I'd like to give you all a warm
welcome to our worship here this morning. The Lord be pleased
to be with us. Let us ask for his help in prayer. Let us pray. O Lord God of heaven
and of earth, we gather in thine earthly courts and seek thy blessing
upon our time of worship to make thyself known and felt with the
power attending the word and that thou has touch our hearts
Cause, Lord, that we might not go out as we come in, but that
we be bettered and strengthened through thy word, that thou wouldst
get to thy self-honour and glory as we seek to lift thee up on
the pole of the everlasting gospel and to praise thy name in singing. We ask, Lord, this mercy through
our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Hymn 1147, Tune Niagara 877. Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God from Psalms and Psalm 68. If you have one
of our free Bibles, that is page 576. Psalms are in the middle
of the Bible. Psalm 68. To the chief musician, a psalm
or song of David. Let God arise, let His enemies
be scattered, let them also that hate Him flee before Him. As smoke is driven away, so drive
them away. As wax meldeth before the fire,
so let the wicked perish at the presence of God. But let the
righteous be glad, Let them rejoice before God, yea, let them exceedingly
rejoice. Sing unto God, sing praises to
his name. Extol him that rideth upon the
heavens by his name Jah, and rejoice before him. A father
of the fatherless and a judge of the widows, is God in his
holy habitation. God setteth his solitary in families,
he bringeth out those which are bound with chains, but the rebellious
dwell in a dry land. O God, when thou wentest forth
before thy people, when thou didst march through the wilderness,
Selah, The earth shook, the heavens also dropped at the presence
of God. Even Sinai itself was moved at
the presence of God, the God of Israel. Thou, O God, didst
send a plentiful rain, whereby Thou didst confirm Thine inheritance
when it was weary. Thy congregation hath dwelt therein,
Thou, O God, hast prepared of thy goodness for the poor. The Lord gave the word, great
was the company of those that published in. Kings of armies
did flee apace, and she that tarried at home divided the spoil. Though ye have lain among the
pots, yet shall ye be as the wings of a dove covered with
silver. and her feathers with yellow
gold. When the Almighty scattered kings
in it, it was white as snow in Salmon. The hill of God is as
the hill of Bashan, and high hill as the hill of Bashan. Why leap ye, ye high hills? This is the hill which God desireth
to dwell in, Yea, the Lord will dwell in it forever. The chariots
of God are 20,000, even thousands of angels. The Lord is among
them as in Sinai, in the holy place. Thou hast ascended on
high. Thou hast led captivity captive. Thou hast received gifts for
men, yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might
dwell among them. Blessed be the Lord who daily
loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation, Selah. He that is our God is the God
of salvation. and unto God the Lord belong
the issues from death. But God shall wound the head
of his enemies and the hairy scalp of such an one as goeth
on still in his trespasses. The Lord said, I will bring again
from Bashan I will bring my people again from the depths of the
sea, that thy foot may be dipped in the blood of thine enemies,
and the tongue of thy dogs in the same. They have seen thy
goings, O God, even the goings of my God, my King, in the sanctuary. The singers went before, the
players on instruments followed after, Among them were the damsels
playing with timbrels. Bless ye God in the congregations,
even the Lord, from the fountain of Israel. There is little Benjamin
with their ruler, the princes of Judah and their council, the
princes of Zebulun and the princes of Naphtali. Thy God hath commanded
thy strength. Strengthen, O God, that which
thou hast wrought for us. Because of thy temple at Jerusalem
shall kings bring presents unto thee. Rebuke the company of spearmen,
the multitude of the bulls, with the calves of the people, till
every one submit himself with pieces of silver. Scatter thou
the people that delight in war. Princes shall come out of Egypt,
Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God. Sing unto
God, ye kingdoms of the earth, O sing praises unto the Lord,
Selah. To him that rideth upon the heavens
of heavens, which were of old, lo, he doth send out his voice,
and that a mighty voice, ascribe his strength unto God. His excellency
is over Israel, and his strength is in the clouds. O God, thou
art terrible out of thy holy places. The God of Israel is
he that giveth strength and power unto his people. Blessed be God. The Lord bless to us that reading
of his holy word, and help us in prayer. Let us pray. Thou merciful and long-suffering
God, we bow once more before Thee, pleading Thy precious name
of Thy beloved Son, our Lord and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. O Lord, do grant us that true
worship here below, that we might have some foretaste of that above,
that we might have those high and lifted up views of Thee. Lord, we read of the world, they
only seek to cast Him down from His excellency, but we would
that we might be constantly renewed As thou art lifted up on the
pole of the everlasting gospel to think great thoughts of our
great God, O Lord, do help us then today and lift us up above
this poor dying world. May we see thee upon the throne,
the throne, the eternal throne of God, the throne that is a
righteous, a holy throne. throne of mercy, O Lord, do grant
that we might see Thee as King of kings and Lord of lords, and
that we might see Thee in Thy beloved Son, God manifest in
the flesh. O Lord, may we see Thee also
in Thy works that Thou hast done, that Thou wouldst glorify Thyself
in that way that our poor finite minds can comprehend and to grasp
and be able to see by faith our eternal God. Lord do grant that
we might know that he is our refuge and that underneath are
the everlasting arms. O Lord we do pray thy blessing
upon thy word again that does make it effectual. Lord there
are sin sick souls that gather around thy throne and in thy
house. We need thy help, we need thy
gospel, we need, Lord, restoring to sweet fellowship and walk
with thee. We need that this old flesh might
be crucified, and we need that fresh fellowship union with thee
and with thy people. O Lord, we do seek that thou
art the life of thy people. The apostle says, when Christ,
who is our life, shall appear, do grant, Lord, that it might
be so. We know that in thee we live
and move and have our being. Lord, do grant that our souls
might be made alive, kept alive by thy word, by thy grace, invigorated,
strengthened and encouraged in the Lord our God. We thank Thee
for Thy Word that has foretold all things that are coming upon
the earth, that Thou art in control of the nations, that Thy will
is being done, and that we, in our day and in our generation,
are not to look back to, suppose, better former days, but to serve
Thee in our day and in our generation. Help us to be faithful witnesses. Help us to live as Thou hast
have us to live before those that are our own contemporaries. O Lord, do be pleased to sanctify
us and make us vessels unto honour, and not dishonour. but that we
might bear precious seed and thy precious word, help us to
live as thou hast have us to live, to show forth the praises
of him that called us out of nature's darkness and into thy
marvellous light. We pray that thou hast remembered
thy word, that all things shall work together for good to them
that love God, to them that are the called, according to thy
purpose. especially we think of those
in affliction at this time. Do you remember a dear Dutch
friend recovering from serious operation? Do you please to accept
of our thanks for many answers to prayer, bring her safely through. But Lord, we do pray for her
now, that those grant continued healing and that every need might
be supplied that thou hast helped her and visit her soul and bless
her in bodily strength and health again. Bless the medicines and
the attention she is receiving. And Lord, we do pray for a dear
husband as well. Do help him and be with him. And Lord, do be pleased to bless
this time to the many that have taken Interest, prayerful interest,
that there might be those that are brought to us, saving knowledge
of Thee through this time and through their knowledge of our
dear friend. O Lord, we do pray that Thou,
as Thou hast done in many times and in this land, used such occasions
for the calling of Thy people, strengthening of Thy people,
And O Lord, we do pray for this. To be with the assemblies of
thy people in Holland and in this land, be with us here and
bless us here, and be with our churches in Australia and in
Canada, in America, we do pray thy blessing upon each gathering. And O Lord, be pleased to strengthen
and send a real spiritual revival. in days when nations like ours
that once knew much blessing. Lord, we are a nation that are
lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God. And oh, how many
have no fear of God before their eyes and no desire for thy courts
or any felt need for their souls. Oh Lord, we do pray for help
to be a faithful witness and that they would send out thy
word again with divine power and authority. Hear, former prayers,
we know that there must be those that are living in our locality
here, whose parents, grandparents have prayed for them. And Lord,
we have those that inquire from time to time of their ancestry
who worshipped here. And Lord, we seek to point them
unto thee but how few there are continuing in the path that their
fathers trod. O Lord, do be pleased to remember
us and our children and grandchildren, and keep them, quicken them,
call them by grace. And Lord, may we see those better
days in Zion. We do seek, O Lord, that help
for thy aged people, be with them in the even tide of life.
and Lord do bless them. Help each of thy labouring servants,
we pray for those who have been in weakness and affliction and
those that are aged, do help them and strengthen them. We
commit unto thee the services of this week that we have entered
upon each gathering of thy people for the thanksgiving services,
do grant thy blessing on those gatherings. Now Lord, to see
that Thou hast made Thy word to be of a sweet savour. We thank
Thee for times when we have sat under Thy word, and just with
a few utterances of Thy dear servants, we have felt the savour,
the dew, the unction. And Lord, that is what we desire
from Thy hand, is only Thou canst give the word and make it a living
word. Lord, do meet the needs of Thy
people. Come where we are. And Lord,
do speak to our souls and may our ears be opened unto the gospel. Lord, do forgive our many sins. We are mindful of them and yet
we feel so often we don't feel sin as we should do. And Lord,
where we view, where we must change, where we should change,
we should repent. Lord, do grant us grace and help. Thou art exalted to give repentance
and remission of sins. unto Israel, and we seek that
help from thee. Lord, thou must give it. Lord,
we prove what a heart we have, and how tenacious is sin, and
how it cleaves so closely to us. Lord, do break those bands. Do set free thy people in bondage. Give them sweet liberty. And
Lord, do remember not against us former iniquities and sins. Let them not hold us back, but
may we be able to look for Thy mercy and Thy grace. Lord, if
Thou shouldst mark iniquity, we do pray that Thou wouldst
remember not the sins of our youth, and yea, further those
sins of our profession as well. We pray to be kept by Thy power,
to grant, Lord, that faith that rises up and the sword of the
Spirit that is the Word of God, and do save us when the enemy
comes in like a flood. Lord, save us and deliver us
from our besetting sins and from those weights that hinder us
and hold us down. O Lord, do remember us in mercy. And remember, Lord, the afflicted
ones, whether a body of mind that find then in their affliction
that it is hard to stay their mind on Thee or on Thy Word.
It wanders here and there, and Lord, at a time when they feel
they so want thy word and want thy blessing, yet because of
their affliction, they find it so hard to keep their mind where
they'd have it. Lord, but thou knowest each frame,
and thou knowest the need of thy people. Thou does not crush
underfoot thy afflicted ones. And Lord, we do pray that in
thy time and way, that thou hast break in and satisfy the souls
with thy goodness and mercy. O Lord, keep us alive in this
world. May our souls live and we praise
thee. Help us then in the ministry
now and throughout this day. We ask, Lord, that thou hast
give us those clear views of thy finished work on Calvary. what Thou hast done and what
Thou hast accomplished, that we might lead forth unto Thee,
and see in Thee all that our souls need and desire, is that
we might be like those on the Mount of Transfiguration. They saw no man but Jesus only. Lord, do grant that that might
be so, as we gather round Thy Word and gather in Thy house,
Bless us here in thy house, bless those that join with us online,
Lord, and those that shall hear thy word afterwards. Lord, may
thou get to thy self-honour and glory in blessing the word today. We ask thee these things through
our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. The announcements, if the Lord
will, I'm expected to preach here this evening at 6.30pm,
then on Thursday at 7 o'clock, and next Lord's Day at 11am and
6.30pm. Thanksgiving services are being
held at Matfield on Tuesday, that is 3.30 and 6.30, when Mr. Gerald Bass is expected to preach,
and 10 to 10 at 7 p.m., when I'm expected to preach at those
Thanksgiving services. They will be streamed audio to
our website here, God willing, at Cranbrook, and the Matfield
One to their own website. May the Lord's blessing be upon
those gatherings this week, Bibles distributed during September. The numbers were 31 through our
Bible boxes and 42 through the web offer bring a total to 73
Bibles that have been sent out with also the messages, the leaflets
have gone with them. You would see the Lord's blessing
continually on that word sent out. Hymn 1130, Tune Winchester New 439. Seeking for the help of the Lord,
I direct your prayerful attention to Psalm 68. And we read for
our text, verse 11. The Lord gave the word, great
was the company of those that published it. Psalm 68, a Psalm
or Song of David, and verse 11. This is a very precious psalm,
a psalm that speaks much of the Lord Jesus Christ. We would remember
that the Apostle in writing to the Ephesians, that he quotes
verse 18, Thou hast ascended on high, Thou hast led captivity
captive, Thou hast received gifts for men, yea, for the rebellious
also that the Lord God might dwell among them. And then the
precious word that is in verse 19 and 20. Blessed be the Lord
who daily loatheth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation,
seal the pause. And he that is our God is the
God of salvation. And unto God the Lord belong
the issues from. Death is a wonderful thing to
realize that our God is the God of salvation. And this word then,
it points to gospel days. It points to not just the word
that was given in these days or from the beginning of the
world, but especially in these gospel days, the Lord gave the
word, gave the gospel, gave his holy word, and great was the
company of those that published it, the ministers of the gospel,
especially proclaiming and setting forth the word of the Lord. On to look then this morning
with thinking of our great and giving God. Our great and giving
God. Firstly, the great giver. Secondly,
the great word that is given. And thirdly, the great company
that publish it. It's a good thing for us to always
be mindful of the hand that gives, whatever it is. Of course, the
context here is the Lord gave the word, but the Lord is a great
giver. If there is a great company of
those that publish it, we would look to this word and to the
giver of the word as a great giving God. James, he tells us
that every good and perfect gift cometh down from the Father of
lights, in whom is no variableness, nor shadow of turning. And in
Psalm 145, we read, Thou openest Thine hand, Thou dost satisfy
the desires of every living thing. It is the Lord that gives. We think of even in the Garden
of Eden, the Lord says to man that he has given them even of
every herb and every tree and everything good to eat. He has
given it unto man, even all things he has given to man. Really,
we have nothing that we do not have from the Lord. Everything
comes from the Lord. He has made the world. He has
created it. He's given it to man to enjoy,
to walk in it, the same as he did the Garden of Eden. And all of these things, the
Lord is the one that gives without money, Without price, everything
is given. And we need to be reminded of
this, that right from the beginning of the world, God gives and keeps
on giving. He is the one that has all fullness,
and that fullness is in the Lord Jesus Christ, who doth please
the Father that in him should all fullness dwell. That it is
that all the promises of God are yea and amen in Christ Jesus. And every blessing does come
to us through his precious blood. In the fall we have forfeited
everything. We are only under sentence of
death and the wrath of God. And whatever is then given is
given on mercy's ground. The Lord is good to all. His
tender mercies are over all his works. He is the saviour of all
men, especially of them that believe. And he is the saviour
because of those things that he gives. He does not withhold
it. We think of what would happen
If he did, we have reminders of it in local famines, in times
when the Lord doesn't give the rain, when he doesn't give in
its season those proper heat and cold and then the crops don't
grow and we don't have the gifts of food. We so need those things
that the Lord gives and we are to look to the giver, how easy
it is to overlook the giver and take the gift. We think of those
that took healing, those 10 lepers, and only one returned to give
glory to God, only one turned to the hand that gave. Where
are the nine? You know, this so often is the
case. We hope when the word is preached,
When the word is set forth, when sinners receive that word, are
blessed through that word, they return to the giver. They do
give God the glory and the honour due unto his name. And sometimes
it's nice too, when actually there's acknowledged what the
Lord has given here, those that are the means and publishing
of that word. But the main thing is that it
is God that gets the glory and the honor and that we recognize
Him as the giver. You know, we wouldn't stand at
the door when the postman came with a very lovely gift from
a friend and profusely thank the postman as if he had been
the one that had given us the gift. Yeah, he'd been the mains.
and he conveyed it to us, but it didn't cost him anything.
In fact, he was paid to do it. And so, in the same way, if the
Lord blesses and favours us, though we may acknowledge the
means of the gift being given, yet we look beyond that to the
giver, the one that is paid for, the one that is, out of his fullness,
freely to us. And so when we think of the Lord
as a giver, we think of the promises that he began to give to poor
fallen man, to sinners. He gave right in the Garden of
Eden, the promise of himself, the seed of the woman that should
bruise the serpent's head, all the promises that are given.
by God and bound up with those promises is what they speak about. And so with Abraham in Genesis
13, the Lord meets with him and says to him in chapter 13 verse
14, and look, look with the eyes northward, southward, eastward,
westward, all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give
it, and to thy seed forever." And, of course, when the blessing
is pronounced upon Abraham, to thee and to thy seed, Paul says,
that's not to seeds as of many, but to one which is Christ. And the blessings are through
the Lord Jesus Christ. We think of when the servant
was sent to get a wife for Isaac, and as he comes to the household
of Bethuel, of Laban, in Genesis 24, and verse 35, he says, I
am Abraham's servant, and the Lord hath blessed my master greatly
and he is become great. And he hath given him flocks
and herds and silver and gold and men's servants and maid's
servants and camels and asses. And Sarah, my master's wife,
bear a son to my master when she is old, and unto him hath
he given all that he hath." And you know, he's not pointing to
Abraham's wisdom, his cunning, his goodness, but that the Lord
has given Abraham all of these things. And it's good for us
to look at these passages that so clearly set forth the Lord
as such a great giver. We think of how the apostle speaks
to those at Mars Hill and introduces them to the unknown God, the
God that they did not know, and how He describes Him. And He
says of this God that made, in verse 24, that made the world
and all things therein, seeing that He is Lord of heaven and
earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands, neither is worshipped
with men's hands, as though He needed anything. seeing He giveth
to all life and breath and all things. How clearly it set forth
the Lord as the Great Giver, whether men like those here believed
it or understood it at all. Many, they have no idea where
their breath comes from, where their gifts, where their food
comes from, where their life comes from. But the Word is very
clear that we have a great giver. We think of what the gift of
God is set forth as eternal life. I give unto them eternal life. They shall never perish, neither
shall any man pluck them out of mine hands. Now if we know
this, then what a blessing if we come and we ask. The Lord is honoured and glorified
by a people who do not have, a people that have nothing to
pay with, and yet they come and ask Him. It's not only a matter
of giving praise to God in thanks, but I will be inquired of by
the House of Israel to do it for them. Ask and it shall be
given them. Knock and it shall be opened
unto thee. Seek and ye shall find. Those things are to be asked
for. We have the Lord's Prayer. Give
us this day our daily bread. The Lord there is teaching the
manner of prayer and it is coming to a great giver. One that is
honoured and glorified and is pleased to give to the people
of God. He says that beautiful word to
those that are weary, heavy laden, to come unto me, and I will give
you rest. The Lord giving not just material
things, but giving spiritual blessings, giving spiritual rest,
natural rest as well. We might be weary, we might not
be able to sleep, so he giveth to his beloved sleep. The Lord
does all of these things. He gives peace. If He gives peace,
who then can make trouble? We think of the Lord then as
a great giver, not just to confine to bread, but every spiritual
blessing, every comfort, every peace, every hope that we might
have of heaven, every conviction of sin, everything that we need,
the life of God that the Lord passes by when we're in our blood
and bids us live, he gives life, spiritual life. And so may we
be really encouraged and strengthened in this, that what is said of
the Lord here as this great giver is to sinners, he's not giving
to perfect people, he's not giving to those that can pay for it,
he's not giving to those that deserve it, he's giving to sinners,
helpless sinners, giving to those that really in themselves have
forfeited any right to anything from his hand. But the Lord is
good and the Lord is magnified in those things that he gives
to his people. Do we come this morning and there
are those things that we so need, those things that we so desire,
those things that we feel, well, we are in desperate need of.
May we look to this great giver and honour him in asking him,
even with a sigh, and a cry and a groan that the Lord would do
it for us, that he'd give us this thing, that he has power
to give, that he is honoured and glorified to give, that we
are helpless in. It is the Lord that is to be
magnified in this way, the great giver, who are able to look beyond
all the things that we have in our life and see the giver, whether
it be health or strength or wealth or loved ones or friends or a
wife or a husband or a church and brethren or a hope of heaven,
his word made precious to us. May we be able to see that we
have partaken of This great giver has come to us and we've received
these things from his hand. Now sometimes it may be we are
given gifts and we receive help and we don't know where it has
come from. It's given completely anonymously. In one sense, those who give
in that way are saying to those that they give to, We as the
means do not want to be acknowledged. We want you to give thanks to
the Lord who has given us the means to give and the heart to
give and the willingness to give. We want you to return and to
give thanks to the Lord who is the true giver above. And that is a good thing. You know, we might, if we know,
of course, who has given us things, it's right that we should give
them thanks. But we are to look to the Lord
who gives each one power to get wealth, who gives, as like dear
Job says, the Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away. And he
said, blessed is the name of the Lord. But the latter end
of Job, after all his affliction and sickness and trial, it was
better. The Lord knows what he's doing
with his people, sustaining them in their trials and in their
need, perhaps introducing them to gifts that they never needed
when they were healthy and strong, or never needed other times in
their lives. But now, the Lord has that which
answers the need of his people. What is your need? And what is
mine? And may there be included in
that those spiritual blessings, those things which shall never
perish. And when we're done with this
earth, we can truly say the Lord has given us of his store of
blessings. You know, when we come to John
17, there's so much in that beautiful prayer of our Lord that speaks
of giving and the power that he has to give and he would give
them eternal life, he's given them the word, he's given them
his truth and those blessings are all in the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, may we then go from the
Lord's house today with a fresh apprehension of our great giver,
our God, and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who opened his
hand, who gives freely, and gives that which is just suited to
our case and to our need. May he be precious to us in that
office as that great giver. I want to look then secondly
at the word that is given. Not only is he a great giver,
but there is a great word. that is given. The first word of the Lord that
we read in scripture is not one that was published, but one that
was spoken and that spoke the world and all things into existence. He spoke and it was done. He did not need any to proclaim
it or to go in between. But since the fall, the Lord
has always seen fit to still send forth his word. It's still
a great word, but it is a word that is to be published, and
we're to look at those that publish it in our third point. But on
this point, It is the great word that is given. So I want to look
at some of those great words that are set forth in the word
of God, because our text says the Lord gave the word. What word is this? It's obviously a word that is
to be published. It is to be conveyed to another. The Lord speaks it. And then
it is conveyed to others to hear that word. It doesn't diminish
anything by that it goes through that means. Well, we think of
the first promises, those promises at Eden, the promises that we
mentioned to Abraham. And those promises, the Lord
gave that word and later on, They were to be published and
of course they're part of our Bibles. The Holy Bible is the
inspired Word of God. It is God breathed. It is not
the Word of men. Not Paul, not Peter. No, it is
God that has spoken and breathed that Word. You know, the Apostle
Peter speaks of Paul's writings, and he says, wherein there are
some things that are hard to be understood, that they that
are unlearned and unstable, they rest or twist, as they also do
the other scriptures. In other words, Paul's writings
are the scriptures. And Peter is saying they're twisting
his writings, they're also twisting the other scriptures. So Peter
is clearly putting the seal upon Paul's writings as part of the
inspired word of God. It's vital for us to believe
that from Genesis to Revelation, that it is scripture. All scripture
is given by inspiration of God. that holy men of old spake as
they were moved by the Holy Spirit. To realize that this that is
spoken of in our text, the Lord gave the word, the word is the
word of God. We do not have any other revelation,
we do not have any other that we expect to hear from God and
to be conveyed in our day. This is not the days of the prophets,
it's not the days of the apostles. The command that is given to
us is to preach the word. And our text says the Lord gave
the word. We're not looking for any extra
words, any additional words. Those that heard the apostle
Paul preach at Berea, They searched the Scriptures daily whether
these things were so. He was preaching according to
the Scriptures, according to the Word of God. And so those
promises that were given, we have them, we may read them,
we can read how many of them have been fulfilled, many fulfilled
in the Lord Jesus Christ, many to be fulfilled in the hearts
and lives of the people of God. So it is the Word of God that
we have given by God. God breathe. May we truly be
thankful for it. Many of us have many copies in
our homes and we little think that going back several hundreds
of years, there was not a faithful translation in our own tongue
that we could rely on, we have that, we have a faithful translation. We bless those that are still
translating to other nations, like the Trinitarian Bible Society
seek to do, and others to bring the word in a nation's own tongue,
and so that they hear that word. But it is all coming from one
source. It is the Same word, and yet
translated. Some of us, when we are receiving
words from our friends in another nation, at least present time,
from Holland, and we're able to use things like Google Translate
to translate that word so we can read it and understand it
without That translation is just meaningless. It doesn't convey
anything at all to us. But as soon as we understand
it, as soon as it's in our own tongue, we don't say that it's
come from someone else. We don't ascribe it to the person
or the machine that translates it. We receive it from where
it comes from. And so with the Word of God,
we view it as the original, as given by God, and what we have
is a translation. We do not claim that the translators
were inspired. Some people do, but we do not
claim that, and those that are translating the scriptures today
do not claim that, but they do claim to ask for help from God,
receive help from God, and seek to very faithfully and carefully
to do that translation work. And in God's providence, when
we look back over the history, especially of our English Bible,
the providences that brought it and how it was to come about. And so we would be very, very
thankful that we have a word that we can hold in our hand,
have in our heart. David says, thy word hath I hid
in mine heart that I might not sin against thee. And we receive
this, this great word, unique among books, nothing like it,
nothing greater in this world. In fact, actually, even in a
natural way, there's more copies of the word of God distributed
or even sold in the world than any other book, or I believe
any other books put together. But it is a great blessing then
to have the Word of God that not only reveals about our God,
but about us, and the way of salvation, just what we have
in verse 20. He that is our God is the God
of salvation. And it is the word that conveys
that way the Lord has done what he has done, what he has finished
work at Calvary, his sufferings, his death, that word, the word
of the gospel. No, this is the word that is
so precious to A poor sinner that contained in this volume
is the good news of salvation for sinners. Peter, when he writes
his first epistle, the first chapter of it, he says, but the
word of the Lord endureth forever. It's the end of the first chapter.
And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you. And so he's pointing clearly
that this word is the good news of salvation. It is the gospel. Again, we would come back to
what we said concerning our great God. How much do we view the
Bible as a great word? The gospel, a wonderful message,
a vital message, a vital message to receive. Before we pass on
to those that proclaim, there's another aspect of the Lord giving
the word, and that is the word of direction. When the Lord appeared
to Moses in the wilderness and he says that the people would
not believe that God had sent him, he was clearly told what
to say, that I am, hath sent me. And so the Lord gives the
word, and he gives the word of direction, like later on when
they came out of Egypt and at the Red Sea, first it was to
stand still, and then it was the command, saying to the children
of Israel, that they go forward. And so when we read, the Lord
gave the word in those instances, it was a word of direction, what
Israel should do, a word of command. And we would include that in
this word, that thy word, that is the Bible, is a lamp unto
my feet, a light unto my path. We're to fashion our walk and
what we do according to the directions in the Word of God and where
there's not a specific direction to take the principles in the
Word of God as to how we should act and what we should do. And the Lord is pleased at times
to direct us to parts of the Word of God or to bring by the
Spirit the word to our remembrance or through the preaching of the
word as context here, and that word then is a direction to us. I remember one time in putting
a deposit or an offer in on a house, and I was asked to up that offer,
and it dropped into my mind quite clearly, he that believeth shall
not make haste, and I didn't proceed any further. and great
reason to be thankful for that. Another time tempted to, just
in a moment, to falsify some times on the timesheet, the word
dropped in so clearly that a poor man is better than a liar. And it's in those times when
it is the word of God that's brought to our remembrance by
the Spirit. He shall bring all things to
your remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you. And we view the
Lord has given that word in our time of need to hold us back,
deliver us from walking in a sinful way, and some other times to
direct us to go forward and what way that we should proceed. And we are to trace that by its
power that it comes, its suitability, its applicableness, and especially
It was an answer to our prayer that we trace that to the Lord
as the giver of that word. The Lord gave the word. Maybe this morning it needs to
be to one of you a seal when you've got the word and you think,
did the Lord give it or not? Was it really mine? Did it really
come from the Lord? Well, may this be the answer.
The Lord gave the word. I want to look then lastly at
the great company that published it. Now the text reads, the Lord
gave the word, great was the company of those that published
it. So in this greatness, not great
men, not great wise men, not like kings of the earth, but
as in a great multitude. We read in Hebrews 12 of a cloud
of witnesses, and really we have a cloud of witnesses that all
were used by God. We think of the prophets, we
think of David, Asaph in the Psalms, Moses, Hezekiah, all
of these were used. The Lord gave the word, and they
published it, they caused it to be known. I think of Jeremiah,
we think of all of the prophets. The Lord gave them that word
and they were the means used to cause it to be known and to
be proclaimed. And so in these gospel days,
it is principally the ministers of the gospel, preaching the
gospel, that's why we sung our middle hymn, asking for the Lord's
blessing to be upon the preached word. Because as we keep to the
word of God, he conveys through us his own word. And we are to publish or proclaim
that word, preach that word. Yes, sometimes in a way that
we would understand today, if you publish something, you make
a book, you print it, and you distribute it that way. And certainly
over the years where we have the Bible in that way, it's a
published book, and we can publish sermons, we can publish books
on scripture, topics, and the word of God. But especially it
is proclaiming it, publishing the word of God, preach the word,
instant, in season, and out of season. Go ye 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. And that is the aim, that is
the commission. It's good for us that preach
to be reminded of that sometimes. We're not commanded to go and
just speak about our own feelings or our own experience. We're
not commanded to do something other than proclaim the word
of the Lord. And when we preach, we are to
preach the experience of the word of God. The word of God
is a living word and it lives in the people of God and it has
an effect upon their lives. We are to have a ministry that
is not just hard and cold doctrine and word that has no application
to our lives. It is to be an experiential word,
but is not to be the foundation, is not our own thoughts and feelings,
but the word of the Lord. And so it is to be published. May we again count it a great
blessing, because wherever God sends his servants, and Jonah
knew this, if God sent him to Nineveh, to proclaim the word
of God and publish the words of Ninevites, then he knew that
the Lord would give them repentance and that he would not destroy
them like he said he would. There's a great blessing when
you discern that the Lord has given a minister, that he has
given a company, that he's publishing the word is a test also of whether
a servant is a true servant of God. Is the word of God truth
in his mouth? Is he bringing the word of the
Lord or is he bringing something else? Where is he pointing? Are we pointing solely to Christ,
the incarnate and the living word as the way of salvation? There is no other name given
among men whereby we must be saved. The Lord Jesus Christ,
God manifest in the flesh, came to this world for that purpose. He testified before Pilate, for
this cause came I into the world, to bear witness to the truth.
And at his crucifixion, again and again you have it was written,
it is written, the fulfilling of the scriptures, ye have taken
By wicked hands crucified and slain, who have they taken? He that was delivered by the
determinate counsel and full knowledge of God. The Lord Jesus
Christ is that Lamb of God that was spoken of right through the
Old Testament, that was to be offered up in place of His people
to be made sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made
the righteousness of God in Him. His offering is a substitutionary
offering. It is the way that sin is put
away. He put away the sins of his people,
and it is through the Word of God that we understand and know
that. And it is through the Word of
God that we ourselves are quickened into life, made alive, made to
realise our sinnership, made to know what the Lord has done
on Calvary. and brought to trust in that
sacrifice, the empty tomb, the Lord raised from the dead, giving
assurance that those sins have been put away and blotted out. It is in that way only that we
are to be saved, by faith in Christ, by faith in what he has
done, and to rest upon him. The Lord has given the word,
given his oath, and his promise, that souls that trust in him,
that look to him for salvation, shall not be confounded, they
shall be saved. With the heart man believes,
with the mouth confession is made unto salvation, that all
that call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. For may the Lord bless this word,
may we know the giver, of the Word, may we know the greatness
of the Word, the preciousness of the Word, and may we be able
to identify that great company that published it. The Lord gave
the Word. Great was the company of those
that published it. Amen. Hymn 53, Tune Samson 408. 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.