Let us commence our worship this evening with hymn 906, the tune Ferndale 806.

O where shall I find a guide to direct,

Right skillful and kind and brave to protect,

To lovely Mount Zion my heart is now bound,

But many a lion is in the way found,

Hymn 906 Tune Ferndale 806

Let us read together from the Book of Numbers and Chapter 23.

The Book of Numbers, Chapter 23.

And Balaam said unto Balak, built me here seven altars, and prepared me here seven oxen and seven rams. And Balaam did as Balaam had spoken, and Balaam offered on every altar a bullock and a ram. And Balaam said unto Balaam, Stand by thy burnt offering, and I will go. Peradventure the Lord will come to meet me and whatsoever he showeth me I will tell thee. And he went to an high place and God met Balaam and he said unto him I have prepared seven altars and I have offered upon every altar a bullock and a ram.

And the LORD put a word in Balaam's mouth, and said, Return unto Balak, and thus thou shalt speak. And he returned unto him, and, lo, he stood by his burnt sacrifice, he and all the princes of Moab. And he took up his parable and said, Balak the king of Moab hath brought me from Aram out of the mountains of the east, saying, come, curse me, Jacob, and come, defy Israel. How shall I curse whom God hath not cursed? Or how shall I defy whom the Lord hath not defied. For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him. Lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob and the number of the fourth part of Israel. Let me die the death of the righteous, and let me my last end be like his.'

And Balak said unto Balaam, What hast thou done unto me? I took thee to curse mine enemies, and behold thou hast blessed them altogether. And he answered and said, Must I not take heed to speak that which the Lord hath put in my mouth? And Balak said unto him, Come, I pray thee with me unto another place from whence thou mayest see them. Thou shalt see but the utmost part of them, and shall not see them all, and curse me them from thence.

And he brought him into the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered a bullock and a ram on every altar. And he said unto Balak, stand here by thy burnt offering while I meet the Lord yonder.' And the Lord met Balaam and put a word in his mouth and said, Go again unto Balak and say thus. And when he came to him, behold, he stood by his burnt offering and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said unto him, What hath the LORD spoken? And he took up his parable, and said, Rise up, Balak, and hear. Hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor. God is not a man that he should lie, neither the Son of Man that he should repent. Hath he said, and shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? Behold, I have received commandment to bless, and he hath blessed, and I cannot reverse it.

He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel. The LORD his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them. God brought them out of Egypt. He hath, as it were, the strength of an unicorn. Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel. According to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought?

Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion, He shall not lie down until he eat of the prey and drink the blood of the slain. And Balak said unto Balaam, Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all. But Balaam answered and said unto Balak, Told not I thee, saying, All that the Lord speaketh that I must do.

And Balak said unto Balaam, Come, I pray thee, I will bring thee unto another place. Peradventure it will please God that thou mayest curse me then from thence. And Balak brought Balaam unto the top of Peor, that looketh toward Jeshimon, And Balaam said unto Balak, build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven bullocks and seven rams. And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bullock and a ram on every altar.

Amen. Let us pray. Almighty, most merciful and eternal God of heaven, do bless the reading of thy holy word unto our souls, and do be gracious unto us at this evening hour, and have mercy upon us in thy Son, Jesus Christ, our only hope of salvation, In Him we live and move and have our being.

He is the centre, the sum and the substance of all our hopes on what He has done, on what He has accomplished when the eternal Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. And that we pray that this evening we may behold His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

We come as poor sinners before thee. We're unclean by our very nature. We are unrighteous altogether. In sin did my mother conceive me. So Lord, we cannot come in our own name, for all our righteousness is as filthy rags. Thou dwellest in light inaccessible unto which no man can approach unto. Thou art immortal and invisible, the only true God, and yet Thou hast made a wonderful provision in Thine only begotten Son that was manifest in the flesh, the way of salvation, the way of redemption, the eternal covenant ordered in all things and sure, sealed with the blood of Jesus Christ.

We pray that we may know that sealing power tonight in our hearts. The apostle speaks of whereby you are sealed unto the day of redemption. May, Lord, this be a time of sealing, when the truth of God is sealed into our hearts, when the grace of God is manifested unto us, when the mercy of God flows into our hearts.

Holy, blessed, divine spirit, open now the crystal fountain. Let the healing waters flow. Oh, be gracious unto us, and have mercy upon us, and teach us thy ways, and lead us in thy paths. We do humbly beseech thee. We pray that those remember us as a church and as a congregation and work mightily, powerfully, and effectually among us to the great glory of thy holy name. Oh, we do pray that those fill our hearts with gratitude, with thanksgiving for Jesus, the way, the truth, and the life, who has made new and living way, reconciling poor sinners unto Thee, bringing peace and consolation into the hearts of Thy people. O most blessed Spirit, we pray that we may feel Thy divine power and Thy heavenly unction as we gather together around Thy Word.

We thank Thee that the Lord Jesus was made of a woman made under the law to redeem them that are under the law. And in that holy life, he lived as a man. He brought in everlasting righteousness for his people. And we desire to thank thee, O Lord, for that.

And that wonderful grace, the infinite love of our eternal Father, who sent his only begotten Son to suffer, bleed, and die for the sins of thy people. We thank thee for that holy life. We thank thee for the holy law fulfilled and honoured in him and thereby bringing in everlasting righteousness. We thank thee, most gracious Lord, that he died for our sins. He suffered, bled and died on Calvary's tree. He took our sins and he nailed them to his cross. And it is our desire to bow in humble thanksgiving and praise unto thee, O Lord, for thy wonderful mercy and for that wonderful grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Lord, we thank thee that sin has been put away in that precious sacrifice. Divine justice has been satisfied. God and sinners are reconciled. Peace is made between God and man. And we would thank thee and bless thee for these wonderful truths of our most holy faith.

We pray, most gracious Lord, that thou would fill our hearts with gratitude for the resurrection of the dead, for the glorious truth that the Lord Jesus has ascended on high, that we have a great high priest, the holy God man, sitting at the right hand of the Father. Those pearly gates have lifted their heads and the King of glory has gone in. And we do desire a thankful heart for the King of glory.

We do pray, most gracious Lord, that thou would remember us then as a church, as a congregation. We thank thee for all thy tender mercies to us, our house of prayer, our freedom and liberty to meet around thy word. We thank thee for the word of God. We pray that it may have free course and that thy name may be honoured and glorified.

We thank thee for our young friends, the little ones, the children that gather with us. We love to see them and hear them in the sanctuary. Put the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom, into their hearts. Graciously bless our young friends with living faith in Jesus Christ, that they may follow on to know the Lord, that there may be a generation that shall be raised up to call thee the Redeemer blessed, O gracious God, do incline thine ear, have mercy upon our young friends.

Remember, Lord, we do pray thee, this village. Send the glory, light, and power of gospel truth into this village, into the surrounding villages and hamlets. Grant that we may see many, many, many precious souls gathered in, We pray that thou wouldst bring our sons from far and our daughters from the ends of the earth. And thou hast promised, Lord, that they shall come from the north and from the south and from the east and from the west.

Lord, we long for thy appearing. All those wonderful promises, O Lord, to thy Zion are yea and amen in Christ Jesus. They are fulfilled. O gracious God, we pray, that we might see the outworking of those promises among us here. Instead of declension, may we see a building up, a reviving, a renewing, a replenishing. Gracious God, we pray that thou wouldst remember our brethren, the deacons, and give grace, wisdom, and help in all the responsibilities that devolve upon them. And we pray, O Lord, that thou in thy precious mercy was remember, all in the midst of the journey of life, undertake for each one.

Lord, we pray that we may be delivered from the temptations of Satan, from the power and dominion of sin. The enemy, Lord, he sometimes comes as a roaring lion to devour. and he sometimes comes as an angel of light to deceive. Oh, be gracious, Lord, we humbly pray thee, and send out thy light and thy truth, and return in thy power, in thy glory, as thou usest to be in the sanctuary.

Remember the prodigals that have wandered away. Stretch out thy almighty arm. Cause them to return. O Lord, we do beseech thee. There is a period known to God when all his sheep shall leave those hateful ways of sin, turn to the fold and enter in. Lord, hasten that day. We do humbly beseech thee.

Remember all in trouble or trial or perplexity or affliction. sadness or sorrow, bereavement. As we've stood around the open grave today, we pray that the word of the Lord will be blessed and it will be used of thee that the death of one may be the life of another. Do hear us, Lord, we humbly beseech thee for thy great name's sake.

Lord, we do pray Remember those of us that are now in the evening time of life's journey. Remember us with the favour that thou bearest unto thy people. Visit us with thy great salvation. And may we be born into those eternal regions of heaven and glory. And death will be a sweet release to enter into that glory prepared.

O gracious God, we read in thy word, comfort yourselves with these things, the resurrection of the dead, though we're going to die, and yet we're going to live again. And it is our desire to thankfully acknowledge thy loving kindness. But Lord, how solemn and how certain it is when there are those that give no evidence of that work of the Holy Spirit in the heart, of that spirit of faith, for without faith it is impossible to please God.

O most gracious Lord, do bless us then this evening hour. Do come and guide us into thy truth. Do come and open thy precious word. Do be gracious to us, O Lord, we pray thee, and return We read in thy word, for I am returned unto Jerusalem with mercies, and we pray that it may be so, that we may see signs to follow the preaching of the word, and that we may see raised up in the young and rising generation those that will follow thee, serve thee in their day, and in their generation we do humbly beseech thee.

We pray that it may become the chief concern of our congregation that we must be born again and that that may be a great burden and a longing desire in the hearts of those that gather with us. Lord, do hear us, we humbly beseech thee for thy great namesake.

We pray, most gracious Lord, that thou wouldst Look upon thy servants as they labour in word and doctrine upon the walls of Zion, that thou would set them free and at liberty, that thou would send out thy light and thy truth, that thou would grant mighty signs and wonders to follow the preaching of the word. O Lord, thou knowest. We do pray that thou wouldst arise, arise, arise, O God of grace. into thy rest descend, thou and the ark of thy strength, and let thy priest be clothed with salvation, and thy saints shall shout aloud for joy, how abundantly bless the provision of thy house, and satisfy her poor with bread, O Lord, we do beseech thee. Any that have come in trouble or trial, or do be gracious unto them. Those in darkness, bring them into light. Those in bondage, bring them into liberty. Those far off, make them nigh. Lord, hear our prayers.

We read in thy word that where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. May we feel that liberty this night in the pulpit and in the pew. Forgive all our many sins. Come and touch one's lips with a live coal from off the heavenly altar. We ask for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen.

Let us continue with hymn number six, the tune Bodmin 934. God's ways are just, his counsels wise. No darkness can prevent his eyes. No thought can fly, nor thing can move, unknown to him that sits above.

Hymn number 6, tune Bodmin 934.

Greatly feeling to need the Lord's gracious help. Direct your attention to the chapter we read, Numbers chapter 23, and we'll read verses 19, 20, and 21.

Numbers 23, verses 19 to 21. God is not a man. that he should lie, neither the Son of Man that he should repent. Hath he said, and shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? Behold, I have received commandment to bless, and he hath blessed, and I cannot reverse it. He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither have he seen perverseness in Israel. The Lord his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them.

I have a very heavy cold, friends, and it's gone right into my eyes. they're extremely sticky so a little bit of a difficulty reading. What seemed to get hold of me yesterday reading here in this chapter in particular was the first little clause of our text. God is not a man. That seemed to stand out to me God is not a man, that he should lie.

Man is born under trouble as the sparks fall outward. Man is sinful by his very birth. Man is corrupt in his nature, and that includes every one of us. It includes the Lord's people. We were all born in sin. we will all shapen in iniquity. And we cannot trust in ourselves, but in the living God.

But the wonderful thing is, God is not a man. He's the eternal God. He's the ever-living God. I, the Lord, change not. Therefore, ye sons of Jacob, are not consumed.

God is not a man. Man is changeable. The best of men are changeable. We change with circumstances and the various different things that we come into. We change our minds. See, it says here, neither the son of man that he should repent. That means to change his mind.

God lives in one eternal now. One eternal now. He's immutable. The apostle speaks of it in the Hebrews, doesn't he? About the immutability of his counsel. He doesn't change. He has one course and he follows that course.

And this is revealed in a great sense in the holy law of God. You think of the law of the ten commandments that God has given for man. The law was made for man. You see when we break those holy commandments we sin. It's like we've often explained to you the meaning of the word transgression. It's a boundary, it's a fence, or a hedge around a field. And the livestock within that, it keeps them in. And the idea behind the word transgress is that if those livestock break through the boundary, then they transgress.

And that boundary that God has put around man is his holy law. And we're given a definition in the word of God, sin is any transgression of the law of God. We break a boundary. You see, God has put a boundary there. It doesn't change. That law is absolute. That law cannot change. That law is just as God is. Inflexible. Unchangeable.

That's what God is in his nature. He's holy. He's righteous altogether.

But man is just the opposite. Since Adam by transgression fell, He ruined all his future race. The seeds of evil once brought in, increased and filled the world with sin. We're sinners by our very birth. But this God with whom we have to do is holy. Holy in his very being. we are told very clearly in the holy scriptures it says holy holy holy lord god almighty and i'm quite sure that that holy holy holy refers to the father the son and the holy ghost holy holy holy lord god almighty which is an art and art to come he's a holy god and he will not at all acquit the guilty, this great God.

You know, friends, in these three chapters, 22, 23, and 24, it's the recording of the things that went on with Balak, the king of Moab, and Baelim. Now, Baelim, was what you might say an enchanter. He dealt with familiar spirits. It's recorded here in these three chapters.

Balaam, he said, let me die the death of the righteous. But the sad and solemn thing is, my beloved friends, he didn't want to live the life of the righteous. He wanted to die the death of the righteous. He was an ungodly man, dealing with familiar spirits, and yet the eternal God used him. The eternal God revealed some wonderful things to him, especially regarding Israel

Bailak, again and again tries to, as it were, influence him to curse Jacob to curse the children of Israel But the Lord spoke to him in the previous chapter it speaks of the dumb ass He smoked the ass because Unbeknown to him in front of them was the angel of the Lord with his sword drawn And the ass saw him and wouldn't go forward so then Balaam smites the ass and the ass turned round and spoke to him in a human voice you see the God can do anything with God there is nothing impossible and God said to Balaam you're not to curse Israel and in spite of all the things that were done here we've read in chapter 23 and then it goes on in 24 that he could only bless Israel

even though he was an ungodly man God is not a man that he should lie nor the son of man that he should repent the scripture says God who cannot lie God cannot lie. He's a God of truth. A lie is the opposite to truth. And God is a God of truth. He never lies. He never deceives. He's always very clear on what truth is.

God is not a man that he should lie. I think it's in the, epistle to Titus when the apostle Paul writing to Titus, his son in the faith, and exhorting him to continue in the work of God. And in that opening chapter of the epistle of Titus, he speaks to Titus of the God who does not lie, God who cannot lie. See that's what we have in the word here.

So it says Paul a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ according to the faith of God's elect and according to the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness in hope of eternal life which God that cannot lie promised before the world began and hath in due times manifested word through preaching which is committed unto me.

You see God cannot lie. He's a God of truth. He's a God of righteousness. In the Holy Scriptures truth and righteousness and evil Truth and righteousness are spoken of as light and it says God is light and in him is no darkness at all. God is light. He said of our Lord Jesus Christ, I am the light of the world. In him is truth. I am the way, the truth and the life. The Lord Jesus Christ is.

which God has promised. And in these days in the book of Numbers, God had promised unto the children of Israel. He promised unto Abraham, in thy seed, shall all the nations of the earth be blessed. In other words, as the apostle points out, it doesn't say seeds, it's one seed, in thy seed, Why? Because it's speaking of Christ. It's speaking of God's only begotten Son. And there is salvation in none other. In Him is life. As the Word of God says, He that hath the Son hath life. And this is where the life of God is. And this is where the life of the believer is. It's in the glorious person. of Jesus the Son of God, the way, the truth and the life.

God is not a man but he should lie. You see we have that lovely word in the epistle to the Corinthians, all the promises of God are yea and amen in Christ Jesus. There's no prevarication, there's no ambiguity whatsoever. everything is promised in Christ and all the promises of God found here in the Word of God, I yeah and amen. He doesn't lie or as it says God who cannot lie, God who cannot lie.

God is not a man that he should lie, neither the son of man that he should repent. says doesn't it in one place in scripture repentance shall be hid from mine eyes it says in prophecy concerning the coming of christ repentance shall be hid from mine eyes in other words i will fulfill what god has promised i will fulfill what god has sent me to do i will feel fulfill on the behalf of my people that holy righteous law that you all have broken fulfilling in the person of my son manifest in the flesh that's exactly what happened in that lovely word in Jeremiah chapter 23 Jehovah said can you the Lord our righteousness that's fulfilled that promise of everlasting righteousness is fulfilled in the person of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and all the Lord's people are righteous in Christ.

God is not a man that he should lie, neither the son of man that he should repent. Hath he said and shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken and shall he not make good? Of course he will. His word is sure. His word is most certain. What God has promised is most sure and most certain. Surely that's what the Apostle Peter speaks of in his first epistle. He speaks there of the word of the Lord which liveth and abideth forever. It's unchangeable. It lives and it abides forever. The Lord does not change. He does not alter. We just have a look there at the epistle of Peter and how the Lord has left on record for us these wonderful promises. These promises of the eternal God to his living family. promises of eternal life, promises of peace and salvation, promises of deliverance from sin and Satan's power. It says in 1 Peter chapter 1, it says in verse 18 for as much as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers but with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world but was manifest in these last times for you who by him do believe in God that raised him up from the dead and gave him glory that your faith and hope might be in God, in this unchangeable God, in this almighty God.

Seeing you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfamed love of the brethren, see that you love one another with a pure heart, fervently.

Being born again, These are the wonderful promises of God, being born again. What a wonderful thing to be born again, accept a man, be born of water and of the Spirit. He cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. Have you been born again? Have I been born again? Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.

You see, this is the truth of God. It's called the Holy Bible. It's God's own word. It says in the last verse of that 1 Peter 1, but the word of the Lord endureth forever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you. by the word of His grace, that wonderful grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

It hath pleased the Father, that in Him should all fullness dwell. God is not a man, that He should lie, neither the Son of Man, that He should repent. Hath He said, and shall He not do it? Or hath He spoken, and shall He not make it good, what God has promised? He will do. And if you have a promise that the Lord has given you, He will do it. You can't do it. He will do it. He will bring you to pray to Him to do it and to perform those wonderful promises of God. Do you have a promise that the Lord has breathed into your heart? He will do it. He will accomplish it.

See, man may make promises, he may make them in good faith but for some reason or another he may not be able to fulfill the promise he has made therefore he resolves from it he says i can't do it but not with god what god has promised he will do most certainly most definitely in here in verse 20 behold i have received commandment to bless. And he has blessed and I cannot reverse it. What a wonderful truth there is contained here. You see the blessings of God, they're eternal blessings. And Balaam couldn't reverse that.

Then we have something exceedingly precious here. We take Jacob here as being the Lord's chosen people. That is what is meant here. He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel. The Lord his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them. He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob,

In the Song of Solomon, the Lord Jesus Christ speaking to the spouse, he says, thou art all fair my love. There is no spot in thee. All fair. He said that he has not beheld iniquity in Jacob. How can this be? Because we know Jacob by his very name was a supplant, a deceiver. He did it in his life. And yet, the Lord does not behold iniquity in Jacob. Jacob was a poor sinner. Just like you, just like me. Sometimes we deceive people. We can deceive people by what we say, and we can deceive people what we don't say but we're still deceiving people because we have a deceitful heart you see those words in Jeremiah the heart of man is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked you know we have to hang our heads in shame when we look back and when we deceive people as something the Lord Jesus never did. There was no guile, there was no deceit in the glorious person of Jesus Christ and you know that cannot be said of you and I. There is guile and there is deceit. Sometimes it's in the things that we say And sometimes it's in the things that we don't say. And we don't say them because we're trying to deceive someone. You know, my beloved friends, that's the human heart. That's my heart, it's your heart.

It often strikes me, that word. It's quite a profound word. The heart of man is deceitful above all things. desperately wicked. We get into a corner sometimes and we move around and we shift the truth and we we try and get out of it but it's the deceit of our heart. Oh that the Lord would grant that that deceit and sin as it was with Jacob is covered. He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob. Now, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel. The Lord his God is with him and the shout of a king is among them.

Of course, if you look at it in the purely spiritual sense of the word, the shout of a king among the election of grace, King Jesus. I love that. It's so beautiful. what the Apostle speaks when he speaks to Timothy of his own call by grace, and he suddenly breaks out in those lovely words, now unto the King eternal, immortal and invisible, the only true God, be honour and glory everlasting. Amen. The King eternal, immortal, you see, unchangeable.

Now, how can this be so, when Jacob is the supplant of all? And Israel was too. You know, the grace of God, it will affect you, and the more grace we have, the more it will affect you, but it doesn't change our character. No. We're a sinner, and we'll always be a sinner. I've often told you, This teaching was so driven home to me by the Spirit of God. Before I was in the ministry, I could take you to the spot in Crobra, where I was working. And for weeks or even months, that word had walked up and down in my very soul. Turn again, O son of man. and thou shalt see greater abominations than these." And this particular morning that word was with me. Every time I turned again there was more sin, there was more iniquity, there was more deceit in my heart. It was a crucifying sight of myself.

But it was one line of a hymn that seemed to absolutely seal that teaching into my heart. nor can I promise future good to bring. This heart of ours is a polluted spot. We're unclean and we're unrighteous altogether. But the secret, my beloved friends, is in the glorious sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. He's in that wonderful synatonic work that he has done. On the one hand, he knows that you and I, not even as believers, can fulfill the law. We can't do it. Why? Because we have the old man, which is corrupt. And we break God's holy law. That's our very nature. So he sent his son. our Lord Jesus Christ, to fulfill the law. I come not to destroy the law, but to fulfill it. That is what Jesus has done. And he'd done it for his people. He'd done it for his people. He fulfilled that holy, righteous law. And that perfect obedience of our Lord Jesus Christ is the righteousness of the believer. And then he offered that holy sin atoning sacrifice on the cross of Calvary. He shed his precious blood, his blood that cleanses from all sin. I love that word all. It cleanses from all sin. It's the most precious word. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's son, We've just read it in the epistle of Peter, for as much as you are not redeemed with corruptible things such as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb slain from before the foundation of the world.

My beloved friends, the very heart, the very center, the very sum, the very substance of the gospel is in the person of Jesus Christ, in his holy life, pure and holy sacrifice on Calvary, that has satisfied all the demands of divine justice, that those demands would have swept the whole election of grace into eternal perdition. But Jesus suffered, bled and died for the sins of his people. He did. The Father laid upon him the iniquity of us all. And that is why the Lord Jesus suffered and bled and died for his people.

In the garden of Gethsemane, the Father laid upon him the iniquity of us all. He went straight from Gethsemane into the judgment hall and to the cross. He took our sins and he nailed them to his cross. He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel, The Lord his God is with him, and the shout of the King is among them. Yet have I set my King upon my holy hill of Zion. My King, the Father sent the Son, my King, is God's King. King, the name King means one of supreme power. Jesus is the King of Kings. and the Lord of Lords. And Jesus has accomplished the salvation of his people. And all the promises of God are yea and amen in him.

Jesus died for the sins of his people. And then Jesus rose again. And when he rose again, he left all the sins of the church in the grave. That's why it says he rose again for our justification. justified is to be declared to be without sin. And that's exactly what we have in our text. He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel. The Lord his God is with him and the shout of a king is among them. The Lord his God is with him. And the Lord his God has said, I will never leave thee. nor forsake thee world without end. These are the promises of God, which are yea and amen in Jesus Christ.

And the Lord Jesus, that when he ascended up into heaven, he's made a new and living way into the holy place. He now sits at the right hand of the Father. We have an advocate, one that stands between, one that pleads our cause. We have an advocate, with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous.

You know, in the following chapter, chapter 24, we read of Balaam and he took up a parable. And he took up his parable and said, Balaam, the son of Beor, hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said, he hath said, which heard the words of God and knew the knowledge of the Most High, which saw the visions of the Almighty falling into a trance, but having his eyes open. I shall see him, but not now. I shall behold him, but not nigh. There shall come a star." That's Christ. Balaam prophesied the coming of Christ. He was an ungodly man. It's quite a striking thing, isn't it? Doesn't it show you how far we can go in religion and yet be wrong?

There shall come a star out of Jacob and a scepter shall rise out of Israel and shall smite the corners of Moab and destroy all the children of Sheol. It says in verse 19 out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion and shall destroy him that remaineth of the city. That's a prophecy concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. It makes me think of those words of our Lord Jesus Christ. Many shall say in that day, Lord, Lord, open to us. And I will say, depart from me. never knew you and they will say but Lord we have we're preached in thy name we've we've wrought miracles in thy name and he will say depart from me I never knew you

oh my beloved friends what a solemn thing to go a long way in religion and yet not have the root of the matter in us not come into the wonderful promises of God that we've been speaking of. Because if we're in Christ, all those promises are yay and amen. They are divinely certain.

And here in verse 23 of this chapter 23, Balaam says, surely there is no enchantment against Jacob. Nor is there any divination, because that's what Balaam was. He was a diviner, an enchanter. Nor is there any divination against Israel. You see, my beloved friends, this is God's work. It says in that verse, what hath God wrought? He hath wrought out the eternal salvation of his people in the sending forth of his Son. made of a woman made under the law, fulfilling the law on their behalf, offering that perfect, holy, spotless sacrifice, shedding his precious blood, giving his life a ransom for all, and then rising from the dead, having destroyed death, and him that had the power of death, that is the devil.

These things, my beloved friends, are divinely certain. May the Lord, by His Spirit, bring you to see how everything is fulfilled in Christ. May the Lord, by His Spirit, reveal by faith unto you the glorious person of our Lord Jesus Christ as the way, the truth, and the light. Jesus is the way to God. Jesus is the way to bliss. In this way, the saints have trod down from Adam's day to this.

God is not a man that he should lie. neither the Son of Man, that he should repent. Hath he said, and shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? Behold, I have received commandment to bless, and he hath blessed. And this is the wonderful thing, and cannot reverse it. These wonderful blessings are irreversible. He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, Neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel. The Lord his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them.

May the Lord add his blessing. We close with hymn 837, tune Walton 430.

Repent, awakened souls, repent, hear the good tidings God has sent,

of sinners saved and sins forgiven, and beggars raised to reign in heaven.

Hymn 837, tune Walton 430.

Now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, the sacred fellowship of the Holy Spirit, rest and abide with us each both now and for evermore. Amen.