at 10.30 and 2 o'clock. There will be a prayer meeting
here on Tuesday evening at 7 o'clock. There will be no service here
on Thursday as it is Cranbrook anniversary services when Dr
Matthew Hyde is expected to preach at 3.30 and 6.30. Let us commence our services
today by singing together hymn number 64. The tune is Melchizedek
483. Sovereign ruler of the skies,
ever gracious, ever wise, all my times are in thy hand, all
events at thy command. Hymn 64. to Melchizedek 483. ? Star-bright burner of the skies
? ? Heav'n-above, gracious, ever bright ? All thy times are in thy hands, holy hands that I
command. ? Holy infant ? ? So tender and
mild ? ? Sleep in heavenly peace ? Reach for your hearts and set
them high. Fair and sacred, race and time, O'er the vaults we've watched,
O'er the vaults we've watched, ? He hath called me in the morn
? ? He shalt guide me through the day ? ? All my fine shirts
shall be his ? ? Lord and kind is my decree ?
? Lord and kind is my decree ? Times of sickness, times of health,
times of everything at work. Times of triumph and of peace,
Times of triumph and of peace, Times of triumph and relief,
Times of tempted tragedy, Time to taste the Savior's blood. All thus far have I lost an ear. Where shall it ? My heavenly
friend ? ? Earth shall praise ? ? My heavenly friend ? ? Age
long past ? Till he gives my hand once more. What a shameful shock and grief,
Till the God of love's deceit Let us read together from the
holy word of God in the prophecy of Isaiah and chapter 14. Isaiah's prophecy, chapter 14. For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob
and will yet choose Israel and set them in their own land. And
the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave
to the house of Jacob. and the people shall take them
and bring them to their place. And the house of Israel shall
possess them in the land of the Lord for servants and handmaids,
and they shall take them captives, whose captives they were, and
they shall rule over their oppressors. And it shall come to pass in
the day that the Lord shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and
from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made
to serve, that thou shalt take up this proverb against the king
of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased? The golden
city ceased. The Lord hath broken the staff
of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers. He who smote the
people in wrath with a continual stroke. He that ruled nations
in anger is persecuted and non-hindered. The whole earth is at rest and
is quiet. They break forth into sinning.
Yea, the fir trees rejoice at thee and the cedars of Lebanon
saying since thou art laid low no fellow is come up against
us hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy
coming it stirreth up the dead for thee even all the chief ones
of the earth it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings
of the nations all they shall speak and say unto thee, art
thou also become weak as we? Art thou become like unto us?
Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy vials,
the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee. How art thou fallen from heaven?
O Lucifer, son of the morning, how art thou cut down to the
ground, which did weaken the nations? For thou hast said in
thine heart, I will ascend into heaven. I will exalt my throne
above the stars of God. I will sit also upon the mount
of the congregation in the sides of the north. I will ascend above
the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High, yet thou
shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. They
that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee and consider thee,
saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that
did shake kingdoms, that made the world as a wilderness and
destroyed the cities thereof, that opened not the house of
his prisoners. All the kings of the nations,
even all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house. But
thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and
as the raiment of those that are slain, to thrust through
with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit, as a carcass
trodden under feet. Thou shalt not be joined with
them in burial, because that thou hast destroyed thy land
and slain thy people, the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned. Prepare slaughter-fish children
for the iniquity of their fathers, that they do not rise nor possess
the land nor fill the face of the world with cities. For I
will rise against them, saith the Lord of hosts, and cut off
from Babylon the name and remnant and son and nephew, saith the
Lord. I will also make it a possession
for the bitten and pools of water and I will sweep it with the
besom of destruction, saith the Lord of Hosts. The Lord of Hosts
has sworn, saying, Surely, as I have thought, so shall it come
to pass, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand, that I will
break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him
underfoot. then shall his yoke depart from
off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulders. This
is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth, and this
is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations. For the Lord of hosts hath purposed,
and who shall disannul it? And his hand is stretched out
and who shall turn it back? In the year that King Ahas died
was this burden. Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina,
because the rod of him that smote thee is broken. For out of the
serpent's root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall
be a fiery flying serpent. and the firstborn of the poor
shall feed, and the needy shall lie down in safety, and I will
kill thy root with famine, and he shall slay thy remnant. Howl,
O gate, cry, O city, thou whole Palestina art dissolved, for
there shall come from the north a smoke, and none shall be alone,
in his appointed times. What shall one then answer the
messengers of the nation? That the Lord hath founded Zion
and the poor of his people shall trust in it. May the Lord bless
the reading of his own precious word and grant unto us a spirit
of real prayer. Holy, holy, Lord God Almighty,
which is an art, an art to come. We bow before thy glorious majesty,
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. And we desire, O Lord, that thou
wouldst teach us how to pray and for what to pray. For we
know not what to pray for as we all, but we pray that thou
wouldst teach us. Holy Divine Spirit of Truth,
we pray for thy inward teaching, thy prompting from within, that
we may know what to pray for, and what thy will is, and what
thy purposes are. Lord, do help us then, that may
we be as it was with thy servant John on the Isle of Patmos, in
the Spirit on the Lord's Day. And may that be so today. May
we be in the Spirit. And may the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ, and the love of God our Father, and the sacred
fellowship of the Holy Spirit rest and abide upon us in the
services of thy house today. We come, Lord, to confess our
sins. Thou said in thy word that if
ye confess your sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Lord, we come then in confession. We read in thy word, he putteth
his mouth in the dust. If so be there might be hope.
And we would come before thee and put our mouths in the dust
and humble ourselves before thee. shame and confusion of face belongeth
unto us as at this day, for we have sinned, we have come short
of thy glory, we have done those things we ought not to do, and
we've left undone those things that we ought to do, and we find
a law within our members that when we would do good that even
is present with us. Gracious God, Come and wash us
in the precious blood of Jesus Christ to cleanse us from all
sin, those sins of omission and those sins of commission. May
we know the sacred power of the blood of Jesus Christ that cleanses
from all sin. May we be clothed upon with that
glorious everlasting robe of his righteousness. For Lord,
this is our only hope. My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus' blood and righteousness. Lord, we pray for thy presence
and thy blessing. Thou knowest each one that is
before thee today in the sanctuary. All is known to thee about each
of our circumstances. My life's minutest circumstance
is subject to thine eye. Lord, we would gather together
the whole congregation. We would lovingly commend them
to thee and to the word of thy grace, which is able to build
them up and to grant them an inheritance among them that are
sanctified. We thank thee thou art God over
all and blessed for evermore. We thank thee for those precious
words of grace Alleluia for the Lord God omnipotent reigning.
O gracious God, help us to see thy infinite glory in the person
of thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, our only hope of salvation. We
think of those precious words of grace, I am the way, the truth
and the light, no man cometh unto the Father but by me. Lord, we pray that you bless
our deacons and give wisdom and grace and help in all their responsibilities
and bless each one of our brethren and sisters in church fellowship
and grant that we may labour together in the gospel, that
we may travail before thee for the success of the gospel, for
signs to follow the preaching of the word, for an ingathering
of precious souls, Lord, we long to see such a day, the prodigals
returning, thy wonderful grace in this. Lord, we thank thee
that thou art able to do abundantly more than we can even ask or
think. Bless the little ones and the children. Put the fear
of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom, into their hearts.
Remember the young friends, each one of them. Remember them with
the favour that thou bearest unto thy people. and visit them
with thy salvation. Bring them to living faith in
Jesus Christ, that they may become true followers of thee, and of
those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Be with
them in all the paths of providence. Guide them, O thou great Jehovah. Make them pilgrims in this barren
land. We do humbly beseech thee. We
pray, most gracious God, that they always remember parents
and give wisdom and grace to bring up their children in the
nurture and admonition of the Lord, and that they always remember
all in the midst of the journey of life, in all their concerns,
in all their burdens, and that they always graciously hear their
cries. And we pray, most gracious Lord,
that they always remember those in temptation, in trouble, in
trial, in perplexity, in affliction, that thou hast put forth thy
healing hand and grant thy restoring mercies, but above all that these
things may be used to the good of our souls and the great glory
of thy name. Remember those of us that are
in the evening time of life's journey and to bless us, O Lord,
Grant us that gracious preparation when we shall soar through tracks
unknown and see thee on thy judgment throne. Oh, we do pray, most
gracious Lord, to be prepared for that great day. We pray,
most gracious Lord, that the glory, light, and power of the
gospel may shine into this village and the surrounding villages
and hamlets. Many, many precious souls may
yet be gathered in, that this little house of prayer may be
filled with hungry, longing souls, pressing into the kingdom of
heaven. Let thy work appear unto thy
servants and thy glory unto their children. Bring our sons from
far and our daughters from the ends of the earth. O Lord, we
do beseech thee. We do pray, most gracious Lord,
that thou would remember all thy servants as they labour in
word and doctrine upon the walls of Zion today. Set them free
and at liberty. And we pray thee, the great Lord
of the harvest, to send true labourers into the harvest. And
we pray, most gracious Lord, that thou wouldst hear prayer
for the nation and turn back the tides of iniquity and wickedness. Hear and answer prayer, O Lord,
we pray thee. We thank thee for the postponement
of the assisted suicide bill. Lord, thou hast heard and thou
hast answered prayer, and we would return thanks unto thee
for thy great goodness. And O Lord, we do pray that thou
would give wisdom to our leaders and guidance and direction, and
that thou, in thy precious mercy, was remember our King, and graciously,
if it is thy heavenly mind, heal him in body, but above all, bless
him in soul. May the royal house be blessed
with that rich grace that is in Christ Jesus. Remember those
that go forth from among us that minister the word of truth in
the nations of the earth. Lord, remember thee. Savannah
Education Trust and that great work that they're doing in Ghana.
Remember the Mombasa mission and bless thy servant there.
And prosper them, O Lord, we pray thee. And O Lord, we do
pray that thou would remember Ian Sadler and that great work
that he does in so many different places in the distribution of
thy word and the exposition of it. Lord, hear us, we pray thee. We thank thee. for this thy holy
day. We thank thee for this, our house
of prayer. We thank thee for the open Bible.
We thank thee for every mercy of thy kind providence. But above
all, we thank thee for Jesus Christ, for the glory of his
name, for the fullness of his grace, for the wonders of redeeming
love, for God and sinners reconciled, for peace that is made between
God and man. Oh, we thank thee for that profound
mystery of God manifesting the flesh. We thank thee for the
holy life he lived and the holy law he fulfilled, bringing in
everlasting righteousness. We thank thee for the sacrifice
of the cross of Calvary, a holy sacrifice that has redeemed the
church. We thank thee for the precious
blood of Jesus Christ cleanses from all sin. But 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. Praise waiteth for Thee, O God,
in Zion. Great is the Lord, and greatly
to be praised, and His greatness is unsearchable. Oh, do hear
us now. and remember us now. 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 four, The tune is Solomon 930. Keep silence, all created things,
and wait your maker's nod. My soul stands trembling while
she sings the honors of her God. Hymn number four, tune Solomon
930. ? Christ the Lord be with you always
? ? And with your people too ? ? Thee alone may I adore ? ? I
pray that heaven and earth shall know ? ? That Thou didst set
me free ? ? This is the land we've never seen ? ? The forest
we've never seen ? ? Stranger is the land we've never seen
? ? In all the face of the earth ? ? With every angel come and
choice from thy kingdom come ? ? O praises of God so high ? ?
O praises of God so high ? ? Rejoice, rejoice, all ye people ? ? Rejoice,
rejoice, all ye people ? O say can you see, by the dawn's
early light, What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming? O come, O come, O come, O come,
O come, O come, O'er the ramparts we watched,
were so gallantly streaming? ? O'er the land of the free and
the home of the brave ? greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help and direct your attention to the chapter that
we read, the 14th chapter in the prophecy of Isaiah, and we
will read verse 32 for our text. Isaiah chapter 14, verse 32. What shall one then answer the messengers of the nation,
that the Lord hath founded Zion, and the poor of his people shall
trust in it. In this chapter, there are some
very deep, solemn, and sacred truths that are found. There is the record of the fall
of Satan, who in verse 12 is called O Lucifer, son of the
morning. Satan was an archangel. His name
was Lucifer and the meaning of Lucifer is son of the morning,
son of light. And it says here in verse 12,
how art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer. It's very common in
the day in which we live to deny that there is such a person as
Satan. It is very common for people
to deny that there is a spirit of evil, of unrighteousness. Indeed it's common for some people
to deny there's anything spiritual at all. But of course these things are
recorded in God's holy word. The Lord Jesus Christ himself
said that he beheld Satan falling like lightning. I think it's
in Luke chapter 10. I beheld Satan falling like lightning
from heaven. And this explains to us something
of the origins of sin. Satan was an angel that fell. We read in Holy Scripture of
fallen angels and of elect angels. Those angels that were elected
did not fall, but Satan fell. In the 12th chapter
of the book of the Revelation, there is a very clear way that
the Spirit of God has instructed us concerning these things and
concerning the war in heaven and concerning the fall of Satan
from heaven. In the commencement of that chapter
it says, and there appeared a great wonder in heaven, a woman clothed
with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a
crown of 12 stars. That's the Old Testament church. The church of God. And right through the Old Testament,
right from the beginning of time, right from when Adam and Eve
fell, the Lord had given a promise. After the devil had lied, Christ
calls the devil the father of lies. God had said to Adam and
Eve that they could eat of all the things that were in that
beautiful garden of Eden. Everything that was lovely to
look at and everything that was good to eat, and they could eat
all of it, but of the tree that is in the midst of the garden,
thou shalt not eat. For the day that thou eatest
thereof, Thou shalt surely die. Thou shalt surely die. These
things, my beloved friends, are the foundation truths of our
most holy faith that are recorded in God's word for our instruction. And when Satan came into the
garden in the form of a serpent to tempt Eve, and when Eve quoted
to him what God has said, the day that thou eatest of, thou
shalt surely die. And then we have the lie. And
Satan said, thou shalt not surely die. But you'll be like gods,
to no good or evil. What a deception, wasn't it?
Then we read that Eve looked upon that tree. and she saw it was something
to be desired. This is one of the sins in the
Garden of Eden, covetousness. What God had denied and said
you mustn't eat, she coveted it. She saw that it was something
to be desired. You see, my beloved friends,
the devil is a liar from the beginning. But there was a promise
given. After the fall, when the Lord
came and spoke with Adam and Eve, the seed of the woman, there would be a son born and
he would bruise the serpent's head. So there was this door
of hope that was open to man, that there would be a way of
salvation. And as we go through the Old Testament, that way of
salvation is developed and opened more and more. And we see that it would be indeed
the Son of God that would be manifest in the flesh. And of
course the fulfillment of that is in the New Testament when
Christ himself was born. Now it says here in verse two
of Revelation 12, and she being with child cried, travailing
in birth and pained to be delivered. Right the way through the Old
Testament, this is what we read of the Old Testament church,
principally among the Jews, but not exclusively, but principally
among the Jews. They were laboring and they were
travailing for the birth of Jesus Christ, for the manifestation
of that salvation that was promised. that would bruise the serpent's
head. And she, being with child, cried, travailing in birth, and
pained to be delivered. Then we read here again, it's
speaking of Satan. Verse three, and there appeared
another wonder in heaven, and behold, a great red dragon, having
seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns upon his head, And
his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven. I take
that to mean that a third of the angels fell with Satan. His tail drew the third part
of the stars of heaven and cast them down to the earth. And the
dragon stood before the woman. Now, the woman, of course, the
Old Testament church here, stood before the woman which was ready
to be delivered for to devour her child as soon as it was born. And we know that Herod the king,
he sought indeed to slay the Lord Jesus Christ. And she brought
forth, verse five, and she brought forth, this is the Virgin Mary,
and she brought forth a man-child who was to rule all nations with
a rod of iron. and her child was caught up unto
God and to his throne. And that child, of course, is
Jesus Christ, the eternal son of God, who was manifest in the
flesh. Great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. Again, this is a fundamental
doctrine of our most holy faith, and these things This is the
answer to the messengers of the nations. That great mystery of
iniquity of Satan being cast down. We continue here in Revelation
12. And the woman fled. This is the
New Testament church now. And the woman fled into the wilderness
where she had a place prepared of God that they should feed
her there. 1,203 score days. Now we have in verse 7, and there
was war in heaven. Michael, again Michael is an
archangel, Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and
the dragon fought against his angels. And the wonderful truth
is, is found in verse 8, and prevailed not. and prevailed
not. Those of you that are born again,
you become the special objects of Satan's temptations. And there are times when those
temptations are so severe. In my very early spiritual days,
I had tremendous temptations. Initially I didn't even know
they were temptations when I was two years under the law in darkness and bondage. And
during that two years, the awful temptations I suffered, I didn't
know they were temptations. They were so severe at one time
that I nearly went to a psychiatrist. I thought I was losing my mind. And then I was wonderfully delivered
when the Lord Jesus Christ was revealed to me as the way, the
truth, and the life. And the light and life, that light and life that comes
from Christ was poured into my heart. I was delivered from bondage,
the bondage of sin and corruption, and brought into the glorious
liberty of the people of God. And it was a few months, not
many, after I was baptised that those temptations returned with
a peculiar vehemence that at times they were so powerful. And it was my sister, she worked
for a Lord somebody in Knightsbridge as a nanny. And she rang me up
and asked me if I would go down on Christmas Eve and collect
her she'd be giving Christmas off so I drove down to Knightsbridge
and collected her and as I was sitting in her flat waiting for
her to get ready and pack her bags and that temptation came
with such terrible power I cannot explain to you it was awful nor
would I want to tell you what that temptation was but it was so powerful I literally
gripped the chair I was sitting on and cried unto the Lord and
it was as if this light shone straight into my soul and Christ
was so precious and it was such a clear deliverance and it was
then I realized it was Satan and it was so vivid it was almost
if I could see Satan scurrying out of the room It was as clear
as that. But oh, Christ was so precious.
And it was then that I realized those terrible temptations came
from Satan. You see, if you join the British
Army, there's one thing that you're always taught, never underestimate
your enemy. It's often a fatal mistake if
you underestimate your enemy. and how true that is spiritually,
never underestimate your enemy. And there was war in heaven,
Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon
fought against his angels and prevailed not. And you know,
my beloved friends, those of you that may be subject to these
temptations, the devil will not prevail. He won't fear, he will. There's that lovely word that
we have, when the enemy comes in like a flood, the spirit of
the Lord will lift up a standard against him. That standard is
Christ. It is. And the spirit of the
Lord lifts up a standard against him. And where Christ is, Satan
can't be. We read in the first epistle
of John that the Lord Jesus Christ, the son of man, he came to this
earth to destroy the works of the devil. That's what Jesus
came to do and he would do that within the hearts of his own
people as well. He would never prevail against
God's people. He tried to prevail against Jesus
Christ when he was here upon earth, when he was that led of
the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. But
you know, all his earthly pilgrimage, those 33 years, the Lord Jesus
knew temptation. That's why he was a man of sorrows
and acquainted with grief. But the devil will never prevail
against the Lord's people. Never. What shall we answer the
messengers of the nation, King Jesus reigns forever. He does. And if you go on here in Revelation
12, and the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called
the devil and Satan, which deceived the whole world. He was cast
out onto the earth and his angels were cast out with him. And then
now we have these glorious words of grace. You see, what shall
we answer the messengers of the nation? Now is come, verse 10,
now is come salvation and strength and the kingdom of our God and
the power of his Christ for the accuser of our brethren is cast
down, which accused them before our God day and night. He's cast
down. And it speaks here in verse 11
of the way the Lord's people by faith overcome the devil.
And they overcame him by the blood of the lamb and by the
word of their testimony. And they love not their lives
unto death. No. The just shall live by his faith,
by faith in Jesus Christ. That's where deliverance is.
Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe
to the inhabitants of the earth. There is a solemn woe here, friends.
Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and of the sea, for the
devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he
knoweth that he hath but a short time. He hath but a short time. He's down here upon earth, as
it says very clearly. When the dragon saw that he was
cast onto the earth, he persecuted the woman. This is, of course,
the New Testament church. He persecuted the woman, but
brought forth the man-child. And to the woman were given two
wings of a great eagle. They're the wings of faith. Give
me the wings of faith to see. wings of a great eagle that she
might fly into the wilderness, that's the wilderness of this
world, into her place where she is nourished for a time and times
and half a time from the face of the serpent. And the serpent
cast out of his mouth waters a flood after the woman that
he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. Remember what
we've said, when the enemy comes in like a flood, The spirit of
the Lord will lift up a standard against him. And the earth helped
the woman, and the earth opened her mouth and swallowed up the
flood, which the dragon cast out of his mouth. And the dragon
was wroth with the woman and went to make war with the remnant
of her seed, which keep the commandments of God and have the testimony
of Jesus Christ. That's who the devil makes war
against. If you're in a false religion, deceived, the devil won't make
war against you, because he's got you already. He's got you
already. But if you, if the Spirit of
God dwells in your heart, if you're convinced of your sin
and you know yourself to be a poor sinner, then the devil will afflict you. If you're brought to, raised
up to a hope in Jesus Christ, the devil will afflict you. He
will. You know, friends, it laid so
much on my spirit, these things, that's why I felt to read that
12th chapter of the Revelation, it opens up to us some of the
things that are here. How art thou fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning? How art thou cut down to the
ground which didst weaken the nations, for thou hast said in
thine heart, I will ascend into heaven. This is Lucifer, son
of the morning. I will exalt myself, I will exalt
my throne above the stars of God. We read in another place,
in the word of God, that he sought to sit where he ought not to
sit. What does that mean? He sought to sit on the throne
of God. Now a throne in scripture represents
the seat of power and authority. And so what it means is the devil
sought, or Lucifer the son of the morning sought, to usurp
the power and authority of God. To sit on his throne as if he
were God. As it says here, I will exalt
my throne above the stars of God. I will sit also upon the
mount of the congregation. in the sides of the north, I
will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like
the Most High. This is Lucifer. Yet thou shalt
be brought down to her, to the sides of the pit. They that see
thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying,
Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shape
the kingdoms, that made the world as a wilderness and destroyed
the cities thereof, that opened the house of the prisoners? Is
this the man? Now, in another sense, these
things refer to Babylon, but in the midst of all these references
to this destruction of Babylon, is this truth of the fall of
Satan and of who he was. These are, what we say, they're
foundation truths of our most holy faith. There is, revealed
in the word of God, there is the kingdom of darkness and there
is the kingdom of light. The kingdom of darkness is the
kingdom of Satan, who is called the prince of darkness. The kingdom
of light is the glorious person of our Lord Jesus Christ and
all his children. He is light and in him is no
darkness at all. He called in the prophet Malachi,
the son of righteousness, that is S-U-N. Just as the bright
sun shines in the heavens and gives us light and heat, so the
Lord Jesus Christ is the son of righteousness. and gives us
spiritual light and spiritual hate. Unto you that fear my name
shall the sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings. What shall one then answer the
messengers of the nation that the Lord hath founded Zion? Zion
is the church of the living God and the poor of his people shall
trust in it. This is the answer to the messenger
of the nations. The other thing that seemed to
lay so much with me is the sovereignty of God. And that is what led me to our
first two hymns. Verses 24 to 27 of this chapter. The Lord of hosts has sworn,
saying, surely, As I have thought, so shall it come to pass. And as I have purposed, so shall
it stand. God is God over all and blessed
forevermore. We read again in the book of
the Revelation, Alleluia for the Lord God. omnipotent reign. There have been some spots and
places in my life, in my personal spiritual experience, when the
Lord has given me some wonderful meditation on the greatness of God, the
infinity of God. I heard a minister once say, whatever he said it I don't know
but he seemed to blurt out the infinity of God has never done
me any good and as he said it I thought man you do not know
what you're talking about I was so shocked that he said it the
infinity of God my beloved friends when the Lord gives his children
a little meditation on the greatness of God great is the Lord greatly
to be praised and his greatness is unsearchable. I was in a time
of such deep trouble providentially. I was in hospital and everything
seemed to have gone completely wrong, literally. I was afflicted. I was waiting to be admitted
into hospital. Oh, it was an awful time. And
as I lay there, having seizure after seizure, And those words
in Psalm 86 dropped into my heart with such sweetness and power. Thou art God alone. And you know, friends, I was
in hospital for, I think it was 10 days. And every day I went
to Psalm 86. I was in a very weak condition
and I couldn't read much. But every day I went to Psalm
86. And those words were so sweet. Thou art God alone. And you know, friends, when they
came and the Lord gave me such meditation on the infinite wisdom,
love, mercy, and grace of God in Jesus Christ. And I could
honestly say it was peace, perfect peace. Whereas before it was
almost torment. But then there was peace. God
was in control. There was nothing wrong. Nothing had changed in my circumstances,
but everything had changed in my soul. And as I meditated on
the infinite wisdom, love, and grace of God, it was so precious. The Lord of hosts has sworn,
saying, surely, as I have thought, so shall it come to pass, And
as I have purpose, so shall it stand. He's the sovereign ruler
of the skies. And he speaks here of the Assyrian
that was oppressing Israel, that I will break the Assyrian in
my land and upon my mountains, tread him underfoot. Then shall
his yoke depart from off them and his burden depart from off
their shoulders. This is the purpose that is purposed
upon the whole earth. This is the hand that is stretched
out upon all nations, this almighty hand of God. God is in control. God is the sovereign ruler of
the skies. For the Lord of hosts has purposed,
and who shall disannul it? And his hand is stretched out,
and who shall turn it back? Not all the powers of hell could
stop Jesus Christ from coming to this earth. not all the powers
of hell as much as he saw. We read in Revelation how Satan
stood there to destroy the man-child as it was born. But he couldn't. Why? Because this is the Lord
of hosts. This is the mighty God. He sought to overcome him
with temptations in the wilderness, but he couldn't. This is the
Lord of hosts. He cannot be tempted of evil.
No. In my mind, thinking of the sovereignty
of God, my mind seemed to be much drawn to that account that
we have in Daniel chapter 4 of Nebuchadnezzar when the Lord
humbled Nebuchadnezzar. It was said in verse 32, and
they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with
the beasts of the field. They shall make thee to eat grass
as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until they'll
know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth
it to whomsoever he will. Jesus said in Proverbs 8, by
me kings reign, and princes decree, justice In the light of these
things friends the other thing that came to me We see things
happening in the earth and we see things happening in our own
country And we may be fretful And think well, I'll do this.
I'll do that. I'll do something else fret not thyself in any
wise to do evil Psalm 37. Remember that God is in control. Fret not thyself in any wise
to do evil. The Lord's people must not turn
their hand to wickedness and to evil. You might say what must
they do? Trust in the Lord. Pray without
ceasing. That is the exhortation. pray
without ceasing. Now here in Daniel he said the
same hour, verse 33, the same hour was the thing fulfilled
upon Nebuchadnezzar and he was driven from men and he'd eat
grass as oxen and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till
his hairs were grown like eagle's feathers and his nails like bird's
claws. At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar,
lifted up mine eyes unto heaven my understanding returned. He
was like a madman, he lost his reason. My understanding returned
unto me and I blessed the Most High and I praised and honored
him that liveth forever whose dominion is an everlasting dominion
and his kingdom is from generation to generation. What was revealed
unto Nebuchadnezzar? I've read various things and
heard people say that Nebuchadnezzar was never a good man. This is
the last we read of Nebuchadnezzar, a man greatly humbled under the
mighty hand of God. It says in verse 35 and all the
inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing and he and
he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven and among
the inhabitants of the earth and none can stay his hand or
say unto him, what doest thou? At the same time, my reason returned
unto me, and for the glory of my kingdom, mine honor and brightness
returned unto me, and my counselors and my Lord sought unto me, and
I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added
unto me. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise
and extol and honor the King of heaven, all whose works are
truth, and his ways judgment, and those that walk in pride,
he is able to abase. He's God over all. We come back
to that word in the Psalms, great is the Lord, and greatly to be
praised, and his greatness is unsearchable. What shall one
then answer the messengers of the nation? that the Lord hath
founded Zion, and the poor of his people shall trust in him. We read here in the 28th chapter
of the prophecy of Isaiah, we read about the foundation of
Zion. In chapter 28 verse 16, therefore
thus said the Lord God, behold I lay in Zion for a foundation,
a stone, this is Christ, a tristone, A precious cornerstone, a sure
foundation. He that believeth shall not make
haste. This glorious, eternal rock of
ages. Jesus said, when the disciples
said, he asked the disciples, didn't he, whom say men that
I, the son of man, am? And they said, some say Jeremiah,
some say Elijah, others say this. And then he said, but whom say
ye that I am? And it was Peter that answered
for all the disciples. Thou art the Christ, the Son
of the living God. And Jesus said, blessed art thou,
Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood hath not revealed this
unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And upon this rock
I build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against
it. You know, I'm just thinking of
the, what is revealed in the word
of God. And that word we just quoted
from Psalm 37, fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. Uzzah put forth his hand to steady
the ark. And the Lord smote him dead.
He smote him dead. The ark, of course, the visible
presence of Jehovah in the camp of Israel, and he smote him dead. My beloved friends, let us not
presume that we need to steady the ark. Fret not thyself in
any wise, to do evil. What shall one then answer the
messengers of the nations that the Lord hath founded Zion and
the poor of his people shall trust in it. There's that very
beautiful word that we find in the third chapter of the prophecy
of Zephaniah and in the twelfth verse. I will leave in the midst
of thee and afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust
in the name of the Lord. Trust in Him at all times, ye
people. Wait patiently for Him, and they
shall trust. What is it to trust? It's to
believe. It's like Abraham, it's to hope
against hope. is to hope against hope. The
remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity nor speak lies, neither
shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth, for they shall
feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid. I will leave
in the midst of them an afflicted and poor people, and they shall
trust in the name of the Lord. Again here, In the prophecy of
Isaiah, it was the second text that I ever preached from. In
chapter 41, verse 17, when the poor and needy seek water, and
there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the Lord
will hear them. I the God of Israel will not
forsake them. I will open rivers in high places
and fountains in the midst of the valleys. I will make the
wilderness a pool of water and the dry land springs of water. And I will plant in the wilderness.
Who would plant anything in a wilderness? But God plants in the wilderness
of this world His people, His chosen people. I will plant in
the wilderness. The cedar, the shitter, and the
myrtle in the oar-tree, I will set in the desert the fir-tree,
the pine and the box-tree together, that they may see and know and
consider and understand together that the hand of the Lord hath
done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created." It is speaking
here of the prosperity of Zion. I, that's what comes up, I, I
will. I will. Who? God will. The Lord
will do it. I will work, and who shall net
it? What shall one then answer the messengers of the nation
that the Lord hath founded Zion, and the poor of his people shall
trust in it? They shall trust in the King
of Zion. Yet have I set my King upon my holy hill of Zion, and
that is where they are brought to trust, in our Lord Jesus Christ,
the King of glory. He's able to save to the uttermost
all that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth. Who? Jesus Christ. The Lord hath
founded Zion. And the poor of his people shall
trust in him. And this Zion will stand right
to the end of time. The Lord will have his people
on earth right to the end of time. And the Lord will be gathering
in his sons and daughters right to the end of time. The Lord
will be fulfilling that wonderful promise, I will bring thy sons
from far and thy daughters from the ends of the earth. And they
shall come from the north and from the south and from the east
and from the west. The Lord will do it. I, the Lord,
will hasten it in his time. Oh, that the Lord would encourage
us to continually wrestle with him, to see his work. You know, a chapter, there have
been times when Isaiah 60 has been made so sweet to me, so
precious to me, I've almost felt that it's what, it's my chapter,
if you want to put it that way. And what does he say? Arise,
shine. Who is he speaking to? Zion,
the church of God. Arise, shine, for thy light is
come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. Behold, darkness
shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people, but the
Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon
thee, and the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings
to the brightness of thy rising. Lift up thine eyes round about,
and see all they gather themselves together. They come to thee,
thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed
at thy side. Then thou shalt see and flow
together, and thine heart shall fear and be enlarged, because
the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, and the
forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee." We won't read
through the whole chapter, but the whole chapter is full of
these wonderful promises of what the Lord is going to do for Zion,
for the church of the living God. Look at verse 11. Therefore
thy gates shall be open continually. They shall not be shut day nor
night, that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles,
and that their kings may be brought. For the nation and kingdom that
will not serve thee shall perish. Yea, those nations shall be utterly
wasted. The glory of Lebanon shall come
unto thee. All these different trees are
the Lord's children. You know, all the Lord's children
are different and they have different experiences and they've got different
characters. And it says here, the fir tree,
the pine tree, the box tree, they're all evergreen trees. to beautify the place of my sanctuary. Oh, make the place of my feet
glorious. Heaven is my throne. The earth
is my footstool. Oh, make the place of my feet
glorious. The sons of them that afflicted
thee shall come bending unto thee, and all they that despise
thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet. and they shall call thee the
city of the Lord, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel. Verse 16, thou shalt also suck
the bilt of the Gentiles, and shalt suck the breasts of kings,
and thou shalt know that I the Lord am thy Saviour, and thy
Redeemer, the Holy One of Jacob. You know, the Lord's people are
a poor, and an afflicted people. They're made so by the inward
teaching of the Holy Spirit in the heart. The Holy Spirit brings
them to see their emptiness, their poverty, their sinfulness,
the corruption of their nature, and they're brought to mourn
and grieve, and they feel to be so poor and so needy. But
then we have the promises, when the poor and needy seek water.
Have we got any poor and needy souls here today? When the poor
and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth
a third, I, the Lord, will hear them. Jesus welcomes poor and
needy sinners, he does. He says, come unto me, all ye
that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take
my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in
heart, and ye shall find rest for your souls. His precious
blood will wash away all your sin. His glorious righteousness
will cover all your nakedness. He will fit you and prepare you
for eternal glory. What shall one then answer the
messengers of the nation? That the Lord hath founded Zion,
and the poor of his people shall trust in it. May the Lord add
his blessing. Let us now sing together hymn
number 257. The tune is Angelus 282. Ye humble souls, complain
no more, Let faith survey your future
store, how happy, how divinely blessed the sacred words of truth
attest. Hymn 257, tune Angelus, 282.
? Out from thy kingdom come ? ?
Jesus, the Lord and the Son ? ? Heav'n and earth are full of his blood
? O say can you see, by the dawn's early light, What
so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming? His eyes, O God, the hope divine,
in vain they hide. ? Triumphant as the kingdom goes
on ? ? The kingdom of heaven and earth divine ? ? The heav'nly ? ? And high above
? ? There on the high ? ? Earth abides ? ? And the free fish
? ? Christmas ? ? Of the eternal living ? ? Of
Christ the King of angels ? O say can you see, by the dawn's
early light, What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's ? And your eyes did not fail me
? ? O glorious day of my glory ? ? The kind to answer my dearly
? ? Children of joy and sons of grace ? I pray, I pray. Evermore my angels
sing. What am I and do not belong? This is my soul, this I know. 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.