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 419 to the tune Church
Triumphant, 868th verse. Just are thy ways, and true thy
word, great rock of my secure abode, who is a God beside the
Lord, or wears a refuge like our God. Hymn 419, tune Church
Triumphant, 868. Just on my way, sir, and here
I ran ? The Lord our Savior above ? ? Who is a God beside the Lord
? ? From death to life is born ? He hath loved me with his mind,
Gives me his holy, so dear will. And now with sin and pain I cry, and pay salvation for my sins. He gives and blesses me, my God,
and God of my children shall praise. Let our peace, I'm sure, still
aroam, Street is where peace lies, Come, my peace. In all the Darkness of the age, but presence
of thy mother's day. ? O tremble at their mighty rage
? ? And be grateful, child, for their strength ? ? Till they
be Let it for your sin and praise forever shall extend. I love
to thank the Christ the Heav'n let us read together from the
holy word of god in the book of deuteronomy and chapter eight the eighth chapter in the book
of Deuteronomy. All the commandments which I
commanded this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live and multiply
and go in and possess the land which the Lord swear unto your
fathers. And thou shalt remember all the
way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the
wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee to know what was
in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments
or no. And he humbled thee, and suffered
thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest
not, Neither did thy fathers know that it might make thee
know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word
that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live. Thy
raiment wax not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell these
forty years. Thou shalt also consider in thine
heart that as a man chasteneth his son, So the Lord thy God
chasteneth thee. Therefore thou shalt keep the
commandments of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways and
to fear him. For the Lord thy God bringeth
thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains
and depths that spring up out of the valleys and hills, a land
of wheat and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates,
a land of oil, olive, and honey, a land wherein thou shalt eat
bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack anything in it,
a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest
dig brass. When thou hast eaten an heartful,
then thou shalt bless the Lord thy God, for the good land which
he hath given thee. Beware that thou forget not the
Lord thy God in not keeping his commandments and his judgments
and his statutes that I commanded this day. Lest when thou hast
eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses and dwelt
therein, and when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy
silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied,
then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the Lord thy
God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt from
the house of bondage, who led thee through that great and terrible
wilderness wherein were fiery serpents and scorpions, and drought,
where there was no water, who brought thee forth water out
of the rock of flint, who fed thee in the wilderness with manna,
which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that
he might prove thee to do thee good at thy latter end. And thou say in thine heart,
My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth.
But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God, for it is he that giveth
thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant,
which he swear unto thy fathers, as it is this day. And it shall
be, if thou do at all forget the Lord thy God, and walk after
other gods and serve them and worship them, I testify against
you this day that ye shall surely perish. As the nations which
the Lord destroyeth before your face, so shall you perish, because
ye would not be obedient unto the voice of the Lord your God. May the Lord bless the reading
of his precious word and grant unto us a spirit of real prayer. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty,
which is and art and art to come, we do desire to bow before thy
glorious majesty, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, the one and only
true God, We desire, O Lord, to worship Thee, but we're solemnly
aware, O Lord, that we're sinners. Defiled I am indeed, defiled
throughout my sin. O most gracious Lord, we pray
that Thou wouldst enable us now to come in the spirit of faith
in Jesus Christ, that we may lay hold of that hope that is
set before us in the gospel. O most gracious Lord, we think
again of the hymn writer, no help himself I find, yet oft
have sought it well. The native treasure of my mind
is sin and death and hell, and Lord we prove it to be so. For
I know that in me, that is in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing. So we come to thee Lord in the
name of Jesus Christ. This is the name the Father loves
to hear his children plead, and all such pleadings he approves
when offered in his name. O gracious God, we do thank thee
for Jesus Christ, the way, the truth and the life. No man cometh
unto the Father but by me. O we thank thee for those precious
words of grace, we come most gracious Lord and we think on
this day a day of remembrance and when we remember those that
made the ultimate sacrifice for the freedoms that we have and
that Lord we pray that we may indeed look back and as we've
been reminded in thy word thou shalt remember all the way the
Lord thy God hath led thee to humble thee, to prove thee, to
see what was in thine heart. O Lord, we do pray that thou
wouldst accept us in the Beloved. We know what was in our hearts
and what is in our hearts, sin and unrighteousness. But O in
thee there is mercy, in thee there is grace, even the grace
of our Lord Jesus Christ. We pray that he may be exalted
today, lifted high on the gospel pole, that we may see no man
save Jesus only, that we may, and maybe there's one and another
here in this congregation today and their desire, their longing,
if I might but touch the hem of his garment, I shall be made
whole. Lord, may this be the day when
they may be favoured to touch the hem of Jesus' garment, that
they may have clear, believing views of who Jesus is, Jesus
the Son of God, Jesus who is mighty to save, Jesus who is
able to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by him.
O reveal thyself to us, Lord Jesus, today. Blessed, holy,
divine Spirit of truth, Pray that thou wouldst convince us
of our sin, and lead to Jesus' blood, and to our wandering eyes
reveal the secret love of God. Blessed Spirit of truth, work
faith in our hearts, that where there is death, give life. Where
there is darkness, give light. Where there is bondage, give
liberty. Where there is one that is afar off, make them nigh. in and through the precious person
and power and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. O most blessed
Spirit, do take of the things of Jesus and reveal them unto
us. May we be favoured to feel the
love and power and grace of our eternal Father. None come except
the Father draw. May we know those sacred drawings
Unto Jesus, here today, may we have the witness of thy spirit
with our spirit. Yea, I have loved thee with an
everlasting love. Therefore, with loving kindness
have I drawn thee. Oh, we pray that it may be so
today, that we may feel thee's sacred drawings. Thou hast said,
I will draw thee with the cords of a man, even the holy God man,
the man Christ Jesus. Lord, we pray to be made more
spiritually minded, that our heart and our affections may
be set upon things above, not on things of the earth. And we
pray 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 as we gather together around thy
word today. Thou knowest the needs, the burdens,
the concerns, the inward exercises of each one present here from
the youngest to the eldest. Lord, we pray that Thou wouldst
hear prayer, that Thou wouldst come and bless us. Lord, we pray
that Thou in Thy precious mercy wouldst graciously send out the
light and glory of the gospel among us here and in this village
and the surrounding villages and hamlets. Bring our sons from
far and our daughters from the ends of the earth. Cause the
prodigals to return and thy mighty grace to be seen in this. Grant
us that joy as a church and congregation over one sinner that repented.
Hear us, O Lord, we pray thee. Lord, we pray that thou would
remember our deacons, give wisdom, give grace, give help in all
their responsibilities here and elsewhere and graciously bless
thy people and save thine inheritance and revive us and renew us, O
Lord, we pray thee. Remember each one of our brethren
and sisters in church fellowship, Remember us with the favour that
thou bearest unto thy people. Visit us with thy great salvation. Help us to love each other, serve
each other, bear each other's burdens, thereby fulfilling the
law of Christ. Lord, thou hast said in thy word,
Lord Jesus, by this shall they know that ye are my disciples,
because ye have love one to another. Lord, increase our faith. Increase
our love. Remember the little ones and
the children. Remember them, O Lord, with the
favour that Thou barest unto Thy people. Put the fear of the
Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom, in their hearts. Graciously
remember the young friends in all their concerns, and graciously
bring them to living faith in Jesus Christ, Make them true
followers of thee, and of those who through faith and patience
inherit the promises. Lord, we plead that precious
promise, instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, whom thou
mayest make princes in all the earth. Lord, O Lord of hosts,
O God of Israel, O thou that dwellest between the cherubim,
shine forth. Let thy hand be upon the man
of thy right the Son of Man, whom thou madest strong for thyself,
we do humbly beseech of thee. Turn us again, O God of hosts,
and cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved. And, O Lord God, we do pray that
thou wouldst remember our young friends and those that would
seek a partner in life's journey. Remember them in this matter.
O Lord, we do pray thee for thy great namesake. And O Lord, remember
parents and give wisdom and grace to bring up their children in
the nurture and admonition of the Lord. And graciously remember
the families as they gather for divine worship in the home. And Lord, we pray that thou would
remember all in the midst of the journey of life and graciously
bless them. We pray to be delivered from
the temptations of Satan, from the power and dominion of sin.
We plead that precious promise that when the enemy comes in
like a flood, the spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard
against him. We pray to be delivered from
an evil heart of unbelief. And we pray that thou, in thy
precious mercy, would remember each one of us that is in the
evening time of life's journey, and prepare us for that great
change which must come. Lord, thy word declares that
in the midst of life, we are in death. Lord, prepare me, gracious
God, to stand before thy face. Remember all in bereavement and
trouble and trial and perplexity and affliction. Lord, we lovingly
commend them to thee. Pray that thou wouldst draw near
and graciously help in all their times of need. And, O Lord, remember
all thy servants as they go forth to preach the word, even today. Grant that they may dip their
foot in oil and be made acceptable unto thee, brethren, and that
the word preached may be in power in the Holy Ghost and with much
assurance, and that there may be signs that shall follow the
preaching of the word. Remember thy servants in affliction,
and graciously grant thy healing mercy, and thy upholding grace,
we do beseech thee. And O Lord, we do pray that thou
would remember the little causes of truth up and down the land. And we pray that thou would grant
a reviving, a renewing, a replenishing. And instead of hearing of chapels
closing, may we hear of chapels opening, May we hear a reviving,
a renewing, a replenishing. Lord, hear us, we humbly pray
thee for thy great namesake. Lord, we pray that thou wouldst
remember all that are in authority over us and that thou wouldst
give them wisdom and understanding to do that which is right in
thy sight. And we read that the King's heart
is in the hand of the Lord, and as rivers of water, he turneth
it with us wherever he will. And Lord, we pray that we'll
see the cries of the little remnant in this nation, that they will
turn back the tides of iniquity, of unrighteousness, of wickedness,
and send out the glory and light of the gospel. Remember our King,
and all the royal household, and grant thy richest blessing
upon them, those rich blessings of our Lord Jesus Christ. We
do humbly beseech thee for thy great namesake. And O Lord, we pray that thou
would remember those who go from among us to minister the word
of truth among the nations of the earth. We especially think
of Ian Sadler, and that great work that he does in so many
different countries and the orphanages that he runs. And as he goes
forth to grant exposition of the word of God in some of the
darkest places on earth, Lord, we pray that thou would guard
him with all sufficient grace and supply all his many returning
needs. Remember thy servant in the Mombasa
mission, And we pray that thou wouldst grant good success unto
his labours there, and signs to follow the preaching of the
word. Remember, Lord, we pray thee, the Savannah Education
Trust and that great work that they are doing in the schools
in Ghana. Oh, do richly bless thy word there, and grant that
these things may be down to the great honour, glory, and praise
of thy great and holy name. O Lord, we do thank Thee for
all Thy tender mercies. We do thank Thee that Thy mercies
to us are new every morning and great is Thy faithfulness. We
do thank Thee for Thy Word. This is the Word by which the
Gospel is preached unto you. We do thank Thee, most gracious
God, for our house of prayer, for the supply of all our needs
as a body of people. We do thank thee above all for
Jesus Christ, for the incarnation of the Son of God, for the holy
life he lived as a man here upon earth, thereby the bringing in
of everlasting righteousness for his people. We do thank thee
for Calvary, where the lamb was slain, where sin was put away, We do thank thee that he was
wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities
and the chastisement of our peace was upon him. 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 oh lord we would render thanksgiving praise and adoration unto thee
In him we know the love of our Eternal Father and through him
we receive the Holy Ghost. Gracious God, grant us that spirit
of true worship. Come and open thy word to our
heart and to our understanding. Come and touch one's lips with
a live coal from off the heavenly altar. We ask, with the forgiveness
of all our sins, for Jesus Christ's sake, Amen. Let us now sing together hymn
number 602. The tune is Fieldhouse 540. 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 number 602, the tune is
Fieldhouse 540. It's just before the gate. Come through, and we'll be there in a day. This precious land of mine, to
thee I give my life, and to thee I'll die. O'er the land of the free and
the home of the brave? ? O come, O come, Emmanuel ? ?
O come, O come, Emmanuel ? O come, O come, Emmanuel, O come,
O come, Emmanuel, Christ is born in Bethlehem. Oh. O say can you see by the dawn's
early light What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's This is the night to celebrate.
Let all the joy of heaven be here. ? God in the spirit of the living
? ? God in the spirit of the living ? ? And Jesus was born there ? ?
We praise the Father ? ? We give Him the glory evermore ? ? O'er the ramparts we watched,
were so gallantly streaming? ? ? And the rocket's red glare,
the bombs bursting in air, ? O'er the ramparts we watched,
were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket's red glare, the
bombs bursting in air, Greatly failing to need the Lord's
gracious help, I direct your attention to the eighth chapter
of the book of Deuteronomy and verse 18 We'll read just the
first clause of verse 18. Deuteronomy chapter 8, verse
18, the first clause. But thou shalt remember the Lord
thy God. But thou shalt remember the Lord
thy God. The name Deuteronomy is Greek
for the second law. It was the name given to this
book in what is called the Septuagint which was the Greek translation
of the Hebrew Old Testament that was in use at the time of Christ
because the Greek was the main language that was spoken then. and it meaning the second law
and in this book Moses the great emphasis you'll notice it even
from the beginning of our chapter but you'll notice it all the
way through the book of Deuteronomy the great burden and emphasis
is on obedience. Obedience to the law of God obedience
to the truth of God, obedience to the ways of God, and that
is the great burden. And you notice at the beginning
of our chapter, all the commandments which I commanded this day, shall
ye observe to do, that ye may live and multiply. Remember,
this is an Old Testament, and this is part of the book of the
law, sometimes the law when it's spoken of in the Word of God
it means literally the Ten Commandments but then other times it means
the first five books called the five books of Moses and in Holy
Scripture that is often referred to as the Law being those five
books known as the Pentateuch and of course we look at it in
the light of the New Testament of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ. The law was a covenant of works,
as it says there in the first verse, that I command in this
day, that shall ye observe to do, that ye may live and multiply. It was a conditional, it was
on condition of obedience to the holy law of God. And that
was the Levitical dispensation under which the Jews were. known
as under the law. And if the obedience wasn't there,
there was no life. And we know from Holy Scripture,
we know from our own experience, that we cannot keep God's holy
law. The Apostle says the law is our
schoolmaster. What does a schoolmaster do?
He teaches. And the law was to teach us that
we're sinners. It's like a plumb line. What
a building uses is to keep the wall straight that he's building.
And the law is like a plumb line. And to keep straight. And we measure ourselves against
God's holy law. But what do we find when we measure
ourselves against God's holy law? We find that we're sinners.
By the law is the knowledge of sin. That's what, you know friends,
that's all the law can do. It will convince of sin. There's a most, and it's spoken
of here in Deuteronomy very solemnly, there's one whole chapter on
the curse of God. And that's what comes under the
law. that if we break God's holy righteous law there is a curse. Curse it is every man that doeth
not all things that is written in the book of the law to do
them. The hymn writer says doesn't
it curse be the man forever curse that does one willful sin commit. And that curse is eternal damnation. It's a solemn curse, isn't it? And so, if we are indeed and
remain under the law until we die, then when we come to die, we
die under the curse. And it's a curse forever. It's
an eternal curse. But we're thankful, my beloved
friends, that there is a person, a glorious person, the son of
God called Jesus Christ, who came to deliver us from the curse. This is the glorious light of
the gospel of Jesus Christ. And as we read these things in
the word of God, we look at them in that light of the forgiveness
and salvation that is in our Lord Jesus Christ. And it says here right in the
beginning, verse 2, and thou shalt remember all the way the
Lord thy God hath led thee. Thou shalt remember. And this week, we've had the 5th of November. Up until 1859, there was actually
a law in place that that was a day set apart to remember the
Lord's wonderful mercy to us as a nation in delivering us
from the gunpowder plot when Guy Fawkes and others were packed
the basement in the House of Lords with gunpowder and thankfully
by the mercy and grace of God somebody gave the information to the authorities
And it was discovered the day before. The day before the whole
of Parliament was sitting, we still have it today, the State
Opening of Parliament, when the King and the Houses of Commons
and Lords all met together. And the object and desire was
to literally blow up the whole of the Government and the Royal
Household. And that was the gunpowder plot.
But through the mercy of God, it was brought to nothing. And
so I remember that we always used to have a bonfire when we
were children at the end of the garden, a few fireworks. And
we used to sing together, remember, remember the 5th of November,
gunpowder, ploison and plot. And we should remember these
things because it's the remembrance of God's mercy and God's loving
kindness to us in delivering us from our enemies. who wanted
to overthrow our freedoms and our liberties. And then today
is Remembrance Sunday, when we remember those who have given
their lives, what you might say paid the ultimate price for the
freedoms and liberties that we enjoy. And my beloved friends,
it's right that we should remember these things. Remember those
who have given their lives for our freedoms and for our liberties. And thou shalt remember all the
way the Lord thy God has led thee. And then you think of this to us, those of us that have been brought
to the faith in Jesus Christ. to remember what the Lord has
done. Thou shalt remember all the way
which the Lord thy God led thee these 40 years in wilderness.
The Book of Deuteronomy was given by Moses as they were by the
River Jordan. It was in the 39th year of that
long 40 years journey through the wilderness. and as we read
of it here they were to remember how he in verse 3 he humbled
thee and suffered thee to hunger and fed thee with manna which
thou knewest not. In that wilderness and let's
never forget friends that even at a conservative estimate that
there was about two million people that came out of Egypt We mustn't just think it was
just a little handful of people. There was two million people
that came out of Egypt, that went into that wilderness where
no water is, where there was no food. And thou shalt remember all the wine which the Lord thy
God led thee. And with the Lord's people, Today,
this world, to the true child of God, is a wilderness, where
no water is. There's no food for the soul.
No food for the soul. It's a wilderness. You read it
again and again in the prophecy of Isaiah. The Lord in the wilderness,
supplying his children with all their needs. And that's what
the Lord does to his living family today. And it says here in verse
three, and he humbled thee and suffered thee to hunger, and
fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not. Neither did thy
fathers know that he might make thee to know that man doth not
live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the
mouth of the Lord, Doth man live? Whenever I look at that, and
you know, it was a wonderful, I believe one of the first words
that the Lord ever spoke to our late dear sister, Ina Field.
And she told me that she was in the woodshed when they lived
up at Scottney Castle. And the Lord spoke these words
to her. Breathe them into our heart.
Man shall not live by bread only, but by every word. that proceedeth
out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live." And she said,
I was so blessed. She said, I went about my work
for three days, she said, and I didn't know what I was doing.
I was so full of the blessing of the Lord when the Lord breathed
this word in our hearts. But what I always think of when
I think of this word, man doth not live. only by the Word of God entering
our hearts, by the sovereign power of the Spirit, that we
live. It's called the Word of Life. And unless this Word enters into
our heart, we remain dead in trespasses and in sins. You hath
he quickened who were dead in trespasses and in sins. That's where we are, until the
Lord breathes his word into our hearts, the word of the Lord. You know, I think it's in the
first epistle of Peter, and he says there in the last three
verses of chapter one of the first epistle, being born again,
not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word
of God, which liveth and abideth forever. For all flesh is as
grass, and all the glory of man is the flower of grass. The grass
withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away, but the word of
the Lord endureth forever. And this is the word which by
the gospel is preached unto you. Has the Word of God entered our
heart? Has the Holy Spirit brought the
Word of God into our heart? It's a living Word. It's a living
Word. You know, you think of those,
what the dear Apostle Paul, when he writes his epistle to the
Hebrews, and I believe it's in the fourth chapter of the epistle
to the Hebrews, he speaks there of the word of the Lord. For the word of God is quick
and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing
even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the
joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of
the heart, the word of the Lord. Hebrews 4 verse 12, neither is
there any creature that is not manifest in his sight. Now I
believe that means the written word but there's a far deeper
meaning to that word, it means Christ and the reason I say that
is because it's speaking of a divine person. It says, neither is there
any creature that is not manifest in his sight. That's Christ the
eternal word. And Joseph Hart in one of his
hymns, he says, the written and the incarnate word in all things
do agree. The word of God is quick and
powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword. piercing even
to the dividing asunder of the soul and spirit and of the joints
and marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of
the heart. Neither is there any creature
that is not manifested in his sight but all things are naked
and open unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. I believe
that One of the meanings there is of the, under the Levitical
dispensation, there was a sacrifice on the altar. And it speaks of
dividing asunder. And the priests used to divide
asunder that sacrifice on the altar. So as he looked down into
it, he could see right into the sacrifice. And that, in that
scripture, that is what the Lord sees right into our hearts. right
into the innermost part of our very being, dividing asunder
the joints and marrow. Thou, God, seest me. It does. The word of the Lord is quick.
That's living. That's what it means when it
says quick. Living and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword.
You see, man doth not live. by bread only. That's why the
word bread there is used in the broadest sense of the word food. That's what it means. Man does not live by just food. No, we do literally just our
bodies, but what he's speaking of there is living. Our soul,
we're dead in trespasses and in sins. Man doth not live by
bread only. If only we ever know is natural
bread that we use to feed our bodies. We do not live. Man doth not
live by bread only. My dear beloved friends, has
that living word entered into your and my hearts? and it becomes a living word. He humbled thee. Do we know this
humbling work of the Spirit? And suffered thee to hunger.
Do we know what it is to hunger? Blessed are they that hunger
and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be saved. Fed
thee with manna. Spiritual food. Do you crave
spiritual food? Do you long for spiritual food? Do you hunger and thirst? Do
you want to know something spiritually? Man doth not live by bread only,
but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord
doth man live. You see, and then we have these
wonderful words of grace. And again, the emphasis on obedience
in verse six, therefore, thou shalt keep the commandments of
the Lord thy God to walk in his ways and to fear him. To keep his commandments. The
Lord Jesus said, and we look at this not under the law, but
under grace. If you love me, keep my commandments. There are gospel commandments.
If you love me, keep my commandments. Therefore thou shalt keep the
commandments of the Lord thy God. To walk in his ways and
to fear him for the Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good
land. If we look at this in the light
of when a person is born again of the Spirit, again here in
Deuteronomy, There are a number of occasions when it says thou
shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the house of Egypt. In Isaiah, thou shalt remember
the hold of the pit from whence ye were digged. It's the same
meaning. Egypt is likened to the world. It's a type of the world. And the Lord's people exhorted
thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman. Where? In the
house of Egypt. And that's where the Lord found
you. You were bondmen in this world. You were sold under sin. Aliens from the commonwealth
of Israel and their coverings of promise. That is where the
Lord found you. Without God in the world. Thou shalt remember. You were
under the law. Under its curse. Under its condemning
sentence. Thou shalt remember where you
were. shall remember that there was
a bondman in the house of Egypt and it was the Lord he said for
the Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land a land of brooks
of water and this is the land of the gospel of the grace of
God in Jesus Christ of fountains and depths that sprung spring
out of the valleys and hills land of wheat and barley, she's
coming into the gospel of the grace of God. You know here in
the book of Deuteronomy and we read concerning the wonderful
blessings of the gospel, chapter 32, give ear O ye heavens and
I will speak and hear O earth the words of my mouth, my doctrine,
that's the doctrine of truth in Jesus Christ, my doctrine
shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distill as the dew, as
the small rain upon the tender herb and as the showers upon
the grass. You think of the divine work
of the blessed spirit and in holy scripture the work of the
spirit is often spoken of as a spring of water or as living
water There is a river, the stream doer of shall make glad the city
of God, the dwelling places of the Most High. In Revelation
22, it speaks of that river. It's the river that proceedeth
from beneath the throne of God and of the Lamb. And He showed
me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding
after the throne of God and of the Lamb. throne of God that
is the Father, and of the Lamb that is Christ, and the river
that proceedeth from them both is the glorious divine person
of the Holy Spirit. And he poured into the church,
there is a river, the streams are of shall make glad the city
of God. That's the river of God's grace. The river of the everlasting
love of God in Christ. You know that those are very
beautiful words that we find in the gospel according to John. And chapter 7 and verse 37, In
the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and
cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me As the
scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living
water. But this spake he of the spirit,
which they that believe on him should receive. For the Holy
Ghost was not yet given because that Jesus was not yet glorified. See that glorious river of life. You know, it's spoken of that
same river In Ezekiel chapter 47, it speaks there of that glorious
river of God proceeding from beneath the sanctuary. The sanctuary
is Christ. The tabernacle is Christ. and that that river proceeds
from beneath this. He says, afterward he brought
me again, says Ezekiel 47, unto the door of the house and behold
the water is issued out from under the threshold of the house
eastward. For the forefront of the house
stood toward the east and the water came down from under the
right side of the house of the south side of the altar. Then brought me he out by the
gate northward, he led me the way without unto the utter gate,
and behold there ran out waters on the right side. And when the
man that had the lion in his hand went forth eastward, he
measured a thousand cubits and he brought me through the waters,
the waters were to the ankles. Again he measured a thousand,
he brought me through the waters, the waters were to the knees.
Again he measured a thousand and he brought me through the
waters where to the loins. Afterward he measured a thousand
and at the river that I could not pass over, for the waters
were risen waters for swimming. A river that could not be passed
over. This is the river of God my beloved
friends. It proceeds from the sanctuary
which is Christ. Which we just read of in Revelation
22. And according to what is written
here in Ezekiel, these were living waters and healing waters. In
verse eight he says, and then said he unto me, these waters
issue out toward the east country and go down into the desert,
the desert of this world and go into the sea, which being
brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed. The waters
of grace, of the grace of Christ are healing waters. And it came
to pass that everything that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever
the rivers shall come, shall live. They're living waters.
And there shall be a great multitude of fish, because these waters
shall come thither, for they shall be healed, and everything
shall live whither the river cometh. You see, it speaks about
the Maori places in verse 11. and the marshes thereof shall
not be healed, they shall be given to Saul as barrenness. You see, my beloved friends,
living waters. Living waters. But thou shalt remember the Lord
thy God. And we read in verse 11, Beware
that thou forget not the Lord thy God in not keeping his commandments
and his judgments and his statutes which I command thee this day. We're exhorted to remember the
Lord our God and the judgments and statutes which I command
thee this day. Beware that thou forget not the
Lord thy God. Solemn thought, isn't it? And,
you know, we have that tendency to forget, but thou shalt remember
the Lord thy God. Remember several things that
we are to remember the Lord our God. In that, it is he that hath
made us and not we ourselves. He's the creator of the heavens
and the earth. We should remember the Lord our
God as the creator of the heavens and the earth. And the Apostle
says in Acts doesn't he, chapter 13, in whom we live and move
and have our being. This God in whom we live and
move and have our being. Thou shalt remember the Lord
thy God. And when we see the wonderful
works of creation, We read in Psalm 19, don't we? The heavens
declare the glory of God, day unto day utter His speech, night
unto night utter His knowledge. You see, creation of God, it
speaks of the glory of God. The heavens declare the glory
of God in creation. Thou shalt remember the Lord
thy God. And when we see the beauties
of creation, we were commenting on the way to chapel this morning
of the beautiful color of the trees. And this lovely creation that
God has made. It's to his glory. It declares
the glory of God. In Romans one, the apostle speaks
of the creator. And then he speaks of man. And
he says that man is willingly ignorant. He doesn't want the
knowledge of God, nor of his ways. He's willingly ignorant
of these things. But thou shalt remember the Lord
thy God. But there's something far greater,
friends, isn't there? That we're to remember. We're
to remember the birth of Jesus Christ. and
the wonderful glory of God in the birth of Jesus Christ. We're to remember that. I know
there are some people that disagree with the keeping of Christmas
and I have to leave that to them. But I believe it's the right
thing to do. To keep Christmas. Why? Because it is remembering
something that was tremendous. The Son of God. And the Word
was made flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld His glory,
the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace
and truth. It's right, friends, that we
should remember the wonderful, profound mystery
of Godliness, of God, manifest in the flesh. But thou shalt
remember the Lord thy God, remember that Jesus Christ is not just
a man, not just a good man, not just a righteous man. No, he's
the holy god man. He's the eternal son of the eternal
father that was manifest in the flesh. I always think that the
apostle in the epistle to the Colossians, he so beautifully
speaks of our Lord Jesus Christ in that first chapter of the
epistle to the Colossians where he speaks of the glorious doctrine
of the incarnation of the Son of God and he says in verse 12,
giving thanks unto the Father which hath made us meet to be
partakers of the inheritance of the saints in life. who hath
delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated
us into the kingdom of his dear Son, in whom we have redemption
through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins, who is the image of
the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature. See how he
elevates and exalts the glorious person of God manifest in the
flesh. For by him were all things created
that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible,
whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.
All things were created by him and for him, and he is before
all things, and by him all things consist. He is the head of the
body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from
the dead, that in all things He might have the preeminence
for it. It pleased the Father that in him should all fullness
dwell. And having made peace through
the blood of his cross by him to reconcile all things unto
himself. By him I say, whether they be
things in earth or things in heaven. In that glorious person
of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Now you know friends
we have recorded in the words of our Lord Jesus Christ in Luke
chapter 22 and you know it speaks of the garden of Gethsemane and
the sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ when the sin of the church
was laid upon him but that's Though that is important, there's
something else. Verse 15 in Luke 22, they would
come to the Passover and he said unto them, with desire,
have I desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. With desire. This was the last
true Passover that they kept. I say unto you, I will not any
more eat thereof until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God.
The Passover, the Jewish Passover, was fulfilled in the glorious
person of Christ. The Apostle says in the Corinthians,
Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us. And the Jewish Passover
lamb was typical of the glorious person
of Christ. And he took the cup and gave
thanks and said, take this and divide it among yourselves. For I say unto you, I will not
drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God shall
come. And he took bread and gave thanks and break it and gave
unto them, saying, This is my body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of me. Thou shalt remember the Lord
thy God. This do in remembrance of me. Likewise, after the cup, also
the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the New Testament
in my blood. which is shed for you. This do in remembrance of me. You know, Isaac Watts in that
lovely hymn and speaking of the Jewish sacrifices etc. and the divers washings and all
manner of things the Jews had to do under the Levitical dispensation. And they had to, three times
a year, they had to travel from all the coast of Israel up to
Jerusalem to keep those three feasts. They had a tremendous
amount to do. And Isaac Watts, he takes that
up in one of his hymns. But we have no such lengths to
go, nor wander far abroad. No. The Lord doesn't expect much
of us. We don't have to do what the
Jews did in sacrificing and washings, etc, etc. There's one very simple
thing the Lord requires. And if you love me, keep my commandments. This do in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this
bread and drink this cup, you do show the Lord's death till
he You know that there's only two what we might say gospel
ordinances and this is all the Lord requires of the Christian
believer. Firstly there is baptism and
Christ gave us that example and he said concerning baptism
thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness It's a righteous
thing to do. It's a right thing to do. That's
what that means. For the Christian believer to
be baptised, we're strict in particular Baptist. We believe
that before a person can come to the Lord's Supper that they
need to be baptised. They need to do a confession
of their faith and then to be baptised in the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. And that opens the way
for the Lord's Supper. This do in remembrance of me. That's the only two gospel ordinances
there are. It's not a huge thing that Lord
asks of us, is it? And it's for those that have
faith. Faith in Jesus Christ. Faith in his precious blood.
Those that have been raised up to a hope in the Lord Jesus Christ. He's been made precious to you.
You love Him. You love Him. If ye love me,
keep my commandments. But thou shalt remember the Lord
thy God. The other thing here in these
things and It says in verse 14 that then when the flocks, it
says previously, if your flocks and herds increase, then thine
heart be lifted up and thou forget the Lord thy God. Thou forget
the Lord thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of
Egypt from the house of bondage. So several times in this chapter,
we are exhorted to remember, but we're also exhorted forget
not, forget not, who led thee through that great and terrible
wilderness where were fiery serpents and scorpions and brought thee
where there was no water, who brought thee forth water out
of the rock of flint. We know that when they came to
that rock and there was no water and the people murmured against
Moses and the Lord said to Moses stand upon the rock and smite
the rock and Moses smote the rock and forthwith there came
out waters from beneath the rock. Some of the old Puritans felt
that that rock, that water that flowed like a river out of that
rock followed the children of israel all the way through the
wilderness journey and i believe there is some truth in that it
literally followed them all the way through the wilderness and
we're to remember this how the lord has been with you and helped
you supported you sustained you who fed thee in the wilderness
with manna which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble
thee. He brings in a path of dependence, that he might humble
thee, that he might prove thee to do thee good at thy latter
end. And thou say in thine heart, my power and my might, the might
of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth. But thou shalt remember
the Lord thy God. For it's he that giveth thee
power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant, which
he swear unto thy fathers as it is this day. And if it shall
be, if thou do at all forget the Lord thy God and walk after
other gods and serve them and worship them, I testify against
you this day that ye shall surely perish. Well, my beloved friends,
may it please the Lord to impress these things upon our hearts,
but thou shalt remember the Lord thy God. May the Lord have his
blessing. Let us now sing together hymn
number 228, tune is Childhood 114. The verse that really led
me To this hymn was verse four,
faith owns the scepter through the cross and yields obedience
true. Faith owes its birth to sovereign
grace and lives beneath the throne where grace maintains her dwelling
place and reigns supreme alone. Hymn 228, tune Childhood 114. Oh, how sweet the sound ? To hear it from home ? ? Yet
raise my night ? ? Of the dawning place ? ? Of reverie supreme
? ? Alone ? They live to praise the glory
day, Nor let the still of day The pangs of suffering come not
in drool, but ringing from suffering rings. Just plants in all of Christ,
it's a delightful thing. They pray for thee, they love
the host, they sing the crown's hymn. ? May my thoughts have no dread
or cross ? ? The future glimmers in my sight ? ? And so it is, the death of Christ
the Redeemer ? To dip upon His precious blood,
His tasty, lively blood. ? The marriage of these high and
fair ? Take it, keep it in a crown of
tree, Then wear it in the breeze, And wait around ? In my heart to stay ? ? Then
to another land I'll go ? In hopes of hope, he hopes alone. ? To dwelleth and reigneth ? ?
With tidings of joy and gladness ? The day will surely come When
He wills me to choose what His saints shall say, 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.