Reading
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
General meetings, Ottawa, March 1975, First reading meeting.
217.
Within the veil and raise your happy song. Your joys can never, never fail for you to Christ belongs 217.
For our reading this afternoon.
Psalm 51.
But also to read with it.
The first few verses of the third chapter of Colossians.
The brethren are happy.
We take up this sound, but also just to read in Colossians in connection with it.
00:05:00
The.
1St.
10 verses, I believe.
To be sufficient.
Colossians Chapter One.
And verse one.
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timotheus, our brother, no Colossians.
Colossians.
3rd chapter, third chapter, I'm sorry. And the 1St 10 verses.
Colossians Chapter 3, Verse one. If you then be risen with Christ.
Seek those things which are above where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ who was our life, shall appear, then shall he also appear with him in glory.
Mortify therefore your members, which are upon the earth, fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil, concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry, for which things sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience, in the which he also walked, sometime when he lived in them.
But now he also put up all these.
Anger and rob, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication. Out of your mouth, lie not one to another, seeing that you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him.
In Psalm 51.
Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Thy loving kindness.
According unto the multitude of thy tender mercies flat out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
For I acknowledge my transgressions.
And my sin is ever before thee.
I guess they they only have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight that I might as be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judges.
Behold our shaping and iniquity, and incended my mother conceived me.
Behold, our desirous truth, in the inward parts, and in the hidden part thou should make me to know wisdom.
Me with his then I shall be clean. Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Like me to hear joy and gladness, that the bones broken may rejoice.
Find thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.
Create and be a clean heart or gone and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from my presence, and take not thy Holy Spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, and uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors. Thy ways and sinners shall be converted unto thee.
Deliver me from blood guiltiness or gone without God of my salvation, and my tongues will sing aloud of my righteousness.
All Lord opens on my lips, and my mouth will show forth. I pray for thou desirest not sacrifice, else would I give it.
Delighted not in front offerings, the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit.
They've broken and chondrite heart will God, they will not despise.
Your good and thy good pleasure unto Zion build out the walls of Jerusalem.
Then shall thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering, and whole burnt offerings. Then shall they offer bullocks upon 9 otters.
00:10:04
They learned from the Old Testament and says.
Shall eat All Star and bring forth the old because of the New. And so in reading the Old Testament, we must connect it with the principles of the truth that we learn from the New. And our our position, of course, is seen in the New Testament, so that we're seeing now as new creatures in Christ Jesus. However, the principles.
Governed man in his relation with God are the same in general, and we learn from the Old Testament these principles that oftentimes are not repeated in detail in the news. And so we have in this chapter that I had principally before me this 51St Psalm.
Certain principles that have to do with the restoration of the soul.
And it's it's very important that we we see these principles and understand God's ways with men. Now we just comment this, that the sounds give us the feelings of God's people as they pass through various circumstances that are found in this life. It also gives us the spirit of the remnant in the coming day and when they do repent.
And so in the Psalms we have the three steps of restoration in Psalm 25. Remember not the sins of my youth.
In this Psalm, remember not blood guiltiness. I'm not quoting, I'm just referring to the subject. But in Psalm 130, if thou shouldst mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand now? There's progress there.
First, there is the consciousness in Psalm 25 of the sins of youth.
But then it becomes deeper in this Psalm. It's not only David, it's the whole remnant here. And so it applies to us. But when you come to Psalm 130, then they have discovered that there's absolutely nothing in which they can stand before God. Israel has repented now entirely, and they find that they must be cast entirely upon the mercy of God.
However, here in the first verse it's lovely to see that it's it should read, I believe not mercy, but grace or gracious to me. And David is going, shall we say, beyond mercy. And he's he sees in God a response from God to the Sinner that would go beyond even mercy and reach higher.
And this is so with us, is it not? And so I believe we have here the experience of a soul who has found himself because of not being watchful. He found himself in trouble, and he sinned, but he realizes that he sinned against the Holy God.
Now I just want to make a comment or two on that.
That is this with Daniel and his companions.
There was no blemish.
When they started out in their work that was appointed of God, it says, these children were without blemish.
Now that's a wonderful thing, and especially dear young people here to be so preserved of God that there be no blemish in our lives.
Now, one of those blemishes may be limited sometimes and what they're able to do later in their lives, but with Daniel and his companions?
They have liberties because they have been preserved.
And we know that the the regular practice of Daniel was to be before the Lord three times a day in prayer.
And we know too, that they couldn't find anything wrong with Daniel except in connection with his God.
He worshiped his God, and that's all they could find wrong with Daniel. And so I believe that we learned from the Old Testament and these certain ones, that the Spirit of God is put before us valuable lessons. Now in this case, David had sinned and he lost by it. That we must remember that God's counsels and purposes will all come to fruition.
00:15:28
And he has a purpose in the life of each one of us. He has a plan.
Now we may sometimes have to go through sad experiences before that plan is realized, but nevertheless God is going to complete that work which He has begun in US and in our lives. But it's too bad, is it not, dear brethren, when we have to pass through sorrows that we could avoid if we simply would take the spirit of Colossians 3 the first few verses.
Things about, but not on the things on the earth.
Remember that remark years ago?
That in the 22nd Psalm you get the work of Christ.
On the Cross Forest in this 51St Psalm, you get the work of the Spirit of God in US, bringing us to the place where we accept the work that has been accomplished on Calvary to save us.
Of course, as her brother has mentioned, it's the restoration.
One who has sadly failed the thorough self judgment of his.
Sad, sinful course.
Sorry.
I just was going to remark that.
I read this.
Just a short time ago.
That the first part of David's life, he was a murderer, he was persecuted and that brought out.
Much blessing, much experience that brought glory to God and eventually.
Established him in his Kingdom.
But in the last part of David's life, he was a penitent.
His last days were very, very sad, but still we see the grace of God.
Rising above.
Even the worst affairs, and bringing out just such a portion as we have here, the restoration of one who is out of communion, how truly the soul can be restored.
And brought into blessing, although there is this side of things.
That should not be.
Passed over lightly, and that is that David brought upon himself.
The chastening of God. He was under the government of God.
During all the last part of his reign, for he was told.
By the prophet Nathan the sword shall never depart from my house. And so while God in his infinite grace can restore one who is far away from going on in communion and faithfulness, and fall into the most awful scene that one could commit, and yet when restored.
God can bring blessing into his life at the same time that he must experience the the hand of God.
In his solemn government of his ways.
00:20:11
I suppose there could be no real restoration without real self judgment, can there?
Psalm 32 verse 3, David says when I kept silence.
He hadn't yet confessed his sin. Apparently my bones waxed all through my roaring all the day long.
For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me. My moisture is turned into drought of summer sealer. Now he says, I acknowledge my sin. Under thee and mine iniquity. Have I not hid? I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord.
And therefore gave us the iniquity of my sin.
So there must be that true self judgment before we can expect true restoration.
Would we say that David was ever restored back to the position that he was in before he sinned?
We always lose something through sin.
However.
This third Psalm and by the way.
If we read the Psalms in the light of the New Testament as to our position and get the benefit from them in that way, we can learn a great deal more now in the third Psalm of which we want to open to, but just refer to.
You have David there, running from his son Absalom.
But in that whole Psalm we find that although everyone's against him, even the people speak against him, there's no help for him in God and he's still in communion.
His communion is restored because he's gone into God's holy hill. He realizes that he sinned and he confesses it and is judged, and so he's restored in his soul and even though he's passing under the government of God.
He does so with the consciousness that the the protection he would have with his sword, which he couldn't use against his Son. And God is now his shield and the glory that he's lost when Absalom took his throne. God is his glory and now he lays himself down to sleep because the Lord sustains him.
President, we we learn from this.
The marvelous truth of what God is.
We learn what we are too, but we learn what God is.
We can't limit God. Think of how he goes, reaches out to David. David should never married. Was it Miaco, that woman from the north. And so we find that Absalom was the result of that union and.
It brought it brought trouble on his life and took the strong from him.
But still, on repentance, God comes in and he restores the soul of David so that he can still be in communion with God. But outwardly he lost, much as a result of it.
Now I would say in answering the question that there are really three things as to our standing before God through the work of Christ. Now that is always the same, never can be changed. The one who has received Christ as his Savior has been made the righteousness of God in Christ, and that is true constantly. By one offering you have perfected forever them that are sanctified but after he has sinned.
And he had confessed his sin. He might actually have been nearer to the Lord in his soul than he was, perhaps a short time before he sinned, because the reason that we do sin is because there is unwatchfulness and not dependence upon the Lord. And so one might be going on outwardly quite well, and yet not really be walking in communion with the Lord, And God would have to allow circumstances to manifest that.
I think we see that in the case of Job, Job was very self-righteous and he said he had rest. He thought he would die in his nest rather, but after the Lord had passed him through those trials he was really much nearer to the Lord.
00:25:13
In his soul than he was before. But now coming to the place of David, he also was nearer to the Lord after yet sinned. But as to the public aspect of his position, that was changed, wasn't it? And the sword didn't depart from his house. He had lost a certain amount as to his public position, so that the scripture has to say that he had given great cause to the enemies of the Lord to blasphemy.
So that it's a lovely thing, that one who has got away from the Lord and is restored, maybe nearer to the Lord than he was before the Fall, because he has learned himself, and has learned the grace that meets him in his need. But if he seeks to be back in the same place publicly now then he he might be forgetting that there has been a blemish, and that there he has given occasion to bring reproach on the name of the Lord.
And that he should bear in mind. I believe that remains with us when there has been some public aspect of failure before the world.
So do I read a verse in in the 7th chapter of Second Corinthians?
Brother Hale, in regard to what you've just said as to the loss in public testimony here, the apostle gives his credentials in the Second Corinthians in Chapter 7.
For for service.
And as well that we notice it.
Receive us.
Second verse, Second Corinthians 7 and verse 2.
Receive us on what basis we have wrong no man, We have corrupted no man. We have defrauded no man.
Now turn to First Samuel for a verse.
First Samuel 12, I believe.
The third verse First Samuel 12 and verse 3.
Behold, here I am, witness against me before the Lord and before he's anointed.
Whose arcs have I taken? Whose *** have I taken, or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? Or whose hand have I received any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith? And I will restore it. You.
Now I read that because I believe among the gathered Saints we've lost the the sense of that truth, that there is such a thing as a blemish priest. And I believe that's one of the signs of weakness among us.
The the truth here guards against.
Allowing that which.
Might have been the former life lived at sin, one who has lived in sin to to be used in the same way as one who is not. I believe there is such a thing as scripture, and we have in the Old Testament the blemished priest, and I believe in the New Testament these this scripture would give us the thought.
On the teaching of Scripture that there is such a thing as losing.
Your public testimony through sin. You agree with that, Brother Baron? Yes, I think so.
I think it's very nice one rather Barry mentioned in connection with this 51St Psalm and contrast or connected with the 22nd Psalm. In the 22nd Psalm, we have brought before us what the Lord Jesus suffered for us. And as we think of this, we think of the cost of our redemption. And then in this 51St Psalm, it's that very truth that leads to restoration, isn't it?
Says here, have mercy upon me or be gracious unto me. O God, according to thy loving kindness, now that is what is it that leads to real restoration? Well, it's a sense of what it costs the Lord to put sin away. And just as if we keep that sense fresh in our souls, we are preserved from sin. That is, it wouldn't be possible for any of us if we really had before us the sense of what the Lord had to suffer to put away our sins.
00:30:30
To be careless in our walk. But when we lose the sense of that, by then we become careless. And it's the restoration of that that brings about our personal restoration. That's why we find in the 19th of numbers the one who had become defiled. The water of separation was mixed with the ashes of the of the heifer and the cedar wood and the scarlet and the hessel and sprinkled upon him.
And that was what brought about his restoration. A little hymn that we sing expresses it nicely in his spotless souls Distress. I have learned my guiltiness and I believe that there is no real restoration until we have been back to see what the Lord had to suffer to put that sin away. If we only think of it as to how it affects our own lives or how it affects our testimony before others.
We'll never be really restored. We've got to get back into the sense of God's holiness, what is really suited to his presence and what it cost him to put sin away. And that's what leads to a real restoration. And I believe we could also say that in first John chapter one and verse 9 where it says if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins.
We shouldn't stop there. It's good to own the thing before the Lord, but it says and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. How are we going to be cleansed? Well, the man that had been defiled in the 19th of numbers, unless he was sprinkled on the third day, he was not clean on the 7th. And the thought of the third day brings in what it cost the Lord to put away Sam and when we have been brought to that point in regard to our sin.
Now then, it leads to the 7th day, a real restoration cleansed from all unrighteousness. And that's why it's passing on a bit. We'll come to it later. But the 11Th verse in our translation isn't exactly clear. It's cast me not away from my presence and take not the spirit of thy holiness from me Now that is that we need to. When we're really restored, we have the spirit of God's holiness. We never look lightly upon the sin.
And that's the way David was here. It was constantly before him. He never looked lightly upon it, although he recognized and was thankful that the Lord had restored him.
You could say two. Couldn't you, brother, fail That the happy way, the way that the Lord would keep us, is to have what the Lord suffered on the cross so constantly before us that we wouldn't have a fault? That is it. We're tempted, if some evil desire possesses us, to indulge in something that is evil and wrong.
And dishonouring to the Lord and is harmful to the soul. We only stop and think.
That very sin that I could indulge in and would give me pleasure cost my Blessed Lord, those awful hours of darkness when he was forsaken of God alone there.
And on that cross during those last three hours?
May the Lord keep the thought of what He has suffered for us. Not only that He has forever put away our sins as far as the East is from the West, so that they will never rise up against us in judgment. The judgment is over.
That he has, indeed.
Endured the judgment that those various sins that we're so much in danger.
00:35:02
Falling into permitting because our whole sinful nature.
With which we were born, which is corrupt after the deceitful lust.
And can never be changed if we allow it in any way.
To have its course in our lives, it will lead to those very things that we see.
And this ungodly world. There is a verse in the 11Th chapter of First Corinthians that might be a helpful word in this connection.
In the 11Th chapter of First Corinthians, where the apostle is dealing with the sad state, there in Corinth in connection with the breaking of bread, remembrance of the Lord and he says in the.
In the 30th verse for this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. Or if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chained of the Lord. And notice this last part, that we should not be condemned with the world.
So the very thing the world indulges in is what our Blessed Lord suffered for on the cross.
And the warning is very solemn here. We need that exercise of souls so that we wouldn't dishonor the Lord.
Because for the very reason, as he tells us here, that we should not be condemned with the world, we will not be condemned with the world if you have truly from your heart accepted Christ as a Savior.
It's just as sure as we're sitting here that we get in Romans 5 and 24 the early Verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my words, and believeth on him that sent me half everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment. No, will not come into judgment.
But those very things that we are are in danger of because.
Have that old nature.
Are things we should thoroughly judge in view of the fact that the Lord has suffered for them, so that we should not be condemned with the world.
Joseph brings before us the loneliness necessary, and we noticed that in a number of scriptures that have been referred to, that word hyssop appears.
But it's interesting to see that it is in the 12Th of Exodus first, where we have redemption brought before us, Then in the 19th of numbers that was referred to for the maintenance in communion, the hyssop is there again. And in this 51St Psalm for restoration of the soul, the Hyssop is there once more. And then of course that recital of the of the cross of our Blessed Savior.
There we find the Hyssop carried out. And so it's necessary, isn't it, for us to see our our littleness and the humility necessary for in all these steps, what is history?
I understand it's a very common little flower that grows in Israel and that was just attached itself to any little spot along the walls, from what I understand. But it was a little picture in contrast to the Cedars of Lebanon, which brings before us the Lord in all His glory and exaltation. This is just the very opposite, the smallness and the littleness.
Necessary.
I was wondering if you could.
Learn from the Hyssop. Also this that.
Uh, Solomon knew all the trees.
From the mighty cedar to the hyssop that grew out of the wall, as their brother said. So I believe that just like man is likened to a tree. We get the whole picture of man here. Man is exaltation or man in his lowest position. Now the hyssop has absolutely no power to raise itself up.
00:40:10
It just has to claim, and I believe that that we learn here we all we can do, Brethren, is cling to the Lord. That's all we can do. There's not one thing in US David had to say when when he saw the Lord. Just like Joel, You know, when Job, our brother, referred to Joel.
Now I've seen it with mine eyes and I repent, and dust gnashes and so. So, Peter, I should have said.
Peter said in the 5th chapter of Luke he was saved before no doubt. But when he gets in the presence of of the Lord and sees that he's the the God of Israel and with that mighty craft of fishes, why depart from me? I am a sinful man, O Lord, not that I have sinned and so we have to distinguish between simply saying I have sinned.
And I am a sinful man. Now, if one simply says they've sinned, they haven't judged the roots, and they'll probably repeat it unless they're preserved. But where the roots are judged in God's presence, and that's what we have in this song, David goes all the way back to the roots and he judges the whole thing.
Now where that's that's judged, where there's full communion restored.
As long as we could say there's a contrast with the case of King Saul. When King Saul had sinned and Samuel brought it before him, he said, I have sinned Then he adds, get honor me now I pray thee in the presence of the elders of my people. Now he didn't want the hyssop, he he wanted to be in the place of the Cedars, so to speak. Still, he wanted to be a great man, and he didn't want to acknowledge that he had sinned against the Lord.
And that he had lost something by that sin. But with David, how different He goes right down to the bottom, herds me with hyssop. He takes the low place. The result is that God could, in spite of it, use him. It was no doubt as it was remarked, and I limited sense because of his failure. But we see a true restoration, and I believe it's very important for all of us, too, to be careful that we don't allow our standards of what is right and wrong to be formed by the world.
We must get into the presence of God and be guided by His word. And as we have been noticing to think of Calvary and what the Lord Jesus had to suffer there to put away Sin is a great tendency today as the standards of the world go down, for us to be affected by them. We find this was so in the early church. See how likely the Corinthian assembly seemed to look upon sin.
And that was because that was the character of the city in which they lived. And so they were affected by this light outlook as regards morality. And we have to be careful in these last days that we don't accept the common outlook of the world.
God's thoughts about sin haven't changed and they were fully displayed what he thought about sin.
At the cross of Calvary, when the full weight of God's judgment against it came upon our precious Savior.
That's the significance of reference to the fear of the Lord in the third of Malachi as it was read to us. It seems to me very striking the way that very point is brought out in connection with the fear of the Lord. Malachi 3 verse 15.
And now we call a proud happy.
Yay, they that work wickedness are set up.
Yeah, they'd attempt God, or even delivered. This was the character of the day in which these people lived. There was no discernment whatever between that which was evil and that which was according to the mind of the Lord. Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another, and the Lord hearkened and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for then that.
Feared the Lord.
And that thought upon his name now verse 18.
Then shall he return and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not. That last verse seems rather surprising. We would naturally think, well, anyone can tell between the righteous and the wicked. Those are two extremes.
00:45:23
That doesn't require much discernment, but it does. The day had become so dark. The indifference in the arrogance was so widespread, that only those who walked in the fear of the Lord had proper discernment between that which was righteous and that which was wicked, that which was proper service to the Lord, and that which was lost. So I suppose that in the day in which we live.
Instead of considering, well now, what effect will this have upon my reputation, what effect will it have upon the public and their thought of me? Rather, it should be the fear of the Lord, and that's a happy and a wholesome thing. I suppose that first sound, it might be a little bit frightening, but I'm sure, I'm sure that if we were to speak with anyone who knew a bit about the fear of the Lord.
In their life, they find that they thank God for it. You find that they found it to be a very, very precious and wonderful incentive for a life that would be to the glory of God, and a happy life too.
Must leave out, though they speak often one to another. There was a going on together, wasn't there?
I don't know one having a deep sense in his own soul.
But dishonors the Lord, and having the fear of allowing.
That which displeases him but going on together.
And occupying one another with that which profits the soul.
It applies second verse to the Christian.
There is no such thing as the second application of the blood.
But it's the practical truth.
Applied to the conscience and the Word of God.
Is something like we have in the 19th of numbers, you know, and there you have the the water, but it's the ashes of the heifer in the water. It's the it's the truth, all right of the work of Christ, but it's on that basis, but it's the exercise of the soul.
In God's presence. So the fountain that's open that we get in in the book of Zachariah I believe it is is really the thought of and now there's a fountain open to Israel because the blood was shed. So there's no real second application of the blood. It's in view of the fact that the blood was shed. But the the point is that the word of God now that works in his cleansing effect.
For the believer to be restored.
In the.
In the first, on the 3rd chapter of Hebrews you have the first point of declension.
And that is.
Having.
Heard, having heard.
Well, I don't remember the full verse, but the point is that.
That is, having heard they provoked is the verse I'm thinking of. The children of Israel had seen that large bunch of grapes and yet they provoked God by turning away. Now in Hebrews 12, there's a sin which easily beset Israel. That was the sin of unbelief, and I'm sure it's true with us because if we hear the word of God and we don't act upon it.
It's unbelief with us, and that's the first step of declension for the believer that was true.
Of of Judas as well that he was an unbeliever, but he he walked with Jesus all those years, and he did not receive the word. So the first step of declension then is.
Refusing to act on the word, but now when the soul is restored or being restored.
00:50:03
Wash me throughly from mine iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
For I acknowledge my transgression and my sins ever before me. But then he says against thee the only have I sinned. He's in the presence of God, because in the second book of Psalms, the little remnant is is outside of Jerusalem now. And they're they're just cast entirely upon God. It's the thought of the second book of the Psalms.
And then you get the judging. The roots behold. I was shaken, shaken, iniquity, and incended. My mother conceived me. But thou desires truth in the inward parts, not just the outward display of Christianity, but.
If it's true inside, it will be seen outside, is that right? If the truth is is inside, it will be seen outside, for out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaking. And so it's important then that the roots be judged.
And then the truth in the inward parts, so that it can be said in the seventh verse where you go down to the very lowest points we've already noticed.
First me with hyssop, and I shall be clean. Wash me, I shall be whiter than snow.
But, he says in his third verse, in my sin as ever before me, it's good for us to bear in mind that we should never forget these things that have taken place in our lives.
And these help to keep us humble, don't they? Paul often mentioned how that he once persecuted the Church of God and wasted it, called himself the Chief of sinners. He called upon the Ephesians to remember what they were in time past.
And I believe it's a healthy thing for us never to forget the rock from whence we were you, and the pit from whence we were digged. Now these things tend to keep us humble when it says in Philippians 3 forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching under the 4th unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark. And that is, if there has been anything in our lives that has been for Christ, any devotedness that has met with the Lord's approval.
We can safely leave that with him. We don't need to think about that. He'll remember that that will all be manifested. That might lead us to pride, to be occupied with that, or perhaps to rest on our oars and think we were something. But I believe it's very important for us to to see this, that the humility that is the result of really being in the presence of God ought to characterize us all our life through.
I remember our brother Power making this remark. He said that Paul never forgave himself for persecuting the Church, and Peter never forgave himself for denying the Lord, but the Lord forgave them both.
We see two.
Judgments, don't we? In this 51St Psalm, In the third, the fourth verse?
He confesses the sin that he had.
Been guilty of a particular sin.
And that was very important and unnecessary. But then in the fifth verse he goes a little bit farther. He goes to the root of it all, and he judges that also, and that. These are both very necessary, aren't they? We see a good example of it in First in Second Kings, where the man had been chopping.
Trees down by the river Jordan and he was using a borrowed axe and he lost the axe head into the Jordan and he went to Elisha to tell him that he had lost the accent. Well, Elisha could have just, he had the power. He could have put his hand in his pocket and produced another accent and said here's here's another one. But he said to him somewhat the same as what David is saying here.
00:55:01
He asked the man, where, where did you lose it? And he had to go back to the very place where he had lost that, that accent. Well, it's not only necessary for us to to judge a sin, but we only sin when we get out of communion, do we not? And it's when we are out of communion that we do those things and we confess them that sin. But it's necessary to go back to realize that.
It's the very nature that we are bearing fruit.
But we have to judge the fruit and we also have to judge the root, and so we find both these in this chapter.
What did he like to use to bring that axe head to to the surface? He cut down a branch of a tree. It's beautiful, isn't it? He brought the the remembrance of the cross and I was just thinking too, in connection with that 19th of numbers the brother London was mentioning.
The ashes was the constant reminder that that fire had passed before and it is the reminder that the remembrance that we need to have of the cross not applying the blood again, but it's the remembrance of the price that was paid in our redemption.
In the Saul of the brother Barry that in the 102nd Psalm the Lord Book of Ashes, as being his mate. And what was that but the remembrance, dear brethren, of all our sins?
He bore them.
For them. So ashes were his meat.
Perhaps we could also say here A2, within this fifth verse, I was shaping an inequity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. He was really acknowledging what the old nature really is. And that is very important because sometimes when a Christian makes sense, he says, oh, I just made a slip. But that's the way the old nature always acts when it's allowed to act. That's the kind of nature we were born with, and unless we truly.
Acknowledge this.
And see in the death of Christ the end of that thing, why we're going to be making slips, because that's the character of the nature. But I think it's lovely, as it's been remarked, not only judge the sin, but he said that's the kind of a nature I have. I own it before the Lord and brethren. If we ever allow the old nature, it's always going to do something wrong because it's corrupt according to the deceitful lusts. How needful that we keep it in the place of death, the place where God has put it and it it came to its end in the cross of Christ.
Thus mortifying our members which are upon the earth in Colossians, is it not?
Well after? He asked.
Taking such a low place, and so thoroughly judged himself, saying, purge me with history, and I shall be clean. Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow. Then he says, make me to hear joy and gladness.
That the bones which thou has broken, they rejoiced.
Now where we were speaking about.
Oh, never forgiving himself for having persecuted the Church for Peter, for having denied the Lord, if the Lord would not have us just bow down.
Where the sorrow and humiliation. And of course there should be humiliation.
But to just live a morbid life.
Sadness because we were given a figure and have failed. The Lord would have us rejoicing something like the end that began this meeting. Look, look he Saints within the veil and raise your happy soul. That is, we should be feeding on what brings joy and gladness after the.
Thorough judgment of our ways has taken past taking place.
If we just continue to go on where the where the deep grief and make ourselves unhappy or it would be almost unbelief, wouldn't it? Because it says there in first John.
01:00:03
One of nine, 1:00 and 9:00 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So if we really believe His words, and we have taken the low place and finally adjudged ourselves, or then we can go unhappy and free in our spirits.
There's such a thing as the bones being broken, isn't there? I believe that.
The The awful aftermath of sin with the soul, the remorse, the.
The deep feelings that God allows in the soul to break the soul down.
Is necessary, but then there comes a time when there's restoration and.
The Spirit of God would occupy us with our sins until they're fully judged, but He purposes to occupy us with Christ and the inheritance, and so when they're touched, then we should be occupied with Christ and the inheritance and all that He's provided for us as believers.
But there is such a thing as the bones being broken, that is, that which is stable within us, crushed for the moment.
I was thinking now what we were speaking about joy and gladness. It actually took place in Davidde life afterwards, didn't it? I was noticing here in Second Samuel 12 and verse 20, after the child that was born had died, says in the 20th verse. Then David arose from the earth and washed.
And anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the House of the Lord. And worshiped. And he came to his own house. And when he required, they set bread before him. And he did eat. His servants couldn't understand this. But if he did, and he did fully recognize the sin and dishonor before the Lord, he also proved God's restoring grace and was able to come back into the House of the Lord.
To change his raiment to take the place of a worshiper. It's all very beautiful to see. He did hear joy and gladness, didn't he? There was this coming back to the Lord not going about his brother, Barry remarked.
Well, it's all over with me. I'm no use anymore. Instead of this, we see, although there was true humility and a bowing to the governmental hand of God, there was also the enjoyment of His restoring grace.
You see that perhaps in Jacob, the only thing that is said about him in Hebrews 11, when he was a dying he worshipped leaning, He worshipped leaning. His life had been, to quite an extent, occupied with all kinds of busy activities and scheming and planning. It would seem that 21 years of that life had been spent with the Son of God's favors having set upon him.
When he went out in the early part of his life, it says the sunset upon him 21 years later, the night that he wrestled all night with the Angel and said the sun rose upon him. But there were 21 years in between the two and I would suppose that he lifts the rest of his life after that all night of wrestling. But it's it's striking and yet it is not.
Comforting to think that Hebrews 11 records of Jacob when he was a dying he worships, he worshipped, but he worshipped leaning. But a lesson he had learned. Someone explained the 12Th verse of the 19th chapter of the numbers.
I have the third day.
Here the 12Th verse of this 90th of numbers he shall purify himself with it, but that was with the water of separation on the third day, and on the 7th day he shall be cleaned. But if he purify not himself the third day, then the 7th day he shall not be clean when we spoke briefly of that before.
Now that when we all ascend before the Lord, if we don't really get to the root of it, we don't really judge the state of soul that produced it and think of what it cost the Lord to put away that sin. And then it's, shall I say, it's not a full restoration. But the thought of the third day brings in what the Lord Jesus had to suffer to put away sin. And if we come to the realization of that.
01:05:27
And judge it in his presence, and with the sense of what he went through to put it away. And I might also mention that in the ashes of the heifer with the water there was the cedar wood, and the hyssop and the Scarlets, which was all in the ashes.
But I believe those represent three things, the cedar Speaking of man and his greatness and the hessop of man and his littleness and the scarlet of human glory. And I think at the bottom of our sins there's usually something of this that is perhaps the reason we sin was we wanted to be somebody important. Young people have an expression now. They don't want to be chicken. Well, they don't want to take the place of walking in the fear of God. So they take a a place that they've got to be popular before their friends.
And maybe that leads to doing something that dishonors the Lord. Well, just to say you were sorry you did The thing is not enough. Maybe you had the approval of Madden before you instead of the Lords approval. How lovely to see you with Joseph. When he was tempted he said, God forbid that I should do this great wickedness and sin against God. And then the hyssop here was burned also because there is such a thing as.
Saying I have no use.
Nobody cares about me. And that is a kind of humility that is nothing more than pride in disguise. And that sort of thing too, can lead us to get away from the Lord, to, shall I say, bury the pound in the ground and not use it for the Lord at all. And then the scarlet. Well, again, it's something that we wanted to be thought great. We wanted, we wanted to attract attention to ourselves, so maybe we did something to attract attention.
Well, all those things were in the ashes of the heifers. So when we really get to the root of the thing and see what it was that caused us to sin and what it cost the Lord to put it away, I believe it leads to a full judgment.
Tip applied in the third day. For the Lord was the end of all that we were in our greatness and littleness and everything. It was the end of self as before God. And then on the 7th day there is a real restoration. I believe that true restoration before God is not a sudden thing. When they went one day without the Lord in the second chapter of Luke, it took three days before they found him.
And I believe if we have got away from the Lord and publicly dishonored him, we don't get restored the next day. I believe that it's it takes a real wrestling as with Jacob, but a real getting before the Lord and before we come to the end of self. But the Lord leads us there as he did job and finally brought him twice as much as what he had before, blessed him abundantly. I believe that brings us to the 7th day.
It's instructive to notice that there were three days at the beginning before the confession, but there were there was one more day. There were four days before there was full restoration. And as you say, brother, sometimes we think that there's an immediate restoration upon confessions, but not necessarily so. That interval was longer than the work that went on before the confession was made. So I think it's very instructive, isn't it?
I wandered in connection with those messengers of David who had half their beards cut off, and they were greatly ashamed. And David instructions to them were these, I believe, Harry and Jericho. Until your beards be grown, there was no way of hurrying up that process. It was a very embarrassing and humbling humbling thing for a Jew. But they just had their weight quietly in Jericho, couldn't appear in public until.
Their beers were grown again.
And so I believe, and it's a very searching thing to say, that there is that which is scriptural and proper in order that the mark of that which otherwise would be so shameful might be restored and removed.
01:10:13
We see all through the Old Testament that they didn't have the knowledge.
Of the forgiveness of sins in the way that Christian has that knowledge, because now we know the atoning work is complete.
At the Lord and his death and blood shedding has put away sin out of God's sight once and forever. So we have to observe in many places that they didn't have the light.
The light and the assurance that we enjoy that we are forgiven before God and that our sins can never rise up against us.
So we have here.
Hide not hide.
For my sin and blot out mine iniquity created me a clean heart for God and renewal, a right spirit. How did you say that should read Brother Hale?
I was the 11Th, 1St to take out the spirit of thy holiness from me, but.
Ten first, yes, yes. I I don't know. Is there a difference of spirit or a steadfast spirit of these?
I believe I commented about the 11Th person. Yes, I guess that was the verse. Well, if God happened to Saul, wasn't it that the Spirit of God came upon so And he even prophesied on one occasion. But we know that the Spirit of God departed from him.
As far as Saul was concerned, he never was a saved man, but the Spirit of God in the Old Testament.
Came upon even man that were not true believers like the Spirit of God came upon bailing, and he gave wonderful prophecies, and yet he was an unsaved man, a wicked man.
So we saw well David, having known how God had dealt with Saul once a man that God did use, and he delivered Israel on certain occasions.
And yet at last the Spirit of God left him, and an evil spirit from God troubled him. And David has a fear, some fear that that should happen in his life. Of course now the Christian knows what an Old Testament say couldn't know because it wasn't true. That is, that after we have from the heart accepted Christ as a savior.
We have God, the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, and we know that the Holy Spirit will never be taken from us. Such a verse as Ephesians 5 says, grieve not that Holy Spirit of promise whereby ye are sealed under the day of redemption, so you can't breathe the Spirit of God away.
And there's a nice thought, and an important thought to notice too, he says in the 12Th verse. Restore unto me not thy salvation, but the joy of thy salvation. Now that's the truth as much for an Old Testament.
As it is for a Christian today, a Christian today can never lose his salvation.
Because the Lord says my sheep shall never perish. Isn't that wonderful? Would that we all realize that and we're in the good of it, that we're saved with an eternal salvation and can never be lost. But we can lose the joy of our salvation when we dishonor the Lord or when we allow the things of this world to come between us.
And his rightful claims are otherwise. Get out of communion.
Sad to say, we can use the joy of our salvation, and that's what David longed to have restored to his soul again.
01:15:04
It's interesting to notice.
And I hadn't thought of continuing this more in this reading. And I just want to call attention to one or two things at the end of this chapter that might be helpful. The first verse we find mercy. He's crying for mercy. But in the last verse, why he he'd like to offer a Bullock. Now that's the highest in sacrifices it not. It's maturity really an expression of soul and worship.
And so that's what David would like to do. He would like to be back in that position where there was a largeness of heart and worship to God. And also in this chapter we noticed near the end.
He wanted to have a willing spirit. That's that. That's the free spirit or willing spirit in the end of the 12Th verse.
And he wanted the willing spirit to sustain him, I think is the thought that is.
Our wills go to work and cause us a great deal of trouble.
But David wanted to have a willing spirit. Now this is what the children of Israel had when they built the Tabernacle.
They gave freely. They had a willing spirit, and God is the one and the only one who can give that willing spirit. But there has to be really before that what we have in the first part of the chapter in our part. There has to be the taking the low place now as a result of all this.
We find that there is true testimony. Notice the next verse.
Then will I teach transgressors, Thy ways and sinners shall be converted unto thee.
Could it be, brethren, that in the gospel effort sometimes there is nothing fruit because?
Either individually or collectively, we have allowed sin to go unjust to allow our ways to interfere with the testimony, and one can go on and preach the gospel and give out tracks in a vast state of soul.
Now I say that from experience.
One can do that in a vast state of soul, can go on with the outward form and still not be right with God in this free spirit that He speaks. Out here let us come through the result of judging our ways and and being at liberty and His presence. Now I'd just like to make this mention too in regard to David's life, that after he had sinned that awful sin of numbering the people.
Aruna offered him the threshing floor and the bullocks and all for a burnt offering, but David said no, that isn't enough. I I'm, I want to buy it. And besides, I have to also offer a peace offering.
And the peace offering is the full liberty in the presence of God. And that David was not satisfied until he had been brought back to the full enjoyment of liberty in the presence of God. And brethren, that's where we want to be, isn't it? And really, there isn't true restoration until we've come to that point where there's a free spirit or a willing spirit to sustain us in the presence of God. Now here he confesses.
Deliver me from blood.
God, the God of my salvation, and my tongue shall sing aloud of Thy righteousness. We know that Israel in that day will really repent of blood guiltiness. They crucified their Messiah, but here David cries that the Lord will deliver him from this.
And now how often we have found ourselves right on the verge of dishonouring the Lord, and we need to be in His presence so we won't dishonor Him. I believe that should be part of our prayer.
Could I ask a question about verse 18? I just wonder, in looking at it, whether David is thinking of the fact that his own guilt could have its side effects upon the rest of the nation, upon the testimony of Israel itself, and upon Jerusalem, where the Lord had placed his name. And so he prays, Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion, build thou the walls of Jerusalem. Is it right to feel?
01:20:05
But if we ourselves do not walk in full confession and in self destiny, it will have a hindering effect upon the blessing of the Lord toward his people and his testimony. Is that do you suppose what he's thinking of in his 18th verse? I believe so. In fact the 19th verse He doesn't say then July, but then shall they offer burnt bullets upon my offer, bullets upon mine altered. So we find in Leviticus the sin of the ruler affected the whole of the people, and the blood had to be sprinkled before the veil.
So that we need to remember our lives have an effect upon others, and one going on carelessly, especially if he's a leader or not. Walking before the Lord is going to have an effect upon all the Saints. Well, it's a it's a solemn thing for us to consider this before the Lord.
But it's lovely to see when he was restored that he did desire that the Lord would come in and blessing in the place where he had put his name, and that his failure wouldn't be the cause of.
Worship being hindered among the people of God.
137.
137.
Oh Christ, when Burton thou thy hand, our Lord, is laid of thee, Thou spirit, and sinners dead. They're all ill for me protect the blast by blood pressure is now there is no longer for me.
For me, Lord Jesus.
Thou hast died in thee, Lord.
There isn't. My beds are all in time. Now thou listen me.
Father's place on Radiant Grace shines now in Light on the 137.