at 10.30 and two o'clock. Matthew Hyde will preach here
on Thursday evening at seven o'clock and there'll be a prayer
meeting here on Tuesday evening at seven o'clock. Let us commence our services
today by singing together hymn 120 to the tune Newcastle 194. With joy we meditate the grace
of our high priest above. His heart is made of tenderness,
his bowels melt with love. Hymn 120, tune Newcastle 194. Yet by the end we take the place
Of the High Priest, the God. His heart is rid of timidness, His heart is made of tenderness,
His love the world spelt with love. ? With a simple hymn I'll lift
him ? ? Out of here away ? ? He knows what so temptations be ? In our thoughts of temptation
be holy and tell the same. ? One socket in our self-tempure
? ? The great Redeemer stood ? ? On Satan's barry, thou shalt
behold ? God's angels carry God's people,
and they resist to come. Within the veins of evil flesh
All power, peace, rights, and tears, And in His pleasure, will
suppress And in this special filter fresh
for death we bend our head. ? Till ever grateful, so reflect
? ? On greetings you have made. ? ? The bruised and beaten never
breaks, ? ? The person within ? ? Never breaks
? ? The trust of the meek and sane ? ? Then let the humble
? ? When in the rest His mercy and
His power ? ? We shall all to Him in Him replace ? He shall obtain thee every praise
in that He serves. Sing now. Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God in Paul's epistle to the Hebrews, chapter 9. The epistle to the Hebrews, chapter
9. Then verily the first covenant
had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary. For there was a tabernacle made,
the first wherein was the candlestick and the table and the showbread,
which is called the sanctuary. And after the second vow, the
tabernacle, which is called the holiest of all, which had the
golden censer and the Ark of the Covenant overlaid round about
with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron's
rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant. The tables of
the covenant was the ten commandments given to Moses on Mount Sinai,
and over it the cherubims of glory, shadowing the mercy seat,
of which we cannot now speak particularly. Now when these
things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the
first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God. But into
the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without
blood, which he offered for himself and for the errors of the people.
The Holy Ghost, this signifying that the way into the holiest
of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle
was yet standing, which was a figure for the time then present, in
which were offered both gifts and sacrifices that could not
make him that did the service perfect as pertaining to conscience,
which stood only in meats and drinks and divers washings and
carnal ordinances imposed on them until the time of reformation. But Christ, being common high
priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect
tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building,
neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood,
he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal
redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and
of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean,
sanctify to the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall
the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself
without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to
serve the living God? And for this cause he is the
mediator of the New Testament, that by means of death, for the
redemption of the transgressions that were under the First Testament,
they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. For where a testament is, there
must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a
testament is a force after men are dead, otherwise it is of
no strength at all while the testator liveth. Whereupon neither
the first testament was dedicated without blood. For when Moses
had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law,
he took the blood of calves and of goats with water and scarlet
wool and hyssop and sprinkled both the book and all the people
saying this is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined
unto you. Moreover he sprinkled with blood
both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry and almost
all things are by the law purged with blood and without shedding
of blood is no remission. It was therefore necessary that
the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with
these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices
than these. For Christ is not entered into
the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the
true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence
of God for us, nor yet that he should offer himself often as
the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with
the blood of others. For then must he often have suffered
since the foundation of the world. But now once in the end of the
world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of
himself. as it is appointed unto men once
to die, but after this the judgment. So Christ was once offered to
bear the sins of many, and unto them that look for him shall
he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. May the Lord bless the reading
of his own precious word Grant unto us a spirit of real prayer. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty,
which is an art, an art to come, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
we desire to bow before thy glorious majesty. We are instructed in
thy word that the Lord is to be had in reverence of all them
that are about him. And, O Lord, we would reverently
seek to worship thee and come to the footstool of divine mercy
as poor needy sinners that we are. For truly, Lord, we prove
day by day that we were born in sin and shapen in iniquity
in sin did our mothers conceive us. And Lord, we are unrighteous
altogether, and that thy word declares unto us that the heart
of man is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. And Lord, we prove this to be
true. For when we would do good, then
evil is present with us. And that which I would, I do
not, and that which I would not, I do. I find a law within my
members, that when I would do good, then evil is present with
me. And like the dear apostle, we have to confess, O wretched
man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death. Lord, sin cleaves to our very
bodies and hearts and minds. sin. Lord, we make everything
sinful that we touch. We have to say with the dear
hymn writer, defiled I am indeed, defiled throughout my sin. So
we come Lord and we pray that thou in thy great mercy would
hear us now as we come to confess our sins, as we come to seek
We seek and hope to find a portion for our souls. We pray that we
may be enabled to touch the hem of Jesus' garment. We pray that
the Lord Jesus might come and stand in our midst and that we
may behold his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the
Father. For this is all our hope of salvation
in the glorious person of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. We pray to be led of the Spirit,
for as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons
of God. And may we prove to be the sons
and daughters of the Lord God Almighty. May we be washed in
that precious sin-atoning blood of our Lord Jesus Christ to cleanse
us from all our sins, to reconcile us unto God. For this Lord is
our only hope. in the finished work of Jesus
Christ. We think of those glorious words
that were spoken by Jesus on the cross of Calvary. It is finished. Oh, we thank thee for those words,
O Lord. Salvation's work is done. Sin
has been put away. Death has been swallowed up in
victory, and we desire to come in thankfulness and praise unto
thy glorious majesty, for that new and living way that Jesus
has made into the holy place, whereby we can approach unto
thee at the throne of grace, where Jesus sits, our great high
priest. Oh, we come in his name. Tis he instead of me is seen
when I approach to God, Lord, we thank thee for the love, the
eternal love, power and grace of our heavenly Father. And we
pray that we might know those divine drawings this day into
spiritual things unto Jesus Christ. For none come except the Father
draw. Do grant us those divine drawings
and those rich blessings, O Lord, we do beseech thee. Grant us
real repentance and godly sorrow for sin and faith in our Lord
Jesus Christ. Enable us to lay aside every
weight and the sin that does so easily beset us, and that
we might run with patience the race that is set before us, looking
unto Jesus. Remember us then as a church
and as a congregation. Work mightily, work powerfully,
work effectually. We do humbly beseech thee. cause
the prodigals to return, that we may have that wonderful rejoicing. And we pray that the glory, light,
and power of gospel truth may shine into this village and the
surrounding villages and hamlets, and that thou would bring our
sons from far and our daughters from the ends of the earth. Arise,
arise, O God of grace, into thy rest descend, thou and the ark
of thy strength. Let thy priest be clothed with
salvation, that thy saints may shout aloud for joy. Oh abundantly
bless the provision of thy house and satisfy her poor with bread. Oh Lord, we do beseech of thee.
Turn us again, oh God of hosts and cause thy face to shine and
we shall be saved. Let thy hand be upon the man
of thy right hand, the son of man. whom thou madest strong
for thyself. Lord, we do pray that thou, in
thy precious mercy, would remember our deacons and give them wisdom
and grace and help in all their responsibilities we do beseech
thee. Remember those that are away,
seeking rest and change at this time, and grant, O Lord, we pray
thee that they truly may be rested, body and soul, and may return
in peace and safety at the appointed time. Remember all in affliction
and trouble and trial and perplexity. Remember those in darkness, bring
them into light. Remember those in bondage, bring
them into liberty. Remember those that feel to be
far off, make them nigh. by the precious blood of Christ,
we do humbly beseech them. We pray, most gracious God, to
remember the little ones and the children, have mercy upon
them in their young and tender years, graciously bless them,
and put the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom,
into their hearts, an unctuous light to all that's right, and
a bar to all that's wrong. Remember the young friends, Graciously
remember them with the favour that thou bearest unto thy people.
Visit them with thy great salvation. Bring them to living faith in
Jesus Christ. Make them true followers of thee,
and of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Oh, do hear us, Lord, we pray
thee, and have mercy upon us, we beseech thee. We pray, most
gracious Lord, remember parents and give wisdom and grace to
bring up their children in the nurture and admonition of the
Lord. And Lord, we pray that thou would be with all in the
midst of the journey of life and that preserve and keep us
from the temptations of Satan, whether he comes as a roaring
lion to devour or whether he comes as an angel of light to
deceive, we pray to be delivered from his power and from his influence. Oh, do hear us, Lord, we pray
thee. Thou hast promised in thy word
that when the enemy comes in like a flood, the spirit of the
Lord will lift up a standard against him. We plead thy precious
promises, O Lord, and pray that thou would be with us and increase
us and build us up and renew us. We pray, most gracious Lord,
that thou would remember at those of us that are in the evening
time of life's journey, and that graciously guide us safely unto
thy heavenly kingdom. Remember thy servants as they
labour in word and doctrine upon the walls of Zion this day. We
do humbly beseech thee, graciously send out thy light and thy truth,
and return in thy power and in thy glory as though useless to
be in the sanctuary. We pray Thee, the great Lord
of the harvest, to send true labourers into the harvest to
build the walls of Jerusalem. Oh, do hear us, Lord, we humbly
beseech Thee and have mercy upon us, we pray Thee. We pray, O
Lord, that remember our own little group of churches and grant that
the wind of the Spirit may blow, that Thou wouldst return in the
power of Thy Spirit among us. and that thou wouldst gather
yet precious flocks unto thee, we do beseech thee, and that
thou wouldst revive thy work. Remember the societies to which
we affiliate. We pray that thou wouldst grant
thy blessing upon those that have responsibilities, the editors
of our magazines, the secretaries of the societies. Lord, we commend
them each to thee, and we pray that Thou wilt graciously work
mightily and work powerfully and work effectually. In our
midst we do beseech you. Remember all the assemblies of
thy saints up and down the land. Wherever thy servants stand,
wherever thy people gather, send out thy light and thy truth.
We do humbly beseech of thee and revive thine own people,
Lord, strengthen them. Grant that we may grow in grace
and the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Grant
that we may be made more spiritually minded and our heart and our
affections set upon things above. Deliver us from the allurements
of the world and the things in it we do humbly beseech thee.
Lord, we do pray that thou would remember those that go forth
from among us that preach the gospel in the nations of the
earth. We think of Ian Sadler and that
great work that he does in so many places, in the distribution
of thy word and the exposition of it. Gird him with all sufficient
grace, supply his many returning needs. Remember thy servant at
the Mombasa mission and grant thy rich blessing to rest upon
them there. Oh, let thy work appear unto
thy servants and thy glory unto their children. Grant a day of
real prosperity. Remember the Savannah Education
Trust and that great work that they are doing in Ghana. Oh Lord,
do bless, abundantly bless thy work there, we do beseech thee.
Remember those that live in those nations of the earth where they
are persecuted where they are imprisoned, where they lose their
lives for the name and witness of Jesus Christ. Send them help
from the sanctuary. Strengthen the Mount of Zion.
Remember the Trinitarian Bible Society and that great work they
do in the publication and the distribution of thy holy word
throughout the nations of the earth. Lord, supply all their
needs. and graciously help them and,
oh, come and revive thy Zion, come and renew thy people, come
and bless thine inheritance. Oh Lord, we do thank thee for
thy holy day, for a day in thy courts is better than a thousand.
We do thank thee for the house of God and the liberties that
we enjoy being able to meet together around thy word. We do thank
thee, O Lord, for every mercy of thy kind providence and for
all thy goodness that has passed before us in the way. Unworthy
as we are, we thank thee for thy word. This is the word by
which the gospel is preached unto you. Lord, hear us, we pray. Make up in giving where we do
so fail in asking. as we ask for Jesus Christ's
sake. Amen. Let us continue our worship by
singing the first part of hymn 803. The tune is Kendall 165. the things on earth which men
esteem, and of their richness boast, in value less or greater
seem, proportioned to their cost. Hymn 803, the first part. Tune,
Kendall, 165. ? To thee, O God, I give this day
? ? And all creation's worth. ? ? In ev'ry nation, race, and state
? ? And culture, faith, and thought ? ? And life, and breath, and
flesh, and blood ? O come, let us adore Him, O come,
let us adore Him, Christ the Lord. O come, O come, Emmanuel, and
ransom captive Israel. Oh say does that star spangled
banner yet wave O come, O come, Emmanuel, O come,
Emmanuel, ? From this day till then ? ? It
shall all be well done ? ? All the days in joy we shall have
done ? O say can you see, by the dawn's
early light, What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's ? When all hope for you hath gone
? ? Through pain and suffering death has fled ? ? But it's forever more to
come ? Oh, say does that star-spangled
banner yet wave Greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, I would direct your attention to the chapter
that we read together, the ninth chapter of Paul's epistle to
the Hebrews, and we will read from our text verses 13 and 14. Hebrews chapter 9 verses 13 and
14. For if the blood of bulls and of
goats and the ashes of an heifer sprinkle into the unclean sanctify
to the purifying of the flesh how much more shall the blood
of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself without
spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the
living God. The apostle writing to the Hebrews
that were scattered throughout the early church Many of the
first believers were Jews and he was writing to them obviously
quite some years after the gospel was first preached and the Jews
in particular suffered greatly. I now mean the Jews that became
Christians that were converted suffered greatly. because they
were cast out by their families, they were hated by their families
because they followed the despised Nazarene Jesus Christ. And so the purpose and object
of the epistle to the Hebrews because many were ready to turn
back and to give up and to turn back to their former religion And the Apostle, I would say
what we might say the watchword of the Hebrews is hold fast. Hold fast, continue in the faith. And it's very enlightening that
when we look at the method the Apostle uses, obviously under
the divine influence of the Holy Ghost, how he directs. Immediately, when he begins his
epitial, he immediately sets forth the glorious person of
Jesus Christ. And if you look at the Corinthians,
and he was writing to their church divided, and immediately he sets
before them the glorious person of Jesus Christ, the great object
of faith, the great point of union and of communion. is the
glorious person of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And it's
very prominent here in the Hebrews, though. When he commences it,
he says, God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in
time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last
days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of
all things, by whom also he made the worlds. who be in the brightness
of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding
all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself
purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the majesty
on high. So he sets before them the sacred
glories of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, that was manifest
in the flesh. and having redeemed the people
now sits at the right hand of the Most High. And here in the
Hebrews it's a constant returning theme that the Apostle uses that
the Lord Jesus Christ is now living in heaven. He's now sitting
at the right hand of the Father. Now here in this chapter 9 He speaks of the first covenant. A covenant is an agreement and
the word covenant is exactly the same as the word testament.
So when we have the Old Testament and the New Testament it could
equally say the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. It means
exactly the same thing. So when he's speaking of the
first covenant, he's speaking of the holy law of God and of
the prophets and of the Old Testament but he particularly is highlighting
the first covenant of the holy law of God and it was a covenant
of works that the Lord would bless on our obedience to the
law and the law would curse if we broke the holy law of God. A blessing for obedience and
a curse for disobedience, for transgressing or breaking that
first covenant. And particularly speaking here
of the tabernacle worship, then very the first covenant, where
it was all ordained these particular services that were given to Moses
for the children of Israel to perform. It says here that there
was a tabernacle made. The first, wherein was the candlestick
and the table and the showbread, which is called the sanctuary.
And after the second vow, the tabernacle, which is called the
holiest of all, which had the golden censer. But all these
things were typical of the things that were to come. The New Testament
of our Lord Jesus Christ. So the Old Testament of the law
and of the rites and sacrifices under that law pointed to Jesus
Christ. When the Holy Spirit opened to
the Lord's living people in the Old Testament, they saw Christ. Christ was revealed They saw
in the sacrifice, the sacrifice of Christ. They saw in the blood
of the sacrifice, the blood of Christ. That's what it pointed
to. Now of course there were many
like the Pharisees who weren't enlightened, who didn't really
understand, who looked at everything in a legal way, not looking into
those things that were to come. were absolutely bound up in the
law, and that was their life. Well, they thought it was their
life. They didn't understand the types
of the shadows. You know, it was only those that
were enlightened. And that's the same today, of
course. A person isn't a true Christian until they're enlightened. until their soul has been quickened,
until the Holy Spirit has given them an understanding, both as
to their state and condition and as to the way of salvation
in Jesus Christ. But it was exactly the same for
the Jews under the law. It was only those, the Apostle
argues this very closely in the Epistle to the Romans, He said,
not all Israel are of Israel. It was only those that were quickened.
It was only those that their eyes were opened. We read of
those godly people like David and Samuel. Their eyes were opened. They saw beyond the types and
the shadows. They saw Christ. They saw the
coming of the Messiah. It may have been, as it were,
in a much darker way than we see it. We have the clear Revelation
of Jesus Christ will live in the days of the New Testament.
See, in Jesus Christ is the fulfilling of the law. Christ is the end of the law
for righteousness. Jesus Christ himself said, I
come not to destroy the law, but to fulfill it. You must ever
remember that friends. There are those that go too far. We are not under the law. It's very clear in Holy Scripture. The Christian believer is not
under the law. They're delivered from it. But
everyone else is. Now there are those that take
that too far and they say the law has been abrogated, completely
finished and we have nothing whatsoever to do with it. It's
done. Because Christ has been and fulfilled
it. My dear beloved friends, the
law will stand eternally. It's God's holy, righteous law. Remember the words of Jesus,
I come not to destroy the law, but to fulfill it. And that is
what Jesus has done. He's fulfilled the holy law of
God on the behalf of his people. He has, you know, I just mentioned
as we were reading through how it speaks of the tables of the
covenant which means the two tablets of stone that God
wrote the holy law upon. You remember when Moses came
down from the mount the first time he threw them down and break
them. What a picture that is of man.
What a picture it is of you and of me. We've broken God's holy
law. But the wonderful mercy is there
in Deuteronomy, is that the Lord invited Moses back up into the
mound and to take two tablets of stone. And he wrote that law
again. He engraved it on those two tablets
of stone. And when Moses came down from
the mound, Lord commanded him to put those two tablets in the
Ark of the Covenant. Now that Ark of the Covenant
is beautifully typical of our Lord Jesus Christ and that is
why that law, complete, was put into there. It's typical of Christ
because Christ would fulfill that holy law. Now there were
those who whose eyes were enlightened among the Jews that understood
that. They understood that tabernacle was typical of Christ. They wouldn't have understood
it as clear as we do, because we have the benefit of hindsight
of Christ coming and fulfilling the law. But nevertheless, the
Holy Spirit gave them to understand. You know, the tabernacle, which the apostle speaks of it
here, covered with badger skins. They're not glorious in themselves,
badger skins, but inside the tabernacle, underneath those
badger skins, was the golden mercy seat, was
the golden cherubims of glory, was the mercy seat. the Lord
said there will I meet with thee, there will I commune with thee.
So the gold there represents divinity, the divinity of Christ. The badger skins that covered
it represent the humanity that Jesus the son of God assumed
in the womb of the Virgin Mary. So we have a picture there, a
typical picture the glorious person of Jesus Christ. And on the day of atonement,
the high priest, he came into the holiest of all and he sprinkled
the blood of the sacrifice seven times before the golden mercy
seat. That blood typifies the blood
of Christ. And the Lord said, there will
I meet with thee, there will I commune with thee. In Isaiah
we read so beautifully of Christ and his sufferings and it says
this, there is no form nor comeliness that we should desire him. That's the looking at the person
of Christ, he didn't look any different to anyone else. Not
he had a physical body, but he didn't look any different
and that That badger skin represents that. Unless it was revealed
unto you, you wouldn't know that this was the Son of God. There's
no form nor comeliness that we should desire. But when our eyes are opened,
when the Spirit of God has entered our heart, when we're brought
to feel and know that we're sinners before a holy God, When we're
brought to feel and know our need of salvation, when we're
brought to feel darkness, it is the Holy Spirit that leads
us to the light of the world. Jesus said, I am the light of
the world. Jesus said, I am the way, the
truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father
but by me. You see, all the time that the
Old Testament was going, and it says here in verse 9, Or if
you look at verse 8, the Holy Ghost, this signifying that the
way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest while as
the first tabernacle was yet standing, which was a figure
for the time then present in which were offered both gifts
and sacrifices that could not make him that did the service
perfect as pertaining to conscience. There was no efficacy in the
blood of these sacrifices offered. I always think Isaac Watts puts
it so clearly and beautifully. Not all the blood of beasts on
Jewish altars slain could give the guilty conscience peace or
wash away the stain. But Christ, the heavenly lamb,
bears all our sins away, a sacrifice of nobler name. and richer blood
than they." Oh, my beloved friends, we should be thankful that we
live in a gospel day. We live in a day when the gospel
of Jesus Christ is preached. We live in a day when the way,
the truth and the life is made clear. You see, which was the figure
for the time then present, which were offered both gifts and sacrifices
that could not make him that did the service perfect as pertaining
to conscience which stood only in meats and drinks and divers
washings and carnal ordinances imposed on them until the time
of reformation till the time that Christ would come and then
we come into verse 11 but Christ it's very beautiful the way that
the apostle opens this, but Christ being common high priest of good
things to come, of good things to come. What a precious truth that is.
There are good things to come, but a greater and more perfect
tabernacle. And we've just explained to you,
Typical sense of the tabernacle and this is exactly what the
Apostle is saying here the tabernacle Represents or we should say typifies
Christ Christ is a great antitype But Christ being common high
priest of good things to come by greater and more perfect tabernacle
Not made with hands that is to say not of this building speaking of his human nature
the son of god assumed human nature a greater and more perfect
tabernacle he's the great anti-type and so what what we have here
is the type and the anti-type the type in the things that were
done in the old dispensations and again isaac watts in one
of his hymns He's speaking of the children of Israel and the
sacrifices, offerings, and divers washings, and they used to have
to go three times a year, travel from all over the country to
meet in Jerusalem for worship, et cetera. But what does Watts
say in that lovely hymn? But we have no such lengths to
go, nor wander far abroad. There's a place, there's a house
of God now local church where we could go and we can worship
the lord we have no we don't have to the gospel isn't onerous
like the law was in fact there are two ordinances
that are laid down in the new testament church You think of
all the different things that the children of Israel had to
do in offering sacrifices and washing themselves etc. But the
Christian, the first one is to be baptized in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Lord Jesus Christ. Baptism
is for believers. And the second one is the Lord's
Supper, the Lord Jesus Christ. The cup represents the blood
of Christ, the bread represents the body of Christ. And the Lord
Jesus, he said, this do in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat
this bread and drink this cup, you do show the Lord's death
till he comes. when the the baptistry represents
the grave of Christ when the believer is taken down
into the baptistry to be baptized they are professing openly that
all their hope is in the finished work of Jesus Christ that he
suffered and bled and died for their sins that is their hope view the right with understanding,
Jesus' grave before thee lies, be interred at his commanding
after his example rise. The wonderful example of Christ
when he was baptized in the river Jordan. And the words of Christ to John
the Baptist when The dear man of God, he felt reticent to baptize
him. He said, I need to be baptized
of thee. Why comest thou to me? And what did Christ say? It's a very
relevant word, friends. Suffer it to be so now, for thus
it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. For the believer,
it's a righteous thing in the sight of God to be baptized. Now, but Christ being come an
high priest of good things to come by a greater, more perfect
tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say not of this building,
neither by the blood of goats and of calves, but by his own
blood. That's connected to this new
tabernacle you see. greater and more perfect tabernacle
which is his holy human nature neither by the blood of goats
and of calves but by his own blood he entered in once into
the holy place having obtained eternal redemption for us by
the precious blood of Jesus Christ and then we have our text for
if the blood of bulls and of goats and the ashes of an heifer
sprinkling the unclean sanctify to the purifying of the flesh
that is all the jewish rites and sacrifices could do the purifying
of the flesh how much more shall the blood
of christ who through the eternal spirit offered himself without
spot to god purge your conscience from dead works to serve the
living God. I had a particular experience
when I was brought into Gospel Liberty and the day after I had a wonderful
blessing and then the day after the devil really sorely tempted
me and the temptation was and it
was very real and very powerful You've got all these blessings
and you feel all these wonderful things, but you've never been
washed in the blood of Christ. And dear friends, that was a
very real temptation. It was quite a torment to me. And then it was the, just two
lines of a hymn that were, I believe the Holy Spirit sealed them into
my heart. Every blessing, every favor freely
flows through Jesus' precious blood. Do you know, friends,
that completely broke the snare. I saw that, in fact, I look back
over the period that I'd made a profession, and I saw all the
blessings that the Lord had given me, and it was through the precious
blood of Christ. You know, friends, how precious.
the blood of Christ was to me then. All those blessings and
favours came through the blood of Christ. Now that blood, it
really means the atonement. You young people, you children,
you may think atonement, what does atonement mean? It's just
a little word and you don't really understand it. There's a very
simple way of looking at it. At one meant. At one meant. Reconciled to God,
made one with God. That's what the atonement means.
How the Lord Jesus Christ has reconciled the church unto God. He's reconciled the church unto
God. How much more, when you look
at all the sacrifices and offerings and you think of the millions
of sacrifices and offerings under the Old Testament none of them could take away
sin but this sacrifice you know one of the what we might say
the great dignity and worth of the sacrifice of Christ is that
he is the Son of God In fact all the dignity and worth of
that glorious sacrifice is that he is the son of God. And this
is what we have in our text in verse 14. How much more shall
the blood of Christ who through the eternal spirit offered himself
without spot to God. Now the term eternal spirit I
do not believe it means the Holy Ghost. I'm absolutely sure it
means the divine nature of the Son of God who through the eternal
spirit is co-equal, co-eternal with the Father and with the
Holy Ghost. Now as you look at this text, just try and visualize in your
mind on the Levitical dispensation there was an altar and there
was a sacrifice on the altar. Now they were very distinct one
from another, the altar and the sacrifice, but they both typified
something, they both spoke to us of something. The altar speaks to us of the
divine nature or as in our text the eternal spirit, the divine
nature of Jesus, the Son of God. That's what the altar represents.
And then the sacrifice on the altar typifies or represents
the human nature of the Son of God. And now this will give you
a greater light on the word of our text, where we see it clearly
in those terms. How much more shall the blood
of Christ do through the eternal spirit? There's the types and
the shadows that the eternal spirit being the altar and the
sacrifice on the altar being the human nature of Jesus, the
son of God. One sacrifice. One sacrifice. If you, again, the apostle in
chapter 10, the beginning of the chapter 10, he speaks of
the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very
image of the things. This clearly opens to us the
meaning of what we've been saying. Can never with those sacrifices,
which are offered year by year continually, make the comers
there unto perfect. They couldn't. For then would they not have
ceased to be offered. Because that the worshippers
once purchased should have had no more conscience of sins. But
in those sacrifices, that's the Old Testament, there is a remembrance
again made of sins every year. And this is what we need to try
and convey to you in verse four, for it is not possible that the
blood of bulls and goats should take away sins. It's not possible. They were typical. Again, you children and young
people, you may say, what does it mean, typical? Just in a simple
way, a typewriter. The spelling's exactly the same
as type, T-Y-P-E, typewriter. So if you press the key with
the M, and the M will come up on the paper, It will do exactly
what you press, it will come up onto the paper, the end. And
that is a simple meaning of the word type. So when we have the
sacrifices and offerings of the Old Testament, they were a type,
they point us to Jesus Christ, the glorious person of the Saviour. But in those sacrifices, There
is a remembrance again made of sins every year, for it is not
possible that the blood of bulls or goats should take away sins.
Wherefore, when he cometh into the world, we have a quotation
here now from the book of Psalms, Psalm 40, sacrifice an offering
thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me. This sacred body. that Jesus
assumed in the womb of the Virgin Mary, never had any existence
separate to the Son of God. As soon as the Holy Ghost overshadowed
the womb, the Son of God assumed that seed. And it says in Luke,
that holy thing. Something important, the virgin
birth of Jesus Christ was essential to salvation. And you might say, why? Because
we all are born in sin, shaped in iniquity. And if the son of
God had been by natural generation, he would have been born in sin. But we bless God. There was this
wonderful act of divine grace in the Holy Spirit overshadowing
the womb of the Virgin Mary, and he took up the seed of the
woman, the son of God assumed it, and there was a union made
between the divine and the human. So, the Lord Jesus was holy. He was holy in his birth. He
was holy in his life. He was holy in his death. holy
in his birth, holy in his life. We go back to that word, some
words, they're like flags and they stand out like a banner.
I come not to destroy the law, but to fulfill it. He was holy,
pure and righteous. And he lived a life in perfect
obedience to the holy law of God. He was holy in thought,
in word, and he did. Or as the Apostle says, he did
no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. That's a very important
thing. I remember my son coming home
from school, he would have only been about six years old, and
the vicar had taken the assembly that morning. And he said, apparently,
He said, the Lord Jesus Christ did do some wrong things. And I felt it was very perceptive
of him. When he come home, he said, Dad,
Mr. So-and-so, he said, the Lord
Jesus did some wrong things. He said, that's not right, he
said. And it wasn't right. It's a terrible thing to say
that Jesus did wrong things. Jesus was perfect in his holy
life. His sinless life. He was holy. He was pure. He was righteous. And in that holy life is the
law fulfilled. Christ is the end of the law
for righteousness. In the holy life of Jesus, the
law is fulfilled. And the church is made righteous
in the righteousness of Jesus. How much more than those rites
and purifying and washings? How much more shall the blood
of Christ? It's holy blood. It's pure blood. It's righteous blood. But we
come back to this. All the dignity and worth of
that blood is the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son. It's exactly
what John says in the first epistle, isn't it? The blood of Jesus
Christ, God's Son. Notice the emphasis. The blood
of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us from all sin. There's no other
blood that will do that. But the blood of Jesus, the Son
of God. The power of that blood is the
Son of God. This blood is put for the whole
atonement. the preciousness of this blood,
how much more so the blood of Christ who through the eternal
spirit offered himself, complete sacrifice, offered himself without
spot to God, purged your conscience and dead works to serve the living
God. He's referring to the Old Testament
as dead works. As dead works. I think it's the
Apostle Peter in his first epistle he speaks of this glorious sacrifice
he says in 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 21 for even here unto were ye
called because Christ also suffered for us leaving us an example
that ye should follow his steps who did no sin neither was guile
found in his mouth who when he was reviled, reviled not again. When he suffered, he threatened
not, but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously,
who his own self bear our sins. Listen, friends, he's speaking
of the Son of God here, and just look how it's worded, who his
own self bear our sins in his own body on the tree. that we,
being dead to sin, should live unto righteousness, by whose
stripes ye were healed. For ye were as sheep going astray,
but are now returned unto the shepherd and bishop of yourselves. How much more shall the blood
of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without
spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the
living God. He goes on here, for this cause,
he is the mediator of the New Testament, Christ is. There's
those lovely words that the apostle Paul writes to his son Timothy,
in the faith there is one God and one mediator between God
and man, the man, Christ Jesus, who gave his life for ransom
for all, to be testified in due time. The man, Christ Jesus,
that glorious, holy sacrifice. For this cause, he is the mediator
of the New Testament, that by means of death, for redemption
of the transgressions that were under the First Testament, they
which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. They that are called. How important
that is, they that are called. As far as I can see, in studying
Holy Scripture, the only evidence that you and I can have that
we're a child of God, is to be called by Divine Grace. To be
called by Divine Grace. Paul, he says in writing to the
Galatians, that the Lord who separated me from my mother's
womb and called me by his grace. A wonderful thing to be called
by grace. A divine call that reaches into
the heart. When the Holy Spirit enters the
soul, when we're brought to fill our need, And then he leads us
to Jesus Christ, the only saviour of sinners. He brings us to see,
if ever my poor soul be saved, his Christ must be the way. That's
what the Holy Spirit gives us to feel and to see. And then you feel the preciousness
of Christ. And as the Holy Spirit deepens
that work of grace in your heart, you feel the preciousness of
the atonement. You feel the preciousness of
the blood of Christ that cleanses from all sin. It is then that
you hunger and thirst after these things. It's then that you understand
the language of the apostle in the Philippians, that I might
know him in the power of his resurrection, in the fellowship
of his sufferings. Dear dying lamb, thy precious
blood, shall never lose its power. It won't. It will never lose
its power. It's of infinite worth. It reconciles a poor sinner unto
God. You must remember that when Jesus
suffered and bled and died, it was for the sins of his people.
It says in Isaiah chapter 53, He laid upon Him the iniquity
of us all. Our Heavenly Father took our
sin off of us and He imputed it unto His Son, the Son of God
manifest in the flesh. He laid upon Him the iniquity of us all. He took
away our sin and He imputed it to His Son who was holy and pure
and righteous. And this was agreed in this eternal
covenant that he would do this. This was a divine act of the
father and of the son. But not only did he take our
sin and laid it on his son, he then took the perfect obedience
of Christ, which is called the righteousness of Christ. And
he gave that to the church to cover her nakedness. The now
She's rayed in royal robes, royal robes, the righteousness of Christ. She not only washed in his blood
and cleansed from all her sin, but she's clothed in that glorious
everlasting robe of the righteousness of Jesus, the Son of God. My mind, it just goes to those
beautiful words that we find in the Psalm 45 concerning the
king's daughter. It says in verse 9 of Psalm 45,
king's daughters are among thy honourable women. This is the
church of God. Upon thy right hand is stand
the queen in gold of Ophir. Hearken, O daughter, and consider,
incline thine ear, forget also thine own people and thy father's
house. So shall the king, the king is
Jesus, so shall the king greatly desire thy beauty for he is thy
lord and worship thou him and the daughter of tar shall be
there with a gift even the rich among the people shall entreat
thy favor the king's daughter is all glorious within why because
she's washed in the blood of jesus her clothing is of wrought
gold why because she's clothed in the righteousness of jesus
she shall be brought unto the king in raiment of needlework
the virgins her companions that follow her shall be brought unto
thee with gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought they shall
enter into the king's palace why because of the blood and
righteousness of jesus christ how much more shall the blood
of Christ who through the eternal spirit offered himself without
spot to God purge your conscience from dead works to serve the
living God. May the Lord add his blessings. Let us now sing the second part
of hymn number 803. The tune is Orlington, 203. And did the darling son of God for
sinners deign to bleed, the purchase of that precious blood must needs
be rich indeed. Hymn 803, the second part Tune Orlington 203. ? O say can you see by the dawn's
early light ? ? What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last
gleaming ? and purchase of their precious
blood. ? God save the Queen in thee ?
? God makes the world a place of joy ? ? O great and wondrous
gift ? ? This the Lord thy God bestows ? This dark wine now we have bestowed,
Tis our next humble praise. Stage your magic day, just fine,
And all the candles burn, ? The Lord of hosts is born today
? ? The Lord of hosts is born today ? O come, O come, O come, ? November the fourth day ? ? The
blessings of heaven and earth ? All blessings of all the heav'nly
host, her name the Lord be with you. ? God of Israel ? ? Ever to reign
? ? Let Israel praise the Lord ? ? With the angelic host ? Give thee, my God, to create
a ship on the roughest ravine. Now may the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, the sacred fellowship
of the Holy Spirit, rest and abide with us each. Amen.