Let us turn again to God's Word
and I want with the Lord's help tonight to direct you to words
that we find in the book of Proverbs. Proverbs chapter 21 and the first
verse. Proverbs 21 1 The King's heart
is in the hand of the Lord as the rivers of water he turneth
it whithersoever he will. The king's heart is in the hand
of the Lord. As the rivers of water, he turneth
it withersoever he will." Here then we are reminded again of
that great truth of the sovereignty of God with regards to kings. In fact, with regards to all
who are in government previously. In chapter 8 we have the words
of wisdom, Lord Jesus Christ himself when he says, By me kings
reign and princes decree justice, by me princes rule and nobles,
even all the judges of the earth. We know that the powers of thee
are ordained of God and in fact it is him who is the wisdom of
God, the Lord Jesus Christ, the God hath put all things under
his feet given him to be the head over all things to the church
which is his fullness says Paul the fullness of him that filleth
all in all and thinking of events I don't often think of contemporary
events but I'm sure we're all very much aware of the political
turmoil in the nation that we've experienced now for the months
and years and how matters again seem to be coming to a head so
I thought it might be profitable for us to consider such a scripture
as this and to remind ourselves where our true comfort finds
we have to look higher we have to look to that one who is the
lord of lords and the king of kings and so coming to this particular
text of scripture. I divide what I'm going to say
into two principal parts. I want first of all to say something
with regards to the hearts of kings, and then in the second
place to say something with regards to the hand of the Lord. Here then we read the king's
heart, that is the heart of kings, the hearts of those who are in
that place of authority. We might think then of kings,
crafts, what they would have probably been very mindful of
in the Middle Ages. We don't have absolute monarchs
now, but we still have government, we have a constitutional monarchy
of course, and we have those who do bear the rule over us,
those powers that are ordained of God. And whereas once men
may have spoken of kingcraft, we now think of diplomacy, and
I suppose over the last days there's been a great deal of
intensive diplomacy as There has been all this activity
in Brussels with regards to Brexit and negotiations between the
European Union and the government of the United Kingdom. And in
it all we are very much aware of the works of men, the machinations
of men, It's interesting what he said in this book of Proverbs
with regards to rulers just a little later in chapter 25. On the second verse it says it
is the glory of God to conceal a thing, but the honor of kings
is to search out a matter. We don't despise government and
we see the necessity of negotiation between different governments. There is a place for diplomacy. But what a comfort! when we're
told here at the beginning of this 21st chapter that the King's
heart is in the hand of the Lord. Now, Dr. Gill simply observes
if this is true of the greater, how much more so of other persons. It is surely the hearts of all
peoples. that are very much in the hand
of God. And again, see how the wise man
reminds us of that basic truth? He says in chapter 16, the preparations
of the heart in man and the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. Again at verse 9, a man's heart
deviseth his way, but the Lord directeth his steps. Nothing
happens outside of the decree of God. In all things, be it
with great men or be it with the common man, God is always
performing his own eternal purpose. And that, I say, should bring
some comfort to us. just in the details of our own
lives, but also when we think of great events in states. We rest in the sovereignty of
God. But here we see, do we not, something
of the importance of man's heart, the king's heart, it says. is
in the hand of the Lord. The importance of the heart.
It's not just the seat of emotions. I suppose that we, as those of
the West, do tend to think of emotions. We think of an affair
of the heart. We associate the heart with love
and affection. But that is not the scriptural
teaching. The heart is something much more
significant when we come to the word of God. And again here in
chapter 4, In verse 23 we have that direction, keep thy heart
with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life. The heart lies at the very core,
the very center of man's being. Keep thy heart with all diligence
then, says the wise man. Out of it are the issues, all
the issues of life, not just our emotions, everything. The
Lord Jesus himself says, out of the abundance of the heart
the mouth speaketh. And it's interesting how when
we come to that first general epistle of John the apostle there
seems to use the heart more particularly in reference to the conscience. If our heart condemns us, he
says, God is greater than our hearts and knoweth all things. So in scripture the heart is
not just associated with emotion. It is that that really is the
spring of all that a man thinks, all that a man does. and again
we are reminded are we not how it is man that only looks on
the outward appearance man looketh on the outward appearance the
Lord looketh on the heart or that one with whom we have to
do as we see there in Revelation 1 his eyes are as a flame of
fire how those eyes are so penetrating they search us through and through
and the importance of the heart. But then in scripture we're also
reminded sadly and solemnly of the wickedness of the hearts
of men. God saw that the wickedness of
man was great in the earth and every imagination of the thought
of his heart was only evil continually. Where do we read that? in Genesis
chapter 6, not long after God's great work of creation. God had made all things in six
days and looked upon that work and declared that it was very
good. But then, alas, how soon we read
of man's willful disobedience. How Adam with open eyes takes
of that forbidden fruit his Wife Eve had been tempted and she
gives to her husband and he partakes with open eyes. Genesis chapter
3, the solemn account of the entrance of sin, the fall of
our first parents and then just those three chapters later we
have those awful words, God saw that the wickedness of man was
great in the earth and every imagination of the thought of
his heart, it's a Hebraism every imagination of the thought of
his heart, all that the man is in his heart evil and evil continually
and so then we come to read how God visits a terrible judgment
on his creation with a universal flood all the wickedness of men's
heart out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, it says murders,
adulteries fornications theft, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things that defile
a man, the language of the Lord himself. The heart of man then
is a wicked heart, deceitful above all things, and desperately
wicked. Who can know it? I, the Lord,
search the heart and try the reins. Oh, man's heart, it's
important, it's so important, and yet what is man's heart?
It is a sink of iniquity, the awful truth, the solemn doctrine
of our condition, our total depravity, spiritually impotent by nature,
dead in trespasses and in sins. But what do we read here? The
king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water
eterneth it withersoever he will." A comparison is being made between
the king's heart and the rivers of water. That's the comparison
that we have. And what does that comparison
teach us? Well, when we think of the waters,
how fluid water is, how fluctuating, How penetrating. We've had problems,
we were looking only just now at the ceiling and this is a
problem now of course that we've had for several months, for some
years really. How water seems to get through
the the roof, the copper roof, there must be some way wherein
it's able to penetrate and then these stains appear on the ceiling. But water, it's so thin and it's
not necessarily where the stain appears that the problem with
the roof is. Maybe it's running along beams
and so on and so forth. That's water, it's so fluid and
so fluctuating. When Jacob comes to bless his
sons there in Genesis chapter 49 and he speaks of Reuben, his
firstborn, what does he say concerning that man? He's making prophetic
statements really concerning the sons, the We think of the
12 tribes of Israel, and he says of Reuben, unstable as water,
unstable as water, the king's heart, you see, as the rivers
of water, or there's instability there. Put not your trust in
princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help, says
the Psalmist. We're not to look to flesh and
blood. We're not to look to men. Thank God that he does. raise men to high office for
a purpose. Certainly I'm sure we can think
of the history of our own nation and how the Lord God has done
that. And we think even of the Second World War, it was so evident
that a man like Winston Churchill was raised up for that very hour,
there's no question. I remember my own father saying
that when he made a broadcast to the nation in the early hours
or early years of the Second World War, and it seemed it was
utterly hopeless, we would soon be overrun, France had fallen
in no time. And he said to me, my father,
that when Churchill came on and spoke, it really stirred the
people. And people felt that we could
resist that great evil. So the Lord does raise up men
for a purpose. But we're not to put our trust
in men. We're not to look to flesh and
blood. We're to look higher than that.
We're to look to the Lord God Himself. And here, when we think
further of this comparison that's being made, between the heart
of the king and the rivers of water, we can also say with regards
to water, how forceful it is. How forceful it is. Remember
how this comes out in so many of the Psalms, those Psalms that
speak of nature. Psalm 46, so the waters thereof
roar and be troubled. or when there's torrential rains
and flooding, what damage is done? And we see how in Scripture
waters often are associated with people, multitudes of people
and great empires. We have this there in Revelation
17.15, the waters, John is told, the waters which thou sawest
where the whore sitteth are peoples and multitudes and nations and
tongues. How they all go after the whore. And we see it, of course, in
terms of the millions who embrace the teaching of the false church,
the Church of Rome. the waters, peoples, multitudes,
nations, tongues. Again, look at the language of
the Psalmist in the 93rd Psalm, and there that verse three, the
floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods have lifted up their
voice, the floods lift up their waves, the Lord on high is mightier
than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of
the sea. Here is our comfort then, in
the midst of all that goes on in high places, and we think
of recent days and What awful scenes in Parliament, the House
of Commons, how it's become a house of utter confusion. All the shenanigans
of men, all their scheming and plotting. But again, here in
this remarkable book, this book of wisdom, the book of Proverbs,
Chapter 19, 21. There are many devices in a man's
heart, nevertheless the counsel of the Lord that shall stand. Oh, what a nevertheless is that. Men have their plots and their
schemes, but it is God's counsel, it is His goodwill and pleasure
that must ultimately be accomplished. the king's heart then, and this
comparison that is made here with the rivers of water. But
let us turn in the second place to say something with regards
to the hand of the Lord. The king's heart is in the hand
of the Lord. As the rivers of water he turneth
it withersoever he will. Now, we observe that Lord is
the covenant God It's Jehovah that he's being spoken of as
we see from the capital letters there. It's the God who is the
great I am that I am. He was sworn by himself as he has given
promise to his children. And that God who was promised
is the one who is also able to perform. behold the Lord's hand
is not shortened that it cannot save neither is ear heavy that
he cannot hear well that's our comfort you see when we have
these references to the hand of the Lord or the arm of the
Lord that anthropomorphic statement that's true it's not that God
has a hand or an arm God is a spirit says the Lord Jesus the true
worshipers worship the Father in spirit and in truth but God
speaks to us of himself in these human terms and why does he speak
of his hand or his arm because it's with our hands and our arms
that we we work and accomplish things and God's hand you see
is not shortened it's a mighty hand All God's arm, it's all
powerful. This is our comfort then. But
what does it say there in Isaiah 59? Behold, the Lord's hand is
not short, and that he cannot save, neither is ear heavy, that
he cannot hear, but your iniquities have separated between you and
your God, and your sins have hid his face from you. How solemn it is. Oh God, help
us to come then And as we come to pray, to make our confessions,
to acknowledge our sins, to beg the pardon of sin, and God will
yet hear our prayers and answer our petitions. But again, looking
at the language and the figure that is used here, as the rivers
of water, it says, He, that is the Lord, turneth
it whithersoever he will." Now the allusion is to those channels
made for the distribution of water to irrigate the fields
and the gardens. We know how important the River
Nile is there in the land of Egypt and how the whole of the
Nile Delta flourishes because of the waters of that mighty
river. And now, there in the Middle East, of course, they
recognize the importance of water. And the climate being so dry,
they would seek to channel the water to make sure that it reached
the various parts of arid land that needed to be watered. This
is the idea that we have, the rivers of water being turned
wherever the Lord himself wills, just as men would make use of
the waters and channel the water as best they could. But it reminds
us again, you see, that with regard to the King's heart, the
heart of those in high places of authority, how the Lord is
sovereign. and he directs all their thoughts.
How the Lord humbled that great Babylonian emperor Nebuchadnezzar
as we see in Daniel chapter 4 where his reason is taken from him
and he's brought down. He behaves like a beast of the
field. He's humble to the dust and then He's restored and He's
brought to confess and to acknowledge the God of Israel, the living
and the true God. All the inhabitants of the earth
are accounted as nothing, He says. 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? All God is able to use even mighty
men, as he will and when he will." And God sometimes uses kings,
even heathen kings, as nursing fathers to his children. We have
that promise in Isaiah 49, 23, "...king shall be thy nursing
fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers." or how we see
it, how God demonstrates His power. The Lord Jesus is head
over all things to the church. In the Old Testament, Israel,
that typical people, they are as the eye of the Lord. What is over them protects them
and causes even those heathen nations and those mighty kingdoms
all around them, time and again to serve His purpose by protecting
them. Psalm 105, verse 14, He suffered
no man to do them wrong, yea, He reproved kings for their sakes. And there we see it. Think of
the Babylonians and the Medes and the Persians in the days
of Daniel. There in the book of Daniel,
Daniel 2.48, then the king made Daniel a great man, it says. The king made Daniel a great
man. He was able, remember, to interpret the dream
and see how Daniel is so exalted and it's all under Darius there
in chapter 6, in Daniel chapter 6. I'm going to read the opening
verses of that particular chapter. It pleased Darius to set over
the kingdom and 120 princes which would be over the whole kingdom
and over these three presidents of whom Daniel, was first, that
the princes might give account unto them, and the king should
have no damage. Then this Daniel was preferred
above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was
in him, and the king thought to set him over the whole realm."
And so, right at the end of that same chapter, this Daniel prospered
in the reign of Darius, Darius the Median, and in the reign
of Cyrus the Persian. It was all under God's sovereign
hand. And again, with the friends,
those three Hebrew children, the friends of Daniel, Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego. We're told in Daniel 3.30, then
the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province
of Babylon. or how the heart of the king
is in the hand of the Lord. It is the Lord who does these
things and we see the same in the experience of Ezra and Nehemiah. Remember how the book of Ezra
opens there in in the second chapter of that
book. Now these are the children of
the province that went up out of captivity, of those which
had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, had carried
away unto Babylon, and came again unto Jerusalem and Judah, every
one unto his city, which came with Zerubbabel, Joshua, Nehemiah,
Saraiah, These are those that came and it's all as a result of the decree that is issued
by the king in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia that
the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled
the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia that
he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and put it also
in writing saying thus saith Cyrus king of Persia the Lord
God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and
he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem which is
in Judah." It is God overruling in all the
affairs of the Persian Empire and directing the heart of Cyrus. And so in that portion of Scripture
that we read, of course. We read that remarkable passage
there in Isaiah, the end of chapter 44, the beginning of chapter
45. This is God that saith of Cyrus,
He is my shepherd and shall perform all my pleasure, even saying
to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built and to the temple thy foundation
shall be laid. Thus saith the Lord to his anointed,
to Cyrus, whose right hand I have hold, and to subdue nations before
him, and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him
the two-lipped gates, and the gates shall not be shut." And
why? Verse 4, For Jacob my servant's
sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy
name. I have surnamed thee, though
thou hast not known me." Oh, how remarkable these things are,
and it's all the work of the Lord. And this, I say again,
is our comfort as we come to pray tonight. Though we need
to pray concerning the affairs of state, the affairs of the
nation. We're bidden to pray for all
those who are in authority, that we might lead quiet, peaceable
lives. May the Lord God himself help
us thus to pray. Then as we conclude, is there
not some spiritual significance in the words of this text? Is there not here some reference
also to the Lord Jesus Christ? God says in the second Psalm,
Yet have I set my King upon my holy hill of Zion. Who is this King? The king's
heart is in the hand of the Lord. As the rivers of water he turneth
it with us however he will. Isn't the Lord Jesus that one
who came to do all his father's good will and pleasure? His mate
was to do the will of him who had sent him to finish his work.
What a life of perfect obedience. How is human will acquiesced
ultimately in that will of God? Oh, not my will but thine be
done, he prays there in the garden of Gethsemane. And what is the
consequence? Again, Dr. Gill, commenting here
on this verse, says, the streams of Christ's bounty and kindness
flow among his people. Oh, they're like rivers of water,
the bounties of the grace of God. Think of the language that we
have also there in Ezekiel 47, those waters that issue forth
from the temple of the Lord. And now as they come forth, so
they grow deeper and deeper. It's almost the conclusion of
the prophecy of Ezekiel there in chapter 47. afterward he brought me again
unto the door of the house and behold waters issued out from
under the threshold of the house eastward for the forefront of
the house stood toward the east and the waters came down from
under from the right side of the house at the south side of
the altar then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward
and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way
that looketh eastward and behold there ran out waters on the right
side And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth
eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through
the waters. The waters were to the ankles.
Again he measured a thousand and brought me through the waters.
The waters were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand
and brought me through the waters. The waters were to the loins.
Afterward he measured a thousand and it was a river. that I could
not pass over, for the waters were risen, waters to swim in,
a river that could not be passed over." What does it represent?
Oh, it's the flowings of the waters of the grace of God that
come from the Lord Jesus Christ, that man who is spoken of as
the hiding place from the wind, rivers of waters in a dry place. All that fullness of grace that
is in the Lord Jesus Christ and our privilege to come now and
to approach before God and to plead the name of Him who is
the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. May the Lord be pleased
to bless this word to us tonight. We're going to sing God's praise
in the hymn 1145, the tune St. Flavian 220. The title of the hymn for national
reprieve. When Abraham, full of sacred
awe, before Jehovah stood, and with a humble fervent prayer
for guilty Sodom sued, With what success, what wondrous grace,
was his petition crowned? The Lord would spare if in the
place ten righteous men be found. The hymn 1145.