[0:00] Again, we extend a very warm welcome to everybody this evening as we gather together to worship God and also to those who may be joining us online as well. And we pray indeed that the Lord will bless us all with his presence and power.
[0:14] And we're going to begin by singing in Gaelic in Psalm 23, the 23rd Psalm. Psalm 23, the first two verses.
[0:41] Psalm 23, the first two verses.NINGNING!
[1:19] SONG PLAYS SONG PLAYS SONG PLAYS
[2:49] SONG PLAYS SONG PLAYS Let us pray.
[3:53] O Lord, as we bow before you tonight, we give thanks that your people are able to say, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. And what a wonderful blessing that is to have the eternal shepherd, the good shepherd, the great shepherd, the chief shepherd as our shepherd.
[4:13] And we give thanks that you are a shepherd who has never lost a sheep and never will, and not something that no human shepherd or crafter can ever claim.
[4:26] And we give thanks, Lord, for the way that you pasture your sheep and the way that you look after your sheep and the way that you lead your sheep home.
[4:36] And we give thanks for the great promises that your word gives us regarding the dwelling place forever. And that all along that road, your goodness and mercy will truly follow us.
[4:49] We give thanks, O Lord, that we are able to worship you again tonight. And we pray that as we come and worship that we may see more of you and understand more of you.
[5:00] Because our vision is so limited and so dim. And we long to be able to get a clearer view. And so often we think that others have a greater view of their Savior than we have ourselves.
[5:13] But I think it's one of the great things that we all lament is how little we're able to see you. We're told that we see but through a glass darkly here. But there will come a day where we will see you face to face.
[5:26] And when that desire is in a patient's heart, we give thanks that that speaks of where their heart really is. Because nobody could desire to be eternally in your presence but those who have come to know you and love you.
[5:43] And so we ask, Lord, that you will be with us tonight. And that we will seek to worship you in spirit and in truth. That we may seek to exalt your name. And that our desire will be to glorify you in our lives here in this world.
[5:59] We pray to bless us then with hearing ears and understanding hearts. And we pray that you will fill us with the knowledge of your will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.
[6:10] Help us to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. And that day by day and year by year we will be conformed more and more to the image of Christ.
[6:22] So often, Lord, we are unable to see it ourselves. But we give thanks that your purposes will not be thwarted or changed. And that you are working in your people every day.
[6:34] Preparing them for the final journey. The final step of that journey. Till they were brought to be forever with yourself. We ask, O Lord, to encourage us in our journey.
[6:46] Because sometimes we are faint and weary. Sometimes along the way we encounter storms. Personal storms that shake us to the very core. Sometimes, Lord, we wonder will we ever get up again.
[7:00] But we give thanks for your unfailing love. And that you are the God who enables us to carry on. And to move on. And to go on. As the psalmist said, I will constantly go on.
[7:12] In strength of God the Lord. And so may we find that that is true for ourselves every single day. That it is in your strength that we will make the strides heavenward.
[7:23] We pray to bless this congregation. And we give thanks for its witness and testimony in this community. We pray, Lord, that you will add to their number daily. And that you will indeed bring more and more.
[7:37] Not only under the sound of the gospel. But coming to faith where they will be able to confess that Jesus is their Lord. We give thanks, Lord, for the influence of this congregation.
[7:48] And for the many gifts that you equip them with. The different abilities to do different things. And yet it's all part of the collective work for your own church and for your own glory.
[8:03] And we pray for homes in this community that are in darkness. But we give thanks, O Lord, that you have touched many homes that were once in darkness.
[8:15] To bring a light into the home. We pray that you'll do that for many more homes in this community. We pray to bless David and Mary and their family. They watch over them and encourage them in their work here.
[8:28] And all the office bearers and all who do so much behind the scenes. We pray for Scott and Fiona and the family. As they settle in here. And we give thanks for them too.
[8:39] And pray that you will bless them. And we give thanks, O Lord, for those who are seeking to proclaim your word. Wherever there might be at times where that is through the regular preaching of the word.
[8:54] But in our day-to-day witness and our sharing of that word. And the opportunities that you give us. And remembering that no labour in the Lord is in vain. That's what your word tells us.
[9:05] And so may we be kept from being disheartened. Because sometimes it is so easy to become disheartened. When we say things and pray for people.
[9:16] And there doesn't seem to be anything happening. But, O Lord, we know that you have a time for everything. As you said to the disciples. Your time is always now. And that is so true for ourselves.
[9:29] We are so impatient. And so, Lord, give us that patience to wait. To wait upon the Lord. Knowing that your time is always the right time.
[9:39] We pray then that you will help us tonight. And that your word will become ever more precious to us. That it will be a lamp to our feet and a light to our path.
[9:51] May your word be more precious to us than gold. That it might be sweeter than honey. That it might push, as it says, as a sword into our heart.
[10:02] That it might act as a hammer, as it also says it does. Where our hearts often need to be broken before you. And so, we pray that the word will do a good work here tonight.
[10:13] And what we pray for ourselves. We pray for all others as we do. Up and down our land and throughout the nations of the world. We give thanks that there is global praise going on.
[10:25] Because of all the different time zones in this world. Some are getting up when we are lying down. And so, we are aware that your day is being kept and honoured.
[10:37] And the worship of your name is taking place all throughout this world at different times. And if we could only have a glimpse of how much praise is ascending heavenwards.
[10:50] Even on this very day. We would be amazed. Because so often we feel we are so few in number. But we give thanks, Lord, that you are gathering in a number. That no man can number.
[11:02] And so, we pray that you will guide us and keep us and bless us. And take us all home safely when it's time to go. We pray that you will bless us as a nation.
[11:13] We pray for our leaders and all in authority over us. Grant heavenly wisdom to them. Because we cannot be left to ourselves. It's one of the greatest judgments that could ever happen.
[11:25] That we would be left to our own devices and our own initiative. And so, we pray that you will guide our leaders in the right way. And that the laws of our land may begin to reflect more and more the law of your word.
[11:42] Lord, we pray that you will be with those who are struggling in life. Those who are going through difficult times. Whether it's old age. Or whether it is through illness.
[11:54] Whether it is through all the different things that so often come into our lives. We pray for parents who are bringing up children. There's a lot of responsibility in that.
[12:06] Lord, we give thanks for parents and for the instruction and teaching that they get in their lives. We pray that you will bless that instruction to every young life and to every young heart.
[12:19] We pray that you will be with your persecuted church worldwide. And we realize many do not have the gospel freedoms we do. There are some who are meeting in little groups.
[12:31] Some meet in isolation. And we give thanks for technology that's able to bring your word to people who are not able to meet with others. And so, we ask, Lord, that it will be a day where souls will be fed and built up.
[12:47] And souls will be awakened into the truth. Grant us your grace, then, we pray, as we wait upon you. And cleanse us from our every sin. In Jesus' name we ask it. Amen.
[12:58] We're going to sing again this time from Psalm 61. Psalm 61. And this is from Sing Psalms. Oh, hear my urgent cry, my God, and listen to my plea.
[13:16] From earth's remotest bounds I call. When my heart faints in me. Oh, God, conduct me to the rock that's higher far than I. For you're my refuge from the foe, my tower of strength on high.
[13:31] Oh, let me dwell within your tent forever there to live. Oh, for the shelter of your wings, the refuge which they give. For you have heard my vows, oh God, and you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name continually.
[13:47] One to six of Psalm 61. Sing Psalms. Oh, hear my urgent cry, my God. Oh, hear my urgent cry, my God.
[14:06] NINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNING That's higher far than I For you're my refuge from the full My tower of strength on I Let me dwell within your tent
[15:10] Forever there to live Oh, for the shelter of your wings The refuge which they give For you have heard my words, O Lord And you have given me The heritage of those who feel Your name continually Through long the days the King
[16:16] Will live His sovereign rule extend For many generations More established without end Let's turn to read God's word now And we're going to turn to the book of Psalms And we're going to read in Psalm 15, 16 And a wee bit of Psalm 17 Psalm 15, 16 And verses 1 to 8 to 17 O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent?
[17:11] Who shall dwell in your holy hill? He who walks blamelessly and does what is right And speaks truth in his heart Who does not slander with his tongue And does no evil to his neighbour Nor takes up a reproach against his friend In whose eyes a vile person is despised But who honours those who fear the Lord Who swears to his own hurt And does not change Who does not put out his money at interest And does not take a bribe against the innocent He who does these things shall never be moved Preserve me, O God For in you I take refuge I say to the Lord You are my Lord I have no good apart from you As for the saints in the land They are the excellent ones In whom is all my delight The sorrows of those who run after another God Shall multiply Their drink offerings of blood
[18:12] I will not pour out Or take their names on my lips The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup You hold my lot The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places Indeed I have a beautiful inheritance I bless the Lord Who gives me counsel in the night Also my heart instructs me I have set the Lord always before me Because he is at my right hand I shall not be shaken Therefore my heart is glad And my whole being rejoices My flesh also dwells secure For you will not abandon my soul to show Or let your Holy One see corruption You make known to me the path of life In your presence there is fullness of joy At your right hand are pleasures forevermore Hear a just cause, O Lord Attend to my cry Give ear to my prayer
[19:13] From lips free of deceit From your presence let my vindication come Let your eyes behold the right You have tried my heart You have visited me by night You have tested me And you will find nothing I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress With regard to the works of man By the word of your lips I have avoided the ways of the violent My steps have held fast to your paths My feet have not slipped I call upon you For you will answer me, O God Incline your ear to me Hear my words Wondrously show your steadfast love O Saviour Of those who seek refuge From their adversaries At your right hand Keep me as the apple of your eye Hide me in the shadow of your wings Amen And may God bless to us This reading of his own holy word
[20:14] We're going to sing again Before we turn back To look at Psalm 16 And Psalm 84 And we're going to sing From verse 6 to the end This is in the Scottish Psalter Psalm 84 at verse 6 Who passing thoroughbakers vale Therein to dig up wells Also the rain that falleth down The pools with water fills So they from strength and wearied go Still forward unto strength Until in Zion they appear Before the Lord at length Lord God of hosts My prayer hear O Jacob's God Give ear See God's shield Look in the face Of thine anointed dear Verses 6 to 12 Psalm 84 Who passing thoroughbakers vale Who passing thoroughbakers vale Who passing thoroughbakers vale
[21:16] Therein to dig up wells The rain that falleth down The pools with water fills So they will sing And we know The rain that falleth down The pools with water fills So they will sing The rain that falleth down And we know The rain that falleth down And we know So they will sing So they will sing And we know And we know Still forward unto strengthNING O Jacob's God, give me the air.
[22:30] See God our shield, O God the face of thine anointed dear.
[22:47] For in thy course one day excels a thirst and a rather in my God's will.
[23:09] Like he adored and well in tents of sin.
[23:22] For God the moth, the sun and shield. He'll grace and glory give.
[23:38] And will withhold no good from them. The Lord of hosts.
[23:52] The Lord of hosts.
[24:04] The God is to be blessed. Who by assured confidence.
[24:22] On me alone doth rest. Amen. Let's turn for a little to Psalm 16.
[24:39] And particularly from verse 8. I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my whole being rejoices.
[24:54] My flesh also dwells secure. For you will not abandon my soul to shoal or let your holy ones see corruption. You make known to me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy.
[25:07] At your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Now it's hard for us to believe that there were times in David's life where he really, where he did struggle with assurance.
[25:22] He had his moments of doubt. And sometimes we find that hard to believe because whenever we read, particularly in the Psalms, they come bursting forth with so much assurance.
[25:37] But David did have his struggles. David was human. And it's true of all believers. We all, irrespective of how strong our faith may often appear, there are times where our doubts and our struggles and our fears.
[25:52] Abraham, who was the father of the faithful, an extraordinary believer, he had his moments of doubt as well. And we find here David, who the Lord termed a man, it was termed in Scripture, a man after God's own heart.
[26:06] It's an extraordinary description. And yet David, remember when he was being chased by Saul, God had given David great promises of one day being king.
[26:18] And David believed these promises to such an extent that he wouldn't take a sword or lift up his hand against Saul. Even though Saul had the whole countryside filled with soldiers trying to kill David, David wouldn't lift up his hand against Saul.
[26:35] And he said, I won't lift up my hand against the Lord's anointed. And he trusted the Lord. He believed in the Lord. And yet there was a day when he said, surely one day I will die at the hand of Saul.
[26:49] That was when David's faith wobbled. And in a sense, it encourages us as well when we see these great believers, these so assured, strong Christians that they had their days.
[27:03] When they wobbled, they struggled. That it wasn't always plain sailing. They weren't always full of assurance. And it's the same for ourselves because we can have strong faith.
[27:17] There's different descriptions of faith given. There's weak faith. There's strong faith. There's little faith. Jesus says that of the disciples sometimes. Oh, you have little faith.
[27:29] But again, we're told of the strong faith. And we're told of little faith. And that can be found in the same passion. And some days there are periods in our life where faith is really strong.
[27:42] But other times it's weak. The thing is that we have faith. When we have faith, there is a saving faith which is grounded in Christ. That cannot change.
[27:54] But our day-to-day faith in the Lord, that changes to a certain extent. Some days our trust is implicit. Other days we do wobble a bit.
[28:05] But here we see in this particular psalm that David, for instance, in verse 2, he says, I say to the Lord, you are my Lord. Now, there's the great assurance.
[28:17] And we quite often find that in the Davidic psalms. Like in Psalm 23, the Lord is my shepherd. Psalm 40, I waited for the Lord, my God. Are you able to say that tonight?
[28:30] That the Lord is my God? If you can, whatever else you don't have, whatever else you may want to have, you have what is all important in this world.
[28:45] The Lord is my God. When you have the Lord as your God, you have everything. That's the great thing. And then it says in verse 5, just before we come to look at verse 8, The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup.
[29:00] You hold my lot. Now, this idea here that we have here, the portion here kind of signifies the lot or the inheritance that a person has.
[29:15] So I suppose it's like here we have our crofts. And that's your croft. It was handed down to you. And this is yours. You can build on it.
[29:26] You can have sheep on it. It belongs to you. It's your allotment. It's your portion. It's yours. This came from the division of the lands when Israel came into the promised land.
[29:39] The land was all divided up. And the different tribes got their different portions, their different allotments. And that was theirs. That belonged to them and could be passed down from generation to generation.
[29:51] And so it is that in rural communities that there are, we have our allotments. And that's our inheritance. But David is spiritualizing that and he's saying, the Lord is my inheritance.
[30:07] The Lord is my allotment. In other words, David's saying, my life is lived in this allotment. In the same way as if you build a house, build your home on a particular croft, you spend most of your time there.
[30:24] This is where your life is lived. Well, David is saying, my life above everything else is lived in the Lord. Are you able to say that tonight?
[30:35] That your life is lived in the Lord? And the thing that we have to remember is that it says, that it says, the Lord is my chosen portion. And the opposite is also true.
[30:48] That the Christian is the Lord's chosen portion. That's the way it works. That's how it began. We love him. Why? Because he first loved us.
[31:01] That's what the Bible tells us. And if you tonight are saying to yourself, I'm not very sure where I am, am I a Christian or am I not?
[31:13] And you're struggling in this way. Well, if you find that there's a drawing, there's a drawing to the Lord, the things of the Lord, his word, his people, his day, all these things.
[31:25] That's not your own heart that's doing that. That's not something that you've worked up in yourself. It's not natural to you. It's because the Lord is working in you. And the Lord chooses us.
[31:39] We are his portion. And you know this, out of everything in this world, this is the portion the Lord is going to take. We read of how this world, as we know it, it will give way.
[31:56] It's going to be, some there's different sort of levels of translations, but it looks like to be burnt up. And there's going to be new heavens and a new earth where righteousness dwells.
[32:08] But the Lord tells us, out of everything in this whole wide world, there's only one thing. That he's going to take his portion.
[32:19] And his portion are his people. Isn't that an amazing thing? Tonight, you're so precious to the Lord that he's going to take you, at the end of the day, to be forever with himself.
[32:33] And then we see David says, I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
[32:44] And at this point, we can see that David's faith is absolutely soaring. And you know, it's a wonderful thing to be able to say, I have set, that's what he says, I have set the Lord always before me.
[32:59] The key to David's success. And David was an incredibly successful, when you look at his life, as a king, as a military strategist, as a songwriter.
[33:13] Whatever David did, he was so successful. And the key to his success was in this, I have set the Lord always before me. It's the key.
[33:25] And we have to ask ourselves the same thing. Is that what we do? Do we set the Lord always before us? Well, that's exactly what we find that David has done.
[33:37] And we've got to remember that, as we journey through this world, that we're being saved from this present evil world.
[33:49] And David is going on to say, because the Lord is always before me, because he's at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Now, the thing for David, although he was involved in so much, and there's no doubt whatever, that David lived life to the full.
[34:07] When you read the life of David, yes, he was an incredibly spiritual man. But he was also a very physical man. He was a very passionate man.
[34:18] He was a man who engaged in life in its fullness. But he always set the Lord before him. That was the key. And it's so important for ourselves, because we live in a world that encroaches upon our time, encroaches upon our spirituality.
[34:35] The world is an enemy of our soul. And the world has an incredible drying effect upon us spiritually. Now, we're in the world, but we're not of the world.
[34:47] And it's very hard to get that balance. We live in the world. We engage in the world. We're involved in the world. We work in the world. But the world is not our standard.
[34:59] The world is not our guide. The world's ways are not our ways. We're being, as we said, saved from this present evil world. And you know, when you think of people who have nothing but this world, what a disappointment at the end of the day.
[35:16] Because this world, it promises a lot. But you know, it takes everything back. When the Lord gives, he never takes back. All he does, he gives more.
[35:27] But the world will take everything that it's ever given. At the end of the day, it'll take it back. But the Lord never will. And so David, his confidence, there's this confidence flying through him.
[35:41] And he's saying that he has set the Lord all was before him. And so the eye of faith is fixed upon the Lord in everything. Remember when Israel journeyed through the wilderness, there was the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night.
[36:00] They followed that pillar of cloud. When the pillar of cloud stopped, they stopped. When the pillar of cloud moved, they moved. Because the pillar of cloud symbolized the divine presence, the presence of God.
[36:13] And they knew it was madness to go ahead of the cloud. And it's the same for you and me. That we must follow the Lord's timetable. And that can be hard.
[36:24] Because sometimes God moves so slowly, as far as we can judge. Sometimes God's providence seems to be going against what we expect.
[36:36] But it's in these places that our faith is tested. That we come to discover more and more of who we are and of God's dealings with us. And so it's imperative that we set the Lord.
[36:48] The eye of faith must be set upon the Lord. And that's something we need to ask every single day. Lord, help me to focus upon you today. Help me to live with you.
[36:59] Help me to live today in a way where you are before me. And then David says, Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
[37:10] And of course, being at the right hand is very suggestive. Because there's various things. Being at the right hand speaks of somebody who is absolutely loyal.
[37:22] Somebody who is always there for you. Somebody you can count on. Somebody who is dependable. A friend who will be with you through thick and thin. We use the expression, a friend in need.
[37:35] It's a friend indeed. And that's the kind of friend the Lord is. Somebody who will always be with you. He's also somebody who is with us in all our conflicts.
[37:48] Because as Christians, we battle through this world. We don't kind of drift through. It's a struggle. An inward fight. It's an outward fight. And the Lord equips us with an armor.
[37:59] He's given us the armor. We know it. The helmet of salvation. And the shield of faith. And such like. But he's equipped us with his armor. And he fights in us.
[38:12] Through his spirit. Against the flesh. There's a constant battle going on. You and I know what it's like. This struggle. As the apostle summed it up.
[38:23] The good that I would, I don't do. And the evil that I don't want to do. That's what I end up doing. There's this band. This collision going on. Between the flesh and the spirit. We know what it's like.
[38:34] It's happening. But it's the Lord working in us. Refining us. Inclining us. In the right way. And so the Lord is there. At our right hand.
[38:45] He fights for us. It also gives this idea of somebody in a court of law. Like a defense lawyer. That's what the Lord is.
[38:57] He's there defending us. And that's what the Lord does. The Lord is there. As our defense. And we're told in scripture.
[39:08] That in heaven just now. He is making continual intercession for us. He's pleading on our behalf. And how does he plead?
[39:19] Well. He doesn't say to the father. Lord. Father forgive them. Because they can't help it. That's kind of. They've got this tendency to sin. So. That's his personality.
[39:31] That's her personality. So. Father overlook them. That's not the way. Not at all. What he does. Is he continues to present. His own.
[39:42] Finished work. His own. Perfect. Sacrifice. Presenting his blood. And as the father looks. On the work. That Christ has done.
[39:53] He looks at us. Through that work. And he accepts. What the father. What Christ has done. And that means. That every accusation. That is hurled against us.
[40:04] Is thrown out. That's why it says in scripture. Who shall lay anything. To the charge. Of God's elect. There might be many charges. And there are.
[40:15] There's many accusations. And they're true. But none of them will stand. Because of what Christ. Has done for us. So there he is. At the right hand.
[40:26] And he's continually. Making intercession. For us. The right hand. Is also the place. Of authority. And power. And that's what Jesus is doing. He is exercising.
[40:37] Authority. Power. He is the chief ruler. He is the governor. Of this universe. Whatever's going on. However crazy. It may appear at times. The Lord is in control.
[40:50] And he is moving everything. Towards a predetermined end. Again. At the right hand. Is the idea of support. It's like a shoulder. To lean on.
[41:02] You know. In times of trouble. Times of sadness. Times of sorrow. It's great. When we have somebody. That we can. We can lean on. Somebody who is. A support to us.
[41:14] Well the Lord. Is our refuge. And strength. He is a support. And you know. The great thing. When the Lord. Comforts. He does so. In a way. Far better.
[41:25] Than you or I can. When we. Try and comfort. People. And we do. Sometimes. Our words.
[41:35] Can make matters. Worse. Rather than better. Because sometimes. We might say. The wrong thing. And rather. Than. Lifting a person up. We might put them down.
[41:46] Even more. Not that we mean to. But it can happen. But the Lord. Never does. In fact. The word of that. Comfort. Has. Idea.
[41:57] Of strength. In it. That he's imparting. Strength. At the same time. This comfort. Brings strength. The right hand. Also. Has the. Idea of.
[42:08] Pointing the direction. Showing someone. The way to go. That's it. Over there. And that's what the Lord. Does for us as well. He's directing us. Showing us. Showing us.
[42:19] The path. Showing us. The way to go. At all times. And then. David says. I've said the Lord. Always before me. Because he is at my right hand. I shall not.
[42:30] Be shaken. Now. One of the things that. We always want. In life. Is stability. We want to. Have a. A stable life.
[42:41] We want a stable home life. We want a stable. Work life. We want a stable. Community life. We want a stable. National life.
[42:52] We want stability. In our lives. And. Having the Lord. Always before us. And having the Lord. At our right hand. Guarantees.
[43:03] As it says here. I will not. Be shaken. Now. That doesn't mean. That we won't be. That we won't be. Stirred. That we won't be upset. That storms.
[43:14] Won't come into our lives. That there won't be bad things. And difficult things. But it means. That we will never. Be uprooted. Completely. It's like a.
[43:25] A great tree. And you see it. In a storm. And it's bending over. You can hear it creaking. But it doesn't fall. Because the roots. Are so strong.
[43:35] Into the ground. So deep. So strong. And that's what it's like. For the Christian. Who's rooted in Christ. Though we might. Bend this way.
[43:46] And that way. At times. We're still rooted in him. It's like the illustration. That Jesus gave. Of the two men. Who built. Houses. One on the rock. One on the sand.
[43:57] And if you and I. Had gone along. To see these houses. Maybe we went. To see the plans. Maybe the same person. Made the plans. You looked at the drawings. Oh. They're exactly the same.
[44:10] Each house. It's got the same. Construction. Same joiners. Worked in it. The same brickies. Worked in it. The same plumbers. Worked in it. The same sparkies.
[44:20] Worked in it. The same painters. Worked in it. The same tapers. It was the same kind of slates. Or tiles. They had everything. You looked at the house. And you said. Oh my. These houses. They're identical. There's no difference between them.
[44:33] But then this great storm came. That's when the difference was shown. The difference wasn't in the structure. That was visible. It was what wasn't visible.
[44:44] Underneath. It was in the foundation. And the one that was built on the sand. Collapsed. The one that was built on the rock. Stood firm. And that's what Jesus is saying.
[44:56] That those who hear his word. And believe his word. And plant their lives on him. Are like the house built on the rock. Everything else is going to collapse.
[45:09] And you know. When you think about it. When you think of lives. Great lives. Who do so much. But lives. That are not built on Christ.
[45:21] It means at the end of the day. There's going to be this awful collapse. And it's the saddest thing. Particularly when you see good people. People who have achieved so much.
[45:32] And done so much. And maybe brought a lot of good into life. And yet at the end of the day. For themselves personally. This collapse. Because they're not built upon the foundation.
[45:44] The rock. The root. That is the Lord Jesus Christ. And then David. He's on an absolute high here. Therefore my heart is glad.
[45:55] My whole being rejoices. My flesh also dwells secure. Do you know there are times when. When the Lord can so fill you. With his presence.
[46:06] And with that sense of his power. That it's not just in your heart. But actually physically. If you feel lifted up. You know that. Sometimes.
[46:19] It can happen. Like for instance. When you're feeling really down. And you. The Lord gives you a word. Which is. Bang on what you need.
[46:29] It's just perfect. And he gives you the faith. To lay hold upon that word. And it's almost like. A spiritual electric shock. That lifts you up.
[46:41] And you just feel. The person who was not so long ago down. You feel invigorated. That your whole being. That your very body. Feels invigorated. Not just. Your heart.
[46:53] Your mind. But everything. Well that's how David is feeling. At this particular time. And then David says. For you will not abandon. My soul to show. Or let your holy one.
[47:04] See corruption. Now as David penned this. David. Yes he was writing about himself. But he went beyond. David is moving in. This is why.
[47:15] This is a messianic psalm. And there's part of this. That speaks. About Jesus Christ. Because there's an experience here. That David. Is not going to experience.
[47:28] Because. It says here. For you will not abandon. My soul to show. Or let your holy one. See corruption. Now. Show. In many ways. Quite a hard word.
[47:38] To describe. It's. It's death. Or what follows on. After death. Sometimes it's the grave. It might go deeper. Than the grave. But sometimes it can even be. Sometimes sure.
[47:49] Might be translated hell. But it's. It's what. It's. It's the domain of the dead. Just when death. It's this. This. Unseen. As it were.
[47:59] Hidden world. World. Now. Christ. Didn't. Go into hell. As the actual location. Or the place. The Lord tells us.
[48:11] That hell. Is the place. Of the devil. And his angels. Angels. But Christ. Experienced. Everything. That constitutes.
[48:21] Hell. On the cross. Everything. That. The father. Removes. To make hell. The awful place. It is. And everything.
[48:32] The father. Pours on. To make hell. The awful place. It is. Christ. Experienced. That. He experienced. Our hell. On himself. I do not believe.
[48:43] That he entered. Into the actual. With. The devil. And his angels. Into. Where. The location. What would be. Turned. Hell itself. But he experienced.
[48:55] Everything. That constitutes. Hell. But even. Although. He was forsaken. By the father. On one hand. The father. Was still with him.
[49:06] And he didn't. Abandon his soul. But something amazing. Happened. To his body. Something different. And that's where the difference. That wouldn't happen. With David. It tells us here.
[49:19] For you will not abandon my soul. Or let your holy one. See corruption. The body of Christ. Didn't. Corrupt. Like when. When death occurs.
[49:30] It's one of the. I don't want to go there. Because it's a distressing thing. For people. But we know that. That's why we have to. Put away. Those whom we love. And. That burial.
[49:41] Hell comes. Because of. The corruption. That comes in. But Christ's body. Never saw. Corruption. That's the difference. Between you and me. It was like.
[49:53] He was in our place. All the way to death. And his body died. And was laid in the grave. But. It was like. He was kept from. That was. One of the differences.
[50:04] He was kept from. The corruption. But his soul. Of course. Was taken immediately. To glory. With the father. It's going to be. The same for you. And for me.
[50:14] If we believe. In the Lord Jesus Christ. Instant. Transportation. Of the soul. That's what Jesus said. To the thief. On the cross. Today. He said.
[50:25] You will be with me. In paradise. Today. Before this day is out. The moment you die. Your soul. Will be with me.
[50:36] Remember. As a shorter. Cadexon puts it. The souls of believers. Are at their death. Made perfect. In holiness. Now. Right now. We can't understand that. Because we.
[50:47] Have never. Experienced. Perfection. But the souls of believers. Are at death. Made perfect. In holiness. And to immediately. Pass into glory. And their bodies.
[50:59] Being still united. To Christ. To rest in the grave. To the resurrection. You see. The body. The body is still precious. To Christ. Because Christ.
[51:09] Is going to raise that body. To be reunited. With our soul. And we say to ourselves. How is that going to happen? I have no idea. Nobody can tell.
[51:20] How it's going to happen. But it will. And we've got to say to ourselves. Can we for any moment. Think it's not an impossibility. Of course it's not. The Lord who in the very beginning. Took the dust to the ground.
[51:31] And formed man. And then from man. Took. A bone out of it. And formed woman. Built and fashioned. And shaped the woman. The God who took.
[51:44] Did that at the very beginning. The God who by the word of his power. Brought into being. The sun. The moon. The planets. The whole galaxy. Everything.
[51:55] It's no impossibility. To him. For him to raise up. Every single one. The resurrection. There's going to be a resurrection. Of the just. And the unjust.
[52:07] But the bodies will be. Reunited. And no wonder David is singing. Because he knows. This is his future. This is what it's all about. How empty. You know.
[52:18] In this world that we live in. There's so many people. Filled with despair. There's an awful lot of. Emptiness. And despair. There. Throughout our land. And little wonder.
[52:30] When people have nothing. There's nothing. Really stable. To base. Their lives on. There's no. Real future. That they can build.
[52:41] Or to look to. They have nothing. And I would be in despair. As well. I would be like. That's so empty. What's it all about? Why? Well. Well David isn't saying.
[52:53] What's it all about? He knows. What it's about. And that's the beauty. For the Christian. We know why we're here. We know where we're going. And then finally.
[53:04] He says. You make known to me. The path of life. In your presence. There is fullness of joy. At your right hand. Are pleasures. Forevermore. You make known to me.
[53:15] The path of life. Not just that I hear about it. But I experience it. And he says. You make known to me. The path of life. Not just where this path.
[53:26] Leads to. Because we're already on it. The moment you become a believer. You've stepped onto that path of life. The moment you come to faith. Eternal life has been born.
[53:38] In your heart. You are on that path of life. And this path. Is a path of grace. That eventually leads to glory. Because that's what grace is.
[53:50] It's glory begun. And glory has been said. Is grace perfected. So. We're already on this path. He has made it known to us.
[54:02] Who we have. And where we're going. And then we see the blessings. At your right hand. Are pleasures. Forevermore. In your presence.
[54:13] There is fullness of joy. That means. Joy complete. You and I know that in this world. Our joy is never complete. Ever. Nothing that we actually have is complete.
[54:24] It's always interrupted. Our best moments. Our happiest times. Even our greatest spiritual blessings. That are interrupted. You know what it's like. You can be on a spiritual high.
[54:35] You can. I remember being at a communion one time. And. The other person who was preaching. I don't think I've ever heard preaching like it. And.
[54:46] When I went home on the Monday. I said to myself. I. Wouldn't swap places with. Anybody in this whole wide world. I felt. So.
[54:57] Content. And I was saying to the Lord. If you feel like it Lord. You can take me right now. I felt just. That was. By Thursday. I was. Rock bottom.
[55:08] Everything was upside down. My life was ski-whip. And. But. That's what it is. In this. In this Christian life. That's how it is. But not in glory. Nothing to interrupt it.
[55:20] No enemies. No blots. Nothing in the landscape. Anywhere. Eternal. Joy. Eternal. Satisfaction. Eternal. Fulfillment.
[55:33] Is that your future? Well if you have Christ it is. If you don't. Well it's time. To get that future sorted. And you can tonight.
[55:44] Because Jesus continues. To invite. Without stretched arms. And he's saying it's. It's free. It's without money. It's without price. Let us pray.
[55:55] Lord our God. We give thanks for your word. And for the fullness of it. We give thanks for. What you hold out in it to us. And we give thanks for the encouragement.
[56:07] That it is to our soul. We realize Lord. That we live in a world. That has so many pressures. And demands upon us. But we pray. That every day.
[56:18] We will be like David. And set the Lord. Always before us. And that we might know. That you are at our right hand. And that none of us will be moved. Take us all home safely.
[56:28] We pray. Part us with your blessing. Do us good. We pray that you will be with us. Throughout this week. Watch over us. And forgive us our sin. In Jesus name we ask it. Amen.
[56:41] We're going to sing in this psalm. Psalm 16. Sing psalms. And we're going to sing. Just these verses 8. To the end.
[56:54] Psalm 16. Verses 8. To the end. Before me constantly. I set the Lord alone.
[57:05] Because he is at my right hand. I will not be overthrown. Therefore my heart is glad. My tongue with joy will sing. My body too will rest secure.
[57:16] And hope unwavering. For you will not allow my soul. And death to stay. Nor will you leave your holy one. To see the tombs decay. You have made known to me.
[57:27] The path of life divine. Bliss shall I know at your right hand. Joy from your face will shine. These verses. Before me constantly.
[57:37] Before me constantly. I said the Lord alone.
[57:54] Because he is at my right hand. I'll not be overthrown.
[58:10] That for my heart is glad. My tongue with joy will sing.
[58:23] My body too will rest secure. In hope unwavering.
[58:38] For you will not allow my soul. My soul in death to stay.
[58:53] Nor will you leave your holy one. To see the tombs decay.
[59:08] You have made known to me. The path of life divine.
[59:23] Blessed shall I know at your right hand. Joy from your face will shine.
[59:40] Amen. Now may the grace, mercy and peace of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Rest and abide upon each one of you now and forevermore. Amen.
[59:50] Amen. Amen. Thank you.