Let us commence our service this
evening by singing together hymn number 602. The tune is Indulgence
547. Jesus, the author is of true
and living faith. This blessed grace he gives and
saves our souls from death. By faith in him we live and view
the wonders God alone can do. Hymn 602, tune indulgence 547. In the sweet orderings Of true
and living faith, This blessed grace be giv'n That saves us
all from that by faith in Him we live and live. Heaven has called us, the earth
and you. Lord, Prince be God of grace,
Come, Jesus, we may see, And all the path with Thee lead. The Lord, the Savior reigns. Tis Jesus gives us faith to give
the humble scrolls of our Calvary. This Christmas gives us faith
to fight and overcome. To vanquish heaven and earth
and trust in heaven now. This we accept Christ to see
and hear, The one best brother I've ever known. O'er death, O'er sin, O'er hell,
Against this faith can stand. She hides the Savior well, And
Jesus He gives the power to live and fear The wonders God alone
can do Through every dying sea, Down
to the gates of death, Maintain the life and power of
faith. No death can ever keep from fear,
The wonders God hath done. Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God in Psalm 145. Psalm 145. I will extol thee, my God, O
King, and I will bless thy name for ever and ever. Every day
will I bless thee, and I will praise thy name for ever and
ever. Great is the Lord, and greatly
to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable. One generation
shall praise thy works for another, and shall declare thy mighty
acts. I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty and of
thy wondrous works. And men shall speak of the might
of thy terrible acts, and I will declare thy greatness. They shall
abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness and shall
sing of thy righteousness. The Lord is gracious, and full
of compassion, slow to anger, and of great mercy. The Lord
is good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his works.
All thy works shall praise thee, O Lord, and thy saints shall
bless thee. They shall speak of the glory
of thy kingdom and talk of thy power. to make known to the sons
of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom.
Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth
throughout all generations. The Lord upholdeth all that fall,
and raiseth up all those that be bowed down. The eyes of all
wait upon thee, and thou givest them their meat in due season,
thou openest thine hand and satisfieth the desire of every living thing. The Lord is righteous in all
his ways and holy in all his works. The Lord is nigh unto
all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in
truth. He will fulfill the desire of
them that fear him. He also will hear their cry and
save them. The Lord preserveth all them
that love him, but all the wicked will he destroy. My mouth shall
speak the praise of the Lord and let all flesh bless his holy
name forever and ever. May the Lord bless the reading
of his own precious word and grant unto us a spirit of real
prayer. O Lord, we do pray for grace
to bow before thy glorious majesty. We read in thy word that thou
sittest king forever. And the hymn writer says he sits
on no precarious throne, nor borrows leave to be. For thou
art the king eternal, immortal and invisible. the only true
God. And Lord Jesus, with heaven and
earth at thy command, thou dost wait to answer prayer. Oh, we
thank thee that thou art indeed God over all and blessed for
evermore. And we pray that as we gather
round thy word this evening hour, that the grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ and the love of God our Father and the sacred fellowship
of the Holy Spirit may rest and abide upon us, we do humbly beseech
thee. For Lord, without thee we can
do nothing. Without thy heavenly power, O
Lord, no sweets the gospel can afford, no drops of heavenly
love will fall. We read that none come except
the Father draw. May we know those sacred drawings
unto the Lord Jesus, even at this evening hour, as we gather
round thy word. May we have the witness of thy
spirit with our spirit, that we are the children of God, that
we are joint heirs with Christ. And we do pray, most blessed
spirit, that thou wouldst work mightily in each one of our hearts
and that thou wouldst bring us to live in faith in Jesus Christ,
and that thou wouldst make us true followers of thee and of
those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Lord, do
bless us, we do humbly beseech thee. Show us thy ways, teach
us thy paths, continue to work among us, and grant that we may
see signs that shall follow the preaching of the word, here among
us as a church and as a congregation. And also, Lord, the fulfilling
of those wonderful gospel promises, I will bring thy sons from far
and thy daughters from the ends of the earth, and they shall
come from the north and from the south and from the east and
from the west. O Lord of hosts, we do pray that
thou wouldst arise among us, that thou wouldst bless us with
light and life and liberty as we gather for divine worship
and that thou would gather others also from this village and the
surrounding villages and hamlets that we may see the pulling down
of the strongholds of satan and the setting up of the kingdom
of the lord jesus in the hearts of sinners let thy work appear
unto thy servants and thy glory unto their children O Lord, we
do pray. We come before Thee, O Lord,
as poor sinners, poor undone sinners, poor empty sinners,
poor needy sinners. We come and we seek mercy. God,
be merciful to me, a sinner. Lord, do bless us with that wonderful
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. and bless us with clear views
by faith of the glory of his person and the wonder of his
grace and the fullness of his salvation. Any Lord that are
in darkness, bring them into light. Any that are in bondage,
bring them into liberty. Any that are far off, make them
nigh. O Lord, we do humbly beseech
thee for thy great name's sake. We pray most gracious God that
thou wouldst hear us, that thou wouldst forgive us, that thou
wouldst wash us in that precious sin-atoning blood of our Lord
Jesus Christ, to cleanse us from all our sin, that we might know
the forgiveness of sins in and through the precious blood of
our Lord Jesus Christ. For the psalmist says, but there
is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared. We thank
Thee for that door of hope that is open wide in Jesus' bleeding
hands and side. O Lord, we do pray that Thou
wouldst work mightily amongst us, bless our deacons, give needed
grace, wisdom and help, grant Thy gracious divine direction. We do humbly pray Thee and Thy
gracious help unto them continually. not only with their responsibilities
here but among the churches of God. Gird them with all sufficient
grace. Remember those of us that are
in the evening time of life's journey, and lead us safely unto
thy heavenly kingdom, and grant that at evening time it may be
light. Lord, remember us with the favour
that thou bearest unto thy people, visitors with thy great salvation. Remember all, O Lord, in the
path of bereavement and sorrow and sadness and grief. Lord,
do come and put the arms of thine everlasting love around them.
We do humbly beseech thee for thy great namesake. And O Lord,
we do pray that thou would remember all in the midst of the journey
of life, but knowest the needs of each one, the concerns of
each one, the burdens of each one. And Lord, thou knowest those
that have no burden, that have no concern, that have no life. Oh, we do pray that the time
may come when thy quickening grace will enter their hearts,
that they shall be brought from death unto life. And among those
that we read of in scripture, Blessed and holiest he that hath
part in the first resurrection, on such the second death hath
no power. O Lord, we do pray that thou
wouldst remember the prodigals that wander, and thou knowest
where they wander. And O Lord, we pray that thou
wouldst have mercy upon them and cause them to return in all
their need. in all their felt emptiness and
poverty. Lord, be gracious, we humbly
beseech thee for thy great namesake. Lord, we do pray that thou would
remember parents and give them wisdom and grace and help to
bring up their children, the nurture and admonition of the
Lord in accordance with thy holy word. We do humbly beseech thee. Remember those that have had
to stay at home with the children, and be gracious unto them, O
Lord, we pray thee, for thy great namesake. And O Lord, we do pray
for the young people, our dear young friends, that they may
know thy rich blessing, thy divine favour, thy leading, thy teaching,
a spiritual awakening, a desire, a longing for Christ, and a desire
and a longing for mercy, and a desire and longing to be made
right. Hear us, O Lord, we pray thee,
on their behalf. Open the eyes and the ears, we
do humbly pray. And O Lord, we do pray for seeking
souls that they may find thee, that they may be encouraged to
seek thee, and to earnestly inquire after them, we do humbly pray. Be with our young friends, O
Lord, with regard to a partner in life's journey. Lead, guide,
and direct them, we do humbly beseech thee, for thy great name's
sake. And make a way where there seems
no way. And Lord, we pray that thou wouldst
bless them with those rich spiritual blessings in heavenly places
in Christ Jesus. And, O Lord, we do pray that
Thou, in Thy precious mercy, would graciously bless the little
ones and bless them in their very young and tender years,
and the children, that they may be brought to know Thee. And
we think of those wonderful words of grace, little children to
come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom
of heaven. O Lord, we do pray, remember
the churches, remember all thy servants as they labor in word
and doctrine upon the walls of Zion, set them free, set them
at liberty, send out thy light, send out thy truth, revive thy
Zion, renew and replenish thy people. O Lord, we do pray. We live in dark days when iniquity
abounds on every hand. And we pray thee, the great Lord
of the harvest, to send true labourers into the harvest and
to settle pastors among the churches. We do humbly beseech thee. Lord,
we We do pray for a truly thankful heart. Thankful for all thy tender
mercies and thy loving kindnesses that have passed before us in
the way. Thankful for our little house of prayer. Thankful for
the open Bible. Thankful for the throne of grace.
Thankful for the ordinances of thy house. O Lord, we we would
enter thy gates with praise and with the voice of thanksgiving.
And Lord, we're thankful for Jesus Christ, for the incarnation
of the Son of God, for the holy life he lived as a man here upon
earth, for the bringing in of everlasting righteousness in
that perfect obedience of the Son of Man. We do thank thee
that he is Jehovah Sidkenia, the Lord our righteousness. And Lord, we're thankful for
the cross of Calvary, where sin was put away, where divine justice
was satisfied, where God and sinners are reconciled, where
peace is made between God and man. Lord, fill our hearts with
gratitude, with thanksgiving for thy loving kindness, for
thy tender mercy, for that eternal covenant sealed with the blood
of Jesus. We thank thee that he died for
our sins and rose again for our justification and has bodily
ascended into heaven and we have a great high priest. And may
we have that sacred realisation, tis he instead of me is seen
when I approach to God. Lord, We do thank thee for that
glorious hope of the resurrection of the dead, of eternal life. O most gracious God, thou hast
said, 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. Lord, these are the
wonderful truths of our most holy faith, and we thank Thee
for these foundation truths. We thank Thee that in our Lord
Jesus Christ we know and we experience the eternal love of our Heavenly
Father, and through Him we can approach unto His glorious majesty
through the Mediator. We thank Thee that Through our
Lord Jesus Christ we receive the Holy Ghost and we pray for
his heavenly power and for his divine unction to be felt, known
and realised here this evening as we gather around thy word.
Come and touch one's lips with a live coal from of the heavenly
altar. We ask for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. Let us now sing together hymn
number 129. And the tune is Laudate Dominum,
number two. Tune number 911. Ye souls that are weak and helpless
and poor, who know not to speak, much less to do more, though
he is a foundation for comfort and peace, In Christ is salvation,
the kingdom is his. Peace was not for me, and Thou
blest to call. You were not to speak, but just
to call. Our gifts of compassion, hope,
comfort, and peace. With Christ each salvation, the gift of each peace. With her holy ghost and wondrous
purpose, Gives hope not to foes, but courage to those He shed
thy soul, He wills to answer with thee. Thy regions of heav'n
and mountains of sin. ? Heav'nly Father God, you have
redeemed us ? ? Jesus, our Lord, we commend thee now ? Then in which shall open up my
dearest eyes, That will teach from them the rule that I was. Peter, O my God, if I be in God, shall create
each other, shall channel each other, Redeem with His merit, with worship
His might, renew thy good spirit with the Holy Ghost. Thy grace the earth o'er, Thy
words the deep night, The kingdom and power and glory of Thy Which fill the storm-ramping
earth from stormy shells. The waves, o'er them, coming, and the storm as well. Bless me, O Lord, which Thou
didst, and fill me with Thy true memories. ? Still moving, yet moving ? ?
We all turn away ? ? Ascending from glory ? ? To honor and love
? Greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, I direct your attention to Psalm 145, and we'll
read verse 13 for our text. Psalm 145, verse 13. Thy kingdom
is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endure throughout all generations. We notice at the top of this
psalm, and it's the only psalm that is titled like this, David's
Psalm of Praise. And it is a psalm of full praise
unto the great God of heaven. coming from the heart of the
man who lives so close to his Lord and
his Master. The man after God's own heart.
And he commences, I will extol thee my God, O King. So this
is on the kingdom. He worships Christ as the King. Indeed he worships the Father,
Son and Holy Ghost. This is the last of the seven
alphabetical Psalms and in the Hebrew it is written in alphabetical
order with each verse beginning with a different letter of the
Hebrew alphabet. and it comes from a full heart. We read in holy scripture of
Naphtali and it said of Naphtali, satisfied with favour, full of
the blessing of the Lord. And there are seasons in the
life and experience of the Lord's living family where they are
indeed satisfied with favour. favour in that sense means grace.
Grace, the meaning of the word grace, means the free, unmerited favour of the Eternal
God. That's the meaning of grace.
And so being satisfied with favour is to be satisfied with the grace
of our Lord Jesus Christ, with the love of our Heavenly Father. Indeed we read, do we not, of
the love of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. And each one is indefinitely
spoken of as of love. Indeed we read that God is love. And I've often pointed out to
you how that there needs to be more than one to love. And God
is said to love eternally. Before the earth was made, before
man was created, there was love in God. Because in God there
is more than one. There is God the Father, God
the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. And that love in the Godhead,
as we read in scripture, loveth the son and hath given all things
into his hand and the son loveth the father. There's that perfect
love and perfect love casts out fear. In those three divine persons
that there is a perfect harmony. They are co-equal and co-eternal.
There's no competition between the Father, the Son and the Holy
Ghost. There's no jealousy between the
Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. They are perfect. As for God, his way is perfect. And this is what, and his wonderful
works is what the psalmist is seeking to praise the Lord for. He says
I will bless thy name forever and ever no doubt but with an
apprehension a realization that God is eternal forever and ever. You know when we speak of the
eternal love of God and we read that God so loved the world that's
God the Father. God so loved the world he gave
his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him shall be saved. In that glorious person of his
Son, Jesus Christ, God manifests in the flesh. And the psalmist, he sings this wonderful psalm
unto God, We've often pointed out that the Psalms were written
to be sung. Every day will I bless thee,
and I will praise thy name forever and ever. And in the last verse,
my mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord, and let all flesh
bless his holy name forever and ever. that those lovely words that
are spoken in Jeremiah, I often feel it seems to highlight
the love of the Father because of the way it's worded. Yea,
I have loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore with loving kindness
have I drawn thee. How many here in this chapel
tonight can say that the Lord has drawn you? Drawn you to Christ. Drawn you
to love him. He says, I will draw thee with
the cords of a man. The man is Christ. I will draw
you with the cords of a man. And so that when the Holy Spirit
works faith in the heart, Christ is made attractive. and there
is a desire toward him, I will draw thee with the cords of a
man. Are you drawn to Christ? Do you long to lay hold of Christ? Do you long for a view by faith
of Christ? Do you long to be led into those
wonderful truths of our Lord Jesus Christ and what he has
done? and what he has accomplished
on the behalf, in the room, in the place of his people. Great is the Lord. What he's
done is great. Great is the Lord and greatly
to be praised and his greatness is unsearchable. Who by searching
can find out God? And you know, right to the end
of time, There'll be a generation that shall praise him. It says
in verse four here, one generation shall praise thy works to another
and shall declare thy mighty acts. And you just think of this
mighty acts. I will speak of the glorious
honor of thy majesty and of thy wondrous works. And men shall speak of the might
of thy terrible acts. and I will declare thy greatness. You think of those acts of mercy,
those acts of love, those acts of kindness, those acts of compassion of our great God. His everlasting love in sending
his Son to be made of a woman, made under the law that he might
redeem them, that are under the law, the glorious honour of thy
majesty. David says in that beautiful
psalm, again it's a psalm on the Lord Jesus Christ as King
in Psalm 45, and how beautifully does he speak there of our Lord
Jesus Christ. And it says that his heart is
indicted. Indicted. My heart is indicting
a good matter. I speak of the things which I
have made touch in the King. My tongue is the pen of a ready
writer. Thou art fairer than the children
of men. Speaking now of the glorious
person of the Son of God manifest in the flesh. Thou art fairer
than the children of men. In Solomon's song, Solomon says,
he is the chiefest among 10,000. Fairer than the children of men.
Grace is poured into thy lips. Therefore God hath blessed thee
forever. And then this desire, gird thy
sword. This is David praying unto Christ. Gird thy sword upon thy thigh,
O most mighty. and with thy glory and thy majesty,
and in thy majesty ride prosperously, because of truth and meekness
and righteousness, and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible
things. Thine arrows are sharp in the
heart of the king's enemies, whereby the people fall under
thee. He's speaking now, my beloved friends, of the arrows that Lord
sends. into the heart, into the heart. When he stops us in our mad career,
those arrows of conviction, it was said that Saul of Tarsus,
it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. Thine arrows are sharp in the
heart. of the king's enemies whereby the people fall under
them. And a poor sinner is brought to fall under Christ, to submit to him. And he says
in verse 6 in Psalm 45, Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever. The
scepter of thy kingdom is a right scepter. That means a righteous
scepter. Thou lovest righteousness and
hatest wickedness. Therefore God, thy God, hath
anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. You know, we read again of the
king in Psalm 2. And we read of the heathen rising
up against God. And we look at today and we're
surrounded with anti-Christian things. laws are passed in our
parliament which are anti-christian and people express anti-christian
views constantly and continually and the evil gets greater and
greater it's like running down our streets but my beloved friends he shitteth
king and it says there in psalm too And that he will laugh at
them. Why do the heathen rage and the
people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves
and the rulers against the Lord's anointed. The Lord's anointed
is Christ. They set themselves against the Lord's anointed.
And God shall laugh at them. God shall laugh at them. You see, my beloved friends,
you come up against the thick bosses of the God of heaven. And there's no hiding place.
He sees all things. He knows all things. The Lord
Jesus said, all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
He said that no weapon that is formed against you shall prosper.
And every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou
shalt condemn. This is what this great king
says unto his people. He does. Thy throne, O God, is forever
and ever. The scepter of thy kingdom is
a right scepter. A right scepter. Then it speaks
of the king's daughters in verse nine, which is the church. which
is the bride of Christ, whom he loves with an everlasting
love, who he is determined to save, and not a hoof shall be
left behind, and not a grain of wheat shall fall to the ground.
The Lord's people are secure, why? Because they're in Christ.
Because He is the King eternal, immortal and invisible, the only
true God, and no power can withstand His power. He says, King's daughters are
among thy honourable women. Upon thy right hand did stand
the Queen in gold of Ophir. This is the wonderful glory of
the Church of Christ. Hearken, O daughter, and there
is a word unto the daughters of Zion, who are the bride of
Christ. Hearken, O daughter, and consider,
and incline thine ear, and 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 may that be a word in season
he is thy lord you may be so many different things are hindering
you and as it were holding you back he is thy lord He that will not leave father,
mother, son, daughter, for the kingdom of heaven's sake, is
not fit for that kingdom. We need that grace given to lay
aside every way, and the sin that does so easily beset us,
and to run with patience the race that is set before us, looking
unto Jesus, King Jesus, looking unto Jesus. 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. It's quite striking
in the Hebrews, isn't it, how the apostle, he keeps returning
to that theme, that Jesus is at the right hand of the majesty
on high. he's in the honored position
at the right hand of the father and he's there on the behalf
in the room a place instead of his people a mediator so shall the king greatly desire
thy beauty for he is thy lord and worship thou goes on to speak
of the king's daughter here in verse 13 the king's daughter
is all glorious within why because she's washed in the blood of
christ her clothing is all of raw gold why because she's clothed
in the glorious everlasting robe of the righteousness of christ
she shall be brought unto the king in raiment of needlework. The
virgins, her companions that follow her, shall be brought
unto thee with gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought and they
shall enter into the king's palace. This is the glorious hope of
the gospel of Jesus Christ. They shall enter into the king's
palace. Let not your heart be troubled.
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." What a glorious king, isn't he? And what a glorious
gospel. The other place, of course, where
the kingdom of heaven is spoken of so beautifully is in Psalm
72. And there in Psalm 72, we read
of the King, which is King Jesus. Give the King thy judgments,
O God, and thy righteousness unto the King, Son. And then he says, he shall judge
thy people with righteousness and thy poor with judgments.
Verse four, he shall judge the poor of the people. He shall
save the children of the needy and shall break in pieces the
oppressor. They shall fear thee as long
as the sun and moon endure throughout all generations, in every generation
here upon earth. There is a seed that will worship
Christ and that will follow Christ. They shall come. And then it
says here in verse six in Psalm 72, he shall come down like the
rain upon the mown grass, as showers that water the earth.
He did come down and this in that sense is a prophecy when
Christ came here upon earth when He came to fulfil and honour
God's holy righteous law on the behalf of His people and to bring
in everlasting righteousness for His people, He shall come
down. But He comes down now by His
Spirit into the church. He shall come down. He dwells
in the hearts of the Lord's people. Christ in you, the hope of glory. He shall come down. The Holy
Spirit is called the Spirit of Christ and he dwells in every
believer's heart. That's what makes a believer.
It's the Holy Spirit entering the heart, quickening the soul,
convincing of sin and opening the eyes of the blind and unstopping
the deaf ears to see their lost condition and their hopeless
condition and then opening their eyes to see that Jesus is the
way to God. Jesus is the way to bliss. and
those wonderful words all power is given unto me in heaven and
in earth oh may we never forget those words all power is given
unto me in heaven and in earth he shall come down who will visit
the church he will come down and visit the believers in the
church who will come down and visit the Lord's servants and
grant that fresh anointing of the Spirit, and so that the word
of truth may have free course, that His name may be honoured
and glorified, and that the Lord Jesus might be exalted as a Prince
and as a Saviour, for to give faith and repentance and remission
of sins. He shall come down. He shall. And then finally, who will come
down to the judgment will gather his elect from the
four corners of the earth and the whole earth will be gathered
before him as he sits as king upon the throne of judgment to
judge the world in righteousness. It says here in Psalm 72, in
his days shall the righteous flourish and the abundance of
peace so long as the moon endureth. He shall have dominion also from
sea to sea Jesus shall reign where'er the sun does his successive
journeys run. He shall reign from shore to
shore. He shall reign forever. He shall
have dominion. And it says in verse 11, yea,
all kings shall fall down before him. All nations shall serve
him. And then this wonderful compassion
of Christ for he shall deliver the needy when he crieth. This glorious King who will deliver
the needy when he crieth, the poor also and him that hath no
helper. He shall spare the poor and needy
and shall save the souls of the needy. We read in the prophecy
of Isaiah that when the poor and needy seek water and there
is none, I the Lord will hear them. I will open rivers in high
places and streams in the desert He shall spare the poor and needy
and shall save the souls of the needy. He shall redeem their
soul, this glorious King, this great Redeemer. He shall redeem
their soul from deceit and violence and precious shall their blood
be in his sight. And then it speaks of the wonderful
power of life in Christ and he shall live this Saviour, I am
he that was dead and behold I am alive forevermore and he shall
live and to him shall be given the gold of Sheba. And there
it speaks of the intercession of Christ, prayer also should
be made, it would have been better to say to him, it says here of
course, prayer also should be made for him continually and
daily shall he be praised, that means prayer shall be made to
him, by all His people here upon earth. See this glorious King. And in
verse 17, in Psalm 72, His name, the name of Jesus. How sweet
the name of Jesus sounds in the believer's ear. It soothes his
sorrows, heals his wounds, and drives away his fear. His name
shall endure forever. His name shall be continued as
long as the sun, and men shall be blessed in Him. All nations
shall call Him blessed. Blessed be the Lord God, the
God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things, and blessed
be His glorious name forever, and let the whole earth be filled
with His glory. You know, it's sinners can say,
and none but they, how precious is the saviour, thy kingdom is
an everlasting kingdom and thy dominion endureth throughout
all generations, throughout all generations, the king eternal. You know we read in the prophet
Daniel, Daniel he had some wonderful visions didn't he, and he interpreted
the visions of Nebuchadnezzar when the Lord in those dreams
revealed to Nebuchadnezzar the things that would happen right
to the end of time. And Daniel, the Lord opened to
him some of these things, especially
in Daniel chapter 7. he saw some amazing things. He says in verse 9, I beheld
to the thrones were cast down and the ancient of days did sit
whose garment was white as snow and the hair of his head like
the pure wool, his throne like the fiery flame and his wheels
as burning fire. This is the day of judgment,
a fiery stream issued and came forth from before him Thousands,
thousands ministered unto him and 10,000 times 10,000 stood
before him. The judgment was said and the
books were opened. You see how Daniel had a view
here of the great King, the King of
glory. Verse 13 of Daniel 7, I saw in
the night visions And behold, one like the Son of Man, that's
Christ, came with the clouds of heaven and came to the ancient
of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was
given him dominion and glory and a kingdom that all peoples,
nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an
everlasting dominion. which shall not pass away, and
in kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. It says in verse
18, but the saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom and
possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever. Then it says in verse 27, and
the kingdom and dominion and the greatness of the kingdom
under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the
saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and all dominions shall serve and obey him. It's wonderful things that Daniel
was brought to see, isn't it? Of the glorious King, of righteousness,
of our Lord Jesus Christ, as he reigns victorious over all
his enemies. And we read in the book of the
Revelation that they shall come and surround the church of God,
all the enemies of the Lord in that place that is called Armageddon.
And the Lord will come and he will destroy them all. They are
gathered together against the Lord's people to destroy the
Lord's people. And when they are, it says he
gathered them together. The Lord gathered them together
to that place and to do so was to destroy them. They thought
that they were gathering together to destroy the Lord's people.
Instead it was the Lord that had gathered them together to
destroy them. What difference, we see that
with Mordecai, do we not? How that Haman was gathered together,
he so hated Mordecai, he was gathered together to destroy
him. And then he went further, he
was going to destroy all the Jews in all the provinces of
the king. And when he went into the king,
as we've just recently looked at that night, could not the
king sleep? And Mordecai was then in the eyes of the king
a great man. And Haman was going to ask for
his life, instead he had to take him through the streets of Shushan. Thus shall it be done unto the
man that the king delighteth to honour. You see my beloved
friends, these things are written for our example. That God is God over all. and that all our life he watches
over us. My life's minutest circumstance
is subject to thine eye. As David says, my times are in
thy hand. My times are in thy hand. We
read in Revelation chapter 16 and verse 16, And he gathered them together
into a place called in the Hebrew tongue, Armageddon. He gathered them together. And
the seventh angel, that's the last angel, poured out his vial
into the air. And there came a great voice
out of the temple of heaven from the throne saying, it is done.
And there were voices and thunders and lightning and there was a
great earthquake such as was not since men were upon the earth
so mighty an earthquake and so great and the great city was
divided you see the wonderful power of God it was divided into three parts
and the cities of the nations fell and the and great Babylon
came to remembrance before God to give unto her the cup of the
wine of the fierceness of Israel every island fled away and the
mountains were not found and there fell upon men a great hail
out of heaven every stone about the weight of a talon and men
blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail for the plague
thereof was exceeding great but what what do these things teach
us and what does the book of the revelation teach us that
God is in control As you look around today and we see the powers
of evil and wickedness and unrighteousness prevailing at this time, never
forget God is in control. That's what the teaching was
when we looked at the book of Esther. God is in control of
the minutest circumstances in our lives. if only we could have
clear believing views of this great king and of his great power
thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and thy dominion endureth
throughout all generations this great power we read in the revelation
hallelujah for the lord god omnipotent reigneth he reigns omnipotent
He's God over all and blessed for evermore. Nothing happens
by chance, no. It's all, as it says in Ephesians
chapter one, who worketh all things after the counsel of his
own will. God does. Even the wicked are
in his control. The king's heart is in the hand
of the Lord and as rivers of waters He turneth it whithersoever
he will. God does. Men think that they're
doing their own will and their own purpose, but God is in control. And my beloved friends, oh, that
the Lord would give us faith to see that Jesus is in control,
that Jesus has saved his people with an everlasting salvation, and that they're eternally safe.
nothing comes by chance that the Lord Jesus Christ is God
over all and blessed forevermore. Thy kingdom is an everlasting
kingdom and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations. Nothing
can change that, not even heathen raging and the people imagine
a vain thing. Why is it vain? Because God is
God over all and he worketh all things after the counsel of his
own will. of his own purpose. Oh, my beloved
friends, may the Lord give us a clear view of this glorious
kingdom, the kingdom of God, the kingdom of our Lord Jesus
Christ. You know, in the book of the
Revelation, it goes through various phases,
doesn't it? Sometimes it looks as though
the enemy is prevailing, But then we see always, without fail,
the Lord intervenes. The Lord redeems his people,
saves his people, turns away their enemies and destroys them,
brings to naught their counsels. With heaven and earth at his
command, he waits to answer prayer. Oh, that we may see this, thy
kingdom, is an everlasting kingdom and thy dominion endureth throughout
all generations. The Lord upholdeth all that fall
and raise up of all those that be bowed down, the eyes of all
wait upon thee and thou givest them their meat in due season,
thou openest thine hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing. The Lord is righteous in all
his ways and holy in all his works. And though he is so great
and almighty, the Lord is nigh unto all that call upon him,
and to all that call upon him in truth. May the Lord add his
blessings. Let us now sing together hymn
number 257. The tune is Alstoe 330. Ye humble souls, complain no
more. Let faith survey your future
store. How happy, how divinely blessed
the sacred words of truth attest. Hymn 257, tune Alstoe 330. Oh say can you see by the dawn's
early light What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last
gleaming? ? Ever happy, ever free ? ? O'er
the land of the free and the home of the brave ? May the sun of wealth and pride
despise your lot, your hope, dear one. In vain they pose the little stars, my father,
there's a kingdom yours. Kingdom of immense delight, Where
health and peace and joy unite, where unbeguiling riches grow
and every witch has no supply. A kingdom which can bend its
way, While times with nothing turn away, which path on earth's last day,
a new forever must reclaim. And your eyes with laughter were
glorious, And that I for you have died. to ransom thy good
place, to grounds of joy and sound of praise. The day I brave my death, revealed
God of my interest there. What have I done, O God, in love? This is my sorrow, disaster,
love. 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.