Sermon #1543 Miscellaneous Sermons
Title: The Mystery of
Texts: Romans
Subject: The Display of God’s
Date: Sunday Morning—
Tape # X-82b
Introduction:
“Hail, sovereign love that first began the scheme to rescue fallen man,
Hail, matchless, free, eternal grace that gave my soul a hiding place.
Against the God that rules the sky I fought with hands uplifted high;
Despised His rich abounding grace, too proud to seek a hiding place.
Enwrapt in Egyptian night and fond of darkness more than light,
Madly I ran the sinful race, secure without a hiding place.
But thus the eternal counsel ran, “Almighty love, arrest that man!”
I felt the arrows of distress and found I had no hiding place.
Indignant justice stood in view, to Sinai’s fiery mount I flew;
But justice cried with frowning face, “This mountain is no hiding place!”
Ere long the heavenly voice I heard and mercy’s angel form appeared;
She led me on with gentle pace to Jesus as my hiding place.
Should storms of thundering vengeance roll and shake the earth from pole to pole,
No flaming bolt shall daunt my face, for Jesus is my hiding place.
A few more
rolling suns at most will land me safe on
Where I shall sing the song of grace and see my glorious hiding place!”
My subject is The Mystery of Providence. I
want to show you how God graciously brings chosen sinners to Christ. My text is
that blessedly familiar verse in the eighth chapter of Romans – “We know
that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are
the called according to his purpose.”
Psalm 107 is a sermon upon that text. This Psalm is a beautiful display of God’s adorable providence in saving his elect. The Psalm is an allegory picturing God’s ways of grace.
You know what an allegory is. It is a parable. It is
an earthly picture of a spiritual truth. The allegory
may or may not be a fact of history. But its purpose is to illustrate some
spiritual truth.
For example: In Galatians 4 Paul uses the story, a
historical story, of Sarah and Hagar, Isaac and Ishmael to represent the
covenant of grace and the covenant of works. In Luke 16 our Lord used a
fictional story of the rich man and Lazarus to illustrate the life and death of
the wicked and the life and death of the righteous. In Psalm 105 David used the
story of
The providence of God is simply God’s
universal government of all things. In providence God brings to pass what he has
purposed in eternity. There is a general providence of God in the world. And
there is a special providence of God toward his elect.
God’s general providence is his superintendence and
government of the world. We do not believe in the laws of nature. We believe
God, “who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will.” Our God
did not create the world, and then leave it. No. He is actively presiding in
all the affairs of the universe. The dew falls and waters the earth by his
decree. The grass grows for the cattle in his appointed place. The sparrow is
fed from his almighty hand. And the planets are held in their orbits around the
sun by the Word of God. This is God’s general providence.
But God’s special providence is
something else. It is God working all things together for the good, for the
eternal salvation of his elect. Get this if you can,
everything that has ever taken place in the history of the world, since the
beginning of time, whether good or evil, has been ruled by the providence of
God for your salvation! That is a stupendous thought. And that is what Psalm
107 is all about. Empires have been raised up and empires have fallen by the
hand of God so that he might save your soul and mine. This is what God says, “I
am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of
Proposition: The
temporal blessings of which this psalm speaks are but symbols, types, and
pictures of God’s spiritual blessings, blessings of grace for which he is to be
magnified and praised.
Four times in this one psalm, the psalmist cries, “Oh
that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the
children of men” (vv. 8, 15, 21, 31).
This Psalm is like the Interpreter’s house in
Pilgrim’s Progress. There Pilgrim was told that he would see excellent and
profitable things. And, truly, if the Lord will give us eyes to see and ears to
hear, we will see and hear excellent and profitable things from this song of
the redeemed.
Divisions: Let’s
now look at the Psalm. There are four things that I want to call to your
attention from these verses:
1. We are called upon to extol
and give thanks to God for his goodness (1-3).
2. We are given four
illustrations of Divine providence in salvation (4-32).
3. We are given insight into
the mystery of providence (33-42).
4. We are exhorted to observe
the lovingkindness of God in his providence (43).
GIVE THANKS
I. First, we are called upon to extol and give thanks to God for his
goodness (v.1).
(Psa
107:1) "O give
thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for
ever."
David is here speaking to the people of God. Those
who have been saved and gathered from among the heathen ought to extol the Lord
God for his goodness to them.
A. Why
should we give thanks to the Lord our God?
1. We should give thanks to the Lord for his goodness.
The very name God is but an abbreviation of the word
good. God is good. He does good. And he is the author
of all good.
·
All Temporal Goodness.
·
All Spiritual Goodness.
· All Eternal Goodness.
2. We should give thanks unto the Lord,
because his mercy endures forever.
God’s mercy is from everlasting to everlasting. From
generation to generation, the sons of men experience the mercy of God in
Christ.
·
His Purposed Mercy.
·
His Electing Mercy.
·
His Redeeming Mercy.
·
His Regenerating Mercy.
·
His Preserving Mercy.
B. Who
should give thanks to the Lord? (vv. 3-4).
(Psa
107:2-3) "Let the redeemed of the
LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy; {3} And gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from
the west, from the north, and from the south."
1. In mercy and goodness our great God has
redeemed us with the precious blood of Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ
has redeemed us from the hand of the enemy.
·
He has redeemed us from the curse of the law by price.
·
He has redeemed us from the hand of the enemy, from the hand of Satan
and sin by power.
·
He has redeemed us from death by his resurrection.
2. Another example of God’s goodness and mercy
is that he has gathered us to Christ by effectual power.
We had all gone astray. We had turned everyone to his own way. But the Lord observed our ways. And in the fullness of time he gathers his elect to Christ by sovereign power, from the four corners of the earth (Isa. 43:5-6).
(Isa
43:5-6) "Fear not: for I am with
thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west;
{6} I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back:
bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth;"
Those who are redeemed of the Lord will, most assuredly
be gathered to him. “I will hiss (call) for them, and gather them;
for I have redeemed them” (Zech. 10:8).
3. The men of the world will not confess the
goodness of God, therefore we must. “Let the redeemed of the Lord
say so.” We have found him to be good, and we must say so.
· Is God good when he takes away, as well as when he gives? “The redeemed of the Lord say so.”
·
Is God merciful when he frowns, as well as when he smiles? “The
redeemed of the Lord say so.”
·
Does God work all things together for good to them that love him? “The
redeemed of the Lord say so.”
II. Second, we are given four displays of God’s goodness, four illustrations of
divine providence working in the salvation of his elect (vv. 4-32).
The redeemed of the Lord say that God is good and
his mercy endures forever. Now, the Psalmist displays that mercy in providence.
The mercy of God toward you did not begin when we first believed. God’s mercy actively arranged all the affairs of our lives in order to bring us to Christ. Indeed, he arranged all the affairs of history to secure our eternal salvation. This is his prevenient grace, that grace of providence, which precedes the experience of grace in salvation.
Sometimes God’s good providence appears to us to be
hard and rough. But he has a good purpose. In providence he may bring Gomer
down to the lowest pit of degradation. He may even use Satan to do it. But his
purpose is to exalt her in due time. Before God ever exalts a sinner to his
place among the sons of God, he will bring him down in the dust of humiliation.
Here are four illustrations of divine providence, four illustrations of God’s prevenient grace.
Wilderness Wanderers
A. We were
all lost, weary travelers in need of a guide to bring us home to God (vv. 4-9).
(Psa
107:4-9) "They wandered in the
wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in. {5} Hungry
and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. {6} Then they cried unto the
LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.
{7} And he led them forth by the right way, that
they might go to a city of habitation. {8} Oh that men
would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful
works to the children of men! {9} For he
satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness."
1. We were lost in the wilderness of sin by
reason of our own rebellion and ignorance (v. 4; Ezek.
(Psa
107:4) "They wandered in the
wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in."
(Ezek
20:35) "And I will bring you into
the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to
face."
(Hosea
2:14) "Therefore, behold, I will
allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto
her."
Like silly, ignorant sheep we all went astray. We all went our own way, according to the bent of our will. And we wandered on in darkness, so ignorant that we did not even know our condition.
2. But God, in his providence, made us hungry
and thirsty (v. 5).
(Psa
107:5) "Hungry and thirsty, their
soul fainted in them."
John Gill wrote, “In such a condition
are souls, when, like the prodigal, they come to themselves, and are thoroughly
convinced of their state and condition by nature; they find themselves starving
and famishing, and no provision to be had from themselves or the creature: they
hunger after Christ, the bread of life, and thirst after his grace, the water
of life, and the blessings of it; they hunger and thirst after his
righteousness, and justification by it; after the pardon of their sins through
his blood, and after salvation by him, and an interest in it; after more
knowledge of him, and communion with him.”
God knows how to create dissatisfaction in a man’s
heart. God knows how to make the prodigal hungry. We found ourselves in
desperate need, with no means of provision.
“All my life long I had
panted
For a draught from some
clear spring,
That I hoped would quench
the burning
Of the thirst I felt within.
Feeding on the husks around
me,
Till my strength was almost gone,
Longed my soul for something
better,
Only still
to hunger on.
Poor I was, and sought for
riches,
Something that would
satisfy,
But the dust I gathered
round me
Only
mocked my soul’s sad cry.”
3. Then, in the time of our soul’s trouble, we
called upon the Lord (v. 6).
(Psa
107:6) "Then they cried unto the
LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their
distresses."
It is a time of trouble when awakened sinners are
convinced of sin by the Spirit of God.
·
We were pricked to the heart by a sense of sin.
·
The terrors of death and hell got hold of us.
·
We saw our lost and undone condition, ready to perish.
·
Then, and not till then, we cried to God for mercy.
4. Then, the Lord God led us to Christ the
Way, our City of
(Psa
107:7) "And he led them forth by
the right way, that they might go to a city of
habitation."
5. All of this we owe to God’s adorable, wise,
and good providence. Therefore, we will praise him (vv. 8-9).
(Psa
107:8-9) "Oh that
men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for
his wonderful works to the children of men! {9} For
he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with
goodness."
‘Twas grace that taught my
heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed.
None but Christ satisfies the hungry soul.
“Well of water ever
springing,
Bread of life so rich and
free,
Untold wealth that never
faileth,
My Redeemer is to me.
Hallelujah! I have found
Him,
Whom my soul so long had
craved!
Jesus satisfies my longings—
Through His blood I now am
saved!
Prisoners of Hope
B. We were
all prisoners, in bondage to sin, Satan, and the law of God, but Christ set us
free (vv.
10-16; Isa. 9:2; 42:7; 49:9).
(Psa
107:10-16) "Such as sit in darkness
and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron; {11} Because
they rebelled against the words of God, and contemned the counsel of the most
High: {12} Therefore he brought down their heart with labour; they fell
down, and there was none to help. {13} Then they cried unto the
LORD in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses.
{14} He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder. {15} Oh that men would praise the LORD for his
goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! {16} For he hath broken the gates of brass, and cut the bars of
iron in sunder."
(Isa
9:2) "The people that walked in
darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of
death, upon them hath the light shined."
(Isa
42:7) "To open
the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them
that sit in darkness out of the prison house."
(Isa
49:9) "That thou mayest say to the
prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Show yourselves. They
shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high
places."
1. We were prisoners under
sentence of death (v. 10).
(Psa
107:10) "Such as sit in darkness
and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron;"
2. Our sentence was just (v. 11).
(Psa
107:11) "Because they rebelled
against the words of God, and contemned the counsel of the most High:"
3. God graciously humbled our
proud hearts
(v. 12).
(Psa
107:12) "Therefore he brought down
their heart with labour; they fell down, and there was none to
help."
With one afflictive providence after another, the haughtiness of man is laid low. Afflictions will never humble a man. Providential judgment will never bring anyone to repentance. But afflictions and judgments working on us by the power of God with his Word will humble us and bring us to repentance. When a man is humbled under a sense of sin, then he is willing to submit to Christ and his righteousness. Then the guilty sinner falls down and pleads for mercy. He has no other hope.
4. When the guilty, weary,
helpless sinner cries for mercy, the Lord sets him free (vv. 13-14).
(Psa
107:13-14) "Then they cried unto
the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses.
{14} He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder."
5. All of this, we owe to God’s
providence. Therefore, we will praise him (vv. 15-16).
(Psa
107:15-16) "Oh that
men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for
his wonderful works to the children of men! {16} For
he hath broken the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron in sunder."
Grace,
‘tis a charming sound!
Harmonious to mine ear!
Heaven with the echo shall
resound,
And all the earth shall
hear.
Grace first inscribed my
name
In God’s eternal book:
‘Twas grace that gave me to
the Lamb,
Who all my
sorrows took.
Grace taught my soul to
pray,
And made my eyes o’erflow;
‘Twas grace that kept me to
this day,
And will not let me go.
Sin-Sick Souls
C. We were
all sin-sick souls in need of a healing Physician (vv. 17-22).
(Psa
107:17-22) "Fools because of their
transgression, and because of their iniquities, are afflicted. {18} Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat; and they draw near
unto the gates of death. {19} Then they cry unto the LORD in their
trouble, and he saveth them out of their distresses. {20} He sent
his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.
{21} Oh that men would praise the
LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children
of men! {22} And let them sacrifice the
sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing."
1. Sin has made fools of all
men (v.
17).
(Psa
107:17) "Fools because of their
transgression, and because of their iniquities, are afflicted."
2. In our folly we despised the
good Word of God, and Christ the Bread of Life was rejected by us. We were
famishing and ready to die, by reason of our sin-sick souls (v. 18).
(Psa
107:18) "Their soul abhorreth all
manner of meat; and they draw near unto the gates of death."
3. When we were at the point of
death, we called upon the Lord and he saved us (v. 19).
(Psa
107:19) "Then they cry unto the
LORD in their trouble, and he saveth them out of their distresses."
4. Sending his Word, the Word
of the gospel he healed us (v. 20). The gospel is a tree of life. Its
doctrines are leaves for the healing of the nations.
(Psa
107:20) "He sent his word, and
healed them, and delivered them from their destructions."
5. All of this we owe to the
good providence of God. Therefore, we will offer to him the sacrifices of praise and
thanksgiving, the calves of our lips (vv. 21-22; Heb.
(Psa
107:21-22) "Oh that
men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for
his wonderful works to the children of men! {22} And
let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with
rejoicing."
(Heb
13:15) "By him therefore let us
offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips
giving thanks to his name."
Great Waters
D. We were
all like seaman on the raging sea, ready to perish, until the Lord God
intervened and gave us peace (vv. 23-32).
(Psa
107:23-32) "They that go down to
the sea in ships, that do business in great waters;
{24} These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep. {25} For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which
lifteth up the waves thereof. {26} They mount
up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted
because of trouble. {27} They reel to and fro,
and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit's end. {28} Then
they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their
distresses. {29} He maketh the storm a calm, so
that the waves thereof are still. {30} Then are
they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.
{31} Oh that men would praise the
LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the
children of men! {32} Let them exalt him also in the congregation of the
people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders."
1. When the Lord God brings us
into the deep, and causes us to do business in great waters, there we see his
wonders
(vv. 23-24; Isa. 42:10).
(Psa
107:23-24) "They that go down to
the sea in ships, that do business in great waters;
{24} These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep."
(Isa
42:10) "Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, ye
that go down to the sea, and all that is therein; the isles, and the
inhabitants thereof."
2. God tossed us about in his
stormy providence until he made our souls melt within us and brought us to our
wits end
(vv. 25-27).
(Psa
107:25-27) "For he commandeth, and
raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof. {26} They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the
depths: their soul is melted because of trouble. {27} They
reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit's
end."
3. Then, and not till then, we
called upon him, and he gave us peace, great peace, peace that passeth
understanding, bringing us to our desired haven of rest (vv. 28-30).
(Psa
107:28-30) "Then they cry unto the
LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. {29} He
maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are
still. {30} Then are they glad because they be
quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven."
Alexander Carson said, “It is God who raises
the storm; it is God who stilleth it.”
4. All of this we owe to God’s
adorable providence. Therefore, we will give thanks and praise to him (vv. 31-32).
(Psa
107:31-32) "Oh that
men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for
his wonderful works to the children of men! {32} Let them exalt him
also in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders."
This is God’s goodness and his wonderful work.
·
He causes the lost to hunger and thirst. Then he brings them to Christ
and satisfies their need.
·
He causes the prisoner’s heart to be heavy. Then he brings him to
Christ and sits him free.
·
He causes sin-sick souls to feel their desperate sickness. Then he
sends the Great Physician to heal them.
·
He causes the rebel’s soul to melt into submission. Then he gives him
peace.
Mystery Explained
III. Third, we are given insight into the mystery of providence (vv.
33-42).
David has told us how that God deals with
individuals to bring them to saving faith in Christ. Now, he goes deeper into
the mystery of providence, showing us how that God arranges the affairs of
princes, and nobles, and nations in this world for the salvation of his elect.
(Psa
107:33-42) "He turneth rivers into
a wilderness, and the watersprings into dry ground; {34} A fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness of them
that dwell therein. {35} He turneth the wilderness into a standing
water, and dry ground into watersprings. {36} And there he maketh the
hungry to dwell, that they may prepare a city for habitation; {37} And
sow the fields, and plant vineyards, which may yield fruits of increase.
{38} He blesseth them also, so that they are multiplied greatly; and
suffereth not their cattle to decrease. {39} Again, they are minished
and brought low through oppression, affliction, and sorrow. {40} He
poureth contempt upon princes, and causeth them to wander in the wilderness, where
there is no way. {41} Yet setteth he the
poor on high from affliction, and maketh him families like a flock.
{42} The righteous shall see it, and
rejoice: and all iniquity shall stop her mouth."
A. God
causes the fruitful places to be barren and the barren places he makes
fruitful, according to his wise designs (vv. 33-35).
(Psa
107:33-35) "He turneth rivers into
a wilderness, and the watersprings into dry ground; {34} A fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness of them
that dwell therein. {35} He turneth the wilderness into a standing
water, and dry ground into watersprings."
He takes the gospel from one nation and gives it to
another.
1. When a land is left barren,
without a gospel witness, it is because they have despised the goodness of God
to them.
2. When a land of darkness and
ignorance is given the light of the gospel, it is because God has a people in
that land whom he intends to save.
How often history has proven
this fact.
Why do you suppose that
B. God
makes the hungry and thirsty soul to dwell in a land where the gospel is
preached (vv.
36-40).
(Psa
107:36-40) "And there he maketh the
hungry to dwell, that they may prepare a city for habitation; {37} And sow the fields, and plant vineyards, which may yield
fruits of increase. {38} He blesseth them also, so that they are
multiplied greatly; and suffereth not their cattle to decrease. {39} Again,
they are minished and brought low through oppression, affliction, and sorrow.
{40} He poureth contempt upon princes, and causeth them to wander in the
wilderness, where there is no way."
Those whom he intends to save, the Lord will put in
a place where they will hear the gospel.
1. He sows the seed of the
gospel in a land by his servants.
2. He plants his churches as
vineyards in the land.
3. And he gives fruit and
increase.
4. For a season, they prosper
and flourish.
5. But then, because of sin and
unbelief, by an act of providence they are diminished and scattered.
Where are the flourishing churches of
C. But of
these things we may be sure (vv. 41-42).
1. God will save his own (v. 41).
(Psa
107:41) "Yet setteth he the poor on high from affliction, and maketh him families
like a flock."
2. The righteous will see the
wonderful works of God and rejoice (v. 42).
(Psa
107:42) "The righteous shall see it,
and rejoice: and all iniquity shall stop her mouth."
3. The wicked shall be without
excuse (v. 42).
(Psa
107:42) "The righteous shall see it,
and rejoice: and all iniquity shall stop her mouth."
God’s Lovingkindness
IV. Fourth, we are exhorted to observe the lovingkindness of God in his
providence (v. 43).
(Psa
107:43) "Whoso is wise, and
will observe these things, even they shall understand the lovingkindness
of the LORD."
This I say, brethren, “All things are yours; whether…the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; and ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s.”
Whatever God does, he does because of his lovingkindness toward his children in this world.
Application:
1. Let us give thanks to God
for his goodness that he has shown to us.
2. Let us cherish the blessings
of God upon us. They can be removed as easily as they were given.
3. Let us adore the good
providence of God.
This is God’s providence. “And we know that all
things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called
according to his purpose.”
God moves in a mysterious
way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in
the sea,
And rides upon
the storm.
Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never failing skill,
He treasures up His bright
designs,
And works
His sovereign will.
Ye fearful saints, fresh
courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy, and
shall break
In
blessings on your head.
Judge not the Lord by feeble
sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind the frowning
providence,
He hides a smiling face.
His purposes will ripen
fast,
Unfolding
every hour.
The bud may have a bitter
taste,
But sweet will be the
flower.
Blind unbelief is sure to
err,
And scan His work in vain.
God is His own Interpreter,
And He will make it plain.
4. Now I ask you, child of God,
if God has given nations for you, and people for your life, don’t you suppose
he is worthy of your trust day by day? “He that spared not his own Son, but
delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all
things?”
Go home, my friends, trusting the Lord your God,
resting in the lovingkindness of God toward you, by which he rules the
universe.—“O give thanks unto the Lord,
for he is good; for his mercy endureth forever!”
Amen.