Let us turn to God's Word and
directing you tonight to the final words that we have here
in Matthew chapter 7. The conclusion of that passage
runs through chapters 5, 6 and 7 which we know as the Sermon
on the Mount. in Matthew 7, verses 28 and 29,
and it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the
people were astonished at his doctrine, for he taught them
as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Earlier today, this morning,
we were considering the beginning of the sermon, or at least the
situation as we have it described there in the opening words of
chapter 5, and seeing the multitudes. He went up into a mountain, and
when he was set, his disciples came unto him, and he opened
his mouth and taught them, saying, and then the words of the sermon
follow until we come to the end, verse 27 here in chapter 7, are
his final words and then we have the text that I just read which
brings the whole to a conclusion. I want to speak then on these
two verses and say something with regards to the authority.
the authority of Christ's preaching. Suppose in some measure there
will be some repetition from what we said earlier or some
amplification I trust of what we were saying earlier that we
have to remember of course that with God and his teaching it
is always precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon
line, line upon line, here a little, there a little. This is how God
graciously instructs us. And I've said before, isn't God
good that He doesn't just give us one gospel? That we're favoured
to have a fourfold account, a fourfold gospel. That good news concerning
the coming, the birth, the life, the ministry, the death, the
resurrection, the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ. So there
is some room for God to come to us and remind us again and
again. Well, considering then the authority
of the Lord's preaching. And first of all, to look at
the source of this authority. The source of this authority. Remember, we said this morning
that in the preaching we see him really exercising his office
as a prophet. He has a threefold office as
the mediator. Besides being the prophet, he
is the priest and he is the king, and that of course is what we've
just sung in that hymn of Isaac Watts, 1133. But here, as he preaches, we
see him as the fulfillment of those words that we have in Deuteronomy
18. where first Moses speaks of the
promise of a prophet who is like unto himself but really greater
than ever Moses was and as in Deuteronomy 18 15 we have that
word from the mouth of Moses so just a few verses later
verse 18 God repeats that God says He will raise them up a
prophet, like unto Moses, and He will put His words in the
mouth of that prophet. And it is the Lord Jesus Christ
who is here set before us as that great prophet, the true
prophet of the Lord, the fulfillment really of the prophetic office. Because He has come to seal up
the vision and the prophecy. as we're told in the book of
Daniel he has finished the work he has accomplished all that
great work that the father gave him to do and in finishing that
work he has given us all the fullness of that revelation that
God ever intended to give. There's no other revelation after
that that we have here in the New Testament. Christ then is
the great prophet sent by God. And here, in the course of his
sermon, we see how he warns against false prophets. In verse 15,
beware of false prophets, he says. which come to you in sheep's
clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know
them by their fruits." All the false prophets, and of course
the great false prophet that came after the coming of Christ
was that false prophet called Muhammad, and the Muhammadans,
the Muslims, looked to him, and they follow his teachings, Although
they say that they recognize that Jesus Christ was a great
prophet, but the whole scheme of course is a false religion
because there was to be no other prophet after the coming of the
Lord Jesus Christ. And remember how those that were
sent by the Jewish authorities to arrest him have to return
and say to them, never man spake like this man, how grace was
poured into the lips of the Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, Moses was
a great man, a great prophet. The law was given by Moses, but
grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. He is that one who has
come then to speak the words of God, to reveal the will of
God. He is the wisdom of God, as we
see in Proverbs chapter 8. He is the Word of God. As John
says in the opening chapter of his Gospel, in the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld
His glory, the glories of the only begotten of the Father,
full of grace and truth. Though he knows God's will, he's
the wisdom of God, but he reveals that will of God, because he's
the Word of God. Now in these last days God has
spoken unto us by His Son, as we're told there at the beginning
of the epistle to the Hebrews. We have then in the Lord Jesus
this final revelation of God. No man hath seen God at any time.
The only begotten Son which is in the bosom of the Father, He
hath declared Him. and to understand the authority
then with which the Lord Jesus Christ is speaking these words
in the course of his ministry, in the course of this particular
sermon, to understand that authority, we have to take account of two
things. First of all, we have to remember his commission. He
comes with a commission, yes? He is that one who is equal to
the Father. he thought it not robbery to
be equal with God but took upon him the form of a servant and
when we think of him as a prophet we are thinking of him in his
mediatorial offices he is the Lord's servant and remember how
he begins his public ministry after his baptism When he's then
led of the spirit into the wilderness and tempted and he comes out
of the wilderness in all the fullness of the spirit he goes
to Nazareth where he was brought up and as was his custom on the
Sabbath day he goes into the synagogue. And we read there
in Luke chapter 4 of what happened when he went into that synagogue. Luke 4 Verse 16, He came to Nazareth,
where He had been brought up, and as His custom was, He went
into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto
Him the book of the prophet Esaias, the book of Isaiah. And when
He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written.
It turns to Isaiah chapter 61. These words, the Spirit of the
Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the Gospel
to the poor. He hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted,
to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight
to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach
the acceptable year of the Lord." And see the emphasis here is
very much upon his preaching. He is anointed to preach the
Gospel to the poor, to preach deliverance to the captives,
to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. and we're told he
closed the book and he gave it again to the minister and sat
down and the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were
fastened on him and he began to say unto them this day is
this scripture fulfilled in your ears God was the one who had
sent him he had come as the servant of God in the state of his humiliation
he humbles himself to become a man, takes upon Him the form
of a servant. He's made in the likeness of
men. And He comes to serve His Father in this capacity as one
who is a prophet, who is a preacher. He has a commission from His
Father. Again there, at the end of John
chapter 3, we have those words, He whom God hath sent speaketh
the words of God. For God giveth not the Spirit
by measure unto him. He speaks the Word of God. Why?
Because he has the Spirit of God. He has an unction from the
Holy One, an anointing. He is the Christ. He is that
one again that's spoken of in Isaiah 42. And again here in
Matthew, what do we read? Matthew chapter 12. Verse 18, the Lord Himself refers to the
words of Isaiah, Behold, this is Isaiah 42 that
He is quoting, Behold My servant whom I have chosen, My beloved
in whom My soul is well pleased, I have put My Spirit upon him,
and he shall show judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not strive
nor cry neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets,
a bruised ridge shall he not break, and smoking flack shall
he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory, and in
his name shall the Gentiles truss." Oh, he is speaking of his own
ministry and the graciousness of that ministry, the tenderness
of his dealings with the sinful sons of men. He is God's servant. Behold says God there in Isaiah
42, My servant. And those are the very words
as I said that the Lord is appealing to there in that passage in chapter
12 at verse 18 following. He is the Lord's servant. He has come not to be ministered
unto but to minister. He is the Lord's minister. And what are we told concerning
the office of the priest? In Hebrews chapter 5 and verse
4, No man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is
called of God. In that chapter he speaks of
the priesthood and how it was given to the sons of Aaron to
be the priests. They were called of God to serve
in the priesthood. Well, the Lord Jesus Christ,
he is not of the priestly tribe of Levi, he is of the tribe of
Judah, but he is a priest after a different order. A priest after
the order of Melchizedek. But no man takes the honor unto
himself. He has to have a call from God,
and that was the Lord's calling, to be a priest. But as I say,
his office is threefold. He's not only a priest, he's
a king, and he is also a prophet. And this is his commission. He
comes not only to do a priestly work, not only to make one sacrifice
for sins forever, when He is obedient unto death, the death
of the cross, but He comes also to preach, to teach. And this is what the Lord is
doing in these chapters that we've read today, here in Matthew
chapters 5, 6 and 7. And how important the preaching
is, how shall they preach? says the Apostle in Romans chapter
10. How shall they preach except
they be sent? And the Lord is sent. And he
says, my doctrine or my teaching is not mine, but his that sent
me. He is very conscious then of
where his authority has come from. He has had a commission,
a commission from God. And that's the source. That's
the source of his authority, because he is the Lord's servant.
He is the Lord's prophet. And so this preacher is one that
makes such an impression upon the people. When Jesus had ended
these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine, at
his teaching. Why? For he taught them as one
having authority. and not as the scribes. But then also, besides his commission,
that gives him that authority, and that's the principal source
of his authority, but there's also his experience. Oh, he is
God, and he is God manifest in the flesh, And surely we might
say we would expect then that there will be authority in such
a one who is God-man. But Christ, and I touched on
this this morning, was also prepared for his ministry by his experiences
as a man. You see, his preaching was truly
experimental in that sense. We refer to those words in Hebrews
5, who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayer
and supplication, with strong crying and tears unto him that
was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared.
How he experienced these things. Prayer, supplication, strong
crying, tears. or the bitterness of his experiences,
the tears that he sheds there in the garden of Gethsemane.
It's not enough for a man to have his mind stored up with
the scriptures and stored up with the great truths and the
great doctrines of the Word of God. It has been observed an
unexercised preacher is scarcely worth the name of a minister.
But the Lord is exercised, so exercised throughout His life.
And how important this is to His authority. Remember what
the Lord says to Simon Peter, the one who denies the Lord. And yet, the strange thing is
how the Lord is in all of these things. There in Luke 22, 31,
the Lord says to him, 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. It's a remarkable passage. It's Peter going to be put in
the very sith of Satan. Satan has desired to have you,
says the Lord. He's speaking to Simon Peter,
but he uses the plural pronoun, and he's speaking really of all
the disciples, as Satan has desired to have you, all of you. But
as he speaks to Simon Peter, he says, But I have prayed for
thee, that thy faith fail not. And when thou art converted,
he uses singular pronouns. He sees that Peter is in the
gravest of dangers. Peter was so self-assured. He
would never deny the Lord, so he said. And yet the Lord sees the situation,
and knows the situation. And here is the devil, you see,
and the devil, he does his time and he gains faith and he overreaches
himself. He's seeking the destruction
of Simon Peter. the destruction of his faith.
But what does the Lord say when thou art converted? Strengthen
thy brethren. Why the very experience bitter
experience that it was when he denied the Lord and the Lord
turned and looked upon Simon Peter we read later in that 22nd
chapter of Luke and when the Lord looks upon him he goes out
and he weeps bitter tears and all this you see puts such metal
into Peter's experience And it was the same with the
Lord. What was the preparation for this particular sermon? Well,
as we said earlier in chapter 4, the beginning of chapter 4,
we see how he is led up of the spirit into the wilderness to
be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted 40 days
and 40 nights, he was after wooden hunger. And now Satan comes with
his temptation. He comes with his temptation,
but the Lord resists his temptation. And the devil leaves him. But
he only leaves him for a little season. He only left him for
a little season. When the Lord comes to the end
of his ministry, he turns to his disciples and he says, ye
are they which have continued with me in my temptation. Well,
this man, you see, he would spend whole nights in prayers to his
God, wrestling in his prayers, real prayers. He was a man. And all of this was necessary,
all these experiences, how they put such metal into his ministry. We have that then in chapter
4, 40 days in the wilderness, tempted of Satan. That's chapter
4, the beginning of chapter 4. We come into chapter 5 and then
we see him preaching, seeing the multitudes. He went up into
a mountain. When he was set, his disciples
came unto him and he opened his mouth. All he preaches now with
such authority. Why? Because of his experiences. He says there in John 3.11, verily,
verily, we speak that we do know and testify that we have seen. Oh, the Lord is not just a theorist,
He's not just dealing with things in some detached philosophical
fashion. No, He is speaking out of the
very depth of His soul. And all of this, you see, all
of this lends weight and authority to his ministry. He understands
me. He knew not that any should testify
of man, he knew what was in the heart of all men. And we see it. again and again
we see it in that incident with the woman at the well called
Sychar in John chapter 4 when she goes and speaks to her fellow
citizens come see a man that told me all things that ever
I did is not this the Christ and it wasn't just a matter of
him being God and being the omniscient one who knows all things he knows
he knows human nature because he's a real man tempted in all
points, like as we are, yet without sin. Oh this blessed man, this
real man, a man there is, a real man. And it is human experiences
that lend such authority to his teaching and his preaching. And that word that he speaks,
how How penetrating it is! He is the Word of God. And what do we read concerning
the Word of God? The Word of God is quick and
powerful, sharper than a two-edged sword, piercing to the dividing
of soul and spirit, and the joints and marrow a discerner of the
thoughts and intents of the heart. That's the Word of God. And what
is that word? Neither, it continues, neither
is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight. All
things are naked and open unto the eyes of him with whom we
have to do. It's not so much speaking of the word as we have
it here in scripture, it's speaking about him who is the word. And how his ministry, you see,
is a piercing ministry. Why, we read of him there in
the Revelation, That vision that John's blessed with on the Isle
of Patmos in the very opening chapter, Revelation 1.16, out
of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, it says. What is that
sharp two-edged sword? It is words. It penetrates into the very hearts
of men. And later in the book of Revelation,
in chapter 19, we read out He smiteth the nations with that
sword. Oh, this is one then who has
authority. He has authority. And those who
are there, those who are hearing this ministry, they acknowledge
it. He taught them as one having
authority and not as the scribes. Now, let me remind you in the
second place of the Lord's authority in terms
of the setting here, the very posture that we see the Lord
taking. Remember how he sits, when he
was set, when he is sitting down. and I remarked this morning how
that is certainly the posture of the rabbis and the Lord in
chapter 23 does remind the disciples and the people in general how
they are to have respect for the scribes and the Pharisees
as those who are sitting in the seat of Moses The scribes and
pharisees sit in Moses' seat, we read there in chapter 23 verse
2. All therefore whatsoever they
bid you observe, that observe and do. But do not ye after their
works, for they say, and do not. But he speaks not only of the
pharisees, the scribes, and here at the end you see we have mention
of the scribes. He taught them the Lord Jesus.
His teaching is one having authority, very different to the scribes.
They may sit in the seat of Moses, but they're intruders really
in that seat. Yes, respect is to be had to
the seat of Moses because, remember the test of the prophetic office,
to the Lord and to the Testament. If they speak not according to
this word, it is because there is no light in them. There is
to be respect had then to that that is referred to as the seat
of Moses, the teaching of Moses. But these scribes and these Pharisees,
they're intruders. They say, but they do not. But
how different is the Lord Jesus Christ or what the Lord Christ
says He does He practices what He preaches He has grace poured into His
lips and He has such a tender concern for the well-being of
the multitudes the poor and the needy as we saw there at the
end of chapter 4 and he's going about all of Galilee,
teaching in their synagogues, preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom,
healing all manner of sickness, all manner of disease. His fame
goes abroad throughout all Syria and they bring unto him all those
who are sick with diverse diseases and torments, those possessed
with devils, the lunatics, those with the palsy. He heals them.
Great multitudes begin to follow him. How his ministry is holistic
in that sense. He doesn't just preach, but he
ministers to the physical needs of the people. He heals them
of all their diseases. Always very different then to
these scribes and these Pharisees. But the interesting thing is
how we see him time and again sitting down. in order to teach. And we have it again later here
in chapter 13. It says there, and this is chapter
13, the great chapter in which we have the parabolic teaching
of the Lord. He teaches them constantly by
means of parables. The same day when Jesus out of
the house and sat by the seaside. And great multitudes were gathered
together unto him so that He went into a ship and sat, and
the whole multitude stood on the shore, and he spake many
things unto them in parables. Then he begins with the parable
of the sower. The whole chapter is full of
parabolic teaching, but his posture you see. He sits because he is
a rabbi. He is that one who is a teacher
come from God. And the thing is, as I said,
it's not just a matter of his words, it's a matter also of
his actions. He's not like those who say and
do not know he does the thing. What does he say himself here? We've looked already or referred
already to verse 15. Beware of false prophets which
come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening
wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits, he says. Ye shall
know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns
or figs of thistles? Even so, every good tree bringeth
forth good fruit, but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt
tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not
forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire. Wherefore,
by their fruits ye shall know them. And what of the Lord Jesus? Why,
the Lord is well pleased for his righteousness' sake. He will
magnify the Lord. and make it honourable, we're
told. Isaiah 42, 21. That's the Lord
Jesus Christ. The Lord God Himself is well
pleased for His righteousness sake. Why? He was made of a woman
and He was made under the law and what has He done? He has
honoured and magnified that Lord. He has lived. He has lived the
holy life, the life of complete and utter obedience to every
one of those commandments. He has wrought such a righteousness. Oh, this is one then who has
authority. He says again, here in verse
21, Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into
the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father
which is in heaven. It's not enough to hear it. It's
to do it. It's to do it. and we think of
the language of James be ye doers of the word and not hearers only
deceiving your own selves where we are to learn of the Lord Jesus
Christ here is his authority then he speaks the truth, he
lives the truth and we see so much of his authority
throughout his ministry, of course, time and again in terms of those
signs, those mighty works, those miracles. Remember how Nicodemus, a teacher
of the Jews, comes to him, recognizing him as a rabbi. Rabbi. And so
he addresses the Lord, Rabbi. We know that thou art a teacher
come from God. No man can do those miracles
that thou doest, except God be with him. God is with him. He speaks faithfully the word
of God. He expounds the law of God. I
mentioned this this morning how he really brings out the full
vigor of the law of God. As the law was given on a mount
at Mount Sinai, God came down upon the mount So the Lord Jesus
here goes up into a mount and then he begins to expound the
holy law of God, remember. He refers to the commandments,
the sixth commandment. In chapter 5 and verse 21 you
have heard that it was said by them of all time thou shalt not
kill Whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment.
But what does the Lord say? I say unto you, whosoever is
angry with his brother without a cause is in danger of the judgment. Hatred. Hatred is murder. He goes on at verse 27 of that
chapter. You have heard that it had been
said, Of all time thou shalt not commit adultery. What does
the Lord say? O you who look wantonly, lustfully,
It's in your heart you've already done the deed, in your heart
as it were. Or the Lord demonstrates the
spiritual nature of the Lord of God, the full vigor of the
Lord of God. This is all part and parcel of
His authority. He's not like the scribes and
the Pharisees, those men who were so self-righteous like sword
of Tarsus. who would once boast that touching
the righteousness which is of the Lord, he was a blameless
man, he was no such thing, he was a transgressor. And all are transgressors, but
though few are conscious of their many sins, though all are sinners
in God's sight, there are but few so in their own. Oh, the
sinner truly is a sacred thing, the Holy Ghost has made him so.
When the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ comes and makes us
see what we are. As transgressors of God's holy
law, that commandment which is holy and just and good. Nothing
wrong with the law of God. We're not to despise the law
of God, it's a good law. Oh, but it finds us out, it condemns
us. Whatsoever things the law saith,
it saith to them who are under the law, that every mouth may
be stopped. How it stops our mouths. It's
the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. He speaks with authority, but
he doesn't just preach law, does he? He might preach the the truth
of the Lord of God, the spiritual nature of the Lord of God, but
the law was given by Moses. What comes by Jesus Christ is
grace and truth. We remarked again this morning
on the difference between the two mountains. The mount there
in Exodus 19 and 20, when God descends on Mount Sinai and all
the the thundering and the lightning and the quaking of the mount.
And here the Lord Jesus Christ as He goes up the mount and He
begins His ministry and He speaks those blessed words, blessed,
blessed, blessed. Oh, He is able to bless the people. Blessed are the poor, the poor
in spirit. Theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
Blessed are they that mourn, they shall be comforted. Blessed
are the meek, they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they who
still hunger and thirst after righteousness, they shall be
filled. Those great Beatitudes. Who is the one who blesses? It's
the Lord himself. He pronounces blessings upon
poor needy sinners. Oh, what a difference. There
at Mount Sinai the people were held back, they were to fence
them out, the people mustn't draw near. How different it is
when the Lord goes up into the mount, His disciples, His disciples
came unto Him, it says. They came unto Him. And that's
a great gospel word, isn't it, Karl? Come unto me, all ye that
labour and are heavy laden, I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon
you, learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall
find rest for your souls. Oh, it's a great word of the
Gospel, that word come. And you know, we've said it before,
isn't it almost the very last word that we find in the Bible. It's there right at the end of
Revelation 22. And verse 17, 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. What Gospel words! There's a
freeness there. Oh, there's a freeness in the
Gospel. The Lord Jesus comes to call sinners. He welcomes
sinners. and He speaks with such a gracious
authority. Oh, He comes to speak those gracious
words of gospel promise. What does He say in the course
of His sermon here? Ask and it shall be given you.
Seek and you shall find. Knock and it shall be opened
unto you. Everyone that asketh receiveth. He that seeketh findeth.
To him that knocketh it shall be opened. They're all gospel
words. and they fall from the lips of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And he speaks with such power. Oh, he speaks with such power.
How does Paul describe that Gospel in the opening chapter of Romans?
Romans, that remarkable epistle, it's so much Gospel there. And of course in that opening
chapter he's very much beginning by defining what the Gospel is.
And he says this, I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it
is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth. It's the power of God. How is
it the power of God? Well it's when the Lord Jesus
Christ himself comes in the preaching. And you know the Lord does do
that. The Lord comes in preaching. Preaching is his own appointment. He himself was the great preacher.
Or there might not be prophets anymore, but there's a preaching
ministry. We referred before to the words
of Bishop Latimer, that good bishop, martyred for his faith
at the time of the Protestant Reformation. And he said, and
he was a great preacher himself, we have to maintain this office
of preaching, because it is the means that God has ordained to
save men by. Faith cometh by hearing, hearing
by the Word of God. But how shall they preach except
they be sent? And where there is that faithful
preaching, the Lord comes. The Lord comes, He comes by His
Spirit, He comes in His work. Oh, remember what the Apostle
says to those at Ephesus there in Asia Minor? a part where the
Lord Jesus never ministered during his tabernacling amongst men. He was very much himself confined
to Palestine. He was sent to the lost sheep
of the house of Israel. It's after he has accomplished
his work and risen from the dead and ascended on high that the
gospel is to go out to the ends of the earth. He never went to
Asia Minor or Turkey as we would now call it but that's where
Ephesus is and the Apostle Paul went to Ephesus and there's an
epistle of course that the Apostle addresses to the church there
one of his prison epistles when he's in Rome at the end of his
life, he's under some form of house arrest and he sends to
them and he reminds them of many things and amongst others he
says this, ye have not so learned Christ ye have not so learned
Christ if so be ye have heard him and been taught by him as
the truth is in Jesus they heard the Lord Jesus Christ they were
taught by the Lord Jesus Christ how was that if Christ never
went there? because Christ came in the preaching. He came in
the preaching of the Apostle. They didn't just hear Paul, they
heard the voice of Christ. Oh friends, this is what we should
desire when we come together under the Word of God and hear
the preaching of the Word, that we might hear that voice. Not
some man, not some favourite preacher, but the voice of Him
who is the Good Shepherd, who says that His sheep know His
voice. Oh, they know not the voice of
strangers, but they know His voice. Do you know His voice? They know His voice, we're told
they follow Him. And He gives to them eternal
life, and they shall never perish. Oh, whosoever heareth these sayings
of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, says
Christ. which built his house upon a
rock, and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the
winds blew and beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it
was founded upon a rock. All the wise, they hear his words,
his sayings, they do them. Ah, then in contrast every one
that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall
be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the
sand, And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the
winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell. And great was the fall of it. So the Lord concludes His sermon.
Solemn words. Solemn words. But now we have
to examine ourselves, and prove
ourselves, and know ourselves concerning these things. Are
we those who are foolish hearers? or are we those who are wise
hearers? And then it came to pass when
Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at
His doctrine, for He taught them as one having authority and not
as the scribes. May the Lord be pleased then
to make us wise hearers, to bless His word to us. Amen. Let us conclude our worship as
we sing the hymn 1133 and the tune is Corinth 669. May the power that brings salvation
now exerted in the word by its quickening operation, life impart
and joy afford, life to sinners, joy to those who know the Lord. and 33.