Revelation chapter 15, and I'd
like to read verses 1, 2, and 3, and then spend some time on
one word. Last week, we spent the whole
time on one word. And in this chapter 15, verses
3 and 4, I wrote it out and I said, my goodness, there's about three
or four months of just looking at these verses and what they
hold for us. And I think, if I remember correctly,
Nancy has a plaque about if I had to do life over again, I'd take
more chances, I'd wear purple, I'd go more places, and I'd take
things slower. Well, that's been kind of my
philosophy about going through the Book of Revelation, is we're
not in a hurry. We're just going to take it bit
by bit. And sometimes we jump several verses or a chapter,
but sometimes we just, and it's not being bogged down. I don't
look at it as being bogged down at all. Bogged down means you
wanna go faster, but you can't. We're just, we got it in, my
dad used to have a truck and it had Grandma in it, Grandma
Low. And you could put that in Grandma Low and you could out-walk
that truck. But boy, could it go. I mean,
straight uphill, not right. Revelation 15 and verse 1, as
we look at this wonderful book of the revelation of Jesus Christ,
and it shares these words, and I saw another sign in heaven,
great and marvelous. Seven angels having the seven
last plagues, for in them is filled up the wrath of God. Now
in that verse is the same words that we looked at last week and
this week. Great and marvelous. Great and marvelous. And in this
passage it says, and I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled
with fire. And them that had gotten the
victory over the beast and over his image and over his mark and
over the number of his name stand on the sea of glass. And we've
looked at that and we've seen that that's just God's redeemed
ones. They have been given the victory
over all things, and they stand on the perfect righteousness
of Christ. sea of glass. There's no imperfections
in Christ. And the church stands on it.
We have nothing else to depend on. We have nothing else to stand
on. We have nothing else to look to. It is His blood and righteousness. It is His glory that we depend
on. And we just stand on it. I stand
on His shed blood and righteousness. And then it tells us in verse,
that same verse two, and having harps of God, and they sang the
song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb.
And we went back and looked at Moses' song, there's twice it's
recorded, and all Moses did is what a good hymn writer will
do, glorify God. Pick out the glorious choice
things about God and sing about it. Now, humanity will sing songs
to glorify men, but Moses glorified God, and the Son, the Lamb, glorified
God. And if we're ever going to write
a hymn, glorify God. Just glorify God. Speak highly
of our God. And in verse three, and they
sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the lamb.
And here's what they're saying, great and marvelous are thy works. Now all the works of God could
be summed up in this, the gospel. No other reason than the creation
of the heavens and the earth than the gospel. No other reason
for every experience in the Old Testament except the gospel.
The good news about the Savior dying for his people. The good
news for him dying for a particular people, having a particular redemption,
having in mind who he was dying for. Great and marvelous are
thy works, Lord God Almighty, just and true are thy ways, thou
King of saints. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord,
and glorify thy name? For thou only art holy. Of all
nations shall come and worship before thee, for thy judgments
are made manifest. Last week we spent a little time
on that word great, and we saw it was used in the New Testament.
There was a great stone. There was a great earthquake.
Jesus spoke from the cross, and we read that Sunday morning with
a loud voice. It's the same word as we find
here for great. It was a voice to demonstrate
that he was still in control of what was happening to him,
that the cross did not take his life, that the events that led
up to the cross did not take his life. God was involved with
the justice and holiness of the law and punished his son when
he became sin for us. All that was against us was laid
on him. All that was chargeable against
us was laid on him. And he bore our sins. And it impressed me that he didn't
give up with that load. He was God and stood that load. We could not. No one could. A nation couldn't even. Israel
could not stand that. They could not stand under that
yoke of sin. But the Lord Jesus Christ on
the cross bore our sin in his own body on the tree. Great was
that. Now, the next word that is used
is marvelous. Marvelous is not used as many
times in the New Testament as the word great is. I believe
I mentioned last week that that word great is found about 80
times just in the book of Revelation. It is a powerful word, and I
think it is summed up in those three or four times, great earthquake,
great stone, great loud voice. Now, marvelous, this word marvelous
means passing human comprehension. And every time we run into it,
we find, Boy, that is something. We stand in awe. We have Selah
all over us. Stop and think about it. What
in the world has just happened? Marvelous to us, and it's marvelous
to the church. Every act of God is marvelous
to the church. It is beyond human comprehension.
We would never discover it in our natural state. We'd never
discover it as simple children of Adam. That's the problem.
Human form cannot discover the greatness of God on their own.
It must be revealed to them. And when it is great and marvelous
beyond human comprehension, the works, it says, great and marvelous
are thy works. And all the works of God could
be summed up in this, the gospel about the Lord Jesus, the good
news about him, all of the events foretold The coming of the just
one. What do we read about Moses towards
the end of his life? There's gonna be a prophet coming. Like unto me, but him you will
hear. That said a lot about how Moses
felt about his ministry. I spoke, but I wasn't heard much.
We can do a lot of speaking, but that prophet, him you will
hear. And we just find that kind of
terminology throughout the Old Testament with regard to the
Lord Jesus. He is king, but he is king of kings. He is judge. But he is the judge of all judges.
He is the priest, but we find he's the great high priest. He is the shepherd, but he is
the great shepherd. He's the good shepherd. He's
the chief shepherd. All these words that God uses
through his spirit to describe the Lord Jesus, great and marvelous,
are all his works because he is great and marvelous. He is
indescribable. He is incomprehensible unless
the Holy Spirit gives us a little insight and then we stand in
awe and every time we breathe we have to say, Selah. Stop and
think about this. This is marvelous. Turn with
me, if you would, to the book of Matthew, Matthew chapter 21.
It's a quote from the Psalms. It's been interesting as we've
been going through the Psalms, how many times the Psalms quoted
in the New Testament and how many times we make reference
to the Psalms. In Matthew chapter 21, This term
is used there, and it gives us some insight with regard to this
word. It's passing human comprehension. Now, to me, it was a miracle
that they could take, and in seven minutes from beginning
to end, I could have a new lens put in this eye. I've not talked
to anybody yet that's had that surgery to say, that's pretty
good. Wasn't long and enduring, it was just simple procedure,
short, maybe not simple, but this is marvelous to our eyes. Notice this, Matthew chapter
21, verse 42, a quote from the Old Testament, and it says, and
Jesus saith unto them, did ye never read in the scriptures
the stone which the builders rejected? Now Israel is the builders,
that's the ones it's referred to. Israel is the builders, and
they had this stone, and it was rejected. Now, tradition has
shared, and I read it somewhere, maybe it was in one of Spurgeon's
sermons or something, that when they were building the temple,
that there was a stone already cut, because everything was cut
off site. Nothing was done on site. And
they brought all these stones in, and among all of the stuff,
there was one stone missing, and they finally found it, and
it was the head of the corner. Now, true or not, it makes a
good story, but this says the stone which the builders rejected
is the same, is become the head of the corner. Who promoted this
stone? God. God promoted this stone. The builders rejected him. Israel
rejected him. Those who were supposed to know
rejected him. Those who studied the Old Testament,
those who could quote chapter, verse, and probably even books,
who could quote laws and had more laws than there was laws
given. The builders rejected the stone,
the Lord Jesus, but it tells us the same has become the head
of the quarter. He has been promoted in the covenant
of grace. Now, what is this? This is the
Lord's doing. The Lord was involved in this.
Israel, even its rejection of the stone, is the Lord's doing. Seeing Christ is not going to
be based on legalism. Seeing Christ is not going to
be based on self-righteousness. Seeing Christ is not going to
be based on something we do. It is going to be based upon
God's work in us. Now notice the last part of that
verse. And it is marvelous in our eyes. This work of God, it is marvelous. It is beyond passing. It is passing
human comprehension. This promotion of the Lord Jesus
to the head of the corner is beyond human comprehension. The work of the gospel is beyond
human comprehension. But everything that God does,
everything in the covenant of grace, everything in the gospel,
every aspect of it, every purpose of it, every glory of it, what
does it say? It is marvelous in our eyes.
And it is marvelous in our eyes, everything about it. It is beyond
comprehension. The sufferings and glory of Christ
are the wonder of the universe. And the church says, this is
marvelous in our eyes. Now, it's a miracle that it says
in our eyes. It could have just said, it's
marvelous. Everybody can say that, it's marvelous. But to
say for the church, it's marvelous in our eyes. We get to see it. Though we may not comprehend
all of it, understand all of it, we get to see it. To see something that no one
else gets to see. And not because we have the right
to, and not because we're better off than anybody else, but because
simply God in his purpose chose to do it. That's marvelous in
our eyes. It is beyond human description. It is beyond human comprehension. The angels have even desired
to look into it. They're reserved. They can't
get up to it. There's no gate for them to come
through and see it. There is no revelation for them
to comprehend it. We are made a little lower than
the angels, but we have been given greater gifts than the
angels have been given. They desire to look into it,
but we're granted by grace and the grace of God Almighty to
look into this glorious, great, marvelous work of grace. It relates to him and is marvelous
in our eyes. every time we hear the gospel. Since the Lord saved me, I've
never said this. I did before. I remember going
to conferences and saying, oh my goodness, it's been a long
time since I've heard a message on end times. It's been a long
time since I heard a message on the church. It's been a long,
I would say that, you know what, now I can say, if I don't go
and hear the gospel, it's a waste of my time. It's just a waste
of my time. That's all there is. Now everything
else is included in that. My goodness. The end time is
covered in the gospel. This do in remembrance of me
till I come. That's the gospel. That's the
promise of his return to the earth the second time. But we
don't spend all the time on something else. We spend it on this one
thing that is marvelous in our eyes, is incomprehensible by
nature. But the Lord is gracious to reveal
the Lord Jesus, a glimpse, a glimmer. We see him through the lattice.
And you know, there's some lattice that's real, close and some a
little wider, but we still see him through the lattice, through
a glass darkly, but we still get to see him. One time, I did
something foolish. I took a welding helmet and looked
at the sun. I can still remember what it
looks like. That was great and marvelous, just to look at the
sun. Now, we don't do that commonly
because it is hard on our eyesight. But to see Christ, to see him
in his glory, to see him as the gospel, to see him as our good
news, great and marvelous are his works. Turn with me, if you
would, to the book of John chapter 9. John chapter 9. John chapter 9, there's a man
that is healed of blindness. And notice what he has to say.
john chapter nine verse thirty twenty nine thirty john chapter
nine verses twenty nine and thirty we know that god's bacon to moses
as for this fella we know not from whence he is now that's
the pharisees talking about what they believe we know that god
has spoken to moses as for this fellow the lord jesus We know
not from whence he is. The man answered and said unto
them, Why herein is a marvelous thing that you know not from
whence he is, and yet he hath opened my eyes. Why herein? Why don't you understand
this if you're a doctor of the law? Why? But this is a marvelous
thing. Now, it's a marvelous thing for
this man just to have physical eyesight given back. Going through
life blind, having it given back. But this verse speaks of a higher
sight than just that. There's a spiritual part of this
verse of scripture that speaks much higher. There are people
that have gone through this life in pitch darkness and yet seen
the glorious light of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. and
that is far superior to just going through this life with
eyesight. He says it's a marvelous thing
that you, while I hear him, it's a marvelous thing that you know
not from what he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes. It
is beyond human comprehension. How did this? And the church
says, great and marvelous are thy works. When I look at this
verse, and I see the spiritual application of it, and see that
it was the work of the Holy Spirit that allows me to see Christ
spiritually. Paul said, and last of all, he
was seen of me. And every saint, I have yet to meet anybody but
Saul of Tarsus that had happened to him what happened to him on
the road to Damascus. But everyone that I have talked
to that knows the Lord Jesus Christ has seen Christ in revelation
glory in the gospel. They didn't see this great light
that he saw, and they didn't hear great things like he heard
in that sense physically, but they have heard him, and they
have seen him, and it was great and marvelous in their eyes.
First Peter chapter two, first Peter chapter two and verse nine. The apostle Peter was led by
the Holy Spirit to make a mention of this one word, marvelous.
passing human comprehension. First Peter chapter two and verse
nine. But ye are a chosen generation,
a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people. It's interesting
in the book of Deuteronomy, those words are almost quoted from
here. Word for word, but it's speaking
about national Israel there. Spiritually speaking, it's always
spoke of the church. We get to the book of first Peter,
it's clarified. The church is this in reality,
that ye may show forth the praises of him who has called you out
of darkness into his marvelous light. beyond human comprehension, to
be taken out of darkness, spiritual darkness, to be taken out of
the darkness that fell when Adam fell, the darkness of the dark
heart, to be taken out of that and to be shown Christ He has
called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. The light
of the Lord Jesus is indescribable. The light of the Lord Jesus is
beyond passing human comprehension. And yet it happens to everyone
that God saves in Christ Jesus through the new birth. taken
out of darkness to his marvelous light, a light incomprehensible,
a light indescribable. It's a pure light. It's a divine
light. It's a heavenly light. It's the
gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ in its purest sense. the redemption
of his people foremost in his mind. Then returning to Revelation
15 one more time, and with this we'll close for this evening.
Revelation chapter 15 verses 1 says there, the same word is
used here, it is passing human comprehension. Now, the wrath
of God is passing human comprehension. We cannot describe it. We cannot
formulate it. We cannot speak of it enough.
We cannot speak of the extent of it. We cannot speak of the
depth of it. We cannot speak of the width
of it. We cannot speak of the height of it. Everything about
God's love for his church is the same width, height, depth,
and precept about it is about his wrath, and it is beyond human
comprehension. The human comprehension about
the death of the Lord Jesus on the cross, we can't get there. Sometimes I see it more clearly
than I've ever seen it before. The extent of Christ's suffering
under the wrath of God. They shall, we, he, he shall
see the travail of his soul and be satisfied. Sometimes I see
that just a little clearer than I have in the past, but it is
still. Humanly indescribable, and that
is the wrath of God. Great and marvelous. Beyond human
comprehension. Not be able to understand it.
And even those that it falls out on will not know the depths
of it. And then as we read there in
verse three, great and marvelous are thy works. Lord God Almighty. So His works, talking about His
works being great and marvelous, and then His name is placed in
there as Lord God Almighty, then His works are also almighty works. His glory is almighty glory. It is as great as there can be. Great and marvelous are thy works,
Lord God Almighty, just and true are thy ways. They are great
and marvelous. His ways are great and marvelous.
His kingship is great and marvelous. They're all indescribable. The
glory. Oh Lord, and glorify thy name
for thou only art holy. Great and marvelous is thy holiness. It's indescribable. We depend
on it. It is absolutely essential that
we have his holiness. But it is still passing human
comprehension. The one person that ever kept
all the law understands what his holiness is like. And we
are thankful that he kept all the law. And then it says there, for all nations shall come and
worship before thee, for thy judgments are made manifest. Great and marvelous. Great and
marvelous.