Let us commence our service this
afternoon by singing together hymn number 771. The tune is
Deep Harmony, 869. To know my Jesus crucified by
far excels all things beside. All earthly good I count but
loss and triumph in my Saviour's cross. Hymn 771. Tune Deep Harmony
869. ? Through Jesus' mercy kind ? ?
Thine our excellence ? ? All things bestowed ? ? All earthly
delight ? and triumph in the highest. ? To pleasure brings ? ? Where
to my soul ? ? To pleasure brings ? ? Now peace found in heav'n
? ? The joy of praise ? ? Brought
me home ? ? Oh, can I know ? ? How lovely ? ? And all His prophets praise Him
so ? ? And all Thy prophets address Him so ? ? That much we adore thee, O Lord
Jesus. ? ? Lord, may I never again be lost,
? ? In which our love forever echoes
? ? Ever may our light shine evermore ? ? Have I this mindful mystery? ? ? Thou'st make me ready, my
expert, ? ? It's all the right thing ? ?
And what we have won ? ? Jesus made ? ? And going to heaven
? Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God in Psalms 27 and 28. The Book of Psalms, Numbers
27 and 28. The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is
the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked,
even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh,
they stumbled and fell. Though an host should encamp
against me, my heart shall not fear. Though war should rise
against me, in this will I be confident. one thing have i desired
of the lord that will i seek after that i may dwell in the
house of the lord all the days of my life to behold the beauty
of the lord and to inquire in his temple for in the time of
trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion in the secret of his
tabernacle shall he hide me he shall set me up upon a rock,
and now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about
me. Therefore will I offer in his
tabernacle sacrifices of joy. I will sing, yea, I will sing
praises unto the Lord. Hear, O Lord, when I cry with
my voice. Have mercy also upon me, and
answer me. When thou said, seek ye my face,
my heart said unto thee, thy face, Lord, will I seek. Hide not thy face far from me. Put not thy servant away in anger. Thou hast been my help, leave
me not. Neither forsake me, O God of
my salvation. When my father and my mother
forsake me, then the Lord will take me up. Teach me thy way,
O Lord, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies. Deliver me not over unto the
will of mine enemies, for false witnesses are risen up against
me, and such as breathe out cruelty. I had fainted, unless I had believed
to see the goodness of the Lord, in the land of the living. Wait
on the Lord, be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine
heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord. Unto thee when I cry, O Lord
my rock, be not silent to me, lest if thou be silent to me,
I become like them that go down into the pit. Hear the voice
of my supplications when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my
hands toward thy holy oracle. Draw me not away with the wicked
and with the workers of iniquity, which speak peace to their neighbours,
but mischief is in their hearts. Give them according to their
deeds and according to the wickedness of their endeavours, give them
after the work of their hands, render to them their dessert,
because they regard not the works of the Lord, nor the operation
of his hands. He shall destroy them and not
build them up. Blessed be the Lord, because
he hath heard the voice of my supplications. The Lord is my
strength and my shield, My heart trusted in him and I am helped,
therefore my heart greatly rejoices and with my song will I praise
him. The Lord is their strength and
he is the saving strength of his anointed. Save thy people
and bless thine inheritance, feed them also and lift them
up forever. May the Lord Bless the reading
of his precious word and grant unto us the spirit of real prayer. Holy and most gracious Lord God,
we do pray for thy help to worship thee here this afternoon. We
do pray for the sweet influence of thy spirit and that thou wouldst
now grant us a humble, teachable spirit and teach us how to pray
and for what to pray. For we know not what to pray
for as we ought, but may the spirit make intercession for
us. We do humbly beseech thee. Prayer indicted from above. Our
Lord, may that be so with us here this afternoon as we bow
before thee at the throne of grace, as we come to our great
High Priest, as we plead his precious blood and merits, for
Lord, we have no merits of our own, and all our righteousnesses
are as filthy rags. We are all as an unclean thing,
and we solemnly feel it to be so. We pray to be washed and
cleansed May we know here this afternoon that washing of regeneration. May it be powerfully felt within.
And may we know the washing of that precious blood. We need, O Lord, to be sanctified
by thy Spirit. We need to be sanctified by the
blood of Jesus. We need to be sanctified by that
glorious everlasting robe of the righteousness of Jesus, to
separate us from this world, to unite us unto Thee. May we
know that reconciling grace. May we know what the sweet psalmist
of Israel desired. One thing have I desired of the
Lord, that will I seek after, that I might dwell in the house
of the Lord all the days of my life. And does not thy servant
say, I have loved the habitation of thy house, the place where
thine honour dwelleth? Oh, we do pray that we may be
favoured to find a dwelling place among thy people, no more a stranger
or a guest, but like a child at home. Grant us, Lord, we pray
thee, those living desires and union and communion with Jesus
Christ. Grant us precious faith to lay
hold of that hope that is set before us in the gospel. Blessed
Spirit, bring that faith into exercise in our hearts, that
faith that worketh by love, that we may love thee and serve thee
and follow thee all the days of our lives. and to dwell in
the house of the Lord forever. Lord, we pray that we may be
enabled to keep our eyes on Jesus' face. We pray that we may touch
the hem of his garment and draw from that sacred fullness that
is in him, the fullness of that glorious sacrifice, the fullness
of that holy life, the fullness of his death and glorious resurrection. We thank thee for these foundation
truths of our most holy faith, but may we access them by faith,
O Lord. May there be the application
of thy truth in our hearts, that we might know the truth, and
the truth may set us free. As we've sung together to know
my Jesus crucified, by far excels all things besides. May that
be so, with each one of us present in this house of prayer, that
longing desire to know the Lord Jesus, to follow the Lord Jesus,
that we may be enabled to lay aside every weight and the sin
that does so easily beset us, that we might run with patience
the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author
and finisher of our faith. Oh, do help us, Lord. to make
us more spiritually minded, to set our affections on things
above. Lord, we have to prove, and we
have to painfully prove day by day, for I know that in me, that
is in my flesh, there dwelleth no good thing, nothing, Lord. Nothing in my hand I bring, simply
to thy cross I cling. Foul I to the fountain fly, wash
me, Saviour, or I die. May we know those sacred drawings
of our Eternal Father, drawing us unto His best Beloved and
all-glorious Son. Oh, to know what it is to be
sweetly drawn, none come except the Father draw. Oh, to know
this afternoon as we gather round Thy Word, that sacred drawing,
of our Heavenly Father unto our Lord Jesus Christ. Thou hast
said in thy word, I will draw thee with the cords of a man, with the cords of love, O that
thou wouldst so do. Help us to love thee, help us
to serve thee in our day and in our generation, O Lord, we
pray. Grant that thy word may be a
lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. Grant that the
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God the Father
and the sacred fellowship of the Holy Spirit may rest and
abide upon us. Fill our hearts with gratitude.
Gratitude unto thee, our great God, that thou hast condescended
to men of lowest age condescending to reveal Thyself to the poor
and the needy, to the empty, to the helpless and to the hopeless.
Oh, we do pray that Thou wouldst come this afternoon. Maybe there's
one or another here, O Lord, and they feel that they keep
seeking, but they can't find. They have a longing heart, but
it's not satisfying. Thou hast said in Thy Word that
Thou wouldst satisfy the longing soul, fill the hungry soul with
goodness. And thou hast said in thy word,
blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness.
Lord, we thank thee for thy word. Thy word is truth. We thank thee
that thy word guides us and directs us by thy spirit in that right
way. And he led them forth by the
right way but unto a city of habitation. May we know that
divine leading and guiding here this afternoon. Fill our hearts
with gratitude for the glories of Christ, for the wonders of
redeeming love, for the fullness of that salvation that is in
Christ Jesus. Our hearts filled with gratitude
for that holy law being fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ. and everlasting righteousness
brought in through that perfect obedience of Jesus. May we thank
Thee, O Lord, for Calvary, for where the lamb was slain, for
where sin was put away, and divine justice satisfied. The Father
is well pleased for His righteousness saved. We thank Thee that he
died for our sins and rose again for our justification. Oh we
thank thee for the blood of the everlasting covenant, that covenant
ordered in all things and sure, that covenant of salvation, of
redemption. We thank thee that Jesus rose
from the dead and swallowed up death in victory and has made
a new and living way into the holy place and those everlasting
gates have lifted their heads and the King of glory has entered
in. O gracious God, fill our hearts
with thanksgiving, with praise for the way, the truth and the
life. We do humbly beseech of Thee. We do pray that work mightily,
powerfully and effectually among us here. Bless the dear children,
bless them with that rich and precious grace that is in Christ
Jesus. Bless the dear young friends
and bring them to living faith in Jesus Christ. Bless all that
are in the midst of the journey of life and graciously remember
them. Bless the prodigals and cause
them to return that we might see their wonderful work and
that we might have that joy, for there is joy in heaven over
one sinner that repented. and may we know that joy here
we do humbly beseech them let thy work appear unto thy servants
on thy glory unto their children and send out thy light and thy
truth among us here as a church and congregation and send out
thy light and thy truth into this village and the surrounding
villages and hamlets and bring our sons from far our daughters
from the ends of the earth, and we plead those precious promises. I will abundantly bless her provision. I will satisfy her poor with
bread. O Lord of hosts, O God of Israel,
O thou that dwellest between the cherubim, shine forth. We
do humbly beseech thee, and work mightily, and work powerfully,
and work effectually amongst. Bless parents, give wisdom and
grace. Bless, Lord, we pray thee. all
in the midst of the journey of life. Bless those of us that
are in the evening time of life's journey and prepare us for that
great change which must come. Sometimes, Lord, there is no
warning or to be prepared. Even as our Lord Jesus has said,
be ye therefore also ready, for at such a time as ye think not,
the Son of Man cometh. May, Lord, we be found ready
and waiting. Thou knowest what lies before
each one of us, is wisely hid from us, O Lord, but Thou knowest. Lord, we pray for Thy servants
that they may know that fresh anointing of the Spirit, and
we pray for reviving the outpouring of the Spirit upon the churches,
upon Thy servants, and we pray that Thou, the great Lord of
the harvest, will send true labourers into the harvest and build the
walls of Jerusalem Oh, do hear us, Lord, we humbly beseech thee. Let our cry come unto thee, and
may our prayers be perfumed in the merits of Christ, and ascend
up unto thee in his holy name. Thou hast said whatsoever ye
ask in my name, I will do it. Shall we ask our heavenly Father
to do these wonderful things, and to make manifest thy power
and thy glory in the church once again, that there may be many
signs and wonders to follow the preaching of the word and the
pulling down of the strongholds of Satan, the setting up of the
kingdom of our Lord Jesus in the hearts of sinners. Come and
touch one's lips with a live coal from off the heavenly altar. We ask for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. Let us now sing together hymn
number 303 to the tune Hollingside, 514. Jesu, lover of my soul, let me
to thy bosom fly, while the raging billows roll, while the tempest
still is high. Hide me, O my Saviour, hide,
Till the storm of life be past, safe into the haven guide, O
receive my soul at last. Hymn 303, tune Hollinside, 514.
? Of my own flesh and blood ? ?
It is where my person lies ? ? On the brim of my Savior's throne
? ? On the tip of my tongue ? Shepherds, why do you hide? Tell
the truth of thy victims. ? And receive my soul at last ?
? From the Lord God of Israel I come ? We all need Thee, Lord our God,
Self-sufficient God. ? O'er the land of the ivory ?
? And of the hill-tops to its head ? ? With the shepherd of
the lamb ? ? The power of Christ shall rule
my heart ? ? The glory of Him in my heart ? ? Heal the sick and heal the blind
? ? Just as early is my day ? ? Lord of my life ? ? O'er the ramparts we watched,
were so gallantly streaming? ? ? Reach to God and rule my day
? ? When the heavens shake the earth ? ? They can hear me today
? ? Take all of me ? ? Take all of
me ? ? Take all of me ? greatly feelings need the Lord's
gracious help. I'll direct your attention to
Psalm 27 and we will read verse 4 for our text. Psalm 27 verse 4. One thing have I desired of the
Lord that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house
of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of
the Lord, and to inquire in his temple. One thing. What a mercy, my beloved
friends, if you and I have the single eye of faith. That single
eye that looks to Jesus only. One thing. One thing have I desired
of the Lord. And here it speaks of a desire. A desire. You know really, this
is the beginning of all real religion. a desire, a felt need, a longing, a feeling sense of your need, perhaps
a feeling sense of your emptiness, of your poverty, of your insufficiency,
a feeling sense, like the hymn writer puts it, you have an aching
void in your heart. that the world can never fill and that aching void produces
desire to be filled a desire for something and when that desire
first comes you may not know what it is exactly you want or
what it is exactly you need but there is this yearning in your
heart this longing in your soul? Do you have those spiritual desires? Do you have those spiritual needs? Those spiritual longings? One
thing, have I desired of the Lord? You see that my beloved
friends you're brought to realize it's
only the Lord that can fulfill these desires, these longings
in your soul. And so when you come especially
to the house of God you feel that yearning, that longing in
your heart that the Lord would speak to you, that the Lord would
draw near to you. One thing, all my beloved friends
and speaking personally, I know we're all led differently and
I certainly wouldn't want to set up my own personal experience
as being a standard, not at all, because we're all led quite differently. But you know in those early spiritual
days when there was an awakening in one's heart, sometimes that
seemed quite a strong desire Quite a strong longing, quite
a strong hungering that you felt in your soul. And what happens
is, in these desires, there's prayer. You ask the Lord. Nobody else knows that you're
asking the Lord, but in your heart, there's a prayer that
goes up to God. Lord, make me right. Lord shine
into my heart. Lord grant that instead of darkness
there may be light. Instead of bondage there may
be liberty. These are desires. And instead of the appetite for
the world and the things of the world and the ways of the world,
There's an appetite for God. There's a desire to God. One thing have I desired of the
Lord. Oh, how many here, how many here
this afternoon can come in with the language here in our text?
One thing have I desired of the Lord. Our Lord Jesus Christ,
when he was dealing with Mary and Martha. We read that Martha was cumbered
about with much serving. She was obviously the active
one in the house, probably did all the cooking, etc. Mary was found sitting at the
feet of Jesus. She was. Listening to his words. Or she
was very spiritually minded. But Martha, she said to the Lord
Jesus, Lord, carest thou not? Carest thou not? Here's my sister, sitting here
and I'm having all the work to do. What a sad reflection on Martha. I believe the Lord loved Martha
just as much as he loved Mary. But what a reflection. Martha, because she was so cumbered
about with much serving, she actually accused the Lord Jesus
of not being caring. That's a very sad thing to do.
The Lord Jesus, the most caring man that there ever was. And
yet she said, care is still not. But what was the reply? Mary had chosen that good path. So the Lord Jesus, he said, one
thing is needful. One thing is needful. only one
thing, and Mary had chosen that good path. She was no doubt a
spiritually minded person, and she loved to hear the voice of
Jesus. She loved to hear him preach
and teach, whether it was in the open or in the home. And
she was sitting at his feet, she was listening to the voice
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Martha said what she said Jesus
said one thing Martha one thing is needful and Mary had chosen
that good path that shall be not be taken away from her no
one thing that's what that's where Mary was that one thing
are you or are you one of those that gets covered about with
much service one thing have I desired of the
Lord, that will I seek after. Again, these flowing from these
desires is a seeking, a seeking, spiritual seeking,
spiritual desire, spiritual longing, spiritual hungering, spiritual
thirsting, Jesus said, blessed are they that hunger and thirst
after righteousness. But why does a person hunger
and thirst after righteousness? Because by the Holy Spirit they're
going to feel that they're unrighteous. And therefore they are brought
to desire that righteousness that God gives. It's called the
righteousness of God. It's the righteousness of Jesus
Christ. And this is something that gradually happens after
these longing desires and perhaps not knowing what it is you need.
And then you're brought to realize that what you need is Jesus Christ. What you need is his precious
blood. What you need is his glorious
righteousness. But gradually this is opened
up to you. And so you desire it and you
seek it. That will I seek after. This is an inward spiritual experience. Do you know this inward spiritual
experience? This inward longing? David, he
says in the beginning of the psalm, the Lord, that is Jehovah,
is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is
the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid? there is obviously there a growth
in grace which comes by experience. You know, when we're first quickened
into life and those first longings and desires in our soul, we're
not very clear exactly what we need or what we want. It's only
as the Lord gives us some experience of our own emptiness and poverty
that then we hunger and thirst after Him. We feel that great
need of Christ. And there's that hymn, he says,
doesn't it? Give me Christ or else I die. There's a realization in Him
is life. That's in Christ there is life. He that hath the Son hath life.
He that hath not the Son of God hath not life. And when that
dawns on your soul, you'll then say, give me Christ or else I
die. Give me Christ or else I die.
The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is
the strength of my life. in the very early experience
of King David when he was looking after his father's sheep. He testifies doesn't he? He would
have only been about 16 when he gave that testimony. The Lord that delivered me from
the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear. He said to Saul, didn't he? The
Lord. He said a lion came to attack
the flock and he fought off the lion. And a bear came to attack
the flock and he fought off the bear. How did he do that? By faith. He tells us so. And
he says when he makes that confession to Saul, he said, the Lord that
delivered me. He knew. by experience that the
Lord had delivered him. A man and a lion are no match.
Nor is a bear and a lion any match at all. But with God, all
things are possible. And when that lion came, David
fought off the lion. He killed the lion. How by faith. He realized it was by faith.
There's no doubt that there would have been great trepidation when
he saw that lion. when he saw that bear there would
have been great fear in his heart but there is no doubt that his
eyes were up unto heaven that the Lord would help him and hence
he gives this confession the Lord is the strength of my life
of whom shall I be afraid When the wicked, even mine enemies
and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled
and fell, though an host should encamp against me. And he gave
that confession of faith when he went to Saul, because here
was Goliath of Gath, defying all the armies of Israel. 40 days and 40 nights, Goliath,
Defied the arm and there wasn't a man that dared to go against
Goliath. He was a huge man a giant But along comes it says in scripture
the stripling he was a youth but of about 16 years of age And he comes in faith Even his
own brethren scowled at him and told him to go back and look
after those few sheep in the wilderness. But he went and he was taken
to Saul. Saul put an armour on him, his
own armour, and he said, when all the armour was on, he said,
I can't go with this. Why couldn't he go with it? I
haven't proved it. I haven't proved it. What spiritual
lessons are here? David had proved the slim and
the stone. He had. And the Lord had given
him skill to use it to great effect. And so here comes this
little lad, and it's very obvious from Holy Scripture that David
was a very small man. And here comes this little lad, with a bag of stones and a sling.
And here is this great giant who had been a warrior from his
youth. He so disdained David, he looked
down on David and he scowled at him. He said, I will give
thy flesh to be meat for the birds of the air and for the
beasts of the field. And David, speaking in faith,
He said, the Lord that delivered me. He said to Saul, didn't he? The Lord that delivered me from
the paw of the bear and the paw of the lion shall also deliver
me from this uncircumcised Philistine. We know from that language that
David went in faith. It wasn't bravado. It was faith. for with God, and this is what
faith does, it feeds on the wonderful things, with God, nothing shall
be impossible, and David knew that. Hence he comes to this
language, one thing have I desired of the Lord, why, because I've
proved it. Though host shall encamp against
me, my heart shall not fear. Though war should rise against
me, in this will I be confident. And this, my beloved friends,
is the confidence of faith. It's to go forward in faith. It's to walk by faith. Doesn't the apostle say, we walk
by faith, not by sight? And the path that the Lord has
laid before you You must walk it by faith. You must walk it by faith. Like
Abraham when he came out of Ur of the Chaldees. He went out not knowing whether
he went. And that's how you've got to
go. You know, it's often been said,
you'll have dying grace in a dying hour. and you'll have grace given to
walk in this pathway of obedience and the Lord will give you that
faith. When the children of Israel under
Joshua came to the River Jordan and the Lord had commanded them
to cross the River Jordan and the River Jordan is actually
quite a small river But in the summer, in the time of harvest,
it always bursts its banks and it becomes a wide flooding river. And that's exactly when the Lord
told them to go over the river Jordan. And they were to do so
by faith. And what do we read? That the
priests of the Lord carry in the Ark of the Covenant of the
Lord of the whole Earth, which is a beautiful type of Christ.
They went before the children of Israel. And it says, when
the priest's feet touched the brim of the water, the waters
parted. It wasn't until they went forward
and their feet touched the brim of the water. When the children
of Israel were by the Red Sea and Moses was crying unto the
Lord, There were mountains either side,
and the Red Sea before them, and the Egyptian army coming
behind them. They were completely hemmed in. And Moses was crying unto the
Lord, and the Lord said to Moses, why cryest thou unto me? Say unto the children of Israel
that they go forward, that they go forward. How is a sea? And as they went forward, the
waters parted. Moses put his rod over the water
and the waters parted and the children of Israel went over
the Red Sea as on dry land. See with God, nothing shall be
impossible. And that path that the Lord has
laid in your heart, when you go forward, He will open the
way. He makes a way where there seems
no way. God does. He does. One thing have I desired of the
Lord, that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house
of the Lord all the days of my life. I love the Lord. That's what David says, I love
the Lord, who hath heard my voice, the voice of my supplications. And when you come into the house
of God, and perhaps you've fed under the ministry of the word,
and perhaps those longing desires of your heart, some of them have
been satisfied, and it encourages you to pray on and to seek on. Oh, that the Lord would give
you that grace to walk forward. to walk in a way obedient unto
him, that I may dwell in the house
of the Lord, no more a stranger or a guest, but like a child
at home, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord. Does this find an echo in your heart, all
the days of my life, all the days of my life. This is where
the Lord's people are, is where I want to be. I want to dwell
there in the house of the Lord. I love the Lord. I love his people. And you know, friends, when you
love the Lord's people, there is a very clear evidence that
you're a child of God. And you may say to me, well,
how can that be? Well, because in the first epistle
of John, it says very plainly, we know that we are passed from
death unto life because we love the brethren. Because we love
the brethren. David says in one of these Psalms,
I have loved the habitation of thy house and the place where
thine honour dwelleth." You love the Lord's house, you love the
Lord's people. I've often told you of my late
pastor, Mr. Judd, and he was very much spiritually
exercised and the Lord had greatly blessed him at that time. During the service, the people
at Black Boys, the members always sit around the table for the
afternoon service. And he said he looked to all
the members around the table of the Lord and he said, I saw
them all in Christ and I love them all in Christ. He said they
were perfect. They were washed in his precious
blood. They were clothed in his righteousness. He said how I
love them. And then apparently my grandfather
he gave the word out for the ordinance and it was with desire
have I desired to eat this Passover with you. With desire have I desired to
eat this Passover with you. One thing have I desired of the
Lord that will I seek after I want to clear up one particular point
here friends and that is that there is this notion around that
you have to have a word from the Lord to go forward. And I
don't go with that friends. The Lord may give you a word
to go forward and that's a very blessed thing if he does. But
if you love the Lord, he says, he doesn't say you must have
a word He says, if you love me, keep my commandments. Don't need a special word. It's written in the Word of God
that if you love me, keep my commandments. That's the qualification. If you love me, keep my commandments. One thing. And you think of when
the love of Christ was first shed abroad in your heart, you
longed to be in the house of God, how you ran to the house
of God, your desire was there in the house of God. There's
that longing, one thing. And I look back again to my own
personal experience and it always made time in that first love,
when you first get up in the morning to read the word of God, and to pray. I used to start
work at four o'clock in the morning. In my early spiritual days, I
was doing shift work. I used to start every morning
at four o'clock. But I would get up at three o'clock,
sometimes quarter to three, so that I had time to have a read
and a quiet time with the Lord before I went to work. And you
know, that motivation of faith, in your heart, that one thing
that you stand in need of, your hunger and thirst, after Christ. Oh that my soul could love and
praise him more, his beauty's trace, his majesty adore, live
near his heart, upon his bosom lean, and all his holy sacred
will esteem. Is there one and another here
this afternoon and you say, well I remember that. I remember that. That blessedness, and maybe that
blessedness is now gone. And you say, now I need a word
to go. You love the Lord. You love the
Lord. And you dare not deny it. I love
the Lord because you have heard my voice, the voice of my supplications. One thing have I desired of the
Lord, that will I seek after that I may dwell in the house
of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of
the Lord, and to inquire in his tabernacle the beauty of the
Lord. You know, friends, the beauty
of the Lord is Christ. This vows in Solomon's Song,
she says, tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest,
where thou causest thy flock to rest at noon. And what that
prayer is, she's asking the Lord where she should settle, where
there is a living ministry, and where Christ is preached. And
you know, friends, a Christless ministry is a dead ministry.
In Him is life. And if there's no Christ preached... I listened to a sermon not long
ago, And the man got right to the end of his sermon and he
mentioned Christ once in the whole sermon. How disappointed
I was when I listened to that sermon. We preach Christ crucified
to the Jews a stumbling block, to the Greeks foolishness, but
to them that are called the power of God, the wisdom of God. Christ
is the power of God, the wisdom of God. One thing. Oh, have you got this
appetite for this one thing, for Jesus Christ and Him crucified? The Apostle says, I determined
to know nothing among men save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. This is the one thing that is
needful. And this beauty of the Lord is the glorious person of
Christ. It says in, I think it's Psalm
110, the beauties of holiness. That holiness is the beauty of
the holiness of Christ. The beauties of holiness. And
when you see Him by faith and you view that pure, that holy
Saviour, it's the beauties of holiness. His holy life. His sinless life. His holy sacrifice. yes and his holy death it was
holy he did no sin neither was guile found in his mouth he was
wounded for our transgressions this is the beauties of holiness
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 The beauty, to behold the beauty of the Lord. We've already mentioned the,
especially the morning service, the holy life of Christ. And in that holy life is the
righteousness of Christ. So, in other words, the righteousness
of Christ is the holiness And that becomes something that is
supremely attractive to your soul. You know that you have
no righteousness of your own. But the righteousness of Christ
becomes so attractive. It's the beauty of His holiness.
It's the beauty of the law fulfilled and honored and magnified in
His glorious person. And when faith looks to Christ
and sees the law fulfilled and honored and magnified and sees
everlasting righteousness brought in. Oh, what a wonder, what a
glory, what a beauty there is in that perfect obedience of
the holy God-man, the man, Christ Jesus, to behold the beauty of
the Lord, the beauty of Christ. You know, there's a beauty in
the holiness of the incarnation. Again, we mentioned it this morning.
It says in Luke, doesn't it, that holy thing that shall be
born of thee. This holy child. Twice in the
Acts of the Apostles, the Apostles actually say the holy child Jesus. Wonder of wonders. A glory that
you see in the holy child Jesus. and the beauty that you see in
the holy life of Jesus and the holy law fulfilled and honoured
and magnified. He will magnify the law and make
it honourable. There's a beauty, there's a loveliness,
there's a glory in the law fulfilled and honoured and magnified in
the holy life of Jesus Christ. No man had ever done that. No. This is the only man that has
ever done that. The man Christ Jesus. and that perfect obedience, that
everlasting righteousness of Jehovah Sidkenu, the Lord, our
righteousness, to behold the beauty of the Lord. There's a beauty, isn't there?
And then in his holy sufferings, to behold the beauty of the Lord. When he stood in your room, place,
and stead, when He bare our sins. He took our sins and He nailed
them to His cross. What a beauty there is in the
cross of Christ. We opened our service, didn't
we, with that lovely hymn. And that one hymn writer says,
doesn't he, I to the cross of Christ repair and seek salvation
only there. What a beauty it was to see when
by faith you see the cross of Christ and you see your sins
laid on him and you see that he was wounded for your transgressions
and bruised for your inequities. And he voluntarily gave his life
a ransom. He gave his life a ransom for
all to be testified in due time. think just recently we actually
spoke I think from the epistle to the Galatians and where it
speaks there so beautifully of the Lord Jesus Christ says in
Galatians chapter 2 verse 20 I am crucified with Christ nevertheless
I live yet not I but Christ liveth in me and the life which I now
live in the flesh I live by faith of the Son of God who loved me
and gave himself for me. Faith of the Son of God who loved
me and gave himself for me. One thing have I desired of the
Lord. You think of that precious blood. You see that holy knife and when
you see that holy sacrifice and the shedding of that holy blood
of Jesus Christ. There's a beauty in that precious
Sinatoni blood. He poured out his soul unto death.
He was numbered among the transgressors for he bared the sin of many. And your inquiry will be, were
my sins laid on him? That's what you want to know.
One thing have I desired of the Lord and that's what you want
to know. That my sins were laid on Him
and when He suffered and bled and died, He suffered and bled
and died for my sins. Oh my beloved friends, these
are the precious realities of real religion, known and experienced
in the heart. What a morning that was when
they came to the sepulchre. And the angel spoke to them,
come see the place where the Lord lay. He is not here. He is risen. He's risen from
the dead. He's destroyed death. He swallowed
up death in victory. What a beauty there is in the
risen savior when he swallowed up death in victory. My beloved
friends. Do you see a beauty in that that
precious sacrifice? Do you see a beauty in that death? That death on the behalf of his
people Do you see a beauty in the empty tune in the risen Savior? He's not here. He's risen It
speaks in Romans chapter 8 doesn't it in the the Apostle He so beautifully
speaks of our Lord Jesus Christ there, of the cross. And it says in Romans 8, verse
32, he that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for
us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who
is he that condemneth? It is Christ that dieth. Yea
rather, and I love that, yea rather that is risen again, who
is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession
for us. He's at the right hand of God
and he maketh intercession for us. What a beauty there is in
the ascended Saviour, ascending bodily into heaven. He hath made
a new and living way into the holy place. What a beauty there
is in that, that savior ascending up into heaven. And those gates
of heaven opening as he ascended up. Lift up your heads, O ye
gates, be lifted up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory
shall come in. He enters into heaven. He hath
made a new and a living way into the holy place. I am the way,
the truth, and the life. And what a beauty there is that
we have a great High Priest, yeah, who is passed into the
heavens, Jesus, the Son of God. What a glory there is in that
session at the right hand of his Father. He hears the prayers
of his people and he answers the prayers of his people and
he invites them to come. The Apostle says, let us Therefore
come boldly unto the throne of grace. Why? Because we have a
great high priest. Is there a beauty, a loveliness
to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple? One thing have I desired of the
Lord that will I seek after that I may dwell in the house of the
Lord all the days of my life to behold the beauty of the Lord. and to inquire in his temple. May the Lord add his blessing. Let us sing together hymn number
1105. The tune is Glory to Thee, 935. Jesus, engrave it on my heart,
that Thou the one thing needful art, I could from all things
parted be, but never, never, Lord, from Thee. Hymn 1105, tune
Glory to Thee, 935. So, ? I have only one heart ? ? I have
only one heart ? He rises when we need him He who hath found the way to
me, He that doth guide me lest I stray, ? He who lives by you ? ? Are empty now ? ? It all is lying
? ? Torn and bare ? ? Here I am ? ? Here I am, fair one ? Be Thy presence in exultant truth
which hath comforted the foes. Make all thy promise to impart,
Precious thy commitment to my heart. O thou my soul can save, O thou
my soul can draw near, In death Thou wilt house me for
me, When I yield Thine shoulder me. Held in praise by God In shining
glory with a joy Keep thou that eye in form of
day, Turn round and to peace entreathy, 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, both now
and forevermore. Amen. you