The notices for the coming week
are, God willing, as follows. Pastor will preach here next
Lord's Day at 10.30 and 2 o'clock. There will be no service here
on Thursday evening as it is Mrs. Field's funeral at 1.30,
followed by the burial at Pickhill Chapel, Horham, at approximately
3 o'clock. There will be no prayer meeting
on Tuesday this week as is Matfield Anniversary Services when Mr
Timothy Parrish is expected to preach at 3.30 and 6.30. Let us commence our services
today by singing together hymn number 749. The tune is Whitecroft
566. I hear a righteous man A prophet good and great, in
deep distress complain, And thus his grief relate. I call on God,
and cry and shout, But all my prayer he shut it out. Hymn 749, Tune Whitecroft, 566. Oh, say, can you see by the dawn's
early light and grace, within this restful
place, and thus this grieving place. I call on God and cry and shout
at all my predictions in doubt. Keep right and right, again and
again. The lobsters come, each an ounce
an hour to play. And till that morn is done, Like
summer palm and redded rose, And Jesus sleeps among his crows. And every good is fake, ? We
pray to evermore ? ? That the red sea ? ? In thanks ? ? No
more ? ? At the street's door ? ? Till
pride and shame ? ? Till damnation's last ? ? O hear my plea ? ? O
hear my plea ? ? O hear my plea ? If Christ were not a living,
When we should be disciples, I would give up everything, and counted every sign. In all
the sorrows that abound, He wrote them with a guiltless
heart. He lives and loves me now, And
gives a secret promise, Which keeps their waited time, Till
people praise their God, So let me wait upon His face
And trust Him till my time Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God in the Book of Psalms, reading Psalms 122
through to 126. Psalm 122, reading to the end
of Psalm 126. I was glad when they said unto
me, let us go into the house of the
Lord. Our feet shall stand within thy
gates, O Jerusalem. Jerusalem is builded as a city
that is compact together, whether the tribes go up, the tribes
of the Lord, unto the testimony of Israel, to give thanks unto
the name of the Lord. For there are set thrones of
judgment, the thrones of the house of David, Pray for the
peace of Jerusalem. They shall prosper that love
thee. Peace be within thy walls and prosperity within thy palaces. For my brethren and companions'
sakes, I now say, peace be within thee. Because of the house of
the Lord our God, I will seek thy good. Unto thee lift I up
mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heaven, Behold, as the
eyes of the servants look unto the hand of their masters, and
as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress, so
our eyes wait upon the Lord, until that he have mercy upon
us. Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have
mercy upon us, for we are exceedingly filled with contempt. Our soul
is exceedingly filled with the scorning of those are at ease,
and with the contempt of the proud. If it had not been the
Lord who was on our side, how may Israel say, if it had not
been the Lord who was on our side, when men rose up against
us, then they had swallowed us up quick, when their wrath was
kindled against us, then the waters had overwhelmed us, The
stream had gone over our soul. Then the proud waters had gone
over our soul. Blessed be the Lord who hath
not given us as a prey to their teeth. Our soul is escaped as
a bird out of the snare of the fowler. The snare is broken and
we are escaped. Our help is in the name of the
Lord who made heaven and earth They that trust in the Lord shall
be as Mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth forever. As the mountains are round about
Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about his people from henceforth
even forever. For the rod of the wicked shall
not rest upon the lot of the righteous, lest the righteous
put forth his hands unto iniquity. Do good, O Lord, unto those that
be good, and to them that are upright in heart. As for such
as turn aside unto their crooked ways, the Lord shall lead them
forth with the workers of iniquity, but peace shall be upon Israel.
When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like
them that dream. Then was our mouth filled with
laughter, and our tongue with singing. Then said they among
the heathen, the Lord hath done great things for them. The Lord
hath done great things for us, whereof we are glad. Turn again
our captivity, O Lord, as the streams in the south. They that
sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth,
bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing. bringing his sheaves with him. May the Lord bless that portion
of his holy word and grant unto us a spirit of real prayer. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty,
which is an art, an art to come, we do desire to bow before thy
great majesty, to call upon thy great and holy name. We come,
Lord, as poor sinners. Each one of us are the fallen
sons and daughters of Adam. And that, Lord, we solemnly fear
thee. We're born in sin. We're shapen
in iniquity. We're unrighteous altogether.
And like the dear apostle, we have to so often confess, O wretched
man, that I am who shall deliver me from the body of this death. Gracious God, keep and preserve
us from all evil, and graciously guide us by thy counsel, and
grant that thy word may be a lamp unto our feet and a light unto
our path. And grant, O Lord, today as we
gather round thy word, 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, that we may worship
thee in spirit and in truth. Oh, we do pray that we may be
favoured to feel and know that divine influence and the heavenly
power and unction of the Holy Ghost in our hearts. Blessed
divine spirit of truth, we pray for thy heavenly power, we pray
for thy divine leading. For as many as are led by the
Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. And we pray that this
day we may, in the pulpit and in the pew, know thy divine leading
and thy divine teaching in our hearts. We do humbly beseech
thee. We pray, most blessed Spirit,
that thou wouldst truly convince us of our sins. and lead to Jesus'
blood, and to our wandering eyes reveal the secret love of God. We read in thy word, but God
hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit. For the Spirit searcheth
all things, yea, the deep things of God. We pray that thou wouldst
come among us today, and that thou wouldst open the word, and
that we may search out those precious things, that deep that
lie beneath in thy word, and something of the glories of Christ
and the wonders of redeeming love and the fullness that dwells
in him. Blessed Holy Divine Spirit, we
pray that thou wouldst so bless us this day. May we be favoured
with those divine drawings of our Heavenly Father, drawing
us unto his Son, Jesus Christ. For none come except the Father
draw, and may May the Spirit of God enter our hearts with
that divine power and heavenly unction, crying, Abba, Father. We think of the hymn writer,
my God, my Father, blissful name. Oh, may I call thee mine. We
thank thee for those lovely words. The Father himself loveth you. Oh, gracious God, give us some
clear views this day. of the glory and power and love
of our Heavenly Father. We pray that there was grant,
Lord Jesus, that thou would come and stand in our midst. Oh, we
think of that occasion in Holy Week, when thou didst stand in
the midst of the disciples, the doors being shut, they were in
fear of the Jews, and Jesus himself stood in the midst and said,
peace be unto you. O, that we might have a sight
by faith of the glories of Christ, even as thy dear servant John,
and the word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld
his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,
full of grace and truth. O, to behold the glories of Christ,
the wonders of redeeming love, We think of those precious words
of grace. I am the way, the truth, and
the life. No man cometh unto the Father
but by me. Lord Jesus, come, we pray thee,
and bless us this day. And it was noise that Jesus was
in the house. May it be so, Lord, among us
here. May the power that brings salvation
be exerted in the words. And may the glory, light, and
power of the gospel shine into this village and the surrounding
villages and hamlets. And may precious souls be gathered
in. May the strongholds of Satan
be pulled down. May the kingdom of our Lord Jesus
be set up in the hearts of sinners. Lord, let thy work appear unto
thy servants and thy glory unto their children. we do humbly
beseech thee, and let us see a day of prosperity, a day of
reviving, a day of renewing. We pray for it in our own souls
personally, but we pray for it in the Church of God, that thou
wouldst return unto Jerusalem with mercies, that thou wouldst
make bare thine holy arm in the gospel, that thou wouldst shine
from on high, thy love restore, we do humbly beseech thee. O
gracious God, incline thine ear, send a day of prosperity to thy
Zion. We do humbly pray thee, and gather
in precious souls, cause the prodigals to return. How many
there are, O Lord, that have wandered from the way, and we
pray that thou wouldst cause them to return. Lord, thou art
able to do abundantly more than we can even ask or think. But
Lord, what rejoicing there would be if we could see those prodigals
returning, for there is joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth. Gracious God, do hear us, we
pray thee, and be with us this day. Do come, Lord, we pray,
and bless us as a church and as a congregation. Remember our
brethren, the deacons, that give needed grace, wisdom, and help
in all their responsibilities, not only here, but among the
churches of God. and graciously help them. We
do beseech thee. Be with our brother this morning
at Tunbridge Wells and help him, Lord, as he conducts the service
there. We pray, most gracious God, that
thou would remember each one of our brethren and sisters in
church fellowship. Lord, help us to love each other,
serve each other, bear each other's burdens, thereby fulfilling the
law of Christ. May love pervade the service
today. we do humbly beseech thee. We
pray, O Lord, thy blessing upon thy dear brother, thy servant,
and his dear one, as they gather with us today. Lord, may it be
a day in thy courts to be remembered, one of the days of the Son of
Man, that our souls may be refreshed and renewed and replenished.
And may the Lord Jesus Christ be exalted as a Prince and as
a Saviour, For to give faith and repentance and remission
of sins, we do humbly beseech thee. Remember the little ones
and the children as they're brought into the sanctuary. Graciously
bless them. Put the fear of the Lord, which
is the beginning of wisdom, into their hearts. Graciously be with
the dear children. Guide and direct them, we do
humbly pray thee. And we're often so encouraged,
O Lord, by those wonderful words. Suffer little children to come
unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of
heaven. Lord, remember the young friends.
Graciously bring them to living faith in Jesus Christ. Make them
true followers of thee and of those who through faith and patience
inherit the promises. Guide and direct them in all
the paths of prophecy. Make the crooked things straight
and the rough places plain. Guide and help them in their
education. Give wisdom and understanding.
Guide them in any future employment. And guide them, O Lord, regarding
a partner in life's journey. We lovingly commend them to Thee
and to the word of Thy grace, which is able to build them up
and to grant them an inheritance among them that are sanctified.
Remember parents, Lord, give them wisdom. Give them guidance
and direction. Be with them in family worship.
The reading of the word and prayer may be made, for all things are
sanctified by the word of God and prayer. Lord, we pray that
thou wouldst remember all in the midst of the journey of life,
that thou wouldst deliver us from an evil heart of unbelief.
deliver us from the power and dominion of sin, deliver us from
the temptations of Satan, sometimes coming as a roaring lion to devour,
sometimes coming as an angel of light to deceive. Gracious
God, we have not the wisdom nor the power to stand against the
enemy, but thou hast promised that when the enemy comes in
like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard
against him. O Lord of hosts, O God of Israel,
O Thou that dwellest between the cherubim, shine forth, we
do humbly beseech Thee. Let Thy hand be upon the man
of Thy right hand, the Son of Man, whom Thou madest strong
for Thyself, so will not we turn back from Thee. O Lord, we do
pray. Remember those of us that are
now in the evening time of life journey. We pray that as the
outward man perishes, that the inward man may be renewed day
by day, and that we may be graciously prepared for that great change
that has been among us with the hand of death. And oh Lord, we're
thankful that our dear sister is now in glory. She's with Christ,
which is far better. And we thank thee for that sacred
hope, that glorious hope, Lord, we pray that thou would remember
all thy servants as they labor in word and doctrine upon the
walls of Zion, set them free, set them at liberty. May they
dip their foot in oil and be made acceptable unto the brethren.
May there be mighty signs and wonders that follow the preaching
of the word. May the power that brings salvation
be exerted in the word. O Lord, we do beseech thee. And
we pray thee, the great Lord of the harvest, that thou would
send true labourers into the harvest, that thou would build
the walls of Jerusalem. O Lord, we do pray that thou
would remember the little cause of truth up and down the land,
wherever thy servants stand, wherever thy people gather. Remember
all the assemblies of thy saints and pour forth thy blessed spirit
and grant a day of blessing. grant a day of prosperity. We
do humbly beseech thee. Lord, we do pray that thou wouldst
remember those that go out from among us. We think of the Mombasa
mission, that thy rich blessing may rest upon thy servant there
and his dear one, and thou wouldst help in his labours that there
may be good success. We do humbly beseech thee and
engather in a building of the wall Remember the Savannah Education
Trust and that great work that they're doing in Ghana. May it
be down to the honour, glory and praise of thy great and holy
name. Remember Ian Sadler as he labours
in so many different countries in the distribution of the word
and the exposition of it. We pray that thou would supply
all their needs according to thy riches in glory by Christ
Jesus. We pray, O Lord, that thou in
thy precious mercy would hear prayer for our nation, our leaders,
give wisdom and understanding. Remember our King and the Princess
of Wales and be Jehovah Rophi, I am the Lord that healeth thee.
And grant thy rich blessing in the royal household, O Lord,
we do pray thee. Remember thy people that suffer
persecution and imprisonment and even death. in those places
in the earth where the name of Christ is hated and thy people
are persecuted. Send them help from the sanctuary. Strengthen them out of Zion.
O Lord, we do beseech of thee. O Lord, we do thank thee. We
thank thee for thy holy day. We thank thee for the liberties
that we have to meet around the world. Oh, we thank thee above
all for thy gospel. for that fullness that resides
in Jesus our head. We thank thee for that profound
mystery of God manifest in the flesh and the wonderful glory
of his name and the fullness of his grace. We thank thee that
he was made of a woman and made under the law that he might redeem
them that are under the law. Oh, we thank thee for that holy
life he lived, for that holy law he fulfilled, honoured and
magnified. We thank thee for the bringing
in of everlasting righteousness for thy people in the glorious
person of our Lord Jesus Christ. We thank thee for Calvary, where
the Lamb was slain, where sin was put away, where divine justice
was satisfied, where God and sinners are reconciled. We thank
thee for the precious blood of the Lamb that cleanses from all
sin, We thank that he loved not his life unto death, but he died
for our sins and rose again for our justification, and has now
bodily ascended into heaven for such a high priest have we. Oh,
we do thank thee, O Lord, and would adore thee and bless thee
for the glory of the exalted Saviour sitting at the right
hand of the Father. Oh, to truly feel it is he instead
of me is seen when I approach to God. Lord, be with us as we
return to thy word. Come and touch one's lips with
a live coal from off the heavenly altar. We feel our poverty, our
emptiness, our insufficiency. Come, Lord Jesus, we do humbly
pray thee. Come and open our hearts and
our ears and our eyes. We do humbly beseech thee, for
Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. Let us now sing together hymn
number 321. The tune is Willingdon 815. My soul, Lord, in flame, with
zeal from above, thy praise to proclaim and sing of thy love. To lift up my voice in thanksgiving
sincere, this truth to rejoice in, the Lord will appear. hymn 321, tune Willingdon 815. Praise to the Lord our King,
praise him far and far. Thy praise to him I'm ready,
I'll sing all my life. ? To lift up my voice with thanksgiving
sincere ? ? Let strength ev'ry voice give, and love ev'ry tear
? ? My hope is found ? ? By a lady
I find ? ? Earthly gentleman ? ? With holy and kind ? ? We
adore thee ? ? O'er the ramparts we watched,
were so gallantly streaming? ? O'er the ramparts we watched,
were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket's red glare, the
bombs bursting in air, ? And sing ? ? I love thy faithful
? ? And love thee ever, dear ? ? Ever till I die ? ? With angelic
wings ? ? With angelic wings ? ? With angelic wings ? ? Thou be of good cheer ? ? Maker
of this morning and the next ? ? In this world I'm staying ? ?
Who I never shall find ? ? In depths of the day ? ? I wait
in my mind ? And when I come back, I know I trust in your peace and glory
evermore, And thy triumph is worthy evermore to be. ? Where'er ye now may hither ?
? My soul will go with you ? ? And to thee forever ? ? My heart
will go with you ? greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, direct your attention to the holy word of God in Psalm
126. And we will take the whole Psalm. Psalm 126. When the Lord turned
again the captive Jeziah, we were like them that dream. Then
was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue was singing, then
said they among the heathen, the Lord hath done great things
for them. The Lord hath done great things
for us, whereof we are glad. Turn again our captivity, O Lord,
as the streams in the south. They that sow in tears shall
reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth,
bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing,
bringing his sheaves with him. Psalms 120 through to 134, each
one is called a song of degrees. Now I understand degrees in the sense that it
speaks in scripture of men of low degree and men of high degree
so there's a graduation and a song of degrees it's an ascending
I understand the original meaning in the Hebrew it's an ascending
up it's a going up and it is believed and widely believed
that these songs of degrees were sung often when the children
of Israel were going up onto the house of the Lord on those
three feast days when they went from all the quarters of Israel
that they went up to Jerusalem for to worship the Lord on those
and as they journeyed they often apparently sung these psalms
of degrees and is quite striking really, especially in Psalm 122. I was glad when they said unto
me, let us go into the house of the Lord, our feet shall stand
within thy gates, O Jerusalem. And we can always imagine the
Israelites as some of them had travelled from right down in
the south and from all over Israel and long journeys on foot. And
then they came in the sight of the city of Jerusalem. They saw
its walls and its bulwarks and its towers. I was glad. This is what they journeyed for.
And what a picture it is of the Lord's people as they journey
through this wilderness. And the Lord, when he leads us
and guides us to his house, I was glad when they said unto me,
let us go into, not to be without, but within. No more a stranger
or a guest, but like a child at home, our feet shall stand
within. In Jerusalem, within thy gates.
It's a great point. You know, it's one thing, my
beloved friends, to come to chapel and something we would always
encourage. I wouldn't do anything to discourage
any of you. But you need more than just coming
to chapel. You need more than just an outward form of worship.
You need God's Holy Spirit to work in your heart. You need
the Spirit of God to enter your soul. The Apostle says, you hath
he quickened who were dead in trespasses and in sins. And the
great point, have we been quickened? Has the Holy Ghost entered our
heart? And in a sense, that is what is the meaning when our
feet shall stand within. Not without. The Lord Jesus, he emphasised,
didn't he, to Nicodemus, you must be born again. It wasn't something that was
optional. You can spend all your life going
to chapel and outwardly and morally keeping everything proper on
the outside, but be devoid of the grace of God on the inside. or that the Lord would truly
stir us up and quicken us, make us spiritually lively. I look
back to when I was a boy, I used to come backwards and forwards
to the chapel, like the door upon its hinges, it was the right
thing to do, it was the proper thing to do, and I didn't rebel
against it. But there was no spiritual life.
No spiritual life. light. And if we live and die, my beloved
friends, having never been born again, says in the Revelation
doesn't it, about blessed is the man who hath part in the first resurrection. What is the first resurrection? It's the new birth. Upon such,
the second death hath no power. But if we're never born again,
and we die in that state, then the second death doth have power
over us. We shall be banished from the
presence of God forever. Or that it may exercise your
hearts and bring you to truly consider the vital need of being
brought into the house of God, in a living reality, Jerusalem
is as builded as a city is compact together. Now here in this particular
psalm we have Psalm 126, but when the Lord turned again the
captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. Captivity. In a sense, the church is in
captivity today. You look around the churches
and we were brought up in chapels that were full, a lot of us,
but now how many chapels do you find full? Chapels close year
after year, constantly and continually, so that Zion is minished and
brought low, not that among our own churches, you see, Zion is
throughout the churches of God, the Lord has his people throughout
the churches of God. But of course we are familiar
with our own churches and we see the declension, we see the
falling away, we see the formality. It's in captivity. When the Lord
turns the captivity, it's when the spirit is poured out from
on high. Now you say well we've seen the
Lord, well we have and we're very thankful that we've had
those that come forth and the Lord has quickened their soul
and brought them to faith in Jesus Christ and we're exceedingly
thankful for that. But in the broad sense of the
word it's a day of declension and there's a captivity. When
there's captivity there's bondage. and we need the Lord to turn.
When the Lord turned again, it's only He that can do it. As it
says in Isaiah, until the Spirit be poured upon us from on high.
And how we need to pray, my beloved friends, for the Spirit to be
poured upon us from on high, for the Lord's holy arm to be
made bare in the gospel, that the word of the Lord might have
free course that the Lord Jesus might be exalted, that precious
souls may be gathered unto Christ, that we may see an ingathering.
We often see a moving of people from chapel to chapel, and some
say, especially in the church, they've moved to, well, it's
prosperity. In a sense it is, but in a sense it isn't. We need
to see an ingathering. We need to see precious souls
brought from Lamberhurst, and the surrounding villages and
towns. And then we'd see real prosperity. When the Lord turned
again, the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. Then was our mouth filled with
laughter and our tongue was singing. Then said they among the heathen,
the Lord hath done great things for them. They said that among
the heathen. How we need, you know, Jack Bunyan
in that lovely well-known sermon of his on the Jerusalem sinner
saved. He says in there because he saw
it in the day in which he lived and he was one of those that
were brought in. He said that you get a notorious sinner from
the local area and the Lord wonderfully calls them by grace, brings them
to a knowledge of themselves and a knowledge of Jesus Christ
and gives real repentance and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ."
And he said, they start going to chapel. And he said, all the people around
said, I'm so surprised to see him going to chapel. What a wonderful
thing. And he said, what a witness it
is. And he said, then he said, others of their friends, I think,
if he's had this wonderful change, let's go and see what they do
at the chapel. Isn't that what we long for in the day in which
we live? to see a turning again of our captivity, to see the
return of prodigals, to see a true building of the wall, an ingathering
of precious souls. And if there's joy in heaven
over one sinner that repented, wouldn't there be joy among us
if we saw an ingathering of precious souls and brought to the feet
of Jesus, brought to worship him, brought to follow him when
the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion. We were like them that
dreamed. Then was our mouth filled with
laughter. Now, we've looked at it in the
broad sense of the word in a church, but this is true in the personal
sense too. There are times in the experience
of the Lord's living family when they come into captivity, into
bondage, into darkness. And that this captivity, this
bondage, this darkness, within the soul, you can't get any light. You feel sometimes there's no
life in your heart. There's no movement, no spiritual
mindedness. You would long for spiritual
mindedness. Where is the blessedness I knew
when first I knew the Lord? Where is the soul for refreshing
view of Jesus in his word? Is that where you are now? You've
known what it is to have liberty when Christ has been made precious,
when Christ has been the altogether lovely one, when Christ has been
the centre of your affections, your desires, your longings.
You've known what it is, haven't you? Now you feel the need of
the Lord to grant that liberty again. We read in Holy Scripture,
do we not, that where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
That's the Holy Spirit, the divine person, power and grace of the
Holy Ghost, where he is. There is liberty, he brings liberty.
How does he bring liberty? He reveals Christ. He'll convince
us of our sin and he reveals Christ. And that conviction and
convincing work of the Spirit goes right the way through the
life of the believer. Let us not run away with the
thought that it's just in the initial stages of experience
that we know what it is to be convinced of sin. It carries
right on through. You read Romans 7 and the dear
apostle, how the battle that he had within himself, that which
I would I do not, that which I would not I do. I find a law
within my members that when I would do good then evil is present
with me. There's a battle. And spiritually, sometimes we
become cold. And we get into that situation
where we come backwards and forwards to the house of God. There's
no movement. There's no movement spiritually. And that will trouble the true
child of God. It will burden your heart when
the Lord awakens you to realise it. And you'll long for those days
when you knew that blessedness of Christ revealed, of Christ
made precious. There is an experience in the
Song of Solomon of the spouse that is of course the bride of
Christ, the true believer. And it says in the fifth chapter,
beautiful description of Christ in the fifth chapter, but in
the beginning of it, in verse 2, I sleep, but my heart waketh. I sleep. So that, that was the
condition. On a bed, asleep. A bed of ease. You know, we get into conditions
like that. When we're spiritually very sleepy, That was the condition
found in the church at Ephesus, wasn't it? Or Laodicea, rather. In the church at Laodicea, there
was a sleepiness. They were neither hot nor cold.
How are you spiritually? Where are you spiritually? Is
there spiritual exercise? Is there a longing after Christ?
Is there a look into Christ? Is there a sense or is there
just this lethargy? It's a solemn word the Lord speaks
to lay the sin. I would that they were either
hot or cold but because they look warm I will spew them out
of my mouth. I sleep but here with the spouse
I sleep but my heart waketh. Something was stirring with the
innermost soul, my heart waketh. It is the voice of my beloved
that knocketh, saying, open to me, my sister. See the lovely,
loving words that the Lord Jesus speaks to her. Open to me, my
sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled. He was without and
she was within. She was on a bed of ease but
he was without the door. For my head is filled with dew
and my locks with the drops of the night. Now listen to the
sad and the solemn answer that the spouse gave to her beloved. I put off my coat. She's on a
bed of ease. I put off my coat. How shall
I put it on? I've washed my feet, how shall
I defile them? In other words, I can't be bothered
to get up off that bed of ease. But you see, I sleep but my heart
wakes. That can happen in a sermon.
It can happen in your private devotions. You're in a state
of spiritual lethargy and captivity. But my heart wakes. There's something
stirs within. As I say, it may be a prayer
meeting, it can be under a sermon. Something stirs within to wake you from that spiritual
lethargy. Then we have, my beloved put
in his hand by the hole of the door and my bowels were moved
for him. You know, his hand. You know,
sometimes things come very suddenly in the experience of the Lord's
people, maybe in their providences or in the family, in the church,
something comes very suddenly. You hear sometimes of people
having an accident, a car accident, perhaps somebody's killed, somebody's
badly injured. My beloved put his hand Sometimes
you say that's the Lord's hand. My beloved put his hand in the
hole of the door. My bowels were moved for him.
She was moved in love and desire when she saw his hand. Have you
seen the Lord's hand? I rose up to open to my beloved
and my hands dropped with myrrh, that's love, and my fingers were
sweet-smelling myrrh. Upon the handles of the lock
I opened to my beloved but my beloved had withdrawn himself.
See, something comes. Something comes into your life. And everything changes. And maybe
affliction, maybe some trouble, some trial, but it comes. And
we say, it's a common saying, it's the hand of the Lord. My
beloved put his hand in the hole of the door. The illustration,
of course, is from, and you see it still in some of the old farmhouses,
There's a hole in the door and you put your hand inside and
you lift the latch on the inside to open the door. And that's
what the illustration is here. I opened to my beloved, but my
beloved had withdrawn himself and was gone. My soul failed
and he's fake. I sought him, but I could not
find him. I called him, but he gave me
no answer. The watchman that went about
the city found me, that's the ministers, they smoked me, they
wounded me. The keepers of the walls took
away my veil from me. See the spiritual condition that
the spouse was found in at that time. A condition of spiritual
lethargy or captivity. When the Lord turned again, the
captivity of Zion, we were like then, that dream. Then was our
mouth filled with laughter and our tongue was singing. So do
you feel to need that personally in your own soul, you need the
Lord to turn your captivity? What turns our captivity? When
we're brought to real repentance, godly sorrow and faith in our
Lord Jesus Christ. You know, those two things go
together. You can't separate faith and
repentance. In fact, you can't separate the
graces of the Spirit. They all come together. I never
forget years ago, before I was in the ministry, reading the
Christian Incomplete Armour by William Gurnall. And it so struck
me. He was speaking of the graces
of the Spirit. And he said this, they never
come in the singular. He said, you can't have faith
without repentance. You can't have repentance without
godly sorrow. You can't have any of these things
without humility, patience, and these are all the precious graces
of the Spirit. He said, it's like the fingers
on a man's hand. If one is missing, the hand is
not complete. He said, if one of those graces
of the Spirit is missing, it's not complete. You see, you might
say, what are you driving at? What do you mean? Well, you know,
there are some people that profess so love our Lord Jesus Christ
in sincerity and in truth but when you look into their life
there's not an ounce of repentance there's no turning away from
the world and the things of the world and the ways of the world
yet they profess to love Christ they have faith in Christ but
there's no repentance that's false where there's real faith
there's real repentance What is repentance? We need to look
at exactly what it is. It's to turn right round and
face the opposite direction. That's the meaning of repentance.
The Apostle says repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus
Christ. The Lord Jesus said, except you
repent, you shall all likewise perish. Oh, that the Lord would
grant us this real faith, real repentance, Christ revealed,
when faith is given, Christ is revealed. Then was our mouth
filled with laughter. What joy, what joy and peace
in believing when Christ is made precious. Our tongue, and our
tongue was singing, then said they among the heathen, the Lord
hath done great things for them. You know the hymn writer, he
says, doesn't he? What call we small things? sins whole cancels
on which is greater than all things but that yet to come these
great things it's the little the little that a righteous man
has that is better than the riches of many wicked that little that
faith it's like i've often used the illustration of lady lucy
smith one of the countess of huntington's connection and she
was renowned as a woman of great faith and being introduced to
someone one day, and he said, oh, you're that woman of great
faith. Oh no, she said, I have a little faith in a great God.
How wonderful and precious that is. A little faith in a great
God. A God that could do all things.
Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with
singing. Can you remember the time of
your espousals? Can you remember the time when
Christ was first revealed? When Christ was first made precious? Can you remember how your heart
went after him? You saw him as the altogether
loveliest. You saw him as the one thing
needful. You longed to lay hold of him.
You knew then the language of that dear woman, if I might but
touch the hem of his garment, I shall be made whole. You was
after Christ. You was longing for Christ. You
were looking for Christ. And when He's revealed, when
He reveals Himself, then was our mouth filled with laughter
and our tongue was singing. Then said they among the heathen,
the Lord hath done great things for them. The Lord hath done
great things for us. Let's just consider the great
things. Consider that God sent his only
begotten son, the great things. God, that's God our eternal father. Let us get away from this wrong
views of the father as being austere and angry. It's not. The father himself loved you. He loved you with an everlasting
love. I feel that that in Jeremiah is a revelation of the Father
in that sense. Yea, I have loved thee with an
everlasting love, therefore with loving kindness have I drawn
thee. None come except the Father draw. And he draws a poor sinner. Where does he draw the sinner
to? Unto his Son Jesus Christ. He does. He draws a poor sinner
unto Christ. God so loved the world he gave. His only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in Him might be saved. Whosoever believeth in Him might
be saved. What has Jesus done? Why was
it necessary that the Son of God should be made flesh? And
this is those great things that we have here in this psalm. John says, doesn't he, it's so
beautiful in the first chapter of John's Gospel, the word that
term the word or the name the word refers to the divine nature
of the Son of God and the word was made flesh and dwelt among
us and we beheld his glory the glory as of the only begotten
of the Father full of grace and truth this is God's love God so loved
the world he gave his only begotten Son What did Jesus come to do? He came to redeem his people.
I love the way the Apostle puts it in the Galatians, made of
a woman, made under the law, that he might redeem them that
are under the law. That's what Christ has done.
He lived a life here upon earth that was holy, that was pure. that was righteous. He did no
sin. We're given a definition of sin
in the first epistle of John. Sin is any transgression of the
law of God and of Jesus Christ. He did no sin. In Luke, it says
concerning the birth of Christ, that holy thing that shall be
born of thee. He was holy in his birth. He
was holy in his life. He was made under the law. that
he might redeem them that are under the law. These are the
great things that God has done for us. You know, Daniel in his book
there, he speaks to the bringing in of everlasting righteousness.
What does he mean to the coming of Christ? Christ lived a life
that was pure and holy on behalf of his people. The life of Christ is as important
as the suffering and death of Christ. Because in the life of
Christ, the law is fulfilled and honoured and magnified. Something you can't do is something
I can't do. But Christ has done it for his
people. Christ has lived a life. Upon a life I did not live, upon
a death I did not die. That's Christ, his life, his
death, his righteousness. That perfect
obedience of Christ is the fulfilling of the law by the holy God man,
Christ Jesus. He's fulfilled the law. The Lord
has done great things for us. He's fulfilled the law. The Father
sent the Son to fulfill the law, to honor and magnify that holy
law. And that's what Jesus Christ
has done. He's honoured and magnified and
fulfilled the law. You think of those wonderful
words of grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. I come not to destroy
the law. You know, some go to extremes
and they say, well, the law has been completely finished. We
have nothing whatsoever to do with the law. When Christ came,
the law was finished and completely done away with and it no longer
exists. Friends, that is not right. That
is contrary to the Word of God. I come not to destroy the law,
but to fulfill it. And that's what Christ has done
in His holy life. He fulfilled the law on the behalf
of His people. That's what He came to do. He
lived a life that was pure and holy and righteous. The name given to Christ in Jeremiah
23, Jehovah Sidkenu, the Lord our righteousness. Never shall
I forget the time when the Lord drew near to me and blessed my
soul. No words were spoken but it was the words of a hymn that
expressed the feelings of my soul. I'm blessed, I'm blessed,
forever blessed. My rags are gone and I am dressed
in garments white as snow. You know friends I look for my
sins and my sins could not be found. Clothed in that glorious
everlasting robe of the righteousness of His precious blood washes away
our sin. His righteousness covers our
nakedness. He's a complete saviour. He hath
given of the Lord's hand double for our sins. His righteousness,
His sacrifice, double for all our sins. The Lord hath done
great things for us, whereof we are glad. Jesus has lived
and died for his people. He lived a life that was pure
and holy. He satisfied his holy father
with that perfect righteousness. He then offered, you know, the
offering of Christ on Calvary had to be perfect. He's the chiefest
among 10,000. You know, he could choose 10,000
of the finest specimens of the sons of men. Not one sacrifice
would ever atone for sin. There's only this one sacrifice
of Christ. that is a tongue for sin. Because it was pure. Bunyan calls
it the acceptable sacrifice. It was pure. The Lord has done
great things for us. But he died for our sins, the
Lord demanded. The Lord declared, Cursed is
every man that doeth not all things that are written in the
book of the Lord to them. And the day that thou eatest
thereof thou shalt surely die. and the wages of sin is death.
But the gift of God is eternal life. Through Jesus Christ our
Lord, the Lord hath done great things for us, whereof we are
glad. And if the Lord by his Spirit reveals this precious
Christ to you. For by one offering, the glorious
sacrifice of Christ on Calvary, when he poured out his soul unto
death, For by one offering he hath perfected forever all them
that are sanctified. This one glorious sacrifice of
our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I often point you to that word
in Hebrews chapter nine, and it speaks so beautifully there,
doesn't it? Concerning the offering of Christ. But Christ, the incumbent
high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect
tabernacle, that's his holy human nature, not made with hands,
that is, say, not of this building, neither by the blood of goats
and of calves, but by his own blood he entered once into the
holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the
blood of bulls and of goats and the ashes of an heifer, sprinkling
the unclean, sanctifyeth to the purifying of the flesh, how much
more, how much more shall the blood of Christ who through the
eternal spirit offered himself without spot to God purge your
conscience and dead works to serve the living God. You think
of this and I've often explained it to you. The apostles write
to the Hebrews who understood sacrifices and offerings. You
have an altar and then on the altar you have a sacrifice. The
altar is typical of the divine nature of the Son of God. And
the sacrifice on the altar is typical of the human nature of
the Son of God. It was one glorious sacrifice.
He offered his own sacred humanity on the altar of his divinity.
And I believe this is what the apostle means. How much more
shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit, he
means the divine nature of the Son of God, not the Holy Ghost,
offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience
from dead works to serve the living God. The Lord had done
great things for us. He's satisfied all the demands
of divine justice. He's brought life and immortality.
He died for our sins. And on the third day, he rose
again for our justification. What does justification mean?
To be declared without sin. And when Christ rose from the
dead, it was to justify us. It means all our sins have been
put away. He left them in the grave. As
far as the east is from the west, so far have I removed thy sins
from thee, O Israel. The Lord hath done great things
for us, whereof we are glad. We don't worship a dead Christ.
Come, see the place where the Lord lay. He is not here, he
is risen. He swallowed up death in victory. The Lord hath done great things
for us, whereof we are glad. Now, the prayer. Look. again
our captivity. Is that where you are today?
Turn again our captivity, O Lord, as the streams in the south.
In the south it's very desert, very dry, very arid. But there
are times when there are very heavy rains come. And what were
dry waterbeds are rushing torrents of water. And this is the illustration
here. Turn again our captivity, O Lord,
as the streams in the south. the torrents of water. Now, this
word of encouragement, they that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth
bearing precious seed shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing
his sheaves with him. Firstly, primarily, that's Christ. It's the glorious person of our
Lord Jesus Christ. When he came to this sin-cursed
world, he that goeth forth He's going forth from of old, from
everlasting, and weepeth. You think of Christ, the man
of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. He weeps. He that goes
forth and weepeth. All those sorrows he had to bear.
He had to live, the holy, the spotless Son of God had to live
on this sink earth world amidst sinful, wicked men. He that goeth
forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed. He was bearing precious
seed. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me, and he that cometh unto me I will in no wise
cast out. Bearing precious seed, our Lord
Jesus Christ. And shall doubtless come again
with rejoicing. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me, and him that cometh unto me I will in no wise
cast out, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing. All those
for whom Jesus Christ has lived, suffered, bled, and died, and
rose again, and ascended into glory, all of them shall reach
eternal glory, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing
his sheaves with him. Every soul that the Father gave
to Christ has been redeemed in that holy life, in that holy
sacrifice, in that death and resurrection and ascension into
glory. What did Christ say? Because
I live, he shall live also. He that goeth forth and weepeth
bearing precious sin. There is the divine certainty
and security of every child of God. It's in Christ, not in you,
it's in Christ. Look to Jesus. Let us lay aside
every weight and the sin that does so easily beset us, and
let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking
unto Jesus. The only way you'll run this
race, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith,
who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross,
despising the shame thereof, and it now set down at the right
hand of the majesty on high. For such a high priest have we,
who is passed into the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, O my beloved
friends, O that the Lord will enable you to look alone to Christ
and cast all your care upon Christ. There's eternal salvation there,
there's eternal life there, there's eternal peace there. And then, of course, We think
of the Lord's servants as they go forward to preach the gospel.
They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth
and weepeth bearing precious seed shall doubtless come again
with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. All that the
Lord would encourage us to continue. Sometimes you get cast down,
sometimes you get... I'm speaking now of the Lord's
servant, he attempted. There's nothing in my ministry,
there's no power, there's no life. And that's how you feel.
There's no signs following. He that goeth for them weepeth,
do we? Bearing precious seed, shouts
out less. Come again with rejoicing, bringing
his sheaves with him. May the Lord add his blessings. Let us now sing together hymn
number 1061. The tune is Rest 211. Lord, I believe a rest remains
to all thy people known, a rest where pure enjoyment reigns,
and thou art loved alone. Oh, may the Lord enable us to
lay hold of this in the spirit of faith. Hymn 1061, tune rest
211. Thank you. Arise, my soul, arise! For what I knoweth, is my hope
in thee and in Charlie. ? This day can now thine abbey
serve ? ? This day can now thine abbey serve ? ? And let me taste
from sweet communion of love ? It's the best of my heart. It's unbidding and true. To thee the rest of day give
now, The Sabbath all night long. Down, dear Saviour, go away,
Return my soul, return. O my righteous day, O my righteous
day, 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.