I will not forget thee. I don't even want to say any
more. I can go home after that. I've read this for the last two
days. And it's one of those chapters
you can read and make as few comments as possible because
it speaks for itself. But that statement, I will not
forget thee. There may come a time when we
forget our own name. I've known people to do that.
I know Vicki's grandmother. She got older. She lost her mental
faculties. She couldn't remember anybody. But the Lord says here, I will
not in no way at any time forget you. He doesn't have a feeble
mind like we have. He doesn't have that. He has
infinite wisdom, infinite knowledge. He doesn't run into things like
we do, forgetful, I call them senior moments now. I went out
to the shop, there was an older guy out there, and he said, I'm
having a senior moment, I can't remember things. He doesn't have
that. He doesn't have that. I will
not forget thee. If we don't get anything else
out of this, just remember that one. Write it down and put it
up on your refrigerator. Now, in this chapter, this chapter
talks about the Lord's servant, the Lord Jesus Christ. That's
who it's talking about. It's talking about him, his work,
his deliverance of his people, and that's what this chapter
is about, the Lord's servant, and that's what we want to look
at. God has been telling us, or He's been telling Israel here
as we've been going through this, He's been telling Israel that
He would save them out of captivity from Babylon. They haven't even
gone into captivity yet. And He's telling them, when you
go in, I'm going to deliver you out of this captivity, away from
them. But in this chapter, He reveals
a far greater deliverance than that. of just Babylon. That's just a type, that's just
a picture really. There is a far greater deliverance
that we have here through the Lord Jesus Christ of all of God's
children, all of them. Gentiles as well as Jews are
going to be delivered, many of them. Scripture says an innumerable
number, numbers you can't number. And I thought today as I was
looking at this, he said down here in verse 6, he said, It is a light thing
that thou shouldst be my servant to raise up the tribe of Jacob
and to restore the preserve of Israel. And I think he's saying
this, it is a light thing for me to deliver Israel from the
Babylonians. That's just men. It's a light
thing for me to go down here and take these Babylonians and
crush them. They're just clay pots. That's
all they are. There's a far greater deliverance
here to be pictured and to be talked about and to be understood.
You know, for God to deliver us out of any of these earthly
things, these earthly troubles and trials, really, it's a light
thing to God. That's why Paul says whenever
we see God in His glory, these things are going to become just
light. He said, light afflictions. That's all they'll be, just light
afflictions. He can deliver us out of these earthly things.
They're just light afflictions. I was reading over in Acts today,
over in Acts 12. Let me show you this, over in
Acts 12. I'll show you how easy it is
for God to deliver us out of these old earthly trials and
troubles. There's no challenge to God.
The great deliverance is the one He delivered us from when
He delivered us from the law. That spiritual deliverance. That
delivers from sin, and the power of sin, and the power of saving.
Now that's a real deliverance. That's not just these little
physical deliverances. Over here in Acts 12, I want
you to notice something. Now about the time in verse 1,
now about that time Herod became stretched forth his hands to
vex certain of the church, and he killed James, the brother
of John, with a sword. And because he saw it pleased
the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. Then were
the days of unleavened bread. And when he had apprehended him,
he put him in prison and delivered him to four quartinians of soldiers
to keep him, intending after Easter to bring him forth to
the people. Peter, therefore, was kept in prison, but prayer
was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him. brought
him forth the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers.
I mean, they kept a tight guard on him to make sure nobody came
in to try to turn him loose. And he put him between two soldiers,
chained there. I'm sure he was tied to them,
probably, bound with two chains. And the keepers before the door
kept the prison. And behold, the angel of the
Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison, And he
smoked Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise
up quickly, and his chains fell off from his hands. How easy
it is for God to deliver us from these things. And the angel said
unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he said unto him, Cast thy
garment about thee, and follow me. And he went out, and followed
him, and wished not that it was true which was done by the angel,
but thought he had saw a vision. And when they were past the first
and second ward, They came to the iron gate that led into the
city, which opened to them of his own accord. That gate just
opened up. I might have preached on this.
And they went out, and they passed on through one street, and forthwith
the angel departed from him. And when Peter had come to himself,
he said, Now I know of a surety that the Lord hath sent his angel,
and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod. But you see
there, he's bound between these two guards, chained to them.
And an angel of the Lord walks in, bumps him on the side and
says, Peter, let's go. He put those men to sleep. And
a light shined, but they didn't see it. I thought, how easy it
is for him. It's a light thing. It's a light
thing for me to deliver Israel from that fleshly Babylon. He
said, it's just a light thing. Okay, let me get back to where
I was at. Okay, verse 1. Listen, O Isles unto me, and
hearken, you people from afar. You people who are far off, that's
us. That is us. The Lord hath called me from
the womb. This is speaking of Christ. This
is Christ speaking also. From the bowels of my mother
hath he made mention of my name. And the first thing he says here
is this. And if you don't get this, you won't get the rest
of it. Listen. That's what he says. God's speaking
to the Gentiles. God is speaking to us. And he
says, listen, God is speaking good news to sinners. I have
good news to tell you Gentiles. We learn most when we listen. You who are teachers, you've
taught, wouldn't you say that if your class would really listen
their GPA would go right up. How much more would their GPA
go up if they had just listened? I say this at work to guys when
I'm showing them something. I say, now listen to me. How
many times have I said that to Jeremy in business? Now listen
to me. You know, don't just hear my words. You know, don't just
watch my mouth move. Listen to what I have to say.
That's what God's saying here. That's what the Lord Jesus Christ
is saying here in this verse. Listen to me, I have something
to say to you Gentiles. Listen. Be still. The Scripture
says, Be still, know that I am God. This message of salvation
that shall be given to the Jews from Babylon speaks of a far
greater salvation that Christ shall accomplish throughout the
whole world. God's purpose, God's purpose
has always been, it has always been to save sinners out of this
whole world. It's all His. It's all His. And make them one in Christ. Look over in Ephesians chapter
3. Over in Ephesians chapter 3. Look in verse 1. I'll read the
first six verses. For this calls I Paul, the prisoner
of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles. If ye have heard of the dispensation
of the grace of God which is given me to you, where it hath
that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery, as I wrote
afore in few words, whereby, when ye read, ye may understand
my knowledge in the mystery of Christ, which in other ages was
not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed
unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit." And here it is,
that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs and of the same body and
partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel." So he's saying
here, listen, there's good news, not to just that body of people
called Israel, but this good news is throughout the world.
This good news is to Gentiles as well as Jews. And here's what
he says. He says here, he hath called
me. Christ is the first one called. He's the first, He's the first
called. He's called me from the womb,
listen, He called me from the womb of eternity. He calls us in time. He called
Christ before time. He was called first, and you
and I are called in Him. But He called Him first. He's the one, and He was called
to be the servant. The servant. He's my servant. He's a servant of God. Look over
Proverbs here, chapter 8. Proverbs chapter 8. Look in verse
22. He said, The Lord In Proverbs chapter 8, the Lord
possessed me in the beginning of His way, before His works
of old. I was set up from everlasting,
set up in the covenant of grace, from the beginning wherever the
earth was. When there was no depths, I was
brought forth. I was called forth. When there were no mountains
abounding with water, before the mountains were settled, before
the hills was I brought forth, God brought me forth, God called
me to this work of redemption, this work of saving sinners. God called me to it, he said.
He's called me. He says here in verse 30, Then
I was by him, as one brought up with him, and I was daily
his delight, rejoicing always before him, rejoicing in the
habitable part of his earth. And my delights were with the
sons of men. Call, he said, he called me. He called me. He not only called me, but he
says he gave me my name. He made mention of my name before
I was born. From the bowels of my mother
hath he made mention of my name. The angel said to Joseph of America,
he said, here's what you're going to name him. You're going to
name him Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins.
His name was given by the, God gave him his name. That angel
told him, this is the name you're going to call him. God named
him. He said he made mention of my
name before I even came into the world. And you can see that
even in Isaiah 9, verse 6. Unto us a child is born, the
Son is given, the government is upon His shoulder, He shall
be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting
Father. That's Him. That's Christ. He's made mention
of me before I even came into this world. And He hath made, He said, 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." They said, never, never a man spake like this man. When they heard him speak, when
they heard him preach, they had to confess, never a man spake
like this man. He spoke with authority, not
as the scribes. The scribes, they would take
and just read. But he spoke with authority. Authority went with his words.
He spoke with authority. And when his word went forth, things happened. Life was given. The deaf would hear. The blind
would see. The dead were raised. Oh, he
said, he has made my mouth like a sharp sword. Look over at Hebrews
chapter four. Hebrews chapter 4. And over in Hebrews chapter 4 it
says in verse 12, For the word of God is quick and powerful
and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even through
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." Then look over in Revelation 19. Look over in Revelation. Let's look in the Scriptures
here and see these things. Revelation 19. Revelation 19 and verse 15. It says, "...and out of his mouth
out of the mouth of Christ, out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword,
that with it he should smite the nations, and he shall rule
them with a rod of iron, and he treadeth the winepress of
the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God." But it says, out of his
mouth goeth a sharp sword. He had all he needed for the
battle, all he needed, his word, his word. All he needs to do
is speak a word. The Scripture says where the
word of a king is, there's power. There's power. He said, thou
hast made my mouth like a sharp sword. And he hid me. He hid me. And how did he hide
him? How was he hidden? He hid him
in the types, in the pictures, in the shadows. He was hidden
in those things, and they didn't see Him. They read the Scriptures,
they offered all these sacrifices, and they missed Him. And we'll miss Him if He doesn't
reveal Himself to us. If He doesn't reveal Himself
to us. The only reason we know Him is because God has revealed
Him to us. That's the only reason we know
Him, and they didn't. They missed Him. They missed
Him. And He said unto me, Thou art
my servant. Oh, I tell you, never was there
a station in life more honored than when the Lord Jesus Christ
took upon Him the form of a servant, of a servant. It did not embarrass
Him to be a servant. It did not embarrass Him to be
called a servant. He could have made himself of
reputation. It said he made himself of no
reputation. But he could have. Look who he was. We try to make
ourselves of a reputation. We're nobody. We're nobody. Really. But he's here. He says, Thou art my servant.
And he says, O Israel. But he's speaking here of Christ.
He's calling Christ, O Israel. Because as a prince, he has power
with God. He said, I know you always hear
me. He's always heard, and he always
gets what he will. He said, Father, and you and
I can't say this, but he said, Father, I will that those who
you give me will be with me in glory, that they may behold the
glory I had with you before the world was. Father, this is my
will. This is what I will. And you
know what? He's going to get it. He will
get exactly what He's asked for. He'll get it. That's why He calls
Him here, oh, Israel, as a prince, hath thou power with God, and
in whom I will be glorified. He says, God saying this, in
this one that I have called, this one who is my servant, I
will be glorified in this one. He was not glorified in the first
one, Adam, was He? Adam just, he defaced the glory
of God. But the Lord Jesus Christ, God
the Father says, in him I will be glorified. God the Father
was glorified in his life. His life was perfect. His obedience
to his parents, his obedience to the civil government, his
obedience wherever he was at, was perfect obedience. He honored
His Father in His life. He honored Him in His death.
He satisfied justice. He did that. And He will honor
Him in His final glory. Every knee's going to bow, and
every tongue's going to confess that He's Lord to the glory of
God the Father. In Him, He's glorified. God has glorified Him, the Lord
Jesus Christ. Then I said, I have labored in
vain, I have spent my strength for naught, and in vain, yet
surely my judgment is with the Lord, and my work with my God."
Now, I had to look at that one for a while. But here's what
he's saying, and I read several different things. Here's what
he said, although his labor appeared to be in vain among the Jews.
He said, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often would I have gathered
you together, as the hen gathers her brood, but you would not. It appeared, if you were just
looking at it outwardly, it appeared that it was in vain because the
nation of Israel as a whole rejected him. They despised him. They
couldn't stand him. But notice here what he does.
He committed himself to God for vindication. Boy, isn't that
the wise thing to do? Yet surely my judgment, he said,
my judgment is with the Lord, and my work with my God. My work
is with them that's before Him. God, He said, will be the judge
of my work. God will be the judge of my success.
God is the judge. Our labor in the Lord is not
in vain. He's the judge of it. If He saves
one or two people over twenty, thirty years, it's success because
He accomplished His purpose. And that's what He's saying here.
It may look like it was in vain to me, but the Lord is the judge
of my work. He's the judge of it. And now
saith the Lord that formed me from the womb to be his servant.
That's why he came into the world, because I came not to be ministered
unto, but to minister, and to give my life a ransom from many. He was formed from the womb to
be the Lord's servant. to bring Jacob again to him,
though Israel be not gathered. Yet, he says, shall I be glorious?
I shall be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and my God shall
be my strength. God is my strength. Although
the physical seed of Abraham rejected him, they rejected him,
yet he truly, he truly finished his work. He truly redeemed everyone
given to Him by the Father. He did not lose, and will not
lose, any of them. Not at all. He will not lose.
Not all of Israel are Israel, the Scripture says. There's a
remnant. There's a remnant among Israel,
and I tell you, there's a remnant among the Gentiles. And He has
redeemed them. Don't judge His work by people's
sins. Don't judge His work by, listen,
a small crowd. Don't judge His work by a few.
Don't say, well, there's not much going on. If He's going
on in your heart, there's much going on. I'm telling you, if
He's doing something in you, there's much going on. If you're
the only one, there's much going on. God's being glorified. Don't judge His work by feeble
sense. Not at all. We're out with appearance. He
is glorious, He said, in His Father's eyes. And He's glorious
in our eyes. and going to be much more glorious
when we see him as he is, and we see the final results of his
work. And he said, my strength is my God. Foolish is the man
who claims to be self-sufficient, who claims to be a self-made
man. I've heard that. Wouldn't you like to slap the
next person that says that? I am a self-made man. No, we're
self-made idiots. I'm telling you, we're self-made Well, we're not. I mean, I have
to control my tongue sometimes. But notice, you notice this.
Here is a man. Here is a perfect man. Here is a man that's also
God. And yet, he humbly, he humbly
trusted in God. He never claimed to do anything
or be self-sufficient at any time, ever. This is our Lord. He never claimed any self-sufficiency
of His own. Always referred to His Father.
You know what they said to Him when He was on the cross? They
said this, He trusted in God. Let's see if He'll deliver it.
The charge they brought against Him, He trusted, they knew that.
They knew this about him. He trusted in God. God, he said, shall be my strength.
And he said here in verse six, it is a light thing that thou
shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to
restore the preserves of Israel. He said, I will also give thee
for a light to the Gentiles. that thou mayest be my salvation
unto the end of the earth. His greater glory will be in
saving not the preserved of Israel only, but the preserved among
the Gentiles also." That's what he's saying here. That's what
he's saying. He said, I'll give thee for a
life to the Gentiles. Do you know how long the Gentiles
sat in darkness? About 4,000 years. About 4,000
years, Israel was given the Word of God. Israel was given the
types and the pictures. God spoke to Israel. He gave
them the prophecy. But you know, the Gentile world
for about 4,000 years was left alone. And then Christ comes
on the scene, and He's crucified, and He's barely risen. He goes
back to glory. And from that time, the Gospel
has come out to us. I will give thee for a light,
a light, a spiritual light." He said, I am the light of the
world. He's the light of God's glory. If we're going to see
it, we're going to see it in Him. We see God's righteousness
when we see Him. We see sin as it is when we see
Him. We see mercy and truth, righteousness
and peace kiss each other when we see Him. He's that light. He's the light. And he says here,
that thou mayest be my salvation. He is salvation itself. I'm not trusting, I'm telling
you this, I'm not trusting in an imputed righteousness.
I'm trusting in the Lord my righteousness. I'm not trusting in something
that was done and separated, I'm trusting in Christ. It is
Christ who is my righteousness. It is Christ who is my life.
It is Christ who is my salvation. David said, God has become, God
is become my salvation. God is become, when He came in
the flesh, when God became incarnate, He became my salvation. I just don't want to separate
those things from him. Martha said, Lord, I know my
brother will rise in the resurrection. Martha, listen. Listen to me. Listen. I am the resurrection. Quit looking for a myth. Look
to me. Look to me. Look to me. I am the light. He doesn't just give me light,
even though He does, but He's the light that's given. He's
the light that's given. You know, I won't get too long
here. Whenever Paul was on the road
to Damascus, and that light shined about him, and he said, Who art
thou, Lord? You know, that light was Christ. That light that shined about
him wasn't just a ray coming from the sun. That light that
shone around about him and covered him was Christ. He is that light. He's the bread from heaven. That thou mayest be my salvation.
How far? How far reaching is God's salvation? He says, until the end of the
earth. There is no part of this earth that is too dark for God's
grace to reach. It reached you, didn't it? It
reached me. Or then why should I ever despair
of reaching any place else? It's none too dark. Let's not
be guilty. I don't want to be guilty of
trying to limit God, like the Jews did. They said, you ain't
going to have anything to do with Gentiles. Well, yes, he
is. And he proved it. Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer
of Israel, and His Holy One, to Him whom man despises, to
Him whom the nations deplore, 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. The one who was despised and
rejected of men." That's why he's saying it right there. He
said, him who was despised. The one who was rejected. The
one who submitted to rulers. He submitted to the rule of Pilate,
and he paid tribute to Caesar, and he submitted to them. But
he says this. Although he's despised and rejected
of men, and he was obedient even to the civil laws, there's coming
a time that kings and princes are going to bow down to him.
This one that they spit on, they're going to bow down and kiss his
feet. You know why it says here? Because
the Lord is faithful. He's going to see to it that
it happens. The Father is going to see to it that the Son is
honored. He's going to see to it that
kings and princes fall down at His feet. He's going to see to
it, because He's faithful, faithful to His Word, faithful to the
promises of His Son in that covenant of grace. And notice here, it says here,
and He shall choose thee. He shall choose thee. This is
my Son in whom I am well pleased. This is my... Here he is. He's
the choice one of God. Behold, he says, mine elect.
When he talks about his elect, he starts with Christ first,
and then us in Christ. Thus saith the Lord in verse
eight. In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day
of salvation have I helped thee, and I will preserve thee and
give thee for a covenant of the people to establish the earth,
to cause to inherit the desolate heritages." I heard thee, he
said, in an acceptable time. He was always heard, but especially
when he was up on this earth and he went to the Garden of
Gethsemane, when he was in that garden under such agony and praying,
Sweating grape drops of blood. He was heard. He was heard. And he was helped. And he was
preserved. Even when he was a tender plant.
Herod tried to kill him. Tried to kill all the kids there,
the two-year-olds. And they were going to try to kill him. And
the angel said, you take him over into Egypt. He was always heard and helped
and preserved. Always. And he says here, I'll
give thee for a covenant of the people. There's a lot of things that's
in that covenant, promises as to us in Christ. But he himself is that covenant,
that covenant of grace that we talk about, that the Scriptures
speak of. He really is the embodiment of
that covenant. It all hinges on Him. It's all
in Him. Every bit of it, every promise,
everything about it that we are going to receive, we receive
how? Through Him. All the promises
of God in Him are what? Yea and amen. Not just by Him,
but in Him. In Him. He is. He is the covenant. He is the
mediator of it, the surety of it. His blood is the blood of
the covenant. It's Him. It's Him. And it will
be successful in His hands, what He says, the earth will be established. You know why this world's still
here? You know why this earth hasn't been destroyed? It's because
of Him. Because of Christ. He has a people
in it that was given to him in that country, and this earth
is established. You know, I can remember back
when I was in the second grade, we were, I think it was probably
second grade, I was worried about nuclear war with Russia, and
everything was going to, the body was going to blow up, and
everything was going to, well, I mean, there was a threat, but
we're still here, aren't we? I'll tell you why we're still
here, because of him. Because of Christ. He's the one
who controls all this. It's all hinged on Him. It's
all on Him. And here's the reason why, that
thou mayest say to the prisoners, go forth. To them that are in
darkness, spiritual darkness, show yourselves, come to the
light. They shall feed in the ways, and their pasture shall
be in all high places. He's the liberator. The servant
of the Lord is the liberator. Through the power of his blood
and righteousness, he is sent forth to set the captives free.
He said to the prisoner, go out of the pen. I found a ransom.
You're free. Don't hang around here. You're
free. And when he sets us free, he'll provide all we need, no
matter where we are, wherever life finds us. He'll provide
all we need. He shall feed them, He said,
in the ways. They'll not lack anything, not nothing. He cares for them. And they shall
not hunger nor thirst, neither shall the heat nor the sun smite
them. For He that hath mercy on them
shall lead them. He's not going to leave them.
It says He shall lead them. Like you would lead a child,
like you would take a child by the hand and lead that child,
even when you cannot perceive it, He's leading. When you can't even detect His
hand, when the clouds are so dark you can't even see the sunshine,
He's leading. He's leading. He shall feed us
in the way, and their pasture shall be in all high places.
And they'll not hunger or thirst. The heat of the sun will not
smite them, for he that hath mercy on them will lead them,
even by the springs of water shall he guide them. And I'll
make all my mountains away, and my highways shall be exalted.
No temptation, no trouble, no trial, no matter how high it
seems to be. Sometimes it seems like a high
mountain. If not, you will have one soon. Sooner or later you'll
run into that mountain. Just like the children of Israel
ran into the Red Sea. And you know when they hit that
Red Sea, it was like, boy, we're in trouble now. Nero's army is
behind us. How are we going to get out of
this? And what does God do? He split
the sea. He did what they didn't even
think about. I bet you not one Israelite, not even Moses, standing
there, thought about, well, that sea's going to split for us.
They stood there. Then God stepped forward and
split the sea. And they went over, it says,
on dry ground. They didn't get stuck in the
mud trying to get across. They went on dry ground, paved. It was like paved for them. That's
why he's saying here, the way, the mountains that's going to
be and the valleys. He said, I'll make a way. I'll
split them. If I have to split the mountain,
I will. If I have to move the mountain, I will. It's not a
problem to him. That's what he's saying. This
is not a problem with God. Not a problem at all. Behold,
thee shall come from afar, and lo, thee from the north and from
the west, and thee from the land of Shennanah. He'll gather his
people, he said, from all the four corners of the earth. None
of them shall be forgotten. They shall not be. I will not
forget thee. He died, what, 2,000 years ago.
Send it back to glory. And here you are, here I am,
believing the gospel. You know why? Because he didn't
forget you. I didn't forget you. You think
you could remember something 2,000 years from now? You won't
remember half this sermon before you get home. But He says, I will not forget
you. Sing, O heavens, now that gives you something to sing about,
doesn't it? And be joyful, O earth, and break forth into singing. For the Lord has comforted His
people. He sent them good news. He has sent His Son. God's people
have a reason to be happy. You and I have a reason to go
home tonight happy, even though things out there may not be so
kosher. Things out there might be tough. But I'm telling you,
we still have a reason to be happy, because we have a good
end. We have a good end. Comfort his people. But Zion said, oh, this is us. This is us. The Lord has forsaken
me, and my Lord has forgotten me. We're the only part of God's
creation that charges him with unfaithfulness. We're the only
thing God has created that charges God with folly, with forgetfulness. The Lord has forsaken me. Now
listen, he's given his son to die on a cross. He died under
the wrath of God. He buried, He took my hell, He
buried, He risen again. Do you think God's going to forget
you? Do you think God will forget
that one who He did all that for? No. No way. No way. No way. Sometimes it appears that we
are forsaken. But never, never. I know sometimes we ask, and
I know this, and I believe believers ask this sometimes. If I'm one
of his, why am I such a mess? Well, because you are a mess.
Really. I mean, that's one of those off-the-top-of-my-head
things, but you and I are a mess. But they're for our good. It's
everything for our good, even the mess. Even the mess is for
our good. It's for our good. He's promised
he'll never leave us nor forsake us. Let me close. Let me close. Can a woman forget her sucking
child that she should not have compassion on the son of her
womb? Yes, he says. Believe it or not, yes. We found them in dumpsters. Yes. They may forget. They will forget. Yet, I will not forget thee.
Don't compare me to a fallen creature. God is holy. Don't compare us. He said in
one of the Psalms, you thought I was altogether like yourselves.
He said, no, I won't forget. A mother may lose her natural
love for her child. As hard as that is to believe,
it's so. But never can God lose His love for His children. Never. Behold, listen, I have graven
thee. He took a knife and engraved
your name in his hand. I have engraved, I have graven
you. I have graven thee upon the palms
of my hands. And those nails, scarred hands
of Christ, are all our names. I have graven deep on the palms
of my hands thy walls, he says, thy walls, O Jerusalem, are continually
before me. To show his love, he says, I
have graven deep on the palms of my hands. We are never out
of his sight. David said this, thy thoughts
to us can not be reckoned up in order. Can't do it. Can't do it. Let me close with
verse 23. Let me close with verse 23. And kings shall be thy nursing fathers,
and their queens thy nursing mothers. They shall bow down
to thee with their face toward the earth, and lift up the dust
at thy feet. And thou shalt know that I am
the Lord, for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me. Wait on him. Wait on him. He said you'll not be ashamed.
Wait on the Lord, the Scripture says, and He shall strengthen
thy heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord. I tell you why you need
to wait on Him, and I tell you why I need to wait on Him. Because
He won't forget us. He won't forget to come and get
us. He knows where we are. He takes them out every day,
here and there. He doesn't forget where we are.
You'll not be ashamed. You'll not be ashamed. Okay,
bye.