We commence our service this
afternoon by singing hymn number 10. The tune is Adoration, number
276. was with an everlasting love
that God his own elect embraced before he made the world above
or earth on her huge columns placed. Long ere the sun's refulgent
ray primeval shade of darkness drove, they on his sacred bosom
lay loved with an everlasting love. Hymn number 10. O say can you see, by the dawn's
early light, What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last
gleaming? Oh, say does that star-spangled
banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the
brave? They own it's sacred roots in
me. There in the clouds from which
we creep, ? Christ and His bride have appeared
as one ? ? As in the beginning the nation is one ? ? God keep its glorious name ever
sure ? ? For now and ever, thy glory is near ? Upward in view,
double and great, ? In those old days ? ? That never
went away ? ? Now shall I fall ? ? For love with thee ? ? The pain of which ? ? We proudly
sing ? ? That God with us ? ? May lead with us ? ? As we to God
go ? ? In the hearts of children ? ?
May we live until we die ? ? May we live until we die ? ? In thy countenance set ? ? From
mercy lost ? ? Till redemption's day ? ? And may we once again
? This afternoon, dear friends,
let us read from God's holy word, again in the Proverbs, this afternoon,
chapter eight. The eighth chapter, In the Proverbs doth not wisdom cry, and understanding
put forth her voice. She standeth in the top of high
places, By the way, in the places of the paths, She crieth at the
gates, at the entry of the city, At the coming in, at the doors,
Unto you, O man I call, And my voice is to the sons of men. of man. O ye simple, understand wisdom,
and ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart. Hear, for I will speak
of excellent things, and the opening of my lips shall be right
things. For my mouth shall speak truth,
and wickedness is an abomination to my lips. All the words of
my mouth are in righteousness. There is nothing froward or perverse
in them. They are all plain to him that
understandeth, and right to them that find knowledge. Receive
my instruction, and not silver and knowledge, rather than choice
gold. For wisdom is better than rubies,
and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared
to it. I, wisdom, dwell with prudence
and find out knowledge of witty inventions. The fear of the Lord
is to hate evil. Pride and arrogance And the evil
why in the froward mouth do I hate. Counsel is mine and sound wisdom,
I am understanding, I have strength. By me kings reign, and princes
decree justice. By me princes rule and nobles,
Even all the judges of the earth. I love them that love me, And
those that seek me early shall find me. Riches and honour are
with me, Yea, durable riches and righteousness My fruit is
better than gold, yea, than fine gold, than my revenue, than choice
silver. I lead in the way of righteousness,
in the midst of the paths of judgment, that I may cause those
that love me to inherit substance, and I will fill their treasures. The Lord possessed me in the
beginning of His way, before His works of old. I was set up from everlasting,
from the beginning, forever the earth was. When there were no
depths, I was brought forth. When there were no fountains
abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled,
before the hills was, I brought forth. While as yet he had not
made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust
of the world. When He prepared the heavens,
I was there. When He set a compass upon the
face of the death, when He established the clouds above, when He strengthened
the fountains of the deep, When He gave to the sea His decree
That the water should not pass His commandment When He appointed
the foundations of the earth Then I was by Him As one brought
up with Him And I was daily His delight Rejoiced in all ways
before him, rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth. My delights were with the sons
of men. Now therefore, hearken unto me,
O ye children, for blessed are they that keep my ways. hear instruction, and be wise,
and refuse it not. Blessed is the man that heareth
me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the post of my doors. Whoso findeth me findeth life,
and shall obtain favour of the Lord. That he that sinneth against
me wrongeth his own soul. All they that hate me love death. May the Lord's divine blessing
rest upon his word read now. May the Lord help us to continue
in prayer. O Lord, our gracious God, it
is Lord in thee, that we live, that we move and have our being. Thou, Lord, who gave us a being,
gave us a birth. Thou, Lord, who hath maintained
us and upheld us, Until this present moment of time From the
first moment of our birth A faithful and an unchanging God Who is
eternally the same Jesus Christ, the same yesterday and today
and forever. You continue, dear Lord, to be
with us today. And today, if we hear thy voice,
may we not be left to harden our heart. Oh, may our heart
be softened by those divine showers and the rain that cometh down
from heaven and the dew to distill upon our branch. And oh, may
thy Holy Spirit soften our hearts and make them receptive to the
word of thy grace. May thy word, Lord, take root
downward and bear fruit upward, that it may be for thine honour
and glory and for our spiritual profit. Oh, we pray to be profited
as we wait upon thee continually in the public and in private,
in the house of God and in our own homes. And so, Lord, we thank
Thee for the return of the first day of this week. And we are found gathered together. And Lord, may we be as we believe
we are. as the heart of one man in our
desires and exercises concerning the deep things of God and our
pathway through the wilderness and our approaching end. Lord, we are all under the sentence
of death in Adam, and the wages of sin is death, that the gift
of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Oh, let my soul live, and it
shall praise The Lord, we know. That we cannot keep alive our
own soul. But Lord, we know that they'll
cancel. Oh, we pray that we might be
amongst the living. He shall praise the. As I do this day. And the father to make known
the truth to the Son. And so, Lord, may the services
of the sanctuary be means of grace and comfort and consolation
unto us as we pass through this wilderness. And, Lord, what a
wilderness it is to the idea of people as it was to thy people
of old, that, Lord, they were conducted forth and led by Moses,
that, Lord, we have a greater than Moses, the Lord Jesus Christ
to lead us forth in that right way that leadeth to life everlasting. And so, Lord, do give to us foretaste
of Canaan's happy land, sweet and blessed confirmations that
we're in that narrow way that leads to life everlasting. May we see those waymarks and
those high heaps that thy people did avail as they returned from
captivity. to confirm them that they were
in the right way, back to the city of Jerusalem, the city of
truth. Oh, we need, Lord, those gracious
confirmations, those signs following the preaching of the gospel,
that we are in that right and narrow and good and blessed way. that we've entered in through
that straight gate, that narrow one. And Lord, do be with us
each as we journey on. Our pathways vary considerably,
one from another, all in accordance with thy sovereign will and good
pleasure, O Lord. And we each need much grace and
faith and patience to enable us to press toward the mark. For Satan sometimes tries to
tempt us to give up, to go back. But Lord, we cannot. For thy
word exhorts, speak unto the children of Israel, that they
go forward. And so, Lord, do help us each
to walk by faith and not by sight. Help us to look alone, Lord,
to thee and trust in thee, to trust in the Lord forever. when
the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength. Help us, Lord, to continue
in word and doctrine and faith and practice this afternoon. May thy word have free course
and be glorified in the midst of thy cause here. Do continue, dear Lord, Own and
bless the ministry here through the ordained means of their beloved
pastor. O Lord, do help him continually
in the labour of the ministry, the labour of exercise in secret
before the Lord. and the labour in the public
declaration of the same, that the saints of God here under
his charge and care may be established in the truth and settled upon
that one eternal foundation, the Lord Jesus Christ, giving
those souls for his hire and seals to his ministry, that he
does not labour in vain or spend his strength for naught. Be with him, Lord, where he is
at this time, and return him in peace and safety at the appointed
time. Be with him, Lord, in his daily
life, as he would spend now much time alone, having laid to rest
last year his dear wife, do comfort him, dear Lord, we pray thee,
and the family in their great loss they have sustained. Be with all thy dear people,
in their tribulations and trials and sorrows and griefs. A man
that is born of a woman is a few days and full of trouble. Oh, what troubles, Lord, there
are. And thou hast left in the midst
a poor and an afflicted people. Oh, to trust alone, Lord, in
thee. And so do sanctify all these
trying dispensations. And may there be spiritual comfort,
spiritual recompense for the tribulations of this life. Remember each one Lord in the
congregation today, in the chapel today. We would lovingly bear
each one before Thee, that Thou wouldest suit Thy mercies to
them according to their individual needs. And those unable to be
here today, through afflictive dispensations, we pray that Thou
would be with them where they are, and that they may join with
us through the means that are available for the furtherance
of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And so from the youngest to the
eldest, we would lovingly commend them all to thee and to the word
of thy grace and pray for our dear aged Sister Mrs Field, O
Lord, thou hast sustained her in her widowhood now for many,
many years. And we thank thee for the remembrance
of her dear husband, who was the pastor here. And we can say
that the memory of the just is blessed. And so, Lord, do be
with thine aged saints, those in the Bethesda homes. Oh, be with them, Lord, there
in their latter days, and every provision for them according
to their needs. And may their spiritual needs
be graciously met through the reading and prayer daily in the
home and for the services relayed from Gali Chapel and Bethel Chapel
Luton. And so Lord, we do thank thee
for the provision of the homes that they have been upheld now
for many, many, many years. We pray that they will help those
who hold office with regard to the homes on the committee that
needed wisdom and help in these trying and difficult times in
which we live. And help us each, Lord, in the
Responsibilities that are ours as we, as good stewards, desire
to serve thee in our day and in our generation. Oh Lord, do
grant prosperity and grant thy blessing upon all that we desire
to attend unto. in thy filial fear. We pray that thou wilt help the
young, those parents and those in the workplace, O Lord, in
these sad and solemn days. Do help those who go forth at
law to labour and at work, with and in the environment, of a
hostile world, and may be ungodly men. Oh, do be their sure defence
and their helper in these trying times. And we think of the dear
children at school. And Lord, it cannot be easy for
them. For there are those subjects
taught, those things brought before them, which are contrary
to the divine authority of God's Holy Word, which were never countenanced
generations ago, but are now brought before them. O Lord,
do we pray Thee, remember the young and rising-raised and the
dear children And do teach them, Lord, from Thy Word, and show
to them that which is right and good and honourable. May they be preserved from those
things which are harmful and untrue. Do go before us, O Lord,
in every untrodden step. Help us, Lord, to trust alone
in Thee, and to look alone to the Lord Jesus, who is the author
and finisher of our faith. We pray that Thou wilt make up
in giving where I fail to ask what a mercy, Lord, it is that
thou art able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we
can ask or even think. Remember us, Lord, in the nation. We are a part of it. And we are
exhorted to pray for those in authority over us And we pray,
Lord, that Thou will open their eyes and unstop their ears and
open their hearts concerning Thy Word. For he that ruleth
over men must be just, ruling in the fear of the Lord. Oh, Lord, that we could witness
it in our day. And O Lord, the blasphemy abroad
the earth, the land, and even within the professing national
church. Lord, we wonder sometimes where
the scene will end, but we do pray that thou wilt for thine
elect's sake Lengthen out our tranquility, preserve us in peace,
and the freedom of public worship according to conscience. And to remember the suffering
body of humanity, those calamities that have overtaken men and women
and children, in various lands, earthquakes, and war, and conflict. Lord, it's not a day now as it
was in formerly, in the Old Testament, where there were horses and chariots,
and bows and arrows, and swords and spears. But now there are
weapons of mass destruction and we pray that they will restrain
the hearts of men who give commandment concerning these things. Oh may
they be brought to realise and to feel their accountability
to God that they will give an account of their actions, and
thus may they be subdued and restrained from any rash action
or anything that would cause vast mass destruction. Lord, we have to say, thou knowest
all things, in wrath, remember mercy, and remember thy dear
people, thy church, here on earth. Now, Lord, do further help us
in speaking, the dear friends in hearing, and bless further
the sacred hymns, as we ask all with the forgiveness of our every
sin. For Jesus' sake. Amen. Continue our service by singing
hymn number 889. The tune is Samuel, number 560.
Say, is thy heart well broke, and feels the plague of sin? and hateth Satan's yoke, it sweetly
once drew in. Give Christ the praise, he broke
thy heart, and taught thee how to feel the smart. O let the
Lord bestow that broken heart on me, which feeleth well its
woe, and blushing looks to thee. Amazed to see myself so vile,
and Jesus smiling all the while. In number 889. ? Thy God above ? ? And gives the
glory to see thee ? ? That nature in sacred joy ? ? Is giving rise
to thee ? Give thanks and praise in earth,
thy God, and all the earth to hear. ? With Mount Sinai's sun ? ? Shone
on the home of the brave ? ? And thy peace of mind shall evermore
reign ? He earns the golden Zion's name,
where grace and peace for evermore endure. ? To Jesus' heavenly light. ? ?
And from the cross of death, ? ? He sends a faithful light.
? Early in the night of night,
the Christ-tis day of birth. ? And whom the angels sing ? ?
And let our praises hear ? ? The children sing of thee ? ? And brings a great salvation
now ? ? And brings a great salvation now ? ? And brings a great salvation
now ? With freedom for his love, And
God's reign through all to give. Again, dear friends, may the
help of God, I would direct your loving attention to the same
text as this morning, namely the 10th verse in the 31st, in the book of the Proverbs,
chapter 31 and verse 10. can find a virtuous woman for
her price is far above rubies. We endeavour this morning by
the grace of God to consider this word in the beautiful experimental
way in which the exercise of this godly woman is made known. And she is addressed and spoken
of as a virtuous woman. So, to be such, to be honored
by such a lovely statement from God, then the question arises,
where does the virtue come from? But you cannot be virtuous without
virtue. Well, friends, there's only one
place where virtue flows from, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. You know, in the gospel, that
account of the woman with an issue of blood, and she had spent
much on physicians, Nothing bettered rather the, but grew worse. When
she heard of Jesus, she came. If I may but touch the hem of
his garment, I should be made whole. And she did. There was the humility of the
dear woman. There was faith to believe. If
I may touch the hem, there's the humility. And friend, Virtue
flowed. And the Lord knew it. He felt
that virtue flow. Somebody had touched me. And who was this somebody? It
was this virtuous woman. That's who it was. She possessed
that virtue. She was made virtuous. She was
healed. And she had to come before the
Lord and tell her case. She couldn't be heard. Now there's
a whole crowd of people around the Lord. But one soul can't be heard in
the crowds that are about her. And a virtuous woman cannot be
heard to die amidst the crowds there are in this world. Grace of God, the virtue of Jesus
Christ makes her somebody. And in her body, she possesses
the virtue of God's grace. And it distinguishes her as a
child of God elect amidst the crowds of this world. And it's
a sign to die. If you have the virtue of Jesus
Christ, flowing into your soul amidst an ungodly world and the
crowds there are, you will be set apart by the grace of Jesus
Christ. It'll be made abundantly evident
and manifest in your life, in your walk and conduct, in your
speech, in everything. You cannot hide the grace of
God. It manifests itself because of
the divine power. And God gives his grace so that
his dear people might be brought, separated from a world that lieth
in wickedness and enabled to serve and honor and love and
praise him. in their dying generation. Well, friends, have you this
virtue? Have you the grace of Jesus Christ? He is full of virtue. He's full
of grace. He's full of goodness. He's full
of mercy. He's full of truth. This is virtuous. Well, we read in the 29th verse
of this chapter, many daughters have done virtuously. but thou
excellest them all. And this seems to be the key
really to open up this truth or this chapter in a spiritual
dimension. I said this morning there were
the two contrasts. You have the virtuous woman on
the right hand and you have the harlot on the left hand. And in the light of that sinful
practice of a harlot, you then see the virtue of this godly
woman magnified and made greater in the light of that sinful woman. Well, spiritually considered,
it's exactly the same. Because of this, the harlot is
spoken of in the revelation of John the Divine. He speaks of
this woman under the heading of Babylon. And I just want to read a verse
or two from the book of the Revelation and then it will open up a little
further. And there came one of the seven angels
which had the seven vials and talked with me saying unto me,
Come hither, I will show unto thee the judgment of the great
whore that sitteth upon many waters, with whom the kings of
the earth have committed fornication. And the inhabitants of the earth
have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. And
upon her forehead was a name written, Mysteries. Babylon the
Great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth.
Now I judge that to set before us the apostate church. I do not profess to fully understand
all the revelation of John the Divine, nor did J.C. He confessed and said, and he
was one of the founder members and ministers within our denomination,
he said that after being a student of the Scriptures and searching
the Scriptures for 35 years, he did not profess to fully understand
all the revelation of John the Divine. And I would join with
him. But I do feel that this does
set before us, this mother of harlots, the apostate church. An apostate means those that
are not the true church. Because we read in other parts
of God's word, there should be false Christs and false teachers
and false prophets. And they shall deceive. Many. If it were possible, the
very elect. Now the elect of who was sung
in the first hymn cannot be deceived by sin and Satan, or by a false
Christ, or a false prophet, or, no. But the apostate church is
deceived. And I believe this mother of
harlots, an abomination, is the apostate church. But that's on
the one hand. Anything that's contrary to the
teaching of Jesus Christ must be part of the apostate church.
Now, on the other hand, the virtuous woman, who is she? She is the true church of God. The true church. And the Apostle
Paul brings before us the beautiful type of the marriage bond and
says, this is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ
and the church. And the church is spoken of as
the wife Christ is the husband. The virtuous woman is the bride. Christ is the bridegroom. So this virtuous woman, whose
price is far above rubies, says before us the true church of
God. And friends, what a beautiful
and a blessed consideration It is, because we are given so much
beautiful language concerning this sacred matter. For as the husband is the head
of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church, and he
is the savior of the body. So the husband is the head, Christ is the head and you see
the wife is the church. The beautiful union. What a sacred
union it is, Christ and his church. And they're one. And that opening
hymn this afternoon, number 10, you see, what constituted that
union? The electing love of God. And God chose a people for His
praise. God chose His elect. This is
one of the doctrines of our most holy faith, the doctrine of election. God chose a people for His praise
before the foundation of the world, before we were born. He chose a people. His sovereign,
sacred, blessed, holy choice. The same as we said this morning.
The sons of God chose the wife they wanted to marry. So Christ,
as the head, chose his wife. And every member of his body
in particular. He knows everyone. He chose her
by electing love and mercy. Friends, it's a great mystery.
It's a glorious mystery. It's a sacred mystery. And those
who are elect will be brought to know that they are elect.
Knowing brethren, beloved, your election of God. Chosen by God. You had nothing
to do with it, nor did any other man. God chose. Now, why did he choose us? Why? Well, we're told in Deuteronomy.
Because he loved us. Because he loved us. Now why
does a man choose his wife? What constitutes the choice? What's the cause of that choice?
It's love. That's the root cause, it's love.
And love joins two together and they become one flesh. Well,
Christ and his church are joined together in love. This is the virtuous woman, the
Church of God. Beautiful, isn't it? Hey, the
Lord leads, and one thing unfolds another, and the Lord's dealings,
and the Lord revealing, the Lord showing. Now, this virtuous woman
was full of good works. The Church of God, under the
exercise of Christ, and by the Spirit of God, are zealous. of good works. What have I? To
serve the Lord in that way and in that manner that He has committed
to your charge and given you the ability to do it. To serve
Him in your day and in your generation. Now there were those godly women
that were recorded in the Gospel who ministered to Christ. while he was here on Earth. And
because they loved him, they ministered to him. Now, there
are a few that are named. There's others also, and they're
not named. They're not named, but they still
ministered to him. Now, you may know and say, well,
this, yes, Those that do fear the Lord and serve Him, yes,
but there are some you don't know, but the Lord does. They're not named in Scripture,
we don't know who they are, but blessed be God, the Lord knows,
and they know as well. Although they may not be recognized
by all, they're known by God and they minister to Him. if
you will, they're secret disciples. But they love the Lord and they
minister to him. And these godly women, as I said
at the close this morning, they were the last to see Christ at
the crucifixion. They were the first when he rose.
Or they were the first at the sepulchre after he rose. Now
this sets before us holy doctrine. These blessed women that ministered
to Christ were virtuous women. And friends, the doctrines of
grace they knew. They were there at the crucifixion. They were there when Christ died
on the cross. And he was delivered for their
offenses. He died for their sins. Now, they were the first at the
sepulcher. He was risen, the angel that
spoke to them. I know that ye seek Jesus of
Nazareth, which was crucified. He is not here. He is risen.
Come see the place where the Lord lie. Here we have the justifying
righteousness of Christ, because he rose for our justification. They went to the tomb. He was
risen. There was their justification. There's the doctrine, friends.
There's the virtue. There's the godliness. There's
the salvation. There's the proof of their election. Oh, what blessed confirmation.
Who can find a virtuous woman? Oh, friends, the angel of the
Lord saw and found them. They were their friends and they
were there early in the morning. Oh, friends, their heart was
full of zeal. to Christ, they prepared the
spices. They went early. He was risen. And there was their salvation
in a risen Savior. Friend, and through that salvation,
through that love of Christ, then they were virtuous women
that served him and honored him and loved him. And they had to
go and tell the disciples, the apostles, that Christ is risen.
And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed
them not. But those dear godly women believed. I said this morning, they put
their disks, the apostles to shine. And so, friends, we have
the Church of God set before us in a beautiful way and manner. Now, you see, therefore, as the
Church is subject under Christ, So let the wives be to their
own husbands in everything. Husband, love your wives even
as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it. Oh friends, what sacred doctrinal
truths. Truths that we rest upon for
time and for eternity. Indeed we do. Now, I said this
morning, we don't want to be laboring all the time under the
fact that we're sinners. We want to rejoice in God as
our Savior, and may the grace of God be made abundantly evident
in our lives, because Christ, you see, that he might present
it to himself, a glorious church, not having spot or wrink or any
such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish. This is the Church of God. Now
you see, under the Passover, the Lamb had to be without blemish. A mile of the first year, set
in fourth Christ. Yes, no blemish, friends. In
Christ's perfect humanity. And you see, here His Church
are made holy and without blemish. Oh friends, what a beautiful
time. We are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. And this is why a man leaves
his father and his mother and shall be joined unto his wife,
and they too shall be one flesh. One. What a glorious mystery
it is. A great mystery. But it's revealed
and it's made known. And Paul said, I speak concerning
Christ and the church. Now this is the true church of
God. This is the virtuous woman. Well, dear friends, this is the
gospel, isn't it? This is the glory of Christ.
This is the beauty of his church and people. And so His grace
is a divine virtue. And it flows from Christ into
our hearts. And that virtue is full and free. It's never diminished. It's ever
full for His dear people to supply their needs. Oh, friends, what
a favor to be granted and be given virtue the virtue of Jesus
Christ his grace his love his mercy his goodness all flowing
for the benefit of his dear church and it's the beauty friends is
to the church it's sovereign it's rich and it's free it's
rich now I said this morning concerning Boaz he was a mighty
man of wealth Oh friends, what a type of Christ he was. The
Lord Jesus is the mighty man of wealth. The riches of his
grace are unsearchable. Unsearchable. The fullness of
them, the glory of them, his riches. Though he was rich, yes, he became
poor. the poverty of his suffering,
the poverty of his cross, that ye through his poverty might
be made rich, rich, the richest of his grace, the virtue of his
grace. So dear friends, how wonderful
then that dear Solomon, not dear Solomon, dear Lemuel, and we
know but little of him, we know but little of him, But I understand
that his name means he was devoted to God. He was a devout man,
devoted to God. And he sets before us this beautiful
account, as it is, and how true it is. And I'm sure The godly
men and godly women, as they read this, will say Amen. Indeed it is so. Now this afternoon,
we read in Chapter 8. And there, you see, we have where
it says, Doth not wisdom cry? And then, Unto you, O men, I
call. And of course this chapter speaks
so beautifully of the Lord Jesus Christ. They may cause them that
love me to inherit substance, and I will fill their treasures.
The Lord possessed me in the beginning of His way, before
His works of old. I was set up from everlasting,
from the beginning, wherever the earth was. This is the Lord
Jesus Christ. Now you see, in our text, we
have the church under the type of a virtuous woman, and here
in chapter eight, we have the Lord Jesus Christ, the husband. It must be Christ that Solomon
is speaking of, because I was set up from everlasting. That
can't be Solomon. It's Solomon's God. It's the Lord Jesus Christ. So
you see, dear friends, the beautiful oneness. And as we wait upon
the Lord in secret, in sincerity, in truth, then under the influence
of the Spirit, these things are revealed and made known to us.
It's a great mystery, but it's revealed and it's made known.
But we have to wait upon the Lord. And when the Lord's people
wait upon Him, then the Lord is gracious to you. You won't
wait in vain. No, wait my soul upon the Lord,
and how good it is to wait upon him, that we might live a quiet
and peaceable life in the fear of the Lord. This world is full
of noise, full of confusion, but to just go aside, and in
the quietness of your home, to wait upon God. I love that, that
I might live a quiet and peaceable life in the ear of the Lord. And that's the life, friends,
that I long and want to live and I hope I do. The Lord knows,
friends, that's my desire to live like that. I can't bear
the noise and the confusion of an godly world, but to be set
apart by the grace and virtue of God and to wait upon Him. Friends, how beautiful it is,
how wonderful it is. And you see, the Lord shows and
reveals to us the hidden treasures from His work and Reveals his
covenant. Yes, the covenant of the Lord
is with them that fear him and he will show them The his the
blessing of the Lord is theirs. So this woman she fears the Lord
She has a love a reverence To the Lord like a Sarah had to
Abraham And called him Lord She reverenced her husband. Well,
friends, it's a type of the church. They reverence their Lord and
Savior, their husband. We don't come before the Lord,
friends, do we, in a presumptuous way, but we come in reverence,
in godly fear and humility and bow before our husband. Oh friends,
what a mercy, what a favour to be a member of Christ's mystical
body, and members in particular. That's why we love the doctrines
of particular redemption. We don't profess to be general
Baptists, particular Baptists. because the Lord's dear people
are members of his mystical body in particular. That means this,
dear friends, he knows every one of his dear people. He knows
everyone in particular. He knows every detail of your
life and path and your spiritual standing in him, in Christ. Yes, friends. It's particular. Blessed be his holy name. Because
the Lord gave himself for his church and people. Yes. Oh, that sacred giving of his
holy, sacred life. Well, what is the testimony then? Now, at all fair, my love, there
is no spot in there. This is Christ's testimony concerning
His Church in the Canticles. Thou art all fair, my love, there
is no spot in thee. And then, the return. I am, this is the
Church, I am my Beloved. and my beloved is mine. That's the answer of the church.
Yes, I am my beloved, I am the Lord's and the Lord is mine. There's a sacred union in the
oneness. So the Lord testifies of his
church that thou art all fair my love, there is no spot in
thee And the church responds regarding their beloved husband,
I am thy beloved. They lay claim to him because
he laid claim to them. A husband can lay claim to his
wife because she is. And the wife can lay claim to
her husband because he is her husband. And so the church can
lay claim to Christ because he is their husband. And Christ
lays claim to his wife, his bride, his church, because they're his,
and he's purchased them. He's purchased them. He's paid
a price for them. This is what Paul testifies of
in writing to the Corinthians. And he said, what? Know ye not
that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in
you, which ye have of God? And ye are not your own. Not
your own. Ye are bought with a price. Bought. with a price. Now, you see the virtuous woman,
the church, her price is far above all rubies, as we said
this morning. Christ has purchased his church
and people, his dear bride, with a price. It's exactly the same
word in the Proverbs as in Corinthians. And friends, what was the price
that Christ bought his church with? Well, it was his precious,
precious, precious Sinatonian blood was what he paid to redeem
and buy his church. He abhorred, he abhorred, because
we sold ourselves for naught. and we are bought with a price.
Therefore the exhortation is to glorify God in your body and
in your spirit, which are God's. You're not your own. You're not
your own. You're the Lord's. Therefore
glorify him in your body, in your person, and in your spirit. Spirit of Christ. Spirit, God's
Holy Spirit. Because you see, you know you
know that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost. God indwells
us by his Spirit. Then we can glorify God. Then we can. Indeed we can. Because of the indwelling of
the Spirit. We can't do anything in and of
ourselves by nature, because our flesh is weak, but under
the power of the Spirit we can do that which is required of
us. God has not exhorted us to do
anything that cannot be done by His grace and the power of
His Spirit. That's a thought, friends, isn't
it? There's a true one, there's a true statement. God has given
us his commands and precepts and given us the gracious exhortations.
They can all be fulfilled by the power of the Spirit of God. Our flesh is we, absolutely. But you see, you're not in the
flesh, but in the Spirit. We've been born. with a price. What a mercy then to be in the
true Church of God and to be sweetly and blessedly confirmed
that we are amongst the Lord's dear people because you see the
apostate church are deceived. The arch deceiver is the devil
and he deceives men and women even in formal religion. Because
they don't know the Lord, they don't know the truth, and they've
got no defense. So whatever Satan says, or false
prophets, or false teachers, they accept it, and they become
deceived. That's the apostate church, abroad
the earth. But there is the true church
of God, the true church of God, and spoken of in this blessed
way and manner, Well, may we yield obedience then unto the
Lord. To the head of the church is
Jesus Christ, friends, from beginning to end. And there's no way that
a child of God can ever be deceived because the Lord Jesus is the
why. He's the truth. And he's the life and the Holy
Spirit of God is the spirit of truth. It's all truth. And the truth shall make you
free. Then shall you be free indeed. Know why the child of God can
be deceived? No. Safe, secure. And the distinguishing grace
and virtue of Jesus Christ will set you apart from an ungodly
world. I think it's absolutely beautiful,
that account of that woman. Somebody has touched me. And the disciples of Christ,
the apostles, Lord, they'll see us, the multitude about thee. and sayers to touch me. Somebody,
the Lord says. Who's that somebody, friends?
Well, it's you, isn't it? It's you. You're somebody. The Lord has given you a body.
What for? So that you might possess the
spirit of the living God within your body and within your spirit. The Lord has given you a body.
Ah, when the Lord Jesus came, a body has now prepared me, O
Lord. And the eternal Son of God came
into this world, and a body was prepared Him. And in that body
He lived a perfect life, a holy life, a sacred life. And He gave
His body, that one sacrifice for sins forever. Under the Levitical
dispensation, Thousands of sacrifices had been offered upon the altar
of sacrifice. But you see, it was only, it
was a type of that one sacrifice, for sin forever, the holy, sacred
humanity and body of Christ. So that body was prepared him,
and the body was prepared you, dear friend, and me, and contained
in that body will be the work of God, and it'll be made manifest
in your day and generation. You can't hide grace. You can't
cover grace. It makes itself manifest in a
person's life. Can't be hid. No, friends, that
woman couldn't be hidden, nor can you, nor can anyone who possesses
God's grace and virtue and truth. For years I carried the exercise
of the ministry. I didn't speak about it to anyone,
but I couldn't be heard, because people used to speak to me about
it. I never spoke to them, but people
used to speak to me. I couldn't be heard. What the
Lord was doing in my heart, friends, was being made manifest and shown
to others. You can't hide the grace of God,
friends. No, the Lord distinguishes and
sets apart his dear people by his virtuous grace. What a mercy
it is, because we should serve him and do serve him in our day
and generation by the grace that he gives. Being set apart, being
purchased, being bought with a price. And friends, no greater
price. than the precious shed blood
of Jesus Christ. He redeemed the whole church
with his precious blood. Well did the hymn writer say,
invaluable blood. Well, this godly woman then,
and the dear Redeemer, the precious person of Jesus Christ, He gave
his life for his bride. He gave his life for the church. He loved her. Yea, he loves her
with an everlasting love, as he sung of in the opening hymn.
Well, dear friends, what a mercy to be within the true Church
of God, to be a member in particular. And the Lord knows everyone,
known unto God, of all his ways from the beginning of the world.
Yes, and known unto God, all his dear people. He can't forget
you, because your names are graven on the palms of his hands. They're
graven there. What we cost him, friends. What
we cost Christ in suffering. This is why he can never ever
forget his dear people. He knows everyone because of
the cost, because of that great cost. Well dear friends, what
a mercy to be known by God and to be loved by God. What did
Peter sign? Lord thou knowest all things. Thou knowest that I love thee. And he could say that because
the Lord loved him. And although he had been left,
yet his love to the Lord was still the same. Christ's love
is an everlasting love. And his dear people love him. Oh that my soul, the hymn writer
said, could love and praise him more. I'm sure that's the exercise
of every true child of God. You desire to praise him more. Well, in the full gracious, holy,
liberty of eternal glory, then we shall praise him as we all. At thy right hand, O Lord, there
are pleasures forevermore. I shall be satisfied when I awake
with thy likeness, that I praise thee as thou art, without cessation,
eternally the same. Well, who can find this virtuous
woman? The Lord found you, didn't he,
friend? The Lord found you. Yeah. Like he found the woman at the
well of Samaria. Yes, he found her. He changed
her heart. He renewed her will. He turned
her feet to Zion's hill. And what a blessed testimony
she then could give. Come, see a man that told me
all things that ever I did. Is not this the Christ? And we believe and are sure,
Peter said, that thou art the Christ, the Son of the living
God. Blessed art thou, Barjona. Flesh and blood hath not revealed
this unto thee, but my Father, which is in heaven. Well, the time has gone this
afternoon, dear friends. We must draw to a close. May the God of all grace, mercifully
and graciously. Bless us each with the saved
knowledge that we are within the sacred compass of his eternal
love and members of his mystical body and a part of the true church
of Jesus Christ. Amen. We conclude our service by singing
hymn number 360, God in His earthly temples lays foundations for
His heavenly praise. He likes the tents of Jacob well,
but still in Zion loves to dwell. When God makes up his last account
of natives in his holy mount, it will be an honor to appear
as one new born or nourished there. In number 360. If ever, if ever thou may'st,
Thou may'st at all, if ever, any way'st, The ice and salt
of Jacob fell, But still he saw and loved Israel. ? Christmas Eve is a temperate
hour ? ? That made the night and morning glow ? ? The plates
and bowls ? When I go to sleep, where should she sleep, deep,
rich, and free? but your return is kind of odd. But the good side ? Of Zion's own ? ? El Sifriot
? ? Lack of a pillar ? ? Thy faint children ? ? Bending ?
? Egypt, land ? ? Egypt, land ? ? Egypt, land ? ? Egypt, land ? When I turn in, I feel them in.
Now I can see, I'm in the game. ? In water's spring ? ? In early
summer ? ? It was a girl ? ? Of age fifteen ? His son in law, still he hath
known, when truth appears at the mirror, on a bridge O Lord, we would acknowledge thy
great goodness to us in the services of the sanctuary today. May thy name, O Lord, have been
glorified and magnified thereby. May there be spiritual profit
and encouragement for us each, to dismiss us with thy favour,
grant journey and mercies in peace and safety. May thy grace, Lord Jesus, the
Father's love and the communion of thy Holy Spirit be with us
all now and for evermore. Amen and Amen.