6 Addresses on Psalm 23

… ERNST LUKAS GUTER KAYNE die stillen Flüsse. Er rettet meine Seele. Er führt mich in die Wege der Gerechtigkeit, um seinen Namen zu sorgen. Obwohl ich durch den Wald der Schatten der Tode gehe, habe ich keine Angst vor dem Bösen, denn du bist mit mir. Deine Räder und deine Arbeiter beschützen mich. Du hast eine Tafel vor mir vorbereitet, in der Präsenz meiner Feinde. Du eröffnest meinen Kopf mit Öl. Mein Kopf fließt über. Sicherlich wird Gute und Gnade mich all die Tage meines Lebens folgen, und ich werde für immer in der Hause des Herrn leben. Ich glaube nicht, dass wir weit weg sein würden, wenn wir gesagt hätten, dass jeden Tag dieser Samen irgendwo aufgewertet wird, entweder durch ein Individuum, das es liest, oder durch ein Zuhause, oder durch ein christliches Dienst, eine christliche Funktion. Dies ist eine der meisten populären Teile des Wortes Gottes. Es gibt andere Teile, die ähnlich populär sind, zum Beispiel die sogenannte Benediktion, die wir in 2. Korinther 13 haben, die letzten wenigen Versen. Die Gnade unseres Herrn Jesus Christus, die Liebe Gottes und die Zusammenarbeit des Heiligen Geistes. Außerdem eine weitere Teile, die so oft zitiert wird, und zwei, die auf Karten gelegt sind, das Ende von Nummers 6. Der Herr macht sein Gesicht, um auf mich zu schienen, und so weiter. Die heilige Bedeutung, die folgt dem Nazareten-Tor. Und eine weitere Teile, natürlich extrem populär, die Gnade unseres Herrn, die wir in der Zeremonie auf dem Berg und in anderen Teilen in den Gospeln haben. Ich habe das Gefühl, dass wir manchmal diese sehr glücklich bezeichnen können, aber nicht in die Tiefe der Bedeutung, die wir in diesen Teilen finden. Und sie sind enorm tief. Es gibt eine enorme Menge Wahrheiten, die in diesen verschiedenen Teilen, die wir erwähnen, enthalten sind. Und das ist mein Wunsch, Psalm 23 aufzunehmen, nicht nur zu singen oder zu bezeichnen, sondern ein bisschen näher darauf zu schauen und zu sehen, wie seine Anwendung für uns als Christen gemacht werden kann, und etwas von der Großart und der Überzeugung, die wir in unserem Herrn Jesus Christus haben, zu sehen. Und das muss immer eine ermutigende Sache für den Glaubenden sein, wenn er sich mit dem Herrn selbst in Kontakt bringt. Und das ist, was wir brauchen, mehr als etwas anderes in diesem armen, traurigen Weltkreis. Also, das ist unser humbler Wunsch, nicht zu versuchen, etwas Neues zu sehen in diesem Psalm, sondern nur, es ein bisschen zu erforschen und etwas von seiner Tiefe zu sehen. Erstens weißt du, dass im Alten Testament die Nation Israel als die Flotte Gottes, seine Schafe. Wir müssen nur zwei Versuche nennen, um dies zu beweisen. Psalm 80, Vers 1, Du bist der Schäpfer Israels, leitest Deinen Flock. Ich nenne es nicht genau, aber das ist es, das ist der Gist davon, der Schäpfer Israels, der seinen Flock leitet. Und dann natürlich der großartige Vers in Ezekiel 34, wo Gott die Schäpfer beurteilt, die nicht nach seinem Flock beurteilen, dass wir jeden Vorteil davon nehmen und trotzdem nichts mitgeben. Und dann natürlich die großartige Prophezeiung, dass es endlich die Glücke für Israel geben wird, wenn sie unter dem großartigen Schäpfer, dem echten David sind. Also zeigen diese Skripturen uns klar, dass Israel, die Nation Israels, als eine Flotte für Gott beurteilt wurde, sie waren seine Schafe. Und ohne Zweifel, das ist, was Psalm 23 betrifft, ein extrem jüdischer Psalm. Alle Quotationen in ihm haben zu tun mit jüdischem Denken und jüdischem Glück. Aber wir hoffen, dass wir es heute Abend in Verbindung mit unserem Glück benutzen. Jetzt kommen wir zum Neuen Testament und wir müssen feststellen, dass Christen heute als Schafe angesehen werden. Und natürlich ist das sehr, sehr einfach zu bestätigen. Wir gehen zum Beispiel in Aktien 20 und hören Paul, den großartigen Apostel der Gentilen, über den Flock sprechen, als er den Älteren beurteilt, was sie tun müssen. Der Heilige Geist hat sie als Vorführer in Bezug auf den Flock angelegt und sie mussten ihre Arbeiten in Bezug darauf erfüllen. Peter schreibt den Christen, er spricht über den Flock Gottes, er wiederholt sich zu den Älteren und sagt, dass sie sich um den Flock kümmern sollten, den Flock Gottes. Wir haben natürlich das großartige Kapitel, John, Kapitel 10, wo der Herr Jesus sich als den guten Schäpfer beschreibt und den guten Schäpfer, der sein Leben für die Schafe gibt, und er erstellt die Schafe, und sie folgen ihm, sie kennen seine Stimme, und da haben wir eine wundervolle Übersetzung, um den christlichen Flock zu beschreiben. Und dort, in diesem Kapitel, differenziert es sich deutlich zwischen dem alten Testament-Flock und dem neuen Testament-Flock, weil der Herr Jesus aus dem jüdischen Volk ausführt, diejenigen, die bereit sind, an ihn zu glauben und ihn zu folgen. Dann sagt er nachher, andere Schafe habe ich, die nicht in diesem Volk sind, das sind Gentile, und die Gentilen und die Juden würden einen Flock formen, und er wäre der eine Schäpfer über sie. Also da ist eine sehr wertvolle Übersetzung, um die Veränderung zwischen dem alten Testament-Flock und dem neuen Testament-Flock zu bestimmen. Im alten Testament waren es nur Juden mit all den Verbindungen mit dem Kovenant und der Law, keine Gentilen. Aber wenn wir zum neuen Testament in John 10 kommen, finden wir Juden und Gentilen zusammengebracht in einem Flock ohne irgendeine nationale Verständigung und alle unter einem Schäpfer. Nun, das ist eine sehr, sehr wertvolle Sache. Dann erinnern wir uns an John 21, wo wir den Herrn haben, der mit Peter umgeht, und Peter erzählt seine Liebe für seinen Meister, und der Herr sagt ihm, okay, Peter, wenn du mich liebst, schaust du nach meinen Blüten, und du schaust nach meinen Schafen. Dann wieder der Herr Jesus, der zu dem neuen Testament-Flock, dem neuen Testament-Schaf, spricht. Dann erinnerst du dich, der Herr, der seine Disziplinen beantwortet, fürchte nicht, kleiner Schaf, es ist dein Vater's gute Freude, dir das Königreich zu geben. Also, das sind genügend Skripturen, um in unseren Herzen zu bestimmen, ja, wir können diesen Samen vertrauen, weil wir Schafe sind, wir gehören dem Flock. Das ist, wenn wir dem Herrn Jesus gehören. Wenn wir ihn als unseren eigenen persönlichen Schäfer vertraut haben, dann, ja, Glückwunsch Gott, können wir uns selbst als diejenigen, die dem Flock gehören, beachten. Nun dann, der Herr ist mein Schäpfer. Wenn der Herr will, hoffen wir, jeden Abend ein Vers aufzunehmen, und wir beginnen mit Vers 1 heute Abend. Der Herr ist mein Schäfer. Ich glaube, dass der gesamte Drang des Samens auf unsere Verständnis von diesem Menschen, dem Herrn, liegt. Wenn wir verstehen, wie groß er ist, dann sind all die anderen Glücke, die der Samen hier überspricht, in unserer Hand, weil er groß ist, nicht weil er etwas an uns anzieht, sondern wegen der unendlichen Größe des Schäfers. Jetzt möchten wir ein paar Schriftstüten ausdrücken, um zu zeigen, wie groß er ist. Nun, wir gehen zurück zum alten Testament, zu Zechariah 13, Vers 7, wo Jehova über den Schäfer spricht. Mein Schäfer. Dann sagt er, der Mann, der mein Freund ist. Dann spricht er über den Schäfer des Schmittens. Aber was mich besonders interessiert, ist die Art, wie Gott zu diesem Schäfer spricht, mein Freund. Und das ergibt für uns die Göttin des Schäfers. Er ist mit Jehova vergleichbar, oder um Neuen Testament-Sprache zu benutzen, mit dem Vater und dem Geist vergleichbar. Er ist Gott. Nun, was für eine enorme Menge das uns eröffnet, dass er ein Schäfer ist, der kein anderer ist als Gott, mit all der Macht und Ressourcen, die Gott hat. Oh, wie groß. Mein Freund. Aber dann sagt er, der Mann, und das erinnert uns an seine Verirrung. Derjenige, der in diese Welt kam, der ein Mann wurde, der hier als Mann gelebt hat, all die Schwierigkeiten und Zufälle des Mannes in einer Wildnis-Situation hatte, mit den Feindschaften gegen ihn und der Macht von Satan gegen ihn. Oh, wie wunderbar, dass dieser wunderbare und gläubige Schäfer, der Gott ist, ein Mann wurde, um uns zu erreichen und uns zu blessen. Und natürlich haben wir das in Luke 2, wo ihr euch erinnert, dass die Engel zu den Schäfern kamen und sagten, ein Gott, der Christ, der Gott ist. Es gab dieses enorme Botschaften, das indizierte, dass derjenige, der kommen sollte, kein anderer war als der Gott. Oh, wie groß er ist. Und ich glaube, dass dies für uns eine Basis in unseren Seelen erstellt, um zu realisieren, dass es nichts mit der Macht des Schäfers ist. Er ist so groß, er ist so stark, er ist so mächtig, er ist so resourcelos. Alles ist in seiner Orbit, so zu sprechen. Er kann mit jeder Situation umgehen und für uns sorgen und uns durch jede Umgebung helfen. Aber dann lesen wir über den Schmitten-Schäfer in Zechariah 13 und auch lesen wir in 1. Korinther 2, dass sie den Gott der Glühe kruzifizieren. Das ist eine sehr schmerzhafte Sache, nicht wahr? Und trotzdem eine sehr wundervolle Sache, weil wir niemals Schafe werden würden, wenn er nicht der Schmitten-Schäfer geworden wäre. Das war, wie er alles zu ihm versammelte. Hat er das nicht gesagt? Ich, wenn ich aufgehoben werde, werde alle Männer an mich ausdrehen. Und deshalb können wir uns in diesem wundervollen Volk befinden, das dem Herrn Jesus gehört, mein Schaf, das dem Volk Gottes gehört, das Volk Gottes gehört, weil Jesus gestorben ist und uns zu sich gebracht hat, unsere Schulden und Sünden ausgelöst hat und uns in diese großartige und wundervolle Verfolgung gebracht hat. Der Gott der Glühe wurde kruzifiziert. Dann war das nicht das Ende. Und wir wissen, dass der Herr Jesus aus den Toten herausgebrochen wurde. Und dann setzte Gott ihn in den höchsten Ort der Glühe. Und Peter, am Tag des Pentekosts, sagt, Gott hat ihn Gott und Christ gemacht. Er gab ihm den Platz der Supremität an seiner rechten Hand. Nun ist es nicht wunderbar, zu denken, dass wir einen solchen Schäfer haben? Er ist Gott. Er ist in diesem Weltbild als Mann. Er kennt die Schwierigkeiten und Umstände des Wegs, viel besser als wir. Er kennt es alles. Und auch, er ist durch die Töte des Todes. Er weiß etwas über den Wald der Töte des Todes. Auch ist er in dem Platz der absoluten Supremität an Gottes rechten Hand. All das Macht, das zu dieser Position gehört, ist seines. Wunderbarer Schäfer zu haben. Der Herr, dieser Herr ist unser Schäfer. Als Paul zu den Korintherien schrieb, sagt er, es gibt viele Götter und viele Herre, aber für uns gibt es einen Gott, den Vater, und für uns gibt es einen Herrn, Jesus Christus. Ja, es gibt viele Menschen, die für unsere Aufmerksamkeit klammern. Es gibt viele Menschen, die uns unter ihrer Behauptung in Macht bringen möchten. Aber für den Christen gibt es nur einen Herrn, den einzigen Herrn. Und was für eine wunderbare Person er ist. Und so in all den klammernden Stühlen, die heute auf der ganzen Welt verbreitet werden, um unsere Aufmerksamkeit zu kreieren, oder eher, um unsere Aufmerksamkeit zu haben, hier ist einer, der unsere Aufmerksamkeit fordert. Der eine Herr. Und es gibt keinen anderen Herrn für den Christen, außer Christus. Er hat vollständige Behauptung über uns. Er hat das Recht, dass wir seine Stimme hören und ihn unterhalten und hier für seine Freude sein. Es gibt noch eine wundervolle Karte, und ich möchte dies oft beschreiben, als Peter in der Hause von Cornelius war, als Cornelius seine Freunde zusammengebracht hat, sodass sie zuhören konnten, was Peter ihnen zu sagen hatte. Peter sagt, er ist Herr aller, Herr aller. Nun, das war eine ziemlich salutäre Botschaft an Cornelius. Er war ein Offizier in der Armee des Königs, und er hatte es gewohnt, zu hören, dass der König Herr aller Erde war und dass der König überragende Macht hatte und dass niemand so viel Macht wie der König hatte. Und dann zu hören, von den Lippen von Peter, dass der Herr Jesus Christus, derjenige, der sich um das Gute kümmerte und wurde gerettet, aber aus den Toten herausgebrochen hat, Herr aller ist, höher als Nero, höher als jeder König. Dies war eine sehr salutäre Botschaft, und das ist natürlich wahr für uns als Christen. Er ist Herr aller. Trotz aller Versuche, sich in dieser Welt zu übernehmen, ist Christus Herr aller. Ich weiß, dass es Menschen gibt, die Angst haben vor Kommunismus, vielleicht sogar für den römischen Katholizismus, vielleicht sogar für andere Ideen, die in dieser Welt verbreitet sind. Der Neue-Jahres-Movement zum Beispiel, all solche Dinge, die in dieser Welt verbreitet sind, mit dem Wunsch, die Welt zu übernehmen. Islam, der gewählte Intent des Islams ist, die Welt zu übernehmen. Lassen Sie uns von dem ausgehen, was Peter sagt, er ist Herr aller. Und das ist das divine Stichwort, inspiriert vom Heiligen Geist, Peter sagt, er ist Herr aller. Es gibt keine Macht, groß genug, um sich von ihm zu übernehmen, keine Macht, groß genug, um sich von seinem Volk zu übernehmen. Er ist Herr aller. Es sieht momentan nicht so aus, oder? Die christliche Zeugnisse, die wir alle sagen müssen, hat ihren Rücken gegen die Wälder. Es gibt so viele Mächte gegen ihn. Gott sei Dank, der Tag ist nicht weit entfernt, als die Herrschaft Christus absolut wird. Die Skriptur spricht über ihn als Herr aller Herre. Er wird die überragende Kontrolle in dieser Welt übernehmen, und jeder Knie muss sich bewegen, und jeder Knie muss sich vergeben, dass er Herr ist, mit der Glücke Gottes, der Vater. Ich nenne diese Dinge, weil sie zu unserem Herzen zurückbringen, etwas der Großigkeit des Herrn, der unser Schäpfer ist. Wenn wir das in unserem Herzen befestigen können, dann sind wir gut unterwegs, um zu verstehen, wie er all diese Dinge tun kann, die der Psalmist fragt oder sagt, als Fakten, weil der Herr unser Schäpfer ist. All diese Dinge, die ich erwähnte, zeigen uns, wie unendlich groß er ist. Es gibt niemanden wie ihn. Er ist einzigartig. Er ist allmächtig. Er ist allwissend. Er hat unendliche Ressourcen, und all diese sind für die Schafe verfügbar, wenn sie sagen, dass er mein Schäpfer ist. Nun, der Herr wird in vielen Fällen als Schäpfer genannt. Ich denke, ich mag es, wenn man sagt, dass er der Schäpfer ist. Das macht ihn in der Glücke seines Menschen ausstehen, ohne eine Bezeichnung für die Flotte. Obwohl, natürlich, dass er ein Schäpfer ist, zeigt, dass er eine Flotte ist, die nachgeguckt wird. Aber wenn wir über den Schäpfer sprechen, zeigt das ihn in seiner Großheit und in seiner Glücke. Und der gute Schäpfer, er gibt sein Leben für die Schafe. Was für ein Schäpfer! Ich glaube, dass David ein wunderschöner Typ dafür war. Als David als junger Strickling gegen den Lion und den Bären ging, nahm das etwas Mut. Er riskierte sicherlich sein Leben, um der Flotte zu helfen, wenn der Bär und der Lion gegen ihn kamen. Aber er war bereit, sein Leben zu legen, wenn ich diese Figur benutzen kann, um nach seinen Schafen zu schauen. Der gute Schäpfer gibt sein Leben für die Schafe. Wir wissen, dass in dem Ende der Epistel zu den Hebräern, Paul ihn als den großen Schäpfer spricht. Der große Schäpfer, der aus der Todesfamilie ausbrach. Oh, wie groß! Es gab nie einen Schäpfer, der starb und aus der Todesfamilie ausbrach, außer dem Herrn Jesus. Der große Schäpfer der Schafe. Und Paul bezieht sich spezifisch auf die Resurrektion in diesem Versuch. Dann finden wir, dass Paul wieder schreibt, nein, Peter spricht über den Chiefschäpfer. Es gibt Unterschäpfer, und es gibt viele, viele Brüder und Schwestern, weil wir female Schäpfer im Alten Testament finden, die sich um das Wohlsein der Flotte kümmern. Und sie verbringen ihre Leben in Künfte und Aufmerksamkeit und helfen denen, die der Flotte gehören. Sie sind Unterschäpfer. Also gibt es den Chiefschäpfer, und das bezeichnet ihn in seiner Großheit, wo er an Gottes rechten Hand ist. Und als Chiefschäpfer wird er Gewinne geben er wird Gewinne geben an die Unterschäpfer, wenn sie ihre Pflichten in Bezug auf die Flotte vertraglich ausführen. Wenn der Chiefschäpfer erscheint, wird er dir einen unverzweifelten Kronen der Glory geben. Nun, das ist wertvoll. Nur versuchen, den Menschen Gottes zu helfen, ihnen zu helfen, sie zu feiern, sie zu ermutigen. Eine weitere Bezeichnung, Peter spricht über den Schäpfer und Bischof deiner Seelen. Der Herr Jesus, wie er so aussieht, ist ein Überseher. Er ist ein guter Schäpfer in diesem Sinne, nicht so sehr in dem Sinne, dass er seine Leben für die Schafe in diesem Kontext legt, aber er schaut über die Schafe. Das ist das, was das Wort bedeutet. Der Bischof, der einen Überblick hat, der über die Schafe schaut und sich um ihre Wohlfahrt kümmert. Meine, was für ein wundervoller Schäpfer. Und er ist in einer Position von Macht und Autorität, um die Macht, die er hat, auf Behalf seiner Schafe. Er weiß, was du brauchst, er weiß, was ich brauche. Er weiß alles über seine Flotte. Und ein guter Schäpfer schaut nach seiner Flotte. Ich kenne nichts über Schafe, also werde ich nicht versuchen, zu sagen, was ein Schäpfer tut. Aber ich war auf der Landwirtschaft, als ich mit dem Landwirt ausgegangen bin, und sein normales Wort war, zu schauen auf die Bieste. Und er geht raus und schaut auf sie, und er kümmert sich um sie, und er weiß, einer braucht Aufmerksamkeit. Er kann es sehen. Er kennt die Schafe, er weiß alles über sie, er kennt ihre Namen. Und so weiß er genau, was jeder braucht, und er verwendet, was nötig ist. Nun denkst du an den Herrn Jesus, wie er dies macht, in Bezug auf alle Mitglieder seiner Flotte. Nur einer, der Gott ist, nur einer, der mit solchen Ressourcen besitzt, könnte dies tun. Aber natürlich benutzt er auch seine unteren Schäfer, um die Dienstleistung zu verfolgen. Der Schäfer und der Bischof deiner Seelen. Also habe ich versucht, in einer gewissen Maßnahme, zu empfassen, wie groß dieser Herr ist, dieser Schäfer. Der Herr ist mein Schäfer. Natürlich, wenn der Psalmist sagt, mein Schäfer, das ist extrem persönlich. Das zeigt, dass er eine sehr, sehr klare Verbindung mit dem Schäfer hat. Und wir können es nicht besser machen, als John 10 zu erklären. Erinnerst du dich, dass der Herr Jesus sagt, ich kenne meine Schäfer. Eine wunderschöne Ausdruck von diesem, als er aus der Todesfamilie ausging, erst einmal zu Mary von Magdala kam, und sie kannte ihn nicht, bis er ein Wort sagte. Mary. Jedes Mal, als er ihren Namen erwähnte, wusste sie ihn. Oh, es war eine enorme Menge in diesem Ton der Stimme, der Art, wie er Mary sagen würde. Es würde Volumen zu ihrem Seelen sprechen. Hier war derjenige, der für sie gestorben ist, jetzt ist er aus der Todesfamilie ausgegangen, aber sie würde auch erinnern, er war derjenige, der sieben Dämonen von ihr ausgeworfen hat und solch eine Heilung in ihr Leben gebracht hat. Und jetzt hat sie nur gesagt, Mary. Und das war genug, um ihr zu sagen, dass er lebend war. Derjenige, den sie liebte, war da. Er kannte seine Schafe. Er nennt seine eigenen Schafe einen Namen. Jetzt sagt es, sie kennen ihn. Sie kennen ihn. Nun, das ist eine der Fähigkeiten des christlichen Lebens, dass wir den Herrn kennen. Wir würden nicht über unsere Wissenschaft weinen. Wir würden keine Rede machen, eine große Rede, in Bezug auf unsere Wissenschaft des Herrn, aber, Gott sei Dank, wir kennen ihn. Und wir wären keine Christen, wenn wir ihn nicht kennen würden. Wir wären keine Christen, wenn wir keine Erfahrung des Herrn kennen würden, in einem intimen Weg in unseren Leben, Tag für Tag, und manchmal in außergewöhnlichen Erfahrungen. Aber wir kennen den Herrn. Das ist eine der Fähigkeiten der Schafe. Und sie kennen seine Stimme. Sie werden nicht zu den Stimmen der Fremden hören. Lieber Bruder Mr. MacBroom, bekannt hier von vielen, ich erinnere mich an ihn, in Port Seton zu ministerieren, und er sagte, die Mitglieder der Familie Gottes haben eine Intuition. Sie kennen die Wahrheit, wenn sie sie hören. Sie werden es nicht erklären können. Sie werden es nicht sagen können, wenn etwas falsch ist, in dem, was ihnen vorgestellt wird. Aber weil sie der Familie gehören, und sie haben eine neue Natur, und sie sind durch den Geist eingedrückt, wissen sie intuitiv, was richtig und falsch ist. Ich glaube, es ist dasselbe bei den Schäfern. Sie kennen die Stimme der Schäfer. Es werden heute viele seltsame Stimmen gehört. Der Neue-Jahres-Bewegung ist so zart. Die Sprache, die genutzt wird, ist eine schriftliche Sprache, aber es wird ausgewertet, um Menschen aufzunehmen. Und deshalb hören wir nicht zu dieser Art von Stimme. Sie machen großartige und proposteröse Stimmen. Insofern, wie wir uns kümmern, machen sie die Stimmen, die die Göttin für sich selbst macht. Aber sie sind in einer so zarten Sprache eingedrückt, dass sie die Unwahrheiten leicht inszenieren können. Und deshalb müssen wir vorsichtig sein, dass wir die Stimme der Schäfer hören. Und ihr werdet uns in vielen Fällen finden. Jehovas, Zeugen, Mormonen, falsche Kulten werden immer die Skriptur benutzen, aber es wird nicht die Stimme der Schäfer sein. Die Stimme der Schäfer ist klar, unmissverständlich, und sie macht zwei Dinge. Sie zeigt die Großart der Person selbst, und sie zeigt die Großart der Glücke, die sie bringt. Kulten tun das nicht. Kulten glorifizieren Menschen, irgendwie oder anders. Und in diesem Zusammenhang denigrieren sie Christus. Und deshalb ist die klare Stimme der Schäfer die Präsentation von sich selbst, und die Schafe reagieren sofort darauf, und sie folgen dem. Ihr wisst, wie wunderbar das ist. Und das ist das letzte Bild, das ich anwenden würde, sie folgen dem Schäfer. Das ist eine Beweisung von denen, die wirklich Schafe sind. Ich erinnere mich, einmal zu sprechen, zu einem Mann, der, ja, eine sehr, sehr gute Verabschiedung von Christus gemacht hat, und für eine Weile hat er sich sehr glücklich bewegt, hat Brot mit den Brüdern getrunken, und auch zeigte, dass er dort sehr glücklich war, aber er fiel weg, und leider ging er in den Sinn, und es wäre sehr, sehr schwierig, zu sehen, ob er wirklich dem Herrn gehört. Und ich erinnere mich, einmal zu sprechen, und er sagte, oh, ich bin immer noch, ich bin immer noch ein Mitglied der Flotte, er sagt, der Herr ist immer noch mein Schäfer. Und ich sagte, naja, es gibt eine Sache, die wirkliche Schafe immer tun, und das ist, sie folgen dem Schäfer. Das ist eine der Beweisungen von wirklichen Schafen. Sie folgen dem Schäfer. Und wenn sie beurteilen, dass sie dies, das und das nächste sind, und sie folgen dem Schäfer nicht, dann können Sie sich wohl fragen, was sie beurteilen. Und so, liebe Freunde, ich glaube, das sind die Beweisungen der wirklichen Schafe. Menschen, die sagen können, ja, der Herr ist mein Schäfer. Ihr wisst, das ist sehr viel mit dem Herrn verbunden. Es gab fünf Personen in der Skriptur, die den Herrn als mein Herr genannt haben. Zwei von ihnen, sehr bestimmt, waren mit Inspiration verbunden. Das ist David. Er sagte, der Herr sagte zu meinem Herrn, und das ist Jehova, er sagte in Bezug auf Christus, sitzt du in meiner rechten Hand. Nun, David konnte nur das sagen mit Inspiration. Und dann finden wir Elisabeth. Sie sagt, was ist das, dass die Mutter meines Herrn, bevor der Herr Jesus geboren wurde, klar wieder mit Inspiration. Und ohne Zweifel die anderen drei auch, aber ich glaube, die anderen drei als Ergebnis der Erfahrung, wo Thomas, ihr erinnert, sagt, mein Herr und mein Gott. Mary von Magdala, sie haben meinen Herrn genommen, und ich weiß nicht, wo sie ihn genommen haben. Und dann letztendlich Paul, wo er sagte, dass er alle Dinge zählte, für die Exzellenz von Christus Jesus, mein Herr. Sofern ich mich erinnere, sind es nur fünf Personen in der Bibel, die den Herrn Jesus als mein Herr bezeichnen. Und so finden wir sie intimamente verbunden mit diesem, mein Herrscher. Wenn er unser Herr ist, können wir das automatisch sagen, er ist unser Herrscher. Wir können das sagen, ohne einen Zweifel, dass, wenn Christus unser Herr ist, er unser Herrscher ist. Und letztendlich kommen wir zu dieser wunderbaren Ausdruckung, die ich nicht wollen werde. Was können wir darüber sagen, liebe christische Freunde? Die meisten von uns hier sind schon eine Weile hier. Es gibt einige Jahre, die in dieser Firma ausgesprochen wurden. Und ich glaube, wenn es möglich wäre, für jeden von uns unsere Erfahrungen als Christen zu präsentieren, würden wir alle sagen, wir wollten es nie. Und ich referiere nicht zu Brot und Butter. Ich referiere zur spirituellen Hilfe. Danke Gott für Brot und Butter, und ein bisschen mehr als Brot und Butter auch. Aber danke Gott für die spirituelle Hilfe, die jeder Christen von dem Herrn Jesus ausgewählt hat, in allen Umständen. Sie wollten es nie. Sie fühlten sich nie zu einem Verlust. Es gab nie eine Angelegenheit in ihren Leben, wenn sie fühlten, dass sie gegen eine blanke Wand waren, sie wussten nicht, was sie tun sollten, wo sie hinwerfen sollten. Es gab immer Zugriff auf den Himmel. Eine wunderbare Sache. Und ich glaube, das ist das, was der Psalmist sagt. Ich habe einen so wunderbaren Herrn, einen so wunderbaren Schöpfer. Ich weiß, dass er mich nie unterlassen wird. Er wird mich nie wollen lassen. In jeder Umstände, in der ich bin, werde ich Hilfe finden, werde ich Begeisterung finden, werde ich Kraft finden, werde ich Richtung finden. Im zweiten Kapitel von Deuteronomie schaut Moses zurück über den Wildnis-Weg, den die Kinder Israels durchgeführt haben. Und jetzt waren sie nur an den Grenzen der Erde, bereit, reinzukommen und es zu besitzen. Und alle Beweisungen, die wir in dem Buch von Deuteronomie finden, sind für alle Menschen. Ihr wisst, dass in dem Buch von Leviticus die Beweisungen genau für die Leviten sind, die Kirchen und die Leviten. Und insbesondere in dem Buch von Nummern die Verbindung mit denen, die das Tabernakel tragen. Und so in dem Buch von Deuteronomie finden wir Beweisungen für alle Menschen, nicht nur eine Klasse, alle Menschen und beweisen ihnen, was sie tun sollten, wenn sie in die Erde gehen. Aber Moses schaut zurück über den Weg, den er durchgeführt hat. 40 Jahre. Es war ein langer Zeit. Viele Versuche, viele Schwierigkeiten, viele Proben. Aber er sagt dies, er sagt, du hast nie etwas gefehlt. Nun, das war eine wunderbare Sache. Und natürlich wurden sie mit Manna gegeben. Jeden Schritt des Weges hatten sie Manna. Jedes Mal, als sie morgens aufgewacht haben, war es da für sie. Jeden Schritt, den sie betraten, hatten sie Wasser zum Trinken. Der Stein, der ihnen folgte, war Christus. Figurative Sprache. Nein, liebe Freunde, dort war die Bestätigung, die Gott für sie gemacht hat. Die Schuhe trugen sie nicht, die Kleidung trugen sie nicht. Nur so, wie Gott ihnen sagt, du hast nie etwas gefehlt. Wenn wir zum Neuen Testament kommen, finden wir, bevor der Gott von seinen Feinden genommen wurde, sagt er den Disziplinen, als ich mit euch war, hattet ihr nichts gefehlt? Und sie sagten, nein, Gott. Wie konnten sie vielleicht etwas anderes sehen? Als er mit ihnen war, hat er für sie alles gegeben, was sie benötigten. Nun, ich erstelle dies, um zu zeigen, was es für uns bedeutet. Als der Gott Jesus zu seinem Vater kam, hat er seinen Disziplinen gesagt, wenn ich weggehe, werde ich noch einen Befriedigenden schicken. Jetzt müssen wir verstehen, was das Wort noch bedeutet. Es bedeutet einfach, einer genau dieselben, wie du hattest, das ist, als er selbst. Derjenige, der zu meinem Platz kommt, wird genau dieselben sein, wie ich. Er wird alles geben, was ich gegeben habe. Er wird nach dir schauen, er wird sich um dich kümmern, er wird dir in jedem Fall helfen, und dieser wird mit dir bis zum Ende sein. Und ich glaube, das Geschenk des Heiligen Geistes in Verbindung mit Christus an der rechten Hand Gottes ist die Wahrnehmung, dass wir Christen nie, nie, nie wollen, in Bezug auf christliche Glücke, in Bezug auf christliche Ressourcen. Jetzt müssen wir sagen, dass dies völlig anders ist als der jüdische Glaubende. Als der jüdische Glaubende prosper war, war es sehr oft ein Zeichen, dass Gott ihn geboten hat. Tatsächlich sagt Gott, wenn du mir glücklich bist, wirst du geboten in der Tasche und im Lager, das ist, in materiellen Glücken. Abraham wurde mit Flüchten und Güten erhöht. Isaac wurde mit Flüchten und Güten erhöht. Gott hat sie geboten, so auch Jacob. Aber das ist nicht immer so im Leben eines Christen. Paul, ich glaube, der größte Christ, der je gelebt hat, der große, der jüngste Christ, wusste, was er wollen wollte. Hunger, Leid, wusste, was er wollen wollte. Und sehr oft als Christen müssen wir das erleben, dass materielle Prosperität nicht immer ein Zeichen ist, Gottes Glücke. Aber wir danken Gott für all die Glücke, die er uns geboten hat, sowohl materiell als auch physisch, aber vor allem auch spirituell. Aber wir können sicher sein, dass wir als Christen nicht in irgendeiner Situation wollen, die Hilfe braucht, spirituelle Hilfe. Es ist alles da für uns in dieser gläubigen Person, dem Herrn. Und er vermittelt es uns in der Macht und Dienst des Heiligen Geistes. In dem Epistle zu den Kolosseanen macht Paul zwei Referenzen zu Christus, die ich finde, in diesem Kontext extrem empfehlenswert sind. Er sagt, Christus ist alles, alles. Für den Christen ist Christus alles. Nun, in diesem Epistle finden wir, dass es diejenigen gab, die sich einbeziehen wollten, oder vielleicht einbeziehen, ihre Lehre zu der christlichen Faith, Philosophen. Er sagt, es ist in Ordnung, christlich zu sein. Wir wollen nicht, dass ihr euch vergeben, christlich zu sein. Aber unsere Intelligenz, unsere Wissenschaft ist so gut, dass ihr das eurer Christlichkeit hinzufügen, und das wird es viel besser machen. Ihr seid eine Macht in diesem Weltraum durch eure Intelligenz. Wir wissen alle Antworten. Und nur das hinzufügen zur Christlichkeit, und das wird eine gute Verbesserung machen. Paul sagt, nein, Christus ist alles. Es gibt nicht ein einziges Ding, das wir als Christen aus der Welt brauchen. Alles, was wir brauchen, ist in Christus zentriert. Wenn ich sage, oder eher, wenn der Psalmist sagt, ich will es nicht, wenn wir es dem christlichen Raum vermitteln, bedeutet das, in Christus gibt es alles für uns für den christlichen Weg. Christliche Dienste, christliche Haushalte, individuelle Christen, in allen verschiedenen Dingen, die wir als Christen brauchen, in jedem Raum, gibt es genügend Ressourcen in Christus, um diese Bedürfnisse zu erfüllen. Das ist sehr empfehlenswert. Und nur ein weiterer Quotation in der Epistel zu den Kolossien, er sagt, ihr seid komplett in ihm. Und das ist ein wundervolles Statement. All die Vollständigkeit wohnt in ihm, bodenlos, das ist, wo er ist, an Gottes rechten Hand, und wir als Gläubiger sind komplett in ihm, also brauchen wir nichts aus dem Islam. Wir brauchen nichts aus dem Neuen-Jahres-Bewegung. Wir brauchen nichts aus dem Intellekt der Welt. Es ist alles in Christus. Und je mehr wir von ihm wissen, je mehr wir von der Bibel wissen, die zu ihm bezieht, desto besser ausgestattet sind wir, diese Ressourcen aufzunehmen. Ihr seid komplett in ihm, in anderen Wörtern, in der Sprache des Sammels, ihr könnt es alle individuell nehmen, ich werde es nicht wollen. Nun, ich denke, das ist extrem empfehlenswert, und ich bin mir sicher, dass ihr es auch macht. Wir haben einen so wunderbaren Gott, und er ist unser Schäpfer, und wir haben die Selbstvertrauen, dass, was wir als Christen brauchen, es uns angeboten wird. Vielen Dank für die Aufmerksamkeit. Nun können wir in Sänger 327 schließen. 3, 2, 7. Herr Jesus, sind wir ein mit dir, oh Höhe, oh Tiefe von Liebe. Einmal für uns auf dem Baum geschlagen, sind wir ein mit dem Überleben. Unsere Schande, unser Schulden in der divine Liebe, vergeben und geboren von dir, die Schande, die Schande, die Schande war deiner, um dich frei zu setzen. Bald, bald wird dieser gläubige Tag kommen, wenn du auf deinem Thron gesessen bist, schreitst du zu einem wundervollen Weltbeweis, dass wir mit dir ein sind. 3, 2, 7. Herr Jesus, sind wir ein mit dir, oh Höhe, oh Tiefe von Liebe. Einmal für uns auf dem Baum geschlagen, sind wir ein mit dem Überleben. Unsere Schande, unserer Schulden in der divine Liebe, vergeben und geboren von dir, die Schande, die Schande war deiner, um dich frei zu setzen. Vergeben und geboren von dir, die Schande, die Schande war deiner, um dich frei zu setzen. Aufstehen jetzt in der Gläubigkeit, um dir das Wort zu geben, keine Leben, keine Tode, keine Tode, keine Höhe, dein Segen und dein Gebet. Bald, bald wird dieser gläubige Tag kommen, wenn du auf deinem Thron sitzen wirst, wirst du zu wundern schreien, obwohl dir gezeigt wird, dass wir mit dir ein sind. Amen. Herr Jesus, wir danken dir, dass wir mit dir beschäftigt sind. Wir müssen dir vergeben, wie wenig wir von dir wissen. Wir danken dir, für das, was dein Wort uns sagt, aber wir möchten dich mehr intim in unseren Leben kennenlernen, in der Gemeinschaft und mit dir wandern. Wir danken dir für jede Maßnahme, in der dies in unseren Leben wahr ist, und wir wünschen, dass wir hier sein können, für deine Freude. Oh, wir danken dir, für deine Großartigkeit. Wir danken dir, Herr Jesus, dass wir diese Hoffnung haben, dass du alles geben kannst, was wir brauchen. Dein Wort sagt uns, dass unser Gott alle unsere Bedürfnisse nach seinen Reichen und Glücken in dir geben wird. Wir danken dir dafür, dass du uns in der Gemeinschaft so lange hervorragst. So, Herr Jesus, du bist der große Anwalt der Gnade heute und Gnade in einer Menge und wir danken dir, für jeden hier, der etwas davon in seiner Lebe erlebt hat. Und wir bitten, Herr Jesus, dass wir uns alle in einer tieferen und voller Weise kennenlernen und wir sehen mehr und mehr deiner Großartigkeit und was du uns anbietest und uns helfen, dies zu verstehen, Herr Jesus, und nicht nur zu verstehen, sondern es zu verwenden und den Gewinn in unseren Leben Tag für Tag zu bekommen. Und so, wir prägen dich und geben dir unseren Dank in dein freundliches Name, Herr Jesus. …

… Wiederholen Sie bitte Psalm 23. Psalm 23 und wir lesen von Vers 1. der Lord is my shepherd I shall not want he maketh me to lie down in green pastures he leadeth me beside the still waters he restored it my soul he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for thou art with me thy rod and thy staff they comfort me thou preparest the table before me in the presence of mine enemies thou anointest my head with oil my cup runneth over surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever for those who were not here on Saturday evening we were considering this psalm and particularly the first verse the Lord is my shepherd I shall not want we endeavor to refer to a few scriptures that brought before us the greatness of the Lord and this of course gives the greatest possible confidence to the sheep as he considers how great his Lord is and able to provide for him and do for him all that is necessary and so I believe as we said on Saturday evening the body of the psalm can be appropriated in confidence as we understand the greatness and ability and power and skill of the Lord he is infinitely great he is God he's possessed with a limitable resources for each of his sheep and again I say this gives us the greatest possible confidence that all that is said in the body of the psalm will be fulfilled and will be for our present and our eternal blessing we also said that the psalm is distinctly Jewish one thing that occurred to me I'm not aware of any quotation from this psalm in the New Testament if I'm wrong then please correct me but many many of the Psalms have quotations in the New Testament but not from Psalm 23 but while it is intensely Jewish we can apply appropriate it as we do many other passages in the Old Testament for our present blessing so we want to go tonight to verse 2 he maketh me to lie down in green pastures he leadeth me beside the still waters David being a very efficient and reliable shepherd himself could use the imagery of the sheep and the shepherd because of his own personal experience in this and could say well this is exactly what the Lord will do for me what I did for my sheep you will remember that David didn't leave the sheep when he went into the valley of Elah when there was this great confrontation between Israel and the Philistines he left them in the care of others that showed he was very very reliable indeed and he just didn't leave the sheep to their own mercies he left them in the care of others that they might be well cared for and then you remember he tells that the bear and the lion came against the flock and he delivered the sheep out of their out of their paw and out of their out of the grasp of the lion showed he was courageous and deeply concerned about the welfare of the sheep now he transfers that to the Lord he says just as I did for the sheep the Lord will do for me in a far greater way of course and so here he's remembering what he did for his flock how he led them into lush pastures for their benefit that they might be properly fed and also he led them beside the still waters that they might have their thirst assuaged and that they might be healthy sheep now it's this that we find in relation to ourselves this is what we want to apply to ourselves to see how the Lord provides for us in our need today there's a beautiful expression and one of the Psalms I forget which one it is I think it's 65 or 67 I'm not sure but it speaks about the pastures in the wilderness now I think that's a beautiful expression that pastures in the wilderness convey the idea of a little portion of land where there is plenty of grass and plenty of water for the encouragement and sustenance of the sheep all around is arid and dry and barren but in this particular portion that is provision for the sheep now we find ourselves in a wilderness and we all know this perfectly well that this world cannot provide one iota of blessing for us indeed it can hinder us if we allow it into our lives but in the midst of this wilderness condition the Lord prepares for us ample provision ample sustenance ample refreshment indeed an abundance and it's there for our appropriation and for our blessing and so he says the psalmist he maketh me to lie down in green pastures I think most of us have seen sheep in a field and if we have approached the sheep they scamper away they don't know us we're strangers to them and they're frightened but when we see sheep lying down it indicates two things they've been amply fed and they're perfectly at peace and so I think this beautiful picture of sheep lying down in the midst of lush pasture is a beautiful picture that we can appropriate for ourselves and think of the abundant blessings that we have in Christ that bring peace to our souls and confidence and satisfy us and if you're not doing that there's something wrong with our Christian appropriation something lacking in our understanding of the blessings that we have in Christ in the 34th chapter of Ezekiel I think we referred to this on Saturday evening God indicts the under shepherds those who had the care of the flock of Israel and how sadly they failed in their service indeed they exploited the flock for their own benefit rather than look after the flock for the glory of God but God says the day is coming when I'll bring them into pastures and he says there will be one shepherd over them my servant David and all that the under shepherds never did he will do and they'll be blessed forever but he says three things about the pastures God does in that portion he says they're good pastures and he says they have fat pastures and he says they're safe pastures and I think we could well appropriate these things in relation to the pastures that we have brought into today if we can just go over them very very simply we understand the figure every day of our lives when a thing is good it meets the need if we go into a shop we have a few articles there set before us particular things we want to buy we reject this and we reject that and we choose this that's good that's just what I need so I'll have that and you purchase it and I believe this is the idea in scripture too when a things presented as good in scripture it meets the need of those who require help and blessing and also coming from the hands of God it's perfect and so when God says they'll be good pastures they have pastures that are fitted to meet the need of the sheep in every sense when they have fat pastures it means that the pasture that is there is rich it's calculated to build the sheep up in their strength and in their fatness of course and so we think of the tremendous richness of the blessings into which we've been brought and then of course when it's safe pastures that's a very very vivid picture too the shepherd guides his sheep into a field he locks the gate he sees that the sheep are safe and there they can lie down no intruder will come and they can feed and then they can lie down in satisfaction safe now I think all these figures can be applied to ourselves with great profit indeed we find some of them in the in the New Testament first of all sustenance now we know that this figure is used a great deal in scripture indeed in John 10 is mentioned by the Lord himself that the sheep shall go out and in and find pasture that is under his direction and under his care there will be ample provision for the feeding of the sheep now I'm not going to concentrate on the figure of grass I'm going to use the wider figure of food and the building up of our souls and there are many many allusions to this in scripture one of the best I think is in the Old Testament where every day when the children of Israel went through the wilderness there was a rich provision of manna for them every morning it was there now that's a most remarkable thing it tells us about the greatness of the creatorial God that he could provide for this nation marching through the wilderness a supply of manna that met their need that sustained them satisfied them indeed it says this in one of the Psalms he satisfied them with the bread from heaven so dear friends the manna was tremendous now I often say this that if we want a proof that the manna was good nourishing food we just need to take a long look at Caleb for 40 years he ate manna every morning and when he got into the land he says I'm a strong today as I was 40 years ago his strength was not impaired it had not diminished he was strong and healthy because the food that he ate day by day provided by God was nourishing and strengthened him the same was true of Joshua the same was true of the new generation that was taken into the land they all fed on manna and they were all blessed and of course we find in the numbering just before they went into the land there was a large number of warriors and they certainly wouldn't be weaklings and they too had been brought up on manna what does it mean aren't we reminded about the wonderful life the humble life of our Lord Jesus Christ isn't that the best kind of food for us to feed upon as we feed upon him and appropriate him in the power of the Holy Spirit so that we do find our way through the wilderness to be strengthened with our appropriation of that man that is we become like him in the Spirit's power we take on the features of humility and grace and compassion and truth and righteousness all the things that mark him in perfection can be seen in us in some way or other as we feed upon him how do we do this well I believe simply by reading our Bibles and praying about what we read and what we have read may be wrought into our hearts and into our lives in the Spirit's power because we know perfectly well we can't do it in our own power but we can do it in the Spirit's power marvelous thing again I'm going to pass on what I sometimes do in speaking like this if you want a real good feast and people say oh mr. Darby's too deep mr. Darby's too difficult to understand well just get the synopsis and read his remarks on the meat offering or the meal offering see well that's too difficult no it's not too difficult you read it it's as lucid as possible it's perfectly clear and he speaks about the wonderful pathway of the Lord Jesus he makes a remark like this that tells us something of the heart of the servant blessed master I would willingly take the lowest place but that belongs to thee beautiful expression of a man of God and also he says who could be proud who walks in the company of the humble Jesus and this is what it means in appropriating him the priests that was part of their food they were privileged to eat the oblation the meat offering and they were privileged to partake of it it was their food and so in figure as we appropriate that we become like him marvelous thing and this is rich pasture indeed I remember visiting a dear brother Jimmy Tate and fin dock day many years ago and he said Frank have you ever thought that the children of Israel when they ate the roast lamb that was strength for them to enable them to go out of Egypt in power and he says you remember when they went into the land they ate the old corn of the land and he says they never got weary of the roast lamb and they certainly never wearied of the old corn of the land but they did weary of the manna they loathed the manna and he says that's just the test for us we like to think of the death of Christ and all that he's accomplished for us in delivering us out of Egypt the world we like to think of Christ in glory where all our blessings are though how reluctant we are to appropriate the humble man who walked here in this world they loathed the provision that God made for them though how wonderful to think of our Shepherd bringing us into the rich pastures that he has prepared where there's an abundance of food available for all it's not some sheep in one corner grazing nibbling munching whatever term you use and some particles of grass and others not having much to eat no that's not the picture it's an ample supply for all and they would all partake of it and I believe if we can appropriate this way it would indicate the sphere of blessing that we have brought into in Christ marvelous vast range of blessing that Paul's epistles present to us and what a wonderful scope of blessing we find in them we haven't time to go over them sets them out the many many references we find to ourselves being in Christ in a position that he has prepared for us and given to us in the sovereign grace of his heart and goodness and ensures it's mine it belongs to every Christian it's their title to go in and enjoy these wonderful things feed upon them well the next thing is sustenance first and then satisfaction I believe that's conveyed in this idea of the sheep lying down he makes me to lie down in green pastures absolutely satisfied they've had their fill they can lie down now they are perfectly content my that's a wonderful thing to be satisfied we read a great deal in the Bible about contentment godliness with contentment is great gain and it's a wonderful thing in a Christian to be contented this contentment is a very very bad feature in a Christian always striving after something else always covetous always wanting more that's a bad bad spirit but the contented spirit the contented spirit that's really feasted upon the things that they have in Christ is a most wonderful thing to see and very often we find this in humble people who have really appropriated the things about Lord Jesus Christ absolutely contented with what they have there is a man in the Bible or should we say a tribe in the Bible and of course the tribe bears his name nafta lie and it says of him that he was satisfied with favor and full of the blessing of the Lord what a beautiful thing to be said of any man that he was satisfied with favor and full of the blessing of the Lord now a Christian is a most favored person and perhaps the greatest favor that he has is seen in Ephesians one when he's accepted in the beloved my that's a wonderful thing that we are accepted before God in all the worth of his beloved son not only because of the death of Christ that in one sense is a negative thing I'm careful what I say it means the clearance away of all our guilt and shame and all that was offensive to God but on the other hand when we are accepted in the beloved we are accepted in all the worth and glory of that wonderful person God's Son imagine being accepted in him oh how marvelous that is that God looks upon us as he looks upon his beloved son we are accepted before God in him there isn't any greater favor that we possess than that accepted in the beloved and full of the blessing of the Lord well then who can speak adequately about the blessings of the Lord the scriptures are full of them we find a man like Jacob for instance he certainly was full of blessings too and not only was he full of blessings but he could impart blessings and that's the great thing I think we would have to say this that a shepherd doesn't look after sheep simply to say I've got a nice flock he looks forward to a return from the flock he's going to get the wool he's going to get the meat he's going to get the price if he sells them he gets a return from the flock after all the care that he is bestowed upon them he gets a return from them that's only right and so it is with our shepherd he's bestowed a tremendous amount of care and compassion and kindness towards us well then there should be a return on our part to him and of course very often we can do this in the way we show blessing to others no dear friends what a marvelous man Jacob was he blessed the two sons of Joseph he blessed his own sons and he blessed Pharaoh what a man at the end of his life full of blessing and we talk about Jacob and all his failures and all his shortcomings why we couldn't tie shoelaces what a man he was a man of God and God calls him by that name the mighty God of Jacob that's how God describes himself in relation to this man and so blessing full of blessing yes marvelous thing to be full of blessing and satisfied in it and when we are full of blessing we can pass it on to others satisfied satisfied with favor and full of the blessing of the Lord I don't need to tell this company that very often we strive for this that and the next thing and we feel now if we can only get that we'll be quite happy quite contented and then we acquire it whatever it might be and we discover well it just hasn't provided what we thought it would no it's not just the thing it just doesn't fit the bill there's just a lack and that's always true of things down here doesn't matter how good they are but if we're full of the blessing of the Lord we are never disappointed everything that the Lord gives to us is worthwhile it's lush pasture it's something that we can feed upon and build up our souls build up our affections towards God and towards Christ and satisfying ourselves and bringing contentment into our lives wonderful thing and I think to see the sheep lying down is a marvelous thing indicating as I've already said this feature of contentment and the third thing I want to speak about is safety sheep lying down they are not afraid they're not scampering away because of some intruder they're lying down peacefully they've been satisfied in their eating and now they're quite content and there they are in safety now the Lord Jesus said this this is outside there are thieves and there are robbers there are hirelings there are strangers and all those persons are against the sheep calculated to upset them or cause them fear but he says in the one flock there is my power my presence my guidance my control my direction and then he says some of the most wonderful words that the Lord Jesus ever spoke calculated to give us the utmost confidence and assurance he says I give unto my sheep eternal life and they shall never perish neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand my father who gave them me is greater than all and no man can pluck them out of my father's hand I and my father are one there we have the safety of the flock each sheep safe in the shepherd's hand each sheep safe in the father's hand no one can possibly pluck them out of the shepherd's hand or the father's hand they have eternal life they're in connection with the father held in his hand who is who has a greater power than any other power my father who gave them me is greater than all and that's a very very embracive word all you think of any power that's against the Christian today and the father's power is greater than that power mention any kind of power you like father who gave them me is greater than all and no man can pluck them out of my father's hand I think of these capable hands the father loveth the son and have given all things to be in his hands everything has been put into the hands of the son he's so competent he's so great he's so able and there all things are placed into his hands because the father knows he can administer them look after them control them and use them for the father's glory that's why he places them in the hands of his son and those are the hands that are holding us indeed one of those hands holds the sheep no man can pluck them out of my hand oh how tremendous you think of that hand that was stretched out in grass Peter when he was sinking in the wave how often that hand is stretched out and saved you and me and in temptation and trial and difficulty when we might have succumbed to the difficulties and trials and pressures and temptations and sins of this world and he was there and he held us and he's never let us go and never will let us go no man can pluck them out of my hand there we find the safety of the sheep oh that's tremendous that we're held in his hand we're held in the father's hand and in the enjoyment of eternal life we can enjoy this place of sustenance safety and and satisfaction tremendous and we owe it all to the Lord Jesus then he says he leadeth me beside the still waters or another rendering gives the waters of quietness if you like waters of peace not a loud sounding waterfall or a raging torrent but quiet waters where the sheep can satisfy their thirst and peace and quietness without any fear danger beautiful picture I was looking through the epistle to the Ephesians and I noted how often in that epistle the Apostle speaks about peace and first of all the Lord Jesus Christ himself he is our peace and he made peace by the blood of his cross and he removed all the enmity between Jew and Gentile brought them together into one body so making peace my what a tremendous thing that is for Christians to enjoy peace oh what a wonderful thing it is we live in a world of this peace all around us there are upheavals of various kinds individually domestically nationally business Oh upheavals everywhere not a peaceful world that we live in and yet here the shepherd he can lead us beside the still waters where there is peace I believe a little company like this nothing to speak about as far as the world is concerned few elderly people and some not so old and gather together listening to the Word of God but we do have in our souls a sense of peace we're apart from the world and all its affairs and sorrows and strivings we're here together gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus and we're quite happy we're quite restful we belong to the Savior we belong to the shepherd we're bound for glory we have many blessings how wonderful to be at peace what a marvelous blessing we can lay our heads in our pillows tonight knowing that come what may we are ready to go we belong to him wonderful thing to have this peace peace of conscience peace of heart peace of mind yes he leads me beside the still waters the waters of quietness now we want to use this figure of water because it's a very important one in scripture if we think for a moment in relation to Israel what an important place it had we think first of all when they came out of Egypt and then they crossed the Red Sea a beautiful type of the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ then we find they move on and they're in the wilderness and they're brought to the place where there was 70 palm trees and also 12 springs of water I remember a brother in Yorkshire telling me that he asked an old Yorkshire brother in one of the meetings how are you getting on in the Bible reading oh he says we're at that place where they're drinking water and gooseland dates well that was the 12 springs and the 70 palm trees well it's a beautiful picture of refreshment the 12 springs of water living water there to encourage them and to be a blessing to them then they move on and they come to the bitter waters of Mara and then the wood was thrown in you remember and made the water sweet and we have that in our hymn death's bitter waters met our thirst our sight rather thy cross has made them sweet maybe I didn't quote that correctly but then we find that they come to the Red Sea and sorry the Jordan and come to the Jordan and they cross over and a beautiful type of our death and resurrection with Christ and passing over into the land with all its blessings and then in Deuteronomy 8 my what a description of the land a land of brooks and fountains and depths that spring up an abundant supply of water it all has a typical reference to the greatness of the work of Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit that's what I want to speak for a few moments about now a tremendous gift that we have in the power of the Holy Spirit the person of the Holy Spirit brother Willie was saying something about this this morning at breakfast time and John chapter 14 15 and 16 what we have in the Holy Spirit and the blessings that we have in him I think it's right to say that we are in Christ in glory marvelous thing there and we are in the spirit here in this world and Romans 8 so you're not in the flesh you're in the spirit and so if in the first part he make it me to lie down in green pastures we are occupied with the greatness and fullness of the blessing that we have in Christ I think we could happily say that when we are thinking of the still waters we're thinking of the tremendous position that we have now in the spirit and also as Paul says the spirit in dwelling us he says both of these things in that verse in Romans 8 we are not in the flesh we're in the spirit if so be it the spirit of Christ dwell in you now here is a tremendous consideration the water is used in John 4 and in John 7 as a type of the Holy Spirit in John 4 a well of water springing up and to our unto eternal life and of course connected with the great matter of worship I don't know how you feel dear friends but in the Christian world today there seems to be a movement towards a great deal of noise the great deal of activity and I find in these figures that the word of God brings before us we have brought a spirit of quietness well of water springing up and to eternal life and I appreciate quietness I'm sure you do too as we gather together to the Lord's name to worship oh how wonderful it is to be quiet and just to meditate sometimes it's ding dong bell as if we cannot have a moment of silence and silence can be a wonderful thing as we meditate and contemplate the Lord Jesus and his greatness and empowered by the spirit and the spirit is a quiet influence the still small voice that Elijah heard if you like not the thunder not the waterfall not the earthquake but the still small voice and I believe this is the spirits activity oh how he delights to have us in quietness before him as our minds might be focused upon the Lord Jesus well he said this this morning the spirit desires to glorify Christ know how we rejoice when we gather together in simplicity and quietness we think about him and so the spirit is in us springing up and we often had this brought before us springing up to the father in worship those who worship must worship in spirit and in truth not so much the clamor and activity and whatever way this clamor is presented but in the quietness of the spirits power and influence engaging us with the perfections and greatness and glory of Christ and this being presented to the father as true worship and also occupied with the greatness of the father himself and all that he is worshipping the father in spirit and in truth and as we appropriate the spirit and I say that I use this word humbly as we appropriate the spirit or if you like make use of the spirit we allow him to take control of us and guide us in appropriate scriptures and appropriate hymns and appropriate contributions then our spirits are led into this area of worship and praise that is in quietness and yet in power don't need to make a lot of noise if any of you have read Spurgeon's lectures to my students he says nonsense doesn't sound any better when it's shouted at the top of one's voice and so that's the kind of thing that we have to guard against that we don't try and impress by a lot of noise a lot of activity it's rather the quietness of the spirits control and guidance and leading us into the enjoyment of the worship of the father the spirits bringing up marvelous thing in your heart and in mine and then in John 7 we find the Lord Jesus speaking about the gift of the spirit as water flowing out from us a river flowing out from us you remember he says he that thirst let him come to me and drink and he says it shall be John chapter 7 says he that believe it if any man thirst let him come unto me and drink he that believeth on me as the scripture said out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water but this speak he of the spirit which they that believe on him should receive for the Holy Ghost was not yet given because that Jesus was not yet glorified I see the Lord Jesus first of all speaks about thirst and that's why the shepherd led the sheep to the still waters that they might have their thirst satisfied now the Lord Jesus saying many months if any man thirst let him come to me and drink and I find all through scripture that this is the way we receive the spirit through believing Christ there's no other way consequent upon believing in him we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit and says the Lord Jesus it should be like a river a river flowing out not so much this time springing up in worship but flowing out with all its freshness and with all its blessing you know that when the Nile overflows in Egypt then that helps all the area around and the vegetation is watered and things spring up and without the overflowing of the Nile there would be a great deal of poverty in the area but this annual overflowing of the Nile means a great deal to that country and the same is true in many many countries the rivers provide the irrigation and the refreshment the watering that is necessary for cultivation so here the Lord uses this figure of a river of living water flowing out from us and he says he's speaking here about the Holy Spirit now the Holy Spirit wasn't given yet the Lord Jesus had to die he had to rise out from amongst the dead he had to ascend to God's right hand and then and then only the Holy Spirit was sent as a gift and in Acts chapter 2 we find the Lord Jesus received the Holy Spirit for the second time and he bestows it upon his own upon earth the first time he received it was when he was in the banks of the Jordan and he was anointed with the Holy Spirit in view of his public service Peter says this that you're seeing now he has received from the Father the Spirit which he had bestowed upon us and so the Lord now receiving the Spirit from the Father bestows it upon his own upon earth in view of their continuance of a testimony a testimony that was a reproduction of his life for the benefit of others what a tremendous thing the Holy Spirit glorious person go equal with the Father and the Son and he indwells you indwells me he indwells every true believer in Christ and all the talk that we hear sometimes about the precise moment of when one is sealed and that kind of thing it seems to me is wrong kind of talking the sealing of the sealing by the Spirit is in the Father's prerogative it's his right he does it but I believe it's consequent upon believing in Christ no one can pinpoint a precise moment we can say that if a person believes in Christ they are sealed with the Holy Spirit and we find this in Acts chapter 19 that's the proof of it it's the proof of the verse that we find in Ephesians 1 and you remember Paul went to Ephesus and he found some disciples and he says what were you baptized to oh they were baptized to John's baptism well says Paul that's not enough we've moved on a long way since then haven't you heard that Jesus was here the Son of God and he died and he rose out from amongst the dead and after he ascended he sent down the Holy Spirit why they said we've never heard anything about that and so they accepted what Paul says they believe they got baptized and they received the Holy Spirit consequent upon believing in Christ that seems to me the explanation of Ephesians 1 after you heard the gospel of truth you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise and so dear friends that's true for you it's true for me it's true for every believer but first of all we've got to thirst and as we thirst then the Holy Spirit comes into our lives that is we thirst in relation to Christ we come to him he satisfies our thirst the Holy Spirit comes into our lives and then we are a blessing to others marvelous thing he leads us beside the still waters I believe that using this expression it simply means that today we as believers are led into the knowledge of these things that are for us in New Testament scriptures plainly distinctly led that we might appropriate them and have them in our hearts and our lives for our own satisfaction yes first of all and then because we are satisfied it means glory to God glory for Christ and also blessing for others may we be encouraged by his name and und unsere Gäste, und du, unser Schöpfer, bleibst uns bei dir. Lass uns nicht unsere Füße aufstehen, um in den kruxiven Weg zu wandern. 228 Ich bin ein glücklicher Schöpfer von Gewissheit, Liebe und Macht, die die Mörder jemals wussten, die Engel jemals geboren sind. 229 Ich bin ein glücklicher Schöpfer von Gewissheit, Liebe und Macht, die die Mörder jemals wussten, die Engel jemals geboren sind. 231 Ich bin ein glücklicher Schöpfer von Gewissheit, Liebe und Macht, die die Mörder jemals wussten, die Engel jemals geboren sind. 232 Lass uns nicht unsere Füße aufstehen, um in den kruxiven Weg zu wandern. 233 Ich bin ein glücklicher Schöpfer von Gewissheit, Liebe und Macht, die die Mörder jemals wussten, die Engel jemals geboren sind. 234 Gott, Jesus, wir danken dir, dass du unser Schöpfer bist. Wir danken dir für all die Glücke, die du in unsere Leben gebracht hast. Wie glücklich wir uns in deiner Präsenz fühlen. Wie glücklich wir sind, dass wir dir gehören. Wie sicher wir sind, dass wir in deiner Hand bleiben werden. Wir erinnern uns oft an das Stichwort des Apostels Paulus, als er sagte, der Gott werde mich von jedem bösen Schicksal ausgeben und mich in sein himmlisches Königreich bewahren. Nein, Gott, Jesus, das ist unser humbler Wunsch, dass wir so weitergehen können, wie es dir wert ist, dass es dir Glücke bringt. Und Gott, Jesus, dass wir auch mehr sein könnten und die Fähigkeiten zeigen, die wir in dir in Perfektion sahen, die so glücklich für deinen Vater waren. Also bitten wir, dass unsere Aufmerksamkeit dieses Abends, dieser alten Testament-Skriptur und ihre Verwendung zu uns, ein Glück für alle unsere Herzen sein kann, sodass wir mehr und mehr wissen, dass wir uns auf dich fühlen und dass wir zu dem, was wir in dir finden, zufrieden sein können, und nicht wieder zurückkehren zu den ungewöhnlichen Dingen und trivialen Dingen dieses Weltes und unsere Freude und Zufriedenheit in dir finden. Und so, Gott, Jesus, geben wir dir Dank für unsere Aufmerksamkeit deines preßlichen Heiligen Werkes, das uns zu dir führt. …

… Sam 23 Vers 1 We are reminded by him that there are enemies against the flock. We read of robbers, thieves, hirelings and strangers. And they're all against the flock. The hireling, he serves for his wages, but he never has any affinity with the flock. He's simply acting in a job to obtain something and to get some advantage through serving for the flock. The stranger, he has no affinity with the flock either. The flock, they don't listen to his voice, they won't follow him. There is no connection between the flock and the stranger. Thieves and robbers, their names indicate to us what kind of persons they are. They want to take what doesn't belong to them without any consideration for the flock. Now, these are enemies that the Lord speaks about. And again, too, we have a reference in that wonderful passage where the Lord speaks about security, that there are great powers, great powers which are against the flock. But, says the Lord, my Father who is greater than all, no man can pluck them out of my Father's hand. So I think there's sufficient evidence in chapter 10 of John's Gospel to indicate that there are very definitely enemies against the flock. And we know, of course, that there are those who scatter the flock. And what a tremendous havoc has been caused amongst the people of God by those who have scattered instead of binding together. David speaks about his enemies, a table prepared by the Lord in the midst of his enemies. And we know that from very early in his age, we find that David had to contend. We've referred already to him defending the flock against the attacks of the bear and the lion and how courageous he was in doing this. Then when we move over into another realm, apart altogether from the flock, we find him facing Goliath and how well he dealt with him, the great enemy of the nation of Israel, the flock of Israel, God's flock. And David, he stood in the breach and what a victory he secured. As we proceed in David's history, we find he had enemies in his own family. Michael, his own wife, despised him. Absalom, his son, sought to usurp the throne. And we find that the Philistines were continual enemies of God's people and many, many others amongst the nations too. So David was speaking very, very experimentally when he spoke about the enemies in the midst of which God provided a table for him. I don't need to tell you that we are surrounded with enemies too. We carry a very formidable one with us every day of our lives and that's ourselves, the flesh. Very, very formidable enemy, very powerful one, possessed with great power and great skill and great cunning. Satan, of course, is the greatest of our enemies and he's a very, very powerful enemy indeed. And we should never, never, never underestimate the power of Satan. Then too we have the world and that's a very powerful enemy and it can intrude in a very cunning and insidious way and deprive us of the enjoyment of the things that belong to the flock. And then too there are many, many enemies that are very definitely set against the Christian faith and they're growing every day, becoming more apparent, more open in their definite attacks against Christianity. So we are not unaware of the fact that there are enemies. Thank God that there is a table prepared in the midst of them for our help and our encouragement. First of all we want to establish what the idea of a table means. And if we remember that in the Old Testament when the children of Israel were going through the wilderness they grumbled and complained about the lack of food and said, can God provide a table in the wilderness? In other words, can he provide amply for us and meet our need? That's one idea connected with the table, simply a provision for us in our need day by day. We want, of course, to have a deeper and better application and that is it always represents the idea of fellowship. And so we want to connect these two ideas with the table that's furnished or was furnished for David and, praise God, is furnished for us. First of all in connection with ample provision for David. There was a time when David was in deep, deep trouble and his enemies were very powerful against him and an old man called Barzillai, he came along with ample provision for David and for his army. And you can read this, I think it's in 2 Samuel and what a tremendous variety of food Barzillai brought along. He loved the king and he loved the king's interests and so he provided and no doubt it was the Lord who guided him and directed him to do this. So while Barzillai is the instrument that's used, it's God who is behind this. And so David's army was provided with ample food in order to bring the kingdom back to David so that he might be the undisputed monarch. Fellowship. Yes, thank God David had fellowship too. There were those who came to him in the cave of Adullam and what did they say? Thine are we, David, and on thy side thou son of Jesse. We are for you, David. We are for your interests. We want to have a common interest and partaking in this great kingdom of yours and we want to be with you in this case in battle. Thank God the time came when David did become undisputed king and he was able to reward handsomely those who were prepared to share rejection with him. And so I believe these figures we can apply to ourselves today. Thank God that he has made ample provision for us in order that we might be able to continue warfare, if you like, in relation to the interests of the Lord. He provides us with the resources. He provides us with the opportunities. Thank God provides us with the courage too so that we might be able to stand in this evil day. But then fellowship is something that we are profoundly thankful we can have when we are surrounded by enemies. I have the slightest doubt in my mind that this has been one of the main points of attack of the enemy, the destruction of Christian fellowship in its pure character. Remember at the very beginning of the church's history, it says those who were converted, those who believed the apostles' word, they were baptized and they continued steadfastly in the apostles' teaching and fellowship and in the breaking of bread and prayers. Now, what was the apostles' fellowship? Was it something that belonged to them personally? And we don't believe that. We believe the apostles' fellowship was that circle of taught men who were privileged to maintain the Lord's interests after he went back to heaven. All the teaching that we find in the Gospels was in view of the position that they would occupy upon earth after the Lord had gone. And they were responsible to teach others these important features of truth that the Lord had taught them. Now, when he gathered them around himself, he was the center. They were all there because he had chosen them. They were all there because he was holding them together. It was his power, his attraction, his greatness that held that little company together and gave it character. I suppose separately they were an undescript lot. But joined to the Lord, they were privileged and honored people and blessed people too. Now, when the Lord went on high and sent down the Holy Spirit, there was that little company and resident in them was all the teaching that the Lord had given to them. And so those who were converted were brought into that fellowship where they could learn about the Lord and the Lord's mind for them and represent them here. The fellowship that they had now was the common bond that they had in the Lord Jesus governed by the truth that the Lord had given to them. We ought not to forget that. That the person of the Lord was the bond that they had, the attraction that they had, and his greatness and his glory held them together. But they were to be controlled by the truth that the Lord had made known to his disciples. I believe that was the apostles' fellowship. The Lord Jesus the center and the truth that he had given to them to control them and govern them in this world. Now that was at the beginning. We know that added to that we have Paul's teaching and that too was brought into this wonderful divine circle and a great deal of teaching and exposition concerning the person of the Lord, the formation and functioning of the church, and many other truths. It was still the one fellowship. Paul describing it the fellowship of God's son. That's a wonderful thing. I believe that every true believer in Christ belongs to the fellowship of God's son. They're there because God has chosen them. God is faithful, who has called you into the fellowship of God's son. You're not in that fellowship because of some particular faithfulness that attaches to you or some particular knowledge that you have. You're there because God has called you to it. The fellowship of God's son. And that indicates to me, dear brethren, the dignity that belongs to this fellowship. There are many fellowships in the world in a secular sense where men and women through acquiring certain degrees and status belong to a particular fellowship. And of course only those who have the qualifications are entitled to belong to that fellowship. Praise God, this is the greatest fellowship upon earth and everyone who belongs to it is there because they have believed in the son of God and because they are indwell by the Holy Spirit. Now when we come to the responsibilities of that fellowship, that's another matter. And we believe in 1 Corinthians chapter 10 when Paul speaks about fellowship there, he's talking very definitely about the responsibilities that belong to those who are in this fellowship. Those who partake of the Lord's Supper are not to be connected with anything that's dishonoring to the Lord or dishonoring to God. That although it's a very extreme statement, you cannot partake of the Lord's table and the table of demons, the principle is you cannot be connected with anything that's dishonoring to the Lord. You cannot be going on with something that's an offense to him, you must be separate from it. You cannot go on with that which is dishonoring to him. Now we all have to apply that to our own lives. Is there anything in our lives that's dishonoring to the Lord? Am I in any association that's dishonoring to the Lord where his name is denigrated in some way or other or divine principles are set aside? Then the responsibility of the fellowship really means that I must separate from it in order to be true to the fellowship and the one who is the center of it. When we come to chapter 11 of 1 Corinthians, we have how the fellowship is expressed in the breaking of bread. When we partake of the loaf, first of all, we're thinking of the precious physical body of Christ, the body in which he suffered on the cross. No one can possibly enter in to all that it meant to him when he died on Calvary, that body in which he suffered for your sins and for mine. But in a secondary sense, when we break that loaf, we think of the one body. When we think of the loaf, we think of the one body consisting of every true believer in our Lord Jesus Christ. And we say without any fear that every true believer should be partaking of the Lord's supper. It's their right and their privilege. Of course, there are governing things, too, connected with upright walk and the knowledge of proper doctrine. Anything like that might hinder our participation in the Lord's supper. But as a principle, yes, it is true that every true believer in Christ, members of the body of Christ, ought to be partaking of the Lord's supper. Fellowship, what a wonderful thing. But the great thing is, as common partakers, that's what the word means, common partakers, it's because Christ is central to it. And one feels, oh, how much we've missed this. And I speak for myself. I'm not throwing stones at anyone else. I'm thinking of myself, how much this has been missed in my life, that Christ is central, that all truth relating to the fellowship must be held in relation to him. It's not what I think, it's not what I feel, it's what he is, and all the honor and glory that's due to him. Now, this table that's furnished in the wilderness, David says, is for him. Well, individually, of course, we appropriate it and enjoy it. And what a wonderful thing it is to enjoy it. I think the fact that we're gathered here this evening is a wonderful expression of fellowship. We come from different parts, with different callings in a secular sense, and we're all different, except in this one great matter, we're all unified in our knowledge of the Lord Jesus as Savior and Lord, and we're all unified in the fact that we're bound together in this great bundle of life. We're all partakers of this fellowship. Wilderness? Yes, very, very definitely. This is where we enjoy. We might come together each Lord's morning, as thank God we do, and very often it appeals to me, this is just like it was in the days in Jerusalem when the Lord gathered the few around him, and outside a seething mass of intrigue and hatred and opposition against the Lord. And yet in that little room there was quietness. The Lord's presence and power was dominating that scene as he showed to them the way they were to remember him in his absence. I like to think of that, how tranquil it was, how peaceful. All that was going on in the world round about didn't intrude there. The Lord's presence kept it out, and the disciples were so glad to be there and enjoy the presence of the Lord as he showed them what they could do in remembrance of him in his absence and what wonderful fellowship they had. And that has continued ever since, and thank God we have our part in it, and how glad we are that we still have that opportunity to remember him in the wilderness, in the place where he is still rejected and cast out. There is the fellowship of the Spirit. Paul speaks about it in Philippians chapter 2, and we believe that's a fellowship that's dominated by the Spirit, that he's the power of it, that he directs in it, that he unifies the saints in relation to Christ and God, and this is his particular service in doing this. He, if you like, he's permeating the fellowship with his power and his influence and directing our hearts towards God and towards Christ. There is also the solemn side of fellowship when Paul desired to have the fellowship of his sufferings. We're not so keen about that, are we? We don't deliberately rush into a position where we're persecuted, but if we're faithful, it will come. And when it does come, we are having fellowship with him in his sufferings. Not those atoning sufferings on the cross. No one could have fellowship in them. Thank God we can know what it is to be sneered at, mocked, disparaged. We know what it is to be in some measure persecuted, maybe not physically, but in other ways, or the world can be very severe when it likes without physical persecution. And all that, I believe, is fellowship in the sufferings of the Lord. But fellowship is a sweet thing. Paul says, thou hast prepared a table for me in the presence of mine enemies. That is, no matter how great the enemies are, how numerous they are, God is thinking about his own and he's providing for them simply in whatever way they need. And there's that little center where Christ is supreme. Now I'm applying the anti-type, rather, where Christ is supreme, where we can enjoy all that he provides in spite of the opposition that is against us. Now he says, thou anointest my head with oil. I don't know if David was referring to any particular function that took place in relation to sheep, that might be, but I like to think of his own experience when he personally was made the Lord's anointed, when Samuel came to him, you remember, and anointed him the king to take the place of Saul. Now we want to speak about that just for a minute. Brother Jack referred to it one morning about the seven sons, great in stature, imposing men, and Samuel thinking as each one came before him, ah, that's the man, ideal man for the king. No, they were rejected. Man looks on the outward appearance, God looks on the heart. We don't know why they were rejected, but David was the man after God's own heart, and God knew David's heart, and so when David was brought before Samuel, arise and anoint him, this is he, this is the one whom God had chosen, and well he proved that he was a man after God's own heart. Now David never forgot one thing about Saul, and that was that Saul was the Lord's anointed, and you know that he never lifted a finger against Saul when he could easily have done so, and Saul was one of his bitterest enemies. All was seeking to slay David after envy filled his heart. Terrible thing, envy. And then we find, time comes when Saul is slain on Mount Gilboa, and unfortunately Jonathan too, the weapons of war have perished. So dear friends, David became undisputed king, the anointing of the Lord was upon him, and he was distinguished above all the rest in the fact that this anointing oil was placed upon him. And I believe that's the great thought connected with it, the distinguishing anointing that stamps a person out from all the rest who are around. And you know that kings were anointed, priests were anointed, prophets were anointed, and this indicated that they were stamped out, if you like, or distinguished for a particular service that only they could render. We are very, very thankful that we can see this because those who were anointed were distinguished persons and they performed their function in a very efficient way. Then we have to understand what this means for us today. And we're not left in any doubt that the oil speaks about the Holy Spirit, because when we transfer this to the New Testament, we read about the anointing. There are three particular passages in the New Testament that speak about the anointing of the Lord Jesus Christ, and it's always with the Holy Spirit. We read in Luke chapter 4, where it says, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. He hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. We read about it, too, in Acts chapter 10, where Peter says that the Lord Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit and with power. And in Acts chapter 4, we're reminded again by Peter that the enemies, the princes, had banded together against the Lord and against his anointed, and thy holy servant Jesus whom thou hast anointed. And so we believe that the anointing indicates the Holy Spirit coming upon persons to perform a particular service, and this, of course, was distinctive in relation to the Lord Jesus. Now, you know that the word Christ or Messiah simply means anointed, the anointed one. And the Lord Jesus was distinguished in this way when the Holy Spirit came upon him like a dove. There he was anointed publicly in view of his service for God in this world. But then we come to ourselves. And are we anointed? The Bible says yes, we are anointed. In 2 Corinthians chapter 1, we find Paul mentioning three different features connected with the Holy Spirit in relation to ourselves. We are sealed, we are anointed, and we have the earnest of the Spirit. Three different ideas, but all connected with the Holy Spirit. We are anointed. So if you like, we too are distinguished. Distinguished persons in this world, favored persons in this world, in that we are anointed with the Holy Spirit to perform the functions that God requires of us as we are found here in the wilderness. Now isn't that tremendous? We are indwelt with the Holy Spirit forever. It says he will abide with you forever. My, that's wonderful. If it had depended upon our faithfulness, he would have left us long ago. But that's just the difference between the gift of the Spirit in the Old Testament and the gift of the Spirit in the New Testament. Saul, the king of Israel, had the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit empowered him and he did great things for God until he was disobedient and the Spirit was taken from him and came upon David, the anointed king. That will never take place in you, in me, or any other real Christian. When we are sealed with the Spirit, we are sealed until the day of redemption. We are sealed, we are given the gift of the Holy Spirit right to the very end of our lives here, right to the end of the Christian testimony here. The Holy Spirit is here forever. And if there is any particular function that we desire to do in the assembly, then the Holy Spirit is the power. I believe that's a secondary thought connected with the gift of the Spirit. You say, well, can't the Lord just give us power and then that enables us to do what we want to do? No, he wants to give us the person of the Holy Spirit to come upon us, to tell us and remind us that in ourselves we are hopeless and useless, that we need a power greater than ourselves, we need someone infinitely greater than ourselves in order to do anything for the Lord. And we know that we are very often like Saul, we are very often disobedient, we are often impulsive like Saul in offering up what we ought not to offer as Saul did, things of that nature that indicate impetuosity, indicate disobedience, and we don't get help along that line. But when we humble ourselves and say, yes, Lord, in ourselves we are no use, we are hopeless, but we do want to do this for thee, then the power of the Spirit is there to help us. My, that's wonderful. And I believe that's why the Christian testimony is still here today. And if the Spirit had been withdrawn at any moment because of the unfaithfulness of the Church, it would have disappeared. But the Spirit is here and will never be withdrawn. The anointing, thou anointest my head with oil. And so we too can say we have received the anointing and we can do the things that the Lord wants us to do. But another thought connected with the anointing, and we find this in John's epistle, first epistle, chapter 2, where he says we have received an anointing from the Holy One. Same word, anointing. The anointing that you have received makes you indispensable, makes you rather, that's not the word I should be using, it makes us superior to all the knowledge that man possesses, and he can't give you anything in this realm because the Holy Spirit is here to teach us. You don't need any man to teach you, says John, you have the Holy Spirit. Now that does not run contrary to what Paul says in Ephesians chapter 4, when he says the head in glory has given gifts to the assembly, apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastor, teachers, with a view to the work of the ministry and so on. There very definitely the gifts are given for the teaching of the Church. So what John is saying, you don't need any man to teach you, that's the natural man. The natural man is incapable of giving anything to the saints of God, but the Holy Spirit can, as 1 Corinthians chapter 2 tells us. The second chapter tells us that the natural man, he cannot receive the things of the Lord, he cannot impart the things of the Lord, but because we have the Holy Spirit, then spiritual things can be communicated to us. So dear brethren, we are well supplied. We are anointed with oil, anointed with the Holy Spirit. We can claim that on the authority of the Word of God, every true believer. Now we find this last statement, my cup runneth over. My cup runneth over. There are various thoughts connected with cups in scripture. You remember the well-known one, when the Lord speaks about a cup that he had to drink, the cup which my Father hath given me to drink, shall I not drink it? And that wasn't a cup of joy, that was a cup of woe indeed, a cup of sorrow. But he was willing to drink it in order to accomplish the Father's will. We read in the Old Testament about God's cup of wrath, a cup that he would pour out upon Israel and upon the nations because of their opposition and wickedness. But here this is a cup of blessing. My cup runneth over. It's not half filled, it's filled to overflowing, more than enough, ample there for David's blessing and encouragement and refreshment. Now if we just refer to three scriptures in connection with this, it might help us to see something of his blessing. In one of the Psalms, I just forget which at the moment, I think it's Psalm 119, I may be wrong, where the psalmist says, I will take the cup of salvation. I will take the cup of salvation. And by, that's a full cup, and a cup that's running over, running over with every conceivable blessing, the cup of salvation. What I'm going to say, you've heard it over and over again, that we're convinced we have to repeat these things because they're necessary. Salvation doesn't simply mean that my sins are forgiven and I'm going to heaven. Praise God for that. That's a very wonderful thing. But when I think about salvation that I have acquired through Christ, it's a very embracive term indeed. And first of all, that salvation deals with the guilt of my sins and this reminds me of the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Thank God for that. Every qualm of the conscience, every question of doubt can be settled when we gaze at the cross and see that the Lord Jesus in his death there has settled once and for all the question of my sins. The cross of Christ is the reason why I'm saved. That's a very, very full cup indeed. But then we find day by day, in very practical experience, we come up against sins, we come up against sin in the world, we come up against it in our lives. And what are we to do? Well, says Paul in Romans, we are saved by his life. Here is another feature of salvation. Saved by his life. Why, Paul, you continually tell us we are saved through his death. How are we saved by his life? Because Paul's not talking about the life that he lived down here in this world. He's talking about the life that Christ has at the right hand of God. And he's talking about all the power that can come through Christ at the right hand of God for your benefit and mine to enable us to fight against sin and the consequences we meet in this world. Just let me give one example of this. You remember Paul writing to the Philippians, writing from prison. And he said to them, your prayers and the supply of the spirit of Jesus Christ shall turn out for my salvation. Was Paul doubting his salvation? Was he doubting about the matter of his sins? Not for a moment. He's talking about his circumstances. He's in prison. He's subject to pressure. He's subject to persecution. How is he going to react? He says, I want to be like Christ. He says, the Lord was in prison. The Lord knew what it was to be persecuted and to be ill-treated in prison. He says, I want to be like him. He opened not his mouth when he was taken like a lamb to the slaughter and when he was treated shamefully. Paul says, I want to be like him. The spirit of Christ, that's what he wanted to be in him. And that would save him, save him from his circumstances and the conditions that he was in and enabling him to live like Christ. So this is practical salvation over sin and over consequences. And that's a daily matter. And that's connected with the man who is in the presence of God. Then Paul says, now is your salvation nearer than when you believe. What does he mean? Why, he says, this is the final act of salvation and is connected with the coming of the Lord. When we'll be saved out of the very presence of sin and guilt and opposition. So you see the cup of salvation is a very full cup and it's all connected with Christ. And if we miss that, we miss the best. His death, his glory at the right hand of God, his coming again. But because of him, the guilt of my sins is dealt with, I have power to fight against sin and consequences and I look forward to the final act of salvation when my body will be changed and I will be caught up to be with Christ. That's a good cup of salvation. A very, very full one indeed. That one is running over because there's plenty in it to meet our need. Then Paul speaks about the cup of blessing. The cup of blessing which we bless is it not the communion of the blood of Christ. Oh, what a wealth is there when we think of all that the blood of Christ has brought us into. John says it cleanses away our sins, every one of them, not a vestige of them remaining. Paul says we're reconciled to God by the death of his son and involving his blood too. And through that blood too we're privileged to draw an eye into the presence of God, the cup of blessing. Oh, who can expound adequately all that's involved in that expression, the cup of blessing. And it's held out to us every time we go to remember the Lord. And we make much of that cup. That's the idea. We eulogize it. It's so full, it's so wonderful. And it's all connected with the value of the blood of Christ. And through that blood our guilt is dealt with. Praise God, through that blood we can worship. And so it's a very, very full cup indeed. And then lastly, again referring to the Lord inaugurating the supper, he says this is the cup of the new covenant in my blood. Now we know that strictly speaking the new covenant according to the book of Jeremiah is made with Israel, the house of Israel and refers to a coming day. But the principles involved in that covenant are equally applicable to the people of God today. And Paul sums them up in two distinct features in Hebrews chapter 8 where he says your sins and your iniquities will I remember no more forever. Then it says and all shall know me from the least to the greatest. Now we often say this, that people who talk about the forgiveness of sins as being something elementary, they don't know what they're talking about. It's all through the Bible. The forgiveness of sins is a unique blessing that can only come from God. No one else but God can forgive sins. And God doesn't give to us anything that's elementary. And that's the very basis upon which all his blessing comes to us. The day of atonement stands out in the Old Testament as the great sacrifice that affected the nation of Israel year by year. And too when you apply it to ourselves, marvelous thing that our sins are forgiven. Perhaps we don't realize the greatness of that wonderful blessing. To lay our heads in our pillows at night and to say they're all gone, no fears. We're ready to meet God. And too to come before God with our consciences purged and worship him and to know him, all shall know me from the least to the greatest. And so Paul sums up the new covenant as far as we're concerned in these two great blessings. And also, of course, there is the glory that excelleth that's far infinitely greater than all that was connected with the old covenant. Many, many other things that we find in 2 Corinthians chapter 3 connected with the new covenant as it applies to us today. That's a cup that's full and running over. Well, dear brethren, may these few remarks on this verse be an encouragement to us. First of all, we have fellowship. The table spread in the midst of our enemies. Secondly, we have favor, the anointing that we have received that distinguishes us from all around us. And then lastly, we have a fullness connected with these cups that I've mentioned and there are others too, how marvelous these things are. And they come to us through this great and glorious person who describes himself to us as the good shepherd. May we be encouraged for his namesake. Now can we sing 1-0-3? 1-0-3. We'll sing of the shepherd that died, that died for the sake of the flock. His love to the utmost was tried, but firmly endured as a rock. Of him and his love will we sing. His praises our tongues shall employ till heavenly anthems we bring in yonder bright regions of joy. 1-0-3. We'll sing of the shepherd that died, that died for the sake of the flock. His love to the utmost was tried, but firmly endured as a rock. When blood from the victim must flow, this shepherd by pity was led to stand between us and the foe and willingly died in our stead. Our song then forever shall be of the shepherd who gave himself thus, no subject so glorious as he, nothing so affecting to us. Of him and his love will we sing. His praises our tongues shall employ till heavenly anthems we bring in yonder bright regions of joy. Lord Jesus, we thank thee, we can raise our voices in song to thee now, and we're glad to do this. We derive a great deal of pleasure when we sing these hymns. We thank thee, O God, Lord Jesus, that they tell us about thyself, they bring before us thy glory, thy person, and the greatness of thy work, and we're glad to sing about thee. Glad to sing to thee also, Lord Jesus. And so we once more thank thee for the privilege of being gathered together and the honor of being occupied with thyself. We think of all the occupations of men in this world, their great men, their favorites, their heroes, their politicians, their leaders. So we thank thee that we have thyself, Lord Jesus, and we pray that we may have a greater appreciation of thee, more often speaking to thee, more often listening to thee. And so, Lord, we look to thee and pray that thou wilt have a greater part in each of our lives. Help us not to be overawed by the presence of so many enemies. They are but men. We know the power of Satan is great, who energizes them. Help us to rely upon thee, thy power. Thou didst say to thine own, all power is given unto me in heaven and upon earth. We thank thee for this. Paul, the great apostle, would say, I can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth me, and we pray that we may have that experience too, Lord Jesus, as we have found in this poor, sad world. And so we give thee thanks for our time together and bless thee, Lord Jesus, in thy peerless name. Amen. Copyright WDR 2021 …

… Sam 23 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest the table before me in the presence of mine enemies. Thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. We come now to verse 6 of our psalm, and we are deeply thankful for what the Lord has provided for us through his word in these previous verses, and we look to him to crown the psalm with goodness, if I can alter a verse a little. He crowneth the year with his goodness. We would like him to crown the psalm with his goodness as we look at this final verse. I think it would be right to say that the psalmist, having appropriated all that the shepherd could supply for him and give to him, he could make the statement with the utmost confidence that being led into the lush pastures and also beside the still waters and to be led in the path of righteousness and all the other things that we have seen in the psalm, no wonder he could say goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. In that short statement he says two things, that as far as his earthly journey is concerned he was absolutely sure, confident that goodness and mercy would be with him, and then when the earthly journey was over he would dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Now that was a very wonderful hope that he had, a tremendous indication of what he had appropriated from the good shepherd and also the confidence that marked him as to his life and as to the future, and we might well borrow these features, appropriate them for ourselves. The goodness of God, the goodness of the Lord Jesus, yes as Christians we can be absolutely sure that that goodness will follow us. There is a verse in Psalm 119 where it says God is good and he doeth good. Well I think that's a beautiful expression. He is good, he's perfect good, perfect goodness is seen in God. Impossible for God to be anything else but good. Everything he does is good, whether in creation or in his dealings with men. Absolute goodness is seen in our God, but not only is he perfectly good, he expresses himself in goodness to his creatures in a variety of ways. We believe as far as we are concerned the first thing we knew of that goodness was, as Paul says in the epistle to the Romans, when that goodness led us to repentance. And we started out on a pathway in which we experienced something of the goodness of God. Oh how good he is. When we start out on this pathway then we are assured of all the blessing that he can give to us. I like the verse in the first chapter of Luke where it says he fills the hungry with good things, good things. Now there are many bad things. I don't need to tell you about the bad things. We all know they are round about us very often in our minds unfortunately because of Satan's endeavor to sidetrack us and sometimes sad to see in our ways too. But the good things, yes that's what we want to have, the good things. And the Lord says that he fills the hungry with good things. Now if we've never come to repentance we'll never have any desire for good things. But the fact that we have repented, the fact that our sins have been cleared away, then immediately the new nature is there, the Holy Spirit's there, and there's a yearning, a hunger after better things, good things. And we are deeply thankful that all those good things are enumerated for us in the Bible as step by step we get to know the things that are proper for us, things that follow us, they're there for us all the days of our lives. Marvelous thing that God provides all these good things for us. I'm not going to attempt to enumerate them because they're so numerous, so many of them. And we read the epistles, we read the Gospels, again and again and again we're confronted with good things that are available for us in our Lord Jesus Christ. Now as we said, if we have appropriated all that the shepherd supplies, then we are in the path of righteousness and we're doing his will. And you remember what the psalmist says, no good thing will he withhold from those who walk uprightly. There's a vast sphere of blessing that's open to all those who desire to do the will of the Lord and are walking consciously in the pathway of that will. Good things, things that are pure, things that are holy, things that are eternal. And it's one of the statements in the New Testament, we come across it again and again, all things, all things, all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to his purpose. And I believe we have to look very carefully at the context to see what is meant by all things. They don't mean the same in every context, they are different. And so this term, all things, covers a very, very wide field of blessing. Indeed, in connection with the Lord Jesus, it covers a wide range of glories that he fills out in perfection. But in relation to us, yes, praise God, there are many things that we can enjoy, all things. How will he not with him freely give us all things? Again and again we come across this expression and this is what the psalmist is saying, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. Is this not one of the good things? That we who are believers in the Lord Jesus can meet together like this, gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus. We're not bothered with politics, entertainment, sport, the things that occupy people's minds today. Not dabbling in the stock market and worry to death in case the shares fall. We are occupied with pure things, holy things, abiding things that are made good in our hearts in the power of the Holy Spirit. Marvelous blessing. There are many, many people today who are tortured in mind, worried to death over one thing or another. How thankful we should be that yes, at least for this particular time, we can gather together and be occupied with things that are good. Good things, the goodness of God in providing these things for our spiritual sustainment and blessing. Ah yes, the difficulties don't go away but it is good to be in the company of the Lord's people and in the presence of the Lord and have our hearts lifted up a little above the difficulties so that we might face them with greater strength and encouragement. One of the best things I think that follows us is what Paul says in the epistle to the Hebrew. No, I think it's the second epistle to the Thessalonians. We have a good hope, a good hope. And that's something not exactly to have behind us but to know that it's there. A good hope and that won't go away and no one can destroy it. That good hope is presented to us and we have it, we know it in our minds and however much we may be occupied with secular things which is right and proper, however much we may be perturbed about other things, this hope is absolutely sure. That hope is the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul says that that good hope might establish us in grace and so dear friends it's a good thing to have this hope in our hearts continually. It's with us, not exactly following us but it's there with us and we have it, it belongs to us and we can rely upon it. There's another thing that we have and I enjoyed this in looking up in the scripture. It came to me as I thought about these references to goodness and that's what Paul says in the first chapter of the epistle to the Ephesians where he describes the wonder of God's blessings for us and he speaks about what is the good pleasure of God's will in adopting us to be his sons. Isn't that a marvellous thing? Now adoption suggests a previous history and all that history is gone when God accepts us in his son and gives us a place before him as his sons and it's not so much relationship and responsibility, it's a relationship in nearness and favour. We're there in all the blessing of that great and glorious person, the son. Isn't that a good thing? The good pleasure of God was to have us as his sons and that's something we can enjoy all the time. Good, superlative goodness that he should give us such a position before him and so these are just a few things. There are many many more in relation to this great realm of goodness. In fact I think if you went through the scriptures you would see how great this word is presented, how often it's presented, the greatness of the thoughts connected with it. Take for instance Israel. They were told it was a good land, a good land and God doesn't deal in the words that we deal with, fabulous. All the adjectives that people can get, God says it's either good or it's bad. Good fish, bad fish. Good men, bad men. And so when God says it's good, he's talking as far as he's concerned in the superlative. Marvellous thing. The good land was good, land flowing with milk and honey and had everything in it for the blessing of his people and so it is with us. If we apply that to ourselves, the good land that we've been brought into, how marvellous it is. Goodness and mercy. I think we would say that goodness is the outflowing of the heart of the saviour towards us, the heart of God towards us because of who they are, the good shepherd and the good God. It's all that they are flowing out from their hearts for our spiritual blessing, for time and for eternity. What's true of goodness is also true of mercy. What a wonderful thing mercy is. I remember being in a Bible reading many, many years ago and brethren were talking about mercy and a young brother, he asked an old brother, could you explain what mercy is? He says, dear young brother, when you get older you'll understand it. And I think that's true, that as we look back over our pathway, those of us who are getting on, we can say yes, we know a little about the mercy of God. That's not to say that you younger brethren don't know something about it, I'm sure you do, but marvellous thing to have something of the mercy of God in our hearts. Mercy that met us. Beautiful expression in Luke's Gospel again, the bowels of the mercy of God. Oh, it tells us about the yearning that was in the heart of God for your blessing and for mine. And we read that God was rich in mercy, an abundant mercy, Peter says. It wasn't just a niggardly supply, an abundant supply, a reservoir of mercy available for all who needed it. Of course in Romans chapter, Ephesians chapter 2 rather, Paul is speaking about this, about the mercy of God that springs out of his love. I think it would be right to say that in Ephesians chapter 1 the love of God is expressed towards us in order to satisfy God's own heart for his own pleasure. But when we read about the love of God in Ephesians chapter 2, we learn about that love operating towards us in our need. The mercy of God, the riches of his mercy, according to the greatness of his love, that when we were dead in sins he quickened us and brought us into blessing. You're saved by grace and through faith, that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. Oh, how great and how wonderful that mercy. So initially we start with mercy and it's a very, very great thing indeed. We often speak about the Good Samaritan and we spiritualize it in the gospel and we have every right to do so. And equally we can use it in a spiritual sense for the benefit of believers. But the great thing that is being taught is mercy. The Lord says, who was the one who showed mercy? And the reply was, well, the Samaritan. Go and do thou likewise, the Lord said. Show mercy. And that is something that should be prevalent in the heart of the Christian. Oh, how wonderful that this mercy is following us all the days of our lives. Indeed, always operating towards us for our lasting blessing. Now, we began in that way. It was the mercy of God that met us, met us in our need. And I think that's always the point in mercy, whether it be for the unconverted or for the believer. It meets need and it comes again from the heart of God. His abundant mercy, Peter says. And so we begin with that. Thank God we continue with it right to the very end, as we shall see. In the epistle to the Hebrews, we are reminded that there is a throne of grace and we repair to it to obtain mercy for every time of need. That's not for the unconverted, that's for you and for me. Now we set out, thank God, with the sense of God's mercy in our hearts and meeting the need that we had. And praise God, we know that there's a throne of grace available for us every day of our lives. The difficulties are varied and multiple, but thank God the throne of grace is available to meet every need. And we obtain mercy for everything that we require. Now, we know this by experience that very often things are difficult. We're up against a blank wall and there are many worries and many things that cast us down. And we get on our knees at night and we ask the Lord about it. We get to the throne of grace and we do obtain mercy. In the morning, things just, they're not just so bad as they were. We can face the day with a little more strength and a little more courage because mercy has been provided to us to meet our need and to sustain us and encourage us to pursue the pathway for the pleasure of God. I wonder, dear brethren, having received so much mercy, having received mercy to meet our need as sinners, having met, having obtained mercy to help us in our daily need, if we do what Paul says in Romans 15, that the Gentiles should glorify God for his mercy. Do we fail in that? Oh, how we should be deeply thankful for that great mercy of God and give him the praise and the worship that he deserves, that the Gentiles should glorify God for his mercy. And I believe it's incumbent upon us to get down on our knees as often as we possibly can and thank God and praise him and glorify him for the mercy that he has shown to us. My, it's wonderful. Where would we be tonight without the mercy of God? Paul says, I obtain mercy. He obtained mercy and he was taken out of his condition and put into a position of trust and dignity before God and how well he answered to that mercy and served God to the greatest of his ability and powered by the Holy Spirit. What a man he was. And so we're deeply thankful that there's mercy all along the way. Now, the last feature I want to speak about in connection with mercy is in the book of Jude. And you all know the verse I'm going to refer to, I'm sure. You know that the epistle of Jude refers to very, very dark days. He had a desire to speak about common salvation. Happy subject. We were speaking about it last night, the cup of salvation. Very, very happy subject. And Jude, he wanted to write about this, the common salvation. But apparently some things developed that were evil, that were in opposition to the truth of God. And so he wrote to the saints in order to encourage them to contend for the faith that was once delivered to the saints. And so in the body of his letter, he speaks about all the terrible things that have happened from creation onwards. The apostasy that often marked different classes of people and he's warning the saints against that. Now, these things that he mentions about keep yourselves in the love of God, praying in the Holy Spirit, building yourselves up in your most holy faith. And then lastly, he says, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. Now we believe that he's referring to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. There are references to the coming that are beautiful. For instance, when it says at the end of Revelation, the spirit and the bride say come, we have an impression of affinity between the saints and the spirit, that they're united and calling upon the Lord Jesus to come. When the Lord Jesus says in John 14, that he's going to come for the saints and take them into the Father's house, there we perhaps have the highest and most beautiful picture of the coming of the Lord. But this is a dark picture. Jude's talking about the developing apostasy. It's increasing and blatant forms and he's desiring that the saints might be kept in the midst of it, contending for the faith, built up in their own souls and all that kind of thing, praying in the Holy Spirit. Then he says, it will be a mercy, a mercy to be taken out of the scene altogether where all this evil is abounding. Maybe dear brethren, that there are very, very dark days to come for the Christian testimony. The Lord might not come immediately. I don't know. It'd be foolish to say when he's going to come. Nobody knows. But if he tarries for 10, 20 years, it's almost unbelievable to think of what will be the condition then, 20 years hence. Evil is becoming more blatant. Evil in the church is becoming more blatant. There seems to be no desire to check evil when it raises its head. In the established churches, amongst believers of all description, this thing seems to be easy going. Let's not cause any trouble. Doesn't matter about the truth. Love's the great thing that matters. Well, the Bible says, John says, I have no greater joy than to see my children walking in truth. And if you read his epistle, he speaks about love and truth joined together. And when we sacrifice truth for the sake of love, we'll be in dire straits before very long. And this is what Jude is talking about. And he's wanting the saints to contend for the faith. Whenever the faith is being attacked in any shape and form, it's to be contended for and to be defended and to be maintained. But apart from that, oh, they encroach on evil. And we see it all around. Intellectualism, mysticism, every kind of ism that you can think of invading the professing body. What a mercy it will be to be taken out of it. Looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. I think, dear brethren, those of us who are older, we should have a very large place in our prayers for young believers with young families. Because the enemy is attacking them and they need to be prayed for. They need to be helped. And our prayers can help in that respect. Don't think it's wasted time if we pray for young believers and their young families in the difficulties that they may have to face if the Lord doesn't come. Indeed, many of them are facing that today. And so we ought to be more earnest in our prayers for the young. And I think we could ask the young ones to pray for us elderly ones too. For we need it too in our lives. We need help and encouragement as well as they do. But what a mercy it will be to get clear of all this rubbish that is going on. We know that after the Lord comes for the church, things will get worse. There will be one church, a worldwide church, and what a mess it will be. A nauseous mass and John speaks about the Lord spewing it out of his mouth, obnoxious to him. And as has often been said, it's so dirty, so filthy that the Lord won't dirty his hands in dealing with it. And so he gives the beast that job and the beast destroys the harlot church. That's what it will become when Christ takes the church, the real church, the vital church, out of the scene. So again I say, what a mercy. This last touch of mercy as far as we are concerned, as far as the church is concerned, to be taken out of the scene to be with Christ. Goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. There's a beautiful verse in Deuteronomy. I want to read it to you. It's Deuteronomy chapter 30. It has to do with Israel. Chapter 30 and verse 20. It has to do with Israel, but we could well appropriate what it says, apart from the land, which means the land of Israel, that thou mayest love the Lord thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him, for he is thy life and the length of thy days. That's the part I want to emphasize. He is thy life and the length of thy days. My, what a marvelous thing to have God as our life every day. Indeed, that's what the psalmist says in one of his psalms, the God of my life. That gives us the impression that day by day he lived in communion with God and too in obedience to God. And so when the psalmist says here that goodness and mercy will follow him all the days of his life, then he's referring to all the help and all the encouragement that God will give to him through Christ every day. I think we said in one of the previous evenings that God measures our lives by our days. We might almost say moments. I remember reading about that hymn that was composed, Every Hour I Need Thee. And while that was being sung on one occasion, there was a brother said, well, I need something more. And so he composed the hymn moment by moment. And so that's very, very true. Not only days, not only hours, but moments. Every moment of our lives we have the help of God. Goodness and mercy follows us all the days of our lives. And Jacob spoke about that, the God who shepherded him all the days of his life. Now, I believe that is a great encouragement for us. And we mentioned this already too, that the Holy Spirit is with us right to the very end, all the days. Now, I believe honestly that we cannot speak about these things unless we are firmly embedded in our minds that the Holy Spirit is indwelling us and we can only hold these things and enjoy these things in his power. And two, in relation to the Lord Jesus Christ at the right hand of God. It has often been said that these were the two great features of ministry that characterized the early brethren as they so often ministered the truth, the fact that Christ was at the right hand of God and the Holy Spirit was here indwelling the believer upon earth. And that these two things understood, they were the tremendous help in maintaining all the other features of truth that we might say are built around them. And of course, if we forget these two things, it's so easy to have the truth in the head but not operating in the heart or functioning in practice. Just know it as a truth, Christ in glory, the Holy Spirit is down here and we believe that. Then there should be the holding it in obedience and in affection and then all the other features of the truth, they follow in practice. And so all the days of our lives, these two things are vital for our understanding and appropriation of divine truth, that Christ is at the right hand of God, the great administrator of blessing, that the Holy Spirit is indwelling us. And that's true every day of our lives. And so all these other things become operative and good. And that was true of the psalmist, that goodness and mercy followed him all the days of his life. And we can say, yes, that's true too, perhaps in a greater way. And how wonderful it is in the power of the spirit and connected with Christ in glory. Indeed, a careful reading of the epistles will see that these two great truths underlie, undergird every other truth that is presented to us. And if we reject them or neglect them, then we'll suffer in our appropriation and enjoyment of divine truth. Now he says, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. I'm not sure what David meant by that. David obviously couldn't dwell in the tabernacle. He never built the temple. Solomon, his son, built the temple. So David obviously must have been speaking about the tabernacle. We know he couldn't possibly dwell there forever, but it may be that the Holy Spirit inspired him to write this. And I shouldn't say maybe, we're under no doubt that the Holy Spirit did inspire him. But it may be that behind this was the idea that David would be in the presence of the Lord forever. And of that we're absolutely sure. The spirit inspired David in many, many ways to write things about Christ, to write things about the saints. And many of David's statements are quoted for us in the New Testament and how valuable they are. And so we're thankful for them. But we want to appropriate this to ourselves. Or for a moment, if we just remember the figure that David is referring to himself as a sheep. And he's going to be in the presence of the shepherd. There will be a time when the shepherd will bring the sheep into the fold and the shepherd will be with them. They'll be safe and there'll be no possibility of anything happening to them. That may be the figure. Anyway, we'll take the statement as it stands. And David says, I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Now that's true for us. Praise God for that. It may be necessary just to go over briefly what we have in the word of God concerning the house of God. The first inkling that we have of it was when Jacob was running away from home, fearing for the vengeance of Esau. And you remember, he had a stone for a pillow and he dreamed. And then when he woke up, he said, this is a dreadful place. Dreadful place. This is none other but the house of God. This is none other than the gate of heaven. And I believe that's the first reference we have to the house of God. And it demonstrates one very vital feature, and that's the holiness of God. And that feature runs right through in all the references to the house of God. But then we come to the tabernacle. And my, what a wonderful structure that was. And it is referred to as the house of God. It's referred to as the temple of God. It's referred to as the tabernacle. All three statements are made in relation to it. But what a marvelous building it was. Gold inside. Wherever the priest looked, he saw gold. Beautiful structure. The great thing that marked it was the presence of God. When the pillar of cloud was there, there was an indication that God was in the tabernacle. What's called the Shekinah glory, God dwelling between the cherubim, he was there. Marvelous thing. And not only was the presence of God there, but the glory of God was there. You remember that after it was reared, according to the pattern showed to Moses on the mount, when the glory of God filled the tabernacle, the priests had to go out. They couldn't minister. The glory was so great. So we have the presence of God. We have the glory of God. And continually there is an emphasis upon what's holy. Everything connected with the tabernacle was holy. And so again, we have another feature, the presence of God, the glory of God, the holiness of God. And I believe these are the great features connected with God's house. Another thing, when you read the instructions for the tabernacle, continually, continually, continually, an everlasting covenant. No suggestion that things are going to lapse or fail. God had in mind that this would go on and be maintained for his glory and for the benefit of his people. But we know that the tabernacle was superseded by the temple. When the nation got into the land, then they reared up this great structure. Moses had the pattern of the tabernacle when he was on the mount. He received it from God. And every iota of the tabernacle was made according to that pattern. David, he had the pattern of the temple from the Holy Spirit. And he passed that on to Solomon, his son, and the temple was reared. And again the same things happened, that the priest could not minister because the glory of God filled the temple. Well, that's the beginning. It's sad to say it didn't last very long. We have the failure and all the idolatry and sadness that came in. We read about this in the book of Ezekiel, how reluctantly the glory of God left the temple at the porch onto the Mount of Olives and then departed, never to return. As far as this world's concerned at the present moment, the glory has never returned to the temple. So we have the tabernacle, we have the temple, and then we have the restored temple in Ezra's day. Then we have Herod's temple. You say, Herod's temple, but that was a temple built by an evil man. That's so, but nominally, God said, my father's house, you've made it a den of thieves. So you have Herod's temple. And then, thank God, we have, oh no, not yet, no, there's another temple, and it's built in unbelief. God's house, in unbelief. You find this after the church is gone, there will be a temple, it will be marked by terrible sacrilege when the man of sin places himself there and has to be worshipped as God. Terrible, terrible state of things. Praise God, there is another temple, and that's Ezekiel's temple. And that's a marvelous thing. And again, we find the same features emphasized, holiness there, and there's one beautiful feature, and it's worthwhile noting, and that is that those who minister in Ezekiel's temple are called the sons of Zadok. Now, who are the sons of Zadok? They trace their genealogy right back to a faithful man, Phinehas. Phinehas was given a covenant of salt and a covenant of peace, and God says, I'll make an everlasting covenant with you, and that's the evidence of the everlasting covenant that in the world to come, in the millennial reign of a thousand years, the sons of Zadok will officiate in that temple. I believe that's a marvelous encouragement for you, for me, for us all, to be faithful, because we never know where one act of faithfulness will lead to some great blessing. So Phinehas, his line was preserved right through, through the time of David and onwards until it finds its fulfillment in Zadok. And I only say that to show the tremendous encouragement that we derive from faithfulness. Lastly, the last house of God, or the last dwelling place of God, is the tabernacle of God is with men. And that's too wonderful to contemplate. When God will dwell with men, and dwell eternally with men, and that suggests a restful condition. All the fighting against evil, all the suppression of evil has gone forever. It doesn't exist anymore. The eternal state is now running its course, if we can call eternity running a course. And God will dwell with men, and all these wonderful things that we contemplate will be true then. Glory, love, the presence of God, the presence of Christ, and we'll be there. That's the great point. Isn't that most wonderful? We have hopes and aspirations according to our desires here upon earth. We all have them in one way or another. But what can be greater than to contemplate a day when we shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever? I'm using the words of the psalmist. The tabernacle of God is with men. Oh, how wonderful. Everything of sin and Satan and flesh is gone forever, and we shall dwell with God's beloved through God's eternal day. In 1 Corinthians 15, we come across a remarkable statement where it says, and God will be all in all. Now, I've tried to suggest this, that God is always all. He cannot be anything less than all. God is always all. But to be all in all is a marvelous thing, in that God has worked in persons in such a way in redemption and also in other ways to secure for himself a glorious company of people, maybe different families, but a glorious company, and intelligently they understand God and respond to him. My, that's marvelous. God has made himself known in such a way that every created intelligence can respond to him. God is all in all. And I believe we have an expression of this as far as the church is concerned at the end of Ephesians 3, when it says there will be glory to God in the church, in Christ Jesus, world without end. Marvelous consideration. And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. We look forward to holidays. We look forward to great events, anniversaries and the like, and we look forward to them with anticipation. Ought we not to look forward to this with anticipation, that one day with spiritual bodies, glorified bodies, we'll be dwelling in the house of the Lord forever. And so the Lord Jesus said to encourage us as we wait for him, in my father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you, I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there he may be also. And that's the governing expression, that where I am, there he may be also. And so we can all say in the language of the psalmist, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Think of these two little words, forever. Only God could do this. Man cannot do it. All man's great aspirations and plans collapse. But God says forever. It's impossible for us to understand eternity. Many have attempted to give a figure of it, describe it, but it's quite impossible to do so. But I have thought and do enjoy the thought of the preacher when he sought to describe eternity. And he said the little sparrow dipped its beak in the Atlantic Ocean and got its little spot of water from the Atlantic and hopped across the American continent and let its little drop of water be deposited in the Pacific Ocean. By the time it had put the Atlantic Ocean into the Pacific Ocean, it would be but morning in eternity. Well, that might be a little figure to help us to understand. It's impossible. The human mind is incapable of understanding what eternity is. But let us just close on that point. What the psalmist says, I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. So will you. So will I. Praise God. May Jesus bless. His home made hours. His father's love. Our hearts full portion given. The portion of the firstborn son. The full delight of heaven. 439. The full delight of heaven. O what of all the Son who knows, He only of His love, And brings us all His well-beloved To that bright rest above, Dwells in His bosom, knoweth all That in that bosom lies, And came to earth to make it known That we might share His joy. O what of all their fullest love Flows through His courts of light, The Son's divine affections flow Throughout His death and high, And who responds the Father gives To fill with joy the heart. …