In the prophecy of Joel, chapter
two and verse one, we read the following. Blow ye the trumpet
in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain. Let all the
inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord cometh,
for it is nigh at hand. Blow ye the trumpet in Zion,
and sound an alarm in my holy mountain. Blow ye the trumpet,
the trumpet, well what trumpet is this of which Joel speaks?
It is the trumpet in his day of the priests who would sound
the trumpets, but those trumpets are figurative of the blowing
of the trumpet of the gospel. Blow ye the trumpet in Zion,
preach the gospel in Zion, preach the gospel. What should we hear
in Zion? What should we long to hear in
the church? But the preaching of the gospel,
the gospel. Paul says in one place, woe is
me if I preach not the gospel. I am not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ for it is the power of God Unto salvation blow ye
the trumpet and Zion. Well, Joel's prophecy, though
a short prophecy, just three chapters, is full of the gospel. Though it speaks in prophecy
of historical events which were to come upon the nation of the
Jews at the time in which he wrote, Though it spoke of the
awful state of the nation and the awful judgment which God
sent upon it. It also spoke of the wonderful
deliverance of God's people which God promised to bring about.
And the tremendous blessing which He would pour out upon His people. And all these things are figurative
of a gospel day. They're figurative of the state
of man in sin by nature. of the outpouring of God's wrath
upon sin, of the outpouring of God's wrath upon the Son of God
for his people to deliver them from sin, and the outpouring
of God's wonderful mercy, grace, and deliverance upon a people
that deserve it not. but upon a people whom he chose
from before the foundations of the world in Christ, to deliver,
to save, to bring unto himself, to show unto them great mercy,
great grace, and great blessing. Yes, this book is full of Christ,
and it is full of the gospel. blow ye the trumpet in Zion. The name of Joel is interesting,
Joel. There are various interpretations
of the name given, but in its simplest form it is a contraction
of yar and el, the Lord God, the Lord God. And Joel as it
were comes As the Lord God's ambassador, He comes as His voice
and He declares the Word of the Lord. He opens in chapter 1 and
verse 1 with, The Word of the Lord that came to Joel the son
of Pefuel. He comes, as it were, with God's
Word and He comes to Zion blowing the trumpet in Zion. We hear,
as it were, God's speech to His people here. He comes with a,
thus saith the Lord. He comes in authority and in
power. And as I've said, his prophecy
declares events in history regarding the Lord's people. But more than
that, his prophecy declares the gospel, not just to the Lord's
people at that age. but to the Lord's people throughout
all the ages. It comes preaching the gospel. Then hear Joel's prophecy. Hear
the gospel. Hear the word of the Lord. The
word of the Lord that came to Joel, the son of Bethuel. Hear
this, ye old men, and give ear all ye inhabitants of the land. Have this been in your days? or even in the days of your fathers
tell you your children of it and let your children tell their
children and their children another generation that which the palmer
worm have left have the locust eaten and that which the locust
have left have the canker worm eaten and that which the canker
worm have left have the caterpillar eaten Awake, ye drunkards, and
weep, and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine,
for it is cut off from your mouth, for a nation is come up upon
my land, strong and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of
a lion, and he hath the cheek-teeth of a great lion. He hath laid
my vine waste, and barked my fig-tree, he hath made it clean
bare, and cast it away, the branches thereof are made white. This prophecy opens with a terrifying
picture of the state of a nation and the awful judgment of God
which has been sent upon such a nation. Have this been in your
days, or even in the days of your fathers. Yes, the palmer
worm have eaten up all the crops, all the living things, and those
few things which they left, the locust have eaten, and the canker
worm have eaten, and finally the last bits of fruit have been
devoured by the caterpillar. There's nothing left. There's
devastation coming. All has gone. All has been destroyed,
all has been eaten up. Why? Because of the awful wickedness
and departure of a people from their God. The barrenness of
soul, the awfulness of sin, the depravity of the hearts of this
people, even those who were the Lord's people, even that chosen
nation of Israel, the wickedness which had come in, and so brought
them to such a state of departure from God and His ways and His
worship that He sent in destruction, that He sent in judgment, judgment
of which they had never heard of before, judgment of a scale
unseen before, that Joel should say, hear this, ye old men, and
give ear all ye inhabitants of the land, have this been in your
days, or even in the days of your fathers. Have ye ever seen
such a thing? Have you seen the land in such
a state? Have you seen it? The field is
wasted, the land mourneth, for the corn is wasted, the new wine
is dried up, the oil languisheth, Be ye ashamed, O ye husbandmen! Howl, O ye vinedressers, for
the wheat and for the barley, because the harvest of the field
is perished, the vine is dried up, and the fig-tree languisheth,
the pomegranate-tree, the palm-tree also, and the apple-tree, even
all the trees of the field are withered, because joy is withered
away from the sons of men. Gird yourselves and lament, ye
priests, How ye ministers of the altar, come lie all night
in sackcloth, ye ministers of God, for the meat offering and
the drink offering is withholden from the house of your God. Oh,
what a state. What a state the land had come
into. What a state the worship of God
had fallen into. What a state. Well, what of today? Look around in the nation, look
around in the church, look at the judgment of God which is
coming upon our day, the barrenness, the depravity, how all the good
is eaten up. Ask yourself the question, ye
old men and all you inhabitants of the land, have this been in
your days or even in the days of your fathers? Look at that
which professes to be Christendom today. Have you ever seen the
like of it? Don't be complacent. Open your eyes to the state in
which you find yourselves, to the state in which that which
calls itself the church finds itself. Has it ever been like
this? There are things done in the
name of God There are things done in the name of Jesus Christ. There is that which people call
worship. There is that which is allowed
to go on in those places which call themselves churches, which
is utter abomination in the sight of God. Utter abomination. Strange fire. That which people
call worshipping God is a stink in his nostrils. He will not
have it, and he has sent judgment because of it. Oh, the people
might make the great noise. They may be very busy. They may
say many things. They may claim that God is with
them. But Ichabod is written above
the door. God is not honoured, God is not
in it, and there is no blessing and there is no joy in it. There
is no fruit, there is no harvest, there is no spirit. It is all
barren, no matter what the outward appearance. The hearts of the
men and the hearts of the women and the hearts of the children
are cold and are dead. They may say much, they may do
much, but they remain dead in trespasses and sins. Even those places which would
seek to remain faithful to the Word of God, seek to remain faithful
to the testimony of their fathers, even those places which hold
true to the great truths of the Reformation, those places which
would hold true to justification by faith, Those places which
would seek to hold forth a testimony, even in such places, they lament
that the people have gone out from amongst them. They lament
that they are so few in number. They lament that they see so
few conversions. They lament that they see such
little power in the preaching. The land is barren. The days
are dark. the fields are withered, the
field is wasted and the land mourneth, because joy is withered
away from the sons of men. Oh, it's a barren state in our
days. But this is how God sends forth
his gospel. For he will bring men, and he
will bring the activity of man, and He will bring the will and
the works of men, whatever they may call it in religion, He will
bring all that is of man to nothing, that He may demonstrate that
all the fruit, all the power, all the glory when He works is
of His doing. and to His glory, it is of His
hand. It will bring all that is of
man to nothing, that He may then work and send forth His blessing
in power, and none may praise, except they bring praise and
glory and honor, and to His name, and His name alone. Yes, this
is how we work in His gospel. In such a state, When Joel cries
out to the people, sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly,
gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into
the house of the Lord your God, and cry unto the Lord. Alas for
the day! For the day of the Lord is at
hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come. Is
not the meat cut off before our eyes? Yea, joy and gladness from
the house of our God! The seed is rotten under their
clods, the garners are laid desolate, the barns are broken down, for
the corn is withered. How do the beasts groan? The
herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture.
Yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate. In such a state,
he cries out, He cries out to the only one to whom he may cry,
to the only one who may send help, to the only one who has
strength, to the only one who has power. From such a state
he and such a people who are awakened to their state cry out,
O Lord, to thee will I cry. For the fire hath devoured the
pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned all the
trees of the field. The beasts of the field cry unto
thee, for the rivers of water are dried up, and the fire hath
devoured the pastures of the wilderness. Yes, he cries out,
O Lord, to thee will I cry, to thee will I cry. Well, that's
the state of the nation in Joel's day. And that's pretty much the
state of the nation and the church that professes to be the church
in our day. But let me bring this closer
to home. Have you felt this state in your soul? For Joel's purpose
here is not just to bring this message, not just to blow the
trumpet in Zion of this message to an earthly nation, and to
an outward people, even in our day. But He would have you hear
this message in your soul. What do you know of this state
in your soul? Do you know the barrenness of
your soul by nature? As all that could grow up in
your soul, all that was of your strength, all that was of your
will, all that was of your doing, Has all your goodness, all your
so-called righteousness, all that which you thought you might
stand before God with, has all been brought to nothing? Have
you discovered the state of your soul? Has the Lord sounded the
sound of judgment in your heart? Has He blown the trumpet in your
heart? Have you heard of it? Has this
been in your days or even in the days of your fathers? What
do you know of your heart? Your dark, your barren, your
dead heart. Your sinful heart. Your cold
heart. Your hard heart. Your rebellious
heart. What do you know of your heart?
And what do you know of the sounding of the wrath of the Lord God?
upon the sins of your heart, upon the state of your heart.
What do you know about the judgment of God against your heart? Have you heard a trumpet blowing? Have you heard the alarm? Joel
cries out in chapter 2, blow ye the trumpet in Zion and sound
an alarm in my holy mountain. let all the inhabitants of the
land tremble for the day of the lord cometh for it is nigh at
hand he goes on to describe the awful picture of the day of the
lord a day of darkness and of gloominess a day of clouds and
of thick darkness as the morning spread upon the mountains a great
people and a strong there have not been ever the light Neither
shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations. A fire devoureth before them,
and behind them a flame burneth. The land is as the garden of
Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness. Yea, and nothing shall escape
them. It goes on, the earth shall quake
before them, the heavens shall tremble, the sun and the moon
shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining,
and the Lord shall utter his voice before his army, for his
camp is very great, for he is strong that executed his word,
for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible, and who can
abide it? Yes, who can abide such a day
when God brings forth His judgments? He will not forever allow man
to walk in rebellion towards Him. The clock ticks. The hourglass fades away. The sands of time sink until
there's just but one grain to drop. And then the judgment comes. Time ends. Your days come to
a close when your days are no more. And you're ushered in on
that great day of judgment to stand before Almighty God, to
give an account for your deeds, whether they be good or bad.
There comes a day when this earth will be destroyed. when the heavens
will be rolled up like a scroll, when the earth will be burned
up with fire, and when all the inhabitants of the earth, all
mankind, all the peoples of the earth, you included, shall stand
before Almighty God. For the day of the Lord is great
and very terrible, and who can abide it? You will stand before
him and what will you say? When he asks you to give an account
of your life and of your deeds, when he judges you according
to your deeds, and separates the wicked from the good, and
sends forth the righteous into life everlasting, and the wicked
into death, the second death, eternal destruction. when you
stand before him and he divides such a people on the left hand
and on the right hand, where will you stand? What will be
your plea? What will be your account? What
will be your defense for your life and your iniquities? What
will you say when this day comes upon you? Wake up! Hear the alarm for the day cometh
fast. The day cometh fast. Hear the sounding of the trumpet
in Zion. Hear the sounding of the alarm
in the Lord's holy mountain. Let the land tremble, for the
day of the Lord cometh, and it is nigh at hand. And that barrenness
of soul, that depth of iniquity in your heart, those filthy deeds,
those filthy corruptions, those filthy thoughts, that willful
rejection of God, those selfish desires, that self-seeking, that
self-pleasure seeking of yourself, your life will be laid bare before
Him and you will give an account. The day comes and it comes faster
than you think. But it's a mercy if it comes
to you now in the revealing of God's wrath against your sin
in your soul. It's a mercy if He reveals your
state and His anger at that state inwardly by the Gospel before
the day of your life is brought to a close. It's a mercy if you
hear the Gospel and hear the alarm that that day is fast approaching
and are brought to cry out unto the Lord, to whom Joel cried,
to cry out unto Him who can spare, to cry out unto the only One
who can spare, to cry out unto the One who sends the judgment
upon His nation, who sent the judgment upon the Israelites,
the one who sent destruction upon the temple in 70 AD, the
one who burned the city of Jerusalem and raised it to the ground,
the one who brought this destruction of which Joel spake, the one
who destroyed all the land, all the crops utterly. It's a mercy
if you heard the alarm of such a one and of such power and cry
out to him that he may spare you. before it's too late. For Joel blows the trumpet, not
simply to sound an alarm, not simply to send forth a message
of judgment, though it was coming. and though it came, but he sounds
forth that trumpet and he sounds forth that alarm to prepare the
way for the coming of the one who would save his people, for
the coming of the one who would save Judah, for the coming of
the one who would save Zion, for the coming of the Lord Jesus
Christ, the Savior of sinners. Yes he blows a trumpet and that
trumpet begins with the sounding of the alarm, it begins with
judgment but it continues with the call to a people so awakened,
so alarmed, so aware of judgment, so awakened in their souls to
judgment that they cry out to the Lord, they cry to the Lord
to spare them, they cry to the Lord to have mercy. And to such
a people, it brings a wonderful message of grace, a wonderful
message of deliverance from captivity, a wonderful message of salvation
to come. Have you heard? Have you heard the alarm? Do
you cry? Have you heard this trumpet in
Zion? For the day of the Lord is great
and very terrible, and who can abide it? Who can abide it? Therefore also now saith the
Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting
and with weeping and with mourning, and rend your heart and not your
garments and turn unto the Lord your God. Why? What does Joel say? Turn unto
the Lord your God for He is gracious and merciful slow to anger, and
of great kindness, and repented him of the evil. Who knoweth
if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him,
even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the Lord your God.
Yes, this God is gracious and merciful. He's slow to anger
and He is of great kindness. Have you cried unto this God?
Do you know this God? In your sins, in your conviction
of sin, knowing you're a sinner, knowing that awful judgment of
God which comes upon sin and upon sinners, knowing the destruction
which will come in the last day. Have you come to view God as
some awful judgmental God who will just destroy you utterly?
Do you live in fear and quaking that he could not possibly show
any kindness to you? Do you look upon your sin and
your heart as so black So awful, so bad that how could God spare
you? You know there are those who
believe in Jesus Christ. You know there are those who
know God. You know there are those who
can say of the wonderful things which God has done for them and
for their souls. But you think, how can I ever
know such things? All I feel is my iniquity and
my depravity. I try to do good, and yet evil
is with me. The good that I would, I cannot
do, and the evil that I would not, that I do. Who can deliver me from this
body of sin and death? Who can deliver me? You discover
that in your flesh there dwells no good thing. You try to do
good, you try to turn to God, and yet you find you're turning,
and you're walking is in a downward step. You try to turn, but as
you turn, you seem to get deeper and deeper into sin. The more
you try to do good, the worse you get. The more you seek God,
the further away he seems to be. The more you cry out to God,
the darker the heavens seem to become. and you become despairing. You despair that God will ever
hear you. The sky feels like has thunder. The heavens are black. The clouds
seem to gather above your head. They seem to rumble. All you
seem to feel are the threatenings of the law of God. Thou shalt,
and you don't. Thou shalt not, and you know
you do. And you know that he who breaks
the least of these commandments is guilty of all. And you feel
yourself trembling before God knowing that you are guilty of
all. And the trumpet sounds, the alarm
sounds, but all you hear is that sound that the day of the Lord
is great and very terrible. And you know it is. and you hear
that message that who can abide it and you say none can certainly
not me and you find yourself crying out in despair how could
the Lord have mercy upon me but the trumpet sounds it sounds
the gospel trumpet sounds and the Lord says in Zion he says
to his people turn ye Turn you, even you, turn to Me with all
your heart, and with fasting and weeping and with mourning,
and rend your heart and knock your garments, and turn unto
the Lord your God. For He is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and of great kindness. You say, I would turn, I want
to turn, I want to rend my heart, I want to turn unto the Lord
my God, but I can't find him, I try, where is he? Surely he's
angry with me. And yet the gospel comes again,
and again, and the trumpet sounds again and again, and whatever
your pleas, Whatever your despair, whatever your sighs and groans,
Joel does not spare the gospel. The Lord God does not spare the
blowing of the trumpet. He will seek you out. The Spirit
will follow you. He will pursue you. He won't
let you go. He'll have none of your vain
excuses. You say, I would turn if I could,
but I cannot. He'll have none of it. He'll
have none of it. He comes unto you in power. He
comes unto you and blows that trumpet and declares boldly,
but the Lord your God is gracious and merciful. He is slow to anger
and of great kindness. And it repented him of the evil. Who knoweth if he will return
and repent, and leave a blessing behind him, even a meat offering
for you, and a drink offering unto the Lord your God, to spare
even you? Yes, blow the trumpet in Zion,
sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly, Joel says, gather the
people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the
children, and those that suck the breasts. Let the bridegroom
go forth of his chamber and the bride out of her closet. Let
the priests and ministers of the Lord weep between the porch
and the altar, and let them say unto God, this God, spare thy
people, O Lord. and give not thine heritage to
reproach, that the heathen should rule over them. Wherefore should
they say among the people, where is their God? Do you think the
Lord will leave his people in such a state? Do you think he
was going to leave Jerusalem, the Jews, the Israelites of old,
in such a state? Yes, they had turned from him.
Yes, their iniquity was great. Yes, his judgment hurt them. Yes, his judgment brought them
to sorrow. Yes, his judgment brought them
to despair. Yes, the nation was destroyed
and devoured. But do you think the Lord God
would leave His own in such a state? And do you think that he will
leave those whom he brings to see their sin, whom he brings
to cry out under him? Do you think that he will leave
them? Will he not declare unto them in power that he is gracious
and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness? Will he leave
them for the heathen to come alongside and to scoff and mock
and say, where is their God? Where is their God? Yes, the
heathen may mock when they see a people judged in such a way. They may mock today, they may
look at God's people, the church, so few, so barren, and they may
scoff and say, where's their God? Where's the blessing which
they speak of? He's judged them, he's left them,
he's abandoned them, there's nothing in it. They speak of
their gospel, they speak of the things of God, but where is he?
And you, O sinner, convicted of sin, you may feel the scoffing
and the despising of those around you. You may cry out to the only
one who you know can save you. You may fall on your knees day
and night crying out to the Lord God to have mercy. And the skies
may seem dark and he may seem to tarry and not hear. And those
around you mock you and say, where's your God? Well, where
is he? Why aren't you blessed? Look
at you. Look at the state you're in.
Where's your God? Do you think that God will leave
you in such a state? He will not. He is a jealous
God. He's jealous for his land and
people. Then will the Lord be jealous
for his land and pity his people, it says. Yea, the Lord will answer
and say unto his people, behold, I will send you corn. and wine
and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith, and I will no more
make you a reproach among the heathen, but I will remove far
off from you the northern army, and will drive him into a land
barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and
his hind apart toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come
up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done
great things. Fear not, O land, Be glad and
rejoice, for the Lord will do great things. He will do great
things for his people. He is gracious and merciful. He will do great things. Be not
afraid, ye beasts of the field, for the pastures of the wilderness
do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the
vine do yield their strength. Be glad then, ye children of
Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God, for he hath given you
the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for
you the rain, the former rain and the latter rain in the first
month, and the floor shall be full of wheat, and the fat shall
overflow with wine and joy, and I will restore to you the years
that the locust have eaten, the canker worm and the caterpillar
and the palmer worm, my great army which I sent among you,
And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the
name of the Lord your God that hath dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never be
ashamed, and ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel,
and that I am the Lord your God, and none else. And my people
shall never be ashamed. Oh, what a promise of blessing
God sends! What a promise! He will deliver! He will deliver His people! And the latter rain, the latter
blessing which He pours down upon them, will be greater than
the former. He will send great blessing. We read here in the closing part
of this chapter, that which came to pass in an historical sense
on the day of Pentecost. that wonderful blessing of the
Spirit of God poured down from on high upon that people who
had come to hear the Gospel, that people who had come to hear
of their salvation, that people who had come to hear of the coming
of Messiah, the coming of the Saviour of whom all the prophets
spake, Joel included, that people who had come to hear of the One,
the Son of God, who came into this world to deliver them from
their captivity, to deliver them from the outpouring of the judgment
of God, to deliver them from their sins. Yes, there were a
people who believed on the Son of God. And on such a people
God sent the Spirit to bring great blessing, to bring life
and power in the Gospel. He poured down blessing, as we
read, and it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out
my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters
shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, Your young
men shall see visions, and also upon the servants and upon the
handmaids in those days will I pour out my Spirit, and I will
show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood and fire
and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into
darkness, the moon into blood before the great and terrible
day of the Lord shall come, and it shall come to pass that whosoever
shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered. For
in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the
Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call. Yes,
the days come when whosoever shall call on the name of the
Lord shall be delivered. from all the judgment, from all
the wrath which their sins had brought upon their heads, they
shall be delivered, that remnant whom the Lord shall call. Oh,
what a gospel! What a trumpet is blown in Zion! Yes, there's the alarm, but Joel
makes known this wonderful deliverance which God brought to his people. that deliverance which came to
them as a nation, that deliverance which came to that true Israel,
the true Israelites, that which the nation of Israel of old was
but a figure, but that true Israel of God, all those people whom
God would deliver, all whom he saved through his Son, the Lord
Jesus Christ, whom he sent as the Saviour, the Saviour of sinners,
that Saviour who came into the world to die in the place of
sinners, sinners like you, sinners like me. Yes, He's a gracious
God, He's merciful, He's slow to anger and of great kindness
and He brought deliverance to this people and He brings deliverance
to all His people. and he brings deliverance to
those who were brought to know the sin of their own hearts and
the wrath of God that burns against the sin of their hearts and in
such a state when the trumpet is sounded he doesn't leave them
in despair but he sounds the trumpet of the gospel he sounds
the trumpet of the mercy and grace of the gospel and he cries
out unto such a people Behold my Son, behold the Lamb of God
whom I have sent to die for you in your stead. He says unto that
remnant who are brought by his Spirit to call upon him, he says
unto them, whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall
be delivered, delivered, saved, from all their captivity, from
all the judgment, from all the wrath, from all their sin, there's
deliverance in the gospel. For the Lord is gracious and
merciful. And where does this deliverance
come from? How is there deliverance? We read in chapter three, Behold,
in those days and in that time when I shall bring again the
captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations
and will bring them into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will
plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel,
whom they have scattered among the nations and parted my land.
And they have cast lots for my people and have given a boy from
Harlot and sold a girl for wine that they might drink. Yea, And
what have ye to do with me, O tyrants, either in all the coasts of Palestine?
Will ye render me a recompense? And if ye recompense me swiftly
and speedily, will I return your recompense upon your own head?
Because ye have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried
into your temples my goodly pleasant things. The children also of
Judah and the children of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the Grecians.
that ye might remove them far from their border. Behold, I
will raise them out of the place whither ye have sold them, and
will return your recompense upon your own head. And I will sell
your sons and your daughters into the hands of the children
of Judah, and they shall sell them to the Serbians, to a people
far off, for the Lord hath spoken it. Yes, he declares that he
will deliver his people and he will deliver his people from
the hands of those who would persecute them. He goes on, proclaim
ye this among the Gentiles, prepare war, wake up the mighty men,
let all the men of war draw near, let them come up. Beat your plowshares
into swords and your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weak
say, I am strong. Assemble yourselves and come
all ye heathen. and gather yourselves together
round about. Viver cause thy mighty ones to
come down, O Lord. Let the heathen be wakened and
come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat, for there will I sit to judge
all the heathen round about. Put ye in the sickle, for the
harvest is ripe. Come get you down, for the press
is full, the fats overflow, for the wickedness is great. Multitudes,
multitudes in the valley of decision for the day of the lord is near
in the valley of decision where does deliverance come how does
deliverance come well there's a valley which we read of here
a valley the valley of jehoshaphat the valley of decision this valley
is beside jerusalem It is where many years after Joel spake Christ
would minister and ultimately Christ would be nailed to a tree
just outside Jerusalem. This valley of decision where
the multitudes are gathered is not the valley in which they
make a decision but this is the valley in which God makes the
decision between those whom he will save and those whom he will
judge. This valley is that in which
Christ was nailed to a cross for his people, that he might
save a people and deliver them from judgment. Now is the judgment
of this world, Christ said as he approached the cross. At this
valley, in this valley of decision, this valley of judgment, God's
decision, God's judgment would decide the fate of all mankind. is what happened on that day
when Christ was nailed to a cross which will determine your eternal
destiny, whether you are spared unto eternal glory or whether
you are cast aside into eternal darkness. There's deliverance
for God's people. How? Because one was nailed to
a cross in their stead. One was nailed on a day of judgment. That day of judgment. That day,
that terrible day of the outpouring of the wrath of God. That day. Who can abide such a day? None
can abide such a day. The outpouring of God's wrath
on that day determined whether the wrath of God will be poured
out upon your head on that day of judgment to come, or whether
His wrath was poured out upon His Son in your stead. It's the death of Christ, the
death of Christ as a substitute for His people in their place
that will deliver them from the judgment to come. Do you know
Him? Have you beheld Him in His sufferings
upon that tree? Have you looked upon Him? Has
the trumpet been sounded in your heart? Has the grace and the
mercy and the long-suffering of God, His kindness been made
known unto you in your heart? From the depths of your sin,
knowing that judgment is due to your sins, has God cried unto
your heart by His Spirit to look to look to his son. Behold, my
son, that's where your judgment has rained down. I have judged
your sins. I have poured out wrath upon
your sins. They did deserve wrath. But for
you, my child, my son, my daughter, my beloved, for you, I beat him
in your stead. For you, I judged him For you
I slew my son, for you. I love you with an everlasting
love. I will never judge you, because
I have judged him, my beloved, my own, my son, in your place. I have taken your sins away. My son, the Lord Jesus, has suffered
already. He's taken them away, there's
no more debt to pay. I've taken your sins away. I've taken them away. Rejoice,
my people. Rejoice, hear my word, for the
Lord shall roar out of Zion and utter his voice from Jerusalem. The heavens and earth shall shake. Ye shall know that the Lord God
dwells in Zion in his holy mountain. Then shall Jerusalem be holy,
and there shall no more strangers pass through her. Judah shall
dwell forever, Jerusalem from generation to generation, for
he will cleanse their blood that he has not cleansed. The Lord
dwelleth in Zion. Oh, what a salvation He has wrought
in His Son for His people! What a harvest there is in the
gospel fields! Have you heard the sound of this
gospel? Have you heard the trumpet sounding? Have you beheld the Lord Jesus
Christ dying in your place? Have you heard that cry in the
gospel? that the Lord is gracious and
merciful even unto you? Has his blood been shed for you? Have you entered into that rest
which he has made for all his people, for all his people? Have you heard? Blow ye the trumpet
in Zion for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is night hand. Has it come for you already?
Will you know the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and his blood
which washes your sin from head to toe and makes you clean? Will you hear that cry? Well
done, my good and faithful servant. I have loved thee with an everlasting
love. Amen.