We extend a very warm welcome to you all this morning and those of you who are joining us
online as well, welcome to you as well. There are a number of things on the information sheet today
that I want to mention. I'm not going to go through them all by any means, there's quite a
number of them. There is tea served after the service this morning and that'll be in the hall
and everybody's welcome to that, visitors included. If you're a visitor we welcome you and you're
welcome to stay for tea, coffee with us as well after the service. The service this evening will
be conducted by Mr Scott McLeod. Deacons Court is due to meet tomorrow evening, that'll be in the
upper hall in person and that's at 7pm and then on Wednesday after a time of worship we'll have the
annual meeting of the congregation and for the annual meeting the statement including the
trustees report and financial statement for last year 2021 that will be presented. There is a
copy of the statement available today if you want to take one with you in advance. These are available
here and also in the seminary. Now at the close of the annual meeting a presentation will be made to
Mr Mortimer McPhail who you remember resigned as treasurer, retired I suppose would be a good word,
after more than 19 years of dedicated service. So it'd be great to have a good attendance for the
annual meeting but also for that particular presentation as well. And then after that the
Kirk Session will meet immediately after that in the upper hall and will be pleased to meet with anyone
who wishes to profess their faith and take communion for the first time. And as you know the communion is due
next Lord's Day morning at 11am, that'll be here in the church and as was intimated over the last few
weeks the procedure will be the same as we had at the last most recent communion. So we'll just go by the
same way of carrying out the communion for this time and then for the future we'll assess just how to go ahead.
This is just still part of the recovery from the times of COVID restrictions and spacing and so on
which we're no longer required to keep but there will be a space in between each pew that's used for
the communion table. And ahead of the communion there'll be services on Saturday evening, a service on
Saturday evening and a communion early morning prayer meeting and you can see these intimated there
on the 4th and 5th on Saturday and Sunday. And please get in touch with Alistair MacLeod if you
are going to join any of these by Zoom. The LDOS annual rally takes place this coming Friday at 7.30,
that'll be in the town hall and it'll also include the launching of a new book produced by the branch
called Remember the Sabbath Day. And finally there's a book available today called Our Faithful Queen
and it's a very well produced and colorful book. It's a very very nice book. It's intended for giving
out to people and we're suggesting that if you can take a copy you can please just give it out to those
that you may know in the neighborhood or your friends that aren't able to come to church
or are able to come to church but don't. In any case use your own initiative but it is for handing
out so there's no charge for it. So it's available today for that purpose. It's a book of prayers that
the Queen over the years has used. She was given a book of readings and prayers in advance of her
coronation all these years ago and she has used that and made statements of her own faith which are
included in the book as well. So it's a very useful book to actually give out especially to any that
you know would benefit from it. Well these are the only intimations I need to mention. Let's worship
God now. We're singing firstly today from Psalm 30. Psalm number 30 and that's in the Scottish Psalter
page 239 the tune is St. Minver verses 1 to 5. And we're reverting back to four singings which we used to
have for our services in any case. So again today we're back to having four singings, four items of praise.
Lord I will thee extol for thou hast lifted me on high and over me thou to rejoice made'st not mine enemy.
O thou who art the Lord my God I in distress to thee with loud cries lifted up my voice
thou hast healed me. And so on down to verse 5 we'll stand to sing. Lord I will thee extol.
Lord I will thee extol for thou hast lifted me on high and over me thou to rejoice made'st not mine enemy.
O thou who art the Lord my God I in distress to thee with loud cries lifted up my voice and love hast healed me.
O Lord my soul that hast healed me. O Lord my soul that hast sought out and rescued from the grave.
O Jesus that hastened me inessional tales to thee with luke myself than my rage of our deliverance Would he have gått and completed up with time before his gehad each other?
God to die,
have life
against me
save.
O ye that
at this
holy
one, sing
grace unto
the Lord,
and give
unto
them
that
praying
his
holiness
record.
For
God
of whom
and thus
his wrath
life
in this
favor lies.
We
being made
whole
at night
and
truth
and
born
the joy
in our
eyes.
Amen.
We're now
going to call
upon the
Lord in
prayer.
Let's
join
together
in
prayer.
O Lord,
our
gracious
God,
we thank
you for
the many
assurances
that we
have given
as we
come
together
to worship
you.
We give
thanks
especially
for the
assurance
that you
make us
welcome
in your
presence
through the
provision you
have made
for us
in the
Lord Jesus
Christ.
We come
together
today, O
Lord,
and come
to approach
you,
conscious
that he
is the
way,
the truth,
and the
life,
conscious
that he
is that
new and
living way
which you
have opened
up into
your presence,
that we
might be
able to
approach
you and
find
acceptance
and a
place in
your
presence
and your
approval.
We thank
you, O
Lord,
for all
that that
contains
for us
today and
for the
ground that
it gives
us to be
assured of
God's
own welcome.
We pray
for faith, O
Lord, to
come before
you, believing
that you are
God, that you
are a rewarder
of those who
diligently seek
you.
We thank you
today for the
faith that you
create in the
hearts of your
people, for the
way in which by
your Holy Spirit
you give us to
believe in you, to
trust in you, to
entrust ourselves
to you.
We thank you,
Lord, that that
faith brings so
much into our
possession, and yet
we do not
trust in our
faith itself, but
in the one who
is foundational
to it, the
God and Father
of our Lord
Jesus Christ, and
Christ himself as
our Savior.
We bless you,
Lord, today that
we find ourselves
addressing you in
his name, confident
that you have
provided all that
we need in him
through his work
on earth, through
his continuing
intercession in
heaven.
Lord, we thank
you today for
this place of
worship.
We thank you
for this occasion
of worship.
We thank you
for all that you
provide for us
as means by
which we
worship you.
We give thanks
for your word, and
we give thanks for
the way that you
call us to praise
your name through
singing your praise.
We thank thee for
the access we have
to you in prayer.
We pray, O Lord,
that our access to
you in prayer may
constantly be in
use by us.
you call upon us in
your word to pray
to you continually.
And Lord, although
we know we cannot
be every second of
every day engaged
meaningfully in
prayer, yet we give
thanks for every
occasion that we
can, and for the
way that even as we
go about our
vocation and work
and places in the
world, we can
address you in prayer
and seek your help
and give you praise.
we give thanks, O
Lord, for all that
you have been to us
over these past
years, especially in
this time of COVID
pandemic.
And Lord, help us,
we pray, to continue
to give thanks to
you for the way that
you have watched
over us and kept
us, for the way
that you have
continued to guide
us and teach us
by your word, for
the way that you
have continued to
provide for us in
the gospel, the
services of worship
that we gladly
engage in.
And Lord, we ask
that this may
constantly be in
our mind to give
thanks to you and
to remind ourselves
of how easily things
can change in your
providence, how much
we are dependent
upon you, how we
cannot steer our
own course through
life successfully.
And if we try to do
so, Lord, you make
it clear to us that
our life is in your
hands.
We pray today that
as we gather in your
presence, these
realities may indeed
be true for each
one of us.
We ask for everybody
gathered here today
and for all who are
joining us online.
Lord, may your
blessing rest upon us.
May your Holy Spirit
be active in our
experience.
May your word be
applied to our
hearts with power.
May we find, O Lord,
today that we take it
with us and its
teaching into all that
lies ahead of us,
even in this week
itself.
We thank you for the
blessings that we
enjoy in the gospel,
the way that you
continue to provide
for us individually
and as a congregation
and in our homes and
families.
Lord, we pray that your
blessing will be
extended to us even
more as we seek an
increase in our own
commitment to you and
our love for you.
We pray, Lord, that you
would continue to fuel
our lives by your
grace and by the
strength of your
power.
Enable us to proceed
and persevere onwards
in that life of
faith.
Help us, we pray
today, to resist all
inclinations away from
you, every temptation
from whatever source,
O Lord, that seeks to
draw our minds and our
lives away from the
life that is in you,
from the fountain of
life that we know is
with yourself.
Lord, we ask that you
would enable us day by
day to continue to
persevere in that way
of trusting in you and
serving you.
Bless again, we pray,
our children, our young
people.
We thank you today for
them as they gather in
creche and in tweenies
and Sunday school.
And for those of them,
Lord, who are now
approaching adulthood,
who gather from time to
time in Bible class, in
youth fellowship, in
other ways of joining
together and hearing
about the things of
God.
O Lord, as they are
taught and as they learn
these things, grant to
them that they may be
firmly entrenched and
established in your ways
so that they may continue,
Lord, to in their lives
engage with you and
continue in the teaching
they received to follow
it through in their
practice in our adult
life.
Remember, too, today,
Lord, those who have
gone away from you,
those who have strayed
away from following you
faithfully, those for
whom this time of
COVID pandemic and
restrictions and all of
the things associated
with that have been so
difficult and so
challenging, and whose
love has grown cold and
who today are not found
in a place of worship.
Gracious Lord, be
merciful to them,
whether belonging to
this congregation or
others.
We know how devastating
this time has been for
some.
We know how some have
lost their relish, how
some have even turned
away from following you
altogether.
O Lord, our God, be
pleased, we pray, to
bless them, to recover
them, to reach out to
them, O Lord, and take
them back and graciously
work in our midst, in our
communities, to bring
others who may have never
before thought about you,
but whose minds have been
upon these eternal issues
during this providence.
Grant that you would
bless that to them.
We pray for those who
lead us in our nation, and
as we lament, O Lord, the
evidences we find of
departure from your
values and your ways and
your laws amongst them, we
pray for them, for you
have called us to do
this.
We pray for our
governments in Scotland
and in Westminster, in
Ireland and Wales.
We pray, O Lord, as a
nation, that we may be
more and more bound
together in your truth,
and not in the ways of
human beings, however
much they may appeal to
our own nature.
Grant, Lord, that your
blessing, therefore, will
be with our First
Minister, our government,
our Prime Minister and
his government.
And, Lord, grant at this
time that we may see
more and more of your
own people coming to
raise their voice against
the departures morally and
spiritually that we find so
sadly marking our nation and
our leaders at this time.
Remember our Queen.
Be with our Lord in her
old age.
Be with her as she finds her
at this time of her life,
her movement to be
restricted and her ability
to go from place to place
to be less than it used to
be.
We thank you for the
declarations of her faith
that she has made and that
she continues to make, and
for the guidance that that
has given to her family.
And we pray that you would
bless her, O Lord, at this
time as she comes to
celebrate this Jubilee.
We be thankful, O Lord, for
her leadership over the
nation over these many
years and for the ways in
which she has withstood so
many tests.
And we pray that you would
continue, Lord, to uphold
her and to continue to
maintain her in her own
faith and attachment to you.
And now we pray that you
would remember us here as we
continue in your presence.
Bless to us your word and
help us to sing your praises
joyfully.
And we pray all of these
things, seeking pardon and
cleansing of all our sin.
For Jesus' sake.
Amen.
Let's sing further now to
God's praise from Psalm 61.
Psalm 61, again, it's in the
Scottish Psalter version.
Page 293.
And verses 1 to 4.
O God, give ear unto my
cry, unto my prayer attend.
From the utmost corner of the
land, my cry to thee I'll send.
We'll sing to the tune
Salzburg, verses 1 to 4.
O God, give ear unto my cry.
Amen.
O God, give ear unto my cry, unto my
prayer attend.
From the utmost corner of the land,
my cry to thee I'll send.
What time my heart is overwhelmed,
and in perplexity,
where thou be lead unto the rock,
the fire is the night.
For thou hast for my enmity,
a shelter by thy power,
and for defence against my foes,
the vast, he laves strong tower.
within thy cover,
none will die,
forever will abide.
And I'll cover all thy wings,
with God that lets me hide.
Now as we return to God's Word,
we're reading two passages this morning.
First of these is in 2 Samuel, chapter 15.
And then we're also going to read from the book of Psalms,
and Psalm 63.
So firstly, it's in 2 Samuel, chapter 15,
reading verses 13 to 23.
2 Samuel 15, verse 13.
This is after David had fled,
after the rebellion of Absalom,
the coup that Absalom had led.
So we read at verse 13,
a messenger came to David,
saying,
The hearts of the men of Israel have gone after Absalom.
Then David said to all his servants who were with him at Jerusalem,
Arise, and let us flee,
or else there will be no escape for us from Absalom.
Go quickly,
lest he overtake us quickly,
and bring down ruin on us,
and strike the city with the edge of the sword.
And the king's servants said to the king,
Behold, your servants are ready to do whatever my lord the king decides.
So the king went out, and all his house sold after him,
and the king left ten concubines to keep the house.
And the king went out, and all the people after him,
and they halted at the last house.
And all his servants passed by him,
and all the Carithites, and all the Pelithites,
and all the six hundred Gittites who had followed him from Gath,
passed on before the king.
Then the king said to Ittai the Gittite,
Why do you also go with us?
Go back and stay with the king,
for you are a foreigner and also an exile from your home.
You came only yesterday,
and shall I today make you wander about with us?
Since I go, I know not where.
Go back and take your brothers with you,
and may the Lord show steadfast love and faithfulness to you.
But Ittai answered the king,
As the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives,
wherever my lord the king shall be,
whether for death or for life,
there also will your servant be.
And David said to Ittai,
Go then, pass on.
So Ittai the Gittite passed on with all his men,
and all the little ones who were with him.
And all the land wept aloud as the people passed by,
and the king crossed the brook Kidron,
and all the people passed on towards the wilderness.
And we turn now to the book of Psalms,
and Psalm 63.
Psalm 63.
Psalm that's entitled,
Psalm of David,
when he was in the wilderness of Judah.
Psalm 63.
O God, you are my God.
Earnestly I seek you.
My soul thirsts for you.
My flesh faints for you as in a dry and weary land,
where there is no water.
So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
beholding your power and glory.
Because your steadfast love is better than life,
my lips will praise you.
So I will bless you as long as I live.
In your name I will lift up my hands.
My soul shall be satisfied as with fat and rich food,
and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips.
When I remember you upon my bed
and meditate on you in the watches of the night.
For you have been my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.
My soul clings to you.
Your right hand upholds me.
But those who seek to destroy my life
shall go down into the depths of the earth.
They shall be given over to the power of the sword.
They shall be a portion for jackals.
But the king shall rejoice in God.
All who swear by him shall exult.
For the mouths of liars will be stopped.
And once again we pray for God to bless
these passages of his word to us today.
Now before we turn to look at Psalm 63 this morning,
let's sing once again.
We're singing in Psalm 62,
and this time from the Sing Psalms version.
You'll find that on page 79.
Psalm 62, page 79.
The tune is Heron Gate.
And we'll sing verses 1 to 8.
My soul finds rest in God alone.
From him comes my salvation sure.
My safety, fortress, sheltering rock.
In him alone I am secure.
How long will you assault a man?
Do you all seek to lay him low,
this leaning wall, this tottering fence,
and bring about his overthrow?
They plan his fall from his high place.
They take delight in spreading lies.
With false and flattering mouths they bless.
But in their hearts curse and despise.
And so on, down to verse 8.
My soul finds rest in God alone.
From him comes my salvation sure.
My safety, fortress, sheltering rock.
In him alone I am secure.
I long will you are going to do.
From him alone I am secure.
From him comes my salvation sure.
The 50 fortress, sheltering rock, in heaven alone I am secure.
How long will you, a softer man, do you all seek to live in love?
This leaning wall, this tottering fence, and may now act this overthro.
They plan this hope from this high list, they take the light in setting lights,
with false and flattering mouths they bless, but in their hearts, first and desies.
Find rest, my soul, in God alone, and there my hope is ever true.
My safety fortress, sheltering rock, in heaven alone I am secure.
My honour and salvation rest, on God my love and my default.
O people, trust in him always, to him alone for a true heart.
Well, for a short time this morning, will you please turn with me to Psalm 63 in the Book of Psalms.
I'm going to look at some of the contents of this psalm as we go through it fairly quickly,
but looking at some of the main points.
A psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah.
There are times when the worst experiences we may have to go through in this life
bring out the very best in people.
Of course, the opposite is also true.
When the worst experiences or conditions will sometimes bring out the worst in people as well.
Sometimes even the best conditions can bring out the worst in people.
But not so here.
Because here is David in very difficult circumstances in the wilderness.
And what he brings out before us in this psalm is really a confession of his faith in God.
A confession that is just full of beauty and emotion and power and confidence in God.
And the setting for it, as we find in the title, is when he was in the wilderness of Judah.
We're not sure that it was exactly at the same time as he was fleeing from Absalom,
but it certainly fits the context.
And when you look at verse 11 there,
the king shall rejoice in God and what it says.
It appears that that is a very likely context for this psalm to have been written
in relation to David's experiences in the wilderness when he had to flee for a time from Absalom.
When Absalom had gathered support from many of the people and risen up against David
and forced him to leave the city as king.
And here in this great confession of faith,
we have something that is so very important and relevant to ourselves.
In our wilderness experiences, David is obviously literally in the wilderness,
but God's people have always taken this psalm to be emblematic or symptomatic
or a picture for them, an image for them,
of the difficulties that they go through in this life that can actually be described as wilderness,
can be described as going through difficult times such as you go through physically
when you go through, as he says here, a dry and weary land where there is no water.
And that has been the experience of people over the past couple of years,
especially during the more serious lockdown and the aftermath of that
with the COVID restrictions that were then put in place.
And some people, of course, are still finding it very difficult to recover from that,
to build up their lives again from that.
And maybe you yourself and myself are amongst that number as well.
But whatever wilderness experience you may have or have had,
or you may be going through even at this time,
and if you're online as well and part of your difficulty is that you have not yet managed
to make your way back to the gathered worship of God,
then I hope this psalm itself will say something to you,
to reassure you, to encourage you, to bring you this measure of praise to God
that will draw you to be with God's people as we are here today together in this place of worship.
I'm going to divide the psalm into three.
It really divides itself into three.
Verses one to four, first of all, we'll take that as David's desire after God.
And then in verses five to eight, we'll call that David's delight in God.
And then the final few verses, eight, nine to 11, David's defense by God.
So there's David's desire, there's David's delight, and there's David's defense.
And as we go through these, I hope we'll see how they are relevant to our own circumstances in life,
because that's really what the Bible is for.
It's not for us just to study this as a piece of history,
as a piece of biography or autobiography on the part of David.
It's here as God's word, relevant for our circumstances too.
And in David's desire after God, you first of all see his longing and his confession at the very beginning.
Oh God, you are my God.
And that's really what runs right through the whole of the psalm.
It's central to all of the rest of the psalm and what's stated there.
You are my God.
Earnestly, I seek, who is confessing immediately.
Despite his circumstances, he has not lost sight of who his God is.
He has not lost sight of the fact that this God is still his God,
and that he wants to be known as one of God's people.
That's so important.
It's so crucial.
In all the circumstances of life, that we keep our minds on the fact that God,
this God, this God of the Bible is our God.
And that when our circumstances change, and especially when they become difficult and challenging,
nothing has changed from God's point of view.
Nothing has changed in his plan for us.
It's always been planned this way.
And the difficulties and the trials and the challenges,
whether they be spiritual or mental or whatever trauma they might be,
and there are many of them,
and we've all experienced some of them to one degree or another.
For the people of God, they can still say and want to be able to reaffirm,
O God, you are my God.
I don't want any other God but you.
And you see, the longing that David has is really put in terms of the longing of a friend for his friend.
It's a longing on David's part for God as his best friend.
God is no mere acquaintance for David.
He's not some figure that he's just come to acknowledge in a formal fashion as part of his religion.
He is his dear friend.
He is his Lord.
He is his God.
He is creator.
He is his savior.
This is what he is longing after, that he would have more again of God.
And especially, I think, he's obviously looking at the times when he was in the sanctuary,
when he was able to go to the temple in verse 2 there,
and his longing is that that would return,
that he would be back again with God's people,
worshiping him in the sanctuary that was built for that purpose.
And he's eager for this God and eager as soon as can possibly be.
And the word earnestly there is an interesting word.
The older translations have,
Early will I seek you.
And probably it's best taking it rather than earnestly,
although earnestly is built into that.
If you're actually coming early in the morning to seek the Lord,
then obviously there's an earnestness about that as well.
But the earliness of it is important.
For example, it fits verse 6 there,
When I remember you upon my bed and meditate on you in the watches of the night.
David's not confining his seeking after God,
his communion with God to the daytime,
or to the hours during the day when that may be easier to fit in.
He is saying in the watches of the night,
I meditate upon you.
Every spare moment he has.
And here he is in the wilderness.
You might think he needs all the time he can get for his sleep.
And he does.
But he still wants to have communion with God.
And that's the secret here.
Really in many ways a key to the expression of faith
that he brings out in the psalm.
And that's a reminder to ourselves that
if you take this as early will I seek you,
as well as earnestly,
it's a reminder to ourselves how important it is
not to let your troubles keep you away from God.
Not to let your troubles become an argument against seeking God earnestly.
Not to let the difficulties, the challenges, the wilderness periods of life
actually put a distance between you and your God.
It should be for you and for me the other way about.
Let your troubles take you to God, as it were.
Let the troubles of your life be a means of drawing near to God.
Of seeking God's face like David is here, even in the wilderness.
This is what he's saying.
You are my God earnestly.
Early I am seeking you.
My soul thirsts for you.
My flesh longs for you.
And there's such an intensity in that,
which I find a huge challenge to myself.
I'm sure you say the same.
When he says here,
my soul thirsts for you.
My flesh faints for you.
He's really talking about his whole being,
being taken up with this.
Everything that's there in him, in his soul,
even his very flesh,
his very physical frame,
is affected by this desire for God,
this longing to go back into fellowship with his friend
in the sanctuary where he once used to be.
And there's a very interesting thing here
where he says in verse 2,
So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary.
And what he's really saying by that
is that the thirst that he now has for God,
the intensity that he expresses by,
my flesh faints for you as in a dry and weary land
where there is no water.
So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary.
In other words, David is saying,
I don't want my wilderness longing after you
to be any less intense
than it was when I was in the sanctuary
when I had the freedom to be there as king.
You know, and that raises for yourself and myself
a question and indeed a challenge for us today again.
Are we here today gathered with longing hearts?
Are we gathered here with thirsty souls?
Are we gathered here in a way that really longs
to meet with God?
Have we come just to praise him outwardly,
to sing some of the psalms that we've been singing,
to hear his word expounded,
to hear it read,
to follow through in the reading,
to follow the prayers,
the prayer of the pulpit,
and your own prayers as well?
Surely this is your desire.
Surely this is my desire.
Surely this is something that you had
before you came into this building today,
that there was a measure.
I'm not saying it's going to be
the intensity of David's,
because I can't follow that myself
many other times that I come to church.
Sadly.
But here is a man
who is so intent in his eagerness
and his longing for God
that he can say even in the wilderness,
Lord, as I've looked upon you in the sanctuary,
as I did long after you there,
so I'm longing after you now.
You see, that says so much about our difficulties,
our trials, our periods of wilderness.
They are for us to deal with God,
to have communion with God,
to seek God,
to yearn after God,
as what David is doing here.
When I was in the study this morning,
just going over the notes for the service today,
I looked out the window of the study,
and there in the little tree growing up,
or the big trees as well,
outside the study in the garden,
are all these fledgling sparrows,
just newly out of the nest,
and the energy with which they appeal
to the parent birds,
come and feed me.
Give me something to feed me.
Give me my breakfast.
And the parent birds flitting back and forth
with the worms or flies,
whatever it was,
constantly flitting in response
to the cry of the fledgling,
the little baby sparrow.
And I looked out the window and I thought,
I just wish I would go to church myself today
with the desire,
with the longing,
with the hunger of that little sparrow
that is so eager and so longing
for a crumb,
for a fly,
for a worm
from its parent's mouth,
that I could find myself
in the pulpit today,
preaching the gospel,
and yet in my heart yearning after God
with that hunger,
something of what David has here.
As I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
beholding your power and your glory,
so my soul thirsts after you.
Friends,
we have souls,
despite what you see and hear out in the world there,
that we're just creatures
without any spiritual dimension of this kind.
We have souls for a purpose.
And one of the great purposes
for you having a soul
and my having a soul
is that you will long after God,
that you will love communion with God,
that you will use
the teaching of the Bible
in your times of wilderness,
in your times of challenge,
in your times of trial,
in your times of difficulty
to bring you to God
to thirst after Him.
God has designed us
in His creation of us.
He has designed us
for communion with Himself.
He has designed us
to be even in our times
of wilderness and difficulty
to yearn after Him,
to seek after Him.
You know,
there's a sense in which
even the expression
that we sometimes have
of confessing an absence
of this longing
in the presence of God.
That itself is an expression
of longing
because you want it
to be different.
You want it to be
more than it is.
You want an increased hunger
for God.
And so we come today
seeking that
God will bless this word
of David
all of these years ago to us
and that whatever it is today
is a trial to you.
Make it an occasion
for meeting with God.
Make it an occasion
for longing after God.
Make it an occasion
for drawing
the strength of God
into your life
in these circumstances.
Samuel Rutherford,
a famous Scottish theologian
of long ago,
had very many short
but powerful statements
and sayings.
One of them was this,
we live so far
from the well
yet complain
but dryly
of our dryness.
We live so far
from the well
and yet complain
but dryly
of our dryness.
We're conscious
at times
that we're not as near
to God
as we should be
and yet our complaint
about that is
rather dry,
he says,
compared to what it should be,
compared to the longing
of David in this psalm.
We live so far
from the well.
That's of our own
choosing at times.
We lose our relish.
We decrease in our hunger.
Our love does grow cold.
Yet we complain
but dryly
of our dryness.
Today,
let it be for me
and for you
an occasion
of drawing near the well,
shortening the distance
if we're at a distance
from the well
that God is
and coming
to be there
with him
to draw our water
of life from him.
David's desire
after God
and David
is not belittling
anything
when he says
your loving kindness
is better than last,
your steadfast love
is better than life
so because of that
my lips
will praise you
so I will bless you
as long as I live
in your name
I will lift up my hands.
Now you can understand
the steadfast love
we've come across
these words many times.
God's steadfast love
is not just his love
his eternal love
for his people
but his love
in covenant with them.
He has bonded himself
to his people
and his people to him
and the love
that we experience
from God
as we're bonded
to him
by faith
and by love
on our own part
as created by him
well that's something
he says here
is better than life.
Now he's not
he's not belittling
or minimizing
the benefits of life.
The many good things
we have in life
we appreciate
we thank God for
we don't belittle them
but they cannot compare
with his steadfast love.
They can't compare
with his loving kindness.
As you know
I love the songs
of Ellie Holcomb
and in one of these songs
she speaks really
to God
in the song
and it's entitled
You Love Me Best.
Most of you
some of you
will probably know it.
My mother
she holds me
when I'm weak
she consoles me
my troubles
weigh on her mind
my tears fall down
from her eyes
but you
you loved me better.
My father
beside me
holds out his arm
to guide me
his wisdom
waits in silence
he speaks
and I grow quiet
but you
you loved me better.
And there may come a day
when all other loves
have gone away
when darkness
hems me in
you'll be right
where you have always been
closer than the heart
within my chest
because you loved me best.
the ring around my finger
to have and hold
forever
it circles round
like years
that we've walked
through joys and tears
but you
you have loved
me better.
And there is no better love
and the loving kindness
the steadfast love
of God
and in the wilderness
oh how David appreciates
the steadfast love
God has for him.
David's desire
after God
and his delight
in God
secondly
from verse 5
to 8
more briefly
you can see here
how he has great
satisfaction in God
and how he is saying
to himself
this is how it's going
to continue
as far as possible
my soul
will be satisfied
with fat
and rich food
could translate that
as a present as well
my soul is satisfied
with fat
and rich food
my mouth
praises you
with joyful lips
but if you take it
as his own reference
to the future
as far as he sees it
then this is what he's saying
this is his intention
this is his aim
this is the purpose
of his life
my soul
will be satisfied
with fat
and rich food
when I remember you
upon my bed
and meditate you
on you
in the watches
of the night
how could he say
this sort of thing
in the wilderness
that his soul
will be satisfied
with rich
and fat food
how could he say
my mouth
will praise you
with joyful lips
well the secret to it
is really in verse 6
it's his communion
with God
that has led
to this conviction
to this purpose
to this determination
to continue
to be satisfied
in God
you see the wilderness
sharpens our wakefulness
doesn't it
sometimes you and I
need something like that
something
of a challenge
to come into
our lot
just to remind us
of who God is
and what he's like
and especially
if we have
gone astray
somewhat
just to bring us
back to a right
perspective
and balance
and to go on again
following the Lord
it has produced
for David
this satisfaction
this intensity
of praise
and he also speaks
about safety
for you have been
my help
he's reflecting upon
what God has been
to him up to that moment
you have been
my help
and in the shadow
of your wings
I will sing
for joy
my soul
clings to you
your right hand
upholds me
what he's saying is
this is how I've always
found you Lord
and you're not going
to change now
even though I'm
in the wilderness
you are still
this same God
and it's interesting
he says there
in the shadow
of your wings
I will sing
for joy
you have been
my help
it may be
that that's the imagery
of the mother bird
protecting its
little chicks
but I think it's
probably more
better to take it
as a reference
to David's experience
in the sanctuary
in the temple
where
the
the cherubim
with their wings
outstretched
represented
or part of
what represented
the presence
of God
above the mercy seat
where the cherubim
were located
and in Psalm 61
you have something
very much like that
he says
let me dwell
in your tent
forever
let me take refuge
under the shelter
of your wings
it's more obvious
there I think
he's saying
let me dwell
in your tent
in your sanctuary
forever
let me take refuge
under the shelter
of your wings
in other words
whatever you take
it David is certainly
looking to the protection
of God
that has been
his privilege
up to now
and what he's saying
is that's not
that's not going
to change
this is where
my safety is
in the shadow
of your wings
and in God's
own right hand
upholding him
you see how wonderfully
the two things
go together
we have a responsibility
ourselves
to bring ourselves
to be in the presence
of God
to worship him
to communicate with him
to pray to him
but our ultimate confidence
is not in that itself
David's ultimate confidence
is in God's own
right hand
upholding him
similar to Psalm 73
you recall
where he says
in Psalm 73
after
not David
but Asaph
this time
but very similar words
Asaph
is making a confession
of how near
he came
to sliding away
altogether
but he came back
to the sanctuary
of God
when he went in there
he was brought
to see
how foolish he was
in his thinking
he was thinking
the world was better off
because it didn't have
the troubles
that he as a believer
had
but he went into
the sanctuary
then realized
how foolish he was
brutish and ignorant
like a beast
before you
then he said
nevertheless
I'm continually
with you
you hold me
by my
you hold my right hand
you guide me
with your counsel
and afterwards
you will receive me
to glory
it is you see
his confidence
there is the foundation
in which David
stands confidently
the grasp
that God
has of him
yes he's thankful
for the grasp
that he has of God
in his faith
and in his love
and in his hope
and all of these things
are important to him
but it's God's own
right hand
that he looks to
particularly
my soul
clings to you
these words really mean
my soul
follows hard
after you
is the AV translation
it means
to pursue
something earnestly
and it fits in
with the seeking
of God
by David
it's a pursuit
it's a seeking
after
it's following
hard after you
it's like someone
running a race
clinging
holding on
but especially
conscious of his need
to be held
by God
isn't that where
your own confidence
where your own
security is today
you're thankful
for faith
you're thankful
for the way
in which
God has brought
himself into
your life
in such a way
that has
convinced you
of your need
to hold on to him
to trust in him
but you don't
go to eternity
fully persuaded
that that's all
you need
for your safety
that's got something
else beneath it
something else
bigger than that
God himself
and God's own
grasp
and God's own
hold of your life
so here's David's
delight in God
his satisfaction
and his safety
and especially
in the way God
still holds him
where he is
and then there's
David's defense
I'll be very brief
with this
David's defense
verses 9 to 11
David's defense
by God
having seen his
delight in God
and his desire
after God
look at what he's
saying here
in verses 9 to 11
but those who
seek to destroy
my life
shall go down
into the depths
of the earth
they shall be
given over
to the power
of the sword
there shall be
a portion
for jackals
but the king
shall rejoice
in God
all who swear
by him
shall exult
swear allegiance
that is I think
for the mouths
of liars
will be stopped
a couple of things
there
you'll see
first of all
how God's
commitment
to his people
means that he is
committed against
their enemies
God's steadfast
love for his people
is not going to be
something that
regards them
in any kind
of loose
or indifferent
way as they face
enemies
as they face
challenges
from their enemies
whatever enemy
that might be
God is committed
to their protection
God is committed
to looking after
his own people
his steadfast love
ensures that
and the solemn
thing is that
those who challenge
the people of God
those who challenge
God himself
will end up
he says here
they shall be given
over to the depths
of the earth
they shall die
they shall come
under God's judgment
and his justice
and the king
he says
shall rejoice
in God
whatever happens
to my enemies
David is saying
because God
is my God
oh Lord
oh God
you are my God
and because
that is still the case
the king
shall rejoice
in God
you see what he's saying
I'm in the wilderness
I've had to flee
from Jerusalem
my son Absalom
has risen up against me
he's gathered support
that has forced me
away from the throne
for this period
and as we read
in 2 Samuel
he wasn't really sure
where he was going
to end up
he just kept going
into the wilderness
along with those
who were in support
but he's still the king
he is still convinced
that he is God's
appointed king
the king
shall rejoice
in God
as you know
often in the Old Testament
the kingship
of the kings
of the Old Testament
the good kings
especially
are types of Christ
they are representations
of Jesus for us
and many of the Psalms
so brilliantly
portray the kingship
of Jesus
as you read through
what they say
about the kings
of the times
whether it's David
or Solomon
whoever
and it doesn't matter
how many millions
of people today
will reject Jesus
how many people
out there
will be convinced
that there is no God
how many people
will actually
say
and throw in our teeth
the gospel
that we seek to maintain
not just in the preaching
of it
but in your testifying
to it
in your lives
however many times
people will turn
and say
well
why are you actually
trusting in someone
who's dead
why are you trusting
in a God
whose existence
you cannot prove
it's just simply
like all other religions
people will say
they're at the end
of the day
they're fine
if you want to follow that
but they're not actually
useful
and they're not truth
is that going to change
things as far as
God is concerned
supposing you're
the only believer
left in the world
and you're surrounded
by people who say
it's foolish to trust
in God
a God that you cannot see
and have never proved
in your heart
and in my heart
the Lord is still king
and he will always
continue to be the king
it doesn't matter
how many people
deny it
that's not going to
change the truth
people can try
as hard as they like
to disprove
the existence
of God
and that'll go on
to the end
of the world
but the truth
remains the truth
and God
remains God
and the king
the Jesus
who is king
shall rejoice
shall continue
to be who he is
and shall do all
he has promised
to do
for his people
all
who swear by him
shall exult
they shall be
exalted
in rejoicing
is what it means
and if that was true
of David here
prophesying
of the future
for himself
and for his followers
how much more
is it true
of Jesus
and his people
whatever the world
may say
and it doesn't
we're not saying
that doesn't matter
it's our duty
to try
present the gospel
and the truth
to them
but ultimately
it doesn't matter
because the king
still lives
and the king
is going to return
and the king's
followers
and the king's
people
all who swear
by him
all who are
in allegiance
to him
they shall
exult
they shall have
everlasting
rejoicing
nothing
and no one's
going to spoil
that
or make that
untrue
as we read
in the song
of Solomon
where you find
the longings
of this
lady after
her beloved
in chapter 1
and verse 4
we can finish
with this
it is her desire
here is the bride
this woman
confessing her love
for her beloved
in which you find
an image of
our own love
for the Lord
he says
draw me
and we will run
after you
let us run
the king has
brought me
into his
chambers
we will
exult
and rejoice
in you
we will extol
your love
more than wine
rightly
do they
love you
take these words
home with you
rightly
do they
love you
and nobody
can take that
conviction
out of your
heart today
because it's
based on
God's
truth
in Jesus
Christ
Lord our God
we pray
that today
you'd bless
to us
this portion
of your word
help us
we pray
like David
long ago
help us
to trust
in you
with the
trust
that he
spoke of
and the
desire
that he
could
confess
and Lord
we pray
that you
would intensify
our desire
our longing
after you
we pray
that in
these days
in which
we live
when so
few
yearn
after you
in the
world
in which
we live
with that
desire
that is
true to
your word
gracious
Lord
we pray
that that
will be
true of
ourselves
help us
to delight
in you
help us
to be
thankful
for your
own
sheltering
of your
people
for your
protection
of them
and for
the way
that your
truth
will endure
how many
challenges
it may
have to
face
we don't
know
Lord
we know
that your
truth
will continue
on through
into eternity
help us
to prize
it
to commend
it to the
world in
which we
live
to rejoice
in it
ourselves
hear us
now we
pray
for Jesus
sake
Amen
we're going
to praise
God now
in conclusion
in Psalm
36
Psalm number
36
in the
Sing
Psalms
version
you'll find
that on
page
44
the tune
is
Bays
of
Harris
singing
verses
5
to
9
your
steadfast
love
is
great
O
Lord
it
reaches
heaven
high
your
faithfulness
is
wonderful
extending
to the
sky
and so
on
through
to
verse
9
your
steadfast
love
is
great
O
Lord
your
steadfast
love
is
great
O
Lord
it
reaches
heaven
high
your
faithfulness
is
wonderful
and
extending
to
the
sky
your
righteous
vessels
bear
me
laid
like
mountains
high
on
sea
your
justice
depths
like
ocean
depths
of
man
and
peace
you
keep
high
precious
is
your
steadfast
love
what
confidence
is
a
blessed
prince
o
high
and
love
thine
shelter
in
the
shadow
of
your
wings
they
feast
within
your
hearts
and
day
from
streams
of
pure
delight
for
men
you
are
the
source
of
light
in
your
light
peace
in
light
if you
allow me
please to
get to
the
main
door
I'll
greet
you on
the
way
out
now
may the
grace of
the
Lord
Jesus
Christ
the
love
of
God
the
Father
and
the
communion
of
the
Holy
Spirit
be
with
you
now
and
evermore
Amen