Them, Us, and You, O Lord

Let's begin our worship this evening by singing to God's praise in Psalm 146.

It's in the Scottish Psalter version. Psalm 146, page 445.

And we're going to sing from verse 1 to verse 7.

Psalm 146. Praise God. The Lord praise, O my soul.

I'll praise God while I live, while I have being.

To my God in songs I'll praises give.

Trust not in princes nor man's son, in whom there is no state.

His breath departs, to earth he turns. That day his thoughts decay.

We'll sing from verse 1 to verse 7 to God's praise.

Praise God the Lord. Praise, O my soul.

I'll praise God while I live, while I have being.

To my God in songs I'll praises give.

Trust not in princes nor man's son, in whom there is no state.

His breath departs, to earth he turns.

That day his thoughts decay.

O happy is that man unblessed, whom Jacob's God doth hate.

Whose hope upon the Lord doth rest, and on his God his state.

Who made the earth and heaven's eye.

Who made the swelling deep.

And all that is within the same.

Who truth doth ever keep.

Who righteous judgment executes.

For those oppressed that be.

Who to the hungry giveth food.

God sets the prisoners free.

Let's come to God in prayer.

We'll bow our heads in a word of prayer.

Lord our gracious God, as we gather in your name anew this evening,

we are thankful for the blessing of praising your name.

The blessing for being able to lift our voices to you in song and to rejoice in your goodness to us.

We thank you that we have been reminded in this psalm of the man who is blessed, whom Jacob's God doth aid.

And we thank you for every way, Lord, that you help us on a daily basis.

That we can lean upon you.

That we can find our rest in you.

And we thank you, Lord, for your upholding strength toward us.

We thank you that as we come to your word anew this evening,

that we are reminded through it that the joy of the Lord is indeed the strength of your people.

And that that is not when we feel strong, but so often in our weakness, Lord, that joy is what sustains us.

For you remind us that apart from you, we can do nothing.

And so we praise you as the God who made heavens and earth,

made the swelling deep, as the psalmist describes.

And yet your truth is constantly with us too.

And we thank you for every reminder you give to us of your power and of your goodness towards us.

That as we see the wonder of your creation, as we see the seasons changing,

even at this time of year, as we see the days growing longer, we see the signs of spring.

We see new growth around us, Lord, as we see flowers begin to appear.

And we thank you, Lord, that it reminds us of the wonder of the creation,

but the wonder of you as the God of it all.

That when there is a time when things seem dead and lifeless,

that even underneath, Lord, there is the signs of hope.

That there is life, that life that comes to fruition.

And we see it in our own world and in our own day at this time.

And we think of the deadness of the world in the spiritual sense.

When we think of how we have put your word behind our back, as it were,

and turned away from you.

When we see, oh Lord, people just living for self and for their own gain.

No thought for others or for you.

We, oh Lord, are in pain and grief over this.

As we think, oh Lord, of what it means for us as a people,

and what it means for those who are a people who are perishing,

as your word describes.

But yet we thank you for the gospel.

We thank you for the hope that that gives of new life.

We thank you for the power that is in it to revive and to give life anew through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

The one who came that we might have life and have it abundantly.

And so we pray that your word will be blessed to us all here this evening.

That we would, as we heard this morning, not just hear your word, but be doers of it.

That we would receive your word with gladness and joy and go into the week ahead,

renewed by your spirit, refreshed by your word.

Eager, oh Lord, to live for you and to serve you as your people here.

We pray, Lord, that your word will be blessed to all ends of the earth today,

as we thank you that you are not the God who is confined as so many of the gods of this world,

made by the hands of men and women,

made by us to represent what we see as worthy of glory.

But we thank you that your glory is far and wide,

that you are worthy of the praise of all of your people, near and far,

and that you have your people throughout the nations of this world,

people who call on your name, people who worship and praise you,

people who, even as we are praying, that you are hearing their prayers as well,

that you hear a people who call upon you at all times, day or night.

And so we ask, oh Lord, that you would send out your power into our midst,

the power of the gospel, what the psalmist describes as your light and your truth,

that they would go out to all ends of the earth,

directing people to you, reviving people who are dead in sin,

and bringing us all to praise your name all the more.

Bless us as we consider your word together here this evening,

as we open it up, as we read it.

May your spirit help us in our understanding of it,

and may you guide us through it in all our thoughts,

and what it means to us, oh Lord, as our people.

It may be that it means something different to each and every one of us,

but may there be a word to be heard from you this evening for each one of us,

a word in season, a word to bless, to challenge, to encourage, to do us good.

We thank you for all we've enjoyed from your word in this past week as well.

As we look back to time of communion last weekend,

we thank you for the blessings that we've received from your hand there,

being under the preaching of your word,

enjoying the sacrament together,

and the fellowship of your people together as well.

We thank you for all that was done for us, Lord, for our good,

and we pray that we will continue to be encouraged going forward.

We will not lose sight of the hope of the gospel,

and we continue to pray for your blessing over us as a people,

homes and families in all our communities.

And this communion season throughout our islands, oh Lord,

we pray blessing on all who gather in your name in these days,

to know the power of your spirit working,

to know people coming to profess the Lord as their saviour,

people growing in their knowledge of you and understanding of you,

people being encouraged in so many different ways.

We ask, oh Lord, that you would continue to build your church in our midst

and to make us as a people, Lord,

a people who would be full of your joy and your strength.

We pray for our nation at this time, oh Lord,

we ask for our leaders, our governments,

that you will help and encourage them in their day-to-day lives of administering direction for our nation.

Lord, we feel a drifting away from you,

but we know, even as we read in the scriptures of the times when nations were in disarray,

turning away from you with no sense of direction,

that you are pleased in the past to come in your power and to redirect them towards you.

We pray that for our own nation, oh Lord,

to know that redirecting, that renewal that comes from you.

We pray that for all who are involved in governments nationally and locally as well,

Lord, to give the fear of the Lord as the beginning of all wisdom,

to give them that sense of dependence upon you.

Remember to our royal family,

we pray for each one of them,

and remember the king just now as he continues to go through treatment for his own time of ill health,

and that your hand be upon him to bless him and his family too.

And again, that they would rule with you in mind in all things.

There may be kings in this world and presidents and powers and authorities,

but we know that they are all from your hand.

And we pray, Lord, for you to rule above all

and to rule in a way that would bring wisdom and help to our world as a whole,

to bring peace with this conflict,

to bring peace with this persecution,

to bring a people to yourself.

Remember us then in all of these things.

Remember us in the week ahead as a people here.

Lord, bless the Youth Fellowship as they will meet this evening.

Bless all that takes place throughout the week,

the meetings for prayer,

the work among the young people,

and all that we do in your name, Lord,

to share the gospel.

May it be that you hear us

and receive us in all of these things

and show us your hand,

your hand of power,

working mightily in our midst.

So continue with us now, Lord,

help us as we sing your praise

and hear your word,

do all with all of our hearts,

to lift our voices to you

as our Lord,

as our King,

as our Saviour,

as our Redeemer,

the one to whom we look even at this time

for forgiveness for all our sins,

as we come anew,

confessing our thoughts,

words,

and actions that are so often against you,

Lord.

We pray your pardon towards us.

Hear our prayers,

Lord,

continue with us,

and we ask all in the precious name

of our Redeemer,

the Lord Jesus Christ,

for his sake and glory.

Amen.

Amen.

We'll again sing to God's praise,

this time in Psalm 106,

in the Scottish Psalter,

page 378.

Psalm 106,

we'll sing from verse 1 to verse 6.

Give praise and thanks unto the Lord,

for bountiful is he,

his tender mercy doth endure,

and to eternity.

God's mighty works,

who can express,

or show forth all his praise.

Blessed are they,

that judgment keep,

and justly do always.

We'll sing from verse 1 to 6,

to God's praise.

Give praise and thanks unto the Lord,

for bountiful is he,

His tender mercy doth endure,

and to eternity.

God's mighty works,

God's mighty works,

who can express,

or show forth all his praise.

Blessed are they,

that judgment keep,

and justly do always.

Remember me, Lord,

with that love,

which thou to thy dust bear.

with thy salvation,

O my God,

to visit me draw near,

that I thy chosen's good may see,

and in their joy rejoice,

and may with thine inheritance

triumph with cheerful voice.

We with our Father sinned,

have and of iniquity.

Too long we have the workers been,

we have done wickedly.

We can turn to read together now

in the Old Testament.

We're turning back to the book of Nehemiah.

This evening we're going to be in chapter 9,

as we continue our study in this book.

It's Nehemiah chapter 9.

Nehemiah 9 · chapter mention

You notice it's quite a long chapter,

and really what it is,

is a prayer that the people are offering up,

and that's what we're going to be looking at this evening.

We're not going to read through it all.

We'll read from verse 1 down to verse 17,

and then we'll jump forward to verse 30,

and read down to the end of the chapter.

So Nehemiah chapter 9,

Nehemiah 9 · chapter mention

the beginning of the chapter.

Now on the 24th day of this month,

the people of Israel were assembled,

with fasting and in sackcloth,

and with earth on their heads.

And the Israelites separated themselves

from all foreigners,

and stood and confessed their sins,

and the iniquities of their fathers.

And they stood up in their place,

and read from the book of the law of the Lord,

their God,

for a quarter of the day.

For another quarter of it,

they made confession and worshipped their God.

On the stairs of the Levites stood

to Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel,

Shebaniah, Bani,

Sherebiah, Bani, and Cheniah.

And they cried with a loud voice

to the Lord, their God.

Then the Levites,

Jeshua, Kadmiel,

Bani,

Ahashebaniah,

Sherebiah,

Hodiah,

Shebaniah,

and Pethathaniah,

said,

Stand up and bless the Lord your God

from everlasting to everlasting.

Blessed be your glorious name,

which is exalted above all blessing and praise.

You are the Lord,

you alone.

You have made heaven,

the heaven of heavens,

with all their host,

the earth and all that is on it,

the seas and all that is in them.

And you preserve all of them.

And the host of heaven worships you.

You are the Lord,

the God who chose Abraham

and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans

and gave him the name Abraham.

You found his heart faithful before you

and made with him the covenant

to give to his offspring

the land of the Canaanite,

the Hittite,

the Amorite,

the Perisite,

the Jebusite,

and the Girgashite.

And you have kept your promise,

for you are righteous.

And you saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt

and heard their cry at the Red Sea

and performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh

and all his servants and all the people of his land,

for you knew that they acted arrogantly against our fathers.

And you made a name for yourself,

as it is to this day.

And you divided the sea before them,

so that they went through the midst of the sea on dry land.

And you cast their pursuers into the depths

as a stone into mighty waters.

By a pillar of cloud you led them in the day

and by a pillar of fire in the night

to light for them the way in which they should go.

You came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven

and gave them right rules and true laws,

good statutes and commandments.

And you made known to them your holy Sabbath

and commanded them commandments and statutes

and a law by Moses your servant.

You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger

and brought water for them out of the rock for their thirst.

And you told them to go in to possess the land

that you had sworn to give them.

But they and our fathers acted presumptuously

and stiffened their neck

and did not obey your commandments.

They refused to obey

and were not mindful of the wonders

that you performed among them,

but they stiffened their neck

and appointed a leader to return

to their slavery in Egypt.

But you are a God ready to forgive,

gracious and merciful,

slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love

and did not forsake them.

And the next number of verses there carry on

going through the various times

of the children of Israel

as they made their way through

to the promised land.

It speaks of their rebellion

and their disobedience along the way.

But what we see time and again

is the wonder of the grace of God.

And we take up our reading at verse 30.

For many years you bore with them

and warned them by your spirit

through your prophets,

yet they would not give ear.

Therefore you gave them into the hand

of the peoples of the lands.

Nevertheless, in your great mercies,

you did not make an end of them

or forsake them,

for you are a gracious and merciful God.

Now, therefore, our God,

the great, the mighty, and the awesome God,

who keeps covenant and steadfast love,

let not all the hardship seem little to you

that has come upon us,

upon our kings, our princes,

our priests, our prophets,

our fathers, and all your people,

since the time of the kings of Assyria

until this day.

Yet you have been righteous

in all that has come upon us,

for you have dealt faithfully,

and we have acted wickedly.

Our kings, our princes,

our priests, and our fathers

have not kept your law

or paid attention

to your commandments

and your warnings that you gave them,

even in their own kingdom,

enjoying your great goodness

that you gave them,

and in the large and rich land

that you set before them.

They did not serve you

or turn from their wicked works.

Behold, we are slaves this day

in the land that you gave to our fathers

to enjoy its fruit

and its good gifts.

Behold, we are slaves,

and its rich yield goes to the kings

whom you have set over us

because of our sins.

They rule over our bodies

and over our livestock

as they please,

and we are in great distress.

Because of all this,

we make a firm covenant in writing.

On the sealed document

are the names of our princes,

our Levites,

and our priests,

and so on.

And may God bless that reading

from his word.

Before we turn back to this passage,

we're going to sing again

to God's praise in Psalm 103,

and we'll sing Psalm's version,

Psalm 103,

and we'll sing from verse 1

down to verse 11.

Praise God, my soul,

with all my heart.

Let me exalt his holy name.

Forget not all his benefits,

as praise my soul

in song proclaim.

The Lord forgives you all your sins

and heals your sickness

and distress.

Your life,

he rescues from the grave

and crowns you in his tenderness.

We'll sing from verse 1 to 11,

Psalm 103,

to God's praise.

Praise God, my soul,

with all my heart.

Let me exalt his holy name.

Forget not all his benefits,

his praise my soul

in song proclaim.

The Lord forgives you

all your sins

and heals your sickness

and distress.

Your life,

he rescues from the grave.

and crowns you

in his tenderness.

And crowns you

in his tenderness.

He satisfies your deep desires

from his unending storage of good,

so that just like the eagle's strength,

your youthful vigor is renewed.

The Lord is known for righteous acts,

and justice to them,

broadened ones.

To Moses he made known his ways,

His mighty deeds to Israel's sons.

His mighty deeds to Israel's sons.

The Lord is merciful and kind,

to anger slow and full of grace.

He will not constantly reprove,

or in his anger and his face.

He does not punish her misdeeds,

or give her sins their just reward.

How great is love as high as him

towards all those who fear the Lord.

Towards all those who fear the Lord.

We can turn back to our reading

in Nehemiah chapter 9.

Nehemiah 9 · chapter mention

I'm just going to pick out a few verses

throughout the chapter

just to show us where we're going this evening.

Verse 6, first of all,

where the people are praising God,

and they say there,

you are the Lord,

you alone.

You have made heaven,

the heaven of heavens,

with all their host,

the earth and all that is on it,

and so on.

You are the Lord,

you alone.

Then in verse 17,

we see how the people refused to obey.

It says they refused to obey

and were not mindful of the wonders

that you performed among them,

but they stiffened their neck

and appointed a leader

to return to their slavery in Egypt.

But you are a God,

ready to forgive,

gracious and merciful,

slow to anger,

and abounding in steadfast love.

People disobeyed,

and yet God is still gracious

and slow to anger.

Verse 26,

there it says,

nevertheless,

they were disobedient

and rebelled against you,

and cast your law behind their back,

and killed your prophets

who had warned them

in order to turn them back to you.

So again,

we see the rebellion of the people,

putting the law,

turning away from the law of God.

And then we go down to verse 30.

For many years you bore with them

and warned them

by your spirit through your prophets,

yet they would not give ear.

Therefore you gave them

into the hand of the peoples

of the lands.

Nevertheless,

in your great mercies,

you did not make an end of them

or forsake them,

for you are a gracious

and merciful God.

I'm sure it surprises you

as it surprises me so often

just how patient

God is with us all,

how long-suffering he is

despite all that we do

amiss towards him,

despite the way we so often

treat him

and are cold towards him.

The Lord's mercies

are still there for us.

And that's a powerful reminder

that we have throughout

this chapter

that we're studying together

this evening

as Nehemiah and Ezra

and the people

are gathered together.

Here they are gathered

around the word of God

once again

and they're hearing

over a long period of time

just how faithful

God has been

and even in the midst

of their disobedience,

how often he has shown

mercy and graciousness

towards them.

Nehemiah came to Jerusalem

as a leader for the people

but where was he leading them to?

Or to what end

was he leading them?

As we've gone through

this wonderful book

we've seen how he came

and found a city

that was in disarray

in so many ways.

The walls were in ruin,

the people were in distress,

they were in trouble.

There wasn't much hope for them

and so he came

to rebuild the walls

and we've seen

how that was done

and how that was completed

but that was not the end

because from the moment

that Nehemiah

had this great burden

from God

for the people of Jerusalem

the burden was not just

for rebuilding the walls.

That was just a part.

The burden was for the people.

And that was a burden

that was not going to end

with a city that was rebuilt.

That burden for the people

was not going to come to an end

until the people were walking

in the right way with God

because that was his ultimate aim

to relieve the trouble,

the distress that they were in.

And the greatest distress,

the greatest trouble they were in

was their relationship with God.

The relationship that had broken down,

the relationship that had led to them

being taken into captivity

in the first place,

the reason why the walls

were in disarray,

the reason why the people felt hopeless,

the relationship with God

had broken down.

And so his ultimate aim

was to restore Jerusalem

and God's people

as a people of worship,

worshiping a holy God

and having his joy

in their hearts.

And as we looked at the last time

in this book,

chapter 8 was a high point.

Chapter 8 was a point

where we see

the people gathered together.

The wall had been completed.

They were gathered around

the word of God

and it brought tears

to their eyes.

They were weeping,

weeping with sorrow

over all that it meant,

all that they had done

against God.

But they were told

that this was not a time

to mourn and to weep.

This was a time to rejoice,

to rejoice in the joy of the Lord

as their strength.

The joy of the Lord

was their strength.

And what a wonderful blessing

it was for them

to know the Lord

had not turned

his back on them

and that they could rejoice

in this.

And they did rejoice.

They enjoyed a feast.

They enjoyed a time

of feasting that went on

for a number of weeks.

In chapter 8,

as it continues,

you find the feast of booths

celebrated there.

A feast that went on

probably for around

three weeks.

And now as you come

into chapter 9,

that feast has ended.

And just a few days later,

they're gathering again together

around the Word of God.

So they had this high point

in chapter 8.

They had this moment of joy

and rejoicing in the Lord

as the joy of the Lord

is their strength.

But then as you come

into chapter 9,

you find it's quite

a different environment.

Again,

the people of Israel,

they're coming

to confess

their sin.

There's a sense

of mourning

once again.

And it's a great reminder

to us

that this is the way

our lives

so often are.

There are

high points,

high experiences

in our lives

and in the Christian life

especially.

There are high points

in our life,

but the majority

of our lives

just the ordinary.

The day-to-day routine.

The day-to-day walking

with God.

And if we just look back

a week,

last weekend,

it often is a high point.

A time of communion

in the congregation.

It's a time of blessing,

a time of fellowship,

a time of being gathered

around God's Word,

a time of feasting together

around God's Word

and in fellowship together,

but we must

come away from it.

We have to come away.

We have to come back

into the ordinary way of life.

So how has the last week

been for you?

How has the last week gone?

We pray we all enjoyed

a high over the weekend,

but how's the ordinary Monday

to Saturday gone since?

How are we going forward?

Well, that's what's of interest

to Nehemiah here as well.

The high point of chapter 8

and the feasting

and rejoicing that there is there.

But now to go forward

in the ordinary.

The day-to-day life.

And how are they going to do that?

How are they going to go forward?

And how do you and I

keep going forward as well?

Well, as we go through chapter 9,

we find that the people

are learning together

what it means to go forward.

How they can learn

from their own experience

and the experiences we see

from generations past as well.

How are they going to go forward?

Well, they're going to learn

lessons from the past.

They're going to look,

as they're praying here

in chapter 9,

they're looking to their fathers,

to the people

in the past generations.

How they've ended up

in a situation of trouble.

What was the cause?

How did they stumble

when God had been

so good to them?

And what can they learn

going forward as well?

Well, they landed in trouble

because they rejected God.

That's what we see

in verse 26.

The generations in the past

says in verse 26,

They were disobedient

and rebelled against you

and cast your law

behind their back.

They killed the prophets,

the ones God had sent

to teach them

in order to bring them back

to him.

So the word of God

that they had rejoiced in

had been taken

and cast away.

It was put behind their back.

They didn't do the word

that they'd heard.

As we were hearing this morning,

they'd heard the word of God,

but they didn't keep applying

the word of God

to their lives.

And yet the wonder of it all

is that again and again,

we're reminded in this passage,

almost a summary of the Old Testament

in many ways,

a summary of how the people

were blessed

and then were disobedient,

but a God who is merciful.

In verse 17,

you have these wonderful words,

But you are a God

ready to forgive,

gracious and merciful,

slow to anger,

and abounding in steadfast love,

and did not forsake them.

Even though they

forsook the word of God

and put it behind them,

God did not forsake them.

And so the people

here now in Nehemiah's day,

they're seeking

to learn their lessons.

They're wanting a renewal

with God,

and that's what's

at the end of the chapter,

in verse 38.

Because of all this,

we make a firm covenant

in writing.

We're wanting this relationship

with God renewed.

Renewed because again,

they know the mercy

of God,

of verse 31.

You did not make

an end of them

or forsake them,

for you are a gracious

and merciful God.

And so for us,

as we seek to go forward,

how can we learn ourselves

from this prayer this evening?

How did the people learn

then,

and how can we learn

ourselves?

Well, there's three things

I want us to take

from this chapter.

First, we see

the Lord of all.

Our eyes have to be fixed

on the Lord

at all times.

And whatever situation,

whatever part of this chapter

you're looking at,

it is all about you,

oh Lord.

You,

oh Lord.

And that's what's got to be

at the heart

of our lives.

But we also see

how the people learn

from past sins.

And the people learn

in their present need.

So we have the Lord of all,

the people's past sins,

and the people's present need.

We have they,

we,

and you,

oh Lord.

And so that's how we

are to go forward

ourselves as well.

First of all,

thinking of

the Lord of all.

The joy of the Lord

is your strength,

they heard in chapter 8.

And what we find

is this flowing

into chapter 9

as well.

Because the joy

of the Lord

is not just

for a moment.

The joy of the Lord

is not just something

for that high point

of chapter 8.

The joy of the Lord

is what is going

to keep them going

in the ordinary

day-to-day life

as well.

And so it flows

into chapter 8

as well.

the days of feasting

that they have enjoyed

together.

They've come to an end,

but they still know

how much they need

the Lord.

And so they find

themselves gathered

around the word

of God.

In verse 1,

on the 24th day

of this month,

the people of Israel

were assembled

with fasting

and in sackcloth

and with earth

on their heads.

So there was a sense

of coming

in repentance

here.

Mourning

over their sin.

Fasting

they're in sackcloth

and with earth

on their heads.

They've separated

themselves

from all the foreigners.

They stood

and they confessed

their sins.

This is still

a time

to rejoice

in the joy

of the Lord

as their strength.

Because it is

the joy of the Lord

as their strength

that helps us

to see our sin

and to repent

from them.

And that is

how they are

going forward.

That's how the people

in the past

failed to go forward.

And that's what

they're seeking

to learn from.

It is the Lord

who is able

to keep them going.

That they need

to see

their dependence

is on

the Lord.

A man called

Leonard Ravenhill

once wrote this.

He said,

the devil

has two major

tricks

with his people.

One is,

you're so good

you don't need

to be saved.

That's one of his tricks.

You're so good

you don't need

to be saved.

The other is,

you're so bad

you can't

be saved.

That's the two tricks

the devil uses.

Leonard Ravenhill

said,

you're so good

you don't need

to be saved

or you're so bad

you can't

be saved.

But what he said

was this,

he's a liar

on both counts.

Because that's not

the way

to go forward.

We can't go forward

thinking we're so good

we don't need

to be saved.

We don't need

the Lord.

We do.

But we can't

go forward

thinking we're so bad

the Lord won't

want us.

The Lord can't

save us.

That's not

true either.

To go forward

we need

the Lord.

That's what

Psalm 84

makes so

clear for us

when it speaks

in that Psalm

in verse 6

about passing

through Baker's

veil

therein do

dig up wells

also the rain

that falleth

down the pools

with water

fills

the Lord

with his people

and so at verse 7

goes on

so they from

strength

unwearied

go still

forward

unto strength

until in Zion

they appear

before the Lord

at length.

So they have

this strength

that can only

come from

the Lord

and that's

the way

for us

to go forward

as well.

And that's

what this prayer

in chapter 9

is all

about.

And from

verse 6

onwards

it's really

the people

crying out

to God

in prayer.

Prayer as a

result of

having heard

the word

for three

hours

and then

having

confession

and worship

for three

hours as well.

You see that

in verse 3

where the

book of the

law of the

Lord

was read

for a

quarter of

the day

and for

another

quarter of

the day

confession

and worship

was made

and then

they went

into prayer.

Can you

imagine that

for ourselves

tonight?

We've started

half past

six.

We're going

to read

God's word

till half

past nine.

Then from

half past

nine to

half past

midnight

we're going

to make

confession

and worship

God

and then

we'll start

to pray.

Who would

be with me

in that?

Who would

stay

six hours

before we

come to

the point

of actually

coming to

pray to

God?

But that's

where the

people were

at.

That's what

they realized

they needed.

They needed

the Lord

and it's a

challenge to

us.

How much

are we

depending

on the

Lord?

How much

are we

coming

before God

with that

sense of

confession

and dependence

on him?

They've

heard the

word of

God.

They've

worshipped

and made

confession

and they

come to

him in

prayer.

And you

wonder,

well,

what did

they hear

in the

word of

God that

brought

them to

this

point?

Well,

as you

see in

the

prayer,

it opens

up what

we would

see as

Genesis

through to

Deuteronomy.

It's going

right back

to the

beginning,

to all

that the

Lord has

done for

his people.

In verse

7,

you have,

you are

the Lord

who chose.

In verse

9,

you saw

the affliction

of the

people as

they were

in Egypt.

In verse

11,

as he was

leading them

out,

you divided

the sea.

In verse

13,

we have

the law

given,

you came

down at

Mount

Sinai.

So there's

here a

focus on

the Lord

who has

done all

this.

A

dependence

on him.

But when

you go

back to

verse 6,

you find

there the

key that

holds it

all together.

Verse 6,

you are

the Lord,

you alone,

you have

made heaven,

the heavens

of heaven,

with all

their host,

the earth

and all

that is on

it,

and the

seas and

all that

is in

them.

You are

the Lord.

And here

is the

key to

our

understanding

of who

he is.

He has

made the

heavens and

the earth

and all

that is

in them.

This is

the God

of creation.

This is

the God

of Genesis

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1.

In the

beginning,

God

made all

things.

And this

is the

key to

our

relationship

with God.

To see

him not

as a

small

God,

as a

God

who is

there

for

some

things,

but a

God

who is

there

for all

things.

As

Hebrews

Hebrews 11:3

11,

verse 3

puts it,

by faith

we understand

that the

universe was

created by

the word

of God,

so that

what is

seen was

not made

out of

things that

are visible.

By faith

we understand.

By faith

we go

forward.

And this

is what

their

relationship

is all

about.

They are

depending

on God.

Is this

the God

that you

believe in?

Is this

the God

that you

see you

need in

your life?

The God

who holds

the heaven

and the

earth,

the whole

universe

together?

There's a

story told

about Isaac

Newton

and he'd

made a

replica

of the

solar system

in miniature.

In the

centre was

the sun

and all

around it

was all

the planets

and how

they were

revolving

around the

sun.

This was

in a

study and

another

scientist

came into

his study

and saw

this model

and marveled

at it

and said

who made

this?

And Isaac

Newton

replied

saying

nobody.

And the

other scientist

said you

must think

I'm a

fool.

Of course

somebody

made it.

Now tell

me who

made it?

It must

be a

genius to

make this

model and

how it

works

together.

Isaac

Newton

got up

of his

chair and

went over

to his

friend the

other

scientist

and said

this is

just a

tiny

imitation

of a

much

grander

solar

system

whose

laws

and logic

you and

I know

all about

and I

cannot

convince

you

that this

mere

model

has no

designer

or maker

and yet

you profess

that the

original

from which

this model

is taken

has no

creator

or designer

or maker.

The model

that was

so tiny

must have

a maker.

but the

real

thing

the

heaven

the

earth

the

moon

the

stars

and all

of these

things

there's

no

maker.

He's

saying

where's

the logic

in that?

But that's

what we see

as we look

to the

word of

God.

You are

the Lord

you alone

you have

made heaven

the heaven

of heavens

and all

of its

host

everything

is made

by God

and this

is the

God

that the

people

are looking

to

and depending

on

to go

forward.

The question

is that

our God

as we

seek

to go

forward

ourselves.

So there

is God

over all.

You

oh Lord

have done

so much

for us.

But then

the focus

secondly

here is

the

people's

past

sin.

When we

think of

moving

forward

we always

have to

learn

from the

past

whether

that's

good

or bad.

Nehemiah

as a

book

as a

whole

is all

about

renewal.

The

renewal

of the

wall.

The

renewal

of their

lives

and as

we will

see

God

willing

later

the

renewal

of their

relationship

their

covenant

relationship

with

God.

But

renewal

always

entails

as it

is

with

God's

people

repentance.

We

cannot

go

forward

without

repentance.

We

cannot

keep

going

without

repentance.

And

this

means

a

realization

where

things

have

gone

wrong.

And

that

is

what

God's

word

does

for

us.

as

you

go

through

this

prayer,

as

you

go

through

these

verses,

the

people

are

confronted

with

two

specific

things.

They

are

confronted

with

who

God

is.

What

we

have

just

looked

at,

you

O

Lord,

are

the

one

who

has

made

all

things.

But

the

second

thing

that

they

are

confronted

with

is

who

they

are.

And

who

they

are

in

the

midst

of

all

of

this.

And

if

we

read

verse

30

and

31,

for

many

years

you

bore

with

them

and

warned

them

by

your

spirit

through

your

prophets,

yet

they

would

not

give

ear,

therefore

you

gave

them

into

the

hand

of

the

peoples

of

the

lands.

Nevertheless,

in

your

great

mercies

you

did

not

make

an

end

of

them

or

forsake

them,

for

a

gracious

and

merciful

God.

It's

the

story

of

the

Old

Testament.

So

often

again

and

again

you

find

it

the

God

who

is

pursuing

his

people,

the

God

who

is

showing

grace

to

his

people,

a

people

who

so

often

aren't

looking

for it,

a

people

who

so

often

don't

deserve

it,

a

people

so

often

resisting

this

grace.

And

who

don't

appreciate

what

they

have.

And

yet

God

is

merciful

and

gracious

and

kind.

You

find the

word

they

is

mentioned

so

often

in the

prayer.

As

they are

praying,

they

turned

their

back,

they

disobeyed.

This

kind of

looking

to the

past,

it's

remembering

the

journey

of

their

ancestors,

what

the

Lord

brought

them

through.

Now

for us

as we

would

come

to

this,

we

might

think,

well,

it's

a

way

of

blame.

They

went

wrong,

not us,

they

went

wrong.

And

when we

think of

the things

we've

done

ourselves,

is that

the

approach

that we

have?

Blame

someone

else.

Somebody

else's

fault.

We

look for

someone

to

blame.

It's

often

a

natural

reaction.

You

can

think

of

many

different

things

you

could

blame

in

your

own

life.

We

blame

a

generation

that we

live in

that's

turning

away

from

God.

We

can

blame

the

government

who

are

passing

rules

that

go

against

the

laws

of

God.

We

can