Let us commence our service by
singing together hymn number 263. The tune is Jonathan 356. Jesus, the glorious head of grace,
Knows every saint's peculiar case, What sorrows by their souls
are born, And how for sin they daily mourn. Hymn 263. June Jonathan, 356. ? Was the glorious head of grace
? ? Was every saint peculiar case ? ? Was the heart and mind
there ? O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming? He knows how deep their griefs
are, and how their secrets hide in hell. Can hope, if helpful, as expressed. Let all such long-waiting souls
make this ? And let no man ? ? Who did thy
ways ? ? They see and learn ? ? The law of grace ? ? Let no man ?
and angels on the rise, to heaven's pow'r they must rise. There o'er the holy face shall
cease, and there they prepare with ? Joy and peace ? ? Across the
globe ? ? Rage on through ? ? And world without end ? ? Amen, amen, amen, amen, amen,
amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen,
amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen,
amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen,
amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen,
amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen,
amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen,
amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen,
amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen,
amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen,
amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen ? Love to thee ? ? And when I grow
? ? In age of old ? ? May joy and comfort ? Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God in Psalm 71. Psalm 71. In thee, O Lord, do I put my
trust. Let me never be put to confusion. Deliver me in thy righteousness
and cause me to escape. Incline thine ear unto me and
save me. Be thou my strong habitation,
whereunto I may continually resort. Thou hast given commandment to
save me, For thou art my rock and my fortress. Deliver me,
O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, out of the hand of
the unrighteous and cruel man. For thou art my hope, O Lord
God. Thou art my trust from my youth.
By thee have I been holden up from the womb, Thou art he that
took me out of my mother's bowels. My praise shall be continually
of thee. I am as a wonder unto many, but
thou art my strong refuge. Let my mouth be filled with thy
praise and with thy honour all the day. Cast me not off in the
time of old age. Forsake me not when my strength
faileth. For mine enemies speak against
me, and they that lay wait for my soul take counsel together,
saying, God hath forsaken him. Persecute and take him, for there
is none to deliver him. O God, be not far from me. O
my God, Make haste for my help. Let them be confounded and consumed
that are adversaries to my soul. Let them be covered with reproach
and dishonor that seek my hurt. But I will hope continually and
will yet praise thee more and more. My mouth shall show forth
thy righteousness and thy salvation. all the day, for I know not the
numbers thereof. I will go in the strength of
the Lord God, whom I make mention of thy righteousness, even of
thine only. O God, thou hast taught me from
my youth, and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works. Now also
When I am old and grey-headed, O God, forsake me not, until
I have showed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power
to every one that is to come. Thy righteousness also, O God,
is very high. Who has done great things, O
God, who is like unto thee, Thou which hast showed me great and
sore troubles, shalt quicken me again, and shalt bring me
up again from the depths of the earth. Thou shalt increase my
greatness, and comfort me on every side. I will also praise
thee with the psaltery, even thy truth, O my God, unto thee. will I sing with the harp, O
thou holy one of Israel. My lips shall greatly rejoice
when I sing unto thee, and my soul which thou hast redeemed,
my tongue also shall talk of thy righteousness all the day
long, for they are confounded, for they are brought unto shame
that seek my hurt. 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 bow before thy glorious majesty. We do desire to worship
thee and to follow thee in our day and in our generation. We come as poor sinners before
thy great majesty. We come to confess our sins.
We can echo in our hearts with the prophet of old from the crown
of the head to the sole of the foot, wounds and bruises and
putrefying sores. There is no soundness in my flesh.
And oh Lord, we painfully feel it. We have to say again and
again with the dear apostle, oh wretched man, that I am, who
shall deliver me from the body of this death. Prone to wander,
Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love.
Here's my heart, Lord. Take and seal it. Seal it from
thy courts above. Grant that we may know a sealing
time as we gather in the sanctuary tonight. We read whereby you
are sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise. And we pray that
we may indeed be sealed, that the word may enter our hearts
with divine power. Blessed, holy, divine spirit
of truth, we pray for thy heavenly power We pray for thy divine
unction. We pray that thou wouldst take
of the things of Jesus and reveal them unto us. And we pray to
be led and taught and guided and directed by thee. We pray
for a humble and a teachable spirit. Convince us of our sin and lead
to Jesus' blood and to our wandering eyes reveal the secret love of
God. O most gracious God, do hear
us, we pray Thee, that for Thy great name's sake, and that go
before us in each untrodden step, make a way where there seems
no way, and that Lord Jesus, we pray, that Thou wouldst grant
us here this night in the sanctuary Thy presence, that we may see
no man save Jesus only, that we may behold the Lamb of God
which taketh away the sin of the world, that we may behold him as our
prophet, as our priest, as our king, that we may behold him as the
way, the truth and the life, and that we may have an application
to our souls of the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ. For Lord, we have no righteousnesses
of our own. All our righteousnesses are as
filthy racks, for we are all as an unclean thing. Gracious
God, our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. And may there be that sealing
of it, of the atonement in our hearts tonight as we gather around
the word. May we feel the divine drawings
of our Heavenly Father. Thou hast said, I will draw thee
with the cords of a man. O do draw us, we humbly pray
thee, by thy irresistible grace. Guide us by thy counsel, teach
us thy truth, we do humbly beseech of thee. We thank thee that thou
art the only true God. And we thank thee that thou art
the Lord God, the omnipotent reigneth. And we thank thee that
there is nothing too hard for thee. Indeed, that thou art able
to do abundantly more than we can even ask or think. We do pray that thou would remember
us as a church and as a congregation. Remember, O Lord, our brethren
the deacons, and give wisdom and grace and help, guidance
and direction in all matters. We do humbly pray thee, thou
knowest their responsibilities. And Lord, we do pray that thou
in thy precious mercy would remember each one of our brethren and
sisters in church fellowship. And we would especially remember
our dear brother and sister in Holland, and pray that thou would
draw near to them and undertake for them, we do humbly pray thee. We pray that when the enemy comes
in like a flood, the spirit of the Lord may lift up a standard
against him. For Lord, we have not the wisdom
nor the power nor the might to stand against the wiles of the
devil. And that we know, Lord, and we
know from personal experience that he goes about as a roaring
lion, seeking whom he may devour. And we know also, Lord, that
sometimes he transforms himself into an angel of light to deceive. O gracious God, deliver us from
temptation. Deliver us from the power and
the dominion of sin. lead us in the way of truth and
of righteousness, we do humbly pray thee. Breathe thy spirit
into our hearts, that we may be enabled to cry, Abba, Father. For God has sent forth the spirit
of his Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Oh, to know and
to sacredly realise what we have stored up in our Heavenly Father,
that everlasting love. May we know continually those
sweet drawings, for none come except the Father draw. May we
know those continual drawings unto Jesus Christ, to behold
Him as our great High Priest, to behold Him as our Saviour,
and as our Redeemer. And O Lord, we do pray for grace
to pray for one another, to bear one another's burdens, thereby
fulfilling the law of Christ. We do pray, most gracious Lord,
that thou wouldst remember the little ones, the children that
come into the sanctuary, Remember them with the favour that thou
bearest unto thy people, and in their very young and tender
years do grant the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning
of wisdom, that it may be in their hearts. Remember our young
friends. Bring them to living, vital,
saving faith in Jesus Christ. Guide them. O thou great Jehovah,
make them pilgrims in a barren land, Make them to feel the barrenness
in this wilderness and grant that they may look beyond this
wilderness to the celestial city, to those mansions prepared. Hear
us, O Lord, we pray thee. Help us to lay aside every weight
and the sin that doth so easily beset us and that we might run
with patience the race that is set before us. looking unto Jesus,
the author and finisher of our faith. O gracious God, do incline
thine ear, we humbly beseech thee, and do show us thy ways
and teach us thy paths, do make us more spiritually minded, set
our affections on things above. Lord, we pray for those that
would desire a partner in life's journey, We lovingly commend
them to thee, and pray that thou wouldst do this thing. We do
humbly beseech thee, and that we read in thy holy word of those
that thou didst grant that Rebecca was brought unto Isaac, and Ruth
was brought unto Boaz. And we pray that it may be so
with our friends here. We pray most gracious Lord that
they always remember parents and give wisdom and grace to
bring up their children in the nurture and admonition of the
Lord. We pray that they always meet
with the families as they gather for divine worship and that thy
presence and favour may rest upon them. And we pray most gracious
Lord that those who are in but all in the midst of the journey
of life, thou knowest where they are, thou knowest their concerns,
their burdens, and thou knowest, O Lord, those
that are not concerned, are not burdened. We pray that thou wouldst
let thy work appear unto thy servants, and that thou wouldst
grant that convincing and convicting work of the Spirit in the heart
to bring to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. We pray that thou would remember
the prodigals that have wandered away, that thou would stretch
out thy almighty arm, that thou would cause them to be in want
and cause them to return. Lord, this is thy work and we
pray that we may see thy work and thy power and thy glory as
thou use'st to be in the sanctuary. And we read in thy word that
there is joy in heaven over one sinner that repented. Grant us
that joy here. Send out the glory and light
and power of gospel truth into this village and the surrounding
villages and hamlets. And bless the word of the Lord.
humbly beseech thee, gather in precious souls, fill this little
house of prayer with hungry, longing souls, pressing into
the kingdom of heaven. Hear us, O Lord, we humbly pray
thee, and have mercy upon us, we beseech thee, and send a day
of real prosperity. Let thy hand be upon the man
of thy right hand, the son of man, whom thou madest strong,
for thyself, so will not we go back from thee. Oh, do hear us,
O Lord, we humbly pray thee, and do grant answers of peace,
grant signs to follow the preaching of the word. Remember all in
trouble and trial and perplexity and bereavement, and support
and sustain and strengthen and help. Remember those of us that
are now in the evening time of life journey and grant that gracious
preparation for that change that must come. Do hear us, we humbly
pray thee, to make us more spiritually minded, to set our affections
on things above and not on things of the earth. O Lord, we do pray, I will remember
all thy labouring servants as they labour in word and doctrine
upon the walls of Zion, set them free, set them at liberty. I will do here as we humbly pray
thee. We pray thee, the great Lord
of the harvest, to send true labourers into the harvest and
to build the walls of Jerusalem. We do humbly beseech thee. And,
O Lord God, we do pray that thou, in thy precious mercy, would
remember the little causes of truth up and down the land, wheresoever
thy servants stand and thy people gather. Pour forth thy blessed
Spirit and grant a revival. We live in solemn days, Lord,
when iniquity abounds on every hand and the powers of Antichrist
are so prevalent in our society, in the day in which we live.
Things that when we were children we never even dreamed that we
would see. O Lord, do hear us, we humbly
pray Thee for Thy great namesake. And O Lord, we do thank Thee
for our little house of prayer that has maintained this little
hill of Zion for over 200 years. Go on, most mighty God, thy wonders
to make known. We do humbly beseech thee. Put
forth thy spirit with the word. We thank thee for every mercy
of thy kind providence. And we thank thee for Jesus Christ.
that wonderful mystery of godliness, of God manifest in the flesh.
We do thank Thee for the holy life He lived as a man under
the law, fulfilling and honouring and magnifying His holy commandments
on the behalf of His people and bringing in everlasting righteousness. Oh, we do thank Thee We thank
thee for the sacred, sin-atoning sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that holy sacrifice on Calvary, whereby divine justice has been
satisfied and God and sinners are reconciled and peace is made
between God and man. We thank thee for what Jesus
has done. We thank thee that Through him
we know the love of our Eternal Father and by him we receive
the gift of the Holy Ghost. To fill our hearts with gratitude,
with thanksgiving for all thy tender mercies, thy loving kindnesses
that have passed before us in the way. Come and touch one's
lips with the live coal from off the heavenly altar. that
we ask with the forgiveness of all sin, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. Let us now sing together hymn
number 267. The tune is Chester. 879. Children of the Heavenly King,
as ye journey sweetly seeing, sing your Saviour's worthy praise,
glorious in his works and ways. Hymn 267, Tune Chester 879. You can walk away with me Hark! The herald angels sing
this day, Savior taken from His grave. ? Gloria in excelsis Deo ? ? In excelsis Deo ? ? In excelsis
Deo ? God is love. May your happy hour be, so that
happiness can sleep. O give her peace, O give her
peace, O give her peace, O give her peace, O give her peace, O give her peace, O give her
peace, O give her peace, O give her peace, O give her peace, O give her peace,
O give her peace, O give her peace, O give her peace, O give her peace, O give her
peace, O give her peace, O give her peace, O give her peace, O give her
peace, O give her peace, O give her peace, O give her peace, O give her peace,
O give her peace, O give her peace, O give her peace, O give her peace, O give her peace,
O give her peace, O give her peace, O give her peace, O give her peace,
O give her peace, O give her peace, O give her peace, O give her peace, O give her
peace, O give her peace, O give her peace, O give her peace, O give her peace,
O give her peace, O give her peace, O give her peace If you take all precious things
and put them in a salty cup, To keep this world from darkness,
With all it's hidden chakras, In whose feet is now written,
I, your King, am and will be. ? In what well-bring'd joyful sound
? ? The pebbles hung aglow there ? ? Jesus Christ, Lord at Thy
birth ? ? When to God is taken our call
? ? Who shall be speaking with us
now ? ? Happy evening ? ? Come with us ? ? Come with us ? ?
Enjoy it ? ? And we still will ? Greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, I direct your attention to Psalm 71 and we'll
read verse 16 for our text. Psalm 71 verse 16. I will go in the strength of
the Lord God. I will make mention of thy righteousness
even of thine only. I will go in the strength of
the Lord God. Faith is what we call a dynamic
principle. It is always pressing forward.
It cannot stand still and it cannot turn back. is pressing
on, it's pressing forward. And here in our text, it speaks
of the spirit of faith in the heart of the true believer. I
will go. If we are true believers, we're
all on a journey. if we're true believers we've
been put in that way on that journey and there will be times when
you feel weak and insufficient that there'll be times when you
have a conflict with unbelief and there'll be times when the
Lord directs you to do something and to walk in a certain pathway. And you may feel like Samuel
when the Lord directed him to go down to the house of Jesse. And Samuel said, how can I go? How can I go? If Saul hears of this he will
be after me. You see, and you may feel like
that today. Maybe there's something that
lays with weight upon your heart. Something the Lord has laid there. We read, and we spoke of it last
Lord's Day at Tumbridge Wells. Thy people shall be willing in
the day of thy power. and we need the Lord's power
to walk in the way of his holy commandments, to do those things
that are pleasing in his sight, to follow the Lord Jesus. Didn't
he say at one time to the disciples, what is that to thee? Follow
thou me. Follow thou me. And that is the
great thing, my beloved friends, Are we following the Lord Jesus? The Lord Jesus said, I am the
way, the truth and the life. Are we following Him? For that in following Him is
the way, the truth and the life. I will go in the strength of
the Lord God. Maybe there's something laid
in your heart and you feel too weak in yourself to go in that
pathway. And following the Lord Jesus
Christ in what is laid in your heart. You know, faith, the faith of
the Lord's people is a faith that works by love. It works
by love. Love is like the oil. You take
an internal combustion engine. If the oil runs out, the whole
thing seizes up. And it's the same with the Christian
believer. That spirit of love Love brings
to compliance the will. And the Lord Jesus himself said,
If ye love me, keep my commandments. If ye love me. The evidence of
your love will be in that you follow him and keep his commandments.
And do those things that he has directed you to do. and he directs
it in his word. David says, doesn't he, in Psalm
119, let thy word be a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. A lamp, a light. And the apostle, he takes up
that point when he writes to the Thessalonians. about being
the children of light. The children of the day. You are not of the night. You
are not of the night. What a mercy if the Lord has
given us light. Light. Light from his word. Light in our hearts. He says
in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 and from verse 4 but ye brethren
are not in darkness that that day should overtake you as a
thief yet all the children of light and the children of the
day we are not of the night nor of darkness therefore let us
not sleep as do others, but let us watch and be sober, for they
that sleep, sleep in the night, and they that be drunken are
drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day,
be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and for in
Helmet the hope of salvation, for God hath not appointed us
wrath but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ who
died for us that whether we wake or sleep we should live together
with him. See we are we're not of the night
you have light and the Lord has given you light Light on your
pathway, light in your heart, light in his word. When the Spirit
of God works in the heart of the true believer, he gives them
light. Light shines in their hearts. In the beginning of John's Gospel,
we read there, In the beginning was the Word, that's the Son
of God. And the Word was with God, and
the Word was God. The same was in the beginning
with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not
anything made that was made. In Him was life, and the life
was the light of men. Jesus said, I am the light of
the world and the light shineth in darkness and the darkness
comprehended it not. The same came for a witness to
bear witness of the light that all men through him might believe.
He was not that light as John the Baptist but was sent to bear
witness of that light. You notice the light is written
with a capital L. That was the true light. which
lighteth every man that cometh into the world. You see that
light. Notice how he joins together life and light
in verse 4. And him was life and the life
was the light of men. What a mercy if you and I have
light. Light in our hearts, light in
our pathway, light in our circumstances. What a mercy if the Lord has
given you light in the way that he requires you to walk. Light
on your path from his word. When the Lord Jesus was baptised
in the river Jordan he said, Thus it becometh us to fulfill
all righteousness. It's a righteous thing to follow
the Lord Jesus. And he has gone before you in
that. He's given us an example that
we should follow. I think of that lovely hymn,
view the right, this is baptism now, view the right with understanding. Jesus' grave before they lies,
be interred at his commanding after his example rise. That's what baptism means. It's the grave of Christ. And the Lord, when he says, if
you love me, keep my commandments, that is one of the commandments. that he commands us to keep,
to follow him in those ordinances of his. I will go, what a mercy when there's
that willingness, I will go in the strength of the Lord God. You know we read in Genesis chapter
24 of the Abraham's servant fetching a
wife for Isaac and when they were discussing
it after his servant had gone into the house and they said about, he said,
hinder me not, I need to return to my master And then they said, let us ask
the damsel whether she will go. And when they asked Rebecca,
they said, will thou go with this man? And she said, I will
go. You see, thy people shall be
willing in the day of thy power. I will go. There was that willingness
to leave father's house and to go with Abram's servant. She was made willing, thy people
shall be willing. Well they'll go with this man.
You just look at that narrative and we see in it Christ, this
man Christ and the damsel, the church, the believer, will thou
go with this man? This glorious holy God, man,
the man Christ Jesus, will thou go with this man? And she said, I will go. She was willing. It was a day
of power. And then she says, how will she
go? I will go in the strength of
the Lord God. I'll go in the strength of the
Lord God. When the Lord was dealing with
Saul, in the book of Samuel, Samuel makes some comments there,
and he says, the strength of Israel. And that is written with
a capital S, because he's speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ, the
strength of Israel. as who Christ is. And that's
the name that's given to him in Holy Scripture. We're exhorted,
aren't we, to be strong in the Lord and in the power of his
might. To be strong in the Lord and
in the power of his might. I will go. I will go. What a willingness.
Here in the book of Psalms, In Psalm 126, we read there. He that goeth forth and weepeth,
bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing,
bringing his sheaves with him. He that goeth forth and weepeth. In the previous
verse, He says they that sow in tears shall reap in joy. Maybe
at this time you may be sowing in tears. But it says you will
reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth.
Of course, primarily, this is a prophecy concerning our Lord
Jesus Christ. He went forth. He left heaven to come to this
earth as a man and live upon this earth as a man he that goeth
forth and weepeth and we read of him that he was a man of sorrows
and acquainted with grief and we know that he was bearing
precious seed that all that the father giveth me shall come to
me and him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out In that beautiful prayer in John
17, the Lord Jesus there, he speaks of all that the Father
has given him. He that goeth forth and weepeth,
bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing,
bringing his sheaves with him, shall doubtless. A beautiful
word, isn't it? Lord Jesus Christ, it was without
doubt that he would accomplish what he was given by the Father
to do. There was no doubt whatsoever
and that is why the Father gave the church to his son because
doubtless he could perform and do those things that were given
him to do, that he was able to redeem the church. He was able
to live a holy, pure and spotless life on the behalf of the church. And as Daniel says, the bringing
in of everlasting righteousness, it's that perfect righteousness,
we have it in our text before us. The righteousness of Christ. I will speak of thy righteousness
even as thine only. He that goeth forth and weepeth. bearing precious seed, shall
doubtless come again. We'll rejoice in bringing his
sheep with him. Now, primarily then, it's a prophecy
concerning the person of Christ and him going forth to redeem
his church and suffering, bleeding and dying for the sins of his
people. And then this doubtless will
come again with rejoicing. He that goeth forth. Ah, my beloved
friends, what a mercy if we are indeed going forth. And he led them forth by the
right way unto a city of habitation. He led them forth by the right
way. I will go in the strength of
the Lord God. That's the only way you can walk
this way. And the Apostle says in Hebrews
chapter 12, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that
does so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the
race that is set before us, 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. I will go in the strength,
in the strength of Christ. The apostle Paul, he had to learn
this, didn't he? When he writes his epistle to
the Corinthians, and he speaks there, of having a thorn in the
flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet
him. It's not defined exactly what
it was that troubled the dear apostle. And I believe that that
is wisely hidden. You know what your thorn in the
flesh is and I know what mine is. It is something that rankles
every day. It's sore, it's painful. And that's what it was with Paul.
And he says, I besought the Lord thrice to deliver me from this
thorn in the flesh. But you know, friends, we do
not read that the Lord did deliver him. He did deliver him, but
perhaps not in the way that Paul thought. That thorn in the flesh
remained. But listen to what the Lord said
to Paul because that that thorn in the flesh weakened him, emptied
him. So what did the Lord say to Paul
when he'd be sought him three times to deliver him from that
thorn in the flesh and that messenger of Satan to buffet him? He thought
he would be so much better without it, he'd be a better servant
of the Lord, he'd be a better apostle, be able to preach better
if he only didn't have this thorn in the flesh. But what did the Lord say? My
grace, that is the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. My grace is
sufficient for thee. My strength is made perfect in
weakness. My strength is made perfect weakness. The more we feel our weakness,
the more we feel our insufficiency, the more we feel our helplessness,
our hopelessness, the more we shall lean upon the Lord. The
more we shall look to Him for grace, for wisdom, for guidance,
for direction and for grace to walk in this way that the Lord
has placed in your heart. I will go in the strength of
the Lord God. I will make mention of thy righteousness,
even of thine only. I will go in the strength of
the Lord God. But you know, to walk in this
path, like the Apostle Paul outlines there to us, he knew it by painful
experience, my strength is made perfect in weakness. You may
wonder why it is you feel so weak and so enfeebled and so
helpless and so hopeless. And you say with Samuel, how
can I go? In the strength of the Lord God.
That's how you have to go. Looking on to 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. I will go
in the strength of the Lord God. I will make mention of thy righteousness,
even of thine only. The reason be, It's because you
feel and know that you have no righteousness of your own. You feel and know that you will
never get to heaven in your own strength. And the Holy Spirit as he leads
you on and teaches you, he teaches you that you've got no true wisdom
of your own. You're a sinner. You've always
been a sinner. And you always will be a sinner. And as the Holy Spirit teaches
you that, it's very painful. It's very
painful. I will go in the strength. I haven't got any strength of
my own. I will go in the strength of the Lord God. Of the Lord God, of Jehovah. and to lay hold of Christ and
to look to Christ. But you won't go on your own.
This is the thing, we've just spoken to you of Isaac and Rebecca
and the question that was put to her by her family, will they
go with this man? And this man in that sense is
a type of Christ. Will they go with this man? And
she said, I will go, I will go. There's one isn't there, I will
follow thee with us wherever thou goest. In Holy Scripture,
I will follow thee with us wherever thou goest. I will go in the
strength of the Lord God. And you know that that strength
of the Lord God, it is almighty. We often speak to you of the
watchword of the book of the Revelation. Alleluia for the
Lord God omnipotent reign. You know, when you get a little
sight and a feeling sense of the omnipotence of God in Christ. Out of Christ, almighty power
can do nothing but devour. But in Christ, It saves, it redeems,
He becomes the strength of the child of God. Looking to Him, pleading to Him, continually watching unto prayer,
Lord help me, Lord help me. You know the Apostle Paul When
he writes his epistle to the Philippians, he says there in chapter 3, Philippians, and his
desire in verse 9, and be found in him, that's in Christ, not
having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that
which is through the faith of Christ. righteousness which is
of God by faith that I may know him and the power of his resurrection
and the fellowship of his sufferings being made conformable unto his
death if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection
of the dead not as though I had already attained either were
already ready perfect but I follow after if that I may apprehend
that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I
count not myself to have apprehended, but this one thing I do, forgetting
those things which are behind and reaching forth on those things
which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the
high calling of God in Christ Jesus. I press toward the mark. that he says that I might be
found in. And he says in verse eight, yea,
doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of
the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered
the loss of all things, and do count them that done, that I
may win Christ. You see, my beloved friends,
that is the spirit of faith. He counted everything but nothing.
He'd lost everything for Christ's sake. It's a very deep pathway he walked,
wasn't it? He lost everything for Christ's
sake. And he longed to lay hold of
Christ. I count not myself to have apprehended. But this one thing, that's the
single eye of faith, this one thing I do, one thing I do, I
press toward the mark. Are you, am I, pressing toward
the mark to the prize of the high call of God in Christ Jesus,
pressing toward the mark. I will go in the strength of
the Lord God. I will make mention of thy righteousness
even of thine only, thy righteousness. You know, isn't the hymn writer
that says, righteousness within thee rooted may appear to take
thy part, but let righteousness imputed be the breastplate of
thy heart. We just read in the Philippians
the dear Apostle not having mine own righteousness Which is of
the law. That's all the Pharisees had
a righteousness, which was of the law and the Lord Jesus said
Except your righteousness exceed the righteousness of the scribes
and Pharisees He shall in no wise enter the kingdom of heaven You'll never get to heaven on
your own self-righteousness. You'll only get to heaven on
the righteousness of Jesus, the Son of God. That glorious everlasting
robe of the righteousness of Jesus Christ, Jehovah Sifkenu,
the Lord, our righteousness, is something so precious to the
living child of God glorious righteousness of our Lord Jesus
Christ. It says twice in Psalm 119 that
thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness. An everlasting
righteousness. That's the righteousness of Christ.
That's the perfect obedience of Christ to the Lord. He's fulfilled the law. He's
honored the law. He's magnified the law, thereby
bringing in everlasting righteousness. And what we have in the word
is, will thou go with this man? This man that has brought in
everlasting righteousness. The man Christ Jesus. Will thou
go with this man? This man that has offered a sacred,
holy, sin-atoning sacrifice on the cross of Calvary to redeem
and deliver his people from the curse of the law, from the bondage
of sin and corruption, and to bring them into the glorious
liberty of the people of God. He hath made a new and living
way into the holy place. Will thou go with this man? Oh, my beloved friends, if we
are made willing to go with this man, It leads to eternal glory. It leads to everlasting life. It does. And we read, do we not, in the
book of the Revelation concerning these things and also the Lord
Jesus Christ in his teachings in Matthew chapter 25. He speaks
there so clearly, so beautifully. concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, concerning
that he is the way, the truth and the life. In this following
Christ, he said, and I saw in Revelation 21, and I saw a new
heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth
were passed away, and there was no more sea. and I, John, saw
the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven,
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. Won't thou go with
this man? Eternal life at his request to
every soul is given, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out
of heaven, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men,
and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people,
and God himself shall be with them and be their God. And God
shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be
no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there
be any more pain, for the former things are passed away. You see those former things,
they're passed away. This way, my beloved friends,
leads to eternal life. This way leads to eternal glory. In those lovely verses of Rutherford's,
the bride eyes not her garments, this is heaven, but her dear
bridegroom's face I will not gaze on glory, but on my King
of grace. Not on the crown he giveth, but
on those pierced hands where glory, glory dwelleth in Emmanuel's
hand. I will go. You know, this is
where this pathway leads to. I will go. And to be made willing, to go
with this man, this glorious holy God man, the man Christ
Jesus, to walk in his holy commandments and to follow him. I will go
in the strength of the Lord God. I will make mention of thy righteousness,
even of thine only. May the Lord add his blessings. Let us now sing together hymn
number 144. The tune is Blessedness, 301. 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. Hymn 144. to Blessedness 301. ? Bless the Lord to have His home
? ? Give glory to His name forevermore ? ? Richer and mightier now ? O'er the ramparts we watched,
were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket's red glare, the
bombs bursting in air, ? That through the pain of perdition
? ? There beings by birth of holiness ? ? How woeful, how
woeful ? Holy House of Peace This is the day I long have sought,
and long ago I found it not. I keep my burden long at bay,
Because I could not save from sin. The more I struggle against it
now, I'm still as humble, not humble. May thy love, my Saviour, stay. Come hither, son, I am away. Now can I go? ? And Thou, O Christ, Thou ? ?
Shalt take me to Thee as I come ? ? Thou King of kings ? I think and feel nothing but
love shall I receive. Then will I ? To sin as well ? ? But though
this day ? ? There I have felled ? ? Am going to die ? 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.