes more
we would perhaps be more satisfied and more content with the things
that we have because it puts things in a good and right perspective
and we do need to be reminded of these things and not to be
left therefore to be in this condition where we are covetous
and are discontented. What a mercy then to be content,
and be content with such things as ye have, and to weigh it up
then with a great and glorious blessing. For he hath said, O
the Lord speaks, the Lord says, the Lord speaks truth, and this
is the truth. Almighty God has spoken, I will
never leave thee, nor forsake thee. We can't ask really for
a greater blessing, can we? To know that we will never be
left, never forsaken, but the Lord God is with us at all times. We may not always realise it.
We may not always realise it in the power of it. But it's
a good thing when the Holy Spirit enables us to believe the truth
of a word like this. It must be very comforting to
our hearts to realise we have a God who speaks so gloriously
to his people, to his church, in such a wonderful way. I will
never leave thee, nor forsake thee. Now with such a promise
as that spoken into our hearts, can we not come then with Paul,
with holy boldness, as he did, and say, we may boldly say, because
of what God has spoken, to be able to boldly say, the Lord
is my helper. He doesn't say, well, perhaps
the Lord will be my helper. He doesn't say, may the Lord
be my helper. He says, the Lord is my helper. And what a blessing if we as
And if we are the children of God, and if we are blessed by
his Holy Spirit, if we have the evidence that he has helped us,
he is our helper, then can we not join and say, he who has
helped us will help me. Hitherto will help me all my
journey through. And it doesn't stop there. Give
me daily cause to raise. new Ebenezers to his praise. We need, don't we, to trace out
our path. We need to be able to praise
and thank God for his goodness to us, for all his help he has
granted to us. And so the Lord is my helper,
says the Apostle, the Lord is my helper. And he was able to
confirm that because of what God had done for him in the past. The Lord had not left the Apostle. The Lord had been with him. You
see, he was able to write here from a personal experience. And
these things are not just for the Apostle Paul. They are for
the Church of God. And it's good today if you and
I can be encouraged by it. And it's good therefore if we
are able to remember what the Lord has done for us. Remember
the help we have obtained. Realising how good he has been. And I hope we can all look back
in our lives and find times when God has helped us. Perhaps we
felt very helpless. Well that's a good place. Because
God is the helper of the helpless. He's not the helper of those
that help themselves. He is a helper of those who feel helpless. And it's good therefore when
the Holy Spirit brings us to show us something of our helplessness
and yet to have that faith, that humble faith to believe as we
have here in these words and be able to say the Lord is my
helper. What a blessing it is. You know
there are many evidences in the Psalms of the help given to the
psalmist, of course, in many occasions, David, but perhaps
just before we get to the Psalms, we might just stop in Isaiah.
I'm going backwards today. In Isaiah, and in Isaiah we have
the 41st chapter and 10th verse, a very wonderful word. And again,
how strengthening this is to the Church of God. Fear thou
not, for I am with thee. Be not dismayed. for I am thy
God. I will strengthen thee, yea,
I will help thee, yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand
of my righteousness." Isaiah is encouraging us here, isn't
he? Isaiah knew by experience how
God had helped and blessed him. He was a faithful prophet. He
didn't live in an easy time. He was a faithful prophet and
you and I today have to be faithful. And in Isaiah's life, the same
as Jeremiah and the whole Church of God, things never went smoothly. They never went easily. But they went in accordance with
the way and the purpose of God. And sometimes the path the Lord
drives us in is to realise that we cannot help ourselves. We
may try to find it. Sadly, we often try first. We
look to our own abilities. And that's in a natural way,
in a spiritual way. But bless me, God overcomes all
our failings and speaks into our heart. Because this is the
reality of religion. It's not something of a theory.
It's something of a reality when the Holy Spirit comes. And what
a good thing it is when we hear such a word as this. We may be
fearful. We may be fearful. Perhaps we
often are fearful. And that's why in the Word of
God there are many fear nots to strengthen us. And this is
a special one we might say. Fear thou not, for I am with
thee. Be not dismayed, for I am thy
God. I will strengthen thee, yea,
I will help thee, yea, I will uphold thee. with the right hand
of my righteousness." Well, of course, we could preach a sermon
on that text, but we won't tonight. Just to say this central word,
really, I will help thee. A promise from God. My friends,
isn't it good when God gives us faith to lay hold of the promises
of God? And don't forget, we have a great
adversary who will always try and turn us away from God's promises
and say, well you can't lay hold of that. That doesn't apply to
you. Remember the devil always has been and always will be a
liar. Don't listen to him. Don't believe
him. Listen to what God says. Listen
to what he has promised. And in the 27th Psalm, Psalm of David, it's wonderful
to have these experiences of God's saints to encourage us
today. David says, hide not thy face
far from me. He was fearful of that, wasn't
he? Of God hiding his face. And it's good, you know, when
we're fearful of God hiding his face from us. Hide not thy face
far from me. Put not thy servant away in anger. And sometimes we think, well,
we deserve to put away. We haven't done that that we
should have done, and we've fallen away as it were, and we've done
that which we should not have done. Here we have these words,
put not thy servant away in anger, and then he tells us this, thou
hast been my help. History, testimony, thou hast
been my help well tonight. Can we put our hand up and say,
yes, I can, by the grace of God. Confirm that. Thou, the almighty
God, thou hast been my help. And therefore, he's able to pursue
this theme and say, leave me not, neither forsake me, O God
of my salvation. Directing us, of course, to salvation. What a good thing that is, you
see, if we have a good hope in salvation, if we have a good
hope that the Lord has blotted out our sins, if we have a good
hope that the Lord Jesus has died to take away our sins, if
he shed his most precious blood for that purpose, then to realise
tonight, to be able to say, forsake me not, O God of my salvation,
we have something to be confident about. Because God has revealed
himself unto us as he does not unto the world. And therefore
to be able to say, Thou hast been my help, and plead then,
leave me not. Well, these are wonderful truths,
aren't they? And they are things for us to
lay hold of. Again the psalmist David in the
40th psalm, another well-known psalm, and he speaks to us this
as he comes down to the end of that psalm, and he describes
himself, and I would expect this describes us. I hope it does,
but I am poor and needy. Are we there? Have we been there?
It's a good place to be in, poor and needy, because we're If you
and I are poor and needy, what are we doing? What should we
be doing? Looking unto Jesus. Yet the Lord thinketh upon me.
The Lord always thinks upon us. Always. He never forgets us. Wonderful, isn't it? Such a God. The Lord thinketh upon me. And
then he comes and says, Thou art my help. Yes, again, David
knew what it was to be able to testify about this great and
glorious truth. Thou art my help and my deliverer. Make no tarrying, O my God. It's good, isn't it, to be able
to read these testimonies and the humble confidence that God's
people had in their God. Believing that God would appear,
that God would bless them, that God would hear and answer their
prayers. And so may we today be encouraged
by the examples that we have in the Word of God. They're there
for our encouragement. They're there for our instruction. They're there for our blessing. And to think that if the Lord
is our helper, what does that mean? Can we not trust in him? Can
we not put all our trust in him? Again in the 56th Psalm, another
Psalm of David, where he says, in God, I will praise his word. In God, I put my trust. I will not fear what flesh can
do unto me. Sometimes we fear what men can
do. You see, they are under God's
control. Never forget that. Man cannot
do what God does not allow him to do. Man cannot do it. Cannot
do it. I've seen it myself in my own
life, the most amazing occasion once, when God shuts a person's
mouth and he was not able to speak. Very wonderful. But you see, God can do that.
In God I put my trust. I would not fear what flesh can
do unto me. We do sometimes fear flesh. Well,
if God is our helper, God stands by us, you see. If God is our
helper, he's with us. So he comes down to the 11th
verse of this 56th psalm and tells us, in God have I put my
trust. I would not be afraid. what man
can do unto me. Now, David here shows forth the
humble confidence he had in his God. And it's a wonderful thing if
God gives us grace and strength to have a humble confidence in
our God, to trust him, to believe his word. So often you see The
old devil gives us an evil heart of unbelief and we turn away
from the glorious truths of God's Word instead of presenting the
devil with them and saying, the Lord has said. In the Lord will
I praise his Word. In God will I put my trust. I
would not be afraid what man can do unto me." Well these are,
these surely are very soul-strengthening words, aren't they? And then
of course there's the very well-known psalm, again strengthening to
us, Psalm 46, which no doubt is familiar to you. When it starts
off, God is our refuge and strength, a very present help. in trouble. You see, God is there at all
times. In trouble, God's there to help. God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble. And then the confidence comes. Therefore will not we fear, nor
the earth be removed, nor the mountains be carried into the
midst of the sea, nor the waters set off roar and be troubled,
So the mountains shake with the sweating thereof. You see, whatever
the situation, David was able to rest in the Lord. A very present
help in trouble. Whatever trouble it may be, to
realise we have God who is a very present help in trouble. And then, just going on to Psalm
18 which is a very beautiful psalm
and psalm 118 and verse 6 we read these words The Lord is on my side I Will
not fear What command do unto me? See if the Lord is our helper
It means the Lord is on our side And we can say this If God be
for us, who can be against us? Just think, if the Lord is with
us. There was that occasion in Elijah's
day when he had that servant and there was the enemy all around
him and he said, Master, what shall we do? And Elijah said, Lord, open the
young man's eyes. His eyes were opened and he saw
on all the hills the host of heaven, all there to protect, all there to
bring about the victory. Yes, we have a great God. We have a God who is in every
place. And you see, when the devil comes and tries to turn
us away, when the devil comes and says, There's no hope for
you. Our help cometh from the Lord. And in that situation, what do
we do? We look to the Saviour. Where
do we go? We go to Calvary. The devil can't stand there because
he knows he was vanquished on that occasion. When the glorious
words were spoken, it is finished. He was a vanquished foe. He cannot
stand at Calvary. My friends, if you're downcast
in your soul, go to Calvary. Look to Jesus. There you'll find
help to strengthen your faith, because there you will find he
gained the victory. Yes. He could not, he could not be,
he was not left. He had to gain the victory, and
he did. A glorious victory, wasn't it?
And because of his glorious victory, and that victory was in death. And although he did die, he didn't
remain dead. He rose again. And we today,
have a risen saviour to come to. Our help comes from the Lord. The Lord is my helper. Think of that today. The Lord
is in glory, looking down on us. He is our helper. He directs us to himself for
our salvation, to show to us His hands and His side and His
feet to show to us by faith the great cost of our salvation so
that we can come and praise and bless His great and glorious
name for all that He has done and to realize therefore this
is the truth, the Lord is my helper. He enables us to look
out of ourself Pour not on thyself too long, lest it sink thee lower. Look to Jesus, firm and strong,
glory, joy, and power. There is salvation, there is
deliverance, there is freedom, there is joy. You see, the devil
will keep us bound up, but the devil cannot, because grace frees
us. So that we may boldly say, It's
encouraging, isn't it, tonight to think of that. We can boldly
say, because we believe it by faith, the words are true. We can boldly say, for he has
said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee, so that we
may boldly say, the Lord is my helper. I will not fear what
man should do unto me. Amen.