Well, we come back to Zechariah. This was not meant to be a long
series, but this is the third message in Zechariah. It's just
so rich, so rich. And I want to come to chapter
13 predominantly, but not exclusively today. Peter read for us from
verse nine of chapter 12 to the end of chapter 13. I think I
said last week that some of the most profound words you will
ever read, just so rich, so full, of the truth of life, of the
truth of God. You see, Jesus said that abundant
eternal life is... You want it, don't you? Don't
we all want an abundant life and an eternal life? He said
it's only experienced in knowing God. We read it in John chapter
10. In knowing God and Jesus Christ whom he has sent. Abundant
life is in knowing God, not knowing about God. I might know about
King Charles III, the new king in this country, but I don't
know him. I know a lot about him because of what's reported,
but I don't know him. Paul said in Galatians chapter
1, he talked about when he pleased God to reveal his son, not to
me, but in me, to reveal his Son in me. Has God revealed his
Son in you, that you might know God and Jesus Christ, whom he
has sent? Do you know him? Do you have
life? This is what we're talking about.
You say, yes, I'm alive, but I'm not talking about the three
score years and ten, or in many cases a lot shorter, and in some
cases a bit longer, but all of them. What did I say last week? There are glimpses of mirth,
glimpses of happiness in a sea of sorrows, generally speaking.
God's purpose in the Scriptures, the Bible, is to reveal himself
in his Son to the people of his choice, that they might dwell
together in intimate communion for all eternity. Did you notice
at the end of verse 9 of chapter 13 of Zechariah, he says, they
shall call on my name, and I will hear. This is God speaking through
the prophet. They shall call, his people shall call on his
name, and I will hear them. I will say, God will say, it
is my people, and they shall say, the Lord is my God. This is it. Intimate communion
for eternity with God. Knowing God, it's not just for
its own sake, but it's so that you might experience peace with
Him. Not just knowing in your head,
oh yes, I know about that thing, and I know about that other thing.
Making a difference, a vital difference. knowing that you're
at peace with him, you experience that peace with him, you experience
salvation from sin. Salvation, like Pilgrim, when
he comes to the cross in Pilgrim's Progress, and that great burden
of sin in the sack on his back falls away down into the pit
below the cross. Salvation from sin, knowing that
you're a citizen of his kingdom, the kingdom of God. knowing that
every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ is yours. It's
an experience thing. I'll give you an example. In 2005, Christine and I encountered
a very clever surgeon named Mr. Crane. It was Mr. Crane, wasn't
it? Yes, it was. And we knew all about, we learned
a lot about his knowledge and his ability in his particular
field. And I was very impressed with
that man. But only she experienced the benefit of his surgical skills. I praised his knowledge and skills.
He saved her life. That's the fact. Do you see?
It's like... glimpses of what I'm trying to
illustrate. It's one thing to know about, it's another to know
and experience. And this is true eternal life,
is to know and experience the living God, to be in fellowship
with Him. The truth of God must be experienced in salvation from
sin, and the assurance that you're reconciled. And this chapter
13 of Zechariah is the application of God in Christ to the rescue
of his people for their eternal good. This part actually begins
in chapter 12 and verse 1. Look what it says there, chapter
12 of Zechariah verse 1. The burden of the word of the
Lord for Israel, saith the Lord, which stretcheth forth the heavens,
and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit
of man within him. This is God, and it's the burden
of the Word of the Lord, it's the import of the truth from
the God who has stretched forth the heavens, made everything
that we see. It didn't just happen. God, God
who is supreme, has made all things, ex nihilo, as they say,
out of nothing, and laid the foundation of the earth. He is
the One, and forms the spirit of a man within him. He is the
one. He is the giver of life. This
is the word of the Lord for Israel. Israel is symbolical of the people
of God. It's symbolical of the elect
of God. That innumerable multitude, from
all tongues and tribes and kindreds, from the beginning of time, before
the beginning of time, chosen in Christ, betrothed to the Lord
Jesus Christ, the Bride of Christ, the Church of Christ, the people
that He will take to be with Him, that they might be His people,
and He might be their Lord. This is God's Word to us, from
the Creator, from the Life-Giver. And I want to take it, not in
the order that it flows in the chapter, but I want to try and
break it down so that it might help your understanding. And
I want to begin with verse 7 of chapter 13. Awake, O sword, against
my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith
the Lord of hosts. The sword of justice. How is
it that we, who are sinners, The people of God chosen in Christ
before the foundation of the world, how is it that we who
are sinners, hell-deserving sinners, for God cannot abide sin, God
cannot tolerate that which is sinful dwelling in His presence,
how is it that we can be the people of God and He shall be
our God? How is it? How can that happen?
Well, justice has to be satisfied. And in verse 7 we hear, Awake,
O sword, against my shepherd. How is that justice going to
be satisfied? So that the people of God might
be his people and he be their Lord. How is that going to happen? The sword of justice has to awake
against his shepherd. The sword of God's holy justice
and wrath against sin is called to do its work. Awake, O sword! It's sleeping, as it were. From early times, from the fall,
it is sleeping, it is sleeping. And he says, awake, it's called
to come and do its work. Back in Deuteronomy, chapter
32, I like to quote lots of different scriptures to show that this
isn't just an obscure point taken from one place. This is the Word
of God. In Deuteronomy 32 and verse 41, If I wet my glittering sword,
this is the words of God, if I sharpen my glittering sword,
and mine hand take hold on judgment, I will render vengeance to mine
enemies, and will reward them that hate me with justice. I
will make mine arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour
flesh, and that with the blood of the slain and of the captives,
from the beginning of revenges upon the enemy." This is God
talking about judgment, just judgment for sin. Sin against
Him. You know what is the root of
all sin? I said it last week. It is unbelief. Unbelief is calling
God a liar. That is the root of all sin.
Everything else flows from that. Everything else flows from that.
Everything that God hates flows from that. And His sword of justice
is called to awake. Called to awake. This sword of
divine judgment versus sin. because of the colossal offense
that there is to the being and the character of God. A penalty
must be paid. Sin deserves a penalty in the
justice of God and it must be paid. God's holiness must counter
sin with its double, with its balancing retribution, with its
balancing punishment, what it merits, or else God would cease
to be God. God must do it, God cannot ignore
it, God cannot sweep it under the carpet, God cannot just say,
oh well it doesn't matter, off you go then. No, the price must
be paid, because the balance of the justice of God is not
then equated. It must receive double. You know,
above the Supreme Court of the... well, not the Supreme Court,
but the main court of justice in England, is the Old Bailey
in London. And on the top of it, there is
a statue, and it's the statue where there's this figure holding
the scales of a balance, and that's the idea, is that justice
is a balance. The sin must be punished, and
this is what God is saying. He must counter every sin with
its double, with the thing it deserves exactly, or else God
would cease to be God. Has the weight of that understanding
about sin being brought home to you. You know, it's God's
Spirit that does that. God's Spirit makes His people
sense their sinnerhood. I remember the first time years
ago I heard Henry Mahan say, there are not many sinners in
this world. And I thought, what? Come on, everyone's a sinner.
Isn't that what the scripture says? All have sinned. What he
meant was this. There are very, very few of the
of the total that are sinners, who know that they're sinners,
who acknowledge that they're sinners, who feel the weight
of them being sinners, who know the just condemnation that their
sin deserves. A sinner is a sacred thing. Why? The Holy Ghost has made
him so. A sinner who is conscious of
his sin, not the full weight of it because none of us ever
are, but a sinner who is touched with a sense from God of what
we are by nature as those who offend against Him. Were that
because the Holy Spirit has made us sense that sinnerhood and
our enmity, our enemyship, if you like, against God. That dreadful
sword of divine justice is your eternal lot outside of God's
mercy. If God wasn't merciful, that
is what you deserve and that is what you will get, because
he cannot remain God and not punish you for your sin. but
it has been a sleep. This sword of justice has been
a sleep. You deserve it, but it has been
a sleep. It has been withheld since the fall. But now, but
now, when, when am I talking about? I'll tell you when I'm
talking about. Galatians 4 and verse 4, when the fullness of
the time had come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, Made
under the law, to do what? To redeem those that are under
the law. That we might receive the adoption
of sons, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. It's then, we're talking
about Christ. Awake, O sword, against my shepherd. Awake against him. It is call
to action, is this sword of divine justice, but with one specific
target. One specific target. Look what
it says. Awake, O sword, against my shepherd. And against the man that is my
fellow, saith the Lord of hosts, smite the shepherd, hit the shepherd,
pour out the punishment on the shepherd, and the sheep shall
be scattered, and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.
Who is God's shepherd? Awake, O sword, against God's
shepherd. Who is God's shepherd? Hebrews
13 and verse 20. Our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd
of the sheep. You know, it's part of that benediction
at the end of the epistle to the Hebrews. Our Lord Jesus is
that great shepherd of the sheep. 1 Peter chapter 5 and verse 4,
he tells the elders to take care of the flock of God, as shepherds
take care of the flock of God, knowing You are under, you are
under shepherds, you are under the chief shepherd. Who's the
chief shepherd? Our Lord Jesus Christ, our God
and Saviour, our Jehovah Jesus, who shall appear. He is coming
again. Jesus himself said, and we read
it earlier in John 10 verse 11, I am the good shepherd who gives
his life for the sheep. The good shepherd who lays down
his life for the sheep. Awake, O sword, against my shepherd. Sword, go and do your work of
judgment against God's shepherd. Jesus said, I am that shepherd.
Go and do your work against him, against his sheep. Sheep? What
is he talking about? His chosen people. He often called
them, His sheep. My sheep hear my voice and they
follow me. My sheep, other sheep I have
which are not of this fold, Gentile believers. His chosen people,
His little flock. Fear not, He said, little flock.
Fear not. They're the ones who believe
Him. whereas the Pharisees believed
not. Jesus said to them in John 10,
26, He said to them, you believe not, because why? You are not
of my sheep. My sheep hear my voice and they
follow me. The Pharisees believed not because
they were not of his sheep. The Lord Jesus Christ himself
is God's shepherd. The Lord says, Awake, O sword,
against my shepherd, against the man who is my fellow. This
is God speaking to God. The Lord himself is God's shepherd. In the person of Christ, look
at Psalm 23. If we're talking about shepherds,
the scripture has a lot to say about shepherds in a spiritual
sense, and the Lord Jesus Christ as the good shepherd of his sheep. He is the God who is our shepherd. Verse one of Psalm 23, the Lord
is my shepherd. Here am I, a sheep in God's fold. Here am I, a sheep, one of the
sheep of the Lord. Who's your shepherd? The Lord
is my shepherd. So what will be the result of
that? I shall not want. There's nothing that I'll be
lacking. There's nothing that I'll be in need of. Why? Because
He makes me to lie down in green pastures. That's a good place
for sheep. Sheep like green pastures. He
leads me beside still waters. They need waters to drink, but
not waters to sweep them away. He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul, He leads me in the paths of righteousness,
for His name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou
art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort
me. Thou preparest a table before
me in the presence of mine enemies. Thou anointest my head with oil.
My cup runneth over. Surely, goodness and mercy shall
follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the
house of the Lord forever. I will dwell in the house of
the Lord forever. I will say, it is my people, and they shall
say, the Lord is my God. The pent-up sword of God's holy
justice is called awake to execute its judgment on God's shepherd,
who is God himself. God's shepherd is God himself,
but also the shepherd is a man. against the man that is my fellow."
He is a man, and the word in the original means a mighty,
noble, valiant man. Against the mighty, noble, valiant
man who is my fellow, who is God's fellow. And fellow means
equal. of the same substance in the
form of God. What do I read? It almost seems
just lately that I'm reading it every single week. Philippians
chapter 2 verse 5, let this mind be in you which was also in Christ
Jesus who being in the form of God Christ Jesus, my fellow,
the fellow of God, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery
to be equal with God. He took nothing away. He robbed
nothing from God by being equal with God, because he was God.
He's the second person of the Trinity. He's co-equal with the
Father and with the Spirit. But He, that One, highly elevated,
who prayed in John 17, Father, restore to me the glory that
I had with you before the beginning of time. He shared the glory
of God, and God said, My glory I will not share with another.
But this One shared the glory of God, so He is God. He thought
it not robbery to be equal with God, but He made Himself of no
reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was
made in the likeness of men. Behold the man who is my fellow. Behold the man whose name is
the branch. This is the man. The man whose
name is the branch. Do you remember two weeks ago,
Zechariah 12? Behold the man whose name is
the branch. This is God come for redemption. He made Himself of no reputation,
and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the
likeness of men, and being found in fashion, God found in fashion,
as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient to death,
even the death of the cross. Awake, O sword, against My shepherd,
against the man who is My fellow. Wherefore, because He did that,
And because he bore the wrath of God against the sin of his
people, and because that sword of divine justice exacted its
payment to the last drop from him, wherefore God also hath
highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every
name. He is supreme, that at the name of Jesus, every knee
should bow of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things
under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. This is the
man who is the fellow. This is the man whose name is
the branch. This is the man who mediates
between God and men, because there is one mediator between
God and man, the man. Christ Jesus, this is the one.
He is the one against whom the sword of the justice of God against
the sin of the people of God falls on this shepherd, this
man who is his fellow, the man that is the mediator between
God and man, the man that God had to become. God had to become
this man. God, in His spiritual existence,
could not suffer in the place of man. He could not die in the
place of man and pay the price of His own justice. But as a
man, He could. As the God-man, He had the infinite
capacity to die for a multitude. And as man, he could shed man's
blood for man's sin and satisfy his own offended justice in the
place of the people he loved from before the beginning of
time. Hebrews chapter 2 is very clear on this. If you turn there
now to verse 14 of Hebrews chapter 2, we could read a lot more. We could read an awful lot more,
but we won't. We'll limit it to just three verses, four verses,
14 to 17. This is the people for whom the Lord Jesus Christ
came as shepherd and representative and substitute. The children of whom he said,
Behold, I and the children that you have given me. These are
the ones that he leads into heaven, the Lord of hosts. For as much
then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, that's you
and me if we're his, he also himself likewise took part of
the same, that through death he might destroy him that had
the power of death, that is, the devil. through death. It
was so that he could die as a man, that he became a man. That's
it. And deliver them. What was the
result? He delivered them. who through fear of death were
all their lifetime subject to bondage because they were under
the threat of that sword of justice of God falling upon them. But
he came and took it. For verily he took not on him
the nature of angels, but he took on him the seed of Abraham. He took on him the people chosen
in him before the foundation of the world. Wherefore, in all
things it behoved him, it was necessary, to be made like unto
his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high
priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for
the sins of the people. Do you see what it's saying?
It's so clear. He was the one who was smitten
of God. Isaiah 53 and verse 4, Surely
he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we did
esteem him stricken. This is the sword of God's justice
falling on the Lord Jesus Christ, smitten of God, smite the shepherd,
smitten of God and afflicted. He was wounded. Why was he wounded? For our transgressions. He was
bruised. Why? For our iniquities. The chastisement of The chastisement
to buy our peace, to purchase our peace, fell on Him. The punishment
for our peace fell on Him. And with His stripes, the stripes
of that which wounded Him, we are healed. All of us, all of
the people of God, like sheep, have gone astray. Sheep, there
it is again, the sheep of God. We have turned, everyone, to
His own way. And the Lord hath laid on Him
the iniquity of us all. Who's the all? his people, his
people chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world.
The Lord hath laid on him, and in him called his sword of justice
to awake and smite the shepherd. He was oppressed, he was afflicted,
he opened not his mouth. He is brought as a lamb to the
slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth
not his mouth. He was taken from prison and
from judgment. And who shall declare his generation? For he was cut off out of the
land of the living, for the transgression of my people was he stricken. You could read on, read on at
your leisure. But there is the sword of God's
offended justice, a Waco sword against my shepherd, falling
on his shepherd, who is the shepherd of his sheep. He lays down his
life for his sheep. for his sheep. That's who he
lays down his life for. Not for anybody else. He lays
down his life for his sheep. That's what he does it for. He
was wounded in his hands. Look at verse 6 of chapter 13. And one shall say unto him, What
are these wounds in thine hands? This is speaking to this shepherd,
this man, whose name is the branch. What are these wounds in thine
hands? And he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the
house of my friends. He came unto his own, he said,
but his own the Jews received him not, and he was wounded in
his hands. He was nailed to a cross of wood
with cruel nails through his hands." What are those wounds
in your hands? Remember, this was written 450-500
years before he came and died? This is the Spirit of God revealing
the truth of God to us. He was wounded in His hands,
in the house of His friends. But why was He wounded, the shepherd? Wasn't Jesus the God-man sinless? Yes, of course He was. He was
absolutely sinless. So why was he wounded in his
hands? Proverbs 17 verse 15 says, He
that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just,
even they both are abomination to the Lord. Isn't it an abomination
to the Lord to punish that which is innocent? Isn't the sword
of justice falling on Jesus Christ, the perfect, sinless Son of God,
isn't that an abomination unto the Lord? Isn't that what His
own word says? Is it not unjust? Well, the answer
is no, it isn't. It's perfectly just because you
know 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and verses 20 and 21. I'll just quote
verse 21 from memory. He has made Him, God has made
Him Christ, who knew no sin, who was sinless. He has made
Him to be sin. He made Him to be sin. And when
He was made sin, and bearing the sins of His people in His
own body, God justly caused the sword of justice to awake against
Him. and to vent its wrath, and to
pay double for the sins of his people in him. He bore our sins. It says it in 1 Peter chapter
2 verse 24. Speaking of Christ, who his own
self, bear our sins in his own body on the tree. He never committed
one sin. He's sinless. Yet God made him
to be sin. Shocked, they say. He's saying
that Jesus Christ was punished for being a sinner. He wasn't
a sinner, but he bore the sins of his people. And bearing those
sins, God was just. in punishing him for those sins
which he bore, the sins of others which he bore. He says, his own
self bear our sins in his own body on the tree that we, being
dead to sins when he's died, should live unto righteousness
by whose stripes you were healed. It says also in chapter 3 in
verse 18 of 1 Peter, Christ also hath once suffered for sins,
the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God. He
suffered for our sins, he was just, and he suffered for us,
the unjust, that he might bring us to God. That we might be his
people, and they might say, the Lord is my God. Being put to
death in the flesh, but quickened, made alive by the Spirit. God's
offended, violated justice is satisfied. The sword of which
it speaks in verse 7, the sword has exacted the price of God's
people's sin in the flesh of the man, the shepherd, who is
God's fellow. And by this one act for all,
in the middle of time, he is able Hebrews 2 verse 10 tells
us, to bring many sons to glory. That's how he does it, in that.
He remains just as God in exacting the price for every sin, but
for the multitude he loved everlastingly, that price was paid by Jesus
the Lamb. Let me say that again. God is
just in exacting the price for every sin of everybody. every
sin, but for the multitude of his people loved from before
the foundation of the world and put in union with Christ, that
price is not required to be paid by themselves, because this man,
the shepherd, has paid it in their place. The price was paid
by Jesus, the Lamb of God, the Lamb of God, as a lamb to the
slaughter, the Lamb of God. And so as a result of what he
did, look at verse 1. A fountain is turned on to cleanse
God's people from sin and uncleanness. We've just sung, there is a fountain
filled with blood, drawn from Emmanuel's veins, and sinners
plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains. Are
you thirsty for the righteousness of God? Are you desperate to
be washed clean from sin so that when you die, You don't carry
a weight of sin for which you will be held accountable, and
that which will separate you from all that is good for eternity?
Well, here's a fountain for you. Matthew 5 verse 6, the Sermon
on the Mount, Jesus said this, Blessed are they which do hunger
and thirst after righteousness. Why? For they shall be filled. Why? This fountain will come
and wash their sin away, will give them the righteousness that
they need, made the righteousness of God. He who knew no sin was
made sin, and bore its penalty, and satisfied justice for it,
that you might be made the righteousness of God in Him. Or do you think
you're good enough as you are? Do you think this is beneath
you, drinking at this fountain, You know, where vile sinners
come and claim that this is the only way they can get, you probably
think, maybe you think you're good enough as you are. You don't
think you need the cleansing that others rejoice in. Well,
let me ask you this. Will you dare to face God in
judgment, bearing even the least sin? It's a fearful thing to
fall into the hands of the living God, says Hebrews. Our God, is
a consuming fire. Our God is a consuming fire.
So look back then at verse 10 of chapter 12. I will pour upon
the house of David. That's talking about God's Israel,
God's people. God's Israel is the Israel of
God, Galatians 6.16. It's all who believe the Lord
Jesus Christ. I will pour upon his people and
upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Zion, the city of God. Not a
physical place in the Middle East, but God's kingdom, the
spirit of grace and supplications. And they shall look upon me,
whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth
for his only son, for his people, for you if you are counted among
them. He pours out on you, if you are counted among them, the
spirit of grace and supplication, where you cry As that publican
cried at the wall of the temple in Jerusalem, Jesus pointed him
out to his disciples and said, look there, there was the Pharisee
justifying himself. I thank you that I'm not as other
men. And then he pointed to the publican, the sinner, who's crying
out, God, be merciful to me, the sinner, as if he was the
only sinner. Show me where I can be cleansed
of this foul condition, where I can meet you, where I can go
with those people to say, the Lord is my God and He shall say,
it is my people. Cleanse me from this filth, cleanse
me from this vile thing, this sin which offends against you.
Point me to that fountain filled with blood so that I lose all
my guilty stains. Cause me to mourn over sin and
its offense and to know comfort. Blessed are they that mourn,
for they shall be comforted. The ones that mourn over their
sin, Jesus promises, they shall be comforted. They shall be cleansed
of their sin. He will give them true and abundant
life. I won't go through it in detail,
but in chapter 13 verses 2 to 5, what we're talking about,
it's an allusion to when, in the days of the books of Moses,
People would claim, they do today, don't they, all the time. People
claim to have the message of God, they claim to be the true
prophets of God, when they're not really. And it's said even
to a family, if your son starts to prophesy, and he's clearly
a false prophet, you shall thrust him through, you'll kill him.
because he mustn't do it, because it's such a deathly curse, his
false religion and idolatry, and that which isn't true, and
that which is against God. And what he's saying in verses
2 to 5 is when the people of God are given the spirit of grace
and supplication to call upon him, and he enlightens them and
shows them the truth of what the sword has done in their place
against the smitten shepherd, all false religion and idolatry
is swept away. It's all taken away. All the
false religion that we have is taken away. You know, Paul said,
we have the mind of Christ. You know, there's a lot of religion,
but we have the, oh, that we might have the mind of Christ
in knowing the truth and sweeping away superstition and false religion. In our country at the moment,
with the death of the queen and the funeral tomorrow of the queen,
there is an enormous amount of religious superstition going
on. An enormous amount of it. And I keep reading things and
I think, how have you got any confidence to say that? You do
not know that that is the case. There's false religion all around
of us. But if you know the truth, the
truth shall make you free. And you're released from this
false religion. It's swept away. In Romans 12
and verse 2, we're told, as those who believe Christ, to not be
conformed to this world, but to be transformed. How? By the renewing of your mind.
What is it that renews your mind? It's the truth of God. In the
Scriptures, it's the truth of God, guided by the light of the
knowledge of the glory of God, which we find only in the face
of Jesus Christ. living in what Hebrews 10 verse
22 calls the full assurance of faith. Settled, contented, happy,
safe for eternity, confident of God's promise, confident that
We will hear him say, it is my people, and they shall say, the
Lord is my God. The experience of salvation in
this life, in this flesh, is confirmed in eternal bliss and
perfect communion between God and his people, between his people
and their God. There it is. Just a few words,
just nine verses there and one from chapter 12. But there is
the gospel, so clear. 450 years, I don't know exactly,
but there or thereabouts, before Christ came, Jesus came. Our Jesus Jehovah came and died
in the place of his people. Was ever, I'm not talking about
the eloquence of me and my preaching, not at all, but the word of God,
and the revelation of the Holy Spirit was ever a clearer case
laid before you. Was it? Will you not come and
grasp it? Will you not seek the Lord today? Will you not find rest for your
souls? And in finding that rest for
your souls in Him who was wounded by the sword of God's justice
in your place, find abundant life and peace with God and assurance
of acceptance in God's kingdom. I will both lay me down in peace
and sleep for thou, Lord, only. Make us meet to dwell in safety.
Amen.