Let us commence our service this
afternoon by singing together hymn number 239. The tune is
Saint Marie, 835. The Lamb has exalted repentance
to give, that sin may be hated while sinners believe. Contrition
is granted and God justified. The sinner is humbled and self
is denied. Hymn 239. Exalted repentance to give, That
sin may be hated, while sinners forgive. God-friction is proclaimed, and
God justified. The sinner is humbled, and self is denied. Repentance has three days to
cover his blood Produced by the Spirit and goodness of God, a living
consciousness through faith, hope, and love. And the little lassie sank down
from above All thought of the Spirit of
God to repent. Free grace can make madder heaven
touch to repent. Reventance is fronted, God's
justice to prove. Remission is given, and blood
from His mouth. The hardest of sinners, for picknick's
discount. For Jesus was humbled, that praise
might abound. Who ever repents of his sin against
God, Shall surely be pardoned thre' Calvary's brow. Let us read together from the
holy word of God in the gospel according to Luke and chapter
22. Luke's gospel, chapter 22. We'll
read down to verse 46. Now the feast of unleavened bread
drew nigh, which is called the Passover. And the chief priests
and scribes saw how they might kill him, for they feared the
people. Then entered Satan into Judas,
surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve. And he
went his way and communed with the chief priests and captains,
how he might betray him unto them. And they were glad and
covenanted to give him money. And he promised and saw opportunity
to betray him unto them in the absence of the multitude. Then
came the day of unleavened bread when the Passover must be killed. And he sent Peter and John saying,
go and prepare us the Passover that we may eat. And they said
unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare? And he said unto
them, Behold, when ye are entered into the city, there shall a
man meet you, bearing a pitcher of water. Follow him into the
house where he entereth in. And ye shall say unto the good
man of the house, The master saith unto thee, Where is the
guest chamber? where I shall eat the Passover
with my disciples. And he shall show you a large
upper room furnished, there make ready. And they went and found
as he had said unto them, and they made ready the Passover.
And when the hour was come, he sat down and the 12 apostles
with him, and he said unto them with desire, have I desired to
eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I say unto you,
I will not any more eat thereof until it be fulfilled in the
kingdom of God. And he took the cup and gave
thanks and said, take this and divide it among yourselves. For
I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until
the kingdom of God shall come. And he took bread, and gave thanks,
and break it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body, which
is given for you, this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also
the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament
in my blood, which is shed for you. But behold, the hand of
him that betrayeth me is with me on the table. And truly the
son of man goeth as it was determined. But woe unto that man by whom
he is betrayed. And they began to inquire among
themselves which of them it was that should do this thing. And
there was also a strife among them, which of them should be
accounted the greatest. And he said unto them, the kings
of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them. And they that exercise authority
upon them are called benefactors. But ye shall not be so. But he
that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger. And he
that is chief, as he that doth serve. For whether it is greater,
he that sitteth at me, or he that serveth, is it not he that
sitteth at me? But I am among you, as he that
serveth. Ye are they which have continued
with me in my temptations, and I appoint unto your kingdom,
as my father hath appointed unto me, that ye may eat and drink
at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve
tribes of Israel. And the Lord said, Simon, Simon,
behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you
as wheat. But I have prayed for thee, that
thy faith fail not, and when thou art converted, strengthen
thy brethren. And he said unto him, Lord, I
am ready to go with thee both into prison and to death. And
he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this
day before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me. And
he said unto them, when I sent you without purse and script
and shoes, lachry, anything, and they said nothing, Then said
he unto them, but now he that hath a purse, let him take it,
and likewise his script. And he that hath no sword, let
him sell his garment and buy one. For I say unto you that
this that is written must yet be accomplished in me. And he
was reckoned among the transgressors, for the thing concerning me have
an end. And they said, Lord, behold,
here are two swords. And he said unto them, it is
enough. And he came out and went as he
was wont to the Mount of Olives. And his disciples also followed
him. And when he was at the place,
he said unto them, pray that ye enter not into temptation.
And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast. and kneeled
down and prayed, saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this
cup from me, and nevertheless not my will, but thine be done. And there appeared an angel unto
him from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony, he
prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was, as it were, great
drops of blood, falling down to the ground. And when he rose
up from prayer and was come to his disciples, he found them
sleeping for sorrow and said unto them, why sleep ye? Rise
and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. May the Lord bless
that portion of his most precious word and grant unto us a spirit
of real prayer. Gracious, merciful and eternal
God, for we do desire to bow before thy great majesty to come
to thee in the attitude of prayer, and we do desire that the grace
of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God our Father and
the sacred fellowship of the Holy Spirit may rest and abide
upon us in this service, that the gathering of the people might
be unto thee Oh, we do pray that most gracious Lord, that the
divine spirit may liven our hearts and help us to seek thee and
to look to thee and to cleave to thee and reveal unto us the
precious things of Jesus Christ, the wonders and glories of Calvary,
of Gethsemane, of the resurrection morn, and the wonders of that
precious sacrifice, for by one offering he hath perfected forever
all them that are sanctified. Lord, we pray that thou would
speak to our hearts today and that thou would make us know
that we are in that glorious covenant of grace, that our sins
were laid upon Christ that he suffered and bled and died for
our sins and rose again for our justification and has now bodily
ascended into heaven. O gracious God, grant that we
may enter into those precious truths of the gospel of our Lord
Jesus Christ. And that we pray that thou wouldst
take of the things of Jesus and reveal them unto us as we gather
round the word this afternoon. And as we gather round the table
of the Lord, we pray that the peace of God that passeth all
understanding may keep our hearts and minds through Jesus Christ
our Lord. We think of thy words, Lord Jesus,
my peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you, not as
the world give I unto you. Gracious God, come here we do
pray, the unworthy as we are, We cannot demand or command a
blessing, but we come to supplicate thy mercy and that wonderful
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. We come to worship him, to touch
the hem of his garment, to draw from that precious virtue that
is in him as we gather around thy word. We do humbly beseech
thee. And now it's the case of each
one in the sanctuary. Thou knowest the burdens, whether
young or whether old, all things are known to Thee. And we do
pray, most gracious Lord, that Thou wouldst feed the souls of
Thy people and guide us and direct us into the will of God and the
purpose of God concerning us, that we may be enabled to say
and to declare with the sweet Psalmist of Israel, Let thy word
be a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. Lord, grant that
it may be so, for thy great name's sake. We do pray, most gracious
Lord, that thou wouldst bless us together as a church and as
a congregation, and that thou wouldst work mightily, powerfully,
and effectually among us, that we may see signs following the
preaching of the word. We pray for those who've had
to stay at home today, that whatever the reason may be, whether affliction
of body or whether affliction in the family, that we pray that
Thou wouldst graciously be with them there at home. We do humbly
beseech Thee. We pray, dear Lord, that Thou
in Thy precious mercy wouldst graciously unite us together
in the sacred bonds of Christian love, union, and communion, that
we may truly love each other, serve each other, and bear each
other's burdens, thereby fulfilling the law of Christ. That we pray,
most gracious Lord, that thou would bless our brethren, the
deacons, who give needed grace, wisdom, and help in all their
concerns. That we pray that thou would
bless our dear friends in Holland, and be with them, Grant that
they may have a hearing time as well, when the word of the
Lord may have free course, and thy name be honoured and glorified. Lord, we do pray that thou wouldst
forgive all our many sins, that thou wouldst make us more spiritually
minded, that thou wouldst set our affections on things above
and not on things of the earth, and that thou wouldst graciously
enable us to let all fruitless searches go, which perplex and
tease us, but desiring naught to know, but a bleeding Jesus. Oh, that the Lord Jesus may be
exalted among us as a prince and as a saviour, for to give
faith and repentance and remission of sins. May grace triumphant
reign in our hearts and in our lives. We pray that the light
and glory and power of the gospel is shined at this village, and
the surrounding villages and hamlets, that we may see the
pulling down of the strongholds of Satan and the setting up of
the kingdom of the Lord Jesus in the hearts of sinners. Let
thy work appear unto thy servants and thy glory unto their children.
O Lord, we do beseech of thee, O we do thank thee for thy word,
the word of thy grace. which is able to build us up
and to grant us an inheritance among them that are sanctified. We do thank thee, most gracious
Lord, for the wonderful and sacred glories of Christ, the fullness
that dwells in him, the eternal Son of the eternal Father manifest
in the flesh. We thank thee that he humbled
himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the
cross. Lord Jesus, we desire to bow in adoration and thanksgiving
unto thee for the fullness of that salvation that flows through
thee. And we do pray that thou would
lead us to Gethsemane, what we've read of together in thy word,
and that we may behold our beloved Redeemer, as he bears the weight
of our sin, as he takes them in agony and sorrow, and nails
them to his cross. And we thank thee that he has
put away sin by the offering of himself. Oh, we thank thee,
O Lord God, that he's risen from the grave, that he's now ascended
bodily into heaven, and sitteth at thy right hand, our great
high priest, who is passed into the heavens, Jesus, the Son of
God. We thank thee, most gracious
Lord, that through him we know the love of our eternal Father,
and that through him we receive that wonderful and precious gift
of the Holy Ghost. O Lord, we thank thee for every
mercy of thy kind providence, and all thy goodness that has
passed before us in the way, Do come and touch one's lips
with a live coal from off the heavenly altar. We ask for Jesus
Christ's sake. Amen. Let us now sing together hymn
number 1156. The tune is Belmont 101. what sacred fountain yonder springs,
up from the throne of God, and all new covenant blessings brings,
tis Jesus' precious blood, him 1156. O'er the ramparts we watched,
were so gallantly streaming? Adore him, how the blessings
rain. His feet is where I rest my head. Good night, Jesus, pray to my
lips, for I am all that's left. Help us, my soul, and free us, then, to Jesus' precious
blood. This land which sweeps away my
sins just how I have plied. ? Of guilty and mistaken ? ? To
Jesus' precious blood ? ? Our Lord and Sister ? When she spoke it, it was like
gold or myrrh and gold or myrrh. ? And be free ? ? Yes, Jesus, precious
blood of mine ? My soul shall bless them both,
For you are faithful, my God. ? And make your land to live with
joy ? ? This is revelation's time ? Greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, I would direct your attention to Luke chapter
22, and we will read verses 19 and 20 for our text. The gospel according to Luke
chapter 22, verses 19 and 20. And he took bread and gave thanks and break it, and gave unto them,
saying, This is my body, which is given for you, this do in
remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper,
saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for
you. wonderful words of grace, the
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ in the institution of the Lord's
Supper and a divine command to every
Christian believer to follow the Lord Jesus Christ in these
divine commands and this do in remembrance of me. It's a service of remembrance,
remembrance of the sufferings, of the sorrows, of the tremendous
cost of our salvation through the holy and the divine person
of Jesus Christ. He that did no sin was made sin
for us. And this sacred service of the
Lord's Supper is to remind us, to remind us of the cost, what it cost our Lord Jesus Christ
to redeem us and to deliver us. It makes it more poignant, doesn't
it, He gives it just literally before Gethsemane in the upper
room, just before he was betrayed by Judas Iscariot, just before
he was crucified, he instituted this supper. And it's noticeable
at the beginning of this chapter how it speaks of the time of
the Passover. And that was the last Passover,
because when Christ suffered and bled and died on that Passover,
he fulfilled all that the Passover typified. And there was to be
no longer types and shadows, but the sacred and glorious fullness
of salvation in the person of Jesus, the Son of God, when he
was crucified on the cross to redeem us from sin and from Satan's
power. There is therefore now no condemnation
to them that are in Christ Jesus. What a wonderful mercy that is.
And why is there no condemnation? Because he gave himself a ransom
for all to be testified in due time. My mind, it just goes to
those words of the dear apostle when he writes to the Galatians
and he speaks in there, of our Lord Jesus Christ and faith in
our Lord Jesus Christ in Galatians chapter 2 and verse 20. I am crucified with Christ nevertheless
I live yet not I but Christ liveth in me and the life which I now
live in the flesh I live by faith of the Son of God who loved me. and gave himself for me. And we notice the admonition
that he writes to the Galatians, I do not frustrate the grace
of God, for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ
is dead in vain. But righteousness cannot come
by the law. Righteousness comes alone through
the glorious person of our Lord Jesus Christ, through that sacred
obedience of Christ to the righteous law of God. He lived upon this
earth for 33 years and he lived a life of holiness. He did not
break God's holy law, he fulfilled it. In every jot, in every tittle,
in thought, word and deed, he fulfilled, he honoured What you
can't do, what I can't do, what no man upon this earth has ever
done, Jesus Christ has done. He's fulfilled the law. And fulfilling the law, he has
brought in everlasting righteousness. Jehovah said, can you? The Lord,
our righteousness. That's what Christ has done in
his holy life. in his active and in his passive
obedience to the law, to the will of God. The apostle quotes
to us in Hebrews from the book of Psalms. I delight to do thy
law, O God. Thy will, O God, yea, thy law
is within my heart. That's the glorious person of
Christ that is speaking in Psalm 40. I delight to do thy will. In the book of Proverbs, chapter
eight, we read there that his delights were with the sons of
men. That's before he came here upon earth. He delighted in what
he was going to do for them. He was going to deliver a remnant,
a remnant that no man can number from every nation, kindred, tongue,
and tribe and people. He was going to redeem them from
the curse of the law. The law declares very plainly,
curse it is every man that doeth not all things that are written
in the book of the law to do them. There's a solemn curse
attached to the law of God. If we break its holy commands.
One of the hymn writers says, doesn't he, about being convicted
of breaking all thy 10 commands. James says in his epistle, he
that is guilty in one point is guilty of all. Because he hasn't
killed, it doesn't make him guiltless. You see, we find it's impossible
for us to keep that righteous law. Why? Because we're sinners.
We're born in sin. We're shaped in iniquity. We
sin because we are sinners. That's the reason we sin, because
we are sinners. We're born in sin. We're born
in a fallen condition. And that fallen condition has
left us unable to fulfill the law. And the apostle Paul, he
writes that in that well-known portion in the Romans, chapter
eight, how the fulfilling of the law that we cannot fulfill
it because of the weakness of the flesh in that we're weak through the
flesh the inability is in us it's not in the law and that
where where he says there that there is therefore no no condemnation
to them that are in christ jesus who walk not after the flesh
but after the spirit for the law of the spirit of life in
christ jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. That's the holy law of the Ten
Commandments. For what the law could not do.
The law cannot give us peace. The law cannot reconcile us unto
God. The law cannot give us grace.
It cannot do those things. It's weak through the flesh.
The weakness is not actually in the law itself, but it's in
our inability to fulfill its holy commandments. It's weak
through our flesh. But then he goes on so beautifully,
God sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and
forcing condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteousness
of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the
flesh, but after the Spirit. You'll notice it's written with
a capital S, after the Holy Ghost. For they that are after the flesh
do mind the things of the flesh, but they that are after the Spirit,
the things of the Spirit. Isn't it a desire, my beloved
friends, to be made more spiritually minded? Our heart and our affections
set upon things apart so that we can say with David, I love
the Lord because he has heard my voice, the voice of my supplications. I love the Lord. What a mercy
if you and I can say that. I love the Lord. You love him. because of who he is. You love
him because of what he's done. You love him as your law fulfiller. You love him as that one that
has offered a sacrifice and satisfied all the demands of divine justice. This is your only hope, is the
finished work of Jesus Christ. I love the Lord because he has
heard my voice. You love him for who he is. It's one thing, my beloved friends,
to love the Lord for the benefits that we receive from him. And
truly, that will make us love the Lord. But you love the Lord because
of who he is, his person. He's that profound mystery of
godliness, of God manifest in the flesh. You love the Lord. because of who he is, the eternal
son of the eternal father, who humbled himself and became obedient
unto death, even the death of the cross. You say, I love the
Lord. When you, as his person, doesn't,
that's so beautifully expressed in John, when he says, and we
beheld his glory, the glory of the word, That's the Son of God
manifest in the flesh and we beheld his glory. One hymn writer
says, I love the incarnate mystery. You love that profound mystery
of God manifest in the flesh. And it is a mystery because how
can the infinite assume the finite? But that's exactly what we see
in the person of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He assumed human
nature. He became bone of our bone and
flesh of our flesh. His glorious person as the Son
of God. You feel a love to him as the
Son of God. And you feel a love to him for
the benefits of that wonderful truth of God manifest in the
flesh. And here in this text that we
have, and he took bread, this is the institution of the Lord's
Supper, and he took bread and gave thanks and break it and
gave unto them, saying, this is my body, which is given for
you, this do, in remembrance of me. Likewise, also the cup
after supper, saying this cup is the New Testament in my blood
which is shed for you. There's two particular points
that stand out here friends. This is my body which is given
for you and then the New Testament in my blood which is shed for
you, for you. It's a very personal thing, isn't
it? It's to have that hope in the
precious blood of the Lamb. That hope, like it speaks of
in the Passover that we touched on this morning. The hope in
the blood of the Lamb. But we hope in the blood of the
Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. And how
does that blood take away the sin of the world? The reason
it said the sin of the world, some would interpret it, it means
he's taking away the sin of the whole world. But of course, it
doesn't teach that in Holy Scripture. What it's saying is that there
is only one way of salvation in the whole world. And that
is through the finished work of Jesus Christ. Just as the Apostle says in the
Acts, there is none other name given under heaven whereby you
must be saved. But the name of Jesus Christ,
that's the only way of salvation. Jesus himself said, I am the
way, the truth, and the life. And he took bread, and gave thanks,
and break it, saying, This is my body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of me. Other places it says broken for
you. This is my body broken for you.
This do in remembrance of me. To remember that that holy, divine,
and blessed person of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, manifest in the
flesh, offered a sacred, holy sacrifice on the cross of Calvary. His blood is called the blood
of the everlasting covenant. His body was broken because he
suffered and bled and died for our sins. It was our sins that
were laid upon him. He laid upon him the iniquity
of us all. And having that laying upon him,
we've read together here, in the Garden of Gethsemane, and
it says here in verse 41, and he was withdrawn from them about
a stone's cast, and kneeled down and prayed, saying, Father, if
thou be willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not
my will, but thine, be done. And there appeared an angel unto
him from heaven, strengthening him and being in an agony he
prayed more earnestly and his sweat was as it were great drops
of blood falling down to the ground all the tremendous sufferings
of Christ so great was that pressure that rested upon him when the
sin of the church was laid on him He sweat, as it were, great
drops of blood. He was in an agony of soul. He being in an agony, prayed
more earnestly. We cannot really enter into that,
can we? His body was broken for us. That holy sacred body, that holy
human nature, and in it he suffered. His body and his soul. The sufferings
of his body were immense, but you know, friends, the sufferings
of his soul were even greater. His father hid his face. He hid his face. He said on Calvary,
didn't he? My God, my God, why hast thou
forsaken me? Why hast thou forsaken me? Sin. Not his, he did no sin. The sin
of the church. The sin of the church. That is
why his father hid his face from him. My God, my God, why hast
thou forsaken me? And here in the garden, as he
prays to his eternal father, if thou be willing, Remove this
cup from me this cup that he was to drink this cup of suffering
Suffering that we cannot even begin to comprehend the pain
Says in Isaiah, his visage was so marred more than any man's
More than any man's there's there is none that have suffered like
Jesus suffered And his heart was so full of sorrow and pain
and grief and agony as he stood in the room and the place and
the stead of his church, of his people. Having loved his own,
he loved them to the end. He paid the utmost price. And that price was his own blood,
his life. In Leviticus we read, the blood
is the life thereof. So when he poured out his soul
unto death, he poured out his precious blood, his life. He gave his life of ransom for
all to be testified in due time. And this is what we come to remember. May the Lord, this Lord's Day,
as we come and sit around the table of the Lord, may it please
him to give us that spirit of meditation what these emblems
mean of the bread and of the wine. And we read in Isaiah chapter
28, and it speaks there of bread corn. It says bread corn is bruised. Bread corn is not soft, it's
hard. And it's bruised. And how is
it bruised? It's when it goes in between
the upper and nether millstone. It's crushed. And out of that
crushed grains of wheat comes flour. Flour, which is nourishing
for man and beast, is food. It's a basic necessity of life. Food to eat. And that crushing
of the bread corn represents the crushing of our Lord Jesus
Christ under tremendous weight of acid and the sword of divine
justice was unleashed against the only begotten son of the
Father, even our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It says in in Zechariah chapter 13 and verse
6 and one shall say unto him what are these wounds in thine
hands then he shall answer those with which I was wounded in the
house of my friends and then we have this divine statement
of truth awake o sword that is the sword of divine justice awake
o sword against my shepherd, and against the man that is my
fellow. You see, it's the Eternal Father
that is speaking against my shepherd. Christ himself said, didn't he,
I am the good shepherd. Against the man, speaks of the
sacred, precious doctrine of the incarnation of the Son of
God. and against the man that is my
fellow, meaning he was co-equal and co-eternal with the father. Saith the Lord of hosts, smite
the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered, and I will turn
mine hand upon the little ones. You see, awake, O sword, against
my shepherd and the man that is my fellow. Let us never forget
the noble person that is being crucified. It's none other than
the Son of God. It's none other than the King
of Kings and the Lord of Lords, the mighty God, the everlasting
Father, the Prince of Peace. That's who is being crucified.
That is who is suffering and bleeding and dying. He that did
no sin. because he suffered and bled
and died as a substitute. A substitute in the room and
place instead of his people. That's why. You see, my beloved friends,
as you look at the Lord's table, my mind, it just goes to verse
15. And he said unto them, would
desire, have I desire to eat this Passover with you? before
I suffer. It was something he desired to
do, the institution of the Lord's Supper. This sacred simple service
was to take the place of the Passover in the Old Testament. It's so pointed and poignant,
isn't it, that it's in this context that it's spoken of. It was the
night of the Passover. And Christ was to suffer, bleed
and die, just what the Passover lamb typified. And he took bread and gave thanks
and break it and gave it unto them, saying, this is my body,
which is given for you, this do in remembrance of me. this divine command. Well, I think we should call
it a loving command. It's a loving command from your
Heavenly Father that we should remember the sufferings and the
sorrows of our Lord Jesus Christ. For here is all our hope. The
Christian's hope is all found here. Other foundation can no
man lay than that which is laid which is Christ Jesus. This is
the foundation of all our hope. And this is my body, which is
given for you. This do, there's the commandment,
this do in remembrance of me. And not only his broken body,
but also his precious blood. Likewise also the cup after supper
saying this cup It is the New Testament in my blood Which is
shed for you See the precious blood of the lamb just we've
spoken of the crushing of the the bread the the call to make
the flour to make our bread and how it represents Christ's sufferings
but to make the wine the grapes were picked and then they were
trodden underfoot and squeezed and crushed until all the juice
came out of it and what an emblem it is of the sufferings of our
Lord Jesus Christ who was numbered among the transgressors who bear
the sin of many and at this precious blood that we've just sung of
together. What is that name that speaks for me in heaven's high
courts above? And from the curse has set me
free. It is Jesus' precious blood. Oh, the precious blood of the
Lamb of God, of our Lord Jesus Christ. And this is my body,
which is given for you. this do in remembrance of me
likewise also the cup after supper saying this cup is the new testament
in my blood which is shed for you there is no need of any more
offering there's no more need of any more offering at all there
was only ever the need of this one offering the offerings and
the sacrifices of the of the Old Testament typified this offering. You know, the Apostle Paul, he
opens it so beautifully in the Epistle to the Hebrews, and he
says there about this one offering that Christ offered. In particular,
in verses nine and 10, in particular, he speaks of this one glorious
offering of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. he says in in verse
in in chapter 9 of the hebrews verse 11 but christ being common
high priest of good things to come by a greater or more perfect
tabernacle, that's his own personal human nature, not made with hands,
that is, say, not of this building, neither by the blood of goats
and of calves, but by his own blood, he entered in once into
the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. That precious blood, obtained
eternal redemption for us for if the blood of bulls and of
goats and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean sanctified
to the purifying of the flesh how much more shall the blood
of christ who through the eternal spirit that is his own divine
nature who through the eternal spirit offered himself without
spot to god purge your conscience from dead works to serve living
God what a wonderful thing if we know the cleansing power of
the blood of Christ if we know the reconciling power of the
blood of Christ it's a great wonderful blessing to know that
I've often told you that when I was brought into gospel liberty
and so blessed in my soul and such a fullness I felt of that
blessing in my in my very heart and yet you know the devil came
with such a temptation and he said to me this is not real this
is not right because you've never been washed in the blood of the
Lamb. I remember it so distinctly. It cast me down even though I
was in the midst of wonderful blessing. You've never been washed
in the blood of the Lamb. And you know, as I wrestled with
the Lord at that time, under that temptation, and the words
of the hymn were made so unspeakably sweet and delivered me from that
snare, every blessing, every favour, freely flows through
Jesus' precious blood. Whatever you've had, whatever
you've tasted of the mercy, of the grace of God in Christ, it
flows through his precious blood. There's no other source. It's
through the precious blood of the Lamb. When he poured out
his soul unto death, when he was numbered amongst the transgressors,
when he bear the sin of many. Oh, my beloved friends, these
things are written for our instruction, you know, and we shall talk a
little more of it when we come to the Lord's Supper of the wonderful
sacrifice of our precious Redeemer and what it cost him to redeem
us. to satisfy all the demands of
divine justice. It had to be, and this is inflexible,
it had to be a pure and a holy sacrifice. There's only one person
that is ever able to offer a pure and holy sacrifice, and that
person was Jesus, the Son of God. And in that sacrifice, what
Bunyan calls the acceptable sacrifice. In that sacrifice, sin has been
put away. And we have those lovely words
of grace, as far as the east is from the west, so far have
I removed thy sins from thee. It's a wonderful, sacred, precious
truth in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. And as it says
in Micah, for he delighted in this. He delights in mercy. Oh, my beloved friends, may it
please the Lord to truly grant us that spirit of faith and believing
and laying whole and grant us with it that spirit of love,
love to our Lord Jesus Christ for paying the redemption price. And he took bread and gave thanks
break it and gave unto them saying this is my body which is given
for you this do in remembrance of me likewise also the cup after
supper saying this cup is the New Testament in my blood which
is shed for you so both these things here one given for you
the other which is shed that precious blood. You're redeemed. You have a hope. You have a hope
because of the finished work of Jesus Christ. You have a hope
because he died for our sins and rose for our justification.
You have a hope because he's bodily ascended into heaven and
sitteth at the right hand of the Father. We have a great high
priest. That's what gives us hope. Hope
maketh not ashamed. Hope in this glorious Saviour. Upon this rock I build my church,
and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And he took
bread, and gave thanks, and break it, and gave unto them, saying,
This is my body which is given for you. This do in remembrance
of me likewise also the cup after supper saying this cup is the
new testament in my blood which is shed for you. May the Lord
add his blessing to these few remarks.