Teach thou me (Quality: Good)

[0:00] I venture in directing your thoughts to the book of Job, chapter 34, reading verse 32.

[0:15] The book of Job, chapter 34, reading verse 32.

[0:30] That which I see not, teach thou me. If I have done iniquity, I will do no more.

[0:49] That which I see not, teach thou me.

[1:01] If I have done iniquity, I will do no more. Well, we may surely begin by saying that in this verse we have the exercise of a very burdened heart.

[1:33] And I would just notice what it is declared in verse 31.

[1:45] For it says this, Surely it is meet to be said unto God, I have borne chastisement.

[1:56] I will not offend any more that which I see not. Teach thou me. If I have done iniquity, I will do no more.

[2:10] Here then is a person who is very aware that the hand of God is upon them.

[2:25] And I would remind you of another word here that says, For whom the Lord loveth, he correcteth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

[2:40] What a mercy then it is in our life to be made aware of the correcting hand of God.

[2:53] To be favoured to understand this. And yet to know that it is a mark of sonship.

[3:04] Because it is so true, for whom the Lord loveth, he correcteth. And it goes on, as I have already mentioned, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

[3:21] And so here, Elihu is speaking. And he had waited until, as it were, there was a time for him to speak.

[3:39] And the time came. He waited. He listened to all that had been said. And I feel this, that we have in these two verses, and I desire particularly to come to the 32nd.

[4:00] But it says in verse 31, Surely it is meet to be said unto God, I have borne chastisement, I will not offend any more.

[4:13] And this is where God will bring his people. He will bring us to himself. We shall not then be left in all that we may say to others, or all the things that may be going on in our life, but to be brought alone to God.

[4:36] And yet, to any of you here, who can come in with this, and know in your heart that you have been under the correcting hand of God, and to be favoured to also know that you need it.

[4:56] Because we do need it. And we shall need it right through to the end. We shall never get beyond this in this life.

[5:07] Our need of correction. And the Lord is a sovereign in what he may use to correct us. This dear man by the Spirit to also say, I will not offend any more.

[5:23] How tender he was made before the Lord. He was very exercised in his life, that he might be kept from everything that was not of the Spirit.

[5:37] That he might be kept from everything that was of the flesh. And so then he comes to this, in verse 32, Can we come here, this Lord's Day morning, that which I see not.

[5:58] Teach thou me. There may be things in our lives that we cannot understand. And until the Lord shines into our poor hearts, we shall not understand.

[6:18] Indeed, we cannot understand God's dealings with us rightly, only as the Holy Spirit shines into our very heart to reveal what the Lord is seeking to teach us.

[6:36] So is this then our petition, that which I see not. Teach thou me. Of course this could rightly first be applied to our own hearts in connection with gracious understanding of truth.

[6:56] We cannot understand the Scriptures until the Holy Spirit shines into our hearts. We have a hymn that says this, If aught there dark appear, bewail thy want of sight.

[7:15] No imperfection can be there, for all God's ways are right. And that is what the Lord will teach us.

[7:26] And I am sure that if we are under the teaching of the Holy Spirit, we shall often feel our need of divine enlightenment.

[7:38] We shall need the wondrous experience that is recorded in connection with the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.

[7:49] Jesus. Because, we are told that as he came to his disciples, he opened their understanding that they might understand the Scriptures.

[8:04] And this is where the Lord will bring us. We shall need understanding of the Scriptures. We shall feel our need that the Holy Spirit would lead us and teach us.

[8:19] We shall come in with the prayer of the psalmist when he said, Lead me in thy truth and teach me. We shall want the Lord to teach us.

[8:32] I wonder if there should be any here. And we would not leave out the dear children and others in this thought. But I wonder if there are any here who may be stumbling, as it were, in your heart and life, perhaps concerning a particular truth.

[8:54] You may not and you will not be able to understand it until the Lord shines into your heart by the Holy Spirit to reveal it to you.

[9:10] And I can assure you of this, that your need and my need, our need, is to take it to the Lord in prayer. And that he may shine upon the sacred page of truth and reveal to us its true meaning.

[9:28] And I would exhort you then, take it to the Lord in prayer. Take it to the Lord in prayer. Ask him, pray that the Holy Spirit would shine into your heart to show to you what the true meaning is and if it should be in some particular way.

[9:49] Because I know this from experience that the Lord does shine. He can shine into our hearts to show us the true meaning of his Holy Word.

[10:03] And then there's another thought here, that which I see not, teach thou me. God has given the sacred ordinance of the ministry that he may instruct through his Holy Word.

[10:23] And again, as I am sure, you will come into times in your life when there are things you cannot understand or truth that you cannot understand.

[10:35] And yet you can take it to the Lord in prayer and ask that it may be spoken of or that it may be spoken from the Word of God through the ministry of his Holy Word.

[10:53] Oh, have we received instruction through the ministry of God's Word? Have there been times when you've been favoured to say this?

[11:05] Now I can understand it, Lord. Now I can see its true meaning. This is one of the solemn aspects of the ministry.

[11:16] It is indeed that God's Word may be opened up and that it may be opened up to our understanding. And as God leads his servants into his Word and as he leads them in their life, it is to this end that they may be enabled to open up the Scriptures and that it may be used of God for our teaching, for our instruction and that we may learn of him.

[11:50] that which I see not. Teach thou me, if I have done iniquity, I will do no more.

[12:05] Now in our reading this morning, and I trust the Lord has led one to those two particular passages of truth.

[12:16] First of all, as we would think of Joseph with his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, that which I see not, teach thou me.

[12:32] And the Lord knows if there should be parents here who feel perhaps very concerned about your children. You may be in such a place and the Lord alone knows the burden of your heart.

[12:52] But let me just remind you of what we have read together concerning Joseph. Joseph brought his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, to his father, and we would look beyond Jacob here because the Lord was going to use Jacob to convey God's divine purposes, his will, with regard to blessing that was to come.

[13:21] So that it was not Jacob as a man, but it was Jacob under the influence of God. And yet you see, Joseph, in his heart, he wanted Manasseh to receive what we might speak of as the blessing.

[13:42] But it was not the Lord's will. Because we've read this in that 48th chapter of the book of Genesis, how that God's holy, sovereign will was made known by and through Jacob.

[14:04] And this is what we've read. And Joseph brought them out from between his knees. And he bowed himself with his face to the earth.

[14:15] And Joseph took them both, Ephraim, in his right hand toward Israel's left hand. You see, dear friends, how Joseph had this, as it were, all worked out in his own mind.

[14:28] You may be in a similar place in your life, not necessarily in this particular way, but it might be in some other way. And if it is, you will understand what I'm saying.

[14:43] You may have things in your heart this morning. And oh, how we need to be so careful lest we should dictate to the Lord.

[14:54] And we work things out in our own mind. And then we may take it to the Lord and ask him to bless what we have planned or mapped out in our own heart and mind.

[15:09] And Joseph certainly had done this. he knew how he wanted these two sons to be blessed. But dear friends, it was not the Lord's will.

[15:21] They were to be blessed, but they were not to be blessed in the way that Joseph wanted it. That which I see not, teach thou me. And yet, Joseph here, he took them in the way that he wanted to take them.

[15:38] And Joseph took them both. Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left hand and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right hand and brought them near unto him.

[15:52] Now Joseph had, as it were, everything planned in how he wished it to be. But it was not the Lord's will.

[16:04] You see, it was not the Lord's will. And if any of you this morning should be favoured to have a glimpse of the Lord's will in your life and path, to see it in the light of his countenance, I believe you'll go home from the service this morning feeling completely different.

[16:25] And what a mercy if we should go home and that we should be able to say, not my will, and what grace is needed to utter such words, not my will, but thine be done.

[16:42] And yet, if we are brought there, we are brought into a good place. May we just notice then what happened here. And Israel, you see how it's worded, not poor Jacob as a sinner, but Israel, the name that God gave him as he wrestled with God and prevailed in prayer.

[17:09] Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel, for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men and hast prevailed. So may we notice then the hand of God here.

[17:25] And Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wittingly, for Manasseh was the firstborn.

[17:42] And Joseph wanted his firstborn to be blessed in a particular way. And so it sometimes is with parents.

[17:55] And it may be there are parents here this morning, with a particular burden upon their heart. And yet, if the Lord has brought us to this, that which I see not, teach thou me.

[18:13] And so the Lord's work must be accomplished here. The Lord's work must be accomplished. And presently we read this.

[18:23] Jesus, and when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him. And he held up his father's hand to remove it from Ephraim's head unto Manasseh's head.

[18:41] You see, he didn't want it to be like this. You may be there today, there may be things in your life, and you may be saying in your heart, not so, Lord.

[18:55] Or as it is recorded here concerning Joseph, not so, my father. And really, you know, Joseph was saying this, not so, O Lord.

[19:10] Not this way, Lord. O not this way, Lord. He didn't want it to be this way. He wanted it to be in his, that his own will might be fulfilled.

[19:29] Can you see then the meaning, or can you see what one is seeking to bring before you? You know, dear friends, we constantly need to be brought away from having our own way, from seeking our own will in things.

[19:50] And the Lord will certainly teach us. And so, here we find Joseph, he said unto his father, not so, my father, for this is the firstborn, put thy right hand upon his head.

[20:08] Oh, how he wanted his firstborn to be so blessed. he wanted it to be his way. And yet, it was not the Lord's will.

[20:19] It was not the Lord's way. And his father refused. You see, Jacob, here, was given understanding by the Spirit of God.

[20:31] I'm sure it would be right to say this, he wouldn't have refused Joseph anything. He wouldn't have refused Joseph anything, and it's like that sometimes with fathers and mothers and others.

[20:44] Oh, the more we love our children, the more we shall feel like this. We shall desire that they may have things in their life. And yet, here, Jacob, by the Spirit, he could see beyond all this, and he could see things that Joseph couldn't see.

[21:02] and he was under the influence of God at this time in a very special way. And his father refused and said, I know it, my son, I know it.

[21:19] And I believe that if Jacob had been left to himself, he would have given Joseph his request. But he was being guided by God.

[21:29] You see, God's hand was on Jacob. And that is just what God's servants need every time they stand up in the ball pit.

[21:42] Oh, how I need it today. So then, this word says, that which I see not. Teach thou me, and how we so need divine light to shine upon our path.

[21:59] that we may understand what the Lord is doing with us. We cannot understand things only as the Lord shines into our hearts. We cannot lay things straight.

[22:12] There are times, especially when this is the case, but it will make us cry, that which I see not. Teach thou me, Lord, shine into my heart.

[22:27] Show me thy will and thy way. Show me, Lord, what thou wilt have me to do. O guide, O guide me by thy spirit. Leave me not to walk alone.

[22:39] You'll dread being left to walk alone. God bless them. And so we find then here as Jacob further says to his Joseph, and he blessed them that day, God blessed them through him, and he blessed them that day, saying, in thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh, and he said, Ephraim before Manasseh, that which I see not, teach thou me.

[23:15] We shall need it, you dear children need it, in your life, whether at home or at school, and in the things that happen in your young lives, and the things do keep happening, and yet may you be helped to pray with this prayer, that which I see not, teach thou me.

[23:40] And as the Lord may mercifully guide you and lead you in your life, you may have to walk in paths that you would never have chosen, you may have to go in ways that you would never have sought for, and whether one is helped to speak to children, to young people, to people in the midst of life, or our older friends, I must tell you this, that God's way is best.

[24:09] Oh, we so need grace to bow before our God in his dealings with us, to be able to say, not my will, but thine be done.

[24:22] So we come then to this thought once more, are the things in your life today you cannot understand? It will be so from time to time, until the Lord unfolds and reveals his will, we cannot understand things.

[24:42] And let me remind you of the words of Jesus when he said this, What I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter.

[24:56] What I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter. hereafter he will make me know, and I shall surely find he was too wise to err, and oh, too good to be unkind.

[25:15] And it just brings me to another word here, man's goings are of the Lord, how then can a man understand his own way?

[25:27] And yet the Lord will see to it that we shall come into such paths in our life, that which I see not, teach thou me.

[25:39] I do just venture to refer also to our other reading, because in our second reading this morning, we have God's servant Peter.

[25:54] You know, Peter was absolutely unwilling to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. That is really what it means.

[26:09] Peter was so unwilling to do the Lord's will. He didn't want to go and preach to the Gentiles. We might perhaps put it in this way, Peter didn't want to go in a certain direction in his life.

[26:26] It was opposite to his own will. And what have we read? What did Peter say? He takes up or uses really the same words as Joseph, and as we think of Joseph, and as we think of Peter, surely we could say that we have the record of these two men favoured by God.

[26:53] And yet here we have Peter saying, not so, Lord. Joseph had said, not so, my father, and yet he was really saying the same thing.

[27:07] I wonder if any of us have been saying in our hearts, not so, Lord. Not this way, Lord. And you may, your own spirit may have been stirred up within you, and you may have been saying, I am not going in this direction.

[27:26] I am not going to do this. Oh, have you been speaking like that to God? Have you been refusing to do something?

[27:38] Have you been refusing to go in the way that God is leading you? And so you too, in another way, may have taken up these very words, not so, Lord.

[27:53] Not so, Lord. But you see, God was teaching Peter as he was teaching Joseph.

[28:04] Oh, the Lord was teaching them. And he was teaching Peter this, that he must go and preach to Cornelius, who was a Gentile.

[28:16] He must go and preach to those that he would not choose to preach to. But he must go because it was the Lord's will. And not only that, but the Lord was teaching Peter here that he had a people whom he had formed for himself among the Gentiles.

[28:40] people who were to go. And so the Lord made Peter willing. But Peter said, not so, Lord, for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.

[28:54] you see how unwilling he was to go. In his heart he was saying, Lord, I will not go. Well, are any of you there this morning?

[29:07] Have you been there during this past week? Have you been saying in your heart, I'm not going to do this? I am not going to do this.

[29:19] And if you've come with such a spirit into the house of God this morning, oh, may the Lord send you home, turn completely round.

[29:32] May he send you home willing to obey his voice, willing to do his will, willing to go where he would have you to go, willing to be where he would have you to be, and favoured with submission to the holy will of God.

[29:51] That which I see not, teach thou me. And so we could go on in speaking from God's holy word concerning this truth, that which I see not, teach thou me.

[30:12] But we must just come to the second part of the verse, if I have done iniquity, I will do no more.

[30:22] If I have done iniquity, I will do no more. You know, dear friends, we need the Lord to shine into our hearts, to show us where we really are before him.

[30:44] my thoughts go to David in the 19th Psalm. And this is what he was brought to so feelingly say in that Psalm.

[31:01] who can understand his errors, cleanse thou me from secret faults, keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins, let them not have dominion over me.

[31:18] You see, the Lord brought David into the exercise of this word, that which I see not, teach thou me, if I have done iniquity, I will do no more.

[31:32] You know, it's solemnly possible for us to sin in different ways and yet not to understand, not even to know that we have sinned.

[31:45] It's solemnly possible to sin against God and yet not to know this. We can only know that we have and do sin against God in whatever way it is, we can only know it as the Holy Spirit shines into our hearts.

[32:08] And that brings me to another thought. I have mentioned David being brought to this, cleanse thou me from secret faults, from secret sins.

[32:23] Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins. And then again in Psalm 90 we have the words of Moses by the teaching of the Holy Ghost.

[32:39] And it is this, thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins, in the light of thy countenance.

[32:54] Oh, how we need grace to take up such petitions as these. What I see not, that which I see not, teach thou me, if I have done iniquity, I will do no more.

[33:12] Oh, may the Lord then reveal to us where we really stand. And if we have any secret sins that we have not yet seen, oh, may the Lord shine into our heart to show them to us.

[33:29] Because we do need it. We need the Lord to shine into our poor hearts to reveal our true state in the light of God's countenance.

[33:41] You see, friends, Moses is speaking here, the man of God, and he's saying this, thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins, in the light of thy countenance.

[33:59] And when the Lord does this, he will show us holy sight. And it will certainly bring us into this word here, that which I see not, teach thou me, if I have done iniquity.

[34:18] I will do no more. Here is a man or a woman who are brought, as it were, face to face with the truth.

[34:29] You know, we can go on in sin and not be aware of it. We can go on in sin and not be aware of it. But the Lord will bring us to this.

[34:44] He will bring us very feelingly that we shall want to know the truth. We shall want the Lord to shine. I must leave it. But whatever the Lord may be pleased to speak through his word this morning, can you come in and say that which I see not, teach thou me.

[35:10] Lord, show me where I really am. Show me, Lord, thy will. Favour me to see things in the light of thy countenance, that I may be brought to thy dear feet.

[35:26] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[35:36] Amen. Amen. Amen. Conclude our service by singing hymn 641.

[35:54] Jesus, mighty God and Saviour, lead me forth by thy right hand, and be it my fixed endeavour to obey thy sweet command.

[36:06] Let me never at a trifling distance stand. 641. Amen. Amen.

[36:17] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[36:28] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS

[37:37] CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS

[39:05] CHOIR SINGS O Lord, do favour us to come and plead with thy holy word that we have been seeking to proclaim that which I see not.

[39:28] Teach thou me. O do favour us, Lord, in this. And if in any way we have sinned against thee, and thou knowest our secrets in, and thou dost set them from time to time in the light of thy countenance.

[39:53] But, Lord, we have to come with David yet again and pray, cleanse thou me from secret faults.

[40:07] And, Lord, if in any way we have sinned against thee, and do not as yet know this or understand this, O do mercifully reveal it to us, and bring us, Lord, into thy word that says, if whoso confesseth and forsaketh his sin shall have mercy.

[40:35] we ask it in Jesus' name. Now we would pray for those that meet this afternoon in our Sunday school.

[40:49] O bless thy word there. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God with the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

[41:29] Amen.