Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit · Sermon No. 1802
“LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble: You will prepare their heart, You will cause Your ear to hear.” Psalm 10:17.
NOTICE at the outset, the logic of this verse. It is very simple, very forcible, very accurate logic. It runs thus—“You have”—“You will.” “Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble: You will prepare their heart.” When you know that the Lord God is immutable, “the same yesterday, today and forever,” you may conclude without mistake that what He has done, He is prepared to do again. The argument from the past to the future would be a sorry one if you were dealing with fallible man, for what man has done is no sure guarantee of what he may do! He is such a creature of freaks and whims, but when you have to deal with the Eternal God, who is faithful and true, and changes not, you may reckon with safety that the thing which has been is the thing which shall be. Well did the Apostle say, “Who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver: in whom we trust that He will yet deliver us.”
On looking at the text, again, you will see that the same blessed logic is carried a step farther, for you read, “You will,” and then, again, “You will”—“You will prepare their heart, You will cause Your ear to hear.” Faith, first of all, concludes that God will bless because offormer blessings. And then she is so sure of her conclusion that upon it she is prepared to build up a further confidence. This is a noble faith, worthy of imitation—but it is by no means common—not a hundredth part as common as it ought to be! To doubtful minds it is difficult, even, to infer the future from a present fact immediately before their eyes, but to the believing heart it is an easy thing to do something more than that! Namely, to draw an inference of hope from a former inference of hope.
Faith builds a sure abode with invisible stones. She expects, because she has experienced, and experiences what she expects! Why not? Is not faith the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen? Since that which we believe is sure, it is worthy to be the foundation of further faith. We are very fond of that verse—
“And a “new song ‘is in my mouth, To long-loved music set Glory to You for all the Grace I have not tasted yet.”
By such language we praise God for mercy not yet received. And our text suggests another practical use of “things not seen as yet,” namely, to make them, as apprehended by our faith, the basis of a still higher confidence in God. This is to be built up on our most holy faith. Rest assured that this is not constructing castles in the air, for our faith is no delusion! It is made of solid, substantial stuff, before which even the supposed infallibilities of science are trifles light as air.
Because our Good Shepherd has made us to lie down in green pastures, we argue that there is no cause for fear though we walk through the valley of death-shade—and from that we surely gather that goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives. Such reasoning is as accurate as the demonstrations of geometry! The Lord will never leave us to be ashamed of our hope. Learn this logic and it will keep you in good stead in times of distress, when nothing but certainty will sustain you. The Lord is good and, therefore, He will be good! He will keep the feet of His saints and because He will do this, we shall enter His palace with joy.
Apply this logic to prayer. God has answered prayer and, therefore, He will answer it! Of this first statement many of us are witnesses. The evidences of that Truth of God are with us in daily experience—we have proofs of the power of prayer as innumerable as the stars of Heaven. Because the Lord has heard us out of His holy place, we infer that He will still hear us and, therefore, as long as we live, we will we call upon Him. This is no casual thing, but it is Jehovah’s perpetual name and standing memorial—the God Who Hears Prayer! Never while the earth endures will He forsake the Throne of Grace and turn a deaf ear to the cries of His suppliant Israel!
The subject of this morning is thus introduced to you. It is necessary that you pray, for the needy must cry to their helper. And it is profitable that you pray, for the bosoms of suppliants are filled with benedictions. It is not a vain thing to wait upon God—it is your comfort, your strength, your life! If you seek honor, it should be your delight to pray, for nothing is more ennobling than to win the ear of the Lord of All! A man admitted to audience with the Most High is honored in an unspeakable degree. We shall speak, this morning, in the way of five observations drawn from our text. May each one be made profitable to us by the power of the Holy Spirit.
I. Our first observation is written upon the surface of the Scripture before us—THE LOWLIEST FORM OF PRAYER MAY BE MOST TRUE AND ACCEPTABLE. And what is that lowliest form of prayer? Is it not described in the text? “The desire of the humble.” It is not the prayer of the serene faith of Abraham, nor the wrestling of energetic Jacob, nor the intercession of prevailing Moses, nor the pleading of holy Samuel, nor the commanding cry of Elijah shutting and opening Heaven—it is only a desire—a motion of the heart towards good things! And yet the Lord hears it. Indeed, the lowliest form of prayer may be the truest, for the essence of all real prayer is desire. Words are but the habitation of prayer, the living tenant is desire.