will commence the worship of
God with hymn 913. The tune is 972, Stena. "'Tis the gospel's joyful tidings,
full salvation sweetly sounds. Grace to heal thy foul backslidings,
sinner, flows from Jesus' wounds. Hymn 913, tune 972, Steiner. Salut, salut, salut, salut, salut,
salut, salut, salut. Oh, say does that star-spangled
banner yet wave ? On the mountain ? ? I rest where
the ocean lays ? ? In the deep zone of the mountain ? ? We go
to thee ? O say can you see, by the dawn's
early light, ? Day and night, day and night,
day and night ? ? With thee, Lord, may I be nourished
? ? From thine oil-laden brow. ? ? Steadfast, steadfast, steadfast,
steadfast ? ? Steadfast, steadfast, steadfast, steadfast ? ? In every fear and safest place
? ? On earth and in the ages ? ? Listen to the joyful sound ? From the word of God, we shall
read the seventh chapter in Paul's epistle to the Hebrews. The epistle of Paul to the Hebrews,
chapter seven. For this Melchizedek, king of
Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning
from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, to whom also
Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being by interpretation
King of Righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which
is King of Peace, without father, without mother, without descent,
having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like
unto the Son of God, abideth a priest continually. Now consider
how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham
gave the tenth of the spoils. And verily they that are of the
sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have
a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the
law, that is of their brethren, though they come out of the loins
of Abraham. But he whose descent is not counted
from them, received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that
had the promises. And without all contradiction,
the less is blessed of the better. And here men that die receive
tithes. But there he receiveth them,
of whom it is witness that he liveth. And as I may so say,
Levi also, who receiveth tithes, paid tithes in Abraham, for he
was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchizedek met him. If therefore perfection were
by the Levitical priesthood for under it the people received
the law. What further need was there that
another priest should rise after the order of Melchizedek and
not be called after the order of Aaron? For the priesthood
being changed, there is made of necessity the change of the
law. For he of whom these things are
spoken pertaineth to another tribe, of which no man gave attendance
at the altar. For it is evident that our Lord
sprang out of Judah, of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning
priesthood. And it is yet far more evident
For that after the similitude of Melchizedek there ariseth
another priest, who is made not after the law of a carnal commandment,
but after the power of an endless life. For he testifieth, Thou
art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek. And there
is verily a disannulling of the commandment going before, for
the weakness and unprofitableness thereof. For the law made nothing
perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did, by the
which we draw nigh unto God. And inasmuch as not without an
oath he was made priest for those priests which were made without
an oath but this is with an oath by him
that said unto him the Lord swear and will not repent thou art
a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek By so much was
Jesus made a surety of a better testament. And they truly were
many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason
of death. But this man, because he continueth
ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. Wherefore he is able also to
save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing
he ever liveth to make intercession for them. For such an high priest
became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners,
and made higher than the heavens, who needeth not daily as those
high priests to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then
for the people's. For this he did once when he
offered up himself. For the law maketh men high priests,
which have infirmity. But the word of the oath, which
was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated for evermore. May God bless that portion of
his holy word. May he help us in prayer. Most gracious God, we pray that
thou wilt humble our hearts as we gather for worship. O that
hearts might be humbled under a sense of thy love and thy mercy
to poor unworthy sinners. for unworthy sinners we are. Yet, Lord, we would gather together
to worship Thee, the worthy Lamb, Thou who art at the right hand
of the Father, heaven's brightest glory. Oh, do send forth Thy
Spirit into our souls that we might worship Thee in spirit
and in truth. that we might truly bow before
thee, and Lord, that we might thank thee for every blessing
and every mercy, and that we might praise thee for all that
thou art, all that thou art doing, all that thou wilt ever do. May
our hearts be enlarged by the love of Christ. Oh, that there
might be a sweet drawing within that gracious work of the Father,
who draweth sinners to Christ. For no man cometh, except the
Father draw him, that we might feel it in our souls. Drawn to
a precious Christ, the Father's eternal Son, the Son of thy And
may we know thy love as we gather round thy word in our poor hearts,
for nothing else can do us good but the love of God in Christ
Jesus. May there be a sweet pouring
forth from heaven, Lord, that will humble us at thy dear feet,
if we feel a little of thy dying love. of the riches of it, the
power of it. Lord have mercy upon us. Thou knowest we have gathered
round thy precious word. We pray that thou wilt make it
precious. We pray that thou wilt use it
for our good and for thy glory. May we be taken by the hand,
the hand of living faith, and led into the truth as it is in
Jesus. We pray that they will unfold
the sacred scriptures to our unworthy souls, that we might
grow in grace and in the fear of the Lord. May thy word go
forth in power and in the Holy Ghost and with much assurance,
may it be food to longing souls, may it give life to our spirits,
that we might know something of thee and the power of thy
resurrection, lifting us above everything here below for a little
season and feeding our souls. for Lord Jesus thou art that
living bread may our hearts respond evermore give us this bread Lord
that bread that's eternal that bread Lord that feeds the soul
of thy dear children for thou has said except ye eat of my
body and drink of my blood ye have no life in you Lord, may
we by faith feed at Calvary. May mercy drops refresh our souls,
strengthen our hearts, that thy dear people might rejoice in
thee. We pray that thy word might meet
our need. Thou knowest what our needs are
better than we do, but grant that this needful, Lord, sanctify
us through thy word. Thy word is truth, may it be
written in our hearts. May we know the true meaning
of what thy word declares, how often the apostle used to say,
Christ in you, the hope of glory. Oh, that thou wouldst take up
thine abode in the hearts of thy dear children, that we might
know and feel it in our souls, The love of Christ is mercy and
truth. Lord, do then come and do us
good. We are but unworthy sinners.
We confess it, Lord, we feel it. But thou art that worthy
Saviour. Lord, have mercy and compassion
upon us. Pray that thou remember our dear
brother, the pastor here, and be with him where he is. We pray
that they will strengthen him and help him with all strength
and might in the inner man. Lord, may this be a time of refreshing
and strengthening to his mind and soul and body, that he might
return back refreshed and strengthened to uphold him amidst all the
sorrows of the way, the heaviness that he's been through, May the
glorious light of the knowledge of God shine into his heart and
into ours. And Lord, that will do him good.
Thus bless and strengthen and refresh him and uphold him and
each of thy dear servants, enabling them to venture forth in the
fullness of the gospel of the dear Lord Jesus Christ. O may
thy name be magnified and glorified in the gospel, that thy people
might be refreshed, thy name glorified. And Lord, that thy
dear children might be gathered in. We pray that they will bring
thy sons from afar and thy daughters from the ends of the earth. May
they be gathered to thee. May they come seeking after thee. seeking after a precious Christ,
and those blessings and glories that dwell alone in thee. Oh,
that they might come with their faces thitherward, Lord, seeking
thy blessing, seeking mercy, forgiveness, peace, and pardon. Lord, not only would we pray
for it amongst thy church, but for us here this evening, Lord,
May heavenly food fall from thy hand into the souls of hungry
sinners. We pray that they'll remember
the aged, to strengthen, help and comfort them in the inner
man, as the outward man perisheth. Oh, may the inward man of grace
be strengthened and renewed and refreshed with thy love and mercy. We pray for the young that thou
wilt keep them, and may they be graciously brought to seek
after thee, the living God, the mighty Saviour. Thou who alone
can bring poor sinners to heaven and glory through redeeming love
and blood. Thus teach and instruct them,
we pray, as we seek thy blessing here this evening. We pray for
it wherever thy dear children gather on this earth, that thou
would have mercy upon them. We live in a world of sorrow
and trouble, Lord, because of sin, because of our fallen state,
because of what man is now through Adam's fall, and only thou canst
lift poor sinners out of it. We pray for that. the ingathering
of precious souls, souls, Lord Jesus, that the Father gave to
thee, and thou hast pledged to save them, pledged to gather
them to thyself, pledged to take them to glory, and we believe
that thou wilt. We pray for the performance of
thy promises, and know that thy work might appear in their hearts
here below. Pray that they will keep Satan
from us. Lord, how we need that. But Lord,
we believe that as we gather round thy word, he's never far
away. For Lord, he hates thy word and
thy person and work. Deliver us for a little season.
May we be shut in with the Lord. May all be shut out. except for
a precious Christ, then come, we pray, and do us good, forgive
our many, many sins. We plead thy precious, sin-atoning
blood, and pray that thou wilt wash us, take all our sins away. Oh, in mercy grant that we might
feel a little of in our hearts and souls. We ask these mercies
in thy name. Lord Jesus, Amen. We'll continue the service with
hymn 121. The tune is 247, Tilty Abbey. Jesus, in thee our eyes behold
a thousand glories more than the rich gems and polished gold,
the sons of air and war. Hymn 121, Tune 247. O'er the ramparts we watched,
were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket's red glare, the bombs
bursting in air, ? Pray for Sarah ? ? And all her
troubles ? ? Till God himself ? ? Proceeds ? ? May I put you
? ? In heaven ? ? And all thy measure be. ? ? Nature has lost her day
today. ? for evermore. It is to reign
forevermore. Amen. ? Where Christian men who serve
the world ? ? Who not from God's own death rise ? ? Why then does
Jesus come to earth? ? eternal rest thy days. ? God's deepest child is born for
you ? ? With love you know is all ? Alleluia, alleluia. God watch our ways, and never,
O God, must our ? And in the presence of the Lord
? ? Shall cease the sacrifice ? Jesus, the King of glory raised
from the dead. O'er the ramparts we watched,
were so gallantly streaming? ? In the days to come you'll see
? ? With all its wondrous ways ? ? Here in my soul are you ? You will find the word on my Spirit this
evening in the seventh chapter of Paul's epistle to the Hebrews. And we shall read verses 24 and
25. But this man, because he continueth
ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. Wherefore he is able also to
save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing
he ever liveth to make intercession for them. Paul's epistle to the
Hebrews, chapter 7, verses 24 and 25. But this man, because he continueth
ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. Wherefore he is able also to
save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing
he ever liveth to make intercession for them. The apostle, in writing to the
Hebrew church, that is a church made up of Jews, seeks to rectify
various things that have been creeping in. Often that's the
case in each of the epistles. And there's nothing new even
today, What was happening? Well, broadly speaking, there
were those in the church that would have dragged them back
to the law, to the old priesthood, to those things that Christ had
finished. And the apostle, in writing to
them, reminds them of it and shows them that it's completely
finished. That the Lord Jesus Christ has
finished all the types, all the shadows, the ceremonial law,
the old priesthood, and at the first three words of our text,
tell us who did that. This man. Christ only. He made an end of it all when
he cried, it is finished. The work was done, salvation's
work, and all the shadows that were finished. In arguing, or
shall I say, putting forth his case to them, by the gracious
power of the Holy Spirit, he reminded them how changeable
the old dispensation was. In verse 23, truly there were
many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason
of death. In other words, there was no
stability in the ancient church. One priest filled his office,
he died. And another was appointed, and
he died, and so it went on. all through that dispensation.
They died from the priesthood. And once they had passed away,
there was no priest until the next one was appointed. And so
it went on through the years of the old dispensation, obviously
pointing out the instability of it. Yes, they were types of Christ,
beyond any doubt. that they would, on the great
day of atonement, that they would appear before God on behalf of
the people, with the blood of the sacrifice. Once a year they
would go into the Holy of Holies, typically to appear before God,
and then they would come out. They appeared before God on behalf
of the people, and when they come back out, they appeared
before the people on behalf of God. that the sacrifice accepted. It was all typical of a greater
sacrifice. So it was unstable and changeable. They couldn't grasp that Jesus
now reigned and ruled in heaven, our great high priest. He points
out further to them that the Lord Jesus Christ was not of
the lineage of Aaron. Not at all, a great change had
taken place. And he takes them right back
to the time before the law was even given. To a mysterious time,
who met Abraham after the slaughter of the kings. His name was Melchizedek. If you go back into the book of Genesis, you can read
about him. Our chapter opens with it. For
this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God,
who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and
blessed him. So Melchizedek, he was a type
of Christ. He was both a king and a priest. Of course, under the Levitical
dispensation, A man could not be both king and priest. He could
never hold those two offices. Here's one who did. Unique in
scripture. Right back before the law was
given. This Melchizedek. He turns their attention to Psalm
110. There in verse 4, David makes
mention of him. David, by faith, he has a glimpse. In verse 4, the Lord hath sworn,
that is God the Father, the Lord hath sworn and will not repent. Thou art a priest forever after
the order of Melchizedek. Who? Go to verse 1. The Lord, David said, the Lord,
that is God the Father, said unto my Lord, that's God the
Son, sit thou at my right hand until I make thine enemies thine
footstool. In other words, sit at my right
hand, he's speaking of the ascension of Christ, he sits there now,
at the right hand of the Father, that is he's co-equal and co-eternal
with God, sitting at his right hand, on the same throne as it
were. this priest, forever after the
order of Melchizedek, and he speaks of the Lord making his
enemies his footstool, a glorious day that will come, but every
child of God is brought there. So, in speaking to the Hebrew
church, he really is saying, look, Here's the Aaronic priesthood,
ever-changing, not stable. But there's another priest. He's
not of that order. He's of another order. Melchizedek. He's without father, without
mother. You might say, what does that mean? He must have had a
father and mother. Yes, he must have done, but there's no record
of it in Scripture at all. He just suddenly appears. His
parentage, his lineage are not recorded. It's setting forth
the eternity of Christ. And the other thing that he is
the king of Salem, priest of the Most High God. He's both
a king and a priest. And the apostle really goes into
that at verse 11 if you go back. If therefore perfection were
by the Levitical priesthood But under it the people received
the law. What further need was there of another priest who should
rise after the order of Melchizedek and not be called after the order
of Aaron? For the priesthood being changed,
there is made a necessity a change also of the law." And he goes
on to speak. in verse 15, is yet far more
evident for that after the similitude of Melchizedek there arises another
priest. Verse 17, he quotes from David
Psalm 110, thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. So Jesus, this man, is both a
priest and a king. That is, as a priest he intercedes
for his dear people, and as king he reigns with this man, the
man Christ Jesus. Because he continueth ever hath
an unchangeable priesthood. So basically, that is the thrust
of the Apostle Paul's argument. The Jews, even today, they expect
Messiah. Still. So far as they're concerned
today, he's been, he's gone to heaven after he finished the
work. And they think that he'll set up an earthly kingdom. and
conquer all their enemies. And that same notion was with
the ancient Jews. It's still with them today. They're deceived in that. That
is just the imagination of their hearts, to think such a thing.
They have no scriptural grounds even to think it. If you study
prayerfully the Old Testament, this king, he's meek, he's lowly. Riding upon an ashe, that's his
cult. He didn't come to conquer the
nations. He came to redeem his church.
The Old Testament, their Bible, makes that abundantly clear.
I read a while ago that they still cannot understand Isaiah
53. They believe it's part of divine
writ, but they read it and mystify it. This man is spoken of there. the suffering saviour. That's
why he came. And that this man, that has finished
the work of salvation, conquered the enemies of the church, sin,
Satan, the world, death, overcome and finished the work, and he's
now risen and ascended and sits at the right hand of the Father.
That is who the Apostle Paul is speaking of, this man. Because he continueth ever. He's eternal, unchangeable. This man, because he continueth
ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. You know, beloved, The church
stands on this glorious truth. Because I live, ye shall live
also. This is the stability of the
church. Christ only. He's the foundation
of the church. Christ only. I do see an attraction
in what the Lord Jesus Christ spoke concerning himself to Peter. You perhaps remember that when
the Lord spoke to Peter, he said to Peter, but whom say ye that
I am? And Peter said, thou art the
Son of God. That is, Peter believed in the
divinity of Christ. He believed in his humanity,
but he believed in the divinity of Christ. That this glorious
person, this man, the Lord then said to him, to
Peter, didn't he, upon this rock, he was speaking of himself, upon
this rock will I build my church. That's what's happening now. Christ the foundation, the eternal
foundation, and Christ the builder. Those few words that Christ spoke
to Peter will bear the whole church up upon this rock. The rock Christ is, And of course
the teaching of the rock goes right through scripture concerning
Christ. Upon this, upon myself, I will
build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against
it. Now you see the stability of
the church, the unshakable condition of the church, nothing will move
it. is because of this man, this
glorious man, who came from heaven to earth. Why? To redeem his
people. To stand in their place. The
whole life of Christ was a sacrifice. From Bethlehem to Calvary. completely. He yielded up himself
on behalf of his people as a real man in the place of his church
and mystically the whole church was in him because the father
had given them to him and he'd become their surety, their saviour. And when he left the glories
of heaven, when the father sent his beloved son from heaven to
earth, that was his life work from Bethlehem to Calvary. The whole of his life. What was
it spent doing? So many things, but there's one
thing. Constantly, he wove a robe of righteousness. That is, he
kept the law. He said himself, I came not to
destroy the law, but to keep it. Why? Because you sinner and
I cannot. I think of the first command,
the great command. Thou shalt love the Lord thy
God with all thy heart, with all thy mind, with all thy strength
and with all thy soul. Jesus taught that that was the
great command, because that must be kept to keep all the others. Love. It was done, thou shalt
love. And who here, or any sinner on
this earth, can say, I've done that, I've loved God. I've loved His law. I've kept
it, not won. It's impossible for Paul and
man to do it. But for his church, Christ has
completely fulfilled it. But more than that, that didn't take away their sin. And that's why he went to Calvary. to suffer, bleed, and die of
sin. We sometimes sing, don't we?
Behold a scene of matchless grace. It is Jesus in the sinner's place. That's this man. It's the son
of man that suffered in the place of his people. So he'd kept the
law. He had lived a sacred life. Go to verse 26. For such an high
priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate
from sinners, now made higher than the heaven. But that's a
beautiful description of a precious Christ. And he kept the law,
He hung on Calvary's tree, missed all his sufferings, and still
yielded up himself to his Father in love. The law unbroken. And there he hung as the church's
priest. He was fulfilling his priestly
office. interceding for his people. And if you want to graciously
go into more depth there, then turn for instance to Psalm 22.
There you read of his sufferings, the feelings of his soul, his
anguish. Yet, through it all, perfection. A perfect sacrifice. He's both his people's priest
there as he interceded, shedding his precious blood. When he was
coming to the end of his sufferings, what happened? The veil of the temple was rent
from the top to the bottom. That's where the Aaronic priesthood
would take the blood and go through. But when His side was pierced
and atoning blood flowed. That veil was rent. It signified
that the way was made into the very presence of God through
his death and sufferings. And the way was made to heaven.
It's this man who's now in heaven. But this man, because he continueth
ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. So in heaven, poor sinner, there
is an unchangeable priest, his name is Jesus, and a king. Wherefore, for the first word
of our text, wherefore, because of, because of what he has done,
Because he's now at the right hand of the Father, love's redeeming
work is finished, but his intercessory work goes on, interceding for
his people. Wherefore, he is able. They are three beautiful words. You say, what does that mean,
he is able? Well, you'll remember just before
he ascended up into heaven, that speaking to his disciples, do
you remember what he said? All power, not some, all power
is given unto me, both on earth and in heaven. He is able. Well, he has the power. And he
is able to do what? To save them to the uttermost. And if you look in your margins,
if you have one, it says forevermore. Save to the uttermost. In a word,
those he saves will reign to all eternity with him. He is able to save them to the
uttermost. But who can fully describe the
ability of Christ, now at the right hand of the Father? You
see, the Lord Jesus Christ, beloved friends, He's the Redeemer of
the Church, the Saviour of the Church, but never forget this,
and we can easily forget it, He's the Creator of everything. Look up tonight if the sky is
clear and every one of those stars that twinkle, he made it. And everything on this earth,
he made it. That's power. Glorious power, isn't it? But
that power was not sufficient to save his people. If in six days, which he did,
he made everything out of nothing at all, what about redemption? He became a man. He laid aside
his glory. He became a real man. And for
33 years, 33 years, it took to redeem his church. to fulfill the law, to suffer,
bleed and die, shed his precious atoning blood, to wash away their
sins. Compare the two works with this
man. Redemption and creation. Creation works shows his power,
doesn't it? But it wasn't sufficient to redeem
and save the church, he must come himself. God manifest in
the flesh and he is able also to save them to the uttermost.
Now, who are they? Who are those he saves? One will
say the elect, yes. Another will say all that the
Father gave them in eternity to save, for we become their
surety and entered into a covenant relationship, yes? But how are
they described here? He's able to save them to the
uttermost that come unto God by Him. That's their description. That is the Bible's description
of a sinner that's saved, that come unto God by Him. For what? To be saved. And he that doesn't come this
way is lost forever. in the dark, dark pit of hell
and eternal destruction that come unto him. Here's the great thing. How do
they come? From where do they come? Why do they come? There's some
glorious doctrines laying beneath it. It wasn't until this poor sinner, humbly thrust by faith, came
in all my wretchedness and need. It was a long time before I realized
why I came. Jesus tells us himself. No man, no man cometh unto me
except the Father draw him. So this coming sinner, he's being
drawn. There's something in his poor
heart that draws him to Christ. And what else? The Lamb is exalted,
a Prince and a Saviour. What's one of the things this
glorious Saviour is doing now, and will do to the end of time?
One of the many things this glorious High Priest is doing. The Lamb
is exalted, a Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance. What else? Forgiveness. This work is divine, but it manifests itself in a
fallen sinner's heart. And when the Lord was teaching
Nicodemus, he tells Nicodemus something
about this work. He said, the wind bloweth where
it listeth. Thou canst not tell the sound
from whence it cometh, or whither it goeth. He's speaking of the
work of the Spirit in a sinner's heart. And I personally, I do
not believe anybody knows when it starts. God does. I used to think I knew. I don't
want to digress, beloved, but I've been preaching for some
time, I remember in the sermon, right up in the Midlands, one
Sunday evening, preaching of how the Lord cut the Apostle
Paul down on Damascus Road and how he deals with the sinner,
cutting the sinner down, because I felt he did that to me. And he did. I had to fall on my face. These
words, the way of transgressors is hard. That brought me on my
knees, literally, on my face before God. A guilty man. I preached like that and driving
home, just as I was driving the car, I think
it was a wet evening, it was late, dark, an incident come,
as it were, right before my very eyes of when I was a lad. And
I used to go and clean the chickens out for an old preacher, Mr.
Woodcraft, who's a farmer. I think he used to give me two
half-crowns for going over on a Saturday morning. One Saturday
morning, and this comes so vividly, driving back from preaching.
I had a toothache. So I was a young lad with a toothache,
fearing the dentist. And I did. They weren't the best
of places in those days, or any day come to that. And I crept
behind the back of a chicken house, and I got on my knees
and prayed. And as I drove along, this came.
Denying that that was not grace. I couldn't. I just couldn't. Then, the Apostle Paul, the wind,
that, sorry, it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. Something
was happening before, before he got there. He was kicking
against divine pricks of conscience. Where? Ah, was it when he held
those clothes at Stephen's, the martyrdom? I wonder. And then, the wind bloweth, where
it listed. Now canst not tell the sound
from whence it cometh, or whither it goeth, the divine work of
God. This is the point. The time will
come when the poor sinner is brought to Christ. If that's
real, the time will come when, it's this, he is able to say
then to the uttermost, that come unto God, by Him. That is the end, in some ways,
and the beginning of a work of grace in a poor sinner's heart. The time comes when the Holy
Spirit teaches that poor sinner what He is. A sinner. And I'm talking of real sinners. And that poor sinner has revealed
to Him that there's just one saviour, and it's this man, who
hung on Calvary's tree, but is now in heaven. And the poor sinner,
he begins by faith to look to this man, to pray to this man,
and his heart is drawn to him. It's this man, able to save them
that come unto God by In a word, beloved, Christ is made precious. In that beautiful portion at
the end of Matthew chapter 11, I think, come. The word come is a beautiful
gospel word. I know it has many uses in everyday
language, but in a gospel sense, it's a beautiful word. Come. Come unto me, all ye that labour. and a heavy laden, that so describes
a poor sinner laden with sin, laden with guilt, laden with your unworthiness,
black, and the poor sinner feels it. But the word says come, how? Well of course it's faith that
comes, but how does he come? with his sin, with his guilt,
with that heavy burden. It's just as I am without one
plea. That's how he has to come. The
devil will say to the poor sinner, you can't come like that. You're
too black, you're too filthy, you're too undone. You can't
go to a precious saviour in such a wretched condition. that grace
will teach the sinner, repentance will teach the sinner, that's
just how he has to come. Because there's only one, there's
just one, that can take away the burden. It's this man. A once crucified, but now risen
and exalted saviour. He comes in prayer, he comes
in desire, He comes seeking. There's just one thing he wants.
What is it? To be saved. From his sin. From his guilt. From his unworthiness. He just wants to be saved. That's
simple isn't it? That's not complicated is it? The gospel is not complicated.
Poor sinner, if there are any complications, they're on your
side. They're never on the Lord's. Like the woman with the issue
of blood. She heard, she came, she touched, she was cured. Until that poor sinner comes
in the simplicity of repentance and godly sorrow. Yes, away from
the world. away from all those things that
displease God, but he gladly leaves that. There's just one
thing he wants, to be saved from his sin, from hell, from eternal
destruction. He comes, and Christ is able, the ability of Christ also to
save them to the uttermost, that is to all eternity, evermore
come for forgiveness, for peace. Beloved, there are sacred moments when the dear Lord hears the
sinner's prayer and when love drops from heaven into your soul. That, I think I can honestly
say, was the happiest day of my life. When forgiveness dropped from
heaven into my heart. The peace I felt through redeeming
love and blood is indescribable. that he is able to give it. Peace I give unto you. My peace
give I unto you. It was so great, so wonderful, that I asked the Lord to take
me to heaven straight away. That's as true as I stand in
this book. The wonder of it. The love of
Christ is overwhelming. I don't say all the Lord's dear
children feel it in the same measure. But you see, when he
gives salvation. If the Son shall make thee free,
ye shall be free indeed. Liberty from sin, Satan, the
world, self. Now we don't live there, I grant
you that. the wonder of it. It's this man,
this glorious man, wherefore he is able to save them to the
uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth
to make intercession for them. You see, the dear Lord delivers
the sinner, yes, with some they have a little hope, But it's
the same result. They have a hope of heaven through
the blood of Christ. They have a hope of glory, a
hope in his mercy, a hope in his love. But he ever liveth
to make intercession. And really, that's the life of
a child of God, isn't it? Constantly going to Christ. constantly, because he ever liveth
to make intercession. And he's able to. As I speak
to you this evening, I think of the words of Moses, who in
many ways, he was a type of Christ, wasn't he? When Moses said to
the people, and Jesus still says it, dear child of God, the cause
that is too hard for thee, bring it to me, I will hear it. All the hard causes of his dear
children, he's able to deal with. He is able, he's still able,
he'll ever be able. And the Lord's dear people, though
they've known something of the love of Christ and the power
of redeeming love, than a little of the salvation and hope that
in a precious Christ as they journey on, you have your difficulties,
you have your trials, you have your sorrows, you have your infirmities. We have a body of flesh that
troubles us, doesn't it? It does me, I'm sure it does
some of you. What do we do? There's one who's
able to what? Sanctify the word. He is able
to uphold. Look at the Apostle Paul. He
had a messenger from Satan to buffet him. What did he call it? A thorn
in the flesh. Something of a fleshly nature,
pricking him. We're not told what it was, but
I'm sure some of you have had the same. The old flesh, pricking,
buffeting. Satan gets in. What did the Apostle
do? Thrice. He went to his great
high priest. He besought the Lord that it
might depart from him. I'm sure the dear apostle thought,
I'll be a better Christian without this. I'd live a better life
without this. But what did Jesus say from heaven? In a word, really, he said, no,
Paul, the thorn is gonna remain. But my grace is sufficient for
thee. There's the balance of the clouds,
and it's sometimes like that. You see, it's my grace. And the
dear Lord, he pours his grace into the soul. And it's sufficient. It's powerful. The grace of our
Lord and Savior Powerful. It's stronger than the devil's
temptations. It's stronger than the allurements
of the world. It is stronger than the weakness of the flesh.
Grace. But he's able to give it. And
he does give it. The grace of patience, the grace
of love, the grace of humility, the grace to bear it, the grace
to stop our complaining, The grace to continue. So you see, he's unchangeable. Whatever comes, dear child of
God, our Saviour at the right hand of the Father has the ability
to uphold, to keep, to deliver, to make a way where there's no
way. He's able. They're so attractive, aren't
they, those three words? He is able. Whatever it is, he
is able. All sufficient is our Jesus.
So his dear people, they have to continuously go. I haven't
been down in Kent long. I've been down here now, I think,
34 years this year. And I heard of an old preacher,
and I can't remember the chapel where he preached, but there
was a village green, probably similar to Matfield, but it wasn't
Matfield. And he lived in the days when
people went to the well at the Green. And he used to sit in
his window and watch them. And in one of his sermons he
made this point. He said, you know, he said, I've
watched those people go through the village down to the well
and fill up their buckets of one thing and another and go
back. He said, I've never seen one
going with a full bucket. I've watched them all, it's always
empty. They come back with a full one.
And of course he preached Christ, his ability to satisfy the sinner's
need and to help him. It's Christ, the sweet will of
Bethlehem. It's that fullness that's in
him that upholds the church, that gives stability to the soul,
that gives strength to the Lord's dear people, And he's able. One of our hymns say, he is able,
doubt no more. But we do, then go with your
doubt. Go with your fear, dear child
of God. Go with those anxieties. Or you
might say this, if only I could have a fresh touch of forgiveness.
Then go to Jesus, that's where faith will keep going. It's one
sacred person that now at the right hand of the Father. And
he's both a king and a priest. The king reigns over, we need
that one to reign over us, to rule our hearts, to govern our
ways. It's the same person, priest
and a king, a precious Christ. Oh, we do need, our spirits need
reigning over, our hearts need reigning over. Him to reign over
us in so many ways, don't we? But He's King. He's able. Yes, He's able to subdue life's
illness. He's able to hold thee in trouble.
He's able to subdue the power of Satan. He's able to overturn
the wiles of the world. He's able, because all power
is given unto Him, both on earth and in heaven. And one day, dear
child of God, it will be glory. When our bodies are laid in the
grave and the soul enters the glories of heaven, it will enter
in to perfect peace. And he's able to do that. And
he's able to raise up all his dear children at the last day,
to bring them to glory, both soul and body. Apostle Paul speaks
of it, doesn't he, in 1 Corinthians chapter 13, that beautiful section
on the resurrection. Then will come the end. And he's
able to sustain them in everlasting love to all eternity. The ability of Christ is unknown. and unknowable is like his love,
which is unknown and unknowable. Everything for this glorious
man in our text is eternal, unchangeable, all glorious. As I said, it's
the stability of the Church, Christ, and Christ alone, the
foundation. But this man, because he continueth
ever hath an unchangeable priesthood. Wherefore he is able also to
save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing
he ever liveth to make intercession for them. Our closing hymn is 117. The tune is 231, Sorely. Awake, sweet gratitude, and sing
the ascended Saviour's love. Sing how he lives to carry on
his people's cause above. Hymn 117, tune 231. ? Mercy, mercy, mercy ? ? Mercy,
mercy, mercy ? ? Hail, hail, hail, hail, hail,
hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail, hail,
hail, ? It's the most beautiful day of
all ? ? It's the most beautiful day of all ? ? It's the most
beautiful day of all ? ? O come let us adore him ? ? O
come let us adore him ? O say does that star-spangled
banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the
brave? ? His action to His will ? ? All
are my will ? ? That all my days ? ? Be every day ? ? He is the Lamb of God ? ? And
in it we're wed ? ? To the everlasting day ? ? Sing ye the glory ? ? Of the
God of old ? ? And the home of the brave ? ? And the home of
the brave ? and the home of the brave. Now may thy grace, dear Lord
Jesus, and the love of God, the communion of the Holy Spirit,
rest and abide with us each, now and for evermore. Amen.