and worship his great and holy
name by turning to number four. June is 930. Hymn number four. Keep silence all created things
and wait your maker's nod. My soul stands trembling while
she sings the honors of her God. Life, death and hell and worlds
unknown hang on his firm decree, he sits on no precarious throne,
nor borrows leave to be. ? And raise you in exultation ?
? My soul serves the King ? ? God, she sings in your praise ? ? The fruit of life ? ? And all
is perfectly free ? ? It is eternal, pre-eternal ? ? The Lord has changed to be ?
? Change, change, come now ? ? Holy Christ, the Lord is come ? Every element, form, and sight,
from life eternal, ? The witness of Joseph's birth
? ? And makes his blood so strong ? ? We do believe that Joseph's birth ? Oh say does that star-spangled
banner yet wave ? New strength to overcome ? ?
Father of all ? ? May Jesus come to thee ? ? Lord, take your lustre, creature
kind ? ? Love from the rich and plain ? ? Glorious and holy ? ? Angel of
mine ? ? Rich in the cross ? ? My God, I could not come to see
? ? Thy faith in purest light ? ? But to Thee I come ? ? And righteousness every right ? ? In thy heaven
of right and grace ? ? Alleluia ? ? By thy name ? ? We who fail in
song ? ? Of old age ? ? Pray in thy glory ? From the sacred and holy word
of God we shall turn to read psalm number 50, the 50th psalm,
a psalm of Asaph. The mighty God, even the Lord
hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto
the going down thereof. Out of Zion, the perfection of
beauty, God hath shined. Our God shall come, and it shall
not keep silence. The fire shall devour before
him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him. He shall call
to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge
his people. Gather my saints together unto
me, those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice. And the heavens shall declare
his righteousness, for God is judge himself, Selah. Hear, O my people, and I will
speak, O Israel, and I will testify against thee. I am God, even
thy God. I will not reprove thee for thy
sacrifice or thy burnt offerings to have been continually before
me. I will take no bullock out of thy house, nor he goats out
of thy folds. For every beast of the forest
is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills? I know all
the fowls of the mountains, and the wild beasts of the field
are mine. If I were hungry, I would not
tell thee, for the world is mine, and the faunas thereof. Will
I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats? Offer
unto God thanksgiving, and pay thy vows unto the Most High,
and call upon Me in that I have trouble. I will deliver thee,
and thou shalt glorify Me. But unto the wicked, he saith,
what hast thou to do, to declare My statutes? Or that thou shouldest
take My covenant in thy mouth, seeing thou hatest instruction,
and castest My words behind thee, when thou saw'st a thief, and
thou consent'st with him that has been partaken with adulterers.
For thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frameth
deceit. Thou sittest and speak'st against
thy brother, thou slander'st thy own mother's son. These things
hast thou done, and I kept silence. Thou thought'st that I was altogether
such an one as thyself, I will reprove thee, and set them in
order before thine eyes. Now consider this, ye that forget
God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.
Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me, and him that ordereth conversation
aright, will I show thee salvation of God. May God bless his holy
and sacred word to us. May he teach us to pray. Almighty and most gracious God,
the one who has spoken, that that we have just been reading
in thy holy word, spoken in thy creative works, spoken in thy
holy word by the fathers and the prophets, in these last days,
has spoken unto us by his Son, who made air of all things, by
whom also he made the worlds, who when he had by himself purged
our sins, sat down in the right hand of the majesty on high,
henceforth expecting, till his enemies be made his footstool. This is the great and eternal
God to whom we come now. Thou art that eternal Father,
eternally begotten Son, and the eternally proceeding Spirit,
thrice holy and not unable to be discerned by the natural man
or the carnal mind. And yet nor there are a people
to whom thou dost show thyself. The people of whom thy word speaks,
they shall all be taught of the Lord. And this house of prayer,
greatly honoured, was built by our forefathers for that very
that sinners might be taught of the Lord through the ministry
of the servants of God whom thou hast sent into this pulpit over
the long years of its history. And even now, Lord, with their
beloved pastor and others who occupy this pulpit, thou art
still teaching sinners, calling them out of nature's darkness
into thy marvellous light, showing them their need of a Saviour,
and revealing that Saviour to them. Lord, this has been wrought
many, many, many times within these walls, and we pray that
it may continue to be so, that our dear friend and brother in
the ministry there, beloved pastor and deacons and members of church
and congregation, mark thy goodness today, May they be pleading that
precious word, according to that word I covenanted with you when
you came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you, fear
ye not. And Lord, that is a personal
word to thy dear people, brought out of the Egypt of this world,
brought out of nature's darkness, brought through the Red Sea,
as it were the precious blood of Christ, my spirit remaineth
among you. May we know that this anniversary
day, both the preacher and the hearers, that thy dear spirit
is still working and know that that precious truth that David
learned when he was commanded to wait before he went to attack
or resist the Philistines, when thou hearest a sound of a going
in the tops of the mulberry trees, then thou shalt go forth, knowing
the Lord is gone before thee. Or may we hear a sound of a going
this day, a moving Lord by the dear Spirit in the hearts of
the hearers and the preacher alike, and then we will know
that thou dost remain among us, and that to bless. The law of
this house of prayer was built that sinners might hear the gospel. And we are gathered here this
afternoon hour, and this is the one thing, among other things
we have in common, all have sinned, from the youngest here to the
oldest, all have sinned. and come short of the glory of
God. And Lord, however much we strive,
we cannot only come short of that glory. Our fallen nature
and the hindrances of the world and the flesh of the devil all
resist us in coming anywhere near the honour and glory of
thy holy law that is just. that our blessed be thy holy
name, there is one. He is the holy and just one,
thy dear son in our nature, God incarnate, who willingly, voluntarily
came under the law to satisfy it, to give the honor due to
it, the glory due to it, and so provide for helpless, coming
short sinners a robe of righteousness to cover them, and precious blood
to cleanse. And all those here this afternoon
who solemnly feel they have come short, that their conscience
testifies against them. For may they look to that One
who has fulfilled, yea, magnified the law, made it honourable for
sinners. And may we look to that cross
at Golgotha where the dear Redeemer hung, between two thieves, making
atonement for the sins of His church, for coming sinners. And may we look now to the precious
blood of Christ, as the firstborn in the night of the Passover
would be looking at that blood, which had it not been sprinkled
on the doorpost, would have meant His demise. Under the blood we
are saved. We will look into the blood of
our Lord Jesus Christ this afternoon hour. O Lord Jesus, do bear thy
witness to its living power, for it is as vitally strong this
day as it was when the dying thief rejoiced to see it. So Lord, do bless us this afternoon,
do grant quickening grace, in dead hearts and do enliven living
hearts. Do bring sinners to the footstool
of mercy. Do apply the Word with divine
power. Do make it spirit and life to
this congregation and empty senders, not away. Be thy dear servant,
the beloved pastor here. Lord, we thank thee for him.
in that fellowship in the Gospel over many years. Do uphold him,
he has many infirmities, but Lord, thy grace has sustained
him thus far, and we pray he may be encouraged today to hold
on his way, believing he is where the Lord has put him, and that
being so, the Lord will provide. Do bless the deacons the Church
and the members of Congregation also. And may there be a united,
living, loving people, desiring to know nothing among men, save
Jesus Christ and Him crucified. The hills of Zion represented
here this afternoon, and my dear servant who has turned in with
us, we affectionately bear Him before thee, and little cause
over which thou hast placed Him. that he and all the hills of
Zion represented here this afternoon may know the same blessings we
desire for our dear friends here. And we look back with thanksgiving,
Lord, over many, many years of fellowship with them. We think
of one Lord who has passed from time into eternity since we last
stood here, our dear friend, Ina. We thank thee, Lord, for
that remembrance of her grace and of our fellowship and love
in the things of God. And Lord, as fast as sheep to
Jesus go, may lambs recruit the fold below. And any Lord who
come with a special burden this afternoon, seek in some divine
direction how to handle it, how to manage it, or may there be
something read, or said, or sung, that will meet their case by
thy divine application, that they may go from thy courts rejoicing
in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing instant in prayer.
We think of those who live around this house of prayer. They see
thy people coming and going. Lord, does it ever cross their
mind What do these feeble Jews? Is it nothing to ye, thee or
ye that pass by? What a question! Lord, it would
have been nothing to us but for grace. And Lord, all the day
may come when graceless hearts that live near this house of
prayer may be so wrought upon by thy Spirit that they cannot
pass by any longer, but are driven in by need drawn in by desire
to hear what God the Lord will say to them within these walls. We pray for the dear young people,
the children, the young friends. We thank thee for the goodly
number worship here. And this is thy kindness, solemn
responsibility to bring them up in the nurture, admonition
and fear of the Lord. In this terrible day, falling
away, an apostasy, how much more is prayer needed that they may
be kept? Put thy fear in their hearts,
Lord, and then they will not depart from thee. Bless those
who are growing up, grown up into life, hear prayer for those
things that one and another feel to be in need of this afternoon
hour. May they beseech and besiege
even the throne of grace. It will be like Jacob when he
said, when wrestling with the angel of the covenant, I will
not let thee go, except thou bless me. Lord, what a personal
word that word me is. So often thy people are like
the man at the pool of Bethesda. Others go down first and are
healed. And still they look on in their
helpless, feelingly hopeless state. Oh Lord, do thou walk
near them like thou didst that man? Wilt thou be made whole? I have no man. Ah, but their
man Christ Jesus stood by him. What a difference that made.
We pray, O Lord, for our beloved land in this momentous day, when
thou hast brought one low who ruled over us and raised up another. We cannot but tremble at these
great changes. Sadly, we have no confidence
in those who desire to rule and those who do rule. We must look
beyond them to the unshakable, unchangeable throne of God. We do pray nonetheless, as we
are exhorted to do, for the new Prime Minister No, Lord, we understand
he does not believe in God. Yet thou hast used such men,
unbeknown to them, to further thy cause many times. And we
pray thou put a restraining hand on those around him who would
further seek to desecrate thy law and thy word and thy day,
and those foundation truths that once made Great Britain great. O Lord, we who tremble, we wonder,
what the future holds, but thou dost not wonder, thou knowest. And we, as part of that little
remnant that sigh and cry for the abominations done in the
land, we pray, Lord, remember thy people, thy chosen, thy little
flock, Lord, who desire thy care and thy keeping. Now we thank
thee, Lord, for thy many, many mercies. The beautiful rain thou
send, just as needful as the sunshine, O how faithful and
how kind thou art to thy land! And now, Lord, we hear of showers
of blessing, thou art scattering full and free, showers thee thirsty
land refreshing. Let some drops now fall on me. Hear our poor cry, Lord, help
one to speak and others to hear. May there be prayer in the pew,
that there may be power in the pulpit. We look to thee, Lord
Jesus, alone. For thy dear name's sake. Amen. The collections today are for
the dear pastor here. May you be blessed in your giving.
acknowledgement of what has been made to you through God's goodness. Shall we further sing hymn 377
to the tune of Abbeydale 274. My soul, take courage from the
Lord, believe and plead his holy word. To him alone do thou complain,
nor shalt thou seek his face. In vain, upon him call in humble
prayer, Thou still art his peculiar care, He'll surely turn and smile
again, Nor shalt thou seek his face. In vain. 377, 274. He shall take coverage from the
Lord. He hath made this world divine, ? To thee alone we'll go, O God,
to thee alone ? O come, let us adore Him, O come,
let us adore Him, ? Thou shalt not see me perish
there ? ? I'll never see thee again ? ? Hail, white and brave ? ? That
watches on ? ? Strength of the American ? ? Of Australia ? ? I have not yet ascended ? ? Where pitchforks by starlight
gleam ? ? How clear the night ? ? Shall be so strange to me ? Thou shalt not see His face again.
? May he give us the freedom ?
? May God guide us, may God protect us ? ? Thou shalt not see me ? ? Which
Thou hast made me ? ? Thou shalt not make me ? ? And thousands more ? ? As he
is seven ? ? Still break the crown ? ? With glory still ? ? Thou shalt not speak the silence
of death ? ? In heaven and earth and in heaven and on high ? ? Spread the truth, the grace of
God ? ? Rejoice, rejoice, all ye citizens of heaven above ? Seeking the Lord's help and your
very grateful attention. I'll direct your thoughts this
afternoon to the epistle of Paul to the Philippians in chapter
4. We shall read verses 6 and 7. Be careful for nothing, but in
everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. your requests
be made known unto God. And the peace of God which passeth
all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through
Christ Jesus. Philippians 4, verses 6 and 7. We have before us this afternoon
a precept followed by a promise. And God who is the author of
the precept is also the author of the promise. And God who will
give to his people the grace of the precept will assuredly
give them also the grace of the promise. So when we come to an
exhortation like this, and yes, we often have to feel our prayerless
state and our far-off condition, we may ask the God of the precept
to give us the grace to go with it. And indeed, my dear friend,
there's not a precept in Holy Scripture. What you need, and
I need, the God of the precept to give grace to go with it.
In no other way can we walk out the precepts and commands and
ordinances of Almighty God unless He give the grace. That will not make either you
or I a fatalist if we understand that truth at right. It will
make us diligent in seeking God's help. The Spirit helpeth our
infirmities, Paul writes elsewhere, we know not what we should pray
for as we ought. What a mercy there is one who
is so concerned for a poor, infirm sinner this afternoon in Lamberhurst
Chapel, feeling so infirm in all the precepts, but perhaps
especially in this one, in prayer. You may ask the Spirit who helpeth
our infirmities to come and breathe into your heart the very prayer
that you long to feel. Now, the apostle here is writing
to the church at Philippi, a church very dear to him. Of all the
churches that we read of in the New Testament, we have the most
detailed account of the establishment of a church in the case of Philippi. The Lord's servant Paul, who
was being mightily used by God had a very mysterious path before
he came to Philippi. There were two places he longed
to go to. Two places he thought if only
he could get there, he would be under God's hand, be a great
tool in the kingdom of Christ. The one was Bithynia, the other
was Asia. Of the one we read, the spirit
for Baden, and the other we read, the spirit suffered him not. Two shut doors. It is no use
your eye kicking against a door that God has shut. You won't
open it. So you say, what do you do when
God shuts doors rather than opens them? You wait. And you wait. And you wait until
He opens the door He has for you. And Paul had to wait. We don't know how long he had
to wait, whether it was a few days or weeks, even months perhaps. But eventually the Lord opened
the door and he saw that man on the shore saying, come over
into Macedonia and help us. I says, Paul, no, there's a door
opened for me. Mind you, God didn't tell him
all that lay through that door. He didn't tell him yet about
the stripes and the dungeon and the midnight hour. God is very
gracious in that respect. He does not load us before we
need the load on our back. But Paul went. And friends, you
may be surprised perhaps what's come to you through the door
that you went through at God's bidding. You might even have
said, if I'd known what was through that door, I'd have been far
more hesitant to have gone. And yet, my dear friend, you
would have gone, because the love of Christ constraineth us.
And where the love of Christ is in the heart, whatever it
may cost through that door, then you will learn that blessed truth.
Thy shoe shall be iron and brass, and as thy days, so shall thy
strength be. So Paul goes to Macedonia, Holy
Ghost guiding his steps and we find him not in a synagogue,
no we find him in the open air preaching to a few women who
had gathered for prayer by the riverside and they were seeking
and they were asking, they were knocking but they felt they had
not got what they, at least one of them at least, had not got
what she really felt she needed within and That was Lydia, wasn't it? Whose
heart the Lord opened. And so the church began to be
established. Later on the Philippian jailers
added, and the church begins to grow. And they were a favoured
church. They were a united church. They
were an active church, not just in faith, but in practical works
of faith. The two go together. they were
very careful to seek to do good where they could. Not relying
on their works, no. Knowing what the Lord Jesus Christ
had done for them, the question was, what shall I do to show
my love and appreciation for what he's done for me? Were the
whole realm of nature mine that were a present far too small?
so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all. Would to God we felt that truth
more. Well, so he exhorts them here. He writes in love, probably from
a prison cell, and he writes with this exhortation and this
promise. The Holy Ghost guiding his pen,
his tongue, So it's a message not just from Paul. It's a message
from the God of all grace. And it's a message not just from
Paul this afternoon, nor from me, the unworthy servant of God
in the pulpit this afternoon. It's a message from the God of
all grace. To one or more of you here this afternoon who are
in urgent, pressing need of prayer. You're in a corner. You're in
a great strait. You don't know which way to turn,
which way to go. And you've come into this little
chapel begging the Lord to tell you, show you. And what is he
saying? Put it before me in the matter
of prayer. As we read in Psalm 50, call
upon me in the day of trouble. I will deliver thee and thou
shalt glorify me. Now, our text then, first of
all with this exhortation, what does it not say? And sometimes
the truth of God stands out even more clearly when we know what
it doesn't say. Even our Lord Jesus Christ in
John 14 says concerning the heavenly managers, if it were not so,
I would have told you. But he had told them. And there
is a heavenly mansion he's bringing his dear people to, and may we
be found there as we sung in our opening hymn. But what does
our text not say then? It does not say, and listen,
young and old, it does not say, be careless. Your soul is too
precious. The day of judgment is too near.
Eternity too long for you to be careless. about your never-dying
soul. Or you say, but our past has
often told us that we cannot do these things ourselves. But
your past has also told you there's one who can do it within your
heart. Or how we need, dear friends,
to be stirred up then. With the urgency of our text,
we must not be careless. Nowhere, not one page of scripture
says to sinner or saint, be careless. It's an offence to your creator,
to whom you are accountable, answerable. Remember that. So it doesn't say be careless. It says be careful for nothing. What it means is this dear friends,
whatever care may come into your life, small or great, you are
encouraged, you're not forbidden to lay it before the Lord. And
indeed, that care that's come, and you know what the word care
means in that respect, it's a burden, it's a need, whatever care has
come, the Lord is saying whatever that care may be, whether it
be body or soul, time or eternity, family, business, church, relationships,
whatever it may be, he said, bring it unto me. Be careful
for nothing. Friend, there's nothing in your
life this afternoon now that you're forbidden to bring to
God for help with. Indeed, in our text this afternoon,
you're encouraged. Be careful for nothing, even
what we might call the little things in life. And those of
us who are getting older, some things we never thought about
when we were younger, asking help for. We now find we have
to ask help for. Natural strength begins to decay.
Our minds aren't as sharp as they once were and our memories
begin to be uncertain. And so more and more
that little prayer becomes ours. Lord help me. even in what you
might call mundane things. You dear children, you may pray
concerning your studies, your friends, and maybe there's one
young one here this afternoon with a strange, unusual burden
in their life they perhaps have not told anybody. I hope it's
your sins, I hope it's your never dying soul, and you'd hardly
dare pray about it. And our text tells you that's
the very thing you need to do. To come and tell Him. Come and
lay before this great God. Be careful for nothing, everything. That's the other end of the matter,
isn't it? Not just small things, but great things. Now in that
psalm that we read, God had a controversy with His people. Because they
were not bringing before Him in prayer, humble prayer. all their matters. They rely
on a dead form of religion, just a routine, without fellowship,
without communion in it. Oh how poor that religion is. May God deliver us from it. He
says in another psalm, I am the Lord thy God that brought thee
out of the land of Egypt. Open thy mouth wide and I will
fill it. Friend, it honours God When you
ask Him for great things, there's nothing too great for you to
ask Him. I've often thought of the dying
thief. I think it's probably the most
stupendous venture on the page of scripture of a poor sinner.
There was a man on the borders of the pit, literally, within
an hour or so he could have been plunged to the bottomless abyss
like the other thief did go. never to be delivered from it.
But in that latest hour his eye was opened to see the beauty
of the one on the centre cross and his unholiness in comparison. But oh, there's a glimmer of
hope. This one has a kingdom. He's
a king. He has subjects. Who can tell? Unworthy as I am, wretched though
I am, guilty though I am, I'll ask. I can but ask. If he says
no, well, so be it. Would he say no? If I ask him
to receive me, will he say me nay? Not though earth and not
though heaven pass away. O poor guilty sinner, bring your
guilt and your need and your wretched state like the dying
thief did. Who can tell but what this precious
Jesus will turn and smile on you, the coming sinner? In fact, he said he will. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will in no wise
cast out. So we may ask great things, and
you may ask great things in Providence as well. not to be wrongly covetous. Don't mistake me. There are many
things we think we need that we don't. It's my God shall supply
all your need. And who's the best judge of your
need this afternoon? You say, well, I think I know
what I need. Friends, your judgment is fallible and so is mine. Your
father knoweth what things you have need of before you ask him. He knows what you have need of.
He is the best judge. Yes, blessed be His holy name. And whatever He sees you truly
need for your soul's eternal good and your providential continuance,
He will not withhold from you. Like as a father pitieth his
children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him. For He knoweth
our frame. He remembereth that we are but
dust. Oh, be careful then for nothing,
but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving,
let your requests be made known unto God. You may say there are
two things puzzle me in this text, in the precepts. One, doesn't God already know?
You just said He does. Why do we need to pray then?
Because He wills it. And that should be enough, dear
friend. I will for these things be inquired of by the house of
Israel to do them for them. Are you an inquiring one this
afternoon? Has God made you an inquiring
one? It was that that convinced Ananias
that the sword of Tarsus was a child of God. When he was commanded
to go and find him and put his hands on him and he might receive
his sight, Ananias was very hesitant. This man had come to Damascus,
he told the Lord, with a long list of people to arrest and
take back to Jerusalem and probably to kill. And I'm on that list.
Lord, don't you know, Ananias, I know all about it. But go thy
way, Ananias. He's a chosen vessel unto me. And here's the proof. Behold,
he prayeth. There's the proof. Is that proof
in your life? In mine? When did you last breathe
out a living prayer to the God of our text? You say, well, I
did bow my head when I came into this house of prayer. I hope
you did. You should do. Remember whose house it is and
why you've come. But just leave that to your side
for one moment. But in your daily concerns, perhaps
even this morning in some matter, it was, Lord, help me. Lord,
smile upon me. Lord, come where I am. That prayer has been heard. And
he who taught you to pray will assuredly answer it. He will be inquired of. That's
the first thing. The second thing that may puzzle
you is this word thanksgiving. Not that we deny that thanksgiving
is good. It is a good thing to give thanks
unto the Lord. But it seems somehow in the wrong
order, doesn't it, to our poor finite minds. Surely the time
for thanksgiving is when the prayer is heard and answered.
Well, it certainly is. It certainly is. And sadly, many
of God's mercies lie forgotten in unthankfulness and without
praise in his dying. That's God dishonouring. Oh,
friends, may God deliver us from that unthankful spirit. It's
the age we're living in, isn't it? Paul, the writer to one of
the churches, said that the Markov would never be unthankful. Unthankful. There was a godly man in Bedfordshire
by the name of Mr. Woodcraft. He was a minister
of the Gospel. A very dear minister to some
of us as well. He was a farmer. And he lived
next door to another farmer who did not believe in God at all.
Mr. Wilcroft was not ashamed of his
light, and he got talking to this man once, and he said, do
you ever say, Grace, give thanks at your meal? Who knows, the
man said, I take it for granted. Well, Mr. Wilcroft said, my friend,
he says, what my pigs do, they take it for granted. Friends,
if you take for granted God's mercies, don't be surprised if
he takes them from you. That's a word of exhortation.
Don't take your health for granted, your strength for granted, your
opportunity to come to the house of God for granted. It's a privilege. The day may come when you are
not able to come because of ill health and other things. How
sad then to look back on missed opportunities when you neglected. Friends, don't take the house
of God for granted or the ministry of your dear pastor for granted.
No. Because dear friends, if we take
them for granted, the Lord can take them from us. How careful
we should be with an unthankful spirit. May the Lord deliver
us from it. Thanksgiving then is not out
of order in our text. For three reasons. One is, thank
God there's a God to go to. Oh, what a mercy. The door of
mercy is not shut. What at mercy has one waiting
to be gracious? Does one who has bid us pray,
be thankful for it? Were that, did thou not hear
and answer prayer, that were a grief I could not bear? But
at prayer hearing, answering, God supports me under every load. And I have a dear man of God,
now in glory, and his wife, many years ago now, their lad of four
years old, were suddenly taken with a brain haemorrhage. and
rushed into hospital in the Midlands. And the father, he said to the
Lord out loud, Lord, I could not bear it if my lad were taken
from me. And the Lord spoke in the words
of one of our hymns, that were a grief I could not bear. Didst
thou not hear an answer prayer? But a prayer hearing, answering
God supports me under every load. So I knew the Lord would take
my lad, and I knew he'd hear my prayers for grace to go with
it. And he did. Our dear friend,
the Lord knows how to deal with his dear people. And bless his
dear holy name. A prayer hearing, prayer answering
God supports us under every load. Be thankful for it. Bless his
name for it. You're yet on praying ground.
No prayer in hell. The rich man had many needs there,
even his tongue to be moistened, and even that couldn't happen.
Or even to tell his brethren, yet in the flesh, let them warn
about this place, and that wouldn't happen either, in the way he
thought. Friends, prayer is for this time state. Even in heaven
there's no prayer because there's no need for it. It's all praise
there. But if there's no prayer, what
you hear below, dear friends, there'll be no praise hereafter.
This is the second thing we should give thanks for, that God has
given a plea, a name, a name to be pleaded by the most vilest
of wretches, the most emptiest of sinners, the most backward
of prayers, the most far off who feel their need, and that
name is Jesus. The name the Father loves to
hear His children plead. All such pleading He approves
and blesses them indeed. Oh dear friends, we have an advocate
with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. We have one in
court for us. Yes, be thankful for it. In other words, when you bring
your need, there's one waiting to take it and present it with
his own merits. before His Heavenly Father, His
Name and His Love and His Blood and His Righteousness. What else should we be thankful
for? His love in time past forbids me to think. He'll leave me at
last in trouble to sing. Each sweet Ebenezer I have in
review confirms His good pleasure to help me quite through. Oh,
child of God, have you nothing to thank him for? Has he been
a dry breast to you? Has he never answered your prayers?
Has he never opened the doors? Oh, poor child of God, how low
you've gone. Have you forgotten all he's done
for you? You say, well, I've got a great
need now. I know. And the Lord knows. But friend,
don't dishonor your God by refusing to acknowledge. his love in time
past. Some of us wouldn't be here this
afternoon but for his love in time past. But we are here because
of that. Bless his holy name. Be careful
for nothing then but everything by prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving. Let your requests be made known
unto God. You say, what's the difference
in prayer and supplication? If you go, for example, to the
River Thames and you go to its source up in the Cotswolds and
the Chilterns, you can see the water tumbling down with great
force in those streams that feed that noble river. You go to London
though, by the time there is much, so it's the same river,
the same water, but it's flowing on much more gently. And prayer
is that gentle stream and supplicates that water tumbling down the
rocks, urgency. And while we would not and must
not lay down a line for God to work in, very, very often, before
your prayer is answered, God will turn it from prayer into
supplication. Like Jacob, I will not let thee
go, except thou bless me. And dear friend, I can say that
your encouragement If God has turned your prayer into supplication
in some particular matter, and you felt the liberty in so doing,
then the Lord is already on his way to answer. Already God is
moving in the matter. He who gives prayer, he who gives
supplication, he will answer. Every Holy Ghost wrought prayer
will have a Holy Ghost wrought answer. Bless God for it. You say, but I haven't got an
answer yet to the prayer I've been praying. Then why is that? Well, there may be two reasons.
One, of course, it must not be the Lord's time yet. And His
time is perfect. And the second thing is you may
not be ready for the answer yet. You say, I'm ready. Are you sure?
Are you empty enough? Are you weak enough? Are you
poor enough? Are you destitute enough? Are
you emptied enough? Then you're ready. That's why
Hannah had to wait. You see, I spent many times,
well I'm ready for the answer Lord, but year after year it
wasn't granted. Until friends, when she was bereft
of support from the other wife, her own husband, even Eli the
priest misunderstood her. She shut up to God and God alone. And she pours out her heart in
supplication before the Lord. The Lord's time had come. And
we read wonderful words, you know. Well, at last Eli and I
admired the dear man for knowing his mistake. Some men would have
covered it up. He didn't. He knew he'd made
a mistake in misjudging that dear woman. He said, go in peace. The Lord granted thy petition.
I was asked of him. Hannah walked out, text She poured
out her heart before the Lord. She told him all her case. She
made a vow as well that she would give the gift that she was asking
for back to the Lord and worship the giver more than the gift. And she went away no more sad. Hannah, where have your tears
gone? Why are you not weeping? What happened? Why are you smiling?
Nothing's changed. Oh, yes, it has, says Hannah.
I'm carrying in my heart a promise from my covenant God. I'm assured
of having my Samuel in my arms as if I already got him now.
Faith, the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things
not seen, that's real religion, friends, and there's not much
of it. And I'm not throwing stones.
Would to God we knew more of it. How many of you, dear friends
who worship here, Sabbath by Sabbath and week by week, have
come into this house of God, cast down, and gone out and lifted
up? When did it last happen? When
your tears wiped away under the sound of the gospel, when did
it last happen? Or that it might happen more,
and more. It's that old word, oh, Mr. Hammond
of Staplehurst used to say, what we want is application. Application. God's servants are
not sent to entertain you, friends. Not for you to mark the text
out of ten. Oh, was it a bit better this
morning than the last time we heard him? Friend, that's dishonouring. It's application we want. Food! Yes. I've strayed from my text. Let's come back to it. Let us
now look at the promise that will follow where God's given
the grace of the precepts and the peace of God. which passeth
all understanding, should keep your hearts and minds through
Christ Jesus." Now, friends, it's our minds that are so busy,
at least mine is. Oh, the distracting thoughts,
the fears, the doubts, the temptations. Oh, can anyone put things in
order? Is that where you are this afternoon? Did you become
distracted in the little Lambrus chapel this afternoon? So many
things to pray about, yet you can't pray. Things to put right,
you can't put them right. The devil is roaring, where is
your God? You don't know which way to turn.
Your poor mind is distracted. Why is your poor mind distracted?
Because dear friends, in your heart, you're lacking the very
thing, at the moment, in the experience of it, that will bring
peace. What is it? What will bring peace
into a distracted heart and mind like yours? Why, the Prince of
Peace, that one who stood up on Galilee's lake that was rocking
violently under the storm. Peace, be still. There was a great calm. A friend,
he dealt with two storms that night. You say two? Yes, the
literal storm, that was around him, he can deal with that, friend.
You've got a storm, in stormy waters this afternoon, Lord,
I don't know which way it's going to be. He can manage. And dear friend, she said, where's
the other storm? It was in the hearts of his disciples. And
friend, in one sense, that storm was more fierce than the one
outside. That's where you are this afternoon.
You know, deep, deep down, the Lord can deal with your difficulty,
but oh, the storm of unbelief in your heart. Why are you so
fearful? Where is your faith? Why art
thou cast down, O my soul? Why art thou disquieted within
me? Hope thou in God, for I shall yet praise him who is the health
of my countenance and my God. Well, here we have them, hearts
and minds taken control of by this great God, through Christ
Jesus. Friends, it's through Christ
Jesus, God is at peace with his people. It's through the merits
of Christ, the name of Christ, the blood of Christ, the righteousness
of Christ, the advocacy of Christ, the high priesthood of Christ,
you name it. It's through Christ Jesus. And
those words, Christ Jesus, are very precious. Jesus, the name
in his holy humanity. Christ, the anointed one, without
measure by the spirit. In that glorious person of Emmanuel,
two natures meeting together in sweet harmony. The peace of
God. You think, dear friends, that
three times we have peace from God, peace with God, and the
peace of God. The three, slight or very great
differences, but they're all one really. Peace from God tells
us it's source. Reconciliation. Peace with God. There is the soul at one in heart
and mind with God in this matter that you've got to lay before
Him. The peace of God seems to be something very precious. Between
the three persons of the glorious Trinity there is a peace undescribable
that you and I cannot begin to fathom. But the wonderful thing
of it is in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, where, as
I said just now, divinity and humanity meet together, that
peace of God dwells. And just as our Lord prayed in
His High Priestly prayer, that love with those who love me may
be in them and I in them, so the peace of God that is in me
may be in them and I in them. Oh, that's why it's past understanding.
If ever you felt that peace in your heart, dear friend, you'd
be a miracle to yourself. Where are those fears gone? Where
are those sins gone? Where's that temptation gone?
Where's that darkness gone? Peace. Peace made by the blood
of the cross. Friends, it's precious peace.
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on
thee, because he trusteth in thee. And don't forget that word
that is complementary to it in John. Perfect love casteth out
fear. And that's why you're so fearful
dear friend, you're not made perfect in love. If you're made
perfect in love, the fears would go. We're not always there, only
occasionally I know in our experience. But it is true. When perfect
love dwells, perfect peace comes. You can rest. The Lord knows,
underneath the everlasting arms, He's undertaking for you, you're
like a child carried by Him. The peace of God, which passeth
and understandeth you keep your hearts and minds through Christ
Jesus. Now friends, go back to Hannah
for a moment. Why was she at peace? There were
three reasons. One, because she had now received
a promise. And friend, God never gives a
promise without failing to honour it. Sooner or later nature will
change and one of God's promises fail. She had in her heart now,
through the lips of Eli, a promise from a promise-giving, promise-fulfilling
God. No wonder she went away in peace. No wonder. And so will you go
away from Little Chapel of Lambeth this afternoon. If you had the
same blessing Hannah did. A word of God shut up in your
heart, locked up there by the blessed spirit. Yes, the word
that I have rested on shall help my heaviest hours. The second
thing was this, she had a wonderful sense that though there were
those who didn't understand her and one we re-persecuted her
it seems, but her God understood. Her God knew. The friend that's seated close
to the brother, the one born from adversity, he knew you.
And that's a comfort. Then, friend, you can leave what
others think or don't think. That matters not. If you're one
with your God in this matter, you can leave it with Him. He
knows the way that you take, and when He has tried you, you'll
come forth as gold. And the third reason why Hannah
went away in peace, she had the answer of a good conscience.
She said, in what way? She'd made a vow. The vow was
that when God gave her this child she longed for so much, she would
give it back to the Lord. And do you know, dear friend,
the Lord waited until she made that vow? Or until she was brought
to make it, shall we say. You know, the Lord could have
delivered Jonah out of the belly of the whale sooner than he came
out, but he didn't. He waited. until Jonah vowed
to do the very thing God told him to do. Then the Lord spake
to the fish. Friends, pay thy vows unto the
Most High, says the Word of God. Go back to Psalm 50. Offer unto
God thanksgiving, and pay thy vows unto the Most High God,
and call upon Me in the day of trouble. I will deliver thee,
and thou shalt glorify Me. Well, dear friends, here is a
prayer hearing, prayer answering God. Or this might be some help
to some poor devil-dragged child of God this afternoon. Someone
imprisoned, either in their soul or circumstances. There is a
God in heaven, read Daniel 2. Why do you say that? Five times
in that chapter, we read these words, there is a God in heaven.
And there is. There's a God in heaven, dear
friends. Why do you fear? Why are you
so disconsolate? Why are you despairing? Was it
not Martin Luther, who at one time got very depressed, so depressed
that he left his home one day, went out of the fields and was
away several hours. And he came back and he found
all the shutters down and black cloth on the table. And he said
to his wife, whatever's happened? Oh, just God is dead. Oh, she
mustn't say that. Why should you be living as if
he's dead? You've gone around these last few days with not
a smile on your face as if there's no God to go to. Might as well
take that black cloth away, open the windows. There is a God in
heaven. And so there is, dear friend,
this afternoon, for our nation, this critical time, for the Church
of Christ, you and your family, you and your business, you and
your relationships, and you and your never-dying soul, there
is a God in heaven. May you be able to say, like
David did, this God is our God forever and ever. He will be
our guide, even unto death. May God His blessing. Amen. Shall we now sing hymn 720 to
Infestus 464. Endless blessings on the Lamb. Broken hearts repeat the same. His dear heart was broken too. when he bore the curse for you,
your dread crimes once pierced his heart, shank his soul in
vengeful snarl, but his sin, atoning blood, now maintains
your peace with God. 720. ? With music sweet to adore ? ?
And empathy deep and surely ? ? Is in our hearts pure and true ? ? Worthy Father has born thee ?
? Lord and Christ of distant stars
? ? And his soul in grateful joy ? ? And his favor to me provide
? ? Now returning to me ? ? Endless praises of thee praise
? ? Praise with rising hymn of praise ? ? We are counted in this town ? ? In this town they have their
place ? ? Children raised ? ? And in his
turn ? ? Joy and pain ? ? They found nature fine too ? O say can you see by the dawn's
early light What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's ? In future and in glory ? ? Blessed is that which comes ?
? When I go out there ? ? Long and strong ? ? Then thy wonders
? ? Will prevail ? ? And thou, O my love, ? ? And as mercy there shall be ?
? Thou my shepherd and my friend ? ? We will trust in thee ? And now, dear Lord, do cover
with thy mantle of thy forgiving love all that thy pure and holy
eyes have seen amiss in our worship. this afternoon hour with us during
the interval and gather us again around thy word in the evening
hour, we pray. May the grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the love of God, the Holy Spirit's favour rest and
abide with us each, both now and evermore. Amen.