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. O Lord God of heaven and of earth,
to be pleased to come and bless us this evening hour of worship.
Make us to truly view and see Thee through the words of Thy
people, those who have seen Thee and those who have believed in
Thee. O do grant us to join them in worship this evening. We ask
this through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Hymn, 1057. Tune, Hyfrydol 643 Let us read together from the Holy
Word of God. from the Gospel according to
Luke, chapter 2, and we will read from verse 21 through to
the end. We have one of our free Bibles,
that is page 945. The Gospel according to Luke,
chapter 2, and we are commencing reading at verse 21. And when eight days were accomplished
for the circumcising of the child, his name was called Jesus, which
was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb. And when the days of her purification
according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought
him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord. As it is written
in the law of the Lord, every male that openeth the womb shall
be called holy to the Lord, and to offer a sacrifice according
to that which is said in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtle
doves or two young pigeons. And behold, there was a man in
Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and the same man was just and
devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Ghost
was upon him. And it was revealed unto him
by the Holy Ghost that he should not see death before he had seen
the Lord's Christ. and he came by the Spirit into
the temple. And when the parents brought
in the child Jesus to do for him after the custom of the law,
then took he him up in his arms and blessed God and said, Lord,
now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace according to
thy word. For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
which thou hast prepared before the face of all people, to lighten
the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.' And Joseph
and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him. And Simeon blessed them, and
said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall
and rising again of many in Israel, and for a sign which shall be
spoken against. Yea, a sword shall pierce through
thine own soul also, that the thoughts of many hearts may be
revealed. And there was one Anna, a prophetess,
the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser, She was of a great
age and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity,
and she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which
departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings
and prayers night and day. And she coming in that instant
gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all
them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem. And when they had performed all
things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into
Galilee to their own city Nazareth. And the child grew and waxed
strong in spirit, filled with wisdom, and the grace of God
was upon him. Now his parents went to Jerusalem
every year at the Feast of the Passover. And when he was twelve
years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the Feast. And when they had fulfilled the
days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem. and Joseph and his mother knew
not of him. But they, supposing him to have
been in the company, went a day's journey, and they sought him
among their kinsfolk and acquaintance, and when they found him not,
they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. And it came to pass
that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in
the midst of the doctors, both hearing them and asking them
questions. And all that heard him were astonished
at his understanding and answers. And when they saw him, they were
amazed. And his mother said unto him,
Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? Behold, thy father and
I have sought thee sorrowing, And he said unto them, How is
it that ye sought me? Wist ye not that I must be about
my father's business? And they understood not the saying
which he spake unto them. And he went down with them, and
came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them. But his mother kept
all these sayings in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom
and stature, and in favour with God and man. Lord, bless to us
that reading of his holy word, and help us in prayer. Let us
pray. Our merciful, gracious, loving
Heavenly Father, We come to Thee through our Lord and Saviour,
Jesus Christ, whom we have read of. O Lord, do grant unto us
to have that eye of faith and that through Thy sacred word
we might come into those times when Thou wast upon this earth,
the things that were done and the things that were recorded. O Lord, do grant that as faith
cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God, do grant
that we might have faith join with what we have just heard
of thine inspired word. And Lord, do help us through
the ministry of thy word this evening, and bless that already
attended to this day. And do grant, Lord, that we might
know that the Son of God hath come, not just to this world
but to our hearts too and given us an understanding that we may
know him that is true and be found in him that is true. O Lord do bless us this evening
with the true spirit of worship and praise to our God and Lord
as we worship do bless our souls as each gathered here thou knowest
the felt need of those who seek Thee and wait upon Thee, Lord,
to come to them through Thy Word and bless their souls, to awaken
into real spiritual concern those that are yet without spiritual
life, to give it to them, to pass by them and bid them live. We know that all of us are born
into this world without spiritual life. and Lord thou art he that
doth pass by thy people and bid them live and give them spiritual
eyes and ears to hear thy word and a heart to perceive and realise
and understand what is said before us in thy word. I know Lord do
that for each of us here bless the children we thank thee for
them here and the young people do Grant, Lord, that they might
know Thee while they are young, and that Thou hast granted that
they might be able to tell another generation, yea, serve another
generation when we are gone. O Lord, do remember Thy promise
that it shall be the Father's to the children, and we have
seen it through the generations. And do grant, Lord, that we might
see that promise still unto you and your children, even as many
as the Lord thy God shall call. Lord, we thank thee for thy coming,
the fulfilment of all of the promises. We thank thee, Lord,
for the record of it and the purpose for which thou hast come. And Lord, we thank thee for the
gospel and that clear light of a gospel day. And Lord, we do
seek that we might walk according to that light, that no traditions
of men, traditions of denominations might cloud and mar the clear
testimony of thy holy word. Lord, that it might come unto
us unclouded, unsullied, pure from thy hand, not anything added
to it or anything subtracted from it. but just as it is on
thy sacred page. O Lord, who grant us to truly
hear thy voice through thy word. Thou hast said, my sheep, they
hear my voice, and follow me. We know that we do not hear an
audible voice, And though sometimes thy word is so clear to us, it
seems like it is an audible voice. And do grant, Lord, that we might
know thy voice and be able to discern what is the good shepherd
and what is not. Lord, do bless us then through
thy word and help us in our worship, and day by day, Lord, that we
might serve thee acceptably with reverence and with godly fear. To be pleased to bless us this
week we've entered upon when we would remember thy birth particularly
and thy coming. Bless each gathering of thy people
as they seek to honour and praise thy name. And O Lord, we do thank
thee that though we do not know the exact time or date, yet we
do know that thou hast come, and Lord, we do bless thee for
that. Lord, we thank thee for thy word,
that in those things that are so important, that it is very
clear to us. Thou do grant that we might not
be turned aside from thy truth by things that are hidden. Thou,
Lord, do grant unto us a revealed Christ, a revealed gospel, a
revealed interest in Christ, a revealed hope beyond the grave,
a revealed Saviour, O Lord, that we might see Thee by faith here
and then face to face in heaven above. We pray that Thou wouldst remember
us and bless us as a church and people, to build us up and strengthen
us. We thank Thee for answers to
prayer, and for those who have requested thy word, O Lord, to
be pleased to bless each that has it, and do hear prayer that
not only numbers might be asked, but that thy word might go to
thy people, those that thou wilt use it, and quicken souls into
life, and that we might be able to direct to places of worship,
and those that do, begin to regularly meet with Thy people, not only
be with them, not only be like them, but be Thy people. O Lord, we do pray for real conversions. We pray for that which will endure
the trials and tribulations and the test of grace, for Thou has
said that there shall be a trial of faith, that it shall be for
every one of thy people. And Lord, we pray that it might
be tested and found right before we come to a dying bed. O Lord, do grant us to prove
thy faithfulness, goodness, kindness, and love, and goodwill toward
us while we are passing through this world, and that we might
then be able to leave the world knowing who thou art, and knowing
that we have in heaven an advocate, a saviour, one whom we love and
who loves us. O Lord, do grant us then that
we might pass through this world, not as abusing it, but as using
it as thou hast bid us to do, redeeming the time, because the
days are evil. We pray that we might know and
love the Saviour, that we might be sanctified and made for the
Master's use, that Thou dost keep us from sin and evil, that
it do not grieve us, and that we might be given light to walk
in Thy way. Remember Thy promise that all
Thy children shall be taught of the Lord, and great shall
be the peace of Thy children. And Lord, that thou would instruct
us and teach us in the way which we should go. Do grant that to
be fulfilled with all here. And those that join with us online,
we commit them unto thee as well. And those that listen to the
services here, that Lord, we do pray thy blessing in whatever
country they join with us, to be pleased to bless them where
they are. And Lord, do grant that those
get to thyself honour and glory, as those that hear thy word believe
in thy name. Lord, do remember those walking
through fiery trials, those that have real difficulties in providence. Lord, be with their dear aged
friends and help them, who in the even tide of life may feel
trapped in positions, employments, Unable to sell property, Lord,
Thou knowest the difficulties and the trials. Do be pleased
to appear for them and to help them in their path. Remember
each of Thy servants, Lord, many are afflicted or have afflicted
loved ones, and we do commit them unto Thee. We pray that Thou would send
forth more labourers into the harvest and that their might
be those even now that have it laid upon their hearts, exercised,
burdened, watching, praying over, wondering what thou hast in store
for them. And Lord, do make that light
and that way clear before them. We do say, Lord, that thou hast
helped us then this evening, shine upon thy word, help us
to speak clearly, and who grant that Thou hast warmed our hearts
with Thy precious truth, forgive our many sins, to wash us in
Thy precious blood, grant unto us thankful hearts for every
blessing and every favour, and teach us how to pray and keep
us on praying ground, and grant that we might have communion
and fellowship with Thee and with Thy people. And Lord, where
there is travelling over these the next week or so when we have
loved ones come to us or we go to them to watch over each in
their journeys and we do ask then these mercies through our
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen. The announcements, God willing,
I'm expected to preach here on Thursday evening, that is Boxing
Day evening, at 7 o'clock, and Next Lord's Day at 11am and 6.30pm. Next Lord's Day being a Fifth
Lord's Day, we are taking a collection for the Christian Institute. We don't have a Christmas morning
service here at Cranbrook, But there are a number of churches
around us that do. East Peckham at 10 o'clock, I
think it might be advertised at 9.30, it is being held at
10. And Lambethurst at 9.30, and
other churches as well, if the Lord will. Hymn, 726. Tune, Wells 507. Seeking for the help of the Lord,
I direct your prayer for attention to Luke chapter 2, and we'll
read from our text, verses 29 through to 32. These are the words of Simeon. I want to look at Christ as seen
through Simeon's words. Verse 29, Lord, now lettest thou
thy servant depart in peace according to thy word. For mine eyes have
seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face
of all people, a light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of
thy people Israel. Luke 2 verses 29 to 32. The Word of God, especially in the
New Testament, comprises of many personal witness accounts first
hear of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, and then those
things that he did in his life, and later that which he accomplished
at Jerusalem. And we would remember, though
these are the words of Simeon, yet it is the inspired word of
God, and every word is to be received as pure and coming from
the Lord. We read of Simeon here that the
Holy Ghost was upon him, and even in a greater measure, we
know the whole scripture is God breathed, it is through the Holy
Ghost, but here it is so emphasized that this man, in his coming
into the temple at this very same time, that Joseph and Mary
bring in the Lord. And remember, there's no fanfare
here. There is no pre-knowledge of
who he is. He, Simeon, comes in by the Spirit
the same time as they bring in the child. It is only by the
Holy Spirit revealing who this child was that he's able to speak
these words. It is that which was revealed. It was revealed, verse 26, unto
him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death before he
had seen the Lord's Christ. And then he comes into the Spirit,
by the Spirit, at the same time as his parents. a meeting together,
one of those divine appointments of which we find many throughout
the Word of God. But it is particularly the words
that have chosen what Simeon testifies. Really, he might say
it's through his eyes, but it is through his words, what he
chooses to set forth concerning the Lord Jesus Christ as the
Babe here. I want to look at this in some
seven points of those verses that we've read and also a couple
of other verses where he speaks later on to Joseph and to Mary
particularly. The first in verse 28 is a reason
to bless God. Then took he him up in his arms
and blessed God. We have this morning of the 14th
verse, the benediction of the angels, glory to God in the highest. And we have a reflection here
that in seeing the Lord Jesus Christ as a babe, the first thing
that he does is to bless God. And we're always reminded of
this, the chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy him
forever. Although we do come into the
house of God as seekers, we want to be fed, we want to be instructed,
We want to be helped, we want to be strengthened through the
Word of God. Yet we come to worship. In heaven there is worship, but
souls there, they don't need what we need. They don't need
grace, they don't need faith to come by hearing. Everything
is clear, it is pure, they see everything. But here below we
do need these things, but we still gather for worship and
have a little foretaste, bowing before God and giving unto him
the glory due unto his name. When we think of the whole world,
all its population, all the multitudes that were here when we came down
to the chapel, through the crowds, the streets of Cranbrook here,
not to see the Lord, not to praise Him, but to watch lit up tractors
go through the town. And we see the general population
have no room for the Lord. They do not worship or praise
the Lord at all. And it's a great privilege, a
great blessing to be amongst those that are called to do so,
that see a reason to do what Simeon did here to bless God,
to bless God for the provision of his beloved Son, our Lord
and Saviour Jesus Christ. In his temple every one does
speak of his glory. By nature he is a root out of
dry ground, there's no form nor comeliness that we should desire
him. Who is the Lord that I should
serve him? We will not have this man to
reign over me." There's no reverence, there's no fear of God before
their eyes. In the assemblies of the people
of God, God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the
saints to be had in reverence of all them about him. And the employment is a blessing
and of praising God. We need to remember this because
Satan will be like he does with the world, only consult to cast
him down from his excellency. In the Garden of Eden, God has
said and given his law and Satan comes and he says, hath God said? And he undermines, he said, no,
the whole reason why God has forbidden this is because He
doesn't want you to know good and evil. There's an ulterior
wrong motive. Beware of this. Satan will never
lead us to Christ, to God. He'll always lead us away. He'll
always be like Bunyan portrayed. When his legions, Satan's legions,
were seeking to take the city of Mansoul, they felt the best
way was to send thousands of doubters against the city. And we need to remember that. When we have those doubts that
come in, how often they are fuelled by Satan, the same way as what
our Lord was tempted. If thou art the Son of God, if
thou art the Son of God, if you are a child of God, if the Lord
has begun with you, if you are elect, if you are one of his
chosen, if you have really received that word from the Lord, and
all the time undermining it. Now, as Light warned about in
the Proverbs, there's one coming to buy something, and he says,
it is not, it's not. just rubbishes it, pulls it to
pieces, gets it for a lower price and he goes away and he boasts
how much he's got it for a good price. And the devil, he'll minimise
and then he goes away and he boasts that he's robbed one of
God's children of their peace and of the blessing that they've
had and he's brought them to doubt what the Lord has given
for them. We are not ignorant of his devices. He goes about as a roaring lion,
seeking whom he may devour. He also is an angel of light. But always it will be to separate
between God and his people, to undermine what God has given,
to question the word of God and question the work within. And
so to come to this position here, Simeon, He blesses God, and may
our desire be that we are brought into a position where we are
able to bless God, that we are able to give him the praise due
to his name. And I would say this as well,
you know, Simeon didn't say, well, I believe this is the Messiah,
But I want to see him put away sin first. I want to see the
sacrifice. He didn't. He was not to see
that. He was to see the Lord's Christ. It's like when the children
of Israel had Moses come to them. They believed God had sent him.
And they rejoiced and they thanked God. They were still in bondage.
They were still in Egypt. And it was going to be through
many trials before they were brought out. But they're still
blessed. And it's good for us to be instant
when we have faith, when we are able to believe, to be instant
in blessing without that thought, let's prove it first. Or let's
see what further is on. Because often like the children
of Israel in Egypt, Soon, they were in so much trouble with
their taskmasters making it harder that they wouldn't even listen
to the encouragements that were being given. And yet, was it
right that they blessed God first? Yes, it was. And it was right
that Simeon should bless God here at this time. It was right
for us when the Lord is pleased to do for us like he did with
Simeon. In Simeon's case, the Holy Spirit
brought him in and he is brought to see in that babe who he was,
to take him up in his arms. And it was a cause of blessing. It might not be the same thing
with us, but answers to prayer or see one aspect of our Lord
See, something that we've had not had before. The thing is,
the Lord always revealed to his brethren, his disciples, his
people, the things of God, with the parables even. In a way,
the disciples could have blessed God for every parable they heard,
because he said to them, to you it is given to know the mysteries
of the kingdom of God, of heaven, but to them, It is not given. And whenever we have one little
mystery, one little thing opened, one precious truth, one light
shine upon a little verse, then to bless God for it, for that
light. So in Simeon's words here, may
we also find a reason to bless God. His reason. was able to believe this baby,
this was the Christ, this was the one that had been promised. The second thing I bring before
you is in verse 29. Christ seen in the fulfilling
of the word of God, Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart
in peace according to thy word. The Lord had spoken to him and
now that word was fulfilled. Many times through scripture
the Lord has spoken to his people and given them an expectation
through the word of God. How many of you here Has the
Lord given you a verse, a text, and it's part of your prayers?
And you take it and you pray it. You remind the Lord of it.
You remind Him of a particular hearing time, an encouragement
under the Word, a promise that you believe the Lord has given
you, putting the Lord in remembrance of it. Well, here, Simeon is
able to speak of the Word being fulfilled, and of course he could
look back not just to the Word to himself, that he should see
the Lord's Christ before he died, but to look right back to the
first promise in the Garden of Eden, the seed of the woman that
should bruise the serpent's head. He could look back to all of
the prophecies right through, and of course at the Crucifixion,
it's emphasized that the Scriptures might be fulfilled. But in this
account as well, where he was to be born, what happened when
Herod slew the young children, in another account is given,
many aspects of his birth were fulfilled. They were fulfilling
of Scripture. Israel were forsaken of both
their kings. There was no king over Judah
nor of Israel, just as was foretold would be the case when our Lord
came. And so a reason, a reason here
to bless God, but what Simeon saw in this event and saw in
the Lord Jesus Christ, a fulfilling, the Word of God. May we notice
it also in our own souls, in our experience. The Word of God
speaks about what He will do with His people, how they will
receive the Word, how they will respond to that Word. And many
of us have been in that position, we've looked at the people of
God, and an empathy, we've had a godly jealousy, we wanted to
be like them. And maybe we've heard them just
like Simeon, heard them speak, heard them speak of what they
have seen in Christ. And then as time has gone on,
the Lord has one thing after another, given us those same
things. But for a while we haven't recognized
it. We haven't realised that actually
we've been walking that path of his people. He's been given
us the mark of his sheep, but we can't see it and don't really
realise it. It's a blessed thing sometimes
to have a passage like this and say, well, if Simeon was a child
of God and he saw these things, and I've seen these things, then
the Lord has blessed me in the same way as Him. And it may be
others in the Scriptures, or others of the Lord's people,
and you realise that you've been given a portion of God's children. You've been blessed like they
have been blessed. You've seen what they have seen.
You've felt what they have felt. You've experienced what they
have experienced. That's why we try to preach the
experience of the truth. So there is not just the letter
of the Word, but it's put into the very lives of the people
of God. We walk out the Word that we
preach, we live that Word out. And so here is a fulfilling of
the Word. And it's a better thing to look
back over our pathway to many instances where the Word of God
has been fulfilled in what He has done for us, and what he
has given us is an expectation he would do for us. The third
thing is our salvation seen. In verse 30 he says, For mine
eyes have seen thy salvation. Now we know that we living in
our day, our natural eyes, we will not see the Lord Jesus Christ. We shall in heaven, we shall
see him as he is. But here below it is seen by
faith, and faith cometh by hearing. So we are seeing through word
pictures. We have a word picture here.
The words that are chosen, they show us a scene. And no doubt
many of us have parts of scripture where we can picture in our mind's
eye. We picture maybe the crucifixion
scene. We picture this scene. And what
is seen or what we are picturing is based upon the scriptures. Very sad thing that the many
children's books, especially picture books, And the pictures
that are drawn do not depict what is there scripturally. They
give a false representation of the scripture. But God has designed
that his book, his inspired book, does not contain drawing pictures,
but word pictures. And may we see and have spiritual
eyes that see through the word of God. Open, says the psalmist,
mine eyes, that I might behold wondrous things out of thy law. And he's not seeing any pictures,
but he's beholding these things that are in the word of God,
in the law, in the gospel, in the testimonies of God. And dear
Simeon, he says here, mine eyes have seen Thy salvation. Now, you might say, well, I believe
my eyes have seen God's salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ, and
I believe that it is through Him that there is saving, and
only through His name. But how do I know that He is
my salvation? How do I know that He is my Savior. And again, it must be according
to the Word. We've already mentioned about
how the Lord reveals to His people those that are His people. In John 10, my sheep, they hear
my voice. The Lord is telling clearly who
His are by what they hear, what they see, what is revealed to
them. Dear Thomas, he'd heard from
the others what they had seen of a risen Savior, but he couldn't
believe himself until he had seen. He said he wanted to thrust
his hand into his side, fingers into his print of the nails,
but all that vanished as soon as he saw the Lord. But we do
need to have that which we realize we personally not only know of
the Savior, know of his salvation, but that it is for us. And really it is known in this,
in how it is revealed to us, how it is shown to us, to know
that the Lord only shows these things. It's like Manoah and
his wife, because they had seen an angel, then Manoah thought,
we shall surely die. But his wife, she said no. He
would not have told us such things as this. He would not have shown
us these things if He meant to kill us. And that is a good thing
to remember in a principle, biblical principle for His people. If
He means to crush and destroy and pass by people and not bless
them, He would never show them His Christ. He would never show
them the precious truths. He wouldn't tempt them. He wouldn't
say, here is a gospel, but it's not for you. Here's a wonderful
remedy, but it's not for you. Would we do that to someone that
had got some illness, that we had a surgeon that could heal
and say, we're going to show you this surgeon, but it's not
for you. You can't have this cure, this healing. where the Lord will bring a sinner
to be convicted like he did with the Apostle Paul. Sin revived
and I died. Commandment came. Then he'll
lead on to Christ, who shall deliver me from this body of
death. I thank God through Jesus Christ. The remedy is seen and
faith given to embrace that remedy. Mine eyes have seen thy salvation. And there's no doubt with thee,
O Simeon, it was his salvation. It was his Lord, his Saviour. You say, does it really say that? Right through here? Does it say
it was his Saviour? It doesn't specifically, does
it? Only what he should see, and doesn't that point us also towards
what the Lord reveals to us, what the Lord shows us? We might
be wanting to really be assured by the word of the Lord that
we are the Lord's, that our sins are put away. And instead the
Lord shows us himself, shows us the gospel, shows us his salvation,
shows us the things that Simeon is speaking of here. So our salvation's
seen. Then we have in verse 31, that
which is prepared for all people, which thou has prepared before
the face of all people. That is not just the Jews, but
the Gentiles also. The salvation of the Lord is
not something that is done on the spur of the moment, or that
which is just something that is of a day, it is prepared. We have John the Baptist going
before, we have the lamb slain from the foundation of the world,
the promises of God, the preparations of the ceremonial law, the preparations
of the law of God at Mount Sinai. All of those things, it is a
prepared gospel of salvation, ordered in all things and sure. So much so prepared that when
the Lord sends forth his disciples, his apostles, he directs them
where to go and what to say. Time, place, message, the people
that they go to, is all prepared. When our Lord goes under Zacchaeus'
hill, a tree, there he is prepared to receive the Lord. When the
Lord goes to the well of Samaria, there is the woman prepared to
receive the word. The Lord has prepared those that
when he was crucified, would take him down from the cross
and lay in their own tomb. All of the things that God needs
are there for him. He prepares the way for his people. He's going to bring a flood upon
the earth. So 120 years before he mourns
Noah, and by faith he prepares an ark to the saving of his house,
and he's a preacher of righteousness. And then the flood comes. Without
there being the preparings, too late when the flood is coming
to prepare the ark, there needs to be that preparing before. And in all the Lord's works,
this is one of those marks of His work. There is a preparing.
We're used to that. If we're going to build a house,
before ever perhaps the land is is clear, people might pass
by a vacant piece of land and don't realize that actually there's
plans that have been drawn up and there's things that have
been passed in local council giving permission. And there's
been a lot of work done before ever the workmen first come on
the site. And then when they come, everything's
prepared. I walked the other day. past
where they're building the houses out the back here. And they'd
unloaded lots of steel portions from a lorry for all the structures
of the home. Great big steel beams with bits
of steel all sticking off and brought me back to my days in
engineering when I designed those type of things. But I can also
picture for that to be there on the ground There's a lot of
preparation, a lot of drawings, a lot of planning. You think
of the building of the temple, there was no hammering there,
Solomon's Temple. Everything fitted exactly. Every stone had had a number
on it, a drawing, a size, a place where it was to go. And it was
all done, all those things that were cast in the clay pits, and
then they had to be transported right up that hill to the Temple
Mount. You think of the Brazen Sea,
and the diameter of that, nearly the diameter of this chapel,
and seven or so feet high. Great one piece of brass, and
brought up that way. Everything, though, had to be
prepared. And we're used to that. But dear Simeon, he says when
he views this babe, and he sees the Lord, thou hast prepared
before the face of all people. This is the salvation for every
nation, kindred, and tongue. This is God's work, God's ordering,
God's plan, God's purposes, and Simeon sees that. And it's a
good thing for us to see one aspect of the Lord's work, and
especially where it is done for us personally, and realise that
there is much that's gone on before that. Sometimes we can
be helped to realise it, maybe in the way, if we've been blessed
under say the ministry, we've gone to a chap and we think we're
going to hear a certain minister, he's taken ill, another one's
come, and because he's come, and the text that he has is just
suited to him coming perhaps at short notice, and that word
has been really blessed to us. And we understand that the only
way we could have been blessed through that word and that text
was for one servant to be laid aside and another put in his
place, And you can see a train of events, and then there might
have been a train of events in how we were born to hear that
word as well. And so in a little way, you have
the blessing and the help you've had, and you can see how that
has come to pass. And there's some of us, we can
look back years in our lives, and just one thing, Joseph, he
could have looked back and think of the man that found him wandering
in the field, and that man had overheard where his brothers
said that they were going to take the flocks, and that man
had met him. And if that hadn't have happened,
none of the account of Joseph going into Egypt would have happened.
Joseph would have returned back to his father. My life's minutest
circumstance is subject to thine eye. You see in that? the preparations
of God. We read in the Proverbs, the
preparation of the heart of man and the answer of the tongue
is from the Lord. It doesn't just happen, it's
from the Lord. And Simeon, he sees this babe,
he sees Christ as prepared before the face of all people. And then we have in verse 32,
a light. A light to lighten the Gentiles
and the glory of thy people Israel. Really an enlargement of the
previous verse. Jew and Gentiles as well, but
he speaks as a light. And how applicable that is. And the Gentiles, great darkness. You think of the darkness when
Paul was at Athens, and they were worshipping all manner of
gods. They had altars for this and
that, and one for the unknown God. He whom thou dost ignorantly
worship, I declare unto you. And he begins with the creation,
God that made heaven and earth and all that in them is. And
he points to them, to that light, to the light out of darkness. Our Lord, when he began his ministry,
he says that he came as a light into the world. And he says,
they that will not come, they that love darkness rather than
light, they will not come, lest their deeds should be made known. And the Lord Jesus Christ came,
and in his ministry, the light that he shone on the law of God. He says, I came not to destroy
the law, but to fulfill. And he extended it. He magnified
the law to thoughts and intents of the heart as well. Thou shalt
not kill whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause.
He hath committed murder in his heart already. Thou shalt not
commit adultery. Whosoever looketh upon a woman
to lust after her in his heart have committed adultery already,
and he magnifies that law. The Lord Jesus Christ then is
a light, and shed that light on the Gentiles to show the folly,
emptiness of idolatry, and all the darkness that they had been
walking in, and the glory of thy people Israel. The Gospel was first to begin
with the children of Israel. They were the nation through
which the Lord Jesus Christ should come. The history of Israel is
given in detail in the Word of God, proving what Peter said,
we have not followed cunningly devised fables. And in these
Gospels, in Luke, It goes back from our Lord, right through
the generations, through to Adam and to God. In Matthew, it goes
from Abraham, right through three sets of 14 generations, 14 from
Abraham to David, David to the carrying away of the children
of Israel into Babylon, and then from Babylon to Christ, 14 generations. all ordered, aligned straight
to Christ, and pointing to his kingship. And so the glory of
the children of Israel, it is through that nation, and much
is spoken in the word of God about the Lord's ancient people,
and that one day they shall be grafted in again, that darkness
at one time over the people of God, but in the Lord's time,
then they shall be brought to see that we don't believe we
have yet seen, but to watch the glory of thy people Israel. Then we have in verse 34, Simeon
is blessing Mary. Simeon blessed them, Joseph and
Mary, said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for
the fall and rising again of many in Israel, and for a sign
which shall be spoken against. What the child is set for? The
Lord Jesus Christ, as a babe here, there is that which would
be accomplished and that which would be done in his life. But
what is spoken of here is what shall be done in individuals. Timune is an individual, an individual
believer and one that has been blessed here, but now he's speaking
of men, women and children throughout Israel And how he sets it, what
this child is set for, is before the rising, the fall. We think
of the ordinance of baptism, buried with him by baptism into
death, risen again in newness of life. Job, he says in his
afflictions, it is God that casteth down, not man. The first thing,
where one is to be blessed is also to be lost, to be brought
in as a sinner. The Lord Jesus Christ was made
sin for us who knew no sin, and the people of God are to know
themselves as sinners. The Lord Jesus Christ was given
the name of Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. But when we come into this world,
we don't feel we're sinners, and we don't see our need. The
Lord is not desired by us at all. But this again is a blessed
mark of what this precious Jesus, our Lord, is set for again and
again through time and through history, every one of his chosen
people. So we're brought as guilty sinners,
brought their knee to the Saviour, but not just left there. It doesn't
say, Behold, this child is set for the fall and destruction.
No, the fall and rising again, not of all Israel, but many. Those that are the Lord's, those
that are his people, those are true spiritual Israel, and for
a sign which shall be spoken against. How many? has spoken
against our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. I have given them
thy word and the world hath hated them. The dear man that hath
been born blind, why herein is a marvellous thing. He know not
from whence he is and yet he hath opened mine eyes. They said thou wast altogether
born in sin and dost thou teach us and they cast Him out. Simeon speaks this of what the
Lord is set for. And may our hearts, as we read
such a verse as this, so may I be amongst them, amongst those
that are dealt with like that, brought in as sinners and brought
then to be lifted up, raised up to a hope in the Lord Jesus
Christ, to see him, to believe on him, to trust in him, to look
to him, to realise that what the Lord has done is just what's
been prophesied here. And then he speaks in verse 35,
our seventh point, personally to Mary, Mary not thee, sinless
virgin that the Roman Catholics would set her forth as, But a
sinner needing a saviour, yea, a sword shall pierce through
thy own soul also, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed."
And just this point, the revealer of hearts. And you think of how
the Lord dealt with the woman at the well of Samaria. She said,
I perceive that thou art a prophet. Why? Because he had told her
all things that ever I did. What did she know of the Christ?
When he has come, he shall tell us all things. And he had. In his ministry, the Lord opened
up to many what was in the heart of man. It wasn't a beautiful
picture at all. May we remember that. This is what is foretold of this
bay of our Lord Jesus Christ. If we are his people, It will
be like in Ezekiel, turn again, son of man, thou shalt see greater
abominations than these. Salvation is of grace. So our
works supposedly are all burnt up. Our righteousness is as filthy
rags. The apostle Paul once trusted
in his, but now he counted them, but dumb and drossed, that he
may win Christ and be found in him. And so when the Lord deals
in the heart, He deals in that way of a discern of the thoughts
and intents of the heart. It pierces into the soul. It's
not just a superficial thing. It's something that affects that
person day and night, in their employments and all that they
do. It's not just a compartment thing for the time of worship.
The Apostle says, by the grace of God I am what I am. He's changed his whole life. A new creature in Christ. All things passed away, all things
become new. And where there is that work
in the heart, with the heart man believeth, and with the mouth
confession is made unto salvation. And here is dear Simeon. He's speaking, he's speaking
about what he has seen, what he has been through, the blessing
that he sees in the Lord Jesus Christ. On the sacred page is
set before us these things, and may we know something of them,
be able to join with him and have something to say concerning
the Lord Jesus Christ, to lift him up on the pole, of the everlasting
gospel to say, come and hear all ye that fear God, I'll tell
what he had done for my soul and what the Lord Jesus Christ
is to me. What is he to us? Simeon, there is no doubt of
what the Lord was to him. He knew by faith that that babe
one day would suffer and bleed and die. He knew that those Old
Testament sacrifices, they pointed to the need of one that should
be made in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, and should
suffer in the place of his people. It is in this what the Lord was
to do, and that he said to Pilate, for this cause came I into the
world. And Simeon would have known and
believed and trusted. This was the end that was in
view. We read with Mary twice in this
chapter that those things that were said first by the shepherds,
now she has it with Simeon. Then she had what was said by
her own son when he was 12. And she had what Anna had said.
And she kept these things, these sayings in her heart. But she
was going to have to keep them there for quite a while, wasn't
she? Until he was 33, and then to
view at the cross, him suffering, bleeding, dying, putting away
sin, and then rising again. You know, sometimes many of the
people of God have things that they cannot yet decide. Was it
the Lord's word? Was it his work? The things that
we have, like Mary, and ponder in our heart, we keep them. We
don't cast them away. I remember with my dear mother
on her dying bed, and she'd had a blessing when she was 19. She never said what it was, but
that she had, and she would never let it go. And when she was earnestly
seeking the Lord, and seeking food, for the blessing to be
able to die. She had death before her. I remember
saying to her once, Mum, do you think it's because you keep holding
on to this, what you had years ago, that the Lord won't bless
you? If you let go of that, the Lord
will bless you. And she said with such feeling,
if I let go of that, I would lose everything. It was that
one word that was her hope. that the Lord had begun, the
Lord would bless her. And if the Lord has given you
a word that's raised up even a small hope in your soul, that
you are the Lord's... Don't let it go. Don't let it
go. Be like Mary and ponder it and
keep it. Keep it in your heart and wait.
Wait until the Lord confirms it, strengthens it, visits again. You know, with dear Samuel, when
he first heard the word of the Lord, we read, the Lord appeared
to Samuel again by the word of the Lord. And he does, he will
visit his people again. Well, may the Lord bless this
word through Simeon, and bless it to you, bless it to me, a
testimony of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen. Hymn, 191. Tune, Orlington 203 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.