[0:00] Turn in your Bibles to Jeremiah 31. If you were with us in Sunday school, I was stunned to hear that there is no Jeremiah in one of the groups there that David is teaching in Africa.
[0:21] We are indeed blessed to have this passage before us. Jeremiah chapter 31. I'll read verses 7 to 14.
[0:35] This is what the Lord says. Sing with joy for Jacob. Shout for the greatest of the nations. Make your praises be heard and say, O Lord, save your people, the remnant of Israel.
[0:52] See, I bring them from the land of the north. And gather them from the ends of the earth. Among them will be the blind and the lame, expectant mothers and women in labor.
[1:07] A great throng will return. They will come with weeping. They will pray as I bring them back. I will lead them beside streams of water on a level path where they will not stumble.
[1:23] Because I am Israel's father. And Ephraim is my firstborn son. Hear the word of the Lord, O nations.
[1:35] Proclaim it in distant coastlands. He who scattered Israel will gather them and watch over his flock like a shepherd.
[1:45] For the Lord will ransom Jacob and redeem them from the hand of those stronger than they. They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion.
[1:58] They will rejoice in the bounty of the Lord. The grain, the new wine, and the oil. The young of the flocks and herds.
[2:08] They will be like a well-watered garden. And they will sorrow no more. Then maidens will dance and be glad.
[2:19] Young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into gladness. I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.
[2:30] I will satisfy the priest with abundance. And my people will be filled with my bounty, declares the Lord.
[2:41] Let's hear the word of the Lord. I want to give you an introduction and three points today. And the introduction, I just want to direct your attention to the last verse.
[2:56] Which is the reason why I would like to bring the psalm before your mind's eye this morning. The psalmist says at the end of this difficult experience that he had where his feet almost slipped.
[3:12] He says, But for me it is good to be near God. I have made the Lord God my refuge. That I may tell of all your works.
[3:26] That last line. That I may tell of all your works. The psalmist after all of this had become someone who had something to tell.
[3:37] Are you someone who has something to tell about God? And he wasn't always like that. He had lost that ability.
[3:51] He had nothing to tell. And that can happen to all of us. As Stan said, he was a godly man, but he was almost taken down.
[4:03] I love those American phrases that I don't hear until I come back here. He's almost taken down. But it's true. And we want to become those who know the goodness of the nearness of the Lord and have something to tell.
[4:21] This world and this country desperately needs people that are radiant with the goodness of God. What will happen to this country if there are none like that?
[4:36] None that have something to tell. So, let's look at what happened to the psalmist and what undoubtedly happens to us in some measure.
[4:52] Maybe not as radically as him. But we have a message. Thus saith the Lord to us in this psalm. We could entitle this psalm, The Prodigal Psalmist.
[5:05] Or, How to Become a Savage Beast Toward God and Yet Come Back. So, we will look at it in terms of first the downward fall.
[5:19] And then the turning point. And then the radiant witness. Okay? That will be simple enough for us. And we can grasp what God would have us to know in this psalm.
[5:31] Well, first of all, the downward fall. Verse 1, Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. That simply means to the true believers in Israel.
[5:46] But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled. My steps had nearly slipped. And he's not just talking about a little trip. He's talking about apostasy.
[5:59] Here is a man who was a godly man. And he says, I almost fell away from the living God. And he gives us the reason.
[6:10] He says, Because I was envious of the arrogant. And really, to tell you the truth, in a sense, it's not because he was envious, But because he lost his sight and understanding of the goodness of God.
[6:31] Every time, dear people, that you slip, And that you decline spiritually, There's one thing that is sure. It is that you have lost thought, You have lost that grip of faith and confidence, That God is good to Israel.
[6:48] You, the spiritual Israel, to God's people. That he is good to you. From the tree in Eden, to the tree at Calvary, This has been the issue.
[7:01] What did Satan try to do to Eve? To convince her that God was not good. There's something God is depriving you of.
[7:11] This tree has the key to knowledge, And God does not want you to have it. Now, Satan didn't mind that Eve knew that God had made the tree, And made the whole garden. And that if she became like, She ate from the tree, She would become like God.
[7:26] He didn't mind her thinking that God was supreme, And powerful, and great. He just wanted her to think that God was not good. And this is the temptation.
[7:38] For without faith it is impossible to please Him. Those who come to God must know that He is, And that He is the rewarder of those who seek Him.
[7:49] You must know that He is, And that He is good. Eternally, innately good. He is love and light.
[8:00] As you saw in Jeremiah, That it is His nature to bless. To bless and to bless. For that is what He is and who He is.
[8:11] He is full of grace and truth when He steps upon the scene as a man. He is full of grace. And we saw His glory full of grace. But you see, Our feet can slip.
[8:24] And we want to understand how that happens. And how we can turn around from that, don't we? Well, The downfall has four steps to it.
[8:37] Or four, excuse me, Four aspects to it that we need to understand. And first of all, The reason for the fall. And I am going to give you the four aspects so that you can understand them.
[8:49] Some people like to take notes. And we will just talk about observation, Obsession, Outrage, And obstacle. First of all, Observation.
[9:03] He says in verse 3, His steps almost slipped. For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw. Observation. When I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
[9:19] And here is what usually happens. You're going along living as a Christian. And then something comes into your purview in a powerful and great way that you had not seen before.
[9:31] Something of the evil of this world. The COVID years maybe brought evil into our view. It's always been there. Remember God had to destroy the world once, didn't he?
[9:44] Evil is not new in this world. Desperate evil is not new. But at some point something happens.
[9:56] To you. Or around you. When I saw. Now for the psalmist. This was the wealthy, rich.
[10:09] Will say. The powerful. And evil of his world. It wasn't just that they had more stuff than him. Okay.
[10:20] We're going to see that in this time. The rich were those who ruled. They controlled things. And he goes on to speak of how. How. How they oppressed.
[10:31] And how they kept down. And how they spoke against heaven. And how they took control. And in our country. And France. And in this country.
[10:43] Certainly we see. The great. Or sometimes also the evil and the wicked. Though. God can also put godly people in power. But most often that is not the case.
[10:56] Anyway. There's this observation. But remember that. If this is not your case. Your feet can slip. By seeing evil and fallenness in a different way. Maybe it's a health problem.
[11:08] Maybe it's something really bad. Not good. That's come into your life. Through health. Or through losing something materially.
[11:19] Or through a relationship. An awful relationship at work. Or in the family. Or something. But. The problem is. That we come to the point of the psalmist.
[11:29] And we start looking as he did at the evil. Looking at them. And seeing how they're prospering. And we say this. Why. Lord. Do you allow.
[11:42] Why did you allow. If you are good. If God is good. Look. Look around your country. Look around your life. Look around.
[11:52] Your family. Your relationships. And. When our feet begin to slip. The first sign. Is we. See. Evil. And we say. Why.
[12:03] Lord. If you are good. Are things like this. We can certainly identify. With that. Can't we. And we don't realize. At first. That we're even saying.
[12:15] Why. Do we. It's. It's on an unconscious level. At first. Isn't it. Before it becomes. Obvious to our own selves.
[12:26] But this is. This is the way. That we offer. There's. There's just a frustration. With God. There's just something. Going on underneath. That I'm not quite.
[12:36] Happy with. The way. God's governing. Life. My life. The world. The country. And. I just wouldn't do it. That way. Why.
[12:47] Lord. And that's the. That's the sign. Of our. Our. Our slipping foot. But if you want to understand it. We have to go from the observation. To the obsession. Now.
[12:58] I want you to notice something. The next thing that. Psalmist does. Is he describes. What he saw. About the wicked. What he observed.
[13:09] What he analyzed. And. He's not speaking. From where he's at now. Okay. He's come back. From that position. And he sees them. Differently now.
[13:19] In fact. In. In verse 18. Once he's turned around. He says. You set them in slippery places. You make them fall to ruin. But he wasn't always seeing that. Now.
[13:30] He's going to tell us. What he saw. When he was slipping. And sliding. Because the second step. Of spiritual decline. Is usually. Obsession. With evil.
[13:41] Obsession. With something. That's not good. And. That's. That's wrong. In our world. Now look at it. And I'll just. I just want you to note. That in these verses. In the very first part.
[13:52] Of the psalm. From. From verse. Three or four. On down to. Maybe about. Verse 15. God's. God is not mentioned.
[14:04] Except in one verse. And that's to describe. What other people are saying. About God. Whereas in the last. Part of the psalm. When he turns around. In verses.
[14:14] In the last. Ten verses. Of the psalm. God is mentioned. Seventeen times. Seventeen times. So here is the man. With the slipping foot. And.
[14:25] When we begin. To concentrate. On the evil. Of the world. One. One thing is sure. You are not. Concentrating. On the goodness. Of God. It's slipping. From your eye.
[14:36] From your view. You're not seeing. Something that's true. And marvelous. But you don't see it anymore. Now notice.
[14:46] How obsessed. He becomes. He says. For I was ignorant. Of the arrogant. When I saw the prosperity. Of the wicked. I'm reading from the ESV.
[14:56] For they have no pains. Until death. Their bodies. Are fat and sleek. He knows about their bodies. They're not in trouble. As others are. They're not stricken.
[15:07] Like the rest of mankind. He knows their vices. He says. Their pride. Is their necklace. And violence. Covers them as a garment. Their eyes. Sweat out. Through fatness.
[15:18] And their hearts. Overflow. With follies. They scoff. He knows about their conversation. They scoff. And speak with malice. Loftily. They threaten oppression.
[15:28] They set their mouths. Against heaven. He knows about their ungodliness. Their impiety. And their tongue. Struts through the earth. And he knows. How people react to them. You know.
[15:39] When anyone is very sure. Of himself. What do people do? They follow them. And so it says. Here in verse. Nine. They set their mouths.
[15:49] Against the heavens. Or. Perhaps in another verse. They. They. They lay hold of heaven. But there's a. There's an arrogance here. Whatever it means. And he says.
[16:00] Therefore. His people. Turn back to them. And find no fault in them. They're so sure of themselves. And that's what's happening. In. In our country today. But the thing I want you to notice.
[16:11] Is that. The psalmist. Has become an expert. In the wicked. He's obsessed with it. He's gone on the social media. He's gone on the best.
[16:23] Sources of information. And he knows everything. They're doing. He spent hours. On the internet. Checking into what. They're really doing. And he knows it all.
[16:38] And he never thinks about God. And his goodness. Anymore. He's just thinking. He's just obsessed. With the wicked. Rich of the world. Have you ever seen anyone do that?
[16:51] I have seen Christians. In the last few years. More than ever. Falling into this. Precise. Trap. And I've seen them. Lose their joy.
[17:02] As they're more and more. Looking at the evil of the world. And less and less. At the wonderful goodness. Of the God. Who has saved us. Who has come. And redeemed our souls.
[17:13] And is taking us to glory. And they've lost their joy. And they have nothing to tell. Isn't that amazing? How up to date. The scriptures are.
[17:24] And speak right into our situation. Well this was. His problem. And it was. It was very painful. So we have the observation. We have the obsession. And then we have the outrage.
[17:37] Unfortunately. It doesn't stop there. It gets worse. Now he's in outrage. He complains. He complains about. The character. Of the believer's life. What it's like.
[17:48] To be a believer. So read with me. In. In verse. Twelve. Sorry. Thirteen. He says. All in vain.
[17:59] Have I kept my heart clean. We would say. He's saying that the Christian life. If I can put it that way. Is a vain life. Why did I believe all that stuff?
[18:14] It leads to nothing. There's no. There's no reason for it. He says. All in vain. Have I kept my heart clean. And washed my hands in innocence. It's for all day long.
[18:25] I have been stricken. And when we get into this outrage. We always exaggerate. All day long. Come on. All day long. But we always exaggerate.
[18:35] But anyway. He says. All day long. I have been stricken. And my version says. And rebuked every morning. Other versions say punished. But the idea is. The divine.
[18:47] Chastisement. Of believers. He's saying. You know. The wicked have got it easy. They don't have to keep any rules. They're not under.
[18:58] Fatherly chastisement. And look at me. Look at the form of my Christian life. Every day. I have to deal with my sin. Because every day. God deals with me.
[19:08] In my sin. And you know. He's not the only one. Who's come to that. Sort of outrage. If you read. In the life of Job. You find it a moment.
[19:19] At a moment in his life. He says this. Listen to this. It sounds very similar. He says. What is. He's talking to God. And he says. What is man. That you make so much of him.
[19:30] And that you set your heart on him. Visit him every morning. And test him. Every moment. You see the exaggeration. There. How long.
[19:41] Will you not look away from me. Nor leave me alone. Till I swallow my spit. Outrage. And.
[19:52] We can. We can come to that. To that position. In which we've become. Totally jaded. And. We see the treasure.
[20:04] Of the saints. As a big fat problem. Because. You do know. Don't you. That the chastisement. Of God. Is the treasure. Of the saints.
[20:16] For whom. God. Loveth. He chastised. And he scourges. Every. One. Every son.
[20:26] Whom he receives. And that's the language. Of justification. Of acceptance. He said. Hebrews 12. Goes on to say. It is.
[20:37] It is. Like sons. It is as sons. That God. Is dealing with you. For what's the son. Who's not disciplined. You know.
[20:48] In the book of Revelation. We see these seven churches. And they're about to go. Through this. Incredible. Catastrophe. In. In. In. In the first century. And God.
[20:58] How does he save them. From just falling apart. During it. If you read those seven letters. He says. Time and time again. This is good. This is good. You're doing this good. But I have this.
[21:09] Against you. He's chastising them. Why? Because. They have a crack. In their armor. And when this. Catastrophe comes. If that crack.
[21:20] Is not fixed. It's going to. Open up. For a floodgate. Of evil. Oh Lord. Thank you. For your chastisement. Continue your controversy.
[21:30] With me. All my life. For it is a loving. Controversy. With my sin. You are for me. And with me. Against my sin. You're not against me.
[21:42] In my sin. You are for me. Loving me. And saying. I must not. Let him go there. I must not. Let him keep like that.
[21:53] It is the treasure. Of the saints. But the psalmist now. Sees everything awry. Oh I'm stricken. Every morning. So this is his outrage.
[22:06] And if you've come to this point. I really want to urge you. Now to listen to the rest. Of the psalm. Because you're going to see something amazing happen. But we do have to get to the last aspect.
[22:18] Of this downfall. So we said there's the observation of evil. Leading to the obsession of evil. Leading to the outrage. And then we get to the obstacle.
[22:30] He says. In verse 16. When I thought. How to understand this. Because he did want to understand it.
[22:42] He's still fighting. He wants to believe that God's good. When I thought to understand this. It seemed to me. A worrisome task. And the version that Stan read.
[22:56] I think was better. The real sense is. When I tried to understand this. With human reason. It just made it more painful. I got more anguish.
[23:08] When I tried to reconcile. The evil around me. The evil in my country. With the fact that. The scripture tells me. That God is good. Good. Good to his people.
[23:22] Human reason cannot. Deal with things like that. So. Often when we. When we're in a spiritual.
[23:33] Down slide. We come to a wall. We come to an impasse. And I've seen people. In the pastoral ministry. I've seen.
[23:45] People who are backsliding. Just hit a wall. And. They're miserable. They're miserable. Because they've.
[23:57] They've gone through. All these stages. And their minds have been fixed. On the wrong things. On what's not right. In their world. And. They become. Outraged. At the form of the Christian life.
[24:08] They don't see the love. This is the love of God. That's trying to. Deal with them. And bless them. And. So then. They just come to this. This wall. This obstacle. They can't make sense.
[24:19] Of anything. So that's the. That's the downfall. Now we need to see. How in the world. Did he make. Turn around from that. And.
[24:30] The turning point. We can see in three parts. The first part is very interesting. You. We could. We could say. If I give you three words. Others.
[24:43] God. What's the third word? I've forgotten. Anyway. It'll come back to me. We'll start with the first word. Others. The funny thing is that sometimes.
[24:54] When we're spiritually. Backsliding. The first thing that pulls us out of it. Is. We realize all of a sudden. What our behavior is doing.
[25:05] To those around us. Notice how he says this. He says. In verse 15. If I had said. I will speak thus. I'll tell him all my outrage.
[25:17] And all my thoughts. I would have betrayed. The generation of your children. So he comes to this place. Where he suddenly realizes. If I actually say.
[25:28] What's inside me right now. If I let outside of me. My whole outlook. And attitude. And what I've become right now. And how I think about God. And his ways. I will just betray.
[25:41] The people of God. And he realizes. Oh. And sometimes. That is a first step back. Because. It breaks that selfishness.
[25:51] In us. Where we're only thinking. About ourselves. Oh. I don't like the wicked. And oh. I'm envious. And oh. I would like. And oh. I. I. I. I. I. And finally. He thought about somebody else.
[26:03] For the first time. There's a mention of somebody else. The children. Of your. The generation. Of your children. And so now. He's making a turning point. And it's good.
[26:13] Perhaps you need to realize. You're sitting there. And you need to realize. What has my life become? What am I doing? To those. Around me.
[26:24] Who need a radiant witness. Who need. I need to be a radiant witness to them. Well. So he.
[26:38] He wakes up. He begins to wake up. By thinking of others. And then. He goes into the sanctuary. Others. God. He goes into the sanctuary of God.
[26:50] He says. Here in. Let me find it again. Verse 17. Seemed to me a worrisome task.
[27:02] Until I went into the sanctuary of God. And then I discerned. Their need. Notice that he says. Until he went into the sanctuary. Don't think he wasn't going to the temple.
[27:14] For all these months. When he was down sliding. He was there physically. But he means. This time. I really went into the sanctuary of God. I came to the end of myself. I begin to see what my life is doing to others.
[27:26] And I said to myself. To this time. This Sabbath. When I come into the sanctuary of God. I better come in as a worshiper. And you know what that means? That means. I'm coming in.
[27:36] And I'm finally saying. I am not God. I've been acting like I'm God. And I'm the one to judge. How things should be done in the world. And in my country. And I've been questioning God.
[27:48] And I've been listening to myself. Myself. Myself. And I need to stop. Listening to myself. And I need to fall down. And say. You are the living God. And I shall listen to you.
[28:01] That's the place of a worshiper. I will come back to you. And I will look upon your face. And I will say.
[28:12] Oh Lord. Show me. What I need to know. For I am but a man. And this is what. People need to do.
[28:22] Perhaps it's what you've done in the past. Or need to do now. To come back into the sanctuary of God. And whatever your problem is. Whatever is making you frustrated. And upset.
[28:33] And losing a grip on the goodness of God. You need to let it go. And you need to come back. And say. I am but a man. I fall upon my face. In repentance. And I come into the sanctuary. To the very presence of God.
[28:45] To worship and say. What will he then say? And the funny thing is. That when we do that. The most surprising thing. Is said to our souls. God says something. We weren't expecting at all.
[28:57] And it solves everything. And that's exactly what happened to him. Look at what he says. And this is the third word. That I forgot a moment ago. We read in. Verse 17.
[29:09] Until I went into the sanctuary of God. And then. I discerned their end. Or I'll put it this way. Then I discerned their final end. So I would say.
[29:20] Others. God. Glasses. Because now he's going to change glasses. Until now. He's been looking at the evil in his world. With what glasses on.
[29:31] What were his glasses? The glasses of worldliness. You know what worldliness is? Worldliness means that. I live as if the here and the now. Is what really counts.
[29:44] All is what really matters. He's looking at the evil. And they're so at ease. Here and now. They've got everything.
[29:55] Here and now. That was his problem. God can't be good. Because he's not doing such and such. Here and now.
[30:08] There is an eclipse of heaven. In the church in America. An eclipse. Of heaven. And often. And even in evangelical circles.
[30:19] It's the Christian life. Here and now. What's God doing for us. Here and now. What are the blessings. Here and now. But he comes to see.
[30:29] That this is no. The only measuring stick. Dear people. The only measuring stick. To understand the goodness of God. Is wait until the end. Of the story.
[30:41] For we are in a fallen. Evil. Vain world. Vain world. And it is our doing. And the goodness of God. Will be fully revealed.
[30:55] At the end. But notice what he says. I discern their final end. Truly you set them in slippery places. You make them fall to ruin.
[31:06] What a change of outlook. I just find it amazing. I don't find anyone else. In the Psalms. That's been so transformed. From one point to another. He was so envious.
[31:17] And now he says. I had it all wrong. I was completely wrong. About the whole show. In my country. It's not what I thought was happening. Actually this place of power.
[31:30] And riches. Where they can oppress. It's the most slippery place. That could be on the face of the earth. Spiritually. Put an unregenerate man. And the place of riches and power.
[31:41] And you put him one foot from hell. You put him one foot from hell. Because there is no reason. For him to seek farther. Than what he has.
[31:52] Here and now. It is such a dangerous place. God can put a godly person. In that sort of place. But he gives him special grace. But he says.
[32:03] You put them in slippery places. You make them fall to ruin. How they are destroyed. In a moment. Swept away utterly.
[32:13] By terrors. Like a dream. When one awakes. So Lord. When you rouse yourself. You despise them as phantoms. And so we see. A complete.
[32:24] How could you envy them now? You see. Nothing has changed. Nothing has changed. In the wicked of his country. But he's changed.
[32:37] His outlook is completely different. And he sees that he had it all wrong. It's amazing isn't it? And that's the great hope. For any Christian. Who backslides.
[32:49] Is God in his great grace. Can do exactly what he did. For the psalmist. And he can turn your outlook. To the truth. And to the light. And you go.
[32:59] How did I ever think. Like I was thinking. Dead. Well. Now. The radiant witness.
[33:13] The first thing we notice about him. As he's. When he's. When he's come back. To the truth. And to the Lord. Well. He's full of talk. About the Lord now. You're going to see it. In the verses that we see.
[33:24] But. The first thing is. He sees himself right. He sees his former outlook right. Notice in verse. In verse 21.
[33:36] He says. When my soul was embittered. When I was pricked in heart. I was brutish. And ignorant. Oh.
[33:46] Mr. Expert. Mr. Expert. In the wicked. Who knew everything about them. Who looked on all the social media. He says. I was actually completely ignorant. Because with all those facts.
[33:58] Which were true. I was seeing everything. In the wrong perspective. About them. Everything. I was seeing me. In the wrong perspective. And God.
[34:08] In the wrong perspective. I was like a brute beast. I was like a savage beast. To the Lord God. Wow. That is. That is an amazing way. To talk about yourself.
[34:19] Isn't it? Before it was. Is God really good? And now he realized. No, no. The problem was. I was not good. I was not good.
[34:34] The second thing is that. He. He sees himself. In a totally different light.
[34:44] As one blessed by the goodness of God. Now I'm going. I want to finish. By. By just. Having you notice. These three aspects.
[34:54] Of the goodness of God. Which just sort of overwhelm him now. Notice how he describes himself now. He describes himself. As graced. And guided.
[35:06] And one day. To be glorified. Here we are. He says. In verse 22. I was brutish. And ignorant. I was like a beast. Toward you. Nevertheless. I am continually with you.
[35:20] That's no exaggeration. You hold my right hand. In the French version. We have a better translation. You hold my right hand.
[35:30] Just seems like. Yeah. We're holding hands. But. Actually. In the French version. It says. Tu m'as saisi par la main droite. So you understand? I woke you up at least.
[35:43] It says. You have seized my right hand. You have laid hold on me. He says. Even though I was a savage beast. Because you've already laid hold upon my right hand.
[35:58] I was still with you. Even through that time when I was declining. You were with me. I was with you. It's funny that he doesn't say. You're still with me. He said. I'm still with you.
[36:08] It's like the child whose father grabs him. When there's a busy street in front of them. And the child knows. Oop. I ain't going anywhere right now. I'm still with you dad.
[36:20] I'm continually with you. So. He sees. He sees that he is a man graced. Incredibly graced by God. Even when I've gone to the furthest.
[36:32] Of being a brute beast before God. Of not believing him. Of being filled within me. And I've almost apostatized. The truth is. The truth is. Nevertheless. And that word means grace.
[36:46] Nevertheless. Despite. The depths of my sin. And if you are a back sitting Christian. I tell you. Nevertheless. You are continually with him.
[36:59] He is continually with you. Peter. Peter. This night you shall deny me three times. Nevertheless. I have prayed for you.
[37:12] And when you return. Strengthen your brothers. We are graced people. How many times. God has had to pull me back.
[37:23] Pull me back. Pull me back. From all sorts of backslidings. Yes. Even as a missionary. The heart gets cold. The outlook gets jaded. Something happens here and there. And yet.
[37:34] Over and over and over. Nevertheless. Nevertheless. Nevertheless. Why is it? Because. God will not change. God is always God. Wherever he is. Wherever I am.
[37:45] Whatever I am doing. He shall not change. And he is full of goodness and grace. Toward his people. Yea. Indeed. God is good to Israel. To those who are pure to heart.
[37:56] He cannot but be good. And so we are graced. And the psalmist has a different outlook. He says. He says.
[38:06] You have seized me by the right hand. And the second thing he says. You guide me with your counsel. You guide me with your counsel. And so he sees that God's goodness is shown in our lives.
[38:20] That no matter what the evil of America. No matter what the evil of your particular situation. Your personal situation. The difficulties you have gone through. The health problems.
[38:31] This and that. Whatever it is. There is one thing that is sure. God will guide you. By his counsel. By a tender and loving counsel. The one who said.
[38:46] Remember. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He leads me in paths of righteousness. For his namesake. That Jesus Christ has been made.
[38:56] Done to us. Wisdom from God. And the blessedness of the psalmist. Is not that the situation has changed. Nothing has changed in the situation. But now he sees.
[39:07] That I am a man who is walking. Under the grace of God. In this world. And God is going to guide me. Through the world. And get me out of it. That is the blessing. The amazing goodness of God.
[39:19] That he will deliver us. Into another world. Where righteousness reigns. This is the goodness of God. That awaits us.
[39:30] And I like the way. In the reading. That Stan did. That. That the Lord says. With weeping. They will come. With pleas for mercy. I will lead them back.
[39:42] I will make them walk. By brooks of water. In a straight path. In which they shall not stumble. For I am a father to Israel. That describes your life.
[39:55] Every day. Every day. And I know there are times. When you are confused. And when you don't understand. And it was so with the psalmist. But the truth was. That God.
[40:05] Had already planned. The way that he was going to. Guide him out of it. And through it. And it's. Really quite amazing. To me. How Christians are guided. Through complicated.
[40:16] And difficult. And disastrous. Situations in their lives. And yet. Through the wisdom of God. They make it through. You have let. God has laid.
[40:28] His right hand upon you. Whatever you. Nevertheless. He guides you. With his counsel. And third. Afterward. He shall receive me.
[40:39] Unto glory. He's. He's going to glorify you. One day. You know. Right now. Maybe we. We see God.
[40:49] As the. We praise God. We praise God. As the God. Who gives. And takes away. Don't we? We bless you Lord.
[41:00] The Lord. The Lord who gives. And who takes away. In a fallen world. One day. He will become the God. Forever. Who took away. And who gives.
[41:11] He will take away. Sorrow. And death. And pain. Forever. And he will give in their place. His own dear presence.
[41:22] And peace. And love and joy. Forever more. It will be transcended. It. We will be amazed. That we walk through this Christian life. With such foolish ideas of God.
[41:34] Because when we see him as he is. We'll say. Oh Lord. Thou art good. And doest good. Oh how little I understood. Oh how brutish I was toward you.
[41:46] As I walk through this world. The transcendent goodness. Of the living God. The one who has laid his hand upon me. By laying. Laying the nails in his own hands.
[41:58] Who's engraving my hand. My name. In his palms. Says the scripture. Because you see. That's the only way he could lay hold of you. Was to be laid hold of you.
[42:10] With his. With your name in his hands. You see the cost of it all. You see the goodness of God. In Jesus Christ. Who has laid hold of us.
[42:21] Who has become wisdom unto salvation to us. Jesus on the cross. Enlightening our eyes. And showing us who God really is. The good God. Who comes and saves.
[42:33] Oh. Okay. I will love him forever more then. And the God who takes the glory. And one day he will say to us.
[42:44] Now I am the God who has taken away. All evil. And there will only be good. For God is good. Now do you have something to tell?
[42:56] When we come back to this place. When we see. Despite the evil of our country. Or our situation. Or our world. We are graced. And guided. And glorified.
[43:09] We must take refuge in the Lord. That we might tell. Of all his works. We can be radiant witnesses. Because we have something.
[43:22] Transcendently good. To tell people. He is our God. Let's pray. As for us.
[43:39] Oh God. It is good for us. To be near you. we want to confess and to tell you our creator and our redeemer how sorry we are for the many times when we have lost sight that you are good you are the God of abundant blessing and mercy and kindness and tenderness that this is your very divine nature that you cannot but be the God of blessing in redemption and salvation who forgives iniquity and transgression and sin you made all your goodness pass before Moses and at Calvary oh you made all your goodness pass before us forgive us then Lord for losing sight of your goodness and we pray that you would help us to be a people who passes through an evil world with wicked in it knowing that we are graced laid hold of guided by your counsel and glorified by you one day give us something to tell to those who so desperately need to know that you are good help us then Lord and if there are those whose feet are slipping even now we pray especially for them Lord turn them once again to thy goodness in Jesus name
[45:11] Amen Let's pray for those days in Jesus in Jesus Lord Living in Jesus world on her Lord Lord and Jesus by杯 you that weural