God willing, as follows. Mr. Timothy Kingham will preach here
next Lord's Day at 10.30 and 2 o'clock. Pastor will preach
here on Thursday evening at 7 o'clock. There'll be no prayer meeting
here on Tuesday evening, as is Mattfield Thanksgiving Services,
where Mr. Gerald Buss will preach at 3.30
and 6.30. Let us commence our services
today by singing together hymn number 14 to the tune Bishop's
Thought 104. Begin, my tongue, some heavenly
theme, and speak some boundless theme, the mighty works or mightier
name of our eternal King. Hymn number 14. tune Bishop's
Hall 104. In the night hour, somewhere
within, At each of the hours in the night he was O'er the land of the free and
the home of the brave? ? Respect the nest ? ? And sound
his lullaby ? ? Shed your sweet gloom ? ? It's all his grace
? ? And on that glowing rock ? ?
Her name shall be glorified ? I. His hand has made the sacred
way with an immortal prayer. And may that evening's banner
bright The nightly promise bright O'er the ramparts we watched,
were so gallantly streaming? ? We welcome you ? ? Into our city
? ? And we give you peace ? ? With peace and love ? ? O mighty breath ? ? Compel this
wrath ? ? Depart ? ? Wait and remember me ? ? Now in heaven's brightness ?
? Her voice echoes and sounds afar ? ? Sing joyfully to God above
? Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God in Psalm 25. Psalm 25. Unto Thee, O Lord, do I lift
up my soul. O my God, I trust in Thee. Let
me not be ashamed. Let not mine enemies triumph
over me. Yea, let none that wait on Thee
be ashamed. Let them be ashamed which transgress
without cause. Show me Thy ways, O Lord. Teach
me thy paths, lead me in thy truth, and teach me, for thou
art the God of my salvation. On thee do I wait all the day. Remember, O Lord, thy tender
mercies and thy lovingkindnesses, for they have been ever of old.
Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions, According
to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness sake, O Lord. Good and upright is the Lord,
therefore will he teach sinners in the way. The meek will he
guide in judgment, and the meek will he teach his way. All the
paths of the Lord are mercy and truth, and to such as keep his
covenant and his testimonies. For thy name's sake, O Lord,
pardon mine iniquity, for it is great. What man is he that
feareth the Lord? Him shall he teach in the way
that he shall choose. His soul shall dwell at ease,
and his seed shall inherit the earth. The secret of the Lord
is with them that fear him, and he will show them his covenant. Mine eyes are ever toward the
Lord, for he shall pluck my feet out of the net. Turn thee unto
me, and have mercy upon me, for I am desolate and afflicted. The troubles of my heart are
enlarged, O bring thou me out of my distresses. Look upon mine
affliction and my pain, and forgive all my sins, consider mine enemies,
for they are many, and they hate me with cruel hatred. O keep
my soul, and deliver me, let me not be ashamed, for I put
my trust in thee. Let integrity and uprightness
preserve me, for I wait on thee. Redeem Israel, O God, out of
all his troubles. May the Lord bless the reading
of his own precious word and grant us a spirit of real prayer. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty,
which is an art, an art to come, We bow before thy great majesty,
the King of glory, the God of all the earth shall he be called.
It is he that has made us and not we ourselves. Therefore,
O Lord, we come to thee as thy subjects. We come to thee and
plead with thee that thou wouldst have mercy upon us, for we all
have sinned. and come short of thy glory.
We've done things, O Lord, that we ought not to do, and we left
undone things that we ought to do, and we find a law within
our members that when I would do good, then evil is present
with me. O gracious God, we do pray that thou wouldst graciously
help us, teach us, lead us, guide us, direct As the psalmist has
said, show me thy ways, O Lord. Teach me thy path. Help us to
follow thee. Help us to serve thee in our
day and in our generation. Deliver us from the temptations
of Satan, whether as a roaring lion to devour or as an angel
of light to deceive. We need thee to deliver us. and
to have mercy upon us. O Lord, we pray to be delivered
from the allurements of this world. O most gracious Lord,
we do pray to be delivered chiefly from our own sinful hearts, our
own corrupt nature, which loves this world and the things of
this world. But we pray that thou would strengthen
us in the spirit of the inner man, even today as we gather
round thy word, and grant that thy word may be a lamp unto our
feet and a light unto our path. Thou said in thy word that men
love darkness rather than light, for their deeds are even. Lord,
bring us into the light. We do humbly pray thee, the light
of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, who said, I
am the light of the world. We pray that that light may shine
in our assembly this morning and that the Lord Jesus may be
exalted as a Prince and as a Saviour, for to give faith and repentance
and remission of sins. We pray that the grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God our Father and the sacred
fellowship of the Holy Spirit may rest and abide upon us. May
we have that sacred sense and realisation given unto us this
day, that we indeed have a heavenly Father who has loved us with
an everlasting love. Therefore, with loving kindness
have I drawn thee. Lord, we pray that thou wouldst
draw us even this day. For none come except the Father
draw. We come to thee in that Precious
name of thine only begotten Son, as we've read in thine word this
morning, for thy name's sake, O Lord. And we pray that for
thy name's sake thou wouldst receive us. How sweet the name
of Jesus sounds in the believer's ear. It soothes his sorrows,
heals his wounds, and drives away his fear. Oh, that thou
wouldst graciously be with us. and drive away our fears, our
doubts. Drive away that spirit of unbelief. Give us clear, believing views
of the glorious person of Jesus, the Son of God. Grant that we
may touch the hem of his garment, that we may draw from that fullness
that is in him, for thy great name's sake. it please thee to
grant us the divine power and the heavenly unction of the Holy
Ghost, and that the word of truth may be in power in the Holy Ghost
and with much assurance, and that the word of truth may be
breathed into our hearts. In whatever way thy blessed spirit,
O Lord, is pleased to do so, whether it be a word of warning,
or a word of exhortation, or a word of grace, of love, of
mercy, of peace. I will do grant that the word
of the Lord may have free course, and that thy name may be honoured
and glorified. Blessed, holy, divine Spirit
of truth, show us thy ways, lead us in thy paths. We do humbly
beseech thee. Open thy word to our heart and
to our understanding. Lord, we thank thee for thy word.
This is the word by which the gospel is preached unto us. We
thank thee for that sacred record of divine truth that leads us
to the glorious fountain of all mercy, even our Lord Jesus Christ. We thank thee O Lord God, that
we have known its power and its divine influence in our hearts,
in our minds, in our souls. We have been strengthened with
all might in the spirit of the inner man, in reading thy word,
in the application of thy word unto our hearts. We pray that
we may be enabled to meditate therein, day and night, and that
thou wouldst guide us into thy truth. We do humbly beseech of
thee. Bless us as a church and as a
congregation. Remember our brethren, the deacons,
and give needed grace, wisdom, and help in all their responsibilities,
both here and elsewhere among the churches of God. Remember
each one of our brethren and sisters in church fellowship,
and help us to truly love each other, serve each other, bear
each other's burden, Deliver us from the temptations of Satan. Deliver us from the influence
of Satan, who is the separator of the brethren. We pray to be
delivered from his power. Apollyon the destroyer. Lord
Jesus, thou hast conquered the works of the devil and the power
of the devil. And we come to thee and pray
that thou would defend us and deliver us from his influence
and from his power. We do pray that Thou wouldst
remember all in trouble and trial and perplexity and sorrow and
sadness and bereavement. We do humbly beseech Thee. Have
mercy upon each one. We do pray Thee. Those that come
down to the Jordan of death, may the arms of Thine everlasting
love surround them and support them. We do humbly beseech Thee.
Lord, may those that are far off be made nigh. May those in
darkness be brought into light. May those in bonded be brought
into liberty. If the sun shall make you free,
then shall you be free indeed. Lord, may we know that glorious
liberty of the people of God. We do humbly beseech them. May
we know it day by day. Daily I would repent of sin.
daily wash in Jesus' blood. Bless the little ones, the children.
Bless them with the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning
of wisdom. Bless each one of our dear young friends and bring
them to live in vital saving faith in Jesus Christ, that they
may become followers of thee and of those who through faith
and patience inherit the promises, that we might see the fulfilling
of that ancient promise Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children,
whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth. Be with them
in their education. Be with them, Lord, in any future
employment. Guide and direct them in all
matters. Grant them a partner in life's
journey, and that they may be heirs together of the grace of
life. Lord, we do pray that thou, in
thy precious mercy, which graciously remember parents, give wisdom,
give help, give guidance, give direction in all matters. Bless them in the family worship.
Bless all in the midst of the journey of life and graciously
watch over them and keep them and guide them and direct them. Direct them to the bleeding wounds
of our incarnate God Direct them unto Jesus Christ, the King of
Glory. Direct them, O Lord, unto our
great High Priest, who is passed into the heavens, Jesus, the
Son of God. Lord, we do pray that thou would
remember those of us in the evening time of life's journey. And we
pray to be prepared for that great change which must come,
that we each may be made ready, whether young or old, Prepare
me, gracious God, to stand before thy face. Thy spirit must the
work perform, for it is all of grace. Oh, gracious God. Lord, we do pray that thou would
send out the glory and light of the gospel into this village
and the surrounding villages and hamlets, and many, many,
many precious souls may be gathered We do pray that thou wouldst
cause the prodigals to return, and thy mighty grace to be seen
in this, and that great rejoicing that would come, O Lord, to see
them returning. Lord, those that are earnestly
seeking thee, we pray that thou wouldst grant them deliverance,
that thou wouldst bring them into the light of thy countenance,
and shed abroad thy love in their hearts. We do humbly beseech
of thee. Lord, we do pray that thou would
remember all thy servants as they labour in word and doctrine
upon the walls of Zion today. Set them free, set them at liberty. Grant a divine unction and power
to rest upon the ministry and signs to follow the preaching
of the word. Grant the settlement of pastors
among the churches and the building up of thy flock. So Lord, we
do pray this. This is thy work, and thou alone
canst do it. Lord, send now prosperity. Fulfill
those wonderful gospel promises. I will bring thy sons from far
and thy daughters from the ends of the earth. We pray thee, the
great Lord of the harvest, that thou wouldst send true labourers
into the harvest, that thou wouldst build the walls of Jerusalem.
And O Lord God, we do pray that thou would remember all the little
causes of truth up and down our land, wherever thy servants stand
and thy people gather. Pour forth thy blessed spirit
and grant a reviving. O Lord, we pray thee. We pray
for our leaders that thou would give wisdom and understanding
and guidance and direction. We understand those things that
are being proposed in Parliament in this coming week. We pray that thou wouldst bring
to nought the counsels of the ungodly. Lord, hear us, we humbly pray
thee. And over all these things we
do humbly beseech thee, hear the cries of thy little remnant. Bless our King, all the royal
household. Bless them with that rich grace
that is in Christ Jesus. Remember those that labour in
word and doctrine through the nations of the earth. We think
of those that go forth from among us. We think of Ian Sadler and
that great work that he does in so many different countries
in the distribution and exposition of thy holy word. Gird him with
all sufficient grace supply all his many returning needs and
the orphanages that he runs. Lord, grant thy blessing, we
do humbly beseech thee. We pray for the Savannah Education
Trust and that great work that they are doing in Ghana in the
Christian schools. Lord, do graciously bless their
endeavours and supply all their many, many returning needs. And
oh Lord God, we do pray. that thou wouldst remember them
on that submission, and thy servant that labours there, bless him
and his, grant good success unto the ministry of the world. We
do humbly beseech of thee. O Lord, we do thank thee for
all thy tender mercies. Thy mercies to us are new every
morning, and great is thy faithfulness. Above all, we thank thee, O Lord,
for the wonderful glories of Christ, the fullness of that
salvation that is in Him. We thank Thee for the incarnation
of the Son of God, for the holy life He lived as a man here upon
earth, and thereby the bringing in of everlasting righteousness.
Lord, we do thank Thee that we have a Jehovah, said Kenya, the
Lord, our righteousness. We thank Thee for Calvary where
the Lamb was slain, where sin was put away, where divine justice
was satisfied, where God and sinners are reconciled. Oh, we
thank Thee that He died for our sins and rose again for our justification. Oh, we do thank Thee, Lord, that
we do not worship a dead Christ but a living Christ who has the
power of an endless life For such an high priest have we who
is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God. May we have that
realisation given to us today, tis He instead of me is seen
when I approach to God. O Lord God, we thank Thee for
the love of our eternal Father in the person of His only begotten
Son. We thank Thee for the gift of
the Holy Ghost. We pray that thou wouldst now
come and touch one's lips with a live coal from off the heavenly
altar. Come and open thy word to our
heart and to our understanding. We ask with the forgiveness of
all sin, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. Let us now sing together hymn
number 593. The tune is Jerusalem Luminosa 675. Jesus is a mighty saviour. Helpless souls have here a friend. He has borne their misbehaviour
and his mercy knows no end. O ye helpless! come, and on his
grace depend. Hymn 593. Tune Jerusalem Luminosa
675. you. She has more than meets the eye,
and is as sweet as can be. ? Sing with me ? ? The angelic host ? ? From heaven
afar ? ? Gave proof through the night ? ? That our flag was still
there ? ? Mercy, mercy ? ? Mercy, mercy
? ? May he bless you in your time
of need ? ? Let your hope in him shine bright ? ? In his mighty
kingdom reign ? O say can you see by the dawn's
early light What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last
gleaming ? In the precious stillness of
time ? ? Stands a praising star ? Greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, a direct attention to the chapter that we read,
Psalm 25, and that we will read verse 14 for our text. Psalm 25, verse 14. The secret of the Lord is with
them that fear him. and he will show them his covenant. This is one of the seven alphabetical
psalms. In the original Hebrew it reads
as an acrostic and the first letter in each verse follows
the Hebrew alphabet. You'll notice There's 22 verses
and the Hebrew alphabet is 22 letters long. The most prominent
of the alphabetical psalms is Psalm 119 and that has 22 stanzas,
again following the Hebrew alphabet. What we have here in this psalm
is the language of a living soul. My late dear wife, this was one
of her favourite psalms. Sometimes I used to ask her when
we had the Bible reading, we used to normally systematically
read through various books of the Bible. But sometimes we'd
say, what would you like me to read? And she nearly always said
Psalm 25. And it's the language of a living
soul. Unto thee, O Lord, unto thee, O Jehovah, do I lift up
my soul. We read of the Apostle Paul,
that when the Lord stopped him on the road to Damascus, behold,
he prayeth. And the living soul prays out
of need. A little babe cries out of need,
and a person that is born again of the Holy Ghost, cries out
of need. They pray because they have to
pray. They pray because they need something. They pray because they're looking
for something. They pray because they're seeking
something. How many of us here in this chapel,
young and old, are praying souls? It's like the Lord Jesus when
he uses that power of the publican and the Pharisee. Two men went
up onto the temple to pray. The one a Pharisee, the other
a publican. The solemn thing that he said
about the Pharisee was he praying with himself. He didn't pray
to God. His prayer didn't reach to heaven. Why? Because it didn't come from
his heart. Not only that, he didn't ask for anything because
he didn't need anything. I thank God that I'm not as other
men are, even as this publican. I do this, I do that, I do something
else. He was oozing his own self-righteousness. He didn't need God, he didn't
need mercy, he didn't need grace. But the publican Publicans are
tax collectors. They were greatly despised and
they were known for being very fraudulent in their work. So
they enriched themselves. We read of the publican that
he could not lift up his head. He bowed his head. His prayer
wasn't long. God, be merciful to me, a sinner. You know, friends, if you're
in real soul trouble, your prayers won't be long. What they call ejaculatory prayers,
they come from the very depths of your soul. Lord, have mercy
upon me. Lord, show me thy ways. Lord,
teach me thy paths. Lord, deliver me from sin and
Satan's power. It's like Hezekiah when he prayed
unto the Lord when he was in that great distress and Jerusalem
was surrounded with the armies, 185,000 Assyrians besieged, shot
in. And then the Lord visited him
with illness, with sickness. And the Lord sent Isaiah unto
him, set thine house in order for thou shalt not live. It's
going to die. And what do we read? And Hezekiah
turned his face to the wall. Wasn't a long prayer was it?
Oh Lord, I am oppressed. Undertake for me. I am oppressed. undertake for
me. We read here in this psalm, Oh
my God, I trust in thee. To trust is to exercise faith. Oh my God, I trust in thee. Let
me not be ashamed. Let not mine enemies triumph
over me. Yea, let none that wait on thee
be ashamed. see let them be ashamed which
transgress without cause and then these longing desires
show me thy ways open thou mine eyes that i may
behold wondrous things in thy law that's in thy word in thy
truth and this desire here lead me in thy truth and teach me
For Thou art the God of my salvation, on Thee do I wait all the day. Sometimes, you know, friends,
our needs are so great and you're constantly and continually in
prayer unto the Lord. Lord, help me. Lord, teach me. Lord, undertake for me. His desire here, In verse 6,
remember, O Lord, thy tender mercies and thy loving kindnesses,
for they have been ever of old. Thy tender mercies. The psalmist,
he knew what he was looking for, he knew what he was seeking for.
Do you know what you're seeking for? Do you know what you're
looking for? Do you feel darkness within? Do you feel bondage within? You know these are things that
the truly born again believer feels in their heart. That they
know light and darkness. They know bondage and liberty. Do you know what darkness is?
Do you know what bondage is? If you and I are really true
seeking souls, we shall know what these things are. You should
know what bondage is. The bondage of sin and corruption.
That sin that is within us. He says here in verse six, remember
not the sins of my youth. Do the sins of our youth trouble
you? Remember not the sins of my youth,
nor my transgressions. We've often explained to you
the meaning of the word transgression. It means to break a boundary.
And God has put a boundary around us. That boundary is holy righteous
law, the 10 commandments. And if we break those 10 commandments,
we transgress. That's the meaning of the word,
we transgress. And we read in Holy Scripture
that the way of the transgressor is hard. It is, it's hard. It's a hard pathway. When the
Lord, by His Spirit, you know, you think of the words of our
Lord Jesus Christ, when He, the Spirit of Truth, is come. He will reprove, the margin says,
convince the world of sin, of righteousness, of judgment, when
the Holy Spirit comes to a sinner's heart. And you know, my beloved
friends, there can be no spiritual life or light without the Holy
Ghost. You must be born again. except
a man be born of water and of the spirit he cannot enter the
kingdom of heaven and the evidences of being born
again is that these souls become seeking souls they're searching for something
they're looking for something they need something. Do you need
something? It may be where you are at this
time in your spiritual experience you don't really know what it
is that you need but you know you need something. The Himalaya
puts it this way and it's very expressive. You have an aching
void that the world can never fill. It aches for something,
it longs for something, it looks for something, it's waiting for
something. You know we have many blessings
that are written in the word of God to those that are seeking
the Lord. It is to encourage them to keep
seeking. Look unto me all ye ends of the
earth and be ye saved for I am God and there is none else. That's
Christ speaking there. Come unto me, all ye that labour
and are heavy laden, I will give you rest. That's Christ speaking
there. Christ is the light of the world. And we read of Christ, if the
Son shall make you free, then shall you be free indeed. The
light of the world. That freedom and liberty of the
living family of God. Is that what you long for? the
reason you long for it is because your sins. He says remember not
the sins of my youth nor my transgressions according to thy mercy. That
is that wonderful mercy that flows through Jesus Christ. That
wonderful mercy that flows through the blood of Christ. The blood
of Jesus Christ God's Son cleanseth us from all sins according to thy mercy, that
wonderful mercy of God that flows through Jesus Christ. You see, my beloved friends,
it says in our text that the secret of the Lord is with them
that fear him and he will show them his covenant. There are those things that are
secret. And you don't know them until
the Lord reveals them. They are secret. And they are
the secrets of his covenant. My mind it just goes to that
very well known portion of scripture in the first epistle to the Corinthians
in chapter 2. And it speaks of the things that
are revealed from verse 9. in chapter 2 of 1 Corinthians.
But as it is written, I hath not seen nor ear heard, neither
have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath
prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto
us by his Spirit, that of course is the Holy Spirit. For the Spirit
searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. what man
knoweth the things of a man said the spirit of man which is in
him even so the things of god knoweth no man but the spirit of god now we
have received he's speaking here to christian believers to those
that have been born again now we have received not the spirit
of the world but the spirit which is of god that we might know
the things that are freely given to us of God, which things also
we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teaches, but which
the Holy Ghost teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
For the natural man, you see you think of our text, the secret
things, but the natural man receiveth not the things the Spirit of
God for they are foolishness unto him neither can he know
them because they are spiritually discerned and you and I are spiritually
dead and until the Holy Ghost has entered our heart and given
us spiritual life that is where we are and we cannot understand
or see these things because they are spiritually
discerned but he that is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself
is judged of no man. For we have known the mind of
the Lord, that he may instruct him, but we have the mind of
Christ. The secret of the Lord is with
them that fear him, and he will show them his covenant. What is the fear of the Lord?
Well, in the Word of God we read, the fear of the Lord is the beginning
of wisdom. The fear of the Lord is given
when the Spirit is given. We hear of a God fear in person,
we read of it in the Word of God. One hymn writer says that
the fear of the Lord is an unctuous light to all that's right, and
a bar to all that's wrong. So what really is the fear of
the Lord? It's that divine work of the
Spirit in the heart. A God fear in person. Now there
are two types of fear in the world of God. One is a slavish
fear which is under the law and the other is a holy filial
fear which works by love, which works by love. That slavish
fear under the law, you say I'm not going to do this, I'm not
going to do that, because the Lord will be angry with me, because
I shall come under the curse of God, because I've done this
or because I've done that, or because of this or because of
that, and it's a slavish fear. We need more than a slavish fear,
my beloved friends. The fear of the Lord in the text
is the holy filial fear of the Lord, which is under the gospel
of the grace of God in Jesus Christ. It comes when the Holy
Ghost enters the heart. It's an unctuous line to all
that's right, a bar to all that's wrong. The fear of the Lord loves
the Word of God. A person with the fear of the
Lord reads the Word of God, prays over the Word of God. You find the fear of the Lord,
and you can read it in many books over the years, in the heart
of little children. The fear of the Lord, which is
the beginning of wisdom. We read of one child, do we not,
in Holy Scripture and it said that there was found in his heart
some good thing toward the Lord God of Israel. What's in your
heart? What's in my heart? Is there
some good thing toward the Lord God of Israel? The secret of the Lord is within
that fear Him. We read in the in the book of
Deuteronomy and in the chapter 29 and the last verse, verse
29. And it speaks there again of the secret things. Deuteronomy 29 verse 29. The secret things belong unto
the Lord our God but those things which are revealed belong unto
us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words
of this law. The secret things belong unto
the Lord our God. You see, and then it speaks of
those things that are revealed and we read, but God hath revealed
them unto us by his Spirit. The secret of the Lord is with
them that fear him and he will show them his covenant. The covenant that is called the
eternal covenant. The word covenant is actually
identical to the word testimony. We have the old testament and
we have the new testament. It could have just as easily
read The Old Covenant and the New Covenant. The Old Covenant
is the covenant of the law. The New Covenant is the covenant
of grace. Now the Old Testament points
to the New Testament. And in the New Testament of our
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, it speaks of that covenant transactions. A covenant is an agreement. Now
some would portray the covenant to be made between God and man. Now the covenant of the law was,
the Old Testament was, it was made between God and man. And
it was given and the blessings of it were on the obedience of
the person that could perform it. But you know friends we can't
Because we're sinful, wretched and undone, through the fall
of Adam, we're born in sin, we're shaped in iniquity, we cannot
fulfil that old covenant of the law. It's an utter impossibility. If there is anybody in this chapel
or listening to this service, if you think that you can fulfil
God's holy law, you're absolutely deceived in that. And you will
prove that you can't do it. As much as you strive, as much
as you try, and I'm not saying you shouldn't strive, and I'm
not saying you shouldn't try to do it, but you will find that
you can't do it because you have a sinful heart. You have a corrupt
nature, we all do. We're sinners. And it is only as the Holy Spirit
convinces us of our sin, He will convince the world of sin, of
righteousness and of judgment. He will convince the sinner that
they are sinners. He will convince the sinner that
God is righteous and holy. He will. And he will convince
the sinner that there's a day of judgment. There is, when God
will judge the world in righteousness. My dear beloved friends, These
things are revealed to us in God's holy word. But there's
a secret, my beloved friends, in the covenant. The covenant
of grace. The covenant that was sealed
with the blood of Jesus. A divine agreement was made between
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. The law was given,
it was made between God and man. The New Testament is the covenant
of grace and is made within the Godhead before the foundation
of the world. It was before the foundation
of the world. You know, when David, the sweet
Psalmist of Israel was coming to his end, and he says in the second book of Samuel,
and chapter 23. Now these be the last words of
David the son of Jesse and the man who was raised up on high
the anointed of God of the God of Jacob and the sweet psalmist
of Israel said the spirit of the Lord spake by men. Well that's
what we're reading that's what's in our text today it was the
spirit of the Lord speaking by David and his word was in my
tongue The God of Israel said, the rock of Israel spake to me. The rock of Israel is Christ.
Upon this rock I build my church. He that ruleth over men must
be just, ruling in the fear of the Lord. And he shall be as
the light of the morning when the sun riseth, even a morning
without clouds. What a morning that will be,
my beloved friends, that morning without clouds, that morning
when we pass from this time state into that eternal state, into
heaven itself, a morning without clouds, as the tender grass springing
up, springing out of the earth by the clear shining after rain.
Now David says here, although my house be not so with God. It's coming to his end. Although
my house be not so with God. There were things in his house,
among his sons, his daughters, his family, that wasn't right. And it may be in your family,
there are things that are not right. And yet there's something
here that really comforts David. Although my house be not so with
God, yet hath he made with me. Something that he knew personally.
Yet hath he made with me an everlasting covenant. ordered in all things
and sure for this is all my salvation and all my desire although I
make it not to grow an everlasting covenant ordered in all things
and sure in Hebrews chapter 13 it declares
there that the blood of Jesus Christ God's son is called the
blood of the everlasting covenant the everlasting covenant. That covenant was made between
the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost before the foundation of
the world. This covenant, O Believer, stands
by rising fears to quell. That covenant that the eternal
Son of God would become a man. It's all in that eternal covenant. Great is the mystery of godliness.
Again, the secret things. Great is the mystery of godliness.
God was manifest in the flesh. Our Lord Jesus Christ is God
manifest in the flesh. He's the eternal Son of the eternal
Father. We read of Him in John chapter
1. And the Word was made flesh and
dwelt among us we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only
begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." What a glory
there is in the person of Jesus Christ. The glory of His holy life. He
did no sin. The only man ever that has lived
upon this earth that did no sin. David here in the book of Psalms,
in Psalm 37 he speaks of it, mark the perfect man. Who is
it? It's Christ. Mark the perfect
man and behold the upright for the end of that man is peace. You see my beloved friends, the
great thing is to be found in him. The apostle says that I
might be found in him, not having mine own righteousness which
is of the law, but that righteousness which is by faith of the Son
of God who loved me, who gave himself for me. You see, my beloved friends,
this covenant made within the Trinity before the foundation
of the world, the covenant that there was that agreement made
that the eternal Son of God would become a man, Oh, as it is put
so clearly and beautifully in Galatians chapter 4, made of
a woman, made under the law that he might redeem them. They're
under the law, made of a woman, made under the law. It's an important
statement of truth. When the Son of God became a
man, he came under the law of God. We read in scripture that
the law was made for man. And when the Son of God became
a man, he came under the law of God. And he lived as a man
under the law of God. And that was one of the purposes
of him coming here, to live as a man under the law. He came in our room, in our place,
and in our stead, to live as a man under the law. He said himself to me, I come
not to destroy the law, but to fulfill it. And that's what this
glorious holy God man has done. He's fulfilled the law. Daniel
says, to the bringing in of everlasting righteousness, that everlasting
righteousness is the righteousness of Christ. The law has been fulfilled. Christ is the end. I think we
spoke at a prayer meeting just recently, didn't we? In Romans,
Christ is the end of the law for righteousness unto all them
that believe. He's the end of the law. He's
fulfilled the law. He's honored the law. It speaks
in Isaiah chapter 42. In the commencement of that chapter
it says, Behold my servant, mine elect, in whom my soul delighted.
That's Christ. That's Christ. Later on, in that
same chapter 42, I think it's verse 21, it says, He will magnify
the law and make it honorable. That is what Christ has done.
He's done what no other man has ever done. He's fulfilled and
honored and magnified God's holy law. And that perfect obedience
of the Lord Jesus Christ becomes, by faith, the believer's righteousness. The believer's righteousness.
That hymn, I can never quote it quite properly, but he says,
doesn't it, upon a life I did not live, upon a death I did not die, hangs
my everlasting awe. hangs my everlasting all. Upon
the glorious life of Christ, upon the glorious death of Christ,
upon the resurrection of Him from the dead, when the Eternal
Father took our sins and laid them on His Son. That's what
happened in the Garden of Gethsemane. These things are the secret things
that belong unto God. but he reveals them unto his
children. He reveals Christ. He reveals
the righteousness of Christ. He reveals the sacred sinatoning
sacrifice of Christ. He reveals the precious sinatoning
blood of Christ. He does. These are the secret
things that he reveals. They're the secrets of his covenant.
The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him. and it was
show them His covenant. It says in the margin, or, and
His covenant to make them know it. His covenant to make them
know it. To show them His covenant. To reveal the precious blood
of Christ. You know when I was brought into
gospel liberty, a wonderful time of such great blessing when Christ
was made so exceedingly precious. And the love of my heavenly Father
and the sacred love and power and grace of the Spirit was all
made so precious and revealed so clearly and beautifully unto
me. But when that first happened, the next day, the devil came
and so tempted me He said to me, you feel all this
wonderful joy and peace in believing, but he said there's nothing in
it. It's all emotion. It's all emotion. You know nothing of the blood
of Christ applied to your soul. Therefore, your experience is
completely nothing. These are the suggestions that
he brought into my heart and mind. They were very real and
very powerful. And as I prayed unto the Lord
and wrestled with the Lord, you know, it was the lines of
a hymn that came with such sweetness and power into my heart. Every
blessing, every favor freely flows through Jesus' precious
blood. As you know, friends, the snare
was broken. the preciousness of Christ. And
I look back at my past experience and I saw how all those wonderful
blessings that the Lord had given me came through the blood of
Christ. Came through the blood of Christ. The secret of the Lord is with
them that fear him and he will show them his covenant. It will
show them this covenant that has been sealed with the blood
of Jesus. It will show them this holy life
that Jesus lived. And this everlasting righteousness
in Jeremiah, we read, do we not? Jehovah said, can you? The Lord
our righteousness in Jeremiah chapter 23. The Lord our righteousness. That's Christ's righteousness.
He's our. righteousness, his holy life
that he lived, that holy law that he fulfilled. You have broken,
I have broken, we all have broken because we all have sinned. And
sin is any transgression of the law of God. But this wonderful
secret the Lord reveals unto these hungry, longing souls. Jesus said, I am the way, the
truth and the life. No man cometh unto the Father
but by me. It's revealed. Has it been revealed
to you? You read it in the word of God,
you hear it preached, but has it actually been revealed to
you? Do you know the personal experience of it in your own
heart? To be born again and Christ to be made precious and Christ
to become the altogether lovely one and Christ to become the
chiefest among 10,000. The secret of the Lord is with
them that fear Him, and He will show them His covenant. He will show them. He will reveal
it. We've spoken here of this language
of the living soul, show me thy ways, O Lord. Teach me thy paths. You know when we, I think it's
Joseph Hart in one of his hymns, he's speaking of the Word of
God. What a blessing it is to have the Word of God. We believe that the most accurate
translation of the Word of God in the English language is the
authorised version. What a mercy to have that in
our own language. And to be able to read it. to be able to read it. Joseph
Hart says, join prayer with each inspection. Whenever you come
to the word of God, pray. Pray that your eyes may be opened,
that your heart may be opened, and that the Lord would show
you the secrets of his covenant. This covenant of grace, this
covenant of salvation, this covenant of redemption, And in this covenant,
the glorious righteousness of Christ, and in this covenant,
the glorious sinatonic sacrifice of Christ on the cross of Calvary,
the precious blood of Christ that cleanseth us from all sin,
from all sin. These are the wonderful secrets
of his covenant. And he says he will show them
his covenant These God-fearing souls, these souls that are longing
to see and to know something, that are seeking, seeking. You know, this covenant, my mind
was much drawn yesterday to those words we find in Isaiah 55. these wonderful words of grace
to poor hungry longing souls how everyone that thirsteth come
ye to the waters and he that hath no money that means he that
is bankrupt do we have anybody here that have come into this
chapel today you're bankrupt you feel you've got absolutely
nothing you're deep in debt there's a wonderful invitation here How
everyone that thirsteth cometh to the waters, and he that hath
no money cometh, buy and eat, yea, come buy wine and milk without
money and without price. You know, he speaks to those
that are trying to make themselves better in verse 2. Wherefore
do you spend money for that which is not bread, and your labour
for that which satisfies not? Hearken diligently unto me, and
eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself
in fatness. Incline your ear and come unto
me. Herein your soul shall live,
and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure
mercies of David. Behold, I have given him these
mercies of David are the mercies of Christ, David's greatest son.
Behold, I've given him, that is Christ, for a witness to the
people, a leader and a command to the people. You see, this
is the wonderful secrets of the Lord's covenant. Incline your
ear and come unto me here and your soul shall live and I will
make an everlasting covenant with you. even the sure mercies
of David, that the sure mercies of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ. You know there are some wonderful
promises scattered throughout the Word of God, promises to
Zion, promises to the Church of God. We read in Ezekiel chapter 37,
in the Valley of Dry Bones, that valley of dry bones how that
the lord blew upon it and the bone came to bone that this is
the whole house of israel this is the whole church of god that's
what it means he says in verse 11 that he said
unto me son of man these bones are the whole house of israel
that's the whole election of grace behold they say our bones
are dried our hope is lost we are cut off for our paths Therefore
prophesy and say unto them, thus saith the Lord God, behold, O
my people, I will open your graves and will cause you to come up
out of your graves and will bring you into the land of Israel.
And you shall know that I am the Lord when I've opened your
graves. That's the new birth. O my people, I've brought you
up out of your graves and shall put my spirit in you and you
shall live and I will place you in your own land then shall ye
know that I the Lord have spoken it and performed it. These wonderful blessings of
the covenant of grace. He says here in the latter part
of that chapter 37 of Ezekiel 24, and David my servant shall
be king over them as Christ and they all shall have one shepherd,
that's Christ. They shall also walk in my judgment
and observe my statutes and do them. And they shall dwell in
the land that I've given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your
fathers have dwelt. And they shall dwell therein,
even they and their children, their children's children, for
ever. And my servant David, that's Christ, shall be their prince
for ever. Moreover, I will make a covenant
of peace with them, It shall be an everlasting covenant with
them and I will place them and multiply them and set my sanctuary
in the midst of them forevermore. My tabernacle also shall be with
them. Yea, I will be their God and
they shall be my people and the heathen shall know that I the
Lord do sanctify Israel my sanctuary and shall be in the midst of
them for ever more. This eternal covenant, what a
wonderful thing to have an interest in this glorious eternal covenant,
sealed with the blood of Jesus Christ. The secret of the Lord
is with them that fear him and he will show them his covenant. May the Lord add his blessing. Let us now sing together hymn
number 411 to the tune Synod 245. Come saints and sing in sweet
accord with solemn pleasure tell the covenant made with David's
Lord in all things ordered well. Hymn 411, tune Synod. Oh, say does that star-spangled
banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home ? In heaven's home ? ? In all the
nature of the world ? ? It's for a hamster ? ? Where
time began ? ? Let love prepare my prayer ? ? Eternal rest ?
? In human care ? This conference hall will be
a stand. I'd rise with you to go, To walk
with you, to walk with you, Lord, and man. Trust in him, Jesus, for all
is right. Faithful lovers, still at heart, The stars in the heavenly high,
they all exult and yell. When all the earth did halt and
fall, And thousands came to call, ? In all our things overdwell ?
? In all we serve ? ? With lives
that give ? ? Which Thou hast holy power ? ? And in Thy courts,
O Lord, have mercy ? ? And in Thy courts, O Lord, have mercy
? 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.