The notices for the coming week
are God willing as follows. Mr. Graham Cottingham will preach
here next Lord's Day at 10.30 and two o'clock. Pastor will
preach here on Thursday evening at seven o'clock. There'll be
no prayer meeting on Tuesday evening this week. There'll be
a church meeting here on Monday evening at seven o'clock. The
collections taken during August amounted to £2,088.88. Donations
to the book fund were £125. The collection for the Christian
Institute on Friday amounted to £665. We sincerely thank you. for your continued support of
this cause of truth. Let us commence our services
today by singing together hymn 1131. The tune is Nuremberg 381.
We have thy promise, gracious Lord, thou wilt beware thy people
meet, O then fulfil thy gracious word
and make our happiness complete. Hymn 1131, tune Nuremberg 381. O come, O come, Emmanuel, O come,
Emmanuel, A milky way thy people meet. Come, faithful, fail not
in gracious woe, And make the humble O come all ye faithful joyful
and triumphant O come ye to Bethlehem ♪ We ask for your grace, we ask
for your grace ♪ The sweetest joy in all thy love. O come, let us adore him, the
Spirit, ♪ Has shed her cloaks ♪ ♪ On ginger
bough ♪ ♪ We ask thy help ♪ ♪ Which we may take ♪
Thus will we meet thee, Earth, and praise Thee, as thou art
made in heaven. There is a God in every race. We ask for faith. ♪ Sweetly raise ♪ ♪ To thine altar
♪ ♪ Sweetly raise ♪ ♪ To thine altar ♪ ♪ To thy altar ♪ ♪ Sweetly
raise ♪ ♪ To thy altar ♪ ♪ To thy altar ♪ ♪ To thy altar ♪
♪ To thy altar ♪ ♪ To thy altar ♪ ♪ To thy altar ♪ ♪ And every strain ♪ ♪ Comes almost
from you ♪ ♪ We ask to feel ♪ ♪ The youngest feet ♪ We are washed
with the blood of our fathers. We are washed with the blood
of our fathers. Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God in Psalm 145. Psalm 145. I will extol thee, my God, O King,
and I will bless thy name forever and ever. Every day will I bless
thee, and I will praise thy name forever and ever. Great is the
Lord, and greatly to be praised. and his greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall praise thy
works to another and shall declare thy mighty acts. I will speak
of the glorious honor of thy majesty and of thy wondrous works,
and men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts, and I will
declare thy greatness. They shall abundantly utter the
memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness.
The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger
and of great mercy. The Lord is good to all, and
his tender mercies are over all his works. All thy works shall
praise thee, O Lord, and thy saints shall bless thee. they
shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power,
to make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the
glorious majesty of his kingdom. Thy kingdom is an everlasting
kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations. The
Lord upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that
be bowed down, The eyes of all wait upon thee, and thou givest
them their meat in due season. Thou openest thine hand and satisfiest
the desire of every living thing. The Lord is righteous in all
his ways and holy in all his works. The Lord is nigh unto
all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in
truth. He will fulfill the desire of
them that fear Him. He also will hear their cry and
will save them. The Lord preserveth all them
that love Him, but all the wicked will He destroy. My mouth shall
speak the praise of the Lord and let all flesh bless His holy
name forever and ever. May the Lord bless the reading
of his precious word and grant to us a spirit of real prayer. Almighty, most merciful and eternal
God, we do desire to bow before thy glorious majesty, to call
upon thy great and thy holy name, We do desire that the grace of
our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God our Father, and the
sacred fellowship of the Holy Spirit, will rest and abide upon
us. We do humbly beseech of thee,
for Lord, without thee we can do nothing. We cannot worship
thee aright. Do send thy good spirit into
our hearts, that we may truly worship thee. For them that worship
thee must worship thee in spirit and in truth. We pray for thy
spirit. Oh, we do pray, most blessed
spirit of truth, that thou wouldst come in thy heavenly power and
thy divine unction to apply the word unto our hearts, to breathe
the word into our souls, Quicken souls and make them cry, give
me Christ or else I die. Come, Lord, and bless us, for
without Thee there is nothing. Without Thy heavenly power, O
Lord, no sweets the gospel can afford, no drops of heavenly
love will fall. And Lord, we do desire Thy sacred
presence and power. We pray that we may know those
divine and sacred drawings of our Heavenly Father, drawing
us unto his best Beloved. Oh, that these things may be
a sacred reality in our hearts today, that we may be drawn to Christ,
that we may be led of the Spirit to Christ, that Christ may be
revealed unto us. Lord Jesus, come and stand in
our midst, that we may worship thee in spirit and in truth,
that we may bow before thee, confess our sins, our wanderings,
our backslidings, our unworthiness, our wretchedness, our sinfulness. Prone to wander, Lord, I feel
it. prone to leave the God I love.
Here's my heart, Lord. Take and seal it. Seal it from
thy courts above. Oh, do grant then that we may
know the sacred reality of real religion in our hearts, in our
very souls, even today. Deliver us, O Lord, from just
a head knowledge of religion. but grant us that living reality
in our hearts. For it is with the heart that
man believeth unto righteousness. Faith in that glorious Saviour,
O that we may touch the hem of his garment. Lord, each one of
us, from the youngest to the eldest, are the fallen sons and
daughters of Adam. We're born in sin, with shape
and iniquity. And we need Thee to deliver us
from that state of spiritual death and unconcern. O gracious God, grant us that
spiritual life. He that hath the Son hath life.
He that hath not the Son of God hath not life. All that we may
have, that sacred witness of thy spirit with our spirit, that
we are the children of God. Oh, we do pray that we may be
led of the spirit into those sacred truths in the Romans. There is therefore now no condemnation
to them that are in Christ Jesus. Oh, that we might have that true
sense that we're in Christ Jesus. We're bound up in the bundle
of life we're in union with the Lamb, from condemnation free,
the saints from everlasting woe and shall forever be. Oh, to
know that union today, we do humbly beseech of thee. We pray that thou wouldst remember
us as a church and as a congregation. Remember our brethren the deacons
and Bless them both and undertake for them in all their concerns
and their responsibilities, not only here but among the churches.
Remember our dear brother in the neighboring cause of truth
this morning as he reads a sermon, grant him thy gracious help.
We do. Humbly beseech them. And bless
the dear friends there in their time of great need. a time of
great loss, one of great age has been taken, a godly mother
in Israel, and one very young, is still in his teens, taken
suddenly, without warning, from time into eternity. Oh, that it may be impressed
upon each one of our hearts, be ye also ready. Bless the sorrowing families.
O Lord, we do beseech Thee. We pray, most gracious Lord,
that Thou and Thy precious mercy would remember each one of our
brethren and sisters in Christ. Remember us with the favour that
Thou bearest unto Thy people. Visit us with Thy great salvation. We do humbly beseech Thee. Thankful
to have with us our dear brother and sister from Holland. and
the gracious Lord be with us as we meet together around thy
table. May it be a time of union sweet,
communion one with another. Oh do grant us these sacred blessings
and they that feared the Lord spake often one to another. Oh
do grant us, we do humbly beseech them that we may feel and know
that union and communion as a church. Remember the whole of our congregation
and graciously bless us. Remember the little ones, the
dear children. We love to see them and hear
them in the sanctuary. Bless them, Lord, we do humbly
pray thee. Give them the fear of the Lord,
which is the beginning of wisdom. Remember our young friends on
the threshold of life's journey. Remember them with the favor
that thou bearest unto thy people. Visit them with thy great salvation. Bring them to living faith in
Jesus Christ. Make them true followers of thee
and of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
We think of that lovely promise, instead of thy fathers shall
be thy children whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth.
O gracious God, do incline thine ear, we do humbly beseech thee,
that for thy great name's sake, pray most gracious God, that
thou in thy precious mercy would guide and direct our dear young
friends in all the paths of providence, whether it's to do with their
education or whether it's to do with any future employment
or concerning a partner in life journey. Lord, we lovingly commend
them to thee and to the word of thy grace, which is able to
build them up and to grant them an inheritance among them that
are sanctified. Remember each and every one in
the midst of the journey of life, bearing the heat and the burden
of the day. Graciously remember them with
the favour that thou bearest unto thy people, and visit them
with thy great salvation. O Lord, we do beseech thee, for
one thing is needful. Gracious God, deliver us each
from the temptations of Satan, from the power and dominion of
sin. Sometimes the enemy comes in like a flood, Sometimes there's
a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Sometimes there's
an angel of light seeking whom he may deceive. Deliver us, O
Lord. We humbly beseech Thee for Thy
great namesake. And O Lord, our God, we do pray
that Thou in Thy great mercy would remember parents, give
wisdom, give grace, give help, day by day, to bring up their
children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, we do humbly beseech
of thee. Lord, we pray that thou, in thy
great mercy, would hear prayer for the prodigals that have wandered
from the ways of God, from the ways of truth and righteousness,
from the house of God. Lord, have mercy upon them. cause
them to be wont, stretch out thy almighty arm. We thank thee
that none are beyond thy power, or thy grace, thy love, or thy
mercy. Oh, that thou wouldst be gracious
and that we might have that rejoicing. To see the prodigal's return,
we do humbly beseech of thee. May they have pricking thorns
to hedge their way. We do humbly beseech thee. Lord, we do pray that the glory
and light of the gospel may shine into this village and precious
souls may be gathered unto thee. and in the surrounding villages
and hamlets, the word of the Lord distributed may be richly
blessed of thee for thy great namesake. And O Lord God, we
do pray that thou wilt revive us again, that thou wilt grant
the renewing of thy spirit, that thou wilt grant a rebuilding
in Zion, a reviving, a renewing in our own souls, and give unto
us that do know thee a spirit of travail. For as soon as Zion
travailed, she brought forth her children. Give us that travail,
Lord, we humbly pray thee, that we may watch. We think of the
promises of thy word, I will bring thy sons from far, and
thy daughters from the ends of the earth, and they shall come
from the north and from the south, and from the east and from the
west. Kings shall be thy nursing fathers. O gracious God, let thy work
appear unto thy servants and thy glory unto their children. Remember those of us in the evening
time of life's journey. We've passed the allotted span
of man upon earth. Lord, we pray to be prepared
for that great change which must come. Remember our dear aged
sister, Ina, and graciously bless her and be with her, support
her and sustain her, strengthen and uphold her. We do humbly
beseech of thee. And O Lord God, we pray that
thou would remember thy servants as they labour in thy name today,
a number of them with long journeys. Lord, do be gracious unto them
and do bless them. We do beseech thee for thy great
name's sake. Bless the word. Grant signs to
follow the preaching of the word. We pray thee, the great Lord
of the harvest, to send true labourers into the harvest. We
pray for our young friend that recently sent forth that he may
be girded with special grace and wisdom and help. We do humbly
pray thee for thy great name's sake. And we do pray, most gracious
Lord, that thou will remember thy Zion, the little hills of
Zion up and down the land, those that gather in the twos and the
threes, and those that gather in greater numbers. Lord, wilt
thou not revive us again O Lord, send now prosperity. Return unto
Jerusalem with mercies. May bear thine holy arm in the
gospel. Pull down the strongholds of
Satan. Set up the kingdom of the Lord
Jesus in the hearts of sinners. We do humbly beseech of thee. Remember, O Lord, our nation. And remember all those that are
in authority over us. Give them wisdom, guidance, and
direction in all matters. O Lord, we do beseech thee for
thy great name's sake. And that we pray that thou wouldst
bless our king and the royal household. Hast thou not exhorted
us to pray for all in authority over us? And oh Lord, we would
seek so to do. Oh, for thy great namesake, do
hear us in heaven, thy holy and thy blessed dwelling place. And
Lord, we think also of Ukraine and the terrible war there, and
we pray that thou would bring an end to the bloodshed. Bring to naught the counsel of
the ungodly, We do humbly beseech thee for thy great name's sake. Remember thy suffering church
there in the Ukraine. Remember thy people everywhere
throughout the nations of the earth. There are those, O Lord,
that live in those places where the name of Christ is hated,
and thy people are persecuted even unto death. We lovingly
commend them to thee and to the word of thy grace. send them
help from the sanctuary, strengthen them out of Zion. Lord, remember
those that labour in word and doctrine in the nations of the
earth. Remember Ian Sadler in that great
labour of love as he travels throughout the nations of the
earth in the distribution and exposition of the word of God.
Lord, support him, sustain him, strengthen him, help him. Remember
the Savannah Education Trust in Ghana and that great work
they are doing there with the Christian schools. O Lord God,
we do pray that thou wouldst bless their endeavours, that
it may redound to the great honour, glory of thy name and the good
of thy church in that nation. Remember the Mombasa mission
and thy servant that labours there. Lord, undertake for them. We do humbly beseech thee and
graciously remember thy people everywhere. Remember all in trouble,
trial, perplexity, sorrow, sadness, bereavement, and support and
help those in the path of affliction to grant that thou wouldst be
Jehovah Rophi. I am the Lord that healeth thee. Lord, we thank thee for the throne
of grace. We thank Thee for the Word of
God. We thank Thee for our house of prayer. We thank Thee for
every mercy of Thy kind providence. We thank Thee above all for the
glories of Christ, for the wonders of redeeming love. We thank Thee
for the incarnation of the Son of God, for that glorious salvation
wrought out by Him We thank thee that he was made of a woman made
under the law, the eternal son of the eternal father, became
a man, lived here upon earth under the law, fulfilling, magnifying,
honoring that holy righteous law on the behalf of his people
and bringing in everlasting righteousness. We thank thee for Calvary where
the lamb was slain, where sin was put away, where divine justice
was satisfied. Oh, we thank thee that he died
for our sins and rose again for our justification, has now bodily
ascended into heaven and we have a great high priest at thy right
hand. Tis he instead of me is seen
when I approach to God. Be with us, Lord, as we turn
to thy word. Come and touch one's lips with
a live coal from off the heavenly altar. We ask for Jesus Christ's
sake. Amen. Let us continue our worship by
singing together hymn number 683. The tune is St. Giles number 60. Great God, thy
kingdom come, with reverence would we pray. May the eternal
three in one, his sovereign scepter sway. Hymn 683. Tune St Giles
number 60. ♪ May everlast'ning reign ♪ ♪ And
be to thee, dear God, ♪ ♪ His sure prescription. ♪ ♪ When we stand on the cross ♪
♪ Let our voices soar with thee ♪ ♪ Sing as we sing ♪ ♪ Let us
sing our praise to thee ♪ ♪ Have mercy, truth, and peace
♪ ♪ Give me, give me a song ♪ ♪ Have mercy, truth, and peace ♪ ♪ Original structure ♪ ♪ I know
that I'm worthy ♪ ♪ That I'm worthy ♪ ♪ Our God the Savior. ♪ ♪ Heaven
is here, ♪ ♪ earth and heaven, ♪ ♪ shall not fail thee, our God. ♪ O come, let us adore Him, O come,
let us adore Him, Christ the Lord. Greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, I direct your attention to the chapter that
we read, Psalm 145. and we'll read verse 16 for our
text. Psalm 145, verse 16. Thou openest thine hand and satisfieth
the desire of every living thing. I remember my father preaching
from this text on one occasion. And he explained it in this way. If you keep chicken and you go
out to feed the chicken and you take a handful of grain and you
throw it to the chicken and you spread it around so they can
all eat. He said that's what God does with the whole earth.
thou openest thine hand and satisfyeth the desire of every living thing. There's a wonderful account here,
it's a song of, a psalm of praise, pure praise and thanksgiving. I will extol thee, my God, O
King, and I will bless thy name forever and ever. The psalmist
says in Psalm 45 that my heart is inditing in a good matter.
I understand the word inditing in the original Hebrew. It's
like boiling over. So full. We read of naphtali,
satisfied with favour, full of the blessing of the Lord. It
overflows. And every day will I bless thee. I will praise thy name forever
and ever. There's a sense given of the
eternal, of the almighty. Great is the Lord. You notice
this in capital letters. Great is the Lord. Great is Jehovah. That's what it's translated from
when it's in capital letters. The eternal, the almighty, the
self-existent. That's the meaning of the name
Jehovah. I am he which is and which was
and which is to come, the almighty. From everlasting to everlasting
thou art God. And the scriptures say to us,
who by searching can find out God? We need the divine revelation
of the Holy Spirit. You know, friends, we can go
an awful long way in religion without the Holy Ghost, especially
being brought up under the sound of the truth. You can absorb a tremendous amount
of religion into your brain, into your head, Good thing if we're well acquainted
with Holy Scripture, well acquainted with the doctrines of grace,
well acquainted with right church order. It's a good thing if we
are well acquainted with those things. But we need more than just a
head knowledge. The apostle says in the epistle
to the Romans, it is with the heart that man believe it unto
righteousness with the heart. Do you have a heart religion? This is vital, you might say,
whatever do you mean? Do you have a heart religion?
Do you have a heart religion or do you have a head religion?
I never forget, the only time I ever heard Joseph Short of
Chippenham, and I've never forgotten it, He made this statement, if
all the religion you've got is above your collar, you will go
to hell. It's a solemn thought, isn't
it? What it means, if all the religion you have is only stored
in your brain, and empty knowledge bloats with air and dies when
dreadful storms appear, Oh, my beloved friends, we need more
than a head knowledge of religion. It's good that you've got that,
but don't rest there. You need something in your heart. Great is the Lord. You need the
Lord, the Spirit, the Holy Ghost to enter the heart. In 1 Corinthians
chapter two, He speaks there of the vital need and necessity
of the Holy Ghost. The natural man receiveth not
the things of the Spirit of God, for they are spiritually discerned,
and you and I by nature have no spiritual discernment. You
might say, what do you mean? You've just been speaking of
having a knowledge. Having a knowledge is not spiritual
discernment. When we have spiritual discernment,
it's when the Holy Spirit enters the heart, quickens the soul,
opens our eyes and our ears, our spiritual eyes and our spiritual
ears. It's when the Holy Spirit enters
the heart that we become a spiritual man, woman, boy or girl. It's
not until the Holy Spirit enters the heart that you can ever know anything
truly spiritual. You think of those, they're quite
striking words. I often quote them. You hath he quickened who were
dead. The word of God is very clear.
The dead know not anything. That means spiritually. Dead
spiritually. Therefore By nature we know nothing
spiritual. Doesn't the Apostle say in the
Ephesians, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened. As yours, as mine. You see, so
that we have revealed unto us this great, this holy, this almighty
God, revealed, so that we realise that God is holy, just and righteous,
that He will not at all acquit the guilty. We realise that we've sinned
against Him, When He, the Spirit of Truth
is come, that's when He comes to a heart of a sinner. He will
reprove the world of sin, of righteousness, of judgment. This may happen in a very gentle
way. This may happen in a very vivid
way. In a very dramatic way, like
the Apostle Paul. And yet, you know, it's very
clear from what is revealed to us about the conversion of Saul
of Tarsus. It was very clear how the Lord
Jesus spoke to him on the way to Damascus. Very dramatic, wasn't
it? He was blinded by the light. But what did Jesus say to him? It is hard for thee to kick against
the Pricks. You know, we don't want to be
speculative, but he, he had Prick, the hymn writer says, Pricking
thorns to hedge thy way. Saul of Tarsus had that pricks
of conscience. In the previous chapter to where
it says that, it speaks of him standing by and they laid their
clothes at the feet of one Saul of Tarsus when they stoned to
death the first martyr in the Christian church, Stephen the
deacon. And they laid their feet. their
clothes at the feet of Saul of Tarsus. He was there egging them
on. See my beloved friends, it is
hard for thee to kick against the prince. He said himself,
I am not worthy to be called an apostle because I persecuted
the church of God. Look at the wonderful grace of
God. Doesn't it remind us of that lovely hymn, the vilest
sinner out of hell that lives to feel his need is welcomed
to the throne of grace, the saviour's blood to plead. You know, this
great God and this great gospel that is revealed in the word
of God, great is the Lord, his mercy is great, it's infinite. His love is great, it's infinite. Great is the Lord, and greatly
to be praised. Those of you whose the love and
mercy of God has reached your heart, oh, that we might live to his
praise, that we might magnify. David, he says, doesn't he, in
one of the Psalms, come, magnify the Lord with me. great is the
Lord. You think of his great love wherewith
he loved us, in the sending forth of his Son, made of a woman,
the love of our eternal Father. Never forget the greatness of
the love of our eternal Father. Never forget those lovely words
of Christ, for the Father himself loveth you. He loves you. Yea, I have loved thee with an
everlasting love, therefore with loving kindness have I drawn
thee. Are you drawn to Christ? Even some of you children, are
you drawn to Christ? We heard at the funeral on Friday
morning at Tunbridge Wells, how that dear freed her. When she was a little girl how
the Lord touched her heart. How she prayed when she was four
years old and she remembered how the Lord gave her prayer
when she was in great trouble. And as a girl how the Lord appeared
You see, out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou
ordained strength. And this great God, you think
of the great mercy and love of God. The dying thief lived a
wicked, sinful life. And he said to the other thief
concerning their sufferings, we indeed justly. He acknowledged that he deserved
the punishment that he was suffering at that time. But this man, what
man? The Holy God man, the man Christ
Jesus, this man had done nothing amiss. It was revealed to him. It was revealed to him by the
Holy Ghost. to that dying thief in the closing
hours of his life, a wicked life. Doesn't this exalt and magnify
the mercy and love and grace of God in Jesus Christ to the
vilest and the most wretched of sinners? And he prays to the Lord Jesus,
Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. It was revealed
to him that this was a King. It says in the Word, doesn't
it, concerning Jesus Christ, now unto the King eternal, immortal
and invisible, the only true God, be honour and glory everlasting. Great is the Lord, and great
does He be praised, and His greatness is unsearchable. It's unsearchable. We do not have the capacity to fully understand God and His
being, His almighty power. It's seen, we read in Psalm 19,
the heavens declare the glory of God, day unto day utter His
speech, night unto night utter His knowledge. It's all around
us. But we're told in the Romans
that man is willfully ignorant of these things. He does not
desire the knowledge of God nor of his ways. He's willfully ignorant
of these things. My mind was very much drawn to
Psalm 104. And it speaks there again of the
greatness of God as the creator, the sustainer. Commences the
psalm, bless the Lord. Oh my soul, oh Lord my God, thou
art very great, thou art clothed with honor and majesty. You see,
he goes on and he speaks of the things of creation. And what
God has given to man. Just look at verse nine. And
this speaks of the flood in the days of Noah. Thou hast set abound
that they may not pass over what the waters, that they turn not
again to cover the earth. He sendeth the springs into the
valleys which run among the hills. They give drink to every beast
of the field. The wild asses quench their thirst.
By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation
which sing among the branches. It goes in verse 16, the trees
of the Lord are full of sap, the cedars of Lebanon which he
had planted. The Lord's people planted by
the living waters of the gospel of the grace of God. And he says, verse 24, oh Lord,
how manifold are thy works. In wisdom hast thou made them
all, the earth is full of thy riches. Full of thy riches. Speaks of how the whole of nature
depends on, in verse 27, these wait all upon thee that thou
mayest give them their meat in due season. That thou givest
them they gather. Thou openest Thine hand, they
are filled with good. Thou hidest Thy face, they are
troubled. Thou takest away their breath,
they die and return to their dust. Thou sendest forth Thy
Spirit, they are created, and Thou renewest the face of the
earth. These are the wonderful works of God in creation. The
glory of the Lord shall endure forever. The Lord shall rejoice
in His works. He looketh on the earth and it
trembleth, he touches the hills and they smoke. I will sing unto
the Lord as long as I live. I will sing praise to my God
while I have my being, my meditation of him. What my God shall be
sweet. Thou openest thine hand and satisfieth
the desire of every living thing. Every living thing. And it gives us these reasons
as to why we should praise the Lord. Verse five, I will speak
of the glorious honor of thy majesty and of thy wondrous works. Men shall speak of the might
of thy terrible acts. I will declare thy greatness,
thy greatness, or the greatness of God. Think of the greatness
of his love. God so loved the world, he gave
his only begotten son. He saw me ruined in the fall,
yet loved me, notwithstanding all. Loved with an Everlasting
love. What love? On such love. My heart
still ponders love, so rich, so full, so free. Oh, the love
of God to set us. The fullness of that love, the
power of that love. Everlasting love. I've loved
thee with an everlasting love. You see, They shall abundantly
utter the memory of thy great goodness and sing of thy righteousness. The Lord is gracious and full
of compassion, slow to anger and of great mercy. Who is it
that knows these things? Those that are quickened into
life. Those in whom the spirit of God
dwells. They are taught by the Spirit.
Their lost condition, their wretched condition, they're taught by
the Spirit, they're sinners, and they are led by the Spirit
unto Jesus as the Saviour of sinners. I am the way, the truth,
and the life. No man cometh unto the Father
but by me. And it's the Spirit that leads
a poor sinner, works faith in their heart. These are the wonderful
works of God. The hymn writer says, doesn't
he, he speaks of the wonders of creation and then he says,
but one strange work exceeds them all. That wonderful work
of grace in the heart of a poor sinner, in a boy, in a girl,
in a man, in a woman. the wonderful power of God's
love, of God's grace in Jesus Christ. And it says here, to
make known, verse 12, to make known to the sons of men his
mighty acts and the glorious majesty of his kingdom. Thy kingdom is an everlasting
kingdom and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations. the
kingdom of God. Just remember, I often remind
you of it, and we need reminding of it, except a man be born of
water and of the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. It's a spiritual kingdom, and
whoever enters that kingdom has to be made spiritual, has to
be given life, The Holy Spirit gives life. The Spirit of life
in Christ Jesus, that's the Holy Ghost. And He leads a poor sinner to
Christ for life. He that hath the Son hath life. He that hath not the Son of God
hath not life. That's where life is. That's
where salvation is. That's where redemption is. That's
where deliverance from sin is. It's in Christ. It's in him that
is life. My mind, it just goes, and I
remember I just recently listened to Mr. Tyler's sermon on the
Sunday morning when he was here. And what an excellent sermon
it was too, but he spoke of light and life. And he referred us to the book
of Genesis. Light came first, then life. Light and life. And my mind was
immediately drawn to the commencement of John's Gospel. In the beginning
was the Word, that's the Son of God. And the Word was with
God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning
with God. All things were made by Him,
and without Him was not anything made that was made. In him was
life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth
in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. There was
a man sent from God whose name was John. The same came for a
witness to bear witness of the light. That, of course, is John
the Baptist. That all men through him might believe. He, that is
John, was not that light, but was sent to bear witness of that
light. That was the true light, which
lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the
world. That's the Son of God. He was
in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew
Him not. He came unto His own, and His
own received Him not. but as many as received Him."
And here in this verse, friends, receiving and believing are exactly
the same thing. As many as received Him, that's
Christ, to them gave He power. The margin says the right or
the privilege. Power to become the sons of God,
even to them. that believe on his name, on
the name of Christ. Then he tells us why they believe
on the name of Christ, which were born, not of blood, nor
of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God,
born of God. That's how we come into the secret
of these wonderful things, what the psalmist calls the secrets
of his covenant. by the Spirit of Truth dwelling
in our hearts. And the Word, that's the Son
of God, was made flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld His glory,
the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace
and truth. You know, That's lovely what
the hymn writer says, isn't it? A fullness resides in Jesus our
head and ever abides to answer our need. A fullness. There's
a fullness of grace. It says he is full of grace and
truth. He's always full of grace and
truth. That grace and that truth never
diminishes in the person of Jesus, the Son of God. He's full of
grace and truth. You think of the countless thousands that have
received the grace of God. Grace to believe and grace to
live to him. Grace to follow him, grace to
serve him. Tens and tens and tens of thousands
of the Lord's people and yet he's still full. He's always
full. It's that lovely word in James,
and he giveth more grace. It's been a good word to me.
It's been a great encouragement to me. I have to speak for myself,
I feel to greatly lack grace. But he giveth more grace. Why?
Because there's a fullness. We are instructed how to run
the race that is set before us in the Hebrews. Let us run with patience the
race that is set before us. How? Looking unto Jesus. To him that is full of grace.
To him that giveth more grace. He giveth more grace. Keep looking. It's unfailing grace. It's eternal
grace. It's almighty grace. It's delivering
grace. It's enlightening grace. It's
upholding grace, the wonderful grace of God in Christ. Oh, my beloved friends, you see,
thou openest thine hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.
Now, of course, this is true of the whole earth. We've just
looked at it in Psalm 104 and how he opens his hand and satisfies
the desire of every, notice this, living thing. You have to be quickened who
were dead. Do you come in this word living
thing? Living thing. Has your soul been quickened? Is there within you spiritual
exercises? Spiritual desires? Spiritual
longings? Do you feel destitute? Because there's a wonderful word,
you will hear the cry of the destitute. And maybe that's where
you are at this time, you feel destitute. You feel destitute
of grace, of love, of mercy, destitute. You will hear the
cry, of the destitute. This Almighty God, this Almighty
Saviour, this Almighty Redeemer, He will hear the cry of the destitute. Listen, He will not despise their
prayer. You may despise yourself and
you may despise your prayers, but He will not despise their
prayer. No, He is. He's the God that
hears and answers prayer. Whatsoever ye ask in prayer,
believing, ye shall receive. That's the words of Christ himself. Thou openest thine hand and satisfyeth
the desire of every living thing. The Lord Jesus Christ is called
the bread of life. The bread of life. living water. Look at the woman
by the well of Samaria, the woman of Samaria by Jacob's well. And Christ said to her, if any
man drink of the water that I shall give him, it shall be in him
a well of water springing up into everlasting life. I shall give him. What is that? What is that water? that he's
speaking of there in John chapter 4. It's the Holy Ghost. Throughout
scripture, the Holy Ghost is spoken to as water, living water. And if any man drink of the water
that I shall give him, the Holy Spirit, he will give the Holy
Spirit to them that ask him. That I will give him. And it
shall be in him, who? The Holy Ghost. Holy Ghost shall
be in him, a well of water springing up unto everlasting life. You think of that, he dwells
in the heart, he springs up, constant supply, fresh water. That's what a spring is, isn't
it? Constant supply of fresh water, but it's forever. in that beautiful discourse of
Christ in John 14, 15, and 16, where he speaks extensively of
the person and power and grace of the Holy Ghost. There's this lovely word. He
will dwell with you forever. He will dwell with you. Who?
The Holy Ghost. He's called the Spirit of Christ.
He will dwell with you. constantly supplying grace. He's called the spirit of grace,
isn't he? Because he constantly supplies
grace in the heart of a poor sinner. He constantly convicts
and convinces of sin when he dwells in our heart. And he constantly
reveals Christ to these poor sinners. And this race that is run, he
brings a poor sinner looking on to Jesus. Let us lay aside every weight
and the sin that does so easily beset us and run with patience
the race that is set before us looking on to Jesus. It's the
only way you can run this race, looking on to Jesus. You know, sometimes you may be
so ashamed of yourself. So ashamed of your wicked sinful
heart. Of that corruption within you.
You're so ashamed of it. And there's a little voice that
says within you, I can't go to him again. You've got nowhere else to go.
You've got nowhere else to go. And that saying, I can't go to
him again, is the pride of your heart. Yeah. The pride of your
heart. I can't go to him again. You
know, you have to. You have to. There's nowhere
else. There is none other name given
under heaven whereby you must be saved, but the name of Jesus
Christ. You have to go. And he will hear
the cry of the destitute. He will not despise their prayer.
Sinners are welcome still to Christ the sinner's friend. They
are. It's still true today, you know,
what the Pharisees said of Christ. This man receive his sins and
eateth with them. They meant it derogatory. Oh,
this man receiveth sinners. What a wonderful gospel truth,
isn't it? And he still receives sinners. To whom coming as unto a living
stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God and precious,
this glorious Savior. Unto you that believe, therefore,
he is precious. Is Christ precious? Do you see in him everything
that you stand in need of? Dear. Do you come like that, dear woman,
if I might but touch the hem of his garment? She knew that
it was common knowledge among the people at that time. There
were many that touched the hem of his garment. And she came. She'd heard of people being healed
when they touched the hem of his garment. And she came. She
spent everything that she had on physicians. She was bankrupted. And she came. If I might but
touch the hem of his garment, I shall be whole. And she was. And she was. And Jesus said,
who touched me? And the disciples said, the people
thronged thee, and they'll say as to who touched me? Somebody
touched me, because virtue has gone out of me. And when she
knew that she could not be hid, she came to him. She came to
him. Thy faith hath made thee whole. She came in faith. If you'd have
spoken to her of faith, she wouldn't have a clue what you were talking
about. But the Lord Jesus, he says, she came in faith. Unto
the Lord Jesus. And he healed her. He healed
her immediately. And the Lord Jesus said to the
apostles and greater things than you have seen me do, shall ye
do. You know when in the early church and the apostles with
the spirit poured upon them, if Peter, if they gave somebody
a hanky belonging to Peter, they were healed. They were healed. Wonderful acts of healing. You
see, my beloved friends, the Lord heals his people. The Lord has an everlasting kingdom,
and he brings his children into it. Thy kingdom, it says in verse
13, thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth
throughout all generations. The Lord upholdeth all that fall,
and raiseth up those that be bowed down. Have you fallen? Are you bowed down? with a sense
of your insufficiency, your poverty, your sinfulness, your wretchedness.
He upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be
bowed down. To this man will I look, to him
that is poor, and of a contrite spirit, and that trembleth at
my word. You see, thou openest thine hand,
you think of this as Christ, and satisfyeth the desire of
every living thing. One hymn writer says, doesn't
he, those feeble desires, those wishes so weak, till Jesus inspires
and bids thee still seek, those feeble desires. The Lord upholdeth
all that fall, and raise up all those that be bowed down. The
eyes of all wait upon thee, and thou givest them their meat in
due season. In due season. It is time. Wait on the Lord. We have it in Psalm 27, the last
verse. on the Lord, wait, I say, upon the Lord. You see, it says
in Isaiah chapter 40, doesn't it? But they that wait upon the
Lord. In that previous verse, he said,
even the ewes shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall
utterly fall, but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their
strength. They shall mount upon wings as
eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and
not faint. They that wait upon the Lord.
Are you waiting upon the Lord? Have you come up to chapel today
waiting upon the Lord? Looking unto Jesus, desiring
a blessing? Do you feel darkness and you
say, He alone is the light of the world? Do you feel bondage? And the sun shall make you free.
You see these things are written for our instruction. And this
is living bread. Christ is living bread. It's very beautiful where that
is spoken of in the gospel according to John. It speaks there, Christ
speaks of himself as bread. And He says there in the sixth chapter
of John, concerning himself, speaking of himself, he says,
verse 29, Jesus answered and said unto them, this is the work
of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. They said
therefore unto him, what sign showest thou that we see and
believe thee? What dost thou work? Our fathers
did eat manna in the desert. As it is written, he gave them
bread from heaven to eat. Jesus said unto them, Verily,
verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from
heaven, but my father giveth you the true bread from heaven.
For the bread of God is he which came down from heaven and giveth
life unto the world. They said, therefore, Then said
they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. Jesus said
unto them, I am the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall
never hunger. He that believeth on me shall
never thirst. All that the Lord would give
us, clear, Believe in views of the glorious person, of Jesus
the bread of life, of Jesus the way, the truth and the life.
Clear views of his glorious person and power and grace and love
and mercy. Jesus who suffered and bled and
died for the sins of his people. Jesus who shed every drop of
his precious blood to redeem us. Jesus whose blood cleanses
from all sin. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's
Son, cleanseth us from all sin. This is where your hunger and
your thirst will be satisfied in Jesus Christ. You see, the eyes of all wait
upon thee, and thou givest them their meat in due season, thou
openest thine hand, and satisfyest the desire of every living thing. May the Lord add his blessing. Let us now sing together hymn
number 407. The tune is Alfred 287. Dear Lord, my panting soul in
flame, to spread abroad thy matchless fame, and with a solemn pleasure
tell the grace which saves from death and hell. hymn 407, tune
Alfred, 287. ♪ To spread the word of truth and
wisdom ♪ ♪ And with a sober pleasure turn
♪ ♪ And with a sober pleasure turn ♪ ♪ And with a sober pleasure
turn ♪ The grace that shades from death
and hell. It's not a fault for sin that's found, Make me a stone, Thou black necklace,
Bender my soul with wonderfuel, ♪ For she's to bear our fears ♪
♪ Towered high and true ♪ ♪ For she's to come and turn our way
♪ And nation thus redeemed from
sin was justly redeemed. ♪ And blest in him ♪ ♪ He is and
I am ♪ ♪ Jesus is ♪ ♪ He is and I am ♪ It's of the life eternal. Saints prepare to crown His crown.
Earth, mighty mount of Jervis, ♪ And let their souls be full of
His name ♪ ♪ He is God, our Savior, is He everlasting ♪ Now, may the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, the sacred fellowship
of the Holy Spirit, Rest and abide with us each. Amen.