will preach here next Lord's
Day at 10.30 and 2 o'clock. Also on Thursday evening at 7
o'clock. There will be no prayer meeting
on Tuesday evening and tomorrow it is Hanover Chapel, Tunbridge
Wells anniversary service when pastor is expected to preach
at 6.30. There will be a church meeting
here on Tuesday the 2nd of September. Let us commence our services
by singing together hymn number 102. The tune is Darwall's 537. Come raise your thankful voice,
ye souls redeemed with blood. Leave earth and all its toys,
and mix no more with mud. Dearly we're brought, highly
esteemed, redeemed, with Jesus' blood redeemed. Hymn 102, tune
Darwall's 537. Whom you should idolize, He shall
greet thee with love. With earth and God its hoist
above, Make circle with me, mildly with hope. I beseech thee, bring me with
Jesus love, Christians of Israel hail, O
God of America, And think on, now, the things
that Thou, O Lord, art man. Blessed be he with Jesus' blood
to drink. With heart and soul and mind,
acts of redeeming love. Be proudly kept behind, and set
your minds at rest. still they will go. High in the
air, still they will go. High in the air, still they will go. High in the air, still they will
go. High in the air, still they will go. High in the air, still they will go. High
in the air, still they will go. High in the air, still they will go. High
in the air, still they will go. High in the air, still they will
go. High in the air, still they will go. High in the air, still they will go.
High in the air, still they will go. High in the air, still they will go.
High in the air, still they will go. High in the air, still they will go. High in the air,
still they will go. High in the air, still they will go. High in the air, still they
will go. High in the air, still they will go. High in the air,
still they will go. High in the air, still they will go. High in the
air, still they Lift up your rabbit eyes, and
hear their glory say, of the world in his sight, he
saved him, sons of heav'n. Till he with hope I beseech thee, redeem me with
Jesus' blood. Redeem me. Be to this poor man's death ? And I'm too glad to part ? ?
That life in Christ is here ? ? Which soon shall call us home ? Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God in the book of Deuteronomy and chapter 11. Deuteronomy chapter 11. Therefore thou shalt love the
Lord thy God, and keep his charge, and his statutes, and his judgments,
and his commandments always. and know ye this day, for I speak
not with your children which have not known, and which have
not seen the chastisement of the Lord your God, his greatness,
his mighty hand, and his stretched out arm, his miracles, and his
acts which he did in the midst of Egypt unto Pharaoh, the king
of Egypt, and unto all his land. And what he did unto the army
of Egypt, unto their horses and to their chariots, how he made
the water of the Red Sea to overflow them as they pursued after you. And how the Lord hath destroyed
them unto this day. And what he did unto you in the
wilderness until ye came into this place. And what he did unto
Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, the son of Reuben, how
the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them up, and their
houses, households and their tents, and all the substance
that was in their possession in the midst of all Israel. But
your eyes have seen all the great acts of the Lord which he did. Therefore shall ye keep all the
commandments which I command you this day, that you may be
strong and go in and possess the land whither you go to possess
it, and that you may prolong your days in the land which the
Lord swear unto your fathers to give unto them and to their
seed a land that floweth with milk and honey. For the land
whither thou goest in to possess it is not as the land of Egypt
from whence she came out, where thou sowest thy seed and waterest
it with thy foot as a garden of herbs. But the land, whither
ye go to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh
water of the rain of heaven, which the Lord thy God careth
for. The eyes of the Lord thy God
are always upon it from the beginning of the year even unto the end
of the year, and it shall come to pass If ye shall hearken diligently
unto my commandments, which I command you this day, to love the Lord
your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your
soul, then I will give you the rain of your land in due season,
the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather
in thy corn and thy wine and thine oil. And I will send grass
in thy fields for thy cattle that thou mayest eat and be full.
Take heed to yourselves that your heart be not deceived, and
ye turn aside and serve other gods and worship them. And then
the Lord's wrath be kindled against you, and ye shut up the heaven,
that there be no rain, and that the land yield not her fruit,
lest ye perish quickly from off the good land which the Lord
giveth you. Shall ye allow these my words
in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon
thy hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes.
And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when
thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the
way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. thou
shalt write them upon the posts of thine house and upon thy gates
that your days may be multiplied and the days of your children
in the land which the Lord swear unto your fathers to give them
as the days of heaven upon the earth. For if ye shall diligently
keep all these commandments which I command you to do them to love
the Lord your God to walk in all his ways and to cleave unto
him, then will the Lord drive out all these nations from before
you, and ye shall possess greater nations and mightier than yourselves. Every place whereon the sole
of your feet shall tread shall be yours, from the wilderness
and Lebanon, from the river Euphrates, even unto the uttermost sea shall
your coast be. There shall no man be able to
stand before you, for the Lord your God shall lay the fear of
you and the dread of you upon all the land that ye may tread
upon as he hath said unto you. Behold, I set before you this
day a blessing and a curse, a blessing if you obey the commandments
of the Lord your God, which I command you this day. and to curse if
ye will not obey the commandments of the Lord your God. But turn
aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other
gods which ye have not known. And it shall come to pass when
the Lord thy God hath brought thee in unto the land, whether
thou goest to possess it, that thou shalt put the blessing upon
Mount Gerizim and the curse upon Mount Ebal. Are they not on the
other side Jordan by the way where the sun goeth down in the
land of the Canaanites which dwell in the Champagne over against
Gilgal beside the plains of Moray? For ye shall pass over Jordan
to go in to possess the land which the Lord your God giveth
you and ye shall possess it and dwell therein. and you shall
observe to do all the statutes and judgments which I set before
you this day. May the Lord bless the reading
of his own precious word and grant unto us a spirit of real
prayer. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty,
which is an art, not to come. We bow before thy glorious majesty,
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and we desire to worship thee. There is one God and one mediator
between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. And, O Lord, we
come to thee in his name. We cannot, Lord, come in our
own name, for all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags, and we're
all as an unclean thing. But we thank Thee that we can
come in the name of Jesus Christ. This is the name the Father loves
to hear His children plead, and all such pleadings He approves
when offered in His name. Oh, we do thank Thee, O Lord,
There is this foundation that has been laid in Zion and that
the Lord Jesus has said, upon this rock, I build my church
and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. So Lord,
we come and plead the precious blood and the righteousness of
our Lord Jesus Christ. His blood that cleanses from
all sin. his righteousness that covers
our nakedness. And we desire to bow in thanksgiving
before thy glorious majesty, that there is a way that has
been made. And that Jesus said, I am the way, the truth and the
life. No man cometh unto the Father, but by me. Lord, we pray that they always
remember us as a church and as a congregation. that thou wouldst
bless us together, and that thou wouldst unite us together in
thy fear, that we may truly love each other, serve each other,
bear each other's burdens, thereby fulfilling the law of Christ.
While our days on earth are lengthened, may we give them Lord to thee,
and may we be enabled to present our bodies a living sacrifice
holy and acceptable unto God, which is our reasonable service,
and that we be not conformed to this world, but may we be
transformed by the renewing of our mind, that we might know
what that good and perfect and acceptable will of the Lord is. We pray, most gracious Lord,
that thou wouldst bless our brethren, the deacons, and give them needed
grace, wisdom and help in all their responsibilities both here
and elsewhere. We pray that thou would remember
each one of our brethren and sisters in church fellowship
and help us to pray for one another and to bear one another's burdens,
thereby fulfilling the law of Christ. That we may have the
unfeigned love of the brethren, we do humbly beseech thee. We
pray that thou wouldst deliver us from the temptations of Satan,
who is the separator of the brethren. We pray, O Lord, that whether
he comes as a roaring lion to devour or as an angel of light
to deceive, we pray to be delivered from his power and from his influence. And we pray for the mighty power
of the Holy Ghost to be present with us today. and that the word
spoken may be in power in the Holy Ghost and with much assurance,
and that we might have that assurance with the Spirit sealing thy word
into our hearts, we do humbly beseech thee. We pray, most gracious
Lord, that thou wouldst richly bless the little ones and the
children as they are brought into the sanctuary, The fear
of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom, may be given unto
them. We pray that thou wouldst remember the young friends, remember
them with the favour that thou bearest unto thy people, and
visit them with thy great salvation. Bring them each to living, vital,
saving faith in Jesus Christ. Remember the prodigals that have
wandered away, and stretch out thy almighty arm. Cause them
to be in one. and cause them to return. Lord,
this is the work of thy mighty grace, and we pray that we may
be favoured to see and what rejoicing there would be. We pray, O Lord,
that the light and glory and power of gospel truth may shine
into this village and the surrounding villages and hamlets. Many, many,
many precious souls may be gathered unto Christ. and gathered into
this sanctuary, that this little house of prayer may be filled
with hungry, longing souls pressing into the kingdom of heaven. Lord,
so bless us as a church and as a congregation. Will thou not
revive us again, O Lord, and may bear thine holy arm and fulfil
those wonderful gospel promises. I will bring thy sons from far
and thy daughters from the ends of the earth and that shall come
from the north and from the south and from the east and from the
west. Lord, let thy work appear unto thy servants and thy glory
unto their children. We do humbly beseech thee that
instead of a decline that we may see a building up, a reviving,
a renewing, a replenishing. Lord, there is nothing too hard
for thee. Indeed, thou art able to do abundantly
more than we can even ask or think. May we remember the words
of the hymn writer, thou art coming to a king, large petitions
with thee bring, for his grace and power as such, none can ever
ask too much. Oh Lord, we do pray that we may
keep our eyes on Jesus' face, that we may lay aside every weight
and the sin that does so easily beset us, and run with patience
the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author
and finisher of our faith. Lord, enable us so to do day
by day. We do humbly beseech of thee. Lord, we pray for all in the
midst of the journey of life that they may know thy blessing
and thy divine help, especially parents, Lord, give wisdom and
grace. We do humbly pray thee to bring
up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Pray
that those be with those of us in the evening time of life's
journey and prepare us for that great change which must come.
We do humbly beseech thee. Lord, we pray that at the appointed
time we may be given abundant entrance into thy heavenly kingdom. We pray that the sacred promises
of God, that our yay and amen in Christ Jesus may be made living
and powerful in our hearts. We pray to be made more spiritually
minded. Remember all thy servants as
they labour in word and doctrine today upon the walls of Zion
and set them free and set them at liberty. O Lord, we beseech
thee, grant mighty signs and wonders to follow the preaching
of the word. We pray thee, the great Lord
of the harvest, to send true labourers into the harvest and
to build the walls of Jerusalem. Lord, we do pray that thou would
remember those that go from among our churches to preach the word
among the nations of the earth. We pray especially for the Mombasa
mission and thy rich blessing to rest upon them there. We pray,
O Lord, that thou wouldst grant great success at gathering unto
thee. We pray thy blessing, O Lord,
upon this Savannah Education Trust and that great work that
they're doing in Ghana. O Lord, do bless these things
to the great glory of thy name and the increase of thy kingdom.
Pray, most gracious God, that thou wouldst remember Ian Sadler
and that great work that he does in so many different places.
Lord, supply all their needs, we humbly pray thee. We pray,
O Lord, for our government, that wisdom and guidance and direction
may be given to those that lead us. We live in deeply solemn
and dark days, when iniquity abounds on every hand. and Lord,
and for a large part, the ungodly rule over us. And we pray that
thou would graciously grant guidance and direction, bless our King
and the royal household with that rich grace that is in Christ
Jesus we do humbly beseech thee. We pray for all in trouble or
trial or perplexity, sorrow, sadness, bereavement, that thou
wouldst help and support and sustain. We pray, O Lord, for
those in affliction, that they may know thy healing hand and
thy supporting mercy. Help us to bear one another's
burdens. We thank thee for every mercy
of thy kind providence, but we thank thee above all for the
wonderful glories of Jesus Christ and the incarnation of the Son
of God. the holy life he lived and the
holy law he fulfilled bringing in everlasting righteousness
for his people. We thank thee for the holy sacrifice
of Calvary where sin has been put away and divine justice has
been satisfied and we thank thee that he died for our sins and
rose again for our justification. and has bodily ascended into
heaven, and that we have a great high priest. Lord, we thank thee
for those wonderful words of the poet, "'Tis he instead of
me is seen when I approach to God." Hear us, Lord, and be with
us now as we turn to thy word, and come and touch one's lips
with the live coal from off the heavenly altar, and make up in
giving where we do so failing us, as we ask with the forgiveness
of all sin, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. Let us now sing together hymn
number 851. The tune is Elvet 135. When filthy passions or unjust
Professors' minds control, When men give up the reins to lust,
An interest weighs the whole. Hymn 851, Tune Elvet 135. ? O Christmas, I love thee ? ?
Where'er ye walk, where'er ye see a ghost ? ? Fall in the shade of a tree ? ? O'er ev'ry stream and gales ?
? To thee be glory ? ? Glory be ? ? In the depths of the world's troubled sea ? ? And shine the hill of gold ?
? The great, great sun in the west ? ? It comes to glory ?
? The righteousness of God's righteousness
? ? And truth may prosper forevermore ? His righteous name with all its
mercy I can now call dear to me. ? Virtue and grace, God, are different
? ? Are not equal to one another ? Salvation changes from ashes,
Shepherds, we love thee so. ? Oh, listen to the angels singing
in the sky ? O say does that star-spangled
banner yet wave O'er the land of the free Greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, direct your attention to the chapter that we read,
the 11th chapter of the book of Deuteronomy, and we'll read
verse 18 for our text. Deuteronomy chapter 11, verse
18. Therefore shall ye lay up these
my words in your hearts, and in your soul and bind them for
a sign upon your hands that they may be as frontlets between your
eyes. My words, the word of the Lord,
the word of the eternal God of heaven. The apostle says this
is the word by which the gospel is preached unto you, called
the word of His grace, even the grace of our Lord and Saviour,
Jesus Christ. Therefore shall ye love these,
my words, in your heart and in your soul. The name given to this book,
Deuteronomy, comes from the Septuagint which was the Greek translation of the Old Testament
that was in general use when Christ was here upon the earth. And our Lord Jesus Christ often
quotes from the Septuagint in his discourses. Septuagint means
the 70, and there were 70 scholars Hebrew-Greek scholars that met
in Alexandria in Egypt and they translated the Old Testament
from the Hebrew into the Greek. And as I say our Lord Jesus Christ
often quoted the Septuagint in his teachings. The word Deuteronomy
is Greek for the second law. It doesn't mean a complete reiteration
of the law of God as in the Ten Commandments. But Moses, he goes
through the history of the children of Israel and their deliverance
from Egypt. We read a bit in the beginning
of this chapter. And the great burden of Deuteronomy
is obedience and right the way through the whole book that there
is a constant and a continual emphasis on obedience to the
word of God. And of course Deuteronomy is
part of what is called the book of the law. The book of the law,
you have the law of the Ten Commandments but then the book of the law
which it speaks of often in scripture it covers the first five books
of the holy scriptures what are called the five books of Moses and that is often termed the
law and it's all the what Moses wrote
those five books under the divine inspiration of the spirit of
God so you have the book of the law which is the first five books
and then afterwards you have the historical books of the Bible
right through the prophets or right through the chronicles
and the kings it's the history of the children of Israel Israel
and Judah as they separated but it's their history These are
the children of God, the chosen of the Lord, and he had a special
favour to the Israelites. And then when we get to the book
of Job, then you have the poetical books of the Holy Scriptures. So Job and Ecclesiastes and Solomon's
Song, the Proverbs, they're all considered to be the poetical
books of the Bible. Of course the one that stands
out, such beautiful poetry, and the Jewish fathers always called
the Song of Solomon the Holy of Holies of the Scripture. The
reason being, and indeed many godly Puritans called it the
Holy of Holies of the Scripture. It's the most beautiful poetry,
as it says, the song of songs which is Solomon's. It's the
song of songs, just like we say the king of kings. It's the most
beautiful poetry ever written. And it regards the sacred, precious,
divine union between Christ and the church. That mystical union
between Christ and his church. whom he loved with an everlasting
love, whom he redeemed and delivered from sin and Satan's power, and
brought them into the land of promise, into heaven itself. Let not your heart be troubled,
you believe in God, said Jesus, believe also in me. In my Father's
house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have
told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place
for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself that
where I am, there you may be also. Then after the poetical
books, the final one being the Song of Solomon, we have the
prophets. First it's the major prophets. Really called major because of
the size of those prophecies. of Isaiah and Jeremiah and Ezekiel. And that takes us right through
the Minor Prophets up to the close of the Old Testament. These are what are known as canonical
books. They're part of divine inspiration
and always were received as such, as a part of divine inspiration,
the Word of God. And then of course we have the
New Testament of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And what I would like to emphasize
as we're looking here in the Book of the Law is that we look
at it in the light of the New Testament of our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ and the precious words that are spoken that we
look at in the light of the New Testament. of the teachings of
our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and the teachings of the Apostles.
What we see in the New Testament is the fulfilling of the Law
and of all that the Prophets have spoken. Therefore shall ye lay up these
my words in your heart and in your soul and bind them for a
sign upon your hand that they may be as frontless between thine
eyes. My words. This, my beloved friends,
this blessed book, the Bible, we believe that the authorised
version is the most accurate of the translations in the English
language. And the Lord has richly blessed
it over these past centuries. But we believe it's divinely
inspired. We read and when Paul writes
his epistle to Timothy, his own son in the faith, he speaks to
Timothy of how he had known the scriptures from his youth. So
what we find in the third chapter of the second epistle to Timothy,
the apostle, he says to Timothy, verse 14, but continue thou in
the things which thou hast learned, and hast been assured of, knowing
of whom thou hast learned them, that from a child thou hast known
the holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation
through faith, which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given
by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for
reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness
that the man of God may be perfect and truly furnished under all
good works. You see, all scripture is given
by inspiration of God. It's divinely inspired by the
spirit of the living God. And I think it's the Apostle
Peter, isn't it? in his second epistle he speaks
there also of the word of God and he says in the second epistle
in the first chapter from verse 15 moreover I will endeavor that
you may be able after my decease to have these things always in
remembrance he's speaking of the writings for we have not
followed cunningly devised fables when we made known unto you the
power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ but eyewitnesses
of his majesty for he received from God the Father honour and
glory when there came such a voice he's now referring to when he
and John and James were in the Mount of Transfiguration He received
from God the Father honour and glory. When there came such a
voice to him from the excellent glory, this is my beloved Son
in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from
heaven we heard when we were with him in the holy mount. I
always find this quite amazing. They directly heard the voice
of the Father speaking to the Son. This is my beloved Son, whom
I am well pleased. We have also a more sure word
of prophecy. We speak in here of the Holy
Scriptures. We have also a more sure word
of prophecy. Whereunto ye do well, that ye
take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until
the day dawn and the day star arise in your hearts. knowing
this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private
interpretation. For the prophecy came not in
old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as
they were moved by the Holy Ghost. You know, in our universities,
we have doctors of divinity, professors of divinity, and Probably
most of them would tell you that the Bible contains the Word of
God. And you know friends, that is
such a deception. According to what we've just
read together, the Bible is the Word of God. And the epitre says,
the Word of the Lord which liveth and abideth forever. It is the eternal word of the
eternal God. Therefore shall you lay up these
my words in your heart and in your soul and bind them for a
sign upon your hand that they may be as frontlets between your
eyes. It was said of John Bunyan, and
it's true when you read the Pilgrim's Progress and you read the other
books that Bunyan wrote, prick him anywhere and he bleeds scripture. And that is so true. We must prove everything from
Holy Scripture. We're not left to our fancies
and our imagination, or wonderful and profound experiences. We
have the Word of God. And whatever doctrine we speak
of, whatever precepts we speak of, it must be from the Word
of God. Therefore shall ye lay up these
my words. Now there's an emphasis here
in your heart and in your soul. Now that is so vital. It's not in the head. I've often
quoted Joseph Short from Chippenham preaching at Peacock Chapel.
It's the only time I ever heard him preach and this I never forgot. If all you have is above your
collar, if all the religion you have is above your collar, you'll
go to hell. What does it mean? It means if
you only have the word in your head, in your intellect, we need
it in our heart, my beloved friends. We need the word of God sealed
into our heart by the Holy Ghost, by the power of the Spirit of
God, The Apostle in the Corinthians, he says, not written with pen
and ink, nor graven on tablets of stone,
but by the finger of the living God upon the fleshy tables of
the heart. That's what we need, that sealing
of the spirit and the word of the Lord written into our hearts.
Therefore shall you lay up these my words in your hearts. and in your soul and bind them
for a sign upon your hand that they may be frontless between
your eyes. You know when the Lord was speaking
to Joshua, when Joshua was sent to lead the children of Israel
over the river Jordan when Moses passed, what do we read? the Lord commissioned to Joshua
in the first chapter of the book of Joshua. He says in verse 6,
Be strong and of a good courage for unto this people shalt thou
divide for an inheritance of the land which I swear unto their
fathers to give them. Only be thou strong and very
courageous that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law
which Moses my servant commanded thee. Turn not from it to the
right hand or to the left that thou mayest prosper with us wherever
thou goest. This book of the law shall not
depart out of thy mouth. And this is what I was referring
to earlier. It's not just the Ten Commandments,
this book of the law, which is the first five books of Holy
Scripture. This book of the law shall not
depart out of thy mouth. We look at it, my beloved friends,
we have the complete revelation of the mind and will of God in
the Old and New Testament. So we look at it in the light
of the whole of scripture, in the light of the fulfilling of
the law in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, in the light
of the sacred sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. That's what we look at it in
that light. Not in the legal sense of the word, but in the
gospel sense of the word. This book of the law, this This
Word of God shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt
meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do
according to all that is written therein. For then thou shalt make thy
way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. You see, this Book of the Law,
this Word of God, what we have in our text, Therefore, Shelley,
lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul and bind
them for a sign upon your hand that they may be as frontlets
between your eyes. And you shall teach them your
children. This is again the direction unto the children of Israel,
but it's the direction unto Christian parents too. And ye shall teach
them your children, speaking of them, when thou sittest in
thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down,
when thou risest up, thou shalt write them upon the doorposts
of thine house, and upon thy gates, that your days may be
multiplied in the days of your children in the land which the
Lord swear unto your fathers to give them as the days of heaven. You see, It's always struck me
in this chapter there's something very beautiful in verses 10,
11 and 12. For the land whither thou goest
in to possess it is not as the land of Egypt from whence she
came out where thou sowest thy seed and waterest with thy foot
as a garden of herbs. Now the Egyptians had a very
intricate irrigation system And so when they grew their crops,
they used to have a man on a paddle, and he would be constantly paddling,
and that paddle would push the water up along the channels of
water to water the crops. It was done by their own effort
and by their own power. But he says, if the land whither
thou goest in possess it, is not as the land of Egypt. When
thou camest out, and where thou sowest thy seed, and waterest
it with thy foot, as a garden of herbs but the land where the
ye go to possess it is a land of hills and valleys and drinketh
water of the rain of heaven. What's it saying? It's all of
grace. Not by works of righteousness
that I have done but according to the wonderful grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ. A land which and drinketh the
water of the rain of heaven. You think of the Church of God
and the water that is spoken of, the rain of heaven. It's
the Holy Ghost. It's the Holy Ghost and this
is spoken of here in the book of Deuteronomy. If I have known
correctly, chapter 32. Give ear, 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, when the Holy Spirit takes it
and powerfully applies it to the heart of a poor sinner, the
Holy Spirit again and again and again is continually referred
to in Holy Scripture as living water. Indeed that beautiful, I always
feel it's such a beautiful reference in the last chapter of Holy Scripture
of the doctrine of the Trinity. And what he says there, and he
showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding
out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. The throne of God
is the eternal Father, the Lamb is the Son of God, and the river
is the Holy Ghost. There is a river, the streams
whereof shall make glad the city of God, the dwelling places of
the Most High. My doctrine shall distill as
the dew, as the rain. See the wonderful truth of God,
poured into the heart by the Holy Ghost. And this is the emphasis,
friends, in our text. Therefore shall ye allow these
my words in your heart and in your soul and bind them for a
sign upon your hand that they may be as frontlets between your
eyes. You know, just like the Lord
spoke to Joshua, we are to be constantly, continually reading
the holy scriptures of truth, prayerfully. I think it's Joseph
Hart in one of his hymns, he's speaking of the word of truth,
the wonderful word of God. He says, join prayer with each
inspection. Ask the Lord to open the truth
of God unto your heart, unto your understanding. Just as the
Apostle says when he writes to the Ephesians, the eyes of your
understanding being enlightened, being enlightened. David in Psalm
119, he says, let thy word be a lamp unto my feet and a light
unto my path. And you know, that's what the
Lord makes, the word of God to his children, a lamp unto my
feet. and a light unto our path, to
guide us, to direct us. You know, I think it's in the
prophecy of Isaiah, if they speak not according to my word, it
is because there is no light in them. Everything must be according
to the word of God. Therefore, shall ye let these
my words in your heart. That's the emphasis here. in
your heart and in your soul and bind them for a sign upon thy
hand that they may be as frontlets between thine eyes. When I was
sitting reading yesterday, my mind was very much drawn to the
discourse of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. The Sermon on the
Mount in the Gospel according to Matthew and how the Lord Jesus
speaks the Word of God to us. Chapter 5, 6 and 7. And he gives us that clear teaching. And he speaks to his disciples
here. And he says in verse 13, you
are the salt of the earth. But if the sort have lost this
savour, wherewith shall it be sorted? It is thenceforth good
for nothing but to be cast out and to be trodden underfoot of
men. Ye are the light of the world.
A city that is set upon a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men
light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick,
and it giveth light. unto all that are in the house.
You see, the word of the Lord gives us light. We have the light
of God's truth. And when that light shines into
our heart, into our soul, it says, let your light. You're not to hide that light
under a bushel. Let your light so shine before
men. You know, friends, there's a
very sad reflection Among our churches, in the sense
that some people are, what I would say, very monastic. You might
say, what do you mean? Well, the monks shut themselves
away. And they won't have anything
to do with anyone because they think they'll be more holy by
doing that. But some of our people are like that. Shut themselves
away, cut themselves off from everybody, have nothing to do
with anybody, otherwise we'll be defiled. You know friends,
that's not the teaching of Christ. We're to go into the world, we're
to be in the world but not of the world. And for your light to shine you
must be in the world but not of the world. You must be fruitful
unto every good work and word and way. Let your light so shine
before men they may see your good works and glorify your father
which is in heaven is to the glory of his name you know there's
this attitude well we'll give to this person but we're not
give to that person but because well that they're not living
right they're not doing the right thing so we won't have anything
to do with them and we certainly wouldn't give them anything that's
not the teaching of Christ it wasn't the work that Christ did
we're exhorted to do good unto all men especially the household
of faith and then we have here the teachings of our lord jesus
think not that i'm come to destroy the law or the prophets i've
not come to destroy but to fulfill for verily i say unto you till
heaven and earth pass one jot or one tissue shall in no wise
pass from the law till all be fulfilled. Of course that was
done in the glorious person of our Lord Jesus Christ in his
holy life. The law was fulfilled and honoured
and magnified in the holy life of our Lord Jesus Christ. He
did no sin. Sin is any transgression of the
law of God. He did no sin. Neither was guile
found in his mouth. Spotless innocent and pure, our
great Redeemer stood. He did. He did no sin. You see, and he goes on to speak
of the law, whosoever therefore shall break one of these least
commandments, he's speaking of the law, and shall teach men
so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven. But
whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called
great in the kingdom of heaven. See these my words for I say
unto you that except your righteousness exceed the righteousness of the
scribes and Pharisees you shall in no case enter the kingdom
of heaven. What does he mean by that? Well
that the scribes and Pharisees their righteousness was their
own personal fulfilling of the law of God. They fancied that
they fulfilled the law of God in their lives every day, the
Pharisees in particular. But the Lord Jesus, he speaks
here of the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. He
said, except your righteousness exceed the righteousness of the
scribes and Pharisees. You shall in no case enter the
kingdom of heaven. What does he mean? What is the
righteousness that exceeds the righteousness of the scribes
and Pharisees? It's the righteousness of Jesus
Christ. That's the righteousness he's
speaking of. And that is what the true believer receives by
faith. It's that glorious everlasting
robe of the righteousness of Jesus Christ. That exceeds the
righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. not by works of
righteousness that I have done. Paul writes to Titus, not by
works of righteousness that I have done, but according to his abundant
mercy. Where? In Jesus Christ. That
mercy flows through Jesus Christ. That mercy of God flows through
the perfect holy life of Jesus Christ and through the sacred
holy sacrifice Jesus Christ. That's where the mercy of God
flows from and that is the righteousness that exceeds the righteousness
of the scribes and Pharisees. You see my beloved friends, the
Lord Jesus, He speaks these things for our instruction. He says in verse 43 of Matthew
5, You have heard that it had been said, Thou shalt love thy
neighbor and hate thine enemy. I say unto you, these are the
words of our Lord Jesus Christ of the New Testament, but I say
unto you love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good
to them that hate you and pray for them that despitefully use
you and persecute you. You don't cut people off, you
don't ostracize people because they're doing this or they're
doing that, that's absolutely the opposite to what our Lord
Jesus Christ teaches us. I say unto you, love your enemies,
bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and
pray for them that despitefully use you, and persecute you, that
ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven. For
he maketh his Son, this is the mind of Christ, and this is the
spirit of the Father, for he maketh his Son to rise on the
evil and on the good. and sendeth rain on the just
and the unjust. For if ye love them that love
you, what reward have ye? Do not even the publicans the
same? And if ye salute your brethren
only, what do ye more than others? Do not even the publicans so?
Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father in heaven is. That's the standard. Now, we
have to say with David in Psalm 139, when we look at the standard,
the standard is the glorious person of Jesus Christ, his holy
life, his perfect obedience. You see encapsulated in the person
of the Lord Jesus Christ, the law fulfilled, thou shalt love
the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy mind, and
thy neighbour as thyself. That's Christ. That's exactly
what he did. He went about doing good. He
healed the sick. He bound up the broken hearted.
That's what we should do. That's what we should do. Literally. As the Lord enables us. Not despise
people. Not ostracize people. Not say
we'll be defiled if we Go along with such things as that. It's
not a question of going along with it. It's a question of the
spirit that you and I are of. You think of the love and the
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. I think we quoted it on Thursday
evening. You know the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, for your sakes, he
became poor. And the other thing, my beloved
friends, in the chapter 6 here, he gives us some very clear words
of direction. Take heed that you do not your
arms before men to be seen of them, otherwise you have no reward
of your father which is in heaven. We're not to do things to be
seen of men. No. Therefore, when thou doest thine
alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites
do in the synagogues and the streets, that they may have glory
of men. Verily I say unto you, they have
their reward. But when thou doest thine alms,
let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth. That thine
alms may be in secret, and thy father which seeth in secret
himself shall reward thee. you see the Lord will and then
he gives us direction here in verse 5 of chapter 6 when thou
prayest that thou shalt not be as the
hypocrites are for they love to stand praying in the synagogue
and in the corners of the streets that they may be seen of men
my beloved friends is your religion to be seen of men Do you come
to chapel to be seen of men? So that, oh, they're in their
place, in their... You see, my beloved friends, just to be seen
of men. That's a solemn thing if our religion is just to be
seen of men. When thou prayest, thou shalt
not be as the hypocrites are. For they love to pray standing
in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that
they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, they have
their reward. But when thou prayest, enter
into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy
Father which is in secret, and thy Father which seeth in secret
shall reward thee openly. These are the wonderful words
of our Lord Jesus Christ and his divine direction to his people. but when you pray use not vain
repetitions as the heathen do for they think that they shall
be heard for much speaking be not ye therefore like unto them
for your father knoweth what things ye have need of before
ye ask him he knows what things you have need of then after this
manner therefore pray ye our father which art in heaven hallowed
be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth as
it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread
and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors and lead
us not into temptation but deliver us from evil for thine is the
kingdom and the power and the glory forever amen. Then we have
this clear gospel precept, my commandment If ye love me, keep
my commandments. For if ye forgive men their trespasses,
your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if ye forgive
not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your
trespasses. I've always found that an exceedingly
certain word. It is, isn't it? Oh that the
Lord would give us that spirit and mind of Christ. You might
say, what is the spirit and mind of Christ? In the midst of all
his terrible sufferings. In the agony on the cross of
Calvary. Father, forgive them. For they know not what they do. Oh that the Lord would give us
this spirit and this mind of Christ. I know these things,
my beloved friends, are very searching, they're very separating,
but it is the word of the Lord. He says here in verse 19 of chapter
6, lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth
and rust are corrupt, where thieves break through and steal, but
lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven. where neither moth
nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through
nor steal, for where your treasure is there will your heart be also.
The light of the body is the eye. If therefore thine eye be
single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine
eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore
the light, and this is an exceedingly solemn word, If therefore the
light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness. Oh that the Lord would grant
that these things may search our hearts. Again he goes on,
no man can serve two masters, verse 24, for either he will
hate the one and love the other or else he will hold to the one
and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon, Now listen to these words, and
they're hard for poor, fallen human nature to accept. Therefore
I say unto you, take no thought for your life, what you shall
eat, or what you shall drink, nor yet for your body, what you
shall put on, is not the life more than meat, and the body
more than raiment. Behold the fowls of the air,
they neither sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns,
yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are you not much better
than they? Which of you, by taking thought, can add one cubit to
his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider
the lilies of the field, how they grow, they toe not, they
spin not, and yet I say unto you that even Solomon in all
his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God
so clothed the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow
is cast into the earth, Shall it not much more clothe you,
O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, say,
what shall we eat? Or what shall we drink? Or wherewithal
shall we be clothed? For after all these things do
the Gentiles seek for your heavenly Father, knowing of need of all
these things. I remember that word was breathed
into my very soul on one occasion. very sweetly and very blessed
in a time of great need for your heavenly father, knowing that
you have need of all these things, but seek he first the kingdom
of God and his righteousness and all these things that all
providential things shall be added unto you. Then this final
verse in chapter six, take therefore no thought for tomorrow. For
the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself, sufficient
unto the day is the evil thereof. You see, my beloved friends,
these things are written for our instruction in the way of
righteousness and of truth. Therefore, shall ye lay out these
my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for
a sign upon your hand. that they may be as frontlets
between your eyes. Be ye therefore perfect as your
Father. You know, friends, we have to
say again with David, don't we? It is I. I cannot attain unto
it. But we mustn't lower the standard.
This is the standard. The teachings of Christ are the
standard of how we are to live and how we are to behave ourselves.
And anything contrary to that is wrong. Therefore, she'll allow these
my words in your heart and in your soul and bind them for a
sign upon your hand that they may be as frontlets between your
eyes. May the Lord add his blessing. Let us now sing together hymn
number 852. The tune is Avon, number 4. Vain man to boastful bear, The
knowledge in thy head, The sacred scriptures this declare, Faith
without works is dead. Hymn 852, tune Avon, number 4.
? Now and for evermore is true
? ? The glory in the highest ? ? The strength that's within ? ? The strength within us ? ? Joyful hymns of joyful hymns
of joyful hymns of joy ? When Christ the Judge shall come,
to Bethlehem bring His tomb, Fill you my feet with righteousness,
and set my world in you. Her tender heart we give, each
day of every day. ? Till for the right ? ? He took
me in ? ? And made his heart to deal ? ? Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah,
ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah,
ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah,
ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah,
ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah,
ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah,
ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ? Will my God have me new? ? ?
Will Mary have the Lord His own? ? ? And hear our teachings speak
? ? O ever-present grace ? Look up
at people's eyes. It's time to answer, tell them
lies. ? Thou may we be thine. ? ? Thou art an endless shrine, ? ? Behold
the cross from where ? ? The sin and woe ? ? Have burned for
life ? ? And in the death ? Now may the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ, and the love of God the Father, and the sacred
fellowship of the Holy Spirit, rest and abide with us each. Amen.