Let us commence our service this
afternoon by singing together hymn number 1052. The tune is
Stellar, 797. Redeemer, whither should I flee? Or how escape the wrath to come?
The weary sinner flies to thee, For shelter from impending doom.
Smile on me, Gracious Lord and show thyself the friend of sinners
now. Hymn 1052, Tune Stellar, 797. Should I be a weaver, should
I be a weaver, should I be a weaver, should I be a weaver, should
I be a weaver, should I be a weaver, should I be a weaver, should I be a
weaver, should I be a weaver, should I be a weaver, should
I be a weaver, should I be a weaver, should I be a weaver, should
I be a weaver, should I be a weaver, should I be a weaver, should
I be a weaver, should I be a weaver, should I be a weaver, should
I be a weaver, should I be a weaver, should I be a weaver, should
I be a weaver, should I be a weaver, should I be a weaver, should
I be a weaver, should I be a weaver, should I be a weaver, should
I be a weaver, should I be a weaver, should I be a weaver, should
I be a weaver, to thee, O shelter from impending
pain. ? The loving, gracious Lord, and
share ? ? Thyself the bread of sinlessness ? Beneath the shadow of thy cross,
The heav'n-heav'n star of my trust, Thy word has been a welcome choice. So I mourn Thee like Christ the
blessed. I see Rejoice! Rejoice! Rejoice! Rejoice! Rejoice! Rejoice! Oh, still they keep their previous
stream, Peace as my humble soul would be, His eyes that look, seek a light
within. With the ev'ry tongue to God
and King, I stand at this appointment mine,
With open eyes to be kind. If lost and too far gone it were,
I'd hold it up to take this last try. And life deriving from thy birth,
Never to wander by thy way. Then may I love my Son of God
dearly, And own the Father, Lord, and King. Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God in the prophecy of Isaiah, chapter 59. Isaiah, chapter 59. Behold, the Lord's hand is not
shortened that it cannot save, neither is it heavy that it cannot
hear. but your iniquities have separated
you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you that
he will not hear. For your hands are defiled with
blood, and your fingers with iniquity, your lips have spoken
lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness, none calleth for
justice. nor any pleadeth for truth. They
trust in vanity and speak lies. They conceive mischief and bring
forth iniquity. They hatch cockatrice eggs and
weave the spider's web. He that eateth of their eggs
dieth, and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper. Their
webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves
with their works. Their works are works of iniquity,
and the act of violence is in their hands. Their feet run to
do evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood. Their
thoughts are thoughts of iniquity. Wasting and destruction are in
their paths. The way of peace have they not
known? Sorry friends, I lost my way
there. Their feet run to evil and they make haste to shed innocent
blood. Their thoughts are thoughts of
iniquity, wasting and destruction are in their paths. The way of
peace they know not. and there is no judgment in their
goings. They have made them crooked paths,
whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace. Therefore is
judgment far from us, neither doth justice overtake us. We
wait for light but behold obscurity, for brightness but we walk in
darkness. We grope for the wall like the
blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes, we stumble at noonday
as in the night, we are in desolate places as dead men. We roar all
like bears and mourn sore like doves, we look for judgment but
there is none, for salvation but it is far from us, for our
transgressions are multiplied before thee, Our sins testify
against us, for our transgressions are with us. And as for our iniquities,
we know them, in transgressing and lying against the Lord, and
departing away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt,
conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.
And judgment is turned away backward, And justice standeth afar off,
for truth is falling in the street, and equity cannot enter. Yea,
truth faileth. And he that departed from evil
maketh himself a prey. And the Lord saw it, and it displeased
him that there was no judgment. And he saw that there was no
man. and wondered that there was no intercessor therefore
his arm brought salvation unto him and his righteousness it
sustained him for he put on righteousness as a breastplate and a helmet
of salvation upon his head and he put on the garments of vengeance
for clothing and was clad with zeal as a cloak according to
their deeds according he will repay. Fury to his adversaries,
recompense to his enemies, to the islands he will repay recompense. So shall they fear the name of
the Lord from the west and his glory from the rising of the
sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the spirit of
the Lord shall lift up a standard against him. and the Redeemer
shall come to Zion, and to them that turn from transgression
in Jacob, saith the Lord. As for me, this is my covenant
with them, saith the Lord, my spirit that is upon thee, and
my words which I have put in thy mouth shall not depart out
of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of
the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the Lord from henceforth
and forever. May the Lord bless the reading
of his own precious word and grant unto us a spirit of real
prayer. Almighty, holy and eternal God,
we bow before thy glorious majesty, We've read, O Lord, in thy word
together a description of our filthy fallen state and condition,
of a heart of iniquity and corruption, and we painfully prove, O Lord,
that the heart of man is desperately wicked, and who can tell it?
Oh, we do come then as we are, poor, guilty, wretched sinners, poor undone sinners, poor helpless
sinners, dead in trespasses and in sins. And we need Thee to come with
Thy Spirit and to quicken our souls into life and to revive
us and to renew us. Will Thou not revive us again,
O Lord? We do humbly beseech Thee. Work mightily in our hearts by
thy good spirit. Set our affections on things
above and not on things of the earth. Grant that the grace of
our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God our Father, the sacred
fellowship of the Holy Spirit may rest and abide upon us here
in the sanctuary this afternoon. That the word of truth may be
open to our heart and to understanding. that we may be led and taught
and guided and directed by thee, and that our eyes, the eyes of
our understanding may be enlightened, that we might understand what
that good and perfect and acceptable will of the Lord is. Guide us,
O thou great Jehovah. We're pilgrims in a barren land.
We have, O Lord, a corrupt nature. As the dear apostle himself confessed,
for I know that in me that is in my flesh there dwelleth no
good thing and Lord we prove that to be the case and we come
Lord in all our need unto thee and pray to be washed in the
precious blood of Jesus Christ to cleanse us from all our sin
and from all our unrighteousness that we may be complete in him
that we may be accepted in the beloved and that we may hear
those glorious words, thou art all fair, my love, there is no
spot in thee. Oh Lord, it seems an absolute
miracle, Lord, that ever that could happen, when we feel the
corruption and sin of our old nature. We pray, most gracious
Lord, that we may be made more spiritually minded, that our
heart and our affections may be set upon things above, and
that thou wouldst draw us unto thyself. O none come except the
Father draw. May we know those sacred spiritual
drawings, drawings unto Jesus Christ. May we know the divine
enlightening of the Holy Ghost to reveal the things of Jesus,
to testify of Christ the Lamb. He will take of the things of
Jesus and reveal them unto you, and we pray that it may be so
this afternoon as we gather around thy word and as we gather around
thy table that these precious truths may be revealed unto us.
May the power that brings salvation be exerted in the word. We do
humbly pray that may there be some poor sinner here this afternoon
may feel the quickening power of the Holy Ghost in their hearts.
We do humbly beseech thee We pray, most gracious God, that
thou, in thy precious mercy, wouldst remember us as a church
and as a congregation, and work mightily, powerfully, and effectually
among us, and remember the prodigals that have wandered away, and
stretch out thy almighty arm, and cause them to return. Lord,
this is thy sovereign work alone, and we pray that we may be favoured
to see that work, let thy work appear unto thy servants and
thy glory unto their children. And O Lord, we do pray that thou
wouldst remember our brethren the deacons and bless them indeed,
undertake for them. Remember each one of our brethren
and sisters in Christ Jesus. Remember us as we gather round
the table of the Lord and grant that we may truly worship Thee
and truly remember Thee and have a sight by faith of our precious
Redeemer. And O Lord, we do pray that Thou,
in Thy great mercy, would remember the whole of our congregation,
the little ones, the children. Remember them with the favour
that Thou bearest unto Thy people. Visit them with thy great salvation,
the dear young friends, or do bless them indeed. Do guide them
by thy counsel and do grant that thy word may be a lamp unto their
feet and a light unto their path, and that they may have revealed
unto them the sacred glories of Emmanuel, of the eternal word
that was made flesh. Remember, Lord, we pray thee,
any and any distress or trouble Losses and crosses and affliction
and sorrows Undertake for each one. Oh lord, we pray thee Graciously
work mightily powerfully and effectually among us remember
Oh lord parents and all in the midst of the journey of life
and grant divine guidance and help and teaching We do humbly
pray thee And oh lord, we do pray that thou in thy Great mercy
was to remember all of us in the evening time of life's journey
and preserve us unto thy heavenly kingdom. We do humbly beseech
thee. May we be kept by the power of
God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed at the last
day. And Lord, any one of us here
this could be our last day on earth and we pray that if it
is it may be Lord one of the days of the Son of Man when it
may please thee to meet with some poor sinner and make them
ready to meet their maker we do humbly beseech thee. Lord
we do pray that thou in thy precious mercy would fill our hearts with
gratitude With thanksgiving, thy mercies to us are new every
morning, and great is thy faithfulness. We thank thee for our little
house of prayer. We thank thee that Jesus is the
way, the truth, and the life. We thank thee for that glorious
mystery of godliness of God manifest in the flesh. We thank thee for
the holy, sinless life of Jesus Christ, wherein is our righteousness,
Jehovah Sidkenu, the Lord, our righteousness. We thank Thee,
O most gracious Lord, for Gethsemane, for Calvary, for sin being put
away, for the precious sin-atoning blood of our Lord Jesus Christ,
for that glorious atonement for sin on the cross. Redeemer, with
Thy should I flee, O most gracious Lord, We thank thee that he died
for our sins, rose again for our justification, and is now
ascended into heaven and sitteth at thy right hand. Oh, we thank
thee that we have a great high priest who is passed into the
heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, wherefore he is able to save
to the uttermost all that come unto God by him, seeing he ever
liveth. We thank Thee that we have a Heavenly Father who loves
us with an everlasting love. We thank Thee for the sacred
gift of Thy Holy Spirit, and Thou hast said, I will never
leave Thee, nor forsake Thee. He that hath begun a good work
in You shall perform it unto the day of Jesus Christ. We thank Thee for the eternal
safety of Thy Church, We pray that thou wouldst now be with
us as we turn to thy holy word, and come and open thy word to
our heart and to our understanding. Come and be mouth, matter, and
wisdom unto us. Come and touch one's lips with
a live coal from off the heavenly altar. We ask for Jesus Christ's
sake. Amen. Let us now sing together hymn
1033. The tune is St. Luke 834. In Jesus combined all the riches
of grace, what glory and grandeur I see in his face. Jehovah's
eternal and co-equal Son took all our transgressions and made
them his own, hymn 1033, tune St Luke, 834. to the riches of the praise. ? All glory and worth ? ? Your
afflictions ? ? In whom eternal ? ? Happiness lies ? ? The Lord
? ? Angel bread of Zion, and I of
your tears ? ? Alleluia ? ? In glory availed ? ? Now he lives,
now he reigns, now he reigns ? ? Now he lives, now he reigns,
now he reigns ? to answer the calling when they
are made blind. O'er the land of the free and
the home of the brave? In our expectation, it's like
that in heaven. And each creature finds its own
delusion, ? I love you, O Jesus, so heavenly
and strong ? ? My gracious Savior, and the King of Kings ? ? His promise assures me ? ? That
I'll be safe and safe ? ? And that you'll never see ? ? My
pain or your pain ? greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, I would direct your attention to Isaiah chapter
59 and we'll read verse 20 for our text. Isaiah chapter 59 verse 20. And the Redeemer shall come to
Zion and unto them that turn from transgression In Jacob saith
the Lord. And the Redeemer shall come to
Zion. Zion is the church of the living
God. This is a beautiful prophecy
concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal
son of God. And it is a beautiful prophecy
of speaking of when he will come to this earth. And he would redeem his people. You'll notice Redeemer is written
with a capital R. It's because it refers to the
glorious person of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Redeemer,
shall come. It was something that was divinely
certain, the Redeemer shall come. There were no ifs or buts about
it. It's something that was divinely ordered, purposed, that the Redeemer
shall come to Zion. And unto them that turn from
transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord, saith Jehovah. The Apostle Paul, he speaks of
the Redeemer and he speaks of the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ in Galatians chapter 4. And it says there how that he
would come. That he would be made of a woman,
made under the law, the Son of God. Would be made of a woman,
made under the law, that he might redeem them that are under the
law. The Redeemer. That's what he
came to do. To redeem. The Redeemer is able
to pay the redemption price. And the redemption price of the
church was exceedingly precious. We should never will take an
eternity my beloved friends to even begin to conceive of the
tremendous love of God in redeeming his church and his people and
how it was a divine decree that purposed it. The Redeemer shall
come and he has come. There's a beautiful illustration
in holy scripture In the book of Ruth, when Ruth and Naomi came and
returned from the land of Moab, and she was completely bankrupt,
she said herself, I went out full, came home again empty. They went down into Moab because
they thought it would be more prosperous. It would be a better place to
live. because there was a famine in the land of Israel. So they
left the land of Israel, the people of God, the house of God,
and they went after prosperity. It says in there that they remained
in the land of Moab for about 10 years. And then we read that Elimelech
died, that's Naomi's husband. Their two sons married two Moabitish
girls and both their sons died. So, Naomi was left with two daughters-in-law. Eventually, when Naomi had purposed
to return to the land of Israel, She said to her daughter-in-law,
return to Moab and to its gods. I've got nothing to offer you,
I'm completely bankrupt. We read that Orpah, they both
lifted up their voices and wept and Orpah returned unto Moab. But Ruth, clave unto her. Ruth clave unto her. And when
they came to Bethlehem in the time of barley harvest and Ruth
they were destitute so she went to glean in the field and it
says in Ruth that her hat was to light upon a field belonging
unto Baaz. It happened. The Lord led her there. Gadsby brings out in that lovely
hymn doesn't he? When Ruth a gleaning went, Jehovah
was her guide. To Boaz's field he led her straight
and she became his bride. So she went to glean in the field
of Boaz and he dealt very kindly with her. Boaz is a beautiful
type of our Lord Jesus Christ. It says he was a mighty man of
wealth. A mighty man of wealth. What a beautiful picture of Christ. mighty man of wealth with heaven
and earth at his command he waits to answer prayer he has all things in his hand
the Lord Jesus Christ he's the eternal son of God he reigns
omnipotent he's mighty to save and he alone could pay the redemption
price. So when it came to it, it was
Boaz that paid the redemption price for Ruth and Naomi. He was a mighty man of wealth.
He was able to buy all their lands, which they'd lost. They'd
lost everything. And he came along and he bought
them all. He redeemed them. What a beautiful picture of our
Lord Jesus Christ. He came, she says, and the Redeemer
shall come to Zion. We read of David when he was
a Ziklag and how that the, I think it could have been the Amalekites,
they came and they took his wives. His family, everything. He lost
everything. And he pursued with his men after
them. And we read this, and David recovered
all. And David recovered all. And
Jesus has recovered all for his people. He has. There is salvation
in none other. And the Redeemer shall come to
Zion. and unto them that turn from
transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord. And the wonderful glory, my beloved
friends, today, as we live in a gospel day, when the word of
God is to be preached in every nation, kindred, tongue, and
tribe, and people, when the Lord's servants are to preach Jesus
Christ as the way, the truth, and the life, Jesus is the way
to God, Jesus is the way to bliss. The Lord's servants are to preach
that holy life of Jesus Christ and in it the law fulfilled and
honoured and magnified and in that holy life everlasting righteousness
for his people and the Redeemer shall come to Zion and in that
they will be the Lord's people will be drawn to Jesus Christ.
The Holy Spirit will enter their heart. It says in the following
verse, 21, As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith
the Lord. My spirit that is upon thee,
and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart
out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out
of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth
forever. My Spirit that is upon thee,
my words which I have put in thy mouth. My Spirit. We read here in Isaiah, until
the Spirit be poured upon us from on high. You know, what the Redeemer has
done, he's completely saved his people. In his holy life he makes
them righteous. The Apostle touching on this
very truth, he says in the epistles, ye are complete in him. There's
an alternative rendering for complete that's sometimes translated
perfect. You are perfect in Christ. You
are complete in him. And how can that be so? Poor,
guilty, wretched, helpless, hopeless sinners. In the previous part
of the chapter it struck me so much as we were reading through
it together of the awful state and condition that we're in by
nature. Truth failing, he that departed
from evil making himself a prey and the Lord saw it and it displeased
him that there was no judgment and he saw that there was no
man. It reminds us that word in the
fifth chapter of the book of the Revelation that when John
had a view into heaven and he that sitteth upon the throne and he says I saw a lamb that
had been slain I saw a lamb but before that when the book was to be opened And he said, I wet much. Why? Because there's no man found
that could open the seals of the book. But the wonderful glory,
friends, today is that the Redeemer has come to Zion and that book
has been opened and the seven seals have been opened. I saw
that there was no man and wondered that there was no intercessor.
Therefore, his arm brought salvation unto him. That's Christ. his
righteousness it sustained him for he put on righteousness as
a breastplate and a helmet of salvation upon his head and he
put on the garments of vengeance for clothing and was clad with
zeal as a cloak according to their deeds accordingly he will
repay fury to his adversaries recompense to his enemies to
the islands he will repay recompense and the Rima shall come we know
that the Regime has come and we know that he has fulfilled
and honoured and magnified the holy law of God and therefore
making his people righteous. When Jesus suffered and bled
and died on Calvary's tree it was for his people. When he lived that holy life
it was for his people. when he suffered and bled and
died on Calvary, it was for his people. He came to redeem them. He came to do what they could
not do. They could not fulfill God's
holy law. They could not live a righteous
life. What a description we have in
the early part of this chapter. Look at verse 7. Their feet,
this is a picture of man in his awful fallen state. Their feet
run to evil and they make haste to shed innocent blood. Their
thoughts are thoughts of iniquity. Wasting and destruction is in
their paths. The way of peace they have not
known. There is no judgment in their goings. They have made
them crooked paths. Whosoever goeth therein shall
not know peace." It speaks of the blindness of
men. for is judgment far from us neither does justice overtake
us we wait for light but we hold obscurity for brightness and
we walk in darkness we grope for the wall this is our state
by nature we're in a terrible state by nature there's a lovely
word in the previous verse in chapter in verse 19 so shall
they fear the name of the lord from the west and his glory from
the rising of the sun this is the shining forth of the gospel
when the enemy that is satan shall come in like a flood the
spirit of the lord shall lift up a standard against him that
standard is christ the glorious person of our precious redeemer
it is and the redeemer shall come to
zion But let us not just look at it
in the sense of that in the day of Christ and that of course
is the fullness and the fulfilment of the promise the Redeemer shall
come to Zion and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob
but he will come to Zion today in the day in which we live.
This is a word of promise. It's true the primary meaning
of the text is that Christ will Come to this earth And he would
live as a man the Son of God would live as a man upon this
earth fulfilling and the holy law and offering that sacrifice
and Suffering bleeding and dying for the sins of his people We
come to remember that the ordinance of the Lord's Supper This do
in remembrance of me. For often as you eat this cup,
eat this bread and drink this cup, you do show the Lord's death
till he come. This glorious truth that Jesus
has come, that the law has been fulfilled, magnified and honored. And that verse 19 has been fulfilled,
when the enemy shall come in like a flood, The spirit of the
Lord shall lift up a standard, that's Christ, against him, against
Satan, against his work, against his power. He tries to keep poor
sinners from Christ. He tries to hinder them coming
to Christ. He tries to tell them they're
too black, that there's no hope for them. But when the enemy
comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the Lord, that's the Holy
Ghost, shall lift up a standard against him, against Satan, against
his power, against his influence. Terrible powers of Satan that
prevailed in the days of Christ. But look how the Lord Jesus overcome
them. Look at the mighty power of Jesus
in healing the sick, the blind, the deaf, the lame. See, the devil couldn't stand
against the power of Christ. Christ is mightier than them
all. The Redeemer who has paid the
redemption price. But the way this seems to rest
with me today is that it's for today. A promise as good today
as it was when it was fulfilled in Christ. when He swallowed
up death in victory, when He ascended up on high and entered
into glory, and those everlasting gates lifted up their heads and
the King of glory has entered in. These are things that He
has done and that He has accomplished, our great Redeemer. It's a complete
salvation that is wrought out for His people. Everything you
need, poor sinner, everything, for time and for eternity, is
found in a precious Christ. That's where it is. Now, he will
come to Zion today. He still visits Zion with his
presence. He still blesses the ministry
of the world. He still quickens poor sinners
into life. He's still convicting and convincing
poor sinners of their sin, and then revealing unto them the
wonderful glories of our precious Redeemer, our Lord Jesus Christ,
as the way, the truth, and the life he promises here they'll
keep coming and the Redeemer shall come to Zion and unto them
that turn from transgression in Jacob. What did it mean to turn from
transgression in Jacob? Transgression is when we break
a boundary. It's the meaning of the word.
That's the idea behind the word. Breaking a boundary. The idea,
you know, of a field with a fence or a hedge all around it, so
that livestock are contained in that field. But if one of
them breaks out and breaks the boundary, then they transgress. That's the meaning of the word.
And so he's put a boundary around us all, which is his holy righteous
law. We all have sinned. Sin is any
transgression of the law of God. We all have sinned. We've all
transgressed. But there is one that never transgressed. Jesus. He did no sin. He never transgressed. And he
is the Redeemer of his people. Sinner, he has fulfilled the
law on your behalf. He has. that holy righteous law
that curses everyone that doeth not all things that is written
in the book of the law to do them. The Lord Jesus Christ has
fulfilled it. He's honored it. You know, it's still true today
as it was when Christ was here upon earth. This man receiveth
sinners and eateth with them. Oh, my beloved friends, he still
does. He still does. Come, then repenting
sinner, come and trust upon his grace. Oh, what thou wilt, the
total sum is cancelled by his death. It's through that precious
redeeming blood of Jesus Christ that the way to heaven is made.
I am the way. I fulfilled the law. I've suffered
and bled and died to take away the curse from you. It's all
in Jesus Christ, poor sinner. It is. Now unto them that turn
from transgression in Jacob. When the Holy Spirit works in
the heart of a poor sinner, he convinces of sin, he shows us our emptiness, our
unworthiness, wretchedness? He does. And then he shows us
the precious things of Jesus. He does. He will take of the
things of Jesus and reveal them unto you. Now it says here in
the context of the enemy coming in like a flood, how when a poor
sinner is under conviction of sin, feeling that dreadful, sinful
state and condition, feeling themselves to be lost and undone,
feeling themselves to be helpless and hopeless and completely unable
to do anything to save themselves. It makes them feel completely
hopeless. Now it says here, and the enemy
will come in like a flood and tell it, it is hopeless he'll
say. There's no way to God, there's no way for such a black sinner
as you. When the enemy comes in like
a flood, the Spirit of the Lord, the Holy Ghost, shall lift up
a standard against him. That's Christ. The standard is
Christ. When the children of Israel went
forward in the wilderness, each of the tribes of the children
of Israel, they all travelled separately, separate in their
tribes, and each tribe have standard. It's a flag. When the British
Army used to march into war, they would have a standard bearer
and he would hold the regimental standard and he would go before
the troops into battle and the troops would rally round the
standard. What a picture. Christ is the
standard. The flag or the standard of Judah
was a lion. In the blessings of Jacob on
Israel, he said Judah is a lion's whelp. And he speaks of the lawgiver
standing between his feet. That's Christ. Christ was born
of the tribe of Judah and there right way back there there's
a prophecy concerning Christ would come of the tribe of Judah and he would deliver his people
when the enemy comes in like a flood the spirit of the Lord
that's the spirit of Jehovah shall lift up a standard against
him that's in Christ And that standard is revealed to a poor
sinner. Jesus is the way to God. Jesus
is the way to bliss. In this way the saints have trod
down from Adam's day to this the Redeemer shall come. When
the Holy Spirit pours his power and his unction on the Lord's
servants and they preach under the power of the Holy Ghost. And it reaches into the hearts
of the hearers. In the Corinthians, the apostle,
he says, we are ambassadors for Christ. We are ambassadors for
Christ. We're to preach Jesus Christ
and him crucified. Paul, he saw the vital necessity
of this. He said, I determined to know
nothing among men, save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Not
just Jesus Christ, but Him crucified. It's in that glorious divine
act of the sacred sacrifice, the sinatonic sacrifice of our
Lord Jesus on the cross of Calvary. That's the center. That's the
redemption price. He loved not his life unto death.
He gave his life a ransom for all to be testified in due time. It says in the book of Job, Elihu
says, deliver him from going down into the pit, for I have
found a ransom. That ransom is the glorious person,
power, grace, love, blood, and righteousness of our Lord and
Savior, Jesus Christ. and unto them that turn. It means
to repent. They turn from transgression.
This is a divine act of the Spirit of God. They turn from transgression. He gives faith and repentance. Godly sorrow. Faith in our Lord
Jesus Christ. Repentance where the love of
Christ is shed abroad and Christ is revealed. They see him as
the way, the truth and the life. They leave the hateful ways of
sin. They turn to the fold and enter
in. It's a divine act of Jehovah. You can't repent of yourself.
I can't. Nobody can. It's a wonderful
act of divine grace. We believe in free and sovereign
grace. You can't believe unless the
Holy Spirit gives you faith to believe. And when he does, there's
such a beautiful revelation of Christ. Such glorious light and
life that flows into the heart. And then there is a mourning
over our sins and after him. When you feel something of the
efficacy and the power of the blood of Christ. The blood of
Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us from all sin. Do we have, I trust we have,
some seeking souls here this afternoon that are seeking Jesus
Christ, that are seeking to know the secret of real religion.
They want to know it, they want to experience it, They want to
understand it. They want to feel the power of
the love of God in their hearts. They want to see this dear Redeemer
and to follow Him. And when they repent, what the
Apostle puts it so beautifully in the Acts of the Apostles,
repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, they
turn Godward. That's what repentance is. When
a poor sinner turns Godward, heavenward, oh, that the Lord
would give us then this spirit of true, real, vital repentance. The Lord Jesus said, except ye
repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Repentance will bring
you to the feet of Jesus Christ. It will. will reveal something of the
wonderful glories of redeeming love and blood unto your soul. And the Redeemer shall come to
Zion and unto them that turn from transgression, saith the
Lord. May the Lord add his blessing.