and to our service this afternoon
by singing hymn number 103, Junior's Justification, number 360. Jesus, thy blood and righteousness,
my beauty are my glorious dress. Amidst flaming worlds, in these
arrayed, with joys shall I lift up my head. When from the dust
of death I rise to take my mansion in the skies, In then shall this
be all my plea, Jesus has lived and died for me. Hymn number
103, tune Justification number 360. All the angels sing. I return home at your best. Rejoice! Rejoice and be glad!
? Rejoice and be glad ? ? Lift
up your head ? ? And from the dawn's early light
? ? As you look to the stars ? ?
We wish you a Merry Christmas ? Jesus has taken my glory. Jesus
has taken my glory. O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? ? In that great day ? ? O little
tree ? ? Thy shadow lay ? ? Come to me, O God ? O say does that star-spangled
banner yet wave O'er the land of the free ? Now to take what I have to give
to you ? Absolutely calm is God's great
love. Shepherds we have heard Him proclaim, Seeing you so brave and free, God Bless. Wish not this world a better
place, ? When earth and nature sing to
Thee ? ? Magnify to Thee and glorify to Thee ? The Lord of Hosts is with thee. O'er the land of the free and
the home of the brave? Now let the temple hear thy voice.
Hear, O Thine avenged voice. ? Happy days and glorious night
? ? Jesus, Lord at Thy birth ? the righteous. Jesus, the Lord,
the righteous. From the book of the Revelation,
we'll read chapter seven. Revelation chapter seven. And after these things, I saw
four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding
the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow
on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. And I saw another
angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living
God, And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to
whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, saying, Hurt
not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed
the servants of our God in their foreheads. And I heard the number
of them which were sealed, and there were sealed 140 and 4,000
of all the tribes of the children of Israel. Of the tribe of Judah
were sealed 12,000. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed
12,000. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed
12,000. Of the tribe of Asa were sealed 12,000. Of the tribe of Nephthalim were
sealed 12,000. Of the tribe of Manassas were
sealed 12,000. Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed
12,000. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed
12,000. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed 12,000. of the tribe of Zebulun were
sealed 12,000, of the tribe of Joseph were sealed 12,000, of
the tribe of Benjamin were sealed 12,000. After this I beheld,
and lo, a great multitude which no man could number, of all nations,
and kindreds, and people, and tongues stood before the throne,
and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in
their hands, and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our
God, which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, And all the
angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders,
and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces,
and worshipped God, saying, Amen, blessing, and glory, and wisdom,
and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto
our God for ever and ever. Amen. And one of the elders answered,
saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said
unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are
they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed
their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore
are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night
in his temple. And he that sitteth on the throne
shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither
thirst any more, neither shall the sun light on them, nor any
heat. For the Lamb which is in the
midst of the throne shall feed them, and it shall lead them
unto living fountains of waters, and God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes. Let us pray. Almighty, most merciful and eternal
God of heaven, we do pray thy blessing upon us here this afternoon. We come as poor sinners before
thee. We come and seek and hope to
find a portion for our souls. We pray to be led of the Spirit
of God, for as many as are led by the Spirit of God, that they
are the sons of God. Oh, we do pray, most blessed
Spirit of truth, that thou wouldst graciously pour upon us the spirit
of grace and of supplications with thanksgiving. And Lord,
we would indeed approach thee with a thankful heart that there
is a new and living way that's being made into the holy place. We thank thee for those beautiful
words of thine Lord Jesus, I am the way, the truth and the light.
No man cometh unto the Father but by me. O most gracious Lord
we come then In the name of Jesus Christ, Thine only begotten Son,
we plead His precious blood and righteousness, and we pray that
Thou wouldst come and open the word to our heart and to our
understanding. We pray to our Eternal Father
that Thou wouldst grant us those divine drawings unto the Lord
Jesus Christ, for none come accept the father's rule or we pray
for thy heavenly power to be known and felt as we gather together
here this afternoon. We pray that thou wouldst come
and graciously open the word and open our hearts to receive
it and open our eyes that we may behold wondrous things in
thy law and open our ears that we may
hear the word of the Lord, that it may reach into the very depths
of our soul, that it may be sealed there by the Holy Ghost. We pray, O Lord, 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. Lord, we do pray that thou wouldst
make us truly spiritually minded, that thou wouldst set our affections
on things above. How soon, O Lord, our thoughts
are moved aside onto something else. And instead of hearing
the word, our heart is full of imaginations. Lord, we do pray
to be delivered. from these things. We pray to
be delivered from a sleepy spirit and that thou wouldst graciously
make us alert that we may indeed hear and see and taste and handle
of the good word of life. Lord, we do pray that thou wouldst
bless our brethren, the deacons, and give grace, wisdom and help
unto them in all their responsibilities. We pray that thou would remember
those, O Lord, that are in affliction and grant thy supporting, sustaining,
upholding mercies. Pray for our dear friends in
Holland in their time of great trial. We lovingly commend them
to thee and to the word of thy grace, which is able to build
them up. Grant them an inheritance among
them that are sanctified. Lord, we pray for our dear sister
that expects to have surgery in the coming weeks, that Thou
would graciously bless her and that she may feel that Thou art
with her and grant Thee the arms of Thine everlasting love to
surround her. We thank Thee, O Lord, for those
things that were done to our dear sister this week, this past
week, Thankful, O Lord, that all things went well, and that,
Lord, that we do pray for the little ones and the children,
that thou wouldst bless them indeed, that thou wouldst put
the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom, into
their hearts, that they may be found seeking and searching for
thee, that they may pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest
be found. Lord, we pray, that thou indeed wouldst graciously
bless the young friends, and be with them, and guide them,
O thou great Jehovah, make them pilgrims in this barren land,
and draw them to thyself, to follow thee and to serve thee,
that we may see the fulfilling of those words, instead of thy
father shall be thy children whom thou mayest make princes
in all the earth. Lord do hear us we pray, remember
the prodigals, grant that they may return, that we may be given
that joy among us here. There is joy in heaven over one
sinner that repented and may we know that joy here among us
as a church and congregation. There's nothing too hard for
thee, none beyond thy power, Lord, we pray for those that
are seeking thee, that are searching for thee, and we pray that thou
would reveal thyself. We pray that they may touch the
hem of thy garment and draw from that sacred fullness that is
in thee. Lord, we seek thy blessing upon
parents that they may be given grace and wisdom to bring up
their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. We
pray, most gracious Lord, that there was undertake for them
in all their responsibilities. We think of those, oh Lord, that are in the midst of the journey
of life and pray that they may be richly blessed of thee. There
may be one here, oh Lord, and the language of their heart is,
do not pass me by. And Lord, we pray that It might
be with them as it was with that wretched infant in Ezekiel, when
thou didst pass by and thou didst say, live. Lord, do grant such
a blessing, we do pray. Remember, O Lord, that those
of us in the evening time of life's journey, and graciously
guide us safely unto thy heavenly kingdom. Remember us each and
deliver us from the temptations of Satan, and from the power
and dominion of sin. And do be gracious unto us, Lord,
and do undertake for us. Send out thy light and thy truth
into this village and the surrounding villages and hamlets, that we
may see thy work and thy power and thy glory as thou usest to
be in the gospel. That this little house of prayer
may yet be filled with hungry, longing souls, pressing into
the kingdom of heaven. Oh, we think of those wonderful
promises, 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. O Lord of hosts, O God of Israel,
O thou that dwellest between the cherubim, shine forth Let
thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, the son of man, whom
thou madest strong for thyself. We do humbly beseech of thee. Lord, we pray for all thy servants
as they labour in word and doctrine upon the walls of Zion today,
that thy blessing, thy favour may rest upon them. Signs may
follow the preaching of the word, that they may be a building,
a building up, a renewing, a reviving, a replenishing. For, Lord, there
is nothing too hard for Thee. Indeed, Thou art able to do abundantly
more than we could even ask or think. And, O Lord, we do pray
that Thou, in Thy precious mercy, wouldst remember the churches,
remember Thy people. There are those that gather in
twos and threes. There are those that gather in
greater numbers. We pray that where'er thy people
meet, thy presence and thy blessing may be. And, O Lord, we pray
thee, the great Lord of the harvest, to send true labourers into the
harvest, and to build the walls of Jerusalem, and to grant a
day of real, true spiritual prosperity. Thou alone art able to do this,
as thou hast instructed us in thy word, not by might nor by
power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. O most blessed
Spirit, pour forth thy heavenly power, grant that divine unction
to rest upon thee in preaching of the word. We thank thee for
every mercy and every favour. We thank thee for our little
house of prayer. We thank thee for the open Bible.
We thank thee, O Lord, for the sacred glories of Jesus Christ. We thank Thee for His holy life
and in that holy life the holy law fulfilled and in that fulfilling
the everlasting robe of the righteousness of Jesus Christ to cover Thy
people. We thank Thee for His precious
blood that cleanses from all sin. Oh, we thank Thee for that
profound mystery of God manifest in the flesh and that He gave
his life a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. We
thank thee, O Lord, for his resurrection from the dead, and death swallowed
up in victory. Oh, we do thank thee, most gracious
Lord, for the wonderful glory of thy name, of thy person. We thank thee for the love of
our eternal Father, and we thank thee for the love of the Holy
Ghost, And we thank thee for the love of Jesus Christ. May
that love be shed abroad in our hearts. May we feel here this
afternoon, yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love. Therefore, with loving kindness,
have I drawn thee. We ask with the forgiveness of
all our sin, and we pray that those touch our lips with a live
coal, from of the heavenly altar, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. Continue our service by singing hymn number
942, Juniors Cold War number 315. O God of grace, of love immense,
How free thy favours to dispense! I to thy mercy seek repair, Since
thou hast said, I'll meet thee there. Thou seest my soul by
sin oppressed, O come and give thee weary rest, My base backslidings
kindly heal, Apply the balm thy love revealed. hymn number 942,
tune Colwell, number 315. O praise of love, we lift, and
we like heaven to descend. Why, dear life, oh, did she prepare?
Gentleness, then, from me prepared. ? How sweet the sound ? ? That
saved a wretch ? ? Like me ? ? Her power gave lift ? ? And healed
the weary wretch ? My place at Stuyvesant in here,
At Harvard Law, I now freely give. ? The light of glory ? ? Full of
grace ? ? Let us gaze on her ? ? Boundless head ? I tell the perfect truth. I will
only become the truth. ? And stir the countenance of night
? ? Let joys that shimmer deep in night ? I've been trampling against the
cloud. I've been trampling against the
cloud. I've been trampling against the
cloud. I've been trampling against the
cloud. Come on. O'er the ramparts we watched,
were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket's red glare, the
bombs bursting in air, Gave proof through the night that our flag
was still there. greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, I would again direct your attention to the
prophecy of Isaiah chapter 40 and the first two verses. Isaiah chapter 40 verses 1 and
2. Comfort ye, comfort ye my people,
saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem,
and cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity
is pardoned, for she hath received at the Lord's hand double for
all her sins. We noticed this morning the words
of our Lord Jesus Christ when he poured the Holy Spirit forth
And he terms him in John's gospel as the comforter. The Holy Spirit
comforts the distressed soul, the burdened soul. When he quickens
their soul into life, he makes them feel their emptiness and
their poverty and their sinfulness and their great need of reconciliation
to God. And that same blessed spirit
that teaches them that then breathes into their heart the spirit of
faith. And that faith lays hold of Jesus Christ. Faith looks
alone to Christ. Faith pleads to Christ. Faith
doesn't want to know anything but Christ. And this is how the
Holy Spirit comforts a poor needy sinner. And then we noticed also
this morning that this sacred comfort that is given
to the Lord's living family flows absolutely from the Spirit of
God and from the person of our Lord Jesus Christ when the Holy
Spirit testifies of Christ and then Christ becomes very vivid
in your heart and mind and The faith that the Lord's people
are given by the Holy Ghost is a faith that works by love. So
not only do you have a revelation of Jesus Christ, but you love
him. And we read, do we not, in the word of God, we love him
because he first loved us. It's a very wonderful thing when
the love of Christ is shed abroad in the heart. I don't believe
there is anything more comforting, more soul-supporting than the
love of Christ shed abroad in the heart. And so that you are
brought to feel that oneness, union and communion with our
Lord Jesus Christ. Comfort ye, comfort ye my people,
saith your God. Speak ye comfortably, to Jerusalem. It's a very specific people that
the Lord comforts. It's the people of God. It's those that were chosen by
the Father and redeemed by the Son that are then led by the
Spirit. unto Jesus Christ as the way,
as the truth, as the life. They're guided and they're directed
by the Spirit of God. And you know, the Holy Spirit
is an unerring teacher. And sometimes because of our
dull learning, he has to teach us again and again the same lessons.
And in his kind and loving way, he brings chastisement upon these precious souls that
are born again of the Spirit and brought to faith in Jesus
Christ. Now as the Apostle says in the
Hebrews, no chastening for the present seemed to him joyous
but grievous. Nevertheless, afterward, there is an afterward. Maybe
you're in something at this time and it's very painful and you
wonder why. but it's a chastening that the
Lord has sent to teach you, to humble you, to bring you in complete
dependence upon the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the object of
chastisement. And when the Lord truly sanctifies,
which he does with his people at that path of chastisement, It brings us closer to Christ.
Indeed, my beloved friends, lots of things have been written about
sanctification. And it's often said, sometimes
in rather sanctimonious way, or may the Lord sanctify it. But, you know friends, what is
sanctification? We know that in essence the meaning
of the word is separation. But sanctification, really truly
known and found experience, brings us in union and communion with
Christ. That's what sanctification is.
That's the essence of it. It brings us into closer union
and communion. We are brought under the teaching
of the Spirit to realize that we're not worthy of the Lord's
mercy. we look back over our life and we consider what we've
done and we realize that we're not worthy of the Lord's mercy
and yet he reveals Christ and Christ is made precious. Now
why does he do that when you're so unworthy? Because he loves
you. Loved with an everlasting love. Yea I have loved thee with an
everlasting love. And never forget that part of
that teaching, whom the Lord loveth, he chastened. It's because he loves you. And the devil will tempt you,
and our own unbelieving hearts would tend to make you think
that the Lord is angry with you. When in actual fact, he's far
from that. He's not angry with you. He loves
you. That's why he chases you. But
under this chasing, whatever that chasing may be, it can take
various forms. The Apostle Paul, he was chastened. He was chastened continually.
He had a messenger of Satan to buffet him. He had a thorn in
the flesh. It was with him day and night.
He besought the Lord three times to remove it, but it was there.
It was with him day and night. And he thought he would be a
much better preacher. He thought he would be a much
better apostle if he didn't have that thorn in the flesh. But
the Lord thought otherwise. You might say, well why? Because
it humbled his flesh. our flesh has to be humbled it
humbled his flesh brought him to feel his own emptiness his
own poverty his own insufficiency but then it brings us to the
Lord Jesus Christ and what we're brought to see is that all these
things are by grace by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ by grace
are ye saved that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. By grace
are ye saved. And it's in these chastenings
that the Lord teaches us this and guides us to make us realise
how necessary these chastenings were and are. You may think that
you could do without it, but you know, friends, you can't.
You can't. It's necessary. Pride and self
must be brought down. It has to be. And then grace
reigns supreme. And when Christ is made precious,
you say, why me? Oh, blessed God, why me? Why
such a rapturous me that must forever lie in hell? We're not
salvation free. Comfort, gee, Comfort ye my people,
saith your God, speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem. And cry unto her. It wasn't, it was to cry unto
her. Here in the prophecy of Isaiah,
and in my, the years that I was exercised about the ministry,
it was a word that often walked up and down in my soul. Cry aloud,
lift up thy voice like a trumpet, Cry aloud, lift up thy voice
like a trumpet. The Lord's servants, whatsoever
you hear in secret, you have to declare it from the housetops.
Very clear, friends. Sometimes you have to declare
things that you know are not going to be well received. But
you must cry. I've often put it in this way,
you know, if you were walking down the street and you saw a
child, a little child just about to run across the road, in front
of a large truck or a car, you would shout, you would cry, stop!
That really gives us an illustration of when the Lord's servants are
preaching. There's that old hymn, isn't
there? Stop, sinner, stop, before thou
further go, sporting on the brink of everlasting woe. The voice
said, cry. there was something here that
he was to cry that her warfare is accomplished, her warfare
is accomplished. I know I've told you before my
late brother Timothy when my mother was dying he had a call
says she'd been rushed into hospital and he made his way to Luton
and Dunstville hospital and he said As I was driving there,
these words dropped with such a sweetness and power on my soul. Comfort ye, comfort ye my people,
saith your God, speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, cry unto her that
her warfare is accomplished, her iniquities pardoned. He said,
I knew I wouldn't see her. And when he got there, she just
died. But he said with those words in my heart I knew I wouldn't
see her. Her warfare was accomplished. She had received of the Lord's
hand double for all her sins. Just a little anecdote really
there how the Lord uses his word. Now her warfare is accomplished. How is this? Because in the eternal
decrees of God everything has been done. When we read of the
wonderful transactions of the eternal covenant and of the precious
blood of Christ and what does the Apostle Peter say or the
Holy Spirit tells us really? Slain from before the foundation
of the world. What that means is in the eternal
councils of God and the council of the Lord shall stand there's
a people that were chosen by the Father and that were redeemed
by the Son at the cross of Calvary and are then sanctified by the
Holy Ghost. Now not a hoof shall be left
behind, not a grain of wheat shall fall to the ground of that
election of grace, of those people whom the Lord loves with an everlasting
love. Her warfare is accomplished,
that warfare The Apostle, he says to us, when he writes to
Timothy, fight the good fight of faith, lay hold of eternal
life. It is a fight, it is a battle. But the battle is not yours,
it's the Lord's. And the Lord Jesus Christ has
gone before his people. And the Lord Jesus Christ has
fulfilled the law on behalf of his people. You may have many
temptations and many trials and perplexities and you know much
of condemnation when you realize the sin and corruption of your
heart. Her warfare is accomplished. The Lord Jesus has lived and
suffered and bled and died and rose again on the behalf of his
people. In John chapter 19 we read that Jesus, when Christ was on the
cross of Calvary, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished. What does it mean? He knew he
had redeemed his people and the final redemption prize was death. He knew that he had taken her
seed and he'd borne the curse for his people. It was accomplished.
Salvation is a glorious fact, my beloved friends. It's not
something that is precarious. Her warfare is accomplished. The law has been fulfilled, honored,
magnified. Who in the person of our Lord
Jesus Christ? He's done everything for his
people. Her warfare is accomplished. He swallowed up death in victory.
He's made a new and living way into the holy place. We have
a great high priest before the throne of God. It's accomplished. You couldn't do it anyway. We're
such sinful wretched creatures. We couldn't work our own salvation. It's been done by Christ. His
precious blood has been shed. You think, and my mind was much
drawn that her iniquity is pardoned. There's only one thing that will
pardon iniquity, that's the sacrifice of Christ. There's only one place
that sin is put away, that's in the sacrifice of Christ. It's
in the precious blood of Christ. There's nowhere else in the way
you'll find salvation. There is none other name that
is given unto heaven, whereby ye must be saved. But the name
of Jesus Christ, her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity
is pardoned. Don't look anywhere else for
pardon of iniquity. You won't find it anywhere else.
You'll only find it in a crucified Saviour. You'll only find it
in that precious blood and righteousness of our Lord Jesus Christ. For
she hath received of the Lord hand double for all her sins. In thinking of this, and it's
the light that I have on it, that others may have a different
light on it, but the light that I have on it, this speaks of
the blood and righteousness of Christ. That's what led me to
my first hymn this afternoon. Jesus, thy blood and righteousness,
the blood and righteousness of Christ, double for all our sins. His blood cleanses from all sin. His blood cleanses from all sin. And His righteousness clothes
that poor naked sinner to stand in the presence of God. The blood and righteousness of
our Lord Jesus Christ. Now in Psalm 45, the sweet Psalmist
of Israel, he says there, well the first part he speaks of the
glorious person of our Lord Jesus Christ, the King. And then in
verse nine he says, King's daughters were among thy honourable women. This is the church, King's daughters,
upon thy right hand did stand the queen in gold of Ophir. The queen is the church and she's
clothed in that glorious everlasting robe of the righteousness of
Jesus Christ. So he says here this divine call
unto the king's daughters hearken O daughter and consider and incline
thine ear, forget also thine own people and thy father's house.
So shall the King greatly desire thy beauty, for he is thy Lord,
and worship thou him. He is thy Lord. You have to follow
him with us wherever he leads. To follow the King, King Jesus,
follow him with us whoever he leads jesus my all to heaven
is gone he whom i fix my hopes upon his track i see and i'll
pursue the narrow way till him i view but there's something
very beautiful here speaking to the king's daughter so shall
the king greatly desire thy beauty but what is her beauty the blood
and righteousness of christ She has no beauty of her own, but
that is her beauty. It's her King. And it goes on. It says in verse
13, the King's daughter is all glorious within. Her clothing
is of wrought gold. She shall be brought unto the
King in raiment of needlework. The virgins, her companions that
follow her, shall be brought unto thee. You see, they should
bow unto Him. Enraiment of needlework. Again,
the everlasting righteousness of Jesus Christ. That's what,
you've got no hope in yourself, sinner. You never will have. Our hope is built on nothing
less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. There's no other way to heaven.
There's no other way to glory. But this is the way. I am the
way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father
but by me. She shall be brought unto the
king in raiment of need of work. The virgins, her companions that
follow her, shall be brought unto thee. With gladness and
rejoicing shall they be brought. They shall enter into the king's
palace. be with Christ which is far but
they shall enter into the king's palace. These poor needy sinners to whom
Christ has been made very precious and their hope is built on his
precious blood and righteousness they shall enter into the king's
palace. Let not your heart be troubled
You believe in God, believe also in me. These are the words of
Jesus. You believe in God, believe also
in me. In my Father's house are many
mansions. If it were not so, I would have
told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place
for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself. that where I am, there ye may
be also. They shall enter into the king's
palace. They'll be clothed. We read this
afternoon that seventh chapter of the book of the Revelation
and again, who are these arrayed in white raiment? And that is
really what led me to that chapter. Who are these that are arrayed
in white robes? And whence came they? I said
unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, these are
they which came out of great tribulation and have washed their
robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore,
what we call a connective word, wash their robes, made them white
in the blood of the Lamb. Again, the blood and righteousness
of Jesus Christ. Therefore are they before the
throne of God. The only reason, no other reason
friends, the only reason they were before the throne of God
is because of the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ. No help in self
I find. You're off to sort it well. The
native treasure of my mind is sin and death and hell. But in Christ, there's all the
help you need. He's laid help upon one that
is mighty, even our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore are they before
the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple. And he that sitteth on the throne
shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither
thirst any more, Neither shall the sun lighten than nor any
heat for the Lamb, which is in the midst of the throne, shall
feed them and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters. And God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes. Comfort ye, comfort ye my people,
saith your God, speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem and cry unto her
that her warfare is accomplished. that her iniquity is pardoned
for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her
sins. In Solomon's Song chapter 5 we
have that very beautiful description of our Lord Jesus Christ and
I just want to point you to the first clause of that description
found in chapter 5 and verse 10 Solomon's Song. My beloved
is white and ruddy. My beloved is white and ruddy.
This is what was so attractive to her and the white represents
the holiness of Christ, the perfections of Christ. My beloved is white. We read in Hebrews he did no
sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. My beloved is white. There's something so supremely
attractive to my soul in the holiness of Jesus Christ. He
is righteous altogether. He's righteous altogether. He
did no sin. There's something very, very
precious there. And the spouse feels it. She
speaks of it here. My beloved is white. And ruddy,
ruddy of course means red. which means his precious blood.
So here, the very first thing that the spouse speaks of concerning
her beloved is his righteousness and his precious blood, his white
and ruddy. And in this sense, in our texts,
that's how I saw this so clearly, she hath received of the Lord's
hand double for all her sins. The blood and the righteousness
of Jesus Christ, the blood to cleanse her from all sin, the
righteousness to cover her nakedness. And we need that covering. The
one hymn writer says, doesn't he, of all the creatures God
has made, there is but man alone that needs a covering, not his
own. He does, he needs a covering, not his own. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem,
and cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity
is pardoned, for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for
all her sins. Her warfare is accomplished.
There was a king, I think it was Jehoshaphat, and the Lord,
there was a great army came against him. I think there was a million
Ethiopians. You can hardly imagine it, can
you? A million Ethiopians and here is little Israel. And Jehoshaphat took the matter
before the Lord. And the Lord said unto him, the
battle is not yours. The battle is not yours. You shall not fight in this battle.
It's not yours, it's mine. and the Lord would fight for
him. The same thing happened to Hezekiah when he laid those
things before the Lord when Jerusalem was surrounded with 185,000 men
and been besieged for some time of Sennacherib's army. And we read that when Sennacherib
blasphemed the God of heaven that he sent letters unto Hezekiah
and Hezekiah went into the house of the Lord, he laid it before
the Lord. He laid it before the Lord and the Lord answered him
first that he would be healed, he was sick and secondly that
he would turn Sennacherib awake. Both of those things are utterly
impossible but the Lord added 15 years to the life of Hezekiah. What is Impossible man is possible
with God. He added 15 years to his life.
He healed him of his disease. And when the men of Israel looked
out of the city of Jerusalem with that vast company of 185,000
soldiers, they were dead men. They were all dead. You see, Hezekiah didn't have
to lift a finger. The Lord did it. The battle is
not yours. It is the Lord. What we have
to do is look to the Lord. You see, when Peter was walking
on the sea, the Lord Jesus invited him and he came and he walked
on the sea. Remarkable thing. But then we
read, he began to look at the wind and the waves and that's
what we do. He took his eyes off Jesus. All the time he was
looking to Jesus, he walked on the sea. But as soon as he looked
down, he became so fearful, Lord, save me. You see, he took his
eyes off Jesus. There's a teaching there for
us, my beloved friends. Keep thine eyes on Jesus. looking
unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy
that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame
thereof, and is now set down at the right hand of the majesty
on high. Comfort ye, comfort ye my people,
saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem
and cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished. that her iniquity
is pardoned. It's a done fact, my beloved
friends. The church has been redeemed.
It's something that is accomplished in the Lord Jesus Christ at the
cross of Calvary in that precious Sinatonian blood. This is all part of what it says,
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. to believe
on his precious sin-atoning blood, to believe on that glorious everlasting
robe of his righteousness. I think it could be Joseph Hart.
Righteousness within thee rooted, may it appear to take thy part,
but let righteousness imputed. That's the righteousness of Christ.
but let righteousness imputed be the breastplate of thy heart. Precious truth these are, friends,
and they're written for the comfort and the consolation of the Lord's
living family. Comfort ye, comfort ye my people. The Apostle knew this secret
and that's why when he writes to the Corinthians he said I
determined to know nothing among you save Jesus Christ and him
crucified. And you know friends we need
that determination not just the preacher but each one of us needs
that determination. It's often grieved me over the
years and I've observed it on many occasions and You get a
minister who'll get up and he'll speak this little titty, that
little titty, and this story, and this experience, and that
experience, another experience, and people come out of the chapel
and they say, wasn't that good? Wasn't that excellent? And then
you get another minister come along, and he'll preach Christ
only. And you don't hear a word. You
do not hear a word. I find that grieving. The appetite
is for little stories and little ditties instead of the glorious
person, power and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, that the
Lord might deliver us from being satisfied with something which
is not bread. And that he would give us, not
just me as a preacher, but you as hearers, that determination
to know nothing among men. save Jesus Christ and him crucified. A deacon in one of our chapels,
he said to me, he said, especially when we have a new minister,
he said, oh, look at my watch, and I wait until the first time
he mentions Christ. And he said, occasionally, I've
waited nearly to the end of the sermon. You know, friends, that
ought not to be so. ought not to be so. It is the
preaching of Christ crucified that does the sinner good. It
does. I remember hearing a man once
say, he said, the trouble is among our churches, there's a
lack of the preaching of the law of God, therefore there is
no establishment in the truth. Utterly completely wrong. The
establishment in the truth is upon the eternal rock of ages,
not on the law of God. It's on the finished work of
Christ. It's on the precious blood and righteousness of our
Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. That, my beloved friend, will
get you to heaven. It will get you to eternal glory.
The precious blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ. Not only that,
it will comfort your heart. It will indeed. Comfort ye, comfort
ye my people. Sayeth your God, speak ye, comfortably
to Jerusalem and cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished,
that her iniquity is pardoned, for she hath received of the
Lord's hand double for all her sins. May the Lord add His blessings. service this afternoon by singing
hymn number 1156. The tune is Belmont's number
101. What sacred fountain yonder springs
up from the throne of God, and all new covenant blessings brings,
tis Jiju's precious blood. What stream is that which sweeps
away my sins just like a flood? Nor lets one guilty blemish stay,
Tis Jesus precious blood. Hymn number 1156, tune Belmont,
number 101. O say does that star-spangled
banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the
brave And only Thou art blessing to
me, T'is Thee, T'is Thou, precious Light, All my days come, they all my
days, when I am honest with you. And that my soul at freedom's
end Is Jesus' precious blood. ? No tree in this land ? ? Which
keeps away ? ? Thy trees just like a man ? ? Nor let twilight
? ? And in heav'nly sight ? ? As
Jesus Christ was born ? All is calm, all is bright, the
Lord is with thee. ? And all the world's persons be
free ? ? Since Jesus Christ was born ? ? Thy name, my soul ? ? Shall blessed
flow'r ? ? Thy property, O my God ? ? And where they go ? 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.