I sing together hymn number 832. The tune is Progression, 52. The men that fear the Lord in every
state are blessed. The Lord will grant whatever
they want. Their souls shall dwell at rest. Hymn 832, tune
Progression, 52. you you and that we evermore may never
be strayed again. Amen. O let there be love, which sows
children of peace. This secret nation, with confidence
shall rise. I am thy praise, and thou art
my glory, and ever, ever, ever, ever, ever. He teaches all the great, When
sin can make them stray. He cries out every misery and
aches encrusted him. In his remembrance both the Savior
sets them down. They come, they take, and to
the grave, and ask them, O Christ, our Lord. This is the spirit of faith,
the confidence that's strong. O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? It keeps in each and thine, to
roam as well as night. Makes masses rich and fair, Makes
us all joyous, And all folks to our judgment's cause. Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God in the Prophet Malachi in chapters 3 and 4. The Prophecy of Malachi, chapters
3 and 4. Behold, I will send my messenger,
and he shall prepare the way before me and the Lord whom ye
seek shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of
the covenant, whom ye delighted. Behold, he shall come, saith
the Lord of hosts. But who may abide the day of
his coming? And who shall stand when he appeareth? For he is
like a refiner's fire, and like fuller's soap, and he shall sit
as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he shall purify the
sons of Levi and purge them as gold and silver, that they may
offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. Then shall
the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as
in the days of old, as in former years, and I will come near to
you to judgment, and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers,
against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those
that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the
fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right.
And fear not me, saith the Lord of hosts, for I am the Lord,
I change not. Therefore ye sons of Jacob are
not consumed. Even from the day of your fathers
ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return
unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts.
But ye said, wherein shall we return? Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye
say, wherein have we robbed in tithes and offerings. You are
cursed with a curse, for you have robbed me, even this whole
nation. Bring ye all the tithes into
the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove
me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open
you the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing that
there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke
the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the
fruits of your ground, neither shall your vine cast a fruit
before the time in the field, saith the Lord of Hosts. And
all nations shall call you blessed, for ye shall be a delightsome
land, saith the Lord of Hosts. Your words have been stout against
me, saith the Lord. Yet ye say, what have we spoken
so much against thee? Ye have said it is vain to serve
God. And what profit is it that we
have kept his ordinance, and that we walked mournfully before
the Lord of hosts? Now we call the proud happy,
yea, They that work wickedness are set up, yea, they that tempt
God are even delivered. Then they that feared the Lord
spake off to one to another, and the Lord hearkened and heard
it. And a book of remembrance was written before him for them
that feared the Lord and that thought upon his name. And they
shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, In that day, when I
make up my jewels, I will spare them, as a man spareth his own
son that serveth him. Then shall ye return and discern
between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth
God and him that serveth him not. For behold, the day cometh
that shall burn as an oven, and all the proud, yea, and all that
do wickedly shall be stubble. and the day that cometh shall
burn them up saith the lord of hosts that it shall leave them
neither root nor branch but unto you that fear my name shall the
son of righteousness arise with healing in his wings and you
shall go out and you shall go forth and grow up as calves of
the stall and you shall tread down the wicked for they shall
be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall
do this, saith the Lord of hosts. Remember ye the Lord of Moses,
my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb, for all Israel
with the statutes and judgments. Behold, I will send you Elijah
the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day
of the Lord. And he shall turn the heart of
the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children
to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. May the Lord bless that portion
of his precious word and grant to us a spirit of real prayer. Almighty, most merciful, and
eternal God of heaven, We do desire to bow before thy great
majesty, to call upon thy great and holy name. For we do thank
thee for those precious words, this man receive his sinners
and eateth with them. And we pray that thou wouldst
come and spread the gospel table among us here tonight. that we
may eat with thee, that we may taste and handle and feel of
the good word of life, and 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. Blessed divine
spirit of truth, we pray that thou would come and open the
word of God. Thou art the author of it. And
thou didst search all things, yea, the deep things of God.
And we pray that it may be with us here tonight, that we may
delve into that deep that coucheth beneath, and that we may feel
thy divine leading and prompting and directing us into the truth
as it is in Jesus. That we pray, most blessed Spirit,
that thou wouldst take of the things of Jesus and reveal them
unto us. Come and open thy word. and come
and open our hearts. O Lord, we do beseech thee that
thy word may be a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path,
and that we do pray that we may be sweetly favoured to know those
divine drawings of a heavenly Father drawing us unto his best
beloved and all-glorious Son. Gracious God, do hear us, we
pray thee, and graciously receive us in the name of Jesus Christ,
thine only begotten son. We come to thee in his name.
We have no righteousness of our own. We are all as an unclean
thing, and we go forth from the womb speaking lies and hypocrisy. And thou hast said, if you confess
your sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and
to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Oh, that we might be favoured
to feel the cleansing power of the blood of Christ as we gather
together around thy word at this evening hour. Oh, we do pray
for thy presence, Lord Jesus, thou art that one mediator between
God and man, the man Christ Jesus, who gave his life of ransom for
all to be testified in due time. Gracious God, we do pray. that
thou would come then, stand in our midst and reveal thyself
to us. Come and speak to our hearts,
come and unstop the deaf ears and open the blind eyes and cause
the dumb to speak and the lame to walk. Gracious God, this is
thy work. And we pray that thou would let
thy work appear unto thy servants and thy glory unto their children. We pray that we may see, O Lord,
an ingathering, and we seek that thou and thy great mercy must
be with thee friends at East Peckham on the coming Saturday. Grant thy blessing, and thy blessing
upon Millie, we do humbly pray thee, and grant that we may see
bringing forth of our young friends here and that we may see thy
work and thy power and the fulfilling of that lovely promise instead
of thy fathers shall be thy children whom thou mayest make princes
in all the earth. Lord we do pray that thou would
bless us as a church and as a congregation and work mightily, powerfully,
and effectually among us. Remember our brethren and sisters
in church fellowship. Remember each one. Remember Yaakov
and Inika as they journey to us on the coming day. Grant them,
Lord, journeys in peace and in safety. That thou wouldst bring
them, and a convoy of thy love may Come before them, we do humbly
pray thee, and that we do pray that, as we gather together,
we may feel thy presence and thy blessing and that spirit
of true worship, and that we do pray that thou wouldst bless
the little ones, the children, each one of them, bless them
indeed, give them the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning
of wisdom, Bless the dear young friends, work mightily in their
hearts, convince them of their sin, lead to Jesus' blood, to
their wandering eyes reveal the secret love of God. Lord, there
is no greater blessing that we can desire for them but those
rich spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. And may
they come and tell to sinners round, what a dear saviour they
have felt, and point to thy redeeming blood, and say, behold the way
to God. O Lord God, we do pray. Remember
them in all the paths of providence. Guide and direct them in all
matters. We do humbly beseech them, and be with them in their
education, grant wisdom, and be with them, Lord, in the supply
of employment, and be with them, O Lord, regarding a partner in
life journey. We so often think, O Lord, of
Thy wonderful care, providential care unto Isaac in granting Rebekah,
unto Boaz in granting Ruth. It was all Thy sovereign work,
Thy mighty work. O Lord, we do pray that it may
be our chief concern to realise and to know thy maker is thine
husband, the Lord of hosts is his name. Lord, we pray for dear
Ina in hospital that thou wilt be with her and maintain her
and strengthen her. We do humbly pray thee and undertake
for her whatever thy will and whatever thy purpose may be concerning
her. We lovingly commend her to thee
and to the word of thy which is able to build them up and
to grant them an inheritance among them that are sanctified. And, O Lord God, we do pray that
thou would remember the prodigals, that thou would cause them to
return. Lord, it is thy sovereign work. May we see that appointed
time roll on apace, not to propose but call by grace to turn the
feet to Zion's hill Lord, may we see it. Let us see thy work. We humbly pray thee. We read
there is joy in heaven over one sinner that repented. May there
be many precious souls in this village that shall be brought
to repentance. May the word of the Lord distributed
be redound to the honor, glory, and praise of thy great name,
that precious souls may be gathered unto Christ. And may there be a pulling down
of the strongholds of Satan and a setting up of the kingdom of
the Lord Jesus in the hearts of sinners. O Lord, we do pray
that Thou would remember each one in the midst of the journey
of life, grant Thy blessing, Thy help, Thy guidance and Thy
direction. Grant that we may be made more
spiritually minded and our affection set upon things above. Give wisdom
unto parents to bring up their children in the nurture and admonition
of the Lord. O most gracious Lord, we do pray
that thou would deliver us from the power of Satan. We're not
ignorant of his cunning devices or his power and influence. Whether
he comes, Lord, as an angel of light to deceive or as a roaring
lion to devour, we pray to be kept and to be delivered from
sin and Satan's power. We pray that though sin lives
in us, that we may not live in sin, but may we live to him that
died. May we be surrendered to the
crucified one. May we present our bodies a living
sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto them, which is our reasonable
service. Those of us that are now in the
evening time of life's journey, we pray that we may know thy sacred presence, that
our affections may be set upon things above, not on things of
the earth. Deliver us from the spirit of
covetousness, deliver us from the power and dominion of sin,
bring us into the glorious liberty of the people of God. And may
we walk in that sweet promise, let not your heart be troubled.
You believe in God, believe also in me. In my father's house are
many mansions. If it were not so, I would have
told you. Gracious God, remember all thy
servants as they stand upon the walls of thine tonight and week
by week, gird them with all sufficient grace. We pray thee, the great
Lord of the harvest, to send true labourers into the harvest.
Remember those, Lord, we've stood at Tunbridge Wells around the
open grave today. And remember the church there
with the loss of a very gracious member. And Lord, we pray that
thou would support and sustain the family. and bless them, O
Lord, we do beseech thee, but for thy great name's sake. We pray that thou wouldst comfort
all that mourn, and that we do pray, most gracious Lord, for
truly thankful hearts, thankful for all thy tender mercies, thankful
to find their yeti's room before the throne of grace, thankful
for every mercy of thy kind providence. Thankful for Jesus Christ, the
great King and Head of the Church. Thank thee for the Word that
was made flesh and dwelt among us. And may we tonight behold
his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,
full of grace and truth. Thankful for that holy life that
the Son of God lived as a man here upon earth, and the fulfilling
of that holy, righteous law on the behalf of thy people, the
bringing in of everlasting righteousness, that perfect obedience of the
holy God-man. We do thank thee, most gracious
Lord, for Calvary, where the Lamb was slain, where sin was
put away, where divine justice was satisfied, where God and
sinners are reconciled. Oh, we do thank Thee, most gracious
Lord, for all Thy wonderful mercies, that He loved not His life unto
death, but He laid down His life of ransom for all. We thank Thee
that on the third day He rose again for our justification,
and that sin has been put away and divine justice has been satisfied. and that now he has bodily ascended
into heaven and sitteth at thy right hand, tis he instead of
me is seen when I approach to God. Lord, what wonderful, sacred,
profound truths of our most holy faith! But there is forgiveness
with thee, that thou mayest be feared. O gracious God, do incline
thine ear, bless our brethren the deacons, and give wisdom,
grace, and help in all their needs, in all their concerns. Come and touch one's lips with
the live coal from off the heavenly altar, and 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 255. The tune is Hampstead, 340. Happy the men that fear the Lord,
that they from the paths of sin depart, rejoice and tremble at
his word, and hide it deep within their heart. Hymn 255. Thune Hampstead 340. O come, O come, Emmanuel, O come,
O come, Emmanuel, the the the the ? As she bore him to rest ? ? In
his womb and out of death ? ? In peace he lay the precious rest ? ? And peace be thine in this day
and age ? ? This day and age, Lord, and evermore ? Oh, say does that star-spangled
banner yet wave O come, let us adore Him, O come,
let us adore Him, Christ the Lord! Greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, direct your attention to the third chapter of the Prophet
Malachi and we'll read verse 17. for our text. Malachi chapter 3 verse 17, And
they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when
I make up my jewels, and I will spare them, as a man spareth
his own son that serveth him. last evening this word just dropped
upon my spirit and I was in particular thinking of our dear sister Ina
and it seemed and after a while it abode and remained with me
and I felt it was the Lord's leading for this evening hour
for they shall be mine saith the Lord of hosts in that day
when I make up my jewels, they shall be mine. These jewels,
if you have a Muslim reference it says special treasure, special
treasure, something very precious. And in the epistle to Titus,
these people are called a peculiar people, And they're peculiar
because they're called by divine grace. Because they're brought
to fear the Lord. You notice in the previous verse
then, they that feared the Lord spake often one to another. And
the Lord hearkened and heard it. And a book of remembrance
was written before him for them that feared the Lord and that
thought upon his name. And so, and they shall be mine.
There's a direct connection between verse 16 and verse 17. For they
that feared the Lord and they shall be mine. We read in the Word of God that
the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. The beginning of wisdom. It's a wonderful treasure that
is given unto the Lord's people. You know, sometimes it's said,
that's a God-fearing person or this is a God-fearing person.
You know, this fear is not a slavish fear. No, it's a fear that works by
love. You might say to me, especially
young friends, what do you mean by a slavish fear and what do
you mean by A fear that works by love. Well it's very simple. A slavish fear is when we're
under the bondage of the law and we don't do this and we don't
do that and we don't do something else because we're in terrible
fear of the judgment of God. That's what's called a slavish
fear. is different to the one we have
in our text, or the verse before our text, than they that feared
the Lord. And when the Holy Spirit delivers
us from the law, and from that slavish fear, he puts in our
hearts a fear that works by love, not by terror. And this is what is meant by
the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom. It's a fear that works by love.
You're drawn to the Lord. And, you know, we've always maintained
and will always maintain that there are degrees of faith. Some never reach very high in
faith. We certainly would not despise
them. They're still the Lord's people, though they fail to have
so little. You must remember what the Word
of God says, what the Spirit of God has left on record concerning those that fear the
Lord. See, in the last clause of verse
16, he says, and that thought upon his name, That's the name
of the Lord, the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel. And this Lord
of hosts and this God of Israel, he prophesies here in the beginning
of this chapter, behold, I will send my messenger and he shall
prepare the way before me. That's a prophecy concerning
the coming of John the Baptist. And the Lord whom ye see, You
see, one of the evidences of the fear of the Lord is that
you seek Him. You seek Him, you seek the Lord. And you may not be able to rise
very high, you know, in experience. Some, you know, and we all would
like something very dramatic. But often the work of the Spirit
is something that is very gentle. I always get that impression
and feeling when we read of Lydia the Seller of Purple in Philippi. And what do we read of her? Whose
heart the Lord opened that she attended upon the things that
the Apostle Paul had spoken. Her heart was opened, open to
receive the word of the Lord. She was in that place where prayer
was wont to be made and her heart was opened. You know, friends,
has there come a time when your heart has been opened? When you
come to the house of God different to what you used to come. You
used to come backwards and forwards. It was like a ritual. You've been brought up to do
that. And that's a good thing. It's a great blessing in itself
to be brought up under the sound of the truth. But there comes
a time with the living family of God when they come because
they want to come. They come because they have a
need. They come because they desire
to worship the Lord. They come because they want to
hear His voice. They come because they want to
see His countenance. They come with that desire that
the Lord may open their ears and their eyes and their heart
to receive his word. And there are quite a number
who I've met of the Lord's people over the years who cannot speak
much. They can't seem to put into words.
On the one hand they're very fearful of being presumptuous And on the other hand, they feel
so small, and so insignificant, and so helpless. It makes them
very timid. But they still fear the Lord.
And they that fear the Lord, speak often one to another. You
know, that is a means of grace. You might say, what is? speaking
one to another. As iron sharpens iron, so does
the man the countenance of his friend. And when we speak one to another,
I don't think we do it enough. About the things of God, about
the spiritual conflict within, about the preciousness of Jesus
Christ, or the loveliness of Jesus Christ, or perhaps some
little touch that you may have had, You see, the Lord uses when we
find a companion who fears the Lord, he uses it as a means of grace
so that you can converse one with another. And it revives,
it renews, it replenishes. And when you go away from that
person, you look back and you think, well, that was a very
sweet conversation. That was something that was really
precious to my soul. You see, it's what the Lord uses to revive us, to revive those
spiritual exercises within, to revive When we have the fear
of the Lord there is a sense of sin and a realization that we're
sinners, a realization that we're needy, we're hungry, we're thirsty. These are the evidence of spiritual
life within the heart. There are some wonderful promises
in God's Holy Word to such souls. You think of that one in Isaiah
41 verse 17. When the poor and needy seek
water and there is none, I the Lord will hear them. He says,
and their tongue faileth for thirst. I the Lord will hear
them. I the God of Jacob will not forsake
them. I will open rivers in high places
and streams in the desert so that you can drink. You see what
we prove when we have the fear of the Lord, that this world
is a wilderness. There's nothing spiritual in
this world that can sustain the living child of God, who fears
the Lord. You can search and search and
search for it, but it will leave you barren if you're searching
it in this life, in the things of this life. Well, this will only be satisfied,
this hunger, this thirst. The Lord Jesus himself said,
didn't he, blessed and holy is he that hungers, that thirsts. Do you know what it is to spiritually
hunger? To spiritually thirst? To long? What do we read? He satisfies
the longing soul and filleth the hungry soul with goodness. You see, you may be, you can
come in in that last clause of verse 16. And that thought upon
his name. It's a great mercy if you can.
Because that is the evidence that you have spiritual life. You have a measure of spiritual
light. You discern your lost condition. You discern your great need,
hence your hunger and your thirst. The two great things spoken of
in the holy scriptures that sustains naturally is bread and water. bread and water and it's portrayed
in holy scriptures bread and water the staples of life and
it's the same spiritually there's the bread of life there's the
water of life Christ himself said I am the bread of life and
to another he says I am the water of life And he said to the woman by the
well in John 4, if any man drink of the water that I shall give
him, it shall be in him. A well of water springing up
into everlasting life, in him. It's in your innermost being.
But what he's speaking of there, the Lord Jesus Christ, as is
normal and usually in Holy Scripture, metaphors are used. And when
he says, if any man drink of the water that I shall give him,
he's actually speaking of the Holy Ghost. And right throughout
scripture the Holy Ghost is portrayed as living water. Living water. If any man be born of water and
of the Spirit, so the two are joined together. Are you hungry? Are you thirsty
spiritually? So that you find there's nothing
to satisfy you here below. Nothing to satisfy. You see, they shall be mine. And I've known a number of people. I've buried a number of them
too. that were never able to make a profession of the name
of Christ. When getting into in-depth conversations
with them, one has wondered why they haven't, but they were never
able to. They couldn't get over the fear
that was in them. But they feared the Lord, and
feared the Lord above many. and they felt that they had nothing,
that they were empty. You see, my beloved friends,
it's part of the work of the spirit in the heart. I had a
dear aunt who I buried and she felt she couldn't say anything. I sat down with her for about
two hours and we had two sides of A4 full. She went right back into her
teens, under the ministry of my late grandfather, J.B. Field.
She had some wonderful blessings, and yet she thought she had nothing. And when she'd finished, I said,
Aunty Ruth, you told me you hadn't got anything. I said, I've got
two pages here. A sweet experience. You see,
she was one of the Lord's little ones. I shall never forget burying
her, because as I stood by her grave, and saying the usual,
dust to dust, ashes to ashes, that was so sweet to me, what
that hymn says, the grave is but a downy bed that's lined
with love and blood. I felt that to be the case with
her. She'd gone to glory, I was absolutely
sure of it, and they shall be mine. These little ones, they
shall be mine, saith the Lord of Hosts in the day when I make
up my jewels. They're one of the Lord's jewels. It's a common saying, is it?
A jewel in the crown. But these precious little souls
are the jewels of Christ. And they're the jewels in the
crown of Christ. You know, these jewels, these
precious stones, when they were found in the earth, they're mined
from down in the earth, and they're just a small stone, or sometimes
a much larger stone, in their raw state. But then, When the
goldsmith or the jeweler begins to cut those diamonds or rubies
or sapphires, whatever they may be, his expert hand cuts it,
polishes it, and you know that can be likened to the work of
the spirit in the heart, cutting, polishing. So it actually comes
out lighter when it's finished than it was
in the beginning but it comes out a beautiful diamond so you
hold it up to the light and all the different facets on that
that diamond it the light shines off of it flashes off of it and
if you turn it it'll flash again it's very beautiful but now you
take that here when the lord calls his children his jewels
and he works so that as he cuts and polishes we become smaller
we become smaller but we shine brighter and that that's the
divine work of the spirit in the heart that you may have some
very cutting things. You may have some very cutting
temptations. You may have some very cutting
providential trials. You may have some very cutting
disappointments. But the Lord is cutting and polishing
because you're one of his jewels. And he's preparing you to go
into that crown, that crown of righteousness which Christ will
wear and they shall be mine. You know
when Solomon built the temple, the remarkable thing was, and
this was by divine command because there is a spiritual meaning
to it, every stone That temple was all designed by the architect
under the direction of God. And so they knew exactly what
stones they needed and what place they had to go. And so in the
quarry, that is where the stones were cut in their raw state. And then they were squared up. Stone mason cut them to shape
and to size. They were much smaller than when
they first came out of the earth. But they were prepared. They
were prepared for that beautiful temple in Jerusalem. And one
of the commands that was given in the building of that temple,
that not a hammer or a chisel would be found in the temple
at Jerusalem. All that hammering and all that
chiseling was done in the quarry. And when that stone was the right
size and the right shape, it was transported from the quarry
to the temple and the builders put it into place. You see, what
a picture we have there of a soul being prepared for eternal glory. One hymn writer
says, doesn't he, shall I be a living stone in Salem's courts
above? Just think, as the prophet Isaiah,
he says, remember the pit from whence you were hewn. The hole
of the pit from whence you were hewn. So you go back to where
you come from. We're all sinned in Adam. Remember
the pit from whence you were hewn. Your mother and your father
were both sinners. That's what the Bible means when
it says that we're born in sin. We're born in sin. We're shapen
in iniquity. And the Lord, He takes that stone. You remember where you were.
It's like the Lord, He said to the children of Israel, didn't
He? Thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the house
of Egypt. To remember where you come from.
a bondman in the house of Egypt that's where you were Egypt is
a type of the world and you're a bondman in the world we're
in the world and of the world and we satisfy our desires in
that world but there comes a time when the fear of the Lord is
put in the heart and that rock is cut to size and as we go through
this life, this is why it says there wasn't to be a hammer or
a chisel heard in the precincts of the temple when it was being
built. It's because when we reach heaven we're prepared, we're
ready. And when those stones came out
of the quarry and they were cut to shape and transported there,
they put it into place, slotted it in exactly the spot where
it was needed, just as the architect designed. And so it is with every
one of the Lord's living family. Oh to remember the whole of the
pit from whence you were hewn. And remember all the way the
Lord thy God hath led thee to humble thee. See when those stones
are cut to shape, they're reduced in size. Wouldn't be any good
if you took great big rugged old stones and just threw them
together they had to be cut to size and so it is for heaven
and now my God prepare my soul for that great day and wash me
in thy precious blood take all my sins away take all my sins
away and in all the troubles and trials perplexities and sorrows
temptations It's cutting you to shape. It's reducing you. It's like
John the Baptist says, I must decrease, he must increase. And how that is so in the experience
of the Lord's living family. I must decrease. We have smaller
views of ourself and greater views of Jesus Christ. And as
the Lord works and humbles us, and so we're reduced in size.
So that we get smaller and smaller. Why? Because you're being prepared.
You're being squared up. You know in the British Army,
when you first go in, they have a period known as square bashing.
And that is because there is a big square in the army camp. And the drill sergeant, he gets
the men so they can march together, march in union, work together,
do everything together. It's a form of discipline. And
it works. It really does work. I remember
I was in the Royal Air Force and did the basic training. And
I think of it now. I used to go around with bent
shoulders, never stood up properly, slouching around, as we might
say. But you know, after I'd had 10 weeks of square bashing,
as it's called, under the drill sergeant, you stand up, right,
your shoulders are back, you just do it ordinarily, because
if you don't, he'll tell you. Pull your shoulders back, stand
up, look forward. It's all part of discipline.
Now, you see, friends, we need that same square bashing. in
a spiritual sense of the word. We need to be knocked into shape.
We need to be disciplined. And the Lord uses these different
things to discipline. Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth. That word chasten means to discipline. That's the meaning of the word.
And it's because he loves you. Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth
and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. He does. And so these things that you
pass through, whether it's in your family, whether it's in
a personal, spiritual way, through the doubts and fears that you
may have, through the temptations of Satan, you may not even know
they're the temptations of Satan. Another form of knocking us into
shape is when the Holy Ghost reveals to us our sinful condition,
reveals to us our wretched condition. reveals to us what sin and corruption
there is in our heart and in our nature. It is a form that
the Lord uses to reduce us so that we think nothing of ourselves. In fact we put ourselves down.
I'm a poor, wretched, ruined, helpless, hopeless sinner. Lord
help me. Lord help me. Lord deliver me.
And they shall be mine. These precious souls that are
under the teaching of the Holy Ghost, that know what conviction
of sin is, that know what it is to feel the plague of their
own heart, that know something of the language of the dear Apostle
when he writes Romans chapter 7, 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. It's
this inward work of the Holy Ghost. But what does it do? It
reduces us. It brings us down. It humbles
us. It's the divine work of the Spirit.
The work of the Holy Ghost is a humbling work. And when we're
brought down and we're laboring and burdened and tried and perplexed
and so And perhaps you have not only feeling that sense of your
own wretchedness, then you have a great trial that you come into
in providence, or in your work, or in the family, or in the church.
And oh, what a great burden it is. You think it's going to crush
you. And then you hear the voice of Jesus. Come unto me, all ye
that labour and are heavy laden. and I will give you rest. Take
my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in
heart, and ye shall find rest for your souls. For my yoke is
easy, and my burden is light." To be yoked is to be united. It's to be joined together. And,
you know, one of the purposes of the divine work of the Holy
Ghost in the heart is to bring us down. so that we have no,
we think nothing of ourselves and we have no strength, we have
no wisdom. Now know we're not what to do,
said one of the godly kings didn't he? But he did because he said
but our eyes are up unto the Lord, he didn't know what to
do. He didn't know what to do in the immediate circumstance,
he was those great armies surrounding him, but he did know what to
do, but our eyes are up unto the Lord. Look unto me, all ye
ends of the earth, and be ye saved, for I am God, and there
is none else. And the Lord, he brings you down
to do that, to make you look to him, to cleave to him, to
cast all your care upon him, to follow him, to serve him.
Look at that dear woman, when she came, if I might but touch
the hem of his garment. Oh, she was in a great trouble.
She spent all her money on physicians, but grew worse, but grew worse. What a trial it was. But then,
the spirit of faith. You know, the spirit of faith
and the fear of the Lord are much the same thing. They are. And what did she say? If I might
but touch, hem of his garment, I shall be made whole. She was
given faith. Woman, great is thy faith. She
believed. That's what faith does. It believes
that he is able. He is able to save to the uttermost
all that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth. He is
able. He is able to deliver thee. Thou
art coming to a King. Who is it? King Jesus. mighty
God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace, thou art
coming to a King, large petitions with thee bring, for his grace
and power such none can ever ask too much. No, no, you may have had a time when
you felt the Lord's blessing, you felt your heart soften, You
felt drawn to the Lord, to Christ. And at that time you felt when
you come to the house of God, I love to meet among them now.
Before thy gracious feet to bow, thou vilest of them all. You
know, it's an evidence of divine grace in the heart. You might
say, what do you mean? We know that we have passed from
death unto life. because we love the brethren. It's one of the wonderful marks
of spiritual life in the soul, because we love the brethren. You love to meet with them. You
love to sit under the ministry. You love to sing the hymns. You
see, there was a time when you did all this mechanically, with
no spiritual feeling, but now there's a spiritual feeling in
your soul. And sometimes the language of
the hymn writer comes right where you are. And it's so sweet and
precious. And when you sing of Christ,
there's a drawing to Christ. When you hear him preach, there's
a drawing to him. The spouse, she says, doesn't
she in Solomon's Song, chapter one, draw me. We will run after
thee. We will run after thee. and they
shall be mine saith the Lord of hosts in that day when I make
up my jewels. You know if you look of course
we have the crown jewels in the Tower of London and there are
various crowns, state crowns, various different ones but some
of them have one of them's got one of the largest diamonds ever
found in it but also surrounding them are lots of tiny little
diamonds or sapphires all making up that crown you see they shall
be mine when I make up my jewels and the Lord is preparing you
preparing you for eternal joy, glory. You feel this love and
this desire and this longing, both to Christ and to His people.
Now listen, it says here in verse 6, For I am the Lord, I change
not, therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. I am the Lord. Now you may look back, maybe
six months, it may be a year, maybe more than that, and there
was a time when you felt all these things. Now you feel to
be dark, now you feel to be in bondage, now you feel to be far
off and you think with the hymn writer of those happy days that
you did have. Where is now the glowing love
when first I knew the Lord? Now you've changed but the Lord
hasn't. I am the Lord. change not. I love what the hymn writer says,
if once the love of Christ I feel impressed upon my breast, the
mark of that celestial seal can never be erased and they shall
be mine, saith the Lord of hosts. This almighty unchangeable Jesus
Christ the same yesterday and today and forever. What does
he say? You may look forward and you
look forward some measure of trepidation. He says let not your heart be
troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's
house are many mansions. If it were not so, would have
told you I go to prepare a place for you and if I go to prepare
a place for you I will come again and receive you unto myself that
where I am there ye may be also. Oh that you may never forget
this word for I am the Lord I change not therefore ye sons of Jacob
are not consumed it may be You've become cold and hard and sinful,
worldly, carnal. That's what we are by nature
and you feel that that seems to have overtaken you. You're still being prepared,
you're still being made ready. He that hath begun a good work
in you shall perform it unto the day of Jesus Christ. He will. He will never leave thee. He
says in his word, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. And they shall be mine, saith
the Lord of hosts. In that day when I make up my
jewels, that's when he gathers all his children into eternal
glory, and I will spare them. as a man spareth his own son
that serveth him, then shall ye return and discern between
the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God
and him that serveth him not. In that great day, you'll discern
when Christ himself, as it's portrayed in Matthew 25, He'll
make a division in that great day. And there are the sheep
and there are the goats. The sheep are his own living
family. Some of them yet little lambs.
And he will separate them and he'll put them on his right side.
And the goats are those that have never been born again, that
never had the fear of the Lord. And they will go on his left
hand, and he will say to those on his right hand, come ye blessed
of my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation
of the world. The apostle says in the epistle
to Peter, or rather Peter's epistle, and he says there, to an inheritance
incorruptible, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven
for you, who are kept by the power of God, through faith,
unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last day. You see, he
that has begun a good work in you shall perform it unto the
day of Jesus Christ. But then, to those goats on the
left hand, he will say, depart from me ye cursed, into everlasting
fire, prepared for the devil, and his angels. May there be something, my beloved
friends, that will abide in our hearts, and they shall be mine,
saith the Lord of Hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels,
and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth
him. May the Lord add his blessings. Let us now sing together hymn
number 569 to the tune Auburn 734. The Father in eternal love,
his heart upon Zion did set, her name he enrolled above, nor
will he fair Zion forget. He chose her in Jesus his Son,
and gave her to him for a wife, who freely accepted the same,
though knowing she'd cost him his life. Hymn 569, tune Auburn,
734. ? Lift up your voice and sing it
loud ? ? Lift up your voice and sing it loud ? a a a a Jesus his Father, and gave her
to him for a bride. To pray they accepted the same. ? Where I would yearn but in this
life ? ? Peaceful on the future we'll stay ? ? And where the
wind hath churned ? Satan, Satan, Satan, Satan, Satan, Satan, Satan,
Satan, Satan, Satan, Satan, Satan, Eternal happiness and abundance,
And all our joy in excelling. We hold a deep and perfect trust, 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.