Okay, well I want to stay for one more week in Zephaniah, the prophecy of Zephaniah. Three books from the end, four books from the end of the Old Testament. Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and then Malachi, and that's the end of the Old Testament. Because it's such a an encouraging message towards the end of that prophecy, which at first sight seems very dark and very gloomy. You see, the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ, the good news of God and of salvation from sin is the great divider of humanity. It makes an enormous difference. One of the articles that I put in The bulletin was by Robert Hawker, saying what a difference it makes. It's a verse in Exodus. What a difference the Lord makes between the world that he's taken his people out of and what he's done for those people. The gospel is the great divider of humanity. It really is. If you're given eyes to see it, it is a sharp contrast, as we read at the start in 2 Corinthians 2, for we are unto God. People who believe, a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved and in them that perish. It's the great dividing line. To the one we are the savour of death unto death. It just confirms the lost condition. And to the other, the savour, the flavour, the aroma of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things? Who can as they say these days, get their head around the depths of truth that is in that. The great divider of humanity is the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you know Christ? I'm not asking, do you know about Christ? I'm asking, do you know Christ? Do you know him? To know him. Paul's life ambition, the apostle, his ambition was, he said in Philippians 3 verse 10, that I may know him. That I may know him. This is what I want. I want to know him. And what is that? It's to be numbered. To know that you are numbered amongst his sheep. The sheep that have heard his voice. He is the good shepherd. He said, I am the good shepherd. My sheep hear my voice. And what do they do when they hear his voice? They follow him. They hear the voice of the Good Shepherd. To know Him, to know Him, it says in John 17 verse 3, He said it in that high priestly prayer. This is life eternal. To know God and Jesus Christ whom He sent, to know God by Jesus Christ whom He sent, is life eternal. To possess it now, it's to partake of that mystery of God that has been hidden from generations. It is to expect, not just, when I say hope, it is a glorious hope, but it doesn't sound strong enough, so I'm gonna say it like this. It's to expect his eternal inheritance. To expect to hear those words when we leave this life, come ye blessed of my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. It's to enjoy heavenly riches. He's blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ. And whilst we live here, and we use the resources of this world, and we breathe its air, and we eat its food, and drink its water, and all of those things, we count nothing here. If you know God, you know Christ, we count nothing here of lasting value, for it is all perishing. It is all corruptible. It is all passing away. The things that are seen are temporal. For this time, just for this time, the things that are not seen of the Spirit of God, they're eternal. They're the things that last. There's such a stark contrast to the unbelieving world to whom God When you talk about God, it's foolishness, as the scripture itself says. To the world in general, the idea of God saving his people from their sins by fulfilling justice on their behalf is foolishness. It's foolishness. It's unnecessary. What do we need it all for? And to the religious folks who think that they get right with God by what they do, it's a stumbling block. They trip over it. They go cascading down the hill because they stumble over the truth of it. And to them, it is the savour of death. But to those who know God, it's the savour of life unto life. What is it that determines the difference? Well, here's the answer. And we always look to the scripture for our answer. But here is the answer. The answer is the sovereign grace of God. God makes the difference. It is God that maketh you to differ. It's God in his sovereign. Nobody advised him. Nobody gave him reason. He sovereignly decided because it tells us in scripture that knowing God is not of him that willeth nor of him that runneth but of God that showeth mercy. What are we to do? You say then well that's a bit kind of rules me out of doing anything, doesn't it? What am I supposed to do? I just fatalistically wait to the end of my life to see if I've ended up being one of God's people or not? Again, here's the question. It's a phrase Paul used in Romans. What saith the Scripture? What does the Scripture say? We saw it last week in chapter 2 of Zephaniah and verse 3. Seek ye the Lord. What does the scripture say? Sit back fatalistically and do nothing? No, it says, seek ye the Lord. Why? Because it may be ye shall be hid. in the day of the Lord's anger. It may be, it may be that he will save you from your sins. My current plan going forward, looking forward in coming weeks, is to start a series in Galatians. I know we just did a series in Colossians, another one of Paul's epistles, but I want to come to Galatians next to underline the real difference between the true gospel and the false, so that young people launching out into this world know the truth of God clearly from that which is false all around. That the adults and those getting older in years are anchored to that solid rock which is Christ. But just for now, for this week, one more message in Zephaniah. Zephaniah chapter 3, where I've got three points. First of all, woe to an unbelieving world. And then secondly, the difference that is made to the people of God. So my second point is a called out people, and my third point is a saved people. Woe to the unbelieving world. Woe to the unbelieving world. If you start in verse 15 of chapter two, this is the rejoicing city that dwelt carelessly. It literally at that time, it was Jerusalem, that because of its idolatry and departure from the things of God, who were supposed to be the people of God, they were going to go into captivity, they were going to be overrun by the Babylonians. And yet they were rejoicing, they weren't in mourning, they were rejoicing in their condition of sinfulness. They dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, I am and there's none beside me. how she is become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in. Nobody there, everyone that passeth by her, shall hiss and wag his head. Then verse 1 of chapter 3, woe to her that is filthy and polluted, to the oppressing city. She obeyed not the voice, she received not correction, she trusted not in the Lord, she drew not near to her God. The context was they were about to go into Babylonian exile. It was impending punishment for the sin of Judah, which was idolatry. It was unbelief. It was evil disobedience to the edicts of God. And it's exactly like the world in which we live today. It's exactly like the world of Noah's day. It says in Genesis chapter 5 that God looked down and saw man and said, this is the judgment on man. The thoughts and imaginations of the heart of man is only evil continually. And what is the evil? It is that which is contrary to the will and purpose and nature and character of God. It's exactly like that today. They rejoiced in their pride. They reveled in the filth and pollution of their sin. They were happy in their rebellion against God. It says of her princes, verse 3, they're roaring lions, they're evening wolves. They're not truthful. The rulers are liars. There's a corruption of truth. In the religious side, verse 4, her prophets are light and treacherous persons. You can't trust them. Her priests have polluted the sanctuary. They have done violence to the law. The just Lord is in the midst thereof. He will not do iniquity. Every morning doth he bring his judgment to light. He will not do iniquity by not judging. He will judge. He will not leave it to go its own way. He will not fail. Judgment is certain. Verse 8, it says, therefore wait ye upon me, saith the Lord, until the day I rise up to the prey. Wait for that judgment to come, because be sure of this, it will come. It seems as if it isn't coming, but it will come. If you turn back a couple of pages, it's very similar in the book of Habakkuk. In Habakkuk chapter two, where am I? Habakkuk chapter two and verse three, the vision, which was a similar vision given to Habakkuk of impending punishment coming on that people, the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak and not lie. Now look, though it tarry, though it seems not to come, wait for it, because it will surely come. It will not tarry. You think it's never going to come, but it most certainly will, and that's what was said to these here. It is most certainly coming. It looks like God is delaying and unable to do anything, but that judgment is coming, and it's true of this world in which we live. God is holy and just, and every violation of God's holiness must be balanced by retribution. Every sin must be balanced by retribution. It's like the great balance of the universe. You know, in this universe there's a law of physics, one of Newton's laws of motion, which says that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. And so it is in the world of the spirit. For every sin there is an equal and opposite balancing. There is double for her sins. There is that which balances it in the justice of God. You know, this universe... is very, very fragile. Is very fragile. We think, as that verse I quoted just before, that the things we see are so solid, they're going to last indefinitely. You know, billions and billions of years. There's absolutely nothing to stop that. But you know, although I did a physics degree and I know a little bit, I know very little these days. It's a long time ago. But I do know this. that this universe is incredibly fragile. It is incredibly finely balanced. It won't take much at all to knock it completely out of balance. Do you know there's a great mystery, and as I say, I'm not going to give a physics lesson this morning, but there's a huge mystery that there is not enough matter to balance the antimatter that we know about. And yet, if there was, the universe wouldn't exist anyway. It would just all annihilate each other and there'd be a massive release of energy. The world we live in is teetering on the brink. It's only because there is a very slight imbalance in that that it is all here and it all still exists. Now, no doubt better physicists than me will tell you what that's really like, but I'm trying to draw the parallel with the world of the Spirit and the justice of God, and also with the truth of what God's Word says about the fragility of this world, of this universe in which we live. You know, it does say clearly that this world is coming to an end. It does say that the elements will melt with a fervent heat. And you say, people say, oh, don't talk rubbish, how can that possibly be? But if you know how finely and delicately balanced the universe is, wow, wow. we in a perilous condition? You see, getting back to sin and the justice of God, it's impossible for God to ignore sin. He cannot clear the guilty. It says that in Exodus 34 verse 7. God cannot clear the guilty because it's against the nature and character of God. He cannot clear the guilty, do you sense your guilt before God? That as you are, God being God, God must banish you from his presence. No, he cannot look upon you and say, well, he's not as bad as others. He cannot have you in his presence, nothing that defiles. Your evil rebellion cannot be tolerated in his kingdom. It says in verse 8, It says in the middle of that verse, gather the nations, gather the kingdoms because of his indignation, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger. This is God's retribution for sin. If you do have any sense of what you're like in terms of the judgment of God, thank God for that. There's that hymn that we have sung from time to time, which has a strange line in it. It says this, a sinner is a sacred thing. You'd say, no, no, no, a sinner's a bad thing. A sinner is a sacred thing. Why? because most people, although they're sinners, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. They don't know it, and they don't accept it. But a sinner is a sacred thing because the Holy Ghost has made him so. It is God's Spirit who has brought a person to be aware of the fact that he is a sinner before God, that he is in a perilous condition before God in this universe that is destined for judgment, that God must punish sin. If you do sense something of the fact that you're a sinner, then it may be that God is calling you to his hiding place, as we saw last week in verse 3 of chapter 2. It may be you shall be hid in the day of the Lord's anger. So then, Woe to an unbelieving world, this world in which we live, where we seem such an insignificant and irrelevant little bit of it. People who preach and believe the gospel of God's grace seem so irrelevant to this great big world trundling along with its politics and its balmy economics and all the other silly things that are totally unsustainable in this world. People think this that we do is a complete irrelevance, but it isn't. It isn't, because out of this, as I said at the start, the great divide of humanity is this. And it isn't a 50-50. It's the majority and the little flock, the tiny flock that's left over. There is a people that is called out by God. Look at verse 9. I will turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord to serve him with one consent. You know, this was written in the days of national Israel and Judah, part of that. And they were about to go into captivity because of their sin. And yet, although they were not all Israel which were of Israel, they weren't all true Israelites. They weren't all the people of God by any means. The majority were not. But yet amongst them was the people of God, primarily. Amongst them was the remnant, according to the election of grace. Among them were those who truly knew God and wanted to know him. There is a people out of all humanity to whom God grants what he calls here a pure language. God grants to a people a pure language. It's the language of God's kingdom. And the purpose of that language, well, read in that verse, I will turn to the people a pure language. Why? Why, Lord? Why are you giving them this pure language? That they may all call upon the name of the Lord to serve him with one consent. The purpose of the language that God gives to his people, calling them out of this world, is so that they might call on the name of the Lord. Call upon the name of the Lord. We have it on our notice board. Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. You'll see where it originates in the prophecy of Joel chapter two and verse 32. It's only a few pages back. Joel chapter two and verse 32. And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered, saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant, remnant, there it is again, that word, remnant, whom the Lord will call. Those who are called the remnant of humanity whom the Lord has called. The bit left over, you know, a remnant in sewing is the bit that's left over from a bolt of cloth. There's a remnant left over. You go and buy a remnant, and those that like to do things like this, they'll have to go to markets and find a remnant, a bit left over. There's a remnant. There's a remnant from humanity whom the Lord has called. It's the language of the soul that is quickened, made alive by God's spirit, according to his grace, because it's grace, it's of grace, not of him who wills nor of him who runs, but of God, who in grace shows mercy. It is the remnant, it is the remnant, verse 13. of this chapter, verse 13, says, the remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity nor speak lies, neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth, for they shall feed and lie down and none shall make them afraid. It's the remnant, the remnant according to the election of grace, as it says in Romans 11, verse five. And it's of the new man, this is of the new man in 1 John, chapter 3, you don't need to keep up with me with these references, I'll read them out to you, but in 1 John chapter 3 and verse 9, it says this, listen to these words, whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin. For his seed remaineth in him, and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. Are you born of God? You say, I can't be, because I continue to sin. Yeah, but the truth of Scripture is this, that in the one who believes the gospel of grace, there is the old man of the flesh, but there is the new man. You must be born again, said Jesus to Nicodemus. There is the new man born of God, and that one born of God does not commit sin. His seed remaineth in him. You know, the spirit and the flesh war against each other, the one against the other. His seed remains in him, he cannot sin because he is born of God. These two natures are in the one person. It's like Song of Solomon says in chapter 6 and verse 13. What do I see in the Shulamite? A picture of the people of God. I see, as it were, a camp of two armies. In that one camp, there are two armies. In that one believer, there are two armies warring against each other. The new man of the Spirit of God put there by the quickening power of the Spirit of God, and the old man of the flesh that remains until we leave this flesh. Born of God, incapable of sin, that one, willing to serve God, but fighting with the flesh that continues in the way of the flesh and of this world. And verse nine, He says, they will serve God with one consent. To serve him with one consent, which means to serve him willingly. And look at what else we see about them. In verse 12, turn to verse 12. I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the Lord. Do you see the great difference that God has made? in humanity. There's the world that he's going to judge because they want nothing to do with God, and yet there's this people that he has called out. And what are they like? Are they a proud and arrogant people? No, they're a poor and afflicted people. Poor and afflicted, unlike the rejoicing pride of the sinful world. A people comprised of poor sinners who know in themselves that they're nothing at all. But what do they do? They trust in the name of the Lord. They trust in Christ who is their all in all, Colossians 3.11 that we were looking at the other week. Christ is their all in all. They're poor sinners and nothing at all, but Jesus Christ is their all in all. And they hear the gospel preached. They hear the gospel preached. They hear On the day of Pentecost, in Jerusalem, in Acts chapter 2 and verse 21, they hear Peter, the apostle, the one who had denied his Lord just days earlier, but now he's empowered with the Holy Spirit. And in verse 21, He, preaching to the crowd there, says this, it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. He's quoting Joel chapter two and verse 32. Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. They hear Paul writing the same thing in Romans 10 and verse 13. Quoting Joel, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. They call in the words of that pure language that God gives them. And what are the words of that pure language? I'm not saying these are literally the words, but the sentiment is this. Lord, be merciful to me, the sinner. Lord, hide me. It may be that you shall be hid in the day of his fierce wrath. Where is he going to hide me? There's a place that is a hiding place. We saw it last week, Isaiah 32 and verse 2. There's a place, a hiding place, in the shadow of a mighty rock. in a weary land, a man shall be as a hiding place from the wind, from the judgment, and a covert from the tempest, as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. Who is that man that will be the hiding place? That man is the Lord Jesus Christ. That man is God himself taking upon him. flesh like his brethren. That man is our Lord Jesus Christ and he is that mighty rock. That rock was Christ. That rock was Christ. He was the rock that Moses struck and out of the rock came the living water. That rock was Christ. He will hide you there in the shadow of that mighty rock in a weary land in the day of his just anger. In verse 18, in verse 18 we read that God will gather his people, I will gather them that are sorrowful, mourning over sin for the solemn assembly, who are of thee, to whom the reproach of it was a burden. God will gather his people, the sorrowful people, who mourn over their sin, because as Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew chapter five and verse four, blessed are they that mourn, not mourn over bereavement, but blessed are they that mourn over their sin. and over their state with God, for they shall be blessed. Have you heard God calling you to himself? And have you called on him to save you from just condemnation? Look what he says to all his remnant of humanity, the people of his choice, the people of his favor. He says to them, and I'm going to have to be quick, but he says to them in verses 14 to 17, and that's what we're going to look at quickly now. In those verses, he says, you are a saved people. You are a people saved out of this world. You are a people saved for eternal life. If you are assured by what the Bible calls sanctification of the spirit and belief of the truth, that you are one of God's people, that you believed him, you have good reason as it says in verse 14, to sing and to shout and to rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Jerusalem. You have good reason. If the Spirit of God witnesses with your spirit, Romans 8, 16, that you are the children of God by faith looking to Christ alone, sing and shout and be glad and rejoice because, verse 15, the Lord has taken away thy judgments and hath cast out thine enemy. Oh, what a blessing. God has taken away all of that which would condemn you for your sin. It says in Romans 8, 1, there is therefore now no condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus. That which finds you guilty and condemned before the justice of God, he's taken it out of the way. Who's done it? The Lord God Almighty has taken away thy judgments. He's taken it out of the way, and as it says in Colossians 2, 13 and 14, He's taken it out of the way and nailed it to his cross. He dealt with it at his cross. It was satisfied at his cross when he bore the sins of his people in his own body on the cursed tree. Who can charge you with anything against God's law? He's cast out thine enemy, it says there. Who can charge you with anything? Who would charge you with anything? Satan would. Satan is the accuser of the brethren in Revelation chapter 12. He's been cast out. How has he been cast out? Read that chapter for yourself. That great dragon, that old serpent, the devil and Satan, he's been defeated. He's been captured at the cross of Calvary. He's been disarmed. He's been defeated. How has that been done? It says in Revelation 12 that the people of God, they overcame him, how? by the blood of the Lamb. The blood of the Lamb took away everything that gave Satan any right or justice or authority in accusing the brethren of being sinners, because in the justice of God in Christ, the people of God are not sinners. He's taken away their judgments. God's people were justly punished in union with the Lord Jesus Christ. And therefore there is no condemnation. And you say, but what if I slip back into sin? What if I can't keep myself? Ah, the King of Israel, even the Lord is in the midst of thee. Thou shalt not see evil anymore. He's in the midst of you. God is in the midst of his people. We, aside from this world, and with those of you gathered with us out there on the internet at the moment, and others that will watch this later. You know, we're in such a privileged position. The hordes of humanity are out there doing that which they do. And yet, God is in the midst of his people. He's in the midst of it. The King of Israel is in the midst of it. The King of Israel, don't think of that nation in the Middle East in the news at the moment. Think of the people of God, the church of God. The Lord is in the midst of you. In Revelation chapter one, we see him, the son of man, in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks. He's with his people. Jesus, as he was about to ascend to heaven, said to the disciples in Matthew 28 verse 20, Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Believer, you're safe in him. He is now here with us. Now, he said, where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst. He is ordering all things to work out for the eternal good of his people. We need, because of the weakness of the flesh, we always need to be reminding ourselves of this. God, our God, who controls all things, is ordering all things to work out for the eternal good of his people. And nothing can thwart that. Verse 16, in that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, again, don't think of that pile of rubble in the Middle East. Think about the people of God, the Jerusalem which is above, the new Jerusalem, the city of God. In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, fear thou not, and to Zion let not thine hands be slack. Zion was the hill in Jerusalem on which David's palace was built and the temple was built. Fear thou not, and to Zion let not thine hands be slack. In that day, what day is it talking about? Well, there's a day of salvation, but I think here it's talking about the day of judgment, when salvation is finally accomplished. In that day of judgment, When the accounts of creation are all reckoned up and balanced. When the wages of sin, you know what it says at the end of Romans 6? The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life. When the wages of sin are justly paid, You people of God, you the Good Shepherd's beloved sheep, what does he say to his people? Fear thou not. Fear thou not. All reason to fear has been taken away in the death and the resurrection of Christ. We, because of the weakness of the flesh, As believers, we slip into thinking that there are things that we need to worry about because God might have overlooked them, he might have missed them. No, no, no, no, no. All reason to fear is under his control. He's dealt with it. There is no reason to fear whatsoever. We're bidden to come to his throne. How? Boldly, boldly to the throne of grace, confidently because of what's been accomplished. Not like the high priest of old in the old covenant, who on the day of atonement would go into the holy place quaking with fear because in their records, and some would have seen it, people that went in in a glib manner were struck dead. People who out of sincerity did that which they thought was right, like Uzzah, wasn't it? Uzzah stretched out his hand to steady the ark of God on the cart when it was being taken back to Jerusalem. He stretched out his hand and God struck him dead there and then. They would be quaking with fear and with good cause. But God says to his people, don't let the hands be slack. Let not thine hands be slack. It's echoing Isaiah 35 verse 3. Ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense. He will come and save you. There are things that we fear that we cannot leave in the capable hands of God, and yet God is over all things. There is nothing that we cannot leave to God to order perfectly for his eternal purposes. Whatever trials of life you face, and some are sharper than others, rest strong in the Lord. For as he says in Romans 8, 31, if God before us, who can be against us? His grace is made perfect in our weakness. When I am weak, then I am strong. Then verse 17, finally. Let the Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty, he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy, he will, as we sung in that hymn, he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing, whatever the trial that the Lord thy God has given you to go through. He is the mighty God. He is the powerful God. There is none that can stay his hand. There is none that can say to him, why are you doing things this way? He is over all things, and he is in the midst of his people. Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty. He takes his people at various times, as it says in Isaiah, through floods and through fiery furnace, but he promises he will never leave you. When the floods overflow you, whatever those floods of this life are, God will not leave his people. When he causes you to walk through the fiery furnace, he won't leave you. You say, literally, that doesn't happen, does it? You remember Daniel? You remember Daniel chapter three? I can't remember their Hebrew names, but their Babylonian names were Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and they would not bow down in idolatrous worship to Nebuchadnezzar's image. And they said, you do what you want, to us, Nebuchadnezzar, you great king, you do what you want and you might kill us and that'll be fine. God will deal with us, God will take care of us. They trusted God and he threw them into the fiery furnace. And he threw the three, in fact it was so hot that the men who threw them into the fiery furnace themselves were killed by the heat of that furnace. And Nebuchadnezzar looked and he saw four men walking in the fiery furnace. And he said, didn't we throw three of them into the fiery furnace? Yes. But he said, there's a fourth in there. And this is what Nebuchadnezzar said. He looks like the son of man. He's God. The God man. In that dreadful situation, walking with his people. Child of God, if you believe Him, whatever is coming, when this world melts with a fervent heat, God is with His people in the midst of it. And He can't lie or fail. He will be with His redeemed people through every turn of life and on into eternal bliss. Think of it this way. Think what He did. He who is God over all, He who has no need for anything else, who is self-sufficient in every way, But He chose out of grace to come down from glory to the lowest humility, to be a servant of His people, to come down and to take the lowest place, having come from the highest place, come down to take the lowest place. And not only that, to be loaded with the sin of his people, that which to him as a holy one was vile and evil, so that he might clear its debt in death and shedding his blood. And then, having been vindicated, having paid that sin debt, having paid that legal debt, he rose for the justification of his people. If he did all of that, how could he possibly then let the fate of this world lose you? He can't, he cannot. You, child of God. You, people of God. You, Israel of God. You, Zion of God. You are the delight of God. He rejoices over you. He sings over you. He rests in his love. He joys over you with singing. You're his jewels, it says in the book of Malachi. His jewels. God calls you sinner, his jewels, if you're in him. You're the object of his eternal love. Look what he says in Psalm 46. In the first seven verses he says, God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble, therefore will not we fear. Though the earth be removed and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea, though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof, there is a river. The streams whereof shall make glad the city of God. the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High. That river is the river of gospel grace flowing from the throne of God. There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place. God is in the midst of her. She shall not be moved. God shall help her, and that right early. The heathen raged. The kingdoms were moved. He uttered his voice. The earth melted. There it is again, the scripture says it. The scripture says it, and science tells us, it is so delicately balanced, if God decrees it, it could happen now. The earth melted. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. The God of sinners is our refuge. What a wonderful encouragement. What a safe condition of life is the lot of the people of God by the accomplishment of Christ in the gospel. What a savor of life. What a sweet taste of life. What a sweet savor of Christ. But oh, the peril of facing the day of the Lord's anger alone. Do you know, you do not need to do it. It says in the scripture in Ezekiel, why will you die? Why will you die? You do not need to do it. It is still the day of salvation. What did we think of last week? Seek ye the Lord. Seek ye the Lord. Seek ye the Lord. Take courage from this promise of God. Isaiah 45 verse 19, God says this, I said not unto the seed of Jacob. That's to his people who he's calling out of this sinful world. I said not to the seed of Jacob. Seek ye me in vain. He doesn't tell us to seek him in vanity, that it won't come to fruit. He tells us because there's 100% confidence that if God has said it, it will happen. If you seek him with your whole heart, you shall find him. You shall find him. Whoever comes to him shall in no way be turned away. Amen.