This afternoon we'll sing hymn
1005, the Tunis nativity 858. Come, let us join our cheerful
songs with angels round the throne. Ten thousand, thousand are their
tongues, but all their joys are one. Worthy the lamb that died,
they cry, to be exalted thus. Worthy the Lamb, our lips reply,
for He was slain for us. In 1005, the Tune Nativity, 858.
? Like a gentle soul ? ? With angels
at her side ? ? With love so vast and vast ? ? As could be noticed by the world ? ? Ever kindling bright ? ? Were
the angels' choirs ? ? Early in the morning's early light
? you ? Jesus is worthy, worthy is he
? ? For ever and ever be kind ? ? And blessings forever be with him ? ? Even on earth as
it is in heaven ? evermind. Hail to heaven on high,
and heaven on high, and heaven on high, ? God is mine, and sing the heaven's
praise ? ? Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia ? O'er the land of the free and
the home of the brave? Let us read together from the
holy word of God, the book of Revelation and chapter five. Revelation, chapter five. The book of the Revelation, chapter
five. 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. 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. 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 hearts
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 wast slain and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood
out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation, and hast
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 land 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 the earth and under the earth
and such as are in the sea and all that are in them heard I
saying 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. The Lord bless to us that reading
of his holy word. Help us in prayer. Let us pray. O Lord God of heaven and of earth,
we come to thee through thy beloved Son of whom we have read that
he is worthy. We seek to reverence thy great
and thy holy name, and to come in the attitude of worship here
below, thinking of that worship above, the praise, the glory,
the honour, and to thy name there. And do grant, Lord, that it might
be here in Lambethurst Chapel, that also there is that praise
and glory unto thy name. O Lord, do help us this afternoon. We pray for thy dear servant,
the pastor of this cause of truth, unable to be with us. We thank thee for that measure
of healing. We pray for continued healing,
health, and strength. O Lord, do be pleased to bless
him through this time and bless his people here as well. Lord,
we feel unable and unwilling, no, not unwilling, and Lord,
we trust able but unworthy to stand here. O
Lord, do be pleased to grant that help for each of thy servants
this day. We would marvel at thy providences. We would marvel at the provision
of thy servant and minister at Luton today. We do commit him
unto thee in the arrangements for him to take up the pastorate
in America. Lord, do be with him there and
the other thy servants that are taking up pastorates this month,
and remember them at Haines, South Charnes, Attenborough. Bless each cause of truth, and
O Lord, we seek thy blessing here. Do remember the Church
of God here, the deacons, to uphold and strengthen and bless
them, Lord, we thank Thee for that love and union, one to another
amongst the church here. And we do seek, Lord, that Thou
hast add unto them such as should be saved. That Thou be pleased
to remove those obstacles in the minds of Thy people whom
Thou hast exercised in this matter, and that Thou hast be pleased
to use even Thy word today as a means of drawing thy people
to the church of God, to make profession, to show forth thy
death till thou dost come, to obey thee. O Lord, we do pray
for this. We know in thy decrees thou hast
appointed it. But Lord, we have read of the
prayers of the saints. and that thou wilt be inquired
of by the House of Israel to do it for them. Do grant, Lord,
the spirit of prayer upon each ear, bless the petitions put
up at the prayer meetings, and do be pleased, Lord, to grant
that answers may be seen and thanksgiving raised. Lord, where there is not yet
a work of thy grace begun, We pray for that beginning, that
Thou hast passed by those still dead in trespasses and sins and
bid them live, to grant hearing ears, to grant, Lord, feeling
hearts. We do seek, Lord, that the fruits
of Thy sufferings, Thy death, Thy ascension, that they might
be known here in Lambethurst Chapel. Do see, Lord, that thou hast
blessed the children, the little ones, the young people, and do
be with the generation rising. O Lord, do keep them not just
in the house of God, but do bless them with saving faith in thee,
and that they might be kept in thy ways. Thou hast said, He
that endureth unto the end shall be saved. But leave us not to
endure unto the end of our lives in a state that we are not saved. Leave us not to endure in death,
in disobedience, in a way that is not good. Cause us, Lord,
to be put in a right way and to be kept in that way, and to
be found at last around thy throne. O Lord, we confess our many sins
and many iniquities. We plead that which thou had
exalted to give repentance and remission of sins unto Israel,
unto thy people. Do bless us with that, a tender
fear of God, a tender conscience, hatred of sin and love of holiness,
who deliver us from just being hearers, but make us doers of
the Word, and who cause that we might walk in the Spirit and
be delivered from those things that the wrath of God comes upon
the children of disobedience. Lord, we do seek that Thou who
has brought all their works in us might work in us to will and
to do, of thy own good pleasure. Remember those that are afflicted,
Lord, not only their dear pastor, but others that are laid aside
at this time, and those here that bear constant pain, infirmity,
and weakness. Do help them. Do be pleased to
go before them. O dear sister waiting in operation,
do grant that it might be successful and brought safely through in
due time. Lord, we pray that those give
grace as this mortal slowly is taken down. Lord, do grant that
as that happens, we might more and more long for that immortality
and to be with Christ. We thank Thee for our Lord and
Saviour, Jesus Christ. We thank Thee for His perfect
life and obedience even unto death, the death of the cross.
We thank Thee for the empty tomb and Thy presence in heaven and
Thy intercession there, the promise of Thy Spirit and the promise
that Thou will remain with us even unto the end of the world.
O Lord, who grant us to feel and know Thy presence, We know
that thou art omnipresent, but Lord, we want thy manifested
presence in the assemblies of thy saints. Our hearts burn within
us while thou dost talk with us, an ear opened. Lord, sent not empty away, fed,
nourished, instructed, taught of God, blessed with fellowship
and communion with thee. sanctified, made meek for the
Master's use. Do grant, Lord, that we might
hear from Thee, and Lord, do grant that we might oft come
to Thee, and Thou hear from us. O Lord, do remember us in all
our infirmities, and do deliver us from those things that grieve
Thy Spirit, that come in between our soul and Thee. Help us then to sing thy worthy
praise, to worship thee aright this afternoon. And when we come
to thy table, may thy blessed presence be known and felt there. Grant that help that each one
feels to need. And O Lord, may thy banner be
here, thy blessing be upon the word that is set before us. We ask thee these things, Through
our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen. Let us further sing hymn 788.
Hymn 788. The tune is Southbridge 518. Come, ye humble sinner train,
souls for whom the Lamb was slain. Cheerful, let us raise our voice,
we have reason to rejoice. Let us sing with saints in heaven,
life restored and sin forgiven. Glory and eternal Lord, be to
our incarnate God. M788 the June Southbridge 518
? O come, O come, Emmanuel ? ?
Christ the Lord ? ? O come, O come, Emmanuel ? I am restful and safe from fear.
God make heaven and earth a home for me. Shepherds on the field they can
see Him there for you and me Seeing all these poor as one
? And sing with glory loud ? ?
O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him ? And His truth will shine through
the ages, through the ages. Amen. O'er the land of the free and
the home of the brave? Oh, say does that star-spangled
banner yet wave Seeking for the help of the Lord,
I direct your prayerful attention to the Revelation chapter 5 and
verse 9. And they sung a new song, saying,
Thou art worthy to take the book and to open the seals thereof,
for Thou wast 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. Revelation 9, also joining 10,
The chapters four and five in the Revelation really go together
and we have this door that is opened into heaven and a picture
of what is happening and going on there. Right through these
chapters the theme is the worthy lamb. The Lord Jesus Christ is
being lifted up, extolled, Our text begins with the statement
of a new song that is being sung. At the end of chapter four, we
have, 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. Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ
was the one that created all things. There's nothing made
that was made that was not made by him. And there is the glory
of the creation. But now we have a new song, which
in this new song, it's a different subject, and it's a different
one that is being adored and a different reason for that adoration. And it is the song of redemption. We have the intimation right
through scripture of this song being sung. It is a song of victory,
a song of conquest by our Lord. We think of the children of Israel
being brought out of Egyptian bondage. And in that bondage,
not those nine signs and wonders could ever achieve a deliverance. They were still captives. They
were still held there. But when the paschal lamb was
slain, when the blood was shed, when I see the blood, I will
pass over you. Then they were thrust out. Then
they were brought out of Egypt. And the Lord determined which
way that they should go, not the close way through the Philistines,
lest they should see war and turn back. But they were led
by the way of the Red Sea, God choosing that way for them. And
then they come to the Red Sea. Egyptians behind, the sea in
the front, and the mountains on the side, and no way forward.
But God tells them to go forward, and he brings them through. And
that Red Sea was used for their deliverance and the death of
their enemies. And at the end of it, they sing
the song of Moses. They sing the song of deliverance. And we read that song in the
Revelation, that there they sing the song of Moses. And it is
that song that so sets forth what the Lord had actually done
for the children of Israel then. He had brought them out of bondage. He had set them at liberty. He
brought them away from and delivered them from all their enemies.
And he brought them as a people unto himself. And they sing this
new song, this song of deliverance. We have the intimations of it
throughout the Psalms as well. Psalm 96, the first verse, and
others. Now sing unto the Lord a new
song. Sing unto the Lord all the earth. Sing unto the Lord, bless his
name. Show forth his salvation from
day to day. Declare his glory among the heathen,
his wonders among all people. And there the theme of that new
song is salvation. He's among the heathens, the
Gentiles. It is the gospel, it is to be
proclaimed. We have then also in Psalm 98,
O sing unto the Lord a new song, for he hath done marvellous things,
his right hand and his holy arm hath gotten him the victory. The Lord hath made known his
salvation, His righteousness has He openly showed in the sight
of the heathen. And so again, the new song is
that which the Lord has done. It is His salvation, it is His
work, it's the victory that He has gained. And this is the song,
the song of the redeemed, the song of those in heaven. In all of this, it is the Lamb
of God that is to be lifted up, that is to be glorified. You know, it's a blessed thing.
May the Lord grant salvation for His people. Then He gives
them this new song. They sing of victory. Paul says
at the end of 1 Corinthians 15, thanks be unto God. who giveth
us the victory. The people of God know what it
is, though weak, though poor, to gain the victory over sin
and death and hell and over the world through the Lamb. It is through Him that they obtain
the victory and that then gives them to sing and to praise and
to glorify His name. Those notes they begin here below
because the revelation is not looking to some future time.
This is the church of God. This is the comfort for the church
in these gospel days. This is the people of God realizing
these things that the Lord Jesus Christ hath done. So I want to
look with the Lord's help firstly at the sealed book that we have
as the subject of which they desire one to be able to open
it. And then secondly, who is able
to open the book? And the point here is not only
ability, but it is one that must be worthy. He must be worthy
to be able to open it. And then lastly, the reason that
our Lord is worthy. For thou was slain and has redeemed
us to God by thy blood out of every kindred and tongue and
people and nation. So the book, what is the book? a book that is symbolic of the
living and powerful decrees of God. It is especially concerning the
work of salvation because it has seven seals and seven is
perfection especially in spiritual things in the way of salvation. In this book is not just a recording
of the decrees of God. It is actually the unfolding
or bringing of them about. We can have a book, we could
read things that are set forth in that book, and we can read
it and say, well, this and this is going to happen, at such and
such a time. But what is here, when this book
is opened, when those seals are loosed and when it is read, it
is actually the realization of those things. It's bringing those
things to pass, to be done. It's like when we have the assurance
that the Lord hears the prayers of His people. The implication
is He doesn't just hear, but he then will action and do according
to his will what is sought for from him. There's action joined
to it. It's not just a reading of what
is going to take place. It is a bringing to come to pass
those things that God has decreed. The loosing of these seals These
bring about the completion of the kingdom of righteousness,
of the peace of God, of the kingdom of God upon this earth. One of their hymns, in hymn four,
is Providence unfolds the book and makes his counsels shine. God has already decreed from
the foundation of the world all things, That shall happen. He is a sovereign God. He has
made those plans. And I was in engineering. We
might have done plans. And I then look at the book and
unfold all of those plans. And that's just reading what
those plans are. But the plans were made. Later
on, I could go to the workshops and see this finished machine,
just what I designed and drawn. It was all there. But the plans
were made a long time before that was actually finished. Every
bolt, every little part, every detail was all allowed for. But with this book, it is not
just like turning over the plans, it's like every part as it was
unfolded and seen, it was being done. It was being accomplished
and performed. Our Lord Jesus Christ is spoken
of as the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. And this book then is the book
that unfolds all that he should do and all that should be accomplished
to bring about salvation for his church and for his people.
The whole plan of this world is all ordered and decreed by
God. And this is set before us here
as sealed, known by God, and to be opened up only by one that
was worthy. And so I want to look secondly,
who is able to open the book? Often in scripture we have contrasts. Our Lord always used them with
his parables. Two went up to pray. Pharisee
and the publican. Go right back to Cain and Abel,
two worshipping, two different ways. Here we have a contrast. We have the book and we have
found that there is no man worthy to open and read the book, neither
to look thereon. We think of the contrast in coming
out of Egypt for the children of Israel. Nine wonders that
reduced Egypt to ruins but never accomplished deliverance at all.
You might save every one of those trials, not one was worthy to
be able to cause the children of Israel to go out of bondage
and be brought unto the Lord as a nation. None was able, none
was worthy, none None was bringing what was required to loose them
and to set them free. Remember the word, without the
shedding of blood there is no remission. And this emphasis
again is set forth here. It doesn't just relate a book
and then they're coming, our Lord or the Lamb, to open that
book. There's a contrast first that
there is none other. And when we think With the word
there is none other name given among men, whereby we must be
saved. We think of those that sought
for help in the days of our Lord, those who were sick, those who
sought unto physicians, those who suffered many things. They
proved, like the woman with the issue of blood, that there was
no help anywhere else until they came to the Lord Jesus Christ. And this is the theme that is
here. And this is something that you and I, if we are brought
to know the salvation, will also know the same teaching, the same
message. That those things that we seek
first, whether it's to the law, or whether it's to our own efforts,
or whether it is to man, or whether it is to traditions, whatever
it is outside of Christ, will not affect deliverance. It will
not move as one particle towards the things of God or towards
the Lord. It will not break the chains
of reigning sin. It won't loose us from our natural
bondage. But if the Son shall make you
free, you shall be free indeed. And so here there is found that
there is none that was able. in heaven, not even to look upon
it. And then we have verse 5. 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. The vital thing was that he was
worthy to do it. When our Lord was upon earth,
he had a centurion that sent his servants, sent the Jews to
our Lord saying that his servant was sick. and that he should
heal him. And the Jews, they said to the
Lord Jesus that he was worthy for whom he should do this. He
loveth our nation. We have built us a synagogue. So Jesus went with them But then
the centurion sent friends to him, saying, Lord, trouble not
thyself, for I am not worthy that thou shouldst enter under
my roof. The Jews were viewing that he
was worthy, and himself he felt unworthy. And I must say that
this, in a way, is what has led me to the subject here this afternoon. the feeling so unworthy to thought
that the Lord would lay aside your dear pastor and allow me
to come and speak to you here. And it may be that there are
those of you here exercised on the things of God, making profession,
and will hold you back. You feel so unworthy. And almost
then that unworthiness makes you unwilling to hold back. The message here is that worthiness
is not in us. It is in the Lord. It's in the
Lamb. It is in Him. Thou art worthy. And you see the Lord said of
this centurion that he had not found so great faith, not in
all this world. But that great faith didn't say
in the person in whom that faith was, I am worthy. It says, I
am not worthy. But those that saw his life,
his conduct, and how he behaved and walked, they could see this
man feared them all. That he loved the people of God.
The Lord Jesus Christ. And this man, he saw from his
own position as a ruler, set over soldiers, he saw the Lord
and he saw his authority and his worthiness to receive honor. And he felt that he was not worthy,
that he should have him under his roof. Dear friends, if it
is your felt unworthiness holding you back from open profession,
that very unworthiness felt, and especially where it's felt
in conjunction with viewing the worthiness of the Lamb of God. That is what is required for
those to serve and worship the Lord. Those that will put the
crown upon His head, on His alone, and worship the Lord alone. Worthy
is the Lamb, and this This is the qualification to be able
to open this book. And let us think of what we said
was the book. We think of every event that
happens in this world, everything that transpires, that comes to
pass, especially in salvation. Think of one of the hymns he
decreed, the very place where he would show triumphant grace. The time of our Lord's sufferings,
His death, is rising again in all of the church history. Everything
that happens, happens because of one that was worthy, has opened
the seals, has opened the book, has decreed it should happen,
has purposed it should happen. Nothing happens by chance, or
with the hand. of the Lord upon it. This is
the picture of the Lord over the world at this time, and we
should remember this when we hear reports of nations, nations
rising against nations, things that are happening in the world.
That is on that level. But what about in the Church
of God as well? The Church of God looking so
low, and the Church is so reduced. But the Lord is on the throne
and he still is worthy and he still is opening these seals. He still has his people. He still is in control. May we have the mindfulness in
all that comes upon us. The Lord is worthy. The Lord
is worthy to appoint this. The Lord is worthy to appoint
that. The Lord is worthy to lay me
aside. The Lord is worthy to raise me
up again. The Lord is worthy to perform
what he wills in my life, in the church of God, all of these
things. He is the head of the church
and he is in control, not man, not Satan. You see the picture
in Job. Not Satan in control, God in
control. We see with Jonah, Jonah running
away, he's not in control, God is in control. In every event and all that happens,
God is in control. We think of Paul that must needs
go to Rome, God is in control. He appealed unto Caesar, but
then he had a free passage to Rome as a prisoner. And then
we have a runaway slave, Onesimus. God is in control. Where does
he run away to? He comes to Paul. He didn't like
his servitude. He didn't like his lot in life.
And then he finds Paul in chains and as a servant and subject
to the will of God. And the Lord uses it for his
conversion, sends him back. Paul does, no more a servant
but a brother beloved. It's a beautiful thing, who so
will observe these things, even they shall understand the loving
kindness of the Lord. When we're observing the things
that are happening in the church and in our lives, and in relation
to our salvation, and each thing that happens, we say the worthy
Lamb has opened that seal, has caused that to come to pass,
has performed these things and done these things, who is he
that saith, and it cometh to pass when the Lord commandeth
it not. What is emphasised here is not
one just to open the book, but one worthy to do so. Now on to
look into our last point as to the reason Our Lord is worthy. That is set forth in our text. 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. The first statement there is
that thou was slain. It's one thing to see a fact
and to see what actually happened, and then another to see what
flows out from that, what was done at that time. The two on the way to Emmaus,
they had seen what had happened at Jerusalem. They said to the
Lord, though they knew him not, art thou a stranger, hast not
known the things that are done in these days? They had seen
those things, but they said, we trusted that it should have
been He that should have redeemed Israel. One thing to see what
had happened, and another thing to see that what had happened
was He had redeemed Israel. That is what He had done in being
slain. And so our Lord then opened up
to them in all the scriptures, the things concerning Himself,
that the Redeemer, the promised Messiah was to be. slain. Sacrificed, crucified, was to
shed his blood. The first thing here is stated,
for thou wast slain. Perhaps we could easy pass over
that. There are several aspects we
really should consider. You think of the tide with Abraham
and with Isaac, Isaac was brought upon the altar, his father held
the knife, but Isaac was not slain. Isaac was taken off the
altar and a lamb substituted in his place. There was no such
thing happened to Jesus of Nazareth. There were those that threw this
in his face and said, if thou be God, then come down from the
cross, save us and thyself. But there is no coming down,
there is no staying the night, there is no ceasing of that sentence
being executed, not on the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember every
one of us under the sentence of death in Adam, we are already
under condemnation. We are already under sentence
of death. As yet is not executed. You and
I are still living. As yet is not executed in the
second death. There are those here that are
yet still in that first death spiritually. There are those
that have been made spiritually alive. But it is absolutely vital
thing if we are to see, we are to have eternal life that we
are delivered from that condemnation and delivered from the power
and dominion of death. But with the lamb here, it's
stated he was slain. Our Lord in the Garden of Gethsemane
said to Peter with the sword, put up thy sword within its sheath. He said, thinkest thou not that
I could not presently call forth six legion or 12 legion of angels,
72,000 angels, but how then should the scriptures be fulfilled?
The Lord was able to resist death. He said to Pilate, thou couldest
have no power at all against me except it were given thee
from above. So when we read that the Lord
was slain, It is not that the Lord didn't have power to resist. We read in Philippians that he
was obedient, obedient even unto death, the death of the cross.
Wherefore God hath highly exalted him, given him a name which is
above every name. The fact that he was slain. Yes,
the Jews were held there. The Lord said that they had the
greater condemnation because that they delivered him unto
Pilate. But the Lord said, I have power
to lay down my life. I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received
of my father. This is the Lord bringing about
this freewill sacrifice and offering that not Pilate, not the Jews,
not man, can be in control of, but God is in control of. And
Peter, on the day of Pentecost, he says, he that was delivered
by the foreknowledge of God, determinate counsel and foreknowledge
of God, have taken and by wicked hands crucified and slain. He charged them with the death
of our Lord. But we have it very clear that
our Lord was in control. It was the sin of the people,
but it was the decree of God. The Lord bringing good out of
evil and bringing about the counsel of God. One of the main points
here is the reason for the worthiness of the Lord. Thou wast slain. Impossible that that should be
so, except by the will and overruling power of God. The Lamb slain
from the foundation of the world, he must be slain, portrayed in
every sacrifice, in every offering, the Lamb slain. Now, dear friends,
in these Gospel days, we do not go back to the sacrifices, the
ordinances of the Old Testament, the Lord has given us, the ordinance
of the Lord's Supper, and that is what is set forth, this same
truth that is here, the Lamb that is slain, ye do show forth
the Lord's death till he come, this first aspect of the worthiness
of the Lord, thou wast slain, The blood was shed, his body
was broken, ye do show forth the Lord's death, this do ye
in remembrance of me. And here below in the church
of God is a remembrance of this picture that is in heaven where
there is said, the one that is worthy for thou wast slain. But our Lord was not only slain,
but He rose again from the dead. I have power to lay down my life,
I have power to take it again. An empty tomb, a risen Saviour. And what is that? The assurance
of what follows. And has redeemed us to God by
Thy blood, out of every kindred and tongue and people, the extent
of that redemption, set free by the payment of a price. Our
Lord was set free from the tomb and his people with him. He is
the firstfruits. He is the one that gives assurance
that his people shall follow. That beautiful chapter that I
mentioned before 1 Corinthians 15, all speaks of the resurrection
of the dead, the conquest over death. the deliverance, the reversal
as it were, of the sentence of death. There is therefore now
no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. The Lord
Jesus Christ has risen again for the justification of his
people, setting them free from condemnation, ascending up into
heaven. There he sits. There he is in
control. There is our Redeemer. And so
it is what is joined with what our Lord has done. To be able
to look upon the emblems before us, to be able to look upon what
Christ has done, and like those two on the way to Emmaus who
did not know it at first, but be able to say, this is my redemption. This is the redemption money.
This is the way of being set free. This is that which is ordained
of God, owned in heaven, reflected on earth by the decree of God,
when every soul is loose from the bondage of sin, loose from
servitude of Satan, loose from servitude of self, and brought
to be the servants of the true and living God. Kings over self
and priests unto God. Those that are qualified to offer
those sacrifices unto God and to praise Him throughout the
earth. This is the reason for His worthiness. And this is the reason why these
ordinances and a membership of the Church of God is not our
worthiness. It is Christ that died, yea,
rather risen again, who sitteth at the right hand of the throne
of God on high. There's nothing in the Church
of God that is to lift up a man. It is to exalt the poor sinner. It is Christ and Christ alone.
When we preach, it is that we preach His Word, and you hear
His Word and you receive it from Him. It's not in our power to
bring any effect, but what the Lord does with it, that is His
honour and His glory and His power, and He alone is worthy. And may it be then that this
is a sweet savour to us and it remains with you that the Lord
is worthy. He's worthy of my praise. He's worthy of my obedience. He's worthy of my following Him. He's worthy to be in control
in my life and to be able to say that what He wills is best. May we be taught here below this
song this new song saying thou art worthy to take the book and
to open the seals thereof 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 May the Lord add his blessing and
be with us as we come now to the table of the Lord. Amen.