Let us commence our service this
evening by singing together hymn number 132. The tune is Lloyd
172. A friend there is, your voice is joined. ye saints, to praise his name,
whose truth and kindness are divine, whose love's a constant
flame. Hymn 132. ? The friend there
is of righteousness strong, ? Isis, you wasted flame, Faced
with the blindness of my sight, You daughter, constant flame, When the straining is held in
hand, This faith is always near. Yet remember and bear His love no end, O measure not, now change and turn its course. In it complain the flaming roses
from our eternal soul. When frowns appear to bend his
face, And clouds their bright face from, He lights the path As of this place
To make it better now And if I did ? Has come for joy
? ? Before His sovereign will ? ? His heaven takes away my
woe ? In self he gives follow still
The sorrows in the scanty ways and washes out the flames. There on this stone is found no place
Let us read together from the Holy
Word of God in Psalm 139. 139. O Lord, thou hast searched me
and known me. Thou knowest my down-sitting
and mine up-rising. Thou understandest my thought
afar off. Thou compassest my path and my
lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is
not a word in my tongue, but lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and
before, and laid thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful
for me. It is high, I cannot attain unto
it. Whither shall I go from thy spirit,
or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up
into heaven, thou art there. If I make my bed in hell, behold,
thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall
thy hand lead me and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say,
surely the darkness shall cover me, even the night shall be light
about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not
from thee, but the night shineth as the day. The darkness and
the light are both alike to thee. For thou hast possessed my reins,
thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise thee, for
I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvellous are thy works,
and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid
from thee when I was made in secret and curiously wrought
in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance,
yet being unperfect, and in thy book all my members were written,
which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of
them. How precious also are thy thoughts, Unto me, O God, how
great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they
are more in number than the sand. When I awake, I am still with
thee. Surely thou wilt slay the wicked,
O God. Depart from me therefore, ye
bloody men, for they speak against thee wickedly. and thine enemies
take thy name in vain. Do not I hate them, O Lord, that
hate thee? And am not I grieved with those
that rise up against thee? I hate them with perfect hatred.
I count them mine enemies. Search me, O God, and know my
heart, try me, and know my thoughts. and see if there be any wicked
way in me and lead me in the way everlasting. May the Lord bless that portion
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, Oh, we bow before thy triune
majesty, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, co-equal and co-eternal,
the only true God. Oh, we do pray for grace to worship
thee at this evening hour as we gather around thy word. We
do pray 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. We do humbly beseech thee for
thy great namesake. For without thy heavenly power,
O Lord, no sweets the gospel can afford, no drops of heavenly
dew will fall. We pray that we may have the
dew of heaven upon our branch. And we pray that that wonderful
fullness of grace that is in Christ Jesus may be poured into
our souls, that we may partake of his fullness, that we pray
that we may be favoured to feel that sweet spirit of adoption,
whereby we may cry, Abba, Father, my God, my Father, blissful name,
O may I call thee mine. O gracious God, to grant that
we might know what the dear Apostle speaks of. For God has sent forth
the spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father. May it be so tonight that that
sweet spirit of adoption, we think of thy word to come out
from among them and be ye separate. Touch not the unclean thing,
and I will be a father unto you. and ye shall be my sons and daughters. Gracious God, may that be so
tonight, and the sweet reality of it known by experience in
our hearts. We pray, most gracious Lord,
that thou would remember us for good. Remember us with the favour
that thou bearest unto thy people. O Lord, we do beseech of thee.
Make known thy love and mercy to us all, And that we pray that
for any that are in darkness, that they may be brought into
light. That any that are in bondage may be brought into liberty.
Any that are far off may be made nigh. Make the blind to see,
and the deaf to hear, and the lame to walk. O Lord, we do beseech
of thee. May we see the mighty work of
thy Spirit. Indeed, may we be led by the
Spirit of God, for as many as are led by the Spirit of God,
they are the sons of God. And may we have that witness
that we are indeed led by the Spirit, and that we are indeed
thy sons and thy daughters. Do hear us, Lord, we humbly pray
thee, and come and open thy word to our heart and to our understanding. Come and grant that we may delve
into that deep that couches beneath in thy word. We come as poor
sinners, Lord, we're the fallen sons and daughters of Adam. We
are born in sin, we are shaped in iniquity. We are unrighteous
altogether. Gracious God, oh, we do pray
to be delivered from sin and from its power. And though sin
lives in us, may we not live in sin, but may we live to him
that died, that may we be surrendered to the crucified one. We do humbly
beseech of thee. That we pray that most gracious
Lord that thou would remember us as a church and as a congregation. Remember our brethren the deacons
and give them grace, wisdom and help. Remember each one of our
brethren and sisters in church fellowship and grant thy rich
blessing to rest upon us, unite us more closely together in the
sacred bonds of Christian love and union and communion, we do
humbly beseech of them. Oh, we do pray, most gracious
Lord, that thou wouldst grant that like that dear woman, we
may come, we may press through the crowd, if I might but touch
the hem of his garment, I shall be made whole, and, Lord, she
did. That we, at this evening hour,
may touch the hem of Jesus' garment, may draw from that sacred virtue
that is in him, the virtue of his precious blood, the virtue
of his glorious righteousness, the virtue of that holy sacrifice
on Calvary, may be known and felt within our hearts, If the
Son shall make you free, then shall ye be free indeed. Oh,
that we might know that freedom and that liberty and that joy
and that peace in believing as we gather around thy word. Deliver
us from an evil heart of unbelief. Deliver us from the power and
the dominion of sin. Deliver us from the temptations
of Satan, that whether he comes as a roaring lion to devour or
whether he comes as an angel of light to deceive, we pray
to be delivered from his power. We pray for the fulfilling of
that most precious promise, that when the enemy comes in like
a flood, the spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against
him. O Lord, may it be so. We do humbly beseech of thee,
but for thy great name's sake, We pray that our heart and our
affections may be set upon things above and not on things of the
earth. Give us believing views of that
glorious covenant ordered in all things ensured. Give us to feel and to know that
we were chosen by the Father before the foundation of the
world. Give us to feel and know that we were in Christ when he
was crucified. that our sins and our iniquities
were laid upon him. O Lord, give us to know our interest
in the Saviour's blood, my pardon sealed, and peace with God. And
O Lord God, we do pray that thou wouldst graciously guide and
direct us for thy great name's sake. We pray that thou wouldst
graciously bless the whole of our congregation. There are those,
O Lord, through family responsibilities that have to stay at home with
the children, and we pray for them. And those in other circumstances,
Lord, that cannot come physically to the sanctuary. Others, Lord,
that could come, but have no desire to come. All we pray that
those work that desire in their hearts, that they may truly feel
I love to meet among them now, before thy gracious feet to bow,
thou vilest of them all. And O Lord God, we do pray to
remember that the little ones, the children, have mercy upon
them, show them thy ways, teach them thy paths, put the fear
of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom, into their hearts,
Our dear young friends, each one of them, bring them to living
faith in Jesus Christ. Bring them to the feet of Jesus,
poor needy sinners, to receive that wonderful salvation that
he has wrought out, to know what we've sung together in our opening
hymn. And friend, there is your voice
is joy. Oh, that glorious, unchanging
friend of Jesus Christ, the same yesterday and today. and forever. Lord, we do pray that there was
work in the hearts of the young. A generation may be raised up
to call thee the Redeemer blessed and shall follow on to know the
Lord. Lord, remember us for good. Build us up a truly spiritual
people. Graciously gather and draw forth
those among us that fear and love thy name, that they may
be enabled to follow thee. for thy great namesake. We pray,
dear Lord, that thou in thy great mercy would remember this village,
and that the glory and light of the gospel may shine forth
and precious souls may be gathered in, that we may see a building
of the walls of Jerusalem, that we may see the pulling down of
the strongholds of Satan, the setting up of the kingdom of
the Lord Jesus in the hearts of sinners, Help us to patiently
wait upon Thee. Help us to watch unto prayer.
We do humbly beseech of Thee. This is Thy work, and Thine alone. Lord, we pray that we may see
the prodigals return. What a wonderful thing that would
be, to see them come into the sanctuary. And Lord, we pray
that it may be so. that thou wouldst cause them
to be in want and cause them to return. Lord, we pray that
thou, in thy great mercy, wouldst graciously remember parents and
give wisdom, guidance, and direction. Remember all in the midst of
the journey of life and have mercy upon them, O Lord, we beseech
thee. But for thy great name's sake,
have mercy upon us. we do pray thee. And Lord, we
pray to be delivered from an evil heart of unbelief, from
the power and the dominion of sin, and grant us those clear
believing views of our Lord Jesus Christ, and that fullness that
is in him. Remember, O Lord, those of us
in the evening time of life's journey, Be gracious, Lord, we
humbly pray thee, and bless us for thy great namesake. O Lord,
we do pray that thou, in thy precious mercy, would remember
our dear aged sister at home, and that she may be truly blessed
there, that she may be enabled to listen to the service, and
that we pray Most gracious Lord, that Thou wouldst be with her
in her lonely hours, and help her to wait upon Thee, and to
watch unto prayer. We do pray, most gracious Lord,
that Thou, in Thy precious mercy, wouldst hear our prayers, hear
our entreaties. Let our cry come unto Thee. Let
my prayer be set before Thee as incense. O Lord, we do beseech
Thee. And O Lord God, we do thank thee. Thy tender mercies, thy loving
kindnesses, thy kind providence, thy mercies new every morning,
great is thy faithfulness. We do thank thee for that wonderful
profound truth of God manifest in the flesh, and the word was
made flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld His glory, the
glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace
and truth. We thank Thee for that holy,
perfect life that He lived as a man here upon earth. As for
God, His way is perfect. And Lord, we see all those perfections
meet in our Lord Jesus Christ. He lived as a man under the Lord,
He fulfilled and honoured and magnified it on the behalf of
his people. We do thank the Lord that it
is so, and that he has done so. We do thank the most gracious
Lord for Gethsemane, where the sin of the church was laid on
our beloved Redeemer, and where he was in agony. And O most gracious God, He took
our sins and nailed them to His cross, suffered and bled and
died to redeem us from all sin, to redeem us from the curse of
the law and the condemnation of the law, to bring us into
the glorious liberty of the people of God. We thank Thee that He
has brought in everlasting righteousness to clothe His people in that
glorious robe of His righteousness, We thank Thee that by His sacred
offering on Calvary He has put away sin. He's removed it as
far as the east is from the west. We thank Thee that there is everlasting
liberty, life and light in our Lord Jesus Christ. He rose from
the grave for our justification. He has ascended bodily into heaven
and sitteth at Thy right hand Gracious God, we do thank Thee
that it is so. And we do thank Thee for that
blessed reality that we have a great High Priest that is passed
into the heavens. Jesus, the Son of God, remember
Thy servants. Remember the causes of truth
up and down the land. Remember Thy people everywhere.
O Lord, we do beseech Thee and return in the sovereign power
and influence of thy Spirit. We do humbly beseech thee. Arise,
arise, O God of grace, into thy restless end, thou and the ark
of thy strength, and let thy priests be clothed with salvation,
and thy saints shall shout aloud for joy. O abundantly bless the
provision of thy house, and satisfy her poor with bread. O Lord,
we do beseech of thee for thy great namesake. Thou hast promised
in thy word, I will bring thy sons from far, and thy daughters
from the ends of the earth. Thou hast said in thy word, the
husbandman hath long patience for the precious fruits of the
earth. Oh, do grant us that long patience, that we may wait and
watch for thy appearing, for thy arm to be made bare. Hear
us, Lord, help us to go into the highways and the byways,
and compel them to come in, we do humbly beseech thee for thy
great name's sake. Be with us now, Lord, as we turn
to thy holy word. Come and touch one's lips with
a live coal from off the heavenly altar. Forgive all our many,
many sins, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. Let us now sing together hymn
number 1016. The tune is St. Polycarp, 405.
God of my life, thy gracious power through varied
deaths my soul has led, oft turned aside the fatal hour, or lifted
up my sinking head. Hymn 1016. ? O my Fatherland, my native land,
? ? O my Fatherland, my native land, ? O'er the land of the free and
the home of the brave? In the land of the free and the
home of the brave? But in the law, in sacredness,
in the way, May we be like this forever I have pursued the step of vision.
I will arise, I will surprise. I am the beast. you. ? Your children have gone ? ? Give
me your word ? ? My sins have now gone ? ? Give me your heart ?
? My hand and voice ? Greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, I would direct your attention to Psalm 139 and
we'll read verse 17 for our text. Psalm 139 Verse 17, how precious also are
thy thoughts unto me, O God, how great is the sum of them. The sweet psalmist of Israel,
as we notice at the top of the psalm, a psalm of David, He had some meditation here in
the midst of all his troubles, all his trials, all his perplexities,
all his sorrows, all his sins. He had some sweet, precious meditation
on the eternal God. We think of those words, the
eternal God is thy refuge. David knew that. and underneath
are the everlasting arms. David knew that. You know, it's a great mercy,
my beloved friends, if we know these things. John, in his first
epistle at several places, he says, we know. We know. We know. Now, my beloved friends,
what do you know? What knowledge do you have, both
of yourself and of the Eternal God? We know. If we indeed have
that divine work of the Spirit in our hearts, we shall know
something by the inward teaching of the Spirit of God. You think of what it says, we
know that we have passed from death unto life because we love
the brethren. Do you know that? You must answer honestly before
God. Have you felt that? You feel
a love to the Lord's living family? You feel a love to the house
of God? I have loved the habitation of
thy house and the place where thine honour dwelleth? It's a
wonderful thing, my beloved friends. If we know some of these things,
don't deny it. The devil will try to get you
to deny it. An evil heart of unbelief will
try to get you to deny it. We're solemnly warned about it,
aren't we? Be careful, lest there be in
any of you an evil heart of unbelief. You see, my beloved friends,
do not deny those things that you know. Your knowledge may
not be great, but you know something. You know that you're a poor lost
sinner. You know that you're undone. You know that Jesus is
the way to God. You know that Jesus is the way,
the truth and the life. You know it by experience. You
know that Jesus Christ is the light of the world. You know
it by experience. How? Because that light has shone
into your heart. God who commanded the light to
shine out of darkness, shined into our hearts with the light
of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. You see, the light of the knowledge,
we know. These things are not what we
know in the head, it's what we know in the heart. It's what
we've experienced in our souls. It's the things that we've had
sealed there by the Holy Ghost. You can point to certain places
in your life where the Lord has made his word precious to your
heart. It's a great mercy, we know.
Or that that may exercise each one of our hearts and that may
you go indeed when you get home to the first epistle of John
and you look at those we knows in the first epistle of John. Do not deny what the Lord has
done. Do not put your light under a
bushel. Like the Lord Jesus in that parable,
he said, when a man lights a candle, he doesn't put it under a bushel,
he puts it in a high place. So the light gives light to the
whole house. We mustn't hide our light, no. But we must shine. You know, one way that the Lord's
people shine, one of course is in the confession of their faith.
Their faith in Jesus Christ, their hope in him. But the other
way, the Lord Jesus Christ, he says something about that they
may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
That's how we can tell what the people of God are is
how we live. Do people know your profession
by the way that you live and the things that you do and the
things that you say? These are things, my beloved
friends, that are very precious. So David, he says here, he has
some meditation upon the greatness, the infinity. the omniscience,
the omnipresence of the Almighty God. One godly man, writing many
years ago on this psalm, he said it is such beautiful, sacred,
poetical language. There is nothing to compare with
it on this earth. He said if this had been written
by Homer or one of the great poets, it would have been held
up as being such a wonderful piece, but because it's in the
Word of God, and because the devil will seek to cast any aspersions
on the Word of God, it's not accounted as being something
so precious. But the Shepherd of Israel wrote
this sublime language, and it is sublime, the shepherd boy
without any formal education he obviously knew how to write
and he obviously knew he was an accomplished musician as well but just look at the sublime
language and of course we mustn't lose sight divinely inspired
by God his heart was opened his heart was expanded just like
when he writes Psalm 45, my heart is indicting a good matter, I
speak of the things I've made touching the king, my tongue
is the pen of a ready writer, thou art fairer than the children
men. So he speaks of the glorious divine person of our Lord and
Savior, Jesus Christ of God manifest in the flesh. Now here, he meditates
on the greatness the infinite being of the Eternal God. You know, it says in Scripture,
who by searching can find out God? We can't. But what He reveals
in His Word, that is how we find out God. When reading in the
Word of God and the Spirit of God, opening it to your heart
and your understanding, that's how we find out about God. Search
the Scriptures, It is the word of our Lord Jesus Christ. The word that was given to Joshua,
that thou shalt meditate therein day and night. Where? The Scriptures. They are able to make thee wise
unto salvation. Paul, he said to Timothy, thou
hast known the Scriptures from thy youth upwards. What a mercy
if we have. Now, he says here about the Lord
searching him and knowing him. Thou knowest my down-sitting
and mine uprising. Thou understandest my thought
afar off. Thou compassest my path and my
lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. See, he meditates
he realizes thou God seest me thou God knowest me not only in his outward words
but he knew his thoughts that thou understandest my thought
afar off and that is what he means in verse 4 for there is
not a word in my tongue but lo oh lord thou knowest it all together
Why? Because he understood his thoughts
before he even spoke what he was going to say. God knew it,
even before he spoke it. He saw it in his mind, as it
was formulated in his mind. David has a perception given
to him of this. Thou knowest it altogether. And
then on meditating on this he says, thou hast beset me behind
and before, and laid thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too
wonderful for me, it is high, I cannot attain unto it. It's
beyond his comprehension, it's beyond yours, and it's beyond
mine, and it's beyond the thought and mind of any poor finite man. It's beyond what we can conceive. You know, when the Apostle Paul
He says in the Corinthians, he saw things in the third heaven
that it was not lawful to speak about. I think personally it's
an unusual way of putting it. What it actually means is things
that he couldn't put into words. They were so wonderful. So wonderful. And this is how David is here
in this psalm. He saw things that he couldn't
put into words. Such knowledge is too wonderful
for me. It is high. I cannot attain unto
it. And then from that, he extrapolates
and he says, whither shall I go from thy spirit? Or whither shall
I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou
art there. If I make my bed in hell, behold,
thou art there. This is what is called the Lord
Jehovah's omnipresence. We've often explained to you,
omni means universal or complete. Presence, we know what that means. Omnipresence means a universal
and complete presence. God is everywhere. God is everywhere. And this is what David meditates
on. If he goes up into heaven, thou art there. If I make my
bed in hell, behold thou art there. If I take the wings of
the morning and dwell in the utmost parts of the sea, even
there shall thy hand lead me and thy right hand shall hold
me. What a wonderful line of Meditation and thought, my beloved
friends. God is in all places at all times. Paul, when he stood on Mars Hill,
he said, in him we live and move and have our being, in God. And
this is exactly what David is speaking of here. Even in the
uttermost parts of the sea, even there, shall thy hand lead me
and thy right hand shall hold me that what is also set forth
of course in this psalm it is God's omniscience that the word
omniscience is omniscience science is knowledge God has a complete
knowledge of all things speaking here of the greatness the infinity
of the almighty He's without beginning. He's without ending. From everlasting to everlasting
thou art God. It's a wonderful line of thought. And of course, all these things
are speaking of his infinity. You might say, well, what does
infinity mean? It means without any measurement,
without any parameters, without any boundaries. That is God,
from everlasting to everlasting. in all places at all times. Omnipresent. You see, having all knowledge. Omniscient, having all knowledge. God knows everything about you. There's nothing he doesn't know.
He knows all your thoughts. Now, David here in this psalm,
he speaks of how the darkness and the light Says it, surely the darkness
shall cover me, even the night shall be light about me. Yea,
the darkness hideth not from thee, but the night shineth as
the day. The darkness and the light are
both alike unto thee. There is no such thing as darkness
with God. No. All is light. We know darkness. We know darkness
because we're sinners. We even know natural darkness
because we live here on earth. But God knows no darkness. And
if you look into heaven, which we have an insight into in the
word of God, there is no darkness there. The Lord God is the light
thereof. The light of God. You see, and
there's nothing, what it means here, in the darkness things
are hidden. There's nothing hidden from God.
Nothing. Everything is known. Surely the darkness shall cover
me, even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth
not from thee, but the night shineth as the day. The darkness
and the light are both alike to thee. The psalmist here, he
meditates on how God formed him in the womb. Thou hast possessed my reins,
thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. He looks back to the time
in his mother's womb. I will praise thee for I am fearfully
and wonderfully made. This is in his mother's womb.
marvellous are thy works and that my soul knoweth right well
my substance that is his body was not hid from thee when i
was made in secret and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of
the earth thine eyes did see my substance yet being unperfect
and in thy book all my members were written which in continuance
that means at God's appointed time were fashioned, when as
yet there was none of them. You see, God knows all things. He says, doesn't he, in Solomon,
in the Ecclesiastes, under the divine influence of the Spirit,
he says there's a time to be born and there is a time to die. There is a set time for man upon
the earth. There is. and it's divinely ordained and
purposed, that's set time. We do not believe, my beloved
friends, in the forces of chance and of luck. No, we believe in
a God supremely kind, loving and gracious, who will not at
all acquit the guilty, a God who knows all, sees all, understands
all, It's a very difficult concept to conceive because it's almost
beyond our comprehension. But, you know, God has as much
acquaintance with a thousand years ahead as he does a thousand
years behind. We can understand a God that
understands everything that has happened, but my beloved friends,
he understands everything that is going to happen. There's nothing
here. He lives in one eternal now. He is an eternal being. He's not constrained by any boundaries. That's what infinite means. And
we read it here in the book of Psalms. I believe it's Psalm
145. His understanding is infinite. It's infinite. It's without measure. He understands everything he
sees everything he knows everything now there is something exceedingly
precious in our text how precious also are thy thoughts unto me
oh god how great is the sum of them thy thoughts unto me you
know this is um very uh beautifully opened in the word of god And
my mind, it just goes to the prophet Jeremiah. And in Jeremiah
chapter 29, it very beautifully speaks there of this great God
and his thoughts. And it says in Jeremiah 29 verse
11, for I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith
the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you
an expected end. You see, my thoughts toward you. And then he goes on to say, then
shall you call upon me, and you shall go and pray unto me, and
I will hearken unto you, and you shall seek me and find me.
when you shall search for me with all your heart. And I will
be found of you, saith the Lord, and I will turn away your captivity,
and I will gather you from all nations and from all the places. You see, this is what God will
do. Whither I have driven you, saith
the Lord, I will bring you again into the place whence I caused
you to be carried away I know the thoughts that I think towards
you. This is to his chosen people.
And these words, you know, the meaning of that word, no scripture
is any private interpretation. It doesn't apply only to the
Jews in Babylon. The word of God is a living word.
It applies to the church today. It's a living word. And it applies
to the church today. I know the thoughts that I think
toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, not of evil, to give
you an expected end. What wonderful thing to know
those thoughts of peace, those thoughts of peace from the eternal
God. You think of that eternal covenant
ordered in all things ensured, that covenant made before the
foundation of the world in the Lord Jehovah, between the Father,
Son and Holy Ghost, a covenant of grace, a covenant of salvation,
a covenant of deliverance for the Lord's living family. And
that deliverance is in Jesus Christ, the Eternal Son of the
Eternal Father. Christ in the book of Genesis,
the only time he's called it, is Shiloh. The word Shiloh means,
or the name Shiloh means, the rescuer. He rescues His people. God so loved the world, He gave
His only begotten Son. He didn't come to condemn the
world, but that world through Him might be saved. There's redemption
and salvation in none other. There is none other name given
unto heaven whereby you must be saved. And it's here that
God's thoughts toward you are peace. It's in Christ. Peace
by His cross as Jesus made. The Church's ever-living head.
It's a wonderful peace there. And my beloved friends, it's
an eternal peace. I am come that they might have
peace. We read in the prophet Micah,
this man shall be the peace. What man? The Holy God man. The
man Christ Jesus. I know The thoughts that I think
towards you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of
evil, to give you an expected end. In the land of Babylon,
everything looked dark. Everything looked impossible.
They were in the hand of the enemy. They were many, many miles
from the land of Israel. And yet, you know, God's word
will be fulfilled. You may feel in your feelings
at this time you're so far off from God. You may sometimes think
that it will never happen. It will. It will in God's time. But they that wait upon the Lord
shall renew their strength. They shall mount up on wings
as eagles. They shall run and not be weary.
They shall walk and not faint. I know the thoughts that I think
towards you. It's those thoughts our Eternal
Father thinks towards you in His Son, Jesus Christ. That's
how He thinks about you. He thinks about you as being
sanctified by the Spirit and being redeemed by the Son. They're
thoughts of peace. He sent His Son. The Father sent
the Son. The willing Son obeyed. You see,
my beloved friends, these things are written for our instruction
in the Word of God. And we read in Isaiah chapter
55 and in verse 8, For my thoughts
are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith
the Lord. For as the heavens are higher
than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my
thoughts than your thoughts. You see, my beloved friends,
we sometimes in our hearts and minds, and it's through an evil
heart of unbelief we limit the Holy One of Israel. There are
no limitations on the Holy One of Israel. He is God over all
and blessed for evermore. He's almighty. There are no limitations. You see, it says here in the previous verses in Isaiah
55, Seek ye the Lord while he may be found. Call ye upon him
while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way
and the unrighteous man his thoughts. And let him return unto the Lord.
To return unto the Lord is that sacred, precious doctrine of
repentance. Except ye repent, ye shall all
likewise perish. We need real repentance. We need
to be turned right round. What the apostle calls repentance
toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. How vital is that? Let him return unto the Lord
and he will have mercy upon him. and to our God, for he will abundantly
pardon, for my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your
ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher
than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my
thoughts Then your thoughts, for as the rain cometh down,
and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth
the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give
seed to the sower, and bread to the eater, so shall my word
be that goeth forth out of my mouth. It shall not return unto
me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall
prosper in the thing where I Where to? I sent it. You see, my word. When his word goes forth, the
word of his grace, the word of his love, the word of his mercy,
the word of salvation, the word of redemption, the word of peace. When that word goes forth, it will not return void. God
doesn't waste his words. He sends His words to a certain
place. He sends His words to a certain
people, a people that were chosen before the foundation of the
world. He sends His Holy Spirit to quicken their soul. He sends
His Holy Spirit to breathe the Word of God into their heart,
to breathe life and light into their soul. That's the divine
work of the Blessed Spirit. who proceedeth forth from the
Father and the Son. And look how divinely certain
these things are. So, so shall my word be, that
goeth forth out of my mouth. It shall not return unto me void,
but it shall accomplish that which I please. Ye think of the
word of his grace, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto
I sent it. I say again, God does not waste
his words. His words, it's called the word
of His grace. It's called the word of His grace.
He speaks it into the hearts of poor sinners. He does. My thoughts are not your thoughts. You may be under a sense of sin
by the Spirit's teaching. You feel the bondage of it. You
feel the darkness. And you feel that the Lord will
condemn you forever. But listen to what he says, my
thoughts are not your thoughts. He won't condemn you. He will
receive you in Jesus Christ. He will. He'll bring you into
union with Christ. That's what his word does, the
word of his grace. Breathe into the heart. Raising
you up to a hope in the finished work of Christ He'll make his
word precious Jesus is the way to God Jesus is the way to bliss
And you will say oh that I might know him see him hear him understand
him You see How precious are they thoughts? Unto me Oh God
these precious thoughts of divine grace in that eternal covenant,
you think of the electing love of the Father, salvation is in
it. You think of the redeeming love
of the Son, salvation is in it. You think of the sanctifying
love of the Holy Ghost, salvation is in it. These three, they I work in this one blessed God,
these three divine persons within the Godhead. The salvation of the Lord's people
is divinely certain. I will work. Who shall let it? That word let is an old English
word which means hinder. Who will hinder it? None can.
None can hinder God's word or God's way. or God's salvation,
God's redemption. You see, my beloved friends,
these precious thoughts, precious thoughts. How precious also are
thy thoughts unto me, O God, how great is the sum of them. Think of the precious sacrifice
of Christ. In there, it is the precious
thoughts of God unto your soul, in that precious sacrifice of
Calvary, to be found in him, to be found in him. And not having
mine own righteousness which is of the Lord, but that which
is by faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself
for me, How precious are thy thoughts unto me, O God, how
great. He goes on in the next verse,
doesn't he? He says, if thou should count
them, they are more in number than the sand. When I awake,
I am still with thee. You think of the sand, more in
number than the sand. Think in a great way. Think for
a moment, if you pick up a few grains of sand, there's hundreds
of grains in your hand, it's very light. But you pick up a
great truckload and it's very, very heavy. How great is the sum of them? You think of that word, count
your blessings. It's found in the word of God.
Count your blessings. And there's that little chorus,
and it's so full of precious truth. Count your blessings,
count them one by one, and you'll be surprised at what the Lord
has done. How great is the sum of them.
You think of all those little blessings, those little favours
that the Lord has given you, right the way through your pilgrimage
here below. When he's come and softened your
heart, when he's come and convinced you of your sin led you to Jesus
Christ as the only saviour of sins. When he comes, when you
feel so much the corruption and sin of your own heart, but then
your heart is melted under a sense of the dying love of Jesus Christ. These are the thoughts of peace
and not of evil to give you an expected end. To give you an
expected end. You'll reach heaven because the
Father has chosen you, and the Son has redeemed you, and the
Holy Spirit has sanctified you. That's why, that's why. It's very sacred, for through
Him, that's Christ, we have access by one Spirit unto the Father. It's an almighty Savior, an almighty
God. It is indeed how precious also
are thy thoughts unto me, O God. Precious, isn't it, when you
can meditate just a little on these thoughts of the eternal
God unto your soul. I think in Psalm 40 that there
is something there concerning the thoughts of God toward his
living family, his people. And in verse 5, Psalm 40 verse
5. Many, O Lord, my God, are thy
wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which
are to us wrought. They cannot be reckoned up in
order unto thee. If I would declare and speak
of them, they are more than can be numbered. thy thoughts to
us. And it goes on to speak of what
these thoughts are. Look at verse seven. Apostle
quotes in the Hebrews. It's Christ actually speaking
here. Then said I, lo, I come in the volume of the book it
is written of me. I do like to do thy will, O God,
yea, thy law is within my heart. I have preached righteousness
in the great congregation. Lo, I have not refrained my lips,
O Lord, thou knowest. I have not hid thy righteousness
within my heart. I have declared thy faithfulness
and thy salvation. I have not concealed thy lovingkindness
and thy truth from the great congregation. That's Christ speaking. He's not concealed it. It's made
known from the housetops. Jesus is the way to God. Jesus
is the way to bliss. In this way the church has trod
down from Adam's day to this. How precious are thy thoughts
unto me, O God. And he goes on here, this is
of course the psalmist. For innumerable evils have compassed
me about. Mine iniquities have taken hold
upon me, so that I'm not able to look up. They are more than
the hairs of mine head, therefore my heart faileth me. Be pleased,
O Lord, to deliver me. O Lord, make haste to help me.
You see, there's two ways of looking at this. On the one hand,
it's David who knew sin. Christ did no sin. But our sins
were laid upon him. And I believe we can see that
here in verse 12, Psalm 40, for innumerable evils encompass me
about. Those sins, the father laid on
him as if they were his own sins. and his only begotten son was
crucified, suffered and bled and died for the sins of his
people. How precious are thy thoughts
unto men. O God, he was wounded for our
transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities and the chastisement
of our peace was upon him and with his stripes we are healed. How precious also are thy thoughts
unto me, O God. How great is the sum of them.
Think of the dying thief on the cross of Calvary next to Christ. One of them was left in his sins. The other, he was moved by the
Spirit to supplicate the mercy of God. He saw In Christ, this man had
done nothing amiss. He saw in Christ the Redeemer,
the way to God. Right in the closing hours of
his life, his eyes were open. And you think of those precious
thoughts of Christ. Today, shalt thou be with me
in paradise. In paradise. What wonderful,
precious words. were spoken to him there. How
precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God. How great is
the sum of them. If I should count them, they
are more in number than the sand. When I awake, I am still with
thee." You know, I was in the period of time, about two years,
when I was in Gospel I remember on many occasions going to bed
and weeping. You might say, why? I was so
overwhelmed at the goodness of the Lord to such a poor sinner.
His love filled my heart, my very soul, and it made me weep. It did. But what was so wonderful
is I would go to sleep like that, I would wake up like that, and
this word would come to me. When I awake, I'm still with
thee. And the other word that used to come to me was he lay
all night betwixt my breast. See, I will never leave thee
nor forsake thee. How precious also are thy thoughts
unto me, O God. How great is the sum of them. Now, my beloved friends, these
are eternal thoughts. I would that you could understand
They are eternal thoughts. They will never change. God doesn't
change. His love doesn't change. His
kindness doesn't change. His thoughts do not change. Thoughts of peace are not of
evil. How precious also are thy thoughts
unto me, O God. How great is the sum of them. May the Lord add His blessings. Let us now sing together hymn
number 732. The tune is Indulgence, 547. Indulgent God, how kind!
Are all thy ways to me whose dark benighted mind was
enmity to thee, yet now, subdued by sovereign grace, my spirit
longs for thy embrace. How precious are thy thoughts,
which all my bosom hold. Hymn 732. O come all ye faithful joyful
and triumphant O'er the land of the free and the home of the
brave O come, O come, Emmanuel, O come,
O come, Emmanuel Come, precious, come, light-bulbs,
Bridge o'er my brosom round, ? Grace well beyond my power
? ? And captivate my soul ? ? Thou greatness of heaven and earth
? ? There rise the heavenly holy
? ? Queen of the skies ? ? We serve in Jesus' way ? Thy feet made haste to bear,
And there should not the poor but Thou dost all things wear. Thy love was great, Thy mercy
great, Which from the pit He came and to Thee. Upon ? Bent of grace ? ? The sinner
saved by blood ? ? The streams of love I trace ? ? Up to the
fountain god ? And in His wondrous mercy, Sing
eternal thoughts of love to me. 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.