Job

[0:00] The portion of God's word I feel I must venture with this evening with the Lord's help.

[0:12] You will find in the first chapter of the book of Job and the last part of the 21st verse. The book of Job chapter 1 and the last part or the middle portion of the 21st verse.

[0:33] The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

[0:44] The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

[0:59] This portion of scripture we usually associate with bereavement.

[1:14] It is in its usual application spoken at times when God's dear people have lost a loved one.

[1:24] And it is as it was literally for Job. A time when gracious, humble submission is made manifest in those affected.

[1:39] That causes it to be known that they in their hearts possess the fear of the Lord. Possess faith in their eternal God.

[1:52] And in their hearts a desire to worship as true worshippers. However painful, hard or dark to them the scenes that they are passing through.

[2:09] And it is a great mercy if we are given such a spirit to acknowledge the sovereignty of God in all his dealings with us.

[2:21] But my mind has been led in some little measure today. And I hope we may be helped to say a few things in the line I've been led into.

[2:33] That we are not to confine it, this portion, to the season of sadness and bereavement.

[2:44] It extends far beyond that. It embraces experiences of the church of God and the family of God in every walk of life.

[3:02] In every dispensation that God has in his infinite wisdom appointed for them to enter into. But there is one thing that will mark the pathway of a child of God in acknowledging God's sovereignty.

[3:23] Whatever be that experience. It will bring this gracious submission to say, The Lord gave. The Lord has taken away.

[3:36] Blessed be the name of the Lord. Now we may come into some experiences where poor hearts is all, How can I bless God for this?

[3:49] It's so different to what I anticipated. It's such a heavy load that it seems to bear me right down into the earth. How can I bless God for this?

[4:01] That little seed that lives and labours under load and no doubt it will never die.

[4:16] And not only in such a path as that of trial or burden or hardship, But in other respects also.

[4:30] The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. And this, as I feel I would set it forth, Applies to the path of providence, As well as the path of grace.

[4:47] We are apt to lose sight of what the Lord gives, That we daily receive. All creatures owe their breath to him.

[5:01] From that first breath, To the last, Feeble, Whisper of breath, As they depart from this life. A God's gift. And it's profitable for us, To be brought to the remembrance of it.

[5:16] To realise their dependence, Even naturally. It's old men, And cattle, You see how far the gift of God extends in that respect.

[5:34] This great and sovereign Lord God, Before whom we bow and whom we would worship, The creator of all things, Let us try and think for a moment or two Of some of these precious things, That God gives.

[5:57] And those things, Are that by his gifts, He takes away. And then, Perhaps, We may be helped, To bless, The Lord, For his wondrous works.

[6:14] And it was in view of this, Thought, That we read, That 104th Psalm, Because, The psalmist there, Embraced many, Circumstances, In the pathway of life, Both for believers, And unbelievers, All men, All creatures, God, Gave.

[6:38] And what, Should we commence with? In the simplicity of things. And I can't say I've got any deep thoughts in this text tonight.

[6:49] I would be simple. The Lord gave. He gave us life. Natural life.

[6:59] Can we say, Blessed be the name of the Lord, That he gave me life. There are millions today, Who have received that gift of life, And know not the giver.

[7:17] And they never bless his name. Have no knowledge of him many, Or where there is a knowledge, No desire, To acknowledge, To whom they owe their life.

[7:30] Where do we stand, In relation, To this matter? Why, If we're, Gracious souls, Have been taught, Of the spirit, We shall, Realize more, Clearly, Still, As our, Short days, Are passed by, Upon whom we depend.

[7:56] But says the psalmist, I will bless the Lord, I will sing his praises, He hath given me life, And in giving that life, He gave, A full provision, To maintain it.

[8:16] And for a few moments, I will speak, Speak mainly, On the, Blessings of providence, The temporal blessings, That the Lord, Gives to, All men, And to his own dear people, And that which brings forth, A song of thanksgiving, That, Like the David, We can say, I will sing, Unto the Lord, As long as I live, As long as I receive, The bounty, That he has given me, In life, In breath, In provision, In the goodness, Of his hand, In all these things, I will not forget, To bless his holy name, That is where we ought to be, That we're not always there, Alas, I will sing praise,

[9:16] To my God, While I have my being, So then David would, Bless the Lord, All through his life, From beginning, To end, While I have, My being, Now we know, That there are other thoughts, That come in, Higher and greater than this, We'll try and touch on that, But I'm trying to keep, First of all, To that, Which is given, To mankind, The Lord gave, Life, And breath, And, The good things, Which we, Enjoy, And therefore, Is worthy, Of all praise, For that, It says in this psalm, All these matters, That are, So blessedly set before us,

[10:19] That flow from the hand, Of a gracious, And merciful God, He, For who, Alone, Come, Provide them, And form them, For use, Of man, Of man, We read this, He sendeth, The springs, Into the valleys, Which run, Among the hills, The Lord gave, Those springs, And he gave them, For a purpose, Which the psalmist, Sets before us, They give drink, To every beast, Of the field, And the wild ashes, Prince, Set their thirst, With this gift, Of God, The Lord gave, These springs, Again, There's a higher, Interpretation, Of this word, But that, For the moment, We leave, We, Magnify, The name, Of our God, If we are,

[11:20] Rightly taught, Even as we look, Upon the wonders, Of his creation, Haven't we, Sometimes, Marvelled, At that, Which his, Hand is made, Especially, In relation, To such, Things as, These springs, In the valleys, They speak, Of life, They speak, Of refreshing, They speak, Of those things, Which the soul, Desires, Spiritually, And by, These means, That which, The Lord, Gives, Even in nature, Is used, To favor, His people, With anticipation, In their heart, To lead them, Into those, Deeper things, Of God, He,

[12:22] Watereth, The hills, From his chambers, The earth, Is satisfied, With the fruit, Of thy works, The earth, Is satisfied, Why, Look, Through the, Centuries of time, The boundless gifts, That are provided, For the returning need, Of man and beast, And what, A boundless supply, Have we received, In our own day, And generation, We look upon, The whole world, I know, There are places, Where, There is hardship, But why, Sin brought that, And we have sinned, But we are not, In that place, The Lord, Gave to us, He has given to us, Still, Even to this present day, We look upon, The boundless harvest, Just gathered in, The Lord gave,

[13:24] And in that giving, He's taken away, As well, He's taken away, The fear of hunger, He's taken away, The fear of poverty, He's taken away, Those things, Which sometimes, Would bring us, Very low, A fear of affliction, And sickness, One is his gift, And the taking, Is only, To confirm, That that gift, Is of God, Or, Would seek, More grace, To recognize, This, And, To acknowledge it, He causeth the grass, To grow, For the cattle, And herb, For the service, Of man, He gave, That, Freely, Sovereignly, Bestows it, Not for their, Desserts, And yet, How few, Know it, How many,

[14:26] In this hour day, Who are concerned, With this matter, Of, The, Fruits of the earth, Acknowledge, That God rules, And rhymes, Over all, So many say, My own hand, Hath done this, And that which is brought forth, Is the fruit of my labour, Ah, In measure, Yes, But the Lord had to give it, The Lord had to give the life, That imparts, To that which he has done, Of the, Fruit bearing, That it shall be, Good for, Man, Or beast, Or both, Herb, For the service of man, That he may bring forth, Food out of the earth, And wine, That maketh glad, The heart of man, Oil to make his face, To shine, And bread, Which strengtheneth man's heart,

[15:28] Or perhaps you say, Ah, But these are only, Ordinary, Simple, Everyday thoughts, They are, But they should, Direct their hearts, In thanksgiving, And that is how I, Feel particularly tonight, We desire, That this word, May affect us, That we may not, Let these mercies, Lie forgotten, The Lord gave them, And by, Through the mercy of God, We are gathered, In his house tonight, Because, He has given us, Of these blessings, And therefore, Our bodies are strengthened, Our minds are strengthened, Our hearts are strengthened, And we, We enjoy, We enjoy, A measure of health, And strength, That is enabled us, To meet according, To his divine command, The Lord has given all this, But more,

[16:30] He has given that, To the whole world, But there are a number, In the midst, That are called, The remnant of grace, According to, For his grace, To whom he gives, Beside these, Temporal benefits, Something far greater, He gives a heart, To serve the Lord, The Lord gave, That heart, And in the giving, Of that heart, He also took away, His own word, Declares it, Or with the subjects, Of this giving, And taking, That causes our soul, To bless, Or, Bless his holy name, He said, I'll take away, That stony heart, From this people, This people, Upon whom, My everlasting love,

[17:32] Is set, I'll take away, That heart, That's enmity to me, And my ways, I'll take away, That which is, Contrary, To, My, Sovereign purpose, Of grace, And I will, In its place, Give them, A heart of flesh, The Lord gives us, Have we got it?

[17:58] That's the question, And if we have, There must be an evidence, Of it, And that will, Be seen, And it will be known, By God, Whether it be seen, By man, Or thus far, Or no, It will be seen, By God, In the, Acknowledgement, Blessed be the name, Of the Lord, For where this new heart, Is given, There may be, Is given also, The spirit of faith, The spirit of love, And the spirit of worship, And where those three, Are joined together, By God, There is fruit, That abounds, There is fruit, That makes known, That this heart, Is not, What it once were, What it once was, Oh, What a mercy, If we have some hope,

[18:59] As the dear psalmist, Knew himself, That this God, In his mercy, This great God, The creator of all things, In his condescending love, Has looked down, Upon us, Looked down, Upon me, And wrought this, Great work within, Which is for his eternal Christ, And for our eternal glory, Twenty-fourth verse, O Lord, How manifold, Are thy works, All that thou hast given, All that thou hast done, They are so, Great, So high, So far beyond, Ere, For knowledge, That we, We cannot comprehend,

[20:01] How manifold, Are thy works, And we try, To begin to, Enumerate just, A few, And how soon, We are lost, In wonder, Love, And pride, In wisdom, Hast thou made them all, The earth, Is full of thy riches, And the Lord gave, The Lord hath taken away, Blessed be the name, Of the Lord, With those few thoughts then, As regards, Temporal blessings, And I would not, Dwell on those, But they ought, To be set forth, They ought, To be set forth, Because otherwise, How soon we forget, But I would, Desire the Lord's help, To turn, To those, Higher blessings, Those greater blessings,

[21:03] That endure, Forever, Ever, The Lord gave, The Lord hath taken away, Blessed be the name, Of the Lord.

[21:18] And while, Trying a little this afternoon, To meditate on this, Portion, And seek the opening up, In some measure, To set before you, My mind was directed, Immediately, In respect to the, Spiritual blessings, To that word, In the third chapter, Of John's gospel, Listen, God, The Lord gave, And the Lord hath taken away, Blessed be the name, Of the Lord, Verse 16, For God, So loved the world, That he gave, His only begotten son, That's what God gave, In everlasting love, That,

[22:20] That, That, That, Whosoever, Believeth in him, Should not perish, But have everlasting life, And in that, And in that precious gift, That we were reminded of, In our opening hymn, We see also, God's, Taking away, For, In the gift, Of his well beloved son, That perfect gift, That blessedly free gift, By it, And through it, And all that it entailed, That one sacrifice, Of that lamb of God, Forever, The Lord taketh away, All the sin of his people, For it was laid upon, His beloved son, Not worthy,

[23:22] Lord, We must confess, And so we feel at times, To feel, We have, Can have, Any part in such, An holy, Great transaction, As this, But the Lord gave, For this very purpose, Why?

[23:41] Because, He loved, And that, Is the very source, Of this gift, That is made over, To the election of Christ, He loved, The love of God, And so we can, Rightly turn, To that short text, That is so often, Misinterpreted, God, Is, Love, And the love, Is made known, In this gift, He so loved, The world, That which he created, And from which, He would bring forth, For his eternal glory, Ransomed souls, He would bring forth, From that sinful world, After Satan entered,

[24:44] A fit bride, For his dear son, All the love of God, Looked, Upon the perfect work, That the eternal, Councils of Jehovah, Had determined, Upon and planned, Another thought, Comes in, And I must confess, There, Are not, Meditated thoughts, But, We have an holy spirit, Who we believe, Directs us, In these matters, In our own ignorance, And helplessness, Is pleased to come, And show us, The wondrous things, Out of his word, Comes to mind, In the tenth chapter, Of Hebrews, We have another, Glorious,

[25:45] Clear instance, Of the Lord's giving, And taking away, For the good, Of the souls, Of his people, And it has relation, To, The covenant, The covenant, Made, Twix, God, And man, A first covenant, Which was the covenant, Of the Lord, That which man broke, And through disobedience, Obtained, The sentence of death, In themselves, If I can just, Lay my arm on the verse, I know, In measure, How it goes, He hath, Taken away, The first, The covenant,

[26:45] Moses' covenant, Which man, Through ignorance, And sinfulness, Hath brought, Into shame, He hath taken away, The first, That he might, Establish, The second, And so, There is then, A taken away, Of that, Which man, Cannot, Fulfill, And there is a giving, Of that, Which his, Beloved son, A saviour, Of sinners, The redeemer, Fulfilled, On their behalf, And thus, Makes them, Neat and fit, To enter, Her, Into this, Blessing, This is the covenant, That I will make, With them, After those days, Sath the Lord, I will put, My law,

[27:46] Into their heart, And in their minds, Will I write them, As the Lord's giving, He declared it, It is not the word, Of man, It is the work, Of the blessed spirit, To reveal this word, And make it, A reality, In the souls, Of his dear elect, What, Has he shown, To us, Of this, Covenant, This, New covenant, The covenant, Of grace, Yes, I just got, The verse, Now it's the ninth verse, Then said he, Lo, I come, To do thy will, Oh God, This, Is the word, Of the dear son, The only beloved, Of the father, Full of grace, And truth, Who said, Here am I, Send me, He taketh away,

[28:51] The first, That he may establish, The second, By the which will, We are sanctified, Through the offering, Of the body, Of Jesus Christ, God sent, His only beloved son, So loved the world, He gave his only begotten son, That whosoever believeth in him, Should not perish, But have everlasting life, By the which will, We are sanctified, Through the offering, Of the body, Of Jesus Christ, Once, For, All, The Lord gave, And by that, Precious gift, Oh how willing, Was Jesus to die, That we, Fellow sinners, Might live,

[29:53] That life, Cannot take away, He gave, Voluntary, Voluntary, Voluntary, Again, One of our hymns, Speaks, Of this gift, The Lord, On high, His love, Proclames, Makes his goodness, Known, To men, Deserving, Endless pains, He gave, His only son, He gave, His son, Their life, To be, To save them, From despair, There is the taking of life, Oh do you ever consider, What it would mean, To you and I, As poor, Helpless, Hell deserving, Sinners, Were they not, The revelation, Of Jesus Christ, God's dear son, As this, Perfect saviour, And that,

[30:54] Which through his sacrifice, Has been, Obtained, For those, For whom, He died, Everlasting, Life, Eternal, Blessing, Glory, That shall never, And never fade away, The Lord, Gave, His son, Their life, To be, To save them, From despair, From death, And hell, To set them free, In glory, To appear, All real good, In Jesus, Dwells, And freely is bestowed, On such as cannot, Help themselves, And cry for help, To God, Then mourning souls, Dry up your tears, Though wretched be your case, His love, Shall banish all your fears,

[31:56] He'll save you, By his grace, By the witch will, We are, Sanctified, Cleansed, Washed, Separated, Prepared, And all, Through this, Perfect way, This perfect work, The offering, Of the body, Of Jesus Christ, Once for all, Later in that, Tenth chapter, It says, Because this gift, Is revealed, It is sown, By faith, Received, By faith, Sown, By the spirit, In airful hearts, Let us, Draw near, With a true heart, With a true heart, In full assurance, Of faith, Having air hearts, Sprinkled,

[32:56] From an evil conscience, Our bodies, Wash with pure water, Let us hold fast, The profession, Of air faith, Without wavering, For he is faithful, That promise, God, So loved, The world, That he gave, You know, If that's written, In our heart, Tonight, With power, We shan't leave, Much more, To meditate upon, Because, The fruit of it, Of that love, We love him, Because he first loved us, But our love, Is brought, Into, Effect, By the application, Of this gift, To our inmost soul, As poor, Needy, Helpless sinners, That, Whosoever, Believeth in him, Should not perish,

[33:56] Death is taken away, O death, Where is thy sting, O grave, Thy victory, Jesus lives, Jesus reigns, King of kings, And Lord of lords, And through, This, This, Gift of love, Poor sinners, Are brought nigh, Clothes, Made meat, And in God's good time, Gathered, Unto, His heavenly kingdom, Even unto himself, As his bride, He, Whosoever, Believeth in him, Should not perish, But have everlasting life, For God sent not his son, Into the world, To condemn the world, But that the world,

[34:57] Through him, Might be saved, The Lord gave, And the Lord, The Lord has taken away, Blessed be the name, Of the Lord, Now, Faith will look, Then, So much higher, Than the earlier matters, We spoke of, And yet, They are designed, To bring us, Into the meditation, Of this sacred matter, For if, By his grace, We are unable, To trace his hand, In his, Providential demons, The child of God, Cannot, Be satisfied, With that, It will but, Point the way, Lift the soul, In anticipation, Of that which is,

[35:58] For eternity, The Lord gave, Life, Breath, Health, Good, And the time comes, When, It is according, To his sovereign appointment, Time to take away, Those things, The purpose has been served, You know, Our lives, Are to be, Used, If we are, Routely, Tore, For the glory, Of God, And there is, For that which, Is encumbered, Upon us, As disciples, Of Jesus Christ, Who, Speak of his love, Shed abroad, In our heart, To testify, Of it, To magnify, His dear name, Screw it, But the time, Comes, When,

[36:59] That life, Ceases, But this is, The beginning, But the beginning, Of, Eternal life, The Lord, Gave, Eternal life, He gave blessings, That shall never cease, Durable riches, And righteousness, They are described, In the book of Proverbs, All friends, Of we and hope, That they are for us, Lied up, In heaven itself, Durable riches, And righteousness, They are there, Because the Lord, Has given them, And though, He takes, In some respect, Here below, Takes perhaps, From us, As we remarked, At the beginning, Loved ones,

[38:01] Dear ones, Yet, When faith, Views to what, They have entered into, Those durable riches, And righteousness, Through Jesus Christ, God's only beloved son, Why then, Grief is turned, To singing, Sorrow to joy, The Lord hath taken away, Not death, The Lord hath taken, He's gathered his own, By his loving hand, To come into the abundance, Of that love, Which is, Everlasting, The Lord hath taken away, And he's given eternal life, Why then, We have cause, Surely, As we are brought, To know this, And feel this truth, In our own heart, To say, I can come with Job,

[39:01] Blessed, Blessed be the name, Of the Lord, For that only one, Could fulfill, This perfect work, There is only one, Who could bring me, Into the place, Of gracious rest, Quiet submission, And say, As, His beloved son said, Not my will, But thine be done, That's the submission, That is set before us, In this word, And grace alone, Can bring that, From these poor, Hearts of theirs, In all this, Job sin not, Nor charge God, Foolishly, We'll leave these few thoughts, It is but a wandering sermon, But the contents of it, Are perfect, Giving and taking,

[40:03] All of the Lord, And it's all, In everlasting love, And if we are but, Favour to, Know that, To receive that teaching, We shall, Rejoice in him, Amen.