Let us commence our service this
evening by singing together hymn number 536. The tune is Rockingham
398. Behold a scene of matchless grace. Tis Jesus in the sinner's place.
Heaven's brightest glory sunk in shame. That rebels might adore
his name. hymn 536, tune Rockingham 398.
? Behold the sweet ? ? Of matchless
grace ? ? Tis Jesus' name ? ? The sinner's thanks ? ? And bright
as dawn ? Christ alone can shame, and there calls mine, let all
his name. In endless streams of broth and
dress, In angels' bursts the power of His hand, ? Ten thousand tombs, Jesus told
? ? An angel from the mountains called him home ? ? Which the piety grow'd ? ? Which
went becry'd ? ? Through all the floods ? ? Because that I
? In our love, desire, and youth,
In finite justice, all give truth. He rose in triumph from the dead. Justice declared, the dead was
bled. and Christ with King Abraham
deferred, and took his vow in holy truth. Come safely to his solemn meditation,
The purpose precious of his age. ? Thee, Lord, or find me from all
the weary ? ? Where'er Thou art, O God, it is far and near ? Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God in the Prophecy of Isaiah, chapter 45. The Prophecy of Isaiah, chapter
45. Thus saith the Lord to his anointed,
to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before
him. And I will loose the loins of
kings to open before him the two-leaf gates, and the gates
shall not be shut. I will go before thee and make
the crooked places straight. I will break in pieces the gates
of brass and cut in sunder the bars of iron. And I will give
thee the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places,
that thou mayest know that I, the Lord, which call thee by
thy name, am the God of Israel. For Jacob my servant's sake,
and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name. I have surnamed thee, though
thou hast not known me. I am the Lord, and there is none
else There is no God beside me. I girded thee, though thou hast
not known me, that they may know from the rising of the sun and
from the west that there is none beside me. I am the Lord, and
there is none else. I form the light and create darkness. I make peace and create evil. I, the Lord, do all these things.
Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness. Let the earth open, and let them
bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together.
I, the Lord, have created it. Woe unto him that striveth with
his maker. Let the potsherds strive with
the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that
fashioneth it, What make is thou? All thy work he hath no hands. Why, unto him that saith unto
his father, what begettest thou? Or to the woman, what hast thou
brought forth? Thus saith the Lord, the Holy
One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning
my sons, and concerning the work of my hands, command ye me. I
have made the earth, and created man upon it. I, even my hands, have stretched
out the heavens, and all their hosts have I commanded. I have
raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways.
He shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives, not
for price nor reward, saith the Lord of hosts. Thus saith the
Lord, the labour of Egypt, and the merchandise of Ethiopia,
and of the Sabaeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and
they shall be thine. They shall come after thee, in
chains shall they come over, they shall fall down unto thee. They shall make supplication
unto thee, saying, surely God is in thee, and there is none
else, there is no God. Verily thou art a God that hidest
thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour. They shall be ashamed
and also confounded, all of them. They shall go to confusion together
that are makers of idols. But Israel shall be saved in
the Lord with an everlasting salvation. Ye shall not be ashamed
nor confounded, world, without Him. For thus said the Lord that
created the heavens, God himself that formed the earth and made
it, he hath established it. He created it not in vain, he
formed it to be inhabited. I am the Lord, there is none
else. I have not spoken in secret,
in a dark place of the earth. I said not unto the seed of Jacob
seeking me in vain, I the Lord speak righteousness, I declare
things that are right. Assemble yourselves and come,
draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations. They
have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image,
and pray unto a God that cannot save. Tell ye and bring them near,
yea, let them take counsel together who have declared this from ancient
time, who have told it from that time. Have not I the Lord, and
there is no God else beside me, a just God and a Saviour, there
is none beside me. Look unto me and be ye saved,
all the ends of the earth, for I am God and there is none else.
I have sworn by myself, the word has gone out of my mouth, in
righteousness, and shall not return, but unto me every knee
shall bow, every tongue shall swear. Surely, shall one say,
in the Lord have I righteousness and strength? Even to him shall
men come, and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed.
in the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified and shall
glory. May the Lord bless the reading
of his own precious word and grant to us a spirit of real
prayer. Almighty, most merciful and eternal
God, we do desire to bow before thy great majesty to call upon
thy great and thy holy name. Thy word declares unto us, great
is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is
unsearchable. For who by searching can find
out God? For, Lord, thy word declares
that the natural man cannot receive the things of the Spirit of God,
for thou spiritually deserve. We pray that thou would give
us this evening hour a spiritual discernment, a spiritual understanding,
that it may be with us as the dear apostle declares, the eyes
of your understanding being enlightened. Lord, may it be so, as we gather
around thy word at this evening hour. 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 with us. We think of those wonderful words
of grace. Whatsoever ye ask in my name,
I will do it. Oh, help us to ask our Heavenly
Father in the name of his only begotten Son, our Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ. to whom coming as unto a living
stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God and precious.
Lord, we pray that there was grant that that living stone
may be laid in each one of our hearts this evening hour. That glorious eternal rock of
ages, that door of hope that is open wide in Jesus' bleeding
hands and side, Jesus is the way to God. Jesus
is the way to bliss. Oh, that we may hear his voice,
that we may see his countenance, that we may worship in his holy
hill of Zion. May we know that divine enlightening
power and unction of the Holy Ghost as we gather together around
my word. May thy word be a living word,
a powerful word, an effectual word that shall reach into our
very hearts. And may we be favoured with the
revelation of Jesus Christ. For God hath revealed them unto
us by his Spirit. For the Spirit searcheth all
things, yea, the deep things of God. O to know that divine
enlightenment and power and unction of the Holy Ghost as we gather
together around thy word. And, O Lord, we pray for the
divine influence and the heavenly power of our Eternal Father to
draw us unto his best beloved and all-glorious Son, that he
may reveal unto us the fullness that there is in Jesus our Head. and ever abide to answer Annie.
Oh, to be favoured like those that we read of in Holy Scripture,
to touch the hem of his garment, to draw from that sacred fullness
that is in him, to hear his voice, to see his countenance, and that
we think of the wonderful voice of our Lord Jesus Christ and
pray that we may be favoured to hear it tonight. 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. O Lord,
we do pray that thou would breathe thy living word into our hearts
by thy blessed Spirit, that it may be sealed there. We think
of those precious words of grace, for God has sent forth the Spirit
of his Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Oh, that we might
know that and experience that at this evening hour, a realisation
given to us by the Spirit that we are indeed sons and daughters
of the Lord God Almighty. We pray to be made more spiritually
minded. We pray to be made more Christ-like, more like the sweet psalmist.
My soul followeth hard after thee, O God. Lord, may it be
so. As promised in thy word, ask
and ye shall receive. seek and you shall find, knock
and it shall be opened unto you. Gracious God, we do come asking,
seeking, knocking, that thou wouldst graciously come and open
my word and open our hearts to receive it, and that our affections
may be set upon things above and not on things of the earth.
Draw my soul to thee, my Lord, Let me love thy precious word.
May thy word be a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. We do humbly beseech thee for
thy great namesake. May we know tonight, O Lord,
as we gather round the word, what real true spiritual communion
is. Not only with thee, but with
each other. We do humbly pray thee. Remember
us as a church and congregation. Work mightily, powerfully, and
effectually among us. Remember, dear Audrey, we thank
thee, Lord, for safely arriving home. Pray that thou wouldst
graciously put forth thy healing hand and grant thy restoring
mercies and bless and undertake for each of the family at this
time we do humbly beseech thee. and that we do pray, most gracious
Lord, that thou wouldst remember our deacons and bless and undertake
for, give grace, wisdom and help in all their responsibilities.
Remember thy servant expected among us on the coming Lord's
day. Grant that he may dip his foot in oil and be made acceptable
unto thee brethren and that the word preached may be in power
in the Holy Ghost and with much assurance that thou would strengthen
him by thy Spirit in the inner man, we do humbly beseech of
thee. And, O Lord, we do pray, remember
each one of our brethren and sisters in church fellowship. Remember the whole of our congregation.
Remember us with the favour that thou bearest unto thy people.
and visit us with thy great salvation, O Lord, we do humbly beseech
thee. Thy word declares, as soon as
Zion travailed, she brought forth her children. We pray for the
spirit of travail. We pray that we may give thee
no rest until thou establish, until thou makest Jerusalem a
praise in all the earth. Thou hast said in thy word, I
have set watchmen on thy walls of Jerusalem, that shall never
hold their peace, day nor night. Help us to constantly be in prayer
and to watch unto prayer. We do humbly beseech of thee. And oh Lord, remember that the
young friends and graciously bless them, teach them, lead
them, guide them, bring them each to live in faith in Jesus
Christ, undertake for them in all the paths of providence,
Help them to cast all their cares upon thee, we do humbly beseech
thee. Grant them a partner in life's
journey, one that fears thy great and holy name, we do humbly beseech
of thee. O Lord, we do pray that there
may be a generation that shall be raised up to call thee the
Redeemer blessed, a generation that shall follow on to know
the Lord, Remember the little ones and the children. Have mercy
upon them, O Lord, we beseech Thee. Lord, we do pray that Thou in
Thy precious mercy would remember all in the midst of the journey
of life. And we would especially remember parents that great wisdom
and help may be given to bring up their children in the nurture
and admonition of the Lord. We pray for those that have wandered
from the ways of truth and righteousness that thou wouldst stretch out
thy almighty arm, that thou wouldst cause them to be in one, that
thou wouldst cause them to return. Lord, there is nothing too hard
for thee. Indeed, O Lord, thou art able
to do abundantly more than we can even ask or think. For this cause, I bow my knees
unto the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord,
we bow before Thee and we beseech Thee that Thou wouldst have mercy
upon us, that Thou wouldst send real prosperity, that Thou wouldst
cause the prodigals to return, the strongholds of Satan to be
pulled down, the kingdom of the Lord Jesus to be set up in the
hearts of sinners. Oh, we pray that many, many precious
souls may be gathered from this village and the surrounding villages
and hamlets. We pray also that thou wouldst
bring our sons from far and our daughters from the ends of the
earth. As thou hast promised in thy word, they shall come
from the north and from the south and from the east and from the
west. O Lord, do hear us, we beseech thee, and graciously
bless us. We thank thee for every favour
and every blessing. Remember those of us in the evening
of life's journey, prepare us for that great change which must
come. Help us to wait upon thee, help
us to watch unto prayer, and help us to be ready, even as
thou hast exhorted us, be ye also ready. For at such a time
as ye think not, the Son of Man cometh. Lord we do pray, fill
our hearts with gratitude, with thanksgiving for the glories
of Christ, for the wonders of redeeming love, for the fullness
of that salvation that is in Christ Jesus, for that glorious
light that shines in him and may that light shine in our hearts
that thou didst say I am the light of the world Lord Jesus,
come and shine. We do humbly pray thee, grant
that the sun of righteousness may arise with healing in his
wings. Be with us, Lord, as we turn
to thy holy word. Come and touch one's lips with
a live coal from the heavenly altar, as we ask for Jesus Christ's
sake. Amen. Let us now sing together hymn
number 533. The tune is Mary Smith 183. How condescending and how wise
is the eternal God. On wings of love from heaven
he flies, the church to buy with blood. 533. Tune Mary Smith 183. And the Lord is true, and the
Lord is with thee, eternal Lord. On wings of love, of heav'nly
light, Let truth survive with heart. O come, O come, all ye faithful
joyful and triumphant, ? Excelled to God in might ? ?
The angels sing the song of heaven ? ? Can bring the drought to calm
? ? The fears of years have all been had ? ? It pays to have
hope again ? Here's my people, the friends
of Christ, friends of truth and love free. From day to day, in celebrate
joys, To whom we joyously sing. Greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, I would direct your attention to the chapter
that we read, the prophecy of Isaiah, chapter 45. And we'll read verse 22 for our
text. Isaiah, chapter 45, verse 22.
Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends
of the earth, for I am God and there is none else. Beautiful, sacred word of invitation,
look unto me. And that's it, there's a great
emphasis in this chapter, again and again, for I am God there
is none else or it says at the beginning doesn't it there is
no god beside me or as it's often said the other
gods that are spoken of in scripture are gods with a small g our god
has a capital g because he is the eternal god because he is
the almighty god because he is the creator of the heavens and
the earth. As the word of God declares unto
us, it is he that hath made us and not we ourselves. This chapter opens, thus saith
the Lord to his anointed to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden. Cyrus was king of Persia. and it was always said that the
city of Babylon was impregnable, that no army could overcome it.
The walls were so great, the gates were so high and I understand
that the city of Babylon in its front appearance with these huge
great bulwarks and walls and gates and then behind the city
of Babylon, was the river Euphrates, which was a large river that
couldn't be crossed over. It says here, and it's speaking
primarily firstly of Cyrus, to subdue nations before him, or
loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two-leaf
gates, and the gate shall not be shut. Now the Lord gave the
Persian army the wisdom and the wherewithal to overcome the city
of Babylon, that great city. And I understand that they drained,
they rerouted the river Euphrates away from the back of the city
and then the Persian army could enter in from the rear of the
city. the king of course could then enter in the front gates
they overcome the city and then open the gates and that's why
it says here to open before him the two leaf gates and the gates
shall not be shut and these words that the lord speaks to this
heathen king i will go before thee and make the crooked places
straight or break in pieces the gates of wrath and also it says
that how that he would let his captives go. Says in verse 13, I've raised
him up in righteousness. Primarily, in the initial sense
of the word, he's speaking of Cyrus. And I will direct all
his ways. He shall build my city, he shall
let go my captives, not for price nor reward, saith the Lord of
hosts. And that these things were all
fulfilled a long time after Isaiah prophesied it. Now the wonderful
thing, my beloved friends, is this, is that Cyrus is a type
of Christ. You may say, what, a heathen
king? Yes, he's a beautiful type of Christ. And there are many
things that are written here, these promises that are made,
what we would say firstly to Cyrus, but there's a greater
than Cyrus here, is the glorious person of our Lord and Saviour,
Jesus Christ. He's the Lord's anointed. Thus
saith the Lord his anointed, whose right hand I hold, and
to subdue nations before him. I will loose the loins of kings
to open before him the two-leaf gates. And you think, of that
beautiful prophecy in Psalm 24. Lift up your heads, O ye gates,
be lifted up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory
shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The
Lord, strong and mighty. Who is it? The Lord Christ. After
having subdued the powers of Satan, after having delivered
his people from the curse of the law, from the condemnation
of the law, delivered them from sin and Satan's
power, in his holy life, in his holy death, in his sacrifice,
in his glorious resurrection. You see, there's a greater than
Cyrus here. I will go before thee and make
the crooked places straight. I will break in pieces the gates
of brass and cut in sunder the bars of iron. I will, and that is who is in
our text, the glorious person of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus
Christ. Look unto me, all ye ends of
the earth, and be ye saved, for I am God, and there is none else. I am God. Well, just for a moment
on that particular aspect of this truth, Lord Jesus Christ,
the Son of Man, the Son of God. When the term the Son of Man
is used, it's highlighting the sacred holy human nature that
he assumed in the womb of the Virgin Mary, the Son of Man. The Son of God lived here upon
earth as a man. The angel said to Mary, that
holy thing that shall be born of thee shall be called the Son
of God, the glorious person of Jesus
Christ, God and man in one person. There is one God and one mediator
between God and man, the man, Christ Jesus. We've often explained
to you the name Dazeman in the book of Job. And the office of a daisman was
to reconcile two opposing parties. What in common language today
is called an advocate. One that reconciles. What a glorious advocate. What
a wonderful daisman is Jesus Christ. When he puts his hand
As a man, he puts his hand upon man. As the Son of God, he puts
his hand on his Holy Father and he reconciles the two together.
It's called the gospel of reconciliation in the person of Jesus, the Son
of God. Reconciliation. I often draw
your attention because it's so beautiful the way that it's set
forth in the second epistle to the Corinthians in chapter 5. How beautifully does the apostle
set before us the glorious person of Christ. 2 Corinthians 5 verse
17. Therefore if any man be in Christ,
He is a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold,
all things become new. And all things are of God, who
hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given
to us the ministry of reconciliation, to wit that God was in Christ,
reconciling the world unto himself. You see, God was in Christ. not
imputing their trespasses unto them, and hath committed unto
us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we're ambassadors for
Christ. As though God did beseech you
by us, we pray you in Christ's end, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him, and this
is the very heart and center of the gospel, for he hath made
him, that is Christ himself, He hath made him to be sin for
us, who knew no sin. Christ knew no sin, Christ did
no sin. Christ didn't break God's holy
law, he fulfilled it. He said himself, I come not to
destroy the law, but to fulfill it. And that's exactly what Christ
has done. For he has made him to be sin
for us. What a wonder of wonders is the
gospel of Jesus Christ. He made Him to be sin for us
who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of
God in Him. The righteousness of God in Him. You know the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ. As the apostles say in the Corinthians,
you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. were rich yet for
our sakes he became poor. And the Apostle takes up that
very point in the second chapter of the Philippians, how that
for our sakes he became poor, how that he humbled himself and
was made in the likeness of sinful man. He humbled himself. And then
it says in there that even as a man he humbled himself. Jesus,
the Son of God, humbled himself. Firstly, as the Son of God, to
take into union with the divine nature, a sacred holy human nature,
and live here upon earth as a man. What was the purpose of Christ
living here upon earth as a man? Well, the principal purpose,
as the apostle says in Galatians, he was made of a woman made under
the law that he might redeem them that are under the law.
And that's the principal purpose of the life of Christ. The law
has been fulfilled. The law that you have broken,
that I have broken, that every man, woman and child in this
world has broken. the soul that sinneth it shall
die. Sin is any transgression of the law of God. The soul that
sinneth it shall die. But this man, but this man, the
man Christ Jesus, he's fulfilled, he's honoured that holy righteous
law. And as Daniel puts it so beautifully
in his prayer, in the ninth chapter of Daniel, to the bringing in
of everlasting righteousness. Daniel is there speaking of the
coming of Christ, of the fulfilling of the law, and the bringing
in, thereby the bringing in of everlasting righteousness. That's
what Jesus has done. He's made his people righteous. And that is where they are made
righteous, in Christ. They're not righteous in themselves.
And they're not righteous in their own eyes. But they're righteous in Christ
by faith. Therefore, being justified by
faith. What is it to be justified is
to be declared to be without sin. There are some of us, my beloved
friends, we're laden with sin. We're loaded with sin. And yet,
in Christ. Never forget, my late pastor,
he often used to mention, just as he was about to join the church,
and my late grandfather, J.B. Field, This particular first
Sunday at the Ordinancy, he spoke from with desire, have I desire
to eat this Passover with you? And my late pastor, Mr. Jupp,
he said that he felt his heart so drawn. He saw the church at
Black Boys, the church for the whole of the afternoon service
sit around the table of the Lord. He said, I saw the church in
Christ. He said, I love them in Christ. I've had a union to them in Christ. And those verses that were given
out with desire, have a desire to eat this Passover with you,
were made so sweet and precious to him. So much so that he went
forward and testified of what he hoped the Lord had done for
his soul. But he always used to, used to
strike me when he said, I saw the church in Christ, they were
perfect in Christ, they were without sin in Christ, there
was a beauty, there was a loveliness to him in the church, in Christ
and he loved them in Christ. Do you know that love to the
Lord Jesus? And do you know that love to
the Lord's people? You know, in Holy Scripture,
it's actually written down, isn't it, that it's a mark of divine
grace. We know, John, first epistle
of John, chapter three, we know that we have passed from death
unto life because we love the brethren. What a wonderful thing
it is to love the brethren. How do you love them? In Christ.
In Christ. And hence, we have here, in our
text, look unto me. It's the words of Christ. It's the words of the Eternal
Son, of the Eternal Father, who the Eternal Father is anointed
and exalted Him as a Prince and as a Saviour. Just look at the
previous verse to our text, verse 21. Tell ye, and bring them near. Yea, let them take counsel together,
who hath declared this from the ancient time, who hath told it
from that time. Have not I the Lord? There is
no God else beside me, a just God and a Saviour. There is none beside me. Look unto me, and be ye saved,
all the ends of the earth, for I am God. Let us just look at
that aspect then for a moment. Jesus is God. Jesus is the eternal
Son of God. Jesus is declared to be the Son
of God with power. Jesus, we read in Hebrews chapter
7, wherefore he is able to save unto the uttermost all that come
unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for
us. Look unto me. What a wonderful
invitation. Look unto me, this just God and
a saviour. There is none beside me. Look
at this word, there is none beside me. And then look at those lovely
words of the apostles. Speaking of our Lord Jesus Christ,
there is none other name given unto heaven, whereby ye must
be saved, but the name of Jesus Christ. look unto me and be ye
saved all the ends of the earth for I am God and there is none else and there
is none else there's only one saviour of sinners there's only one that is able
to reconcile unto God there is only one that has satisfied
all the demands of divine justice. We sung in our opening hymn of
our Lord Jesus Christ, crucified. Why was he crucified? Why did
he suffer, bleed and die? Well, we're told very clearly
in the Word of God that one of the reasons why the Lord Jesus,
the Son of God became a man, is that he might suffer death, that he might walk a path of
temptation and trial. That's always made clear relative
to his human nature, the human nature of the Son of God. When the Lord Jesus lived here
upon earth, it was to fulfil the law for his people. It was a just God. That means a God that can justify. And if you look at verse 25 here
in the last verse in this chapter, in the Lord that is in Jehovah,
shall all the seed of Israel be justified and shall glory
shall be declared to be without sin. In that lovely chapter in Isaiah
53, how beautifully does it speak there of our Lord Jesus Christ as the glorious sacrifice of
his people, as the redeemer of his people. And how lovely does
it speak that when he was wounded and bruised and crucified, he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace
was upon him and with his stripes we are healed. And hence these
lovely words, unto me and be ye saved all the ends of the
earth for I am God and there is none else this is God's provision
Jehovah Jireh in the mount of the Lord shall it be seen that
Jehovah Jireh means the Lord will provide and Abraham he said
unto Isaac God will provide a sacrifice God will provide a sacrifice.
Jesus said when he was here on earth, he said so beautifully,
Abraham saw my day. I believe, you know, friends,
there's probably more than once when Abraham saw the Lord's day,
but I cannot but feel that it was when he was to offer up his
son, Isaac. Abraham saw my day. In that, Tremendous trial. Take thy son, thine only son,
and offer him as a sacrifice unto the Lord. Take him to Mount
Moriah. That's where Jesus was crucified,
Mount Moriah. That's where David was at the
threshing floor on the Jebusite. That is where the temple is built.
It's all in that same place. And there, all those centuries
before, the Lord directed Abraham to Mount Moriah. And he took
his son, he bound him hand and foot and laid him on the altar
and he lifted the knife to slay him. And the Lord said, Abraham,
Abraham, do the lad no harm. And Abraham turned and there
was a ram caught in a thicket. Wonderful illustration. Isaac is the most beautiful type
of the church there. Bound hand and foot. How? By the law. Bound hand and foot. The soul that sinneth it shall
die. Cursed is every man that doeth
not all things that are written in the book of the law to do
them. Forever cursed. forever cursed, under the eternal
curse of God, should ring in the ears of every one of us,
the soul that sinneth, it shall die, it shall die. But in Christ,
there is a substitute. Now we see Isaac bound on that
altar, ready to be offered as a sacrifice, but then The Lord stops Abraham
and he reveals the ram caught in a thicket. The ram is a type
of Christ, a beautiful type of Christ. So Abraham frees Isaac,
lets him go, and he takes the ram and he slays it in the ruined
place instead of his son Isaac. Abraham saw my day. He saw the
day of Christ. He saw the sacrifice of Christ.
He saw the offering of Christ. Look unto me and be saved, all
the ends of the earth, for I am God and there is none else. And there is none else. This
glorious Saviour, this one that has offered a perfect sacrifice And this invitation, look unto
me and be ye saved. When the Philippian
jailer was about to fall on his sword because he thought all
the prisoners were escaped, the Apostle Paul called out to him,
do thyself no harm. We're all here. What did the Philippian jailer
say unto Paul? What must I do to be saved? What must I do to be saved? And
the apostle gave the answer, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved. Thou shalt be saved. Look unto
me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth. You know, in that
sense, in his feelings, the Philippian jailer was at the ends of the
earth. He was. The man was nigh despair. He
thought that he would be himself slain or tortured, even worse.
But you know, the Lord, He reveals Himself in His Son, Jesus Christ. He does. And the Apostle preached
unto Him, Jesus. Jesus the way, Jesus the truth,
Jesus the life. I am the way, the truth and the
life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. Hence these
lovely words, look unto me. I am God and there is none else. I am God. I'm able to save, I'm
able to deliver. I suffered, I bled, I died for
poor sinners. You think of those lovely words
of our Lord Jesus Christ, come unto me, all ye that labour and
are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. You see, sometimes
when you're labouring and heavy laden, you come to the ends of
the earth. You come to the ends of the earth. You wonder, wherever
the sin is going to end, look unto me. That's the word of God
to us tonight. I do like it when the Lord gives
a word. And this word, as I woke up this
morning, it came and rested on my spirit. Before I got up, look
unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth, for I
am God, and there is none else. There is none else. you know,
a just God and a saviour. And the Lord's people are made
righteous in Him. And in verse 23 here, following
our text, I'm absolutely certain that this is the verse that is
quoted by the apostle in Philippians chapter 2. I have sworn by myself,
the word has gone out of my mouth, in righteousness and shall not
return, that unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall
swear. Unto me, unto the Lord Jesus
Christ, unto the King of glory. Who is this King of glory? The
Lord strong and mighty. Unto the one that shed his precious
blood to redeem his people from their sins. The blood of Jesus
Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us from all sin, look unto me,
it cleanses us from all sin. There is salvation in none other
but in this precious Saviour that shed his blood to redeem
poor sinners. On the night of the Passover,
it prefigures the coming of Christ and the sacrifice of Christ.
That paschal lamb that was taken and slain by the families of
the children of Israel, and his blood was on the side posts and
lintel of the door of the houses that they were in and the destroying
angel was to come through the land of Egypt that night and they were to put the paint
the paint the blood onto the door posts and lintels of the
way into their house and they were to go in the house and they
were to take the paschal lamb roast it with fire and eat all
of it each and all of it. That Paschal Lamb is a beautiful
type of our Lord Jesus Christ. That precious blood of the Paschal
Lamb is a beautiful type of the blood of Jesus Christ, God's
Son, that cleanseth us from all sin. And the Lord said on that
night of the Passover, when I see the blood, Egyptians weren't
under that blood, it was the children of Israel that were
under that blood. And the Lord said, when I see
the blood, I will pass over you. I will pass over you. That wonderful,
precious blood of Jesus Christ. Surely, shall one say, in the
Lord have I righteousness and strength. And this is true. of our Lord
Jesus Christ, righteousness. He has made unto his people righteousness. He becomes their righteousness. One thing the Holy Spirit teaches
the children of God is that they are unrighteous, that they are
unholy, that they're sinners. He teaches it. before I was brought into gospel
liberty. I often told you that word in
Ezekiel was walked up and down in my very soul for weeks. Turn
again, O son of man, and thou shalt see greater abominations
than these. And every time I looked within,
there was more sin, more corruption, more unrighteousness. It was
a very crucifying sight of myself. One day, as I was about my work
and having that word upon my spirit and seeing, I saw that
in my heart was every sin that was in the world. As I looked
around in the world, I couldn't throw stones at anyone. Every
sin that was in this world was in my heart. All the iniquity
and unrighteousness, the immorality, the seed of that was in my heart. It was a very crucifying sight. It was. It was one line of a
hymn that sealed that teaching into my heart. Nor can I promise
future good to bring. I was a sinner. I would always
be a sinner. And that's what the Lord taught
me at that time. I would always be a sinner. I had a corrupt
nature. I would always have a corrupt
nature. I would never be able to produce in my flesh anything
that pleased God. It's a very crucifying time,
friends, to our flesh when the Lord really shows us what we
are as a poor, wretched, hell-deserving sinner. And it wasn't long after that
that I was brought into gospel liberty. What a wonderful time
that was. when something of the fullness
of Christ was revealed. On the Monday morning, those
words came upon my spirit with such sweetness, savour and power.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
hath begotten us again unto a lively, that's a living home, through
the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. a living hope. That was the first time that
I'd really truly felt the spirit of adoption. When I really could enter into
that language, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ. You hath begotten us again. The
whole of that morning, all that Scripture just remained on my
spirit and the sweetness of it, the preciousness of it. Then in the afternoon I was delivering
somewhere near Cobra Chapel and I went into that little chestnut
copse and there I bowed before the Lord. I had such a glorious
revelation of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. It was a personal revelation.
It was my Heavenly Father that had chosen me before the foundation
of the world. It was my Heavenly Father that
gave me to His Son, Jesus Christ. It was. It was my Heavenly Father
that laid upon Him the iniquity of us all. What a love I felt
to my Heavenly Father. And what a love I felt to His
Son, Jesus Christ, who came to this earth who lives as a man
here upon earth, who fulfilled the law on my behalf, who brought
in everlasting righteousness for me. And hence these wonderful
words of grace, look unto me and be ye saved. All the ends
of the earth for I am God and there is none else. There is none else. And then what a love I felt.
to the Lord Jesus who suffered and bled and died for me and rose again for my justification. And then what a love I felt to
the divine person of the Holy Ghost who proceeded forth from
the Father and the Son. And all these things were such
a living reality to me as I now in that little wood. It was the
Holy Ghost who proceeded forth from the Father and the Son entered
into my wicked, wretched, sinful heart, quickened my soul into
life, convicted and convinced me of sin. And then he took of
the things of Jesus and revealed them unto me. I felt such a love
to the blessed spirit of truth. You know, my friends, the next
morning, the Tuesday morning, I got to my first delivery point,
and as I drove up outside the house, it was in the village
of Mayfield, And I literally stopped the truck, and those
words were breathed into my heart with such power. Rise up my love,
my fair one, and come away, for lo, the winter is over and gone,
the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the
turtle is heard in our land. And you know, friends, I couldn't
get low enough. I thought the Lord has spoken to me, my love,
my fair one. I bowed before the Lord. could
not get low enough, Lord, thou hast said to me a wretched, poor,
helpless, hopeless sinner, thou hast said my love and my fair
one, how can this be? And he spoke those words again
with such living power into my heart, rise up, my love, my fair
one, and come away. Oh, the preciousness of Christ,
the fullness of Christ, you cannot describe it. Look unto me and
be ye saved. all the ends of the earth, for
I am God and there is none else. This is where salvation is. It's
in the precious blood and righteousness of Jesus, the Son of God, for
I am God and there is none else. It's in that glorious mystery
of godliness of God manifest in the flesh. There is one God
and one mediator between God and man, the man, Christ Jesus. who gave his life a ransom for
all to be testified in due time. Oh, sinner, this is where salvation
is. This is where redemption is.
Look away from yourself. Look away from all your good
work. Look away from all your own so-called righteousness. Look alone to Jesus, the son
of God. Look to him as your prophet,
as your priest, and as your king. Look unto me. and be ye saved,
all the ends of the earth. Have you come into this chapel
tonight, you feel to be at the ends of the earth? You feel to
be utterly finished? You feel to be utterly helpless? Look unto me. It's a divine call
to a poor, wretched sinner at the ends of the earth. Look unto
me and be ye saved. all the ends of the earth, for
I am God and there is none else. There's none able, my beloved
friends, to save as he saves. There's none able to deliver
as he delivers. He's the only one that is able
to save a poor sinner and to reconcile that poor sinner unto
God. and he has opened a new and living
way into the holy place. That risen saviour has made a
new and living way into the holy place. Whether the forerunner
is for us and even Jesus, a great high priest at the right hand
of the father, an advocate with the father, Jesus Christ the
righteous, look unto me and be ye saved, all the ends of the
earth. for I am God and there is none
else. Wherefore he is able to save
to the uttermost all that come unto God by him. And it says
here in verse 24, surely shall one say, in the Lord have I righteousness. That's the righteousness of Christ
and strength. Even to him shall men come. and
all that are incensed against you shall be ashamed. In the
Lord, in Jehovah, shall all the seed of Israel be justified and
shall glory. They shall, at the time they
leave this earth, they shall enter into eternal glory. They shall go to be with Christ,
which is far better. to be forever with the Lord,
eternally safe, eternally saved in the precious blood and righteousness
of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Look unto me and be ye
saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God and there is none
else. May the Lord add his blessing. Let us now sing together hymn
number 587, the tune is Hagar, number 37. Come whosoever will, nor vainly
strive to mend, sinners are freely welcome still to Christ the sinner's
friend. Hymn 587, tune Hagar, Thirty-seven. ? His truth to share ? ? There
was a river ? ? And still the waters flowed ? ? Still the waters flowed ?
? Of spells where haples spread
? ? And witchy furniture ? ? With finer milk a living friend ?
? And dainties of the new ? ? The guilty, the poor, and the aged
? ? The Virgin and the Bone ? ? A
record dear and rich of grace ? of goodness they have done. And now the singing starts, we
claim to save the world. O'er hell-bred souls we never
met, Nor sent them from his home. We strength the humble in heart,
The pious will and heart. 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.