Let's begin our worship this evening by singing to God's praise in Psalm 146.
It's in the Scottish Psalter version. Psalm 146, page 445.
And we're going to sing from verse 1 to verse 7.
Psalm 146. Praise God. The Lord praise, O my soul.
I'll praise God while I live, while I have being.
To my God in songs I'll praises give.
Trust not in princes nor man's son, in whom there is no state.
His breath departs, to earth he turns. That day his thoughts decay.
We'll sing from verse 1 to verse 7 to God's praise.
Praise God the Lord. Praise, O my soul.
I'll praise God while I live, while I have being.
To my God in songs I'll praises give.
Trust not in princes nor man's son, in whom there is no state.
His breath departs, to earth he turns.
That day his thoughts decay.
O happy is that man unblessed, whom Jacob's God doth hate.
Whose hope upon the Lord doth rest, and on his God his state.
Who made the earth and heaven's eye.
Who made the swelling deep.
And all that is within the same.
Who truth doth ever keep.
Who righteous judgment executes.
For those oppressed that be.
Who to the hungry giveth food.
God sets the prisoners free.
Let's come to God in prayer.
We'll bow our heads in a word of prayer.
Lord our gracious God, as we gather in your name anew this evening,
we are thankful for the blessing of praising your name.
The blessing for being able to lift our voices to you in song and to rejoice in your goodness to us.
We thank you that we have been reminded in this psalm of the man who is blessed, whom Jacob's God doth aid.
And we thank you for every way, Lord, that you help us on a daily basis.
That we can lean upon you.
That we can find our rest in you.
And we thank you, Lord, for your upholding strength toward us.
We thank you that as we come to your word anew this evening,
that we are reminded through it that the joy of the Lord is indeed the strength of your people.
And that that is not when we feel strong, but so often in our weakness, Lord, that joy is what sustains us.
For you remind us that apart from you, we can do nothing.
And so we praise you as the God who made heavens and earth,
made the swelling deep, as the psalmist describes.
And yet your truth is constantly with us too.
And we thank you for every reminder you give to us of your power and of your goodness towards us.
That as we see the wonder of your creation, as we see the seasons changing,
even at this time of year, as we see the days growing longer, we see the signs of spring.
We see new growth around us, Lord, as we see flowers begin to appear.
And we thank you, Lord, that it reminds us of the wonder of the creation,
but the wonder of you as the God of it all.
That when there is a time when things seem dead and lifeless,
that even underneath, Lord, there is the signs of hope.
That there is life, that life that comes to fruition.
And we see it in our own world and in our own day at this time.
And we think of the deadness of the world in the spiritual sense.
When we think of how we have put your word behind our back, as it were,
and turned away from you.
When we see, oh Lord, people just living for self and for their own gain.
No thought for others or for you.
We, oh Lord, are in pain and grief over this.
As we think, oh Lord, of what it means for us as a people,
and what it means for those who are a people who are perishing,
as your word describes.
But yet we thank you for the gospel.
We thank you for the hope that that gives of new life.
We thank you for the power that is in it to revive and to give life anew through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
The one who came that we might have life and have it abundantly.
And so we pray that your word will be blessed to us all here this evening.
That we would, as we heard this morning, not just hear your word, but be doers of it.
That we would receive your word with gladness and joy and go into the week ahead,
renewed by your spirit, refreshed by your word.
Eager, oh Lord, to live for you and to serve you as your people here.
We pray, Lord, that your word will be blessed to all ends of the earth today,
as we thank you that you are not the God who is confined as so many of the gods of this world,
made by the hands of men and women,
made by us to represent what we see as worthy of glory.
But we thank you that your glory is far and wide,
that you are worthy of the praise of all of your people, near and far,
and that you have your people throughout the nations of this world,
people who call on your name, people who worship and praise you,
people who, even as we are praying, that you are hearing their prayers as well,
that you hear a people who call upon you at all times, day or night.
And so we ask, oh Lord, that you would send out your power into our midst,
the power of the gospel, what the psalmist describes as your light and your truth,
that they would go out to all ends of the earth,
directing people to you, reviving people who are dead in sin,
and bringing us all to praise your name all the more.
Bless us as we consider your word together here this evening,
as we open it up, as we read it.
May your spirit help us in our understanding of it,
and may you guide us through it in all our thoughts,
and what it means to us, oh Lord, as our people.
It may be that it means something different to each and every one of us,
but may there be a word to be heard from you this evening for each one of us,
a word in season, a word to bless, to challenge, to encourage, to do us good.
We thank you for all we've enjoyed from your word in this past week as well.
As we look back to time of communion last weekend,
we thank you for the blessings that we've received from your hand there,
being under the preaching of your word,
enjoying the sacrament together,
and the fellowship of your people together as well.
We thank you for all that was done for us, Lord, for our good,
and we pray that we will continue to be encouraged going forward.
We will not lose sight of the hope of the gospel,
and we continue to pray for your blessing over us as a people,
homes and families in all our communities.
And this communion season throughout our islands, oh Lord,
we pray blessing on all who gather in your name in these days,
to know the power of your spirit working,
to know people coming to profess the Lord as their saviour,
people growing in their knowledge of you and understanding of you,
people being encouraged in so many different ways.
We ask, oh Lord, that you would continue to build your church in our midst
and to make us as a people, Lord,
a people who would be full of your joy and your strength.
We pray for our nation at this time, oh Lord,
we ask for our leaders, our governments,
that you will help and encourage them in their day-to-day lives of administering direction for our nation.
Lord, we feel a drifting away from you,
but we know, even as we read in the scriptures of the times when nations were in disarray,
turning away from you with no sense of direction,
that you are pleased in the past to come in your power and to redirect them towards you.
We pray that for our own nation, oh Lord,
to know that redirecting, that renewal that comes from you.
We pray that for all who are involved in governments nationally and locally as well,
Lord, to give the fear of the Lord as the beginning of all wisdom,
to give them that sense of dependence upon you.
Remember to our royal family,
we pray for each one of them,
and remember the king just now as he continues to go through treatment for his own time of ill health,
and that your hand be upon him to bless him and his family too.
And again, that they would rule with you in mind in all things.
There may be kings in this world and presidents and powers and authorities,
but we know that they are all from your hand.
And we pray, Lord, for you to rule above all
and to rule in a way that would bring wisdom and help to our world as a whole,
to bring peace with this conflict,
to bring peace with this persecution,
to bring a people to yourself.
Remember us then in all of these things.
Remember us in the week ahead as a people here.
Lord, bless the Youth Fellowship as they will meet this evening.
Bless all that takes place throughout the week,
the meetings for prayer,
the work among the young people,
and all that we do in your name, Lord,
to share the gospel.
May it be that you hear us
and receive us in all of these things
and show us your hand,
your hand of power,
working mightily in our midst.
So continue with us now, Lord,
help us as we sing your praise
and hear your word,
do all with all of our hearts,
to lift our voices to you
as our Lord,
as our King,
as our Saviour,
as our Redeemer,
the one to whom we look even at this time
for forgiveness for all our sins,
as we come anew,
confessing our thoughts,
words,
and actions that are so often against you,
Lord.
We pray your pardon towards us.
Hear our prayers,
Lord,
continue with us,
and we ask all in the precious name
of our Redeemer,
the Lord Jesus Christ,
for his sake and glory.
Amen.
We'll again sing to God's praise,
this time in Psalm 106,
in the Scottish Psalter,
page 378.
Psalm 106,
we'll sing from verse 1 to verse 6.
Give praise and thanks unto the Lord,
for bountiful is he,
his tender mercy doth endure,
and to eternity.
God's mighty works,
who can express,
or show forth all his praise.
Blessed are they,
that judgment keep,
and justly do always.
We'll sing from verse 1 to 6,
to God's praise.
Give praise and thanks unto the Lord,
for bountiful is he,
His tender mercy doth endure,
and to eternity.
God's mighty works,
who can express,
or show forth all his praise.
Blessed are they,
that judgment keep,
and justly do always.
Remember me, Lord,
with that love,
which thou to thy dust bear.
with thy salvation,
O my God,
to visit me draw near,
that I thy chosen's good may see,
and in their joy rejoice,
and may with thine inheritance
triumph with cheerful voice.
We with our Father sinned,
have and of iniquity.
Too long we have the workers been,
we have done wickedly.
We can turn to read together now
in the Old Testament.
We're turning back to the book of Nehemiah.
This evening we're going to be in chapter 9,
as we continue our study in this book.
It's Nehemiah chapter 9.
You notice it's quite a long chapter,
and really what it is,
is a prayer that the people are offering up,
and that's what we're going to be looking at this evening.
We're not going to read through it all.
We'll read from verse 1 down to verse 17,
and then we'll jump forward to verse 30,
and read down to the end of the chapter.
So Nehemiah chapter 9,
the beginning of the chapter.
Now on the 24th day of this month,
the people of Israel were assembled,
with fasting and in sackcloth,
and with earth on their heads.
And the Israelites separated themselves
from all foreigners,
and stood and confessed their sins,
and the iniquities of their fathers.
And they stood up in their place,
and read from the book of the law of the Lord,
their God,
for a quarter of the day.
For another quarter of it,
they made confession and worshipped their God.
On the stairs of the Levites stood
to Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel,
Shebaniah, Bani,
Sherebiah, Bani, and Cheniah.
And they cried with a loud voice
to the Lord, their God.
Then the Levites,
Jeshua, Kadmiel,
Bani,
Ahashebaniah,
Sherebiah,
Hodiah,
Shebaniah,
and Pethathaniah,
said,
Stand up and bless the Lord your God
from everlasting to everlasting.
Blessed be your glorious name,
which is exalted above all blessing and praise.
You are the Lord,
you alone.
You have made heaven,
the heaven of heavens,
with all their host,
the earth and all that is on it,
the seas and all that is in them.
And you preserve all of them.
And the host of heaven worships you.
You are the Lord,
the God who chose Abraham
and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans
and gave him the name Abraham.
You found his heart faithful before you
and made with him the covenant
to give to his offspring
the land of the Canaanite,
the Hittite,
the Amorite,
the Perisite,
the Jebusite,
and the Girgashite.
And you have kept your promise,
for you are righteous.
And you saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt
and heard their cry at the Red Sea
and performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh
and all his servants and all the people of his land,
for you knew that they acted arrogantly against our fathers.
And you made a name for yourself,
as it is to this day.
And you divided the sea before them,
so that they went through the midst of the sea on dry land.
And you cast their pursuers into the depths
as a stone into mighty waters.
By a pillar of cloud you led them in the day
and by a pillar of fire in the night
to light for them the way in which they should go.
You came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven
and gave them right rules and true laws,
good statutes and commandments.
And you made known to them your holy Sabbath
and commanded them commandments and statutes
and a law by Moses your servant.
You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger
and brought water for them out of the rock for their thirst.
And you told them to go in to possess the land
that you had sworn to give them.
But they and our fathers acted presumptuously
and stiffened their neck
and did not obey your commandments.
They refused to obey
and were not mindful of the wonders
that you performed among them,
but they stiffened their neck
and appointed a leader to return
to their slavery in Egypt.
But you are a God ready to forgive,
gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love
and did not forsake them.
And the next number of verses there carry on
going through the various times
of the children of Israel
as they made their way through
to the promised land.
It speaks of their rebellion
and their disobedience along the way.
But what we see time and again
is the wonder of the grace of God.
And we take up our reading at verse 30.
For many years you bore with them
and warned them by your spirit
through your prophets,
yet they would not give ear.
Therefore you gave them into the hand
of the peoples of the lands.
Nevertheless, in your great mercies,
you did not make an end of them
or forsake them,
for you are a gracious and merciful God.
Now, therefore, our God,
the great, the mighty, and the awesome God,
who keeps covenant and steadfast love,
let not all the hardship seem little to you
that has come upon us,
upon our kings, our princes,
our priests, our prophets,
our fathers, and all your people,
since the time of the kings of Assyria
until this day.
Yet you have been righteous
in all that has come upon us,
for you have dealt faithfully,
and we have acted wickedly.
Our kings, our princes,
our priests, and our fathers
have not kept your law
or paid attention
to your commandments
and your warnings that you gave them,
even in their own kingdom,
enjoying your great goodness
that you gave them,
and in the large and rich land
that you set before them.
They did not serve you
or turn from their wicked works.
Behold, we are slaves this day
in the land that you gave to our fathers
to enjoy its fruit
and its good gifts.
Behold, we are slaves,
and its rich yield goes to the kings
whom you have set over us
because of our sins.
They rule over our bodies
and over our livestock
as they please,
and we are in great distress.
Because of all this,
we make a firm covenant in writing.
On the sealed document
are the names of our princes,
our Levites,
and our priests,
and so on.
And may God bless that reading
from his word.
Before we turn back to this passage,
we're going to sing again
to God's praise in Psalm 103,
and we'll sing Psalm's version,
Psalm 103,
and we'll sing from verse 1
down to verse 11.
Praise God, my soul,
with all my heart.
Let me exalt his holy name.
Forget not all his benefits,
as praise my soul
in song proclaim.
The Lord forgives you all your sins
and heals your sickness
and distress.
Your life,
he rescues from the grave
and crowns you in his tenderness.
We'll sing from verse 1 to 11,
Psalm 103,
to God's praise.
Praise God, my soul,
with all my heart.
Let me exalt his holy name.
Forget not all his benefits,
his praise my soul
in song proclaim.
The Lord forgives you
all your sins
and heals your sickness
and distress.
Your life,
he rescues from the grave.
and crowns you
in his tenderness.
And crowns you
in his tenderness.
He satisfies your deep desires
from his unending storage of good,
so that just like the eagle's strength,
your youthful vigor is renewed.
The Lord is known for righteous acts,
and justice to them,
broadened ones.
To Moses he made known his ways,
His mighty deeds to Israel's sons.
The Lord is merciful and kind,
to anger slow and full of grace.
He will not constantly reprove,
or in his anger and his face.
He does not punish her misdeeds,
or give her sins their just reward.
How great is love as high as him
towards all those who fear the Lord.
Towards all those who fear the Lord.
We can turn back to our reading
in Nehemiah chapter 9.
I'm just going to pick out a few verses
throughout the chapter
just to show us where we're going this evening.
Verse 6, first of all,
where the people are praising God,
and they say there,
you are the Lord,
you alone.
You have made heaven,
the heaven of heavens,
with all their host,
the earth and all that is on it,
and so on.
You are the Lord,
you alone.
Then in verse 17,
we see how the people refused to obey.
It says they refused to obey
and were not mindful of the wonders
that you performed among them,
but they stiffened their neck
and appointed a leader
to return to their slavery in Egypt.
But you are a God,
ready to forgive,
gracious and merciful,
slow to anger,
and abounding in steadfast love.
People disobeyed,
and yet God is still gracious
and slow to anger.
Verse 26,
there it says,
nevertheless,
they were disobedient
and rebelled against you,
and cast your law behind their back,
and killed your prophets
who had warned them
in order to turn them back to you.
So again,
we see the rebellion of the people,
putting the law,
turning away from the law of God.
And then we go down to verse 30.
For many years you bore with them
and warned them
by your spirit through your prophets,
yet they would not give ear.
Therefore you gave them
into the hand of the peoples
of the lands.
Nevertheless,
in your great mercies,
you did not make an end of them
or forsake them,
for you are a gracious
and merciful God.
I'm sure it surprises you
as it surprises me so often
just how patient
God is with us all,
how long-suffering he is
despite all that we do
amiss towards him,
despite the way we so often
treat him
and are cold towards him.
The Lord's mercies
are still there for us.
And that's a powerful reminder
that we have throughout
this chapter
that we're studying together
this evening
as Nehemiah and Ezra
and the people
are gathered together.
Here they are gathered
around the word of God
once again
and they're hearing
over a long period of time
just how faithful
God has been
and even in the midst
of their disobedience,
how often he has shown
mercy and graciousness
towards them.
Nehemiah came to Jerusalem
as a leader for the people
but where was he leading them to?
Or to what end
was he leading them?
As we've gone through
this wonderful book
we've seen how he came
and found a city
that was in disarray
in so many ways.
The walls were in ruin,
the people were in distress,
they were in trouble.
There wasn't much hope for them
and so he came
to rebuild the walls
and we've seen
how that was done
and how that was completed
but that was not the end
because from the moment
that Nehemiah
had this great burden
from God
for the people of Jerusalem
the burden was not just
for rebuilding the walls.
That was just a part.
The burden was for the people.
And that was a burden
that was not going to end
with a city that was rebuilt.
That burden for the people
was not going to come to an end
until the people were walking
in the right way with God
because that was his ultimate aim
to relieve the trouble,
the distress that they were in.
And the greatest distress,
the greatest trouble they were in
was their relationship with God.
The relationship that had broken down,
the relationship that had led to them
being taken into captivity
in the first place,
the reason why the walls
were in disarray,
the reason why the people felt hopeless,
the relationship with God
had broken down.
And so his ultimate aim
was to restore Jerusalem
and God's people
as a people of worship,
worshiping a holy God
and having his joy
in their hearts.
And as we looked at the last time
in this book,
chapter 8 was a high point.
Chapter 8 was a point
where we see
the people gathered together.
The wall had been completed.
They were gathered around
the word of God
and it brought tears
to their eyes.
They were weeping,
weeping with sorrow
over all that it meant,
all that they had done
against God.
But they were told
that this was not a time
to mourn and to weep.
This was a time to rejoice,
to rejoice in the joy of the Lord
as their strength.
The joy of the Lord
was their strength.
And what a wonderful blessing
it was for them
to know the Lord
had not turned
his back on them
and that they could rejoice
in this.
And they did rejoice.
They enjoyed a feast.
They enjoyed a time
of feasting that went on
for a number of weeks.
In chapter 8,
as it continues,
you find the feast of booths
celebrated there.
A feast that went on
probably for around
three weeks.
And now as you come
into chapter 9,
that feast has ended.
And just a few days later,
they're gathering again together
around the Word of God.
So they had this high point
in chapter 8.
They had this moment of joy
and rejoicing in the Lord
as the joy of the Lord
is their strength.
But then as you come
into chapter 9,
you find it's quite
a different environment.
Again,
the people of Israel,
they're coming
to confess
their sin.
There's a sense
of mourning
once again.
And it's a great reminder
to us
that this is the way
our lives
so often are.
There are
high points,
high experiences
in our lives
and in the Christian life
especially.
There are high points
in our life,
but the majority
of our lives
just the ordinary.
The day-to-day routine.
The day-to-day walking
with God.
And if we just look back
a week,
last weekend,
it often is a high point.
A time of communion
in the congregation.
It's a time of blessing,
a time of fellowship,
a time of being gathered
around God's Word,
a time of feasting together
around God's Word
and in fellowship together,
but we must
come away from it.
We have to come away.
We have to come back
into the ordinary way of life.
So how has the last week
been for you?
How has the last week gone?
We pray we all enjoyed
a high over the weekend,
but how's the ordinary Monday
to Saturday gone since?
How are we going forward?
Well, that's what's of interest
to Nehemiah here as well.
The high point of chapter 8
and the feasting
and rejoicing that there is there.
But now to go forward
in the ordinary.
The day-to-day life.
And how are they going to do that?
How are they going to go forward?
And how do you and I
keep going forward as well?
Well, as we go through chapter 9,
we find that the people
are learning together
what it means to go forward.
How they can learn
from their own experience
and the experiences we see
from generations past as well.
How are they going to go forward?
Well, they're going to learn
lessons from the past.
They're going to look,
as they're praying here
in chapter 9,
they're looking to their fathers,
to the people
in the past generations.
How they've ended up
in a situation of trouble.
What was the cause?
How did they stumble
when God had been
so good to them?
And what can they learn
going forward as well?
Well, they landed in trouble
because they rejected God.
That's what we see
in verse 26.
The generations in the past
says in verse 26,
They were disobedient
and rebelled against you
and cast your law
behind their back.
They killed the prophets,
the ones God had sent
to teach them
in order to bring them back
to him.
So the word of God
that they had rejoiced in
had been taken
and cast away.
It was put behind their back.
They didn't do the word
that they'd heard.
As we were hearing this morning,
they'd heard the word of God,
but they didn't keep applying
the word of God
to their lives.
And yet the wonder of it all
is that again and again,
we're reminded in this passage,
almost a summary of the Old Testament
in many ways,
a summary of how the people
were blessed
and then were disobedient,
but a God who is merciful.
In verse 17,
you have these wonderful words,
But you are a God
ready to forgive,
gracious and merciful,
slow to anger,
and abounding in steadfast love,
and did not forsake them.
Even though they
forsook the word of God
and put it behind them,
God did not forsake them.
And so the people
here now in Nehemiah's day,
they're seeking
to learn their lessons.
They're wanting a renewal
with God,
and that's what's
at the end of the chapter,
in verse 38.
Because of all this,
we make a firm covenant
in writing.
We're wanting this relationship
with God renewed.
Renewed because again,
they know the mercy
of God,
of verse 31.
You did not make
an end of them
or forsake them,
for you are a gracious
and merciful God.
And so for us,
as we seek to go forward,
how can we learn ourselves
from this prayer this evening?
How did the people learn
then,
and how can we learn
ourselves?
Well, there's three things
I want us to take
from this chapter.
First, we see
the Lord of all.
Our eyes have to be fixed
on the Lord
at all times.
And whatever situation,
whatever part of this chapter
you're looking at,
it is all about you,
oh Lord.
You,
oh Lord.
And that's what's got to be
at the heart
of our lives.
But we also see
how the people learn
from past sins.
And the people learn
in their present need.
So we have the Lord of all,
the people's past sins,
and the people's present need.
We have they,
we,
and you,
oh Lord.
And so that's how we
are to go forward
ourselves as well.
First of all,
thinking of
the Lord of all.
The joy of the Lord
is your strength,
they heard in chapter 8.
And what we find
is this flowing
into chapter 9
as well.
Because the joy
of the Lord
is not just
for a moment.
The joy of the Lord
is not just something
for that high point
of chapter 8.
The joy of the Lord
is what is going
to keep them going
in the ordinary
day-to-day life
as well.
And so it flows
into chapter 8
as well.
the days of feasting
that they have enjoyed
together.
They've come to an end,
but they still know
how much they need
the Lord.
And so they find
themselves gathered
around the word
of God.
In verse 1,
on the 24th day
of this month,
the people of Israel
were assembled
with fasting
and in sackcloth
and with earth
on their heads.
So there was a sense
of coming
in repentance
here.
Mourning
over their sin.
Fasting
they're in sackcloth
and with earth
on their heads.
They've separated
themselves
from all the foreigners.
They stood
and they confessed
their sins.
This is still
a time
to rejoice
in the joy
of the Lord
as their strength.
Because it is
the joy of the Lord
as their strength
that helps us
to see our sin
and to repent
from them.
And that is
how they are
going forward.
That's how the people
in the past
failed to go forward.
And that's what
they're seeking
to learn from.
It is the Lord
who is able
to keep them going.
That they need
to see
their dependence
is on
the Lord.
A man called
Leonard Ravenhill
once wrote this.
He said,
the devil
has two major
tricks
with his people.
One is,
you're so good
you don't need
to be saved.
That's one of his tricks.
You're so good
you don't need
to be saved.
The other is,
you're so bad
you can't
be saved.
That's the two tricks
the devil uses.
Leonard Ravenhill
said,
you're so good
you don't need
to be saved
or you're so bad
you can't
be saved.
But what he said
was this,
he's a liar
on both counts.
Because that's not
the way
to go forward.
We can't go forward
thinking we're so good
we don't need
to be saved.
We don't need
the Lord.
We do.
But we can't
go forward
thinking we're so bad
the Lord won't
want us.
The Lord can't
save us.
That's not
true either.
To go forward
we need
the Lord.
That's what
Psalm 84
makes so
clear for us
when it speaks
in that Psalm
in verse 6
about passing
through Baker's
veil
therein do
dig up wells
also the rain
that falleth
down the pools
with water
fills
the Lord
with his people
and so at verse 7
goes on
so they from
strength
unwearied
go still
forward
unto strength
until in Zion
they appear
before the Lord
at length.
So they have
this strength
that can only
come from
the Lord
and that's
the way
for us
to go forward
as well.
And that's
what this prayer
in chapter 9
is all
about.
And from
verse 6
onwards
it's really
the people
crying out
to God
in prayer.
Prayer as a
result of
having heard
the word
for three
hours
and then
having
confession
and worship
for three
hours as well.
You see that
in verse 3
where the
book of the
law of the
Lord
was read
for a
quarter of
the day
and for
another
quarter of
the day
confession
and worship
was made
and then
they went
into prayer.
Can you
imagine that
for ourselves
tonight?
We've started
half past
six.
We're going
to read
God's word
till half
past nine.
Then from
half past
nine to
half past
midnight
we're going
to make
confession
and worship
God
and then
we'll start
to pray.
Who would
be with me
in that?
Who would
stay
six hours
before we
come to
the point
of actually
coming to
pray to
God?
But that's
where the
people were
at.
That's what
they realized
they needed.
They needed
the Lord
and it's a
challenge to
us.
How much
are we
depending
on the
Lord?
How much
are we
coming
before God
with that
sense of
confession
and dependence
on him?
They've
heard the
word of
God.
They've
worshipped
and made
confession
and they
come to
him in
prayer.
And you
wonder,
well,
what did
they hear
in the
word of
God that
brought
them to
this
point?
Well,
as you
see in
the
prayer,
it opens
up what
we would
see as
Genesis
through to
Deuteronomy.
It's going
right back
to the
beginning,
to all
that the
Lord has
done for
his people.
In verse
7,
you have,
you are
the Lord
who chose.
In verse
9,
you saw
the affliction
of the
people as
they were
in Egypt.
In verse
11,
as he was
leading them
out,
you divided
the sea.
In verse
13,
we have
the law
given,
you came
down at
Mount
Sinai.
So there's
here a
focus on
the Lord
who has
done all
this.
A
dependence
on him.
But when
you go
back to
verse 6,
you find
there the
key that
holds it
all together.
Verse 6,
you are
the Lord,
you alone,
you have
made heaven,
the heavens
of heaven,
with all
their host,
the earth
and all
that is on
it,
and the
seas and
all that
is in
them.
You are
the Lord.
And here
is the
key to
our
understanding
of who
he is.
He has
made the
heavens and
the earth
and all
that is
in them.
This is
the God
of creation.
This is
the God
of Genesis
chapter 1.
In the
beginning,
God
made all
things.
And this
is the
key to
our
relationship
with God.
To see
him not
as a
small
God,
as a
God
who is
there
for
some
things,
but a
God
who is
there
for all
things.
As
Hebrews
11,
verse 3
puts it,
by faith
we understand
that the
universe was
created by
the word
of God,
so that
what is
seen was
not made
out of
things that
are visible.
By faith
we understand.
By faith
we go
forward.
And this
is what
their
relationship
is all
about.
They are
depending
on God.
Is this
the God
that you
believe in?
Is this
the God
that you
see you
need in
your life?
The God
who holds
the heaven
and the
earth,
the whole
universe
together?
There's a
story told
about Isaac
Newton
and he'd
made a
replica
of the
solar system
in miniature.
In the
centre was
the sun
and all
around it
was all
the planets
and how
they were
revolving
around the
sun.
This was
in a
study and
another
scientist
came into
his study
and saw
this model
and marveled
at it
and said
who made
this?
And Isaac
Newton
replied
saying
nobody.
And the
other scientist
said you
must think
I'm a
fool.
Of course
somebody
made it.
Now tell
me who
made it?
It must
be a
genius to
make this
model and
how it
works
together.
Isaac
Newton
got up
of his
chair and
went over
to his
friend the
other
scientist
and said
this is
just a
tiny
imitation
of a
much
grander
solar
system
whose
laws
and logic
you and
I know
all about
and I
cannot
convince
you
that this
mere
model
has no
designer
or maker
and yet
you profess
that the
original
from which
this model
is taken
has no
creator
or designer
or maker.
The model
that was
so tiny
must have
a maker.
but the
real
thing
the
heaven
the
earth
the
moon
the
stars
and all
of these
things
there's
no
maker.
He's
saying
where's
the logic
in that?
But that's
what we see
as we look
to the
word of
God.
You are
the Lord
you alone
you have
made heaven
the heaven
of heavens
and all
of its
host
everything
is made
by God
and this
is the
God
that the
people
are looking
to
and depending
on
to go
forward.
The question
is that
our God
as we
seek
to go
forward
ourselves.
So there
is God
over all.
You
oh Lord
have done
so much
for us.
But then
the focus
secondly
here is
the
people's
past
sin.
When we
think of
moving
forward
we always
have to
learn
from the
past
whether
that's
good
or bad.
Nehemiah
as a
book
as a
whole
is all
about
renewal.
The
renewal
of the
wall.
The
renewal
of their
lives
and as
we will
see
God
willing
later
the
renewal
of their
relationship
their
covenant
relationship
with
God.
But
renewal
always
entails
as it
is
with
God's
people
repentance.
We
cannot
go
forward
without
repentance.
We
cannot
keep
going
without
repentance.
And
this
means
a
realization
where
things
have
gone
wrong.
And
that
is
what
God's
word
does
for
us.
as
you
go
through
this
prayer,
as
you
go
through
these
verses,
the
people
are
confronted
with
two
specific
things.
They
are
confronted
with
who
God
is.
What
we
have
just
looked
at,
you
O
Lord,
are
the
one
who
has
made
all
things.
But
the
second
thing
that
they
are
confronted
with
is
who
they
are.
And
who
they
are
in
the
midst
of
all
of
this.
And
if
we
read
verse
30
and
31,
for
many
years
you
bore
with
them
and
warned
them
by
your
spirit
through
your
prophets,
yet
they
would
not
give
ear,
therefore
you
gave
them
into
the
hand
of
the
peoples
of
the
lands.
Nevertheless,
in
your
great
mercies
you
did
not
make
an
end
of
them
or
forsake
them,
for
a
gracious
and
merciful
God.
It's
the
story
of
the
Old
Testament.
So
often
again
and
again
you
find
it
the
God
who
is
pursuing
his
people,
the
God
who
is
showing
grace
to
his
people,
a
people
who
so
often
aren't
looking
for it,
a
people
who
so
often
don't
deserve
it,
a
people
so
often
resisting
this
grace.
And
who
don't
appreciate
what
they
have.
And
yet
God
is
merciful
and
gracious
and
kind.
You
find the
word
they
is
mentioned
so
often
in the
prayer.
As
they are
praying,
they
turned
their
back,
they
disobeyed.
This
kind of
looking
to the
past,
it's
remembering
the
journey
of
their
ancestors,
what
the
Lord
brought
them
through.
Now
for us
as we
would
come
to
this,
we
might
think,
well,
it's
a
way
of
blame.
They
went
wrong,
not us,
they
went
wrong.
And
when we
think of
the things
we've
done
ourselves,
is that
the
approach
that we
have?
Blame
someone
else.
Somebody
else's
fault.
We
look for
someone
to
blame.
It's
often
a
natural
reaction.
You
can
think
of
many
different
things
you
could
blame
in
your
own
life.
We
blame
a
generation
that we
live in
that's
turning
away
from
God.
We
can
blame
the
government
who
are
passing
rules
that
go
against
the
laws
of
God.
We
can
blame
an
upbringing
perhaps.
We
can
blame
a
person.
They
they
it's
their
fault.
But
that's
not
what
they're
doing
here.
They're
not
looking
to
the
past
here
and
blaming
somebody
else.
They
are
looking
at
they
as
what
they
are
too.
They
got it
wrong
and
we
are
suffering
too
because
we
get it
wrong.
Someone
spoke
of our
generation
as being
persuaded
by the
weightlessness
of God.
Weightlessness.
I.e.
there's
nothing
to him.
God
cannot
help.
What the
people here
were saying
was just
how weighty
God is.
How
great
God
is.
How
he is
the
God,
the
only
God
who
can
help.
Alistair
Begg
recently
put sin
like this.
He said
our
sins
are
simply
the
outward
manifestation
of
our
personal
decision
to
suppress
the
truth
about
God
and
thereby
pursue
whatever
it is
that we
have
decided
to put
in the
place
of
God.
That's
what the
people are
experiencing
here.
They may
be saying
they
got
wrong
in the
past
but
they're
also
saying
it's
our
sins.
Our
sins,
our
personal
decisions
have
landed
us
in
this
too.
In
verse
26
where it
speaks
about
they
put
the
law
behind
their
back.
It's
exactly
the
same
as
what
they
were
doing
as
well.
But
they
are
beginning
to
realize
that
the
God
who
was
able
to
help
in
the
past
is
the
God
who
is
able
to
help
now
if
they
will
confess
their
sins
and
turn
from
them.
And
that
is
for
us
too.
The
God
who
has
helped
his
people
in
the
past
is
the
same
God
today.
The
same
God
who
is
gracious
and
merciful,
who
is
able
to
pardon
all
our
sins.
But we
must
confess
our
sins.
The
things
that we
have
done
that we
shouldn't.
But even
the things
that we
haven't
done
that we
should,
we need
to confess
them
all.
There's a
book called
Why Prayers
Are
Unanswered.
And in
this book
there's a
story told
about a
boy who
found
a big
cigar
in his
father's
house.
I'm
sure
maybe
many of
us have
been in
this
situation
ourselves
in the
past.
He
took
the
cigar,
slipped
outside
down an
alley,
and decided
to light
it up.
It
didn't
taste
good,
but it
made him
feel like
a man.
It
made him
feel
grown up,
and so
he carried
on puffing
away on
it until
he saw
his father
coming.
And then
it was
panic
stations.
And he
quickly hid
the cigar
behind his
back.
And his
father was
coming towards
him, and
he was just
trying to
act casual.
But he
thought, I've
got to divert
my father's
attention away
from what's
happening here
to something
else.
And across
the street
there was a
billboard
advertising a
circus.
And so he
said quickly
to his
father,
Can I go,
Dad?
Can I go
to the
circus?
When it
comes to
town,
we should
both go.
Well, he
learned a
lesson that
day by
his father's
reply.
He said,
Son,
never make
a request
at the
same time
you're trying
to hide
a smoldering
disobedience.
The father
knew what
was going
on.
He couldn't
hide it
from his
father.
But his
father knew
too the
request that
he wanted.
But he
had to
deal with
the
disobedience
first.
And that's
the way
our father
in heaven
is too.
We cannot
come to
him hiding
sin behind
our back.
We cannot
keep on
sinning and
make a
request to
God.
We need
to confess
our sin,
to bring
them to
God in
order to
move
forward.
The people
here were
confessing
their sins,
learning from
the past
sins of
the people
and coming
to the
God who
was able
to help.
So the
final thing
we want to
take from
this chapter
is the
people's
present
need.
And it's
our need
too.
You see
the story
of the
people of
God in
the past
that so
much is
said of
in Nehemiah
chapter 9
speaking of
beginning of
creation,
Abraham and
the covenant,
children of
Israel and
the exodus
going into
the promised
land,
to the
people
present
in
Nehemiah's
day.
It's the
same need
as for
our day.
It's our
need too
because we
are all
part of
this
ongoing
story.
The
ongoing
story of
God's
people who
reject God
one minute
but then
cry for
help the
next.
Throughout
this prayer
and throughout
the scriptures
you find
it's this
back and
forth.
Faithfulness
to God
one minute
putting
his law
behind her
back the
next.
what we
need to
see is
who God
is.
You have
made
heaven
and earth.
You have
kept
your promise.
You are
the God
who is
ready to
forgive,
to hear
these words
that would
bring us
out of
hiding
and bring
us to
him.
Because
this language
is familiar
to us
all.
Because we
are all
a people
of
rebellion.
We can
all say
God
you have
been
faithful.
I have
been
unfaithful.
You have
been loving.
I have
been lukewarm
towards you.
You have
been committed
to me
and I have
been fickle
towards you.
That's the
story of
our life.
It's a
language that
is probably
familiar with
every one
of us.
Myself
too.
How God
is good
and yet
we don't
listen.
We don't
deserve
his mercy.
And it
all becomes
very
personal.
And that's
because that
is exactly
what the
gospel is.
It is
personal.
it is
between you
and God.
It is
between me
and God.
Have you
and have
I
have we
been a
people that
have put
the law
of God
behind our
back?
Have you
have I
been a
people
who have
sought to
try and
hide our
sins
behind our
back?
Have you
have I
been a
people who
have thought
God is
just weightless?
God is
not powerful.
God
cannot deal
with my
sin.
What do we
think of
when we
think of
rebuilding
and renewal?
What do
we need?
this is
pointing us
towards
what we
all need
a
redeemer
a
savior
one who
can take
us out
of this
situation
and into
a place
where we
know
salvation
with him.
We need
Jesus.
we need
him as
lord and
redeemer.
We need
him as
the one
who is
able to
renew our
lives,
to make
the difference
in our
lives,
to know
his
great
salvation.
That is
what the
people needed.
That is
why they
come to
the point
in verse
38,
well,
the end
of verse
37,
we are
in great
distress.
That is
where they
are brought
to.
That's
where we
should be
brought to
as well.
We are
in great
distress.
Because of
all this,
we make
a firm
covenant
in writing.
They return
to God,
to the
God who
is merciful,
the God
who is
gracious,
and we
can come
to God
too.
we can
come to
him who
came to
give us
life,
the one
who is
the answer
to all
our
troubles.
Somebody
once put
Jesus'
life like
this,
and how
he is
able to
help us
in all
our
different
needs.
It says,
he began
his ministry
by being
hungry,
thirsty,
yet he
is the
bread
of life.
Jesus
ended
his earthly
ministry
by being
thirsty,
yet he
is the
living
water.
Jesus
was weary,
yet he
is
a rest.
Jesus
wept,
yet he
wipes
away
our
tears.
sinners.
Jesus
was sold
for 30
pieces of
silver,
yet he
redeemed
the world.
Jesus
was brought
as a
lamb to
the slaughter,
yet he
is the
good shepherd.
Jesus
died,
yet
by his
death,
he destroyed
the power
of death
and gives
us
life.
We have
sin
past,
we have
sin
present,
we have
a great
need,
but we
have a
great
God,
for you
are a
gracious
and a
merciful
God,
and that's
the God
who we
want to
go forward
with,
to be
renewed
with.
Nehemiah
wasn't just
about walls,
it was
about people
and their
relationship
with God,
that they
would have
a fresh
start with
their faithful
God.
Is that
our longing
tonight?
Is that
our longing
day by
day,
a fresh
start,
to begin
again,
because we
all need
renewal,
on a
daily basis,
and it's
available to
us,
through
this
God.
So let's
end today,
as we
began this
morning.
Let's not
just be
hearers of
the word,
but let us
be doers.
Let us
hear what
God is
saying to
us,
to come,
to confess
our sin,
to plead
with him
who is
alone,
God,
who made
the
heaven and
the earth
and all
that is
in him,
who sees
our sin,
and yet
who is a
God who
is gracious
and merciful.
And may
we be
renewed
in him.
Let us
pray.
our
Father in
heaven,
we rejoice
in the
gospel for
it is a
story for
us all
to hear.
It's a
very personal
story that
speaks to
each one
of us.
It's not
just about
us collectively,
but individually,
for you know
us all by
name.
We cannot
stand before
you hiding
anything behind
our backs,
for you already
see it and
know it.
but help us
to come
confessing our
sin and
ready to
come to
you in
order to
receive the
blessing that
it brings,
to know you
as a
gracious and
merciful God.
So hear our
prayers and
continue with
us as we
ask all of
these things
in Jesus'
name.
Amen.
We're going
to conclude
by singing
to God's
praise in
Psalm 104.
Psalm 104,
we sing from
verse 31 to
36 in the
Singed Psalms
version,
page 138.
May the
Lord's
majestic
glory always
last and
never fade.
May the
Lord rejoice
and triumph
in the works
that he has
made.
When he
gazes on
creation,
earth begins
to shake
in fear.
At his
touch,
the mountains
tremble,
smoke and
flames of
fire appear.
We'll sing
these last
four stanzas
to God's
praise.
Amen.
May the
Lord's
majestic
glory
always
last
and
never
fade.
May the
Lord
rejoice
joy
and
triumph
in the
works
that he
has
made.
When
he
gives
his own
creation,
earth
begins
to shake
in fear.
At his
touch,
the mountains
tremble,
smoke and
flames of
fire
appear.
To the
Lord
throughout
my
lifetime,
to my
God,
I will
sing
praise.
May
my
meditation
please
him,
as to
him
my
song
I
raise.
But
may
sinners
flee
before
him,
and
the
wicked
be
no
more.
Praise
be to
the
Lord
Almighty,
O
my
soul
the
Lord
adore.
After the
benediction,
I'll go to
the door to
my left.
We'll close
with a
benediction.
Now may
grace,
mercy,
and peace
from God,
Father,
Son,
and Holy
Spirit rest
upon and
abide with
you all now
and forever
more.
Amen.