Together, hymn number 247, the tune is Kilmarnock, 856. O Lord, I would delight in thee, and on thy care depend, to thee in every trouble flee, my best, my only friend. Hymn 247, tune Kilmarnock, 856. O God in Thine indivisible kingdom, To win every trouble paid, I pressed my lonely head. Illuminated streams of joy, Thy fullness is the same. May I with this peace of this mind I'm glory in thy name I should have sought a joy in her care as her own came near. A fountain which will ever run With water sweet and clean. ? O good in creatures ? ? Stand behold ? ? The faithful in thee ? ? Christ the Lord ? ? Eternal Lord ? ? His love to me ? ? Oh, that I had a stronger flame ? ? To look within the flame ? Take credit, O my Saviour's head, For trust that never fails. Thee at last may my head secure, When below the earth I lie. Though Christ is rich, I nothing know, I will be strong. O Lord, I cast my fear on Thee, like Thine own hand adore. Let us read together from the Holy Word of God. in the Acts of the Apostles and chapter 2. The second chapter in the Acts of the Apostles and we'll commence our reading at verse 14. But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice and said unto them, Ye men of Judea, And all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words, for these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet John, and it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy and your young men shall see visions and your old men shall dream dreams and on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my spirit and they shall prophesy and I will show wonders in heaven above and signs in the earth beneath blood and fire and vapour of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before that great and notable day of the Lord come. And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Ye men of Israel, hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth, the man approved of God among you, by miracles and wonders and signs which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know. Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain. Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved. Therefore my heart rejoiced, did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad. Moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope, because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine holy one to see corruption. Thou hast made known to me the ways of life. Thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance. Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulcher is with us unto this day therefore being a prophet and knowing that God has sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his loins according to the flesh he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne. He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ that his soul was not left in hell that is in death neither his flesh did see corruption. This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we are all witnesses. Therefore, being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he has shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. For David is not ascended into the heavens, But he set himself, the Lord said unto my Lord, sit thou on my right hand until I make thy foes thy footstool. Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. And you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. for the promises unto you and to your children and to all that are far off, even as many, as the Lord our God shall call. And with many other words he did testify and exhort, saying, save yourselves from this untoward generation. Then they that gladly received his word were baptised, and the same day that were added unto them, about 3,000 souls. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread and in prayers. And fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. And all that believed were together and had all things common. and sold their possessions and goods and parted them to all men as every man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God and having favour with all the people, and the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. May the Lord bless the reading of his own precious word and grant unto us a spirit of real prayer. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which is and art and art to come, We desire to bow before thy glorious majesty. We desire, O Lord, a spirit of true worship. And we desire that the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God our Father, and the sacred fellowship of the Holy Spirit may rest and abide upon us in this service. And that the word of truth may be opened unto our heart and to our understanding, and that it may be a living word. Blessed Holy Divine Spirit of Truth, we pray that it may be with us this evening as it was with the dear Apostle when he could testify. For our gospel came unto you not in word only, but in power, in the Holy Ghost, and with much assurance. We pray that it may be so with us here tonight, that we may hear thy voice, that we may see thy countenance, that we may worship in thy holy hill of Zion. Lord, without thee we can do nothing, for we are nothing in ourselves. We are the fallen sons and daughters of Adam, and every one of us was born in sin. and shapen in iniquity. And we do desire to come and bow before thee and pray that those grant thee quickening power, even as the psalmist says, quicken thee according to thy word. And oh Lord, we pray then for that quickening power, that divine unction of the Holy Ghost to be known and felt in our assembly at this evening hour. known and felt in the pulpit and in the pew. Give us ears to hear, eyes to see, hearts to receive the precious word of thy grace, we do humbly beseech thee. We pray to be led of the spirit of God, for they that are led of the spirit of God are the sons of God. We pray most blessed spirit that thou wouldst convince us of our sin, and lead to Jesus' blood, and to our wandering eyes reveal the secret love of God. We pray, most gracious Lord, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and that thy name may be honoured and glorified. We pray that we may be favoured with that sacred spirit of adoption, whereby we may cry, My God, my Father, blissful name, O may I call thee mine. Oh, we think of those lovely words of grace, for the Father himself loveth you. May we feel that love as we gather round thy word at this evening hour. And Lord Jesus, we pray that thou wouldst come and stand in our midst, and that we may behold thy glory the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, that we may behold that wonderful glory of the incarnation of the Son of God, the eternal Word that was made flesh and dwelt among us. Oh, may we behold that wonderful glory of Christ. And we pray, most gracious Lord, that we may be favoured to see that glory by faith in the wonderful person of the holy God man. We think of those wonderful words of grace, there is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, who gave his life a ransom for all to be testified in due time. Oh we would that we may see your lovely man, that we may behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world, that we may be taken by faith to Calvary where the Lamb was slain and that precious blood of Jesus Christ was shed, the blood of Jesus Christ God's Son cleanseth us from all sin. Oh, we pray that we may feel the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus in our hearts and in our souls this night. We thank Thee that He gave His life a ransom for all to be testified in due time. And we pray that we may behold Him die He died for our sins. He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. And the chastisement of our peace was upon him. And with his stripes we are healed. Lord, this is all our hope. This is all our desire. But we do thank thee that having died for our sins, he rose again. swallowed up death in victory and as we have read in thy word that it was not possible that death could hold him. Oh we thank thee for the glorious person of Jesus the son of God and his holy sacrifice, his death and his resurrection and the complete redemption of his people. Oh we do pray that we may be led of the Spirit into these wonderful and precious truths of our most holy faith as we gather round thy word at this evening hour. We pray that we may behold him ascended up on high, sitting at the right hand of the Father. Such an high priest have we, who is passed into the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God. We do thank thee, Lord. for the glory, the wonderful glory of our exalted Saviour. For 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 under the earth. We come to bow before the King Jesus. Yet have I set my King upon my holy hill of Zion. Lord Jesus, thou art that immovable rock. We come to thee at this evening hour, and we need thee as that immovable rock. Upon this rock I build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. We thank thee, O Lord, for that glorious rock of ages. We thank thee for that eternal hope beyond the grave, We thank thee, most gracious Lord, for these wonderful promises and all the promises of God are yea and amen in Christ Jesus. They're all fulfilled in him, in his glorious person. And oh Lord, we do pray that thou wouldst be gracious unto us. Remember us as a church and as a congregation and work mightily and work powerfully and work effectually in our midst. Gracious God, we pray that thou wouldst pull down the strongholds of Satan and set up the kingdom of the Lord Jesus in the hearts of sinners. Let thy work appear unto thy servants and thy glory unto their children. O Lord, we do beseech thee. We come before Thee, O Lord, as suppliants. We all have sinned and come short of Thy glory. We come trusting in that wonderful grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is our only hope of salvation, that risen and that exalted Saviour who sitteth at the right hand of the Majesty on high. O Lord, we do pray that thou would remember us each in all our various pathways, in all our various concerns, in all our various afflictions and troubles and trials and perplexities. We pray that thou would deliver us from an evil heart of unbelief and deliver us from the power and dominion of sin and grant that grace may triumphant reign in our hearts in our lives, in our circumstances, that we may be enabled to cast all our cares upon thee. May we be found looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame thereof, and is now set down at the right hand of the majesty on high, Help us to look to him. Help us to cleave to him. Help us to trust in him. For he makes no mistakes. And Lord, we make many mistakes. We have a sinful heart. We have a corrupt nature. We have to confess before thee, as the dear apostle does in Romans 7, that which I would, I do not. That which I would not, I do. find a law within my members, that when I would do good, then evil is present with me. And often, Lord, we have to cry out with the dear apostle, O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. That Lord is our only hope in what Jesus has done. We thank thee for the holy life he lived, and the holy law he fulfilled, when he was made of a woman made under the law, that he might redeem them that are under the law. Oh, that holy law has been fulfilled in his glorious person, on the behalf, in the room and place, instead of his people. Everlasting righteousness has been brought him. Jehovah said, Kenya, the Lord our righteousness. Lord, this is all our hope. Jesus, thy blood and righteousness, my beauty are my glorious dress. Oh, we do cry that they'll withdraw us by their irresistible grace at this evening hour, and that thou would open the word of truth to our heart and to our understanding. Remember our brethren, the deacons, and be with them, and remember it's one of our brethren and sisters in Christ. We pray for our dear brother and sister in Holland, and we pray, Lord, that thou wouldst be with those of us that hope to be away in the coming week, and that thou wouldst watch over us, and may the God of mist be watched between us, and be gracious unto us, and that we may be reunited together, and and know that union and communion in Christ. May the God of mist bewatch between us. Lord, we pray that thou would remember all then in any trouble or trial or affliction or bereavement, losses and crosses, perplexities and sorrows. Remember each one. O Lord, we do beseech thee for thy great namesake. We pray that thou wouldst graciously remember the young of the flock, the little ones and the children. Pray that they may be blessed of thee. We pray for the young friends that they may know thy rich blessing, that they may be brought to living faith in Jesus Christ, that they may become true followers of thee and of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises Remember this village and the surrounding villages and hamlets, and work mightily, powerfully and effectually, gather precious souls. We think of the wonderful gospel promises. I will bring thy sons from far and thy daughters from the ends of the earth, and they shall come from the north and from the south and from the east and from the west. O Lord of hosts, O God of Israel, O Thou that dwellest between the cherubim, shine forth. Let Thy hand be upon the man of Thy right hand, the Son of Man, whom Thou madest strong for Thyself. Lord, do hear us, we humbly beseech Thee. Let us see Thy goings in the sanctuary. Let us see Thy power and Thy glory, as Thou usest to be in the sanctuary. Remember all thy servants that labour in word and doctrine upon the walls of Zion, and set them free, and set them at liberty, and grant mighty signs and wonders to follow the preaching of the word. We live, Lord, in a very dark day, when the love of many waxes cold, and Zion is minished and brought low, and the boar out of wood doth waste her. We see in our nation the awful spirit and power of Antichrist prevailing in our Parliament and in our nation. We pray that thou wouldst arise, that thou wouldst appear, that thou wouldst hear the cries of thy little remnant that sigh and cry for the abominations done in the land. Hear us, O God. We do humbly beseech thee. Be with us now as we turn To thy holy word, come and open thy word to our heart and to our understanding. Come and speak to us, Lord. Come and touch one's lips with a live coal from of the heavenly altar. We ask for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. Let us now sing together hymn number 599. The tune is Samuel 560. No thunderbolts are there, nor wrath to sink you in despair. Hymn 599. Tune Samuel 560. Jesus Christ, who art in us, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, O come, O come, Emmanuel, O come, Emmanuel, ? God rest thine ear ? ? In thine holy tomb ? ? Heaven and earth ? ? Receive thy King's praise ? Jesus, you have reached the goal first, and it's a very big deal. ? Till I see the wisdom ? ? Between the leaves of grass ? ? Where surely peace is found ? ? And weakness found ? O come, O come, O come, O come, O come, Greatly feeling to need the Lord's gracious help, I would direct your attention to the second chapter in the Acts of the Apostles, and we will read verse 36 for our text. The Acts of the Apostles, chapter 2, verse 36. Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. This is the conclusion of the beautiful sermon that was preached by Peter on the day Pentecost. It's beautiful for its simplicity, it's beautiful for the content of it as he sets forth something of the wonderful glory of Jesus Christ and that the narrative is beautiful because in it was the power of the Holy Ghost. that sealed the Word of God into the hearts of his hearers. And as we read here that there was added unto the church about 3,000 souls. It was a remarkable outpouring of the Spirit of God prophesied of course in Ezekiel and Jeremiah and Isaiah that these days would come, Isaiah said, until the Spirit be poured upon us from on high. And that is what we see on the day of Pentecost, the wonderful outpouring of the Holy Ghost after the Lord Jesus had ascended up into heaven, into glory. It was promised by the Lord Jesus. He said to the disciples, tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem until you receive power from on high. And they did just that, my beloved friends, they tarried until the Holy Spirit was poured upon them. And here in this word that we have before us as a text, Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now, when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart and said unto Peter, And to the rest of the apostles, men and brethren, what shall we do? It reminds of us that wonderful occasions here in the Acts of the Apostles when they were in Philippi and in the prison and the earthquake and the chains were come off and the doors were open and the jailer took his sword and he was about to fall upon his sword And Paul said to him, do thyself no harm. And he said to them, sirs, what must I do to be saved? And he said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. And he and all his house believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. How wonderful when the power of the word reaches into the heart by the Holy Ghost. You know, friends, nothing can be done without the Holy Ghost. There is no real preaching without the Holy Ghost. There is no real conversion without the Holy Ghost. There's no real life of faith without the Holy Ghost. The Apostle speaking of the essential nature of the work of the Holy Ghost in the Epistles of the Romans, he says, if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, that's the Holy Ghost, he is none of his. How vital, my beloved friends, is the Holy Ghost. Paul himself could testify when he said our gospel came unto you not in word only, but in power, in the Holy Ghost, and with much assurance. Oh, how we need to pray for the power of the Holy Ghost. We need it in the ministry of the word. We need it among us as a church and as a congregation. Nothing can be done without the power the Holy Ghost. Paul when he writes his epistle to the Ephesians in chapter 2 he says you hath he quickened. That word quickened is an old English word which means to give life. You hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and in sins. It's only by that quickening power, that divine power of the Holy Ghost, that a poor sinner can be brought from spiritual death into spiritual life. That same wonderful power that was put forth in creation, when we read in Genesis chapter one, and the spirit of the Lord moved upon the face of the waters. What did he do? He brought order out of chaos. He put everything in order. wonderful power of the Holy Ghost and you know my beloved friends we need that wonderful power of the Holy Ghost nothing can be done without it we not only need it in the quickening power to bring us from spiritual death into spiritual life we need the Holy Ghost in our hearts to keep alive our soul. And he dwells there. The Apostle writing to the Corinthians, he says, know ye not that ye are the temple of the Holy Ghost, if so be the Spirit of God dwelling in you. My beloved friends, that is what makes a real true believer. It's the divine dwelling in the heart of God, the Holy Ghost, how we need his power. I remember reading Dr. Owen on this particular point, and he said this, it says in Holy Scripture, he shall not speak of himself, who the Holy Ghost. But Dr. Owen went on to say, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't speak of him. He shall not speak of himself, but we must speak of him, of his heavenly power, of his divine unction. We must speak of how he stopped us in our mad career, how we convicted and convinced of our sin, how he brought us to feel our need of salvation, how eventually he revealed unto us the wonderful things of our Lord Jesus Christ when he testified of the glorious person of our Lord Jesus Christ and so Christ was revealed and the love of Christ was shed abroad in our hearts. The Apostle says in the Epistle to the Romans that the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost. See that wonderful divine work of the Holy Ghost and we cannot emphasise enough here that these wonderful things that are set forth by the Apostle Peter on the day of Pentecost. There's nothing complicated. It's the clear opening of God's Word and the Holy Spirit sealing it into the heart. When Paul writes to the Ephesians he says this, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened and that is what happens when the Holy Ghost enters the heart. He enlightens us to our lost estate. He enlightens us. Listen to what Jesus says. When He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He will reprove, the margin says, convince the world of sin, of righteousness, of judgment. When He comes to the heart of a sinner, He convinces them or reproves them. sin. You know, in the first epistle of John, he tells us very certainly there, if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the life of God is not enough. Where the spirit works, there is a realisation of our lost condition. He will convince of sin, of righteousness, that is God's righteousness, God's holiness, God's perfection. And when the Holy Spirit does this, you don't just think that you're a sinner, you know. That's what it means when it says convince. You don't just think that God is holy, you know. In the first epistle of John. we read that on a number of occasions throughout that first epistle we know we know that wonderful word we know that we are passed from death unto life because we love the brethren it's an evidence of spiritual life because we love the brethren therefore we know we know that God is holy and righteous. And it says there in John 16, and of judgment, there'll be a realization given that we must all appear at the judgment seat of Jesus Christ to give an account of the deeds done in the body. As it is appointed unto man, wants to die, so after death, the judgment. After death, the judgment. You know, my beloved friends, these precious truths, these fundamental truths of our most holy faith, how needful it is that we should know them. Therefore, that all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye crucified, both Lord and Christ. You know, in the epistle to the Hebrews, the apostle there, again and again, he commences the epistle speaking of the death, the sufferings and death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and his ascension into glory at the right hand of the Father. And he comes back to that same truth right the way through the epistle to the Hebrews that he's now exalted at the right hand of the Father. He hath made this, that God hath made that same Jesus whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. I think one of the most beautiful descriptions of this is found in the Epistle to the Philippians and in the second chapter And the apostle there, he speaks so beautifully of our Lord Jesus Christ. He says, let this mind be in you, Philippians 2 verse 5. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of man. Wonderful truth. The incarnation of the Son of God. Made himself of no reputation. It's the last thing that we will let go, isn't it? Our reputation. But Jesus made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of man. He became bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh. There's a sense here in our text of the divine and the human, Lord and Christ. Christ means the anointed one. He was anointed of the Father. spirit of the Lord God is upon me for he hath anointed me. He was divinely anointed of the spirit in that holy human nature that he assumed in the womb of the Virgin Mary. When he became bone of our bone it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren. And then it says here in the Philippians in verse 8 and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself. He did not only humble himself as the son of God to assume human nature in the womb of the Virgin Mary and to take of the seed of the woman and to become a real man. I love what Joseph Hart says, a man there is a real man with wounds still gaping wide. from which rich streams of blood winds ran in hands and feet and side. He says it's no metaphor. No, this man is true almighty God. And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Just before he was crucified, he said to his disciples, for this cause came I into the world. To suffer, to bleed, and to die for the sins of his people. He came, he humbled himself. When he came out of the Garden of Gethsemane, What happened in Gethsemane? It was there that the Father laid upon Him the iniquity of us all. Hence the Lord Jesus, bowing before His Father, He said, Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me, but not My will, but Thine be done. This cup of suffering, this cup of agony, of sorrow, of grief. How willing was the Lord Jesus to suffer, bleed and die, to save his people from their sins. And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him and giving him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Every tongue should confess. that Jesus Christ is Lord, therefore that all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. Lord is God, Christ the anointed one. So we have before us here wonderful mystery of godliness of God manifest in the flesh. God manifest in the flesh, Lord and Christ, who's now in heaven. This same dear man in heaven now reigns, who suffered in our stead, is made in both Lord and Christ, in heaven itself. What a wonderful precious truth. You know, friends, in the Gospels, my mind in particular goes to that clear and beautiful account that we have in the Gospel of Luke concerning the incarnation of the Son of God. And we read there that the Holy Ghost appeared, the angel appeared unto Mary, the Virgin Mary. we read from verse 26 and in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee named Nazareth to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David and the virgin's name was Mary and the angel came in unto her and said hail thou that are highly favoured the Lord is with thee blessed art thou among women When she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favour with God. And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest. And the Lord God shall give unto him the throne, of his father David. He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end.' Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be? saying, I know not a man. And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the higher shall overshadow thee, therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. see the wonderful truth of the incarnation of the Son of God, that holy thing. You know friends, we need to be clear on these wonderful doctrines of our most holy faith. Why does it say that holy thing? Some would almost dismiss that saying because it doesn't fit in where their doctrinal thoughts But what does it mean? It means that holy human nature that was formed in the womb of the Virgin Mary, taken of her seed by the Holy Ghost, formed in her womb, that as soon as that was done by the Holy Ghost, the Son of God immediately assumed that holy human nature in the womb of the Virgin Mary. It never ever had any existence separate to the Son of God. It was his own personal human nature. So we do not see in Jesus Christ two persons. We see one person, the Son of God, who assumed human nature. It was his own personal human nature. What a wonderful, sacred mystery, a glorious mystery this is. Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and and is in heaven, Lord and Christ. You know, the wonderful thing is, my beloved friends, that though Jesus suffered and bled and died for our sins, death couldn't hold him. It says in verse 24 here, whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that he should be holding of it. Why? Because he's holding. The wages of sin is death. And the death that Jesus Christ died on the cross was a substitutionary death. He died for our sins. He offered that holy sacrifice of His precious, holy human nature on the altar of His divinity. It's a perfect sacrifice. As we read in the Word of God, for by one offering He hath perfected forever all them that are sanctified. That one glorious offering of the Son of God. on the cross of Calvary. You know, I often draw your attention to it because there's so much precious gospel truth in it. We read in Romans, in Hebrews chapter 9, but Christ being come and high priest of good things to come, this is verse 11, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, that means it's human nature. not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building, neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean sanctify to the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ who through the eternal spirit offered himself without spot to God. That term here, the eternal spirit, is not referring to the Holy Ghost. It's referring to the divine nature of the Son of God. And he offered, you see, the apostle is writing to the Hebrews who understood the sacrifices and offerings. Now in the Levitical dispensation you have an altar and you have a sacrifice on the altar. They are distinct from each other. And where it says who threw the eternal spirit, in the typical sense of the sacrifice and the altar, the altar represents the divine nature of the Son of God. Sacrifice on the altar represents the human nature of the Son of God. And when it says he offered himself, you see, his divine nature was the altar, his human nature was the sacrifice on the altar. How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God. He goes on here in verse 24, for Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, that's the tabernacle, which are the figures of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us, for us. I love those two little words. for us, now to appear in the presence of God for us. Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. It's that lovely word, isn't it? In the 13th verse of the, sorry, in the 13th chapter of the prophecy of Hosea. And it's a prophecy concerning our Lord Jesus Christ. Hosea 13, verse 14. I will ransom them from the power of the grave. I will redeem them from death. O death, I will be thy place. O grave, I will be thy destruction. Repentance shall be hid from mine eyes. Jesus entered into death itself in the room placed instead of his people. And he entered into death that he might destroy death. And him that had the power of death, that is the devil. That's what Christ has done. He's destroyed death, and him that had the power of death, and the evidence, my beloved friends, that those sins that were laid upon him have been atoned for, that the redemption price has been paid, and the evidence, a risen Saviour. If one sin of the church had not been redeemed, Christ would have never risen from the grave. But we bless God. that the evidence that sin has been put away and divine justice has been satisfied and the curse has been removed is in the risen Saviour. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? He hath destroyed death. This glorious person. And it says here in verse 32. This Jesus had God raised up whereof we are all we are all our witnesses therefore being by the right hand of God exalted and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost he has shed forth this which he now see and hear for David is not ascended into the heavens but he saith himself, the Lord said unto my Lord, Psalm 110, sit thou on my right hand until I make thy foes thy footstool. Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. I think of those wonderful words of our Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew chapter 28, speaking to the disciples before he ascended into heaven, he said, all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth, both Lord and He hath made him both Lord and Christ. You know that these things are written for our instruction, they are written for our comfort and our consolation. The precious truth that we believe, the foundation truth of our most holy faith. When the Lord asked the disciples Whom say men that I the Son of Man am? And the disciples answered him, Some say Jeremiah, some this, some that. And so Jesus said to them, Whom say ye that I am? And Peter answered for them all. He said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And the answer that Jesus gave to him From that confession, blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood hath not revealed this unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And upon this rock I build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. You see, For David is not ascended into the heavens, but he said himself, the Lord said unto my Lord, sit now on my right hand until I make thy foes thy footstool. Jesus, my beloved friends, the living and victorious savior, he led the disciples out as far as unto Bethany. He lifted up his hands and blessed them. and he was bodily received up into heaven as they beheld him ascend into heaven with a cloud. And when that happened, my beloved friends, there was a fulfilling of those wonderful and precious words that we find in the Psalm 24, when it speaks of the everlasting gates of heaven lifting their heads and the king of glory entering in. Psalm 24 verse 7. Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in. You see, when Adam fell, those gates were shut, barring man from communion with God. But lo, the second Adam, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord from heaven, he comes, and he redeems his people, he lived for them, lived a holy, sinless life, fulfilled and magnified God's holy law and brought in everlasting righteousness for his people. He then offered that holy, sinless sacrifice of the cross and he entered into death itself And on the third day, he rose again and he swallowed up death in victory. And then he leads him out to Bethany and he bodily ascends into heaven. Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. This is the Lord Christ as he ascends into heaven. Who is this King of Glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O ye gates, even lift them up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of Glory shall come in. Who is this King of Glory? The Lord of hosts. He is the King of Glory, Selah. How that speaks so beautifully of the divinity of Christ. The Lord of hosts, He is the King of Glory. Therefore, that all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. May the Lord add his blessing to these few remarks. Let us now sing together hymn number 145. The tune is Gratitude 467. Christ exalted is our song, hymn by all the blood brought from. To his throne our shout shall rise, God with us by sacred ties. Hymn 145. Tune Gratitude 467. ? In my own immanent home ? ? Take me to church adorned ? ? Where angels cry in secret tune ? ? Thou giv'r me path to thy goal ? ? Be at all times my best hope ? ? Each hour of my life divine ? And settle my sins at night. If I bleeding lose appear, Sick and in the night ? God and shield ? ? Face the death of serpent age ? ? Christ without a rival rage ? ? Through corruption dealt with him ? ? All bitterness dealt and sin ? ? Still to Jesus turned my heart ? ? His gentle hands have made light ? ? In my short sleep thou art free ? ? It will answer its calling ? ? With its joy that's first to come ? ? Early as the early morn ? ? O'er the heights and depths of grace ? ? Shining in the radiant light ? ? With the sacred hymn of joy ? ? Sin has forgotten me too ? ? Since the angels sent me to you, Lord ? ? Angels in vision tell ? ? He the heaven-born child of day ? ? And with bright exultant rays ? 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 forevermore. Amen.