Well, as you all know, we finished
our meditation last week on the 119th Psalm. And I haven't decided
yet on another portion of scripture to continue with. But the word
which is on my spirit, just to bring you tonight, is a verse
in this 13th chapter of Hebrews. And it's the eighth verse, which
is well-known verse but a very wonderful truth and the eighth
verse therefore the 13th chapter of the Hebrews reads this Jesus
Christ the same yesterday and today and forever surely that
is a wonderful truth to realize that the second person is in
the Trinity is the same as he always has been and always will
be. And we know therefore that we
have a gracious and glorious Redeemer, one who was so willing
to come into this sinful world to redeem our souls and to think
that this same Jesus now is seated on the right hand of the Father
in glory and there to intercede for us unworthy sinners. It's really beyond our natural
comprehension to understand that there we have God interceding
for us to his father. And what a wonderful favour it
is because we can believe therefore that our prayers are accepted
in the beloved. It's not the skill with which
we present our prayers. Often it's just really a groan,
but the Lord understands, and this God always has understood. We think right down through the
ages, right down from the days in the Garden of Eden, where
there was Adam and Eve, and there, in that place, the Lord condescended
to come down and to meet with them, to speak with them, and
then after they have disobeyed Almighty God, disobeyed the words
of the Saviour, that He was there to speak words of rebuke, but
also words of comfort. And surely that's the same gracious
Saviour that we have today. He looks upon us He sees us. He knows what we need. Sometimes
we do need words of correction. Sometimes we need words of rebuke. But it's wonderful to realise
that He is unchanging in His mercy. He is unchanging in His
love. And He is the same that He always
has been, and the same to each one of us from the day we were
born. until the day we die. And he
knows all our down sittings, he knows all our uprisings, and
he doesn't cast us off, he doesn't forget us, he doesn't leave us,
and he doesn't forsake us. We may not always feel and know
the comfort of the presence of the Holy Spirit to direct us
to the glorious Saviour. But nonetheless, the truth is
that He is still the same. He is indeed alive forevermore. And as we look back and through
the Scriptures and we can think of the prophecy of Malachi, the
last prophecy in the Old Testament, and there we read those wonderful
and important words where the Lord says, for I am the Lord. I change not, therefore ye sons
of Jacob are not consumed. And if you and I think of that
carefully, we deserve to be consumed, don't we? We deserve to be cast
off. It may not be our actions, It
may not be even our words, but it may perhaps be our thoughts. How wonderful it is then to think
that we have a compassionate saviour who is the same yesterday,
today and forever. And he knoweth our frame, he
remembers that we are dust. It's a great consolation, is
it not, to realise We have a Saviour who understands us far better
than we understand ourselves. And to think that this great
and glorious Saviour is with us as we travel through this
world, and to realise that He doesn't deal with us as our sins
deserve. If it was so, we would be cut
off, but because of His wonderful and amazing grace and His great
love. He doesn't therefore deal with
us as our sins deserve, but He deals with us as sons and daughters
of the Most High God. This is, this great and glorious
Saviour, this is the one that we read of who is the same yesterday,
and today, and forever. Well, may such words be a true
encouragement to us, and a strength to us. You know, Job, in his
book, he tells us that he is, but he is of one mind. Our God doesn't change. He's
not fickle, like perhaps we are. we may change our minds. The
Lord doesn't change his mind. Because in eternity past, with
the Father and the Holy Spirit, they chose a people. Very humbling, isn't it? To think
that we as unworthy sinners have been chosen by Almighty
God. What an amazing fact and what
an amazing blessing it is. In this same epistle to the Hebrews,
we read in the seventh chapter, these words from verse 24, but
this man, the Lord Jesus Christ, this man, because he continueth
ever hath an unchangeable priesthood. This is a chapter that deals
with Melchizedek. And then we have this great blessing
of the Lord Jesus. Because the previous verse, or
previous two verses, it says, By so much was Jesus made a surety
of a better testament, a better covenant. And they truly were
many priests, Because they were not suffered to continue by reason
of death, but this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable
priesthood. Wherefore he is able to save
them to the uttermost that come unto God by him. seeing he ever
liveth to make intercession for them amazing isn't it this same
god from the day of adam and eve right through will be to
the end of time makes intercession for unworthy people sinners for
such an eye priest became us who is holy harmless undefiled
separate from sinners and made higher than the heavens who needeth
not daily as those high priests to offer sacrifice first for
his own sins and then for the people's for this he did once
when he offered up himself for the law maketh men high priests
which have infirmity but the word of the oath which was since
the law maketh the son who is consecrated for evermore. Well, we can surely, I believe,
rejoice that we have this great truth, this same Lord Jesus Christ
is the same yesterday and today and forever, an unchanging priesthood. What a mercy it is. to be able
to read such a glorious truth. This book of Hebrews is very
wonderful. It deals so graciously with the Lord Jesus Christ and
his one sacrifice for sin. It leads us a little into the
truth that the Lord Jesus Christ came into this world indeed to
save sinners. And as the Apostle Paul said,
of me who am chief. What a blessing when the Holy
Spirit convinces us of our sins, so we don't look around and cast
stones at others, but come under that Condemnation, like David
did all those years ago, thou art the man. And when that is
so, what a blessing it is to be able to flee for refuge to
this great and glorious Saviour, who knows all about us. He knows
what's happening in our little lives. He knows how He's dealing
with us. He always has done. He's watched
over us. and he always will down to the
end of our life. And we believe through his great
and superabounding grace, he will receive us unto himself. Well, just a few words tonight. I hope they're encouraging to
us and to remember this great statement, very simple, not hard
as it, but it's so true. The previous verse, the seventh
verse, tells us, Remember them which have the rule over you,
who have spoken unto you the word of God, whose faith follow,
considering the end of their conversation, Jesus Christ, the
same yesterday and today and forever. Well, may God bless
his word to us.