Seeking for the help of the Lord,
I direct your prayerful attention to Luke chapter 2, the chapter
that we read, and reading from our text, verse 38. Verse 38. And she, coming in
that instant, gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of Him
to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem. Luke chapter 2
and verse 38. Our text is speaking of Anna. Anna, a prophetess, the daughter
of Phanuel. She is the second one to speak
of the Lord Jesus Christ as he is brought in as a babe for them
to do according to the custom of the law. And our text begins
with she coming in that instance and before we come to three main
points. I want to notice two things that
are mentioned right at the beginning of our text. And the first is
timing, she coming in that instant. It is one of the hallmarks of
God's work right through the scriptures and the history of
the world. is that God is a God of timing. He times things to perfection. And certainly it was so here
when we look at the case of Simeon, that as the child Jesus is brought
into the temple and to be done for him according to the law,
Then there is Simeon coming in and we're told that he came by
the Spirit into the temple just at that time. And here with Anna
as well in our text, she coming in that instant. Now I know with
Anna she was constant serving in the temple and with fastings
and prayers night and day. But the timing of coming to meet
someone, and to meet in this case, so ordered of the Lord,
so appointed that this should be recorded, that this meeting
and what was said of the Lord Jesus Christ should be recorded. We think of the timings that
went through scripture. The case of Abraham when he offered
up, or was to offer up, his son upon the altar. And the Lord
waited those three days as Abraham set out to Mount Moriah. And he waited. He did not tell
him what he was to do. had directed him to offer up
his son Isaac upon the altar. And it wasn't until the knife
was raised, Isaac had been bound, the knife raised, that then the
angel called unto him to stay his hand. Then was the ram found
caught in his horns in the thicket behind him. The Lord is never
before his time. He is never too late. And we need to often be reminded
of this, because we can so often faint and think the Lord has
forgotten us, and the Lord is not hearing our prayers, but
the Lord's time is not always our time. He said, Later on in
his ministry, your time is always ready, but my time is not yet. And we know with the children
of Israel in Egypt, God had told Abraham that his seed would serve
another nation and that they would oppress them 400 years. and that in the fourth generation
that they would come hither again. From the time that God told Abraham
to the going down into Egypt was 215 years. And then 215 years later, he
brought them out and brought them to Mount Sinai. And the Lord performed the word
that he said to Abraham. But we would remember that Moses,
when he was born, was born again, appointed, and at a time when
the men's children were being thrown into the river, they were
being destroyed, and when Pharaoh's daughter came down to the water,
then she found the babe Moses in the ark of bulrushes, And
he was then brought into the Pharaoh's household. And the
timing of that with Pharaoh, with Miriam asking if she would
find a maid or a helper to care for the child. And she went and
got Moses' mother. Those timings were very crucial. And yet we would remember that
the Lord was doing these things 80 years before he actually brought
Israel out of Egyptian bondage. His hand was with them. He was on the way to delivering
them. He'd already appointed deliverance. And there he was bringing about
a timing, and yet you might say, well, there's waiting another
80 years. We are to notice the timing of
the Lord. We think when, before they came
into Egypt, they came into Egypt by Joseph being sent before them. But Joseph had been sent from
his father to go and see his brothers. And the brothers had
moved on, they'd moved to a different place. But a man had heard them
say that they were going to Dothan. And that same man that had heard,
overheard that conversation, he found Joseph wandering in
the field. and he was able to direct him
where his brothers were. A vital link in the chain of
bringing the children of Israel into Egypt was of the timing
of the man overhearing and also of the man finding Joseph. Joseph at first might have wished
that that hadn't happened, that he hadn't have been sold, that
he hadn't have been ill-treated in that way. but the Lord's hand
was in the matter. And so we look down through the
Old Testament and find many times where the Lord has wrought, and
timing was very important, bringing two people together, meeting
up together, waiting until the right time. It was said of the
iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full, that's why they couldn't
yet go into the promised land. You think of when they were in
the promised land, when Goliath was challenging Israel, then
for 40 days he challenged them and no deliverer was found at
all, until then Jesse sent David to see how his brethren worked
and were. And it was then that David comes
and he hears Goliath and his challenge. And then there is
deliverance. These timings are all of the
Lord. We think of Jonah. God prepared
a fish. They threw Jonah into the sea,
and where was the fish? Exactly in the right place, the
right time, and to swallow up Jonah. In all of these things,
the Lord is in control. Though he lives in eternity,
though he's not bound by time, yet he made time, and in time
he orders it, and is one of his hallmarks. He can bring things
to pass, man cannot. He can bring two together that
man cannot. And this is to be noticed here
because we find Anna coming in that instant. And may we notice
in our lives the timing of the Lord. We are told in Romans 8,
we know that all things work together for good to them that
love God, to them that are the called according to his purpose. And one of those things that
work together is timing. Maybe then overview our own lives
and think of those things that have happened, things that have
been ordered in our lives, that the timing has been so important
as to things that have happened. We know in Joshua's case, when
they were fighting, the Lord heard and hearkened to the voice
of man. And the sun, it did not go down. The Lord made an adjustment in
timing at that time. And we have known that, I have
known that in my life, in changing schools and where a mistake was
made and I was put in a grade that was higher And it should
have been. My brother, very close in age,
we should have both been in the same class. I was supposed to
be in grade two, he in grade one. They said, these can't be
in the same class. They put me in grade three. And
in the timing of the Lord, it was halfway through the year,
they found out their mistake. So they left me. They said, doing
all right. So that one adjustment at the
age of seven, that has affected right through my life. It was
a vital link. in many things that happened,
especially at the time of my call by grace. And I look at
those things and think these things are ordered of the Lord,
they are tokens for good, they evidence the Lord's hand and
the Lord's work in our lives. This is the Lord's doing and
is marvellous in our eyes. The second thing to notice here
is the giving of thanks she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise
unto the lord right at the beginning before she says anything concerning
this babe she gives thanks and it says thanks likewise and when
we look And what Simeon actually did, he comes in and he blesses
the Lord. In verse 28, he took him up in
his arms and blessed God and said, Lord, now let us, thou
thy servant, depart in peace according to thy word, for mine
eyes have seen thy salvation. So, same thing really, giving
thanks and blessing the Lord. It's good for us to be instant
in giving thanks, especially when something has been waited
for and watched for and then the Lord appears. If it's not
done instantly, sometimes it is too late and thanks is withheld
from the Lord. The children of Israel, when
Moses was sent to them, and he showed the signs that God had
given him, that God had truly sent him, and the children of
Israel believed, and they gave thanks unto the Lord. They gave thanks while they were
still in Egypt. They didn't say, well, let's
wait until we're delivered and then we'll give thanks. They
gave thanks when the Lord was appearing, when he was on his
way, when things were in hand by the Lord. And if they'd have
waited, it wasn't long before Pharaoh was making their bonds
and burdens even harder, and then they would not even listen
to Moses because of hard labour. And to give thanks then, they
couldn't. Were they wrong to give thanks
at first? No. It is good to give thanks
when we realize the blessing of the Lord that we have, and
not listen to Satan and say, well, let's see how it turns
out, and then we'll give thanks. Let's see the end of the matter.
And you think, here, they were giving thanks for a babe. He
had not yet redeemed Israel. He'd not suffered yet. He'd not
preached yet. His ministry hadn't started yet. He hadn't accomplished. We're
not here at the end of Luke. We're right at the beginning.
And there is thanks there. The praise that was given from
the heavenly host and shown to the shepherds and the joy the
shepherds had, it was of the Lord appearing. He was coming. God had matters in hand and the
ministry of our Lord and the ministry of the Apostles, it
wasn't like the Apostle Paul, we preach Christ crucified because
Christ was not yet crucified. And though we may preach him
and they may have preached him through the scriptures, it was
evident that while Christ was on earth, His people were very
much in the dark and did not understand the scriptures, though
he spoke to them again and again of his coming sufferings, his
death, yet it was held from them. When he rose from the dead, then
we read, then opened he their understanding that they should
understand the scriptures. With the giving thanks at this
time is in the step along the way, God was moving. God's hand was in progress. He was doing things. He was setting
things in motion. He had come. He had appeared. As yet, the seed of the woman
had not bruised the serpent's head, but the seed of the woman
had come. And this was what they are giving
thanks for. And though we may be looking
for Many things. We may be looking for the Lord
in Providence, yet when we discern the Lord begins, may we give
thanks for that. Though we may say, well, the
answer is not fully realized, yet may we give thanks for what
has been done along the way. There's many, many steps to a
realization of what the Lord is doing. We might Maybe wanting
to purchase a home, even in temporal things. And we ask for a suitable
home. A suitable home is found. We give thanks for that. We need
the money to buy it. We give thanks for that. An offer
accepted. And then to move in. There's
every step of it. You know when Abraham's servant
came to seek a wife for Isaac, then when he prays at the well
and Rebekah comes and she does what he had asked she would do
and provides for the camels also, then he makes known his mission. When it is known to Laban and
Bethuel, Rebekah's kinsmen, a father, a brother, then they say this
thing, it proceedeth from the Lord. They noticed the timing
of it, they could see the Lord's hand was in it, but there was
yet much to be done. She hadn't even yet met Isaac,
but they could see the Lord was in this matter. How important
it is. that we see the Lord is in the
matter, see the Lord's hand, who so is wise, and will observe
these things, even they shall understand the loving kindness
of the Lord. And remember, with our Lord,
when he healed the ten lepers, he sent them, and he sent them
to the priest. And as they went, they were healed. And one, when he saw that he
was healed, returned. immediately to give thanks to
the Lord. The Lord said, where are the
nine? There's only just this Samaritan that has returned to
give thanks. It is a real mark of the people
of God that they are not only asking for the Lord to appear
and to help them, not only looking for it, but as soon as it is
given, they put the crown on the right hand, they give thanks,
They don't just serve the Lord for loaves and fishes. That's
what the Lord charged those that came across the sea to be with
Him. He said, you follow me not because
you saw the miracles. You're not following me because
you see through those miracles that I am the Son of God, that
I am the Messiah. But just because you ate of the
loaves and were filled, that's why you are following me. Those that were following the
right way, instead of looking at the gift, they look at the
giver. Instead of looking at what he
has done for them, they turn to who has done it for them. And the giving of thanks here,
it is centering in our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Just another thought on that
is within The book of Samuel, first book of Samuel, when Hannah
comes into the temple at Shiloh and she says, for this child
I prayed and the Lord has given me my petition that I've asked
of him. In the next chapter, we see a
praise and prayer of such thanks to the Lord. Samuel is not mentioned
at all. All of the praise and glory is
to the Lord. Her attention is not on the child,
how much she's thankful for him and loves him. Her attention
in that praise is to the Lord, what the Lord had done for her
and how the Lord had appeared for her. And may in our thanks
that be the direction that we take as well. So there's those
two aspects, the timing and the giving of thanks. But now I want
to look with the Lord's help. Firstly, of whom they spake. Secondly, who spake of him and
to whom. And thirdly, what they said of
him. of whom they spake. They were speaking here of Jesus. They were speaking here of this
babe that was brought before them. Simeon, he takes him up
in his arms and blesses God. How very clearly he is making
this statement, the thanks, the blessing, everything is centered
in this babe. Not on Mary, not on anyone else,
but on the babe. There is the one of whom they
are speaking, Anna as well. She is giving thanks and speaking
of Jesus, the babe, born to Joseph and Mary. In the third chapter of Luke,
we have the line traced out from Mary, right through from Mary's
father, right through down to David, to David's son, Nathan,
and then right down to Adam and to God. very clearly tracing
the line as to be the seed of the woman that should bruise
the serpent's head. And this is the inspired, infallible
word of God, that when this babe is set forth, when he is brought
forth, the one of whom they are speaking, that he is very clearly
to be set forth, He is the Son of God. He is the Son of Adam. He is the seed of the woman that
should bruise the serpent's head. And then we think of Matthew
chapter one, and the line that is there, the kingship line,
the line that goes from Abraham who's given the promises of Christ,
who saw Christ's day and rejoiced at it. And he is traced there
14 generations from Abraham to David. And then we follow through
Solomon's line, right through to Joseph, the kingship line,
14 generations from David until the carrying away into Babylon.
And then another 14 generations and the carrying away into Babylon
unto Christ. And it is established at the
point of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, His name shall
be called Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins,
that this is truly the seed of the woman that should bruise
the serpent's head. And that crown is put upon Him
as a babe, truly God and truly man, the Christ, they're speaking
here of He that should come, they're speaking here of Emmanuel
God with us, they're speaking of the One that was expected
to come. The eunuch, when Philip was sent
to speak to him as he was returning from worshipping, at Jerusalem,
he was reading in the prophet Isaiah, Isaiah 53 in our Bibles. And Philip asked him and said,
understandest thou what thou readest? And he said, how can
I except some man guide me? And he asked that Philip should
come up into the chariot And that was the portion that he
was reading. He was led as a sheep before
his shearers his dung, so only not his mouth. He was led as
a sheep to the slaughter. And those things that were said,
the eunuch, he said to Philip, he said, of whom speaketh the
prophet this? of himself or some other man. How important it is known of
whom they spoke, who was the prophet speaking of. By the time
that Philip had finished preaching, beginning at the same scripture
and preaching unto him Jesus, then the unit was clear who was
being spoken of. many times during the ministry
of our Lord, he was the subject of talk between the Pharisees
and the Sadducees and the scribes and his disciples. He was the
subject of that conversation. They were speaking of him. And may we be those that join. with those that speak of our
Lord. Those that speak of our Lord
and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Those who have something to say
of Him. A blessed thing if we can join
with those who spoke of him. So I want to look secondly, who
spoke of him and to whom. Well, there's two characters
here. There is firstly Simeon. We have a description of him
as being a just man, a devout man, but also that he was waiting
for the consolation of Israel. He was waiting for the promised
seed. He was waiting for this blessing. That's the thing to be a people,
waiting and expecting the Lord's blessing. You might say, well,
didn't, weren't those generations, they all waiting and watching? Why should he come at this time? But we think of what was said
of the Jews, they knew not the day of their visitation. Simeon
did, but many of their nation, that could not be said of them.
And applying to us in our day and generation, the New Testament
church is looking for the Lord's second coming. The Apostle Paul
speaks of it as if he would be alive. When the Lord comes, then
we which are alive and remain shall meet Him in the air. But it wasn't for the apostle,
nor his generation, nor for the last 2,000 years. But there will
come a time when there shall be a people that, like the Thessalonian
church, wait for His Son from heaven. And the Lord shall come. And the Lord warns that we are
not to be overcharged with the things of this time state, but
that we are to watch. For he knoweth not what hour
the Son of Man cometh. Well, here is Simeon, what a
description of this man that is waiting, is expecting. But the Holy Ghost was upon him,
and it was revealed to the Holy Ghost. that he should not see
death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. He had a promise. Many of Lord's dear people do
have promises. They lay those up before the
Lord, much prayer, much exercise, looking for the Lord to appear,
Lord to fulfil what he has laid upon their hearts that should
come to pass. Some of us, we've had those things,
they have already come to pass. It's a great blessing when there
is that waiting upon the Lord to fulfil His Word. And here
we have in Simeon, the Lord fulfilling His Word. And here also is a
description of him, that he came by the Spirit into the temple,
guided, directed by the Spirit, influencing those things that
he did. He is described also in verse
29 as thy servant. I wonder, how would we describe
ourselves? How would the Lord describe us? Are we His servants? Can we say
in prayer like Simeon, thy servant? Can we truly say the Lord has
given us what we asked of Him? Therefore now we are ready, now
we can A deep heart, this life, we need not anything more, but
the Lord has given us what we desire of Him. A blessed thing
to be of the character, you know, we won't be the same name, the
same person, but we can have something of a character, of
those that speak of the Lord, and is those that are looking
for salvation themselves, those who have the interest in it. Yes, you might say the angels
speak of him, but the emphasis on the scriptures is sinners. An angel told Cornelius to send
for Peter, and Peter was to come and preach to them Jesus, not
the angel. Peter was to speak of him, speak
of the Lord. So it was here with Simeon, the
best ones to speak of the Lord, those that watched and waited,
and the Lord has come and blessed them and visited them. And right through the Scriptures,
those that the Lord healed, the mad Gadarene, what better character
to go home to his friends and tell what great things God had
done for them, They were witnesses, the Apostle Paul, the great change
that had been wrought in his life from Saul to Paul, one that
was chosen as the chief of sinners, he calls himself, to speak of
the Lord. Immediately he preached on his
conversion, Jesus, that he is the Christ, and yet it was that
very name that he persecuted those that called upon that name
in Jerusalem. It is not an insignificant thing
as to look at the characters of those that are speaking of
Christ. Hemrider says, Sinners can say,
and none but they, how precious is the Saviour. They have something
to say of Him not learned in books, but known in the heart
and known in their lives of what the Lord has done. And so Simeon
has many things to say of him. But firstly, just thinking of
who spake of him. And so that he then speaks to
those that were there. But when we come to Anna, there
is even more that she's speaking to. Just think then of Anna,
a prophetess, and she again is serving the Lord, and not just
a short time. She had served the Lord there
for seven years from her virginity, and had a husband seven years
from her virginity. So, I mean, if she was 20 when
she got married, 27 when her husband died, and now you've
got another 84 years, she's well over 100 years of age. But all
of those years, she would not have been suffered to be in the
temple unless she was serving in that way. You might say all
those years waiting for this blessing, looking for this blessing,
And here she has it in her great age. What an encouragement to
those that are in old days. The devil might say, well, many
of the Lord's dear people are called by grace when they're
young. The Lord appears to them when they're young in years.
He's passed you by. You cannot expect a blessing.
You will not be blessed at your age. But here we have an encouragement. Lord coming at evening light. and when a great age. And so she is the one then that
is coming in and speaking of him. Well, who is she speaking? Well, here is to all them that
looked for redemption in Jerusalem. She was one that looked for redemption,
and she was speaking for those that also looked for it. What
is redemption? To set free by the payment of
a price. Without the shedding of blood,
there is no remission. The Lord Jesus Christ is spoken
of as the Redeemer, and it is those that are looking for redemption,
those that are in captivity, those who are in bondage to sin,
those who are slaves to sin, those that are under the law,
He came, made under the law, born of a woman, to redeem them
that are under the law. That is what the Scripture testifies,
and this is whom she speaks to. He that hath an ear, let him
hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. Then again, we
may ask ourselves, what kind of a character are we as hearers? Before we speak, what kind of
a hearer are we? Are we one that looks for redemption? Are we one that has an interest
in Christ? Who longs for His appearing?
Who longs to see Him, to believe Him, to know that redemption
from sin and from Satan and from the world and the spirit of it?
Sin shall not have dominion over you, you're not under the law,
you're under grace. We think of Simeon as well. Who
did he speak to? Well, he speaks that it is to
be to the Gentiles and to thy people Israel. But then he has
a specific word to Joseph and to Mary, and he speaks to them
personally. What a blessed thing it is when
the Lord comes and speaks to us personally. Behold, this child
is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel, a sign
which shall be spoken against. Yea, a sword shall pierce through
thy own soul. So yes, Mary was a sinner. She
needed to be convinced of sin. The sword of the Spirit, which
is the word of God, that the thoughts of many hearts may be
revealed. Mary was to have a part in it. And of course, I think of when
she was told of the child that she was bearing and how she then
praised the Lord as well and blessed the Lord. She spoke of
Him as her Redeemer, as her Saviour. We read Mary said in verse 46
of chapter 1, that my soul doth magnify the Lord, that my spirit
hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For he hath regarded the lowest
state of his handmaiden. For behold, from henceforth all
generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done
to me great things, and holy is his name, and his mercy is
on them that fear him. from generation to generation. She's much to say, and it is
to her that Simeon is adding these things. Really Mary, before
Simeon, before even her child had been born, while it was in
the womb, she's giving thanks, she's giving praise. And now
she's seeing another, that the baby is born, is joining this
praise and thanks. and is speaking of Him, and to
her, and to Joseph, and to all of those at Jerusalem. The promises
of God, the blessings of God, so often the invitations of the
Gospel, they are like here to characters. Our Lord said, the
whole they need not a physician, but they that are sick. And where
the Lord then is, set forth before those that have a need of Him.
They have that hearing ear to what is said of Him. So these
are they then that Simeon and Anna that speaks, we think also
of the Old Testament, the apostles in Acts, they realize the Scriptures
were being fulfilled those scriptures that in the Psalms where David
was speaking of our Lord and in Psalm 22, my God, my God,
why hast thou forsaken me? And we think of Psalm 16 as well,
which the apostles said, thou wilt not leave my soul in hell,
thou wilt suffer, thou wilt Neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One
to see corruption. They realized that these Psalms
of David, that they weren't just speaking, David speaking of himself. He was speaking in prophecy of
our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We think of John the Baptist,
spake of him. Behold the Lamb of God that taketh
away the sin of the world. The Jews that said of the Lord
Jesus Christ that John did no miracle, but all that John spake
of this man is true. And there are those that have
raised up right through time and they've spoken of him. The
prophets, the people of God, they have seen him from afar.
and they have spoken in prophecy and spoken to others of him. I want to then just briefly speak
thirdly of what they said of him and specifically what is
said here by Simeon. In verse 30 he says, for mine
eyes have seen thy salvation. What a blessed thing for Simeon
to say. He is saying of the Lord, this
is thy salvation. This is the one by whom God shall
save his people. His name shall be called Jesus,
for he shall save his people from their sins. It's good for
us, instead of getting bogged down with sometimes many arguments
in religion, many theological arguments, to centre in the Lord
Jesus Christ. And our affections, our thoughts,
our desire is all to Him. He shall save His people from
their sins. Salvation of the Lord is sure. Deliverance is sure. And Simeon
says here, here is thy salvation. Then he says in verse 31, that
which thou hast prepared before the face of all people. Really
his goings forth was from of old. This is not just a salvation
that is a last minute thought, something that is only just beginning. It is that which God has prepared,
the lamb slain from the foundation of the world, the great antitype
of which the ram caught in the thickets was the type. My son,
God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering. This is
the prepared salvation. Then we have verse 32. And it
brings the Gentiles and the children of Israel together. Beautifully,
Paul does it in Ephesians chapter 2. And ye that were sometime
afar off are brought nigh by the blood of Christ. And so twain
making one new man, so making peace. And this is what Simeon
is seeing right here, viewing on the babe of Bethlehem. When you think that the apostles,
when Peter went to Cornelius, they charged him, they said,
thou wentest into those uncircumcised, did eat with them. Even then,
they did not have a clear view that the Gentiles were to be
brought into the covenant. And yet, Simeon here, he did. And he prophesied often, a blessed
thing. to have these things spoken of
him. And of course, we go back to
Isaiah and so much spoken of him there in all of his sufferings. And that which we quoted with
the eunuch is that beautiful chapter, who
have believed our report, to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed. He shall grow up before him as
a tender plant, as a root out of dry ground. He hath no form
nor comeliness. When we shall see him, there
is no beauty that we should desire him. And there he is spoken of
all his sin bearing, his sufferings, his death, and his people. He shall see the travail of his
soul and shall be satisfied. Isaiah in prophecy spoke. so much of the sufferings and
death and what the Lord would accomplish. Then we have what
Simeon says in verse 34. This child is set. It's not yet to happen, he is
to grow up first, but he's set for the fall and rising again
of many in Israel. What a reminder. that the knowledge
of sin is vital first. The Apostle Paul, he says, when
the commandment came, sin revived and I died. Conviction of sin
first. John Baptist was sent before
the law to preach repentance. And the Lord Jesus Christ is
exalted to give repentance and remission of sins unto Israel.
Before ever the Lord exalts a people, he will humble them and bring
them down, and then he'll lift them up, and that is centred
and set forth before us in what Simeon has to say. And then in
verse 39, that personal word, sword shall pierce through thine
own soul also. The word of God is a sharp-to-edge
sword, It enters into the heart, it discerns the thoughts, it
discerns the hearts. With the heart man believeth,
and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. And this is spoken of our Lord
Jesus Christ. Then we have Anna, the words
of our text, and she speaks of him. the Saviour. She spoke of Him
to all then that looked for redemption in Israel." In other words, here
is the Redeemer. Here is the great anti-type of
Boaz, a nearkinsman. Here is one who has the right
to redeem. And this is what is said of the
Lord Jesus. May we know this, how much bound
down with sin, how much entrapped by the world, however much ensnared,
that this here is the Redeemer. Then we think of the man that
was born blind. In John chapter 9, he was asked
specifically, when the Lord had opened his eyes, when the Lord
had blessed him with that blessing, the Jews, they did not believe
what was done. And they came to him in verse
17 in chapter 9, John 9. They say unto the blind man again,
What sayest thou of him that he hath opened thine eyes? His
answer was, he said, He is a prophet. And that is what he, the man
that had his eyes opened, said of the Lord. But it wasn't left
there. Later on, the Lord came, and
the Lord visited him. But even before that, he had
things to say, beautiful words to say of the Lord. He said, we know that God spoke
unto Moses, as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is.
That's what the scribes of Pharisees were saying. But then the man
said, why, herein is a marvellous thing. You know not from whence
he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes. Now we know that God
heareth not sinners, but if any man be a worshipper of God and
doeth his will, him he heareth. Since the world began, was it
not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born
blind? If this man were not of God,
he could do nothing. They didn't receive that, they
wouldn't. But the Lord later he came and spoke to me, said
to him, dost thou believe on the Son of God? He answered and
said, who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? And Jesus said
unto him, thou hast both seen him, and he it is that talketh
with thee. And he said, Lord, I believe,
and he worshipped him. It is those then that have known
and tasted that blessing, that the Lord has revealed himself
to them, and then they have that which to speak of him, to set
forth the praises of him who hath called them out of nature's
darkness and into his marvellous light. This people have I formed
for my praise, formed for myself, they shall show forth my praise. So may it be that we are of those
that have heard of the Lord and that we are those that have that
which to speak of him and to lift him up and to exalt him. I'll point to thy redeeming blood
and say behold the way to God. They spake unto them the things
that were done in the way and how Jesus was made known unto
them in breaking of bread. May the Lord add his blessing.
Amen.