Okay. give you all a very warm welcome to this evening's worship service. We're again grateful to our own pastor for leading this time and bringing to us God's Word. Just a reminder that this coming Wednesday Bible study will be taken by Pastor Geoff Marshall and we're grateful to have him with us at the O praise the Lord, all ye nations, praise him, all ye people, for his merciful kindness is great toward us, and the truth of the Lord endureth forever. Praise ye the Lord. Let us come now to the Lord in prayer. Ever-blessed God, we come tonight to worship thee. That is why we have gathered, O Lord, We thank thee for the blessings of fellowship amongst ourselves. But Lord, we come chiefly to give thee the praise and the glory, for thou art worthy. O Lord, help us to join in with so many in heaven and around the world tonight in praising thee. Draw near to us a little further, we wait for thee to come a little further and touch our hearts, Lord, may we be conscious of thee now. Bless us through thy words, bless us through thy Saviour, our Saviour. O Lord, we thank thee for him. Cleanse us from our sins, heavenly Father. We have sat at the table, Lord, if thou shouldst mark iniquity, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared. We seek thy forgiveness. Be magnified now, for Christ's sake. Amen. Our first praise is the 103rd Psalm, number 103, and we're singing verses 1 to 5. And the tune is New Britain, O thou my soul, bless God the Lord, and all that in me is, be stirred up his holy name to magnify and bless. Number 103, verses 1 to 5. For Thou art my strongest, Lord and Lord, and all that is. The end, the spirit of His holy name, to man defined and blest, Blessed my soul, the Lord my God, and I'll forgetfully ♪ Of all His gracious benedicts ♪ ♪ We have this song from Thee ♪ ♪ O Thine iniquity ♪ In his good heart most graciously forgive. Good-bye, disease, there's all that pain. Downhill, gladly, freely. Who does redeem thy life that thou to death mayst lower now? To thee, with lovingkindness dovet, And tender mercies crown, Who with the bounteous offerings doth satisfy thy vow, So glad we have thee, O Saint, Renewed in thy youth. If you would turn with me for our consecutive reading to Proverbs 21. Proverbs 21 and we're going to read from verse 17 to the end of the chapter. Proverbs 21 and we'll commence the reading at verse 17. He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man. He that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich. The wicked shall be a ransom for the righteous and the transgressor for the upright. It is better to dwell in the wilderness than with a contentious and an angry woman. There is a treasure to be desired and all in the dwelling of the wise, but a foolish man spendeth it up. He that followeth after righteousness and mercy findeth life and righteousness and honour. A wise man scaleth the city of the mighty and casteth down the strength of the confidence thereof. Whose soul keepeth his mouth, and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles. Proud and haughty scorner is his name, who dealeth in proud wrath. The desire of the slothful killeth him, for his hands refuse to labour. He coveteth greedily all the day long, but the righteous giveth and spareth not. The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination, how much more when he bringeth it with a wicked mind. A false witness shall perish, but the man that heareth speaketh constantly. A wicked man hardeneth his face, but as for the upright, he directeth his way. There is no wisdom, nor understanding, nor counsel against the Lord. The horse is prepared against a day of battle, but safety is of the Lord. Amen. May the Lord add the blessing to the reading of his precious word. We turn to our second praise in light of Proverbs 21, number 141. Our second praise, number 141, verses 1 to 5, and the tune is Martyrdom. Number 141. O Lord, I unto thee do cry, do thou make haste to me, and give an ear unto my voice when I cry unto thee. Verses 1 to 5. O Lord, my God, to Thee do I give all praise to Thee, and with a hymn unto my voice When I cry unto Thee As incense let my prayer be Directed by Thy light And He awakened in all my hands, And He made sacrifice. Send o'er the watch before my mouth, Before my lips the call. My heart and mind have long gone to the ills I should have borne To practice with them was with men, Like walking in whiskey. And with the elements my taste, let me not satisfy Let in that righteous, serious mind, It shall arrive at thee. Let him bring fruit, I shall encount'r a precious oil to me. Such might it shall not brave my head, for yet the time shall go When I invent the vanities, to God grateful then shall Our New Testament reading is Hebrews chapter 11 and we're reading from verse 1 through to verse 16. Hebrews 11 verse 1 through to verse 16. Let us hear God's word. Now faith is the substance of things hopeful, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts. And by it he being dead, he had spoken. By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death, and was not found, because God had translated him. For before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please him. For he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house, by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for inheritance, obeyed. And he went out, not knowing whether he went. By faith he sojourned in the land that was promised, as in a strange country, dwellings in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs of him had the same promise, for he looked for a city which had foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Through faith also Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered to a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised. Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable. These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country, and truly if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned, but now they desire a better country. That is a hemdeny. Wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. Amen. May the Lord add the blessing to the reading of his precious word. Let us continue in prayer. O gracious God, we thank thee that thou hast put that desire in our hearts as we make our journey. O Lord, the desire for a better country. One day we shall be in the city above. O how wonderful that will be. We thought earlier, O Lord, that Christ has gone on before us aforementioned. And there he is, and there a presence, immediate presence is known there in heaven. And oh, what joy is known there. And we thank that he's appearing there for us, and he's preparing a mansion for us. Our hearts are towards heaven, Lord. We confess tonight on the journey, we are strangers and we are pilgrims. We don't belong to this world. O Lord, we live in certain places, but it's not our long home. Our long home is heaven, and we look forward in expectation. Help us to look up tonight. Help us to exercise faith on the journey, we pray, to remember home and to remember who is there at home, our beloved Redeemer. O Lord, we come, we frankly for faith, how precious is the gift of faith. It did not grow of itself in our barren hearts, it was put within by the Spirit. How precious it is! For we were found looking unto Jesus. Oh, we pray for the ministry of the Spirit in our hearts. May that grace be excited that we will gaze longer at Jesus tonight. and thy word as we consider it. We thank thee for thy word, for it is a lamp and a light to guide us, to direct us all our days here below. Lord, may we take hold of it day by day. May we take hold of it and read it, but also meditate upon it as the psalmist did, to pause and consider what thou art saying, what thou art showing to us, what we are to do, O Lord, may we meditate on thy word, may we think much of our Saviour as we turn to the word. From Genesis to Revelation we consider Christ. O may we think much of Jesus as we turn to the word. Day by day we pray. Bless the preaching of thy word tonight, as we consider the pilgrim journey in the guide we have. O may we stay close to thee, the guide, and may we look to thy word also that guides us. O help us on the journey. Be with us this coming week. Be with our going out and coming in. Keep us safe on the roads or on other forms of transport. Keep us safe, Lord, we pray. Would you pray for those who make long distances? Would you pray for Stephen this week? Be with him or go with him as he returns to the North, to Scotland, undertaken every way. Be his guide and be his support. We pray for him and the congregation, the church he returns to. Bless the free Church of Scotland continuing, not only in Scotland, but in other countries of the world. Bless them, O Lord, encourage them. We thank thee for them, we thank thee for our brethren north of the border, O Lord, be with them. We pray for thy servant on the isle of Skye, encourage him, deliver Meredith Macleod. We pray for thy servant in Inverness and other places we know, be with thy servants. So be with Stephen, go before him. We pray it won't be too long before we see his face visiting us, Oh, we pray for him in the bonds of love this evening now. So Lord, hear us, we pray. Be with all the young people here, we thank Thee for them. Go before them as they make their journey. Those that love Thee here tonight, go before them as they make their journey. O Lord, we beseech Thee, may they know that they are walking with Thee. Step it away, encourage them. At times we need encouragement because we can be weary, but thankful for a friend who comes alongside to encourage us. Blessed Saviour, come alongside the young people and us all to encourage us on the journey, we pray. We do pray for those who have appointments coming up, be with them, undertake. We do pray for a home, for serenity. O Lord, may she even hear back this week. O Lord, provide for her. We thank thee as we considered this morning. Thy name is Jehovah-Jireh. Thou dost see and thou dost see to it. O Lord, we would remind thee carefully of thy name. Thou dost see her need. We pray then this week that thou would see to it. We pray. Thy will be done. Undertake for us all. We pray. We do pray for thy servant, Pastor Marshall, coming here on Wednesday. Bless him and encourage him, O Lord. We pray for the churches of them. We thank thee for them. Do add to their numbers, O Lord. So many of us in smaller congregations, we make that prayer to life, O Lord. Add to our numbers. Save precious souls, may there be a work of the Spirit in Totten, here in this community and other places we know of. Karma of Motherford, Lord, we pray for a work of the Spirit. We can think of many small congregations in the Free Church of Scotland continuing. May there be a work of the Spirit. Draw poor, lost, wandering sinners to the fold. We pray unto our members, bring others, O Lord, those who fall in love and join with us here and assist us in the work, Lord. We pray for that. O Lord, hear us now then, we pray for our nation. Have mercy upon us. We see the hypocrisy of the media in so many places, not everyone, but we've been reminded of it this week. O Lord, have mercy, we pray. We pray for our Prime Minister, open his eyes, Lord. That is his great need, if it pleases thee, open his heart and eyes. Give us leaders that fear thee. We so need it, O Lord. We're reaping the consequences of ungodly leaders, Lord. Give us men and women who fear thee in Parliament. We thank thee for those who do love thee. Lord, may it even be that they are used and they find themselves in a greater place of Usefulness, O Lord, and authority, O we pray for them. So hear us now, bless like wind, draw us nearer, may we have a sense of heaven in the soul tonight. May Christ be so precious to us, draw near, he is the friend that's to get closer than the brother, O may the friend speak in our hearts tonight. And in days to come, hear us O Lord, When we turn to our third praise, number 107, verses 1 to 8, the key is humility. We think of the journey here of the children of Israel and God's people as a whole. And what do we read in verse 7? They are more so in a right, in a way to walk, that right is he that died, that they might to a city go wherein they might. abide the right way to the city. We can think of heaven and the Lord will lead us wherever we find ourselves like Abraham at times we go out not knowing the way he will lead us in the right way even if it seems contrary to what we think. It will be the right way till we find ourselves on the golden shore. Psalm 107 we're going to sing verses 1 to 8 to the tune of humanity. Praise God for He is good for sin. His mercy's outstripping me. Then cause me to be in place of whom you be. broken, disbanded, free, and gather them out of the land, from north, south, east, and west, They strayed in death's darkest way, not yet to come to rest. All perched and hungered in their fate, Their soul restrains them breast. They cry unto the Lord and He then frees from their distress. Therefore shall we, in a way, do all that Thine is being right. That they might to the city go, Wherein they might abide. O that they too the Lord would give, Praise for His goodness then, And for His works of wonder done, Unto the sons of men. Over a number of years when I have visited Scotland, one thing I have noted of the congregations there is their love. That shines forth whereas Stephen returns to the North, to the Highlands. You go with our love and be assured of our prayers and we trust it won't be too long before we see you at least visiting here back in the South. It's a blessing to be able to speak in love, isn't it? The love and the unity I see in so many of the congregations is what I see here at Ipswich. So from the far South to the very North of Scotland, we're thankful for the ties and bonds we have and we have so much in common. The journey, the Pilgrim journey, we continue to consider tonight and as we do so, I'd like us first of all just to read, because it's the setting of this series, Hebrews 11 verse 13, but then we'll turn to Psalm 119 and verse 105. What a journey it is, and there's so much to consider. We've sung tonight how the Lord leads in the right way, but that will be another sermon as we consider the pilgrim journey. but tonight we're particularly going to consider verse 105 of psalm 119 but let's read first of all hebrews 11 verse 13 we'll just once again in this series just set the scene these all died in faith not having received the promises but having seen them afar off and were persuaded of them and embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth they confessed it was their confession it's what they speak They were strangers and pilgrims. They didn't belong to this world. They were on a journey, a pilgrim journey to the city above. Precious are those words with just some. How the Lord leads in the right way to the city. We think how he led the children of Israel. We think how he led these heroes of faith in Hebrews chapter 11, particularly, and then how he's leading us. all the way until we get to the city. We thought earlier, did we not have the ascension of Christ at the table? He's gone on before. He's the forerunner. What joy there was when he entered heaven. And you will see the joy. You will hear the joy when you follow Christ into the glorious city above. Pilgrims and strangers on the earth. And so we continue. We're just beginning aren't we? We began last week to consider the pilgrim journey and what a blessing. It begins with Christ and at the end of the journey there will be your great guide, your saviour to welcome you into heaven, dear child of God. Well that's the theme of this series, let's turn tonight to Psalm 119 verse 105. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. Dear congregation, the pilgrim, the true believer, is not without guidance. Now first of all we consider the Lord himself, he is the one that so guides us. Psalm 48 verse 14, for this God is our God forever, but he will be our guide even unto death. And we think there of the shepherd, one who drives a flock, guides them, and we think of our good shepherd there, the Lord Jesus Christ. What a guide he is. Remember, he is the author, and he is the finisher of our faith. And on the journey, he guides us, and he'll guide us all the way home, because he's the finisher. You remember, your guide is the author. And your guide is the finishing. He will be our guide even unto death. He'll guide you all the way. When you come to the last valley on the journey, you may be unconscious, but his rod and his staff will comfort you. He'll come and he'll guide you in that last valley. He'll guide you through those last steps. He'll guide you to the point of death and then what will he do? He'll welcome you into heaven. That's the reality. What a prospect. Your guide will guide you through that valley and he'll welcome you home at the end of the valley in the city of heaven above. All the way. And let that be a comfort. The Lord will guide you all the way. At times he must come to bring you near to himself again, because we slip and backslide. There is his rod, there is his staff to bring us near in a loving way. But he will guide you all the way home. You consider in the wilderness how he led the children of Israel by the pillar of cloud. by day and the pillar of fire by night. Just turn with me briefly to Exodus 13 verse 20, in the edge of the wilderness and the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them the way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light to go by day and night. That's interesting isn't it? The Lord went before them in a pillar of a cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. It was the Lord there and he leads us, we'll come back to that in a moment as we consider this text. Do you see it there? The lamp by night and the light in the day, we think of the Lord's dealings in the wilderness. He needs us and He does so in a gracious way. Isaiah 40 verse 11, He gently leads those that are with you. That's grace, isn't it? It's also mercy. In a gracious way He leads, in a loving way. He so loves you. When you're in a valley, He so loves you, so He will come and support you. When you backslide in a valley, He so loves you, so He will come. He leads in a gracious, loving, and merciful way. We need mercy, and He knows it. He gently leads those that are with you, and they have their burdens. If you're your burdens tonight, oh, consider Christ your guide. He is so merciful. He will not put on you more than you can bear on the journey. You know, sometimes we seem to have many burdens. He knows, and he will not add another burden if you were not able to bear it. He knows. He leads in a gracious, loving, and merciful way. And as we think of his leadings, we have his word to help us. The psalmist said, thy word is a lamp unto my feet. and a light unto my path. We'll come to this in a moment, but just consider, it's the Lord leading, isn't it? Thy word. Notice how that verse begins. Thy word. Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we have the Lord at our side, and as we are our pilgrim, we have a book in our hand. You think of certain ones who make a journey, particularly in olden days, they didn't have smartphones, And sometimes perhaps the old maps were better anyway. More interesting sometimes, aren't they? But think of olden days, someone making a journey, they would have a map book in their hand. We're a pilgrim and we have a precious book in our hand, the very word of God. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. So as we consider the pilgrim journey tonight, I'd like us to consider direction. There's direction on the journey. The Lord directs us and he uses his word. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. For two brief things tonight, Why do I say brief? Because there's so much we could consider. But first of all, a lamp and a light to show us the way. We'll be brief there. And secondly, taking hold and using God's word. Taking hold and using God's word. Well, first of all, a lamp and a light to show us the way. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. Now we have here the word of God described as a lamp and a light. And plainly it gives light on what we're to believe and the way we're to go. This is what we're to do. This is what we're to believe. We're to follow the Lord in this pathway. And he shows us each step of the journey. Think again of a good old map book. When I was young, not many years ago, when we were going on holiday, out would come the map book if we went down a wrong road. And my father or my mother, they would look at the map book, well that's where we're to be going, and then they would trace a certain road, maybe a single road or a George Drew carriageway, and they were to go that way. They would take the book, and they would look at it, they would read the names of the towns, the villages, and the cities, and they would look at the road numbers, Take the A35 or the A31 going down the west country so forth and they would be directed and they would follow. Well, you have a blessed book. It's a lamp and it's a light. And just note these words, just note them and consider again the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. It's very interesting, isn't it? As we think how the Lord led the children of Israel through the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire, what do we meet here in verse 105? Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. Now consider in the wilderness, in the daytime, in the nighttime they were led, and God's word comes to us. Sometimes we read it in the nighttime, sometimes we read it in the daytime, but then further consider in different situations, Oh God's Word is a guide to us. Years ago, one would take a lamp. We use torches today, don't we? I often lose my torch. One in my family's got it. But think of years ago, the lamp held in the hand. One could see where they were standing and then they could see the way. And they would be going forward with the lamp in the night time. and they would know where to place their foot. You know, if it was dark without a lamp, they may fall down a rabbit hole or into a pool of water. That's happened at times, isn't it? You're walking along, you haven't got a torch, and suddenly your feet are wet. You've just slipped into a pool. But with a lamp or a torch, you can see the way in the nighttime, but also light in the day. In our lives as a whole, God's word gives direction. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. We can think of different times of the day there, but different situations, and in our life as a whole, the Lord leads through his word. We thought also of his providence tonight, haven't we? In Psalm 107, we can think of his providence there. He leads in the right way. And how often in His providence the Word comes home to us. Ah, the Lord knew I needed this, I needed that direction. A couple weeks ago I was reading in my consecutive readings these words, He hath dwelt long enough, turn northward. And I was amazed at those words. In His providence, I read that in my consecutive reading, the Lord guides in different situations He guides in the morning, he guides in the evening, he guides in our life as a whole. Now just note these words here again. Right word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. A lamp, we can think in the night time, and a light in the day time. Well, it's just two things to show us the same thing, isn't it? Different times, yes, we could consider, or different situations, but the thing is here, which the Lord makes known, his word gives direction. His word gives direction. Listen to the Puritan Thomas Manton as he comes to verse 105. Of the double notion by which the direction of the word is set forth. Just think of the first part of the verse. Thy word is a lamp unto thy feet. It shows us where we're to go, what we're to believe, and where we're to go. A light unto my path. We think of the path. We have a lamp to show us where we're to start, where we're to tread, and the pathway, it gives direction. So that's the main thing we're learning here, but we can consider different situations and in our life as a whole. Now just pause, you think of a lamp used in the nighttime, it's dark. And yes, we're particularly considering here in this verse, direction. But are we not thankful, just pause and consider this, that the Lord and the glorious gospel has sung into your soul, we thought this morning, of the blindness. Solemn, isn't it? The Lord makes it plain after giving the parable to the sower of blindness. And so many are blind to them. So many are in darkness to them. But you, dear child of God, the Lord who is the light of the world, and this glorious gospel has shone into your heart. Second Corinthians 4, verse 4. The light of the glorious gospel of Christ, it shone. There was such darkness, but it shone into your soul. And the gospel was known. Oh, we're not thankful. He enlightened the darkness and there's light within. Oh, just pause and consider that. But particularly consider here, God's word gives direction, like a lamp in the night and the light, the light of the sun, we could say, in the day. Direction. Are we not reminded of the journeys of the children of Israel in the wilderness? And particularly in light of this, and many of the old writers point this out, of the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. Just turn with me again to Exodus 13 verse 21. And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud to lead them the way and by night in the pillar of fire to give them light to go by day and night. Just pause there. You remember they were to pack up the camp if the clouds moved and they were to follow. Sometimes it happened very quickly. Other times they found themselves a long time in a certain place. Sometimes it was in the night time. The pillar moved in the night time. There are times when we just want to rest, do we not? In the night time. The children of Israel, they would have wanted to rest, but sometimes they saw the pillar of fire moving, so they knew they had to pack up the tent. Everybody must get out. It's time to move. In the daytime it may be, or the night time, different times of the day. You see the point there. God's word gives us direction in different situations. It may be darker or lighter. They were to move on. Well, let's just open this up and time is moving very quickly. First of all, as we consider these things, the lamp and the light, It's one. It belongs to the Lord. The lamp, the light, belongs to the Lord. Just notice how the verse begins. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. Thy word is God's word, isn't it? In 2 Timothy 3 verse by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. Breathed out by God, Psalm 68 verse 11, the Lord gave the Word. Just consider the book you have before you tonight. It's God's Word. And are we not thankful for this book? I was reading an article yesterday. The TPS has put it on there. I'll read it again tomorrow in London. So many people have not got a Bible in their own town. It took me back. How blessed we are for you to read these verses tonight. There's some believers, they can't read. from a faithful translation. So many have not the word of God, unless we are. It's God's word, isn't it? And you'd be thankful for that. This book is God's word. He who so loves you has spoken and he speaks to you through his word. He speaks to rebuke you at times. He speaks to comfort you, to support you, to strengthen you. He speaks to direct you. And so we say with the psalmist, show me thy ways, O Lord. Show me thy ways. It's God's Word. We reach for the book without any doubt in the mind. It's God's Word. Remember the Brethren at Thessalonica? How did they receive the Word of God? Not just the Word of men, but as it is in truth, the Word of God, which affects the work of also in you that believe. 1 Thessalonians 2 verse 13. It's God's Word. Now sadly, and this is a cause for great concern, many have raised doubts upon the word of God. The rise of the higher criticism from the German academic circles emerged in the 19th century and has done much damage. Higher criticism. Criticizing, we could say. Is it really so? And many have questioned, even in the visible church. You just consider that. Those who've questioned, well perhaps it's not true. They question the authors, the deity of Christ. How very solemn that is. If it's not God's word, there's no hope for you. How can we be sure the gospel is true, if it's not God's word? What about comfort? You need comfort, but if it's not God's word, or if it's question, how can you say, well, perhaps those words, peace I leave with you, aren't really true. How dangerous it was. The rise of the higher criticism from the German academic circles. Many have poured questions upon God's word. But it's God's word, you can rest in it. The gospel is true. Your faith is not in vain. And when you read of comfort, you can be assured it's of me. The Lord has come and he has comforted my soul. It's God's word. It's humbly received. As we think of the direction, there's times the Lord directs us and he rebukes us as he directs us. So receive it humbly. It's God's word, isn't it? Oh, treasure the word of God. The psalmist said in Psalm 119, verse 72, The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver. Therefore I love thy commandments above gold, yea, above fine gold, verse 127, as well. It's better to me. Do you say that? It's better to me than thousands of gold and silver. Yes, money can be a help, but thy word is such a blessing to me and that's why I turn to it each day that's why I read it and I treasure it and oh I read of my saviour I read of my precious saviour I love God's word therefore I love thy commandments above gold yeah above fine gold have you some precious gold item in your possession maybe a gold ring precious, isn't it? It tells of your Redeemer, who is precious. It comforts you in affliction. Just turn back the page to verse 50. This is my comfort in my affliction, for thy word hath quickened me. As we make our journey, there are times when our peace is disturbed and we need comfort. How precious is the And when the Spirit takes and applies, we know a measure of comfort, don't we? This is my comfort in my affliction, that thy words have quickened me. It brings warmth in our sadness, remember the word to amaze. The Lord knew they were sad, but he had come on a mission of mercy. And oh, they knew this heartwarming influence in the soul. They speak of it later, did not our heart burn in us while we He talked with us by the way and while he opened to us the scripture, Luke 24, verse 32, the warning of the soul and how precious it is, isn't it? At times we feel a little coldness and we can be sad. Is anyone sad here tonight? You look to the Lord your God. You listen to his word. And in our sadness at times, complexity as well as we see on the road to a maze and confusion. The Lord can speak and the Spirit applies and we know the warming in the soul, there's nothing like it is there. Warming in the heart through the Lord and his word. We're warmed on the journey and what do we say to the Lord? Warm my soul on the journey to heaven. You say that tonight. Warm my soul On the journey to him, it's cold out there and it's getting colder this week. We need warmth. Oh, it's cold out there at times, isn't it? And it can be a little cold in our hearts. Warm my soul on the journey. There's times of sadness and I feel cold maybe. Warm my soul on the journey. Where is the Lord? Those two were thinking. There's times we can think, where is the Lord? And there's sadness. Warm my soul on the journey. How precious is this book? And consider it gives direction. How precious is this book? How many times have you been in a situation, you've been praying to the Lord, Lord, Lord, show me the way. Show me the way. And it may be a week later, you're reading through some chapter in your consecutive reading, or you've picked up the Bible, and you've just turned to this chapter, and the Lord speaks, and you're taken back, and you're amazed, and, Lord, you knew my way. Well, of course you don't. But there's times when it's so impressed upon us, isn't it? Lord, I just know my way. It's impressed upon our soul and we're given direction and we know this is the way and we're to walk there and there's direction through God's word on the journey. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. Think of the pathway in front of you. Be thankful. Where does it end? At the gates of heaven. The pathway in front of you where the Lord will guide you and he use his word There's direction. The Lamb shows me what I'm to believe and where I'm to go. And the Word of God guides every step on that journey. And I tell you this, as we think of these words, like where does the Lamb come to my feet? You believe it, and of course you do believe it, but you believe it every step of the journey. The little things, don't forget to bring them to the Lord. on the journey. Bring the little things to the Lord. Every step, the Lord is able to guide you. If it's dark, what do you do? You bring your torch, don't you? You brought your torch tonight? Or were you hoping the lights were on the chapel like I was? I didn't bring my torch. But what do you do if it's really dark and you know you're going on a Walk and it's dark. You bring a torch. Or you make sure that your smartphone is charged up. Sometimes it goes below 5% doesn't it? And you can't use the torch. So you make sure your smartphone is charged up. You don't go out in the dark when you know it's going to be pitch black without a torch. Don't go out in the dark times of life. Only end of the day without your torch. Take the Word of God, we'll consider this in a moment. There's direction for you. You remember that in every situation. In the home, in the community, when you consider about the future, maybe marriage, there's direction for you in the Word of God. It's a book full of direction. There's direction for you when you've got to go to a hospital appointment, when you've got to consider other things, practical things, There's direction for you when it's hard in the family. There's direction for you. The Lord leads. It's a lamp and a light. Let's just open this up a little further as we close. You think of the lamp in the night time. It's considered a darkness of affliction. Isaiah 50 verse 10, who is among you that feareth the Lord and obeyeth the voice of his servant that walketh in darkness and have no light. Let him trust in the name of the Lord and stay upon his God. It's a God favor then, it's a believer. Not one in ignorance or unbelief, no. Who is among you that faith the Lord, that obeyed the voice of his servant? You've listened to Jesus, you're at his feet. But you're walking in darkness. The darkness of sorrow and affliction. Dark times come. Sometimes the way can be easy to a measure, but then a darkness, a dark time comes, a cloud comes over you, and it's dark. It gets dark, doesn't it? Remember the disciples in the storm, it was dark. Sometimes in a storm it gets darker, and it's hard going. Providence is dark and mysterious, and often it can appear that way, can't it? And you know, there's certain things we may not know to heaven. Providence is dark and mysterious, and I'm sure you can think of certain things, and you know it's all in God's most holy and wise providence, but it's dark to you. It's mysterious to you. You know, all things are working for your good to make you more like Christ, but there are some dark and mysterious things. There's the dark and mysterious providences. There's the darkness of affliction. you reach for the book, you may be perplexed, confused, hardly know what to think, you reach for the book, reach for God's Word, you may be in the depths like we sang of earlier, Psalm 130, Lord from the depths, confused, perplexed, weary, cast down, struggling on the journey, you may be sinking, What do we read through Psalm 69 verse 1? Save me, O God, for the waters are coming unto my soul. I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing. I am coming to deep waters, where the floods overflow me. I'm sinking! Deep waters, sometimes the Lord's people go through, and they're sinking. The clouds of sorrow have come over, and it's dire. will you stay upon your guard, you trust him and as you do so you reach for the boat and you remember your sympathising high priest. Psalm 69, we see most of all the saviour there, I sink in deep mire, there's mire to go through on the journey, difficult times, where it's hard walking. Think of Christ. He sunk in deep mire. He was in such sorrow. He knew what it was to be so afflicted. He sympathises with you when it's dark in your life, a time of darkness. Reach for the lamp and remember Him who gave you the lamp and that He sympathises with you. A lamp in the darkness. Can I say it when you're struggling, when you're in the darkness of affliction, when providence is dark and mysterious? Reach for the book. Ask the Lord to speak to you. Show me thy ways, O Lord. It's hard, Lord. You tell that to the Lord. Don't be ashamed to say that to the Lord. He knows already. Don't keep it back from the Lord. You tell the Lord and ask him, Speak to me, Lord, in this dark trial I'm going through. In dark times, reach for God's Word, but also when the way is a little easier. You think of the daytime. Think of the sheep at the green pasture in the day. They're not fearful in the night time.