We turn to the Word of God in
the chapter that we read, Genesis chapter 49, and turning once
more to that blessing that is pronounced upon Judah. Blessing
of Judah, as we have it here in verses 8 to 12. Genesis chapter
49 and verses 8 to 12, Judah, Thou art He, whom thy brethren
shall praise. Thy hand shall be in the neck
of thine enemies. Thy father's children shall bow
down before thee. Judah is a lion's whelp. From
the prey, my son, thou art gone up. He stooped down, he couched
as a lion, and there's an old lion who shall rouse him. The scepter shall not depart
from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet until Shiloh
come, and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. Binding
his foal unto the vine, and his asses caught unto the choice
vine, he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the
blood of grapes. His eyes shall be red with wine,
and his teeth white with milk. In this chapter, of course, we
read of the blessings that Jacob on his deathbed pronounces upon
all of his sons. The opening words, Jacob called
on to his sons and said, Gather yourselves together that I may
tell you that which shall befall you in the last days. Gather
yourselves together, and hear ye sons of Jacob, and hearken
unto Israel your father. And then at verse 28, all these
are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is it, that their father
spake unto them, and blessed them. everyone according to his
blessing he blessed them the blessing of the twelve sons of
Jacob who became Israel and surely as we were singing this morning
of those words in the book of the prophet Joel at the end of
the book in chapter 4 and verse 18 we considered what I said
are to be understood in terms of the blessings of the gospel. We are to understand those words,
the rich figures that are used. We are to understand all of this
in terms of the gospel day. It shall come to pass in that
day that the mountain shall drop down new wine and the hills shall
flow with milk. And all the rivers of Judah shall
flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the house
of the Lord, and shall water the valley of Shechem. Well,
as there we have the gospel, so here in these blessings upon
the tribes of Israel, the twelve sons of Jacob, we also have that
that is to be understood and interpreted in a gospel sense. And bearing that in mind, I want
to center your attention for our text upon the words that
we find here at verse 10. The scepter shall not depart
from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh
come, and unto him shall the gathering of the people burn."
Surely there is no disputing the fact that the person being
spoken of here is that one who comes of the tribe of Judah,
the Lord Jesus Christ himself. So as we consider then these
words, the blessing of Judah. First of all, let me say something
with regards to the preeminence of Judah. The preeminence of
the tribe that was descended from this particular son. Now,
it's interesting if we might make some general remarks with
regards to these blessings. We see how time and again the
blessings, the words spoken by Jacob, are in some way related
to the names that he had given to his sons. For example, the
name Gad. We have the blessing of Gad,
in verse 19, Gad, a troop shall overcome him, and he shall overcome
at the last. Now we read of the birth of Gad
back in chapter 30 and there in the verses 10 and 11. Chapter 30 verses 10 and 11. We're told of Zilpah, Leah's,
my, Bear Jacob's son, and Leah said, a troop cometh, and she
called his name Gad. The name Gad literally means
a troop. Leah understood that birth in
the sense that there would be other sons to follow, a troop
cometh. And she called his name Gath. And so here we have the
name Gath. The truth shall overcome him.
But he shall overcome at the last. And then again, we have
the name Naphtali. Mentioned in verse 21, Naphtali
is a hind let loose. He giveth goodly words. What
is the meaning of the name Naftali? Well, again, if we turn back
to that 30th chapter, we see the significance of that name
and what it means. Literally, it means wrestling. In chapter 30, in verses 7 and
8, the Tordaubilla, Rachel's maid,
conceived again and bare Jacob a second son. And Rachel said,
with great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed. And she called his name Natholai. Natholai means wrestlings. The name Joseph. We have a long
blessing, of course, being pronounced here. in verses 22 through to
26 the blessing of Joseph who was the favorite son of Jacob
well that name we see literally means adding in chapter 30 and
verses 22 to 24 how God remembered Rachel and
God hearkened to her and opened her womb and she conceived and
bear a son and God said God has taken away my reproach and she
called his name Joseph and said the Lord shall add to me another
son. His name means adding and there
was another son. There was the birth of Benjamin
whom she called Ben-Oni, because she died, remember, Rachel died
in childbirth, and called that second son that was added, she
called him Ben-Oni, the son of my sorrow, but Jacob called him
Benjamin, the son of my right hand. How interesting, how significant
are the names that are given to the sons, but we think particularly
of Judah, and Judah was born to Leah and we see how the name
that was given to him literally means price there in that 30th
chapter that we've been referring to we see him as that one who is
born to Leah and she gives him that name of Judah. Find the particular verse that's
given in that particular chapter. We can't find the particular
verse at the moment, but the name does literally mean praise. Judah means praise, and Leah
is seen to be giving praises to God upon the birth of that
particular son. And here, when we see the blessing
that Jacob is pronouncing upon this son on his deathbed, he
immediately refers to the significance of the name Judah, thou art he
whom thy brethren shall praise. He was praised, he's such a preeminent
person. and the tribe of Judah becomes
such a preeminent tribe amongst all the tribes of Israel. Judah,
of course, is the princely tribe. Judah is that tribe from which
King David himself came. In the historic books we are
reminded of that, are we not, in the books of Samuel. and in the books of the Chronicles. We read of these things in 1
Chronicles, for example. The first book of Chronicles,
and there in the 28th chapter, and verses 2 to 4, We read of David. David the king
stood up upon his feet and said, Hear me, my brethren and my people,
as for me, I had in mine heart to build a house of rest for
the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and for the footstool of
our God, and I had made ready for the building. But God said
unto me, Thou shalt not build a house for my name, because
thou hast been a man of war, and hast shed blood. how be it
the Lord God of Israel chose me before all the house of my
father to be king over Israel forever for he hath chosen Judah
to be the ruler and of the house of Judah the house of my father
and among the sons of my father he liked me to make me king over
all Israel." Judah then is to be the princely tribe, the tribe
from whence the kings of Israel came. And so here we are reminded,
are we not, the scepter shall not depart from Judah. The scepter being the symbol
of princely authority, kingly rule, The scepter shall not depart
from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet." It was David
who became the first of the kings that were taken from that tribe
and it was the men of Judah who first anointed and made him to
be their king before he was acknowledged by the other tribes again. We see it there in the book of
Samuel, the second book of Samuel after the death of Saul and of
Jonathan in 2 Samuel chapter 5. or rather 2 Samuel chapter
2 initially and there at the verse 4 the men of Judah came
were told and there they anointed David king over the house of
Judah he is king over the one tribe
but then subsequently we see how he is acknowledged by The
other tribes also. In chapter 5, Then came all the
tribes of Israel to David unto Hebron, and spake, saying, Behold,
we are thy bone and thy flesh. Also in time past, when Saul
was king over us, thou wast he that led us out and brought us
in Israel. And the Lord said to thee, Thou
shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be a captain over
Israel. So all the elders of Israel came
to the king, to Hebron, and King David made a league with them
in Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David king over
Israel." Well, here then we see quite clearly that this is the
kingly tribe, the tribe from whence David is to come. And so, What is the prophetic word of
Jacob here in verse 8? Thy father's children shall bow
down before thee. Word spoken to Judah. Thy father's
children shall bow down before thee. But not only a royal tribe,
a princely tribe, but Judah was also very much a fighting tribe. David himself was a man of war. This is why, as we saw there
in that 28th chapter of the first book of Chronicles, he was not
to be the man who would build the Temple of the Lord, he was
a man of war, a man of blood, he was a great warrior. The whole
tribe of Judah were renowned as warriors. And so here again,
as Jacob speaks to his son in verse 8, he says, Thy hand shall
be in the neck of thine enemies. Again in verse 9, Judah is a
lion's whelp. From the prey, my son, art thou
gone up? He stooped down, he couched as
a lion, and as an old lion, who shall rouse him up? or they produced
great warriors there in the tribe of of Judah. And so when it comes
to the tribes entering into the possession of the land that God
had promised to Abraham and to Isaac and to Jacob, when we see
them going forward under Joshua, it is very much Judah that is
in the van. It's Judah that is really the
leading tribe as they go in to take possession. of what God
had promised to them in the opening words of the book
of Judah for example after the death of Joshua it
came to pass that the children of Israel asked the Lord saying
you shall go up for us against the Canaanites first to fight
against them And the Lord said, Judah shall go up. Behold, I have delivered the
land into his hand. They are renowned then as the
people who are fierce, the people who are warlike, and they go
up and they lead the way as they continue to take possession of
that land into which Joshua had brought them. And David was so
evidently of this particular tribe. And David was a man who
did great exploits as a warrior king. As we've said, this is
why he was not to be the man who would build that temple of
the Lord that would go to his son Solomon, who was a man of
peace. The very name Solomon, of course,
means peace. We see how David, time and again,
can speak in the book of Psalms. In the 18th Psalm, we see how
he speaks there at verse 32. He says, It is God that girdeth
me with strength, and maketh my way perfect. He maketh my
feet like hind feet, and setteth me upon my high places. He teacheth
my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms. Verse 37, I have pursued mine
enemies and overtaken them, neither did I turn again till they were
consumed. I have wounded them that they
were not able to rise. They are fallen under my feet,
for thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle thou
hast subdued unto me those that rose up against me thou hast
also given me the necks of mine enemies that I might destroy
them that hate me this is the language of a man who was a man
of warfare this is David who was of the tribe of Judah, and
he is acknowledging God in all of these things. Again, in the
opening part of the 144th Psalm, he says, How preeminent! How
preeminent a tribe, then, is this tribe of Judah. This is
the royal tribe. This is the princely tribe in Israel. This is a tribe renowned for
its warriors. This is a fighting tribe that
leads the van against the enemies of Israel. They are preeminent,
those of Judah. But I want us to turn in the
second place really to the spiritual significance of the words that
are spoken. We're not just to see the words
in their historic context. That's important. There is that
to be taken account of. We do believe in the literalness
of the word of God. But there is that that lies in
the words that has a spiritual significance. Doesn't this word
that I announced at the outset for our text really have to do
with the Lord Jesus Christ? Isn't verse 10 a prophetic verse,
speaking not so much of David, the great king from Judah, but
speaking of David's greatest son. The scepter shall not depart
from Judah nor a lawgiver from between his feet until Shiloh
come and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. Now let us
go back, let us go back to the way in which the chapter opens,
because here surely we have the right key for our understanding
of what follows. We're told that Jacob called
unto his sons and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may
tell you that which shall befall you in the last days. Gather yourselves together, and
hear ye sons of Jacob, and hearken unto Israel your father." He
is speaking of that which is going to befall his sons, the
fathers of the tribes, the twelve patriarchs of Israel. He is going
to tell them what will befall in the last days. Now what are
the last days? Well, we made some reference
this morning to the last days. It's this day, the last days, that time afterwards. It's the day of the Lord. There
are various ways in which there are repeated references to the
Gospel day, the Gospel dispensation here in the Old Testament Scriptures. that which shall befall you in
the last days. Doesn't this chapter belong not
so much to literal ethnic Israel, it belongs to God's spiritual
Israel. This belongs to us as does every
part of scripture. All the Old Testament belongs
to those who are the people of God. We have the authority of
what we read in the New Testament. to say so much. Remember the
words of the Apostle when he writes there in 1st Corinthians
chapter 10, all these things happened unto them for examples,
for types, and they are written for our admonition upon whom
the ends of the world are come. We are those upon whom the ends
of the world are come. were those who are living in
what is referred to here in verse 1 as the last days. And so we're right to interpret
what we're reading in the light of the New Testament Scriptures. Remember that that is attributed
to Augustine of Hippo concerning a proper understanding and interpretation
of the Word of God Augustine, that great early church father
and theologian, said concerning the Scripture, oh, the new is
in the old concealed and the old is in the new revealed. As I said many a time, we are
to read our Bibles not from the Old Testament into the New Testament,
but we read back from the New Testament into the Old Testament. in that greater light that has
come with the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ we can understand
these things and hear in the words of our text do we not see
the prophecy of Christ? Judah we read in verse 9 is a
lion's whelp a young lion from the prey my
son thou art gone up he stooped down he couched as a lion and
as an old lion who shall rouse him up." Or remember Him who
is spoken of in the book of the Revelation, the very last book
of Scripture, Behold the Lion of the tribe of Judah. The Lion
of the tribe of Judah, the Roots of David. That is the Lord Jesus
Christ who is being spoken of there in Revelation 5 and verse
5. The very last book of scripture
clearly refers right back to the first book of scripture.
The one who is spoken of as the lion of the tribe of Judah is
this one. Judah is a lion's whelp. From
the prime my son thou art gone up here he stooped down he couched
as a lion and as an old lion who shall rouse him up? It's
Christ. Christ is this one, the lion of the tribe of Judah. Oh, let us not forget we are
to come to Scripture and treat the Bible as a whole. Old Testament
and New Testament. We want to see that with us it
is the Scripture that must interpret the Scripture. That is the best
principle of interpretation. We see how it all really centers
in the Lord Jesus Christ. We sing those words of the hymn
several times. The Scriptures and the Lord bear
one tremendous name, the written and incarnate Word. In all things
are the same. It is Christ. It is Christ to
be seen, Christ to be discerned in all of Scripture. When we
read these Old Testament books, when we read such things as are
recorded, the strange things that are said in these blessings,
it's speaking to us of Christ, the one who said to the Jews,
search the Scriptures, for in them ye think that ye have life,
and these are they that testify of me. Oh, how are we to understand? We're to be comparing spiritual
things with spiritual. We're comparing the words inscripturated
with Him who is the Word of God incarnate. What the old writers
used to refer to as the analogy of faith. and that we must see
every scripture of course in its context. We have to take
account of the immediate context, but we have to take account also
of the general context. And let us always in this have
our eye upon the Lord Jesus Christ. In Romans chapter 12 and verse
6, Paul says, let us prophesy according to the proportion,
or the analogy as it says in the margin, according to the
proportion of faith. And the prophesying there is
really preaching. Let us preach according to the
proportion, the analogy of faith. It's our faith in all the Word
of God. and interpreting every single verse of Holy Scripture
in the light of all the Word of God. And when we come to dark
and difficult passages, how do we understand them? We understand
them by seeking to bring to bear the light that is in those passages
that are much clearer to us. Or there are many difficult verses, but we remember always that what
we desire is to see Christ, to have that knowledge of the Lord
Jesus Christ Himself. Now, I want, in looking at this
verse, to observe three things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ.
First of all, we see something with regards to His work, that
work that He came to accomplish, By His death upon the cross He
came to reconcile sinners unto God. Those who by nature were
in a state of alienation. Isn't that the conditioning to
which each and every one of us was born into this world? We
were dead in trespasses and sins we were those who were far off
from God by our natural birth it matters not, it matters not
how gracious, how godly your parents might have been in your
natural birth you were an enemy and an enemy of God but the Lord
Jesus is that one who came to reconcile the sinner to God and
here we read of him by the name of Shiloh What a precious name
is this. The scepter shall not depart
from Judah nor a lawgiver from between his feet until Shiloh
come. And it's a name that is from
the same root as the word Shalom. Now that is of course the normal
Hebrew word of greeting when the Jews meet one another, that
is a customary way of speaking, shalom. It means
peace. Of course, the word Siloam is
also from the same root. Siloam means peace. And this
is one of those names that's given to the Lord Jesus. His
name is called Sholom. Oh, this is the man of peace.
This is the one that's spoken of in Micah 5 and verse 5, this
man. This man shall be the peace.
Who is this man? Oh, behold the man, said conscious
Pilate as he brought Christ before the Jews who had laid such awful
accusations against him. Behold the man. It is the man
Christ Jesus. He is that one who was entered
into a covenant with his Father. We speak of that eternal covenant,
that great covenant of redemption, that great purpose of salvation
entered into by the persons of the Godhead. And what do we read?
Zechariah chapter 6 and verse 13, the Council of Peace. "...shall
be between them both." Oh, that covenant, that covenant of redemption,
that covenant of grace, it's a council of peace that was entered
into by God the Father and God the Son, together with God the
Holy Spirit. And remember, how these things
are taken up, as I said, we can understand Scripture only really
by comparing Scripture with Scripture. And we think of those great words
of the Prophet Isaiah in Isaiah chapter 9. And see how the Prophet
speaks at verse 6, unto us. Unto us a child is born. unto
us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and
his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor of the Mighty God,
the Everlasting Father of the Prince of Peace." You see Shiloh,
of course, in that opening praise, that lovely hymn of William Gatsby
that we sang, he was mindful of these names that are given
to the Lord Jesus, Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God. the Everlasting Father, the Prince
of Peace, of the increase of his government and peace, there
shall be no end. upon the throne of David and
upon his kingdom, to order it and to establish it with judgment
and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the
Lord of hosts will perform this." You see what God himself has
accomplished. But here is Christ, you see,
and we have mention of his government. All that peaceable reign of grace
that he is the one that exercises. Christ is our King and that gracious
lawgiver, the scepter, the scepter, shall not depart from Judah again. In the language of the prophet
Isaiah, chapter 42 and verse 4, the islands shall wait for
his law. What is the believer's rule of
life, the believer's rule of conduct? It is that law of the
Lord Jesus Christ. We're those, if we know Him as
our Shiloh, our Prince of Peace, we're under His peaceable reign,
we're subject to His Gospel precepts. He is that One who is our King.
He is that One whom we desire to rule and to reign over us. And that's why, is it not, that
we must be observant with regards to the matter of the Lord's Table,
we practice a restricted communion. Why? Because that is the proper
order. Surely those who are Christ,
those who know the Savior will submit to His authority, will
accept His commandment that His disciples should be baptized
in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. And so we restrict the table
in that biblical sense. It is for those who are obedient
to the laws of the Lord Jesus Christ. the one who is spoken
of here as the law-giver of his people and one who has authority,
that blessed Prince of Peace and how we see him as a king
or he is a prince and he leaves to his children a blessed legacy
peace I leave with you, he says my peace give I unto you not
as the world give I unto you let not your heart be troubled,
neither let it be afraid." Oh, that blessed peace that He has
brought, that peace that He has made by His death there upon
the cross. Colossians chapter 1 and verse
20, having made peace through the blood of His cross, it says.
This is how He has made peace. And He's not only dealt with
that alienation, that enmity that is in the heart of his children,
more than that, he is born in his own person, the wrath of
God. Oh here in his love, not that
we love God, but that he loved us, says John, and sent his son
to be the propitiation for our sins. Precious word is it not? Our God is angry with the wicked,
and yet here is one, you see, who has borne all the wrath of
God. That wrath has been visited upon
him. He is the propitiation for our
sins, says John. He is that one then who is truly
Shiloh. But then also, consider what
he said here in verse 9. and the word pray it says from
the pray my son thou art gone up is he not speaking verse 9
of the work of the Lord Jesus Christ we can think about Christ
is the one who delivers out of the snare of the devil all those
who are taken captive by him at his will Oh, He has delivered
them. The prey has been taken from
the mighty, and the lawful captive has been delivered. That's the
language of Scripture. Isaiah 49 and verse 24. The lawful
captive delivered. The prey taken from the mighty. How He has spoiled principalities
and powers making a show of them openly, triumphing over them
in the cross. It is that great work of the
Lord Jesus Christ that is spoken of in the language that we have
here in this ninth verse. How He has triumphed so gloriously! How He has defeated Satan! From the prey, my son, thou art
gone up, He stooped down, He couched as a lion, and as an
old lion, who shall rouse Him up? All the blessed work of the
Lord Jesus Christ! Why, He has destroyed Him that
had the power of death, that is the devil. and delivered them
who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to
bondage. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
one, friends, that we see here in the blessing that is pronounced
upon the tribe of Judah. And how did He do it? How did
He do it? Verse 11, He washed His garments
in wine and His clothes in the blood of graves. Is there not
a reference here to the bloody death that He died? Or how He
poured out His soul unto death, how the life is in the blood.
And the Lord Jesus poured out His blood, made His soul a great
offering for sin. how time and again we see Him
as that One who has made the great sacrifice for sins, and
made that sacrifice once and for all, and made that sacrifice
alone. Oh, there is none other, none
other name under heaven given amongst men whereby we must be
saved, He alone. Isaiah 63, who is His that cometh
from Eden, We dyed garments from Basra this, that is glorious
in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength.
I that speak in righteousness, mighty to say, wherefore art
thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth
in the wine-fat? I have trodden the press, the
wine-press alone, and of the people there was none whismert. Oh, it is the Lord Jesus, you
see, who has redeemed his people. How? By shedding his blood, by
dying as their substitute in their room and in their stead. He washed his garments in wine,
his clothes in the blood of graves, all without the shedding of blood.
We're told there is no remission of sins. He must die. He must
needs die this death of the cross in order to reconcile the sinner
unto God. He is that one then who is Shiloh. He is that one who is the blessed
prince of peace and something of how he accomplished his great
work of salvation, redeeming his people, reconciling the sinner
unto God. All of that is indicated. but
then finally we come to this this word praise Judah thou art
he whom thy brethren shall praise oh what praise there was at the
birth of the Lord Jesus Christ we have the record there in the
second chapter of the gospel according to Luke There was a great host of angels,
and the song of the angels, glory to God in the highest, on earth
peace, goodwill towards men. Now, those elect angels celebrated
the appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amazingly, they had no
personal interest in it, they needed no redemption. The elect
angels had never fallen, never sinned. No provision was made,
of course, for the fallen angels. The Lord Jesus took not upon
Him the nature of angels, He took upon Him the seed of Abraham. And for as much as the children
were partakers of flesh and blood, we're told He likewise took part
of the same. And yet, at His birth. There is glorious rejoicing in
the heavens, the angels praising God, those angels who are ever
about the throne of God, who worship God day and night in
His temple and yet all that praising God in all His goodness and all
His grace to sinners of mankind at the birth of Christ. Glory
to God in the highest on earth it says on earth peace goodwill
towards men but not only at the birth of Christ why we see those
praises also echoing through the portals of heaven at the
new birth of the sinner the Lord tells us there is joy in the
presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth."
Oh, there is praise then when they witness the blessed fruit
of the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. When they see what is
the consequence of what Christ has done for sinners, that He
has accomplished salvation. And when that blessed salvation
is brought home Oh, the salvation of the sinner, there's joy in
heaven, joy in the presence of the angels of God. Oh, the Lord
Jesus Christ, he's that one who is the blessed object of praise,
of praise and of thanksgiving. Judah thou art, he whom thy brethren
shall praise. Oh, friends, are we those who
do desire to worship him, we would acknowledge him, We would
confess Him. We would honor Him as our God
and as our Savior. We would seek to give all the
glory unto His blessed name. We're coming now to observe again
the ordinance. It is, of course, that that we
do on a regular basis. And the great trouble with us
surely is this, if we're honest before God. These things do become
so familiar to us. we're not careful, we just go
through the motions or that we might be brought to feel something
that we might be those who would examine ourselves we're told
to do that, let a man examine himself so let him eat of this
bread and drink of this cup how solemn if we eat and drink in
an unworthy manner why we're not guilty of abusing bread and
wine No, it says we are guilty of the body and blood of Christ if we eat in an unworthy manner.
And one of the names that is sometimes given to that of the
Lord's Supper, of course, is the Eucharist. The Greek word,
what does it mean? It means thanksgiving or prize. Or even as we come then to that
table, might we be those who would be full of worship and
of prize. to give that to Christ that is
his Jew, as the one who is the whole of the salvation of his
people, the one who is spoken of throughout the scripture.
Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise. Oh God, help us
then to be those who would be the worshippers of the Lord Jesus
Christ, the scepter. shall not depart from Judah,
nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come unto
him. Shall the gathering of the people
be? Are we those tonight, friends, who are truly gathered unto the
Lord Jesus Christ? Is that our desire, that we might
be gathered in unto Him, that we might be those who are in
Him, those who have come to Him? What is it to be gathered unto
Him? or we must be those who are coming to him. And he tells
us he that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. What is
it that prevents the sinner from coming? It is the sinner himself
who will not come. Oh God grant that we might be
those who are made willing in the day of Christ's power. The
scepter belongs to Him. He is that One who is King in
Zion. Might it be, then, our Shiloh? And might we be those who desire
only to gather to His name? The Lord bless to us His Word. Amen. Let us sing the hymn number 561,
tuned in St. Lloyd's, 223. Jesus, our heavenly
warrior is, he fights our battled world. His wisdom, love and power
displays and conquers death and hell. Hymn number 561.