582, the tune is Praise My Soul, 682. High beyond imagination is the love of God to man. Far too deep for human reason, fathom that it never can. Love eternal richly dwells in Christ the Lamb. Hymn 582, tune Praise My Soul, 682. I shall admit that it hath been said of God to men, Far too deep for human reason, Fathom earth it ever can. Love eternal, love eternal, Richly dwelt in Christ the Lamb. Like Jesus, God and Mother, nor can its dimensions tell. Tis a boundless, endless river, and its waters streaming flow. O ye fasting, O ye fasting, all untasted streams deliver. Jesus loves them, loves forever Zion on his heart loves her He will never Never, never leave His shelter, pray to Him. All is settled, all is settled, and my soul hath rooted well. Let us read together from the Holy Word of God in the prophecy of Jeremiah and chapter 31. Jeremiah chapter 31. At the same time, saith the Lord, I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people. Thus saith the Lord, The people which were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness, even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest. The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love. Therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. Again I will build thee, and thou shalt be built, O Virgin of Israel. Thou shalt again be adorned with tabrets, and shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry. Thou shalt yet plant vines upon the mountains of Samaria. The planters shall plant, and shall eat their most common things. For there shall be a day that the watchman upon the Mount Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion unto the Lord our God. For thus saith the Lord, sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations, publish ye, praise ye, and say, O Lord, save thy people, the remnant of Israel. Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coast of the earth, and with them the blind, and the lame, and the woman with child, and her that faileth with child together. great company shall return thither. They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them. I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble. For I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn. Hear the word of the Lord, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, he that scattered Israel will gather it and keep him as a shepherd doth his flock. For the Lord hath redeemed Jacob and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he. Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion and shall flow together to the goodness of the Lord for wheat and for wine and for oil and for the young of the flock and of the herd. and their soul shall be as a watered garden, and they shall not sorrow any more at all. Then shall the Virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together, for I will turn their mourning into joy and will comfort them and make them rejoice from their sorrow. And I will satiate the soul of the priest with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the Lord. Thus saith the Lord. A voice was heard in Raymar, lamentation and bitter weeping. Ray held weeping for her children, refused to be comforted for her children because they were not. Thus saith the Lord, refrain thy voice from weeping and thine eyes from tears. for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord, and they shall come again from the land of the enemy, and there is hope in thine end, saith the Lord, that thy children shall come again to their own border. I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself, thus thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke, Turn thou me, and I shall be turned, for thou art the Lord my God. Surely, after that I was turned, I repented, and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh, I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth. Is Ephraim my dear son? Is he a pleasant child? For since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still. Therefore my bowels were troubled for him. I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the Lord. Set thee up thy marks, make thee high heaps, set thine heart toward the highway, even the way which thou wentest. Turn again, O Virgin of Israel, turn again to these thy cities. How long wilt thou go about, O thou backsliding daughter? For the Lord hath created a new thing in the earth, the woman shall compass a man. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, as yet they shall use this speech in the land of Judah and in the cities thereof, when I shall bring again their captivity. The Lord bless thee, O habitation of justice and mountain of holiness. And there shall dwell in Judah itself and in all the cities thereof together husbandmen, and they shall go forth with flocks. For I have satiated the weary soul, I have replenished every sorrowful soul. Upon this I awaked and beheld, and my sleep was sweet unto me. Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and with the seed of beast. And it shall come to pass that as I have watched over them to pluck up, and to break down, and to throw down, and to destroy, and to afflict, so will I watch over them to build and to plant, saith the Lord. In those days they shall say no more, the fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children's teeth are set on edge. But every one shall die for his own iniquity. Every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge. Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. not according to the covenant i made with their fathers in the day that i took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of egypt which my covenant they break with i was an husband unto them saith the lord but this shall be the covenant i will make with the house of israel after those days saith the lord i will put my law in their inward parts and write it in their hearts and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for they shall all know me. From the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. Thus saith the Lord, giveth thee sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth thee sea when the waves are of raw, the Lord of hosts is his name. If those ordinances depart from me, saith the Lord, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me forever. Thus saith the Lord. If heaven above can be measured and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the Lord. Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that the city shall be built to the Lord from the tower of Hananiel unto the gate of the corner, and the measuring line shall yet go forth over against it, upon the hill of Gareb, and shall compass about to Goa, and the whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes and all the fields unto the brook of Kidron, unto the corner of the horse gate, toward the east, shall be holy unto the Lord, and it shall not be plucked up nor thrown down any more forever. May the Lord bless the reading. of his own precious word and grant to us a spirit of real prayer. Almighty, most merciful and eternal God of heaven, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, we desire to bow before thy glorious majesty, thou art the one and only true God. And we desire to come to thee in the name of thine only begotten Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. And we desire that the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God our Father and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit may rest and abide upon us as we gather round thy word this afternoon. And we pray that thy word may be a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. We pray that as we gather together around thy word that the wonderful power of the Holy Spirit may be present with us, and the word of God may be sealed into our hearts by the Holy Ghost, so that we might know the truth of it in our hearts. O Lord, we do pray that thou wouldst so be gracious unto us, for as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. We pray that we may have that evidence within us that we are indeed the sons and daughters of the Lord God Almighty, and that thou art our God forever and ever. And we do pray that thou, most blessed Spirit of truth, would lead us unto Jesus Christ, the only Saviour of sinners, that we may behold his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. We pray that we may behold him as our prophet, our priest, and our king. We pray that we might worship at his holy footstool. We read of those when he was here upon earth, of that dear woman, she said, if I might but touch the hem of his garment, I should be made whole. And we read elsewhere that as many as touched were healed of their afflictions, of their sins, of their iniquities. Lord, we pray that Thou would still do that wonderful work of Thy grace, that we each may be brought to a personal knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, and that we may be guided by the Spirit of God unto Him, that we might know Him in the power of His resurrection in the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death. We pray, O Lord, that thou wouldst graciously bring us into union and communion with our eternal Father. Lord Jesus, thou didst say that when we pray, our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Gracious God, help us to come in all simplicity, in love, unto our Heavenly Father, in and through our Lord Jesus Christ, and that precious sin atoning sacrifice of the cross of Calvary. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanse it us from all sin. Oh, we thank thee for the blood of Jesus Christ, We thank thee for those lovely words, God so loved the world, he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him shall be saved. But we read, O Lord, that none come except the Father draw. So may it please thee to put forth that sacred drawing power of thine, even this afternoon as we gather round thy word. We read in thy word, I will draw them with the cords of a man, with the bands of love, and we pray that it may be so in this service. As wonderful bands of love, we've read of thy everlasting love to thy people, and we pray that we may feel that everlasting love to thy people as we gather round thy word this afternoon. May the power that brings salvation be exerted in the word. We do humbly beseech thee. We pray that those bless us together as a church and as a congregation and that those work mightily, powerfully and effectively among us. That precious souls may be gathered unto Christ and that poor sinners may have their eyes enlightened to behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. And that we may be drawn and guided even as we looked at thy word this morning. Come in, thou blessing of the Lord, wherefore standest thou without? We pray that that may be a living word in our hearts, a divine call in our souls. We do humbly beseech of thee. Thou hast said, thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power. We pray that this may be a day of thy power. Lord, we do pray that thou would remember our brethren, the deacons, and help them in all their concerns in all their needs and graciously undertake for them. We pray, most gracious Lord, that thou would remember us as a church and as a congregation and work mightily and powerfully and effectively among us. Remember the little ones, the children, and remember them with the favour that thou bearest unto thy people and visit them with thy great salvation. that they may be brought to the knowledge of the truth, the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, the knowledge of themselves as poor sinners, and the knowledge of Jesus Christ as the only Saviour of sinners. We pray that thou wouldst graciously bless our dear young friends as they are upon the threshold of life's journey, that thou wouldst bring them each to live in faith in Jesus Christ, that they may become followers of thee and of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Lord, without faith it is impossible to please thee, for he that cometh unto thee must believe that thou art. Oh, we do pray that thou wouldst give us faith, real, true, living faith. We pray to be delivered from everything that is false, and that we might know the truth in sacred reality in our hearts, that we may be led and guided and directed unto the cross of Christ, unto the blood of Christ, unto the death and resurrection of Christ. He hath destroyed death, and him that hath the power of death, that is the devil. for that glorious victory of our Lord Jesus Christ over sin and Satan and death itself. And that he has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. Lord, bless parents, give grace, give wisdom, give help to bring up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. We pray for those that are unable to gather and that those be with them at their home. And we pray, most gracious Lord, that there was here prayer for all in the midst of the journey of life, and that graciously bring each one to a concern about the personal matters of their own soul and of their own salvation. Bring them to realize by thy Spirit's inward teaching that they are sinners before a holy God, and bring them, O Lord, to realise that the only one that is able to save is our Lord Jesus Christ. Lord, we pray that Thou in Thy great mercy would remember each one in trouble or trial or perplexity, sorrow, sadness or bereavement, and graciously undertake for each one, we do humbly beseech Thee. Remember those of us that are now in the evening time of life's journey and graciously guide us safely unto thy heavenly kingdom, that we may be kept by thy power through faith unto salvation. Send out the glory and light of the gospel into this village and the surrounding villages and hamlets, and grant that we may sin in, Catherine, a rebuilding, a renewing, a reviving, are replenishing. Remember the prodigals and cause them to return. We do humbly beseech thee. Lord, we pray that thou wouldst hear us in heaven, thy holy dwelling place. And when thou hearest, forgive. Remember all thy servants as they labour in word and doctrine upon the walls of Zion today. Lord, who grants signs to follow the preaching of the word. And oh Lord, we do pray that thou would remember those places on earth where there is war and bloodshed, that thou would bring peace. And we pray that thou would bring peace to the Middle East and that thou would bring to naught the counsels of the ungodly. We think of thy church in the Ukraine and that terrible war there. Lord, we do pray that thou wouldst hear us and let our cry come unto thee. We thank thee for all thy tender mercies to each one of us. Thy mercies, O Lord, are new every morning, and great is thy faithfulness. We thank thee for the wonderful glory of the incarnation of the Son of God. We thank thee that he lived a holy life, a sinless life, and thereby fulfilling thy holy law and bringing in everlasting righteousness for his people. We thank thee for that holy sacrifice of Calvary, where sin has been put away, where divine justice has been satisfied, where God and sinners are reconciled, where peace is made between God and man. Come and touch one's lips with the live coal from off the heavenly altar. Come and open the word of God. Come and breathe thy word into our hearts. We ask with the forgiveness of all sin, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. Let us now sing together hymn number 249. The tune is Ravendale, 723. O love divine, how sweet thou art! When shall I find my willing heart all taken up by thee? I thirst and faint and die to prove the greatness of redeeming love. the love of Christ to me. Hymn 249, June Ravendale, 723 O say can you see, by the dawn's early light, ? Where'er I go I see thee ? ? Strong and mighty is thy name ? ? Ever as the Son of God is ? ? Peace on earth, love in heaven ? ? Peace ever shall be ? ? Nature, oh nature, is so great ? ? Far and far apart ? ? In peace to stay the night ? ? All is calm this night ? ? All is bright and new ? Greatly feeling to need the Lord's gracious help, direct your attention to the chapter that we read, the prophecy of Jeremiah, chapter 31, and we'll read verse 3 for our text. Jeremiah chapter 31 verse 3 The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee? The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love. We just sung in the hymn how unfathomable the love of God is to his people. And this beautiful word expresses that love. Notice it's spoken in a very personal way, the Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying yea, I have loved thee, it's very personal, I've loved thee with an everlasting love. Therefore, because I've loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore, with loving kindness have I drawn thee. It's a very sacred thing, my beloved friends, to feel drawn to God. To feel drawn to God. We know, and the Bible very clearly teaches us that God is holy, God is just, God is righteous, God will not at all acquit the guilty, and as it says so clearly and vividly in the book of Psalms, the wicked shall be turned into hell and all nations that forget God. But that is true of the whole of mankind. We have forgotten God. We walk here on earth as if there were no God, as if there were no rules, as if there were no law. We carry on as if there is no God. And in the book of Psalm to read, the wicked has said in his heart, there is no God. Now what about you my beloved friends? Do you say there is no God? But you see from among the whole of the human race of all the sons and daughters of Adam and of Eve in that whole of the human race. We read in the epistle to the Romans, he quotes from the book of Psalms and he says there is none that doeth good, no, not one. We're all gone astray. We're sinners. What is sin? say what is sin you see this great god this creator of the heavens and the earth the apostle in the acts of the apostles he said it is he that has made us and not we ourselves it's he that has made us and not we ourselves in the beginning of the word of god the book of genesis opens in the beginning god Created the heavens and the earth in the beginning God in the in the commencement of the Gospel according to John it says he is before all things And by him all things consist and without him was not anything made that was made God is before all things God is our creator I know the common view, what you might say on earth today, is that coming from the theories of Darwin, is that the world evolved and there was a great big bang and everything gradually came together and gradually evolved to what we are now. But the Bible tells us just the opposite. it says God created. Now the word create we often hear it spoken of today an artist or etc and they will say well I created this and I created that but you know friends that's a very loose way of using the word create because the word create actually means to make something from nothing to make something from nothing We read in the beginning of the book of Genesis that the earth was out form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. There was nothing. And God said. And 11 times in Genesis chapter one, we read, and God said. And when God spake, something was done. Something was created. It says in Psalm 33, He spake and it was done. God spake. God spake the world into existence. And then last of all, He made man. He made everything and God saw that it was good and then we read God said let us as the first reference to the doctrine of the trinity in holy scripture let us make man in our image and in the image of God made him man. We read that God formed the body of Adam from the earth says in the bible from the dust of the earth And then it says, and God breathed into man the breath of life and man became a living soul. And that is what distinguishes each one of us and each one of the whole of the human race from the beast of the field. We have a soul. We have a spiritual part, which God breathed into Adam, and we receive by natural generation from our parents. You know, we do not read in Holy Scripture that the soul or any spirit is ever destroyed or annihilated. Some people like to put forward what they call the doctrine of annihilation, that at the end of the world everything will just be annihilated But that's not what the Bible teaches us. We have a soul. And we are accountable unto God. We read in the epistle to the Hebrews, as it is appointed unto man once to die, so after death the judgment. Once to die. Every one of us, we know from all the evidence around us that we're all going to die. You know friends, the only really truly certain thing in life is death. And we know that it's going to happen sooner or later. And the Bible tells us very clearly that we must be prepared to die. We all have sinned. Adam sinned and we are the children of Adam. And therefore we sinned in Adam, we have a sinful nature. again the bible tells us very clearly in the first epistle of john sin is any transgression of the law of god now i hope we're all acquainted with the law of god the ten commandments god's holy word is given that law for man to live to And thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not covet. Honour thy father and thy mother. These are all in the commandments of God. The Lord Jesus encapsulates it. He said thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy mind. and thy neighbour as thyself. That's the law of God. And we are commanded to do that every day, every month, every year. We're commanded to keep that holy righteous law. So it's when we break that holy law, when we covet after this or that or something else, perhaps even in our mind we desire to kill someone, Thou shalt not kill. You wish they weren't here. We hate people. We shouldn't hate people. The Bible tells us very clearly we shouldn't hate people. We should love. But man has fallen. Man, kind in general, has fallen. Look at the bloodshed. Look at the hatred that we see in the world. That's man left to himself. The root of all the troubles in the world come from man. People like to say, why did God allow this? Why did God allow that? Look at man. And that's the root of all the sin and all the evil that is in this world. Now we read, and this really beautifully speaks in John chapter 3 verse 16, a well-known portion, God so loved the world he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should be saved. The infinite and the eternal love The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love. Therefore, with loving kindness have I drawn thee. You know, friends, real religion is something that is experienced. Jesus said, to Nicodemus, he says it to us all, you must be born again. You see, we're in a state of spiritual death because of the sin of Adam, the soul that sinneth it shall die. We're alienated from God. Our souls are alienated from God and that is how we were born. David, he says in Psalm 51, I was born in sin, I was shapen in iniquity. That's our condition, every one of us. In sin did my mother conceive me. It doesn't mean there was sin in the conception. It means that each child born to any woman or son or daughter of Adam is sinful by their very nature. Born in sin. Shapen in iniquity. But God, in his infinite love, in his eternal mercy, chose a people. This is something that is so opposite to our nature. God chose a people. He loved them with an everlasting love. Now according to what the scriptures teach us, the everlasting love to his people is revealed in the Word of God. There's a beautiful passage in the epistles in the Ephesians, chapter one, and we read there, verse two, grace be to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ, according as he has chosen us in him. before the foundation of the world. You listen to the word of God. According as he had chosen us in him, before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. You may say, oh, but we're sinful. Yes, but in Christ, the child of God, is declared to be without sin they're declared to be justified and to be justified is literally to be declared to be without sin why because Jesus Christ suffered bled and died for our sins according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blame before him in love Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee, having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath accepted us in the Beloved, the Beloved is Christ. And the church is accepted in Christ. And the everlasting love of God is experienced in Christ. In whom we have redemption. Redemption from sin. Redemption from the curse of the law. Because that holy righteous law that God gave, there's a curse comes with it. It says, cursed is every man that doeth not all things that is written in the book of the law to do them. And if we sin against God, we're under a curse, the curse of God's holy law. And we're under that curse eternally. But if we're in Christ, we're delivered from that curse. We shall be born again of the spirit of God, in whom we have redemption through his blood. We read of the blood of Jesus Christ, God's son. In the first epistle of John, the God of Jesus Christ, God's son. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's son, cleanseth us from all sin. Nothing else will cleanse sin, but the precious blood of Jesus Christ. The apostle Peter, he says in his first epistle for as much as you're 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 in whom we have redemption through his blood the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace the riches of his grace what is grace What is grace? The actual word grace means the free unmerited favour of the eternal God. That's the meaning of the word grace. You can't merit it, you can't buy it. It's an utter impossibility. It's freely given from God. Oh that it may please the Lord to open our eyes and our understanding riches of his grace and this is where this love this grace flows from from the father the son and the holy ghost the eternal god it flows from him we read here in ephesians for through him that's christ we have access by one spirit onto the father by the holy ghost and it's through this glorious sacrifice of jesus christ through the precious blood of Jesus Christ that we have access unto God. There's no other access. The apostle says in the epistle to the Hebrews that he hath made a new and living way. Jesus has a new and living way into the holy place. According to the riches of his grace wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence having made known unto us the mystery of his will according to the good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself." He's purposed in God. Salvation is of the Lord. It's not of us. It's entirely according to the grace of God in Jesus Christ. You know, it's interesting and instructive if we look at the first reference to the word grace in Holy Scripture. In actual fact, It's very interesting, friends, if you have a particular word and you look for the first mention of it in the Holy Scripture. And when it comes to grace, the first mention is in Noah and the flood. And how the Lord commanded Noah to build an ark to the saving of his soul and his family, and everyone else was destroyed in that flood. And what we read in Genesis, and Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Noah found the free unmerited favor, blessing of the eternal God because the Lord loved him with an everlasting love. It's the only reason. So he and eight souls, that was eight souls were saved in the ark and all those animals were saved in the ark. You see, because he found grace. It wasn't because he could pay for it. It wasn't because he was better than anyone else. It's because the Lord loved him with an everlasting love. Therefore, he found grace in the eyes of the Lord. The great thing, my beloved friends, with each one of us, have you found grace in the eyes of the Lord? Have you found the free unmerited favour of the Eternal God? Grace. What a wonderful word, isn't it? You see, that in the dispensation of the fullness of times, we might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth, even in Him. Also we have obtained an inheritance being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will. God works all things after the counsel of his own will. The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn thee. It says in the margin, I have extended loving-kindness unto thee, and that loving-kindness of God is in our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus said in John 14 verse 6 I am the way the truth and the life no man cometh unto the father but by me. You know to be to be drawn if the Holy Spirit works in our heart. We read in again in Ephesians chapter 2 you hath he quickened who were dead. That's exactly what each one of us is, spiritually dead. You have to be quickened who were dead in trespasses and in sins. And yet through the riches of his grace, through the everlasting love of God, he sends the Holy Spirit into the heart. You know, what makes a Christian believer is the Holy Spirit dwelling in the heart When the Holy Spirit dwells in the heart, he convinces us of sin. That word convince, it's a very strong word. You don't think you're a sinner, when the Holy Spirit teaches you, you know you're a sinner. And you come then in confession unto God. Okay, and in the first epistle of John, we read, if ye confess your sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. God is. God in Christ. That's where a poor sinner is reconciled unto God, in the glorious person of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love. Therefore, with loving kindness have I drawn thee. How many of us here in this chapel are being drawn by the loving kindness of God? Jesus said in his teachings, none come except the Father draw. None come except the Father draw, the heavenly eternal Father drawing a poor sinner unto Christ. in this beautiful prophecy of Jeremiah, he speaks of bringing them. Verse six it says, For there shall be a day that the watchman, that's the ministers, upon the Mount Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion unto the Lord our God. For thus saith the Lord, sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations. Publish ye, praise ye, O Lord, save thy people, the remnant of Israel. Behold, I will bring them. You see, this work, my beloved friends, is the divine work of God. I will bring them. Jesus said in the John's Gospel and chapter 16, when he the spirit of truth shall come, when he the spirit of truth shall come, he will reprove the world of sin, of righteousness, of judgment. When the Holy Spirit comes to the heart of a poor sinner, he convinces us that we're sinners, He convinces us that God is righteous and holy. And he convinces us that there's a day of judgment. We must all appear at the judgment seat of Jesus Christ to give an account unto God. This is peculiar to mankind. This man is made in the image of God. He has that spiritual part, his soul, and he's answerable to God. But here, there's a people spoken of, behold, I will bring them from the north country and gather them from the coast of the earth. And with them, the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travails with child together, a great company shall return. This is a whole election of grace. And they shall come with weeping. Why will they weep? because the Spirit of God has convinced them that they're sinners. They should come with weeping and with supplication. Why are they supplicating? For the Lord's mercy, for the Lord's grace. Just like the man that we read of, the Lord Jesus tells us, God be merciful to me a sinner. He was supplicating the Lord's mercy. He knew he didn't deserve it. he pleads with the Lord for it that's what it means and with supplication will I need them I will cause them to walk by the rivers of water in a straight way wherein they shall not stumble for I'm a father to Israel and Ephraim is my firstborn and then we read in verse 11 the Lord hath redeemed Jacob as spoken for the whole of Israel and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he the Lord has delivered his people. And then in verse 12, therefore they shall come, therefore they shall come. So it's a world of promise, they shall come. These people that have been chosen, these people that were given to Christ and Christ has redeemed them, Christ has suffered and bled and died for their sins, Christ has satisfied all the demands of divine justice. Christ has swallowed up death in victory. He died for our sins and he rose again for our justification. We don't worship a dead Christ, we worship a living Christ. Worship a Christ that has the power of an endless life. We worship a Christ that has made a new and living way into heaven itself. Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion. and shall flow together to the goodness of the Lord, for wheat and for wine, this everlasting love of God in Christ. Yeah. I've often felt, we know the Trinity can't be separated, they are one. It says so in scripture. These three are one. One blessed, infinite, almighty and eternal God. And yet, I do feel that in a particular way this word that we have as a text, I have loved thee with an everlasting love therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee, is our eternal father that is speaking. You might say why? Therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee. And Christ said none come except the father drawn. Loving kindness have I drawn. The Lord hath redeemed Jacob. has. It is something that is accomplished. The Lord Jesus, he lives his life as a man here on earth and the Bible tells us he was made of a woman, made under the law, that he might redeem them that are under the law. This is the everlasting love of God in Christ. This is the way to God. This is the way to be reconciled unto God. Not by anything that you can do, but entirely on what Jesus has done. And what Jesus has done flows from the everlasting love of God. God so loved the world, he gave his only begotten son. That, my beloved friends, is where salvation is. That is where we are reconciled unto God. We are. Or that the Lord would guide and direct us into the wonderful truth here of how the Son of God came upon earth as a man. That in itself is a profound mystery. We read great is the mystery of God, for yes, God was manifest in the flesh. God is that infinite eternal being and yet He takes into union with his divine nature a holy human nature. The Holy Ghost overshadowed the womb of the Virgin Mary. He said that holy thing that shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And in the womb of the Virgin Mary, the Son of God assumed human nature. We believe very firmly in the virgin birth of Jesus Christ, that he was without sin. It says that holy thing that shall be born of them. This flows from the everlasting love of God, this profound mystery of godliness. And then being as a man, he's made under the woman and made under the law, made of a woman and made under the law because the law was made for man. And so the son of God became a man and lived as a man here upon earth. And in that life that he lived, it was sinless. It was holy. He did no sin. And he did that for his people. We, because of our fallen nature, are unable to keep God's holy law. We're lawbreakers. We have a sinful heart. We have a corrupt nature. But this man, the glorious holy God man, he did no sin. And that perfect obedience of the holy God man, the Lord Jesus Christ, is called the righteousness of the Lord's people. They receive a perfect obedience in Christ. Each believer, we spoke about Abraham this morning, And we read of Abraham, Abraham believed God and it was accounted unto him for righteousness. And every believer that believes in God and believes in Jesus Christ, this righteousness of Christ becomes theirs by faith. And then we have the wonderful everlasting love of God in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. He lived a holy life, then he offered that holy life as a synotonic sacrifice on the cross of Calvary. He had put away sin by the offering of himself. It says in Hebrews 10, for by one offering, he hath perfected forever all them that are sanctified. Those that are sanctified are those that are chosen, and they are redeemed in Christ. And because they're redeemed in Christ, because he suffered and bled and died for their sins and rose again to their justification, they're free. They're free from sin and from Satan's power. My mind, it just goes to that beautiful word of prophecy in Hosea chapter 13 and verse 14 is a prophecy of Christ. the coming of Christ. I will ransom them from the power of the grave. I will redeem them from death. O death, I will be thy plagues. O grave, I will be thy destruction. Repentance shall be hid from mine eyes. O death, you see, he hath swallowed up death in victory. And all this flows from the everlasting love of God in Christ. put away sin by the offering of himself. That is the sin of his people. He did no sin, but he suffered for the sins of his people. And in suffering, he satisfied all the demands of divine justice. Divine justice declared that the soul that sinned it shall die. So Christ died for our sins and rose again. And therefore the believer, when they're buried, are raised in hope of eternal life because of the everlasting love of God in Christ, because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And Jesus said, because I live, you shall live also. The Lord hath appeared of old unto me saying, yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee. I say, are you drawn to Christ? Wonderful thing if you know that spiritual drawing within you to God, to Christ, to salvation, to redemption. You feel the need of it. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, said Jesus. You only find righteousness in Jesus Christ. And those that hunger and thirst after righteousness, they're drawn. Christ is like a magnet to faith and the Holy Ghost works faith in the heart and it's like a magnet, it's drawn to Christ, it's drawn to his precious blood, it's drawn to his glorious righteousness, it's drawn to his resurrection power, it's drawn to that Saviour that has ascended up on high Entered into heaven itself who's made a new and living way Into the holy place the Lord hath appeared of old unto me saying yea I have loved thee with an everlasting love therefore with loving kindness have I drawn them Or that the Lord would draw us unto Christ And to trust in him trusting him at all times he people patiently for Him. And those are drawn, this is the evidence that their love was an everlasting love. Are you drawn to Christ? Is His love been shed abroad in your heart? Which has sung that lovely hymn, O love divine, how sweet thou art! When shall I find my willing heart all taken up with thee? It makes me think of the first time that the Lord spoke to me concerning that wonderful salvation that is in Christ Jesus. And that again is found in the epistle to the Ephesians and chapter 3. Never shall I forget that day. And these are the words, that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height, and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God. I cannot describe to you when those words were breathed into my heart by the Holy Ghost, the love of God that I felt. I was in terrible darkness and I came into light. I was in terrible bondage in my heart, I came into liberty. Why, because of Christ. If the Son shall make you free, then shall you be free indeed. Oh, my beloved friends, the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. There may be those of you here that perhaps many years ago felt this everlasting love in your heart, and now you perhaps feel to be so carnal, so empty, so unspiritual, and you seem to lack love. But you know, I love what the hymn writer says, if once the love of Christ I feel, impressed upon my breast, the mark of that celestial feel can never be erased. It must end in eternal glory and everlasting happiness. The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love. Therefore, with loving kindness have I drawn thee. May the Lord add his blessing. Let us now sing together hymn number 10. The tune is Adoration 276. 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. Hymn number 10, tune Adoration 276. 276. ? His love is my rest ? ? May God keep this love forevermore ? ? O'er earth, on the refuge of God and man ? ? O'er heaven's boundary, bound in man ? ? Thy meek old shades of darkness veil ? ? Lay on His sacred throes and bed ? ? Now pray the heaven-born Lord, sing now ? ? There in the clouds of piercing rain ? Christ and His bride appear and smile, as in Thy cave mutation is. ? His love is tender shown ? ? O love of mine ? ? I know this well ? Thou Redeemer, true, bold, and free! Ten thousand sins Thou shalt not attend, ? Thus for evermore ? ? Our loving King ? ? How tenderly ? ? He called me ? O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? ? Come to me now ? ? Believe on Him ? ? My comfort stands ? ? Salvation's reign ? ? And everlasting love denies ? ? And everlasting love denies ? 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.