Mercy for the Miserable

Q: What does the Bible say about our lost condition?

The Bible speaks of our lost condition as one of total depravity, highlighting our inability to seek God and our inherent sinfulness. The Bible portrays the human condition as one of total depravity, indicating that we are born in sin and shaped in iniquity (Psalm 51:5). We are fundamentally incapable of seeking God or doing good on our own; we are described as lost, having no hope and found in a pitiful state, much like an abandoned infant (Ezekiel 16:5-6). This state of helplessness emphasizes the need for God's intervening grace for salvation, further illustrated in the parable of the lost sheep (Luke 15:4-7), where the shepherd actively seeks the lost. Our lostness is underscored throughout Scripture, reminding us that we were dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1), entirely dependent on God's sovereign grace for redemption.

Q: How do we know God's sovereign grace is true?

God's sovereign grace is evident in Scripture as He chooses and saves sinners solely by His will and not by any merit of their own. The truth of God's sovereign grace is firmly rooted in Scripture, which continually emphasizes that God acts according to His own purpose and will, choosing individuals for salvation not based on their merits but solely out of His love and grace (Ephesians 1:4-5). In Ezekiel 16, we see how God discovers Israel in a loathsome state and declares His love despite their unworthiness. This passage reflects the larger theological concept that we do not choose God; rather, He chooses us, just as He chose Abraham before any acts of righteousness could be attributed to him (Romans 9:11-12). Furthermore, the doctrine of election supports this understanding, assuring believers that salvation is graciously bestowed by God's initiative, underscoring the unearned nature of His love and mercy.

Q: Why is it important for Christians to understand total inability?

Understanding total inability helps Christians recognize their dependence on God's grace for salvation and their need for divine intervention. The doctrine of total inability is crucial for Christians as it emphasizes our complete dependence on God's grace for salvation. It reveals that humanity, in its fallen state, possesses no spiritual ability to choose God or perform good works that could contribute to salvation (Romans 3:10-12). Recognizing our spiritual deadness helps us understand the necessity of being regenerated by the Holy Spirit (John 3:3). This doctrine underscores the idea that salvation is entirely a work of God, setting the foundation for experiencing grace in the life of the believer. It fuels gratitude and humility, as we realize that our salvation is solely attributed to God’s mercy rather than our effort or decision. In embracing this truth, Christians grow deeper in their appreciation for Christ’s sacrificial work and the transformative power of the gospel.

Q: What does the Bible teach about God's covenant with His people?

The Bible teaches that God's covenant is an everlasting promise to His people, showing His commitment to redeem and bless them despite their failures. God's covenant with His people, as illustrated in Ezekiel 16, is an unwavering promise that signifies His commitment to redeem and bless His chosen people. Despite their backsliding and idolatry, God assures Israel that He will remember His covenant (Ezekiel 16:60). This demonstrates that God’s grace and fidelity are not dependent on human faithfulness but rather on His sovereign love and purpose. The New Testament expands this understanding through Christ, who establishes the New Covenant, affirming God’s intent to save a people for Himself and promising to write His laws on their hearts (Hebrews 8:10). Thus, God's covenant acts as a testament to His initiative in salvation, reinforcing the assurance that His promises endure through all circumstances, culminating in the ultimate redemption through Jesus Christ.

I'm not going to read this entire
passage again right now, but let me read the first two verses.
Again the word of the Lord came unto me saying, this is Ezekiel
16 verse 1 and 2, Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations,
her sins, her iniquities. Now there's no doubt that the
Lord here is describing the Jewish people, national Israel. No doubt
about that. That's what he's talking about.
He describes how he found them. Your father Abraham was living
in idolatry. That's what God said. He found
them in idolatry. He found them in paganism, heathenism. He found them in darkness. That's
where God found them. He found them dead in trespasses
and sin. He found them without hope and
without God. He found them like the child
in the field, cast out, helpless, hopeless. And he made them his
people. He said it was a time of love.
I did not save you because you were more in number than any
people, but because I loved you, God said. Deuteronomy chapter
7. I loved you. He made them his people. And
he gave them glory. He gave them the glory of David.
He gave them the glory of Abraham and Joseph. He gave them the
glory of the tabernacle. He gave them the glory of the
temple. He gave them the glory of the types and the prophets
and the law. He gave them the glory of Solomon. He gave Israel
great glory, His glory. But they backslid into idolatry. They backslid into evil. They
departed from the living God. They trusted in their own glory
and their own righteousness. Turn to verse 60. Nevertheless,
God says, I'll remember my covenant with you. God's not through with
the Jewish people. I don't know, you don't know,
and no other person knows, and no expert on prophecy knows what's
going to happen in the future. God alone knows. But one thing
we do know, He's not through with the Jewish people. He says
in Ezekiel 16, 30, Nevertheless, I will remember my covenant with
thee in the days of thy youth, And I will establish unto thee
an everlasting covenant." God, if you'll read Romans 9, 10,
11, God's got something in the future for the Jewish people,
for Abraham's seed by nature. So this passage, there's no doubt
about what God is saying, what the prophet Ezekiel is saying.
God says, "'Cause Jerusalem to know her bondmenations, where
I found her, what I did for her, and where she has departed from
me, and yet I will remember my covenant. But, as in all scripture,
and this is what I've said so many times, the Old Testament
is Christ in picture, illustration, story, and type. The New Testament
is Christ in person. The Old Testament is the New
Testament concealed. It's there, it takes spiritual
eyes to see it. It takes the anointing of the
Holy Spirit to see it. The Old Testament is the New
Testament concealed. It's all there. Everything Christ
is and everything Christ has done. He took the Old Testament
scriptures and showed them the things concerning himself. He
said to the Jewish people, you are busy searching the scriptures.
He's not talking about the New Testament, he's talking about
the Old Testament. You're searching the scriptures. For in them you think
you have life. But they are they which testify
of me. and you will not come to me that
you might have life. This is not a book of history.
This is a book of redemption. It's Christ. From Genesis to
Malachi is Christ. The New Testament is the Old
Testament revealed. Christ died for our sins according
to the scriptures. So while I was reading this scripture
a moment ago about how the, and it was the custom, Barbarous
custom heathen custom, but in some countries among some tribes
When a baby was born that they didn't want a deformed child
They take that infant without tying its navel or without washing
it or cleaning it up or anything Just throw it out in the field
and leave it And when I was reading about that He said you were born
of the land of Canaan the land of curse your daddy was an Amorite
your mother a Hittite And you weren't born, nor I pitied thee
to do any of these things for you, but you were just cast out
into the field to the loathing of thy person. And I came by
you, and I saw you polluted in your blood, lying there in your
corruption. And it was a time of love. You
didn't love me. I loved you. You didn't seek
me. I sought you. You didn't choose
me. I chose you. And I passed by you, and I said,
live. And you lived. And I washed you. And I spread my skirt over you
and covered your nakedness. And I put a robe of boarded work
on you and soft, the best soft badger skin slippers on you.
And I put earrings in your ears and I put a crown on your head
and I put a gold and a stone in your forehead and I put bracelets
on your arms and I decked you out and I made you mine. And
you were beautiful in my comeliness, you were beautiful. While I was
reading that, Were you just thinking about Israel? If you were, you
don't know the gospel. This is how God saves sinners.
That's what this is all about. That's what this was written
for. This wasn't written for some preacher to get up and brag
on the Jews and tell about what great things God has done for
them and leave us paupers. This is what God did for me.
You see, that's what God did for you. Let's look at it. We're
going to have four or five headings. Number one is our lost condition.
He said you were polluted in your blood to the loathing of
your person. That's where we'll start. That's
where God starts. That's where anybody knows the
gospel starts. You start with the law. You got to have judgment
before you have grace. And secondly, we're going to
see God's sovereign grace. I love that term, God's sovereign
grace. And then we're going to see,
thirdly, love's gracious command. And then we're going to see,
fourthly, love's gracious gifts. Now here was that baby lying
out there in the field, a very unhappy, pitiful sight, from
its birth cast out there in the field and left, deserted, totally
deserted, none-eyed, pitiably, nobody cared, helpless, hopeless,
from birth cast away. And that's where God starts describing
our condition. Our condition of ruin is an early
ruin. Now I know preachers deny this,
and denominations deny it, and congregations deny it, but the
scripture says we were born in sin and shapen in iniquity. In sin my mother conceived me. I was brought forth from the
womb speaking lies. Here's a description of our birth
in verse 3, look at it. And say, thus saith the Lord
God to Jerusalem, and this is to you, your birth and nativity
is the land of the land of Canaan. You know what the land of Canaan
is? What did God say to Canaan? He said, cursed be Canaan. In
other words, God said, you're born under a curse. You're born
under a curse. Everyone born in Canaan, Noah
came off that ark. I don't know what the saying
was, and you don't either. No use dwelling on it, but Ham,
the son of Noah, committed a grievous sin, and God said, cursed be
Canaan, his offspring. Cursed be Canaan. And I'll tell
you, when Adam, when Canaan's daddy, Ham, fell, cursed be Canaan. And when Adam sinned in the Garden
of Eden, cursed be his posterity. By one man's sin into this world,
and death by sin, so death passed upon all men for all sins. And
we were born under the curse of sin. We were born under condemnation. By one man's transgression, we
became sinners, sinners, sinners. You don't become a sinner when
you steal your first watermelon. You stole it because you were
a sinner. You don't become a sinner when
you tell your first lie. You lied because sin was born
in you. You don't become a sinner when
you steal your first baseball. You stole that baseball because
you hated God and hated his law. That sin was born in you. You
were born in sin. We didn't come into this world
as Adam did without condemnation. We go astray as soon as we're
born speaking lies. We didn't come into this world
as one who might stand or might fall. We came already fallen. You can gnash your teeth at that,
and you can kick against it, and I know there's no doctrine
more humbling, but natural depravity is upon every one of us. It's
deep-rooted. It's in the seed which our daddy
planted in our mother's womb. That's where sin starts. It's
the deepest part. How permanent the stain. Not
only was it an early ruin, but listen to me. Our lost condition
is one not only that comes from birth, but it is one of total
inability, total inability, total spiritual inability. Now, look
at that baby again. What can that baby do for itself?
That baby is as helpless and impotent and powerless as the
clay on the potter's wheel. That infant cannot do one thing
for itself, not one thing. That infant feels the pain, but
he doesn't know what's causing it. That infant feels the discomfort,
but he doesn't understand his condition. He not only cannot do anything
about his condition, but he doesn't have the judgment and the wisdom
to even understand his condition. And if anything is ever done
for that infant, it'll have to all come from outside, right?
You can stand there and say, infant, now if you'll just get
up and give me a hand. Infant, if you'll just take the
first step. Infant, if you'll just show some interest, if you'll
just let me know you're interested in me. I'll love you now if you
love me too. Ain't no use carrying on a lot
of foolishness like that. That baby is as hopeless and
helpless and unable to do anything as a piece of dead clay. If there's a resurrection, it'll
have to come from God. If there's a miracle, it'll have
to come from God. from first to last, Alpha to
Omega, and you and I are so, we are so corrupt in our fall,
in our total depravity, that we can feel the pain of it. There
is a repentance which the unsaved man produces. There's a, Esau had a type of
grief and a type of, he feels the pain, he feels the discomfort,
he doesn't understand his condition. He's not aware of it. There's
no power to save ourselves. Not only that, but we have no
knowledge of our condition. Thirdly, our lost condition. Now listen to me. And I know
this won't go over too well in most places. I hope it will here.
But our lost condition by birth, by choice, by practice, by nature
is loathsome. That's what God says. He says
in verse 5, to the loathing of thy person. Isaiah said, when King Uzziah
died, I saw the Lord and I cried, woe is me. I'm a man of unclean
lips. Job saw the Lord, he said, I
hate myself. I abhor myself. Thy condition
is loathsome. ashes for beauty, shame for glory,
rottenness for health, hell for heaven, death for life. That's
all. And my friends, I'm not talking about the harlot. I know
you believe that about her. And I'm not talking about the
drunkard. I know you believe that about him. His condition's
loathsome. And I'm not talking about the
thief and the murderer. I'm talking about everybody in
this congregation by nature. Your condition before God is
loathsome. I'm not here to compliment you
or you to compliment me, but to tell the truth. And you may
be moral and you may be sober and you may be generous and you
may be honest as compared with other men, but before the searchlight
of God's holy, spotless, immaculate, infinite, immutable law, you
are loathsome. From the sole of your feet to
the top of your head, there's no soundness in you, nothing
but open running sores that have not been bound up, neither mollified
with ointment. Paul found it out and cried,
O wretched man! O the exceeding sinfulness of
sin! And this is the way we are by
nature. We are born under the curse of Canaan, the curse of
Adam. We are cast out. We are polluted. And we are loathsome. That's what God says. If you
want to improve on that, you go right ahead. But that's it.
That's it. Lost. Totally unable to do anything
about it. That's the condition of this
whole generation. Just like that helpless infant,
born and cast out. Immediately, not even navel not
cut, not swaddled, not salted, not washed, not bathed, not cared
for, just born and cast out. And that's where we started.
By birth. Helpless. And just, you know,
nothing prettier than a little old baby that somebody's cleaned
up and diapered and put on a blue blue nightgown, you know, little
ribbon in his hair and put a little powder all over it, you know,
and that's beautiful. But that baby wasn't pretty.
And that's you and me. Secondly, God's sovereign grace.
Now watch this, verse 6. And when I passed by thee... Somebody wrote a hymn one time,
it said, "'Tis not that I did choose thee, Lord, that could
not be. Had not thou chosen me, thy glory
I could not see." We didn't seek God any more than that baby sought
that helper, that good friend. We didn't choose God. He chose
us. We didn't pass by Him. He passed
by us. He said, I pass by you. I pass
by you. And listen to Him, and I saw
you. I didn't see any beauty in you
to attract me. I didn't see any form about you
to make me want you. I didn't see anything in your
future. You stand and look at that baby a little while. What
do you see that's beautiful? That's not beautiful. Everything
about it repels you, is repulsive. You see any hope for that baby?
That baby will just rot. That will become food for the
birds, for the animals. The longer it lies there in that
old dried blood and mucus running out of its mouth and nose and
flies all over its eyes, the longer it lies there, the worse
it's going to get. So God didn't see anything. I
hear people say, well, God chose me because he saw I would be
a preacher, or he saw I would do this, or he saw I... Just
think how long you'd have to stand there and wait for that
baby to be anything but what it is, or worse. Now you think
with me, if you don't want to think, well, flip your ballpoint
pen or something, but that's what this is saying here. I passed
by you and I saw you just like you were, polluted in your blood,
polluted. I know the modern thought is
that man takes the first step. God's standing out there waiting.
He's extended his arms, and he says, come, and you take the
first step. But you know, that reminds me
of that old Roman tradition about St. Dennis. You ever heard about
St. Dennis? They said St. Dennis, somebody cut his head
off, and St. Dennis picked up his head and
his arm and walked a thousand miles. And some wit was standing
there, and he said, I don't see anything wrong with that. And
everybody laughed at him. He said, I believe he could walk
a thousand miles. Tell me how he took the first
step. If he can take that first step, he can walk a thousand
miles. And that's true. If that baby can take one step,
he don't need me. If that sinner can take one step,
he doesn't need God. He said, I passed by you, and
I saw you. I saw you polluted in your blood. I saw you in the loathsome condition
you were in. I saw you. I passed by. I saw
you. I saw you. I saw you. What was there in me to merit
esteem or give the creature delight? Twas even so, Father, I shall
forever sing it seemed good in thy sight. I don't know why God
chose me. I don't know why God chose you.
But I just know he did, or you wouldn't be here, and I wouldn't
be here. I just know he did. It's a mystery, and I'll leave
that in his hands. The Lord Jesus did. Our master
said, Father, I thank thee, Lord of
heaven and earth. Thou hast hid these things from
the wise and prudent, and thou hast revealed them unto babes.
For even so, Father, it seemed good in thy sight. I pass by
you. All right, thirdly, love's gracious
command. Look at verse 8. And when I passed
by you and looked upon you, behold, the time was the time of love.
Now let me ask you this. Who loved whom? Ah, who loved
whom? Well, the baby didn't love the
Lord. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved
us. Why does God spare the helpless
infant? Why does God look with mercy
upon such as we? Why does God give his well-beloved
son to die on the cross to redeem us? Why does God do that? Why
does God send his Holy Spirit to call us out of our rebellion
and sin? Why? He loved us. I've drawn you with an everlasting
love for God so loved the world that he gave... Jesus Christ
didn't come down here into the world to get God in a notion
of saving. He came because God Almighty
already was in the notion of saving. That's why he came. Christ
didn't come down here in the world to make God love us. He
came because God loved us. That's why he came. For God so
loved that he gave. I passed by you, I saw you in
your blood, and it was a time of love. Thank God he is love. God loves sinners. For God so The love of God, how rich, how
pure, how measureless, how strong, it shall forevermore endure,
the saints and angels saw. Could we with ink the ocean fill,
and were the skies of parchment made, and every stalk on earth
a quill, and every man a scribe by trade, to write the love of
God above would drain this ocean dry, nor could the scroll contain
the whole, though stretched from sky to sky. I came by, and I
loved you. I loved you. And I said to you,
listen, here's love's gracious command. I said to you, and look
back here, if you will, at verse six. I said to you, and he emphasizes
this twice, he said, I passed by you, verse six, I saw you
in your blood. I said to you, when you were
in your blood, when you were in your lost condition, when
you were in your dead state, I said to you twice, he says,
when you were in your blood, I said to you, Live, live, live,
live. You were dead in trespasses and
sin. And I came by and I said, Mike,
live. Bob, live. I said it. The preacher didn't say it. You
didn't say it. Mama and Daddy didn't say it.
The soul winner didn't say it. I said it. The Spirit of God brooded over
the dark waters of this corrupted earth one day. The earth became
without form and void. The Spirit of God brooded upon
the waters in that darkness, and the Spirit of God brooded
over it, and then God said, Let there be light! And I'll tell
you, brother, every nook and corner and cranny and everywhere
else was flooded with light because He said so. He decreed it, He
purposed it, He ordered it, He commanded it. Why? Bless your heart. That same God
who said, let there be light, has shined in these darkened
hearts of ours to give us a knowledge of the gospel of His glory in
the face of Christ Jesus. One day God said, let there be
light. And I can stand up here, and Bruce, you can preach, and
Charlie, and you other men, Cecil, you can preach, Don, till you
run out of breath, and run out of words, and people run out
of patience, and nobody's going to understand one blessed thing
you say till God says, let there be light. That's so. And all
your human reasoning and logic and persuasion and illustrations
and understanding and manipulating and pussyfooting and proselyting
and going easy with folks is not going to help anybody till
God says, over that dark dead farm, let there be light. That's it. They're going to stay
dead. They may be There may be dead
carcasses that have been dead one day, and they may be rotten.
They may have been dead 50 years, but they're still dead. God's
Spirit moved upon the empty womb of Mary and said, Let there be
life! The Spirit of God shall overshadow
thee. The power of the highest shall come upon thee. And God
said, Let there be life! The Lord Jesus Christ stood outside
the grave of Lazarus and said, roll away that stone. They said,
he's dead. I know. Roll away the stone.
But he's been there four days. Roll away the stone. But he smells
bad. Roll away the stone. And he stood
there and said, Lazarus, come out of there. And I'll tell you this, the power
of his word is the power of the gospel. And the power of the
gospel is life and light. Almighty God says, let there
be light. There's going to be light, the
light of understanding. When the Lord Jesus Christ says,
let there be life, a son's going to come forth. When the Lord
Jesus Christ says, come forth, that invincible, irresistible
grace of the power of God's Spirit is going to make a man walk.
And you walk in paths of righteousness. Nobody else can do it. Nobody
else can do it. Love's gracious command. Live. All people can go through
the motions of religion, they can play church, they can study
the Bible and talk about heaven, talk about hell, talk about their
church work, their denomination, get mad, fall out, go back somewhere
else, hunt another church, split up, start a new one, do all these
things in the name of God, and it's as useless as making mud
pies when you were kids, unless God says, let there be light.
Let there be light. Light and life! And when God
gives light and life, that man walks. And he walks with God. And nobody's going to stop his
journey. And nobody's going to sidetrack him. He's going to
walk with God. And he'll be walking with God
when God says, come home. He'll be walking with God when
God calls him. Because God gave him life. He
didn't get it from a preacher. He didn't get it from a soul
winner. He didn't get it from mama and daddy. God Almighty
gave him that life and he's God's son. And come what may, he's
God's son. Walking with God. That's a miracle.
That's salvation. And anything else is not salvation.
Abraham can go out and get him a son by Hagar. He can get him a son by anybody
else. But till God gives him a son, he doesn't have the son
of promise. And you can get sinners down
the aisle and talk them into professions of religion, get
them to join your church, put pressure on them, baptize them,
put their name on the roll, give them a Sunday school class, give
them something to do. They're not God's children till
God begets them. Till God gives them life. And
when He gives them life, in no way you'll ever budge them. No
way. No way. They'll be there with
their Lord. And the waves can rock the boat
and they'll be right there. And the boat can hit a storm,
and the boat can hit the rocks, and the boat can hit the wreath,
and the boat can do all these things. They're right there,
because they know Him who holds the boat in His hand. Last of all, love's gracious
gifts. Look at this. Verse 9. Let's start with verse 9. I washed
you. I washed you. Picked up that
little baby. wretched side. But he picked
him up and he washed him, cleaned him good. There's a fountain
filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins, and sinners
plunge beneath that flood, lose every guilty stand. I don't have
any sin this morning, ten minutes after eleven, June the 19th,
1977, I don't have any sin. Because when my Lord washed me,
he did a good job. He washed me. He said, though
your sins be as scarlet, though they be red like crimson, just
like that baby, I'll make you as white as snow. I washed you. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's
Son, cleanses us from all sin. Read on. And I washed you with
way your blood, and I anointed you with oil. Let me tell you
something. The oil here is the Holy Spirit. There is, never has been, and
never will be, an unanointed priest in the temple of the living
God. Every priest in that temple is
anointed, anointed with oil. And you can run around here talking
about, I'm saved, but I ain't got the Holy Spirit yet. You
haven't got Christ if you don't have his Spirit. If any man have
not the Spirit of Christ, he's none of his. As many as are led
by the Holy Spirit are the sons of God. Now you can go back and
try to relive the book of Acts when God sent the Holy Spirit
at Pentecost and in special revelations, but my friends, if you have not
the Holy Spirit, you don't belong to him because God does not have
an unanointed priest in his temple offering up sacrifices of faith
and praise and love. And then he said in verse 10,
look at this, I washed you, I anointed you, and I clothed you. I look at it carefully. Four
things are mentioned here. You need to look at it with me. I clothed you first of all with
broadered work. That broadered work was wrought
by the skilled needles of Jewish women who sat for hours and made
that broadered work, embroidered. Their skilled needles touched
every place in the flowers and the different different pictures
and all the types was embroidered on that fine piece of tapestry. And he said, I've clothed you
with this broadered work. What's that? That's the righteousness
of Christ that was all worked out by his skilled obedience. by his skilled righteousness,
by his coming into this world, and through his words, and through
his thoughts, and through his attitude, and through his motive,
and through his hands, and his feet, and every movement of his
body, and every word, and every prayer, he has worked out skillfully,
embroidered for us that perfect righteousness that covers our
nakedness. Beautiful? You talk about that
broader work by those Jewish women, how beautiful it was. Well, you think how the skill
and fingers of our Lord wrought out a righteousness that's so
beautiful that God himself says it's beautiful. My robe of righteousness
is beautiful, God says. His son made it. Read on. And I shod thee with badger skin. Badger skin was used for the
covering of the art and the covering of the tabernacle in the wilderness.
Leather. But this leather was made from
skins that were the softest, the best, and the most durable. Because it had to last through
the wilderness journey. Forty years of burning sun, of
thorns and briars and sand and rock, and rolling up and moving
from place to place. It lasted. And God said, I've
shod you. You've got to walk through this
world. It's tough. I've washed you with water and
I've clothed you with blotted work, but you've got to walk
through this world. It's going to hurt. You're going
to go over some tough places, but my, my, I've shod you with
a soft leather. My yoke is easy. My burden is
light. I've shod you with the best leather.
It'll, it'll last. It's durable. It'll keep you. It'll protect you. My grace is
sufficient. And then what's next? I girded
you with fine linen. You know what that is? That's
the purity. Only the high priest, only the
priest wore that fine linen. Before he went into the presence
of God, he put on, he washed, and then he sprinkled himself
with blood, and then he put on that white, spotless, fine linen. Went into God's presence. And
that speaks of the purity of the righteousness of Jesus Christ,
which we wear. We are as pure as that priest. And then he said, he said, I
covered you with silk. You know what this is? This is
the fabric of royalty. Only the king wore silk, fine,
beautiful silk. In my surety I am free. His dear
hands were pierced for me, and with his spotless garments on,
I am as holy as the Holy One. Now in closing, watch this. In
verse 11, I decked you. Now I passed by you, and I saw
you. I saw you like you really were. I saw you like you haven't seen
yourself, but I loved you. And I said, Leo, and then I washed
you in the blood of the lamb. And then I clothed you with broadered
work. I clothed you with badger skin.
I clothed you with white linen. I clothed you with royalty. You're
a king. You wear the robes of royalty.
And then I decked you. Look at this. These ornaments
represent the work of the Holy Spirit, his graces. He said,
I put bracelets on your hands. You know what that's a picture
of? The believer goes about the work of the Lord, the work of
faith for God's glory. He uses his hands for the glory
of God. Busy in the kingdom of our Lord,
working for his glory. And then he said, I'll put a
chain on your neck. I like what one of the writers said about
this. That old proud, haughty neck was bent and bowed before
the Lord And when that old proud neck was bowed, the Lord slipped
the chain, the yoke of Christ, about his neck. The only way you can put that
yoke of Christ about the neck is for it to be bent, for it
to be in submission. God will break that wild-ass's
coat so he can ride him, and he won't even need a bit
in God will humble him, God will bring him low. God will take
the stiffness out, and the pride out, and the haughty spirit,
and the arrogance out, and God will bend that neck, and then
he'll put that yoke on the neck, chain. And then he said, watch
this, I put a jewel in your forehead. You ever seen pictures of these
Indian Oriental women that had that beautiful jewel right here? You know what the writer says
about that? This jewel in the forehead is
an open confession of our Lord. It's seen, it's observed by all. I'm not ashamed to own my Lord
nor to defend his cause. Maintain the honor of his word. I'm not ashamed. Not that. Not
that. And then he said, I put earrings
in your ears. What is that? My sheep hear my
voice and they follow me. He puts in our ears the beautiful
golden ring of hearing. You hear his voice. And then he says, and I put a
crown on your head. To him that overcometh will I
give to sit upon my throne even as I overcame and sat on my father's
throne. I put a crown on your head. We're
priests and kings under God. And one person said about this,
and he said, Praise God for the bracelets on my hands and the
chain on my neck and the jewel on my forehead and the earrings
in my ears and the crown on my head. Praise God and glory to
God for the graces that I haven't tasted yet. There's more to come. More to come. But I'm telling
you this, I solemnly declare unto you, this right here, in
no way in no way that you can understand and comprehend and
appreciate what he's done or give him the proper glory if
you can't start where he starts I passed by you and I saw you
polluted it was a time of love and I said to you Leo and I'll
tell you one of the most beautiful verses is right there in Ezekiel
16 While I was reading it, I saw it, verse 14. And thy renown
went forth among the heathen for thy beauty. Thy beauty. For it was perfect through my
comeliness, saith the Lord, which I put upon you. Somebody says,
you've got strong faith. It's not yours, it's here. He
gave it to you. Your life reflects the beauty
of Christ. No, no yours doesn't. That's
His beauty. Everything you've got is given
to you. He made you everything you are. Watch out verse 15,
but you trusted in your own beauty. That's when you're headed for
the fall. That's when you're going to play the harlot. Because
of your renown, you poured out your fornication on everyone
that passed by. You trusted in your beauty. You
start trusting in your righteousness and God will put you on an ash
heap. His righteousness, His beauty. Our Father, give us an understanding
of what salvation is and in whose hands that salvation rests. The glorious gift of Thy grace
and Thy love in Christ our Lord. Give us ears to hear. We're so
dull and dumb, we're so taken up with ourselves. We're so fascinated
by the things of this world, vanities of life. We're so taken
up with them. We're so concerned with them.
Our whole thoughts are about the things of this world and
ourselves. And we're not thinking about
things eternal, but they are the only things that will last.
Give us open ears and seeing eyes and a broken heart. Oh Lord, give us a word from
thee. Leave us not in this awful, polluted,
loathsome condition. May it be the time of love when
you pass by us. Pass me not, O gentle Savior. Hear my humble cry while on others
thou art calling. Do not pass me by. For Christ's
sake I pray. Amen.

Mercy for the Miserable

What does the Bible say about our lost condition?

How do we know God's sovereign grace is true?

Why is it important for Christians to understand total inability?

What does the Bible teach about God's covenant with His people?

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Mercy for the Miserable

What does the Bible say about our lost condition?

How do we know God's sovereign grace is true?

Why is it important for Christians to understand total inability?

What does the Bible teach about God's covenant with His people?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

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