Pastoral preach here next Lord's Day at 10.30 and 2 o'clock. There will be a prayer meeting here on Tuesday evening at 7 o'clock. There is no service here on Thursday evening as it is Cranbrook Thanksgiving services when Mr. James Gudgeon is expected to preach at 3.30 and 6.30. The collections taken during this past month amounted to £2,572.30. The donations to the book fund were £85. We sincerely thank you for your continued support of this cause of truth. Let us commence our services today by singing together hymn number 321, The tune is St Clement's, 813. My soul, Lord, in flame with zeal from above, thy praise to proclaim and sing of thy love, to lift up my voice in thanksgiving sincere, this truth to rejoice in, the Lord will appear. Hymn 321, tune St Clement, 813. you I shall in heaven rest still from the pow'r of thy grace in heaven and in all thy love. My heart aches and is in shame. Listen to rejoicing, the Lord will appear. So proudly we high five the pictures of faith, holy and high. ♪ Heed our prayer, Lord, and lead us on our way ♪ ♪ To finding the goodness, the glory, the peace ♪ When at my feet the dead in the dark are bright, water me from the blood that's flowed. Everlasting, everlasting, Everlasting, everlasting, Everlasting, everlasting, Everlasting, everlasting, Everlasting, everlasting, Everlasting, everlasting, Everlasting, everlasting, Everlasting, everlasting, Everlasting, everlasting, Everlasting, everlasting, Everlasting, everlasting, Everlasting, everlasting, Everlasting, everlasting, Everlasting, everlasting, Everlasting, everlasting, Everlasting, everlasting, Everlasting, everlasting, Everlasting, everlasting, Everlasting, everlasting, Everlasting, everlasting, Everlasting, everlasting, Everlasting, everlasting, Everlasting, everlasting, Everlasting, everlasting, Everlasting, everlasting, Everlasting, everlasting, Everlasting, everlasting, Everlasting, everlasting, The moment I find it, that I'm within, give me gentle mind, put me turn and see. You shall pay up for me, Lord, if I perish. They cannot destroy me. The Lord will help me. I wish upon a tree I never could have grown If it were for a little bit in my mind O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air, My God, see the face and glory in him, and I turn His praise in heaven shouting. I shall follow thee, and hear thee forever, Let us read together from the Holy Word of God in the prophecy of Hosea and chapters 13 and 14. The prophecy of Hosea, chapters 13 and 14. When Ephraim spake trembling, he exalted himself in Israel. But when he offended in Baal, he died. And now they sin more and more, have made them molten images of their silver, and idols according to their own understanding, all of it the work of the craftsmen. They say of them, let the men that sacrifice kiss the calves. Therefore they shall be as the morning clouds and as the early dew that passeth away, a chaff that is driven with the whirlwind out of the floor, and as the smoke out of the chimney. Yet I am the Lord thy God from the land of Egypt, and that thou shalt know no God but me, for there is no Saviour beside me. I did know thee in the wilderness, in the land of great drought. According to their pasture, so were they filled. They were filled, and their heart was exalted. Therefore have they forgotten me. Therefore I will be unto them as a lion, as a leopard by the way will I observe them. I will meet them as a bear that is bereaved of her whelps. and will rend the call of their heart, and there will I devour them like a lion. The wild beasts shall tear them. O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself, but in me is thine help. I will be thy king, whereas any other that may save thee in all thy cities, and thy judges of whom thou saidst, give me a king and princes, I gave thee a king in mine anger, and took him away in my wrath. The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up, his sin is hid. The sorrows of a travailing woman shall come upon him. He is an unwise son, for he should not stay long in the place of the breaking forth of children. 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, and repentance shall be hid from mine eyes. Though he be fruitful among his brethren, an east wind shall come, the wind of the Lord shall come up from the wilderness, and his spring shall become dry, and his fountain shall be dried up, he shall spoil the treasure of all pleasant vessels. Smeria shall become desolate, for she hath rebelled against her God. They shall fall by the sword, their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and their women with child shall be ripped off. O Israel, return unto the Lord thy God, For thou hast fallen by thine iniquity. Take with you words, and turn to the Lord, and say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously. So will we render the calves of our lips. Asherah shall not save us. We will not ride upon horses, neither will we say any more. To the work of our hands, ye are our gods. for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy. I will heal their backslidings, I will love them freely, for mine anger is turned away from him. I will be as the dew unto Israel, he shall grow up as the lily and cast forth his roots as Lebanon, his branches shall spread and his beauty shall be as the olive tree and his smell as Lebanon. They that dwell under his shadow shall return. They shall revive as the corn and grow as the vine, and the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon. Ephraim shall say, what have I to do any more with idols? I have heard him and observed him. I am like a green fir tree, from me is thy fruit found. Who is wise, and he shall understand these things, prudent, and he shall know them. For the ways of the Lord are right, and the just shall walk therein, but the transgressors shall fall therein. May the Lord bless thee. reading of his own precious word and grant unto us the spirit of real prayer. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which is an art, an art to come, we desire to bow before thy glorious majesty. We desire, most gracious Lord, to hear thy voice, and to see thy countenance, and to know thee, whom to know is life eternal. We desire, most gracious Lord, to come in confession of our sin, as we've read in thy word, take with thee words, and that we come, Lord, to confess our wanderings, our backslidings, and that we come, most gracious Lord, Confess that we are not worthy of the least of thy tender mercies, for we all have sinned and come short of thy glory. O most gracious Lord, we do pray that thou would deliver us from sin and Satan's power, and that thou would deliver us from the temptations of the enemy, and that thou would deliver us from the illumines of this vain world. O gracious God, we do pray for thy delivering grace. We pray that where there is darkness, there may be light, and where there is bondage, there may be liberty, and where there is a distance between thee and a poor sinner, they may be made nigh by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, thine only begotten Son. For this, Lord, is our only hope. The blood and righteousness alone Jesus will we seek, for that blood can cleanse from all sin, and that everlasting righteousness can cover our nakedness, and we pray that it may be so today. Lord, we do thank Thee for the dawning of another Sabbath day. We thank Thee for Thy holy word. We thank Thee for the gospel of Thy grace. and we thank thee for being safely back among our own people. For, Lord, we can say, as one says in Holy Scripture, I dwell among mine own people. And we do pray, most gracious Lord, that thou wouldst bless us together this day, that thou wouldst pour forth thy Holy Spirit, that thou wouldst grant fruit that shall follow the preaching of the word and that we may be enabled to 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 this day that the word of the lord may have free course that thy name may be honored and glorified and 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. Lord, these are the rich blessings that we desire, and that we pray that it may be with us, for God has sent forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father. We pray thy blessing upon our brethren, the deacons, that thou would bless them with needed grace, wisdom, and help. We thank thee for helping thy servants in these past three weeks, and we pray that there may be fruit that shall abound to the great honor and glory of thy name. And we pray, most gracious Lord, Bless each one of our brethren and sisters in church fellowship, and unite us together in that sacred bond of love, of union and communion. And may the love of Christ be shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, even today, as we gather together around thy holy word. O Lord, we do pray. that thou in thy great mercy would remember the little ones and the children, that thou would bless them with the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom. Remember the dear young friends and bless them with living faith in Jesus Christ, that they may become true followers of thee and of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Lord, we do pray. that thou wouldst deliver them from every snare, from every wrong way, from every sinful path, and that thou wouldst help them to follow thee and to serve thee, that there may be a generation that shall be raised up to call thee the Redeemer blessed, that we may see the fulfilling of that wonderful word, instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth, cause the prodigals to return, and thy mighty grace to be seen in this, for thy great name's sake, graciously work among us to the great glory of thy holy name, and grant that we may know that rejoicing to see the prodigals returning, to see the power of divine love O do grant it, Lord, we humbly beseech thee. We pray that thou wouldst fulfil those wonderful gospel promises. O bring thy sons from far and thy daughters from the ends of the earth. 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, let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand. the Son of Man, whom thou madest strong for thyself. Lord, we do pray. Lord, remember parents and give wisdom and grace to bring up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Remember all in the midst of the journey of life and graciously undertake for them. Remember those of us that are now in the evening time of life's journey. We pray to be graciously prepared for that great change which must come. Lord, we pray that the light and glory and power of gospel truth may shine into this village and the surrounding villages and hamlets. Many precious souls may be gathered in. Oh, do hear us in heaven, thy holy dwelling place, and grant that we may see an ingathering that we may see a building up, that we may see a renewing, a reviving, a replenishing. Lord, remember all thy servants as they labour in word and doctrine upon the walls of Zion. Set them free, set them at liberty. And we pray thee, the Lord of the harvest, to send true labourers into the harvest and to build the walls of Jerusalem and to send a day of real prosperity when there shall be a turning unto thee. O Lord, we do pray that thou wouldst remember us. Remember, Lord, we pray thee that those that go forth among us, among the nations of the earth, remember thy servants in the Mombasa mission and grant thy rich blessing, thy divine favour to rest upon them there. Remember the Savannah Education Trust and that great work thou doing in Ghana and grant that it may be down to the glory and honour of thy great name and to the salvation of many souls. Lord, we pray that thou would remember Ian Sadler and that great work that he does in so many different places, in the running of the orphanages, in the distribution of thy word and in the exposition of it. Lord, grant good success. We do humbly beseech thee. that for thy great name's sake. Lord, remember our nation. We live in deeply solemn days. Wickedness abounds on every hand. Wars and rumours of wars. O Lord, we do pray that thou wouldst bring to nought the counsels of the ungodly. As thousands are being launched from time into eternity, in the various conflicts in the earth. We pray that thou wouldst arise, and if it be thy heavenly mind, thou wouldst bring peace upon earth. We do humbly beseech thee. And, O Lord, we do desire to thank thee for the throne of grace, to thank thee for every mercy of thy kind providence, to thank thee for the sacred and wonderful glory of God manifest in the flesh, our Lord Jesus Christ. Lord, we thank thee for the holy life he lived as a man here upon earth, when he lived under that holy law and fulfilled it in every jot and tittle and thereby bringing in everlasting righteousness for his people. We thank thee for that wonderful holy sacrifice of Calvary, where the lamb was slain, where sin was put away, where divine justice was satisfied, where God and sinners are reconciled. We thank thee that he died for our sins, that he rose again for our justification, that he has bodily ascended into heaven. We have a great high priest who has passed into the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God. to intercede and advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. Lord, fill our hearts with gratitude, with adoration, with thanksgiving for thy wonderful mercy and for the sacred glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, sin put away, death swallowed up in victory and eternal life. for thy people. Be with us now, Lord, as we turn to thy holy word, and graciously remember all in the path of affliction, trouble, trial, perplexity, sorrow, sadness, bereavement. Lord, remember each one for thy great namesake. 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 now continue our worship by singing together hymn number 401. The tune is Hollyhurst, 874. How long, O Lord, shall I complain, Like one that seeks his God in vain? Canst thou thy face for ever hide, And I still pray, and be denied? Hymn 401, Tune Hollyhurst, 874. O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? ♪ In holy faith ♪ ♪ And shall I pray to heaven above ♪ ♪ And I shall pray to heaven above ♪ ♪ Thy glory, O Israel, my people adore ♪ ♪ Christ the new-born King of Israel ♪ Still shall my soul find rest in Thee, As it did the hour of my birth. O come, O come, O come, O come, O come, O come, O come, O come, to Bethlehem. you. ♪ From death's words ♪ ♪ And from all craving ♪ ♪ And all weakness ♪ ♪ As I confess Him ♪ ♪ Here am I ♪ God of my heart, God of my heart, God of my heart, God of my heart, Greatly feeling to need the Lord's gracious help, I direct your attention to the chapter that we read, the 14th chapter of the prophecy of Hosea. I'm not going to read a specific verse, but as the Lord may direct us, we will look at the whole chapter. In this particular part, and in various places through the Prophet Hosea there is much evangelical doctrine, much of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the glory of his grace and the freeness of his love. But also it speaks in particular about Ephraim and the sin of Ephraim and the idolatry of Ephraim and the Baal worship of Ephraim. and of how they turned their backs on the Lord. We read of it in the chapter 13, as we read together. And he says in verse 2, and now they sin more and more and have made the molten image of their silver and ironed it according to their own understanding, all of it the work of the craftsman. You see, they were a rebellious, I often think of that hymn and I think of it in relation to myself. Rebellious thou hast been, and art rebellious still, but since in love I took thee in, my promise to fulfil. Now here, as the Lord speaks very solemnly against Ephraim, against the sin of Israel but in chapter 2 and verse 14 he speaks of something very wonderful of this evangelical gospel doctrine. Therefore behold I will allure her and bring her into the wilderness and speak comfortably unto her. I will give her her vineyards from thence the valley of Acre that is the valley of judgment for a door of hope and she shall sing there as in the days of her youth as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt. You see these wonderful precious truths that though God is indeed offended by their sin and their sinfulness and their idolatry you might say well We don't bow down to worship idols of gold or silver, nor do we make idols of gold or silver. Just remember, my beloved friends, the word of God, and covetousness, which is idolatry. You don't have to make idols of gold and of silver and stocks to bow down unto. It's the way we live and the things we do and the priorities that we have in life, that they're the things that make us become idolaters. And how we need the Lord to deliver us from that spirit and how we are prone to fall into that spirit. the holy law of God it says thou shalt not covet. It's a solemn commandment from the eternal God and yet the very nature of our fallen sinful heart is to covet. Now to the true child of God born again of the Spirit that is something that is a deep trouble. If we are taken up with that spirit of covetousness, if the Lord convinces us of it, convicts us of it, it will bring you in confession to the mercy seat, to the Lord Jesus Christ. I think of those wonderful words in John's epistle, if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. He says here in chapter two, in verse 17, for I will take away the names of Balaam out of her mouth and they shall no more be remembered by their name. In that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, et cetera. In verse 19, such lovely evangelical doctrine, and I will betroth thee unto me forever. Yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in loving kindness, and in mercies. I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness, and thou shalt know the Lord. You see, my beloved friends, the Lord speaks these words to poor, rebellious sinners. to poor wretched sinners, to poor undone sinners, to idolaters. You see, and in that, and it shall come to pass in that day, that's the gospel day, I will hear, saith the Lord. I will hear the heavens and they shall hear the earth, and the earth shall hear the call and the wine and the oil, and they shall hear Jezreel. I will sow unto me in the earth, I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy. I will say to them that were not my people, though they are my people, and they shall say, Thou art my God. What a wonderful thing. How many of us here in this chapel this morning can say, Thou art my God? The Lord has brought us to true repentance and godly sorrow for sin. In chapter 5 and we read there in verse 15, the last verse, I will go and return to my place till they acknowledge their offence and seek my face. In their affliction they will Seek me early. You see, this is the divine work of the Spirit in the heart of a poor sinner. And the way that the Lord leads and guides and directs a poor sinner, it brings them to feel their emptiness, their poverty, their sinfulness, their hopeless condition. Then in the beginning of verse 6, and let us return unto the Lord, for he hath torn, and he will heal us. He hath smitten, and he will bind us up. After two days, this, my beloved friends, is a beautiful revelation of the resurrection, but it's also the work of the Spirit in the heart of a poor sinner. After two days, he will revive us. In the third day, he will raise us up, and we shall live in his then shall we know if we follow on to know the Lord. His going forth is prepared as the morning. This is a wonderful prophecy of the coming of Christ. He shall come unto us as the rain and as the latter and former rain in the earth. You see, my beloved friends, these things are written for our instruction. in the way of righteousness, in the way of truth, how the Lord leads and guides and directs his people. If you come to chapter 11, when Israel was a child, then I loved him and called my son out of Egypt. That's quoted to us in the New Testament of the calling of our Lord Jesus Christ out of Egypt. when Joseph and Mary fled there and called him out of Egypt. And you see, my beloved friends, these things are written for our instruction in verse four of chapter 11. I drew them with the cords of a man. That man is the glorious person of our Lord Jesus Christ, of God manifest in the flesh. I drew them with the cords of a man, with the bands of love. Jesus draws the chosen race by his sweet resistless grace. I drew them with the cords of a man, with the bands of love. I was to them as they that take off the yoke on their jaws, and I laid meet unto them. This wonderful way the gospel is preached unto us in the Old Testament, but we come now to chapter 14 and the wonderful truths that are set before us in that chapter. O Israel, return unto the Lord thy God, for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity. Take with you words and turn to the Lord and say unto him, take away all iniquity and receive us graciously, so will we render the calves of our lips. O Israel, return unto the Lord. What is it to return? It is exactly the same, it is to repent. In the ministry of John the Baptist, what was it? Repentance. for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. In the commencement of the ministry of Jesus Christ, repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. In the ministry of the apostles of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, what was the central message? Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. The Lord Jesus said, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. What is it to repent? What is repentance? Well, my beloved friends, it's one of those precious gifts and graces of the spirit of God. He works repentance in the heart. It's a grace of the spirit and he gives it. And always with that spirit of repentance, there is the spirit of faith, faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Without faith, it is impossible to please God, for he that cometh unto God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. O Israel, return. This is a divine call. O Israel, return. Where? Unto the Lord thy God. For thou hast fallen by thine iniquity. And this word of direction, take with you words. If we confess our sins, if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Take with you words and turn to the Lord. Say unto him, take away all iniquity and receive us graciously so will we render the cast of our lips. Take with you words. This is the Lord giving direction unto his people of how they are to approach. You know when the Spirit of God works in the heart of a poor sinner, the Lord Jesus he says in John chapter 14 in I think it's actually John chapter 16, when he, the spirit of truth is come, he will reprove the world of sin and of judgment and of righteousness. And you know, friends, as the spirit comes and convinces of sin and brings a poor sinner to feel their need of salvation and brings them to seek salvation. Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near. This is the divine work of the Spirit in the heart, in bringing a poor sinner to return. Take with you words. Turn to the Lord. Think of those precious words of grace in Isaiah chapter 55. How everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters. He that hath no money, that means he that is bankrupt, deep in debt, come. Wonderful words you know, that word come. We read of it throughout Holy Scripture. This word, come, is a gospel word. The Lord Jesus, he said, didn't he? Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. or that those words may resound with heavenly power, your ears may be open to hear, your eyes may be open to see. Take away all iniquity and receive us graciously, so will we render the calves of our lips. spirit of thanksgiving. Asher shall not save us. We will not ride upon horses, neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, ye are our gods. For in thee the fatherless findeth mercy. This wonderful mercy of God, which flows through Jesus Christ, which flows through that precious sin-atoning blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. We read in Psalm 103 that the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him. That wonderful mercy that is found in Jesus Christ. Precious mercy, the everlasting love of God in Christ. Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love. Therefore, with loving kindness have I drawn thee. I drew them with the cords of a man. Do you feel drawn to Jesus Christ? Do you feel drawn to pray to Jesus Christ? Do you feel drawn to seek Jesus Christ? Then we have this wonderful word, my beloved friends, in verse four. Of our gracious God, I will heal their backslidings. I will heal their backslidings. I will love them freely. What wonderful gospel grace, for mine anger is turned away from him. I will love him then freely. You know, the only thing that saves a poor sinner is the free grace of God in Jesus Christ. That wonderful power of divine love, known and felt in the heart. When the Lord Jesus says to a poor sinner, come unto me, come unto me, My mind, it just goes to those beautiful words in the last chapter of Holy Scripture, verse 17. And the spirit and the bride say, come. And let him that hear it say, come. And let him that is a thirst, come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. That wonderful word, come. You know, in that great day of judgment, when the Lord Jesus shall sit upon the throne of judgment, when the Lord Jesus shall judge the world, all nations shall be gathered before him. And he will separate the sheep from the goats, the sheep for his own blood brought people who he has redeemed and delivered from sin and Satan's power. when he suffered and bled and died on the cross of Calvary. The goats are those that know not our Lord Jesus Christ. No. He will say to them on his right hand, come, that beautiful word again, come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. kingdom prepared, a kingdom of immense delight, where life and health and peace unite. You see, I will love them freely. The only moving cause of the salvation of the Lord's people is divine love. We love Him because He first loved us. Something my beloved friends that we should remember, we love him because he first loved us. We read in Deuteronomy chapter 7 and verse 6, For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God, the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself above all people that are upon the face of the earth. The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because you were more in number than any people, for you were the fewest of all people. But because the Lord loved you, and because you would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, and from the hand of Pharaoh, King of Egypt. The Lord did not set his love upon you nor choose you because you were more in number but because the Lord loved you. It's the only moving cause of our salvation. It's the Lord's everlasting love to his people You know we read here in, we read it together in chapter 13 and the verse 14, I will ransom them from the power of the grave. I will redeem them from death. Says our Lord Jesus Christ, O death, I will be thy plague, O grave, I will be thy destruction. Repentance shall be hid from mine eyes. Repentance shall be hid from mine eyes. I will not change my mind. I will not change my mind. I have loved my people with an everlasting love. And everyone that I have loved from all eternity has been redeemed. And everyone will be sanctified by the Spirit. Their soul will be quickened into life. They will be brought to living faith in Jesus Christ. I will heal their backslidings, I will love them freely, for mine anger is turned away from him. What a wonderful thing. Why is his anger turned away? How is his anger turned away? Because the sin of the church was laid on His Son, Jesus Christ. And Jesus Christ offered a sacred, holy, sin-atoning sacrifice unto His Father for the sins of His people. And thereby, He delivers them from all law charges. He delivers them from the curse and the condemnation of the law. by that precious sacrifice, by the precious blood of that sacrifice. The Lord Jesus, it speaks in the epistle to the Hebrews of that one glorious sacrifice of Jesus Christ and it says, for by one offering hath he perfected forever all them that are sanctified, that one glorious offering on the cross of Calvary. I will love them freely, my beloved friends. The anger of the Lord was turned away from his people by that precious Sinatolian sacrifice, by that precious holy blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us all sin, from all sin. I will heal their backslidings, I will love them freely, for mine anger is turned away from him. I will be as the dew unto Israel, he shall grow up as the lily and cast forth his roots as Lebanon is his branches shall spread and his beauty shall be as the olive tree and his smell as Lebanon The dew unto Israel We have that lovely and precious word in the in the book of Deuteronomy and chapter 32 where the Lord he speaks those lovely words give ear and O ye heavens, and I will speak and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth, my doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distill as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass. My doctrine, the doctrine of truth, the doctrine of the gospel, the doctrine of Christ, the doctrine that the Levitical dispensation pointed to in the sacrifices and offerings pointing to Christ. When the priest was in the tabernacle offering sacrifices the Israelite would come with their sacrifice and they would look into that where the altar was and there was blood running down the altar And there was blood on the hands of the priests, there was blood in the vessels of the sanctuary. What did it speak? Without the shedding of blood, there shall be no remission of sins. That's what it spoke. And this is the doctrine of truth in the gospel. My doctrine shall drop as the rain My speech shall distill as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, as showers upon the grass. My doctrine, the precious doctrine of the truth of the gospel, breathed into the heart by the Holy Ghost, sealed there by the Spirit of God, our eyes opened to the truth of the gospel. Light shining into the soul. All the precious doctrine of truth. Salvation through the finished work of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. I will be as the dew unto Israel. And you know, without the dew, without the rain, nothing grows. Nothing grows. And it is very clear also from Holy Scripture that water represents the divine person, power and grace of the Holy Ghost. He's likened to living water. Jesus said unto the woman by the well, if any man drink of the water that I shall give him, it shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life and what he means there is the indwelling of the Spirit of God in the heart of a poor sinner, the everlasting love of God in Christ. I will be as the dew unto Israel and it's only as this dew settles upon us and as this rain is poured upon us that we begin to grow. The Apostle does repeat it, he says, but grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. And this dew poured into the heart, the precious gospel truths made living realities in the soul by the Holy Ghost, and the poor sinner closing with Christ and brought into union with Christ. You see, the only way that you and I can ever bring forth fruit is to be united unto Jesus Christ. We cannot bring forth fruit without that. It says here in the last clause of verse eight, from me, is thy fruit found. From me is thy fruit found. And you know, my beloved friends, that is the wonderful and precious truth of the Gospel. We read of it in the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ in John chapter 15, where our Lord Jesus Christ speaks there of fruit He says in John 15, now ye are clean, verse three. We'll look at from the beginning. I am the true vine and my father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh away. And every branch that beareth fruit, he purges it that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me. And I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine. No more can ye except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit. For without me ye can do nothing. This is the teaching of the Spirit. If a man abide not in me he is cast forth as a branch and is withered and men gather them and cast them into the fire and they are burned. From me is thy fruit found in union with the Lamb from condemnation free The saints from everlasting were and shall forever be. I will be as the dew unto Israel. He shall grow up as the lily and cast forth his roots as Lebanon. His branches shall spread and his beauty shall be as the olive tree and his smell as Lebanon. They that dwell under his shadow shall return, they shall revive as the corn and grow as the vine, the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon. You know it speaks very beautifully doesn't it in the second chapter of the Song of Solomon of being sitting under his shadow. It says in Solomon's Song, chapter 2, verses 3 and 4. As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved, that's Christ, among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste. He brought me to the banqueting house. His banner over me was love. everlasting love of God in Christ. You know, two things to note of the apple tree. Number one, it is good for shade from the hot sun. It says here, I sat down under his shadow with great delight. That's Christ. The apple tree is Christ. His fruit was sweet to my taste. So, We have two uses here at the apple tree. One is for shade and shelter, and the other is the fruit. The fruit brought forth by Christ, by his precious sacrifice, by his eternal love, by redeeming and saving his people from their sins. His fruit was sweet to my taste. Oh, my beloved friends, do we know, oh, taste and see that the Lord is gracious? Have we tasted, John, he speaks in his first epistle, those things that we have tasted, handled, and felt of the good word of life? Have you, have I, tasted, handled, and felt of the good word of life? If you do, you'll never forget it. Because that word of life, tasted, handled and felt, it brings light and life and liberty into the soul. Christ is made precious. Christ becomes the altogether lovely one. Christ becomes the chiefest among 10,000. Christ becomes the very center, the sum and the substance of all your desires. They that dwell under his shadow shall return. They shall revive as the core and grow as the vine. The scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon. You see, they shall revive. And this precious living water that the soul drinks of, The Spirit of God, it brings light and life. The Apostle speaks of it in Ephesians chapter two, you are the quickened who were dead. In trespasses and in sins, that's the divine work of the Spirit in the heart. It gives life. It gives life. The Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. That is in Romans, and the Spirit is written with a capital S. The Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus. You see, the Holy Spirit not only convicts and convinces of sin, He testifies of our Lord Jesus Christ. He testifies to the poor sinner of our Lord Jesus Christ of the everlasting love of God in Christ. He testifies of that holy life that Christ lived and the holy life he lived to bring an end of everlasting righteousness for his people. This is what a poor sinner finds in Christ. Life, life, everlasting life. Why? Because the law has been fulfilled. The curse has been taken away. Everlasting righteousness has been brought in. The Lord is risen indeed. He died for our sins and rose again for our justification. The word justification means to be declared to be without sin, therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. You know, the effect of this, Ephraim shall say, what have I to do any more with Eidos? I have heard him and observed him. I am like a green fir tree. From me is thy fruit found. What a wonderful thing in union with the Lamb. from condemnation free, the saints from everlasting were and shall forever be. Now, here in this last verse, who is wise? And he shall understand these things, prudent, and he shall know them. For the ways of the Lord are right, and the just shall walk in them. but the transgressors shall fall therein. The just shall walk by his faith, by faith in Jesus Christ, by faith in his precious blood, by faith in his glorious righteousness. Wonderful, precious truth, faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. He is not here. He is risen, who is wise, and he shall understand these things. Doesn't the apostle say when he writes to the Ephesians, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened? What a wonderful thing when they are. There was a time when you were not even concerned about the matters of your soul, about death and eternity. But there came a time, by the Spirit's inward teaching, when you became aware, and these things were solemn realities. And then you began to seek the Lord. You began to seek the Lord. You began, by God's grace, to return. O Israel, return unto the Lord thy God, for thou hast fallen by thine enemy. take with you words and turn to the Lord, say unto him, take away all iniquity. You see there's that lovely word in Psalm 130, isn't it? But there is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared. There is forgiveness. Who is wise? And he shall understand these things. prudent and he shall know them for the ways of the Lord are right and the just that means those that are justified the just shall walk therein but the transgressors shall fall therein. You know in the prophecy of Isaiah and the Lord he speaks to us there concerning the eternal foundation that is of course our Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal rock of ages. So we read in Isaiah chapter 28 and verse 16, Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold I lay in Zion for a foundation, a stone, a tridestone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation. He that believeth shall not make haste. Think of the answer of our Lord Jesus to Peter when he said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. What did Christ answer him upon this rock? What rock? Christ, the Son of the living God. Upon this rock I build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Who is wise? And he shall understand these things prudent, and he shall know them. For the ways of the Lord are right, and the just shall walk in them, but the transgressors shall fall therein. Let us now sing together hymn number 897. The tune is Hastings 344. You poor afflicted souls give ear who seek the Lord but fear his frown, what things he ask in fervent prayer, believing Christ will send them down. In 897, June Hastings, 344. ♪ O come, let us adore Him ♪ ♪ O come, let us adore Him ♪ Exhibit closer to the crown, and show to those in favor praise. He built a fort in Jerusalem, where most of nature's love and grace ♪ Unleash this hell within me ♪ ♪ Inside of you I only live ♪ ♪ The peace of heaven sings with me, ♪ ♪ O stillness love, O stillness dear! ♪ Shed not an ear, yet take it as he put the Lord. The promise of prosperity and righteousness O Lord, increase my fear away, and lead me on to greater good. Amen. Too many told of the harvest there, and they denied it. 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. Amen.