Let us commence our service this
evening by singing together hymn number 941. The tune is Angelus,
282. Jesus, my Lord, my life, my all, prostrate before thy
throne I fall. If I would my soul look up and
see, my hope, my heaven, my all in
thee. Hymn 941, Tune Angelus 282. Jesus, my Lord, my life, my all,
Prosperity, forever my all. I will rise up, look up, and say, I do my work by
holy faith. ? Here in this world of shame and
woe ? ? I only doubt it in fear and pride ? ? But when it's here
? With His own cross, without Him
near, to Him be rest. ? In me courage and help I see
? ? How happy a lover can be ? ? Tell him I do ? And bow my head, O give my soul
peace and relief. ? Without thy beaten crescent,
Lord ? ? Thou, Lord of all the worlds ? Lord of all, I do not crown Thy
soul arrayed, As far my darkness weepeth today. I want to hear thy coming voice,
O Spirit. ? And in the dark rejoice ? ? Chinese,
be still ? ? Look up and live ? ? Thy peace and live ? of marrying to him. Then, filled with hope, the Lord
came down. I saw Him where He stood, soar
above. Where'er we're denied, though
joy be gone, Heaven's truth Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God in Psalm 107. Psalm 107. O give thanks unto the Lord, for
he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever. Let the redeemed of
the Lord say so, whom he had redeemed from the hand of the
enemy, and gathered them out of the lands, from the east and
from the west, from the north and from the south. They wandered
in the wilderness in a solitary way. They found no city to dwell
in. Hungry and thirsty, their soul
fainted in them. Then they cried unto the Lord
in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses,
and he led them forth by the right way, that they might go
to a city of habitation. Oh, that men would praise the
Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children
of men. For he satisfies the longing
soul, and filleth the hungry soul with good such as sit in
darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction
and iron, because they rebelled against the words of God and
contemned the counsel of the Most High. Therefore he brought
down their heart with labor. They fell down, and there was
none to help. Then they cried unto the Lord
in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses.
He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and
break their bands in sunder. Oh, that men would praise the
Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children
of men. For he hath broken the gates
of brass, and cut the bars of iron in sunder. Fools, because
of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, are afflicted.
Their soul abhorreth all manner of me, and they draw near unto
the gates of death. Then they cry unto the Lord in
their trouble, and he saveth them out of their distresses.
He sent his word and healed them and delivered them from their
destructions. Oh, that men would praise the
Lord for his goodness and for his wonderful works to the children
of men. let them sacrifice the sacrifices
of thanksgiving and declare his works with rejoicing. They that
go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters,
these see the works of the Lord and his wonders in the deep.
For he commandeth and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth
up the waves thereof, They mount up to the heaven. They go down
again to the depths. Their soul is melted because
of trouble. They reel to and fro and stagger
like a drunken man, and are at their wit's end. Then they cry
unto the Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their
distresses. He maketh the storm a calm. so
that the waves thereof are still. Then are they glad, because they
be quiet. So he bringeth them unto their
desired haven. O that men would praise the Lord
for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children
of men. Let them exalt him also in the
congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of
the elders, He turneth rivers into a wilderness, and the water
springs into dry ground, a fruitful land into barrenness for the
wickedness of them that dwell therein. He turneth the wilderness
into a standing water, and dry ground into water springs. And
there he maketh the hungry to dwell, that they may prepare
a city for habitation. and sow the fields and plant
vineyards, which may yield fruits of increase. He blesseth them
also so that they are multiplied greatly, and suffereth not their
cattle to decrease. Again, they are minished and
brought low through oppression, affliction, and sorrow. He poureth
contempt upon princes, and causeth them to wander in the wilderness,
where there is no way, yet setteth he the poor on high from affliction,
and maketh him families like a flock. The righteous shall
see it and rejoice, and all iniquities shall stop her mouth. Whoso is
wise and will observe these things, even they shall understand the
lovingkindness of the Lord. May the Lord bless the reading
of his own precious word and grant unto us a spirit of real
prayer. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty,
which is an art, an art to come, we desire to bow before thy glorious
majesty. We desire, O Lord, a spirit of
true worship and we desire a spirit of grace and of supplications
with thanksgiving. Gracious God, enable us now to
call upon thy name. We know not what to pray for
as we ought, but may the spirit make intercession for us with
groanings that cannot be uttered. Oh, do grant that as we gather
round thy word this evening hour, that the grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ and the love of God our Father and the sacred fellowship
of the Holy Spirit may rest and abide upon us. Gracious God,
come and speak to our hearts. Come and unstop the deaf ears
and open the blind eyes and cause the tongue of the dumb to be
loosed. We do humbly beseech thee. Let
thy word have free course and thy name be honoured and glorified. Grant that we may truly worship
thee in spirit and in truth. We come as poor guilty sinners,
the fallen sons and daughters of Adam. We're born in sin and
we're shaped in iniquity. We're unrighteous altogether,
and we solemnly have to confess it before thee. We have no righteousness of our
own. O most gracious Lord, our hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest
frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. For we do pray that we
may draw near to him. O thou that hearest prayer, what
a wonderful truth that is, O Lord. We have a great high priest,
sitting at thy right hand, tis he instead of me is seen when
I approach to God. Lord, what a precious sacred
truth that is. May we truly feel it this night,
as we gather together around thy word, and as we meet together
at thy throne of grace, that we pray that we may have that
palpable sense that thou dost hear us. and that thou wilt answer
us in due season. For thou art a prayer hearing
and a prayer answering God. Pour upon us then real prayer,
real true worship. We come to confess our sins.
Lord, we leave undone things that we ought to do. And we do
things that we ought not to do. We find a law within our members
that when I would do good, then evil is present with me. Gracious
God, we do pray, oh, that thou wouldst have mercy upon us, that
thou wouldst show us thy ways, teach us thy paths, lead us in
thy truth, humble us under thy mighty hand. We do humbly beseech
of thee that we may be enabled to truly come as poor penitents
in before thy gracious majesty, that we may truly worship thee
in spirit and in truth. Lord, we do pray that we may
see yon lovely man, that we may behold that scene of matchless
grace, tis Jesus in the sinner's place. Oh, to behold that wonderful
mystery of God manifest in the flesh. that profound mystery
of the incarnation of the Son of God. And that, Lord, we do
pray that thou would lead us into that wonderful mystery of
his holy life, when he was made a woman, made under the law,
that he might redeem them that are under the law. Lord Jesus, thou art our law-fulfiller. For, Lord, we cannot fulfill
it. We've tried many times, Lord, but it can't be done, but thou
hast fulfilled it. And we come to thee and plead
thy precious blood and righteousness, that perfect obedience of thine
to the Holy Lord. O most gracious Lord, we do thank
thee for our Lord Jesus Christ. We do thank thee for that fullness
of grace that is in him. We do thank thee that he is always
full of grace and truth, that there is never any diminishing
of that grace that is in him, that infinite supply, the oil
from the Lord's anointed ones that stand beside the Lord of
the whole earth. May that oil be poured forth
at this evening hour. that our lamps may burn brightly. O most gracious Lord, help us,
while we are here on earth, to live to Thee. While our days
on earth are lengthened, may we give them, Lord, to Thee,
all that it may be so, to be enabled to present our bodies,
a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto Thee, which is
our reasonable Lord, as we gather round thy word, keep us from
all distracting thoughts and cares. We do humbly beseech that. And as we gather round thy word,
may we feel the sacredness of those precious words. His left
hand, it is under my head. His right hand doth embrace me. Gracious God, we do pray that
it may be so. that we may be in thy gracious
embrace, to know thee, whom to know is life eternal, to feel
thee near. And that may the angel of thy
presence sustain us, we do humbly beseech of thee. We pray thy
blessing upon our brethren, the deacons. Give them wisdom and
grace in all their responsibilities. We seek thy blessing upon each
one of our brethren and sisters in Christ Jesus, those that gather,
those that are not able to gather. Lord, we do commend each one
to thee and to the word of thy grace, which is able to build
them up and to grant them an inheritance among them that are
sanctified. Help us to love each other, serve
each other, bear each other's burdens, thereby fulfilling the
law of Christ. Hear us, O Lord, we humbly beseech
thee for thy great namesake. And, O Lord, we do pray that
thou wouldst pour upon us the spirit of real travail. For as
soon as Zion travelled, she brought forth her children. And we long
to see the bringing forth of spiritual children. We long to
see the building of the walls of Jerusalem, We long to see
precious souls gathered from this village in this house of
prayer and from the surrounding villages and hamlets. We long
to see the pulling down of the strongholds of Satan and the
setting up of the kingdom of the Lord Jesus in the hearts
of sinners. Lord, let thy work appear unto
thy servants and thy glory unto their children. Fulfill the ancient
promises that thou hast given to thy church. I will bring thy
sons from far, and thy daughters from the ends of the earth, and
they shall come from the north and from the south, and from
the east and from the west. O Lord, we do pray that thou
would return and may bear thine holy arm in the gospel. O we do pray, most gracious Lord,
for the prodigals that have wandered from the ways of truth and of
righteousness, they may return. What a rejoicing there would
be, for there is joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth.
O grant that these things may be so. O Lord, we do beseech
of Thee that for Thy great name's sake let Thy work appear unto
Thy servants and Thy glory unto their children. Grant the fulfilling
of that precious work Instead of thy father shall be thy children,
whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth. Those that
are truly spiritually exercised, we pray that they may be brought
forth to come and declare to sinners round what a dear Saviour
they have found and point to thy redeeming blood and say,
behold the way to God. We pray for any in any particular
trouble or trial, perplexity or sorrow, sadness or bereavement,
that thou wouldst undertake for them. We pray for dear Ina, in
her great age, that thou wouldst be with her and support her and
sustain her. We pray, most gracious Lord,
that thou in thy precious mercy wouldst remember the little ones
and the children and bless them. Remember them with the favour
that thou bearest unto thy people. Visit them with thy great salvation. Remember the young friends. Help
them, guide them, direct them, teach them. Hear us, Lord, and
make a way where there seems no way, but above all, bring
them. Bring them to Jesus Christ to
lay hold of thee, to follow thee, to serve thee in their day. and in their generation. O Lord
of hosts, O God of Israel, O Thou that dwellest between the cherubims,
shine forth. We do humbly beseech Thee. Bless
all in the midst of the journey of life and graciously grant
that the path that we're led in may be used to bring us closer,
nearer to our Lord Jesus Christ. Lord, we do pray that Thou, in
Thy precious mercy, would fulfil that wonderful work. I will be
with Thee in six troubles, yea, in seven also, and I will never
leave Thee nor forsake Thee. Remember parents as they seek
to bring up their children. May they be enabled to do so
in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Gracious God, we do pray that
thou wouldst make us more spiritually minded and set our affections
on things of art. Help us to love thee, serve thee,
follow thee in our day and in our generation. Remember all
thy servants that labour in word and doctrine upon the walls of
Zion. Set them free. Set them at liberty. Grant her thus saith the Lord,
grant mighty signs and wonders to follow the preaching of the
word. And we pray thee, the great Lord of the harvest, that thou
would send true labourers into the harvest, and to build the
walls of Jerusalem. Gracious God, do hear as we humbly
beseech thee, Zion is minished and brought low, and the boar
out of the wood doth waste, Few come to Zion's solemn feasts.
O Lord, do hear our prayers and our entreaties. Pour forth Thy
blessed Spirit. Gather in, rebuild, renew, revive
Thy people. We do humbly beseech Thee. Wilt
Thou not revive us again? Send now prosperity. O Lord, we do beseech of Thee. We thank Thee. for the house
of prayer. We thank thee for every mercy
of thy kind providence. We thank thee for all thy goodness
that has passed before us in the world. We thank thee that
thy mercies are new every morning and great is thy faithfulness.
We thank thee for that wonderful precious truth of the incarnation
of the Son of God. holy life he lived as a man here
upon earth, the holy law that he has fulfilled and honoured
and magnified. We thank thee for those wonderful
blessings of free grace in Jesus Christ our Lord. We thank thee
for Calvary, where he laid down his life for his friends. We
thank thee for the empty tomb he has swallowed up death in
victory. We thank Thee that He has bodily ascended into heaven
and sitteth at Thy right hand. Gracious God, we do pray that
Thou, in Thy great mercy, would grant that these precious truths
may be a living reality in our hearts. We do humbly beseech
of Thee. Thou hast said, I will leave
in the midst of Thee a poor and an afflicted people, and they
shall trust in the name of the Lord. Lord grant that it may
be so we do humbly beseech thee and that we pray that thou wouldst
now be with us as we turn to thy holy word and come and open
thy word to our heart and to our understanding that we may
be enabled to delve into that deep that couches beneath. Come and touch one's lips with
a live cold from off the heavenly altar, we ask, O Lord, for Jesus
Christ's sake. Amen. Let us sing together hymn number
610. The tune is Mannheim. 679. Precious Jesus, friend of sinners,
we are such as thee draw near. Let thy spirit now dwell in us,
and with love our souls inspire. Fill, O fill us with that love
that casts out fear. Hymn 610. tune Mannheim 679. Jesus, Jesus, where art thou,
dearest? We have sought thee in our years. ? Ever still in the world with
us ? ? Heaven and earth shall hold it strong ? ? With earth, with us ? ? With
earth, with us ? ? With heaven, on earth ? ? Thou shalt reign
? ? Angels sing ? ? God to thee, best of all God,
God in heav'n's heaven ? ? God to thee, God to thee, God to
thee, God to thee ? ? Come and fill our present place ? ? Give
it anew ? ? Give it anew ? ? Jesus, fill my soul again ? ? Of thy precious treasure ? ?
Ever blest in freedom ? ? In weary death ? ? Angels in the sky ? ? All the
glory in the sky ? ? Now in my breath ? ? Now in my breath ? is my journey home to thee. Thou help me now ? The land was there when they
came ? ? With the songs of earthly passion ? ? From the morning
sun of spring ? Greatly Feeling to need the Lord's gracious
help, I would direct your attention to Psalm 42, and we'll read verse
one for our text. Psalm 42, verse one. As the heart panteth after the
water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, Oh God. And then in the second verse
it really continues, my soul thirsteth for God, for the living
God. When shall I come and appear
before God? The psalmist was in trouble. He was in great trial. He had a very checkered pathway,
many ups and downs and ins and outs. And he knew what it was
to be in great need. He says here in verse three,
my tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually
say unto me, where is thy God? And then later on he says, that
my soul is cast down within me. My soul is cast down. And he
speaks of going to the house of God. Verse four, when I remember
these things, I pour out my soul in me, for I have gone with the
multitude. I went with them to the house
of God with the voice of joy and praise and a multitude that
kept holy day. Why art thou cast out? He communes with himself. Why
art thou cast out, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted in
me? Hope thou in God. For I shall yet praise him for
the health of his countenance. That is the voice of faith, coming
from the experience of God's mercy, grace, and love. For I
shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance. You
see, my beloved friends, the Lord, we noticed in the reading
of Psalm 107, that the many ups and downs of the Lord's living
family and how the Lord brings them to this place. As the heart
panteth. The heart, of course, is a deer,
and it runs over the rocks and it runs through the barren country
and then it looking, panting for water until it comes to the
water brooks and then it's able to quench its thirst. Now David,
he says, he's obviously observed this, David was a shepherd. He'd
observed it, he'd seen it. Now he feels it spiritually as
the heart panting. There are different ways that are set before us in
scripture whereby the Lord's people come to him. That there
is a coming to him with desire, with prayer, with thanksgiving,
with hope. There's a coming to God in prayer.
But then there's a what you might say, another step on from that,
supplication. Supplication. And this is what
we have before us here. Supplication. There's a great
need. There's a great need. As the
heart panteth. And the heart is in great need
of water. Panteth after the water So panteth
my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for
the living God. When shall I come and appear
before God? There is this great need, there
is here this supplicating, We see it even in our Lord Jesus
Christ, when he prays that prayer, that beautiful prayer in John
17. But then we see him in the Garden
of Gethsemane, and there we see supplication, pleading, the need,
the need. Father, if it be possible, let
this cup pass from me, but not my will, but thine be done. There
was a great sense of need. Christ walked the path of prayer
and of faith. He did. And that makes him a
great high priest. He understands the needs, the
wants, the concerns, the burdens, the temptations, of the Lord's
living family when they come to him in prayer. You know, there's those lovely
words, we quoted them in prayer. His left hand is under my head,
his right hand doth embrace me. Left hand blessings are providential
blessings. His left hand is under my head.
Support it, sustain it. seeking first the kingdom of
heaven and my righteousness and all these things and what what
are these things they're they're providential things all these
things shall be added unto you oh for that grace that we need
to seek first the kingdom of heaven and my righteousness and
all these things that In other words, the Lord will take care
of all these things. These things that concern you,
these things that burden you. As the heart panteth after the
water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. You know, that's what the apostle
was doing in Philippians. chapter three, wasn't it? And
he says there, that I may know him, who Christ, that I may know
him in the power. He didn't just want to know about
Jesus, he didn't want to just read about Jesus in an intellectual
way, he wanted to know him, spiritually know him, that I may know him
and know that resurrecting power of Christ in my own heart. And
that's what he longed for. He says that I may win Christ
and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which
is of the law, but that righteousness, which is by faith of the Son
of God who loved me, gave himself for me. As the heart panted after
the water broke. Why? Why did he feel such a longing
for that righteousness? which is by faith, the righteousness
of Christ, because he felt and knew that he was unrighteous. And the Lord gives us to feel
that we are unrighteous, that we are sinful, that we are corrupt,
that we are unclean, that we are lawbreakers. The Apostle, he came to that
point, didn't he, in Romans 7? For I know that in me that is
in my flesh there dwelleth no good thing. It's painful, you
know, and this inward teaching of the Holy Ghost, when the Holy Ghost gives you
to feel your sinnership, and that everything that you touch
is stained and dyed with sin, And he says here in verse six,
oh my God, my soul is cast down within me. My soul is cast down
within me. Many things have cast us down.
One hymn writer says, this wicked heart is no small part of all
my grief and shame, this wicked heart. This corrupt nature, that
is the great trial to the living child of God, a sinful nature. The Apostle, he outlines it in
Romans 7, that which I would, I do not. That means the good
that he would do, I do not. That which I would not, I do.
I find a law within my members that when I would do good, then
evil is present with me. There's this constant battle
within. Behold the Shunammite, in whom
there is, as it were, a company of two armies. It's the flesh. He says in Galatians, the flesh
lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh,
and the one is the contrary to the other. I believe, my beloved friends,
in a lesser or greater degree Every single child of God, everyone
born of the Spirit, knows something of this inward conflict in their
hearts. And the indwelling sin is part
of divine teaching. When He, the Spirit of Truth,
is come, He will reprove the world of sin. When He comes to
your heart, He will discover your sin. He will convince the
world of sin, of righteousness, that you're sinful, that God
is righteous. And the day of judgment, that
there is a day of judgment. These things will exercise your
heart. He says here, you will know it
if you know anything of the teaching of the Holy Spirit, convincing
of sin. He says here in verse 3, my tears
have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto
me, where is thy God? You fear that you'll be overcome
of the sin and the iniquity that dwells in your heart. You know,
my beloved friends, we need to be taught these things. We have to be taught our weakness,
our insufficiency, our poverty. One hymn writer says, prone to
wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love. Here's
my heart, Lord. How many of us have come to chapel
like that tonight? Here's my heart, Lord, take and
seal it, seal it from thy courts above. You want the blessing
of the Lord sealed into your heart. He says here, oh my God, my soul
is cast down within me. Therefore, will I remember thee
from the land of Jordan and of the Hermonites and from the hill
Mizer, Hermon, is the highest mountain. It's actually in Lebanon,
right on the borders of northern Israel. It's snow-capped all
the year round. Mazar means a little hill. Hermon
means that great mount of Hermon, Mount Hermon. Now, the water
from the snow is on the top of Mount Hermon. It's snow-capped
all the year round. And as the water melts, it flows
down into the foothills of Mount Hermon and immediately forms
into a river, which is the beginning of the River Jordan. And then
it flows right the way down through quite a short distance into the
Sea of Galilee. And then from the Sea of Galilee,
it flows down to the Dead Sea. And that is the main source of
water in the land of Israel. And these, when he says here
Mount Hermon, then he says of the Hermonites, they spiritually
represent the rich spiritual blessings that are in Christ
Jesus. When the Lord breathes his word into our heart, into
our soul, And you know, it's beautifully put, when the Lord
breathes his word into our heart, into our soul, we read in the
book of Exodus, and it speaks there concerning the
Lord's doctrine dropping as the rain, or as the dew. I can't just turn to it now,
but it speaks there, in Deuteronomy rather, Deuteronomy chapter 32.
And there he says, give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak,
and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. My doctrine shall
drop us around. Now you think of that beautiful,
fresh, clear water flowing from the top of Mount Hermon and forming
into the River Jordan and then flowing right down to Israel.
Israel is a type of all the Lord's living family. And my doctrine
shall drop us the rain. The precious doctrine of truth.
The doctrine of Christ. The doctrine that I am the way,
the truth and the life. My doctrine shall drop us the
rain. Jesus said, come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy
laden. My doctrine shall drop as the
rain, and my speech shall distill as the dew, as the small rain
upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass. Come unto me, my doctrine, Christ
the Saviour, Christ the Redeemer, Christ who welcomes sinners.
Sinners can say, and none but they, how precious is the Saviour.
He becomes precious because of your need of Him. Those words spoken derogatory
by the Pharisees and the Sadducees, so beautifully true of Christ,
this man, this holy God-man, the man Christ Jesus, this man
receiveth sinners. He does. And he it is with them. He receiveth sinners. as the
heart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after
thee, O God. And just as that water from Mount
Hermon continually, 356 days of the year, 65 days of the year,
it flows constantly and continually, constantly replenishing the River
Jordan, and the Sea of Galilee, that main source of water. But what a beautiful illustration
of Christ and an inexhaustible supply of grace, of wisdom, of
help, of love, of mercy, of peace, of pardon to poor, wretched,
ruined sinners. It does. We read in the prophecy
of Isaiah concerning the desert And there's some wonderful things
spoken. These are spoken of gospel blessings,
Isaiah chapter 35. The wilderness and the solitary
place shall be glad for them. This is the Lord's living family.
And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose. It shall
blossom abundantly. and rejoice even with joy in
singing, the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency
of Carmel and Sharon, that they shall see the glory of the Lord
and the excellency of our God. Doesn't John and Peter speak,
have we beheld his glory? That's the glory of Christ, we
beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,
full of grace and truth. That's where grace is, my beloved
friends. Christ is the fountain of all
grace, of all wisdom. My God shall supply all your
need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. You see, my beloved friends,
these things are written. Strengthen ye the weak hands
and confirm the feeble knees. say to them that of a fearful
heart be strong fear not behold your God will come with vengeance
even God with a recompense he will come and save you and when
he does this then the eyes of the blind shall be opened and
the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped then shall the lame
man leapers and heart and the tongue of the dumb sing for in
the wilderness shall waters break out and streams in desert, the
parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs
of water. See, this is Christ, the way,
the truth, and the life. Look at verse 8, and a highway
shall be there. That's Christ, and a highway
shall be there. and away, and it shall be called
the way of holiness. The unclean shall not pass over
it, but it shall be for those. The wayfaring men, though full,
shall not urther it. No lion shall be there, nor any
ravenous beast shall go up thereon. It shall not be found there,
but the redeemed shall walk there, and the ransomed of the Lord
shall return. and come to Zion with songs and
everlasting joy upon their heads, they shall obtain joy and gladness
and sorrow, and Zion shall flee away as the heart panteth. Oh, what a great mercy it would
be if there were those of you here tonight, and that's just
how you've come to chapel tonight, panting, thirsty, longing, The
Lord Jesus says, blessed are they that hunger and thirst after
righteousness. In Psalm 107, which we read together,
it speaks there, the redeemed of the Lord, it says in verse
two. And how the Lord gathered them out of the lands, from the
east and from the west, from the north and from the south.
They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way. They found
no city to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty, their soul
fainted in them. Then they cried unto the Lord
in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses,
and he led them forth. You know, sometimes you may get
so tried as to your pathway and the way the Lord leads and the
things that come into your pathway. It can be the things that come
in and that trouble you and try you and the providential trials. And the devil will say, well,
if the Lord was with you, why would I be like this? And he
led them forth. by the right way, that they might
go to a city of habitation, that's Mount Zion. See, in verse nine, for he satisfies
the longing soul and filleth the hungry soul with goodness. He satisfies the longing soul.
Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness,
for they shall be filled And he speaks of those in darkness
here. Verse 10, such as sit in darkness
and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron.
You see, in darkness, in the shadow of death, bound in affliction
and iron. Isn't that where the Lord brings,
he says here, In verse 12, therefore, he brought down their heart with
labor, they fell down, and there was none to help. Then they cried
unto the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them out of their
distresses. He brought them out of darkness
and the shadow of death, and break their bands asunder. Darkness
and the shadow of death, We've spoken already about conviction
of sin. That will bring you into darkness
and shadow of death. And then there are the fierce
temptations of Satan. They will bring you into darkness
and the shadow of death. They do. It brings you down. Then they cried unto the Lord
in their trouble. And he saved them out of their
distresses. And then we have this, oh that
men would praise the Lord for his goodness and his wonderful
works to the children of men. He breaks, he has broken the
gates of brass and cut the bars of iron. And then here we notice, and
we have to acknowledge it ourselves, fools because of their transgressions,
and because of their iniquities are afflicted, they bore all
manner of meek, their soul bore all manner of meek, they draw
near unto the gates of death, then, see this is where the Lord
brings his people, then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble,
and he saveth them out of their distresses. Oh, that we might
know and taste and handle and feel of these things, He says
in verse 23, that they that go down to the sea in ships that
do business in great waters, these see the works of the Lord
and his wonders in the deep. For he commandeth and raiseth
the stormy wind, which lifteth up the ways thereof. They mount
up to heaven, they go down again to the depth. Their soul is melted
because of trouble. They reel to and fro and stagger
like a drunken man and are at their wit's end. Do you know
what it is to be at wit's end? You come to the end of all your
own wisdom, you're at wit's end. Never shall I forget my late
pastor, Mr. John. Preaching in Psalm 107. And he
said, wit's end corner, Jesus Christ lives there. Jesus Christ
lives there. When you come to the end of all
hope in yourself, because of your sinfulness, your corruption,
your wandering, the proneness to wander, it's a mercy if the
Lord truly deals with you. As the harp panteth after the
water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. Again, Psalm
107. In verse 39, again, they are
minished and brought low. You see, this is a constant teaching
of the Holy Spirit in the life of the true child of God. Again,
they are minished and brought low through oppression, affliction,
and sorrow. You see, my beloved friends,
this is where we have to be brought. It says in the last verse, Whoso
is wise and will observe these things, even they shall understand
the loving kindness of the Lord. The Lord's servant, Jeremiah,
in the Lamentations of Jeremiah, he speaks there so clearly and
beautifully that the Lord doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve
the sons of men, He doesn't afflict willingly. He says, Jeremiah
felt in verse 18, my strength and my hope is perished from
the Lord. Then he says, remembering mine affliction and my misery,
the wormwood and the gall, my soul hath them still in remembrance
and is humbled in me. Then I recall to my mind, therefore
have I hope. It is of the Lord's mercies that
we are not consumed because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning. Great
is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith
my soul, therefore will I hope in him. The Lord is good unto
them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is
good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation
of the Lord. and to quietly wait for the salvation
of the Lord. You know, hope is a precious
grace that accompanies faith. Hope and quietly wait, casting
all your care upon Him, for He careth for you. As the heart
panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee,
O God. David, he says here, I think
it's in Psalm 28, be not silent unto me, O God, lest if thou
be silent unto me, I become like them that go down into the pit. You know, if once you've heard
his voice, you won't be satisfied until
you hear it again. And what he means is that those
that go down into the pit, they never hear the voice of the Lord.
So he says, be not silent unto me, O God, lest if thou be silent
unto me, I'll become like them that go down into the pit. Speak, Lord. Let me hear thy
voice. My sheep, they know my voice
and they follow me. They know my voice and they follow
me. Maybe you're being disobedient
in not following the Lord. Not doing those things that he's
exercised you to do. And then you'll experience what
we've been reading in Psalm 107. He brought down their heart with
labour. Disobedience. Or even a step
further than that, rebellion. Against God, the rebellious dwell
in the dry land. One hymn writer says, rebellious
thou hast been, and art rebellious still. But since in love I took
thee in, my promise I'll fulfill. You see, he'll overcome that
spirit that is antagonistic to his and to his will. See, the spirit and mind of Christ,
I delight to do thy will, O God. Yea, thy law is within my heart. Oh, that we might have more of
that spirit. I delight to do thy will, O God. Yea, thy law is within my heart. As the heart panteth, after the
water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God, to know, to
know my Jesus crucified by fire excels all things beside, all things beside, so that he
becomes the one thing that is needful. He becomes the very
center, the sum and the substance of all your hopes and all your
desires. Because He is the Living God.
He that hath the Son hath life. He that hath not the Son of God
hath not life. As the heart panteth after the
water-brush. You know, if indeed you're walking
in a way of disobedience and You've brought yourself into
trouble. You've only got yourself to blame because of your disobedience. And may the Lord grant his love
to be shed abroad in your heart and that you can then follow
him. My soul thirsteth for God, for
the living God. When shall I come and appear
before God? It says here in verse seven,
deep, calleth unto deep. At the noise of thy water spouts,
all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me. Maybe that's
how you feel. But what we have here, a deep
calling unto a deep. And what I see here is the deep
of a poor sinner. in all their wretchedness, in
all their need, in all their emptiness, in all their poverty,
in all their hopelessness. What a deep that is. And then
we have the deep of the everlasting love of God in Christ. The everlasting love of God in
Christ. Free grace, free mercy, free
life. all in Christ. What a deep there
is. It is a deep that knows no sounding. Oh think of the deep of the eternal
sun coming to this earth and becoming a man and living as
a man here upon earth and living under the law as a man and fulfilling
and honouring, magnifying that holy law. What a deep everlasting
righteousness has been brought in for the children of God, as
the righteousness it is to be had by faith. What a deep there
is there, isn't there? And then there is the great deep
of Gethsemane and Calvary, where the sin of the church was laid
on Christ. He laid upon him the iniquity
of us all. He suffered. And in the garden He sweat, as
it were, great drops of blood falling down to the ground. That
was the weight and burden of sin. And it says, he being in
an agony, prayed more earnestly. And surely we can see something
of Christ here in our text. As the heart panteth after the
water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. And when Christ
in the garden, he prayed more earnestly. and then Calvary. He took our
sins and he nailed them to his cross. He suffered, he bled, he died
for thee. What more could Jesus do? He
gave his life. He poured out his soul unto death.
He shed every drop of his precious blood. And the blood of Jesus
Christ, this is the deep, the answer's the deep of a poor sinner.
The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us from all sin. Deep, calleth unto deep. The noise of thy waterspouts
is Mount Zion. That's where the living waters
flow, springs of living water. There is deep, calleth unto deep.
At the noise of thy waterspouts, all thy waves and thy billows
are gone over me. And yet we have this little hand
of faith in verse eight. Yet the Lord will command His
lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night His song shall
be with me on my prayer unto the God of my life. My prayer unto the God of my
life, as the heart panteth after the water-rocks, so panteth my
soul after thee, O God. May the Lord add his blessing. Let us now sing together hymn
number 996. The tune is Osrestri 387. While the dear saints of God
below travel this vale of sin and woe, there is a river through
the road makes glad the city of our God. Hymn 996, tune Oswestry
387. ?? ?? I shall see the world, and in
it I'll live for evermore. Peace to the rich, rich family
now. ? Thou sleep on the brook above
? ? And o'er its ripples, river of love, ? With comfort, joy and peace abound. West River, great is the Jews'
love. The river, oh, how sweet and
clear. Deep with love, through the deserts
brave, Homeward bound, never to decay. Jesus, people, have we bestowed
For you this wondrous gift that bows Though sin and sorrow make
you sad, Yet frank and fair, your heart be glad. Take care for them, and bless
his name, From earthly strains of mercy drain. ? Drink from the fountains of the
still ? ? Drink, all ye saints, to heaven above ? Now, may the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, the sacred fellowship
of the Holy Spirit, rest and abide with us each, both now
and forevermore. Amen.