All that hath life and breath
come now with praises before Him. Let the amens sound from
His people again. Gladly foray, we adore Him. Another great, great hymn. I'm
thankful, Sherry, you led to play that so we could sing it.
Praise ye the Lord, O let all that is within me adore Him. The last line says,
O let all that have life and breath. That's the last verse
of the last psalm in Scripture. Everything that hath breath.
Praise the Lord. Appreciate the Lord. The commandment. And it's amazing
that God has to command us to do that. God is worthy of our
best song and praise. Matthew chapter 9. Matthew chapter
9. Let's read verses 36 When the Lord saw the multitudes,
he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted and were
scattered abroad as sheep having no shepherds. Then saith he unto his disciples,
The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few. Pray ye, therefore, the Lord
of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his
harvest." And lest I forget at the end
of this message, he is the Lord of harvest, and he did indeed
do just that. because the next chapter is when
he sends out his labor. Now, multitudes of people were
following the Lord, many of which, as you would know in a crowd,
were older people, feeble men and women, very, very young,
and they grew tired and weary. That's what it says in the margin
there. They fainted. They were tired
and began to lay down. And it says that the Lord looked
upon them. He saw that they fainted, were
tired, and it says he was moved with compassion. And that's what I want to talk
about this morning. God helping them. The compassion
of Christ. Now turn with me to Romans chapter
nine, Romans nine, and let me first say this and say it plainly. I don't think there's anyone
in here who does not know this nor believe this. I look around
and I do not see a new faith. But I need to say this plainly and quickly. I want to
say this. very plainly and quickly say
this, our God is love. Our God is love. Christ is God
and therefore he is love. Our God, the scriptures many,
many, many times says, is full of compassion. And here we read of our Christ,
God's Christ, who is full of compassion. for his people. Yet, God's love and God's compassion
and Christ's love is sovereign love. His compassion is sovereign
compassion. By that is meant he will have
compassion on whom he will have compassion. God loves many, but
not all. Because his love is soft. That
needs to be established, always, when you talk about the love
of God and the compassion of God. Look at Romans 9. You know these verses, but we still need to look at them,
don't we? Verse 13, as it is written, Jacob
have I loved, but Esau have I hated. What shall we say then? Is there
unrighteousness with God? Is this unfair? God forbid. For he saith to Moses, in the very next chapter we're
going to study, Exodus thirty-three, he says, I will have mercy on
whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will
have compassion. So then, it is not of him that
willeth. It's not free will. That's a
lie. It's God's will. Nor of him that
runneth, but of God. Salvation is of God that showeth
mercy. Mercy means not getting what
we deserve. And so it has to be softened. All right, our God is love. But
it's softened love. Our God, our Christ is compassionate. But it's softened compassion.
And every awakened sinner, everyone in here who the Lord has awakened
to know the true God, to know the truth, and to know something
of their own wretched condition. Sinful condition. These are old
gospel terms. The world doesn't know these
terms. Wretched condition. John Newton wrote, it saved a
wretch like me, didn't it? An amazing grace. The whole world
sings that song, but they don't say wretch. They changed it. Modern man changed it. It saved
a one like me. that every single one of God's
people, his chosen, the sons of Jacob, know that they're wretches. And they know they don't deserve
God's love. Every son of Jacob knows they
don't deserve God's love, and they don't deserve God's mercy
and his grace and his compassion upon them. But God, who's rich
in mercy and love and compassion, And it's for those that this
message is for, OK? It's for those who know what
they are and how they don't deserve this compassion. And don't take
it for granted. And thank God for his mercy and
his compassion. It's for you that I say. The Lord Jesus Christ is full
of compassion for you. Full of it. And they fail not. They will not fail. He will never
cease to show compassion. What does the word compassion
mean? I like the sound of the word, don't you? Compassion. It means this. It means suffering
with someone else. Suffering with them. Well, that's the gospel, isn't
it? Suffering with someone. It means fellowship in feeling. To actually feel someone's pain. I know what that dude said. One
of our leaders said one time in his ivory palace, I feel your
pain. No, he did not and does not. But our Lord. Does indeed. Did and does. Feel. Fellowship with us. In feeling. It means sorrow. Sorry, have
sorrow over someone's distress. That's what compassion means.
It means to feel pity for someone in distress. It means to be moved
with sympathy. That's a good word, isn't it?
The Lord was moved with compassion. The Lord Jesus Christ is moved. He feels great pity, great sorrow
in the troubles, the sufferings and distresses of his people. But his compassion, let me say
this, let me say this, the Lord Jesus Christ's compassion differs
greatly from what many say of his compassion. He is not merely
a bystander in his compassion. He is not merely passive in his
compassion. He doesn't stand over the side
and say, oh, I feel your pain and do nothing about it. No,
sir, he's active in his compassion. He does something about the distress. He actually moves with compassion. He not only was moved with compassion,
but He moves with that compassion to do for them what they need. That's the difference in our
God's in it, isn't it? And theirs, they say He's compassionate
and so forth, loves and pities and feels and so forth, but doesn't
do anything about it. That's not our God. He's full
of compassion and He does something I'm going to tell you how. I'm
going to tell you how. And what I want to do this morning
by this, I want to comfort God's people this morning. And look
with me briefly. Briefly, I hope. I intend, briefly,
to look at about three passages of Scripture that speak of the
Lord's compassion. OK? Psalm 103. Go over to Psalm
103 with me. We already read there in Psalm
78 how the people of God greatly sinned against God. Did you read
that with me? Were you able to enter into that? That's what we have done. Greatly
sinned against God and how good God was to them. Did you read
that? How good God was to them. Continually good to them. All
the days of their sojourn, he was good to them. Another song
says, oh, that men would praise the Lord for his goodness and
his wondrous works to the children of man. Four times it says that
in another song. God Almighty chose them, these
sorry sons of Jacob. Chose them. They didn't choose
him. They didn't even know God. They
weren't seeking God. They didn't know God. They didn't
care anything about God. They weren't thankful, Stan.
They weren't thanking God. They weren't having worship services. They were living in Egypt and
seemed to be happy about it. They were in bondage and didn't
know it. God had to reveal to them where they were, what they
were. God chose them. God revealed Himself to them. I'm God. You're God. I'm Jehovah, God your Savior. I'm going to bring you out with
our mighty arm. They didn't know they needed
it out. came to them. God led them out
of bondage. And God the whole time, through
the wilderness, fed them, watered them, led them, guided them,
protected them, provided for them, just gave, gave, gave,
gave, gave, gave. Asked nothing. Gave, gave, gave,
gave, gave. Hedged them about, pushed them,
pulled them, warned them, didn't they? And we read there in Psalm
78, for all this they still sinned against the Lord. Now that's us, isn't it? It says they flattered Him with
their mouth. How many times have we come to
worship here and we didn't come close? Huh? How many times have I preached
with something else on my mind? Are we any better than they are? Not one bit. But, hey, we read
there in Psalm 78, being full of compassion, he remembered
that they were just flesh, a wind, That's here and gone. What is
your life but a vapor? Scripture says, here and gone. He remembers that. And that's
what Psalm 103 says. Oh, don't you love this psalm?
Don't you love this psalm? Psalm 103, look at verse 8. It says here, Psalm 103, verse
8, The Lord is merciful. That means full of mercy and
gracious. It means he gives and gives and
gives and gives and gives. Slow to anger. Oh, aren't you
glad about that? That's why this gospel's only
good news to sinners, to sorry, rebellious sinners, sons of Jacob. He's slow to anger. Oh, I'm so
glad. Plenteous in mercy. That means
he has a lot of it. He's shown mercy to countless
people. We can't count them. He's got
them counted. He's shown mercy to so many. But His mercy is
like the ocean. You cannot drain it dry. You
can't do it. Plenteous in mercy. And He won't
always chide. Neither will He keep His anger
forever. He does chide with us. He does chasten us. For whom
the Lord loveth, he chastens. These scriptures chasten us,
don't they? Make us feel our sin. He hath not dealt with us after
our sins. The Lord hath not dealt with
us. He never will deal with us in justice according to our sins. He won't do that. He's already
done that in the Lord Jesus Christ. He hath not dealt with us, nor
rewarded us. We're not getting what we deserve.
We never have and never will get what we deserve. Thank God. But my, my, we get what Christ
deserves. That's just amazing. I'll read on. Because as a heaven
is high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward them that
fear Him. What does the Lord require of
us, Patrick, but just to fear Him? Worship Him as God. Glorify Him as God. Thank Him
as God. He doesn't expect much out of
us. He doesn't ask much of us. The Lord doesn't need us. He
just says, Worship Me. Praise me, exalt me, fear me
before this godless generation. Oh, how great is his mercy toward
them that fear him. Oh, as far as people, do you
have a sordid past? Do you have a background, a past
that you cannot forget that you never will forget that haunt
you, that plagues you, you have guilt that you don't ever feel
will be removed. Verse 12 says, As far as the
east is from the west, so far hath he removed this from us. I think back as a young child,
you know, a rebel against my parents. And you know, my parents
act today like I never did anything wrong. Oh, that's our Lord is. That's
our God is. They knew. My mom and dad, my
dad and mom knew my flesh. Why? They had it. They were teenagers. Verse 13 says, Like as a father
pitieth. The word there is as compassionate
his children. So, the Lord pitieth them that
fear him. It doesn't say them that do great
works for him. Aren't you glad? It doesn't say
that. It says them that fear him. My, my. Read on. For he knows our pride. He knows our prayer. Some of you are having trouble
right now staying awake. Listen to this. Amazingly, I
mean, I'm talking about God's mercy, God's love, God's grace,
His compassion that fails not, His unceasing goodness and kindness
to us, how He ought to drop the floor out from under us right
now as we speak, because we're no better than anybody else,
drawn near with our lips and our hearts far from Him. But
it's God's mercy that we're not concerned. Because His compassions,
they fail not. He knows our frame. We're tired. You're tired. He
knows. Bless God, He knows. I'm so thankful
He knows me. In vain we strive to rise and
tune our formal songs. Hosannas languish on our lips,
and our devotion dies. Lord, help us. How should we
continue in this present state? Because His compassion, He knows
our front. He knows we're dust, sinful,
frail, finite, weak flesh. The Lord Himself said, that which
is flesh is flesh. He knows what flesh is. And that
which is flesh is flesh. And it's never going to be anything
better than that, but just flesh. And thank God, He also said,
the Spirit is willing. What I put within my people.
Yes, there's a new man. Don't let any man say otherwise. There is a new man created in
Christ Jesus. A new creature. Brand new. That's
the new birth. It wasn't there before. It's
there now. Created in the image of Christ Jesus. Holy. Unblameable. Unreprovable in God's sight.
A new man. Brand spanking new. And there's
an old man. And that new man lives in the
body of flesh. like a butterfly in a cocoon. You know, that worm, God Almighty,
this is a great picture of the transformation of a believer.
Right? That's what metamorphosis, that's
what it means. Regeneration, that's what it
means. We're a worm, and God Almighty has to kill us, has
to crucify us with Christ. Kill us. That worm is just wrapped
up and smothered. this mother just bound up tight
like old Lazarus was, wrapped up with gray clothes and put
in the grave. He's dead now. He's dead. No. He's going to live. He is alive. You know, there's a metamorphosis
that takes place inside that cocoon, doesn't it? You know,
that thing is a butterfly before it gets out. Before it's ever able to spread
its wings and fly, it's already a butterfly. But it does not
yet appear what it's going to be. It's an old man. No, he knew. Who shall deliver me? If a butterfly could say this,
he'd be saying, who shall deliver me? How am I going to get out? God's going to shuffle off this
mortal coil. This mortality shall put on immortality. This corruption shall put on
incorruption and fly on the wings of a snow white dove into the
face of God. A new creature. Yeah, it's there.
It is. That's why you have these struggles.
That's why you have these troubles. You didn't have it when that
new man wasn't there. You thank God for these struggles
with sin. Thank God for feeling like you're
bound. Thank God for that. You didn't have that before.
I used to think I was free. Back when I was more bound than
I've ever been, I used to think I was free as a bird. Didn't
you, Kelly? Oh, I'm free. I'm my own man. No, you're not.
You'll do exactly what the world tells you to do. You're doing
exactly what the devil tells you to do. But if the Son sets
you free, then you're free. And he won't follow anybody or
anything but Christ. You're the Lord's free man. You're
his bond slave. from that day forth. You got
your ear borne, and you won't listen to a stranger, but you'll
hear his voice, and you'll follow him. Hebrews 2. Turn over there. What
time did I start? Somebody tell me. Quarter to, wasn't it? Help me
now. I'm going to be brief. You're
scared to tell me. Hebrews chapter 2. I'm going to ask old John Chapman
how he does it. Hebrews chapter 2. How does the
Lord know our frame? How does he know our frame? It
says he remembers our frame. He knows our frame. How? He remembers
that we're done. How does he know? Because he was us. He took on
himself. Flesh. You'll never know what somebody
is going through unless you go through it. You can say I feel
for you but you can't until you go through it. No way. You can understand a little bit
but you'll never, young people, you can never fully understand
life. You'll never come, young ladies
have just had children. You never appreciate your mother
did you? Like you should. Father? That man sitting over
on the other end of that pew, Wesley, took a baby boy in his
arms. Cried over it. Scared to death
for it. Worked hard to defeat it. You never really appreciated
that, did you? We'll never Understand something fully unless
we go through it. How does our Lord feel? He became. He who was high. Look at Hebrews 2. Oh, I love
these verses Hebrews 2 verse 10. It became Him, that is God,
for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing
many sons to glory to make the captain of their salvation, that
is Christ, to make Him perfect through suffering, to make Him
the perfect substitute, to make Him the perfect Redeemer, to
make Him the perfect Savior. God Almighty had to put Him through
suffering and make Him perfect. He was made a little lower than
the angels for the suffering of David by God. Verse 14, For
as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood,
he also himself likewise took part of the same, born of a woman, made under the law. Look at verse chapter four. Oh,
look at chapter four, verse fifteen. Look at this. We don't have a
high priest. We have not a high priest which
cannot be touched with a feeling of our infirmities. I don't know. I'm not going to
bring up the Pope again. I'm just not going to do it.
These priests and all that who've never, you know, been sheltered
all their life. I just did now, Brock. I don't
know why people go to those men. I don't know why, they're just
ignorant. But we don't have a priest like that, who cannot be touched
with the feeling of our infirmities, but we're at all points tempted
like as we are, yet without sin. Touched with the feeling of our
infirmities. Chapter 5. Look at chapter 5.
Oh, I love these verses. Verse 1. Every high priest taken
from among men is ordained for men in all things pertaining
to God, that they may offer gifts and sacrifices for sin. Men who
can have compassion on the ignorant, on them that are out of the way.
For he himself is compassed with infirmity. God made Moses The leader of
the people, Moses, who was a man like they were, he could enter
into what they were going through. He understood. He understood
where they were coming from. And God Almighty made Christ
a man to understand, to know what we're going through, that
he may have compassion on the ignorant. them that are out of
the way. But he encompassed himself with
infirmity. He limited himself to a body,
because we are. And encompassed himself, was
surrounded by sin, immersed himself in this sinful place, because
that's where we are. That's where we live. God help us. Help us. Please help us. Get us out of
this How did he do that? He came down into the muck and
the mire. Look at verse eight and nine.
Oh, this is wonderful. Though he were a son, yet learned
he obedience by the things which he suffered, and being made perfect. You see that? He's just perfect. made him the perfect substitute. So he became the author of eternal
salvation unto all them that obey him, that look to him, that
believe him, that trust him. Oh, my. Look at Lamentations.
Lastly, let's look at Lamentations, all right? This is, I know, one
of many of you, one of your favorite, favorite passages of Scripture. It is mine. Right after Jeremiah,
you'll find a book of Lamentations. Lamentations, chapter three. And this whole chapter is about
Christ. It's a prophecy of Christ. Verse one, he's the man that
has seen affliction. That's Christ, by the rod of
God's wrath. He's the one, verse 3, upon whom God turned his hand. See, that's all speaking of Christ,
Barbara. Christ. But go on down to verse
12. It says, He bent his bow, set
me as a mark for the arrow. You see, God did that to Christ.
It pleased the Lord to bruise him. God laid on him the iniquity
of us all. holy, spotless Lamb of God was
He, and God Almighty, He's the perfect Lamb. This I recall to my mind. When
I think about Christ, when I hear the gospel of Christ, I have
hope. I have hope. You see, verse 22,
it's of the Lord's mercies that we're not consumed. Because His
compassions, they fail not. They fail not. One time, somebody said, every
day the slate is wiped clean. Steven, I remember you appreciated
that. They're new every morning. Every morning, brand spanking
new. Brand spanking new. They never fail. Look down at
verse 32, though he calls grief. Yet, will he have compassion? According to the multitude of
his mercy, and that's how David prayed to the Lord. According
to the multitude of thy tender mercies, blot out my transgression. Wash me from my sin. Well, go
back to Matthew 9 or text, would you know, I'll quit Matthew 9.
Go back there. So the Lord was made flesh for
us, not only to know how we feel, to feel our infirmities, that
he might have great compassion on us, but as I said, he's not
merely idle, or doesn't merely feel our troubles. He took them. He took them. He bore, Isaiah
53 says, surely he hath borne our sorrows and carried all our
grief, all our troubles. You know, we have troubles that
we don't have to bear them, really. We really don't. Our Lord bore
them. Our sins, we will not bear the penalty of our sins. Christ
bore them. And we don't have to keep our troubles. We cast it all on him. He careth
for you. He hath compassion. on us. And it says here in Matthew 9,
he says in verse 36, it says, they were scattered abroad as
sheep having no shepherd. That's the way we were at one
time, weren't we? Oh, God's people were always
sheep, but you know, they were black sheep. They were out in the wilderness,
wandering around. And the Scripture said, our Lord
said this, He left the ninety and the nine. The good shepherd,
the great shepherd, the cheap shepherd left his father's throne. Why? Seeking a lost sheep. See, I've come to seek and to
save the lost. They're out there wandering around.
They don't even know they're sheep. They don't even know there's
a shepherd. And they don't care. But I care. And I'm going to
find them. And he finds every lost one of
them. He finds them. And how does it
say, what does it say he does? He's not merely idly, compassionate. He says, and when he hath found
them and put them on his shoulder, every one of his lost sheep,
he goes out and finds them and puts them on his big shoulder. How many sheep can Christ get
on his shoulder? You can't count them all. Every
one of them are riding on his great shoulder. He will ride
all the way in the glory on his shoulder. You bring them back,
and there's going to be joy and rejoicing over that lost sheep.
He said, Rejoice with me! He said, I have found that sheep
which is lost. I have found it! Likewise, there's joy in heaven. Scripture says over one sinner,
they repent. You see, it's the goodness of
God that leads us to repent. The compassion of our Lord. A
sheep having no shepherd. And it reminds me of our Lord's
compassion. It reminds me of my favorite
story in Scripture. That child in the field cast
out. It says, none I pitied him. None had compassion on thee. You were cast out to the loathing
of your person the day you were born. But when I passed by you,
I saw thee. colluded in thine own blood.
I said unto thee, when thou wast in thy blood, live! I said, yea,
I said unto thee, when thou wast in thy blood, live. And when
I passed by thee and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was a
time of love. I spread my skirt over you, covered
your nakedness, and I swore unto you, and I entered into a covenant
with you, saith the Lord, and you became And over there in Hebrews 2,
it says that he's not ashamed for this cause. He's not ashamed
to call them brother. That gripped me like it never
has in my life when I read that. As shameful as we are, as we
played the whore and the harlot like old Gomer had. But God, rich in mercy, Christ,
the compassionate one, came to where we are, bore our sin, and
put us on His arm. This unfaithful, wretched, shameful
woman put us on His holy arm and walks us all the way to God. This is my bride. He's not ashamed. He called us brethren. Why? Because he's full of compassion,
full of compassion. And as I said, I might have forgot
this, but he said to his disciples, the harvest is plenteous, the
laborers are few. Back then, right then when he
said that, None of us, none of us were born yet. None of us. This, this is a little building,
isn't it? Little, little group of people
here. A little flock. You know, there have been, there
have been literally millions of little flocks for the past
two thousand years. Big, some big, big ones. Countless, untold countless people. that were yet to be harvested. That's why the Lord said that
harvest is great. There's two thousand years of
harvest at least. He said you pray that the Lord
will send laborers into the harvest. There were forty six million
people to bring in and there were eleven men. I said, the laborers are few.
There were eleven. A little while later, he called
out seventies, man. Seventy. That made eighty-seven. The cover
of the world can't do it. So he kept sending them. Kept
sending them. Oh, bless God for the laborers
he sent out. Huh? It's been a great harvest,
hasn't it? Now, I think it's the latter
harvest. I think it's about the harvest is over. I think it's
about over. He's calling in the laborers
from the field. Literally. No new ones being raised up,
I don't see any. I don't see many young preachers
being raised up. Just don't do it. Why? Harvest is just here
and there, a little scattering of corn. There's a prophecy of
that too. It'll be in the last days, a
scattering of corn on the mountaintop. Just here and there. Here and
there. But he still hadn't left himself
without a laborer. He's still got his laborers out
there in the field. Bless God. He's compassionate. He's compassionate. And we still have the gospel
here in this little place. I was driving by this building
one day, coming from Farrell, and I looked at it, and let me
just be real honest with you, okay? There's not much to this
place. It really is. I'd have never
put this building where it's put, in a hole. Right up next to somebody, right
up next to the street, can't hardly see it. It's just really a sorry little
place. I'm thankful for it. But there ain't much to it. There's
a whole lot in it. It just reminds me of that tabernacle,
doesn't it? And I was reminded of that when
I passed by. It may not look like much, but
boy, this is not a great group, but they've got great gospel.
And that's something mighty special. And thank God for his compassion. All right, let's sing our closing
hymn. Him number 40 and let's stand. Sing the first and last verse.
Him number 40. Great is thy faithfulness O God my Father, there is no
shadow of turning with Thee. Thou changest not, Thy compassions
they fail not. As Thou hast been, Thou forever
will be. Great is Thy faithfulness, great
is Thy faithfulness. Morning by morning new mercies
I see. All I have needed, I can have
provided. Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord
unto me. Pardon for sin and a peace that
endures. Thine own dear presence to cheer
and to guide. Strength for today and bright
hope for tomorrow. Blessings all mine with ten thousand
besides Great is thy faithfulness, great is thy faithfulness Morning
by morning new mercies I see All I have needed Thy hand hath
provided, Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me.