Bye. Bye! Let us commence our service this
afternoon by singing together hymn number 47. The tune is Saint
Sepulchre, 406. Cursed be the man, forever cursed, that does one willful sin commit,
death and damnation for the first, without relief and infinite. Hymn 47. The Spirit of man for evermore,
let us one willful sing of it. Sanctification for the first
without limit and infinite. The sign I rose and read Thee
at Thine advent and vengeance' place, That Jesus Thine may gasp
in grave And Calvary's vacant nothings. Garden and grace and boundless love
Streaming anon the Savior's flood And life, and joy, and prayers
ever Will take from that gift-making God. Hark how His praise, the trumpets
sound, Bells on East Ireland ring. And e'er we grow old and gape
in woe, Christ the Lord at the reckoning Go ye that rest upon the moor,
and toil, and seek salvation there. to the flame that burns his soul
and make him tremble in despair. Melt a bitter beneath the cross,
Saviour, at Thy dear feet abide. And the King's hope of justice
grows flaming and red shall pass me by. Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God in the prophecy of Ezekiel, chapter 18. Ezekiel, chapter 18. The word of the Lord came unto
me again, saying, What mean ye that ye use this proverb concerning
the land of Israel? saying, the fathers have eaten
sour grapes and the children's teeth are set on edge. As I live,
saith the Lord God, ye shall not have occasion any more to
use this proverb in Israel. Behold, all souls are mine. As the soul of the father, so
also the soul of the son is mine. The soul that sinneth it shall
die. But if a man be just, and do
that which is lawful and right, and hath not eaten upon the mountains,
neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of
Israel, neither hath defiled his neighbour's wife, neither
hath come near to a minstrel's woman, and hath not oppressed
any, but hath restored to the debtor his pledge, hath spurred
none by violence, hath given his bread to the hungry, and
hath covered the naked with a garment, he that hath not given forth
upon usury, neither hath taken any increase, that hath withdrawn
his hand from iniquity, hath executed true judgment between
man and man, hath walked in my statutes, and hath kept my judgments
to deal truly, he is just. he shall surely live, saith the
Lord. If ye beget a son that is a robber,
a shedder of blood, and that doeth the like to any one of
these things, and that doeth not any of those duties, but
even hath eaten upon the mountains and defiled his neighbour's wife,
hath oppressed the poor and needy, hath spoiled by violence, hath
not restored the pledge and hath lifted up his eyes to idols,
hath committed abomination, hath given forth upon usury, and hath
taken increase, shall he then live? He shall not live. He hath done all these abominations.
He shall surely die. His blood shall be upon him.
Now, lo, if he beget a son that seeth all his father's sins which
he hath done, and considereth and doeth not such like, that
hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither lift up his eyes to the
idols of the house of Israel, hath not defiled his neighbor's
wife, neither hath oppressed any, hath not withholden the
pledge, neither hath spoiled by violence, but hath given his
bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment,
that hath taken off his hand from the poor, and hath not received
usury nor increase, hath executed my judgments, that walketh in
my statutes, he shall not die. For the iniquity of his father
he shall surely live. As for his father, because he
cruelly oppressed, spoiled his brother by violence, and did
that which is not good among his people, lo, even he shall
die in his iniquity. Yet say ye why, doth not the
son bear the iniquity of the father? When the son hath done
that which is lawful and right, and hath kept all my statutes,
and hath done them, he shall surely die. The soul that sinneth,
it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity
of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity
of the son, The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon
him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. But
if the wicked will not turn from all his sins that he hath committed,
and keep all my statutes into that which is lawful and right,
he shall surely live, he shall not die. All his transgressions
that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him.
in his righteousness that he hath done, he shall live. Have
I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die, saith the
Lord God, and not that he should return from his ways and live?
But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness,
and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations
that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? all his righteousness
that he hath done shall not be mentioned, in his trespass that
he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them
shall he die. Yet ye say, the way of the Lord
is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel,
is not my way equal? Are not your ways unequal? When a righteous man turneth
away from his righteousness and committeth iniquity and dieth
in them, for this iniquity that he hath done shall he die. Again,
when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath
committed and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall
save his soul and life. Because he considereth and turneth
away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall
surely live. he shall not die. Yet saith the
house of Israel, the way of the Lord is not equal. O house of
Israel, are not my ways equal? Are not your ways unequal? Therefore
I will judge you, O house of Israel, everyone according to
his ways. Saith the Lord God, repent and
turn yourselves from all your transgressions, so iniquity shall
not be your ruin. Cast away from you all your transgressions,
whereby ye have transgressed, and make you a new heart and
a new spirit. For why will you die, O house
of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the
death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God. Wherefore, turn
yourselves and live ye. May the Lord bless that portion
of his own precious word, Grant unto us a spirit of real prayer. Almighty, most merciful and eternal
God, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, the one true God, we desire to
worship Thee in Thy Son, Jesus Christ, for through Him we have
access by one spirit unto the Father, And we pray that as we
gather round thy word this afternoon, 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. That we may truly
worship thee. Oh, we pray to be led and taught
and guided and directed by thee. And we pray for that wonderful
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ to cleanse away all our iniquity.
to wash us in that precious sin-atoning blood and to reconcile us unto
God. We pray for the spirit of truth
to dwell in our hearts, and the spirit of love, and the spirit
of faith, and the spirit of repentance, and the spirit of humility, all
that we may be favoured with these wonderful blessings of
thy grace that are found in Jesus Christ. For him hath God exalted
as a Prince and as a Saviour, for to give repentance of sins,
faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. For these are thy precious gifts
in the Gospel. We pray that we each may be partakers
of those precious gifts, that we may find grace in our Lord
Jesus Christ. We pray to be led and taught
and guided and directed by thy good spirit, for as many as are
led by the spirit of God, they are the sons of God. Lord, we
pray that thy word may be open to our heart and to our understanding. Blessed eternal spirit, we pray
that the eyes of our understanding may be opened that we may behold
wondrous things in thy law, that thy word may be a lamp unto our
feet and a light unto our path, and that thy grace may rule and
reign in our hearts, and that we may do those things that are
pleasing to thee. Lord, we do pray to be delivered
from sin and from its power. Sin certainly lives in us. and
we feel its power and its influence. We pray to be delivered from
it. We pray to be united unto Christ, delivered from sin's
power, from Satan's power. Lord Jesus, thou art greater
than them both. If our hearts condemn us, he
is greater than our hearts. Well, we thank thee for that
wonderful and that great grace that is in thee. and he giveth
more grace, and Lord we feel to need it. And we pray that
thou wouldst graciously guide us, O thou great Jehovah. We're
pilgrims in a barren land, we are weak but thou art mighty.
Hold us with thy powerful hand, that we may be led and taught
and guided and directed by thee. that we pray, most gracious Lord,
that thou would remember all the assemblies of thy saints
up and down the land, some in twos and threes, others in greater
companies, but we pray that thou would remember each one and that
thou would draw near and that thou would graciously bless.
We pray, most gracious Lord, that thou would open thy word
to thy servants and grant them a word in season, and grant that
we may be enabled to know nothing among men save Jesus Christ and
him crucified. Grant that the Lord Jesus may
be exalted in the ministry of the word, and that we may be
enabled to preach him and to set him forth in all his suitability
to poor and needy sinners. We do pray, most gracious Lord,
that thou wouldst help thy servants to rightly divide the word of
truth. That would enable us to study,
to be faithful witnesses of thee, study to show thyself. O Lord,
may it be so that the word of truth may be constantly read
and meditated in, and that our eyes may be opened and enlightened. And even as thy servant Joshua
was to meditate there in day and night, may we love thy law,
may we love thy word, may we love thy truth. We do humbly
beseech thee. And we do pray, most gracious
Lord, that thou would meet with us here this afternoon that the
word of thy grace may shine, that the peace of God that passeth
all understanding may be experienced in our hearts, we do humbly beseech
thee. And that we pray, most gracious
Lord, that thou wouldst be with us each in our daily lives, and
that we may be enabled to do that which is pleasing unto thee,
even as we've read of in thy word. that thou wouldst give
us real repentance, godly sorrow for our sin and faith in our
Lord Jesus Christ, that we may constantly and continually come
to thee in all our need as poor sinners. We truly, Lord, that
we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency
of the power might be of God and not of us, that we pray,
dear Lord, that thou wouldst bless our brethren, the deacons,
and give wisdom and grace, in all their responsibilities. Bless
each one of our brethren and sisters in Christ in church fellowship. Undertake for us each. Remember
our dear brother and sister in Holland. Remember them for good. We do humbly beseech thee in
that peculiar pathway they have been called to walk in. That
we pray that thou was drawn near to them. And that we pray that
thou would graciously make us more spiritually minded. and
set our affections on things above and not on things of the
earth. For Lord, by nature we are earthbound. What we pray
to be delivered from the things of this earth that cleave to
our flesh, and that we pray for that grace to make no provision
for the flesh, to fulfill the lust of them. Lord, there is
that propensity in our hearts to do that. We pray to be delivered
from it. And we pray to be more spiritually
minded and our affections set upon our Lord Jesus Christ, that
he may be the centre, the sum and the substance of all our
hopes and all our desires. We pray for grace to present
our bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto thee,
which is our reasonable service. And that we be not conformed
to this world, but may we be transformed by the renewing of
our mind that we might know what that good and perfect and acceptable
will of the Lord is. And we pray, most gracious God,
that thou in thy precious mercy would graciously bless the little
ones and the children as they're brought into the sanctuary. that
the blessing of the Lord that maketh rich and addeth no sorrow
with it may be their portion, and in their young and tender
years they may be found feeling after thee. We pray for the dear
young friends, that they may be brought to living faith in
Jesus Christ, that they may turn to the fold and enter in, that
they may lay hold of that glorious hope in Jesus Christ, that they
may catch a glimpse of yon lovely man, that they may view that
scene of matchless grace, tis Jesus in the sinner's place,
heaven's brightest glory sunk in shame. Gracious God, may we
each have a little view of that, of the wonderful glory of our
suffering Saviour. We do humbly beseech thee. And
we pray that those that are in darkness may be brought into
light, that those that are in bondage may be brought into liberty,
that those that feel to be far off, may they be made nigh. We
do humbly beseech thee that may the word of the Lord have free
course among us and thy name be honoured and glorified. We
pray, most gracious God, that thou in thy precious mercy was
to remember all in the midst of the journey of life and the
many trials, perplexities, sorrows, and that there was graciously
uphold and strengthen. Those that bring up children,
may they be given grace and wisdom to do so in the nurture and admonition
of the Lord. And we pray that there may be
family worship, prayer, and the reading of thy word in the family.
for all things are sanctified by the word of God and prayer.
Oh, that that sanctifying influence may be found in our families.
And we pray that thou wouldst make us earnest in the things
of God and deliver us from a lukewarm, half-hearted spirit. How soon,
Lord, we fall into such a spirit. We pray to be delivered from.
But we pray, most gracious Lord, that thou wouldst remember those
of us in the evening time of life's journey and its attendant weaknesses and
infirmities, the mud-walled cottage shakes. Gracious God, may we
be brought to that place and long to see it fall. Oh Lord,
to be with Christ, which is far better. We do pray for those
clear views of Emmanuel, of his cross, of his glorious everlasting
righteousness, of his wonderful person. Oh, we thank thee for
the eternal love of God in Christ and that unchangeable love of
God in Christ. We thank thee for the glory of
his name and the fullness of his salvation. We thank thee
that in him dwelleth the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and that
he is full of grace and truth. We thank thee, most gracious
Lord, for that wonderful truth, that he has swallowed up death
in victory, that by one offering he hath perfected forever all
them that are sanctified, that he entered into death itself,
and on the third day he rose again, bringing light and life
and immortality to light through the gospel. Oh, that we could
enter a little into these wonderful, precious truths of our most holy
faith. We do humbly beseech thee, and
that the Lord Jesus may be exalted among us, and that we do pray
that the Lord Jesus may be exalted in our daily walk and conversation,
and that we may be made ready for that day when we must soar
through tracks unknown, see thee on thy judgment throne. Lord,
we pray for any that have any particular trouble or trial or
perplexity or sorrow, that they may bring it unto thee. Even
as thou hast said, the cause that is too hard for thee, bring
it unto me. Enable us so to do, however small
or however great that thing may be. Help us to bring it unto
thee, to cast our burden upon the Lord, and to prove thy sustaining
upholding mercy. We do humbly beseech thee. We
pray that the glory and light and power of the gospel may shine
in this village. Precious souls may be gathered
in, the prodigals may return, the power of thy truth may manifest. Lord, grant that this little
house of prayer may be filled with hungry, longing souls, pressing
into the kingdom of heaven. Grant that that may be our burden,
our exercise, as before thee, to see thy work appearing and
thy power to be made known in the gospel and precious souls
to be gathered in. Deliver us from the temptations
of Satan, that old serpent, the devil, who goeth about as a roaring
lion, seeking whom he may devour, who also goes about as an angel
of light, seeking whom he may deceive. Lord, deliver us from
his power, from his influence. Those that are in his clutches,
deliver them. O Lord, we do beseech thee, as
thou alone art able. Come, Lord, we pray. Fill our
hearts with gratitude for the wonderful glory of Christ, for
the wonderful fullness of that salvation that he has wrought
out for his people, for the precious blood of the Lamb. Fill our hearts
with gratitude for the love of our eternal Father, who sent
his only begotten Son to redeem his people from their sins. And
fill our hearts with gratitude for that wonderful and most precious
gift of thy Holy Spirit. Hearken, Lord, We humbly beseech
thee and make up in giving where we do so failing asking. And
come and touch one's lips with the live coal from of the heavenly
altar. Breathe thy word into our souls. We ask for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. Let us now sing together hymn
number 44 to the tune Beverly, 298. Here, Lord, my soul convicted stands
of breaking all thy ten commands. And on me justly minceth thou,
Paul, thy wrath in one eternal shower. Hymn number 44. I struggle
in excess Thou breaking o'er, I take the
loss, And the fears, the hopes of hell, I will live on these
gallows shall. ? Earth thanks to God is now balanced
? ? Heav'n for me, O thou virgin most ? ? Heav'n and earth are
yours, O Lord ? I see my faith in righteousness ? And e'er thy
ground ? ? And open trests ? ? Yet in thy gospel ? ? Can I see ?
? Next birth the Father ? Here I give up my bothers and
sorrows, And pricelessly thy glory show. God has bought us
all, will turn in vain, when guilty
sinners turn away. Love is in wisdom, power and
love. This little man was born of love. Till thou, my hope, my faith,
didst raise, Till the man just I planned to love. Greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, I would direct your attention to the 18th chapter
of the prophecy of Ezekiel, and we will read verse four for our
text. Ezekiel chapter 18, verse four. Behold, all souls are mine. As the soul of the father, so
also the soul of the son is mine. The soul that sinneth, it shall
die. There was a strange proverb among
the Jews. Obviously, here in Babylon, because
Ezekiel prophesied in the land of Babylon, during these 70 years
of captivity. But you also read of this same
proverb in Jeremiah, which is before the captivity. And the
Lord here, he says to the children of Israel that they were accusing
him of his ways being not equal. They were actually saying it
was a common proverb among them that children were being punished
for the sins of the fathers. And that God was unjust. That
was the accusation and that is the meaning in the second verse,
the fathers have eaten sour grapes and the children's teeth are
set on edge. And that was the proverb. It
was a very unjust word to be spoken. Now of course this means
not in what we would say the absolute sense of the word because
it says in the holy law of God in the book of Exodus that God
is righteous and just visited the iniquities of the fathers
upon the third and fourth generations. We also know that the Lord visited
Rehoboam Solomon's son and punished him, said it did
not do it in the days of Solomon because of David his father.
We also know that the Lord visited solemn judgments on the children
of Israel because of the sins of Manasseh who made the streets
of Jerusalem run with blood. So this word is not what we might
say an absolute word, the Lord does judge and visit sins and
iniquities on other generations, but the general rule, the certain
rule in Holy Scripture, is what we have in our text. The soul
that sinneth, it shall die. Not because of their fathers,
not because of their sons, but because of their own iniquity
and their own uncleanness and unrighteousness. And also Ezekiel
here, by the Spirit, he sets out the mercy and grace of God
in the if that somebody turns from that way of iniquity and
unrighteousness, that the Lord will have mercy upon them. And
so the whole of Scripture speaks of this particular aspect of
the truth. But the fundamental essence of
the message this afternoon, the soul that sinneth, it shall die. Not anyone else, but it shall
die. Now, so firstly here, in this
verse 4, we read of the absolute sovereignty of God over all men. over all men. Behold, you know, that statement
is made, that word is used to draw our attention to something
very important. Behold, all souls are mine. You know, friends, we may run
away with the idea that, you know, we're free, we can do what
we like. You youngsters, you may sometimes
think, well, I can do what I like and live as I like. And that's
the wicked, sinful heart of man. But I want you to mark my words,
that as you sow, so shall you reap. And may the Lord grant
that you may lay this to heart. Behold, all souls are mine. The Apostle Paul, when he speaks
on Mars Hill in the Acts of the Apostles, and he says, in him
we live and move and have our being. In God. We have our being from God. And the word of God is very clear,
there is a time to be born, and there is a time to die. But as the word of God clearly
says, the wages of sin is death. The
wages of sin is death. In the third chapter of the first
epistle of John, we read there concerning that sin is any transgression
of the law of God. And that is a definition of sin,
a New Testament definition of sin. I pointed out this once
to a man who was arguing that the law is completely finished
and we have absolutely nothing to do with it in the days of
the New Testament because when Christ died then the law was
utterly finished and there is no law now. That is not true. That is not true. According to
Holy Scripture it is not true. The definition of sin in the
New Testament is exactly as it is in the Old. Sin is any transgression
of the law of God. When we break God's holy righteous
law, we sin against God. We break the boundary that has
been put around us. That boundary is God's holy righteous
law. And when we transgress, we break
that law, that boundary that God has put around us. And as
it was said unto Adam and Eve in the garden, when the Lord
warned them not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good
and of evil, for the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt
surely die. The sad, the solemn truth is,
my beloved friends, that Adam And Eve rather believed the devil
than God. The devil spoke the lie to them.
He said, you shall not surely die. That was in direct contradiction
to God. God said, you shall surely die.
The devil said, you shall not surely die. In actual fact, he
said, you'll be like gods. You'll know good and you'll know
evil. God just doesn't want you to know everything. How subtle. The temptations of the enemy.
And then we read concerning Eve that she saw that it was something
to be desired. Covetousness. God had said, you
mustn't eat it. She saw that it was something
to be desired. That's the sin of covetousness. If you look
into the Garden of Eden, my beloved friends, there's a multitude
of sins there. There really is. And she took. in direct contradiction
to God's word. She took and she ate and she
gave unto her husband and their eyes were opened. And the sentence of death came
upon them. Separation of God, spiritual
death. Spiritual death and natural death, of course, eventually
to follow. And as the apostle says in Romans
chapter five, as in Adam, all died. Each one of us are the
sons and daughters of Adam. Adam sinned. We are born in sin. In sin did our mothers conceive
us. Our sin comes by natural generation
from our parents. You know that some people, Christian
people, some godly people make a great to do about, you must
have Christian parents. As if, by having Christian parents,
it makes you more liable to be a godly person, and that there's
something that is transferred from your Christian parents to
you. Of course, such a doctrine and such a view is obnoxious
to the word of God. It's not true. It really is not
true. The only thing that you and I
get from our parents is sin. And that's how we're born. We're
unrighteous. We're ungodly by nature. And as the Word of God says,
we go forth from the womb speaking lies and hypocrisy. But we mustn't forget this fundamental
truth that is in our text. Behold, souls are mine. You may think you're your own
master but you're not, all souls are
mine. And listen to something else
that God says, as it is appointed unto man once to die, why because
of sin, so after death the judgment. God has a solemn right to call
you to the bar of his judgment and you must give an account
before the judgment seat of Jesus Christ. This is all contained
in this word in the beginning of our text, all souls are mine. He has a sovereign right to bring
you and me before his judgment seat because you belong to him. It is He that has made us and
not we ourselves. In Him we live and move and have
our being. Man, in such an abundant way
these days, denies the very existence of God, laughs at the thought
of the Day of Judgment, mocks it, says you don't believe anything
like that, do you? My dear, beloved friends, that
the Lord had opened your eyes to see and to realize that you
are God's and he has a right to govern you and he has a right
to judge you and he has appointed a day when he will judge the
world in righteousness. Now my dear beloved friends are
you ready? for God's judgment. It's a sure
and it's a certainty. We must all appear at the judgment
seat of Jesus Christ. Behold, all souls are mine. As the soul of the father, so
also the soul of the son is mine. Now, while we're touching on
this subject, let us consider for a moment the soul. The soul
is the spiritual part of man. That is what makes up human nature. We read in the book of Genesis
that when God created man upon the earth, formed the physical
body of man from the dust of the ground and what a marvelous creation
it was from the dust of the ground and then we read this and God
breathed into man the breath of life and man became a living
soul that's human nature a body and a soul. That's what separates
us from the animal kingdom. Animals do not have a living
soul, a spiritual part. That is what is meant when it
says, he was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering
of death. That is, the son of God was made
a little lower than the angels. Man is termed in scripture as
being a little lower than the angels. Why is he a little lower
than the angels? Because he has a physical body.
The angels are spirits. God is a spirit, infinite, almighty
and eternal and everlasting. From everlasting to everlasting
thou art God. Angels are spirits created by
God to minister to those that shall be the heirs of salvation.
So there are elect angels and there are fallen angels. The
fallen angels are controlled and led by the devil. Satan,
that old serpent, the devil. He controls those fallen angels. But man is a little lower. So
man has that physical body but then He has a soul that's been
given to him of God. As it says, all souls are mine.
And that soul is the seat of our intellect. Man has the powers of reason.
And that power of reason dwells in his soul. That is what lifts
him above the beasts of the earth. He's made in the image of God.
He has a spiritual part, a spiritual understanding. He has that ability to reason
things out. That is how, even in our articles
of faith, it speaks of a reasonable soul. And the reason it says
a reasonable soul is because that is where the power of reason
is. Man has the ability to reason and to work out. That intellectual
ability of man comes from the fact that he has a soul, a reasonable
soul that gives him the power and the ability to work out.
Now, through the fall of Adam into sin, that is marred by sin. That is marred by sin. Sin lives
in us. And if, unless by the grace of
God we're kept, we live in sin. That's our state by nature. Behold, all souls are mine. As the soul of the father, so
also the soul of the son is mine. The soul that sinneth, it shall
die. Now the other thing that we must
notice here, we've just spoken of the day of judgment. And that
we must all appear at the judgment seat of Jesus Christ. No, you
won't answer at the day of judgment for the sins of your father or
your mother or your son or your daughter. You won't answer for
them, you will answer for yourself. And yourself only. That's the
fundamental truth that is being taught here. That when you appear
at the judgment seat of Jesus Christ, you must answer. You know, that is so Graphically
set before us in Matthew 25 by our Lord Jesus Christ And the
king sitting to judge that's Christ himself And it says he
shall separate He will separate not somebody else In the Prophet
Joel it says multitudes multitudes in the valley of decision of
course the Arminian would interpret that as being people deciding
for Christ, deciding to believe in Christ, deciding to follow
Christ. Because it's got no bearing on
that whatsoever. It's actually setting before
us a day of judgment. Multitudes, multitudes in the
valley of decision. Just consider it for a moment.
If beforeeth there is set the day of judgment, the grander
sizes. In a court of law, whose decision
stands? Is it the criminal in the dock,
or is it the judge on the bench? It's very clear, isn't it? It's
the judge on the bench that decides whether you're innocent or whether
you're guilty. And his ruling is absolute. And so the decision spoken of
there is the decision of the judge of all the earth. And shall
not the judge of all the earth do right? Multitudes, multitudes
in the valley of decision. Now, he shall separate. Who? The judge, Christ, who knows
all things, who sees all things. He knows his own people, the
foundation of God stand ashore, having this seal upon it, the
Lord knoweth them that are his. He knows them. He knows them
by deed of gift from his eternal father. He knows them because
he suffered and bled and died for their sins on the cross of
Calvary. He knows them because he died
and rose again to deliver them from sin and Satan's power and
to give them eternal life. I know my sheep, and they follow
me, and a stranger will they not follow. My dear beloved friends,
are you a follower of Jesus Christ? Are you a believer in Jesus Christ
and follow him and long to hear his voice and to see his countenance
and to truly worship him? These things are fundamental
and vital not only the soul that sinneth it shall die, but he
makes it very clear here. Look at verse 10. If he beget
a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood, and that doeth the
like to any one of these things, and that doeth not any of those
duties, but even hath eaten upon the mountains and defiled his
neighbor's wife, hath oppressed the poor and needy, hath swore
by violence, hath not restored the pledge, hath lift up his
eyes to the idols. In other words, an ungodly person
hath committed abominations, hath given forth upon usury,
and hath taken increase. Shall he then live? He shall
not live. He hath done all these abominations. He shall surely die. His blood
shall be upon him. You see, now he goes on to make
this point. Now, lo, if ye beget a son, that
seeth all his father's sins which he hath done, and considereth
and doeth not such like, that hath not eaten upon the mountains,
neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of
Israel, hath not defiled his neighbour's wife, neither hath
oppressed any, hath not withholden the pledge, you see, and so it
goes on, hath taken off his hand from the poor, hath not received
usury nor increase, hath executed my judgment, hath walked in my
statutes. He shall not die for the iniquity
of father. He shall surely live. We have
the description there of a righteous man, a godly man. You see, and
towards the end of the chapter, the last two verses, cast away
from you all your transgressions whereby you have transgressed
and make you a new heart. So Ezekiel here is laying down
what is So necessary. You need a new heart. Sinner,
you need a new heart. You need the Holy Spirit to enter
your soul, to quicken your soul into life, to give you a new
heart. It says here in Ezekiel, I will
take away the heart of stone and will give you a heart of
flesh. And that's what you need. Solemn thing if you live and
die with that heart of stone. You'll be lost forever. He's
speaking here, my beloved friends, of repentance. You see, it says in verse 30, Therefore I
will judge you, O house of Israel, everyone according to his ways,
saith the Lord God. Repent, and turn yourselves from
all your transgressions, so iniquity shall not be in your ruin. Cast
away from you all your transgressions, whereby you have transgressed,
and make you a new heart and a new spirit, The scriptures
speak in this particular way. It's not that you are able to
actually give yourself a new heart, or a new spirit, but you
need the Lord to give his Holy Spirit. That the Holy Spirit
may enter into your soul, may convict and convince you of your
sin, may bring you to a knowledge of yourself, when He, the Spirit
of Truth, is come. He will reprove the world of
sin, of righteousness and of judgment. And that's what you
and I need. We need it continually. As we
said this morning, until the Spirit be poured upon us from
on high. How vital is this divine work
of the Holy Ghost to convince us of our sin and to reveal unto
us the precious things of Jesus Christ, the way, the truth and
the life. and to reveal unto us the precious
blood of Christ that cleanses us from all sin and to reveal
unto us the glorious everlasting robe of the righteousness of
Christ to clothe us to stand in the presence of Almighty God. And so Ezekiel in this way, he
sets before us what the heart of God is and make you a new heart and
a new spirit. For why will you die, O house
of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the
death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God. Wherefore, turn
yourselves and live ye. There's only one place of life,
my beloved friends, and that is in Christ. That is in Christ. That that is where life is. And
this is very, beautifully set before us by the prophet Ezekiel. And in Ezekiel chapter 37 speaks
there of the valley of dry bones. The hand of the Lord was upon
me and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord and set me
down in the midst of a valley which was full of bones. and
caused me to pass by them round about, and behold, there were
very many in the open valley, and lo, they were very dry, they
were skeletons. And he said unto me, Son of man,
can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou
knowest. Again he said unto me, prophesy
upon these bones, preach to these bones, and say unto them, O ye
dry bones, hear the word of the Lord, Do you have those in your
family that are dry bones? Do you pray for them? Do you
plead with the Lord that he might preach Christ unto them, that
he might meet them where they are, turn their feet away from
the ways of sin and unrighteousness, turn their feet to Zion's hill?
Prophesy upon these bones, say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear
the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord unto these
bones, behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall
live, and I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh
upon you, and cover you with the skin, and put breath in you,
and ye shall live, and ye shall know that I am the Lord. You see, this is the mighty work
of God. So I prophesied as I was commanded,
and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, a shaking,
and the bones came together, bone to his bone. When I beheld,
lo, the sinews and flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered
them above, but there was no breath in them. Then said he
unto me, prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, say to
the wind, thus saith the Lord God. Come from the four winds,
O breath. It's praying for the Holy Spirit,
O breath. Spirit means breath. and breathe
upon these slain that they may live. So I prophesied as he commanded
me. And the breath came into them,
and they lived and stood upon their feet an exceeding great
army. Now listen to the interpretation.
Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole
house of Israel. Behold, they say our bones are
dried, our hope is lost, we are cut off for our parts. Therefore
prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God, behold, O
my people, I will open your graves. Do you feel that you're in the
grave? You're in the place of death? Is that what you feel
in your own soul? I will open your graves and cause
you to come up out of your graves and bring you into the land of
Israel and you shall know that I am the Lord when I have opened
your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves
and shall put my spirit in you. and ye shall live, and I will
place you in your own land. Then shall ye know, I the Lord
have spoken it and performed it." Spoken it and performed
it. This is the whole house of Israel.
Are there those that lay close to your heart, you believe that
the Lord has intimated to you that he has a favor to them?
Oh, my beloved friends, how we need that spirit of prayer. In the previous chapter, in chapter
36, he speaks there in verse 25. Then will I sprinkle clean
water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your filthiness,
and from all your idols will I cleanse you. A new heart also
will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you. and I
will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and I will
give you an heart of flesh and I will put my spirit within you
and cause you to walk in my statutes and you shall keep my judgments
and do them and you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your
fathers and you shall be my people and I will be your God. I will
also save you from all your uncleannesses This is the gospel of Jesus Christ. I will call for the corn and
will increase it and lay no famine upon you. So these are the wonderful
blessings. Just look at verse 37. It's a
word to us, my beloved friends. Thus saith the Lord God, I will
yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel to do it
for them. I will increase them with men. like a flock. I will increase
them with men like a flock. Does it make you think of that
lovely prayer? Let thy work appear unto thy
servants and thy glory unto their children, that we may see Zion's
offspring come, the Lord's chosen gathered into the sanctuary.
And remember what we've read here in Ezekiel, the wonderful
gospel of the grace of God in Christ in verse 24 of chapter
18. But when the righteous turneth
away from his righteousness and committed iniquity, and doth
according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall
he live? All his righteousness that he
hath done shall not be mentioned in his trespass that he hath
trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned. In them shall
he die. Yet ye say, the way of the Lord
is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel,
is not my way equal? Are not your ways unequal? When
a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness and committeth
iniquity, and dieth in them, for his iniquity that he hath
done shall he die. Again, when the wicked man turneth
away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth
that which is lawful and right, that's a true conversion unto
Christ, he shall save his soul alive. because he considered
and turned away from all his transgression that he hath committed. You see, the doctrine of repentance
and faith is set forth in this way. And how vital are these
precious doctrines of faith and repentance and remission of sins. Oh, that the Lord would give
us that faith which worketh by love. Faith in the bleeding lamb,
faith in his precious blood, faith in his glorious righteousness,
confession of our own sins and our own shortcomings, and to
follow our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity and in truth. Behold,
all souls are mine. As the soul of the Father, so
also the soul of the Son is mine. The soul that sinneth it. shall die. May the Lord add his
blessing. Let us now sing together hymn
number 23. The tune is Manchester 180. A man there is, a real man, with
wounds still gaping wide, from which rich streams of blood once
ran, in hands and feet and side. Hymn number 23. We worship thee, O God. Oh, will you see the blood was
shed In the hands of Jesus Christ? O'er the land of the free and
the home of the brave The same demonic pain now reigns
that suffered for a saint. This wondrous man of heaven we
tell, is true almighty God. O tap the souls from death and
pain. The price is own but blood. That human God, He still can
rechange The throne in God, His place That tells each subject member's
fate, For our affliction's fate. Come, then, repent, Tintin, and
come, Approach with humble faith, O'er the ramparts we watched,
were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket's red glare, the
bombs bursting in air, His blood can cleanse the darkest
soul and wash the guilt away. He will be 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.