Anniversary, but no other details
[0:00] As the Lord shall be pleased to help me, I shall call your attention to a subject you will find in Psalm 23.
[0:14] The first sentence in the third verse. He restoreeth my soul.
[0:26] Psalm 23 and the first sentence in the third verse.
[0:37] Each of you who has the mercy to be a sinner born again, will ponder in your heart such a subject as this is.
[0:58] A word which welled up in the psalmist's breast long ago. He restoreth my soul. And maybe many of you will feel, oh how glad I should be if the Lord would be pleased to so work in my soul.
[1:20] That I might feel matters were right between my soul and God with whom I have to do. And that I might echo these words of the psalmist.
[1:35] He restoreth my soul. And now remember this word restoreth is in the present tense. There is help in God for you.
[1:49] There is hope in God. If you are here in the attitude of worship, concerned to get some good for your soul. When a sinner is born again, he is made solemnly aware, I have a soul, a never dying soul.
[2:12] And that great truth is impressed upon his mind. And as he journeys on through life, when he is in a right mind, he ever desires that he shall have yet more and more evidence that he can say, it is well with my soul.
[2:39] If you are here in the attitude of worship as you are, here are right, I say. Your concern is to have matters made right between your soul and God.
[2:56] And now this subject has been somewhat impressed on my mind and I desire as grace is given to look at it from three or four viewpoints of it.
[3:09] And I should like to be helped to say something that will encourage you to hope in God regarding your own soul's eternal welfare.
[3:24] And now this word he restoreth my soul as you all know is linked up with this inimitable psalm so familiar to you as its wording.
[3:41] And the heading of the page is David's confidence in God. And now I need not go into too many details to do with the life that David lived but you hardly need to be reminded there were some blemishes in his life before God some black patches which the spirit of God has recorded and at those times David knew of a truth that a soul needed to be restored that matters might be adjusted between his soul and God and he feel again as he had felt before God.
[4:36] And now it might be with many of you I'm only drawing a bow at a venture I am just drawing a bow at a venture that many of you if you tell the truth and you ought to do that if you tell the truth you would indeed be glad if your soul could be restored you do hope God has done something for your soul you have had times along life's way when you have been helped to rejoice in hope of life eternal you may have been favoured long ago or not so long ago to climb into that heavenly place in Christ Jesus and rejoice in the sweets of the forgiveness of sins and for a little while in your soul's feelings to be at heaven's gate but it is far otherwise with your soul at this time what has happened then that your soul is nowadays not as you have known it to be when God has helped you to walk in the light of his countenance and your soul was lively in things divine is there not a cause and now that needs to be looked into as grace is given but first of all
[6:14] I will approach the subject from this viewpoint there is a possibility for your soul to be restored there is the promise of it in the word of God if you are a heaven born soul if you have hope to believe that God has done something for your soul although at the present time it may be much in obscurity as to the evidence of what he has done I say there is help in God for you there is hope in God there is the promise of it and God has made all provision for your soul to be restored what you need is to be exercised unto godliness about it and to remember what God has said and it is said to you to me
[7:21] I will be inquired of by you all house of Israel to do these things and now go back in your minds to that Easter more and long ago when Jesus Christ rose from the dead love's redeeming work was done fought the fight the battle won and now when Jesus Christ rose from the dead the whole church of Christ rose in him at the same time in mystical union with him as the church's living head one in the tomb one when he rose one when he triumphed all his foes one when in heaven he took his seat and seraphs sang all hell's defeat and now however low you may get do listen however low you may get in your soul's experience as though you were buried in a grave the Lord
[8:40] Jesus says to you a poor sinner born again concerned to have matters made right regarding your soul's standing I am the resurrection and the life whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die and now as sure as Jesus Christ rose from the dead so sure beyond any preacher's words to describe or emphasize it so sure can your soul will your soul be restored if God has begun his good work in it and then to emphasize that viewpoint of the subject do think how kind it is I say this with great reverence how kind it is of the Holy
[9:41] Spirit in the word of God to encourage you regarding your soul being restored in some of the illustrations which he has condescended to use you might think of some I would just remind you there is a word like this he will regard the prayer of the destitute and not despise their prayer and in a lovely little chapter in Isaiah's prophecy you will read words like these the wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose there are three illustrations the wilderness the solitary place the desert lower down in the same beautiful chapter say to them that are of a fearful heart be strong fear not behold your
[10:58] God will come come with vengeance even God with a recompense he will come and save you and now the margin reading is say to them that are of a hasty heart be strong fear not you are not to come to hasty conclusions about what you feel within as though there is no help in God for you and no hope for such a poor sinner as you feel to be and then there are these illustrations also the parched ground shall become a pool the thirsty land springs of water so if in your soul you feel parched but if you were saying as the psalmist did my soul thirsteth for God for the living
[11:59] God when shall I come and appear before God you were welcome to be found at the throne of grace like the woman in the gospel when falling down at Jesus feet she told him all the truth and what word did I read to you in our reading that should help you regarding your soul and how you feel about matters to do with it I will seek that which was lost and bring again that which was driven away and will bind up that which was broken and will strengthen that which was sick you see is there no balm and gilead is there no physician there blessed be God there is oil and wine to heal and cherish
[13:00] Jesus still to Israel gives nor shall there a sinner perish who in his dear name believes just another confirmation concerning a soul being restored however bad its case may seem to be when Solomon offered up his prayer at the dedication of the temple he stated a case like this if there be in the land famine if there be pestilence blasting mildew locust if there be caterpillar if their enemy besiege them in the land of their cities do listen whatsoever plague whatsoever sickness there be what prayer and supplication so ever be made by any man which shall know the plague of his own heart and spread forth his hands toward this house then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place and forgive
[14:11] God is just like that in how he deals with poor sinners who want matters made right between their souls and him as the sinner's friend what though bad is your condition and your wounds you can't endure Christ the sinner's wise physician will effect a perfect cure and now there is just one other illustration here I go farther with the subject as grace is given you you remember Ezekiel saw a wondrous vision of a valley of dry bones and those dry bones were representative of the whole house of Israel and typical of the church of Christ and the question was put to Ezekiel son of man can these dry bones live and his answer was oh lord thou knowest
[15:19] Ezekiel could not give the answer and he brought back the question to God with whom he had to do oh lord thou knowest and you remember he was commanded to prophesy upon those dry bones and there was a gracious result for it says as I prophesied there was a noise and there was a shaking and they came together bone to his bone yes and then he says when I beheld lo the sinews and flesh came up upon them and the skin covered them from above but there was no breath in them then said he unto me prophesy unto the wind prophesy son of man and say to the wind thus saith the
[16:22] Lord God come from the four winds old breath and breathe upon these slain that they may live so I prophesied as he commanded me and the breath came into them and they lived and stood up upon their feet and exceeding great army now here is a viewpoint that I want you to ponder in your hearts some of us many of us would be oh so glad if God in his great mercy would pour out his holy spirit upon us in our denominational life and grant us a great revival oh how glad we should be to see it and to live in it participate in it but you must not think that if God is pleased to do that and
[17:24] I hope he will be pleased to do it that when he does it the immediate reaction you will have that you will be saying oh how happy we shall be when God is pleased to do that no no the first evidence that God is doing it will be that you were found before God needing your souls to be restored and putting your mouth in the dust of self abasement if so be there may be hope and you will be saying guilty guilty and feeling like Ezra when he said oh my God I am ashamed I blush to lift up my face unto thee and now to emphasize that then said he unto me son of man these bones are the whole house of
[18:27] Israel and now they had been revived restored in some measure they were alive living behold they say our bones are dried and our hope is lost we are cut off for our parts therefore prophesy and say unto them thus saith the Lord God behold oh my people I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves and bring you into the land of Israel do you see the immediate reaction of their souls being restored was a solemn awareness of their condition before God and a gracious conviction of sin and the needs be that matters should be made right between their souls and God therefore you find the psalmist telling us and this is just how you will feel if God is pleased to do it for you oh
[19:39] Lord my God I cried unto thee and thou hast healed me oh Lord thou hast brought up my soul from the grave thou hast kept me alive that I should not go down to the pit he restoreth my soul now I look at the subject from another viewpoint just to Lord to help me regarding your soul I'm not fitting any caps on I'm only doing as I said drawing a bow at adventure which those of us whom we hope God has ordained to be where we are as laborers upon Zion's walls are enjoined to do and now I want you to remember that when a poor sinner is concerned for his soul to be restored and his eyes are up unto God that he will in much mercy do it and now that soul is not a dead soul there may be a consciousness of death a feeling sense of being far off from
[20:51] God and there will be even at the ends of the earth but even there there is help in God and hope also look unto me and be ye saved all the ends of the earth for I am God and there is none else and now if when you have leisure you like to weigh the matter up and search into the subject you will find in the Psalms of David some of the states of soul that he was found in from time to time and sometimes they were very far apart sometimes saying bless the Lord oh my soul all that is within me bless his holy name a good place to be in that is what a soul restored feels like it is a good place to be in but but then he said also oh my god my soul is cast down within me and now that may be where you are you are here in the attitude of worship and you have a soul cast down you look within and you cannot discern what you would like to see it is well with your soul maybe you feel marks of grace
[22:26] I cannot show all polluted is my breast yet I weary am I know and the weary long for rest you are here with a cast down soul and now what did David say and do you seek to say it too why art thou cast down oh my soul why art thou disquieted within me hope thou in God is he not God that comforted them that are cast down hope thou in God for I shall yet praise him who is the health of my countenance and my God and then it may be your soul if you tell the truth about it you are as it were a benighted soul you were not in the dark about the dealings of God with you you do not understand the why and wherefore as yet of his dealings with you you were ready to say with
[23:33] Jacob all these things are against me but then you know Jacob had to eat his words later on and think otherwise and so will you if you argue like Jacob did oh there are those who are benighted souls walk in darkness and have no light yet you can remember days when you basked as it were in the rays of the sun of righteousness and dwelt in the light of his countenance and could feel it is good for me to draw near unto God all matters were right then between your soul and God but now something has happened you must search that out between your conscience and God what has happened I cannot go into details about that but it is for you to weigh matters up let us search and try our ways and turn again unto the
[24:41] Lord so there are cast down souls benighted souls not only so you might be a bewildered soul you do want to have matters right between your soul and God you're in you're out maybe you have been following on to know the Lord that you have been tossed about like a leaf in the wind so that you hardly know what you are where you are in your souls standing like one hymn writer when he said what am I where am I strange myself and paths appear scarce can lift a thought on high or drop one heart feeling tear and now how did the psalmist godly David react in his soul when he felt like that what did he say oh send out thy light and thy truth let them lead me let them bring me to thy holy hill and to thy tabernacles say unto my soul
[26:01] I am thy salvation but then it may be you are an entangled soul your conscience tells you what is amiss with your soul because there is something in your life that you need to have dealt with before God with whom you have to do and it might be also before man maybe a wrong spirit an unforgiving spirit maybe you were stuck half way through that prayer the Lord taught his disciples forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us but you have not done that you have not gone to your brother your sister and granted forgiveness wherein they have wronged you
[27:13] I'm only drawing a bow at a venture but there are many souls entangled like that and their spirit grows hard callous implacable unforgivable and very solemn and very solemn it is for poor pastors to have to do with such folk especially if they're in their church fellowship you must not carry it down to the grave no no no he restoreth my soul and if you are a soul entangled if there is something in the world that has entangled you if something in your business life has entangled you to pile up LSD and you are using methods which your conscience tells you will not stand the light of him who is the light of the world these things must be confessed before God and forsaken then the fetters will go from your soul and you will once more realize in your soul where the spirit of the Lord is there is liberty and now it might be it would not be surprising if you are a tempted soul it may be the word has gone forth
[28:44] Simon Simon Satan hath desired to have thee that he may sit thee as wheat but I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not it is a very painful experience when you do feel to be a tempted soul tossed about in Satan's sieve wondering if you and your religion in your profession too will go through the meshes of the sieve and you will sink to rise no more and prove to be the very opposite of what in your soul you really desire to be a real Christian all the fears you will have in Satan's sieve lest teakles should be stamped upon you and you will be weighed in the balances and found wanting yet for all these conditions of soul there is this possibility I said there is the promise and who can tell but what God will be gracious to you he restoreth my soul and now think of it from another viewpoint and that might help you too hungry and thirsty their soul fainted in them and now you may be a fainting soul and oh you want as it were to breathe the atmosphere of heaven that you might be refreshed in your soul and revived but the great thing is if you feel
[30:27] I hunger now for heavenly food and my poor soul cries out for God you are a sinner born again the good work is indeed begun in you and the Lord will not fail you nor forsake you but there are some things that you have got to learn in the varied states of soul that you are found in as you journey on through life blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled and now there is just another thought a very beautiful one in the Psalms he satisfieth the longing soul oh what a wonderful mercy that is to know that longing a solemn indescribable yearning within after the spirit the things of the spirit to know my Jesus crucified by far excels all things beside he satisfieth the longing soul oh how much might be said about the subject from that viewpoint but I want to look at it from yet another viewpoint he restoreth my soul and now preacher and people alike we all need our souls to be restored in some special things there are some particular characteristics in our souls experience that we need most of all the Lord to appear for us and revive us and make us more like we ought to be according to what we profess to be when you look at some pictures in the word of God how do you feel when you think of being fruitful unto good works can you look a scripture like that in the face herein is my father glorified that ye bear much fruit so shall ye be my disciples much fruit and you and I worry not matters with our soul at times can only seem to discern nothing but leaves yes and it makes you look at a picture that the Lord
[33:16] Jesus drew a word picture maybe you have looked at it I know that I have from time to time he spake also this parable a certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard and he came and sought fruit thereon and found none then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard behold these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none cut it down why cumbereth it the ground and he answered and said unto him Lord let it alone this year also till I shall dig about it and dung it and if it bear fruit well and if not then after that thou shalt cut it down you see my dear friends it is just this it must be fruit or fire fruit or fire the fruit can only come as our souls are restored and God is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think according to the power that work within us and now look at some things as I said wherein our souls need to be restored and now faith needs to be restored one
[34:55] M. writer says our faith is feeble we confess and that is what it is usually in its workings alas that it should be so with many many people who are taught of God and going to heaven but there they are although of little faith wherefore didst thou doubt I look at some scriptures I wonder what our people I mean in our denomination of life think of those scriptures be not afraid only believe all things are possible to him that believe it yes what is needed is this Lord increase our faith our faith needs to be restored that we might feel more like
[36:01] Jacob when he said I will not let thee go except thou bless me and that we might get on the right side of that scripture the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence and the violent take it by force yes faith needs to be restored hope needs to be restored you think to what a low level hope in God sometimes sinks in your soul's feelings hope needs to be restored you need the blessed son of righteousness to irradiate your soul that you might be able to call to remembrance what he has done for you and set up the way marks and make eye heaps and once more be assured that you are a follower of them who through faith and patience have inherited the promises yes and love needs to be restored to love have you ever pondered that tremendous truth
[37:15] God is love he that loveth is born of God by this shall all men know that ye are my disciples if ye have love one to another and now that needs to be restored of a truth and there is helping God hope in God concerning it what do you sing sometimes and every time you sing it I have no doubt you have in your hearts all of you who are born again you have an amen to it God only knows the love of God all that it now were shed abroad in my poor stony heart love needs to be restored yes and prayer needs to be restored Lord teach us to pray you see where things are amiss in our own denominational life and that
[38:24] I'm not only looking at it collectively look at it individually which refers to you and me when prayer is a burden and task no wonder I little receive oh Lord make me willing to ask since thou art so ready to give you think of your attempts to pray and often how cold they are how formal how just words put together and you rise from your knees and you feel ashamed of your attempts to address the majesty of heaven although there may be more prayer in it than you realize but how glad you would be if you could feel out of the abundance of the heart the mouth is speaking realize sweet access to God with whom you have to do and feel like the psalmist when he said
[39:26] I pour out my soul in me mark that word in you see not only in the attitude of prayer with words dropping from our lips but as you go about in your everyday life the husband man going over his fields and the businessman pouring over his ledgers and the housewife in her homely duties in the husband going forth to earn the bread which perisheth even in your everyday avocation you can be pouring out your soul inside sighs and cries and groans and tears and wishes and wants and desires and those feeble desires and wishes so weak tis Jesus inspires and bids you still seek yes prayer does need to be restored that we might enter into what one in writer says the force of their united cries no power can long withstand eh but don't you think also praise needs to be restored when did you last feel a thankful heart let your conscience tell you
[40:52] I hope it was quite recently it could have been today but when did you last feel a thankful heart and find you were melted down like the hymn writer says it is indeed a wonderful expression dissolved by thy goodness I fall to the ground and weep to the praise of the mercy I found and you find the psalmist takes up that illustration and maybe the hymn writer took it from him too when he speaks about husbandry in psalm 65 and he says thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly thou settlest the furrows thou makest it soft with showers margin reading thou dissolvest it oh it is good to feel that a soft heart a broken heart a contrite heart how glad you would be to have praise restored so that you could out of the fullness within wait on
[42:17] God and see as never before to give unto him the glory that is due unto his holy name and say like the psalmist did have you ever prayerfully pondered it blessed be God who daily lordeth us with benefits praise waiteth for thee oh God in Zion then he restoreth my soul there is just another thought or two and now zeal needs to be restored and you're not to balk at that word zeal when I was young which was a long time ago in the ministry especially some of the old greyheads used to have quite a deal to say about zeal without knowledge but they never made it plain that there was a zeal according to knowledge there is a zeal you know maybe you have sung zeal extinguished to a spot life is very low all my evidence is dark and good works
[43:43] I've known to show zeal there is a zeal a godly zeal a God honouring zeal I love to look at that picture of the Lord Jesus as verily man verily God going into the temple and making a scourge of small cords and remember as those who were there hundreds of them and they were lookers on and he to them was just a man an individual but he was verily God verily man and he made a scourge of small cords and he overturned the tables of the money changers and drove them all out and those that sold sheep for sacrifices and he what did he say take these things hence my father's house is a house of prayer ye have made it a den of thieves yes then his disciples remembered the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up did it ever eat you up you think of when you first began in the ways of
[45:01] God and how you felt there was what we might call a spiritual alacrity you did not put the potato packs before the prayer meeting no no when the doors of the house of prayer were open you were glad to be there and felt it good to be there often you were earnest and urgent regarding your soul's eternal welfare you were following on to know the Lord and not like you have done since then like Peter long ago who followed afar off and you and I have done that too and now what is needed is for that zeal to be restored you remember the saviour said I have somewhat against thee thou hast left thy first love not lost it and you might say
[46:09] I wonder how we can get back that sweet blessed experience or somewhat of it to remind us how we did feel then if you first of walk can obtain from God somewhat of the zeal that you had then you will get it remember that remember how thou hast heard and received and repent remember how you used to hear the gospel when first your ears were intent to listen to it you went up to hear what God had got to say not this preacher or that nor you were in earnest that your soul should prosper in things divine and now that zeal is still obtainable oh that you and I might receive abundance of it he restore it my soul and now if these things are restored in some goodly measure the evidence of it will be seen in our lips and lives fruitfulness will be restored we shall be concerned to live a right before
[47:40] God and man we shall feel like one him writer felt when he said oh lord I would seek the charms of thy mind the grace to be meek and lowly and kind forbearing forgiving and loving all ways and only be living to publish thy praise all to have our souls restored is a matter of supreme importance yes just another thought as I come to the amen what will be the evidence that our souls are being restored we should get back some of that zeal I have referred to but you will find this that once more the things of God are first and foremost in your life the element in which you desire to live and move it will be as meat and drink to you yes you will then desire to have
[48:52] God first I've often admired I say that with great reverence how the word of God begins there is a sermon in it in the beginning God and he must be in the beginning for he will never come in afterwards but if he should be in your life in your dealings with him in the beginning of whatever those dealings are they will go on and they will be fulfilled yes in the beginning God and that is what you will want when your soul is restored you will find once more you can pray you will turn aside here and there if to be you can draw near to God and tell him all the truth like the woman in the gospel did once more you will realize what this feeling is oh bless the Lord my soul now let his mercies lie forgotten in unthankfulness and without praises die yes and the word of
[50:07] God will be attractive to you it will be uppermost in your thoughts not looking on it television or wasting your time over the radio and things to no particular purpose of profit certainly not soul edification you will want to look into the word of God and realize what it is when your soul is restored I rejoice in thy word as one that find a great spoil yes you will find this worship worship will be much sweeter than it has been for many a week or a month it may be when your soul is restored you will want to be found in the attitude of worship you will you will want to be numbered with the people of God and you will have this old feeling coming up again
[51:11] I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of wickedness we love the place oh God wherein thine honour dwells the joy of thine abode all earthly joy excels yes he restoreth my soul dear friends the Lord help you to ponder these things in your heart and may he in his infinite mercy open the windows of heaven and let down such a blessing on us that our souls shall indeed be once more restored made lively in things divine and that we may have that feeling uppermost that I may know him in the power of his resurrection the fellowship of his sufferings and be made conformable to his death amen and isn't and let me know and and and and and and and and and as