with the Lord's help I'd like
to draw your attention once again to those verses that we were
considering this morning Psalm 25 verses 6 and 7 where we read
remember O Lord thy tender mercies and thy loving kindnesses for
they have been ever of old remember not the sins of my youth nor
my transgressions according to thy mercy remember thou me for
thy goodness sake O Lord this morning we were looking at the
just very briefly we looked at an outline of this psalm that
it is a psalm written by David probably written in his old age
written certainly when he was in a time of affliction and written
when he was very conscious of his sinfulness he speaks of his
sinfulness verse 11 for thy namesake O Lord pardon mine iniquity for
it is great and we notice that it alternates between prayer
and meditation the first seven verses are prayer verses 8 to
10 are meditation then verse 11 is prayer then verse 12 through
to verse 15 again meditation and then verses 16 through to
21 personal prayer and then verse 22 a prayer for
the nation redeem Israel O God out of all his troubles and we
noted also that this psalm originally is an acrostic in the Hebrew
language that each verse commences with the appropriate letter of
the Hebrew alphabet there being 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet
and we noted that in the two verses that I read out there
are four things to consider first of all there is the principle
of remembrance the scripture is quite clear that we are to
remember multiple times there are references in the scriptures
for us to remember things to remember the work of God and
also for God remembering his people there are two ways to remember first of all there
is that remembrance that we have of the work of God and we considered
this morning something of the work of God and the commandments
that speak of the work of God we noted first of all the fourth
commandment remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy and we tried
to explain why there has been that move from the seventh day
Sabbath to the first day of the week, the Lord's Day in which
we should gather for worship when the people of God gather
together and to seek to be like the Apostle John when he was
there in exile on the Isle of Patmos those many years ago,
around about AD 95-96 where he says that he was in the spirit
on the Lord's Day and the Lord Jesus Christ appeared to him
and the Lord spoke to him, and you'll find those words that
the Lord Jesus spoke in the first chapter of the book of the Revelation,
where he says, I am he that liveth who once was dead, and behold,
I am alive forevermore. And this day, the Lord's day,
the first day of the week, is a perpetual reminder that the
Lord Jesus Christ is alive, that we do not serve a dead God. the prophets of the religions
of this world they have their tombs and their guides will take
you to their tombs and they will tell you that this is where Mohammed
lies or this is where the Buddha lies where his body lies and
even that atheistic system that has become a religion in itself
of communism they even had the two of their prophets just outside
the Kremlin with Lenin and they used to have the body of Stalin
there until he was disgraced for Christ is alive. The Lord Jesus Christ is alive. He once was dead and is now alive. And this day, this first day
of the week, this Lord's Day, is a perpetual reminder that
the Lord Jesus Christ is alive, as is the year. We speak about
2015 AD. I know Domini, the year of our
Lord, because the Lord Jesus Christ is alive. I know the secularists
like to say 2015 CE, Common Era. but they will never destroy the
truth that the Lord Jesus Christ is alive so we worship on the
Lord's day we come together for public worship and for the collection
for the saints as it's instructed in the New Testament so we remember
the Sabbath day and then we looked at Exodus 13 and verse 3 where
we are encouraged to remember this day that day of deliverance
that day of leaving captivity that day when the children of
Israel left the land of Egypt and what a mercy it is that the
Lord's people have come out of the Egypt of this world how they
have been brought out by the Spirit of God one was in Sodom
and Gomorrah and he would not leave until he was dragged out
by the angels and that is the experience of every child of
God in the Sodom of this world and it is the work of God that
drags us out because left to ourselves we would perish with
those who perished in the ancient cities of Sodom and Gomorrah
But the elect of God, every one of them, are drawn out by the
Spirit of God and they're brought to the Lord Jesus Christ. And
Lot went into that little place, that Zohar, or little despised
by the world is our Lord Jesus Christ, of no account taken by
the Lord Jesus Christ, but the child of God who has been awakened
to his sinfulness, the one who has been awakened to a broken
law, the one who has been awakened to his rebellion against God.
Oh, he goes, he flees into Zohar, he flees to the Lord Jesus Christ,
for there is a place of refuge There is a place of safety. He
flees to the Lord Jesus Christ. So we notice Exodus 13 and verse
3 to remember this day. And then Deuteronomy 8 and verse
2. We looked at thou shalt remember
all the way which the Lord thy God hath led thee these 40 years. We remember the dealings of God
with us. We remember how he has led us.
he leads his people through the wilderness of this world and
the psalmist says thou shalt guide me with thy counsel and
afterward receive me to glory what a mercy it is that there
is an afterward that this life is not the end and the child
of God knows that one day he will see the Lord Jesus Christ
Peter says whom having not seen ye love and you rejoice in him
with joy unspeakable and full of glory, but then there will
be a day, a day when we will see him face to face, when we
will fall down before him, casting our crowns before him, lost in
wonder, love and praise. and then we looked this morning
at Psalm 119 verses 49 and 50 remember thy word unto thy servant
and we considered that the Lord gives his people promises and
we could go through a multitude of texts of the scripture which
encourage the child of God to remember God's dealings with
us and it is an ungrateful child that forgets the dealings of
a parent we look back to our childhood, don't we? and we thank
God for our parents for the way in which they brought us up how
much more should the child of God look back and remember and
thank God for the way he has dealt with them and brought them
to himself his loving times past forbids me to think he'll leave
me at last in trouble to sink whilst each Ebenezer I hold in
review confirms his good pleasure to help me quite through but
that's only half of it that's only half of the remembrance
there is the remembrance of God, God remembers Remember, O Lord,
by tender mercies. And so there is that remembrance
of the mercies of God. And God does remember. God doesn't
forget. Genesis 8 and verse 2. And God
remembered Noah and every living thing and all the cattle that
was with him in the ark. And God made a wind to pass over
the earth and the waters of Swage. God didn't forget Noah. Perhaps
Noah might well have thought, how much longer are we going
to be in this ark, surrounded by just his family, surrounded
by all those animals, tossed about on the floodwaters? And perhaps that thought occurs
to you sometimes, how much longer am I going to be tossed about
by all the afflictions that come upon me? One of the hymn writers
puts it like this, O Zion afflicted with wave upon wave, whom no
man can comfort, whom no man can save. And you wonder in your
heart as you go through all the trials and tribulations of life,
how much longer am I going to be plagued thus? And you look
at the state of your own heart and you see the corruption that
is there. and you wonder how much longer
am I going to be plagued with sin how often are the corruptions
in my own heart going to rise up and overwhelm me and you wonder how much longer you
can carry on in the pilgrim path and God remembered Noah, he doesn't
forget us God doesn't forget us, he has each one of us and
these trials that are sent upon us are the trials that are to
burn up the dross you see the ore is taken out of the earth
and it is impure when gold is brought out of the earth it has
got impurities in it when silver is brought out of the earth it
has impurities in it and so the the ore is placed in the crucible
and the fire is put under it the heat is put under it and
the ore starts to melt the heat goes into the ore and it starts
to melt and so the weight of the metal sinks to the bottom
of the pot and the impurities rise to the top and the smelter
he skims off the impurities and then more ore is placed into
the pots and the heat is applied and again the process continues
the liquid metal goes to the bottom and the impurities rise is not that your experience?
that you face one trial and you come through that trial and you
think to yourself I'm going to be victorious from now on and
then you stumble and fall and the heat is applied and the afflictions
come again and the Lord is applying his truth to you he's bringing
you away from this world, he's bringing you to see the corruptions
of your own hearts and you come to a stage where you cry out
with the Apostle Paul, O wretched man that I am who shall deliver
me from the body of this death? God doesn't forget us, he brings
us through or like the flax that is grown in the fields the time
of the harvest comes and the flax is gathered flax is especially
well grown in Ireland because of the damp climates and the
flax is put through the mill and the long stalks of the flax
are beaten and they're beaten and they're beaten until all
the extraneous matter is knocked off it and all that is left are
the long threads that are woven into linen the Lord does exactly
the same with his people he doesn't forget us in our situation but
he tries and he refines us it says elsewhere and he shall refine
the sons of Levi that they may offer unto
the Lord an offering in righteousness he refines his people he refines
his people that they may walk a life of holiness oh there are
those who say that because we're saved we can do what we want
says the Apostle Paul in contradiction to that. What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that
grace may abound? God forbid! God forbid! No, we walk by the rule of the
Gospel. We walk by the Gospel law. by gospel precepts, we walk trusting
in the Lord Jesus Christ and God remembers his people and
God remembered Noah. God doesn't forget us in our
situation. and then in Jeremiah we read how God remembers
his people Jeremiah chapter 2 and verse 2 thus saith the Lord I
remember thee the kindness of thy youth the love of thine espousals
when thou wentest after me in the wilderness in a land that
was not sown the Lord is saying that he remembers the first beginnings
of that work of grace how do we remember that red hot zeal
that we used to have for the things of God how we loved the
Lord Jesus Christ when we were first called by grace when we
first had the newness of life we remembered those things but
over the years things have grown cold this was the problem with
the church at Laodicea the Lord Jesus sent his epistles to those
seven churches in Asia Minor and he addressed the church at
Laodicea I know thy works that thou art neither cold nor hot
I would thou wert cold or hot so then because thou art lukewarm
neither cold nor hot I will spew thee out of my mouth as many
as I love I rebuke and chasten be zealous therefore and repent
I remember thee the kindness of thy youth the love of thine
espousals you were red hot in those days says the Lord but
things have come in time has cooled us down you put something
in the oven and it bakes at a high temperature it cooks at a high
temperature and you bring it out and you put it on the side
in the kitchen and over the next few hours it cools down to the
temperature of the atmosphere round about it and so often in
our Christian life in our Christian experience, we are brought as
it were out of the oven and we are on the side and we are cooling
down to the temperature round about us. and we become lukewarm. So then, I will spew thee out
of my mouth. As many as I love, I rebuke and
chasten. Be zealous, therefore, and repent. And here are the words of the
Lord Jesus Christ to the one, to the child of God, who has
become lukewarm, to the church that has become lukewarm. Behold,
I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and
open the door, I will come into him and will sup with him and
he with me. This is not a word that is addressed
to the world. It is not the true picture of
Christ as painted by Holman Hunt that stands in St Paul's Cathedral. now it's addressed to the people
of God those who have lost their first love those who have become
cold and backslidden in heart he addresses the child of God
behold I stand at the door and knock if any man hear my voice
and open the door I will come into him and will suck with him
and he with me Jeremiah speaks about the kindness of thy youth
I remember I remember thee I remember the former days or do we remember
the former days how we were brought by the Lord to himself and we
loved him there was nothing that we wouldn't do for him but the
passage of years have cooled our affections. Ezekiel 16 speaks
about those first days of the work of grace. And when I passed
by thee and saw thee polluted in thy blood, I said unto thee,
when thou wast in thy blood, Live! Live! Yea, I said unto
thee, when thou wast in thy blood, Live! The Lord quickened us. but over the years we have become
ungrateful and we've turned our backs, as it were, upon the Lord
and we have become lukewarm in the things of God well, the psalmist
says, remember remember, O Lord, thy tender mercies the tender
mercies of the Lord what mercies they are they are indeed the
work of tenderness, the tender mercies of God, they
are, the psalmist tells us, everlasting mercies. Psalm 100 and verse
5, for the Lord is good, his mercy is everlasting. and his
truth endureth to all generations Psalm 103 and verse 17 but the
mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that
fear him and his righteousness unto children's children the
mercies of the Lord are everlasting they never end they stretch from
eternity to eternity go back to eternity past and there the
mercy of God was evidenced in that covenant of grace that covenant
of God's grace that inter-trinitarian covenant that was agreed upon
by the Godhead the Father choosing a multitude that no man can number
to be saved by God's grace, being given by the Father to the God,
the Son, the eternal Son of God, the eternally generated Son. of God who covenanted to come
to this world and to give his life a ransom for many to love
the church and to give his life for that church and the Holy
Ghost covenanting to apply that work of redemption the mercy
of God is from everlasting from eternity past manifested in time
and to eternity future when every one of those given in covenant
bond will be there in the glory of heaven. Everyone saved with
an everlasting salvation, saved and washed in the precious blood
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Everyone, not one, left behind. It was said concerning the children
of Israel that not one hoof Not one thing pertaining to the children
of Israel was left behind in Egypt. Not one of the people
of God will be left behind upon this earth. Not one of the people
of God for whom the Lord Jesus Christ died and shed his precious
blood will be there in hell. Not one. Everyone's saved with
an everlasting salvation. From everlasting to everlasting. And the mercy of God is manifested.
to everyone of those people and everyone will be brought by faith
to the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, have you experienced that
mercy of God? Have you been made to see that
mercy of God? Has the Spirit awakened you to
see your state before Almighty God? and has the Spirit of God
brought you to the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ? Have you been
brought by the Spirit of God to look, as it were, into the
face of Christ, to look by faith on Him and say, thus my sins
were borne away, to say concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, my Lord
and my God? The mercies of God are from everlasting
to everlasting. And then, as we hinted just a
few moments ago, the mercies of God are covenant mercies.
If you look in, and I'm sure I must have said it before, but
if you look at these verses, you receive the word Lord in
capital letters. Remember, O Lord. and then verse
7, according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness sake
O Lord, it's there in capital letters and that is a reminder
that the Lord is a covenant God it is the original Hebrew text
that has the name Jehovah the covenant God of Israel we're
saved by a covenant salvation The Lord remembers his covenant,
it's a covenant mercy. David lies on his deathbed and
we read in 2 Samuel 23 that these are the last words of David and
he says, although my house be not so with God, yet he hath
made with me an everlasting covenant ordered in all things and sure. the covenant of God is a sure
covenant and if you look at that verse 2 Samuel 23 and verse 5
the word things is not there in the original,
it's there in italics and when you see italics in the authorised
version it means that it's not there in the original not there
in the original Hebrew and it is put there by the translators
to make better sense of the English but the original says, yet he
hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all and
sure, ordered in all everything Do you want righteousness? Do
you need righteousness? The covenant is there for your
righteousness. Do you need wisdom? The covenant
is there for your wisdom. Do you need sanctification? The
covenant is there to show us that Jesus is our sanctification,
that he is all in all. Indeed, the Apostle Paul writes
to the Corinthians and he says, that no flesh should glory in
his presence, but of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God
is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption,
that according as it is written, he that glorieth, let him glorieth
in the Lord. The Lord Jesus Christ is everything.
and he is the one who is the mediator of that covenant of
grace, the covenant mercies of God are all in the Lord Jesus
Christ. Says top lady, nothing in my
hand I bring, simply to thy cross I cling. naked, come to thee
for dress, helpless, look to thee for grace, foul, I to the
fountain fly, wash me, Saviour, or I die. These are covenant
salvation and they are tender mercies, the mercies of God,
remember, O Lord, thy tender mercies, they are tender. Isaiah
42 and verse 3 speaks about the tender mercies of God a bruised
reed shall he not break and the smoking flax shall he not quench
he shall bring forth judgement unto truth and Isaiah under the
inspiration of the Spirit of God is talking about the tender
work of God a bruised reed shall he not break I've got a couple
of orchids at home. I noticed a few days ago that
one of the orchids, one of the stems, the weight of the flowers
had caused it to bend over and to crease and the water supply
was cut off and those flowers on the orchid were beginning
to die. So I moved the clip that was
holding it up against the splints and I moved the clip up and pulled
the orchid back and straightened it out and now the orchid is
beginning to flourish again those particular flowers are beginning
to flourish again because the water supply has been restored
and what Isaiah is saying is that the plant the reed that's
bent over he will gradually bring it back to being in an upright
position he won't break it his tender mercies are such that
he will not break us or we might feel under the burden of sin
we might feel very weak and weary we might be going through great
trials and tribulations we might have known something about a
dark providential hand upon us but the Lord doesn't break us
he knows exactly how far to take us and he will straighten us
up he will bring us back to that upright position as it were a
bruised reed shall he not break why? because his mercies are
tender his tender mercies and then Isaiah goes on to speak
about the smoking flax the little light the wick in the candle
is almost extinguished but the Lord doesn't come along
and snuff the candle out he just gently breathes upon it he blows
upon it and that smoking flash receives oxygen receives more
oxygen to bring it back and it suddenly bursts into flame and
the Lord will deal with you in such a manner oh you've left
your first love you've left that zeal that you once had which
we were talking just a few moments ago but the Lord breathes upon
the spoken facts and raises it to a flame and there is that
zeal once again the tender mercies of the Lord remember that the
psalmist cries out from the very depth of his heart remember O
Lord thy tender mercies and thy loving kindnesses I've known
them in times past but he cries out that they might be renewed
is that your desire? that the tender mercies might
be restored. One final tender mercy, and our
time has gone, so we will leave it there. The tender mercies
of God are paternal. Like as a father pitieth his
children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. that's Psalm 113 verses 13 and
14 for he knoweth our frame he knows our ups and downs that
we are like the waves of the sea we are constantly moving
we are up one day and down the next but the Lord is like a father
that pitieth his children reminded the father of the prodigal son
we major mainly on the prodigal son in that parable that the
Lord Jesus spoke about but I do like the attitude of the father
that the Lord Jesus spoke about oh he gave his son's share of
the inheritance to him and he went off into a far country but
the inference of the parable is that the father was there
day by day he'd given over the farm to his other son and so
day by day he went to the very edges of his property and day
by day he looked for him and then we read how the father saw
him a long way off and he ran to meet him and he embraced him
and then he restored he restored him to the family he restored
him to his clothing no longer was he clothed in rags no longer
was he covered in filth but he was restored to his family and
he was given clothes and shoes and those shoes are important
you see it was the servants that would run around barefooted for
this was a son he was in the family and so he was not only
clothed but he was given shoes and he was given a ring on his
finger to show that he belonged and then they made Mary when
the Lord in his tender mercies restores a sinner to himself
when he restores a child of God from a time of backsliding when
he brings a child of God out of afflictions then there is that rejoicing
is there not there is that making merry and there is that blessing
remember O Lord thy tender mercies and thy loving kindnesses for
they have been ever of old established in the covenant of grace in eternity
past and made manifest in time have they been made manifest
to us? God grant that we might know
something of the tender mercies of the Lord and the Lord had
his blessing too these few thoughts, just one is that close? let me just quote three verses
from hymn number 11 Thy mercy, my God, is the theme of my song,
the joy of my heart, and the boast of my tongue. Thy free
grace alone, from the first to the last, hath won my affection
and bound my soul fast. The door of thy mercy stands
open all day to the poor and the needy, who knock by the way.
No sinner shall ever be empty sent back who comes seeking mercy
for Jesus' sake. Great Father of mercies, thy
goodness I own, and the covenant love of thy crucified Son. All
praise to the Spirit, whose whisper divine seals mercy and pardon
and righteousness. Mine God, grant that they may
be ours also. For his name's sake. Amen.