Praising God in the Wilderness

We extend a very warm welcome to you all this morning and those of you who are joining us

online as well, welcome to you as well. There are a number of things on the information sheet today

that I want to mention. I'm not going to go through them all by any means, there's quite a

number of them. There is tea served after the service this morning and that'll be in the hall

and everybody's welcome to that, visitors included. If you're a visitor we welcome you and you're

welcome to stay for tea, coffee with us as well after the service. The service this evening will

be conducted by Mr Scott McLeod. Deacons Court is due to meet tomorrow evening, that'll be in the

upper hall in person and that's at 7pm and then on Wednesday after a time of worship we'll have the

annual meeting of the congregation and for the annual meeting the statement including the

trustees report and financial statement for last year 2021 that will be presented. There is a

copy of the statement available today if you want to take one with you in advance. These are available

here and also in the seminary. Now at the close of the annual meeting a presentation will be made to

Mr Mortimer McPhail who you remember resigned as treasurer, retired I suppose would be a good word,

after more than 19 years of dedicated service. So it'd be great to have a good attendance for the

annual meeting but also for that particular presentation as well. And then after that the

Kirk Session will meet immediately after that in the upper hall and will be pleased to meet with anyone

who wishes to profess their faith and take communion for the first time. And as you know the communion is due

next Lord's Day morning at 11am, that'll be here in the church and as was intimated over the last few

weeks the procedure will be the same as we had at the last most recent communion. So we'll just go by the

same way of carrying out the communion for this time and then for the future we'll assess just how to go ahead.

This is just still part of the recovery from the times of COVID restrictions and spacing and so on

which we're no longer required to keep but there will be a space in between each pew that's used for

the communion table. And ahead of the communion there'll be services on Saturday evening, a service on

Saturday evening and a communion early morning prayer meeting and you can see these intimated there

on the 4th and 5th on Saturday and Sunday. And please get in touch with Alistair MacLeod if you

are going to join any of these by Zoom. The LDOS annual rally takes place this coming Friday at 7.30,

that'll be in the town hall and it'll also include the launching of a new book produced by the branch

called Remember the Sabbath Day. And finally there's a book available today called Our Faithful Queen

and it's a very well produced and colorful book. It's a very very nice book. It's intended for giving

out to people and we're suggesting that if you can take a copy you can please just give it out to those

that you may know in the neighborhood or your friends that aren't able to come to church

or are able to come to church but don't. In any case use your own initiative but it is for handing

out so there's no charge for it. So it's available today for that purpose. It's a book of prayers that

the Queen over the years has used. She was given a book of readings and prayers in advance of her

coronation all these years ago and she has used that and made statements of her own faith which are

included in the book as well. So it's a very useful book to actually give out especially to any that

you know would benefit from it. Well these are the only intimations I need to mention. Let's worship

God now. We're singing firstly today from Psalm 30. Psalm number 30 and that's in the Scottish Psalter

page 239 the tune is St. Minver verses 1 to 5. And we're reverting back to four singings which we used to

have for our services in any case. So again today we're back to having four singings, four items of praise.

Lord I will thee extol for thou hast lifted me on high and over me thou to rejoice made'st not mine enemy.

O thou who art the Lord my God I in distress to thee with loud cries lifted up my voice

thou hast healed me. And so on down to verse 5 we'll stand to sing. Lord I will thee extol.

Lord I will thee extol for thou hast lifted me on high and over me thou to rejoice made'st not mine enemy.

O thou who art the Lord my God I in distress to thee with loud cries lifted up my voice and love hast healed me.

O Lord my soul that hast healed me. O Lord my soul that hast sought out and rescued from the grave.

O Jesus that hastened me inessional tales to thee with luke myself than my rage of our deliverance Would he have gått and completed up with time before his gehad each other?

God to die,

have life

against me

save.

O ye that

at this

holy

one, sing

grace unto

the Lord,

and give

unto

them

that

praying

his

holiness

record.

For

God

of whom

and thus

his wrath

life

in this

favor lies.

We

being made

whole

at night

and

truth

and

born

the joy

in our

eyes.

Amen.

We're now

going to call

upon the

Lord in

prayer.

Let's

join

together

in

prayer.

O Lord,

our

gracious

God,

we thank

you for

the many

assurances

that we

have given

as we

come

together

to worship

you.

We give

thanks

especially

for the

assurance

that you

make us

welcome

in your

presence

through the

provision you

have made

for us

in the

Lord Jesus

Christ.

We come

together

today, O

Lord,

and come

to approach

you,

conscious

that he

is the

way,

the truth,

and the

life,

conscious

that he

is that

new and

living way

which you

have opened

up into

your presence,

that we

might be

able to

approach

you and

find

acceptance

and a

place in

your

presence

and your

approval.

We thank

you, O

Lord,

for all

that that

contains

for us

today and

for the

ground that

it gives

us to be

assured of

God's

own welcome.

We pray

for faith, O

Lord, to

come before

you, believing

that you are

God, that you

are a rewarder

of those who

diligently seek

you.

We thank you

today for the

faith that you

create in the

hearts of your

people, for the

way in which by

your Holy Spirit

you give us to

believe in you, to

trust in you, to

entrust ourselves

to you.

We thank you,

Lord, that that

faith brings so

much into our

possession, and yet

we do not

trust in our

faith itself, but

in the one who

is foundational

to it, the

God and Father

of our Lord

Jesus Christ, and

Christ himself as

our Savior.

We bless you,

Lord, today that

we find ourselves

addressing you in

his name, confident

that you have

provided all that

we need in him

through his work

on earth, through

his continuing

intercession in

heaven.

Lord, we thank

you today for

this place of

worship.

We thank you

for this occasion

of worship.

We thank you

for all that you

provide for us

as means by

which we

worship you.

We give thanks

for your word, and

we give thanks for

the way that you

call us to praise

your name through

singing your praise.

We thank thee for

the access we have

to you in prayer.

We pray, O Lord,

that our access to

you in prayer may

constantly be in

use by us.

you call upon us in

your word to pray

to you continually.

And Lord, although

we know we cannot

be every second of

every day engaged

meaningfully in

prayer, yet we give

thanks for every

occasion that we

can, and for the

way that even as we

go about our

vocation and work

and places in the

world, we can

address you in prayer

and seek your help

and give you praise.

we give thanks, O

Lord, for all that

you have been to us

over these past

years, especially in

this time of COVID

pandemic.

And Lord, help us,

we pray, to continue

to give thanks to

you for the way that

you have watched

over us and kept

us, for the way

that you have

continued to guide

us and teach us

by your word, for

the way that you

have continued to

provide for us in

the gospel, the

services of worship

that we gladly

engage in.

And Lord, we ask

that this may

constantly be in

our mind to give

thanks to you and

to remind ourselves

of how easily things

can change in your

providence, how much

we are dependent

upon you, how we

cannot steer our

own course through

life successfully.

And if we try to do

so, Lord, you make

it clear to us that

our life is in your

hands.

We pray today that

as we gather in your

presence, these

realities may indeed

be true for each

one of us.

We ask for everybody

gathered here today

and for all who are

joining us online.

Lord, may your

blessing rest upon us.

May your Holy Spirit

be active in our

experience.

May your word be

applied to our

hearts with power.

May we find, O Lord,

today that we take it

with us and its

teaching into all that

lies ahead of us,

even in this week

itself.

We thank you for the

blessings that we

enjoy in the gospel,

the way that you

continue to provide

for us individually

and as a congregation

and in our homes and

families.

Lord, we pray that your

blessing will be

extended to us even

more as we seek an

increase in our own

commitment to you and

our love for you.

We pray, Lord, that you

would continue to fuel

our lives by your

grace and by the

strength of your

power.

Enable us to proceed

and persevere onwards

in that life of

faith.

Help us, we pray

today, to resist all

inclinations away from

you, every temptation

from whatever source,

O Lord, that seeks to

draw our minds and our

lives away from the

life that is in you,

from the fountain of

life that we know is

with yourself.

Lord, we ask that you

would enable us day by

day to continue to

persevere in that way

of trusting in you and

serving you.

Bless again, we pray,

our children, our young

people.

We thank you today for

them as they gather in

creche and in tweenies

and Sunday school.

And for those of them,

Lord, who are now

approaching adulthood,

who gather from time to

time in Bible class, in

youth fellowship, in

other ways of joining

together and hearing

about the things of

God.

O Lord, as they are

taught and as they learn

these things, grant to

them that they may be

firmly entrenched and

established in your ways

so that they may continue,

Lord, to in their lives

engage with you and

continue in the teaching

they received to follow

it through in their

practice in our adult

life.

Remember, too, today,

Lord, those who have

gone away from you,

those who have strayed

away from following you

faithfully, those for

whom this time of

COVID pandemic and

restrictions and all of

the things associated

with that have been so

difficult and so

challenging, and whose

love has grown cold and

who today are not found

in a place of worship.

Gracious Lord, be

merciful to them,

whether belonging to

this congregation or

others.

We know how devastating

this time has been for

some.

We know how some have

lost their relish, how

some have even turned

away from following you

altogether.

O Lord, our God, be

pleased, we pray, to

bless them, to recover

them, to reach out to

them, O Lord, and take

them back and graciously

work in our midst, in our

communities, to bring

others who may have never

before thought about you,

but whose minds have been

upon these eternal issues

during this providence.

Grant that you would

bless that to them.

We pray for those who

lead us in our nation, and

as we lament, O Lord, the

evidences we find of

departure from your

values and your ways and

your laws amongst them, we

pray for them, for you

have called us to do

this.

We pray for our

governments in Scotland

and in Westminster, in

Ireland and Wales.

We pray, O Lord, as a

nation, that we may be

more and more bound

together in your truth,

and not in the ways of

human beings, however

much they may appeal to

our own nature.

Grant, Lord, that your

blessing, therefore, will

be with our First

Minister, our government,

our Prime Minister and

his government.

And, Lord, grant at this

time that we may see

more and more of your

own people coming to

raise their voice against

the departures morally and

spiritually that we find so

sadly marking our nation and

our leaders at this time.

Remember our Queen.

Be with our Lord in her

old age.

Be with her as she finds her

at this time of her life,

her movement to be

restricted and her ability

to go from place to place

to be less than it used to

be.

We thank you for the

declarations of her faith

that she has made and that

she continues to make, and

for the guidance that that

has given to her family.

And we pray that you would

bless her, O Lord, at this

time as she comes to

celebrate this Jubilee.

We be thankful, O Lord, for

her leadership over the

nation over these many

years and for the ways in

which she has withstood so

many tests.

And we pray that you would

continue, Lord, to uphold

her and to continue to

maintain her in her own

faith and attachment to you.

And now we pray that you

would remember us here as we

continue in your presence.

Bless to us your word and

help us to sing your praises

joyfully.

And we pray all of these

things, seeking pardon and

cleansing of all our sin.

For Jesus' sake.

Amen.

Let's sing further now to

God's praise from Psalm 61.

Psalm 61, again, it's in the

Scottish Psalter version.

Page 293.

And verses 1 to 4.

O God, give ear unto my

cry, unto my prayer attend.

From the utmost corner of the

land, my cry to thee I'll send.

We'll sing to the tune

Salzburg, verses 1 to 4.

O God, give ear unto my cry.

Amen.

Amen.

O God, give ear unto my cry, unto my

prayer attend.

From the utmost corner of the land,

my cry to thee I'll send.

What time my heart is overwhelmed,

and in perplexity,

where thou be lead unto the rock,

the fire is the night.

For thou hast for my enmity,

a shelter by thy power,

and for defence against my foes,

the vast, he laves strong tower.

within thy cover,

within thy cover,

none will die,

forever will abide.

And I'll cover all thy wings,

with God that lets me hide.

Now as we return to God's Word,

we're reading two passages this morning.

First of these is in 2 Samuel, chapter 15.

2 Samuel 15 · chapter mention

And then we're also going to read from the book of Psalms,

and Psalm 63.

So firstly, it's in 2 Samuel, chapter 15,

2 Samuel 15 · chapter mention

reading verses 13 to 23.

2 Samuel 15, verse 13.

2 Samuel 15:13

This is after David had fled,

after the rebellion of Absalom,

the coup that Absalom had led.

So we read at verse 13,

a messenger came to David,

saying,

The hearts of the men of Israel have gone after Absalom.

Then David said to all his servants who were with him at Jerusalem,

Arise, and let us flee,

or else there will be no escape for us from Absalom.

Go quickly,

lest he overtake us quickly,

and bring down ruin on us,

and strike the city with the edge of the sword.

And the king's servants said to the king,

Behold, your servants are ready to do whatever my lord the king decides.

So the king went out, and all his house sold after him,

and the king left ten concubines to keep the house.

And the king went out, and all the people after him,

and they halted at the last house.

And all his servants passed by him,

and all the Carithites, and all the Pelithites,

and all the six hundred Gittites who had followed him from Gath,

passed on before the king.

Then the king said to Ittai the Gittite,

Why do you also go with us?

Go back and stay with the king,

for you are a foreigner and also an exile from your home.

You came only yesterday,

and shall I today make you wander about with us?

Since I go, I know not where.

Go back and take your brothers with you,

and may the Lord show steadfast love and faithfulness to you.

But Ittai answered the king,

As the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives,

wherever my lord the king shall be,

whether for death or for life,

there also will your servant be.

And David said to Ittai,

Go then, pass on.

So Ittai the Gittite passed on with all his men,

and all the little ones who were with him.

And all the land wept aloud as the people passed by,

and the king crossed the brook Kidron,

and all the people passed on towards the wilderness.

And we turn now to the book of Psalms,

and Psalm 63.

Psalm 63.

Psalm that's entitled,

Psalm of David,

when he was in the wilderness of Judah.

Psalm 63.

O God, you are my God.

Earnestly I seek you.

My soul thirsts for you.

My flesh faints for you as in a dry and weary land,

where there is no water.

So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,

beholding your power and glory.

Because your steadfast love is better than life,

my lips will praise you.

So I will bless you as long as I live.

In your name I will lift up my hands.

My soul shall be satisfied as with fat and rich food,

and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips.

When I remember you upon my bed

and meditate on you in the watches of the night.

For you have been my help,

and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.

My soul clings to you.

Your right hand upholds me.

But those who seek to destroy my life

shall go down into the depths of the earth.

They shall be given over to the power of the sword.

They shall be a portion for jackals.

But the king shall rejoice in God.

All who swear by him shall exult.

For the mouths of liars will be stopped.

And once again we pray for God to bless

these passages of his word to us today.

Now before we turn to look at Psalm 63 this morning,

let's sing once again.

We're singing in Psalm 62,

and this time from the Sing Psalms version.

You'll find that on page 79.

Psalm 62, page 79.

The tune is Heron Gate.

And we'll sing verses 1 to 8.

My soul finds rest in God alone.

From him comes my salvation sure.

My safety, fortress, sheltering rock.

In him alone I am secure.

How long will you assault a man?

Do you all seek to lay him low,

this leaning wall, this tottering fence,

and bring about his overthrow?

They plan his fall from his high place.

They take delight in spreading lies.

With false and flattering mouths they bless.

But in their hearts curse and despise.

And so on, down to verse 8.

My soul finds rest in God alone.

From him comes my salvation sure.

My safety, fortress, sheltering rock.

In him alone I am secure.

In him alone I am secure.

I long will you are going to do.

From him alone I am secure.

From him comes my salvation sure.

From him comes my salvation sure.

From him comes my salvation sure.

From him comes my salvation sure.

The 50 fortress, sheltering rock, in heaven alone I am secure.

How long will you, a softer man, do you all seek to live in love?

This leaning wall, this tottering fence, and may now act this overthro.

They plan this hope from this high list, they take the light in setting lights,

with false and flattering mouths they bless, but in their hearts, first and desies.

Find rest, my soul, in God alone, and there my hope is ever true.

My safety fortress, sheltering rock, in heaven alone I am secure.

My honour and salvation rest, on God my love and my default.

O people, trust in him always, to him alone for a true heart.

Well, for a short time this morning, will you please turn with me to Psalm 63 in the Book of Psalms.

I'm going to look at some of the contents of this psalm as we go through it fairly quickly,

but looking at some of the main points.

A psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah.

There are times when the worst experiences we may have to go through in this life

bring out the very best in people.

Of course, the opposite is also true.

When the worst experiences or conditions will sometimes bring out the worst in people as well.

Sometimes even the best conditions can bring out the worst in people.

But not so here.

Because here is David in very difficult circumstances in the wilderness.

And what he brings out before us in this psalm is really a confession of his faith in God.

A confession that is just full of beauty and emotion and power and confidence in God.

And the setting for it, as we find in the title, is when he was in the wilderness of Judah.

We're not sure that it was exactly at the same time as he was fleeing from Absalom,

but it certainly fits the context.

And when you look at verse 11 there,

the king shall rejoice in God and what it says.

It appears that that is a very likely context for this psalm to have been written

in relation to David's experiences in the wilderness when he had to flee for a time from Absalom.

When Absalom had gathered support from many of the people and risen up against David

and forced him to leave the city as king.

And here in this great confession of faith,

we have something that is so very important and relevant to ourselves.

In our wilderness experiences, David is obviously literally in the wilderness,

but God's people have always taken this psalm to be emblematic or symptomatic

or a picture for them, an image for them,

of the difficulties that they go through in this life that can actually be described as wilderness,

can be described as going through difficult times such as you go through physically

when you go through, as he says here, a dry and weary land where there is no water.

And that has been the experience of people over the past couple of years,

especially during the more serious lockdown and the aftermath of that

with the COVID restrictions that were then put in place.

And some people, of course, are still finding it very difficult to recover from that,

to build up their lives again from that.

And maybe you yourself and myself are amongst that number as well.

But whatever wilderness experience you may have or have had,

or you may be going through even at this time,

and if you're online as well and part of your difficulty is that you have not yet managed

to make your way back to the gathered worship of God,

then I hope this psalm itself will say something to you,

to reassure you, to encourage you, to bring you this measure of praise to God

that will draw you to be with God's people as we are here today together in this place of worship.

I'm going to divide the psalm into three.

It really divides itself into three.

Verses one to four, first of all, we'll take that as David's desire after God.

And then in verses five to eight, we'll call that David's delight in God.

And then the final few verses, eight, nine to 11, David's defense by God.

So there's David's desire, there's David's delight, and there's David's defense.

And as we go through these, I hope we'll see how they are relevant to our own circumstances in life,

because that's really what the Bible is for.

It's not for us just to study this as a piece of history,

as a piece of biography or autobiography on the part of David.

It's here as God's word, relevant for our circumstances too.

And in David's desire after God, you first of all see his longing and his confession at the very beginning.

Oh God, you are my God.

And that's really what runs right through the whole of the psalm.

It's central to all of the rest of the psalm and what's stated there.

You are my God.

Earnestly, I seek, who is confessing immediately.

Despite his circumstances, he has not lost sight of who his God is.

He has not lost sight of the fact that this God is still his God,

and that he wants to be known as one of God's people.

That's so important.

It's so crucial.

In all the circumstances of life, that we keep our minds on the fact that God,

this God, this God of the Bible is our God.

And that when our circumstances change, and especially when they become difficult and challenging,

nothing has changed from God's point of view.

Nothing has changed in his plan for us.

It's always been planned this way.

And the difficulties and the trials and the challenges,

whether they be spiritual or mental or whatever trauma they might be,

and there are many of them,

and we've all experienced some of them to one degree or another.

For the people of God, they can still say and want to be able to reaffirm,

O God, you are my God.

I don't want any other God but you.

And you see, the longing that David has is really put in terms of the longing of a friend for his friend.

It's a longing on David's part for God as his best friend.

God is no mere acquaintance for David.

He's not some figure that he's just come to acknowledge in a formal fashion as part of his religion.

He is his dear friend.

He is his Lord.

He is his God.

He is creator.

He is his savior.

This is what he is longing after, that he would have more again of God.

And especially, I think, he's obviously looking at the times when he was in the sanctuary,

when he was able to go to the temple in verse 2 there,

and his longing is that that would return,

that he would be back again with God's people,

worshiping him in the sanctuary that was built for that purpose.

And he's eager for this God and eager as soon as can possibly be.

And the word earnestly there is an interesting word.

The older translations have,

Early will I seek you.

And probably it's best taking it rather than earnestly,

although earnestly is built into that.

If you're actually coming early in the morning to seek the Lord,

then obviously there's an earnestness about that as well.

But the earliness of it is important.

For example, it fits verse 6 there,

When I remember you upon my bed and meditate on you in the watches of the night.

David's not confining his seeking after God,

his communion with God to the daytime,

or to the hours during the day when that may be easier to fit in.

He is saying in the watches of the night,

I meditate upon you.

Every spare moment he has.

And here he is in the wilderness.

You might think he needs all the time he can get for his sleep.

And he does.

But he still wants to have communion with God.

And that's the secret here.

Really in many ways a key to the expression of faith

that he brings out in the psalm.

And that's a reminder to ourselves that

if you take this as early will I seek you,

as well as earnestly,

it's a reminder to ourselves how important it is

not to let your troubles keep you away from God.

Not to let your troubles become an argument against seeking God earnestly.

Not to let the difficulties, the challenges, the wilderness periods of life

actually put a distance between you and your God.

It should be for you and for me the other way about.

Let your troubles take you to God, as it were.

Let the troubles of your life be a means of drawing near to God.

Of seeking God's face like David is here, even in the wilderness.

This is what he's saying.

You are my God earnestly.

Early I am seeking you.

My soul thirsts for you.

My flesh longs for you.

And there's such an intensity in that,

which I find a huge challenge to myself.

I'm sure you say the same.

When he says here,

my soul thirsts for you.

My flesh faints for you.

He's really talking about his whole being,

being taken up with this.

Everything that's there in him, in his soul,

even his very flesh,

his very physical frame,

is affected by this desire for God,

this longing to go back into fellowship with his friend

in the sanctuary where he once used to be.

And there's a very interesting thing here

where he says in verse 2,

So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary.

And what he's really saying by that

is that the thirst that he now has for God,

the intensity that he expresses by,

my flesh faints for you as in a dry and weary land

where there is no water.

So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary.

In other words, David is saying,

I don't want my wilderness longing after you

to be any less intense

than it was when I was in the sanctuary

when I had the freedom to be there as king.

You know, and that raises for yourself and myself

a question and indeed a challenge for us today again.

Are we here today gathered with longing hearts?

Are we gathered here with thirsty souls?

Are we gathered here in a way that really longs

to meet with God?

Have we come just to praise him outwardly,

to sing some of the psalms that we've been singing,

to hear his word expounded,

to hear it read,

to follow through in the reading,

to follow the prayers,

the prayer of the pulpit,

and your own prayers as well?

Surely this is your desire.

Surely this is my desire.

Surely this is something that you had

before you came into this building today,

that there was a measure.

I'm not saying it's going to be

the intensity of David's,

because I can't follow that myself

many other times that I come to church.

Sadly.

But here is a man

who is so intent in his eagerness

and his longing for God

that he can say even in the wilderness,

Lord, as I've looked upon you in the sanctuary,

as I did long after you there,

so I'm longing after you now.

You see, that says so much about our difficulties,

our trials, our periods of wilderness.

They are for us to deal with God,

to have communion with God,

to seek God,

to yearn after God,

as what David is doing here.

When I was in the study this morning,

just going over the notes for the service today,

I looked out the window of the study,

and there in the little tree growing up,

or the big trees as well,

outside the study in the garden,

are all these fledgling sparrows,

just newly out of the nest,

and the energy with which they appeal

to the parent birds,

come and feed me.

Give me something to feed me.

Give me my breakfast.

And the parent birds flitting back and forth

with the worms or flies,

whatever it was,

constantly flitting in response

to the cry of the fledgling,

the little baby sparrow.

And I looked out the window and I thought,

I just wish I would go to church myself today

with the desire,

with the longing,

with the hunger of that little sparrow

that is so eager and so longing

for a crumb,

for a fly,

for a worm

from its parent's mouth,

that I could find myself

in the pulpit today,

preaching the gospel,

and yet in my heart yearning after God

with that hunger,

something of what David has here.

As I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,

beholding your power and your glory,

so my soul thirsts after you.

Friends,

we have souls,

despite what you see and hear out in the world there,

that we're just creatures

without any spiritual dimension of this kind.

We have souls for a purpose.

And one of the great purposes

for you having a soul

and my having a soul

is that you will long after God,

that you will love communion with God,

that you will use

the teaching of the Bible

in your times of wilderness,

in your times of challenge,

in your times of trial,

in your times of difficulty

to bring you to God

to thirst after Him.

God has designed us

in His creation of us.

He has designed us

for communion with Himself.

He has designed us

to be even in our times

of wilderness and difficulty

to yearn after Him,

to seek after Him.

You know,

there's a sense in which

even the expression

that we sometimes have

of confessing an absence

of this longing

in the presence of God.

That itself is an expression

of longing

because you want it

to be different.

You want it to be

more than it is.

You want an increased hunger

for God.

And so we come today

seeking that

God will bless this word

of David

all of these years ago to us

and that whatever it is today

is a trial to you.

Make it an occasion

for meeting with God.

Make it an occasion

for longing after God.

Make it an occasion

for drawing

the strength of God

into your life

in these circumstances.

Samuel Rutherford,

a famous Scottish theologian

of long ago,

had very many short

but powerful statements

and sayings.

One of them was this,

we live so far

from the well

yet complain

but dryly

of our dryness.

We live so far

from the well

and yet complain

but dryly

of our dryness.

We're conscious

at times

that we're not as near

to God

as we should be

and yet our complaint

about that is

rather dry,

he says,

compared to what it should be,

compared to the longing

of David in this psalm.

We live so far

from the well.

That's of our own

choosing at times.

We lose our relish.

We decrease in our hunger.

Our love does grow cold.

Yet we complain

but dryly

of our dryness.

Today,

let it be for me

and for you

an occasion

of drawing near the well,

shortening the distance

if we're at a distance

from the well

that God is

and coming

to be there

with him

to draw our water

of life from him.

David's desire

after God

and David

is not belittling

anything

when he says

your loving kindness

is better than last,

your steadfast love

is better than life

so because of that

my lips

will praise you

so I will bless you

as long as I live

in your name

I will lift up my hands.

Now you can understand

the steadfast love

we've come across

these words many times.

God's steadfast love

is not just his love

his eternal love

for his people

but his love

in covenant with them.

He has bonded himself

to his people

and his people to him

and the love

that we experience

from God

as we're bonded

to him

by faith

and by love

on our own part

as created by him

well that's something

he says here

is better than life.

Now he's not

he's not belittling

or minimizing

the benefits of life.

The many good things

we have in life

we appreciate

we thank God for

we don't belittle them

but they cannot compare

with his steadfast love.

They can't compare

with his loving kindness.

As you know

I love the songs

of Ellie Holcomb

and in one of these songs

she speaks really

to God

in the song

and it's entitled

You Love Me Best.

Most of you

some of you

will probably know it.

My mother

she holds me

when I'm weak

she consoles me

my troubles

weigh on her mind

my tears fall down

from her eyes

but you

you loved me better.

My father

beside me

holds out his arm

to guide me

his wisdom

waits in silence

he speaks

and I grow quiet

but you

you loved me better.

And there may come a day

when all other loves

have gone away

when darkness

hems me in

you'll be right

where you have always been

closer than the heart

within my chest

because you loved me best.

the ring around my finger

to have and hold

forever

it circles round

like years

that we've walked

through joys and tears

but you

you have loved

me better.

And there is no better love

and the loving kindness

the steadfast love

of God

and in the wilderness

oh how David appreciates

the steadfast love

God has for him.

David's desire

after God

and his delight

in God

secondly

from verse 5

to 8

more briefly

you can see here

how he has great

satisfaction in God

and how he is saying

to himself

this is how it's going

to continue

as far as possible

my soul

will be satisfied

with fat

and rich food

could translate that

as a present as well

my soul is satisfied

with fat

and rich food

my mouth

praises you

with joyful lips

but if you take it

as his own reference

to the future

as far as he sees it

then this is what he's saying

this is his intention

this is his aim

this is the purpose

of his life

my soul

will be satisfied

with fat

and rich food

when I remember you

upon my bed

and meditate you

on you

in the watches

of the night

how could he say

this sort of thing

in the wilderness

that his soul

will be satisfied

with rich

and fat food

how could he say

my mouth

will praise you

with joyful lips

well the secret to it

is really in verse 6

it's his communion

with God

that has led

to this conviction

to this purpose

to this determination

to continue

to be satisfied

in God

you see the wilderness

sharpens our wakefulness

doesn't it

sometimes you and I

need something like that

something

of a challenge

to come into

our lot

just to remind us

of who God is

and what he's like

and especially

if we have

gone astray

somewhat

just to bring us

back to a right

perspective

and balance

and to go on again

following the Lord

it has produced

for David

this satisfaction

this intensity

of praise

and he also speaks

about safety

for you have been

my help

he's reflecting upon

what God has been

to him up to that moment

you have been

my help

and in the shadow

of your wings

I will sing

for joy

my soul

clings to you

your right hand

upholds me

what he's saying is

this is how I've always

found you Lord

and you're not going

to change now

even though I'm

in the wilderness

you are still

this same God

and it's interesting

he says there

in the shadow

of your wings

I will sing

for joy

you have been

my help

it may be

that that's the imagery

of the mother bird

protecting its

little chicks

but I think it's

probably more

better to take it

as a reference

to David's experience

in the sanctuary

in the temple

where

the

the cherubim

with their wings

outstretched

represented

or part of

what represented

the presence

of God

above the mercy seat

where the cherubim

were located

and in Psalm 61

you have something

very much like that

he says

let me dwell

in your tent

forever

let me take refuge

under the shelter

of your wings

it's more obvious

there I think

he's saying

let me dwell

in your tent

in your sanctuary

forever

let me take refuge

under the shelter

of your wings

in other words

whatever you take

it David is certainly

looking to the protection

of God

that has been

his privilege

up to now

and what he's saying

is that's not

that's not going

to change

this is where

my safety is

in the shadow

of your wings

and in God's

own right hand

upholding him

you see how wonderfully

the two things

go together

we have a responsibility

ourselves

to bring ourselves

to be in the presence

of God

to worship him

to communicate with him

to pray to him

but our ultimate confidence

is not in that itself

David's ultimate confidence

is in God's own

right hand

upholding him

similar to Psalm 73

you recall

where he says

in Psalm 73

after

not David

but Asaph

this time

but very similar words

Asaph

is making a confession

of how near

he came

to sliding away

altogether

but he came back

to the sanctuary

of God

when he went in there

he was brought

to see

how foolish he was

in his thinking

he was thinking

the world was better off

because it didn't have

the troubles

that he as a believer

had

but he went into

the sanctuary

then realized

how foolish he was

brutish and ignorant

like a beast

before you

then he said

nevertheless

I'm continually

with you

you hold me

by my

you hold my right hand

you guide me

with your counsel

and afterwards

you will receive me

to glory

it is you see

his confidence

there is the foundation

in which David

stands confidently

the grasp

that God

has of him

yes he's thankful

for the grasp

that he has of God

in his faith

and in his love

and in his hope

and all of these things

are important to him

but it's God's own

right hand

that he looks to

particularly

my soul

clings to you

these words really mean

my soul

follows hard

after you

is the AV translation

it means

to pursue

something earnestly

and it fits in

with the seeking

of God

by David

it's a pursuit

it's a seeking

after

it's following

hard after you

it's like someone

running a race

clinging

holding on

but especially

conscious of his need

to be held

by God

isn't that where

your own confidence

where your own

security is today

you're thankful

for faith

you're thankful

for the way

in which

God has brought

himself into

your life

in such a way

that has

convinced you

of your need

to hold on to him

to trust in him

but you don't

go to eternity

fully persuaded

that that's all

you need

for your safety

that's got something

else beneath it

something else

bigger than that

God himself

and God's own

grasp

and God's own

hold of your life

so here's David's

delight in God

his satisfaction

and his safety

and especially

in the way God

still holds him

where he is

and then there's

David's defense

I'll be very brief

with this

David's defense

verses 9 to 11

David's defense

by God

having seen his

delight in God

and his desire

after God

look at what he's

saying here

in verses 9 to 11

but those who

seek to destroy

my life

shall go down

into the depths

of the earth

they shall be

given over

to the power

of the sword

there shall be

a portion

for jackals

but the king

shall rejoice

in God

all who swear

by him

shall exult

swear allegiance

that is I think

for the mouths

of liars

will be stopped

a couple of things

there

you'll see

first of all

how God's

commitment

to his people

means that he is

committed against

their enemies

God's steadfast

love for his people

is not going to be

something that

regards them

in any kind

of loose

or indifferent

way as they face

enemies

as they face

challenges

from their enemies

whatever enemy

that might be

God is committed

to their protection

God is committed

to looking after

his own people

his steadfast love

ensures that

and the solemn

thing is that

those who challenge

the people of God

those who challenge

God himself

will end up

he says here

they shall be given

over to the depths

of the earth

they shall die

they shall come

under God's judgment

and his justice

and the king

he says

shall rejoice

in God

whatever happens

to my enemies

David is saying

because God

is my God

oh Lord

oh God

you are my God

and because

that is still the case

the king

shall rejoice

in God

you see what he's saying

I'm in the wilderness

I've had to flee

from Jerusalem

my son Absalom

has risen up against me

he's gathered support

that has forced me

away from the throne

for this period

and as we read

in 2 Samuel

he wasn't really sure

where he was going

to end up

he just kept going

into the wilderness

along with those

who were in support

but he's still the king

he is still convinced

that he is God's

appointed king

the king

shall rejoice

in God

as you know

often in the Old Testament

the kingship

of the kings

of the Old Testament

the good kings

especially

are types of Christ

they are representations

of Jesus for us

and many of the Psalms

so brilliantly

so brilliantly

portray the kingship

of Jesus

as you read through

what they say

about the kings

of the times

whether it's David

or Solomon

whoever

and it doesn't matter

how many millions

of people today

will reject Jesus

how many people

out there

will be convinced

that there is no God

how many people

will actually

say

and throw in our teeth

the gospel

that we seek to maintain

not just in the preaching

of it

but in your testifying

to it

in your lives

however many times

people will turn

and say

well

why are you actually

trusting in someone

who's dead

why are you trusting

in a God

whose existence

you cannot prove

it's just simply

like all other religions

people will say

they're at the end

of the day

they're fine

if you want to follow that

but they're not actually

useful

and they're not truth

is that going to change

things as far as

God is concerned

supposing you're

the only believer

left in the world

and you're surrounded

by people who say

it's foolish to trust

in God

a God that you cannot see

and have never proved

in your heart

and in my heart

the Lord is still king

and he will always

continue to be the king

it doesn't matter

how many people

deny it

that's not going to

change the truth

people can try

as hard as they like

to disprove

the existence

of God

and that'll go on

to the end

of the world

but the truth

remains the truth

and God

remains God

and the king

the Jesus

who is king

shall rejoice

shall continue

to be who he is

and shall do all

he has promised

to do

for his people

all

who swear by him

shall exult

they shall be

exalted

in rejoicing

is what it means

and if that was true

of David here

prophesying

of the future

for himself

and for his followers

how much more

is it true

of Jesus

and his people

whatever the world

may say

and it doesn't

we're not saying

that doesn't matter

it's our duty

to try

present the gospel

and the truth

to them

but ultimately

it doesn't matter

because the king

still lives

and the king

is going to return

and the king's

followers

and the king's

people

all who swear

by him

all who are

in allegiance

to him

they shall

exult

they shall have

everlasting

rejoicing

nothing

and no one's

going to spoil

that

or make that

untrue

as we read

in the song

of Solomon

where you find

the longings

of this

lady after

her beloved

in chapter 1

and verse 4

we can finish

with this

it is her desire

here is the bride

this woman

confessing her love

for her beloved

in which you find

an image of

our own love

for the Lord

he says

draw me

and we will run

after you

let us run

the king has

brought me

into his

chambers

we will

exult

and rejoice

in you

we will extol

your love

more than wine

rightly

do they

love you

take these words

home with you

rightly

do they

love you

and nobody

can take that

conviction

out of your

heart today

because it's

based on

God's

truth

in Jesus

Christ

Lord our God

we pray

that today

you'd bless

to us

this portion

of your word

help us

we pray

like David

long ago

help us

to trust

in you

with the

trust

that he

spoke of

and the

desire

that he

could

confess

and Lord

we pray

that you

would intensify

our desire

our longing

after you

we pray

that in

these days

in which

we live

when so

few

yearn

after you

in the

world

in which

we live

with that

desire

that is

true to

your word

gracious

Lord

we pray

that that

will be

true of

ourselves

help us

to delight

in you

help us

to be

thankful

for your

own

sheltering

of your

people

for your

protection

of them

and for

the way

that your

truth

will endure

how many

challenges

it may

have to

face

we don't

know

Lord

we know

that your

truth

will continue

on through

into eternity

help us

to prize

it

to commend

it to the

world in

which we

live

to rejoice

in it

ourselves

hear us

now we

pray

for Jesus

sake

Amen

we're going

to praise

God now

in conclusion

in Psalm

36

Psalm number

36

in the

Sing

Psalms

version

you'll find

that on

page

44

the tune

is

Bays

of

Harris

singing