Blind Devotion

I'm going to begin our worship and singing, first of all, this evening from Psalm 96a.

Psalm 96a, that's on page 126.

The tune is Glasgow.

We're singing verses 1 to 10.

O sing a new song to the Lord, sing praises to his name, and his salvation day by day

let all the earth proclaim, his glory and his mighty deeds to every land declare, how

great and awesome is the Lord, with him no gods compare.

Psalm 96a, we're singing verses 1 to 10.

If you're able to stand, please stand to sing.

O sing a new song to the Lord, sing praises to his name, and his salvation day by day.

Let all the earth proclaim, his glory and his mighty deeds to every land declare, how great,

and awesome is the Lord, with him no gods compare.

For other gods are wood and stone, the Lord made heavens high.

all power and majesty and his, he dwell in glorious light.

All nations to the Lord has cry, the glory that is due.

Glory and strength as cry to God, and praise his name, my youth.

Enter his court with joy and grace, and offer thee with you.

Worship the Lord in holy fear, all earth behold him above.

Tell every land the Lord is king, he establishes the earth.

And can all prove, the Lord will judge the peoples in his truth.

Now we're going to pray, let's join together as we call upon the Lord.

Gracious and eternal God, what wonderful truths you have given us in these words that we have sung,

exclaiming and setting out for us the glory and the majesty and the greatness of our God,

the uniqueness of our God, the fact that there is none like you in the whole creation,

for you are the creator, you are the one who is above all things that exist.

We thank you, Lord, tonight that this is our portion in life,

that we are privileged to come and call upon your name and join together in worship.

And we give thanks, Lord, for the way in which your word has guided us already

to such high thoughts about you, and to such thoughts about ourselves

as we would humble ourselves in your presence and would come and bring an offering,

an offering of praise and of thanksgiving to you.

And we pray, Lord, that you would draw near to us.

We seek to draw near to you, and we know from your word that

if we draw near to God, that he will draw near to us.

That is your promise.

And we ask that you would help us, Lord,

tonight to experience the reality of that promise for ourselves.

For it would be but an empty gathering for us, O Lord,

if we only met with one another, precious though that is in itself.

Yet, Lord, we ask that we will know of a meeting with you,

of a fellowship with you, of a communion deep in our souls

with our creator and our saviour.

And, Lord, we ask tonight that your Holy Spirit will draw us,

that you would work in our hearts, work in our minds,

enlightening our minds further in the knowledge of your truth.

We pray that we may once again see the great privilege we have

of knowing and confessing you as our God,

above all other false gods in the world,

as we have been reading and singing in this psalm.

O Lord, our God, we thank you that you have delivered us

from any thoughts that there may be rivals to you.

And yet we confess that so often, Lord,

we find ourselves giving our devotion all too much

to those things of this present age,

and that we find ourselves so easily distracted, O Lord,

from focusing our minds upon you

and from placing you foremost in our thoughts and actions day by day.

We come before you again tonight, Lord,

confessing our need of your forgiveness and cleansing,

confessing, Lord, that we appear before you defiled in our sins,

that we sin against you every day we live.

Indeed, from hour to hour we are conscious, Lord,

that we sin against you,

that sin is very much a part of our fallenness

and comes to the fore in our thoughts and actions.

And we pray tonight, Lord, for that cleansing of our lives.

We ask that you would draw us to yourself,

that we may in our confession

come to realize the truth of your word once again,

even though we may have known your forgiveness

in times gone by.

Yet we thank you that every confession of our sin,

Lord, as we engage in that in your presence,

is met with the promise that if we confess our sins,

the Lord is faithful and just to forgive us our sins

and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

So we pray that your holy word will be beneficial to us tonight.

We thank you for it.

We thank you that it is so central to our worship, O Lord,

that you have taught us the importance

of having your word central in our worship.

For it is by your word indeed that we are guided

faithfully and infallibly

to those things that have to do with your glory

and your praise and your worship.

And we do pray, O Lord,

that you would open up our minds

to receive your word once again.

Help us in our understanding of it.

Help us in our conveyance of it

to the world around us,

as we've been singing,

to tell every land that the Lord is king.

Lord, help us, we pray,

to do this in our own locality and beyond,

wherever we have opportunity to make you known.

Give us grace, Lord,

to take advantage of that opportunity

and to seek to fulfill

the remit you have given your people in the world,

to go forth to make disciples of all nations,

baptizing them in the name of the Father

and of the Lord Jesus

and of the Holy Spirit

and teaching them all things

that you have commanded us.

We thank you for every evidence of your blessing

that we have from day to day,

from week to week.

We give thanks for that in our own lives personally.

We give thanks, Lord,

in the life of the congregation

for continued evidence of your blessing.

And we seek further that you would bless us

and bless the gospel to us.

We pray that we may be more and more

a light in the world in which you have placed us,

that we, as we seek to live for you,

would form, Lord,

that light that reaches out

into the darkest recesses of society.

And to that end,

we pray that you would use us

and enable us in all our activities,

O Lord,

to know that you are guiding us,

that you are blessing

all that we seek to do in your name.

We pray for your guidance

in all of these things.

We ask that you would help us

as we seek, Lord,

to know how to reach out with the gospel,

how to confront the thinking of our age,

how to go forth and engage with people

who themselves may not at all care for the gospel,

may be hostile to it,

and all kinds of ideologies

that we meet with in our society.

Lord, we pray that you would grant us help,

that you would grant us,

that your Spirit may guide us

and may further teach us in these ways.

We pray that you would bless all those

who are preparing themselves,

O Lord,

for the ministry of the gospel.

We pray for Scott with ourselves.

We pray for all his fellow trainee ministers.

We ask that you would bless them

as they receive their training and teaching.

We pray, Lord,

that they will indeed form a great force

in the world for good

and that you would use them, Lord,

as even now they are preparing

for permanent ministry.

We pray that you would continue

to use them and encourage them.

And we ask, O God,

that you would give to them

the weight with all

and the resources of your Holy Spirit

to preach the word of Christ

and to do so in a way

that unashamedly holds forth

the gospel of truth.

We pray that you'd bless our seminary.

We ask, Lord,

for the regular teaching

that takes place there

from week to week.

And as they anticipate

a new session,

we pray for all those

who prepare themselves

to teach,

those who come

to be educated there.

We ask for all the lecturers.

We pray that they will know

of your own blessing

accompanying their efforts.

We pray for the principal,

Principal Martin,

and all who serve with him

in that capacity.

And we pray, gracious one,

that they may know

of your constant provision

for them

and of your encouragement

of them in such

an important work.

And we pray for

all the church plants

that we know of

throughout our denomination.

And we ask, O God,

that you would encourage them also.

We pray that they may be

further established

in the truth,

in your ways,

that they will be encouraged

as they seek to reach out

with the gospel,

that you would help them,

Lord, to know of your blessing,

building them up,

not only in terms of numbers,

but spiritually as well.

And we pray that we may see days,

Lord, of much rejoicing yet

and seeing many coming

to the Lord

through the efforts

of those who are engaged

both in church plants

and in long-established

congregations like our own.

Lord, our longing is

that we will know

that sound of heaven,

that wonderful sound

of your Spirit at work,

the great sound

of people coming

to attend to your truth

and coming to be changed

in their lives under it.

We ask that you would

bless tonight those two

who have particular problems

in life.

And we pray for those

who face addiction

and seek from day to day

to live with such difficulties

and challenges in life

as this provides for them.

We pray for those, Lord,

who seek to help them.

We pray for David Chisholm,

and all others like him, Lord,

or in our own local road

to recovery.

We ask that you would bless him

and bless all who assist him

in the work

and bless all who come together

from time to time

to seek to discuss

and to help each other

through these difficult times.

And we pray that especially

your Word might truly

be blessed to them.

We pray that you would bless

the work of safe families.

Again, we commend them to you

and ask, Lord,

that you would continue

to provide for them

and encourage them.

We pray for all the families

already being helped,

and we ask, O God,

that that would multiply

and that there may be

many more who will come

to offer themselves

as volunteers

to help Catherine

and all others

and the staff

of safe families.

We ask, Lord,

that your blessing

will continue to be with them

and encourage them

and strengthen them, Lord,

to carry through

with the important work

that they're involved with.

Remember those also

in our community

who help us

in various ways.

We ask for all

in the hospital,

in the hospice,

in our care homes.

We pray for them

and ask that they may

know your blessing too

as they minister

to the needs of others

so faithfully

each and every day.

We do commit to you, Lord,

those who teach

in our schools,

both in the state schools

and in the Christian school.

Remember them all,

we pray.

We pray,

give to those, Lord,

who teach our young people

that they may be able

to do so,

seeking that wholesome teaching

that comes through your word

may itself be conveyed

to the children.

We pray that you bless

headteachers

throughout our own islands

and that they may,

in facing the challenges

of our age,

that they may know

that wisdom

from the Lord himself.

And we commit them to you

and ask that you would

strengthen them

in mind

and in their thoughts

and in their actions

to face the difficulties

and challenges

that they face particularly.

Remember now,

we pray,

those who are in hospital,

those who are ill,

those who are being cared for

by others at home,

remember the carers

in our community.

We thank you for them

and pray

that you would continue

to bless them

and bless also

the social work department.

We pray for them

and for all who help

in these ways

in our community.

We ask,

O Lord,

too,

for those who are

tonight bereaved,

those who mourn

over the passing

of loved ones.

We pray,

too,

for the undertaker

and for all his staff.

We commit them to you

and give thanks

for their dedication

to their work.

And Lord,

in all of these areas

of our land

locally and nationally,

we pray that you would

continue to provide for us.

We pray that we may

continue to depend upon you,

realizing that it is

in your goodness

that all of these things

are extended to us

and provided for us.

Bless us now,

then,

we pray,

as we continue here

in your presence.

Bless all the gatherings

of your people

throughout our local districts,

throughout our nation,

throughout the whole world.

Bless your people.

Bless those of them

especially facing

persecution,

poverty,

deprivation,

attacks of various kinds.

Lord,

our God,

we pray that your kingdom

will nevertheless advance,

that your will be done

on earth

as it is in heaven.

And we ask that

all of these things,

Lord,

as we present them

before you,

may be pleasing to you

to answer our prayer.

We ask it all

with the pardon of our sin.

For Jesus' sake.

Amen.

Amen.

Now we're going to sing further

to God's praise

from the Scottish Psalter

this time,

Psalm 90,

and verses 13 to 17.

That's on page 350.

The tune this time is Kilmarnock.

Turn yet again to us,

O Lord,

how long thus shall it be?

Let it repent thee now

for those

that servants are to thee.

With thy tender mercies,

Lord,

us early satisfy.

So we rejoice,

shall all our days,

and still be glad in thee.

The psalmist,

in his prayer,

appealing to the Lord

to come and reveal

his power once again

as he seeks to

appeal to God here

to let the beauty

of the Lord,

our God,

be us upon

and for him to

establish the handiworks,

the works that

they do in the Lord's name

in the psalmist's own time.

And this, of course,

is our prayer as well

in our day,

that the work

and the power of God

may appear to

us as his servants

and show unto

our children, dear,

his glory evermore.

So to the tune

Kilmarnock,

verses 13 to 17,

to God's praise.

Amen.

Turn yet again

to us, O Lord,

how long

thou shall live

be.

Let it repent

thee now

for those

that surrounds

are to thee.

O with thy tender

mercies, O Lord,

God certainly

satisfied,

so we rejoice

shall o'er

our days

and still be glad

in thee.

или

according

us

the

days

of thee

CBD

whey

whey

reap

the

ground

large

on

years

when

When we ill have seen, so do thou make us now.

O let thy work and power appear, thy servant's face befall,

and show fun to their children dear, thy glory evermore.

And let the beauty of the Lord our Lord be as the whole.

Our heavenly words each love, each love, each love, each love, each love, each love, each love, each love.

Let's turn now to read God's word in the first book of Samuel, chapter 5.

1 Samuel, chapter 5, that should be around page 275 in your pew Bibles if you're using the church pew Bibles.

1 Samuel 5 · chapter mention

So it's 1 Samuel, chapter 5, and we're going to read from the beginning through to the end of the chapter.

1 Samuel 5 · chapter mention

When the Philistines captured the ark of God, they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod,

then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon and set it up beside Dagon.

And when the people of Ashdod rose early the next day,

behold, Dagon had fallen face down on the ground before the ark of the Lord.

So they took Dagon and put him back in his place.

But when they rose early on the next morning,

behold, Dagon had fallen face down on the ground before the ark of the Lord,

and the head of Dagon and both his hands were lying cut off on the threshold.

Only the trunk of Dagon was left to him.

This is why the priests of Dagon and all who enter the house of Dagon

do not tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.

The hand of the Lord was heavy against the people of Ashdod,

and he terrified and afflicted them with tumors, both in Ashdod and in its territory.

And when the men of Ashdod saw how things were, they said,

The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us,

for his hand is hard against us and against Dagon our God.

So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines and said,

What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?

They answered, Let the ark of the God of Israel be brought round to Gath.

So they brought the ark of the God of Israel there.

But after they had brought it round, the hand of the Lord was against the city,

causing a very great panic.

And he afflicted the men of the city, both young and old,

so that tumors broke out on them.

So they sent the ark of God to Ekron.

But as soon as the ark of God came to Ekron,

the people of Ekron cried out,

They have brought round to us the ark of the God of Israel to kill us and our people.

They sent therefore and gathered all the lords of the Philistines and said,

Send away the ark of the God of Israel and let it return to its own place,

that it may not kill us and our people.

For there was a deathly panic throughout the whole city.

The hand of God was very heavy there.

The men who did not die were struck with tumors,

and the cry of the city went up to heaven.

And may God bless to us reading this part of his word.

Before we turn to this passage, let's sing again.

We're singing from Psalm 115.

Psalm 115 and sing Psalms, page 152.

Singing verses 1 to 9 to the tune Tiverton.

A psalm which compares and contrasts the idols of pagan nations with the Lord, the God of Israel.

And so that, of course, fits in with the passage we've just read,

and we're going to look at it later just in a few moments.

Lord, not to us, O not to us, but to your name be the praise,

because your love and faithfulness endure, O Lord, always.

Why do the nations question us?

Where is their God, they say?

Our God inhabits heaven high and over all holds sway.

Their gold and silver images are crafted carefully,

but they have mouths which cannot speak and eyes which cannot see.

Their noses have no sense of smell.

Their ears can hear no sound.

They have no feeling in their hands, nor can they walk around.

Although these idols do have throats, no word can they proclaim.

Their makers and their worshippers will all become like them.

And so on down as far as verse 9.

Lord, not to us, O not to us.

Amen.

Lord, not to us, O not to us.

To your name be the praise.

Because you love unfaithfulness, and you rule our whole way.

Why do the nations question us?

Where is their God, they say?

Our God inhabits heaven high and over all holds sway.

Their gold and silver images are crafted carefully.

But they have mouths which cannot speak.

But they have mouths which cannot speak, and eyes which cannot see.

Their nooses have no sense of smell.

Their nooses have no sense of smell.

Their ears can hear no sound.

They have no feeling in their hands, nor can they walk around.

Although these idols do have throats, no word can they proclaim.

Their makers and their worshippers will all become like them.

O in service will bless your trust upon the Lord alone.

He is almighty help and shield of all who are his own.

O in service will be the Lord alone.

O in service will be the Lord.

O in service will be the Lord.

Well, please turn with me now to 1 Samuel chapter 5.

1 Samuel 5 · chapter mention

We're going to look at the main points in this chapter that we've read through.

1 Samuel chapter 5, which tells us about the incident where the Philistines, having captured the ark of Israel,

1 Samuel 5 · chapter mention

the ark of the Lord, experienced the consequences of that as described in the chapter.

1 Samuel chapter 5, which tells us about the fact that the human heart is a factory of idols.

1 Samuel 5 · chapter mention

The human heart is a factory of idols.

That is where the production of idolatry always takes place.

But what is an idol?

And what defines idolatry?

As we'll see, it's a lot more than just carving a little figure or a large figure,

such as these Philistines had in their god Ekron, in their god Dagon,

and setting him in a particular place that they regarded as sacred.

An idol is whatever is given the devotion that's due to God alone.

An idol is anything that is given the devotion that is due to God alone.

It can be an object such as it was here for the Philistines or other objects like that.

It can be people.

It can be people.

It can be wealth.

It can be work.

It can be ideologies.

A whole host of idols can be fashioned in the human heart and given the devotion that is due to God alone.

And that is why all the way through Scripture you find severe denunciation by God of idolatry.

One of the things that he constantly set before the people of Israel was the need to avoid idolatry,

the need to have no other gods but him,

and to avoid being sucked into the idolatry of the nations around them.

As they moved through the desert and as they settled in Canaan,

again and again the Lord emphasized that they needed to beware of idolatry,

because idolatry was a direct challenge to God, a direct replacement for God.

And even though at times later on, as you find in the times of the prophets,

the Isaiah, Jeremiah, smaller prophets,

many of these refer to the idolatrous ways of Israel.

And it was the idolatry of Israel that actually led ultimately to their exile in Babylon for those 70 years.

They had repeatedly refused to receive the message that God sent through the prophets,

the warnings that he had sent.

They didn't actually think that that was worthy of being followed up by themselves.

So what happened was, just as God himself had specified,

they were taken under the yoke, the power of the Babylonians,

who ravaged their temple, took many of the objects there captive to Babylon,

and actually had to live there for the 70 years until they began then to come back to Jerusalem.

So the production of idolatry is in our own human hearts.

And whatever it is we place instead of God or alongside of God

and give the devotion that's due to God,

then we're engaging in idolatry in doing that.

And it all comes, therefore, from our own fallen self.

Remember that Jesus more than once said,

if we were to follow him, if anyone was to follow him,

one of the central features of that, one of the necessities of that,

one of the indispensable aspects of following Jesus,

let him deny himself.

Because denying yourself means turning against the inclination of your own sinful heart

and giving your devotion to God instead.

If you were to ask tonight, what is the oldest religion in the world?

If I was to ask, what is the oldest religion in the world?

Many people would answer different ways.

Some people might say, well, surely it's something like Buddhism,

or perhaps even Hinduism, which goes back many, many generations,

thousands, in fact, of years.

And would say, well, surely that's the oldest religion in the world.

But it's not.

The oldest religion in the world is the worship of self.

Ever since man fell, he's been worshiping himself.

Setting himself out instead of God.

Setting himself out in a way that's above God.

Refusing the direction of God to turn to himself,

to come back to him, and instead following his own way.

And we can see in this chapter tonight just how blind devotion to idols is.

Whether it's a figure like this, or any of the other things I've mentioned,

or adding to that list.

Whatever we give our devotion to blinds us to the reality of God,

and if not completely, then certainly to the extent that we do not give God

the place that is due to him.

So all of this is contained, really, in this passage,

especially verses 1 to 4.

Let's look first of all at Israel's loss of the ark,

which takes us back into the previous chapter.

And then we'll look at the ark among the Philistines.

Some of the things chapter 5 describes happened when the ark was taken by the Philistines

to the house of Dagon, their idol, their god.

Well, Israel's loss of the ark, you know, call yourselves that the ark was this box

that was made of a special wood and then overlaid with gold.

It was around a meter long, by half that again in width and in height.

And the Lord had specified in Exodus chapter 25

Exodus 25 · chapter mention

that this was to be a very important object in the ritual of Israel

in terms of their worship of God.

The ark was placed in the Holy of Holies, in the tabernacle, in the temple afterwards.

And it was associated especially with the presence of God.

They were required to make a lid for the ark, which became known as the mercy seat,

with the two cherubim carved of gold on the mercy seat facing each other.

And it was there that God met with his people.

It was there that the presence of God was made known to the people.

The cloud that dwelt between the cherubim on the top of the ark

was itself an indication of the presence of God.

So from that you can see that as the ark represented the presence of God,

it was absolutely central to the ritual that God himself had specified

that represented that cleansing from sin.

Chapter 16 of Leviticus talks about the day of atonement that took place once a year,

where the high priest who alone was allowed to go into the Holy of Holies,

took the blood of the goat that was killed for a sacrifice,

and sprinkled that over the mercy seat and in the presence or in the front of the mercy seat.

It was very central to the whole ritual of atonement in Israel,

to teach them that God's presence, in the way that it was represented there,

that they could only live with God's presence by following the directions of God himself,

by providing propitiatory blood, which of course itself is symbolic of the death of Jesus.

But they went out in chapter 4 here.

You can see what had happened, chapter 4 and verse 2, if you just cast your mind back,

and we'll read a few verses there.

The Philistines, here they were coming to battle against the people of Israel.

The Philistines threw up in line against Israel,

and when the battle spread, Israel was defeated by the Philistines,

who killed about 4,000 men on the field of battle.

And when the troops came to the camp, the elders of Israel said,

Why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines?

That's an interesting way of putting it, wasn't it?

They were seeking to cast the blame upon God and not upon themselves.

Why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines?

Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord here from Shiloh,

that it may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies.

So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts,

who is enthroned on the cherubim.

What are they doing?

What kind of thinking is this?

What has become of these people?

Well, what they're doing is treating this ark in a sense as if it were God.

They know that it represents God.

They know that, strictly speaking, it is not, of course, God.

It's not like the idol of the Philistines.

But they're treating it as such.

They're looking on it superstitiously or looking at it as some kind of miraculous operation,

that if they carry this ark into battle,

then they're bound to be successful against the people that are fighting against them.

They've become superstitious.

They've become a people who have just lost sight for a moment of what the ark represented.

And they regarded it as if it were God himself,

as if the ark, just carrying the ark in itself,

was going to guarantee them victory against the Philistines.

Israel lost the ark because they lost what it represented.

They lost sight of what it represented.

And therefore, it was taken captive by the Lord just to, as it were,

remind them that their trust must not be in the ark

because the ark was a representation of God.

It wasn't to be treated like the idols of the Philistines.

Now, we can do the same with some of the privileges that we have.

And it's altogether too easy to fall into the same mindset as Israel here,

who said, let's bring the ark, take the ark of the covenant of the Lord,

that it may come amongst us.

It'll save us from the power of our enemies.

You can become that way minded even about the likes of your baptism

or taking communion in the Lord's Supper,

where the things themselves become, although the representations of God,

they become, as it were, looked at magically or superstitiously

or looked at in such a way that would say, for example,

well, I was baptized as a child,

so if you ask me, well, what's my relationship with God?

I'm bound to be saved because I was baptized.

There were promises taken about me.

There are prayers about my future.

Same thing with taking communion.

People can actually come and say about taking communion,

that makes me a Christian.

That guarantees my salvation.

None of that, of course, is true.

It can be just like the ark was for Israel,

that we just trust in the possession of them,

trust in the history that's brought them to us,

trust in perhaps the ritual that's involved in baptism

or in taking communion

and thinking that just from the mere possession of it,

from the mere act of it,

that that guarantees our acceptance with God.

And it doesn't.

Unless we have what's represented there,

then we cannot be saved.

We cannot be in a right relation with God

just by taking communion.

Communion itself is an indication

that you have that relationship with God already.

And the same is true when you come to think of baptism too,

that that is something that represents

being connected to Christ,

being united to Christ.

So here is something that's important for us to remember

from this Old Testament passage.

If you go back to Romans,

or forward to Romans chapter 2 and verses 28 and 29,

Romans 2 · chapter mention

this is how Paul put it.

Because he was dealing, of course,

with people like himself who were Jews by birth

and who, just like the Pharisees,

as we saw this morning,

were placing great emphasis on the fact

that this is how they were brought up.

This was their privilege.

This is what God gave them to be.

They gave them to be Jews

in contrast to the Gentiles

and the rest of the world.

And here were the people

that Paul was writing to

in the letter to the Romans

actually thinking that

because this was the case with them,

in terms of their ancestry

and their privileges over the years,

that they themselves were already right with God,

automatically, as it were.

Well, here is what Paul said.

No one is a Jew

who is merely one outwardly,

nor is circumcision outward and physical.

I didn't mean, of course, by that,

that circumcision had stopped

to be something physical

that was applied to Jewish young boys

when they were actually circumcised.

That still was the case

at eight days of age.

But now he's saying,

a Jew is one inwardly,

and circumcision is a matter of the heart

by the Spirit and not by the letter.

His praise is not from man,

but of God.

In other words, he was saying to those,

he was writing to them in Romans,

reminding them that

being circumcised did not of itself,

though it was an advantage,

it didn't of itself convey any grace.

It didn't convey any salvation.

It was an outward symbol

of something that needed to be inward.

Circumcision of the heart.

And it's really the same with ourselves.

That's why the Lord said to Nicodemus,

who had come to him by night,

and he was quite sure

that he himself being

one of the doctors of the law

in those days,

one member of a Sanhedrin,

he would never have questioned

whether or not he was

within the kingdom of God.

And Jesus, of course,

brought him up short

and said,

except a man be born again,

born of water and of the Spirit,

he cannot enter

the kingdom of God.

So here is something

that comes across

all of these generations tonight

to actually teach us

about the need

for a proper spiritual

heart relationship with Christ,

with God in Christ,

and not to rely on anything

which may be in itself

a great advantage to us,

but not to rely upon it in itself.

We need to come to the Lord.

We need to receive the Lord.

We need to accept the Lord.

We need to depend on the Lord.

We need to have our trust

in the Lord.

We need to make sure

that He is the foundation,

not any ritual

that's associated with Him.

This is why Israel

lost the ark,

because they lost

what it represented.

But secondly,

look at the ark

among the Philistines.

What did the Philistines

do with the ark?

Well, chapter 5 now,

when they captured the ark,

they brought it from Ebenezer

to Ashdod,

and the Philistines

took the ark

of God,

and brought it

into the house

of Dagon,

and set it up

beside Dagon.

See, they saw

this ark

as being a god

to Israel,

just like Dagon

was to them.

So, it was a trophy

of war

in many respects,

but to the people

of the Philistines,

they were actually saying,

we've actually managed

to capture

one of the gods

of Israel.

Because when you go back

again to chapter 4

and verse 6,

notice what it's saying there.

When the Philistines

heard the noise,

when the ark

actually did come

into the camp,

Israel gave a mighty shout

so that the earth resounded.

And when the Philistines

heard the noise

of the shouting,

they said,

what does this great shouting

in the camp

of the Hebrews mean?

And when they learned

that the ark of the Lord

had come to the camp,

the Philistines

were afraid,

for they said,

a God

has come into the camp.

And they said,

woe to us,

for nothing like this

has happened before.

Woe to us.

Who can deliver us

from the power

of these mighty gods?

These are the gods

who struck the Egyptians

with every sort of plague

in the wilderness.

Take courage

and be men,

O Philistines,

lest you become slaves.

To the Hebrews,

as they have been to you,

be men

and fight.

They regarded the ark

as a god of Israel.

That's why they brought it

into the house

of their god,

Dagon.

And what happened?

Well, you read down

through there,

when they rose early

the next day,

Dagon had fallen

face down on the ground

before the ark

of the Lord.

And the passage

is really telling us

by that,

and the passage

telling the people

of Israel by that,

as they would read

that later,

telling them,

or even from that moment

that they realized

this had happened,

telling them that

God,

their God,

was the true God,

was the only God.

Because here is Dagon.

And you notice

it's interesting here,

this fall of Dagon

was not done

by human hands,

this happened overnight.

Nobody went

into the place,

took Dagon down

and put him

on the ground

beside

or in front

of the ark

of God.

This was something

that happened

miraculously.

God himself

had brought it about.

But you notice

the difference

in the language.

Just look carefully

how the language

says,

when they brought

the ark

into the house

of God,

they set it up

beside Dagon.

And then when

Dagon fell,

he fell to the ground

before the ark

of the Lord.

You see,

they had put Dagon,

this statue,

this idol,

they had put it

beside the ark

of the Lord.

And when he fell,

it's no longer

beside the ark

of the Lord,

he's in the presence

of the ark

of the Lord.

He's bowing down

to the ark

of the Lord,

as it were,

showing the supremacy

of the God

that the Israelites

worshipped.

And so,

the sovereignty

of God.

Here is Dagon

in a position

of homage

and subservience

and obedience

and acknowledgement

of the superiority

of God

because Dagon

is here

before the ark

of God

as if he were

bowed down

and worshipped

to him.

See,

language makes

a difference.

And you can see

that this is the message

conveyed

by that change.

It's no longer

beside Dagon,

no longer beside

the ark,

he is before

the ark.

He's fallen down

in the presence

of what represents

the God

of Israel.

And that,

of course,

is true of all

idolatry

and all idols.

Even if they're

placed on the same

level as God.

Even if they're

just taken in,

as it were,

into a pantheon

of gods.

Nevertheless,

the Bible assures

us and tells us

again and again

that there is

no equality

with God.

That none

can actually

come to the level

at which our

God is placed

as our creator

and as the

saviour of his

people.

That's why

Psalm 115,

as we sang,

is so graphic

and so powerful

in the description

of the contrast

between God

and all idols.

He is God.

He is a lone

God.

And it doesn't

matter tonight

what people worship.

I don't say

it doesn't matter

in the sense

of it's not

important.

Of course,

it's important,

but it doesn't

change this,

that God

remains God

and God

remains

alone God.

He remains

the unique

creator

and saviour

of his people.

So,

what do the

Philistines do?

Well,

you might think

that they would say

now that our idol

is prostrate

in the presence

of the ark,

you might think,

well,

surely any

right thinking

would say,

well,

this ark

must be superior

to our God.

Let's actually

now give

ourselves to

the ark of God

or to the God

of Israel

instead of

to our Dagon

because our Dagon

has fallen

in his presence.

That's not

what they do.

What do they do?

They pick him up.

They set him

back on his feet

again.

They came

and put Dagon

back in his place.

You know,

the Lord

doesn't mind

a touch of humour

in his word.

It's not comedy.

It's not that

sort of thing.

But there is a touch

of humour there,

isn't there?

Because how

can a God

help anybody

if he needs

to be helped

to his feet?

How can any

object that's

given devotion

that rightly

belongs to God

be of any use

to any human being

if these humans

themselves have

to help him

back on his feet,

have to help

put him back

in his place?

You see,

the foolishness

and the blindness

of the idolatry

of the Philistines

as they're doing this,

whether they realise it

or not,

what they're saying is

this is a useless God.

We can't possibly

go on worshipping

this God.

He needs to be

helped to his feet.

And we humans

who have created

him as our God,

we should look

at ourselves

and think,

how can this be

any help to us

at all

to trust

and to worship

to be devoted

to this Dagon?

Of course,

they're blinded

by their paganism,

blinded by

their idolatry.

Yet that's

our instinct

as well.

is this not

something that

just you leave

in history

back in the days

of the Philistines?

What do we do

when our gods

fail?

Whatever God it is

other than

our God himself.

What do we do

when we find

our gods

not actually

helping us

but being a hindrance

at times to us?

Do we just

instantly leave them?

Of course we don't.

We sometimes

just put them

back in place.

And in our own

generation

and our own

day especially

this is exactly

what you're seeing.

Because the powers

of the world

and of worldliness

and the powers

that are against

the gospel

the ungodly powers

of the present day

are in a sense

the equivalent

of the Philistines.

What are they

trying to do?

They're trying

to actually take

what is essential

to our Christian faith

and to take it captive

and to put it

in the house

of Dagon

as it were.

Their aim

is to nullify

the Christian faith

if it were possible

to deprive us

of its arc

of its most central

basic foundational features.

That's why you find

that the Christian faith

so often nowadays

sadly

is placed alongside

other so-called faiths

as if they're really

on the same level

as if the combination

of them really

is a much better way

towards ensuring

your eternity

than just worshipping

the one true God.

And what happens

when the gods

of secularism

the gods

of worldliness

the thinking

of these gods

what happens

when they are

demonstrably

failed?

They're picked up.

They're put

in another form

perhaps

but they're not

abandoned.

I know

the approach

of governments

today

and our own government

is certainly

one of the governments

in this category

that approaches

human problems

of behavior

social problems

not from a

biblical perspective

not from a

spiritual perspective

but from the

perspective of

human wisdom.

The human wisdom

that largely

that largely

comprises

a liberty

of behavior

that lumps

all of that

behavior together

and says

you know

the more liberty

you have

the more people

will be educated.

The more people

will come to realize

what's necessary

and what isn't

in human life

and in human progress

that is nonsense.

if you look

at the statistics

take for example

even sexually

transmitted diseases

in Scotland

just last month

the last statistics

showed

that there's been

an increase

not a decrease.

Why is that?

Because the wisdom

of the world

cannot actually

deal with the problem.

Permissiveness

does not deal

with the problem.

Opening things out

so that everybody

does what's right

in their own eyes

does not solve

the problem

it makes it worse.

And it doesn't matter

how you tinker

with that

how you adjust that

how much you put

Dagon back

on his shelf

maybe in a different form

you're still ending up

with the same problem.

There's nothing

there that can supply

what meets

our human need.

And it's

at the moment

such a sad

sad thing

that our governments

throughout the western world

are capitulating

to the ideology

of Dagon

you might say

capitulating

to the idea

that really

if we just

all get together

and use

our human wisdom

then we'll solve

the problems.

Throw some more money

at it.

Do it in a different way.

There is only one

power that can solve

and deal with

our human problems

and that's the power

of Christ

the power of God

the power that

has already dealt

with sin

and with evil

in the person

of Jesus Christ.

And I have to say

also that sadly

one of the powers

that

or the influences

assisting

the increase

in this

dreadful

human wisdom

approach

to the problems

of human beings

one of the

main

assistances

comes from

the church

itself

from the church

itself

as you look

at it in our day

Christianizing

ungodliness

you can call it

Christian this

and Christian that

but if it's ungodly

then it's ungodly

and if it's ungodly

it's of no use

to actually solve

our human problems.

Indeed what you find

sadly all too often

is the reverse

of what you see there

in verse 2b

they took

the ark

of God

and they took it

into the house

of Dagon

and they set it

up beside

Dagon

let's just

reverse that

in your thinking

that's bad enough

because of what

it represents

but when you're

seeing

what you're seeing

in our day

sadly is

nothing less than

Dagon

being taken

into the house

of God

and that is

such a serious

matter that

it has to be

spoken about

for what it is

because when

Dagon

comes into

the house

of God

when human

wisdom

replaces the

gospel

in its essence

in its power

what you're left

with is just

a mess

what you're left

with is just

despondency

what you're left

with is

something that

has no power

whatsoever

to fix

our human

hearts

so here is

the fall

of Dagon

but here is

something that

we can learn

from

because you

and I

who believe

in the gospel

who believe

the gospel

is the power

of God

and to salvation

as Paul wrote

to the Romans

to everyone

who believes

whether it's

Jew or Gentile

whatever the

problems human

beings have

that's why

our concern

is to bring

the power

of the gospel

to bear

upon human

lives

young and

old

whatever

backgrounds

whatever way

they're wasting

their lives

presently

whatever addictions

they may have

whatever things

may characterize

their life

at the moment

this is what

God has given

us

and it is your

duty and my

duty together

and individually

to seek to

convey this

to the world

as we sang

in the psalm

tell every land

that the Lord

is king

tell them about

Jesus

why did Jesus

come

who was he

what did he do

where is he now

why do you love him

why do you serve him

what is he to you

what is he to you

what is he to you

what is he to you

what is he to you

it's all part of

our witness to Christ

in the world

a world in which

the daggone of the day

is so powerful

thankfully

God is above all that

and this is the God

we pray to

the God we worship

the God we love

and of course

what happened then

was that

the daggone again

fell down the next morning

the head of daggone

and both his hands

were lying

cut off

on the threshold

significant details

you see

because what that is

really saying to us

is the head

does it represent

the intellect

or the ideology

of Philistinism

and the hands

which represent

the practicality

the activity

of that idolatry

what happens

they've been severed

from the trunk

of this idol

he's lying there

useless

and it's being

demonstrated there

quite categorically

that neither in terms

of intellect

or ideology

or practicality

is there any use

in idolatry

and so you're back

to Jesus

and the gospel

the power for our mind

and for our action

well you know sadly

as you very well know

in our own day

despite the efforts

of the church

those in the church

faithful to God

or those denominations

people in all denominations

faithful to God

despite their

attempts and appeals

to those in government

to those in authority

to those with influence

it's really a bit like

what you find here

with the ark

in the Philistines

and they realize

that they can't hold on

to this ark

without it being

a means of further

destruction amongst them

what do they do

they send it on

to another place

and that place says

no we're not having it

let's move it on

to Gath

and to Ashdod

to all of these other

places in the region

of the Philistines

and that's what people do

with the gospel

they don't want it

they move it on

let it go somewhere else

but don't leave it here

it's dangerous

it doesn't fit with our

modern secular thinking

so we can't have it

it's not for us

instead of

turning to God

instead of saying

our secular unbelieving

ungodly philosophy

has failed us

and saying

let's turn to God

let's turn to what

these Christians are saying

let's get back to

what was the case

in our land

so long ago

when the power

of the gospel

made such great inroads

into people's lives

when you go back

into

not only the reformers

but some

of the great philanthropists

that were

in the free church itself

back in the 1800s

why was Thomas Guthrie

so successful

as he headed up

the ragged school movement

why was the church

of the time

so successful

in actually locating

and dealing with people

in the terrible conditions

in which they lived

in these closest

in Edinburgh

or Glasgow

wherever

because

the power

of the gospel

was let loose

amongst them

because people

like Guthrie

and Chalmers

and others

believed

the word of God

and didn't adjust

the word of God

to suit the thinking

of the age

but we're convinced

that this is the power

of God

unto salvation

to everyone

who believes

but let me ask

a final question

what about yourself

what about yourself

and myself

on what are we

basing

our hopes

is it just

belonging to the church

is it having

been brought up

in Stornoway Free Church

or wherever

hopefully not

surely it is

in Christ

and having

your trust

in him

and having

received him

as your own

personal saviour

as you look

around you

at all

the philosophies

and ideologies

of the age

and all the

horrible things

that you see

and the debauched

behaviour

that you see

all around you

what do you say

Lord

as the Lord

says

well will you

go with them

are you going

to join them

as well

are you going

to approve

of that

aren't you

like Peter

John 6

where he says

Lord

to whom

shall we go

you alone

have the words

of eternal life

may God bless

these thoughts

to us

we're going to

conclude now

by singing

to God's praise

in Psalm

Psalm number

97

that's on page

128

Psalm 97

Psalms 97:7–12

verses 7

to 12

the tune is

Warrington

all those

who worship

images

are put to

everlasting shame

their worthless

idols

are their boast

you gods

bow down

before his name

to Zion hill

and Judah's towns

your judgments

Lord

great joy

supply

above the earth

and all the gods

exalted

is the Lord

most high

and of course

we too

remember those

who are evangelizing

amongst the

religions of the world

the great world religions

that are themselves

given to such measures

of idolatry

and to remember

them as they carry

the gospel

to them

so these words

verses 7

to 12

Psalm 97

all those

who worship

images

are put to

ever

in shame

their worthless

idols

are their foes

new God

how dumb

he put

his name

to Zion

hill

and

Judah's

hands

your

judgments

heart

rejoice

the fire

above

the earth

and all

the gods

exalted

is

the Lord

most high

he

his

evil

youth

who

love

the

Lord

his

faithful

ones

he

will

defend

and

from

the

hands

of

wicked

men

to

them

deliverance

he

will

save

upon

the

righteous

light

will

shine

and

joy

all

those

of

our

right

wings

your

righteousness

will

the

Lord

rejoice

and

to