Let us turn to the psalm that
we've just read, Psalm 107. And I just want us to consider
the psalm in a general way tonight. At the head of the page on this
pulpit Bible, the content of the psalm is summed up by these
words, the manifold providence of the Lord. It is very much
a psalm that speaks to us of God's providences. And so the theme that I want
to take up is that of the book of providence. The book of providence. It's been said that there are
three principal books that we should read and that we should
be familiar with. The first of all, of course,
is the book of God, the Word of God, the Holy Scriptures. Remember what the Apostle says
to Timothy at the end of 2 Timothy chapter 3, from a child I was
known the Holy Scriptures which are able to make me wise unto
salvation through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And he goes
on, all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable
for doctrine, for reproof, for correction. for instruction in
righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly
furnished unto every good work. What a book is this that is before
us and that always occupies such a central part in all of our
services. I was struck recently how important
is the public reading of the Holy Scriptures. And in many
places, alas, it seems in this day, it's just a few verses of
scripture that may be read in the public reading. And yet,
independently of everything else that we do in the service of
worship, independent of everything else, the public reading of the
Word of God is a real means of grace. And so, we rightly emphasize the importance
of the Word of God, and following from that, of course, there is
the opening up of the Word, the rightly dividing, we trust, of
the Word of Truth. This is the first book that we
should be familiar with, not only in the service of corporate
worship, but, of course, in the privacy of our own homes. We
should be reading the Word of God and meditating in the Scriptures
and endeavouring to read through the Word of God from Genesis
to Revelation there are those reading plans which will take
you right through the Bible in a year if you determine to read
so many chapters in the Old Testament and the New Testament day by
day. The first book that we need to
be familiar with is the Word of God and then another book
that's important is that book of our own hearts and isn't there
a relationship there because God's words is likened to a looking
glass or a mirror in the epistle of James and as we read the word
of God we need to have our hearts exposed to the truth of God's
words The Apostle exhorts the Corinthians, examine yourselves,
prove your own selves, know you're not your own selves, that Jesus
Christ is in you, except ye be reprobate. Do we know ourselves?
Do we desire to know ourselves as God knows us, as God sees
us? David could come before the Lord
and make that remarkable prayer at the end of the 139th Psalm,
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 the knowledge of the book of our
own hearts do we determine to know ourselves and what our real
needs are before that God who is our creator the one to whom
we must ultimately stand and give our accounts and then the
third book that we should be familiar with is surely this
book of Providence. Psalm 107, very much taken up
with the providence of God, but so too in the previous psalms.
You read through Psalm 105 and Psalm 106, it's a recounting
in some ways of the history of God's ancient covenant people,
the children of Israel, speaks of God's dealings with them in
Egypt, how he has brought them out, brought them through the
wilderness, settled them in the promised land, their rebellions.
These Psalms then, 105, 106 and 107, in a sense, are all taken
up with the same theme. God's providential government,
God's rule over the lives of his people. And so we come to
the end of this particular psalm. We find these words in verse
43, "...whoso is wise and will observe these things, even they
shall understand the lovingkindness of the Lord." What are these
things? Well, as I said at the beginning, here we have God's
manifold providences. And we see how from verse 4 following
we read of those who might be described as being travelers
in this world. And then at verse 10 following
we read of those who are in desperate places, captives. And then again
at verse 17 following we read of those who are sick men. It
says at verse 17, fools, because of their transgression and because
of their iniquities are afflicted. Their soul abhors all manner
of meat. They draw nigh or near unto the gates of death. Then they cry unto the Lord in
their trouble, and He saveth them out of their distresses. It speaks of sick men. Verse
23 following speaks of mariners. those who do business in deep
water see men and then from verse 33 following we read of the diverse
situations of life so the whole psalm speaks of men in various
circumstances passing through all the vicissitudes of our mortal
life, and God's overruling providence in all these things. And so as
we come to look at the psalm in general for a short while
tonight, I shall divide the subject matter into these two parts.
First of all, to consider how we should be observers of God's
providence. We must be observant And then
secondly, how we are to interpret that providence, how we are to
relate God's dealings to ourselves. First of all then, the observation
of God's providence. We observe providence because
we recognize that God is God. And because God is God, He is
therefore sovereign. We are not deists. The deists
are those who deny the doctrine of providence. They might say,
oh well, God created all things, but God simply made all things
and then leaves his creation, as it were, to run its own course.
It doesn't have any control, quite deliberately. We're not
of that persuasion because that's not a biblical position. In Psalm
115 we read our God is in the heavens. He hath done whatsoever
he pleased. And we remember, and we often
quote those words of Nebuchadnezzar, the great Assyrian or the Babylonian
emperor, when he was so humbled by God and brought to acknowledge
how the heavens do reign, all the inhabitants of the earth,
he says. All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as
nothing, and He doeth according to His will among the armies
of heaven and the inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay
His hand or say to Him, What doest thou? He must acknowledge
that the God of Israel, Jehovah, is truly the Sovereign Lord of
all things. And yet the strange thing is,
when we read through the Old Testament we see that time and
time again the children of Israel fail to recognize God's sovereignty
in their lives and in his dealings with them as a people. How the
Lord upbraids them through the ministry of the prophets, Isaiah
42.20 for example. The prophet says of Israel, they
are seeing many things but they observe us not. or they see all
these things that are going on this is God's covenant people
in the Old Testament all those things that are happening with
them and with the nations round about them but they're not observant
of these things and though we need to be those who would be
observers there is a mystery in providence God's ways are
strange ways His ways in the sea, His path in the deep waters
His footsteps are not known we read in another psalm and some
of you are probably familiar with the work of the Puritan
John Flavel who wrote of the mystery of providence there is
a mystery in God's providences we have to come to to acknowledge
that fact and as there is a mystery so there is something here for
us to contemplate to consider to observe And here at the end,
you see, we do read of the wise man. What does the wise man do? He observes these things. He observes these things. And
the verb that we have to observe literally means to watch. To
watch carefully so as to keep these things. You don't want to lose these
things. You want to see the importance of it, the significance of it.
It's a strong verb, really. And we read, of course, of the
duty of the watchmen in Holy Scripture. In Isaiah 62, 6, God
says, I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which
shall never hold their peace, day nor night, ye that make mention
of the Lord keep not silence." These watchmen, they were to
be observers. They were the walled cities,
and they were those who were on the lookout, lest there should
be any danger approaching the city. And this is what we have
here, the idea of observers. These watchmen, as it were, their
eyes open, alert, their wits about them. And it was a very
important thing, a very important work that these watchmen were
engaged in. Look at how we read of them in
the opening verses of Ezekiel chapter 33. The Prophet says,
again, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man,
speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When
I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take
a man of their coast, and set him for their watchman, if, when
he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet,
and warn the people, then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet,
and taketh not warning, if the sword come, and take him away,
his blood shall be upon his own head. He heard the sound of the
trumpet, and took not warning, his blood shall be upon him.
but he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul. But if the
watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and
the people be not warned, if the sword come, and take any
person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity, but
his blood will I require at the watchman's hand." What a very
significant thing then to be a watchman. to be an observer. And there's an application, surely,
with regards to what we're told in this particular psalm. We
should be watchmen, observers of the providence of God. And it's interesting, I referred
to those words in Isaiah 62, and there at verse 6 there is
an alternative reading in the margin. And if we read it with
the margin, it's somewhat different at the end of the verse. I have
set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never
hold their peace, day nor night. Ye that make mention of the Lord,
the Magians said, ye that are the Lord's remembrances, ye that
are the Lord's remembrances, keep not silence. And when we
think of providence, you see, if we're observing God's providence
of rights, And watching the hand of God, it will move us to be
the Lord's remembrances. It will move us to come to Him
in the spirit of prayer. That's what is the outcome if
we're those who are spiritually aware that God is a sovereign
God and all things are under His good and gracious hand. Or we will then be praying people,
praying over God's providences. remember how we read of Joseph
and Joseph of course such a remarkable example of the providence of
God I mentioned it only on the Lord's Day evening when we were
looking at those verses at the beginning of Psalm 80 God's providence in that man's
life and at the end of his life how his his brethren were afraid
how they had treated him so ill, how they had wanted to destroy
him. They sold him into slavery, into
Egypt. You know, something of the account
that we have there at the end of the book of Genesis of the
life of that man. It all goes back, of course,
to his dreams. And we're told he was probably
not always wise the way he spoke to his brethren and to his father
of his dreams we're told in Genesis 37 11 how that his brethren envied
him because he was going to be exalted that's what his dreams
were saying really he was going to have that position where they
would all have to bow down before him even his father and his mother
it seemed this is how the dreams seem to be interpreted. His brethren
envied him, it says, but his father observed the same. There's Jacob. Jacob's observant. And that's what we should be,
observant of all the Lord's doing, meditating upon his providences. And by that means, of course,
we can have some understanding with regards to the Lord's will.
This is one of the ways in which we can discern the will of God.
He says in another psalm, Psalm 32, I will instruct thee, and
teach thee in the way which thou shalt go. I will guide thee with
mine eye. Be ye not as a horse or mule
that hath no understanding, whose mouth must be held in with bit
and bridle, lest it come neither. Don't be like the brute beast.
That's what he's saying. Not like the horse that must
be controlled by the rider. No, observe what God is doing. Pray over what God is doing.
Probably some of you read some of the letters of that gracious
man John Newton. You're familiar with his hymns.
But his letters, his letters are good letters. They're full
of so much sound spiritual common sense. And he makes much of God's
providence. He's very helpful, is Newton,
and Newton's letters are very helpful if you want to understand
something of the way of the Lord's dealings with his people, the
way in which he leads and guides his people. We need to be those
then who, as we are observant of the providence of God, So
we bring these matters before the Lord and want to understand
why it is that the Lord is doing this and that and the other.
What is the Lord teaching us? We need to pray that we might
be blessed with that spirit of meekness under his sovereign
hand, submissive to his will. Wasn't that the case with with
Joseph. I said these previous psalms
105 and 106 also speak of God's providence with the children
of Israel and there in the 105th psalm we read quite a little
bit about Joseph. In that 19th verse it says until
the time that his word came the word of the Lord tried him. Or
there was a time when God's word would have its fulfillment. Those
dreams all that his brethren envied, all that his father was
observing. What was going to happen? This young man, was he
going to be in some place of significance and authority? When
he goes into slavery there in Egypt, it's not long, of course,
before that wicked woman, the wife of Potiphar, lays false
charges against him and he's cast into the prison. He's forgotten,
languishing in the prison. until the time that God's Word
came. Oh, that Word tried him. And sometimes it's like that
with us. At the end he can say to his
brethren, ye thought evil against me, but God meant it unto goods,
to bring to pass as it is this day, to save much people alive. They only wanted rid of him,
they envied him, they hated him. But God meant it unto good. All
those things that work together for good to them that love God.
To them who are the called according to His purpose. How important that we, we're
observers of the providence of God. If we say that we believe
in God and we believe in a God who is sovereign, We will take
account not only of the book of Holy Scripture, but we'll
take account also of that book of Providence. Look at the language
that we have. Psalm 28 verse 5, Because they
regard not the works of the Lord, nor the operation of his hands,
he shall destroy them, and not build them up. Solemn words. Those who regard not the works
of God. Take no account of what God is
doing. Nor will we see it. We live in
such solemn days, do we not? The language of the prophet Micah,
the Lord's voice, crieth unto the city, The man of wisdom shall
see thine eye. He is of art, and who hath appointed
it, says the prophet. And God's judgments are in the
earth, and yet men's ears are blocked, their eyes are closed,
they don't see these things, they don't hear these things.
Or that we might be those then who are wise and observant. Who so is wise, it says, and
will observe these things. The book of Providence is what
lies before us throughout this psalm. But then in the second
place, to say something with regards to are we to read it? are we to interpret it? are we to understand it? and of course this is what he
is saying right at the end Utho is wise and will observe these
things even they shall understand the loving kindness of the Lord
where there is a proper observance the watching of God's hands will
understand something of of God's wise. And what is his understanding?
Well, it's spiritual understanding. It's spiritual understanding.
The verb here is really a reflexive verb. In other words, it's an
action that reflects back upon the person who is committing
that action. And The comment of William Romain
is helpful. He says this, he says, the observer
finds his own interest. If we observe God's providence
of rights, we'll find our own interest in it. You see, we're not just to come
to the psalm objectively and historically. We do that, and
we should do that. We want to see the Psalms in
their proper context. Certainly that's very much the
case with those two previous Psalms. It's clearly speaking
to us about the children of Israel, and the way in which God dealt
with them. But we don't just read the Old
Testament historically, do we? I trust that we also want to
read it spiritually. and we want to read it therefore
subjectively. We're told quite clearly in the
New Testament concerning the children of Israel how all these
things happened unto them for ensembles, or types, and they're
written for us, upon whom the ends of the world are come. The
ends of the world, that's the gospel done. All that we have
in the Old Testament is written for us. All God's dealings with
the children of Israel That's a type. But God's Word is really
for His spiritual Israel. And not all Israel that are of
Israel, it's the spiritual Israel. Again, Paul says in Romans 15,
4, whatever things were written aforetime, that's the Old Testament,
written aforetime, were written for our learning, that we, through
patience and comfort of the Scriptures, might have hope. When we come
to God's word then we want to receive some good thing in our
own souls. And so what do we seek to do?
We seek to make comparisons. Paul speaks of comparing spiritual
things with spiritual. In a sense comparing God's ways
with God's words. Bringing God's providences to
the touchstone of scripture. or seeking to relight God's providence
to our own souls and to our own needs as those who are his people
comparing spiritual things with spiritual. Or remember what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2
what man knoweth the things of man side the spirit of man which
is in him even so the things of God knoweth no man but the
Spirit of God there we have received not the Spirit of the world but
the Spirit which is of God that we might know the things that
are freely given to us of God we should desire that we might
have the Spirit and that he would be that one who interprets the
Word to us and helps us to relate the Word to our own situations
and our own particular and peculiar needs. All we're told, do so is wise.
Do we want to be wise? Maybe we feel often that we're
such fools. But we have that encouragement
in James, the opening chapter of that epistle, if any of you
lack wisdom, Let him ask of God that giveth to all men liberally
and abrideth not. But let him ask in faith. All
we need to come and ask that God would grant us that spiritual
wisdom that we might have an understanding. An understanding
of what? Well ultimately it comes to this
at the end of the psalm, the loving kindness. the loving kindness of the Lord.
We sang about it of course in our first hymn, that lovely hymn
of Samuel Medley, it's number 9. The theme that runs right
through that hymn, the loving kindness of the Lord. There's parallels here of course
at the end in this 43rd verse. Whoso is wise and will observe
these things, even they shall understand the loving kindness
of the Lord, that these things is related to the loving-kindness
of the Lord. God's providence is related to
God's loving-kindness. Well, what is loving-kindness? It's a great word, this word,
and it's so difficult, we're told, to find an adequate word
to use in the translation. Here we have, and it's many times
translated by, loving kindness. But it also has the idea of God's
covenant faithfulness, or God's steadfast love, or God's sovereign
grace, or God's sure mercies. All of these ideas are in this
word. It's so pregnant in its meaning. It has the idea, as I say, of
that covenant faithfulness of God. I will make an everlasting
covenant with you, he says, even the sure mercies of David. The
sure mercies of David. That there was such a comfort
to David at the end of his day. Remember the language that we
have there in 2 Samuel 23, although my house be not so with God.
Oh, there was so much to distress him as he thought back. throughout
his reign, throughout all his years, doubtless. But what does
he say? Although my house be not so with
God, yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered
in all things and sure. This is all my salvation and
all my desire. There's a relationship, you see,
between God's providence and God's grace. There's a relationship. Providence and grace, do they
not run side by side? It's been said of Psalm 107 that
it's an epitome of Christian experience. It's God's providence,
yes, but it's also speaking of the experience of the child of
God under these different figures, as it were. We read of those who are captives. Captivity is spoken of at verse
10 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 contend 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, and brought
them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and break their
bounds asunder. Don't God's children experience
that? Isn't that in a sense what we
have to come to if we're going to come to any saving knowledge
of the Lord? We have to know what it is first
of all to feel ourselves lost. We need to feel ourselves lost
before we can be found. that we need to feel ourselves
shut up before we can know anything of liberty. When God shuts us
up. Oh, how Heman cries out in Psalm
88, I am shut up, he says, and I cannot come forth. Job, Job
also knew it. He shutteth up a man, says Job,
and there can be no opening when God deals with us. When God will
bring us to the end of ourselves, he'll shut us up to what we are.
Before faith came, Paul says we're kept under the law, shut
up to the faith which would afterward be revealed. This is how God
deals with his people. He makes us feel what sin is,
that we might know the blessing of salvation, and what a blessing
it is when the Lord's our teacher. an epitome, you see, of the Christian's
experience. Those who are sick. Those who
are sick. Fools, because of their transgression,
we read at verse 17, and because of their iniquities are afflicted,
their soul abhorreth all manner of meat, 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 words and healed
them. and deliver them from their destructions. For they that are whole have
no need of the physician, but they that are sick. They that are sick need the good
physician. I came not to call the righteous,
says Christ, but sinners to repentance. He can deliver us out of all
our soul sickness. He can restore the joy of the
Lord in the hearts of his people. And he does that. And of course,
really this psalm speaks so much of those who are travellers.
It speaks of God's providence, God's providence to those who
are journeying on land. Verse 4, 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, or that men would
praise the Lord for his wonderful works to the children of men. Speaking, I suppose, in many
ways of the children of Israel there, wandering through the
wilderness, and yet the faithfulness of God But then again at verse
23, They that go down to the sea and 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 will to and fro and stagger
like a drunken man and are at their wits end. Then they cry
to the Lord. Oh God brings his people to that.
He brings them even to their wits end it says. And again we
have an alternative in the margin. All their wisdom is swallowed
up, it says. All their wisdom is swallowed
up. And how true it is, you see,
when the Lord deals with his people. It's a solitary why that
we read of in verse 4. A solitary why. It's a narrow
why. Joseph Hart says, Companions,
if we find, alas, how soon they have gone. Cortes decreed that
most must pass the darkest paths alone, and yet not alone, because
the Lord is with his people, and the Lord hears them when
they cry. And there we have this repetition here throughout the
psalm, verse 6, verse 13, verse 19, verse 28, then they cried
unto the Lord in their trouble. and he delivered them out of
their distresses. That theme runs right through.
They cry, he delivers. They cry, he delivers. And so
it is. That's the way of God. He hears
their prayer. And what does he say in verse
7? He led them forth by the right way. Oh, too wise to be mistaken
he. Too good to be unkind. To all the loving kindness of
the Lord, all his His dealings, we can't, we can't understand
that always. But He is a God who is good.
A God who does good. He's a God who is gracious, kind,
and compassionate. This is our comfort. What a privilege
it is that we can come and address to Him our prayers. Oh, that
men would praise the Lord for His goodness. and for his wonderful
works to the children of men. Whoso is wise and will observe
these things, even they shall understand the loving kindness
of the Lord. May the Lord bless his word to
us tonight. Now let us, before we pray again,
sing the hymn 289. The tune is Eden 327. Thus far my God has led me on and may
it is truth and mercy known my hopes and fears all turn at rise
and comforts mingle with my sighs through this wide wilderness
I roam far distant from my blissful home Lord let thy presence be
my stay and guard me in this dangerous way 289