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[0:00] Sing unto the Lord because he hath dealt bountifully with me.

[0:19] I will sing unto the Lord because he hath dealt bountifully with me. Amen. If we have ever received favour from God, we must recognise it as God's bountiful dealing.

[0:45] Whether we consider the favour to be small or great, we must recognise it as God's bountiful dealing. If our eyes have been opened, our ears have been opened, our heart has been opened to receive the things and to perceive the things of the Spirit of God, then the Lord has dealt bountifully with us.

[1:12] If we should unwisely compare ourselves with others, we may become distressed. We may say, well, my experience is not to be compared with theirs.

[1:27] This is a wrong manner of things. We do not well to compare ourselves with others. This the Scriptures tells us about.

[1:40] Let us therefore be thankful if the Lord has dealt bountifully with us. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want.

[1:54] And if we can say that, then the Lord has dealt bountifully with us. With the shepherd, our shepherd, there is no scarcity.

[2:07] Have you ever found God speaking to you and warning you in case there's not enough to go round? For a fullness resides in Jesus our head, whichever abides to answer our need.

[2:26] Our Father's good pleasure has laid up in store a plentiful treasure to give to the poor. Now, the psalmist here says, I will sing unto the Lord because he hath dealt bountifully with me.

[2:47] Singing is a very important part of most people's makeup naturally. When do we sing? We sing when we feel some measure of joy in our hearts.

[3:02] even a lightness upon our spirits. This is naturally so. But when do we sing in the spiritual sense of the word?

[3:13] When we may feel the sweet favor of God resting upon our spirit. And when even a promise comes to cheer our troubled breasts and we sing.

[3:27] Then again we may rejoice in the foundation which standeth short having this seal. The Lord knoweth them that are his.

[3:39] Then we shall say, I will sing unto the Lord because he hath dealt bountifully with me.

[3:49] We would come this evening with the Lord's help to observe a few occasions wherein the people of God will sing because the Lord hath dealt bountifully with them.

[4:06] every revelation of the Lord God will be an occasion to sing. Let us consider that great word.

[4:22] Let us consider that great word. him that sitteth in darkness and hath no light let him trust in the name of the Lord and stay upon his guard.

[4:36] And we may well see while sitting in darkness I think John Bunyan says wars do not a prison make.

[4:50] And one of his characters if I remember rightly was heard to sing. Sing. We find similarly that Paul and Silas they sang in the prison at Philippi.

[5:06] They had sore backs. They were put fast in the socks. They had not their natural freedom. They were in man's eyes condemned.

[5:21] And yet they sang. And they sang praises unto God. Why did they sing praises unto God? Because the Lord hath dealt bountifully with them.

[5:33] But how hath the Lord hath dealt bountifully with them? He had dealt bountifully with them in the past. And may we not say that their faith was persuaded that the Lord would deal bountifully with them in immediate future.

[5:48] And how true it was. For in the immediate future there was to be the conversion of the Philippian jailer.

[5:59] Therefore they sung in anticipation of what God would do. since God had dealt bountifully with them with them hitherto. Would not God continue to deal bountifully with them?

[6:14] Since God had opened the heart of Lydia so to speak in the morning would he not also deal with others in the evening? Would he not bring the judge jailer into concern?

[6:27] So from that point of view we may observe the working of the Spirit of God in the hearts of Paul and Silas wherein they sung at midnight.

[6:40] I think it is in the 119th Psalm somewhere that we read at midnight I will arise and sing. If we look at this from the spiritual point of view midnight a very dark hour shall we truly arise and sing?

[7:04] From the Word of God it is clear that there is such an experience that even at midnight the Lord by His Spirit will cause people to arise and sing.

[7:18] And in your darkest hours maybe sometimes the Lord has brought to your remembrance all the things that He has done for your soul. And though the hour be dark though the future may seem uncertain yet will you not arise and sing?

[7:39] Because there is a remembrance that He hath dealt bountifully with me. He who has helped me hitherto will help me all my journey through and give me daily cause to raise new Ebeneezers to His praise.

[8:01] But then I will sing when the Lord commands deliverances for Jacob.

[8:11] we read in the Minor Prophets by whom shall Jacob arise for he is small.

[8:24] And one of our hymns takes the point like this by whom shall Jacob now arise for Jacob's friends are few and what may fill us with surprise they seem divided too.

[8:41] Can we still sing? Well we shall sing when the Lord will cause Jacob to arise. You will remember going back to the book of Genesis of the occasion when there was a wrestling a wrestling the angel with Jacob and the angel put his hand on Jacob's side and when Jacob arose he limped and he limped as far as we can judge all the rest of his days I will sing unto the Lord because he has dealt bountifully with me at the remembrance of an occasion when perhaps God has put his hand upon us in an affliction or something similar and that mark has remained and the effect of that has remained and we've been affected by that situation by that that came forth of the affliction all our life long but shall we not say

[10:02] I will sing and give unto the Lord and for this reason because he has dealt bountifully with me it is good for us sometimes for God to mark a blessing with even a mark on our bodies and God does this sometimes so that when we look at that mark we may remember the blessing of God that attended it hence I will sing unto the Lord for he hath dealt bountifully with me the occasion of Jacob's blessing was remarkable because the Lord said thy name shall no more be called Jacob but Israel for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men and hast prevailed the greatest blessings are often attended by some mark upon us so that we shall not forget them and yet looking at it shall we not say a certain bodily affliction of weakness may be cherished because it reminds us of a time when God caused us to sing

[11:29] I will sing unto the Lord for he hath dealt bountifully with me but then Jacob was a great sinner he was a supplanter a deceiver as you look at him he was a dishonorable man not worthy to be saved a person according to the natural view of things that should have been rejected but oh the great mercy of God that should have put Joseph put Jacob within the covenant of God's grace and are you one of the worst of sinners are you one of the worst characters do you feel that you're less than the least of all saints and the very chief of sinners not saying these things it's feeling them how wonderful will be the abundant mercy of God if God has made known to you the way of salvation will it not cause you to come in with a psalmist

[12:53] I will sing unto the Lord for he hath dealt bountifully with me he hath saved me by his grace now this brings our attention I will sing unto the Lord I will sing unto the Lord my saviour how good it is when the Lord God becomes a real person to us not just an imaginary figure in our brain not just a word which describes someone that is commonly known but such a one who is real therefore I will sing unto the Lord my saviour from what has the Lord saved us he has saved us from our sins this is the glorious name that was given to him his name to be called

[13:55] Jesus for he shall save his people from their sins now if that blessed truth has been made known to us I will sing unto the Lord Jesus my saviour because he has dealt bountifully with me he has saved me from my sins and this may be subdivided because if he has saved me from my sins he has also saved me from death and if he has saved me from death he has saved me from eternal death which is hell itself therefore I will sing unto the Lord my saviour because he has saved me and not only so but my saviour has saved me in the Lord with an everlasting salvation is it not worth our considering sometimes the salvation which is of

[15:03] God it is everlasting it will never come to an end there will never be a time when with regret we shall receive a letter that our salvation is finished and can no longer be continued no no it is an everlasting salvation will last right through this life and eternity is it not surprising is it surprising then that the psalmist should say say unto my soul I am thy salvation I am thy everlasting salvation salvation at the beginning and salvation at the end and yet there is no beginning and there is no end for this salvation is eternal and everlasting I will sing unto the Lord because he hath dealt bountifully with me that will be a bountiful dealing when we as it were come close together and we are able to say oh

[16:15] Christ thou art the fountain the full sweet well of love and that brings us to another point I will sing unto the Lord the fountain the fountain which is open for sin and for all uncleanness if we have been shown that then is it not an indication of the Lord's bountiful dealing with us a fountain there shall be opened at Jerusalem a fountain for sin and for uncleanness but then we think of the Lord Jesus Christ as being the fountain of all joy all joy what do we know about joy joy in the holy ghost joy in the holy ghost

[17:20] Paul speaks of it when he writes to the church at Thessalonica and he speaks of the blessings which were received in much affliction in joy of the holy ghost you became followers of us and of the Lord as you received the word in much affliction in joy of the holy ghost now Jesus Christ is the fountain of joy I will sing unto the Lord my fountain of my joy because he hath done great things for me he hath dealt bountifully bountifully with me joy in Christ Jesus he is my joy we find the psalmist rejoicing in this at thy right hand there are joys and pleasures forevermore but then

[18:32] I will sing unto the Lord who is great above all gods how good when we see the Lord in his greatness the greatness of his glory there is only one God that there is only one saviour that there is only one that is able to save unto the uttermost that there is only one by whom we may come unto God that is Jesus Christ I will sing unto the Lord then my mediator that one that stands between in garments dyed in blood so that he instead of me is seen when I approach to God will this not cause us to sing have we sometimes entered into the spirit of the psalmist I will sing unto the

[19:33] Lord because he hath dealt bountifully with me bountifully in showing me that there is a mediator Jesus Christ there is one mediator between God and man the man Christ Jesus what bountiful dealing if God has shown you that man that you have felt and proved in your experience that he is your mediator I will sing unto the Lord my mediator one that can take my case in hand and speak for me very similarly may our advocate if any man sins we have an advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous I will sing unto the Lord can we sing unto the Lord our advocate have we got a bad case do we find it is impossible for us to put it into words in order that we may present the matter in such a way that we shall be overcomers that we shall be heard that we shall be accepted

[20:48] I will sing unto the Lord because he hath dealt bountifully with me he has taken up my case and he has presented it in such way that it has been successful and it has been honorably presented he has said exactly what the truth is that I am a sinner violent face but he has also said but I will stand in his place or her place and that's wonderful I will sing unto the Lord my advocate who not only presented the case and presented it in its badness but also presented it in its goodness and that goodness was found in himself and so he says I will be the surety bring us on to this

[21:48] I will sing unto the Lord my surety now how wonderful it is to have a man a real man in heaven who is willing to accept full responsibility to ensure that we get there you know if we get to heaven we do not get there on our own ability or on our own strength but we get there because one even our Lord Jesus Christ has made himself responsible and has given his oath that we shall get there therefore I will sing unto the Lord for he has dealt bountifully with me who can touch the heights and depths of the love of God who was willing to become a surety for my case for your case can you believe that that is true of you what did this involve when the

[22:57] Lord Jesus Christ stood as a surety well it involved this that he had to suffer that he had to accept the heavy weight of sin that belonged to one and another of us and to endure the curse and the shame and the spitting and the pain and the anguish all is our surety oh then if our heart should be touched our cord should be touched then I will sing unto the Lord my surety what it cost him you know the word of God tells us in the Proverbs if a person be assured he shall smart for it there's no doubt that

[23:58] Jesus Christ smarted for being assured he smarted in his own person all the agonies that he bore because he was willing to stand willing to endure willing to receive the punishment due to sinners he knew how wicked man had been he knew that God must punish sin and for his people then he said I'll bear the punishment instead will this not call forth a voice of praise and thanksgiving to see to hear the words spoken if you should be dejected if you should feel that your sins are weighing you down I'll bear the punishment instead on such love my soul still ponder love so great so rich so free say whilst lost in holy wonder why such love oh lord for me so then on this account

[25:19] I will sing unto the lord my surety because he hath dealt doubtfully with me the whole dealing has been the result of love but how shall we continue I will sing unto the lord worshipping the lord in praise and thanksgiving because of what he is to me what is the lord jesus to us john newton picks up a very important point from the scriptures what think ye of christ is the test to try both your state and your scheme you cannot be right in the rest unless you think rightly of him now let us take one or two points of his characters of christ further i will sing unto the lord who is my friend i feel that's a wonderful line of the hymn was jesus my friend when he hung on the tree that opened the channel of mercy for me what grace is given to us that we should be able to exercise such faith and say he is my friend and what should we say ourselves for concerning ourselves we think of that wondrous view given to us i stood amazed and wondered when or why this ocean rose that brought salvation down to men his traitors and his foes were we not identified in that very situation of one time is it not therefore amazing for us to reflect upon this was jesus my friend when he hung on the tree that opened the channel of mercy for me i will sing unto the lord my friend there is a friend that stick it closer than a brother oh what a friend we have in jesus do you ever feel that he is friendly disposed towards you that he has befriended you you know sometimes we come across cases where a child is lost perhaps often and we find or rather hear that someone has befriended them now jesus sought me when a stranger wandering from the fold of god he to save my soul from danger interposed his precious blood was it not as my friend i will sing unto the lord my friend because he has dealt bountifully with me certainly has dealt bountifully with me because if he is my friend then i am his friend abraham was called the friend of god what a remarkable expression the friend of god god if we are it is the result of god dealing with us bountifully because it means that our heart has been altered we were enemies by wicked works at one time and therefore we were at enmity with god and his christ but can we sing this evening because the lord jesus is our friend and we are his friends now what does the scripture say ye are my friends when ye do those things that

[30:24] I command you I will sing unto the lord my friend and singing unto the lord my friend because he hath dealt bountifully with me will surely bring us to consider what does my friend say to me what is it that he desires me to do well we think of that incident recorded in the gospels where there was one that called for some loaves because a friend of his had come in his journey and you know he he said the man that had this request presented to him he said

[31:27] I and my children are with me in bed I cannot get up and give thee but because of his importunity so he got up and gave him that he required similarly we may remember this and shall not God avenge his own elect who cry unto him day and night though he bear long with them I will sing unto the Lord because he has dealt bountifully with me in bearing long with me and yet he has heard me and he has watched over me and he has delivered me from mine enemies and when

[32:32] I have been short he is readily provided and shall not God avenge his own elect are there those this evening amongst us that need God to arise you know the psalmist says let God arise let his enemies be scattered how quickly when God arises out of his place his enemies the enemies of his people yea his enemies will be scattered when hosts of enemies rise up to fill us with dismay his goodness he will make to pass before us in the way we have several literal instances in the scriptures concerning Israel of old where the Lord dealt with their enemies in a remarkable way and we think of that great host of the

[33:36] Assyrians who were ready to envelop and destroy Israel but the Lord sent his angel through the camp and when they got up in the morning behold they were all dead corpses we may have a spiritual experience like that where we go to bed at night and there are many enemies there are many enemies and they are set upon destroying us tempting us to despair but when they got up in the morning behold they were all dead corpses have you ever got up in the morning and your enemies seem to be no longer there and shall not God avenge his own elect who cry day and night unto him though he bear long with them therefore

[34:37] I will sing unto thee Lord my avenger especially because he hath dealt bountifully with me in bearing with me in bearing with my manners in bearing with my importunity in one of the psalms we read the psalmist said I will sing of mercy and of judgment I will sing and give praise so I will sing unto the Lord for his mercy his mercies how great they are we often think about them we often refer to them use the expression sometimes we may use it almost glibly but to feel that the mercies of the

[35:41] Lord are new every morning where do the mercies of the Lord come from they come from him that sits upon the mercy seat and who has said there will I commune with thee from above the mercy seat I will sing unto the Lord as a result of the Lord's communion from above the mercy seat

[36:44] I will I will sing to the Lord the Lord be high yet have respect unto the lowly where at the mercy seat and have we valued the mercy seat and felt that it is in that very place where the Lord Jesus has communed with us it is at such a place that we may expect him to say come now and let us reason together for though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow and though they be red like crimson they shall be as wool the mercy seat therefore I will sing and give praise I will sing unto the Lord unto him that sits upon the mercy seat that deals bountifully with me in so far that he communes with me communion with

[37:54] God is a great blessing maybe we are sad because we have comparatively little experience of it our desires are that we might have more even though they are feeble desires because we know that such occasions are choice occasions I will sing just notice the effect that communion with the Lord Jesus Christ had upon two disciples those well known characters walking on the road to Emmaus when they were filled with dejection and despondency do we get dejected sometimes do we get despondent because as we look at things on the face of them there they seemed to be just desolation well as they were dejected and as they were despondent we read that the

[39:00] Lord himself grew near and went with them they didn't stop they were still walking on their journey he went with them he joined with them and inquired about the reason of their dejection the reason of the sadness upon their faces and they said aren't they a stranger in Jerusalem and knowest not the things that have taken place there in recent days and he said what things and then they told him and he said subsequently oh fools and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken and ought not Christ to have suffered these things and to have entered into his glory and beginning at Moses and all the prophets he expounded unto them in all the scriptures all the scriptures the things concerning himself and so they proceeded and they came near to their house and he made as they would have gone further but they constrained him saying abide with us for the day is far spent and he went in to tarry with them and as he went in to tarry with them so he broke bread and gave it to them and their eyes were opened and he vanished out of their sight and then they said did not our hearts and they knew him and they said did not our heart burn within us while he talked to us by the way and how he opened to us the scriptures

[40:47] I will sing unto the Lord for the communion that I have received from him for the heart burning that I received while he was with me and for the wonderful opening of the scriptures that he gave to me I will sing unto the Lord because he hath dealt bountifully with me those disciples would surely not forget that occasion you will not forget an occasion wherein the Lord has stirred up your desires has stirred up your longings so that you've been willing to forsake everything that your ears have been glued to his speaking and you've heard nothing and been aware of nothing I will sing unto the Lord because he hath dealt bountifully with me now sometimes the

[41:55] Lord may grant unto his people special favours and revelation some more than others for his purposes are to be worked out and if some should receive more than others it is not that they should in any way look down upon those that have received less we are reminded of the psalmist words that thou givest them they gather and those that gathered much had none over and those that gathered little had no lack often our blessings are connected with our trials hence we find Moses saying make us glad according to the years wherein thou have afflicted us and the years wherein we have seen evil make us glad that

[42:58] I may sing unto the Lord because he hath dealt bountifully with me but should it be that the Lord will take you into his special confidence lift your souls up on high bring you into a heavenly place in Christ Jesus so that the world although it's round about you does not have any effect on you then your whole spirit as it were is carried up as Paul speaks about I knew a man forty years ago whether in the body or out of the body I cannot tell God knoweth how that he was caught up into the third heaven and he saw things that it was not lawful for man to see that is that it was not possible for him to describe what he saw

[44:00] I will sing unto the Lord for the abundance of the revelation now we would not ride too high at this point because if we've had any revelation at all it is every reason that we should sing unto the Lord if the Lord has been our hope if he has been the God of hope let us not despise it because the time will come when he may enlarge take you into the interpreter's house you know the Christian and I think faithful they went along a little way before they came to the interpreter's house and there were many strange things there that were revealed to them and maybe the

[45:08] Lord will take you into the interpreter's house I will sing unto the Lord because he has dealt bountifully with me we think of Cowboys lines God moves in a mysterious way his wonders to perform he plants his footsteps in the sea and rides upon the storm and toward the end of him we get this God is his own interpreter I will sing unto the Lord my interpreter we read of it in Elihu's speech that there is an interpreter one among a thousand and what is it that the interpreter speaks about he speaks about this that I have found a ransom to deliver him from going down into the pits and to come back to our point of

[46:09] Paul's revelation Paul's revelation he needed the revelation that he had he had to preach the sentence he had to know that the Lord lived for sure and therefore he was blessed with those exceptional things but if we we may have our revelations how shall we know when we have had these revelations from God they are received in much affliction very often affliction before affliction after now we find this that Paul gives us this testimony and lest I should be exalted above measure by reason of the abundance of the revelation there was given to me a thorn in the flesh a messenger of Satan to buffet me lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations and it is remarkable that that verse begins with the same sentence with which it ends so we may observe this that

[47:33] God has as it were tied this great promise there was given to me a messenger of Satan bound up around this lest I should be exalted above measure we may not always understand why we go through painful paths but can we look at it can we consider it is it because God has favoured us is it because God has shown us something special about himself something that we didn't realise something concerning his blessed Godhead something about the richness of the eternal spirit a glory about father son and holy spirit because we have a nature that is sinful we need something to control us and God sends something to control us and it is the messenger of Satan to buffet us now we are given no particular detail in regard to that messenger of Satan but some of you might know what it is and bear this in mind that when the messenger of Satan does come to buffet you it is because

[48:59] God has blessed you and given you some certain revelation of the glory of Christ and the wonder of his love and the excellency of his name and the greatness of his person I will sing unto the Lord for his great favour to me I will sing unto the Lord for his judgment for the psalmist says I will sing of mercy and of judgment the judgments of God are past finding out and who can find out the strange manner and means of God in sending a messenger of Satan God gives no account of his matters but may we be able to believe this that what he does he does for the best can you imagine where you would be or

[50:05] I imagine where I would be if there was not something to keep us down after we have been favoured with only a little light how quickly we get lifted up and God says you must come down and you must keep low if you are to know revelations of the Lord then you must be on the low plane the revelation of the Lord given to the man that fell among thieves was on a low plane he came where he was and we should observe this in respect to the ways of God it is not that he says to you come up here but it is that he says I will come down to you and I will show you I'm a good physician and a nurse I will show you that I can come where you are you can't come where I am I will sing unto the

[51:11] Lord who remembered us in our lowest state for his mercy and good it forever and in so doing because the Lord hath dealt bountifully with me now the Lord hath dealt bountifully with me if we should be able to sing unto the Lord my redeemer who has brought me back and who has shed his precious blood to put away sin and not only so has sent forth his Holy Spirit to apply that blood and to say that you're clean you're clean when that that is so then we shall sing I will sing not to people generally but unto the

[52:12] Lord now isn't it wonderful when in our singing we sing unto the Lord we often may feel condemned in our singing because we may be afraid that there was no worship in it at all there was no single eye to the glory of God we sung we were influenced by the tune and very little influenced by the words and therefore there was little worship in our singing but sometimes it's different I will sing unto the Lord for he hath dealt bountifully with me we read of the exhortation in the scripture with melody in my heart with melody now here we get a blending together a blending together of the fruit of the spirit of joy and peace in believing how good it is when our singing is dominated by true joy and true peace and true faith and there's no law against this therefore we are free

[53:35] I will sing unto the Lord who hath made me free who hath made me free because he has paid my mighty debt paid is the mighty debt they owed salvation is of grace therefore I will sing unto the Lord but how shall we sing if we use the word rejoice we are reminded of this rejoice with trembling and if God's paid your mighty debt you will not sing in a light way you will rejoice with trembling upon your spirit amazed at the wonderful mercy of God that he should have said I'll pay your debt why if you were in debt in ordinary circumstances and a person came to you in the time of your distress and say

[54:42] I'll pay your debt well do you think you could keep the tears back do you think you could prevent yourself from trembling at this unexpected intervention then how much more when we come to consider our solemn feeling about our sins and the Lord comes in all his simplicity and says I'll pay your debt shall we not tremble we shall rejoice but shall we not tremble shall we not be so to speak shattered by the greatness of the blessing by the wonder of the love of this man who has come and simply said I'll pay your debt and this is what it's all about true religions more than notions something must be known and felt and you'll feel something if God says but I've paid your debt I will sing unto the

[55:43] Lord for he have dealt bountifully with me may we be able to say so to the honour and glory of God Amen hymn 409 the 409th hymn tune indulgence 547 to him that chose us first before the world began to him that bore the curse to save rebellious man to him that formed our hearts anew his endless praise and glory due hymn 409th

[56:46] Вс good the Barations Indeed, in that cold tan sensuously débile Centour, O praise and honor of the youth, praise and praise and glory to you.

[57:43] sera a . . .

[58:37] The End The End And now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father's love and the fellowship of the Eternal Spirit, be with us all.

[59:59] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[60:10] Amen.

[60:34]  Amen. and now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Father's love and the fellowship of the eternal spirit be with you all Amen Amen