I please God to bless us together
this evening as we meditate in his word. Let us turn to the
book of Deuteronomy, chapter 32, and we'll read verses 9 and
10. The book of Deuteronomy, chapter
32, and reading verses 9 and 10. For the Lord's portion is
his people. Jacob is the lot of his inheritance. He found him in a desert land
and in a waste howling wilderness. He led him about. He instructed
him. He kept him as the apple of his
eye. As we have already mentioned,
this is called the Song of Moses. this 32nd chapter in Deuteronomy.
And really he's speaking of how Israel were blessed and encouraged
and strengthened, notwithstanding all the evil of their personalities
and the paths which they walked in opposition to their God. And
yet he records the faithfulness and the goodness of Almighty
God, and how good it is for us sometimes to be able to, as Moses
did here right at the end of his life, to just remember all
the way the Lord has led us, indeed through the wilderness,
because the world in which we live is a wilderness, The world
in which Israel lived at that time was a wilderness in any
event. And of course, more particularly,
it was when they left Egypt and entered into the wilderness. And of course, they traversed
it for a year and then they disobeyed the command of God to go up and
possess the land. And as a result, they were punished
and had to spend another 40 years a year for every day that the
spies entered into Canaan to search it out. And yet, God was
still mindful of them. God did not leave them. And God
did not forsake them. And we should recognise, as it
was true in those days, so it's true today. Our gracious God,
bad as we may be, disobedient as we may be, Sinful as we may
be, yet to think that this gracious God does not leave us nor forsake
us. And it's really encouraging to
read such a statement like we have here. For the Lord's portion
is His people. His people. What a mercy, you
know. If you and I form part of that
statement, as part of His people. Israel were no better than any
of the other nations which surrounded them. And yet, you see, the Lord classified
them as His people. And He also went on to encourage
them and to encourage us today, as He says, Jacob is a lot of
His inheritance. Of course, Jacob, as we know,
was called Israel. He was really like Abraham and
Isaac, representative of that vast family, the Israelites. And we should be thankful that
it is so, that was so naturally. And of course the great blessing
is if you and I are numbered amongst those who are classified
as spiritual Israel. We want to be amongst that family. We want to be amongst those who
are called the Church of the Living God. Amongst those who,
although wandering in the wilderness, although disobedient, although
backsliding sometimes, yet to realise there is a great and
compassionate God, a merciful God, and one who is so wonderfully
kind and loving that he sent his only begotten Son into this
sinful world to save us, to redeem us, and to turn us to the Lord. And we would not do it ourselves.
We could not do it ourselves. Let us always remember that.
We have no ability, and the simple reason is that we are born dead,
spiritually dead with no life at all. And as naturally we cannot
produce life, so spiritually we cannot produce life. And what
a blessing then if we are the possessors of that life of God. that life which God gives to
all his people, all spiritual Israel. And all spiritual Israel
are led and directed in a similar way to that which ancient Israel
were in their journey. And it's just worthwhile noting
that when they came out of Israel, they could have gone to Canaan
in a very direct route, and it was almost as if they were next
door. They could have soon come there. But it wasn't the Lord's
purpose. The Lord's purpose was to lead
them into the wilderness, into the desert. And He did so in
that first year. He didn't direct them straight
into Canaan. He led them into the wilderness. And of course we know that after
that first year then there were those 40 years when they travelled
around in the wilderness. Yes, going about from place to
place. No direct line, but in a way,
the Lord saw fit to lead them. And this word, lead, as we have
here, can also be translated as compassed about. And that
gives, if you think of the two words, leading and compassing,
the thing how good the Lord was to compass them about, and how
good He was to lead them. And it's no different for you
and me today. to think of the wonderful mercy
of God in looking upon His people and being gracious to them. And
you see, in all this path, in all this way, the Lord was able
to instruct them and He was able to bless them. Many occasions,
the Lord appeared for them. You see, if they had gone directly
to Canaan, they wouldn't have seen the wonderful favour of
God, the wonderful mercy of God. And we can see that in the early
days, of course, when the Lord appeared on Mount Sinai and gave
them the Law, and also gave them all the wonderful instructions
with regard to how to construct the tabernacle and all that it
contained, and the wonderful picture that it was, directing
the person, the worshipper, to realise that this depicted the
Lord Jesus Christ, and depicted Him in His sufferings, depicted
Him in what He would pass through, and depicted Him in glory. So
we see there, if it had not been for this pathway, then that would
not have been displayed as it was. And we now today can look
back and can rejoice in the fact that we have these very wonderful
pictures in the Old Testament that give us a very clear description
of the journey of the child we've got today, and also the encouragement
in that journey, as we are able to come, as Israel were, when
they came to God, especially on that great day of atonement,
to have their sins taken away, and the necessity of the shed
blood. Well, we know of course that
the shed blood had already been set before them, on that Passover
night when they came out of Egypt with a high hand. The Egyptians
could not keep them any longer. Pharaoh could not keep them any
longer. The day had come for deliverance. And the day does come in the
Church of God when the devil cannot keep them any more. And
there is deliverance. And you see the deliverance then
is really very wonderfully set forth, isn't it? The only way
of deliverance was being safe under the blood of that slain
Lamb. So today, the only place of safety,
the only place of deliverance is to be found under the shed
blood of the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. So we see here
in these words, remembering the Lord's portion is His people,
Jacob is a lot of His inheritance, and it's because of that the
Lord deals with us in love to our souls. Love to our souls. Not that we deserve it. We never
will. We never will deserve any favour from God. That's why the
grace of God becomes very real and becomes very precious to
a true believer. It's that which they look back
upon and praise God for. That Lord in His great mercy
looked upon them and called them out of that state of darkness
into His marvellous light. And of course it is marvellous
light because it brings with it eternal light really and it's
all centred in that One who is the Light, the Lord Jesus Christ. So, the Lord's portion is His
people. Jacob is the lot of His inheritance.
And then we're told, He found Him. He found them. My friends,
He finds His people today. You see, He knows where we are.
He knows where we are when we're born. He knows the place. where we will be born. He knows
the situation that we are born into and He knows the path that
He will lead us in and compass us round in that path. And when you perhaps just think
of that and meditate on it, and look back in those days before
the light shone in our hearts, before the glorious Gospel became
precious to us, where were we? dead in trespasses and in sins,
wandering about, pleasing God, pleasing ourselves, doing God's
will, doing our own will. And yet, you see, He compasses
about. He was round about us. The devil
was allowed to go so far, but he wasn't allowed to destroy
us, just the same as it was in the life of God's servant Job.
The devil was allowed to go so far, but God said, touch not
his life. And the devil will not be allowed
to touch our life. It may come very near, as it
were, to losing our life. But we shall not lose our life,
because it's a life which God has given. And God has given
that life, and He's saved us, and He's found us in the wasteland
and wilderness. And we are amongst those for
whom He shed His most precious blood. So, none will be lost. None will be lost. So here we
have this example. He found him in a desert land. And really, you see, we just
need to be reminded that This world is a desert. A desert. There's no real comfort
to the soul. There may be some comfort naturally. But there's no real comfort to
our soul. See, the only comfort that we
find is to be found in the Lord Jesus Christ. Because that brings
with it an eternal comfort. And that brings with it the wonderful
evidence that we indeed are those like Israel who indeed were chosen. And in the epistle of Peter,
and the 1st epistle, and the 2nd chapter, and the 9th verse,
we read these wonderful words. But ye are a chosen generation,
a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people that ye should
show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness
into his marvellous light." Well, all Israel, all spiritual Israel
walk this path. We have the wonderful picture
set before us in the Deuteronomy of that. But here we have it
expounded to us. The Apostle goes on to say, which
in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God,
which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. What a favour it is to be numbered
therefore amongst such people. And then you see the Apostle
It just gives us some direction, some encouragement. And it's
good to just take notes of these things. And if we are amongst
those who are chosen of God and are priests and a holy nation,
then we should remember what he says. He says this, Dearly
Beloved, I beseech you, as strangers and pilgrims which the Church
of God are, he tells us this then, to abstain from fleshly
lusts which war against the soul. And that's an embracing statement,
fleshly lusts, and those things which just satisfy our old nature,
we are therefore to abstain from. If we are the household of faith,
if we are the true Church of God, if we are this chosen generation,
if we are those for whom the Blessed Saviour has given His
life, then here we have this gracious exhortation, spoken
these lovely words, Dearly Beloved, and we are, if we are amongst
those whom the Lord has died for, we are amongst those who
are Dearly Beloved. And so let us not turn away from
such words of instruction. Dearly Beloved, I beseech you
as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war
against the soul. And it goes on, having your conversation
honest among the Gentiles, that whereas they may speak against
you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they shall
behold, glorify God in a day of visitation. Well, these are
wonderful, sound words, aren't they? Words of the Lord to speak
to us today. The Apostle wrote them many years
ago, but they are so appropriate to us, especially if we are indeed
those who, this text speaks about those indeed who are redeemed. He found him in a desert land
and in a waste, howling wilderness. Well, we can ask ourselves, can
we not the question this evening? Has God found us? Has God found
you? Has He found me? Well, isn't
that good? If we can confirm, yes, I understand
what Moses was saying here in this psalm. I understand because
by the grace of God, I've been found. There I was, far off,
walking in opposite direction. The Lord put forth his hand and
stopped me. in my wild career, in my mad
career, to think of the goodness of God to us in such a situation
like that. And this is in, of course, the
waste-howling wilderness. It's a very vivid description,
isn't it, really? And we can see, really, no comfort,
can we? There can't be, can there? A
desert, waste-howling wilderness. Nothing can live there. Nothing
can grow there. And yet you see, there we may
be, wandering about, just like Israel. And God came and called
them, and God came and saved them. And then we are told this
beautiful statement, He led him about, He instructed him, He
kept him as the apple of His eye. Just moving on to the last
clause, the apple of His eye, that really can be classified
as the centre of the eye, the pupil. And you know, our eyes
are very precious, aren't they? And the Lord in His great goodness
has made the eye so wonderfully protected. You think of it, your
eye. Is it not protected? You know
you have your eyelid which comes down, doesn't it, to cover our
eye? when we are asleep, when something
comes, perhaps suddenly some dust, we automatically close
our eye. We have our eyelashes, we have
our eyebrows, they are all beautifully formed. And the eye itself and
all it contains is amazingly made. And here Moses directs
us to this truth and we are kept as the apple of his eye. We know
that our eye well protected. And so the Lord well protects
His people. You only have to trace, don't
you, the path of Israel. They were protected. I know sometimes
the Lord allowed them to be beaten in battle. But that was when
they had turned their back upon God. And it was when the Lord
was to teach them a lesson. You see, when they called upon
the Lord, When they cried unto Him, the Lord appeared. The Lord
delivered them. We have many examples, don't
we, in the Word of God when the Lord appeared. And perhaps one
of the most amazing is when Jehoshaphat was faced with the enemy. And
the enemy was so great and he was really afraid. He prayed
to the God, he said, Neither know we what to do. He didn't
stop there. He said this, but our eyes are
upon Thee. It's good you know, my friends,
when our eyes are upon the Lord, waiting for Him to lead us, waiting
for Him to direct us, with regard to our natural life, with regard
to our spiritual life. The Lord is a gracious God, and
He will be inquired of, and let us not forget to pray. Often
we do, don't we? We battle on, we struggle on.
What a mercy when the Lord brings us to our senses. Then they cried
unto the Lord in their trouble and He delivered them out of
their distresses. Psalm 107 is a wonderful sermon in itself
to direct us to these great truths. And remember in that 107th Psalm
in the 7th verse we read, He led them forth by the right way.
God doesn't make any mistakes in your life and my life. He
didn't make any mistakes in the life of Israel. They all came
at last home to the promised land. That God fulfilled His
promises. And my friends today, God fulfils
His promises. How good that is to read the
Word of God and to read how the Lord says certain things. And
you can read further on in those occasions, and it came to pass. And it came to pass. And so may
you and I be encouraged and not left to an evil heart of unbelief
and doubting the promises of God. That's what the devil wants
you to do, to doubt the promises of God. My friends, lay hold
upon them and tell the devil, the Lord has said, the Lord has
spoken and I'm relying upon His Word. Yes, we can. It's a sure foundation. It's a solid rock. It won't move
because the Word is, of course, the Lord Jesus Christ. He led them about. He led him
about. He instructed him. And how good
it is a Lord instructs us as we journey on. We need instruction,
don't we? We're very foolish. We're very
ignorant. We make many mistakes. We don't
listen carefully to what the Lord says. And we follow our
own inclinations. And we find them very easily,
just like Christians did, He fell into the slough of despond.
And he had to be pulled out. But he was pulled out. And he
was then directed to the right way. So how good when we think
we have a God who is one who instructs us. Instructs us. And Israel had to learn some
painful lessons as they journeyed through the wilderness. They had to be instructed. in
those things which were right. They had to be instructed to
obey the Word of God. They had to be instructed with
regard to those sacrifices. They had to be instructed with
regard to what the shed blood really meant. And yet how soul-strengthening
it was, how encouraging it was when they were able to observe
the Lord's goodness and mercy which was indeed toward them.
And the Lord did not therefore leave them, nor forsake them. He led them forth by the right
way. And so we have this very precious
statement here. It's a well-known, these two
verses, and I hope most of you know these two verses. They're
very good. And don't forget, the beginning
was, when Moses began his song, he said this, Give ear. That
means listen. Listen. Give ear, O ye heavens,
and I will speak. And hear, O earth, the words
of my mouth. Now, my friends, that's a word
to us today. It's a word to us every day.
That we may listen to what God is speaking. And that we may
not go on our way in an aimless, unconcerned situation. But that
we may have an ear You only have to look at the words in the second
and third chapters in Revelation where John was given those letters
to write to the seven churches on each occasion. As he concluded
those letters, the statement was, He that hath ears to hear,
let him hear. Well, my friends, may the Lord
God have given us ears to hear His Word. If He's given us ears
to hear His Word, We can be encouraged by it. And the Lord doesn't waste
his words. No, he doesn't. The Lord's very
economic with his words. He speaks very clear words, very
simple words. But they're very direct words.
And you can bless God that his word comes into our hearts. It comes where we are. Because
God knows where we are. And God knows what we need. And
God knows what will do us good. And it's exactly the same in
the history of Israel. as we have the confirmation of
it here. For the Lord's portion is his
people. Jacob is a lot of his inheritance.
He found him in a desert land and in a wasteland in wilderness.
He led him about, he instructed him and he kept him. He kept him. Just like Peter
tells us in his epistle. Kept by the power of God. Israel
were kept by the power of God. You and I, my friends today,
are only kept by the power of God. Never think you are strong
enough yourself. Never think you can resist the
devil yourself. Never think you can do that which is right yourself.
Kept by the power of God, said Peter. He knew it painfully. He thought he was strong. He
thought he had ability himself. He had to learn. When the Lord
said, He would deny him three times. No, he wouldn't. He would
die for him. Yes, he would. And the Lord turned
and looked upon him. And what effect that had. It
cut him to the heart, didn't it? He went out and wept bitterly. Nonetheless, the Word of God
is true. Kept. Kept for the power of God. And it is a blessing if you and
I can look back in our lives, perhaps to an occasion, perhaps
to many occasions, when by the Spirit of God we were kept. Kept from doing evil things. Perhaps kept sometimes from thinking
wrong things. But the keeping power belongs
to God. So here we have it in these words. May you and I know it, experience
it and praise God when we are indeed kept. Remember as Moses
came down towards the end of this chapter, the Lord tells
him solemnly why he wasn't to go over Jordan. It's because
Moses, that man of God, that gracious, humble man, had trespassed
against the Lord. Oh my friends, we need to tremble,
don't we, with such a statement as that, to realise that no man
can keep alive his own soul, no man can keep himself from
evil, We need to pray that prayer that the Lord gave, lead us not
into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the
power and the glory for ever. So tonight, may such a word as
this enter into our heart and be a blessing to us as we journey
on through life. For the Lord's portion is his
people. Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.
He found him in a desert land and in a wasteland wilderness.
He led him about, He instructed him, he kept him as the apple
of his eye. Amen.