“For the needy shall not alway be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever,” Psalm 9:18.

(48th Anniversary of the opening of Kilskeery FP Hall,  17th August 1974)

These are dark days for us here in Kilskeery and indeed everywhere in the Kingdom of God. In such circumstances it is easy to despair.

I. IT IS ONE THING TO MOURN BUT QUITE ANOTHER THING TO DESPAIR!

Psalm 30:10-12; Isaiah 22:12; Joel 2:12; Zechariah 12:10-12. In this last verse we see that true mourning is born of the Spirit of God. It is an expressing of sorrow over sin.

Despair, on the other hand is an expression of hopelessness.  2 Cors 4:8.

Today, we should mourn but we must not despair. “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance,” Psalm 42:5.

II. THE LORD CANNOT FORGET HIS PEOPLE

1. Believers can and do forget the Lord. “Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful of the rock of thy strength,” Isaiah 17:10. “Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? yet my people have forgotten me days without number,” Jeremiah 2:32.

Today, the FPC has forgotten the God of the 1960s & 70s. What He did is remembered by very few. The GOLDEN RULE: “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you,” Matthew 6:33, see verse 31 and Luke 14:17-20. Christians may be guilty of this as well as the unconverted! (Acts 2:42-47). (1 Sam 12:6-25). (Psa  26:1-3).

2. There is an indissoluble link between the Lord and His people we can hardly comprehend. Isaiah 49:15-16. That is where God has a record of our names, put there by His hand and with much suffering, John 20:27. There are also two other records of our names, The Ephod, Exodus 28:8-11 and the breastplate, 15-21.

3. We are never out of His sight or His thoughts. Job 36:7; Psalm 32:8, 33:18, 34:15; Jeremiah 29:11.  That is hard for us to take in! But nevertheless, “The LORD hath been mindful of us: he will bless us,” Ps 115:12.

III.  AT TIMES IT SEEMS THE LORD HAS FORGOTTEN HIS PEOPLE

The word ‘forgotten’ in our text means, ‘ignored’!

Mothers and fathers often act so toward children in order to teach them a lesson. So too does the Lord. Matthew 15:22-23, 28. He planned to answer but first He wanted to teach her something.  His silence intensified the woman’s desires.

1. There is always a purpose in the Lord’s delays. To draw attention that something is wrong between us and the Lord and prompts us to seek for the reason.

2. Are we desirous of learning the cause of His silence? Or can we live with His silence?

IV. IN HIS TIME THE LORD WILL ANSWER OUR CRIES.

That is dependent upon us humbling ourselves and submitting ourselves to His will and surrendering afresh to Him. Scenes of brokenness in Omagh tent back in 1968.

Great text for me in those days was the portion we read at the beginning, Joel 2:14-32.