The notices for the week. If the Lord will, Pastor will
preach next Lord's Day at 10.30 and 2 o'clock. Mr James Gudgeon
will preach on Thursday evening at 7 o'clock. And there will
be a prayer meeting on Tuesday evening at 7 o'clock. May the Lord help us to commence
our worship today with hymn number 396 to the tune Salvatore 652. Could the creatures help or ease
us? Seldom should we think of prayer. Few, if any, come to Jesus till
reduced to self-despair. Long we either slight or doubt
him. But when all the means we try
prove we cannot do without Him, then at last to Him we cry. Hymn 396, tune Salvatore 652. O come, all ye faithful, joyful
and triumphant O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant Many come to teach us their rejuice
to self-destruct. Long behind us, while you're
doubting, When all the means we try Prove
we cannot do without Him Then at last to Him we cry To a ground of distress will
lead the venture On His mighty name that his love is still the same. And his preaching, for his power,
shall for thee do pray in vain. Wake up, disanointed hour, and
thy truth thou shalt forsake. May the Lord help us to read
in his holy word from the Gospel according to Matthew and the
eighth chapter. The Gospel according to Matthew,
reading chapter eight. When he was come down from the
mountain, great multitudes followed him. And behold, there came a
leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst
make me clean. And Jesus put forth his hand
and touched him, saying, I will, be thou clean. And immediately
his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus saith unto him, see
thou tell no man, but go thy way, show thyself to the priest,
and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto
them. And when Jesus was entered into
Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him,
and saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home, sick of the palsy,
grievously tormented. And Jesus saith unto him, I will
come and heal him. The centurion answered and said,
Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof,
but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority,
having soldiers under me, and I say to this man, go, and he
goeth, and to another, Come, and he cometh, and to my servant,
Do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard it, he marveled,
and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have
not found so great faith, no, not in Israel, And I say unto
you that many shall come from the east and west, and shall
sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom
shall be cast out into outer darkness. There shall be weeping
and gnashing of teeth. And Jesus said unto the centurion,
go thy way, and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto
thee. And his servant was healed in
the selfsame hour. And when Jesus was come into
Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother laid, and sick of a fever,
and he touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she arose
and ministered unto them. When the even was come, they
brought unto him many that were possessed with devils, and he
cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were
sick. that it might be fulfilled which
was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities
and bare our sicknesses. Now when Jesus saw great multitudes
about him, he gave commandment to depart unto the other side. And a certain scribe came and
said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou
goest. And Jesus saith unto him, The
foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the
Son of Man hath not where to lay his head. And another of
his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and
bury my father. But Jesus said unto him, Follow
me, and let the dead bury their dead. And when he was entered into
a ship, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose
a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with
the waves. But he was asleep, and his disciples
came to him and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us, we perish. And he saith unto them, why are
ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the
winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. But the men
marveled, saying, what manner of man is this, that even the
winds and the sea obey him? And when he was come to the other
side, into the country of the Girgisians, there met him too
possessed with devils. coming out of the tombs, exceeding
fears, so that no man might pass by that way. And behold, they
cried out, saying, what have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou
Son of God? Art thou come hither to torment
us before the time? And there was a good way off,
from them, and heard of many swine feeding. So the devils
besought him, saying, if thou cast us out, suffer us to go
away into the herd of swine. And he said unto them, go. And when they were come out,
they went into the herd of swine. And behold, the whole herd of
swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished
in the waters. And they that kept them fled,
and went their ways into the city, and told everything and
what was befallen to the possessed of the devils. And behold, the
whole city came out to meet Jesus, And when they saw him, they besought
him that he would depart out of their coasts. Amen. May the Lord bless the
reading of his own word, and teach us each to pray. O Thou Almighty, most Sovereign,
most Wise, Lord God, we beseech Thee that Thou wouldst grant
the help of Thy Holy Spirit in this solemn exercise of prayer. O help us each to truly call
upon Thy name. Help us each to take hold upon
Thee. Help us to come unto thy heavenly
footstool, who the one way that thou hast ordained, who the dear
Mediator through the divine Son of God, our blessed Lord and
Saviour, Jesus Christ, the gracious One of whom we have read those
blessed words of his of which we have read. and to help us
to come by that new and living way. And, O Lord, we do thank
Thee that the way is made. We bless Thee for the rent veil
of the temple, rent in twain from top to bottom, thus signifying
that by Thy death the way was made unto God for poor needy
sinners to approach unto the throne of grace. And we bless
thee that now there is no temple, that there is no veil, that there
is now on earth no holy place, and that those things that were
signified of old in the ark of the covenant, in the cherubims
that overshadowed the mercy seat, and all the rich types and pictures
of the tabernacle, that these things have now found their reality
and their substance in the full light of the gospel. And thus
we may, as helped, as assisted and enabled by thy Spirit, we
may come boldly unto the throne of grace We may, by the intercession
of the dear Son of God, have our very supplications, our thanksgivings,
our praises, our petitions brought unto the very court of heaven
itself. O Lord, it is of thy goodness
that we are found within these thine earthly courts. no longer
a temple, no longer a coming up to Jerusalem, but a better
coming, a coming to thy gathering, thy dear saints gathered unto
thee, and coming to that place where thou hast ordained. For
do we not read concerning the blessed presence of the very
Master himself, that where two or three are gathered together
in my name, there am I in the midst of them. O gracious Lord
Jesus, that we might prove it so here today, even within these
walls, that it might be truly one of thy solemn assemblies,
one of thy spiritual feast days. the day of our solemnities. And O, do grant us that further
mercy, not only to be found here as we are, but to be truly gathered
in spirit. We think of the solemn things
that we read at the very end of that chapter, and it might
have been thought marvelous that the whole city came out to meet
Jesus. But how we tremble at those final
words, that when they saw him, they besought him that he would
depart out of their coasts. And solemnly it is so by nature. The natural man will say, we
will not have this man to rule over us. O, do keep us from such
things. that we may not be among those
who, dead in sin and nature's night, would even beseech thee,
the dear Lord Jesus, to depart out of our coasts. For then,
if there be no mercy, if thy hand does not keep us, then there
is truly no hope for such. But help us rather to be as we
read in another account of that one who had been so afflicted
with the evil spirit that after thy gracious dealings was found
clothed and in his right mind and sitting at the feet of Jesus. And truly that is where we, we
trust, desire to be found, sitting at thy feet that posture of submission
granted a lowly and a teachable spirit. O, do subdue our many iniquities,
subdue the pride of the natural man, and grant us to be found
there and to come with that prayer of old. Master, speak, for thy
servant-hearer O Lord, as we are found in this
the house of prayer, we would beseech thee for thy dear people
this day. We think of the dear pastor of
this cause, and we desire that thou wouldest be with him in
this a time we trust of rest to uphold him in his health,
uphold him in his spirit, to grant him true refreshment this
day. It is I that thou wouldst crown
his labors with gospel success, that he might see, as thy dear
servant, as thy dear undershepher, some fruit to his labors. And to bless him as the people
here trust he shall presently return unto them and grant that
he might be restored in peace and safety. O Lord, we do think
of this people, this church and congregation, and what a blessed
picture it is of the flock and how thou dost make them to lie
down in green pastures, how thou dost lead them beside the still
water how Thou dost restore the souls of Thy dear sheep. And we desire that it might be
so for each one here, each one who is found in this house of
prayer, that there might be a feeding on precious gospel truth, that
there might be a feeding on the bread of life and the drinking
of the water of life. For these things are what it
is to find a precious Christ in thy word, the holy scriptures. Know that it might be to the
restoring of many souls, that it might be to the refreshing
of thy people, that it might be for the quickening unto life
of one or another. To be with any who are sick,
those who carry infirmities, those who know the sorrows, the
burdens of the way, and who grant, if it could please thee, thy
healing touch, grant thy strengthening. May there be that knowledge of
what the apostle had to prove when he had that thorn in the
flesh, and when thou didst say to him, My grace is sufficient
for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. So
do grant strength sufficient for each day. Grant thy grace,
and may there then be a glory even in our infirmities. And
if we may so speak, that the power of Christ may rest upon
us, O Lord, we do bless thee for
thy goodness in times past when thou hast been our helper, when
thou hast granted renewed health and strength. We bless thee for
thy kindness, for thy covenant faithfulness in those times when
heaven's indulgent care has attended our wandering and those wanderings
of which perhaps now we are ashamed. But thou hast hedged about our
way with pricking thorns, and thus we have been kept even in
the midst of much folly. And we do bless thee for thy
restoring, thy bringing back from those paths wherein we have
strayed. and owe the mercy of it that
thou dost restore, that thou dost renew the feet to thy ways. And we would bless thee if there
has been some teaching in it, some instruction, and that gracious
opportunity to prove thy faithfulness, to prove thy forbearance and
thy longsuffering. O leave us not, neither forsakers,
and teach us ever to cleave unto thee, and to follow hard by thee. To be with thy dear congregations
this day, we think of those up and down our land, some known
and dear to us, and those others across the whole world, where
there shall be a gathering in thy name this day. the preaching
of thine everlasting gospel, the opening up of thy word. Oh,
that there might be some profit to needy souls. Oh, that there
might be some glory to thy great name. And do teach needy sinners
such as ourselves. Teach us afresh concerning the
cross of Calvary, concerning thy righteousness, concerning
thy truth, concerning thy love and mercy. For there we read,
mercy and truth are met together. Righteousness and peace have
kissed each other. O show unto us anew the Lamb
of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. Show unto us
that even our many sins and transgressions were borne by the dear Lamb upon
Calvary's tree. And to impress even upon our
souls the sweetness of it, that Christ was once offered to bear
the sins of many. And oh, that it might be so even
in our poor case to bear our sins and to bear them away. as our scapegoat, so that our
sins and iniquities may be remembered no more. O bless thy people this day with
a true hearing of thy word, and may it be as manner to their
souls and as cordial to revive their hearts. Know that thy word
may be as salt and lime that may yet be as a preservative
in this needy generation, in this, our land that is so benighted,
so beset with darkness and iniquity. We pray once more with the Prophet
of old, revive thy work in the midst of the years. In the midst
of the years, make known. In wrath, remember mercy. and
do have mercy upon this poor nation, and do spare thy people,
thy little remnants in the midst of it, and do break down the
pride of man, do grant contrition, do grant a humbling before thy
great and holy name, and know that men and women might bow
down before thee from the greatest to the least, and the very throne,
the royal family, our monarch, even to those who day by day
at present go about their business with little or no thought of
thee, but rather with their hearts beset with blasphemous thoughts
and words. I do have mercy, we beseech thee,
and could it please thee, cause the tide of evil to be turned
back. And who keep the feet of thy
dear saints, for we each need to be kept. We each have an evil
heart of unbelief, ready to rebel against thee. But thou art able
to keep the feet of thy saints, and thou art able to subdue our
iniquities. And who keep us in our pilgrimage,
Keep us as we are found yet in this world, and do grant us longings
and a hope of that which is to come, a hope of eternal glory. And do bless us as we come presently
to thy word. May it be a living word to one
or another. May it be for the instruction
of our never-dying souls And O, do impress upon us eternity,
impress upon us the judgments to come, and grant us to know
Jesus and to be enabled to own him as Lord and Savior. O, hear us in heaven, thy dwelling
place, hear our poor petitions, and when thou hearest, Thy dear name's sake, Lord Jesus. Amen. Hymn 592 Tune Redeeming Love
724 Mighty to save is Christ the
Lamb! Let all the saints adore His
name, And make His goodness known. With one accord proclaim abroad
The wonders of their Saviour God, Whose blood did once atone. Hymn 592. Tune Redeeming Love
724. My day to serve is rising O say does that star-spangled
banner yet wave God the truth proclaim the truth. The wonders of the Savior God. Saved from all sin's power. Cannot by sin, nor in that hour,
When Jesus was dead, God does it with his iron rod,
and in the trail, in sorrow, the time is come. I need to say I did say, yes, you'd be well,
for heaven's sake. Which then, oppressed by no one
can, With neither peace nor help to consent, ? No place for broken hearts ?
? But in this heavenly state of death ? I weep, I weep as
well. It's my people's problem. He came to save such ones as
you And mighty is His name ? May he save us ? ? Now and then
? ? May he open us all ? ? The door now and then ? ? With strong
faith ? With beautiful hearts and cheerful
voice, With in the mind a heart filled ? With praise to the Lord ? ? God
of mercy ? ? And of grace ? With the hope of breath, our
courage shall still be. Christ with the Lamb He moved
to death With sin and Christ shall be no soul May the Lord be pleased to lead
us more and more into the truth of his word, and to grant to
each soul to be able to draw from this word something sweet
and profitable, something that shall be to our eternal benefit. As we turn, not in fact to the
chapter that we read earlier, but to the parallel place in
the Gospel according to Mark. Mark chapter 1, and we shall
read from verse 40 to the end of the chapter. The account of the leper who
came to Jesus. Mark chapter 1, reading from
verse 40. And there came a leper to him,
beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto
him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus moved
with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith
unto him, I will, be thou clean. And as soon as he had spoken,
immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed. And he straightly charged him,
and forthwith sent him away, and saith unto him, See thou
say nothing to any man, but go thy way, show thyself to the
priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded,
for a testimony unto them. But he went out and began to
publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that
Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without
in desert places. And they came to him from every
quarter. Well, this account then of the
leper cleansed, and really it centers in the words of the leper
to the Lord Jesus, found in verse 40, and the reply of the Lord
in the next verse. These words spoken to the Lord
of glory If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus moved
with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith
unto him, I will be thou clean. The case of the leper was a particularly
distressing one. this disease for which there
was no cure, and a disease which, as you know, defiled the sufferer
and caused that the leper must dwell without the gates of the
city. And how the leper, so afflicted
with that disease, must cry out unto all that passed unclean,
unclean. And perhaps that explains why
the Lord so ordered things, that he should deal with such compassion,
such kindness to this poor leper. We understand the severity of
it, and in particular, as we have said, that there was no
hope outside of a divine miracle by what, for instance, we read
in the Old Testament. You will remember, I am sure,
the case of Naaman the Syrian, one outside of the nation of
Israel, and how Elisha the prophet was used, and how indeed that
young man was used not only to recover Naomi, but to give a
rich picture of healing through the gospel. That's just a little detail that
is very instructive, how the man of God was sent to deal with
that case. and how beforehand the very king
of Israel had been approached. And the very comments that the
king made when he rends his clothes at that request and says, am
I God to kill and to make alive that this man doth send unto
me to recover a man of his leprosy Well, that was the matter before
him. Am I God to kill and to make
alive? But this man doth send unto me
to recover a man of his leprosy. And we also learn something of
the nature of leprosy from the law of Moses. From those long
chapters in Leviticus especially, that deal with the ceremonies,
firstly for discerning the various kinds of leprosy, and then, as
we have referred to in our passage in the Gospels, the offerings
that were commanded for one healed of leprosy. And this is also instructive
because, as the Lord said, in verse 44 of our passage. Go thy way, show thyself to the
priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded,
for a testimony unto them. And what a testimony it would
have been when that leper did go to the priest at Jerusalem. and where it was discovered that
he who had, as Luke tells us, been so full of leprosy was now
completely cured. And we wonder whether those offerings
that are mentioned in Leviticus chapter 14 had ever been made
before, whether there had been one who had been so cleansed
of leprosy that these offerings were now brought according to
the law of Moses. Well, that is truly a testimony
when one is able to bring forth the evidence of the work of the
Almighty Savior, to do what no man, no mere mortal could do,
and to prove that those things which are impossible with men
are indeed possible with God. Well then, especially these words,
firstly of the leper to the Lord Jesus, If thou wilt, thou canst
make me clean. And then the answer of the Lord
as he puts forth his hand and touches him, I will thee thou
clean. It is rightly said that leprosy
was and is a picture of sin. And it was no wonder that the
leper came to the Lord Jesus, because the fame of the Lord
had been shed round about, it had been spread abroad, and thus
many did come to be healed. many who had heard of his mighty
works and who now came with hope that he could undertake for them
also. One of the advantages of reading
the account in Matthew is that that eighth chapter contained
so many accounts of how the Lord dealt with one or another in
a great variety of ways and means also. and he'd only mention the
centurion and how he said, after the Lord had said, I will come
and heal him. The centurion replied, Lords,
I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof, but speak
the word only and my servant shall be healed. And it mattered not whether the
Lord healed either by coming in person or by the gracious
touch of his hand or by the gracious words that proceeded from his
lips. He was and is mighty to save. And so in these accounts that
we have, and it is, I trust, a great encouragement and a great
delight to us to read them and to meditate upon them. But in
these accounts, we are encouraged to know that the Lord Jesus can
and does save by a variety of means, in various circumstances,
by different ways. Although it has to be said that
even in this Gospel account there is something that is paramount,
and it is the preaching. Because when we find the Lord
Jesus performing these miracles, it is always in the context of
his preaching, usually in the synagogues. And more often than
not, there is as much instruction in the words that he speaks to
those who come to be healed, or those who are brought to him,
as there is in the very act of healing itself. And so we find the Lord Jesus.
And indeed, as he says in Mark chapter one, in the verses just
before those we read earlier, let us go into the next town,
that I may preach there also, for therefore came I forth. And so we read, he preached in
their synagogues throughout all Galilee and cast out devils. So these two things, the words
preached, the gospel proclaimed, and, as if to confirm it, the
healing miracle But what we are interested in is the way in which
the Gospel itself brings healing to the soul, the way in which
the Lord Jesus still dispels the leprosy of sin, still heals
those who are defiled, and still pronounces them clean, even as
our great High Priest. We mentioned briefly that Luke
tells us in his account that the man was full of leprosy. It has been pointed out that
there is significance to that in context of the Old Testament
law. Back in that very long chapter,
Leviticus 13, where the laws concerning leprosy are set out,
there is just a detail there that has particular significance. Verse 12 of Leviticus 30. If a leprosy break out of wrought
in the skin, and the leprosy cover all the skin of him that
hath the plague, from his head even to his foot, wheresoever
the priest looketh, then the priest shall consider, and behold,
If the leprosy have covered all his flesh, he shall pronounce
him clean, that hath the play. It is all turned white. He is
clean. One might ask, why is it that
when the leprosy has reached its fullest extent, when it covers
the entire body, why is it then that the leper is pronounced
clean under the law. When the patient is, as it were,
as the leper in the gospel here, full of leprosy, well surely
it is when there is no longer any soundness at all in the flesh,
when there is no longer any part that is not touched by the disease. And the lesson can only be this,
that when the poor sinner is likewise convinced that there
is no soundness in him, that there is no goodness by nature
in his person, that there is nothing to commend him before
God in his works and performances, when the leprosy, as it were,
spreads and runs its full course, when there is no hope in self. Well, then it is that just as
under the law in Leviticus the leper was pronounced clean, then
it is that through the workings of God's Spirit that needy sinner,
abandoning all hope in self or by natural means, flees to the
divine remedy, and like this leper comes and says unto Jesus,
Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. and where the leper so comes,
where the sinner so approaches the gracious Saviour. The work
of God is already so evident in convincing him, convicting
him of sin, that the outcome can only be this, that the Lord,
having begun that work, shall perform it, shall bring it to
completion. And so, at length, that sinner
must be pronounced clean. Well, how is it with ourselves? Those of you who have been exercised
in this matter will know that it is a very weighty burden concerning
our sin, concerning especially our sinnership, which is what
the plague of leprosy really speaks to. the fact that we are
sinners, sinners in the sight of a thrice holy God. And therefore,
not only merely to be aware of the fact as a truth, as a matter
of doctrine, as something that we read in our Bibles, and to
be able to say, yes, I am a sinner, but to go far deeper than that,
to acknowledge it and to feel it in our very soul, that we
are diseased, that we are tainted with this solemn leprosy of sin. Thus sin, as the poet puts it,
like a raging fever, with fatal strength in every part, and spreading
its dire contagion even to the very heart. Well, thus it is
a complete and an overarching disease. And we feel, do we not,
that there is no longer any soundness at all in ourselves. As the Apostle
Paul once wrote, I know that in me, that is, in my flesh,
there dwelleth no good thing. Have you, have I, thus come to
the dear Saviour? Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst
make me clean. And really this is the great
question that concerns us, because we have been instructed just
as the leper of old had been, that the Lord Jesus was all-mighty
to save. Mark tells us, as we read a few
verses earlier, that he cast out devils, and one who could
cast out those evil spirits was surely able to perform the lesser
work of healing from disease and infirmity. And likewise,
now, we who are favored with the entire revelation of Holy
Scripture, we may read of the almighty power that the Lord
Jesus has. We read of the testimonies in
the word of God to that power. We read of his gracious acts
of healing. We read that he, as the Son of
Man, had power on earth and yet does have power on earth to forgive
sins. We read of how he dealt so tenderly
with those who came to him in the gospel, and we read of his
power after his resurrection and ascension into glory put
forth through the preaching of the apostles. And so, in our
turn, we say, Thou canst make me clean. Again, we find that the testimony
of others throughout history encourages us in these things,
because we are not short of such testimonies of those whom the
Lord has blessed, those whom he has cleansed, from the leprosy
of sin, those who have been divinely taught that they are sinners,
and those who have known the mercy of God through the remission
of sins. And just as one of ought did
come to the Lord with hope, just as in fact many did, that he
could heal them of their physical infirmity, Think of the dear
woman who came to him in the press, very humbly seeking but
to touch the hem of his garment. And such who come to him do so
because they believe, Thou canst make me clean. Again, when we read in the Scriptures
words such as this in Psalm 89, Thou hast laid upon one that is mighty. We are taught and persuaded that
we have great need, that we are afflicted by a great and loathsome
disease. We are taught that we have no
power in ourselves or from our fellow men to take the burden
from us. We are brought to discern that
our case, naturally speaking, is a hopeless one. But then there
is set before us a mighty, a glorious, a conquering saviour, one upon
whom help has been laid. And so we do come with her. And seeing his mighty power put
forth in others, or reading of it in the word of God, we are
helped to say, Thou canst make me clean. Really, of course, that itself
takes much faith, because when we are taught the gravity of
our own condition, just how great our sins are and how great sinners
we are, then the case does seem so great that only A divine savior
can help us. And when we feel our iniquities
going over our heads, our sins as great mountains before us,
it is only because the word of God speaks of his mercy being
in the heavens, that is higher than the highest of mountains. greater than all those billows
that have passed over our heads. It is only because His mercy
is, as we read in the heavens, that we have such an hope that
a divine Saviour can relieve us of our burden. And so it is faith that says
to Jesus, Thou canst make me clean. But the words of the leper are
framed by what is in effect a question. If thou wilt, thou canst make
me clean. And this was the particular need
of that poor leper. It was to know that this Lord
Jesus, this Christ, who had so ministered to others, who had
cast out the devils, who had performed other gracious miracles,
would desire to undertake for him also that he might come into
the number of those who had so been cured, who had so been helped
by the dear Lord Jesus Christ. And perhaps it is our question
also I believe that for many, dear ones, it is the matter at
stake. Not doubting that the Lord Jesus
has power and the ability even to cleanse our sins, but is he
willing, will he take notice of such an one as I? We do, I am sure, come into those
seasons where we feel so dark, so shut up, so dead, feelingly,
that surely the Lord, gracious though he is, but surely this
holy child, Jesus, will not have anything to do with such as I. We look perhaps at the lives
of those whom he has dealt with so graciously. We feel that perhaps
there was something to commend them in his sight, if only there
felt poverty, if only there humility. But perhaps it is because we
feel our pride, we feel there is still so much of the flesh
about us, our hard hearts, Surely there is nothing that the Lord
would see in us that would commend even his mercy. And so the question
comes, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And of course, as you surely
all know, if it were a matter of anything in the sinner, commending
him or her to the Lord, then all would be lost. And the encouragement,
therefore, is that it is the very mercy of God in Jesus Christ
that when we do come, feeling our deadness, our hardness, our
natural pride, all these things that seem to be such great barriers,
between us and the work of the Lord. It is his mercy that is
so sweet, because it breaks through all these things. It breaks through
in spite of them. Because it is mercy, it is undeserved
by its very nature. And when we read in verse 41,
of the response of the Lord Jesus. Surely it does encourage us,
if we are in such a case, of thinking that we are beyond hell.
Because notice what Mark tells us, that Jesus moved with compassion,
put forth his hand, and touched him. And the great point is this,
that it is, as we have said, when in ourselves there is no
help, when we are through and through diseased by the leprosy
of sin. And yes, there is the desire,
there is the coming, there is the confession, thou canst make
me clean. But when we come with that question,
Art thou willing? For it is if thou wilt thou canst
make me clean. Well then it is that the compassion
of the Lord Jesus is so often displayed as here in this account,
and that he is moved with compassion. And this is why the Gospel speaks
to the Lord Jesus as being willing as well as able. Because if we
suppose that, as the Son of God, he is able to do these things
for us, but he were not willing, then it would do us no good whatsoever. But having been taught of the
almighty power that the Lord Jesus had of the gracious touch
that he has at his disposal, then if we are made to be convinced
that he is willing, then it is our great interest to come and
to seek him, having so been taught of the Spirit. And at this, yes, such an apparently
hopeless case as the leper, and apparently such an hopeless case
as our own, when we do feel thus shut up, so lifeless, so hard,
so barren, so dry. It is then that the Almighty
Son of God, the Second Person of the Glorious Trinity, is moved
with compassion For this is a great truth in
itself, that such an one as the judge of all the earth, the one
to whom has been granted lordship over all kingdoms and nations, the one to whom is committed
all judgment, believe on this glorious person is moved with
compassion And I'm sure some of you have
known it from time to time, perhaps in the night watches, those long
seasons when we have wrestled with the great questions of eternity,
perhaps sleepless upon our beds. But this is the light that breaks
forth, to know a compassionate Saviour, one who sees us and
pities us in our helplessness, in our seeming hopelessness. We read that he, Jesus, moved
with compassion, put forth his hand and touched him. We do desire that from time to
time, do we not? When brought so very low, that
is what we long for, that the Lord Jesus would, by speaking
his word into our soul, put forth his almighty hand and touch our
very heart. And just as here in this account,
the touch, the putting forth of his hand, was so closely allied
with the word that was spoken. And that is how it shall come
to us If the Lord so favours us in our poverty, in our need,
that he put forth his hand and touched him and saith unto him,
I will, be thou clean. Because when the Lord speaks
the word and it comes with sweetness and comfort, it is as though
he has said, I will, Because if he grants his word, it is
never in vain. And that word that proceedeth
from his mouth shall perform that which he pleaseth. It shall
accomplish his good pleasure. And so he says, I will be thou
clean. When the Lord Jesus performs
this miracle. There are these two aspects to
it, because not only was the leper to be pronounced clean
under the law, but there was to be an actual cleansing of
the disease before that took place. And we read that as soon
as the Lord had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from that
man, and he was cleansed. And then there was the matter
of the ceremony, of the fulfilling of the things that Moses had
commanded for a testimony. But surely you see the picture
in Gospel terms. It is when the Lord Jesus speaks
the word of comfort, of reassurance, that we are persuaded most sweetly
that our many sins and iniquities are forgiven, that our transgressions
are removed from us. And that is to say that the Lord
Jesus has, by his work upon Calvary's cross, removed from us the effects
of our sinnership. Yes, while upon this earth we
shall yet be sinners. It is for the world to come that
the state of sinless perfection will be reserved. But the sweetness
is theirs, knowing that, being found in him, he has removed
all the effect, the wrath, the condemnation, the guilt of our And thus it is to say that the
actual disease of leprosy that had completely overtaken us,
that had spread throughout every part of us, that that disease
itself is to its effect taken away. Now of course we have to distinguish
between what took place regarding the actual leprosy and the work
of God in the soul in terms of cleansing from sin. But we would
say this, that when the Gospel work is performed in the soul,
there is another aspect which is as good as, or even better
than, the complete removal of the leprosy in this man who came
to Jesus. Because John writes in his first
epistle of the seed that remaineth in the child of God. That means
that he cannot sin. Well, you say, surely the Lord's
people sadly do sin often, and I am a proof of it. But what
John means is that sin that is yet committed. And he speaks
about that as well in the same epistle. But that sin is of the
old nature, and now the child of God has a new nature residing
in him. And therefore, we may say that
that child of God is truly a new creature, the work of the Holy
Spirit, the work of grace set forth. And this is what makes
the great difference between one who is received of the new
birth and one who is yet in nature's darkness. But this is the effect of the
Lord Jesus and his work being spoken to the soul and applied
by the Spirit to the soul, I will be thou clean. And that seed that remaineth
in the child of God, the Spirit in dwelling, and further to that,
the fruit that is brought forth as a result of that work of God. It proves the goodwill and purpose
of God in Christ. And he says, I will. And it is
as though he has said, I will work, and who shall let it? No matter how Satan opposes,
no matter how much the old nature still fights and wars against
the work of grace, no matter how much the world may persecute
or allure that child of God. Once the Lord Jesus has spoken
that word, once the healing balm of the gospel has been applied,
it is this, I will, be thou pleased, We read, as soon as he had spoken,
immediately the leprosy departed from him and he was cleansed. It is a great and high privilege
of the sons of God to be found in the Lord Jesus Christ. We may take comfort from that
privilege, because when the Father looks upon his dear people still
labouring in this pilgrimage way, still subject to the afflictions
and infirmities both of the world and of the flesh and of the devil. And he sees them still labouring
under sin and the effects of the old man. Well, he sees as
bound up in the covenant of life. He sees them as safe, sheltered
in the rock, his dear Son Christ Jesus. And he sees them as complete
in him. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
head of all principality and power. Therefore, being found in him,
His dear sheep are preserved and kept, and they are viewed
as righteous in Him, the dear Son. Well, this great question, these
things that I'm sure assailed many, if not all, of God's dear
children from time to time, Just so happens that the opening
hymn seems to confirm us in these thoughts. He is able to deliver. So there is the ability. But
then the poet goes on. And his love is still the same. Can his pity or his power suffer
thee to pray in vain. Yes, his power, the ability,
thou canst make me clean, but the pity also, the compassion,
and he says, I will. And those words of godly instruction
at the end of the hymn, wait but his appointed hour, and thy
suit thou shalt obtain. And if we come with that prayer,
if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean, then that prayer of
faith shall save the sick. And the Lord Jesus, in his time,
in his appointed way, will give the answer of peace I will. Be thou clean. And surely it
will be fulfilled in the case of every waiting, seeking a child
of God. And we hope in our case also. As soon as he had spoken, immediately
the leprosy departed from him, and he was clean. Amen. Let us sing hymn 671, the tune
St. Anatolius 555. How shall I come to thee, O God,
who holy art, and cannot evil see, but with a loathing heart? I am defiled throughout by sin,
and by my very birth Unclean. Hymn 671. Tune St. Anatolius
555. For God is holy, and God, all
ye may see, Give them proof of my sin, and
by my very death It can be very slow, but your
soul shall receive. When all day shadows fall, It knows and prays for higher
love. On this cold winter's day O guilty boat of night, from
which still seas adrift, I make my ballad here. It's a miracle I do But He's in precious blood. This only possessing Can bring
and guide to Watch my shoes, they're empty. And you'll find them there for
me. To me He gives truth Of love,
righteousness, and faithfulness And when in great dilemma Upon thee in the covenants, My
soul in worship of her praise, Lord, do grant answers of peace
to every waiting, seeking soul. Be not silent unto us, but do
speak the word and grant us to know that it shall be well, even
with our soul. Now may the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ and the love of God, our Heavenly Father, and
the communion of the Holy Spirit be with us all. Amen. You're welcome.