help of the Lord. I direct your
prayerful attention to Revelation chapter 1 and reading for our
text verses 5 and 6, specifically the last part of verse 5 that
we'll read the whole earth and from Jesus Christ who is the
faithful witness and the first begotten of the dead and the
prince of the kings of the earth unto him that loved us and washed
us from our sins in his own blood and hath made us kings and priests
unto God and his father To him be glory and dominion forever
and ever. Amen. Revelation chapter 1 verses 5
and 6, particularly from the beginning of the praise, the
doxology of praise, unto him that loved us. a praise from
those who are the subjects of the blessings of God through
our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. In the revelation we have the
Lord Jesus Christ revealed and the prophecy of those things
that are yet to come to pass. The blessing is for gospel days,
especially in the letters to these churches. And the interpretation
at the end of this first chapter, we have a beautiful picture of
the Church of God represented in the seven churches of Asia,
but represented as the candlestick, one candlestick, but seven branches
to it like what was in the tabernacle and in the temple and in the
midst of that candlestick there are those seven stars and we
are told that the mystery of those, the stars are the ministers
or the angels of those churches and the candlesticks, they are
the churches and the Lord is in the midst of them. These are
gospel days when the Church of God is redeemed from every nation,
kindred and tongue. They are gathered together and
the fruits and blessings of Christ's work on Calvary are made known
to sinners. His work is done in their hearts
and they are brought through that work to sing the praises
of the Lord, to put the crown upon his head, to sing the first
notes of that praise here below. It's a most sweet and blessed
witness of being a partaker of it. When the tongue is loose,
the heart is full. and to sing the praises of the
Lord Jesus Christ. And so it is the praise, it is
the doxology of praise here that is our subject that is before
us this evening. I want with the Lord's help to
first look at to whom praise is raised. It is in the words
of our text, unto him and clearly identified as to Jesus Christ. And then secondly, who sings
this song of praise? It is identified as us or it
is the Church of God. Those that are described here
unto Him that loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood. and hath made us kings and priests
unto God and his Father. They are those that are the partakers
of the benefits and the blessings that Christ hath purchased and
done. And then what is their song that
is described in the latter part of verse 5 and verse 6? Unto him that loved us and washed
us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests
unto God and his Father, to him be glory and dominion for ever
and ever. Amen. but firstly it is to whom the
praise is raised, unto Him. God has made sure that no flesh
might glory in His presence, but that it is pleased the Father
that in Him, in Christ, should all fullness dwell, and that
it is pleased the Father to give that abundant honour unto his
beloved Son. This is my beloved Son, in whom
I am well pleased. And when he works in sinners'
hearts, it is his Son that is exalted and raised by the Father,
by the Spirit. The glory is the Lord's, the
crown of salvation is unto him. Now there are three descriptions
in the first part of our text, verse 5, of him, of Jesus Christ. It is not this that is the subject
of the praise, but it is the description of our Lord and Saviour,
Jesus Christ. The subject of the praise is
that which is personally handled, tasted, and felt by the people
of God. But here are three descriptions. The first is that he is the faithful
witness, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness. The Lord Jesus Christ suffered
much from those that were around about him, while upon earth,
and they sought to ask him from whence he had the authority that
he had, who gave it to him, by whom he did the things that he
did. And then when he testified of
himself, they even questioned that. And they said to him in
John 8 verse 13, Thou barest witness or barest record of thyself,
thy record is not true. And what the Lord had said unto
them, he said, I am the light of the world. He that followeth
me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. And it is in that context that
they said to him that he bore this record of himself. But the
Lord answered and said unto them, though I bear record of myself,
yet my record is true. For I know whence I came and
whither I go, but ye cannot tell for whence I come and whither
I go. The Lord says, I am one that
bear witness of myself. and the Father that sent me beareth
witness of me." Our Lord testified that if he was to not bear witness
or not testify as to who he was, he should be a liar like unto
them. But our Lord was the faithful
and true witness of himself. He did not deny who he was, but
clearly set before them who he was, and witness to all of the
scriptures, we think of after he rose from the dead, and the
beautiful sermon on the way to Emmaus, though we have not the
words of it, yet we know the subject of it, in all the scriptures,
the things concerning himself, bearing witness this which was
written of me, and though later on with the apostles, it was
in the Psalms and in the prophets, those things concerning me, the
law of Moses. And so the Lord Jesus Christ
revealed the things of God in all his teaching, his ministry,
in the miracles that he did, they testified of him that his
witness was from heaven. He said, my father doeth the
miracles, they bear witness of me. Those things that he spake,
he spake given of his father to speak. And those things that
he did, he did by the command from his father. This commandment
have I received of my father. I have power to lay down my life,
I have power to take it again. And so our Lord is that. faithful witness. Those that
heard him are in their turn witnesses and those who are blessed by
his grace and those who receive his word are also be his witnesses
to speak of what they have seen and handled and tasted and felt
what they have witnessed and our Lord spoke of that which
he had witnessed and that which he knew to be the truth of God. May we truly take notice of that
title of our Lord, the faithful witness. How many of the things
that our Lord witnessed too are completely gone against today,
even by those with a supposed profession in religion. The Lord, our Lord, witnessed
to the creation. He witnessed to the sacred institution
of marriage. He witnessed to the fool and
to Adam. He witnessed to the testimony
of the Old Testament scriptures, to Noah, to Jonah, to Moses. He spoke of those things that
today many will say do not exist or undermine. The Lord is the
faithful witness. May we believe Him and not man. May we be of those who receive
that witness into our own hearts. The second thing that is said
of Him is that he is the first begotten from the dead. From Jesus Christ who is the
faithful witness and the first begotten of the dead. That is the first one that by
his own power he was raised from the dead to die no more. Being the firstfruits, the firstbegotten,
there shall be those that follow after. The assurance given unto
all men in that he hath raised him from the dead, it is that
sure earnest token, the same as the festivals of firstfruits
in the Old Testament, that there was to be an ingathering when
that first was brought in. There is thanks, there is prize.
And as we go through this gospel day, there are gathered those
that are gathered unto Christ. And at that last great day, there
shall be that raising of the dead and a new body given them,
an immortal body and a celestial body. And they shall be forever
with the Lord. The Lord is the first forgotten.
assurance that there shall be that general raising of the dead,
how Paul so bears that out in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, how
vital that it be testified in the Church of God that there
is a resurrection of the dead and that Christ is risen. The
third thing that is testified of him is that he is the prince
of the kings of the earth. He is the king of kings and lord
of lords. We always think of kings as being
those that are the greatest or the highest position in a land
or over a people. Certainly in Bible times that
was so. But with the Lord he is set as
above them all. And how that was so seen in the
cases of the pharaohs, in the case of Nebuchadnezzar, the Lord
showed himself to be the King of kings and Lord of lords. And we are to remember this while
we are here below, that he is the highest authority. There
is no other authority that is higher than him. He is the Prince
of the Kings of the Earth and all that are under that authority
shall give account to Him at that last great day. The Lord truly is exalted in
this first description of Him and He is to be exalted further
in the people for whom He died and those that shall be gathered
unto him as the purchase of his precious blood. And for that
reason, what they praise him for and give that honour and
glory to him for is that which touches them and which they have
known and felt. And so we may say then in their
second place, who sings this song of praise? Who is it that
is fitted so to do this? And we said at the outset that
it was the us, it is the church or the beneficiaries of what
Christ has done. It is true that worship in heaven,
the seraphims, the cherubims, they all bow before him, holy,
holy, holy Lord God, almighty, there is praise unto God. But there is no such praise that
can be sung that is a match for the praise of the redeemed in
heaven who sing this song, this song which is as the song of
Moses. It is a song for beneficiaries. It is to God, It is to our Lord
Jesus Christ. It is he that puts this song
in the hearts of his people in his church. He has put a new
song in our mouths. How often we read in the Book
of Psalms concerning a new song that is put in the mouth. We think of the Song of Moses,
which is such a song. They had it when they came through
the Red Sea, when they saw the enemy destroyed, when they saw
they themselves had been brought safely through and delivered,
and yet Pharaoh and his host were dead upon the seashore. They sang the Song of Moses,
the Song of Deliverance, a song of praise. Moses, in the book
of Deuteronomy, in those last chapters, he teaches the children
of Israel again a song, the song of Moses, and it is rehearsing
of all what the Lord has done, what he has done for them, for
Israel, how he has blessed them, how he has delivered them, how
he has brought them, and to the promised land. And so we have
in the 15th chapter of Revelation and the verse 3 particularly
that we have the picture of those that have got the victory over
the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the
number of his name. They stand on the sea of glass,
having the hearts of God. And they sing the song of Moses,
the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, great and
marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are
thy ways, thou King of saints, who shall not fear thee, O Lord,
and glorify thy name, for thou only art holy. For all nations
shall come and worship before thee, for thy judgments are made
manifest. The blessing of the Song of Moses
is a song of victory. And it is a song of all what
the Lord has done and what he has accomplished. And this is
the church's blessing and this is the church's honour to sing
such a song. And so this is why we have the
word ask keep coming in throughout this song. It bears direct relation
to them. It belongs to them and blessed are we if the Lord has
taught us this song, if he has taught us some notes of it, some
of those strains of it. One can really only know it by
experiencing it when we know something of the blessing of
the Lord in our souls. then we want to sing and we want
to praise Him. And the Lord said, if these should
hold their peace when He was coming into Jerusalem, the very
stones would cry out because of what they saw, because of
what they witnessed, hosanna to Him that cometh in the name
of the Lord. When the Lord reveals that blessing
that He's blessed His people with and what He has done for
them, And when He shows them their interest in it, when they
realise what a blessing that is, and how at times it can just
well over a poor child of God, suddenly fill his soul and fill
his heart and fill his eyes with tears of joy and sadness at the
sufferings of our Lord, but joy of what the Lord has accomplished
and what He has done for them, and be able to sing and give
praise to the Lord. It is the Lord that raises that
praise. And sometimes we may go from
praise to sorrow, to be buffeted and tempted by Satan, and then
raised again to praise and thank the Lord. Our times are in his
hand, and those are precious times, when he comes and he revives
us again. And he brings us again to sing
his praise. You think of when the Lord was
raised from the dead and when he appeared to the disciples
in the upper room. They were there for fear of the
Jews. They'd heard many reports that
the Lord had been risen. Then the Lord appeared and they
were terrified and affrighted. They thought that they had seen
a spirit. But then he showed them his hands
and his feet. He ate before them. Then were
the disciples glad when they saw the Lord. Many are the changes,
the ups and downs of the people of God. And yet those are but
blessed and sacred times. The hymn writer takes it up,
sweet, the moments rich in blessing which before the cross I spend. And really, whatever we might
receive of the Lord, by way of a text blessed to us, by able
to see the Lord's dealings and work in our hearts and in our
lives, by receiving the Spirit's witness with our spirit that
we are born of God. One of the most sweetest, blessed
tokens a child of God can have is when the Lord comes and he
fills their heart with praise, with thanksgiving, with joy,
with praise like we have here, to be able to sing and sing unto
him and to praise his dear name. And if we've known those sweet
times, we've known those times a blessing, those are blessed
times when the soul is realising conquest over sin and death and
hell, And when the Lord Jesus Christ is inside, as the hymn
writer says, when King Jesus is inside. And then there's,
as it were, a blotting out of all of the world and all that
is round about. And all we see is the Lord and
what he has done and what he has completed and his conquest
and the victory. And we sing that praise unto
him. He's not often and he's not long,
here below, but it is reserved for them that are above. We get little touches of it here
and here before us are given some of the words of that song
and the subject of that song. But may we know in this our second
point that who are the subjects of it? The us, the Church of
God. those that are blessed. And if
we would clearly set forth, would you know, would you know whether
you are a member of the Church of God, whether you truly know
that the Lord has blessed you, that you have an interest in
his precious blood, that there'll be those times, maybe very short
but very sweet, where you've truly rejoiced in God your Saviour. You think of dear Mary herself,
how she rejoiced in God her Saviour. And those who have seen those
most blessed things revealed and opened to them, they cannot
but speak of them. They cannot but joy in those
times when it is revealed. And so we bring this blessing
of the Church before you as a as a sweet token of an interest
in it. Because the very subject of the
song, it speaks of the interest in it. They're speaking of what
they have handled and tasted and felt. So let us look then
in the third place at what the subject was. What is their song? We are told here what it is. There are three points first
and then there is the praise and glory to be given unto our
Lord. The first is this, unto him that
loved us. Those that sing this song have
imparted to them that sense of the love of God. John is very
clear when he writes his epistles that we love him because he first
loved us. And we dear Peter, when he had
denied his Lord three times, the Lord met with him and on
the shores of the lake, and he said to Peter, love us thou may. Three times. Peter was grieved. He said, Lord, thou knowest all
things, thou knowest that I love thee. And the Lord three times,
he gave him the commission, feed my sheep, feed my lambs. But the test was, lovest thou
me? He didn't say to Peter, Peter,
you have denied me three times. I tell you three times that I
love thee. No. He asked Peter, did he love
him? Was the love of God shed abroad
in his heart? If it was, then it was because
God first loved him. We might love someone on earth
and have no guarantee that they love us back. But when we have
the love of God shed abroad in the heart by the Holy Ghost,
we know that the Lord has loved us first. And that is why the
Church can say, unto him that loved us. That still loves us. The love that God has to his
people is an everlasting love. It is clearly testified of that
in Jeremiah. Yea, I have loved thee with an
everlasting love. Therefore with loving kindness
have I drawn thee. The love of the Lord to his people
is an eternal love. The Lord speaks of his Father
and his people, thine they were, and thou gavest them me. The
love of the Father to the Son, and the love of the Son to receive
from the Father a people whom the Father loved, because the
Lord says the Father himself loveth you. And that love of
God that passeth all understanding is shed abroad in the heart by
the Holy Ghost. It is a love that is imparted
to a sinner and ones that have felt no love and still do. When we are left to ourselves,
our hearts are hard, they're cold, they're lumpish and dry. We feel no affection for the
Lord at all. But when the Lord is pleased
to shed abroad a Saviour's love, the hymn writer says, that will
kindle ours. And it does. Our heart will move. at his command. He does draw
out from his dear people like he did from Peter, those expressions
of love to him. And so when they sing this song,
unto him that loved us, there is a tracing to that everlasting
love, that love that first began, first inscribed my name. in that Lamb's Book of Life,
first placed my name there, that love that brought the Lord to
this earth, to take upon him, not of the nature of angels,
but of the seed of Abraham, made like unto his brethren, like
unto me, like unto you, sin accepted, and that he should then live
upon this earth, work out a righteousness for us. The love that bore that. How long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you?
That appointed time here below and that love that brought him
to die. May we always hold fast to the
particular love of Christ. We are particular Baptists. We
believe that Christ died for his people, particular redemption. If we say that Christ died just
as a general atonement for mankind that is then limited by election,
then we are saying there's no specific personal love to those
for whom he died. But when we know that it was
love to an individual sinner that brought him to Calvary,
that those sins that he groaned under in Gethsemane and on the
accursed tree were your sins, my sins, that we shall look upon
him whom we have pierced, that he did not die just for a general
atonement, but a particular one, This is so taught in scripture. In Numbers chapter three, we
have the firstborn of Israel had to be redeemed by the number
of the Levites. They had to count the firstborn
in Israel, and then they had to count the Levites. And where
there was a difference, and there was a difference, I think it
was some 273 difference, they had to be paid the five shekels
according to the sanctuary for each one of those firstborn to
redeem them. It was one for that one. One
firstborn, one Levite, or one firstborn and five shekels. And it speaks of a particular
redemption. And again, the directions in
the law, a just weight and a just balance There had to be an exact
payment. You couldn't buy something with
a false weight that made out it was some different weight.
The Lord emphasised in the law of God that if there was a debt
to pay, that debt had to be paid exactly, no more, no less. And so with our Lord Jesus Christ,
he hath paid the debt that his people owed. He hath made satisfaction
EF will fill the law. What kind of a law would it be
that said in a land that if you and I had a debt, that then if
the debt was 50 pounds, that the law would demand that you
paid 100 pounds and you get then released for your 50 pound debt.
You say, well, how can that be just and right? Wouldn't it be
just as right if I paid 25 pounds and got released my 50 pound
debt? Wouldn't that be just as just?
So the word of God testifies. When our Lord died, he died for
his people. He says, I lay down my life for
the sheep, a particular love for a particular people and that
which is effectual. So we may say there is none for
whom Christ died that are not saved because his blood saves. is redemption is an eternal redemption. It is not a redemption that is
not effectual, it is effectual. And so those that are brought
to see the expression of the love of the Lord Jesus Christ,
greater love hath no man than this, than a man lay down his
life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever
I command you. The Lord Jesus Christ was laying
down his life for his people and it was an expression of his
love to them. And so when that love is shed
abroad in the heart and when they're able to say unto him
that loved us, it is from a soul being able to trace that love
that first inscribed our name. in the Lamb's Book of Life that
brought Him to suffer, that brought Him to die, that it was that
love that shaped our lives, that determined where we shall be
born, when we should be born, and when we should be born again
of the Spirit, that sent forth His Spirit into our hearts with
the spirit of adoption. Having loved His own, He loved
them, unto the end. If ye love me, keep my commandments. Here is a people that sing this
song unto him that loved us. Dear friends, what do we know
of the love of God, of the love of God shed abroad in the heart
by the Holy Ghost, of the softenings of it, of the wonder of it, of
the joy of it, of how it loosens the tongue, that it is such a
wonder that he ever should love us. In all our sin, in all our
shame, that he should ever set his love upon us. Unto him that
loved us, and that will love us, and love us forever. This then is the first note of
that song. The second is this, unto him
that washed us from our sins in his own blood. May we ever remember that the
Lord Jesus Christ came to save his people from their sins. not just to save them from the
demands of a broken law, not just to gain them an entrance
into heaven, but to save them from their sins. They will be
a people that are brought to know themselves as sinners, and
to know the plague of their own heart, and to know what sin is,
and to be brought to hate sin, and to be troubled from sin,
and to pray with Jabez that the Lord would keep them from evil
that it does not grieve them. And that love of God that redeemed
on Calvary also sanctifies a people. How beautifully it's set forth
in Ephesians 5 as the Lord dealing with his church as his bride. They are sanctified and washed
and made me to be partakers with the saints in line. Sanctification
is not perfect here below, that which is wrought in us, but that
which is wrought for us, separated unto God, is perfect. But as
the Lord works in the hearts and lives of his people, what
they rejoice in, what they praise God for, what they sing when
they see, The hymn writer says this, O the happiness arising
from the life of God within, when the soul is realising conquest
over hell and sin. Those are precious times. The Lord says, Sin shall not
have dominion over you, you are not under the law, you are under
grace. And the Lord has delivered his
people from their sins. The people of God are the only
ones upon this earth that really know what sin is, that truly
groan under it, that cry out with the Apostle Paul, that the
evil that I would not, that I do, the good that I would I do not,
O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from this body
of death? But to see that conquest in the
Lord, and though yet here below We are not fully delivered from
it. We know we shall not. We know it is the Lord's will
that he will have us remain here, but that he'd keep us from the
evil and to realise that what the Lord has done for us on Calvary,
that he's washed us from these sins and those sins that we commit. If we confess our sins, he is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness. And it is a realising of that,
the washing of regeneration and the washing of our sins in Christ's
own blood. Thou art all pure, my love, there
is no spot in thee. The church says I am black, yet
comely in the Lord Jesus Christ. And it is a realising of how
effectual How complete is the washing of the Lord Jesus Christ
of his people's sins. You and I will sin right through
our lives. By God's grace, it will be a
burden of sorrow, grief to us, and often bring us to his throne,
confessing and repenting and sorrowing. That when we come
with pardon in our hands and with our sweet sins again, of
the love of God in our hearts. And that sweet restoration that
David prayed for, restore unto me the joy of thy salvation. Then we can sing again this precious
song unto him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his
own blood. Well, there is a third song as
well. It is unto him that has made
us kings and priests unto God and his Father. What the Lord
has done, he has brought his kingdom and he's put his kingdom
within us. My kingdom cometh not with observation,
it is within you. And a king has a rule and the
Lord has given for his dear people that they should rule as a king,
as King Jesus, in their hearts. Instead of ruled by Satan, the
apostle says, clearly, his you are, of whom you obey. And it is a blessed thing to
be a servant of the Lord and to be under him. He, in the beginning
here, is said to be the prince of the kings of the earth,
but when it comes in a grace, then he makes his dear people
that they are to be kings. They are not, as it were, just
under the dominion of sin. The apostle, he says, that I
keep under my body, lest when I preach to others, I myself
should be a castaway. And the Lord gives his dear people
that grace and help so that they seek to serve him, to obey him,
and that they're members, being not members of servants to unrighteousness,
to uncleanness, but servants unto the Lord. And they are made
then in that sense kings, unto God, but also priests, and a
priest is one that offers up spiritual sacrifices, sacrifices
of praise. David, again, had the sacrifices
of a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. Brought to live holy lives, show
forth the praise of him, called us out of nature's darkness,
and into his marvellous light. That which the Lord has wrought
in his people makes a profound change and affects their lives,
their whole outward, and brings them to be a people, this people
have I formed for myself, they shall show forth my praise. And that is exactly what they're
doing here. They are showing forth the praises
of God. hath made us. The Apostle says,
I am what I am by the grace of God. He hath made us kings and
priests unto God and his Father. Dear friends, have we that sense
of the love of God to us and a realisation of what the Lord
has done on Calvary to wash us from our sins? and that he has
made us to be in that position to him as to offer our praise
and glory unto him, chosen each one of us in our day and in our
generation to know the Lord, to speak of him, to confess him
before men and to honour him before men and to sing the first
notes of this praise of honour and glory unto Him, because that
is what comes next to Him, to Him who's described in these
three things that He had done in us and for us. To Him be glory and dominion
forever and ever. Amen. Don't ever listen to Satan. When He has wrought those things
in your heart and He says, well now, don't say anything. You
be humble. You be meek and lowly. You don't
tell anyone. That's taking glory to you. No.
Those that are blessed in this way, they give all the glory
to the Lord. If you have the work of God in
you, don't be silent. Tell it to the honour and glory
of God. That is not what you've done.
is what the Lord has done. It is in the words of this song
to tell what he has done in his love, what he has done in washing
away our sins, what he has done in making us kings and priests
and the glory is his. To him be glory and dominion
and we'll be under that dominion now and forever and forever. The blessings of the gospel are
not just for time. The Apostle says, if in this
life only we have hope in Christ with all men most miserable.
But here is this that is eternal, it is forever. Well, dear friends,
may we be blessed with such a song, even for a few moments, but a
realisation that this does belong to us and a desire to sing it
while we are here below. But those that have been taken,
those that have been brought to be with the Lord in heaven,
this is their song forever. This is sung with no more a clay
tabernacle, with no more a lisping, stammering tongue, but like John
Newton says in a more noble song, I'll sing thy power to save. And it is a blessed thing to
have a little taste of the song and joy and blessings of the
redeemed here below. So I bring it before you here
this evening. May the Lord be pleased to bless
it and may it have an echo, even in the ball way it has been set
forth, yet an echo in some of your hearts, say I know something
of this. May the Lord touch us to sing
this song ourselves. May the Lord add his blessing.
Amen.