Let us turn to God's Word once
again in the portion that we read earlier in Luke chapter
2 reading at verse 25 following and behold there was a man in
Jerusalem whose name was Simeon and the same man was just and
devout waiting for the consolation of Israel and the Holy Ghost
was upon him And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost that
he should not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ.
And he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents
brought in the child Jesus to do for him after the custom of
the law, Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God,
and said, Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace,
according to thy word. For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
which thou hast prepared before the face of all people, a light
to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. And I want to take in particular
for our text the words that we have here in verses 29 and 30. Luke chapter 2, verses 29 and
30. Lord, now let us have thy servant
depart in peace according to thy word, for mine eyes have
seen thy salvation. often referred to of course by
the Latin phrase denunc dimittis. Now this morning we were looking
in particular at those words at the end of verse 25. Simeon
numbered amongst those that little remnants. He was one of them, a justified
sinner. just and devout, it says, waiting
for the consolation of Israel and the Holy Ghost was upon him. Oh, there was that remnant there.
And as I said, we have in this chapter and certainly in the
previous opening chapter of the Gospel some accounts of the activity
amongst them. And these various songs there
have been such a gracious outpouring of the Spirit. Remember how at
the end of chapter 1 we have what's called the Benedictus,
that prophetic word that's spoken by Zacharias, the father of John
the Baptist, recorded in chapter 1 at verses 67 to 75. And then
also, previous to that, we have the Magnificat of Mary, There
in chapter 1 verse 46 following and just previous to Mary we
have the song of Elizabeth. How there was such a gracious
outpouring concerning this man Simeon. There are several mentions
of the Holy Spirit. In verse 25 the Holy Ghost was
upon him. Verse 26, it was revealed, unseen
by the Holy Ghost. Verse 27, he came by the Spirit
into the temple. How the Spirit was so active
at this time. And that gracious activity is
evident in these various songs. And this is the context that
we have here with regards to this man Simeon. He is waiting,
as we saw this morning, for the consolation of Israel. And we remarked on what that
consolation is. We said something about the significance
of the word that is rendered as consolation. It's a Greek
word that is transliterated into our English language with the
word paraclete. and it's one of those compound
words, it's two words welded together and it simply refers
to one who is called to be alongside another called to be alongside
it's that word that is used repeatedly of Christ when he speaks of the
ministry of the Holy Spirit the word Comforter I will pray the
Father and He shall give you another Comforter, says Christ
to the disciples, that He may abide with you forever. Or the Holy Spirit is another
Comforter, another Paraclete. In what sense is He another?
Well, the Lord Jesus Christ is also a Paraclete. This word that
we have here, the word consolation, I said this morning, it is the
same word. that is not only rendered as
comforter in the Gospel of John but then John also in his first
general epistle there at the beginning of the second chapter
uses the word again in reference to Christ in our authorised version
it's rendered as advocate we have an advocate with the Father
says John Jesus Christ the righteous and He is the propitiation for
our sins and not for our sins only but also for the sins of
the whole world. Or the Lord Jesus is that one
called to be alongside and advocate. One who will stand to speak on
behalf of those people that God has given to Him in the eternal
covenant. So we thought of the significance
of the consolation waiting for the consolation. Oh, it's the
Messiah, it's the Christ of God, it's the Son of God that is being
spoken of. And it's this one that Simeon
subsequently is found taking up in his arms. This little baby
took him up in his arms and blessed God. and said, Lord, now lettest
thou thy servant depart in peace according to thy word, for mine
eyes have seen thy salvation. He is so much part of that true
Israel of God, that spiritual Israel. They are not all Israel,
they are not of Israel. And the true Jew is not one that
is a Jew outwardly, but the true circumcision is that which is
inward, it's that which is of the heart in the spirit and not
in the letter whose price is not of men but of God and he's
one of that blessed company together with these others that we've
just made some reference to together with Zacharias and Elizabeth
and Joseph and Mary And then afterwards we read also of this
prophetess by the name of Anna who is spoken of in verse 36. These are they you see, and what
a people they are. They are looking. They are looking
for redemption in Israel, in Jerusalem it says in verse 38
concerning Anna. She coming in at that instant
gave thanks likewise unto the Lord and spake of Him that is
of the Christ to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem. But not only that remnant amongst the nation
of Israel though this salvation is also for Gentiles as we see
in verse 32, a light, a light on the Gentiles, it says, and
the glory of thy people Israel. Oh, when he comes as that one
who is the consolation, the comforter, the advocate. What does it say
there in that portion in 1 John 2? is the propitiation, John
says, not only for our sins, that is for the Jews, but also
for the sins of the whole world, that is the Gentiles. There are
those who are the election of grace amongst the Gentiles, as
was the case with Israel, or God has a people amongst all
the nations and all the families of the earth. But we come now
to consider this part of the Nunc Dimittis, the words that
we have at the very beginning of this remarkable statement
that Simeon makes, verses 29 and 30. Lord, now lettest thou
thy servant depart in peace according to thy word, for mine eyes have
seen thy salvation. Now, we're told precisely when
these things occurred. Remember what we've read previously? At verse 21 we're told how after
the birth of this child there in Bethlehem and what we're told
concerning the ministry of the angels at verse 21 when Eight
days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child. His
name was called Jesus, which was so named of the angel before
he was conceived in the womb. And then we have mentioned in
verse 22 of the days of purification. According to the Lord of Moses,
the reference being to Mary, of course, his mother, when the
days of her purification, according to the Lord of Moses, were accomplished,
they brought him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. As
it is written in the Lord of the Lord, Every male that openeth
the womb shall be called holy to the Lord. They must pay the
redemption price for the firstborn because God had laid claim upon
all the firstborn sons. after they had delivered the
children of Israel out of the bondage which was Egypt. There
was that redemption money that must be paid for the firstborn
son. But then also she is to offer
a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the
Lord. This is for a purification, a pair of turtle doves or two
young pigeons. Now the offering for her purification
The purification of the mother was to be some 33 days after
the circumcision of the child. We read of that law in Leviticus
chapter 12. You can read it there in the
opening verses of Leviticus chapter 12, what was required. 33 days
after the child was circumcised What we read up here in verse
22, the days of the purification. So, the Lord Jesus at this time
was about 41 days old. Now if I can remember my times
table, He was about, if He's 41 days, He was about 6 weeks
old. He's about six weeks old, a month
and a half old at this time, when Simeon takes him up in his
arms and blesses God and pronounces the words that we have tonight
as our text. Lord, now let us have thy servant
depart in peace according to thy word, for mine eyes have
seen thy salvation. He sees his salvation in this
babe of six weeks old. How remarkable. How remarkable
is the scene that he sets before us. Well, as we come to consider
these words, three things I want to mention tonight. First of
all, here we are reminded solemnly of the certainty of death. Look at what he says. in verse
29, Now let us thy servant depart in peace according to thy word. Now, the word in particular that
he is referring to is that that is spoken of back in verse 26.
It had been revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost that he should
not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. But he has
now seen the Lord's Christ. And what is he requesting? He
is acknowledging here the certainty of death. Let us thy servant
depart in peace according to thy words. And it's not only
that word that had been given to him by the Holy Ghost, that
he was to see the Lord's Christ, there is also of course that
that he's the Lord's Word throughout Scripture concerning the certainty
of death. We go back to the language of
Ecclesiastes chapter 3, familiar words I'm sure to everything
there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven,
a time to be born, a time to die. The Swami says, my times
are in my hands, speaking in prayer to the Lord his God. All
our times are in the hands of God. And God himself has appointed
not only the hour, the minute we might say, the very second,
the moment in which we were to be born, but has also ordained
the day wherein we will die. And we often sing that lovely
hymn of John Ryland Junior, number 64, plagues and deaths around
me fly, till he begs I cannot die, not a single shaft can hit,
till the God of love sees fit. Oh, he's too good to be mistaken,
he's too good to be unkind. All our times then are in the
hands of God and we acknowledge that, we believe, we're those
who believe in the sovereignty of God. And we recognize the
truth then of what God has said in his words. Unto God the Lord
belong the issues from death, says the psalmist again. O it's
God's appointment according to thy words. It is appointed unto
men once to die and then cometh the judgment. Now why is it?
Why are these things so? It's a solemn subject to think
of the certainty of death. And yet, we know there's a reason
why death is so certain. It's because of man's sin. What was said to our father Adam
there in the garden concerning that tree of the knowledge of
good and evil. God has forbidden that he should
never partake of that tree. Our Adam is being tested, as
it were, by God. But God said, in the day that
thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. Death then is certain in that
sense. Now, as I'm sure you're aware,
if you have a margin in your Bible, you will have observed
that there in that verse, that Significant word in Genesis 2.17,
the margin says, "...in the day that thou eatest thereof, dying
thou shalt die." There's a repetition and the translators of our authorized
version have acknowledged that, recognizing that the repetition
is indicating the certainty of death. There's no avoiding it,
"...dying thou shalt die." They shall surely die. But then also,
if we take account of the language, and the marginal reading is the
literal rendering of what is in the Hebrew, there is some
significance in that, because it reminds us that there was
a dying that was immediate. There was an instantaneous death
that came into the soul of Adam and Eve, dying. They shall die
later, there would be a physical death, but there was a death
that was so immediate, it was a spiritual death. And that spiritual
death is so evident in what we read subsequently in Genesis
chapter 3, that when they do partake of what God has forbidden,
when they sin, now there is a separation. and God comes into the garden
and there was that time when there would have been communion
between God and his creature but now they they're aware of
things and they hide themselves they don't want to be in God's
presence they cannot abide the idea of being in the presence
of him who is the Holy One and they seek to hide themselves
now of course there's no hiding from God But how we see the separation
and then of course solemnly at the end of Genesis 3 the Lord
God drives them out of the garden or they're driven out of the
presence of God. There was a spiritual death and
it was immediate. It came to them as soon as they
transgressed. Dying, they shall die. Years later Adam and Eve die
physically. They endure another separation
when they come to die. There's a separation of body
and soul there. The body returns to the earth
as it was, and the spirit goes to God who made it. As solemn it is, the soul that's
in it, it shall die. The wages of sin is death. And that's the condition in which
we're born, all of us, born into this world. You, me, every person
that we've ever known or ever will know, all those who are
near and dear to us, all of us born dead in trespasses and in
sins. And so this is why, of course,
we see the great necessity of regeneration. because of man's
condition, by nature, the certainty of it, not just the fact that
he will die physically, but he is already spiritually dead.
Verily, verily, says the Lord Jesus, he prefixes what he is
saying to Nicodemus, with that double verily underlining, underscoring
the great truth he's about to pronounce, verily, verily, except
a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Or you
must be born again. And what is that new birth? Well, it's being born from above.
The margin again is interesting, except a man is born again, born
from a bath, says the margin. It's a spiritual birth. It's
the work of the Holy Ghost in the soul of a sinner. A man can
receive nothing, says John the Baptist, except it be given him
from heaven. All that birth, it must come
and it's not something we can do for ourselves. Oh no, we're
told which we're born, not of blood, nor of the will of the
flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. It's the mighty and
effectual work of God in the soul of the sinner. And that's
where salvation begins in the experiences of the people of
God. There can be nothing before there
is that communication of new life, of spiritual life into
the soul of the sinner. All the certainty there. The
certainty of death is according to thy words. What God has written
in his word. But what we have here in the
language of this man Simeon is interesting because here It's
not just a certainty. This man is actually requesting
death. Lord, he says, now let us thou
thy servant depart in peace according to thy word for mine eyes have
seen thy salvation. Orsimeon is prepared now for
his physical death. Simeon is a man who is ready
to die because that great transaction, that great experience has occurred
in his soul. What the Holy Ghost had revealed
unto him has come to pass and this has prepared him. It's interesting
when we read the Scriptures to observe what we are told concerning
the the deathbed experiences of the people of God. We have
that chapter in Hebrews 11 that speaks to us of the faith of
those men and women of the Old Testament, a great catalogue
of their experiences. But what do we find with regards
to any detail concerning the dying sayings of the people of
God. In a sense there is very little.
We have some record of Jacob in Genesis chapter 49. We do have a whole chapter that's
given up to the dying sayings of the patriarch Jacob because
there he calls his sons to him and pronounces prophetic words,
he blesses them Throughout that chapter, Jacob called unto his
sons and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you
that which shall befall you in the last days, he says. Gather
yourselves together, and hear ye sons of Jacob, and hearken
unto Israel your father. And then he speaks words, prophetic
words, words of blessing concerning his twelve sons. And then we're told, when Jacob
had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his
feet into the bed and yielded up the ghost and was gathered
unto his people. So we do have a chapter concerning
something of the last sayings of the patriarch Jacob. And we have something similar
when it comes to the man Moses. Because remember how at the end
Moses similarly blesses the 12 tribes of Israel. The tribes descended from the
12 sons of Jacob. Very similar there in Deuteronomy
33. This is the blessing wherewith
Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before
his death. And you can read, I'm sure you
will have read it many times. A remarkable chapter in which
he likewise pronounces blessings upon the twelve tribes. And he
says, There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, who rises
upon the heaven in thy help, and in his excellency in the
sky. The eternal God is thy refuge. Underneath are the everlasting
arms, and so on. or what words he speaks as he
comes to his deathbed. We have Jacob then, we have Moses,
and of course we also have the dying sayings of King David.
In 2 Samuel 23, these be the last words of David. David, the
son of Jesse, said, the man who was raised on high, the anointed
of God, the sweet psalmist of Israel. Oh, in what words he
is able to speak! Although my house be not so with
God, yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered
in all things, and sure, this is all my salvation, and all
my desire, though he make it not to grow. As he looks at his
family, His sin is much to grieve him, though my house be not so
with God. All we see is the sad situation
that had arisen, the sin that had come into his house, and
all because of his own sin. The sword was not to depart from
his house, said the Lord God. God doesn't wink at sins, though
he make it not to grow, and yet here is his comfort as he comes
to die, the covenant, he has made with me an everlasting covenant,
ordered in all things and sure, all my salvation all my desire
he says is in the covenant and then also we see as subsequently
David addresses his own son Solomon before he dies in in the first book of Kings and
there in the second chapter we read now the days of David drew
nigh that he should die and he charged Solomon his son saying
I go the way of all the earth be thou strong therefore and
show thyself a man and keep the charge of the Lord thy God to
walk in his ways to keep his statutes and his commandments
and his judgments and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of
Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and with
us however thou turnest thyself. And so he speaks. And then we
read, David slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of
David. David slept with his fathers
but we have some record of the things that he said as he came
to the end of his days and yet I've spoken of these three and
their great characters that we read of here in the word of God
Jacob, Moses, David and yet little detail concerning
so many of those that we find written in God's words, so little
concerning many of the Patriarchs and the Prophets and the Apostles,
so little detail concerning their deathbed experiences and their
dying sayings. Now, isn't there some significance
in that? Does it not remind us that the
important thing that we're made ready we're made ready during
the course of our lives We're not to look for some great blessing
on our deathbeds. The important thing is that we're
those who are redeeming the time, buying up the time, because the
days are evil. And here we see a man in Simeon
who is ready, he's prepared. Oh, he was one of those who,
as I've said, is numbered amongst that blessed remnant that were
looking and waiting. With what expectation they were
looking and waiting for that redemption that was to come.
As we said this morning, there'd be no fresh revelation from God
for probably 400 years, the intertestamental period. the period between the
death of the last of the Old Testament prophets Malachi and
the coming of the Lord Jesus and all that is associated with
his coming. There'd been that silence. And
yet there were those who were gracious people, justified sinners,
longing for this appearing and this man, waiting for the consolation
of Israel. The Holy Ghost is upon him. It
has been revealed unto him. The Spirit has made it known
that he's not going to die before he sees the Lord's Christ. Here is a man who is ready. He's prepared. He's prepared
to die. And so he can make this request
for it. Lord, now let us know thy servant
departs in peace. Now, of course, it's one thing
to be prepared and to be ready, that is very important. But it
doesn't necessarily follow that a man or a woman is unafraid. No, we read of some who are afraid. But what are we told in Hebrews
2, for as much as the children will partake of flesh and blood
the Lord Jesus Christ likewise took part of the saying that
he might destroy him who has the power of death and deliver
them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject
to bondage all there are those maybe we've known some of them
believers gracious people and they had a fear they feared the
day of their death but God grants dying grace, does he not? There
is such a thing as dying grace. We don't need it until that appointed
time comes. But though the Lord Jesus is
that one, you see again, who is the Comforter. He is the consolation
of his Israel. And it's because the children
were partakers of flesh and blood that he likewise took part of
the same. Oh, he is touched with all the
feeling of our infirmities. Now when the Lord himself comes
to the end and he's there in the garden of Gethsemane and
he's contemplating that death that he must die there there
is a sense in which his holy soul is shrinking from these
things. Oh if it be possible he says to the Father let this
cup pass from me nevertheless not my will but thine be done. Oh there is such a thing you
say as those who are fearful when it comes to that great article
which we call death because death is an intruder death is an intruder
death involves a separation of the soul from the body and when
God made man he created his body out of the dust of the earth
and he breathes into his nostrils the breath of life and he becomes
a living soul This is how God intends man to be, body and soul. And that separation that comes.
But the Lord Jesus is that one who was vanquished. All the works
of Satan, all death where is thy sting, all grave where is
thy victory. The sting of death is sin, the
strength of sin is the law. says Paul, but thanks be to God,
which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Hasn't
the Lord Jesus Christ himself gone that very way for his people?
He's that one who was laid in the tomb. He died. It was a real
death. But death was unable to hold
him and he rose again. It's all part of his ministry
to his fearful saints. what a man is this man Simeon
all such as the ministry of God to him is read is prepared now
let us how thy servants depart in peace he says according to
thy word for mine eyes have seen thy salvation the certainty of
death a man here requesting death because he's ready for it. And
then let me finally say something with regards to him who is the
Savior. Because it is Christ who is so
central to all that we're reading of here. Mine eyes, he says,
have seen thy salvation. All these blessed ones. Behold, there was a man in Jerusalem,
whose name was Simeon, the same man was just and devout, waiting
for the consolation of Israel. What did we say this morning?
All this consolation of Israel that he's waiting for, that the
Holy Ghost has revealed unto him. His consolation is what
is spoken of here in verse 13, as salvation. Mine eyes have
seen thy salvation. Why salvation is in this little
babe? Just six weeks old. That's the
wonder of it. He that is our God, says the
psalmist, is the God of salvation. And unto God the Lord belong
the issues unto death. This God is our salvation. Why
was the Lord Jesus Christ sent into this world, why this tremendous
event that's been spoken of here in the opening chapters of Luke,
and all this detail concerning his coming, and the miracle of
his conception, and the mystery of the incarnation, that God
was manifest in the flesh, why all of this? Well, we're told
for this purpose was the Son of God manifested that He might
destroy the works of the devil. He comes to destroy all the works
of Satan. And what did we refer to just
now in Hebrews 2.14? The Lord Jesus that through death
He might destroy him that hath the power of death, that is the
devil. Why He has destroyed all the
works of him who is the great adversary of man. He has destroyed
Satan. Now has he destroyed Satan by
the death of the cross. Oh, the awful sting of death,
you see, the consequence of Adam and Eve's sin. In the day that
thou eatest hereof thou shalt surely die. What a terrible thing.
but now the last Adam has come and he has triumphed over death,
triumphed over the grave, triumphed over Satan always accomplished
a great work of redemption and so believers have that assurance
even when it comes to their physical death that the Lord Jesus is
that one who has gone before them prepare the way for them
but then as we conclude tonight I just want to mention these
two other deaths not just physical death we also and we said something
about it already there's such a thing as spiritual death and
there's also such a thing as eternal death in scripture now
spiritual death as we said that is the condition of each and
all of us by nature. That's how we're born, dead in
trespasses and in sins. But how few, how very few people
are aware of what their true state is. And the important thing
you see is that we're made to feel the reality of it in the
day of Christ. That's the important thing. that
in this day, this gospel day, the acceptable time, the day
of salvation, we're made to feel what we are, we're made to feel
our deadness. Now, isn't that a contradiction
in terms? It's certainly a paradoxical
saying, to feel our deadness. If we're dead, surely we feel
nothing. But this is the amazing thing,
when God begins with us, When there is that quickening, that
work of regeneration taking place in the soul of the man, why he
feels what he is, he feels that he's dead, in trespasses and
in sins. The sting of death is sin, we're
told. The strength of sin is the law.
Isn't that the ministration of the Lord of God? To make us understand
what we are as sinners. by the Lord is the knowledge
of sin. Oh, it's an awful sting when
it comes into the conscience when we are made to feel it we
sometimes sing that hymn of Joseph Hart, O thou hideous monster,
sin! what a curse hast thou brought
in! all creation groaned through the pregnant cause of misery
thou hast ruined wretched man Ever since the world began there
was God afflicted too, nothing less than that would do. Oh how
true it is, how the devil you see has done his worse, but then
there is this one who is greater. Oh when we are made to feel our
condition, to understand the truth of what we are as those
who are fallen, fallen in Adam, conceived in sin, shaped in iniquity,
coming into this world in that state of alienation and separation
and natural mind enmity against God, not subject to the law of
God in any sense. But then the ministry of the
Lord Jesus, what does He say? I am calm. I am calm that they
might have life, He says, and that they might have it more
abundantly. Oh in Him the sons of Adam blessed. more blessing, boasts more blessings
than their father lost. In him the sons of Adam boast
more blessings than their father lost. Oh, he is the one who is
the great I am, and amongst those I am statements that we have
in John's Gospel, what does he say? I am the resurrection and
the life. Neither believeth in me, though
he were dead, yet shall he live. and whosoever believeth in me
shall never die." Or when we receive that new life, that spiritual
life from Him, that great work of regeneration, it can never
be destroyed. Physical death does not destroy
that new life that is coming to the soul of the sinner. No, with the believer it is absent
from the body, present with the Lord. there is one who is the saviour
and he is the saviour from death but then besides that spiritual
death in which we are born the scripture also solemnly speaks
of an eternal death and that will become a reality to unbelievers
in the day of judgment You see, we must know what we are by nature
as sinners, spiritually dead in this day of grace. If we don't
know that, we'll know the reality of an eternal death when it comes
to the day of judgment. After death, the judgments. And when we come to the end of
Holy Scripture, there in the book of the Revelation, In Revelation
21 at verse 8 it says the fearful and unbelieving and the abominable
and murderers and whoremongers and sorcerers and idolaters and
all liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with
fire and brimstone which is the second death. That is the eternal death, the
second death. Ah, but then in contrast to that
In chapter 20 verse 6, Blessed and holy is he that hath part
in the first resurrection on such the second death hath no
power. What is that first resurrection? It's the new birth. It's the
new birth. It's that spiritual union with
the Lord Jesus Christ. I dead men shall live, he says,
together with my dead body shall they arrive. Or do we not in
that new birth partake of something of what Christ experienced when
he rose again from the dead? Or is that same power that was there
in the rising again of the Lord Jesus that comes into the soul
of the sinner when he is born again? Or how the Lord Jesus,
you see, is that one who makes a difference between men. there is a distinction to be
made between those who in the day of Christ come to know themselves
and their real condition and those who know nothing of themselves
until that terrible day of judgment comes and then what is their
lot the second death? verse 34 we are told Simeon blessed them, that is,
Joseph and Mary. Simeon blessed them and said
unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall
and rising again of many in Israel, and for a sign which shall be
spoken against. Yea, a sword shall pierce through
thy own soul, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. Oh, the Lord then be pleased
to bless this world to us. Amen.