Let's now turn to this psalm that we've been singing, Psalm number 78. And at verse 38, Psalm 78 at verse 38. that he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity and destroyed them not. Yea, many a time turned he his anger away and did not stir up all his wrath. For he remembered that they were but flesh, a wind that passeth away and cometh not again. being full of compassion. Friends, the title I've chosen for my address is this, Reaching for Canaan's Land. Reaching for Canaan's Land. We're on our journey, friends. We're on the march. We're heading for the promised land. Every day we have to think of our destination. Every day we have to rise up at the trumpet call, the silver trumpet, and march heavenwards. How are we doing? How are we heading on the way? Do we have that bright vision of our risen Lord to accompany us? Well, sadly, we often, our spirits often droop and we seem to stagger and stumble and wander. And I was speaking to a worthy elder just last week, and he said, it seems I'm getting worse instead of better. Do you know that feeling? I feel I'm getting worse instead of better. Well friends, this Psalm 78 is an illustration of the believer's journey. Yes, it seems to be a historical account of these people of Israel in their unfaithfulness and their judgments and failure. But you notice at the beginning of the psalm it says, I will open my mouth in a parable. So the psalm writer is giving us a parable. He's using these historical events as a picture of something else. Just like Jesus used the parable of the Good Samaritan or the parable of the sowing of the seeds to illustrate something else, the preaching of the gospel and the obedience to it. So this writer is using the history of Israel as a picture of the believer's journey And you say, well, it's not a very attractive picture. It seems to be blemished. The picture, a portrait, is a very blemished portrait. But it's a true portrait, friends. It's a true and a realistic portrait, and that is because every believer is made up of two parts. Everyone here who is following the, trusting the Lord, is made up of two parts. You're made up of that new part, born again of the Spirit of God. But along with it, you still have that old part, that old man, that natural man, which is a continual burden to you so that you get discouraged. And you could even lose track and lose sight of the destination and even of the purpose of your journey. And so this psalm has been written to remind us that yes, looking at ourselves, we see much to discourage us. But despite all the discouragement The journey was being advanced. God was working his perfect purpose and was leading his people to the land of promise which they eventually reached. So look at yourself again this morning. See yourself in this psalm and see what the Lord is saying to you. We see here something of a new beginning, a new beginning when Moses led them from the Red Sea into the wilderness. There were these people that were experienced the mighty work of God in the plagues of Egypt and in the slaying of the Firstborn of Egypt and of the glorious passage through the Red Sea and the smiting and defeat of the Egyptians. Yes, these, well over a million people probably, experienced that and yet they were people of unbelief. They were people of unbelief despite seeing all of that. But along with those who were unbelievers, despite experiencing the grace of God and the power of God, there were others who were born in the wilderness. They were born in the wilderness, and these were raised up as the mighty believers that entered with Joshua into the promised land. These were the Caleb's who accompanied Joshua. And we are the Caleb's that accompany Christ into the promised land if we are born again in the wilderness. So how does that beginning occur? When was it that you were born in the wilderness of this world? Can you remember that time? What did it amount to that you can say, I am a new creature in Christ? Well, the psalm suggests to us that it was a time of healing. No sooner were they out of Egypt than they came to Mara, a place of bitter water, but that water was healed by the application of a tree, which reminds us, of course, of Calvary's tree, which sweetens the bitterness of our sin and our conviction of sin and turns the bitterness of conviction into the sweetness of redemption and of forgiveness. Did you experience a time of Mara? Did you experience that God, the Lord that healeth thee? Were you healed? Can you remember that time in your wilderness journey when the Lord touched you and healed you? from all the diseases, from the diseases of Egypt, the sins and corruptions and idolatry of Egypt was taken from you when you drank of that sweet water of Mara. You say, I was healed. I'm a healed soul. I've experienced the healing of Calvary. Or maybe you think more of the time when you were parched and thirsty and your soul was crying out like some weary traveller in the desert, or like some heart, as the Psalm 42 tells us of, like as the heart for water brooks in thirst of pant and bray. You were brought to that wilderness experience when you felt parched. You said, is there nothing can relieve this aching thirst of my soul for righteousness because I see only a desert of sin in me and around me. A dry, parched land where there is no water. And there, amazingly, out of that sand and rock, water came. Water flowed. Life came when you were at the point of death. Life came in the form of that rock, which is Christ, that has followed you since then. And from time to time, you've re-experienced That refreshment when you were in desperate thirst of soul. Yes, the evidence that you have a new life. The evidence that you are born again. You're a new creature. Or perhaps it was when you were hungry and you said, I've got no strength to go any further. as if you'd come to a halt in your life, and you looked around and said, what do I do next? I feel as if I'm just cornered, as if everything has come to a halt. Is there anyone here who feels like that, or has felt like that? When everything in your life just seemed to be at the point of death, as if everything was over, and then Something came down from heaven. Something came down like the dew on your hungry soul. And Christ became real and precious so that you received him. I am the bread of life. He that comes to me shall never hunger. He that believes in me shall never thirst. It was Christ, wasn't it? It was Christ that came into your experience. It's the Christ that you can never forget. It was a new beginning. Yes, you were in the wilderness, and as you went on, you still feel in that wilderness, you still feel what a struggle this life is, but you cannot forget that healing, that life-flowing stream, that bread for the hungry. So you see, evermore give us that bread. There was a new beginning. But you know it wasn't long after that new beginning that you made a sad discovery, which is illustrated very graphically in this psalm. It was a sad discovery that you still had in your nature a contradiction, something that contradicted these blessings and that sweetness and that life. It's summed up here in three ways. You find, when you looked in your heart, there was still a rebellion there. There was still a resistance. Like Paul, you were saying, the good that I would do that I do not. I'm not doing what I should be doing. Because there is still remaining in you an unaltered rebellion, says he in verse 17. They sinned yet more against him by provoking the most high in the wilderness. You know, friends, this is what Christians are doing these days. This is what the church is doing. Yes, this is what you are doing. We still have us in a rebellious spirit. And the truth has to come out that we're not knowing the power and the glory of the Lord because there's still resistance. You and I are not obedient the way we should be obedient. There's a disobedience. They sinned yet more and more. They tempted God in their hearts. You know this, we are testing the Lord's patience because we're not where we should be. We're not doing what we should be doing. Because we still, although we have a new heart, we still have that old man. But the thing, friends, that is revealed in this psalm is That is not the real you. The real you is the new you. But there's still that old you which is making all the trouble. And you're identifying who you are and your own soul and heart. It's a mixture of glad, confession of Christ, and at the same time, a rebellious, disobedient, resistant spirit, the unaltered rebellion. Here's another thing. It's the persistent doubt, friends. That's what the Lord has to contend with. I know Marian's mother used to say, that's what I'm up against. That's what I'm up against and that's what you're up against. You've got something in you which is contrary, which is working against what you want in your best moments. And this is it, it's unbelief, it's lack of faith. It says here in verse 20, can he provide flesh for his people? We've received the Lord's goodness. But that's all it is, there's nothing more for us. Can he provide flesh for his people? Their faith was, their unbelief was persistent. Despite the evidence that was there of God's goodness, they were still hesitating. Isn't it true, we have to pray again and again, Lord I believe, help my unbelief, oh, the inadequate faith, the failure to recognize our God and his power and his willingness, because that's where unbelief comes from. It's failure to see God as he is. And we've got it, it's built in to that old nature and it will trouble us. And we have to wrestle with it time and again. There's a persistent doubt. And the third thing is this, a spurned salvation. Have you got it? An unaltered rebellion, a persistent doubt, and even a spurned salvation. It says in verse 22, because they believed not in God and trusted not in his salvation. Is there somebody here? You've been hearing the gospel for so many years, and yet the truth is, You are trusting not in the glorious salvation that's being offered to you. You're holding up your hand and you're saying, not yet. You're saying, it'll do another time. You're saying, I'm not ready. You're spurning the salvation. Now is the only time that you're promised. Now is the accepted time. I still remember that story at the induction of Murdo Angus, Murdo Alec MacLeod, to Stornoway, that his friend was talking about, Mr. Graham was talking about when his boys, they were doing a puzzle from the instructor. And the question was, when is the day of salvation? And the little boy, she called out to his father in the study, when is the day of salvation? And he can always remember, now, now, friends, not tomorrow, not when you go home, now. You can have Christ now, as you're listening to me. But they spurned, are you guilty of spurning his salvation? Yes, it's in us, friends. There's in us. a failure to appreciate that there is salvation and that we're to work out our salvation and we're to experience the saving power of the Lord every morning, every day, every week. Is the salvation being accomplished, friends? This is the sad discovery, the sad reality. But you know what about this. The fact is that despite what we are, despite what these Israelites were, it did not stop the Lord. It did not stop the journey. It did not thwart God's purpose. Because being full of compassion, he forgave their iniquity. So what do you do with this old man of yours? What do you do with this track record of failure? You say, Lord, forgive me. Because he wants to forgive you. He wants to forgive it all. Full of compassion. There's no lack of forgiveness, friends. So why are you not taking your failings and weaknesses and saying, Lord, take it away? I want to prove that you can save me from every sin, and I'll search through my soul for another sin to confess, so that I'll experience again that full compassion. It doesn't end there, friends. We can also talk about the unreasonable failure There's a sad discovery, there's an unreasonable failure. We can see why it is that this was so unreasonable, the way these people were acting. Look at the three things we can see here that contend against our unbelief and our resistance and our doubts. First of all, it's the plentiful supply. Yes, in verse 24, he rained down manna for them to eat. There was so much of it. It was just everywhere. And they could go out and collect all that they needed. There was no shortage. There was no rationing. They could just have all that they needed for big hungry boys. And for old folks and working men, there was enough there that the mothers could gather in. And they never had to say, there isn't enough for you tonight, son. It was always enough because he rained down manna for them to eat. Friends, God is rich in mercy, as Paul says. God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us. Are you enjoying the riches of his mercy? And are you thanking him hour after hour? Lord, thank you for your mercy, the plentiful mercy. Can you tell a story today to your friends? Can you share after this service some of the mercies of the Lord? It's an endless story. and yet our mouths are shut. Oh friends, look at the plentiful supply that has come because the Lord Jesus completed a full salvation that takes care of every need of your soul and spirit. There's a supply that will be waiting for you on every step that you take until you reach the very margins of Jordan. Plentiful supply. Along with this, friends, that gives no excuse for this is the piercing judgments. The piercing judgments that came upon them. the wrath of God came upon them and slew the fattest of them and smote down the chosen men of Israel. Have you, we're commemorating this year, next month in fact, the terrible losses in Lewis. And that was of course throughout our nation and across Europe and America, the fearful losses that took place in 1914-18 until, thankfully, it came to a halt in November 1918. And you say, why? These lovely young men swept to their death under the machine guns and Flanders. Why did it have to happen? It seemed that God was angry with our nation and with the whole of Europe were battering each other to death for years. It was a piercing judgment of God upon our nations at that time. And there are piercing judgments that come to all. Whenever death comes to our families, we're reminded the wages of sin is death. And it's a voice, isn't it? God was not angry unreasonably. He wasn't angry because he was giving up on his people. It was righteous anger for their sanctification. When they saw around them men falling to the ground dead, then it was a voice that they were but failing flesh. Let's hear the voice of God when he visits us. with death around us. Are we listening? Are we becoming used to these things? Piercing judgments. And then there's what I call the prolonged frustrations. It says in verse 33, therefore their days did he consume in vanity and their years in trouble. I don't know what you've been through, but I'm sure many of you have been through more than I've been through, but I can remember all kinds of times when I just seemed to be at my wit's end, and I said, why does it have to be like this? Why have I met this discouragement? Why am I disappointed with this one? Why am I not seeing more of souls saved in my ministry? Why? Why? Why? are our days consumed with frustration, preaching and preaching, but where are the souls saved? And the Lord is withholding his blessings so often. It's because, friends, we are not where we should be in prayer and in faith. You all know the revival that came to Lewis in the 1950s, and we're told it was through two old ladies in Braggar that decided every Tuesday and every Friday we'll spend time in prayer from 10 o'clock at night till three in the morning. Is anyone here doing that? Has anyone got to that place where they feel we have to, is there any way that we can break the deadness that's taken over? It's clear from example, friends, the answer is increased pleading with God, increased pleading with God. Otherwise we'll continue with our frustration. Is there anything that prayer can't do? Is there anything that our God cannot do if we ask him? And so friends say, What did these people, why did these people get into such a low ebb? It was because of their forgetfulness. Memory can be the clue to blessing. First of all, they forgot, we're told, the redeeming rock. You see in verse 35, it says there, They remembered that God was their rock and the high God their redeemer, the redeeming rock. What a beautiful picture this is of Christ, that we need to take our stand, as so many of the Psalms tell us, on the rock of our salvation. We need to plant our feet with confidence, with faith and expectation, On the power of Christ, Jesus says, on this rock, I will build a church. What was the rock? It was the rock of the reality of who Christ was, the confession of who Christ was as the Son of the living God, the sent Savior. On that basis of the redeeming rock, There's no end to the victories that can be won. There's a forgetfulness of the compassionate covenant. Being full of compassion, he forgave their iniquity and destroyed them not. And it tells us there that they didn't remember his covenant. Do you know what these people were doing? Were they just wandering around in the wilderness? No. These people were marching in the company of the covenant. The ark of the covenant was there, and that's why they were going, because the covenant was on the move that God had made with his people. It was an emblem of the everlasting covenant, the covenant of grace. And it's what gave meaning to all that they were doing, and assurance that God had a glorious eternal plan for them. In that covenant, of course, were the Ten Commandments, and in that covenant were the badge of Aaron's priesthood, the budding rod, and in that covenant, in that box of the covenant, the ark, there was the pot with the manna in it. And these things, revealed the Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, as if they were being accompanied by the triune God. And we are too, friends. As we progress, do you have the vision that we are being accompanied as we march by the presence of God? If thou go not with us, carry us not hence. And the promise is, my presence shall go with thee. I will give thee rest. And finally, friends, we can see here the wondrous works. This is to try and quell, quell that presence of the old man and give us a vision. You see, the old man is very evident, but the new man isn't seen. You don't see the new man. The only way that the new man exerts his influence on your soul is by keeping your focus on Christ. Because it's not anything in you that gives you the victory over sin. It's all outside you. It's all there. with Christ and his continued wonderful works of grace in your life. Look at verse 43. For he had wrought his signs in Egypt and his wonders in the field of Zion. He had done that already and that was a deposit, it was a promise, it was a guarantee that the same God of wonders would continue with them all the way. So that every day, friends, they could live by the inspiration of a wonder-working God. This is the God that's with us, friends. This is the God of Jacob that is with us. And so, are you going this week to progress on reaching Canaan's land? Do you have the secret of progress to overcome the stagnation that can so often creep over and hamper and hinder us? Our friends, remember the redeeming rock. Remember the compassionate covenant. Remember the wondrous works of the Lord. Let us pray.