Okay, well, we come to Zechariah
chapter 9 this week, and I've called this message, Even the
Gentile Nations Made Willing. You know, it says that God makes
his people willing in the day of his power, Psalm 110. Well,
his people, and many still think it to this day, is the race of
Jews in the country of Israel in the Middle East. But no, no,
we're talking about the Israel of God, which is quite a different
thing. And even the Gentile nations, says this chapter, 500 years
plus before Christ came, even the Gentiles made willing in
the day of his power. You see, the Old Testament Jews
regarded the Gentiles, the non-Jews, with contempt to them God was
interested in Abraham's offspring alone, but hold on, not even
that, only that line that came from Isaac, for in Isaac shall
the seed be. But throughout scripture again
and again we read, such as Isaiah chapter 10 and verse 11, the
Gentiles shall seek the root of Jesse. The root of Jesse was
David, who is a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. The branch,
the man that is called the branch. It says the Gentiles shall seek
him. In Isaiah 42 and verse 6, the
promised Messiah who is going to come will be a light to the
Gentiles, not just to the Jews, to the Gentiles. God so loved
not just one nation, but God so loved people from every nation. God so loved the world that he
gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth on him should
not perish. The innumerable multitude that
the Apostle John saw in his vision in Revelation when he looked
In Revelation chapter 7, I think it is, isn't it? When he looked
there, he saw all the tribes on earth, but then he looked
and he saw a multitude in heaven that no man could number. An
innumerable multitude made up of every tongue. and tribe and
kindred. This is the Israel of God. As
Galatians 6 verse 16 says, the Israel of God is the people of
God, chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world,
loved with an everlasting love. And we use those words glibly,
but we don't think about the implications as clearly as we
ought. When it says loved with an everlasting love, if it's
God that's done the loving with an everlasting love, What can
God not do? He cannot stop loving those people. He will love them from before
the beginning of time to after the end of time. You see, Israel
is Jacob. Jacob was the one who was first
called Israel. And why did God call him that?
Jacob was the sinner. Jacob was the swindler. He was
the cheat. He was the deceitful one. He
robbed his brother of his birthright. Jacob was the swindler. But he
was called Israel, because why? Israel means prince with God.
And all the people of God, loved in Christ from before the foundation
of the world, are made Israel. They're made princes with God,
composed of every tongue and tribe and kindred. God's Spirit
underlined this fact in the prophecy given to Zechariah that we have
before us now. It was 500 years plus, maybe
550, before Christ came into the world. Now look at the Verse
at the end of the chapter we looked at last week, chapter
eight, verse 23. Thus saith the Lord of hosts,
in those days it shall come to pass that ten men shall take
hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take
hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, we will go
with you, for we have heard that God is with you. All of the nations
saying to the Jews in this prophecy, we've heard that God is with
you. We will go with you. We want to go with you. That's
what this is speaking about. This is the message of Zechariah
chapter nine. 10 men out of all nations and
all languages shall seek the true God because he will make
people of all nations willing in the day of his power. That's
what Zechariah chapter 9 is about. There are several commentators
who say it's about the military conquests of Alexander the Great
because shortly after this time was the time when Alexander the
Great came on the stage of history and the great Greek Empire was
the one that was following on in Nebuchadnezzar's dream. There
was the head of gold and then the silver and then the brass
and then the legs of iron which is Rome. And Alexander's was,
I think that was the midriff, wasn't it? That was Alexander's
empire. And it all fits in historically.
But a lot of commentators say that these verses are about Alexander
the Great. And the reason they say that
is if you look over to verse 13, it clearly mentions there,
thy sons, O Greece. O Greece, it's quite clear there.
So they say, oh, it's all about Alexander the Great. What did
Jesus say about the scriptures? What did Jesus say about the
Old Testament scriptures? He said, these are they which
speak of me. When he was risen from the dead
and he went with the disciples and he met with them in the upper
room in Luke 24, and it says, he expounded to them, where?
In all the scriptures. What? The things concerning himself. We must look for Christ in everything. And this speaks to us today.
This chapter speaks to us today, two and a half thousand years
or more on. How can a little gathering like
this make progress, be successful for the kingdom of God? How can
it make a scrap of difference? Answer, faithfully proclaim here
in this room, in this village hall, in this little place in
southern England, on the internet, because it all goes out on the
internet, and is white, never before. You think about what's
happened in the last 20 years, I would say, 20 years, not much
more than that. But the gospel, the true gospel,
is available in more parts of the world today than it's ever
been before. on our website, through books, through sermon
audio. It's amazing the reach of this
sort of thing. We faithfully proclaim the accomplished
salvation of our Lord Jesus Christ, and we leave God to do the calling. We leave God to do the making
willing in the day of his power, or to pass by whomsoever he will. For what does God say? This is
my greatest glory, says God. That which religion thinks is
the most vile idea, but to God it's his greatest glory. I will
be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion
on whom I will have compassion. Is he not the potter and humanity
the clay for him to make of it what he will? So then let's have
a look at these first eight verses. and see the Gentiles subdued
by gospel grace. In the first eight verses, Stephen
read them to us earlier. It is no doubt a difficult passage. It is no doubt mysterious, dark
sayings it says in parts of scripture. How do we read it? How do we
come to it? Do we just come to it and say,
well, there's nothing of Christ in that, cannot possibly be anything
of Christ in that. Or do we come to it from the
paradigm, the basic fundamental approach through the lens of
gospel truth. We look at it through the lens,
you know they say you look through rose-colored spectacles, well
we need to look at this through gospel-colored spectacles always. If we're to see what Christ said
and apply what he said about it all speaking of him, we must
come and look at it all through the spectacles of gospel truth.
In context, where it is, sandwiched between what? Verse 23 of chapter
8, Look, all languages and nations shall come and say, we want to
go with you, for God is with you. And verse nine of chapter
nine. Rejoice, oh greatly, oh daughter
of Zion. Shout, oh daughter of Jerusalem.
Behold, your kings come to you. He is just and having salvation.
If it's sandwiched in there, there must be something about
the gospel in this. I used to hear people say in
a very superior way, oh, we shouldn't over-spiritualize scripture.
We shouldn't do that. Sorry, why not? If Christ has
given us the mandate to spiritualize scripture in this way, to look
at this historical narrative and say we're going to look at
it through the spectacles of gospel grace, why not do that?
Why not? The Gentile peoples, in chapter
8 verse 23, are seeking the God of the Jews. Why should it suddenly
then become a passage of eight verses about the military conquests
of Alexander the Great? So, the burden, the first two
words of chapter nine, the burden, you think, oh, that's heavy,
that's dour, no, no, in this context, the burden, is joyful
news. This is a joyful burden. This
is the burden of the word of the Lord. This is joyful news.
Robert Hawker, who I love his writings, he paraphrases verse
1 like this. He says, in Damascus it was said,
we will go with God's people and his word shall rest there.
Robert Hawker wrote that about 200 years ago. We will go with God's people
in Damascus. Damascus, you can go there today.
It's not a particularly safe place to go, but it's perfectly
possible to go there. The news correspondents go there
and look at all the conflicts going on. In Damascus, in Damascus,
Syrian, not the people of God in the Old Testament. In Damascus,
where there are heathen doing heathen practices with heathen
customs, terrible, terrible things. In Damascus, in Damascus, we
will go with God's people. There are people in Damascus
who will say, we will go with God's people and his word shall
rest there in Damascus. The eyes of man, it says, when
the eyes of man as of all the tribes of Israel, the eyes of
man in general, the eyes of man amongst the Gentile nations,
as of all the tribes of Israel amongst whom there were the true
Israel of God, who were looking toward the Lord, the eyes of
man in general, shall be toward the Lord. The eyes of man looking
unto Jesus. Run the race set before us, looking
unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Then verse 2. And
Hamath also shall border thereby Tyre and Sidon, though it be
very wise. Again, these are places that
are there. Now, Hamath is a bit mysterious. It possibly is the
same place as Antioch. where Paul went and ministered. It's possibly that place where
Paul went and ministered and spent some time there before
he and Barnabas were sent out on the missionary journeys. It's
where the Gentiles had languished in spiritual darkness. Isaiah
chapter 9 You know these verses well, but Isaiah chapter nine,
verse one, nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her
vexation when at first he lightly afflicted, here it is, the land
of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously
afflict her by the way of the sea. That's this region, Antioch,
Tyre, Sidon, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations. Look,
verse two, the people, this is Isaiah nine, verse two, The people
that walked in darkness, the darkness of spiritual blindness,
the darkness of spiritual night, no knowledge of God, no knowledge
of the truth. Those people, those Gentile heathen
people, it says in Isaiah's prophecy, 800 years before Christ came,
have seen a great light. They that dwell in the land of
the shadow of death, upon them has the light shined. Because
why? Why upon them has a light shined?
Verse six, for unto us. A child is born, and to us a
son is given, and the government shall be on his shoulder, and
his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the
Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Christ is coming. It
was there in Antioch, maybe this place Hamath, quite likely that
it was this place Hamath, Antioch. It was there in Acts chapter
11 and verse 26 that the disciples were first called Christians.
These people that followed this weird sect, they called them
Christians first. That's what it says in Acts 11,
26. In verses three and four of these
eight verses, verses three and four, Tyrus did build herself
a stronghold, and heaped up silver as dust, and fine gold as the
mire, the mud of the, it was so common, they built up riches
for themselves. Behold, the Lord will cast her
out. Is this casting out of all worldly
fleshly confidence? Because you know, when people
are identified amongst those who are the people of God, the
true circumcision of God, the true Israel of God, you know
what they do? They worship God in the Spirit
and they rejoice in Christ Jesus. And they don't have any confidence
in silver heaped up as dust, or gold as the mire of the streets.
They have no confidence in that. Then in verses five and seven,
Ashkelon shall see it and fear, and be very sorrowful. Ekron,
of her expectation, shall be ashamed, and the king shall perish
from Gaza, and Ashkelon shall not be inhabited. And a bastard
shall dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines.
What's this about? Well, Amos and Zephaniah also
spoke in their prophecies of God's judgment against these
Gentile peoples. But look what it says, verse
6. A bastard, and as Stephen pointed
out, I mean, it comes across as a bit shocking when your eyes
first read it. But what it's saying is it's one who is not
numbered amongst the people of God. one who is not accounted
amongst the Israel of God as it was then recognized, but one
who is made by his grace. For look what it says of him
in verse 7, I will take away his blood out of his mouth and
his abominations from his teeth, but he that remaineth, even he
shall be for our God. It's speaking about a Gentile
amongst those heathen nations being one who has gone after
the God of the Jews. God is with them. He's gone after
them. He shall be for our God. And this resonates with Isaiah. Turn with me, if you can, to
Isaiah chapter 19. Isaiah chapter 19. Who are the people of God in
the Old Testament? Who are the people that God calls his people
in the Old Testament? Well, you would say Israel, the
Jews, the descendants of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, that
line. They're the ones who are the
people of God, are they not? Look at verse 18 of Isaiah chapter
19. In that day, in the day of grace
in which we live, in that day, you see, it's ringing to the
same tone, is this, shall five cities of the land of Egypt speak
the language of Canaan, where the people of God dwell, and
swear to the Lord of hosts. One shall be called the city
of destruction. In that day there shall be an altar to the Lord
in the midst of the land of Egypt and a pillar at the border thereof.
What a shocking statement. In the land of Egypt, which is
where God brought the people out of, there's going to be an
altar to the Lord and it shall be for a sign and for a witness
unto the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt for they shall
cry unto the Lord because of the oppressors and he shall send
them a savior and a great one and he shall deliver them and
the Lord shall be known to Egypt and the Egyptians shall know
the Lord in that day and shall do sacrifice and oblation yea
they shall vow a vow unto the Lord and perform it and the Lord
shall smite Egypt and he shall listen For where we're reading
about Egypt, think of the world in which we live all around us
today. You know, the world all around us that wants absolutely
nothing to do with the things of God, with the true gospel,
with the gospel of grace. Think about that, and what does
God say? They will. They will. The Lord shall be
known to those people. There will be of those people
to whom the Lord shall be known. The Lord shall smite Egypt, smite
it with conviction of sin. He shall smite and heal it. And
they shall return even to the Lord, and he shall be entreated
of them. They'll pray to him, and he shall
heal them. In that day there shall be a
highway of Egypt to Assyria, both symbolical of the enemies
of the people of God. And the Assyrian shall come into
Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptian shall
serve the Assyrians. In that day shall Israel be a
third with Egypt. They'll all be ranked together.
Israel that was known as the only people of God will be ranked
together with Assyria and Egypt, of whom there will be the people
of God. Even a blessing in the midst of Israel, whom the Lord
of hosts shall bless, saying this, listen to this, and as
I say, imagine this world around us, unbelieving, that's Assyria
and Egypt to us in the context of this. This is what the Lord
of hosts shall bless, saying, blessed be Egypt, my people. God calls Egypt his people. And Assyria, he calls the work
of his hands. And Israel, mine inheritance.
You see, God is calling people from every tribe and tongue and
kindred. Israel's political enemies called
the people of God. This should encourage us in this
world. that God has said He will call those who are the enemies
of the people of God, the enemies of the truth of God, and He will
make them His people. He will call them His people.
And then in verse 8, protects his people? How does he protect
his people, his house, all of them together? How does he protect
them? Because there's one who oppresses that goes by. The one
who oppresses is Satan, the accuser of the brethren, bringing down
the fact upon our heads that we're unworthy for heaven and
for the kingdom of God. But God will encamp about his
house because of him that passes by, because of him that returns. No oppressor shall pass through
anymore. Why not? Because Christ has accomplished
salvation. Who shall bring any charge to
God's elect? It is Christ that has died. Who
shall oppress or lay any charge in that way? Well, how do we
know? How do we know this? What's going to accomplish it?
That's our next section, from verse 9 down to verse 11. Rejoice greatly, behold thy King. Of course, if you know Handel's
Messiah well, which I do. You can't read these words without
the tunes echoing. I hope it isn't a distraction
from reality. I just love it, but it's so clear
here, isn't it? Behold thy king, rejoice greatly. What will be the fulfillment?
Remember, what were they doing in Zachariah's day? They were
building the ruined temple. They were restoring the ruined
temple. God had promised it would be
finished. It would be fulfilled. What will be the fulfillment
of the completed picture? You know, they're building a
picture, which is the restoration of a physical temple in Jerusalem.
What will be the fulfillment of what that picture represents?
Answer, God coming as man to accomplish the salvation of his
elect multitude from all nations. That's what it will be. That
which they will build and they'll finish and they'll put the headstone
on it and they'll cry grace, grace unto it, it will be fulfilled
when God comes as a man. The glory of this second house,
it says in Haggai, the glory of this second house, the old
men were weeping because this ruin was nothing like the temple
of Solomon that they'd seen destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. But he said,
the glory of this will be much greater. Why? Because the Son
of God would come and walk the courts of that restored temple
in Jerusalem. And he would then say, he's going
to fulfill it all. And in fulfilling it all, the
Romans would then sweep it away forevermore. And that's where
we are now. God was coming as a man to accomplish the salvation
of his elect multitude. Not to make it possible, to accomplish
it. Not to give everybody an opportunity,
but to finish it, to complete it. looking from their date 500
plus years forward in history, from our date looking back 2,000
years for us. There is no rejoicing whatsoever. There is no rejoicing in a heathen
people being the people of God, none whatsoever, except this
one come. He must come. There is no satisfaction
of divine justice for his sinful elect, except God shed his own
blood. How can God shed his own blood?
He must become a man in the likeness of sinful flesh, made of a woman,
made under the law to redeem those who are under the law.
From the promised seed of the woman in Genesis 3.15, from that
promised seed of the woman then, all the way through scripture,
the message is the same. He must come. Look at Psalm 118. Psalm 118 and verse 21. I will praise thee, for thou
hast heard me, and art become my salvation. The stone which
the builders refused is become the headstone of the corner.
This is Christ, this is our God in flesh. This is the Lord's
doing. It is marvellous in our eyes.
This is the day which the Lord hath made, the day when he will
come. We will rejoice and be glad in it. Save now, I beseech
thee, O Lord. Lord, I beseech thee, send now
prosperity. Blessed be he that cometh in
the name of the Lord. We have blessed you out of the
house of the Lord. God is the Lord which hath showed
us light. Bind the sacrifice with cords,
et cetera, et cetera. Thou art my God, I will praise
thee. It's there that he is coming. Isaiah chapter 40, comfort my
people, comfort my people, speak comfortably to Jerusalem. Tell
them what? That their warfare is finished. What warfare? The
warfare with Satan and the powers of hell and that which would
drag us down to hell. Why? Because we have received
of the Lord's hand double. What does it mean when we receive
double? It means that we've received the exact mirror image required
to establish justice. Our sins require a payment. We've received the double of
it. We've received exactly what God requires to redeem us from
the curse of that sin. He says, go and prepare the Lord's
way. In the desert, in the wilderness,
prepare the way of the Lord. In this world, prepare the way
of the Lord, that the glory of the Lord might be revealed. The
glory of the Lord? The salvation of the Lord. Behold
your God. Say unto the cities of Judah,
behold your God. The King of God's kingdom fulfilled
exactly as we read right at the start in Matthew 21 verses 4
to 9. All this was done that it might
be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet. In Jerusalem
Jesus said go and get that colt, that foal of an ass and bring
it, and I must ride into Jerusalem. Why? Because the scripture 500
plus years before had said, it must be done. Tell you the daughter
of Zion. There it is, it's the words there.
Oh, daughter of Zion, tell them, rejoice. Behold, your king comes
to you, sitting upon an ass, and occult the foal of an ass.
And the disciples went and did exactly as it was said. And they
cried, Hosanna to the Son of David. Hosanna? Do you know what
Hosanna means? Hosanna? It means save, I pray
you. Oh Lord, save me, I pray you.
They're praying to the Son of David, to the promised Messiah.
Oh Lord, save me from my sins. Just exactly as it was fulfilled. Here it is, he comes. He is just
and having salvation. He is just. You see, he comes
and he saves his people, not by violating divine justice,
but by establishing divine justice. What is it that satisfies the
justice of God? It's the blood of a suitable
sacrifice. It's the death, it's the life.
The soul that sins, it shall die. And the life is in the blood. And the blood must be shed, but
not any blood. It must be the blood of an acceptable
sacrifice. And he is just. He is just and
justifier of those who believe in Christ. For our God is a just
God. He doesn't sweep sin under the
carpet. He is a just God and a savior. Because in saving his
people from their sins, He takes that sin upon himself in his
own body on the tree and pays its full price before the justice
of God, which is satisfied, which is satisfied. The king of the
universe, the supreme almighty God, the creator, the one who
even now upholds all things by the word of the power of the
Lord Jesus Christ, God manifest, the judge to whom we must give
account. He came into the world. Behold,
thy king cometh unto thee, yet not as a king in pomp and regal
majesty. No, not like that, but meek.
and lowly of heart. That's what he said, I am meek
and lowly of heart. He emptied himself of all that
divine majesty of heaven. Philippians 2 verses 5 to 11,
read it all, but in verse 7 it says this, he was made of no
reputation. To the eyes of sinful man, unbelieving
man, he was made of no reputation. He took upon him the form of
a servant. He was made in the likeness of
men because he was, he looked like a man. There was no form
nor comeliness in him that we should desire him. He looked
like a man, yet without sin. And he was humbled. And he was
obedient. How obedient was he? It tells
us there. He was obedient unto death. Which
death? The most cursed, shameful death,
the death of the cross. He didn't come on a white stallion. He came on an ass, the colt of
an ass. Not as a white stallion, which
he will come as. In Revelation 19 and verse 11, "'I saw heaven open,' says John.
"'And behold, a white horse, a magnificent beast. "'And he
that sat upon him was called Faithful and True. "'And in righteousness
doth he make war.' "'And then in verse 16, "'And he had on
his vesture and on his thigh a name written, "'King of Kings
and Lord of Lords. "'Oh yes, he will come on a white
stallion, "'but here in time to accomplish salvation, He comes
on an ass's colt. Why on an ass's colt? He's identifying
with us. He's identifying with the people
he came to save. Why? Job chapter 11 verse 12.
be born like a wild ass's colt. And here he comes, identifying
with us. Man be born as a wild ass's colt,
found in fashion as a man. It says, found in fashion as
a man. In verse 10, he will cut off
the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem, and
the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace unto
the heathen, and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea,
and from the river even to the ends of the earth, that's the
kingdom of God. That's the kingdom of God. I know the modern Israel
fanatics use that phrase and their enemies rise up against
them, this sea to the sea, from the river to the sea. It's a
picture of that which is the people, the land of God, the
kingdom of God. God's kingdom set up on earth,
what does it say? Without earthly weapons. I will cut off the chariot from
Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle... They won't
be the weapons of this world, because why? The weapons of the
warfare of the people of God, 2 Corinthians 10 verse 4, the
weapons of our warfare are not carnal, they're not fleshly,
they're not physical, but they're mighty through God to the pulling
down of strongholds. We see strongholds all around
us. But the weapons of our warfare, our warfare, the kingdom of God's
warfare, is mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds.
And look, he shall speak peace unto the heathen. God shall speak
peace unto those who are naturally not his people. He shall speak
peace unto the Gentiles. Ephesians 2.14 says this, he
is our peace. It's talking there about the
difference between Jews and Gentiles, but he's saying, Paul is saying
in Ephesians 2 that Jews and Gentiles are made one, we're
all one in Christ Jesus. He is our peace who has made
both one and has broken down the middle wall of petition between
us. This is the covenant of peace in the Saviour's blood. It's
the foundation stone of all the hopes of his people. This foundation
stone. Behold, I lay in Zion a cornerstone,
rejected of men, rejected of religion, but the hope of his
people. As David said, as he was dying
in 2 Samuel 23 verse 5. Although my house be not so with
God, oh, this world all around me, I'm just afflicted with all
sorts of troubles. Yet God has made with me an everlasting
covenant, ordered in all things and sure. For this is all my
salvation and all my desire, although he make it not to grow.
It didn't seem as if it was prospering there, yet that was the truth.
Is that not our testimony? Believer, if you believe this,
and you know that that time is coming when you must leave this
life, oh, to be able to say what David says. He's made with me
an everlasting covenant in all things and sure, for this is
all my salvation and all my desire. This is as the stone cut without
hands in Nebuchadnezzar's dream. You know, in that dream of that
great statue, but there was a little tiny stone cut out without hands
and it came and filled the whole earth and it ground to powder
all those kingdoms of the earth. How does God's kingdom triumph?
How does his kingdom triumph? by the blood of the Lamb. It
says that in Revelation 12, verse 11. How did they overcome Satan?
By the blood of the Lamb. Exactly as in verse 11 here. As for thee also, by the blood
of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit
wherein is no water. Exactly as that blood of the
covenant, as it says in the benediction in Hebrews, at the end of Hebrews,
verse 20 in chapter 13, 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, make you perfect in
every good work to do his will, working in you that which is
well-pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory
forever and ever. Exactly like that. Sin keeps
sinners bound in prison, but precious blood has paid their
ransom price. And that's the key thing to note,
that's the key thing, that's the key principle, that everything
concerning our eternal destiny is resting in that precious blood
of this one that came according to the prophecy and rode on an
ass into Jerusalem to die in the place of his people, exactly
as he declared in the synagogue in Nazareth. He said exactly
these things. For the sake of time, we won't
look at it now. But in here, it says, he brought forth his
prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water. Read those verses
of Jesus preaching in the synagogue in Nazareth. He talks about he
came to fulfill scripture. Here, look, Psalm 40 verse 2,
God brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry
clay of sin, and set my feet upon a rock, and that rock was
Christ. Well, verses 12 to 17, we haven't
time to look in detail, but read them for yourselves. It's talking
about those who are not naturally the people of God, Israel, in
an Old Testament sense, being made willing to turn to God. What can we do to persuade people
to turn to God's stronghold? He's a stronghold, look. Verse
12, turn you to the stronghold. We read that and we sang that
in one of the hymns earlier. Turn you to the stronghold. Christ
is our stronghold. Turn you to the stronghold, ye
prisoners of hope. What can we do to persuade people
to turn to God's stronghold? Answer, only declare, proclaim. witness to, testify to, be willing
to give a reason, ready to give a reason to anyone who asks about
the hope that is in us, that good news, that truth of salvation,
just salvation from sin's condemnation, not trying better, not turning
over a new leaf, but the fact that God has shed his blood to
pay my sin debt. Say to them as the Samaritan
woman said to the men and women of her village, come and see
a man that told me all things I ever did, and leave the rest
to God. So many who call themselves Christians
are fussing to try and produce success as the world counts success. No, just declare this message,
God says, and leave the rest to God. He shall save them. He shall save them as his own
sheep. If you go down there, it's talking
about the flock of the people of God. They shall be as the
stones of a crown lifted up. Verse 17, for how great is his
goodness and how great is his beauty. How great. This is a
glorious gospel that we have to declare. that we have to say
to this fallen world, which is lost in hopelessness, we have
this glorious gospel that God in Christ has accomplished salvation,
has paid the penalty for the sins of his people, that his
people might be with him forevermore. Does this world and its fleshly
distractions, which are all around us, does it tempt your feet to
slip away from the faith of God's elect? Well, look again here
and see the certainty of the triumph of God's kingdom. And
rejoice if you believe that you have a part in it. Rejoice if
you believe you have a part in it, you've got nothing more precious
or valuable. And press on to the end, as we
said last week, looking unto Jesus.