To Rejoice in the Day of the Lord

Q: What does the Bible say about the Day of the Lord?

The Day of the Lord is a day of divine fulfillment and joy, where God's work is manifest and His people rejoice. Psalm 118 emphasizes that the Day of the Lord is significant because it represents God’s marvelous deeds in our lives and culminates in Jesus Christ's redemptive work. It's a day that the Lord has made, and the appropriate response from believers is to rejoice and be glad. This psalm foreshadows Christ’s triumphal entry and reminds us that the fulfillment of God’s promises brings joy and hope. Thus, the Day of the Lord is important for Christians as it not only signifies God's ongoing work but also invites us into relationship and celebration of His glory.

Q: How do we know that God is at work in our lives?

God's work is evident in the transformative effects it has on believers and in the fulfillment of His promises throughout Scripture. The sermon stresses that when God is at work, His actions are evident and marvellous. The realization of God’s work in our lives can often be seen through the transformative experiences that shape our faith and the community of believers. Specifically, Psalm 118 recounts God's faithfulness, which is fulfilled in Christ’s coming, death, and resurrection. The recurring theme of God working for His people indicates that fulfillment is not based on our merits but on God's grace and His promise to save. Such awareness prompts believers to respond with praise and faith.

Q: Why is urgent prayer important for Christians?

Urgent prayer is essential as it reflects a deep dependence on God and an earnest desire for His intervention. The sermon highlights the necessity of urgent prayer, as evidenced in Psalm 118. When the psalmist cries out, 'Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord,' it demonstrates a heart that earnestly seeks God's immediate help and intervention. Urgent prayer is significant because it signifies a believer's acknowledgment of helplessness and desperation for God's grace. Such prayers create a dynamic relationship between the believer and God, often leading to transformative experiences within the Church and personal lives. Additionally, historical examples show that fervent prayer leads to divine action, giving hope that God responds to the cries of His people.

Well, let us seek the Lord's help once again as we return to his word this evening recorded for us in the 118th Psalm, Psalm 118. And I'll read again verses 23 through to verse 25. Psalm 118 at verse 23. This is the Lord's doing. It is marvellous in our eyes. This is the day which the Lord hath made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord. O Lord, I beseech thee, send now prosperity. Now as we've gathered together earlier today we have taken an overview of this longish psalm, this wonderful psalm that concluded the Passover meal with the Lord and his disciples.

We've read that account this morning and once again here this evening we have read the account of really the tremendous fulfillment of this psalm on that never to be forgotten day when Christ rode in lowly triumph into his own holy city. What a significant day that was. It opened a unique week in time. that would culminate in his great sacrifice and eventually his rising from the dead. What a week that was. How many prophecies were being fulfilled on that never to be forgotten week. You've only got to read through the psalm again to see how again and again things were being said on that special day that were harked back from the words of this psalm.

Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. Hosanna, save now. This is the day which the Lord hath made. It's so amazing, isn't it, to see how scripture is fulfilled and how it all happens so quickly as well in a matter of hours. God's word is being fulfilled in a dramatic way before all the eyes of the people. And here we see his salvation coming. When his salvation bringing to Jesus, rather to Zion, Jesus came.

Now without more ado tonight we're going to try and address the text itself rather than having an overview of the psalm in its entirety. We focus especially upon these three verses once again. And first of all we have the thought of realization, realization. And we find that, of course, at the beginning of verse 23 and the beginning of verse 24. I won't cover that ground again from the beginning of verse 23 because we've already dealt with that thoroughly, the Lord's doing.

And, you know, when God goes to work, you know it. It's evident it's God at work, not man. And it's so tremendous. This is the Lord's doing. But especially to focus to start with on the beginning part of verse 24. This is the day which the Lord hath made. And as it were, to dwell upon that realization.

Then we pause a little bit upon reflection again. At the end of verse 23, we've already dealt with that in measure. But to, as it were, underline it, it is marvellous in our eyes. We reflect upon it. We see that the Lord has done it. Now, what does that mean for us? This is marvellous in our eyes. It does things to us. It does incredible things to us in our helplessness and unworthiness.

It's a wonderful thing when God goes to work. It's an amazing thing. We see so little of it in our day. We witness so little of it, but it's a wonderful thing. when the Lord works, and men are made aware of that, the mighty works of God when he works.

And then thirdly and finally, the response. At the end of verse 24 and in verse 25, the response on our part. Because God's word has this application. James tells us, be doers of the word and not hearers only. What shall we then say to these things? And the response is there as we see in verse 24 at the end. We will rejoice and be glad in it. And in verse 25, Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord. O Lord, I beseech thee, send now prosperity.

And in those two words you have the response of praise and prayer. Praise and prayer. And wonderful things happen when God's people really praise his name. When there's real praise of the Lord, when his name is lifted high, when they really praise, and when they really pray, not go through the motions of piety, but when they really pray.

And real prayer has desperation in it sometimes. Look at the urgency of this prayer. It's not, you know, sometime, or as it were, you know, sometime in the future. No, no, there's an urgency. Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord. O Lord, I beseech thee, send now prosperity. There's an urgency, but we'll deal with that when we get that far.

But you see the point here, that it's not some lukewarm, some lukewarm sentiment expressed to the Almighty, but a desperate urgency. And you look at those desperate prayers in the Word of God, and you see how powerful they were. The prayers themselves weren't powerful, but their prayers were powerful. Their prayers did things. And it's a wonderful thing when you see prayer doing things.

And it all flows, of course, from the Lord himself. First of all, though, this realization, beginning of verse 24, let me take you there. This is the day which the Lord hath made. We've already seen the fact that the Lord Jesus was looking not at the immediate days, but he was looking forward to that wonderful day of which we've read tonight in Luke 24, when he would live again, when he would rise again from the dead. And we want to get the feel of that day. It was a wonderful day, an incredible day, as we see it set before us in the word of God. It was, as it were, the first Lord's Day, wasn't it? If you think about it, it was the first Lord's Day, that wonderful day when he resumed his breath.

It's a wonderful day because after all the marring of the old six days work, here we have the promise of a new creation, which is pure and holy. That's one reason why Christians meet together on this day. because the Lord says, behold, I make all things new. A new day is the first day of the week, and it's meant to be new and fresh. The slate is wiped clean from the past, and we have a new beginning. That's one reason why we meet together on the Lord's day. It is the Lord's day.

And, you know, it's an amazing thought, you know, and it's very practical. It's very meaningful because this day is a rehearsal for glory. You know how, as it were, actors and those who perform in the theater, they go through many rehearsals. And they practice a lot. before the mirror and on stage before the final performance, the real thing. And that's what this day is all about. It's a solemn thought that this is a rehearsal day of being ready for that great day, for the real thing when it happens.

You know, a few weeks ago I was involved on a very humble level, I hasten to add, with preparations for a wedding day. which was taking place in central Bedford from the church at Wolverton. And, you know, one of the daughters of one of the deacons was being married to a godly young man from the north of England. And there were many, many guests involved.

But all the preparation that went into it, You know, I was only there on the Friday evening helping my wife with filling urns full of water. That's all it was. Because I was away at the weekend. I couldn't be at the wedding, unfortunately. I was ministering in the north of England, and so our ways had to part. I helped out on the Friday for the following Saturday.

All the preparation went into it. In one big hall, an army of women were getting all the refreshment things ready together. In the main auditory, in the main chapel, there was the bride and groom and the minister And they were going through all the motions, not to mimic anything irreverently, but they were going through the motions to get it right on the day. All these preparations.

And well, that's only a natural illustration, but that's what this day is all about. It's not just another Sunday. It might be the last. and we're to make ready for the bridegroom, that great day when he returns again. So that's partly what this day is all about. Don't twiddle your fingers, don't let the hours slip through your hands. It's a day of preparation. It's a day of making ready for his coming. But here we have something new that the Lord is doing. Carry on my new creation. Pure and holy may we be.

You know how the Lord Jesus himself was looking forward to that day. Even in this psalm, this is the day which the Lord hath made. After the devil's done his worst, after the powers of darkness have exhausted themselves on the mighty love of Christ to his people upon the tree. And here's this wonderful day when Jesus rises again. and we've been reading about it tonight, haven't we? And you know, you can capture a little bit of the atmosphere of that day when here are these dear disciples and they can hardly take it in. It's so wonderful. It's so wonderful. And you know, there's this natural misgiving in their carnal hearts. Is it real? You keep pinching yourself. Surely we're deceived in this?

And the Lord Jesus stands before them. And he says, look, it's I, myself, it's me! It's not some ghost, it's not some apparition, it's not some mere impression upon, a collective impression upon your minds. It's really me! It takes them so long for it to sink in, doesn't it? And he says, well he says, handle me and see! A ghost doesn't have flesh and bones like you see me have.

Oh, what a wonderful, wonderful experience that was. They'd seen him die, and now he lives again. And to add to the evidence, he says, have you got anything to eat? This should be the conclusive factor. Have you got anything to eat? And they give him this piece of broad fish, the honeycomb is it that they give to him, and he stands in front of it. and he masticates and he swallows. It's really me. It's really me. And what a wonderful discovery that was. You know, we read about those disciples, don't we? We've read about them in Luke 24.

And while they yet believe not for joy, it was too wonderful for them to take in. And we talked about the wonderful works of God, how they're all wonderful, there's nothing ordinary, there's nothing pedestrian, there's nothing told you so about the work of God. It all comes as a wonderful surprise, an amazing surprise, what the Lord can do. And we see it there, you know, while they yet believe not for joy. It's one of the few places in scripture where we can excuse people not believing in a manner of speaking. They believe not for joy. It was all too wonderful. When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, the 126th Psalm tells us, we were like them that dream. It was like a dream. You know, we're going to wake up in a minute and it's not going to be true. because it was true.

And it went on getting better in those 40 days that he still stayed with them. And they gradually grew used to the wonderful fact that Jesus was among them again. And so when it came to the point where they had to part with him in physical terms, it didn't affect their joy, because they knew he was with them. Always, he would never leave them. Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. And so we have this tremendous scene, don't we?

Why are they yet believed not for joy? You know, if you look at, if you've got a reference Bible there, you'll see it's cross-referenced with, you might raise your eyebrows to start with. You might say, well, I can't see the connection. But immediately you start to read it, you see why it's cross-referenced with that scene in Genesis. When here's old Jacob, and Joseph is long dead. I mean, after all, they brought, those wicked brothers brought this coat soaked in blood under his nose. Joseph's long dead. And yet, this word comes from Egypt, doesn't it?

Joseph is yet alive, is yet alive. He can't take it in. He faints. He can't handle it. Just like these disciples here. Because it's too wonderful for their nervous system to process. He faints away and it's only when he hears the wagon wheels, he sees the wagon wheels that his spirit revives. And he says, it is enough. Joseph is yet alive. That the impossible, the impossible has happened.

That's what's so tremendous. And that's what I want to capture here. This realisation. This is the day which the Lord hath made. And the wonderful thought is it's a shared expectation. It's a shared realisation. Because this wonderful day we're looking at isn't just the Lord's day like here and now. It's the Lord's day writ large when the Lord returns again. The old hymn we quoted of Newton's this morning. But we know the saints have reason to expect a glorious day because he's looking forward to that day as much as we are, if not more. Because the I, I, I of the psalm now becomes a we, we, we, doesn't it?

We will rejoice, and that means the Lord and his people, a day they look forward to together. Those who love each other truly and are faithfully committed, they both look forward equally to their wedding day. It's a shared joy. It's a shared joy that we see here set before us.

I quoted that after the service this morning, those words from Jude. Now on to him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory. How does it carry on? With exceeding joy. That exceeding joy is his joy. Not our joy. Oh yeah, we'll be joyful but it's his joy because he's looking forward to it.

He's the bridegroom and he's looking forward to his wedding day. It's what it's all been about. Even before the world began, here was in his mind, in his heart, his bride. Then in the glass of his decrees, Christ and his bride appeared as one. And that's what it's all heading to. Everything else is just a footnote. It's what it's all about.

And that's what we see set before us here in this wonderful realisation that he will come again for that great day. And in the meantime, let me underline the fact that every Lord's Day should be a rehearsal for heaven, because heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people. And we've got the wonderful joy of a fresh start every Lord's Day. When all the sin and failure of a past week are set behind us and are covered with the mantle of that blood, we have a fresh start, we have a clean slate. That's the wonderful thought, isn't it? We have a new day before us, a new opportunity to follow the Lord when all our past sins are put behind his back and blotted out as a thick cloud. What a blessed people the people of God are in him. And so the Lord having entered heaven for us, he will welcome that great day that lies ahead. And may the bride make herself ready.

So then, realisation. Now let's just pause upon that thought of reflection again. At the end of verse 23, it is marvellous in our eyes. I don't want to cover those points that I mentioned this morning, but I'll just indicate them once again. Those tremendous times in the Old Testament where we have that word that's translated sometimes marvellous, sometimes wonderful, but they're all linked together in what the Lord does. It is marvellous in our eyes. One other particular instance that comes to mind at this point is, again, on that great day of Pentecost.

What is it that the people witnessed there, initially, even before Peter began to preach? Now, that was tremendous when Peter began to preach. Oh, with what power he preached on that day. Oh, what life there was in the ministry, what salvation it brought.

But you know how it says there, even that second chapter of Acts, here's this amazing thing already happening in the spirit being given as a reversal of the curse of Babel. Because instead of people being divided and separated and alienated, all these different culture groups and ethnicities are coming together. coming together in the most amazing way. Not only are they hearing, not only are they understanding what the disciples are declaiming, There's a theory on some people's part that they were reciting the words of the Magnificat. There's certain indicators in what is said here that they were echoing the words of Mary when it had dawned home in her heart what the Lord is doing.

My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. What the Lord has done? It's amazing, isn't it? And again, it's what the Lord has done. We're responding, we're reacting to what the Lord has done. But what I'm coming to are those words there, you know, right at the end, that it says there, verse 11, Cretans and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues, the wonderful, the wonderful works of God. And that's even before Peter had begun to preach. He hadn't even given out his text, but the Lord was already amazingly, wonderfully at work. The wonderful works of God. It's what God was doing. And that's what we so long to see. The work, the wonderful works of God.

Well, we have that tremendous thought then. Now, without more ado, let's take a brief look, if we may, at the response and the response that should be on our part to all these things. Turning back to those words again set before us at the end of verse 24, we will rejoice and be glad in it. Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord, O Lord, I beseech thee, send now prosperity.

Now when the Lord works, his people work as well. When the Lord does, his people become doers. That's the way it works. You know, as we said to start with, you know how James says, be you doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving your own souls. But as we saw quite clearly this morning, I hope, in that little illustration of David Braynard, when the Lord works, then his people work. They respond to the impulses of the Holy Spirit. You know how the Lord Jesus says, tarry ye in Jerusalem until ye be endued from on high.

You know, and that's what they were waiting for, this timid little group of people, relatively small, 120 of them was it, in the upper room in Jerusalem, with the doors being shut because they were scared to death of the Jews. The unbelieving Jews who were so malicious and so malign against them. And yet, look what happened on that day of Pentecost. The power and the boldness that they experienced. The liberty of spirit because the Lord was at work upon them. The Holy Spirit was given.

You know how the whole thing began with, or rather after all the tongues and all the languages, you come to this that some of them are saying to start, well, you know, these men are full of new wine. You know, they're not as it were, how can I put it, you know, dead drunk, but they're merry. They're at the merry stage, you know, you hear a lively party going on. I'm not passing any comment on the rightness or wrongness of it, but you know, they're not dead drunk, but they're merry, they're lively.

And Peter says, well this is how his sermon starts, he says, well, you know, it's only nine o'clock in the morning, you know, it's only nine o'clock, breakfast time was only an hour ago. These men aren't drunk, they haven't been drinking at all. And we see of course then the wonderful liberty and power that is experienced there by them. So we have a response. Doers of the word and not hearers only.

You know, the Lord came to the end of that sermon on the mount, didn't he? And the end of Matthew chapter seven, and there's that great illustration there, you know, his one man, he builds upon the rock. The other man builds upon the sand. And those who don't heed the word of God are like those that build upon the sand. And you know, great is gonna be the fall of that work at the end of the day, because it's built upon man and not upon God. But what a wonderful thing if we're built upon that rock. Build upon the sand, you know, that's a reference to the Wadi, the dry water courses, dry for best part of the year until the rains come. It's so easy, isn't it, to build in the sand? And yet, of course, when the rains and the winds come, the house is swept away because it's not built upon the word of God. It's not the work of God, but the work of man.

You know, the Lord gave a promise to his son in Psalm 110, the third verse. And it's a tremendous promise. Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power. And that doesn't just mean affable, doesn't just mean agreeable. If somebody's asked you to do something, yeah, okay, yeah, I don't mind, I'll do that for you. But you're not very enthusiastic about it. You know, when your wife or your husband says, can you do this? You know, say, yeah, okay, but you're not really that enthusiastic about it. But this is something completely different. They're so enthused. They're so raring to go, if I can put it like that.

Thy people shall be winning in the day of thy power. It's a bit like that scene that we have on Palm Sunday. Now I know that those dear souls had a lot to learn and they still had to prove their weakness and their failure at the hour of trial, but nevertheless they were eager.

They were keen. They were so motivated. Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. How Luke captures their enthusiasm. They're so keen. They're so keen to welcome their king. And that's the promise the Lord makes his son. Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power. Not just agreeable, but almost straining at the leash, if I can put it like that. Straining at the leash to respond to that word. And so here is the promise then. And the promise now is seen in this. First of all, praise. And then secondly, and lastly, prayer. Praise. Praise. We will rejoice and be glad in it. It's wonderfully positive, isn't it? You know, it's lovely to hear. It's lovely to hear praise, isn't it?

When people really mean it. You know, it's one thing to hear a lukewarm congregation go through the motion of a hymn. Another thing entirely, when people are full of what they're singing. You know, it's powerful stuff, it does things. I mustn't get sentimental, but I was at Bethel Guilford a couple of weeks ago, it won't matter me repeating this, because there's one little girl there in one of the families that's just learnt to read properly, to read her hymns properly. And she's so enthusiastic, she's so involved. And you can see her finger pressing down in her Gatsby's inbook to make sure she's reading the words right.

And, you know, I wonder what the sound was to start with, because there were two or three people standing in front of her. But she was singing at the top of her voice. There was no volume control at all. And she was in tune. Oh, she was in tune. Nobody had the heart to restrain her. I think her parents were slightly embarrassed, but nobody had the heart to quiet her down, because it was so lovely, but it was so loud. She was giving it all that she'd got. Well, I don't think anything wrong happened. I'm sure nothing wrong happened in that, and it was lovely to hear it.

You know, it just illustrates this wonderful factor when people are actually motivated in such a way, that sound is so unmistakable. You know, it's a bit like this, you know, when you can hear sometimes professionals singing of hymns. on a tape or a CD in a car radio. And it's only professional singing.

And it's all very polished. It's all very correct. There's not a note out of place. But there's something missing. And then you listen to a tape of Christian people, you know, in an impromptu gathering singing away. And the atmosphere is so different because it's so genuine. It's so real. And it even comes across on the CD. We will rejoice and be glad in it. You know, praise is a powerful thing. What do we read in 2 Chronicles and chapter 20? I think it is 2 Chronicles and chapter 20 and verse 21.

Do you remember the scene there of the days of King Jehoshaphat? Do you remember what had happened? how all the enemies of Judah had decided to gang up upon them and to invade the land, to dethrone Jehoshaphat and put a puppet king in his place. But when united trials meet, he will find a path of safe retreat. How Jehoshaphat had prayed, hadn't he?

We'll come to prayer in a moment. How he'd prayed with all the people of Jerusalem, how it said to the Lord, Lord, we know not what to do. We have no might against this great army. We don't know what to do, but our eyes are upon thee. And the devastating response of heaven in the end of the day, and his Jehoshaphat and his army, as such as it is, they're not going out armed because they've been told you won't need to fight in this battle. You know, you go out against them, but you won't need to fight. And, of course, we know, don't need to go into details, that when they got to the place where the armies were, they'd all turned on each other, their enemies, and there were nothing but dead bodies. The only job they got was to clear away all the booty and all the rubbish, because all their enemies were dead. How again and again Israel proved that in her history. How devastating was the defeat of her enemies.

But the thing is this, what do we read in 2 Chronicles 20 and in those lines in verses 21 and 2? Josaphat, when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the Lord. and that should praise the beauty of holiness as they went out before the army and to say praise the Lord for his mercy endureth forever. And when they began to sing and to praise, when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir which were come against Judah and they were smitten. It's when, when they began to sing and to praise. Is he the power of it? It's when they began to sing and to praise.

The devil hates that sound, you know. Oh, he hates it. He fears it and he dreads it. Even when those little children in the temple on that Palm Sunday were, and they were toddlers, they were just echoing what their elders, what their parents were saying and singing. And they didn't know what they were singing. They're little toddlers, they're three-year-olds, four-year-olds. And yet the devil didn't like it.

And what did Jesus say about it to those Pharisees? Have you never read? Have you never read? Don't you realize that Holy Scripture is Being fulfilled this very moment of time, out of the mouths of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise. And when that praise is perfected, then the enemy is overcome.

Hell's foundations quiver at the sound of praise. I don't agree with all of this theology but these are the words of Sabine Bearing Gold who came into conversation with the young people this afternoon on a completely different note. But you know that hymn concerning the Lord Jesus there. Hell's foundations quiver. at the voice of praise, and they do.

And the sound of genuine praise. When the Lord's name is really lifted up, not just in outward singing, but when the Lord is exalted, then we see the defeat of the enemy. Praise then. And then finally, prayer, prayer. Back to verse 25, and those words set before us there. Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord. O Lord, I beseech thee, send now prosperity. One more note on praise. I don't want to miss this out. One more note on praise. Go back to those days in Genesis. And here you have a very afflicted woman, lady by the name of Leah, and in the contrary providences of God's purpose, she is locked into a deeply unhappy marriage.

It's evident that that's the case as you read the narrative. What does she do about it? Well the wonderful thing is this, is that Leah finds a refuge, she finds a comfort in God himself. It's evident from that because the Lord blesses her with baby after baby after baby after baby. That's her consolation. And it's significant the way that she names those children. And it comes to that, I think it's the fourth, I was put right on this the other day. So I lose count of all the children she has, but she comes to one. And she's finally been delivered from the snare of this desperate anxiety to please her husband. And she realizes she can't do that because he doesn't love her. Not really. He's faithful in his way, but there's no return of affection. Because there's nothing there.

But the consolation she gets from God himself. And this little baby's born of great significance. And what does Leah say over it? Now will I praise the Lord! She's full of the wonderful power of her God. And of course you know what comes of that, little baby's called Judah. And we have that prediction at the end that yeah, he's the one, he's the king. Or he's the one from whom the king will spring. When Shiloh comes, when unto him the gathering of the people shall be.

You see the power of praise, but we must hasten on, the time's going. Finally, prayer, prayer. Back to verse 25, as I said. It says here, save now I beseech thee, O Lord. O Lord, I beseech thee, send now prosperity. As I said to start with tonight, here is an urgency. You know, Jacob prayed, didn't he? He prayed, and he said to the angel that he wrestled with, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. There's an urgency, there's a determination. There's something that won't take no for an answer.

And that's the sort of prayer, friends, that is indicted, secretly indicted by the Holy Spirit. You know, the poor woman of Canaan that came after the Lord Jesus and the disciples. Listen to her prayer. It's so short to start with. It's so short and simple and straightforward, but it's desperate and it's urgent. Lord, help me. Mine's an urgent pressing case.

And that's how she comes. And you know how she possessed in that prayer? She won't take no for an answer. That's the sort of prayer the church needs. I don't mean, as it were, our will against the will of God. I don't mean that. But this is the sort of prayer the church needs. Here is prayer that's powerful and does things.

You know how this officer, send her away, she's making a noise. And to start with the Lord only speaks discouragingly. I'm not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. This woman's a stranger. And he adds this, you know, it's not meat, it's not fit to take the children's bread and to give it to dogs. But you see, she won't take no for an answer.

Mine's an urgent pressing case. Lord, I cannot let thee go till the blessing thou bestow. That's the sort of prayer the church needs. It's urgent. And it's got to be answered. Truth, Lord. Yes, it's true. Everything you're saying is true, but you said even the puppy dogs feed from the crumbs that fall from the children's table. And that's the final aspect of the argument, isn't it?

Oh woman, great is thy faith, be it unto thee even as thou wilt. This urgent, pressing prayer. And you know, when the Lord's people pray like that, you know that something is going to happen. Perhaps you might not know quite what it is but something is happening when people pray like that.

I remember a good few years ago now the dear man concerned is now in glory in the Lord's presence but he was When he was a lad, I think he was probably only 11 or 12 at the time, but the family attended Glead Chapel Brighton. And what he heard was something so provocative and outrageous, seemingly, that as a boy of 11 or 12, of course, he'd remember it.

And it was Mr. Popham, the pastor. After a prayer meeting, straight after a prayer meeting, he got up and said, more in sorrow than anger, and he wasn't getting anybody individually. He said, when are you men going to learn to pray? When are you men going to learn to pray?

And I think that's what he meant. That real prayer is urgent and pressing. And well, Brooke, of no silence. And that's what this prayer is like isn't it? That's what this prayer is like, save now I beseech thee O Lord, O Lord I beseech thee send now prosperity.

What a wonderful thing if we can say, as it goes on to say, blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord. In fact, the Lord later on says that there's going to come a time when you're going to say, blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord. O Lord, I beseech thee, send now, send now prosperity. And when the church has that burden, then we know the Lord is going to work his own work in his own way. But may we know what it is to praise and to pray, and to pray without ceasing. May God bless his word to us. Amen.

To Rejoice in the Day of the Lord

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about the Day of the Lord?

How do we know that God is at work in our lives?

Why is urgent prayer important for Christians?

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To Rejoice in the Day of the Lord

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about the Day of the Lord?

How do we know that God is at work in our lives?

Why is urgent prayer important for Christians?

Sermon Transcript

Comments

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