DRINK FROM THE DEPTHS

PSALMS 78:1

A. "HE GAVE THEM DRINK AS OUT OF THE GREAT DEPTHS"
  1. The Psalmist is here reviewing the Providence of God:
    1. That sustained the children of Israel in the desert - Num. 20:10-11
    2. That providence had made a deep impression on him, and he delighted to dwell upon its wonders
  2. For him the miracles of the Exodus were not isolated and solitary splendors:
    1. They were rather the discovery of the power which is everywhere present and at the command of the Creator
    2. What a sensitive observer of God's power marks the history of David B. DRINK FROM THE DEPTHS
  3. The words "depth" and "depths" are prominent in the Bible:
    1. God asked Job, "Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? or hast thou walked in the search of the depth?" - Job 38:16
    2. "He (God) gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap; He layeth up the depth in storehouses" - Ps. 33:7
    3. Moses speaks of depths in the promised land that will provide springs of water for the land - Deut. 8:7
    4. And Paul exclaims, "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God; how unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out" - Rom. 11:33
  4. Let us consider, humbly and prayerfully, some of the implications of our text:
    1. God's ways in providence - revealed in the world of nature
    2. There is not a bird or a beast, there is not a tree or a flower but is ministered to in the way the text describes
    3. Take the tiniest weed that roots among the stones and ask, what does it need to live? The answer is the same; God has provided for it; it needs a little warmth, a little moisture and some shelter
    4. There is no living thing in nature but what it is provided for by God out of the depths of His love C. THE DEPTHS OF GOD'S PROVIDENCE FOR MANKIND
  5. Paul tells us:
    1. That all drink the waters of life from the Rock of Ages - I Cor. 10:4
    2. "He giveth to all life, and breath, and all things" - Acts 17:25
  6. Sources of God's providence:
    1. The Bible - it is an arresting thought that though the Bible is an ancient book, yet it is as modern and practical as if it had been written in our day
    2. It touches upon life in every detail; you cannot think of a single moral principle but what the Bible has God's answer to it - written in His holy word - 2 Tim. 3:15-17
    3. Then think of the depth of the Bible - take a simple verse in the Bible - a child can understand its meaning and yet the greatest thinker shall be unable to exhaust its spiritual depth
  7. Jesus Christ, the very fountain of the wisdom of God: - 1 Cor.. 1:30; Luke 11:49
    1. Who can fathom the depth of His word
    2. "Heaven and earth shall pass away but my word shall not pass away" - Matt. 24:35
    3. Think of the depth of His love for fallen humanity; He took the cup that rightfully belonged to you and me, and He drank it
    4. "He loved me and gave Himself for me" - Gal. 2:20
  8. When Paul contemplated the unfathomable love of God revealed in the person of His only begotten Son, he breaks out in this challenging exclamation:
    1. "That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love
    2. May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth and the length and the depth and the height
    3. "And to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God" - Eph. 3:17-19
    4. Surely God has given us the refreshing water out of the depths of His divine love
    5. "If any man thirst, let him come unto Me" said Jesus, "and drink" - John 7:37-38


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