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 1127, to the tune Barnstaple 294. When Zion's son's great God appear
in Zion's courts for praise and prayer, there in thy spirit deign
to be as one with those who worship thee. Hymn 1127, tune Barnstaple
294. you I am such great glory, In I am
put to greater care. There in thy spirit came to be
As one with those who loved you be ? As one with those who worship
thee ? ? With the heights of grace and honor ? Lord. Now streets of gospel gather
at home, Where drops of heavenly love will fall, To cheer the weary passing soul,
To cheer the weary passing soul, It's thunderbolt and shatterbrake,
Day of the King, of Jesus' sake. If you sign my sin, bless Joseph,
and God of peace, and me too. Ring, o'er the fields of Anabasia, Then shall we count the sea shall
dip to the truth's peak, ? All those who hear ? ? And all conspire with sweet accord
? ? In hymns of joy to praise the Lord ? Let us read together from the
holy word of God in the prophecy of Isaiah and chapter 48. The Prophecy of Isaiah, chapter
48. Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, which
are called by the name of Israel and are come forth out of the
waters of Judah, which swear by the name of the Lord and make
mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth. nor in righteousness. For they call themselves of the
holy city, and stay themselves upon the God of Israel. The Lord
of hosts is his name. I have declared the former things
from the beginning, and they went forth out of my mouth, and
I showed them. I did them suddenly, and they
came to pass. because I knew that thou art
obstinate, and thy neck is as an iron sinew, and thy brow brass. I've even from the beginning
declared it to thee. Before it came to pass, I showed
it thee, lest thou shouldest say mine idol hath done them,
and my graven image, and my molten image hath commanded them. Thou
hast heard See all this, and will not ye declare it? I have
showed thee new things from this time, even hidden things, and
thou didst not know them. They are created now, and not
from the beginning, even before the day when thou heardest them
not, lest thou shouldest say, Behold, I knew them. Yea, thou
heardest not, yea, thou knewest not, yea, from that time that
thine ear was opened, for I knew that thou wouldest deal very
treacherously, and was called a transgressor from the womb.
For my name's sake, I will defer mine anger, and for my praise
will I refrain for thee, that I cut thee not off. Behold, I
have refined thee, but not with silver. I have chosen thee in
the furnace of affliction. For mine own sake, even for mine
own sake will I do it. For how should my name be polluted? And I will not give my glory
unto another. Hearken unto me, O Jacob and
Israel, My call, I am he, I am the first, I also am the last. My hand also hath hid the foundation
of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens. When
I call unto them, they stand up together. All ye, assemble
yourselves and hear, which among them hath declared these things.
The Lord hath loved him. He will do his pleasure on Babylon,
and his arms shall be on the Chaldeans. I, even I, have spoken. Yea, I have called him, I have
brought him, and he shall make his way prosperous. Come ye near
unto me, hear ye this. I have not spoken in secret from
the beginning, from the time that it was, there am I. Now the Lord God and his Spirit
has sent me. Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer,
the Holy One of Israel, I am the Lord, thy God, which teacheth
thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest
go. O that thou hast hearkened to
my commandments, Then had thy peace been as a river, and thy
righteousness as the waves of the sea. Thy seed also had been
as the sand, and the offspring of thy bowels like the gravel
thereof. His name should not have been
cut off nor destroyed from before me. Go ye forth of Babylon, flee
from the Chaldeans, with the voice of singing declare ye,
tell this, utter it even to the end of the earth. Say ye, the
Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob. And they thirsted not
when he led them through the deserts. He caused the waters
to flow out of the rock for them. He claved the rock also and the
waters gushed out. There is no peace. saith the
Lord unto thee wicked. May the Lord bless the reading
of his own precious word and grant unto us a spirit of real
prayer. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty,
which is an art, an art to come, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
We desire to bow before Thee, O Lord, at this time. On this
morning of Thy holy day, we come as poor sinners, poor guilty
sinners, poor ruined sinners, poor undone sinners. We come
and desire to confess our sins. We thank Thee, O Lord, that Thou
hast made a place. As thou didst say to thy servant
Moses, there is a place by me. And that place is thine only
begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, for through him we have
access by one Spirit unto the Father. And we pray that thou
wouldst grant us that access now. that we may, like that dear
woman of old, touch the hem of his garment and draw from that
fullness that is in him. O Lord God, we, undeserving we
are of the least of thy tender mercies. Oh, but we come in that
precious name, even as we've read in thy word, even for my
name's sake. And Lord, that is all we have
to plead. And thou hast said, whatsoever
ye ask in my name, I will do it. Lord, we cannot come in our
own name. All our righteousnesses are as
filthy rags. We are all as an unclean thing.
We are unrighteous altogether. We have to often exclaim with
the dear apostle, O wretched man, that I am. Who shall deliver me from the
body of this death? But we thank God through Jesus
Christ our Lord. A door of hope is opened wide
in Jesus' bleeding hands and side. And we come to thee in
his name. We pray for the sacred, divine
anointing of the Holy Ghost today to rest upon us, whether we're
speaker or hearer, and that thou wouldst give ears to hear, eyes
to see, hearts to receive thy word. And we pray that the gospel
may be preached, that glorious gospel that centers in the person
of our Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of the Father.
We come to thee, plead in his precious blood, his glorious
righteousness. We echo the words of the spouse,
my beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among 10,000. We
come in his name and we plead for his sake, O Lord our God. We pray that we may be favoured
even this day with the spirit of adoption, that we might know
that God has sent forth the spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying,
Abba, Father. We come unto thee, our eternal
Father, and we pray that thou would supply all our many needs,
our spiritual needs, our providential needs. Thou art God over all and blessed
forevermore. Thou art able to do abundantly
more than we can even ask or think. We come, most gracious
Lord, and pray that thou wouldst bless us as a church and as a
congregation, that the light and glory and power of the gospel
may shine forth but we pray that thou wilt work
mightily among us as a church and as a congregation, that we
may see thy goings in the sanctuary, that we may see thy power and
thy glory as thou usest to be in the sanctuary, that we may
see signs following the preaching of the word, or we pray that
the word of truth may shine forth into this village, into the surrounding
villages and hamlets. Precious souls may be gathered
in unto Christ, for unto him shall the gathering of the people
be. We pray that it may be so today, as we gather together
around thy word. Lord, we pray for that sacred
power, as the dear apostle himself did, that I may know him in the
power of his resurrection. in the fellowship of his sufferings.
Gracious God, make us more spiritually minded, set our affections on
things above, give us grace to lay aside every weight and the
sin that does so easily beset us, that we may run with patience
the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author
and finisher of our faith. Help us to look to him, help
us to cleave to him, Lord, we pray that thou, in thy
great mercy, would graciously bless the little ones, the children,
oh, that thou would bless them indeed, and graciously put the
fear of the Lord in their hearts, an unctuous light to all that's
right, a bar to all that's wrong. We pray that thou would, Bless
the dear young friends, and as they stand on the threshold of
life journey, we lovingly commend them to thee and to the word
of thy grace. Bring them to living faith in
Jesus Christ. Grant that they may become followers
of thee, and of those who through faith and patience inherit the
promises. Grant that we may see the fulfilling
of that precious word, instead of thy fathers shall be thy children,
whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth. Bless our dear
young friends in all life's journey, in their education, in any future
employment, and also regarding a partner in life's journey.
Lord, we lovingly commend them to Thee and pray that Thou would
grant them Thy divine direction. And we pray, most gracious Lord,
that there may be a generation raised up to follow Thee, to
serve Thee. We do humbly beseech of Thee.
Oh, we pray, most gracious Lord, that Thou would remember parents
and give them wisdom help in bringing up their children, that
they may bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the
Lord. And Lord, we may set a good example unto them. We do humbly pray that we may
not stumble in any way. We seek thy rich blessing upon
all in the midst of the journey of life. Oh, that thou would
remember us each Pray to be delivered from the temptations of Satan,
whether as a roaring lion to devour or an angel of light to
deceive. We need thee to deliver us from
his power, from his influence. We pray that we may see day by
day the fulfilling of that wonderful promise. When the enemy comes
in like a flood, The spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard
against him. Lord, may we see that day by
day. Grant, O Lord, we do pray thee,
thy rich blessing upon those of us in the evening time of
life's journey. Remember us for good. Prepare
us for all thy will. And graciously, remember dear
Ina at home in her great age, Grant her thy divine support
and blessing and help, day by day. And oh Lord, remember those
away from us at this time and grant that they may have a rest
and change, be refreshed and strengthened. We do humbly pray
they are brought back safely at the appointed time. And Lord,
remember any others that are not able to gather with us today.
And now it's the reasons, and we would commend them to Thee.
Remember them for good. O Lord, remember our brethren,
the deacons, and bless them with needed grace and wisdom and help.
And may we continue to be united together in the fear of the Lord.
We do humbly beseech of Thee. And love each other, serve each
other, bear each other's burdens, thereby fulfilling the law of
Christ. May thy word be a lamp unto our
feet and a light unto our path, O Lord, we do beseech thee for
thy great name's sake. And O Lord, we do pray that thou,
in thy great mercy, would remember all thy servants as they labour
in word and doctrine upon the walls of Zion today. that they
may dip their foot in oil and be made acceptable unto the brethren.
All that thou wouldst bless them indeed. O Lord, we do beseech
thee and grant signs to follow the preaching of the word. Grant
the fresh anointing of thy Holy Spirit. We do humbly pray thee,
for without thee we can do nothing. We pray thee, the great Lord
of the harvest, to send true labourers into the harvest. and
to build the walls of Jerusalem. Hear us, O Lord, that instead
of a declension, we may see a building up. Instead of a falling away,
that there may be those that shall be established in the faith
and in gathering. May we see the fulfilling of
those lovely promises. 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. Gracious God, let thy work appear
unto thy servants and thy glory unto their children. We do humbly
beseech of thee for thy great namesake. Lord, remember our
own little group of churches and revive us again. Blow with the wind of the Spirit.
Remember the various charities to which we affiliate.
Oh, that thou wouldst graciously send out thy light and thy truth
and return in thy power and in thy glory as thou usest to be
in the sanctuary. We have a goodly heritage, but
we pray that thou wouldst revive us will renew us, will replenish
us. Remember the churches of God,
for Lord, we're only a part of Zion. Remember the churches of
God, up and down the nation. Wherever thy servants stand,
wherever thy people gather, all that thou wilt have mercy upon
thy Zion, and bless thy people and save thine inheritance, wilt
thou not Revive us again, O Lord. Let thy hand be upon the man
of thy right hand, the son of man, whom thou madest strong
for thyself, so will not we turn back from thee. O Lord of hosts,
O God of Israel, O thou that dwellest between the cherubims,
shine forth, we do humbly beseech of thee. Arise, arise, O God
of grace, into thy rest descend. Thou in the ark of thy strength,
let thy priests be clothed with salvation, and thy saints shall
shout aloud for joy. Oh, abundantly bless the provision
of thy house, and satisfy her poor with bread. Where there
is strife and division, may there be peace. Lord, we pray that
thou wouldst arise in thy and make bare thine holy arm in the
gospel. Remember our nation. Bless our
king, our royal household. Bless them with that rich grace
that is in Christ Jesus. Bless our political leaders with
wisdom and understanding, our judges and our magistrates. Give
them wisdom, guidance, and direction. We're exhorted by thee, O Lord,
pray for all in authority over us, and we humbly seek to do
so. We pray, most gracious Lord,
for those that labour in word and doctrine among the nations
of the earth. We would particularly remember
those that go forth from among our own churches. We think of
thy servant, Ian Sadler, as he labours in word and doctrine,
and the distribution of the scriptures, in those many places in the earth,
and we pray that thou would bless his labours with success. We
do humbly beseech and supply all his many returning deeds. Oh, that thou would remember
the Mombasa mission, and that thy servant there, that thy blessing
may rest upon them there. Precious fruit brought forth
to the honour, glory, and praise of thy great name, and O Lord,
We do pray that thou, in thy great mercy, would remember the
Savannah Education Trust and that great work that they're
doing in Ghana. Lord, hear us, we pray thee.
We thank thee, O Lord God, for all thy tender mercies. We thank
thee for thy holy day. We thank thee for thy holy word.
We thank thee for our house of prayer. We thank Thee that Thou
hast maintained us. 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. But above all, we thank Thee
for Jesus Christ, the incarnation of the Son of God, the holy life
He lived as a man under the law, fulfilling and honouring and
magnifying Thy law. on 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, where God and sinners are reconciled. We thank
Thee that He died for our sins and rose again for our justification
and has now ascended into glory. We have a great high priest who
has passed into the heavens Jesus, the Son of God, we thank Thee
for these divine realities. We thank Thee for the Holy Ghost.
We thank Thee for the eternal love of our Eternal Father. Be with us now, Lord, as we turn
to Thy Word. Come and open Thy Word to our
heart and to our understanding. We ask with the forgiveness of
all sins for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. Let us now sing together hymn
number 645. The tune is Braymar, 448. Dangerous
is the path we go, In this wilderness below, savage
beasts of every kind aiming to distress the mind. Hymn 645,
tune Bremer 448. ? Through the spirit of loving
God ? ? Give it to them as they are ? ? There it is from every
part ? ? Give it to them as they are ? ? Spirit-shedder of pilgrim's sheep
? ? Length of danger, God of grace ? ? He's found a way, straight
and clear ? ? Stony mountains, green plains and clear skies
? Christ is risen from the dead. When I first came close here,
I needed a place to call home. But here, all the gates are blue. O'er the ramparts we watched,
were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket's red glare, the
bombs bursting in air, ? God of grace ? ? God of grace ? ?
God of grace ? ? I shall not send you down ? ? Till earth and heaven fall asunder
? ? May it be a blissing grace, a blessing grace ? When people said, may we pray,
let it be pronounced every day, let it ? Ever true ? ? God shed his love
on you ? ? God shed his love on you ? ? God shed his love
on you ? O'er the land of the free and
the home of the brave? Greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, I would direct your attention to the chapter
that we read, the 48th chapter of the prophecy of Isaiah, and
we will read verse 17 for our text. The prophecy of Isaiah, chapter
48, verse 17. Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. I am
the Lord, thy God, which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth
thee by the way that thou shouldest go. Thus saith the Lord. Jehovah. You notice Lord is written
with capital letters. Thus saith Jehovah, the eternal. Jehovah being that incommunicable
name that cannot be given to anyone else because of the very
meaning of it. It means the self-existent one,
the eternal one. From everlasting to everlasting
thou art God. one of the essential meanings
of the name Jehovah. We've often explained to you,
I am he which is, and which was, and which is to come. As a paraphrase,
in the New Testament, on the name Jehovah, Jesus Christ is
saying yesterday, and today, and forever, again, Jehovah Jesus,
that's the meaning of it. And when it speaks of that, in
that threefold sense of the, Three tenses, past, present,
and future. That when it's applied to God
in that glorious name of Jehovah, it's past, present, and future
eternal. So when it speaks of past, it
speaks of all eternity, past. Then it speaks of now. And it
speaks forever. I am he which is, and which was,
and which is to come, and all those in the eternal sense of
the word. I always have been. I always
will be. I am the eternal God. I am the
creator of the heavens and the earth. Thus saith the Lord. How, my beloved friends, we should
listen. We read of it in Psalm 33, that
the Lord spake, he spake, and it was done. That's all he needs
to do. We have to go and do something.
We can't command anything to be done. But when God speaks,
it's done. Where the word of a king is,
there is power. You know, is actually when you
are given to really consider the name Jehovah, it's awesome. It overawes us. He's the eternal. He's the almighty. And we all
are accountable to him. And every one of us must give
an account unto him in the day of judgment, which God has appointed.
that every one of us must appear as the Word of God declares unto
us, for we must all appear at the judgment seat of Jesus Christ,
Jehovah Jesus, that God has appointed him to judge the world in righteousness. We read together here, verse
15, I, even I have spoken. And you know this book, the Bible,
is the Word of Jehovah. Often called the Word of the
Lord, the Word of Jehovah. From Genesis to Revelation, we
believe that the most accurate translation of it in the English
language is the authorized version. The men who translated it believed
it to be the Word of God. You hear these men today in universities
that study scriptures, they're doctors of divinity, they're
professors of divinity, and they're very knowledgeable and learned
men. But what they will often tell
you, it contains the word of God. You know, friends, what
a deception that is. It doesn't just contain the word
of God, It is the Word of God. I, even I have spoken, from Genesis
to Revelation, is the Word of God. Now of course, when these
carnal men, learned as they may be, declare that it contains
the Word of God, what they mean is it then gives them liberty
to decide which is the Word of God and which isn't the Word
of God. What an awful deception that is. Or that we may ever
come to Holy Scripture reverently, prayerfully, because it's God's
Holy Word. I, even I, have spoken. God has spoken. Now, of course,
here in the previous verse, verse 16, he's speaking of what he
has spoken, and he says, I have called Him. He's speaking of Christ. His
only begotten Son. I, even I have spoken. You might
say, where is He spoken? In His Word. Go back to Genesis. Third chapter of Genesis, the
awful fall of man. And then God's Word. Of the seed of the woman. That's
the promise of the coming of Christ. He shall bruise thy head, and
thou shalt bruise his heel. That's the first promise given
to man of the coming of the Messiah. And after that, the godly were
looking for that, waiting for that, praying for that, right
through the Old Testament. Comes to Abraham, and the Lord
speaks to Abraham. He called him out of Ur of the
Chaldees, and he promised him, in thy seed shall all the nations
of the earth be blessed. Thy seed shall be as the sand
that is by the seashore. You know, he's speaking of that
eternal covenant. He's speaking of the coming of
Christ and the sealing of that covenant. You know the blood
of Jesus Christ in Hebrews chapter 13, it's called the blood of
the everlasting covenant. Christ's blood of eternal worth. He's the eternal Son of the eternal
Father that was manifest in the flesh. And it says here in verse
16, it speaks of the Trinity. The Father, the Son, the Holy
Ghost, come ye near unto me. Hear ye this, I have not spoken
in secret from the beginning, from the time that it was, there
am I. Who's speaking? Christ is speaking. And now the Lord God, that's
the Father, and his Spirit, that's the Holy Ghost, has sent me. Has sent me. God so loved the
world, he gave his only begotten Son. And now the Lord God, and
His Spirit hath sent me." What a beautiful prophecy of the coming
of Christ. Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer. It's the name given to Christ,
isn't it? It's through the Old Testament.
We're reading Jeremiah, their Redeemer is strong. He's the
Almighty. He's the Almighty. been sent by the Father to redeem
the Church. That eternal covenant, ordered
in all things and sure, made before the foundation of the
world. A covenant of grace, a covenant
of salvation, a covenant of redemption, a covenant of deliverance. What
from? Where's the redemption from?
From sin and Satan's power. That's where we are by nature,
We're sold under sin. It's striking when you look at
these prophecies here. The beginning of this chapter,
in verse chapter 48, it says, Hear ye this, O house of Jacob,
which are called by the name of Israel are come forth out
of the waters of Judah, which swear by the name of the Lord
and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth nor
in righteousness. For they call themselves of the
holy city and stay themselves upon the God of Israel, the Lord
of hosts is his name. You see, but look what the Lord
says of him. Verse four, because I knew that
thou art obstinate and thy neck is an iron sinew and thy brow
brass, I have even from the beginning declared it to thee. Before it
come to pass, I showed it thee, lest thou shouldst say mine idol
hath done this. He's speaking of the deceit and
wickedness of the heart, of Jacob, of Israel, of the children of
Israel, his own chosen people that he delivered from Egyptian
bondage. He's speaking of you and me.
No scriptures of any private interpretation. He's speaking
of you and me. The heart is deceitful above
all things and desperately wicked. If there's one thing the Spirit
of God will teach you is that you're a sinner, that you're
undone. And all the days of your pilgrimage
here below, he'll continually be teaching you that. You're
a sinner, you're undone. Rebellious thou hast been and
art rebellious still. You're a sinner, I'm a sinner,
we're all sinners. Prone to wander, Lord, I feel
it. Prone to leave the God I love.
A heart that is so deceitful and so corrupt. The Word of God
declares, the Lord Jehovah declares, deceitful above all things. Your
heart, my heart, desperately wicked. But then, there's the
Gospel, the free, unmerited Gospel of favour of the grace of God
in Jesus Christ, verse 9. For my name's sake will I defer
mine anger. This is the gospel of Jesus Christ. And for my praise will I refrain
for thee that I cut thee not off. Behold, I have refined thee,
but not with silver. I have chosen thee in the furnace
of affliction for mine own sake, not yours. In the, I believe it's the seventh
chapter of Deuteronomy. The Lord, he speaks of his love.
He says, I did not set my love upon you because you're a greater
and a better people. No, he did it because he would. Not because of anything in us.
It's all of sovereign grace. It's because he would. Yea, I have loved thee with an
everlasting love, therefore with loving kindness have I drawn
thee. There's no other reason, there's
nothing in you. It's all in God's love, His eternal
love, His eternal grace in Jesus Christ. Thus saith the Lord,
thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. Christ is the Holy One
of Israel. He's the high and lofty one that
inhabited eternity, whose name is holy. He's pure. He's righteous. And when he became a man here
upon earth, when the Son of God assumed human nature, it was
a pure, holy human nature. And when he lived as a man under
the law, he lived a pure and a holy life, he fulfilled, he
honored, and he magnified that holy righteous law. When he suffered
and bled and died on the cross of Calvary, pure, holy, righteous
altogether. The sacrifice demanded by divine
justice had to be holy and pure and righteous altogether. That's
the only, oh I love that word in Psalm 37, in verse 37. Mark the perfect man. Oh, that's
Christ. He's the only perfect man that
ever lived upon this earth. Mark the perfect man and behold
the upright for the end of that man is peace as Christ. Peace
by his cross as Jesus made the church's ever-living head. That's where you'll find peace,
thy redeemer. He's paid the redemption price
to deliver you and I from our sin, from sin and Satan's power. There's only one deliverance.
There's only one way that we can be delivered. It's in Christ,
in the glorious person of God manifest in the flesh, thy Redeemer. Have mercy, my beloved friends,
if you and I have the, An interest here, Thy Redeemer. Loved with an everlasting love,
Thy Redeemer. The everlasting love of the Father,
in His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Thy Redeemer, the Holy
One of Israel. It's a great mercy, my beloved
friends, if the Spirit of God gives you and I a sense of the
holiness and the righteousness and the perfections that are
in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. And they're there on the behalf
of His people. And it's because you're loved
with an everlasting love by the Holy One of Israel. Redeemer. You know, when Ruth
the Moabitess returned with Naomi from the land of Moab, she came
to Bethlehem, the time of barley harvest and wheat harvest, and
she gleaned in the field. And we read her hap, that's an
old English, it's an abbreviation of it happened. that she gleaned
in the field of Boaz. Gatsby puts it so lovely in his
hymn, to Boaz's field he led her straight. Now, why am I speaking
of Boaz? Well, he's a beautiful type of
our Lord Jesus Christ. He, it says there in the Book
of Ruth, he's a mighty man of wealth. He's a mighty man of
wealth. And therefore, he was able to
redeem all that pertained unto Naomi and Ruth. He redeemed her. He paid the redemption price
to retrieve all the lands of a limling. He was a near kinsman. What a beautiful type of Christ.
Christ, the Eternal Son, the Eternal Father he's a near kinsman
he came to this earth he was made of a woman made under the
law that he might redeem them that are under the law he's a
mighty man of wealth that's what Christ has done for his people
what what Boaz did for Ruth Christ has done for his people but what
what did Boaz do he not only redeemed all the lands etc but
he took her to his wife And that is what the heavenly
Boaz does. Our Lord Jesus Christ, our Redeemer. He's redeemed us. He says in
Jeremiah three, I am married unto you. I am married unto you. And he says here in verse nine,
for my name's sake, no other reason, no other reason whatsoever,
but for my name's sake. Christ speaks of it, doesn't
he, in John's Gospel. He says, whatsoever you ask in
my name, I will do it. Not what you ask in your name,
no. All our righteousnesses are as
filthy rags. We're all as an unclean thing.
We're unrighteous altogether. And not only that, even after
we've received the mercy and grace of God, We still have a
deceitful heart, we still have a wretched nature, we still have
to cry out with a bit, dear apostle, a wretched man that I am. My
beloved friends, what is the Holy Spirit teaching us? You see, it says in our text
here, thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel,
I am the Lord, thy God. I am Jehovah thy God. Jehovah is what is called a covenant
name. It's only known by the inexperience
of the Lord's living family. They come to know him as Jehovah. I am the Lord thy God, which
teaches thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that
thou shouldest go, He leads us. We read in Psalm
107, He led them forth by the right way. Never lead in a wrong
way. He led them forth in the right
way. He leads His people. He guides
His people. Now, this blessed book, the Bible,
is our compass for this wilderness journey. It is. It's God's Holy Word. And He
speaks to His people in His Word. He quickens them by His Word.
He feeds them by His Word. It becomes the bread of life
unto them. It becomes the water of life.
It becomes essential to them for their spiritual. But man
shall not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth
out of the mouth of God shall man live. You see, The true spiritual
man, he can't be satisfied with just earthly bread. Or water,
as good as that water may be here upon earth, that's fine
for his flesh. But the true living child of
God has to have spiritual food. Man shall not live by bread only.
but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. David
said, he knew this, he said, be not silent unto me, O God,
lest if thou be silent unto me, I become like them that go down
into the pit. Speak, Lord, into my heart. You know, and where there's that
true spiritual love and union, we desire this for our children.
We desire this for our congregation. We desire this for our neighbor,
for our fellow creatures, that the Lord would speak to them. That he would breathe his word
into their heart. He would quicken their souls
into life. Now, let us not digress too far
here. Thus saith the Lord, Thy Redeemer,
the Holy One of Israel, I am the Lord thy God, which teacheth
thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest
go. In the Isaiah chapter 30, and
we read in there from verse 18, Isaiah 30, verse 18, And therefore will the Lord wait,
that he may be gracious unto you. And therefore will he be
exalted, that he may have mercy upon you. For the Lord is a God
of judgment. Now, we tend to think of the
Lord's righteous and wrathful judgment when we think of judgment.
What it means here, the essence of what he's saying, I know what's
best for you. He's a God of judgment. He knows
what's best for us. And that's the meaning here of
this word. For the Lord is a God of judgment. He knows what's
needful and what's necessary for you in this world. He knows
what's needful and necessary for your soul. He knows what's
needful and necessary for your circumstances. My life's minutest
circumstances subject to thine eye. He's God of judgment. And in his judgment, now you
may be in a path at this time that is very difficult, very
trying, very perplexing. But in the judgment of God, that
is what is needed. That is what is needed in God's
judgment, in your life, in your circumstances. You may, like
the Apostle Paul, have a thorn in the flesh. You have a messenger
from Satan that buffets you. What was Paul brought to see?
Lest I should be exalted above measure, I had a thorn in the
flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet me. You see, he asked
the Lord three times to take it away. What answer did he get? Well we do not read, the Lord
took away the thorn in the flesh. But he did say to him, my grace,
that's the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, my grace is sufficient
for thee. My strength is made perfect in
weakness. Now that's just the opposite
to the way that we would think, isn't it? You would think that
you'd be much better poured He thought he'd be a much better
minister, he'd be a much better apostle if he didn't have this
thorn in the flesh, this wretched thorn in the flesh, this thing
that came continually back. You see, and therefore will the
Lord wait. You may have been praying for
something for a long time. You may have been watching for
something for a long time. but the Lord's time is the right
time. And that's exactly what it means
here in Isaiah 30, for the Lord is a God of judgment and his
judgment. And the thing is, like Abraham,
you may be tempted to put your own hand to fulfill the Lord's
promise. You might say, what do you mean,
Abraham? He was a godly man, he was. But he had Ishmael through the
maid of Sarah, Hagar. He was trying to fulfill God's
promise. It didn't work, did it? And after Ishmael was born, Abraham
pleaded that Ishmael live. But the Lord, he didn't, it wasn't
the Lord's way. See, he had to wait for the fulfilling
of the promise. When it says in the Hebrews that
he was past age, he was over, he was 100 years old, Sarah was
past the age of childbearing. You have to wait. And the Lord fulfilled, and you've
got to wait. Wait on the Lord, be of good
courage, wait. I say upon the Lord, for the
Lord is a God of judgment. He knows what's the best time. As the hymn writer says, he comes
at evening late when men are faint. Don't try and fulfill God's promise. Those things are written in God's
word for our instruction. Blessed are all they that wait
for him. For the people that dwell in
Zion at Jerusalem, thou shalt weep no more. He will be very
gracious unto the voice of thy cry. When he shall hear it, he
will answer thee. Now listen carefully, the next
verse. And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and
the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed
into a corner any more. But thine eyes shall see thy
teachers, and thine ears shall hear a word behind thee saying,
this is the way, walk ye in it. when you turn to the right hand
and when you turn to the left, you see, but thine eyes shall
see thy teachers. What does it mean? It means all
these things that happen to you in providence, all these difficult things, these
trying things, these perplexing things, all these things are
thy teachers. The thorn in the flesh for the
Apostle Paul was a teacher, it was. You see, thus saith the
Lord thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, I am the Lord thy
God, which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee in the way
that thou shouldest go, teaches you to profit. You may not think
so, we've just read of the bread of affliction, the water of adversity,
and when you come into those you think the path is all wrong.
It's not. It's not. But, you know, we get
ourselves into great trouble and darkness
and bondage. It goes immediately on from this
verse here to verse 18, O that thou hast hearkened to my command,
Then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the
waves of the sea, thy seed had been as the sand, and the offspring
of thy bowels like the gravel thereof. That's what it would
have been. Why, but they didn't hearken. You know, this is a
constant theme in the word of God. The rebellion of the people
of Israel and the Lord's people against his way. Oh, that the
Lord would deliver us from that spirit of rebellion. and give
us to truly feel. But the Lord didn't forsake them.
I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. No. They come into great
bondage and darkness usually because of their own foolishness. But he remembers them. As it
says in verse 9, for my name's sake will I defer mine anger
and for my praise will I refrain from thee that I cut thee not
off. Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver. I have chosen
thee in the furnace of affliction. Now, that can be bodily affliction,
that can be mental affliction, that can be affliction in your
circumstances, but it's sent by God. It's not something that just
happened. It's divinely decreed and purposed. Why? Which teaches thee to profit. Lead you in a way that is profitable
for your soul. A way that is necessary to, you
know, there needs to be this constant mortification of our
flesh. What does mortify mean? It means to kill. And in the
path the Lord leads us, it's to kill. It's to humble, it's
to bring down. It's to make you feel your nothingness,
your emptiness, your poverty, your insufficiency. Your proneness
to wander. That's the purpose of the Lord.
Be thankful if the Lord indeed is dealing with you. Be thankful
for what he's put in your pathway. See the reason for the Apostle
Paul of that thorn in the flesh is because he was so given such
clear, beautiful views of Christ, of heaven, of glory. He'd given
great success in the ministry of the word. But the Lord could
see that that this would lead to him being lifted up in pride.
And hence he says, lest I should be exalted above measure, I have
a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet me. Oh, he
so begged of the Lord to deliver him from them. My mind in thinking
of this word before us, it just went to Joseph. the Lord's servant
Joseph. And look at the path he had to
tread. The Lord was preparing him to
become the first ruler under Pharaoh in Egypt. But look at
what he had to pass through. He had a vision or a dream when
he was a young man, how his brethren would come and bow down to him. But what happened, those very
brethren sold him as a slave into Egypt. One or two of them
would have murdered him. Just the opposite of the vision,
the dream that he'd had. And for 13 years. First, he was
sold as a slave. He came into Potiphar's house
and there, Potiphar's wife falsely accused him. He was cast into
prison. It was years that went by. The butler, the baker, came into
the prison and he interpreted their dreams. Still he had to
wait, still he had to wait. And then they told the king that there
was a man that could interpret dreams. You see, that was the
butler, wasn't it? And so Joseph was immediately
dressed and shaved and appeared before Pharaoh. And it interpreted
the dream of Pharaoh. You see, it all happened in the
Lord's time. Now from the time that his brethren
took him, sold him as a slave, to the time that he came as the
ruler of Egypt, it was 13 years. You see, The Lord waits to be gracious.
I am the Lord thy God. Look at what he was taught there. Both by his brethren and by Potiphar's
wife and by being in prison and then the butler forgetting about
him. Still had to carry on in prison.
He had to wait. But then he was lifted. In a
moment, he was brought out of prison and he became the first
ruler. in the land of Egypt. You know friends, these things
are written in God's word for our instruction. See, I am the
Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth in the
way that thou shouldest go. We have to be humbled, we have
to be mortified. Our flesh has to be crucified.
It does. Again, The other person that
came to mind was David, King David. The man after God's own
heart. And just look at his pathway. He was called from looking after
the sheep. And he was brought to Saul's house. He was anointed by David. by
Samuel to be king. Now from the time that he was
anointed to the time that he was king was 13 years. 13 years and Saul pursued him. He
was like an owl of the desert, a sparrow alone. One day I shall
fall by the hand of Saul. He said there is but a step between
me There's but a step between me and death. You see, the dear
man of God, the path he had to tread, it was a path that was
mortifying to the flesh, opposite to our nature, till eventually
he was made king in Jerusalem. You see, 13 long years of great
trial. You see, I am the Lord, thy God,
which teeteth thee to profit. which leadeth thee by the way
that thou shouldest go. You see, the right way. And when,
you know, we come into these things and we come utterly to
the end of ourselves, and when Christ is revealed and made precious
to your soul, it's a very sacred thing. And
then you wouldn't change anything. You wouldn't change anything.
You look back. Thou shalt remember all the way
the Lord thy God hath led thee. What? What? To humble thee. To prove thee. To see what was
in thine heart. Thou shalt remember. All the
way. The Lord thy God hath led thee
to humble thee. That's the purpose. Now that
path that you're in at this time, which at times is so trying to
you, it's to humble thee. is to prove them. What do we
prove? That we're unfaithful, that our
flesh is sinful, that we're corrupt. That's what we prove. We prove
it in these difficult things that the Lord brings us into.
We prove that, and then you have to come like the hymn writer
says, nothing in my hand I bring. I'm a poor, wretched, helpless,
hopeless sinner. Nothing in my hand I bring. Simply
to thy cross I cling. Foul I to the fountain fly. Wash me, Saviour, or I die. Now the purpose of mortifying
your and my flesh is to bring us to the feet of Jesus. That's
the purpose. Humbled under the mighty hand
of God. He says, does he humble yourselves
therefore under the mighty hand of God. And it's in these pathways
when Christ is made precious and when Christ is revealed in
all the different glories that are in Christ. You're led, you
feel so unrighteous yourself but the Holy Spirit will lead
you to see the righteousness of Jesus Christ. He'll lead you
to see the wonderful glory of Calvary, where the lamb was slain,
where sin was put away. He'll lead you to realize what
a wretched sinner you are. You know, if ever you feel yourself
to be a sinner, it's at Calvary. It's where the lamb was slain.
You'll feel the awful heinousness of sin, more there than ever
you felt it under the law. when you see how he suffered
and bled and died, when you see 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. Now, the way the
Lord brings you there is he humbles you. When you come to Gethsemane,
your flesh has to be humbled. There's no room for pride in
Gethsemane or at Calvary. And the path to there is mortifying. It's crucifying to our flesh.
It's opposite to our nature. We're brought utterly to nothing.
And then Christ is revealed as the way, the truth, and the life.
Christ is revealed, his precious blood that cleanses from all
sin. Then you're brought to say, to
know by experience, if ever my poor soul is saved, It is Christ
must be the Word. You hang upon a Saviour who is
a complete Saviour. There's nothing left for you
and I to do. And we're brought to see and
to feel. We can't do anything. Not to please God. So much of
the religion, my beloved friends, of many is, look what I've done
for the Lord. look what i'm going to do and
look what i've given look what look at this look at something
else it's nothing to do to this man will i look to him that is
poor and of a contrite spirit and that trembles at my word
that's that's where that's where the lord brings his people humbled under the mighty hand
of god thus saith the lord thy redeemer May you be given to
really feel that. Thy Redeemer, my beloved is mine,
and I am his. Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer,
the Holy One of Israel, I am the Lord thy God, which teacheth
thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest
go. May the Lord add his blessings. Let us now sing together hymn
number 617. The tune is Warsaw 563. Sorry,
618. Tune is Warsaw 563. The path the Christians tread
to reason's eye is strange. Through regions of the dead they
frequently must reign. 10,000 monstrous beasts of prey beset
the soul by night and day. And in verse 2 particularly,
that seemed to draw me here, we must not learn God's truth
as schoolboys learn their task. Hymn 618, tune Warsaw 563. O come, O come, Lord Jesus Christ,
O come, O come, Lord Jesus Christ, with the Son and the Fruit. As
for wisdom and trust, so purely it is not great. The gains in merchants' plots,
The gifts in all its mercy best, ? The good and the bad, all sorts of things ? ? This
is your grave, O faith ? to trace the field to his home. This I, a humble man, claim,
and Jesus, then, adore. God is well and God says still
in his song, God lives and lives in all that's right. O come, let us adore Him, O come,
let us adore Him, Christ the Lord. and told her a sacred plot. And what of him? Did he say her
name? is made the mantle so in shame. Ten reigns their code, A native
child of George, His poultry quacks in awe, I
return of his words. And by his heart beats, how strange
to tell, The Lord kept their edge in Jesus'
hand. They still have aged and died,
and hold a big, clear throne. The Savior brings us now to trust
in Him alone. Kiss Him with trust, His righteousness,
And crown Him with love so brave. Jesus rest the proud. We gladly trace the path that
brings all nature down. and leads us to God's home. Jesus, the Lord, our righteousness,
who takes in everything, 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.