Let us commence our service by
singing together hymn number 110. The tune is Braden, number
13. The Lord on high proclaims his
Godhead from his throne. Mercy and justice are the names
by which I will be known. Hymn 110, tune Braden, 13. And all my hope is, is found
in all his love. Chastity and justice shall remain,
By which thy will be done. ? Crying songs I'll sing ? ? If
darkness come this way ? The power of God has holdeth
it to my recovering prayer. She knows to be a soul and heart
potential. and righteousness and strength
are found in thee, the Lord alone. In thee, there is found trust, can see the hill for him. God
will pronounce the shield's just, and take the saints to prayer. Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God in the Prophecy of Isaiah, chapter 45. The Prophecy of Isaiah, chapter
45. Thus saith the Lord to his anointed,
to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden to subdue nations before
him, and I will loose the loins of kings to open before him the
two lead gates and the gates shall not be shut. I will go
before thee and make the crooked places straight. I will break
in pieces the gates of brass and cut in sunder the bars of
iron. And I will give thee the treasures of darkness and hidden
riches of secret places that thou mayest know that I, the
Lord, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel. For Jacob my servant's sake,
and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name.
I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me. I am
the Lord, and there is none else. There is no God beside me. I
girded thee, though thou hast not known me, that they may know
from the rising of the sun and from the west that there is none
beside me. I am the Lord, and there is none
else. I form the light and create darkness. I make peace and create evil. I, the Lord, do all these things.
Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness,
let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let
righteousness spring up together. I, the Lord, have created it.
Woe unto him that striveth with his maker. Let the pot sherd
strive with the pot sherds of the earth. Shall the clay say
to him that fashioneth it, what makest thou? or thy work he hath
no hands. Well unto him that saith unto
his father, what begettest thou? Or to the woman, what hast thou
brought forth? Thus saith the Lord, the Holy
One of Israel, and his Maker, ask me of things to come concerning
my sons, and concerning the work of my hands, command ye me. I have made the earth and created
man upon it. I, even my hands, have stretched
out the heavens, and all their hosts have I commanded. I have
raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways.
He shall build my city, he shall let go my captives, not for price
nor reward, saith the Lord of hosts. Thus saith the Lord, the
labour of Egypt, and merchandise of Ethiopia, and of the Sabaeans,
men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be
thine. They shall come after thee, in
chains they shall come over, and they shall fall down unto
thee. They shall make supplication unto thee, saying, surely God
is in thee, and there is none else. There is no God. Verily, thou art a God that hideth
thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour. They shall be ashamed
and confounded, all of them. They shall go to confusion together
that are makers of idols. But Israel shall be saved in
the Lord with an everlasting salvation. ye shall not be ashamed
nor confounded, world without end. For thus saith the Lord
that created the heavens, God himself that formed the earth
and made it, he has established it, he created it not in vain,
he formed it to be inhabited. I am the Lord and there is none
else. I have not spoken in secret in
a dark place of the earth, I said, not under the seed of Jacob,
seek ye me in vain. Why, the Lord speak righteousness.
I declare things that are right. Assemble yourselves and come.
Draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations. They
have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image,
and pray unto a God that cannot say. Tell ye, and bring them
near, yea, let them take counsel together, who hath declared this
from the ancient time, who hath told it from that time. Have
not I the Lord, when there is no God else beside me, a just
God, and a Saviour, there is none beside me? Look unto me,
and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth. For I am God, and
there is none else, I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out
of my mouth, in righteousness and shall not return, that unto
me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear, surely shall
one say, in the Lord have I righteousness and strength, even to him shall
men come, and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed.
In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified and shall
glory. May the Lord bless the reading
of his own precious word and grant to us a spirit of real
prayer. Almighty, most merciful and eternal
God, we do desire to bow before thy great majesty to call upon
thy great and holy name. Thou hast said in thy word, call
upon me in the day of trouble. I will hear thee, I will answer
thee. Gracious God, we come to thee
as poor, needy sinners. Each one of us is one of the
fallen sons or daughters of Adam, born in sin, shaped in iniquity,
unclean, and unrighteous altogether. Oh, we come as the sweet Psalms,
creating me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within
me. Oh, grant that that may be our united cry here tonight,
that we may have that right spirit within us, and that we may have
in exercise that new man of grace, that desires our Lord Jesus Christ,
that looks alone to him, that casts all our care upon him,
realising our lost condition, realising our hopeless condition,
realising our insufficiency, our poverty. O most gracious
Lord, we do pray that we may be enabled to come in that holy
name of Jesus Christ, the only Saviour of sinners, We come and
plead his precious blood and his glorious righteousness, what
Jesus has done, what Jesus has fulfilled, what Jesus has accomplished. This, O Lord, is our only hope.
We thank thee for the incarnation of the Son of God, for that is
who our Lord Jesus Christ is. We thank thee for the holy life
he lived as a man here upon earth, when he was made of a woman made
under the law that he might redeem them that are under the law. We've read together as the time
of the righteousness and praise shall spring forth and it did
not happen in our Lord Jesus Christ. We think of those wonderful words
of grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. I come not to destroy the law
but to fulfil it. O Lord Jesus, thou hast honoured,
magnified the holy righteous law of God on the behalf of thy
people and thereby brought in everlasting righteousness. We
do thank thee for that everlasting righteousness of our Lord Jesus
Christ. We do pray that we may be clothed
upon with it O Lord, we do pray that we may
be washed in that precious sin-atoning blood of Jesus Christ, so that
our naked neck may be covered, our sins taken away, reconciled
unto Thee. O most gracious Lord, we pray
for that reconciling grace this evening hour as we gather round
We pray, most gracious Lord, for truly thankful hearts, for
the cross of Calvary, for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, for
the putting away of sin and the bringing in of everlasting righteousness,
for the Saviour died for our sins. Oh, that that may be a
sweet reality in our soul's experience tonight. He died for our sins. and rose again for our justification,
and has swallowed up death in victory, and brought life and
immortality to life through the gospel. Death could not hold
him, but he's destroyed death, and him that had the power of
death, that is the devil. Oh, most gracious Lord, we thank
thee for that reconciling grace that is in Jesus Christ. We thank
Thee that He has bodily ascended into heaven and ascended up on
high, and those pearly gates of heaven have opened their everlasting
doors, and the King of glory has entered in. We do thank Thee,
Lord, that that is a sacred reality. A new and living way has been
made into the holy place for poor wretched sinners to enter
in. We think of the words of our
Lord Jesus Christ, because I live, ye shall live also. Lord, we
have an advocate with the Father and we pray that our hearts may
be filled with gratitude and thanksgiving, that we have a
great high priest who has passed into the heavens, Jesus, the
Son of God. We thank thee for the wonderful
precious truth that he's coming again. He's gone to prepare a
place, and I will see you again. Gracious God, we wait for that
day when we will see thee again, when thou dost come a second
time without sin unto salvation to gather all thy people unto
thyself and take them into the marriage supper of the Lamb,
and to spread those delicious dainties before us. Then we shall
drink of the wine of the kingdom, and eat of that living bread.
Gracious God, do hear us, we pray Thee for Thy great namesake. There's no banquet, O Lord, like
that banquet. And there's no love like the
love of Jesus Christ. And there's no power like the
power of Jesus Christ. Oh, we thank Thee that He is
God over all and blessed forevermore. And we would say, with thy servant
John, Alleluia, for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Thou art able to do abundantly
more than we can even ask or think, for there is nothing too
hard for thee. Thou seest us just as we are,
thou knowest everything about us, that thou understandest my
thought afar off, and there's not a word in my tongue but thou
knowest it all together, O Lord. So we come before thee, naked
and bare, and we plead what Jesus Christ has done. We pray, most
gracious Lord, that those bless our brethren, the deacons, and
give grace, wisdom, and help in all their responsibilities
here and elsewhere. Bless each one of our brethren
and sisters in church fellowship, and undertake for each one. Help
us to love each other, serve each other, bear each other's
burdens. Help us to be laborers together, that we may see an
ingathering of precious souls, that we may see a pulling down
of the strongholds of Satan, that we may see the return of
the prodigals. O gracious God, there's nothing
too hard for thee. Thou art able to do abundantly
more than we can even ask or think. and thou hast said, open
thy mouth wide and I will fill it, gracious God. We think of
the words of the poet, thou art coming to a king, large petitions
with thee bring, for his grace and power such none can ever
ask too much. O Lord, we do thank thee that
in Jesus Christ we know the love of our heavenly Father, and through
him we receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Oh, that we might
know more of that love, that we might experience what the
dear Apostle so beautifully sets before us, for God has sent forth
the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father. May we know more of that eternal
love of our eternal Father. God so loved the world, he gave
his only begotten Son. Oh, we do thank thee. for that
wonderful gift. Jesus, the gift of gifts, appears. We thank the most gracious Lord
for the throne of grace, where we're able to unburden our heart
to Thee, where we're able to pour out our soul unto Thee.
What a wonderful provision. Jesus sits upon it. One God and
one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. who
gave his life of ransom for all to be testified in due time.
Lord, bless the little ones and the children. Have mercy upon
them. Bless them with that rich grace
that is in Christ Jesus. Bless them with light and understanding.
Put the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom, into
their hearts. Bless our dear young friends.
Bring them to living, vital, saving faith in Jesus Christ.
we do humbly beseech them, and show them thy ways, lead them
in thy path, and grant that when the love of Christ is shed abroad
in their hearts, then shall I tell to sinners round what a dear
Saviour I have found, and point to thy redeeming blood and say,
behold, the way to God. Gracious God, Incline thine ear,
we do pray thee, and bless them. Bless them in all the paths of
providence. Guide them and direct them in
all their paths. We do humbly pray thee. Thou
hast said in thy word, commit thy way unto the Lord. Trust
also in him, and he shall bring it to pass. O Lord, we do pray
that those that have those difficulties, those problems that have arisen,
that seem impossible, that thou wouldst graciously hear their
cry and send answers of peace. And as we've read in thy word,
to make the crooked things straight and the rough places plain, hear
us, Lord, we humbly pray thee. And, O Lord, we do pray that
thou wouldst be with parents and give them grace, wisdom,
and help to bring up their children in the nurture and admonition
of the Lord. And we pray O Lord, that thou would be with the families
as they gather round the family altar to read thy word. O do so, bless them, Lord. We
humbly pray thee. And we pray, most gracious God,
that thou, in thy great mercy, would remember those of us that
are in the evening time of life journey. Remember us with the
favour that thou bearest unto thy people. Visit us with thy
great salvation. We do humbly pray thee that as
the outward man perishes, the inward man may be renewed day
by day. Lord, remember us in the coming
week as we seek to lay to rest the mortal remains of our late
sister, Ina Field. We pray that thou wouldst be
with us on that day and graciously draw near. We thank thee for
that life and remembrance of and her long membership of this
church. Gracious God, we do pray that
Thou in Thy precious mercy would graciously fill our hearts with
gratitude for Thy wonderful mercies, Thy loving kindness in providence. Remember all Thy servants as
they labour in word and doctrine. Set them free, set them at liberty.
A number of Thy servants, O Lord, are reaching older age and its
many infirmities and not able to do what they formerly have
done, we pray for them that thou wouldst help them. And we pray
that thou, the great Lord of the harvest, would send true
labourers into the harvest, that thou wouldst grant a bountiful
harvest, that thou wouldst grant, O Lord, many, many, many precious
souls to be gathered in, the glory light and the gospel to
shine in this village, the surrounded villages and hamlets, and that
thou wouldst bring our sons from far, and our daughters from the
ends of the earth, that they shall come from the north and
from the south, and from the east and from the west. O Lord
of hosts, O God of Israel, O Thou that dwellest between the cherubim,
shine forth. Let Thy hand be upon the man
of Thy right hand, the son of man, whom Thou madest strong
for Thyself, O Lord of hosts, do hear as we humbly beseech
thee, and send answers of peace, and bless thy Zion. And instead
of a decline, may we see an increase. Instead of a falling away, may
we see a building up. Gracious God, hear the cries
of thy people, that sigh and cry for the abominations done
in the land. But remember our King, and the
Princess of Wales at this time of affliction. And if it is thy
heavenly mind to put thy healing hand upon them to restore to
health and strength, and sanctify these things to the good of their
immortal souls, remember the whole of the Royal Household,
remember all that are in authority over us, and give wisdom, guidance,
and direction. We live in solemn days, O Lord,
when there are wars and rumours of wars, and we know not what
may yet unfold. O Lord, do hear, we pray Thee,
and graciously bring a stop to war, bring to naught the counsels
of the ungodly, tens of thousands being launched from time into
eternity. O Lord of hosts, do hear our
prayers, we do humbly pray Thee, Do forgive all our many sins.
Do be with us now as we turn to thy holy word and come and
touch one's lips with a live coal from of the heavenly altar.
Make up in giving where we do so fail in asking, as we ask
for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. Let us now sing together hymn
number 588. The tune is Langshaw 168. A limping beggar clothed in rags,
disgraceful and forlorn, in self a mass of hateful dregs, in Satan's
image born. To Jesus comes with all his woes,
and loud for mercy cries, And mercy like a river flows from
Jishu's heart and eyes. Hymn 588. The tune is Langshaw
168. ? Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia,
alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia ? Peace and love from
God, from all creation, in excelsis Deo. Till Jesus Christ, dead or in
trust, hath died for us in Christ. ? And blessed art ? ? The New Covenant
? ? From ages past and now ? He takes the cross from the lowly
cross, and brings it down from heaven. ? His kingdom come ? ? His will
be done ? ? On earth as it is in heaven ? ? Which shall be ours ? ? Through
life and death ? ? To faith forever praise ? ? Let it be so ? ? Come into the world ? ? And live
to hear the news ? O'er the land of the free and
the home of the brave? ? Every one in the future ? ? Will
share with angels sing ? greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, I would direct your attention to the chapter
that we read, the prophecy of Isaiah, chapter 45, and we will
read verse 22 for our text. The prophecy of Isaiah, chapter
45, read in verse 22 for our text. Look unto me, And be ye
saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is none
else. Look unto me. We can easily deduce
who is speaking here. It's the glorious person of Christ.
We notice the latter part of the verse 21. Have not I the
Lord and there is no God else beside me, a just God and a Saviour,
there is none beside me. The Apostle Paul, he writes to
his son Timothy, his spiritual son Timothy, he says there is
one God and one mediator between God and man, the man, Christ
Jesus. who gave his life a ransom for
all, to be testified in due time. And here the Lord says, look
unto me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth, for I
am God and there is none else. In this chapter, it starts with a prophecy concerning
Cyrus, Indeed, if you look at the last few verses, or the last
verse of chapter 44, that saith of Cyrus, he is my
shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure, even saying to Jerusalem,
thou shalt be built, and to the temple thy foundation shall be
laid. Thus saith the Lord to his anointed,
to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before
him I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the
two-leaf gates, and the gates shall not be shut." Cyrus was
a Persian king, right at the latter end of the Babylonian
kingdom. fortress of the city of Babylon. If you remember, the children
of Israel were held in Babylon for 70 years, the chastising
hand of God. And it looked utterly impossible
that they could ever return to Jerusalem, to Israel. Jerusalem
was laid waste and burnt with fire. But you know, friends, Here this
is hundreds of years before and the Lord prophesies and even
names the king. King Cyrus. He is my shepherd. But there's something even greater
and more wonderful here than this. King Cyrus is a heathen
king and yet here you know friends in what it says of Cyrus, he's
a type of Christ. You can Read these wonderful
words that are spoken of Cyrus and you can read them concerning
Christ. He is my shepherd. David says,
the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. It was Cyrus
that would release the children of Israel. It's Christ that has
released the whole of the election of grace, the spiritual seed
of Abraham. He is my shepherd and shall perform
all my pleasure. Christ is the shepherd of his
sheep and he has performed all the pleasure of God. He has fulfilled
the holy law of God. He has honored and glorified
the name of his father in his holy life here as a man upon
earth. And as it says here in this verse 28 of chapter 44,
even saying to Jerusalem, thou shalt be built It was he that
facilitated, and he gave letters to Nehemiah to rebuild the city
of Jerusalem. He gave letters to those that
kept the forest, that he should have the wood and everything
that he needed for the rebuilding of Jerusalem. And you read in
the book of Nehemiah how the Lord prospered their way. Much
opposition. There always is when the church
is to be built. You see, and shall perform all
my pleasure. Even saying to Jerusalem, thou
shalt be built, and to the temple thy foundation shall be laid.
The building of the second temple. That was around about 18 years
after the return of the children of Israel under Nehemiah. And
then 18 years later, Zerubbabel was the governor of Judah. And
in his days, the temple of the Lord was built. Thy foundation
shall be laid. Thus saith the Lord to his anointed. Christ is his anointed, but Cyrus,
he was anointed king. He put it, we do not read that
Cyrus was ever called by divine grace. We have to leave that. But we do know that the Lord
used him, a powerful king, to facilitate the return of the
Jews from Babylon unto Jerusalem, to subdue nations before him.
I will loose the loins of kings to open before him the two lead
gates. Now if we look at Cyrus as he was a leader, the city
of Babylon was reckoned to be completely impregnable. Its bulwarks and its walls were
huge and its gates were. Nobody had successfully, they
were a great power. has successfully taken over the
city. But here it says, I will loose
the loins of kings to open before him the two leaf gates. This
is literally the gates of Babylon and the gates shall not be shut. It was thought to be totally
impregnable. But what Cyrus did was they drained
the river. The back end of the city had
a large river and that was its defense and Cyrus rerouted that
river and so the Persian armies, the Medes and the Persians came
from the rear of the city they overtook it. It's recorded in
the book of Daniel, isn't it? When Daniel said to Belteshazzar
that his days were numbered and that that night he would die,
the disembodied hand writing on the plaster of the wall from
God. And Daniel said to him, tonight thine enemies will overtake
thee. And it's exactly what happened.
Cyrus and the Medes and the Persians entered from the rear into the
city of Babylon and completely overrun it and killed the king.
And so, to open before him the two-leaf gates and the gates
shall not be shut. But let us think of the heavenly,
of our Lord Jesus Christ. I will loose the loins of kings
to open before him the two-leaf gates. In the 24th Psalm, we
have a beautiful prophecy of Christ entering into heaven.
And it says, lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye lifted
up, and the King of glory shall come in. Be ye lifted up, ye
everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in. He's
made a new and living way into the holy place. I think it's
very sacred and beautiful, really, the way that these words, even
of a heathen king, can be interpreted as being the glories of our Lord
Jesus Christ. Now, the Lord here in verse 2,
he speaks to his people. I will go before thee. I know
it's true of Cyrus, the Lord did go before him. I will go
before thee and make the crooked places straight. I will break
in pieces the gates of brass and cut and sunder the bars of
iron. I will go before thee. What a
word it is to the Lord's living family. I will go before thee. What is it that troubles you?
What is it that burdens you? What is it that brings you down? you know in our text it says
about the ends of the earth and maybe to your feelings at this
time you're at the ends of the earth and you don't know what
to do Jehoshaphat wasn't it he said now know we not what to
do but our eyes are up upon unto thee he did know what to do didn't
he look unto me this is this is the language of Jesus Christ
my beloved friends look unto me All ye ends of the earth and
be ye saved for I am God and there is none else. I will go
before thee. Those things that are utterly
impossible. He says in one place, I will
make all thy mountains away. Have you got mountains that it
looks impossible that you can continue? I will go before thee
and make the crooked places straight. I will break in pieces the gates
of brass that look utterly impossible, but I will break in pieces the
gates of brass. Jesus said, all power is given
unto me in heaven and in earth, and cut in sunder the bars of
iron. I will give thee the treasures
of darkness. You know, the Lord's people,
they come into times of darkness. that darkness can take many different
things that there's a spiritual darkness and there's a providential darkness
and there is a darkness of affliction and trouble and trial and perplexity but hidden in it are treasures
It's in these things. Hezekiah, when he came into those
great trials, those great perplexities, those great sorrows, and the
Lord said to him, set thine house in order, for thou shalt die
and not live. Jerusalem was surrounded with the armies of the Assyrians.
185,000 men. Why, it looked utterly and
absolutely impossible. What a dark pathway, wasn't it?
But look how the Lord blessed him. What did Hezekiah say when
he was recovered of his sickness? By these things men live, and
in them is the life of my Spirit. I will give thee the treasures
of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest
know that I, the Lord, which call thee by thy name, am the
God of Israel. For Jacob my servant's sake,
and Israel mine elect, I've even called thee by thy name. I have
surnamed thee though thou hast not known me. I am the Lord. And I think it's about six times
here in this chapter. I am the Lord and there is none
else. There is no God beside me. I
girded thee though thou hast not known me. I feel that's a
reference to Cyrus. that they may know from the rising
of the sun and from the west that there is none beside me.
I am the Lord. There is none else. In Holy Scripture, reflecting
this truth, when it speaks of the gods of the heathen, it's
always with a small g. When it speaks of the living
God, it's with a capital G. Because he is God over all and
blessed forevermore. I form the light and create darkness. I make peace and create evil.
I, the Lord, do all these things. And he speaks here of the coming
of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Drop down ye heavens from above.
Let the skies pour down righteousness. Let the earth open. Let them
bring forth salvation. Let righteousness spring up together. I, the Lord, have created it.
Where? In the glorious person of His
Son, manifest in the flesh. Everlasting righteousness was
brought in. Eternal salvation was procured
in that crucified Saviour, for by one offering He hath perfected
forever all them that are sanctified. Look unto Me, all ye ends of
the earth, and be ye saved, for I am God and there is none else. I am God and there is none else. What a precious truth. Says in verse 12, I have made
the earth and created man upon it. I even my hands have stretched
out the heavens and all their hosts have high commanded. Then it speaks of Christ. I have
raised him up in righteousness I will direct all his ways, he
shall build my city, he shall let go my captives, where we
know it in the first sense it was Cyrus, but in the second
sense it's a glorious person of Christ. He shall build my
city, he shall let my captives go, not for price nor reward,
saith the Lord of hosts. That is what Cyrus did, he let
his people go. He facilitated their return to
Jerusalem. But there's one far greater than
Cyrus here. I've raised him up in righteousness,
Jesus Christ, my righteous servant, that's what he's called, isn't
it? I will direct all his ways, he shall build my city. And that's
as true today as it was when Christ was here upon earth. Oh,
that we might see a reviving, a renewing in the city of Zion
in the day in which we live. And it speaks of the Gospel of
Jesus Christ here in verse 14. Thus saith the Lord, the labour
of Egypt, the merchandise of Ethiopia. This is the calling
of the Gentiles and of the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over
unto thee, and they shall be thine. They shall come after
thee, in chains shall they come over. They shall fall down unto
thee, they shall make supplication unto thee, and surely God is
in thee. And there is none else, there is no God. Oh, my beloved
friends, how we long to see that day of prosperity, that day of
engathering, that day of building up. Verse 17, but Israel shall
be saved in the Lord with an everlasting salvation. He shall
not be ashamed nor confounded, world without end, an everlasting
salvation, an everlasting righteousness, that glorious atonement. the
precious worth of the atonement on cross of Calvary. It's of
eternal worth. He has redeemed all his people.
And the time will come when all his sheep, redeemed by blood,
shall leave the hateful waves of sin, turn to the fold and
enter in, they will. And these promises are written
to encourage us to keep praying and to keep looking. see for thus saith the Lord that
created the heavens God himself that formed the earth and made
it he has established it he created it not in vain he formed it to
be inhabited I am the Lord there is none else what an emphasis
in this chapter there is I am the Lord there is none else I've not spoken in secret in
a dark place the earth I said not unto the seed of Jacob seek
you mean vain I the Lord speak righteousness I declare things
that are right look unto me well unto Jesus Jesus the Son of God
that was manifest in the flesh that is now sitting at the right
hand of the Father look unto me I tried to speak last evening
at Pick Hill Chapel from those words in Solomon's song, Go forth,
O ye daughter of Zion, and behold King Solomon, behold
King Jesus. What a beautiful type of Christ
there is Solomon. Christ is being spoken of there
in that song. Go forth, O ye daughters of Jerusalem,
behold King Solomon, with the crown wherewith his mother crowned
him in the day of his espousals. Look unto me and be ye saved. It was said, wasn't it, when
the angel said to the Joseph and Mary, thou shalt call his
name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. We're told in the word of God,
there is salvation in none other. There is none other name that
is given unto heaven whereby you must be saved. but the name
of Jesus Christ. Look unto me and be ye saved. All the ends of the earth, for
I am God and there is none else. Look unto me. Oh, that the Lord
would enable us to look and continually look. You know, is it Joseph
Hart in one of his hymns, he speaks of how we have this tendency
to look within And to look down, Mr. Wood used to say, the outlook,
look unto me. What does Joseph Hart say? Pour
not on thyself too long, else to a sink thee lower. Look to
Jesus, firm and strong, mercy joined with power. Look unto
me and be ye saved. All the ends of the earth, for
I am God and there is none else. There's no other saviour. There's
no other name that is given unto heaven but this wonderful name
of Jesus Christ. Look unto me. You know the apostle,
he goes in Hebrews chapter 11 and he speaks of all that great
cloud of witnesses. He literally ransacks the whole
of the Old Testament and goes through those godly witnesses
through the Old Testament. And he says, all these died in
faith. And when he comes into the chapter
12 in the Hebrews, he says about laying aside every way. Laying aside every way. And the
sin that does so easily beset us. And that we should run with
patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus. You know, friends, that's the
only way that you and I will ever reach glory, looking unto
Jesus. Wherefore, seeing we also are
compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us
lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset
us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
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, and is set down at the right hand of the throne
of God. For consider him that endured
such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be weary
and faint in your minds. Ye have not yet resisted unto
blood, striving against sin, And ye have forgotten the exhortation
which speaketh unto you as unto children. My son, despise not
thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked
of him, for whom the Lord loveth. He's not angry with you. He's
not trying to drive you away. Whom the Lord loveth he chastened. And scourge of every son. whom
he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God
dealeth with you as with sons. You see, my beloved friends,
what a mercy if the Lord is dealing with us, if the Lord is humbling
us, if the Lord is bringing us to the ends of the earth. It's
very unpleasant to the flesh. It's very opposite to our nature.
when the Holy Spirit convinces us of our sin and shows us our
lost estate, it's then we come to the ends of the earth. When
he brings us into circumstances that we can't control and everything
around us is sinking and you begin to despair, the ends of
the earth. David, he knew what it was to
come to the ends of the earth, didn't he? It says in the The
first verse of Psalm 61. Truly my soul waiteth, sorry
that's 62, to hear my cry, O God, attend unto my prayer from the
end of the earth. Will I cry unto thee when my
heart is overwhelmed? Maybe that's where you are at
this time, overwhelmed. When my heart is overwhelmed,
lead me to the rock that is higher than high. What is that rock? That rock is Christ. Upon this
rock I build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail
against it. Lead me to rock that is higher
than I. Christ is the eternal rock of
ages. Speaks of it in the children
of Israel in the wilderness and the rock that Moses smoked. And forthwith there came water
gushing out in the middle of that wilderness. What an amazing
thing that must have been. Paul tells this in the Corinthians,
that rock was Christ. And the water gushing forth from
it is a beautiful emblem of the Holy Ghost, who is so often likened
to living water in the word of God. From the end of the earth
will I cry unto thee. When my heart is overwhelmed,
lead me to the rock that is higher. Rock of ages, cleft for me. Let
me hide myself in thee. Let the water and the blood from
thy riven side which flow, be of sin a double cure. Cleanse
me from its guilt and power. Look unto me and be ye saved. All the ends of the earth. For
I am God and there is none else. And there is none else. There's
no other saviour. There's no other redeemer. There's
no other God. This is the only true God, who
sent his Son, Jesus Christ, who was made of woman, made under
the Lord, that he might redeem them that are under the law. A just God and a Saviour, there
is none beside me. Look unto me. This is a word
of direction. given to us by the Spirit of
God. Look unto me. I am the light of the world.
He that hath the Son hath life. He that hath not the Son of God
hath not life. You think of those lovely words
of the dear apostle in the fourth chapter of the Hebrews where
he speaks so beautifully there. concerning our great High Priest.
For such an High Priest have we, who is passed into the heavens,
Jesus, the Son of God. Let us therefore come boldly
unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find
grace to help in every time of need. Look unto me. Jesus said, all power is given
unto me in heaven and in Maybe that you're in some very difficult,
very trying, very perplexing things that nobody else knows
about. This is the word to you. Look
unto me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth. For I
am God and there is none else. You know, the Lord's servant
Jonah, He came into great troubles, didn't he? Great trials. Great perplexities. And he rebelled
against the will of God. And instead of going to Nineveh,
that great city, he went in the opposite direction. He took a
ship to Tarsus. And there was a great storm. It was his disobedience. And eventually the mariners,
they cast him out of the ship. And the great fish that the Lord
had prepared. Now the Lord had prepared a great
fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of
the fish three days and three nights. What a beautiful emblem
of our Lord Jesus Christ who was in the grave three days and
three nights. Then Jonah, then when the Lord
brought him to that place, you know, no human arm could reach
Jonah there. None. He was completely isolated. There was no possibility that
he himself could get out of that whale's belly. But please notice
what it says, the Lord had prepared. Naturally speaking, a person
could not survive the belly of a whale. But the Lord had prepared a place.
You might say why is that? Because there's no oxygen there
and you would immediately suffocate. But the Lord had prepared. There
was a special place in the belly of that great whale that he prepared
for his servant Jonah to preserve his life. Then Jonah prayed. Unto the Lord is God, out of
the fish's belly, from the ends of the earth. Will I cry unto
thee? And said I, I cried by reason
of mine affliction unto the Lord, and he heard me out of the belly
of hell. That's what it felt like to Jonah.
He heard me out of the belly of hell. Cried I, and thou heardest
my voice. For thou hast cast me into the
deep, into the midst of the seas, and the floods compass me about,
all thy waves and thy billows have gone over me, passed over
me. Then I said, I am cast out of
thy sight, yet I will look again toward thy holy temple. That was a turning point for
Jonah. correct in hand of God, the chaste
in hand of God, had brought his servant utterly to nothing. Overwhelmed. Look unto me, all
ye ends of the earth. And Jonah is an illustration
of that. He says, all thy waves and thy
billows passed over me, yet will I look again toward thy holy
temple. Jonah was used to temple worship. And I believe he understood the
meaning of it. The blood of sprinkling, the
sacrifices, the offerings, representing our Lord Jesus Christ, typifying
them. And that's where he was looking.
Looking to this holy temple, to the glorious person of our
Lord Jesus Christ. Then said I, this is the language
of Jonah, I am cast out of thy sight, yet I will look again
toward thy holy temple. The waters encompassed me about
even to the soul, the depths enclosed me round about, the
weeds wrapped about my head, I went down to the bottoms of
the mountains, the earth with her bars was about me forever. Yet hast thou brought up my life
from corruption. Lord my God, when my soul fainted
within me, I remembered the Lord and my prayer came in unto thee
into thy holy temple. And what happened? And the Lord
spake unto the fish and it vomited out Jonah upon dry land. see look unto me this is exactly
what Jonah was brought to do he had to go in that deep dark
what he felt to be the belly of hell and yet the Lord heard
his cry he did look unto me and be ye saved all the ends of the
earth for I am God and there is none else you think of the
Lord's servant Daniel when he was condemned to the lion's den because he prayed unto his God. And how the king laboured all
that day to keep Daniel from the lion's den, but he could
not prevail. And early in the morning, after
putting Daniel in the lion's den, he comes, the king comes
to the lion's den. Is thy God able to deliver thee
from the mouth of the lions? The answer came from whence that
day. O King, live forever. God has
sent his angels, and he hath closed the mouths of the lions.
What should have been for his utter destruction, the Lord delivered
him from it. Look unto me. No doubt that Daniel
spent the night looking unto the Lord, look unto me and be
ye saved all the ends of the earth for I am God and there
is none else. Look at Daniel's three friends
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego when they would not bow down
to that great image that the king had made. And the king commanded the furnace
to be heated up seven times hotter And they cast those three godly
men into the furnace. And then Nebuchadnezzar, astonished,
he looked into that furnace and said, did we not cast in three? Behold, there are four. And the
fourth is like unto the Son of God. What a wonderful precious
truth that is, isn't it? And it says in the, 43rd chapter
of Isaiah, verse 2. When thou passest through the
waters, I will be with thee, and through the rivers they shall
not overflow thee. When thou walkest through the
fire, thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle
upon thee. For I am the Lord thy God, the
Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour. I gave Egypt for thy ransom,
Ethiopia and Sheba for thee. Look unto me, and be ye saved,
all the ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is none else. And it was Nebuchadnezzar that
said, wasn't it, there is no God that can deliver after this
soul. And that this is the God of gods.
No God can deliver after this soul. But this God can. What is impossible with man is
possible with God. And you'll prove it. What looks
utterly impossible, the Lord would do it. Like it says at
the beginning of this chapter, I'll make the crooked things
straight and the rough places plain. Look unto me and be ye
saved, O the ends of the earth, for I am God and there is none
else. Look at Queen Esther. The wonderful
things that the Lord did there with Mordecai, her uncle, and
those minute providences that all interspersed their pathway. That night could not the king
sleep he asked for the book of the chronicles and it was read
out that Mordecai the Jew had preserved the king's life by
informing two men that were planning to assassinate him. What has
been done for this man said the king nothing they said. In walks Haman about asked the
king for the life of Mordecai the Jew. And before he could
speak, the king said, what shall be done unto the man the king
delighted to honour? Haman, thinking it would be himself,
said, let him be paraded through the city of Shushan with the king's apparel upon
the king's horse. Because Haman thought that it
was him that would be honoured in that way. And the king said,
go. fetch Mordecai the Jew and do
what you have said to him that he will go, Haman had to go before
Mordecai the Jew in the king's apparel upon the king's horse
saying thus shall it be done unto the man that the king delighteth
to honour. Look unto me and be ye saved
all the ends of the earth for I am God and there is None else. I am God and there is none else.
Oh, that the Lord would enable us to look to him and to cast
all our care upon him, trust in him at all times, ye people.
Wait patiently for him. May the Lord add his blessings. Let us now sing together hymn
number 764. The tune is Celestial, 111. How
sad our state by nature is, our sin, how deep it stains, and
Satan binds our captive minds fast in his slavish chains. But
there's a voice of sovereign grace, sounds from the sacred
word, ho ye despair in sinners calm, and trust upon the Lord. Hymn 764. Tune Celestial 111. O come, O come, O come, O come,
O come, O come, O come, to Bethlehem. O come, O come, O come, O come,
to Bethlehem. I'll see you there when the night
is white, I'll see you there when the day is bright. The voice of sovereign grace,
Sounds from the heavenly heaven, For he despairing sinners cometh,
And trusteth on the Lord. My soul, Always your mighty code,
and vouchsafed witness with thee, Thy work in it is, I promise,
Lord, Thou help my unbelief. To the dear mountain of my God,
Incarnate Lord, I cry. Here let me The first line is, O dear soul,
O mine, the deepest dive. Stretch out I AM VICTORIOUS KING,
MY FAITH AIN'T IN SIN AND SUFFERING, Drive thee, O dragon, from his
sheath, With all his vanished worth. A guilty wicked helpless one,
Of thy kind thou art, I hope. be thou my strength and righteousness
my Jesus and my 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 both now and
for evermore. Amen.