Let us begin our worship of God by singing in His praise to Psalm 23 of the Sing Psalms.
That's on page 28 of the Blue Book.
Psalm 23, Sing Psalms version on page 28.
The Lord is my shepherd, no want shall I know.
He makes me lie down where the green pastures grow.
He leads me to rest where the calm waters flow.
My wandering steps He brings back to His way,
in straight paths of righteousness making me stay.
And this He has done, His great name to display.
Though I walk in death's valley where darkness is near,
because you are with me, no evil I'll fear.
Your rod and your staff bring me comfort and cheer.
In the sight of my enemies a table you spread.
The oil of rejoicing you pour on my head.
My cup overflows and I'm graciously fed.
So surely your covenant, mercy and grace will follow me closely in all of my ways.
I will dwell in the house of the Lord all my days.
A psalm that will align with our study today in Psalm 40.
It's a good psalm for the young ones to know and to memorize.
And to know, of course, that the Lord is their shepherd.
So we'll stand together and sing this,
The Lord is my shepherd, to God's praise.
The Lord is my shepherd, no one shall I know.
He leads me light on where thy green pastures grow.
He leads me to rest where the land and waters flow.
My wandering steps he brings back to his way.
In strength of righteousness making me sing.
And this he has done his great name to display.
So I walk in death's valley where darkness is near.
Because you are with me, no evil I'll fear.
Your rod and your staff bring me comfort and cheer.
In the sight of my enemies at table you spread.
The oil of rejoicing pure pour on my head.
Like apple-wurn close and I'm gracious he fed.
So surely your covenant mercy and grace
Will follow me closely in all of my ways.
I will dwell in the house of the Lord Almighty.
Okay, we'll just bow and say a short prayer together.
Our Father in heaven, we thank you for this time that we have together.
We thank you for being able to come to church.
We thank you that we have Bibles to read.
And we thank you that you show us who you are.
And the Bible tells us all about Jesus Christ.
And what he has done for us.
And tells us about all the people that were with him.
His disciples that were so faithful to go out and share the good news about Jesus.
That though he died, he rose again.
And that gives us hope.
We pray as they go into Sunday school, tweenies.
And pray for those that are in church.
We pray that they would understand what they are being taught.
We pray that they would see who Jesus is.
And we pray for the teachers as well.
We pray that you would give them help to be able to do this.
In a manner that portrays how beautiful and amazing God is.
And what Jesus is to us.
We pray he would be with us in our time together.
Forgive us our sins we ask.
In Jesus name.
Amen.
Okay.
So I want to say a short word to use before you go into your Sunday school classes or tweenies.
I've got something with me here.
Do you know what that is?
Anyone?
Yeah?
A bulb.
That's a bulb.
That's what plugs into the light.
And that's what gives us light.
But I want you to imagine if you were a bulb.
If you were a light bulb.
Where would you go?
Where would you be?
Where would the best place for you to be?
Would it be in your welly?
No.
Would it be in your hat?
No.
Would it be in the sandpit outside?
No.
This is made to be in a light.
And when you put it in the light and you turn it on, then it glows.
And what the light does is it helps us to see.
It helps us to be able to see what's around us and understand what's there so we don't crash into things and we don't bump into each other.
It helps us to see.
Last night I was at a house and the light was stuck on.
The switch was off and the light was going on by itself.
Now, there's our lesson in the light bulb.
And I want you to remember.
The light bulb is made for the light.
And you and every one of us here has been made by God.
And we belong with God.
The light bulb is meant to be with the light.
We are being created by God are designed to be with God and connected to God and belonging to God.
And if we are with God, we are in the right place.
And even coming to church and Sunday school puts us in the right place to be with God.
And we ask that God will be with us when we come to church and we come to Sunday school.
But God is the one that turns the power on.
We come and we might have to put the bulb in and we come and we wait.
We might have to wait to be switched on.
Many of us have had to wait before the light went on in our life.
Before the Lord made us his light.
And the Lord's light was in us.
But I want you to be like the light bulb.
And I want you to be like the light bulb that never goes out when you come to God.
And it will always glow and shine.
And you will be boys and girls that will show what things are there that we can crash into in life.
And the things that are bad in life.
And that you show how good God is.
By his light.
God is light.
And you are going to learn about someone today that was a light for God.
And he went and he spoke to someone about who Jesus was.
And he helped them to see.
One of Jesus' friends called Philip went to meet a man.
And he helped the person to see.
He was like a light bulb for God.
And he showed the man the way.
Where he should be.
And what God was like.
So I want you to remember the light bulb.
That we are in the right place.
And we belong to God.
We are designed to be with God.
And that we would be lights that never go out.
And always shine.
And tell people.
And show people.
How good God is.
And what God can do for us.
So I pray that would be blessed to you.
We'll say the Lord's prayer together.
Our Father which art in heaven.
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.
Lead us not into temptation.
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom.
The power and the glory.
Forever.
Amen.
Okay.
We'll continue in our praise to God.
By singing in Psalm 118.
Of the Scottish Psalter.
You'll find that on page 398.
118.
Scottish Psalter.
We'll sing from verse mark 8.
Down to verse mark 14.
Better it is to trust the Lord.
Than trust in man's defence.
Better it is to trust in God.
Than make princes of confidence.
You'll see the man here.
The psalmist that trusts in God.
But he's overwhelmed by something.
As he sings through the psalm.
The sins that are about him.
The evils that are around him.
The emotion of it comes through in this psalm.
As we sing down to verse mark 14.
So let us sing this to God's praise.
Better it is to trust in God.
And trust in man's defence.
Better it is to trust in God.
And trust in man's defence.
Better it is to trust in God.
And trust in God.
Princess of confidence.
The nations joining all in one.
Did compass me about.
But in the Lord's Lord's holy name.
I shall then call return.
They compass me apart.
I say.
They compass me apart.
But in the Lord's holy name.
I shall then call return.
Like peace they compass me apart.
Like God to thorns that flame.
They quenched out.
For them shall I destroy in God's own name.
Thou sore hast trust that I might fall.
But my Lord helpeth me.
God my salvation is given.
My strength and song is here.
We turn now to the reading of the word of God.
And we'll take our first reading from the book of Ephesians.
Chapter 5.
At verse 8.
Book of Ephesians.
Paul's letter to Ephesians.
Chapter 5.
At verse marked 8.
Let us hear God's word to us today.
For at one time.
You were darkness.
But now you are the light in the Lord.
Walk as children of light.
For the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true.
And try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.
Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness.
But instead expose them.
For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret.
But when anything is exposed by the light.
It becomes visible.
For anything that becomes visible is light.
Therefore it says.
Awake, O sleeper.
And arise from the dead.
And Christ will shine on you.
Look carefully.
Look carefully then how you walk.
Not as unwise.
But as wise.
Making the best use of the time.
Because the days are evil.
Therefore do not be foolish.
But understand what is the will of the Lord is.
And do not get drunk with wine.
For that is debauchery.
But be filled with the spirit.
Addressing one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.
Singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart.
Giving thanks always for everything to God the Father.
In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.
We'll continue in reading in Psalm 40.
Psalm number 40.
And we'll read from the verse marked 6.
Psalm 40.
Behold the glad news of deliverance.
In the great congregation.
Behold I have not restrained my lips as you know O Lord.
I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart.
I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation.
I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great congregation.
As for you O Lord.
You will not restrain your mercy from me.
Your steadfast love and your faithfulness.
Will ever preserve me.
For evils have encompassed me.
Beyond number.
My iniquities have overtaken me.
I cannot see.
They are more than the hairs of my head.
My heart fails in me.
Be pleased O Lord to deliver me.
O Lord make haste to help me.
Let those be put to shame and disappointed altogether.
Who seek to snatch away my life.
Let those be turned back and brought to dishonor.
Who desire my heart.
Let those be appalled because of their shame.
Who say to me.
Aha.
But may all who seek you.
Rejoice and be glad in you.
May those who love your salvation say continually.
Great is the Lord.
As for me.
I am poor and needy.
But the Lord takes thought for me.
You are my help.
And my deliverer.
Do not delay.
O my God.
May the reading of God's words be blessed to us.
Let us join our hearts together in prayer.
Our Father in heaven.
We thank you again.
That we are gathered like this as your people.
And Lord we pray that you would make us still before you.
Let us hear your word to us today.
May it speak to our hearts.
May it speak to our soul.
Our minds Lord.
Lord.
Unrestrict our minds.
From the things of the world.
Open us up to the knowledge of who you are.
And let us come with reverence before you.
As the God who is almighty.
And over all things.
Lord we see.
In the power of your word.
Your self revealing who you are to us.
So that we may know you.
Lord give us diligent minds to understand.
Exactly who you are.
Open our minds up.
To see the greatness of God.
The wisdom of God.
The holiness of God.
Different aspects of God.
Things that we do not.
Cannot.
Understand in full.
Never can we.
But as we approach you.
And give our worship to you.
Lord be great to us.
And that you would be one.
That we confess within our hearts.
And say.
Great is the Lord.
As we read in the psalm.
Give us light.
We pray.
As we look at your word.
Lord.
Our minds are so full of darkness.
And it is.
Not because of our ability.
That we can unearth.
The deep treasure.
And riches of your scripture.
But it is by the power of your spirit.
Enabling.
Our minds to understand.
It is you.
Who illuminates.
Our mind.
It is you.
Your spirit.
Does give that power.
To illuminate.
Lord.
We pray that you would be with us.
As we gather.
Together.
To hear.
What you say.
Lord.
We are aware.
That there are temptations.
Before us.
Thoughts.
Words.
And deeds.
That distract us.
From gathering.
From coming here.
From understanding your word.
That we pray.
Oh Lord.
In your name.
That you would restrain.
These distractions from us.
And the power of the evil one.
Keep us from.
Keep him from us.
We pray.
Exclude him from our gathering.
And that our hearts and souls.
May come and rejoice in you.
Great is our Lord.
Be our confession.
And Lord.
Great is the salvation.
That you have provided.
Through your son.
The Lord Jesus Christ.
Who bore our sins.
As if they were his.
And so.
We are set free.
Because he took.
What we deserved.
On the cross.
At Calvary.
Lord.
Again.
We cannot fathom.
Or understand.
The weight.
Of these things.
But when we look.
In the depths of our hearts.
And the sin.
That lies within.
We see the greatness.
Of it.
And how it can overwhelm us.
If we were to focus upon.
And yet.
Everyone.
Has been taken.
By you.
And justly.
Paid for.
For the one.
Who has faith.
In Jesus Christ.
Lord.
We pray.
That you would be with us.
In our walk.
With you.
In the direction.
That you take us.
May we be willing.
To go with you.
Wherever you show us.
Give us the strength.
To go forward.
Often in things.
That we do not think.
We are able to do.
And to places.
That we do not think.
That we should go.
But let us have an ear.
To hear.
What you say to us.
We do not rely.
On our own confidence.
In these things.
But again.
Trust in you.
So many things.
Can encompass us.
As the psalmist sung.
The psalmist's expressions.
To us.
Are so real.
And we are so thankful.
For it.
That we can associate.
With what he says.
Lord.
To make Christ real to us.
As we look at your word.
Help us to understand.
Who he is.
To the best of our ability.
As you enable us.
To.
Lord.
We pray for this congregation.
We pray that you would give.
Each person.
Assurance.
In their spirit.
Confidence.
To go with you.
Give us conviction.
Of our sins.
If that is what is needed.
Lord.
You know us.
As our father.
And you are our shepherd.
That is trustworthy.
To rely upon.
To whom else.
Can we go.
Especially.
When the valley of darkness.
Is upon us.
Who will guide us.
Except the Lord.
Jesus Christ.
May we be people.
That trust in him.
As we live our lives.
Lord.
Be with.
All those.
Who share your word today.
Who proclaim.
The unsearchable riches.
Of Christ Jesus.
May the power.
Of your spirit.
Accompany it.
We remember.
Those who gather.
In.
Gaelic service.
Nearby.
We pray.
That you would be with them.
Also.
In spirit.
And in truth.
Lord.
Go amongst our nation.
We pray.
A nation.
That largely.
Lives for themselves.
But open their eyes.
May.
Your illuminating truth.
Be set before them.
By your servants.
As Philip.
Went to that.
Ethiopian.
You know.
As the children.
Look at that.
And they see.
The man.
That was obedient.
To God's word.
And helped.
The one.
To understand.
What you are saying.
To us.
And what you have done.
For us.
Through Christ.
He just came.
Alongside him.
And we can all.
Come alongside.
One another.
To help.
And encourage.
To support.
And to.
Help us understand.
So be with us.
We pray.
As we look on.
Your word.
Forgive us.
Our sins.
We ask.
In Jesus.
His name.
And in his power.
Amen.
We continue.
In a.
Praise to God.
By singing.
In Psalm 71.
Of the Scottish Psalter.
Version.
Page 3.
1.
Psalm 71.
Page 3.
311.
Scottish Psalter.
From verse 14.
Down to verse mark 19.
But I.
With expectation.
Will hope continually.
And yet.
With praises.
More and more.
I will.
The magnify.
Down to verse mark 19.
And I.
Most perfect righteousness.
O Lord.
Is very high.
Who has.
So great things done.
O God.
Who is.
Like unto thee.
We'll stand.
Lift our hearts.
To praise to God.
But I.
With expectation.
Will hope continually.
And yet.
With praises.
More and more.
I will.
The magnify.
Thy justice.
And salvation.
Thy matter.
Thy lives o'ervola delivery.
Thou'reSpeaking.
The Empire.
Cheers.
Once.
And I will constantly go on in strength of God the Lord.
And I, O righteous, testify, alone I will recall.
For even from thy good, O God, like thee I have been taught.
And hitherto I have declared the wonders thou hast wrought.
And now, Lord, leave me not when I hold and regret it all.
Till to this age my strength and power to all to come I show.
And thy most perfect righteousness, O Lord, is very high.
Who has so great things done, O God, who is like God to thee.
Amen.
We can turn back to Psalm 40.
And we'll continue and conclude in a study of Psalm 40 from verse 11.
Last week we looked at the section from verse Mark 6 down to the end of verse Mark 10.
And we saw there David as he came to worship God.
Where David drew near to God.
As opposed to the first section where God drew near to David at the beginning.
He took him from the mire and the pit.
From verse 6, God now returns to worship God and draw near to him.
And we remember the image of the servant who was so willing to devote his life to the Lord and to his service.
He was willing to have his ear pierced.
And the willingness to delight in whatever was the will of the Lord for his life.
And we noted that even the Lord Jesus Christ struggled in a sense with the will of God.
And we will too struggle with what God has for us.
But are we people to say nevertheless,
whatever I feel and whatever I want, I will trust in you, O God.
So the third and final part of this psalm we will call the walking with God.
We have the waiting, the worship and now the walking from verse Mark 11.
And the sentiment of the words here was expressed in what we sung.
As a hopeful expectation upon the God that would continue with each of us.
And constantly we will be people that will go on in the strength that God gives to us.
And if we use the image of a walker to help our thoughts as we look at this concluding part of the psalm,
we know that if you are to set out on a walk, you have some rough idea of where you want to go.
You have a plan or a destination that you would like to reach.
You may have a route planned out, you may use a map or more modern devices that you get on your phone,
something like that.
But you would have confidence that you are able to reach the point of your destination.
And if you did not have any confidence to reach that point, well, you wouldn't depart.
There would be no point in going if you knew it was impossible to reach the place you wanted to go to.
And as you set out on that walk, you may find out that, well, if you had that confidence to go,
you may come across things that, well, it wasn't in the plan.
And I didn't expect these things to happen.
You may have times where your walk is hindered.
You may have times when you have to stop and take a break.
Often there's times where we have to just look back and be encouraged by where we've been.
Often we have to just say, this is a lot harder than I expected it to be.
The walker requires confidence.
The walker requires courage to go on.
The most important thing for the walker to do is to keep going.
To keep making steps forward and to reach the destination that he has desired to go to.
The person needs to continue.
And much of this is applicable to the Christian's life.
And you may already have thoughts of Pilgrim's Progress going through your mind and your favorite part of it.
But we see the sentiments of this.
Throughout this psalm, it was one that relied on God in confidence.
He had the courage to go with him amidst fear.
But he is a person that continues in God.
So let us look quickly at the confidence the psalmist has.
And we'll read from verse Mark 11.
Firstly, you can notice his direction and his focus.
As for you, O Lord, it is towards his God.
As he thinks upon his God, he has confidence.
And it is expressed in his words.
You can see that they are sure words.
You will not restrain.
And you will show your steadfast love and faithfulness.
God is a God that will and will not.
And understanding who God is is fundamental to having confidence in God.
And the most reassuring thing about God for David and for you and for me is that God is a God that will and will not.
He is not a God that might.
He is not a God who is vague.
He is not a God who changes his mind.
He is a God that does not change.
In whom there is no change or variation.
So as he was in the scriptures that we read, so he is.
And so we can have confidence in what we read within the scriptures.
And as we read the scriptures, we actually get to know who God is.
Because he hasn't changed.
He is still the same.
We have confidence in God.
We know what he will not hold back from us.
And we learn, too, what he will do for us.
What does David highlight about that assured confidence he has in God?
The first thing you can see is that he will not, you can see is he will not restrain his mercy from me.
Now, the wording of that, there's more feeling to it than just not restraining his mercy.
You may remember the Psalter version has tender mercies.
There's a compassionate element to the mercy that is shown here.
There's a deep feeling in compassion where the person who exercises compassion is sympathetic.
As for me, you will not restrain your mercy from me.
God will not withhold his compassionate mercy from you.
Compassion is a comfort for us.
And we often need comfort in our lives.
And compassion that is shown by this God was also a compassion that was shown by the wonderful counselor.
Christ Jesus.
He is the one who can sympathize with every need that we have.
And he showed himself when he was on this world to be a person of great compassion.
He was one who felt compassion to the one who lay in need.
He did not restrain his compassion to the afflicted and to the needy.
The same Christ is here as a man that will not withhold his compassion and mercy from you.
And you can be confident in this.
Secondly, we see that your steadfast love and your faithfulness will ever preserve me.
As he has done and as God has preserved him and shown him his love to the psalmist from the beginning,
he will continue to do so.
As he's saying that my preservation is not upon myself.
He relies on God to preserve him.
Your steadfast love, your faithfulness are not things that only last for a moment.
There are things that are eternal.
There are things that are everlasting.
The one who keeps me and holds me forever.
These assurances are personal to him because he says they are for me.
You will not restrain your mercy from me.
Your steadfast love and your faithfulness will ever preserve me.
He has a personal confidence that God will always be with him.
That the light of the Lord dwells within him.
The light of revelation is in him.
He is a child of light from Ephesians 5.
And he is someone who has decided to walk carefully.
But he is walking confidently.
Because as you remember from the beginning of the psalm,
he was one who had his steps established.
His steps were set securely by the God that relied on him.
The God that brought him from the pit and the mire and set him upon a rock.
Believing in Christ Jesus gives us confidence.
That he will always be with us.
He will not withhold his compassionate mercy from you and from me.
And that is a great encouragement and confidence for us to go with this Christ.
Do you have the confidence that David has?
Do you have that personal confidence that can say,
God is always with me?
No matter what experience I am going through.
He will not withhold his compassion from me.
He will not withhold his steadfast love from me.
He is faithful to me.
What about this walk of life?
Is it in darkness or is it in light?
And the Christian walk, as you look at it,
you may ask yourself, as we probably all have,
how can I do it?
Well, here is the answer.
Relying on God.
Trusting in him who will keep our steps,
who has established our steps,
who knows the direction we go in,
who will be with us faithfully,
who will not withhold his compassion from us
and shows us steadfast love.
David says and admits that he cannot do it alone.
He relies on this God of whose.
Psalm 40 is often one of conversion,
with reference to conversion.
The one that took a step in faith,
trusting in this God.
The God that revealed himself to David.
The God who reveals himself to us.
It's a step in faith, often.
But we must ask ourselves,
well, where is your confidence for this walk of life?
What is the ultimate destination that you want to get to?
Are you confident in yourself?
Or are you confident in Christ?
The one who has faith in Christ
and understands who Christ is to him.
He gets courage to face the difficulties
that come before him.
And we see that courage from verse 12.
For evils have encompassed me beyond number.
My iniquities have overtaken me.
I cannot see.
They are more than the hairs of my head, my heart.
My heart fails me.
Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me.
O Lord, make haste to help me.
Let those who put to shame and disappointed altogether,
who seek to snatch away my life.
Let those who be turned back and brought to dishonor,
who desire to my hurt.
Let all those be appalled because they're shame,
who say to me,
Aha, aha.
Aha.
There is a fear in this section that comes through to us.
The psalmist there.
You'll see there's actually two sections to it.
From verse 12.
Well, verse 12 is one section.
You have a cry to God in verse 13.
And then verse 14 and 15 is another sort of section
that you can take.
Where verse 12 is something from within.
And the second part from 14 to 15 is something external to himself.
Yeah, that war, as a Christian often does,
from within ourselves and externally,
from things that are outside in this world.
A Christian needs courage
because there are many things that make us afraid.
I looked up this word courage
in one of the dictionaries that I usually use.
And it said,
The quality of mind or spirit
that enables a person to face difficulty,
danger, pain, etc.
without fear.
And I thought,
Well, that's not right, really.
I mean, if there's no fear,
where's the courage?
So I had to look at another dictionary
and that confirmed my ideas.
Courage is really incomplete fear.
When we are fearful of what lies ahead of us.
And you may be fearful of the next steps of your walk.
Whether you are a Christian
or whether you have to make a beginning with Christ.
There are many fears set before us.
And there are many fears
that will rob our confidence in Christ
and in his word.
There's people out there
dismissing this as a story.
But it's not.
And the believer in Christ Jesus,
the one who has had himself rescued
from the mire and the pit of destruction,
who has felt the power of salvation of God,
knows that this is no story.
And we wish that everyone would understand it.
That it was true.
And it reveals to us who God is.
There are many fears to rob our confidence.
But courage has confidence amid fear.
Courage has confidence amid fear.
The defining factor is,
where is our confidence?
In fear.
In the valley of the shadow of darkness.
Courage conquers fear.
The inward fears that David has briefly.
They're surrounding him.
They're encompassing him.
Iniquities have overtaken.
It says for evils there
at the beginning of verse Mark 12.
For evils have encompassed me.
We may think that this is
almost an external element for evils.
But the word is sort of a misery distress.
Again, the Psalter words it,
ills, I think.
Now, misery and distress
is not something externally from ourselves.
It is within us.
Misery and distress has encompassed me
beyond number.
Misery is all distresses.
They are his own
and they weigh him down.
They are surrounding.
There are innumerable pains,
iniquities,
his sins that have overtaken.
They are more than the hairs of his head.
They are so overwhelming,
they are so overwhelming, you see.
David's looking at himself
within his heart
and he's overwhelmed
because of who he is.
The sin that lies within him
overwhelms him
and that is exactly the same for us.
When we look at ourselves
and we see that
there's things that we've done wrong,
we wouldn't want to tell anyone.
They're overwhelming to us.
And if we give our attention to them,
they will overwhelm us
and they have an effect there,
as you can see.
Well, David couldn't see.
I cannot see
because of these iniquities,
the sins before God.
His heart fails.
He loses courage.
He loses confidence
when he focuses on his sins.
It's almost like that
when we look at ourselves.
It's almost like I spot the difference
where you may see one thing straight away
and then you may,
the longer you look at it,
the more you see, basically.
And that is exactly the same with us.
The more we look at ourselves,
the more sin we see
and the more overwhelmed we feel.
But David cries out to God,
Be pleased to help me,
to deliver me.
Make haste to my help.
He knows these things
are weighing him down.
But there's an outward strain on him as well.
There's people
who do different things to him
from verse 14.
People who snatch to take away his life.
People who want to bring dishonor.
Who want to bring him hurt.
People who mock him
by saying,
ah, ah, ah, ah.
People who laugh at him.
And that goes without saying.
That is hard for us.
When people slander us
because of who we believe in
and have faith and trust in this walk
and tell people the direction of our walk,
people will do all sorts to us
to stop us in the walk that we are on.
Yet, David has compassionate thoughts towards them.
He doesn't want God to destroy them.
He wants them to feel their shin.
He wants them to be disappointed.
He wants them to understand
who God is.
That they would be turned back
and brought to dishonor.
And through all this suffering,
you can see Christ.
Undeniably, Christ is there.
The only one I questioned was my iniquities.
But then, Christ bore all our sins
as if they were his sins.
And he could say
that they were my iniquities
that he paid the price for.
When you look through that section,
you can see Christ.
And I encourage you to do so
because we don't have time at the moment.
But amidst all these fears,
he looks in himself.
He sees what's going on before him.
But he doesn't stop crying to God.
Be pleased to help me.
And then the last section there.
Regardless of what fears are said before him,
he has courage.
And he says,
But may all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you.
May those who love your salvation
say continually,
Great is the Lord.
As for me, I am poor and needy.
But the Lord takes thought for me.
You are my helper, my deliverer.
O Lord, do not delay.
O my God.
The psalmist continues with God.
He has courage amidst fear.
And he continues with God.
He looks to him.
Himself.
But you can see in verse 16,
it's almost like he desires
that everyone would look to him.
It's almost like there's a congregational
desire there.
But may all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you.
May those who love your salvation
say continually,
Great is the Lord.
And then there's a personal aspect to it.
As he looks now,
As for me,
I am poor and needy,
but the Lord takes thought of me.
You are my help and my deliverer.
Do not delay.
O my God.
As we join in worship together,
we kind of touched on it last week.
That we would have our eyes opened
and our ears unblocked
to understand and know who God is
and who he tells us he is.
That we may know the breadth,
the height,
the depth
of his character
in every aspect.
and the greater he would become
that we would be people.
As we gather together,
we'd say,
Great is the Lord.
Again,
that word doesn't really
take out the greatness
of what
he means.
He means
the Psalter version
is magnified,
the Lord.
It's an increasing thing
that goes on.
But where God is not
becoming smaller to us,
God should be becoming
greater.
As we sit under his word
and learn about him,
we see the greatness of God.
And when you see
they are what he writes,
I am poor and needy
as we are.
But the Lord
takes thought of me.
And I think
that verse
becomes more significant
the greater God becomes.
When we really
grasp
and start grasping
who God is
and continue to grasp
who God is,
he thinks upon you.
And he thinks
and knows
and hears
your prayers
and your cries,
whether you be in the pit,
whether you be overwhelmed
by
your own
feeling of sinfulness,
whether you're overwhelmed
by
an external
evil
that
makes you question
everything,
God knows.
And God
has an everlasting
compassion
and steadfast love
towards you.
You have confidence
to be with God.
God hears
all our cries,
whatever they are.
And you'll remember
we started
in the pit
and the psalmist
was looking back
upon this experience
that he had
and how he had to
wait
patiently
upon the Lord.
but he wrote
it
when he's in a state
of feeling
poor
and needy.
The Christian
life,
many may portray
it to be wonderful
and it is
wonderful,
but it's not
easy.
It's not
that feeling
that
everything's
okay,
in a sense
they are,
but it's not like
everything's going
to go so well
and we're never
going to question
anything
or need to
question
anything
in our life.
Because we see
the emotion
of David
coming through
in this psalm.
As we look
through,
regardless of
anything else,
he is one
that wants
to come
to God.
Nevertheless,
continually,
O Lord,
I am with thee.
That's almost
what he's saying
when he gives
himself
and devotes
himself
to worship
in God.
You are my
help,
you are my
deliverer.
Do not delay,
O my God.
What about
your walk?
This
Psalm 40
resembles
and speaks
to us
about our
walk in
many different
ways.
And we can
associate
ourselves
with the
words of
David.
And that is
where the
richness of
the psalms
comes through.
He is
overcome
by the
evils of
this world.
He does
question
things.
He is
battled
with the
will of
God for
his life,
his
experiences.
That's
where the
psalms are
so rich.
And I
feel like
if we
didn't have
the psalms
that express
these words
and feelings,
we would
be asking
ourselves,
well,
what's wrong
with me?
Why am I
feeling
overcome
by my
sin?
Why am I
feeling like
the people
of this
world are
squashing
me?
We must
have confidence
in God.
We must
have courage
in trusting
that God
will be
one that
will never
leave us
nor forsake
us in
our walk
and that
we continue
in that
walk.
The walker
has a
destination
planned
before he
sets out.
we must
ask,
do you
have
confidence
for this
Christian
life?
Are you
assured,
persuaded,
and enabled
that Christ
will not
leave you
or forsake
you?
If you're
going to
go on
this walk,
trust in
him,
devote
yourself
to him
and he
will be
your God.
He will
rescue you
from every
pit and
rescue you
from the
pit that
will be
eternal
if you
trust in
him.
I pray
that as
we gather
here,
we may
rejoice
and be
glad in
God
as we
seek him
and that
we may
love the
salvation
that we
have in
Christ
Jesus.
You
are
great,
O Lord.
May that
be your
confession
today.
May these
thoughts be
blessed to
us.
We'll
conclude by
singing in
Psalm 40,
sing
Psalm's
Version on
page 51.
Psalm 40,
on page 51,
verse
marked
11,
down to
the end
of the
psalm.
Do not
withhold your
mercy,
Lord,
surround your
servant
constantly
with your
great love
and faithfulness
for many
troubles
threaten me.
And down to
verse
17,
Lord,
think on
me.
I humbly
pray,
you are my
saviour and
my help.
Come,
O my
God,
do not
delay.
We'll stand
and we'll sing
these words
to God's
praise.
Amen.
Thy sins have overtaken me,
Theremore thy flesh upon my head,
Thy heart within me fails for grief,
I cannot see the rain ahead.
Be pleased, O Lord, to rescue me,
O Lord, come with me to my aid,
May all who seek to take my life
With shame and turmoil be paid.
May all who've got my overthrow
Turn back this grace of living him,
May those who walk me to my face
Become a pall that there won't shame.
But let all those who seek your face
Be joyful in you all their days,
Let those who love salvation say,
Exalted be the Lord always.
Yet I am pure and in great need,
Lord, think of me, I humbly pray,
You are my Saviour and my help
Come, O my God, do not delay
Close in prayer.
Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for this time we have,
Aside from the world.
Lord, we thank you for everyone that is gathered here
And those who are gathered online.
We pray that we would know your blessing as we study your word.
Lord, we know that many are the anguishes and cries of your people,
But you are one who hears.
Let your name be exalted, O Lord.
We pray this in your name.
Amen.