[0:01] We're going to worship God now, singing to his praise from Psalm 36. Psalm 36 and from verse 5.
[0:17] Thy mercy, Lord, is in the heavens, thy truth doth reach the clouds. Thy justice is like mountains great, thy judgments deep as floods.
[0:28] Lord, thou preservest man and beast, how precious is thy grace. Therefore in shadow of thy wings men's sons their trust shall place. They with the fatness of thy house shall be well satisfied.
[0:44] From rivers of thy pleasures thou wilt drink to them provide. Because of life the fountain pure remains alone with thee. And in that purest light of thine we clearly light shall see.
[1:00] Thy lovingkindness unto them continue that they know. And still on men upright in heart thy righteousness bestow.
[1:10] And so on. We can sing these verses 5 to 10. Psalm 36. Thy mercy, Lord, is in the heavens, thy truth doth reach the clouds.
[1:23] Thy mercy, Lord, is in the heavens, thy truth doth reach the clouds.
[1:42] Thy righteousness is like mountains with thy righteousness keep us close.
[1:57] Thro art thou being servant, thine of peace, how precious is thy name.
[2:13] Therefore in shadow of thy wings, mansions, their cross shall be.
[2:29] They with the darkness of thy house shall be well satisfied.
[2:45] From rivers of thy pleasures thou will bring to them provide.
[3:02] Because of life the fountain pure remains alone with thee.
[3:18] And in the purest light of thine we weary night shall see.
[3:35] Thy lovingkindness unto them continue the people.
[3:51] Until our men are bright in heart, thy righteousness be told.
[4:10] Let us join together in prayer. Let us pray. Ever blessed God as we come before you with praise and prayer.
[4:22] May our praises and our prayers be marked by thanksgiving. May our heart be glad.
[4:37] May our spirit of joy fill us. That we can meet as we do.
[4:48] In your presence and in company with your people. And with those who would want to be numbered amongst them. That is what we desire.
[5:00] That is what we would seek from yourself. That you would visit us in mercy. And by the hand of your spirit.
[5:12] That you would anoint us from on high. That you would change us. Even if we are in a state of lethargy. And spiritual apathy.
[5:24] Simply following form. Or adopting outward conformity. To the manner of those who would worship.
[5:38] With our heart. Far removed. From what we outwardly profess to be engaged in. Undertake for us to that end.
[5:49] That this would be the house of God to us. And that your presence would fill us with a sense of awe.
[6:01] And that you would take from us that which we stintingly come with. And that you would pour upon us the spirit of your own joy.
[6:19] That fills the heart and mind of your people. From time to time. By nature we are sinful.
[6:33] By nature we come short of your glory. When we are confirmed. Even in our own thinking of our sinfulness.
[6:43] Sinfulness. It breaks our heart. It causes us. Not to feel joy. But despondency and gloom.
[6:57] When we see the reality of. Of what we. Have fallen to. Even. Even. In our own.
[7:08] Lives. In our own hearts. Without looking beyond ourselves. We are just like. The.
[7:19] Man described by our Lord. In the parable. Where. He was. So. Overcome.
[7:31] With a sense of. Sin. And all he could utter. In the sight of his God. Was Lord. Be merciful. To me. The sinner.
[7:44] Even. More than. Numbering. Himself. Amongst those who. Who. Are of that number. Who.
[7:55] Have descended from. Adam. Who are part of that. Fallen race. And for whom. Many make excuse. Because of their.
[8:07] Of. The way. In which they. Find themselves. Hiding themselves. In that body. Of. Unbelievers.
[8:18] That body of. That fallen race. That they would. Excuse themselves. Because of that. When there is. No excuse.
[8:28] In the sight. Of a holy God. Who wants. Nothing from us. But. That we would. Conform. To your. Law. To. How you would.
[8:40] Have us. To be. You. Created us. In your image. You created us. For your glory. We were taught.
[8:51] As youngsters. At the. At the. Knee of our. Mothers. Many of us. Even before. We engaged. In. In. The. Learning.
[9:02] Of. Our schools. We were taught. What. Man's. Chevement. Was. To glorify God. And to enjoy him.
[9:12] Forever. That has not changed. That has not. Evolved. In any way. That is the truth. That applies. To each of us. And every one of us.
[9:24] Who heard these words. Will. Retain them. In our memories. And you will. You will. Point us. To them. And say. How can we.
[9:36] How have we. Where have we. Glorified God. Where is our. Enjoyment. Of God. Lord. Be merciful. To. Such sinners.
[9:47] As we are. In. The neglect. Of our duty. We pray. Your blessing. Upon our congregation. Upon this gathered. Number of people.
[9:58] Thankful. For each one. Sorrowful. That there are so many. That choose. Not to be. With us. Sorrowful. That there are so many.
[10:09] In this world. Who live. Their life. In this world. To the neglect. Of their soul. Not taking account. Of the fact. That your word.
[10:20] Sets before us. A truth. That is. An after. Up. That those. Who are born. Into this world. Will live their life. Until appointed.
[10:30] To death. And that death. They will meet. With you. To give account. Of how. They have lived. Their life. In this world. Whether.
[10:41] Doing good. Or evil. We pray. Lord. That you would. Pour out. Your spirit. Upon us. Even though. You speak. To us. Through this. Pandemic.
[10:52] That still. Rages. In the world. Through the. Activities. Of mankind. That speak. Of. Corrupt. Hearts. That remind us.
[11:03] Of the wickedness. That is in the world. And yet. We go on. As if. God is silent. We go on. As if. God is not there. And yet. You are there.
[11:15] You speak. To us. Daily. You speak. To us. Through your word. You speak. To us. Through your people. You speak. To us. Through your providence. You speak.
[11:25] To us. Even. Through death. Itself. Reminding us. That we are. But creatures. Of the dust. Hear. Our prayers. On behalf. Of this. Fallen race.
[11:36] That you may. Kindle. The flame. Of. Of the evangel. Amongst us. That men. And women. Would be persuaded. Of the need.
[11:47] To bring. The truth. Of Christ. To bear. Upon hearts. Upon minds. Upon young. Upon old. That we would. Respond. To your word. That we would.
[11:58] Hear. What God. The Lord. Is speaking. For you. Speak peace. To our souls. Hear. Our prayers. On behalf. Of those. Who do not. Pray for themselves.
[12:09] We pray. Lord. That you would. To bring them. To a sense. Of emptiness. Even in the fullness. That this world. Supplies. We do not deny. That many.
[12:21] Feel. Filled. With what this world. Offers. And yet. It is. So temporary. Even the best. Of this world. Where.
[12:33] They often. For all the glints. And the glitter. That follows it. For a while. It is soon tarnished. It is soon. Lost.
[12:44] Of all its. Attractiveness. We pray. Lord. That you would. Remind us. Of the true. Treasures.
[12:55] That are found. At your right hand. Even the pearl. Of great price. Lord. We pray. Your blessing. Upon. Those amongst us. Who need to be prayed for.
[13:06] Because of their health. Remember those. Who are laid aside. Some in hospital. Some in care homes. Some in the hospice. We pray Lord. Those that we know.
[13:17] And many that we don't. That you would. Visit them in mercy. Heal their hurts. Bind their wounds. Bring to them. A sense of. Awareness. That there is a great physician.
[13:29] Who while the body. May perish. And. Fail. The Lord. Will not. The Lord. Will. Be. An ever.
[13:41] Present. Help. In time of trouble. Even to death. Hear our prayers. On behalf of those. Who are sorrowful. And grieving. You are speaking.
[13:51] To us constantly. Reminding us. Of that fact. So bless us. Together. As we wait upon you. In the reading of your word. May we be reminded.
[14:03] That it is the word. Of the living God. A living word. A word. That you have promised. Will not return. Unto you void. It will accomplish.
[14:14] That which you have. Purposed for it. No matter. How many. In this world. Shut their eyes. To it. Close their ears. To it. Turn their backs. Upon it.
[14:26] Where you. Purpose it. To. Come. Before them. They will be. Confronted. By it. Accused. By it. And brought. To account.
[14:37] Because of it. Remind us. Of that. Even as we sit. Under it. Today. That we may. Respond to it. In faith. Grant to us. That faith.
[14:48] That we may. See. Jesus. That we may. See the Lord. Of glory. That we may. See the one. Who is at your right hand. Who is. In receipt.
[14:59] Of the. Blessings. And the praises. And. The hallowing. Of the angels. And the. Glorified saints. Grant to us.
[15:11] Your blessing. We pray. Continue to watch over us. As a people. Remembering our nation. Those who govern us. Remembering the queen. And our family. Remembering all the nations.
[15:22] Of the earth. And all their predicaments. We pray. For Afghanistan. In its turmoil. We pray for nations. That are forgotten. And who are equally. In the grip.
[15:33] Of such evil. And such. Horror. Hear us. O Lord. When there is so much. Of plenty. In this world. That there are those.
[15:44] Who suffer. Because of want. There are those. Who perish. Because they. Do not have bread. To eat. Grant to us. Mercy.
[15:55] In the name of Christ. Continue. To be with us. We pray. In his name. With forgiveness. Of sin in him. Amen. I'm going to read.
[16:07] From the scriptures. Of the Old Testament. From the book of Psalms. And Psalm 27. Psalm 27. The book of Psalms.
[16:18] The Lord is my light. And my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength. Of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid?
[16:30] When the wicked. Even mine enemies. And my foes. Came upon me. To eat up my flesh. They stumbled. And fell. Though an host.
[16:41] Should encamp. Against me. My heart shall not fear. Though war should rise. Against me. In this will I be confident. One thing have I desired.
[16:54] Of the Lord. That will I seek after. That I may dwell. In the house of the Lord. All the days of my life. To behold the beauty. Of the Lord. And to inquire.
[17:05] In his temple. For in the time of trouble. He shall hide me. In his pavilion. In the secret. Of his tabernacle. Shall he hide me.
[17:16] He shall set me up. Upon a rock. And now shall mine head. Be lifted up. Above mine enemies. Round about me. Therefore will I offer.
[17:27] In his tabernacle. Sacrifices of joy. I will sing. Yea. I will sing. Praises unto the Lord. Hear. O Lord. When I cry.
[17:38] With my voice. Have mercy. Also upon me. And answer me. When thou saidst. Seek ye my face. My heart. Said unto thee.
[17:48] Thy face. Lord. Will I see. Hide not. Thy face. Far from me. Put not. Thy servant. Away in anger. Thou hast been. My help.
[17:59] Leave me not. Neither forsake me. O God of my salvation. When my father and my mother forsake me. And the Lord will take me up.
[18:11] Teach me thy way O Lord. And lead me in a plain path. Because of mine enemies. Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies.
[18:22] For false witnesses are risen up against me. And such as breathe out cruelty. I had fainted. Unless I had believed. To see the goodness of the Lord.
[18:35] In the land of the living. Wait on the Lord. Be of good courage. And he shall strengthen mine heart. Wait I say.
[18:46] On the Lord. Then may the Lord add his blessing. To this reading of his word. And to his name be the praise.
[18:58] Before we sing our next psalm. Just a word to the young ones. I'm going to consider this psalm this morning.
[19:08] Or part of it. There's a story told of it. I came across it just this week. In my desk calendar. And it tells about a time during the American Civil War.
[19:22] And as some of you might know. There were two opposing forces. During that war. There was the Confederate States.
[19:34] And the Union. Army. Now as. Many of you will know. I think. Some of you will understand anyway.
[19:45] There's no worse. War. Than the war. Between. Between members.
[19:55] Of the one country. When there is civil war. It can be. Very. Very. Severe. And that was the case in America.
[20:08] But let's talk that there was a. A town there. Which. Was. In the unfortunate position. Of. Being. On the border. Between.
[20:19] The two. Rival. Factions. And sometimes. The. Confederate. Armies. Would. Take over.
[20:29] This town. And sometimes. The. Union soldiers. Would. Take it over. So you never quite knew.
[20:40] Who. Was. In control. So they lived in a constant. State of fear. And on one occasion. I can't remember.
[20:53] Which one. Of the. Army. Groupings it was. They. They came into the town. And they. Made. Their presence felt.
[21:04] By. Invading some of the homes. Of. Those who were resident. In. The town. And they went into one particular home. And they demanded.
[21:16] That. The. Homeowner. Would. Prepare. Food. For them. And. An unfortunate person. Who was resident.
[21:27] In the home. Was an old. Lady. And they said to her. Prepare us. Breakfast. And she said. That she would. And she set about.
[21:37] Preparing. Food. For them. I'm not sure. How many soldiers. There were. But when the food. Was prepared. She. Told them. That before. Any food.
[21:48] Was eaten. In her home. It was. Her practice. Her custom. To. Read. The scripture. And. Offer. Thanks.
[21:58] To God. For. The food. And they said. Well. That's all right. That's what you want to do. You do that. At least.
[22:08] They respected her. In that way. It wasn't always the case. So she took the Bible. And she opened the Bible. And. She read this chapter. That we read.
[22:19] This morning. Psalm 27. And she read the whole chapter. And not a word was said. And when she was finished.
[22:30] Reading the chapter. She began to pray. And. As she prayed. She. Was more aware of God.
[22:41] Than she was of. Much else. But she sensed that. Something had. Happened. Within. The home. But when she was finished. Her prayer.
[22:53] The. House. Was. Empty. Of. Those soldiers. They had all. Taken their leave off. Or just. Gone out of the house. And even.
[23:05] In her prayer. She found. That. The confidence. She placed. In God. Was not misplaced. The words.
[23:16] Of the psalm. Were. Answered. And. Whatever. These soldiers. Did. By. By way of custom.
[23:27] Who knows. But she knew. That God. Had spoken. Whether. They had spoken. Or he had spoken. To them. He had spoken.
[23:39] To her. And the words. With which. The psalm. Concludes. Wait on the Lord. Be of good courage. And he shall strengthen.
[23:51] Thine heart. Wait on the Lord. I say. It's not easy. It's not easy. To do that. It's never easy.
[24:01] To do it. But it's certainly. Not easy. To do it. When you're up against it. But. Nobody. Can do better. Than this old.
[24:12] Believing. Christian. Lady did. She trusted in her God. And her God. Took care of her. In that time. Well may God.
[24:24] Remind you of that. That you can always. Go to him. Even when. Events. And circumstances. Seem. To us. To be. So. Much. Against us. We're going to sing.
[24:36] Before we turn. To consider the words. Of the psalm. From psalm 9. Psalm 9. And we're going to sing. From verse 7. To verse 13.
[24:46] Six stanzas. Psalm 9. God shall endure for aid. He doth for judgment. Set his throne. In righteousness.
[24:57] To judge the world. Justice. To give each one. God also will a refuge be. For those that are oppressed. A refuge will he be.
[25:08] In times of trouble. To distressed. And they that know thy name. In thee their confidence will place. For thou hast not forsaken them.
[25:19] That truly seek thy face. O sing ye praises to the Lord. That dwells in Sion Hill. And all the nations among his deeds.
[25:29] Record ye still. When he inquireth after blood. He then remembereth them. The humble folk he not forgets.
[25:40] That call upon his name. Lord pity me. Behold the grief. Which I from foes sustain. Even thou who from the gates of death.
[25:51] Dost raise me up again. Verses 7 to 13. Of Psalm 9. God shall endure for aid. He doth for judgment.
[26:03] Set his throne. Good child and judgeful aid.
[26:16] For God's hand set his throne. In righteousness. In righteousness. In righteousness.
[26:28] To judge the world. Justice to give each one.
[26:41] God also will a refuge. For those that are oppressed.
[26:58] The refuge will be. In times of trouble.
[27:10] In distress. From distress. In distress. In distress. And let thou know. Thy name in thee.
[27:25] Their confidence will please. For thou hast not forsaken them.
[27:42] Thou receive thy will. O sing ye praises.
[27:57] To the Lord. The world. In title. One song.
[28:27] When he in quietest altar births, he then represents the humble boy.
[28:49] He not forgets that thought upon his name.
[29:02] Lord, take me behold the grief which I propose to shame.
[29:20] If thou who prom the gates of death just raise me up again.
[29:37] Amen. As you can see, this is a psalm of David.
[30:14] David is identified as the one who composed the psalm. And like many of the psalms, we may not know much more than that as to the circumstances out of which the psalm came.
[30:32] We know a lot about David's life because the scripture tells us in some detail much of his biographical account.
[30:46] But sometimes we're left looking at the psalms that he composed and trying to fit them into his life.
[30:57] When he might have composed these words. But this is a psalm, whatever occasion gave rise to it, that inspires confidence in God.
[31:13] And I want us to think briefly of the opening words of the psalm. Words that many have spoken of as the most awe-inspiring words that we find in the Old Testament.
[31:35] The most sublime, I think it's John Stoff that says, the most sublime affirmations of God's goodness.
[31:51] Or the security that he supplies as a consequence of his goodness to his people. Especially when they are in distress.
[32:02] And he, as you read the psalm, if you read it carefully for yourself, you'll find that the confidence of the composer owes everything to the one in whom he has placed his confidence.
[32:24] Nothing more, nothing less. He is completely assured of his security because of who his God is.
[32:39] And there are three things that we find spoken of in the opening verse here. That God is described as, or God is seen as providing.
[32:54] Psalmist says, he is my light. It's the first thing. God is my light. The second thing, he says, God is my salvation.
[33:06] And the third thing, God is, or the Lord is, the strength of my life. Three things that he speaks concerning God.
[33:22] His light, his salvation, and the strength of his life. And because of that, he needs not fear, he says.
[33:33] Whom shall I fear? Of whom shall I be afraid? Because this is what is true of my God. The Lord, he says, is my light.
[33:46] And this is something that we find in the scripture declared time and time again. And something that when we find ourselves in darkness, and in particular the darkness that comes into our life from time to time as a result of sore providences or complex issues that life brings our ways, that leaves us without any certainty or without any assurance that we will ever emerge from it.
[34:31] And I was thinking of these words this morning again. I was, I've mentioned this before, of the way our society today speaks of light, especially unnatural light, what they would call unnatural light in this natural world of ours.
[34:59] And they refer to it as a pollutant. It is the pollution of natural light into a world that should be allowed to continue in darkness wherever that darkness is appropriate.
[35:21] And I remember of one situation I probably mentioned, I know that I have when I was a minister over in Graber. At that time there was an agenda on the part of the Western Isles Council to provide what was called amenity lighting.
[35:41] And this amenity lighting was simply a way of providing limited light to public places where people would gather sometimes at night.
[36:00] places such as churches or schools or post office with a post box. The council set about providing a lamp post in these places.
[36:15] One lamp post perhaps or maybe a number of them. We see some in the car park here. And this was something the council did.
[36:27] And strangely enough at the same time there was a move set afoot by some residents within the community who complained about this pollution, this light pollution.
[36:49] And they set up something seeking the support of those in the community against it.
[37:00] It was an opposition to unnatural light. Now you can understand why some people want to maintain the world as God created it without the thought of God.
[37:14] But without man's intrusion into the natural world with unnatural light. And at the same time I was thinking, well, in a way this isn't just something that you can recognise in the hostility that there is to light pollution.
[37:37] Which may or may not be a position you can adopt and understand why people would object to it. Because if you can imagine the amazing radiance of light that comes from our cities and our towns in comparison with our own country life where you can see the stars and the planets and you can see the beauty of creation in that sense.
[38:07] You can understand why people would object to it. But unfortunately this is a parallel resistance as well to the resistance that is to God's light.
[38:21] God is light. And there is a rejection of the light of God within society as well. And people in a very clear way say, we do not want the light of God.
[38:40] We prefer the dark. We prefer the darkness. And the word of God tells us that there are people in the world who prefer to live in the darkness rather than have the intrusion of the light of God.
[38:57] That's the way it is. Now hear what the psalmist is saying. He is saying nothing about light pollution or even the rejection of spiritual light.
[39:08] He is saying, this is what I draw comfort from. When darkness comes, when the darkness of persecution comes, when the darkness of hostility and enmity comes, when the darkness of sore providence comes, I go to the light of God.
[39:29] And God is my light in my darkness. And that is what gives me comfort and consolation. That the darkness that is there, God can dispel.
[39:42] God can take away. Because he and he alone is light. There are many psalms that you are aware of, I'm sure, of which God has spoken as the light of his people.
[40:00] In Psalm 43, the prayer is to God to send forth his light and his truth. Because the psalmist recognizes that in this world that is riddled with error, that only the light of God's truth can truly present itself as the remedy to those who are succumbing to such erroneous opinions.
[40:27] Psalm 119. Psalm 119. The psalmist there says of the word of God, as the truth of God.
[40:39] He says that it is, he wants the God of this world, the God who is God over all, to supply light so that he can walk before him in light.
[40:53] He looks to God and he understands God in this way. On Thursday evening we quoted some words from the prophecy of Micah.
[41:06] Later on in that prophecy, in chapter 7, you could almost imagine Micah, the prophet, to have the words of David upon his heart when he was thinking these thoughts.
[41:20] This is what he says, Therefore I will look unto the Lord. I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.
[41:31] Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy. When I fall I shall arise. When I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me. I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause and execute judgment for me.
[41:49] He will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness. The prophet Micah knew God as the God who was the light of his life.
[42:02] What is considered and much appreciated is knowing and feeling God's presence is something that makes all the difference.
[42:16] I may know this truth, and I may tell you this truth, but the presence of God is an unalterable, unalienable truth that I confirm to you that he is here with us today in this gathering of people, in this act of worship.
[42:38] But simply me telling you that that is the way it is, is not sufficient for you. You need to know of his presence for yourself.
[42:51] In that psalm we sang to begin with, the psalmist there said, With thee is the fountain of life. In thy light shall we see light.
[43:01] He confessed, he professed, he declared, the need that he has for the light of God to give confirmation to him that would enable him to see God, even as God is declared to be in our midst today.
[43:22] Maybe if you don't sense God's presence today, maybe if you're not aware of, maybe you're saying to yourself, well I wish that these people who speak to us, speak to us constantly about the way God made himself known in these gatherings of his people in times past, I do wish they would prove that such a God still works in our day and in our generation.
[43:54] Well it's not down to me to prove to you the existence of God, the presence of God, the power of God. But if you really are determined that that should take place for you, then you don't look to me, you look to him.
[44:14] You look to him and you ask him to make known to you. God alone can take us out of darkness into his marvellous light.
[44:29] And for that to happen, we must turn to him and appreciate our darkness and sense our need of him acting on our behalf in this way.
[44:40] Surely you notice when you read this psalm, what do you read? The Lord, he says, is my light. He is not saying the Lord is our light.
[44:54] He is not saying the Lord is the light. He is saying, he could say these things and he quite rightly can say these things. But he is saying more than that, he is saying, the Lord is my light.
[45:08] He is my light. He is not saying he is their light. He is not saying he is my mother's light. He is saying he is my light. It's a very personal declaration of what is true.
[45:23] And because that is true, he is emboldened. Because that is true, he is encouraged. Because that is true, he is able to have confidence in this God in this time of need.
[45:35] Now I don't know where you are today, as far as your need is concerned, or where you are with regard to any sense that you may have that there are troubles in your life that need to be sorted out, or that there may be troubles in the offing that you are unprepared to meet.
[45:57] Well, if you don't look to God when the darkness of these troublous times come, and if he is not your God, then how can you expect this God, who is not your own, to act as light for you?
[46:17] What makes this so is the fact that, as one put it, the light that exposes the darkness of our sin is the same light by which discovery is made of the hidden sins in the heart that also highlights, that also brightens our way to the salvation that he is.
[46:44] Isn't that remarkable? The God who is light reminds us of our lack of it, our sinfulness, the darkness that sin has introduced into our experience.
[46:58] God shines into our darkness and makes this known to us, but at the same time, what happens, as it happens here in the experience, the Lord is my light and my salvation, he says.
[47:12] The Lord is my light, and I think it's in St. Sam's, the Lord is my saviour. That's the translation that they opt for. The Lord is my light and my saviour.
[47:25] There's no difference. He can't be your salvation without being your salvation. Now, Sam is, no doubt, may be thinking of literal enemies.
[47:37] He may be thinking of countless occasions in his life, and any one of them we could go to. We can think of occasions where he's surrounded by the Philistines and he has to respond to their attacks.
[47:51] When he's surrounded by the enemies that are within the house of his own home, when his son turned on him and so on. The enemies that he encountered in life are many, but there are more enemies in this world.
[48:06] There is more enmity in this world that we need God to help us overcome. The enemy of our soul, the enemy of the enmity that is in our own heart against God, we need his help to overcome that.
[48:27] Many people believe in the power of personal resources. They trust in the power of personal resources. They have the means, according to their own thinking, that they will overcome any challenge that comes.
[48:46] And I suppose that's the most disheartening thing about the pandemic, that this is the best thing that the politicians can offer at any time. our own resources, our own abilities, that we will get mastery over this virus that's going the rounds.
[49:13] Nobody is bold enough to say, well, we are under-resourced. Nobody is bold enough to say the devastation of this rot is beyond us.
[49:26] it has overpowered us. And we need something more, not something mightier than ourselves to look to. A person who believes in themselves, believes in human resources, find themselves, will find themselves, inevitably discover for themselves that they are under-resourced.
[49:52] There is no answer to sin in the world. Believe it or not, but the answer that God has supplied. No answer, but the answer that God has supplied in Christ Jesus.
[50:07] In Him, there is victory. In Him, there is the power to overcome. In Him, there is the light that dispels the darkness that sin brings into our heart.
[50:19] some of you know this hymn writer, John Newton, composed the hymn Amazing Grace.
[50:32] But one of them, he composed many hymns. And in one of them, he says this, Solid joys and lasting treasure. None but Zion's children know.
[50:47] Solid joys and lasting treasures. And only God's people know of what they are. Jesus is the sinner's saviour.
[51:00] And because of that, there is confidence. the question for you is your saviour.
[51:11] Can you say with the psalmist, the Lord is my light? Can you say with the psalmist, the Lord is my saviour? You know, if I ask you a question, what's the distance from here to Moscow?
[51:27] You may be able to answer very quickly. You may have figured it out to the last mile. good for you. The answer is at your fingertips. But at the end of the day, your ability to supply an answer to that question is neither here nor there.
[51:44] But your ability to answer this question, is the Lord your saviour? It's all important. Is the Lord your salvation? Everything hangs upon that.
[51:57] Your eternal destiny hangs upon that. There is no greater question for you or for any other person in this world. And if you're not able to answer it, you can be assured that misery awaits you.
[52:17] Some of you will have watched the news this week and seen the human misery that is in Afghanistan there. Hundreds and thousands of people in a concentrated mass waiting for salvation, waiting for deliverance, waiting for promises to be kept, waiting for fulfillment of perceived or real assurances given by those who have no right to give these assurances.
[52:49] promises. When God gives us an assurance that salvation is something that he accomplishes, we cannot doubt his ability to do it.
[53:05] He has proved himself to be the one and only saviour to sinners. And when the psalmist speaks of God in this way, he speaks of someone like no other and only he can be spoken of in this way.
[53:23] The final thing is the believer safety, the believer stronghold is what it says. The Lord is the strength of my life.
[53:37] Some psalms translate that, some translations have this word, stronghold. I think it's Spurgeon who says there is a three stranded cord here which cannot be broken.
[53:56] Three strands bound together that make it unbreakable. The believer is described as the one who flees for shelter in the strong tower of God's promises.
[54:12] And if God before us according to the apostle Paul, who can be against us? But I think the psalm speaks to us of, you know, if you read through the psalm, he goes on to talk about his confidence life of God's love home and come in not and make it happen to be through his marrow bone as it were one thing I desired of the Lord that will I seek after that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to behold the beauty of the Lord to inquire in his temple he's not there speaking of a physical building or a place of worship he is speaking of the intimacy of fellowship with his God that is not curtailed that is not restricted that is not found in one place alone but in this relationship that exists between the believer and his God
[55:35] David is declaring a complete trust in God's provision now how often have you heard that said and for you it may be that these words are dull and hollow platitudes and you've heard the Lord's people say them but if they are said by someone who is in the ongoing heat of relationship with his God someone who knows what it is to live in constant fellowship with God someone who knows what it is to be in the company of this God I was reading one of the commentators and some of them they speak the truth well all of them speak the truth but
[56:41] I suppose but some get to the heart of the meaning of what is in the mind of the composer and one of the writers makes this point that I found myself going along with him in the thoughts that he had a man by the name of Michael F. Ross David he says seeks solitude with God to pray and think in that quiet and holy place a place of prayer and security in God David revels in God's love and is refreshed by God's grace and out of that thought came his prayer helped me focus on what lasts forever what never fades away where my first love must be it is good for your soul to behold the beauty of the Lord to meditate in that holy place like David when we think of the person who composes this song and thinks of the security that he possesses he is not just simply grasping a truth that is certain that is unalterable but a truth that has a reality as far as they are concerned because his God is real his company the company that he keeps ensures that the knowledge that he has of God is a God that is real it is not a faded memory it is not something like a pressed flower that you put within the pages of some precious book and unfortunately that is the way we allow our relationship to God to become it becomes little better than the pressed flower religion of a bygone day rather than in the garden of our soul a well kept nourished living relationship
[59:02] God condemns us for that we are often we are often challenged to do more for our generation as Christians you who are a Christian you are told that you must be doing more that you must be doing more as a Christian that you must be more productive as a Christian you must be more mindful of your fellow Christians that you must be more mindful of those who are not Christians that you must be prayerfully considerate of who they are and what they need and you are under duress to do all of these things but I came across this thought from Hudson
[60:03] Taylor Hudson Taylor was somebody who put his Christianity into he put it into the furnace we have given too much attention to method to machinery to resources and not enough to the source of power that's an interesting thought why do we focus so much on what we should be doing and overlook the very fact that in order to do we need God's power we need God's help we need God's the confidence the inspiration the certainty that God is God that doesn't change and no matter how challenging the dark days we live in are and they are challenged the darkness of unbelief the darkness of of atheism the darkness of trusting in man and the harm of the the arm of the flesh how can we overcome that as Christians if not in going to the
[61:34] Lord to avail ourselves of the knowledge that inspires our confidence not in the ability that we have to do but the power that he has to allow us to do more than we could ever hope to you look at these words again the Lord is my light my salvation whom shall I fear the Lord is the strength of my life of whom shall I be afraid it is not David that is saying that because I'm the king because I am I've got a strong arm because my sword is mighty I will overcome but because God is God that's my confidence and he concludes with that word these words we quoted at the beginning wait on the Lord be of good courage and he shall strengthen your heart again beginning with the Lord concluding with the Lord going on with the
[62:36] Lord and as I said that gentleman who who hit the nail on the head as far as I can see we need to remind ourselves of who this God is and if we remind ourselves of who this God is and spend our time in his company that's where we draw confidence from that's where our assurance comes from that's where the certainty comes from that our enemies whoever they may be will be overcome no matter how dark the darkness it will be dispelled because we know this God and we've been in company with this God and this God has come come into our hearts hearts that are so dark by reason of sin that he enables us to purely by spending time in his presence to know that to be true may he bless to us these thoughts let us pray
[63:38] Lord help us to remember and to remind ourselves daily of who you are and what you are about that you are indeed a God who is light that you are the strength and the stay of your people that you are the fortress the refuge the strength of all who would go to you be near to us watch over us cleanse from sin in Jesus name amen we're going to sing the first four we're going to sing the first six stanzas I think of this psalm just to finish psalm 27 I will sing from verses 1 to 5 the Lord's my light and saving health who shall make me dismayed my life strength is the Lord of whom shall I be afraid and so on down to verse 5 the rocks my light and saving health who shall make me dismayed my life death is the
[64:56] Lord of whom then shall I be afraid when does my enemy sun force hold wicked virgin song to thee my place against the mi prophet which mine am to ammon c be mine hiswide e marty And here I try, I will be confident in this.
[66:06] One thing I of the Lord desire, and will cheer all day.
[66:21] That long days of my life I live within God's eyes remain.
[66:36] That I, the beauty of the Lord behold me and not mine.
[66:52] And not I in his glory which there ever been the empire.
[67:07] For he in his father young child, he I did evil age.
[67:24] Then she fell of his hand, me I, the Lord, the rock he raised.
[67:42] May I be blessed, blessed, and blessed, and blessed. In God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, rest and abide with you all now and always. Amen.