[0:00] We're going to begin our time together around God's Word with the singing in Gaelic of Psalm 37.
[0:12] We'll read from verse 3. Set thou thy trust upon the Lord, and be thou doing good, and so thou in the land shalt dwell, and verily have food.
[0:24] Delect thyself in God, he'll give thine heart's desire to thee. Thy way to God commit, him trust it bring to pass shall he.
[0:37] And like unto the light he shall thy righteousness display, and he thy judgment shall bring forth like noontide of the day. Rest in the Lord, and patiently wait for him, do not fret, for him who prospering in his way success in sin doth get.
[1:00] And so on. Curse de Gochus an de nia, is dienar maithis leit. Curse de Gochus an de nia, is dienar maithis leit.
[1:37] Curse de Gochus an de nia, is dienar maithis leit.
[2:07] Curse de Gochus an de nia, is dienar maithis leit. Curse de Gochus an de nia, is dienar maithis leit. Curse de Gochus an de nia, is dienar maithis leit. Curse de Gochus an de nia, is dienar maithis leit. Curse de Gochus, an de nia, is dienar maithis leit. Curse de Gochus an de nia, is dienar maithis leit. Curse de Gochus an de nia, is dienar maithis leit.
[2:19] Curse de Gochus an de nia, is dienar maithis leit. Leit. Curse de Gochus an de nia, is dienar maithis leit. Corporse de heit. Thank you.
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[14:22] Amen.
[14:52] So, of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great, and thou shalt be a blessing. But I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curses thee, and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. So Abraham departed as the Lord had spoken unto him, and Lot went with him. Abraham was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. Abraham took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran. And they went forth to go into the land of Canaan, and into the land of Canaan they came. Abraham passed through the land into the place of Shechem, to the plain of Mori, and the Canaanite was then in the land.
[16:17] And the Lord appeared unto Abraham, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land. And there built he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him. And he removed from thence into a mountain on the east of Bethel, pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, high on the east. And there he built an altar unto the Lord, and called upon the name of the Lord.
[16:42] Abraham journeyed, going on still toward the south. There was a famine in the land. Abraham went down into Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was grievous in the land. It came to pass when he was come, near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold, now. I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon. Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say this is his wife, and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive. Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister, that it may be well with me for thy sake, and my soul shall live in cause of thee. And it came to pass that when Abraham was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman, that she was very fair. The princess also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh. And the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house, and he had treated
[17:47] Abraham well for her sake. And he had sheep, and oxen, and he asses, and men servants, and maid servants, and she asses, and camels. And the Lord plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues, because of Sarai, Abraham's wife. Pharaoh called Abraham, and said, What is this that thou hast done unto me? Why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife? Why saidst thou, she is my sister?
[18:16] So I might have taken her to me, to wife. Now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way. And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him, and they sent him away, and all that he had.
[18:33] And so on. The Lord, at his blessing, to a reading of his holy and adherent word, to his name be the praise. And so on.
[19:08] There are many marvels that fill the thoughts of the Christian believer during his or her life. Sometimes they are overwhelmed by a sense of God's grace.
[19:26] That God came and took them from where they were. The words of the psalmist spring to mind, He took me from a fearful pit, And from the mighty clay.
[19:38] And on a rock he set my feet, establishing my way. He put a new song in my mouth, O God to magnify. The pit could have been of any description.
[19:50] Could have been the pit of unbelief, Plain and simple. Could equally have been the pit of the hypocrite, Coarsely wrapped up in the cloak of self-righteousness, Which was woven by a hand that was their own.
[20:12] But when that was held up to the light of God's law and judgment, It was seen to be threadbare and fraying. When we think of the mire, We think of the flagrant breaches of the law of God, Intemperance, immorality, spiritual indolence.
[20:34] Or we can think of the stains on the spots that pollute our attitude. When we reject the covering provided by God, In his grace.
[20:55] For many the wonder becomes wonder, At the power of God in answering the prayer of one, Whose confession echoes that of saintly Paul. I see another law in my members, Warring against the law of my mind, Bringing me into captivity to the law of sin, Which is in my members.
[21:17] O wretched man that I am, Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? One moment they rejoice at the victory that is theirs through Christ, The next they encounter the wickedness of the heart, And fear they have never experienced that victory.
[21:37] But they stress still in the God who is able to keep them, Who in the words of John says, For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, And with all things.
[21:51] We may condemn ourselves, And rightly so, But we know to take our sin to Christ, With a heartfelt grief and contrition. We marvel then at the grace of God in his forbearance.
[22:06] I mention both these things at the outset, Because we are speaking of Abraham, Or Abram, As he was called at the outset, The father of the faithful, And the friend of God as he came to be known.
[22:23] But you must also remember where he came from, And how he got to be where these names were applied to him.
[22:35] He was a son of Terah, A descendant of Shem, A son of Noah. They lived in Ur of the Chaldees. In the New Testament, And in the book of Acts, Even states, The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, When he was in Mesopotamia before he dwelt in Chara.
[22:57] What little is known about where Abraham was, It is certainly the case that it was spiritually dark, And associated with the idolatrous worship.
[23:10] In Joshua we read that they dwelt beyond the river Euphrates, Serving other gods. We need to emphasise this, Because we need to understand, That when God came to Abraham, This was where he found him.
[23:25] It was not Abraham who went seeking for God. As someone has it, The call came to Abraham from God, Unsolicited, Undeserved, And initiated entirely by God.
[23:40] We read these words in the book of Nehemiah, Thou art the Lord, The God who didst choose Abraham, Who brought some forth out of the Chaldees, And gavest him the name Abraham.
[24:00] Instinctively, We want to find something commendable In the person being called, But that is not the order Scripture places upon it, For anyone, Not even Abraham.
[24:15] Paul, as you know, Writes in Romans 8, For whom he did foreknow, He also did predestinate. Whom he did predestinate, Them he also called, On whom he called, Them he also justified, And whom he justified, Them he also glorified.
[24:32] The ground of God's choice Must be understood As found by theologians Having his own sovereign pleasure.
[24:44] There are plenty who take offence At God's choosing, Yet they take none At choosing something different to God.
[24:56] Our thinking may at times Contradict the thinking of God, But there is really no competition Between the divine will And the will of the creature.
[25:08] What I want to emphasise is That what was true for Abraham Must be true of all. Wherever we came to hear God calling us, We are all without exception In the same boat, In the same place spiritually.
[25:24] We are far, far from God. And the command that issues forth From the mouth of God Is the same to all. Get thee out of thy country And from thy kindred And from thy father's house.
[25:42] The psalmist writes, O daughter, Take good heed and incline And give good ear. Thou must forget thy kindred all And father's house most dear.
[25:55] We are not given a breakdown Of how Abraham responded. What way his reasoning went. The how of his machinations of mind.
[26:10] How he thought about God's call. For that it was of God. We are not given any insights Into that part of God's dealings with him.
[26:25] That may have been very complicated. That may have been straightforward. How indeed does a person recognise The voice of God. Many in fact claim that God spoke to them.
[26:39] You may not be sure one way or the other. But one thing is certain. God does not contradict himself. Nor does he contradict his word. Abraham was called by God Away from idols.
[26:54] And despite being 75 years of age And settled where he was with his family. He heard the voice of God. And he knew it to be the voice of God.
[27:06] The Puritan John Trapp states It is the nature of faith To believe God Upon his bare word. It will not be Says sense.
[27:18] It cannot be Says reason. It both can and will be Says faith. For I have a promise for it. The second thing we have is When God called Abraham He accompanied the call With the words of promise.
[27:35] To read again the passage The opening part of the chapter The Lord hath said unto Abraham Get thee out of thy country And from thy kindred And from thy father's house And to a land That I will show thee And I will make of thee A great nation And I will bless thee And make thy name great And thou shalt be a blessing And I will bless them That bless thee And curse them That curses thee And in thee Shall all the families Of the earth Be blessed We know What Abraham Heard We know The promise That God spoke to him In verse 7 Again we read The Lord appeared unto Abraham And said Unto thy seed Will I give this land And there Builded he an altar Unto the Lord Who appeared Unto him
[28:36] The response Of building the altar To the Lord Tells us That he knew It was none other Than the voice of God That he had heard It all seems So easy to Abraham You could argue That he had strong faith And that made it easy However We must always remember That Those Who have faith And where faith Is to be found There must also Be testing If we think That the faith Of Abraham Was a faith That allowed him To Rest on his laurels And take things Easy You would be mistaken We know If we read on Into the following chapters Even in this chapter That we read Abraham's journey
[29:37] Takes him into Famine in Egypt In chapter 13 He and Lot Part In chapter 14 He is involved In a conflict In the wars Of the kings Chapter 15 Begins With words Of encouragement Fear not For I am Thy shield And thy exceeding Great reward Strange words To someone Who has Things all His own way But that is not What is true Of the promise That comes To the faithful It is not true Of the preserve Of faith It is not Make for an easy Life The call of God Is the call To blessing A call To blessedness But it is also A call To obedience Trials must Come because Such obedience Is to God Who is in control And sometimes When that control
[30:38] Is in God's hands He may take us Where we don't Want to go He may make us Be what we don't Want to be Henry Law In his book The Gospel In Genesis States faith Untried Unprobed Unproved Is faith Uncertain The quality Of the metal Is ascertained By what it Can do And bear Trials do more Than search Whether faith Is deep rooted Or not They also Consolidate And invigorate The off Strained sinew Becomes more Firm For in We are Spirits The faith That cannot Be tried Cannot be Trusted Abraham went He knew Not where He had a Promise He would be A great nation But he had A barren Wife All these Other testings We mentioned
[31:39] And many More besides God repeated The promise He permitted Abraham To question The promises In chapter Fifteen We read There that Abraham Asks the Lord Whereby Shall I Know That I Shall Inherit This land That you Have given Every time God reminds Him Of who He is Or what He is Doing I will Make I will Bless What we Need to Remember Is when God Calls We are To follow Him What do You expect When you Follow God's Call When you Question Where you Are today Do you Question Your Calling Do you Question How it Is that God's Called People God's Chosen People God's
[32:39] Christian People Are allowed To be Tried And tested In different Ways At this Time Of pandemic Bishop Ryle Describes In one Place What faith Is Faith is The hand Of the soul That is The drowning Man Grasping For christ It is The eye Of the soul The brazen Serpent Where we Look And be Healed It is The mouth Of the soul To take The healing Bread Of life It is The foot Of the soul By which To run To the Strong Tower Of god's Refuge When we Read these Words About Abraham We tend To overlook The fact Of where Abraham Was And how He came To leave The place That he was
[33:39] In And When he Followed God He followed God Not To a Life Of ease And a Life Of Of comfort But a Life Where the Promise Of god Was before Him Always It is So easy For us To neglect The truth Or focus Just on One aspect Of the Truth And there Neglect The fullness Of what God is Doing The promises Of god Are ye And amen In christ Jesus Those that Are called By him In the Gospel To follow Him To take Up their Cross And to Follow With the Lord's People It is Not a Simple Matter To live The life Of faith In this World It is A life Of testing A life Of trial But
[34:40] The promise Is the Same Promise Always That The people Of god Will know Blessed Blessedness And blessing Under god's Hand Because that Is what he Has promised And his Promises Will never Be found Wanting May god Encourage us To look To his Word And to The blessings That we Find In his Word For his People May he Bless to Us His Word Let us Pray Oh lord Lord our God We give Thanks For the For the Fact that Such a Champion of The faith Is held Out to Us As Abraham The father Of the Faithful But we Are reminded Of his Roots We are Reminded Of where He Was We are Reminded That he Was taken From that Place He did Not come Of his Own Volition Simply
[35:41] By deciding To do Something That would Be beneficial To him No doubt His will Was changed And he Became Willing In a Day Of your Power But you Are the One Who Revealed Yourself To him And spoke To him And enabled Him to Hear your Voice May we Hear your Voice In the Scripture And pay Heed to What you Are saying To us Remember Your people Remember Them as They are Tested And tried As your People In this World That is So much Adults With your Word Guide us In the Path of Life We pray Cleansing From every Sin And we Ask all With the Forgiveness Of sin In Christ And now May grace Mercy And peace From God The Father The Son And the Holy Spirit Be with you All now And always Amen