Good morning. It is good to see
you in the house of the Lord today. And we ask that you turn
in your hymnals to hymn number 49. Oh God, our help in ages
past. And we'll stand as we sing. Under the shadow of thy throne,
still may we dwell forever. our earth received her fame. From everlasting now our God,
through endless years the same. O Thou that aideth in Thy sight,
O light God, that ends the night before the
rising sun. Time, like an ever-rolling stream,
bears all its sons away. Thank you. Maybe you're seated. As we take our bulletin hymn,
O Precious Savior Dear, sung to the tune of Jesus Paid it
All. Oh, gracious Savior dear, and always find the truth. Jesus gave an order, put away
our sins, called salvation to His own. Jesus came and left, put away
our sins, brought salvation by His own. O Christ, thou wisest one, Thou
righteousest divine, Thou saintly guiding tone, Fading anger by
design. Jesus came and died for our sins,
For salvation's sake, Rejoice now, children of God,
praise the One who sought Him first. Through Jesus Christ our
Lord, we every blessing praise. Jesus came and died, put away
our sins. Good morning. Great is our God and greatly
to be praised. And I pray this morning that
we'll be enabled to praise him and to praise him aright according
to his truth. As we gather this morning and
all throughout the week, we want to Continue praying for those
that are sick and who have problems of life. Remember Dave in Ukraine,
pray for him and his safety. Brother Joe in Wilmington in
the home. Roger and Vicki, I wanted us
to pray for them this morning. Billy, I believe, must be a little
under the weather this morning. He was supposed to sing, I believe,
and he couldn't this morning because of illness. And I was
waiting for Richard to ask me, but he didn't. I guess he's made
other arrangements. And pray for my daughter, Steph.
Continue to pray for her. She wanted me to give you all
her love and regards this morning. And she looks forward to seeing
you and being back in the midst. And there are other things that
lay upon all our hearts. And we ask the Lord's will to
be done and his presence and his healing and his keeping in
our our lives. I want you to turn for our reading
this morning to the Book of Numbers. Book of Numbers, I believe it's
the fourth book in the Bible. In case you haven't turned there
this week. Numbers chapter 21. Numbers 21, beginning in verse 1. And when King Arad, the Canaanite,
which dwelt in the south, heard tell that Israel came by the
way of the spies, then he fought against Israel and took some
prisoners. And Israel vowed a vow unto the
Lord and said, if thou wilt indeed deliver this people into my hand,
then I will utterly destroy them. And the Lord hearkened to the
voice of Israel and delivered up the Canaanites, and they utterly
destroyed them and all their cities. And he called the name
of the place Horma, that is, destruction, utter destruction. And they journeyed from Mount
Horm by the way of the Red Sea to compass the land of Edom,
and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the
way. And the people began And the
people spake against God and against Moses. Wherefore have
ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For
there is no bread, neither is there any water, and our soul
loatheth this light bread." They're speaking of the manna there.
And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit
the people, and much people of Israel died. Therefore the people
came to Moses and said, we have sinned, for we have spoken against
the Lord and against thee. Pray unto the Lord that he take
away the serpents for the people. And the Lord said unto Moses,
make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole, and it shall
come to pass that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon
it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass,
and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass that if a serpent
had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived. May the Lord bless his word to
our understanding. Our Father, this morning we come
before your high and holy throne. And we thank you that it is a
sovereign throne. That you work all your will. According to your wishes. We pray this morning that we
might find it a throne of grace. Grace in the Lord Jesus Christ. Our mediator. and great high
priests. We approach you in him. We approach you because of his
finished work on the behalf of your people. We pray this morning
that we might behold him with the eye of faith as he is so
clearly set forth in your holy scriptures. We pray this morning
that we might worship you according to the way that you have appointed
and in the one that you have appointed, that one mediator
between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. We pray this morning
that we might be able, by your grace, to lift up all these that
we've named in all their various illnesses and situations and
needs, that we might be able to lift them up before that throne
and receive mercy and help in all of our times of need. Lord,
we pray for them particularly, and we pray and lift up all your
people, all your sheep that are scattered on the face of the
earth, and yet you view them as one flock having one shepherd. And we know that you are the
one that is our salvation, temporally and especially spiritually. We
look to you as you have blessed your people throughout the ages
and kept them by your power and grace that you would keep us
by that same power and especially by that same grace. We thank
you for all that pertains to us. that we know that all things
work together for good to your people who are called by your
name. We know that you are the one
that exercises care over them, a watchful eye. We know they
are that spiritual Israel that you have redeemed and called
by your name. We thank you for all blessings.
We pray this morning that we might see Christ and behold him
more clearly. Understand what he accomplished
more clearly and believe it and trust in him more fully. We pray this morning that you
would bless those who watch and those who hear. Less especially
those that you gathered in this place this morning. May we find
the gospel to be to us a savor of life unto life rather than
a savor of death unto death. May your name be glorified in
this place. May all praises be uttered to
you and to you alone. May man be abased and be humbled
in thy sight this morning. We thank you for all things.
We ask for your strength and your help as we seek to deliver
your word this morning. We're nothing but frail flesh
and human ignorance, foolish pride and weakness. We pray that
all might be done by your hand and for your glory. For we pray
in Christ's name and thank you. Amen. In your hymnals once again, 334,
My Savior's Love. Brother Tim, if you'll wait on
the congregation. I stand always in the presence
of Jesus of Nazarene, and ponder how He will love me, who still
can feel my pain. ? Is my Savior's love to me ? ?
For even as a garden ? ? We plant a little garden ? ? Even though
it shrinks away ? ? The center of her mind ? ? The whole world
is found ? He took my sins and my sorrows,
He made them His very own. He bore the burden of Calvary,
And suffered by the Lamb. Oh, say does that star-spangled
banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the
brave? to me. Good girl. I am with you, says the Father,
Though the floods I come and keep, Waves surround you. I surround the waters deep. Fear not, loved one. Feel my presence. You will never
be alone. Trust me, loved one. You are precious, you are mine,
my very own. I am with you, says the Savior,
even to the ages end. Never leaving, nor forsaking,
I'm your ever-present friend. Fear not, loved one, Hear my
comfort, none can pluck you from my hand. Trust me, loved one, I am constant. None can change what I have planned. I am with you, says the Spirit. There is nowhere you can flee. Neither height nor depth can
hide you. Every place is home to me. Fear not, loved one. My witness, you are God's own
child and heir. Trust me, loved one, hear my
whisper. Deep within you, I am here. you Come be with me, says the Master,
greeting hopeful homesick eyes. I was with you in your journey. Be with me in paradise. Fear not, loved one, for I promise,
I will surely quickly come. Trust me, loved one, know my
purpose, I will bring you safely home. I might add that the reason that
Brother Richard didn't ask me to sing is because he hears me
closer than any of you. And he just didn't want to put
you through it. Please open your Bibles to the
book of 1 Corinthians. 1 Corinthians. in the first chapter. And I want to read to you some
verses, beginning with verse 17. Verse
17, Paul says, For Christ sent me not to baptize,
but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the
cross of Christ should be made of none effect. For the preaching of the cross
is to them that perish foolishness. But to us which are saved, it
is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy
the wisdom of the wise and will bring to nothing the understanding
of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the
scribe? Where is the disputer of this
world? Hath not God made foolish the
wisdom of this world? But after that in the wisdom
of God, the world by wisdom knew not God. It pleased God by the
foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. For the Jews
require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom. But we preach
Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the
Greeks foolishness. But unto them which are called,
both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom
of God. Because the foolishness of God
is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. True biblical Christianity. I'm not talking about what the
world calls Christianity. But true Christianity has no
symbols. Not a fish. Not a heart. And certainly not the symbol
of a cross. or the sign of a cross. Those things are simply idolatrous
images. Under the law, it was commanded
that thou shalt not make unto me any graven image. Christianity has no outward symbols. But what characterizes true Christianity
is a message, is a doctrine. It is the proclamation or preaching
of Thee. cross. That's what the apostle
is talking about here. He's not talking about a wooden
cross. He's not talking about a metal
cross or a symbol. He's talking about the preaching
of the cross of Christ. And false Christianity says that
there is something more important. There is something that must
be said and emphasized even more than the cross. And they tell
us that it's important to tell people how to live rather than
to tell them about the Christ who died. That's what Paul is
speaking of in this text. This is the word of God. He's talking about the preaching
of the cross. And he says in verse 18, for
the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness. But unto us which are saved,
it is the power of God. And by preaching of the cross,
he's not simply preaching that Jesus died on the cross. But he's talking about all that
was involved in the cross death of the Lord Jesus Christ. Listen
to him in chapter two, beginning in verse one. And I, brethren,
when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or
of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. That's a wonderful explanation
of the gospel, the testimony of God. For I determined not
to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And I was with you in weakness,
and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching
was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration
of the Spirit and of power. He was led by the Spirit of God
in what he preached, and that was Christ in Him crucified. That was the message of the cross. He says that your faith should
not stand, should not rest in what men say. That your faith
should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. The power of God. Only God's elect will, and that
only by the grace and Spirit of God, see what I'll call the
beauty of the cross. The beauty of the cross. I was thinking about it once,
what characterizes beauty? Especially as we think about
the beauty of a woman. It might be said of one that
she has beautiful eyes. And at the same time, she might
have ugly hair. Or it might be said that she
has beautiful lips. But at the same time, she might
be cross-eyed. What constitutes what we call
beauty? Well, I think it is characterized
by the sum of the parts in harmony with each other. It's if all the parts agree,
are complementary to the other. Her hair, her eyes, her lips,
her facial features, and her conduct even. That seems to be
what beauty really is. It's a harmony of the attributes. But false religion has what I'll
call a Cyclops type of God. You remember the mythological
figure called the Cyclops? He had one eye right in the middle. All you could see of him was
that one large eye. And that's the way false religion
sets forth God, emphasizing one attribute. He's a one-eyed God,
a one-personality God, one-faceted God. And they emphasize this
one attribute of God at the expense of all his other attributes. If you ask anybody who has been
raised up or sat under religion, most all kinds of religion in
our day, if you ask them what is the chief attribute of God,
they'll tell you it's God's love. It's God's love. But what about what the Bible
says about his wrath? What about what the Bible says
about His justice? What about what the Bible says
about His righteousness? Here are all these people who
claim to know God, that He's a God of love, but when you begin
to tell them about all that the Bible says about His other attributes,
they don't recognize Him at all. They don't want Him at all. They'll
tell you quickly, that's not my God. They're right. They're exactly right. But he's
the God of the Bible. The prophet Isaiah records these
words concerning the people of God. He says, thine eyes shall
see the king in his beauty. And they shall behold the land
that is very far off. What is the beauty of the king? His cross. The psalmist said this. He said,
one thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after
early, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days
of my life to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in
His temple." The beauty of the Lord. It's His cross. And then the psalmist tells again,
Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. and fear before
him all the earth. The beauty of holiness, not the
beauty of love, not the beauty of this and that and the other,
not the beauty of his example, but the beauty of holiness. And I say this this morning,
where are all the attributes of God? We just saw his wrath
and his judgment as he visited on these people that opposed
Israel. We just saw the strictness of
his justice when he dealt with Israel for their murmuring against
him in the way that they did. But where are all the attributes
of God displayed in harmony with each other? I tell you, it's the cross. Only
the cross. And that's why the preaching
of the cross is essential to the gospel It is the gospel because
there's no good news without it. There's just no good news. If
we're sinners, and we are, if God's holy and just, and He is,
there's no harmonizing His attributes and making it good news to us
as sinners, except in the cross. And the cross is Christ crucified. And it is here at the cross,
in the message of the cross, that we learn about how God is. You won't find out about how
God is by simply all this preaching of the love of God. It's here at the cross that we
learn about how God really is, and this is where we also learn
about our true condition. We're such sinners that in order
for God to save us, He had to leave heaven He had to become
human flesh and he had to die in order to accomplish the salvation
of his people. And this is where we learn about
the true Christ. It's not on the seas of Galilee. It's not on a mountain somewhere. It's not in the giving out of
these baskets of food, all of which teach something. But where
we really learn about Christ and what he actually did, what
Paul calls the wisdom of God, that how we can find out that
Christ is the wisdom of God, is at the cross. Not in the law,
not in the examples, not in the moral lessons, Only at the cross. Because the wisdom of God has
to do with how God is a just God and a Savior. Most say He could be a just God,
we'd all perish. Or He could be a Savior, we'd
all be saved. But this involves the cross,
how God can be just and a Savior to his people. It's here that we see the wrath
of God. You say, well, over all the generations
he destroyed Sodom, he destroyed Gomorrah, he destroyed the Midianites,
he destroyed this one and that one of the Canaanites. But here
is where we see the true wrath of God. Because here is where
we find out how much God hates sin. And here we find out how
God must punish sin. And here we find out when the
sins of His people were laid on or charged to or the biblical
word imputed to Christ What happens? God slays his son. It pleased the Lord to bruise
him. He's here as the son of God,
but when sins are charged to him, imputed to him, what happens? He must die. If he's gonna be the substitute
for sinners, what must happen to him? He has to die, the death
of the cross. If he's to be the surety who
actually comes and in time pays what he has agreed to, what must
happen to him? He must die. The death of the cross. That's what we find Christ doing
there. He's suffering the death of the
cross. You want to know about God's
wrath, when sin is charged to his own son, what happens? He puts him to death. It wasn't the Romans. They're
not the first cause. It wasn't the Jews the first
cause. It wasn't Satan the first cause. It was God the Father
himself. And Christ calls out, my God,
my God, why hast thou forsaken me? You want to find out about
the wrath of God? The only place to see it is the
cross. We'll look at all these people
and we'll say they were wicked. And they were. But the ones that
God delivered were just as wicked in themselves. So we never find
anything about the wrath of God against sin and what sin is in
His sight except at the cross. And it's here that we see the
justice of God. The justice of God. There are
a lot of people who say that They want God to deal with them
in grace. They don't want God to deal with
them in justice. Well, you better be careful how
you say that. Because here in the cross, it's
the justice of God. It's the justice of God satisfied. The broken law required death. God saying over and again, the
soul that sinned, what? It shall die. that never changed,
that never diminished. God must be just. He must punish
sin. He must punish sins in his people. He must punish their sins in
Christ. And every asset, every facet
of the death of the sinless sacrifice honored and satisfied the justice
of God. He offered one offering to fought
for sins. And Christ bearing the sins of
his elect in his own body on the tree is simply the justice
of God magnified and satisfied and honored in all its perfection. God is just. And it's Christ paying all the
sin debt for his sheep. I lay down my life for the sheep. It's Christ redeeming them from
the curse of the law. Because in the Old Testament,
it was established, cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree. It's Christ purchasing. going down like Boaz did at the
gate of the city, making all the payments, all the things
in satisfaction of the law and the justice that had been required. He pays it in full. He purchases
his people. It's God-reconciled. That's what the Bible says. Turn
over to Romans 5 and verse 10 and look at what it says. Romans 5 and verse 10. For if
when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God. In 2 Corinthians
5, it says that God was in Christ reconciling. Where? In the cross. For if we were enemies, when
we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son. Much more, being reconciled,
we shall be saved by His life. How were we reconciled to God? By the death of His Son. The cross death of His Son. The cross is God sending His
Son to be the propitiation for our sins. What turns away the
wrath of God toward His people in the matter of their sin? The
death of His Son. And it's the same justice that
not only put Christ to death in our place, as our substitute
to satisfy the justice of God. But now that same justice requires
that all he died for go free. They must go free. It's God's
justice satisfying that they must go free. And not only that,
but in the cross death, we see the obedience. that makes God's
people righteous, that is righteous in God's sight. What makes people righteous in
God's sight? How they live or how Christ died. Paul says in Romans 5 in verse
19, for by one man's obedience, that's actually by one man's
act of obedience. One act of obedience, the many
were made sinners, and so by the obedience of one shall the
many be made righteous. But what obedience is that? Listen
in Philippians 2. And being found in fashion as
a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death. even the death of the cross. That's where righteousness is.
Christ's obedience unto death on the behalf of his people,
his obedience unto death, especially that death of the cross. And it's in that cross that we
see the mercy of God. You see, there can be no mercy
at the expense of truth. There can be no mercy at the
expense of justice. Mercy is the kind treatment of
those who have acted as enemies. But you see, God is not only
merciful, plenteous in mercy, but he's also that same just
God. How can God have mercy and remain
true to himself, to his word, to his declaration that he must
punish sin, and to his justice? Only the cross. In Psalm 57, He says that His mercy is great
unto the heavens and is truth unto the clouds. Where in the
world can the mercy of God and also the justice of God, the
truth of God and the mercy of God, where in the world Can they
ever be in harmony with one another? Well, turn back over in your
Bibles to Psalm 85. Psalm 85. The psalmist says in verse seven,
show us thy mercy, O Lord. You need mercy. And grant us thy salvation. I will hear what God the Lord
will speak. For he will speak peace unto
his people and to his saints, but let them not turn again to
folly, that is, to some other way. of receiving the mercy of
God, the peace of God. Surely his salvation is nigh
them that fear him, that glory may dwell in our land. And notice
this 10th verse. Mercy and truth are met together. Righteousness and peace have
kissed each other. Where in the world can such opposing
things, where can they ever be said to
have kissed each other? The cross. The cross death of
Jesus Christ. Truth shall spring out of the
earth and righteousness shall look down from heaven. Yea, the Lord shall give that
which is good, and our land shall yield or increase. Righteousness
shall go before him and shall set us in the way of his steps. When Christ came, truth sprung out of the earth. And righteousness looked down,
came down from heaven. And mercy and truth kissed each
other. They were in harmony with each
other. They satisfied in each other in the crucified Christ. In the cross of Christ crucified,
we behold the peace of God and peace with God. We see how God is a God of peace
to such sinners as we are. Religion tells us to make peace
with God. I'll never forget as a child, riding in the mountains. And in the mountains of North
Carolina, we came to a place, turned around a little, came
around a curve. There was a big granite sign. And it said, make peace with
God. I'll tell you, that kind of scared
me. And I started, I started trying
to make peace with God. Praying, listening to what my
preacher in that time said, making decisions, rededicating my life. But I never had peace until I heard the gospel That
was that peace had already been made with God. The only way that
peace could be made with the God of the Bible, and that was
by the death, the cross death of his son. Listen to what Paul
says in Colossians. And having made peace. You see, man says, make peace. God says Christ has already made
peace. Having made peace through the
blood of his cross. By him to reconcile all things
unto himself, by him I say whether they be things in earth or things
in heaven, he made peace by the blood of his cross. And then
in Hebrews it says that the God of peace, now the God of peace
that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd
of the sheep through the blood of the everlasting covenant. When he brought Christ through
that covenant death. and raised him in that covenant
resurrection, he brought all the sheep with him. And in the cross, and when I
say that I mean by the death of Christ on that cross, we see
the great, the true, the everlasting love of God. Not some kind of sentimental,
ooey-gooey, emotional, imaginary love, but real love. Here is the love of God, which
Paul says is in Christ Jesus. When Paul writes in Ephesians
5, he tells us about that love. When he gives this instructions,
he says, and walk in love as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us
an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor. How did God demonstrate his love? How does Christ love his people? He died in their place. And he goes on with this instruction. And he says, husbands, love your
wives. How? Give us 10 lessons on how to
love your wife. No. Love your wives even as Christ
also loved the church and gave himself for it. Where did he do that? On the
cross. John writes, herein is love,
not that we love God, but that he loved us. What? And sent his son to be the propitiation
for our sins, the propitiatory sacrifice, which alone could
turn away the wrath of God. Revelation, John's still talking
about it. And from Jesus Christ, who is
the faithful witness and the first begotten of the dead, the
prince of the kings of the earth, unto him that loved us and washed
us from our sins in his own blood. Let me read you in Romans 5 again. Verse 6. For when we were yet
without strength in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous
man will one die. Yet peradventure for a good man
some would even dare to die. But God commended his love toward
us in that while we were yet sinners, how did he commend that
love? Christ died for us. And we'll have no interest in
the love of God apart from the death of Christ on our
behalf. You might have thought it a little
strange that for our scripture reading, I would read something so totally
disjointed from what I was going to preach. But it isn't. Because when people speak of
the love of God, they almost always speak of John 3.16. And
they do so, they think, to try to speak of the universal
love of God. But John 3.16 is talking about
the particular love of God. And really, the important verse
is John 3.14. What does that say? as Moses lifted up the serpent
in the wilderness." That's just where we read in
Numbers 21. Even so must the Son of Man be
lifted up. How was the serpent lifted up?
On a pole. All those Israelites were bitten,
and a great number of them had already died. And when Moses was commanded
by God to beat a serpent out of metal, out of brass, which
always speaks of judgment, that serpent of brass was a picture
of Christ and Him crucified. And he was held up, lifted up.
And it says here that if he's lifted up, he'll draw all, that
is not all men, but all his people to him. And it says all that
look. What were they to do? Build an altar and fire and have
a ceremony or say an incantation or what were
they to do for this remedy? To be healed of that fiery serpent's
bite, they were simply to look. You see, the truth of the matter
is if they could look, God had made them alive. And they looked to Christ, only
to Christ, and they lived. They didn't do anything with
it. As a matter of fact, later on, they did just like all people
do. They took even that, that serpent
of breath, and they worshipped it. And God sent Hezekiah, I
believe it was, along, and he Crushed it and ground it to powder
and threw it away, and he called it Nahashtan. And God tells us
what that means. He called it a piece of brass. All it is is a piece of brass. But it pictured Christ, who must
be lifted up on the cross, who must be made sin for his people. who must be made judgment for
his people, who is the mercy of God for his people, who made
peace with God for his people, who is the righteousness of God
for his people, who is the love of God for his people. It's Christ,
but not just Christ, but Christ and him crucified. Then at the cross we see the
only ground and motivation to obedience of God's command. We're not to do them to be saved. We're not to do them to become
more righteous. We're not to do them to be more
loved. We're not to do them to be at
peace with God. were to do it motivated out of
love for Christ, who is all these things already to us. It's so foolish to think that
men would be motivated more by being commanded to do something
than motivated out of love and thanksgiving for that one who
hung upon a tree in our place. That shows how little we value His cross did. You see, in the cross we see
the King in His beauty. We see the wrath and the holiness,
the righteousness, the justice, the mercy, the peace, the love
of God in perfect harmony, crowned with the most beautiful thing
of all, His success. He finished that work. He saved His people. He made the many righteous. He satisfied the justice of God. It has no more claim on us but
to assure that we're set free. He demonstrated His mercy and
yet honored His character. What's the cross to you? Piece of wood? Symbol? Superstitious image? Item? The cross in your pocket? Or is it your hope? Is it all your salvation? Is it the wisdom of God? Is it your only righteousness and your only glory? Paul said and spoke of the offense of walking. the cross. What is it about the
cross that offends men? Well, the cross says and commands
and demands that the only righteousness there is is in Him, in His death. The cross shows that you can't
save yourself, you must be saved in another. It shows that God
will not deal with you as a sinner one-to-one, but he must deal
with you in a representative. And mainly, it shows that all
the glory, not you growing in your Christian
life, not any of these things that men like to brag on, But
all that you have and all the glory goes to Him. His glory He will not share with
another. When Paul wrote these words here
in 1 Corinthians, He said that God has done all
these things in Christ. God has done it His way and not
the way of worldly wisdom. Verse 29, that no flesh should
glory in His presence. But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus,
who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification
and redemption, everything, that according as is written, he that
glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. Let him glory in the crucified Christ. We often sing, and many others
sing, Amazing Grace. It's written by John Newton. I don't know how much Newton
knew, but he had another hymn. He wrote, in evil lungs, I took
delight, unawed by shame or fear, till a new object struck my sight
and stopped my wild career. I saw one hanging on a tree in
agonies and blood. who fixed his languid eyes on
me as near his cross I stood. Sure, never till my latest breath
can I forget that look. It seemed to charge me with his
death, though not a word he spoke. My conscience felt and owned
the guilt and plunged me in despair. I saw my sins his blood had spilt
and helped to nail him there. Alas, I knew not what I did. But now my tears are vain. Where shall my trembling soul
be hid for I the Lord have slain? A second look he gave, which
said, I freely offer give. This blood is for thy ransom
paid. I died that thou mayest live. Thus while his death, my sin
displays in all its blackest hue. Such is the mystery of grace. It seals my pardon too. With pleasing grief, and mourn
for joy, my spirit now is filled, that I should such a life destroy,
yet live by Him I'll kill. Until we see the cross, and the glory of Christ in His
cross, will never have peace. But all his people will see it. And they'll say, as Paul, I determined
to know nothing among men, nothing as way of
my hope, nothing as way of my salvation, nothing but Christ
and Him crucified. I rest my soul. God forbid that we should glory
save in the cross of Jesus Christ. Father, we pray and we pray you
will reveal the glory, the beauty of your cross, your son, your
salvation. your people. But we pray in Christ's
name. Amen.