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. Let us commence our services
today by singing together hymn number one, The tune is McKee
176. Great God, how infinite art thou,
what worthless worms are we. Let the whole race of creatures
bow and pay their praise to thee. Hymn number one, tune McKee 176. I know how deep my mind ? All earth is full of thee ? ?
Let the whole race of angels roar ? ? And bring their praise to
thee ? ? The return of angels slow ? ?
As angels' stars were made ? ? Above the heavens
above ? nature and time, thy name imbued, Till thine events are played
On that poor nation of the sky to the break of day. Eternity with all its gifts,
Stands present in my view. To Thee there's nothing more
of this, ? Great God, there's nothing new ? The bitter, glamorous dreams
of a yore, And late, midnight blankets, But thy eternal hope
is gone, Thy punishment hath May to all that live thy light
of love, both earth-less world a-bring, Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God in Psalm 113 14 and 15. Psalms 113, 14 and 15. Praise ye the Lord. Praise, O
ye servants of the Lord. Praise the name of the Lord.
Blessed be the name of the Lord, from this time forth and forevermore. From the rising of the sun unto
the going down of the same, the Lord's name is to be praised.
The Lord is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens.
Who is like unto the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high, who
humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven, and
in the earth. He raiseth up the poor out of
the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dungeon, that he may
set him with princes, even with the princes of his people. And
he maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful
mother of children. Praise ye the Lord. When Israel
went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange
language. Judah was his sanctuary, and
Israel his dominion. The sea saw it and fled. Jordan
was driven back. The mountains skipped like rams,
and the little hills like lambs. What ailed thee? O thou sea,
that thou fleddest! Thou Jordan, that thou wast driven
back! ye mountains that he skipped,
like rams, and ye little hills, like lambs, tremble, thou earth,
at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of
Jacob, which turned the rock into a standing water, the flint
into a fountain of waters. Not unto us, O Lord, not unto
us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy and for thy truth's
sake. Wherefore should the heathen
say, where is now their God? But our God is in the heavens.
He hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. Their idols are silver
and gold, the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but they speak
not. Eyes have they, but they see
not. They have ears, but they hear
not. Noses have they, but they smell not. They have hands, but
they handle not. Feet have they, but they walk
not. Neither speak they through their
throat. They that make them are like
unto them, so is everyone that trusteth in them. O Israel, trust
thou in the Lord, He is their help and their shield. O house of Aaron, trust in the
Lord. He is their help and their shield. Ye that fear the Lord, trust
in the Lord. He is their help and their shield. The Lord hath been mindful of
us. He will bless us. He will bless the house of Israel.
He will bless the house of Aaron. He will bless them that fear
the Lord, both small and great. The Lord shall increase you more
and more, you and your children. You are blessed of the Lord,
which made heaven and earth. The heaven, even the heavens
are the Lord's, but the earth that he given to the children
of men, The dead, praise not the Lord, neither any that go
down into silence. But we will bless the Lord from
this time forth and forevermore. Praise the Lord. May the Lord
bless the reading of his own precious word and grant to us
a spirit of real prayer. Holy, Holy, holy, Lord God Almighty,
which is an art, an art to come, the Lord Jehovah, from everlasting
to everlasting Thou art God, the creator and sustainer of
the universe, the God of all grace. We desire to come and
bow before Thee, to humble ourselves before Thee. For Lord, we come
as the fallen sons and daughters of Adam. We're sinful, we're
corrupt, we're unrighteous, and that, Lord, we solemnly desire
to confess it. We often have to say with the
dear apostle, O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver
me from the body of this death? We think of the lepers of old
that had to cry unclean Unclean. Lord, we have to do the same.
For we are unclean. We prove the truth of thy word.
The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can tell? And Lord, we prove
it to be so. Deliver us from our hearts. Deliver
us from the power and the dominion of sin. Deliver us from the temptations
of Satan. whether he comes as a roaring
lion to devour, or whether he comes as an angel of light to
deceive, we need thee to deliver him, to deliver us from his power. Grant, Lord, that it may be so.
We think of that wonderful, precious word, when the enemy comes in
like a flood, the spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard
against him. We pray that it may be so even
today, and that we may be delivered from the temptations of Satan,
the allurements of this world, and that we may be truly surrendered
unto the Crucified One, and that we may see this day no man save
Jesus only, and that we may view that tremendous cost of our salvation
through the sufferings and sorrows and death of our Lord Jesus Christ,
May we have a realisation that he was wounded for our transgressions
and bruised for our iniquities, and the chastisement of our peace
was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. O gracious God,
do hear us in heaven, thy holy and thy blessed dwelling place,
and come and undertake for us, send thy Spirit to give us real
prayer. Send thy Spirit to give that
preaching that we read of in the word. Our gospel came unto
you, not in word only, but in power, in the Holy Ghost, and
with much assurance. And we pray that it may be so
among us here today, that the word of the Lord may be in power,
that it may reach into our hearts, that we may be searched, even
as thou hast said in thy word, I will search Jerusalem with
candles. Search us out of every refuge
of lies, O Lord, we do beseech Thee, bring us unto the only
true refuge of Jesus Christ and Him crucified, and grant 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 for Thy great name's sake. Show us Thy ways, O Lord,
teach us Thy paths, We think of thy words, Lord Jesus. I am
the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father
but by me. And whatsoever ye ask in my name,
I will do it. Oh, for thy name's sake, come
and meet with us today. Come and speak to our hearts.
Come and open our ears and our eyes. Give us hands to handle
and feet to walk. in that right way, we do humbly
beseech them. We pray to be led of the Spirit
of God, for as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are
the sons of God. Oh, to be truly led by thee.
We pray that there may be a savour and an unction that should tend
the ministry of the Word today into our very souls. We do humbly
pray thee. Deliver us from the snares of
the wicked one. We do humbly beseech Thee for
Thy great name's sake. We pray, most gracious Lord,
to be made more spiritually minded, our heart and our affection set
upon things above. And we pray that Thy word may
be a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. We seek, O Lord, and hope to
find a portion for our souls, and we pray that it may be so.
Come and spread the gospel table. Come and be gracious unto us,
O Lord, for without thee we can do nothing. Bless our brethren,
the deacons. Give them grace, give them wisdom,
give them help. And be with our dear brother
at Tunbridge Wells this morning, and help and undertake for him.
And remember, O Lord, the cause of truth there. Bless thee each
one of our brethren and sisters in church fellowship, and graciously
grant that we may indeed love each other, serve each other,
bear each other's burdens, thereby fulfilling the law of Christ. By this shall they know that ye are my disciples, because
ye have love one to another. Increase our faith, increase
our love. O Lord, we do beseech thee. We
pray that most gracious Lord, that to be delivered from that
religion which is of the flesh, but grant us that which is of
the spirit. We do humbly beseech thee. Remember
the little ones, the children, as they come into the sanctuary,
bless them indeed, show them thy ways, teach them thy paths,
for thy great name's sake. May the fear of the Lord, which
is the beginning of wisdom, be placed in their hearts, in their
young and in their tending years. And we do pray, most gracious
Lord, that thou, in thy precious mercy, wouldst Remember the young
friends. Think of those away from us today
and pray that they may be blessed where they are and that they
always guide each of our dear young friends in the ways of
righteousness and of truth. And grant, Lord, thy richest
blessing upon them and guide them and direct them unto Jesus
Christ They may be true followers of Thee and of those who through
faith and patience inherit the promises. Lord, we pray that
Thou wouldst grant them a partnering life journey, guide and direct
them in all the paths of providence. We see in Thy Word Thy wonderful,
gracious hand with Thy people, recorded in Thy Word, and how
thou didst guide and direct. And we pray that we may see the
same with our young friends. We think of those who've wandered
from the ways of truth and of righteousness. We pray that thou
wouldst stretch out thy almighty arm, that thou wouldst cause
them to be in want and cause them to return. We do humbly
beseech thee. Remember them for good. Remember
this village and send the glory and light of the gospel into
this village. We do humbly beseech thee. We
pray, most gracious God, that thou wouldst hearken and hear.
That we may see days of prosperity. Thy glorious gospel may shine
into the surrounding villages and hamlets. Precious souls may
be gathered in and the strongholds of Satan pulled down. Hearken,
O Lord, we humbly beseech you. Give us hearts to receive them
when they do come. We humbly beseech them. We pray, O Lord, that thou would
be gracious and have mercy upon all in the midst of the journey
of life, especially parents. Give them wisdom and grace. to
bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, we
do humbly pray thee for thy great name's sake. And we do pray,
most gracious God, I would remember those of us in the evening time
of life's journey. As the outward man perishes,
may the inward man be renewed day by day. We think of our dear
sister Ina in her great age, and that we pray that those be
with her and undertake for her, and graciously strengthen her
day by day, and help her to constantly look to thee. We pray, most gracious
Lord, that thou, in thy precious mercy, would remember all thy
servants as they labour in word and doctrine upon the walls of
Zion, that thou would set them free and set them at liberty,
for thy great name's sake. And, O Lord, we pray that they
may truly be blessed of Thee, and Thy churches may be revived,
and that there may be a turning unto Thee. Let Thy hand be upon
the man of Thy right hand, the Son of Man, whom Thou madest
strong for Thyself. Bring our sons from far and our
daughters from the ends of the earth, O Lord. We beseech Thee,
Thou hast said, they shall come. or that we might see Zion's offspring
come, and that there may be thy abiding presence in the sanctuary,
that there may be a building of the walls of Jerusalem. Lord,
we pray for wisdom and guidance in all matters, and that we may
be led and taught and directed by thee. And we pray that thou
hast created me, O God, a clean heart, and renew a right spirit
within me. We pray, O Lord, that thou wouldst
remember the little hills of Zion up and down our nation,
and graciously be with thy servants as they labour, and there'll
be those that meet together without one of thy servants. And we pray
for each one that thy gracious help, encouragement, blessing
may be seen upon thy side. Lord, there's a great withholding
of the Spirit's power, there's a great falling away, and the
love of many waxes cold. Gracious God, do incline thine
ear, we humbly beseech thee, and have mercy upon thy Zion.
We pray thee, the great Lord of the harvest, to send true
labourers into the harvest, and we pray that thou, in thy precious
mercy, remember our nation. We pray for our king and the
royal household that thy blessing may rest upon them. Our leaders,
O Lord, in Parliament, may they be given wisdom and understanding,
our judges and our magistrates, all that thou wouldst work in
our nation again, and turn us away from unrighteousness and
sinfulness. We humbly pray thee for thy great
namesake, And Lord, we pray that thou would bless those that labour
in word and doctrine among the nations of the earth that go
forth from us. Especially remember the Mombasa
mission in Africa. Oh, that thou would bless them
indeed and supply their needs. The Savannah Education Trust,
grant thy rich blessing there. And Ian Sadler, Lord, as he travels
the nations of the earth distributing thy word and preaching the gospel
of the kingdom. Help him, Lord, supply all his
many returning needs. Lord, our God, we do desire to
thank thee. We thank thee for every mercy
and every favour. We thank thee that thou art God
over all and blessed forevermore and able to do abundantly more
than we can even ask or think. We thank thee, most gracious
Lord, for the glories of Christ, for the wonders of redeeming
love, for the fullness of that salvation that is in Christ Jesus. We thank thee for everlasting
righteousness brought in, in his glorious person. We thank
thee for that precious sacrifice of Calvary, where sin has been
put away and divine justice satisfied. Lord, we desire a heart of thanksgiving,
of praise for thy wonderful mercies, thy loving kindnesses. He died
for our sins and rose again for our justification as bodily ascended
into heaven. Tis he instead of me is seen
when I approach to God. Lord, these are the foundation
truths of our most holy faith. Enable us to cleave to thee.
and to follow after Thee, enable us to lay aside every weight
and the sin that doth so easily beset us, and that we might run
with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus. Hear us, Lord, we humbly beseech
Thee for Thy great namesake, and O be with us. Come and open
Thy word to our heart and to our understanding. Come and touch
one's lips with the live coal, from of the heavenly altar, we
ask all with the forgiveness of all sin, for Jesus Christ's
sake. Amen. Let us now sing together hymn
number 745, The tune is Pearly, 721. When Jesus would his grace proclaim,
he calls a simple blind and lame to come and be his guest. Such
simple folk the world despise, yet simple folk have sharpest
eyes and learn to walk the best. Hymn 745, tune pearly 721. He gives us all his grace and
grace He calls us simple, blind and lame To come and be his friends
? Start simple, and the world is
right ? ? Get simple, and nature is right ? ? And man, too, will
progress ? May you be the heart of Jesus'
life, Of Jesus' love and Jesus' might, Which others cannot do. May holy Christ, the living Way,
Enjoy and bring the willful way, Which others cannot do. May only then I know, believer,
my life is found of eternal, my rich and my dark days. Thy blood is flowing, Jesus,
Thou. It is my hope, my help, Thou,
Thou. Stachimus, how I thank you, thee,
That to love and enjoy of thee, Thou begot a gift so great. ? Take me, Lord, of Thee, Lordship
? ? My sinful heart and be careful ? ? When coming to Thee again
? greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, I would direct your attention to Psalm 113,
and we will read verses 5, 6, 7 and 8. Psalm 113, verses 5,
6, 7 and 8. Who is like unto the Lord our
God? who dwelleth on high, who humbleth
himself to behold the things that are in heaven and in the
earth, he raises up the poor out of the dust, he lifteth the
needy out of the dunghill, that he may set him with princes,
even with the princes of his people, who is like unto the Lord our
God. We commence our service with
hymn number one. Great God, how infinite art thou. What worthless worms are we?
You know, friends, we read here in the book of Psalms, great
is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is
unsearchable. Greatness of God, the Almighty
God. This Psalm 113 is the commencement
of what is known as the Great Hallel. Hallel is short for Hallelujah. Indeed it says in the beginning
of our psalm, Praise ye the Lord. In the Hebrew that is Hallelujah.
The J-H on the end of Hallelujah that speaks of Jehovah, praise
ye the Lord, praise ye Jehovah, the Almighty God. And the Great
Hallel, it was believed, it includes Psalms 113 through to 118. They are all part of this. It
is widely believed and very much by the Puritan preachers that
this is the psalm that would have been sung at the time of
the institution of the Lord's Supper. The Great Hallel was
sung at the Jewish Passover. And when it says, and they sung
a hymn and went out, it is believed that this would have been the
hymn. Probably part of it would have
been sung to begin with, just like we do in the ordinance of
the Lord's Supper. and part of it will be done at
the end of it. But it's a song of praise, of
thanksgiving unto God for all his mercies. As it says in Psalm
115, that not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name,
give glory for thy mercy and for thy truth's sake. Not unto
us. not unto us. And that is the
language of the true child of God, that one that has been quickened
into life and brought to know their own sinfulness, their own
emptiness, their own poverty, their own insufficiency, their
own helplessness. And that they therefore, when
that mercy is revealed in Jesus, that wonderful grace of God in
Jesus Christ. They give all the praise, the
honour and the glory to him, not unto us. That's the language
of a living soul, not unto us. Not unto us, but unto thy name, who is like unto the Lord our
God. which dwelleth on high, which
dwelleth on high. The heaven is my throne, but
we read in Isaiah 66, the heaven is my throne, the earth is my
footstool. Where is the house that you build
unto me? But unto this man will I look,
to him that is poor, and of a contrite spirit, and that trembleth at
my word. The Lord is high above all nations,
and his glory above the heavens. And there it's speaking of the
heavens above us, as we look up into the sky, and the planets,
et cetera, the sun, the moon, the stars, his glory above the heavens. He is God over all and blessed
forevermore. I think of that word in Isaiah,
thus saith the high and lofty one that inhabiteth eternity,
whose name is holy. He inhabits eternity. He's the
Almighty. Who is a God? Who is likened
to the Lord our God? There is none. like unto the
God of Yeshua, that rideth upon the heaven for his help. There
is none like unto him. There is one God. We are told continually today
by supposedly Christian teachers that it doesn't matter whether
you're a Hindu or a Muslim or whatever you are, we all worship
the same God. What a fallacy. There is none
like unto this God. We've read of it in Psalm 115. It says there in verse 3, but our
God is in the heavens. He hath done whatsoever he hath
pleased. Their idols, that's the idols
of the heathen, are silver and gold, the work of men's hands.
They have mouths, but they speak not. Eyes have they, but they
see not. They have ears, but they hear not. Noses have they,
but they smell not. They have hands, but they handle
not. Feet have they, but they walk not. Neither speak they
through their throat. They that make them are like
unto them. And that we read of course in
that beautiful word, well-known word in Timothy, what you might
say one of the foundation truths of our most holy faith, there
is one God. and one mediator between God
and man, the man, Christ Jesus. One God, one mediator, one way
of salvation. It says in the Acts of the Apostles,
there is none other name given under heaven whereby you must
be saved, but the name of Jesus Christ, who is like unto the
Lord our God, dwelleth on high. He dwelleth on high. Isaiah, he had a view given to
him of God's throne in Isaiah chapter 6 and he saw the Lord
just as John did and Ezekiel did and Daniel did, high and
lifted up. The Almighty He that is God over
all and blessed forevermore. He that is able to do more than
we can even ask or think. There's none like unto Him. He's
the only true God. We read in Isaiah in several
places, don't we, when it speaks of God, and there is none else. And there is none else. This
is the only true God. What a mercy if you and I have
been brought to know Him, the only true God. You might say,
well, how can we know Him? He has to be revealed. He has
to be revealed. It says in the second chapter
of the first epistle to the Corinthians, but God has revealed them unto
us by His Spirit. Has God revealed anything to
you? You know, because when it comes down to it, friends, this
is a very personal thing. Real religion is a very personal
thing. How stands the case, my soul,
with thee? For heaven are thy credentials
clear. Is Jesus' blood thine only plea? Is he thy great forerunner there? The vital thing is to know Christ,
and to be brought into union with Christ. That's the vital
thing. That is what happens to a true
Christian believer. The Holy Spirit enters their
heart, quickens their soul, and makes them aware of their
lost condition, their sinful condition. Makes them aware of
their need of salvation, of redemption. It's a divine work of the Spirit.
But God has revealed them unto us by His Spirit. As the Holy
Spirit entered into your heart, my heart. Doesn't matter whether
we're young or whether we're old. The vital thing is do we
have the Spirit? The Apostle Paul, he says in
Hebrews chapter 8, I believe it is, if any man have not the
Spirit of Christ, that's the Holy Ghost. He is none of His. You know, it's absolutely vital
to have the Spirit of God enter our heart, quicken our souls. The Apostle Paul, he puts it
so clearly in Ephesians chapter 2. You hath He quickened. That's an old English word which
means to give life. you hath he quickened who were
dead in trespasses and in sins. And the great thing with each
one of us here is, have you been quickened? Have I been quickened? Has the Holy Spirit enlightened
us? He's called the Spirit of Life
in Christ Jesus. And it's He that takes of the
things of Jesus and reveals them unto a poor sinner. It is He,
the Holy Spirit, that gives faith. Or as the old Puritans used to
put it, He works faith. I think that's a beautiful way
of putting it. He works faith in the heart. And He gives repentance. They go together. You cannot
have one without the other. If you have true faith, you'll
have true repentance. If you have true repentance you'll
have faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. You cannot separate those
precious graces of the Spirit. They come together. And the mark
of a person with true faith is they separate from the world.
And that's the divine work of the Spirit. And it's called being sanctified.
Being separated. And it's a divine work of God
to do that in the heart of a poor sinner who is like unto the Lord
our God who dwelleth on high, who humbleth himself to behold
the things that are in heaven and in the earth. Things that
are in heaven and in the earth. He humbleth himself. The great
God, the almighty God, You know that it's revealed to us in Holy
Scripture that this great God, this Almighty God, subsists in
three persons. The Father, the Son, and the
Holy Ghost. And the Scripture clearly teaches
us these three are one. One blessed, infinite, almighty,
and eternal God. They are each called in Holy
Scripture Jehovah. That's what is known as the incommunicable
name. It cannot be given to any other
but God, because of the very essence of its meaning. It means
the self-existent One. He always has been. As we read,
I think it's in Psalm 90, from everlasting to everlasting, thou
art God. There's never time, never been
a time without God. It is He that has made us and
not we ourselves. He's the creator of the heavens
and the earth. This great God. One says, doesn't he, my life's
minutest circumstance is subject to thine eye. And how true that
is. Nothing happens by chance. It's
all divinely ordered by God. He understands everything. Indeed,
it says in the book of Proverbs, his understanding is infinite.
But the word infinite means without measure. Great God, how infinite art thou. who by searching can find our
God. How infinite. Infinite in every
sense of the word. In His being. In a sense, the
word infinite means there are no parameters, no boundaries. God is everywhere. That's the
essence of the meaning of infinite. in His very being. And the Apostle,
he takes it up in the Acts, doesn't he? In Him we live and move and
have our being. He holdeth our soul in life.
In Him we live and move and have our being. This great God, this
infinite Lord Jehovah, who is like unto the Lord our God, who
dwelleth on high who humbleth himself to behold the things
that are in heaven and in the earth. He humbleth himself. You know, I feel we should first
speak of this humbleth himself, of those wonderful words of the
dear apostle in Philippians chapter two. And in Philippians chapter
two, he speaks of the glorious person of our Lord Jesus Christ. And he says there, verse 5, let
this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who being
in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with
God. Christ himself said when he was
here upon earth, I and my Father are one, I and my father are
one. And he makes very clear in his
teachings that you cannot have the son without having the father.
He said to Philip, didn't he, when he questioned, show us the
father, he said, have I been so long time with you, Philip?
Has there not known me? There is a revelation given by
the Holy Ghost to a poor sinner of the glorious person of Jesus
Christ. And he's that one mediator between
God and man. No man cometh unto the Father
but by me. It's that lovely word in Ephesians
chapter 2. For through him, that's Christ,
we have access by one Spirit unto the Father. What a beautiful
revelation of the Trinity there. Through him, Christ, the Son
of God, we have access by one Spirit, the Holy Ghost, unto
the Father. What a door of access there is. You see, now it says here in
Philippians 2, who being in the form of God, that's Christ, thought
it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation
and took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the
likeness of men, the eternal Son of God. In the womb of the
Virgin Mary, He became bone of our bone, flesh of our flesh. How that was done? We're given
some instruction on that in the Word of God in the Gospel according
to Luke. When the angel was speaking to
Mary, he said, the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee. the power
of the higher shall overshadow thee. Therefore that holy thing
that shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. The
Holy Ghost overshadowed the womb. You see the wonderful acts of
Almighty God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, they
are co-equal and they are co-eternal together. And in that wonderful economy
of grace, It was appointed that the Holy
Ghost would overshadow the womb of the virgin and Christ himself
was not born by natural generation. A virgin shall be with child.
It was a divine supernatural act to almighty God so that he
was not tainted with any of the sin of Adam. He was holy. and righteous altogether,
who being in the form of God. You know, that's a profound mystery,
isn't it? How the divine and the human
became one. And that is what happened. Great
is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. the infinite, the almighty, the
eternal son of God, from everlasting to everlasting, took into union with his divine
nature, a holy human nature, becoming bone of our bone, flesh
of our flesh. It was a real true human nature,
body and soul, that Christ partook of. who being in the form of
God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself
of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and
was made in the likeness of men. We read in Isaiah on a number
of occasions in a prophetic way, behold my servant, that's Christ,
behold my servant, Mine elect, in whom my soul delighted." That's
the glorious person of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, manifest
in the flesh in the Athanasian Creed. It says, very God, very
man. Very God, very man. Who made himself of no reputation,
and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the
likeness of men. and being found in fashion as
a man. Now, we see how he humbled himself
by becoming a man, the infinite and the eternal, took into union
with his divine nature, a holy human nature. But it says here that even as
a man, he humbled himself. Not just as God, but as a man.
He humbled himself. We mustn't forget what this begins
with, let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. The mind of Christ. He humbled
himself, even as a man. being found in fashion as a man
he humbled himself just think of the that he is lord of all
he's god over all and blessed forevermore and yet he was born
of the seed of david but which was then in very low circumstances
joseph and mary were very poor people he was born in a stable
laid in a manger He humbled himself. What wonderful humility. What
an example to us. And the mind that we should have
to humble ourselves. Humble yourselves therefore under
the mighty hand of God. Being found in fascism and he
humbled himself and became obedient unto death. Notice the way it's
written. became obedient unto death. It was a voluntary act
of the Son of God to submit to death. Death had no hold on him
at all. It's holy. He did no sin, neither
was guile found in his mouth and the wages of sin is death. He did no sin. So it was a voluntary
act of the Lord Jesus. on the behalf of His people for
their sins were laid upon Him. He suffered, He bled and He died
for the sins of His people. Wherefore God also hath highly
exalted Him. Who is a God like unto thee?
He's highly exalted Him and given Him a name. Up until the crucifixion
we see Christ in humility, in submission. But when the bands
of death are broken, we see a glorified saviour who has put away the
sin of his people, who has swallowed up death in victory, who has
brought life in immortality to life through the gospel. We see
that almighty saviour as he breaks the bands of death. And the apostle
says it was not possible that they could hold him, the bands
of death. He was sinless, He was pure,
He was holy. But what He did was on behalf
of His people. Our Eternal Father laid upon
Him the iniquity of us all. Therefore He suffered, He bled,
He died. Wherefore God also hath highly
exalted Him and given Him a name which is above every name that
at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of things in heaven
and things in earth and things under the earth, and that every
tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of
God the Father. What a wonderful glory there
is to our eternal Father when we are by grace enabled to confess
the name, the blood, the righteousness of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
is like unto the Lord our God. You know, I know I often refer
you to it, but there's some beautiful doctrinal truth in the prayer
of our Lord Jesus Christ in John 17. And it says there, the prayer
of Christ, Father, the hour has come, glorify thy son, that thy
son also may glorify thee, as thou has given him power over
all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as Thou
hast given Him. And this is life eternal, that
they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom
Thou hast sent. They might know Thee, the only
true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent. How vital it
is, my beloved friends, that we should know Him. that we should
know Him, and that we should know that He knows us, that He knows us. Think of that
solemn sentence in the Day of Judgment, depart from me, I never
knew you. See the vital thing is, yes,
that we should know Him, but does He know us? The foundation
of God standing sure, having this seal upon it, the Lord knoweth
them that are His. The Lord knoweth them that are
His. And verily, my beloved friends, He does. He has a chosen people. Chosen from before the foundation
of the world. You know, in the beginning of
the epistle to the Ephesians, It so beautifully speaks of the
divine counsels of salvation. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ, according as he hath
chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should
be holy and without blame before him in love. Amazing grace, isn't
it? That we, poor, needy, wretched,
helpless, hopeless sinners, that we should be holy. Why, it's beyond our comprehension,
isn't it? That we should be holy and without
blame before Him in life. Having predestined us unto the
Adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself according to
the good pleasure of his will. You see, these divinely ordered
paths. Who is like unto the Lord our
God who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven
and in the earth. The heaven is my throne The earth
is my footstool. The earth is my footstool. And
you think of that word and then think of that precious word that
he will make the place of his feet glorious. That of course
is through Jesus Christ and through the preaching of the gospel of
Jesus Christ, through the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ,
he will make the place of his feet glorious here upon earth. when he pours his Spirit upon
his servants and they preach under the divine power of the
Spirit of God. You see here in verse 7 he says,
He raiseth up the poor out of the dust and lifteth the needy
out of the dunghill. The poor. When John sent messengers,
that's John the Baptist sent messengers unto Christ, Art thou
he that should come, or look we for another? And the Lord
Jesus, he gave them a message to take back. Tell John that
the poor have the gospel preached unto them. Blessed are the poor in spirit.
Blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are they that hunger
and thirst after righteousness. Why do they do that? Because
they know they've got no righteousness of their own. So they hunger
and thirst after the righteousness of Christ. Because they know
they have none of their own. He raises up the poor out of
the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill. A dunghill
is not a very nice place, is it? And when you and I come under
the divine teaching of the Spirit, to see our lost condition, and
as the Lord deepens that work of grace in our hearts, to realize
that we're undone, that we're ruined, that we're fallen. And
we have to, as the Lord deepens that work in our hearts, the
Holy Spirit convincing us of our sin, you come in exactly
with the dear apostle in Romans 7, O wretched man that I am. This is the Teaching of the spirit
in the heart Oh wretched man that I am you write many bitter
things against yourself You lie in the downhill You know
the corruption of your heart the filth of your nature the
uncleanness of your thoughts You feel it. You know it You
mourn over it you grieve over it this is the thing that my
beloved friends, with those that are being truly taught of the
Spirit, it makes you mourn, it makes you grieve, when you feel
that corruption and sin in your heart, and you say, can ever
God dwell here? Can ever I really be a child
of God, when I know this, such corruption within? We read in
Solomon's Song, behold the Shumite, in whom there is a company of
two armies, And that's like that with the living child of God.
There's a company of two armies. There's the old man of sin and
there's the new man of grace and the one is the contrary to
the other. And what a battle goes on in
our hearts sometimes. Do you know what this battle
is? And it makes you feel your poverty
when you feel the corruption and sin of your nature. You feel so poor. You feel so
undeserving. And you know, when the Lord deepens
that work in the heart and convincing us of our sin, it's like being
on the dunghill. It's a filthy place. It's a filthy
place. But under the divine teaching
of the Spirit, it will bring you to the place of no help himself. No help himself I find, yet oft
have sought it well. The native treasure of my mind
is sin and death and hell, and you feel it. The corruption,
the poverty, the dunghill, the dunghill. These are the very
expressions that Hannah uses in her beautiful song after the
Lord heard her prayer and gave her Samuel, her firstborn son. And that song when she spoke
of the dunghill in that song, and her own worthlessness she
speaks of. But then the wonderful mercy
and grace of God in Christ. That's where the mercy of God
is found. It's free mercy. It's full mercy. It's a complete mercy. It's a
salvation that is complete. You are accepted in the Beloved.
And you know when you really feel the utter corruption and
sin of your heart, you need a completely free salvation. You do. And it is completely free. It's
based on that foundation of Jesus Christ and Him crucified is based
on His precious blood and righteousness. His blood cleanses from all sin. His righteousness covers the
nakedness of a poor, helpless sinner, clothed in that glorious,
everlasting robe of the righteousness of Jesus Christ. He raiseth up
the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the
dunkin, that he may set him with princes, even the princes of
his people." He sets him with princes. You know, that is so
beautiful. It's a portion I often quote
from Psalm 45, where David, the sweet psalmist of Israel, he
speaks so beautifully there of the princes. And he speaks of
the king's palaces in Psalm 45, that is. And he speaks to the
church, he says, hearken, O daughter, and consider and incline thine
ear, forget also thine own people and thy father's house. He's
speaking to the church, to the bride of Christ. so shall the
king greatly desire thy beauty for he is thy lord and worship
thou him what beauty covered in that glorious everlasting
robe of the righteousness of christ king's daughters it says in verse
nine were among thy honorable women upon thy right hand is
stand the queen in gold of ophir covered in the righteousness
of christ hearken o daughter and consider incline thine ear
forget also thine own people and thy father's house so shall
the king greatly desire thy beauty for he is thy lord and worship
thou him and then look what it says in verse 13 the king's daughter
is all glorious with him her clothing is of raw gold How is
it that she's all glorious within? We've just been describing a
person under the teaching of the Spirit being like on a downhill,
so poor, so wretched. It's when Christ is revealed.
His blood and His righteousness, His blood washes away the varnished
sinner out of hell that lives to fill his needs is welcomed
to the throne of grace, the Saviour's blood to bleed, that precious
blood of Jesus Christ, she shall, the King's daughter is all glorious
within, she's washed in the blood of Christ, her clothed in the
righteousness of Christ, is of raw gold. That glorious everlasting
robe of the righteousness of Jesus Christ, With gladness and rejoicing shall
they be brought, they shall enter into the king's palace. You know, every child of God,
when they die, enter into the king's palace. The Lord said
unto the dying thief today, shalt thou be with me in paradise. enter into the king's palace.
And then there's this beautiful word in verse 16, Psalm 45, instead
of thy fathers shall be thy children whom thou mayest make princes
in all the earth. Princes in all the earth. And
it says here in our text, doesn't it? About that he may set him
with the princes even with the princes of his people. You see,
my beloved friends, what the child of God is elevated to. They're delivered from the dunghill,
and that state of wretchedness and sin, and they're brought
into union with Christ. Their sins and their iniquities
will I remember no more. Let not your heart betray You believe in God, believe also
in me. In my father's house are many
mansions. If it were not so, I would have
told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place
for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that
where I am, there ye may be also. You see, he raiseth up the poor
out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill,
that he may set him with the princes, even with the princes
of his people. There's that beautiful name given
to our Lord Jesus Christ in Revelation 1, the prince of the kings of
the earth. That's what Christ is. He's the prince of the kings
of the earth. A prince means a ruler. He's
the prince of the kings of the earth. He's God over all. He has all things in his hands,
everything. Whatever it is, there may be
difficulties that you have at this time, perplexities that
you have at this time, the wonderful mercy is, it's in his hands. all events at his command. Everything
that you stand in need of for time and for eternity. My God shall supply all your
need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. All your need. And he's promised
to and he will. He will. And he says here in
the book of Psalms, that He will be with His people, even unto
death. Even unto death. God has promised,
I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. My mind, it just
goes to that beautiful Psalm 48, and it speaks of Zion. It says, great is the Lord, and
greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain
of His holiness. But Mark, what it says, verse
11, let Mount Zion rejoice. Let the daughters of Judah be
glad because of thy judgments. Walk about Zion, that's the church
of the living God. Walk about Zion, go round about
her, tell the towers thereof. Mark ye well her bulwarks, the
bulwarks of Zion, the elect in love of the Father, redeeming
love of the Son, the divine sanctifying love of the Holy Spirit. Mark
ye well her bulwarks. He that hath begun a good work
in you will perform it unto the day of Jesus Christ. He will
never leave his people. Mark ye well her bulwarks. Consider
her palaces as the palaces of Zion, that ye may tell it to
the generation following. For this God is our God forever
and ever. He will be our guide even unto
death, even unto death. You see, my beloved friends,
these things are written for our instruction in the way of
righteousness and of truth. He raiseth up the poor out of
the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill, that he
may set him with princes, even the princes of his people. May the Lord add his blessing. Let us now sing together hymn
number 751 to the tune St Clement, 813, The Saviour lives, no more to
die. He lives, the Lord, enthroned
on high. He lives, triumphant, all the
grave. He lives eternally, to say. Hymn 751, Dune St Clement,
813. O say does that star-spangled
banner yet wave O'er the land of the free His triumphant o'er the grave,
He pays eternal fee to save. To tell his people this, He did
it to wipe away their tears. In ester kampe, tra kam und kam,
In ester kampe, tra kam und kam, In ester kampe, tra kam und kam, In ester kampe,
tra kam und kam, In ester kampe, tra kam und kam, In ester kampe,
tra kam und kam, In ester kampe, tra kam und kam, In ester kampe,
tra kam und kam, In ester kampe, tra kam und kam, In ester kampe,
tra kam und kam, In ester kampe, tra kam und kam, In ester kampe, tra kam and kam,
In ester kampe, tra kam and kam, In ester kampe, tra kam and kam,
In ester kampe, tra kam and kam, In ester kampe, tra kam and kam,
In ester kampe, tra kam and kam, In ester kampe, tra kam and kam,
In ester kampe, tra kam He prays for glory to hear His
name. He gives unchanged faith and
strength. He gives them options to prepare
He gives to bring them safely 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.