Let us commence our service this
afternoon by singing together hymn number 399, the Junis A
Bens 275. Amidst ten thousand anxious cares,
the world and Satan's deep-loved snares, this my incessant cry
shall be, Jesus, reveal thyself to me. Hymn 399, tune Abends
275. ? Soft breeze and frozen anxiousness
? ? Thou, God of strength, canst see many sins ? This my incessant cry shall be,
Jesus, be near, thy shelter be. ? Prince, my guide, hopeful down
the road ? ? As dark with day alone I trod ? ? And claim a crown, what could
I see? ? ? Till Jesus Christ revealed to me. ? In thy temptation so oppressed,
this special lamb which kills thy prey. victory, and victory, till Jesus
Christ reigneth over me. ? Hilarious love ? ? Imperious
pride ? ? The thought of love ? ? Is so surprised ? ? I get
it when ? ? You'll never get free ? ? Till
Christ reveals His truth to thee ? ? And a blessing as big as me ? ? I shall not take them on my side
? ? Nothing but this my God and King shall ever be ? ? Jesus, we pray you, rise soon
to meet ? ? Since he is dead, the new is born new ? ? Which Thy temples bestow is true
? ? Then hath my joy found liberty ? as Christ with Israel. As we together, from the Holy
Word of God, in the prophecy of Isaiah, in chapter 38, Isaiah's prophecy, chapter 38. In those days was Hezekiah sick
unto death, and Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, came unto him,
and said unto him, Thus saith the law, set thine house in order,
for thou shalt die, and not live. Then Hezekiah turned his face
toward the wall and prayed unto the Lord, and said, Remember
now, O Lord, I beseech thee, I have walked before thee in
truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good
in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore. Then
came the word of the Lord to Isaiah, saying, Go and say to
Hezekiah, Thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father,
I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears. Behold, I will
add unto thy days fifteen years, and I will deliver thee and this
city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend
this city. And this shall be a sign unto
thee from the Lord, that the Lord will do this thing that
he hath spoken. And behold, O Brunegain, the
shadow of degrees, which is gone down in the sun dial of Ahaz,
ten degrees backwards. So the sun returned ten degrees,
by which degrees it was gone down. the writing of Hezekiah,
King of Judah, when he had been sick and was recovered of his
sickness. I said in the cutting off of
my days, I shall go into the gates of the grave. I'm deprived
of the residue of my years. I said I shall not see the Lord,
even the Lord in the land of the living. I shall behold man
no more with the inhabitants of the world. My age has departed
and is removed from me as a shepherd's tent. I've cut off like a weaver
my life. It will cut me off with pining
sickness. From day even to night will they
make an end of me. I reckon till morning that as
a lion so will it break all my bones. And a day, even tonight,
will make an end of me. Like a crane or a swallow, so
did I chatter. I did mourn as a dove. Mine eyes
fail with looking upward. Odal, I am oppressed. Undertake for me. What shall
I say? He hath both spoken unto me,
and himself hath done it. I shall go softly all my years
in the bitterness of my soul. O Lord, by these things men live,
and in all these things is the life of my spirit. So wilt thou
recover me and make me to live. Behold, for peace I have great
bitterness, but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it
from the pit of corruption. for thou hast cast all my sins
behind thy back. For the grave cannot praise thee,
death cannot celebrate thee, they that go down into the pit
cannot hope for thy truth. The living, the living, he shall
praise thee. As I do this day, the Father
to the children shall make known thy truth. The Lord was ready
to save me, Therefore, we will sing my songs to the stringed
instrument all the days of our life in the house of the Lord. For Isaiah hath said, Let them
take a lump of fix, and lay it for a plaster upon the boiler,
and he shall recover. As if I also have said, what
is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the Lord? May the Lord bless that portion
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, we desire to bow before thy great majesty,
to call upon thy great and holy name. Thy word declares unto
us that the name of the Lord is a strong tower, and the righteous
runneth into it. May we be enabled in the spirit
of faith to run into that strong tower. that we may have the witness
of thy spirit with our spirit that we are the children of God,
that we are indeed joint heirs with Christ, that we may have
that wonderful witness of the spirit that Jesus loves sinners,
that Jesus receives sinners. O gracious God, we cry for those
who come here this afternoon Come and speak to our hearts.
Come and open thy word. Come and open our ears and our
eyes. Faith cometh by hearing, hearing
by the word of the Lord. Give us, O Lord, a hearing. Work
by thy Spirit in the pulpit and in the pew, in the heart, that
there may be a true coming unto thee. And that the tender filial
fear of the Lord may be an exercise in our hearts, an unctuous light
to all that's right, a balm to all that's wrong. Any Lord that
are yet dead, spiritually, may they be made alive. May they
be quickened. May they be brought to living
faith in Jesus Christ. Let thy work appear unto thy
servants, and thy glory unto their children. Those that have
wandered away, lay hold of them, cause them to return, as thou
alone art able to do. For we pray that thou wouldst
so graciously bless us as a church and as a congregation, and that
thou wouldst let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory
unto their children. and that we think of that sacred
promise, Lord, and we plead it before Thee. I will work, and
who shall let it? Gracious God, help us to wait
upon Thee. Help us to look to Thee. Bring
our sons from far, our daughters from the ends of the earth. Return
unto Jerusalem with mercies. Arise, arise, O God of grace. into thy rest descend, thou and
the ark of thy strength, and let thy priest be clothed with
salvation, and thy saints shall shout aloud for joy. Lord, abundantly
bless the provision of thy house, and let satisfy her poor with
bread. We do humbly beseech of thee,
that thy light, the almighty, powerful light of the gospel
of Jesus Christ, shine again in this village, and the surrounding
villages and hamlets. Precious souls may be gathered
unto thee. O hear us, Lord, we humbly beseech
thee, and work mightily, and work powerfully, and work effectually,
we do pray. We pray, most gracious Lord,
that thou would remember dear Ina, and graciously bless her,
we thank thee for bringing her out. Pray that she may be blessed
in her soul, and she may feel in her soul, I love to meet among
the men before thy gracious feet today. We pray that thou would
be with her in her lonely hours. Remember each and every one in
the path of affliction, Grant thy healing hand, grant thy supporting
mercy, thy upholding grace, grant sanctifying mercy. Pray for Rachel
in hospital that she may be healed and restored. We do humbly pray
thee, dearest Lord, use these things to the great glory of
thy name and to the good of their precious souls and the good of
thine. We do humbly pray then, help us each to pray for one
another, to serve one another, to bear one another's burdens,
to love each other, and that spirit of kindness and forgiveness
may be manifested among us. Love covereth a multitude of
sins, and we pray that that love may be an exercise among us.
We think of thy words, Lord Jesus. By this shall they know that
ye are my disciples, because ye have love one to another.
Lord, increase our faith. Increase our love. We do it humbly,
beseech of thee. But we pray that for those in
darkness, spiritual darkness, They may be brought into light.
Those in bondage may be brought into liberty. Those far off may
be made nigh. Those, Lord, that seem to have
lost their way, may thy light shine into their heart and into
their pathway, that they may find their way to thee. And,
O Lord God, we pray that there may be a blessing for the rebellious
also. For all we knew what it was in
our younger days to be with them. But we knew what it was to have
a blessing. And we pray that it may be so
even today. That we pray for our brethren,
the deacons, that grace and wisdom and help may be given them in
all their responsibilities. And that we pray for each one
of our brethren and sisters in church fellowship that thy rich
blessing may rest upon us, and that we may grow in grace and
in the knowledge by our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. And
O Lord, we do pray that thou wouldst graciously work mightily,
powerfully, effectively among us as a church and as a congregation.
We lovingly commend to thee the little ones, the children, each
one of them. Bless them indeed. Show them
thy ways. Teach them thy paths. Put thy
holy fear in their hearts. We do humbly pray thee. For the
fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Do grant it, Lord. Grant it to our young friends.
Knowest all their concerns and all the things that trouble them,
that concern them. We pray that thou wouldst be
with them in their education. Be with them. Lord, in any future
employment, be with them regarding a partner in life journey, but
above all, bring them each to live in faith in Jesus Christ,
to follow thee, to serve thee in their day, in their generation. We think of those wonderful promises
to Zion, all thy children shall be taught of the Lord, and great
shall be the peace of thy children. O gracious God, we do pray that
thou wouldst so work among us as a church and as a congregation.
But we pray, most gracious Lord, that thou wouldst be with any
in any particular trouble or trial or perplexity or sorrow.
Uphold and strengthen and help, we do humbly pray thee. Remember,
O Lord, we pray thee for all in the midst of the journey of
life and its attendant trials, and thou knowest all things.
And we pray that thou wouldst be gracious. Send deliverance,
send help. Deliver from the temptations
of Satan. And deliver us from the evil
heart of unbelief. Deliver us from the power and
the dominion of Satan. Be with the families, grant that
they may gather around the Word of God in the home. Prayer and
the reading of the Word sanctifying. Lord, we do pray that it may
be so, but for thy great name's sake. Would we pray that those
give parents wisdom as they seek to bring up their children. May
they be enabled to do so in the nurture and admonition of the
Lord. and that those that have wandered away with pride, that
we may follow them with our prayers, and that we may give thee no
rest until thou establish Jerusalem as a praise in all the earth.
Lord, remember all thy servants as they lay in word and doctrine
upon the walls of Zion. Set them free, set them in liberty,
grant the spirit of power, O gracious God, return unto Jerusalem with
mercies. Lord, we do pray that thou wouldst
graciously remember all the churches up and down the land, where thy
people stand, where thy servants preach. O gracious God, bless
the assemblies of thy saints, grant a godly increase, grant
a building of the walls of Jerusalem, the establishment of Zion. We
remember our own little group of churches, but a part of thy
Zion. Oh, that thou wouldst bless us indeed, that thou wouldst
work mightily and powerfully and effectively among us. Remember,
O Lord, the editors of our magazines and the secretaries of the societies
and the committees as they gather. Give wisdom, guidance and direction
in all matters. O Lord, we do beseech of Thee
for Thy great namesake, but above all, blow with the sovereign
wind of the Spirit among the churches. Gather in, build up,
revive, renew, establish new churches. Instead of falling
away, may there be a building up. O Lord, there is nothing
too hard for Thee, and I've got over all and blessed forevermore. We thank Thee for the sacred
and precious glory of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, manifest in the
flesh. We thank Thee for the glory of
His person, the fullness of His grace, the wonders of redeeming
love, We thank Thee, most gracious Lord, everlasting righteousness
has been brought in in His holy life here as a man on earth,
fulfilling and honouring and magnifying Thy holy law. We thank
Thee for that everlasting robe of our Lord Jesus Christ, the
righteousness of Thy people. We thank Thee that he has made
unto us righteousness, wisdom, redemption, everything stands
in our precious Redeemer. We thank thee that all power
is given unto him in heaven and in earth. Gracious God, we do
thank thee for all thy goodness that flows to us through Jesus'
precious blood. We thank thee that thou didst
lay upon him the iniquity of us all. He suffered, he bled,
he died. He paid the penalty that was
due to us, putting away our sin, reconciling us unto God, that
precious blood of the Lamb that cleanses from all sin. We thank
thee that he died for our sins and rose again for our justification.
and as bodily ascended into heaven, sitting at thy right hand, gracious
God, fill our hearts with thanksgiving, with praise unto Thee for the
wonders and glories of our Lord Jesus Christ. We thank Thee that
in Him we know the love of our Eternal Father. Through Him we receive the gift
of the Holy Ghost, for through Him we have access by one Spirit
unto the Father. Lord, what glories, what wonders,
what a fulness that lies in our Lord Jesus Christ. Be with us
now, Lord, as we turn to thy holy word. Come and open thy
word to our heart and to our understanding. Come and touch
one's lips with a live coal from of the heavenly altar. We ask
for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. Let us continue our worship by
singing together hymn number 328. The tune is Saxby 409. Afflicted Saint, to Christ drawn
here, Thy Saviour's gracious promise here, His faithful word
declares to thee, that as thy days thy strength shall be. Hymn 328, tune Saxby 409. ? My Saviour's grace just promised
him ? ? His faithful word depends on Him alone ? That as thy days, thy strength
shall be. If not thy heart, this heart
has failed, How shall I stand, that I am dead? Years and days,
I'm bound in grief. Thou hast my days, my strength
shall be. Thy faith is me, thy blood is
me. ? And if the conflict should be
known ? ? The Lord will make a change daftly known ? ? For as thy face ? ? Thy strength
shall be ? ? To persecution ? ? Rage
and pain ? ? Still trust in thy Redeemer's name ? ? In glory
joyous now shall see ? ? That as thy days ? Shall be ? ? When from to Beth
? ? The waiting comes ? ? Oh, sorrow, fear ? ? Shall fade ? God be with us. God be with us.
God be with us. God be with us. God be with us.
God be with us. When God's meek aid appears in
view, Christ's presence shall rife hills of dew. He comes to set thy spirit free,
and at thy gates thy spirit Greatly feared indeed, the Lord's
gracious help. I'll draw your attention to the
chapter that we read, the prophecy of Isaiah, chapter 38, and we
will read verse 14 for our text. Prophecy of Isaiah, chapter 38,
verse 14. Like a crane or a swallow, so
did I tether. I did mourn as a dove, My eyes
fail with looking up, Lord. O Lord, I am oppressed. Undertake for me. There was so many things that
pressed upon Hezekiah, the king, at this time. Many different
things. The chief, of course, was that,
as we read in the first verse, the message of Isaiah, from the
Lord unto Hezekiah, set thine house in order, for thou shalt
die anon. How would you feel if that was the message you received
this afternoon? By the Spirit into your heart,
set thine house in order. for thou shalt die and not live. It says in the beginning there,
in those days was Hesychiah sick unto death. It almost is like
the straw that broke the camel's back. Jerusalem was surrounded
with the Assyrian army. I think there was 185,000 men. that surrounded the city of Jerusalem.
So they were completely besieged and hemmed in. And the food was beginning
to fail. And then, on top of that, comes
this message to the king. Now, Hesychel was a godly king. He had a very ungodly father,
but he himself was a very godly king. He wrought a wonderful
deliverance and great idolatry was taking place in the temple
at Jerusalem when Hezekiah came to the throne. And he set about
immediately and restored the house of the Lord which was in
ruins. cast out the idols that had been put in there, and he
restored the true worship of the Lord Jehovah in Jerusalem
at that time. Indeed, there was a wonderful
reviving of vital godliness under Hezekiah. Not just an outward
reformation, it was an outward reformation, and the proper biblical
form of worship was put again in place in Jerusalem. You see,
my beloved friends, he was a godly man who the Lord had greatly
blessed. It says that in the previous
chapters that there was a Passover kept in the day of Hezekiah. There had not been one kept since
the days of King David of the like manner. And what a blessing there was,
what rejoicing there was, in Israel, among the godly, among
the priests of the Lord, to see and cast out those things that
were evil and unrighteous and sinful in the hand. It was a wonderful time of blessing. And then the Syrian army comes
down and besieges Jerusalem. Hezekiah exhorts the people to
trust in the Lord. What a great trial it had. I
don't know your individual circumstances and the things that you may be
passing through at this time. But then on top of this came
this message from the Lord. unto Hezekiah. Thus saith the Lord, set thine
house in order, for thou shalt die and not live. Now it says here that Hezekiah
turned his face toward the wall and prayed unto the Lord. What does that mean? It means
that no human arm could reach him. And that he knew that. So he turned away from everything
human. From the hand of man, the help
of man. And he turned his face. toward
the wall. Remember, O Lord, I beseech thee. How he grieved, and this is recorded
afterwards in our text, and how he prayed unto the Lord and the
thoughts of his heart. I said in the cutting off of
my days, verse 10, I will go to the gates of the grave. I'm
deprived of the residue of my years. I said, I shall not see
the Lord, even the Lord in the land of the living. I shall behold
man no more with the inhabitants of the world. See how the dear
man of God, he mourned before the Lord. And my name is departed and is
removed from me as a shepherd's tent. I have cut off like a weaver
my hand. This is where he was in his feelings. I reckon till morning that as
a lion so will he break all my bones. From day even to night
will they make an end of me. It's similar in a sense to
Jacob. And when everything went wrong,
as Jacob thought in his life, and he said, all these things
are against me. Maybe in your life, in your circumstances,
in your feelings, one of the, I think it's David,
he says that the hand of the Lord went out against him. Maybe
that's how you feel. that the hand of the Lord has
gone out against you. And you feel to be so alone.
Just as it is in our text, like a crane or a swallow. And so
did I, children. I did mourn as a dove. My eyes
failed with looking up. You see, you say, like Jeremiah,
in his great trial, He said, I cry and shout, but all my prayer
he shutteth out. That's how you feel. It wasn't
true in the case of Jeremiah that the Lord was shutting out
his prayer, but that's how he felt. It wasn't true of David, the
hand of the Lord went up against him, but that's how he felt.
That's where he was in his feelings, in his experience at that time.
And sometimes the Lord's people come into these things and they
say, well all these things are against me. But then you compare
it with that word that we looked at this morning in Romans chapter
8. All things work together for God. To them that love God, to
them that are called according to his purposes. These things
were not against Hezekiah. These things were not against
David, not against Jeremiah. They were for them. But you know,
the Lord uses things in our lives to humble us, to bring us independence
upon Him, brings us to look to Him, to cleave to Him, to cast
all our care upon Him. And He uses perhaps little things
in your life to do that. So that you feel to be alone. You feel these things all against
you. In actual fact they're not. What was happening in Jacob's
life was actually for him. But it looked at the time as
though it was against him. Joseph is not and now Benjamin
is not. And yet it was to lead to him,
to Joseph in Egypt. It wasn't against him. It was
for him. But he felt it was against him.
Often, you know friends, our feelings can be completely wrong.
As Luther said, feelings come and feelings go. And this is
so true in religion. Feelings come and feelings go.
We shouldn't build our hopes entirely on our feelings. We
should build our hopes on the glorious person, the finished
work of Jesus Christ, the King of Glory. the Almighty Saviour. We should build our hopes on
the precious blood of the Lamb. We should build our hopes on
the glorious everlasting righteousness of Jesus Christ, not on what
we feel and the things that we're particularly passing through
at that time. Don't misunderstand me, you'll
have feelings. If you're a living child of God, same as a living
being, a little baby, it has feelings. So does every child
of God. If you haven't got any feelings,
there's no evidence of life. But we mustn't build our hopes
upon our feelings. We must have a foundation that
is entirely in our feelings. Our hope is fixed on nothing
less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. That's something that never changes.
Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever, and forever. Now, there's no doubt that in
this pathway, the godly king Hezekiah, he knew in a similar
way to what Jonah knew. Jonah, through his disobedience
at the command of the Lord, The Lord had caused a great fish,
he had prepared a great fish, a whale, to swallow him. Now Jonah, no doubt, you can tell
by his language, he thought it was the end of him. You know, and naturally speaking
it would be, if a great fish swallows you. But the operative
thing is, the Lord had prepared. There was a place in that whale's
belly that Jonah's life would be preserved, not destroyed. But what do we read of Jonah's
prayer in the belly of that great fish? I went down to the foundations
of the mountains. Out of the belly of hell cried
I unto thee. And then he said, all thy ways
and thy billows are gone over me. So is thou. All thy ways and
thy billows are hung over me. And there's no doubt that this
is how Hezekiah fell. Like a crane or a swallow, so
did I chatter. I did mourn as a daft. My eyes
fail with looking upward. O Lord, I am oppressed. Undertake, call me. One thing
we should notice here in this prayer, it's short. If you're in a time of great
need, if you're greatly burdened, greatly pressed, you won't have
long, long prayers. Short, what they call ejaculatory
prayers, short, to the point. Oh Lord, I am oppressed, undertake. He needed the Lord to do everything
for him. Undertake for me. Lord, take
my case in hand. That's what he's saying. Undertake
for me. I can't do it myself. One of
the purposes of the Lord in bringing us into these places is to bring
us independence on him. To trust in him. To trust his
wisdom. His wisdom is perfect. And the
things that you're passing through, you will see, eventually. All
things. It's among those all things that
work together for good. To them that love God. To them
that are called according to his purposes. And with Hezekiah,
this most certainly was the case. He thought that suddenly the
Lord would come and take his life away. He says in verse 13,
I reckon till morning that as a lion so will he break all my
bones. Don't forget, he had the sentence
of death from the Lord in his very soul. I reckon till morning
that as a lion so will he break all my bones. From day even to
night will I make an end of me, like a crane or a swan. They're lonely birds, like a
crane or a swan. So did I, Chad. I did mourn as
a dove. Doves mourn. Doves mate for life. And if their mate dies, they
mourn for their mates. They grieve for their mates.
And hence the expression, I did mourn as a dove. My eyes fail
with looking up. You know, that's maybe where
you are. Your eyes fail with looking up. And there may be temptations
and thoughts that enter your mind, but I'm not going to pray
anymore. It doesn't seem to work. I pray, but I don't get answers
to prayer. I ask but I don't receive, I
seek but I don't find, I knock but it's not open to me. So in your mind you become very
anxious and you long for the Lord to hear and to answer prayer. You may make resolutions and
say you're not going to pray again but the fact is you can't
stop praying. You may for a short season, but
you're in great need. And you'll continue to be in
great need until the Lord appears. So even though you do make a
resolution that you're not going to cry anymore, you will because
of that need that you have in your soul. Like a crane or a swallow, so
did I, Chatham. You see, I did more, as I love
my eyes, fail with looking up. You keep looking up. As Hezekiah said, his eyes failed
with looking up. You may fail, you will fail,
but the Lord never does, here in Isaiah. It's those beautiful
words in chapter 42, he will not fail. Who's he? It is Jesus
Christ, the eternal Son of the eternal Father. He will not fail. You will. And all your endeavours
will. But he won't. Having loved his
own, he loved them unto the end. He will not fail thee, nor forsake
thee, the Lord said to Joshua. I will not fail thee, nor forsake
thee. And you see, but when the enemy
comes in like a flood and temptations of Satan, and in league with
our own evil heart of unbelief, we begin to fail. That evil heart
of unbelief that doubts everything that the Lord can do. I remember
reading Warburton, he said about the spirit of unbelief, it would
pull God from his throne, and it would. That's unbelief in
our calm nature. But unbelief is a curses, it
really is. It denigrates God, it pulls him
from his throne. It says he can't do this and
he can't do that. My dear beloved friends, he's
God over all and blessed forevermore. He's able to do abundantly more
than we can even ask or think. like the Apostle exhorts, seeing
therefore we are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses.
That was a quote, he'd been in chapter 11 in the Hebrews, he
went right the way through the Old Testament, speaking of the
godly in the Old Testament. And he calls them that great
cloud of witnesses. He speaks of Noah and of Abel. of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, how
the Lord delivered them, how the Lord blessed them, how the
Lord supported them, how the Lord upheld them. They brought
miracles, wherein we see they're dead to life again. You see, these all died in faith. What's it written for, to encourage
us? These all died in faith. Looking. Faith looks. Faith pleads to
Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is like a magnet
to faith. And it goes on, the apostle goes
on in that 12th of Hebrews and he says, seen therefore we are
encompassed over so great a cloud of witnesses. Let us lay aside
every weight. And the sin that does so easily Lay aside every weight. Everything
that is hindering you in the spiritual journey, lay aside
every weight. What is hindering you? What is
stopping you? What is holding you back? What
is slowing you down in this spiritual journey? And then of course he
tells us the only way that we can run this race looking
unto Jesus. You see, Hezekiah, he says here,
my eyes fail with looking upward, looking unto Jesus. The author and the finisher of
our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the
cross, despising the shame thereof, and is now set down at the right
hand of the majesty on earth, looking unto Jesus. What a wonderful mercy if you're
found looking unto Jesus. In our opening hymn, I felt particularly
drawn to that hymn, Jesus, reveal thyself to me. Did that hymn suit you? Did that
language suit you? Jesus, reveal thyself to men. And as you go through that hymn,
all the various experiences that the Lord's people pass through.
Affliction, trouble, trial, temptation. These are all in this wilderness
journey. But the antidote to all those
trials and doubts and fears and temptations, looking unto Jesus. Casting all your care upon him,
for he careth for you. Looking unto Jesus. This is what
Hesychiah was doing. Like a crane or a swan, so did
I chatter. I did more than a dove. My eyes
failed with looking upward. Oh Lord, I am oppressed. Undertake for me. You know, in this great trial,
in these perplexing circumstances, this position that seemed utterly
impossible, naturally speaking it was. With an army of 185,000
men besieged in Jerusalem, naturally speaking it was utterly impossible.
But you know the Lord, he sent deliverance. But the point I
wanted to make was this, in verse 17, Hezekiah is speaking here
of his experience after those things have happened. If we go
to verse 16, he says, O Lord, by these things men live, and
in all these things is the life of my spirit, so wilt thou recover
me and make me to live. By these things men live. By
the troubles, trials, perplexities, sorrows, temptations, fears that
you come into, by these things men live. In them is the life
of my Spirit. What happens? It's when these
things are sanctified to you. You might say, what does it mean
to be sanctified to you? It brings you to prayer. It brings
you looking unto Jesus. It brings you looking out of
self unto Jesus Christ. That's what sanctification is.
Separating it. You know, people get very complicated
when they're talking about sanctification. It is to be brought into union
with Christ. Separated from this world. That's
what it is to be sanctified. To be made spiritually minded.
Let all fruitless searches go, which perplex and tease us, but
desiring nor to know, but to bleed in Jesus. It's like the
Apostle in Philippians 3, that I may know him in the power,
he wanted to know the power of his resurrection in his own soul. And it's when, as it was definitely
with Hezekiah, he knew the forgiveness of sins, In this great trial,
he knew what it was for the Lord to tell him that his sins were
all forgiven. It's like that dear woman we
read through in the Gospels, thy sins which are many are all
forgiven. All forgiven. That's sanctification. When we're
brought into union with Christ, by these things, many, and in
them, in all these things is the life of my spirit, so wilt
thou recover me, and make me to thee. This was his experience, verse
17, Behold, for peace I have great bitterness. He was brought,
he mentioned, into peace, the wonderful peace of God that passes
all understanding, was shed abroad in his heart, but getting to
that peace was a path of great bitterness, great trial, great
perplexity. Behold, for peace I have great
bitterness, but thou hast in love to my soul. This is what
Hezekiah proved, tasted, handled and felt, in love to my soul. He felt the Lord's love to his
soul. The Apostle speaks of it, I think it's in the Romans, for
the love of Christ is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost,
that love of Christ. Oh, the preciousness of the love
of Christ when it's shed abroad in the heart. Love brings us to the feet of
Jesus. The Apostle, he speaks, doesn't
he, of a faith that worketh by love. Faith working by love. And the fear of the Lord, that
true filial fear of the Lord, it works by love. David, he says, doesn't he, I
love the Lord because he heard my voice, the voice of my supplication. Behold, for peace I great bitterness,
but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of
corruption. He knew this complete deliverance
from the pit of corruption. That pit of corruption is our
own hearts. Think of that word in Jeremiah,
the heart is deceitful above all things, desperate and wicked. Your heart, my heart. And when
we begin to realise how wicked our heart is, how corrupt our
nature is, you feel the need to be delivered from sin and
from Satan's power. But what seemed so sweet to me
yesterday reading was the last clause of verse 17. for thou
hast cast all my sins behind thy back. Wonderful, precious
thing. There is no doubt that Hezekiah
will not change a thing when the Lord discovers to you that
all your sins are cast behind his back. As far as the east
is from the west so far, Have I removed thy sins from thee,
O Israel? How far is it from the east to
the west? Why, my beloved friends, it's an infinite distance. And he says, their sins and their
iniquities will I remember no more. And Hezekiah experiences. Thou hast cast all my sins behind
by that, never to be remembered. In the last verses of the prophet
Micah, it says there so beautifully, verse 18 in Micah 7, who is a
God like unto them? My beloved friends, it says in
the scripture, there is none like unto the God of Yeshua.
Who is a God like unto them? that pardoneth iniquity, and
passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage,
he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in
mercy. Oh, that that might latch hold
of you, in your heart, because he delighteth in mercy. This
God, this great God, this holy God, this almighty God, He delighteth
in mercy. And he says that is the reason
that he's cast all your sins behind his back. Who is a God
like unto thee that partneth iniquity, and passeth by the
transgression of the remnant of his heritage, he retaineth
not his anger forever, because he delighteth in mercy. He delights in us. He doesn't
give niggardly, He gives generously. He doesn't give with a half heart,
He gives with a full heart. God so loved the world, He gave
His only begotten Son. He couldn't give anything greater.
His only begotten Son to suffer, bleed and die for the sins of
His people. And here in Michael he says he
will turn again. Why? Because Jesus has suffered
and bled and died for the sins of his people. He will turn again. He will have compassion on us.
He will subdue our iniquities. And they will cast all their
sins into the depths of the sea. All their sins into the depths
of the sea. What a great, profound, sacred
mercy that is, like a crane or a swallow. So did I chatter. I did more as a dove. Mine eyes
fell with looking upward. O Lord, I am oppressed. Undertake
for me. And that is exactly what the
Lord did. He undertook. He removed the
Assyrian arm in a moment. You know, they went out, and
that great army was dead. 185,000 dead men. That was the Lord's doing. That was
a solemn judgement upon the army of the Assyrians, who had blasphemed
the name of God before Hezekiah. The Lord sent a difference. And
then the experience, Behold, for peace I have great bitterness,
but thou hast in love to my soul delivered me from the pit of
corruption. Thou hast cast all my sins behind
thy back. And his experience, the living,
the living, he shall praise thee as I do this day. The father
to the children shall make known thy truth. The Lord was ready
to save me. Therefore will we sing my songs
to the stringed instrument all the days of our life. The Lord
was ready to save. The Lord is plenteous in redemption. The Lord hears prayers of poor
sinners. The Lord Jesus is ready to save
and is able to save to the uttermost. all that come unto God by him.
Come then, repenting sinner, come, and trust upon his grace. O what thou wilt, the total sum
is cancelled by his death. O Lord, I am oppressed. Undertake for me. May the Lord add his blessing
to these few remarks that we have made. Let us now sing together hymn
number 245 to the tune Warrington 432. We travel through a barren land,
with dangers thick on every hand. But Jesus guides us through the
vale, that Christians hope can never fail. In 245, Tune, Warrington,
432. Oh, say! ? God keep the triumphs, true and
fair ? ? The bright stars and the home of the brave ? Oh, say does that star-spangled
banner yet wave ? The Christians her ? ? Shall
never fail ? ? Sometimes we tend to do the wrong
thing ? O Jesus Christ, God's heav'nly
Speaker, Thou new-birth Son of God, The Christian's world shall never
fail. we trust and hold on thy sacred
word. The earth and all is full and
whole, ? And safely to eternal sleep ?
? The Christians o'er all shall never fear ? 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 forevermore. Amen.