the notices for the coming week
if the Lord will. Your pastor will preach here
next Lord's Day at 10.30 and two o'clock. Your pastor will
preach here on Thursday evening at seven o'clock and there will
be a prayer meeting on Tuesday evening also at seven o'clock. There is an email of appreciation
from Mombasa Mission on the notice board regarding the Christmas
Day collection. May the Lord help us to begin
our worship this morning with the singing of hymn 118 to the
tune Ridgemouth 213. Thou dear Redeemer, dying Lamb,
we love to hear of thee. No music's like thy charming
name, nor half so sweet can be. Hymn 118 to the tune Ridgemouth
213. Thou dear Redeemer, ? We love to hear of thee ? ? The
music's like thy charming name ? ? Rock of sun, sweet can be
? again thy voice in mercy to us
be. And in the priesthood we'll rejoice, Thou great Melchizedek. And Jesus shall be still above
thee, ? All in this world be saved ?
? We'll sing the Jesus' happy name ? ? When all is at rest
? May we adhere in God's command
With all thy favour draw Then will we sing those sweet
old lullabies, And bright shall be our song. We have two readings from God's
holy word this morning. The first to be found in the
Song of Solomon and chapter one. The Song of Solomon and chapter
one. The Song of Songs, which is Solomon's. Let him kiss me with the kisses
of his mouth, for thy love is better than wine. Because of
the savour of thy good ointments, thy name is as ointment poured
forth. Therefore, do the virgins love
thee. Draw me, we will run after thee. The king hath brought me into
his chambers. We will be glad and rejoice in
thee. We will remember thy love more
than wine. The upright love thee. I am black,
but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar,
as the curtains of Solomon. Look not upon me because I am
black, because the sun hath looked upon me. My mother's children
were angry with me. They made me the keeper of the
vineyards, but mine own vineyard have I not kept. Tell me, O thou
whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy
flock to rest at noon, for why should I be as one that turneth
aside by the flocks of thy companions? If thou know not, O thou fairest
among women, go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock,
and feed thy kids beside the shepherd's tents, I have compared
thee, O my love, to a company of horses in fair-rose chariots.
Thy cheeks are comely with rows of jewels, thy neck with chains
of gold. We will make thee borders of
gold with studs of silver. While the king sitteth at his
table, my spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof. A bundle of
myrrh is my well-beloved unto me. He shall lie all night betwixt
my breasts. My beloved is unto me as a cluster
of campfire in the vineyards of Ngedi. Behold, thou art fair,
my love. Behold, thou art fair, thou hast
dove's eyes. Behold, thou art fair, my beloved,
yea, pleasant. our bed is green, and the beams
of our house are cedar, and our rafters are fir. We will now
turn to the New Testament, to the Gospel of John the Divine,
and chapter 12. The Gospel of John, reading part
of chapter 12, just the first nine verses. Then Jesus, six days before the
Passover, came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, which had been dead,
whom he raised from the dead. There they made him a supper,
and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the
table with him. Then took Mary a pound of ointment
of spikenard very costly and anointed the feet of Jesus and
wiped his feet with her hair and the house was filled with
the odor of the ointment. Then saith one of his disciples,
Judas Iscariot, Simon's son which should betray him, why was not
this ointment sold for 300 pence and given to the poor This he
said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief,
and had the bag, and bare what was put therein. Then said Jesus,
let her alone, against the day of my burying hath she kept this.
For the poor always ye have with you, but me ye have not always. Much people of the Jews therefore
knew that he was there, and they came not for Jesus' sake only,
but that they might see Lazarus also, whom he had raised from
the dead. May the Lord bless the reading
of his holy word to our never-dying souls, and may he teach us each
to pray. Let us pray. O thou most great, almighty Lord
God in heaven above, it's our great mercy to be found in thy
house this morning, to be met with thy people on thy day, and
we thank thee for the holy Sabbath day, the Christian Sabbath, the
day of rest, the day of the glorious resurrection of the Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ. And as we meet together here
in this chapel in Cranbrook, Lord, that thou would meet with
us. As the risen Lord, that thou would stand in our midst by thy
spirit, and especially to dwell in our hearts by faith. And Lord,
that our meeting together might not be in vain. Because, Lord, we come and go
just like the door on its hinges, unless we meet with thee, unless
thou dost pour thy spirit upon us and bless us. For Lord, we
solemnly prove and we feel it that there is no good thing within
us unto the Lord God of Israel. We confess our backwardness in
thy ways And Lord, as we come to worship thee, we confess our
emptiness. We are indeed like earthen vessels. But Lord, we do pray that thou
would fill us, fill us with the spirit of Christ, with his grace
and love. And that Lord, we might have
in our hearts to sing to thee with the heart and with the understanding
and to pray to thee not just in words but from the depths
of our souls that we may press through the crowd and touch even
the hem of thy garment. Lord that we might lay hold on
thee and have a view of Christ Jesus in all his suitability
for sinners like ourselves. We pray that Christ might be
made precious to each one gathering here. Lord, that this day the saints
might be fed and that those who are weak might feel strengthened. Those who are perplexed might
have their crooked places straightened out. And Lord, those who know
thee not that they might have their eyes open to their need
and be brought to seek the saviour of sinners. For Lord, we thank
thee it's still the day of grace. The last trumpet has not sounded. The last living stone has not
been placed in that heavenly building, the church of God. And so time is extended to us
Lord, until all thy elect are called by grace. And so we thank
thee that we still live in this day of grace, and that there
is a door of hope, open wide, in Jesus' bleeding wounds inside. And we do pray, Lord, for those
we know and love who are far from thee, Perhaps we know not
there are those connected with the families here who have gone
far from thee. We pray that the appointed time
might roll on apace, not to propose but call by grace, to turn the
heart, renew the will, and turn their feet to Zion's hill. We do commit to thee, the church
of God and the congregation that was planted here in this chapel
in Lumberhurst. Lord, we pray for her officers,
especially we think of our friend, their pastor. Lord, that thou
would graciously help him week by week. Lord, thou knowest the
burdens he must have for the flock here as he watches for
their souls as one that must give an account. And we pray
that thou would pour into his own soul and dip his foot in
oil. That Lord, as he so frequently
stands in this pulpit before them, the word he preaches might
come as a living word to the hearts and souls of the hearers.
Give him grace and wisdom to bring things forth, both new
and old. And Lord, that Thou would be
with the deacons here to graciously help them as they maintain the
cause of truth here in the practicalities and also as they pray and are
burdened for the spiritual prosperity here. And Lord, we also commit
them to thee in the many labours of love they do for the many
churches with which we are connected on the various committees in
the Bethesda, the societies, the trust. Lord, do help them,
give them strength and give them the time they need and Lord,
give them the wisdom in dealing with so many difficult things.
And we do pray for the churches, Lord, that thou would build us
up Is thine arm shortened that it
cannot save? O Lord, return to us in mercies,
we pray. Lord, that even in these last
days there might be a reviving again, a true pouring out of
thy Spirit. Lord, that there might be chapels
that are reopened, that there might be those that have grown
low in number that are encouraged in growth, in numbers and in
grace. all to thine honour and glory,
to the glory of thy great name. O Lord, we do pray for thy servants
as they stand in thy name this day. And Lord, may it be that
there is nothing of ourselves, but all of thee, and lead us
into thy word and open it up to us, and Lord, may it be clothed
with power and in much assurance. For except the Lord build the
house, they labour in vain that build it. And Lord, we do pray for each
member of the church and congregation here. Lord, we pray that thou
be with them in their pilgrimage here below, to give them a close
walk with thee. Lord, to bless them in their
hearts and souls Christ Jesus, that it might be Christ in you,
the hope of glory. And Lord, may it be that there
is much of the fruit of the Spirit known amongst the people here
to give them that love, joy, patience, long-suffering, meekness,
and Lord, give them a unity Lord, we solemnly prove that the devil
goes about as a roaring lion and hates the assemblies of thy
saints. And we do everything in his power
to disrupt and sow discord. So Lord, keep the evil one from
them. Be to them as a wall of fire round about and the glory
in the midst. And bless them with love and
unity at the foot of the cross. And build them up, we pray. We
pray thee, Lord, that our friends here who pray for the peace of
Jerusalem might see their prayers answered with a gathering in
to the church here. Be with those who seek thee.
Perhaps there are those who come and go year by year, and another
year comes, and they do not find what they want. But Lord, thou
can speak the word only. Lord, in an instant thou can
come and give them the assurance they seek. And Lord, as we drove through
for the first time this beautiful village this morning, saw the
houses of the many neighbours of this cause of truth, and we
pray for them, Lord. Lord, this The chapel is literally
as a city set on a hill. It's visible to the village here.
And we do pray, Lord, that in thy sovereign grace, there might
be some in this village and the surrounding area who are constrained
out of a need to come in and to be blessed by the preach word
and converted to thee. Lord, we long to see these times
again as we read in former generations. Sometimes we confess we hardly
have the faith to pray for it, it seems an impossibility. And
yet, Lord, thou hast said, I will work and who shall let it? And
Lord, we know from thy word that thou didst have a Rahab in the
city of Jericho and a Ruth in Moab, whom thou didst call by
thy sovereign grace. And Lord, if it is so, bring
them in, Give the people here hearts to receive them and wisdom
to deal with them. Lord, we pray for the children
and young people. Oh Lord, it gladdens our hearts
to see them. We pray that while they're young,
they might be given Samuel's ear, an ear that's open to thy
voice and thy word. Lord, plant thy fear in their
hearts that they might seek the Lord while he may be found and
call upon him while he is near. That they might remember their
creator in the days of their youth before the evil days come. Lord, what a mercy if thou dost
call by grace while young. We pray that thou would be with
them in their school Help them Lord when it's difficult for
them with friends in the playground and university who Despise thee and Lord when they
are so surrounded by the forces of secularism and atheism But
Lord thou would keep them from the evil of the world But Lord that As we each are
thus surrounded, that thou would give us to thee salt, and, Lord,
that our salt might not lose its savour and be cast out. But thou hast said, ye are my
epistles, known and read of all men, and, Lord, we confess how
far short we come, yet, Lord, give us to walk worthy of our
high calling. We do thank thee for so many
mercies and blessings. Lord, as we start a new year,
we thank thee for thy goodnesses to us. We thank thee for our
homes, our clothes, our food thou has provided, our families,
thy goodnesses to us, but most of all for the gift of gifts.
Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift. May we never take these things
for granted, Lord. Never be left to be like those
nine lepers who went away without returning to thank thee. We do pray that this day together
might be appointed of thee, that it might not be in vain. And
Lord, we meet to worship thee. Lord, so often we come to the
services perhaps looking for a special word, a token, a word
of direction, and oh Lord it is wonderful when in love and
mercy thou dost so bless us. But Lord often it is not as thus,
but Lord the purpose of the assembly of thy saints is when to worship,
saints assemble, let the song to Jesus raise. And Lord, as
we worship thee in singing and reading and praying and speaking
and listening, may our worship ascend. Oh Lord, that it might
be to thine honour and glory, and that it might be in the spirit
of John the Baptist, he must increase and I must decrease. Lord, that thou would not look
upon us after our sins. We're not worthy of the least
of thy mercies, as Jacob said. Lord, we, often when we come
into thy house and are confronted with thy holiness and thy holy
house of prayer, we feel our backwardness and sinfulness,
but Lord, Our only plea, our only hope is mercy in Jesus. And so, Lord, to be with us this
morning and this afternoon. Lord, bless us together, we pray,
as we would ask for Christ's sake. Amen. We will continue with the singing
of hymn 557 to the tune Sweet Name, number 730. How sweet and precious is the
name of Jesus Christ, the Lord, the Lamb, two sinners in distress,
a name just suited to their case, pregnant with mercy, truth and
grace, with strength and righteousness. Hymn 557 to the tune Sweet Name,
730. ? To see the world as it is today
? ? For Jesus Christ, Son of the Lamb ? ? To see those in
distress and in pain ? Oh, say does that star-spangled
banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the
brave? ? Changes and wealth, mistakes,
faults, sin ? ? From war and death, from guilt and shamelessness
? ? His name is wonderful indeed
? ? The name of God so good to me ? ? Just to listen to him sing ? ? In whom to the righteous obey
? ? Thou couldst be trusted, still wouldst stay ? ? Thou wouldst
be trusted, still wouldst stay ? The good steed of stills, Prince
of Peace, First ever precious, to me. Yes, she ? Christ, from his almighty birth. ? ? May all the world shun them. ? The light that brought on heaven's
day, the gift of sweet passion. Give him the gift of extra trust,
Love him shall see, Love him shall burst, Love him most open-ended. He is their God, and they shall
know what is almighty, and can do no damage. greatly needing the Lord's gracious
help. I would like you to turn with
me to the Song of Solomon, chapter one, and just a few verses in
the middle of verse three. The Song of Solomon, chapter
one, and part of verse three. Just these words. Thy name is
as ointment poured forth. Thy name is as ointment poured
forth. The whole verse reads, because
of the savor of thy good ointments, thy name is as ointments poured
forth, therefore do the virgins love thee. Thy name is as ointment
poured forth. The Song of Solomon is a most
unusual book, especially perhaps to our modern ears, This ancient
Hebrew poem, this song of songs, was outwardly, naturally a song of
love. The love expressed between a
bride and her bridegroom, and in return, the bridegroom to
the bride. But this song should not be read
literally. It's an allegory. An allegory,
a story, as it were, which has a meaning. Perhaps one of the
most famous allegories is, of course, John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's
Progress, a story of a man called Christian who was awakened to
his sin and need and his spiritual pilgrimage is described in allegorical
form as the journey he took to the celestial city. And in this
Song of Songs, this beautiful book of the Song of Solomon,
where we read of the bride, it allegorically sets forth God's
people in all ages, as the Bride of Christ, the Church of God. And when we read of the one who
speaks as the Bridegroom, this is none other than the Lord and
Savior, Jesus Christ. And so, in the verse we have
read, we have the Bride speaking to the Bridegroom, the Church
of God speaking to the heavenly bridegroom Christ. And so this
text, thy name is azointment poured forth. It's thy name,
dear Jesus, the name of Jesus is azointment poured forth. As it has opened up to me, I'd
really like to give you three headings this morning. Firstly,
thy name. And secondly, this wonderful
name of Jesus poured forth as ointment in his offices and work. And then thirdly, the name of
Jesus poured forth as ointment in the experience in the hearts
of God's people. So firstly we begin with this
thy name. Now, of course, the Lord Jesus
had many names. This Christmas time, no doubt,
you have thought here of some of those names in the beautiful
readings we have of the prophecy of the coming of the Lord Jesus.
In Isaiah 6, we are told, are we not, that, behold, a virgin
shall conceive and bring forth a son, and his name shall be
called Emmanuel. And Matthew adds, which being
interpreted, is God with us. He was called Emmanuel. And then
just a few chapters further on in Isaiah 9, we have prophetically,
his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the
Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. These wonderful names,
some of which were referred to in the hymn we've just sung.
And then, In the fullness of time, God sent forth his son,
made of a woman, made under the law. And there, in Matthew 1,
the angel appeared to Joseph first, didn't he? And he said,
thou shalt call his name Jesus. Why Jesus? Because he shall save
his people from their sins. The name of Jesus, a precious
name because it means saviour. And so he has these beautiful
names and time forbids to go through all the wonderful names
which the Holy Scriptures set forth to show us different aspects
of the character and work of Christ Jesus. Perhaps you have wondered why
is the Lord Jesus so often in especially the epistles referred
to as Jesus Christ or Christ Jesus or as our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ. What does this name Christ mean? Well Christ literally means the
anointed one. The long expected Messiah. who was anointed by God to come
to save his people from their sins. And of course, this has
a great relevance regarding our text, because we read in our
text, thy name is as ointment poured forth. And in the title
of Christ, he is the anointed one. And God willing, we'll come
back to this, that His name is as ointment poured forth. Really,
the verb anointment literally means anointment poured forth. It's the application of anointment,
isn't it? And we have the name through
the New Testament of Jesus Christ. The name of Jesus, the anointed
one. Now, you children, even you Youngest
here, you will know that if a baby's expected in a family, there's
a great excitement, what will they name the baby? What will
they call them? And perhaps you speculate and
wonder what the baby will be called. A name has a great significance
because it's their identity, it's who they are. This little
sister you've got, what's she going to be called? But in scriptural
times, especially in the Old Testament, the name wasn't just
an identity, it carried a meaning. Right from the first baby born,
who was Cain, Eve said, I have called him Cain, which means
gotten, because I have gotten a man-child from the Lord. And
you think of Naomi, her name meant sweetness or pleasantness,
and as she returned, bereft, from Moab, what did she say?
Call me no more, Naomi, call me Mara, for the Lord hath dealt
bitterly with me. Mara meaning bitterness. And
a name in scriptural times conveys the feelings and character of
that person. And so how true that is with
Christ Jesus. He's called Jesus. His precious
name means savior. But we have to go a little bit
further when we think of a name. Thy name is a zointment poured
forth, yes, in the meaning and the identity. But a name may not mean something to you
personally unless you know that person yourself, unless you have
a relationship with them. And then that name takes on a
new resonance in your heart, does it not? And so it is with
the dear Lord Jesus, that yes, no doubt your pastor week by
week tells you about him. And perhaps you love to hear
the stories of Jesus, tell them to me, but does his name mean
something to you? Is it your hope? Is he your salvation? Do you know him for yourself? One of my brothers, his first
child, he called India, a very unusual name. And he phoned my
mother and he said, she said, well, what have you called her?
And he said, India. And she really didn't know what
to make of that. She didn't know it was a name.
I think she was a bit upset. But if you talk to my mother
now, she says, oh, I love the name India because I love the
girl. She's such a sunny and happy
and lovely girl. She loves the name because she
knows the person. And I realize, friends, this
is very simple. But in its simplicity, there's
some profound truths here. And I set before you this morning,
with all the authority of the word of God, that this precious
name of Jesus as savior, He's only precious to you if you know
him yourself. And so we have firstly thy name,
the name of Jesus. So moving on to our second heading,
we have thy name is as ointment poured forth. What does this
figurative language mean? Well, This second heading, I would
like, with the Lord's help, as it opened up in my heart, in
my meditation, his name as ointment poured forth in the offices of
the Lord Jesus and in his redeeming work. Now, I've never heard this text
spoken on myself, and I haven't looked up any of the commentaries,
but I could imagine that it could be very applicably handled by
a gospel minister saying that his name as ointment poured forth
is poured forth in his graces, his love, his mercy, his forgiveness. And of course that's all very
true. But the way I was led into it for you this morning, I saw this ointment as how it's
figured in and portrayed throughout Holy Scripture as the anointing
oil for the priests and kings of ancient Israel, and also as
the embalming ointment that the dear Saviour in his death, in
the spikenard, the sweet spices they brought. And that's why
we read of Mary, of Bethany in John 12, that she took that pound
of spikenard, very costly, to anoint him prefiguring his death,
But firstly, let us then look at the name of Jesus poured forth
as ointment, as the anointing oil in the consecration in his
offices. Now, the offices of Christ are
most beautiful. They are most precious and instructive.
We see Christ Jesus in his office as king, as priest and as prophet,
a king to reign over us, a priest to intercede for us, and a prophet
to teach us. Firstly then, as king, well,
of course we read in the Old Testament how Samuel took the
oil to anoint King Saul, to anoint David the son of Jesse. We have
it with Solomon, with King Joash, and God willing, This coming
spring, our own king, King Charles III in Westminster Abbey will
be, if they carry on with the thousand year tradition, be anointed
with oil as a sign of him being made king of this realm. Now, the dear Lord Jesus, he
is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. We read in the word, don't
we, that a king shall reign in righteousness. I think it's Zachariah
said that behold your king cometh, riding upon an ass, and afold
the cult of an ass. And how that was fulfilled as
the Lord Jesus rode into Jerusalem as king of his people. And It's
a lovely theme to those of you who love and fear the Lord, because
as your king, he reigns over all your circumstances. The government
is upon his shoulder. All things are at his control
and sway. And do you come this morning
with difficulties in your life, crooked places, perplexities? Perhaps there are things that
cast you down, things that are too difficult for you to handle.
O that you might by grace bow before the feet of King Jesus
and place your cares in his hands. For he is King of Kings. Nothing
is beyond his control. And yet there is something in
our hearts that will not have this man to reign over us. When
they place that sign on the cross of the dear Lord Jesus, Pilate
said, right, he is the king of the Jews. But the Jews did not
want it. They say, right not, that he
is the king of the Jews. And we have that spirit in our
own hearts. Sadly, solemnly, and it may be
that we come to chapel and we go and we pray to the Lord, but
even Though we may even know the Lord ourselves, there is
still that root in us that will not have this King to reign over
us. Oh, that we might be given more of that Spirit. Thy kingdom come, thy will be
done on earth as it is in heaven. In my heart, Lord, reign in my
heart. And then we see, The name of
Jesus poured forth in his office as priest. And then we read in
the Pentateuch, the books of Moses, how in ancient Israel,
the Aaronic office of the priesthood was represented by, or they were
consecrated by being anointed. Anointed with oil. Represented
in God's favor benevolence to them, that he would work through
them. And I often think of that lovely
psalm, I think it's 133, and how there we read of the precious
ointment. It is like the precious ointment
upon the head. This was the anointing of Aaron
with this precious consecration ointment, this oil. that ran
down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard that went down to the skirts
of his garments. The oil of anointing was so profuse,
it was so copious, it ran down his beard, ran down onto his
garments, it went down to the skirts of his garments, to the
floor. And the dear Lord Jesus, as our great
high priest, in his office as he, intercedes for his people. His name is as ointment poured
forth and it's poured forth so graciously and richly and copiously
is it not? Now what does it mean to intercede? His name is poured forth as our
great high priest to intercede? What does that mean? Well to
intercede really means to intervene on someone else's behalf. We
could not approach a holy God, we are sinners, we deserve nothing
but his wrath, his condemnation. The dear Lord Jesus, has he not
intervened on his people's behalf? And how he goes, as it were,
to God the Father, as an intercessor. It's said that At the end of
the American War of Independence, George Washington was installed
as the first president. And there was a wounded soldier,
hundreds of miles from the capital city, who wasn't receiving the
pension he was due. And he made the difficult, long
journey to what's now the city of Washington. He begged an audience
with the new president. He'd heard. a kindly man, but
the officers at the front of the dwelling, the residents,
they forced him away. The president's far too busy
to speak to you. And he sat on a bench outside
weeping in despair. A young man came to sit next
to him and inquired what the matter was. And he took pity
upon this poor wounded soldier. He said, come with me. He said,
I'm the President's son, I'll take you in. And he took him
past the guards to his father's study, and he told his father
the need of this poor wounded soldier. George Washington said,
leave it to me, you'll receive a pension every week of your
remaining life. And that's just a faint picture
of the intercessory work of our great high priest. And to those
of you here who feel your need this morning, You feel your separation
from God? Is his name as the intercessor,
the great high priest, not like ointment poured forth? We'll have to push on, but you
see, when the wise men came to the Lord Jesus, they brought
frankincense, didn't they? They brought frankincense. Why
did they bring frankincense? Frankincense is a resin, it's
drawn from a tree, the gum from a tree and it's burnt as incense
in the worship of the temple of the tabernacle. And it was
the work of a priest to burn the frankincense and those wise
men were shown by God that this newborn who was named Jesus would
become their great high priest. So with joy we meditate the grace
of our high priest above. But then we have the third and
final office, his name is poured forth, his ointment poured forth
in his consecration as our prophet. Now it's perhaps not an office
of the dear Lord Jesus that we often think of, and yet, In Isaiah
61, it was foreshadowed, the spirit of the Lord is upon me. Let me just turn it up so I can
quote it exactly to you. And perhaps we'll look at it
in Luke, where it was fulfilled, I believe in Luke 4. And the
Lord Jesus, in the beginning of his public ministry, he took
the book of Isaiah, And he read from it. It was delivered unto
him the book of the prophet Isaiah. And this is what he read and
it's applied to the dear Lord Jesus. The spirit of the Lord
is upon me because he hath, this is it, he hath anointed me. His
anointment poured forth to preach the gospel to the poor. As he
preached and taught, he fulfilled that ancient prophetic office. And what wonders he taught. He taught of healing the brokenhearted. He preached deliverance to the
captives. He proclaimed liberty to them
that were bruised and the acceptable year of the Lord. And so we see
in the name of Jesus, he who is our great prophet, Do any
of you come to the house of God from time to time feeling you
need him to teach you? There's so much you don't know.
There's perhaps things that in the scriptures puzzle you. What
does this mean? There's perhaps things that you
need direction on, you need to be taught, you come praying,
show me thy way. Teach me thy path. And it's a
wonderful thing. when the Lord Jesus himself teaches
us by his spirit. But then we have the name of
the Lord Jesus poured forth as ointment in his death, in his
sin-atoning death. And we see in this text the wonders
of redeeming love. the work of redemption. Now Mary
of Bethany, whom we read of, she sat, she loved, dear Mary
of Bethany, to sit at the feet of Jesus. Perhaps there's some
of you here who love that, to sit at his feet. But she was
moved by the spirit to take this very valuable spikenard ointment. Now spikenard was exclusively
used from the root of a plant to make an embalming spice to
anoint dead bodies, so necessary in those eastern hot countries. And she took this, a whole pound
in weight of this spikenard, and she anointed the dear Lord
Jesus with it. And it would seem as the Lord
Jesus spoke to her, or about her, he said, she have kept this
against the day of my burying. She saw by faith that her dear
Jesus was going to go to die and be buried for her. It was set forth again by the
wise men in bringing the myrrh, the only use of myrrh as an embalming
spice for a dead body. It was set forth by the woman
in Simon the leper's house who broke the alabaster box of ointments
and anointed him. And it was set forth, was it
not, by those two dear Marys, not Mary of Bethany, but Mary
Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Salome on the first
day of the week. What did they take with them?
They brought sweet side spices that they might come and anoint
him. And as they were to anoint him in death, it sets before
us his name, poured forth as ointment of what he has accomplished
in his decease, as the apostle writes, his redeeming work, our
only hope that the dear Lord Jesus went to Calvary to suffer,
bleed, and die, to bear the sins of his people, to be laid lifeless
in the cold grave, to taste death for his people. And then on the
third day to triumphantly rise again, conquering death, that
there's no more victory in the grave, no more sting in death.
He rose again for our justification. And this is our only hope. And so we see the name of The
dear Lord Jesus poured forth, his name, his assortment poured
forth in his work of redemption. Let us linger there. Do these things mean anything
to you? Do these things leave you cold? Or do these precious truths fill
your heart this morning, even as a sweet perfume, penetrate
your heart as ointment poured forth, gladden you? Now, our third heading is that
You've really had the doctrine of the ointment poured forth.
This is now the experience of it. The name of Jesus' ointment
poured forth in the experience in a believer's heart. But the
vital thing here is you can only know the gracious effect and
experience of the precious name of Christ in your heart because His name was as ointment in his
offices and his redeeming work. And as we think of the application,
an ointment, in medicine, perhaps if you've been to your GP, they
might prescribe you an ointment. You've got a rash or something
on your skin, an infection that's hurting you and sore, and the
ointment is given as a prescription, you collect it from the pharmacist.
But it won't do you any good unless it's applied, unless it's
poured forth. And I'd like to speak to you
in a few ways in the remaining minutes of how so graciously
by the Spirit of God, the name of Jesus is poured forth to his
people in their hearts, firstly in healing, in spiritual healing.
You know, we're all wounded sinners. Some of you may realize that.
Some of you may not, but we all are. But are there those of you this
morning, you feel it, deep in the wounds that sinners made,
perhaps Your conscience is sore. Perhaps there's things from years
ago that you've done wrong and your conscience smites you and
nags you. You feel the gills of it. You can't rest. Now, is there any balm for such a
smiting wound? Is there anything to heal such
a wound of sin and guilt? The prophet cried, did he not?
Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no good physician there? And this morning, I can set before
you the wonderful redeeming work of Christ in shedding his precious
blood as the balm in Gilead. The old spiritual says, there
is a balm in Gilead to heal the sin sick soul. There is a balm
in Gilead to heal the wounded, to set the wounded whole. I can't
quote it exactly, but there is a balm in Gilead. His name is Christ Jesus. And We think, don't we, how the
good Samaritan, who I'm sure in fullness represents typically
the Lord Jesus, when the wounded Samaritan was lying there beaten
up by robbers, what did he do with his wounds? He poured in
oil and wine. The wine was an antiseptic, no
doubt, the oil to soothe. He poured it in. His name is as ointment poured
forth. the balm to heal. And so we will
come to sing it to close with. When we feel the healing virtues
of his name, can we not sing how sweet the name of Jesus sounds
in a believer's ear? It heals, I'll look it up to
quote it correctly, It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds,
and drives away his fear. And then, as we think of the
application of this precious name of Christ in the heart of
believers, we see the ointment poured forth as being enriching. Well, what do I mean by that?
I guess it's illustrated partly in John 12. We read there that the pounds of spikenard was,
it's recorded by John, was very costly. Many commentators say
it must have been the most costly thing in the house. Some say
it was perhaps saved as a dowry against the day of her wedding.
It was the most valuable. It was very costly. And you know
the name of Jesus when applied to the heart. Yes, sometimes
we do, by faith, see the cost to the Saviour as He bled and
died in agony. Behold and see, have you seen
sorrow like unto my sorrow? They should look upon Him whom
they pierced, it cost Him. But also there's that, We're
rich to all the intense of bliss in what Christ has done for our
sins. Ye, though ye were poor, yet it was Christ, in his riches
he became poor, that ye in your poverty should be made rich. And so we see, This name of Jesus'
ointment poured forth in that it's enriching. The story's told
of the old days in Wales when most of them spoke, the people
in the countryside spoke Welsh. The nearest chapel, the preaching
was in English. And this dear old godly Welsh
lady, she walked for miles over the hills to attend the service
at the little chapel, but she only spoke Welsh. And they said
to her, why'd you go? You can't understand anything.
She said, there's one thing I can understand. I recognise the name
of Jesus and it's worth going all that way to hear his precious
name. His name enriched her longing
heart. We sing, do we not? Jesus is
precious, says the word. What comfort does this truth
afford? And those who in his name believe
with joy this precious truth receive. Now, listen to this,
this is it. He's precious in his precious
blood, that pardoning and soul-cleansing flood. He's precious in his righteousness,
that everlasting heavenly dress. And it goes on to talk about
the office, in every office he sustains. And so, As I try to
set forth to you the Lord Jesus in his offices and his redeeming
work, by the application of the Spirit, by faith in our hearts,
how precious he sometimes appears. And then as the ointment's poured
forth in our hearts, is it not a perfuming ointment, a perfuming
name? We read in John 12 that the odour
of the ointment filled the whole house. And how wonderful it is when
the name of Christ fills our whole heart, our whole life,
the whole of our assembly for worship. And an expensive perfume, it
has a lingering effect, doesn't it? I don't know whether you've
ever been into a room that's empty, but you can smell an exquisite
perfume. Perhaps a woman's been there
wearing a very expensive perfume, and you can smell this beautiful
perfume. You don't know who it belonged
to, but it lingers. And in the perfuming effect of
the name of Jesus in our hearts, it's really what we'd call theologically
a sanctifying effect. It has a lasting, changing effect. in the sanctification, setting
apart from the world towards Christ. And so we see the healing
effect, the enriching effect, the perfuming effect. You know, if you're anything
like me, you often come and go to the services and perhaps there's
not always, perhaps there's not very often anything particularly
special for your heart or for your circumstances. But so often
over the years I felt, particularly on a weeknight, that you come
in deadened by the world. The reading of the word and the
prayers of the saints and the address given, you go out breathing
a different air. You perhaps couldn't put your
finger on exactly what was said, but it's the perfuming effect
The precious name of Christ in your soul, that sanctifying effect. Treasure it, don't despise it. And then the name of the Lord
Jesus, experience in our hearts. Last
point really is, it has an attracting effect. That's why people these days
wear perfume, isn't it? In the Song of Songs, we read
so often that in chapter three, verse six, who is he that cometh
out of the wilderness perfumed like myrrh and frankincense with
all powders of the merchant? The bridegroom and the bride,
they'd wear an attractive perfume. And the name of Jesus to needy
sinners is just such. because it means saviour, it
means my prophet, priest and king, my all and my in all. And it's a separating thing,
Matt, because are there some of you here this morning, you
see no attraction in the name of Christ? Or perhaps there's
some, as often sometimes I'm in that frame that you come along,
And you would feel an attraction in the name of Christ. You would
have something in your heart towards him as you come to worship,
but you feel cold and lifeless and dead and you mourn it. But oh then we can pray, can
we not, to feel that attraction. And indeed in our text, we have,
thy name is as ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins
love thee. Draw me and we will run after
thee. So in its immediate context,
it's described with this attracting effect. The ointment of his name's
poured forth. The virgins love thee and draw
me. Draw me, Lord, but I'm dead. I'm backward in thy ways. My
love grows cold so often. But pour thy name forth. in all
its glorious attraction in my heart and draw me. And then you'll
run in his ways. Well, in conclusion, we have
this beautiful word in this most beautiful of chapters in one
of the most beautiful books of all scripture. Thy name is as
ointment poured forth. And I wish that I could do justice
to the precious beauty of the dear saviour, but we prove that
living tongues are dumb at best. We must die to speak of Christ,
but may it be that in the pouring out of the spirit of the ever-living
God, that you might even this day, here at Lamberhurst, know
something of his name as ointment poured forth both in your souls
individually, but also in your church and congregation as you
meet to worship. Amen. We will close our service this
morning with the singing of hymn 135 to the tune Saint Peter 227.
How sweet the name of Jesus sounds in a believer's ear It soothes his sorrows, heals
his wounds, and drives away his fear. It makes the wounded spirit
whole and calms the troubled breast. Tis manner to the hungry
soul and to the weary rest. Hymn 135, Tune St. Peter, 227. of Jesus' health in the New Year's
Eve. Fixes his sorrows, fills his
wounds, and drives ? Praise to thee, praise to thee,
praise to thee ? ? And not the troubled breast ?
? Did manner to the hungry sow ? ? And to the weary rest ? I shield and I defend. My never failing treasury filled
With boundless stores of praise. May the grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the love of God and fellowship of the Holy Ghost be with you. Amen. Nice to see you.