The tune is Blainewurn, 894. Love divine, O love excelling,
Joy of heaven to earth come down, Fix in us thy humble dwelling,
All thy faithful mercies crown. Jesus, thou art all compassion,
Pure, unbounded love thou art, Visit us with thy salvation,
Comfort every sinking heart. Hymn 1053 Tune Blainewurn 894 And in joy of heav'n to us come
down. Fixed in us thy humble dwelling, O thy faithful blessed child,
Jesus, ever full of compassion, Pure unbounded love of God. Blessed heart, with Thy salvation,
Thou wrote every ? Sing it loud ? ? Read, oh read ? ? Thy blessed
Spirit ? ? O into every tribe ? Let us all in giving merit, Let
us all in giving merit, Let us all in giving merit, Let us all in giving merit, Let us
all in giving merit, Let us all in giving merit, Let us all in giving merit, Let us all in giving merit,
Let us all in giving merit, Let us all in giving merit, Let us all in giving merit,
Let us all in giving merit, Let us all in giving merit, Let us all in giving merit, Let us
all in giving merit, Let us all in giving merit, Let us all in giving merit, Let
us all in giving merit, Let us all in giving merit, Let us all in giving merit, Let us all in
giving merit, Let us all in giving merit, Let us all in giving merit, Let us all in giving merit, Let
us all in giving merit, Let us all in giving merit, Let us all in
giving merit, Let us all in giving merit, Let us all in giving merit, Let us all in
giving merit, Let us all in giving merit, Let us all in giving O'er the land of the free and the
home of the brave? Then, O faith, that didst beginning
set an altar in the tree. Thank you, Almighty Lord. For an early day we meet. Let us sing Constellations have their casing
turned in me Trains are going into glory Still in heav'n we take our place,
Till we cross the rose-pinked morn, Let us read together from the
holy word of God in the prophecy of Zephaniah and chapter 3. The third chapter of in the prophecy
of Zephaniah. Woe to her that is filthy and
polluted to the oppressing city. She obeyed not the voice, she
received not correction, she trusted not in the Lord, she
drew not near to her God. Her prince is within her, are
roaring lions. Her judges are evening wolves.
They gnaw not the bones till the morrow. Her prophets are
light and treacherous persons. Her priests have polluted the
sanctuary. They have done violence to the
law. The just Lord in the midst thereof,
He will not do iniquity. Every morning does He bring His
judgment to light. he faileth not, but the unjust
knoweth no shame. I have cut off the nations, their
towers are desolate, I made their streets waste, that none passeth
by, their cities are destroyed, so that there is no man, that
there is none inhabitant. I said surely thou wilt fear
me, They will receive instruction, so their dwelling should not
be cut off. Howsoever I punish them, for
they rose early and corrupted all their doings. Therefore wait
ye upon me, saith the Lord, until the day that I rise up to the
prey, for my determination is to gather the nations that I
may assemble the kingdoms to pour out mine indignation, even
all my fierce anger, for all the earth shall be devoured with
the fire of my jealousy. For then will I turn to the people
a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the
Lord to serve him with one consent, from beyond the rivers of Ethiopia
my suppliants, even the daughter of my dispersed, shall bring
mine offering. In that day shalt thou not be
ashamed, for all thy doings wherein thou hast transgressed against
me, for then I will take away out of the midst of thee them
that rejoice in thy pride, and thou shalt no more be haughty
because of my holy mountain. I will also leave in the midst
of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust
in the name of the Lord. The remnant of Israel shall not
do iniquity, nor speak lies, neither shall a deceitful tongue
be found in their mouth, for they shall feed and lie down,
and none shall make them afraid. Sing, O daughter of Zion, Shout,
O Israel, be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter
of Jerusalem. The Lord hath taken away thy
judgments. He hath cast out thine enemy.
The King of Israel, even the Lord, is in the midst of thee,
that thou shalt not see evil any more. In that day it shall
be said to Jerusalem, fear thou not, and to Zion, let not thine
hands be slack. The Lord thy God in the midst
of thee is mighty, he will save, he will rejoice over thee with
joy, he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing. I will gather them that are sorrowful
for the solemn assembly, who are of thee, to whom the reproach
of it was a burden. Behold, at that time I will undo
all that afflict thee, and I will save her that halteth, and gather
her that was driven out, and I will get them praise and fame
in every land where they have been put to shame. At that time
will I bring you again, even in the time that I gather you,
for I will make you a name and a praise among all people of
the earth. when I turn back your captivity
before your eyes, saith the Lord. May the Lord bless thee, reading
of his own 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 desire to bow before
thy great majesty and to call upon thy great and holy name.
We desire to worship thee in spirit and in truth. And we desire,
O Lord, to come in confession of our sin and our unworthiness of the least
of thy tender mercies. For, Lord, we all have sinned
and come short of thy glory. We leave undone those things
that we ought to do. And we do those things that we
ought not to do. We find a law within our members
that when we would do good, then evil is present with me. And
we have to so often declare with the dear apostle, O wretched
man, that I am who shall deliver me from the body of this death. Lord, we thank Thee for Jesus
Christ. We thank Thee for the door of
hope that is open wide in Jesus' bleeding hands and side. We thank
Thee for that everlasting love that Thou hast to Thy people,
and those wonderful words of grace, I the Lord change not,
therefore ye sons of Jacob, are not consumed. Our hope, Lord,
is in the finished work of Jesus Christ, Thine only begotten Son,
in that wonderful sin-atoning sacrifice. This is all our hope. This is all our desire. My hope
is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. Lord, we We dare not trust the
sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. All we pray,
most gracious Lord, for that grace to lean upon him, casting
all your care upon him, for he careth for you. And Lord, may
we be enabled to do that at this evening hour as we come together
for divine worship. May the word of truth be open
And may the power that brings salvation be exerted in the word. And may it please thee, Lord,
to quicken souls and make them cry, give me Christ or else I
die. And may it please thee, Lord,
to satisfy the hungry soul and fill them with goodness. And
that where there is darkness, may it please thee to give light.
And where there is bondage, may it please thee to give liberty.
And where there is that sense of being far off, may it please
thee to make us nigh, to draw us to thyself, and to graciously
reveal thyself to us here at this evening hour. Blessed, holy,
divine spirit of truth, we pray for thy heavenly work, thy divine
operation among us as a church and congregation. We 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. Oh, we
do pray that thou wouldst guide us into thy that thou wouldst
guide us by thy counsel, and that thy truth may be sealed
into our hearts, the truth as it is in Jesus, the deliverance
from sin and Satan's power that we find in Jesus Christ alone. We pray, most blessed Spirit,
that thou wouldst take of the things of Jesus and reveal them
unto us, and that we may be drawn to him Draw me, we will run after
thee. Oh, to know that sacred drawing,
that divine power, that heavenly unction of the Holy Ghost as
we gather around the word of truth. May we not be satisfied,
O Lord, with just a head knowledge of the truth, but may we know
the truth in the inward parts. May we know the truth sealed
into our hearts by the Holy Ghost, and may it be with us, O Lord,
that, as the dear Apostle could testify, for our gospel came
unto you not in word only, but in power, in the Holy Ghost,
and with much assurance. And we pray for that sacred assurance
to be given us this night, of that wonderful truth as it is
in Jesus, and that we pray that Thou would graciously, Lord Jesus,
come and stand in our midst, that we may truly worship Thee,
that we may be made nigh, that we may come near unto Thee. We
think of those wonderful words of grace, Come unto me, all ye
that labour, and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take
my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in
heart, and ye shall find rest for your souls. Lord, we pray
that it may be so, even this evening hour, for my yoke is
easy and my burden is light. O gracious God, bring poor burdened
sinners unto thyself, cast in all our care upon Him. And Lord, we pray that we might
know those divine drawings of our Heavenly Father, drawing
us unto His best Beloved and all-glorious Son. Oh, none come,
Lord, except the Father draw, and we pray that we may be drawn. And we think of those lovely
words of grace, O Lord, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting
love, and therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. And may we
know that lovingkindness of our Heavenly Father tonight in drawing
us unto the Lord Jesus Christ. May we know what it is to be
embraced in those arms of Christ, and that we may know what it
is for us to take Him in the arms of faith, and to be enabled
to say, my beloved is mine, and I am his. Lord, do hear us, we
humbly pray thee, and do bless us for thy great namesake. We
pray, O Lord, that thou wouldst graciously bless our brethren,
the deacons. Give them grace, wisdom, and
help in all their responsibilities, both among us and in their responsibilities
among the churches of God, and that thou wouldst give them help
and direction day by day. We pray, O Lord, for those that
are away from us, seeking rest and change, and that they indeed
may find rest and change at this time, and be refreshed and strengthened,
and that we pray O Lord, that Thou, in Thy precious mercy,
remember those that are meeting with us tonight, and those that
gather with us from time to time, that it may prove to be a house
of bread where their souls are fed. Lord, we do pray that the
Lord Jesus Christ may be exalted as a Prince and as a Saviour
for to give faith and repentance and remission of sins. and that
he may be set forth in all his glory as that wonderful saviour,
that almighty saviour, that one that is able to save to the uttermost
all that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth, and fill
our hearts with gratitude for the wonderful glory of his name
and the fullness of his grace. For he is full of grace and truth,
and in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Oh, we
do thank Thee that He is the Eternal Son of the Eternal Father
who was made flesh and dwelt among us. Oh, we do thank Thee
for that glorious mystery of God manifest in the flesh. May
we see Him tonight. May we hear His voice. May we
see His countenance. May we truly worship in His holy
hill of Zion. Lord, we pray that Thou in Thy
precious mercy would help us to love each other, serve each
other, bear each other's burdens, thereby fulfilling the law of
Christ. And Lord, grant that we may esteem
each other better than ourselves to be. And we pray that love
may flow from heart to heart, that we may have the witness,
Lord, of thy spirit with our spirit. We know that we have
passed from death unto life because we love the brethren. O Lord,
we do pray that thou wouldst graciously help us to love them
all, and that we may echo in our hearts the words of the sweet
Psalmist of Israel, I love the Lord, because he has heard my
voice, the voice of my supplications. O gracious God, do incline thine
ear, we do humbly beseech thee, and do have mercy upon us, we
pray thee, and do guide us into thy word, and do open our hearts
to receive thy word, and do grant us a shower of blessings. Even
as I was promising they were, I will give you showers of blessing.
Lord, we pray that thou would remember the little ones and
the children that meet with us on the Lord's Day, and that thou
would graciously bless them, that thou would put the fear
of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom, into their hearts,
and that they may begin seeking thee in their young and tender
years. that we read in Holy Scripture of that young son of the king
who was to die and yet there was found in him some good thing
toward the Lord God of Israel and we thank thee Lord that it
was so in that wonderful display of thy love and mercy and oh
Lord God we do pray that thou would remember our young friends
and graciously bless them Bring them to living faith in Jesus
Christ and make them true followers of Thee and of those who through
faith and patience inherit the promises. And be with them in
all the paths of providence. Guide and direct them, O Lord,
we do pray Thee, in all matters. And remember them, O Lord, regarding
a partner in life journey. May we remember thy wonderful
loving kindness that is displayed in thy word in bringing Rebekah
unto Isaac and bringing Ruth unto Boaz. Thou art still that
same God and that same love and that same power over thy people. We do pray for grace to commit
our way unto the Lord. Remember parents, Give them wisdom
and grace to bring up their children, the nurture and admonition of
the Lord, and teach them thy ways and lead them in thy path. So, Lord, we do pray thee, remember
them in the family worship and grant thy rich blessing to rest
upon them. For all things are sanctified
by the word of God and prayer. May we worship thee in our homes.
and feel thy sacred presence there. And, O Lord, we pray that
thou wouldst remember the prodigals that have wandered from the ways
of truth and righteousness, and that thou wouldst graciously,
graciously cause them to be in want and cause them to return. O Lord, thou alone art able to
do this, and we pray that we may have that rejoicing. to see
the prodigal's return. Lord, may the power that brings
salvation be exerted in the word. And Lord, we do pray that thou
would remember all in any trouble, or trial, or perplexity, or sorrow,
or sadness, or bereavement. O Lord, we do pray that in all
these things we may see thy gracious hand, for whom the Lord loveth,
he chasteneth, and scourgeth every song whom he receiveth. Remember those of us that are
now 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. And as the outward man perisheth,
may the inward man be renewed day by day. We do humbly beseech
thee. And, O Lord, we do pray thee
that thou wouldst graciously send the light and glory and
power of the gospel into this village and in the surrounding
villages and hamlets. And it may please thee to bring
our sons from far and our daughters from the ends of the earth that
there was filled this little house of prayer with hungry,
longing souls pressing into the kingdom of heaven. Lord, may
we see such a thing. May it please thee to grant real,
true spiritual prosperity and pour upon us the spirit of real
travail for as soon as I am travail, she brought forth her children.
Gracious God, we pray. that this little house of prayer
may be the womb of the morning, the bringing forth of thy children
from darkness into light, from death into life, from being far
off to be made nigh. O Lord, we pray that thou wouldst
remember thy servants as they labour in word and doctrine upon
the walls of Zion, set them free, set them at liberty, and graciously
send out thy light and thy truth, and return in thy power and in
thy glory as thou usest to be in the sanctuary. Gird thy servants
with all sufficient grace. Remember those as they take up
pastorates in the coming in, and grant that they may feel
thy sacred presence and see the wonderful fruits of the Spirit
in their congregations, O Lord, we do beseech them. We pray that
where it appears there is desolation in the houses of God, that there
may be the pouring forth of that river of life. There is a river
the streams were of, shall make glad the city of God, that there
may be a reviving, a renewing, a replenishing, a building up. O Lord, do hear us, we humbly
pray thee. and build thou the walls of Jerusalem. Accept the Lord, build the house,
they labour in vain that build it. Bless the word of God distributed
and grant that it may be down to the great honour, glory and
praise of thy holy name and to the good of precious souls. We
do humbly beseech thee. Remember those that listen online
and grant thy richest blessing to be upon them. and that thou
wouldst undertake for them, for thy great name's sake, we do
humbly beseech of thee. And that we pray for a preparation
for the services of thy house on the Lord's day, and that we
may come up in the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of
Jesus Christ, we do humbly beseech of thee. O Lord, we pray. that thou wouldst remember our
nation. And the spirit of Antichrist is so prevalent and manifest
in the day in which we live. And that we pray that thou wouldst
give wisdom to our leaders and guidance and direction. We do
humbly pray thee. We pray for thy ancient people,
surrounded with bitter enemies, and we pray that thou would send
them deliverance and graciously have mercy upon them and take
the veil away from their eyes that they may behold the Lamb
of God which taketh away the sin of the world. We pray for
the people of Ukraine that thou would graciously deliver them
from the hand of the oppressor and bring to naught the counsels
of the ungodly and send real deliverance unto them, O Lord,
we humbly beseech thee. We thank thee that thou art God
over all and blessed for evermore. We thank thee that thou art able
to do abundantly more than we can even ask or think. We thank
thee for that everlasting love of God in our Lord Jesus Christ. that when the word was made flesh
and dwelt among us, we thank thee for the incarnate mystery
of God manifest in the flesh. We thank thee for the holy life
he lived and the glorious everlasting righteousness that he has brought
in. And we thank thee, most gracious Lord, that he died for our sins
and rose again for our justification. and as bodily ascended into heaven,
and sitteth at thy right hand, that we have indeed a great high
priest who is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God. We have an advocate with the
Father. Oh, help us to rejoice in these
wonderful mercies, in the glories of Christ. We thank thee that
through him we know the love of our eternal Father, and by
him we receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Come now, Lord, and touch one's
lips with a live coal from off the heavenly altar. Come and
speak to our hearts. Come and breathe the word into
our souls that we ask for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. Let us now sing together hymn
number 970. The tune is Champkins 453. Holy Father, God of love, Throned
in majesty above, True, just and true are all thy ways, Worthy
of eternal praise. Hymn 970. Tune Champkins 453. I will never wish me ne'er, but
to love you. I will be your ? Eternal rest ? ? Hail thy power
? ? In thy richness ? ? Eternal rest ? Christ the King of the universe,
Lamb of God, in the end of days. Holy Jesus, Lamb of God, Save
Thy people, O come, O come, O come, O come,
O come, O come, O come, to Bethlehem. Holy Spirit, bring him rest,
and make him light of the world. ? O'er the ramparts we watched
were so gallantly streaming? ? ? And the rocket's red glare,
the bombs bursting in air ? ? Sing a joyful, jolly Christmas
time ? ? Oh, what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh
? ? Where 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 the chapter
that we read, the third chapter of the prophet Zephaniah, and
we will read verse 17 for our text. Zephaniah, chapter 3, verse
17. The Lord thy God in the midst
of thee is mighty. He will save He will rejoice
over thee with joy, He will rest in His love, He will joy over
thee with singing. We read in the beginning of the
chapter of the solemn warnings that the Lord gave to the children
of Israel. and because they forsook the
way of truth and of righteousness. But then we read in the second
part of this chapter of the Lord's mercy. The Lord caused the children of Israel
to be dispersed among the nations. His terrible judgments were poured
upon them And we see the Lord took the children of Israel at
their own word when they rejected the Lord Jesus Christ. And they
brazenly said before God, His blood be upon us and upon our
children. And we see that solemn judgment
poured out upon Israel, who by and large are still blinded to
the way of truth and of righteousness. They're still enemies to the
cross of Christ. But then we have this gospel
day spoken of here. From verse 8, Therefore wait
ye upon me, saith the Lord, until the day that I rise up to the
pray. For my determination is to gather
the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them
my indignation, even all my fierce anger, for all the earth shall
be devoured with the fire of my jealousy. We spoke of it on
Lord's Day, and this determination of the Lord to judge the world
in righteousness, and this is what is being spoken of here,
that the time is coming when Jesus Christ will come again
without sin unto salvation. And then these words that we
just read in verse 8 will be accomplished and fulfilled, that
I may assemble the kingdoms to pour upon them mine indignation,
even all my fierce anger, for all the earth shall be devoured
with the fire of my jealousy. But then he speaks of gospel
blessings. for then will I turn to the people
a pure language. It's called the language of Zion.
That they may all call upon the name of the Lord. Notice the
all. Used to be the children of Israel,
but now it's all the earth. It's the calling of the Gentiles.
That they all they may all call upon the name of the Lord to
serve him with one consent. It speaks here of the Gentiles,
from beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, my suppliants, even the daughter
of my disperse shall bring mine offering. In that day, this wonderful
day of gospel grace, in that day shalt thou not be ashamed.
for all thy doings wherein thou hast transgressed against me
for then will I take away out of the midst of thee then that
rejoice in thy pride and thou shalt no more be haughty this
is because of the wonderful grace of God because of my holy mountain
that Zion the spiritual Zion here on the earth the little
hills of Zion this little chapel is one of the little hills of
Zion And then he says, I will also leave in the midst of thee
an afflicted and poor people and they shall trust in the name
of the Lord. You know, the Lord's people, they are a
poor and afflicted people. They're poor in spirit. The Lord Jesus says, blessed
are the poor in spirit. And that is the nature of the
true child of God. They feel their poverty, they
feel their sinfulness, they feel indwelling sin. Not that we live in sin, But
sin lives in us. And that is a great trial to
the living child of God, to feel the risings of sin and corruption
in our nature. I will also leave in the midst
of thee, this is in Zion, the church of God, and afflicted
and poor people. But this is what characterizes
them, and they shall trust in the name of the Lord. The name
of the Lord is a strong tower and the righteous runneth into
it." A strong tower. The remnant of Israel, this is
the spiritual seed of Israel. In Romans and in the Galatians
the Apostle makes it abundantly clear that the Christian believer
is of the spiritual seed of Abraham in Christ. Christ was born of
the seed of Abraham and the the New Testament Church, drawn from
every nation, kindred, tongue and tribe and people, but by
the divine work of the Spirit in their heart, in bringing them
to faith in Jesus Christ, they are the spiritual seed of Abraham. You see, these things are written for
our instruction. The remnant of Israel shall not
do iniquity, nor speak lies. This is the effect of the gospel
of the grace of God in the heart of a poor sinner. Neither shall
a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth. That's when we're
walking in the fear of the Lord, in the spirit of Christ and we
have the mind of Christ. For they shall feed and lie down,
and none shall make them afraid. These wonderful promises there.
And then these sacred gospel promises from verse 14 and onward. Sing, O daughter of Zion. Shout,
O Israel. Be glad and rejoice with all
the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. The Lord hath taken away thy
judgments. One hymn writer says, a judgment
bond against me lay, I believe it's John Berridge. A judgment
bond against me lay, and it does against every single one of us.
A solemn judgment bond, because of our sin. But here it says, the Lord has
taken away thy judgments. He has cast out thine enemy.
The King of Israel, that's Christ, even the Lord. is in the midst
of thee, thou shalt not see evil any more. The Lord hath taken
away thy judgments, those solemn judgments according to the law
of God that should have cast us to eternal perdition, are
taken away from the Christian believer. There is now therefore
no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. He hath
taken away thy judgement. Why? Because Jesus suffered,
bled and died for our sins. Jesus was judged in our room,
place and step. Jesus was wounded for our transgressions
and bruised for our iniquities and the chastisement of our peace
was upon him and with his stripes we are healed. He's taken away
their judgments. He's taken them away from you
and me. And He laid upon Him, His only
begotten Son, manifest in the flesh. He laid upon Him the iniquity
of us all. Again, another hymn writer says,
payment He cannot twice demand. first at my bleeding shortest
hand, and then again at mine. The Lord hath taken away thy
judgment. She hath cast out thine enemy,
that's Satan. Satan is the enemy of the Lord's
people. Satan is the enemy of God. Satan
is the prince of darkness. Satan is called the old serpent,
the devil, even Satan. We're given some clear descriptions
in the word of God of who Satan is. Jesus Christ, it says in the
first epistle of John, was manifested to destroy the works of the devil. And he does. He's the king eternally
immortal and invisible. The Lord thy God in the midst
of thee is mighty. Our Lord Jesus Christ, He's mighty
to save, He's mighty to redeem, He's mighty to love His people.
There's such a fullness of grace in Jesus Christ. It says, doesn't
it, He is full of grace and truth. He's always full of grace and
truth. There's never any diminishment
of that fullness that there is in Christ. A fullness resides
in Jesus our Head. and never abides to answer our
need. He hath cast out thine enemy. He hath swallowed up death in
victory. He hath destroyed death and him
that hath the power of death that is the devil. Who has? Christ. The Lord thy God in the midst
of thee is mighty. glorious person of our Lord Jesus
Christ. He will save. He will save. His name shall be called Jesus,
for he shall save his people from their sins. And that is
what our Lord Jesus Christ has done. He has made a new and living
way into the holy place. He has indeed. The Lord thy God
in the midst of thee, is mighty. It says in the previous verse,
the King of Israel, even the Lord, is in the midst of thee,
and thou shalt not see evil any more. In that day, this is the
Gospel day, it shall be said to Jerusalem, fear thou not.
And to Zion, let not thine hands be slack. Why? Because the Lord thy God in the
midst of thee is mighty. He's mighty to save. Let not
thy hands be slack. You know friends, what one of
the solemn things the Lord had against the
children of Israel. You only got to look in the first
chapter of Haggai, the next chapter after ours. And the Lord, He upraised them. They'd come back from the land
of Babylon. They built the walls of Jerusalem
under Nehemiah. And this prophecy is about 18
years after that. And look what the Lord says.
See, they rebuilt Jerusalem, they rebuilt their houses, they
were comfortable, they were secure. And the Lord, He says, is it
time for you, verse 4, O ye to dwell in your sealed houses and
this house lie waste? What a word that is relevant
to us today. Now therefore, thus saith the
Lord of hosts, consider your ways. You have so much and bring
in little. You eat, but you have not enough.
You drink, but are not filled with drink. You clothe you, but
there is none warm. And he that earneth wages, earneth
wages to put into a bag with holes. Thus saith the Lord of
hosts, consider your ways. What do we put first? Do we put the house of God first?
The people of God first? Do we put the Lord first? We're
exhorted by our Lord Jesus Christ, seek He first. Often my beloved
friends, if we're honest, He's second. Seek He first, the Kingdom
of Heaven. and my righteousness, and all
these things, that's all the providential things that you're
running after, all these things shall be added unto you. But we need to get our priorities
right. Seek ye first the Kingdom of
Heaven and my righteousness. Thus saith the Lord of Hosts.
Consider your ways. Go up to the mountain and bring
wood and build the house. and I will take pleasure in it,
and I will be glorified, saith the Lord. You look for much,
and lo, it came to little, and when you brought it home, I did
low upon it. Why, saith the Lord of hosts, because of my house
that is waste, and you run every man unto his own house. Therefore,
the heavens over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed
from a fruit. I call for a drought upon the
land, and upon the mountains, upon the corn, upon the new wine,
upon the oil, upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and
upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labour of the hands. Why? Because the house of the
Lord lay waste. Thus saith the Lord of Hosts,
Consider your ways. Consider your ways, Just look
in verse 2, and it says, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying,
This people say, The time is not come, the time that the Lord's
house should be built. Or, as we so often hear, it's
a day of small things, and you should be satisfied with a day
of small things. Now, my beloved friends, we should
not despise the day of small things, but we shouldn't be satisfied
with it. Open thy mouth wide and I will
fill it. That's the word of the Lord unto
his people. And then the Lord through Haggai
in verse 13 of that first chapter, then spake Haggai the Lord's
messenger in the Lord's message unto the people saying, I am
with you, saith the Lord. And the Lord stirred up. Isn't
that what we need the Lord to do for us? Spiritually. And the Lord stirred up the spirit
of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit
of Joshua, the son of Josedek, the high priest, and the spirit
of all the remnant of the people. And they came and did work in
the house of the Lord of hosts their God. You see, my beloved
friends, we need the Lord to stir us up, we do, that we might
labour and travel in Zion to see the good of Jerusalem. One
thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after, that
I might dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
You look back at the time of your espousals, look at the back
when the time the Lord first blessed you, Look back to the
time when the love of Christ was shed abroad in your heart.
You were full of holy zeal, longing to see the Lord's blessing upon
Zion. Where are you now? Where is the blessedness I knew
when first I knew the Lord? Where is the soul-refreshing
view of Jesus in His Word? Where are you? Where am I? Are
we spiritually exercised? The Lord thy God who says here,
let not thine hands be slack. The Lord thy God in the midst
of thee is mighty. He will save. He will rejoice over thee with joy. He will rest in his love. He will joy over thee We sing
the word that really stood out to me this morning when seeking
the mind of the Lord for this evening's service. It was just
that little clause, He will rest in His love. He will rest in
His love. Not in our love. Not in our graces. No, it's in His love. You think
of the love of God in Christ. You think of those wonderful
words, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore
with loving kindness have I drawn thee. It's a wonderful thing
to be drawn, drawn to Christ with loving kindness when The
Apostle speaks in the epistle to the Romans that the love of
God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, the love of
God. And this fills our hearts with
holy zeal, it does, with a longing, with a yearning. You know, the
faith of the Lord's people is not intellectual. It's in the heart. It's in the
innermost being. And it's a faith that worketh
by love. And if that faith is in exercise
in our hearts, we shall then know, like we've been speaking
of, What it is to be burdened for Zion. What it is to be burdened
for souls. What it is to be burdened for
the prodigals. For those that have lost their
way and are wandering. We shouldn't just dismiss them.
Oh well they've left the house of God. Oh my beloved friends
it should have a tremendous effect on us. when there are those that
forsake the house of God and the ways of God and the truth
of God. It should burden our hearts.
Surely that is one of the reasons why our Lord Jesus Christ gives
the parable of the prodigal son and how the Lord caused him to
be in want so that he ate the pig's food
He spent all his money. He was absolutely destitute. He was looking after pigs. And
he used to eat of the pigs' food. That is where the Lord had brought
him. Caused him to be in want. And what did he eventually say?
I will return to my father's house. I will return to my father's
house. is what we should be praying
for, for those prodigals that have left us, that they might
return, that the Lord might cause them to be in one and to return
unto the house of God. And it's this spirit of love,
the Lord rests in his love, his love to us. I the Lord change
not, therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed, he rests in
his love. His love, His eternal love, the
love of our Heavenly Father, who loved us with an everlasting
love, who gave us to His only begotten Son in eternity past,
who sent His Son, He gave His Son, who gave His life at ransom
for all. The Lord Jesus came to live and
suffer and bleed and die for the sins of His people. He did
indeed. We read in 1 John chapter 4 verse
7 Beloved let us love one another for love is of God and everyone
that loveth is born of God and knoweth God. He that loveth not
knoweth not God for God is love. That is the essence of his character
of the Eternal God. We read in Holy Scripture of
the love of the Father, the love of the Son and the love of the
Holy Ghost. It's infinite and eternal love. It's unchanging love. There are some very certain things.
Everyone that loveth is born of God and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not
God, for God is love. And the Apostle, he says, but
we have the mind of Christ, which is the mind of love, of pity,
compassion. He continues here in 1 John 4,
in this was manifested the love of God toward us because that
God sent his only begotten Son into the world that we might
live through him, hearing his love, not that we loved God,
but that he loved us, and sent his son to be the propitiation
for our sins. That word propitiation is a very
similar word to the word atonement, when the Lord Jesus offered that
sin-atoning sacrifice of himself on the cross of Calvary. And
the essence of the meaning of propitiation is the wrath-ending
sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. That's
the meaning of propitiation. Because that God sent his only
begotten son into the world that we might live through him, here
in his love. Not that we loved God, but that
He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our
sins, to be wounded for our transgressions, to be bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace
was upon Him and with His stripes we are healed. Beloved, If God
so loved us, we are also to love one another. No man has seen
God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth
in us, and his love is perfected in us. Hereby know we that we
dwell in him and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit
The Holy Spirit that quickened your soul into life. The Holy
Spirit that brought you from death into life. Because by nature we're all dead
in trespasses and in sins. But God who is rich in mercy,
with the love wherewith he loved us, he has quickened us. Given faith. faith that looks
to Jesus, faith that cleaves to Jesus. He convinces us of
our sin and our lost condition and then convinces us that Jesus
is the way to God. That's the divine love and power
of the Holy Ghost that does that. And we have seen and do testify
that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. Whosoever shall confess that
Jesus is the Son of God God dwelleth in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed
the love that God hath to us. God is love. This is where it
all starts. It's in the eternal love of God,
God is love. And he that dwelleth in love,
dwelleth in God, and God in him. Oh my beloved friends, this is
the spirit of faith. faith that work is by love. You see, herein is our love made
perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment, because
as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but
perfect love casteth out fear, because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect
in love, We love him because he first loved us. That's the moving cause of our
love to him, because he first loved us. I have loved thee with
an everlasting love, but therefore with loving kindness have I drawn
thee. you know the dear apostle Paul
when he writes that first epistle to the Corinthians and he sets
before us the spirit of love in chapter 13 of 1 Corinthians
that though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels
and have not charity charity means loving action and the Lord
says in the word, doesn't he? Let us not love in word only,
but in deed and in truth. It's love in action. Do we have this love in action
that moves us to do those things that are honoring to our Lord
and Master, to have His Spirit. Though I speak with the tongues
of men and of angels, the Corinthians were blessed with great gifts
of the Spirit and have not charity. Love in action, I am become as
a sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the
gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge,
and though I have all faith so that I could remove mountains
and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods
to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned and
have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. Charity suffereth
long. and is kind. Charity envieth
not, charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave
itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked,
thinketh no evil, rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in
the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth
all things, endureth all things, charity never faileth, But whether
there be prophecies, they shall fail. Whether there be tongues,
they shall cease. Whether there be knowledge, it
shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy
in part. He closes that chapter, he says,
and now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three. But the
greatest of these is charity. The Lord thy God in the midst
of thee is mighty. He will say, He will rejoice
over thee with joy. A mercy, isn't it? He will rest
in His love. And that's an unchanging love.
It is an unchanging love. We're just about to sing that
lovely hymn where it speaks of the eternal love of God to his
people. The unchanging love of God. He
will joy over thee. We're singing. And then these
promises to Zion. I will gather them that are sorrowful
for the solemn assembly, who are of thee to whom the reproach
of it was a burden, Behold, at that time I will undo all that
afflict thee, and I will save her that halteth and gather,
her that was driven out, and I will get them praise and fame
in every land where they have been put to shame. You see these
wonderful promises unto Zion, unto the Church of the Living
God, but what really stands out to me, He will rest in His love,
the love of the Father, the love of the Son, the love of the Holy
Ghost, infinite, eternal love of our almighty Redeemer. May the Lord add His blessing. Let us now sing together hymn
number 633 and the tune is Coal Wall 315. The love of Christ is rich and
free, fixed on his own eternally, nor earth nor hell can it remove,
long as he lives, his own he'll love. Hymn 633. Tune Colwall
315. O come all ye faithful joyful
and triumphant Her, long as she lives, is her beloved. His loving heart engaged to be,
There ever, lost in surety, T'was love that heard the calls of
man, And love may change it to the
air. Love cannot from its birth withdraw,
No death, no hell, no sin, no love Can tend the show, tease
out the rain He'll love His own to endless
day. Love has redeemed His sheep with
love. And love will bring them safe
to go. Love calls them all from death
to life. And love will finish all that's
stored. In wonder every change we've
seen, Your oath can't keep him from
sire and queen Not all the one dreams of the heart can make his love a worthy plot. Let it be your undergrave, dear
love, In endless places crowned shall
prove The face in glory of the Lord. 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 for evermore. Amen.