I'd like to give you all a warm
welcome to our worship here this evening. Let us ask the Lord's
blessing in prayer, let us pray. O Lord God of heaven and of earth,
we thank Thee that we can turn in to Thy house, that we can
meet for worship. Lord, do bless us here in the
sanctuary and those that join with us online. We do seek, Lord,
that Thy Holy Spirit might be our helper in speaking and in
hearing, that we might worship Thee in spirit and in truth. Lord, do grant unto us that help
from the sanctuary and strength out of Zion tonight, and that
we might count it a blessing to be here and under the sound
of Thy truth. We ask this through our Lord
and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen. Hymn, 99. Tune, Ellingham 462. Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God in the book of Exodus, Exodus chapter 17. If you have one of our free Bibles,
that is page 78. The second book in the Bible,
Exodus chapter 17. And all the congregation of the
children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of sin after
their journeys according to the commandment of the Lord, and
pitched in Rephidim. And there was no water for the
people to drink, Wherefore the people did chide with Moses,
and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said
unto them, Why chide ye with me? Wherefore do ye tempt the
Lord? And the people thirsted there
for water, And the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore
is this, that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us,
and our children, and our cattle with thirst? And Moses cried
unto the Lord, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be
almost ready to stone me.' And the Lord said unto Moses, Go
on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel
and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand,
and go. Behold, I will stand before thee
there upon the rock in Horeb, and thou shalt smite the rock,
and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight
of the elders of Israel. And he called the name of the
place Massah and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children
of Israel, and because they tempted the Lord, saying, Is the Lord
among us or not? Then came Amalek, and fought
with Israel in Rephidim. And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose
us our men, and go out fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will
stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand.'
So Joshua did as Moses had said to him and fought with Amalek. And Moses, Aaron and Hur went
up to the top of the hill. He came to pass, when Moses held
up his hand, that Israel prevailed. And when he let down his hand,
Amalek prevailed. But Moses' hands were heavy,
and they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat thereon. And Aaron and her stayed up his
hands. the one on the one side and the
other on the other side. And his hands were steady until
the going down of the sun. And Joshua discomfited Amalek
and his people with the edge of the sword. And the Lord said
unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book. and rehearse it in
the ears of Joshua, for I will utterly put out the remembrance
of Amalek from under heaven. And Moses built an altar and
called the name of it Jehovah-Nissi, that is, the Lord my banner. For he said, because the Lord
hath sworn that the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation
to generation. The Lord bless to us that reading
of his holy word and help us as we come before him again in
prayer. Let us pray. O Thou merciful and gracious
and loving Heavenly Father, we come to Thee through our Lord
and Saviour Jesus Christ and seek, Lord, those blessings that
come to us through His precious blood. We thank Thee that in
Him all the promises of God are yea and amen. And we thank Thee for that foundation
that we may rest our hopes for heaven upon and every blessing. Oh Lord, do be pleased to magnify
the name of thy beloved son and all that is set forth of him
in the scriptures and magnify him before us through the ministry
of the word tonight. We do thank thee for the provisions
of the gospel. that which thou hast made for
the people of God, those that are dead, those that have nothing,
those that have no life, thou hast been pleased to make a way
that is in our Lord Jesus Christ the way, the truth, and the life. And O Lord, do be pleased to
settle us and strengthen us in thy ways, Lord, lead poor sinners
out of self and unto thee this evening. Lord, deliver us from
taking up the language of the enemy and the questioner, as
the children of Israel did. Is the Lord among us or not? Lord, do grant that we might
know those clear scriptural evidences of thy presence among us. Lord, do grant us faith that
cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of the Lord, that
we might be able to rest ourselves upon thy precious word. Lord,
we read of the children of Judah resting themselves on the words
of Hezekiah, king of Judah. Lord, do grant us to do so on
the greater than Hezekiah, but the words of the living God,
the words of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Do be pleased to bless each of
our souls gathered around thy word this evening, to satisfy
us with the living bread from heaven, to grant that we might
be strengthened through thee and thy word, and that thou be
pleased to bless us as a church and people and favour us with
thy felt presence and with those things that are done in answer
to prayer. Do grant unto us those living
waters that flow forth from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Lord, thou hast life and hast
it to give to the people of God. Lord, we do seek that life of
God to be felt and known in our souls. Do bless us as a church
and people to build us up and strengthen us to make us a blessing
to those round about us in this town. Do work in the hearts of
those that have been prayed over by grandparents and parents,
those whose forefathers once worshipped here or elsewhere
in this town. And Lord, we do pray for those
who have received thy word as the Bibles through the Bible
boxes, that thou has caused those Bibles to be read and that thy
word might fasten on those that read them, that they might have
a desire to come and hear thy word preached and to join with
us here. O Lord, we pray for real conversions,
real changes, real deliverances, from being dead in trespasses
and sins, to be amongst the living in Jerusalem, living amongst
thy people. Lord, thou hast said that this
is thy work, to pass by sinners and bid them live, to quicken
into life. I give unto them eternal life.
They shall never perish, neither shall any man. pluck them out
of mine hand, and we do pray for that on the behalf of thy
dead people. Lord, quicken them, hear prayer
for them and intercession for them, that as thou hast given
the candlestick in this place, Lord, may many come to its light
and in its light see the truth in the Lord Jesus Christ. who
wash and cleanse us from our sin, we come, we gather, as sinners. And Thou, who art exalted to
give repentance and remission of sins unto Israel, do grant
unto us that blessing, that we might be truly sorry for our
sins, that Thou dost deliver us from the power and dominion
of them, that Thou dost turn us again and again unto Thee,
and save us from every way, especially that way that seemeth right,
unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. Lord,
we have a wicked heart within us. We have an enticing world
without. We have so much that speaks against
thee and against thy word, consulting to cast thee down from thine
excellency. Lord, do grant that as we come
into the sanctuary, we might breathe a different air, or as
they pull thee down, yet here everyone does speak of thy glory,
and that we might lift thee up on the pole of the everlasting
gospel. Lord, help us to redress that
which is seen and heard outside. Lord, may we go on our way with
our faith strengthened and encouraged in the Lord our God. I do say, Lord, that thou dost
remember this, our guilty land. O Lord, we live in a land that
has been much favoured with answers to prayer, deliverances in wartime. We've had peace for many, many
years. And Lord, thou hast not dealt
with us as our sins deserve, as we've gone further and further
away from thee and our language as a nation. has been depart
from us, we desire not the knowledge of thy ways, but to remember
thine elect, remember the churches that are scattered throughout
this land. And Lord, if Elijah did not know
of 7,000 in his day that were thine, Lord, how many do we not
know that are thine in this land? Thou revive our churches in our
own connection And dear brethren that we know, we've been with
today, we do see that those remember wherever thy truth is set forth,
Lord, do be pleased to grant that encouragement to continue,
to continue lifting up the truth and setting forth. the way of
life to sinners. O Lord, do grant us to see yet
those better days, days of thy spirit with power, and that there
might be a discernible change of attitude in this land. O Lord, do help us to be faithful,
to grant that we might be able to continue, and we do seek thy
blessing on all that hears thy word going forth from this pulpit. We do commit unto thee the services
of thy day. We ask thy blessing upon them.
We pray for those who join us in other nations, those that
do not have a place of worship of their own near them. Lord,
do bless thy word to them. And Lord, do remember those who
do have, but still join us. We thank thee for that fellowship. and do remember those in affliction
amongst our hearers, and do grant thy kind healing and blessing
upon treatment, lengthening of days, the sanctifying of these
things, help to those that are sick and those that care for
them, Lord, whether it be in their body or in their mind,
Lord, those causes, those things that are too hard for us, O Lord,
Be pleased to hear prayer and do sustain and strengthen parents
in their care for their children, children for parents, and wives
for husbands, husbands for wives. Lord, we do seek that thou'd
remember thy people in these dark paths, those paths of trial
and those dark valleys. Lord, do help them and sustain
them. We do seek that we might know
thee in all thine offices, in all thy suitability, in our every
need, and that fresh trials might unlock fresh parts of thy word,
that we might be like the eunuch to find thee in places where
thou wast not seen before. O Lord, do grant us that we might
truly be a prepared people for a prepared place, and be held
to continue on our way looking unto Jesus. Lord, do comfort
those that are in bereavement, do help them, be with them in
their path. And as thou dost take thy people
home, be pleased to replenish the flocks below. Do bless our
young people, our children, and do work savingly in their hearts
and make them to be a fruitful vine. Lord, we Do pray that thou
hast turned again and have compassion upon us. O Lord, we thank thee
for every temporal mercy and blessing, thy care, thy keeping,
thy kind provision, the warmth, the mercies that thou dost show
us. Thou dost open thine hand, thou
satisfies the desire of every living thing. Thou art good to
all, thy tender mercies, are over all thy works, and thou
art the Saviour of all men, especially of them that believe. And we
do thank thee for this provision and this blessing to unworthy
sinners. O Lord, help us to live to thine
honour and glory, to deliver us from our besetting sins, grant
that we might be more spiritually minded, deliver us from our carnal
minds, and deliver us from those ways that undermine our faith
and make us to be not fruitful in the knowledge of our Lord
Jesus Christ. To open our eyes continually
that we might see those wondrous things out of thine law, O Lord,
hear. Pray, Lord, that thou leave us
not, forsake us not, though we provoke thee so many times. Lord, do continue to teach and
instruct and to lead forth in the right way. Lord, we commit
unto Thee the difficulties, the things that may be worrying us
at this present time, the uncertainties. Lord, Thou knowest all these
things. Help us to trust Thee. Be with
their brethren that look to Thee to appear for them in the provision
of a home, and Lord, do provide for them, Lord, and many that
are in particular trials and need thee to appear for them. Do bless those that also meet
together tonight, and Lord, do strengthen thy servants that
we trust are venturing to speak after a time of sickness and
illness. Lord, do strengthen and help
them to minister tonight. Now, Lord, we do pray for help
here and that thou wouldst be pleased to be with us and guide
us in thy word. We ask thee these things through
our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen. Hymn, 419. Tune, Melcombe 369. Seeking for the help of the Lord,
I direct your prayer for attention to Exodus 17, the chapter that
we read, and reading for our text, verse 6. Behold, I will
stand before thee, there upon the rock in Horeb, and thou shalt
smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the
people may drink, and Moses did so in the sight of the elders
of Israel. Exodus 17 and verse 6. This account we read, when the
children of Israel, starting to go through the wilderness,
literally had no water to drink. It was a wilderness, it was barren. And it occasioned a rebellion
against Moses, a questioning whether the Lord was really amongst
them or not, and Moses felt that they were even ready to stone
him. And their word was that they'd
been brought out into the wilderness so that they and their flocks
and everything that they had would perish there. How easy
it is when we come across trials and difficulties in the way.
And remember, Israel had had a very clear deliverance out
of Egypt. It wasn't done in a day. It was
done with mighty signs and wonders over a period of time. And then
in the last, with the Passover lamb, they were thrust out and
brought out. Also, The Lord had brought them
through the Red Sea, another wonderful miracle, and slain
their enemies at the same time. Also, he had provided the waters
of Murrah that were bitter first, and then the tree cast in and
made sweet. And later, they came and they
dwelt in the place of the Twelve palm trees and the waters that
they could have in abundance. They'd had very evident blessings. They had seen wonderful things
that the Lord had done. Really, there was no reason to
question at this time and look upon what was an impossibility
naturally when they'd got such tokens of the Lord's power and
goodness towards them and the miracles that he'd done. But
it's a lesson for us, isn't it? Very often we can come into fresh
trials and seemingly forget everything that the Lord has done before.
Every token, every answer to prayer, every miracle that the
Lord has done, it's as if those are just forgotten and we start
then to question and to question even whether a Lord is with us.
This is a record of God's ancient people, his typical people, and
it does reflect what is in our heart and what we are prone to
do as well. Now in the Word of God, our Lord
and Saviour, Jesus Christ, is set forth before us in several
different types and shadows and the mysteries, the great is the
mystery of godliness, God manifest in the flesh, those profound
mysteries are revealed to us in various ways and various names. He is set forth in the first
promises as the seed, the seed of the woman that should bruise
the serpent's head, And we have this picture that promised Messiah,
Emmanuel, the coming Savior, would be the seed of Adam. It should be the seed of Israel,
of Judah, and then later on of David, firstly of Abraham, and
then of Isaac, Jacob, and then of David's line. And so we have
that picture of how the promised one should come. Then we have
him set forth as the Lamb in all of the sacrifices that were
offered right from the very start. It was the shedding of blood
and the Lamb, the Paschal Lamb, especially that they'd known
here, the children of Israel, when I see the blood, I will
pass over you. John Baptist, when he came preaching,
came pointing to the Lord Jesus Christ, behold the Lamb of God
that taketh away the sin of the world. And so our Lord is given
in that type. And we have another illustration
of what the Lord should be like as a lamb helpless and before
her shearers dumb. when she's brought to the slaughter
to be slain. Our Lord is set forth in that
way. He's set forth as the tree of
life. He's set forth as the branch. And then later by our Lord himself
as the vine. I am the vine. And then as a
shepherd. Not the sheep this time, not
the lamb, but the shepherd. I am the good shepherd. The shepherd
giveth his life for the sheep. And in all these ways, these
various different ways, different illustrations, he has set forth
before us. And the mysteries of godliness
are seen through these different lenses and different ways. And here, in our text, it is
the very first time that the word rock is used in this context
and to describe our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Christ the smitten rock. I want to look
then with the Lord's help this evening firstly the identity
of this rock as set forth through scripture not just from this
scripture this is the first mention of it but right through scripture
and then secondly the smitten rock In our text it speaks of
the rock that is smitten, and where is the Lord? He is, I will
stand before thee there upon the rock. And lastly, what Christ
is to his people because he is, or was smitten. And we read here in our text
that when the rock was smitten, there shall and there came water
out of it that the people may drink." Without the rock being
smitten, there would not be any water that flowed. So firstly,
the identity of the rock. How do we know that this rock
actually is setting forth our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ? The Apostle Paul, when he writes
to the Corinthians, his first letter to them in chapter 10
in our Bibles, we read in verse 4, They did all drink the same
spiritual drink, for they drank of that spiritual rock that followed
them, and that rock was Christ. You might say, well, yes, they
drank of literal water and so they did they also ate of literal
manna but our lord takes the literal manna in john 6 and says
i am that true bread from heaven and with the water those living
waters our lord when he spoke to the woman at the well of samaria
he said if thou knew the gift of God and who it is that saith
unto thee give me to drink thou would have asked of him and he
would have given thee living water. In natural things there
is a counterpart in spiritual things. There are spiritual eyes
and spiritual ears. There's spiritual drink. Man
shall not live by bread only. But by every word that proceedeth
out of the mouth of God, except ye eat the flesh and drink the
blood of the Son of Man, ye have no life in you." Spiritual food. And so this is where Paul says
of those that went out of Egypt, He says, Moreover, brethren,
I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that our fathers
were under the cloud and all passed through the sea, were
all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea, did all
eat the same spiritual meat, did all drink the same spiritual
drink, for they drank of that spiritual rock that followed
them, and that rock was Christ. Then we have, that which is spoken
of in the Psalms. And in the Psalms there is prophecies
that are spoken of by our Lord. Psalm 118. We read in verse 22,
The stone which the builders refused is become the headstone
of the corner. This is the Lord's doing, It
is marvellous in our eyes. This is the day which the Lord
hath made. We will rejoice and be glad in
it. And how do we know that that
is actually a prophecy and speaking of our Lord Jesus Christ? Well,
again, we must go to the New Testament. We go to Matthew 21,
verse 42. Jesus saith unto them, he's unto
those that were listening to him at the time, did he never
read in the scriptures, the stone which the builders rejected,
the same is become the head of the corner. This is the Lord's
doing and is marvellous in our eyes. And he's speaking to the
Pharisees, he's speaking in parables, he's speaking to those that were
going to reject Christ, to reject him as a builder would reject
a stone and say it's not fit for this building, I'm not going
to use it. And the Lord said that of the
scribes and the Pharisees. Then when we go back to Isaiah
in chapter 8, we have another prophecy of our Lord. In verses 14 and 15, we read
of there shall be a sanctuary. He shall be for a sanctuary but
for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both
the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants
of Jerusalem. And many among them shall stumble
and fall and be broken and be snared and be taken." And then
we find that also is spoken of in the New Testament. The apostle, when he writes to
the Romans in chapter nine, and he says there in verses 32 and
33, Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, had
not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore, because they sought
it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law, For
they stumbled at that stumbling stone. As it is written, Behold,
I lay inside a stumbling stone and rock of offence, and whoso
believeth on him shall not be ashamed. This stone, this stumbling
stone, this rock of offence is him. Whosoever believeth on him
shall not be ashamed. And Peter, takes this up when
he writes his epistles. In the first epistle, chapter
2, verse 8, he says, or from verse 7, if we go right back
actually to verse 6, wherefore also it is contained in the scripture,
behold, I lay inside a chief cornerstone, elect, precious,
and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. Unto
you therefore which believe he is precious, but unto them which
be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the
same is made the head of the corner, and a stone of stumbling,
and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word,
being disobedient, whereunto also they were appointed." And
in all of these types, in all of these illustrations, of the
stone, of the rock, we have our Lord and Savior that is set forth. You know, when the Lord named
Peter, he said, thou art Peter. And he says, upon this rock,
I shall build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail
against it. cephas, a stone. It wasn't speaking
of Peter being the foundation, but of himself being the foundation
stone. And he took occasion from Peter's
name. In one sense, of course, their
Lord is the chief cornerstone, but the church is built upon
the foundation of the apostles and prophets and the Lord Jesus
Christ being the chief cornerstone. Of course, the apostles were
used, and Peter especially, when the Holy Spirit was given at
Pentecost, and 10 years later with Cornelius, Peter was the
minister. He was greatly used. The church's
foundation, other foundation can no man lay than that is laid,
which is Jesus Christ and him crucifying. Which brings us to
the second point. This then points to our Lord
and Saviour, Jesus Christ, which it does. Here is this rock in
Horeb, Mount Sinai, where the law was to be given. We have
this rock set forth and our Lord was to stand upon this rock and
it was to be smitten when he stood upon it. And of course
this is pointing to our Lord Jesus Christ at Calvary. Smite the shepherd and the sheep
shall be scattered. It is vital that the Lord Jesus
Christ should suffer. Ought not Christ to suffer these
things and to enter into his glory? This is what he said to
those too on the way to Emmaus. showed them in all the scriptures
the things concerning himself, of no doubt, that this was one
of those scriptures that he showed them, the smitten wrong. They
had seen Jesus of Nazareth crucified. Art thou a stranger? Hast not
known those things that have happened in Jerusalem in these
days? We trusted it should have been
he that should have redeemed Israel. but to redeem Israel
by being smitten, they could not see that. They'd seen his
death, they'd seen him slain, but they didn't see what was
being accomplished and done there. And so in this time of the smitten
rock is foretold us what should happen so early in the history
of the Church of God This is spoken of as the church which
was in the wilderness, and there is set forth our Lord when he
was crucified. Our Lord said, for this cause
came I into the world, to bear witness to the truth. And it
was vital then that he should be smitten, should be crucified,
should be brought as a lamb to the slaughter that he should
be slain. But this time is not the type
of the lamb, it's the type of the rock. And the rock is smitten,
but our Lord Jesus Christ was smitten. And you might think
in this way as well. Then we have the picture of the
lamb. We have the picture of one that is helpless and cannot
resist. But when we have the rock that
is smitten, and we have the Lord that is the eternal God, and
one that is immovable and strong, and one that said to Peter, put
up thy sword within its sheath, Thinkest thou not that I could
pray the Father, and He would presently give me 12 legion of
angels, 72,000 angels, but how then should the Scripture be
fulfilled? Pilate says, knowest thou not
that I have power to crucify thee, and power to release thee? And our Lord said, thou couldst
have no power at all against me. except it were given thee
from heaven. And in the type of the rock,
we have one, unless he was willing to be smitten, unless he laid
down his life, I lay down my life, our Lord
said, no man taketh it from me, I lay it down in myself. Peter
says he was delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge
of God, ye have taken by wicked hands, crucified and slain. Here it is ordained by God, take
thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand
and go. Behold, I will stand before thee
there upon the rock in Horeb and the Lord's picture in two
ways here, the rock as the Lord, But the Lord standing upon it,
and the rock being smitten, and thou shalt smite the rock, there
shall come water out of it. The smitten rock. And it was
written that it was only smitten once. Now the reason why Moses
could not go into the promised land was later on when the children
of Israel murmured, and the Lord gave command again concerning
a rock. But this time it wasn't to smite
it, It was to speak unto the rock. But Moses, he struck it,
and he struck it twice. And he said, must I bring water
out of the rock, ye rebels? And the water came out abundantly. But because Moses did not sanctify
the Lord before the people, he was not allowed to go into the
promised land. There's a real lesson to us there. that Christ's sacrifice is a
once-only offering for sin. It's not like the Roman Catholic
Church will teach that the Lord's Supper is offered again and again. No, this is why the martyrs died
for their faith, because they testified Christ put away his
people sinned at Calvary. There was only one offering,
a once-offered for sins. And the Lord's Supper is a remembrance
service. It's not an offering at all.
It's not a sacrifice. And they'd rather lay down their
lives than believe that lie or go along with that lie. But the
other is the attitude of Moses. The Lord does not begrudgingly
give the blessings that flow forth from Calvary. The Lord
does not say, even when his people are rebellious, must I bring
you water? Must I give you a blessing? Must
I help you that are so rebellious and unbelieving? He is not like
that. The blessings that he gives are
freely giving, lovingly given. He chastens, he corrects, but
when he gives, He gives it, not begrudgingly, and not in a way
that there's malice and hatred in it at all. Now, a parent might
do that with their children. Children ask them something,
pestering them perhaps for something, and in the end they give way
and say, well, here it is. But the parent is obviously very
angry and upset, and they get what they want, but they don't
get it with a smiling face, and the parent happy with them, but
with the blessings of the Lord, we may know that the Lord, if
the Lord gives us blessings and favours, they flow forth from
him, from his sufferings, and they are given in love. They're given as a token, they're
given as in the spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ, the good news
of the gospel. Father, forgive them. For they
know not what they do. What a spirit, even while he
was being struck and smitten, the Lord Jesus Christ praying
for his enemies and for those that were crucifying him. And
so it is important for us to remember that because when the
Lord does bless us and with the favours that flow to us through
his death, We may know those are given as true tokens of his
love and not begrudgingly at all. The scriptures speak of the lamb
slain from the foundation of the world. We might say in the
type of the rock, the rock smitten. from the foundation of the world. The great picture then of our
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the eternal God, the same yesterday,
today and forever, the rock of ages that he should be smitten. The great mystery of godliness,
God manifest in the flesh, vital that he should be made man, vital
that he should be brought into a position where he could be
smitten, and how he humbled himself, became obedient unto death, even
the death of the cross. And so here in this type, there's
a little insight into the cross and his being smitten, and emphasizing
what he is to his people and what flows forth from him being
smitten. There shall come water out of
it. If this rock wasn't smitten,
the people would not have had water. If the Lord Jesus Christ
had not been smitten at Calvary, then there would not be the benefits
and the blessings that flow forth from him either. And so I want
to look then lastly at those blessings. What is it that comes
to us because Christ as the rock has been smitten? We mentioned
about Peter, what the Lord said of Peter, upon this rock I will
build my church. Other foundation can no man lay
than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ, and it is him crucified. He is that foundation. He is
Christ that died, yea, rather risen again. And the thing with
the rock, he is smitten, but he still lives. He still is the
rock. He is not, as it were, taken
away or destroyed by being smitten. He died, he laid down his life,
he took it again, he still is the same yesterday and today
and forever when he appeared to his disciples after his crucifixion. The great thing was that it was
the same Jesus, this same Jesus. Behold my hands and my feet,
that it is I myself, though fearful and affrighted, that it was a
spirit. No, it is the risen Saviour,
it is the rock that was smitten, and he lives. And this is then
the foundation of the Church of God, that her sins are put
away. The wrath of God has been met
upon the man at God's right hand, the Son of Man, that thou madest
strong for thyself. Psalm 80 verse 17, I think you'll
find. It is the Lord Jesus Christ that
is the foundation of our hope, the foundation of our expectancy
of heaven, of our sins pardoned and forgiven. It is all based
upon the Lord Jesus Christ. I am the way, the truth, and
the life. No man cometh unto the Father
but by me. Really every hope, every building, everything that
we have must have a foundation to it. The foundation of the
Christian faith is in the Lord Jesus Christ, in his death and
in his resurrection, his conquest over death, and rising and ascending
up into heaven. That is the foundation. That
is what is unique about Christianity. That is what no other supposed
religion has. The curse was, in the day that
thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die. And the provision
in the Lord Jesus Christ is a deliverance from death, an empty tomb, Death
that could not hold him. And so that then is what flows
forth. One of the things from the smitten
rock, a foundation, not on our feelings, not on our thoughts,
not on our ways, not on our good deeds, but upon what Christ has
done. That is the provision of the
gospel. That is the good news of the
gospel. It is Christ instead of us. Well, the next thing is that
which is typified here because when the rock was smitten, there
came water out of it. They drank of that spiritual
rock that followed them. That rock was Christ. Living
waters. The scriptures speak about those
waters that they are to flow half toward the former sea, that's
the Jews, and half toward the hinder sea, that is the Gentiles,
and it shall be a river, the river of life. It's spoken of
in the Revelation, it's spoken of in Ezekiel, how it became
deeper and deeper, first just to the anchors, but then a river
to swim in. And it is the river of life that
flows forth from the Lord Jesus Christ, that which he said to
the woman at the well of Samaria, that he had those living waters
to give. When she said that, and asked
the Lord that he may give her that living water, the way he
answered her was to show her her sin, go call thy husband
and come hither. She said, I have no husband.
And he said, of her truth, thou hast no husband. For thou hast
had five husbands, and he that thou now hast is not thine husband. In that thou said truly. And
she said, sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. And this
is how the Lord began to give her the living water. It wasn't literal water, but
it was life. And it is life from the dead.
He shows her her state, He shows her her sin, He shows her her
condition, but not to condemn her, not to destroy her, it is
that she might be shown the sin bearer and the one that was to
suffer and those living waters would flow forth from Him. I that speak unto thee am He,
the Messiah that she knew when He came He would tell us all
things. If we are to have living water,
if we are to have the life of God in our souls, if we are to
have the truth and know the truth about ourselves and our sinnership,
the truth about the gospel and our Lord Jesus Christ, those
living waters, that life, it flows forth from Christ. He's not a dead saviour, he's
a living saviour. He died and rose again and he
makes intercession in heaven. Because I live, you shall live
also. And there is then that provision
of life for the people of God. Right from when they're quickened
into divine life, they receive of that fountain, they receive
what flows forth from that rock. And it may be really worth noting,
this is the rock at Horem. This is where the law was given. And it is the law, by the law
is the knowledge of sin. And the law was what our Lord
Jesus Christ was made under, made of a woman, made under the
law, that he might redeem them that are under the law. It was
at Horem. that the tables of the law were
broken. It is at Horeb where they were
written again, and the completed tables put in the ark, another
type of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord came to fulfill, not
to destroy the law, but to settle the debt that we owe, and to
fulfill it, to magnify it. And in that way, he had to be
smitten. And flowing forth then comes
living water. Otherwise, the law, law and terrors
do but harden while they work alone. And the law, the knowledge
of sin that all the world might become guilty before God. There's no life. The law speaks
of condemnation. We have broken that law, but
the Lord Jesus Christ, in being smitten, he fulfilled that law
in his life, and he suffered in our place. So he's the source
of living water. You and I have no life in ourselves. The life is in Christ. The life
is from him, and we have to remember that. Remember it in this type
that is here, picturing this rock, this smitten rock, and
the water flowing from it, and what it literally meant. It was
the difference between life and death to the Israelites. Nothing
in that wilderness is nothing in this world that will satisfy
a living soul, but living water from heaven. The next thing is that of a hiding
place, a cliff in the rock, later on in Exodus chapter 33. Our Lord desired to, after the
tables of the law had been broken, and Moses made intercession for
the people of God who had sinned in the idol that they'd made,
the golden calf. Then he desired that he might
see the glory of the Lord, that he might know that he had grace
in the eyes of the Lord. And we read in verse 20, and
he said, Thou canst not see my face, for there shall no man
see me and live. And the Lord said, Behold, there
is a place by me. Thou shalt stand upon a rock,
and it shall come to pass while my glory passeth by, that I'll
put thee in a cliff of the rock, will cover thee with my hand
while I pass by, and I'll take away mine hand. Thou shalt see
my back parts, but my face shall not be seen. We think of the
hymn writer, rock of ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in
thee. A hiding place, a refuge, a rock,
immovable rock for the people of God. We had the cities of
refuge later on given to the children of Israel that they
should run to when they'd killed a man unawares. The Lord Jesus
Christ is that refuge, that hiding place for his people, and it
is in the smiting of that rock. It is the answer. When the law
demands, then the soul points to Christ. When Satan accuses,
the soul points to Christ. There is the answer every time.
That's why the ordinance of the Lord's Supper was given by our
Lord. The Church of God should never
forget that it is Christ that died, was smitten, and whose
blood shed. He is the hiding place, the shelter
for the Church of God. Just to think of the hiding place,
you think of when the flood came in Noah's day, If we could have
been looking down on that scene, we would not have seen Noah.
We'd have just seen the ark. All of those that were in the
ark were hidden in the ark. Know that we might be found in
him, found in Christ, not having our own righteousness, which
is of the law, but that which is by faith in him. Another hymn
writer says, Christ instead of me that is seen when I approach
to God. It's to be hiding in that rock. Then we have another illustration
that's set forth in the prophecy of Isaiah. In Isaiah 32, We have a beautiful prophecy
of our Lord, Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes
shall rule in judgment. That's how the chapter begins.
Verse 2 goes on, And a man shall be as an hiding place from the
wind, and a covet from the tempest, as rivers of water in a dry place,
as the shadow of a great rock. in a weary land. What a picture
of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. And if we know what it
is, and I've known what it is over in Australia, when there's
been such heat and the sun beating down, and a shadow is very, very
welcome there. And to have a shadow of a great
rock and to sit in that shadow is a great thing. And this is
the picture that is here, the shadow of a great rock in a weary
land. Blessed thing to live, to sit
beneath his shadow, to have the blessings that flow forth from
him. And you know when there is a
shadow, there's a light source, isn't there? And that light source,
it goes past the thing that is casting the shadow, and it casts
then a shadow that is seen. And it is the Lord that stands
as the mediator between God and man. He is the one that is our
advocate with the Father. He is appearing in the presence
of God for us. And is it where we are in his
shadow, like Moses, He could see the Lord's back parts, he
could see God, but he was in the cleft first, and here is
the shadow. Some of us have valued the type
that is set forth here, even in a literal way, but in a spiritual
way, to actually be in the shadow of the precious truths of the
gospel, that those things they rest upon us. As the light is
given, we see, says Paul, as through a glass darkly, but later
it shall be as face to face. So those are some of those things,
and we may think of others that this is a type of and what flows
to us. through Christ as being the smitten
rock. May we clearly see this is what
the inspired Word of God, the Holy Spirit, the author of the
Word of God, is pointing us to God's beloved Son, our Lord and
Saviour, Jesus Christ in this time, pointing us to his sufferings,
his being smitten, and to those blessings that flow forth from
him because he was smitten. And of course, we think of the
blessings of the Day of Pentecost, the pouring out of the Holy Spirit,
and the blessings ever since to the Church of God. May we
know something of those blessings and trace them to our Lord Jesus
Christ, the Rock of Ages. The Lord at his blessing. Amen. Hymn, 1116. Tune, Deerhurst 633. 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.