The notices for the coming week
are God willing as follows. Pastor will preach here next
Lord's Day at 10.30 and two o'clock. Also on Thursday evening at seven
o'clock. There'll be a prayer meeting
here on Tuesday evening at seven o'clock. The collections taken
during July amounted to £1,929.45, donations to the book fund of £45. We sincerely thank you for your
continued support of this cause of truth. Let us commence our
services today by singing together hymn 133. The tune is Lubeck,
700. One there is above all others, well
deserves the name of friend. His is love beyond a brother's,
costly, free and knows no end. They who wants his kindness prove,
find it everlasting love. Hymn 133, tune Lubeck, 700. O'er the ramparts we watched,
were so gallantly streaming? ♪ God save the Queen and Lord of
Heav'n ♪ ♪ Thank you, God, since I've been born ♪ In the everlasting light. O come all ye faithful joyful
and triumphant O come all ye faithful joyful and triumphant
♪ From the earth above us ♪ ♪ With
God's help they came to God ♪ ♪ With joy and gladness ♪ ♪ Now they
live ♪ Jesus, Jesus, Lord at thy birth.
Jesus, Jesus, Lord at thy birth. ♪ Praise for our lost dear soldier
♪ ♪ He does good and then to good go on ♪ ♪ He does good and
then to good go on ♪ O'er the land of the free and
the home of the brave? ♪ We will praise thee as we go
forth ♪ ♪ We will praise thee as we go forth ♪ Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God in the Acts of the Apostles in chapter 8.
The 8th chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. And Saul was consenting unto
his death. And at that time there was a
great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem. and they were all scattered abroad
throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria except the apostles. And devout men carried Stephen
to his burial and made great lamentation over him. As for
Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering into every house and
hailing men and women, committing them to prison. Therefore, they
that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word.
Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached
Christ unto them. And the people with one accord
gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing
the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits, crying with
loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them.
and many taken with pauses, and that were lame, were healed.
And there was great joy in that city. And there was a certain
man called Simon, who before time in the same city used sorcery
and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some
great one, to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest,
saying, is the great power of God. And to him they had regard,
because for a long time he had bewitched them with sorceries.
But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning
the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized,
both men and women. Then Simon himself believed also,
and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding
the miracles and signs which were done. Now when the apostles,
which were at Jerusalem, heard that Samaria had received the
word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John, who, when they
were come down, prayed with them that they might receive the Holy
Ghost. For as yet he was falling upon
none of them, only they were baptized in the name of the Lord
Jesus. Then laid they their hands on
them, and they received the Holy Ghost. And when Simon saw that
through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given,
he offered them money, saying, Give me also this power, that
on whomsoever I lay hands he may receive the Holy Ghost. But
Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou
hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. Thou hast neither part nor lot
in this matter, for thy heart is not right in the sight of
God. Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God
if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. For
I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness and in the
bond of iniquity. Then answered Simon, and said,
Pray ye to the Lord for me, that none of these things which thou
hast spoken come upon me. And they, when they had testified
and preached the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem,
and preached the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans. And the angel of the Lord spake
unto Philip, saying, Arise and go toward the south, unto the
way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. And
he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia,
and eunuch of great authority, unto Candace, queen of the Ethiopians,
who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem
for to worship, was returning, and sitting in his chariot, read
Isaiah the prophet, Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near,
and join thyself to this chariot. And Philip ran thither to him,
and heard him read the prophet Isaiah, and said, Understandest
thou what thou readest? And he said, How can I, except
some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he
would come up and sit with him. The place of the scripture which
he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter,
and like a lamb done before her shearers, so opened it not his
mouth. In his humiliation his judgment
was taken away, and who shall declare his generation? For his
life is taken from the earth. And the eunuch answered Philip
and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? Of
himself? or of some other man. Then Philip
opened his mouth and began at the same scripture and preached
unto him Jesus. And as they went on their way,
they came unto a certain water. And the eunuch said, See, here
is water. What does hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest
with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe,
that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the
chariot to stand still. And they went down both into
the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. And when they were come up out
of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that
the eunuch saw him no more, and he went on his way rejoicing.
But Philip was found at Azotus, and passing through he preached
in all the cities till he came to Caesarea. May the Lord bless
the reading of his own precious word and grant unto us a spirit
of real prayer. Almighty, most merciful and eternal
God, as we read of thee in Holy Scripture, Thus saith the High
and Lofty One that inhabited eternity, whose name is Holy. And Lord, we are unholy, we are
unrighteous, we are unclean, and we solemnly fear Him. But
we come to Thee, Lord, not in our own name, but in the name
of Jesus, that precious name. This is the name the Father loves
to hear his children plead, and all such pleadings he approves
when offered in his name. So we come to thee, most gracious
God, for Christ's sake. Thou art the God and Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ, and we would indeed bow our knees before
thee, the only true God. Pray that thou would be with
us this day in the sanctuary. Grant thy gracious presence,
the presence of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. May
we know that divine power of the Spirit in our hearts. May
it be known in the pulpit and in the pew. May the blessed Spirit
open our eyes and our ears and our hearts to receive the word
of the Lord. For Lord, without thee we can
do nothing. We pray for the spirit of faith
which thou must give and work that faith in our hearts to deliver
us from darkness and from bondage and from sin and Satan's power.
Lord, thou alone are able to do this. Lead us unto Jesus Christ,
the eternal Son of the eternal Father. Grant that we may hear
his voice, that we may see his countenance, that we may worship
in his holy hill of Zion. Grant that we may be favoured
with a view by faith of Calvary where the Lamb was slain, his
precious blood, his glorious righteousness. Grant, O Lord,
that the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God our
Father and the sacred fellowship of the Holy Spirit may rest and
abide upon us. We think of that precious word,
for God has sent forth the spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying,
Abba, Father. Lord, we do pray that thou wouldst
be with us as a church and as a congregation, that thou wouldst
work mightily and powerfully and effectually among us, that
thou wouldst gather in precious souls and build the walls of
Jerusalem that thou wouldst revive us again, that thou wouldst return
to Jerusalem with mercies. And let thy hand be upon the
man of thy right hand, the son of man, whom thou madest strong
for thyself. Help us to follow thee. Help
us to serve thee. In our day and in our generation,
enable us to present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy and
acceptable unto thee. which is our reasonable service,
and that we be not conformed to this world, but may we be
transformed by the renewing of our mind, that we might know
what that good and perfect and acceptable will of the Lord is. Lord, we can echo in our hearts
the language of the sweet Psalmist of Israel, that we love the habitation of
thy house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth. And we
pray that we may meet with thee here today. There may be an outpouring
of the Spirit, that we may see the glories of Christ in his
everlasting righteousness, in his glorious sacrifice, his precious
blood, his resurrection. We thank thee for the wonder
and glory of his name, the fullness of that grace that is in him,
We thank Thee for that fulfilling of the law and the bringing in
of everlasting righteousness by Jesus Christ. O most gracious
Lord, we thank Thee for that pure, that holy sacrifice for
sin of our Lord Jesus Christ. O we thank Thee for what He has
done and that He satisfied all the demands of divine justice
brought life and immortality to light through the gospel and
died for our sins and rose again for our justification. For as
far as the east is from the west, so far hast thou removed our
sins from us. Gracious God, what a fullness
there is in Jesus Christ, that fullness of life and light and
liberty. And gracious God, We do pray
that thou would set us free, even this day. We pray, most
gracious Lord, that thou would bless our brethren, the deacons.
Give them needed wisdom, grace, and help. Not only what their
responsibilities are here, but among the churches of God. Do
help them. We do humbly pray then. We pray,
most gracious God, for each one of our brethren and our sisters
in Christ Jesus. that thou wouldst bless them
indeed and undertake for them. We pray, most gracious Lord,
that thou wouldst be with us today as we hope to gather round
the table of the Lord and grant that we may truly worship thee
there and truly remember thee, Lord Jesus, and remember that
wonderful salvation and that precious blood. Gracious God,
do hear us, we humbly pray thee, We pray that thou would bless
us together as a church and as a congregation. That thou would
work mightily, powerfully and effectually among us. That thou
would bless the dear children and the little ones as they come
into the sanctuary. Bless them in their young and
tender years with the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning
of wisdom. And bless our dear young friends.
Undertake for them Guide them, O thou great Jehovah. Bring them
to realise that this is a wilderness and that they need the tree of
life, even our Lord Jesus Christ. Grant that they may be brought
to living faith in thee and lay aside every weight and the sin
that thus so easily beset us and run with patience the race
that is set before us. Grant, Lord, we pray that thou
wilt be with them in all the paths of providence. Provide
for them a partner in life's journey, in their education,
help, and in any future employment, Lord, undertake for them. We
do humbly beseech them. We pray, most gracious God, that
thou, in thy great mercy, would remember all in the midst of
the journey of life, especially parents, They may be given grace
and wisdom to bring up their children in the nurture and admonition
of the Lord. And grant, most gracious God,
that thou wouldst remember each one. Deliver us from the temptations
of Satan. Deliver us from the power and
dominion of sin. We do humbly beseech thee for
thy great name's sake. And, O Lord God, we do pray that
thou would remember those of us in the evening time of life's
journey. And grant, Lord, we pray thee
that as the outward man perishes, that the inward man may be renewed
day by day. Grant, O Lord, that thou would
remember our dear aged sister, Ina, and undertake for her, and
support and sustain her. we do humbly beseech thee for
thy great name's sake. And we pray for this village,
that the wonderful glory, light, and power of the gospel may shine
into this village, that we may see an ingathering of precious
souls, that we may see the pulling down of the strongholds of Satan
and the setting up of the kingdom of the Lord Jesus. Bless the
scriptures of truth that have been distributed and the calendars
Grant, O Lord, we pray thee, that the word of the Lord may
have free course, that thy name may be honoured and glorified.
We pray, most gracious Lord, that thou would remember all
thy servants today 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. Lord, there is a great withholding
of thy spirit, We pray that there may be an outpouring of it, and
that thou wouldst cause us to return unto thee, and pour upon
us the spirit of grace and repentance and faith. Grant these things
to us, O Lord, we do humbly beseech thee. Daily I would repent of
sin, daily wash in Jesus' blood, all to be made more spiritually
minded and our heart and affection set upon things above. Bless
the little hills of Zion. And we pray thee, the great Lord
of the harvest, to yet send true labourers into the harvest. That
thou wouldst arise, O God of grace, into thy rest descend,
thou and the ark of thy strength, and let thy priests be clothed
with salvation, and thy saints shall shout aloud for joy. Lord
abundantly bless the provision of thy house and satisfy her
poor with bread. Lord, we pray that thou would
meet with all the assemblies of thy saints. We think of those
in those nations of the earth where thy name is hated and thy
people are persecuted. We pray that thou would graciously
send them help from the sanctuary. strengthen them out of Zion.
We do humbly beseech thee. Lord, we pray for those who go
forth from among us in the nations of the earth. We think of Ian
Sadler as he goes to so many different places throughout the
nations of the earth in the distribution and the exposition of the word
among them. Supply all his many returning
needs. Oh Lord, we do beseech them.
Remember the Mombasa mission and thy servant as he labours
there, do grant him all sufficient grace and enable him to preach
the word and be instant in season and out of season and grant good
success unto the ministry of the word there. Remember the
Savannah Education Trust and that great work they're doing
in Ghana. Lord, Bless the means, we do
humbly beseech thee, to the spread of thy gospel and to the ingathering
of thy children, we do humbly beseech thee. We pray for our nation, Lord,
for our King, that thou would bless him and the royal household.
Bless them with that rich grace that is in King Jesus. And bless
our leaders with wisdom and with understanding. all in authority
over us. Lord, we pray that thou wouldst
arise in this dark day in which we live, when the spirit and
power of Antichrist is so prevalent. We pray that thy gospel may shine
forth. We do humbly beseech thee. Lord,
has there been a greater day than this for thy gospel to come? Hear the cries of thy little
remnants. and make bare thine holy arm,
we do humbly beseech thee. We thank thee for every mercy
of thy kind providence. Thy mercies, O Lord, are new
every morning, and great is thy faithfulness. Come and touch
one's lips with a live coal from off the heavenly altar, and make
up in giving where we do so fail in asking, as we ask for Jesus
Christ's sake. Amen. Let us now sing together hymn
number 267. The tune is Theodora, 511. Children
of the heavenly King, as ye journey sweetly safe, sing
your Saviour's worthy praise, glorious in his works and ways. Hymn 267, Tune Theodora, 511.
♪ O'er the land of the free and
the home of the brave ♪ ♪ And she doth live to be preached
to thee ♪ ♪ Sing, O'er the land of the free and the home of the
brave ♪ ♪ The way unto God ♪ ♪ In the way
to heaven's door ♪ ♪ We are coming now and then ♪ ♪ Ever cheery birth ♪ ♪ Christ
forever ♪ ♪ Make his way ♪ ♪ Be to his shape ♪ ♪ Pure flesh and
sheets ♪ ♪ He lives upon thy breast ♪ ♪
He only lives and shall rest ♪ ♪ Where thou shalt be ♪ I'm. O say can you see, by the dawn's
early light, What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's O say does that star-spangled
banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the
brave? greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, direct your attention to the chapter that we read,
the eighth chapter in the Acts of the Apostles, and we'll read
verse 35 for our text. The Acts of the Apostles, chapter
eight, verse 35. Then Philip opened his mouth
and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. Then Philip opened his mouth. Wonderful account we have here
of the Lord revealing himself unto the Ethiopian eunuch and the wonderful power of God
how that he directed his servant Philip to this place, took him
there. You know, it must, in some sense,
it seems a strange thing that he was laboring in the city of
Samaria with such great success. The Spirit attending the preaching
of the Word. Many precious souls gathered
unto Christ. And yet the Lord takes him from
that sphere of his labors and he takes him into a desert, into Gaza. In verse 26, and the
angel of the Lord spake unto Philipson, arise and go toward
the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza,
which is desert. So he goes from the town or the
city of Samaria Right down to a desert, there's one man, the Ethiopian eunuch. And you
see that the time had come when the Lord would open his eyes to see that the saviour of sinners
is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He arose and went to behold a
man of Ethiopia, a man of great authority, under Kandese, Queen
of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all their treasure.
He was the equivalent of what we call the Chancellor of the
Exchequer, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship. There was obviously
something going on in that man's heart as to why he came to Jerusalem. at the time of the Passover. But he didn't meet the Lord,
it appears, in Jerusalem. But he was on his way home. But
he was inquiring. He was reading in Holy Scripture. What a mercy when we begin to
inquire. We begin to seek and to search.
It's great mercy, you know, friends, if you have that in your heart
to seek and to search and to find. See, what we might say
the first work of the Spirit in the heart. And the Lord Jesus, He gives
great encouragement, doesn't He? Ask and you shall receive. Seek and you shall find. Knock
and it shall be opened unto you. The words of our Lord Jesus Christ
are poor seeking souls. And this man obviously reading
the scriptures with a desire to understand them. The Lord
literally brought one of his servants right to where he was. Philip was taken right where
he was. We read in the parable of the Good Samaritan that the poor man that was taken
among thieves, see, come right where he was, a good Samaritan,
beautiful type of Christ, come right where he was. The Levite
passed on the other way, moved over the other side of the road.
He wouldn't have anything to do with a Samaritan. What a terrible spirit that is.
How contrary to the sacred spirit of Christ. And here was this
man, obviously a man of great influence and of great wealth,
who was seeking the Lord, and he sent one of his servants down
to him. You see, he was reading in the
prophecy of Isaiah. The place of the scripture which
he read was this, he was led as a sheep to the slaughter and
like a lamb done before his shearers so openly not his mouth. In his
humiliation, his judgment was taken away. Wonderful account
that we have of Christ and his sufferings. And who shall declare
his generation for his life is taken from the earth. And the eunuch he, I pray thee of whom speaketh
the prophet this, of himself or son of the man? He had that desire to know. And then Philip opened his mouth
and began at the same scripture and preached unto him, Jesus. Jesus is the way to God. Jesus is the way to bliss. The way to God. The way to bliss. The way of salvation. Here in
the Acts of the Apostles it says, of Jesus Christ. You know, we
think of Philip here as the Lord took him down into the desert
and blessed the word that he preached. It didn't go in vain.
He blessed the word that he preached there. And it was received by the eunuch
into his very soul. What wonderful thing, what the
Lord does. The apostle, he speaks of it,
he says, by the foolishness of preaching. That's the principle means that
the Lord uses in the salvation of his people, in calling them
by divine grace, when he anoints his servants with the Spirit
of God, and they preach under the divine influence of the Spirit
of God, and their words reach into the very soul, They themselves can't do that.
It's the divine work of the Spirit. It is indeed. And the word was
so blessed. You think there's that word,
there was a needs be, this is concerning Christ, for him to
go through Samaria. There was a needs be for him
to go through Samaria. What a mercy of This morning
there's a need be that he should be here in Lambethurst to bless
his word, to seal his word into some poor sinner's heart, to
strengthen his people through the preaching of Jesus Christ
and him crucified. Then Philip opened his mouth
and began at the same scripture and preached unto him, Jesus. You know that it's such a beautiful,
the 53rd of Isaiah is so beautiful, isn't it? It speaks of the glorious
person, as it says here in our text. And he, beginning at the
same scripture, he preached unto him Jesus. So it speaks to us
of Jesus Christ in Isaiah 53 in verse 2. For he shall grow
up before him as a tender plant and as a root out of a dry ground,
He hath no form nor comeliness that we should see Him. There
is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is the glorious person
of Jesus, the Son of God, that was manifest in the flesh. He
is despised and rejected of men. A man of sorrows is the glorious
person of our Lord Jesus Christ, a man of sorrows and acquainted
with grief. A man of sorrows. All the sorrows. You cannot really hardly contemplate
the depths of those sorrows. You see the man of sorrows. He lived here upon earth. He was holy in his very birth.
He was pure and spotless. Righteous altogether. and yet
he lived here upon earth amidst wicked, sinful men and women. You see, my beloved friends,
how that must have grieved him day by day, the pure, the holy,
the spotless Jesus, as he walked in this sin-cursed world, as
he was surrounded with wicked, sinful men and women. He is despised. He was despised
and rejected of men. A man of sorrows and acquainted
with grief. You see, my beloved friends,
this was the path the Saviour walked. You know, we never read
in Scripture of Jesus laughing. He was a man of sorrows. He was
in a wicked, sinful world. And He was made of a woman, as
the Son of God was made of a woman, made under the law, that He might
redeem them that are under the law. You see, we read here in
Isaiah, it speaks of the substitutionary nature of the work of Christ
here upon earth, that He was doing this for His people. on
their behalf. Upon a life I did not live, upon
a death I did not die, hangs my everlasting wall. Upon
the life of Jesus Christ, upon the death of Jesus Christ, hangs
my everlasting awe. Surely he hath borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows. This is why the word was made
flesh and wrote among us. He hath borne our griefs and
carried our sorrows. It was on the behalf of his people. It was our griefs. We read of
our Lord Jesus Christ that he did no sin. Neither was guile
found in his mouth. He bore our griefs and carried
our sorrows. Yet we did esteem him stricken,
smitten of God and afflicted. And then these wonderful words
of grace, but he was wounded for our transgressions. What precious words they are,
isn't it? Joseph Hart, he says, my sins
were the nails and the spear. My sins. It was our sins that crucified
Christ. It was our sins that made him
suffer, bleed and die. You know, friends, I've proved
this by personal experience, that there is more conviction
of sin if you are truly brought to Calvary, where the Lamb was
slain, and you're brought there by faith, and you see Him suffering
in your room place instead. You'll hate sin. You'll hate
sin. when you see that He was wounded
for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities.
The chastiment of our peace was upon Him. And with His stripes we are healed. This is the very heart of the
Gospel of Jesus Christ. With His stripes we are healed.
This is what He came to do. came to suffer, bleed, and die
for the sins of his people and to rise again for their justification. And then the word of God, it
clears here where we are each by nature, all we like sheep
have gone astray. We've turned everyone to his
own way. That's where we are by nature.
We're born in sin, we're shaped in iniquity. All we like sheep,
No exception. All we like sheep. In Romans
chapter 3, the Apostle quotes from the Book of Psalms, there
is none righteous, no, not one. None of us can claim to be righteous.
We all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. All we like
sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his
own way. That's where we are by nature.
Lost and ruined in the fall. Lost and ruined in the fall. Completely so. Dead in trespasses
and in sins. In other words, completely unable
to lift yourself from that. Completely unable to quicken
your own soul You hath he quickened who were
dead. We are totally incapable, number
one, of convincing ourselves of our own sin, and number two, believing in
Jesus Christ. It's the divine work of the Spirit
in the heart. You hath he quickened who were
dead. That has to be done before anything spiritual. can take
place in your heart. The Spirit has to give you life.
He's called the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus. Do you have
that life? Has your soul been quickened? You see, all we like sheep have
gone astray. We have turned everyone to his
own way. And the Lord and Jehovah has
laid on Him That's on Jesus, the Son of God. Laid on Him the
iniquity of us all. Isn't that what we desire to
know? Did He suffer, bleed and die
for me? Were my sins laid on Christ at
Calvary? Were my sins laid on Christ in
Gethsemane? Because that is what happened
in Gethsemane. It was the fulfilling of this verse six here in Isaiah
53, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. The choice of word here, my beloved
friends, the iniquity of us all. I remember reading the Puritan
Stephen Charnock, And he was speaking of the different names
given to sin in Holy Scripture. And it seemed to so lay hold
of me. He said, iniquity actually refers
to our fallen sinful nature. Original sin. That's what the
term iniquity refers to. We're born in sin. And he laid
upon him the iniquity Our original sin was laid on Christ. He laid
on Him the iniquity of us all. Our sins and our iniquities. Their sins, He says in one place,
doesn't He? Their sins and their iniquities
will I remember no more. Why? Because they've been laid
on a substitute. There's somebody who has taken
those sins and that somebody is Jesus Christ. and beginning
at the same scripture he preached unto him, Jesus. Jesus is the
way to God, Jesus is the way to bliss. In this way the saints
have trod down from Adam's day to this. And the Lord hath laid on him
the iniquity of us all. You see, how different Jesus
is to us. We're sinners. Sinners by our
very birth and sinners by our actions. We sin because we are
sinners. But this man, the man Christ
Jesus, he did no sin. He did no sin. Neither was guile
found in his mouth. In other words, In an absolutely
perfect way, He fulfilled the Law. He honoured and magnified
the Law. In Isaiah 42, we read concerning
our Lord Jesus Christ, He will magnify the Law and make it honourable. That's what Christ did in His
holy life. He magnified the Law. He Himself
speaks in an abbreviated form concerning the law when he was
asked, and he said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all
thy heart, with all thy mind, and thy neighbour as thyself. That's the law and the prophets. And Jesus did that. He loved the Lord his God with
all his heart, with all his mind, with all his soul, and his neighbour. as himself. He went about doing
good, healing the afflicted, making the lame to walk, the
deaf to hear, the blind to see. Those who were sick of a palsy,
that means a paralysis, he healed them. And we read again and again
in the Gospels, Jesus having compassion. And you know that
was all part of his fulfilling of the law. Thou shalt love thy
neighbour as thyself. That's the law. Do we? Can we? Can you? Can you fulfil
that holy righteous law? In all its commands and demands?
Do you love your neighbour as yourself? And do anything that you can
to relieve your neighbour? You see, it's what Jesus did. and in doing that he fulfilled
and honored and magnified the holy law of God in his glorious
person. I come not to destroy the law
but to fulfill it and that is what Christ has done. He's fulfilled,
he's honored and he's magnified that holy law on the behalf of
his people. And we read of him here, he was
oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth.
He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before
her shearers is done, so he openeth not his mouth. He willingly gave his life, a
ransom for all. This is what is typified in the
Levitical dispensation in what is called the free will offering.
It's typified Christ. He freely gave himself to ransom
his people. He paid the ransom price. The
Redeemer. The precious Redeemer of his
people. It's like Boaz. He was a mighty man of wealth
and therefore he was able to redeem everything that pertained
unto Naomi and Ruth. He had the ability to do it.
What a beautiful type he is of Christ, a mighty man of wealth. He has the ability, wherefore
he is able to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by him,
seeing he ever liveth. But always just think of the
agony of his heart, He was taken from prison and from judgment,
and who shall declare his generation? For he was cut off. In other
words, he died. He was cut off. Out of the land of the living,
for the transgression of my people, was he stricken. We sinned. The Saviour died. He made his grave with the wicked
and with the rich in his death. We notice Nicodemus and Joseph
of Arimathea both came to Christ to retrieve his body. And that is spoken of here. You see, he died between two
thieves. And one of those thieves said,
we indeed justly, but this man hath done nothing amiss. He is taken from prison and from
judgment, and who shall declare his generation? For he was cut
off out of the land of the living. For the transgression of my people
was he stricken. And He made His grave with the
wicked and the rich in His death, because He had done no violence,
neither was any deceit in His mouth. Holy, sacred holiness
and purity of our Lord Jesus Christ. Yet it pleased the Lord. Jehovah,
His eternal Father, yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him. Why did
it please His Heavenly Father to bruise Him to redeem His people? That's why it pleased the Father
to bruise Him, because this was a way of redemption. This was
a way of salvation. He bruised His only begotten
Son. See, we often speak of the love
and compassion of Jesus Christ But just think of the love and
compassion of our Eternal Father when He took our sins and He
punished His own Son on our behalf, in our room, in our place and
in our stairs. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise
Him. He hath put Him to grief when
thou shalt make His soul. Such a wonderful thing that these
things are mentioned in Holy Scripture. How confirming to
the sacred doctrine You think in the Hebrews and the second
chapter there, that he was made in all points like unto his brethren. He had a sacred, holy human nature. We're told very clearly in Holy
Scripture what that human nature is. God took of the dust of the ground. And with that dust of the ground,
he formed the physical body of man, of Adam. And it's in the seventh verse
of the second chapter of Genesis. And the Lord God formed man of
the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath
of life. And man became a living soul. Man became a living soul. It says in Hebrews chapter 2, he
was made a little lower than the angels. Who? The Son of God.
But then it quotes from the Psalms that thou madest him a little
lower than the angels. That is man. Made a little lower
than the angels. He had a physical body, a spiritual
soul. The angels are pure spirit, created,
but pure spirit. Man has a physical body, which
is the tabernacle of his soul, which animates his body. We have
what is called a reasonable soul. The reason it's called a reasonable
soul is because it is the very seat of our reason. And that
is what makes us different to all the beasts of the earth.
We're made in the image of God. We have the power to reason and
to understand things, which the beasts of the earth do not. And our Lord Jesus Christ, the
Son of God, manifest in the flesh, partook of a complete human nature. He had a holy body, physical
body, and he had a reasonable soul. and he had a reasonable soul.
And you know that reasonable soul was part of his offering.
As it says here in Isaiah, when thou shalt make his soul an offering
for sin, an offering for sin. So the whole body and soul of
Christ was offered on Calvary's truth. And we've often explained
to you how under the Levitical dispensation you have an altar
and you have a sacrifice on the altar. They are very distinct,
one from another. In a typical sense, the altar
represents the divine nature of the Son of God. The sacrifice
on the altar represents the human nature of the Son of God. He
offered his own sacred, holy human nature on the altar of
his divinity. So when it says he offered himself,
it was a complete offering. He offered himself without spot
unto God, body and soul. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise
him. He hath put him to grief when
thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin. And now we have a change
in language. It speaks of resurrection, the
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. He shall see his
seed. His seed are all those that the
Father had given him. And he laid upon him the iniquity
of us all, all those that the Father had given him. He shall see his seed. He shall
prolong his days, he will rise from the dead, though he entered
into death, yet he rose from the dead. He shall prolong his
days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand,
in this glorious person of Jesus Christ. He shall see of the travail
of his soul, and shall be satisfied. Oh, my dear beloved friends,
This is the very center of the gospel. By his knowledge shall
my righteous servant justify many, for he shall bear their
iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a
portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the
strong, because he hath poured out his soul unto death. We read in the Epistle of James,
the body without the spirit is dead, being alone. So when, on
the cross of Calvary, when the Son of God voluntarily, praying
unto his Father, said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit, and his soul was separated from
his body, and he entered into death itself. The body without
the spirit is dead, being alone. And he shall divide the spoil
with the strong, because he hath poured out his soul unto death,
and he was numbered with the transgressors, and he bared the
sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. This is the very substance of
the sacred gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Then Philip opened
his mouth and began at the same scripture and preached unto him
Jesus. Jesus the Son of God. Look at
the confession of the eunuch in verse 37. Philip says, if
thou believest, with all thine heart thou mayest, that is to
be baptized. And he answered and said, I believe
that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. That was his confession
of faith. And you know, in the first epistle
of John, it speaks there, so clearly and beautifully concerning
what we believe in. What we believe in. I believe it's John chapter 4.
Look at the beautiful commencement of that one John chapter 4. Beloved, believe not every spirit,
but try the spirits, whether they are of God, because many
false prophets have gone out into the world. Hereby know ye
the Spirit of God. That's the Holy Ghost. Every
spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is
of God. And every spirit that confesseth
not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God. And this is that spirit of Antichrist
whereof ye have heard that it should come and even now already
is it in the world. See, so so vital to believe who
Jesus is that he's come in the flesh he's
the son of God manifest in the flesh it goes on in that fourth
chapter in the one john and it says in verse 15 whosoever shall
confess that Jesus is the son of God God dwelleth in him and
he in God and he in God understand that that one of the slippery
slopes at what is the Keswick Conference and originally very
sound evangelical people that joined together into that conference
but gradually they went away from Holy Scripture. And one
of the first things was they would accept anyone even if they
believed that Jesus wasn't a real man. And even if they believed
that Jesus wasn't the Son of God, they would receive them
and say, well, they believe in Jesus, that's all we need. Well,
the scriptures tell us quite different. We must believe who
He is. And the same Christ is revealed
unto all of God's children. He's the Son of God, manifest
in the flesh. And this is the confession of
the eunuch. I believe that Jesus Christ is
the Son of God. Jesus Christ was that man that
had just been crucified in Jerusalem. I believe that Jesus Christ is
the Son of God, the centurion by the cross of Christ, witnessing
those terrible sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ. And he said of a truth, there
was a, the Son of God gave up the ghost, he commended his spirit
to his Holy Father, The veil of the temple was rent in twain,
and there was an earthquake. And the centurion standing there
by the cross, he said, truly, this was the Son of God. Truly, this was the Son of God. And you know, it's vital to our
salvation. There's none but the Son of God
that was able to redeem us. There was none but the Son of
God that was able to offer a perfect holy sacrifice. And that sacrifice
was his own body and soul that he offered as sacrifice for sin. Then Philip opened his mouth
and began at the same scripture and preached unto him Jesus. Jesus said, I am the way, and
the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father,
but by me, the way, the truth, and the life. Oh, that we may
be given clear, believing views of who this glorious man is,
and that the Holy Spirit will truly convince us of our sins,
and of our need of a saviour. The whole need, not a physician,
but they that are sick. And we need the Holy Spirit to
show us that we're sick, that we're poor, that we're needed,
that we're wretched, that we're undone. We need to be brought
to that realisation that we need a saviour, we need a redeemer. And that is what Christ means
when he speaks in that beautiful valedictory discourse in John's
Gospel. And he says, when he, the spirit
of truth, is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness,
and of judgment. That's the divine work of the
Spirit. And the hymn writer says, it's
only sinners can say, and none but they, how precious is the
Saviour. sinners can say. And then there
are those words spoken derogatorily about Jesus Christ by the Pharisees
and the Sadducees. This man receive his sinners
and eateth with them. Hallelujah! He still does. He still does. He receives his
sinners. Are you a sinner? Do you feel yourself to be a
sinner? Do you feel yourself to be undone?
Do you feel yourself to be ruined in the fall? Is it something that you mourn
over and you grieve over because you're a sinner? The more I strove
against sin's power, I sinned and stumbled, but the more...
Is that what you're proving? Till late I heard my Saviour
say, Come hither soul, I am the way. Think of what Jesus says
to these poor sinners, these poor coming sinners. He says,
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will
give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn
of me, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. When it says,
my yoke, it means to be united to Christ. How vital that is. In union with the Lamb, from
condemnation free, the saints for everlasting were and shall
forever be. You'll never find anything good
in yourself. No. The heart is deceitful above
all things and desperately wicked. You'll prove it. You'll feel
it. And it's when you prove it and feel it, then you need a
saviour, then you need a redeemer, then you need one that will deliver
you from your sins, and from the power of sin, and the dominion
of sin, and the workings of sin. And that is who Jesus is speaking
to. Come unto me, all ye that labour,
and are heavy laden. You labour under a sense of your
sinfulness, your wretchedness, and he invites such to himself. Come unto me. All that the Lord
would enable you to come. The apostle, he says, let us
lay aside every weight and the sin that doth so easily beset
us and let us run with patience. The race that is set before us,
looking unto Jesus. Joseph Hart, in that lovely hymn
23, a man there is a real man with wounds still gaping wide.
You think of those last two verses of that hymn, come then repenting
sinner come and trust upon his grace so what thou wilt the total
sum is cancelled by his death. There are those precious words
of grace that we find in Isaiah chapter 55. He speaks there again
to poor needy wretched sinners come unto me Ho everyone that thirsty come ye
Do we have some hungry thirsty souls here this morning? Longing
for something for your soul How everyone that thirsted come ye?
to the waters. These are the wonderful waters
of the gospel. Those waters of the eternal love
of God in Christ. Come ye to the waters, he that
hath no money. That means he that is bankrupt.
He that hath no money, come ye. Buy and eat, yea, come buy wine
and milk without money and without price. It's priceless. Wherefore
do you spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour
for that which satisfies not. Hearken diligently unto me, and
eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself
in fatness. Incline your ear, and come unto
me. Herein your soul shall live,
and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure
mercies of David. You set an everlasting covenant
with you, even the sure mercies of David. Oh, that precious blood
of Jesus Christ cleanses from all sin. It does, from all sin. That glorious everlasting robe
of the righteousness of Christ covers the nakedness of a poor
sinner so they can stand in the presence of Almighty God. Philip opened his mouth and began
at the same scripture and preached unto him Jesus. May the Lord add his blessing. Let us now sing together in number
171 The tune is Osset 386. Join all who love the Saviour's
name to sing his everlasting fame. Great God, prepare each
heart and voice in him forever to rejoice. Hymn 171, tune Osset
386. you The Spirit of the Holy Ghost
in me. Let God prepare each heart and
voice In name forever to rejoice ♪ How beautiful the sound ♪ ♪ That
saved a child ♪ ♪ In the deep of night ♪ I belong for Him I'm bound. We all think thee to be my soul, Lord and my King. ♪ In thy presence, O God, remain
♪ ♪ And in my soul, O God, sustain ♪ Drunk in my closing telepathy,
Drunk in my sojourn memory, ♪ In my daily doubt and woe ♪ ♪
On him I saw the night's end glow ♪ For him I trust, my every care. I think one day I shall love
him. From day to day. Transcendent to reign With God
Thy way. Give Him Thy hope, ♪ We sing of love ♪ ♪ We'll never,
never, never part ♪ ♪ Take me in your arms strict and righteousness, and
give him my breath, give him his stress, Lord, hear the call, O let me
join, And hear Him call, To save me and join. Praise ye thee, cheerful, grateful
song, to him your highest praise belong. ♪ Dispiritas ♪ ♪ Your heavenly
head ♪ ♪ And fill your sick body ♪ 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.