The freedom of God's family (Quality:Average)

[0:00] The words I would venture to try and make a few remarks from you'll find in the 68th Psalm. Verses 5 and 6.

[0:14] The fifth and sixth verses of the 58th Psalm. A father of the fatherless. A judge of the widow.

[0:26] A judge of the widow. Is God in his holy habitation. God setteth a solitary family. He breatheth out those which are bound with james.

[0:42] But the rebellious dwell in a dry land. One feels conscious. And that this is a very large subject.

[0:58] A forpune in man. To venture upon. And there is none but the Holy Spirit. That can lead us into the depths.

[1:13] That are contained in it. I've tried to get round these verses. If I might speak in my simplicity that way.

[1:25] It's very wasted upon my mind for several days. And if I had been left to my own understanding. I should have gone round them and tried to find something different.

[1:42] But they hadn't left me. And I thought it's too great a subject for me to venture upon. Is there not limiting the Holy Spirit?

[1:54] Well then if we are rightly taught. We shall venture upon the leading and teaching of the Holy Ghost.

[2:08] To lead us into those depths. That carnal reason can never fathom. And will not receive. And which none can find out.

[2:24] By much learning. Or by all their endeavors. To search it out. Therefore it must be by the Spirit.

[2:39] Well in this verse here. The psalmist. In fact the psalm throughout. Was by the revealing of the Spirit.

[2:50] But in this particular verse. He says the Father of the fatherless. Well how can we begin to speak.

[3:02] Of the Father. That God. So deep. And so profound. A subject.

[3:14] As this. The Father. The Almighty God of Heaven. He that. And knoweth all things.

[3:28] Knows you and I. As we stand here before him. Knoweth all the force. And the most resetness of our hearts.

[3:42] And though we might be left. To deceive others. Though we might be self deceived. Yet.

[3:53] The Father. The God of Heaven. We cannot deceive. Then. How great he is.

[4:04] In all his wisdom. Mind. Power. Judgment. Well he is a father then.

[4:15] Of the fatherless. For mercy to be among these fatherless. All God's children are fatherless. As they are in their unregenerate state.

[4:31] In the sense. Not that what they were in the covenant. Before all worlds. But as they lay.

[4:43] In the ruins of the fall. As they were under the domination. Of Satan. And.

[4:54] As he is in God's wise decree and purposes. And that they should become. Fatherless. And.

[5:07] That. Satan. Should never be. As God said unto those. When he are on earth. Knowing. The hearts of all men.

[5:19] And those who are his. It is. Ye are of your father. The dead. And his works. Will ye do. So God's people you see.

[5:34] Are fatherless. And. They are such. In their unwed. General distinct. And.

[5:46] He has. He is in that fatherless. That father. To the fatherless. In that. That will be made.

[5:58] Manifest. In time. That he is their father. And it was. Made manifest.

[6:10] By the coming. Of the Lord and Savior. Jesus Christ. In that. He came to.

[6:22] Travel. In birth. For them. Father. And also. And also. As he declared. Into his father.

[6:34] Here are they. The children. That thou gavest me. From before the foundation. Of the earth. And so.

[6:46] He is that father. To the fatherless. Oh. What a mercy. Isn't it. That we. We were not left.

[6:56] To go on. And. Perish. Under the domination. Of the king of heaven. You know.

[7:07] There are so many. That are left. Of mankind. And who. Are under the domination.

[7:18] Of the powers of darkness. And. In that condition. I will. Perish. Forever. And ever.

[7:31] Thus. If you have any. Any knowledge. In your. Heart. Experience. Your soul. Experience.

[7:42] And though you may not be able to say my father. As you would desire. It does not rule out the truth.

[7:58] That he is such. If you have been brought forth. Out of dark mess. Into his marvelous light. Surely you know my friend.

[8:12] The difference between darkness and light. There was a time with some of us. If not all. God knows.

[8:24] When we were in darkness. And that darkness. Which we should have been under. Throughout the countless ages of eternity.

[8:38] But was there a day. When Christ spoke. As he did in the creation. Let there be light. And there was light.

[8:52] When the light shone. Into your heart. And revealed unto you. That there was no other way.

[9:04] Of escape. But in and through. Of the Lord and Savior. Jesus Christ. Well then.

[9:15] He is a father. Of the fatherlands. Those that. They. They. They. They. They are father.

[9:26] You see. And also. Here I believe. There is. A bearing upon the law. As it is the father. And.

[9:36] Under the domination. Of such. They are. Outroaring guilty. While then. Too. You know. There are.

[9:47] There was some. When here. Of our. When here. On. When Christ. Was here. On earth. Who said. That there. Abram. Was their father. And.

[9:57] So. You see. How they were. Shouldering. Under that knowledge. While God's people. Are brought away. From all those things. Wherein they might rest.

[10:09] And be satisfied. Until they are brought. To be fatherless. And then. He becomes their father. And I wanted to pass on.

[10:23] To. The other part. And the judge of the widows. He is the judge of the widows. Well I believe many have.

[10:33] Looked upon this. As meaning the widows. That are widows. Through. The removal. Of their partners. In life here.

[10:46] Well. We are not here to. A cabal with those things. But. There is a far deeper meaning. Here. For.

[10:57] I believe in me. Every. Vessel of mercy. They become widows. What did God say. He spoke of these being widows indeed.

[11:11] That is the saying. They are. By nature. Married. Under the law. The. The.

[11:22] The. The. The. Mount Sinai's law. And they will prove. The time will come. When they will be made.

[11:33] Dead to the law. And all is to. And all that the law is. And thus they become widows. Indeed. And being widows.

[11:46] He will be their judge. And he's. And he's. And he's judgment. Be righteous judgment. He will judge them.

[11:57] And he will. Indeed. Prove to them. That they have been delivered. Out from the bondage.

[12:09] Of the law. Or how that holds us. Does it not. In its fetters. And we find that.

[12:20] We cannot pay. As it demands. Of that holy law. As it demands. Perfect payment. Of the sin.

[12:31] And demands us. To live in perfect holiness. Well if you know. Your own heart. All right. And your own thoughts.

[12:45] All right. You'll know perfectly well. That we cannot fulfill. One iota. Of that holy law.

[12:57] To the. Appeasement. Of the wrath. Of the just. And holy God. And in.

[13:08] In and through. That law. We are brought in. Guilty. Before the father. And deserve.

[13:20] By the deeds. Of that law. Absolute. Banishment. Forever. And ever. From the presence.

[13:31] Of the father. Of the. Well that law. Then. It thundereth. Into the consciences. Of.

[13:42] God's living family. I say that living family. I mean this. When. They were.

[13:53] In that. Condition. Of. Laying under. The bondage. Of it. Well. We must remember. As they stood in Christ.

[14:05] In eternity. Depths. So profound. For us to understand. But as they stood in Christ. In eternity. Before all worlds.

[14:19] As they were his. In eternity. My friends. You see. They could not be dead. As they stood in Christ.

[14:29] In eternity. They were living children then. But. As. Being born in sin. And shaped in iniquity.

[14:42] Death entered into the soul. And. And also. There was. Condemnation. In that soul.

[14:53] By the law. I see. More than. And I. Can fully explain. Really. And so. There was. Then. By the.

[15:06] Administration. Of the law. To the soul. Death. Brought to bear. Upon. And therefore.

[15:18] There was to be. Pronounced. Upon that law. That death. So that we might be liberated.

[15:30] From it. It's a mercy to have. Some. Some knowledge. That we have been delivered then. From the law.

[15:42] And thus. We have become dead. To the law. And that. We are among these widows. These widows indeed.

[15:54] And that. He is the judge. Of. Of. Of. Of these widows. Well he judges them righteously. Whereas.

[16:06] You see. They were alienated from him. And. Under that law. By the shedding of his precious blood. And by the.

[16:18] And by the. And by the deliverance. From that law. Of the shedding of that blood. He hath judged them.

[16:32] And hath pronounced them. Free. From the bondage of the law. That they are. Of liberty. To be married.

[16:45] Unto another. Even unto Christ. There it is you see. As I see it.

[16:55] These widows. That are widows indeed. Being delivered. From the. The curses. And the bondage of the law.

[17:08] They are now. At liberty. To be married. Unto Christ. Well we must be married to him. Some might say.

[17:19] Well I don't feel that way. In what we feel. What God has given us. And what he's made us. We might you know.

[17:32] Be left to settle. Upon our frames and feelings. And be satisfied with them. That they're going to take us to heaven.

[17:45] They won't. While we're framed and feelings are right. And we shall have them. The dear psalmist had them.

[17:58] When he said. One day he should fall with the hand of Saul. And many other things. And so did dear Job. But they didn't rest upon them for heaven.

[18:11] We must come far beyond them. We want realities. And therefore. And there will be then.

[18:22] A desire to know. That we have been married. Unto Christ. And that. We have been delivered.

[18:33] From. The bondage. Of the holy law. For. Well. We believe that. Like it was.

[18:43] With the dear prodigal. You know. There's one or two cases. In God's word. Where this marriage. Took place. I wonder if we can trace out a little.

[18:56] With some small evidence. Whether we know anything of it. There was a dear prodigal son. You know. He went into a far country.

[19:09] And goes to the evening. Spent all that you've had. You've been in such a condition. That you began to perish with hunger. And have you been in a place.

[19:22] Where you said. I'll rise and go unto my father. And will. Confess my sin unto him.

[19:32] You know. You know. When he was yet a great way off. The father saw him. And ran. And fell on his neck. And kissed him. This my son was dead.

[19:45] And is alive again. He was lost. And his family was the marriage. We gave him the best robe. And put it on him. Put a ring on his hand.

[19:56] And shoes on his feet. That this my son was dead. And is alive again. He was lost. And is found. That's the marriage my friends.

[20:07] What are we looking for? Some great revelation. But. Do we want a greater revelation than that? To know and to hope and trust.

[20:18] We've known that path. It's some humble measure. That I believe. And that robe of righteousness. Is the marriage God.

[20:31] Of the Lamb. It is indeed. That men say what they might. On that particular point. And then there was that.

[20:41] With dear Ruth. You see how she. Was. Living. In. In Boa.

[20:53] Two sisters. Living in Boa. One. One. One became a widow. Indeed. The other one. Was satisfied. To be married.

[21:04] Under the law. And. Perish in hell. My friends. And so it was. She was content. To go back. Among the. Filth.

[21:14] And abomination. Of Moab. You read it. At your leisure. That what Moab was. In those days. My friends. Full of idolatry. And adultery. And every filth.

[21:25] That could be under the sun. My friends. One was willing. To live in it. Dear Ruth. Said. What did she say? It treat me not to leave thee.

[21:36] The following after thee. And so. How she was willing to suffer. Affliction with the people of God. Rather to enjoy the pleasures of sin.

[21:49] How long? For a season. It's only for a season. My friends. And so then. As she. As she came. Along in that experience.

[22:05] You see. Again. It was a leading. To that time. When she was married. Under Boaz. And so.

[22:17] It was in God's purposes. That she should come that way. For what the path was. Wasn't it? She had her husband.

[22:27] Taken away from her. And. Naomi too. In that condition. There was two women there. Widows. But they were both. Widows indeed.

[22:38] That's quite a different matter. Widows indeed. And as they came into that path. You see how. How they were brought. To that.

[22:49] Closer. And closer. Closer and closer. To Boaz. Their kinsmen. Their kinsmen. You see how dear Naomi. He's a near kinsman unto us.

[23:02] Is Christ that to you sinner? Is he? You know there is a. There is a union. Between Christ.

[23:13] And his people. Bone of his bone. And flesh of his flesh. There you have you see. The you. The uniting.

[23:24] Of Christ. And his people. In one. Here is a marriage union. What God has joined together. Let no man put asunder.

[23:37] When. When. There is that. That union known. It is known like it was with you. You know.

[23:48] And. And. In her case. You know what Boaz said. Her husband. What was to be her husband. What he said unto her.

[24:00] Unto the weepers. Let fall a few anvils of porpoise. Let her gring lean among the sheaves. Mercy. If there be.

[24:10] If there be. A little of that here today. If there be. So one glean among the sheaves. One feels to. Set forth these things. So for you. Well. But to be able to glean.

[24:22] A few anvils of porpoise. That your soul may. Grow. And thrive. Thereby. But you see how. The time came.

[24:35] When. She was to be married. Married to Boaz. And so. There is in the experiences. Of God's people.

[24:46] A time when. They are married. Unto Christ. The heavenly Boaz. And. There will be. There will be that knowledge given.

[25:00] That they are delivered. From them. As a bondage of the law. And that. They are. Indeed. Among these widows.

[25:13] Indeed. He is a judge then of the widows. His God. In his holy habitation. He is that one then. Who dwells. In his holy habitation.

[25:27] That is in the heavens. I have often thought. What a great death this is. It was so to me as a child.

[25:38] I may have told you here. But bear with me if I have. Because I feel. That some of these things are worth repeating. Sometimes.

[25:48] I remember. When quite a little lad. When I could hardly. Had many thoughts. Really much. About religion.

[26:00] But I used to think about God. As a boy. I said to my mother. On one occasion. I said. Well. I can't understand. What God is.

[26:12] I said. There must have been. A beginning to God. It has my fallen. On mine as a child. And I used to try. And think the depth of it.

[26:24] How unhavenable it was. And. Of course. She couldn't answer me. Children put parents. In North position.

[26:34] Sometimes. In those points. But you see. We find. In our. In life. That death gets greater. More vast.

[26:47] To fathom the great. And mighty God of heaven. That sits on no precarious throne. Nor borrows leave to be.

[26:59] He that can dash all the world for hell. And save them if he please. He that says. And the word of command is complete.

[27:13] And none can turn him. He is a one mind. The word says. And none can turn him. He that hath passed a decree.

[27:24] And it hath gone forth out of his mouth. While he dwells in his holy habitation. That holy place.

[27:36] Where nothing that defileth can enter. As he says in Revelation. There shall in no wise enter therein. Anything that defileth.

[27:49] Or maketh alive. For those whose names are written. In the land book of life. Man can't twist it.

[28:01] Nor turn it. Does it make us consider. Does it make us search our hearts. And to know where we stand in these important matters.

[28:15] Well he is the judge of the widow. Those that are widows indeed. Yea.

[28:27] And whatever man may judge. Is his righteous judgment. And he judges from. His holy habitation.

[28:39] And he. He dwells there too. As for the benefit. Of these people.

[28:51] He hears their. Their prayers. And their complaints. Not their complaints. That they may have. When we buried him. He hears those.

[29:03] But it's not what I feel it meant here. He hears their complaints. When they complain. Of their wickedness. When they complain.

[29:14] Of their wicked heart. When they complain. That they cannot serve him better. When they complain. That. How they are wanderers.

[29:26] From him. Oh he hears these complaints. They're right complaints. You know. Oh I felt that in the past week.

[29:40] Felt so lifeless. And dead. And. Seemed to have nothing. To. Pass through one's thoughts.

[29:51] Really. Other than vain things. I wouldn't have it so. Would you? But you see. Uh.

[30:02] We find that. Uh. We have. No power. Over our thoughts. Neither can we meditate.

[30:13] Or write. Well I'm not here to cavil with others. But my friends. In my own particular case. I find the more I try to meditate sometimes.

[30:27] The more there is crowding rubbish. I felt it only this morning. Before I rose from my bed. Trying to meditate upon these words.

[30:39] And the more I try to meditate upon them. Worldly mindedness. With my lot. I say. Isn't it. Isn't it. Uh. How strange.

[30:52] Uh. The path. A Christian must tread. How strange is the path. The Christian must tread. How complex is the path.

[31:03] The Christian must tread. Can't we quote it above. But you know the verse. How you see it is. Uh. That is a pathway. Uh. That is.

[31:14] Absolutely opposite. To what he would have. Oh we believe the dear apostle. Let him speak for us. He says. When I would do good.

[31:25] Evil is present with me. And how do that. That I would. I do not. Then he says. There is no more I that do it. But sin that dwelleth in me.

[31:37] No he didn't countenance that my friends. He didn't wrap it up like that. And say well. It's my old nature. Like somebody. You know. Say well I can't help it.

[31:48] It's a part of me flesh. No. He didn't mean that. He said that in sorrow. There is no more I that do it. But sin that dwelleth in me.

[32:00] And he hated that sin. He did indeed. But. I find this to be true. We may hate sin. But we can't. Flee from it. As some would have it.

[32:11] Believe they can. Say well aren't we to endeavor. To flee from it. Yes. And we shall in one sense. But. Trying to explain.

[32:22] What the human heart is. That we cannot. Of our souls. Do anything. For our souls. Is God in his holy habitation.

[32:34] And. It is that holy habitation. Then why sit us now. Where nothing. Can. Enter that defiler.

[32:45] But it is that place. Where. His people shall enter. Into that holy habitation. Where there is. And those.

[32:56] Where those are. That he has redeemed. By his precious blood. Those that have gone before us. That have entered in.

[33:07] In that holy habitation. Where the angels of God too. Who are holy. Where they praise him. Continually.

[33:19] And when. And when. And when. And when. And when. And when. And when. And they sing. Holy. Holy. Holy Lord. We love.

[33:30] Thy holy name. That beautiful hymn. In our book. Isn't it? Burning. Sells. Round the throne. Before. Beyond.

[33:42] All. Brightness. Bright. Bow. Their. Bastled. Hedge. And. Oh. Their. Own. Deep. Diminished. Light. Oh.

[33:53] How true. The poet. Puts that. Doesn't he? How can we begin to fathom. The greatness. As I said before. Of this great God.

[34:05] Where the angels. Bow before him. And yet. These people. Have some humble hope. The day will come.

[34:16] When they shall dwell. Before the throne. For heaven. Forever. And there to swell. Their chorus. Our will.

[34:29] For those around his problem. The father then of the fatherless. The judge of the widow. Is God. In his holy habitation.

[34:40] And he says. God said it. The solitary. In families. The solitary. In families. It isn't.

[34:51] It doesn't mean. I'm going to be one. In a great. In a. In a. Large family. It doesn't mean that. It means this ugly. That age one.

[35:02] In a family. That our call. By grace. Will have a solitary. Path. I can't walk in my brother's.

[35:13] Experience. He can't walk one. There will be. These solitary. In families. And in some cases.

[35:24] They are. Just one. Of a family. Two. Of a city. But. God is the judge. And he is that one.

[35:37] Who. Who ordereth all things. By his wise counsel. But he said it. The solitary. Families. And I believe. David here.

[35:51] Have proved this to be true. In his own pathway. For he was. You know. From the beginning. A solitary one. Among his brethren.

[36:04] It was so. When. Even with his father. You see. He was a solitary one. When the prophet.

[36:15] Came to. Anoint. The sons. Of Jesse. You see. How David. Was in the field. In a solitary. Plain. Looking after.

[36:27] Of the flocks. When the prophet. Came to anoint. The sons. Of Jesse. Of course. He went. To the elders. First. And so on.

[36:37] Ah. This must be the one. It wasn't. You know. When he came to. He said to his father. Haven't you another son? No more.

[36:48] Yes. I got one in the field. Pitch him in. Ah. You see. How. It is with God. How his ways. Are different.

[36:59] To what man's thoughts are. With regards to. Who. Who are his. Who are not. The sooner we leave off.

[37:09] That particular path. Of trying to sort out. Which are God's people. And which are not. My friends. The better. He knows them. There are his.

[37:20] And he'll bring them out. So it was with David. He was the solitary one. And he said. He brought him forth. And he was anointed.

[37:31] You know. Then. To be king. Wasn't he? And he found it. To be a solitary path. Right the way. To his end. And so will you.

[37:45] You'll find it to be. You'll be a solitary one. In God's family. That's what I wanted to come to. Yes. You'll be a.

[37:55] You'll be a solitary one. And don't be surprised. If you are. After. After. After. After. Walk of power. Where not many. And perhaps not any.

[38:08] Will quite understand you. In your pathway. Here below. God has made it so. I believe it's one of his.

[38:20] Purposes. Toward men. While we may have. And we do have. I hope we feel it here sometimes. A fellow feeling.

[38:32] A union. One with another. One. But it still boils down. To this one thing. That we shall find. It will be a solitary path.

[38:46] The husband. Will have to walk alone. In God's word. The sons of. The wives. And their. Levi. And their wives.

[38:56] Apart. Shimei. And their wives. Apart. And so on. It's in the word. You'll find that there will be. A worshipping God of power.

[39:08] In the secret moments. That we spend. Before God. And. It will be so solitary sometimes.

[39:21] That you'll feel. To be. All together. All together alone. Through this time.

[39:32] One state. And the purpose of this is. That you may be brought. Away from. Every leading post. That you was.

[39:43] That you may not. Lead. Upon another. I didn't really know. What it was. To be in a solitary place. Till I lost. My dear father. Leant upon him.

[39:55] You know. Leant upon his prayers. Leant upon him. Because I believed. He was a good man. The lead.

[40:06] Upon him. Because I believed. He was a servant of God. You have to come away. Those leaning prompts. He was powerful. The flux. The flux. And the mystery. Even a walk in the community.

[40:17] Than I. Another. bed at theman. I This morning. not such a solitary place, but it will be a solitary place to you from time to time until you are brought in such a solitary place.

[40:43] That you will be compelled to come unto God for him to lead you and to teach you and guide you and there alone.

[40:58] Oh, what a mercy to lean upon another, but upon Christ. To lean upon him and to feel that we can lean our whole weight and he'll never give way.

[41:16] You'll find that if you are lead, you lean upon others, they will give way, they will indeed. And I'm not speaking here with regards to where we may feel a union to a person.

[41:36] I want to be rightly understood here. I'm not speaking now that I have anyone or anything in my thoughts with regards to any. God forbid, may I ever be preserved, you've heard me say before, of having anybody in thought or anything that might appear such.

[41:59] Because, you see, if we get into the pulpit in a wrong spirit or say things to throw hits to anyone, well, that'll never be received by God.

[42:14] And I'll buy no other fruit. We shall get a rod for it. My dear friends, may I ever be kept from that path in the pulpit?

[42:30] Well, I love it for that matter. Well, may I be a little clearer that God has dealt with me of late, my friends, and showed me so much in me soul that I haven't got room to look round at others or to find fault with them.

[42:44] They just know something of this solitary path and soul. But it's the truth what I'm saying. I've seen so much in myself that's humbled me of late of what I am myself and so far off from God by witty works and need his great salvation to deliver me out of the powers of hell that I feel far worse than anyone else upon the earth, my friends.

[43:12] I haven't got room to look round at other people's faults and filings. Now, ah, what a mercy it is to see in ourselves then that the needs to be washed and cleansed, doesn't it?

[43:29] God said it in the solitary families. Ah, it is a solitary place. Sometimes when we come into certain trials when sin hangs every upon us and we fear we cannot come forth and then to be in a solitary condition we cry out Can ever God dwell here?

[44:04] Can ever God be that God unto me that once I hoped he was? And you'll be in a place where you fear and tremble how lest how you know nothing of that truth that is in Christ Jesus God fitted the solitary families he bringeth out those that are bound with chains I wish he'd do that for me now I feel bound in chains how do you feel?

[44:39] Not an easy thing to come before people and be instant in season and out of season and be bound in chains I can tell you friends to be bound in chains and then to know some of the heroes might go away say I didn't get on too well with him this morning did you?

[44:59] Ah, I know these things and I've been a hearer don't say that wrong ah, but you know the poor man in the foot sometimes is bound in chains can't come forth he's not his own when we get into those places we are utterly dependent upon God that he may be with us but there's a purpose in it it may be that the man who's speaking needs to roger us to take down a little of the pride of his heart may be that God sees something in him that needs dealing with and that sometimes he may be bound in chains for the benefit of some poor sinner listening to it who are bound in chains the one of us won here well to be bound in chains you see it's certain that none can break from a son of a God and chains are heavy you know not being like being found bound with a cord to be bound in chains you see it was a punishment in days gone by to bind a criminal in chains and not always a criminal perhaps but it was what they dealt with a punishment unto men to bind them in chains and make them carry them oh my friends when we get there so that we are bound in chains and are compelled to carry them as none can release us but God there isn't any any other helper whatsoever but we know this that in Christ there is our freedom if the son shall make you free he shall be free indeed if he shall come and break the bars asunder if he shall come and break these chains and let the poor thing go free then there will be an entering into that freedom which alone is known as by God's people and none others well there are those too that are bound in chains by Satan those that are bound by the heavy chains of sin and these cannot come forth unless God delivers them and all there were those in the world that were bound by these chains there was that poor mad jethroen you know how he was bound wasn't he but our God our Christ came and he delivered him and many others in his world and then there was that poor one too and who was bound to gather and could not stand upright in the temple and also the one with the wizard arm don't you think that was being bound in chains and many others too in their sicknesses were near on earth but how he came and delivered them and brought them forth he did indeed whilst what we feel the need he bringeth out those which are bound in chains may the Lord have his guest thank you