Commence our service by singing
part of hymn 122. The tune is Samuel 560, and we
will sing verses 1 to 4. Join all the glorious names of
wisdom, love, and power, the ever mortals new, the angels
ever bore, all are to me to speak his worth, to mean to set my
Saviour forth. Hymn 122, singing verses 1 to
4, the tune is Samuel, 560. I know the glorious name of wisdom,
love, and power. That heaven altos in God angels'
heaven falls, O'er alter'd in His secret strength,
To me, to Santa Fe, we'll go. Utter what gentle tone from this
heavenly place, God's our Redeemer, whose truth
teaches heavenly grace. Thy eyes, with joy and fondness
see, The globes of Buffy bestow thee. Arrayed in mortal flesh, He,
like an angel, stands, And holds the promises and banners in His hands. Cohesion from His Father's throne,
to make His praise to God's own throne. Reckon it, O my God, my tongue,
your flesh, thy name. By thee the joyful hymns of our
salvation ring. The joy for years our sins forgiv'n,
Love has softened, and we too will learn. Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God in the book of the Revelation and chapters
4 and 5. The Revelation chapters 4 and
5. After this I looked, and behold,
door was opened in heaven and the first voice which I heard
was as it were of a trumpet talking with me which said come up hither
and I will show you the things which must be hereafter and immediately
I was in the spirit and behold a throne was set in heaven and
one sat on the throne and he that sat was to look upon like
a jasper and a sardine stone and there was a rainbow round
about the throne in sight like unto an emerald and round about
the throne were four and twenty seats and upon the seats I saw
four and twenty elders sitting clothed in white raiment and
they had on their heads crowns of gold and out of the throne
proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices and there were seven
lamps of fire burning before the throne which are the seven
spirits of God and before the throne there was a sea of glass
like unto crystal and in the midst of the throne and round
about the throne were four beasts full of eyes before and behind
and the first beast was like a lion and the second beast like
a calf and the third beast had a face as a man and the fourth
beast was like a flying eagle and the four beasts had each
of them six wings about him and they were full of eyes within
and they rest not day and night, saying, holy, holy, holy, Lord
God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. When those beasts give glory
and honor and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth
forever and ever, the four and 20 elders fall down before him
that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth forever and ever
and cast their thrones cast their crowns before the throne saying
thou art worthy oh lord to receive glory and honor and power for
thou hast created all things and for thy pleasure they are
and were created And I saw in the right hand of him that sat
on the throne, a book written within and on the backside, sealed
with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming
with a loud voice, who is worthy to open the book and to loose
the seals thereof. And no man in heaven nor in earth,
neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither
to look thereon. and I wept much, because no man
was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to
look thereon. One of the elders said unto me,
Weep not. Behold, the Lion of the tribe
of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book
and to loose the seven seals thereon. and I beheld and lo
in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts and in the
midst of the elders stood a lamb as it had been slain having seven
horns and seven eyes which are the seven spirits of God sent
forth into all the earth and he came and took the book out
of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne And when
he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders
fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps and golden
vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. And they
sung a new song, saying thou art worthy to take the book and
to open the seals thereof, for thou was slain. and has redeemed
us to God by thy blood out of every kindred and tongue and
people and nation and has made us unto our God kings and priests
and we shall reign on the earth and I beheld and I heard the
voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and
the elders and the number of them was ten thousand times ten
thousand and thousands of thousands. Saying with a loud voice, worthy
is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and
wisdom and strength and honour and glory and blessing. And every creature which is in
heaven and on earth and under the earth and such as are in
the sea and all that are in them, heard I say, Blessing and honour
and glory and power be unto him that sitteth upon the throne
and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. And the four beasts said
Amen. And the four and twenty elders
fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever. May the Lord bless the reading
of his own precious word, grant unto us a spirit of real prayer. Holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty,
which is an art, an article, we bow before thy glorious majesty. We desire a spirit of true worship. We desire 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. We pray, Lord, for that needful
help of thy Spirit to confess our sins. and to pour out our heart unto
thee. We pray for that spirit of real
repentance and godly sorrow for sin. Convince us of our sin and
lead to Jesus' blood and to our wandering eyes reveal the secret
love of God. O gracious God, blessed Spirit,
truly do this for us this evening hour. Thou hast said in thy word
that if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear
me. Lord, may we not regard iniquity
in our heart, but may we confess our sins. And if ye confess your
sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We pray for those divine drawings
of our Heavenly Father, drawings unto thine only begotten Son,
our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, for none come except the Father
draw. We pray for the spirit of adoption,
whereby we may cry, Abba, Father. We pray, most gracious Lord,
that we have clear views of our Lord Jesus Christ, clear views
of that wonderful mercy that flows through him, clear views
of that holy life of our Lord Jesus Christ and that holy sacrifice
of our Lord Jesus Christ and in that holy life everlasting
righteousness has been brought in, the law has been fulfilled
and honoured and magnified and thy name has been glorified. And we thank thee that in that
sacrifice of Calvary, sin has been put away, divine justice
has been satisfied, God and sinners are reconciled and peace is made
between God and man. O Lord, we pray thee, grant that
we may have clear views of that sin atoning sacrifice, a clear
sense and realisation that his blood has cleansed away our sin. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's
Son, cleanseth us from all sin. Oh, that we may be favoured,
O Lord, to truly feel and know these blessed truths as we gather
round thy word. at this evening hour. And may
we be favoured to realise that he died for our sins. He paid
that ultimate price. And thou hadst said, the soul
that sinneth it shall die. And he that did no sin died for
our sins. Because upon him thou didst lay
the iniquity of us all. O that thou wouldst lead us by
thy Spirit into the sacred glories of the atonement of our Lord
Jesus Christ. We do pray that thou wouldst
remember us as a church and as a congregation, and that thou
wouldst work mightily and powerfully and effectually among us, that
we may see thy work, that thy work appear unto thy servants
and thy glory unto her children, O Lord, we beseech thee for thy
great namesake. Lord, it's thy work we long to
see, the work of thy blessed Spirit in bringing poor sinners,
bringing them to this house of prayer, bringing them to Jesus
Christ, bringing them in and among us as a church. Lord, we
long to see thy work and thy power and thy glory And we pray,
most gracious Lord, that in our services we may be led of the
Spirit of God. For as many as are led by the
Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. Lord, do so work. Even as thou hast promised in
thy word, I will work. And who shall let it? Remember
our brethren, the deacons. Give wisdom, give grace, give
help. and undertake for them. Remember our dear sister Audrey,
and continue thy healing hand and thy restoring mercies. We
do humbly beseech thee, and be with them as a family at this
time, we do pray thee. We're thankful, Lord, to have
with us our dear brother and sister from Holland, and we pray
that they may be richly blessed of thee. And be with them, Lord,
as they return home on the coming day, and be with them, Lord,
we pray thee, as they listen to the services online, and as
they join with us at the prayer meetings. Grant thy presence,
O Lord, we pray, and grant thy blessing to rest upon them. Be
with them in all their pathway, and thou knowest all their concerns,
and that, Lord, Lovingly commend them to thee and to the word
of thy grace. Lord, we pray that thou in thy
precious mercy would bless the families, the little children,
bless them indeed. Put the fear of the Lord, which
is the beginning of wisdom, into their hearts and teach them thy
ways and lead them in thy path. O Lord, we do beseech thee. And
Lord, we pray that thou would remember the young friends, work
mightily, powerfully, effectually, bring them to live in faith in
Jesus Christ, make them true followers of thee and of those
who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Grant that
there may be a seed that shall be raised up that shall call
thee the Redeemer, Grant that we may see the prodigals return,
and by wonderful grace in this, hear us, O Lord, we humbly beseech
thee. We think of the village and the
surrounding villages and hamlets, and we think of those wonderful
gospel promises. 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. Lord, we long to see thy work
and thy power in the gospel. We long to see the pulling down
of the strongholds of Satan, the setting up of the kingdom
of the Lord Jesus in the hearts of sinners. Lord, hear us. Grant that we may unitedly cry
unto thee for these wonderful blessings to be upon us as a
church and as a congregation. Remember all in the midst of
the journey of life, bearing the heat and the burden of the
day. Oh, remember them with the favour that thou bearest unto
thy people. Visit them with thy great salvation. Remember parents, give wisdom,
give grace to bring up their children, to nurture. And in
the admonition of the Lord, we do humbly pray thee. And O Lord,
we do pray that thou in thy precious mercy would remember those of
us that are in the evening time of life's journey. And that we
pray that thou would guide us safely unto thy heavenly kingdom.
for Lord with us the longest can't be long. And that we have been reminded,
O Lord, in these recent weeks and months of the frailty of
life, and just how frail we are. And thou hast said in thy word,
and the psalmist declares about the frailty of life, and that
thou dost remember that we are but dust. O Lord, we do pray
that thou would remember all thy servants as they labour in
word and doctrine upon the walls of Zion and set them free and
at liberty. And as shine, Lord, we pray thee,
in this dark day, yet gather precious souls unto Christ and
bring them forth to declare what thou hast done for their souls.
We do humbly beseech thee. O hearken, O Lord, we pray, Wilt
Thou not revive us again, O Lord? Lord, we do thank Thee then for
that wonderful glory of the incarnation of the Son of God, and that wonderful
glory in Him of the law fulfilled and everlasting righteousness
brought in. And we do thank Thee for that
wonderful way of salvation. and how we see in it the love
of our eternal father, God so loved the world, he gave his
only begotten son. Oh, we do thank thee for the
everlasting love of our eternal father and the glorious eternal
love of the son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ. And we do thank
thee for thy blessed spirit for his heavenly power, for his divine
unction, for his living power in our hearts. Oh, we do pray
that even tonight, as we gather round the world, that it may
be opened to our heart, to our understanding. There may be a
living power to be known and felt. We do humbly beseech of
thee. We thank thee for every favour
and every blessing. Pray that thou would come and
touch one's lips with a live coal from off the heavenly altar. Do make up in giving where we
do so fail in asking. Do forgive all our many, many
sins. For Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. Let us now continue to sing hymn
122 and we'll sing verses 5 to 8. And the tune is St John 960.
Be thou my counsellor, my pattern and my guide, and through this desert land
still keep me near thy side. O let my feet ne'er run astray,
nor rove, nor seek the crooked way. Hymn 122, singing verses
5 through to 8, Tune St John 960. ? He's a fine man, he's a fine
man ? ? And to be chosen and to keep
me near the bright star ? And as I lay there on the strain,
Drowning to sleep and pray, and pray. ? I am my Savior's voice ? ? His
altar I shall be ? ? My room, His throne, and the crowns of domination
? In excelsis Deo, in excelsis
Deo, in excelsis Deo, in excelsis Deo, in excelsis Deo, in excelsis Deo, in excelsis
Deo, in excelsis Deo, in excelsis Deo, in excelsis Deo, in excelsis Deo,
in excelsis Deo, in excelsis Deo, in excelsis Deo, in excelsis Deo,
in excelsis Deo, in excelsis Deo, in excelsis Deo, in excelsis Deo,
in excelsis Deo, in excelsis Deo, in excelsis Deo, in excelsis
Deo, in excelsis Deo, in excelsis Deo, in excelsis Deo, in excelsis Deo,
in excelsis Deo, in excelsis Deo, in excelsis Deo, in excelsis
Deo, in excelsis Deo, ? In this peaceful mystery ? ?
Where are you in my thoughts? ? ? The answers have opened its
covers ? ? And where are you? ? ? If of my soul every luster ?
? I should be made the death of death ? ? Jesus, how sweet
the sound ? Father, Son, and Christ, I will
be conscientious to sacrifice this time. It's so good to be concerned,
to learn and be free to go where I'm going. Greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, I direct your attention to the fifth chapter
of the book of the Revelation. And we will read verses five
and six for our text. Revelation chapter five, verses
five and six. And one of the elders saith unto
me, weep not, Behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root
of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven
seals thereof. And I beheld, and lo, in the
midst of the throne, and of the four beasts, and in the midst
of the elders, stood a lamb as it had been slain, having seven
horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent
forth into all the earth. There are really two parts to the book
of the Revelation. We have the previous three chapters,
the first three chapters, and where we have the introduction
of our Lord Jesus Christ to his servant John on the Isle of Patmos.
And then that commission that Christ gave to him to write the
letters to the seven churches of Asia. And that really consists
of the first part of the book of the Revelation. And this chapter
four commences the second part. After this I looked and behold
a door was opened in heaven and the first voice which I heard
was as it were a trumpet talking with me which said unto me come
up hither and I will show thee things which must be hereafter. Those wonderful things that are
prophesied here in the book of the Revelation. And we must never forget the
first clause of the book of the Revelation, chapter one and verse
one, the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him. And that is what we should be
looking for, but when we seek to read and study, because in
the book of the revelation, because that is exactly what it is. And
we miss the very point and essence of the book. If we start, as
it were, wandering around in the book and has this happened,
has that happened, is this going to happen? There are things that
it tells us. The book of the revelation covers
the period of time from the first coming to the second coming of
Jesus Christ. That is the period that is covered
in this book. So it's the times in which we
live. And the gospel is to be preached in every
nation, kindred, tongue, and tribe, and people. And there'll be great opposition
according to what we read in the book of the revelation there'll
be great opposition to the preaching of the gospel the devil and his
angels the false prophets they will rise up against the church against the lord jesus christ
against his rule against his law against his work we see it
probably more clearly now in the days in which we live what
is called the spirit of antichrist it's so prevalent in the day
in which we live but it's prophesied here in the book of the revelation
that these things shall come to pass and he says here in verse
2 of chapter 4 and immediately i was in the spirit I was in
the Spirit. What a mercy, my beloved friends,
when we are in the Spirit. In the first chapter, we read
of John and he says, I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day. What a great mercy to be in the
Spirit. You might say, what does it mean to be in the Spirit?
It's when you feel the sweet movings of the Spirit of God
in your heart. When you feel and are very sensible
of your sin and sinfulness, it's only the Holy Ghost that can
do that and can make you feel that. And when you also feel your heart
drawn in love to Jesus Christ, that's the divine work of the
Spirit of God. gives you to feel your hunger.
He makes us to hunger and thirst spiritually so that there's a
longing, a yearning after God, after godliness. And wonderful promises are spoken
in the Word of God to those that are hungering and thirsting after
righteousness. Now he says here in chapter 4,
and these chapters 4 and 5 really go together so clearly, he says
in verse 3, and he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and
a sardine star, a very bright and light, in him
is light, And in him is no darkness at all. So he that sits upon
the throne, the eternal God, the light that shines. And there
was a rainbow round about the throne in sight like unto an
emerald. Now, emerald is green and the
middle color of the rainbow is green. And to my mind, it seems
to speak to us of reconciliation. And this is what the gospel speaks
of. reconciliation unto God. Be ye reconciled unto God. And you might say, well how can
a poor sinner be reconciled unto God? By the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ, as revealed by the Holy Ghost. When the Holy
Ghost works faith in the heart of his children, Christ is revealed,
Christ is made precious, Christ becomes the altogether lovely
one. There's reconciliation. So this
beautiful language is setting before us spiritual things, a
rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald,
the reconciling grace of God. But round about the throne were
four and twenty seats, And upon the seats I saw four and twenty
elders clothed in white, raiment, and they had on their heads crowns
of gold. It's the Old Testament church
and the New Testament church. The twelve tribes of the children
of Israel from the Old Testament church and the twelve apostles
of the Lamb in the New Testament. and that is what is represented
here the whole church of God around the throne of God and
these four and twenty elders and it speaks in the fifth verse
of chapter four the thunderings and lightnings the seven lamps
of fire burning before the throne which are the seven spirits of
God and we come across the number seven many times in the book
of the Revelation. In fact if you look at chapter
3 and verse 1 these things says he that hath the seven spirits
of God and the seven stars the seven spirits of God but there's
only one spirit of God and what this means is this one spirit
of God seven denoting the number of perfection. He's the perfect
eternal spirit of the eternal God, the Holy Ghost. And that
is what is being spoken of here, the divine and glorious person
of the Holy Ghost. And in this symbolic language,
there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which
are the seven spirits of God. And then we read in verse six
of this, before the throne there was a sea of glass. And in the
midst of the throne and round about the throne were four beasts
full of eyes, before and behind. At your leisure you can look
at Ezekiel chapter one. And in Ezekiel chapter one, Ezekiel
had a very, very similar vision to what we have here. These four
beasts, Daniel had a similar vision also and if you look at
Ezekiel 1 it says here in verse 7 of chapter 4 and the first
beast was like a lion and the second beast like a calf and
the third beast had the face as of a man and the fourth beast
was like a flying eagle and at your leisure look at Ezekiel
1 and you'll find all those faces were upon the four beasts in
Ezekiel so they had the same vision of the eternal God and
the the four beasts had each of them six wings about him and
they were full of eyes within and they rest not day and night
saying holy holy holy this wonderful reference to the Trinity the
Holy Father the Holy Son and the Holy Ghost holy holy holy
Lord God Almighty which was, and is, and is to come. Like we've often explained to
you, it's the paraphrasing of the name Jehovah, this one true
God, the Lord Jehovah, but subsisting in the Godhead, the Father, the
Son, and the Holy Ghost. And those beasts give glory and
honor and thanks to him that sat on the throne. We read in
Ezekiel that whether the Spirit was to go, they went. And when the Spirit rested, they
rested. So wherever the Spirit was to go, there's four bees
denoting the four corners of the earth, which are called in
Holy Scripture, North, South, East, and West. The Holy Spirit
works North, South, East, and West in this earth. And when the beast go, the four
and 20 elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and
worship him that liveth forever and ever, and cast their crowns
before the throne. In that lovely hymn, all hail
the power of Jesus' name. And the last verse, it says,
cast in all our crowns before him, lost in wonder, love, and
praise. Thou art worthy. O Lord, to receive
glory and honour and power, for thou hast created all things,
and for thy pleasure they are and were created. It's a wonderful
teaching here, my beloved friends. For thou hast created all things.
We go back to Genesis chapter 1. In the beginning God created
the heavens and the earth, for thou hast created all things. The apostle says, it is he that
hath made us, and not we ourselves. We worship our creator, for thou
hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and
were created. Now we come into chapter five.
I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book
written within and on the backside sealed with seven seals. So this book, what does this book represent?
It's in the right hand of him that sat on the throne. A book written within on the
backside that means a complete book. It was written within and
also the back page and so it's finished. And these divine decrees
of the eternal God are all contained in this book which had seven
seals. It's the book of those eternal
decrees of the almighty God who worketh all things after the
counsel of his own will, who knoweth the end from the beginning.
He is called the first and the last, the beginning and the end.
And again, I am he which is, and which was, and which is to
come. I am he which is, the present.
I am he which was, that's eternity past. I am he which is to come,
that's eternity to come. Jehovah, that's the meaning of
the name Jehovah, the self-existent and the eternal, the almighty
God. He says here in verse 2 of chapter
5, I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, who is worthy
to open the book and to loose the seals thereof. No man in
heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth was able to open
the book, neither to look thereof. And I wept much. John, he says,
I wept much because no man was found worthy to open and to read
the book, neither to look thereon. And one of the elders said unto
me, you know, John was in the church militant, the elder was
in the church triumphant. And we have here the church triumphant
comforting the church militant, the church that is still in her
warfare here upon earth. And I wept much because no man
was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to
look thereon. And one of the elders said unto
me, weep not. Weep not. You see, the revelation
of Jesus Christ Behold the lion of the tribe
of Judah, the revelation of Jesus Christ. In the book of Genesis,
chapter 49, we have it recorded there in the blessings that were
upon the tribe of Judah. And we read elsewhere, Judah
is a lion's wealth. And as you know, each one of
the tribes knew so at a standard. flag, a banner, to carry as they
went forward through the wilderness together. And the banner of the
tribe of Israel was a lion. And Christ was to be born of
the tribe of Judah, of David. David was of the tribe of Judah.
One of the elders said unto me, weep not, Behold the lion. You know, a lion, it's known
as the king of beasts. It's fearless. It'll attack anyone. Very aggressive, very powerful.
And here the Lord Jesus Christ is likened to a lion. He's the
eternal son of the eternal God. He said himself to the disciples,
all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth, the lion
of the tribe of Judah. And we read in those names that
are given to him, my mind just goes to Isaiah chapter nine,
his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Everlasting Father,
the Prince of Peace. Wonderful names that are given
to our Lord Jesus Christ. Weep not, behold the lion of
the tribe of Judah, the root of David. At the end of the book of the
Revelation in chapter 22, the Lord Jesus says, I am the root
and offspring of David, the bright and morning star. I am the root. I've often said to you, when
you take a cursory look at that verse, I am the root and offspring
of David, and it appears to contradicts itself. How can he be the root
and the offspring? Well, that is open to us in the
word of God, in the revelation of Jesus Christ. As the eternal son of God, he
was David's root. And when David here came upon
earth and David fighting against his enemies, his strength, his
wisdom was in God. It was all in God. He was dependent
upon the eternal God. His root was the son of God. I am the root. That's why David
prevailed against his enemies. That's why David was triumphant
against all his enemies, because he was rooted in Christ, in the
eternal Son of God. Behold, the lion of the tribe
of Judah, the root of David, has prevailed to open the book
and to loose the seven seals thereof. This book of the eternal, councils
of salvation, of redemption, the elect in love of the Father,
the redeeming love of the Son, the sanctifying love of the Holy
Ghost. It's all in these decrees that
the Father chose a people from the ruins of the Adam fall. And
as we're told in a number of places in Holy Scripture, he
did that before the foundation of the earth. before man was created. He chose a people from the ruins
of the Adam fall. Nothing takes God by surprise,
no. Nothing happens by chance. God knows everything. I know it's a great deep and
it's a profound thing to try and convey, but God lives in
one eternal now. We read in Isaiah 57, Thus saith
the high and lofty one that inhabiteth eternity. He inhabits eternity. He doesn't live in time. He inhabits
eternity. From everlasting to everlasting
thou art God. It goes this infinite understanding
and being of God You know we can grasp in our poor finite
minds God knowing everything that has happened before But my beloved friends He knows
everything that is going to happen in the future He lives in one
eternal now He knows everything that is going to happen Nothing
happens by chance with God. It's all divinely ordered. It's
all divinely purpose. It says in Ephesians, he who
worketh all things after the counsel of his own will. All
things, not just some things, all things. And that is what
the Apostle Paul is referring to in Romans chapter 8. all things work together for
good to them that love God to them that are the called according
to his purposes all things and there's a there's a great
comfort my beloved friends to know that there is one sitting
upon a throne this is what we have revealed here working all things after the
counsel of his own will his own purposes. You see, and one of the elders
said unto me, weep not, behold the lion of the tribe of Judah,
the root of David, hath prevailed to open the book and to loose
the seven seals thereof. And I beheld. Now this opens
to us the deeper mystery of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And I beheld, and lo, in the
midst of the throne, and of the four beasts, and in the midst
of the elders, stood a Lamb, as it had been slain. And John the Baptist, he says
twice, doesn't he? Behold the Lamb of God, which
taketh away the sin of the world. And we read in Isaiah concerning
our Lord Jesus Christ, he was led as a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep before her shearers
is done, so he opened not his mouth. He prevailed as a lamb. He is the lion of the tribe of
Judah, but he prevailed as a lamb. A meek and a lowly lamb. You
couldn't get more different animals, could you? The great, the powerful
lion and the weak little lamb. What a contrast. But we see both
these things in Jesus Christ. We see the Lord Jesus Christ,
we see the Son of God, made flesh, dwelling among us. We see a man
of sorrows and acquainted with grief in the Lord Jesus Christ. We see his weakness and yet he
is Lord of all. We see in the garden of Gethsemane
when the sin of the church was laid upon him there, And he bows
before his Holy Father, Father, if it be possible, let this cup
pass from me, but not my will, but Thine be done. This cup of
suffering, this cup of sorrow, this cup of agony, this tremendous
weight of the sin of the church. I beheld and know in the midst
of the throne and of the four beasts, And in the midst of the
elders stood a lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns
and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent forth
into all the earth. That, like I was trying to explain
to you, the word seven means that perfect, that fullness,
The seven spirits of God, it don't mean there are literally
seven Holy Spirits. It means his work is perfect. It means he's in all places at
all times. Seven eyes, which are the seven
spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. The Holy Ghost
is everywhere. He's like the Father and the
Son. Omnipresent. David brings that
out in Psalm 139. It didn't matter where he went,
the Lord was there. He says in Psalm 139, if I make
my bed in hell, behold thou art there. If I go up into heaven,
behold thou art there. He had a realization of the omnipresence
of God. If I go into the uttermost parts
of the sea, even there, shall thy hand lead me and thy right
hand shall hold me. The Lord will never leave his
people. That the Holy Spirit is ever
watchful of the people of God. Indeed that omnipresence of the
Holy Ghost is clearly explained in the word of truth that every
Every true believer has the Holy Ghost dwelling in them And that
proves the omnipresence of the Spirit of God The Holy Ghost is in every one
of the Lord's people and that is what makes them one of the
Lord's people And in the midst of the elders stood a lamb, as
it had been slain. You see, my beloved friends,
weep not, for the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David,
hath prevailed to open the book. Now, how did he prevail? It surely
explains so clearly here, he prevailed as the lamb of God. He took our sins, and he nailed
them to his cross. when he came here upon earth,
the man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. He fulfilled the
law. He honored and magnified the
holy law of God. I come not to destroy the law,
but to fulfill it. And that is what our Lord Jesus
Christ has done. He's fulfilled the holy law of
God. In his holy life, that suffering
saviour, that man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, he
humbled himself. He took upon him the form of
a servant that was made in the likeness of man and being found
in fashion as a man, he humbled himself. He didn't only humble
himself as God, which he did, to take into union with his divine
nature, a holy human nature. But then he humbled himself as
a man and became obedient unto death. I like the way it's spoken
of there in Philippians chapter 2. And being found in fashion
as a man, he humbled himself. He loved not his life unto death. He gave his life a ransom for
all to be testified in due time. He humbled himself. And I beheld,
and lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in
the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain. I love that beautiful hymn. but
of Joseph Hart, hymn number 23. A man there is, a real man, with
wounds still gaping wide, from which rich streams of blood once
ran, in hands and feet and sigh. And Joseph Hart, he goes on to
say that we're not speaking here metaphorically, no metaphor we
speak, no. That same dear man in heaven
now reigns, who suffered in our stead, the Lamb, in the midst
of the throne. The Apostle Paul, he says in
the Hebrews chapter four, for such a high priest have we, who
is passed into the heavens. Jesus, the Son of God, is passed
into the heavens. and in the midst of the elders
stood a lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns. Horns represent
power, having seven horns, again the number of perfection. All
power is given unto me in heaven and in earth, seven horns and
seven eyes. which are the seven spirits of
God sent forth into all the earth. The Lord Jesus was anointed with
the spirit without measure. And the Holy Spirit will remain
with every single child of God when they get to heaven. The
Lord Jesus in that lovely discourse in John 14, 15, and 16, speaking
of the Holy Ghost, You see, he speaks when he the
spirit of truth has come, like when he comes to a sinner's heart.
And he says in that same context, and he will dwell with you forever. The Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost
that quickened your soul. The Holy Ghost that convinced
you of sin. The Holy Ghost that led and taught
and guided and directed you in this wilderness journey. that
the Holy Ghost that worked faith in your heart and brought you
to living faith in Jesus Christ the Spirit of the Living God He anoints the sacred human nature
of the Son of God and He anoints every child of
God and He dwells in their hearts and I beheld and low in the midst
of the throne and of the four beasts. And in the midst of the
elders stood a lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns
and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God, sent forth
into all the earth. And he came and took the book
out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. And when he had taken the book,
the four beasts and the four and twenty elders fell down before
the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials
full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. Those prayers
that are laid up, it speaks of it in Holy Scripture, but the
prayers of the saints, they're laid up like incense, speaks
of it here in the book of the Revelation, the prayers of the
saints. And they sung a new song saying
thou art worthy to take the book and it tells us why and to open
the seals thereof for thou was slain and hast redeemed us to
God by thy blood out of every kindred and and people and nation
has redeemed us to God. He alone could take the book. The Lord Jesus, there was found
no man, so the Son of God became a man. And he wondered, it says in Isaiah,
doesn't it, that there was no man. And his own arm brought
salvation unto him, the glorious eternal God. God so loved the
world he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth
in him shall be saved, saved eternally. Thou art worthy to
take the book and to open the seal thereof. Why? Because he
lived here upon earth as a man, he fulfilled, he honoured the
holy law of God on the behalf of his people, He took our sins
and he nailed them to his cross. He suffered and bled and died
on Calvary's tree. Thou art worthy. And this will
be the song of the redeemed forever. Thou art worthy to take the book
and to open the seals of, for thou art slain. And has redeemed
us to God by thy blood out of every kindred and tongue and
people and nation. and has made us unto our God
kings and priests. And we shall reign on the earth. Jesus shall reign where the sun
does its successive journeys run. He shall reign from shore
to shore. He shall reign eternally. It
says it here, we read it together. He shall reign forever and ever. we see the redeemed church here
in verse 11 and I beheld and I heard the voice of many angels
round about the throne and the beasts and the elders and the
number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands
of thousands saying with a loud voice worthy is the lamb that
was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and blessings. And every creature which is in
heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and such as are in
the sea, and all that are in them, heard I say, blessed, and
honor, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon
the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever. And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders
fell down and worshipped him that liveth forever and ever. Forever and ever. Set him before
us. You see, I am come that they
might have life and that they might have it more abundantly.
That's what our Lord Jesus Christ said. Have it more abundantly. They have life. and they have
life eternal. He says, I give unto my sheep
eternal life. Once the Holy Spirit enters the
heart of a poor sinner and quickens that soul into life and brings
them to live in faith in Jesus Christ, that their eternal destiny
is fixed. It is. He that hath begun a good
work in you shall perform it. unto the day of Jesus Christ. He will, forever and ever. I will never leave thee, nor
forsake thee. He said unto the disciples and
he says it now unto his people. Lo, I am with you always, even
unto the end of the world. I will never leave thee, nor
forsake thee. in that lovely promise, that
multiple of promises in Isaiah 41. Fear not, I am with thee. Be not dismayed, I am thy God.
I will help thee. I will uphold thee with the right
hand of my righteousness. I will, I will. God has promised. God has promised to be with you
to the end. God has promised to land you safely in eternal
glory, to be with him forever and ever. It's eternity's greed,
it's eternally purposed. I give unto my sheep eternal
life. Same with a loud voice. Worthy
is the lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and
wisdom and strength and honour and glory and blessing. That glorious person of our Lord
and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Oh, that the Lord would make
these things live in truth in our hearts. Live in truth in
our hearts. A realisation that the Lord has
begun a good work in you and he will perform it unto the day
of Jesus Christ. He has said, And the hymn writer
says, doesn't he, what more can he say than to you he has said,
you who unto Jesus a refuge have fled. He can't say more. He's promised that you're eternally
safe, that you're eternally secure, that your heavenly father has
chosen you and given you to his son, Jesus Christ, and that the
Lord Jesus Christ has redeemed you. He was slain. He shed his precious blood. And
the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us from all sin.
He brought in everlasting righteousness. And that clothes a poor, wretched
sinner to stand in the presence of the Eternal God forever. And
one of the elders said unto me, Behold, the lion of the tribe
of Judah, the root of David, hath prevailed to open the book,
and to loose the seven seals thereof. And I beheld, and lo,
in the midst of the throne, and of the four beasts, and in the
midst of the elders, stood a lamb, as it had been slain, having
seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God,
sent forth into all the earth. May the Lord have His blessing. Let us now sing the remaining
four verses of Hymn 122, verses 9 to 12. The tune is St. Godric, 556. My advocate appears for my defence
on high. The Father bows his ears and
lays his thunder by. Not all that hell or sin can
say shall turn his heart, his love, away. Hymn 122. verses 9 to 12. Tune St. Broderick, 556. ? O come all ye faithful joyful
and triumphant ? ? La la la la la la la la la la
la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la
la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la
la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la
la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la
la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la
la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la
la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la
la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la
la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la
la la la la la la la la la la My dear almighty Lord, my conqueror
and my king, thy scepter and thy sword, thy reigning face
I see. I listen, and behold, I sing,
In heaven and on earth, with thy peace. Now let my soul arise And tip
the sceptre down My curtain leads me home Take comfort from the crowd. A feeble strain shall be my head,
Or death and hell obstruct. ? Away ? ? Shield of the courts
of death ? ? And house of heaven above ? but that the dreadful
thought of rage and mischief. I shall be saved, for Christ
is raised, 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.