The collection taken here today
is for the support of the Mombasa mission. Let us commence our
service today by singing together hymn number 36. The tune is Mendelssohn
950. Hark the herald angels sing.
Glory to the newborn king. Peace on earth and mercy mild.
God and sinners reconciled, sons of Zion too arise, join the triumph
of the skies, and with angels loud proclaim, Christ was born
in Bethlehem. Hymn number 36, tune Mendelssohn
950. O come, O come, all ye faithful joyful and triumphant O come, O come,
all ye faithful joyful Peace on earth and mercy mild,
Lord and Savior, ? Rise up, rise up, rise, rise,
rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise,
rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise,
rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise,
rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise,
rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise,
rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise,
rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise,
rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise, rise Christ was born in Bethlehem.
Hark! the herald angels sing, Glory to the newborn King! ? O'er the land of the free and
the home of the brave ? ? Glory to the newborn King ? ?
Let us now we adoration be ? ? God bless you, Georgia, God's
child ? ? On the fair Oakland tree ? ? All is calm, all is bright ? Let us read together part of
the first chapter in the gospel according to Luke. Luke's gospel chapter 1 and we'll
commence our reading at verse 26 and we'll read down to verse
56. Luke 1 verse 26. And in the sixth month, the angel
Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee named Nazareth,
to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the
house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel
came in unto her and said, Hail thou that art highly favoured.
The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women.
And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and casting
in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel
said unto her, Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favour with
God. And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth
a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great. and shall be called the son of
the highest, and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne
of his father David, and he shall reign over the house of Jacob
forever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end.' Then said Mary
unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said
unto her, holy ghost shall come upon thee and the power of the
highest shall overshadow thee therefore also that holy thing
which shall be born of thee shall be called the son of god and behold thy cousin elizabeth
she hath also conceived a son in her old age and this is the
sixth month with her who was called baron For with God nothing
shall be impossible. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid
of the Lord, be unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed
from her. And Mary arose in those days
and went into the hill country with haste into a city of Judah. And she entered into the house
of Zacharias and saluted Elizabeth. And it came to pass that when
Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her
womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost. And she
spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among
women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this
to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For,
lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears,
the babe leaped in my womb for joy. And blessed is she that
believed, for there shall be a performance of those things
which were told her from the Lord. And Mary said, My soul
doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my
Saviour. For he hath regarded the lowest
state of his handmaiden. For behold, from henceforth all
generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done
to me great things, and holy is his name. And his mercy is
on them that fear him from generation to generation. He hath showed
strength with his arm, He has scattered the proud in the imagination
of their hearts. He has put down the mighty from
their seats and exalted them of low degree. He has filled
the hungry with good things and the rich hath he sent empty away.
He hath opened his servant Israel in remembrance of his mercy.
As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed forever. And Mary abode with her about
three months and returned to her own house. May the Lord bless
that reading of his own precious word and grant unto us a spirit
of real prayer. Almighty, most gracious Lord,
we do acknowledge thy goodness and thy lovingkindness. in this
day set apart to worship thee, for the sending forth of thine
only begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who was made of a woman,
made under the law, that he might redeem them that are under the
law. And as we rejoice at the birth
of Jesus Christ, may it be tempered but with the thought of his sufferings
in the close of his life, and that when he himself said, to
this end was I born, for this cause came I into the world.
O gracious God, give us then that spirit of true worship of
the holy child Jesus. We read of thy servants the apostles,
and they preached in the name of the holy child Jesus. and
they wrought miracles in the name of the Holy Child Jesus.
Oh, we thank thee for that tremendous mystery of godliness, God manifest
in the flesh. Lord, what a wonder of wonders.
And thy handmaiden Mary, she said, how can these things be?
But Lord, with thee there is nothing impossible. Indeed, thou
art able to do abundantly more than we can even ask or think.
And we pray for grace to believe and to follow and to serve and
to lay hold. Pray for that assurance of faith
and clear views of our Lord Jesus Christ, holy, blessed and divine
spirit of truth. That we do pray that they withdraw
us to the mercy seat and guide us in prayer and bless thy word
to our souls and enlighten us We read in thy word the eyes
of your understanding being enlightened, and we pray that it may be so
today, as we gather in thy name, that the eyes of our understanding
may be enlightened, that we may behold wondrous things in thy
word. And in those prophecies concerning
our Lord Jesus Christ, may thy word be, Lord, a lamp unto our
feet and a light unto our path. We do pray thy blessing to rest
upon us as a church and as a congregation, and that thou would work mightily,
powerfully, and effectually among us. Lord, we thank thee for bringing
forth our dear friend so recently. We would render thanksgiving
to thee for thy wonderful mercy to us as a church and as a congregation. Go on, most mighty God, thy wonders
to make known. and put forth thy spirit with
the word and grant that the Lord Jesus may be exalted among us
as a prince and as a saviour for to give faith and repentance
and remission of sins. We pray that the Lord Jesus may
be set forth in all his suitability and glory as the saviour of sins. Hear us, O Lord, we humbly pray
thee and bless us together Lord, we pray for our deacons that
grace and wisdom and help may be given them in their responsibilities
here and also among the churches of God in those many responsibilities
that they both have. And help them, Lord, and gird
them with all sufficient grace. Help us to pray for one another,
serve one another, bear one another's burdens, thereby fulfilling the
law of Christ. O we pray, most gracious Lord,
that thou wouldst guide us, guide us into thy truth, guide
us in the right way. We read, he led them forth by
the right way unto a city of habitation. May we be led and
guided and directed by thee. O Lord, we do beseech of thee.
We thank thee for the little the little ones as they're brought
into the sanctuary. May thy blessing rest upon them,
and may the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom,
be given unto them in their young and tender years. We think of
those lovely words of Jesus, suffer little children to come
unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of
heaven. Oh, do hear us, Lord, we humbly
pray thee, Remember the young friends and bless them indeed,
and guide them by thy counsel, and graciously bring them to
living faith. In Jesus Christ, we may see the
fulfilling of that wonderful promise. Instead of thy fathers
shall be thy children, whom thou mayst make princes in all the
earth. Lord, bless them indeed. Make us more spiritually minded.
Set our affections on things above. draw my soul to Thee,
my Lord, let me love Thy precious Word. We confess our sins and
our wanderings and our backslidings. We confess, Lord, we're not worthy
of the least of Thy tender mercies, but we thank Thee for free and
sovereign grace and that wonderful mercy that flows through Jesus
Christ, our Lord. And we do pray, most gracious
Lord, that Thou would remember parents and give them wisdom
and grace and help to bring up their children and then murder
and admonition of the Lord. Remember all in the midst of
the journey of life and we pray that they would deliver us from
the temptations of Satan. Deliver us from evil for thine
is the kingdom the power and the glory. Deliver us chiefly
from ourselves for Lord we are solemnly aware that we have a
heart that is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.
And O Lord God, we do pray that thou wouldst graciously remember
us each at this time, and that the families may have a happy
time together. Remember dear Ine at home in
her great age and undertake for her. Remember those of us among
us here that are now in the evening time of life journey to grant
thy blessing. to grant that at evening time
it may be light, and that we may, at the appointed time, have
an abundant entrance into thy heavenly kingdom. Lord, we pray
that thou wouldst go before us each, that thou wouldst wash
us in the precious blood of the Lamb, that thou wouldst cleanse
us from all sin. We think of all thy servants
that are labouring in word and doctrine at this time. around the country. And we pray
that Thou would bless their ministry and grant mighty signs and wonders
to follow the preaching of Jesus Christ. And we pray, O Lord,
for Thy people up and down our nation, wherever Thy servants
stand and Thy people gather, grant Thy richest blessing, grant
a time of true prosperity. And we pray, dear Lord, that
Thou in thy great mercy, which remember then the congregations
and thy servants, and graciously yet send forth true labourers
among the churches, and build the walls of Jerusalem, we do
humbly beseech thee. Remember those, O Lord, in those
war-torn countries, Ukraine and Israel, and we pray that thou
wouldst bring peace and bring to naught the counsels of the
wicked, we do humbly beseech them. We pray, O Lord, for those
countries where the name of Christ is hated and thy people are persecuted. And there are a number of places
here upon earth that are like that. And we pray that thou in
thy great mercy would be with thy people there, help them to
witness to small and great of the wonderful glories of Christ
and the wonders of redeeming love. O Lord, we do pray that
thou wouldst deliver any that are in darkness, bring them into
light. Any in bondage, bring them into
liberty. Any that are far off, make them
nigh. Lord, let thy work appear unto
thy servants and thy glory unto their children. Bring our sons
from far, and our daughters from the ends of the earth, send out
thy light and thy truth into this village and the surrounding
villages and hamlets, and gather in many, many precious souls
into the church of God, and gather them unto Christ. Grant mighty
signs and wonders to follow the preaching of the word. Oh, we
thank thee for the gospel of Jesus Christ, and we can echo
With David, the sweet psalmist of Israel, I love the Lord, because
he has heard my voice, the voice of my supplications. Oh, we thank
thee for a prayer hearing and a prayer answering God. And thanks
be unto God for his unspeakable gift. We thank thee for the glories
of Christ, and in him we know the love of our eternal Father,
and through him we receive that wonderful gift of the Holy Ghost. Do hear us, Lord, and be with
us now as we sing thy worthy praises, and bless us with light
and understanding in thy word, and touch one's lips with a live
coal from off the heavenly altar, we ask for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. Let us now sing together hymn
number 41. The tune is Odeste Fidelis, 804. My God, my Creator, the heavens
did bow to ransom offenders and stoop very low. The body prepared
by the Father assumes, and on the kind Aaron most joyfully
comes. Hymn number 41. Tune Adeste Fidelis
804. ? All my creation heaven and earth
? ? Gives to the heav'nly host a sweet rest ? The Lord is with thee. ? And on my neck my soul will rest
? ? And on my neck my soul will rest ? O come, let us adore him, O come,
let us adore him, Christ the Lord! Christ the Lord! Christ
the Lord! Christ the Lord! Christ the Lord! Christ the Lord! I. ? God's love in the shepherds ?
? And Jesus' song ? ? God's love in the shepherds ? ? And Jesus' song
? Oh, say does that star-spangled
banner yet wave ? Christ, hear our great rejoicing
? ? The world our God yet is born ? ? Christ, all glory to
Thee be given ? ? Self-denial is born ? I truly believe that salvation
is nigh. Salvation, my Savior, my true
God, O'er the ramparts we watched,
were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in
air, And glory in the highest. ? To glory on high ? ? And heaven
makes a blessing ? ? To him of thine ? ? To joy in Christ's
birth ? O say can you see, by the dawn's
early light, What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's Greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, I would direct your attention to the prophecy
of Isaiah, chapter 9, and reading verses 6 and 7 for our text. The prophecy of Isaiah, chapter
9, verses 6 and 7. For unto us a child is born, Unto us a son is given, and the
government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall
be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting
Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government
and peace there shall be no end. Upon the throne of David, and
upon his kingdom to order it, and to establish it with judgment
and with justice from henceforth even forever the zeal of the
Lord of hosts will perform this. What a wonderful clear prophecy
of the coming of the Son of God into this world. Jesus, the Son
of God. We noticed yesterday afternoon
in that wording, in Psalm 40, Lo, I come. And for him to be
able to say that, he had to pre-exist the Son of God from all eternity.
And he says, Lo, I come, and that was hundreds of years before
he came. In the volume of the book written
to me, I delight to do thy will, O God, yea, thy law, is within
my heart. But here, the prophet Isaiah,
it is opened unto him the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. There's
just a word in chapter seven, and this is a continuation of
the same prophecy, but in the seventh chapter, in verse 14,
we read, therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold,
a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name
Immanuel. And the name Immanuel means God
with us. God with us. And all these things
direct us to this glorious truth that the Lord Jesus Christ was
not just a man, not just a good man, not just a righteous man,
He's the God. We've just sung a hymn together
and it's that verse that particularly led me to it. Thy name and thy
natures. Speaking of Christ, thy name
and thy natures. He has a divine nature, the person
of the Son of God, from all eternity and to all eternity. As the Apostle
says, Jesus Christ, the same yesterday and today and forever. He came from all eternity and
He'll live for all eternity to come. He has the power of an
endless life. But the profound mystery of godliness
that we have revealed in the person of Christ is that not
only is He just the Son of God, but He's also referred to in
Holy Scriptures as the Son of Man. And I think you'll find
there are 72 occasions in Holy Scripture when the Lord Jesus
Christ is referred to as the Son of Man. See, the term, the
Son of God, that precious name, it points us to His divinity.
He is the eternal Son of God, but the term or the name, the
Son of Man, points us to His humanity. Thy name and thy natures, a divine
nature and a human nature. So the Son of God took into union
with his divine nature, a sacred, holy human nature. And the hymn
writer rightly says, how it was done, we can't discuss. But this we know, it was done
for us. He is the eternal Son of the
eternal Father. In my very early spiritual days,
I've often told you I was sorely tempted just after I was baptised,
very sorely tempted of Satan, that Jesus was not the Son of
God. And that was a very real temptation. I wrestled with it for weeks
and it brought me into great spiritual darkness. It didn't
matter where I searched in the world, I couldn't seem to see
it. Until in the early hours of one
morning, sitting up and reading, so troubled. I came to the eighth
chapter of Proverbs and verse 22, and the Holy Spirit showed
me so clearly that it was Christ that was speaking there in Proverbs
chapter eight. And he says in verse 22, I was
set up from everlasting wherever the earth was. And you know,
friends, it was just as if the scales fell off my eyes. I had
such a sacred view of the glory of the Eternal Son of God, and
that Jesus is the Eternal Son of God. And the wonder is that
after that, I searched through Scripture and I found it everywhere.
Before, I couldn't find it. It just shows these things, my
beloved friends, they're revealed by the Holy Ghost through the
Scriptures unto us. And when we have a revelation
of Christ, it's a wonderful, precious thing. And this glorious person that
we have in our text, for unto us a child is born. And you know, the true human
nature of Christ, he was a little babe. He was in his mother's womb,
and that is where that union took place. That human nature
that the Son of God assumed in the womb of the Virgin Mary never
had an existence separate to the Son of God. Immediately,
the Holy Ghost overshadowed the womb of the Virgin, the Son of
God assumed her seed. And he was born of a woman, a
virgin. And we read in scripture, have
heard of such a thing. Who has seen such a thing? That
a virgin should be with child. Mary said, how can this thing
be, seeing I know not a man? And then the angel of the Lord,
he showed her, the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee. The power
of the highest shall overshadow thee. And then there's this,
and that holy thing, that shall be born of thee. It was something
completely unique. It was God and man in one person. The Son of God assumed a human
nature. And that human nature became
his very own human nature. And, you know, we read in the second chapter of Luke, in
the last verse, it says and Jesus increased in wisdom and stature
and in favour with God and man. He was a little pie, he was a
little toddler, but let us remember he was a perfect child. He was a perfect child. He was a perfect man. Mark, the
perfect man, and behold the upright, for the end of that man is peace.
That's Christ, the perfect man, the sinless one. See, we sin
because we're sinners. We explained to you yesterday
of this sinful nature that we have, and that we're sinners
because we're born that way. But this man, it says, that holy
thing, He was sinless in his conception, sinless in his life,
in his sufferings, in his death, and in his resurrection. The
Word of God declares he did no sin. He's the only sinless child
ever born into this world. Never has been a sinless child
born into this world. We receive from our parents a
fallen nature. we do. As David himself says, we are
born into, and what he means by that, by our natural being born of our parents, we
receive from our parents, a sinful body, a sinful nature, and that's all we receive. And
unless the Holy Spirit comes and quickens your and my soul
into life. We will die dead in trespasses
and in sins. Doesn't the apostle say, you
hath he quickened who were dead? And that's where we are. Every
one of us in a state of spiritual death, we're born in that way
because of the sin of Adam. As in Adam all die, so in Christ. And Christ is often called the
second Adam. But you know, in that verse that
we've just read, how that Jesus increased in wisdom, that's intellectually,
and bodily. He was a real man. He was made
like unto his brethren. Unto us. You know, this is something
to me, it was very sweet in this word, in that unto us. A child is born unto us, a son
is given. Poor, needy, wretched, helpless,
hopeless sinners unto us. See, he's given. In the words
of our Eternal Father, God so loved the world, he gave his
only begotten son. This was a divine gift. Just
as we've sung together in the hymn, The body prepared of the
father assumes. See there's one person in Christ. There's not a divine person and
a human person. This is why it's important to
understand that he assumed that human nature as soon as it was
conceived in the Virgin's womb. never had any existence separate
to the Son of God. It was his own personal human
nature and he took it into union with his divine nature and became
bone of our bone, flesh of our flesh and lived here upon earth
in that holy human nature. He himself in one place he calls
his body a temple And the Apostle takes up that same point in the
epistle to the Hebrews and he speaks of the body of Christ
as being the temple of Christ, because that's where he dwelt.
The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory,
the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace
and truth. He's always full of grace. and
truth. He always has been, he always
will be, and his people constantly draw by faith from that fullness
that is in Christ, the fullness of his precious blood, the fullness
of his glorious righteousness, the fullness of his holiness,
that the child of God lives by faith of the Son of God. The
life I now live, I live by faith of the Son of God who loved me
and gave himself for And at this point, unto us, there's something
so precious there. Unto us, a child is born. Unto us, a son is given. And the government shall be upon
his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor,
the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father. Prince of Peace, the
Mighty God. These names are what are called
proper names. It's the most common thing now
for people to give a name that they like. They like the sound
of it, they like this. But you know, in former generations
and especially in Biblical days, names were given that meant something. That meant something. They were
given by faith. and because of the way the Lord
exercised them concerning that child. For unto us a child is
born. I believe my parents knew that
I was going to be a minister and that they named me actually
before I was born. You see these things were laid
in their heart and we should consider when we name our children
Are we giving them a proper name? You might say, what is a proper
name? A name with a meaning. A name that the Lord has given
you. Like Samuel, the gift of God. These names have a meaning. But with this child, the eternal
son of God shall be called wonderful. Well, his very conception is
wonderful, isn't it? and his life as a maid of a woman
and maid under the law. And it's wonderful that in his
person the law has been fulfilled and honoured and magnified perfectly. And Christ lived in perfect obedience
to the holy law. When it says maid of a woman,
maid under the law, it means he became truly human. And the
Word of God is very clear that the law was made for man. And
when the Son of God became a man, he came under that law. And he purposely came under that
law. That law that you and I cannot
keep. You might say, why can't we keep it? Because we're sinful
in our very nature. Therefore, it's utterly impossible
for us to fulfill it. We should try, don't misunderstand
what I'm saying, we can never do it but this man this man was
born holy we've just read that holy thing this glorious God
man and he was born holy for us and he lived a holy life for
us and he offered a holy sacrifice for us that's the emphasis in
this this text given by the Father and live in a holy life for us
and fulfilling God's holy law for us. He will magnify the law
and make it honourable. Christ has done that. He's honoured
God's holy law. And he did it for us. It was
on our behalf. It was in our room, place and
stead. You know, we often speak, and
quite rightly so, of the sufferings and death of Christ as being
vicarious, and that word vicarious means a substitute. It means
in the room and the place and the stead of his people. A substitute. He was made sin for us. But,
think of his holy life. That holy life of Christ was
just as vicarious. It was just as much in the room
and the place and the stead of us. He did something that we
cannot do. He fulfilled the law. He magnified the law. He said
himself, I have not come to destroy the law, but to fulfill it. And
that is exactly what he's done. He's fulfilled and honored. and
magnified that holy law. Now that perfect obedience of
Jesus Christ, the holy God-man, to the righteous law of God,
that is the righteousness of Christ. And that is imputed to
the believer, so that the believer becomes righteous in the righteousness
of Christ. For as we read in Ezekiel chapter
16, comely in my comeliness. Comely in my comeliness. And so this gives us something
of the meaning of these words that are before us. It was a
wonderful birth, in that it was a virgin birth. It was a wonderful
life, in that it was a holy life. Lived in complete obedience to
the Lord. in thought, word and deed. You
and I cannot do that. But this man, this holy child
has done that. Born holy, lives holy, making
his people righteous. And as the emphasis here, for
us. He did it for us. When he wrought
out the everlasting road of the righteousness of his people,
It's here in the prophecy of Isaiah chapter 61, where the
Lord so clearly reveals unto us of what Christ has done for
us. It says in Isaiah 61 verse 10,
I will greatly rejoice in the Lord. My soul shall be joyful
in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation.
He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom
decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself
with jewels. You see, it's his righteousness. He hath covered me with the robe
of righteousness, that perfect obedience of Christ. That's why
the apostle says in Romans that Christ is the end of the law,
for righteousness. You'll never be able to produce
a righteousness acceptable to God. As much as we strive, we
will never be able to do it. But this holy child, this holy
God man, I love that expression that is used by the apostles
in the Acts of the Apostles in their preaching. It is speaking
in one place of of that man that was healed at the gate of the
temple. And the Apostle Peter says, these
are not powers that we have, but this miracle was performed
in the name of the Holy Child Jesus. And it's twice there in
the Acts of the Apostles when they refer to the Holy Child
Jesus and what was accomplished in the Holy Child Jesus. For
unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government
shall be upon his shoulders, and his name shall be called
Wonderful. You think of that, you think
of that wonderful death of somebody that was holy and
righteous. He laid down his life for his
friends. our Eternal Father laid upon
Him the iniquity of us all. What a wonderful transaction
that was. His name shall be called Wonderful.
That the sin of the church was laid on Christ in the Garden
of Gethsemane. And He took that sin and nailed
it to His cross. Wonderful. Wonderful precious
doctrine of truth. And He He put away sin by the
offering of himself. That is the sin of the church.
What a wonderful sacrifice. Now, what a wonderful death.
This man, the man Christ Jesus, death had no claim on him. Why?
Because he didn't sin. He didn't sin, but we noticed
yesterday in that prophecy in Psalm 40, and he calls my iniquities. It's Christ speaking. You might
say, but you said he was sinless. He was. But our Eternal Father
laid upon him the iniquity of us all. And he calls them my
iniquities. He calls our sins his own. And
that is why he suffered and bled and died on the cross of Calvary.
Because he took our sins and he nailed them to his cross.
And he suffered and bled and died and he paid the ultimate
price. I laid down my life for my friends. It's purposely put in that way. I lay down my life for my friends. I have power to lay my life down. I have power to take it again.
This commandment have I received of my father. And that in itself
is wonderful. He voluntarily entered into death.
He died for our sins and rose again for our justification.
Again, another wonderful In this wonderful God, man, when he rose
from the dead, he justified all his people. He tasted death for
every man, it says. When he rose from the dead, he
redeemed his church. He justified his church. That's
why it says justified. The evidence that the sin of
the church is put away is in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Again, this is a wonderful thing. The man was resurrected from
the dead. His name shall be called Wonderful,
Counselor, the Mighty God. That's who Jesus is, the Mighty
God, the Everlasting Father. We only know the Father in Christ. We only know Him through Christ. What a wonderful thing, isn't
it? The Mighty God. Jesus is the mighty God. Therefore,
the Apostle takes up that point in Hebrews, therefore he is able
to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by him, seeing
he ever liveth. His salvation is an eternal salvation,
the mighty God, the everlasting Father. No man cometh unto the
Father but by me. None come except the Father draw,
the everlasting Father. We can know that spirit of adoption
in Christ. We can call God our Father in
Christ. It's a very sacred, precious
thing to be able to truly feel and experience that God is your
heavenly Father. And this is the, these are these
This language used here for unto us. A child is born unto us,
a son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulder. Again,
something very wonderful happened after the resurrection of Christ
from the dead. The disciples were led out as
far as unto Bethany and they beheld the Lord Jesus ascending
into heaven in a cloud. And in the Old Testament, that
these things are open to us, and that you compare the Old
Testament and the New Testament, and when we see Christ ascending
in a cloud into heaven, the Apostle says in the Hebrews, He hath
made a new and living way. A new and living way. And in
Psalm 24, we read of the ascending Savior. And this is why His name
is called Wonderful. Lift up your heads, O ye gates,
be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors. That's the gates of heaven.
Christ has made a new and living way into heaven. He's opened
the gates of heaven for his people. And he's entered in. Lift up
your heads, O ye gates, be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors,
and the King of glory shall come in. Who is the King of glory?
This holy babe that was born in Bethlehem is the King of glory. For such an high priest have
we, again, wonderful, a great high priest, one that stands
between, one that is our advocate. Such an high priest have we,
who is passed into the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God. He's opened the gates of heaven
that were shut when man fell. He's opened it. He's made a new
and living one. What a wonderful theme, isn't
it? Wonderful, counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father,
the Prince of Peace. And he brings peace into the
hearts of his people. As he shepherds, they said, peace
on earth and goodwill toward men. And that is what we see
in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Peace on earth, goodwill toward
men. What a wonderful, precious truth
that is. Wonderful counsellor. He's a counsellor. We can continue, the child of
God can continually go to him for counsel. He will counsel
us in his word. He will guide us by his word. He will direct us in the right
way. He led them forth in the right
way. And he'll counsel us to do that
which is right. He does it by exercising our
hearts as to the way that we've got to go. Counselor, the mighty
God. Now, of the increase of his government
and peace, there shall be no end. There shall be no end. The increase of his government
and peace, the glorious kingdom of grace, eternal kingdom. Christ is the king eternal, immortal
and invisible, the only true God. He has a kingdom. He brings his children into that
kingdom. Into the kingdom. And that kingdom
increases and it will increase until the end of time. Indeed
the only reason this world remains is because there's yet people
to be called by divine grace. And when that last vessel of
mercy has been called by divine grace, then the archangel's trump
shall sound and the end of the world will come. But the only
reason this world is preserved is because there are yet precious
souls to be gathered unto Christ. Of the increase of his government
and peace, there shall be no end. Upon the throne of David,
and upon his kingdom, to order it, to establish it with judgment
and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the
Lord of hosts will perform this. In the Psalm 45, David, he very
beautifully sets the glorious person of Jesus Christ before
us as a king. He says, my heart is inditing
a good matter. I speak of the things that I
have made touching the King. My tongue is the pen of a ready
writer. He's speaking of Christ, thou
art fairer than the children of men. Grace is poured into
thy lips. Therefore God, even thy God,
hath blessed thee forever. And then he prays to this glorious
King. Who does? David. Gird thy sword
upon thy thigh, O most mighty. with thy glory and thy majesty,
and in thy majesty ride prosperously, because of truth and meekness
and righteousness, and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible
things. You see, thine arrows are sharp
in the heart of the king's enemies, whereby the people fall unto
thee. Thy throne, O God, is for ever
and ever the sceptre of thy kingdom, This is spoken of Christ. The scepter of thy kingdom is
a right scepter. The kingdom is the Lord and the
fullness thereof, this kingdom of Christ, this kingdom of heaven. Except a man be born of water
and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.
So these vital things are set before us And it speaks of the
church here also, not just the king, it speaks of the church
in Psalm 45. They're called the king's daughters. This is the king that we have
in our text, King Jesus. King's daughters were among thy
honourable women, upon thy right hand did stand the queen in gold
of Ophir. The queen is the bride of Christ,
whom he came to redeem and to deliver from her sins. We're
told that not a hoof shall be left behind. And that not one seed, it says
in Amos, shall fall to the ground. The seed there is a child of
God. Not one seed shall fall to the ground. Because they're
saved and they're redeemed in Christ. In Him is life. And He gives
this life to His people. And the way, the truth and the
life, That's eternal life. I give unto my sheep eternal
life. But here we read of the king's
daughters, and it says in verse 10, Harken, O daughter, and consider,
and incline thine ear, forget also thine own people and thy
father's house. So shall the king greatly desire
thy beauty. For he is thy Lord, and worship
thou him. It says in verse 13, the king's
daughter is all glorious within, her clothing is of raw gold,
she shall be brought unto the king in raiment of needlework,
that's the righteousness of the Christ. The virgins, her companions
that follow her, shall be brought unto thee with gladness and rejoicing
shall they be brought, they shall enter into the king's palace. I go to prepare a place for you. Christ says, I go to prepare
a place for you. In my Father's house are many
mansions. If it were not so, I 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. With gladness and rejoicing shall
they be brought, they shall enter into the king's palace. The Apostle Peter, he speaks
of the abundant entrance into the heavenly kingdom of our Lord
Jesus Christ. And that is when we die, and
then we shall be raised in Christ, from the dead, and we shall enter
into that heavenly kingdom. And in that kingdom, I love those
verses that are based on Rutherford's last words. It says, the bride,
that's the bride of Christ. Speaking of a natural bride,
of course, Rutherford. And he says, the bride eyes not
her garments, but her dear bridegroom's face. I will not gaze on glory,
but on my King of grace. Not on the crown he giveth, but
on those pierced hands where glory, glory dwelleth in Emmanuel's
land. Of the increase of his government
and peace, there shall be no end. Upon the house of David
and upon his kingdom to order it, and to establish it with
judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts
will perform this. This heavenly kingdom being prepared
and his people are being prepared to inhabit it and they'll be
washed in the precious blood of the Lamb. And we read in Corinthians
chapter 15, this corruption must put on incorruption. This mortal
must put on immortality. We should be raised in newness
of life and be taken into that eternal kingdom of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ. And all from these small beginnings
of this wonderful thing, this babe, born of a virgin. For unto us a child is born,
unto us a son is given, and the government, you know, shall be
upon his shoulder. When the high priest went into
the holy place, he divested himself of all the gorgeous outward robes
of the high priest, and he was clothed in robes of white linen. And on each shoulder there were
ouches, little pockets, and each one of those on his shoulders
were precious stones, each one representing one of the tribes
of the Children of Israel. And upon his breast there was
a breastplate, and on the set into that breastplate were precious
stones, 12, each one representing the children of Israel, the 12
tribes of the children of Israel. And that high priest, when he
was doing that, was a type of Christ. He clothed in white linen,
that means righteousness and holiness. He had upon his heart
all the names of the Lord's people. He carried on his shoulders those
precious stones which were the Lord's people and that breastplate
was linked to his shoulders and it was all the weight of it.
And what it is, is representing Christ as our great advocate,
as our great high priest. He has our names upon his heart
and he carries us on his shoulders. That's what it typifies and that's
what it means of the increase of his government
and peace. there shall be no end. Upon the
throne of David and upon his kingdom, to order it and to establish
it with judgment and with justice, from henceforth even for ever,
the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. May the Lord add his blessing
to these few in us. Let us now sing together hymn
number 703. The tune is Yorkshire, 780. And to this tune, we sing six
lines to each verse. Ye souls redeemed with Jesus'
precious blood, proclaim the grace of your incarnate God.
sing that amazing boundless matchless love which brought the lord of
glory from apart the eternal world word who built the earth
and skies takes on him flesh and in a manger lies hymn 703
tune yorkshire 780 singing six lines to each verse ? O say can you see by the dawn's early light ? ? What so proudly
we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming ? Sing praises to thee. Sing praises to thee. ? Gate of Bethlehem, fill the earth
and skies ? ? Day to day, flesh and blood of angels rise ? In every day of every day of
every day of every day of every day of every day of every day of every day of every day
of every day of every day of every day of every day of every day of every day of every day of
every day of every day of every day of every day of every day of every day
of every day of every day of every day of every day of every day of every day of every day
of every day of every day of every day of every day of every day of every day of every day of every day
of every day of every day of every day of every day of every day of
every day of every day of every day of every day of every day of every day of every day
of every day of every day of every day of every day of every day of every day of every day of
every day of every day of every day of every day of every day of every day of every day
of every day of every day of every day of every day of every day of every day of every day of every
day of every day of every day of every day of every ? There is but one ? ? Not one and only
one ? ? There is but one and only one ? ? There is but one
and only one ? ? Make their way to God ? ? Make
their way to God ? ? Nation with peace ? ? The hearts
and flesh divide ? ? Glory to God in the highest ? shall there be in me not only
the good, ? Shepherds, you should be ? ?
Warners of this day ? ? And spirits, shepherds, join the dreaming
way ? O come ye, O come ye, O come
ye to Bethlehem. I'm ? To the Father and King ? ? Children
of Jesus ? ? We will be adored and crowned with glory evermore
? 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. Thank you.