The notices for the coming week
are, God willing, as follows. Pastoral will preach here next
Lord's Day at 10.30 and two o'clock. Also on Thursday evening at seven
o'clock. And there'll be a prayer meeting
here on Tuesday evening at seven o'clock. Let us commence our services
today by singing together hymn number four. The tune is Albano. 847. Keep silence all created things
and wait your maker's nod. My soul stands trembling while
she sings the honors of her God. Hymn number 4, tune Albano, 847. It's the silence of created things,
and major makers love. Exhausted, stranded while she
sits Ignorance on the ground High in earth and heav'n, and
worlds on high, Hang on his hand in prayer. His chains all now
break, ne'er yet strife, ? No more hurting to be ? ? Straight
to eternal life ? ? We do the praise of heaven ? With ev'ry
angel's moment's sight, draw nigh eternal day. His propriets unfold, And faith
is ever satisfied. Each of many birth and every
strife brought with something divine. ? Exalted heavenly host ? ? To
shelters ever round us ? ? And ever following ? ? May Jesus
our Lord be with us ? God gave man as the reason I know the reason
is My God, I would not See my faith in heav'nly sight,
What glimmering lights are before me, Of the Christ who takes flight. ? With thy favor of thine embrace
? ? When in thy time I am waning ? ? Recollection of old days
? Let us read together from the
holy word of God in the book of Esther, part of chapter five and chapter
six and seven. The book of Esther. And we'll commence reading at
verse nine in chapter five, and we'll read to the end of chapter
seven. Then went Haman forth that day,
joyful and with a glad heart. But when Haman saw Mordecai in
the king's gate, that he stood not up nor moved for him, he
was full of indignation against Mordecai. Nevertheless, Haman
refrained himself, and when he came home, he sent and called
for his friends and Zeresh his wife. And Haman told them of
the glory of his riches, and the multitude of his children,
and all things wherein the king had promoted him, and how he
had advanced him above the princes and servants of the king. Haman
said, moreover, yea, Esther the queen did let no man come in
with the king unto the banquet that she had prepared but myself. and tomorrow am I invited unto
her also with the king. Yet all this availeth me nothing,
so long as Mordecai the Jew sitteth in the king's gate. Then said
Zeres his wife, and all his friends unto him, let a gallows be made
of fifty cubits high, and tomorrow speak thou unto the king that
Mordecai may be hanged thereon. Then go thou in merrily with
the king unto the banquet, and the thing please Haman. And he
caused the gallows to be made. On that night could not the king
sleep, and he commanded to bring the book of the records of the
chronicles, and they were read before the king. And it was found
written that Mordecai had told of Bigthana and Tiresh, two of
the king's chamberlains, the keepers of the door, who sought
to lay hand on the king Ahasuerus. And the king said, what honour
and dignity hath been done to Mordecai for this? Then said
the king's servants that ministered unto him, there is nothing done
for him. And the king said, who is in
the court? Now Haman come into the outward
court of the king's house to speak unto the king to hang Mordecai
on the gallows that he had prepared for him. And the king's servant
said unto him, behold, Haman standeth in the court. And the
king said, let him come in. So Haman came in. And the king
said unto him, what should be done unto the man whom the king
delighted to honour? Now Haman thought in his heart,
to whom would the king delight to do honour more than to myself? And Haman answered the king,
for the man whom the king delighted to honour, that the royal apparel
be brought, which the king useth to wear, and the horse that the
king rideth upon, and the crown royal, which is set upon his
head. And let his apparel and horse
be delivered to the hand of one of the king's most noble princes,
that they may array the man with all whom the king delighted to
honour, and bring him on horseback through the streets of the city,
and proclaim before him, thus shall it be done, to the man
whom the king delighted to honour. Then the king said to Haman,
make haste and take the apparel and the horse, as thou hast said,
and do even so to Mordecai the Jew, which sitteth at the king's
gate. Let nothing fail of all that
thou hast spoken. Then took Haman the apparel and
the horse, and arrayed Mordecai, and brought him on horseback
through the street of the city, and proclaim before him thus
shall it be done unto the man whom the king delighted to honour.
And Mordicao came again to the king's gate, and Haman hasted
to his house mourning and having his head covered. And Haman told
Zeres his wife and all his friends everything that had befallen
him. Then said his wise men, and Zeres, Zeresh his wife unto
him, if Mordecai be of the seed of the Jews before whom thou
hast begun to fall, thou shalt not prevail against him, but
shalt surely fall before him. While they were yet talking with
him came the king's chamberlains and hasted to bring Haman unto
the banquet that Esther had prepared. So the King and Haman came to
the banquet with Esther the Queen, and the King said again unto
Esther on the second day at the banquet of wine, what is thy
petition, Queen Esther? And it shall be granted thee.
And what is thy request? And it shall be performed even
to the half of the kingdom. Then Esther the Queen answered,
and said, if I have found favour in thy sight, O King, and if
it please the King, let my life be given me at my petition and
my people at my request. For we are sold, I and my people,
to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we have
been sold for bondmen and bondwomen, I had held my tongue, although
the enemy could not countervail the king's damage. Then King
Ahasuerus answered and said unto Esther the queen, who is he,
and where is he that doth presume in his heart to do so? And Esther
said, the adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman. Then Haman
was afraid before the king and the queen. And the king, arising
from the banquet of wine and his wrath, went into the palace
garden. And Haman stood up to make requests
for his life to Esther the queen, for he saw that there was evil
determined against him by the king. Then the king returned
into the palace garden out of the palace garden into the place
of the banquet of wine, and Haman was fallen upon the bed where
Bonesta was. Then said the king, will he force
the queen also before me in the house? As the word went out of
the king's mouth, they covered Haman's face, and Harbona, one
of the Chamberlains, said before the king, behold also the gallows
50 cubits high, which Haman had made for Mordecai, who had spoken
good for the king, standeth in the house of Haman. Then the
king said, hang him thereon. So they hanged Haman on the gallows
that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then was the king's wrath pacified. May the Lord bless the reading
of his own precious word grant unto us a spirit of real prayer. Almighty, most merciful and eternal
God of heaven, we come before Thee as poor sinners, needy sinners. We need Thy mercy and Lord, we
need it continually. We need Thy grace We need thy
grace poured into our hearts. We need thy Spirit in his heavenly
power and his divine unction to seal the word of truth into
our hearts, that we might know the truth and the truth may set
us free. So we pray, most blessed Spirit
of truth, convince us of our sin and lead to Jesus' blood. For Lord, we have this treasured
earthen vessel and those earthen vessels leak, and we constantly
need that supply of grace continually to come before thee, even the
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. We pray that today we may touch
the hem of his garment, that we may draw from that wonderful
fullness that is in him, for he is full of grace and truth.
Oh, we do pray, most gracious Lord, that that grace that never-ending
supply of grace may be poured into our hearts, that we may
be guided by thy word, that thy word may be a lamp unto our feet
and a light unto our path, that we may be delivered from the
wicked inclinations of our own sinful nature. We find, O Lord,
we have to say with the dear apostle, O wretched man that
I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death. but we
come to thee in the name of Jesus. We know that that is in my flesh,
there dwelleth no good thing. And Lord, it's painfully true
and we painfully feel it. And we pray to be delivered from
sin and the dominion of sin and the power of sin and the allurements
of this world and the temptations of Satan, whether he comes as
an angel of light to deceive us or whether he comes as a roaring
lion to devour us, we pray to be delivered from the power of
Satan. Deliver us from temptation, for
thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory. We do pray, most
gracious God, that thou would remember us as a church, as a
congregation, and work mightily among us. Remember our dear brother
as he helps the friends that staple us today. and grant thy
restoring mercies to thy servant there. We do humbly pray thee,
and graciously remember all thy servants as they labour in word
and doctrine upon the walls of Zion today. Set them free and
at liberty. Remember, Lord, our deacons and
give them wisdom and grace and help day by day in all their
responsibilities. Remember our brethren and sisters
in church fellowship, and richly bless them. Remember, Lord, we
pray thee, the children, the little ones, as they're brought
into the sanctuary, and put thy holy fear in their hearts, and
an unctuous light to all that's right, and a bar to all that's
wrong, and preserve and keep them from all evil. And O Lord,
we pray that thou would remember the young friends and bless them
indeed. Bless them with those rich blessings
in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Bless them with light
and understanding in thy word. Bless them with faith in Jesus
Christ, that they may become true followers of thee and of
those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Remember
the prodigals, O Lord, that have wandered away. Stretch out thy
almighty arm. Cause them to be in want. Cause
them to return. O Lord, we do beseech thee. Thou
art able to do abundantly more than we can even ask or think.
We pray that thou wouldst prepare our hearts to receive them. And
we pray that the glory and light of the gospel may shine into
this village. and the surrounding villages
and hamlets, and many, many, many precious souls may yet be
gathered in. Fulfill those wonderful gospel
promises. I will bring thy sons from far
and thy daughters from the ends of the earth. They shall come
from the north and from the south and from the east and from the
west. O Lord of hosts, O God of Israel, O Thou that dwellest
between the cherubim's shrinefall, we humbly beseech Thee. 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.
O Lord, we do pray that thou in thy precious mercy would remember
parents, give wisdom and grace to bring up their children in
the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Bless the families
as they gather for family worship. Grant a spiritual atmosphere
in the home we do humbly beseech thee. And O Lord God, we do pray
that thou, in thy great mercy, wouldst remember all in the midst
of the journey of life, and have mercy upon them, and richly bless
them for thy great name's sake. We read in thy word, and they
shall come, O that we might see Zion's offspring come, that we
might see the work of thy spirit among us. And O Lord, we do pray
that thou would remember all in affliction, and trouble, and
trial, and perplexity, in weakness. Lord, remember those of us that
are in the evening time of life's journey, and remember us with
the favour that thou bearest unto thy people, and visit us
with thy great salvation. that we may be prepared for that
great change which must come. Prepare me, gracious God, to
stand before thy face. Thy Spirit must the work perform,
for it is all of grace. Lord, we do pray that thou and
thy great mercy would graciously hear us, and that thou wouldst
return to Jerusalem with mercies, and that thou wouldst grant that
personal revival of real religion in our souls, and that we might
be given a closer walk with thee, a calmer heavenly frame, a light
to shine upon the road that leads me to the Lamb. May the Lord
Jesus be exalted among us. We do humbly beseech thee. Lord,
we pray that thou wouldst remember the little hills of Zion up and
down the nation, and remember all thy servants as they labour
in word and doctrine, and graciously grant that they may dip their
foot in oil and be made acceptable unto the brethren. Remember all
those that walk the path of bereavement and sorrow. At this time we do
humbly beseech thee. And O Lord, we do pray that thou
wouldst remember all that have rule over us, Give wisdom, give
guidance, give direction. We thank Thee for the things
we've sung together in our opening hymn, that Thou art God over
all and blessed for evermore. And there is nothing too hard
for Thee. And O Lord, we do pray that Thou
would remember our King and the royal household and bless them
with that rich grace that is in Christ Jesus. Remember, Lord,
we pray thee, those that labor in word and doctrine as they travel through the various
nations of the earth. We think of thy servant in the
Mombasa mission, and we pray that thou would graciously grant
him that fresh anointing of the Spirit and signs to follow the
preaching of the word, help him in all his labors. And Lord,
remember, Ian Sadler as he travels to so many different countries
and the orphanages that he runs and the exposition and distribution
of thy holy word in the nations of the earth, gird him with all
sufficient grace, supply his every returning need. Remember
that great work being done in Ghana by the Savannah Education
Trust and we pray that may redound to the great glory of thy name
in those Christian schools. Lord, do hear us, we pray thee,
and remember each one of us. Fill our hearts with gratitude,
with thanksgiving for all thy tender mercies. Thy mercies to
each one of us are new every morning and great is thy faithfulness. We thank thee for the love and
grace of our heavenly Father, We thank thee for the power of
the love of our Lord Jesus Christ, and we thank thee for the wonderful
grace of the Holy Ghost. Oh, that we could feel his power
in our hearts even today. We thank thee for the incarnation
of the Son of God, and the holy life he lived, and the holy law
he fulfilled on the behalf of his people, bringing in everlasting
righteousness. Lord, we thank thee that he died
for our sins and rose again for our justification and is now
bodily ascended into heaven, and as he is seen when I approach
to God. Lord, what a wonderful glory
that we have a great high priest who is passed into the heavens.
Jesus, the Son of God, help us to worship him today. Help us to worship thee. Breathe
into our hearts the spirit of adoption, that we may have that
sacred assurance of the love of our Heavenly Father. We do
humbly beseech thee. Come and touch one's lips with
a live coal from off the heavenly altar, as we ask for Jesus Christ's
sake. Amen. that has now sing together hymn
number 320. The tune is Linton, 175. God moves in a mysterious way,
his wonders to perform. He plants his footsteps in the
sea and rides upon the storm. Hymn 320, tune Linton, ? To sing of his fearless name
? ? In silence to the throne ? ? He was little, yet he was
great ? ? And I cannot ask for more ? In excelsis Deo. Give them, O Spirit, their joyous
day, and their disquieted day. ? Hail, hail, hail, hail, hail,
hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail,
hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail,
hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail,
hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail,
hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail,
hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail,
hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail,
hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail,
hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail,
hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail,
hail, hail, hail, hail ? And trust in all his grace ? ? Before
you burn in holy fire ? ? Behind his holy face ? E'en shadows cast their golden
cast, Unholy, unholy, As they will be when I die. I cannot bear to leave this chosen
land, ? Christ shall be born in Bethlehem ? ? Christ is born
in Bethlehem ? ? Christ is born in Bethlehem ? Greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, I direct your attention to the book of Esther,
chapter six, and the first clause of the first verse. Esther, chapter six, verse one,
reading the first clause. On that night could not the king
sleep. On that night could not the king
sleep. The book of Esther is absolutely
unique in Holy Scripture that the name of God is not once mentioned
in it. The name Lord, the name God is
not once mentioned in it, which makes it absolutely unique. But
as the Puritans used to say, you see the finger of God in
every chapter. The name of God is not mentioned,
but we see the wonderful workings of God. If ever there's a commentary
on the book of Esther, it's in the hymn that we've just sung
together. God moves in a mysterious way. His wonders to perform. He plants his footsteps in the
sea. and rides upon the storm. Deep
in unfathomable minds of never failing skill, he treasures up
his bright designs and works his sovereign will. And we see
that here so clearly and beautifully in the book of Esther. The wonderful
hand of God in Providence. In the first chapter of the prophet
Ezekiel. We read there of a wheel within a wheel. Some very deeply mysterious things
in the prophet Ezekiel. And we read in the chapter one
of Ezekiel in verse 15 Now, as I beheld the living creatures,
behold one wheel upon the earth by the living creatures with
these four faces. The appearance of the wheels
and their work was like unto the color of a barrel. And they four had one likeness
and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel within
a wheel. A will within a will. I shall never forget, not long
after I was sent into the ministry, I was preaching at Hanover Chapel,
Tunbridge Wells. And the Lord gave that to me
for a text. And I didn't understand it. I
sat for several hours on the Saturday reading and praying,
trying to meditate. And I remember saying to the
Lord, Lord, I don't understand this word. and you know friends
as I sat reading quietly it was it it wasn't visionary it was
in my mind's eye I saw these two wheels it's one greater outer wheel
and there was one inner wheel right and right at right angles
to the other and the little wheel was within the greater wheel
and as I sat and meditating, it was as if I saw those wheels
and written right across it, all things work together for
good, to them that love God, to them that are called according
to his purposes. And I saw in that greater outer
wheel, the sacred eternal covenant, ordered in all things and The
salvation of the Lord's people in that eternal covenant. A people
that were chosen by the Father, redeemed by the Son, and sanctified
by the Holy Ghost. It was all within that eternal
covenant. And then the inner wheel, the
smaller wheel, inside the other wheel, was the wheel of providence. God fulfills the purposes of
his covenant grace in providence. We've just sung together, his
providence unfolds a book and makes his counsel shine. His
providence. God is God over all and blessed
forevermore. Now, of course, the prophet Ezekiel
wrote at the time of the Babylonian captivity, And the book of Esther,
of course, is at the same time in the Babylonian captivity. And we see what wonderful things
the Lord did in that Babylonish captivity. The children of Israel,
because of their sin, because of their idolatry, because of
their stiff-necked rebellion against God, the Lord raised
up Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, to overrun the children
of Israel and the city of Jerusalem. And he destroyed the city of
Jerusalem with fire. And tens of thousands of the
children of Israel were taken into captivity. Tens of thousands
of them were killed at the same time. The terrible judgments
of God. And the Lord raised up Jeremiah
the prophet to prophesy at that time unto the children of Israel,
unto the kings of Israel, that unless they altered their ways,
that they were going to go into captivity and that the king of
Babylon would overrun Israel and Jerusalem, but they would
not hearken unto the voice of Jeremiah the prophet. And so
the Lord brought his solemn judgments down upon his chosen people,
the children of Israel, and he took them into the land of Babylon
as slaves. But then just look at what happens.
It's always struck me, if you come to the end of the Lamentations
of Jeremiah, that the dear man of God, he saw the destruction
of Jerusalem, He saw the children of Israel taken into captivity. He saw thousands of them slaughtered
by the Babylonian army. And it overwhelmed him. Even
though he prophesied it, it overwhelmed him. And that is where the lamentations
of Jeremiah come from. But then you look at the last
verse of the lamentations of Jeremiah and Jeremiah was in
such a dark place. He says this, but thou hast utterly
rejected us. And then we come straight from
the lamentations of Jeremiah into the prophet Ezekiel. And
there in the first chapter of Ezekiel, we read, and the word
of the Lord came unto Ezekiel the son of Busai by the river
Chiba in the land of Babylon. In other words, The Lord had
not utterly rejected his people. He was still with them. He still
raised up his servants, even in Babylon. But when you study
that, and it's a very profitable study, the period of the Babylonian
captivity, the wonderful things that the
Lord did, that was another reason we had our opening hymn today.
treads the monarch down and he sets another up. And we see that
right through so clearly in the Babylonian captivity, how the
Lord puts down one and he sets up another. He is God over all. He is blessed forevermore. He
worketh all things after the counsel of his own will. We have, of course, Esther the
queen raised up to become the queen. We have Daniel, a very
great man during the Babylonian captivity. And you
know he was raised up to be the right hand of the kings of Babylon. He went from one king to another.
The Lord gave him such wisdom and such understanding and he
was highly respected by monarch after monarch after monarch,
right the way through the 70 years of captivity, Daniel was
there in leading positions. And we see how the Lord gave
him and his three friends, the Babylonian names of Shadrach,
Meshach and Abednego, the Lord gave them wisdom far
above all others. When they were set apart to men
of wisdom, it was found that, if you want to put it that way,
I think they had either two or three years. It's like going
to university and learning. And when they tested them at
the end of those two or three years, it was found that the
intelligence and wisdom of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego
was 10 times more than all the others that had been educated
at that time. You see the Lord was with his
people still and the Lord was controlling things and the Lord
had ordained that Daniel would be standing in places of authority
right the way through the Babylonian captivity. a man of outstanding
grace, a man of outstanding godliness. Daniel was cast into the lion's
den. But the Lord shut the mouths
of the lions. It was the jealousy of the other
soothsayers and the men of wisdom in Babylon that they didn't like
Daniel. They were jealous of him. And
so they engineered something to do with his God. And the wonderful
thing is, he said, we will not find anything against this man
except something to do with his God. He was a man of exemplary
character. And so they brought about that
everyone must bow down only to the King of Babylon. Daniel couldn't do that. And as it was his custom, three
times a day he prayed unto the God of heaven. And he opened
his windows towards Jerusalem and he prayed unto the God of
heaven, three times a day. And regardless of what they said,
he still did it three times a day. And so the decree of the Medes
and Persians was, it says, it altereth not And the king couldn't
prevail against those wise men. And Daniel was put in the lion's
den. The king, that night, couldn't
sleep. He went early in the morning
and he cried out, Daniel, thou servant of the living God, is
thy God able to deliver thee? And he received the answer from
Daniel. Oh King, live forever. My God,
I sent an angel to shut the mouths of the lions. See the wonderful
power of God and the wonderful grace of God. I can never quote
it properly, but there's a little verse, isn't there? You see it
in some people's houses. Omnipotence hath servants everywhere. He never is before his time and
he never is too late. God rules. My life's minutest
circumstance is subject to thine eye. Look at Shadrach, Meshach
and Abednego, they were the, again, leading men in Babylon
under Daniel. And the king again made a decree. That image that he'd seen in
his dream, and Daniel interpreted it, king actually made a golden
image similar to what he'd seen in the dream and he said that
everyone must bow down and worship his golden image and Shadrach,
Meshach and Abednego could not do that. When the king asked
them about it, oh king we are not careful to answer in this
matter You see, very clear in the holy
law of God, isn't it? They shall not bow down to any
images. They couldn't do it. And they
were cast into that furnace of fire. Nebuchadnezzar was so angry
with them, he heated it seven times hotter, so that the men
that put them in there, died. then he looks into the burning
fiery furnace and he's astonished. Did we not cast three men in
the fire? I wonder what the Lord revealed
to Nebuchadnezzar there. Did we not cast three men in
the fire? There are four and the fourth
is like unto the Son of God. He saw those three men and he
saw the Son of God in that furnace and he called them to come forth
out of the furnace. They'd been bound hand and foot
and the only thing that was burnt was the bands that held their
arms and legs together. There wasn't even the smell of
burning upon them. You see, my beloved friends,
our God is God over all and blessed forevermore. He is. And he's
able to deliver. Nebuchadnezzar at that time said
there's no God able to deliver after this thought. Again in the time of the captivity
we have Nebuchadnezzar himself was greatly humbled. Daniel records
it in his own, the book of Daniel, how that his hair was grown He
lost his reason, he was driven from among men, he was like a
beast in the field, his fingers and his toenails grew like claws, until he was humbled. Daniel
had warned him. He said, this great kingdom,
no other kingdom has ever been like it, and it's my kingdom,
look what I have built. And Daniel warned him that he
should humble himself, before the God of heaven but he didn't and you know friends
the Lord brought down his hand upon him and driven from among
men and we read in Daniel chapter 4 the same hour verse 33 the
same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar He was driven
from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with
the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagle's feathers,
and his nails like bird's claws. And at the end of the days, I,
Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and my understanding
returned unto me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised
and honored him that liveth forever, whose dominion is an everlasting
dominion and his kingdom is from generation to generation and
all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing and he
doeth according to his will in the army of heaven and among
the inhabitants of the earth and none can stay his hand or
say unto him what doest thou at the same time my reason returned
unto me and for the glory of my kingdom, mine honour and brightness
returned unto me, and my counsellors and my lords sought unto me,
and I was established in my kingdom, and most excellent, and excellent
majesty was added unto me. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise
and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are
truth, and his ways judgment, and those that walk in pride,
he is able to abase. I've heard some people very openly
say that Nebuchadnezzar was not a good man. That is the last
we read of Nebuchadnezzar. A man that was humbled under
the mighty hand of God. I wouldn't dare say that he wasn't
made a good man by God. No. But we see in him the wonderful
working of God. We see those Ezekiel's wheels
in the Babylonian captivity. We see that the eternal covenant,
ordered in all things and sure, sealed with the blood of Jesus
Christ. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's
son, cleanseth us from all sin. And that, you know, in Hebrews
chapter 13, the blood of Christ is called the blood of the everlasting
covenant. It's the blood of the everlasting
covenant. And everyone chosen in that covenant
is redeemed in and through the precious blood and righteousness
of Jesus, the son of God. They are brought to living faith
in him. They are brought to become followers
of him and of those who through faith and patience inherit the
promises. And the Lord watches over them. everything the most minute circle
and this is why I felt led to take this text on that night
could not the king sleep something what you might say totally insignificant
it's got no meaning whatsoever and yet it's so full of meaning
everything that happened here hangs on this one little thing
on that night could not the king sleep something what would normally
would be so insignificant and yet as we read the narrative
we see just how significant it was. The Lord didn't let him
sleep and he commanded to bring the book of the records of the
chronicles and they were read before the king and it was found
written that Mordecai had told of the Big Thar and Tiresh two
of the king's chamberlains, the keepers of the law, who sought
to lay hand on the king Ahasuerus. And the king said, what honor
and dignity hath been done to Mordecai for this? Then said
the king's servants that ministered unto him, there is nothing done
for him. And right at the time when Haman
was coming into the king, to request that he should hang Mordecai
the Jew upon the gallows that he'd already built for him, right
at that time. Instead, the king calls him in,
and Haman, in his pride, he thought, surely there's no
man more than me that the king would delight to honour. So he
asked for this great honour of having the king's apparel and
riding on the king's horse thus shall it be done and the king's
crown on his head thus shall it be done unto the man whom
the king delighted to honour. Then the king said to Haman make
haste and take the apparel and the horse, as thou hast said,
and do even so to Mordecai the Jew, that sitteth at the king's
gate, let nothing fail of all that thou hast spoken. You see,
just these minute circumstances. Omnipotence. God controls all
things. In Ephesians chapter 1 he worketh
all things after the counsel of his own will, all things. We have a tendency to look at
secondary things and we say why this, why that, or it's because
of this, or it's because of that, or it's because of something
else. My beloved friends, it's the hand of God It's the finger
of God. And that pathway that you may
walk at this time is the hand of God. It's the finger of God. His purposes were ripe and fast,
unfolding every hour. His divine purposes, His purposes
of grace. You may have a loved one that
is running in the ways of sin and unrighteousness. And you
may have a promise that has been given you, treasured up in your
heart, concerning that loved one. But everything seems to go opposite
to it. And it causes you great consternation. My beloved friends, if the Lord
has given you a promise, he is a promise giving, and a promise
performing God. All the promises of God are yay
and amen in Christ Jesus. They are divinely certain. What
God has promised, He will do. He will do. He will perform it. My mind, it just goes to that
In fact, I think we sang it last week, hymn 329, and on the promises
of God. How firm a foundation, ye saints
of the Lord, is laid for your faith in his excellent word.
What more can he say than to you he has said, you who unto
Jesus a refuge have fled. In every condition, in sickness,
in health, in poverty's vale, or bounding in wealth, at home
or abroad, on the land, on the sea, as thy days may demand,
shall thy strength ever be. Fear not, I am with thee. Oh, be not dismayed, you may
be in that place today. Dismayed, great fear, Fear not,
I am with thee, O be not dismayed, I, I am thy God, and will still
give thee aid. I'll strengthen thee, help thee,
and cause thee to stand, upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand. You see here in this narrative
of Esther, the reason that she was chosen, She was a very beautiful woman.
And that was the reason that she was chosen by the king's
servants. And when she was brought to the
king, he loved her. He loved her. Now this was all
divinely ordained. This was all divinely purposed
by the God of heaven. He was overcome with her beauty.
I always feel that one of the most beautiful parts of the book
of Esther is when she came in before the king. There was a
decree that if anybody came in before the king, having not been
called, that if the king didn't hold out the golden scepter to
them, then they were killed. That was the decree, the purpose. when Mordecai said to Esther
that she must go in unto the king and she said to Mordecai
you know what the decree is that anyone comes in before the king
but you know she said I will go if I perish I perish. What a beautiful illustration
of a poor sinner coming to the King of kings and the Lord of
lords, our Lord Jesus Christ. If I perish, I perish. I can do no other. I must go. I can only go to him. You see,
what a beautiful, it's in the 16th verse in chapter four. Go
gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan and
fast ye for me. neither eat nor drink three days
night or day. I also and my maidens will fast
likewise and so will I go in unto the king which is not according
to the law and if I perish I perish. And then we find that she went
in under the king here in chapter five and the king held out the
golden scepter unto her. He loves her And he loved her
beauty. So when she came into him, his
heart was melted. This is the Queen Esther, the
woman that he loved. And therefore, he held out the
golden scepter. You know, when a poor sinner
comes to Jesus Christ, he holds the golden scepter of his mercy
out to that poor sinner. They come, if I perish, I perish. But he holds out, yea, I have
loved thee. with an everlasting love, therefore
with loving kindness have I drawn thee. Drawn to Christ. You see
a beauty in Christ. You see everything you stand
in need of in Christ. And the language of your soul
is give me Christ or else I die. Or else I die. in verse 2 chapter 5 and it was
so when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court that
she obtained favour in his sight and the king held out to Esther
the golden scepter that was in his hand so Esther drew near
and touched the top of the scepter and the king said unto her what
is what wilt thou queen Esther What is her request? It shall
be given thee to half of the kingdom. You see, she found grace
in the eyes of the King. And yet we think of King Jesus,
who sits on no precarious throne, nor borrows leave to bid. She
found grace in the eyes of the King. Come then, repenting sinner,
come and trust upon his grace. Oh, what thou wilt, thou told
your son, is cancelled by his death. There's mercy with Jesus Christ. There's everlasting love with
Jesus Christ. On that night could not the King
sleep. Oh, my beloved friends, these little things these links
in the chain of providence. They don't happen by chance.
We deny chance and luck. It's divinely ordered. It's divinely
purposed. It's divinely ordained. And we
see that from Genesis to Revelation. in the word of God, how the little
things that happened in the life of the Lord's family, how the
Lord watched over them and in all little minute circumstances. My mind, it just goes to Elijah
when he came to Ahab and he prophesied against Ahab when there was a
great drought and he said there would be neither reigned in three
years and then the Lord directed him to go by the Brook Cherith and he was there for a long period
alone. That must have seemed to the
Lord's servant alone in that place and every morning
ravens came with meat Continually, the Lord supplied
his need, he drank of the brook. And then we read, and the brook
dried up. And the word of the Lord came unto Elijah there,
by the brook churth, go to Zarephath. There I have commanded a widow
woman to sustain thee. Go to Zarephath. And when he
got there, it was a woman and her son, absolutely completely
destitute and yet the Lord has sent him there what a trial of her faith and
I must say she must have had faith even Christ speaks of the woman
of Zarephath and what a trial in this sense
the Lord's servant said to her She said, I have a little handful
of meal in a barrel and a little oil in a cruz. And I'm going to make a cake
that I and my son may die. They were destitute. And he said
to her, go and make me a cake first. What a trial, wasn't it? Go and make me a cake first.
And then he speaks that wonderful promise. The barrel of meal shall
not waste, and the crews of oil shall not fail until the Lord
send rain upon the earth. Go and make me a cake first.
And she went and did so. And that barrel of meal never
wasted. We do not read that the Lord
filled up the barrel of meal. We do not read that he filled
up the crews of oil. But every day that she went,
there was a handful of meal. And there was a little oil in
a cruise. It was there and all the time
that famine lasted. Or that it might be a wording
season. Those of you that may be struggling.
The barrel of meal shall not waste. The cruise of oil shall
not fail. On that night could not the king
sleep. Or that you may watch the hand
of providence. Watch the Lord's hand. Watch
what He does. You know, I look back into my
early days and when we used to come into a trial, perhaps a
providential trial, and you know friends, as soon as we came into
it, I strove as hard as I could to do this, to do that, to get
out of that trial. You know we need that grace to
humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God. We do. And that is what Mordecai had
to do. Esther's uncle, he brought her up as his own daughter. He had to watch the Lord's hand.
And he had great enemies, didn't he? That were going to destroy
him and destroy the Jews. And it was all in hand, the gallows
had been built. It was all going to come to pass.
It looked absolutely inevitable. But don't forget the Lord. His
timing is perfect. It is. His timing is perfect. So on that night, and Haman with
all his preparations ready, on that night, could not the king
sleep? No. So he called for the books
of the Chronicles to be brought to read before him and then Mordecai,
it was found written that Mordecai had told of Bigthana and Tiresh
right when it was needed, right when it was needed. Of course, I don't know your
own personal pathways. So I don't know what you may
be passing through at this time. But I do know this, I know from
my own personal experience that the Lord's timing is absolutely
perfect. His wisdom is perfect. And you
know that the reason and the purpose of being brought into
these places for the Lord's people that we might be humbled. Humble
yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God and he will
exhort you in due season. Humble yourselves therefore to
be humble, to be submissive, to have that spirit of contrition. It's what we see built so beautifully
in our Lord Jesus Christ, isn't it? Though he was king of kings
and lord of lords though he was the mighty god the everlasting
father the prince of peace yet he humbled himself and became
obedient unto death even the death of the cross and you know
we're exhorted to follow christ humble he humbled himself he
said being found in fashion as a man he humbled himself he humbled
himself as the eternal son of God, to take into union with
this divine nature, a holy human nature. He that is God over all
and blessed of evermore, that sitteth eternal in the heavens,
and yet he became a man. And he became a man to redeem
his people. He became a man to save his people
from their sins. He became a man that he might
live in the room, in the place, in the stead of his people. Christ
did, the Son of God did. He humbled himself as God to
become a man. And then we read that in being
found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself even as a man.
He didn't come to the palaces of Roman Emperors or of Herod? No. He was born of Mary and Joseph
in poor circumstances, laid in a manger, that's where
the oxen feed. No little crib for him, he was
laid in a manger. He humbled himself, he did. being found in fashion as a man.
As the Apostle puts it in Galatians, made of a woman, made under the
law that he might redeem them that are under the law. Son of
God. We see him as he submits himself
when he was betrayed. When Peter took the sword and
smote off the ear of Malchus, the high priest's servant, put thy sword up in its sheath,
the cup that my father hath given me, shall I not drink it? He humbled himself. He allowed himself to be taken
by those wicked men. He permitted it to happen. He
said, didn't he, when he was speaking to Peter, could I not
have called on 12 legions of angels? I could have destroyed all these
men. But this is the Lord's will. This is the Lord's purpose. I
must suffer, bleed and die on the behalf of my people. You see, All this was divinely
ordered and divinely decreed before the foundation of the
world, that the holy person of Jesus, the son of God, would
offer that glorious holy sacrifice on Calvary. He would shed every
drop of his precious blood. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's
son, cleanseth us from all sin. And that everlasting robe of
his righteousness, his holy life, His perfect obedience becomes
the obedience of the church, the righteousness of the church.
We've got no righteousness of our own. That's something that
the Lord teaches his children. The apostle bears that out, doesn't
he? Oh, wretched man that I am. Who shall deliver me from the
body of this death? He said, I thank God through
Jesus Christ. That's the way a door of hope
is open wide. in Jesus' bleeding hands and
side. It is. It was all divinely ordered and
purpose that he gave his life. He said, no man taketh my life
from me. You know, some speak in a way
that the Roman soldiers and the Jews, they took the life of Christ.
No man taketh my life from me. I have power to lay my life down. I have power to take it again.
This commandment have I received of my father. And he humbled
himself and he fulfilled those commandments of his holy father
to redeem his church, his people who he loved with an everlasting
love. Oh, my beloved friends, these
things are the very center sum and substance of the gospel. What Jesus has done, what he
has fulfilled, On that night could not the King sleep. May the Lord add his blessing. Let us now sing together hymn
number 64 The tune is Melchizedek 483. Sovereign ruler of the skies,
ever gracious, ever wise, all my times are in thy hand, all
events at thy command. Hymn number 64, tune Melchizedek
483. O'er the land of the free and
the home of the brave O holy bench, set thy cup above,
? Holy infant ? ? How I love you ? ? Sleep in heavenly peace
? Which my passion set afire. Heaven's
native place and time, All avoided, where am I here? All avoided, where am I here? He shall guide me to the truth. Oh, thy time shall never be older
by this wise degree. God and I, his might be praised. Times of sickness, times of health,
times of pain, Time of trial and of grief. And in times of triumph ever Times of tempters have to grow,
Times to taste the saviour's love, O God's command, last and
best, Best shall wait thy heavenly friend. ? Thou shalt wait on heav'nly earth
? ? Wait on heav'nly earth ? Till in bits I have not died,
Not a single shock and pain, Till the God of love sees him,
Till the God of 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. Amen.