The notices for the coming week
are, God willing, as follows. Pastor will preach here next
Lord's Day at 10.30 and 2 o'clock. Also on Thursday evening at 7
o'clock. There'll be a prayer meeting
here on Tuesday evening at 7 o'clock. The collections taken during
October amounted to £2,120. Donations to the book fund for 20 pounds. We sincerely thank
you for your continued support of this cause of truth. Let us now sing together hymn
number 361 to the tune Hanscom End 926. How did my heart rejoice
to hear my friends devoutly say In Zion let us all appear and
keep the solemn day. Hymn 361, Tune Hanscom End 226. My heart rejoices in thee, my
friend, till earthly chains ♪ Let us all appear ♪ ♪ And we
glance on the grave ♪ ♪ Look up the great tower of heaven ♪ O'er the ramparts we watched,
were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket's red glare, the
bombs bursting in air, Gave proof through the night that our flag
was still there. Come to the courts of the Lord,
and earn His right repair. ♪ The son of David, Lord is born
♪ ♪ And sits in Bethlehem ♪ ♪ He is a great man ♪ O come all ye faithful joyful
and triumphant O'er the land of the free and the home of the
brave Peace be with him, peace be with
him, and joy and comfort his. With the beginning of every race,
We have not yet passed much. I, too, shall break your silence
still, And I know that we may Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God in the second book of Samuel, and chapter 7. The second book of Samuel, chapter
7. And it came to pass, when the
king sat in his house, and the Lord had given him rest round
about from all his enemies, that the king said unto Nathan the
prophet, See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark
of God dwelleth within curtains. And Nathan said to the king,
Go, do all that is in thine heart, for the Lord is with thee. And
it came to pass that night that the word of the Lord came unto
Nathan, saying, Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith the
Lord, shalt thou build me a house for me to dwell in? Whereas I
have not dwelt in any house since the time that I brought up the
children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but have walked
in a tent and in a tabernacle. In all the places wherein I have
walked with all the children of Israel spake I a word with
any of the tribes of Israel when I commanded to feed my people
Israel, saying, why build ye not me and a house of cedar? Now therefore, so shalt thou
say unto my servant David, thus saith the Lord of hosts, I took
thee from the sheep coat, from following the sheep, to be ruler
over my people, over Israel. And I was with thee whithersoever
thou wentest, and have cut off all thine enemies out of thy
sight, and have made thee a great name, like unto the name of the
great men that are in the earth. Moreover, I will appoint a place
for my people Israel, and will plant them that they may dwell
in a place of their own, and move no more neither shall the
children of wickedness afflict them any more as before time. And as since the time that I
commanded judges to be over my people Israel, and have caused
thee to rest from all thine enemies, also the Lord telleth thee that
he will make thee an house. And when thy days be fulfilled,
and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers. I will set up thy seed
after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will
establish his kingdom. And he shall build a house for
my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
And I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit
iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with
the stripes of the children of men. But my mercy shall not depart
away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before
thee. And thy house and thy kingdom
shall be established forever before thee. Thy throne shall
be established forever. According to all these words,
And according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David. Then went King David in and sat
before the Lord, and he said, Who am I, O Lord God, and what
is my house that thou hast brought me hither to? And this was yet
a small thing in thy sight, O Lord God, but thou has spoken also
of thy servant's house for a great while to come, and is this the
manner of man, O Lord God? And what can David say more unto
thee? For thou, Lord God, knowest thy
servant for thy word's sake, and according to thine own heart
hast thou done all these great things to make thy servant know
them. Wherefore, thou art great, O
Lord God, for there is none like thee, neither is there any God
beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears. And what one nation in the earth
is like thy people, even like Israel, whom God went to redeem
for a people to himself, and to make him a name and to do
for you great things and terrible for thy land, before thy people,
which thou redeemest to thee from Egypt, from the nations
and their gods. For thou hast confirmed to thyself
thy people Israel to be a people unto thee forever, and thou,
Lord, art become their God. And now, O Lord God, the word
that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant and concerning his
house, establish it forever. And do as thou hast said, and
let thy name be magnified forever, saying, The Lord of hosts is
the God of Israel, and let the house of thy servant David be
established before thee. For thou, O Lord of hosts, God
of Israel has revealed to thy servant, saying, I will build
thee a house. Therefore hath thy servant found
it in his heart to pray this prayer unto thee. And now, O
Lord God, thou art that God, and thy words be true, and thou
hast promised this goodness unto thy servant. Therefore now let
it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue
for ever before thee, for thou, O Lord God, hast spoken it, and
with thy blessing let the house of thy servant be blessed for
ever. May the Lord bless thee, reading
of his own precious word. Grant unto us a spirit of real
prayer. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God almighty,
which is an art, an art to come. We bow before thee, the only
true God, the creator of the heavens and the earth, who are
God over all and blessed forevermore. We read of thee in thy word,
hallelujah, for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Oh, we do
pray. that thou wouldst come and make
one in our midst here today, that thou wouldst bless us with
light and understanding in thy word, that thou wouldst guide
us into thy truth, that thou wouldst open our hearts to receive
thy word, and that the word preached may be in power in the Holy Ghost
and with much assurance that it may reach into our very souls
and find an abiding place in our hearts. May it be a quickening
word, a powerful word, an effectual word. Thus saith the Lord, gracious
God, do grant that thy name may be honoured and glorified and
that we may indeed truly worship thee. We think of that dear woman
that came unto thee in her great need. And we read, O Lord, and
she worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. O, do grant us that
true worship. And thou hast said, O Lord, in
thy word, that the Father seeketh such to worship him in spirit
and in truth. Lord Jesus, thou art the way,
the truth, and the life. And we come unto thee, O Lord,
in that precious name, the name of Jesus. We plead his merits,
what he has done. For, Lord, we have no merit of
our own. All our righteousnesses are as
filthy racks. We are all as an unclean thing.
O gracious God, do incline thine ear. Do have mercy upon us. We do humbly beseech of thee.
We pray that thou would bless us as a church and as a congregation. Remember those of our brethren
and sisters that are not able to meet with us today, and graciously
be with them where they are. And O most gracious Lord, knit
our hearts together in the bonds of spiritual love, union, and
communion. Help us to love each other, serve
each other, bear each other's burdens, thereby fulfilling the
law of Christ. And grant, O Lord, we pray thee,
that we may seek each other's good. We seek, O Lord, thy blessing
upon our brethren, the deacons, that great grace may be given
them to help them in all their responsibilities, not just here,
but among the churches, And we pray that thou wouldst guard
them with all sufficient grace. We pray, most gracious Lord,
that thou wouldst remember the little ones, the children, we
thank thee for them and pray that thou wouldst bless them.
And that thou wouldst put thy holy fear in their hearts in
their young and in their tender years. And we pray, most gracious Lord,
that thou wouldst bless our dear young friends and graciously
work in them, guide them, direct them, bring them to living faith
in Jesus Christ. Make them true followers of thee
and of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
Gracious God, so bless our dear young friends. Raise up a generation
that shall call thee the Redeemer blessed and that shall follow
on to know the Lord. Remember our friends away from
us today, and grant that they may be brought home in peace
and safety at the appointed time. Grant, Lord, we pray thee, thy
rich blessing upon parents. Give them wisdom, grace, and
help to bring up their children in the nurture and admonition
of the Lord. And we pray, most gracious Lord, that thou wouldst
graciously deliver us from the power and influence of Satan
and of sin, we do humbly pray. We have a sinful heart, we have
a corrupt nature, and Lord, we painfully feel it and we pray
to be delivered from it. This wicked heart is no small
part of all my grief and shame. And oh Lord God, we do pray that
thou wouldst graciously Remember, all in the midst of the journey
of life, and in all their different needs and concerns, we lovingly
commend them to Thee. Remember, O Lord, those that
have wandered away from the house of God, from the ways of truth
and of righteousness. Stretch out Thy mighty arm. Give
real repentance, godly sorrow for sin, and faith in our Lord
Jesus Christ. and grant us that great rejoicing
to see a prodigal return. We do humbly pray thee, send
out the glory, light, and power of the gospel into this village
and the surrounding villages and hamlets, and gather in precious
souls and build the walls of Jerusalem. Arise, arise, O God
of grace, into thy rest descent, thou and the ark of thy strength. Hear us, Lord, we humbly pray
thee and send real prosperity. We seek thy blessing upon all
thy servants as they labour in word and doctrine upon the walls
of Zion. Set them free, set them at liberty
this day. And those that have long journeys,
watch over them, keep them and preserve them. And Lord, bless
the ministry of the word and grant signs to follow the preaching
of it, even as thou hast promised to do. Fulfil thy gracious promise,
Lord, on us assembled here. Put forth thy spirit with the
word, and cause the deaf to hear. We pray, most gracious Lord,
that thou wouldst remember all in the path of affliction, sorrow,
sadness, bereavement, perplexity, and undertake for each one we
do humbly beseech of thee. And, O Lord God, we do pray that
thou would remember those of us who've reached the evening
time of life journey, and prepare us for that great change which
must come, and make us more spiritually minded and set our affections
on things above. Remember dear Ina at home, and
richly bless her there, we do humbly pray thee. Lord, we pray
for the church of God, for thy people everywhere, Wherever thy
people gather and thy servants stand, we pray thy blessing may
be poured out. Thy spirit may be poured upon
us from on high. We do humbly beseech thee, for
nothing can be done, O Lord, without thee. Lord Jesus, come
and stand in our midst and grant that we may behold thy glory,
the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace
and truth. And, O Lord God, we do pray that
thou, in thy great mercy, wouldst hear prayer for our government,
give wisdom to our leaders, guidance to judges and magistrates, and
all in authority over us. Lord, we live in a solemn day,
and great wickedness abounds on every hand, and the spirit
of antichrist is so prevalent. O Lord, do hear us, we pray Thee,
and return to Jerusalem with mercy, and may bear Thine holy
arm in the Gospel. Remember those of our brethren
that labour in word and doctrine among the nations of the earth.
Thy servant, Ian Sadler, Lord, bless him with grace and wisdom
and help, and supply all his many returning needs in that
great work that he does among the nations of the earth. Remember
the Mombasa mission and thy servant there, and graciously remember
the Savannah Education Trust. Lord, we do pray thy rich blessing,
that these things may be down to the honour, glory, and praise
of thy great and holy name. We do humbly beseech of thee.
O Lord God, we do thank thee for our little house of prayer.
We thank Thee for the gathering together of the people. We thank
Thee that Thy mercies to us each are new every morning and great
is Thy faithfulness. We thank Thee, most gracious
Lord, for that profound and wonderful glory of Jesus Christ, of the
eternal word that was made flesh and dwelt among us, the incarnation
of the Son of God. We thank Thee. for the holy life
he lived as a man here upon earth, fulfilling and honouring and
magnifying thy holy righteous law on the behalf of thy people
and bringing in everlasting righteousness. We thank thee for Calvary where
the lamb was slain, where sin was put away, where divine justice
was satisfied, where God and sinners are reconciled. Thank
Thee for the precious blood of the Lamb that cleanses from all
sin, and that He loved not His life unto death. We thank Thee that on the third
day He rose again and swallowed up death in victory, and as bodily
ascended into heaven, we have a great High Priest, O Lord,
and we pray that our hearts may be filled with gratitude that
we do indeed have a great high priest who is passed into the
heavens, Jesus, the Son of God. We thank thee that we have an
advocate, one that stands between. Hear us, Lord, we humbly beseech
thee, be with us now as we turn to thy holy word. Come and open
thy word to our heart and to our understanding. Lord, we would
remember those that fell in the great wars that are past, that
gave their life, laid down their life for their country. We will
remember them with thanksgiving, O Lord, and those in recent days,
and the solemn events in Ukraine and in Israel, and the thousands
being launched from time into eternity. Lord, we pray that
thou wouldst put a stop to war, bring to naught the counsels
of the ungodly. We do humbly beseech thee. We
ask all with the forgiveness of all our sins, for Jesus Christ's
sake. Amen. Let us now sing together hymn
number 365 to the tune Angels Hymn 281. Where shall we go to seek and find
a habitation for our God, a dwelling for the eternal mind amongst
the sons of flesh and blood? Hymn 365. Tune Angel's Hymn 281 O'er the land of the free and
the home of the brave? ♪ And when we come to the altar
of life ♪ ♪ Our hearts will say to heaven and high ♪ ♪ The God of Jacob comes again
♪ ♪ The Son of Man appears to Jesus Christ ♪ O come, O come, all ye faithful
joyful and triumphant! O come, O come, all ye faithful joyful and triumphant! Give them thy grace, my precious
friend, and make no vain attempt to go. The blessed children take my
hand. ♪ It would never be a hundred years
♪ ♪ And heaven's songs were never heard ♪ Jem'el shall place him on a throne,
which in the vision shall be there. I live in truth and full of grace. I live, I live, eternal life. and raise you up again. O say does that star-spangled
banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the
brave? Greatly feeling today the Lord's
gracious help, I would direct your attention to the Psalm 132. Psalm 132. I want to look at
the whole psalm if the Lord will enable us so to do. I won't read
a particular text. You'll notice the commencement
here, Lord remember David and all his afflictions. And what a checkered path David
had. and how the Lord brought him
through, manifested himself unto him, supported and sustained
him in this wilderness journey. Right from when he was a young
man, the Lord graciously moved him and helped him. When he was
a In his early teens he was looking after his father's sheep along
in the hills and the grasslands around Bethlehem. And he confesses
himself how there came a lion and a bear to kill the sheep
and the Lord in a miraculous way delivered the lion into his
hand and the bear And then following that, and David would have only
been about 16, there was Goliath of Gath and his father sent him
down to take rituals to his brethren who were in the armies of Saul.
And there was a Goliath of Gath, a great giant that was opposing
the armies of Israel and nobody dared go out to meet this great
giant. And David speaking to his brethren, he went out against Goliath and
he said to King Saul, Saul said to him, you're but a lad and
we see what motivated him, what it was that moved him and he
said to Saul, the Lord that delivered me from the paw of the lion, And the paw of the bear will
also deliver me from this uncircumcised Philistine. See, even as a very
young man, the Lord was teaching him to trust in him. And in some very miraculous ways,
the Lord delivered him. And then, of course, after he
was brought into the house of Saul to play for Saul, we find
that Saul turned against him. Samuel, he anointed him king. Strange pathway he had, didn't
he? Samuel anointed him king when he was but a young man of
about 17. But it was 13 years, and they
must have seen 13 long years. because he was brought into the
house of Saul. I've got no doubt whatsoever
that David was thinking that the Lord is bringing him right
into the heart of the royal house. And there's no doubt that he
would have thought that perhaps the Lord is going to do this,
perhaps the Lord is going to do that. But everything went
completely opposite. Saul tried to kill him. Saul pursued him. And there were times when David
saw remarkable outstanding deliverances that the Lord gave him from the
hand of Saul and from Saul's men. This is what he says, Lord remember
David and all his afflictions. There were times, and he expresses
it in the Psalms, how that he was alone, he was like a sparrow
alone. pursued of Saul in the deserts
of Judea, holed up with his men in the
cave, Adullam. And yet the Lord kept him, preserved
him, delivered him. He said on one occasion, surely
I shall be slain one day. I shall die by the hand of Saul.
But you know, friends, the Lord had promised him that he would
be king. And he would be king. There's no doubt about that.
It may have looked doubtful from his part, and from where he was
sitting, that he thought that he would never reach that place.
But you know friends, what God has promised, and what God has
spoken to his people, he would do. He would do it in his own
time, and he would do it in his own way. Just like Cowper says,
God moves in a mysterious way his wonders to perform. He plants
his footsteps in the sea and rides upon the storm. Deep in
unfathomable minds of never failing skill, he treasures up his bright
designs and works his sovereign will. And we see this in the
life, the walk, the conduct, of the Lord's servant, David,
when he was in the house of Saul and Saul would turn right against
him. And we read this on several occasions. And David behaved himself more
wisely. And the Lord gave him that wisdom,
how he was to behave himself. But then eventually he had to
flee from the house of Saul. And he had a very lonely pathway.
There were many that gathered unto him in the cave of Dullam.
I think it was 600 men that gathered unto him in the cave of Dullam. But, you know, we see the fear
of the Lord in David's life. Saul was delivered into his hand.
He could have slain him twice. But he wouldn't. He wouldn't
touch the Lord's anointed. So that's where we see the godly
fear of the Lord in David. This was his enemy, this was
a man that was seeking to slay him. You know, friends, all that the
Lord give us, wisdom. Wisdom to guide us, to direct
us. When to speak, when to be silent. How we need that wisdom to be
given to us. Lord remember David and all his
afflictions. Now we see here what was the
primary thing in David's heart, how he swore unto the Lord and
vowed unto the mighty God of Jacob. I felt particularly drawn
to read that passage that we did in to Samuel when the Lord
had given him rest from his enemies. And it says there, and it came
to pass when the king sat in his house and the Lord had given
him rest round about from all his enemies. You see, he wanted
to build a house unto the Lord. I mean actually our psalm wasn't
written at that time or concerning those things. the psalm that
we're in was written at the time when David became king and he
brought the Ark of the Covenant of the God of Israel from the
house of Kirjachirim up into Jerusalem. He prepared a place
for the tabernacle in Jerusalem. That was the first thing he did.
And we notice how we love the house of God, and the people
of God, and the ways of God, and the truth of God, and the
word of God. Do you? Do I? We've been singing
of Zion, the church of God, in the hymns we sung together this
morning. And the desire for real prosperity,
that was exactly what David did, that desire for real prosperity. And he said to Nathan, see now
I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within
curtains. And Nathan said to the king,
go and do all that is in thine heart, for the Lord is with thee.
And it came to pass that that night that the word of the Lord
came unto Nathan, saying, Go and tell my servant David, Thus
saith the Lord, Shalt thou build me a house for me? He says, Nowhere
have I written that I will dwell in a house. I have not dwelt
in a house since I brought the children of Israel out of the
land of Egypt. But then he goes on, he speaks
graciously to his servant David that there would be a son that
would sit upon his throne That of course is Solomon and he would
build the house of the Lord. Now the great thing is this friends,
you look into the life of David, after the Lord spoke these things
to him, did he just sit back? Did he just sit back and not
do anything? You've only got to read through
the Kings and the Chronicles And you'll see that for the rest
of the time that David had here below, he was actually accumulating
things. It was to be a magnificent house
of God. It was to be a magnificent temple. And we read that he prepared
iron nails in abundance, gold in abundance, silver in
abundance. He put it all to one side, what?
For the house of God. for the house of God. That was
his desire. That was what filled his thoughts. You see, it says here in 2 Samuel
7, verse 12, and when thy days be fulfilled and thou shalt sleep
with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which
shall proceed after thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.
And so it was with King Solomon, the Lord established his kingdom. But of course there are beautiful things here concerning
the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom Solomon is a
type. It says in verse 13, he shall
build a house for my name and I will establish the throne of
his kingdom forever. Well, we know that David's throne
and the kingdom of Israel was taken away over 2,000, 3,000
years ago. So, these promises, in their
fullest meaning, speak of Christ, speak of the coming of Christ.
We read in Revelation chapter 22, Christ himself speaking to
his servant John on the Isle of Patmos. And he says, I am
the root and offspring of David. See, Christ was born of David,
see. I am the root and offspring of
David, the bright and morning star. He shall build and house my name. And I will establish the throne
of his kingdom. I will be his father and he shall
be my son. You see, my beloved friends,
he says in verse 15, but my mercy shall not depart away from him
as I took it from Saul. Now we know that Solomon sadly
fell, fell into sin. It says even strange women did
cause Solomon to sin. Solomon was a godly man, but
he fell into sin. David was a godly man, but he
fell into sin. You know, we're all sinners by
nature. We all have a corrupt heart,
a sinful nature. And we pray that, and it's a
great trial to the living child of God, that sinful nature that
you have, that corrupt nature. And it's a great trial. It will
bring you often like it did Paul in Romans 7, O wretched man that
I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? Sin lives in us. It does, lives in our hearts.
But there's a difference between sin living in us and us living
in sin. May the Lord preserve us from
living in sin, although sin lives in us. May we be delivered from
the power of sin. Now, here in the seventh chapter,
the second of Samuel, David went in before the Lord, verse 18,
then went King David in and sat before the Lord and he said,
who am I? How he was so humble that the
Lord spoke to him concerning the house of God and concerning
his own seed and concerning the coming of Christ. Who am I, O Lord God? And what
is my house that thou hast brought me hither to? He was humbled
under the mighty hand of God. You see, and he says, and this
was yet a small thing in thy sight, O Lord God. And thou hast
spoken also of thy servant house for a great while to come. And
is this the manner of man, O Lord God? You see, he was deeply humbled
of the wonderful things that the Lord said that he would do
for him in establishing his kingdom, and especially in the coming
of Christ here upon the earth. Remember David and all his afflictions,
how he swear unto the Lord and vowed unto the mighty God of
Jacob, surely I will not come into the tabernacle of my house
nor go up into my bed. I will not give sleep to mine
eyes or slumber to mine eyelids until I find out a place for
the Lord and habitation for the mighty God of Jacob. We've read
for our instruction in 2 Samuel concerning the building of the
temple and how the Lord said it would be done in the days
of Solomon and here in our psalm it actually refers to David bringing
the Ark of the Covenant. Now that Ark of the Covenant,
let's just think of the Ark of the Covenant for a moment and what it represents and what
it means. The Ark of the Covenant is typical
of Christ. It was covered in badger skins.
Nothing magnificent or glorious in badger skins. That represents the sacred, holy
human nature that the Son of God assumed in the womb of the
Virgin Mary. It says in Isaiah, there is no
form nor countenance in him that we should desire him. He looked
like any other man. He became a real man, a true
man. But in the ark was the golden mercy seat and the golden cherubim. And once a year the high priest
went in to the ark and he took the blood of the sacrifice He
sprinkled it seven times before the golden mercy seat. And the
Lord, when Moses set up the tabernacle worship, the Lord had said to
Moses, there will I meet with thee, there will I commune with
thee from off the golden mercy seat. Now that gold within the
tabernacle represents the divinity of Christ. So we see in the ark, in the
outward adornment, the human nature of Christ, in the gold,
the deity of Christ, that he was the Son of God. And that blood of the sacrifice
that the high priest brought into the holy place and sprinkled
it seven times before the golden mercy seat, that represents the
blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son that cleanses us from all
sin. And listen to what he said, there will I meet with them.
There will I commune with them. It's in the blood. When I see
the blood, I will pass over it. See, and that Ark of the Covenant,
it was taken in the last days of Eli the priest. And in the
very early days of Samuel the prophet. And it was in in the house of
Kirjat Jirin for 66 years, after the Philistines took it and then
brought it back. And it stayed out of the life
of the children of Israel for 66 years. It's a long time, isn't it? Especially
bearing in mind that it represented and typified the Lord Jehovah
at the center of worship. It was taken out. And all through
the reign of King Saul, it was no longer there. All the time
of Samuel, it was no longer there. But then after Saul, the Lord
raised up a man after his own heart. And here we have the feelings
of his heart expressed. Surely I will not come into the
tabernacle of my house, nor go up into my bed. I will not give
sleep to mine eyes or slumber to mine eyelids. until I find
out a place for the Lord, and habitation for the mighty God
of Jacob. And then he said, and we preached
from it, I'm sure you remember, in these six, verses six and
seven, lo, we heard of it at Ephrata. That's where it was,
in the fields of the wood. We found it in the fields of
the wood. We will go into his tabernacles. We will worship
at his footstool. Arise, O Lord, into thy rest
thou and the ark of thy strength. You see, David's main object,
before he was to build a house for himself, he wanted to bring
what was the visible presence of the Lord Jehovah among the
children of Israel, he wanted to bring it to its rightful place,
right within the city of Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, and there
to set up the regular divine worship that was before ordained
in the wilderness with Moses. And what he does here, he asks
the Lord to come, arise O Lord. You know friends, what is our
chief concern? You would have thought that David
when he was made king would be make sure this and make sure
that and make sure something else and then this and then that
and all these important things that have got to be done but
when he was made king but there was nothing more important than
this and that is to bring the true worship of the lord jehovah
right to the very heart of the children of israel and to set
up that form of divine worship under the that had been ordained
in the days of Moses. And that was his chief concern.
What we see illustrated in David is, seek ye first the kingdom
of heaven and my righteousness. And all these things, that's
all other things regarding his kingdom and where the Lord had
brought him to, all these things shall be added unto thee. all
providential things shall be added unto thee. You know, friends,
all that the Lord would give us, the same zeal, the same spiritual
exercise and burden that he gave to his servant, David, in that
he sought first the kingdom of God. He sought first the welfare
of the Lord's people. He sought the true worship of
the Lord Jehovah. I've no doubt that there were
godly people in Israel over those 66 years. It greatly troubled
them and burdened them. But it wasn't until David came
and he was able to facilitate the bringing of that ark. We
know that he brought it up and it came to the threshing floor
and Uzzah put his hand upon the ark they put it on a cart just
like the Philistines did an oxen pulling the cart and Uzzah put
his hand to touch the ark and the Lord smote him dead and then
when David inquired as to why the Lord smote him dead it's
because it says in Samuel because he did it not after the due order
What they did was exactly what the Philistines did when they
sent the Ark back into Israel. They made a new car, they put
the Ark on it, and they took the oxen and they took it back
into the land of Israel. Now, under the Levitical dispensation,
it's very clearly laid out how that Ark was to be carried and
moved. Only the Levites, the priests,
the servants of the priests, only they were allowed to carry
the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. It wasn't to be put on
a car. And the mistake that David made
was to literally follow what the heathen did. He put it on
a car. And therefore the Lord put his
hand. And in Samuel it says, for ye did it not after the due
order. the way it was laid down in the
Levitical law, how it was to be done. You know, friends, but
when it comes to worship, you know, some people say, well,
we should change our services and we should do this or we should
do that or we should do, what says the scripture should always
be our inquiry. You know, the way that we have
our services. I'm not saying it has to be set
in stone, if you have a Westminster confession of faith, it was laid
out by our godly Puritan forefathers, what was reckoned to be a suitable
way of worshipping the Lord in these gospel days. And that's
the very reason why we have three hymns, and we have a time of
prayer, we have the time of reading of the word of God, and if you
look into the confessions of faith, the old confessions, back
in the 1600s, They didn't rigidly stick to
one thing, but they generally laid out the three hymns, the
reading of Holy Scripture, prayer. Somehow in the day in which we
live, some seem to think that you can just change this around,
that every woman fancies. Or let's have a prayer here,
let's do this, let's do that, let's do something else. I feel
very uncomfortable with that. just because you think so. We
should always bear in mind what happened when David brought the
Ark of the Covenant and he didn't do it according to the due order. He did it the way the heathen
did it. And the Lord smote Uzzah. And
the next time David went down and he took with him 30,000,
I believe it was, And he took the Levites and they carried
the Ark on their shoulders on long poles, just like the way
it was ordained to be so. They weren't allowed to just
do things at their own whim and at their own fancy. Now here
we find, he says, lo we heard of it, we found it. This is in verses six and seven.
We heard of it. We found it. We will go. We will worship. Wonderful way that that is put
here in the word of God. We read in Romans 10, faith comes
by hearing and hearing by the word of the Lord, bearing in
mind that the ark typifies Christ. And lo, we heard of it. See,
and faith cometh by hearing. We heard of the name of Christ,
of the person of Christ. And they began to seek it. And this is the spiritual way,
isn't it? When we hear of Christ and the Lord brings us to seek
him. Seek and you shall find, knock
and it shall be opened unto you. See, ask and you shall find,
knock and it shall be opened unto you. These are spiritual
exercises. And when the Holy Spirit enters
the heart and quickens the soul, and that will produce life in
the heart, in the soul, and that life will produce spiritual exercises. Christ himself said, blessed
are they that hunger and thirst. Now of course he means it in
a spiritual way, not a natural way. Blessed are they that hunger
and thirst, that we need to ask ourselves the question, do you
hunger and thirst? Spiritually, do you need something? Are you looking for something?
Are you praying for something? So mercy, if you are, and if
there is that spiritual life within you, And therefore those
exercises and desires of a spiritual nature in your heart. And you
desire these things. We heard of it. It may be that you've sat under
the sound of the truth since you were a little child, but
it hasn't ever really reached into your heart. But now there's
come a time when these things mean something to you. You hear. We hear in the Word
of God of our lost condition. We read in the Word of God of
our sinful condition. And we read in the Word of God
of the need to be prepared for eternity. And when we die, we
must all appear at the judgment seat of Jesus Christ. And when
these things really enter your heart, when the Spirit gives
you spiritual life, that it then begins to exercise you and concern
you. Lo, we heard of it. They heard
of the Ark. Have you heard of the Ark, Christ?
Have you heard of the glorious person of Jesus, the Son of God,
who came to this sinful world? The Son of Man is come to seek
and to save that which was lost. Have you heard of Christ? Are you lost? Are you sinful? Are you helpless? Are you hopeless? You see these, lo, we heard of
him at Ephrata, we found him. Those that seek shall find. Seek ye the Lord while he may
be found. Call ye upon him while he is
near. Let the wicked man forsake his way and the unrighteous man
his thoughts. Let him turn unto the Lord. They that seek shall find. It's
very clear in the Word of God. They that seek shall find. We
heard it. We found it. We found it. That's the ark. That's Christ,
the glorious person of Jesus, the Son of God, who lived for
his people, who suffered for his people, who died for his
people, who shed his precious blood to redeem them from sin
and Satan's power. We heard of it. We found it in
the fields of the wood. Kuruja Jiru means the fields
of the wood. We will go. See, my people shall
be willing in the day of my power. in the day of His power, made
willing, willing to seek the despised Mazarin, willing to
follow Him, willing to leave everything, let us lay aside
every way, and the sin that does so easily beset us, and let us
run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto
Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy
that was set before Him, endured the cross despising the shame
thereof and is now set down at the right hand of the majesty
on high. We heard of it, we found it. You see we will go, we will go,
we will follow him, we will follow him. I think there's a number
of occasions isn't there in the gospels when the Lord Jesus and
he He passed by some of those early disciples and he said,
follow me. And then he would say to another
one, follow me. And Matthew Levi, who wrote the
Gospel of Matthew, and he was a tax collector, a publican. He was sitting at the receipt
of custom to receive the money. And Jesus passed by and he said
to him, follow me, and immediately left everything. And he followed
him, he followed him. What a mercy, my beloved friends,
if you and I have been brought to see a beauty and a loveliness,
and you feel your need of Christ, and you long to lay hold of Christ,
and you long to hear his voice, you long to see his countenance.
And Paul, he says that I may know him. Is that the language
of your heart, of my heart? that I may know him in the power
of his resurrection, in the fellowship of his sufferings. We will go,
we'll follow, follow Christ. We will worship at his footstool. See this spiritual worship. I've often spoken to you of it
and we mentioned it in prayer of that woman. I think it's a
Syrophoenician woman, wasn't it? She had a sick daughter and
she came unto Christ. And she said, Lord, help me. But it actually says in the text
of scripture, and she worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. That was an act of divine worship.
When she humbled herself before the King of Kings, she'd heard
of him with the hearing of the ear. And now she saw him. Lord help me, she said. She worshipped
him. You know, we have to be brought
down into need. She was brought down into need,
it was with her child. And she was brought to Christ
in all her need. We read of others that brought
their children, the ruler of the synagogue. We read of the
centurion, the Roman centurion, how he sent his servant, his
trusted servant, were sick and ready to die. Christ was making
his way to his place and he said to him, speak the word only.
I'm not worthy that thou should come under my roof. See, he saw
a glory in Christ. He saw a glory in Christ. I am
not worthy that thou should come under my roof, but speak the
word only. And Christ said, I have not seen
so great faith. No, not in all Israel, but not
as in this centurion. Speak the word only. Jairus, the ruler of the synagogue,
he came, didn't he? His 12-year-old daughter was
sick, ready to die. They sent messengers to say that
she had died. And Christ said to him, be not
faithless, but believing. Believing what the Lord was able
to do. My beloved friends, he's able
to do abundantly more than we can even ask or think. Abundantly
more than we can even ask or think. He's able. This glorious Savior, this almighty
Redeemer. For the Son of Man is come. to
seek and to save that which was lost. He's able to take away
all sin, everything that offends. One that came to him and he said,
son, thy sins which are many are all forgiven. And he rose
up and walked. You see, and the Pharisees said,
whoever can forgive sins, only God can forgive sins. because
they didn't see who He was. They didn't see Him as the Son
of God. They didn't see Him as the Almighty Saviour. But there
were those that did. It was revealed to them by God
the Holy Ghost, by the quickening work of the Spirit in their hearts.
They were brought to see, if ever my poor soul be saved, is
Christ must be the way. Christ is the way. I am the way. the truth and the life. Though
we heard of it at Ephrata, we found it in the fields of the
wood. We will go, willing to leave
everything to follow Christ. We will go. We will worship at
his footstool. You know, the illustration of
that woman, the Syrophoenician woman, we tend to think an act
of worship is something where we are greatly blessed and and
there's perhaps ecstasies of joy within the heart but you
know that is what is so beautiful in that word and she worshipped
him saying lord help me there was an act of divine worship
there lord help me Sometimes we get views in our mind of something
far greater. So may we be enabled to pray
and to look and to cleave unto Jesus Christ. Now here we have
again the desires of the sweet Psalmist of Israel in verse 8.
Arise, O Lord, into thy rest, thou and the ark of thy strength.
This was the longing of his heart. Let thy priest be clothed with
righteousness, and thy saints shall shout for joy. Let the
ministers of the Lord preach a precious Christ, the glorious
person of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And you know, if
you are indeed following after Christ, you'll want to be where
the gospel is preached. So that is what he meant in that
passage in Solomon's song, tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth,
where thou feedest, where thou causest thy flock to rest at
noon. Tell me. One hymn writer says then, tell
me, O my best beloved, where thou art worshipped. I can dwell
among the Lord's people and among the Lord's people. That's where
I want to be. Here my best friends, my kindred
dwell. Hear God, my Saviour reigns. And that's the longing desire,
give me Christ or else I die. And he says here in verse 10,
for thy servant David's sake, turn not away the face of thine
anointed. Thy servant David's sake, turn
not away. Lord, hear my prayer. Let my
cry come unto thee. That's the desire of a living
soul. Let my cry come unto thee. You
know, the other thing, of course, is that in that spirit of worship,
we have the ordinances of the Lord's house. We come together
for a prayer meeting, that's divine worship. We come together
for the preaching of the word, that's divine worship. And then
there of course is the private means of grace when we read the
word and pray over it before the Lord in our personal devotions,
that's an act of divine worship. And then we have like that woman,
Lord help me, that's an act of divine worship. But then we have
like believers baptism. That in and of itself is an act
of divine worship. It's divinely ordained of God
in the New Testament church. follow me and then it says we will go we
will go oh my beloved friends but may these
be sweet living words in our hearts we will go that willingness
to follow Christ it's Christ Christ himself says in Matthew
chapter 3 Concerning his baptism by John in the River Jordan.
He said thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness We
will go and fulfill this act of divine worship Which has been
ordained of God And then of course the Lord suffered and instituted
of our Lord Jesus Christ He says this doing remembrance of me
for as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup you
do show the Lord's death till he come we will go we will go
what a what a mercy my beloved friends if if there is that willingness
that desire in the heart that longing we will go into his tabernacles
we will worship at his footstool for thy servant david's sake
turn not away the face of thine anointing Well, I want to look
at the rest of the psalm this afternoon, if the Lord will enable
us so to do. Amen. Let us now sing together hymn
number 366. The tune is Anne's, number 89. The Lord in Zion placed his name. His ark was settled there. To
Zion the whole nation came to worship thrice a year. It says
here in the second verse, but we have no such lengths to go. You think of what the Jews had
to do under the Levitical dispensation. Three times a year they all walked
to Jerusalem with their families. these to take sacrifices, to
all manner of washings. We have no such lengths to go,
nor wander far abroad. Where'er thy saints assemble
now, there is a house for God. Hymn 366, Tune Andes, 89. ♪ O come all ye faithful ♪ ♪ Joyful
and triumphant ♪ StSq2 2.60 (-0.00!) ♪ And the angels ♪ ♪ Who watched
therein ♪ ♪ Long on earth ♪ ♪ Are abroad ♪ ♪ There where thy saints
are ♪ ♪ Still now ♪ There is a place for love ♪ I told him, O praise the Lord
♪ ♪ And went up till I met him ♪ ♪ For like a trace there was
his face ♪ Come in, I suppose, to be your
helpers. Intell, with all thy glorious
strength, Thy spirit and thy blood, O that the earth be much
more ♪ In excelsis Deo ♪ In Thy deep hours gentle songs,
In Thy praises fair, Fetch the provisions of my house,
and fill my bowl with bread. In it the Son of David died,
like water on death. Justice and truth is not maintained
without the divine. ♪ It hath been a good lasting night
♪ ♪ And I'll sit in the grass ♪ ♪ Rest on the shadow ♪ ♪ Don't
listen ♪ 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. Amen.