Let us commence our service this
afternoon by singing together hymn number 208. The tune is
Lord 677. Jesus, lover of thy nation, saviour
of thy people free, visit us with thy salvation. Let us, Lord,
thy glory see. Oh, revive us that we may rejoice
in thee. Hymn 208. The tune is Lorde 677. Savior of thy people free. Visit us with thy salvation,
Let us all thy glory sing. I'll remind us, I'll remind us
that we may rejoice in Thee. Let us find thy love's heavenly
host, Thy people, children dear, Can thy mercy, gracious Queen,
Be enough to purify me? Guide us, teach us, guide us,
teach us to actions we never knew. May we never more cometh thee,
face in gratitude indeed. Keep us in the Our Almighty God in heaven, how
truthfully we have honored May our courage still from this
day forth never fade Let our sweetest love be Jesus,
and in heav'nly peace be my place. Be the Lord our Father, Jesus, He will give me hope and grace
For the glory, for the glory Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God. In the second epistle of Paul
to the Corinthians in chapter one, Second Epistle to the Corinthians,
chapter one. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ
by the will of God, and Timothy, our brother, unto the church
of God, which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are
in Achaia, grace be to you and peace from God our Father, and
from the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God, even the
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the
God of all comfort, who comforted us in all our tribulation, that
we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble by the
comfort where we ourselves are comforted of God. For as the
sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth
by Christ. And whether we be afflicted,
it is for your consolation and salvation which is effectual
in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer. Or whether we be comforted, it
is for your consolation and salvation. And our hope of you is steadfast,
knowing that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall you
be also of the consolation. For we would not, brethren, have
you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were
pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired
even of life. but we have had the sentence
of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves,
but in God, which raises the dead, who delivered us from so
great a death, and doth deliver, in whom we trust that he will
yet deliver us. Ye also, helping together by
prayer for us, that for the gift bestowed upon us by the means
of many persons, thanks, may be given by many on our behalf. For our rejoicing is this, that
the testimony of our conscience that in the simplicity and godly
sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have
our conversation in this world, and more abundantly to you, Lord.
For we write none other things unto you than that we read or
acknowledge. I trust you shall acknowledge
even to the end. As also you have acknowledged
us in part that we are your rejoicing even as you also are ours in
the day of the Lord Jesus. And in this confidence I was
minded to come unto you before that you might have a second
benefit. and to pass by you into Macedonia, and to come again
out of Macedonia unto you, and of you to be brought on my way
toward Judea. When I therefore was thus minded,
did I use likeness, or the things that I purpose, do I purpose
according to the flesh, that with me there should be yea,
yea, and nay, nay? But as God is true, Our word
towards you was not yea and nay, for the Son of God, Jesus Christ,
who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and
Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in him was yea. For all the
promises of God in him are yea and in him amen, unto the glory
of God by us. Now, he which establishes us
with you in Christ and hath anointed us is God, who hath also sealed
us and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts. Moreover,
I call God for a record upon my soul, that to spare you I
came not as yet unto Corinth. Not that we have dominion over
your faith, but are helpers of your joy, for by faith ye stand. May the Lord bless the reading
of his own 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, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
We desire to worship thee in spirit and in truth. We desire the help and the blessing
and the power of the Holy Ghost. For without thy heavenly power,
O Lord, no sweets the gospel can afford, no drops of heavenly
love will fall. And it is our desire, as we gather
round thy word this afternoon of thy holy day, that we might
feel a little of the dew of heaven upon our branch. a little of
the power of the Holy Ghost, a little of the unction of the
Holy One. All who hear us, Lord, we humbly
pray thee and grant, most gracious Lord, that the quickening power
of the Holy Ghost may be known in our assemblies, that precious
souls may be called and gathered unto Christ. We do humbly beseech
thee. We pray for the divine power
and the sacred realization of the love of our eternal Father
in the person of his Son, Jesus Christ. For there is one God
and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. Come, Lord, and visit our hearts.
Send thy Spirit into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father. We do humbly
beseech thee. My God, my Father, blissful name,
O may I call Thee by. We would thankfully acknowledge
that there is a family on earth whose Father fills the throne.
And we do thank Thee for that family on earth, from every nation,
kindred, tongue, and tribe, and people that call upon Thy name,
that believe in our Lord Jesus Christ. Grant us clear believing
views of the Lord Jesus Christ. Grant that we may hear his voice
in his word, and his voice may be breathed into our hearts.
We do humbly beseech of thee. We pray, most gracious Lord,
that thou in thy precious mercy remember those sacred promises
which are yea and amen in Christ Jesus. and that thou would bring
them to our remembrance and those wonderful promises that thou
hast spoken to thy people perhaps over many years. May there be
a reviving, a renewing, a replenishing in our hearts this afternoon
that we might know the Lord Jesus in the power of his resurrection, in the fellowship of his sufferings,
being made conformable unto his death. We thank thee, Lord, for
the opportunity of meeting together around thy word. Indeed, Lord,
we thank thee for thy word. This is the word by which the
gospel is preached unto us. This is the word of thy grace.
And Lord Jesus, thou art the eternal word. And we pray that
we may truly worship thee here this afternoon. For the word
of the Lord is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged
sword to the dividing asunder of the joints and marrow of the
soul and the spirit. O gracious God, we do pray that
thou wouldst come and that thou wouldst bless us with light and
understanding in thy word. We do thank thee for that wonderful
and precious and sacred truth that brings such comfort to our
hearts For the eternal son of the eternal father was made of
a woman made under the law, that he might redeem them that are
under the law. And we thank thee that he became
flesh, and the word was made flesh and dwelt among us. Lord,
may we behold his glory, the glory as of the only begotten
of the father, full of grace and truth. We thank thee for
the holy life he lived as a man here upon earth, fulfilling and
magnifying and honoring that holy righteous law, which we
have broken, which we have minimized, he has magnified and thereby
brought in everlasting righteousness for his people. Oh, we thank
thee for that glorious everlasting righteousness of Jesus Christ.
We thank thee for what thy servant Daniel declares, until the bringing
in of everlasting righteousness. O Lord Jesus, we thank thee that
thou hast come and thou hast brought in everlasting righteousness. We do pray for our hearts to
be truly thankful for the sacred and precious sacrifice of Christ
on Calvary and that in that sacrifice the sins of thy people have been
put away, and divine justice has been satisfied, and God and
sinners are reconciled, and peace is made between God and man.
Oh, we do thank thee that he died for our sins, and he rose
again for our justification, and is now bodily ascended into
heaven, and sitteth at thy right hand. For such an high priest
have we who is passed into the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God. Oh, we thank thee for that, his
session at thy right hand, whereby we can approach unto thy great
majesty in that glorious mediator, Jesus Christ. May we have that
realisation, Lord, as we bow in prayer, tis he instead of
me is seen when I approach to God. O Lord, we thank Thee for
that sure and certain hope that He is coming again, and that
He will come without sin unto salvation. He will come to judge
the world in righteousness. O gracious God, we do thank Thee
for Jesus Christ, and we thank Thee that through Him we know
the love and power and grace of our Eternal Father, and through
Him we receive the wonderful gift of the Holy Ghost. his power,
his divine unction here this afternoon. And, O Lord, we do
pray that thou wouldst bless us as a church and as a congregation,
and that thou wouldst work mightily, powerfully, and effectually among
us, and bring light and immortality to light through the gospel.
We pray, most gracious Lord, that thou wouldst bless us as
a church and as a congregation, and work mightily and powerfully
and effectually among us. We pray for those that are not
able to be with us today through affliction and bodily weakness.
We commend them to Thee and to the word of Thy grace. Oh, that
Thou wouldst bless them indeed and that Thou wouldst grant restoring
and upholding mercy. We pray, O Lord, for our deacons
that Thy rich blessing may rest upon them and be with them in
all their responsibilities. We pray Most gracious Lord, that
Thou in Thy great mercy would remember our brethren and sisters
in church fellowship, and that we read in Thy word that there
was added unto the church daily such as should be saved, and
we pray that it may be so with us here, that we may see those
added unto the church and Thy rich blessing to be given. And
we seek, O Lord, that Thou in Thy rich mercy and which bless
us then as a church, as a congregation, and work mightily, powerfully,
and effectually among us. Bless the little ones and the
children. Bless the dear young friends. Bless them with that
rich grace that is in Christ Jesus. Bless them with that grace
and faith to follow Thee, and to serve Thee in their day and
in their generation. And be with them in all the paths
of providence, and make a way where there seems no and graciously
undertake for them. Remember the prodigals that have
wandered away, have no desire to meet in the sanctuary. We
lovingly commend them to thee and to the word of thy grace.
We pray that thou would stretch out thy almighty arm and cause
them to return. For Lord, there is nothing too
hard for thee. Indeed, thou are able to do abundantly
more than we can even ask or think. and grant that we may
see the wonderful light and glory and power of the gospel shine
into this village and many precious souls may yet be gathered in. Oh, let us see thy work and thy
power and thy glory as thou usest to be in the sanctuary. Oh, Lord God, we do pray for
all in the midst of the journey of life that they may know thy
blessing, thy favor, and Lord, we pray that thou wouldst graciously
deliver us from the temptations of Satan, from the power and
dominion of sin. Satan comes as an angel of light. He also comes as a roaring lion,
and we pray to be delivered. We think of that wonderful promise,
when the enemy comes in like a flood, the spirit of the Lord
will lift up a standard against him. We pray, Lord, that it may
be so. for thy great name's sake. And
O Lord, we do pray that thou in thy great mercy wouldst remember
all in the midst of life and bringing up children, parents,
give them wisdom, give them help, give them guidance, give them
direction. We do humbly pray thee. Give them that wisdom that
cometh from above, which is first pure, then peaceable. And O Lord
God, we do pray. Remember those in the, each one
of us that are in the evening time of life's journey, pray
that thou wouldst be with us. And as the outward man perishes,
may the inward man be renewed day by day, that we may be prepared
for that great day when heart and flesh shall fail, when we
shall soar through tracks unknown and see thee on thy judgment
throne. O Lord, we do. pray that thou would remember
all thy servants as they labour in word and doctrine upon the
walls of Zion, that thou would set them free and at liberty,
that thou would graciously shine with the power of thy word, of
thy truth in the congregations up and down the land, that there
may be a turning again unto thee, that there may be that real repentance
and godly sorrow for sin and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ,
that there may be rejoicing in him. Lord, we long to see thy
work. We long to see thy power and
thy glory as thou usest to be in the sanctuary. We thank thee
for every mercy and every favour which freely flows to us through
Jesus' precious blood. Oh, we do thank thee, Lord, that
thy mercies to us are new every morning and great is thy faithfulness. Hear us, Lord, we humbly pray
thee, and be with us now as we turn to thy holy word, and come
and open thy word to one's heart and understanding, that we may
delve into the deep that coucheth beneath, that we may behold that
young glorious man, that we may behold the Lord Jesus Christ,
the only Saviour of sinners. Come and touch one's lips with
a live coal, from off the heavenly altar, forgive all our many sins
and shortcomings, we ask for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. Let us now sing together hymn
number 329. The tune is Promise 832. Confirm a foundation, ye saints
of the Lord, is laid for your faith in his excellent word.
What more can he say than to you he has said, you who unto
Jesus for refuge have fled. Hymn 329, tune promised, 832.
? The foundation ? of the Lord, which made the world
a living, eternal world. What more can we say than to
give thanks to ? To you, Lord Jesus, all refuge
have I ? ? Here am I, here am I, here am I ? ? In competitivo ? ? Ergo quibitur
? ? Mentre l'ora et l'aura ? ? Recompensi ? ? That thy faithful devotion ?
? My strength will be ? ? Important with thee ? ? Help me now ? ? I, I am, I, your God, blest to
be named ? ? Come strengthen me, help me ? ? And cause me
to stand ? of heaven sent down, which through
the deep ? Mary, little virgin ? ? Lovely
and pure ? ? Oh, how I will be with thee ? ? Thy troubles in
peace ? ? That shall take my tootin' ?
? My deepest desires ? ? Where to, my dear, shall I go? ? ? My grateful salvation ? ? Shall
be my supper ? ? Your praise and commending ? ? I earn thee
? ? My God to behold thee ? ? And
my God to adore thee ? ? Hear, thou terrible angel of mine ?
My sovereign, eternal, unchangeable God. The blind man's eyes shall see
Him on Jesus as King of Revives.
I will not, I will not give up to His love. Oh, say does that star-spangled
banner yet wave Greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, I would direct your attention to the chapter
that we read, the first chapter of the second epistle to the
Corinthians, and we'll read verse 20 for our text. Second epistle to the Corinthians,
chapter one, verse 20. For all the promises of God in
him are yea, and in him, amen, unto the glory of God by us. Where it says here the promises
of God, in him, if you just look at the previous verse, and it says there about for the
Son of God, Jesus Christ. That is who the him is in our
text. the Son of God, Jesus Christ,
who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and
Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in him was yea. And he's speaking here of the
divine certainty of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It's not a yea
and nay gospel. What the nay means is no, it's
not a yes and no. It's a A yes and an amen. There's no nay about it. It's
something that is divinely certain and divinely sure to the people
of God. And it's divinely certain and
divinely sure because of what Jesus Christ has done in redeeming
his people, in saving his people from their sins. For the Son
of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, In
the first epistle, the apostle, he says, we preach Christ crucified. We preach Christ crucified to the Greeks' foolishness, to the
Jews, the stumbling block, but unto them that are called, the
power of God and the wisdom of God. It's all in the Lord Jesus
Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
eternal rock of ages. And all the promises of God are
absolutely and divinely certain in His glorious person. For all
the promises of God in Him. Notice all these wonderful promises
of God. And right from Genesis right
through to the Book of the Revelation. These wonderful promises that
God has spoken to His people They're all fulfilled in one
place. And that is the Lord Jesus Christ. On this rock, I build my church
and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. This eternal
rock of ages and all these promises that God has made unto his people. And he speaks here in this chapter
And he says about our own pathway, our own doubts, our own fears,
and he says, in verse 9, he says, but we have the sentence of death
in ourselves that we should not trust in ourselves. You may wonder
sometimes why it is you have so many temptations, so many
doubts, so many fears, you feel so much of weakness, so much
of inadequacy, so much of insufficiency, and so much of helplessness, there's a purpose. There's an
object in making you feel so hopeless and so helpless. We
have the sentence of death in ourselves. That is in what we
can do, in what we can accomplish, in what we can fulfill. You know
we're brought to see that we can't fulfill the promises. Abraham
had to prove that. Abraham tried to fulfill the
promise and went into Sarah's maid Hagar. And she brought forth Ishmael. That was Abraham's effort at
fulfilling the promise. But the Lord would not accept
it. There was a time when Abraham said to the Lord, Lord let Ishmael
live before thee. But the Lord said no. There is
going to be a seed and that seed will be by Sarah. It will be
your seed by Sarah, your wife, not by her maid, not by some
other means or ways. You see, there's only one way,
and that's the Lord's way. And look at the trouble that
come from Ishmael, who is the father of the Arabs. Isaac is
the father of Israel, and they're at enmity one with another. They
are right to this day, right at enmity one with another, and
they always will be. according to the word of God
and all that trouble and all that trial we see it now in the
Middle East and all that trouble and all that trial comes from
this fact that Abraham himself tried to fulfill the promises. You have to prove that you can't
fulfill God's promises. God has to fulfill his promises
in his own time and in his own way and in the path that the
Lord leads you, however trying, however perplexing, however sorrowful,
however painful that may be, it is so that we have the sentence
of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves,
but in God which raises the dead, that's the way we need to trust,
who delivered us from so great a death, he's speaking there,
of the death that we were under, the sentence of death in ourselves,
because of sin. And were it not for the grace
of God in Jesus Christ, we would be lost eternally, there would
be no hope for us, except in the blood and righteousness of
Jesus Christ. And it says here, who delivered
us? Who did? Christ. Christ, when he lived
as a man here on earth. bringing in everlasting righteousness.
Christ when he suffered and bled and died on the cross of Calvary
and putting away the sin of his people and satisfying all the
demands of divine justice and then dying for our sins who delivered
us from so great a death and doth deliver. We have again this
threefold sense often We find it in scripture. You read in
Hebrews chapter 13, Jesus Christ, the same yesterday and today
and forever. And here we see, who delivered
us from so great a death and doth deliver in whom we trust,
he will yet deliver. Those past, present and future
tenses. If he's delivered you once, he'll
deliver you still. And he'll deliver you that which
is to come, who hath delivered us from so great a death, and
doth deliver, and will yet deliver. You see, my beloved friends,
everything that we stand in need of is in the glorious person
of our Lord Jesus Christ. For all the promises of God in
Him, in Christ Jesus, are yea, and in Him. Amen. Amen means so be it. It's something
that is divinely certain. Amen, unto the glory of God by
us. See, and as it says in the next
verse, now he which establishes us with you in Christ and has
anointed us is God, who has sealed us and given us the earnest of
the Spirit in our hearts. It's the Spirit of God that establishes
us in Christ. I heard a man once say, there's
a great need of the work of the law in the day in which we live.
Conviction of sin, that will establish you. No, my beloved
friends, it never will. When the man said it, I thought,
whatever are you talking about? The law will not establish you
in anything except the curse, the eternal curse. We're established
in Christ, in the finished work of Christ, in the precious blood
of the Lamb, in the glorious everlasting robe of His righteousness,
established in Christ, established in Him. And all these promises
that there are those of you here that have the promises of God
spoken into your heart. You've had the promises of God
breathed into your soul. They're all yay and amen. That
is divinely certain in Jesus Christ. in and through the precious
person of Jesus, the Son of God. And that is why they are divinely
certain. He's Jesus Christ the same yesterday,
and today, and forever. It's a paraphrase of the name
Jehovah. I am he which is, and which was,
and which is to come. In that threefold sin, past,
present, and future. God is the same to all eternity. He doesn't change. You think
of that wonderful promise in the prophet Malachi, for all
the promises of God in him. What is that promise? I the Lord
change not. Therefore ye sons of Jacob are
not conceived. He doesn't love someone one day
and not the next. No. God is not a God like that. If he loves you, he loves you
with an everlasting love. Again, another one of those beautiful,
sacred promises. Yea, I have loved thee with an
everlasting love. Therefore, with loving kindness
have I drawn thee. Loved with an everlasting love.
The everlasting love of God in Christ. For all the promises
of God in him are yea, and in him, amen. You think of those, the first
promise ever given, when Adam and Eve fell in the Garden of
Eden. And the first promise that was given by God to Adam and
Eve after they fell in the Garden, it's found in the third chapter
of the Book of Genesis. And it speaks of the seed of
the woman, in chapter three, verse 15. and I will put enmity
between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed."
That is the promise of the coming of Christ. Thy seed and her seed. It shall bruise thy head, and
thou shalt bruise his heel. Now, what that means is that
Christ would bruise the head of Satan. He would destroy the
works of the devil. Satan would bruise his heel,
but Christ would overcome. Christ was manifested to destroy
the works of the devil. And so after that, when they
had children, they were looking for the promised seed. They thought
it would come very soon. It was nearly 4,000 years before
Christ came upon this earth. That promise was given all those
years before. The promise that he would bruise
the serpent's head, Satan's head. That is the beautiful hope of
the Christian believer that Christ, he has destroyed the works of
Satan. You know, as it goes on through
the book of Genesis and enlarges on this seed of the woman. In chapter 12, the promises that
were given to Abraham, the Lord called Abraham out of Ur of the
Chaldeans. It says in chapter 12 of Genesis,
Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country and
from thy kindred and from thy father's house unto a land that
I will show thee, and I will make of thee a great nation,
and I will bless thee and make thy name great, and thou shalt
be a blessing. And I will bless them that bless
thee and curse them that curse thee, and in thee shall all the
families of the earth be blessed. So Abraham departed as the Lord
had spoken unto him, and Lot went with him, and Abraham was
seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. He
took with him Sarah and his nephew Lot, and it goes on, and the
Lord, you see, he speaks that wonderful promise in the third
verse. I will bless them that bless
thee, and curse them that curse thee. These are the promises. I'll make of thee a great nation. Now, it was some time before
that was fulfilled. Abraham was 75 when he came out
of Ur of the Chaldees. And he wandered. Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob, they lived in tents. They were nomads. They wandered
from place to place. But the Lord was with them. When Abraham was 100 years old,
that's 25 years after that promise was given, Sarah was given a
seed by Abraham, by the Lord blessing their union with Isaac. And in thy seed shall all the
nations of the earth be blessed. Say, I will make thy name great
and thou shalt be a blessing. You know, Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob, They were men of quite some rank in their day. They
were all very rich. They had many, many flocks and
herds and the Lord prospered them so that they became very
great. Jacob, you look at what he had. I mean, Abraham raised an army
of over 300 men to go and fight against the kings of southern
Gomorrah. Tremendous power. that the Lord had given him.
Great flocks and great herds. There came a point when Abraham
and Lot separated. Why? Because their herds were
so great that the land couldn't bear them. So Abraham, he said
to Lot, you take whatever place you want to go and I'll go the
opposite way. And Lot chose the lush plains of Jordan. And Abraham
went in the opposite direction. But the Lord blessed him abundantly.
You see, the Lord had promised him in blessing. He said, I'll
make of thee a great nation. But that was to be several hundred
years after that great nation. Isaac, he greatly prospered him.
He had Jacob and Esau, his sons. And the Lord greatly prospered
Jacob. helped him, supported him, guided him, gave him most
wonderful promises. You think of that word that was
spoken by Jacob or to Jacob in Genesis chapter 28 and how Jacob
was given a vision. It says in verse 12 of
chapter 28, and he dreamed of behold a ladder set up on the
earth and the top of it reached to heaven and behold the angels
of God ascending and descending on it, a ladder set up. That ladder typifies Christ. Its foot was
on the earth, its top was in heaven and the angels of God
ascending and descending, I am the way the truth and the light. That's what the Lord revealed
unto Jacob there And then we read this, and behold, the Lord
stood above him and said, I am the Lord, God of Abraham, thy
father, and the God of Isaac. The land whereon thou liest,
to thee will I give it, and to thy seed. And thy seed shall
be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad
to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south,
and in thee. Again, this is the promise of
the coming of Christ. And in thee and in thy seed shall
all the families of the earth be blessed. in Christ, thee and
in thy seed and then this wonderful promise, behold I am with thee
and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest and I will
bring thee again into this land for I will not leave thee until
I have done that which I have spoken to thee of. And so you
see my beloved friends the Lord he upheld and he supported and
he sustained his servants. And we worship the same God who
will uphold, strengthen his own people and sustain them. They may and they will have trials
here upon earth, just as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had trials when
they're here upon earth. So were the Lord's people, but
the Lord delivered them out of the hand of their enemies. And
the Lord made the crooked things straight and the rough places
plain. When the Lord's servant Moses,
the Lord called him to lead the children of Israel out
of the land of Egypt. In Exodus chapter 33, we read
there, verse 13, Now therefore I pray thee, If I had found grace
in thy sight, show me now thy way, that I may know thee, that
I may find grace in thy sight, and consider that this nation
is thy people.' And the Lord answered him, My presence shall
go with thee, and I will give thee rest. What a wonderful promise,
wasn't it? My presence shall go with thee,
and I will give thee rest. And he said unto him, If thy
presence go not with me, carry us not up hence. He continues,
In there, in verse 17, he says, the Lord said unto Moses, I will
do this thing also that thou hast spoken, for thou hast found
grace in my sight, and I know thee by name. And he said, I
beseech thee, show me thy glory. And he said, I will make all
my goodness pass before thee. What a promise, wasn't it? That
goodness is Christ. It will cause all his goodness
to pass before him. I will proclaim the name of the
Lord before thee and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious
to show mercy on whom I will show mercy. You see these wonderful
promises in verse 22 and it shall come to pass while my glory passes
by that I will put thee in the cleft of a rock And the top lady
of course bases the whole of that hymn, rock of ages cleft
for me, let me hide myself in thee, let the water and the blood
from thy riven side which flowed, be of sin the double cure, cleanse
me from its guilt and power, and I will cover thee with my
hand while I pass by. See these wonderful promises
that the Lord gave to his people in ancient times. And all those
promises are fulfilled in and through the glorious person of
our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. You know, we have some wonderful
promises and I seemed to be rather drawn to them yesterday in the
prophet Isaiah and the promises of God to Zion, to the church
of the living God. And we read in Isaiah chapter
41, of course there is that beautiful promise, which is probably the
most well-known of all the promises. We've just sung concerning it
in the hymn that we just sung. And
that's found in Isaiah 41 verse 10. Fear thou not, for I am with
thee. Be not dismayed, for I am thy
God. I will strengthen thee, yea,
I will help thee, yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand
of my righteousness. I've often said, friends, that
there is a number of promises all in that one verse, all separate
promises. I am with thee. What a wonderful
promise. when the Lord promises to be
with thee, be not dismayed. Why did he say that, be not dismayed?
Because there would be times when he would be dismayed. But
the Lord said, be not dismayed, I am thy God. I will strengthen
thee. You know, the Lord's people often
feel weak. Here in the second epistle to the Corinthians, the
dear apostle, he speaks there of having a messenger of Satan
to buffet him. He said, lest I should be exalted
above measure, I had a messenger of Satan to buffet me. He had
a thorn in the flesh. And he besought the Lord three
times to take away that thorn in the flesh. He thought he'd
be much better off without that thorn in the flesh. But the Lord
thought otherwise. See, my thoughts are not your
thoughts, my ways are not your ways, saith the Lord. But what
did the Lord How did the Lord deal with that with Paul? We
don't read that he took away the thorn in the flesh, but we
do read that he said to him, my grace is sufficient for thee,
my strength is made perfect in weakness. And so these wonderful
promises that we're looking at here in Isaiah, they're fulfilled,
they're yea and amen in Christ Jesus. Fear thou not for I am
with thee, be not dismayed for I am thy God, I will strengthen
thee. Yea, I will help thee, yea, I
will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. You see, my beloved friends,
these wonderful promises of God that are yea and amen in Christ
Jesus. That is why they are so divinely
certain. And in Isaiah chapter 41 and
verse 17, we have another wonderful promise to Zion. and to the poor
and needy that's poor and needy sinners when when the poor and
needy seek water and there is none and their tongue failing
for thirst either lord will hear them either god of israel will
not forsake them these wonderful promises that are yay and amen
in christ jesus I will open rivers in high places and fountains
in the midst of the valleys. I will make the wilderness a
pool of water and the dry land springs of water. I will plant
in the wilderness. What he's speaking of here is
the gospel and the wilderness is this world. This world to
the true living child of God becomes a wilderness. You know,
you can't survive in a wilderness. There's no water, there's no
food. But the Lord says, I will plant
in the wilderness the cedar. Now, he's speaking here of all
the different types of the Lord's people. Different characters.
The cedar, the shitter tree, the myrtle, the oil tree. I will
set in the desert the fir tree and the pine and the box tree
together. Either Lord will do it. who will plant his people
in the desert of this world, that they may see and know and
consider and understand together that the hand of the Lord hath
done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created him. You
see, when the poor and needy seek water, and there is none
and their tongue faileth at first, I, the Lord, will hear them. That is a wonderful, mighty promise. of the eternal God of heaven
unto his people. It is indeed. You know, and what
he's promised to do for his children. My mind, it seemed much drawn
to chapter 43 in Isaiah. And those wonderful promises
are found there. The Lord, he says, but now, thus
saith the Lord that created the old Jacob, and he that formed
the old Israel, fear not, For I have redeemed thee. I have
called thee by thy name. Thou art mine. Thou art mine. What a wonderful thing when the
Lord discovers to you that you are one of his children. Thou
art mine. And in the Solomon song, the
spouse, she says, my beloved is mine and I am his. My beloved. Is that what you long to say?
Precious thing, we can really say that. My beloved is mine,
and I am his. Fear not, for I have redeemed
thee. I have called thee by thy name.
And then this well-known, exceedingly well-known promise in verse two,
when thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee. And through the rivers, they
shall not overflow thee, You see, these waters and these rivers,
they are wonderful, precious things that the Lord does for
his people. We've just sung in the hymn,
the rivers of woe shall not thee overflow. I will be with thee. They won't overflow thee. And
through the rivers they shall not overflow thee. When they
walk it's through the fire. And sometimes the Lord's people
have to have fiery trials. And as the hymn writer said,
we've just sung it together. When through fiery trials thy
pathway shall lie, his grace all sufficient shall be thy supply. It will, he'll give grace. And
he giveth more grace. That's a beautiful word, isn't
it? In the epistle of James. And he giveth more grace. And
as you walk in these pathways, you'll feel the need, more grace.
And he giveth more grace. Whatever your circumstances are,
whatever your needs are, he'll give you grace sufficient to
take you honorably and safely through when thou passest through
the waters. I will be with thee. We read,
I've chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. And that's some
of the Lord's people, they've had to walk that all the days
of their life. And they've had illness after
illness after illness. I have chosen thee in the furnace
of affliction, when thou passest through the waters, I will be
with thee, and through the rivers they shall not overflow thee.
That's what you fear, is that the rivers of affliction, of
trouble, of trial, of temptation, they'll completely sweep you
away. When thou walkest through the
fire, thou shalt not be burned. know
we have the illustration given to us in the in the book of Daniel
of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego how that Nebuchadnezzar the king
of Babylon he put them into that fiery burning furnace even the men that put them in
the furnace died because of the tremendous heat then Nebuchadnezzar
he cries out in astonishment did we not put three men in the
fire, and behold, there is four, and the fourth one is like unto
the Son of God. What was revealed unto Nebuchadnezzar
there? He knew who it was. The fourth
is like unto the Son of God. You see, when the pastor's walk
is through the fire, thou shalt not be burned. And so Nebuchadnezzar,
he called out with a loud voice, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,
ye servants of the Most High God, come forth. And they came
forth. Now when they put them in, they
were bound hand and foot. And the only thing they lost
in the furnace was the bindings that bound their hands and feet.
There wasn't even the smell of fire on them. Their hair wasn't
singed. They came out. You see, it's
the fulfilling of this wonderful promise. 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. See, all the promises of God
are yea and amen in Christ Jesus. One hymn writer says, doesn't
he, with Christ in the vessel, we smile at the storm. Oh, that we could have feel that
Christ is in the vessel. Then if we look at chapter 43
still and at verses 5 and 6 and 7, again wonderful promises
to the church, to Zion. Fear not for I am with thee.
I will bring thy seed from the east and gather thee from the
west. I will say to the north give
up and to the south keep not back. Bring my sons from far
and my daughters from the ends of the earth, even everyone that
is called by my name, for I have created him for my glory. These promises, my beloved friends,
are divinely certain in Jesus Christ. He will gather his people
unto himself. Not a who shall be left behind.
No. And he's promised to call them.
I am with thee. I will bring thy seed from the
east and gather thee from the west. May it encourage us to
continually wrestle constantly with the Lord that we might see
his work in the sanctuary, we might see an ingathering of precious
souls, we might see the pulling down of the strongholds of Satan,
the setting up of the kingdom of the Lord Jesus in the hearts
of sinners, just as he's promised to do it. Fear not, I am with
thee. I will bring thy seed from the
east and gather thee from the west. I will say to the north,
give up, and to the south, keep not back. Bring my sons from
far. They were his sons from all eternity. Bring my sons from far, and my
daughters from the ends of the earth. For all the promises of
God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by
us. In him, yea, and in him, amen. You know, we have that, it just
comes to my mind, that beautiful word in Galatians chapter four,
and it speaks of the heir. The apostle here is speaking
of those that are heirs in Christ. In other words, they've been
chosen in Christ. And because they've been chosen
in Christ, they were given to Christ and Christ has redeemed
them. And what he speaks of here, he says, now I say that the heir,
as long as he is a child, that is like, for instance, at the
present time, you have the Prince of Wales, he's the heir to the
throne. He differs nothing from a servant, though he be Lord
of all. but is under tutors and governors until the time appointed
of the Father. Even so we, so he uses that as
an illustration, even so we, when we were children, were in
bondage on the elements of the world. But when the fullness
of time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made
under the law, to redeem them that are under the law, that
we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons,
this is what seemed to rest on my spirit, and because ye are
sons, God has sent forth the spirit of his son into your hearts,
crying, Abba, Father. Abba, I think you'll find is
the Greek for father. Wherefore, thou art no more a
servant, but a son. And if a son, then an heir of
God through Christ. Howbeit then, when ye knew not
God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods,
but now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God,
how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements? You see,
this is what he was seeking to turn them away from, for all
the promises of God. You think of the promises of
eternal glory. of everlasting happiness, all
the promises of God, aye aye, and amen, in Christ Jesus. We have a little glimpse into
glory in several places in the book of the Revelation. My mind,
it just goes to that wonderful revelation we're given in the
fifth chapter of the book of the Revelation. And there was
a book with seven seals. That means it was completely
sealed. And he saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice,
who is worthy to open the book and to loose the seals thereof?
And no man in heaven nor on earth, neither under the earth, was
able to open the book. That's the book of those eternal
decrees of God in Christ. And I wept much because no man
was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to
look thereon. one of the elders said unto me
weep not behold the lion of the tribe of judah this is christ
the lion of the tribe of judah the root of david hath prevailed
to open the book and to loose the seven seals thereof and i
beheld and lo in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts
and in the midst of the elders stood a lamb as it had been slain
having seven horns and seven eyes which are the seven spirits
of God sent forth into all the earth. And he came and took the
book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.
See, and then they sing a song. Verse nine, they sung a new song
saying, thou art worthy to take the book and to open the seals
thereof for thou was slain and has redeemed us to God by thy
blood. out of every kindred and every
tongue and people and nations has made us unto our God kings
and priests and we shall reign on the earth. You see, eternal
glory, everlasting happiness, all divinely certain in the finished
work, in the precious blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ. And as we read this morning,
how Christ himself says, that all power is given unto me in
heaven and in earth, all power, not some power, for all the promises
of God in him are yea, and in him, amen, unto the glory of
God by us. May the Lord add his blessing
to these few remarks. Let us now sing together hymn
number 14. The tune is Orlington 203. Begin my tongue some heavenly
theme, And speak some boundless theme, The mighty works, almighty
in name, Of our eternal King. Hymn number 14, tune Orlington
203. ? And sings a reverent hymn ? ?
And sings a reverent hymn ? ? Of the Lord's holy birth ? O my Saviour, O my Saviour, O
my Saviour, When on this humble, sateful
bed, And shall this error roll, Sing, let us recover each of
His grace. Sing, let us recover each of
His grace. And the home of the brave? Her name's salvation from the
cold, from death's dead, dying hand. His hand has made the sacred
ground. His hand has made the sacred
ground. With an important plan. That in His throne of grace The
mighty promised land Nor can the pass of darkness
trace, Nor can the pass of darkness trace, Long to have a lasting light. He who can let all worlds to
end, and make them well with me. It is a fact, O mighty friend, He speaks at last, O mighty French,
God is His praise decree. of praise is strong, as that
which filled the sky. ? The voice that calls ? ? The
voice that calls ? ? The voice that calls ? ? The voice that
calls ? 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
forevermore. Amen.