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 ask thy blessing and thy presence to be known
and felt this evening. Make it to be like the first
day of the week. Lord, the disciples were not
unmoved when that has come in the midst of them. them were
the disciples glad when they saw the Lord. We pray, Lord,
for those visits, those times under the preaching of the word,
that our hearts are moved when we are drawn to Thee, when it
is like those two on the way to Emmaus, whose heart burned
within them. So, Lord, who grant us Thy blessing,
help us to worship Thee in spirit and in truth. We ask through
thy name, Lord Jesus. Amen. Hymn 584, Tune. Daniel 459. Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God. The prophet Isaiah in chapter
63. I'd like to begin reading at verse
10 in chapter 62. Isaiah, to begin reading Isaiah 62 and
verse 10. If you're joining with one, Free
Bibles, that's page 700. Go through, go through the gates,
prepare ye the way of the people, cast up, cast up the highway,
gather out the stones, lift up a standard for the people, Behold,
the Lord hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye
to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh. Behold,
his reward is with him and his work before him. And they shall
call them the holy people, the redeemed of the Lord. And thou
shalt be called sought out. a city not forsaken. Who is this that cometh from
Edom, with thine garments from Bosra? This that is glorious
in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength. I that speak in righteousness,
mighty to save. Wherefore art thou red in thine
apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the wine-fat. I have trodden the wine-press
alone, and of the people there was none with me. For I will
tread them down in mine anger, and trample them in my fury,
and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will
stain all my raiment, for the day of vengeance is in mine heart,
and the year of my redeemed is come. And I looked, and there
was none to help, and I wondered that there was none to uphold. Therefore mine own arm brought
salvation unto me, and my fury it upheld me. and I will tread
down the people in mine anger and make them drunk in my fury
and I will bring down their strength to the earth. I will mention the lovingkindnesses
of the Lord and the praises of the Lord according to all that
the Lord hath bestowed on us and the great goodness toward
the house of Israel which he hath bestowed on them according
to his mercies and according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses. For he said, Surely they are
my people, children that will not lie. So he was their saviour. In all their affliction he was
afflicted. and the angel of his presence
saved them. In his love and in his pity he
redeemed them and he bared them and carried them all the days
of old. But they rebelled and vexed his
Holy Spirit. Therefore he was turned to be
their enemy and he fought against them. Then he remembered the
days of old Moses and his people, saying, Where is he that brought
them up out of the sea with the shepherd of his flock? Where
is he that put his Holy Spirit within him, that led them by the right hand
of Moses with his glorious arm, dividing the water before them,
to make himself an everlasting name, that led them through the
deep as a horse in the wilderness, that they should not stumble.
As a beast goeth down into the valley, the Spirit of the Lord
caused him to rest. So didst thou lead thy people
to make thyself a glorious name. Look down from heaven and behold
from the habitation of thy holiness and of thy glory. Where is thy
zeal and thy strength? The sounding of thy bells and
of thy mercies toward me, are they restrained? Doubtless thou
art our Father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel
acknowledge us not. Thou, O Lord, art our Father,
our Redeemer, Thy name is from everlasting. O Lord, why hast
thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart
from thy fear? Return for thy servants' sake
the tribes of thine inheritance. The people of thy holiness have
possessed it, but a little while our adversaries have trodden
down thy sanctuary. We are thine, thou never barest
rule over them, they were not called by thy name. Lord bless to us that reading
of his holy word and help us in prayer. Let us pray. O Lord God of heaven and of earth,
O Lord, we come before Thee, once more in Thine house, once
less. And we seek, Lord, that Thy blessing
might rest upon Thy Word and upon the hearts, the souls of
each gathered here and those that join online. O Lord, do
grant the blessing of the Lord that maketh rich and addeth no
sorrow within. Lord, we thank thee for a gospel
day, a day wherein the salvation of the Lord is proclaimed and
set forth, a day of grace, a day when mercy through thy precious
name and blood is to be proclaimed by thy authority even to the
end of the world, a day when thy finished work is remembered
in the churches and proclaimed from the pulpits. Lord, we thank
thee for thy work and for that seal that is set upon it every
time we gather, every time thy word is opened. Lord, for thou
hast promised that thou wilt be with us even unto the end
of the world. O Lord, do grant that as thy
word is proclaimed, as the gospel is set forth, that thy blessing
might be to quicken sinners into spiritual life and to grant liberty
to those that are bound and those that are captivated by sin, those
that are held by snares. Loose them and let them go. And
Lord, those that are heavy hearted, to be pleased to lift them up
and give them joy and gladness and sorrow and sighing to fly
away. O Lord, we do pray that thou
wouldst quicken souls into spiritual life. Lord, do bless each here
in this way. O Lord, leave us not in a careless,
fatalistic, prayerless, indifferent spirit, but do grant that we
might be able to discern where we are, what we are, the position
that thou wouldst find us if thou shouldst come even tonight,
and that we might know what way forward we should walk and how
we should act. O Lord, leave us not to drift
through life and never consider how we stand before Thee. O Lord, do grant us to be mindful
of who we are, what we are, where we are heading, what our state
before Thee is. And O Lord, do grant that we
might find in thy house and in thy word a living word, a word
that tries our ways, a word that teaches us, a word that brings
comfort, a word that brings direction and guidance, a word that reveals
the Lord Jesus Christ and all his suitability, his preciousness,
his loveliness. And Lord, that thou wouldst grant
a word that is suited to sinners, and those in affliction, tribulation,
trial, sickness, that thou hast grant that thy word might be
sent and all the healing that it brings imparted to a poor
soul. O Lord, we do thank thee for
Calvary, for what thou hast accomplished there. We thank thee for these
scriptures fulfilled and that thou who was to come has come
and thou hast done and accomplished what thou didst say thou wouldst
do. And your Lord, yet there still
remains that work of grace to be done. O Lord, do that work
in us. O Lord, rescue us, save us, deliver
us from every evil way, and make us a holy people, sanctified,
made for the Master's use. a prepared people for a prepared
place. Do bless each here then with
thy sovereign saving grace. O Lord, do be pleased to grant
life through thy word. We do pray, Lord, for those that
are afflicted at this time. We pray for those in hospital,
our dear friend in Holland. We pray that continued healing,
health and strength given again, we thank thee for many answers
to prayer, bring her safely through major operation. And we do thank
thee for this, to be with her, be with her, dear husband. And
Lord, we do commit them unto thee, and that all that hear
and know of her case, that they might be blessed through thy
word, as it is shared amongst their friends. Lord, to be pleased
to hear further prayer, for thy kind healing and strengthening
hand. We pray for other brethren that
walk through trials, those that are going through things this
week, that we would bear before thee, that they might be helped
and strengthened. We pray that thou wouldst be
pleased to help in the gatherings together of thy people this week,
whether it be the services of thy house or meetings. O Lord,
thou knowest all that is planned. We seek, Lord, thy blessing upon
each gathering in thy name this week. O Lord, we bless that already
attended to this day. Lord, thy word has already gone
forth here in Australia, yet to be in America, Canada. We seek thy blessing on our churches
there. Lord, we remember those that
gather as we do this evening and do bless thy word. and thy
servants that have long journeys to do, after they have ministered,
to bring them safely back unto their own homes. O Lord, we do
pray that thou would send forth more labourers into the harvest,
and do bless, Lord, their word. Bless that thy servant brought
to us on Thursday, and we seek, Lord, that each one that labours
in thy name might receive those signs following and thy blessing
upon the ministry. Lord, do be pleased to bless
us as a church and people and build us up and make us a blessing
here. We do seek, Lord, that thou hast
helped us and that thou hast blessed each copy of thy word
that is taken from the Bible boxes and that is requested and
sent out throughout this land. O Lord, do work, we pray Thee. And Lord, as we seek to advertise
our coming Thanksgiving services, may there be those that come
and hear Thy word. It may be for the first time
that we see, Lord, that there might be those that are brought
in as strangers and brought to be dear beloved brethren, or
it may be brought to come in here those that we've known for
many years, but not known as brethren, that thou hast begin
a work of grace in their hearts. We do pray to be forgiven and
pardon our many sins, and that thou hast give us a tender conscience,
a teachable spirit, a real hatred of sin, a love of holiness, and
that thy word might profit us, We might have faith mixed with
it when we read it, that those grant us to be kept from evil
and delivered from the wiles of the devil. And especially
as he comes in as an angel of light, and it seems to be a praiseworthy
thing to think or a way to act, And yet it is contrary to thy
word. Lord, we would remember that
Satan always will seek to contradict and put in an alternative to
thy word. Lord, we think of Israel of old
that still had worship. but it was to idols. Lord, we
think of today, there is still singing, but Lord, it is very
different to the sacred songs of Zion. Lord, we think of many
things that the devil has imitated, that which is lovely and pure
and holy, and defiled it and muddied it. Oh Lord, do save
us from that way. That seems right unto a man because
Something is good in it, but the end thereof is death. Lord, we pray for gracious discernment. Leave us not to run to one extreme
or another. Grant us to hold on our way. Help us, Lord, to walk in that
well-trodden path that our fathers have trod, in the church of God,
from Adam's day to this. Help us, make us to join that
long cloud of witnesses that show the same path to heaven. We thank Thee for every temporal
blessing and favour, Thy kindness and mercies, every answer to
prayer, every help that Thou hast given. We thank Thee for
these things. We pray for those in authority
over us. We pray especially that intended
laws to legalise in this land assisted suicide be overturned,
and that thou hast helped those to speak in Parliament against
this, and Lord, that thou hast granted that again, as was some
years ago, that it might be overthrown. O Lord, do preserve unto us our
liberties and freedom of religion, And we seek, Lord, that we might
not abuse that freedom that we have, but be able to speak freely
and clearly to those about us. Oh, Lord, help each of us that
are thy servants truly to speak what thou wouldst have us to
speak, and that thou wouldst grant us, like thou didst to
Jeremiah, to be taken away from the fear of man, and those bringeth
a snare. O Lord, help us then this evening
to grant unto us thy word graciously, bless it to us, send help to
every needy sinner, answer prayers put up before this service, work
in the children, the young people, we thank thee for them, and do
raise up a generation that shall know thee personally, that shall
tell to another generation by personal experience, the wonderful
works of God. We ask thee these things through
our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. The announcements, God willing,
I'm expected to preach here on Thursday at seven o'clock. and next Lord's Day at 11 a.m. and 6.30 p.m. Thanksgiving services
are being held this week at Matfield Chapel. Mr. Gerald Bass is expected
to preach at 3.30 and 6.30 and at Tenterton at seven o'clock
in the evening when I am expected to preach there. The service
there will be streamed live audio to our website here at Cranbrook. Also, the funeral of Miss Marianne
Pond is to be held, God willing, on Friday at two o'clock at Tenderton. And again, that will be streamed
to our website here at Cranbrook for those unable to gather. The
Bible was distributed during September. In the Bible boxes,
31 Bibles were taken, and the web offer, 42 Bibles were sent
out, making a total of 73 Bibles. We thank the Lord for that provision
and that opportunity to send forth his word. May the Lord
bless him to all who have received him. Hymn 992, Tune, Angels Hymn 281. Seeking for the help of the Lord,
I direct your prayerful attention to Isaiah 63 and verse 9. In all their affliction he was
afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them. In his love
and in his pity he redeemed them, and he bared them and carried
them all the days of old. Isaiah 63 and verse 9. a reference to the children of
Israel as they go through the wilderness, and all that they
went through, we read that they drank of that spiritual rock
that followed them, that rock was Christ, the Lord was with
his people throughout that journey, that pilgrimage journey, which
is typical of the path of the people of God through their life
here, from calling until they are gathered home, to glory. Now in this passage here, there
is a mixture, you might say, of prophecy, a bit like what
we find in Matthew chapter 24, where our Lord was shown the
stones of the temple and then told that there would come a
day that they would all be thrown down. And the disciples asked
Him what would be the sign of His coming and of the end of
the world. And throughout that chapter,
He gives a prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem, 70 AD, and also
of the end of the world and the things that shall happen, wars
and rumours of wars, until that shall take place. It's intermingled,
those two events, though so far apart, and yet the Lord puts
them together. And we have a similar situation
here. We cannot but miss the message
that is speaking in this chapter and the previous one of the coming
of our Lord in salvation. In verse 11 of chapter 62, Behold,
by salvation cometh, behold, his reward is with him, his work
before him. We have then in the opening verse,
there is he that cometh from Edom, with thine garments from
Bosra. And we're clearly told that it
is I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. It's speaking of the Lord Jesus
Christ coming and the salvation that he brought out at Calvary
that which he did alone that which he suffered alone and suffered
for his people but there are other verses here and it's intermingled
very closely that speak not of Calvary but of the Lord's wrath
against his enemies and that their blood sprinkled on his
garments that it is the day of vengeance is in mine heart the
day of my redeemed is come the end of the world when the lord
shall gather his people home his wrath upon his enemies and
you have then a Parallel passage, if you like, in Revelation chapter
19. And there we read in verse 13,
that he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood, and his name
is called the Word of God. And the armies which were in
heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen,
white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a
sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations, and
he shall rule them with a rod of iron, and he treadeth the
winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And so you have the same winepress,
the same wrath of God, And it is said of our Lord that those
that fall upon him shall be saved, but those upon whom he falls
shall be destroyed. He is really the one that stands
between the living and the dead. He is the one that the saved
of the Lord are brought to believe in and trust in, and who died
for his people, but also he is the one who shall judge the world,
or God shall judge the world by him, and it shall be the great
judgment thrown with the Lord upon him. And so what a mercy
if we are amongst those for whom Christ died and not of those
upon whom His wrath and anger and fury shall be poured out. But how quickly then it changes
after introducing in that chapter these two sides of the work of
our Lord. This is the day of grace, and
this is the time when the Lord says, I came not to destroy men's
lives but to save them. There's none other name given
among men whereby we might be saved. And we should always remember
that, that here below the message of salvation is in the Lord. There is hope while there is
life, But to die outside of Christ, we have such wrath that is stored
up. May it be our great concern that
we know the Lord here below in this way as is introduced in
verse 7. I will mention the loving-kindnesses
of the Lord, and the praises of the Lord, according to all
that the Lord hath bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward
the house of Israel which he hath bestowed on them according
to his mercies and according to the multitude of his lovingkindness. And it points to our Lord as
the saviour. He said, Surely they are my people,
children that will not lie. So he was their saviour. That
is by grace that he's made them honest and they confess their
sin and they are brought into need, felt need of mercy like
the publican, God be merciful to me a sinner and for them he
saves them. But the people of God are an
afflicted and poor people that they shall trust in the name
of the Lord. Many are the afflictions of the
righteous, but the Lord delivereth them out of them all. I want to look this evening at
how the Lord is set before us to save his people. The three points, the first one
is save them by his presence, and the angel of his presence
save them. The second, redeemed them in
love and pity. This is what the Lord has done
for them. And thirdly, he bared them and
carried them. But the introduction, the first
part of this verse, is really a beautiful statement. In all
their affliction, he was afflicted. that the Lord was not just a
bystander. He was not just one that looked
on, but he felt for their affliction and actually was with them bearing
their affliction. There is a picture of a shepherd,
not as today, but in the days of our Lord, that were with their
sheep. with them at night, with them
in winter, with them outside in the elements. And when the
snow came, it fell on the shepherd as much as the sheep. And when
the wolves came, when the adversaries came, the shepherd was in much
danger, as it were, as the sheep. Whatever happened to one happened
to the other. because of their presence and
because they were actually in the same place. And we have this
picture here, in all their affliction he was afflicted. We are told
as the qualifications of our great high priest, that he was
in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. He knoweth our frame, he remembereth
that we are but dust. Our Lord dwelt here below as
a real man. There are those in the past that
have sought to take away his divinity and say that he is only
but a mere man. But there are others that go
the other way and take away his humanity and take away the fact
that he was wearied at the well and everything that is not a
sinful infirmity, he endured, he felt that. The weariness and
the hunger, the thirst, the nights that he had out in prayer, the
dependence on prayer, dependence on faith, dependence on the spirit,
that he had the spirit without measure, But every blessing and
everything that his people need as they are here below, so he
humbled himself to be dependent on these things. It is highlighted
when he's spoken of the knowledge of the end of the world, that
no man knows when that shall be. No, not even the son, but
the father only. A willing, and is a mystery to
us how it can be, but a willing ignorance or not knowledge of
that. And the Lord spoke about that
which he was speaking in the world was what was given him
of his father. Whatsoever I have heard that
speak I unto you. And so the path that our Lord walked was a path
to be described like this, in all their affliction He was afflicted. May that be a help to us as we
go through sickness, afflictions, trials here below, that the Lord
knows, He understands, He knows by personal experience the path,
We might think of some of the things we go through and think,
how could the Lord know that? How could he? But we are assured
of this, that not just in some, but in all their affliction,
he was afflicted. You might think of it in another
way, and maybe your children won't fully appreciate it, but
as a parent, when you have a child that is sick, You feel that as,
I would say as much as the child, but your care, your viewing them,
your love to them makes you feel their pains and you feel what
they're going through. And even when you chastise them,
even if they are smacked, you feel that, even if you're not
using your hand, but if you're using your hand, you feel that
pain and the many times, or not many, but those times that when
our children were small and I chastised them, quite often they'd be crying
in one room and I'd go in the other room and I'd cry too, because
I felt it as well. And when we think of the Lord
with that, Jeremiah, he says, he doth not afflict willingly,
nor tread underfoot the sons of men. He feels that which he
needs to do for his people. The chastening, the correction,
all is needful. He doesn't just do things just
to injure, to hurt, and to wound his people. A parent would not
do that. The love of the parent means
that all that they do is only what is necessary so that they
are profited, strengthened, don't go on ways, forbidden ways, and
that there is profit from what they go through. So this first
part, this first introduction in this verse, is a lovely uniting
of the Saviour, of the Lord, with His people, and with His
people especially, in those things that are most trying, most painful,
their afflictions, in all their affliction He was afflicted. Well, let us look then at these
three points of how the Lord then saved His people. Firstly, we're told that He saved
them by His presence. and the angel of his presence
saved them. He gave that promise that he
would go before them right through their wilderness journey and
they had the fiery cloudy pillar to assure them of his presence. When they made the golden calf
then the Lord said that he would not himself go with them but
would send an angel before them and in that sense It was a created
angel, and the children of Israel, they mourned, they grieved at
that. They wanted the Lord to go before
them, and Moses says that, except thy presence go with me, carry
us not up hence. He desired the presence of the
Lord, he sought it, he obtained it, that the Lord himself would
be with them. We think of how it was with the
Hebrew children in the book of Daniel when Nebuchadnezzar threw
them into the burning fiery furnace because they would not bow down
to the image that he had set up. And then he was astonished,
he rose up, he said, did not we throw cast three into the
furnace? But I see four, and the form
of the fourth is like unto the Son of God. The Lord's presence
was with them in that fire. One of our hymns, Hymn 758, I
am with thee, Israel, passing through the fire. Beautiful lines,
and it's beautiful to remember those Hebrew children and the
Lord's presence with them. The effect, they had not even
the smell of fire. They weren't burned, they weren't
hurt in any way. Daniel in the lion's den, he
says that the Lord sent his angel and he shut the lion's mouth
to gain the Lord's presence with him in that great trial. The Lord, when he sent forth
the apostles, gave them the commission, To go into all the world, preach
the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized
shall be saved. He that believeth not shall be
damned. He added, and lo, I am with you
always, even unto the end of the world. And yet the Lord himself
was going away. I must needs go away. If I go
not away, the Holy Ghost shall not come unto you. The Lord,
by His Spirit, by the Holy Spirit, and by His grace, is with His
people. And so the presence is a blessed
thing. We mentioned about the parents,
what a difference it makes, especially to a young child, to have a parent
with them, a presence with them. Sometimes those things we do
first, whether it's first going to a university, or a first job
interview, or whatever it may be, to have a parent actually
with them makes such a difference, such an assurance, such a presence
of one that will take their part, takes away the fear. And so we
think also of being accepted in the Lord. We are sinners. We cannot stand in ourselves
before God. The Lord cannot look upon sin,
but without utter abhorrence. And the people of God are accepted
in the Lord. And we have a picture of this
in 2 Kings and chapter 3, where we have King Jehoram, king of
Israel, And he was fighting against Moab. He wanted Jehoshaphat,
godly king. Joram was a sinful king and ungodly
king, but he wanted Jehoshaphat to go with them. They go around
in the wilderness and they have no water. And Joram, he turns
around, he blames the Lord. He says that the Lord has brought
us out into the wilderness to kill us all. Now, off people
are like that. They will just go their own way
as long as everything goes all right. But if something goes
wrong, then they blame the Lord. But the rest of their lives,
they're not seeking the Lord. They don't obey him. They don't
fear him. But if something is wrong, then
it is always the Lord's fault. It is never theirs. Well, the... They asked then that there'd
be a prophet. And the Jehoshaphat said, is
there not here a prophet of the Lord that we may inquire of him? And they get Elisha. And Elisha,
when he is told about him, Jehoshaphat says, the word of the Lord is
with him. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat
and the king of Eden went down to him." And it's interesting
what Elisha says, says to the king of Israel. It's in verse
13 of 2 Kings 3. Elisha said unto the king of
Israel, what have I to do with thee? Get thee to the prophets
of thy father and to the prophets of thy mother. And the king of
Israel said unto him, Nay, for the Lord hath called these three
kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab. And Elisha
said, As the Lord of hosts liveth before whom I stand, surely were
it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah,
I would not look toward thee, nor see thee. Now I don't want
to portray the Father as an angry judge, as one that our Lord must
pacify or stand in between. But this account gives a real
picture of what it is to be accepted in the Lord and with the Lord's
presence with us. If the King of Israel was on
his own, Elisha would not have looked towards him at all. while
he was with godly Jehoshaphat, then he would, and he'd do for
him. This is why in all our prayers
we ask, for Christ's sake, we do not come and plead our own
name or own merits. Our hope of acceptance and answers
to prayer is for his name's sake, that God would regard his beloved
son and look upon us in him. And so in that sense, save by
his presence, a sinner with Christ, we think of him with Christ in
the vessel, I smile at the storm with his presence in the way. May that be our real desire.
May we be as urgent as what Moses was If thy presence go not with
me, carry us not up hence. A real desiring above everything
else, the felt presence of the Lord. When the Lord is present,
then the soul will live, he softens the hearts of his people, he
draws them out, he blesses the word to them. It is a presence
like those two on the way to Emmaus felt. Though they did
not know who that stranger was, yet as he spake and opened the
Scriptures to them, their heart burned with them by the way.
The presence like the disciples in the upper room, then were
the disciples glad when they saw the Lord. The presence of
the Lord is the secret presence of the Lord, hid in the secret
presence. It is part of that secret of
the Lord which is with them that fear Him. The disciples said,
how is it that they'll be with us and not with the world? How
is it the world cannot know thee? And the Lord said, the world
cannot see the Spirit. He cannot see me, but ye see
me, ye know me. That difference between the The
world that will testify, like a young lady said outside here
some years ago, you don't believe in God, do you? I said, most
certainly do. She said, why? You can't see
him. It's the first thing that she said is the reason why God
couldn't exist. So I said to her, pointing to
the phone in her hand, you can't see the signal to that either.
But you believe and understand that it's there. That led to
them being in here for an hour in the house of God. We spoke
to them the things of God. Still follow that time with our
prayers. But men, because they cannot
see God, they think he doesn't exist. Paul says that beyond
the grave that we shall know even as we are known. God is there, though we do not
see him. Elisha prayed concerning his
young man when all of the forces of Damascus were round about
the hill where they were. And he says, I'll ask master,
what shall we do? And Elisha said, there are more
with us than with him. It seemed so strange to that
young man. Well, there was a whole army
out there, and there was just the two of them. So then Elisha
prayed, Lord, open the young man's eyes. And then he saw the
mountain full of horses and chariots of fire, the Lord's host. I remember in Australia many
years ago, and a widow living, now she's now in glory, living
alone and quite away from other houses, quite remote, one of
the congregation at Geelong. And I said to her, I said, you're
only ever afraid living here on your own out here. She said,
I was once. But then she said, the Lord showed
me that about Elisha, and the chariots and horses of fire. And she said, I'm not afraid
anymore now. She believed that that was the
case with her. The Lord was with her, round
about her. And that's a blessed thing to
feel that, the Lord giving faith and to believe that thou God
seest me, his presence is with us. In her case, we could say
this, in her affliction of a widow, in her vulnerability, in her
need, she was saved from that fear and anxious care by the
presence of the Lord, known and felt in her soul. And the angel of his presence
saved them. How many The martyrs in the fires
knew what it was to have the Lord's with them and the Lord's
presence with them, known and found. We think of what is said
of the children of Israel going through the River of Jordan,
that the Ark of the Covenant that clearly set forth the Lord
was to be with them. It was to go into Jordan. It
was to stay in Jordan until they were all passed over. They began
seeing it afar off. But when they came to Jordan,
they were right nigh to it and saw it very, very clearly that
it would still have been covered with the veil of the temple.
They were seeing the shape of it, the presence of it. And they
all went safe over on dry land. Then it came up out of Jordan. Our Lord has passed through death. He's entered into death. He's
passed through the other side of him. And he says that I will
come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there
you shall be also. In other words, his presence
with his people, not just the other side of Jordan, but he
shall come for them. And we have a visible A picture
of that with Stephen when he was stoned, when he was dying.
Even before he died, he looked up and he saw and testified that
he saw the Lord standing at the right hand of the Father to receive
him. And so this is a blessed word
that is here, that the angel of his presence saved them. May we be able to say amen. It
has saved me, saved me from fear, saved me from despair, and will
save me. The Lord's presence, the Lord
is with me. I want to look then secondly at
what is said of their redemption. In his love and in his pity,
he redeemed them. Redeemed is set free by the payment
of a price. And what the Lord did at Calvary
was redemption. And it is particular redemption.
We are known as strict and particular Baptist churches. And the strict
applies to a restricted Lord's table, that those who are baptised
on profession of their faith, that they then sit at the Lord's
table. And churches that believe that
same order and hold to a restricted communion are welcome to join
with us here. The redemption, particular redemption,
that Christ did not die for every man, woman and child, but that
he laid down his life for the sheep as he said he did. I lay
down my life for the sheep. Then he said to those that were
round about him, that did not believe on him, that ye are not
of my sheep. Now very clearly a distinction. The redemption of the Lord is
a particular redemption. Right through the Proverbs and
other passages, we have a just weight and a just balance of
the Lord. When something is to be bought,
it must be a right weight that measures in, and the right payment
made. And that principle runs right
through the scriptures. Without the shedding of blood,
there is no remission. So there must be the shedding
of blood. There must be a redemption that
way, in Numbers 3. We are told of the redemption
of the children of Israel, the firstborn of Israel, those who
had been spared through the Passover that was perpetuated by them
being redeemed by the number of the Levites. So the firstborn
of the Israelites were counted, the Levites were counted, And
there had to be one for one. There was not enough. I think
there's some 273 more of the firstborn than there was of the
Levites. So they had to pay five shekels,
according to the sanctuary, to redeem each one. so that there
was a one-to-one redemption. They didn't say, well, it doesn't
matter, there's a slight mismatch there, that there's not enough
Levites to redeem the firstborn. No, it had to be exact. And so, right through the scriptures,
our Lord doesn't just give a potential redemption, he does a particular
redemption. There is love inscribed on it
for everyone for whom he died. And he died for their particular
sins. He laid down his life for those
that the Father had given him. Thine they were and thou gavest
them me. And this is a precious truth. It's not just a general love. that is just bestowed upon everyone
and just hope that some will accept and some believe and some
avail themselves of that redemption. No, the work that our Lord did
at Calvary was a sure and certain work. Ye have not chosen me but
I have chosen you and is chosen in him from the foundation of
the world. and the love that the Lord has
in this way of redeeming, it wasn't just redeeming them, it
was in his love, a particular love. Yea, I have loved thee
with an everlasting love, therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn
thee. And so that love was upon his
people that brought him to suffer, brought him to die. in his love
and in his pity he redeemed them. That particular love and particular
pity upon his people. The hymn writer says, he saw
me lost and ruined in the fall and loved me notwithstanding
all. His loving kindness, oh how great. And so it's a beautiful statement
here as to what the Lord did for them and of course This is
referring to the typical people of God, to Israel, how they were
brought out of Egypt and they were redeemed. The angel passing
over, the destroying angel. When I see the blood, I will
pass over you. We think of this passage here,
that there is salvation through blood. There's also the wrath
of God on those who are not in Christ. You think of that Passover
night. There were those that were safe,
sheltered. You might say they were sheltered
by the blood, but they were sheltered by the promise of the Lord. When
I see the blood, I will pass over you. Rahab, 40 years later,
wanted a true token, and the spies gave her the equivalent
of the blood. They told her to bind the scarlet
line in the window, and that was to be the sign. That part
of the wall did not fall down. God honored it. And she and her
house, all that sheltered there, were saved. And so the children
of Israel were redeemed out of Egypt. The lamb's blood was shed. It was up on the doorposts. And
where that was and where they sheltered, according to the promise,
their lives were spared, but all others, they died, they perished. How vital for us that we have
blood in our religion, that we're not like cane that brings something
else, some other religious offering, but we were like able. that saw
the need, the need of the blood sacrifice. His brother slew him in amnesty
because of it, but righteous Abel, he offered that which was
acceptable, that which clearly replicated or pointed to, symbolized
Christ's death and obviously as he had understood What God
had given should be the proper way of offering. We're reminded of it constantly. As often as a church, we meet
round the Lord's table. We show forth the Lord's death
till he come. Without the shedding of blood,
no remission. May we always remember that. We are redeemed people. Paul
says, you are bought with a price. Wherefore glorify God in your
body and in your spirit. which are His. His by choice,
His by giving by the Father, His by redemption, by purchase. To purchase people and it was
done in love and it was done in pity. The third thing is that He carried
them. These are those things that He
has done, the Lord has done. For his people, he carried them. He bared them and carried them
all the days of old. Young children, especially, or
those that are unwell, know what a wonderful thing it is to be
carried. Always remember When I was eight
and running along and banging two sticks together and fell
over and the sticks broke under me and one stick went right into
my knee. And I can still remember my father
coming and picking me up and carrying me back to the house
and then to the doctors. And it's not using your own strength. I wasn't able to walk myself. And it's so valued then. And the picture is a people that
is helpless, like a wounded child, like one that has no strength,
like one that needs to be carried and borne. Underneath are the
everlasting arms, the Lord bearing up his people, that they have
one to watch over them and keep them, and to lift them up, carry
them when they cannot go themselves. The little account that speaks
of the footprints, I think it is in the sand, that one looked
back and saw the two sets of footprints, but in the time that
they had most triumph, then there was only one set, and they couldn't
work out why was it the Lord was with them sometimes. And you could see the two sets
of footprints. But at other times, there was
only one. And the answer was that those
were the times that the Lord carried that they weren't left to walk
alone. He bore them up. It's a beautiful
picture. The scripture also speaks that
he bore them on eagle's wings and he brought them to himself. I, if I be lifted up above the
earth, will draw all men unto me. And the Lord lifts his people
up above this poor world, this wilderness world, and the Lord
is he that carries them over it. So they're not defiled by
him, they're not overcome by him, but they're supported by
him. We think of that day of great
wrath when God deluged the world and destroyed the world, But
the Lord had commanded Noah to make an ark. And he said to Noah,
come. Come thou into the ark. The Lord was there in the ark.
The ark is a beautiful type of Christ as well. But it was the
ark that carried Noah. It was the ark that bare the
waters lifting it up. It was the ark that bare the
waters deluging on it. a beautiful picture of this,
and carried them. The ark did indeed carry Noah
and all that was within that ark, born safely, born with the
Lord with them. Well, may this verse be a comfort,
a strength, a help to us. May we know something of the
Lord's presence, of his redemption and of him carrying us, especially
through those times when we have no strength or might of our own. And the Lord, in his love and
in his pity, he does for us what we cannot do for ourselves. In all their affliction, he was
afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them. In his love
and in his pity he redeemed them, and he bared them and carried
them all the days of old. The Lord at his blessing. Amen. Hymn 160, Tune, Belmont 101. 160, the tune is Belmont 101. 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.