I'd like to give you all a warm
welcome to our worship here this evening. May the Lord be pleased
to help us and help us now in prayer. Let's just pray. Lord
God of heaven and of earth, we pray for thy presence to be known
and felt here this evening. Thou has granted us a true spirit
of worship and make this evening to be like that first day of
the week. that the disciples were glad
when they saw the Lord. Lord, may we see thee through
thy word preached and also in the ordinance of thy house. Oh
Lord, do be pleased to bless us with thy spirit's aid and
help, both in a spiritual way to open up thy word and also
for physical strength of utterance as well. And Lord, as we seek
thy blessing here, We pray for each assembly of thy people and
each of thy servants at labour this evening. We ask through
thy name, Lord Jesus. Amen. Hymn 398. Tune St. Bernard 219 Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God, the Gospel according to Matthew and chapter
26. And we'll read from verse 36
through to 67. If you have one of our free Bibles,
joining online or in the chapel, that is page 915, 915 in the
Ruby Bible. Matthew 26, and commencing reading
at verse 36. Then cometh Jesus with them unto
a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Set
ye here, while I go and pray yonder. And he took with him
Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and
very heavy. Then saith he unto them, My soul
is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death, tarry ye here and
watch with me. And he went a little further,
and fell on his face and prayed, saying, O my father, if it be
possible, Let this cup pass from me, nevertheless not as I will,
but as thou wilt. And he cometh unto the disciples,
and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What could
ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter
not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing,
but the flesh is weak. And he went away again the second
time, and prayed, saying, O my father, if this cup may not pass
away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. And he came and found them asleep
again, for their eyes were heavy. And he left them and went away
again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. Then cometh he to his disciples,
and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest. Behold, the hour is at hand,
and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise,
let us be going. Behold, he is at hand that doth
betray me. And while he yet spake, lo, Judas,
one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude, with
swords and staves, and the chief priests and elders of the people. Now he that betrayed him gave
them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he. hold him fast. And forthwith
he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, Master, and kissed him. And Jesus said unto him, Friend,
wherefore art thou come? Then came they, and laid hands
on Jesus, and took him. And behold, one of them, which
were with Jesus, stretched out his hand, and drew his sword,
and struck a servant of the high priest, and smote off his ear. Then said Jesus unto him, Put
up again thy sword into his place, for all they that take the sword
shall perish with the sword. Thinkest thou that I cannot now
pray to my Father, and He shall presently give me more than twelve
legions of angels? But how then shall the Scriptures
be fulfilled that thus it must be? In that same hour said Jesus
to the multitudes, Are ye come out as against a thief? with
swords and staves for to take me. I was daily with you teaching
in the temple and he laid no hold on me. But all this was
done that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook
him and fled. and they that had laid hold on
Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high priest where the scribes
and the elders were assembled. But Peter followed him afar off
unto the high priest's palace and went in and sat with the
servants to see the end. Now the chief priests and elders
and all the council sought false witness against Jesus to put
him to death, but found none. Yea, though many false witnesses
came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses,
and said this fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of
God, and to build it in three days. And the high priest arose
and said unto him, Answerest thou nothing? What is it which
these witness against thee? But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered
and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou
tellest whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus saith unto
him, Thou hast said. Nevertheless, I say unto you,
Hereafter shall ye see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand
of power and coming in the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest
rent his clothes, saying, He has spoken blasphemy, What further
need have we of witnesses? Behold, now ye have heard his
blasphemy. What think ye? They answered
and said he is guilty of death. Then did they spit in his face,
and buffeted him, and others smote him. with the palms of
their hands, saying, prophesy unto us, thou Christ, who is
he that smote thee. Thus far, the reading of God's
holy word. May he bless it to us and help
us in prayer. Let us pray. O Thou loving and gracious Heavenly
Father, we seek, Lord, to bow before Thee through Thy beloved
Son. Lord, we plead that name which
is above every name, and we seek, Lord, that as we gather in Thy
house and as Thy name is set forth, it might be as ointment
poured forth, and that thy word might be fulfilled, that I, if
I be lifted up above the earth, would draw all men unto me. Lord, we read of those on the
way to Emmaus, and as thou didst set before them thyself in all
the Scriptures, the suffering Saviour, how their heart burned
within them as one. Lord, we do seek that we might
have the same effect as we read of Thy sufferings and of Thy
work that Thou has accomplished at Calvary, that we might be
drawn to Thee, and that in that drawing we might have a sweet
token that Thou has been made precious unto us. And it is that
Thy work is upon us and Thy hand is upon us. Lord, we know that
by nature that in Thee there is no form nor comeliness that
we should desire Thee. Lord, do impress upon those who
may be in doubt of Thy salvation or their interest in it that
they might know clearly that No good thing towards Thee can
ever be found in a natural, uncalled heart. O Lord, we seek that it
might be so, even like it was with Jeroboam's son. There is
some good thing found in him toward the Lord God of Israel. And Lord, we know that if there
is, Anything found in a poor sinner that is to be termed good,
it must come from Thee. Every good and perfect gift cometh
from Thee, Father of lights, in whom is no variableness nor
shadow of turning. Do grant us grace and help to
trace back to the source of every blessing and all things that
are wrought in us. Do deliver us also from the adversary
and from our own wicked heart, and may we be given discernment
to know the fruits of the adversary and our own evil heart. O Lord,
do grant unto us an appetite for thy word this evening, lest
that already attended to this day You bless the ministry of
each of thy servants. Remember those that minister
tonight and those that journey tonight, and Lord, watch over
and keep them. We seek thy blessing upon the
ministry and conference at Salisbury this weekend. Lord, may thy help
be given to thy servant ministering there Lord do help also the open
day at the end of the week for the seminary. We do commit unto
thee the students and their teachers. May thy blessing be upon them,
thy blessing on thy servant with us this evening. And Lord that
thou be pleased to send forth more labourers into the harvest
and to strengthen the churches through faithful ministers of
the gospel. We do say Lord that those remember
us here this evening and each soul may each soul be precious
in thy sight. To be pleased to work a work
of grace where it is not yet begun and where it is Lord where
there is a concern, where there is a knowledge of themselves
that wasn't there before. Lord to be pleased to lead on
to full conversion for a full assurance of interest in thee. O Lord, we plead thy word that
he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it unto the
day of Jesus Christ. O Lord, we do thank thee for
thy word, for a faithful translation in our own tongue, and for the
liberty and freedom of being able to read it and proclaim
it in our land. We confess our sins as a nation
and, Lord, individually as part of it. And, Lord, that Thou has
granted us still the mercy of having the gospel preached in
this land. We pray that Thou has remember
us as a church and people and build us up and strengthen us
here. You bless those round about us
in this town, the Arsai blessing upon the Bibles that are taken
from the Bible boxes and those that are given more widely throughout
the UK. Lord, may there be many that
are called by thy grace. Bless the day they ever requested
or picked up a copy of thy holy word. You bless each church represented
this evening. and do they be pleased to bless
the ministry thus far this day. We pray that they remember our
churches in Australia, America, Canada, and to remember our dear
brethren, those that are in Holland especially. We pray for those
in affliction. We pray for those who have serious
operations this week. We pray that Thou hast bring
dear sister in faith safely through the operation planned. We do commit her unto Thee, and
Lord, we commit the outcome unto Thee, and seek Thy grace and
help for her. Do remember us likewise in a
very small, different way, but Lord, we look to Thee for that. help in the unknown way. O Lord,
we know that none of us know what is before us in the way
and how quickly tidings can be given us of things that are much
more serious than we thought them to be. We do seek then to
be prepared for all thy righteous will and to have a gracious response
to those things that Thou art pleased to bring us into. Lord, we need Thy grace. We need Thy support. We need
Thy help. We confess our dependence upon
Thee. We confess, Lord, that we have
in ourselves no good thing and no strength or help. Lord, Thou
hast said without me can do nothing. Lord, do remember those that
feel this very painfully. to be with thy people in tribulation
and in the valley of the shadow of death and help and support
them. May they feel that underneath
are the everlasting arms. We ask then as we begin this
week that thou hast grant thy presence to be known and felt
in a special way throughout it and where there are journeys
to be undertaken to give strength for them and thy watchful care. O Lord, we do pray now that thou
hast opened thy word to us. Grant us, Lord, that we might
be able rightly to discern thy sufferings and what thou hast
gone through. We would remember that thou hast
said, for this cause came I into the world. And O Lord, we thank
thee for the Lamb of God, Thou that was to come and has
come and will come again with power and great glory, O Lord,
who grant us truly to know Thee, to love Thee, to worship Thee,
to be bound up with Thee in the bundle of life. O Lord, do bless
us then, and send that help from the sanctuary. Help thy tried,
tempted, and afflicted people, and be with those who know not
which way to take. Guide and direct them, teach
them thy way. And Lord, above all, do be with
us in the way. O Lord, forsake us not. We confess our many sins, our
sins of omission, of sins of commission, Sends a thought,
word, and deed. If thou, Lord, should mark iniquity,
we could not stand. Oh, wash and cleanse us, renew
the spirit of our minds. Grant us, Lord, to live holy,
godly, upright lives, to hate sin and to love righteousness,
and to use the means of grace in a right way. Lord, deliver
us from trusting in ourselves. that, Lord, you grant that thou
wouldst lift up a standard against the adversary when he comes in
like a flood. Remember thy promise in that
respect, and save us when we have no might nor power, nor
even know what to do. Grant us Jehoshaphat's blessings. So now, Lord, we ask thee these
things through our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen. The announcements, God willing,
on Thursday evening, Mr. William Arrowsmith is expected
to preach here at seven o'clock. And if the board will, I'm expected
to preach here next Lord's Day at 11 a.m. and 6.30 p.m. The collections for the cause
taken during September amounted to 809 pounds and 20 pence, For the free Bible fund, £248.50. And last Lord's Day, fifth Lord's
Day for Savannah Education Trust, £97.65. The Lord bless you in
your giving. I hope to give out the number
of Bibles distributed when we know the number next Lord's Day. May the Lord bless each copy. Hymn 397, Tune Pentonville 488 Seeking for the help of the Lord,
I direct your prayerful attention to Matthew chapter 26 and reading
for our text verse 44, specifically the last words. which we read
saying the same words. The whole text reads, and he
left them and went away again and prayed the third time, saying
the same words. Matthew 26 verse 44. This most
sacred, this most solemn time, was when our Lord Jesus Christ
in the Garden of Gethsemane, a place where he had often resorted
and no doubt often prayed with his dear disciples, was to be
the place and the scene where God the Father laid on him the
sins of all his dear people. Well, may we wonder when he was
pressed down, when he was so amazed, when he was in such agony
as we read he had laid on him the iniquity of us all. The vital first thing before
he ever went to judgment, before he went to Calvary, was that
he was able to bear the sins of his people. And if we have
known anything of bearing our own sin and what it is to be
as a weight and burden upon us, we will realize how vital that
our Lord was able to bear that weight. There's been many that
have had things come into their lives Mentally, physically, they
were not able to bear it. Our Lord is spoken of in the
Prophets as a nail that is in a sure place. And if we wanted
to hang something upon a nail, we would make sure we wouldn't
just put it in a plaster wall. We would want to put it in something
very solid And we'd also want to make sure that that nail was
driven in firmly and was strong enough to put whatever we were
designing to hang upon it. And before we hang anything precious
on it, we'd test it, we'd pull it, we'd make sure that it could
bear the weight. And our Lord is spoken of as
that nail in a sure place. And he was to have hung on him
all the sins of his people, and the prophets is spoken of as
those vessels of small quantity and vessels of large quantity,
and then those that were hung upon it, that they should be
cut off and full, and it was to be he, Messiah, should be
cut off. And those sins, those burdens,
those sins that were laid upon him, the sins of his people,
should then be cut off. But first he must bear them.
First he must carry them to the judgment hall to stand before
Pilate. And though Pilate could not see
the sin, he could not see what he was bearing and wondered why
the Lord was silent, why he did not say anything. Well, there
may be times that we may be falsely accused and say nothing because
inwardly we might say to that person, Well, what you're accusing
me of is totally wrong, but if you really knew me, you'd have
a lot, lot more to say about me. And if Pilate could see what
the Lord was bearing, he may have said much different, but
he couldn't see that. He could only see a man that
he said had done nothing amiss, nothing worthy of death. but the Lord knew for whom he
stood and what burdens that he was bearing. Very often with
us, we do not really, we do not know what is before us. We're
walking out a path. We do not know the end from the
beginning. But we would remember here that
as our Lord is praying and as he is asking that if it be possible
that this cart may pass away from me, Except I drink it, thy
will be done. He is knowing fully what was
entailed in that cup. His people's sin and the hiding
of Father's face, the physical sufferings and agonies, how easy
it is to overlook and think, well, he was God, he wouldn't
have felt the sufferings, he wouldn't have felt. them all
forsaking him and fleeing from him. He wouldn't have felt the
pain the same as us. He did. He was a real man. And those things he felt in his
body and in his soul, they were as real and more real than what
we feel them to be. May we never listen to Satan
when he minimizes the sufferings of our Lord and Savior, Jesus
Christ. And so when he is asking this
and we might say well if we knew that something was really appointed
for us, if we were persuaded that it was the will of God,
would we keep praying that if it be possible that this thing
be taken away from us? Would we not think, well, if
we really did believe, we would not pray like that. But our Lord
did pray like that. And it's set before us in the
reality of what was before him and the very feelings that he
was going through. Don't judge as to whether you
have got grace and help from the Lord. by your wanting to
pray, if it be possible this cup be removed, or that the Lord
would intervene in some way. There is a real submission here,
but our Lord knew the necessity of going through what he was
going through, and yet still he was praying in this way. I
believe very much to emphasize the reality of the sufferings,
the depth of the sufferings, and those things that were before
him as a man, a real man, the God-man, and the greatness of
the weight of his people's sins. A sacred yet very important time
when those sins were imputed to him. On the other side, And
for every believer that believes on him, the righteousness of
the Lord Jesus Christ is to be imputed to them, put upon them. As much as the sins of his people
were laid on him, so for a believer is laid upon them his righteousness. This is the name wherewith he
shall be called the Lord our righteousness. the Lord bearing
our sin, but then paying our debt and giving us a righteousness
we haven't got ourselves. But what is upon my spirit this
evening, is these last words in verse 44, saying the same
words, the Lord leaving them, those disciples chosen Peter,
James and John, chosen above the rest to come close to him,
to hear these words, to see his very agonies and what he is going
through, and he prays these three times. He finds them sleeping,
they could not watch with him, they could not bear the weight
themselves. But he prays this, O my Father,
If this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy
will be done. And he came, found them asleep
again, their eyes were heavy, left them, and went away again,
and prayed the third time, saying the same words. I want to just look at these
words then in two ways. saying the same words, firstly
as a warning, and secondly as a real encouragement to us. Saying the same words. In the beginning of the ministry
of our Lord, we read in this same gospel account, in chapter
four, immediately as the Lord was, baptized and then led the
spirit into the wilderness, he was led there to be tempted of
the devil. And when the devil came and tempted
him, he answered with words of scripture. In Matthew 4 and verse
3, the tempter came to him. He said, if thou be the Son of
God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered
and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. So then
when the devil comes a second time, he uses scripture. Then the devil taketh him up
into the holy city setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,
and saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself
down, for it is written." Now, here is Satan using the same
words of Scripture, using the inspired Word of God, speaking
it in a way to trip up, to deceive, to cause to fall if he could,
our Lord Jesus Christ. And so he says, it is written,
he shall give his angels charge concerning thee, and in their
hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy
foot against a stone. The Lord answered him still with
scripture, But it is written again, thou shalt not tempt the
Lord thy God. So our Lord is comparing scripture
with scripture. Satan is taking one scripture
out of context, misapplying it, and using it to his advantage. Words of scripture. We think
of the words of our text saying the same words. Satan. can say the same words as God,
say the same words as Scripture, and be warned on that, lest we
use Scripture out of context. Be warned of that also, that
we don't fall for Satan when he comes tempting us, just like
our Lord, and using Scripture, and perhaps to cast us down to
make out that we're not one of his people, we're not walking
in a right way, but it's put before us in a way that is deceitful
and in a wrong way. And if ever, if ever you attempted
and tried and it's concerning a word of scripture, the first
thing to do is to go where that word is and look at it in its
context. Nearly always you can find out,
and especially if it's been applied in a temptation sort of a way,
you can answer it immediately. Sometimes it might be someone
has come to us and they think that by using these words of
scripture, they're going to prove our God to be wrong, our faith
to be wrong, and they're going to trip us up. Well, the first
thing to do is to look at it in its context. If that doesn't
answer it, then compare scripture with scripture. It really is
a warning because Satan not only is a roaring lion, he also comes
in as an angel of light. So he may well come, like he
did with our Lord, with the Word of God. And you may say, well,
he's saying the same words. He's saying the same words as
Scripture, but he's using them in a wrong way. Another warning, and may it not
be the case with any of us here, But there have been those in
the history of the church that have really learned the language
of God's people. They can imitate it. They can
say what is expected to be said. They know scripture enough to
be able to say the same words as God's people. May we never
think to deceive the Lord in that way. The Lord knows the
intention of our hearts. He knows what is behind that.
We have a most solemn case in scripture which is in Jeremiah
chapter 42. And we have those that were left
in Jerusalem and they came to Jeremiah and they made a most
solemn profession. They wanted to know whether they
should go down into Egypt or not. And in Jeremiah 42 verses
5 and 6, they come and they say to Jeremiah, the Lord be a true
and faithful witness between us. If we do not, even according
to all things, for the which the Lord thy God shall send thee
to us. Whether it be good or whether
it be evil, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God, to
whom we send thee, that it may be well with us when we obey
the voice of the Lord. Really, if any pastor had someone
come saying that to them, they would be very encouraged and
think, well, this is a good desire of these people, willing to do
the will of the Lord. But the Lord waited 10 days before
he answered Jeremiah, and then came with a solemn message that
they should not go down into Egypt. But Jeremiah says to them
in verse 19 of that chapter, The Lord hath said concerning
you, O ye remnant of Judah, go ye not into Egypt, know certainly
that I have admonished you this day. For ye dissembled in your
hearts when ye sent me unto the Lord your God, saying, Pray for
us unto the Lord our God and according unto all that the Lord
our God shall say, so declare unto us and we will do it. They had dissembled. They had
deceived. They had no intention. They wanted
to rub a stamp upon what they had already decided to do. Their
words did not go with their hearts. Out of the abundance of the heart
man speaketh, if it is genuine, if it is real. But what a solemn
thing, when we seek to deceive the Lord. Because we read in
the next chapter, in chapter 43, that then they turn round
and they say unto Jeremiah, that in verse 3, Barak the son of
Neriah setteth thee on us. They say in verse 2, thou speakest
falsely. The Lord our God hath not sent
thee to say, go not into Egypt to sojourn there. And they felt
that Barak had been the one that had been manipulating Jeremiah. Instead of saying, well, no,
we are going to disobey the voice of the Lord, they're now saying
that Jeremiah hasn't even brought the word of the Lord. And so
it's a most solemn thing to be professing, you might say, using
the same words of the Lord, our Lord saying that, if it be possible,
let this cup pass from me, nevertheless not my will, but thy will be
done. And these coming to Jeremiah,
we will do the will of the Lord. We'll obey thy voice, obey the
Lord's voice. But when it is something that
they didn't want, but even before they had the answer, the Lord
knew that it wasn't real words. May it be a real warning to us.
that the words that we speak, that the words of my mouth, the
meditation of my heart, be acceptable unto thee, O God. There's another warning, and
that is regarding translation work. Saying the same words The Word
of God is a living Word, is the Word of the Lord to us, inspired
Word of God. But Satan's first temptation
was, hath God said? And when you come, like we are
in England, with so many versions, translations, English translations
of the Word of God, the original Hebrew and Greek, It comes with
that same temptation of Satan, hath God said. Are they the same
words? If we were to get several translations,
could we say, well, reading this verse, are they the same words? Or is man put in different words? And we're not actually reading
the same words at all. No doubt some of you have been
to a church where They don't use your authorized version,
and you try to follow the reading, and it's seen completely different.
It is so different. Sometimes it's even impossible
to find out even where you are. And so it's a real warning to
us in this. We want that the words that we
read in English They be the same words or the same message, mirroring
the same underlying words as the original. That we are hearing
the words of God. Thy word have I hid in mine heart,
that I might not sin against thee. Well, we haven't hid in
our hearts Hebrew and Greek, those of us who don't know it,
but we hide in our hearts the translation of it, and that should
be a faithful translation, these same words. So think about this. If you're tempted to use different
translations, is it the same words? Is it the same message
as the originals? So I want to look now at an encouragement
on the other side, going from a warning to an encouragement. Firstly, the same words as our
Lord. How many of the Lord's dear people
walking through fiery trials have found our Lord's path and
these words such a help and such an encouragement as the flesh
has shrunk from the cross as they felt the weight of those
things coming upon them, that they've had to go and they've
gone before the Lord. And they prayed in the same way,
O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except
I drink it, thy will be done. A desire for the will of the
Lord to be done, and to bear that will and to walk in that
path. It's a blessed thing when we
can feel something even though we can never fully enter into
the weight of what the Lord was bearing, yet the Lord's people
do know what it is to have fellowship with Him and His sufferings in
their measure, in their path. Our Captain walks this path.
What an encouragement when you can say that the Lord's words,
they've been our words. And they're such an encouragement
and strength to us as well. The next encouragement is repetition
in prayer. Satan can really tempt sometimes. You always go and you're saying
the same words. You're seeking for the same thing.
But may we be reminded, we think of Elijah, when he prayed for
fire from heaven, he prayed once and the fire came down from heaven,
but when he was praying for the rain, it was go again seven times. Because the prayer wasn't answered,
did he change his words, change his petition? We're not told
what his words were, but we are told what he was looking for.
Just because the Lord doesn't give us answers doesn't mean
to say we're using the wrong words, does it? Repetition in
prayer. You say, but are we warned about
vain repetition? Vain repetition is very different
than repetition. Here we have repetition, but
it's not vain. It's not empty, it's not pointless. It's real, it's heartfelt. You
think of our Lord with the parable of the widow and the unjust judge. Avenge me of my adversary. And she kept coming and coming.
And what's the Lord teaching? Importunate prayer. Going again
and again and again. But it's not empty in vain when
it's felt, when it's real, when it is really wanted. Many times when I I heard my
mother praying on her deathbed, open the ark and take me in.
Blind she was with cancer and death coming very close. But,
you know, she kept on, kept on pleading and the Lord did come
and did bless her. And then all that pleading and
all that wrestling stopped and there was prayer and there was
quietness and there was joy. Very different. But until we
have that answer, then it is going again and again. And may this be then an encouragement,
our Lord. Repetition in prayer. Another encouragement is when
we can think or may be tempted that all our prayers are is just
saying words. That's all we're doing. We're
saying words. Our text is saying the same words. But what is prayer? The Lord
has appointed it that poor sinful men and women, children, can
say words, that their prayers are words. And sometimes not
even expressed audibly like Hannah's. Her mouth moved, her voice was
not heard. But she's able to say, for this
child I prayed, so she was praying words. If you attempted that
your prayers are just words, think of the Lord here. Use words. But when the Lord hears them,
And when he hearkens to them, those words are powerful words. They're words that the Lord puts
in a poor sinner's heart to use. Take with you words. Take with
you arguments, words to bring before the Lord. So then we come
to another encouragement. Using the same words as scripture. Have you ever had reading parts
of the Word of God, especially the Psalms, and you come across
words and you feel, those suit me. That is a good prayer for
me. They are words that I would like
to use, those same words. Well, let us use the same words. Let us join light with David
in Psalm 51, with a sense of our sin and transgression, and
use those words. Have mercy upon me, O God, according
to thy lovingkindness, according unto the multitude of thy tender
mercies. Blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity. and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions,
my sin is ever before me. Against thee, the only, have
I sinned and done this evil in thy sight. Now he's using words. Hide thy face from my sins and
blot out all my transgressions. Create in me a clean heart, O
God. Renew a right spirit within me. God has given us those words
that suit the cases of poor, broken-hearted sinners. And may
we take those same words, saying those same words, but not just
imitating, not just saying them without feeling, but feeling
how much they suit you. And don't be put off, especially
with the Psalms. As I did years ago, first when
I'd start reading a psalm, and those words, I thought, I can
come in here, I can use these words, I can pray these words,
and then I got to the end of the psalm, and the psalmist was
then praising and way above me where I was in my experience,
so I cried off the whole psalm. And then I realized, well no,
the psalmist was in a low place at the beginning of it, But by
the time he got to the end of it, then he was blessed and then
he was favoured. Then he could write the psalm.
We often, we don't speak, we can't write until the Lord brings
us deliverance. But then I was encouraged, I
thought, if I can start off with the words of the psalmist, I
will finish in God's time and way with the words of the psalmist. And we'll praise him too. May
there be those passages in Scripture where we view the Lord has given
us the words to use and we take them and we pray, saying the
same words. Another encouragement is where
the word is confirmed. We have reminders of that in
the Word of God. We have Exodus 20. We have the law of God. And Deuteronomy
5, we have the repetition of the law again. We have the Gospels,
where we have the accounts there not twice, but four times rehearsed
of their Lord's sufferings and death. Right the way through
the Word of God, you might say, well, Why? Some of the accounts
in Kings, in Chronicles, they're repeated. You might say with
the Psalms, some of the Psalms you can find in Chronicles. They're
repeated, the same words, saying the same words. And yet the Lord
has spoken once, yea, twice, have I heard this, that power
belongeth unto God. When the Lord rehearses a thing
again and the same words are used again, there is such power
in that. We think of when Solomon, when
Nathan realized that Adonijah was usurping the kingdom and
David was on his deathbed, he said to Bathsheba, he said, you
go in and you speak to the king. And he said, and after you have
gone, I will come in. and I will say the same words,
I will confirm what you are saying. And that gave the king then that,
knowing that those words were right because they were being
confirmed. And how many a child of God has
sought the Lord's blessings, sought guidance, sought help
from the Lord, and the Lord has been pleased to meet them through
the ministry, ministers brought, One word perhaps, one text, and
another minister has come not knowing anything what's been
gone before, and he comes saying the same words. You think he's
got had the same master, he's had the same spirit to lead him,
but there's such confirmation in those same words again. Sometimes we might look for fresh
words, fresh blessings, But how many a blessing is made very
special and precious when it's been the same words. He shall
bring to your remembrance all things whatsoever I have said
unto you. The same words is brought back
to remembrance. How very sweet. Now I may have
mentioned it before, But years ago, before we came over here,
I was working at my desk as a design engineer in Australia, and the
Lord suddenly dropped in where I didn't, I was unsure whether
it was the Lord or not. It was so clear, yea, I have
loved thee with an everlasting love, and with loving kindness
I have drawn thee. And immediately, as it were,
it was drawn back and I couldn't, Really say, the Lord has spoken
those words to me, but I could never forget that time. But then we came over here, and
we bought a car, bought a car that was from Hayward's Heath.
And within a week, it was very early of coming over here, and
the car went wrong, the alternator went wrong. And I had to take
time off my work, which I was still working for Australia,
and spend four hours and go to Hayward's Heath. And at first,
I was a bit upset about having to go all that way and lose all
that day. But as I started to drive, and
I was coming up through Hawkhurst, it came into my mind, this is
appointed by God. May the Lord use this time away
from my work and make this time a blessing. And I prayed that
the Lord would do so. And just as I'd come up past
the common there at Hawkerst, the Lord just dropped in those
same words, Yah have loved thee with an everlasting love, and
immediately brought me straight back in my mind to my office
in Australia, and is so impressed upon me. I did speak that to
you there, I'm speaking to you now, and it linked Australia
with here. And yet I had to wait, I had
to wait, it was probably a year or so or more, from one blessing
to another, one word to another, before I could really say that
the first word was the Lord. But when the Spirit brings it
to remembrance, it's with a power, with a savour, it wasn't me trying
to remember it, to drag it up, to remember it, it came without
me, thinking at all, and immediately brought back to the first occurrence
of that word. So saying the same words, the
Spirit brings the same words, or through the ministry of the
word, the same words. And there's a blessing, there's
a confirmation, a sealing of that word to those that receive
it in that way. I think it's just one last encouragement,
saying the same words. We have the Lord's Supper before
us later this evening after this service, and we have the form
that we usually use. Quite often we use the same words. Different ministers use different
form, different words, or different order of doing it. When we close
a service with the benediction, we use the same words. And there's one sense that is
not wrong when we have it set before us in the word of God,
and we have using those same words. Many of us in the ministry
We do have, we might say pet phrases or ways that we describe
something. And we may not really realize
it until maybe listening to a recording. And I've listened to recordings
of myself, say 20 years ago, and I listen to that. What? I was using those phrases 20
years ago and I'm still using them now. And it's come as quite
a shock. I realize I have done that. But
we do, and it's not wrong. When the Lord gives us those
words, they're still a savor, they mean a lot to us. Sometimes
you can have a minister, you think, why does he always take
that text? Or why does he often refer to that? And often you
can ask them, and you can find out that there's a blessing attached
to it. There's a reason why, in their
experience, that particular word has been made precious to them. So there's encouragement. When
we think of this, what the Lord has said here, when he goes away
and prays, and prays a third time, saying the same words. And the Lord has made his word
sweet and precious to you. Don't be ashamed of that word.
Don't stop saying it. Don't stop using it. that which
the Lord has given us sweet safer. May we praise those words that
the Lord has been pleased to give us and to put in our mouths
and put in our hearts and especially where we are able to lift up
the Lord and to exalt his name and to praise his name and to
set before other sinners that dear saviour that we have found. And those words have been so
precious to us, to bring them to others as well, saying the
same words. And maybe as well, not think
that because another has used those words, we can't use them. I remember a time in Australia
where we had a prayer meeting, and it was my practice then to
read the portion, then ask the brethren to pray, and then I'd
expound on the portion. One of the dear brethren, he
got up and he prayed my sermon from his seat in prayer. And
I sat there and I thought, what am I going to say? And then I
thought, well, I've been called to preach. He's
been asked to pray. He hasn't actually prayed, he's
preached. You get up, you say the same words. And I never forget
the occasion. And it's important we do remember
that. Remember a couple of years ago, sitting in Guilford Chapel,
some of you might remember it here. And I was to take the afternoon
service and their pastors took the morning. And when he read
his reading, I thought I was safe ground. He was nowhere near
my text. Then he gave his text out and
I nudged my dear wife and I just showed her my ticket, same text. And so I listened to him preach
and I thought, well, how am I going to preach? Because we were both
preaching from behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin
of the world. And yeah, I felt the Lord did
help and it was a good day. But sometimes we are called to
speak the same words. And when the Lord blesses it,
when the Lord applies it with power, we're not to turn away
from those same words. And for that reason, quite often,
I won't look back what I preached in a chapel before, a year before. And I know I've had blessings
where a minister has come to a chapel And he's come the next
year with exactly the same text. But that word has been blessed,
and I thank the Lord for it. And some of you would remember
the pastor at Matfield saying about preaching down here from
a text, and then he had to travel up north, and he hadn't got another
text, and he felt he preached the same service. And he was
pretty sure none of his hearers down here would be up there.
But as he got in the pulpit, he looked down, and there's two
ladies that had been in the congregation here in Kent, and they were up
there, and he thought, what shall I do? I haven't got any other
sermon to preach. So he preached from the same
text. And when he come down from the pulpit, those dear ladies,
they met him, tears streaming down their faces. They said,
we prayed all the way up north that you'd take the same text. And what if he turned away from
it? You know, so it's saying the same words. Lord help us
not to turn away from that which the Lord has given us and there
be some encouragement in the word this evening, saying the
same words. The Lord add his blessing. Amen. Hymn 29, Tune Reuben 725 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.