We read before from 1st Kings
and chapter 3 of the two women that come before King Solomon
who had two sons but the one son died in the night as the
mother laid upon him and she exchanged her son with the other
mother's son and they came unto the king disputing whose son
the living was. We read from verse 23 that, Then
said the king, The one saith, This is my son that liveth, and
thy son is the dead. And the other saith, Nay, but
thy son is the dead, and my son is the living. And the king said,
Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before
the king. And the king said, Divide the
living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the
other. Then spake the woman whose the
living child was unto the king, for her bowels yearned upon her
son, and she said, O my lord, give her the living child, and
in no wise slay it. But the other said, Let it be
neither mine nor thine, but divide it. Then the king answered and
said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it. She is
the mother thereof. And all Israel heard of the judgment
which the king had judged, and they feared the king, for they
saw that the wisdom of God was in him to do judgment. And all Israel heard of the judgment
which the king had judged, and they feared the king, for they
saw that the wisdom of God was in him to do judgment. All Israel heard. They heard of the king. They
heard of his judgment. They heard of his wisdom. And
they feared the king. In this we see a picture of all
God's people. All Israel. All spiritual Israel. All God's elect, every child
of God, all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged.
All God's people hear, all believers hear of the king, of his righteousness,
of his judgment, of his wisdom. that the wisdom of God is in
him to do judgment. All Israel heard. And all believers hear. They
hear of Christ. They hear of the judgment of
God. The sword of God which fell down
upon the sun and slew the sun in the place of his people. that
they who were once dead should live. All Israel heard. Have you heard? Have you heard? All believers hear, they will
hear, and they rejoice in the message of their king and his
righteousness, his grace, his mercy, his love. his wondrous wisdom in salvation. All believers hear, they hear
because they want to know. They want to know that their
God reigns, that their king is on his throne. They want to know
that their king judges righteously, that he's a righteous and a good
judge. They want to know that he's wise.
They want to hear of his wisdom. And they want to know of the
judgment which the king judged, that they were a part of it.
And when the son of God died upon the tree, they want to know
that he died for them in particular. Do you want to know? I want to
know. I want to know that my sins have
been forgiven. I want to know that when God
rained down judgment upon his own son, when he laid the sins
of his people upon his own son and judged him in the place of
sinners, I want to know that he put my sins away, that Christ
paid the price for my sins. I want to know that they've been
blotted out. I want to know that the price
has been paid. I want to know that my Lord has
ransomed me. He's paid the ransom price. He's
redeemed me. He set me free. I want to know
that God has judged righteous judgment. That in righteousness
those sins were judged. and that they've been taken away. I want to know that when Christ
died, that he died in my place and justly took away my sins. It's not enough for me to know
the gospel and hear of Christ and his death. It's not enough
to know that Christ died for sinners. It's not enough to know
that Christ bore the sins of His people and God justly judged
them in Him. I want to know that He bore my
sins and that when His blood was shed, my sins were blotted
out, were washed in that blood and righteousness, justice was
satisfied. I want to know that this King
This wise king is my king. And I want to know that this
king whose judgment is to be feared reigns, that he reigns
over all, that he's all-powerful, that he's sovereign, that he's
mighty, almighty. I want to know that my Saviour,
my King, Jesus Christ reigns and He reigns today. That when
He died, He overcame death. He took away sin. He took away
the judgment. He took away death. He rose again
mightily. He finished the work. He accomplished
salvation. I want to know that He rose and
that He ascended. into glory to the right hand
of his father, and that today at this moment he sits upon a
throne and reigns, that he rules over all things, that he's sovereign,
that he's powerful, that he's just, that he's wise. I want to know that all things
are in his hands, that he rules over all things, that he is greatly
to be feared. Because if my King reigns, if
Christ indeed rose from the dead victorious, if he accomplished
the work of salvation and reigns over all things today, then there's
nothing to be feared in this world. There's no enemy that can come
upon me, who can slay me, There's no enemy whom he has not defeated. He is judge over all, he is king
over all, he is lord of lords and king of kings, he reigns. I want to know that when trouble
comes my way, that when trials come my way, that when enemies
rise up against me, that when circumstances come
upon me that I cannot overcome in which I cannot stand in my
own strength when the storm and the tempest comes up and the
winds rage and I'm overwhelmed I want to know that there's a
rock higher than I There's a tower, there's a fortress into which
I can run. There's one upon whom I can stand,
that I can lean, that I can trust, who rules over all. I want to know, when the storms
come, that my king rules, that he will put me in his ark and
lead me through to safety. I want to know that God is sovereign
and that the King, the Lord Jesus Christ, is God and rules over
all. Do you know? Do you know this
King? Do you know of his judgment which
he has judged? Do you know that the wisdom of
God is in him? to do judgment. Have you heard? All Israel heard of the judgment
which the king had judged, and they feared the king, for they
saw that the wisdom of God was in him to do judgment. They feared not man, they feared
the king, for he ruled. Have you heard? Have you heard? God's people will be brought
to here in time when God sends his gospel unto them, when by
his spirit he speaks mightily into their souls and opens their
blind eyes to see and causes their deaf ears to hear. and
puts faith in their hearts to believe. When he comes unto the
graveside and calls out unto them, come forth, then the dead
shall live. God's people hear. Maybe not
at first. Maybe they hear of this king
at first and they're offended. Maybe they're offended at his
judgment, offended at his wisdom. There comes a time when by His
Spirit God causes them to hear. To hear inwardly in a way they've
never heard. To hear words within that they
only heard without. To hear in the heart. To hear
believingly. To hear unto salvation. Jesus
writes in John's Gospel, hear my voice and I know them and
they follow me and I give unto them eternal life and they shall
never perish neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. The day is coming and now is
when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God and live. Have you heard? My sheep hear
my voice, and I know them, and they follow me, and I give unto
them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any
man pluck them out of my hand. Oh, what a promise. All Israel
heard. And all God's Israel will hear. They will hear the Gospel. They will hear the voice of the
Son of God, though they be dead. Though they be dead in sins and
trespasses. Though they be so blind. Though they be so deaf by nature,
though they be so hard of heart, there comes a day when God by
His gospel will break them, will melt them, will cause their heart
to melt before Him when they will hear of the judgment which
the King had judged. and when they will fear, for
they see that the wisdom of God is in him to do judgment. All Israel heard of the judgment
which the king had judged. They heard of how this king, this wise king,
dealt with these two women, of how he called for that sword
of justice, of how he was prepared to act, of how that sword brought
forth the true from the false. Then the king answered and said,
give her the living child and in no wise slay it. She is the
mother thereof. They heard of his judgment. They
heard of his judgment in this matter. They heard of his wisdom
and they feared him. But in so hearing, those who were given faith heard
of a king greater than Solomon. and heard of a judgment greater
than this, and heard of wisdom greater than any man's. For in
this they see the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. In this
they see a God who judges righteously, a God who was prepared to offer
up His Son, to slay His Son, to bring forth the sword of justice
upon his son in order to deliver his people from their sins. All Israel heard of the judgment
which the king had judged. And all God's people shall hear
of the judgment which the king judged, which God judged in his
son Jesus Christ. that judgment that Christ the
King of Kings suffered in the place of his people that sword
of justice which was brought down upon him to divide the living
from the dead to bring forth life unto those who were once dead God spared not his own son, but
offered him up as a sacrifice for sinners. Have you heard of his judgment?
If God would do this to his son, how righteous, how just is he? Sin must be judged. It cannot
be spared. It cannot be dismissed, ignored. God's forgiveness does not stand
in turning a blind eye to sin, it must be judged. And if it's judged in Christ,
on our behalf, then we will be spared. But if we know not Christ,
If we care not for Him, if His blood was not shed on our behalf,
then this God who spares not judgment, this righteous God,
this holy God, must bring forth a sword and must bring it down
in judgment upon us. No wonder Israel heard of the
judgment which the king had judged and feared the king. This was a king who was righteous
and just, who spared not judgment. And
the Lord God will deal righteously with our sins. If we live in hatred of Him,
if we reject Him, If we go all our days in rebellion against
him, there will be a price to pay. He cannot ignore. He cannot ignore our unbelief.
He cannot ignore our hatred. He cannot ignore our wretchedness. He cannot ignore our vileness.
He cannot ignore our pride and our arrogance and our self-righteousness. He cannot spare it. How many
come before Him full of their own self-righteousness, and yet
they will not bow down unto Him. They will not believe in His
righteousness. They will not own that they have
no righteousness before a holy God, that they're guilty through
and through. Where do you stand? Do you look
at yourself inwardly and see your sin? Or do you reject the very idea?
Or do you look upon your good works, your deeds, your self-righteousness and think
that God should be pleased with you? Do you deny His justice and His
judgment that declares that all have sinned and fallen short
of the glory of God. All the world is guilty and judgment and righteousness
demands a penalty. We've broken God's law in every
sense, in every regard, in every command, in every facet, every
day, every hour, every moment of our lives, we live in unbelief. And that law commands and demands
the death of the sinner. There's a penalty to be paid.
there's a price to be paid and we cannot pay it the price for
our breaking of that law is death eternal death, the second death,
a death that lasts forever we cannot pay this price the sword will come down in judgment
either upon us for eternity or upon another in our place What is it for you? Have you heard of the judgment
which the king had judged? Have you heard that he took a
sword, and that God slew his son, that
sinners like you and I should be spared? All Israel heard of the judgment
which the king had judged and they feared the king. They feared
the king. Whom do you fear? And what do
you fear? Do you fear men? Do you fear
poverty? Do you fear misery? Do you fear illness? Do you fear death? Or do you
fear the king? All Israel heard of the judgment
which the king had judged, and they feared the king. We see this in God's people.
In Acts 9 we read, Then had the churches rest throughout all
Judea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified. and walking
in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost
were multiplied. They feared God, not man. And their fear was not a fear that brought them to terror. Their fear was a reverence and
a trust and a belief in a God who was all-powerful, who ruled
over all, who was righteous and holy, and who was their Saviour. In Revelation 15, we read these words, And I saw
another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels
having the seven last plagues for in them is filled up the
wrath of god and i saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with
fire and them that had gotten the victory over the beast and
over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name stand on the sea of glass having
the harps of god And they sing the song of Moses, the servant
of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous
are thy works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are thy ways, thou
King of saints! Who shall not fear thee, O Lord,
and glorify thy name? For thou only art holy. For all nations shall come and
worship before thee, for thy judgments are made manifest. Solomon was but a picture in
his wisdom and his judgment and his reign of this king of whom
we read in John's revelation of Jesus Christ. They sing the
song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb,
saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are thy ways, thou
King of saints. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord,
and glorify thy name? For thou only art holy. For all nations shall come and
worship before thee. for thy judgments are made manifest. There is none holy but God. There is none like him in all
the earth. There is no God who reigns as
this God. There are none other. All the
gods of men, all the idols of men, all the strength and the
pride of man himself at his greatest height is but nothing. They are all nothing. And all
nations in the end will be brought before this God to behold His
glory. Whom do you fear? Whom do you
fear? Do you fear man? Do you fear
the ridicule of man with regard to Christ and his gospel? Do you fear the troubles that
might come upon you in this world? Or do you fear the God that rules
over all? the God that saves the God that
delivers the God that judges righteous judgment the only God
that can deliver you from all your enemies the God that can
take your sin your rebellion, your unbelief and blot it all
out and wash you clean and make it to be as though you've never
sinned before Him. Thy sins and thine iniquities
I will remember no more, He said. No more. Those who are His, He
has taken their sins and laid them upon His Son and He's poured
down righteous judgment upon Him and His Son's blood was shed. and that blood washes away every
sin all our blindness all our unbelief all our doubts all our fears
it blots it all out and it brings us to hear his voice brings us
to hear of the judgment of the king which he had judged brings
us to fear Him and no man, and brings us to see the wisdom of
God, which was in Him, to do judgment. Oh, how often does
Solomon speak of wisdom and of the fear of the Lord. In Proverbs,
so many times he speaks of the fear of the Lord. The fear of
the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. The fear of the Lord
is the beginning of wisdom. And the knowledge of the holy
is understanding. All Israel feared the king. And
in fearing the king, they were granted wisdom. Wisdom from on
high, wisdom from God to see that the wisdom of God was in
him to do judgment. The king said, bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before
the king. And the king said, divide the
living child in two and give half to the one and half to the
other. It's not this what the king does
with every child of God. He brings a sword and he brings
it to bear upon them, dividing them asunder, having brought
them to hear his gospel, having brought them to see the king
upon the cross. having brought them to see the
judgment that the King has wrought, having brought them to behold
the Son of God slain in their place, having opened their eyes
to believe upon Him, having quickened them from the dead, given them
life, breathed by His Spirit life into their souls such that
they live as a spirit before God. Then does He not bring His
sword into them, into their soul to divide their flesh from the
Spirit, to divide that which is dead and cannot be improved,
cannot be cleansed, cannot be made righteous, to divide all
that they were their old man from that new man of grace, that
spirit that they are made to be in Jesus Christ. He brings
his sword, he brings his words, he brings his gospel and the
wisdom of his gospel to bear upon them. And how wise they
see him to be. How the flesh, that dead child,
is given back to its mother. and how the spirit, the living,
is brought to its mother, the church of God, Christ himself,
be in the head, how this spirit, this living child is brought
to him. Then spake the woman, whose the
living Child was unto the King, for her bowels yearned upon her
Son, and she said, O my Lord, give her the living Child, and
in no wise slay it. But the other said, Let it be
neither mine nor thine, but divide it. Then the King answered and
said, Give her the living Child, and in no wise slay it. She is
the mother thereof. When this King, when the Lord
God, offered up his son upon Calvary's cross and brought life
under his people. He brought forth living child,
a living child where there was nothing but death. And he took
that living child and he said, give it to her, give it to his
mother. And in no wise slay it, she is
the mother thereof. and every child of God brought
this way brought to life by Christ dying in their place brought
to life by that blood washing them clean brought to life by
the Spirit of God quickening them from the dead every living
child of God is brought to its mother brought into the church
forevermore brought into the one Israel of God, brought to
their Saviour, the King, the Lord Jesus Christ, to live and
reign with Him forever. All Israel heard of the judgment
which the King had judged. Have you been brought this way?
Has God brought you to this king? Has he shown you his judgment? Was the son offered in your place? Have you seen that the wisdom
of God is in him to do judgment? Do you see his wisdom in your
life now? Oh believer, in the troubles
and the trials and the circumstances through which you're brought.
Do you see your King on high reigning and ruling? Do you see his wisdom in the
journey? Do you see his wisdom in keeping
you from this thing and that thing and leading you through
this? Do you see his wisdom in the
trials you're brought to suffer? How he's delivering you. from
that son that died, that son that was crucified with Christ
upon the cross, how he's slain the flesh, how the old man was
crucified with Christ, how he's dead, that he's showing you day
by day, that flesh is dead, there's no good thing that dwelleth in
it. I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless
I live. Yet not I, but I live by the
faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. Do you see his wisdom in bringing
you out from any trust in your flesh? Any looking unto that
child of the bondwoman, any looking unto the law or your own self-righteousness,
any turning back. Do you see how he keeps your
gaze upon the king and upon his judgment and his wisdom? We have nothing to fear if we
are Christ's. My sheep, hear my voice. and I know them, and they follow
me, and I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish,
neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. All Israel heard
of the judgment which the king had judged, and they feared the
king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to do judgment. Amen.