Mark

[0:00] Mark chapter 7 and the first clauses in verse 37. The Gospel of Mark chapter 7 and verse 37 reads, And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well.

[0:26] He hath done all things well. What a mighty miracle is here recorded of one brought to the dear Lord, who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech.

[0:49] And the Lord was sought on behalf of those that love this boy, that Christ put his healing touch upon him.

[1:05] At once the petition is granted, prayer is answered, and a cure is effected. Speech and hearing instantaneously given.

[1:22] He is the God who doeth wonders. But wonderful as this was, there is something deeper here.

[1:33] There are precious spiritual truths. Graphically displayed is the Lord's power to heal the spiritual death.

[1:48] To give the chief of sinners a hearing ear, and to cause them to love the precious gospel, which once they despised and ridiculed.

[1:59] And we see also the Master's power to heal spiritual doneness of those who are of the hardest of hearts, so that they call upon God, and have imparted to them a new song.

[2:21] Put into their mouth is this song of those whose former conversation and singing was solely of the world, which passeth away.

[2:36] For when Jesus pours forth his Spirit, nothing can stand in his way. There is no case which is too problematic or too hard.

[2:49] There is nothing too incurable or hopeless. And he is not too confined to any particular means in doing his wondrous work amongst men.

[3:03] It's all in the hand of him of whom we read, he giveth not account of his matters. So very apt is the testimony of those who witness this mighty work of God.

[3:22] A remarkable testimony he hath done all things well. A truth so full of depth and of unspeakable comfort, and one we daily, yea hourly, need to come back to, to see how the Lord himself brought us out of darkness into his most marvellous light.

[3:51] Bringing us personally to realise our need, our weakness, and our guilt. He who chose our pathway for us, in placing us where we are, and giving us what we have.

[4:14] Great mercies, uncountable mercies and blessings. blessings. But let us remember also, as looking forward, as we do, and we do not know what the days ahead may be, whether they shall be short or longer, whether they shall be bright and pleasant or dark.

[4:43] Many or few that they be yet to come, but oh to realise the import of that truth, my times, are in his hands.

[4:58] And in such security, who doeth all things well. He will not, he cannot fail, he will not make a mistake in any of his dealings with us.

[5:17] He will take away, he will give, he will afflict, he will move, he will settle, and he will do it with a perfection of wisdom, that which is essentially his, and he will lead forth in a right way that leadeth to a city of habitation.

[5:43] salvation. And the fullest beauty of these precious words, of course, will not be seen until the morning of the resurrection, when we shall remember all the way and confess that it was all done so well.

[6:04] The wise and the wherefores, the causes and the reasons, that which perplex us now, will all be so clear and plain then, when we shall be amazed at our past blindness, and marvel that we should ever doubt it, the Lord's loving care over us.

[6:31] now, says the apostle, we see through a glass darkly, as he of course alluded to those primitive mirrors made of metal, which gave so imperfect an image, quite unlike the mirrors we use today.

[6:52] But he says, now through a glass darkly, but then face to face, now we know in part, but then shall we know, even as we are known.

[7:09] Now that God has done all things well, is a momentous principle, which is inherent in true Christianity. Should it not ever be present in our thoughts, our judgments, our dispositions, our actions, our hopes, and our views, especially as we move forward into this new year, 1984, that he has done all things well, is his law and arrangement in nature.

[7:48] What order and harmony exists? And he does nothing else in the whole realm of his creative and new creative power.

[8:00] even in the smallest thing made. Take the human body, for instance. The scriptural description is fearfully and wonderfully made, and it's true, a miracle.

[8:18] There is body, soul, and spirit. spirit. We have eyes, ears, the voice, everything you need of organs, of systems, many systems.

[8:33] And think how they all synchronize together for your particular span of days here on the earth. You can take the anatomy of one tree, how wonderful it all is, or even a blade of glass.

[8:53] The colors of these things, the day and the night, the seasons, the bow in the cloud, the perfect dispersion of the sun's rays in falling raindrops, forming the rainbow and its color spectrum.

[9:13] that of red and orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet in the sky, as they harmonize one with the other, or I do set my bow in the cloud, he says, so setting forth his faithfulness.

[9:34] Is it any wonder that we have this ascription of praise and gratitude and glory to the dear Son of God for his amazing goodness, which was thou safe to this poor, afflicted Son and his parents.

[9:53] And with all the Lord's people, there will be this amazing language of divine adoration, of gratitude, of praise, as the result of all the work of salvation, and to the conduct of his marvelous grace.

[10:12] And to the path of tribulation and every trial, affliction, difficulty, and distress that the people of God come into during their pilgrimage.

[10:27] And what is the reason for this? It is clear to the vision of our faith that such a happy and joyous note sounds forth in every soul made alive by God's spirit here below on the earth.

[10:51] And it may be on numerous occasions during their life, and there may be special, very auspicious occasions when this note sounds, and as the glorious result, when the Lord has accomplished a work of grace on your heart and brought you safely and so faithfully to the end of life's journey.

[11:19] There is a very positive reason why the people of God will know such a sweet and such a melodious song unto Christ.

[11:29] Christ. For really, this is a demonstration of that new song which they shall sing, that ascription of all praise and gratitude and honour and homage to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, for ever and ever in heaven.

[11:53] And the reason why should a sinner come into this, where you have the vision, the understanding, the perception and the grace to see the miracle of his power, the wonderful nature of Christ's divine faithfulness and his unchanging love and the fulfilment of the very embodiment of the performance of all the promises which are in the new covenant.

[12:29] that union between Christ and his people and church. Why was I made to hear his voice, to be so favoured and have such a capacity by his spirit?

[12:47] For it is so real to express from the very depths of the heart. As with the psalmist, bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name.

[13:06] It is all because of that boundless love, that everlasting love. And doubtless, a few times you have been enabled to give vent to such a doxology as this, he hath done all things well.

[13:25] And the reason is that he loves you. And that with an everlasting love, therefore with loving kindness, has he drawn you to himself.

[13:38] And the result is that you know that he is your God, saviour, friend, beloved brother, and bridegroom.

[13:49] who has unmistakably done these things for you so well. And what is an integral part of this, is that whatever you may be passing through at present, and it may well be a time of testing and of trial, affliction, or distress of mind, it can be very much described as a cup.

[14:23] Did not Christ receive his cup from his holy father, of whom we sung in our opening hymn, and spoke this morning, and he drank it so willingly, so freely, and in that voluntary way, in his perfect obedience to his father's will.

[14:48] Now that cup, it contained all the vindictive wrath of God, the penal wrath due to all the sins imputed to him, and he drank it dry, all up, and in a measure, the people of God have their cup, you have your cup, every child of the family of heaven has this, and it doesn't matter what your background has been, what your age is, your situation, or your nationality, that does not matter, whatever time in his church you have been born, but you see, as you have a cup, there is a profound difference between your cup and my cup, and that of Christ.

[15:51] His contained this curse, the penal wrath of God, that which was due to our sins.

[16:04] Obviously, this cup that you and I have is full of mixture. There are things which are painful, bitter, it may be hard to understand, and to endure, and bear, but there are also happy things, lovely things, things which bring joy to your spirit, prayers that have been answered, things that have been brought to pass, to your delight, things accomplished by God's spirit.

[16:42] But this is the relevant truth. There is no curse or anger, no wrath, in your cup, as a believer.

[16:56] But it does not stop there. For when the Lord looked in his amazing mercy and his love on the tribulations of his people, and lifted up that tribulation, he removed the curse, the sting, completely removed it.

[17:16] And that's not complete, but he filled it with his precious love, that which was injected into it.

[17:26] is this not a cause for using the expression and terminology of our text, he hath done all things well.

[17:39] There is this amazing, sovereign, unchanging, condescending love made known to you, the work of his Holy Spirit known in your heart, by which you are led.

[17:57] For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. And it envelops you so that at times you are able to express with the hymnist, my Father's hand prepares the cup, and what he wills is best.

[18:21] And so as you drink your particular cup, perhaps tremulously, fearfully, but as you are made willing, so nevertheless you taste inexpressible heavenly love in that, in all its sweetness, and you realize that he is yours, and that you belong to Christ.

[18:46] Christ. Because of this, there will be a glorious outcome, a result.

[18:58] Things will not end in confusion, or chaos, or dismay, and despair. For William Cowper, he did not say wrong, when in that beautiful hymn, which is ever fresh to our spirits, he said, the bud may have a bitter taste, but sweet will be the flower.

[19:25] Essentially, because of his boundless love, there will be an outcome, a fruition to your delight. true, there will be the tribulation in the world, but it's surrounded by peace, and of victory, be of good cheer, he says, I have overcome the world.

[19:55] True, tribulation is part of the curse. Formerly, you see, to that, there was no pain, there was no distress, there was no enmity, or belligerency, there was no hatred, or malice, but sadly, Adam and Eve, they fell and succunded to the tempter, and how all the trouble began and ruined the posterity of Adam, and we are part of that posterity.

[20:33] Adam was not afraid of God in all his pristine condition and glory and innocency. There was communion with God, but immediately he fell, and the Lord God walked in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam hid himself and was afraid of God, and God calls, Adam, where art thou?

[21:04] God's command had been violated, and there is guilt. So begins the curse. But relative to the tribulation of his people, how the dear Lord of life and of glory extracted the sting, sin, because the terminal part of trouble, finally, is death.

[21:32] Death to the wicked, those who do not fear God, is part of their punishment. Oh, but to the people of God, death is a friend.

[21:46] Oh, it's a friend and a blessing. they are brought to their desired haven, and so he removes the sting, takes away the curse, and he infuses his love in it, and he took it up, so that what was formerly a curse, he turned into a blessing and a means of grace, by, and as set apart by his Holy Spirit.

[22:16] But there's something more even, which was effected in this. There was a raising by adoption into his family, and it was to the highest status possible.

[22:34] Heirs of God, joint heirs with Christ, if so be that we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified together.

[22:47] How wonderful, how free for those things which do accrue to you and to I, are not in anger. As I said this morning, they are in his covenant love, and have you not tasted his love in your heart, and realized his favor towards you, and in that, an indescribable sweetness and peace which accrues from his presence.

[23:26] Now, perhaps, with someone during the past days or hours, it may have been even today, you weighed matters up.

[23:37] You did a little calculation, temptation, and the answer that you came to in calculating matters was this, like Jacob, all these things are against me.

[23:50] things. But presently, there has come a change, so that in tasting the sweet breath of Christ's love, you can heartily endorse this language this evening, he hath done all things well.

[24:12] Do you know what it is to have a transformation in respect of the things and the situations that you were formerly perhaps so gloomy and downhearted about?

[24:26] And you come to a proof of your relationship in the family of God as a son and a daughter of the Most High, of such a home, and you are conscious of your union with the dear Saviour himself, for he has drawn near to you and not despised your cry, albeit grown from the depths of your heart.

[24:52] And when he comes in this way and manner, you know he is your shepherd, your friend and father, and you experience such sweetness in believing as you realise your own particular cup, and that the secret of the Lord is with them that fear him.

[25:19] And what is the result of all this? It is this, that your heart and your voice produce a very harmonious note, a note of praise.

[25:36] Your soul has been tuned, your heart has been taken down from the willow branches. where it has been hung because of sorrow, and you now strike aloud those neglected strings to the praise of his everlasting glory to the mighty triune God.

[25:59] And your song in spirit is this, he hath done all things well. well it is the Lord's purpose in our new creation, our salvation, and our preservation in him, this people have I formed for myself, that they may show forth my praise.

[26:29] Was it Charles Wesley in our hymn books expresses something like this, oh what shall I do, my savior to praise, so faithful and true, so plenteous in grace, so strong to deliver, so good to redeem.

[26:54] So how happy is the man whose heart is set free. I know that temperament is influential and that we have to live with our temperaments.

[27:11] But is it not very sad when there are Christian believers, true believers, with whom there is a constant dirge for truly who are the happiest people on the earth or who have any reason to be happy on the earth are only those who are believers.

[27:38] The Lord's people are the only ones who have any right to be truly happy. So the joy of the Lord is your strength.

[27:52] death. Quite true, we sink very low at times in our spirits. But even this will form a foil, a background, and it will be to your enrichment and appreciation of joy will be so much the more clear when it does come.

[28:19] You see, if you didn't have a measure of sorrow in your spirit, you would never be capacitated for joy. And what is hopeful and anticipated in the Lord's people then?

[28:33] A song of praise. Of course, really this should be embodied in every prayer that we offer unto God, in every act of divine worship when we gather together for his service, and in his house.

[28:53] Such are not complete without adoring the blessed Trinity, the glorious three in one, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and that Christ has risen indeed from the dead, and has ascended on high, and led captivity captive, and received gifts for men, yea, for the rebellious also, and is now enthroned in glory at the right hand of the Father.

[29:26] And it may be that your particular pathway of tribulation at this present time is heavy. Your responsibility and your cares and commitments in life are many.

[29:40] The exercise of your heart, so very exhausting to you, yet you are sustained. Sustained by that sweet countenance of Jesus in whose person you trust, and have a simple faith, so that heartily you can endorse the words of the hymn writer, in thy presence, I am happy, in thy presence I am secure, in thy presence all affliction I can easily endure, in thy presence I can conquer, in thy presence I can die, far from thee I faint and languish, holy savior, keep me nigh.

[30:35] Well, there are varied experiences, several aspects, doubtless in this congregation this evening, as to where you are, relative to this particular word.

[30:48] Some doubtless are in this very place, so blessed as the Lord has appeared, perhaps today, or in recent days, or weeks, prayer has been answered, your requests are tended to, personally, in your family's circle, in the church of Christ here, the family of God, and you really are happy, and you hardly know how to contain the joy of your heart, and you enter into the language of our text so heartily.

[31:26] Consider the case of Ruth, as recorded in the book of her name. Bethlehem, how do you think that she felt when she was happily on the way to Bethlehem, and when, through all the progressive stages of being drawn and lovingly encouraged, until she hears this very wise word from Naomi, sit still, my daughter, until they know how the matter will fall, for the man will not be in rest until he has finished the thing this day.

[32:08] And presently, Boaz is her bridegroom, and she his bride. She would be able to say, looking back in retrospect, the Lord led me by the right way to a city of habitation, my Jesus has done all things well.

[32:31] I was bereaved. It was a strange pathway, mysterious to me. I had a work of grace commenced in my heart.

[32:42] I saw embodied and represented in Naomi, the very epitome of the church of the living God.

[32:54] I saw the Lord also in her, I found my people in her, and I was made willing to leave the world, the land of my nativity, the background of which I was brought up.

[33:10] I was led by the Spirit of God to express from the very depth of my heart, entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee, for where thou goest, I will go, and where thou lodgest, I will lodge.

[33:33] Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God. I was moved to say it. I came to Bethlehem, it was home to me.

[33:47] I said, let me go now and glean ears of corn after him in whose sight I have found grace.

[33:59] And she said, Naomi, go my daughter. And her hat was to light on the field which belonged to Boaz, and he claimed her straight away, whose damsel is this?

[34:15] There's something special about you. You are in my heart. Abide here fast by my maidens.

[34:27] And he said, it has fully been showed me all that thou hast done unto thy mother-in-law, and art come unto a people which thou didst not know before.

[34:42] The Lord recompense thy work, and he will. Those things which you do in the Lord's name with a pure motive for his honor and glory, he will indeed reward and compensate, perhaps a sacrificial work and labor of love.

[35:05] This God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust, Christ, and he said, let her lean even among the sheaves. He hath done all things well.

[35:19] Is this a portrait of you? Can you consider and look back at what the Lord has done so unmistakably for you?

[35:32] And he said, let fall some handfuls on purpose. is it not all here a portrayal of gradually coming closer and closer to the day of unending blessing?

[35:51] There was of course in those days the bringing of the veil and so on and all the formalities to be attended to according to the law but he becomes her Boaz.

[36:04] Can you not also discern so clearly the Lord's hand in your life? And when she was given Obed this word was said he shall be to thee a restorer of thy life a nourisher of thine old age.

[36:31] I suppose this speaks to us of that some of our older friends received their best blessings later in life. Obviously Obed speaks to us of the Son of God incarnate the Lord Jesus Christ.

[36:50] But what a wonderful biblical display of this unfallible word of our text. He hath done all things well. Now I must say this.

[37:06] The fact of such blessings does not for one moment mean that you are immune from trouble or immunized against it.

[37:18] Trouble, perplexity, distresses or free from bitter, hard things perhaps which you cannot understand.

[37:31] But you may know some of the malice and the rage of Satan, that which comes from the bottomless pit. Neither will you be free from a passage through water and fire.

[37:51] But it does mean that in these things that your God and my God will fulfill his promise and his word in all that he has spoken and shown to you.

[38:06] And this will be the happy expression and result. He hath done all things well. I was thinking recently of the situation of Joseph, the son of Jacob.

[38:22] He was given early in life, this young man, a wonderful view of his future by God. And in his artless simplicity, this godly young man had the expectation that all his family would rejoice with him.

[38:44] And this is often the initial feeling and reaction that all, without exception, will rejoice in our joy. But immediately, out of a full heart, and in his simplicity, he speaks about the blessing the devil roars.

[39:06] And says, in effect, the devil, I will overthrow the promise that it will never come to pass. And so, the wickedness of Joseph's brethren was extreme.

[39:23] So extreme that if they could have fulfilled their enterprise, they would have killed Joseph. For Satan, he will try to overthrow the very counsel of God and some of the Lord's people.

[39:40] They have tasted these things. They do taste these things. And Jacob, his own father, could not understand this until the Lord enlightened him.

[39:54] Oh, a somber experience as they sent him into Egypt. Moderate to what they would have done, but he is sold.

[40:05] And because of his exemplary character, his honesty, his high integrity as a child of God, blessed with tremendous wisdom and ability, he was raised to a high position and there he was in a place of honour.

[40:27] But even there the devil was waiting. He was falsely accused, put in a dungeon. And you say, and I say, surely if a person is innocent, surely the Lord would appear so that they do not have to undergo such a period of distress down in the prison.

[40:51] But do remember the refrain in that account of Joseph, but the Lord or God was with Joseph. And the promise is to be brought to pass, fulfilled.

[41:07] and he was delivered. He came into position in the house of Pharaoh. He was able to express, be not grieved nor angry with yourselves.

[41:20] God sent me before you to preserve a posterity in the earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. He hath done all things well.

[41:37] Someone here may be in a dark pathway, perhaps a dilemma at present, and you are saying tonight, or you're thinking, I'm far removed from this text, this ascription of praise tonight.

[41:55] Or I would love to be able to say from my very heart such a thing, but I seem so remote from it, and its language just as far as the east is from the west.

[42:08] It couldn't be further. But doesn't the fact that we are reminded of this text tonight in our meditation prove he is speaking to you, that he will yet impart faith to you to grasp this word, to believe that one day its language will be yours and that so personally, especially in the things that you are so deeply exercised about, so that you see the promise of far off, and are persuaded of it, that it will come to pass, since divine decrees can never be unmoved.

[42:55] and if God has revealed and shown to you his pleasure and his purpose, there will be a performance of his words.

[43:10] He knoweth the way that I take, said Job, and when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold. He will appear in your winter, and the time of the singing of birds, will come, and you'll prove the power of his resurrection, the resurrection of your dear Savior himself, and you'll say, he hath done all things well.

[43:41] God does nothing else in the whole realm of his creative and his new creative work, power, and what he has commenced, he will perform and complete.

[43:58] And the prospect is complete happiness and joy in heaven. And having taken up this strain and note on earth, you'll be capacitated for his continual praise in heaven.

[44:15] It will one day be this, as we read in the revelation. Amen. It is so, so be it. Blessing, and glory, and honour, and thanksgiving, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever.

[44:37] Amen. This God is our God for ever and ever. He will be our guide, even unto death.

[44:51] Amen. Amen. Let us sing hymn number 410 Hymn 410, tune Walton 430 O for a heart prepared to sing to God, my Saviour and my King, while with his saints I join to tell my Jesus has done all things well.

[45:38] All worlds his glorious power confess, his wisdom all his works express, but oh his love, what tongue can tell?

[45:50] My Jesus has done all things well. Let us commence at verse 3, hymn number 410. How sovereign, wonderful and free is all his love to sin for me.

[46:20] He plucked me as a branch from hell.

[46:32] My Jesus has done all things well.

[46:43] And since my soul has known his love, what mercy has he made me prove.

[47:07] Merced which all my praise excel, my Jesus has done all things well.

[47:32] When e'er my Saviour and my God has on me laid his gentle rod, I know in all that has prepared, my Jesus has done all things well.

[48:23] Sometimes his bliss, his bliss, his bliss, his bliss to blind, To make me pray, or stain my pride.

[48:49] Yet am I helped on this, to dwell my Jesus has done all things well.

[49:15] So shall I pass the veil of death, And in his home shall lose my breath, That then my happy soul shall tell, That then my happy soul shall tell, My Jesus has done all things well.

[50:09] And when to that bright world I rise, And join the anthems in the skies, Among the rest this night, Among the rest this night, This night shall swell, My Jesus has done all things well.

[51:03] And now, O Lord, as we close thy worship in thy sanctuary this night, We pray that thou take us into thy kind care and keeping, And bless thy own worth, bless thy own people.

[51:26] We would remember thy dear servant, We would remember thy dear servant, their pastor here. Bless him as we desire for ourselves a safe journey this night.

[51:37] And bless him in the coming days in ministering thy word here, That he may have cause to take up the strain of our text tonight, At the end of the year.

[51:51] May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, The love of God the Father, And the sweet communion and fellowship of the Holy Ghost, Be with you all, Both now and forevermore.

[52:04] For evermore. Amen. Thank you.

[52:38] Thank you.