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[0:00] We are going to the book of Psalms, reading our text in Psalm 66, from verse 10.

[0:13] Psalm 66, from the 10th verse. Psalm 66, from the 10th verse.

[0:48] We went through fire and through water, but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place.

[1:05] This concise, entirely comprehensive scripture that we have now read, to base our meditation upon, concerning the Lord proving and trying his beloved people, is one of the monumental scriptures of the book of God.

[1:36] Very wonderful what part of it is that we see here the sacred, divine issue accomplished by his spirit and grace.

[1:53] In the cases of all those who fear God, who are his beloved people.

[2:04] For you will notice how this is framed by the spirit.

[2:15] But thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place.

[2:27] That spells out a foretaste of heaven and eventually glory itself.

[2:38] Considering then that this is a body of divinity, the Lord give us grace and wisdom to expound it to his glory and for your profit and peace and good.

[3:00] In the word of God, there is considerable emphasis placed on proving. You will notice in the epistles to Timothy, concerning those in the holy offices of Zion, that we have this word.

[3:27] Let them first be proved. And an exhortation is spoken to us.

[3:39] Prove all things. How necessary it is for this proving process to take place.

[3:52] And I feel that I venture this evening to name to you the foundation of all that is beneath this subject.

[4:09] Namely, our beloved Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ, God's dear Son incarnate.

[4:21] We have this amazing word concerning him. For the Lord hath laid in Zion for a foundation, a stone, a tried stone.

[4:41] Listen. A tried stone. A precious cornerstone. A sure foundation.

[4:54] A sure foundation. And he that believeth shall not make haste. Divine justice. The holy law of God.

[5:08] Scrutinized. Every thought. Every thought. Every word. Every word. Every action. Of the man Christ Jesus.

[5:21] Tried stone. He was buffeted. Satan bruised him.

[5:32] Oh, the agony of the Savior. But what a wonderful foundation. A tried stone.

[5:43] He rests in his love. He rejoices over thee with singing. A tried stone.

[5:55] And there are two aspects surely of this. One is by holy faith. All his tried people know the security and support and stability of resting firmly upon this precious tried stone.

[6:27] The other aspect is this. One of communion. One of communion. And fellowship with him. In his sufferings.

[6:42] So by his gracious enabling. Let us hope to open a little. This blessed testimony of the psalmists.

[6:56] Concerning this indispensable process. Divine. That is accomplished in the lives and souls.

[7:08] Of all the people of God. Whilst here below. And we may say. Taking up this.

[7:21] Body of divinity. That here we have. The deepest and the sweetest. Spiritual experience.

[7:34] Of a man of God. And there is no substitute for spiritual experience. If I may.

[7:45] Reverently use a simile. Today. With the. Main roads. Whenever you come to a center of population.

[8:00] There is a bypass. And. Where necessary. In congested areas. An overpass.

[8:12] Or an underpass. There is no such thing. In vital religion. There is no bypass.

[8:22] For I will bring the third path. Through the fire. Through the fire. There is no bypass.

[8:34] My friends. There is no easy way. To the kingdom. There is no underpass. Or overpass. It is through.

[8:48] Take that word. The sweet promise. When thou passest. Through the waters. I will be with thee.

[9:00] When thou walkest through the fire. Thou shall not be burned. You see. With God's people it is.

[9:11] Throw. And. The psalmist describes this. Fear. The spiritual experience. Is what he went through. For the Lord to refine him.

[9:24] And purify him. And purge him. And prove him. And. Then eventually. To bring him. Out.

[9:37] That is. Into the full liberty. Of the gospel. Out. Into. To. A wealthy. A wealthy. Place.

[9:48] And. It is not exactly. My province. In. Galilee Chapel. But just. At this. Initial stage. I would like.

[10:00] To draw your attention. To. The terminal. Part. Of the psalm. With the. Enriching. Of grace. And the knowledge.

[10:11] Of God. There was a testimony. To give. Come and hear. All ye. That fear God.

[10:22] He says. And I will declare. I will declare. I have something. To declare. I will declare.

[10:35] What he. Hath done. For my soul. Now does that. Come home. Into the hearts. Of any.

[10:47] In this congregation. Tonight. Oh. What shall be. The sign. That I shall go up. To the house. Of the Lord.

[10:59] To give this testimony. To his. Everlasting. Praise. Is. Is. So that is. A blessed. Issue.

[11:10] And some of you. May watch. These things. With others. In deep. Prayerful. Exercise. Well now. Let us view. The body.

[11:21] Of the. Subject. That is. Before us. He looks up. To the Lord. In gratitude. In adoration.

[11:31] In worship. In praise. And says. To the Lord. For thou. O God.

[11:42] Has proved us. Now has tried us. As silver. Is tried. And then he goes on.

[11:53] To. Enumerate. And set out. In order. The divine method. Used by God. To. Prove him.

[12:05] And to. Try him. But first. The. Gratitude. The adoration. Of his spirit. To the Lord.

[12:16] For proving him. And. Trying him. Refining him. Fitting him. For heaven. Making him. Ready for that.

[12:27] Bright about. And dear friends. There are two terms. Used here. Thou has tried us.

[12:39] As silver is tried. Thou has proved us first. And then thou has tried us. And. The Lord. Proves his people. I was thinking.

[12:51] Of that. Outstanding. And. Classical. Case. Of Abraham. The Lord. Proved him. After the little.

[13:04] Son. Was born. The. Son. Of promise. God. We don't know. How long. It was. But he spoke.

[13:15] To his servant. Abraham. He said. Take now. Thy son. Thine only son.

[13:26] Whom thou lovest. Get thee. Into the land. Of Moriah. And offer him up. For a burnt offering. Upon the mountain.

[13:37] That I will tell thee of. What approving. So precious. Was the dear son. To him.

[13:48] But the Lord. Proved him. Proved him. And. And. Abraham. Obeyed. By faith. And took the little lad.

[14:02] And the fire. The ward. The knife. Took all that he needed. And set out on this tragic journey. Proved him.

[14:15] The Lord knows. How to prove us. I remember. If I may. Just. Make some personal reference.

[14:28] I would not weary you. But it is so fitting. And it is a personal tribute. To the Lord. And his goodness.

[14:40] And also. Congruous with this word. For thou. O God. Has proved us. When it came to.

[14:51] My. Probationary time. At the dicker. Although fully convinced. That it was of God. I prayed.

[15:04] For a token. For good. I quite expect. That is how. The dear ones. Here at Galeed.

[15:15] Are praying. And his servant. The token. For good. And the token. For good. Came. But it came.

[15:26] And it often. Comes. In a totally. Unexpected. Way. For. As I. Commence.

[15:36] Those. Lord's. Days. As we have. At the communion. Concerning the cup. The Lord's cup. It seemed.

[15:48] As though. Before me. Stood the Lord. With a cup. And a potion. In that cup. For me to drink.

[15:59] Or us. To drink. And by the second. Lord's day. It was much. Nearer. And soon.

[16:11] The severe. Illness. Developed. In our. Oldest. Son. And at once. I thought. Yes. This is it.

[16:23] And. Just to be. Very brief. The. Terrible. Infection. Spread. The condition.

[16:34] Was exacerbated. Until. There was no. Hope. There was really. No hope. At all. And this was.

[16:44] A Saturday. And I thought. Impossible. For me. To go in the pulpit. On Sunday. Whatever. Can I preach. For this is how the Lord.

[16:57] In one thing. Proved me. Tested me. On that Saturday afternoon. Suddenly. There seemed to be.

[17:09] The melody. And the music of heaven. In my soul. It seemed as though I saw. That blood washed multitude.

[17:21] Around his throne. And amongst them. Thousands of children. And the Lord gave me.

[17:31] Such a persuasion. That the lad. Would be one of them. And instantly. I gave him. To Christ. Now he proved me.

[17:44] I didn't withhold him. I was willing. For the Lord. To take him. Or spare him. Do you say.

[17:56] Has the Lord. Been proving you. In any way. Have you. Yielded. What most. You have prized. To the Lord. It's a wonderful.

[18:07] Wonderful. Truth. To be proved. Of God. And. To be. Able. To yield. Everything. To him. Well I went. Into the pulpit.

[18:18] On the Lord's day. And I seemed. To be up. In the heavens. I hardly knew. Anything about. The earth. Or what I said. The Lord. Just carried me. Through. But he proved me.

[18:31] I was. Completely. Willing. For the dear. Lad. To be taken. And in fact. I felt. I could have. Buried him. Does the dear.

[18:42] Lord. Be improving you. In some affliction. Or trial. On Monday. Monday. Evening. If anyone.

[18:53] Had said to me. What about that. Dear little boy. I would have said. Well he's. He's in the Lord's hands. He's not in my hands. I've given him up. Completely. But on Monday night.

[19:07] Although. That was the. Crisis night. I read. And I read this. I shall not die. But live.

[19:18] And declare the works. Of the Lord. And the Lord. Put him back. Into my hands. And he said. I've. I've proved you. I've proved you. You've not withheld.

[19:29] The dearest. From me. I've proved you. And the Lord knows. How to prove you. And then. You see.

[19:42] It's like the. Flare that opens. As that flare opened. Then he said. And this is the token for good.

[19:53] That you prayed for. Thine being. Pastor and people together. In the most wonderful way. Now as the Lord.

[20:04] Proved you. Tested you. And you found. The reality of your faith. And of your love. And of your people.

[20:16] Wonderful thing it is. To be proved. And to prove. That you have. The life of God. In your soul. And the life of faith.

[20:27] Upon the son of God. And to prove. That you've got. A good foundation. A blessed rock. To prove. That you have.

[20:37] A dear friend. A heavenly friend. A heavenly father. And a holy bridegroom. And to prove.

[20:48] What he has. Given you. For he has said. I will never leave thee. Nor forsake thee. For thou.

[20:58] O God. Has proved us. Wonderful blessing. To be proved. You take. I do not want this.

[21:08] To be desultory. But you take. For instance. Church members. Where you believe. They are brought in. Under the influence. Of the spirit.

[21:21] And there is strength. And comfort. To the pastor. And the deacons. All through their days. And they stand in their lot. They're loyal.

[21:32] And faithful. To the end. See it's proved. Their love to the Lord. Their love to that people. Their love to that ministry.

[21:43] Is proved. So. Are you able to say. Thou O God. Has proved us. Thou has tried us.

[21:53] As silver. Is tried. And so. This. Does. Of the subject. Relates. As you well know. Beloved friends.

[22:05] To refining. The Lord. Taking. His dear people. And putting them. In the furnace. Maybe the furnace.

[22:17] And often is. The furnace. Of affliction. And what a furnace. It is. And let me name. To you. One or two.

[22:29] Relevant truths. These two terms. Thou O God. Has proved us. Thou has tried us.

[22:39] As silver is tried. Is accomplished. Partly under the ministry. Of the spirit. Our good.

[22:49] Gracious. Living. Powerful. Unctuous. Ministry. Will prove the hearers. I'm sure. Mr. Popham was dead. And Mr. Gosdance.

[23:00] And it also. Tried the hearers. As silver. The ministry. Subjected them. To trial.

[23:11] To test. And what is it. That produces this. Thou has tried us. As silver is tried. What makes this.

[23:24] The process. Of refining. The solemn. Presence. Of the Lord. Of the Lord. In it. His presence.

[23:34] In the ministry. He shall sit. As a refiner. And purifier. Of silver. Has he done that. For you. In the ministry. Of your late.

[23:45] Dear pastor. You've been tried. As silver is tried. It. But it's the Lord's presence. In it. That makes it this.

[23:55] God. And so. He gives the detail. Concerning it. And I read about. Good Job.

[24:06] Just now. The time came. When he was probed. And tried. A man of great prosperity. The richest man of the east.

[24:18] A large family. Tremendous substance. And he came into all that adversity. And that proved him and tried him. The Lord was in it.

[24:29] And when he came into the first part of the proving. You see. Satan had made. An accusation. He said. Doth Job fear God for naught?

[24:41] No wonder he fears God. Look how God prospers him. But stretch forth thine hand now. And touch all that he hath. He will curse thee to thy face.

[24:54] But he was probed. He lost nearly all. And what did he say? Then Job arose.

[25:06] Shaved his head. Wren his mantle. Fell upon the ground. And worshipped. And said. He worshipped.

[25:17] Worshipped. And said. Naked. Came I out of my mother's womb. And naked shall I return. Dither. Listen. Here's the proving. Satan said.

[25:29] He will curse God. This is the proving. He said. The Lord gave. And the Lord hath taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

[25:40] It was proved. He was proved. And I read just now. As you well know. When he saw. When he saw a little light.

[25:55] In his dark pathway. Couldn't find the Lord. But presently he said. Ah. For he knoweth the way that I take.

[26:08] When he hath tried me. As though he would say. I'm willing to be tried. I want to be tried. Now. That is to say.

[26:20] The Lord. Prove me. Try me now. Let it not be agony. In the last few hours. Of my life. Let it be peace.

[26:33] Try me. And prove me now. And you know so well. That he was able to say. Now when he hath tried. I shall come forth.

[26:47] Not consumed. I shall come forth as gold. This is it. Let us just remind the friends too. That this is a part of the Spirit's teaching.

[27:03] In the holy ordinance of prayer. The Lord lays upon the hearts of his people. At certain seasons especially.

[27:16] To pray thus. Search me oh God. And know my heart. Try me.

[27:28] Try me. Did you ever pray that? Try me. And know my thoughts. And see if there be any wicked way in me.

[27:41] And lead me in the way everlasting. The objective is. Lead me in the way everlasting. But why did he pray like that? Because he wanted.

[27:53] To be made right for heaven. And ready for heaven. Because he wished to receive. The infallible evidence.

[28:07] Of sonship. And also. That his wrath should be consumed. So. Are you able to say this?

[28:21] For thou, O God, hast proved us. Thou hast. Thou hast. Tried us. As silver is tried. Thou broughtest us into the net.

[28:36] Thou laidst affliction upon our loins. First. The net. Thou broughtest us into the net.

[28:47] The net. The net is the net of divine providence. And the net is a symbol. It suggests. The great element of surprise.

[29:03] Complete surprise. It's like the fishes swimming along. And suddenly. They find themselves enmeshed. By this net.

[29:14] They're in the net. What a surprise. What an element of astonishment. They're in the net. It's God's net.

[29:26] Thou broughtest us into the net. And this is not because. You have. Gone off.

[29:36] At a tangent. Into something. That is God dishonoring. You have not gone into something. That is God displeasing. It is in the very path.

[29:48] Of God's own choosing. That thou broughtest us into the net. And there you are. Suddenly you find yourself. Put in the net.

[29:59] It's a wonderful thing. When you come into the net. If you find that the Lord is with you. And also. You are made passive. In his blessed hands.

[30:11] Thou broughtest us into the net. I remember one occasion. When it was like this. And the Lord stood by. My bed. When I was wracked with pain.

[30:22] And he said. Let not your heart be troubled. Neither let it be afraid. For thou broughtest us into the net. For any of you.

[30:33] In the net. You feel the Lord has brought you into the net. For any dear to you. And then. And then. Thou laidest affliction upon our loins.

[30:49] Loins stands in scripture. Which is a simile. For the very center and source of physical strength.

[31:00] Where all your strength lies. And thou laidest affliction upon our loins. And you'll say. You'll feel before God.

[31:12] All flesh is grass. And you'll feel how frail you are. When he lays affliction upon your loins.

[31:24] And the Lord does it. But if we could stay here. I wonder what your various testimonies. Will be.

[31:35] Thou laidest affliction upon our loins. Take these sweet graces. How wonderful it is. To have the spirit of submission.

[31:48] To fall into the hand of the Lord. And to be saved from rebellion. Thou laidest affliction upon our loins.

[32:02] And the Lord knows. How to prepare you for this. And also to give you a promise of your deliverance. Thou laidest affliction upon our loins.

[32:18] Thou hast caused men. To ride over our heads. Let me just stop to ask you.

[32:30] This affliction laid upon your loins. Have you received the blessing of God in your soul yet? Has the Lord appeared?

[32:44] Has he shone into your heart yet? Has he visited you yet? Or you may say I feel so tried and hard and deathly and distressed in my mind.

[33:05] I cannot find him as I long to. Ah, one day she said, I found him whom my soul loveth. I found him.

[33:17] And I would not let him go. Until I had brought him into my mother's house. Into the chamber of her that conceived me. The Lord doesn't let his dear people go into affliction alone.

[33:34] I believe that so frequently he gives them a promise. He may stand by your side and say, For the Lord will give strength unto his people.

[33:51] The Lord will bless his people with peace. He may give you this. This that I remember from my childhood.

[34:07] To see the face of a dear one. With many tears streaming down her cheeks. And her friend wondered why it was.

[34:23] Oh, she said, I'm not. I'm not crying for distress. I'm crying for joy. We were in the middle of affliction just then.

[34:35] She said, The Lord has just spoken this to me. He shall deliver thee in six troubles. Yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee.

[34:50] Now that will break your heart. For thou, O God, hast proved us. Thou hast tried us as silver is tried. Thou broughtest us into the net.

[35:02] Thou laidest affliction upon our loins. Then listen to this. It is all in this same gamut of divine truth.

[35:16] Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads. What a word. Did your Savior know this? Was he despised and rejected of men?

[35:31] A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Will you anticipate escaping this? No. There's a little fellowship with him in this.

[35:47] Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads. Take the case of Joseph. When his brethren had heard his dreams, they hated him.

[36:05] And as you know, their enmity knew no bounds. They had it in their heart, most of them, not all of them, to slay him.

[36:22] And when they had the opportunity, as they thought, they said, Behold, this dreamer cometh. Let us slay him. And see. We will see what will become of his dreams.

[36:33] We will slay him. Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads. Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads.

[36:44] Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads. Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads.

[36:57] Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads.

[37:09] Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads. Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads.

[37:25] Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads. Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads. Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads. Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads. Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads. The two elements are yours, fire and water.

[37:40] Fire, there are these particular characteristics. First fire. Consuming. The feeling is that you'll be consumed.

[37:54] Then water. And there the element is overwhelming. Now sometimes you'll be in a trial that is fiery.

[38:09] And you can feel this fire in your very heart and bones. And it seems as though everything precious will be consumed.

[38:20] And you wonder where the scene will end. Fiery trial. And then you may come into this water where it's overwhelming.

[38:35] The things you meet with seem as if they overwhelm your spirit. As though, just as the disciples were, as though you're going to sink.

[38:46] You're going down. You cannot go on. In this storm, in this water, it may seem as if you'll go to the bottom. But presently, you'll be absolutely overwhelmed.

[39:03] Now look, the Lord tells you what he will do. We went through fire and water. Through it.

[39:16] Purged. Refined. The Lord sanctifying these things to us. Through it. And the Lord brought them out.

[39:30] Brought him out. Brought us out into a wealthy place. That means enriched.

[40:03] With grace. With grace. And living in the land of Beulah. In that delectable land. With foretastes of heaven.

[40:17] You have the songs of degrees. You have those wonderful songs of praises. You take, for instance. Bless the Lord.

[40:27] Oh, my soul. And all that is within me. Bless his holy name. Now, thou broughtest us out.

[40:39]  Into a wealthy place. Amen.