The notices for the coming week
are God willing as follows. Next Lord's Day there'll be a
prayer meeting in the morning at 10.30 and Mr. Roland Wheatley will preach in
the afternoon at 2 o'clock. The pastor will preach here on
Thursday evening at 7 o'clock and there'll be a prayer meeting
here on Tuesday evening at 7 o'clock. Let us commence our services
today by singing together hymn number 1060. The tune is St. Matthias, 794. Weary of wandering from the Lord,
and now made willing to return, I hear and bow me to the rod,
for now not without hope I mourn. There is an advocate above, a
friend, before the throne of love. Hymn 1060, tune St Matthias,
794. We are falling from the Lord,
and now may pray to the Lord. I hear and I hear to the Lord. For now, not wither, how I mourn. There is an evocative hope, a
friendly hope, The Throne of God O Jesus, full of truth and grace,
O God of grace, ally of sin, Yet once again I see Thy face,
O come, Thine answer to make me hear. O'er thy backs I think of thee,
And of thy faithful sinners still. Thou hast a way to bring me back,
my Father, send me to Thyself. ? And for thy truth and petition
? ? Love is heavenly, tender and lowly ? The ruins of my story are there,
and they are not a house of prayer. ? God keep thee, O Canada ? ? God
keep those on the brook of stream ? And glory thereof, still in
heart, In heart and music ring with me. that I may come, my gracious
power, and ever depth of heaven be known. Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God in the 2nd Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians and
we'll read chapters 3 and 4. 2nd Epistle to the Corinthians
reading chapters 3 and 4. Do we begin again to commend
ourselves, or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation
to you, or letters of commendation from you? Ye are our epistle,
written in our hearts, known and read of all men. For as much
as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ,
ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the spirit
of the living God, not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables
of the heart. And such trust have we through
Christ to Godward, not that we are sufficient of ourselves to
think anything as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God.
who also hath made us able ministers of the New Testament, not of
the letter, but of the Spirit. For the letter killeth, but the
Spirit giveth life. And if the ministration of death,
written engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children
of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for
the glory of his countenance, which glory was to be done away.
how shall not the ministration of the Spirit be rather glorious?
For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the
ministration of righteousness exceed in glory. For even that
which was made glorious hath no glory in this respect, by
reason of the glory that excelleth. For if that which is done away
was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious.
Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness
of speech, not as Moses, which put a veil over his face, that
the children of Israel could not steadfastly look to the end
of that which is abolished. But their minds were blinded,
for until this day remaineth the same veil untaken away in
the reading of the Old Testament, which veil is done away in Christ. For even unto this day, when
Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart. Nevertheless, when
it shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away. Now
the Lord is that Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord
is, there is liberty. For we all, with open face, beholding
as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same
image, from glory to glory, even by the Spirit of the Lord. Therefore, seeing we have this
ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not, but have
renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness,
nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation
of the truth, commending ourselves to every man's conscience in
the sight of God. But if our gospel be hid, it
is hid to them that are lost, in whom the God of this world
hath blinded the minds of them that believe not, lest the light
of the glorious gospel of Christ who is the image of God, should
shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves,
but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus'
sake. For God, who commanded the light
to shine after darkness, has shined in our hearts to give
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. but we have this treasure in
earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God and
not of us. We are troubled on every side,
yet not distressed. We are perplexed but not in despair,
persecuted but not forsaken, cast down but not destroyed,
always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus,
that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.
For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus'
sake, that the life also of Christ, of Jesus, might be made manifest
in our mortal flesh. So then, death worketh in us,
but life in you. We have in the same spirit of
faith According as it is written, I believed and therefore have
I spoken, we also believe and therefore speak, knowing that
he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus
and shall present us with him. For all things are for your sakes,
that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many
redound to the glory of God, for which cause we faint not.
But though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed
day by day. For our light affliction, which
is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and
eternal weight of glory. While we look not at the things
which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things
which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not
seen are eternal. May the Lord bless the reading
of his own precious word and grant to us a spirit of real
prayer. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty,
which is an art, an art to come, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, We
bow before thy glorious majesty. We desire to worship thee. They
that worship thee must worship thee in spirit and in truth. Oh, we pray for that real true
spiritual worship today. And we pray that the grace of
our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God our Father and the
sacred fellowship of the Holy Spirit may rest and abide upon
us. that we may be led of the Spirit
of God. For as many as are led by the
Spirit of God are the sons of God. May we know thy spiritual
leading today. May we know the opening of the
word of truth. May it be with us, O Lord, as
the Apostle could say when he wrote to the Thessalonians for
our Our gospel came unto you not in word only, but in power,
in the Holy Ghost, and with much assurance. Holy, blessed, divine
Spirit of Truth, who grant that divine power this day in the
pulpit and in the pew, quicken souls and make them cry, give
me Christ or else I die. O most blessed Spirit, Exalt
the Lord Jesus Christ, the glory of his person and the wonder
of his grace, and grant faith to poor sinners to look and live.
Oh, do hear us, Lord, we humbly beseech thee. Do make us more
spiritually minded. Do set our hearts and our affections
on things above. Draw my soul to thee, my Lord. Let me love thy precious word. And may thy word be a lamp unto
our feet and a light unto our path. May the sacred spirit of
adoption be known and felt and experienced in our hearts. That we may know that we are
the sons and daughters of the Lord God Almighty. And may that
sanctifying grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be known and felt
in our hearts. May the love of God be shed abroad
in our hearts by the Holy Ghost. And may grace triumphant reign.
And may Christ exalted be. And may sinners deserve an endless
pain. Thy great salvation see. Lord, grant that it may be so.
Arise, arise, O God of grace. Into thy rest descend thou and
the ark of thy strength. Let thy priests be clothed with
salvation and thy saints shall shout aloud for joy. Lord abundantly
bless the provision of thy house and satisfy her poor with bread. Grant signs to follow the preaching
of the word. May the power that brings salvation
be exerted in the word. Fulfill those gospel promises. I will bring thy sons from far,
and thy daughters from the ends of the earth, and shall come
from the north, and from the south, and from the east, and
from the west. O LORD of hosts, O God of Israel, O Thou that
dwellest between the cherubim, shine forth. Let Thy hand be
upon the man of Thy right hand, the Son of Man, whom Thou madest
strong for Thyself. so will not we turn back from
thee. Help us to cleave to thee, help
us like thy servant Abraham to hope against hope. We do humbly
pray thee and may the light and the power of the glory of God
shine in the gospel today. And as we've read in thy word,
God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness has shined
into our hearts with the light of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ, Lord grant that it may be so, and that grace
may triumphant reign. We do humbly beseech thee, quicken
souls and make them cry, give me Christ or else I die. Deliver
those in darkness into light, those in bondage into liberty,
those far off make them nigh. Lord, let thy work appear unto
thy servants and thy glory unto their children. We do humbly
beseech thee. May we know, Lord, in sweet experience
this day, those divine drawings of our heavenly Father, drawing
us unto his best beloved and all-glorious Son. Oh, do hear
us, Lord. Increase our faith. Increase
our love. Help us to love one another.
to serve one another, to bear one another's burdens, thereby
fulfilling the law of Christ. We come, Lord, in all our need
as poor sinners, born in sin, shapen in iniquity, and we painfully
feel it to be so. For I know that in me, that is
in my flesh, there dwelleth no good thing. Oh, but we do pray
that thou wouldst strengthen faith and strengthen us in the
inner man, that we may lay hold and feed upon the glorious person
of our Lord Jesus, the bread of heaven, the living water,
the wine of the kingdom. Lord Jesus, everything is stored
in thee for poor, wretched sinners. Lord, we solemnly feel what the
prophet of old declares from the crown of the head, to the
soul of the foot wounds and bruises and putrefying sores there is
no soundness in my flesh. Remember our brethren the deacons
grant thy rich blessing and thy gracious help day by day, week
by week. Remember each one of our brethren
and sisters in church fellowship and work mightily among us and
graciously Remember the little ones and the children. We're
thankful to see them and hear them in the sanctuary. Oh, that
the fear of the Lord that is the beginning of wisdom may be
given unto them in their young and tender years. That they may remember their
Creator in the days of their youth. And oh Lord, we do pray
that you remember the young friends in all their concerns. Bring
them to living faith in Jesus Christ. Make them true followers
of thee and of those who through faith and patience inherit the
promises. Remember parents and give wisdom
and grace to bring up their children in the nurture and admonition
of the Lord. And Lord, we pray that thou would
remember all in the midst of the journey of life. Mercy upon
each one. O remember those that are yet
dead in trespasses and in sins, that know thee not, and have
no desire to know thee, and no desire after spiritual things.
We pray that this may be the day when they may be born again,
and their souls quickened and life given. O do hear us, Lord,
we humbly pray thee. Quicken souls and make them cry. Give me Christ or else I die. Lord, we do pray that thou would
remember those of us that are in the evening time of life's
journey. Prepare us for that great change
which must come. Do hear us, Lord. May we take
heed unto thy word. Be also ready, for at such a
time as ye think not, the Son of Man cometh. And now, my God, prepare my soul
for that great day and wash me in thy precious blood. Take all
my sins away. Remember this village. Send out thy light and thy truth
in the village and the surrounding villages and hamlets. Gather
in precious souls. Pull down the strongholds of
Satan. Set up the kingdom of the Lord
Jesus in the hearts of sinners. cause the prodigals to return,
and thy mighty grace to be seen in this. Lord, thou art able
to do abundantly more than we can even ask or think. Oh, do
hear us in heaven, thy holy and thy blessed dwelling place. And
when thou hearest, O Lord, forgive. Remember all thy servants as
they labour in word and doctrine upon the walls of Zion. Fill
them with thy Spirit, Grant a door of utterance and the spirit of
liberty and grant that the Lord Jesus may be exalted. And we
pray thee, the great Lord of the harvest, that thou would
send true labourers into the harvest and build the walls of
Jerusalem. Lord, we pray for those that
labour. We particularly think of those
that go forth from among us as a group of churches among the
nations of the earth. Thy servant Ian Sadler, gird
him with all sufficient grace and graciously supply all his
many returning needs in the distribution of thy word and in the exposition
of it in so many places. Remember the Mombasa mission
and thy servant there, grant thy rich blessing. And oh Lord,
remember we do beseech you the Savannah Education Trust and
that great work that they're doing in Ghana. May these things
redound to the great glory of thy holy name. We pray for those that are in
those nations of the earth where the Lord Jesus is hated and the
word of God abhorred and thy people are persecuted. Lord,
send them help from the sanctuary, strengthen them out of Zion,
we do humbly beseech thee. And Lord, we live in a day when
so much iniquity abounds, and the spirit of anti-Christ is
seen. Oh, do hear us, Lord, we pray,
and graciously send out thy light and thy truth. Lord, we We pray for our leaders
that wisdom may be given unto them and guidance and direction. We pray for our king that thy
rich grace may be found in the hearts of the royal household. Oh, do hear us, Lord, we humbly
beseech thee. And have mercy upon us, we pray
thee, as a nation. We live in solemn days. and that,
Lord, we pray that thou wouldst put a stop to war, bring to naught
the counsels of the ungodly, overturn their desires, O Lord,
we beseech thee, and send deliverance, we pray. We thank thee, O Lord,
for every mercy of thy kind providence. We thank thee above all for the
glories of Christ, for the wonders of redeeming love, for the fullness
of that salvation that is in Him. We thank Thee that He is
full of grace and truth. We thank Thee that in Him dwelleth
all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. We thank Thee for His
holy life and the holy law fulfilled and honoured and magnified in
His glorious person and everlasting righteousness brought in. We
thank Thee for that holy sacrifice of Calvary where sin has been
put away and divine justice has been satisfied and God and sinners
are reconciled. We thank thee for the precious
blood of the Lamb that cleanses from all sin. We thank thee that
he died for our sins and rose again for our justification and
is now bodily ascended into heaven and sitteth at thy right hand.
O Lord, what a wonderful glory there is, that such a high priest
have we, who is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God. We thank Thee that in and through
Him we know the love of our Heavenly Father and we receive the gift
of the Holy Ghost. Be with us now, Lord, as we turn
to Thy Word. Open Thy Word to our heart and
to our understanding. We ask with the forgiveness of
all our sins, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. Let us continue our worship by
singing together hymn number 44. The tune is Mayford, 367. Here, Lord, my soul convicted stands
of breaking all thy ten commands, and on me justly might thou pour
thy wrath in one eternal shower. Hymn 44, tune Mayford, 367. ? Here to my soul ? ? You make
me stand ? ? Oh, make me new ? ? And love without end ? ? Arise
and reign forevermore ? ? Love and cheer all the days of
the month ? ? And for me all the rest of the day ? ? And crown thy good ? ? With brotherhood
from sea to sky ? ? And in my breath an offering
rest ? ? Yet in thy bosom ever I sleep ? ? And turn the world ? ? Into me ? ? Here I belong ? ? My heart
and soul ? And on and on, and on again,
they shall descend. ? This is the way of truth and
love ? ? In the room I keep the peace ? Greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, I direct your attention to the second epistle
to the Corinthians chapter three and read in verse three for our
text. Second Epistle to the Corinthians,
chapter three, read in verse three for our text. For as much as ye are manifestly
declared to be the epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written
not with ink, but with the spirit of the living God, not in tables
of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart. The Apostle here, he speaks of
his confidence that he has in that grace that was in the Corinthian
church and in the first epistle he has some very solemn things
to actually say to them because of the disorderly conduct of
some and even to the point of incest and he orders them and
says to them you must set apart that person that is living in
such a way it's not even named among the gentiles there were other things of course
also that he had to correct and put straight you know friends
we must always remember that the church of God is made up
of poor sinners And isn't it true, and those
of us that have grace, don't we have to confess? Prone to
wander, Lord I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love.
And then that desire, here's my heart Lord, take and seal
it, seal it from thy courts above. The Apostle here, he says we
do not need to commend ourselves. as some others. And ye are an
epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men. You know from a minister's point
of view it's a very wonderful precious thing when somebody
under their ministry has been blessed of the Lord. and has been brought from darkness
into light and from bondage into liberty and from being far off
to be made nigh. Christ made precious is something
very precious to the Lord's servants. This is what the Apostle here
is driving at. Ye are an epistle written in
our hearts, known and read of all men. The grace of God is
seen in you. The churches that he was able
to plant and the believers that were gathered in. For as much as you are manifestly
declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us and written not within but with the spirit of the living
God. Not in tables of stone, that's
the giving of the law on Mount Sinai, but in the fleshy tables
of the heart. The Apostle, he says in the Epistle
to the Romans, it is with the heart that man believeth unto
righteousness. We need, my beloved friends,
and it's absolutely essential, we need a religion of the heart. We need something done in our
hearts. One of the beautiful hymns that
we have regarding the Holy Ghost, and the prayer in that hymn,
and it is the prayer of a true believer dwell therefore in our
hearts. That's the desire of the living
child of God, to feel the divine power of the heavenly unction,
the meltings of heart that come from the indwelling of the Holy
Ghost. To feel conviction of sin by
the indwelling of the Holy Ghost, that's not a pleasant thing to
feel conviction of sin, but it's something that the Spirit of
God does. Great mercy, you know, friends,
if you kept tender in the fear of the Lord and you're convinced
of sin and you know that you're a sinner and you feel that you're
a sinner and you know you've done wrong, it's a great mercy
to know that. Not written with pen and ink,
not just to read it, that's what the Apostle means, not just to
read about it on the pages, but to feel it in the heart. See the head, the head is the seat
of our intellect. The heart is the seat of our
affections. There's the difference. A head
knowledge of religion You could be brought up in religion from
a little child and yet you may have been many, many years under
the sound of the truth and you recognize even naturally when
the minister is preaching error. But sadly, friends, and I've
known this, there are those that know nothing of the divine power
of the spirit and yet they have that natural discernment And it can go a long way, my
beloved friends, in religion, without the power of the Holy
Ghost. And it's all in the head. I only ever heard Joseph Short
of Chippenham once. Most godly man, I knew him well,
used to stay at his home and I preached at Chippenham And one thing that I heard him
at Pickhill Chapel, one thing that he said has never left me.
If all the religion you've got is above your collar, you'll
go to hell. I shall never forget him saying
that. And that is very true. We need a religion that is in
the heart. We need Christ in the heart,
not in the head. It's with the heart that man
believeth unto righteousness for as much as ye are manifestly
declared to be the epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written
not with ink, but with the spirit of the living God, not in tables
of stone, but on fleshy tables of the heart. My mind was much
drawn this morning. I was sitting quiet before I
came out and my mind went to the prophecy of Ezekiel and there
in the chapter 36 we have gospel promises. Ezekiel
36 It says from verse 25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon
you and you shall be Clean from your all your filthiness and
from all your idols. Will I cleanse you? clean water
as I've often explained to you the water living water The Holy
Spirit is continually likened to water in Holy Scripture And
where it says there, I will sprinkle clean water upon you, it means
the Holy Ghost will come upon you. And then in verse 26 it
says, a new heart. This comes from the divine work
of the Spirit of God in the heart when he dwells there. A new heart
also will I give you. And a new spirit will I put within
you. That's the Holy Ghost. And I'll take away the stony
heart out of your flesh. and I will give you an heart
of flesh. This is the divine work of the
Spirit of God in the heart of the Lord's living family. And
I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes
and ye shall keep my commandments and do them. See, a new heart
also will I give you and a new spirit will I put within you
and I'll take away the stony heart out of your flesh and I'll
give you a heart of flesh. What a beautiful word that is.
A word of promise to the New Testament Church. Do you have
a new heart? Do I have a new heart? These
are vital questions. Paul, he says in that well-known
verse in the second chapter of the Ephesians, you hath he quickened
who were dead. By nature we are all spiritually
dead and unless the Holy Ghost quickens
our soul we remain spiritually dead. You know it's a solemn thing
to have a religion that is all of the flesh, and all in the
head, and not in the heart, and not in the heart. There is a
way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof is death. It's a solemn thought, isn't
it? The end thereof is death. for as much as he are manifestly
declared to be the epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written
not with ink, but with the spirit of the living God, not in tables
of stone. That was the Old Testament religion,
wasn't it? He's referring to the Ten Commandments. When God wrote, engraved onto
those tablets of stone, the Ten Commandments. And that's what he's referring
to, not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart,
of the heart. Oh my dear beloved friends, we
need to ask that question. The hymn writer asks, how stands
the case my soul with thee? The heaven of thy credentials
clear, is Jesus blood and only plea, is he thy great forerunner
there? Is he? That's the point. It's
a vital question. You must answer it as before
God. Now, it says here in verse 6
concerning the power of God's grace upon him who also have
made us able ministers of the New Testament, not of the letter. What does he mean? Just a head
knowledge. Not just the letter of God's
truth, but the power and spirit of it. Not of the letter, but of the
spirit. For the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. Now, notice here in verse 7 what
he calls the Holy Law of God and may this sink deep into your
heart. There are those that believe
that they keep the Holy Law of God, the Pharisees do, they still
do. I thank God that I'm not as other
men are, even as this publican. I do this, I do that, that's
the Pharisees religion. but he speaks here of the law
of God but if the ministration of death written and engraved
in stones never forget that friends the holy law of God is the ministration
of death there is no life given under
the law we are commanded to do this or to do that, thou shalt
or thou shalt not. That's the holy law of God. The sad thing is, owing to our
fallen nature, we're not able to fulfill it. We're not able to fulfill it,
the holy law. There's nothing wrong with the
law. As the apostle says in the Romans, the law is perfect and
good. and holy. There's nothing wrong
with the law. The wrong sinner is in you and
me. That's where the wrong is. Sin,
and this is a definition given us in the Word of God in the
first epistle of John, sin is any transgression of the law
of God. Solemn thing. The ministration of death. You know the Apostle Paul when
he writes his epistle to the Hebrews he speaks so very beautifully
there concerning this and he makes a very clear distinction
between law and grace. It says in the Hebrews chapter
12 and he says there in verse 18 for ye are not come unto the
mount and he's speaking now of Mount Sinai where the law was
given for ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched
and that burned with fire nor unto blackness and darkness and
tempest and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words which
voice they that heard entreated that the word should not be spoken
to them anymore for they could not endure that which was commanded
And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned
or thrust through with a dart. And so terrible was the sight
that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake. That's Mount
Sinai. That's the giving of the holy
law of God, thunders and lightnings and an awful curse. Cursed is
every man that doeth not all things that are written in the
book of the law to do them. Oh my beloved friends, there's
an awful solemn curse that attends the law of God. There is. But then he goes on in verse
22, But ye are come unto Mount Sion, and unto the city of the living
God. This is the New Testament of
our Lord Jesus Christ. the heavenly Jerusalem, and to
an innumerable company of angels, to the General Assembly and Church
of the Firstborn, this is the Church of God in Christ, which
are written in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all,
and to the spirits of just men, made perfect, and to Jesus, the
Mediator of the New Covenant, and to the blood of Sprinkling,
that speaketh better things than that of Abel. The blood of sprinkling is the
blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, that cleanseth us from all
sin. The blood of Abel called for
revenge. It did. It cried unto God from
the earth. But the blood of Jesus calls
for mercy, cries for mercy. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's
Son, cleanseth us from all sin. That's the gospel of the grace
of God. It is. It cleanseth us from all
sin. But this man, what man? The man
Christ Jesus. This is in Hebrews chapter 10,
verse 12. But this man, after he had offered
one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of
God, from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his
footstool, for by one offering he hath perfected forever them
that are sanctified." That's the end of all perfection,
the glorious person of Jesus Christ. And what do we see in
that holy life and in that sacred, holy sacrifice of the cross of
Calvary. We see life. In the holy life
of Christ, we see the law fulfilled. Listen to the voice of Christ.
I come not to destroy the law, but to fulfill it. And that is
what he's done. Oh sinner, Jesus has fulfilled
the law for poor sinners. He has. What Daniel says, the
bringing in of everlasting righteousness, that's the glorious righteousness
of Jesus Christ. That's the holy life of Jesus
Christ. Upon a life I did not live, upon
a death I did not die. It hangs by everlasting all. It's in that precious Savior.
It's in that glorious Redeemer. That's where life is. That's
where That's where the curse is taken away. Because it says
in the Leviticus, cursed is every man that hangeth upon a tree. Why is that there? That is what
is called a typical law. Because it typifies Christ and
it typifies the death that he should die. It's mentioned in
the New Testament. Cursed is every man. See, my
beloved friends, the curse is taken away because Jesus suffered and bled
and died for our sins. Because our Eternal Father laid
upon Him the iniquity of us all. And that is why that Holy, Pure,
that Righteous Person of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, It's
a holy sacrifice. He suffered, he bled and died
because the Father laid upon him the iniquity of us all. He
was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities
and the chastisement of our peace was upon him and with his stripes
we are healed. For as much as you are manifestly
declared to be the epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written
not with ink, but with the spirit of the living God, not in tables
of stone, but in the fleshy tables of the heart. But if the ministration of death,
written and engraven in stones, was glorious, and it's true,
it had a glory, so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly
behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance
which glory was to be done away. How shall not the ministration
of the Spirit, he's now speaking of the New Testament of our Lord
Jesus Christ and of the divine work of the Holy Ghost, how shall
not the ministration of the Spirit in the New Testament be rather
glorious. For if the ministration, that's
the law of condemnation, be glory, much more doth the ministration
of righteousness exceed in glory. That's the righteousness of our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. For even that which was made
glorious, that is the law, had no glory in this respect by reason
of the glory that exceleth. The glory that exceleth is the
glorious person of our Lord Jesus Christ. The glory that excelleth
is the holy, sinless life of our Lord Jesus Christ. I come not to destroy the law,
but to fulfil it. Christ is the end of the law
for righteousness unto all them that believe. O my beloved friends,
to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. is that precious work of the
Spirit in the heart, work in faith in the heart. And this glory that excels in
the glorious person, power and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
You think of that holy life that he lived, the sinless life that He didn't shut himself in a monastery
to live a sinless life. He lived a sinless life as a
man walking here on this earth. And it's that glorious, holy,
sinless life of Christ that the believer receives his righteousness. It's his righteousness. His name
is Jehovah Sidkenu, the Lord, our righteousness. That's who
Christ is. The Lord, our righteousness. It's His righteousness. One of
the hymn writers, he says, righteousness within thee rooted may appear
to take thy path, but let righteousness imputed be the breastplate of
thy heart. The righteousness of Christ.
You know the Galatians, they The Apostle Paul writes very
clearly and beautifully to the Galatians and he makes a very
clear distinction between law and gospel or law and grace. There's a very clear distinction
to be made. And he says in the third chapter It
says in the beginning of that chapter, foolish Galatians who
have bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose
eyes Jesus Christ had been evidently set forth crucified among you. It's only when I learn of you,
receive you the spirit by the works of the law or by the hearing
of faith. Are you so foolish? And this
was the great error that had crept into the Galatian Church,
are you so foolish having begun in the spirit are you now made
perfect in the flesh? there were false teachers that
come into the Church at Galatia and they were teaching them that
now they had come to faith in Jesus Christ and They were completely
saved in Jesus Christ. They could now produce a righteousness
that was acceptable to God because they were believers and and the
apostle immediately sees the awful error that they were in. In other words, the Christian
believer can fulfill the law, that's what they were teaching. And it goes on in that third
chapter, verse 5, he therefore that ministereth to you the spirit
and worketh miracles among you, doeth it by the works of the
law or by the hearing of faith. Even as Abraham believed God
and it was accounted to him for righteousness, know ye therefore
that they which are of faith the same are the children of
Abraham. And the scripture foreseeing that God would justify the heathen
through faith preached before the gospel unto Abraham saying
in thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be
of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. For as many as of the
works of the law are under the curse. For it is written, Cursed
is every one that continueth not in all things which are written
in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified
by the law in the sight of God, it is evident. For the just shall
live by faith, and the law is not of faith. But the man that
doeth them shall live in them. Christ hath redeemed us from
the curse of the law being made a curse for us. Christ hath redeemed
us. For it is written, cursed are
every one that hangeth on a tree, that the blessing of Abraham
might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ, that we might receive
the promise of the Spirit through faith. Through faith. the law was confirmed in Christ. Verse 22 of that third of Galatians,
But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise
by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. But before faith came, we were
kept under the law and shut up unto faith which should afterwards
be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster
to bring us unto Christ that we might be justified by faith. We must just notice this friends
and I feel it's imperative that we should. You will notice to
bring us in that verse 24 is in italics. And that means that
it was not in the original. It was added by the translators.
So if you take out to bring us. It says, wherefore the law was
our schoolmaster unto Christ, that we might be justified by
faith. But after the faith is come,
we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For we are all the children of
God by faith in Jesus Christ. For as many of you as have been
baptised into Christ have put on Christ, whether there is neither
Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither
male nor female, for you're all one in Christ Jesus. And if you
be Christ, then are ye Abraham's seed and heirs according to the
promise. That's the promise of eternal
life through Jesus Christ. To Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob,
First to Abraham, the Lord said, in thy seed shall all the nations
of the earth be blessed. And that seed is Christ. And
as the apostle argues very closely in the Galatians, it's called
seed, not seeds. In thy seed shall all the nations
of the earth be blessed. It's a very beautiful, sacred
truth, my beloved friend. And right back into the book
of Genesis chapter 3, the seed of the woman. It's Christ. That's the coming of Christ.
Centuries and centuries before the coming of Christ, the promise
was given. Thy seed. So that seed, that
promise was given to Abraham and then it was renewed in Isaac.
I was only looking at it yesterday morning. the seed, the promise
given to Isaac, in thy seed. And then the same to Jacob, the
Lord said to Jacob, in thy seed. See the promise, that's the promise,
the promise of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Oh my
beloved friends, these things are written for our instruction
in the way of righteousness and of truth for as much then as
ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ, ministered
by us, written not with ink, but with the spirit of the living
God, not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart. You know, when the Lord impresses the love of Christ
into the heart of the believer, and there is a sacred reality
that he calls Christ in you, the hope of glory. Then that
poor sinner comes from darkness into light because of that light
that shines in Christ. Just as we read together in the
fourth chapter this morning, for God who commanded the light
to shine after darkness has shined in our hearts to give the light
of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. And then he says, but we have
this treasure in earthen vessels. What does it mean? Earthen vessels
leak. They do. Earthen vessels leak. They have to be replenished all
the time. And isn't that so with us? We
are leaky vessels. But we have this treasure in
earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God and
not of us. The excellency of the power of
the Holy Ghost in the heart, the excellency of the power of
salvation in Jesus Christ, the excellency of the power in the
electing love of the Father, the redeeming love of the Son,
and the sanctifying love of the Holy Ghost. the excellency of
the power may be of God and not of us. We cannot, no man can
keep alive his own soul. That's a statement from Holy
Scripture. You can't. Unless the Holy Ghost
revives and renews. You know I often quote to you
that hymn and it speaks there of the work of the Holy Ghost
And when the Holy Ghost withdraws his sweet influence, it's very
beautifully laid out by John Bunyan in the Holy War. And when
the Holy Ghost, he never leaves the heart of the believer. But when we grieve him, it speaks
in the Ephesians of grieving the Holy Spirit of promise, whereby
you are sealed unto the day of redemption. What happens when we grieve the
Holy Spirit? I think the hymn writer puts
it beautifully. No longer burns our love. Our faith and patience fail.
They do. Why? Because the Holy Ghost,
he hasn't left you. But he's withdrawn his sweet
influence. Why? Because you've grieved him. By worldliness, by carnality. How essential, my beloved friend,
is that divine light and life of the Spirit in the heart? It's
the Holy Ghost. The Apostle says in Romans chapter
8, if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he's speaking there
of the Holy Ghost, if any man have not the Spirit of Christ,
he is none of his. But the time will come when the
Holy Ghost will revive that which seems at this time to be laying
dormant. There's that beautiful word that
Christ speaks of in the prophecy of Isaiah. The hymn writer takes
up the very point. You will not quench the smoking
flax. Something just smouldering. No
no flames, no light, just smouldering, just smoke. But there's life,
there's life. And when the wind of the Spirit
blows, then that will fan the flames and that which is just
smouldering will burst into flames. See the reviving work of the
Spirit in the heart and Spirit of faith will lay hold of Christ. It will. You see, it will not quench the
smoking flags. It will not break the bruised
reed. Christ won't. Maybe that's how you feel when
you're a bruised reed. You bow down. And you know the
reed in and of itself cannot rise again. He will not break it. No. He will support, He will sustain.
Though you're bowed down under loads of sin, though you're bowed
down under unbelief, though you're bowed down in darkness, in bondage, He will revive. He will not quench
the smoking flames, the bruised weeds. He will not break. No. He will revive you. He will renew
you, He will replenish you. You see, He speaks here and we've
read some of it already in this chapter 3, of the, for that which
is done away was glorious, how much more that which remaineth
is glorious, that's the gospel, seeing then that we have such
hope, we use great plainness to speak, and not as Moses, which
put a veil over his face that the children of Israel could
not steadfastly look to the end of that which was abolished.
They couldn't. They couldn't fulfill the law.
They couldn't honor the law. You know, we started speaking
of our Lord Jesus Christ, how that he has fulfilled the law.
But just think of it, not just in the negative, But in the law
there's not just the negative, there is the positive. Thou shalt love thy neighbour
as thyself, that's a positive commandment. He said thou shalt not kill, thou
shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not this, thou shalt not...
and er... thou shalt love thy neighbour
as thyself. Christ himself encapsulates the
law, and he says, Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with
all thy mind, and thy neighbour as thyself. That's the law. Now
you look at the life of Jesus Christ. Not only did he do no
sin, in that he didn't kill or commit adultery or etc, but he
loved his neighbour as himself. That's what we see so beautifully.
in the Lord Jesus Christ, full of love to man's lost race, Christ's one. We read again and again,
Jesus having compassion, it's his love. You look at the life
of Christ and the love and the compassion and the kindness of
Jesus Christ to all those around him. We don't read that he ever
turned anyone away. No. He was loving, though they brought
to him sick and afflicted. We spoke just recently, didn't
we, on that, and how that the Lord Jesus immediately, there
are many times the disciples would have turned people away,
but the Lord Jesus wouldn't. He had compassion, and as many
as touched him, and it was that love and compassion of Christ.
The blind man crying out to him, Jesus stood still and what did
he do? He restored his sight, the love
and the compassion. Thou shalt love thy neighbour
as thyself and that is what we see in the life of Jesus Christ. We see all the negative commandments
fulfilled and honoured and magnified and we see all the positive commandments
fulfilled and honoured and magnified in that glorious person of our
Lord Jesus Christ. And this is the glory that exceleth. For if the ministration of condemnation
be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness
exceed in glory. For even that which was made
glorious had no glory in this respect by reason of the glory
that exceleth. That's the glory of the person
power and grace and love of Christ and the law fulfilled and honoured
and magnified in his glorious person. And that's what he gives
to the believer. That is what the believer receives
by faith. They have to say, they feel and
know that they have no righteousness of their own, but there's a righteousness
in Jesus Christ. There's the law fulfilled in
Jesus Christ. everlasting righteous, there's
precious blood, there's a holy sin atoning sacrifice and that
is what the sinner receives by faith. See my beloved friends
may we know this in the fleshy tables of our heart for as much
as you are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered
by us written not with ink but with the spirit of the living
God not in tables of stone but in fleshy tables of the heart. May the Lord have His blessing. Let us now sing together hymn
number 764. The tune is Arnold's number 91. how sad our state by nature is,
our sin how deep it stains, and Satan binds our captive minds
fast in his slavish chains. Hymn 764, Tune Arnold's Ninety-One. God save the Queen of Angels.
God save the Queen of Angels. God be with us. God save the
Queen. A pleasant voice of sovereign
grace Sounds from the sacred land ? To be there staring shadows down
? ? And draw a step along the road ? ? My soul ? ? Of pain so ? ? I
take on ? ? And answer ? ? With its bearing ? ? I would ? Keep thy promise, O Lord, and
help thy people. To the defense of my God. Incarnate
God, my God, He left me out, my softened soul,
from grinds of daily toil. Stretch out thy calm victorious
feet, Thy reigning saints appear, I'll play a dragon from the sea,
With all eternity true. The guilty weak and helpless sad, On thy right
hands I will hold Now may the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ the love of God the Father, the
sacred fellowship of the Holy Spirit, rest and abide with us
each. Amen.