Let us commence our service this
evening by singing together the first part of hymn 87 to the
tune Adoration 528. With David's Lord and ours, The covenant once was made, whose
bonds are firm and sure, whose glories ne'er shall fade, signed
by the sacred three in one, in mutual love, ere time began. Hymn 87, first part. O'er the land of the free and
the home of the brave? Signify the sacred theme of the
year, Jonah, that I may care. Firm as the lasting edge, this covenant shall endure. His potentials and wills Make
ev'ry blessing sure. When ruin shakes all angels pray,
Its trumps and its trumps and trumps say, ? Hither the seas of praise ? ?
Have peace and mercy firm ? ? That all the blood-bought race ? O sacred, deep, without a shore,
Who shall thy limits ever explore? Here where thy feet shall fall,
Believer, thou shalt see. Raised to restore thy soul, Thee
with me I shall God behold, a chosen
sheep. In Zion's home. And when through Jordan's flood,
Thy God shall bid thee go, His arm shall thee defend, And
man question every curve. And in His covenant thou shalt
live, sufficient strength to bend thee through. Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God in Paul's epistle to the Hebrews and chapter 8. Hebrews chapter 8. Now of the things which we have
spoken, this is the psalm. We have such a high priest who
is set on the right hand of the throne of the majesty in the
heavens, a minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which
the Lord pitched, and not man. For every high priest is ordained
to offer gifts and sacrifices, wherefore it is of necessity
that this man have somewhat also to offer. For if he were on earth,
he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer
gifts according to the law. who serve unto the example and
shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when
he was about to make the tabernacle. For see, saith he, that they'll
make all things according to the pattern showed to thee in
the mount. But now hath he obtained a more
excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a
better covenant, which was established upon better promises. For if
that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place
have been sought for the second. For finding fault with them,
he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make
a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house
of Judah, not according to the covenant I made with their fathers
in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of
the land of Egypt, because they continued not in my covenant,
and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. For this is the covenant
that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith
the Lord, I will put my laws into their mind, and write them
in their hearts. I will be to them a God, and
they shall be to me a people. And they shall not teach every
man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know
the Lord, for all shall know me from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their
unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember
no more. In that, he saith, a new covenant
he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth
old is ready to vanish away. 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, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
we bow before thy great majesty. We come as poor sinners, needy
sinners, empty sinners. Lord, sin is a great trouble
to us. Sin lives in us. and we painfully
feel it. We have to so often say with
the dear apostle, O wretched man, that I am who shall deliver
me from the body of this death. Oh, but I thank God through Jesus
Christ, our Lord. Lord, that is our deliverance
in Jesus Christ, our Lord, in what he has done, in what he
has accomplished, in what he has fulfilled, O most gracious
Lord, our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest
frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. And to whom coming as unto
a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God and
precious. And we read, O Lord, in thy word
that we are chosen in him. And we are saved in him. We are
redeemed in him. All our hope is in him. Oh, we
do come then in all our need as poor sinners. And we would
be found 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 thereof, and is now set down at the right
hand of the majesty on high. Oh, we thank thee for such a
glorious gospel. We thank thee for such a full
salvation. We pray that thou wouldst come
and give us a token for good tonight, that we may drink of
that precious gospel, that we may eat of the bread of life,
that we may truly worship thee. Oh, we do pray, most gracious
Lord, that that wonderful grace of our Lord Jesus Christ may
rest and abide upon us tonight. We thank thee for those beautiful
words, and he giveth more grace, for, Lord, we feel to need it.
We need it day by day. We need the eyes of our understanding
open. We need the cleansing blood of
Jesus to take away all sin, to reconcile us unto thee. We pray,
dear Lord, as the dear hymn writer says daily, I would repent of
sin, daily wash in Jesus' blood. Gracious God, grant that that
may be so tonight, that the sweet savour of the gospel may be known
and felt in our hearts, in our assembly, that the Lord Jesus
Christ may be exalted as a Prince and as a Saviour, for to give
faith and repentance and remission of sins. We thank Thee for the
sacred glory of His person, the wonderful glory of the incarnation
of the Son of God, and the wonderful glory of his holy life, made
of a woman, made under the law, that he might redeem them that
are under the law. Oh, we thank thee for that perfect
obedience of our Lord Jesus Christ to thy righteous law, whom he
has fulfilled and honoured and magnified, that righteous law,
on the behalf of thy people, and brought in everlasting righteousness. O gracious God, we thank Thee
for that everlasting righteousness of Jesus, the Son of God. And
that we thank Thee that He's the Christ of God, the Anointed
One, the Messiah. And the Spirit is poured on Him
from on high. We thank Thee that most gracious
Lord for that holy perfect and spotless sacrifice of Calvary,
where the lamb was slain, where sin has been put away, for he
laid upon him the iniquity of us all. And thou, Lord Jesus,
hast suffered in the ruined place instead of thy people, and thou
didst die for our sins, paid the ultimate price for our sins,
lay down thy life for thy friends. We thank thee that thou didst
die and rise again and destroyed death and him that hath the power
of death that is the devil. We thank thee that thou hast
bodily ascended into heaven and that sacred record that we have
that the disciples beheld thee ascending bodily into heaven
And we have the sacred record of prophecy. Lift up your heads,
O ye gates, be ye lifted up, the everlasting doors, and the
King of glory shall come in, who is this King of glory. Oh, we do thank thee for the
King of glory. And we do thank thee, most gracious
Lord, that we indeed have a great high priest who is passed into
the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God. and that he will come again
in like manner as he went from the earth. O most gracious Lord,
we look for thy appearing. We look for thy appearing in
our own souls. We look for thy appearing in
our circumstances. We look for thy appearing when
thou wilt come a second time without sin unto salvation. And that what thou hast so wonderfully
promised to thy people that thou hast gone to prepare a place,
and will come again. O most gracious Lord, we wait
for thy appearing. While our days on earth are lengthened,
may we give them, Lord, to thee, cheered by hope and daily strength,
and grant that it may be so, Lord, to present our bodies a
living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto thee, that which is our
reasonable service, and that we be not conformed to this world,
but may we be transformed by the renewing of our mind, that
we might know what that good and perfect and acceptable will
of the Lord is. Remember us as a church, as a
congregation. Remember our beloved brethren,
the deacons, and give them grace, wisdom, Remember each one of
our brethren and sisters in church fellowship. O gracious God, we
do pray that we may indeed bear one another's burdens, fulfilling
the law of Christ, looking on the things of another, that we
may love each other, serve each other. O gracious God, do grant
that it may be so. and that we pray that we may
be enabled to do good unto all men, especially unto the household
of faith. Hearken, O Lord, we do humbly
beseech thee for thy great name's sake. And we pray, most gracious
Lord, that thou, in thy precious mercy, wouldst be with the whole of
our congregation from the youngest to the eldest. Have mercy upon
us each. Work mightily. Work powerfully. Work effectually. In our midst,
O Lord, we do beseech them. In this new year, may we see
thy goings in the sanctuary. May we see thy power and thy
glory as thou usest to be in the sanctuary. May the Lord Jesus
be exalted. May poor sinners look and live.
May the prodigals return, and the wonderful power of thy grace
to be seen in this, that those that are as far from God as sheep
can run may be turned by the mighty power of thy grace, that
real repentance, godly sorrow for sin, and faith in our Lord
Jesus Christ may be given. Hear us, Lord, we humbly beseech
thee. Pull down these strongholds of
Satan, set up the kingdom of the Lord Jesus in the hearts
of sinners, we do humbly beseech of thee for thy great namesake. And O Lord God, we do pray that
thou in thy precious mercy would hear prayer for the little ones
and the children, bless them indeed, for the young friends
as they stand on the threshold of life journey, guide them,
O thou great Jehovah, we do humbly beseech you, make them pilgrims
in this barren land, make this world to be barren and unfruitful
unto them, so that they may seek unto thee and look unto thee,
and be led in those green pastures of the gospel, and that there
may be a generation that shall follow on to serve thee here
in their day and in their generation. O let thy work appear unto thy
servants, and thy glory unto their children. O Lord, we do
humbly beseech thee. We do pray for parents, that
thou wouldst give them needed grace and wisdom, guide them,
direct them in the bringing up of their children, and graciously
bless them together as families. May the family all to be raised.
May the word of God be read. For all things are sanctified
by the word of God and prayer. All that it may be so in our
homes, we do humbly beseech of thee. We pray that most gracious
God, that thou wouldst remember each and every one in the midst
of the journey of life. All that thou wouldst be gracious.
Draw them unto Christ. Draw them to thy footstool. Dear
Saviour, let Thy beauties be my soul's eternal food, and grace
command my heart away from all created good. May it be so, Lord,
we do humbly beseech Thee among us here, that we may see the
prodigal's return, that we may see the wonderful power of Thy
grace in our midst. And remember each one of us in
the evening time of life's journey, and graciously bless, we do humbly
beseech thee, prepare us for all thy will. Remember all thy
servants as they labour in word and doctrine upon the hills of
Zion. May they dip their foot in oil.
May they be made acceptable unto the brethren. May there be signs
to follow the preaching of the word, and may there be the settlement
of pastors among the churches, and the outpouring of thy spirit,
And we pray thee, the great Lord of the harvest, to send true
labourers into the harvest. Do hear us, O Lord. We humbly
beseech thee for thy great namesake. And O Lord God, we do pray for
all in trouble and trial and perplexity and sorrow and bereavement,
that thou wouldst graciously uphold, strengthen, supply all
their needs, O Lord, we do humbly beseech thee for thy great namesake. Remember the churches up and
down the land, work mightily, work powerfully, that instead
of seeing the depletion and the closing of chapels, that we may
be favoured to see the opening of chapels, that we may be favoured
to see the wonderful and almighty work of thy Spirit. O, do hear
us, Lord, we humbly beseech thee for thy great namesake, and grant
that we may see Zion renewed and replenished and revived,
and that thy people may be built up in their most holy faith,
and that we may grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord
and Saviour Jesus Hearken, O Lord, we do humbly beseech thee, for
thy great name's sake be with us as we turn to thy holy word. Come and open thy word to our
heart and to our understanding. Come and grant that we may delve
into the deep that couches beneath in thy word, and that that may
be sealed into our hearts. We ask, with the forgiveness
of all our many sins, Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. Let us now sing together hymn
number 132. The tune is Lloyd 172. a friend there is, your voices
join, ye saints to praise his name, whose truth and kindness
are divine, whose love's a constant flame, hymn 132. O praise the Lord, sing his joy,
his praise to praise his name. His truth and right let all deem, Whose broad stripes and bright
stars through the perilous fight O'er the ramparts we watched,
were so gallantly streaming? He raised him from the dead. He raised him from the dead. ? Peace of the world ? ? All nature
loves ? ? No change and no response ? ? Give you to me ? ? And stay
with us ? ? From our eternal song ? ? And crowned the King ? ? To help
His way ? ? And have set up His throne ? ? Behind Him lie ? day of salvation. ? And in the years ? ? That comforts
draw ? ? Before it's so rare, rare ? ? He never takes away
? ? Him shall be praised far and
near ? ? As far as day, as far as day ? As far as day, as far
as day ? And praises to the heavens ? ? The Lord is come ? ? Is come
for you and me ? Greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, I will direct your attention to Hebrews chapter
8 and we'll read verses 10, 11 and 12. for our text. Hebrews chapter 8, verses 10,
11 and 12. For this is the covenant that
I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith
the Lord. I will put my laws into their
mind and write them in their hearts. I will be to them a God,
and that they shall be to me a people. And they shall not
teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying,
Know the law. For all shall know me, from the
least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their
unrighteousness, and their sins, and their iniquities, will I
remember No more. For this is the covenant that
I will make with the House of Israel after those days. These words of promise that are
spoken by Jeremiah, words of prophecy of the coming of the
day of Christ and the ushering in of the New Testament. And
when he speaks here of a covenant, the word covenant is the same
as testament. So he speaks here of the old
covenant and he speaks here of the new covenant. And it relates
exactly to Holy Scripture. the Old Testament and the New
Testament. The life of the Jews under the
law and the life of the New Testament church under Christ. What a distinction
there is to be made between those two covenants. The covenant of
the law is essentially a covenant of works. Do this and live. The covenant of grace is literally
a covenant of grace. With the law there was attached
to it a solemn curse that if you did not do those things that
are in the law or you broke those holy commandments then there
was a solemn curse attached to it. The law was added because of
transgressions We read in the Word of God that we read that
the law is our schoolmaster unto Christ. But when we're in Christ,
we're no longer under a schoolmaster. And these are the same things
here that the dear apostle is setting before us concerning
the Old and New Testament. The Old Testament pointed to
Christ. Christ was revealed in the sacrifices
and offerings that were done in the tabernacle worship. And
we see in those, and the godly Israelites that were taught by
the Spirit, it was revealed unto them the wonderful glory that
should follow those days of the law. So my beloved friends, the apostle
here as he commences this chapter he says now of the things which
we have spoken this is the sum and really he's going back through
chapter four chapter five chapter six and chapter seven and in
those chapters he clearly beautifully sets before us the sacred person
of christ as our great high priest In chapter 4, he says, such a
high priest have we? We have such a high priest that
is passed into the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God. Let us hold fast
our profession. For we have not a 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. This is what he's referring to
when he said of the things that we have spoken, this is the son.
And he's gathering all those things together. Because he,
in some lengthy way, he expounded upon the glorious person of Christ
as our great high priest. And now he gathers it all together.
And it's something that the apostle often follows in that way in
his teaching he will extensively speak about a certain doctrine
and then he'll gather it all together this is the sum this
is the substance of what we have been speaking chapter five he
says for every high priest taken from among men is obtained ordained
for men in things pertaining to god and and he speaks there
of the the high priest under the law, under the old covenant. And then he goes to verse 5,
so also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest,
but he that said unto him, thou art my son, today have I begotten
thee. As he saith also in another place,
this is from Psalm 110, thou art a priest forever after the
order of Melchizedek. Then he speaks of the glory of
Christ, who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up
prayers and supplication with strong crying and tears unto
him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in
that he feared, though he were a son, yet learned he obedience. And this is what he means. The
things which we have spoken, this is the son. It says in verse nine of chapter
five, and being made perfect, he became the author of eternal
salvation unto all them that obey him. And he goes on in the
chapter 6, we looked at it last week, didn't we? How beautifully
he sets before us the person of our Lord Jesus Christ as our
great High Priest. I believe it was last week we
spoke from those words at the end of chapter 6, where in God
willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the
immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath. That
by two immutable things, what are those two immutable things?
The Lord swear and will not repent. That's an immutable thing. He
swear by himself. That's an immutable thing, something
that can never change. And the other immutable thing
in which it was impossible for God to lie, to deceive. It's impossible for God to do
that. Then he speaks of this hope,
who has fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before
us, which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure
and steadfast, and which enters into that within the veil with
a the forerunner is for us entered even Jesus and high priest forever
after the order of Melchizedek. He goes on in the seventh chapter,
still speaking of our Lord Jesus Christ, quoting on a number of
occasions that beautiful word from Psalm 110, thou art a priest
forever after the order of Melchizedek. He goes on in verse 22, By so
much was Jesus made assured to have a better testament, or covenant,
a better testament. And they truly were many priests
because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death.
But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. How beautiful. Wherefore, he
is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto
God by him, seeing he ever liveth. to make intercession for them. This great High Priest, this
unchangeable, immutable, eternal Son of God, the rock upon which
the Church is built. He says here in the last verse
of chapter 7, for the law maketh men high priests, which have
infirmity. but the word of the oath which
was since the law maketh the Son who is consecrated for evermore. Now of the things which we have
spoken, this is the Son. We have such a high priest who
is set on the right hand of the throne of the majesty in the
heavens. A minister of the sanctuary and
of the true tabernacle. What he means by that It's the
tabernacle worship under the Old Testament. He says here in
the Hebrews it was a worldly sanctuary. He means it was here
on earth. But it only set forth, typified
what Christ was to do. And what Christ has done is now
entered into heaven minister of the sanctuary and of the true
tabernacle which the Lord pitched to not man seeing he goes on
he speaks here in chapter 8 of the of the priesthood under the
law that's five who serve under the example and shadow of heavenly
things as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make
the tabernacle foresees hath he that thou make all things
according to the patterns showed thee in the mount. That was the
Old Testament worship, covenant worship under the law. But now
hath he obtained a more excellent ministry. You see, the gospel
excels by far the law. In the Corinthians, the Apostle
Paul, he speaks of the glory that was under the law. And then
he goes on to speak of the glory that excelleth, which is under
the gospel. Because in the gospel, in the
person of Christ, the law is fulfilled and honored and magnified
on the behalf of his people. The Old Testament was conditional
on the obedience of those that were under the law, something
they couldn't do. The apostle in Romans chapter
eight, he says, for what the law could not do, in that it
was weak through the flesh. No, he's not saying that the
law itself was weak. He's saying that because of our
total inability to keep it, that was the weakness in it. It couldn't
give life. It couldn't give you the ability
to keep its commandments. No, the gospel is totally different.
He says in verse 8 here, but finding fault with them, he's
not finding fault with the law is finding fault with the Jews.
Notice this, finding fault with them. Not it, but them. That is with those that were
under the law and had the law. Behold the days come, saith the
Lord. Again, this is a quotation from
Jeremiah 31. Behold the days come, saith the
Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel. and with the house of Judah,
not according to the covenant I made with their fathers in
the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the
land of Egypt, because they continued not in my covenant. And I regarded
them not, saith the Lord, for this is the covenant that I will
make with the house of Israel after those days, after those
days of the Old Testament. And now, were in the days of
the New Testament. The New Testament of our Lord
and Saviour, Jesus Christ. It's an unconditional covenant. It doesn't depend on our obedience. Of course, we are to be obedient
to it, but it doesn't depend on our obedience. It depends
on Christ's obedience, on what Christ has done, on what Christ
has fulfilled. He was made of a woman made under
the law that he might redeem them that are under the law.
You see, living as a man under the law, he fulfilled it. What
you can't do, what I can't do, what no man ever has been able
to do, this man, the man Christ Jesus, he has fulfilled, he has
honoured, he has magnified that holy, righteous law in thought,
word and deed. As we read in the Word, He did
no sin. He did no sin. Sin is any transgression
of the law of God. He did no sin. He never transgressed
the law in thought, word or deed. But He fulfilled it. He honoured
it. He magnified it. What a glorious Redeemer. What an almighty Saviour. For this is the covenant that
I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith
the Lord. I will put my laws into their
mind and write them in their hearts and I will be to them
a God and they shall be to me a people. I will put my laws
into their mind and write them in their hearts. This is the
gospel. the grace of God. This is the
gospel of the New Testament of our Lord Jesus Christ. But what
is spoken of here in this verse 10, it is the divine and blessed
work of the Holy Spirit in the heart. When he enters into the
soul, when he quickens that soul into life, when he gives them to feel and
know their sinfulness, their emptiness, their poverty, their
insufficiency. That is a part of the divine
and living work of the living spirit of the living God in the
hearts of the Lord's living people. He dwells in the heart of the
Lord's people. I will put my laws into their
mind. On the one hand, the Holy Spirit
He sometimes bring that holy righteous law of the Ten Commandments
into the heart and mind of his people to convince them of their
sin, to show them their lost estate, to show them that they're
ruined, that they're undone. But I don't believe that is what
is meant by this, I will put my laws into their mind. That
is one aspect of it, the holy law of God to convince us of
our sin, It's the law of grace. It's what
the apostle in his epistles, he calls the law of faith. I
will put my laws into their mind, the sacred precepts of the gospel
of Jesus Christ. And the Holy Spirit, he gives
the spirit of faith. That's a divine act of the Holy
Ghost in the heart of a poor awakened sinner She gives faith. Faith looks to Jesus Christ. Faith cleaves to Jesus Christ. Faith casts all her care on Jesus
Christ. And what the Apostle says here
in chapter 6, which hope we have as an anchor for the soul, where?
In the finished work of Christ. In what Christ has done. In what
Christ has accomplished. We see the law broken. And then
we see it fulfilled in the New Testament, fulfilled in the glorious
person of our Lord Jesus Christ. You know, even all those types
and shadows under the old dispensation, all the sacrifices and all the
diverse things that the Jews had to do, which were typical,
every single one of those types are fulfilled in the glorious
person of Jesus, the Son of God. He fulfilled every single one
of those times. He fulfilled every jot and tittle
of the holy law of God, that law that was against us. He fulfilled
it. And the Holy Spirit reveals Christ in the hearts of the Lord's people,
a mighty work of grace. My mind, and I know I often remind
you of it, but there is some very deep teaching in it, in
the 7th chapter of John's Gospel, and there he speaks of the gift
of the Holy Ghost. The Lord Jesus preaches the Gospel,
John 7 verse 37. In the last day, that great day
of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst,
let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the
Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living
water. But this he spake of the Spirit,
which they that believe on him should receive. For the Holy
Ghost was not yet given. This shows us the difference
between the Old Testament and the New Testament. For the Holy
Ghost was not yet given, because that Jesus was not yet glorified. And on the day of Pentecost,
according to the promise of the Lord, the Holy Spirit was poured
forth from on high. And the apostles preached with,
under the great power and anointing of the Holy Ghost, and 3,000
souls were converted under that short sermon of Peter. You see,
my beloved friends, the mighty power of the Spirit of God. And what happened to those people?
The Holy Ghost entered their hearts. The Holy Ghost convinced
them of their sin. The Holy Ghost showed them their
need as poor sinners. And the Holy Ghost working faith
in their hearts, they believed on the Lord Jesus Christ as the
way, the truth, and the life, as the only true God, as the
Savior of mankind. Christ was revealed to them.
As the apostles they say, him hath God exalted as a prince
and as a saviour for to give faith, repentance and remission
of sins. I will put my laws into their
mind and write them in their hearts and I will be to them
a God and they shall be to me a people. I will be to them a
God and they shall be to me a people. How many times do we read in
the Word of God, my people, the Lord's people? What's he speaking of when he
says my people? My people shall never be ashamed. He means those that were chosen
by the Father, redeemed by the Son on Calvary. Death destroyed
by Christ on their behalf. And open to them is eternal life
through Jesus Christ our Lord. When he ascended up on high,
when he led captivity captive. You know, we've already quoted
it from chapter four. For such an high priest have
we who is passed into the heavens. Jesus, the Son of God. He's the
mediator of the new covenant. which is established on better
promises, this New Covenant, this New Testament of our Lord
and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Isaac Watts, he, speaking of
the Old Covenant and New Covenant and how under the Old Covenant
they had to have divers washings and they had to have sacrifices
and offerings and do, All manner of things, three times a year
they have to go up to the feasts in Jerusalem. All manner of things
that they had to do continually. Isaac Watts says, but we, and
he's speaking of New Testament believers, but we have no such
lengths to go, nor wander far abroad. Why? It's all in Christ. It's all received by faith. It's
all centered in his glorious person. When he is revealed,
light, life, and liberty flow into the soul by the power of
the gospel of Jesus Christ. Now, he says here, and they shall
not teach every man. This is under the New Testament.
Under the Old Testament, the law was taught by the precepts
of men. They passed it on from generation
If you look into the book of Deuteronomy, it says very clearly
that they were to set these things before their children and teach
them to honour the Lord and to do this and to do that. So it
was taught by the precepts of men. But he says under the New
Testament, they shall not teach every man his neighbour and every
man his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for all shall know
me from the least to the greatest. All those that are truly in Zion
are brought there by the Holy Ghost. They're brought into Zion,
no more a stranger or a guest, but like a child at home. They're
brought there by divine teaching, the inward power of the Holy
Ghost. Now, under the New Testament,
we know that we cannot give our children grace. We teach our
children, and rightly so, We teach them the word of God, the
ways of God, the truth of God. We bring them up to come to the
house of God and to honor the Lord, et cetera. But we know
that we cannot give them grace. We know that we cannot quicken
their souls. We can't give them spiritual
life. We can't give them faith. We can't give them repentance.
We would if we could. Now sadly, My beloved friends,
there are some Christian churches, many I would say, where they
do teach every man his neighbour. They do it by the precept of
men, and they persuade their young friends to get baptised.
They say, do you believe on Christ? Yes, hallelujah brother, you're
going to heaven, we'll baptise you in the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, without any vital inward
spiritual experience. They persuade them, they teach
them. But you know, friends, we can't give our children grace. We cannot quicken their souls
into life. We pray earnestly that the Lord
would. And that the Lord would give
them real repentance, godly sorrow for sin. And what the godly parent
does is watch and wait and pray. over their child, maybe a wayward
child, but they watch, and they wait, and they pray for the marks
of grace, for the marks of the divine work of the spirit in
the heart, for the change in their life and in their attitude.
They watch for it, they pray for it, they seek for it, but
they can't do it themselves. And this is what this means,
they shall not teach every man his neighbor, and every man his
brother, Say no the Lord for all that is all that are truly
brought into Zion is done by the mighty work of the Spirit
of God in their heart. For all shall know me from the
least to the greatest. Those are truly in Zion. They are in Christ. They believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ. They're raised up to hope in
the Lord Jesus Christ. And you know, that changes. That changes the person. And
we look for those changes and we wait for those changes and
we pray for those changes. And he says, for I will be merciful
to their unrighteousness and their sins and their iniquities
will I remember No more. They're sins. Sin is any transgression
of the law of God. They're sins. We each have personal
sins. And the word of God says very
clearly, the soul that sinneth, it shall die. It shall die. That's the solemn sentence of
the holy law But here we have the new covenant
of the New Testament, for I will be merciful to their unrighteousness. The Lord Jesus, this man, who the Holy God man,
the man Christ Jesus, this man receiveth sinners and eateth
with them. this precious Redeemer. This
precious Redeemer, he says to poor broken-hearted sinners,
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, and ye shall find rest
for your souls. For I will be merciful to their
unrighteousness and their sins, and their iniquities. You know,
you think of that, I've often told you at the time I was reading
one of the old Puritans, and he was expounding, he was a man
very learned, he knew the original languages, and he was expounding
on the word iniquity. He was actually expounding on
all the different names, such as transgression and sin, and
iniquity. And when he came to speak of
iniquity, he said, really, it is referring to that indwelling
sin that is in our very nature. Sin lives in us. Sin lives in
us. Our original sin. We're born
with it. the child of God, it's a great
trouble to the true child of God, that root of iniquity that
is in their heart. As the Holy Spirit convinces
them of their sin and shows them their sinfulness, their corruption.
This is not just something at the beginning of the Christian
experience, it's something that goes on right the way through
the life of the true child of God. And that by the Holy Spirit's
teaching they're brought to see that they have a sinful, wicked
heart which is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.
All this sin and iniquity in the world is here in our hearts.
And you know, friends, it's a very crucifying thing to see that
and to realize that and to feel it. To see sin smarts but slightly. To own with lip confession is
easier still, but oh, feel cuts deep beyond expression. That
feeling sense of our unrighteousness and the wonderful glory of the
gospel of Jesus Christ and their sins and their iniquities will
I remember no more. Why? Because their sins were
laid on Christ. He laid upon him the iniquities
You think of that. All our original sin. He laid
upon him the iniquity of us all. It's all been atoned for. It's
all put away. And he says here in their sins
and their iniquity will I remember no more. This is under this new
covenant, this new testament of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's
Son, cleanseth us All sin. And then those beautiful promises
in the Old Testament. Their sins and their iniquities
will I remember no more. He says here, and it's a quotation
from the Old Testament. As far as the east is from the
west, so far have I removed thy sins from thee, O Israel. You think of that. How far is
the east from the west? It's an infinite distance. That's
how far. He has removed our sins from
us. I have cast thy sins into the
depths of the sea. What did he mean, never to be
seen again? Never to be seen again. They will never be remembered
because Christ suffered, bled and died for our sins. Christ
fulfilled and honored and magnified the law on our behalf. Then in the Garden of Gethsemane
our sin was laid upon him, imputed to him as if it was his
sin. And he being in agony, sweat
as it were, great drops of blood falling down to the ground, so
great was the pressure, the intense pressure of the weight of the
sin of the whole church resting on him. This is where we see
he is the son of God. that tremendous weight that rested
on him. And so great were the awful sufferings
of his sacred human nature that there appeared an angel from
heaven strengthening him under the weight of the sin and iniquity
of the church. But he bore those sins. He bore our sins. The apostle,
he says in one place that he nailed our sins to his cross.
He nailed our sins to his cross. That's why he was crucified.
That's why he suffered. That's why he bled. That's why
he died. He died for our sins. He died for our sins. Peter in
his, first epistle in chapter 1 and he says in verse 18 for
as much as you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible
things as silver and gold from your vain conversation received
by tradition from your fathers but with the precious blood of
Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot who verily was
foreordained before the foundation of the world but was made manifest
in these last times for you, who by him do believe in God,
that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory, that your
faith and hope might be in God. You see, it's in the finished
work of Christ. It's in the sufferings of Christ
on Calvary. It's in the giving of his life
for ransom for all, I lay down my life for my friends. Oh, that
suffering Saviour. What He passed through, we cannot
even begin to describe. His visage was so marred more
than any man's, more than the sons of men. The visage of Christ
and His holy human nature. Oh, the tremendous sufferings.
He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace
was upon him, and with his stripes ye are healed. You know in Peter, and the second
chapter of the first epistle, and he speaks in the verse 21,
for even here to were ye caught, that is to suffering, because
Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that ye
should follow his steps, who did no sin, neither was guile
found in his mouth, who when he was reviled, reviled not again,
when he suffered he threatened not, but committed himself to
him that judges righteously, who his own self bare our sins
in his own body on the truth, that we being dead to sin should
live unto righteousness, by whose stripes ye were healed, for ye
were as sheep going astray, but are now returned unto the shepherd
and bishop of your souls. For this is the covenant that
I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith
the Lord. Notice he still calls the Christian
Church, the House of Israel. He's speaking of the New Testament.
This is the covenant I will make with the House of Israel after
those days, saith the Lord. I will put my laws into their
mind and write them in their hearts. I will be to them a God,
and they shall be to me a people. And they shall not teach every
man his neighbor and every man his brother, saying, Know the
Lord, for all shall know me from the least to the greatest. For
I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities
will I remember no more. Come then, repenting sinner,
come, and trust upon his grace. Oh, what thou wilt, the total
sum is cancelled by his death. May the Lord add his blessing. Let us now sing together hymn
number 217. The tune is Ransom, 722. Let Zion in her songs record
the honours of her dying Lord, triumphant over sin. How sweet
the song, there's none can say, but he whose sins are washed
away, who feels the same. with him. Hymn 217. O speak the song of praise and
of sing, as the angels sing. Son of God, you will reign with
me, We give the merit of our own,
but shall condemn before thy throne, our oaths on Jesus' blest. In heart and in mind we pray,
That we shall be as sinners saved, And raised from redeeming pain. We'll sing, we'll sing while
life shall last, and when at last the cagel's blast, the sleeping
dove shall rise. Then in a song forever new That
loyalty will still pursue Throughout the azure sky If then, O God, love's right
hand, Right everlasting hand should stand, O'er all the powerful praise, Until we breathe the strength
of grace, We'll sing ever the song of peace, Where sinners 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.