and write Isaiah chapter 49. The title of the message this
evening is God's Messiah. The verses that we just read
are prophecy of God's Messiah. They tell us what the coming
Messiah will do for God. See, God has to do something
for himself. He has to send someone who's
able to do something for God before he can do anything for
sinners like us. So God promises here in His Word
that He's going to send His Messiah. He's going to send His Messiah
who will accomplish the salvation that God's purposed for His people.
The Messiah is coming. He's going to do something for
God that will let God save sinners and that will let God reveal
Himself to sinners in mercy and grace. So here's the first point,
how we will identify the Messiah. The Messiah sent by God will
be sent by God, and God will tell us who He is. Look at verse
one. He says, listen, O Isles unto
me, and hearken ye people from far. The Lord hath called me
from the womb. From the bowels of my mother
hath He made mention of my name. Now this is Christ Himself speaking,
and He tells us, listen to me, listen to me. And how I wish
we'd do that. How I wish that people would
listen to Christ speak. Not listen to our preconceived
notions of religion, but that we listen to Christ speak. Because
if we're ever going to really hear from God, it's going to
be from the Lord Jesus Christ. We must hear him. God hath in
these last days spoken to us, how? By his son. And I hope we'll
listen to him. I hope God will give us an ear
to listen to him. Because this is the Lord Jesus
Christ, the man Jesus of Nazareth, is God's Messiah. Now, he didn't
take that office upon himself. The father called him to it.
Look in Hebrews chapter five. The Lord Jesus didn't take this
office of savior upon himself, just like he didn't take the
office of high priest upon himself. God appointed him to it. In Hebrews
chapter five, verse four. And no man taketh this honor
unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.
So Christ glorified not himself to be made a high priest, but
he that said unto him, thou art my son, today have I begotten
thee. And he said also in another place,
thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. Even
the Lord Jesus didn't take this honor upon himself. The father
called him or appointed him to be the savior. He called him
from the womb. Now really the father spoke of
Christ long before he was ever in the womb of the Virgin Mary,
didn't he? All through the Old Testament, that's God speaking
of his son, speaking of the Messiah who would come. Now look in Matthew
chapter one. We read something of this in
Luke chapter one to open the scripture. Here in Matthew chapter
one, the father speaks of Christ from the womb. And while he thought, in verse
20, this is Joseph, and while he thought on these things, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying,
Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy
wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name
Jesus. You call him Savior, for he shall save his people from
their sins. Now all this was done that it
might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet,
saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring
forth a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel, which being
interpreted as God with us. Then Joseph, being raised from
sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took
unto him his wife. And he knew her not, till she
had brought forth her firstborn son, and guess what he called
his name? Jesus, Savior. Well, why did
he give him that name? Because the father called him
from the womb, told him, this is the Messiah. This is the Savior. And God told us plainly who he
is. Now look to him, listen to him.
God's told us who he is. This is, this is the Savior.
Second, the Messiah that will be sent will be sent as the word
of God. Look at verse two in Isaiah chapter
49. And he, And he hath made my mouth like
a sharp sword, the words of my mouth like a sharp sword. In
the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished
shaft. In his quiver hath he hid me.
Now the Lord Jesus Christ, He had the words of God to give
to men, didn't He? He had a message from the Father
to give to men. He had the words of God, the
words to give to men, because He is the Word of God. He's the
Word of God incarnate. The Lord Jesus Christ could reveal
the Father's will to men because Christ Jesus, the man Jesus Christ,
He is God's expression of Himself. Now, we use words to express
ourselves. Now, we've been talking to each
other since we all got here this evening because that's how we
communicate, with words. Well, how does God communicate
to men? With His Word, His Son. The Lord Jesus is God's expression
of Himself. Jesus of Nazareth is God's expression
of his holiness. Jesus of Nazareth is God's expression
of justice and truth. Jesus Christ is God's expression
of his grace. And that word, the word Jesus
Christ accomplishes God's purpose. It's this word that kills. What'll kill the flesh? What'll
kill self-righteousness? The only thing I know of is the
Word of God. If you see Jesus Christ, self-righteousness
will be killed. The flesh will be killed. And
what gives life? The only thing that gives life
is the Word. This Word is the seed that God
uses to give life. It both kills the flesh and makes
the spirit alive. Now look at Hebrews chapter 4. In this Word of God, accomplishes
God's purpose with surgical exact precision. Hebrews 4 verse 12, for the word
of God, this is the word that comes out of his mouth. It's
so sharp. The word of God, it's quick and powerful and sharper
than a two edged sword piercing even to the dividing asunder
of soul and spirit. and of the joints and marrow,
and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Now,
how fine a line do you got to cut to cut asunder the soul and
the spirit? That's how exact the Word of
God comes. It always reaches its mark. It reaches precisely to where
the problem is, just at the exact moment that it's necessary. It
kills and then it reveals the remedy. You know, the word of
God, the Lord Jesus Christ, either the incarnate word or the written
word, either one. The word of God reveals man for
what he is, doesn't it? You read this book. It does not
paint a pretty picture of us, does it? But that's who we are. And when you look at the Lord
Jesus Christ, the incarnate word, well, then we really see ourselves
for what we are in the light of who he is. This word reveals
man for what he is. And that same word reveals God
for who He is too. That word of God, the Lord Jesus
Christ or the written word, they both are together. They reveal
the thoughts and the purposes of God and salvation. And you
can only see that in Christ. And he makes it very clear here.
This, this thing is done with pinpoint precision to come save
God's people. Now he's going to face a lot
of opposition when he comes. And when he comes, he's going
to be hidden. It says here in the shadow of his hand, hath
he hidden me? When Christ comes, he's going to be hidden in God's
hand. Herod desires to kill the child Jesus, but he's hidden
from Herod. He can't touch him. All those
different times, those various mobs wanted to lay hands on our
Lord and put him to death. And suddenly they couldn't, they
didn't see him. They couldn't lay, they couldn't
reach up, put their hand on him. He was hidden from them, hidden
in the shadow of God's hand. He's hidden from man, from man's
nature. Now that frightens me. The Lord
Jesus Christ is the only Savior, and He's hidden from man's nature,
from man's wisdom. But here's some comfort. God's
people will always find Christ. Always. Now He's hidden in the
shadows of the Old Testament, isn't He? God's purpose of salvation
by sacrificing His Son was hidden in all the Old Testament shadows,
wasn't it? But now, that purpose is made obvious in Christ. It's obvious to see if God gives
you eyes to see Christ. And Christ the Word always accomplishes
God's will. He always hits the mark, the
exact mark. Isaiah speaks of Him here as
being a polished shaft. Now what he's talking about is
the shaft of an arrow. Now I don't know much about archery. I shot some arrows when I was
in Cub Scouts and things. I did it often enough until I
got a bullseye once, got my prize and went on. That's about all
I know about it. Maggie and Sidney, you shoot
bows. You want an arrow that's crooked?
You don't want that, do you? It's hard to tell where it'll
go. You want a shaft of arrows perfectly straight, don't you? That way you know it's going
to go right where you aim it. The shaft of the arrow of God's
Word is perfectly straight, perfectly righteous, upright man, the Lord
Jesus Christ. And God, the Holy Spirit describes
him here as a polished shaft or an oiled shaft of an arrow.
Now, in those days, what they'd do is they'd get their arrow
and they'd make sure the shaft of the arrow was perfectly straight,
and then they'd polish it with oil. And the reason they'd do
that is then when they shot it, there'd be less drag, you know,
and it could go further and go straighter and go more accurate.
Well, the arrow of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, His Word, always
hits the mark. It always hits right in the heart
of God's people. Even though it seems like God's
far away from us and He's shooting that arrow from a long way away,
that arrow always hits the mark. Always. He's the polished shaft. He's going to come and accomplish
God's purpose. Thirdly, the Messiah who sent
will glorify God. Verse 3, And He said unto me,
Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified. Now this is very important. It's
something that modern religion has missed altogether. God must
save sinners. He has to save sinners in a way
that glorifies all of God's attributes at once. It can't glorify one
of God's attributes at the expense of another. He's got to glorify
all of his attributes at once. And what I mean by that is this.
God can't magnify His love above His justice. He can't say, oh,
I love you so much, I'll ignore your sin. See, that's magnifying
God's love, but it's debasing His justice, isn't it? And God
can't magnify His justice above His love. He can't say, well,
everybody sins, so I'm gonna destroy everybody. Well, that
would magnify God's justice, but it would debase His love.
If God's gonna save sinners, He's gonna do it in a way that
all of God's attributes, His love, His mercy, His grace, His
justice, His holiness will all be magnified all at one time.
And that can only happen in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
That's what Christ accomplished as a man during his earthly ministry.
And that's what the cross is all about. The death of Christ
on the cross is all about glorifying God and the salvation of sinners. And we know He did it because
our Lord Himself said, Father, I've glorified Thee on the earth.
He did what the Father sent Him to do. If you want to see the
glory of God, look to Christ. See, God has to save sinners
in a way that glorifies His holiness. So Christ came. Perfectly holy
man. and makes all those people that
God saves holy in a way that honors and glorifies God's holiness. God must save sinners in a way
that glorifies his justice. The Lord Jesus Christ satisfied
God's justice, you know how? By being made sin for God's elect
and suffering and dying for that sin. God's justice is glorified
when he put his own son to death. God must save sinners in a way
that will glorify God's love. Christ died as a substitute for
sinners. The father gave his son everything
his elect deserve by their sin. Now that glorifies God's love. What love for sinners that the
father would put his son to death to save the people that he loved.
God must save sinners in a way that glorifies God's grace. Well,
how did the death of Christ glorify God's grace? By who he died for. Christ died for sinners. Christ
died for the chief of sinners. Christ died for my sin. That
glorifies God's grace. And one day, God's elect are
going to be glorified too. They're going to be glorified
because Christ, our Savior, first glorified the Father. So if you
want to see the glory of God, you look to the Lord Jesus Christ. That's where God's glory is seen.
Fourthly, the Messiah that will be sent will come to do the work
of God. Verse four. Then I said, I've
labored in vain. I spent my strength for naught
and in vain, yet surely my judgment is with the Lord. and my work
with my God. Now, we know that Christ came
to do the work the father sent him to do. I mean, from the very
earliest recordings we have of the things he said in scripture,
as a man, he was about his father's business, wasn't he? And he did
it. By the time he went to the cross,
he'd accomplished that work. Again, he said so. He said, I
finished the work you gave me to do. It's done. And Christ
finished the redemption of God's elect forever. The work's finished.
Aaron, not one of them can be lost. It's finished, complete. Well, then why does this make
it sound like that the Savior saying he labored in vain? It
makes it, he said, I've labored in vain. I spent my strength
for naught. Why does it sound like he's labored in vain? Well,
you know, every servant of God feels this way at one point or
another, even the Savior. And it's a comfort to know, now
this is not sad and defeat. It's a comfort to know we never
labor in vain. Never. God always accomplishes
his purpose. The Savior's not saying he failed.
He did not fail to save any of the sheep that the Father gave
him. Didn't he say that? Of all what you've given me,
I've lost nothing. So he didn't fail to save God's sheep. The
Savior here is speaking as a man, and he's speaking about the Jews,
the Jews who rejected him. He came unto his own. His own
received him not. And they were damned. They were
damned because they rejected God's Savior. Look at Matthew
chapter 23. And you know, that brought our
Savior no joy. It broke his heart that they
rejected him and they were damned for their rejection of him. In
Matthew chapter 23 in verse 37, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem that killest
the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how
often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a
hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, yet you would not. So behold, your house is left
unto you desolate. You see, the Jews rejected the
Savior. He came into his own, his own
received him not. Yet, even though they rejected
him, yet, says here at the end of the verse, yet surely my judgment
is with the Lord and my work is with my God. The Jews did
reject Christ, didn't they? But that doesn't mean he's a
failure. The Father's the one who's going to judge this thing.
The Father will judge him whether he's a success or a failure.
The Father will judge Christ and His work. That word work
is reward. His reward is with God. Well,
the Father is going to give Christ all of His reward because His
work, His work as a man, His work as our representative is
judged to be perfect. So He will have His reward. Well,
what's the reward of Christ? It's all the people that the
father gave him. Everyone that he died for, he'll have them
all. Not one of them will be lost.
You see, our savior is not speaking here in defeat because he cannot
be defeated. And this is a good lesson for
us. The way men look at it, it may look like he was defeated.
Maybe this is where some of the free will people get their doctrine,
I don't know. The way men look at it, they
think, well, Jesus was a failure. Because not only did the Jews
reject him, they're the ones that killed him. But if we think
Christ is defeated, we're looking at it wrong. We need to ask the
Lord to give us a better view. He's not defeated. You know,
even those very people who had a hand in putting our Lord to
death, even those people could be saved if the Lord died for
them. And you know, on the day of Pentecost,
it appears that's exactly what happened, isn't it? That's who
Peter was preaching to, those people who actually had a hand
in putting our Lord to death. Many of them were saved that
day. Why? Because Christ died for even
that sin. He died for the chief of sinners. You see, the point
is, Christ cannot be defeated. And men misjudge, almost always
misjudge, what is a success and what is a failure. You know,
do we have to attract big crowds before we can be considered a
success? Do we? Do you have to have a great big
bag of money before you can be considered a success? When it
came time to pay his taxes, the Lord didn't have a great big,
I mean, the Lord himself didn't have a great big bag of money. Where'd
he go get his taxes? From the mouth of a fish. In
the end, Christ himself didn't attract a big crowd. Everybody
deserted him. But no matter how it may look
to you and me, the Lord Jesus Christ is the successful, victorious
Savior. And he will have everyone the
Father gave him to save. Now rest in him, just come to
him and rest in him. Fifthly, the Messiah that sent
will come with the strength of God, verse five. And now saith
the Lord that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to
bring Jacob again to him. Though Israel be not gathered,
yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and my God
shall be my strength. Now, even though the Jews will
reject Christ, like I said, the Messiah is not going to fail.
He will bring Jacob again to God. He's going to bring all
those people who are fallen in Adam. We have the nature of Jacob.
He's going to bring them back to God. Well, how's he going
to do that? He's able to do it because he
has the strength of God. You see, the Messiah is sent
with this job to glorify God. If he's going to glorify God,
he's got to have the strength of God, doesn't he? The Messiah
has come to do the work of God. What is the work of God? The
work of God is to save his people from their sin. Now, if he's
going to save sinners, he's got to have the power of God to do
it. He's got to. And the Lord Jesus Christ is
God's Messiah, and he has the strength of God. You know why?
Because he is God. The man Jesus of Nazareth is
God. It's not like he's God. He's
not a special manifestation of God. He is the eternal God. But now the Messiah is a man.
Well, if the Messiah is going to save his people from their
sins, he can't be made from Adam's seed, can he? If he's made from
Adam's seed, he'll partake in Adam's nature. He'll partake
in Adam's sin and guilt. Then he couldn't save anybody.
So God, the Holy Spirit, he's the one who formed the Lord Jesus
in the womb. He was formed without the aid
of a man. So he didn't have Adam's nature.
Now he can be the savior of sinners. He has the power and the nature
to save sinners because he's God. He's God in human flesh. God manifests in the flesh. And
since he's God, he can't fail. Now come to that savior. I mean,
it just baffles the mind why someone would come to a Savior
that might be able to save you. Come to this Savior who cannot
fail. He can't fail to save you from
your sin. It takes the power of God to
make an end of sin and to bring in everlasting righteousness.
Christ our Savior has done just that. He made an end of sin and
He brought in everlasting righteousness because He is God. Sixthly, the
Messiah will be sent to redeem the people that God chose. Verse six, and he said, it is
a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the
tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved of Israel. I will
also give thee for a light to the Gentiles that thou mayest
be my salvation under the end of the earth. Now he says here,
it's a light thing of salvation, is not a light thing. Saving
a sinner from sin is hard to do. It's so hard, only God can
do it. Only God has ever done it. Only
God's ever been able to do it. That's how hard salvation is. In order for God to save a sinner,
God had to become a man. How hard's that? God had to become
a man. And then the God man must obey
God's law perfectly. He must establish perfect righteousness
that he can give to his people. And then the God man must be
made sin. How hard is that? I mean, you
and I can't even understand that. How hard is it? for the holy
son of God to be made sin and yet still be holy. This is a
hard thing. Salvation is a hard thing. He's
got to take all of the guilt of his people and put it away
with one sacrifice forever. In order for God to save sinners,
God has to kill his only son as a sacrifice for sin. Now that's
hard. That's a hard thing. But Christ,
our Savior, says it's a light thing. My people aren't happy. They're my brothers. They're
the people that God's given me. It's a hard thing to do, but
I'll gladly do it. Gladly will I do it because I
love my people so much. I want you to look at two scriptures.
First, Genesis chapter 29. I love this scripture. It's such
a... Jacob gives us such a clear picture
of the work that Christ did to redeem his bride. In Genesis
29 verse 20, you know the story how Jacob served and thought
he was going to get Rachel and he got Leah and he's got to serve
seven more years if he wants to get Rachel who he loves. His heart is set upon her. In
Genesis 29 verse 20, And Jacob served seven years. He served
seven more years for Rachel. And they seemed unto him but
a few days for the love he had to her. Now, I bet you working
one day for Laban is no picnic. I bet that's a hard day's work.
I bet he was hard to put up with. Jacob served seven years for
Rachel and said, no big deal, no big deal because I love her
so much. Now look at Hebrews chapter 12.
In Hebrews chapter 12, we have the fulfillment of that picture
in Christ our Savior. Hebrews chapter 12, verse two. Looking unto Jesus, the author
and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before
him, he endured the cross. despising the shame, counting
the shame as nothing, and is set down at the right hand of
the throne of God. He despised the shame. He endured
the cross and said, no big deal, because I love my people so much. He came to save the people that
God chose. And God didn't just choose that
nation, Israel. He didn't just save Jews. He
says He sent His Son to save those from all the ends of the
earth. He accomplished this salvation
for Gentiles too. Now that's real good news to
this bunch, because every one of us here is a Gentile. And
we're born in spiritual darkness and death. That's who He came
to save. He said, I'll give thee for light to the Gentiles. Well,
why do we need a light? Because we're in spiritual darkness.
You and I are in just as much death and ignorance, spiritual
death and spiritual ignorance as our ancestors who sacrificed
their babies to idols. I mean, you think somebody sacrificed
their baby to an idol? They've got an idol that's shaped
like, you know, those hands out here and they heat that thing
up till it's burning hot and put their infant on those hands
to kill it? To their god? To their idol?
Those people are animals. You and I have the same nature.
We had the same darkness, the same death. But Christ our Savior
came to be our light, came to be our life. The word light here
means happiness. Christ is the believer's happiness
and joy. Everybody today wants to be happy.
Make me happy, do something to make me happy. This doesn't make
me happy, so I'm leaving. I want to be happy too. Do you want to be happy? Look
to Christ. He's our light. He's our happiness
and our joy. And then seventh, God's promised
Messiah will be hated of men, but he's chosen of God. Verse
seven of Isaiah 49. Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer
of Israel and his Holy One, to him whom man despised, to him
whom the nation abhorred, to a servant of rulers. Kings shall
see and arise. Princes also shall worship because
of the Lord that is faithful and the Holy One of Israel, and
he shall choose thee. Now the Messiah came to do the
work the Father sent him to do. He came to glorify God. He came
to save God's people. And he accomplished that by being
a servant. The Son, the Eternal Son became
the servant of God, the servant of rulers. Now that's not just
God. That's rulers on this earth.
The Lord Jesus was obedient to his parents. You know why he
was obedient to his parents? Because we can't be. He was. The Lord Jesus was obedient to
all of the law. He obeyed every minute detail
of the law. He kept every ceremony because
we can't keep on. He was circumcised the eighth
day. as a picture of the circumcision of our hearts. He was obedient
to rulers. He was obedient to his parents.
Obedient to the law. He was obedient to Rome. He paid
his taxes. He was a good citizen. And he
had to do all that. You think, why did he have to
be in subjection to Rome? Why did he have to obey their
laws? He had to do that if he was going to be the perfect servant
of the Father. He had to do that if He was going
to give us a perfect obedience and present us before His Father
faultless. And Christ our Savior, He came
and He accomplished this great work of redemption, not for Himself. He did this for somebody else. He did it for His people. Now
look at Psalm 69. Christ came to save sinners.
And you'd think That would make him the most beloved person ever. Yet, even though he came to be
the savior of sinners, men hated him and rejected him. And same
thing's going on today as it was in that day. Look at Psalm
69, verse four. They that hate me without a cause
are more than the hairs of mine head. They that would destroy
me, being my enemies wrongfully, are mighty. Then restored that,
which I, then I restored that which I took not away. Now hold
your place there. We're coming back to that in
just a second. Those who hated the Lord, they didn't hate a
miracle worker. They didn't hate somebody that
could, you know, feed a multitude. They didn't hate a healer. Somebody
could heal sicknesses. Nobody else could heal. They
hated a sovereign savior. They hated a king. That's why
they crucified him as king, because they hated him as king. They
hated his omniscience. That's why they blindfolded him,
balled up their fist and hit him and said, prophesy and tell
us who hit you. Because they hated his omniscience. They hated him in his priestly
office. As he was suffering, they said
he saved others. Himself he cannot save. They
hated him in his priestly office. The world hates the Lord Jesus
Christ. Our natural heart hates and despises
the Lord Jesus. What would you do if a group
of people treat you that way? I can tell you what old Frank
would do. I'd wash my hands of you and
if I got authority over you, I'd ground you under my heel.
That's exactly what I'd do. The world despises the Lord Jesus,
yet Our text in verse 7 says He was faithful. He was still
faithful to do everything the Father gave Him to do anyway.
And it's through that faithfulness that Christ pleased the Father
and God's elect are saved. And in closing, I want to read
the rest here of Psalm 69. That's what's said in the rest
of Psalm 69. It's through the faithfulness
of Christ, God's people are saved. Beginning in verse 5. O God,
Thou knowest my foolishness, and my sins are not hid from
Thee. Let not them that wait on Thee, O Lord God of hosts,
be ashamed for my sake. Let not those that seek Thee
be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel, because for Thy sake
I have borne reproach. Shame has covered my face. I
have become a stranger unto my brethren, an alien unto my mother's
children. For the zeal of thine house hath
eaten me up. This is why he was willing to
become a stranger, an alien from his brethren, because the zeal
of thine house hath eaten me up. And the reproaches of them
that reproach thee are fallen upon me. When I wept and chastened
my soul with fasting, that was to my reproach. I made sackcloth
also my garment, and I became a proverb to them. They that
sit in the gate speak against me, and I was a song of the drunkards.
But as for me, my prayer is unto thee, O Lord, in an acceptable
time. O God, in the multitude of thy
mercy, hear me in the truth of thy salvation. Deliver me out
of the mire and let me not sink. Let me be delivered from them
that hate me and out of the deep waters. Let not the water flood
overflow me, neither let the deep swallow me up, and let not
the pit shut her mouth upon me. Hear me, O Lord, for thy loving
kindness is good. Turn unto me according to the
multitude of thy tender mercies. I knock thy face from my servant,
for I'm in trouble. Hear me speedily. Draw nigh unto
my soul and redeem it. Deliver me because of mine enemies.
Thou hast known my reproach and my shame and my dishonor. My
adversaries are all before thee. Reproach hath broken my heart,
and I am full of heaviness. I looked for some to take pity,
but there was none, and for comforters, but I found none. They gave me
also gall for my meat, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar
to drink. Let their table become a snare before them, and that
which should have been for their welfare, let it become a trap. Let their eyes be darkened that
they see not, to make their loins continually to shake. Pour out
thine indignation upon them, and let thy wrathful anger take
hold of them. Let their habitation be desolate,
and let none dwell in their tents. For they persecute him whom thou
hast smitten, and they talk to the grief of those whom thou
hast wounded. Add iniquity to their iniquity, and let them
not come into thy righteousness. Let them be blotted out of the
book of the living, and not be written with the righteous. But
I am poor and sorrowful. Let thy salvation, O God, set
me up on high. I will praise the name of God
with a song and will magnify him with thanksgiving. This also
shall please the Lord better than an ox or bullock that hath
horns and hooves. The humble shall see this and
be glad, and your heart shall live that seek God. For the Lord
heareth the poor and despises not his prisoners. Let the heaven
and earth praise him, the seas and everything that moveth therein.
For God will save Zion, and will build the cities of Judah, that
they may dwell there and have it in possession. The seed also
of his servant shall inherit it, and they that love his name
shall dwell therein." Now that's God's Messiah. God's Messiah
sent to save sinners, sent to save God's people. Now will you
come to Him? Will you come to Him out of your
sin and your guilt? Will you come to Him out of your
need? I can promise you this. You'll
come to Christ out of your sin and out of your need if God the
Holy Spirit shows you your need. If He shows you your sin, you'll
come to Christ for salvation. If He shows you Christ, if He
shows you this Messiah who He is, you'll come to Him out of
love. And I pray that today God will
make it so. Let's bow in prayer. Our Father, how we thank you
for your goodness and your grace to your people. That you send
your own son, the son of your love, your only begotten son,
to be the representative of sinful men and women such as we are.
to take on him flesh and bone, such as we have, yet without
sin, to humble himself, to live as a man under the power of rulers. And that in your mercy and your
grace to your people, you would lay the sin and the guilt and
the iniquity of your people upon your darling son, and thrust
the sword of your justice through his heart to be the sacrifice
for our sin that we might live. Father, how can we ever thank
you? But we do thank you and we pray that you bless your word
as it's been preached to the glory of your son. We pray that
you bless your word to the hearts of your people to call out your
sheep to come to Christ to comfort and strengthen and encourage
the hearts of your people. This is our Savior. Everything's
sure, sure and certain in him. Father, we thank you. And it's
in his precious name we pray that you'd bless us. Amen.