Seeking the Lord's help and your
very careful attention, I direct your thoughts this evening to
the chapter we read, the book of Deuteronomy chapter 33, and
we shall read verse 12. And of Benjamin, he said, the
beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by him. and the Lord
shall cover him all the day long, and he shall dwell between his
shoulders. Deuteronomy chapter 33, verse
12. And of Benjamin he said, the
beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by him, and the Lord
shall cover him all the day long, and he shall dwell between his
shoulders. God's dear servant Moses, the
man of God, was at that most critical point that faces us
all, the end of his journey here below. In a few days, even perhaps
hours, His earthly pilgrims are going to end, and we have no
doubt at all that his redeemed soul went safe home to glory,
and there to adore, as we know, in the Mount of Transfiguration, the glory of the Lord in Moses'
eye was the dear Son of God, even our Lord Jesus Christ. But
here, before he parts with the people he's led through the wilderness,
he is to them a prophet. Now, he'd been a king to them.
The word of God calls him a king in one place. He was a God-ordained
ruler. But secondly, he was often a
priest, not like Aaron. He was not the high priest who
went into the holiest of all. But he was often a mediator,
an intercessor for the people of God. And when he was at Witsend
Corner again and again, we read, and Moses cried unto the Lord,
how thankful he must have been for a throne of grace, a place
where prayer is heard and answered. And you'll notice, friends, he
never cried unto the Lord without getting an answer. As good William
Tiptaf said, never despise that man's prayers, who gets an answer
to them. Here is Moses in this chapter
as a prophet. The Holy Ghost inspires what
comes forth from his lips. And though he cannot make the
blessing that he is speaking of, spirit and life in himself,
yet as he was under the hand of the infallible spirit, what
he wrote and what he said would most definitely come to pass. Here then he is a prophet. And
with love in his heart to that people, remember that cost him
a lot of tears and grief over the years. But his unfailing
love and loyalty to them is an example to us each of a man who
holds on his way by grace, the righteous shall hold on his way. But there must have been, and
if memory is a man of like passions as we are, there was hint of
sadness, not just because he was going to leave this people.
And I believe he was well persuaded that he would go to be with the
God of Israel above. But remember that he had a great
desire to go into the promised land himself. He had a great
desire to be the one to lead them into that land of which
he spoke so much. But it was not the Lord's will. We know why that was, because
of the strife at Meribah and how the Lord severely rebuked
him and Aaron for not obeying the word of God in speaking to
the rock rather than smiting it. Thus, they were both of them. Moses particularly was not remembering
the type of the rock. It was smitten once, and friends,
our Lord Jesus Christ died once. He did not need to be smitten
again. As we know at Calvary in Golgotha, that work is done
and done forever. And bless God, we may speak to
the rock now. That's a mercy, isn't it? And
the rock will hear, because that rock is Christ. But so Moses
could not go over. There was a chastening hand of
God, but it was a sanctified disappointment. Now, dear friends,
there may be some here this evening, and you have disappointment you're
living with, things you've not expect to come into your pathway,
things you never planned for. As I said in prayer, things perhaps
you would never have planned for had you had your life in
your own hands. But these things have come, this
crook in the lot, this thorn in the flesh. But is it sanctified? With Moses, friends, it was sanctified. And as we read another place
concerning God's dealings with the children of Israel, the curse
was turned into a Blessing. Friends, when you come to the
valley of disappointment, ask God to sanctify it, to put the
tree, as it were, in the bitter water of Mara, that they become
sweet. So the very things you dreaded
to drink, and perhaps even said you would not drink, would nonetheless
become palatable and profitable to you. The dear Savior prayed,
did he not, in John 17, Sanctify them through thy truth. Thy word
is truth. And one of the surest marks of
being in the right way is a path of sanctification. That is, Romans
8, 28. We know that all things work
together for good to them that love God. They are the call according
to his purpose. Well here then is godly Moses,
sanctified, disappointment, and he is not grudgingly speaking
to his dear people. No, he loves them dearly. And
he comes to the tribe of Benjamin. Now friend, it's some 500 years
earlier. Jacob blessed his sons while
they were yet alive. And of course now the generation
have passed along and tribes have been brought into being,
thousands of them, but the tribes were still distinct and it was
Moses' desire that each tribe should have a blessing, God intended
it should be. And he comes to the tribe of
Benjamin. Now when you read what Jacob
said about Benjamin, it's very different to what is said here. With, in Genesis chapter 49, we read concerning Benjamin,
he shall raven as a wolf. In the morning, he shall devour
the prey. At night, he shall divide the spoil. Here, a very
different picture here. And to Benjamin, he said, the
beloved, the Lord shall dwell in safety by him. The Lord shall
cover him all the day long. He shall dwell between his shoulders.
No mention of the wolf here. What is the lesson for us there?
Well, I would not be dog-battered, but it seems to me that The words
of Jacob speak of Benjamin as a natural man, what he was by
nature. Perhaps that was his disposition.
Perhaps he was a volatile man by nature. We know not. But the
meaning of Jacob's blessing does not seem to be very attractive. But here we have a different
blessing. And why is that? Is not this, Benjamin, now the
subject of grace? Now, all of us, by nature, have
the old nature. Like Benjamin, we raven as a
wolf. That is a destroying part of us. Sin is a destroying principle. You read in Proverbs chapter
8, those words, they that sin against me wrong their own soul. Ever thought about that? That's
what sin is. You're not only offending the
majesty of God, and that certainly is so, but you're wronging your
own soul. You are on the path of destruction,
friend. Do you remember that? And Benjamin,
in his natural state, was like a ravening wolf. A wolf is an
unclean beast, and a violent one at that. And the old nation
you and I have got is, Very strong. Until you know yourself, dear
friend, you perhaps wouldn't believe that. But if you are
where Apostle Paul was in the epistle of Paul to the Romans,
see when the law, the commandment came, sin revived. That is, its power revived. He
found it was an uncontrollable power as far as he was concerned. He could not keep it under. He
could not keep it in order. He found it was something that
was an affliction to him. Now that's Benjamin by nature. And friends, we still have that
nature. Those of us who are born again
of the Spirit, we've not lost that old nature. How we need
the new nature to overcome, or how we need Gad's promise in
Jacob's words. Gad, a troop shall overcome him,
but he shall overcome at the last. Is there one here tonight,
you've been overcome by your old nature today? Got the better
of you? Oh, God overcame at the last. And friends, God has promised,
sin should not have dominion over you. You're not under the
law, but under grace. Where sin abounded, grace did
much more abound. And I think in this chapter and
verse this evening, we have the abounds of grace in Benjamin. and what an abounding it is.
Beloved of the Lord, kept in safety by him, covered by his
God, and supported. This is a wonderful blessing,
dear friend, for an unworthy one, is it not? Now, the infallible
Word of God is his own interpreter, isn't it? There are two Benjamites,
particularly spoken of in the Word of God, both by the name
of Saul, King Saul, then we have Saul of Tarsus. As far as I can
see, King Saul remained, as we read in Genesis, concerning Benjamin
at the end of his days. He was like a ravening wolf,
the way he behaved against David. And his reign was a disaster
in many ways, because he had gifts without grace. All beware
of that, friends. Beware of that. Gifts without
grace are one of the biggest snares that you can have. Oh,
may you have grace and then the Lord give you gifts, may the
grace abound with those gifts. But gifts without grace is a
terrible snare. Saul was a gifted man, but there
was not grace in his heart to move that use those gifts to
God's honor and glory. And we know what a ravening wolf
he was because of that. And dear friend, there's not
grace in your heart to subdue your nature. Then like Saul,
you're on the high road to eternal misery. Saul was called, and
the name Saul means destroyer. Now go to the other Benjamite,
Saul of Tarsus. Before he was graced, a true
Benjamite according to Jacob's blessing, wasn't he? persecuting
the church, hailing men and women to prison and to death, bitter
hatred against God's people and against the dear son of God.
He was a ravening wolf. Acts tells us he wreaked havoc. He wreaked havoc among the churches
of God. There was a Benjamite indeed
in the old nature. But all what took place on the
Damascus road when free, sovereign, effectual, irresistible grace
took hold of Saul of Tarsus and the nature of the spiritual Benjamite
was given to him. And friend, you see his first
prayer, two prayers, weren't they? One of inquiry and one
of submission. And those who have the second
nature I'm speaking about of Benjamin, this is their life.
Who art thou, Lord? And the word is a desire to know
the Lord. And that was Paul's desire right
to the end of his days, that I may know him and the power
of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings be made conformable
unto his death. And the second prayer was this,
Lord, what will thou have me to do? Saul of Tarsus had never
made that prayer before. He always knew what he was going
to do. He always knew what he wanted to do. He was not going
to be interfered with by anybody. He'd push anybody out of the
way to do what he wanted to do. But now all that was slain on
the Damascus Road. For now onwards he was clay in
the hands of the potter. Now he was a vessel wrought upon
by free and suffering grace. The Lord was going to mightily
use. Now it was the Lord's will to be done, not his. And so we
find the dear man has his name changed, doesn't he? From Saul
to Paul. Saul means destroyer. Paul means
worker. Not that the Apostle Paul worked
for salvation. You know, by readings of Pilate,
he didn't do that. But friend, because he had a
great measure of faith, there were many works in his life wrought
by grace as the fruit of faith in his heart. And remember, faith
without works is dead. Do remember that. We can be very
strong on doctrine and very clear in church order and all sorts
of things and think we know everything in our head, but friends, it
doesn't bring forth a sanctified life, something solemnly, awesomely
wrong. You're still like the old Benjamite.
Your heart's not been changed. Your taste hasn't been changed.
Oh friends, look well into your heart tonight. Do you know what
happened to Paul? It may not be a Damascus road
experience with the suddenness of it and the, as it were, the
momentous nature of it all of a sudden. It may well have been
over a period, but nonetheless, is there a change? Is there a
change? Are you different to what you
once were? You say, well, I'm still a sinner.
You will be to your dying day. Many years ago, in the tradition
of the Scottish Church, they were about to hold a communion.
And there was a lady who wanted to sit down for the first time.
And she went before, I don't know what they called it, a synod. I'm not quite sure what they
call it, but it doesn't matter what they call it. There were the
elders she had to go and see and just tell a little of her
experience. And she couldn't say much, and
they were a little bit perplexed. until one of the elders had more
wisdom than the rest, I think. He said, are you a sinner? Yes, she said, I am. But I'm
not the sinner that I once was. Do you understand that? Are you
a sinner? Yes, but I'm not the sinner I
once was. What is the difference? Ah, friends,
now she mourned over sin. Now she grieved over sin. Now
she wanted to be delivered from it. Now she wanted grace to turn
her back upon it. She's not the sinner she once
was. So she was still a sinner. And you will be that your dying
day. Paul says that. Oh, wretched
man that I am. Who shall deliver me of the body
of this death? But I thank God. through Christ Jesus, my Lord. So with my flesh, I serve the
law of sin, but with my soul, spirit, the law of God. Well, here Saul then becomes
Paul. Changed nature, changed name. And friends, what a wonderful
witness and what a wonderful instrument he was in God's hand
as a Benjamin. Well, let's come now to the words
here and see how precious they are. And of Benjamin, he said. Notice how distinct the blessings
were. They were distinct to each tribe. Friends, beware of general
religion. Real religion is personal. We
call ourselves particular Baptists. We believe in particular redemption.
That is, we know According to God's holy word,
the Lord Jesus Christ knew for whom he suffered, bled, and died,
as I told you this afternoon. But not only does he know each
one, but friend, each case is individually laid upon him to
deal with. And thus, though the truths are
the same, the child of God learns, the way they learn them is very
distinctive to the path that God calls them to walk in. So
Benjamin is distinct in this respect. And of Benjamin, he
said, the beloved of the Lord. What a wonderful beginning. Now,
Benjamin, the first Benjamin was very greatly loved by Jacob.
He was the youngest son. Remember how hard Jacob fought
to keep him when that strange man down in Egypt said he must go down to
him. Benjamin's not going, says Jacob. No, he's not going. And
Jacob meant what he said. He had an iron will. He ruled
his family with an iron will. No one would broke what Jacob
wanted to do. But we read there in the very
next chapter starts like this. The famine was sore in the land. And Fred, in the end, that broke
Jacob's iron will. The Lord knows how to do it.
He knows how to do it. And in the end he said, if it
must be so. I think the dear man suddenly
realized, though his old nature rebelled against it, that what
God's wisdom sees most fit must be surely best for me. So Benjamin had to go. But letting
Benjamin go actually proved to be a link in the chain of a great
deliverance for Jacob. Friends, you may have let your
Benjamin go, but the outcome would be a greater blessing if
you clung to him. Beloved of the Lord. Now, dear friends, what great
love does God show to his dear people? The Lord Jesus Christ
described himself, didn't he? Greater love hath no man than
this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. And you remember, that when,
as I've just mentioned about Benjamin having to go down into
Egypt, though Reuben said that Jacob could slay his two sons
if he didn't bring him back, that didn't move Jacob. But Judah
stood in as the surety, didn't he? He said, I will bear the
blame. I will take whatever happens
to Benjamin. I'll take his place so that he
comes back to you. Oh, what a wonderful type of
Christ that is. What a mark of love Judah showed
to his brother Benjamin. How much more has the Lord Jesus
Christ assured you for his people? Oh, what love he has shown. Yes,
in Gilstart Dungeon where we lay, justice cried, slave at
mercy's spare. Jesus answered, set them free. Pardon them, but punish me. He stood in the sinner's room,
in the sinner's place, in the sinner's stead, voluntarily,
willingly. Oh, in my place condemned he
stood, bearing shame and scoffing rude, sealed my pardon with his
blood. Hallelujah. What a saviour. What a saviour. The beloved of
the Lord, the greatest mark of God's love to his dear people,
here in his love. Not that we loved God, but that
he loved us. and sent his son to be the propitiation
for our sins. And you see, those whom God loves
are those whom he's plucked as branch from the burning, those
ravening wolves, and made them to be those submissive ones at
his feet. Like good John Bradford the martyr
said, I did not love God, I did not want to love God, but he
loved me. and made me love him. Short, sweet, expressive testimony. Bless God for it, Frederick,
that's your testimony. I did not love God. That's Benjamin,
the ravening wolf. Did not want to love God, but
he loved me. Even though I was a ravening
wolf, even though I was dead in sins, even though I was on
the high road to hell, He loved me, didn't love my sins, no.
He loved my person, yes. And he made me love him. And
there's the clearest mark of being a true spiritual Benjamite. Have you any love for Christ
in your hearts and eyes? Look deep, deep down into it.
Open it up before the Lord. Can you honestly say with God's
servant, Simon Peter, yea Lord, Thou knowest that I love thee. There was a time when I didn't,
but now I do. The beloved of the Lord. God's children are loved by God
the Father. He sent his son to be with appreciation
for their sins. They're loved by God the Son
who laid down his life of ransom for them. And never forget the
love of the Spirit. Paul speaks about that in Ephesians
1, I believe. The love of the Spirit. Oh, how
wonderful to think that the dear Holy Spirit, the third person,
the glorious Trinity, should condescend to enter a heart like
ours and begin to make room for himself and to change the ways,
bring our feet into Zion's hill, We need the Lord to make room
for us, don't we? When I was a schoolboy at Bethesda, not
far from here, of course, I used to sing in the choir. And I'm
very, very fond of singing, and I still am. And one of the hymns
that we sometimes sung at Christmas, as they call it, rather than
the time of year, remember the Lord's birth, was this. It ended
up every verse like this. Oh, come to my heart, Lord Jesus,
there's room in my heart for thee. And even then, I was only
about nine or ten, I had to acknowledge I didn't feel there was. I couldn't honestly say it. And
so I changed the words. Make room in my heart for thee. Now, maybe one here tonight,
and in all honesty, you know that there's not room in your
natural heart for him. You know it. The love of sin
is too strong in this world. Yet you know that there ought
to be love for him. Lord, make room. It means some
idols will have to go. The Lord won't be second to any
other. But oh, what a blessed exchange.
What a blessed exchange when King Jesus makes room for himself. Those whom he loves, that's just
what he does. He makes room for himself. The
beloved of the Lord. And one further thing on this
point, the Lord didn't love Benjamin because he was better than anyone
else. Benjamin, his natural state was
most unlovable. And so are you, and so am I.
We may be orthodox, traditional, or very orderly outwardly. And
I'm not saying that shouldn't be so in its place. But friends,
God looks on the heart. And he knows what your heart
is and my heart is by nature. And if you know anything of God's
teaching tonight, you have to say, what was there in me? that could merit esteem, or give
thee the creator delight. For even so, Father, we ever
must say, so it seemed good in thy sight. Yes, who maketh thee
to differ? What dost thou, thou didst not
receive? The beloved of the Lord shall
dwell in safety by him. That is, very close to him. How can we describe this? Two
ways. Go to Song of Solomon, chapter
8. We read these lovely words. Who is this that cometh up from
the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved right by his side,
right by his side, leaning on his arm? He is her strength. He is her support. He is her
guide. He is everything to her. For
without him, she wouldn't come up out of the wilderness. Who is it? It's the Church of
Christ. It is these spiritual Benjamites
I'm hinting at this evening, right by the Lord, the Lord having
drawn them to himself. Oh, how we need to be drawn,
don't we? We're natural wanderers, natural strayers. But oh, it's
a wonderful thing when grace puts forth its drawing hand and
draws us to the side of the dear Redeemer. Friends, cling close
to him. Yes, closer, closer to him clinging. May my helpless soul be found. Or the closer we cling, the better
it is for us. And my friend, he cling to us. May he cling to us. Again, we
have godly Moses on the Mount Sinai, and he desired to see
something of the glory of the Lord and the Lord's place by
me. A cleft in the rock. I'll place
it there and cover it with my hand while I pass by. And so, dear friend, that cleft
in the rock is Christ, the place by God, in that sense, there
is this holy humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ, as it were,
so close to his divinity in that holy person of Emmanuel. It's
a place by me for sinners to hide in, within the cleft of
his dear side. They're all his saints in safety
hide. And what from Jesus can divide
all the wrath of earth or hell? What a mercy. And when your old
nature, the ravening wolves being busy, how you need the cleft
of his side for fresh pardon and fresh cleansing and fresh
views of Christ. Oh, we're constantly in need
of it, aren't we? Constantly in need of it. The
beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by him, or to be near
him, to be near him. The beloved of the Lord shall
dwell in safety, and his safety and security is of the Lord. The Lord Jesus Christ said in
John 17, I have kept those whom thou gavest me. And when he said,
then he said, Father, keep through thy own word those whom thou
hast given me. There we see two of the persons
of the Glorious Trinity in this work, and of course the Holy
Ghost is equally in it, keeping its people kept by the power
of God. Now I'm no engineer, I'm nothing
of that nature whatsoever, but I think I'm right in saying that
when an engine is made, it's made specifically for the purpose
that it is to be used for. The power that's needed is relative
to the work. Well, dear friend, you think
what an amazing power we must need to be saved if nothing but
the power of Almighty God can keep us. Ever thought of that? Kept by the power of God. Peter knew he needed that, didn't
he? And so do some of you here tonight. Some of us, we know
we need it. Hold thou me up and I shall be
saved. hold up my goings in thy path,
that my footsteps slip not. Oh, to be dwelling in safety
by him. And what does the Lord say to
those? He that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye. That's
how close they are to him. Hide me under the shadow of thy
wings. Keep me as the apple of thine
eye. And the Lord shall Cover him
all the day long, all the day of his journey, all the day of
the walk of faith. Cover him, what with? Well, Christ's
obedience is one thing. How do we need to be covered
by that? Oh, we, no, we're terribly exposed, dear friend, solemnly
exposed without that. Out of Christ, almighty power
can do nothing but devour. or how we need Christ's obedience
to cover us. Yes, the man who got into the
wedding feast without a garment was solemnly excluded, cast out
into outer darkness, we're told, where there was weeping and gnashing
of teeth. How vital the wedding garment
was there, and it will be in that great day for the marriage
supper of the Lamb. And dear friend, it's just as
vital now while you're here below. Hide me, O my Saviour, hide. till the storm of life be passed. Yes, he that dwelleth in the
secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow
of the Almighty. The Lord shall cover him all
the day long. We need the covering of his dear
hand, don't we? And it's a wonderful thing when
the Lord does that. I think of Nehemiah. When Nehemiah
went in to see the king on that memorable day as the king's cupbearer,
he was sad. Now the kings of Persia and the
Medes had a very foolish rule that no one should be sad in
their presence. They counted it as a personal insult, and
it could have resulted in immediate death. And when the king noticed
how sad Nehemiah was, then Nehemiah was exceedingly afraid. So what
did he do? He prayed to the God of heaven. Is there one here tonight you're
afraid of something? I don't know. Something this
week, something tomorrow. Oh, your poor hearts tossed about. Do what Nehemiah did. He prayed
to the God of heaven. And we read that the king granted
Nehemiah's request according to the good hand of his God.
upon him. The hand of the Lord covered
Nehemiah in the king's presence and shielded him from any danger
and brought to pass that that was needed. Oh, how wonderful
to have this covering, dear friends, as we go about our life here
below. Covered from what we are by nature.
Ever prayed that, Lord, keeping from myself? Covered from the
enemy of our soul, Satan, who is so busy and never takes a
holiday. Covered from this dying world
in it, but not of it. Covered, dear friend, from all
the arrows that may come against us, from sinners, from saints.
Oh, hide me, oh my saviour, hide, till the storm of life be past. Safe into the haven, guide. Oh,
receive my soul at last. The Lord shall cover him. all
the day long. When our dear Saviour led that
little band out to Bethany, we lifted up his hands and stretched
those once wounded hands over them and he blessed them. While
he blessed, he was parted from them, received up into heaven,
but his last act was he was blessing them. His hands stretched out
over them and he told them what that blessing meant. Lo, I am
with you always, all the day long, all the days long, always,
even unto the end of the world. Our friend, the Lord stretched
out his hand over his dear people. It's his presence, his overruling
presence, sanctifying presence. Oh, it may that be upon us. Yes,
a sovereign protector I have unseen yet forever at hand. Unchangingly faithful to save
almighty to rule and command these smiles of mine as comfort
abound, as grace abound as the sea. And walls of salvation surround
those souls he delights to save. What a mercy. Cover him all the
day long and he shall dwell between his shoulders. This was prophetic. If you read, if you look into
a map, of the tribes of Israel when they settled. You have Judah,
and then above Judah, resting as it were on Judah's shoulders,
according to the map, is little Benjamin. So it's prophetic in
one sense. He shall dwell between his shoulders.
What does it mean? It means three things, my dear
friends. First of all, it means support. Oh, this is what Hezekiah needed,
what some of you need tonight. Undertake for me, Lord. Undertake
for me. Yes, that's the first thing.
Undertaking God. Taking our cause in his hand,
our cares in his hand, our loved ones in his hand, our disappointments
in his hand, our inscrutable problems in his hand. Lord, take
it all in thy hand. Undertake for me, Lord. That's
the first thing. Secondly, remember that Aaron
on his shoulders carried the names of the children of Israel
engraved in those precious stones. On his heart, the place of love,
they were engraved, and on his shoulders, the place of strength.
And can his pity and his power suffer you to pray in vain? Wait
but as appointed hour, and thy suit they shall obtain. Power and love in Christ combined. An able, willing savior too. On his shoulders, the place of
strength. And Fred, think what those shoulders
bear. His shoulders held up heaven and earth, though Mary held up
him. The hymn actually says, when
Mary held up him. I'm a little bit cautious in
expressing it like that. Mary never held up heaven and
earth. She held up the little babe God had given her. He held
up heaven and earth. His shoulders hold up heaven
and earth, though Mary held up him. And the point I'm making,
dear friends, if those shoulders hold up heaven and earth, and
they do, is there any case or cause that he cannot manage? And then think what the dear
shoulder of the Savior bore, he bearing his own cross. went
forth unto Golgotha where they crucified him. Oh, the dear shoulder
that bore the curse for his dear people. He shall dwell between his shoulders. And then I thought of the parable
of the lost sheep, that 100th sheep. And we read the shepherd
left his 99 in the wilderness, no dad unto care. And he went
out and we read he sought until he found it. And when he lifted
it up and placed it on his shoulders and brought it home, rejoicing. If you're a Benjamite, dear friend,
you're going to need that more than once, more than once. The old nature being what it
is, you will be needed to be lifted up again and again. Restore, restoreth my soul. You'll need it. But the good
shepherd won't fail you. He shall dwell between his shoulders. Yes. So there's mercy here as
well, isn't there? As well as strength. And of Benjamin,
he said, the beloved, the Lord shall dwell in safety by him. The Lord shall cover him all
the day long. He shall dwell between his shoulders. What a
precious blessing this is. Those who like Saul of Tarsus
who become true spiritual Benjamites. And my last point this evening
is he was the youngest, wasn't he? who is the youngest of the
tribes. You read in 1 John chapter 2
concerning various blessings to the little children and to
the young men and to the old men. Do you know which one of
them received the pardon of their sins? It must be the old men,
you think, surely. Or the young men? No. Little
children, I write unto you "'cause your sins are forgiven you, for
his names save." I like that. In fact, really, friends, young
men and old men need little children, don't they? We're safe when we're
little children. Except you be converting as little
children, the word of God says, no case enter the kingdom of
heaven. Little children, I write unto you, that your sins are
forgiven for his name's sake." That's those who are born again
in the Spirit. They are the children. They are God's children. And
just go back to Jacob when he had Benjamin. He was the youngest
of the family. He had some older brothers and
sisters. They were growing up. Some had grown up. They realized
more the benefit of the home life and the father and the life
they'd been brought up with. Little Benjamin knew nothing
much about it. but he was one of the family.
Loved as much as the rest. Perhaps the little one here tonight,
you think, well, I'm only a little one. Friends, remember what David
tells us. A little that a righteous man
hath is better than the riches of many wicked. A little given
by the Lord is infinitely better than all this world can ever
give and than a false profession. Or maybe little Benjamin then.
Benjamin, he said, the beloved, the Lord to dwell in safety by
him. The Lord to cover him all the day long. He shall dwell
between his shoulders. May God add his blessing. Amen.