Well, the Lord helping me this
morning, the scripture that I'll bring to your attention is found
in Isaiah chapter 9 and verses 2 to the first part of verse
6. Isaiah 9 verse 2, the people
that walked in darkness have seen a great light. They that
dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the
light shined. Thou hast multiplied the nation
and not increased the joy. They joy before thee according
to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice, when they divide
the spoil. For thou hast broken the yoke
of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his
oppressor, as in the day of Midian. For every battle of the warrior
is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood, But this shall
be with burning and fuel of fire. For unto us a child is born,
unto us a son is given. We sang just now Psalm 126, and
in that verse, in that Psalm at verse 3, we read, The Lord
hath done great things for us, whereof we are glad. This is
the testimony of the Lord's people. And in these verses here in Isaiah,
we find some of those great things that the Lord our God has done
for His people. God has given us great light. God has given us, secondly, great
joy. God has given us great liberty.
And God has given us a great Saviour. These great things,
which are Gospel blessings, were spoken of by Isaiah over 600
years before the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. And yet these
things are declared as if they had already happened, as if they
were already done. The Spirit of God by the mouth
of the Prophet Isaiah is expressing the absolute certainty of the
accomplishment of these things. The zeal of the Lord of hosts
will perform this. We read in verse 7 of this chapter. Well let us go on to consider
then these great things which the Lord has done for his people. Firstly then, God has given us
great light. The people that walked in darkness
have seen a great light. They that dwell in the land of
the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. Now this
scripture was fulfilled historically in the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ when the Lord Jesus came to Galilee as we read in verse
one of this chapter nevertheless the dimness shall not be such
as was in her vexation when at the first he lightly afflicted
the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali and afterward did
more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea beyond Jordan
in Galilee of the nations The vexation that we read of here,
the vexation when at the first he lightly afflicted the land
of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, is that we read of in the second
book of Kings. 2 Kings 15 and verse 29. In the days of Picard, king of
Israel, came Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria, and took Ijon,
and Abel-Bethmeyekar, and Genoa, and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Gilead,
and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali, and carried them captive
to Assyria. Now this was a light affliction,
as it says here in Isaiah, a light affliction, compared to the more
grievous affliction which was to come later, which we read
of again in the second book of Kings in chapter 17. 2 Kings
17 verse 18. Therefore the Lord was very angry
with Israel and removed them out of his sight. There was none
left but the tribe of Judah only. And then in verse 22 of that
chapter, For the children of Israel walked in all the sins
of Jeroboam which he did. He departed not from them until
the Lord removed Israel out of his sight, as he had said by
all his servants the prophets. So was Israel carried out of
his own land to Assyria unto this day. Because of their idolatry,
the whole nation was taken captive never to return again to their
own land there was none left but the tribe of Judah only well
this was the land and this was the people which knew terrible
judgments from God and yet this was the land and this was the
people to which and to whom Christ came the people that walked in
darkness have seen a great light. They that dwell in the land of
the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. And we
are clearly taught in the New Testament that this scripture
was fulfilled in the coming of Christ to Galilee. Matthew chapter
4 verse 14, oh sorry from verse 12, Now when Jesus had heard
that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee. And leaving Nazareth, he came
and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the
borders of Zebulun and Naphtalim, that it might be fulfilled. which
was spoken by Esaias the prophet, that's Isaiah the prophet, saying,
The land of Zebulun and the land of Nephilim by the way of the
sea beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the people which
sat in darkness saw great light, and to them which sat in the
region and shadow of death, light is sprung up. This scripture
then, in Isaiah chapter 9, was fulfilled literally and historically. When the Lord Jesus Christ came
to Galilee, the people that walked in darkness have seen a great
light. They that dwell in the land of
the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. But you
know, as there was a historical and a literal fulfillment of
this scripture, so there is also a spiritual and an experimental
fulfillment of this scripture. There is a spiritual and experimental
fulfillment of this scripture when the Lord Jesus Christ visits
the souls of elect sinners in a way of grace and of salvation. The people that walked in darkness
have seen a great light. They that dwell in the land of
the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. Before
regeneration and conversion, before the gracious and effectual
call of God. All the elect of God are a people
that walk in darkness, even as others, as Paul says to the Ephesians. They are ignorant of themselves
as sinners. They are ignorant of their lost
and ruined state by nature. They are ignorant of God and
of spiritual things. Oh, they may think of themselves
as spiritual, They may even be religious. They may go to church
or chapel. But they are experimentally ignorant
of Christ and of the way of salvation. They are lost and they are blind. They cannot see. They are a people
that walk in darkness. They are a people that dwell
in the land of the shadow of death. Because they are spiritually
dead. dead in trespasses and sins. Again, as Paul says in Ephesians,
And were it not for the grace of Almighty God, they would remain
in such a state, and they would be lost forever. For God, who
commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined
in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory
of God, in the face of Jesus Christ. Just as God commanded
the light to shine on the first day in creation, and God said,
let there be light, and there was light, well, so he commands
the light of the gospel to shine into the elect sinner's heart,
to give the saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, Indeed,
it is God himself who comes to the elect sinner and shines in
his heart. You see what it says there in
that scripture which I've just quoted 2 Corinthians 4 verse
10. He not only commands the light
to shine in our hearts, but he himself shines in our hearts. For God, who commanded the light
to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts. to give the light of the knowledge
of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. And so, of God's
elect who are quickened by divine grace, it can truly be said that
people that walked in darkness have seen a great light. They
that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath
the light shined. Paul says, Again, writing to
the Ephesians, for ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light
in the Lord. Walk as children of light. Previously,
there in Ephesians, he had told them, and you have he quickened
who are dead in trespasses and sins. And so, there in Ephesians,
and here in the words of our text, we see the two things which
comprise real Christian experience and real Christian practice. light and life light and life
and these two things always go together light and life wherefore
he saith awake thou that sleepest and arise from the dead and Christ
shall give thee light life and light light and life the Lord
Jesus Christ is both to his people I am the light of the world he
that followeth me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the
light of life again Jesus said I am come a
light into the world and whosoever believeth on me should not abide
in darkness he is the light and he is the life Jesus said I am
the resurrection and the life He that believeth in me, though
he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth
in me shall never die. That's the promise of the Gospel.
When God gives light, He gives life. When God gives life, He
gives light. And we know that the Son of God
is come. and have given us an understanding
that we may know him that is true and we are in him that is
true even in his son Jesus Christ this is the true God and eternal
life eternal life where there is light there will
be life and where there is life there will be light, and where
there is that light and life there will be a seeking to walk
according to the light. Where are we to find light? Well
certainly not in any of the precepts of men or the commandments of
men, only in the light of God's word. This is where we find light. We seek then by God's grace to
walk according to the light of God's word. It is through the
holy scriptures that we obtain the saving knowledge of the Lord
Jesus Christ. We cannot know Christ but from
the scriptures. The entrance of thy word giveth
light, it giveth understanding to the simple, And the Holy Scriptures
are the believer's infallible guide through life. Thy Word
is a lamp unto my feet and a light to my path. And by the Holy Scriptures, the
true believer can discern the true minister of God's Word from
the false. you read there in chapter 8 of
Isaiah verse 20, to the law and to the testimony if they speak
not according to this word it is because there is no light
in them this then is the first great thing the Lord has done
for his people according to the words of our text the people
that walked in darkness have seen a great light and they that
dwell in the land of the shadow of death Upon them hath the light
shined. Secondly, we see that the people of God
are given great joy. Thou hast multiplied the nation,
and not increased the joy. They joy before thee according
to the joy in harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the
spoil. Now at first sight, these words might appear to be contradictory. and it is to be acknowledged
that there is some difficulty in interpreting this verse. The
learned Dr. Gill follows the marginal rendering. Thou hast multiplied the nation,
and to him, or to it, increased the joy. And that immediately,
of course, removes the difficulty. The reformer John Calvin, on
the other hand, says that the rendering which we have in our
version is the correct one. he says that the first part of
the verse refers to a former day thou hast multiplied the
nation and not increased the joy there were the former days
of David and Solomon when the nation was multiplied and prospered
but there was a greater joy in that day that the very small
remnant returned from their captivity in Babylon this is what we sang
of in Psalm 126 when the Lord turned again the captivity of
Zion we were like them that dream then was our mouth filled with
laughter and our tongue with singing then said they among
the heathen the Lord hath done great things for them the Lord
hath done great things for us whereof we are glad then verse
5 of that psalm they that sow in tears shall reap in joy oh
there was this greater joy you see we might think of our own
nation the nation is multiplied we're prosperous in many ways
that was multiply the nation and not increase the joy what
a miserable people we have become haven't we here in this country but there is a greater joy here.
Thou must multiply the nation and not increase the joy. They
joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, as men rejoice
when they divide the spoil. And this is what Calvin says,
he says, it is as if Isaiah had said, there never was greater
joy, though the multitude of the people was greater, though
we are few and contemptible in number. Yet by the light which
thou shinest on us, thou has cheered us to such a degree that
no joy of our former condition can be compared with the present.
All the prosperity of the nation around us cannot be compared
to the joy that we have as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. Thou
hast multiplied the nation and not increased the joy. They joy
before thee according to the joy in harvest as men rejoice
when they divide the spoil. What is clear, however, we might
interpret this verse is that the light of the gospel brings
great joy. And that's what Isaiah, by the
Spirit, is saying here. Remember the birth of our Lord
Jesus Christ, announced to poor shepherds. They're in the field tending
their sheep. And the angel said unto them, fear not, for behold,
I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. for unto you is born this day
in the city of David a Saviour which is Christ the Lord and
when the word of the gospel came to Samaria in Acts chapter 8
verse 5 we read Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and
preached Christ unto them. And the people with one accord
gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing
the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits crying with
loud voice came out of many that were possessed with them, and
many taken with pauses and that were lame were healed. And there
was great joy in that city." Indeed, joy is there in the list
of the fruit of the spirit is it not in Galatians 5 but the
fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace and so on again Paul
says in Romans for the kingdom of God is not meat and drink
some people make the kingdom of God meat and drink you know can't eat meat on Fridays can
only eat halal and so on not allowed to drink alcohol the kingdom of God is not meat
and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. Isaiah again says of the Gospel
day a few chapters later on in chapter 12 And in that day, and
it's the gospel day, the day of salvation, he says, from verse
two in that chapter, behold, God is my salvation. I will trust and not be afraid
for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song. He also is become
my salvation. Therefore, with joy, shall he
draw water out of the wells of salvation. All the gospel day
is a day of joy. They joy before thee according
to the joy in harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the
spoil. Now we should note that the joy of the people of God
is not a carnal worldly joy. It's not the joy of the drunkard. It's not the joy of our modern
charismatics. You know, theirs is a mere outward
exuberance, their worship is carnal. Flippant, it's irreverent. I've been there, I know. It is not that joy in the Holy Ghost,
it is a joy in the flesh. The joy of the people of God
is joy and peace in believing. As Paul says in Romans. It's
the fruit of the Spirit, as we said just now. And so Isaiah
says here, they joy before thee. They joy before thee that is
before God. The joy of the world and the
joy of the false professor is but transient, is temporary.
Fading is the worldling's pleasure, all his boasted pomp and show. Solid joys and lasting treasure,
none but Zion's children know. The joy of Zion's children, the
people of God, which is spiritual before thee, is an eternal joy. again Isaiah says later on in
this book of his prophecy and the ransomed of the Lord shall
return and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon
their heads they shall obtain joy and gladness and sorrow and
sighing shall flee away or what will be the end of the worldlings
joy their temporary joy? well it will be turned into everlasting
misery That's what the scripture says. Woe unto you that laugh
now, for ye shall mourn and weep, said Jesus. Ah, the joy of the true Christian,
however, though it is accompanied in this life by labor and toil
and conflict, yet it will issue in the full and uninterrupted
blessedness of eternal joy in the presence of the Lord. Enter
thou into the joy of thy Lord. That's the words I want to hear
when I die. Isaiah expresses it here using
two similes. They joy before thee according
to the joy in harvest. And as men rejoice when they
divide the spoil, before the harvest there must be the toil,
there must be the sowing of the seed. now all in this life are
sowing for eternity we each one of us here this morning are sowing
for eternity Galatians 6 verse 7 be not deceived God is not
mocked for whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap, for
he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption,
but he that soweth to the spirit shall of the spirit reap life
everlasting." Before the harvest there must be the toil, the sowing.
Before the dividing of the spoil there must be the battle. They
joy according to the joy in harvest. and as men rejoice when they
divide the spoil. Again to quote Calvin, now hence
it is evident what Christ brings to us, namely, a full and perfect
joy of which we cannot in any way be robbed or deprived, though
various storms and tempests should arise, and though we should be
weighed down by every kind of afflictions, however weak and
feeble we may be, still we ought to be glad and joyful for the
ground of our joy does not lie in numbers or wealth or outward
splendor but in spiritual happiness which we obtain through the word
of Christ oh yes remember the word of our Lord Jesus Christ
Luke 6 22 Blessed are ye when men shall hate you and when they
shall separate you from their company and shall reproach you
and cast out your name as evil for the son of man's sake. Rejoice
ye in that day and leap for joy for behold your reward is great
in heaven for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets. Leap for joy, Jesus said. Leap
for joy. when you are troubled, humiliated,
reproached for the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Peter speaks
of the trial of faith. Ye greatly rejoice, he says in
1 Peter 1. Ye greatly rejoice, though now
for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold
temptations. that the trial of your faith,
being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though
it be tried with fire, be found unto praise and honour and glory
at the appearing of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen ye love,
in whom though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice
with joy unspeakable and full of glory." Oh God has given us great joy
And thirdly, God has given us great liberty. God has given
us great liberty. For thou hast broken the yoke
of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his
oppressor, as in the day of Midian. For every battle of the warrior
is with confused noise and garments rolled in blood, but this shall
be with burning and fuel of fire. or before regeneration and conversion,
before the gracious and effectual call of God, or the elect of
God, are a people oppressed by sin, ensnared by the devil, taken
captive by him at his will. They are, even as others, a people
led away with diverse lusts, led away with the error of the
wicked, serving sin and Satan, following the dictates of the
flesh and of the devil following the inclinations of their sinful
and sin-filled hearts now that's not to say they're all outwardly
manifestly evil in the eyes of others or even in their own eyes
they may appear to be fine upstanding members of the community irreproachable
in the eyes of men but God sees the heart and he has declared
that we are all as an unclean thing and all our righteousnesses
are as filthy rags. What are all our good works?
Supposed good works? Well, the old Puritans used to
refer to them as splendid sins. Splendid sins. Even that which
is good and lawful is declared to be sin when it is performed
by the unregenerate. Mark these words in Proverbs.
Proverbs chapter 21 and verse 4. An high look and a proud heart
and the ploughing of the wicked is sin. The ploughing of the
wicked is sin. You might think this is perfectly
lawful and reasonable. It's good. What does the Word
of God say? The ploughing of the wicked is
sin. Paul says in Romans, doesn't
he? For whatsoever is not of faith is sin. Yes, whatsoever is not of faith,
even the ploughing of the wicked is sin. Being fallen in Adam,
you see, all that proceeds from us is sin. Ah, but the word of the gospel
sets the captives free. Yes, that was our state by nature,
servants of sin. But the gospel, the word of the
gospel sets the captives free. Know ye not that to whom ye yield
yourselves servants to obey? His servants ye are to whom ye
obey, whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness.
But God be thanked that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have
obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered
you. being then made free from sin he became the servants of
righteousness and that is where true freedom lies in the service
of God in the service of God there is perfect liberty the
Lord Jesus Christ proclaimed the word of this gospel in the
synagogue at Nazareth the Spirit of the Lord is upon
me is reading the prophet Isaiah, 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 he closed the book and 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 On another occasion he said,
if the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. Oh, it is Christ who breaks the
yoke of the elect sinner's burden, the staff of his shoulder, the
rod of his oppressor. He is that one that is stronger
than the strong man armed. When a strong man armed keepeth
his palace, his goods are in peace. but when a stronger than
he shall come upon him and overcome him, he taketh from him all his
armour wherein he trusted and divideth his spoils. Paul says, in Colossians, and having spoiled
principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing
over them in it, that is in the cross. and again Paul speaks there in
Colossians of God who have delivered us from the power of darkness
and have translated us into the kingdom of his dear son in whom
we have redemption through his blood even the forgiveness of
sins this is the deliverance you see, this is the liberty
This is the freedom that Christ has purchased and wrought for
his people. A freedom from the power and
dominion of sin. A freedom from sin, not a freedom
to sin. That's real antinomianism. No, it's a freedom from sin.
And thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his
people from their sins. From their sins. This great deliverance is compared
to the day of Midian, as in the day of Midian, Isaiah says. This
is a reference to the day of deliverance of the children of
Israel from the oppression of the Midianites, recorded in Judges,
in the book of Judges, chapter 6, verse 6. And Israel was greatly
impoverished because of the Midianites. And the children of Israel cried
unto the Lord, The children of Israel, you see, could not save
themselves. And they were brought to know
it and to feel it. And so they cried unto the Lord. And the Lord raised up Gideon
to deliver his people from the Midianites. And the Lord looked
upon him, that is, upon Gideon, and said, Go in this thine might,
and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have
not I sent thee? And the rest is, as they say,
history. God did deliver his people and
he does deliver his people as in the day of Midian the golden
promise of the word of God still holds true that whosoever shall
call on the name of the Lord shall be saved Isaiah continues
there in verse 5 For every battle of the warrior
is with confused noise and garments rolled in blood, but this shall
be with burning and fuel of fire. The victory, the conquest which
Christ has wrought for and on behalf of his people is not like
any other battle. In any other battle there will
be the sound of trumpets and drums, the neighing of horses,
the rushing of chariots, the clashing of swords and spears
and shields and so on. In our day, of course, there
will be the sound of bombs and grenades and gunfire. In any ordinary battle there
will be the cries of the wounded and the slain. This is what Isaiah
is saying here. For every battle of the warrior
is with confused noise and garments rolled in blood. Ah, but the
victory and the battle which Christ has won is of an altogether
different nature. but this shall be with burning
and fuel of fire it's the same as Zechariah says not by might
nor by power but by my spirit saith the Lord of hosts that
spirit by which the Lord delivers his people from their sins is
the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning as Isaiah says
earlier in chapter 4 and verse 4 when the Lord shall have washed
away the filth of the daughters of Zion and shall have purged
the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of
judgment and by the spirit of burning. The Lord's people are delivered
from the guilt of sin and its punishment by the judgment which
fell upon the Lord Jesus Christ, as he suffered the death of the
cross, as he suffered in the room and in the stead of his
people, when the iniquity of his people was laid upon him. It is at the cross that we see
the spirit of judgment, the judgment of God against sin. Ah, but there
is also that inward, internal work of the Spirit of God, He
comes as the spirit of burning, to burn away our dross, to sanctify
us. Remember the words of John the
Baptist concerning the Lord Jesus. He said, He shall baptise you
with the Holy Ghost and with fire. And so Paul writes to Titus,
not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according
to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration and
renewing of the Holy Ghost, which he shed on us abundantly through
Jesus Christ our Savior. Now this is the true baptism
of the Spirit. A true baptism of the Spirit
is a washing as by water and a purging as by fire. And this is the true purgatory
too. And so Isaiah says here concerning our salvation and
deliverance, but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire. Oh God has given us great liberty.
God has given us great liberty. Let us ever heed the warning
of the apostle. Stand fast therefore in the liberty
wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again
with the yoke of bondage. Fourthly and finally, God has
given us a great Saviour, for unto us a child is born, unto
us a son is given. It is through him that the Lord's
people have that great light, that great joy, that great liberty. Hence the word for at the beginning
of the sixth verse. The people that walked in darkness
have seen a great light, they joy before thee. Thou has broken
the yoke of his burden. For unto us a child is born. Unto us a son is given. It's
through this child that is born, this son that is given, that
the Lord has done such great things for his people. And then
there follows this description of the man child. which we haven't
got time to go into now, that this is the man-child who is
to rule all nations with a rod of iron. This child, this son, is clearly
true almighty God. In the words of our text, for
unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, we see here
the two natures of Christ. As Mr. Sant has often pointed
out in his ministry, it is a child that is born. Ah, but it is the
son that is given. The child born is the human nature
of the Lord Jesus. The son given is the eternally
begotten son of the living God. Oh Jesus, our Jesus is Emmanuel,
God with us. This is a great mystery as Paul
says and without mystery and without controversy, great is
the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh.
Come all harmonious tongues, your noblest music bring, it
is Christ the everlasting God and Christ the man we sing. Oh, none but Emmanuel, none but
God with us could deliver us from our sins. None but Emmanuel,
none but God with us could give us light, joy and liberty. Oh, God has given us a great
Saviour and a great salvation, for unto us a child is born,
unto us a son is given. The Apostle asked the question,
what shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who
can be against us? He that sped not his own son,
but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also
freely give us all things? As we draw to a conclusion, I'll
just consider very briefly three questions which may vex and perplex
a true heaven-born child of God. Firstly, if God has given us
great light, why do I feel such darkness within and without? Within in my heart, without in
my circumstances? although all men are by nature
in darkness only those who are quickened by divine grace are
made to feel it with spiritual light comes spiritual
sense and feeling and there will often be times of darkness in
the true believers experience again Isaiah says Who is among
you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant,
that walketh in darkness and hath no light? Let him trust
in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God. Oh, look to
him then, trust in him at all times. It's written in the Psalms,
they looked unto him and were lightened, and their faces were
not ashamed. And as surely as day follows
night, You'll be able to say again with the psalmist, the
Lord is my light and my salvation. This isn't theory. Some of us
have proved these things by gracious experience. But secondly, if
God has given his people great joy, then, in the words of the
psalmist, why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? Well again, this is the common
experience of the Lord's people. As you see in the words of the
Psalmist, which we've just quoted. It's written in two of the Psalms,
Psalms 42 and 43. The words are repeated because
it's the common experience of the Lord's people. Why go I mourning because of
the oppression of the enemy? Do we not often find great encouragement
in singing hymns like number 333 in Gatsby's? What those Satan's
strong temptations vex and tease thee day by day, and thy sinful
inclinations often fill thee with dismay, thou shalt conquer
through the Lamb's redeeming blood. Remember the word of our
Redeemer, our Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed are they that mourn,
for they shall be comforted. Oh, there is great comfort and
encouragement in the word of God for all spiritual mourners,
for all who mourn on account of their sins and for the who
mourn on account of the oppression of the enemy, their souls. And
there shall be an eternal and an everlasting comfort and consolation
for all such because it's written again in Isaiah, they shall obtain
gladness and joy and sorrow and mourning shall flee away I, even
I, am he that comforteth you. At the close of the whole of
the canon of Holy Scripture in the book of the Revelation we
read, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes And thirdly, if God has given
his people great liberty, why do I see another law in my members
warring against the law of my mind and bringing me into captivity
to the law of sin which is in my members? Again, although all
men are by nature in a state of captivity to the law of sin,
Only the regenerate, only the quickened souls of the elect
feel it. Only the elect who are granted
a new mind or a renewed mind can say that this is against
the law of my mind. Those who are yet in the flesh,
in a state of sin and enmity to God are intent upon filling the desires of the flesh
and of the mind. But to one that is reconciled
to God and born again of the Spirit of God, the fulfilling
of such desires is against the law of my mind. Only a true child of God who
knows something of the liberty of the Gospel can speak like
this, but I see another law in my members, warring against the
law of my mind and bringing me into captivity to the law of
sin which is in my members. This felt sense of remaining
indwelling sin within will often cause the child of God to cry
out, as it did the Apostle. See how Paul continues there
in Romans 7, O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from
the body of this death? And then he says, I thank God
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Oh how it behoves us to thank
God through Jesus Christ our Lord for all the great things
that he has given to us and done for us through him who is our
only saviour and deliverer. The Lord has done great things
for us whereof we are glad. Oh, think upon these things.
Do these things make you glad? Do you rejoice in these things?
Do you rejoice in this blessed Saviour? The people that walked
in darkness have seen a great light. They that dwell in the
land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.
Thou hast multiplied the nation and not increased the joy. they
joy before thee, according to the joy in harvest, and as men
rejoice when they divide the spoil. For thou hast broken the
yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his
oppressor, as in the day of Midian. For every battle of the warrior
is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood, but this shall
be with burning and fuel of fire, for unto us a child is born. Unto us A song is given.