Okay, right there in Jeremiah
chapter 31. The title of this message is Christ,
Our Sure Hope in the End. Christ, Our Sure Hope in the
End. Before I get started on that,
let me just say that I know and believe as you do that Christ
is our sure hope at all times. Not just in the end, but at all
times. In fact, He is our beginning
and our end. It's all about Him. There is
no time that He's not our hope. Sometimes we may lose sight of
that. Sometimes we may get our eyes off of it, but the Lord
will not let us go and He'll always bring us back to see our
hope. the certain assurance of our
salvation and final glory in Christ, and based upon the merits
of His obedience unto death, that Christ is our sure hope
in every time, at all times. But the emphasis on this passage
here, we find in verse 17, this is where I got the title of the
message from, when the Lord through the prophet Jeremiah tells Judah
in captivity, or as they're about to go into captivity. Some of
them already were. Some of them were on their way.
He says, and there is hope in thine end. How this thing's going
to end up. That's what he's talking about.
And Judah at this time, they're suffering. They're going through
a hard, hard trial. They've watched their country
their holy city of Jerusalem, their temple be taken over, and
it's about to be destroyed. Many of them were captive in
a foreign land. And it's true that God blessed
them even in that captivity, but they were still suffering.
And what the message of this passage is, is that Don't walk by sight and circumstance
looking at your troubles as they are in the present day. For there
is hope in thine end, the way this thing is going to end up.
And of course, as I'll show you in a moment, that does apply
in a limited sense to Judah as they will, after 70 years, be
brought back to the promised land, but it ultimately applies
to the people of God eternally and spiritually, the church of
the Lord Jesus Christ, showing us in this book of consolation,
this prophecy of Christ and His coming to redeem His people and
establish the new covenant, that no matter what we're going through
in this life, in suffering or in prosperity, there's hope in
the end. And how this thing's going to
end up for the glory of God and the good of His people. Now the
first thing he brings out in the first part here of verse
10 is this, that what he's about to say is not just a message
for one particular people, but it's a message for all nations. Look at verse 10 in the first
part, he says, Hear the word of the Lord, O ye nations, and
declare it in the isles afar off. Now remember that everything
that he's working in his providence through this nation Judah and
Israel is the product and has its roots in the covenant that
he made with Abraham. And we've talked about that,
how Abraham in that covenant that God made with Abraham, you'll
see it in Genesis, it begins in Genesis 12. It's reconfirmed
in Genesis 15 and then again in Genesis 17. Then it's reconfirmed
through Isaac and through Jacob and then even through Joseph
later on. The patriarchs they call him. That's why he's called
the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And so that covenant had
both temporal promises given to a physical nation for a temporary
period of time. But it also, and more importantly,
had eternal spiritual promises given to what the New Testament
calls the seed of Abraham. And that's all who believe in
and rest in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. And it applies
to them. And so this is a message for
all nations. He told Abraham, he said, in
thee all nations shall be blessed. How is that possible? Because
there are parts of this prophecy of Jeremiah and then other prophecies
that he talks about how he's cursed all nations and how all
nations will perish. Well, what nation that he's talking
about? What he's talking about is his elect people out of every
tribe, kindred, tongue, and nation in Christ. And so when we hear
things like this from the Old Testament, you can think of the
Great Commission, for example. Christ told the disciples, go
ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
Why? Because God has a people out
of every tribe, kindred, tongue, and nation. And with those people,
he will form his spiritual nation, spiritual Israel. When we read
scriptures such as 1 John chapter 2 that speaks of Christ being
the propitiation not for our sins only but for the sins of
the whole world, that's how that applies. He's not talking about
every individual in the whole world. without exception. Let
me tell you something, you know as well as I do, if you study
the scriptures and do any word study at all, if you know what
propitiation means, I'll tell you what, if he is the propitiation
for every individual without exception, then I can tell you
without hesitating that every individual without exception
will be saved. But we know that's not so. because
the word of God tells us it's not so. So what's he talking
about? He's talking about that Christ died and put away the
sins by the sacrifice of himself not only of God's people among
the Jewish population, the Jewish nation, but also among the Gentile
nation. And that's why he tells us that
the gospel is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that
believeth, to the Jew first, but to the Greek or the Gentile
also, for therein is the righteousness of God revealed. So this is a
message for all nations. We'll look back at verse 10.
And listen to what he says here. He that scattered Israel will
gather him and keep him as a shepherd doth his flock. The scattering
of Israel is like the fall of man in the garden. Why did God
scatter Israel? Because of their sin. Why was
Adam expelled, you might say scattered, from the Garden of
Eden? Because he sinned and he brought the whole human family
into sin and death. That's why we're all by nature
scattered as it were because of sin. For all have sinned and
come short of the glory of God. When Adam sinned, when Adam fell,
we fell. That's the ruin by the fall.
The first of the three hearts. We were ruined by the fall. And
so he talks about the scattering of Israel. They were scattered
under the justice of God because of sin. Just like Adam was expelled
from the garden because of sin. God's justice against sin. But
before man ever fell, before Adam fell, God had already devised
a plan of salvation. And that's what this gathering
and keeping as a shepherd doth his flock refers to. It refers
to God's purpose to do his will in the salvation of his people. So he's saying here is this,
though he scattered Israel, though Israel got exactly what she deserved
for her sins, God has a people. Who are they? They're the gathering.
The ones he gathers. Just like Christ, the great shepherd
of the sheep. He said, my sheep hear my voice.
The shepherd going to get his sheep, he's going to gather them
together. And then not only is he going
to gather them, notice what he says, he's going to keep them.
He's not going to let them go. He said, remember Christ in John
chapter 10, he said, no one shall pluck them out of my Father's
hand. They'll never perish. So this is the nature of the
salvation that God has given and provides for His people in
Christ who is our surety, who is our hope. You see, this is
God's will. Listen, He says, He that scattered
Israel will gather them. It's God's power. He will keep
them. And it's God's grace. Just like
a shepherd does his flock. And that points to Christ, the
shepherd. And that also shows the character of His people.
Lost sheep. What is a lost sheep? It's one
who's lost and doomed. That's what a lost sheep is.
Cannot do anything for himself, cannot find his way back home.
All we like sheep have gone astray. And Jesus Christ, who is the
mediator of the better covenant, the new covenant, upon whom all
of our salvation, this gathering and this keeping, this salvation
and preservation by God's grace, is conditioned on the shepherd,
not on the sheep. That's what grace is all about.
And Christ is that one true Shepherd. He's the Good Shepherd who gives
His life for the sheep. He's the Great Shepherd who keeps
us and works in us that which is pleasing unto God. And He's
the Chief Shepherd who will return and gather us unto Himself for
eternal glory. And that's all His work, you
see. And here we see Him doing His great work of bringing all
things for the glory of God and the salvation of His people to
their end, to their culmination, to their finish. Well, here's
how Christ is our hope in the end. Now listen to what He says
here. First of all, here's what He does. Christ will establish
the ground of salvation and bring forth the fruit of salvation.
That's the first thing that's mentioned here. Look at verse
11. Here is the ground. Here is Christ the shepherd establishing
the ground of salvation. He says, For the Lord hath redeemed
Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger
than he. You see by making, listen, the
ground of salvation, the ground of our justification and acceptance
before holy God is found in redemption. And redemption is by the blood
of Christ. Redemption is by the righteousness
of God in Christ. You see, by making an end of
all sin for His people, which is the ground of salvation, redemption
to establish righteousness for Christ is the end of the law. You see, Christ is our hope until
the end. He is the end of the law for
righteousness to everyone that believeth, and by His one offering
He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. And He did
it by Himself. Hebrews chapter 1 and verse 3
tells us that. He didn't do it with our help
or with our cooperation. He didn't look down through a
telescope of time and base what He did or the power of His work
on what He foresaw that we would do. That's heresy. That's not
the God of this book. That's not the Christ of this
book. But by Himself He purged our sins and sat down at the
right hand of the Father. He put away all our sins once
and for all for all his people. And that's the ground of our
justification. He was made sin. Remember we
read there in Psalm 37, verse 37, remember what it said? Mark
the perfect man. Well who is the perfect man?
Well certainly that would apply to Christ himself, wouldn't it?
Because he's the only perfect man. But that word perfect means
complete and we who are his people can honestly without hesitation
and without embarrassment say we're complete in him. Doesn't
the scripture say that? Colossians chapter 2 verses 9
and 10. For in him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily and ye are complete in him. And he says
and behold the upright. The upright are those who are
right before God. Well, how does a sinner become
right before God? It's based on the righteousness
of Christ imputed, accounted, charged to us. We're washed in
His blood and clothed in His righteousness. And it says, for
the end of that man is peace. Peace with God. Because Christ
has made peace by the blood of His cross. And then it says,
but the transgressors shall be destroyed together. The end of
the wicked, those who are without Christ, shall be cut off. That's eternal alienation from
God. That's eternal damnation. I love that passage in John 13. I quote it quite often anymore.
Speaking of Christ redeeming Jacob. Who's Jacob there? That's
sinners saved by grace. That's God's elect people. And
ransomed him. He paid the ransom. He paid the
debt. He paid the redemption price.
And that's why He's our hope at all times and in the end.
But in John 13 and verse 1 it says, When Jesus knew that His
hour was come, His hour to go to the cross, to suffer and bleed
and die, that He should depart out of this world unto the Father,
having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them unto
the end. That's why He's our hope in the
end. Because He loved us unto the end. The finishing of the
work. And that's what he meant when
he was on that cross. And he cried out in his agony,
it is finished. It's finished. He brought it
all to an end. The law was ended because it
could condemn us no more. The fulfillment of all prophecies,
of all word, the testimony, the types, the pictures, everything. He made an end of sin. Daniel said that. Christ made
an end of sin. And he finished the transgression.
And he brought forth an everlasting righteousness. That's the ground
of salvation. And then, look here, here's the
fruit of it. By bringing his people to rejoice in and be satisfied
with him, as the good shepherd, having given his life for the
sheep, and out of his death comes what? Spiritual life. Eternal
life. the new birth. He says, my sheep
hear my voice. That's the fruit of His redemptive
work. That's the regeneration and conversion. Look at how it's described here
in verse 12. Therefore they shall come and
sing in the height of Zion. That's the church. Being born
again by the Spirit. What do we do? We come to Christ.
We enter into the body of Christ and shall flow together to the
goodness of the Lord. Christ Himself is the goodness
of the Lord. Listen, you're not going to find
any goodness from the Lord except in Christ and from Him. He says, for wheat, that's Christ
the bread of life, we feed upon Him. And for wine, that speaks
of joy. That's what it's talking about.
being rejoicing in Christ. We rejoice in Christ Jesus and
have no confidence in the flesh. And for oil, that's the power
of the Holy Spirit indwelling us to keep us looking to Christ. And he says, and for the young
of the flock and of the herd. In other words, this is for all
ages. There's no male nor female, bond
nor free, Greek or Gentile, you see, or Jew or Gentile. He says,
their soul shall be as a watered garden. What is that? That's
fruitfulness in Christ. Bringing forth fruit unto God.
John 15, he said, I'm the vine and you're the branches. What
do the branches do from the power of the vine? They bring forth
fruit. And what is that fruit? That's that which is pleasing
unto God in their praise and their worship and their service,
motivated by grace and love and gratitude. And he says, and they
shall not sorrow any more at all. Now, what is that talking
about? That's talking about our state
and standing in Christ. And that's the thing about it.
A true believer, a truly born-again person. Think about this. Now we sorrow, don't we? We complain,
we gripe, we hurt, all of that. If we could keep our eyes upon
Christ constantly without ever looking away, without ever being
distracted, we would never sorrow again. And one day that's going
to be our experience. Not in this life, but in the
next. Isn't that right? I'm telling
you, that's the truth. If we could just keep our eyes
on Christ without any distractions, without being dissuaded, without
being disappointed, without hurting each other, all of these things
you know that bring us sorrow and pain, we'd never sorrow again. That's not the case today, old
wretched man that I am. But it will be in glory. There'll
be no tears, there'll be no sorrow. That's what he's talking about.
And then look at verse 13. This continues that description
of the fruitfulness of the new birth and of a sinner saved by
grace. He says, Then shall the virgin
rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together. Now here's
that reference to the wedding feast again. Who is the virgin
there? Well, in the Old Testament, that
would have been a young woman of marriageable age. a young
woman who had been untouched by man. So what's he talking
about? Well, he's talking about spiritual
purity that we find only as we stand in Christ, washed in his
blood, clothed in his righteousness. Having our sins washed away,
having our bodies washed with pure water, and being robed in
the wedding garment of his righteousness imputed, Boy, I'll tell you what,
having been given a heart purified by faith, washed in the blood
of Christ, sprinkled with the blood, a conscience, a clear
conscience, not because we're not sinners, but because Christ
took our sins and put them on the tree and put them away. He was made a curse for us. And
so we dance at the wedding feast. We've been betrothed to Christ.
And married to him, we dance at the wedding feast, both young
men and old together. This is all who are in Christ,
whatever their age. He said, for I will turn their
mourning into joy, and I'll comfort them and make them rejoice from
their sorrow. It's rejoicing. It's a time of
rejoicing, you see. And then look at verse 14. He says, and I will satiate the
soul of the priest with fatness. Now, who are the priests? Well,
that's his people. That's those who have free access unto God
by the blood of Christ. That's who he's talking about.
We're made kings and priests unto God, the book of Revelation
tells us. And so we have free access to God, and he says, I'm
going to satiate the soul with fatness. Now the word fatness
there means health. And he's talking about spiritual
health. Satiate means I'm going to fill them up. They're going
to be satisfied. He says that in the next line.
My people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the Lord.
They are going to be satisfied with Christ. That's right. They hunger and thirst after
righteousness. Well, their hunger is filled
because they have righteousness in Him. Their thirst is filled
with the water of life. That's the fruit of His work
as our shepherd. That's why He's our hope until
the end. And then look at verse 15. The
next thing it brings forth is this. That the way that God is
going to accomplish this in His people, in His church, is this. He's going to bring joy out of
sorrow. Now that's the way of God. That's
the wisdom of God. Now as I said, Judah was in sorrow. They're under the judgment of
God. Their city, their temple, their home is being destroyed.
about to be carried off to Babylon, and some of them already were.
And what does he bring up here? Look at verse 15. Thus saith
the Lord, a voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, a lament,
a sorrow, expression of grief, bitter weeping, Rahel, that's
Rachel, you know who Rachel is, weeping for her children, refused
to be comforted for her children because they were none, they're
gone. That's what it's saying. You know, look back at Genesis
chapter 35. Rachel. You remember Jacob and Rachel? How Jacob loved Rachel. And he worked seven years to
get Rachel as a wife. And his father-in-law Laban tricked
him and gave him Leah. Leah was very fruitful. She had
many children. Then he had handmaids who had
children. Rachel, whom he finally did marry,
didn't have any children until later on. And then she had Joseph,
and then she had Benjamin. This right here in Genesis 35,
I believe is the source of the sorrow that they're talking about.
Because this is when she has Benjamin. Look at verse 16. Here's
Jacob and Rachel. She's pregnant with Benjamin.
And it says there in verse 16, they journeyed from Bethel, and
there was but a little way to come to Ephrath, and Rachel travailed,
and she had hard labor, sorrow, very painful. It came to pass
when she was in hard labor that the midwife said to her, fear
not, thou shalt have this son also. And it came to pass as
her soul was in departing, for she died. that she called his
name, she named the boy Benoni. And you know if you've got a
concordance there, that name Benoni means son of my sorrow. That's why she named Benjamin.
But look on. But his father, Jacob, called
him Benjamin, which means the son of my right hand. And that's
the name we've known him by. Not the son of my sorrow. but
the son of my right hand. So what's happening here? Well,
joy and gladness comes out of sorrow. Jacob lost the wife of
his love. And so Rachel died and was buried
in the way to Ephrath which is Bethlehem. And so God the Holy
Spirit directed the prophet Jeremiah to use the sorrow of Rachel to
describe the sorrow of Judah going into captivity and also
Judah losing many of her children. But hold on, turn over to the
book of Matthew chapter 2. Matthew chapter 2. You remember when the Lord Jesus Christ came
to this world, born of the virgin, and up until Two years after
that, you remember King Herod, that wicked king, he sought to
have all the children of Bethlehem and Judea killed that were two
years old, all the male children that were two years old or younger. And the reason is, is because
he and his wicked mind, his perverted mind, thought that he would kill
the one who was set to take his throne away from him. what he
was doing. Look at Matthew chapter 2, look
at verse 16. It says, Then Herod, when he
saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth,
exceeding angry, and sent forth and slew all the children that
were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two
years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently
inquired of the wise men. And then was fulfilled that which
was spoken by Jeremy, who is Jeremiah, the prophet saying,
in Ramah was there a voice heard lamentation and weeping and great
mourning Rachel weeping for her children and would not be comforted
because they are not. And of course you know the story
how the angel revealed to Joseph that this was going to happen
and said take the child to Egypt and they went into Egypt and
that was a fulfillment of prophecy too. The point is out of sorrow
came Christ The Savior. Out of sorrow. And that's what
this prophecy back here is all about. Now Judah was going to
rejoice in a limited, temporary, temporal way 70 years after their
captivity. But out of that, what was going
on? Well, the whole thing has to do with the prophecy of the
Savior, the Good Shepherd, to come and to save His people.
God had already determined to keep Judah together because the
scepter was not going to depart from Judah until Shiloh come.
So out of that sorrow, and in this sorrow, And this is an amazing
thing. In this sorrow, in this captivity,
in this judgment, it was God's wisdom and God's way and God's
power that kept that nation together. That's right. And it was an amazing
thing. An amazing example of God's power
in Providence to keep that little insignificant nation according
to worldly terms together even in their captivity because God
had a purpose to bring joy out of sorrow. And we can think of
that in a lot of different ways. Often we wonder what the end
of suffering is. You know, why am I going through
this Lord? Well, the Bible tells us in Hebrews chapter 12 while
we go through chastisement, it's so that when we come out, when
we're brought out of that chastisement, we enjoy what the scripture calls
the peaceable fruit of righteousness, which is our looking more and
more to Christ, depending more and more upon Christ, resting
more and more upon Christ. Look back at Jeremiah 31, look
at verse 16. He says in verse 16, Thus saith the Lord, refrain
thy voice from weeping, and thine ears from tears. For thy work
shall be rewarded, saith the Lord. Now that's not talking
about rewards in heaven based on works. When he says thy work
shall be rewarded, here's what he's simply saying. That work
there is the work of God in their suffering. Thy suffering. In other words, you could say
their experience What they're going through will be rewarded. And it would be. Not because
of some merit of earning that they do. No. But because out
of that suffering is going to come something good. And the
only one who can do that is God Almighty. You know the only one
who can bring good out of suffering over sin is God. All things work
together for good. Because God's working them together.
So out of this, God would preserve Judah so that the scepter would
not depart from Judah until Shiloh come. And so, we can think about
that. Then look at verse 17. He says,
And there is hope in thine end. There's a hope here. There's
an assurance of hope here, saith the Lord, that thy children shall
come again to their own border. Again, there is a temporal, limited
fulfillment of that when they were brought back to their own
land for a little while. But the ultimate fulfillment
of it is the eternal promised land that the children of God
are brought to by the Lord Jesus Christ. And you know what? Our
salvation in every way comes out of sorrow. Think about this. Think about Christ Himself first,
the suffering of our Savior. The travail of His soul. He shall
see of the travail of His soul and be satisfied. To bring forth
His people, saving us from our sins. He was truly a man of sorrows
acquainted with grief. Isn't that what the scripture
says? Out of His sorrow comes our salvation. Out of His sorrow
comes our righteousness. Out of His sorrow comes our life
and our glory. And then we can think of the
suffering of the church in this world. The true people of God.
Spiritual Israel will suffer in this world. Christ told his
disciples, in this world you will have trouble, tribulation.
He said, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. And
the Holy Spirit by the Apostle Paul assured us in Romans chapter
8 that the sufferings of this present time are not even to
be compared with the glory that is going to follow. Joy out of
sorrow. Well look here, look at verse
18. Christ will bring his people to repentance. He says, I have
surely heard Ephraim. Ephraim being the whole country. Ephraim bemoaning himself thus.
Thou hast chastised me and I was chastised as a bullock unaccustomed
to the yoke. That's one who won't submit.
That's what we are by nature. We are bullocks unaccustomed
to the yoke. Stiff necked. That's what the
scripture says. Proud. won't bow to God's will
and God's way. A fellow called me today and
told me how he was having a conversation with a couple of local preachers
who didn't believe what we believe. What we believe the Bible teaches
about sin and depravity. One of them told him, he said,
I just believe that there's a spark of goodness in every man. You
know what he is? He's a bullock unaccustomed to
the yoke. That's exactly what he is. That's
what I was by nature. That's what you are by nature.
until God brings us down and puts that yoke of grace on our
necks. And here's what he says. Then
he brings out repentance and the nature of it. Turn thou me.
If we're going to be turned, God's going to have to do it.
You're not going to turn yourself. I'm not going to turn myself.
Oh, we can get religious. We can reform outwardly. But
for a real heart repentance, that great change from within,
That's the work of God. You must be born again. He says,
Turn thou me and I shall be turned, for thou art the Lord my God.
You see, Christ is not willing that any of his sheep perish,
but all should come to repentance. And that repentance is not just
outward reformation, but it's an inward powerful work of the
Holy Spirit in light of the glory of Christ. The Bible calls it
repentance of dead works and idolatry. Then he says in verse 19, Surely
after that I was turned, I repented. Now, when God turned me, that's
when I repented. It's not when the preacher persuaded
me. It's not when the church urged me. It's not when they
finally stopped singing just as I am. It's when God turned
me. That's when I repented. Repentance
is the gift of God. And after that I was instructed,
I smote upon my thigh. That's an expression back then
of great sorrow over sin. And I was ashamed, yea, even
confounded. Remember Paul said, that which
I thought was gain, now I count but loss. He said, because I
did bear the reproach of my youth. This is how I was born. I was
born like this. And I thought I was so good,
and I thought I was doing right, and then I found out in light
of Christ, and His righteousness, and the glory of God in Him,
and I'm nothing. I'm less than nothing. I thought I was doing enough
to recommend myself unto God. Now I count it all but loss,
and count it but dung. That's something to be ashamed
of, isn't it? Dung. That I may win Christ and
be found in Him. That's what repentance is all
about. And then he says, Christ will
love his own unto the end. Look at verse 20. Is Ephraim
my dear son? Is he a pleasant child? Well,
Ephraim was his son, but Ephraim wasn't a pleasant child. He says,
for since I spake against him, God spoke against him. There
was a time that God spoke against me and you when he convinced
us of sin. and showed us that if He were
to judge us based on our best efforts to keep the law, we'd
be damned forever. What have I earned and what have
I merited? What do I deserve? There are
none righteous, no not one. There's none that doeth good.
But look on, look here. He says, I spake against him,
but I do earnestly remember him still. That's covenant language. God remembers His people because
of the covenant of grace made before the world began. And he
says, therefore my bowels are troubled for him. That's a way
of saying my heart longs for him. God has always loved his
people with an everlasting love. He's always had it in view in
Christ to save his people from our sins. He's always had compassion
on him. Even in our deepest, darkest
times of trouble, God still has us in his mind and in his heart. And here's what he says, I will
surely have mercy upon him, saith the Lord. The sure mercies of
David that are in Christ. The covenant ordered in all things
and sure because Christ is our surety. And then lastly, he says,
Christ will bring his people back home. He says, verse 21,
set thee up way marks, make thee high heaps. Those are markers
that you can find your way back home. He says, set thine heart
toward the highway, even the way which thou winnest. In other
words, the way back is the same as the way out. Well, what does
that mean? Well, the way back is the way
of God's wrath against our sin. Now, that's right. You say, what
do you mean by that? The way back to God is the way
of God's justice against our sin. Just like the way out was
the way of God's justice against our sin. Why were we expelled
in Adam from the garden? God's justice against our sin.
What's the way back? God's justice against our sin
as they are imputed to Christ. That's the way mercy works. That's
the way the mercy seat is. The way back to God is through
Christ who suffered under the justice of God for our sins. And He's the only way. I am the
way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father
but by Me, He said. And these way marks, you know,
the Bible says there's a way that seems right unto a man,
but the end thereof is destruction, death. But if Christ is to be
our hope now forever and in the end, What's going to have to
happen? Well, look here. He says, even
the way which thou winnest, turn again, O virgin of Israel, that's
spiritual virginity, spiritual Israel, being washed in the blood
and clothed in His, turn again to these thy cities, your home. I think about the cities of refuge
there. Christ is our refuge. You know,
the Bible says Christ is the beginning and end of all things.
Well, that means it's all about him, isn't it? That's what this
thing is all about. Alright. Let's close by singing,
I love thy kingdom, Lord. Hymn number 188. 188.