[0:00] Good morning and a warm welcome to the service this morning, those who are tuning in online and those who are listening in on the telephone. It's good to have you with us this morning.
[0:10] It's good for us to come together and to worship God in this way. The information is just a couple of points to note.
[0:21] First is that the evening service will be an English service and that will be online just before six o'clock tonight and the studies that we've had in Zechariah will hopefully bring to a conclusion this evening in the evening service.
[0:37] And on Wednesday there is the Zoom prayer meeting which is at half past seven. We've done this the last couple of weeks and it's worked reasonably well. So again we hope that you're able to join together with us as we seek to worship God and as we seek to call upon his name in prayer.
[0:55] The rest of the information as you can see on the Facebook page, there'll be any information that's necessary can go on there and you can just keep a note of that.
[1:06] So let's now worship God and let us sing to his praise. We sing from the psalm that we'll be studying this morning, Psalm 116 and we'll sing the first six verses of the psalm.
[1:19] I love the Lord because my voice and prayers he did hear. I, while I live, will call on him who bowed to me his ear. Of death the cords and sorrows did. About me compass ran.
[1:29] The pains of hell took hold on me. I grief and trouble find. Upon the name of God the Lord. Then did I call and say, Deliver thy my soul, O Lord. I do thee humbly pray.
[1:40] God merciful and righteous is. Yea, gracious is our Lord. God saves the meek. I was brought low. He did me help afford. These verses of Psalm 116 to God's praise.
[1:54] I love the Lord because my voice and prayers he did hear.
[2:10] I, while I live, will call on him who bowed to me his ear.
[2:26] Of death the cords and sorrows did. About me compass round.
[2:41] The pains of hell took hold on me. I, while I live, will call on him.
[3:20] I, while I live, will call on him.
[3:50] He did me help afford. Let's unite our hearts for a moment in prayer.
[4:03] Let's pray. Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for this day. We thank you for the psalm that we have read, that we have sung. And we thank you that it's a psalm that reminds us of who you are.
[4:15] That you're the God who hears us and that you're the God who helps us. And we pray that you would hear us as we come to you just now. Lord, we come as those who need your mercy, who depend upon your grace and who look to Jesus as our Savior.
[4:31] And we ask, Lord, that you would receive us in Christ, that you would cleanse us from our sin as we confess them. And we pray for your help. Help us today as we open your word to hear what you're saying to us and to know in our hearts that you are close to us, that you are with us.
[4:48] And help us, we pray, through these difficult days where there are things going on that we couldn't have imagined even a few weeks ago. And we ask, Lord, for your help through these days.
[5:00] For those especially who are on the front line, who are caring for others, who are serving us in shops, who are keeping networks up and running, transport links going.
[5:13] And we think of so many people, some of them we know of and others we are unaware of. And yet they are active and they are putting themselves in a place of risk.
[5:24] And we thank you for them and we pray that you would protect them and that you would help. And for many as well who are in their homes and who feel the constraints of being at home all the time.
[5:35] We ask, Lord, that you would help them also, that you would draw near to them and help them. Help us, Lord, we pray. In this time when we are unable to get out as we once were, help us, we pray, as our doors are closed to do what we were taught to do by Jesus.
[5:54] To go into the closet and to call upon our Father. Help us to pray because we know that you are a God who hears and who answers our prayers. Be with those who are most vulnerable.
[6:06] At this time we continue to pray for those who are sick, for those who are receiving treatment. For those who are up in the years and who feel vulnerable and who feel isolated. Be near to them, we pray, and help them to know that you are close.
[6:22] And we ask now, Lord, that as we continue in this time of worship, that you would lead us and guide us in the power of the Holy Spirit. We are not able to do anything apart from you.
[6:33] But we pray that you would be near to us, that you would be abiding with us and even in us. And be at work, Lord, we pray in our lives for your glory.
[6:45] And we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Boys and girls, I'm missing seeing you, but I'm in the prayer meeting room just now, in case you're trying to figure out where we are.
[6:59] And I'm enjoying seeing your pictures. You've got some pictures on the wall over there, and there's more pictures on the front. It's good to see all your pictures that you've drawn on the windows. But I want to ask you a question this morning.
[7:14] And the question is, have you ever heard of Zoom? If you were listening to the notices at the beginning, you would have heard me saying something about Zoom.
[7:27] But do you know what Zoom is? And if I'd been asked that question, even a few weeks ago, I would have said that Zoom is an ice lolly. You've probably never heard of a Zoom ice lolly.
[7:39] I don't think they're sold anymore, but I can show you one. A picture of one. I don't know if you can see that there. There's a Zoom ice lolly.
[7:51] They're very tasty. They were one of Mary's favourite ice lollies. But now we hear people talking about Zoom all the time. And Zoom is not an ice lolly. Zoom actually is a way that we can meet.
[8:02] We can have meetings on Zoom. And here's a picture of a meeting that happened earlier this morning. With two guys there that you might recognise.
[8:17] Need a bit closer. Need a bit closer. Yes, that's right. There's Gordon with a big smile on his face there. And there's Cammie, the only guy on the island who's still able to get a haircut.
[8:31] So you can have meetings on Zoom. And that's a good thing. We were having prayer meetings in the morning on Zoom. And we had a prayer meeting on Wednesday night on Zoom.
[8:42] You get an email. And it gives you an invitation. And you click on it. And all of a sudden, you're in the middle of a meeting. And you look on your screen. And there might be two people. Or there might be four people.
[8:53] I think at the prayer meeting there was about 35 different people all there. And we can see each other. And we can hear each other. And it's a great thing to have that just now. When we're not able to actually come close to each other at this time.
[9:07] So it's good for that. But the thing about Zoom is sometimes it doesn't work so well. I was having a prayer meeting with some people this morning.
[9:18] And sometimes the connection breaks this morning. I was seeing people. And then all of a sudden the screen was freezing. And I couldn't hear what they were saying.
[9:30] And then I could hear what they were saying. And their picture would disappear. And so although it's a thing that's good. Sometimes Zoom is not so good.
[9:41] Because the connection breaks. It's good in trying to keep us together. But it's not perfect. Because sometimes when things break. We actually can't stay together on the screen like we'd like to.
[9:57] But the question I would put to you boys and girls is. Who's able to keep us together the best? And the answer. Which I can almost hear through the screen.
[10:11] Is Jesus us. You know if we're trusting in Jesus. If we know his love. In our hearts. He promises that he brings us close.
[10:26] To God. He brings us close to himself. And he even brings us close to each other. Even when we're far apart from each other. And the good thing about Jesus.
[10:38] And his love. And the way that he brings us together. Is his connection. It never breaks. It never fails. And it never drops out.
[10:52] Paul. The apostle in Romans 8. Listen to what he said. He said. For I am convinced. That neither death nor life. Neither angels nor demons.
[11:05] Neither the present nor the future. Nor any powers. Neither height. Nor depth. Nor anything else. In all creation. Will be able to separate us.
[11:15] From the love of God. That is in Jesus Christ. Our Lord. What is Paul. Saying there. Or what actually. Is God saying.
[11:26] As he moves Paul's hand. As he writes. Well. What God is saying to us. That there is nothing. And there is no one. Nothing here.
[11:39] Nothing anywhere. There is. Not even. Death. That's able to break. The connection.
[11:49] That we have. With him. Nothing in life. Breaks the connection. With Jesus. And not even death. Breaks the connection. That. We have with Jesus.
[11:59] And we have with everyone. Who's trusting in Jesus. So. The message. For today. Boys and girls. Is to be trusting. In Jesus. And let's be encouraged.
[12:10] He. He brings us close. And he keeps us close. When we're believing. In him. So let's pray about that. Lord God. We thank you.
[12:21] For your promises. We thank you. That. When we believe. In the Lord Jesus. We are brought close to God. Even those who were very far away from God. Like.
[12:31] Like the apostle Paul. Once was. We thank you. That the moment we believe. We're brought close to you. And we thank you also. That we are brought close to everyone. Else.
[12:42] Who's trusting you. And Lord. Although we. Can't be close to each other. Physically just now. We pray that we would know. That sense of closeness. That your Holy Spirit brings.
[12:54] As we. Thank you. For. Your work. In us. Through Jesus. And as we pray Lord. That you would. Help us to know. Still. That you are close.
[13:05] To us. And that your promises. Never to leave us. Never to forsake us. Are all true. And we ask all this. In Jesus name. And for Jesus sake. Amen. We're going to.
[13:18] Read now. God's word. And the psalm. That we're going to read. This. Morning. Is psalm. 116. Psalm. 116.
[13:28] And we'll read the whole. Of the psalm. This is God's word. I love the Lord. For he heard. My voice. He heard. My cry for mercy. Because he turned.
[13:39] His ear to me. I will call on him. As long as I live. The cords of death. Entangled me. The anguish. Of the grave. Came upon me. I was overcome.
[13:49] By trouble. And sorrow. Then I called. On the name of the Lord. O Lord. Save me. The Lord is gracious. And righteous. Our God is full.
[14:00] Of compassion. The Lord. Protects. The simple hearted. When I was in great need. He saved me. Be at rest. Once more. O my soul.
[14:12] For the Lord. Has been good to you. For you. O Lord. Have delivered. My soul. From death. My eyes. From tears. My feet. From stumbling. That I may walk.
[14:23] Before the Lord. In the land. Of the living. I believe. Therefore. I said. I am greatly afflicted. And in my dismay. I said. All men are liars.
[14:34] How can I repay the Lord. For all his goodness to me. I will lift up the cup of salvation. And call on the name of the Lord.
[14:44] I will fulfill my vows to the Lord. In the presence of all his people. Precious in the sight of the Lord. Is the death of his saints. O Lord.
[14:55] Truly. I am your servant. I am your servant. The son. Of your maidservant. You have freed me from my chains. I will sacrifice.
[15:06] A thank offering to you. And call on the name of the Lord. I will fulfill my vows to the Lord. In the presence of all his people. In the courts of the house of the Lord.
[15:20] In your midst of Jerusalem. Praise. The Lord. Amen. And may God bless that reading. Of his word to us.
[15:30] May he help us. As we take a moment now. To meditate upon this passage. When we come to the Bible. We have just read Psalm 116. But when we come to the Bible.
[15:43] When we approach our passage. What should we be looking for? It is the question I want to begin with. Sometimes I think. We approach the Bible.
[15:55] Like we do. A school class photograph. We see all the faces in the class. We recognize different faces. And we remember different people. But if we are honest.
[16:06] When we see a school class photograph. We first of all. Look for ourselves. And we focus our attention. On our own face.
[16:17] And sometimes. When we approach. A passage of scripture. We do so like. We approach the mirror. In the morning. We look in. And we see that.
[16:29] Our hair. Maybe is. Is sticking up at the back. Probably more so now. Than ever before. Because we can't get haircuts. We might see. That our faces. Need. Need freshening up.
[16:39] And so. So we do what we can. As we look in the mirror. To try and make ourselves. A bit more presentable. Before we. We face the day. And it's true. Actually. The Bible does say. That it's like a mirror.
[16:51] James chapter 1. Says that. And it's true. That as we. Come to scripture. We. We do see pictures of ourselves. And our own lives. And we see pictures of our own hearts.
[17:01] We could go to Jeremiah. 17. 9. And we're told that. But as we come to the Bible. Our first focus. Should not be on ourselves. And our own.
[17:13] Inadequacies. Our own insufficiencies. Our first focus. Should be on God. And his. Complete. Sufficiency. This.
[17:25] This book of scripture. That you. You have in front of you. Hopefully. Just now. It's first and foremost. God's. Revelation. Of himself. And it's only as we see him.
[17:37] In his. Perfection. That we are. Persuaded. To come to him. With all. Our. Imperfections. And.
[17:47] And actually. That's the. The structuring. Of this. Psalm. That's the ordering of things. In the. In the. Psalm. It falls. Largely into two sections. In.
[17:58] In verses 1. To verse 11. We see God. And all that he. Has done for us. And who he is. In himself. And then. From verses 12.
[18:09] Through to the end. Of the psalm. We. We see ourselves. We're given guidance. On. On. On what we are to do. In response. To what God. Has first done.
[18:20] For us. So. So that's the structure. Of the psalm. And I want to look at. Two points. Two sections. The first point. Is the revelation. Of God. And the second. Point. Is the.
[18:31] Response. Of the believer. So first of all. That. That the revelation. Of God. So. With that in our minds. With that. As the. As the. The guiding.
[18:43] Structure. What is it. That we. Learn. Through this. What does. What does God reveal. Of himself. To us. What does he want us to know. Well there's two things.
[18:54] The first thing. Is that God. Hears us. And the second thing. Is that God. Helps us. First of all. God. Hears us. Look at verses one and two. I love the Lord.
[19:06] For he heard my voice. He heard my cry. For mercy. Because he turned his ear. To me. I will call on him. As long. As.
[19:16] I live. So God. Hears. Now who does God. Hears. Well according to. To verse one. God. Hears. Those who cry. To him. For mercy. Sometimes.
[19:29] A child. May. Speak to a parent. In a way. That's not right. It's not respectful. And the parent. As the child. Throws a tantrum. Will. Will rightly say. I'm not listening to you.
[19:41] When you speak. Like that. Go away. Calm yourself down. And speak differently. And then I listen to you. Or boys and girls. If you're. If you're still listening. Just now.
[19:51] When you're in the classroom. You know. That there's a right way. To speak to the teacher. And there's a wrong way. To speak to the teacher. You don't shout and bawl. At the teacher. You don't speak down.
[20:02] To the teacher. As if. You're the boss. Or she just won't listen. And sometimes. Actually. God won't listen. To our prayers. It says. In another psalm.
[20:13] In psalm. 66. In verse 18. If I had. Cherished sin. In my heart. If I harbored sin. In my heart. The Lord. Would not have listened.
[20:24] See. If we. If we hold on. To our sin. If we. If we hide sin. In our hearts. If we. Live our lives. Pretending. Almost.
[20:35] That God. Can't see our sin. Then God won't listen. To our prayers. But when we pray. Like the psalmist did. Asking that God. Would have mercy. On us.
[20:46] Then we're admitting our sin. We're asking God. To forgive our sin. And he hears. That kind of prayer. So God hears us. He wants us to know.
[20:57] First of all. That he hears us. And the second thing. That we. Note here. Is that God. Helps us. Not only does he hear us. But he. Is willing to act.
[21:08] On what he hears. And. We see that in verses 3. And following. The cords of death. Entangled me. Said the psalmist. The anguish. Of the grave. Came upon me. I was overcome.
[21:18] By trouble. And sorrow. Then I called. On the name of the Lord. O Lord. Save me. So the psalmist here. Is in great need.
[21:30] He's in. He's in. Dire trouble. What kind of trouble. Was. Was he in. Well. We don't know. What was happening. In his life. We don't know. We don't actually.
[21:41] Even know. For sure. Who wrote this psalm. It might have been David. And David was in lots of trouble. At lots of times. Some of the. The scholars. Think it was. It was King Hezekiah. But the.
[21:51] The bottom line is. We don't know. Who wrote this psalm. And we don't know. What kind of trouble. The psalmist was in. Some commentators. Think that the psalmist. At this point. Was very sick. That he had. The equivalent of.
[22:03] Of COVID-19. A deadly virus. A life-threatening. Illness. But the truth is. We. We just don't know. What kind of trouble. The suffering. The psalmist.
[22:14] Was going through. And I think. That's a deliberate thing. This is left. General. So that we. When we. Read this psalm.
[22:24] And when we. Are in any kind of trouble. Whatever kind of trouble. We may experience. Will be guided. Through this psalm. To do what the psalmist did. And what did he do?
[22:37] Well. It tells us. In verse 4. That he called upon. The name. Of the Lord. Why did he call upon. The name of the Lord? Well.
[22:48] Because he knows. Verse 5. That the Lord is. Is gracious. And righteous. And full of compassion. And because he knows.
[22:59] That God hears. And so. The. The logic of this psalm. That. The run of things. In this psalm. It's not complicated. This is.
[23:10] Actually. Very simple. And verse 6. Underlines that. It says. In verse 6. The Lord. Protects the simple hearted. When I was in great need.
[23:22] He saved me. One of the commentators. Wearsby. Says. Simple hearted. In this verse. Verse 6. Does not refer to ignorant.
[23:32] Or superstitious people. But to childlike believers. With sincerity. And integrity. People. Who dare to believe. That God means.
[23:44] What he says. And so the psalmist here. He calls. Out. For God's help. With that. That childlike. Dependence.
[23:56] We see sometimes. A child. And they're struggling. They call out. To their parents. Believing they'll be heard. Believing. That they'll be helped. Trust them. And the psalmist.
[24:06] He does that. He calls upon. The name of the Lord. For that. That fatherly care. And help. He leaves his problem. He leaves his burden. With the Lord.
[24:17] Trusting. That the Lord. Is able to handle it. And carry it. Far better. Than he can. And then in verse. 8 to 11. We can see.
[24:27] How the psalmist. He shares testimony. Of how the Lord. Did hear his prayer. And how the Lord. Did help him. In his hour. Of greatest need.
[24:39] And maybe the. The summary. That we could. That we could. Apply to that section. Is found in verse 7. Where the psalmist. Simply says. The Lord.
[24:50] Has been. Good to you. And that. I believe. Is the encouragement. For us. To mull over. The fact that the God. Who reveals himself. To us.
[25:00] And doesn't hide himself. From us. He is the God. Who is good to us. He is the God. Who. It says in verse 2. Turns his ear to us.
[25:12] One of the translations. Says. He bends down. To listen. And that's. Such an amazing picture. For us to think about. This great.
[25:23] And powerful God. The God of heaven. And earth. He is the God. Who is willing. To bend down. And listen. To us. He wants us to know that.
[25:37] So what should we do. As we think about this. Revelation of God. That is. Presented here to us. Well. We should call out to him.
[25:48] That's what we should do. Do we have trouble in our lives. Has the psalmist. Had trouble in his life. Are we. Are we struggling. Call out to him. You know.
[25:59] Whether. Our struggle. Is with the reality. Of illness. At this time. Or the prospect. Of illness. And how that. That worries us. What should we do. Call out to him. Now.
[26:10] Whether we are. Anxious about being. On the front line. In this. In this. Time of plague. Or whether we are. Sitting at home.
[26:22] With. A degree of cabin fever. Worried about those. Whom we love. Who are on the front line. You know. Whether we are. Burdened with. With. The. The. The anxiety. Of financial pressures.
[26:34] Or the tension. Of strained. Family relationships. Or. Or even. If we have that. Sudden realization. At this time. Of eternity. And our lost state.
[26:46] As we think about. The matters of life. And death. As perhaps. We never have done. Before. What should we do? Well. We do what the psalmist did. We cry out.
[26:59] To God. Verse one. We call. Upon the name. Of the Lord. Verses two. And four. He's the God. Who hears us. He's the God. Who. Who is able.
[27:09] To help us. And. Let me say. All that. Help. Is made possible. And even the fact. That God. Who is holy. Hears us. It's made possible.
[27:20] In and through Jesus. Some people. They. They. They. They like to know. How everything works. They might be given. A new device. And before you know it. They've. They've.
[27:31] Stook the thing down. They're taking that part. Because they want to know. How it all. Fits together. And for those who look into this. Psalm. And who wonder. How it could be.
[27:43] How this. Good news. Could actually be possible. For those who look into this. Psalm. And wonder. How it could be. That the God. Who is holy. Would hear the prayer.
[27:53] Of sinners. And how the God. Who is holy. Would. Would be willing to help. And bend down. And reach out. To sinners. Like us. Who are deserving. Of his punishment.
[28:04] If we want to know. How that works. And what the answer is. The answer. Is Jesus. Think about this. On the cross. Jesus. Would cry out. As the psalmist.
[28:16] Cried out. But Jesus crying. Would not be heard. And on the cross. Although Jesus. Would feel. That the crushing. Weight. Of our sin.
[28:27] Upon his shoulders. Although he would. Feel the cords. And sorrows of death. Although he would. Feel the pains of hell. Taking hold. Of him.
[28:38] Although he would know. Grief. And trouble. He would go through alone. He would not be helped. It's on the cross. That we see the workings.
[28:50] Of our salvation. It's on the cross. That we see. How it was possible. For God. To be. Just. And holy.
[29:01] And punish. Our sin. As our sin needs to be punished. And yet. How he can be the justifier. Of sinners. And when we look to the cross. As we must keep on doing.
[29:13] We know that. When God says. He hears us. And when God says. That he is willing. To help us. He means what he says.
[29:25] So there's first of all. Here. The. The revelation. Of God. He's the God who hears. He's the God who helps. The second. Point.
[29:35] The final point. Is. Is to look at the response. Of the believer. And although. It's clear. From the. The psalm. The layout of the psalm.
[29:46] That. That the. The responses. To what God has done. For the psalmist. Are mainly. Expressed. In the second half. Of the psalm. There's a couple of responses. Which actually. Bubble up.
[29:57] Within the first section. Sometimes. When we have. Really good news. So we. When we have high emotion. Within us. We struggle to suppress it. And keep it in. And the psalmist.
[30:07] The Lord. He's. He's giving us this picture. Of who God is. In the first section. As he. Sees who God is. He can't help. But responding. Even in the verses. And so.
[30:18] There's a couple of. Responses. That we see. Before we even get. To verse 12. And the first response. Of the psalmist. To the God. Whom he is focused upon. Is that he.
[30:29] He loves the Lord. As the psalmist. Puts pen to paper. As he looks to the Lord. As he thinks about all. That the Lord has done for him. His opening line.
[30:40] In verse 1. Is simply. And sincerely. And powerfully. To declare his love for the Lord. He says in verse 1. I love the Lord. So that's the first response.
[30:52] That's where it all begins. I remember doing a family service here. Or in the room next door. And. We were thinking about different things. That we can do for God.
[31:03] And I'd ask the question. Of the boys and girls. What kind of things. Can we do for God? And there was lots of suggestions. On that day. And some people said. Well we can obey him.
[31:14] And that's right. We should obey him. And we can trust him. And we can tell other people about him. And we can pick up our Bibles. And we can read him. And we can go on our knees. And we can pray.
[31:24] And we can go to church. All these things we can do. For God. If we want to live lives that please him. And there was lots of suggestions. That went on for a minute or two.
[31:36] But as I was listening to the answers. That were coming back. I noticed one little boy. Who was a bit quieter then. Than he is now. And he was sitting in his chair.
[31:46] He wasn't down to the front. And his hand was up. And so I spotted him. And after everybody had given their answers. I went over and asked him. What do you think.
[31:57] We should do for the Lord. And he just said. Love him. And it was such a profound answer. That's where.
[32:11] The response. Of our hearts should begin. If we know that. The salvation of God. If we know. Because we have called upon the name of the Lord.
[32:21] And because of the cross of Christ. If we know that our sins are forgiven. If we can see. How much he first loved us. And how much he has done for us. Then we'll want to say.
[32:32] With the psalmist. We'll have to say with the psalmist. That we love the Lord. It's the first response. Of the believers. To love the Lord. The second response. Is found in verse 7.
[32:44] And that's to rest in the Lord. Be at rest once more. O my soul. For the Lord. Has been good to you. Now I know I'm standing. Here week by week.
[32:55] And preaching. But in one sense. We're all called to be preachers. Sometimes. We're not preaching. In front of our church. Full of people. Sometimes we're not preaching. To a camera.
[33:06] Sometimes. We are called. To preach to our own souls. And that's what the psalmist. Is doing here. This is a sermon. In verse 7. That the psalmist is preaching.
[33:17] To his own soul. He's in trouble. Fears. Clearly are arising. Within him. Waves of anxiety. Are crashing in over. His head. And.
[33:28] And yet. As he reflects on. On who God is. And how good God. Has been to him. He's able to say. Be at rest. Once more.
[33:40] O my soul. And even in the tense of that. We see. There's teaching in it. He's trusting God. So. He is at rest. He's at rest. From the moment.
[33:50] That he trusted God. But. As the waves. Of circumstance. In life. Crashing. There are seasons. Where your. Our rest. Can be lost. And we have to preach. Back to our own souls.
[34:01] And say. Be at rest. Once more. O my soul. And that's a word. For us just now. If we are. Believers. If we. Are. Are. Saved.
[34:11] As those who have received. The rest. The peace. Of God. Even though we hear. At this time. About the. The cases. Of.
[34:22] Coronavirus. On the island. And even though we. We listen to news reports. And we see projections. Of how they may. Be. Forecasted. To. To increase.
[34:34] And how much. Illness. And how much. Death. There may be. Even though. As we think about our business. We may not. This year. Be able to project. Any kind of profit. And we may have. Anxiety.
[34:44] Over that. Even though we may have. Cabin fever. In our own homes. Even though there might be. A million and one things. That are crashing in. Over our heads. And even though we may feel.
[34:56] Sometimes. Like we're sinking under it. We should be able to say. With the psalmist. As we look. And focus back. On the Lord. It is well with my soul. Everything else.
[35:06] May be very unstable. But it's well. With my soul. Be at rest. Once more. O my soul. So how does the psalmist. Respond? Well.
[35:16] He responds. By saying. That he loves the Lord. He. He responds. By. By once again. Resting. In the Lord. And now.
[35:28] Moving on from. Verse. 12. The psalmist. Asks the question. How can I repay the Lord. For all his goodness to me. Now. Let's just be clear here.
[35:39] The psalmist. He isn't trying to. To pay for his salvation. He's not trying to cut. A deal with God. He's not trying to. Repay. What has been given. To him. He already has salvation.
[35:50] He already has rest. He simply wants to. To express. His thankfulness. To God. For all that. That God has done for him. So how can he do that. He. He asks.
[36:02] And he determines. Various things. He determines. In his response. Next. To. To submit. His will. To the Lord. And we see that. From verses. 13.
[36:13] Through to verse. 17. We. We live. Today. In a very. Emotional age. We're. We're encouraged. Just to go with our hearts. You know. To go with what we feel.
[36:23] The psalmist here. He doesn't go with his emotions. These verses. Are not driven. By a feeling. He has in his tummy. Or his fingers. Or his toes.
[36:34] These verses. Are driven. By a will. That has. Been handed over. To the Lord. And four times. In verses. 13 to 17.
[36:45] He says. And again. He's preaching. To his own soul. He says. With that great determination. I will. I will. Verse 13. I will.
[36:56] Lift up. The cup. Of salvation. And call. On the name. Of the Lord. One of the commentators. Wilcox. Says. To take. The cup of salvation. Means that all the blessings.
[37:08] God wants. Him to have. He will make. His own. Now. It's not long since we were. Studying. Gethsemane. And remember. In Gethsemane. Gethsemane.
[37:19] Jesus. Took a cup. He took the cup. Of God's wrath. Into. His hands. As he said. To his father.
[37:30] Thy will be done. And he did that. So that we could be offered. This cup. Of God's. Salvation. And the psalmist. Says here.
[37:41] I will. Take it. Have we taken it? At the moment. We're reading about. Government grants. That have been offered. To those who are. Struggling. There's the promise.
[37:51] Of financial help. For those. Who are struggling. In their businesses. But if we. If we want to benefit. From this. If we want to. To know something. Of the benefit.
[38:02] Of these promises. We have to respond. To these promises. We have to accept. What's been offered. We have to determine. That we will take it. And being saved. For some of us.
[38:13] For many of us. Certainly for me. It wasn't hugely emotional. Or dramatic experience. And if we. Really. Boil down things.
[38:24] And look at how we can be saved. Well. We could say. Well. God offers us forgiveness. He offers us. Eternal life. Because he is gracious. He is compassionate. And we.
[38:35] We are called. To say. Of the psalmist. In faith. I will take it. And that's what the psalmist does. He says. I will take.
[38:46] I will lift up. The cup. Of salvation. And then. In verses 14. And verse 18. The psalmist determines. That. Having.
[38:56] Taken hold of the cup. Of salvation. He will seek. To obey God. He will. Seek to fulfill. The vows. That he has made. And not only.
[39:07] Will he seek. To obey God. But he will seek. To do so. Verse 17. With a. With a thankful heart. The psalmist. In his response. He. He submits his will.
[39:17] To the Lord. He. He loves the Lord. He. He rests in the Lord. The next thing here. Is he determines. To serve the Lord. Look at. Verse 15. Precious.
[39:27] In the sight of the Lord. Is the death. Of his saints. Now. In this psalm. The psalmist. Life. Is spared. He's. He's saved from death.
[39:38] But why is he saved from death? Is it so. That he can. Go back. And. Go back. To normal life. And make a great name. For himself. Is it.
[39:48] So that. He can build. A bigger empire. Than. Than he once. Had. Is it so that. He can pursue. All his own. Aims. And ambitions. And goals. Well.
[39:59] No. He follows up. Verse 15. Very quickly. With verse 16. He says. Oh. Lord. Truly. I am your servant. I am your servant.
[40:09] The son. Of your maidservant. You have freed me. From my chains. Eric Lane. The commentator. Says. He had been held. In chains. By death. And now that God.
[40:20] Had released him. All he desired. Was to be bound. To him. With the chains. Of a servant. Is this desire. To serve the Lord. With the life.
[40:32] That he has. That he's been given. Now. Many of us. Just now. I'm hearing it. Being said often. We're. We're longing. To be released. Back into. To normal life.
[40:44] Life is not normal. And people keep saying. I just can't wait. For things to. To go back to normal. But. Ask the question. Of yourself. As I ask the question.
[40:54] Of myself. Why is that? Is it so that we can. Go back to the. The way things. Once were. Is it so that we can. Get back. To a life.
[41:04] Of making more money. Is it so that we can. Get back to. To a life. Where we. Where we. We please. Ourself. You know. Actually. There's. There's no more. Cruel master.
[41:15] Than self. Because. Self. Is never satisfied. If we're a slave. To self. And sin. We will. Constantly. Be running. And we'll never. Get to a place.
[41:26] Where there is any. Satisfaction. But we're taught. In this. Psalm. That we are saved. We're given life. In order that we will. Serve the Lord. And the paradox.
[41:38] Of that. Which. It can't be properly. Explained. It's something. That needs to be experienced. To serve the Lord. Is actually. To know.
[41:49] True. Freedom. George Matheson. In the hymn. Says. Make me a captive Lord. And then. I shall be free. And the final response. Here.
[42:00] Is to sing to the Lord. And that's the. That's the final. Crescendo. Really. Of the psalm. The psalmist. Finishes off. At the end. Of these verses.
[42:11] With that proclamation. Praise. The Lord. And really. That's the product. Of everything. That's gone before. We. Have.
[42:21] Equations. And maths. And chemistry. My oldest daughter. And I. Is coming back. With maths. And chemistry. Homework. And equations. Where. It's beyond me.
[42:32] But. I see that. I see that. The way these things are structured. If you add X to Y to Z. Then you. You get the product. Which is. A or B or C. Or whatever it might be. And here.
[42:43] The. For the believer. If. If. We love the Lord. If we. Rest in the Lord. When we are those who. Who have taken hold.
[42:55] Of our will. And who day by day. Take hold. Of our will. And submit to God's way. And when we seek to. To serve Jesus. And to serve. Others. In Jesus name.
[43:07] Then the product. Of all that. Will be that we will have. Lives that sing. Lives that sing. A song of. Of. Of thankfulness. That overflow.
[43:17] With. With a song of thankfulness. And praise. To the Lord. Who hears us. As we cry out to him. And who helps us. Who saves us.
[43:28] In Christ. We'll pray for a moment. Our heavenly father. We thank you. For who you are. We thank you. For all that you have done. For us in Christ. Give us eyes to see. Give us ears to hear.
[43:39] The. The good news. And the call. Of the gospel. Upon our lives. And give us faith. We pray. That we may respond. With a psalmist. In a way.
[43:51] That pleases you. A way. Where we take hold. Of the promises of God. By faith. And we seek to live out. A life that will bring glory. To your name. And we ask all these things.
[44:02] In Jesus name. Amen. How deep the Father's love for us.
[44:24] How vast. How vast. Beyond all measure. That he should give his only son.
[44:36] To make a wretch his treasure. How great the pain of searing loss.
[44:48] The Father turns his face away. As wounds which mother chosen wore.
[45:00] Bring many sons to glory. Behold the man upon a cross.
[45:23] My sin upon his shoulders. Asshamed I hear my mocking voice.
[45:36] Call out among the scoffers. It was my sin that held him there.
[45:48] Until it was accomplished. His dying breath has brought me life.
[46:01] I know that it is finished. I will not boast in anything.
[46:23] No gifts. No power. No wisdom. But I will boast in Jesus Christ.
[46:35] His death and resurrection. Why should I gain from his reward?
[46:47] I cannot give an answer. But this I know with all my heart.
[47:00] His wounds have paid my ransom. While I'm ready. I will find a way. While I'm ready in my battle. While I'm ready.
[47:14] While I'm ready.ар is a Deutschlandstärke. I am ready to give off one on三 иногда. And now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ . . . . and the love of God the father . . . . and the fellowship of God the Holy Spirit . . . .
[47:29] of God the Holy Spirit be with us all both now and forevermore. Amen.