This is a sermon entitled, I
Know That My Redeemer Liveth. It was a sermon preached on the
Lord's Day morning, 6th of December, 1992, by the late pastor, Mr.
Matronola. And the text is Job 19, verse
25. Job 19, verse 25, part of that
verse, For I know that my Redeemer liveth. For I know that my Redeemer
liveth. These are well-known words. But
may the Lord be pleased to bless our consideration of them, and
although they are so familiar, may there be some comfort extracted
from them and applied to our souls by the Holy Spirit. As
you will remember, Job had been brought very low. He was brought
into dire straits, and for reasons which he did not know. Although
from the very commencement of the book of Job, we are made
aware of these reasons. Job did not know why it was that
he had lost so much, not only his substance but also his family.
Neither did Job know why it was that he was smitten with sore
boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown. He was a loathsome
sight as he sat scraping himself with a potsherd by the gate of
the city. Even when his three friends came to comfort him,
they afforded nothing of comfort because they looked upon the
outward appearance. And it was piteous to behold.
They came therefore to the conclusion that Job had not been all that
he appeared to be. Although he had apparently been
as a paragon of uprightness, one that feared God and eschewed
evil, they reckoned that he was merely a hypocrite, and they
told him so. Amongst their many wise and truthful
statements, they spoke in such a way that he was not comforted,
but was more deeply hurt. And in this chapter he turns
upon his friends, have pity upon me, O my friends, for the hand
of God hath touched me. Job may not have perceived a
great deal, but here he shows that he perceived the very essence
of the matter. that the hand of God was in this
thing. Why do you persecute me as God
and are not satisfied with my flesh? O that my words were now
written! O that they were printed in a
book! That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock
forever! Job desires that the words which
he is about to speak, not the words which he had already spoken,
but the words of our text which immediately follow, that they
should be preserved. His longing is that they should
be written down, and not written merely upon parchment, the equivalent
of paper in that day, which might wear away, crumble to dust and
be lost. But he wants what he is about
to say to be written with a graving tool in stone and molten lead
then poured in upon it, that these letters might stand forever What is it that Job is about
to say? Job is about to make a confession
of his faith. Here is this poor man in abject
trouble and yet he makes this confession of faith in the face
even of the misunderstanding of his
so-called friends. This is what he wanted to be
preserved and it was preserved. It has been preserved to us in
a better way than an engraving of rock with lead to pick out
the shape of the letters, for even that would have but a limited
duration. No, in the holy word of God. Approximately 4,000 years after
these words were expressed, the record of these words is still
with us, and will be with us until the end of time. For the
word of God abideth forever, and these words are preserved
within the Scriptures. Job's confession is an amazing
confession of faith, especially when you consider that he lived
some 2,000 years before the birth of Christ. What does he say? For I know that my Redeemer liveth,
that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth, And though
after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I
see God, whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold
and not another, though my reins be consumed within me. Firstly,
Joe confesses that there is a Saviour. He has a Redeemer. He is brought
to confess his faith in the Messiah, the Christ of God. I know that
my Redeemer liveth. Secondly, he makes confession
of the incarnation of the Redeemer, the enfleshment of the Messiah,
and especially the thought that he, as the God-man, will appear
at the end of the age, in the last day. Since the Saviour was
manifested, God manifested in the flesh, throughout the day
of the Gospel, there has been that glorious person who has
taken our humanity upon himself. And Job expresses it. For I know that my Redeemer liveth
and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. Our
Redeemer came to stand upon the earth. He was born, He grew,
He toiled and He obtained an everlasting righteousness for
us. He stood upon the earth but now raised to the right hand
of the Majesty on high he stands in the presence of the Father
as the God-man until he comes again and stands for judgment. The third element in Job's confession
is the resurrection of the dead and though after my skin worms
destroy this body There may not be much of me to look at now,
only skin and bones. But even when the worms will
have taken their toll, and all that is mortal has crumbled into
dust, his confession is, yet in my flesh shall I see God."
This is an amazing statement of Job's faith, his conviction
that even his dust will be raised and reconstituted and he will
have a sight of Messiah in his glory. And though after my skin
worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God,
whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold. Not another in my place, but
I shall see him. I shall be there, and I shall
look upon him, though my reins be consumed within me. although
there is all this earnest turmoil and anxiety of soul within me
at this moment and although I have such burdens and such debts of
affliction and trouble yet he says this is my trust and confidence
I know that my Redeemer liveth and that he shall stand at the
latter day upon the earth and though after my skin worms destroy
this body Yet in my flesh shall I see God, whom I shall see for
myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another. Here is the
saint's comfort. For that which Job was brought
to express, that which has been preserved, even as he desired
that it should be, is the portion of every child of God. The confession
belongs to all of the elect. These things hold good for all
the ransomed church of God. Oh, to be in a position where
we believe these things, to be such as can say that this confession
is the confession of my faith. I know whom I have believed.
Can you say that? Can you say what Job says? It
is, however, the first expression of Job's confession of faith,
which I would like to look at for a little time. For I know
that my Redeemer liveth. The saint's comfort may be found
in all of Job's confession, but it is certainly found in these
words. Well, we should consider these headings. Firstly, there
is a Redeemer. The only Redeemer. of God's elect,
the man, Christ Jesus. And secondly, He is their Redeemer,
for Job says, I know that my Redeemer liveth. Thirdly, the
Redeemer liveth. Fourthly, the sure knowledge
of this, I know. I know. Well, let us look in
more detail at these things, which are not novelties, but
are to the great majority of us old, tried, and loved truths. Firstly, there is a Redeemer. It is the saint's comfort that
there is a Redeemer, and that nothing can alter that fact. The devil would like to alter
it, but he cannot. He did everything in his power to prevent the coming
of the Redeemer, but when the fullness of the time was come,
God sent forth his Son. The Redeemer routed the devil
in the wilderness. when at the end of his life he
made himself a willing sacrifice for all the sins of all his people,
the devil had nothing in him. Whatever men might say against
the deity of Christ, and in these days even those who claim to
be religious men say plenty, one can understand ungodly men
saying things which are derogatory of the Son of God, but how solemn
it is! when so-called religious men
also say such things and deny his deity and even that there
is a Redeemer. But they cannot alter the truth
of it. I know, says Job, I know that
my Redeemer lives. There is a Redeemer, thank God
there is. If there were no Redeemer we
would not be found in this chapel and we would be of all men most
miserable. We would still be in our sins
and we would be under wrath with nothing to look forward to but
ultimate judgment and everlasting perdition. There is a Redeemer. The Hebrew word is goel which
means a deliverer. There is a deliverer, a kinsman
redeemer. The teaching of the Mosaic law
stated that when a man fell into reduced circumstances he had
to sell his property. His relatives, those of his flesh
and blood, could redeem that property and buy it back. This
is clearly set out in Leviticus chapter 25. The reason for this
was the importance of the land to Israel. When Israel was brought
into the land of Canaan, the land was parceled out to the
tribes, who then subdivided it to the houses and the families
within the tribe, so that all had their portion or their inheritance. It was important that the inheritance
should be kept within the tribes, which was why this provision
was made, that a near relative could buy back that which was
forfeited or mortgaged. Not only that, but we are told
that a man might even come to the place where he had no property
to sell. But if he was still in straitened
circumstances, he might sell himself as a bond servant. And
if that were the case, again his nearest kinsman had the right
to deliver him from bond service and to secure his freedom by
the payment of a sum of money. Job could say, I know that my
Redeemer liveth. He knew that he had one who was
his kinsman, Redeemer, his deliverer. The concept of redemption is
frequently brought before us in the Old Testament. The psalmist
says, Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles. Isaiah prophesies,
The Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from
transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord. The Goel is the one
who had the right and the power to redeem, in order that the
debtor might go free. That very verse is quoted in
the New Testament by the Apostle Paul. And so all Israel shall
be saved, as it is written, there shall come out of Zion the Deliverer,
and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. Paul therefore confirms that
the identity of the Deliverer, the one of whom Isaiah spoke,
was none other than the God-man Jesus Christ. There is a Redeemer,
there is a Kinsman after the flesh, one who is able to set
free, one who not only has the power but who also has the heart
to do it. He who can say that my delights
were with the sons of men, and they have never been otherwise. He to whom the church was given
as a gift of the Father, He is our great kinsman-redeemer, a
kinsman after the flesh, which is why He stood upon the earth
in the latter or the gospel day. He came that He might stand with
us. He was not a kinsman at a distance,
merely pitying us from heaven. but he came that he might stand
where we stand. He was in all points tempted,
like as we are, the difference being, and it is such a crucial
difference, that whereas we are tempted and we sin, he was in
all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. He was brought to stand and keep
the law. The law which was laid upon us
to keep, he kept. In all the days of our flesh,
we have never succeeded in keeping the law of God. Even if we may
have been able to keep it in some outward fashion, we have
never been able to keep it spiritually, and therefore the law condemns
us. But he kept the law for us by coming as our kinsman to fulfill
the terms of the law in every detail. He came and took our
humanity, the seed of the woman. He took our flesh upon Him, that
He might stand where we stand, and that He might be our representative. He also paid the price. According
to the law of the old Israel, there was a price to be paid
for the redemption of the property that was mortgaged, or for the
setting free of the member of the family that was in servitude.
There was money to be transacted. It was not without some cost.
It was a costly thing to redeem land. It was a costly thing to
redeem a man. The kinsmen who took his responsibility
seriously and who had a heart to do it, for not every kinsman
had a heart to do it, but those who did were prepared to spend
whatever was required that there might be the setting free of
the debtor and the deliverance of the captive. praise be to
our God that our great Redeemer our God came not only to represent
not only to represent us but he came and redeemed us and at
such a cost for ye were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver
and gold but with the precious blood of
Christ what is the price of our salvation. What can set the debtor free?
What price must be paid? Nothing less than the blood of
Christ. For without the shedding of blood
is no remission of sin. The Son of Man came not to be
ministered unto, but to minister and to give His life a ransom
for many. Scarcely for a righteous man
will one die. He had prevention for a good man, some would even
dare to die. But God commendeth His love toward
us. In the while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us. That is the price which was paid. Our kinsman Redeemer not only
represents us and redeems us with the price of blood that
was required, but He delivers us from bondage. He came to deliver
us from the bondage of Satan. Satan, the great embodiment of
all that is against us. Now, not that he is a myth. He is a real and personal devil
who stands for all that which is against us. He is the God
of this world, who is never far from us, for he has his hosts
to do his bidding. We wrestle not against flesh
and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers
of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness
in high places. Our kinsman-redeemer delivers
us from bondage. He is not one who pays the price
and then does not deliver his people. That is why particular redemption
is such a blessed truth. those for whom Christ has paid
the price are His they are His by blood He will deliver and
rescue them from death, hell and all that comes against them
He will rescue them from Satan and give them the power to live
as those who are no longer mastered by the devil the old man has been put away
by the work of regeneration and we are now as new creatures in
Christ Jesus. There is the destroying of the
old nature and the rendering inoperative of the power which
was against us. It's still there. It's still
there. We're still fighting against
it but it no longer has the mastery or the stronghold, the stranglehold
over us. The devil has no hold over us
if we have Jesus Christ as our Redeemer. He has rescued us. God has delivered us from the
power of darkness and has translated us into the kingdom of his dear
Son. Colossians 1.13 We have come
out of the kingdom of Satan, the prince of darkness, and we
have been brought into the kingdom of God's dear Son. He is our
kinsman redeemer, our Goel, who has represented and redeemed
us and who also rescues and delivers us from Satan, that through death
he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is the
devil, and deliver them who through fear of death were all their
lifetime subject to bondage. We may have many fears and anxieties,
but if we have a redeemer, We need not fear and we need not
be anxious, for he careth for us. Cast thy burden upon the
Lord, and he who is your Redeemer shall sustain thee. What a mercy
to have such a Redeemer. Secondly, he is the Redeemer
of his people. Job says in his confession of
faith, I know that my Redeemer liveth. There may be those who have been
assenting to what I've said about a kinsman-redeemer, one who represents,
redeems and rescues us, but I ask you who assent that this is indeed
the Gospel, this question, can you say that this Jesus is your
Saviour? Can you say with Job, my Redeemer
liveth, my Redeemer? There is a very great difference
in saying that he is a Redeemer, or even that he is the Redeemer
to being able to say that he is my Redeemer true religion
is nothing short of this to be able to say I know that my Redeemer
lives Martin Luther said the gospel
is in the personal pronouns my God my Redeemer I know whom I
have believed Are you able to say today that this Redeemer
is your Redeemer? Can you say with Thomas, my Lord
and my God? The devils know He is the Redeemer.
That's why they tremble. They know there is a God, but
they have no relation to that God. They only have the expectation
from God of ultimate condemnation and destruction. But we are those who are given
to know Him in a personal way of union and love. My Redeemer. Is He your Saviour? Is He your
Lord? Until we come to know this we
cannot say that we have entered into any real Christian experience. There is much profession in the
church But in all of Christendom there is very little possession
of the grace of God which brings us to say, My Redeemer. My question is then, do you know
this grace? Do you know this grace? Can you
say that you love Him? If you've never experienced that
love for yourself. We love Him because He first
loved us. Can you say He loved me and gave
Himself for me? Have you got a personal relationship
to the One that loved us and washed us from our sins in His
own blood and hath made us kings and priests unto God and His
Father? Can you say that you believe
in the person of the Redeemer, the God-Man, who is in the presence
of the Father, He who is our advocate with the Father? we
labour as pauded in the work of the gospel ministry, that
we might present every man perfect, faultless, in Christ Jesus. We want those in our congregations
to come to a good, well-established ground of hope and trust in a
personal Redeemer. I cannot believe for you Neither
can those who pray earnestly for others of their families
do what only God can do. God must do the work. But if
God does not do the work, it will come to nothing. But if God does the work, it
will bring us into this personal relationship so that we are able
to say with Job, I know that my Redeemer lives. Thirdly, the Redeemer lives.
I know that my Redeemer liveth." He was living when Job uttered
these words and desired that they might be preserved for the
generations to come. Although he was not living then
as the God-man, that would not be until the latter day, some
2,000 years or so later. But he was living as the Son,
the Son from all eternity. He was living as the one who
was already set up in the mind and will of God as the representative,
the redeemer and the rescuer. This brings us back to the covenant
of grace. The everlasting covenant which
God set up before time began, before ever Adam was formed,
in which the church was given to Christ. He was a living redeemer. before there were those that
were required to be redeemed. Before there was a race of fallen
men proceeding from the loins of Adam, there was a Redeemer
appointed who would save them, that God would have the glory
in their salvation. God gave the church to His Son
who was ever as their Redeemer, the only one who engaged to save
us and who never ceased to have his people in his heart Christ
also loved the church and gave himself for it Job therefore is perfectly accurate
when he makes this confession of faith he does not say I know
that my Redeemer will live in the future But rather I know
that my Redeemer is living already. He is alive. He already exists. He is in the presence of God.
He has not yet come forth to stand upon the earth and it will
yet be many centuries before He comes at the end of time as
judge. And yet Job believes that He shall see Him in that day.
He shall be raised from the sleeping dust, and made to behold Him,
whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and
not another. All these things are future. But He lives. He lives. The Eternal Son is the Living
God. Oh, what a mercy it is to be
possessed of truth of this sort! It's not that there is a mere
deliverer such as Samson or Jephthah or any of the others in the days
of judges. They were temporal deliverers.
They were raised up to deliver the people from their enemies.
But then they died and other deliverers were given in their
place. Theirs was but a temporal deliverance. But we are dealing with an eternal
redemption and an eternal redemption requires an eternal redeemer. Christ has never been anything
other than the Redeemer of his elect. I know that my Redeemer
liveth. There is also the sense, which
is I suppose the familiar one, that Job is speaking here concerning
the resurrection. Job's anticipation that the Redeemer
in the days of his humanity, having endured the contradiction
of sinners against himself, would go by the way of the cross and
the tomb back to God in resurrection glory and ascension. Job perceived
that the Redeemer would be raised and that he would himself know
the power of an endless life. the one who would stand for us
and redeem us with his blood and provide deliverance for his
church, he should himself be raised up. For it would not be
possible for God's Holy One to see corruption. When Paul is
preaching on Mars Hill in Athens and declaring the truth of the
gospel, he says God hath appointed a day in the which he will judge
the world in righteousness, by that man whom he hath ordained,
whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath
raised him from the dead. That man is the Redeemer, the
Goel, of his people, whom God has raised again from the dead,
thereby proving that this is indeed the Redeemer, and that
the redemption which he has accomplished is a finished work, and that
by this man ultimately all flesh will be judged. The resurrection
is such a mighty and blessed truth, for it declares the truth
of the rescue and the deliverance, for he is able also to save them
to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth
to make intercession for them. By his words I know that my Redeemer
liveth. Job perceives by faith, however
dimly, not only that his Redeemer lives, but that he would stand
upon the earth as a living Redeemer. For if Job is to see him, there
must be one who can be beheld, and he must himself be raised. For Christ is the firstfruits
of them that slept. What a deliverance it is! When
we have a sight and an understanding of this, it banishes the fear
of death. For we have one who is the ultimate
deliverer, even from the last enemy, from death itself. He will bring us to where he
is, that we may behold his glory. Suffice to say that there is
this declaration of our Great Deliverer's ability to keep His
people, in that He lives, He is exalted, and He continues
to pray for us with an everlasting intercession. I believe that
even when we are brought, as the Church will inevitably and
surely be brought to glory, that He will still intercede for us
and point to His sufferings and death as the ground of our perpetual
salvation. although he need not then intercede
that we be sanctified for we shall be perfect in holiness
and he need not intercede then that we might be kept for we
shall have been brought to the place where we shall have no
enemies anymore against us and he will not need then to pray
that we may be brought to see him as he is for we shall be
there in glory before him Yet he shall continue to speak for
us. He will be our spokesman, our advocate unto the Father
throughout all eternity. Fourthly, I know that my Redeemer
liveth. The final part of Job's confession
is the sure knowledge which he expresses by his words, I know. This is not quite the same as
his saying, my Redeemer. although some may say that this
seems to be just a restating of my earlier point that it is
not enough to speak of a Redeemer or even the Redeemer but to be
able to speak of my Redeemer rather here it is stressed that
Job knows his Redeemer and he knows that he liveth This knowledge is a very important
thing which belongs to the very nature of saving faith. We may
have problems with assurance. Many an exercised man or woman
will have problems sooner or later with assurance. Some of
the Lord's people have had more assurance in the early stages
of their Christian life than they seem to have now, whilst
some, on the other hand, may have doubted much to begin with.
but have more confidence now we differ one from another and
God in his wisdom does not deal with all of us in this matter
in exactly the same way we may have problems with assurance
but there is such a thing as assurance and Job had it Some
say if only I had some sign or token that I was a child of God
then I would have assurance and I would confess what Job confessed. In Job I see a man scraping himself
with a piece of broken pottery. A man covered with boils and
horrible sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his
head. I see nothing externally in Job
to give evidence that he is a child of God. Indeed, I see all that
would make me discount this man, just as his three friends, Eliphaz,
Zophar and Bildad did. And yet this man had assurance.
Assurance, therefore, is not something that is outward. It
is not the absence of trials. and it is not because we've had
some foretaste of heavenly glory while we are on earth it is rather
conviction it is that which the Spirit of God works in us the
very essence of assurance is that we believe the record we
believe what God has revealed we're not told how God revealed
his word to Job we're not told how he heard the gospel in that
long distant day we're not told how it was that he came to believe
but we are told that he was one that feared God which is enough we know from these words that
he was brought to the truth of the gospel as it was in that
day for he believed in God He was like Abraham who believed
God and it was counted on to him for righteousness. Job is
also holding on to that, he believes in God, although everything now
seems to be against him. His very friends are calling
him a hypocrite to his face, yet his faith is such that he
must hold on. There is none that he can look
to but God. Though he slay me, he says in
another place, yet will I trust in him. This is the exercise of faith. I've heard of those who lacked
assurance and had so much which seemed to testify
against their having a Redeemer and any salvation. Yet they have
been brought to the place where they can say, even if he damned
me, I will trust him. but he'll never damn those who
trust him. For they are his by all ties, even as he has loved
them with an everlasting love. Their faith in his exercise brings
them to say with Job, though he slay me, yet will I trust
in him. Though he seems to deny that
he ever knew me, and though he turns away from me, yet I will
trust him. It is not because of any special
visitation or by going to any special meeting. It is simply
because they reckon upon the grace of God, which has come
to them of a truth, and which they believe has been spiritually
laid upon their heart, giving them to hope in Christ, and to
say, I know that my Redeemer liveth. I know it! Assurance then, is that which
comes out of the very faith which is God wrought. When we are regenerated, we are
given that which will come to an assurance. Not some extra
experience or second blessing. It is rather out of the faith
given, the faith which feeds upon the Word of God and as it
believes the Word of God. It sees the oath and character
of the covenant and it rests on these things, although everything
should testify against it. It rests on His Word. Him that cometh to me, I will
in no wise cast out. That is a blessed hope indeed.
It brings Job here to say, when everything seems to be against
him, I know. Paul said, for I reckon that
the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared
with the glory which shall be revealed in us. There are some in our chapels
who feel that they can be truly saved and yet not know it. Those who say that grace is a
hidden thing. Although God knows his own elect, of course that's
true, God does know his own elect. Those who maintain that even
if they never know they are one of the elect or will be well
with them, when what they are really saying is that although
they have never had any sole exercise or even the least conviction
that Jesus Christ is their own personal saviour, yet they think
that there may be, according to the election of grace, hope
for them. I cannot see any warrant for
that view at all. On the contrary, there is so
much in scripture which says that where faith is bestowed,
we know it. When a child is born, to use
the analogy, it may have very limited powers in its infancy,
but it will know that it is alive and it will make its presence
felt. I believe when one is regenerated
by almighty grace, There will be something which will be known
and felt by the person in whose heart this change has come about.
There will also be something which is a testimony to others
of the presence of faith. The spirit must bear some degree
of witness that these things are true. For those who say that they cannot
see any certainty about ever knowing, flies in the face of
what the Old Testament declares here in our text and what the
New Testament declares in many places. John writes his epistle
that ye may know that ye have eternal life. He goes through
the marks and the tests of faith by which we may see that we are
possessed of faith such as we know that we have passed from
death unto life because we love the brethren. There are these signs and these
means by which we can test the reality of our experience, the
spirit working in us, as Paul would say, both to will and to
do of his good pleasure. I know must be part of our experience. And even though there are days
in which we do not know, we would expect that soon there will come
a day when we will know. There may be a variable in the
matter of assurance, but there will be something of assurance.
I know. I know. In conclusion, my dear friends,
what a thing it is to know in a day such as this that my Redeemer
liveth. People around us are taken up
with wanting to know where they can get pleasure, entertainment,
money and other things, things which may in themselves be legitimate
things, such as an education. They might learn all there is
to learn. Knowledge is good in so many respects, but it can
be such a dangerous thing if it becomes an end in itself.
The greatest knowledge is the true knowledge of God. Calvin
begins his Institutes by saying that the knowledge of God and
the knowledge of a man's own self is true knowledge. Do we know ourselves as needy
sinners, those who are in debt and who need to be redeemed?
Do we know that there is a Redeemer who has paid the price for us?
That is real knowledge. the knowledge that matters. I
would rather be the biggest failure in the eyes of men, and yet know
that my Redeemer liveth. I would rather be that poor idiot
boy, Yedi, who saw John, blessed man, and had a living faith in
the Son of God, than to be possessed of all that men count to be wisdom.
All the prudence of this age, and yet be destitute of faith,
and ultimately go to hell. We need to be able to say with
Job, I know that my Redeemer liveth. In a day such as this,
when everything seems to be changing, everything is being put to the
test, nothing seems to be for granted anymore, but this is
for granted, a living Saviour, who has always lived and who
will always live, for he is the living God, I am. To know that my Redeemer liveth
is knowledge indeed. And to know it in every trouble. Job was in great trouble but
it did not alter the fact that God was the same. God loved him
and had more regard to poor Job at the gate of the city than
to many that were sitting in the lap of luxury. In the strange
mystery of God Job was brought into this bitter experience but
he was not kept in it for we're told the Lord blessed the latter
end of Job more than his beginning his latter end was greater than
anything he had known previously he would look back on the experience
and say with the psalmist it is good for me that I have been
afflicted that I might learn thy statutes when we are brought
to heaven. As everyone who knows the Redeemer
will surely be brought to heaven. There is no preventer about it.
For I shall stand, mine eyes shall behold him and not another.
We may well bless God for the times of difficulty and the times
of trouble because we were so established in these times. They were the crucial times when
we knew that our God was real. A fair weather religion is no
real test. Faith must be tried. Faith must
be tested. And it will be tested where it
has been truly given. Oh, to be able to say in every
test which comes, and in the greatest of all tests, the valley
of the shadow of death, I know that my Redeemer liveth. God bless his word. Amen.