you Let us commence our service this
evening by singing together hymn number 329, The tune is Promise, 832. How firm a foundation, ye Saints
of the Lord, is laid for your faith in his excellent word.
What more can he say than to you he has said, you who unto
Jesus for refuge have fled? Hymn 329. From a foundation His face of
the Lord Is laid for your faith in Christ is a silent word. What more can he say than to
you he has said, In every condition, it's the
U.S.A. man. ? In golden tears fell all
of the weary world ? ? Let the Lord abode on the land far on
the sea ? ? Shall thy strength ever be ?
? He walked every day ? ? Though he noticed many ? My bridegroom,
my brother, will still keep thee faith. I'll strengthen thee, help thee,
and cause thee to stand. ? At the high, high, high ? ? Chesawipper's
land town ? ? When through the deep water's tide ? The ripples
of prayer shall not be heard at all. O Thine will be with me, my troubles
to bless, and sanctify to Thee my deepest, greatest stress. Where glory triumphs, love's
praise shall rise, Thy face, O Salvation, shall be light, All this thou art wealthy, but
thou needest not. Thy trust in us still, and thy hope to recall. In your trail of ritual, my only
love shall be, my sovereign, eternal, and change-never-ending. ? And where glory e'er shall ?
? My temple adore ? ? My heart there shall still ? ? In thy bosom
behold ? ? The song that our Jesus has been
calling us ? ? I will not, I will not desert you, Jesus ? Amen. Amen. Let us read together from the
holy word of God in the book of Daniel and chapter six. Daniel chapter six. It pleased Darius to set over
the kingdom and 120 princes, which should be over the whole
kingdom. And over these three presidents, of whom Daniel was
first, that the princes might give accounts unto them, and
the king should have no damage. Then this Daniel was preferred
above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was
in him, and the king thought to set him over the whole realm.
Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against
Daniel, concerning the kingdom, but they could find none occasion
nor fault, for as much as he was faithful, neither was there
any error or fault found in him. Then said these men, we shall
not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it
against him concerning the law is God, then these presidents and princes
assembled together to the king and said thus unto him, King
Darius live forever. All the presidents of the kingdom,
the governors and the princes, the counselors and the captains
have consulted together to establish a royal statute and to make a
firm decree that whosoever shall petition, ask a petition of any
god or man for thirty days, save of thee, O King, shall be cast
into the den of lions. Now, O King, establish the decree
and sign the writing, that it be not changed according to the
law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not. Wherefore,
King Darius signed the writing and the decree. Now, when Daniel
knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house and his
windows being opened in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled
upon his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before
his God as he did aforetime. Then these men assembled and
found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God.
Then they came near and spake before the king concerning the
king's decree. Hast thou not signed a decree
that every man that shall ask a petition of any god or man
within thirty days, save of thee, O king, shall be cast into the
den of lions? The king answered and said, The
thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians,
which altereth not. Then answered they, and said
before the king, that Daniel, which is of the children of the
captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the decree
that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three times a day.
Then the king, when he heard these words, was sore displeased
with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him. and
he laboured till the going down of the sun to deliver him. Then these men assembled unto
the king and said unto the king, Know, O king, that the law of
the Medes and Persians is, that no decree nor statutes which
the king establishes may be changed. Then the king commanded, and
they brought Daniel and cast him into the den of lions. Now
the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God, whom thou service
continually, he will deliver thee. And a stone was brought
and laid upon the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with
his own signet, and with the signet of his lords, that the
purpose might not change concerning Daniel. Then the king went to
his palace and passed the night fasting. Neither were instruments
of music brought before him, and his sleep went from him.
Then the king arose very early in the morning and went in haste
unto the den of lions. And when he came to the den,
he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel. And the king spake
and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, Is
thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the
lions? Then said Daniel unto the king,
O king, live for ever. My God hath sent his angel, and
hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me. For
as much as before him innocency was found in me, and also before
thee, O king, Have I done no hurt? Then was the king exceeding
glad for him and commanded that they should take Daniel up out
of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of
the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he
believed in his God. And the king commanded, and they
brought those men which had accused Daniel, and they cast them into
the lions, den of lions. Their children, their wives and
the lions had the mastery of them and break all their bones
in pieces wherever they came at the bottom of the den. Then
King Darius wrote unto all people nations and languages that dwell
in all the earth. peace be multiplied unto you.
I make a decree that in every dominion of my kingdom, men tremble
and fear before the God of Daniel, for he is the living God and
steadfast forever. And his kingdom, that which shall
not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end. He
delivereth and rescueth and he worketh signs and wonders in
heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power
of the lions. So this Daniel prospered in the
reign of Darius and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian. May the Lord bless that portion
of his own precious word and grant to us a spirit of real
prayer. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty,
which is an art, an art to come. Oh, we do bow before thy great
majesty. We seek to call upon thy great
and thy holy name. And we seek, O Lord, 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 as we gather around thy word. We pray to be led and
taught and guided and directed by thee, and that thy word may
be a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path, even as it was
to thy servant Daniel and to his brethren, Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego. Gracious God. Oh, we do pray
that Thou in Thy precious mercy would meet with us here tonight,
a little company gathered in Thy name, gathered to worship
Thee. Oh, that we may touch the hem
of Jesus' garment, that we may draw from that sacred fullness
that is in Him, that we may know that divine and eternal love
of our Father, and that we may feelingly Know that spirit of
adoption, whereby we may cry, Abba, Father. My God, my Father,
blissful name. Oh, may I call thee mine. May
we feel the sweetness of those precious words, for the Father
himself loveth you. Oh, gracious God, grant that
it may be so. May we feel and know the divine,
the heavenly, unction and power of the Holy Spirit as we gather
around thy word tonight, come and speak to our hearts, come
and open our eyes and our ears, that we may hear the word of
the Lord and that it may enter into our very souls, that we
may have a sealing time, whereby ye are sealed by the Holy Spirit
of Oh, that it may be so. May the truth and its heavenly
power be sealed into our souls. Oh, we pray to be led and taught
and guided and directed by the most blessed spirit of truth.
Without thy heavenly power, O Lord, no sweets the gospel can afford,
no drops of heavenly love will fall. And we do desire those
drops, the dew of heaven, to rest upon our branch, that we
may truly worship thee, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom
thou hast sent. Oh, we do thank thee, O Lord,
for the sacred and profound glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. We
think of those precious words of grace. There is one God and
one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. who gave his life of ransom for
all to be testified in due time. We thank thee for the glorious
person of God manifest in the flesh. Oh, we thank thee for
the incarnation of the Son of God. We thank thee for the holy
life he lived as a man here upon earth and the holy law he has
fulfilled and honored and magnified on the behalf of his people.
bringing in everlasting righteousness for his people. O most gracious
Lord, Jehovah Sidkenia, the Lord our righteousness, fill our hearts
with adoration, with thanksgiving, with praise for the wonderful
glory of his name. We thank thee for Calvary, for
Gethsemane, where our sins were laid upon him. We thank thee
that he took our sins and nailed them to his cross. And he suffered
and bled and died to deliver us from our sins, to redeem us
from all iniquity, to deliver us from the power and dominion
of Satan, and to swallow up death in victory, and to bring life
and immortality to light through the gospel. O that we may truly
worship Thee in Thy Son, Jesus Christ, for through Him we have
access by one Spirit unto the Father. Grant us that free access
tonight. We do humbly beseech Thee. We
pray for those unable to gather with us, those that are listening
from home, and we pray that Thou wouldst bless them there. and
that the word of the Lord may reach into their hearts there,
as well as here in the sanctuary. And Lord, we do not know who
may be listening at this time, but we pray that the word of
the Lord may have free course and that thy name may be honoured
and glorified and that the Lord Jesus Christ may be exalted as
a prince and as a saviour for good faith and repentance and
remission of sins, we thank thee that we have a great high priest
who has ascended into heaven, who sitteth at thy right hand,
gracious God. May we have that sense and that
realisation as we gather together, tis he instead of me is seen
when I approach to God. Lord we We do pray that thou
would look upon us as a church and as a congregation, remember
our brethren, the deacons, and give grace, wisdom, and help,
we pray thee, in all their responsibilities here and elsewhere. We pray for
the little ones and the children, we thank thee for them, do bless
them. We pray, most gracious Lord,
for the dear young friends, that they may be blessed of the brought
to saving faith in Jesus Christ. We pray for the prodigals that
have wandered, that thou wouldst lay hold of them, that thou wouldst
cause them to return, cause them to be in want. O Lord, we do
beseech of thee for thy great namesake. And O Lord God, we
do pray that thou wouldst bless all in the midst of the journey
of life, graciously undertake for each one in all their various
responsibilities, parents with their children, others with other
responsibilities, do graciously help each one. Help them to look
to Thee, help them to believe, help them to lay hold, help them
to seek and to search after Thee as that pearl of great price.
Bring them to living, vital, saving faith in Jesus Christ. Deliver us from the temptations
of Satan, That old serpent, the devil, deliver us from his power,
deliver us from his influence. We do humbly beseech thee, most
gracious Lord. We pray, dear Lord, that when
the enemy comes in like a flood, that the spirit of the Lord will
lift up a standard against him. And we pray, O Lord, that thou,
in thy precious mercy, would graciously guide and direct us
into thy truth, and open thy word, that we may delve into
the deep that couches beneath. Remember each one of us in the
evening time of life journey, and knowest, Lord, our needs,
our concerns, all is known to thee, nothing is hid from thee. O gracious God, do in thy precious
mercy prepare us for that great change which must come to each
one of us. Lord, remember this village,
send out thy light and thy truth, return in thy power and in thy
glory as thou usest to be in the sanctuary. Arise, arise,
O God of grace, into thy restless end, that thou and the ark of
thy strength, and let thy priests be clothed with salvation, and
thy saints shall shout aloud for Bring our sons from far and
our daughters from the ends of the earth. O Lord, we do beseech
of thee. Let us see thy goings in the
sanctuary. Let us see a day of real prosperity,
a turning again unto thee. We do humbly beseech thee. Remember
all thy servants as they labour in word and doctrine upon the
walls of Zion. Set them free, set them at liberty,
grant that gracious determination to know nothing among men, save
Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And O most gracious Lord, we
pray Thee, the great Lord of the harvest, to send true labourers
into the harvest, to build the walls of Jerusalem. Oh, that
we might see the fulfilling of that word, for I am returned
unto Jerusalem with mercies. Oh, that we might see such a
day. Help us to wrestle with Thee, help us to look to Thee,
help us to cleave to Thee, for Thy great name's sake. There
are many sins, O Lord, many wanderings, many backslidings, coldness,
hardness. We confess all these things before
Thee and pray that Thou wouldst have mercy upon us and deliver
us from our coldness and our hardness and our waywardness
and our sinfulness. We do humbly beseech Thee, Make
us more spiritually minded and set our affections on things
above. Help us to lay aside every weight
and the sin that does so easily beset us, that we may run with
patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus,
the author and finisher of our faith. Gracious God, enable us
to continually look to them. We do humbly beseech We thank
thee for every mercy of thy kind providence. Truly thy mercies
are new every morning, and great is thy faithfulness. 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
number 349. The tune is Rosso, 687. Jesus,
shepherd of thy people, lead us through this desert land
we are weak and poor and feeble yet we trust thy mighty hand
great protector by thy power alone we stand hymn 349 O come, O come, Emmanuel, O come,
O come, Emmanuel, May you have a treasure, may
you have a treasure, as I have all the riches. ? The mountains higher ? ? In the
land where I was ? ? Face of heaven ? ? Up in heaven ? ? Unto all the people of the world
? ? O my children, O my children, O my children, O my children
? ? In the dark of the storm ? ?
In the dark of the storm ? ? When all is calm ? ? When all is calm
? ? O come, all ye faithful, joyful
and triumphant, ? ? O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant,
? Greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, I would direct your attention to the sixth chapter
in the book of Daniel, and we read verses 26 and 27. Daniel chapter 6 verses 26 and
27. I make a decree that in every
dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel
for he is the living God and steadfast forever and his kingdom
that which shall not be destroyed and his dominion shall be even
unto the end. He delivereth and rescueth, and
he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath
delivered Daniel from the power of the lions. Wonderful. account of the Lord's
mercy and goodness to his servant Daniel. You know friends it is
a very profitable study to study the books that relate to the
Babylonian captivity. Some very very wonderful things
that took place among the Jews in Babylon and wonderful deliverances
that were wrought by the Lord during that 70 years in the Babylonian
captivity. Then, of course, an even greater
deliverance when they were delivered by Cyrus. It's even prophesied
in the prophecy of Isaiah that Cyrus's name, that he would be
the king that delivered, facilitated the return of the children of
Israel We know, when you read the book
of Nehemiah, how the Lord gave him everything that he needed
for the building of the walls of Jerusalem. And we know that
when the time came, probably 18, 20 years after the building
of the walls of Jerusalem by Nehemiah, who was the present
governor, he was one of the King's Chamberlains, And the Lord gave him everything
he needed to restore Jerusalem. It was in very troublous times
with great enemies, and yet the Lord wonderfully helped him.
The same with the governor at that time of Jerusalem was Zerubbabel,
and the building of the second temple, which was a huge task
to undertake. And yet the Lord, in a most remarkable
way, brought it to pass. He said to Zerubbabel through
Zechariah, not by might nor by power, but by my spirit, saith
the Lord of hosts. What a relevant word that is
to us today. If the Lord is to build up Zion. One thing it says, that his servants
shall take pleasure in the stones and favor the dust thereof. And
in Isaiah it says, that until the Spirit be poured upon us
from on high, nothing can be done without the Holy Ghost,
without His heavenly power. All our efforts, and it's not
wrong that we should give our efforts to see to the building
of thee and the prosperity of Zion. We're exhorted to pray
for the peace of Jerusalem. They shall prosper that love
thee. But nothing can be done. without
the heavenly power, without the divine unction of the Spirit
of God. Conviction of sin and bringing
to Jesus Christ is his sovereign work. He alone can do it. No man can do that. He must be
born again. Except a man be born of water
and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. These things My beloved friends
are written in God's word for our instruction in the way of
righteousness, in the way of truth, to instruct us in the
way that the Lord works and accomplishes his will and fulfills his will
and fulfills his purposes. And you know, Daniel, he was
preeminently a godly man. that he was also intellectually a very strong man. It is said of him and Shadrach
and Meshach and Abednego that when they had had their education,
which all the captive Jews that were selected for it had, a little
bit like we call having our A-levels or doing a degree perhaps, And
they found that Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were ten
times better than any others that were their peers at that
time. You see, the Lord put them there,
in the land of Babylon. It says here, you see in the
last verse of this chapter, so this Daniel prospered in the
reign of Darius and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian. So he prospered
in the time of Nebuchadnezzar. In the previous chapter, he prospered
in the days of Belteshazzar, Nebuchadnezzar's son, and he
said to him on that night that the kingdom was departed from
him because of his idolatry, and taken the golden vessels
that come from the temple at Jerusalem for his impious feast
with his lords and ladies. Yet there was a disembodied hand
that wrote upon the plaster of the wall that he was found wanting. And that kingdom was taken on
that night. The Numids and the Persians overran
that great city of Babylon. You see, my beloved friends,
God knows everything. With God, nothing shall be impossible. There's no doubt that here Darius
he knew of the previous things that had happened during the
reign of Nebuchadnezzar. When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,
Daniel's companions, they would not bow down to that
image of Nebuchadnezzar. In keeping the holy commandment
of the Lord, Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou
shalt not bow down unto them. And they would not do that. And
then when Nebuchadnezzar, full of fury, came and said to these
young men, is it true that you will not bow down to this golden
image? That golden image at Nebuchadnezzar
Maze, it's identical to the image that is described by Daniel that
he saw in that vision. And so Nebuchadnezzar then, he
built that great golden image in the plains of Jerusalem, commanding
all to bow down and worship. But you see, the Shadrach, Meshach
and Abednego, they said, we are not careful to answer in this
matter, our King. If you take us and cast us into
this burning fiery furnace, our God is able to deliver us, but
if not, so be it. We still will not commit idolatry. What about you and what about
I? If we were put in the same position as those Hebrew children,
would we make a stand? Would we risk our life? Those men had great faith. And
indeed they were cast into the fiery burning furnace. The captains
of Nebuchadnezzar's guard, big strong men, they actually died
putting them in the furnace because the furnace had been heated seven
times hotter. And then Nebuchadnezzar astonished. He said, did we not cast three
men in the fire? And behold, there is four. And
the fourth is like unto the Son of God. Does make you wonder
what was revealed there. Unto Nebuchadnezzar, the fourth
is like unto the Son of God. And he called them forth. It
just makes us think of that beautiful word of promise in the prophecy
of Isaiah about passing through the waters. When thou passest
through the waters, I will be with thee. I will be with thee. And you know, friends, he says
in Isaiah 43, but now, thus saith the Lord that created thee, O
Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, fear not, for I have
redeemed thee. I have called thee by thy name,
thou art mine. When thou passest through the
waters, I will be with thee, and through the rivers they shall
not overflow thee. When thou walkest through the
fire, thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle
upon thee. See, these promises were fulfilled,
still being fulfilled today. as they were here in the Babylonian
captivity, with the three friends of Daniel. And here in the lion's
den, that word was fulfilled. The Lord was with them. The Lord
was with them. The Lord preserved them. You
know, we do have to notice this, friends, and that is that They
had to pass that way. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego
had to go into the furnace. It was no good being delivered
before. They had to go into the furnace.
Same with Daniel. He had to go into the lion's
den. He had to sit there all night among those wild animals. You see, but God was able to
deliver. I don't know the things that
you may be passing through at this time, I don't know the troubles
you may be in, the trials you may be passing through, but the Lord is able to deliver.
And he says in his word, doesn't he, I will deliver thee in six
troubles, yea, in seven also, I will deliver thee perfectly,
The number seven is what is called the perfect number, the complete
number. I will deliver thee in six troubles,
yea in seven or so. The Lord has promised. You see
him with all, the king was on the side of Daniel and yet he
couldn't deliver him. He had to go into the lion's
den. And the king was so displeased with himself. It went to his palace, and passed
the night fasting, neither were instruments of music brought
before him, and his sleep went from him. Then the king arose
very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of
lions. And when he came to the den,
he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel. And the king spake
and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God. That's
what he was known as, even among all these rulers. These great
men of the earth. Daniel was known as the servant
of the living God. And why was that so? Because
he was a man of great godliness. He was a man of great integrity.
He was a man of great uprightness. We notice in the beginning of
this chapter that the presidents and the other leaders, they were
seeking a way as it were to trip Daniel up and to say that he'd
been dealing fraudulently or falsely, et cetera. But it says
here so plainly that the, it says in the latter part of
verse four, that they sought to find occasion against Daniel
concerning the kingdom, but they could find none occasion nor
fault for as much as he was faithful. Neither was there any error or
fault found in him. Then said these men, we shall
not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it
against him concerning the law of his God. And hence they brought
to pass this decree that everybody, whoever it was, was not allowed
to bow down except unto the king. And you see friends, but we see
how the Lord overruled and delivered. I make a decree that in every
dominion of my kingdom, then tremble and fear before the God
of Daniel, for he is the living God. And like we've just seen,
it says the king called him the servant of the living God. wasn't
a dead God, it's the living God and steadfast forever. This is
the testimony of a heathen king and his kingdom that which shall
not be destroyed and his dominion shall be even unto the end. You
know, it says in the next chapter, in the seventh chapter of the
book of Daniel, Daniel is speaking in a prophetic way of the second
coming of Christ, and how all things were ordered by the Lord
right to the end of time. It says here in our text, and
His dominion, that of course is Christ's dominion, shall be
even unto the end. And in verse nine of chapter
seven, I beheld to the thrones were cast down, and the ancient
of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair
of his head like the pure wool. His throne was like the fiery
flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and
came forth from before him. Thousands, thousands ministered
unto him, and 10,000 times 10,000 stood before him. The judgment
was set, and the books were opened. You see, my beloved friends,
Daniel saw the great day of judgment. Look at verse 13. I saw in the
night visions and behold, one like the son of man, that of
course is Christ, came with the clouds of heaven and came to
the ancient of days and they brought him near before him.
And there was given him, that is Christ, dominion and glory
and a kingdom that all people, nations, and languages should
serve him, and his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which
shall not pass away, and his kingdom, that which shall not
be destroyed. And then, right towards the end
of the chapter seven in verse 26, he says, and the judgment
shall sin. That is the great day of judgment.
They shall take away his dominion, that's the dominion of that great
last Antichrist, to consume and to destroy unto the end. And
the kingdom and dominion and the greatness of the kingdom
unto the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints
of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and
all dominions shall serve and obey him." Daniel had a clear
view right to the end of time. And he made that known to the
kings and the presidents and the rulers with whom he mixed. He was a man that was greatly
respected for his godliness, for his integrity, but he didn't
hide his light under a bush. He made it known. And you might
say, how do you know? Why would the king speak like
this in verse 26 if he didn't know? I make a decree that in
every dominion of my kingdom men tremble in fear before the
God of Daniel for he is the living God and steadfast forever and
his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed and his dominion
shall be even unto the end. He delivereth and rescueth. Beautiful words. He delivereth
and rescueth. You know, friends, my mind was
much drawn to those beautiful prophecies of the patriarchs,
and particularly I want to look at Jacob's blessing of his sons
in Genesis chapter 49. Genesis chapter 49. And we look
at the blessing of judah verse 8 of course christ
would come through judah through his seed judah thou art he whom
thy brethren shall praise thy hand shall be in the neck of
thine enemies thy father's children shall bow down before thee judah
is a lion's work from the prey my son thou art gone up he stooped
down he crouches lying as an old lion who shall rouse him
Now this is the particular verse I wanted to point you to, verse
10, the scepter. A scepter is a symbol of royal
authority and power. We see in the queen's funeral,
the scepter was carried before her and then it was ceremonially
taken away and given to the new king because that is the symbol
of royal authority and power. And here he says, the scepter
shall not depart from Judah nor a lawgiver from between his feet
until Shiloh come and unto him shall the gathering of the people
be. This name Shiloh, it's given
of Christ. It's the only place in scripture
where it speaks of Christ. Of course, the dwelling place
of the Jews at the time of Joshua and afterwards when they settled
was in Shiloh, the place called Shiloh. But here in this prophecy,
it's Christ that is being spoken of until Shiloh come, till Christ
come. Now, the meaning of Shiloh is
the rescuer, the deliverer. That's the meaning of the name
Shiloh and it's given here to Christ because he will rescue
his people in all their circumstances, in all their trials, in all their
perplexities, in all their sorrows in this wilderness journey. He
will deliver them. I will deliver thee in six troubles,
yea, in seven also. He will perfectly deliver them. I always say in six troubles,
it's the troubles of the whole of our life but in the seventh
is death. I will deliver thee in six troubles
all the way through your life, then the seventh, death. He has
swallowed up death in victory, and he will deliver his people
from the hand of death and from the power of death. He has brought
life in immortality to life through the gospel, our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for our sins, but he
rose again for our justification. and is now bodily ascended into
heaven and sitteth at the right hand of the Father. And he said,
because I live, ye shall live also until Shiloh come, the deliverer,
the rescuer. He will rescue us from the power
of the grave. I will deliver thee from the
power of the grave. Christ has promised to do that.
O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The scepter shall not depart
from Judah. Why? Because it's Christ will
be born of his seed. David was of the seed of Judah. Christ was promised to the seed
of Judah that Shiloh would come as he promised in all those hundreds
of years before. Nor a log ever from between his
feet until Shiloh come unto him that is unto Christ. Unto Him
shall the gathering of the people be. What a wonderful, precious
truth that is. Unto Christ shall the gathering
of the people be. Unto Shiloh, unto the Deliverer,
unto the Rescuer. Are you in a place that you need
rescuing, you need deliverance, you need the Lord to deliver
you from those things that you're passing through at this time? You know, friends, may the Lord
enable you to look to Him and to cleave to Him in all your
troubles, in all your trials, in all your perplexities. And
the Lord's people do have troubles, do have trials, and do have perplexities,
things that perplex them. And so that they wonder, how
they will get through. But you see, friends, these things
are written for our instruction. You get through looking unto
Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. That's the only
way that you and I will ever get through. Hence that exhortation
by the dear apostle, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher
He's the author of our faith, but he's also the finisher of
our faith. The author and finisher. Salvation's work is done. It's
accomplished, it's fulfilled. In the prophet Jeremiah, chapter
32, and verse 17, we read, our Lord God, Behold, thou hast made the heaven
and the earth by thy great power, and stretched out on, and there
is nothing too hard for thee. That was the confession of Jeremiah's
faith. Then if you look at verse 27,
the word of the Lord, it came to Jeremiah, behold, I am the
Lord, I am Jehovah, the God of all flesh. Is there anything
too hard for me? We read in Luke chapter one when
the angel of the Lord was speaking to Mary concerning the incarnation
of the Son of God. For with God nothing shall be
impossible. May we realize that? Daniel did,
Daniel proved it. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
proved it. Nothing shall be impossible with
God. And we, at the same time in the
captivity, we read of Esther, Queen Esther, how that she was
brought, it was ordained and purposed by God that she should
be there as one of the favorite wives of the king. And for that time, or as it says
in Esther, for such a time as this, And that's why she was
put there. She could influence the king.
And Haman, he sought to destroy the Jews. He got the king to
sign a decree to destroy all the Jews. Esther had hidden her,
who she was, but now she was going to come forth. And you're
well acquainted with the story. and how that the Lord brought
a great deliverance through, it was her uncle that brought
her up. Obviously, in that great tumultuous time, she'd lost her
parents. But her uncle, Mordecai, he raised
her. It was like his daughter. You
see, and how wonderful it was that the Lord intervened. and
we've often pointed out, and you think of the words of the
hymn writer, my life's minutest circumstance is subject to thine
eye. One tiny little thing. That night
could not the king sleep. That night. That night Mordecai
was in dust and ashes, Haman was coming into the king, He'd
already presumptuously brought a gallows that he could hang
Mordecai there. He hated Mordecai the Jew. On
that very night they came in to ask the life of Mordecai the
Jew. That night could not the king
sleep. And he asked for the books of
the Chronicles. And in the book of the Chronicles it was recorded
that Mordecai, Esther's uncle, had reported of two men that
were seeking to take the life of the king. And he says, has
anything been done to this man? And in that very moment, in comes
Haman, asking for the life of Mordecai. And before he could
even speak, the king said, what shall be done unto the man whom
the king delighted to honor? Haman in himself so proud and
lifted up, He thought the King surely delights to honour me.
He said let the King's horse be brought with all the royal
apparel and that man be paraded before the people of the city
of Shusha. Thus shall be done unto the man
whom the King delighted to honour. And immediately the King said
go and fetch Mordecai the Jew. Put him on that horse. and parade
him through the streets of Shushan. You see, the Lord's timing is
perfect. I can't quote it exactly, but
there's an old hymn, or an old piece of poetry. Omnipotence
hath servants everywhere. He never is before his time,
and he never is too late. He has servants everywhere. That
night could not the king sleep. That was God's doing. My life
and your life's minutest circumstance is in his hand. It's in his hand. He delivereth and rescueth. He
worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath
delivered Daniel from the power of the lions. from the power of the lions. And he's able to do that. When
I was a young man, not too long after I was baptised, I worked
in a large meat processing factory in Luton and worked with some
very wicked, ungodly men. And I've often thought there
was one particular man who David says in the Psalms, to deliver
him from lion-like men. And this man was like that. And
a very vicious man. And how we have to see the Lord's
hand in going before us, in delivering us. He delivers and rescues. He's delivered and rescued us
on the cross of Calvary. He's delivered and rescued us
in that holy life bringing in everlasting righteousness for
his people. He delivered and rescued us when
he died for our sins and rose again for our justification.
He delivereth and rescueth and he worketh signs and wonders
in heaven and in earth who hath delivered Daniel from the power
of the lions. Just think for a moment, friends,
of that man. that lay by the pool of Bethesda
for 38 years. And he said to the Lord when
he spoke to him, because Jesus come right where he was, he said,
when the waters move, somebody always gets there before me.
He was a cripple man. You see, but Christ came right
where he was. Right where he was. And the Lord
still comes right where his people are. In fact, he has said, I
will never leave thee nor forsake thee. He delivereth and rescueth. And
in a moment, Christ has said, rise, take up thy bed and walk. And he arose and walked. You see, my beloved friends,
he delivereth and rescueth. The other person my mind went
to was Legion. When the Lord went over the Sea
of Galilee and he came out of the ship and they came running
onto him, this man that was possessed of many devils, none could tame
him. He was naked, he cut himself,
none could bind him. But the Lord Jesus cast out those
devils. And we see the mighty power of
Jesus there. Those devils speaking in him,
they actually said through the man, Jesus, thou son of the most
high God, torment me not. The devils believe and tremble.
They don't believe to the saving of their soul. They believe and
tremble at the holiness, the greatness, the power, They were
in the presence of one that was greater than them. He delivereth
and rescueth. And when the people came out
of the town, they found him sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed,
and in his right mind, he delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh
signs and wonders in heaven. You think of the dear woman who
pressed through the crowd saying if I might but touch the hem
of his garment I shall be made whole the woman with an issue
of blood for 18 years that she came she touched you see they
touched him and they felt virtue power coming from him healing
power coming into their sick and afflicted bodies he delivereth and rescueth and
he work his signs and wonders in heaven and in earth. You think of the rule of the
synagogue when he came to the Lord Jesus. His 12-year-old daughter
was sick, nigh unto death. And then while the Lord was dealing
with that woman, they came and they said, trouble not the master,
she has died. But he went. And he cast them
all out. When they laughed at him, she
but sleepeth. And he said, arise and walk. And the maid arose. He delivereth
and rescueth. See, they were impossible situations. A widow of nine, she was coming
out of the city following the coughing of her son. Obviously, great lamentation. And the Lord came and stood by
the coughing and he commanded him to arise and he sat up. These
were amazing things that Christ did. He come to the grave of
Lazarus and he said, Lazarus come forth and he came forth
bound hand and foot in grave clothes. Loose him and let him
go. He delivereth and rescueth and
he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth. who have
delivered Daniel from the power of the lions. Oh, my beloved
friends, we worship the same God, the same almighty Jesus,
the same Jesus who's full of love, full of love, full of compassion,
full of kindness. I love those words of Joseph
Hart, come then repenting sinner, and trust upon his grace. Oh,
what thou wilt, the total sum is cancelled by his death. What
wonderful grace, isn't it? Even the grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ, he delivereth and restreth, and he worketh signs and wonders
in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Dan from the power
of the lion. May the Lord add his blessing
to these few remarks that we have made. Let us now sing together hymn
number 171. The tune is Osset 386. Join all who love the Saviour's
name to sing his everlasting fame. Great God, prepare each
heart and voice in him forever to rejoice. Hymn 171. He is the Lamb of God, the King,
and the Lamb of God, the King, and the Lamb of God, the King,
and the Lamb of God, the King. In the wondrous things of love, In Him, in Him, all glory I behold,
For Him I'm glad, the all things to Him. ? To be my soul forever be ? ?
Be near my treasures all contain ? I believe, I believe,
thou shalt sustain. From him I know, since now we've
seen. ? In my soul for evermore live
? ? In my daily life thereof ? of Him my soul delights to know,
for Him I've got by every care. Like him, one day I shall arrive. Bless me in my soul from day
to day. Trust me to bring thee all thy way. ? Gave me Thy power ? ? With sinful
thought ? ? With anger ? ? Never let go not ? Take Him for strength and righteousness. Make Him thy refuge in distress. ? Blessed am I, Lord at Thy birth. ? ? And living hope rethink'd,
? ? Praise be Him with cheerful grateful
song ? ? To Him who finest praise belongs ? Tis He who does your every will,
and in your sinful death 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, both now
and forevermore. Amen. Okay.