Let us commence our service this
evening by singing together hymn 1152. The tune is Lucius 857. Fountain of mercy, God of love,
how rich thy bounties are, the rolling seasons as they move,
proclaim thy constant care. Hymn 1152, tune Lucius 857. Fountain of mercy, God of love,
How rich thy bounties are! There o'er its seasons has a
path How can thy constant hand bear in the bosom of the earth
that Thou art giv'n grace? My goodness, love, its sacred
love, Answers the early rain. Thy spring sweet influence, Lord,
the sign of life, hearts in beauty pure. Thou gavest the sun up, of refreshing youth. Mysterious verses in Ramadan, And drew the sweat in rain, Her
kindly father's house I love, And empty pails of pain. Thee, O God, bless thy gracious
men, Thy hand, Lord, nature hence. See, time of harvest, night of
birth, Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God in the Gospel according to Mark, reading chapter
7. The Gospel according to Mark,
reading chapter 7. Seventh chapter of Mark's Gospel. Then came together unto him the
Pharisees, and certain of the scribes which came from Jerusalem.
And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled,
that is to say, with unwashing hands, they found fault. For
the Pharisees and all the Jews, except they wash their hands
oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders. And when they
come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And
many other things there be which they have received to hold, as
the washing of cups and pots, brazen vessels, and of tables.
Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, why walk not thy disciples
according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with
unwashing hands? He answered and said unto them,
well hath Isaiah prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written,
this people honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is
far from me. "'How be it in vain do they worship
me, "'teaching for doctrines the commandments of men? "'For
laying aside the commandment of God, "'ye hold the tradition
of men "'as the washing of pots and cups "'and many other such
like things ye do.' "'And he said unto them, "'For well ye
reject the commandment of God, "'that ye may keep your own tradition. "'For Moses said, "'Honour thy
father and thy mother, "'and whoso curseth father or mother,
"'let him die the day. But ye say, if a man shall say
to his father or mother, it is Corban, that is to say a gift,
by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me, he shall be free. And ye suffer him no more to
do ought for his father or his mother, making the word of God
of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered, and
many such like things do ye. When he had called all the people
unto him, he said unto them, Hark unto me, every one of you,
and understand. There is nothing from without
a man that entering into him can defile him. But the things
which come out of him, these are they that defile the man.
If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. When he was entered
into the house from the people, his disciples asked him concerning
the parable. And he saith unto them, are ye
so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive that whatsoever
thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him?
Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly,
and goeth out into the draught, purging all means. And he said,
that which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. But from within, out of the heart
of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil
eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from
within and defile the man. And from thence he arose and
went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon and entered into a
house and would have no man know it, but he could not be hid. For a certain woman whose young
daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell
at his feet. The woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by nation, and
she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her
daughter. But Jesus said unto her, let the children first be
filled, for it is not me to take the children's bread and to cast
it unto the dogs. And she answered and said unto
him, yes, Lord, yet the dogs under the table eat of the children's
crumbs. And he said unto her, for this
saying, go thy way, the devil is gone out of thy daughter.
And when she was come to her house, she found the devil gone
out, and her daughter laid upon the bed. And again, departing
from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, he came into the Sea of Galilee,
through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis. And they bring
unto him one that was deaf and had an impediment in his speech.
and they beseech him to put his hand upon him. He took him aside
from the multitude and put his fingers into his ears, and he
spit and touched his tongue. Looking up to heaven, he sighed,
and saith unto him, Ephaphatha, that ears be opened. And straightway
his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed,
and he spake plain, and he charged them that they should tell no
man. But the more he charged them so much, the more a great
deal they published it, and were beyond measure astonished, saying,
he hath done all things well. He maketh the deaf to hear and
the dumb to speak. May the Lord bless his holy word
unto us and help us to approach unto him in prayer. O thou great and holy Lord God,
as we come once more into thy house this evening, Lord, we
plead that we might enter into thy gates with thanksgiving and
into thy courts with praise. Lord, may we truly be enabled
to say this is the day which the Lord hath made, we will rejoice
and be glad in him. For Lord, certain we have no
command for to cause the earth to bring forth fruit. Lord, because
of our sin, See the fruits of it, the cursed earth that brings
forth briers and thistles. Lord, we have to wrestle against
the effects of the fall. Oh, it is only of thy mercy and
thy grace that we have any harvest. And Lord, it is only as our descent,
the rolling seasons, that there should be seed time and harvest,
summer and winter, cold and heat, day and night, that we have,
Lord, any harvest this evening to thank thee for. Lord, we Would
desire therefore that the praise might ultimately be unto thee
this evening. Thou art the provider of every good and every perfect
gift. The father of lights in whom is no variableness, neither
shadow of turning. Oh, that our praise, Lord, this
evening might truly be unto thee. Oh, thy mercies new every morning,
great is thy faithfulness. Lord, what can we say? But another
year, Lord, another year in which we only have added to our sins
of ourselves. And our Lord, our utter inability
to do anything to merit esteem or give our Creator delight.
Lord, it's daily mercy, daily grace. Lord, we would desire
this evening to come and to confess that Thou dost crown the year
with Thy goodness, Thy powers drop fatness. To repeat, Lord,
Thy mercies in our soul, to give Thee the honor and the glory
that's due. unto thee and unto thy free grace alone. Lord, we
would desire to thank thee for the willingness thou hast given
to our fellow men and women to till the ground, to plant the
seed, to seek there might be that harvest. Lord, we would
desire to thank thee for the wisdom that thou hast given unto
men in the various instruments they use and the science which
they employ in order, Lord, that we might have that food upon
our tables. Lord, we would not desire to
take the least thing for granted. Oh, we plead, Lord, that thou
wouldst help us to see in every mercy, in everything, Lord, that
thou dost bring us through, every little thing in our life, every
blessing, Lord, we enjoy upon our table. Oh, that it is thy
hand, thy grace, that it cometh alone from thee. And thus, Lord,
this evening, or that we might have full hearts, a softened
heart, a broken heart, a heart, Lord, that would desire to give
thee and thee alone all the glory. Lord, we'd ask that that would
help us to rejoice in thee this evening. Oh, help us, Lord, to
heed what one has said. Rejoice, ye saints, in every
state. Divine decrees remain unmoved. Lord, what a wonder
it is that with those sweet enjoyments blessed, the covenant stands
the same. that thou art the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Thou art the Lord, thou dost change not, therefore we, the
sons of Jacob, are not concerned. Thus, Lord, we plead this evening,
that thou wouldst help us to praise thy great and thy most
holy name. Oh, Lord, help us to live by
faith and not by sight. Help us, Lord, to praise thee
in the dark. Help us to praise thee in the midst of trouble.
Oh, Lord, that thou wouldst be glorified in the midst of thy
church this evening, that we might truly be enabled to sing
praises unto thee. Lord, we'd ask that thou wouldst
be with us as we once more come to thy word. Feed us, Lord, with
food convenient for us. Instruct us now to thy word.
May we be taught, Lord. May we be edified and built up
in our most holy faith. May we find, Lord, thy word this
evening to be a searching word, the only standard. The standard,
Lord, which when we are clothed in our right mind, we would desire
to come up to. Lord, wanting no other standard.
Help us, Lord, to walk in thy precepts, to love, Lord, thy
ways. Oh, may we know, Lord, that peace.
For great peace have they which love thy law, and nothing shall
offend them. Lord, we'd ask that thou wouldst
bless the gospel to the good and never-dying souls. May there
be, Lord, a spiritual harvest in this place this evening. Oh,
we plead, Lord, that any that have gathered dead, entrusted
in sins, Lord, that the appointed time might have come. in thy
rich mercy and grace, to raise them up together with Christ
Jesus, to sit together in heavenly places with him. I will be saving
sinners, Lord, by thy grace. Lord, we'd ask that the poor
might have the gospel preached unto them, that once more, Lord,
in all our need, in all our sins, we might be found pointed to
Jesus and come into him full of grace and truth for all we
need. Lord, we'd ask that thou wouldst
Help us to sing thy praise within thy house of seed, and open our
hearts to receive thy word, give the hearing ear. May none, Lord,
be sent empty away, but may we truly be enabled to say it's
been good for us to draw near unto thee. Lord, it asks that
thou wouldst bless all that may gather in thy name this evening.
Bless the flock at home gathered together for prayer, Lord. Hear
their prayers for us, and Lord, that we might pray for them.
And wherever thy people have found this evening, Oh, the love
of the Lord Jesus in sincerity and in truth. Lord, we'd ask
that thou would remember thy people in the midst of persecution,
that thou would strengthen them. Lord, that thou would be reminding
us this world is not our home. Helping us, Lord. Oh, to live
as strangers and pilgrims here, to be ever on the stretch, forgetting
the things which are behind and pressing toward the mark. Oh,
bid us, Lord, look to Jesus once more. to consider him who suffered
such contradiction of sin as against himself, lest we should
be wearied and faint in our minds. O Lord, give persevering grace,
give continuing grace, that though faint, we might be persevering.
Lord, we'd ask that thou wouldst bless the children and young
people here this evening, put thy fear in their hearts in the
days of youth. Lord, may they see, and may they
have their eyes open to see, to know, where their every blessing
comes from. Lord, we teach them this evening
their utter unworthiness, but the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ
exceeding abundant. Lord, we plead that thou wouldst
be raising up out of the rising generation, those to follow on,
to call the Redeemer blessed here and in our churches. Lord, we'd ask that thou wouldst
be with thy servants with us this evening, bless them in the
ministry of the Word, Though we may often go forth weeping,
Lord, the seed is precious. Lord, the blessing is Thine,
and Thou hast said, the word shall not return unto Thee void,
but will accomplish that whereunto Thou hast sent it. Lord, we plead
that Thou wouldst cause the doubtless. We may become again rejoicing,
bearing our sheaves with us. Lord, we plead that Thou wouldst
be granting us preparation for Thy day. Another week, Lord,
swiftly come into its close. Prepare us, Lord, for the worship
of thy house on my day. Oh, prepare us, Lord, for the
worship of thy house above. Prepare us, Lord, for our end.
Oh, may we have, Lord, that expectation which cannot be cut off. May
we be enabled to say, by faith this evening, I know in whom
I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that
which I have committed unto him against that day. Lord, it ask
that thou wouldst remember the age, be with them in the evening
time of night, Help, Lord, those that are elders in the church
here, in the churches, Lord, to set that example, to walk
as becometh the gospel. Lord, help us to follow on. Oh,
that great cloud of witnesses. Lord, we'd ask that thou would
give us faith to follow in the footsteps of the flock. Oh, may
there be, Lord, those cries in the hearts of thy people this
evening. Tell them, O thou, my soul, love is where thou feedest,
where thou makest thy flock to rest in. Help us, Lord, to stick
close unto thy maidens, to follow after thy servants, to be found
walking in the footsteps of the flock. Lord, we ask that thou
wouldst be with us in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation.
Lord, the solemn day in which we live, the darkness. Oh, sinners
have no idea where their blessings come from, no idea, Lord, of
where they are going. Oh, they look for affinity with
a lower life. But, ah, Lord, what glory and
honour Thou didst bless us with in our original estate. Crowned
with glory and honour, Thou didst make us a little lower than the
angels. Ah, Lord, what crown we've lost,
the fall. Ah, Lord, what a fall. But, Lord,
who would desire to thank Thee this evening for the second Adam,
the Lord Son of Man, the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Lord
we would desire to thank thee for that restoration which is
through him for his people and that we might find this evening
our Lord upon our head by grace that crown of glory and honor
and Lord that union with him oh that we might know that communion
with him and be looking Lord and longing for that day the
marriage supper of the lamb when that will make that union quite
complete. Lord we plead that we might know
a little of heaven begun below here this evening, there might
be that faint echo upon earth of the praise and glory above. Our Lord, that all might redound
to the praise of life regraced in Jesus and his bleeding love. Lord, we'd ask that he might
be manifest, that we might see no man save Jesus only, and that
Lord, when we leave this place this evening, we might have that
testimony about us that cannot be hid, We have been with Jesus. Lord, be with us now as we turn
unto thy word. Keep us, Lord, for ourselves
as we are about holy things. Keep us, Lord, dependent alone
upon thee. Lord, order our thoughts aright.
Open our mouth wide. Help us, Lord, to speak as thou
mayest put it. May our single aim, in pulpit,
in desk, and in pew, be thy glory and thy glory alone. Oh, may
we be nothing. May we be lost sight of. May
Jesus be high and lifted up and highly esteemed, highly valued
by poor sinners here this evening. We'd ask you, Lord, seeking the
forgiveness of our every sin, and especially, Lord, that thou
would take away the evil spirit of unbelief, oh, that thou would
strengthen faith this evening, that the eye of faith might be
opened, Lord, that we might see thy handiwork and that we might
truly praise thy name. We'd ask it all for Jesus Christ's
sake. Let us now sing together hymn
number 643. The tune is Colwyn Bay, 903. Again, dear Lord, we would be
fed. We come to seek for living bread
and feast on love divine. Dear Father, let thy presence
be enjoyed by all thy family and make each face to shine.
Hymn 643, Tune Colwyn Bay 903. Again, dear Lord, we would be
glad We come to seek the living bread And feast on the divine Dear covenant, thy presence be,
and joy for all thy family, and make each place to shine. In thee, O blessed, which we
meet, Come then, and give our souls a treat, And makes us a
distant king. Forget us not, we'll hear the
hymn of love, where the praises sing, the songs of knowledge
ring. May faith be strong, and pierce
the skies, and here, with pleasure, re-align the founding of the
day. of you which is just as I can.
Upon Him bear His love calling, and from all things dispelling We bless thee, grant thee, we
love thee, The land that gives thee peace and joy, In ev'ry tongue proclaim their
song, And thou shalt know that it's a kind It's an order to help me this
evening and grant you prayerful attention. I'd again direct you
to the portion of God's Word read, the Gospel of Mark, chapter
7, and reading again in verse 31. The Gospel of Mark, chapter
7, and reading again in verse 31. And again, departing from
the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, he came unto the sea of Galilee
through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis. And they bring
unto him one that was deaf and had an impediment in his speech,
and they beseech him to put his hand upon him. And he took him
aside from the multitude and put his fingers into his ears,
and he spit and touched his tongue. And looking up to heaven, he
sighed and said unto him, Ephapha, Ephapha, that is, be open. And straightway his ears were
opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake
plain. And he charged them that they should tell no man, but
the more he charged them so much, the more a great deal they published
it, and were beyond measure astonished, saying, he hath done all things
well. He maketh both the deaf to hear
and the dumb to speak. It is particularly to the words
in verse 37 which I wish to draw your attention this evening,
a word beyond measure astonished, saying, he hath done all things
well. This was a thanksgiving occasion
to these dear friends who had bought this, a man that was dumb
and could not speak and deaf and could not hear, and they
bring him to the Lord. And the Lord is entreated of them. He
listens to their cries. Our friends, and he answers their
cries. He uses the means, he puts his fingers into his ears
and he spit and touched his tongue. And looking up to heaven, he
sighed and said unto them, that is be opened and straight way.
His eyes, his ears and his was opened and the string of his
tongue was loose and he spake plain. They'd witnessed these
things. And this is the testimony they
give. He has done all things well. They could not be silent.
They could not keep quiet about these things. They must sound
it abroad. He hath done all things well. Well, friends, while it might
be this evening an occasion of thanksgiving here that we may
have that desire within our hearts to sound it wide. He hath done
all things well. Ah, friends, if we can truly
say that this evening, he has all the glory. He hath done all
things well, no exception. Ah, friends, that's what it is
to give him the glory. Not some things, but all things. Or it
might be so that we might truly be enabled to say He hath done
all things well. All things. Then, friends, to
be enabled to give Him the glory by saying He has done all things
well. All things work together for good. Friends, the best. The best possible. Nothing less. Friends, we may not give, but
100% praise because He hath done all things well. And then friends
that the crown might be alone upon his head, he, he hath done
all things as we were trying to say before you this afternoon,
this is a day the Lord hath made. He must have the glory, it's
he that works. He does all things and he does
all things well. This is what his people are brought
to know. Oh, the apostle Paul knew this.
So he quoted this afternoon. No, he was persuaded of it. He knew it by experience. All
things work together for good. Now friends can you say this
evening he hath done all things well. Well we want firstly to
come to the context. Now friends this is one of Jesus's
miracles. We want to say something first
of all about miracles. Miracles had a special part in
the ministry of Jesus Christ. And we need to understand that
part that they had in the ministry of Jesus Christ, that we might
not make too much of the miracles. Because, friends, I fear too
often we make too much of the miracles. And we read of those
solemnly in John 6. They followed him because of
the loaves and the fishes. They followed him for the miracles.
But when it came to his ministry, when it came to what he said,
they said, these are hard sayings. Who can hear them? And from that
time, many went back and followed no more after him. Our friends,
if we have a wrong view of the miracles this evening, if we're
following Jesus for the miracles, then our religion will be a bit
shallow. And when trouble comes, when
the time of separation comes, we'll say these are hard sayings
and we'll no longer follow after it. So we must come firstly to
notice what these miracles are for. Our friends, firstly, these
miracles, they were to give testimony to who Jesus was, that it might
be known that he was. the Son of God, that he was the
Christ, that he was the saviour of sinners. That's why Jesus
did miracles. You'll remember when John Baptist
was in prison and doubts began to fill his heart and he sends
those messengers to Jesus, aren't thou the Christ or look we for
another? And Jesus gives John that simple
answer, he says, go tell John, the blind see, the deaf hear,
the lame walk and the poor have the gospel preached unto them.
What was Jesus saying? He was saying to John, you know
what the Bible says, you know what the scriptures say, you
know the description that the scriptures give of the Messiah,
you know the description that the scriptures give of Christ. I am the Christ because I do
the things that the scriptures say that the Christ will do.
You'll remember Jesus when he entered into his public ministry
in Capernaum. There he entered into the synagogue
on the Lord's day and he took up the word of God in the prophecy
of Isaiah and he read that portion, the spirit of the Lord God is
upon me because the Lord has anointed me to preach good tidings
unto the meek. The poor have the gospel preached
unto them. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to
proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison
to them that are bound, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord
and the day of vengeance of our God. to comfort all that mourn,
to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty
for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise
for the spirit of heaviness, that they might be called trees
of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be
glorified. Oh, what did he say this day?
These things are fulfilled in your ears. Oh, you see, friends,
the miracles prove who Jesus was. We read of miracles in the
word of God. We even read of those being raised
from the dead, the days of Elisha and Elijah. There's one peculiar
miracle that Jesus did, which is not recorded anywhere else
in scripture, and that is giving sight unto the blind. Now, friends,
that miracle. He'd opened blind eyes, unstopped
deaf ears. He'd made the lame to walk and
he preached the gospel unto the poor. The miracles declare this
is the Son of God. The miracles declare, this is
the word made flesh. The miracles declare, this is
the Lord's Christ. This is the one of whom the prophets
spake. This is the one of whom the promise
spake in the Garden of Eden. The seed of the woman shall bruise
his head, thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Our friends,
that was the fundamental purpose of the miracles, to declare who
he was. Our friends, do we know who Jesus
is this evening? These miracles are left on record
for us that we might know that this is the one of whom the Prophet
spoke. This is the one that God said
would come, the Saviour of sinners. Our friends, have we received
the testimony of the miracles? That is the first thing that
the miracles are. They are witness to who He is. He hath done all things well.
He hath done all things well. Every miracle recorded in the
Gospel records This is the Christ. And of course, after the death
and resurrection of Jesus, Jesus told his disciples they would
do greater miracles than him. And we certainly read of those
miracles that they performed in the acts of the apostles.
And again, those miracles were testimonies. They were to convince
the apostles that everything that Jesus had said was true
and that the Holy Spirit had really descended upon them and
therefore that they were to go forth in his power. and they
were to confirm to, in the early church, to the Lord's people,
a lasting testimony to that generation, oh, that Jesus was the Christ,
the Son of God, the Saviour of sinners. The second thing that
the miracles do is picture the work of grace. And our friends,
what a picture it is. Oh, the blind see, the deaf hear,
the lame walk, and the poor have the gospel preached unto them.
Ah, friends, do you know what it is for your eyes to be opened? Oh, John Newton had to say, amazing
grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once
was lost, but now I'm found, was blind, but now I see. Ah, friends, is that a picture
of you by nature? You look back in your life and
realize you were blind. Oh, as we said this afternoon,
you saw no beauty in Jesus Christ, no form nor comeliness that you
should desire him. Now you marvel at it. How did
I hear him preached about? How did I read about him in the
world and not see it? Ah, friends, you were blind,
spiritually blind, but your eyes have been opened and now you
see Jesus. Ah, friends, yourself, you were
blind to yourself. You looked at yourself. You thought
you saw goodness. You thought you saw something
which was worthy of God. But, ah, friends, your eyes have
been opened and are you now horrified, surprised by what you see within,
a leprous, mass of filth from head to foot, wounds, bruises
and putrefying sores. Ah, he maketh the blind to see.
Ah, friends, the ears opened, the deaf ears opened, the ears
you perhaps sat under the preaching of the sound of truth, and yet,
friends, it never meant anything to you. Oh, there may have been
something natural that you heard that for a time you thought about,
but there was no power. But all of a sudden, Ah, perhaps
you came into the Lord's house one day and the minister that
stood up in the pulpit, the same minister. Ah, friends, if you
really examined, he was saying the same things, but suddenly,
ah, your ears are opened, you hear? The word enters with power,
with conviction. In your soul, you're a sinner.
Oh, but Jesus is a Savior. Ah, friends, the ears are opened.
And the lame walk. Ah, friends, you could not run
in the way of his commandments. You could not do that which is
right. You knew what John Senec said, the more I strive against
sin's power, I sin and stumble. But the more, however much the
law was set before you, how much the precept was set before you,
you had to prove you've got no strength to do it. There was
no willingness to do it. There was no mind to do it. There was
no love and affection, no desire to do it. No love towards the
giver of the commandment. Friend, you could not walk in
those ways. But now, though you come so far short, though you
Feel to run falteringly in the race, but, our friends, you now
have a will. You want to do what pleases Him.
You love to do it because you love Him that's given the commandment. Our friends, you've got a mind
to do it. You know what's right. He make you the lane to walk.
And the poor have the gospel preached unto them. Our friends, if your ears been
opened as a poor sinner, a poor weary, Weak sinner, no power
to run from sin, no power to escape it. But now, oh, you've
heard the gospel. Come unto me, all ye that labour
in a heavy laden, and I will give you rest, says Jesus. Take my yoke upon you and learn
of me, for I'm meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find
rest for your souls. Ah, friends, does the gospel
now mean something to you? Is it precious? Ah, do you love
that truth? that Christ Jesus came into the
world to save sinners of whom you are chief. Well, you see,
friends, what a picture we see in the miracles of Jesus Christ,
in the work of Jesus Christ, of what he does spiritually for
his people. Ah, the inward work. Ah, friends,
that which is not seen outwardly, that which is not easily described,
but so beautifully set before us in these pictures. The miracles
in that sense, like the parables, Our friends, they hide a greater
teaching. They set before us the greater work. For Jesus said,
what is the greater work? Oh, this man should be healed
or that he should have his sins forgiven. Our friends, if he's
able this evening to open naturally blind eyes, if he's able to unstop
naturally deaf ears, if he's able to make naturally lame legs
to walk. Our friends, he is able. He is
able to open the blindest eyes spiritually. Ah, to open the
deafest ears spiritually. Oh, those of us who have those
who we'd laugh are far off from him, dead, blind, deaf, lame. Ah, friends, do you believe this
evening he is able? He is able. These miracles were to display
he is able. Able to do exceeding abundantly
above what we ask or think. He is able. Able to take away
the blindness that sin has brought. Able to take away the deafness
that the fall has produced. Able to take away lameless, he's
able to new create the whole. That's the second thing the miracles
do, to set before us this picture. They declare who he is and they
set us before us a picture of what he is able to do. And then
thirdly, friends, particularly in this context, but also in
I think virtually every context of the miracles, although I have
not had time to go through them all, but Our friends, they display
his willingness. They are pictures of his willingness. What helpless ones came to him
to be healed. Our friends, what unworthy ones.
The dear woman that we read of in this chapter, a Syrophoenician
woman, went into the borders of Tyre and Siton. Our friends,
a stranger from the Commonwealth of Israel, an alien, an outcast,
one who was not a Jew by birth. Ah, friends, one who was not
a kindred of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ by flesh, but she
comes unto him. Ah, Jesus appears to deal with
her, perhaps heartily, but, ah, friends, only justly. Ah, he
was sent first to his own people, he came unto his own, but here
is one who is not one of his people, but she comes to him.
He says, ah, it is not me to give the children's bread unto
dogs. But she says, truth, Lord, but the dogs eat of the crumbs
that fall from the master's table." Ah, friends, how willing he was.
Oh, as we read those beautiful words, for this saying, go thy
way, the devil is gone out of thy daughter. We find it again,
departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, he came unto
the Sea of Galilee and through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis.
Ah, friends, Galilee of the Gentiles. Galilee of the Gentiles, not
the seat of Jury, not Jerusalem, our friends, not Judah, not where
the scribes of the Pharisees were found, but poor Galilee,
Galilee of the Gentiles, the people of whom we read in Isaiah
nine, the people that sat in darkness have seen a great light.
That's speaking of Galilee of the Gentiles. Our friends, the
dark place, Jesus's ministry chiefly, his miracles chiefly
were not performed in Jerusalem. They were performed in Galilee,
the Gentiles, in the darkness of that Gentile place. Our friends,
the willingness, the willingness of Jesus Christ to save, the
willingness of him to turn our blindness into sight and our
deafness into hearing and our lameness our friends, into perfect
walking, his willingness to save. Our friends, they came unto him
unclean, but he did not turn them away. They came unto him
as sinners, but he did not turn them away. This man receiveth
sinners and eateth with them, a friend of publicans and sinners. They came unto him feeling they're
up for unworthiness, a centurion. Our friends, a man very worthy
according to his status in society. But he said, Lord, I'm not worthy
that thou should come under my roof, but speak the word only.
Our friends, he turned none away. He says, he that cometh unto
me I will in no wise cast out. Our friends, who were these miracles
performed for? When you come to the miracles,
don't forget to ask that question. Who was this miracle performed
for? Our friends, you'll be surprised how often it's for one that's
unclean under the law. You'll be surprised how often
it is for a leper who should be without the camp. You'll be
surprised how often it is for a stranger and a foreigner, an
alien from the Commonwealth of Israel, a Gentile, one that's
afar off, one that's at the ends of the earth. Because it is unto such he was
sent. He came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.
Now, friends, what a saviour you see is set before us in the
Gospel. Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. Thou
hast the words of eternal life. Now, friends, what a saviour
is set before us in the Gospel. The Saviour of whom Joseph Hart
says, come ye sinners poor and wretched, weak and wounded, sick
and sore, Jesus ready stands to save you, full of pity, joined
with power, He is able, He is willing, doubt no more. You read
through that verse in your own leisure and you'll find in almost
every line these two things brought together, His ability and His
willingness. His ability and His willingness.
And our friends, the miracle set before us, His ability and
His willingness, doubt no more. Doubt no more. Oh, this is the
Christ, able to save, and willing to save. This is Jesus, the Saviour
of sinners. Now, friends, this is what the
miracles are given for. This is why Jesus performed miracles,
that it might be known, that it might be sounded abroad, that
this is the Christ, the Saviour of sinners, and that he is able
to save, and that he's willing to save. Now, friends, if we
this evening know the miracle of Christ, Have we got something
to stand for? He hath done all things well.
Ah, friends, how slow I am, how slow you are. Oh, I cannot stand
in judgment this evening to give voice to this fact. He is able
to save and he's willing to save. Ah, friends, are we slow to tell
one another Jesus able to save? Are we slow to tell one another
he is willing to save? Are we slow to tell these things
abroad? Well, you see, friends, in our text, those who heard
and saw these things, those who saw the miracles and believed
and received him for who he is, he hath done all things well.
They had something that they could not keep quiet about. They
had something to sound for. He hath done all things well.
This is Jesus, the one for whom all the scriptures speak. And
he's able and he's willing. An able and a willing saint.
Oh, friends, is that what you need this evening? A poor sinner,
you need one who's able to save you. Well, here is an able saviour.
Was there any case too hard for him? Ah, friends, was there any
miracle he could not perform? No, the blind see, the deaf hear,
the lame walk. Ah, friends, were there any that
he was not willing? Any that came unto him just as they were?
Jesus, our son of David, have mercy upon me. Ah, friends, were
there any that came unto him feeling their unworthiness? Were
there any that pressed him through the crowd that did not prove
that he was willing to save? Willing to hear their cry? Willing
to hear? No, he says, he that cometh unto
me, I will in no wise cast out. No wise cast out. Now, friends,
that's not my words. And it's not the words of man.
It's the words of the Savior himself. He that cometh unto
me, I will in no wise cast out. Ah, friends, what a Savior. What
a saviour, the saviour that God has sent into this world to save
his people from their sins. The saviour that God has been
pleased to give that glorious name to. Thou shalt call his
name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. He
hath done all things well. Now, friends, that's the purpose
of the miracles. Don't lose sight of that this evening. Now, just
because Jesus performed miracles in his day does not mean this
evening that you should expect miracles. in your life. Now friends,
if you have some terrible medical diagnosis, don't think that because
there are miracles left in the word of God, left on record in
the word of God that Jesus did, that means that you can expect
a miracle. Now friends, these miracles are particular. He is
able to do exceeding abundantly above what you ask or think.
And there are times when he does still perform miracles, but he
did not come to do miracles. Now friends, he did not come
into this world to heal the sick. He did not come into this world
to give sight unto the blind and to give hearing unto the
deaf. He came to save sinners from their sins. Our friends,
the miracles have their place. They are to confirm who He is.
They are to demonstrate that He is the Christ. They are to
demonstrate that His death upon the cross at Calvary was the
death that taketh away sins. So that precious bloodshed there
is the blood of the Son of God which is able to cleanse from
all sins. Oh, friends, don't get it upside
down. Don't get it back to France. Don't follow him this evening
because of the loaves and the fishes. Don't follow him this
evening because he's a natural miracle worker. No, friends,
follow him because he is the Son of God, because he's able
to save your soul from hell, because he's able to cleanse
you from all sin. All the while we follow him for
the miracles alone, for the bread and the fishes. our friends all
we have all the while we have a religion which purely takes
up with Jesus as a natural miracle work then friends we will not
persist we will not persevere from that time many turned back
and followed no more after our friends he tests his disciples
he said to his disciples in that sixth chapter of john will you
also go away our friends he's saying the same to you this evening
have you got some thing in your life that you feel you need to
have a miracle performed about and he's not listening, he's
not acting. Ah friends, is he saying to you,
why are you following me? For the loaves and the fishes,
will you also go away? Oh that we may be enabled to
say this evening, thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living
God, Lord I will follow thee even unto death. Ah even if we
should have to lose all, as our Saviour the fox hath holes and
the birds of the air have nests, But the Son of Man hath not where
to lay his head, to follow him unto death, because he is the
Christ, our only hope, the Saviour of sinners. Well, friends, that's
why Jesus performed these miracles. One more thing before we pass
on. Now, friends, he performs these miracles in different ways.
Sometimes he only spake the word. He did not even go to the Syrophoenician's
daughter, to heal her. He said, this saying go thy way
the devil is gone out of thy daughter and when she came to
her house she found the devil gone out and her daughter laid
upon the bed. Our friends he did not need to be there to perform
the miracles. Other miracles he uses various means. Here we
read he puts his fingers into his ears and spit and touches
his tongue and he sighs and saith unto him be opened. Our friends
in other places we read him taking the clay and putting it upon
the eyes Ah, the various means in which the Lord uses. Oh, we
should have brought this in under the picture of grace. Ah, friends,
you know, the way the Lord's worked in your life, don't set
it up as a standard for other people. Ah, friends, the way
the Lord works is various, uniform though various. There's a uniformity
to the way the Lord works. He brings his people to fill
their need. He convinced them of sin. He brings them to Jesus'
precious blood. That's the uniformity. There's
no other way of salvation. and our friends will never come
to Jesus' blood except we're first made to feel our need of
him. Now that's the uniformity, but all friends the variousness
in which he works, some young, some old, some at the very beginning
of life, some upon their deathbed, our friends some gently, line
upon line, precept upon precept, here a little, there a little,
the work so gentle, so halting over a long period of time, others
dramatic, Our friends convinced of sin in a moment, are filled
with utter despair, think they're going to sink into heaven, and
raised almost immediately. Our friends to absolute peace
and blessed assurance, the Lord works in various ways. Our friends
do not judge the Lord by feeble sense, but trust him for his
grace. Don't read the accounts of Warburton,
Kershaw and Gadsby and others of the Lord's people in the past
and think that if the Lord's not working as he worked in their
life, in your life, that you're not one of the Lord's people.
Ah, friends, the variousness of the miracles teach us that
he works in various ways, but do make sure you've got the right
uniformity. Ah, friends, that you know, ah, but for grace,
you're a poor losses. that in you there dwelleth no
good thing, no hope in self, to find, though you've sought
it well. Oh, but friends, to be brought to a precious Christ,
to be able to answer that question, what think ye of Christ? He is
my all. Whom have I in heaven but thee? And there is none upon
earth that I desire beside thee. That's the uniformity you need.
Ah, friends, the uniformity of the miracles. I was sick. and
he healed me. I was blind and he opened my
eyes. I was deaf and he opened my ears. I was lame and he made
me to walk. Now friends, that's what we're to seek after. But
then coming to our text, he hath done all things well. He hath
done all things well. We want to see, Lord would help
us this evening to notice four buts. and to try out of these
buts to open the teaching that is in our text. I may repeat
some of the things we said this afternoon, but I want to build
on them. As the Lord had helped me this
evening, I want to deepen perhaps what we said this afternoon.
Firstly this, he hath done all things well. Our friends, the
emphasis is not on the miracle, but on the one that performed
the miracle. He hath done all things well.
And our friends, that's where we need to come in our religion.
That's where we need to be bought. The emphasis not upon the miracle,
but upon the one that has performed the miracle. That's the first
part. Oh, friends, where is the emphasis in your religion this
evening? Is it on the miracle or is it on the one that has
performed the miracle? Not on the miracle, but on the
one that performed the miracle. He, he has done all things well. Ah you see friends, that's what
divided between those that followed Jesus for the loaves and the
fishes and those that followed him because of his teaching. Ah friends, they that followed
him for the loaves and the fishes, they followed him for the miracle
he performed. But those that followed him for
his teaching, they followed him because of whom he was. Ah friends,
for what his teaching revealed himself to be, the bread of life,
the door. Ah friends, the true vine, the
only saviour of sinners. Now friends, can I ask this evening,
why is Jesus precious to you? Now friends, is he precious to
you for what he's done? Or is he precious to you for whom he
is? Oh friends, it's a searching question. You may say to me this
evening, well, it's a very fine line to cut between the two.
He hath done all things well. He hath done all things well.
I've got so many things this evening that he's done for me,
such goodness that he's done for me. He's saved me from my
sins. He's delivered me from going down into the pit. Oh,
friends, can I ask you a question this evening? If he should say
to you, depart from me, I never knew you, would you still have
to love him? Would you still have to admire him? You see,
that's the mystery of true love. You know, in society, sometimes
you come across those abused perhaps, a poor woman abused
by the one that she loves. But our friend, she still loves
him. She cannot, get out of the cycle of abuse and you say, well,
if somebody did that to me, I'd just leave them. Our friends,
why do they not leave them? It's because they love them.
You may say, well, their love is misguided, but that's the
bottom of the matter. They love them. And where there's
love, our friends, we cannot just separate from the one that
we love. And that's why they need pity.
Oh, friends, this evening, if you had to separate the blessings
that you receive from Jesus from Jesus, Ah, friends, if he never
blessed you again, if he never spoke comfortably to you again,
ah, friends, if he was never to visit you again in this life
with any touches of his grace, would you still have to love
him? Ah, friends, is he still your all? Would you still have
to say, whom have I in heaven but thee, and there is none upon
earth that I desire beside thee? Ah, you see, that's what it is,
friends, to separate between following Jesus for the loaves
and the fishes and following him because of who he is. That's
what it is, to separate. Now, you may say to me, well,
you must not confuse the loaves and the fishes with salvation
upon the cross at Calvary. No, friends, we mustn't. We mustn't,
and I would not this evening. Oh, the greatest gift that God
can ever give you is the salvation of your sins through Jesus' precious
blood. Ah, friends in Hesterville, blood.
A gift that perhaps you'd save this evening if you were a poor
sinner. I'd give everything, everything for that gift. Our
friends, we do not want to demean it in any way, but ultimately,
it's that Jesus Christ might be all in all. Our friends, it's
in Him all the fullness of the Godhead dwelleth bodily. Our
friends, He is His people's all. Everything that we receive is
as He is ours, and we are His, united to Him. Our friends, if
we have no part in Him, if He means nothing to us, then there's
no miracles for us, there's no grace. What does he mean? What think ye of Christ? Ah,
friends, that is the test, to try both your state and your
scheme. There's nothing complicated about
it. Oh, you know, the devil loves to hold the Lord's people in
doubts and fears, questions. Perhaps there's one here this
evening. It is a point I long to know. Often it causes anxious
thought. Do I love the Lord or no? Am I his or am I not? Ah,
friends, it's a searching question, isn't it? What think ye of Christ? It's a searching question, do
I love the Lord? But our friends, that's where
we must come because that is the only test to try both our
state and our scheme. It's the test that Jesus gives.
What think ye of Christ? Whose son is he? Now friends,
can you say this evening, he, he hath done all things well.
Thou art the Christ, the son of the living God. Thou art the
word made flesh. Thou art the only saviour of
sins. Our friends, have you beheld
His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,
full of grace and truth? Always your emphasis this evening,
He, He hath done all things well. I was told fairly recently of
a church where I understand the one standard thing they ask everyone
applying for membership is this, what does Jesus Christ mean to
you? Our friends, not what He's done for you. They do ask that
question, I'm quite certain of that. They want to know what
the Lord has done for you, but the important question is this.
What does Jesus Christ mean to you? What does He mean to you? Now, friends, have you got this
He in your religion? He, He hath done all things well. The Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,
the Lamb of God, the holy, harmless, undefiled, separer of sinners,
made higher than the heavens. Ah, friends, he who is all fair,
the chief among 10,000, the altogether lovely. He whom you say, let
him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth. Ah, friends, you want
him, you need him. Without him, ah, all blessings
are nothing. Without him, everything, nothing. Ah, friends, do you go home sometimes
and look at your home, look at your families? But without Jesus
Christ, those things are nothing. Can you come in with that dear
soul that George Whitfield I think is reported to have seen a poor
woman in her cottage and saying her grace and she got there a
crust and a glass of water and her grace was this or this and
Jesus Christ besides. Now friends you see that's where
true religion comes. Without him everything's nothing. With him. Oh, friends, you've
got everything. Everything may be taken away
from you, but if you've got Him, then you've got all things. I
must have all things and abound, says Ryland, while Christ is
God to me. Oh, friends, is He your God this
evening? Is He your Savior? Is He your only hope? Is He your
all in all? Is He the one thing needful?
Is He the most precious? The pearl of great price? Oh,
friends, would you give all up to know Him, that I might know
Him? You see, friends, that's the cry of real religion, not
just at the beginning. But there's the Apostle Paul,
a well-tested saint. There's the Apostle Paul, a preacher
of the gospel. There's the Apostle Paul, an
apostle, born out of due time. But friends, there's his cry,
that I might know him. I'm quite certain that was the
Apostle's cry in his dying moments, that I might know him. That I
might know him. Friends, he is everything, you
see. that I might know him, the power of his resurrection, fellowship
with him in his sufferings, be made conformal unto his death,
if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the
dead." Our friends, the Apostle had much, but he'd been brought
to count them as dung and drops for the excellence of the gospel,
which is in Christ Jesus, my Lord. Our friends, dung, that
which you would run away from, that which you would urgently
deal with, get rid of. Our friends, hastening from it,
wanting nothing to do with it, obnoxious. Everything obnoxious,
everything is nothing, everything you would flee from, that Christ
might be all. Well, friends, are you there
this evening? Has the Lord brought you there? I would come down
a bit lower if I can. Have you ever been there? Have
you ever been there? Now, friends, solemnly, we have
to prove and have to say other Lords have had reign over us.
Our friends left to ourselves, we've drawn away many lovers,
spiritual adulterers. Oh, Judah and Israel are a picture
of it, the prophets as they speak. Our friends, they speak to the
Lord's people today, like passions. But our friends, has there ever
been any time in your life when Jesus has been all in all, where
it's been Him, Him alone? Everything has fallen into its
right place. Nothing compared with Him. Oh, you can say he has done all
things well. You have got a religion which
centres on the man rather than on the miracles, on the saviour,
rather than on the blessings. He has done all things well. Friends, is your emphasis on
the miracles this evening? Is it on the blessings or but? Is it on the ham that blesses? Is it on the saviour that saves? Ah, here they put the emphasis
in the right place, not on the miracles, but on Him. He hath done all things well. Secondly, friends, we want to
notice, ah, the emphasis in our religion is not to be on providence,
but on grace. Not to be on providence, but
on grace. He hath done all things well.
Ah, friends, here they praise Him for natural healing. Oh, here he had done all things
well by causing this deaf man to hear and this dumb man to
speak. But, ah, friends, have you got something higher to praise
him for this evening? I said he came not into this world to
heal. Ah, friends, he came not into this world to open natural
eyes. He did to confirm who he was, but he came into this world
For that one great work, to give himself a ransom for many, to
die upon the cross at Calvary, to save his people from their
sins, for that purpose he came into the world. Ah, friends,
this evening is that, is that what you have a part in. He hath
done all things well. Ah, friends, he saved you from
your sins. Now, I want to speak carefully, but I want to speak
lovingly this evening. Ah, friends, how many have a
religion of providence? And perhaps this evening, You've
got many things to thank the Lord for in your life. You can
look back over your life and you say, this is the Lord. I
did this, he provided for me here, he opened this door for
me, he shut that door. He has done all things well.
Our friends, it's good to hear. Don't keep quiet about it, it's
good to hear. But our friends, have you got something greater
to speak about? Has the Lord ever saved you in his mercy and
his grace from your sins? Friends have you got a greater
work to talk about than the works of providence? The hymn writer
puts it like this concerning the works of creation and the
works of providence immensely great immensely small but one
strange work exceeds them all. Oh friends have you got a part
in that one strange work? The work of redemption. He hath
done all things well. Now you know friends if you've
got that faith Oh, the world see coincidences,
they marvel at them. The world see wonderful providences. They may not understand what's
behind the providence, but they see how things remarkably work
together. Our friends, we need more than
that. Oh, we need to be able to say, this is a day the Lord
has made. We need our eyes open to see that it's God. But our
friends, it's easy to learn that these things are God. It's easy
just to repeat concerning those things that we see that are remarkable
in our life and say, he hath done all things well. But our
friends, have you got a testimony of grace? Has he convinced you
of your sins? Has he brought you down, brought
down your pride and emptied you out? Our friends, he brought
you helpless to the cross. Jesus, our son of David, have
mercy upon me. God, be merciful to me. It's
in the Lord's rememberment Our friends, you have to venture
unto him just as you are with all your uncleanness. If I may
but touch the hem of his garment, I shall be made perfectly whole.
Our friends, has he received you? Have you known that power?
Have you known the peace of his precious blood applied? Our friends,
have you found access through him unto the Father? You were
once afar off, but now make night. God is no longer an enemy. But
our friends, he's your friend, your heavenly Father. He hath done all things well.
Our friends, this is what really glorifies Jesus, the testimony
of his grace. Jesus sought me when a stranger.
Our friends, you see, there's the emphasis again. He hath done
all things well. Jesus sought me when a stranger,
wandering from the fold of God. He, to save my soul from danger,
interposed his precious blood. Our friends, this is what we
long to hear of. This is what we want to hear of in our day
and generation. This is what rejoices. The Lord's people,
as they sit round to hear the testimony of one coming, to tell
what the Lord had done for their soul. Ah, friends, what he's
done for them in grace. It need not be in great words.
Ah, friends, it could be summed up as simply as this. I once
was lost, but now I'm found. Was blind, but now I see. Ah,
friends, sometimes we cannot put it into words. But as that
dear woman that came to the Kirk session in Scotland for a communion
token and sat there dumb, And after a while, one of the godly
elders said unto a woman, were you a sinner? And she said, yes.
He said, are you a sinner? And she said, yes. He said, well,
what's the difference? Once I loved sin, she said, but
now I hate it. Ah, friends, he hath done all
things well. Can you say this evening, he's made you hate sin. He's made you loathe yourself.
He's made you see in me that is in my flesh there dwelleth
no good thing. Ah, friends, he made you look to Jesus as your
only saviour, as he made you cry to him for mercy. He hath
done all things well. It's his work, isn't it, friends?
It's his work. Ah, friends, it's the power of
his Spirit, nothing less, that brings a soul into that condition.
Give him the glory. He hath done all things well.
Oh, we do not want to decry this evening the testimony to his
goodness in Providence, but ah, there might be a testimony to
his grace. Ah, friends, there might be a testimony to the fact
this evening this man received his sinners and eateth with them.
He has forgiven my sins, washed me and made me whole. Ah, friends,
in this he is glorified. Oh, not just providence, but
grace. He hath done all things well. not just well in Providence,
not just well in the ups and the downs and the trials and
tribulations of this life, but he hath done all things well
in saving my soul from here. I speak it unto me as I was about
to go down into the pit, deliver him for I found a ransom, he
hath done all things well. Oh that's the second but, not
the miracle but the person, not just what he's done in Providence
in natural things but what he's done in grace and spiritual things
for your soul. The third but is this. Our friends,
these glorified him for what they saw. He hath done all things
well. They'd seen the miracle. They'd
beheld it with their own eyes. Oh, the Lord's people, friends,
are called to give testimony by faith. We walk by faith and
not by sight. As we said this afternoon, there
are those times that we cannot see what the Lord's doing. We
cannot understand what he's doing. But the Lord is really glorified
in those moments when we have to testify. I don't know what
he's doing, I don't know what the outcome is going to be, but
he has done all things well, he is doing all things well,
and he will do all things well. And we say it by faith, the certainty
of faith. Oh, friends, it's not presumption.
It's sweet faith when the soul is able to say that. When you're
stripped of the comfort of sight, when you're stripped of the comfort
of feelings, Ah friends, perhaps those times when he empties you
and he appears to be silent unto you and the word seems shut up
and you feel to be at the ends of the earth, but can you rest
here? He hath done all things well. We spoke of Job this afternoon.
Ah friends, is there ever a man that lost all the comfort of
sight, all the comfort of feeling? Ah friends, brought down to nothing,
but he wasn't brought down to nothing, was he? He never takes
away our all, himself he gives us still. Ah, friends, underneath
were the everlasting arms that sustained Job. Underneath was
the certainty of the covenant ordered in all things and sure.
Underneath he had this hope, though worms destroy this body.
Ah, though he takes everything away, though he should bring
me down to the grave in sorrow, I know that my Redeemer liveth
and will stand upon the earth in the latter day. Ah, and I
will see him, I will see him. Ah, friends, what glory, what
glory is given unto the Lord. He hath done all things well.
Job, he's taken everything away. He's brought you down to absolute
nothingness. He's removed all your comforts, all your props,
nothing left of your religion. But Job would have to say, you
have done all things well. The Lord has given, the Lord
has taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord. Now, our friends,
you may feel this evening you've got to pray, deal gently with
thy servant. Now, our friends, what a mercy if the Lord hasn't
brought you down to such a place as Job has. We've not all got
the same constitution and the Lord deals with us as individuals.
He may only have needed to touch you in a little way, to have
looked upon you, perhaps some frown, all your comfort gone
in a moment, but you have to hang on to him, you have to cleave
to him, you have to cry unto him. He hath done all things
well. Friends, it's easy, you see,
to give testimony when it can be seen. It's easy to tell forth
and to speak of what Jesus has done when everything's fallen
out okay, when everything's gone well. But our friends, when everything's
turned upside down and when the world says to you, why don't
you give up your religion? How can you really believe in a savior
and a God which brings you into suffering and takes away and
brings you into trouble? And you have to say, yeah, I've
done all things well. Our friends, it's then that he's
glorified. Unbelief won't receive it, but he's glorified. Glorified
in the testimony. Our friends, when his working
is evidently seen, but we might say more glorified. When faith
has to testify, when his working cannot be seen, he hath done
all things well, he's doing all things well. Now, our friends
this evening, to have that testimony in your life. Oh, the Lord knows
what he must bring you into to get that testimony. He knows
what he must bring each one of us into to bring this testimony
forth. But it's a sweet testimony. It's a testimony in which he's
glorified. And it's a testimony which I believe when we're in
our right mind, we would desire to give. Our friends, a religion
of feelings. We want a feeling religion, but
not a religion of feelings. Our friends, we do not want to
live just on those things that are by sight. If your religion
rests upon what it can see and what it can feel, our friends,
you've got a very shallow religion and take away that experience.
As Luther said, experiences come, experiences go. Our friends,
they're deceiving, but this is the rock that never moves. Our
friends, this is a savior that never changes. Jesus Christ,
the same yesterday and today and forever. Our friends, where
are your feet resting this evening? Upon your experience? Upon the
things you can see? Upon the blessings that you know
and that you can count and that you can speak of? Our friends,
are your feet upon the rock? Are you holding on to Jesus Christ,
the same yesterday and today and forever? Can you testify?
Though it cannot be seen, but does faith cry out with it? He
has done all things well. He is doing all things well and
he will do all things well. Our friends are such a difference.
Oh the Lord in the beginning of the way is often pleased to
bless his people with experience, to bless them with sight, to
lead them gently. He leads them gently friends.
He gently carries the lambs in his bosom. He deals gently with
them. But is the Lord beginning to deepen the work? Is he beginning
to teach you where your salvation really is? Beginning to wean
you of those feelings and of those evidences? To make you say, He hath done
all things well. That's what it is to grow ingraciously,
to be weaned from those evidences, to rest alone upon Christ, to
be brought away from those things, to be enabled to say, to believe
against hope, he hath done all things well. Oh, that we might
be seeking that strength, that growth in grace, and in the knowledge
of the Lord, that this might be our testimony concerning the
things we cannot understand, concerning the things we cannot
see, he hath done all things well. That's the third but. Our friends,
it's one thing to glorify him for the things we can see, about
the things we cannot see? What about the things we cannot
understand? Faith says he hath done all things well. The fourth
but we want to come to is this, Jesus charged these that they
should tell no man. Our friends they were charged
that they should tell no man but what of us to whom he said
go into all nations teaching that we baptizing them in the
name of the Father, the Son of the Holy Ghost, and lo, I am
with you always, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever
I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even unto
the end of the world." You may say, why did Jesus charge these
disciples not to say what he'd done, not to go and say, he hath
done all things well? Well, friends, I believe it was
this. The emphasis of Jesus' ministry, you see, was not the
miracles. Oh, these people, they ran and told them about the miracles
and what happened. They followed him for the wrong
reasons. They followed him for the loaves and the fishes. Our
friends, Jesus did not want sounding abroad the miracles. What he
wanted sounded abroad was the gospel. This man saved his sinners. This man received his sinners
and eateth with them, a friend of publicans and sinners. Our
friends, that was what was to be sounded abroad. That was what
to be preached, not the miracles. The miracles were but for a time.
The miracles were not the main substance of Jesus' ministry.
It's not what he came to do to perform miracles. The miracles
were to confirm who he was. Our friends, he wanted the gospel
to go forth. I believe that was the reason why he said to these,
don't speak of the miracles, keep quiet about the miracles.
Our friends, that they might say, he, that the emphasis might
be there, he hath done all things well. But our friends, though
he charged them, they could not keep quiet. He'd done great things
for them, whereof they were glad. The Lord hath done great things
for us, whereof we were glad. This was a day, a day in their
life in which they could say, this is a day the Lord hath made,
we will rejoice and be glad in it. They could not keep quiet.
Oh, as those poor beggars outside Jerusalem, when the siege was
lifted, and they're hungry, they found there was food. Oh, friends,
they said, we do not do well. Oh, and a day of blessing to
keep quiet. And so they would go into the city and noise it
abroad, there was food. in the camp, and the enemy had
gone. Our friends, they could not be kept quiet. Jesus charged
them that they should tell no man, but the more he charged
them, so much the more a great deal they published it, and were
beyond measure astonished, saying, he hath done all things well.
He hath done all things well. Our friends, it seemed as if
they could not keep quiet. How is it disciples of Jesus
today seem to keep so quiet? How is it? Ah friends, he tells
us to let your light shine as in a dark place. He tells his
church to go forth into all nations teaching them, to proclaim to
the ends of the earth that this man saved his sinners, a faithful
saying and worthy of all acceptation that Jesus Christ came into the
world to save sinners of whom I'm chief. Can you keep quiet
this evening about what the Lord has done for you? Can you keep
quiet about what he's done for you in providence? Ah friends,
can you keep quiet about what he's done for you in grace? You
rob him of the glory. Ah, friends, you're hiding that
glory. Oh, if you love him, do you not desire that he should
be known? Ah, friends, do you not have to go with that dear
woman? Come see a man that told me all things whatsoever I did.
Is not this the Christ? Ah, friends, would you not want
to speak this evening of Jesus and what he's done for you? Has
he done great things for you? Ah, friends, if he's only done little
things, well, you might keep quiet about it. Nobody wants
to hear about little things. But what call you? Great, what
call you small things? Sins whole, cancelled some. It
is greater than all things except those to come. Ah, friends, they
could not keep quiet, though Jesus told them to keep quiet.
He tells his church to speak. He tells his people to speak.
Go. Ah, friends, can you keep silent? Do we do well if we keep silent?
Ah, friends, do we do well if we keep back? the testimony to
his glory, of his grace, that great love wherewith he has loved
us, that he spared not himself, but came and suffered and bled
upon the cross at Calvary. Ah, friends, do we do well if
we keep quiet concerning the testimony which the Apostle Paul
could give? Ah, I was blessed to him, a injurious,
a persecutor, but I obtained mercy. Ah, the grace of the Lord
Jesus Christ exceeding abundance. a faithful saint and worthy of
all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners
of whom I'm chief." Now, friends, why is it we keep silent? Because
the Lord's done nothing for us? Because we think more of the
miracles rather than of Him? Now, friends, because we rest
upon sense and the warmth has gone, the feeling has gone, the
occasion has passed? Now, friends, where's faith? looking unto Him, the same yesterday,
today and forever. He's not changed. Did Jesus once
upon thee shine? Then Jesus is forever thine.
Oh, friends, that we may be enabled this evening to truly put the
crown upon the right, on the right head and to be enabled
to speak to His honour and His glory. He hath done all things
well. Oh, friends, to desire to sound
it broad, to desire that it might be known not only in this chapel
this evening in the thanksgiving service, But in this place, he
hath done all things well. Now, friends, the point to him,
then will I tell, says the hymn writer, to sinners round, what
a dear saviour I have found. Our point is, redeem in blood
and say, behold, the way to God. Now, friends, have you got something
to say? Have you got something to speak to his honour and his
glory? Don't hold it back. Now, friends, you rob him of
his glory. He will have his glory. And he knows where to bring you
in order to make you give him the glory. Ah, friends, he may
bring you his job, strip you of everything, that that cry
should be heard going forth from your lips, the Lord gave, the
Lord had taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
Ah, friends, to be more ready, more ready than these who were
charged not to speak of him, yet could not keep silent, to
be more ready, to speak to his honor and his glory and to say,
he, he hath done all things well. And so, friends, these four buds,
Oh, that our thanksgiving this evening might be not about the
harvest, but about him who has given us the harvest. Ah, friends,
that in all things he might have the preeminence, but he hath
done all things well. Ah, friends, that it may not
be the blessing, but the one that has given the blessing,
that it might not be, oh friends, just about providence, not just
about harvest, but about what he's done for us in grace, in
love for our soul, in saving us, from the lowest pit. Oh,
friends, and it might not be just about those things that
are seen, those things that are evident, but we may be enabled
to say concerning those things that are unknown, those things
that we cannot understand, but believe he hath done all things
well. And ah, friends, that we might
not be silent, but that we might sound it loud and clear to the
ends of the earth, he hath done all things well. Amen. After the benediction we will
sing a doxology. Let us now sing together hymn
number 730. The tune is Diadem 130. All hail
the power of Jesus' name. Let angels prostrate fall. Bring forth the royal diadem
and crown him Lord of all. Hymn 730, Tune Diadem 130. Who hailed the power of Jesus'
name? Let angels prostrate fall. Let angels prostrate fall. Recall the loyal piety And crown
him, crown him, crown him Bound him, and crowned him Lord
of all. His souls reclaimed of gentle
rains, He ransomed all the poor, He ransomed all the poor, and
with His Savior by His grace and crown Him, crown Him, crown
Him, crown Him, and crown Him Lord of all. Every kindred, every tribe, throughout
this earthly pore. Throughout this earthly pore. to him, O Majesty, and swine,
and frown him, frown him, frown him, I have found him and crowned
him Lord of all Which through our bitter sacrifice
Now at His feet we're called Now at His feet we're called Everlasting star And round him,
round him, round him go Lord, forgive all that's been
amiss in the worship of thy house this evening. Lord, what poor
creatures we are in giving thee the praise that is due unto thy
most holy name. But Lord, as we leave thy house
this evening, oh, we plead that we might truly be enabled to
say, here, hath done all things well. Oh, that Jesus might have
the glory, and that thou, who has sent thine only begotten
Son, oh, has highly exalted him, and given him a name which is
above every name, the name of Jesus. Every knee should bow,
and every tongue should confess, that Lord, all the glory might
be thine. Part us, Lord, with thy blessing, grant journey and
mercy's homeward. Rest and sleep this night, help, Lord, on thy
day. Be with us to our journey's end, may we prove, Lord. Oh,
the wellness with which thou dost things shall not run out,
but that, Lord, our dying testimony might be, he hath done all things
well. We'd ask it with a forgiveness
of our every sin, for Jesus Christ's sake. Now may the grace of the
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, the
fellowship and the communion of the Holy Spirit, rest and
abide with us each, both now and for evermore. Amen. For our doxology, we will sing
the last verse of hymn 220. The tune is Celeste 736. This God is the God we adore,
our faithful unchangeable friend, whose love is as large as his
power and neither knows measure nor end. It is Jesus, the first
and the last, whose spirit shall guide us safe home. We'll praise
him for all that is past and trust him for all that's to come. The last verse of hymn 220 Tune
Celeste 736. This God is the God we adore, A faithful, unchangeable
friend, God as His crown, and I am a
section of Him. If Jesus, the first and the last, We'll praise Him for all that
He's bought, And trust Him for all that He's bought.