I shall serve this afternoon
by singing hymn number 634 to June's Adoration number 528. When saints together meet God's
goodness to declare, the season will be sweet if Jesus be but
there. Of Christ they speak, of Christ
they boast, while Jesus lives they can't be lost. The Lord
will guard them well, nor shall they ever be a prey to death
and hell, for Christ has made them free. He bought them with
his own heart's blood, and he will bring them home to God.
Hymn number 635, June Adoration, number 528. Oh, say does that star-spangled
banner yet wave ? O night divine, O night divine,
O night divine, O night divine, O night divine, O night divine. ? And all the world above us crowd
? ? Is there with me to share ? ? Yet in the heart of me there
am I ? ? Yet in the heart of me there am I ? God is love, He is God ? Keep them, O Savior ? ? And preserve
them, O Lord ? ? Keep them, O Savior ? ? Keep them, O Lord ? ? He'll shelter those feet in the
north ? ? And glory in the west. ? O'er the land of the free and
the home of the brave? ? We who have witnessed heaven's
birth ? ? Have faith in heaven's mercy ? We read together this afternoon
from God's holy word, the book of Nehemiah, chapter nine. Nehemiah, chapter nine. Now in the 24th day of this month,
The children of Israel were assembled with fasting and with sackclothes
and earth upon them. The seed of Israel separated
themselves from all strangers and stood and confessed their
sins and the iniquities of their fathers. They stood up in their place
and read in the book of the law of the Lord their God one fourth
part of the day. with another fourth part they
confessed, and worshipped the Lord their God. Then stood up upon the stairs
of the Levites Jeshua, in Benai, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Banai, Sherebiah,
Benai, and Chenaniah, and cried with a loud voice unto the Lord
their God. Then the Levites Jeshua and Cadmiel,
Benai, Ashabnea, Cherubiah, Hodeidah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said,
stand up and bless the Lord your God forever and ever. And blessed be thy glorious name,
which is exalted above all blessing and praise. Thou, even thou art Lord alone. Thou hast made heaven, the heaven
of heavens, with all their hosts, the earth and all things that
are therein, the seas and all that is therein, and Thou preservest
them all. The host of heaven worshipeth
Thee. Thou art the Lord, the God, who
didst choose Abraham, broughtest him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees,
and gavest him the name of Abraham, and foundest his heart faithful
before thee, and madest a covenant with him to give the land of
the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, and the Perizzites,
and the Jebusites, and the Girgashites, to give it, I say, to his seed. It hast performed thy words,
for thou art righteous. And didst see the affliction
of our fathers in Egypt, and heardest their cry by the Red
Sea, and showest signs and wonders upon Pharaoh, and on all his
servants, and on all the people of his land. For thou knewest
that they dealt proudly against them. So didst thou get thee
a name, as it is this day. And thou didst divide the sea
before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea
on the dry land, and their persecutors thou threwest into the deeps,
as a stone into the mighty waters. Moreover thou leadest them in
the day by a cloudy pillar, and in the night by a pillar of fire,
to give them light in the way wherein they should go. Thou camest down also upon Mount
Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them
right judgments and true laws, good statutes and commandments,
and madest known unto them thy holy Sabbath, and commandedst
them precepts, statutes, and laws by the hand of Moses thy
servant, and gavest them bread from heaven
for their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the
rock for their thirst, and promisedst them that which they should go
in to possess, the land which thou hadst sworn to give them, But they and our fathers dealt
proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments,
and refused to obey. Neither were mindful of thy wonders
that thou didst among them, but hardened their necks. And in
their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage. but
thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to
anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not. Yea, where they had made them
a molten calf, and said, this is thy God that brought thee
up out of Egypt, and had wrought great provocation, Yet thou,
in thy manifold mercies, forsookest them not in the wilderness. The
pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day to lead
them in the way, neither the pillar of fire by night to show
them light in the way wherein they should go. Thou gavest also
thy good spirit to instruct them, and withheldest not thy manner
from their mouth, and gavest them water for their thirst. Yea, forty years didst thou sustain
them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing, their clothes
waxed not old, and their feet swelled not. Moreover thou gavest them kingdoms
and nations, thou didst divide them into corners, So they possessed
the land of Sihon, the land of the king of Heshbon, and the
land of Og, king of Bashan. Their children also multiplies
thou as the stars of heaven, and broughtest them into the
land concerning which thou hadst promised to their fathers, that
they should go in to possess it. So the children went in and possessed
the land. And thou subduest before them
the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gavest them
into their hands, with their kings and the people of the land,
that they might do with them as they would. And they took strong cities and
a fat land, and possessed houses full of all good, wells digged,
vineyards and olive yards, and fruit trees in abundance. So
they did eat, and were filled, and became fat, and delighted
themselves in thy great goodness. Nevertheless, they were disobedient,
and rebelled against thee, and cast thy law behind their and
slew thy prophets, which testified against them to turn them to
thee, and they wrought great provocations. Therefore thou deliverest them
into the hand of their enemies, who vex them. And in the time
of their trouble, when they cried unto thee, thou heardest them
from heaven. And according to thy manifold
mercies, thou gavest them saviours, who saved them out of the hand
of their enemies. But after they had rest, they
did evil again before thee. Therefore leftest thou them in
the hand of their enemies, so that they had the dominion over
them. Yet when they returned and cried
unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven, and many times didst
thou deliver them according to thy mercies, and testified against
them, that thou mightest bring them again unto thy law. Yet
they dealt proudly, and hearkened not unto thy commandments, but
sinned against thy judgments, which, if a man do he shall live
in them, and withdrew the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and
would not hear. Yet many years didst thou forbear
them, and testified against them by thy spirit and thy prophets,
yet would they not give ear. Therefore gavest thou them into
the hands of the people of the lands, Nevertheless, for thy
great mercy's sake, thou didst not utterly consume them, nor
forsake them, for thou art a gracious and merciful God. Now therefore, our God, the great,
the mighty, and the terrible God, who keepest covenant and
mercy, Let not all the trouble seem little before thee that
hath come upon us, on our kings, on our princes, and on our priests,
and on our prophets, and on our fathers, and on all thy people,
since the time of the kings of Assyria unto this day. Howbeit thou art just in all
that is brought upon us, for thou hast done right, but we
have done wickedly. And neither have our kings, our
princes, our priests, nor our fathers kept thy law, nor hearkened
unto thy commandments and thy testimonies, wherewith thou didst
testify against them. They have not served thee in
their kingdom, and in thy great goodness that thou gavest them.
in the large and fat land which thou gavest before them, neither
turn they from their wicked works. Behold, we are servants this
day, and for the land that thou gavest unto our fathers to eat
the fruit thereof and the good thereof, behold, we are servants
in it. that yieldeth much increase unto
the kings who thou hast set over us because of our sins. Also
they have dominion over our bodies and over our cattle at their
pleasure, and we are in great distress. And because of all
this we make a sure covenant and write it that our princes,
Levites, and priests seal unto it. May the Lord bless to us
the reading of his holy word and teach us to pray. Dear Lord,
almighty God in heaven above, will you help us each now to
bow before thee and ever remembering thy greatness
and majesty and power. Lord, show us what we are before
thee. Lord, make us to see what we
really are. Lord, humble us in the dust before
thee. Lord, may we not be left to think
thou art altogether such a one as ourselves. Lord, we do pray that we might
come before Thee in humility. Lord, may we come before Thee
in confession of all of our sins. Lord, as we have read of the
confession of the sins of the people, their transgressions
and their backslidings, Lord, may we each Lord, enter a little
into these things ourselves. Lord, may we each have that witness
that we have been shown that we are sinners in thy holy sight. Lord, convince us of our sin,
then lead to Jesus' blood. We do pray, that we might then
rightly confess all our sins and shortcomings and failings
before them. Lord, give us each the gift of
repentance and the forgiveness of all our sins. We thank thee
for the hope that there is in the gospel, for the violent sinner
out of hell who lives, to fill his needs, that the blood of
Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth from all sins. Lord, we do pray
that each one of us might have a personal interest in these
things. Lord, an interest in the Savior's blood, that our
pardon's sealed, and that peace with God. Lord, there is so much
around us and in our lives that is everything but peace. We do
pray that the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, that
peace be in blood of the cross, that Calvary might be applied
to our Lord, we do pray that we might
each be able to bear witness to these things. Lord, may we
not be strangers and foreigners. Lord, may there be that change
that we considered a little of this morning, quickened by grace
and made alive. Lord, we do pray that it might
be so for each one of us. Lord, that it might be the safety
on earth and after death, the plenitude of heaven. We do pray thy forgiveness for
anything amiss in our worship here this morning. We do pray
that thy word might that enter into our hearts and do us good.
Lord, without thee we can do nothing. Lord, may the word be
applied by the power of the Holy Spirit and remain with us. We
do pray that we might know thy help with us this afternoon.
We do thank thee for bringing us each into thy house once more. and yet once less. Lord, we do pray that we might
have that solemn realization of our lives fast hastening on. Eternity closer than it ever
has been. Lord, we need to be made ready. Lord, we cannot make ourselves
ready. Lord, may it be for each one
of us that we are like the five who had oil in their lamps. They that were ready, went, and
the door was shut. Lord, may it not be that when
that day comes, sooner or later for us each, We are unprepared. We have no oil in our lamps.
Lord, we do pray that we might have the oil of grace in our
hearts. We might be given that living
faith. That we might be given that hope, that good hope through
thy grace. That we are numbered amongst
thy people. Nor may it be the desire of each
one of us to be found among them. Lord, the poor despised remnant,
but Lord, we pray that it might be our desire, one of this remnant,
that I would be. Lord, we do pray Thy blessing
upon each one gathered here. Lord, Thou knowest how we have
each Come into thy house and notice those who listen into
this service who cannot be here. We pray for those who would be
here if they could and those who are detained. We pray for those in affliction,
those in weakness. We pray for Mrs. Field and her needs. We draw
near unto her and bless her abundantly. Lord, we pray for any others
who may have a particular burden at this time. Lord, thou knowest
those things that we have need of before we ask. Lord, the ways
of others that are hidden from us each are all known unto thee. Thou knowest the way that we
take. Lord, those who feel to be in
the trial of faith, may they feel that it shall be more precious
than gold that perishes. There's a purpose in these things. Lord, we do pray that each one
of us might have come to this service with a desire to know
Thee personally, know more of Thee, to be confirmed in thee,
Lord, to know our personal saving, the interest
in the glorious truths of the gospel. Lord, leave us not to
be unconcerned and indifferent when we come into thy house. Lord, how easily we can come
into thy house with hearts of stone. Lord, if there are those
here like that this afternoon, what can soften hearts of stone?
It's Jesus, their precious blood alone. Lord, we do pray that
it might be so. Lord, can these dry bones live? O Lord, thou knowest. We pray
that there might be those breathings of the Spirit into our hearts.
Lord, each one of us, leave not one of us out. from the youngest
to the oldest. Convince us of our sin and lead
to Jesus' blood. Lord, we do pray for the families, the children, the
little ones and the young people. We thank thee for them and we
pray for thy presence and thy help. Do lead them and guide
them in the way that they should go. Be a wall of fire round about
them each. Do give the wisdom that is needed
to the parents in bringing up their children in the fear of
the Lord. Lord, we pray for those who have
many burdens and responsibilities in various ways. Lord, we Pray
for our two dear friends, the deacons, and we pray that they
might be strengthened in their labors, both here in this church
and in the organizations, the committees they're involved with.
Lord, we do pray that our blessing might be upon all these things.
We do pray, Lord, that we might yet see better days, in the churches. Lord, we do have so much to be
thankful for, and also much to mourn over as well. We do pray
that they'll revive our work in the midst of the years. Lord,
we pray that there might be a real spiritual revival in our nation,
throughout the whole earth, in the churches, and in our own
hearts individually. Lord, we do pray that we might
be sturdier. Lord, we think of that word,
it is high time to awaken out of sleep. Lord, how easily we
can slumber and sleep. Give us sturdiness and quickness
into love. Lord, we do pray, Help to all
those who preach in thy name this day, this afternoon, and
others this evening. Lord, we strengthen each of thy
servants who preach. We do pray that thy name might
be magnified and glorified, and thy people might be strengthened
and built up. Lord, we do pray that thy work
might yet appear. Lord, not unto us, not unto us,
but unto thy name we get glory. Lord, do forgive our poor prayers
and make up where we fail. Help us each as we return to
thy word. Do open our ears and our eyes
and our hearts. We pray that there might be something
which will enter in. and abide with us. Lord, we would
see Jesus. We desire thy presence and thy
help and thy blessing upon us each. Do forgive our every sin. We ask for Christ's sake. Amen. in our service by singing hymn
number 679, tuned in Manchester, number 180. Come, thou almighty comforter,
and bring upon my wing sweet consolation to each soul that
we may praise and sing. We want to feel, we want to see,
we want to know thee more, We want a sweet foretaste of thy
love as we have had before. Hymn number 679, tune Manchester
number 180. Singing ? To heavenly soil ? ? From the
ebb and flow of the sea ? you. Oh say can you see by the dawn's
early light What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's ? Thy holy Church adorned in gold
? ? And mercy, grace, and peace. ? ? All is calm to the earth ? ?
As it was in the beginning ? ? And ever shall be ? The. O say does that star-spangled
banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the
brave? O give them rest, O give them
rest, ? The home of the brave ? ? The
home of the brave ? Complete dependence upon the
Lord for his help, I would ask you to turn to the Book of Psalms,
and number 89. Psalm 89, and we'll read verses 33 and 34.
Nevertheless, my loving kindness will I not utterly take from
him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail. My covenant will I not break,
nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips. Psalm 89 and verses 33 and thirty-four. Nevertheless,
my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer
my faithfulness to fail. My covenant will I not break,
nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips. if there is one word that describes
our text, it is mercy. Indeed, it describes this son
of Ethan the Ezraite. Perhaps more particularly, we
should say mercies in the plural. We read of it in Nehemiah chapter
nine, I think it came twice, manifold mercies. And if we read through this psalm,
you'll find much concerning the mercy of God, all that the Lord
had done for his people. in spite of their sin, in spite
of their unworthiness, all that which they had done wrong, and
yet they had not been forsaken. And so the psalmist begins this
song with this, I will sing of the mercies of the Lord. And it's a good thing if we that
can sing of the mercies of the Lord. And it's a good thing if
we can sing of them forever, as the Psalmist here could. In spite of everything that was
going on, in spite of all that which caused sorrow and caused
them to be ashamed and caused them to be cast down, still,
the Psalmist could sing of the mercies of the Lord. I will sing. How is it with each of us this
afternoon? Is there a song in your heart? A song in mine? A song of praise unto the Lord. I will sing of the mercies of
the Lord forever with my mouth. Will I make known thy faithfulness?
to all generations you know there's an important point to speak of
the mercies of God to others to bear witness to the mercies
of God all that he has been all that he has done and so it is
here with the psalmist right through this psalm that speaking
of mercies speaking of the faithfulness of God, the greatness of God,
for who in the heaven can be compared unto the Lord? God is
greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints and to be had in
reverence of all them that are about him. You look back as it
was in Nehemiah chapter nine, as it was in the chapter 11 of
Deuteronomy that we read this morning, and looking back to
the goodness of the Lord. Thou rulest the raging of the
sea when the waves thereof arise. Thou stillest them. And so the psalmist could sing
of the mercies of God, of his defense over them, of his glory,
of his strength, of his strong arm on their behalf. And he says this, verse 24, but
my faithfulness, this is the Lord speaking to his servant
David, my faithfulness, my mercy shall be with him, and in my
name shall his horn be exalted. My mercy will I keep for him,
forevermore in my covenant shall yet stand fast with him. But then it comes to this, concerning
the Lord's people. And you know, these two texts
today came to me completely separately, and yet there's a link here,
in verse 30, to the Lord's people forsaking the law. not walking
in his judgments, breaking my statues, and not keeping my commandments. We spoke this morning of the
obedience to the commandments of Almighty God. What will happen,
says the Lord to those who do not, then will I visit their
transgression with a rod and their iniquity with stripes.
Nevertheless, We have this lovely long word, nevertheless, that
begins our text. What does it mean? In spite of
what has gone before, in spite of what seemed to be in opposition,
nevertheless, my loving kindness will I not utterly take from
him, in spite of all the The sins of David, in spite of all
the sins of all the Lord's people, the loving kindness could not
be taken from him, it could not be made void. The mercy of the
Lord is from everlasting to all those that fear him. It's a lovely word this, nevertheless,
when it is set before us as it is here, Did you notice how we
had that word in the reading? In Nehemiah chapter nine, nevertheless,
it comes very solemnly. How the people there that sinned
so greatly, the Lord had been so merciful to them, and yet
they were disobedient. They hardened their necks, they
hearkened not to the commandments of God, and they refuse to obey,
they harden their necks. And we have, if I could just
find it in verse 26, nevertheless, they were disobedient and rebelled
against thee. It's a long chapter, but I wanted
to read through the chapter because it sets forth in spite of sin,
the Lord's mercy, the Lord's faithfulness to his people, the
Lord not forsaking his people in spite of all their sins. Nevertheless,
they were disobedient. But then, what does verse 31
in Nehemiah chapter nine say? Nevertheless, for thy great mercy's
sake, thou didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake them."
Well, we read through the chapter and we think, well, they deserve
to be consumed, and utterly consumed at that. They deserve such great
punishment on account of their sins. But nevertheless, in spite
of all that, Because of the Lord's mercy to them, because of his
love to them, they were not consumed. But what is it for us? Can we
say we're any better than these in Nehemiah chapter nine? It is of the Lord's mercies that
we, that you and I, are not consumed. Because his compassions fail
not, they are new every morning, great. It is thy faithfulness. Right through the chapter we
have alternately accounts of the Lord's great goodness, great
deliverances, wonderful works which he brought out on the behalf
of his people, interspersed with sin and rebellion, hard-heartedness,
a stiff-necked people, forsaking the Lord, provoking the Lord. They harden their necks, but
thou art a God ready to pardon. What a mercy that we have before
us in the word of God, a God ready to pardon, gracious and
merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest
them not. They deserve to be forsaken because
of their sin and their rebellion. And so do you and I, but we have
a merciful God who never leaves nor forsakes his people. He will
not, he cannot. Those who, though they so often
fail their God will find that he shall not fail. You know,
it was encouraged by the first hymn that we sung this afternoon. And it speaks of the safety of
the Lord's people in Christ. While Jesus lives, they can't
be lost, what though their house with God, it be not as they could
wish. And after father's wrath fills
them with deep distress, Can you come in with David in 2 Samuel
23 this afternoon and say, my house, it is not so with God. Not as I would have it, not as
it should be. Not as I want it to be, not as
I know it ought to be. My house, my heart, it isn't
right. Not so with God. Yet David could
say this, Yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered
in all things and sure. This is all my salvation and
all my desire, though he make it not to grow. My covenant will I not break,
nor order the thing that is come out of my lips, In spite of all
that was not so in David's life, that covenant could not be broken,
it could not be changed, it could not fail, because the Lord had
spoken it. And what Christ has said must
be fulfilled, hath he said, and shall he not also do it? What though their house with
God be not as they could win, Yet in the Lord they firm abide,
united to Him as His bride. What if their lusts rebel and
threatens to devour, to plunge their souls to hell in some unguarded
hour? They're standing fast, it is
in the Lord, and they, in His faithfulness, record. So it is, the Lord's people can
record the goodness of God and His faithfulness, in spite of
all their sins, is this word nevertheless. We might say with
Nehemiah chapter 9, we might say with Psalm 89, that they
didn't deserve the Lord to be merciful to them. You know, we
need to understand what mercy is. It is us not being given what
we do deserve. Mercy is to the undeserving. I will sing of the mercies of the
Lord forever. Nevertheless, my loving kindness
will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness
to fail. You know, we read mostly this
morning in Deuteronomy. And, you know, if you go to Deuteronomy
chapter 9, we find much the same thing as in Nehemiah chapter
9. A rebellious people, the rebellions of Israel. And the Lord's mercy
toward them and yet how often they rebelled. The Lord says to them, you're
going in to possess the land. You have the promised land before
you, but it's not because of any righteousness of your own.
It's not because of the uprightness of your heart, but because of
the mercy of the Lord. Understand, this is verse six,
understand therefore that the Lord thy God giveth thee not
this good land to possess it for thy righteousness. for thou
art a stiff-necked people. Thou provokest the law of thy
God to rot in the wilderness." And so they did. Remember especially
how they loathed the light bread, the manna, the Lord's rich provision
for them, His kind, loving provision for them. And they loathed it. They despised it. How easily
you and I, left to ourselves, can be just the same. I feel this so much that when
we read of these characters and the children of Israel and the
word of God, and we read of all that they did wrong and their
rebellion and their sin, it's not for us to judge them. God
is judge. These things are left on record
for our instruction. You know, if we have been shown
little of the sin that is within our own hearts, We all say that
we are no better, that we ourselves are a stiff-necked people, we
are a rebellious people. And what does Moses say concerning
the children of Israel? Later in Deuteronomy 9, verse
24, that you have been rebellious against the Lord from the day
that I knew you, right through that chapter. the rebellion of
the people. They rebelled against the Lord,
against his commandments, against his provision, against his way. How is it with us? Do we feel to be a rebel against
the word of God, against the way of God? Against that which
he has appointed for us? There has been a rebellious people
since the day that I knew you. You know, there's mercy. You
know, I think it's in another one of the Psalms, I can't just
remember which Psalm it is, but it speaks of mercy for the rebellious
also. You think of that, mercy even
for the rebels, for the rebellious also, I can't just, Turn to it
now, but I think it comes somewhere in the Psalms, where we have
this, even for the rebellious also. Nevertheless, my loving
kindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer, nor allow
my faithfulness to fail. My covenant will I not break,
You're all to the thing that has gone out of my lips. You
know what struck me just now in reading this text to you? We have a long word, at the beginning,
nevertheless. Then we have a short word, my.
Then we have another long word, my loving kindness. It's this
little word in the middle, my. The loving kindness of the Lord
toward his people. We think of it in so many ways,
in providing for them and supplying their needs, and in the greatest
sense, in supplying a saviour and a great one, that love in
the plan of salvation, that the father gave his son, sent him
into the world to lay down his life, to make atonement for sin,
that my loving kindness Nevertheless, my, you think of those of you
who love the Lord, you think of your love to him. And we don't have to say, it
is my chief complaint that my love is cold and faint. I mentioned this morning to one
of you that we can quickly discern when the weather turns, when
it suddenly gets cold as it did today. We can say, yes, things
have got cold. That's on the outside, but what
about within? What about in our hearts? How is it with each of
us? Is your love toward the Lord
cold and faint? Nevertheless, my loving kindness,
it will never change. It will never be made void. It
will be never taken. You know, 633, The hymn before,
the first one that we sung, speaks of the love of Christ, that changes
not. The first verse of John 13 at
the top, Jesus, having loved his own, which were in the world,
he loved them unto the end. As long as he lives, his own
he'll love. What do we have later in that
hymn? He loves through every changing scene. You've got the
changing scenes in your life, the changing scenes and how it
affects our hearts and the coldness of them. He loves through every
changing scene, nor all can him, from Zion we. And this is it,
not all the wanderings of her heart. can make his love from
her, it departs. You know it's a wonderful mercy
that nevertheless, in spite of all our wanderings, in spite
of our coldness, in spite of our hard hearts, the love of
Christ, it is rich and free. And none of these things can
make that love, it departs. He loves them until the end. Jeremiah 31, verse 3. The Lord appeared of old unto
me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love. Therefore with lovingkindness
have I drawn thee, that love from the beginning of time unto
the end of time, that loves through every changing sea, Don't misunderstand
me. That doesn't mean we should be
careless. It doesn't mean we should be
content with the wanderings of our heart. It doesn't mean we
should be... We should say, well, it doesn't really matter. I can
behave as I wish. I can do what I please because
the Lord loves me anyway. That makes a mockery of the word
of God. The Word of God tells us, he
that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved. But all
those who do endure, they prove that they have that love of God
in their hearts, which cannot change. My loving kindness will
I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to
fail. And when the Lord's people do
come into those times, when they feel a little warm, with the
love of Christ, should have broadened their hearts, when they have
a soft heart, then they do not want to displease or grieve their
God. You know, it's a good prayer.
Oh, give me, Lord, a tender heart that trembles in the approach
of sin. not just at sin itself, we should
tremble at that, but tremble at the approach of it. When we
see those things coming, we should tremble at them, and we need
to be kept. Nevertheless, in my loving kindness,
who will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer, in my faithfulness
to fail, so We have here the faithfulness of God in doing
that which is appointed for his people, in fulfilling the exceeding
great and precious promises set before us in the word of God.
God says, my faithfulness, it cannot fail. You can trust these
things again to ourselves, our own faithfulness. to God. Our own faith. Do we not have
to come in like those words the Lord spoke to his disciples?
Where is your faith? Ye of little faith. Perhaps we
feel even to come into this. How is it that ye have no faith? The Lord's faithfulness. It never
fails. How often do you fail? How often
do I fail in our lives, in our walk and conduct before the Lord
God? In our witness, if we are one
of the Lords, how often do we fail? How often do we come short? How often do we fail to walk
worthy of the vocation wherewith we are called? All these things that are set
before us in the epistles, especially concerning how a Christian ought
to live. And I'm not saying this directly
to any of you. The Lord knows how it is with
each of you. I'm speaking to myself. We see
what is set before us in the Word of God, the high standard.
And we wouldn't want the standard lowered. But it just seems to
me I say I'm speaking to myself. We have the standard of scripture,
and across it all, it seems, just this one word, fail, fail. You know what it is, you young
ones, when you have an exam or a test, and you have a pass,
or a fail. Well, in the things of God, don't
we fail so often? We don't meet the standard, but
we come short of it, and so often a long way short. He, he shall not fail. His faithfulness
shall not fail. He himself shall not fail. His
goodness, his promises, his word shall not fail. My covenant will
I not break, that everlasting covenant of grace, the order
of all things, unsure, it cannot be broken, it will not be broken.
And the thing that the Lord has spoken, the thing that has gone
out of my lips, it cannot be altered, it cannot be changed.
Again, you contrast this that speaks of the Lord to ourselves. How often do we say one thing
and do another? How often do we go back on our
word? How often do we break a promise? How often do we say something
and afterwards wish we hadn't, and then go and say something
opposite? You're going to say something different. Not so with
Almighty God. My covenant will I not break,
nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips. You know, what
do we have in Isaiah concerning the covenant in chapter 54? we have this and you know at
the top of this bible in this chapter it says this god's everlasting
kindness and so it is in isaiah 54 for thy maker is thine husband
the lord of hosts is his name and thy redeemer the holy one
of israel in a little wrath i hid my face from thee for a moment
But with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith
the Lord, thy Redeemer." Perhaps there's one of you this afternoon
and the Lord is hiding his face and Satan says, thy God hath
forgotten thee quite, he will be gracious no more. And really
you feel like you deserve it, if that should be the case. But
the Lord says this, the mountains shall depart, and the hills be
removed. But my kindness shall not depart
from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed. Who's speaking? It's the Lord
that hath mercy on thee. The mountains may depart, and
the hills may be removed in your life, your circumstances in that
which troubles you in your soul. Many things may depart, and you
may see that all is gone, and the Lord is gone, is hidden his
face, and Satan's ever-present telling you to give up any hope
that the Lord will appear. The Lord says, to each of his
own, my kindness, my love shall not depart from thee, Neither
shall the covenant of my peace be removed. So we read there in Isaiah 54,
the mercy of the Lord to those who feel to be forsaken. And so the Lord's people often
do. They feel to be forsaken and
alone. And they hear the lion roar. and every door is shut, but one,
and that is mercy's door. May you and I, being able to
plead these things that we have before us, plead this word nevertheless. Almighty God, in spite of our
sins, our backsliding, our shortcomings, our failings, to plead the loving
kindness and tender mercy of the Lord. You have said, I will
not utterly take my loving kindness from thee, nor suffer my faithfulness
to fail. We have the certainty of the
Word of God. You know, this is, it ought to
be for our encouragement. There's so much in our life,
so much in the world, it is uncertain. So much is so changeable. that
my covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone
out of my lips. It comes to my mind the words
of Balaam and Bela, as they speak to another and they had their
own thoughts of what they would say and they had their own plans
and they found that it was all in submission to what the Lord
appointed and permitted them to do. I think it's in Numbers
chapter 23, verse 19, God is not a man that he should lie,
neither the son of man that he should repent. Hath he said,
and shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall
he not make it good? Behold, I have received commandment
to bless, and he hath blessed. and I cannot reverse it. They could not go against the
will of the Lord, against the word of the Lord. God is not
a man that he should lie. My covenant will I not break,
nor alter the thing that has gone out of my lips. So we see
here in this text the fifth point of Calvinism, the perseverance
of the saints. We have it right through the
Word of God. Nevertheless, in spite of all their sins, in spite
of all that is against them, in spite of the mighty enemies
without, and the much mightier enemies within, that those who
are in Christ can ne'er be lost. They will be brought safely to
heaven at last. May it be so for each one of
us. I didn't, until yesterday morning,
have a text for this afternoon. And as I woke up yesterday morning,
these two verses dropped into my heart. I trust it may be the
Lord's Word for us this afternoon, and an encouragement for us not
to be careless in any way, but to trust in His faithfulness,
in His loving-kindness, His tender mercies, looking away from any
hope in ourselves. Nevertheless, my loving-kindness
will I not utterly take from Him, nor suffer my faithfulness
to fail, my covenant Will I not break nor alter the thing that
is gone out of my lips? May the Lord forgive anything
amiss. Amen. We will now serve this afternoon
by singing hymn number 344, the Juniors Presswich number 208. For us the dear Redeemer died,
why are we then ashamed? We stand forever justified and
cannot be condemned. If once the love of Christ we
feel upon our hearts impressed, The mark of that celestial seal
can never be erased. In number 344, to impress which
number, 208. Oh, say can you see by the dawn's
early light What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last
gleaming? They stand for thee, O Jerusalem,
The home of the brave. It's true, the world is changing. He is risen from the dead. He is born. And all of Israel shall shout. May God save the people of Israel.
? The last of us ? ? We are the
wings ? ? In which to stay ? ? Forever we will rise ? The Lord, our Prince, our God
and our dear Christian ? And we will sing his praise ?
? As we onward ? ? O'er the land of the free ? ? And the home of the brave ? you All creatures, all creatures,
come to us, come to us, and be at rest with us. ? And all is calm ? ? The angels
sing ? ? Gloria in excelsis Deo ? Dear Lord, we ask for thy forgiveness
for all amiss in our worship here today. Do now watch over
us and take us on our way in safety. Help us each in the week
we have now begun. Lord, we do pray that while our
days on earth are lengthened, we might give them unto thee.
And that at last we might be found in heaven above. Lord, may we each be found in
thee. narrow way of which there are but few that find it, but
we pray that we might each be among the few who know the peace
of God in our hearts. So do forgive our many sins and
now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of
God and the communion of the Holy Ghost be with us forever,
amen.