We will commence the worship
of God with hymn 409. The tune is St. Godric, 556. To him that chose us first, before
the world began, to him that bore the curse to save rebellious
man, to him that formed our hearts anew, is endless praise and glory
due. Hymn 409 In excelsis Deo nobis, Deo nobis This I never shall forget. God love you, keep on the praise
and glory. O'er the ramparts we watched,
were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air, ? All that knows ? ? God lives
and reigns ? ? God's pure wisdom ? ? In equal praise unto you ? ? God of the
world ? ? He sent down the Lamb ? ? That
made the world on high ? ? O come all ye faithful ? ? Let's sing of Him above ? From the word of God, we shall read
the 18th chapter in the Gospel according to Luke. The Gospel according to Luke,
chapter 18. And he spake a parable unto them,
to this end, that men ought always to pray and not to faint saying
there was in a city a judge which feared not God neither regarded
man and there was a widow in that city
and she came unto him saying avenge me of mine adversary and
he would not for a while. But afterward he said within
himself, though I fear not God, nor regard man, yet because this
widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming
she weary me. And the Lord said, Hear what
the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge his
own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear
long with them? I tell you that he will avenge
them speedily. Nevertheless, When the Son of
Man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? And he spake this parable unto
certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and
despised others. Two men went up into the temple
to pray. The one a Pharisee, and the other
a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed
thus with himself, God, I thank thee that I am not as other men
are, extortionous, unjust, adulterous, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give
tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar
off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but
smote upon his breast, saying, God, be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down
to his house justified, rather than the other. For every one
that exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that humbleth
himself shall be exalted. And they brought unto him also
infants, that he would touch them, But when his disciples
saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them unto him,
and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them
not. For of such is the kingdom of
God. Verily I say unto you, whosoever
shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall
in no wise enter their inn. And a certain ruler asked him,
saying, Good master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why
callest thou me good? None is good save one, that is
God. Thou knowest the commandments.
Do not commit adultery. Do not kill. Do not steal. Do not bear false witness. Honour
thy father and thy mother. And he said, All these have I
kept from my youth up. Now when Jesus heard these things,
he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing, sell all that
thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have
treasure in heaven, and Come, follow me. And when he heard
this, he was very sorrowful, for he was very rich. And when
Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, how hardly shall they
that have riches enter into the kingdom of God. For it is easier
for a camel to go through a needle's eye than for a rich man to enter
into the kingdom of God. And they that heard it said,
who then can be saved? And he said, the things which
are impossible with men and are possible with God. Then Peter
said, Lo, we have left all and followed thee. And he said unto
them, Verily I say unto you, there is no man that hath left
house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the
kingdom of God's sake. who shall not receive manifold
more in this present time, and in the world to come, life everlasting. Then he took unto him the twelve,
and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things
that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man shall
be accomplished. For he shall be delivered unto
the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and
spitted on, and they shall scourge him, and put him to death. And the third day he shall rise
again. and they understood none of these
things. And this saying was hid from
them, neither knew they the things which were spoken. And it came
to pass that as he was come nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind
man sat by the wayside begging. And hearing the multitude pass
by, he asked what it meant. And they told him that Jesus
of Nazareth passeth by. And he cried, saying, Jesus,
thou son of David, have mercy on me. And they which went before
rebuked him, that he should hold his peace. But he cried so much
the more, thou son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus stood
and commanded him to be brought unto him. And when he was come
near, he asked him, saying, what wilt thou that I shall do unto
thee? And he said, Lord, that I may
receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Receive
thy sight, thy faith hath saved thee. And immediately he received
his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when
they saw it, gave praise unto God. May God bless that portion of
his holy word. May he help us in prayer. Most gracious God, we pray that
thou would humble our hearts as we seek to venture unto thee. Lord, we plead thy precious word,
humbly trust we believe that thou hast said to this man, will
I look even to him that is of a broken and a contrite heart. We pray for that heart, the heart
which thou wilt look upon. a heart which thou alone canst
break. O grant a touch, Lord Jesus,
of thy repentance. May it flow from heaven into
our souls, that we might feel that true contrition over our
sin, over what we are. And come, Lord, to thee pleading
for mercy, Mercy through blood we make our plea. Have mercy,
have compassion upon us. We do seek thy blessing on our
gathering. We pray, Lord Jesus, that thou
wilt bless us with the clear work of the Holy Spirit in our
souls, that we might be taught of thee and led by thee. that thou wilt make thy word
a precious word we do desire that it might go forth in power
and in the Holy Ghost and with much assurance that thou wilt
use thy word for our good and for thy glory that thou wilt
make thy word a lively and a living and an effectual word. O may
it be made mighty through Jesus to the pulling down of the strongholds
of sin and satan and the building up of thy one church. We pray
that thou wilt sanctify us through thy word. Thy word is true. Grant us spiritual understanding. Grant us those heavenly gifts
which Thou alone can give, that spirit of discernment, a true
understanding of Thy Word. We pray, Lord, that Thou will
bless it to our souls. May it be blessed to the souls
of those that gather and any who listen in. We do pray that they will let
thy work appear here. We especially pray for their
dear pastor, for dear brother, Lord in his lowest state, in
his affliction. We pray for healing, strengthening,
mercies. We pray, Lord, that thou would
hear the cries and prayers of the dear friends here and his
too. Lord, that afflictions might
be sanctified through thy word. That he might prove that thy
touch is still its ancient power. One look from heaven can heal
the poor sinner here below. We pray for a healing look. healing
mercies, that thou would strengthen him, that he might continue in
the way, Lord, that he might be enabled to preach the everlasting
gospel. Thus bless him and raise him
up according to thy precious word. And any others in affliction,
whether here or wherever thy dear children are, In affliction
we pray for them, that they will have mercy upon them. We pray
for any who have come afflicted in soul, cast down within, tempted
and tried, have mercy upon them. Any who have come seeking after
Jesus, may they be encouraged and drawn May their souls be
taught by thee. Pray for both young and old,
that thou would have mercy upon them. We pray for the spread
of thy kingdom here, the engathering of thy dear children, O that
thou would gather in the purchase of thy precious blood. Bring
thy sons from afar, and thy daughters from the ends of the earth we
beseech thee, and get glory to thy name. Not unto us, O Lord,
not unto us, but unto thy name, get honour, praise and glory. Remember how you may be suffering
inwardly, perhaps through the sorrows of the way, the taunts
of the adversary, trials and sorrows. Uphold thy dear people
amidst all the changing scenes of life. And Lord help us to
look up to thee, to cleave to thee alone. Be thou our wisdom,
our strength, our all and in all. We pray for thy one church
to the very ends of the earth, thy dear people in this troubled
world. Lord, it's never been a troubled
place since man fell. And Lord, it seems at times to
us that things wax worse and worse. We pray that thou would
uphold thy dear people. May they hold on their way. Hold
on to thee, Lord Jesus. Oh, do increase our faith, our
hope, our love to thee. and help us day by day. But we
do pray for our nation. It's time of an election. Lord,
thou knowest the result. Thou seest the whole matter.
Lord, we see the sinfulness of this nation. We're part of it.
Our sins, Lord, add to it. We confess it, Lord. but we pray
that thou in thy great mercy might change the tide. And yet
if it be thy will, as thy word declares, things shall make worse
and worse. We pray for upholding grace and
mercy. Thy word declares the righteous
shall hold on their way. May we be among them, holding
on our way. Thou art the way, Lord, holding
on to thee. Now on that glorious way through
trials and sorrows and troubles and fears, Lord, grant us more
grace to plead to Thee and to Thee alone. And yet, Lord, we
pray for mercy on this land. Lord, have compassion upon us. Lord, we deserve Thy wrath. We
richly deserve it, Lord. But oh, in wrath, remember mercy,
have compassion upon us. But do be with us here this evening
as we gather round thy precious word. May our hearts and souls
be shut up to thee, Lord Jesus, and may we hear thy voice, and
may our hearts be open to receive it. Thus bless us together. and we thank thee for every mercy
and every blessing thou hast bestowed upon us. We are the
unworthy recipients of so many mercies, and thank thee for them
all, and pray that thou will forgive our many sins. We confess,
Lord, that sin stains everything. Our best is died with sin, Our
all is nothing worth. We cannot serve thee as we ought. Yet, Lord, we have thy precious,
precious sin atoning blood to bleed. Mercy through blood we
make our plea. Have compassion upon us as we
ask these blessings in thy name. Lord Jesus, Amen. will continue the service with
hymn 882. The tune is Theodora, 423. Prayer was appointed to convey
the blessings God designs to give. Long as they live should
Christians pray, for only while they pray They live. Hymn 882. And what the Holy Spirit commandeth
Thou send'st on this night to give. God have mercy, have mercy on
me, for I have sinned. When it sheds all its reddening
light, It is the dawning of the day. The Spirit lives in each of us,
And Christ lives in each of us. Jesus Christ the Lord, the Son
of Man's King, God of all people, Lord of all nations, Ruler of all nations, God rest ye merry, gentlemen. Thee alone in the rest of heaven O'er thy walls, O'er thy nations'
land. Hail, all ye citizens of the free land, You will find the word of my
spirit this evening in the chapter that we read together. The gospel according to Luke. chapter 18 and we will read the first verse. And he spake a parable unto them
to this end, that men ought always to pray and not to faint. The gospel according to Luke
chapter 18, verse 1. And he spake a parable unto them,
to this end, that men ought always to pray and not to faint. Some have called this parable
the parable of the unjust judge. Well in a sense it is. Or if
you will the parable of a poor widow. So it is in part. But our text tells us what the
parable is all about. Prayer. and continuance in prayer. Some of the old preachers, some
of the old commentators used to say with a parable similar
to this, there are a number of them, that he hung the key to
the parable on the door and it's the first verse that
unlocks it. that men ought always to pray
and not to faint. It's a parable that speaks of
the importance of prayer and how vital prayer is. How men ought always to pray
and not to faint. You might say, well, how important
is prayer? Well, it's as important as Jesus
says it is here. I picked up a book a while back
now, and the man, the theologian who wrote it, he said, have you
noticed this? That Jesus speaks more about
prayer than money. I hadn't noticed that. And I
thought, that's a good point. Because us poor fallen sinners
could think more about money than prayer left us out. Because
we've got a coverage of streak in our poor hearts. And I haven't checked what I
read out, but I've no reason not to believe that. Surely the
point is this, the vital importance there's something far more precious
and it's communion with God and prayer brought by the Spirit
in a man's heart is just that it's communion with God if we're
blessed with a true spirit of prayer prayer is It's mentioned
in so many ways in scripture, there's supplication, there's
a cry, there's a groan, there's a look, prayer. So Jesus spoke this parable to
this end, that men ought, sometimes, he doesn't say that does he? When they're in trouble, no,
it doesn't say that either. Always. Always to pray. Something that
the church should always be about and something they shouldn't be about.
What's that? Fainting. Simple language, isn't it? Always
to pray and not to faint. And then we have the parable
which I want to look at this evening because it's an answer
to what the Lord Jesus Christ is pressing on his disciples. You'll notice in verse 28 that
Peter was there and I don't doubt that possibly the best part of
them were there to listen to this. The point is that all of
the Lord's dear people, including the poor sinner in the pulpit,
need reminding about this. The necessity of prayer. Always. Sometimes we think we can handle
things ourselves. We might think, well I don't
need to pray about that. Always. In every circumstance. An honest
heart would have to say, I don't always. I sometimes think I can
manage. Always. We have the parables. And the parables, they're beautiful. I sometimes feel, and sometimes
I felt strongly, that in the parables are some of the deepest
teachings in scripture. How can you say that? Because
they were taught by God himself when he was on earth. Directly communicated to man. With a parable sometimes It's been put like
this. It's like a picture. I'm sure there have been some
times in your lives when an event perhaps has taken place outside
your home. And you've gone to the window
and looked out. And you've started to take note of what's happening,
that this has happened, that man, this event, this, that particular
point, and so on and so forth. That's common to man. I feel that sometimes a parable,
given the grace, is best looked at like that. Watch the sea.
Take note of what's happening. realized that when this parable
was put forth, it was put forth in Israel 2,000 years ago. And it meant something to the
people then. Times have changed, haven't they?
The truth hasn't changed, it cannot, nor will it. But times
have changed, and the danger with us is we can put a modern
day interpretation on something that took place years ago. It might be like that with a
parable sometimes. So let's look at it. There was in a city a judge. Let's stop there at the city. I understand that in the cities
of Israel in the days of Jesus there was a court. The greatest
one in Israel was in Jerusalem, the Sanhedrin, the place where
they tried Jesus, where Nicodemus was a member. That was the highest
court in the land. We have a similar way of going
on here, don't we? The high court. But in the cities,
the size of the court was according to the size of the population
of that little city. and there may have been a little
committee there. Sometimes I understand there
was and there'd be a judge there. So you have a city and it was
common to the hearers that in the cities when Jesus was there,
there was a judge. Now it must be remembered too,
that even in the days of Jesus, though religion was in a low
place for the most part, Israel was not a democracy. It was a theocracy. That is under direct rule of
God. The Bible was preeminent everywhere. This was so in the
Old Testament. In the lowest days they departed
from it. But it was the Bible, it was
Bible teaching. And the judges would have been influenced. by the teaching of the Bible,
the Word of God. You only have to read the Gospels
to realize that was the case. The way scribes and Pharisees
and Sadducees would come and argue on the Word of God, their
interpretation of it, their thoughts on it, so on and so forth. In
Israel's best days, the Word of God permeated everywhere.
Think of David, Solomon, Nothing's ever perfect, beloved friends,
but Israel had some good days, didn't they? So, I think it's
reasonable to say that the hearers would realize that in this city
there's the court, there's the judge, and strictly speaking,
he should be a man that feared God. But this city has a judge. which feared not God, neither regarded man. What's that a description of,
to your mind? Somebody that does not fear God
and has no regard for man. But to my mind, he's an unconverted
man. He's a wicked man. He should never have been a judge.
He wasn't suited to the office. So Jesus is speaking of some
low times, bad times. There were those in authority
that a little later in the gospel would take Jesus and crucify
him. Why? Because they feared not
God. So this man, he didn't have the
fear of God. Jesus here, I am sure, is speaking
of the tender fear of God. The fear of God which is the
beginning of wisdom. I'm strictly speaking, beloved,
no man can make a right judgment without that. in the eyes of
God. So in this city, there was a
bad judge. Not only did he not fear God,
the next step, he had absolutely no regard for man at all. He
was the sort of man who would say, I couldn't care less what
anybody thinks, I've got no regard for any man. They don't bother
me, I'll do just what I want. And
he got into this position as a judge. There was in a city
a judge which feared not God, neither regarded man. Just ponder
on the pictures the Lord paints in this parable. were exceedingly bad, that there
was no restraint on this man. And then, in verse 3, we're told
of somebody else that was in this city. And there was a widow in that
city, and she came to him, saying, avenge me of my adversary. The whole parable presupposes
the innocence of this woman. Firstly, she was a widow. The Bible is very clear as to
how a widow should be treated. God himself said he's a husband
to the widow, father to the fatherless. This poor woman lived in a city
where the judge who she was going to venture to didn't fear God
nor regarded man. The precepts of God meant nothing
to him, the word of God meant nothing to him and the plight
of people meant nothing to him at all. It is a solemn picture
that the Lord Jesus Christ things. And she came to the judge and she begged him something.
Avenge me of my adversary. It's obvious this poor woman
lived a solitary life. She had nobody to speak for her.
She had nobody to plead her cause. We know from scripture that Israel
was not without lawyers and all the rest. But it seems that she
was a solitary widow on her own. And an adversary was after her,
whether it was for money, debt, we are not told. She just had
an adversary and she asked to be avenged. Notice this, she didn't try to
avenge herself. She went to the judge to be avenged. What did he do? He would not for a while. He just left her in a desperate
state. in a helplessness, in a weakness. You could see the characteristics
that Jesus speaks of, of the judge, set before you. He wouldn't do
anything, he didn't care. The plight of an ungodly man. He said within himself, no we
get to the depths of ungodliness. Though I fear not God nor regard
man. That's how he spoke in his heart
and in his mind. God didn't come in his thinking and he had no regard for man.
Not only did he practice it because it was in his heart Wicked man. But, or first line,
yet. Because this widow troubled me. Some of the Bibles, not only
yours has, the pulpit Bible has another title, you get at the
top of the parable, the impotent woman. to put it in simpler language,
the persistent woman. Though she was poor, though she
had nobody to act for her, she was persistent with her case.
Because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by
her continual coming she weary me. That tells us more about the
judge. What does it tell us about him? It tells us this, that he didn't
want his life disturbed by anybody. That he wanted to live a life
after his own way, quiet, undisturbed, And if anybody were to come near
him, he'd leave them to suffer as he did this woman for a while.
But she kept coming. Yet because this widow troubleth
me, I will avenge her. That is, I'll deal with her case. lest by her continual coming
she weary me. I'm getting weary of all this. Again he's just acting to relieve
himself. Then Jesus himself speaks in
verse 6. And the Lord said, that is Jesus,
hear what the unjust judge said. Hear what he says, that because
she keeps coming, and coming, and coming, and troubling me,
and troubling me, the avenger, he dealt with her
case. And shall not God avenge his
own elect, which cry day and night unto him, Though he bear
long with them, I tell you that he will avenge them speedily.
Nevertheless, when the Son of Man cometh, shall he find faith
on the earth? To my mind, it's simple, beloved.
What was taking place here in the parable in the days of Jesus
will go on till the end of time. It will happen. those words, and shall not God
avenge his own inact, which cried day and night unto him, though
he bear long with them. Jesus asked them a question,
and really that question is asked and will be asked as long as
time shall live to the Lord's dear people. Again, looking at
the parable, beloved, don't you see a picture of the church with
that poor widow woman, with nothing, and an unjust world, and an ungodly world, and the
church in the midst, and the way the Lord's dear people
are treated? There seems to be more in this
parable than we can search out. But this, what the Lord asks,
those questions, the question in verse 7, And shall not God avenge his
own iniquity? In the parable he speaks of the
worst case possible But then at the end, he said, this man, he acted just
so that he could, if I might paraphrase it, he acted so he
could just live a quiet life. So she stopped coming, so she
kept out of his way. But Jesus said, shall not God
avenge his own event? Which like this widow cried day
and night unto him, Though he bear long with it. Have you got an answer to that? I chose that opening hymn. One of Watson's hymns. And the first verse, it seems
to me, to sweetly answer. It gives the reason. So does
the Bible. But I thought of him, 409, shall
not God avenge his own elect to him that chose us first? Dear
child, shall not he who chose us, watch over us, to him that
chose us first before the world began? To him that bore the curse to
save rebellious man, to him that formed our hearts anew is endless
praise and glory too. To him, there is another him
too, if I can find it. It seems to
beautifully answer that, shall not God? avenge his own elect? He will. I can't lay my eyes
on it, but you get the point. Jesus goes right back to election. And shall not God avenge his
own elect? And he goes right back to that
great glorious doctrine. Who are the elect? That's the whole Church of Christ,
from Adam's day to the end. Why are they elect? Surely the simple answer is this. Because God loves her. That's the foundation of the
lecture. Because I love you. Shall not
God avenge those he loves? This is an encouragement for
prayer. He sent his son, a precious Christ
as eternal son from heaven to earth. He loved them so much
to live a life for them. And the dear Lord came and he
lived a life for them They are poor, helpless sinners. They
can't take one step right. They are brought to know and
feel it. He has. Later in the chapter he spoke
to his disciples and they are on their way to the cross really. Is God not going to hear the
cry of those he loves? It is the point, surely. Who
sent his son not only to live a life for them, but to suffer
and to bleed and to die for them, and to take away their sins through
his redeeming love and precious blood, and to conquer death and
hell, and to open the gates of paradise, and to go and prepare
a place for them. Surely that Jesus asked the question,
And a dear child of God, one of the elect, taught by the Spirit,
will have to say, can he not hear their cry? Shall not God avenge his own
elect? What teaching there is on this
point? What does God say? Vengeance
is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord. He doesn't expect his
people to do that, nor have they any right to do it. Vengeance
is mine, I will repay, and God shall avenge his own elect. He'll do the judging. The unjust
judge didn't act rightly at all. But the just judge, shall not
the judge of the whole earth do that which is right? Says
the word of God, he will. Which cry day and night unto
him, and he bears long with them. Oh, I've seen such a loveliness
of recent months in the long suffering of God. And I look
at, I judge nobody here, I judge myself. How he suffers with me,
a sinner. He bears long with his loved. We're poor sinners. Sin is mixed
with all we do. And left to self we're full of
mistakes. But he bears long and ever will bear long with those
he's loved and chosen. The case of Jacob comes into
my mind. Jacob the supplanter. Look at Jacob's life, the way
it started. We won't go into it in detail,
but didn't his God bear long with him? And he does with his dear people. I tell you that he will avenge
them speedily. He certainly will at the great
day of it. when his elect will be gathered
from their graves and from the four corners of the earth to
be in glory with him. And he'll avenge them speedily
then, and Satan their great enemy. He'll do that. He doesn't ask
his dear people to do that. You know, vengeance left to sinful
self can be an awful thing. That's God's work. He repays. He avenges. He does it in perfection
and holiness. We can't do that. Like David
with Saul, he had the very opportunity, didn't he, in the cave to kill
his archenemy. They encouraged him to leave
him alone. Shimei too. He left them to God. God does it. But the point is, the very thought of the love
of God, the choice of God, the mercy of God, the compassion
of God to his dear people, in context, is an encouragement
for them to pray in the worst conditions Beloved, dear child of God, we've
got an adversary, this woman had. And the first adversary
I think of is the one that Peter speaks of. Sober, be vigilant. Your adversary,
the devil, goeth about as a roaring lion. seeking whom he may devour. Oh you say, how does he roar?
He roars through man. If the devil gets into a man
as he did into Judas, they'll start to roar. The devil won't
stop roaring until the last day when the Lord shuts him in the
pit. But until then the church will have an adversary, the devil. I think of the Apostle Paul.
He had an adversary, a messenger from Satan to buffet him. A thorn in the flesh. Have you
got one tonight? A thorn in the flesh. When I
was a boy, I got a thorn between two toes in my foot. and it got all puffed up and
pussy and going poisonous and I wouldn't go to my mother with
it, I feared what she'd do to it, but in the end I had to.
And she got it out. But I can still remember that
thought. Painful. Oh it was painful. And it pricked. And it kept me awake. I've often
thought of Paul, have you got something in your life like that?
The adversary, pricking, poking, festering. What did the Apostle Paul do? Did he turn and try and take
on the devil? He knew better than that. He went to Jesus. He was persistent, though assaulted by Satan. He
went with his assaults and with his buffeting. The very thing
the devil tries to do is keep us away. But the dear apostle, he went
with him. He had to go with the devil, buffeting his flesh. He begged of the Lord to take
it away, didn't he? I'm sure you're well aware of
that portion. How did Jesus answer him? Well
really he said, no Paul, I'm not going to stop that. But
he gave him something better. My grace is sufficient for It's
all you need Paul. That was the answer to his prayer.
Now not always to pray. He loved it. We can never pray
for more grace. Never. Oh may our lips never
open without praying for it. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ
is stronger than Satan. The Apostle proved it. And so
does every child of God. It flows from heaven, it flows
from Him. It makes our hearts submissive
and humble and meek. The grace of our Lord and Saviour,
Jesus Christ. It blesses with a Christ-like
spirit. May not always be prayer. There's
one thing, beloved, I feel, I think for myself. Oh, do you feel you
need to be a child of God? More grace, Lord. More grace,
more submission. And what about that glorious
great grace? Humility. Jesus humbled himself and made
himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant. It's another grace. You see,
beloved, we can submit then to our trials and our sorrows and
our fears, unless because the Lord will avenge. He can keep Satan at bay. I often
think of the time when the Lord spoke to Peter, just before the
crucifixion. He said to Peter, Satan has desired to have thee,
and sift thee as wheat. I only want to make one point
on that, the sacred deep subject. What's the point? Our Saviour,
now in heaven, knows the desires of the devil. We don't. He does. He knows the desires We don't. He does. He tells us what this wicked
judge was thinking within himself. He knows what all men think within
themselves. We can just fall at the feet
of Jesus. What did Peter say to him on
one occasion? Lord, thou knowest all things. Oh, here's the precious Saviour.
Grace please to one who knows it all. From the beginning to
the end, whatever thy trial, whatever thy sorrow, whatever
thy affliction, whatever thy trouble is, dear child of God,
whatever thy fears, whatever thy sorrows, whatever thy afflictions, fall at the feet of Jesus. There's
nothing he doesn't know. Yes, he can cure, he can strengthen,
he can help, he can deliver. but it's all according to his
will we have to pray thy will be done thy will not mine but
the time's gone beloved and the subject's endless really once
you start it isn't it well hear what the unjust judge
said I will avenge you And shall not God avenge his own event?
He will be avenged. And just one more thought nevertheless,
when the Son of Man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? What's
your answer to that? I know what mine is. Yes. You might say in your heart,
how do you know that? shall the dead in Christ rise
first, and they that are on the earth shall rise to meet him
in the skies. There will be fame, maybe little,
but that's the word of God in it, it answers the question. Let the Lord help us to pray
our way along, to pray our way along. Oh, it's a strong record,
a weakest soul Wield it best. It's a continual coming. A continual
coming. That's the teaching, isn't it?
Like this dear woman. She worried this judge, worried
him until he yielded. But God is not like that to his
dear people. He's just the opposite. He acts
in love. He will give grace for the trial,
deliverance where He sees fit, help where He sees fit. He is
an unchanging God and Saviour and He spake a parable unto them
to this end, that men ought always to pray and not to faint. Our closing hymn is 1088, the
tune is sorely 231. Shepherd divine our wants relieve,
in this our evil day, to all thy tempted followers give, the
power to trust and pray. you. Blessed art thou among women,
and among men. ? Till thy death ? ? In God's hands ? ? Ever to God ? ? Shall
rise ? ? God has done right ? ? Gloria in excelsis Deo ? ? Gloria
in excelsis Deo ? In the world of love, there's
a loving heart. ? You have my salvation ? ? He
lifts the cross ? ? Of every cross ? ? And will not let me
cross ? I will not let thee go again.
You have my name to be with whom I pray. Now may thy grace Dear Lord Jesus,
and the love of God, the communion of the Holy Spirit,
rest and abide with us each, now and for evermore. Amen.