Let us commence our service by
singing together hymn number 487. The tune is Dada Mata 77. Christians dismiss your fear.
Let hope and joy succeed. The great good news with gladness
here. The Lord is risen indeed. The
shades of death withdraw. His eyes their beams display.
so wakes the sun when rosy dawn unbars the gates of day. Hymn
487, tune Dadamata 77. The great confused with boundless
fear, Her love is risen indeed. The shades of death withdraw,
His eyes have been dismayed, ? Thy way, mercy, Lord ? ? Of thousand
ages of day ? ? And from each gift of heaven
? ? Salvation's work is done ? ? Justice with mercy reconciled
? ? The world has praised his song ? Take this the dark of night,
And from the dark shall break the light. ? Thou and Son of God ? ? Earth,
life, love, heart, and spirit ? ? Angel with saints above ? The
rising angel sings. ? And all the praise from Satan
bowed ? ? Without our tone and bill ? ? If there came to be
no rule ? Your hearts and voices raise
Let earth rejoice with heav'n's power And heav'nly hosts sing
praise My soulless Saviour, Lord, Who
all my sorrows drowned, Who died for sin and lives to come, ? The place to guide them all ?
? His death procured thy peace
? ? His resurrection's light ? ? Believe and believe
them ? Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God in Psalms 15, 16 and 17. the Book of Psalms, numbers 15,
16 and 17. Lord, who shall abide in thy
tabernacle? Who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly and
worketh righteousness and speaketh the truth in his heart. He that
backbites is not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour,
nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour, in whose eyes
a vile person is contemned, but he honoureth them that fear the
Lord. He that swears to his own hurt, and changeth not, he that
putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against
the innocent. He that doeth these things shall
never be moved. Preserve me, O God, for in thee
do I put my trust. O my soul, thou hast said unto
the Lord, Thou art my Lord. My goodness extendeth not to
thee, but to the saints that are in the earth. and to the
excellent in whom is all my delight. Their sorrows shall be multiplied
that hasten after another God. Their drink-offerings of blood
will I not offer, nor take up their names in my lips. The Lord
is the portion of mine inheritance, and of my cup thou maintainest
my lot. The lines are fallen unto me
in pleasant places. Yea, I have a goodly heritage. I will bless the Lord who hath
given me counsel. My reigns also instruct me in
the night season. I have set the Lord always before
me. Because he is at my right hand,
I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad. and
my glory rejoiced, my flesh also shall rest in hope, for thou
wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine
Holy One to see corruption, thou wilt show me the path of life.
In thy presence is fullness of joy, at thy right hand there
are pleasures for evermore. Hear the right, O Lord, attend
unto my cry, give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of
faint lips. Let my sentence come forth from
thy presence. Let thine eyes behold the things
that are equal. Thou hast proved mine heart.
Thou hast visited me in the night. Thou hast tried me and shalt
find nothing. I am purpose that my mouth shall
not transgress. Concerning the works of men,
by the words of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the
destroyer. Hold up my goings in thy paths,
that my footsteps slip not. I have called upon thee, for
thou wilt hear me, O God. Incline thine ear Unto me and
hear my speech. Show thy marvellous lovingkindness,
O thou that savest by thy right hand them which put their trust
in thee from those that rise up against them. Keep me as the
apple of the eye. Hide me under the shadow of thy
wings from the wicked that oppress me, from my deadly enemies, who
compass me about. They are enclosed in their own
fat. With their mouth they speak proudly.
They have now compassed us in our steps. They have set their
eyes bowing down to the earth, like as a lion that is greedy
of his prey, and as it were a young lion lurking in secret places.
Arise, O Lord, disappoint him, cast him down, deliver my soul
from the wicked which is thy sword, from men which are thy
hand, O Lord, from men of the world which have their portion
in this life, whose belly thou fillest with hid treasure. They
are full of children and leave the rest of their substance to
their babes. As for me, I will behold thy
face in righteousness. I shall be satisfied when I awake
in thy likeness. 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 desire to bow before thy great majesty, Father, Son,
and Holy Ghost. Our affections are toward our
Lord Jesus Christ, for through him we have access by one spirit
unto the Father. Grant us that free access tonight
by thy blessed spirit unto our heavenly Father, that we may
worship thee Lord Jesus, thou didst say, whatsoever ye ask
in my name, I will do it. We come to thee, most gracious
Father, in the name of thine only begotten Son, our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ. We plead what he has done, what
he has accomplished, what he has fulfilled, the holy law,
honoured, magnified, thy name glorified, everlasting righteousness
brought in through that perfect obedience of our Lord Jesus Christ
as he lived as a man here upon earth. Oh, we thank thee for
that perfection that is in Christ. And we do pray that thou wouldst
enable us continually to come to thee in his precious name,
pleading his precious blood his glorious righteousness. For this,
O Lord, is all our hope and all our desire, in him that there
dwells a treasure all divine. And may we each be enabled to
sweetly say, a matchless grace has made that treasure mine.
All we do pray, most gracious Lord, that we may keep our Lord
Jesus Christ in view, for without thee we can do nothing. We are
nothing and we have nothing. Lord, by nature that we are a
loathsome lump of sin, the heart is deceitful above all things
and desperately wicked. And we come to thee in that precious
name, plead in that precious sin atoning blood that cleanses
from all sin. We thank thee. for the glory
of His name and the wonder of His grace and the fullness of
His salvation. We thank Thee that everlasting
righteousness has been brought in, in that perfect obedience
of our Lord Jesus Christ. We thank Thee that sin has been
put away, in that sacred Sinatorian sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. We thank Thee that reconciliation
has taken place between God and man in our Lord Jesus Christ. We thank Thee for the completeness
and the fullness of that holy sacrifice of Calvary. And we
do thank Thee that He died for our sins and yet He rose again
for our justification. And we do thank Thee that he
has ascended up on high, that holy God man. He led them out
as far as unto Bethany, lifted up his hands and blessed them,
and was received up into heaven. Oh, we do thank thee for our
Lord Jesus Christ, for the fullness of that wonderful salvation. Jesus Christ, the same yesterday
and today and forever. Jesus Christ who will come again
in like manner and receive all his people unto himself when
he comes to judge the world in righteousness. Gracious God,
oh do fill our hearts with gratitude, with thanksgiving for the fullness. In him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily and he is full of grace and truth. Lord
we pray that thou would bless us as a church and as a congregation
and that the glory and light of the gospel may shine forth
and that many precious souls may be gathered unto Christ that
we may see the sovereign work of thy spirit in our midst and
the drawing of poor sinners unto Jesus Christ that thou would
bless the preaching of the word that thou wouldst grant signs
following, that thou wouldst pull down the strongholds of
Satan, set up the kingdom of the Lord Jesus in the hearts
of sinners. O let thy work appear unto thy
servants and thy glory unto their children. Send out the light
and truth of the gospel into this village and the surrounding
villages and hamlets. Lord, hear us, we pray. And as
the word goes out on the internet, we pray that the word of the
Lord may have free course and that thy name may be honoured
and glorified. May the power that brings salvation
be exerted in the word. May we see the quickening operation
of thy spirit. And Lord, we would be encouraged
as we see thy word. It goes throughout the nations
of the earth. And we pray that in due time
we may see an abundant harvest and that this little house of
prayer may yet be filled with hungry, longing souls pressing
into the kingdom of heaven. Lord, there is nothing too hard
for thee. And Lord, we pray that the prodigals
may return and that we may see thy wonderful grace in this.
We do humbly beseech thee but for thy great namesake. And,
O Lord, we do pray that thou, in thy precious mercy, would
bless our brethren, the deacons, give grace, wisdom, and help
in all their responsibilities here and elsewhere. And, Lord,
we do pray that thou would remember each one of our brethren and
sisters in church fellowship and help us to love each other,
serve each other, bear each other's burdens, thereby fulfilling the
law of Christ. Deliver us from hardness of heart.
Deliver us from that evil spirit of unbelief. Deliver us from
the power and dominion of sin. O Lord, we do beseech thee, for
thy great name's sake, give us clear views of the glories of
Christ, of the wonders of redeeming love, of the law fulfilled and
magnified and honoured in his glorious person. Lord, remember
the little ones and the children as they're brought into the sanctuary.
Remember them with the favour that thou bearest unto thy people.
Visit them with thy great salvation. Out of the mouth of babes and
sucklings hast thou ordained strength. And, O Lord, remember
the young friends, Bless them indeed. Bless them with faith
in Jesus Christ. Bless them with grace to follow
thee and to serve thee in their day and in their generation. O Lord, do hear us in heaven,
thy holy and thy blessed dwelling place. And when thou hearest,
O Lord, forgive, we do humbly beseech of thee. And O Lord,
we do pray. Remember parents, give wisdom,
give grace, give help to bring up their children in the nurture
and admonition of the Lord. And graciously bless the families
as they gather for divine worship. I was promised to be with those
that keep their morning and evening vows. And oh Lord, we do pray
that those graciously remember all in the midst of the journey
of life. we do humbly beseech of thee, and deliver us from
temptation, deliver us from sin and Satan's power, and graciously
make us more spiritually minded, and set our affections on things
above, not on things of the earth. For Lord, by nature we're earthbound,
and we often have to say with the dear apostle, O wretched
man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death.
And Lord, perhaps in our younger days, we thought that we'd get
better. We'd get more heavenly minded, more spiritually minded.
But we find that we get worse. And that we find that deep inward
corruption in our heart. And we would come and confess
our sins and our wanderings and our backslidings. Pray to be
washed in the precious blood of the Lamb, for that, Lord,
will make us more spiritually minded. In union with the Lamb,
from condemnation free, the saints from everlasting work and shall
forever be. Lord, be with each one of us
in the evening time of life's journey. Guide us safely unto
thy heavenly kingdom. We thank Thee for our little
house of prayer. We thank Thee for the supply
of all our many returning needs. We thank Thee for the throne
of grace, for that door of hope that is open wide in Jesus' bleeding
hands and side. Remember all in trouble, trial,
perplexity, affliction, bereavement, and graciously sustain and strengthen. Be with the friends at Chard
on the coming day in the bury of our young friend. We pray
that thou wast especially drawn in and help thy servant for thy
great name's sake. O Lord, we do pray that thou
wouldst come and touch one's lips with a live coal from off
the heavenly altar, we ask with the forgiveness of all sin, for
Jesus' sake. Amen. Let us now sing together hymn
number 267, The tune is Chester 879. Children of the Heavenly King,
as ye journey, sweetly sing. Sing your Saviour's worthy praise,
glorious in his works and ways. Hymn 267, tune Chester 879. The ocean's water will be clean,
? And she hath each faith betrayed
? ? Sing, O saviours, while they pray ? ? Glorious in His heaven's
day ? With hope that we were to go
In the ways of God and home. Thee alone have we come, our
King to reign. O Gita, Gita, Gita ? Christ, Lord, have no hate this
day ? ? In truth and strength now let us straighten ? ? The
well-tidings of our Savior's birth ? ? In love too ? ? Shall be it a
brokenness ? ? Built on cases unjust ? May you see it, Africa,
where you've been and have been for ? In the fragrant joyful sound
? ? Of the fulness of your hand ? Gave to my children love and
song, Gave to them a name safe. ? And may the sun ? ? Shine in
the evening ? ? All day long ? Long may Iowa lead O'er the land
of the free, And the home of the brave. greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, I would direct your attention to Psalm 17, and
we'll read verse 15 for our text. Psalm 17, verse 15. As for me, I will behold thy
face in righteousness. I shall be satisfied when I awake
with thy likeness. As for me, I feel that in one sense, perhaps
not the primary sense, but in one sense, we have Christ here. As for me, Christ, when he passed
through his suffering, and darkness and bondage in the garden of
Gethsemane, in the judgment hall, on the cross. My God, my God,
why hast thou forsaken me? But then, as it is in Isaiah
53, in the midst of all those sufferings and sorrows and agonies, he will see of the travail of
his soul, and be satisfied. Christ lived by faith here as
a man and in his sufferings he exercised
faith as a man in his heavenly father as for me and though those
sufferings and sorrows and agonies and griefs were so great, so
tremendous And yet, as for me, I will behold
thy face in righteousness. I shall be satisfied when I awake
with thy likeness. And we look at that awake as
it is in several times in Holy Scripture, awaking from death. Awake thou that sleepest and
rise from the dead, we read in Holy Scripture. And Christ shall
give thee life, as for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness,
I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness. Of course
the last verses of Psalm 16 which we read together is the same
thing that is Christ, definitely Christ because these scriptures
are quoted in the New Testament concerning our Lord Jesus Christ. He says, verse 8, I have set
the Lord all his before me, because he is at my right hand, I shall
not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and
my glory rejoiceth, my flesh also shall rest in hope. This
is Christ. For thou wilt not leave my soul
in hell. And that, the translation there
from the Hebrew means death. Thou wilt not leave my soul in
death, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Though he did die, entered into
death itself, his body is pure and holy, it never putrefied. No. Thou wilt not suffer thine Holy
One to see corruption. His flesh did not corrupt, even
though He was dead. Thou wilt show me the path of
life. In Thy presence is fullness of joy. At Thy right hand there
are pleasures forevermore. You know, we see Christ also
in Psalm 15. In fact, in many of the Psalms
we see Christ. I always feel that the Book of
Psalms is the richest source of prophecies concerning the
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Lord, who shall abide in thy
tabernacle? Who shall dwell in thy holy hill?
And there we have a description of Christ. He that walketh uprightly
and worketh righteousness, that's our Lord Jesus Christ, speaketh
the truth in his heart. He that backbites not with his
tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach
against his neighbour. This is Christ, my beloved friends,
in whose eyes a vile person is contemned. But he that honoureth
them that fear the Lord, he that sweareth to his own heart and
changeth not, he that putteth not out his money to usury, nor
taketh his reward against the innocent. Now, of course, a godly man, a godly woman, in
whom the Spirit of God dwells. And they have real repentance
and godly sorrow for sin and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
And they're alive unto God. And of course, this picture is
how a godly man lives. They follow Christ by sheep.
They know my voice and they follow me. And a stranger will they
not follow? You know, friends, are we following
Christ? You know, when you have perhaps a new pathway, are you following Christ? Do you have the spirit of Christ?
The apostle says, And we have the mind of Christ. How often do we have the mind
of Christ? Great mercy if we do. And it's
a great wonder. We read in 1 John chapter 2 verse
6. He that saith he abideth in him,
that's Christ, ought himself also so to walk even as he walked. You may feel like the psalmist,
he says in Psalm 139, it is high, I cannot attain unto it, and
that is so, we cannot attain unto it, not in the flesh. But
let us not lower the standard, Christ is the standard, the standard
that we are to live by, In this Psalm 17, the psalmist,
he pleads with the Lord, attend unto my cry, give ear
unto my prayer, that goeth not out of faint lips. The Lord's people, they have
to pray their way along. Let my sentence come forth from
thy presence. Let thine eyes behold the things
that are equal. That precious blood and righteousness
of Christ, which as taught by the Spirit,
a poor sinner pleads. Jesus, thy blood and righteousness. That's what a poor sinner lead
of the Spirit sees in Christ, thy blood and righteousness.
You think of the description of Christ in Solomon's Song,
chapter 5, and the first verse of that description, my beloved
is white and ruddy. White speaks of the glorious
righteousness of our Lord Jesus Christ. Ruddy is red, it speaks
of the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, that in all things he
might have the preeminence. His blood, his righteousness,
they are precious, they become precious to the true believer. Doesn't Peter say, unto you that
believe therefore, he is precious. And he says also in that first
epistle, for as much as you are not redeemed with corruptible
things such as silver and gold, no, but with the precious blood
of Christ, as of a lamb slain from before the foundation of
the world. The precious blood of Christ. Is that what you long to know? Is that what you long to know?
The power of that blood. You don't want to just know about
the blood. You want to know the application
of it. You want to feel the power of
it. The blood of Jesus Christ God's Son cleanseth us from all
sin. From all sin. Precious blood isn't it? That's why Gadsby could write
that lovely hymn. The vilest sinner out of hell
that lives to feel his need is welcomed to the throne of grace,
the Saviour's blood to plead. It's precious blood. It's sin-atoning
blood. It's blood that reconciles to
God. It's blood that has made a new
and living way into the holy place. When the high priest went
into the holy place, He sprinkled the blood of the sacrifice seven
times before the golden mercy seat. And the Lord said, there
will I meet with thee. Those things are typical, typical
of what was to come, of the glory that should follow. That precious sin-atoning blood
of our Lord Jesus Christ. It says here in verse five, hold
up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not. Isn't that the language of a
living soul? They know the sinful corruption
of their heart. They know the temptations of
Satan. They feel the need. I remember
a friend telling me, Ralph Warboys, the late Ralph Warboys, he was
often very topical in what he preached from. And the man said
to me that this particular morning, Sunday morning, it was very,
very frosty. And there was ice everywhere,
all over the roads. And he said typical Mr. Warboys. He got up and he gave his text
out. Hold up my goings and my paths, that my footsteps slip
not. You feel the need of it. You
feel that proneness to wander and to slip and to slide. You know, it's something that
the true child of God answers into. That there's a desire there. You see, in every believer to
whom is a seen, the new man of grace and the old man of sin.
The old man of sin loves the world. We have to admit it, we
have to confess it. Our old man loves the world. Our new man hates it. The new
man loves Christ. You see, there is this Conflict
that goes on behold the Shulamite in whom there was as it were
a company of two armies See the one is the contrary of
the other In Galatians the Apostle says there doesn't he that concerning
the flesh? lusteth against the spirit and
The spirit against the flesh and the one is the contrary to
the other And when that warfare is going on within your heart,
you'll understand this language. Hold up my goings in thy paths,
that my footsteps slip not. You see, and this desire, verse
seven, show thy marvelous loving kindness, O thou that savest
by thy right hand them which put their trust in thee from
those that rise up against them. The Lord's people have enemies. Then he says here, it's something
repeated in Holy Scripture, isn't it? Keep me as the apple of the
eye. Hide me under the shadow of thy
wings. The shadow of the wings is Christ.
Those wings are Christ. You think of the at wings of
the cherubims in the holy place, in the holy of holies. They stretched
out and they touched each other to hide under the shadow of his
wings. Jeremiah, he put it this way, O thou that dwellest between
the cherubims, shine forth. Those cherubims are the angels,
each side of the golden mercy seat, their wings touching and
their faces looking down at the golden mercy seat. Peter says
in his first epistle, which things the angels desire to look into.
What things? The gospel of Jesus Christ, the
precious blood of Christ, the holy life of Christ, the sufferings
of Christ. The angels can't enter into it. It's what the Holy Spirit reveals
to poor, wretched sinners. This precious saviour who has
fulfilled and honoured and magnified God's holy, righteous law. has. The law is fulfilled, honoured,
magnified, that law that you have broken, that I have broken,
and we continue to break. We have a sinful heart, we have
a sinful nature, but the glory of the gospel is the law is fulfilled. The apostle says in the Romans,
doesn't he, Christ is the end of the law for righteousness
unto all them that believe. The end of the law. Jesus has
made an end of sin. He has. It's the end of the law. And this desire, keep me as the
apple of the eye. The apple of the eye is something
that is extremely sensitive. Keep me as the apple of the eye. Keep me tender in thy holy fear. That's the desire. for the wicked
oppress me, for my deadly enemies encompass me about. You see,
these are some of the things that the Lord's living family
know. Desire, arise, verse 13, arise
O Lord, disappoint him, cast him down, that's the enemy, deliver
my soul from the wicked which is thy soul. He didn't look at
secondary causes. He looked at the first course. From the wicked, which is thy
sword, whom the Lord loveth. He says here in verse 14, from
men which are thy hand. O Lord, from men of the world
which have their portion in this life, and whose belly thou fillest
with thy hidden treasure. They are full of children, and
leave the rest of their substance to their babes. As for me, as
for me. This is the sweet psalmist of
Israel, David. As for me, I will behold thy
face in righteousness. I shall be satisfied when I awake
with thy likeness. I will behold thy face in righteousness. Very beautiful
the way scripture opens scripture and we find in the last chapter
of Holy Scripture, Revelation 22, it speaks of the New Jerusalem and
then you look at verse 3, and there shall be no more curse
but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it. and
his servants shall serve him, and they shall see his face,
and they shall see his face, and his name shall be in their
foreheads, and there shall be no night there, and they need
no candle, nor the light of the sun, for the Lord God giveth
them light, and they shall reign forever and ever. but they shall
see his face. Emmanuel's all the glory in Emmanuel's
land. I will not gaze on glory, but
on my King of grace, but on my King of grace. To gaze on Christ. Christ is
heaven. And heaven is Christ. He's the
center of the whole of it. The glorious person of our Lord
Jesus Christ. He said, I will behold, this
is the spirit of faith. I will behold thy face in righteousness. I shall be satisfied. You know, friends, we have this
treasure in earthen vessels. that the excellency of the power
might be of God and not of us. Earthen vessels are leaky vessels.
And that we shall never find any satisfaction here below. Because we carry about a body
of sin and death. But in heaven, in glory, we shall be satisfied. We shall be satisfied. One hymn
writer says, doesn't he, and every wish has full surprise.
Every wish, every desire is fully catered for because you're in
heaven and Christ is there. He's the bread of life. He's
the water of life. He's the wine of the kingdom.
He's everything a poor sinner needs in that glorious person. of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus
Christ. It may be that sometimes you
wonder with all the troubles and trials and perplexities and
sorrows, and sometimes that evil heart of unbelief rises up within, causing great consternation to
the true believer who fights against it. It's like the man
in the gospels, Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief. It's not speaking there of those
that are dead in trespasses and in sins. They are in permanent
unbelief. But the believer, unbelief is
affliction to them. There are times when they have
clear views of Christ, when there's a sweet hope in the finished
work of Christ. But there are also times when
that spirit of unbelief rises within. And to the true child of God,
that is a great trial, it is. In the last two verses of Philippians
chapter three, we read there for our conversation if you have
a marginal reference it says citizenship our conversation
our citizenship is in heaven from whence also we look for
the saviour the lord jesus christ who shall change our vile body
that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body according to the work in whereby
he is able, even to subdue all things unto himself. There may
be times when you feel that rising sin within, that sin is rooted
in our nature. And there may be times when you
feel so tempted, shall ever I reach heaven, this poor, wretched,
ruined sinner? My beloved friends, the gospel
is for sinners. Sinners can say, and none but
they, how precious is the Saviour. And it is the true child of God
that feels their sin, as the Holy Spirit convinces them of
their sin. They feel the burden of it and
the pain of it. For our conversation is in heaven,
from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ,
who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like
unto his glorious body, according to the work whereby
he is able to subdue all things unto himself. He is able. He
is able to subdue all things unto himself, this glorious Saviour,
this mighty Redeemer, Yes, your wicked sinful heart. Yes, your
unbelief is able to subdue. And the blessed spirit will give
a clear view by faith of the glories of Christ. It will deliver
you from unbelief. It's that divine work of the
spirit. Paul, when he writes to the Thessalonians in 1 Thessalonians
4, And from verse 13 we read, but I would not have you to be
ignorant brethren concerning them which are asleep, that ye
sorrow not even as others which have no hope. For if we believe
that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep
in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you
by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain
under the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which
are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend
from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, with
the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then
we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with
them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. So shall we
ever be with the Lord. Wherefore, comfort one another
with these words, as for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness,
I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness, to be like
Christ. You know, in that very well-known
chapter 15 of 1 Corinthians, just look at it for a moment
from verse 45. So it is written the first Adam
was made a living soul, the last Adam, that's Christ, was made
a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which
is spiritual but that which is natural and afterward that which
is spiritual. The first man is of the earth
earthly, the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthly,
such are they also that are earthly, and as is the heavenly, such
are they also that are heavenly. And as we are born the image
of the earthly, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. This, my beloved friends, is
the hope of the Christian believer. Now this I say, brethren, that
flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, Neither doth
corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I show you a mystery
we shall not all see, but we shall all be changed in a moment,
in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump, for the trumpet
shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and
we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put
on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when
this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal
shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass
the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin, and
the strength of sin is the law, but thanks be Unto God, be to
God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
There's a victory. There's eternal glory. Christ
himself said, doesn't he, in John 14, that let not your heart
be troubled. Maybe you do get troubled sometimes. Maybe you do have those doubts
arise in your heart because of the corruption of your nature.
I say, shall ever I reach heaven? Shall ever I get there? I feel
to be such a sinner. My beloved friends, heaven is
for sinners, it is. Heaven is for sinners. I come
not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. And a
saint, literally the word saint means a sanctified sinner, a
sinner that has been quickened into life, a sinner in whom the
spirit of God dwells, a sinner that is convinced of their sin
and a sinner that is brought to faith in Jesus Christ, faith
in his precious blood to cleanse from all sin, who shall change
our vile bodies that it might be made like unto his glorious
body. That's the glorious body of Christ
in heaven. And believers will be like him. So let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also
in me. These are the words of Christ.
In my father's house, many mansions, if it were not so, I would have
told you. 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. As for me, I will behold thy
face in righteousness. I shall be satisfied when I awake
with thy resurrection and life in Jesus
Christ. Jesus said, didn't he, I am the
resurrection and the life. I am the resurrection and the
life. That's what Christ is. That's
what he is to his people. And that is why the apostle says
in Philippians that I might know him in the power. See, you don't
want to just know about these things. The Apostle says that
I might know him in the power of his resurrection. You want
to feel the power of that resurrection in your own soul. As for me, I will behold thy
face in righteousness. I shall be satisfied when I awake
with thy likeness to be as Jesus is, to be as Jesus is. He shall change
this vile body that it might be made like unto
his glorious body and to be forever with the Lord. And let's forget, I've not read
many of his writings but early days of the Church of England. And his name just goes for the
moment. But I never forget reading this
in what I read of him. In this life, the joy of the
Lord enters into the child of God. He said, in that life which
is to come, they enter into the joy of the Lord. They're immersed
in it. In this life, you see, we see
but darkly, and the joy of the Lord enters our heart when Christ
is revealed, but in heaven, they enter into it. It's like that
river we spoke of in Ezekiel. It was a river they could swim
in, the river of the everlasting love of the eternal God, the
love of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. It's a river they could swim
in. the elect in love of the Father, the redeeming love of
the Son, the sanctified love of the Holy Ghost, a river that
they could swim in. As for me, you think, poor sinner,
what the Lord has done for you. He's convinced you of your sin. The Spirit of God dwells in your
heart. in that beautiful valedictory
discourse of Christ in John 14, 15, and 16, the Lord Jesus Christ
speaking of the Holy Ghost, and he shall dwell with you forever,
forever. And surely that gives that meaning
to that beautiful word, I will never leave thee, nor forsake
thee. He will dwell with you forever. As for me, I will behold thy
face in righteousness. Righteousness. The believer raised
incorruptible. I will behold thy face in righteousness. Christ, the righteous one, the
believer raised incorruptible. That vile body changed and made
like unto his glorious body. The bride eyes not her garments,
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
land. As for me, I will behold thy
face in righteousness. I shall be satisfied when I awake
with thy likeness. Last time I saw my godly father,
he actually wasn't ill. And my wife and I, it was only
just after we married, we went up to see him one weekend, Whitsun
weekend. And he wasn't a talkative man,
but all he did was talk on spiritual things. And there were services
at Westoning. So I said to my wife, you go
out with my sister Esther, go to the services. I said to her,
I said, I don't think I should see Dad again. And I didn't. It was as if the Lord gave me
that premonition. The man was overflowing and it
was unusual for him. And he quoted that hymn of Rutherford's,
He brought me to his house of wine. His banner over me was
love. And he said to me, that's where
I am, Jake. That's where I am. Ready to depart. I've often thought
of him and what it says in the Book of Job. A shock of corn,
fully ripe. And he was. It was a shock of
corn, fully ripe, ready to depart. to be with Christ, which is far
better. As for me, I will behold thy
face in righteousness. I shall be satisfied when I awake
with thy likeness. What a prospect, isn't it? A
wonderful prospect of eternal life. Speaks of it a morning
without clouds. And that is the death of a believer.
It's a morning without clouds. It's that eternal dawning of
an eternal day to be with Christ, which is far better. As for me,
I will behold thy face in righteousness. I shall be satisfied when I awake
with thy likeness. May the Lord add his blessings. Let us now sing together hymn
number 217. The tune is your Martin 713. Let Zion in her songs record
the honors of her dying Lord, triumphant over sin. How sweet
the song there's none can say, but he whose sins are washed
away. who feels the same within. O'er the land of the free and
the home of the brave? How sweet the sound that death
can make, That he who sins no more shall make, Who feels the
sting within. May the merits of heaven also
come in your life, O brothers of Jesus Christ. In heart, in ear, in mind, in
brain, nothing shall be, no shame, no shame, and grace redeeming
reign. ? We'll sing the song of life and
love ? ? And when the King of Kingdoms comes ? ? The children
in the world shall rise ? ? Let it a song forever be ? ? The
glorious hymns of praise to Thee ? ? The glorious hymns of praise
to Thee ? ? The glorious hymns of praise to Thee ? ? We'll hear the rocket's red glare
? ? The bombs bursting in air ? ? Gave proof through the night
that our flag was still there ? Until we reach those peaks
of bliss, We'll sing the reverent song of bliss, Perseverance faith, 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.