Service this afternoon by singing
together in number 362 to the tune Ascalon 567. How pleased
and blessed was I to hear the people cry, come let us seek
our God today Yes, with a cheerful zeal, we
haste to Zion's hill, and there our vows and honours pay. Hymn
362, tune Ascalon 567. O peace and bliss of time, ? To hear the people cry ? ? Come,
let us speak our goal today ? ? Yet with a tickled tip ? We wish you joy and still, That
there at last, at last may ? Zion rise and be praised ? ?
Echoed with wondrous praise ? ? God whose all-strength embraced thee
? ? Thou who didst We have tried to give, to pray
and praise and give, the sacred gospel joy of sound. And David's razor-sound Had pierced
his loyal throne. He stitched for grace a judgment
plan, He makes the saints be glad. He makes the sinners sad. And comforts us. Rejoice with
Him. May peace well take thy gate,
And joy within thee wait, To bless the soul of every man, Remember, chiefs, thy peace,
and wishes thy embrace. A thousand blessed offerings. My tongue repeats the vows Peace
to this sacred house, For them, my friends, my kindred, thou. ? And with my glorious song ? ?
May each deviation swell ? ? My soul shall ever love thee ? Let us read together from the
holy word of God in Paul's epistle to the Hebrews and chapter 12. Hebrews chapter 12. Wherefore, seeing we also are
compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us
lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset
us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who
for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising
the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne
of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of
sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your
minds. Ye have not yet resisted unto
blood, striving against sin, and ye have forgotten the exhortation
which speaketh unto you as unto children. My son, despise not
thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked
of him, For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth
every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God
dealeth with you as with sons. For what son is he whom the Father
chasteneth not? But if ye be without justicemen,
or of all our partakers, then are ye bastards and not sons.
Furthermore, we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected
us, and we gave them reverence. Shall we not much rather be in
subjection unto the father of spirits and live? For they verily
for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure, but he for
our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now
no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous. Nevertheless afterward, it yieldeth
the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised
thereby. Wherefore, lift up the hands
which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths
for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the
way. but let it rather be healed. Follow peace with all men, and
holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord. Look indeligently,
lest any man fail of the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness
springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled. Lest
there be any fornicator or profane person, as Esau, who for one
morsel of meat sold his birthright. For ye know how that afterward,
when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected. For he found no place of repentance,
though he sought it carefully with tears. For ye are not come
unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with
fire, nor unto blackness and darkness and tempest, and the
sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words, which was they that
heard entreated that the word should not be spoken to them
any more. For they could not endure that which was commanded.
And if so much as a beast touched a mountain, it shall be stoned
or thrust through with a dart. And so terrible was the sight
that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and question. but ye are
come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the
heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
to the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written
in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of
just men made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of the new
covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaketh better
things than that of Abel, see that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escape not who refused
him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape if we
turn away from him that speaketh from heaven, whose voice then
shook the earth. But now he hath promised saying,
Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And this word yet once more signifies
the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things
that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Wherefore, we receiving a kingdom
which cannot be moved, let us have grace. whereby we may serve
God acceptably with reverence and godly fear, for our God is
a consuming fire. May the Lord bless that reading
of his own precious word and grant unto us a spirit of real
prayer. Almighty, most merciful and eternal
God, We do desire to bow before thy great majesty. We desire,
O Lord, a spirit of real prayer. We pray, most blessed spirit
of truth, that thou wouldst grant us that spirit of prayer. Indeed,
may the spirit make intercession for us with groanings that cannot
be uttered. Those things, O Lord, that we
cannot put into words. and we do pray for grace to pour
out our heart unto thee. Thou hast exhorted us to approach
thy heavenly majesty, to come boldly to the throne of grace
that we may obtain mercy and grace to help in time of need.
So we would come and we would seek, most gracious Lord, thy
blessing, thy favour. We will seek thy presence, the
presence of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost
in the sanctuary. We seek that we may view by faith
our Lord Jesus Christ, the Redeemer, the great King and Head of the
Church. O most gracious Lord, we come to thy great majesty. for thou art God over all and
blessed forevermore, the creator of the heavens and the earth.
We would seek to approach thee, O Lord, in a humble, reverent
way, to call upon thy name and pray to be led, for as many as
are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. And
we read in thy word, and he led them forth by the right way,
unto a city of habitation whose builder and maker is God. Lead
us forth in that right way by thy good spirit, by thy word. May thy word be a lamp unto our
feet and a light unto our path. And may the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ and the love of God our Father and the sacred
fellowship of the Holy Spirit rest. and abide upon us, we do
humbly beseech thee. We desire, O Lord, to confess
our sins, and our wanderings, and our backslidings, the uncleanness
of our hearts. O Lord, we so often have to echo
in our hearts the language of the dear apostle, O wretched
man, that I am. who shall deliver me from the
body of this death. Oh, we come then in confession
of our sin. We think of those beautiful words,
if you confess your sins, he is faithful and just to forgive
us our sins and to cleanse us from all iniquity. How we need
that precious blood of the lamb, that precious blood that has
satisfied all the demands of divine justice, that precious
blood that has made a new and living way into the holy place,
that precious blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Oh, we
plead that precious blood, that blood that did for sin a time,
till Jordan's icy waves divide and land my soul above. Gracious
God, we come to thee in the name and through the blood and righteousness
of Jesus Christ. We thank thee for that wonderful
and profound mystery of Jesus Christ, of God manifest in the
flesh, Emmanuel, God with us. We thank thee for that holy life
he lived as a man, under the law, fulfilling, honouring, magnifying
that righteous law. Gracious God, may we be followers
of him and of those who through faith and patience inherit the
promises. We thank thee for Calvary, where
the lamb was slain, where sin was put away, We thank Thee for
that suffering Saviour, who himself said, to this end was I born,
for this cause came I into the world. For by one offering, He
hath perfected forever all them that are sanctified. We thank
Thee, most gracious Lord, for that one offering. Lord, we thank Thee that He died
for our sins, the Lord of life and glory, the King of glory,
in whom is eternal life, died for our sins, and rose again
for our justification. O gracious God, praise waited
for thee, O God, in Zion, and unto thee shall the vow be performed. We bless thee for the glories
of Emmanuel, for the wonders of redeeming love, for a risen
Saviour, for death swallowed up in victory, for sin put away,
for life and immortality brought to light through the Gospel.
We thank Thee for a dear Saviour, our great High Priest who is
passed into the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, sitting at Thy
right hand. So therefore, Lord, we can humbly
and boldly come unto the throne of grace, to the great king and
head of the church, to him who said, all power is given unto
me in heaven and in earth. We come, Lord, in all our wretchedness,
in all our need, in all our insufficiency, in all our poverty, and we pray
that thou wouldst bless us here this afternoon. We thank thee
that through the Lord Jesus Christ, we know the love and power and
grace of the Holy Ghost. And through Jesus Christ, we
know our Heavenly Father. We thank thee for those lovely
words of grace. There is one God and one mediator
between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, who gave his life
a ransom for all to be testified in due time, and the life that
I now live, I live by faith of the Son of God, who loved me
and gave himself for me. Bless us as a church and as a
congregation. Work mightily, powerfully and
effectually among us. Gather in precious souls. Build
thou the walls of Jerusalem. Send the light of the gospel
into this village. into the surrounding villages
and hamlets. Pull down the strongholds of
Satan. Set up the kingdom of the Lord
Jesus in the hearts of sinners. Let thy work appear unto thy
servants and thy glory unto their children. O Lord, we do beseech
thee. 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? We pray that thou wouldst make
the crooked things straight, and the rough places plain, and
that thou wouldst return to Jerusalem with mercies, and that we may
give thee no rest until thou make Jerusalem a praise in all
the earth. Help us, Lord, that we faint
not, but help us to press on, help us to press forward. We
do humbly pray thee. Deliver us from the work and
power of Satan, who would seek to turn us aside from wisdom's
way, who would seek to cast us down into despair. But Lord,
thou art able to do abundantly more than we can even ask for
a thing. Oh, that thou would bless thy
word and send out thy light and thy truth. Remember and bless
our brethren, the deacons, Give grace and help in all matters.
Remember each one of our brethren and sisters in church fellowship,
and grant us that love, union, and communion, one with another. Remember, Lord, we pray, that
the whole of our congregation, those here, those not able to
be here, do remember each one. Remember those in affliction,
trouble or trial or perplexity. Those in darkness bring them
into light. Those in bondage bring them into
liberty. Those far off make them nigh.
Gracious God, let thy work appear. Let thy power be known. Send
deliverance unto thy people. Be Jehovah Rophi. I am the Lord
that healeth thee. Grant that healing in body and
in soul, for thou art the great physician of body and of soul,
and thou art able to do abundantly more than we can even ask or
think. Lord, we pray that the prodigals may return, and thy
mighty grace may be seen in this, that we may see them wend their
way to the house of God. Oh, Lord, we long for such a
day. We pray for such a day. We pray that thou wouldst open
our hearts to receive thy people as it may please thee to bring
them in among us. We do humbly pray thee. As soon
as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children. O grant,
O Lord, we pray thee, the bringing forth of spiritual children,
the building of the wall, that we may know that renewal and
that replenishing as a church, as a congregation, personally,
as believers. We pray for a closer walk with
Thee, a calmer heavenly frame, a light to shine upon the road
that leads us to the Lamb. We pray for that grace to know
nothing among men save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Remember
Thy servants, as they labour in word and doctrine upon the
walls of Zion, set them free, set them at liberty. Gracious
God, we pray Thee, the great Lord of the harvest, to send
true labourers into the harvest to build the walls of Jerusalem.
Gracious God, hear us, we humbly beseech Thee, fulfil that ancient
promise, for I am returned unto Jerusalem with mercy. Gracious God, we do pray for
any and any particular trouble or trial or perplexity or temptation
that deliver us from the work and power of Satan, sometimes
coming as an angel of light to deceive us, sometimes coming
as a roaring lion to devour us. As promised in thy word, when
the enemy comes in like a flood, the spirit of the Lord will lift
up a standard against him. Oh, that it may be so. Most gracious
Lord, we do humbly beseech you. Bless the little ones, the children.
Raise up a generation that shall call thee the Redeemer, bless
it. Bless the young friends, work mightily in their hearts.
Bring them to living faith in Jesus Christ. Supply all their
needs in providence, whether it's in their education, or employment
or a partner in life journey. May they be enabled to look to
thee. May the fear of the Lord, which
is the beginning of wisdom, be given unto them. Remember each
in the midst of the journey of life and graciously undertake
for each one. Give parents wisdom and guidance
and direction. We do humbly pray thee. And gracious
God, we do pray that thou would remember those of us in the evening
time of life's journey and the incumbent weaknesses and infirmities
that come with old age. We pray for dear Ina in her great
age that thou would graciously undertake for her. We do humbly
pray then. Prepare us each for that great
day when heart and flesh shall fail, when we shall soar through
tracks unknown and see thee on thy judgment throne. Hear us,
Lord. We humbly pray thee. We thank
thee for every mercy of thy kind providence. We thank thee for
our house of prayer. We thank thee for the open Bible,
the word of God. This is the word by which the
gospel is preached unto or we pray that thou would come and
touch one's lips with a live coal from off the heavenly altar. Come and speak to our hearts.
Come and open thy word. We ask, with the forgiveness
of all sin, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. Let us now sing together hymn
number 973 to the tune Hawkerst, 469. Not to Sinai's dreadful
blaze, but to Zion's throne of grace,
by a way marked out with blood, sinners now approach to God. Hymn 973, tune Hawkhurst 469. O say can you see, by the dawn's
early light, What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's Sin is never meant to grow. Not to him though I belong, But with humble joy
to show. ? The Lord our hope shall find
? ? Jesus, hopeless, when he died ? Oh, say does that star-spangled
banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of Greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, we direct your attention to the 12th chapter
of the Epistle to the Hebrews, and we'll read verse 22. for
our text. Hebrews chapter 12, verse 22. But ye have come unto Mount Zion,
and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem,
and to an innumerable company of angels. is particularly this verse, but
it carries on, of course, in the same line of things. The distinction that the apostle
makes here, we were speaking of it this morning, of the two
covenants, the Old Testament and the New
Testament, the covenant of the law and the covenant of grace. Under the law there is condemnation. You will notice here it says
in verse 18, for you are not come unto the mount that might
be touched. And of course that is Mount Sinai.
It is where God gave the law upon Mount Sinai. And there is
Mount Sinai and then there's a plain in front of it. children
of Israel were on the plain, Moses went up into the mount
and the Lord gave the law and there was thundering and lightnings
and clouds and indeed it just distinctly speaks here of the
distinction between the Old Testament and the New Testament, between
the law and grace, the covenant of the law and the covenant of
grace. Tremendous difference there is
between the two. For you'll not come unto the
Mount that might be touched, that burned with fire, nor unto
blackness and darkness and tempest. And that's what it was, and the
sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words. Of course, we know
from the Holy Word of God, the angels
and their trumpets. It speaks of it in the book of
the Revelation. There are various trumpets that
are spoken of in Holy Scripture, but it was used for warning. And it was used to herald a person. And when Christ comes the second
time without sin, unto salvation, we read that the trumpet of the
archangel shall sound. to herald the coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ. But on the giving of the holy
law of God on Mount Sinai, there was a trumpet that sounded. And
as it says here, there was a voice of words. That was the giving of the law.
With the law, there comes condemnation for sin. With the law comes a
curse, solemn curse, is every man that doeth not all things
that is written in the book of the law to do them. It's a very solemn, and with
it, it is severe justice. No mercy, no grace, no salvation. The law cannot give me, I think
it's a Berit says in one of his hymns, the law cannot give me
feet nor hands. In other words, it cannot enable
me to do what it commands. And this is so true. And with it comes severe penalties. Principally, the soul that sinneth,
it shall die. And sin is any transgression
of the law of God. And the sound of a trumpet. And the voice of words. which
voice they that heard entreated, that the word should not be spoken
to them any more. For they could not endure that
which was commanded. We can't today. We're poor sinners. We're wretched, we're ruined,
we're sold unto sin and we cannot bear God's holy righteous law. Man would rather reject the law
of God because it condemns him. and they could not endure that
which was commanded. And so severe was the punishment,
and if so much as a beast touched a mountain, it shall be stoned
or thrust through with a dart. And so terrible was the sign
that Moses said, I exceed in thee fear and quake, but ye What
a change from the Old Testament to the New, from the law to grace,
but ye are come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living
God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of
angels. And it says in verse 24, unto
Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant. What a huge difference
there is between the old covenant of the law of works and the new
covenant of grace and salvation in and through our Lord and Saviour,
Jesus Christ. You know, the Apostle Paul, when
he writes his second epistle to the Corinthians, and he speaks
of law and grace there, in the third chapter of the second epistle
and he says in from verse six who also have made us able ministers
of the new testament as we explained this morning testament means
covenant not of the letter but of the spirit for the letter
killeth but the spirit giveth life now now look how he again
compares the old and new testaments here But if the ministration
of death, if you remember in the giving of law on Mount Sinai
that God engraved on the tablets of stone the Ten Commandments
which he then gave to Moses, here the apostle speaks of that.
He said if the ministration of death written and engraved in
stones was glorious, so that the children of Israel could
not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his
countenance which glory was to be done away. How shall not the
ministration of the Spirit be rather glorious? So the ministration
of the Spirit of the Holy Ghost in the New Testament. For if
the ministration of condemnation, that's the law, be glory, much
more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed. in glory. That's the New Testament. For even that which was made
glorious had no glory in this respect by reason of the glory
that excelleth. For if that which was to be done
away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious. You see, my beloved friends,
what a comparison the Apostle makes. Says in verse 13, not
as Moses, which put a veil over his face that the children of
Israel could not steadfastly look to the end of that which
is abolished. But their minds were blinded, for until this
day remain the same veil untaken away, of course it's with the
Jews, in the reading of the Old Testament, which veil is done
away in Christ that veil is done away in Christ liberty look at
verse 17 now the lord is that spirit speaks there of the divine
person of the holy ghost and where the spirit of the lord
is there is liberty and that administration of the spirit
is under the gospel of jesus christ it's under the gospel
of jesus christ the wonderful glory of his person and of the
administration of the new covenant, of the new testament, for ye
are come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God,
the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels. You're not come unto the mountain
that might be touched, but you're come unto Mount Zion, where Jesus
sits. Let us therefore He says here
in the Hebrews, let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of
grace. What precedes that word? Let
us therefore come boldly, for such an high priest have we,
who is passed into the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God. And he
goes on to say that he's touched. With a feeling of our infirmities,
he was tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin. You see, As it says here, to
Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of
Sprinkland that speaketh, better things than that of Abel. See,
my beloved friends, here in the Hebrews, you'll notice it here
in verse 25, see that you refuse not him that speaketh. It's a
solemn admonition, and it's something that runs all the way through
the epistle to the Hebrews, it's a theme. He's speaking of the
voice of God, speaking in his son, Jesus Christ. And it's something
that he returns to, to remind us who and how great and how
glorious this person is of Jesus Christ, the eternal son of the
eternal father. The Hebrews were ready to turn
back. They suffered severe persecution. and they were ready to give up
and to turn back. And so he begins the epistle
in that way of setting forth the glorious person of Jesus,
the mediator of the new covenant. He says, God, who at sundry times
and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by
the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his son,
whom he hath appointed heir of all things, By whom also he made
the worlds, who be in the brightness of his glory, and the express
image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his
power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on
the right hand of the majesty on high. Now he labors this point
right the way through the Hebrews. We have a great high priest,
He has passed into the heavens. He now bodily sits at the right
hand of the Father. We have an advocate. We have
one that stands between, the mediator of the new covenant.
And hence, we come back to what it says in the fourth chapter.
Let us therefore come boldly. Why? Because Jesus is not the
mount that might be touched. He's the precious blood of Christ.
that cleanses from all sin, is the glorious everlasting robe
of the righteousness of Christ that covers the nakedness of
a poor sinner. Let us therefore come boldly,
that we might find grace to help. He's exhorted the people here
that were ready to turn back, who be in the brightness of his
glory. That is, of course, the Father's
glory. and the express image of his person, and upholding
all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself
purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the majesty
on high. And he's still sitting there.
He's still sitting there. He sitteth king forever, yet
have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. the glorious person
of Christ, and that is who the apostle here labors to bring
before these tried and tempted Hebrews. The glorious person
of Christ, who he is, what they've been delivered from, the bondage
of Sinai, the bondage of the holy law of God, which held them
fast with its severe punishment. inflexible justice, burning and
fire. Now, as he sets Christ before
us here in the beginning, he said that he's spoken to us by
his Son, who's the heir of all things. The Father has given
all things unto the Son. And so it goes on in chapter
two, again, following the same theme, therefore we ought to
give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard,
lest at any time we should let them slip. And again, he compares
the giving of the law to the giving of the gospel, for if
the word spoken by angels was steadfast, this is the giving
of the law, and every transgression and disobedience received a just
recompense of reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great
salvation which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord
and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him, God bearing
them witness both with signs and wonders and with divers miracles
and gifts of the Holy Ghost according to his own will. See My beloved
friends, this theme of God speaking, the Son of God speaking, Mount Zion, the gospel of Jesus
Christ, the precious covenant sealed with the blood of Jesus.
It's beautiful here in the last chapter of the Hebrews, and he
speaks of the blood of the everlasting covenant. of the everlasting covenant,
the blood of Jesus Christ, which has sealed salvation, that blood
that he shared on the cross of Calvary, to redeem poor sinners,
to make a new and living way into the holy place. And the
apostasy goes on in the third chapter here of the Hebrews,
is where for holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, Consider
the apostle and high priest of our profession, Christ Jesus,
who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses
was faithful in all his house. But this man was counted worthy
of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house
hath more honor than the house. And he speaks of Moses and he
goes on in verse 6, he says, but Christ has a son over his
own house. Whose house are we if we hold
fast the confidence and rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end? Hold fast. It's what you might
say a watchword of the epistle to the Hebrews, hold fast, don't
give up, don't turn back. That's the exhortation. And then
he takes us to the Psalms. Wherefore, as the Holy Ghost
saith today, if you would hear his voice, harden not your hearts,
as in the provocation in the day of temptation in the wilderness. You see, and he goes on to speak
of this rest. And the rest, of course, is the
gospel of Jesus Christ, the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ,
eternal, Rest in him, the rest of faith, in what Christ has
done. You just think of those lovely
words of our Lord Jesus Christ. Come unto me, all ye that labour
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon
you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart. Come
unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden. See, I will
give you rest. for my yoke is easy and my burden
is light. Take heed, brethren, lest there
be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from
the living God. Take heed. These are exhortations
to each one of us to take heed, lest, like many of these Hebrews
that were ready to turn back And he sets the glorious person. He says, but exhort one another
daily while it is called today, lest any of you be hardened through
the deceitfulness of sin. Sin hardens. And it's deceitful. You see, for we are made partakers
of Christ. if we hold the beginning of our
confidence steadfast unto the end. He continues in chapter
four. He says in verse one, let us
therefore fear, lest a promise being left us of entering into
his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. We need
these exhortations. For unto us was the gospel preached
as well as unto them, but the word preached did not profit
them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. For we
which have believed do enter into rest. You see, that rest
of faith, resting in the blood of Christ, resting in the righteousness
of Christ, resting in the glorious person of Jesus, the Son of God,
resting in his finished work. in what he has done, not what
you have done, not what you can do, but what he has done, what
he has accomplished, what he has fulfilled. He has fulfilled
the law. I come not to destroy the law,
but to fulfill it. That's something that you can't
do, but Christ has done it, and he's done it for you. He's done
it for you. And therefore, we rest on his
finished work, on his precious blood and righteousness. Goes
on in chapter four, let us labor therefore to enter into that
rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. Let us labor therefore. This
is an exhortation to spiritual exercise. May the Holy Spirit
seal it into your hearts. And then he goes on and he says,
seeing then that we have a great high priest that is passed into
the heavens, Jesus, the son of God, let us hold fast our profession. Does Satan tempt thee to give
up? No more in Jesus' name to trust? Let us hold fast. For we have
not an high priest which cannot be touched, with the feeling
of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted, like as we
are yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly
unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find
grace to help in time of need. See, my beloved friends, but
come unto Mount Sinai, unto the city of the living God. You know,
God has here on earth his church, his people. It's called the church
militant, the church on earth, the people that have been brought
to faith in Jesus Christ, that are united together in church
fellowship. And wherever that is, and this
is not to do with denominations, it's entirely where the spirit
of God is and the work of Christ is, and that union, one to another,
united together in the sacred bonds of the gospel of Jesus
Christ. We know that we have passed from
death unto life because we love the brethren. That wonderful
spirit of love to the brethren. A little hill of Zion. We're
not come unto the thunderings and the lightnings of Mount Sinai.
We come unto Jesus. the mediator of the new covenant,
the heavenly Jerusalem, an innumerable company of angels, the place of safety, the place
of salvation, the place of redemption, the place of reconciliation,
the place where peace has been made between God and man, the
glorious sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ at the Apostle.
beautifully sets before us in the previous chapters. He says
in chapter 10 and verse 12, but this man, what man? The man Christ
Jesus. But this man, after he had offered
one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of
God. You see, he continually comes
back to this point, that Jesus is sitting at the right hand
of the Father. that we have a great high priest
who has passed into the heavens, a mediator, one that stands between. I love the way Joseph Hart puts
it. Come then, repenting sinner,
come, and trust upon his grace. Oh, what thou wilt, the total
sum, it is cancelled by his death. He sat down on the right hand
of God from henceforth, expecting till his enemies be made his
footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected forever them
that are sanctified. Perfected forever. Where? In
Christ. He puts it in the Ephesians in
a different way. Ye are complete in him. That
word complete is often translated perfect. Ye are complete in him. We are accepted in the beloved. And that is where our acceptance
is. the precious blood and righteousness of our Lord Jesus Christ. A door
of hope is open wide in Jesus' bleeding hands and side. Come
then, repenting sinner, come. Look unto me. It's Christ speaking
in Isaiah 45. Look unto me, all ye ends of
the earth, and be ye saved, for I am God and there is none else. There is none else but this glorious,
precious Redeemer, this mighty Deliverer, who delivers His people
completely. The Apostles in the Acts of the
Apostles, there is salvation in none other. For there is none
other name that is given unto heaven whereby you must be saved,
but the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. You know, the prophet Isaiah,
he speaks so beautifully there in chapter 55 of the poor sinners coming to Christ. Oh, everyone that's thirsty.
You just think of what this says. Everyone that's thirsty, that
has a need, that has a longing. Do you? Do you have an aching
void? that the world can never fill.
Do you have a longing heart and you can't satisfy it anywhere?
It's a great blessing, you know, to have that aching void and
that yearning in your heart. You won't be satisfied until
it's satisfied, until you find Christ. That's where you'll find
satisfaction, in the finished work of Christ. Look unto me. or ye ends of the earth. You
see, ho everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he
that hath no money, that means he that is bankrupt, no money,
nothing to pay, come ye. Buy and eat, yea, come
buy wine and milk without money and without price. And then,
you know, sometimes when we're in this condition not being able
to find Christ, not being able to lay hold of Christ, and we
try this and we try that and we try something else, we try
to fulfill the law, we try our own obedience, we try to make
ourselves better, we turn to this and we turn to that, and
then what does the word of God say? Wherefore do you spend money
for that which is not bread? And your labor for that which
satisfies not? Hearken diligently unto me, And
eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself
in fatness. Incline your ear and come unto
me, here and your soul shall live, and I will make an everlasting
covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David." The sure mercies
of David, an everlasting covenant in Christ, in Christ. or that we may be enabled to
be found, look into him. Says here in Isaiah 55 in verse
six, seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him
while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord,
and he will have mercy upon him. And to our God, for he will abundantly
pardon He will abundantly pardon. Their sins and their iniquities
will I remember no more. Why? Because they were dealt
with at Calvary. Because Jesus suffered and bled
and died. He shed his precious blood to
take away our sin, to pay the redemption price. He laid down his life on the
behalf of his people. He stood in their ruined place
and stared. He was punished for their sins. Or as it says in Isaiah 53, He
was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace
was upon Him and with His stripes we are healed. We are healed. But ye are come
unto Mount Zion and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly
Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general
assembly, this is the whole church of God joined together in Christ,
to the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written
in heaven. You see, when you come onto Mount
Zion, onto the city of the living God, And to God, the judge of
all, and to the spirits of just men, made perfect. Made perfect in Christ. Made
complete in Christ. And to Jesus, the mediator of
the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speak
of better things than that of Abel. You think of when Cain
slew Abel. What did Abel's blood cry for? Vengeance. Vengeance. The Lord said to Cain, didn't
he, that his brother's blood was crying out to the blood of
Sprinkly, as the blood of Jesus Christ, God's son, that cleanses
from all sin, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. God's
only begotten son, suffered and bled and died and poured out
his soul unto death, shed every drop of his precious blood to
take away the sin of the church, to satisfy the demands of divine
justice and to the blood of sprinkling that speaketh better things than
that of Abel. Then there's a solemn admonition
here, he goes on with, See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. What is that name that speaks
for me in heaven's high courts above, and from the curse has
set me free? Tis Jesus precious blood. See that ye refuse not him that
speaketh. For if they escape not who refuse,
fused him that spake on earth. Much more shall not we escape
if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven. Him that speaketh from heaven.
Oh, my beloved friends, may the Holy Spirit, by his divine power,
open our hearts. I often think of Lydia in the
Acts of the Apostles, whose heart the Lord opened. Isn't that, is that what you
need? Whose heart the Lord opened. May the Lord indeed open our
hearts, open our minds, open our eyes, open our ears. It's that divine work of the
Spirit to do that, to open the heart, the eyes of your understanding
being enlightened. to understand your lost condition,
and then to understand you're not come unto the mount that
might not be touched, but to Mount Zion, to the door of mercy, to the way of salvation, of redemption,
of deliverance in and through the glorious person of our Lord
and Savior, Jesus Christ, but ye are come unto Mount Zion. and unto the city of the living
God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of
angels. Oh, my beloved friends, may you
be drawn unto Jesus Christ. May you be found looking unto
Jesus Christ, casting all your care upon him, for he careth
for you. May the Lord Let us now sing together hymn
number 984. And the tune is Greaves, 342.
Hark! how the gospel trumpet sounds,
Christ and free grace therein abounds, free grace to such a
sinner's be, and if free grace, why not for me? Hymn 984, tune
Greaves 342. The Lord is coming. The Lord
is coming. Free grace to such a sinner's
feet. And with free grace, free grace,
? And the praise I am calling. ? ? The Saviour died and by His
blood, ? Oh, travel sinners back to God. He died to set the prisoners
free. And by my soul, And by my soul, And by my soul,
I love thee. The blood of Christ, how sweet
it sheds! to cleanse and heal the sinner's
wounds. Blessed is the fruit of thy womb, thereof are rich and free. And why, my soul, and why, my soul, and why, my
soul, why not Thus Jesus came the poor to pass,
To cloud them with His righteousness. Barrow is spotless full and free, And why my soul? And why my soul? And why my soul? Why not for Thee? O night, O night, when Christ
was born, And the roving rebels raised to heaven. Then sing of grace so rich and
free. Then sing of grace so rich and
free. And why, my soul, 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, both now
and for evermore. Amen.