Well, last Lord's Day, our pastor
preached from John 15 and verses 12 to 15. In the evening, his
subject was the marks of Christ's friendship. As you know, I was
due to preach at Portsmouth last Lord's Day, so I'd already been
thinking of what I should preach, both for Portsmouth and also
for this week here at Hedge End. And the pastor's ministry last
Lord's Day really confirmed to me what I should be preaching.
So I hope that what we bring forth from the Word of God this
morning will complement that which the pastor was able to
bring forth last Lord's Day. Let us turn to the Word of God
and the scripture I would bring before you this morning is found
in Proverbs chapter 18. and verse 24, Proverbs 18 verse
24, a man that hath friends must show himself friendly and there
is a man that sticketh closer than a brother. The Holy Scriptures
testify of Christ. Isn't that what the Lord Jesus
said to the Jews? Search the Scriptures. For in
them ye think ye have eternal life, and they are they which
testify of me. And the book of the Proverbs
is full of Christ. We can think of the great eighth
chapter where we read of the wisdom of God. Surely this is
Christ who is made unto us. wisdom, and righteousness, and
sanctification, and redemption. We have specific mention of the
Son of God Himself in chapter 30, at verse 4. Who hath ascended up into heaven,
or descended? Who hath gathered the wind in
His fists? Who hath bound the waters in
a garment? Who hath established all the ends of the earth? What
is His name? And what is His Son's name, if
thou canst tell? Well, here in Proverbs 18 verse
24 is no exception. Here we see Christ, the believer's
friend. A man that has friends must show
himself friendly. And there is a friend that sticketh
closer than a brother. What is a friend? I wonder if
I asked you that question, how you would define the word friend? What is a friend? Well, Alexander
Cruden, in his Concordance, says that a friend, I quote, is taken
for one whom we love and esteem above others. A friend is taken for one whom
we love and esteem above others. Well, Christ, then, is surely
the Church's friend. For does she not love him and
esteem him above others? The Church describes her beloved
there in the Song of Solomon, chapter 5, when we read the words,
didn't we? My beloved is white and ruddy,
the chiefest among ten thousand. This is how the Church begins
her description of Christ, her Beloved. And she concludes her
description. This is my Beloved and this is
my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem. A friend is taken for one whom
we love and esteem above others. Christ is that one then that
is loved and esteemed above others. He is the chiefest among 10,000.
But you know the friendship is mutual. Christ has those whom he regards
as friends. Those whom he loves and esteems
above others. Yes. We read in John 15 of how
the Lord Jesus Christ calls his disciples friends. And these
of course were the words Zalpas was preaching from last Lord's
Day. John 15 verse 13, greater love hath no man than this, that
a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if
ye do whatsoever I command you. Hitherforth I have not called
you servants, for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth,
but I have called you friends. For all that I have heard of
my Father, I have made known unto you. Christ loves and esteems
his people above others. But there are those, and there
are many, who would deny that. They would deny that Jesus should
have any particular friends at all. Oh, he loves everyone the
same. But there are those who would
say that he should show no favoritism. They say, indeed, that he doesn't
show any favoritism. Oh, they themselves will pick
and choose their own friends, but they will not allow Christ
to pick his own friends. Well, this, of course, is the
Arminian position, which we utterly refute. The Old Testament kings
had their favourites, whom they called friends. We see it in
the case of Abimelech, for example, way back in Genesis 26, verse
26. Then Abimelech went to him, that
is to Isaac, from Gera, and Ahazath, one of his friends, and Phichol,
the chief captain of his army. And in the case of David too,
in 2 Samuel 15 verse 37. So Hushai, David's friend, came
into the city. We see it too in the case of
the son of David, Solomon. 1 Kings 4 verse 5. And Xeber, the son of Nathan,
was principal officer and the king's friend. Not all were the king's friends.
Not all were the king's favourites, but the king had certain ones
that he loved and esteemed above others. Well, so it is with Christ,
the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He has his favourites,
whom he calls friends. Who are they? Well, they are
his dear elect. They are those for whom he laid
down his life. Greater love hath no man than
this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Or consider, consider how he
engaged to be their surety in the eternal covenant. The covenant
of grace which was made before even the world was made. The
Lord Jesus Christ engaged to be the surety of his friends
in the eternal covenant of grace. Now what is a surety? Well a
surety is one who undertakes the responsibility for the default
of another. So if a person falls into debt,
the surety is the one who has guaranteed and agreed to pay
the debt, should the debtor default and be unable to pay. Well, Christ,
in the eternal covenant of grace, has undertaken the responsibility
for the default of his friends, his people. In this manner, Christ
has acted as a friend toward his people when he engaged to
fulfil all their obligations under the law, when he agreed
to pay all the debts which they incurred. Consider how in the
fullness of time he came and answered to his suretyship. He was made of a woman, made
under the law, to redeem them that were under the law. He perfectly
fulfilled all the righteous requirements of the law. He never sinned. He never sinned. All that the
law required, he performed and did. And this he did for his
friends. And then, having fulfilled all
the obligations of the law, all that the law required, having
worked a perfect righteousness, he then paid the penalty for
the transgressions of that holy law which his people deserved. He stood in their law place.
He died in their room and in their stead. And so he suffered
the just penalty of the law for his friends. Greater love hath
no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. And we see, of course, that this
doctrine of the particular atonement running through the whole of
the Scriptures, The penalty demanded by that holy and just and good
law of God was death. Temporal and spiritual. The soul
that sinneth, it shall die. It's the just sentence of the
law. Christ came for his friends.
He stood for his friends, and he paid that penalty on behalf
of his friends. Greater love hath no man than
this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Consider how he saw his friends
in their poverty, and how he made himself poor, and of no
reputation that they might be made rich. For ye know the grace
of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your
sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be
rich. Consider how he saw them naked
and ashamed, and how he clothed them even with his own righteousness. Consider how he saw them hungry,
and how he fed them even with his own flesh and blood. For
my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. And so his friends live by his
death. And that eating of the flesh
of the Son of Man is their believing on him. It is their exercise
of faith in him and upon him. It is what it is to eat the flesh
of the Son of Man and to drink His blood. It is to rely completely
and entirely upon His death for our life. John 6.56, He that eateth my
flesh and drinketh my blood dwelleth in me and I in him. As the Living
Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father, so he that eateth
me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came
down from heaven. Not as your fathers did eat manna and are
dead, he that eateth of this bread shall live forever. Previously there in John chapter
6, the Lord had said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that
believeth on me hath everlasting life. I am that bread of life. Christ gave his own sinless human
nature for his friends to feed upon when they were starving
to death. Consider how he sees his friends
in prison and visits them. They were taken captive by Satan,
ensnared in the chains of their own sins, and unable to extricate
themselves. Ah, but Jesus, their friend and
their deliverer, comes. He is that one that is stronger
than the strong man, the devil. And he overcomes the devil, and
he binds that strong man, and he spoils Yes, he releases the prisoner.
He breaks the power of cancelled sin. He sets the prisoner free,
as the hymn writer says. Or as the prophet says, as for
thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy
prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water. And so we could
go on to speak of how he gives his friends sight when before
they were blind, how he makes his friends to walk when before
they were lame, how he heals the broken-hearted and binds
up all their wounds, how he comes as the good Samaritan to the
poor distressed sinner by the wayside and binds up his wounds,
pouring in oil and wine. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and
all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord,
O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgiveth all
thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases, who redeemeth
thy life from destruction, who crowneth thee with lovingkindness
and tender mercies, who satisfieth thy mouth with good things, so
that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's. Oh, what friendship
has the Lord Jesus Christ shown towards us who are his people? A man that hath friends must
show himself friendly. Oh, and Christ has shown himself
very friendly to poor sinners. But is there not sometimes a
fear of him in the hearts of his friends? Is it not the case with us sometimes
that we are afraid of him? Now, Antichrist makes much of
this. He must go through Mary, or he
must go through the saints, or he must go through the priest,
he must go through Mother Church. Oh, Christ is so high and he
is so holy, you can't approach to him. You must use our mediators. or the Mediatrix, Mary. Oh, he
is so fierce! He's so unfriendly! Mary, she
will hear you, if you go to Mary. Oh, Christ won't listen to you,
but it will listen to his mother. This is the arguments of Antichrist. And the flesh concurs with this.
That's why the religion of Rome is so attractive to the flesh.
Oh we feel that Christ is so high and exalted that he is so
glorious and holy and we are so miserable and full of sin.
There is that natural tendency within each one of us to be afraid
of him and to be afraid before him. Will he accept me? I'm such
a hypocrite. I'm such a sinner. Martin Luther in his table talk
confesses and bewails this feeling in his own heart. He says I quote,
I expect more goodness from Kate my wife, from Philip Melanchthon
and from other friends than from my sweet and blessed Saviour
Christ Jesus. And yet I know for certain that
neither she nor any other person on earth will or can suffer that
for me which he has suffered. Why then should I be afraid of
him? This, my foolish weakness, grieves
me very much. We plainly see in the Gospel
how mild and gentle he showed himself towards his disciples,
how kindly he passed over their weakness, their presumption,
yea, their foolishness. He checked their unbelief and
in all gentleness admonished them. Moreover, the Scripture,
which is most sure, says, well are all they that put their trust
in him. Fie on our unbelieving hearts
that we should be afraid of this man who is more loving, friendly,
gentle and compassionate towards us than are our kindred, our
brethren and sisters, yea, than parents themselves are towards
their own children. Oh, we ought not to be afraid.
of approaching Him who holds out the golden sceptre of His
mercy towards us. He bids poor, distressed and
needy sinners to come to Him. Come unto Me, all ye that labour
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. If any man thirst,
let him come unto Me and drink. Let us not be afraid then of
approaching Him. He is the friend of sinners.
O poor and needy soul, hear His word. Let Him come unto me. Let Him come. Let Him come unto
me. He will not turn you away. Him
that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out. Well, let us
go on to consider something further concerning the nature of Christ's
friendship. And I shall briefly mention four
things this morning. Firstly, regarding the friendship
of Christ, it is everlasting. It's everlasting. A friend loveth
at all times, Proverbs 17, 17. And Christ is the believer's
friend who loves at all times. Even when his friends were yet
in their sins, he loved them. As Paul says, while we were yet
sinners, Christ died for us. Samuel Medley expresses it in
his hymn, He saw me ruined in the floor. yet loved me, notwithstanding
all. He saved me from my lost estate,
his lovingkindness." Now we might say his friendship. How great! Yes, he loved us even when we
were in a state of sin. And having saved his people from
their sins, he goes on loving them. Having loved his own which
were in the world, he loved them unto the end. He continues to
love his own, which are in the world, in spite of all their
failings, in spite of all their backslidings, in spite of all
their sinful rebellion, in spite of all the imperfection of their
returns of love to him. Oh, he loves them, and he will
love them to the end. He is that friend that sticketh
closer than a brother. He is that friend that loveth
at all times. His friendship is everlasting. And there is nothing, there is
nothing that shall be able to separate us from the love of
God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. I know there are some friends
who don't stick fast, we've all known them. There have been those
who have joined the church even, And we thought they were friends,
we thought they were friends of the cause of Christ. And they
deserted us. They turned their backs on us. Yes, there are those friends
which leave us. In the end, ultimately, all our
friends must leave us. And we must leave them because
of the mortality of our bodies. But not so Christ. He is risen
from the dead, and he has the power of an endless life. And
he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. Yeah, so all others may forsake
us. Christ loves at all times. His love is everlasting. Secondly, his friendship is made
known by seasonable or timely rebukes. Open rebuke is better
than secret love. Faithful are the wounds of a
friend. And the Lord Jesus Christ does
wound his people from time to time, even by the word that proceeds
out of his mouth. He can smite them in their hearts.
He can make them feel ashamed. He can make them feel the bitterness
of their sin. and it causes these wounds, as
it were, to be exposed. Faithful are the wounds of a
friend. It's for our good. It's for our benefit. And it
is, ultimately, for our blessing. The psalmist says, let the righteous
smite me. It shall be a kindness. And let
him reprove me. It shall be an excellent oil,
which shall not break my head. Oh, the Lord Jesus Christ, he
wounds us, not to slay us, but to heal us. his smiting of us,
his reproving of us, is an excellent oil. Faithful are his wounds. Faithful are the wounds of a
friend. The Lord will give those seasonable
and timely rebukes, those faithful rebukes and reproofs to those
whom he counts as his friends, and he will do it for their good
and for their happiness. As many as I love, I rebuke and
chasten." Oh, I wonder, have you ever felt the sharp point
of that two-edged sword that proceeds out of his mouth? I
know I have. Thirdly, his friendship is made
known by hearty counsel. Ointment and perfume rejoice
the heart. So doth the sweetness of a man's
friend by hearty counsel. Of course the margin has it there
in Proverbs 27.9, Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart, so
doth the sweetness of a man's friend from the counsel of the
soul. From the counsel of the soul.
Oh does not our Lord Jesus Christ give us hearty counsel? Does
he not display his own soul to us? is he does by the Spirit
which he sends into our hearts. John 14 26. But the Comforter, which is the
Holy Ghost, which the Father will send in my name, he shall
teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance
whatsoever I have said unto you. The Holy Spirit, the heavenly
paraclete, takes the Word of God. And he applies it to the people
of God. And there is good counsel in
the Word of God. I can't understand professed
Christians who go to supposed counsellors. We have the most excellent counsel
here in the Word of God. This is my counsel. I hope it's
yours too. Here is good counsel in the word
of Christ. It is hearty counsel and it is
heart to heart. You see, this word comes from
the heart of Christ and it goes to the hearts of his people.
Heart to heart. That's what this word is. It's
hearty counsel. The Holy Ghost takes the things
of Christ and he reveals them to us. Again, in John 16 verse
13, Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide
you into all truth, for he shall not speak of himself, but whatsoever
he shall hear, that shall he speak, and he will show you things
to come. He shall glorify me, for he shall
receive of mine, and shall show it unto you. Oh, here is the
sweetness of a man's friend by hearty counsel. He sends the
Holy Spirit who applies the Word of God to his people's hearts
and he shows them things to come. Yes, he shows them secret things. Friends will often share their
secrets one with another. And the more highly we value
a friend, The more highly a friend is esteemed, then the more we
will share the secrets of our hearts with that friend. The
Lord Jesus Christ reveals those secret things to his people which
he does not reveal to the world. Those who are in the world, those
who are yet in the flesh, who are yet in their sins, they cannot
receive the things of the Spirit. But the natural man receiveth
not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness
unto him. Neither can he know them, because they are spiritually
discerned. Ah, but Christ reveals these
things to us, who are born of the Spirit. He gives the Holy
Spirit, and the Holy Spirit reveals the things of Christ. Indeed,
the Holy Spirit reveals Christ Himself. And there can be no
believing on Christ without that revelation. by the Spirit of
God. No man can say that Jesus is
the Lord but by the Holy Ghost. And it is Christ Himself who
is revealed to us. And Christ communicates His secrets
to His friends which He does not show to the world. Or He
shows them His covenant. The secret of the Lord is with
them that fear Him. And He will show them His covenant. This is a secret thing that he
reveals only to his friends. He shows us our interest in that
covenant. That covenant that is ordered
in all things and sure. He shows us the blood of that
covenant which seals our salvation. Doesn't make salvation possible,
it makes our salvation secure. Because it's the blood of the
everlasting covenant. It's that blood which removes
all our guilt and all our sin and all our shame. And it's that
blood which delivers us out of a pit wherein is no water. It's
the blood of the covenant and that is the secret that he reveals. And does not Christ show us things
to come? Howbeit when he, the Spirit of
truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth. For he shall
not speak of himself, but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he
speak. And he will show you things to come. He shows us things to come. He
shows us things to come through His Word. And we feel these things,
we believe these things. These things have been imprinted
upon our hearts. We believe that the ultimate
ruin of Antichrist and the ultimate destruction of Babylon and the
end of the false prophet are things to come. We believe that
that wicked, the Pope, who opposeth and exhorteth himself above all
that is called God, shall ultimately be destroyed at the second coming
of our Lord Jesus Christ. We believe in the judgment to
come. That's something future, isn't
it? That's to come. Many don't believe it. But we believe that we must all
appear before the judgment seat of Christ that every one of us
shall give account of himself to God. We believe that there
will be a judgment and that God will judge the world in righteousness
by that man whom he has ordained, that is by that man whom he has
raised from the dead. We believe in the future state,
the reality of an eternal heaven and an eternal hell. Such truths
of these have been sealed to our hearts by the Holy Ghost.
And so the Lord our God enables us to wait for his Son from heaven,
whom he hath raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered
us from the wrath to come. We have seen these things by
faith. The Spirit has shown us these things to come. We have
seen something of the wrath to come and our hearts have been
made to fear and to tremble at the sight of these things. Sometimes I have felt myself
to be dangled over the very pits of hell. And I have been made to tremble
at these things. We feel these things in our own
souls because we have felt ourselves to be transgressors of the law
of God. We have felt ourselves to be deserving of that wrath
and of that judgment which is to come. We have the sentence
of death in ourselves as the Apostle says. And so we have
been made to flee from that wrath to come, even by faith in Jesus
Christ. For there is none other name
under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. The
Lord has shown us these things. He has revealed these things
savingly and experimentally to us, which he has not revealed
to the world. These are the secret things that
he has revealed to us. He has shown us things to come.
Why has the Lord revealed these things to us and not to the world?
Why? Because he counts us as his friends. That's why. Abraham was called the friend
of God, wasn't he? And he was shown things to come.
The destruction of Sodom. And the Lord said, shall I hide
from Abraham that thing which I do? Oh, he could have hidden
these things from Abraham. But no, he regarded Abraham as
his friend. What a marvellous thing this
is. That God should regard a mere man as his friend. That he should take him into
his confidence. That he should show that thing
that he was about to do. But you know, this is what the
Lord has done to us, and for us who are his friends, who have
by grace believed on his name. What mysteries does Christ reveal
to his friends? Ah, but above all, he reveals
himself. He reveals himself. He that hath
my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me. And
he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love
him, and will manifest myself to him. And will manifest myself
to him. John Ammann says, Let others
look upon him as having neither form nor comeliness, as no way
desirable. He will manifest himself and
his excellencies unto them in whom he is delighted. that they
shall see him altogether lovely. Is that how you view Christ?
Is that how you see Christ? What think ye of Christ? That's the question, isn't it?
Do you see him as altogether lovely? Or do you see him as
having neither form nor comeliness as no way desirable? Well, let
others look upon him as having neither form nor commonness,
as no way desirable. He will manifest himself and
his excellencies unto them in whom he is delighted, that they
shall see him altogether lovely. And what refreshment, what rejoicing
there is to poor and needy souls when Christ is revealed to them. Ointment and perfume rejoice
the heart, so doth the sweetness of a man's friend by hearty counsel. So doth the sweetness of a man's
friend from the counsel of the soul. Christ reveals his own
soul to us. He bears his soul to us, as it
were, in his word and Christ is revealed to us. Or do you
not rejoice when you see Jesus in the Holy Scriptures? It is the most precious ointment
and the sweetest perfume. Ointment and perfume rejoice
the heart, so doth the sweetness of a man's friend by hearty counsel. And is there not a reciprocation
on our part? Christ manifests Himself to us. He reveals to us the secrets
of His heart. And is there not a reciprocation
on our part? Do we not go to Him with all
our secret fears? and all our secret concerns,
all our secret sins? And are we not able, as it were,
to unbosom and unburden our hearts to Him? Or do we esteem Him highly
as a friend? Well then surely we will go to
Him as a friend and we will consult with Him and commune with Him
Which brings us to our fourth and final point, that there is
a holy familiarity in this friendship. There is a holy familiarity in
this friendship. Christ loves to visit his friends
and to commune with them. Behold, I stand at the door and
knock. If any man hear my voice and
open the door, I will come in and will sup with him and he
with me. And are not his visits as cordials
to our hearts? Now this friendship is, as we've
just said, reciprocal. He visits us. Are we not to visit
him? If we esteem him highly as our
friend, are we those who visit him often with our prayers? It is in this way that familiarity
is maintained. Naturally speaking, the more
friends talk with one another, the more they get to know one
another. Well, surely the more we speak with Him, the more we
shall know Him and the more we shall increase in the knowledge
of Him. It is a Gospel precept, but growing grace and in the
knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. How do we do that?
By communing with Him in His Word. Oh, the sweet What do you know of it? What
do you know of it? What do I know of it? I have
to ask myself the question too. Not just saying our prayers,
not just going to a prayer meeting, not just coming to a service
like this and adding our men to the prayers that are uttered.
But what do we know of that secret communion with Christ? When you
go to Him, when you close the door behind you and you're alone
with Him. You know, he delights to hear
his people pray. He delights in these visits from
his people. He says so in his word. He delights to hear his
friends' voices. See what the Beloved says to
his church in the Song of Solomon. Oh my dove that art in the clefts
of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs. Let me see thy
countenance. Let me hear thy voice, for sweet
is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely. Oh, this is how Christ
regards the prayers of his people. Let me hear thy voice. Let me hear thy voice. He delights
to hear the voices of his people in prayer and in praise. It is a good thing to give thanks
unto the Lord. For sweet is thy voice and thy
countenance is comely. The Lord loves to hear us pray
and to sing with grace in our hearts unto the Lord. And is
it not meet that if the Lord Jesus Christ has shown himself
friendly to us, then we also ought to show ourselves friendly
to Christ. I'm sure that where there is
the gracious experience of all Christ's benefits, there will
be the grateful return of thanks to his name. Now let me just
say very briefly two things by way of conclusion. Firstly, beware of hypocrisy. Beware of
hypocrisy. Remember how the Lord Jesus Christ
addressed Judas Iscariot as friend when Judas betrayed him. Matthew 26 verse 48. Now he that betrayed him gave
them a sign, saying, Whosoever I shall kiss, that same is he,
hold him fast. And forthwith he came to Jesus
and said, Hail, Master, and kissed him. And Jesus said unto him,
Friend, wherefore art thou come? The Lord Jesus Christ was betrayed
by one who professed himself to be a friend. Yes, one who
showed the outward marks of friendship. The Lord addressed himself according
to his pretensions. Friend, wherefore art thou come? He pretended to be a friend of
the Lord Jesus Christ and outwardly he showed himself to be a friend
of the Lord Jesus. Ah, but inwardly there was enmity
in his heart. He hated the Saviour, he hated
his Gospel, he hated his church and people. You know, the benediction of
the Gospel rightly and properly belongs to those who are the
true friends of Christ. Grace be with all them that love
our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen. The second point I'd like to
make by way of conclusion is this. Is it not the case with
friends that they have common interests? Can two walk together
except they be agreed? If we are the friends of Christ
then we will love the same things that he loves. We will hate the
same things that he hates. His friends will be our friends. And every one that loveth him
that begat, loveth him also that is begotten of him. His friends will be our friends,
his enemies will be our enemies, thine enemies take thy name in
vain. Do not I hate them, O LORD, that
hate thee, and am not I grieved with those that rise up against
thee? I hate them with perfect hatred, I count them mine enemies. If we are Christ's friends, then
we will surely have a concern for his cause, for his house,
for his kingdom. We will pray for the peace of
Jerusalem. Christ's friends will be my friends. And we will find, I believe,
that the ties of the Spirit are stronger than even the ties of
blood. There is a friend that sticketh
closer than a brother. The ties of the spirit are stronger
than even the ties of blood. May the Lord Jesus Christ himself
bless his word to your soul and to mine and may we know and enjoy
by gracious experience, much of the friendship of Christ,
while we are here upon this earth, until we are brought to lean
upon his bosom at the marriage supper of the Lamb. A man that
hath friends must show himself friendly, and there is a friend
that sticketh closer than a brother. Amen. We sing as our concluding hymn
this morning, hymn number 149. The tune is number 730. There is a friend who sticketh
fast, and keeps his love from first to last, and Jesus is his
name. An earthly brother drops his
hoard, is sometimes hot and sometimes cold, but Jesus is the same. Hymn number 149. Aum