at 10.30 and 2 o'clock. The pastor will preach here on
Tuesday evening at 7 o'clock. There will be a prayer meeting
here on Thursday evening at 7 o'clock. The collection taken at our anniversary
services on Friday for your pastor amounted to £1,490.62. I would like to sincerely thank
you for your kind generosity shown in such a practical way. The collections taken during
June amounted to £2,279.10. Donations to the book fund were
£20. Thank you for your support. Let us commence our services
today by singing together hymn 361 to the tune Wiltshire 268. How did my heart rejoice to hear
my friends devoutly say, in Zion let us all appear and keep the
solemn day. Hymn 361 tune Wiltshire 268. How dear to me, to me ♪ I've got to love you still ♪
♪ It's time to give it up ♪ ♪ So hold on to me ♪ ♪ And keep loving
me still ♪ O'er the ramparts we watched,
were so gallantly streaming? Stands like a compass in the
wind. The day shall be sound of praise. Until the courts with your voice
of love The sun of new beginning, I have been told that sin's been
judged there. He is all praises and homage,
and love is all voice. We cry to you, Savior, God of
the Saints, we tremble and rejoice. Please keep me within this sacred
place, and constant care. that I will live and die with
thee, the heir of heaven's flesh. My soul shall pray, O science
dear, While life and breath remain, that I was given twice in return.
Let go, my Saviour, Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God in Psalm 90 and 91. Psalms 90 and 91. Lord, there has been a dwelling
place in all generations before the mountains were brought forth,
or ever thou hast formed the earth and the world, even from
everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. Thou turnest man to
destruction, and sayest, return ye children of men. For a thousand
years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and
as a watch in the night. Thou carryest them away, with
a flood, they are as asleep. In the morning they are like
grass which groweth up, in the morning it flourisheth and groweth
up, in the evening it is cut down and withereth. For we are
consumed by thine anger, and by thy wrath are we troubled.
Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins
in the light of thy countenance, for all our days are passed away
in thy wrath. We spend our years as a tale
that is told. The days of our years are three
score years and ten, and if by reason of strength they be four
score years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow, for it is
soon cut off and we fly away. who knoweth the power of thine
anger, even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath. So teach us to number our days,
that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. Return, O Lord,
how long, and let it repent thee concerning thy servants. O satisfy
us early with thy mercy, that we may rejoice and be glad all
our days. Make us glad according to the
days wherein thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we
have seen evil. Let thy work appear unto thy
servants, and thy glory unto their children. And let the beauty
of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish thou the work of
our hands upon us. Yea, the work of our hands, establish
thou it. Psalm 91. he that dwelleth in
the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow
of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, he is
my refuge and my fortress, my God, in him will I trust. Surely
he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler and from
the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his
feathers and under his wings shalt thou trust. His truth shall
be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for
the terror by night, nor for the arrow that flyeth by day,
nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness, nor for the destruction
that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy
side, and ten thousand at thy right hand, but it shall not
come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou
behold, and see the reward of the wicked, because thou hast
made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most high, thy habitation. There shall no evil before thee,
neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling, for he shall
give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways,
they shall bear thee up in their hands. Lest thou dash thy foot
against a stone, thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder, the
young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet. Because
he has set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him,
I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall
call upon me, and I will answer him. I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him and honour
him. With long life will I satisfy
him and show him my salvation. May the Lord bless the reading
of his own precious word and grant unto us a spirit of real
prayer Almighty, most merciful and eternal
God, do solemnise our hearts as we seek to bow before thy
great and holy majesty, to grant us a bearable sense of thy glory,
of thy holiness, of thy righteousness, of the perfection of who thou
art, as we've read together in thy words. from everlasting to
everlasting, thou art God. And if we think of those other
precious words, O Lord, the eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath
are the everlasting arms. We do pray that as we gather
round thy word today, we may have a realisation that this
God is our God, even unto death. Now may we have that personal
relationship with Jesus Christ. May we have the spirit of faith
and the spirit of love and the spirit of repentance and godly
sorrow for our sins that we may truly humble ourselves before
thee or we bow as sinners before thee. Thou art holy, we are unholy. Thou art righteous, we are unrighteous. We find, O Lord, as the dear
apostle himself complained, I find a law within my members that
when I would do good, then evil is present with me. And Lord,
we prove it day by day that this is the case. We're unrighteous. We're unclean. We have a heart
which is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.
And as the dear prophet of old declares, from the crown of the
head to the sole of the foot, wounds and bruises and putrefying
sores, there is no soundness in my flesh. We pray that as
we gather together around thy word, that we may be delivered
from the temptations of Satan. Sometimes, Lord, he comes as
a roaring lion, to frighten us away from Thee, seeking whom
He may devour. And sometimes, Lord, He comes
as an angel of light, seeking whom He may deceive. And as promised
in Thy Word, that when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit
of the Lord will lift up a standard against him. 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 for thy great name's sake. May we be led by the Spirit
of God. Thy word instructs us that as
many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of
God. And may we have that witness
of thy Spirit with our spirit, that we are indeed the sons and
daughters of the Lord God Almighty. We pray, most blessed Spirit,
that thou wouldst convince us of our sin, and lead to Jesus'
blood, and to our wandering eyes reveal the secret love of God. We pray that we might be favoured
with those divine drawings of a heavenly Father, for none come
except the Father draw, or that we may sweetly experience in
our hearts today that sacred drawing unto our Lord Jesus Christ. Lord, we do pray that thou, in
thy great mercy, wouldst come and stand in our midst. We often
think, O Lord, of those disciples as they were afraid, in fear
of the Jews, met together, the doors being shut, Jesus himself
drew near, entered in, said, Peace be unto you. Oh, most gracious
Lord, what an unspeakable privilege it would be if the Lord Jesus
would come and stand in our midst. The almighty Saviour, the almighty
Redeemer, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, Do come, Lord
Jesus, we pray Thee. What is the house, O Lord, to
me, unless the Master I can see? All that we might see, our Lord
Jesus Christ. We do pray, most gracious Lord,
that Thou would remember our brethren, the deacons, and give
needy grace, wisdom, and help, and undertake for them in all
their responsibilities here and elsewhere We pray for our brother
at Tunbridge Wells this morning that thou wouldst help him and
graciously bless the friends there. We pray for each one of
our brethren and sisters in church fellowship that thy rich blessing
may rest upon us each and that we may truly love each other and serve each other and bear
each other's burden. thereby fulfilling the law of
Christ. Lord, we pray that it may be
so. And that thou hast said, Lord Jesus, that by this shall
they know that ye are my disciples, because ye have love one to another.
Lord, we do pray that thou, in thy precious mercy, would graciously
remember the dear children. We think of those that are away
from us today, seeking rest and change, and we pray that thou
wouldst graciously be with them and bless them. And that we pray,
O Lord, that thou wouldst bless each one of the children. Bless
them with the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom.
We do humbly beseech thee. We often think and meditate thankfully
on those lovely words of our Lord Jesus Christ. Suffer little
children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such
is the kingdom of heaven. And Lord, we pray that Thou in
Thy precious mercy would bless the young friends and bless them
with living faith in Jesus Christ. Bless them with grace to follow
Thee and serve Thee in their day and generation. Bless them
with a partner in life's journey. And bless them, Lord, we pray
Thee, with employment, and graciously undertake for them in all matters.
Grant that we may see among us here the fulfilling of that wonderful
promise. Instead of thy father shall be
thy children, whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth.
Lord, grant that the prodigals may return, and thy wonderful
grace may be seen in this. that thou wouldst have mercy
upon them, that we may see thy work and thy power and thy glory,
what a rejoicing there would be among us, O Lord, to see those
returning prodigals. O, do hear us, Lord, we humbly
pray thee. May the power that brings salvation
be exerted in the word, and may we see the quicken operation
of the Holy Ghost, May the glory, light, and power of gospel truth
shine into this village and the surrounding villages and hamlets.
May many, many precious souls yet be gathered in. Oh, we do
pray that thou wouldst hear us in heaven, thy holy dwelling
place. Remember parents who give wisdom and help and grace to
bring up their children in the nurture and admonition of the
Lord. Remember, O Lord, we do humbly beseech thee, all in the midst of the journey
of life. And Lord, we pray for any in affliction, trouble, trial,
and perplexity that thou wouldst undertake for each one. Remember
those of us in the evening time of life's journey. And Lord,
as the outward man perishes, May the inward man be renewed
day by day. Remember all thy servants as
they labour in word and doctrine upon the walls of Zion. Set them
free, set them at liberty. Send out thy light, send out
thy truth. Return in thy power and in thy
glory as thou used to be in this sanctuary. We pray thee, the
great Lord of the harvest, that thou would send more labourers
into the harvest, that thou wouldst build the walls of Jerusalem. Lord, we pray for that grace
to know nothing among men, save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Lord, we pray that thou, in thy
great mercy, wouldst remember us as a nation, remember all
the little causes of truth up and down the land and richly
bless them. Remember those that have the
rule over us, our new government. We're exhorted to pray for all
in authority, and we would do so, Lord, and pray that thou
would give wisdom, integrity, and uprightness. We do humbly
beseech thee, and that thou would be gracious unto us as a nation,
and turn back the tides of iniquity and unrighteousness. We do humbly
beseech thee. We're not deserving of thy love
or thy mercy or thy kindness, and none of us are. But hear
us in heaven, thy holy dwelling place. Remember our King, our
King especially, and the Princess of Wales in their affliction,
that there was be Jehovah Rophi, not only in their bodies but
in their souls. Bless all the Royal House, with
that rich grace that is in Christ Jesus. And oh Lord God, we pray
that those be with those that go forth from among us as a group
of churches. We think of Ian Sadler and that
great work that he does in so many different places on earth
in the distribution of Holy Scripture, in the exposition of the word,
Lord, graciously supply all his many returning needs, we do humbly
beseech thee, and grant that it may redound to the glory of
thy great name. Remember and supply all the needs
of the Savannah Education Trust in Ghana and that great work
that they're doing there in a Christian education. Gracious God, do hear
us, we pray thee, and that do richly bless their endeavours.
Remember thy servant at the Mombasa mission in Kenya, and grant good
success to his labours and the preaching of the word, and supply
all their needs. O Lord, we do thank thee for
every mercy of thy kind providence. We do thank thee for all thy
goodness that has passed before us in the way. We do thank Thee
that Thy mercies are new every morning and great is Thy faithfulness. We do thank Thee for that wonderful
glory of God manifest in the flesh. We thank Thee for our
Lord Jesus Christ. We thank Thee for His holy life
and the holy law that He has fulfilled and honoured and magnified
on behalf of His people, bringing in everlasting righteousness.
We thank thee for the wonderful glory of the offering of Christ
on Calvary, where sin has been put away and divine justice has
been satisfied. We thank thee for the precious
blood of the Lamb that cleanses from all sin. We thank thee for
that Saviour that died for our sins and rose again for our justification. We will bow in humble adoration
and thanksgiving before thee for the glories of Christ, who
has now ascended up on high, who sitteth at thy right hand,
we indeed have a great high priest. Lord, fill our hearts with gratitude. Awake, sweet gratitude, and sing
the ascended Saviour's love. Be with us now, Lord, as we turn
to thy Word. Come and touch one's lips with
the live coal from of thee, heavenly altar we ask with the forgiveness
of all sin for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. Let us continue by singing together
hymn number 1097 to the Toon Foundation 829. A refuge for sinners, the gospel
makes known. It is found in the merits of
Jesus alone. The weary, the tempted, and burdened
by sin were never exempted from entering therein. Hymn 1097 to
the Toon Foundation For in thy courts, O Savior,
thou shalt be served. They shall remember thee, O Jesus,
our Lord. ♪ And with the angelic voices ♪
♪ Shall we ever stand again ♪ ♪ O'er the land of the free and the
home of the brave? ♪ In Jesus' name. Amen. ♪ The God-fearing, living King
♪ ♪ Take refuge in Jesus ♪ ♪ The Lamb who died for you ♪ ♪ Christ the Lord shall enter now
into each of us ♪ ♪ His love for us shall never end ♪ ♪ The end of the world ♪ ♪ The
end of the world ♪ ♪ The end of the world ♪ O'er the land of the free and
the home of the brave? Oh, say does that star-spangled
banner yet wave It never can take its toll. And I'll see you in my dreams
And I'll see you in my dreams And I'll see you in my dreams Greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, I would direct your attention to Psalm 91, and
we'll read verse one for our text. Psalm 91, reading verse one for
our text. He that dwelleth in the secret
place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the
Almighty. He that dwelleth in the secret
place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the
Almighty. Moses, the man of God, many believe
that Psalm 91, definitely Psalm 90 was written by him, And many
commentators feel that Psalm 91 is written as well by Moses,
the man of God. If you look at the beginning
of both Psalms, they're very similar. It says in Psalm 90,
Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. And here it says, he that dwelleth
in the secret place of the Most High. shall abide under the shadow
of the Almighty. We read together in that second
verse of Psalm 90, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou
art God. There's a God in heaven. That
word from Psalm 86 was made exceedingly precious to me on one occasion
in a time of great triumph but there's a God in heaven. The
wonderful thing it is when the Lord, by His Spirit, opens up
the Word of Truth and breathes it into your soul, especially
when you come to some very difficult things in your life. And He gives
you a little meditation, He lifts you out of yourself, He lifts
you above yourself. Sometimes we we dwell rather
on self. And there's a lot to dwell on,
isn't there? We have a wicked heart, we have a corrupt nature. But Joseph Hart, in that well-known
hymn, he says, pour not on thyself too long, else shall sink thee
lower. Look to Jesus, firm and strong,
mercy joined, with power. The secret place that is by,
of the Most High is Christ. It's our Lord Jesus Christ. He
is the secret place of the Most High. We read in the prophecy
of Isaiah, in chapter 57, and in verse 15 of chapter 57,
for thus saith the high and lofty one that inhabiteth eternity,
whose name is holy, I dwell in the high and holy place with
him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive
the spirit of the humble and to revive the heart of the contrite
ones. I dwell in the high and holy
place with Him that is of a contrite and humble spirit as Christ.
I dwell in the high and holy place with Him, with our Lord
Jesus Christ. It's in the secret place of the
Most High. You know, Moses, when the children
of Israel were so rebellious, against him, against Aaron, against
God. They openly rebelled against
God. And we read in the book of Exodus how Moses, he wrestled
with the Lord and asked the Lord to have mercy
upon them. And the Lord spoke to Moses in
Exodus chapter 33 from verse 19, and he said, I will make
all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name
of the Lord before thee, and I will be gracious to whom I
will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. And he said, thou canst not see
my face, for there shall no man See me and live. This is the verse, verse 21,
that particularly drew me to it. And the Lord said, Behold,
there is a place by me. He said, the secret place of
the Most High. There is a place by me. And thou
shalt stand upon a rock. That's Christ. There's a place
by me. And thou shalt stand upon a rock.
That rock is Christ. Christ is the eternal rock of
ages. And it shall come to pass while
my glory passes by thee, that I will put thee in a cleft of
the rock. That's Christ. Top lady, as we
know from that well-known hymn, Rock of Ages, cleft for me. You're probably familiar with
the story of that hymn and how that he was riding in the Cheddar
Gorge on his horse and there came a great thunderstorm and
he rode the horse up into a cleft in the rock to shouter from that
storm and it was while he was in the cleft in the rock that
it came to him, the hymn Rock of Ages. Cleft for men. You see, here I will put thee
in a cleft of the rock and will cover thee with my hand while
I pass by. And I will take my hand away,
and thou shalt see my back parts, but my face shall not be seen.
You see, there's a place by me, he that dwelleth in the secret
place. You know, this secret place,
this secret place is our Lord Jesus Christ. You might say,
well, why is it a secret? Because it's something that has
to be revealed. We read in 1 Corinthians 2, but
God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit, for the Spirit
searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. And he will
take of the things of Jesus and will show them unto you. We read
in the words of Jesus to the disciples to comfort them because
he was leaving them. His physical presence was leaving
them. He was going to ascend into glory and sit upon His throne. And He dwells there. He that
dwelleth in the secret place. Christ dwells in glory. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the
Eternal Son of the Eternal God. We have much of Christ is quoted
in the New Testament in this chapter. He will give his angels
charge over thee. That was spoken when he was in
the temptation in the wilderness. He'll give his angels charge
over thee. And that is true of Christ. But it's also true of
every believer in Christ. And a believer dwells in Christ. Even in the broadest sense of
the word, we as human beings, the apostle says, in him we live
and move and have our being. That's in God. That's in God. But there's something far deeper
than that. Do we dwell in Christ? And does
Christ dwell in our hearts? If Christ dwells in our hearts,
then we dwell in Christ. He that dwelleth in the secret
place. Has Christ been revealed to you?
We're not... You see, friends, there's a big
difference between what we call the letter and the Spirit. When the Word of God speaks of
the letter, it's speaking just of a natural understanding. Many have a natural understanding.
If you've been brought up under the sound of the truth, you've
been brought up to revere the Word of God, and to believe the
Word of God, naturally, it's what you might say, a natural
faith. But you need far more than that. That is not dwelling
in the secret place. We need the Holy Spirit to enter
our heart, to cook in our soul, As Christ himself says, he must
be born again. And then the Holy Spirit convincing
us of our need as a sinner to flee to Christ. You won't flee
to Christ unless you've been brought to feel your need as
a sinner, your need of salvation, your need of redemption. How
many sinners do we have here in chapel this morning? You might
say, well you're always telling us we're all sinners, how absolutely
true, but how many of us really feel it, really know it, really
understand it? He that dwelleth in the secret
place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the
Almighty. The secret place of the Most
High. You know, the Lord Jesus Christ
speaking to his disciples and to all believers in John 17,
that beautiful prayer of our Lord Jesus Christ. He speaks
there of what it is to dwell in Christ. And he says there, in the 23rd verse, I believe
it is, I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect
in one, that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast
loved them as thou hast loved me. In the previous verse he
says that they all may be one as thou, Father, art in me and
I in thee, that they also may be one in us, that the world
may believe that thou hast sent me, I in them, and thou in me. You see that they may behold
my glory. Are you in Christ? Are you in Christ? Years ago,
I'm looking now back in the early church, It was a baptism gradually changed
as the church became corrupted and forced teachers came in and
it was taught that providing you reach a certain level of
understanding of Holy Scripture and of the doctrines of grace
then you was eligible to be baptized. And of course That's a different
qualification to what we have in Holy Scripture. You must have
faith. When we keep the ordinance of
the Lord's Supper this afternoon, I always read that extended piece
in the Corinthians, but if you eat and drink unworthily, what
that means if you eat and drink without faith, It doesn't mean a person who's
doubtful and fearing. It means a person who literally
does not have faith. You can be doubtful and fearing
and still have faith. And it doesn't mean that. It
means a person that has never been born again. A person that
does not have faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And then if we
do that, then we eat and drink unworthily. And he that does
so eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the
Lord's body. How do we discern the Lord's
body? By faith, by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. He that dwelleth in the secret
place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the
Almighty. See the shadow. One hymn writer
says, doesn't he, beneath the shadow of thy cross, under the
shadow, immediately by. That's what it means, isn't it? Under the shadow of the Almighty. Are we dwelling in the secret
place? Have you been born again? Has
Christ been made precious? I choose my language carefully.
Has Christ been made precious? Has Christ become the altogether
lovely one? The chiefest among 10,000 to
you? And you desire to live near him?
To dwell in him? You see, my beloved friends,
that these things are written for our instruction in the way
of righteousness, in the way of truth, that we should dwell
in Christ. One hymn writer says, live near
his heart. It's Gatsby, isn't it? Live near
his heart. Upon his bosom lean. We read
in Psalm 27 and verse 5, for in the time of trouble he shall
hide me in his pavilion. In the secret of his tabernacle
shall he hide me. He shall set my feet upon a rock
as a hiding place. In Isaiah we read a man shall
be in hiding place from the windy storm and tempest. That man is
the man Christ Jesus. There is one God and one mediator
between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. Notice the emphasis,
the man Christ Jesus. And that man Christ Jesus is
eternal God. He's the eternal God. We read
in the word of God, the eternal God is thy refuge. And underneath
are the everlasting arms, a refuge. which is sung together in that
lovely hymn, a refuge for sinners the gospel makes known, which
is found in the merits of Jesus alone, the weary, the tempted,
the burdened by sin, were never exempted from entering therein.
Gatsby, in one of his hymns, he says, 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. The vilest. The Son of Man is come to seek
and to save that which was lost. I came not to call the righteous.
These are the words of Christ. I come not to call the righteous,
but sinners to repentance. Sinners can say, and none but
they, how precious is the Savior. The preciousness of Christ. He
that dwelleth in the secret place. of the Most High shall abide
under the shadow of the Almighty. Christ says, doesn't he, in John
15, abide in me. Abide in me. How necessary, how
needful it is that we abide in Christ. John chapter 15. in that beautiful valedictory
discourse of our Lord Jesus Christ. He says, abide in me and I in
you, as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide
in the vine. No more can ye except ye abide
in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me and I in
him, The same bringeth forth much fruit, for without me ye
can do nothing. You know, that is something that
the Holy Spirit is constantly teaching the true child of God.
Without me ye can do nothing. Abide in me, and I in you, as
the branch cannot bear fruit of itself. You know, my beloved
friends, we can tell the health of our souls by how precious Christ is. We can. We can tell where we
are spiritually by how precious Christ is to us. Is Christ precious? The apostle says in Peter, doesn't
he, Unto you that believe, therefore, he is precious. Is Christ precious? Spoken of in several places in
scripture of the preciousness of Christ. And you know, this
is a fundamental thing in spiritual experience, the preciousness
of Christ. Sometimes I've read or heard
of people particularly among what we might say the Pentecostal
movement and they speak much of the Holy Ghost and the power
of the Holy Ghost and this wonderful experience and that wonderful
experience and another wonderful experience and people get very
taken up with it. Oh what a godly person these
wonderful experiences but when you really analyze it it's not
an experience of the love of God or the love of Christ All
the preciousness of Christ. They're so taken up with just
the experience. This is so wonderful. But my
beloved friends, a real true spiritual experience will bring
you into union with Jesus Christ. And it will make Jesus Christ
very precious unto your soul. It will. And it's Him that you desire,
He that dwelleth. It says here in verse 9 of this
Psalm 91, because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge,
even the most high thy habitation. Habitation is a dwelling place.
You think of this dwelling and you think of the words of our
Lord Jesus Christ in the first chapter of John's Gospel. And
the word was made flesh. and dwelt among us. That word
dwell elsewhere is translated tabernacled. Tabernacle is a
dwelling place and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory, the
glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace
and truth. Is Christ precious? Have you
beheld his glory as the Son of God? Have ye beheld His glory as the
Son of Man? His glory as being the Eternal
God? The Eternal God is thy refuge,
and underneath are the everlasting arms, those everlasting arms
of the love and mercy of God in Christ, He that dwelleth. It says here, dwelling and abiding. It's not just a fleeting experience
here and a fleeting experience there. It's abiding. In the initial
stages of Christian experience, there may be that sense sometimes
of something very fleeting and then it goes. But as the Lord
deepens the work of grace, Christ becomes more precious. Christ becomes more needful.
He does. And Christ, he speaks to Martha,
doesn't he? She was cumbered about with much
serving. He said to her, Mary hath chosen that good part that
shall not be taken away from her. But what was Mary doing? Sitting at the feet of Jesus.
She was abiding there. Martha was cumbered about with
much serving. They're both godly women. But Mary was abiding, she was
dwelling. was something so precious. He that dwelleth in, he that
dwelleth in, is to be in Christ. The Apostle says, doesn't he,
in the third chapter of the Philippians, that I might be found in him, that I might know him in the
power. It's not just to have an intellectual
knowledge or understanding something far deeper than that and this
is one of the great dangers my beloved friends don't misunderstand
me is that it's a very good thing that we're brought up to the
house of God and we're instructed in the word of God and that's
a very good thing but one of the dangers is that you rest
entirely on just your knowledge of the Bible and your knowledge
intellectually of Christ. You know all about the way of
salvation, but one of the dangers is to rest in that natural faith. But we need more than natural
faith. We need more than a historical faith. We need a living faith
that is the gift of God. We read in Ephesians chapter
2, faith is the gift of God. Faith believes, faith looks,
faith watches, faith waits. Faith is a substance of things
hoped for, yet not seen. Are you waiting for him? Are
you dwelling in him? Do you have those longing spiritual
desires to know him? Not just to know about him, but
to know him personally. To have that personal relationship
with Christ. in union with the Lamb, from
condemnation free, the saints for everlasting were and shall
forever be. They're abiding in Christ. You know, we see Christ here
in this psalm, not only in the first verse but throughout the
psalm. When it says in, like we've quoted
verse 9, because thou hast made the Lord which is my refuge even
the most high thy habitation. It's to live in Christ. It's
daily to live in Him. Daily I would repent of sin.
Daily washing Jesus' blood. It's to abide there, continuously. I could from all things parted
be, but never, never Lord from Thee. Is that the feeling and
the experience of your soul? To be parted from anything but
not from the Lord. He's my life. He's my all. He's
the altogether lovely one. He's the chiefest among ten thousand. Because thou hast made the Lord,
which is my refuge, even the most high, thy habitation. You see, and then, as we know,
this is quoted, verse 11 is quoted, in when Christ was tempted in
the wilderness for he shall give his angels charge over thee to
keep thee in all thy ways. That's how we know that it relates
to Christ. But just as it relates to Christ,
it relates to every believer in Christ. He gives his angels
charge over you. Christ himself said, it's not
that angel Standing before my father which is in heaven every
believer has an angel of God And that angel stands before
our father which is in heaven This is a a great comfort my
beloved friends when you're in temptation and trouble and trial
Nothing comes by chance Not a single shaft can hit till the God of
love sees fit and they shall bear thee up in
their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt
tread upon the lion and the adder, the young lion and the dragon,
shalt thou trample under feet. How? By faith. By faith. Look at David. He arose and slew
a lion. He literally arose and slew a
lion. And he slew a bear. Look at the apostles, it's recorded
in the Acts of the Apostles. It was Paul, wasn't it, that
was bitten by a viper, a venomous snake. You know, we're speaking
here of Moses and of course, in that great wilderness journey
of 40 years, that wilderness was full of scorpions and vipers
and we know that when the Lord permitted it, those vipers attacked
the children of Israel. I think on one occasion 23,000
died and Moses lifted up that serpent in the wilderness. And again, our Lord Jesus Christ
himself said, as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,
so shall the Son of Man be lifted up. And that whosoever believes
on him, he shall not die, but he shall have everlasting life.
There's everlasting life in Christ. There's peace in Christ. There's
deliverance from sin and Satan's power in Christ. He is able to save to the uttermost
all that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever living. Because He has set His love upon
me. This, of course, again, is beautifully
spoken of of Christ. Because he hath set his love
upon me, therefore will I deliver him. I will set him on high because
he hath known my name, our Lord Jesus Christ. But just as it's
relative to the glorious person of Christ, it's also relative
to each believer that are brought by grace, a faith that worketh
by love. See, what does that mean? What's
the difference? It's a living faith and it works
by love. Love to Christ, love to your
Heavenly Father, love to the Holy Ghost. There's a love to
the Eternal God. The love of Christ constraineth
us. So this is the distinction to
be made between an intellectual faith An intellectual faith lacks
love. A real true living faith, it
works by love. Faith that worketh by love. Therefore
the heart and the affections is with the heart that man believeth
unto righteousness. It works by love. When Christ
is made precious, when faith lays hold, when faith When Christ
is revealed to faith and we see him as the way, the truth and
the life, your heart goes after him. The language of the apostles,
then you know that I may know him in the power. You feel the
power of the love of God in your heart, in your life. You feel the power of the cross,
the power of the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. the wonderful
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because he has set his love upon
me, therefore when I deliver him, I will set him on high because
he hath known my name. Again, look at verse 15. There's no doubt it's Christ,
but also the true believer. He shall call upon me. And we
read how our Lord Jesus Christ spent whole nights in prayer.
I know it's a deep mystery, friends, but the Lord Jesus Christ, when
he lived as a man here on earth, he had faith. He exercised faith. How is faith exercised? By prayer. By prayer. And supplication. Christ had faith. And a living
faith. He shall call upon me. He prayed
unto his eternal Father, we've just referred to John 17. But he spent whole nights in
prayer. He shall call upon me and I will answer him. I will
be with him in trouble. I will deliver him and honor
him. With long life, that speaks of the resurrection of Christ.
With long life will I satisfy him. and show him my salvation. You see, my beloved friends,
and as these things were in Christ, they are in every believer. What
makes a believer but the gift of faith? The very nature of
faith is to believe. They're synonymous terms. The
other way is put in John 1, it is as many as received him, to
them gave he power. to become the sons of God, even
as many as believe on His name. To receive Christ is to believe. The great thing is to receive
Him, to know Him, to know Him personally, to have union to
Him. And this Lord Jesus Christ, this
glorious person of Christ, He speaks to poor sinners, poor
lost sinners, Poor ruined sinners, poor undone sinners. What does
he say? Come unto me, all ye that labour. How many here of you are labouring? Labouring under a sense of your
sinfulness, your wretchedness, your emptiness, your poverty,
your helplessness, your hopelessness, and you labour under it. You labour under your sin and
a realisation that you're not prepared, and you labour under
that. And the Lord Jesus, he speaks
to such poor souls. He says, 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. There's a rest in the finished
work of our Lord Jesus Christ. My mind just thinking of those
lovely words of Christ. 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. Now in Isaiah chapter 55, Again,
it's Christ that is speaking. How everyone that thirsteth,
come ye to the waters. And he that hath no money, that
means he that is bankrupt, he that hath no money, come ye by
wine and eat ye come by wine and milk without money and without
price. Wherefore do you spend your money
for that which is not bread? laboring to make yourself right
before God, laboring to produce a righteousness acceptable to
God. That's absolutely vain, you can
never do that sinner. Wherefore do you spend money
for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which
satisfies not? Hearken diligently unto me, and
eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself
in fatness. Incline your ear and come unto
me. These are the words of Jesus.
Incline your ear and come unto me, here and your soul shall
live, and I will make an everlasting covenant. You see, there's an
eternal abiding in Christ. I will make an everlasting covenant
with you, even the sure mercies of David. Goes on in verse six,
it says, seek ye the Lord while he may be found. call ye upon
him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord,
and he will have mercy upon him, and to our God, for he will abundantly
pardon. You see these wonderful words
of grace, spoken to poor, wretched, ruined, helpless sinners. We read in the last verses of
the prophet Micah, Micah chapter 7 verse 18, Who is a God like
unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression
of the remnant of his heritage, he retaineth not his anger for
ever, because he delighteth in mercy. this holy, this almighty,
this eternal God, the most high, he delights in mercy. David says
in Psalm 113, but there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be
feared. Oh, my beloved friends, there
is a place of refuge. A door of hope is open wide in
Jesus' bleeding hands and side. Who is a God like unto thee?
that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression
of the remnant of his heritage, he retaineth not his anger for
ever, because he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again, he
will have compassion upon us, he will subdue our iniquities,
and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea,
never to be seen again. cast all their sins into the
depths of the sea. I think it says here in the book
of Psalms, if I remember correctly in Psalm 103, it speaks there
so beautifully, verse 3, who forgiveth all thine iniquities,
who healeth all thy diseases, who redeemeth thy life from destruction,
who crowneth thee with loving kindness and tender mercy, all
the tender mercies of our God in Christ. Even he comes down to little
children, suffer little children, to come unto me and forbid them
not, for of such is the kingdom of heaven. It says in Psalm 103, verse 11, for as the heaven is
high above the earth, so great is his mercy towards them that
fear him. As far as the east is from the
west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father pitieth his children,
so the Lord pitieth them. that fear Him. You see, the Lord
pities His people. There's those lovely words, spoken
derogatory concerning Christ by the Pharisees, but what a
truth, what a depth, what a loveliness there is in them. This man, who? The Holy God man, the man Christ
Jesus, this man receiveth sins and eateth with them. He does.
He receiveth sinners, and eateth with them. He that dwelleth in
the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow,
under the protection, under the care of the Almighty. There's none who can keep like
He does, the Almighty. Maybe that's something that troubles
you. Maybe there is perhaps an open
profession to be made. And you say, but I cannot keep
myself. You can't. You never have been
able to, you never will be able to. But the Lord is able to keep
you. Unto him that is able to keep
you from falling. I think it's the closing verse
of the epistle of Jude, isn't it? A very, very beautiful word
is spoken there of encouragement to the Lord's family. Jude, chapter,
verse 24. Now unto him that is able to
keep you from falling and to present you faultless before
the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise
God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power,
both now and ever. He that dwelleth in the secret
place of the Most High, to dwell in Christ, shall abide, that
is, eternally abide, shall abide under the shadow of Almighty. As I was thinking of this and
abiding under the shadow of the Almighty, my mind seemed much
drawn to those lovely words of our Lord Jesus Christ concerning
the hen and she gathers her young. I'm sure most of you are aware
of the story of the hen, the hen house caught alight. There was in that hen house a
mother with all her little chicks. Now, she protects her chicks
under her wings. She does. And the Lord Jesus
Christ, he uses that as a wonderful illustration of how He keeps his children. As a hen
gathers her chicks under her wings, so would I have gathered
thee. What a wonderful thing. And you know that fire that was
in the hen house? The farmer, he came round after
the fire, and I think He could have kicked the chicken that
was laid there dead, and out from under her wings came the
living little chicks. She protected them. She died,
but she protected all her little chicks. And Christ himself says,
as a hen gathereth her chicks, so will I have gathered thee. You see, there's a hiding place. That hiding place is Christ.
There's a rock, an eternal rock, a refuge. He that dwelleth in
the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow
of the Almighty forever. May the Lord add his blessing. Let us now sing together hymn
number 137, the tune is Pembroke, 719. How happy is the little flock,
who safe beneath their guardian rock, in all commotions rest,
when war and tumult's ways run high, unmoved above the storm
they lie, they lodge, in Jesus' breast, hymn 137, tune Pembroke,
719. ♪ Alleluia ♪ ♪ Alleluia to God
♪ ♪ Who taketh away the sins of the world ♪ They all come out some time,
They're going to a place unknown. The mover of the storm may fly,
May not in jade you tread. Whatever is the world before
The bread of heaven's love we know The sign of Jesus' birth, His
turn at death upon the earth, We hear the rolling hills and
plains Joy of the Lord appear ♪ The clear and kind ♪ ♪ The warm
and fair ♪ ♪ The friends I have heard ♪ ♪ Try to bear ♪ and make thy glory known. And
all my soul, thou King of kings, and find through all inferior
things that there you shall find hope. 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. Thank you.