you Thank you. The notices for the coming week
are God willing as follows. Mr. Paul Tyler will preach here
next Lord's Day at 10.30 and 2 o'clock. Pastor will preach
here on Thursday evening at 7 o'clock. There will be a prayer meeting
here on Tuesday evening at 7 o'clock. Let us commence our services
today by singing together Hymn number 1044 to the tune Theodora
511. Water from salvation's wells, thirsty sinner come and draw, Grace in Jesus' fullness dwells,
more than men or angels know. Hymn 1044. O come all ye faithful joyful
and triumphant O'er the land of the free and the home of the
brave ? Closing all our vows to free
? ? Till the day that Adam fell ? ? Then my firstborn he did
see ? O'er the land of the free and
the home of the brave? ? O'er the stream that water ran
? ? Which in peace by Jesus' blood ? ? Which in peace by Jesus'
blood ? ? Mountains yellow, brown, and
red ? ? Water from this fountainhead ? ? Melt their griefs and sorrows,
God ? ? In the early rise of old ? ?
Memories from wasted frames ? Let us read together from the
holy word of God two portions. The first is the prophecy of
Isaiah in chapter 55 and the second is Ezekiel chapter 47. Isaiah chapter 55. How everyone that thirsteth,
come ye to the waters. And he that hath no money, come
ye by, and ye come by wine and milk without money and without
price. Wherefore do ye spend money for
that which is not bread, and your labor for that which satisfies
not? Hearken diligently unto me, and
eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself
in fatness. Incline your ear and come unto
me, here and your soul shall live. And I will make an everlasting
covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. Behold, I have
given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander
to the people. Behold, thou shalt call a nation
that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run
unto thee because of the Lord thy God, for the Holy One of
Israel, for he hath glorified thee. Seek ye the Lord while
he may be found. Call ye upon him while he is
near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man
his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord. and he will have
mercy upon him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways
my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher
than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my
thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down,
and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth
the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give
seed to the sower and bread to the eater. So shall my word be
that goeth forth out of my mouth. It shall not return unto me void,
but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall
prosper in the It shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. For you shall go out with joy
and be led forth with peace. The mountains and the hills shall
break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field
shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come
up the fir tree, and instead of the briar shall come up the
myrtle tree. and it shall be to the Lord for
a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off. Now
let us read together in the prophecy of Ezekiel chapter 47 and we
will read the first 12 verses. Afterward he brought me again
unto the door of the house, And behold, waters issued out from
under the threshold of the house eastward. For the forefront of
the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from
under the right side of the house at the south side of the altar.
Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and
led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way
that looketh eastward. And behold, there ran out waters
on the right side. And when the man that had the
line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits,
and he brought me through the waters, and the waters were to
the ankles. Again, he measured a thousand
and brought me through the waters, and the waters were to the knees.
Again, he measured a thousand and brought me through the waters.
The waters were to the loins. Afterward, he measured a thousand,
and it was a river that I could not pass over, for the waters
were risen, but waters to swim in, a river that could not be
passed over. And he said unto me, Son of man,
hast thou seen this? Then he brought me and caused
me to return to the brink of the river. Now when I had returned,
behold, at the bank of the river were many trees, on the one side
and on the other. Then said he unto me, These waters
issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert,
and go into the sea. which being brought forth into
the sea, the waters shall be healed. And it shall come to
pass that everything that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the
river cometh, shall live. And there shall be a very great
multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither, for
they shall be healed, and everything shall live whither the river
cometh. And it shall come to pass that the fishers shall stand
upon it from Engidae even unto Eneglaim. They shall be a place
to spread forth nets. Their fish shall be according
to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea exceeding many. And the Maori places thereof
and the marshes thereof shall not be healed. They shall be
given to salt. and by the river upon the bank
thereof on this side and on that side shall grow all trees for
me whose leaf shall not fade neither shall the fruit thereof
be consumed it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months
because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary and the
fruit thereof shall be for me and the leaf thereof for medicine. May the Lord bless that portion
or those portions of his precious word. Grant unto us a spirit
of real prayer. Gracious, merciful and eternal
God, we do desire to bow before thy great majesty and to call
upon thy great, thy holy and thy eternal name. And we do desire
that this day, that the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the
love of God our Father, and the sacred fellowship of the Holy
Spirit may rest and abide upon us. We pray that grace may triumphant
reign, and Christ exalted be, and sinners deserve an endless
pain, thy great salvation see. Lord, may it be so. We do humbly
beseech thee. We think of the sacred promises
of thy word, that I will abundantly bless her provision. I will satisfy
her poor with bread. Gracious God, what wonderful
promises thou hast made unto Zion, the church of the living
God. Oh, we do beseech thee that thou
wouldst fulfil those promises upon us here. We do humbly beseech
thee. Let thy work appear unto thy
servants and thy glory unto their children, O Lord God of hosts.
Let us see thy goings in the sanctuary. Let us see thy power
and thy glory as thou usest to be in the sanctuary. Grant, dear
Lord, that we may catch a glimpse of yon lovely man and worship
at Emmanuel's feet, touch the hem of his garment, draw from
that sacred fullness that is in Him, for He is all our hope,
He is all our desire, and we desire that He may be exalted
here today as a Prince and as a Saviour, for to give faith,
repentance and remission of sins. Lord, we are dependent upon Thee,
and without Thee we can do nothing. We are nothing and we have nothing.
We're poor, sinful worms of the earth. Gracious God, we do pray
that thou would lift us above ourselves and above our circumstances
and lead us by faith unto Jesus Christ, the great King of glory,
the great high priest of his people. Give us to truly feel
and experience that we have a great high priest who is passed into
the heavens, Jesus, the son of God. O do grant that it may be
so, Lord, we do beseech Thee for Thy great name's sake. We
pray to be led and taught and guided and directed by the Spirit
of God. We pray, most gracious Lord,
that there may be unction and power, savour and sweetness in
the ministry and the reading of the Word of God and the singing
of the hymns. There may be something that shall
abide in our hearts, and that we may be brought nearer unto
Thee, into closer union and communion with Thee. We do pray, dear Lord,
that Thou wouldst graciously lead us into Thy truth, and that
Thy truth may be a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our
path. We do humbly pray Thee. We pray
that if there's any poor sinner here today, in bondage, bring
them into liberty. In darkness, bring them into
light. Feeling to be so far off, make
them nigh. By the precious blood of the
Lamb, we do humbly beseech thee. We pray, dear Lord, that thou
wouldst give us that grace to confess our sins, our wanderings,
our backslidings, We have to say and solemnly say with the
dear Apostle, that which I would I do not, that which I would
not I do. I find a law within my members
that when I would do good, then evil is present with me. Gracious
God, we do pray that thou wouldst be gracious unto us this day
and grant deliverance in Jesus Christ. We do humbly pray thee,
our sins and our iniquities take them away grant that we may see
them in Christ when he suffered and bled and died on Calvary
was it for crimes I had done he hung and suffered there truly
Lord we have a heart which is deceitful above all things and
desperately wicked and we come in confession of our sins and
of our wanderings and of our backslidings We pray, dear Lord,
that thou wouldst be gracious unto us, and draw us unto thyself,
that we might know those healing waters, those living waters. We do humbly pray thee that they
may be poured forth even this day. There is a river, the streams
whereof shall make glad the city of God, that the dwelling place
is of the Most High. And, O Lord God, we do pray that
thou wouldst graciously Bless our brethren, the deacons, and
give them needed grace, wisdom, and help in all their responsibilities. Bless each one, O Lord, of our
church members, and graciously grant that we may grow in grace
and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, that
we may not stagnate, but that we may grow, that we may be given
wisdom and understanding in thy word, that we may eat the bread
of life and drink the water of life and be nourished thereby
and grow up in Christ, we do humbly pray thee. Make us more
spiritually minded. Help us to love each other, serve
each other, and bear each other's burdens, thereby fulfilling the
law of Christ. Add unto us, O Lord, such as
should be saved. Grant thy blessing upon the younger
generation, They may be brought forth a generation that shall
follow on to know the Lord. We do humbly beseech of thee
for thy great name's sake. Remember those that are away
seeking rest and change at this time. Graciously be with them
and graciously bless them. Teach them thy ways and lead
them in thy paths. Oh Lord, we do humbly beseech
of thee for thy great name's sake. We pray. Most gracious
God, that there was here prayer for the little ones and the children
as they're brought into the sanctuary. May the blessing of the Lord
that maketh rich and addeth no sorrow with it be their portion.
May the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom, be
given unto them. Hear us, Lord. We do humbly pray
thee for thy great name's sake. and that we pray that thou would
remember the young friends on the threshold of life's journey,
to graciously guide them. Guide us, O thou great Jehovah,
pilgrims in this barren land. Lead them unto Jesus Christ,
the only Saviour of sinners. Bring them to living vital faith
in him. Make them followers of thee and
of those who, through faith and patience, inherit the promises.
Lord, be with them in all the paths of providence, and graciously
guide and direct them, open doors and close doors, and that they
may be led of thee, that thy word may be their guide. We do
humbly pray thee, grant them a partner in life's journey,
one that shall fear thy great and thy holy name, we do humbly
beseech of thee. And, O Lord God, we do pray that
thou wouldst bless and undertake for all in the midst of the journey
of life, and be gracious unto each one. Especially we would
pray for parents, as they bring up their children, that they
may bring them up in the nurture and in the admonition of the
Lord, that it may be to the glory of thy great and holy name we
pray most gracious lord that thou would defend us each from
the power the temptations of the enemy even satan the old
serpent the devil and grant that whether he comes as an angel
of light to deceive us or whether he comes as a roaring lion to
devour us we may be delivered from his power and from his influence
You may see the fulfilling of that precious promise. When the
enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift
up a standard against him. Remember those of us in the evening
time of life's journey. Be with us in the remaining steps
thereof. Continually bring us to thy feet
as poor needy sinners, trusting alone upon that grace that is
in Christ Jesus. Put the arms of Thine everlasting
love around us and support, sustain and strengthen us. O Lord, we
do beseech of Thee. We pray, most gracious Lord,
that Thou wouldst graciously send out Thy light and Thy truth
from this house of prayer into this village, into the surrounding
villages and hamlets that precious souls may be gathered in. 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. Lord, this is thy work and thy
work alone, and that we do pray that thou wouldst hear our entreaties.
Thou hast promised in thy word, I will bring thy sons from far
and thy daughters from the ends of the earth. We would not forget
the prodigals that have wandered away, Stretch out Thy almighty
arm, cause them to be in one, cause them to return. Only Thou,
O Lord, are able to do it. We pray, most gracious Lord,
that Thou, in Thy precious mercy, would remember all Thy servants
as they labour in word and doctrine upon the walls of Zion, grant
them that fresh anointing of Thy Spirit, grant signs to follow
the preaching of the Word, as a great withholding of Thy Spirit's
power in our assemblies. And Lord, is there not a cause?
Bring us to real repentance, bring us to confess our sins
and our wanderings and our backslidings. And oh, abundantly bless the
provision of Thy house and satisfy her poor with bread. We do pray
Thee, most gracious God. We pray, dear Lord, that there
was here prayer For our nation, we live in dark and solemn days. Iniquity abounds on every hand.
And in those things taking place in Parliament at this time, we're
reminded in thy word by me, King's reign, and Prince's decree justice. And Lord, we commit all matters
into thy kind and gracious hand. Raise up one that will stand
for right things. O Lord, we do beseech thee. And,
O Lord God, we pray that thou wouldst subdue the powers of
Antichrist. Remember, dear Lord, our beloved
Queen and the royal household, and grant thy rich blessing to
rest upon them. Remember those who labour in
word and doctrine among the nations of the earth, and bless, O Lord,
their labours and supply all their many returning needs. We
thank thee for the throne of grace, the glorious King that
sits upon it. We thank thee for thy word, for
thy gospel, for thy grace. We thank thee that thy mercies
to each one of us are new every morning and great is thy faithfulness. We thank thee for the wonderful
and sacred and profound glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, the
wonder of the incarnation of the Son of God, the holy life
He lived, the holy law He fulfilled. Gracious God, we do thank Thee. We thank Thee for Calvary, where
the Lamb was slain, where sin has been put away, where God
and sinners are reconciled. We thank Thee for the precious
blood of the Lamb. He loved not His life unto death.
He died for our sins and rose again for our justification,
and has now ascended into heaven and is at Thy right hand. Great
God, fill our hearts with gratitude. Help us now as we turn to the
Word. Come and open the Word to our
heart, to our understanding. 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 996. The tune is Oswestry 387. While the dear saints of God
below travel this veil of sin and woe, there is a river through
the road, makes glad the city of our God. Hymn 996. O come all ye faithful joyful
and triumphant O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem I love you, I love you, I love
you ? That you see through all that
I have done ? ? And always speak with fear among my people ? ? Thanks be for a great big celebration
? ? Happy are those who join us today ? ? Deep river, deep
river, deep river, deep river, deep river, deep river, deep
river, deep river, deep river, deep river, deep river, deep river, deep
river, deep river, deep river, deep river, deep river, deep
river, deep river, deep river, deep river, deep river, deep river, deep river,
deep river, deep river, deep river, deep river, deep river,
deep river, deep river, deep river, deep river, deep river,
deep river, deep river, deep river, deep river, deep river,
deep river, deep river, deep river, deep river, deep river, deep river,
deep river, deep river, deep river, deep river, deep river,
deep river, deep river, deep river, deep river, deep river, deep
river, deep river, deep river, deep river, deep river, deep river,
deep river, deep river, deep river, deep river, deep river,
deep river, deep river, deep river, deep river, deep river, deep river, deep
river, deep river In the sleep of death he rejoices,
For all human troubles fail. O'er the ramparts we watched,
were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket's red glare, the
bombs bursting in air, Gave proof through the night that our flag
was still there. ? Rainfall, let it rain ? ? Under
these trees of mercy rain ? ? Rainfall, let it rain ? Greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, I would direct your attention to the prophecy
of Ezekiel, chapter 47, and we will read verse 9 for our text. Ezekiel, chapter 47, verse 9. And it shall come to pass that
everything that liveth, which moveth, withersoever the river
comes, shall live and there shall be a very great multitude of
fish because these waters shall come thither for they shall be
healed and everything shall live whither the river cometh. To wait something like three
hours of reading yesterday morning before I got this text. And as I was wrestling with the
Lord for his guidance in the matter, just one thing just dropped
on my spirit, water. Water. And then my mind was thinking
of the water of life and how beautifully illustrated it is
here in this portion of the Prophet Ezekiel. This river, my beloved
friends, is spoken of in Psalm 46. There is a river, the streams
were of shall make glad the city of God, the dwelling places of
the Most High. And the source of this river
is very clearly laid out in the Word of God. Revelation chapter
22 verse 1, And he showed me a pure river of water of life,
clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and
of the Lamb." And you know, friends, that's a beautiful, sacred word. The river here, in this sense,
is the Holy Ghost. And the Holy Ghost proceeding
forth from God the Father, and from the Lamb of God, slain from
before the foundation of the world. In other words, that divine,
glorious, ineffable trinity of persons, God the Father, God
the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. That is the source of this river
that we have in our text, that Ezekiel saw by way of vision. And he showed me a pure river
of water of life, the Holy Ghost, clear as crystal, proceeding
out of the throne of God and of the land. There is a river.
The streams whereof shall make land the city of God." Here in
the 47th Ezekiel, we notice in this
vision that he was given, when he speaks of the house, he's
talking of the house of God. Afterward, he brought me again
under the door of the house and behold waters issued out from
under the threshold of the house eastward. You see from beneath
the altar it says here and in the second verse it says behold
there ran out waters on the right side and it turned into a mighty river
Now, to rightly spiritually understand this, it's speaking of the sanctuary
of God, it's speaking of the place of the altar, it's speaking
of the holy place of which Moses said or the Lord said to Moses,
there will I meet with thee, there will I commune with thee
from off the golden mercy seat. The sacrifices and offerings
were beautifully typical of our Lord Jesus Christ. And this is
from whence this river flows. From our Lord Jesus Christ. The
substance of this river is Christ. The living waters are Christ.
Conveyed into the heart by the Holy Ghost. He will take of the
things of Jesus and reveal them unto you. You see and he says
here initially in verse 3, that the waters were to the ankles,
then he measures again another thousand and the waters were
to the knees, and then again another thousand and the waters
were to the loins, and afterward he measured a thousand and it
was a river that I could not pass over, for the water was
risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over.
What a wonderful illustration of the work of God in the eternal
covenant ordered in all things and sure. And we trace it back
to the altar, to the holy place, to the sacrifices and offerings,
to the blood of sprinkling. There will I meet with thee,
there will I commune with thee. Those Old Testament figures were
types and shadows of good things to come. The good things to come
was the glorious person and work of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ. The blood of sprinkling represents
the blood of Christ. There will I meet with thee.
There will I commune with thee. There's nowhere else where a
poor sinner can commune and meet with God but on this ground and
this ground alone through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Through
that one offering for sin and for uncleanness. That fountain
opened, as the Prophet says, for sin and for uncleanness. You see, and it was a river that
gets bigger and bigger and bigger. One of the hymn writers, he calls
it the river of the eternal love of God. You may say to me, well
you've just said it's the Holy Ghost. Yes, and who conveys that
river of the eternal love of God? The Holy Ghost. The Apostle
himself, he says, For the love of Christ is shed abroad in our
hearts by the Holy Ghost. He conveys that everlasting love
of the Eternal Father through the Eternal Son. What we have
in Ezekiel chapter 2 and verse 18. For through Him, that's Christ,
through Him we have access by one Spirit unto the Father. This
glorious Redeemer. I am the way, the truth and the
life. and the sacred conduit of this
river is Christ. Everything that we receive spiritually
comes through Him. Surely that is what is so clearly
conveyed to us in the 7th chapter of the Gospel according to John.
And it is very clearly seen that the Holy Ghost is likened to
a river. In John chapter 7 and verse 37
We read in the last day, that great day of the feast, John
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. Now listen to what he says, but
this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him
should receive, for the Holy Ghost was not yet given. because
that Jesus was not yet glorified. Notice the order so clearly laid
out there in the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let him
come unto me. If anyone thirsts, let him come
unto me. And here in this chapter in Ezekiel,
we read of some of the properties of this river. You will notice even in our text,
it speaks of the properties of this river, and it shall come
to pass that everything that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever
the river shall come, shall live. It's living water. It's life-giving
water. If you drink of this water, my
beloved friends, it will never fail. and it shall come to pass
that everything that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the
river shall come, shall live. And there shall be a very great
multitude of fish. That's speaking of all the individual
believers that are called by divine grace, that are quickened
by the Spirit, that are brought to living faith in Jesus Christ. My beloved friends, you can never
come to living faith in Jesus Christ unless the Holy Ghost
quickens your soul into life and gives you faith. How vital
and essential and fundamental is the spirit of faith? We read
in the Hebrews, without faith it is impossible to please God,
for he that cometh unto God must believe that he is, and that
he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. And these
living waters, the Holy Ghost conveying the blessings of the
eternal covenant ordered in all things and sure, breathing them
into the soul of poor sinners here upon earth. The Lord Jesus
in his teachings and this vital essential work of the Holy Ghost,
he said to Nicodemus didn't he, accept a man be born of water
and of the Spirit. Notice the connection between
water and the Spirit. Accept a man be born of water
and the Spirit. He cannot enter the kingdom of
heaven only by the Holy Ghost. It's a very encouraging word
that is found in the Gospel according to Luke concerning the Holy Ghost
and this divine work of the Spirit. Luke chapter 11 and we read there
that in encouraging words of our Lord
Jesus Christ concerning seeking and praying. And he says to us
in those very well-known words, I say unto you, ask and it shall
be given you. Seek and ye shall find. Knock
and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asketh receiveth,
and he that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh it shall
be opened. No, just look at verse 13. If ye then, being evil, know
how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall
your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask
Him? Ask, and it shall be given you. Seek, and ye shall find. Knock,
and it shall be opened unto you. Oh, how we need to pray for the
divine and person of the Holy Ghost to enter into our hearts,
to quicken our souls into life. If you're mourning because you
have your lack of spiritual mindedness, the only person that can give
it is the Holy Ghost. If you mourn because you have
a lack of prayer, the only person that can give real prayer is
the Holy Ghost. You see, my beloved friends,
these things are written in the Word of God for our instruction.
How much more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to
them that ask Him? Oh, that we may be enabled to
ask Him. And it shall come to pass that
everything that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers
shall come, shall live. And it shall be a very great
multitude of fish Because these waters shall come thither, for
they shall be healed. These are healing waters, they're
living waters, they're healing waters. And everything shall
live whither the river cometh. Oh that we might know more of
the outpouring of the Holy Spirit among us. That we might know
more of it personally in our own souls, to be made more spiritually
minded. our affections to be set upon
things above. And be true followers of our
Lord Jesus Christ. You say, some people say to me,
well I can't meditate, my beloved friends, ask. Ask and you shall
receive. Some people, they say, well I
can't meditate, they fold their arms, they sit down, oh well
I can't do that, and they give up straight away. You see, my
beloved friends, these things are written in God's Word. Ask,
and He will give it. Seek and you shall find. We have
to prove that these things are the gift of God. And He gives
this spirit of meditation. And He gives the spirit of prayer.
He does, and all that we may be among those are asking and
seeking and knocking. among those that know these living
waters. Your soul is alive because of
these living waters. Stop for a moment and consider
this, that water is an absolutely vital ingredient for the maintaining
of life. Absolutely vital. Nothing can live without water. Everything dies without water.
At this time we have a drought, an official drought. Why? Because
there's no water. Because no rain has come. It
just shows us how vital water is. The plants can't grow. We can't live without water.
No animal, no insect can live without water. It's something
that is vital to the maintenance of life upon earth. And that is why the Holy Ghost
is likened to water. Because it's vital. Nothing can spiritually live
without the Holy Ghost. No person can become a Christian
without the Holy Ghost. You hath he quickened, it's a
divine act of the Holy Ghost. You hath he quickened who were
dead. The dead know not anything, the dead can't do anything. That's
the illustration that there is in scripture. That's our state
by nature. You can't quicken your own soul.
You can't exercise faith unless the Spirit of God gives faith.
You can't maintain that life of faith unless the Holy Ghost
maintains it for you. And that living water flows into
your soul. And your soul is as a watered
garden. And Christ is made precious.
You feel your sinfulness, your wretchedness, but you also feel
the preciousness of Christ. And how that he is able to save
to the uttermost all that come unto God by him. How do you know
that? Because the Holy Ghost has taught
you. That's how you know that. You hunger and thirst because
the Holy Ghost is teaching you. As the heart panteth after the
water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God, When shall
I come and appear before God? My tears have been my meat day
and night, while they continually say unto me, where is thy God? You see, what a wonderful mercy
with that sort of appetite. Blessed are they that hunger
and thirst after righteousness, after righteousness, for they
shall be filled. You see, there's another sense
in this river. We notice here, first it was
to his ankles, then the knees, then the loins, and then a river
to swim in that he could not pass over. You think of that
in relation to what is revealed in God's Word. And how it's revealed. You have the first glimmerings
of hope to poor lost man right there in the garden of Eden when
man sinned it speaks of the seed of the woman that's Christ that's
Christ that door of hope that way of salvation that way of
redemption there is none other name given under heaven whereby
you must be saved but the name of Jesus Christ that and that
alone can save your soul He and he alone can make a way to God. He and he alone can reconcile
you unto God. Now, as we come through Holy
Scripture, just as it is in this vision of Ezekiel, to his ankles,
to his knees, and so these things are opened up more fully unto
us. Initially we come to Abraham
and then the Lord promises Abraham, in thee shall all the nations
of the earth be blessed. Why? Because Christ will be born
of his seed. And all the nations of the earth
will be blessed. Then we come down to David, and
there shall not fail thee a king to sit upon thy throne forever.
You see the beautiful revelation of Christ. David speaks of it
in the book of Psalms. We spoke recently on Psalm 45. And how beautiful that sets before
us the love that David knew of his Lord and Master. A greater
revelation was granted unto him. And you look into the prophets
and what was revealed unto the prophets, especially the prophet
Isaiah, of the wonderful glory of the days of Christ. and the
success of his kingdom. And then of course we come into
the New Testament of our Lord Jesus Christ and there we have
the full glory. What he says here, a river to
swim in. He could not pass over. That
is what is revealed in the New Testament Church. The wonderful
sacred glories of the Eternal Son, of the Eternal Father manifest
in the flesh. Even the Jews, even the disciples
when Christ was here on earth did not have a clear view of
that. They thought he was going to restore the Kingdom of Israel.
No, my beloved friends, that river was now to flow through
all the nations of the earth, every name, kindred, tongue,
and tribe, and people. And it shall come to pass that
everything that liveth, which moveth withersoever, the river
shall come, shall live, and there shall be a great multitude of
fish, because these waters were come, thither, for they shall
be healed and everything shall live whether the river cometh."
This river of the water of life, wherever this river cometh. Now,
another what we might say interpretation or application of the... to the ankles and then to the
knees and then to the loins and then a river to swim in, is the
personal spiritual experiences of the Lord's living family.
You know, we don't learn everything at once. There's a gradual growing
in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ. It's very precious when Christ
is first revealed and first made precious. It's like that river
that was to the ankles. Christ is first made precious.
There are those living desires arise in your soul. Why? Because
this river is flowing into your soul. The Holy Ghost is breathing
life into your heart. The Holy Ghost is teaching. And
as we read in Isaiah, hear a little, dare a little, line upon line,
precept upon precept. And then Maybe you've been raised
up to hope and then the Lord will give you a greater revelation
of Christ. It is what it says here, to your
knees. Up to your knees. You can walk
in that water. You couldn't swim in it, it's
not sufficient. But you can walk in it and it's sweet to your
soul. There's a gradual growing in grace and in the knowledge
of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. And then the Lord may
lead you on. It may be through times of great
trial and great perplexity and great sorrow and great loss,
great affliction. But the Lord leads you on. And
in those afflictions, those troubles, those trials, those losses, those
crosses, He deepens that work of grace in your heart. And Christ
is made more precious to your soul. You are brought utterly
to the end of yourself and the end of anything that you can
do, but you see everything has been done by Christ. You're so
blessed. You see, it was up to his loins. A river he could swim in. And
then of course, there is what we term Gospel Liberty. And when the Lord brings his
children to Gospel Liberty and they know the forgiveness of
sins, they know the truth of those words, Thy sins, which
are many, are all forgiven thee. They experience it in their souls.
See, my beloved friends, it's then a river that you can swim
in, when you're brought into gospel liberty, and when the
love of Christ is so shed abroad in your heart, and when His cross
is made precious to you, and when the Spirit of God reveals
to you that He died for you, he suffered, he bled, he died
for your sins. Or maybe you haven't reached
that far yet and you desire to know that and you long to know
that. To know my Jesus crucified by fire excels all things beside. This is the one thing needful.
Of course in another sense of the word this river to swim in
is eternal glory and everlasting happiness. A river to swim in. I've often said to you the words
of Bishop Leighton here upon Earth, the Lord's people, they
taste of the joy of the Lord, the love of God in their hearts.
But in heaven, in glory, they'll swim in it. They'll swim in it. They'll be immersed in it. The
eternal love of God. I will not gaze on glory, but on my King of Grace. Not
on the crown he giveth, but on those pierced hands. That's what
glory is. You know, we cannot really comprehend,
can we, the sacred glories and this river that can be swum in. And it shall come to pass that
everything that liveth, which moveth whithersoever the river
shall come, shall be. Maybe, you know, as the Lord
deepens the work of grace in the heart. And as we are brought
to growing grace, you know, it is with us like it was with John
the Baptist. I must decrease, he must increase. And the Holy Spirit convicting
and convincing you of your sin, giving you to feel the awful
corruption of your nature, the wretchedness of your condition. How painful, how trying, how
perplexing that is when the Holy Spirit deepens that work in the
heart and there is a deeper, fuller sense of the wretchedness
of your nature. We shall never know it fully,
I don't believe we could bear it. The awful, sinful corruption
of your heart, but then for the Spirit of God to work faith in
your heart, and you view a precious Christ, and you view your sins
laid upon Him. He laid upon Him the iniquity
of us all. Oh, my beloved friends, it's
to the loins. It's a great river, and you drink
of the river of His everlasting love. You see, these things,
they all have an interpretation in many different ways, that
some of the Lord's servants may have a slightly different interpretation
because the Lord has opened it to them and they're looking at
it from a slightly different angle. It's not because one is
right and one is wrong, it's because that is what the revelation
that the Lord has given unto him. See, it's a very precious
thing, you know, friends, that when the Lord gives us these
sweet revelations, my mind in meditation yesterday was much
drawn to Exodus chapter 17. And in Exodus chapter 17 we have
Moses upon the rock, standing upon the rock. And he was in
a great strait. They had no water. The congregation
of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of sin after
their journeys according to the commandment of the Lord and pitched
in Rephidim And there was no water for the people to drink.
Well, we can understand the distress. If you and your family had no
water to drink, you'd be greatly distressed. Wherefore the people
did chide with Moses and said, give us water that we may drink.
And Moses said unto them, why chide you with me? Wherefore
do you tempt the Lord? And the people thirsted there
for water. Oh you know sometimes I think
of it in this light, in a spiritual light. What a wonderful thing
if here in this congregation, this church, there were those
thirsting for this living water, longing for this living water. In verse 4, Moses cried unto
the Lord saying, what shall I do unto this people? They'd be almost
ready to stone me. And the Lord said unto Moses,
go on before the people and take with thee of the elders of Israel
and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand
and go. Behold, I will stand before thee
there upon the rock in Horeb." You know, it's another beautiful,
typical scene that we have here. Moses, he literally smote the
rock and the waters gushed out. It wasn't a little water, it
was a river of water. Just remember, my beloved friends,
that the children of Israel were approximately 2 million people.
And we can only imagine how much water they needed just to drink
and to wash etc. But there's a beautiful type
here. Christ was smitten for his people. Behold I will stand before thee
there upon the rock in Horeb And there shall it smite the
rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may
drink. And Moses did so in the sight
of the elders of Israel." You know, friends, there were many,
many of the Puritans that felt that that river literally followed
the children of Israel right the way through the wilderness. It does seem to intimate in parts
of the Word of God that it did Because that wilderness, there
is no water there. That's the very nature of a wilderness.
It's a dry, barren wilderness with little water. And certainly
not sufficient to give a great company like that water to drink. But let us look at it spiritually.
Christ is this living water. And it's this living water that
he gives to his people. we have those beautiful words
in we went together in Isaiah how everyone that thirsted come
here to the waters and he that hath no money that is he that
is bankrupt with nothing to pay come ye buy and eat ye come by
wine and milk and without money and without price. Wherefore
do you spend money for that which is not bread, and your labour
for that which satisfies not? Hearken diligently unto me, and
eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself.
In factness, incline your ear, and come unto me. Christ is speaking
here. Hear, and your soul shall live,
and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure
mercies of David. You see, ho everyone that thirsteth,
come ye to these living waters that flow from Calvary, that
flow through Jesus Christ our Lord, they flow through a suffering
Saviour who has satisfied all the demands of divine justice.
Would one of you close this door please? Thank you. Living waters, that
flow from Calvary, this eternal rock that was smote in the wilderness,
this rock, the divine spirit, the everlasting love of God flowing
wherever the Lord's people are. And wherever it flows, it brings
life. And wherever it flows, it maintains life. And it's so
beautifully illustrative of the divine person and work of the
Holy Ghost. In that chapter we read together
that these encouraging words, seek ye the Lord while he may
be found. Call ye upon him while he is
near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man
his thoughts. Let him return unto the Lord
and he will have mercy upon him and to our God for he will abundantly
pardon. These are these living waters
when Christ is revealed. And, you know, you may have in
your mind that this God is such a holy God, such a righteous
God, that he will condemn you forever, he will cast you out
of his presence forever, he will damn your soul forever. But listen
to what he says, by way of encouragement. For my thoughts are not your
thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For
as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher
than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the
rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not
thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it to bring forth
and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the
eater, so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth. It shall not return unto me void,
but it shall accomplish the thing whereto I sent it. It will accomplish the thing
whereto I sent it. These are living waters, cleansing
waters, waters that reconcile poor sinners unto God. They're
powerful waters. Tremendous power in the precious,
precious and glorious person of our Lord Jesus Christ. Power
to forgive sins. Power to wash away all your iniquity. Power to reconcile you unto God. Power to deliver you from your
sins. power through Christ who he has
completely fulfilled the law, honoured and magnified it on
the behalf of these poor wretched sinners. He's done everything,
everything that you need to be done, he has done it. He's fulfilled
and honoured that law, he's brought in everlasting righteousness
for his people, he's Jehovah Sidkenia. These are these living
waters that flow into Zion that are found in the glorious person
of our Lord and our Savior, Jesus Christ. These living waters,
wherever they come, wherever they go, they're healing waters,
they're living waters. Let us just look for a moment
at the fourth chapter of the Gospel according to John. And
there our Lord Jesus Christ, he meets the woman, the Samaritan
woman by the well of Jacob. And there is a conversation that
starts between Christ and this woman concerning water. And you see, now it says in verse
6, now Jacob's well was there, Jesus therefore being wearied,
shows us the wonderful reality of his holy human nature. Jesus
therefore being wearied with his journey sat thus on the well,
and it was about the sixth hour. Then cometh a woman of Samaria
to draw water. Jesus saith unto her, Give me
to drink. For his disciples were gone away
into the city to buy me. And this woman was so surprised,
the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. Jesus answered,
verse 10, and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God,
and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink, They wouldest
have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with,
and the well is deep. From whence then hast thou that
living water? You see, she was astonished. Verse 13, Jesus answered and
said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again.
That's natural water, but whosoever drinketh of the water that I
shall give him shall never thirst. But the water that I shall give
him shall be in him a well of water, springing up into everlasting
life." Springing up into everlasting life. This is the wonderful gift
of the Holy Ghost. If you look carefully at that
verse 14. Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give
him shall never thirst. It's the Holy Ghost dwelling
in the heart of the believer. But the water that I shall give
him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting
life. Once the Spirit of God dwells
savingly in a poor sinner, he never leaves. It springs up unto
everlasting life. Once in him, in him forever,
thus the eternal covenant stands." Oh, my beloved friends, may we
Indeed, hunger and thirst after this living water, this living
water. We have those beautiful words,
I often refer you to them in the last chapter of Holy Scripture.
And the Lord Jesus, of course, speaking through his servant
John, and he says in verse 16, I, Jesus, have sent mine angel
to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root
and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star,
and the Spirit, that's the Holy Ghost, and the Bride, that's
the Church of God. They speak with one voice, and
the Spirit and the Bride say, Come! And let him that heareth
say, Come! And let him that is athirst,
Come! And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. It cannot be brought, it cannot
be purchased. That verse 17, it reminds me
of the words of our Lord Jesus Christ. Come unto me, 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 my yoke is easy and my burden is light and
it shall come to pass that everything that liveth which moveth with
us whoever the rivers shall come shall live and there shall be
a very great multitude of fish because these waters shall come
hither for they shall be healed take it from that it means they
are healing waters for they shall be healed wherever this water
comes they shall be healed and everything shall live whither
the river cometh oh that we may be found truly hungry thirsty
and partakers of this river this river of god that maketh glad
the city of god the dwelling places of the Most High, and
it shall come to pass that everything that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever
the river shall come, shall live. It reminds me of that word in
Psalm 145, Thou openest Thine hand and satisfyeth the desire
of every living thing. That is in a natural sense of
the word, He being the eternal God, the creator of the heavens
and the earth, the sustainer of the universe, he opens his
hand and satisfies the desire of every living thing. You know,
we live in a day, sadly, when man thinks he's in control of
everything. He even thinks he can make the
weather and he's blaming the weather, the hot weather and
the stormy weather, he blames it onto man-made climate change.
The weather is in God's hand. It always has been and it always
will be. The Eternal God. He controls
the weather. He controls the whole universe.
With heaven and earth at His command. This Great God, this
Almighty Jesus. It's a lovely word, isn't it?
With heaven and earth at His command, He waits to answer prayer. You know, we have this drill. But how often do you and I, I
speak now as much to myself, how often do we pray for the
Lord to send us rain? To send us a shower from heaven?
How often does he hear from us on this matter? He's a God that
hears and answers prayer. He is indeed, and there's no
doubt that in these things there is a judgment made. And when
man speaks of everything they know about climate change and
everything else, I think of that solemn word. I was saying them
strong delusions that they should believe a lie. It's when man
speaks of evolution and that this world was made out of nothing
and there was a great big bang and everything was formed. My
beloved friends, to even think of those things is utterly ridiculous. It doesn't even add together.
God has created the world. God will supply the world We've
only got to go back to the ancient promise in the book of Genesis
that was given unto Noah concerning the promise and the rainbow that
the Lord sent. And he said to Noah, seed time
and harvest, cold and heat shall not fail while the earth remaineth. You see, my beloved friends,
it's God that controls all these things, and we're told so. In
the Word of God. We're told so in the Word of
God. It's God controls these things. While the earth remaineth,
it's the last verse of Genesis chapter 8, while the earth remaineth,
seed time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day
and night shall not cease. That's the Word of God. And these people, they say, well,
everywhere's going to be a desert and this is changing and that's
changing and everything's out of control and we've got to do
this and we've got to spend billions of pounds doing this and billions
of pounds doing that. It's utterly futile. Utterly
futile. There's a God in heaven. He's
promised us sea time and harvest, summer and heat, cold and winter,
shall not fail. Shall not fail. All that we may
being able to look to Him and to trust in Him in all these
matters. And it shall come to pass that
everything that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the river
shall come, shall live. And there shall be a very great
multitude of fish, because these waters shall come hither, thither,
for they shall be healed. And everything shall live whither
the river cometh. May the Lord add His blessings. Let us now sing together hymn
number 1091. The tune is Carey's 314. How welcome to the solo
press In sorrows veiled by raging thirst,
Scorched by the sun's meridian beam, Is the sweet well of Bethlehem,
Hymn 1091. And if that soul of mine is always
there, I rarely fear the world. ? Such wondrous love can ever be
? ? Eternity now and evermore. ? O praise for all the saints that
stand in every way, for every way. O'er the land of the free and
the home of the brave, The home of the brave. O Testament, O Testament, How
great a challenge may never confound Yes, there's a candle in every
street, shaking the banner of Bethlehem. O rest the spirit of pure love,
O fill the sky with mountains bright, ? Strength of the brave ? ? It
is thy name ? ? That holds the spirit of Bethlehem ? to see when angels sing to Thee.
This wondrous day Jesus prevails. My sins to quench, my fears to
quell, spring up, oh, spring from heaven's well. Where waves have streamed in
beneath the night, Thou weep'st the day of joyful strife. With each passing day, we'll
be here, each man, one street, one man, standing by. 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. Amen.