Transcription downloaded from https://yetanothersermon.host/_/stornowayfc/sermons/64651/waiting/. Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions. Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt. [0:00] Let us begin our worship of God. Let us sing to him from Psalm 61 of the Sing Psalms. Psalm 61, Sing Psalms version, you find that on page 78 of the Blue Book. [0:18] And we'll sing from verses 1 down to verse Mark 5. O hear my urgent cry, my God, and listen to my plea. [0:31] From earth's remotest bounds I call when my heart faints in me. O God, conduct me to the rock that's higher far than I. [0:42] For you are my refuge from the foe, my tower of strength on high. O let me dwell within your tent, forever there to live. O for the shelter of your wings, the refuge which they give. [0:56] For you have heard my vows, O God, and you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name continually. That psalm that there where David speaks and comes to God in his weaknesses, in his cry. [1:11] Desiring to come and be close to God, conduct me to the rock. And it says that he has a desire in verse 8, at the conclusion of the psalm, to come and praise his name. [1:24] We won't sing that verse, but that is what we do when we gather. So we'll sing this psalm, verses 1 down to verse Mark 5. The tune is, Whether be O hear my urgent cry, my God. [1:36] O hear my urgent cry, my God. [1:49] O hear my urgent cry, my God. And listen to my fear. From the earth's remote, there's arms I call, where my heart faints in me. [2:13] O God, come and grant me to the rock. [2:23] As I am found an eye. For you, my refuge from the poor, my child of strength for life. [2:49] O let ye dwell within your care, forever dare to live. [3:07] O Lord, the children of your wings, the left you rest in me. [3:25] What you have heard, my love so long. And you have given me. [3:42] The heaven of those who fear your name, on January. [3:58] So now we'll say a short prayer before we do our children's talk and before they go into Sunday school. [4:12] So let us pray together. Our Heavenly Father, we thank you again for this new day that you have given to us. And how gracious you are to us to give us all things that are good. [4:24] Help us, Lord, that we would be thankful to you for all that you have done. And we'll be thankful for everyone that you have put around us. [4:35] We thank you for our parents. We thank you for brothers or sisters. We thank you for grannies and grandpas. We thank you, Lord, for everyone that is here. And Lord, we thank you that you have given us Bibles to read. [4:49] And pray that we would understand what the Bible says to us. That we would learn about Jesus. And all that Jesus has done for us. [5:00] And all that Jesus continues to do for us. So, Lord, we pray for our understanding of who you are. [5:12] We pray for the children as they gather next door. We pray for the teachers as they teach them truths of the Bible. Lord, we pray for the children as they do these things. [5:27] And we pray that questions that they have will be answered. And that they would come to know who Jesus Christ is. And that he is a Savior that died on the cross for them. [5:40] So that we may live and have confidence in the life that we live. So we ask that you be with us. Forgive us our sins, we pray. All this we ask in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior. [5:55] Amen. Okay, boys and girls. Just want to say a short word to you before you go into Sunday school. I think today you're going to be learning about the apostles and the disciples. [6:10] And how they spoke about Jesus. And who he was. And how they were so excited to tell others about Jesus. So you, boys and girls, are going to be learning about the disciples. [6:23] And we, the older ones, are going to look at Psalm 40. And that is also a psalm that tells of a person that was not ashamed to speak about Jesus. [6:36] And all that he had done for him. And when they're speaking because they're so excited and so happy. Something good has happened to them. Now, when something good happens to you. [6:50] If you're out and about and then you come home. You want to tell your parents. You know, what happened to you? Mom, Dad, you'll never guess what happened when I was out. So and so happened. [7:02] Or I saw so and so. Or something happened that was so exciting. And you know, I was in Edinburgh a couple of weeks ago. And I was just in Tesco. [7:13] Just going to buy something. And there were two people talking beside me. And they were so excited about what they were speaking about. Me and the person that was there to me. [7:24] We didn't know what they were talking about. But we both sort of turned and looked at them. Because of the way they spoke to each other. They were so excited. And they were saying, yes, it's so great. [7:35] And I was thinking, well, I was wondering what they were talking about. And so was the lady that was serving me. She asked them, what are you talking about? And it turned out they were talking about a caramel Kit Kat. [7:48] This new caramel Kit Kat. Other chocolates are available. I don't want to advertise that. But they were so passionate about this new thing that had come out. [7:59] It was a new version. And, you know, I just thought, isn't it amazing that we were just watching and seeing them talking. [8:11] And how they had this connection with one another about what was so good. And they were telling each other about what this was so great. And this is what the apostles were doing and the disciples were doing. [8:24] Jesus had done something that was so great. The greatest thing in the world. He had died and he had risen. And they wanted to tell everyone. But some people didn't like it. [8:37] Because it was so exciting. And because everyone was looking and wondering, what are these disciples talking about? It was like me when I was looking and saying, something exciting is happening. [8:50] I don't know what it is. But other people, they weren't happy. Because everyone was listening to the disciples. And telling them about Jesus. And so they sought to put them to jail. [9:06] But one thing is very important that they did. They said that they must talk about God. And they must do what God has told them to do. And you know what, boys and girls? [9:19] We have the greatest news in the world in our Bibles. And that's what it's called. It's called the good news. It's called the gospel. The good news. [9:30] Because we have good news, like the disciples did, about Jesus. And I hope and pray that we will be able to speak to each other and tell each other about what Jesus has done for me. [9:43] And even the older ones. And that excitement about what Jesus has done for me. And that others may see and wonder at what this man has done and can do for them. [9:57] I wanted to try this new Kit Kat. I still haven't. I thought I didn't need it. But we all need Jesus. And I pray that we would all find Jesus and know him. [10:14] So I pray that you'd be blessed in your time together as you go through to Sunday school. And as you go through to Sunday school, all the kids that are, all the younger ones that are upstairs, can you come down and go out this door here beside Roddy? [10:27] The deacons, the men on the door will help you and direct you. Just because it's very windy at the front, you can all come down, come down the sides, and then come out this door here. So you don't get blown away. We just want to keep you safe. [10:39] Okay. So thank you for listening to me. We'll continue in our praise by singing in Psalm 119 of the Scottish Psalter. Psalm 119 in the Scottish Psalter. [10:54] That's on page 404 of the Blue Book. We'll sing that section from verse 49 down to 56. [11:07] Remember, Lord, thy gracious word, thou to thy servants speak, which for a ground of my sure hope thou caused me to take. [11:19] This word of thine my comfort is in mine affliction, for in my straits I am revived. By this thy word alone. [11:30] The psalmist relies on the word of God and his love for the word of God and his value of the word of God comes through in this psalm as we sing it. [11:40] And it is something that we as believers in the Lord are likened to, thank him for the words that he has given to us. So we'll sing this psalm to God's praise, to the tune St. Andrew. [11:54] Remember, Lord, thy gracious word. We stand to sing. Amen. Amen. Amen. Remember, Lord, thy gracious word. [12:12] How do thy servants speak? Which for a ground of my sure hope thou cost me to take? [12:35] This warm, Lord, thy might come for this, in my affection. [12:50] For in my chains I am revived. By this thy heart alone. [13:09] The man whose heart will drive our star, If he need be right, Yet on thy ship from hand-bent, I have not turned aside. [13:43] Thy judgment's right, O Lord, thy trust, O Lord, O Lord, which thou of hope for him. [13:56] I bid, ye men, but run myself, By death, come for did I. O Lord, my God, my God, my God, my God, I bid, ye men, but run myself, By death, come for did I. [14:12] Come for did I. Or are to hold on me because He'll make thy law forsake. [14:34] How in my hearts of peril will be. Thy laws my song to lead. [14:51] Thy name by night, Lord, I divine, and I have yet I own. [15:07] And this high land equals high Lord, I get done soon in all. [15:28] If we can turn to our Bibles now and take our first reading. We've got two readings this morning. Our first reading will be from Paul's letter to Ephesians. Chapter 2. [15:40] We'll read a short section there and then we'll read from Psalm 40 afterwards. Paul's letter to the Ephesians, chapter 2, and we'll read from the beginning. [15:54] Let us hear the word of God. And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience, among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind. [16:29] But God, being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. [16:45] By grace you have been saved. And raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show what is the immeasurable riches of his grace and kindness towards us in Christ Jesus. [17:06] For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing. It is the gift of God, not a result of works so that no one may boast. [17:20] For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Amen. [17:31] May we turn also to Psalm 40, the book of Psalms. We'll look at Psalm 40 today. So Psalm 40, we'll read from the beginning. [17:54] I waited patiently for the Lord. He inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. [18:13] He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord. Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, who does not turn to the proud, or to those who go astray after a lie. [18:33] You have multiplied, O Lord my God, your wondrous deeds, and your thoughts towards us. None can compare with you. [18:44] I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told. Amen. Amen. May the reading of God's word be a blessing to each and every one of us. [18:59] May we turn to God in prayer as we prepare our hearts. Our Heavenly Father, we come to you again as thinking of ourselves as little children. [19:17] We think we know the way, but often we need to be directed. We need to be shown, we need to be corrected. And Lord, we come to you, acknowledging this, that we are in need of direction. [19:32] We are weak as we come before you, for you are mightier than we are. And Lord, give us reverence in our hearts as we come to you in prayer. [19:47] Each of us in our own hearts, the prayers that are silent and the prayers that are all. Lord, give us reverence as we behold your beauty. [19:58] May it shine forth from your word today as we consider it. Give us ears of understanding. Unblock our eyes to see the beauties of Christ Jesus and all that he has done for us and the security we can have in him if only we trust in him. [20:18] Lord, that all of us who are gathered here would exercise our trust and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, for in whom there is no other. There is no other to whom we can compare. [20:31] There is no other to whom we can trust. But you, O God. We thank you for each one that is gathered here. And we pray that your word would speak a word in season to the soul and hearts of each. [20:46] We pray for those who are online and we are mindful of them. We are thankful for this provision that we have, especially this day. Lord, we pray that you would protect us by the power of the nature that is around us. [21:02] And through this, we see the power of you, O God, and how weak we are. Lord, be gracious to us and merciful. [21:13] Lord, be gracious to us. Protect us, O Lord, from the wrath that is to come. And we find that protection in Christ Jesus. [21:25] Is it not true that we have the greatest news in the world for the world? We have the greatest news in Christ Jesus that he is the one that will protect us from the wrath that is to come, that is deserving of us for our sins. [21:41] For we have admitted that we have followed the passions of our flesh and the desires of our body. Lord, we confess our sins to you today. [21:53] We confess them because you are one that can forgive them. And you are the only forgiver of sins. You are the great high priest that takes them and intercedes for us on our behalf. [22:08] Lord, let each of us put our trust in you this day. We pray for our nation. We pray for those who govern over us that you would give them your wisdom. [22:23] And Lord, direct us in your ways and not the ways of our flesh, the passions of our flesh. Lord, we pray for laws and legislations that have been passed, that they would be overturned. [22:39] And that we would return to being guided by your word and the wisdom of it. Lord, we pray for our nation and the efforts that are made across it this day, your day, the day that you rose from the dead. [22:53] that that would be proclaimed to the people. Jesus Christ has overcome death. And so you can overcome death too if you would only trust in him. [23:06] Lord, we pray that you would be amongst us. And in every effort that is made, we acknowledge that if your spirit does not go with us, we can do no good of ourselves. [23:20] So we pray that your spirit would bless our gathering here and enlighten our minds and pray that your spirit would go amongst our island and our nation and everywhere where the gospel is preached. [23:36] Lord, we know that we preach the gospel poorly and many times. But it is not how we preach it. It is how you apply it to believers' hearts. [23:48] So Lord, be effective to those that mourn. [24:02] Lord, encourage them and comfort them. There are many mourning in our community, in our island and our nation. [24:13] Lord, we ask that you would be with them to many to name. Many have lost mothers. Some have lost fathers. [24:26] Some have lost grandparents and grandmothers. Brothers and sisters, aunties and uncles. And we pray for those who have lost sons and daughters, that you would comfort them in the difficulties that they face and the questions which they have. [24:46] Lord, wrap your loved arms around them and be a protector to them in these days that will be difficult and the weeks and months that lie ahead for them. [25:01] we pray that you would be with them in all things. We pray for our young and we pray for the young that gather next door that they would see and know the riches of Jesus Christ and come to trust in him. [25:18] We pray for each of us who are believers here that you would encourage us in your way and give us strength in every step that we take. [25:31] We pray for the unconverted that you would speak with them and that you would awaken their conscience to be turned to God. See the plight of their situation in which they lie without Christ and turn them to you in Christ to rely upon the one who can forgive and the one who can free them from the weight of sin that will burden them. [25:59] Lord, we pray be over us as we look at your word guide our minds protect our minds from the thoughts that are not a building give us a focus on your word a focus on Christ a focus on the wonders that you have done for us. [26:20] Be with us we pray may your spirit accompany us and bless your word as it is read and preached all this we ask in the name of your son and our saviour the Lord Jesus Christ Amen. [26:39] May we continue in our praise to God in Psalm 26 of the Sing Psalms Psalm 26 of the Sing Psalms you'll find that on page 30 of the Blue Book and we'll sing from one down to verse mark eight Declare me innocent O Lord I've walked in blameless ways and I have trusted in the Lord not wavering all my days Test me O Lord and try my heart my thoughts survey your love surrounds me from your truth my feet will never stray I'll tell of all your awesome deeds verse 7 proclaiming loud your voice your glory fills your dwelling place I love your house always the one who trusts and relies on God and the one who has the heart to come to worship him let us sing this psalm to the tune Palerma Declare me innocent [27:40] O Lord and we'll stand to sing Declare me innocent O Lord I've walked in blameless ways and I have trusted in the Lord Lord clear me all my days test me O Lord and try my heart my impulse for serene your love surrounds me from your truth [28:47] God I God I believe I hate the weakness gathering. [29:22] With them I will not sit. I wash my hands in him, O sin. [29:40] And endless is my heart. I go abroad, dear altar Lord, The place you set apart. [30:04] I tell all your awesome deeds, Proclaim in large your praise. [30:24] Your glory fills your dwelling place. I love you once always. [30:39] If we could turn and look at, For a time that we have left in Psalm 40, And God willing over the next three Sundays, I hope that we can make steps through this psalm together. [30:58] This is one of the well-known psalms. One that we learned when we were young. One that is on par with Psalm 23 or Psalm 100. [31:11] There's many one that Christians that sit here, Or those who listen online, Can say, This psalm has a special place in my heart. [31:22] It is maybe one of the psalms that is a favorite for us to sing when we are in fellowship together. Or it is a psalm where we may come and read it in the silence of our own hearts, And the solitude that we have with God. [31:41] It is a psalm that speaks of tribulation. Tribulation, it is one fitting for tribulation. It is one fitting for times of pain and anguish. But it is also one that we sing when we rejoice and come in thanks to God. [31:59] Psalm 40 has a sympathetic bond with us, we can say. And rightly so has become a psalm that is cherished by many of the Lord's people. [32:12] And in our consideration of this psalm over the next few weeks, We'll divide it sensibly into three parts. Our first part today will take us down to where we read the end of verse Mark 5. [32:26] And we can call this the waiting on God. The psalmist waits upon the Lord. The second part we'll take from verse 6 down to the end of verse Mark 10. [32:37] And we can call that the worship of God. And finally from 11 down to the end of the psalm, We can call that the walk that we have with God. [32:50] And each week hopefully we'll take a passage from Ephesians To parallel what Psalm 40 and the psalmist speaks to us. So an overlook in a sense of the psalm. [33:01] And something that aids our remembrance of what the psalm means is the wait on God, The worship of God and the walking with God. And I hope in the next few weeks all this will become clearer. [33:15] But on the outside, as we look at this psalm, And we stand back from this psalm, You know, is it not often the case in the Christian's experience That we are often forced to wait on God. [33:31] And we feel every second of that wait. It is not a passive wait. It is not a half-hearted wait that we have. As the psalmist here on the words of the psalm portray it, As all his words are consuming, Of his waiting in the midst of struggle and distress. [33:50] And then on the relief of the wait that he experiences, And the relief that we experience as Christians, When God hears and God answers, We find that, well, we cannot but come and worship God. [34:05] We cannot but come and thank him for what he has done for us. And we desire to be closer with him, And to know him better. And he gives us the strength to walk. [34:19] And it is only by his strength, That we are unable to walk through the difficulties of this world, And the tribulations of it. But maybe the greatest thing about this psalm, Is that though he goes through these experiences, And we go through these experiences, The psalmist does not polish them, As magical perfections of the Christian life. [34:42] But they come with ease. They come with many difficulties. You know, when we tell a testimony of what the Lord has done for us, We may be guilty of not maybe fully explaining the difficulties that we go into, Because of the personalness and privacy of the difficulties. [35:02] But the psalmist here portrays that, Well, he waited on God. And he longingly waited, Patiently waited, And he walked with God, In a way that was not an easy walk either. [35:21] We all find ourselves somewhere, I think, In the words of Psalm 40. I hope you do. Even if you're not a Christian, May these words speak to you, And may God, By his power, Speak to our hearts, As we look at this psalm. [35:41] So let us turn our attention, To the first passage of this psalm. And we'll look at the trust we have first, In verses 1 to 2. We'll look at the transformation, That comes about in verse 3. [35:56] And the testimony of the psalmist, From verse 4 to 5. We have the trust, The transformation, And the testimony, In this first section. [36:09] I waited patiently for the Lord. He inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me from the pit of destruction, Out of the miry bog, And set my feet upon a rock, Making my steps secure. [36:24] The psalmist's trust is in this situation. David here is actually recalling or reminiscing Over a past experience. I didn't appreciate this until I looked and studied the psalm. [36:37] You can see that it is all written in the past tense, This first few verses. He waited. It is a past experience. [36:50] The psalmist refers to this particular experience that he went through. And that he found himself in a grave affliction or trial in this experience. [37:05] And where does he write this psalm as he looks back, I thought. We're not told exactly what this psalm relates to in the experience of David. [37:17] Just that it was a time of tribulation. But I wondered, Well, where was he as he wrote the psalm? Well, I thought that he would be in a place of peace and security. He would be resting in his home, Recalling what the Lord had done for him. [37:31] But it is actually not the case. If you look at verse 17, The psalmist says, As for me, He speaks in the present tense, I am poor and needy. [37:44] But the Lord takes thought of me, For me. The psalmist is, in a sense, In another tribulation and difficulty. [37:56] And he is forced, Maybe we could say, To recall, In his tribulation, I have been here before. And I trusted in the Lord. And he did not leave me. [38:08] He did not forsake me. He was faithful to me. He remembers that he never let him down. He restored his soul. And in his remembrance, He finds himself his own reassurance. [38:22] Trusting in the one Who relieved him from that tribulation. And we go through many tribulations. [38:37] The psalmist, in a sense, Is not hiding the fact of the tribulation. That he goes through. But maybe we have never been through Something so difficult before. [38:49] And it is, For us as older Christians, Examples that we must portray clearly What the Lord has done for us. And not hide, When we speak of God, What he has taken me from. [39:01] From the tribulations. And the difficulty I experienced. Before the Lord Relieved me from my plight. The afflictions of the righteous Are many. [39:14] But the Lord delivers them from them all. He doesn't hide his afflictions in the psalm. His remembrance of waiting with patience Is a hopeful awaiting, As he recalls. [39:31] He was trusting, Relying on this God, Though fraught with difficulty, And maybe the hardest part Of the psalm is actually That he had to wait. [39:43] I waited for the Lord my God And patiently did wait, As the Psalter puts it. Maybe portrays The difficulty he had in waiting And the patience he needed to exercise In waiting. [39:56] Many of us have had to wait upon God In our experiences. And it's a difficult thing As we question ourselves. And we make questions. [40:08] Why is the Lord not answering me? Waiting should not be underestimated. And the difficulty of it. Someone once said that Patience is not passive. [40:20] On the contrary, It is active. It is concentrated strength. We find that We need to make a conscious effort In our waiting. [40:31] It's not like we're waiting for someone, You know, If we drop someone off To go to an appointment. We're not. We're just waiting for them to come back. Passively. We're waiting consciously Because everything Hangs on What Happens. [40:49] What will happen. We are longingly waiting. But when we come to wait on God We can be sure That there will be another voice That will say to us Why? [41:02] Why are you waiting? Nobody is listening. That is where the psalmist's trust Comes through. His faith and trust Overcomes Any doubts As ours must That the devil Speaks to us. [41:20] We must address the devil To depart from us In these times. I trust in God God God Is faithful to his people God will not forsake his people And I am one of God's people I am one that trusts in God So we have confidence In our difficulties And in our waiting That God That God will not leave us And the psalmist And the Christian Will commend To everyone That God is worth waiting for The psalmist Remembered That he waited But the psalmist Remembered That he cried In this situation He made this cry And it would be And it would be Confident to say That In the psalm It's singular cry But Our cries Are often Never singular They are many [42:21] And painful Many times They're never even audible Situations That surround us Like the psalmist Can weigh upon us With grievous pains That we must cry For him What was the psalmist Situation here Where we see He was in the pit Of destruction He was in the Miley bog It says What does this place Equate to in your head As you think about it What is equal To being in the pit Of destruction For you The Miley bog You may well Be able to say That I have been In that place Or maybe today You can say That it feels Like I am In the pit Of destruction Or in the Miley bog What was this place To David Well it was a place Where there was No hope Surrounded on every side Weighted [43:25] And tired And all his strength Taken from him By the clay That stuck to his feet And the mire That he walked through In this bog He may be able to see Where he wants to go From the pit But there is no way He can attain What he desires It is unattainable And all he can do Is cry To God Cry for help And it is a confession That he cannot Do it himself The cry As our cry Often is As simple as God I need you Oh God Will you help me From this pit And mire That I find myself in We cry In our experiences To God Whatever Difficulty [44:26] Of our situation Calvin would say That it is a genuine Evidence Of the true Godliness When although Plunged into The deepest Afflictions We yet Cease not To submit Ourselves To God In all The afflictions That come Before us In the situations We cry To God Because the Psalmist Recalls In whom He trusted It was God It was God He inclined His ear He drew me He heard My cry He drew me Out of this Pit And he Unburdened The weight Of the Mire That sapped All my Strength And set My feet Upon a Rock Making My steps Secure The Shure Footing That God Gave to him Unlike the Mire Let him Stand Confidently And securely Every step [45:27] Is made Securely It's The Psalter Again Words That is Establishing My way God Takes you From the Pit Sets you On the Rock And establishes The way For you Something Is established And it is Firm And fixed In his Will And he Gives you Directions The passage In Ephesians Speaks of Ones That followed The course Of this World Spoke of Ones That were Dead In Trespasses And sins Spoke of The This speaks Of the Extremity Of the Pit Death Without Trusting In Christ Without A cry To Christ We remain In the Pit And we Remain in The Mire Without Hope And so We cry We cry And we Cry to [46:28] God To save Me from This pit And we Put all Our hope In you And the Place May not Have any Hope Or the Situation And experience Of our lives May not Have any Hope But we Can have Hope in God As the Psalmist Did He hoped And waited Patiently Upon God And what A transformation He knew By it He trusted In God Let us Look at The Transformation There's a Transformation Within Him There's a Transformation Outwardly Verse 3 He put a New song In my Mouth A song Of praise To our God Many Will see And will Fear And put Their trust In the Lord Within His heart He finds This New song To sing He finds This desire To sing This new Song Thankful Praising God For all That he Has done And it Is entirely Attributed [47:28] To God And God Alone It is Nothing Of ourselves The Psalms Did not Save Themselves We as Christians Do not Save Ourselves And it Is by Grace That we Have been Saved It is a Gift Of God Within Him He found This new Song Taken From this Place where He was Of sorrow And cry He is Rejoicing And you Know I think Of this Passage And I Recall Myself As I Fear Many Of you Can When we Sing The Psalms Sometimes We come And we Just sing But there Are a lot Of times We come And we Sing the Psalms And we The words Of it Speak to Our soul And address Of how We feel And we Sing them We may Sing them With tears We may Sing them With sorrow We may Sing it With thankfulness [48:28] And awe Of what God Has done For us But we're Singing it And it is As if The words Of the Psalm Are a new Song to us Because of What he Has done For me And what He has Done For my Soul And it Maybe At times We will Recall What God Has done But it Was him That who Has put That new Song in My heart He Put a new Song in My mouth A song Of praise To God It is Him That has Done And we Become In a Sense The singers That really Sing the Psalms of God Outwardly It says That many Will see And fear And put Their trust In God This Transformation Outwardly Brings people To see The change And the Fear And say Look At this Man who Was in The pit He now Stands on [49:28] The rock Look at This man Who dragged His feet Through the Clay and The mire And the Difficulty Where he Was overcome By the Weight Of these Things He now Stands sure And firmly And confidently What has Happened to This man People See that Change And come In reverence Fear To the God of Conversion The God Of transformation But there Is something Else I want To address And it Is maybe Not the Intent Of the Passage But some People Can be Afraid Of what God Would do With them They may See changes And great Wonders In others [50:45] We're not To be To be scared Today Of what God Will do We're To be Scared What God Will do With you At your Death If you Do not Trust in Christ What hope Does this World have To assure You And give You Confidence Why Do we Measure Worldly Things Against The Immeasurable Riches Of Christ Jesus There is No Comparing These Things Let the Psalmist Testimony Give you Confidence That we Are to Come And wait Upon God And not Worry About what God will Do for Us Because he Will open Your eyes To see That you Are in A pit And a Mire And that He will Uplift You And let You stand On a Rock You're Far Better Off With Christ Let the [51:48] Pit Not be Eternal For you Today Cry to God To save You From the Pit And let Him Put you On a Rock The Rock In Christ Jesus And in Whom we Stand And the Richest That he Can give To you Who Trust In him We Pray That the Psalmist Testimony As he Speaks Of what God Has Done Would Give us Confidence To wait On the Lord So let Us Briefly Look At the Testimony Of this Psalmist Blessed Is the Man Who Makes The Lord His Trust Who Does Not Turn To The Proud Or To Those Who Go Astray After A Lie You Have Multiplied O Lord My God Your Wondrous Deeds To Your Thoughts And Your Thoughts Towards Us None Can Compare With You I Will Proclaim Of Them I Will Proclaim And Tell Of Them Yet They Are More Than Can Be Told David [52:49] Looks Back At This Experience A Man Who Knows The Power And Faithfulness Of God A Man Who Knows That He Will Hear His Cry A Man Who Knows The Difficulty Of Waiting But He Says Blessed Is The Man Who Makes The Lord His Trust This Is David's Confession And It Is A Christian's Confession As They Sit Here Today Blessed Is The Man Who Makes The Lord His Trust This Is What Every Christian Will Say To Those Who Are Unconverted To Those Who Have Not Put Their Trust In God Yet This Is What I Say To You Today Blessed Is The Man Who Makes The Lord His Trust This Is The Preacher's Desire That You Would Trust In Him And Know His Blessing [53:49] Trust In Him When Your Feet Are In The Mire Trust In Him When You Feel Like You Are In The Pit Of Destruction When Your Situation Seems Hopeless When You Have Nowhere To Go Trust In God And Wait On Him And He Will Hear Your Cry The Testimony Of The believer Will Say That I Have Trusted In God And So Much More Has He Given Me In My Experiences Since The First Time He Helped Me He Has Continued With Me And I Have Not Followed The Lies Of The World I Have Not Followed The Ways Of The Devil And The Temptations And Distractions He Has Set Before Me I Have Put Behind Me I Say I Look To Christ I Look To God [54:49] Who Has Delivered Me From All My Trials And Tribulations He Says It Is A Wonder About These Things That He Has Done These Things For Me His Thoughts Towards Us We Often Ask Ourselves Why Does God Love Me Why Does He Listen To My Cry Why Does He Save Me It Shows Us His Love For Us We Want To Tell People About Christ We Pray That We Would Have A Heart Of Desire To Proclaim What He Has Done For Us Not Hiding The Difficulty And Reality Of It And Yet He Says I Will Proclaim And Tell And Yet They Are More Than Can Be Told It's Funny Like We We Want To Say All That Christ Has Done For Us And All That Christ Means [55:49] To Us But We Can Only Go So Far In A Sense I Can Explain It So Far And I I'm Stuck And All I Can Say Is What The Psalmist Says Is That While He Inclined His Ear Towards Me And He Drew Me Out Of The Put And He Put A New Song In My Heart And He Has Done Everything For Me It Is A Gift Of God It Is Not Of Our Own Do So Make This Year A Year To Trust In God That He May Hear Your Cry And Work A Transformation Within Your Soul And By The Power Of His Spirit And The Workings Of His Spirit Within Your Soul You Would Be Able To Say That You Too Can Testify That The Words Of Psalm 40 Are True And Trust Why Take [56:50] Courage Wait On God With Confidence Each And Every One Of Take Courage And Wait On God With Confidence Because See When You Look Through This Psalm It Is So Much About David It Is So Much About Ourselves But It Is So Much About Christ We See That Christ From Gethsemane Patiently Cried Out To God He Was Mocked And Patiently Endured It He Endured The Pains Of The Cross As We Go Home Today May You See As You Read Through Where Christ Relates To Psalm 40 And It Is Actually A Prophetic Words Of David In Relation To Christ Our Time Has Gone To To To To To See Where We Are Related In The Psalm Where [57:50] David's Words Are True To Us And Yet Where It Is True Of The Experience Of Christ Himself May These Thoughts Be Blessed To Each And Every One Of We Will Conclude By Singing In That Psalm 40 From The Scottish Psalter From The Beginning We'll Sing The Verses That We've Looked At From One Down To Verse Mark Five Two Verses Two Five I Waited For The Lord My God And Patient Leaded Bear At Length To Me He Did Incline My Voice And Cry To Hear The Scottish Psalter Version Page 259 May We Sing These Words And See The Experience Of The Psalmist The Experience That We Ourselves Have Been Through And [58:51] The Experience Of Christ And All That He Has Done For Us So Let Us Stand We'll Sing Verses One Down To Verse Mark Five To The Tune Amazing Grace I Waited For The Lord My God I Waited For The Lord My God And patiently Did Fear And Plain To Me He Didn't Cry My Voice And Cry To Hear He Took Me From A Fear [59:52] Fulcret And From The Night He Play And On The Rock He begins Loving He Set My BraDS Hello In My love, a rock to my divine. [60:43] When ye shall see, and shall fear. [60:54] Adon the Lord be nigh. O blessed is the man whose trust upon the Lord relies. [61:23] Respecting not the pride nor such. [61:34] As hard as I to rise. O Lord my God, who may be I? [61:55] The wonders thou hast done. Thy ignitions not to us were found. [62:13] Above all thoughts are gone. Then all the blood that pray for them. [62:33] To thee let them be fair. And seek of them. [62:48] I would be more than can be done for time. [63:03] Amen. I conclude with a word of prayer. Our Father in heaven, we sing the words of the psalmist. And Lord, may many sing them with words of heartfelt thanks. [63:16] There are many who sing the pains of the afflictions of the life that we have endured. Lord, whatever our situation, we find ourselves in these words. [63:29] But we see that Christ was there too. And he is a saviour who can sympathise with our experience. And so he is one that we can easily approach. And with all our cries. [63:40] And he knows our cries. So Lord, wherever we are today, pray that we would turn to you. And that you would meet us at our need. Lord, we pray for the words that will be spoken later in our gatherings. [63:54] We pray that we would have a desire to come and hear the word of God being preached. We pray for yourself and as he prepares to do so. Prepare our hearts to hear your word. Be with us, Lord, in our outgoings. [64:06] And as we depart, be with us in our friendships and fellowships. Forgive us our sins, we ask, as we come to Christ, acknowledging and confessing them. Amen. [64:40] We pray for the rest of you, Lord. Many of us in our hearts and blessings. . [64:51] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. [65:02] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.