Good morning. Such a blessing
to be with you again, and we look forward to our study here
in the book of Ezra chapter 7. As we look at Ezra, the gospel
according to Ezra. Ezra chapter 7 this morning,
and we're going to read verses 21 and 22, and spend the bulk
of our time in verse 22. Ezra chapter 7. Chapter 7, verse
21. And I, even I, are de Xerxes. the king do make a decree to
all the treasures which are beyond the river, that whatsoever Ezra
the priest, the scribe of the law of God of heaven, shall require
of you, it be done speedily." It's so interesting as we read
this verse of scripture to see what this pagan king and how
this pagan king felt about this preacher of righteousness, this
preacher of the gospel, this man by the name of Ezra, the
priest, the scribe of the law of God. Now he was a scribe. He studied the word of God. He
was a preacher of the word of God. And I have said this in
the past and I'll continue to say it, that if we lived in this
day and in this time and we love God, We love the gospel. We love
the Savior, the Lord Jesus. It would behoove us to be in
the presence of this man because he knew something about God.
That's so important to find someone who knows something about God
and not just rhetoric, not just some studied lesson. Well, this
Ezra the priest, he's a scribe of the law of God, he's a student
of the law of God, he's a studier of the law of God, and the Holy
Spirit has revealed the Savior unto him. He began just like
all of us did, sinner, but now he's a sinner saved by grace.
Now notice in verse 22. Here is the prescription for
that King Artaxerxes gave that this is how much was going to
be sent or gathered onto a hundred talents of silver, to a hundred
measures of wheat, and to a hundred baths of wine, and to a hundred
baths of oil, and salt without prescribing how much. Sometimes we have difficulty
discerning The commentators have difficulty discerning those who
have studied this to know exactly how much each of these are, these
terms that are used in this passage of scripture. I read a couple
commentaries about a hundred talents of silver and they were
translating it into pound sterling in England. Well I'm used to
dollars so I suppose I could have went and converted that
but let's just say that the hundred talents of silver that is a lot
of silver and a hundred measures of wheat. Now the best I could
come up with that is some commentaries and they said that this is a
hundred measures of wheat and each measure is about 75 gallons. So we have a lot of wheat that
he prescribes here to be taken and to be used. And a hundred
baths of wine and it came to this conclusion that each bath
was about seven gallons. So we're looking at about 700
gallons of wine and about 700 gallons of oil. I think if we just consider that
for a short time we'd find out that that is quite a bit of all
of those things that King Ahasuerus said to take. This is what I
want you to take or to find over there or to appropriate when
you get to Jerusalem. Now, this last part of that verse,
and salt without prescribing how much. Now salt without measure,
that's what we want to talk to you today about, is the salt
without measure, without prescribing how much. Now before the advent
of modern mining practices, mining salt was one of the most expensive
and dangerous of operations. because of the rapid dehydration
caused by constant contact with salt. People who worked in gold
mines or silver mines or other types of mines, they didn't have
this hazard that salt has and that is it dehydrates us. It would be mixed in the air
and we'd be drawn into the lungs and dehydrate you from the inside
out. I found this out and I know it's
14 years ago when this was determined or said, but in 2006, 200 million
tons of salt was mined worldwide. Now, during our time, the mining
of salt has decreased in danger and decreased in cost rapidly
with mechanization. Salt mining was once very expensive
and labor-intensive to harvest mass quantities of salt necessary
for food preservation and seasoning. Now we have a number of words
that we use every day in our language that has to do with
salt. Salt is the base word here, salary.
That comes from the words salt, the S-A-L part is salt and oftentimes
soldiers and in early days were paid or partially paid with salt
and that became their salary. A soldier, the very name soldier,
was someone that had been paid partially or totally with salt. And we have the word salad. We
order a salad or we make a salad. Well, originally that was something
that was salted and salami. That has that S-A-L again in
it. as salt cure of meat, and we still enjoy salami. Salina,
that means a salt marsh. Sauce, that means salt has been
added to a mixture. A saucer, we think of it as something
we put our cup in, but originally that was called a salt boat.
and they would put these bolts of salt by your place when you
sat down and you dipped your food in that or you used a pinch
of that. Silt has to do with the salt
that was in it and soust. I remember my mother talking
about someone being soust and probably was a family member.
But this word saos means to soak something in salt. Well, over
time it means something else that we're soaked in. But soak
something in salt, that's to be saos. That was the early interpretation
of it. Salt is a compound. For those
of you that have studied science in school, you know this. Salt is a compound made up of
two elements, sodium and chloride. Now both of these, separate from
themselves, both of these items can cause a problem for the human
being. Chlorine is something that will
burn us severely. and you can't breathe when that
stuff is in the air. And sodium is a metal, it's a
very soft metal, and it also can cause problems. But we find
that when sodium and chloride are put together in a bond to
become a compound, it becomes something that our body needs
to live. Our very life is dependent upon
The salt, every single cell in our bodies contains salt in the
form of ions. We need salt to function. And
if we lose the salt we have some real problems. And when I was
playing football for one year, The coach noticed that I was
having some problems so he gave me some salt tablets and I snapped
right out of it. Salt is so necessary. One of
the problems is having too much salt in our diet and that's what
our doctors talk to us about. We are to limit our salt intake
physically, yet salt used metaphorically, we have to enjoy without limit. And that's what we'd like to
talk to you about today, to say a few words about. Now, this
joining between sodium and chloride, we find in the scriptures some
principles that are brought out in that very compound that we
call salt. Salt without measure. Would you
turn with me over to the book of Job? Job chapter 25. In Job
chapter 25, we find some thoughts that are brought up here by Job
as he contemplates. In Job chapter 25, and there
in verse 4, we have these words. Book of Job, this is brought
out by Bildad, the Shuhite. He says, how can, verse four,
Job 25, how then can man be justified with God? Now that's a good question. How then can man be justified
with God? From all appearances, it is an
absolute impossibility from our side. Now let's go on, it says,
or how can he be clean that is born of a woman? How can we be
pure, born of a woman? all of us that are hearing this
have been born of a woman and this birth was brought about
by natural procreation and we inherited the very tendency to
sin, the nature that we have. The fallen father Adam is with
us all. We are depraved. The total depravity
of man is mentioned not by term but by principle throughout the
entire scriptures. I'll never forget the man who
brought me the gospel. brought a sermon and somebody
brought up afterwards, after the sermon, this lady said, I've
always believed in the total depravity of man, but I've never
thought about the total depravity of woman. Well, that's what the
word man means. It covers it all. Well, we as
men know what it is to be totally depraved. And here we have that
there's just an impossibility to be clean when we've been born
of a woman by ourself, by our own nature. So this Bildad brings
this principle up. How then can man be justified
with God? How can we be right before God? How can we be righteous before
God? Take place. Well, let's go over
here into the book of the Psalms Psalm 85 in Psalm 85 this principle
of salt the two The two elements brought together
into a compound here in the Psalm Psalm They're in 85 and verse
10. Would you turn there with me
Psalm 85 and verse 10? We read these words Mercy and
truth are met together. Now, we appreciate mercy. We
appreciate mercy. We want mercy. And yet the truth
of the matter is that the soul that sinneth, it shall die. That's
the truth. God spoke the truth to Adam in
the Garden of Eden. He speaks the truth continuously. He speaks the truth about himself,
that he's a holy God. And we cannot approach a holy
God in our own righteousness, in our own holiness, because
we have none. Mercy and truth are met together. And righteousness
and peace have kissed each other. The demand to be perfectly righteous,
that is a demand that God demands that is outside of our ability
to do. And yet here in this verse of
scripture says righteousness and peace have kissed. Now God
in giving his only begotten son, the Lord Jesus Christ, giving
Him to be our substitute that we might have the righteousness
of Christ. He poured out all His wrath on
Him. Now, the culmination of all of
that, the fruit of all of that, is that God can take and bring
truth and mercy together. They're bonded together. Separate
from each other, they're incompatible. But as Sodium and chloride are
but brought together and made together. They are so compatible
when God does and did what he did to his son on the cross and
Righteousness and peace my goodness to have perfect righteousness
and to be at peace with God It says have kissed each other that
only comes as a as a result of the death burial and the resurrection
of the Lord Jesus Christ on the behalf of his people So as these
two incompatible things, they can't be brought together. Mercy
and truth cannot be brought together to be friends except in the Lord
Jesus Christ. Here we have again righteousness
and peace. They just cannot be brought together
except in the person Christ Jesus. And they've kissed each other.
So they're like sodium and chloride brought together in salt. There's
such a perfect compatibility now that it becomes something
that we are in such need of in our life, in our Christian life,
is to have Christ. That is it. Well, turn with me
over again to the book of Romans, and we see this sodium chloride
principle brought out again here in the book of Romans chapter
three. Romans chapter three, we have this passage of scripture
that the apostle Paul was led to write to the saints there
at Rome in Romans chapter three and verse 26. The scriptures
share this. Romans 3, verse 26, to declare,
I say, at this time, his righteousness. that he might be just and justifier
of him which believeth in Jesus. Now, here are two incompatible
things, to be just and justifier. To God be just, he cannot pass
over sin. For God to be just, he cannot
allow sin in his presence. And yet we find that he is also
the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus. Well, there's one place
where all this meets, and that is in the person Christ Jesus.
He is the salt of the covenant. We're brought together in Him,
and justice and justifier, just and justifier, are met in Him. He might be just and justifier. He was just in His pouring out
His wrath upon our sin imputed to Jesus, the Lord Jesus, and
He is right in calling us justified. The Lord Jesus is our justifier.
We're justified in God because of the work and ministry of the
Lord Jesus Christ. So we have friendship where there
was poison, if you please, where it was harmful. There was no
way around it. To come into the presence of
God was incompatible without the blood of Christ. So salt
is a compound made up of two elements and separate from each
other. They're not something that we
want to play around with. They're not something that we
want to be in the presence of. We don't want it in large sums.
We don't want 200,000 tons of sodium and 200,000 tons of chlorine. We need 200,000 tons of salt. All right, as we look at this,
now, as we look at the subject of salt today, we find that there
is a thought about salt that it is a symbol of the covenant.
It is a symbol of the eternal covenant. Would you turn over
with me to the book of Leviticus chapter Chapter 2 Leviticus chapter
2 and verse 13 Leviticus chapter 2 and 13 verse 13. We have a
symbol of the covenant salt is a symbol of the covenant neither
Here it tells us in every oblation of thy meat offerings shalt thou
season with salt. Now, some years ago, we went
through the book of Leviticus. It was a wonderful study. And
in that study, we find out there are a number of offerings that
are mentioned here early on in this book of Leviticus. And the
people who brought these offerings were required to know that they
are a sinner. A sinner is not a normal thing. A sinner is a gift of God. The Holy Spirit has made us thus,
if we're a sinner before God. And here, in this oblation, in
giving this sacrifice, every oblation of thy meat offering
shalt thou season with salt, neither shalt thou suffer the
salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meat offering. With all thine offerings thou
shalt offer salt." Now this salt represents some things about
these offerings. We're going to find out that
salt has the ability of preserving. but it also has the ability of
preventing the spread of grossness, of nastiness in meat, the rottenness
of meat. It has the ability of preventing
that. We have entire businesses were
built upon this very thing of preserving meat, preserving cod,
preserving pork, preserving beef, preserving even vegetables. Cucumbers
become pickles. They're preserved in salt. So
we have this principle that is brought out here that there's
a preservation, but there's also a prevention. that God shows
us in this, and that's what we have here with the salt of the
covenant. It is a covenant. It is a picture
here of the covenant of grace. It is the picture of the everlasting
covenant. And again, this is mentioned
in the book of Numbers. Turn over with me to the book
of Numbers chapter 18. Numbers chapter 18. It is a picture,
it's a sign, it's typical of the everlasting covenant. The
salt of the covenant is brought out here in Numbers chapter 18
and verse 19. It says, all the heave offerings
of the holy things which the children of Israel offer unto
the Lord have I given thee and thy sons and thy daughters with
thee by a statute forever. It is a covenant of salt forever
before the Lord unto thee and to thy seed with thee. So this
covenant of salt is sharing with us that the problem the offense
to God has been taken care of, where justice and mercy could
not meet. Now they have met. They have
met in the person Christ Jesus. They've met in the substitute,
the Lord Jesus, as typified by the offering of these various
sacrifices and offerings. The covenant has made them meet
together because the Lord Jesus promised to become the savior
of his people. And so this covenant of salt
It intimates a friendship now existing between God and the
church. Salt indicates corruption removed. And so this principle
is brought out here in these sacrifices that there's a friendship
existing now and the corruption has been removed and typified
and pictured by the salt, the salt of the covenant. It is also
mentioned with regard to David. Now if you turn over with me
to the book of 2nd Chronicles chapter 13, in 2nd Chronicles
chapter 13, we have David, King David mentioned, but we could
also look at this and see that this is also the King David. This is the Lord, the one that
would come to the loins of David in time. Ought you not to know
that the Lord God of Israel gave the kingdom of Israel to David
Forever even to him and to his sons a covenant of salt God made
a promise It was a like a covenant is an agreement and it was Demonstrated
by the use of salt just like we saw in those offerings and
those sacrifices that the salt the covenant of salt and Here
we have that this covenant of grace, the new covenant of which
the Lord Jesus Christ is head, is mentioned here, that he is
to be the true David, and all his children are to be the beneficiaries
of this covenant of salt. The church is to be the beneficiaries
of this. Now, a long time ago, when my
dad was alive, he was prescribed by the doctor not to take so
much salt. So they prescribed some kind
of material. They called it a salt substitute. That was such a fake. Oh my goodness. He asked me to use it on some
of my food, and I'd never tasted anything so bad. I don't know
how that could be a substitute for salt. Well, when it comes
to the covenant salt, when it comes to the covenant of grace,
when it comes to the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus, fake salt
will not do. That's what we have in religion.
All around us is this salt that is fake. It cannot preserve,
and it cannot deal with corruption. It is part of the problem is
this fake salt that is so pronounced in religion. Salt of the covenant
of grace keeps us from falling into this legality that religion
is so great to promote. We are preserved. from falling
into legality. Salt of the covenant causes us
to depend on Christ for our righteousness. This salt preserves our hope
in Christ and not ourselves. Legality is, in essence, creating
our own righteousness our own sanctification, our own redemption,
and our wisdom, and we find out that the scriptures teach us
and the Holy Spirit reveals to every one of his children, every
one of the saints of God, reveals that this is all of Christ. He
is all our righteousness. He is all our wisdom. He's all
of our sanctification, and he's all our redemption, and we're
not going to be depending upon these things, the salt of the
covenant of grace, The Lord Jesus Christ's purpose of grace keeps
us and protects us from falling into that pit that is so prominent
in religion to become more pious than someone else, to become
holier than thou, as we find in the scripture states. The
blessings of the covenant of grace is to know all those blessings
are of Christ, every spiritual blessing. So this salt of the
covenant, the covenant of grace, is so beneficial to the believer
in that it prevents so much from happening, but it also blesses
us with so much. He who serves God for wages,
or a salary, or salt, covenant blessings for work, knows not
the true salt of the covenant. If we are trying to trade our
work to serve for wages, we expect a payment, we expect, oh my,
those crowns. We expect those things in heaven
because we've been most faithful to God. Well, you know as well
as I know that we have no faith of our own that will attain anything.
We're so dependent upon the covenant of grace. We're so dependent
upon the salt of the covenant, the Lord Jesus Christ. Salt protects
from decay. Salt has been used to prevent
many things from rotting, the fish, the pork, the beef, vegetables,
and the list just goes on and on, how salt has been used in
our civilization from the very beginning, the need for it, and
what it has done for us. The salt of the covenant is a
preserving blessing to the church. Every lasting life, life eternal. The Lord preserves his people
through promise of the everlasting covenant. We have this preservation
that is produced by the salt of the covenant. The Lord Jesus
Christ, the very essence of the covenant, and it prevents us
from falling into this legalism and legality, but it also promotes
the very fact that we've been preserved The covenant of grace
the Lord Jesus Christ and his work and ministry on the cross
preserves us for eternity We are kept We we've been canned
if you please we've been put in vessels. We've been made in
vessels of righteousness We've been kept preserved by the Lord
turn with me over there to the book of Hebrews chapter 9 if
you would Hebrews chapter 9 is We think about the salt of the
covenant and the benefits of the salt of the covenant. The
benefits it was to see that salt sprinkled upon those sacrifices,
to recognize the fact that salt is going to prevent rotting,
but it also preserves. And we find that in the covenant
of grace. Oh my goodness. The Lord of glory
deals with the rottenness in us by nature in the, covenant
of salt and Also beyond that he gives us eternal life. He
preserves us for eternity here in the book of Hebrews chapter
9 The Lord is spoken of here in this passage of scripture
Hebrews chapter 9 there in verse 24 we read these words so glorious
so precious to our heart as we think about them that for Christ
is not entered into the holy place made with hands, which
are figures of the true, which are the figures of the true,
but into heaven itself now to appear in the presence
of God for us, nor yet that he should offer himself often as
the high priest entered into the holy place every year with
blood of others. For then must he often have suffered
since the foundation of the world, but now once In the end of the
world hath he appeared to do what? To put away sin by the
sacrifice of himself. My goodness, he's dealing, the
salt of the covenant is dealing with our absolute rottenness,
our sin. He says, I'll put away sin. I'll put away sin. He has put
away sin. He has taken our sins as far
as the east is from the west. He's buried them in the deepest
sea, plunged them in the bath of the blood of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Over here in the book of Zechariah,
we've started to study the book of Zechariah, and I don't know
how long it will be before we get here and just look at this,
but I wanna look at this right now, Zechariah chapter 13 and
verse one. In that day there shall be a
fountain open. Zechariah chapter 13 and verse
one. We get a song, there is a fountain
filled with blood from this passage of scripture. But this salt of
the covenant, preserves us and deals with our rottenness. Here
it says, in that day there shall be a fountain open to the house
of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for
uncleanliness. My goodness, just to think that
the salt of the covenant, the Lord Jesus Christ promised the
promise that he made in the covenant of grace to deal with our sin,
to put away sin, to deal with it in such a manner that it would
never be anymore, to prevent rottenness, to put away rottenness,
to put away the rottenness of our being that we inherited from
Adam. over in the book of Ezekiel chapter
16 Ezekiel chapter 16 we find in the scriptures this passage
of scripture that apparently salt was used when babies were
born they were rubbed with salt notice here that he's speaking
about Israel let's go over here to the book of Ezekiel Ezekiel
chapter 16 Ezekiel chapter 16 and there in verse 4 We know
this passage is scripture because it speaks about the Lord God
and to Jerusalem, about the birth and the nature, the natural birth
here, and he's using it metaphorically with regard to Jerusalem and
with regard to Israel. But notice there, and as for
thy nativity in the day thou wast born, Ezekiel 16 verse 4,
thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to
supple thee, thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all."
Now, that's how we come into this world naturally. We don't
have any of those spiritual blessings. We don't have a spiritual thought
in us that is worth a lick. We have no knowledge of God.
God said he looked down from heaven to see if there were any
that did seek after him, and he himself is recorded as saying,
I found none. And then we have people today
in religion say, oh, I sought the Lord, I was looking for the
Lord. My goodness, we never think about it until God works a work
of grace in us. Then we seek him with our whole
heart. That's the blessing now It's
not our natural heart, but that's the heart God gives us when the
Spirit indwells us So that was not salted at all nor swaddled
We we do not grow into the kingdom or excuse me into the covenant
of salt by education or study we don't grow into it, but The
covenant is the reason we are born spiritually, and we are
rubbed without measure the salt of the covenant. God takes this
covenant blessing, the covenant salt of the covenant, and rubs
it all over every one of his children, to cause them to realize
that it is He that has cleansed them, it is He that has given
them life, it is He that has become their righteousness, it
is He that has become their holiness, it is He that is everything,
and the church realizes this. Now, sometimes we need to be
taught it today, and then tomorrow, but My goodness, the church has
been given a blessing of the knowledge that Jesus Christ has
become all their righteousness and he has every spiritual blessing
is bound up in him. We're made to know that all we
have is of God and we provide nothing. We are vessels and God
is pleased to fill us with these blessed spiritual things. To preach with savor, one must
preach Christ. If we're going to preach about
salt, we have to preach Christ. To preach Christ is to speak
of the Lord and not wander far from the cross. That's so important. To preach Christ in January through
December. That's what we do. That savor,
that beautiful salt of the covenant, that's what God has given to
us. It's not to get off into some political thing. It's not to get off into some
judgmental thing. It's to preach Christ, and he
has the ability of taking care of the issues. In the book of
2 Corinthians, would you turn there with me, 2 Corinthians?
In 2 Corinthians, to preach with savor, one must preach Christ.
To preach Christ is to speak of the Lord. And now here in
2 Corinthians 2, 2 Corinthians 2 and verse 15, we have these
words that are left for us to comprehend and to look at from
the salt of the covenant eyes. Second Corinthians chapter 2
verse 15. It says, for we are unto God
a sweet saver of Christ in them that are saved and in them that
perish. To the one we are a saver of
death. Now this word saver has to do
with scent or smell. That's what this word means.
And to a believer, The preaching of Christ is a glorious scent. You read of people in times past
that drove for miles. Well, we have that happening
today. People will drive for miles.
Here at the Dows, someone mentioned to me, over half the folks are
from about 100 miles away. That's what they do when they
have a real love for Christ. They will drive to hear about
the covenant of salt, that Christ is the preserver and he's the
one that deals with the rottenness. So it says, to one we are the
saver of death unto death. What a smell there is in death. The death of animals. The other
day I was driving out to the building. I had my two grandsons
with me. We had the windows on our pickup
down. It was a warm day. We drove and there was a dead
skunk. You know what the inside of our
cab smelled like. It was not only the death of
that skunk, but also the aroma that they put off. We were glad
to get out of there. Well, death. Oh, the stench of
death. It's all about us. We know what
it is. And then he goes on to say, to
the other savor a scent, a smell of life unto life, to be preserved,
to be preserved, to have a sweet smell, to have a sweet smell
of the grace of God. The salt of the covenant has
preserved us and put away the corruption that we are by nature
and to give us that preservation that will carry us through to
eternity. To have salt of the covenant, Prevent the smell of death our
own salt of the covenant to prevent death Death has passed upon all
men, but that death the spiritual death Jesus Christ took care
of the the scent of that death now in Closing here. Let's look at a passage of scripture
over in the book of Job Job chapter 6 once again in the book of Job
Job chapter 6 verse 16 Job chapter 6 verse 16 excuse me verse 6 verse 6 Job answers in this passage of
scripture and he says But can that which is unsavory
be eaten without salt? Or is there any taste in the
white of an egg? Can that which is unsavory be
eaten without salt? What is this man who is suffering
so much The great trial speaking of. Now he's not being punished
folks. That's such a misnomer. A misnomer
that God punishes his children. Either Christ took our punishment
or we will. But he didn't take it and we
will too. So he is in a great test here and God may bring a
great test upon our life. Job brings us, can that which
is unsavory be eaten without salt? What is he talking about? What do we need most in the midst
of a great trial? Sympathy or salt of the covenant? The Lord Jesus Christ. Who could
preserve Job in this time? It was an unsavory time, but
Can that which is unsavory, can a time that is unsavory for us
be eaten without salt? Can we take what is happening
to us if we know not the grace of God? Can we take what God
is bringing on our life without knowing the grace of God? Can
we take an unsavory situation, an unsavory lie? Can we take
an unsavory instance? Can we do any of those things
that's unsavory? We just are having trouble with
it. Can we take it without salt? Can we take it without the salt
of the covenant, the Lord Jesus Christ? What do we need when
we Find God's providence seems to be contrary to us. What do
we need? That's an un it seems to be an unsavory situation What
do we need salt? salt of the Covenant we need
the Savior the Lord Jesus Christ we look to him. He's the one
that can deal with us in righteousness What do we need when we approach
the day of our passing? over Jordan What do we need in
the day of our death? What do we need to help us at
that time? We need the salt. We may look
at it as an unsavory time. Our friends pass away, our relatives,
those we're close to pass away. Unsavory, just seems to be an
unsavory time. What do we need? We need salt.
We need the salt of the covenant. We need the salt, the Lord Jesus
Christ, the one who puts away our putrefaction and grants to
us preservation, the one that deals with us in his mercy. He
is able to take and have mercy and truth meet. Oh, they're not
friends by nature. but because of the substitutionary
death of the Lord Jesus, because of His going to the cross in
our place, because Him becoming sin for us, Him having our sins
imputed to Him. This causes us to have a merriment
that this which was once enemies has now settled down, becomes
food for our soul. The necessary nutrients for our
well-being spiritually is the salt of the covenant. What do
we need then as Job brings this out? Can that which is unsavory
be eaten without salt? Oh my no. We need the salt of
the covenant. We need the salt of the covenant.
Or is there any taste in the white of an egg? What do we do
with the white of an egg? We douse it up with a little
salt and a little pepper And then we eat it. Oh, that's the
blessing of the salt of the covenant. It's salt without prescribing,
salt without measure. We have that in the covenant
of grace. We have salt without measure.
We have Christ without measure. We have the blessings of Christ
without measure. We have the good blessings of
God without measure. And here we have a picture of
that found in Ezra chapter seven, verse 22. All those other things,
that's a lot. Oh, the gold, or the silver,
excuse me, the silver, and the wine, and the wheat, and the
oil, that's a lot. But when it comes to the salt,
it's without measure. Well, God bless you as you consider
these things, and we pray that if you don't know the salt of
the covenant, God would be merciful to cause you to know him, to
quicken you and give you life. We pray that in Jesus' name,
amen.