this afternoon by singing together
hymn number 536. The tune is Gethsemane 336. Behold a scene of matchless grace. Tis Jesus in the sinner's place.
Heaven's brightest glory sunk in shame. That rebel's might
adore his name. hymn 536, tune Gethsemane of
336. ? We're all the shame of the world
? Tis Jesus in the sinner's place,
And righteous glory's unending shame, And meadows whiter to his head. In endless floods of wrath and
dread In vengeance burst upon his head Ten thousand sorrows he ate it,
so An angel mountain from him In sight He heard me sadly cry,
Step of the flowers he'd lost and died, ? All in a rosewood silent dew
? ? Made by thy justice on Him's throne ? Grace will triumph from the dead
? Translished together ? ? Dead falls pain ? ? Then Christ with
healing ? ? Grandeur blew ? ? And took His throne ? Come, Saints, with songs of joy, of his praise. Let us read together from the
holy word of God in the prophecy of Zachariah and chapter 13. Zechariah's prophecy chapter
13. In that day there shall be a fountain
open to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem
for sin and for uncleanness and it shall come to pass in that
day saith the Lord of hosts that I will cut off the names of the
idols out of the land and they shall no more be remembered.
And also will cause the prophets and the unclean spirits to pass
out of the land. And it shall come to pass that
when any shall yet prophesy, then his father and his mother
that begat him shall say unto him, thou shalt not live, for
thou speakest lies in the name of the Lord. And his father and
his mother that begat him shall thrust him through, when he prophesieth. And it shall come to pass in
that day that the prophet shall be ashamed, every one of his
vision, when he hath prophesied, neither shall they wear a rough
garment to deceive. But he shall say, I am no prophet,
I am an husbandman, for man taught me to keep cattle from my youth.
And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands?
And he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house
of my friends. Awake, O sword, against my shepherd,
and against the man that is my fellow, saith the Lord of hosts. Smite the shepherd, and the sheep
shall be scattered, and I will turn mine hand upon the little
ones, and it shall come to pass that in all the land, saith the
Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die, but the third
shall be left therein, and I will bring the third part through
the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will
try them as gold is tried, they shall call on my name, and I
will hear them, and I will say, it is my people, and they shall
say, the Lord is my God. May the Lord bless the reading
of his own precious word and grant to us a spirit of real
prayer. Almighty, most merciful and eternal
God, the high and lofty one that inhabiteth
eternity. We would humbly bow before thy
great majesty under that realization and sense of our own sinfulness
and the corruption of our heart and of our very nature as the
Apostle himself declares, O wretched man, that I am. For I know that in me That is,
in my flesh dwelleth no good thing. And Lord, we are painfully
aware of that as we come to bow before thy great majesty. We
do not deserve thy notice. We're undeserving of thy mercy
and of thy grace. So Lord, nothing in my hand I
bring. Simply to thy cross I cling.
Fowler to the fountain fly, wash me, Saviour, or I die. For we do pray 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 as we gather round thy word this afternoon and as we
gather round the table of the Lord May we truly worship Thee
in spirit and in truth. We do humbly beseech Thee. And
may that wonderful grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be poured into
our hearts to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim the acceptable year
of the Lord. Hear us, O God. We do humbly
beseech Thee. Help us to lay hold of the precious
Christ Help us to touch the hem of his garment. Help us to draw
from that sacred fullness that is in him. We do humbly beseech
them. Blessed, holy, divine spirit
of truth, we pray for thy heavenly power, for thy divine unction,
for the revelation of Jesus Christ. Convince us of our sin and lead
to Jesus' blood and to our wandering eyes revealed. the secret love
of God. And may we be favoured to feel
those divine drawings of a heavenly Father, drawing us unto his best
Beloved. And O glorious Son, none come
except the Father draw. O Lord, we feel our inability,
our insufficiency, and that we cannot do anything accept the
divine drawings of our Eternal Father and the divine leadings
of the Holy Spirit and the divine person of Jesus, the Son of God,
the Saviour of sinners, his precious blood that cleanses from all
sin, his glorious righteousness that covers our nakedness. May we have a Realisation, as
we bow before Thee, tis He instead of me is seen when I approach
to God. O do hear us, Lord, we humbly
pray Thee and grant that we may truly worship Thee in spirit
and in truth. We pray that Thou would remember
us as a church and as a congregation. Remember our brethren, the deacons,
and give grace, wisdom, and help in all their responsibilities.
Remember each one of our brethren and sisters in church fellowship,
and graciously unite us together. Help us to truly love each other,
serve each other, and bear each other's burdens, thereby fulfilling
the law of Christ. Lord, show us thy ways. teach
us thy paths for thy great name's sake. We pray most gracious Lord
that thou in thy precious mercy wouldst help us to cast all our
cares upon thee and to constantly apply unto thee daily I would
repent of sin, daily wash in Jesus or to grant us the daily
dealings with Thee. Daily, we would taste of that
sin-atoning blood. We'd handle and feel of that
precious, precious sacrifice of our dear Redeemer. We would
seek faith to lay hold of that wonderful atonement made for
sin and uncleanness. And we pray that we may bathe
in that fountain that has been opened for sin and uncleanness.
We may be washed and cleansed. We may know that washing of regeneration. That we may know that washing
in the precious blood of the Lamb. And that we may know and
experience in our very souls the preciousness of that atonement.
And that He suffered and He bled and He died for our sins. that
precious and dear Redeemer. Oh, that we might know these
things and truly experience these things, and might be led of the
Spirit into these things, and that we may profit thereby. Lord,
we do pray to be made more spiritually minded, that our heart and our
affections may be set upon things above and not on things of the
earth. How soon we are carried away
with earthly things, with carnal things. O gracious God, may we
be carried away with spiritual things. May we taste and handle
of those spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ
Jesus. Remember, O Lord, the little
ones and the children as they come into the sanctuary. Richly
bless them. Bless them, O Lord, with the
fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom. Bless the
dear young friends in all their concerns. Bring them to living,
vital, saving faith in Jesus Christ. Help them to seek first
the kingdom of heaven, and thy righteousness and all these things
shall be added unto them. Grant them partners in life's
journey, those that fear thy name, We do humbly beseech them
that they may be heirs together of the grace of life. Lord, remember
parents and give them wisdom and grace and help to bring up
their children. Remember all in the midst of
the journey of life and graciously undertake for them and bless
them. Remember the prodigals, cause
them to return. Oh, gracious God. This is the
sovereign work of thy grace, O that we may see them return,
that we may rejoice even as the father did when his son returned. Lord, we pray that we may be
given that same rejoicing, for there is joy in heaven over one
sinner that repenteth. Grant us that joy, O Lord, we
do beseech thee. We pray, most gracious God, that
thou in thy precious mercy would remember those that are afflicted
with the temptations of Satan, sometimes as a roaring lion to
devour, sometimes as an angel of light to deceive. And yet,
Lord, how great those temptations are and those battles are. We're
not ignorant of his cunning devices. Pray, most gracious Lord, that
thou wouldst remember those of us in the evening time of life's
journey. Remember us, O Lord, with the
favour that thou bearest unto thy people, and visit us with
thy great salvation. And graciously guide us safely
unto thy heavenly kingdom. Remember dear Mrs. Field in her
great age, Grant her thy divine presence and blessing and help.
We do humbly beseech thee. Lord, forgive us of all our sins.
Wash us in the precious blood of the Lamb. Remember, O Lord,
us for good as a church and as a congregation. We thank thee
for all thy tender mercies. We thank thee for our dear brother
and sister from Holland here at this time. And may it be a
profitable time for them as they gather with us. Remember, most
gracious Lord, this village. Send out thy light and thy truth.
Gather in precious souls, build the walls of Jerusalem, that
we may see the truth of those precious words. For I am returned
unto Jerusalem with mercies. Gracious God, bring our sons
from far and our daughters from the ends of the earth. They shall
come from the north and from the south and from the east and
from the west. Gracious God, we long, we watch,
we wait to see the wonders of redeeming love, the increase
of thy church and thy people. We thank thee for every favour
and every blessing. We thank thee for our church
and congregation, we thank thee for our brethren the deacons,
we thank thee for our little house of prayer, we thank thee
for the open bible, we thank thee especially for the wonders
of redeeming love in our Lord Jesus Christ. We thank thee that
in him the law has been fulfilled and honoured and magnified for
thy people and everlasting righteousness has been brought in. A door of
hope is open wide in Jesus' bleeding hands and side. We thank Thee,
O Lord, for the table of the Lord which is spread before us
and we thank Thee for the wonderful precious truths that are contained
there, Jesus Christ and Him crucified. We thank Thee that He died for
our sins and rose again for our justification. and is now bodily
ascended into heaven and sitteth at thy right hand. The Lord said
unto my Lord, sit thou at my right hand until I make thine
enemies thy footstool. We thank thee for those things
we looked at this morning, that Jesus is coming again without
sin unto salvation to receive thy redeemed people. O most gracious
Lord, hear us, we pray thee, Be with us now as we turn to
thy holy word and open thy word to our heart and to our understanding. We ask for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. Let us now sing together hymn
number 170, The tune is Everlasting Love,
942. What a doleful voice I hear,
What a garden scene is there, What a frightful ghastly flood,
Jesus weltering in his blood. Groaning on the ground he lies,
Seems a slaughtered sacrifice, Tells me with a feeble breath,
yea unto death hymn 170 the tune is everlasting love 942 Lord of glory, Lord of glory,
Lord of glory, Lord of glory, Lord of glory, Lord of glory,
Lord of glory, ? Glory, glory, hallelujah ? ?
Jesus, Lord, to Thee we raise ? ? The way of truthfulness ? ? The
Lord is one, Jesus, Lord is one ? ? Sure in Him there's nothing
wrong ? ? Holy infant ? ? How I wonder
what you are ? ? Look how I wonder what you are ? Love that's so empty. The last
thing that's taken from me. Trust is true. It's all of me.
It's my God. ? To the cross where thee ? ? There
am I to thee ? ? The deadly flood ? ? Though nature's ? ? Sanctuary
become ? ? To thee I have come ? O come ye, O come ye, O come
ye, O come ye to Bethlehem. and white as sheep, ever full
and ever free. Live, my love, by your faith. I'm Greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, I direct your attention to the prophecy of
Zechariah, chapter 13, verses 6 and 7. The prophecy of Zechariah,
chapter 13, verses 6 and 7. And one shall
say unto him, What are these wounds in thine
hands? Then he shall answer, those with
which I was wounded in the house of my friends. Awake, O sword,
against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith
the Lord of hosts. Smite the shepherd, and the sheep
shall be scattered. and I will turn mine hand upon
thee, little ones. Beautiful prophecy of the sufferings
of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. One shall say unto him,
what are these wounds in thine hands? We read in Psalm 22, They
pierced my hands and my feet. And then we read also here, they shall look upon him that
they have pierced. That is our Lord Jesus Christ.
And it says in the previous chapter 12 and verse 10, and that they shall look upon
me whom they have pierced and they shall mourn for him as one
mourneth for his only son. These precious prophecies regard
the glorious person of Jesus, the Son of God. And that is what
makes it even more poignant, is who the person is. He's the
King of Kings. He's the Lord of Lords. He's
the Mighty God. He's the Everlasting Father.
He's the Prince of Peace. The wonderful glory of His person. He is God, manifest in the flesh. The eternal Word that was made
flesh and wrote among us. We beheld his glory, the glory
as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Oh my beloved friends, let us
consider for a moment how great this man is. Not only the greatness
of his person and the glory of his person, the exalted nature
of his person, the profound mystery of his person,
How is it that God is manifest in the flesh? How can it be?
How can it be? It's a profound mystery of our
faith. The infinite and the eternal. We read of our Lord Jesus Christ,
I was set up from everlasting. In Proverbs chapter 8, I was
set up from everlasting wherever the earth was. that is the glorious person of
our Lord Jesus Christ that is speaking so it proves that he
is God he's co-equal with his father and yet he took into union
with his divine nature a sacred holy human nature as the word
says he became bone of our bone flesh of our flesh He became a man. And it's expressed
also in those words in Timothy, there is one God and one mediator
between God and man. The man, Christ Jesus, who gave
his life of ransom for all to be testified in due time. But so much for the glory of
his person, of who he is. the other thing that is striking
he is holy he is pure he is righteous he is sinless he was born without
sin and he did no sin and in him we see the law that law that
speaks against us we see the law fulfilled that perfect life
of our Lord Jesus Christ. He said himself didn't he, I
come not to destroy the law but to fulfill it. So we see in this
perfect man, think of those lovely words in Psalm 37 verse 37, Mark
the perfect man. It's Christ, Mark the perfect And behold the upright, the end
of that man is peace. And the end of all men and women
in him is peace. Because in him they find perfection. You'll never find perfection
in yourself. We'll never find perfection in our flesh. Never. We don't grow better and better.
That is what is known as progressive sanctification. when supposedly
the fresh gets better and better until you become a perfect man.
That is something that we utterly deny. Known as sinless perfection,
it was one of the great errors of John Wesley. He believed it
was possible for a person to become more holy and more holy
and more holy until he was holy. We completely refute any such
thing as that. You think of that word, it is
the spirit that quickens, the flesh profiteth nothing. You know, friends, our flesh
will always be our flesh. Our flesh will always be sinful.
Our flesh will always be corrupt. Our flesh will always be unclean.
And if indeed we have the life of God in our hearts, that is
what will make You grieve so much because of this sinful heart,
because of this corrupt nature. You see, my beloved friend, the
flesh profiteth nothing. It always remains the same. It
always remains corrupt. It always remains sinful until
the day of our death and our flesh has to die. And then in
that great resurrection morn, the believer will be raised from
the dead incorruptible, undefiled. That is something that is so
beyond our comprehension. Our sinful flesh shall be raised
incorruptible, undefiled, because of the glorious person of God
manifest in the flesh. He lived a life that was holy
and pure. But, we read in John, he came
unto his own. His own received him not. And
in that sense, see verse six here, can be interpreted in that
way. And one shall say unto him, what
are these wounds in thine hands? That he shall answer, those with
which I was wounded. in the house of my friends. And
he came to the Jews. He was born a Jew. He was born
of the seed of David and the seed of Abraham. He came unto his own. His own
received him not. He despised and rejected of men
and banished sorrows and acquainted with grief. What are these wounds
in thine hands? then he shall answer those with
which I was wounded in the house of my friends. But there's a
deeper meaning here as well. Think of those lovely words of
grace in Isaiah chapter 53. He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities
and the chastisement of our peace was upon him and with his stripes
we are healed, wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our
iniquities. What a thought, isn't it? All
those sufferings we just sung in the hymn and Gadsby puts it
so graphically, doesn't he? Joseph Hart as well, speaking
on the suffering Saviour, how He suffered. We cannot really
enter into the sufferings of Christ unless being led and taught
by the Spirit and brought there by faith. To see that precious
Redeemer, I'm sure you've noticed that Joseph Hart, he writes a
lot on the garden of Gethsemane and the sufferings there in the
garden. And the reason being is that
Joseph Hart, after he was brought to a knowledge of the truth,
fell away. He fell into sin. He became an open antinomian.
He could sin that grace might abound until the Lord opened
his heart. brought him to see the terrible
error that he was in and then under such deep and awful conviction
of sin he was led to Gethsemane to see Jesus suffering for his
sins. You see and that colours the
dear man's hymn writing. He had that wonderful experience
of Christ in Gethsemane and it is a wonderful experience. I had an experience myself not
as deep as Joseph Hart but a time of great affliction and I was
brought home from hospital and I went and laid on my bed feeling
very weak and you know the devil he attacked me it speaks in scripture
when the enemy comes in like a flood and that is literally
what happened he came in like a flood terrible temptations
and I felt I was on a knife edge and on the edge of an abyss of
insanity. That's the only way I can explain
it. I thought I was going to fall into that abyss of insanity. And I cried unto the Lord, I
pleaded with the Lord to deliver me. And these words dropped into
my heart with such sweetness and power and authority. He hath
given us the spirit of love and of a sound mind. Oh, the peace
and the comfort and the consolation that flowed into my heart, the
spirit of love and of a sound mind. And it was about half an
hour after that, as I lay quietly on my bed, I had such a wonderful
sight of Christ in the garden. for me. And that's what makes
it so special for me. He suffered in agony under the
weight of my sins. My sins were the nails and the
spear. And that one of Joseph Hart's
hymns, therefore they, that is the disciples, as well as he,
visited Gethsemane. Oh my beloved friend, you can't
describe the wonder and glory of Christ suffering in your room,
in your place, and in your stead. And one shall say unto him, what
are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, those with
which I was wounded in the house of my friends. Now, on the one
hand, the house of my friends is the Jewish people. But on
the other hand, the house of my friends is his own blood-bought
people that he came to redeem and deliver them. It's the house
of his friends, they become his friends. And he was wounded for our transgressions
and bruised for our iniquities. He goes on here, awake O sword. You remember in the Garden of
in the garden of Eden when man fell and was cast out of that
garden and the Lord put in the place so that man could not return
to it that fiery flaming sword that turned every way that is
the sword of divine justice so that there was no way back to
God it kept the way so man could not return Now that sword of divine justice
was taken in the hands of our Eternal Father and it awoke, it came alive against
my shepherd, my shepherd, the shepherd of Israel. I am the
good shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ said. He is the shepherd
of his people. David in that exceedingly probably
most well-known Psalm, there is Psalm 23. The Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not want. Christ is the shepherd of Israel. Awake, O sword. That sword that
should have awoken against us, and I'm speaking now of the Lord's
people, It should have awoken against us. We should have been
damned forever, punished forever. But it found a substitute. And
that substitute was Jesus. The Son of God, manifest in the
flesh. Bruised. Broken. Under the tremendous
weight of our sins. He took our sins and He laid
them, that is our Heavenly Father took our sins and laid them on
His Son. So that He became liable for
our sins. Hence He was wounded for our
transgressions because our sins were laid upon Him. He laid upon
Him the iniquity of us all. A Waco sword against my Shepherd. love what one of the hymn writers
says payment he cannot twice demand first at my bleeding shortest
hand and then again at mine that that payment has been made good
that sin for which he suffered and bled and died is gone he
shall appear the second time we spoke this morning of the
second coming of Christ to judgment. He will appear the second time,
says in Hebrews 9, without sin. Such a lovely word that is. Never
saw it until I was reading Godly Thomas Goodwin, the Puritan. And he was quoting that text,
and he made this comment. There is your justification,
child of God, in that risen Saviour. We are justified by faith. What does it mean to be justified
without sin? When He comes again, He comes
without sin. When He was here the first time,
He took our sins and He bare our sins unto the cross. He suffered
and bled and died in our room, place and stead and was punished
on our behalf, in our room and in our stead. Waco sawed against
my shepherd, it's the father's shepherd. He sent him to redeem
his people, to deliver his people. He knew that it was only his
son, manifest in the flesh, was able to do that. This is, no
mere human could bear the tremendous weight that he bore. He was human. He was a real man. And it was
in that real true human nature that he suffered and bled and
died. God can't suffer. God can't bleed. God can't die. But the Son of God, in that profound
mystery of Godliness, He could suffer. He could bleed. He could die to redeem his people. And he was sent as the shepherd
of Israel. He was sent to redeem his people. A Waco sword against my shepherd. Gives us a light, doesn't it? My shepherd. was sent by our
Eternal Father in infinite love to his Church, to his Bride,
the Bride of Christ. He was sent to redeem his Bride,
to deliver his Bride. And you see, not only is he co-equal
and co-eternal with the Father, a Waco sword against my Shepherd
and against the man that is my Fellow. Co-equal, and co-eternal
with the Father and with the Holy Ghost, the man that is my
fellow. What a wonderful way the scripture
has in putting these things, opening up the doctrine of truth.
Away goes sword against my shepherd and against the man that is my
fellow. He's co-equal and co-eternal.
with the Father and with the Holy Ghost, the man that is my
fellow, saith the Lord of hosts. I've
often spoken to you about the daysman and only once we read
of it in scripture and that is in the book of Job and the office
of the daysman was to reconcile opposing people and opposing
parties and what he did, the daysman, bringing them together. He put his hand upon the shoulder
of one and his hand upon the shoulder of the other and he
sought to reconcile them and bring them together. They were
opposed and they were warring against each other and he sought
to reconcile them. Now what a beautiful picture
of our Lord Jesus Christ. He's our days man. He reconciles. pour sinners unto God. Now, how
does he do that? It's because of the wonderful
sacred glory of his person. He's the Son of God. He's the
Son of God. And as the Son of God, he puts
his hand on the shoulder of his father, as the Son of God. But he's also the Son of Man.
And as the son of man, as a real true man, he puts his hand upon
his bride, his church, and he reconciles them together. Great
is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh
at glorious days, man. The apostle John, he puts it
in another way, doesn't he? We have an advocate with the
Father, Jesus Christ, advocate, one that pleads our
cause. Awake, O sword, against my shepherd
and against the man that is my fellow. Saith the Lord of hosts,
smite the shepherd. What a solemn thought that is,
smite the shepherd. He was stricken, smitten and
afflicted. our behalf, in our room, in our
place, in our step, our substitute. He stood in our room, place and
step. The theological term for being
a substitute is vicarious. It was a vicarious sacrifice
that he offered on the cross of Calvary. That term vicarious
means in the room, in the place and in the stead hall. And hence we come back to that
beautiful word in Isaiah. He was wounded for our transgressions. He did no sin. Neither was guile
found in his mouth. He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. Smite the shepherd. the sheep
shall be scattered. You see, my beloved friends,
these things are written for our instruction and that our
salvation depends alone and completely upon the finished work of Jesus
Christ, upon what he has done. We can add nothing to it. We
cannot produce a righteousness acceptable to God, not even as
a believer. Everything depends upon the glorious
person of Jesus Christ. Our salvation depends on his
holy obedience. Our salvation depends upon his
holy sacrifice. For by one offering he has perfected
forever all them that are sanctified. salvation depends alone upon
that one offering for by one offering he hath sanctified forever
all them you see that he's redeemed he saved them he's redeemed them
he's delivered them he shed his precious blood we read in Leviticus
the blood is the life thereof and when he shed his blood he
gave his life gave his life a ransom for all to be testified in due
time and in that profound mystery of godliness of God manifest
in the flesh he says I have power, says the person of Christ, I
have power to lay my life down. What life is he speaking of?
Well it certainly cannot be his divine life as the son of God
because That is utterly impossible, God that cannot die. What he's
speaking of is that holy human life that he took in the womb
of the Virgin Mary. And that life that he lived as
a man. He says I lay my life down. I have power to lay my life down.
I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received
of my father. Awake, O sword, against my shepherd,
and against the man that is my fellow, saith the Lord of hosts. Smite the shepherd, and the sheep
shall be scattered. I just wanted to touch a little
here on the ninth verse. I will bring the third part through
the fire. and will refine them as silver
is refined. This is the Lord's people. And
will try them as gold is tried. And they shall call on my name.
And I will hear them. And I will say, it is my people. And they shall say, the Lord
is my God. You see, we read in Malachi,
the next book, We read in Malachi concerning our Lord Jesus Christ
in chapter three, and it says in verses two and three, but
who may abide the day of his coming? And who shall stand when
he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire
and like full of soap. And he shall sit as a refiner
purifier of silver. 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. He shall sit as a refiner. And you know friends when the
Lord puts us in the crucible that is where the gold and the
silver is refined And what he does, he puts his children in
that crucible, but he sits. You know, when gold and silver
is being refined, the refiner, he sits and watches it. He waits
until he takes and skims off the rubbish and the dirt that
come up out, and the impurities. And it's only, it takes a lot
of training to be a refiner. And he has to see, he doesn't
have to go too far, And it doesn't have to be too little, it keeps
taking off. The stuff that comes up, impurities,
until it's pure. It's a very practiced job. Now,
speaking of Christ there, he says, never shall I forget, in
Eastbourne Hospital, in the time of great affliction, my wife
brought in the science witness, and there was a sermon in there
from the man that used to be the minister at the Tabernacle
in Hastings and he made these comments, his text was and he
sits as a refiner and he made this comment and it came right
home into my very soul, child of God, on that bed of affliction
The Lord Jesus is sitting right next to you. And do you know,
friends, it was as palpable as this, literally, as if the Lord
Jesus was sitting right next to my bed. I can never tell you
the sacredness of that place. He sits as a refiner. And if when you pass through
those fires, the furnace of affliction, and the furnace of trouble and
trial and perplexity, In whatever way it is that the Lord may be
pleased to, as it were, refine you, it's to purify. He sits as a refiner. And he
knows what he's doing. You may sometimes feel that this
trial is too great, but no, he sits as a refiner. And you'll
be purified by that refining work. But notice what it says. I will bring the third part through
the fire. Two thirds will be lost. Two
thirds will be lost. And we'll refine them as silver
is refined. And we'll try them as gold is
tried. They shall call on my name that
is in these fires. And I will hear them. I will
say unto them, it is my people. And they shall say, The Lord
is my God. May the Lord add his blessing
to these few remarks that we have made.