Let us turn to God's Word once
again, and I want to direct you to words that we find in the
first epistle of Peter, the first general
epistle of Peter in chapter 1, and I'll read the passage from
verse 10 through 12. Reading then in 1 Peter chapter
1, verses 10, 11, and 12. of which salvation the prophets
have inquired, and searched diligently, you prophesied of the grace that
should come unto you, searching what or what manner of time the
Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when he testified
beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should
follow. Unto whom it was revealed that
not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things
which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the
gospel unto you, with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven,
which things the angels desire to look into." Well, as we come
to these verses, we see here three things. We see in verses
10 and 11 that salvation that was actually preached in the
Old Testament that it was preached by those who were the prophets
of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently
who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you remember
how we're told in the revelation that the testimony of Jesus is
the spirit of prophecy all those Old Testament prophets then were
the servants of Christ as he says in verse 11 searching what
or what manner of time the spirit of Christ which was in them did
signify when he testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and
the glory that should follow. We can only do justice to the
Old Testament and the writings of the prophets if we recognize
that the chief theme and subject of their ministry was ever the
Lord Jesus in his person and in his work. The salvation then
was preached by the Old Testament prophets. But then secondly,
in verse 12, he speaks of how it is that same salvation that
is now being preached by the apostles and prophets of the
New Testament. He says, unto whom it was revealed
that not unto themselves but unto us they did many of the
things which are now reported unto you by them that have preached
the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven. Of course it was in particular
Peter there in Acts 2 on the day of Pentecost under that remarkable
outpouring of the Spirit of God who was preaching the gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ but so too with regards to all the
rest of the apostles so it's the same salvation preached by
apostles and there they need and of course
all who would preach that gospel need that blessed unction of
the Holy Spirit himself and John speaks of that anointing there
in his first general epistle in chapter 2 and verses 20 and
27. The anointing which teaches you
of all things and is true and is no lie. Now these apostles
were preaching then under that gracious unction and authority
of the Holy Ghost whom God had sent down from heaven. and then
the third thing we see with regards to this salvation not only preached
by the Old Testament prophets and preached by the New Testament
apostles but the salvation that angels delight to look into which
things the angels desire to look into and it's that particular
part of the text really that I want to send to your attention
on for a while this evening I was brought to it recently just the
other day actually in reading some sermons by John Love this
old book that I acquired some while ago and John Love was a
Presbyterian minister a Scotsman, he did minister for a while in
London but principally ministering up in Glasgow and He was preaching at the end of
the 18th and beginning of the 19th century. And what struck
me in several of his sermons was the remarkable way in which
he introduces the sermon. You start reading the sermon
and all of a sudden you are so gripped by the introduction.
Some men seem to have that remarkable ability. strike such a note right
at the outset that your attention is immediately riveted. And I
just want to read what he says here. He's preaching on words
in John 1.38 when Jesus turned and saw them following and said
unto them what seek ye. You remember the disciples of
John the Baptist as the Baptist directs them to the Christ who's
going to take away the sin of the world. And he makes the point
in the course of this sermon that these are the very first
words that we read the Lord Jesus speaking to anyone in the New
Testament when he addresses these men and says, What seek ye? Well, let me just read this extract
from the beginning of his sermon. He says, My brethren, there was
a time when, with respect to the objective display of divine
glory, it might be truly said that earth was richer than heaven. When Jesus was visibly in this
world, he contained a more precious treasure than was to be found
in the highest heaven. His obedience and sufferings
far outshone all the brilliancy of the collected host above.
In them, God was glorified by the noblest exertions of mere
creatures. But here the infinite Godhead
itself gave dignity to the obedience which was performed, and value
to the sufferings which were endured. I wonder not, therefore,
to hear of the frequent descent of angels. It became them to
pay homage to that Godhead which now appeared mysteriously in
the form of a fallow subject. But I wonder at the stupidity,
the brutal stupidity of my fallow sinners. Why did not the attraction
of the descending Godhead pervade all the regions of this globe?
Why did not the courts of princes, the schools of philosophers,
the cities of the civilized and the wilds of the savage tribes
of men, pour in to the then glorified land of Judea, millions of adoring,
supplicating spectators, while Immanuel tabernacled on earth?
Ah, surely it was gross darkness which now covered the earth and
howled mankind in its chains." I found those to be quite remarkable
words, the idea that when Christ was upon the earth, the earth
was richer than heaven itself, and how the angels took account
of that. I wonder not, therefore, to hear of the frequent descent
of angels. It became them to pay homage
to that Godhead, which now appeared mysteriously in the form of a
fellow subject and so to say something tonight with regards
to these words concerning the Lord Jesus Christ and that great
salvation that he accomplished as a man here upon the earth
which things the angels desire to look into and to divide what
I'm going to say really into two parts in a sense look at
the Old Testament and what is foreshadowed there in the Old
Testament, and then to come to the New Testament, where of course
we have the wonderful fulfillment of all those things that were
spoken of in prophecy and foreshadowed in the types and the figures
of the ceremonial law. First of all, that which was
foreshadowed in the tabernacle in particular, Remember the various
furnishings that Moses is commanded to make during that period when
he's in the mount for 40 days and 40 nights. After the giving
of the Ten Commandments and all the dread of that scene, the
children of Israel desire that Moses should be their mediator.
They don't want God to speak directly. because that experience
is so overwhelming to them as he comes in all the terrors of
that holy law and so Moses ascends the mountain he is there 40 days
and he receives all that instruction and continually is told how everything
is to be made according to the pattern that God is showing him
there in the mount And of course, amongst these things is the Ark
of the Covenant and the Mercy Saint. And we've looked at that
passage in Exodus 25 on a previous occasion, but just to remind
you a part of what is written there in the passage from verse
17 through 20, God says, Thou shalt make a Mercy Saint. of
pure gold, two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof,
and the cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and they shall
make two cherubims of gold of beaten work, shalt thou make
them in the two ends of the mercy seat. And make one cherub on
the one end, and the other cherub on the other end, even of the
mercy seat, shalt ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof.
And the cherubim shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering
the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one
to another. Toward the mercy seat shall the
faces of the cherubims be. And those are the significant
words with regards to what we're trying to set before you tonight. Those words in verse 20, these
cherubims one on each end of the mercy seat with their wings
outspread covering the mercy seat and their faces looking
one to the other and it says toward the mercy seat shall the
faces of the cherubim be so they're looking down upon the mercy seat
and surely This is the image that Peter
is very much aware of when he speaks about the angels' desire
to look into these things. Remember what we're told concerning
those Old Testament prophets. It was the Spirit of Christ which
was in them that signified certain things. And there is something
significant in what we read there concerning those sheriffs, one
on each end of the Mercy Seat, with their faces looking down
upon the Mercy Seat. What was the Mercy Seat? Well,
it was simply that covering that was to be placed upon the top
of the Ark. The Ark contains the Covenants,
or the the testimony that God had given them, the law. The
two tables of the law were to be placed within that ark which
was all overlaid with gold and then to form a covering or a
lid there was this mercy seat. And it was what happened there
upon the mercy seat that was so important because the Ark
with its mercy seat on the top was to be placed in the Holy
of Holies and it was only the High Priest who was ever permitted
to go before that mercy seat. Only the High Priest could go
beyond that second veil and he could only venture there one
day every year as we read in Leviticus 16. It was the great day of atonement and
he must take with him of course the blood of sacrifice the sacrifices
would be made a bullock for his own sin offering the high priest
was himself a sinner of course he must venture with the blood
of sacrifice and there was also the blood that was the blood
of the of the goats. Two goats were taken. One was to be the sacrifice,
the other was to be the scapegoat. He confessed the sins of the
people over the head of that scapegoat, and that was then
taken by a man into the wilderness and released. The removal of
the sins of the people, but the second goat was to be the sin
offering. And the high priest would take
that blood together with his own blood or the blood of his
sacrifice and he would he would sprinkle the blood there before
the mercy seat and upon the mercy seat it was the day of atonement
without the shedding of blood there could be no remission of
sins and Israel had sinned now in all things we offend all
whosoever shall keep the whole law and offend in one point he's
guilty of all God requires a full a perfect obedience and it's
interesting isn't it because as I said Moses was there in
that mount for 40 days and what was the reason of him coming
down from the mount it was when God sent him down because the
people had grown so weary and they'd requested that his brother
Aaron should make them a god and he made the golden calf it
was intended to be an aid it was intended to be something
to help them to worship God but God had told them not to make
any graven images and now God's wrath was kindled and Moses is
sent down and he has the tables in his hand and he breaks the
Ten Commandments all they were the transgressors they'd broken
the law of God and God of course as Moses comes forward as the
mediator and pleads for that sinful people so God is pleased
to grant pardon and he writes the law on fresh tables so There
were always those tables of the Lord to be placed in the Ark
of the Covenant. There was a continual reminder,
year after year, of the transgression of the people and the need for
the sin-atoning blood that was to be sprinkled upon the Mercy
Saint and before the Mercy Saint. Without significance, was that
ark and that mercy seat with the cherubs and the cherubs looking
towards all that was to take place upon the mercy seat how
their eyes were fixed as it were upon that mercy seat and God
himself had told Moses back in Exodus 25 when he gave commandment
concerning the mercy seat that it was there that he would come
and commune with the people as they reconciled God. There I
will meet with thee and I will commune with thee from above
the mercy seat, he says, from between the two cherubim. God would have fellowship with
them as the reconciling blood had been sprinkled there and
the angels the cherubims looking continually in tight into all
of these things. Now, that's what we see certainly
foreshadowed in that significant piece of furniture that was so
central to the worship of the children of God in the Old Testament.
But then, we have the fulfillment of course when we come to the
New Testament. it's fulfilled in Christ. Initially,
those things would take place in the tabernacle. But when we
come to Hebrews, here in Hebrews 8 and verse 2, the apostle speaks
of the true tabernacle which God pitched and not man. What is being spoken of there,
the true tabernacle which God pitched? Well, when we think
of what Paul has said previously in 2 Corinthians 5 about ourselves
as men and women. He talks about the earthly house
of this tabernacle, our bodies, our tabernacles, our tents in
which we're dwelling in, in this mortal life. And when we read
of the true tabernacle which God pitched and not man, the
reference is of course to the to the Lord Jesus Christ in the
Incarnation. He says the body has had a prepared
birth. Now He is that One who has come. He's not taken upon Him the nature
of the angels, but He's taken upon Him the seed of Abram. And
because the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He has taken
part of the same. And what do we see in the Lord
Jesus Christ? when we think of him here upon
the earth, God's manifest in the flesh is he not that one
who comes to fulfill all that holy law of God's when the fullness
of the time was come God sent forth his son made of a woman
made under the law to redeem them that were under the law
no he was under the law, he was subject to the law He must be obedient to every
commandment of God. He is the end of the law for
righteousness to everyone that believeth. He has perfectly fulfilled
all that that law of God requires by a life of active obedience,
never committing one sin in thought, in words or in deeds. but always holy, always harmless,
always undefiled, always separate from sinners, always made higher
than the heavens. It's interesting when we think
of that mercy seat because back in Exodus 25 in verses 10 and
17 we see that the mercy seat is a perfect fit. It's the same
dimensions as the Ark of the Covenant. So as it sits on the
top as a covering, it's a perfect covering in every sense. It covers
all of the Ark, containing the law of the Ten Commandments. And as Christ is there in time,
so there's that sense in which Christ is himself the mercy son. The words of 4 in Romans 3.25,
whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation, it says, through
faith in his blood. But the words that rendered propitiation
could have been rendered mercy suits. Whom God hath set forth
to be a mercy suit. It was there, you see, on the
day of atonement, as the blood was sprinkled, that sin was propitiated. God's wrath, God's anger, God's
justice all were satisfied and all were satisfied in the Lord
Jesus Christ by His perfect law keeping but He has not only fulfilled
the law in the fulfillment we see Him as that one who has satisfied
all the penalties how God hath made him to be sin
for us says Paul who knew no sin that we might be made the
righteousness of God in him or the law could never say what
the law could not do in that it was we through the flesh God
sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin condemned
sin in the flesh says Paul in Romans 8 through 8 these are
the things you see that the angels desire to look into. That's what
we see here in the context of these verses, 10 through 12. It's that salvation that is there
in the Old Testament. It's the ministry of prophets.
Christ, the spirit of prophecy in the Old Testament. And of
course, all the types have their fulfillment in Christ, the anti-type. It's that salvation that is preached
by the apostles of the New Testament under the unction of the Holy
Ghost and the angels or have the angels desire to look into
these things angels here may gaze and wonder what the God
of love could mean when he tore that heart asunder never once
never once in any sense at all defiled by
sin. He was the Holy One. He was the
Holy One. And the angels, the activity
of the angels, that's the point that John Lovey is making in
that introduction to his sermon. Men ignored it all. In the main,
there were just a few in Israel that we read of there in the
opening chapters of Luke. But he comes to his own, they
receive him nice. And yet the angels are there
at the birth, aren't they? It's the angel Gabriel who speaks
to Mary. The angel comes to Joseph to
whom she's betrothed. The angel comes to Zacharias,
the father of John the Baptist who is the forerunner of Christ.
The angel comes to the shepherds there in the fields of Bethlehem
at the birth of Christ. Suddenly We're told there was
with the angel a multitude of the heavenly hosts praising God
and saying glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, goodwill
toward men. Oh, how the angels love to look
into these things. Again, the hymn writer Joseph
Hart this time says, but see what different thoughts arise
in ours and angels' breasts. to hail his birth, they left
the skies, we lodged him with the beasts." How true are those
words. Men, you see, have no regard
for this one. And yet there's a ministry of
angels. It seems a continual ministry of the angels in the
life of the Lord Jesus Christ. the words that he addresses to
Nathanael at the end of the opening chapter of John Hereafter ye
shall see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending
upon the Son of Man. There is a ministry of angels
very conspicuous in the life of the Lord Jesus after his temptation
in the wilderness where the devil comes and attacks him and then
of course the Lord resists all those temptations and the devil
leaves him but he leaves him for a season and it says in Matthew's
account behold angels came and ministered to him the angels
ministered to him there at the beginning and again at the end
of course when he's there in the garden of Gethsemane and
he's wrestling in prayers to his father in heaven and now
that human will is so subject to the divine will if it be possible
he says let this cup pass from me nevertheless not my will but
thine be done he comes not to do his own will that's his human
will he comes to do the will of him who has sent him and then
we're told aren't we how behold an angel came and ministered
unto him in all the agonies of the garden of Gethsemane and
then at the resurrection. Is it not the angels who announce
that resurrection? You know, the language that we
have in all the Gospels. There in the last chapter of
Matthew, for an example, what do we read in verses of chapter
28 the end of the Sabbath it's the dawning of the first
half of the week and Mary Magdalene and the other Mary they come
to see the sepulcher and behold it says there was a great earthquake
for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled
back the stone from the door and sat upon it his countenance
was like lightning and His raiment white as snow. And for fear of
Him the keepers did shake and became as dead men. And the angel
answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye, for I know ye seek
Jesus which was crucified. He is not here, for He is risen,
as He said, Come see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly
and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and behold,
He goeth before you into Galilee. There shall ye see him, lo, I
have told you. And so, it's the angels who announce
the glories of his resurrection and then at the ascension. In
the opening chapter of the Acts, we read at verse 9, as the Lord
is speaking to them, they beheld that he was taken up and a cloud
received him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly
toward heaven, as he went up, behold, two men stood by them
in white apparel, which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why
stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken
up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye
have seen him go into heaven. So they're there at his ascension,
and they announce his coming again. Oh, there is this remarkable
ministry then, of the angels or how they love to look into
all of these things so what can we learn here two points of application
as it were first of all here is an example here is an example
the example of the angels remember that tremendous verse 1 Timothy
3.16 that little sort of gospel nugget reeling
concerning the Lord Jesus, without controversy, great is the mystery
of godliness. The mystery of religion, the
mystery of real religion, godliness. Great is the mystery. God was
manifest in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of angels. He was seen of the angels, they
saw these things. The commentator, Robert Leighton's
remarkable commentary on 1 Peter, on this verse, he says of the
angels, they are but beholders. They are but beholders. And he goes on to say something
more. Yea, he says, they seem to be losers. These things which
the angels look into, He took not upon Him the nature of angels,
He took upon Him the seed of Abraham. What does Paul say there
in Hebrews 2.9? We see Jesus who was made a little
lower than the angels. For the suffering of death, crowned
with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, should taste
death for every man. He tastes death for men. He doesn't
taste death for angels, there's no salvation for fallen angels. Oh, there were angels that did
not fall, the elect angels of course, who decide to look into
these things. But when it comes to man, who
was made in God's image and after God's likeness, God has made
provision for fallen men. And yet how the angels delight in these things, a desire to
look into these things and the verb that we have here to look
into it has the idea of stooping down to look it's the idea that
we see in what's written concerning Peter remember when John outruns
him to the tomb but John steps back and Peter when he comes
he's straight in And we read of him stooping down, he beheld. Or how he comes and he looks. There's intensity in his gaze.
He stooped down. This is how the angels desire
to look. They want to look into these
things. Which things the angels desire
to look into. And then see how Peter applies
it. He says in verse 13, Wherefore
he's drawing a conclusion. He's making a deduction. Wherefore,
gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end
for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of
Jesus Christ. As obedient children, not fashioning
yourselves according to the former lost in your ignorance, but as
he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of
conversation, because it is written, Be ye holy, for I am holy. or we're to learn of these angels
and we're to be those who would be looking on to Jesus and it's
by looking on to Him and by faith in Him that we know all those
blessings of salvation or the more we see Him surely the more
we will conform to His blessed image but what an example are
the angels to us And then also, they're such an
encouragement to us. We read those words in Ephesians
3. We've read that passage, I suppose,
several times. That great mystery that was to
be revealed according to the Gentiles. But I read it because
I wanted to read that 10th verse. this great mystery that's revealed
in the New Testament, that there's salvation not just for the Jew,
but salvation for Gentiles, a salvation that's to go out to the ends
of the earth. And he says, to make all men,
verse 9, this is Paul's ministry, to make all men see what is the
fellowship of the mystery which was from the beginning of the
world hath been hidden God who created all things by Jesus Christ
to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in
heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom
of God. What are the principalities and
powers in heavenly places? That's the angels. That's the
elect angels. Remember, later in chapter 6
of Ephesians, he speaks of the evil angels that we have to take
on the Christian armor that we might wrestle against them, put
on the whole armor of God, he says. And there in chapter 6
verse 12, we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness
of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole
armour of God. These principalities, these powers,
the rulers of the darkness of the world, spiritual wickedness,
that's the fallen angels. But back in chapter 3, verse
10, he's speaking of those elect angels in heavenly places. "...to
the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in
heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom
of God." We come together like this, the angels. The angels
take an interest in these things. Remember when Paul is dealing
with the matter of the head covering for the women, there in 1 Corinthians
11 and verse 10, he says the woman is to have power on her
head because of the angels. Because of the angels. The angels
are here, they observe, they expect things to be done decently
and in order according to what God has said in his word. It's
a very solemn thing to come into the service of divine worship.
Not only the Lord God himself is present, the promise of the
Lord Jesus where two or three are met together in my name,
there am I in the midst, but the angels, oh they love to look
into these things. And there's joy in the presence
of the angels of God over one sinner that repented. I want
the angels and encouragement to us as well as an example or
that we might learn of these glorious beings when the Lord Jesus came into
this world I was so struck by that he said it was there was
more glory in the earth then when God was manifesting the
flesh and going to honor and magnify his own law And the angels
were all together taken up with it. And yet, the men of this
world, they knew him not. How many were
there at the end? Is it 120 that are spoken of
there in the opening chapter of the Acts? 120. And yet, of course, then there's
a glorious day of Pentecost, the outpouring of the Spirit.
And so the great work of salvation begins in earnest and is still
being accomplished even in our day. We're not to despise this
day. Might be the day of small things,
oh, but it's the day of grace. It's the acceptable time, it's
the day of salvation. And the angels desire to look
into these things. Oh, God grant that we might also
delight in all this great salvation. May the Lord bless His word to
us. Let us, before we turn to prayer,
sing our second praise. The hymn is 689. The tune is
Chapel Bray, 634. On the winds of faith, uprising,
Jesus crucified I see, while his love my soul surprising cries,
I suffered all for thee. Angels here may gaze and wonder
what the God of love could mean when he tore the heart asunder,
never once defiled with sin. 689, June 634. On the wings of faith I'm rising,
Jesus crucified I see. While years of my soul's surprising
cries I suffered all for Thee. Then beneath the cross and pouring,
Sin does like itself appear. When all worlds love Christ its
glory, I can read my part in them. Here I'd feast my while this love of life I prove.
Every world appears a river flowing with eternal love. Who can think without admiring?
Who can hear and nothing feel? Lord of life expiring, yet we
take the health of still. Angels in may gaze and wonder
What the God of love could mean When he took the heart asunder Never once defiled by sin.