God willing, the notices for the coming week are as follows. Pastoral preach here next Lord's Day at 10.30 and two o'clock. There'll be no service on Thursday this week. There will be a prayer meeting here on Tuesday evening at seven o'clock.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you all for the lovely presence I've received over this past week. The collection taken for the Mombasa mission on Christmas Day amounted to £829.12.

Let us commence our services today by singing together hymn 554. The tune is Welsh, Welsh's 260.

Though we walk through this wilderness, God's promise is our stay. His goodness he will make to pass before us in the way.

Hymn 554, tune Welsh's 260.

Let us read together from the Holy Word of God in the book of Exodus and chapter 33.

Exodus chapter 33.

And the Lord said unto Moses, Depart and go up then. Hence, thou and the people which thou hast brought up out of the land of Egypt, unto the land which I swear unto Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, Unto thy seed will I give it. And I will send an angel before thee, and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, unto a land floweth milk and honey.

For I will not go up in the midst of thee, for thou art a stiff-necked people, lest I consume thee in the way. And when the people heard these evil tidings, they mourned, and no man did put on him his ornaments. For the Lord had said unto Moses, Say unto the children of Israel, Ye are a stiff-necked people, I will come up into the midst of thee in a moment and consume thee. Therefore, now put off thy ornaments from thee, that I may know what to do unto thee.

' And the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by the Mount Horeb. And Moses took the tabernacle and pitched it without the camp, far off from the camp. and called it the tabernacle of the congregation. And it came to pass that everyone which sought the Lord went out unto the tabernacle of the congregation which was without the camp.

And it came to pass when Moses went out unto the tabernacle that all the people rose up and stood every man at his tent door and looked after Moses until he was gone into the tabernacle. And it came to pass, as Moses entered into the tabernacle, the cloudy pillar descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle. And the Lord talked with Moses. And all the people saw the cloudy pillar stand at the tabernacle door. And all the people rose up and worshipped every man in his tent door.

And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp. But his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle. And Moses said unto the Lord, See thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people, and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight. Now therefore I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, show me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight. and consider that this nation is thy people.'

And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence. For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight, Is it not that thou goest with us? So shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth? And the Lord said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken, for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thy name.

And he said, I beseech thee, show me thy glory, And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee, and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. And he said, thou canst not see my face, for thou shalt no man see me and live. And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock, and it came to pass, and it shall come to pass while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a cliff of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by, and I will take away my hand, and thou shalt see my back pass. but my face shall not be seen.

May the Lord bless the reading of his own precious word, grant unto us a spirit of real prayer. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which is and art and art to come, We gather together, Lord, as the fallen sons and daughters of Adam, born in sin and shapen in iniquity, and we desire to come before thee in confession of our sins. We view the year already past and see great cause to be abashed. We come, Lord, to the last Lord's day of another year of time, We have to come as thy servant Daniel. Shame and confusion of face belongeth unto us as at this day. For we have sinned. We have come short of thy glory. There are sins, O Lord, of omission. And there are sins of commission. We leave undone those things that we ought to do. And we do those things that we ought not to do. O Lord, we would humble ourselves before Thee. We have read of Thine ancient people as stiff-necked people. And we prove, O Lord, that we're no different. We have a heart which is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. And we desire to bow and humbly before our God. and pray that thou wouldst come this day, and come like thy servant Moses, if thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.

O most gracious Lord, we do pray that thou wouldst graciously bless us here this day, that thou wouldst crown the year with thy goodness, and that thy powers may drop fatness, that we may behold thy glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. There is one God, and one mediated between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, who gave his life at ransom for all to be testified in due time. We come before thee, O Lord, in praise and in thanksgiving for the abundance of thy mercy. In Jesus Christ, our Lord, We come, Lord, to bless Thee for that wonderful, glorious truth of the incarnation of the Son of God, the holy law He lived, the holy law He fulfilled and honored and magnified. We bless Thee, most gracious Lord, that Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life, deliverance from sin and Satan's power. There is none other name given whereby you must be saved but the name of Jesus.

We come, Lord, in thanksgiving, in adoration and praise for that wonderful glory of God manifest in the flesh. We thank thee for the law fulfilled and honoured and magnified in this glorious person. We thank thee for that holy, sacred sacrifice of Calvary where sin has been put away and divine justice has been satisfied and God and sinners are reconciled and peace is made between God and man, we thank thee that he died for our sins and rose again for our justification and has bodily ascended into heaven and sitteth at thy right hand and we would come in adoration and thanksgiving and praise at the glory of thy majesty, at the greatness of thy mercy, at the wonders of redeeming love.

His name shall be called Wonderful. O Lord Jesus, we pray, that thou wouldst come and stand in our midst today, that we may behold thee, that we may touch the hem of thy garment, that we may hear thy voice, that we may see thy countenance, that we may worship In thy holy hill of Zion, Lord, grant thy presence and thy blessing.

O Lord, we do pray that thou wouldst graciously be with us as a church and congregation. We thank thee, Lord, in Jesus Christ, we know the love of our heavenly Father. And through Jesus Christ, we receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Oh, we thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift. Remember us then as a church and congregation. We thank thee for what thou hast done for us. We thank thee for thy wonderful mercies.

As we look back, we come to the end of another year and we look back over the years and, Lord, our mercies are are rich and rare, that thou hast bestowed upon us as a church and as a congregation. And we desire that thou wouldst still remember us, in spite of our shortcomings, in spite of our heart-wanderings, still remember us with the favour that thou bearest unto thy people. But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.

We thank thee for our brethren the deacons and pray that thou wouldst richly bless them. We thank Thee for each one of our brethren and sisters in church fellowship, our brother and sister in Holland, and remember each one, O Lord, we do pray Thee. Remember them with the favour that Thou bearest unto Thy people. Visit them with Thy great salvation.

And O Lord, as we look to the coming year, we pray that it may be a year of jubilee, that there may be the outpouring of thy spirit, that precious souls may be gathered in from among us here as a congregation, brought into the church to come and tell to sinners round what a dear saviour they have found and point to thy redeeming blood and say, behold the way to God. We pray, O Lord, that the glory and light of gospel truth may shine into this village and the surrounding villages and hamlets, and that thou wouldst bring our sons from far and our daughters from the ends of the earth.

Lord, remember the prodigals that have wandered away. Lord, thou art mighty in power and in grace. Oh, do be gracious, we humbly pray thee. Remember the little ones and the children and put the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom, into their hearts in their young and tender years. Remember the young friends and bless them with that rich grace that is in Christ Jesus. Bring them to living faith in the Lamb of God, slain from before the foundation of the world.

Lord, we do pray that thou would remember our young friends Those among us, Lord, that would seek a partner in life's journey, we lovingly commend them to Thee and to the word of Thy grace. Thou art that great God that did bring Ruth unto Boaz, and Thou didst bring Rebekah unto Isaac by Thy sovereign grace, and we pray that it may be so with our young friends here. Supply all their needs. guide and direct them in all matters. Grant that we may see the fulfilling of that wonderful promise, instead of thy father shall be thy children, whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth.

Lord, we pray that thou wouldst remember all in the midst of the journey of life and graciously bless each one. We pray that thou wouldst deliver us from temptation that thou would deliver us from the power and dominion of sin, prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love. Here's my heart, Lord, take and seal it, seal it from thy courts above. May we behold thee as the altogether lovely one, the chiefest among 10,000.

Lord, we pray that thou would remember all then in the midst of the journey of life, and undertake for each one. Remember those of us that are now in the evening time of life's journey and prepare us for that great change that must come. Remember the dear friends at Hanover Chapel today in the loss of dear Margaret Gudgeon. Lord, we lovingly commend them to thee. She has been a member there for so many years and we pray that thou was drawn near to them

At this time we do humbly beseech thee, and that there was work there, that we may see thy work and thy power and thy glory there. We do humbly pray thee for thy great namesake, that thou wouldst build them up, that thou wouldst grant a renewing and a replenishing.

Lord, we do pray that thou in thy great mercy would remember all thy servants as they labour in word and doctrine upon the walls of Zion, that they may dip their foot in oil, that they may be made acceptable unto thee brethren, that the word preached may be in power in the Holy Ghost, and with much assurance we do humbly beseech thee. We pray for those of thy servants that expect to begin a period of probation, among the churches, and we pray that thou wouldst gird them with all sufficient grace, and that thou wouldst grant signs to follow the preaching of the word. We do humbly beseech thee, O that we might see the fulfilling of that wonderful word, for I am returned unto Jerusalem with mercies.

Lord, may it be so. Thou hast said, I will abundantly bless her provision, I will satisfy her poor with bread, Lord, remember the churches up and down the land, remember thy servants wherever they stand and worship thee, whether it be in small or large companies. Oh, that there may be an outpouring of the Spirit, that there was return, and that we may see thine arm made bare, that we may see sinners converted unto thee, that thy people may be built up in their most holy fame, Hear us, O Lord, we humbly beseech thee.

Remember our nation, we live in deeply solemn days. The spirit and power of Antichrist is so prevalent in our society and among the nations of the earth. O Lord, we do pray that thou wouldst arise and may bear thine holy arm. We pray that thou wouldst give wisdom to our leaders and guidance and direction in all matters. We're exhorted to pray for all in authority over us, and Lord, we would seek humbly to do so. Bless our king and the royal household with that rich grace that is in Christ Jesus. We do humbly beseech thee for thy great name's sake. We pray, most gracious Lord, that thou in thy precious mercy would graciously hear us.

those that labour in word and doctrine among the nations of the earth. We think of the Free Grace Evangelistic Association and that great work that is being done by thy servant in so many places upon earth in the distribution of Holy Scripture. Lord, we pray that thou would supply their every need. Remember the Mombasa mission and that great work that is being done in In Kenya, we pray that thou would gird thy servants with all sufficient grace and supply their every need. Remember the Savannah Education Trust and that great work that they are doing in Ghana. Oh, that these things may be down to the honour, glory and praise of thy great and holy name.

Come and touch one's lips with a live coal. from off the heavenly altar, come open thy word to our heart and to our understanding. We thank thee for every mercy and every favor so freely given. Thy mercies to us are new every morning, and great is thy faithfulness. We ask all in that wonderful name of our Lord Jesus Christ. and for his sake alone. Amen.

Let us now sing together hymn number 557. The tune is Sweet Name, 730. How sweet and precious is the name of Jesus Christ, the Lord, the Lamb, to sinners in distress, a name just suited to their case, pregnant with mercy, truth and grace, with strength and righteousness.

Hymn 557, tune Sweet Name 730.

Greatly feeling to need the Lord's gracious help, direct your attention to Exodus chapter 33 and we will read verse 19 for our text. The book of Exodus chapter 33 verse 19 and He said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee, and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. This was a very, very difficult time for the Lord's servant, Moses. We look at the context here, how Moses was called by God up into the Mount Sinai and he had to take two tablets of stone and that the God of heaven would write the holy law of the Ten Commandments on those two tablets of stone. And then Moses was to take them down to the children of Israel, the holy law of God, the law of the Ten Commandments, often called the Decalogue.

And while Moses was up in the mountain, he was there, for 40 days and 40 nights, communion with the Lord, the Lord communion with Him. When He came down, the children of Israel had rebelled. Aaron, Moses' brother, the high priest, had really caved in. to the demands of the rebellious Israel and he made a molten calf. And the people said, as for this Moses, where is he? So they made a molten calf out of gold and they worshipped the molten calf and they danced before the molten coal. Idolatry. Terrible idolatry.

When Moses came down from the Mount and Joshua, he said to Moses, there is war in the camp. And Moses said, that is not the voice of those that make war. It's the voice of those that rejoice. And when they came there, there were the people dancing. There was the golden calf set up, this idolatry. Moses was so, as it were, stricken with the awfulness of the situation, this rebellion of the children of Israel. And the Lord said He would consume them.

Now Moses, he threw down those two tablets of stone and they break in pieces. What a picture that is, the holy law of God broken. And you know, my beloved friends, that's where you and I are by nature. We've broken God's holy law. Every one of us, we're law breakers. And when we break God's holy law, we sin. Sin is any transgression of the law of God. We break the boundary that God has put around us. That's what the name transgression means. It's to break the boundary. It's exactly what the children of Israel did here.

But you know, friends, we can't throw stones at the children of Israel. Of course, it was an awful thing they did. But we, are so soon taken up with other things. We break God's holy law. We're idolatrous. In the Word of God, on a number of occasions, it speaks of covetousness, which is idolatry. You don't have to get a golden calf or an image to bow down to it. We know that that is idolatry. Or to bow down to the sun or the moon or the stars, that's idolatry. But we commit idolatry. Anything that comes between our soul and God is an idol. It's an idol. And we become idolaters. And the holy law of God clearly commands that we are not to be idolaters. We are not to break God's holy law.

And with that holy law, my beloved friends, there comes a curse. A solemn curse. The apostle quotes it in the Romans and in the Galatians. Cursed is every man that doeth not all things that is written in the book of the law to do them. solemn curse against all that break God's holy law. The word says we all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. We all have sinned.

David, when he sinned in adultery with Bathsheba and the Lord Thankfully opened his eyes to realize that what he'd done And when he comes in confession before his God after the Nathan the Prophet had spoken to him He said thou art the man Up until that time time David did everything possible to cover his sin But then He comes in repentance of godly sorrow against thee, and thee only have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight, that thou mightest be clear when thou judgest. And the Lord did judge him. The Lord said to David, that he did this thing secretly but I will reward thee openly. And what was the solemn consequences of that sin? The sword shall not depart out of thine house. The Lord made it clear he'd forgiven David's sin. But he said thou hast sinned openly before all Israel. that brought shame on the name of the Lord before all Israel. Therefore, I will reward thee openly. And the sword never departed out of David's house.

The Lord loved him. But listen to what the Bible says, listen to what the word of God says. Whom the Lord loveth, he chastened and scourged every He scourged every son whom he received.

Now, the Lord said to Moses how that he would destroy Israel. And he said to Moses that he would look upon his seed, the seed of Moses. But Moses, you know, in the previous chapter, when they did this idolatry, and with this idolatry came all manner of sins, and Moses said that he beheld the people naked. They weren't just dancing as we think of dancing. They stripped themselves naked. They saw no shame in what they were doing. One sin leads to another sin. And when Moses saw that the people were naked, for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies, then the Lord stood in the gate of the camp and said, who is on the Lord? Moses stood in the gate of the camp. Who is on the Lord's side? Let him come unto me.

See, my beloved friends, it was a terrible time. in the camp of Israel. Now, in verse 30 of the previous chapter it says, and it came to pass on the morrow that Moses said unto the people, ye have sinned a great sin. And now I will go up unto the Lord. Peradventure, I shall make an atonement for your sin. And Moses returned unto the Lord and said, O this people have sinned a great sin. and have made them gods of gold, yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin.

You know, in this sense, Moses is a most beautiful type of Christ. We know that Moses is a type of the law. The law came by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. But here, as he intercedes for the children of Israel, in their great sin, he is a most beautiful type of Christ. And he said, and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of my book, which thou hast written. And the Lord said unto Moses, whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book. Therefore now go, lead the people unto the place which I have spoken unto thee. Behold mine angel, which is in the latter part of verse chapter 32 and you'll notice the angel in verse 34 is written with a capital A. Why? It's the angel of the everlasting covenant our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Behold mine angel shall go before them. Nevertheless in the day when I visit I will visit their sins upon them and the Lord plagued the people

You see, my beloved friends, sin has consequences. It does. And you might say, well yes, we know sin has consequences because the soul that sinneth it shall die. And that is so true. But in the child of God, sin has consequences. If we sin against God, Especially if we open this in for all to see, it has consequences. We will suffer for it. If the Lord loves you, he'll chasten you. He'll chasten you.

You see, behold, mine angel shall go before thee. And as we have in our text, and he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee. I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee, and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. I will make all my goodness pass before thee. In a sense, a right proper sense, this all my goodness is Christ. He goeth before His sheep. It's the glorious person of God manifest in the flesh. All the goodness of God, all the love of God is in Christ. Every blessing, every favor freely flows through Jesus' precious blood. That is the very epitome of the goodness of God.

not by works of righteousness that I have done, but according to his abundant mercy. What a wonderful thing is free and sovereign grace. It is, my beloved friends. It's a wonderful thing. You might say, why? Just consider what we meditated on last Lord's Day. I, the Lord, change not. Therefore, ye sons of Jacob are not conceived, I the Lord change not. Because of his covenant, because of his love in Jesus, his love and his grace to his people, the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. You cannot be in Christ one day and out of him the next. No. His people are a chosen people.

But, the consequences, my beloved friends of that, is that when we do sin, and when we openly sin and openly rebel against God, if the Lord loves us, He'll chasten us. That is the consequences. So, to the unbeliever, The consequences of sin is eternal death. To the believer, the consequences of sin is the Lord's chastening hand. It is. And it's in love, not in anger. If the Lord was to deal with you and I in anger, we would be destroyed. Out of Christ, almighty power can do nothing but devour.

No. You see, my beloved friends, the Lord Jesus Christ suffered and bled and died for the sins of his people. One hymn writer puts it so beautifully. Payment he cannot twice demand. First at my bleeding short is hanged, And then again, of mine, no. And he said, go back to Genesis chapter one, and God said, in the creation of the Lord, and God said, see the word of the Lord. By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, And God said, and this great and this almighty Lord Jehovah, remember as we've got to explain to you that the name Jehovah is a covenant name. It's a covenant relationship.

When we're brought to realize that God is our father, that he has loved us with an everlasting love. Just as we read in Jeremiah 31, yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love. A love that has no beginning, a love that has no end. I've loved thee with an everlasting love. And he said, and he said, God said. This eternal love of God, this eternal power And the living child of God proves this unchanging love and power of his God, in spite of our sin, in spite of our wantons, in spite of our backslidings.

You know, sometimes we have to walk in exceedingly long trials, exceedingly perplexing trials. exceedingly perplexing losses and crosses. And sometimes we wonder where the scene will end. We don't. Job did. Well, they'll pursue their worm to death. Jeremiah did. You go and read the lamentations of Jeremiah and the dear man of God, the low places that he came to. But he proved the same as all the Lord's people have proved, the Lord doesn't change. The Lord will still cause his goodness to pass before thee in the way.

And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee. And I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee. And here we see the sovereignty of God. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious. And will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. God is an absolute sovereign in salvation. The work of grace is a sovereign work. We believe in free and sovereign grace. We do. It flows entirely from God. We're not worthy of it. We do not deserve it. We can never be worthy of it. We can never deserve it. It's free and sovereign grace. And were it not for free and sovereign grace, we would all be lost. If it depended on us, we would be lost. It would depend on something that is very mutable. But free and sovereign grace depends on something that is immutable. The unchanging love and power and grace of God in Christ.

And he said, oh make all my goodness pass before thee. See, here it is. that goeth before them. Surely we have this in the Gospel according to John, in the precious teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ. In John chapter 10, how beautifully does our Lord Jesus set before us free and sovereign grace.

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same as a thief or a robber. What does he mean? Why, my beloved friends, to climb up some other way is to avoid that sacred truth. You must be born again. But there are those that climb up some other way. They say they're a believer because they've been brought up a Christian. They say they're a believer because they've been baptized. They say this, they say that, they say something else. It's some other way. They entered not by the door of the sheepfold. What is that door? Regeneration. The door of the sheepfold. It's a sovereign act of God to bring a sinner from death unto life. It is. That's what regeneration is. To be given spiritual life. And when we're given spiritual life, we begin to see and to understand that we're a sinner, that God is holy, that there is a great disparity between us and God. And when we're under that sense of condemnation, there seems to be a great gulf that is fixed between us.

But then Jesus goes on to say, but he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. That's Christ. To him the port are opening, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calleth his own sheep by name, leadeth them out. And when he put his forth his own sheep, he goeth before them. What a wonderful truth we have here. He goeth before them. And the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him, For they know not the voice of strangers. Do you know the voice of Jesus? Do you know the voice of Jesus? It's a very important question. My sheep, they know my voice. They know not the voice of strangers.

You see, my beloved friends, these things, are written for our instruction. Jesus said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. By me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out and find pasture.

see and he goes on my beloved friends in that chapter 10 he says in verse 27 my sheep hear my voice and i know them and they follow me i give on to them eternal life and they shall never perish neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand my father which is greater than me is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand, I and my Father are one.

He goeth before them. What a light that brings us to my beloved friends in our text. I will make all my goodness pass before thee. I will proclaim the name of the Lord before them. How sweet the name of Jesus sounds in a believer's ear. It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds, and drives away his fear. This name of the Lord, we spoke of it on Christmas Day morning, the name of the Lord. His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Oh, I proclaim the name of the Lord before thee, this wonderful name. He hath given him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, of things in earth, of things beneath the earth, The name which is above every name is the glory.

You think of the names given to Jesus Christ, the Redeemer. We read in Isaiah, the Redeemer shall come to Zion. My beloved friends, he's come. Jesus has come. The Son of God was made flesh and dwelt among us. We beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. The Redeemer shall come to Zion. He has come to Zion. But the Redeemer will come again to Zion. He says, I will see you again. I will see you again.

You know, when we see the divine work of the Spirit among the Lord's people, it's because the Redeemer has come to Zion. This wonderful, glorious Redeemer. Jesus Christ the same yesterday. See, a name that is above every name. Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever, and forever. He's unchangeably the same. I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee. You see, the sheep follow him, And what did Jesus say? I am the way, the truth and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. This wonderful name of Jesus. Thou shalt call his name Jesus for he shall save his people from their sins. Jesus Christ the same yesterday, eternally. and today, and forever.

And just as it says in the Psalms, isn't it? From everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. You know, salvation, my beloved friends, is something that is accomplished. When Jesus said it is finished, it's done. It says in Revelation that it is done. It's the same word, really. It is done. It is done in Jesus Christ. Salvation is of the Lord. That's what Jonah said, isn't it? Salvation is of the Lord. It's entirely of free grace, flowing from the everlasting love of God in Christ. Loved before the world began. Loved. with an everlasting love.

My mind, it just goes to that very sacred and beautiful hymn, number 10, where it speaks of the eternal love of God.

T'was with an everlasting love that God his own elect embraced,

before he made the worlds above or earth on her huge columns placed.

Long ere the sun's refulgent ray,

Primeval shades of darkness drove,

They on his sacred bosom lay,

Loved with an everlasting love.

Then in the glass of his decrees

Christ and his bride appear as one,

Her sin by imputation is,

While she in spotless splendour shone.

O love, how high thy glory swells!

How great, immutable, and free!

Ten thousand sins, as black as hell,

Are swallowed up, O love, in thee.

You see, loved when a wretch defiled with sin,

At war with heaven, in league with hell,

A slave to every lust obscene,

Who, living, lived, but to rebel.

Believer, here thy comfort stand,

from first to last, salvation's free.

An everlasting love demands an everlasting song from thee. What wonderful grace, what wonderful love, what wonderful power. Jesus is omnipotent to save. There is no place that the child of God can come where the Lord Jesus cannot deliver them. That's why the apostle says in Hebrews chapter seven, he is able to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by him. See in the ever living to make intercession for them. He's able to save to the uttermost and he said,

I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee. You see, my beloved friends, this wonderful name of Jesus is pleadable. It's pleadable. One hymn writer said, I can no denial take when I plead for Jesus' sake. It's a wonderful name, the name of Jesus Christ, the name of the Saviour, the name of the Redeemer, the name of the Deliverer. And I will proclaim.

See the Lord, He said, and in His Gospel, in the Old Testament, in the types and shadows of the law, there's a proclamation. of the glorious name, power and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. When the high priest came in to the holy place once a year on the day of atonement, it speaks of Jesus Christ. It does.

You know, here in the following chapter, we read, and the Lord said unto Moses, shoot the two tables of stone like unto the first. and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables which thou breakest, and be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto Mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me in the top of the mountain." You see, what happened here? Two tablets of stone, just like the first. And when Moses went back up into the mountain, invited of the Lord, We read that God engraved them with his finger. He engraved the stones with the Ten Commandments.

Now the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of the whole Earth is a beautiful type of our Lord Jesus Christ. We've often explained to you the outer adornments of the badger skins represent his humanity. There is no form or comeliness that we should desire. The outward adornments of the tabernacle represent the human nature that the Son of God assumed when he became bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh.

But inside the tabernacle was the golden mercy seat and the golden cherubim of glory. Gold represents deity. in a typical sense, in the Levitical dispensation. And that tabernacle then represents the Son of God manifest in the flesh. When the high priest came in once again, he sprinkled the blood of the sacrifice on the altar Seven times before the Golden Mass you see and the Lord said there will I meet with thee see that tabernacle represents Christ There will I meet with thee the blood represents the blood of Christ there will I meet with thee there will I commune with thee my beloved friend you cannot commune with God in any other way This is the divine order There's only one way that you and I Can ever commune with God Sinning through the precious blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son.

That blood cleanses from all sin. That blood delivers from all sin. It does. And it's the glorious person of Christ.

Now, beneath the golden mercy seat, there was a place which could be opened up. I presume a bit like a trunk. And when Moses brought the completed law down, and the Lord said to him, put those tablets of stone in the tabernacle, in the golden mercy seat. You see how beautiful that is? That completed law, within the tabernacle, within the holy place, it represents Christ. And they were to stay there forever. It represents Christ. It represents the law fulfilled and honoured and magnified in the glorious person of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I will make all my goodness pass before thee. And I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee, and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy to whom I will show mercy.

In verse 21, and the Lord said, again, it's what the Lord said. It's the same as in our text. And I said, I will make all my goodness. And the Lord said, behold, there is a place by me Christ. And thou shalt stand upon a rock, that's Christ. Upon this rock I build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And it shall come to pass that while my glory passeth by, thou wilt put thee in the cleft of the rock, that's Christ.

I'm sure you know the story of the hymn Rock of Ages written by top lady Rock of ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in the... Top lady was riding up through the cheddar gorge and a great storm came, thunder and lightning. And he took his horse up into a cleft in the rock to shout her from the storm. And as he sat on his horse there, shouted that great storm, those words came to him. Rock of ages, cleft for me. Let me hide myself in thee. Let the water and the blood from my rib and side which flowed be of sin a double cure. Cleanse me from its guilt and power and it shall come to pass while my glory passes by that I will put thee in a cliff of the rock and will cover thee with my hand. My hand is Christ.

You might say, what do you mean? Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, the Son of Man, whom thou madest strong for thyself. That's the glorious person of God manifest in the flesh, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee.

See, Jesus, my beloved friends, has made a new and living way into the holy place. He's fulfilled the law in that holy sinless life that he lived. He has put away sin in that holy sacrifice of Calvary, that sin atoning sacrifice. He has entered into death. He died for our sins. He rose again for our justification. Our sins were left in the grave. rose again for our justification. And he's now bodily ascended in heaven, and he's sitting at the right hand of the Father, yet made a new and living way into the holy place. And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee. I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee, and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.

May the Lord have His blessing. Let us now sing together hymn number 558. The tune is Daniel 459. Sweet the name of Christ must be, from and to eternity, for it pleased the Father well, fullness all in Christ should dwell. Hymn 558, tune Daniel, 459.

Now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, the sacred fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us each. Amen.