I'd like to give you all a warm
welcome to our worship here this evening. Let us come before the
Lord, let us ask his blessing in prayer. Let us pray. O Lord
God of heaven and of earth, do grant, Lord, thy felt presence
here this evening. We know that thou art everywhere
present, but Lord, that special manifested presence in the power
of God in that our hearts be warmed as thou dost speak to
us, and that thou shouldst get to thy self-honour and glory
through our worship this evening. I do bless us in the sanctuary
and remember any joining with us online, that thy blessing
might be upon them as well. We ask through thy name, Lord
Jesus. Amen. Hymn, 88. Tune, Goodshaw Fold 339. Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God, two portions this evening. Firstly, Psalm
104. If you're joining with us with
one of our free Bibles, that is page 595. 595. Psalm 104. Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord, my God, thou art very
great. Thou art clothed with honour
and majesty. Thou coverest thyself with light
as with a garment, who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain,
who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters, who maketh the
clouds his chariot, who walketh upon the wings of the wind, who
maketh his angels' spirits, his ministers a flaming fire, who
laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed
for ever. Thou coverest it with the deep
as with a garment, The waters stood above the mountains, at
thy rebuke they fled, at the voice of thy thunder they hasted
away. They go up by the mountains,
they go down by the valleys unto the place, which thou hast founded
for them. Thou hast set a bound that they
may not pass over, that they turn not again to cover the earth. He sendeth his springs into the
valleys which run among the hills. They give drink to every beast
of the field. The wild asses quench their thirst. By them shall the fowls of the
heaven have their habitation, which sing among the branches. He watereth the hills from his
chambers. The earth is satisfied with the
fruit of thy works. He causeth the grass to grow
for the cattle, and herb for the service of man. that he may
bring forth food out of the earth, and wine that maketh glad the
heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread
which strengtheneth man's heart. The trees of the Lord are full
of sap, the cedars of Lebanon which he hath planted, where
the birds make their nests as for the stalk the fir trees are
her house. The high hills are a refuge for
the wild goats, and the rocks for the conies. He appointed
the moon for his seasons, the sun knoweth his going down. Thou makest darkness and it is
night, wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth.
The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their meat from
God. The sun ariseth, they gather
themselves together and lay them down in their dens. Man goeth
forth unto his work and to his labour until the evening. O Lord,
how manifold are thy works! In wisdom hast thou made them
all, the earth is full of thy riches. So is this great and
wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small
and great beasts. There go the ships, there is
that Leviathan whom thou hast made to play therein. These wait
all upon thee, that Thou givest them, that Thou mayest give them
their meat in due season, that Thou givest them they gather,
Thou openest Thine hand, they are filled with good. Thou hidest
Thy face, they are troubled, Thou takest away their breath,
they die and return to their dust. Thou sendest forth Thy
Spirit, they are created, and Thou renewest the face of the
earth. The glory of the Lord shall endure
for ever. The Lord shall rejoice in His
works. He looketh on the earth, and
it trembleth. He toucheth the hills, and they
smoke. I will sing unto the Lord as
long as I live. I will sing praise to my God
while I have my being. My meditation of him shall be
sweet. I will be glad in the Lord. Let the sinners be consumed out
of the earth and let the wicked be no more. Bless thou the Lord,
O my soul. Praise ye the Lord. Now let us turn to the book of
Hebrews and chapter 1. That is page 1110, if you have one
of our Bible box Bibles. The Epistle of Paul the Apostle
to the Hebrews. Chapter 1. God who at sundry
times and in diverse manners spake in time past unto the fathers
by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his
Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he
made the worlds, who, being the brightness of his glory and the
express image of his person, and upholding all things by the
word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat
down on the right hand of the Majesty on high, being made so
much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained
a more excellent name than they. For unto which of the angels
said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten
Thee. And again, I will be to Him a
father, and He shall be to me a son. And again, when He bringeth
in the first begotten into the world, He saith, and let all
the angels of God worship Him. And of the angels He saith, who
maketh His angel spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire. But unto the Son, he saith, thy
throne, O God, is for ever and ever. A scepter of righteousness
is the scepter of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness
and hated iniquity. Therefore, God, even thy God,
hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. And thou, Lord, in the beginning
hast laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the
works of thine hands. They shall perish, but thou remainest,
and they all shall wax old as doth a garment. And as a vesture
shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed, but thou
art the same, and thy years shall not fail. But to each of the
angels said he at any time, sit on my right hand until I make
thine enemies thy footstool. Are they not all ministering
spirits? Send forth a minister for them
who shall be heirs of some God bless to us that reading of his
holy word and help us in prayer. Let us pray. O Lord God of heaven and of earth,
our loving Heavenly Father, we come to thee through thy beloved
Son of whom we have been reading. Lord, we do seek of Thee, that
we might know Thee, whom to know is life eternal, and Thy beloved
Son, whom Thou hast sent. Do grant, Lord, that that knowledge
might warm and touch our hearts, move us profoundly, that Thou'd
impart the gifts and blessings of Thy beloved Son to us, that
He is exalted to give repentance, and remission of sins. Lord,
we seek that blessing and that favour and that grace. O Lord,
wash and cleanse us from our sins, thou art exalted with the
precious name of Jesus, for he shall save his people from their
sins. We pray for every sin-burdened
soul, those that labour day by day, and maybe at times grow
so strong and so hard against them, Lord, do remember those
who, though I said you have not yet shed blood in striving against
sin. I know, Lord, we do seek, Lord,
that we might be helped to fight the good fight of faith, to resist
the devil, to strive to enter in at that straight gate, to
press toward the mark of the prize of the high calling of
God in Christ Jesus, to run the race that is set before us, Lord,
using the weapons of our warfare. Oh, deliver us from the notion
that true religion is not an effort, does not cost anything,
is not worth fighting for, does not need fighting for. Lord,
do grant that needful help when we feel weary and weak, and when
we have so often so little fight left in us, and so weak resistance,
Lord, so worldly, so carnal, so lacking of prayer, so lacking
of even a holy desire. Lord, do Thou who has given us
life at the first, pour fresh life upon Thy people, revive
and renew our souls grant us again lord that life within that
bubbles up that is strong, that does exploits, that is mighty
in word and in deed. O Lord, we read that Thou only
hast wrought all our works in us, and we do pray for that work
to be manifest in us. Lord, where we have gone, away
from Thee bring us back. Where our love is cold, do warm
it again. listened and had an ear, open
to the adversary, open to our own evil heart, Lord, shut it,
and cause that our ears might be open to Thee and to Thy Word,
that faith be mixed with what we hear, and that faith might
come through what we hear. O Lord, do be pleased to revive
each of us and favour us with Thy blessing. Remember Thy people
in their down-sitting, their uprising, their trials, their
afflictions, and in all those things that deeply concern them,
those many fears, whether we are in the way or not. Lord,
do grant that Thou, who art the author and finisher of faith,
might be pleased to grant unto us that triumph of faith, that
we might lay hold upon thy precious promises, upon thy word, upon
thy truth, and that thou hast granted unto us to rest upon
thy word. O Lord, do save us then day by
day, make us fruitful in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour,
Jesus Christ. O Lord, we seek Thy blessing
upon Thy Word before us this evening. Guide our footsteps
in it, and Lord, make it a blessing to us. We do pray that Thou wouldst
be with us on thy day. Help in the morning, here for
me, and Thy servant engaged in the evening. And Lord, do be
with us where we preach elsewhere in the day. O Lord, may Thy blessing
be upon the assemblies of Thy people. We pray for those that
are unwell at this time and in hospital, especially our dear
brother, Deacon of Lamberhurst. To grant, Lord, that thou hast
remembered Errol, that thou hast grant healing, health and strength
again, and to bless the treatment that he is having. O Lord, we
commit him and his family unto thee. To remember others that
are also receiving treatment and those that are recovering
from operations, and we'll be pleased to help them and be with
them and their loved ones. Lord, to thee we owe our health,
our strength. Lord, our times are in thy hand. Leave us not to abuse that strength
we have, but Lord, we would use it to thine honour and glory. O Lord, we do pray that thou
wouldst help and be with each of thy people, those in this
land and those the other side of the world, and those in America
and Canada, dear friends in Holland, we commit them each unto thee. And Lord, we would lay our petition
As we make plans almost daily, Lord, for engagements or those
things that we have already set in motion, Lord, we would commit
these things into Thy hand. We are reminded so often that
Thou dost revise our plans, Thou dost change them, and, O Lord,
we would fall into Thy hand. We lay a petition for Thee meeting
in early February, the Creation Ministries International, in
this town that we've organised. And O Lord, may Thy blessing
be upon that meeting and many be constrained to come and hear
Thy word and to hear of Thy creation and Thy work from that organisation. O Lord, do help us now. do seek of Thee the blessings
of Thy Word. We thank Thee for our Lord and
Saviour, Jesus Christ. We thank Thee for Him of whom
that we sung, that came to this world, that laid down His life
to take it again. We do thank Thee for our Advocate
with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous. And O Lord, do
bless us, bless us with being found in Him, not having our
own righteousness which is of the law, but that which is through
the faith of Jesus Christ. O Lord, who wash and cleanse
our petitions in thy precious blood, we thank thee for that
fountain, open for sin and all uncleanness. We thank thee for
every temporal blessing And we pray, Lord, to maintain these
things to us. Remember those in authority over
us and leaders recently raised up and in other parts of the
world. We pray for thine ancient people,
Israel. Lord, do remember them, and may
there come a time that thou dost turn them as a nation to acknowledge
thee as the true Messiah. O Lord, we pray that we might
Be amongst that fullness of the Gentiles brought in. Lord, do
work thy sovereign will, and may we see and be able to see
from time to time that this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous
in our eyes. Strengthen our faith this evening,
we ask through our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen. Hymn, 536. Tune, Gethsemane 336. Seeking for the help of the Lord,
I direct your prayerful attention to Psalm 104 and verse 31. The
glory of the Lord shall endure forever. The Lord shall rejoice
in his works. to shells of the Lord. The glory of the Lord shall endure
forever. The Lord shall rejoice in his
works. Throughout the Word of God, We
have many shalls and wills of the Lord. We think of the naming
of our Lord Jesus Christ. His name shall be called Jesus,
for he shall save his people from their sins. Two shalls in
that verse. We think of the prophecy of Isaiah
53, and in that chapter, many shalls. Verse two, for he shall
grow up before him as a tender plant. We have in verse 10, two shells
again. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise
him. He hath put him to grief when
thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin. He shall see his seed. He shall prolong his days. And the pleasure of the Lord
shall prosper in his hand, three in fact, three shalls in that
verse. And verse 11, he shall see of
the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied. By his knowledge
shall my righteous servant justify many, for he shall bear their
iniquities. Four in that verse. And in verse
12, Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and
he shall divide the spoiled with the strong. Because he hath poured
out his soul unto death, and he was numbered with the transgressors,
and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the
transgressors." So beautiful chapter, the Gospel, really pointing
to the sufferings and death of our Lord Jesus Christ, full of
shalls and we have in the two in our text and it speaks of
what the Lord not just might do or may do but most certainly
will do. It shall be done. Speak the Lord
only and speak the word only and it shall be done. Now we read the portion in Hebrews,
Hebrews chapter 1. And if we compare with Psalm
104, which many believe is a Psalm of David, it flows very much
with the previous one. In verse 4 we read, a flame of fire. And then if
we go to Hebrews chapter 1, then we read this in verse 7. And of the angels he saith, who
maketh his angel spirits and his ministers a flame of fire. But unto the Son, he saith, thy
throne, O God, is for ever and ever. A sceptre of righteousness
is the sceptre of thy kingdom. And we have them with comparing
Hebrews and the Psalms. Right through this Psalm 104,
we have our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, set forth by whom
We read in Hebrews, also he made the worlds, and this is the works
that he's spoken of right through this psalm. And truly, our Lord
Jesus Christ is Jehovah. He is one with the Father and
with the Spirit. He is truly God. And so I want to look at these
two shells beginning In our first point, with the Lord's glory
seen in creation, because that is what leads up to our text. And then secondly, the glory
of the Lord shall endure forever. And thirdly, the Lord shall rejoice
in his works. Firstly, the Lord's glory as
seen in creation. This is what is set forth right
through this chapter. The Word of God begins with the
account of the creation and it is interwoven right the way through
the books of the Bible. If you take away the reality
of the creation account, you pull apart the whole of the Word
of God. Our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom
he made the worlds, then it becomes, well, he didn't make the worlds,
if Genesis is not true. In Jeremiah, we read that the
gods that did not make the world that they shall perish from under
the heavens. And the way that the apostle
spoke to the heathens, spoke to those who were worshipping
idols and even the heavens, he introduced them to what to them
was the unknown God. He introduced to them the God
that made the worlds. that created us in whom we live
and move and have our being. When Paul writes to the Romans,
he tells us that man is without excuse. Even if he has not a
Bible, even if he has not known or heard of our Lord Jesus Christ,
he shall be judged according to what is all the way around
him and in Him because we ourselves are fearfully and wonderfully
made. The wonders and works of creation,
they all declare that there is a God and He made us. And it is God's own word that
men shall be without excuse. This makes it a very solemn thing
that in our land that we are not allowed to teach as a fact,
yes, as a religious belief, but not as a fact in schools of the
creation. And it is no wonder if Satan
would attack the Word of God that this is where he will begin. Because in doing so he is attacking
God himself, he is attacking the works of God, then the whole
of salvation is the works of God. If God could not have got
right or recorded right his works of creation, then how will his
works of redemption be right? All is interwoven together, and
Satan is such an adversary to God and to the people of God.
and he will seek to blind people as to what is right before their
eyes. We do read as one of the evidences
of faith in Hebrews 11 is that it is through faith that we believe
that those things that were made were not made of things which
do appear. Creation is a matter of faith
and may we be blessed with that faith to look upon what the Lord
has done and to see the Lord in it. Many of the Lord's dear
people have been really strengthened in their faith as they have seen
the creation around them and it is a wonderful thing to see
our God in all that he has done. Day unto day, after his speech,
there is no place where their voice is not heard. And the psalmist
here, he goes through what he is observing. The inspired Word
of God testifies in this psalm, verse 5, who laid the foundations
of the earth, that it should not be removed forever. And then
he goes through speaking of the waters, speaking of the bound
that is put so they do not pass over the earth, speaking of the
hills, of the wild asses and the fowls of heaven. He speaks
of the grass that is to grow for cattle and herb for the service
of man. And he speaks of all the creation
of God, the trees, the birds, the high hills, Then he goes
to the moon and the sun and all of the works of God. He is looking
at every aspect, every part of him, and he's giving that glory
to God. He sees it in creation. God has given it to us in full
view, in open view. Many, they can see the glory
of creation, but they cannot see the glory of God. And we witness this firsthand
when we've had specialists in the human anatomy marveling at
the brain and how it works, how it rejuvenates itself when it's
been injured, And yet when there's a least suggestion that this
is the work of God, a cloud comes over their face and they don't
want to hear it. And yet because of what they've
observed and how they're so enthused on what is before them, that
is why they've chosen the profession that they have. It has not escaped
them, the wonders the miracles, the marbles of the human body,
but the thought that there is a God and that we're accountable
to him is abhorrent to natural man. He hates the thought that
he should be accountable to a higher being. In one sense, God made
us as over his creation and it's like we whom he has made over
it turn round and then usurp our power above God's power and
make ourselves to be as gods and to pull the Lord down from
his throne. It would be like Joseph being
made next unto Pharaoh and turning around and disowning Pharaoh
and usurping his position. And we have this that happens
in this world. But it is a blessed thing if
we can look upon creation. May we never think that the attack
on creation is not an attack upon the whole Word of God and
of God himself. And incredible as it is that
those that profess faith but also allow for millions of years
trying to fit in evolution, scientists, with the Word of God, it doesn't
fit, it is a false notion. We start with the worldview,
the Word of God is correct, and our worldview is shaped by that. God's glory is seen, and it is
seen as the psalmist sees it here. Our Lord often referred
to the beginning of the world, He says, regarding man and woman
as male and female, he that made them male and female. He says,
in the beginning, this is when they were questioning him regarding
divorce, he says, in the beginning it was not so. What was the beginning? Millions of years before? Or
was it when Adam and Eve were created? The Word of God is correct. In the beginning, God created
the heaven and the earth. Well, may we see, like the psalmist
here, God's glory in creation. Make it our business from day
to day, instead of just taking it for granted, to look at it. We do take things for granted.
Remember when I first came over here, or returned over in 1988
for a visit. And I saw England. And I saw it so beautiful, the
lanes, the countryside. And wherever I drove, I just
marveled at the beauties of the countryside. And the thought
went through my mind, if I was to return here and live here
and go on these same roads to and fro, backwards to work or
to shops or whatever, would I just end up taking it for granted
and just be going from A to B and I wouldn't register? And you
know, for the most part, that is what it is. Occasionally,
sometimes, I really, I can never bring myself back to see it,
unless I've gone away, gone to Australia perhaps for a fair
length of time, then when I've come back, then I've seen it
in you again. But for the most part, it's only
occasionally that that same real wonder, I love the countryside,
I see it, sometimes I feel it when I go more north and go between
the M40, M1 and where You can see hardly a house on the horizon. It's all fields and not a road. And in view, it's just beautiful. And I see it. But we do get heartened. We see what God has done. And
we don't give him the praise and glory. We don't see his mark
upon it, his stamp upon it. But God's glory is. seen in creation
and may we know that we have the blessing of having our eyes
opened to see that not just the wonder of creation but to see
God's hand upon it in the smallest things and in the greatest things. I want to look then secondly
at the glory of the Lord shall endure forever. One of the shalls
here, the glory of the Lord shall endure forever. This comes as a great contrast
to man, to more poor fallen man. His glory is like the grass,
groweth up and then dieth again. And I was thinking the other
day, if we were to take today as a starting point, and we went
a hundred and ten, we'll say, years forward, then all of the people that are
on the earth at this present time the oldest person, the youngest
person, none of them would be upon the earth. In no nation,
not China, America, here, or any nation at all, the population,
the people that are represented on the earth at this time, old
and young, would not be in existence. in about 110 years' time, maybe
one or two, the Lord would have renewed the face of the earth. There would be a new sect of
old people, young people, workers, those in authority. All of what
is making the whole world fit together and go together in 110
years' time, if the earth lasts that long, would be a completely
different And for many of us, many of our
loved ones, my grandparents, two of them only lived to 49.
My mother, 61. Then for them it was not 110
years. God has said that man's allotted
span is three score years and 10, 17. And what a humbling thought.
What is man? compared with God. What is man
that can rise up and say he knows more than God? And he can profess
and say great things about the beginning of the world or how
it came into being millions of years ago. What is man? He is
just as nothing. And it is good for us sometimes
to have this contrast. Here we have what shall with
the Lord, he shall endure forever. But poor man, he can't endure
for even 110 years. What is that even on the space
of a short earth, what men would call, or the biblical earth,
6,000 years? It's but a small, speck of the
time. And it's good for us to think
of that and be humbled before God on account of that. In John 17, it's a beautiful
prayer of our Lord, his intercessory prayer made on earth. We can
get a little picture of what his intercession is for us in
heaven. But in this prayer he says in
verse 5, And now, O Father, glorify Thou me with Thine own self,
with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was. He points to eternity past, before
the world was even created. Here is our Lord at 33 coming up years of age. And the Earth at this time is
4,000 years old. And he's speaking of a time 4,000
years before. Before the world was created. And the glory that he had with
the Father. There was no Earth. There was
no man, there was nothing. And He had that glory. And then
we read in verse 24, Father, I will that they also, whom Thou
hast given me, be with me where I am, that they may behold my
glory, which Thou hast given me. For Thou lovest me before
the foundation of the world. You see God's plan. The glory
that the Lord had with His Father. And yes, there's the angels. But there's no world, no creation,
no man. And the Lord has this plan, this
beautiful plan. in which his glory is to be seen,
is to be shown and manifested, and his glory is shown in creation. And then he creates man to behold
his glory, and man himself is a glory. And then there's the fall, There's
the redemption from the fool. There's the Lord's glory in what
he does at Calvary. And then as he returns to glory
and would have his people that he's created and brought forth
through the fool and through his redemption to heaven, to
see again his glory. A glory from before the foundation
of the world a glory right through the world, in all the creation
and redemption, and a glory that is forever, so shall we ever
be with the Lord, beholding His glory. This is another reason
why we read Hebrews, Hebrews 1. Because in Hebrews 1, we're reading
of the glory of the Son. God, who at sunry times in divest
manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son. And then we're told, whom he
hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds. What a glory set upon the Son,
the Lord Jesus Christ. He's appointed Him heir of all
things, already He's made the world by Him, who being the brightness
of His glory, and the express image of his person, in other
words exactly the same, and upholding all things by the word of his
power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on
the right hand of the Majesty on high." And right through this
first chapter, the aim is to set the Lord above all the angels,
Thy throne under the sun, he said, Thy throne, O God, is forever
and ever. Words of our text. His glory,
it shall endure forever. And our Lord Jesus Christ is set
before us in This way, the glory of the Lord, that is the glory
of Jehovah, but the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ who is
spoken of right through this psalm as the true eternal and
living God. Man does not live forever and
ever. He does not have the attributes
of God with no beginning and no ending. the ever-living God. And when we think then of the
creation, and when we think of redemption, if there was any fault, if there
was any flaw, that glory wouldn't endure, would it? by trade, I was a mechanical
design draftsman. If I was to design and make a
machine, and when it was installed, it worked very well, and everyone
enthused over it, marveled at it, at this wonderful machine,
I would have the glory of being that wonderful inventor or designer
that had brought this machine about. But if a year or two down
the track, it developed a very serious flaw, and it broke down,
and it proved that it could not continue, I don't think my glory would continue,
would it? People would say, well, that
was a good design for while it lasted, but now what a waste
of money. It's all got to be replaced,
all got to be redone again. It's not lasting. But when we
read here that the glory of the Lord shall endure forever, that
is the works of the Lord. Nothing can be put to it, can
be taken from it. You don't get anyone like they
do when they bought something, write a glowing review, and then
a few months later they rewrite it and say, I've got to rewrite
it. I gave it five stars, now I'm giving it one because it
broke, it didn't last. God's work are not like that.
And what that means for us, when we are bound up in the blessings,
when we have been blessed, when we have been called, and when
we have been saved, those things are eternal. I give unto them,
the Lord says, eternal life. They shall never perish. There
shall never be a flaw or fault in the works of the Lord, because
otherwise His glory will not endure forever. So may we rejoice in this testimony
of the Word of God, this shell of the Word of God. The glory
of the Lord shall endure forever. This doesn't mean, of course,
that there are changes in those things that happen. We think
of the flood, Noah's flood, the change in the world then, and
the change that shall take place when the world shall be renewed
by fire. These things are all still in
God's plan. They still show forth his glory
because nothing is happening that's taking him unawares. Want then to look at the second
shall, now third point. The Lord shall rejoice in his
works. And so struck me in this shall. This is not man viewing creation
and rejoicing in it. He may do, we do. But this is the Lord rejoicing. We speak of the Lord's people
rejoicing. But here is Jehovah, here is
the Lord rejoicing. It's hard for us to really to
grasp this, isn't it? The eternal God, he that fills
all things and made all things. to think that those works that
he has done, he rejoices in them. The Lord shall rejoice in his
works. You might say, well, if this
was just speaking of creation, would not it be the Lord does
rejoice in his works? Yes, he does. But when we have
shall, there's an intimation there's work still going on. And there's still work to rejoice
in. We think of what the Lord said
when he was teaching of repentance. He says that there is joy in
heaven amongst the angels of heaven over one sinner that repented. They are the ninety and nine
just persons which need no repentance. That is in their own eyes. The
Lord does rejoice over his people. He rejoices over them with singing. And the joy of the Lord is their
strength. And here is this, which we get
a little picture. of the Lord looking upon the
works of his hands and rejoicing at them. And often thought with
all of the creation. You know, when we make something,
whether it be a small thing or if we're more skilled in designing,
it might be more complicated, but is not there a rejoicing
over it, a joy over that creation? When the potter makes a pot,
or an engineer makes a machine or something, or if a cook makes
a beautiful cake, and there's pleasure and joy in what has
been done. And we think of the Lord in all
the insects, in all the animal kingdom, the birds, the fishes,
What joy he must have had, we'll make this one like this, and
we'll make this one in that way, and this one will go there, and
this shall make their house like that, and they'll dwell there,
and in every aspect of it, whether they shall have scales, or whether
they shall have fur, or what kind of skin they shall have,
whether they have wings, or they have feet, or legs, All of this
was determined by the Lord, and it is so wonderful to see. But then when we think, the Lord
rested on the seventh day, he sanctified it, he hallowed it,
and right through the Old Testament that was commanded to be observed. But then when we come to our
Lord in the new, And we come to our Lord rising from the dead
on the first day of the week, and then appearing again, not
just the next day or any day, but on that anniversary of the
first day of the week again. And the early church observing
that, yes, meeting at first when the Jews did, but then as churches
were formed, they met on the first day of the week. the day
the Lord arose, remembering the greater work, greater than creation
even, a new creation. Ye are new creatures in Christ
Jesus. The glory of God. You know, in
the beginning of the world, we read that the world was without
form and void, empty, dark. And the Lord made out of that
the world that we see now. And then we see after the fall,
man is fallen, the world is fallen, but spiritually he is so dead,
he's so marred, he's so fallen. And yet the Lord out of that,
through his redemption and through his plan of redemption at Calvary
and through himself, through his beloved son, has brought
forth an innumerable multitude that shall be in heaven. that
shall all be praising Him and glorifying His name. The God
who has brought them from death to life, has brought them from
being marred to show forth His grace and glory. Our God is full
of grace, but the only way that grace is seen is when it is seen
in His creation. When Barnabas went and saw The
believers at Antioch, when he saw the grace of God, he was
glad. What did he see? He saw believers. He saw those that were changed.
He saw those glorifying God. That's what we are formed and
created. This people have I formed for
myself. They shall show forth my praise. And the Lord will rejoice over
his works, over what he has done. in his people. We think of the
electricity in this chapel. Without the lights being plugged
in, there might be the electricity there, but you can't see it.
There's no evidence of it. But as soon as you put a light
to it, or plug in a heater, then you get evidence of what is running
through the wires of the building. And the same with the grace of
God. In all his creation, in every conversion, in everything
that he does, he's seen his grace and seen his mercy. It is shown
forth. And so the Lord rejoices in that. He rejoices in his creation,
in his redemption, in the grace that he gives to his people,
and he rejoices in his providence. They that will watch providence
will never lack a providence to watch. We see the Lord's hand. You read in Genesis 24, when
Abraham's servant went to get a wife for Isaac, and he retold
to Bethuel, to Laban, what had happened at the well, what his
prayer was. Their response, the thing proceedeth
from the Lord. We read in other parts of the
Word, this is the Lord's doing. It is marvellous in our eyes. That is Psalm 118. It's a recognising
the work of God. We know all things are the work
of God. In Him we live and move and have
our being. But there are those special times
when His people see His work, see him answering their prayers,
appearing for them, ordering providence for their good. And we read here, the Lord shall
rejoice in his works. And when we are the subject of
his works, may we hold fast to this as well. The Lord is rejoicing
over us as well. to be part of His work. I am,
says Paul, what I am by the grace of God. This, says our Lord,
is the work of God, that ye believe in Him whom God hath sent. We are the works of His hands. He has made us naturally. He
has made every believer spiritually. and He has brought them to rejoice
in what He rejoices in, and with the blessing that He blesses
us with, as He lives, as He endures, so shall we also endure. Two shouts of the Lord. The Lord, the glory of the Lord
shall endure Forever the Lord shall rejoice in his works. Amen. Hymn, 1147. Tune, Niagara 877. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit
be with you all now and evermore. Amen.