I'd like to give you all a warm
welcome to our worship here this evening. Let us come before the
Lord in prayer. Let's ask His blessing. Lord
God of heaven and of earth, do grant unto us Thy promised blessing
and presence in the assembly of Thy people. Grant us the fear
of the Lord. Do grant that we might worship
Thee in spirit and in truth. Do grant us, Lord, that we might
go on our way strengthened and help from the sanctuary. O Lord,
we ask these things through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen. Hymn, 371. Tune, Ascalon 567. This evening I wish to turn to
two portions of God's Holy Word. Firstly, the Song of Solomon
and Chapter 2. If you have one of our free Bibles,
that's page 600, and forty-eight. The Song of Solomon, chapter
two. I am the rose of Sharon and the
lily of the valleys. As the lily among thorns, so
is my love among the daughters. as the apple tree among the trees
of the wood, so is my beloved among the suns. I sat down under
his shadow with great delight and his fruit was sweet to my
taste. He brought me to the banqueting
house and his banner over me was love. Stay me with flagons,
comfort me with apples, for I am sick of love. His left hand is
under my head, and his right hand doth embrace me. I charge
you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the rows and by the hinds
of the field, that ye stir not up nor awake my love. till he
please. The voice of my beloved, behold
he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills. My beloved
is like a roe or a young heart, behold he standeth behind our
wall. He looketh forth at the windows,
showing himself through the ladders. My beloved spake and said unto
me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. For though the winter is past,
the rain is over and gone, the flowers appear on the earth,
the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the
turtle is heard in our land. The fig tree putteth forth her
green figs and the vines with a tender great give a good smell. Arise my love, my fair one, and
come away. O my dove that art in the clefts
of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs. Let me see thy
countenance, let me hear thy voice, for sweet is thy voice
and thy countenance is comely. Take us, the foxes, the little
foxes, that spoil the vines, for our vines have tender grapes. My beloved is mine and I am his,
He feedeth among the lilies until the daybreak and the shadows
flee away. Turn, my beloved, and be thou
like a roe or a young heart upon the mountains of Bitha. Now let us turn to Paul's epistle
to the Ephesians, Ephesians and chapter 5, reading part of that
chapter. Ephesians chapter 5, and we'll
commence reading at verse 17. We have one of our free Bibles,
that's page 1089. Verse 17. Wherefore be ye not
unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. and be not drunk with wine wherein
is excess, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to yourselves
in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody
in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things
unto God and the Father, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. submitting yourselves one to
another in the fear of God. Wives, submit yourselves unto
your own husbands as unto the Lord. For the husband is the
head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church, and
he is the Saviour of the body. Wherefore, as the church is subject
unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives even
as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it, that
he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water
by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church. not having spot or wrinkle or
any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives
as their own bodies, he that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his
own flesh, but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord
the Church. For we are members of his body,
of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave
his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and
they too shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery, but
I speak concerning Christ and the Church. Nevertheless, let
every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself,
and the wife see that she reverence her husband. Lord bless to us
that reading of his holy word and help us in prayer. Let us pray. Our most merciful and gracious
Lord God, we come to Thee through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. O Lord, who grant Thee help of
Thy Spirit as we come before Thee. We seek the fear of the
Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom. We seek that as our
gathering is unto Thee, that it might be that where the people
of God are, there Thou art, and where Thou art, there the people
of God are. O Lord, we do seek that fellowship,
communion, and union with Thee. Nor hast Thou not provided that
way to remedy the separation brought about by sin, the driving
out from the garden and the presence of the Lord, that what Thou hast
done at Calvary is to bring back into fellowship, into communion,
that Thy people might know Thee, that they might receive thy care,
thy blessing, thy words. Lord, do be pleased to grant
unto us that thy plan of salvation and the provisions of the gospel
might be made over unto us. We might realize that we are
and have been made partakers of the provisions that flow forth
from Calvary. We would trace every blessing
and every favour to come to us through Jesus' precious blood. Lord, we know of no other source
of light, of understanding, of life, of comfort, no other source. of those spiritual blessings
in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. But Lord, from Thee, the
rock of ages, from Thee, the smitten rock, from Thee, the
fountain and source of life, in Him we live and move and have
our being. And Lord, do grant that we might
be amongst the living in Jerusalem that know we are sinners, that
know the Saviour, that know the way of escape, that know Thy
people, that esteem them, the excellent of the earth, that
know what they know by Thy teaching. O Lord, do teach each one here
and bless us with being led and taught by Thy Spirit. And Lord,
leave us not to despise it when it is line upon line, and here
a little and there a little. Lord, bless the congregation
here and those that join online. We thank Thee that we are able
to gather in the house of God. And oh Lord, to be pleased to
bless the children and the young people and favour them in their
souls while they are young. And Lord, those of us that are
older, pass us not by but to bless us and favour us still. And where we look upon our sins,
as every reason why thou shouldst turn thy back upon us and not
the face. O Lord, help us to plead thy
name and to plead thy mercy and thy precious blood. We thank
Thee for every temporal blessing, 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 thank Thee for
Thy goodness and kindness. We do pray for those that are
sick, to grant Thy kind healing hand, especially on those servants
laid aside, restore again every good please Thee, and Thy servant
having minor operation this coming week, we do pray that those bring
him safely through that, and enable him to preach again. And
O Lord, do be pleased to help each that labour under infirmities,
weaknesses, whether of body or of mind. Those that are awaiting
operations, those having treatment, do bless that treatment, lengthen
days if not to fully heal, And Lord, grant thy presence in the
path of tribulation, that it might not be any trial and any
day or any hour to be wasted, but that we might be profited,
be able to say with the psalmist, it was good that I was afflicted. Before I was afflicted, I went
astray, but now have I kept thy word. Now, Lord, we We do thank
Thee for every mercy and token for good. We do thank Thee for
Thy continued goodness to us here, and Lord, the open door
with Thy word sending it forth. We thank Thee for answers to
prayer, and we do pray that Thou hast constrained those of Thy
people throughout this land, those that Thou art drawing,
to ask for Thy word, to receive Thy word, to be blessed through
it, And Lord, brought to saving faith in Thee, O Lord, do this
work and send forth Thy blessing upon Thy Word. We do seek, Lord,
that Thou hast blessed us here and make us a blessing as a church
and people. Build us up and do be pleased
to bless the people of Cranbrook. Raise up those that shall be
a help and able to take responsibility here. And O Lord, do favour us
with seeing thy work, Lord, not only here, but round our churches
and the Reformed churches. Lord, we see so few that are
brought out of nature's darkness and into thy marvellous light,
and even fewer that are brought in from outside and have even
any desire of the things of God round about us. And, O Lord,
we do pray for Thy work to be done. Lord, we ask Thy blessing
upon the texts that are put up on the outside of the chapels
and upon our homes. Lord, where we speak to those
round about us, O Lord, Thou art able to use one word. And
we do seek for wisdom and help that we might be faithful witnesses
and messengers of the Gospel. O Lord, forgive and pardon our
many sins, especially against light, against goodness, and
against Thy mercies. Thou hast not dealt with us as
our sins have deserved. We thank Thee for many mercies
that Thou hast given us. We would remember those in distress
at this time, those in Los Angeles, and other places where they have
had such devastation with the fires. And Lord, those in war-torn
zones in Ukraine and other parts of the world, oh Lord, do be
with those who have troubles and losses of which we have little
idea and comprehension of what they're going through. And those
who have lost loved ones, do comfort them as well. O Lord,
we look to Thee to grant unto us now that grace and help as
we start another week. Lord, do grant that Thou dost
be with us in it, watching over us, giving us health, strength.
Grant us Thy word graciously, blessing us with spiritual life,
keeping us by Thy power. And may we often be found at
Thy throne and have visits from Thee. Larger communion, let us
prove with Thee, blessed object of our love, to deliver us from
the love of this poor dying world. Leave us not to have divided
hearts, but hearts fully after Thee. Save us from trying to
serve God and mammon, who make us truly to be Thy people, not
only like them, but to be them. and do keep us by thy grace. Use our gathering this evening
to minister grace and help, a means of strength to thy people. And Lord, do gather up that which
we hear from previous occasions. Grant thy spirit to bring it
to our remembrance that we might be doers of the word. and not
hear us only. Grant grace that we might have
the practic part, and that we might have those fruits that
show forth what Thou hast wrought in us. O Lord, we do seek now
Thy help, both in speaking and hearing, and we ask Thee these
things through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. The announcements, God willing,
I'm expected to preach here on Thursday evening at 7 o'clock
and next Lord's Day at 11am and 6.30pm. The New Year service at Braybourne,
Leeds is to be held on Tuesday at 7 o'clock. Mr Jabez Rutt is
unwell and so Mr Bernard Burgess has kindly agreed to preach on
that occasion. The Bibles distributed during
December, the Bible boxes, 13, and the web offer, 127. And we would be very thankful
to the Lord for that answer to prayer, remembering that the
November amount that was requested was only 29. And we have made
it a specific matter his people to request his word. And we have seen a very distinct
change in those that have wanted them. So those are the ones actually
sent out, not all the requests sent in, some of which were not
valid. Hymn, 991. Tune, Theodora 423. Seeking for the help of the Lord,
I direct your prayerful attention to the song of Solomon, And reading
for our text, chapter 2 and verses 14 and 15. Song of Solomon, chapter 2, verses
14 and 15. O my dove, that art in the clefts
of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy
countenance, let me hear thy voice, For sweet is thy voice,
and thy countenance is comely. Take us, the foxes, the little
foxes, that spoil the vines, for our vines have tender grapes. Song of Solomon, chapter 2, verse
14 and 15. Let me see, let me hear. It is Christ's care for his church,
his desire to see his people's faces, to hear their voices,
and to deal with those things that would interrupt the communion
and fellowship between him and his church. The Song of Solomon
is a very sacred book and I found personally that it is under the
blessings of the Lord that it's opened up and it is very sweet
and precious. It obviously is written by Solomon
under inspiration of God and it really is a love song between
the bridegroom, or the beloved, and the bride, between Christ
and the Church. And the Jews always held this
account in very high esteem, and those who have been blessed
in it will need no one to tell them that it is indeed speaking
of Christ and of those spiritual blessings. We look past the figurative
language and we see what the teaching is. This is the reason why we read
the passage in Ephesians, because the passage in Ephesians 5 speaks
again of the mystery of Christ and his Church, and how that
marriage between a husband and a wife sets forth that. And in that passage, it also
sets forth the care of the husband over the wife. Husband, in verse
25 of chapter 5, Love your wives, even as Christ also loved the
church and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse
it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present
it to himself a glorious church. That is to be a sanctified church. And so we have in Ephesians,
again, the idea of a marriage, marriage between a man and a
woman, and it being a mystery is concerning the church. Verse
32, this is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ
and the church. And where there is love between
a husband and a wife, they want to see each other's countenance,
they want to hear each other's voice, They want to be together. And this then is the message
in this passage here. Just briefly to go over it, one
of the things in the Song of Solomon, sometimes it's very
hard to distinguish whether it is Christ speaking or his church
speaking. Mr. Hawker quaintly says that
that's a lovely thing because where it's indistinct, we can
look at it from both sides. You get both the benefit of how
it can be Christ, how it can be the bride. The first verses
here is like that in one sense, indistinct, but then when we
come to The third verse, then we clearly have the church speaking
of Christ, of her beloved, as the apple tree among the trees
of the woods, so is my beloved among the suns. And I sat down
under his shadow with great delight, his fruit was sweet. to my taste. And those verses then through
to verse seven, they're speaking of the church and what she sees
in her bridegroom, in her beloved. And then from verse eight, we
have the calling of the church, the voice of my beloved. We'd
always remember it is Christ that calls his people, my sheep,
they hear my voice and they follow me. And one of the first evidences
of one being called is that they begin to hear the word of God. This was the great mark with
Samuel. Samuel did not yet know the Lord. And when the Lord came to him,
he came to him speaking, and he thought it was Eli. He was
calling him by name, and he goes to Eli. But Eli perceived it
was the Lord that was calling the land, directed him what to
say. Speak, Lord, for thy servant
heareth. That was the beginning of a long
life as being a seer and a prophet. And then we read later on, still
when he was young, the Lord appeared again to Samuel by the word of
the Lord. And that is how he does appear
to his people, especially in these gospel days. He appears to them through the
word of the Lord. It's important to realize that. to have a clear view. And so with here in this chapter,
the voice of my beloved is a recognition and is the calling of the church. Well, after then we have the
calling of the church, we have text, which is the care that
Christ has over his church. And then the last couple of verses
is the church's faith. It's the profession of the Church
of God. My beloved is mine, or Christ
is mine, and I am his. He feedeth among the lilies.
Until the daybreak, the shadows flee away. Turn, my beloved,
be thou like a roe, a young heart, upon the mountains of Betha.
a profession of union, fellowship, walking together. So what is upon my spirit is
the care that Christ has over his church and that he desires
to see and hear from his people. On to look at the word in four
points. Firstly, Christ knows where his
church is. Thou my dove, thou art in the
cliffs of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs. He knows where his people are. Then his request for communion. Let me see thy countenance. Let me hear thy voice. That is what the Lord is speaking
to his church. May it be that we hear that this
evening. The third point is an encouragement
that he gives to his church. For sweet is thy voice, and thy
countenance is comely. Whatever his people might think
of their poor prayers and of their presence amongst the people
of God, the Lord encourages them in this way. And then lastly, and this is
verse 15, the work of the church and her
pastors as the Lord's servants to deal with the enemy that attacks
and detracts from any fruitfulness and from the communion and fellowship
one with another. Take us, the foxes, the little
foxes, that spoil the vines, for our vines have tender grains. but firstly Christ's knowledge
of his church where they are. He calls her, he calls his people
by a beautiful name, O my dove. Now the Lord spoke of his people
as being as harmless as doves. We cannot but think of the illustration
of Noah putting forth first a raven, then he puts forth a dove, and
the dove, it comes back to him into the ark. He puts forth his
hand, he takes her, he draws her in to the ark. A dove that is peaceable, quiet,
easily frightened, gentle, not a bird of prey. And it is a picture
of what the people of God are to be like. But he says of her
that he knows where she is, that art in the clefts of the rock.
Again, with the illustration of a dove, we can picture the
doves being in clefts of a rock. If you go up to London and you
see all the stonework of the buildings there, Unless they
put spikes on them to stop the doves resting there, which they
often do, whenever there's a cleft, wherever there's a ledge, there
you'll find a dove that is resting in it. And this is the picture,
the illusion of where the people of God are. We think of Moses,
where He desired that he might see the Lord, and the Lord said
that he would pass by, and he would put Moses in a cleft of
the rock when he passed by. Thou shalt see my back parts,
but my face shall not be seen. And it was a hiding place, it
was a place of safety, a place where he could be covered. The
Lord would put his hand over him while he passed by him. And
Moses' desire was to see the Lord there. And the cleft of
the rock was a means whereby he could see the Lord as he could
in those days, and in the time and shadow of it, and not die. And so with the people of God
as well, They are described as being in the clefts of the rock. Beautiful picture, really. Where
the Lord calls his people, that is where he puts them. They are
in Christ. They are found in him. They are
chosen in him. And the position where they are
is in Christ. They may not see it yet. They
might not have the comfort of it. That is where the Lord views
them. We must understand that. Whenever
the Lord calls his people, they are already chosen in him. They
are already in him. They are not to be put in him,
they are there. And that's why they're being
called. They're being loved with an everlasting
love. And therefore with loving kindness
have I drawn thee. So in one sense, where the Lord
tells where his people are, He's telling them what they may not
know or have the assurance of themselves, but the Lord tells
them. And those are sweet times when
that is the case. I remember one such time when
I lost the employment from Australia and just had the small stipend
here. And I had such peace and quietness. This was on a Thursday. And I
bowed my head at my desk. I prayed to the Lord, Lord, why
is this? I've lost my main means of income, and yet I've got such
peace and quietness, why this? And immediately the Lord dropped
in, thou wilt keep him in perfect peace. His mind is stayed on
thee, because he trusteth in thee. Now, if anyone would have
asked me, is your mind stayed on Christ? Are you trusting in
Christ? I said, I hope I am. But to have
the Lord give me the peace and then tell me why, it was a sweet
time. That was on the Thursday. Friday,
I made the application for a job. Monday, I had the interview.
A Tuesday I had the interview, Wednesday I started work. And
so before a week was out, I was in the next place of employment
in engineering. And there have been other times
where the Lord has given the benefit and the blessing and
then explained why. And in a way, I would never have
laid claim on myself And it's a precious thing when the Lord
tells us what we don't know. It'd be like the shepherd saying
to a sheep that can't see its own back and can't see its mark
on its back, shepherd owning that sheep that is mine and selecting
it out. And so the Lord knows where his
people are in the covenant in the Lord Jesus Christ. He also
says here, in the secret places of the stairs, in many thoughts
on what this is, that my mind went to the account of Jacob
when he left home and there he was with stones for his pillow. The Lord knew where he was. And the Lord came and gave him
a vision and blessed him. His response was, the Lord, how
dreadful is this place? The Lord is in this place and
I knew it not. The Lord knew where Jacob was. He knew all about his going away
from his family and where he was going and came and visited
and blessed him. Then he was given in that vision,
a vision of a ladder set up on earth and extending up into heaven. And there was, on that ladder,
angels and they were ascending, going up into heaven and then
going back down again to the earth. It's really a picture,
in one sense, of Christ as being that way whereby the petitions
of the people of God ascend up to heaven and the answers come
down from heaven, with the Lord going up to heaven and then to
return again. Again, it's a picture not of
stairs but of a ladder, an idea of going upward or going up and
down. And it certainly is a great mark
of the people of God, when the Lord begins with them, as was
the case with Saul of Tarsus, that they begin to pray. And
it is very often a secret place. Sometimes even those in the same
family are not really aware of those that are going into their
closet, secretly crying unto the Lord, pouring out their heart
before him. Sometimes we can be in front
of someone and that is happening. You think of Nehemiah, and there
he is, the king's cupbearer. And the king is asking him why
he is sad, why his countenance is sad. And he tells about the
report that he's heard of Jerusalem and the broken down wall. And
the king asks him, what is his request? And you just read, so
I prayed unto the Lord. And then he makes his request
to the king. It's just while the King is speaking
to him, he doesn't go away and pray, he just, his heart uplifts,
he makes his petition, and then he speaks. Our prayers do not
need to be long. They don't need to be even in
secret. They can be right in front. I
know what it is to have a heart uplifting in prayer, standing
in the front of men, in front of people, and prayer is going
up to the Lord for hell. Nehemiah had that hell. But this
is then a secret place, a place that is known by God and known
by his people, a meeting place in that way. So both the places
that are spoken of or the illustrations here speak of a called people
that the Lord knows that they are in him, in Christ, he knows
that they are praying, he knows that they have been brought into
that path, into that way. But there's other ways we can
look at this in thinking of this heading, Christ knows where his
church is. You think of our Lord. He must
needs go through Samaria. He knew where that woman was. Passing by Zacchaeus's tree,
he knew where Zacchaeus was. He knew where Nathanael was when
Philip called him. Before that, Philip called thee.
When thou art under the fig tree, I saw thee. All the time. There's the Lord making known
he knows where his people are. Psalm 139. David speaks of not
being able to go anywhere, but the Lord knows where we are. Hagar, when she fled from Sarah,
her mistress, the angel of the Lord found her. She called him,
thou God, seest me. The kingdom of God standeth sure
having this seal. The Lord knoweth them that are
his. And he knows where they are. He knows where to find them and
how to get them and how to bring them to himself. And this should be a real comfort
and real help to us. Maybe I've mentioned this, before
but comes to mind again years ago when my father was ill in
and out of hospital in Tasmania. And I was due to preach up at
Ebenezer Luton, and I was very low, very reluctant to go, and
as I went along the way, greatly fearing the day, and as I pulled
up outside that chapel and turned off the car engine. Just as the
engine died, my phone rang, an old brick phone. And it was my
dear one here telling her phone call from Tasmania, my father
had been brought into hospital. And she was very fearful of telling
me because I was already low, but had the opposite effect. It says, the Lord has said to
me, I know where you are, and I knew exactly when that car
engine died and when the phone call could come through. And
I know where your father is, the other side of the world,
and I brought you from the other side of the world to this side
of the world. And it was just that sense that the Lord knew
exactly where I was, the timing and everything, and it picked
me up. I had a really good day, really
felt helped. And it was all with this thought,
the Lord knew where I was, and the exact timing of all that
was happening. And maybe it helped to some of
you here. May you think also of things
that happen Providence, the timing of things, things that are done,
and to convince you, something you can't argue with,
that the Lord knew exactly where you were to bring it to pass.
We think of the book of Esther again and again. The timing was
absolutely vital. You think of when our Lord was
born, and the parents come and bring in our Lord to the temple,
and Simeon had been told that he should not die until he'd
seen the Lord's Christ, and he comes in by the Spirit just at
that very time. You think of Philip being sent
to the Eunuch, the Spirit saying, go into the Gaza, the desert,
and directing him to that chariot. And he's reading in Isaiah. All of the timing, everything,
the Lord knew exactly where Philip was, where the eunuch was, and
ordered all those things. So may this first point be a
help, be a comfort to us, a direction to us. That the Lord does know
where we are and who we are, and is right that he speaks to
us like he does here. Oh my dove. That's the thing,
isn't it? The Lord owns his people. If we were to say to someone,
my love, my child, it would be owning that they
are ours, there's a relationship between us. And the Lord does
that with his people. Thou art in. What a blessed thing if the Lord
said that to us this evening. Thou art in Christ. Thou art
in the covenant. Thou art in the secret. Thou
art in the church of God. The Lord deciding it. The Lord
making it known. The second thing is his request
for communion. Let me see thy countenance Let
me hear thy voice. We've said in the type of the
ladder that there is prayer begun. But you know, with the Church
of God, we think of our Lord on earth, how many times he encouraged
his people to pray and to keep on praying, and how he walked
that path of prayer. One of the great things, if we
are the people of God, is to have a daily walk with the Lord. Walk after the Spirit, ye shall
not fulfil the lusts of the flesh. Take my yoke upon you, learn
of me. I am meek and lowly in heart,
ye shall find rest unto your souls. If we're yoked together
with Christ, if we're walking with Christ, you know, right
through the Word of God, there's warnings about being unequally
yoked together. Be ye not unequally yoked together
with unbelievers. You think of before the flood,
the sons of God, Saul, the daughters of men. Not some fanciful interpretations
that you get. but basically those that were
God's people joining with those that were not. Descendants of
those that knew the Lord joining in with Cain and his descendants. And you see in the gospel church
the same warning, being not unequally owed together, you find in the
book of Ezra and Nehemiah where the children of The captivity
brought back, and then they're sinning in the same way, taking
strange wives, mingling the seed of God's people with those who
are not. Right through the word of God,
there's a warning of that. But when the Lord takes his people,
then they are joined with him. They're united with him. They
walk with him. And they have then that in common. They want to hear from each other.
The Lord wants to hear from his people and that is what he is
speaking here. Let me see thy countenance. In one sense, when we gather
for worship, the Lord is seeing our countenance. Not just a scattered
lot of people or joining on computer screens and calling that a church. No, it's a gathering together. In the Lord's name, forsake not
the assembling of yourselves together as the manner of some
is. What would the church be if all
she knew was just a scattered, never really met, the members
of it never saw each other, and the Lord never saw his people
in his assemblies? Of course, he does see his people
in their closets and on their own. But it's a blessed thing
when we come before the Lord in his courts. Let me see thy
countenance in that way, and let me hear thy voice. We think of, in Romans 10, with
the heart man believeth, with the mouth confession is made
unto salvation. And I know we can pray, Silently,
like we've already mentioned, that those next to us don't even
hear, they don't know, but the Lord does like to hear from His
people. And it is inseparably joined
with the profession of His people, that their heart believes and
the mouth makes confession. And the Lord likes to hear that,
He wants to hear. his people and to see his people's
countenance. Another aspect of this, let me
see thy countenance. We can have a cheerful countenance,
we can have a sad countenance. Our countenance often tells others
what we're really like. If we're sad, people think, well,
there's something that's troubling us. If we're happy, we're joyful,
we're laughing, then that shows perhaps a carefree attitude,
but maybe joyful and happy. Our countenance tells a lot of
what is going on inside. The Lord doesn't say, let me
see thy cheerful countenance. Let me see thy mournful sad countenance. He just says, let me see thy
countenance. If we have someone and they've
got their back to us and they're not looking at us and they're
not saying anything, we don't know what their countenance is
towards us. They could be scowling. They
could be really angry with us. They could be smiling to us.
Often this is the danger with texting or perhaps messaging
like that, you're not reading someone's face, you're not seeing
what they're doing. We might have a reproof given
us, or it might be something that is said in a light-hearted
manner and the smile gives away what that person's intention
is, that there's no malice, there's no hurt. It's said in kindness,
it's said in provoking us to do something in some way. We
can tell a tremendous lot by our countenance. And the Lord
looks upon the countenance of his people. You think how early
in the scripture that this is told, isn't it? With Abel and
Cain going to worship, and the Lord had respect unto Abel and
his offering, but unto Cain, He had not respect, and his countenance
fell. He was upset. He wasn't happy
that the Lord didn't like his offering. And the Lord said to
him, why is thy countenance sad? If thou do us well, shall thou
not be accepted? But Cain rose up against Abel
and slew him. And we see the effect of the
Lord actually saying, he's looking at Cain. And he can see what
his countenance is. You think of that. Things that
happen in our lives, things that people say to us, and the Lord
is looking at our countenance. And the Lord can tell what effect
that has had upon us. Satan can as well. Now if he
sets in temptations and tempts us and he sees our countenance
not troubled and just going along with it, he knows he's taken
us. If he sees our countenance troubled
and we go to the Lord and we pour out our hearts before the
Lord because we're sad and troubled by a sinful heart that wants
to go Satan's way, The Lord sees our countenance, Satan sees it
as well, and our countenance tells us a lot of what we're
feeling under that temptation. The Lord says, here, let me see
thy countenance. In other words, don't hide what
we feel. Don't hide that from the Lord. Maybe someone said something
to us, It's really upset us, and we don't want to turn around
and face them, because immediately we do, they'll read our face
like a book, and some of us, that's quite easy to do, and
we don't want them to see, so we just turn away. Well, the
Lord says, don't turn away. Let me see. Let me see your condition. Let me see what you're going
through. In one way, Job was so open. He said, O that I knew
where I might find him, that I might come even unto his seed. The sadness at his distance from
the Lord and not finding the Lord. He wasn't hiding it, it
was evident. It's good for us to be honest. If we haven't had visits from
the Lord, if we're far off, if we're low, if we're troubled
by sin, to be honest with the Lord when we Come before him
in prayer. Don't make out that we're what
we are not, but let him see our true countenance and let him
hear our voice in prayer and supplication. Let me see. Let me hear. The third thing is the encouragement
he gives to his church to do this. For sweet is thy voice,
and thy countenance is comely. You say the publican, when he
came before the Lord in the temple, and he could not even look at
the Lord, He beat upon his breast, God be merciful to me a sinner. And yet he went down to his house
justified rather than the other. You know, the Lord looked upon
his countenance, his sorrow for sin. He heard his prayer, his
pleading for mercy. And that's why he went down to
his house justified rather than the other. More as a countenance
of the Pharisee, and it wasn't sad, it was just full of his
own, what he had done and the things that he'd done. But we
can be perhaps like the publican and think, how can I come before
the Lord? So full of sin, so full of evil. He was standing afar off as well. Do we need encouragement? To
think that the Lord would want to hear from us, or to see us,
or to approach near unto him. Or do we feel so unworthy, so
unfit, so unlike his people? Now Ruth said to Boaz, though
I be not like one of thine handmaidens. She's really conscious of that.
Remember how conscious I was when I first came back to this
land with my Australian accent. and going into a service station
once, paying for fuel. And he just asked me what part
of Australia I came from. And the surprise on my face,
and I thought I'd got this great big sign written across me saying
Australia. And I said, how do you know where
I come from? He said, your accent. And it
made me so self-conscious. And then I thought, there's so
many accents in England, don't worry about it. But it is a thing
that, We give ourselves away sometimes, and we're afraid to
speak because of what we are. And you think of, sadly, with
Peter, when he was denying his Lord and Master, he was judged,
that thou art a Galilee, and thy speech betrayeth thee. And then he tried to change his
speech. And we never do that. try to
change our speech, try to make it, to imitate perhaps God's
people, or when we're offended at being God's people, to make
ourselves not like God's people. It's good to be just as we are,
not to approach the Lord in a familiar, irreverent way, but not to put
on a voice that is not us at all. We come before the Lord
reverently in prayer, but as we are. It's beautiful in the
word where the Lord recognises his people and says, it is my
people. When they are calling upon his
name, he recognises them. And the encouragement in this
verse, for the beloved, for the Lord to say to his church, to
sweep away what objections they might have, that their voice
is not right, is not good. He wouldn't want to hear my voice. And the Lord says again, thy
countenance is comely. see thee how they are, whether
it be like the publican, whether it be like those that are singing
hosanna to him that cometh in the name of the Lord as the Lord
comes into Jerusalem, whichever way it is, whether it is sad
or whether it is joyful, that the Lord might see that. And
he says, thy countenance is comely. What a thing it is that the Lord
draws his people. No man can come unto me except
the Father which sent me draw him. He that believeth shall not make
haste. Sinners, those whom God calls,
are the only ones that really know their true state, their
true condition, their sinnership, and what they are in the sight
of a holy God, And they need every encouragement, and God
gives them every encouragement, to come before him, to pray unto
him, to have fellowship, to have communion with him, and to assure
them that though they are sinners, yet he delights to hear from
them. In the previous chapter, I think
you'll find, yes, in verse five, I am black but comely, a daughter
of Jerusalem. And God's people feel their blackness,
their sinfulness, yet by the grace of God, comely, clothed
in his righteousness, fitted to stand before the Lord. Has the Lord given us encouragements? Perhaps encouragement through
the preaching, perhaps encouragement through his word, or through
his people. Maybe something that we have
said has touched a chord with another of the people of God,
and they've felt drawn, and you've been drawn to them, and they
to you. And that communion which is desired here is also between
the people of God, he that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that
receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. What it was said to
the Apostle Paul was, why persecutest thou me? But Paul was persecuting
the people of God, but he was touching the Lord in doing that. And so when he was converted,
immediately there's a union with the people of God. Well, it took
Barnabas to be a set one to recommend him to the apostles because they
were frightened, the disciples were frightened of him. But where
the Lord works, he not only draws his people to himself, he draws
them to his people as well. The Thessalonians, when they
were called, became followers of the Lord and of us. And that is the encouragement
here, let me see. Thy countenance let me hear thy
voice, for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely. All that the Lord does in his
people's lives, in his sign, is good. The work of God's grace
is good. In conviction, in drawing, in
teaching, instruction, it is good. The work of God is good. His spirit is good. The last
point then is the work of the church and her pastors in cleansing and delivering from
those things that are an enemy to communion. Take us, the foxes,
the little foxes, that spoil the vines, for our vines have
tender grains. You're speaking of fruitfulness.
and the vines bring forth fruit, but these foxes, they are things
likely to spoil that fruitfulness. And as these verses speak of
the Lord's care of his people and desire for communion, then
he deals with those things that are likely to separate that communion. Indulge sin. temptations from
Satan, worldliness, foolishness, those things that
might seem a little thing, and yet they put us completely out
of frame for following and seeking after the things of the Lord.
Those things that are carnal, Paul's very clear on this, to
be calmly minded is death. When he writes to the Philippians,
he deals with our thoughts, the things that we are to think upon,
that which is true, honest, lovely, a good report, virtue, and directs
us to those things that then the peace of God shall rule in
your hearts. And grieve not the Holy Spirit,
whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. The people
of God are to be mindful of those things that will separate and
make them to be unfruitful. Sometimes it can be as to bearing
a witness before the world. And I've known those times that
working, especially in secular employment, where being left
to a light trifling, worldly spirit and then something's come
up which I felt I should bear witness and be able to speak
soberly but I've been in such a wrong spirit that I just couldn't
switch and change over and speak seriously and those times you
remember because you put yourself in a position where you're unfit
for be able to be a witness of the Lord. And so those foxes
here are those things that take away fruitfulness, especially
in the context here, that will divide between the church and
the Lord, that will change so that they don't speak, don't
communion. Do we not know those things that
make us to be not wanting to read the Word of God, not wanting
to pray, not wanting to come out to the house of God. Perhaps
we might do so, but our heart is not in it. And we think, why
is that so? What is it I've looked at? What
is it I've heard? What is it I've indulged? What
spirit have I got into? And you might say, it's no great
thing. It's a little thing. Little fox,
cunning foxes, Not just one either, not take us the fox, but foxes. There'll be many things that
will try to undermine and take away the enjoyment of the people
of God and their God. With the Lord's care of his church,
the verse here doesn't say, take you the foxes, It doesn't say
I will take the foxes, it says take us the foxes and the people
of God. They are to be kept by the power
of God through faith unto salvation and faith cometh by hearing.
And that's one reason why we gather. We gather for worship,
we gather to be fed, feed my sheep, feed my lambs, but also
to be instructed and warned and that through the Word of God
we might be delivered from those things that separate between
our souls and the Lord. The Church of God is nourished
by the Lord through the Word, through the ministers, through
His care. The Church of God is given under
shepherds, the Lord is the shepherd, the chief shepherd, and he cares
for his sheep. And part of that care will be
to give his under shepherds the word in season, the warnings,
the directions, the helps for his people. And to this end,
that they be not separated, but be brought nigh and have fellowship
and communion. Waiting in heaven is that which
is pure with no little foxes. nothing to divide and completely
to see the Lord face to face. But here below, the Lord has
this care and this word for his church. And may the Lord bless
it to us this evening. Amen. Hymn, 911. Tune, Haverhill 343. 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.