Let us commence our service this
evening by singing together hymn number 76. The tune is Eden 327. There is a period known to God
when all his sheep, redeemed by blood, shall leave the hateful
ways of sin, turn to the fold, and enter in. Hymn 76, tune Eden, And peace, the period not bound
to come, When all his shepherds, healed by blood, Shall leave
the hay, All where is of sin Come to that hall and enter in And peace with them, with God
at home. It seems so, they say, well,
and how. In doubt and lust and stillness
gone As far from God as sheep can run ? Watch me, how hefty ? ? Doubt
and care ? ? Attempts and co-operative ? ? Still on earth feel ? ? That
air they strain ? ? With breaking tone ? ? To catch their gland
? In eastern coasts they stop their
gear, And head off to Eastern North Korea. Judgement's no house is ne'er
can sway, There roving beasts to wisdom's fray. ? Glory to God they measure ? ?
Beyond the limits of His love ? Fence with cheeky boughs, Shrouds
and grills, Firm as steel, And lasting ill, Ill-pointed I rose on a place
Not to be heard, but called by grace to change the path, renew
the will, and turn the wheel to science's will. Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God in Psalm 45 and Psalm 110. Psalm 45. My heart is indicting a good
matter. I speak of the things which I
have made touching the King. My tongue is the pen of a ready
writer. that thou art fairer than the
children of men. Grace is poured into thy lips,
therefore God hath blessed thee forever. Gird thy sword upon
thy thigh, O most mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty, and
in thy majesty ride prosperously, that because of truth and meekness
and righteousness, and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible
things. Thine arrows are sharp in the
heart of the king's enemies, whereby the people fall under
thee. Thy throne, O God, is forever
and ever. The scepter of thy kingdom is
a right scepter. Thou lovest righteousness and
hatest wickedness. Therefore God, thy God, hath
anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. wore
thy garments, smell of myrrh and aloes and cassia, out of
the ivory palaces whereby they have made thee glad. King's daughters
were among thy honourable women. Upon thy right hand did stand
the queen in gold of Ophir. Hearken, 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. The daughter
of Tyre shall be there with a gift, even the rich among the people
shall entreat thy favour. The King's daughter is all glorious
within, her clothing is of wrought gold. She shall be brought unto
the King in raiment of needlework, 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
instead of thy father shall be thy children whom thou mayest
make princes in all the earth i will make thy name to be remembered
in all generations Therefore shall the people praise thee
forever and ever. Now Psalm 110. The Lord said unto my Lord, sit
thou at my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion, rule
thou in the midst of thine enemies. Thy people shall be willing in
the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness, from the
womb of the morning thou hast the due of thy youth. The Lord
has sworn, and will not repent, that thou art a priest for ever
after the order of Melchizedek. The Lord at thy right hand shall
strike through kings in the day of his wrath. He shall judge
among the heathens. He shall fill the places with
their dead bodies. He shall wound the heads over
many countries. He shall drink of the brook in
the way. Therefore shall he lift up the
head. May the Lord bless the reading
of his own precious word and grant unto us a spirit of real
prayer. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty,
for which is an art, an art to come, we do desire to bow before
thee, the only true God, to worship Thee, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. We do pray for Thy divine influence
in our hearts, to open the deaf ears and to open the blind eyes,
and to cause Thee dumb to speak. Gracious God, do hear us. We are dependent upon Thee. Without Thy heavenly power, O
Lord, No sweets the gospel can afford, no drops of heavenly
love will fall, and it is our desire that as we gather around
thy word that we might feel thy presence, Lord Jesus, in our
midst, and that our heart may be indicting in a good matter,
especially of those things concerning the King, May our eyes behold
the King in his beauty, and view the land that is very far off.
And that may we see our Lord Jesus Christ as the prophet,
the priest, and the King of his people. We do humbly beseech
thee, shine into our hearts. For Lord Jesus, thou art the
light of the world. and that we do pray that thou
wouldst graciously grant that we may shine as lights in the
world, that we may order by thy grace our conversation array,
and that we may live as we ought to live. And while our days on
earth are lengthened, may we give them lord to thee. And that
just as our Lord Jesus Christ was full of love and kindness
and compassion to poor lost sinners. So grant us that same grace and
that same wisdom and that we may indeed live unto thee and
to the glory of thy name. We deeply feel, O Lord, our shortcomings. We leave undone things that we
ought to do. We do things that we ought not
to do. We indeed find a law within our members that when I would
do good, then evil is present with me. Gracious God, we do
pray that thou wouldst graciously guide us safely unto thy heavenly
kingdom, deliver us from the rocks and the shelves and the
waves and the billows, and graciously enable us to look to thee deliver
us from the temptations of Satan, that old serpent, the devil,
and grant that whether he comes as an angel of light to deceive
or as a roaring lion to devour, that we may prove the truth of
those wonderful words, when the enemy comes in like a flood,
the spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him. O Lord, do. Enable it to be so,
we do humbly pray thee. We do pray, most gracious Lord,
that thou wouldst make us more spiritually minded, set our affections
on things above, draw my soul to thee, my Lord, let me love
thy precious word, that we may be enabled to say with the sweet
psalmist of Israel, I love the Lord, because he hath heard my
voice. the voice of my supplications. Gracious God, do hear us, we
pray thee, and do graciously go before us as a church and
as a congregation, and do work mightily, powerfully, and effectually
among us to the great glory of thy name, to the good of precious
souls. Let thy work appear unto thy
servants and thy glory unto their children, O Lord, we do beseech
of thee, for thy great name's sake. O Lord, thou hast promised
I will abundantly bless her provision, I will satisfy her poor with
bread. O do come and abundantly bless
the provision of thy house, and do graciously spread the gospel
table, that poor sinners may look and live, may draw near,
with a true heart. Oh, do hear us, Lord, we humbly
pray thee. We thank thee for our brethren,
the deacons, and pray that thou would richly bless them with
needed grace and wisdom, not only here, but elsewhere in their
various responsibilities. Graciously help us to pray for
one another, to bear one another's burdens, thereby fulfilling the
law of Christ. Remember each one of our brethren
and sisters in Christ in church fellowship, and graciously help
us to pray for one another, to serve one another, to love one
another. Oh, do heal us, Lord, we humbly
pray thee, and that we may edify ourselves in that spirit of grace
and of love. Even as we're exhorted, be ye
kind, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God, for
Christ's sake, hath forgiven you, O Lord, give us that spirit. We do humbly beseech thee. And,
O Lord, we do pray that thou wouldst richly bless the little
ones and the children that are brought into the sanctuary. Bless
them with that rich grace that is in Christ Jesus in their very
young and tending years. Bless them with the tender fear
of the Lord, which is a beginning of wisdom, an unctuous light
to all that's right, and a bar to all that's wrong. Oh, do hear
us, we humbly pray thee for thy great namesake. And oh Lord God,
we do pray that thou wouldst bless the young friends, and
knowest their concerns, their burdens. Lord, we pray that thou
wouldst bring them to living, vital, saving faith in Jesus
Christ and cause them to follow thee and to serve thee in their
day and in their generation. Lord, do hear us. We humbly pray
thee. And we think of the exhortation
to thy servant, Peter, feed my lambs, feed my sheep. And we pray for that grace to
be enabled to do so. We need that wisdom that coming
from above. We need that divine leading and
teaching of thy Holy Spirit. Blessed Holy Divine Spirit of
truth, we pray for thy heavenly power for thy divine unction,
and that the word of the gospel preached among us may be in power
in the Holy Ghost and with much assurance, and that there may
be signs to follow the preaching of the word, the setting forth
of the glorious person of our Lord Jesus Christ. And O most
blessed Spirit, we pray that thou wouldst convince us of our
sin, lead to Jesus' blood and to our wandering eyes reveal
the secret love of God. Hear us, Lord, we humbly beseech
Thee. Take of the things of Jesus and
reveal them unto us. We do humbly pray Thee. Testify
of Christ the Lamb. We do pray Thee. May we know
that those sacred and divine drawings of our Heavenly Father
drawing us unto his best beloved and all-glorious Son. We thank
thee for those precious words of grace, for through him we
have access by one Spirit unto the Father to grant continually
that free access. Lord, deliver us, we pray thee,
from all sin and that corruption that lies in each one of us.
And O Lord God, we do pray that we'll remember this village and
the surrounding villages and hamlets, gather in precious souls. We do humbly beseech them and
fulfil that wonderful promise. We plead it before thee. I will
bring thy sons from the ends of the earth. Lord, we pray. that thou wouldst bring our sons
and our daughters, gather them unto thyself here in this sanctuary,
and all that we might see this little sanctuary filled with
hungry longing souls. And remember the prodigals, Lord,
remember them with the favour that thou bearest unto thy people,
visit them with thy great salvation, cause them to return Lord, this
is the work of sovereign grace. We pray that we may witness it
and see it. Let thy work appear unto thy
servants, and thy glory unto their children. Fulfill that
wonderful word. Instead of thy fathers shall
be thy children, whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth.
And O Lord God, we do pray, for all in the midst of the journey
of life. We pray for parents bringing up children that wisdom,
grace, and help may be given them, and that they will guide
and direct us in our families. And Lord, we do pray that our
families may be where the word of God is read, where prayer
is made, where is that gracious influence of the word of God
Oh, do grant it in the families, O Lord, we pray thee. All in
the midst of the journey of life, we pray for each one. And remember
those in the evening time of life's journey. There are several of us, O Lord,
now past the allotted time of man upon the earth, and we pray
to be prepared for our end. Oh, do be gracious unto us, O
Lord, we do beseech thee, and have mercy upon us. Set our affections
on things above. Remember our dear aged sister,
Mrs. Fields. Remember her for good.
Remember in her home. Visit her with thy great salvation. O Lord, we do beseech of thee. Remember all thy servants as
they labour in word and doctrine. upon the walls of Zion, set them
free, set them at liberty, grant signs to follow the preaching
of the word and the settlement of pastors among the churches,
and we pray thee, the great Lord of the harvest, to send true
labourers into the harvest. We do humbly beseech of thee. Oh, do hear us in heaven, thy
holy dwelling place. And when thou hearest, O Lord,
forgive. Lord, we think of that precious
word of the prophet, thy spirit yet remaineth among us. And Lord,
we thank thee that it is so. And go on, most mighty God, thy
wonders to make known. We thank thee, O Lord, for every
mercy of thy kind providence. We thank thee for our house of
prayer, maintained for over two centuries. We pray that thou
would still remain and still be with us and still work mightily
and powerfully and effectually to the great glory of thy name.
We thank thee, Lord, for our brethren and sisters in Christ.
We thank thee for our congregation. We thank Thee that Thou art God
over all and blessed for evermore and are able to do abundantly
more than we can even ask or think. We thank Thee, most gracious
Lord, for the sacred glories of Christ, for the wonders of
everlasting love in Him. In Him we see the love of our
eternal Father and we thank Thee for that. and through him we
receive the wonderful gift of the Holy Ghost. Lord, make us
truly thankful for all thy tender mercies and thy loving kindnesses. Be in any particular trouble,
or trial, or perplexity, or sorrow, or sadness, or bereavement, and
grant thy upholding mercy. We ask for Jesus Christ's sake,
Amen. Let us now sing together hymn
number 197. The tune is Saint Patrick, 814.
How mighty art thou, O Lord, to convert Thou only could conquer so stubborn
a heart, For thy love to lost man alone could constrain, So
stiff-necked a rebel, to love thee again. Hymn 197, Tune St. Patrick, 814 you ? The nightingale cries ? ? And
the morning comes bright ? ? And all the earth's young birds ?
? Have sounded their horns ? ? Silent in the still of the night
? ? Silent in the still of the night ? ? Silent in the still
of the night ? ? To thee I embrace ? ? And rest
your knowledge in grace ? ? For only in you have summer ? ? And
night in thy place ? Thou art sure to extend the most
of Thy hand. Thy Spirit would comfort thy
most fraught strain. In vain I wish to turn back from
my God. Amazing! How sacred, religious
it was! I felt it arisen, my joy glorified. Weeping our soul, and hoping
that our song ? Just like me, thy mercy is free. ? ? Good comfort and pleasure,
friendship I need. ? Greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, I would direct your attention to Psalm 110 and we will read the third verse
for our text. Psalm 110, verse three. Thy people shall be willing in
the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness, from the
womb of the morning thou hast the dew of thy youth. This is one of those beautiful
Messianic Psalms. Psalm 45 and Psalm 110 are two
of the most prominent of the Messianic Psalms. They speak
of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah. And they speak of his King, kingly
office, and also of his priestly office. And here in Psalm 110,
we have both of those offices that are clearly manifested. And it speaks here, and it's
quoted so many times in the New Testament by Christ and the apostles,
and that is the first verse, the Lord said unto my Lord, sit
thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. And here in the book of Psalms,
again it's quoted in the New Testament, that he had to send
it up on high. That's Christ. When he had redeemed
his people, he had to send it up on high. And where it says
the Lord, that's Jehovah, you'll notice the capital letters, said
unto my lord that's taken from Adonai which is my lord as we
know even in this life we have lords and ladies and we give
them a certain amounts of reverence but here we have the lord of
lords and the king of kings we read about lord Jesus Christ
glorified in heaven and he had to name written upon his thigh
king of kings and lord of lords the lord that's the father said
unto my lord that's his son jesus christ sit thou at my right hand
until i make thine enemies thy footstool we have a beautiful
revelation here david had a beautiful revelation of the person of Christ,
glorified in heaven. And the Apostle Paul, he takes
up these things so clearly and so beautifully in the Epistle
to the Hebrews. And in that opening passage of
the Epistle to the Hebrews, he says that God who at sundry times
and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by
the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son,
whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made
the worlds, who being the brightness of his glory, and the express
image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his
power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on
the right hand of the Majesty on high. And you know he comes
back to that same precious truth again and again about Christ
being now ascended into heaven and sitting at the right hand
of the Father. A place that was prepared for
him from before the foundation of the world. He says, until
I make thine enemies thy footstool, the enemies of Christ, the enemies
of his people. You know, it's a wonderful theme
to dwell on and we find it again and again in the Holy Scriptures
of this precious Redeemer. now exalted far above all principality
and power, and every name that is named. Doesn't the Apostle
Paul, right into the Ephesians, he opens up there in the first
chapter of the Ephesians, and from verse 17, concerning the
exalted Savior, sitting at the right hand of the Father, and
his desire for the Ephesian church, and not just the if he's in church,
but the church of God today. That the God of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the Father of glory may give unto you the spirit of wisdom
and revelation in the knowledge of him. That's in the knowledge
of Christ. That then he speaks of this glory of Christ in heaven.
The eyes of your understand being enlightened that you may know
what is the hope of his calling. and what the riches of the glory
of his inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness
of his power to us all who believe according to the working of his
mighty power. See, we have in our text, thy
people shall be willing in the day of thy power. His mighty
power, we've sung it in the hymn. How mighty art thou, O Lord,
to convert. The exceeding greatness of his
power. And what is the exceeding greatness
of His power to us, Lord, who believe according to the working
of His mighty power, which He wrought in Christ when He raised
Him from the dead and set Him at His own right hand in the
heavenly places. Far above all principality and
power and might and dominion and every name that is named,
not only in this world, but also in that which is to come. and
hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the
head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness
of him that filleth all in all. But what a sweet, precious, sacred
line of meditation that is on the glorious Saviour who has
ascended into heaven. The apostle, he goes on, I think
it's in the fourth of the Ephesians, he speaks of Christ exalted far
above. He quotes from Psalm 68, he hath
ascended up on high, hath led captive to captive. And here
in the book of Psalms, there are several places where the
Lord Jesus Christ is set forth as being ascended into heaven. And you know, Friends, the sweet
Psalmist of Israel and those that were spiritually minded
in his day, through his Psalms and writings, they saw something,
not as clearly as we do, something of the glory of Christ, exalted
at the right hand of the Father. We read in Psalm 24, the earth
is the Lord's. the fullness thereof the world
and they that dwell therein for he has founded it upon the seas
and established upon the floods then we have these beautiful
words who shall ascend into the hill of the lord or who shall
stand in his holy place now it goes on to describe christ he
has ascended into the hill of the lord and his people will
ascend because he ascended It's only Christ that has clean hands.
He that hath clean hands and a pure heart, hath not lifted
up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully, he shall receive
the blessing from the Lord. This is the glorious person of
Jesus, the Son of God, that was manifest in the flesh, that lived
here as a man upon earth, who fulfilled and honoured God's
holy, righteous law on the behalf of his people, who brought in
everlasting righteousness on the behalf of his people who
suffered and bled and died. He suffered in the Garden of
Gethsemane. He suffered on the Cross of Calvary. Why? Because the Eternal Father
laid upon him the iniquity of us all. That's why he suffered
and bled and died for our sins. What a precious thing, my beloved
friends, You and I are given to feel what Joseph Hart says,
my sins were the nails and the spear, my sins. It becomes very personal then. But it says here in Psalm 24,
he shall receive the blessing from the Lord, that's Christ,
and righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is a generation
of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob, sealer. And
then we have these lovely words of Christ ascending into glory. We read in Luke 24 that he led
them out as far as unto Bethany. He lifted up his hands and blessed
them and was received up into heaven in a cloud. Now, what we have here in Psalm
24, David prophetically saw Christ ascending into heaven. Lift up
your heads and these are the gates that heaven is speaking
of. It is believed that these would
have been like the portcullis that you have on the ancient
old castles here in this country. And that where the gates were
lifted up and they went up into a hole above the gate. And that's
the illustration here. Those gates were shut. What gates? The gates of heaven. The gates
of eternal glory. They were shut when man fell.
And we read the Lord put that flaming fiery sword of divine
justice that kept the way of the tree of life. But lo, the
second Adam comes, the Lord from heaven, the Christ of God. He
came to redeem his people. He came to make them righteous. He came to wash away all their
sins. He came to satisfy all the demands
of divine justice. He came to deliver them. Then,
having then delivered them. I love those words in John's
Gospel concerning our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus knowing that all
things were now accomplished. That's in John 19, when Christ
was on the cross, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished,
knowing that he'd suffered what his people should have suffered
and delivered them from that suffering. And he then gave up
the ghost, a voluntary act of Jesus, the Son of God. Father,
into thy hands I commend my spirit. And in so doing, he commended
his holy human soul into his father's hands and entered into
death. He entered into death. And you
know, another wonderful thing to me, and very precious to me,
is that even in death there was no separation between the son of God and his
holy human nature in death in the grave he was there that's
what the hymn writer means when he says the lord of life experienced
death it's one of those profound mysteries but it's all bound
up in that profound mystery of godliness, of God manifest in
the flesh. Wonderful, sacred mysteries.
And then having died for their sins, he rose again for our justification. He has swallowed up death in
victory and this, my beloved friends, is the saviour that
is in our psalm that we have before us tonight. And where
he ascended into heaven as the disciples watched him, is the
fulfilling of this latter part of Psalm 24. Lift up your heads,
O ye gates, and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors, and the
King of glory shall come in. One of the godly old Puritans
writing on this particular Psalm, and he said these Psalms were
written to be sung, and they used to have and we read of it
in scripture used to have part singing just as we have bass
and tenor and alto and treble so they did in the in the days
of the psalmist and the psalms are written to be sung and that
they used to play various instruments and the singing of the psalms
and and the way that this is written he said as you read through
it so Let's say, for instance, the bass would have sung, lift
up your heads, O ye gates, and be lift up, ye everlasting doors,
and the King of glory shall come in. And then the treble would
come in, who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty,
the Lord mighty to save. And then another part would come
in, lift up your heads, O ye gates, and so they would sing
it together to the glory of God. Even lift them up, ye everlasting
doors, and the King of glory, shall come in who is this king
of glory the lord of hosts he is the king of glory our lord
jesus christ when he ascended up on high and he opened the
gates of heaven the gates that were shut when adam fell they're
now opened as the apostle paul writes in
the 1 Corinthians chapter 15 of the resurrection of the dead.
And he speaks so beautifully of the risen Saviour. Now is
Christ risen from the dead. So we have this here, the Lord
said unto my Lord, sit thou at my right hand until I make thine
enemies thy footstool. The Lord shall send the rod of
thy strength, that's Christ, out of Zion. Roar thou in the
midst of thine enemies. Now, he says here, thy people
shall be willing, thy people. What does he mean by that term,
thy people? All that the Father giveth me,
shall come to me and him that cometh unto me i will in no wise
cast out and when it speaks of thy people and christ in john
chapter six it says none come except the
father draw none come except the father draw
and it speaks of the sweet influence of his grace in the heart, in
the soul of his people. And as it is, probably for the
most part, most of the Lord's people, their experience is here
a little, there a little, line upon line, precept upon precept. And that is the experience of
most of the Lord's people. We know there are some that are
led perhaps more dramatically, like Paul the Apostle and various
others that we read of in scripture, how they had a very deep and
profound experience of the love and grace of God in their hearts.
And some had a dramatic conversion, like Saul of Tarsus. But for
the most part, it's a very gradual work, line upon line, precept,
upon precepts. But this divine work of the Spirit
in the heart, it changes the heart. We just sung it in the
hymn. It changes the heart, renews the will and turns the feet to
Zion's hymn. It's a divine work of grace.
It's a mighty work of grace. There's no forcing of the will
here. Thy people shall be willing. They're made willing. They're
brought into submission to the Lord Christ. You see, we read
together Psalm 45 and again, as we said, it's a messianic
psalm. It speaks of the glorious person
of our Lord Jesus Christ. He addresses him as the king. My tongue is the pen of a ready
writer, and in his speech of Christ thou art fairer than the
children of men. Grace is poured into thy lips,
therefore God hath blessed thee forever. This is the glorious
person of Christ. Now, it goes on, and this is
the prayer. Gird thy sword upon thy thigh,
O most mighty. This is the prayer of the church
to Christ. gird thy sword upon thy thigh
with thy glory and thy majesty, and in my majesty ride prosperously. This is in the gospel, because
of truth and meekness and righteousness, and thy right hand, that's the
right hand of Christ, shall teach thee terrible things. Thine arrows
are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies, whereby the people
fall under them. See, thy people shall be willing
that they fall under him. That means in submission to him. They humbly fall at his feet.
As poor, needy, wretched sinners. Burdened. Burdened with their
sin. Burdened with their unworthiness.
Burdened with their wretchedness. We're sung in that hymn just
now, sometimes we can be so stubborn. And that is in our old nature,
to be so stubborn. And it speaks in that hymn of
the Lord changing that stubborn sinner and making them willing. We read in scripture that they've
been clay in the hands of the heavenly potter, and that is
what happens. The Lord makes it, A piece of
clay can be moulded in whatever shape you want it to be. Into
a pot or a ball or whatever you want it to be. And that is what
the Lord does with his children. He moulds them. Gradually. Changing them. Bringing them into subjection
to himself. And there may be, like it says
here, thine arrows are sharp in the heart. We were all enemies to God once,
you know, by our very nature. Enemies to God. And it's only as she fires those
arrows of conviction into the heart, whereby the people fall
under them, then he speaks of the wonderful glory of King Jesus.
Thy throne, O God. It's forever and ever. The scepter
of thy kingdom is a right scepter. Thou lovest righteousness and
hatest wickedness. Therefore God, thy God, hath
anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. Now it goes on here in Psalm
45 to speak of the king's daughters. Verse 9. What's it speaking of? It's speaking
of the church. the king's daughters, among thy
honourable women, upon thy right hand to stand the queen in gold
of Ophir, that's the bride of Christ, the church of God. And
then there is this divine call unto her, hearken, O daughter,
and consider and incline thine ear, forget also thine own people
and thy father's house. You see, thy people shall be
willing in the day of thy power. The Holy Spirit working in the
heart with his mighty power, the Holy Spirit living in the
heart, in the soul. That is what happens in the everlasting
covenant. The Father chose a people, the
Son redeemed a people, the Holy Spirit calls them by divine grace. As many as are chosen, they are
called. The Holy Spirit enters their
heart. They are brought and made willing
to leave everything here below and to follow Christ. Let all fruitless searches go,
which perplex and tease us, but desiring not to know but a bleeding
Jesus. Hearken, 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. What a precious thing it is when
the Holy Spirit brings a poor sinner in all their emptiness,
in all their poverty, and He reveals unto them the glorious
person of Jesus Christ. He will take of mine, Christ
says, and reveal them unto you. He will take of the things of
Jesus. He will testify in your heart
of Christ the Lamb, of His love to poor sinners. And this This
is what is so hard when you feel your own wretchedness and filthiness
and uncleanness and unrighteousness, and then you read a word like
this, so shall the king greatly desire thy beauty. For he is
thy Lord, and worship thou him. You say, I've got no beauty.
Ah, think again. Their beauty this, it's the righteousness
You've got no beauty in yourself. But we looked at Ezekiel 16 on
Lord's Day afternoon. Comely, in my comeliness, so
shall the king greatly desire thy beauty. And he says thou
hast overcome me. In Solomon's Song, thou hast
overcome me. One chain of thy neck, what is
it? When the Holy Spirit works faith in the heart, and it's
a faith that worketh by love, and the poor, wretched, needy
sinner looking unto Christ in faith, that faith overcomes him in love. You see, so shall the King greatly
desire thy beauty. He sees you clothed in his everlasting
robe of righteousness. He sees you washed in his precious
Sinatonian blood. You see the King's daughter is
all glorious within. Her clothing is of wrought gold.
She shall be brought unto the King in raiment of needlework. That's the glorious righteousness
of 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 What a wonderful mercy. They shall enter into the king's
palace. You know, the end of the spirit
of faith and love is eternal glory. They shall enter into
the king's palace. Let not your heart be troubled.
You believe in God, believe also in me. It's Christ speaking.
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. Sitting
at the right hand of the majesty on high, 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 will I be also. Thy people shall be willing in
the day of thy power and then there's the secret of it the
day of thy power with our old man subdued by sovereign grace
by the power of the holy ghost convinced and convicted of your
sin and brought as a poor sinner to the feet of jesus you made
willing to be nothing It says so beautifully in that
last chapter of the Holy Scriptures, and it speaks there of being
made willing, being made willing, and it says there in verse 17
of Revelation 22, and the Spirit, that's the Holy Ghost, and the
Bride, that's the Church, and the Spirit and the Bride say,
come, and let him that hear it say, come, and let him that is
a thirst come, and whosoever will, let him take the water
of life freely. The water of life. It's what
Christ speaks of to the woman by the well, isn't it? The woman
of Severia. If any man drink of the water
that I shall give him, it shall be in him a well of water, springing
up unto everlasting life. see that well of water springing
up in the heart in the believer it's the Holy Ghost it's the
divine and glorious person of the Holy Ghost and when he says
there it will be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting
light you just think of those lovely words I will never leave
thee nor forsake thee once the Holy Spirit has brought a poor
sinner quicken their soul, brought them to love our Lord Jesus Christ
and to follow our Lord Jesus Christ. I will never leave them,
nor forsake them. We may grieve the Spirit by our
disobedience or untoward conduct, or our slips and our falls, but
then he withdraws his sweet influence in the soul. And the hymn writer
puts it so beautifully, no longer burns our Our faith and patience
fail. Why? Because the Holy Spirit
is grieved and he withdraws his sweet influence. Very precious thing to be made
willing. Now, what the Lord will do is
make you willing to come again. He will. He'll make you willing
to come again. Thy people shall be willing. in the day of thy power. Never forget hearing the late
Mr. Warder speaking of the coming sinner and speaking of our slips
and falls into sin. He said the main problem we have
is pride. You say I can't go back again.
Not after so much mercy and love. I can't go back again. I've sinned
again. And perhaps you've sinned the
same sin again. And he said, I can't go back
again. He said, that's pride. Thy people shall be willing.
Now that pride has to be broken down. And we have to come again
as a poor, broken hearted, helpless, hopeless sinner. Looking unto
Jesus, that's the only way of salvation. That's the only door
of hope. looking unto Jesus, the author
and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before
him. Now you get a sight of Jesus. You get a sight of the glorious
majesty of heaven sitting on that eternal throne. 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. glorious holy God
man sitting on the throne. You have a little sight of him
by faith. You'll know exactly what this
text is. Thy people shall be willing in
the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness. Where is
the beauties of holiness? Only one place, Christ. That's where the beauties of
holiness are. What a beauty there is in the holiness of Jesus Christ. What a beauty there is in the
holy God-man as he lived here upon earth. He did no sin, neither
was guile found in his mouth. Oh, that's the beauties of holiness. In our Lord Jesus Christ, that
holy life that he lived, we know there's the beauty of holiness
in the eternal God, in the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. that infinite
and glorious holiness, but the holiness that the Spirit of God
leads a poor sinner to see is the perfections of Jesus Christ. "'Tis He instead of me is seen
when I approach to God, comely in my comeliness." And a little
sight by faith will melt your heart, and make you willing,
you'll be humbled in the dust of self-abasement. Why me? Oh, blessed God, why me? Why
such a wretch as me that must forever lie in hell were not
salvation free in the beauties of holiness from the womb of
the morning? The womb of the morning is the
church. The church here on earth, twice in Solomon's psalm, says
I will bring thee into my mother's house. I will bring thee into
my mother's house. That's the believer. Her mother's
house is the church. It says in Psalm 87 that this
and that man was born in her. And it's called the womb of the
morning. That's the church. It's where the people of God
are born again, where the spirit of God quickens their soul. In the beauties of holiness,
Christ, from the womb of the morning, the church here on earth,
thou hast the dew of thy youth. You see, my beloved friends,
this dew, the blessed spirit, the blessed and glorious person
of God the Holy Ghost. It is like a dew. It comes imperceptibly, quietly. A rain you can see and hear,
a dew you can't see nor can you hear it. It just gently comes. In the night season, Just like Christ speaks of the
Spirit, when he's speaking to Nicodemus, the wind bloweth where
it listeth, we know not whence it cometh, nor whither it goeth.
So is every one that is born of the Spirit. You see, and in
Deuteronomy, chapter 32, we read, give ear, O ye heavens, and I
will speak, and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth, My doctrine
shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distill as the dew, as
the small rain upon the tender herb, and as showers upon the
grass, the outpouring of the Holy Ghost. And just as the wind
bloweth and you don't know where it comes from, so the dew comes. But what does the dew do? Well,
it has a cleansing effect. It has a sanctifying effect.
it has a softening, your heart is softened, your spirit is softened,
and you're made willing, you're made willing. Thy people shall
be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness,
from the womb of the morning, thou hast the dew of thy youth. May the Lord add his blessing. Let us now sing together hymn
number 126 to the tune Warwick, 258. I'll speak the honours of
my King, his form divinely fair. None of the sons of mortal race
may with the Lord compare. Hymn 126, tune Warwick, 258.
? Sleep in heavenly peace ? ? Sleep
in heavenly peace ? ? Sleep in heavenly peace ? ? Out the rage ? ? They prepare
her ? ? From death ? ? She desires speed ? ? And heav'nly host ? ? Upon your
? ? Pitcher towers ? ? Like corn with their seeds ? ? In my diet
? That found thy sacred place Upon thy soul victorious face
? Guide me, majestic strife ? ? My terror shall strife ? ? Till
I first have recovered ? the brave? Thine is the throne of God, for ever
stands ? Thy word of grace hath proved ? ? A peaceful scepter
in my heart ? ? To rule thy state ? Justice and truth are tending
still, but mercy is thy choice. and from thy home thy songs shall
fill with new spirit and joy. Now, May the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ, and the love of God the Father, and the sacred
fellowship of the Holy Spirit, rest and abide with us each,
both now and forevermore. Amen.