[0:00] Our first item of praise is from Psalm 23 in the Scari Salter. And we're just going to hear recorded singing.
[0:14] And although we can't join in as we might wish, we can still make music in Urhats as we listen to this recording of the 23rd Psalm to the tune Amazing Grace, the Lord's Nice Shepherd.
[1:27] I'm the angel of the wind, with him the hands of righteousness, in all his office say, Ye who are more in heaven, than ever I hear the hymn, for all the Lord will be our light on, and shall be our Word still.
[2:30] Our day of battle was worshiped, and all my Lord, will be our light, with all the Lord, and I am all the Lord.
[3:08] Great and mercy all my life, shall journey for the clear, and in the search forevermore, my way may shall be.
[3:49] There is some Gertrude prayer. Eternal and ever blessed Lord, I thank thee for the words that we have heard newly sung again this morning, words that we learned as children, even as very young children, a Psalm that was so familiar to us, and yet a Psalm that we did not often appreciate, the deep meanings contained within it.
[4:43] And we thank thee, but now in advanced years, that the words of this Psalm still resonate with us, and that we still see more, within the well-known words of the Psalm that we have just heard sung.
[5:09] O, may each one of us today be unable to say, through the grace of faith, that the Lord is my shepherd.
[5:24] And in claiming this, may we also claim that the shepherd is our Lord, that he reigns over our hearts, and that we render obedience to him.
[5:45] We thank thee today for the gracious pastoral caret, that is exercised by the heavenly shepherd.
[5:59] And we know from thy truth that one of all could claim that his life was shepherded all his life long by the one who is portrayed in the Psalm which has just been sung.
[6:21] Jacob on his deathbed could refer to this glorious fact as he reflected upon the years of his life, the way in which his life had been pastored by the one who is set before us by David in this little Psalm.
[6:46] O, Lord, as we reflect upon our lives, irrespective of what may have taken place throughout the years that we have lived, may we too recognize with Jacob of old that our lives have been shepherded by thee.
[7:11] Jacob knew times of sorrow as well as times of happiness, times of deep sorrow and triumph, times where he himself had incurred perhaps many of the sorrows that he experienced, yet he was in no doubt at the end of life that his life had been pastored by thee.
[7:46] And so today we give thee thanks for the pastoral curve of Almighty God, for the way in which thou dost refresh lives spiritually through thy truth and may our souls be refreshed anew today as we reflect upon thy word.
[8:14] May we be assured of thy presence with us as we engage in this act of worship and may we look forward to our future with thee, not only knowing thee in this present life but with the expectation of faith.
[8:38] When this life is brought to its closure as it inevitably must be, that we shall dwell in God's house forever.
[8:50] That was the phirim conviction of thy servant of old, as one who could claim that the Lord was his shepherd.
[9:02] We pray thy blessing over homes and families of the congregation here. We give thee thanks for keeping them throughout the years of vacancy, and we thank thee that our settlement is soon expected.
[9:23] We pray thy blessing upon them as a congregation upon the Davis family as they resettle again in this part of thy vineyard.
[9:36] Bless thy servant as he resums the pastoral responsibility for the homes and families allocated to him in this part of thy vineyard.
[9:51] May he know much blessing under thine hand. May he know that thou art with him going before him as the breaker of his words anointing him liberally from on high with the power of thy spirit.
[10:09] That thy word may go forth with power and conviction to the hearts and minds of many. Bless the children growing up in the community.
[10:22] O Lord, touch their lives from an early age so that the teaching they receive in Sunday school, in youth fellowships and so on may indeed bear fruit in their lives.
[10:38] Bless all who are engaged in the instruction of the young to give of their time and energy to do so. We give thee thanks for all those who are involved in such work.
[10:53] Bless any today who are unable to be present through thy restraint and providence. Bless any who may be mourning the loss of loved ones.
[11:04] Comfort them with the comfort which thy truth alone can bring reaching down into bruised and sorrowing hearts with the power of the truth.
[11:20] Remember our world, a world that is still struggling with the effect of the pandemic. Some countries been more affected than others.
[11:34] We remember those countries today where there is so much heartache and so much loss of life. O Grant, O God, the doused of mercy and the doused now bring to an end the effect of this pandemic.
[11:56] In these nations we give thee thanks for the way in which vaccines have been used in this country. And we give thee thanks for the measure of protection of heart.
[12:11] But above all we pray, O that those turned out hearts again to thyself, that as peoples and generations and countries that we might know what it is to live with God, to have Christ as our Savior and to experience the outpouring of the blessing that comes through the ministry of thy Holy Spirit in applying the power of the truth.
[12:47] Lead us and guide us throughout this service. Cleanse in the blood. In Jesus' name we ask it with forgiveness of sin.
[12:58] Amen. Just a word to a younger listener. I don't know if you've ever heard the phrase that the camera never lies.
[13:14] Do you believe that? I always believed it. When I looked at photos of myself through the camera lens I just saw what I saw in the mirror.
[13:32] And I still see what I see in the mirror, an old battle of white hair. And the camera doesn't lie at all.
[13:43] But yet I'm led to believe. No, I'm no technician, but there's a phrase used.
[13:55] Airbrushing. Now don't ask me exactly how to give you a definition of airbrushing but it goes something like this. Airbrushing makes you look much better than you really are.
[14:11] No, for the average person that may not concern you. But for those whose livelihoods is dependent on the camera airbrushing apparently is very important.
[14:28] Plays a significant role so that they project an image to the world but it's not really a true image.
[14:39] Because the photography for one of our better phrases has been doctored and it's been altered. Maybe noses made smaller, eyes made larger.
[14:56] And so on. Perhaps some of us would like our photos to be airbrushed particularly if we have to keep our tummies then when the camera is focusing on us.
[15:08] But the point of the story is this. The camera doesn't change the character of the person who's airbrushed.
[15:20] Only Jesus can change our character because when we trust in Jesus our lives are changed from within.
[15:31] Not from without. Airbrushing may alter the way we look from without and it may please us to be projected into the world looking this way.
[15:47] That's not what we're really are. The Bible shows us ourselves as we really are. And we may not like that very much sometimes.
[15:59] When the Bible shows us who we really are and what we really like. But when Jesus comes into our lives he changes our lives from within.
[16:13] And that's important. Not the changes that affects how we think and how we act without as well. Now we may not look any different, but we are.
[16:28] And just a personal illustration. When I was a university student which was a long time ago I had a friend and we went everywhere together.
[16:42] And he's just recently passed out of life. He was a, I became a geography teacher. And when the Lord came into my life to him I became a total stranger.
[17:03] Now this was his own acknowledgement. I wasn't aware of that. And he became very upset one day. He was visiting my room. I was staying in a hall of residence in Aberdeen.
[17:17] And he broke down in tears and he said, I've just been thinking of the text. The one shall be taken and the other shall be left. What shall happen to the one that is left?
[17:29] Well a few weeks later the Lord came into his life too. And he never looked back. And there just about a month ago, maybe six weeks ago he passed away in Ragemore Hospital.
[17:47] Still trusting in the Christ of God. So you see, Jesus changes our lives home with him.
[18:02] Using the truth so that we become different people. Doesn't dear brother our lives? He doesn't pretend that we haven't got a whole lot of flaws and faults.
[18:16] He shows us what we really are and how we need Jesus to forgive all sins. And to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
[18:27] Let us now read from the Old Testament, from the book of Psalms, Psalm 23. On the title of the psalm, a psalm of David, The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
[18:46] He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.
[18:58] He leads me in paths of righteousness, even for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.
[19:13] For you are with me. You rod and you're staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me, in the presence of my enemies.
[19:27] You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.
[19:43] And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Amen, and may God bless to us that reading from his truth.
[19:58] And I should like to look with you today, at David's conviction as expressed in the closing words of this little Psalm.
[20:12] I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. I think it would be correct for me to state that there is no part of the Bible which is as well known, at least in Highland circles, as the 23rd Psalm.
[20:40] And not just in Highland circles. I hesitate to say that it's a Psalm that's universally or globally known because I remember conducting a marriage service in Detroit, 1995.
[21:05] And having Psalm 23 to the tune of Amazing Grace on the order of service. Naively thinking that Psalm 23 would be universally recognized.
[21:23] But for the guests who had gathered to that service, that wasn't so. It became very apparent the presenter sounds so, apart from myself trying to support him.
[21:44] In our circles though, how often do we sing the words of this little Psalm? And because we do and because we are so very familiar with the words of this Psalm, it may be the first part of scripture that we memorized.
[22:05] I don't know if children memorize today. Education went through a phase when memory work was thrown down.
[22:16] But to my mind, memorizing things is a huge help. When you memorize something as a child, stays with your right into old age.
[22:32] I remember thinking that in my first charge in the Isle of Skye, and I was at the bedside of an elderly lady.
[22:43] I'm not sure if she was much older than I am myself today. She was coming to the end of life. And I read from the book of Psalms and then a part of scripture.
[23:00] And as I was reading with her, she was enunciated in the words before I was even coming to them.
[23:11] And I was thinking how good it was that she had memorized these passages from a way back. And although her faculties were diminishing, and although perhaps she wouldn't recognize people who were in the neighborhood and so on, the word of God still resonated with her and it was there in her mind and in her heart.
[23:43] And it obviously meant much to her. But how often do we stop to reflect upon the depth of meaning contained within words that are so well known?
[23:59] It's a Psalm that was written by a shepherd, David. Before being anointed to being king in Israel by the prophet Samuel on the express instructions of the Lord, David was a shepherd boy.
[24:19] And the experience and the knowledge that he acquired as a shepherd comes across very strongly in the wording of the Psalm.
[24:32] And we have to remember that David was not only anointed to be king over Israel, but he was to be their spiritual under shepherd.
[24:48] The second book of Samuel reminds us, then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron, second Samuel 5, and said, Behold, we are your bone and flesh.
[25:00] In times past when Saul was king over us, it was you who led out and brought in Israel. And the Lord said to you, You shall be shepherd of my people Israel, and you shall be prince over Israel.
[25:15] And that is brilliantly summarized for us in Psalm 78. He chose that as God his servant David, bringing him from tend in sheep to be shepherd of his people, God's inheritance to keep.
[25:31] Faithfully by David fed, they with skillful hands were led. You may also remember the message that was communicated to David by Nathan the prophet, when David wished to build a house for the ark of the Lord.
[25:51] And the Bible tells us, Thus you shall say to my servant David, that is the Lord saying, speaking to Nathan, Thus says the Lord the host, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you shall be prince over my people Israel, and I have been with you wherever you went.
[26:10] The message continues, And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me, your throne shall be established forever.
[26:24] And the content of that message filled David with amazement, because this refers not just to the immediate family of David, but it also refers to the coming Messiah.
[26:42] And so you find David humbly sitting before God, who am I? Oh Lord God, what is my house that you have brought me thus far?
[26:57] Yet despite how skillful and how knowledgeable he was as a shepherd, David too required a shepherd, one who would pastor him spiritually.
[27:12] And at the beginning of the psalm he makes it abundantly plain who he considers to be his pastor. From him he finds strength and guidance.
[27:27] And so the opening phrase of the psalm is very significant, the Lord is my shepherd. Someone once wrote these words in reflecting on the Lord is my shepherd, the king of love.
[27:47] My shepherd is whose goodness faileth never. And now at the conclusion of this masterpiece you find David stating this conviction, I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
[28:03] There is no, maybe I might dwell in the house of the Lord. There is no if about it, it is a definite conviction.
[28:15] And the key to entering the house of the Lord forever is to be able to declare with David, the Lord is my shepherd.
[28:26] It's what a staggering statement when you consider some of the implications of these words of truth.
[28:37] And David could also state the converse, the shepherd is my Lord. In other words, the great ayah, the ever-present one.
[28:52] He pastors my soul, to him I give service and obedience. And so David has no doubt about taking up residence in the house of the Lord.
[29:06] This as far as he is concerned is a certainty. He has every confidence in the grace and the loving kindness of the Lord. You know how we live in uncertain times, our providence so often is uncertain.
[29:29] And at present as a world still contending with the effect of a virus that cannot be seen with an ached eye, it is so small.
[29:42] And yet it is having such an effect upon our sophisticated, technological, scientific and medically advanced world.
[30:00] Yet this virus appears, different areas of the world to spread like a wild more fire, out of control.
[30:13] It has made us familiar with terrors that we weren't familiar with before. The trip of our tongue now locked down, social distancing, self-isolating.
[30:31] Because this pandemic is a global problem. Nations boast in military and economic strength.
[30:45] And I think COVID-19 shows how foolish it is to boast in the things that we do boast in. When our sovereign God who has foreordained whatsoever comes to pass, can paralys nations of the world with an illness like COVID-19.
[31:11] And I believe that God is speaking to us in these providences that have been so sore for so many families. Did we but care to listen? Many people resent such an intervention in our world.
[31:29] It interferes with our plans, it interferes with our sporting arrangements, our holiday arrangements, our daily living. But much more than that, it has brought pain, great suffering and death into many families.
[31:47] It has left many feeling isolated and cut off. Added to that, there has been an increase in mental health problems during lockdown.
[32:00] Job opportunities, lost, causing economic hardship for many. Many firms, many businesses have gone out of business.
[32:15] There have been meltdown for different types of employers. And yet despite the several successful vaccines that have been developed and protection granted, and we ought to be grateful for that, my fear is, and I hope I'm proved wrong, that as a generation we will be like Pharaoh of old in Egypt.
[32:43] What was true of Pharaoh of old? After each divine intervention, he hardened his heart.
[32:58] I hope I'm proved wrong, but I fear that there is a hardening of heart against the kind of providences that we are experiencing currently in our world.
[33:12] Well, there were many uncertainties in the life of David too, but he had this conviction, I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
[33:26] And the reason, as I have already stated, is that the Lord was his shepherd. Well, just a few thoughts. How do we understand, by the phrase, the house of the Lord?
[33:42] And then secondly, why was David so desirous of being in the house of the Lord? And thirdly, when would he dwell in the house of the Lord?
[33:55] What do we understand by the phrase, the house of the Lord? You know, there are some places, and when you think of the house of somebody, you associate in your mind with the persons who occupy that house.
[34:20] Some houses you go on, perhaps you've never been in them. On the moment you go to the house, you feel at home. Don't you? You feel perfect, you may never have been there before, you feel perfect, you may go to other houses, and you feel you can't get out quick enough.
[34:39] But you feel perfectly at home. How many of us today would feel at home in the house of the Lord?
[34:54] You know, people say to themselves, well, when I leave this life, I'm going to heaven, and they have a vague sort of woolly understanding of what heaven is, or what the house of the Lord might be.
[35:09] That's not what David is telling us here. Nothing vague or woolly about David's conviction has expressed in the Psalm here.
[35:23] He associates with the house of the Lord, the presence of the Lord, the face of Jesus Christ, the family of God. All of these associations, you see, the house of the Lord could be understood to apply to the tabernacle, the temple, the church, or heaven itself.
[35:52] And the psalmist makes it plain from the 84th Psalm how desirous he was to be in the tabernacle. How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts, my soul long ye fits for the house, the courts of the Lord.
[36:09] Now, I think many of us could relate to that yearning, especially when lockdown did not permit even limited gatherings, such as we permitted at present.
[36:29] And when the pandemic is still a deterrent in preventing some from attending places of worship.
[36:43] And David makes it very plain that there is one desire in his own life that takes precedence over all others, that he might be found in the presence of God and behold his glory. One thing he says, I of the Lord desired, in other words, one thing above everything else, and will seek to obtain that all days of my life I may within God's house remain.
[37:11] Within God's house, there's the phrase again, and he tells us why he wants to be in God's house, that either beauty of the Lord behold may undamire and that I in his holy place may reverently inquire.
[37:26] The Psalmist also makes it very clear that he goes with joy and a sense of anticipation to the house of the Lord. His joy is enhanced by the prospect of others also going to the house of the Lord. I was glad.
[37:44] The Psalmist writes when they said to me, let us go to the house of the Lord. No, it may not be true of everyone, but many people have a particular affinity with the area of their birth and where they grew up.
[38:05] But even then I'm not sure, even for those who have such a strong affinity that they can fully grasp what it meant for these Jewish travelers.
[38:22] Going up to Jerusalem and eventually arriving there. Jerusalem meant so much to them.
[38:35] Well, I cannot, from personal experience ever, I cannot speak of having ever been there. But I do know, I believe, something of this joy. When I was the tenant of the free church Mance in Kinloch, the Mance had a window which looked down to the church building. Mance was just in close proximity to the church building.
[39:04] And I used to stand at this window and watch people gathering to the church carpet.
[39:15] And I used to rejoice in my soul when I saw people gathering. And particularly when I saw people who were in frequent attenders coming into the church carpet.
[39:32] I can't put into words the feelings of great joy that filled my heart. That people were coming to hear the message of the Gospel.
[39:46] David loved the house of the Lord on earth and he was never disappointed by going up to God's house. He knew that the cloud of God's presence covered the tabernacle and that the brightness of his glory shone within the sanctuary.
[40:06] He himself tells of going to the house of God because that with the multitude he says, I here to fore had gone with them into God's house I went with voice of joy and praise.
[40:19] Yea with the multitude that kept the solemn holy days. Sat a week him here today with joy and praise.
[40:32] We can say that one reason for his going with the multitude God's house was that he might experience what he had experienced in the past.
[40:43] Was that? That I thy power may behold and brightness of thy face as I have seen the here to fall within thy holy place.
[40:54] Well can we also say that? Are we desirous of experiencing the blessings that you experienced in the past and seeing the power and glory of the Lord through the truth?
[41:11] David's confession with regard to these matters was, oh Lord, I love the habitation of your house and the place where your glory dwells.
[41:25] Can we follow that from personal experience today? He knew that God's dealings with his people were closely connected with the house of the Lord.
[41:36] That's why he desired to dwell there forever. The revelation of the glory of God and communion with God moved David to vow that he would never depart from the house of God.
[41:54] Every aspect of the worship, for example in the Tabernacle, represented the Messiah to come.
[42:05] Now I don't know how well David understood that in his day when he saw the Lamb and so on.
[42:16] And the shedding of blood associated with the sacrifice. Did he understand that without the shedding of blood there can be no remission of sin, no basis for approach to God, no communion with God?
[42:28] And I think he did. For you find him writing and sacrifice and offering, you have not delighted, but you have given me an open ear, burnt offering and sin offering.
[42:39] You have not required, and I said, behold I have come in the role of the book, it is written of me, so I delight to do your will, oh my God, your laws within my heart. No, that is applied in the highest sense to the Messiah.
[42:52] But David is composing that some. He is telling about these things. We know at least that he understood however dimly without the shedding of blood. There can be no remission of sins or communion with God, because he writes, behold you delight in truth in the inward being and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.
[43:11] And then he pleads purge me with hissob and I shall be clean, wash me and I shall be whiter and snow. And you might be saying to me, ah, but minister, there is no indication of blood being shed there. Ah, but there is. Hissob was often found groaning and cracks in a wall.
[43:28] It is often used because of the kind of plant it was, it was used like a brush. It is what the children of Israel used when they were leaving Egypt.
[43:39] Remember the instruction that was given to them, take a bunch of hissob, dip it in the blood. That is in the basin and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with the, with the blood that is in the basin.
[43:54] It was also used to sprinkle blood on, on a leper or to sprinkle water on the tent and all the furnishings and so on. So I, I see the use of hissob by David has understanding the need for blood to be shed.
[44:15] The golden candlestick symbolic of the coming Messiah as the true light so that Jehovah's face would shine on him with grace and mercy and he writes, in your light, we see light feasting on the abundance of the house.
[44:32] So the house of the Lord, a place that, that deeply attractive and desirable because it is a place where God reveals his glory, a place where God spoke, a place of worship, where blessing enjoyed and received, a place of joyous Christian fellowship.
[44:51] And that brings me to my second point. Why was David desirous of the house of the Lord? Well, I'm going to suggest that David loved God's house because he found Christ there.
[45:05] In finding Christ, he found communion with God. He beheld the power and the glory. No wonder that God's house was his joy and delight.
[45:17] He longed to search after Christ in all the types, shadows and ceremonies of the tabernacle. And the more he, he, he saw of Christ, the more he found comfort in sorrow, deliverance from doubt, victory over unbelief, solutions to problems, answers to prayers, strength in, in, in weakness, above all, forgiveness of sins and peace with God.
[45:44] How unforgettable were the experiences of times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord?
[45:56] And if you are in Christ today, that is true of you too. David could also speak of times of access to God, enjoyed in the tabernacle.
[46:07] He could draw near his father like a child, confessing his sins in assurance of forgiveness. He writes, I acknowledge my sin to you and I, I did not cover my iniquity.
[46:22] I said, I will confess my transgressions to the Lord and you forgive the iniquity of my sin. So you find him writing, I through the abundance of your steadfast love will enter your house.
[46:41] I will bow down towards your holy temple in the fear of you. No, the same God who made place of worship attractive in the day of David makes it attractive yet today.
[46:56] It's not so much the place, but the God of the place that makes it attractive.
[47:08] You know, sometimes people tend to look on the building as being more important than the God of the building. But it's the God of the building who's more important than the building.
[47:25] And when that is true, then with David you can say how lovely is your dwelling place. Oh Lord of hosts, my soul longs fates for the courts of the Lord.
[47:36] My heart and flesh sing for joy in the living God. And you know, like Jacob of old, when you have experiences of meeting with God through the truth, you have said in your heart, this is none other than the house of God and this is the gate of heaven.
[48:05] Times when you were under the sound of the gospel and was like heaven on earth for you, as you were richly blessed in the fellowship of the Lord's people under the preaching of the word.
[48:19] When you found Christ in the word, when you found Christ in the observance of the sacrament, in the singing of his praise, in the prayers of his people, does that not make the place of worship delightful and pleasant and attractive?
[48:37] When you sat down under the shadow of the Lord, remember how the church in the song speaks of it? With great delight I sat in his shadow and his food was sweet to my taste.
[48:54] And that place of shelter find spiritual refreshment because it is the Lord who restores and refreshes.
[49:05] And you remember how the psalmist refers to that in this very song, he restores my soul. He speaks of being made to lie down in green pasture's lead besides still waters.
[49:20] He restores my soul and the picture is of refreshing and refreshment and the lives of those who are pastored by the heavenly shepherd.
[49:34] Well, is that how the house of the Lord is for you this morning?
[49:45] So the house of the Lord a place which God blesses. The house of the Lord a place where you meet with Christ.
[49:58] When finally would he dwell in the house of the Lord? Can you say today that there have been times in your life when you really wanted to stay in the house of the Lord on earth?
[50:19] Did you feel like Peter when he was on the mount of transfiguration? Were you saying in your own heart it is good for me to be here?
[50:32] You didn't want to hear? Now rise, let us go from here. It was as if you were momentarily transported.
[50:45] You didn't want to leave the place of worship. But we have to leave it because we have to live in the world, a world full of tribulation, a world full of temptation and hostility and suffering.
[51:08] When the psalmist stated, I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever, he was looking beyond the temporal towards the eternal.
[51:19] Like Abraham before him, he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, who is designed and builder as God.
[51:32] His eyes are fixed on a place of permanent residence when this fleeting life is over. And because he trusts in a covenant keeping God, he has the firm conviction I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
[51:53] The New Testament speaks of it as the Father's house. It is a family residence. There's no shortage of accommodation.
[52:06] And it's difficult for us to grasp the blessedness of the transition from grace to glory. The psalmist could speak of goodness and mercy following him throughout his life.
[52:22] But there in the house of the Lord, goodness and mercy surround him on every side. How can we describe the unspeakable joy of the soul as it enters into glory?
[52:44] They will be fully satisfied with what they see and hear. There is no dissatisfaction in the house of the Lord.
[52:59] None, whatever. No matter how content we are with life in the world, the element of dissatisfaction will creep in from time to time.
[53:13] But there will be no dissatisfaction in the house of the Lord. And among other things, they will see the face of the shepherd.
[53:31] Women will perhaps understand this better than the men, for those of you who are mothers, and when you were pregnant with a child.
[53:46] And you've helped the movement of the child as your pregnancy continued. How often did you wonder, what is the face of the child like?
[54:01] What will he or she look like? All of these things are rising in your mind until the day that you gave birth and you saw the child.
[54:16] Perhaps you're a difficult laborer, and the difficulties of the labor perhaps forgotten in the joy of seeing the face of your newborn child.
[54:28] How much more so in the lives of those in Christ, than they behold the face of the King, the one who has led them, guided them, and given himself for them throughout their lives.
[54:51] See, we know so little of the joyous gratitude with which the souls of believers participate in the song that fills the heavens as it brings out to him who loved us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, made us a kingdom of priests.
[55:14] To his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion, forever and ever. Well, when would he enter the house of God?
[55:29] Our deaths, remember the shorter characters, our deaths of souls of believers, to immediately pass into glory. There they can do no wrong. They can see no inequity, hear no evil. They can receive no spiritual harm.
[55:52] The Redeemer is seen in the fullness of his glorified human nature as he fills the minds and hearts of believers.
[56:10] It's the object of their adoration. They take inexpressible delight in his presence as they give vent to the adoration of praise.
[56:29] No one will then be able to say to another, did I not tell you, this is how it would be.
[56:42] Remember when the Apostle was lifted up to the third heaven, he heard things that couldn't be told which man may not utter.
[56:54] But our death, they are released from bondage to corruption. They obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
[57:07] And what was written by the Apostle Paul is gloriously realized in the experience of every child of grace, so we will always be with the Lord.
[57:23] Wouldn't you like to be there? Even though we know so little about it, wouldn't you like to be there?
[57:41] But we have to trust first in Jehovah's our shepherd. If we have to have the conviction and share it with David that we shall be in the house of the Lord forever.
[57:58] I'm going to conclude with this something I read not long ago. And it's a very solemn thing. It was a note that was found with the body of a young drug addict who committed suicide.
[58:16] And this is what was written on the note. King drugs are my shepherd. I shall always want.
[58:27] They make me lie down in the gutters. They lead me beside troubled waters. They destroy my soul. They lead me in the paths of wickedness for the effort's sake.
[58:47] Yes, I shall walk through the valley of poverty and will fear all evil. For your drugs are with me. Your needle and capsule try to comfort me.
[59:02] You strip the table of groceries in the presence of my family. You rob my head of reason. My cup of sorrow runs over. Surely drug addiction shall stalk me all the days of my life.
[59:20] And I will dwell in the house of the damned forever. Now, I would hope that there's no one here suffering from any kind of addiction, drug, or any other kind of addiction.
[59:36] Any other kind of substance. But we may substitute something else for drugs that we look to in life.
[59:54] That is our idol in life. And you know, if we do, if we are trusting anything else or anyone else apart from the Lord Jesus Christ, that is how our lives will end.
[60:16] So let me ask you in conclusion, are you still living on the bed and road? What's your number there?
[60:30] Because Jesus is right in to you. Or have you moved to Grace Avenue or Redemption Street?
[60:41] If you have, you can be sure that there is an apartment reserved for you in God's house. That place of glorious, harmonious, happy residents throughout all eternity.
[61:01] Let us pray. O eternal God, may we be found today amongst those who are journeying towards that glorious destination that is designated in Thy truth as God's house.
[61:25] So that we may join with the throne, shall surround the throne and give all the acclaim and the honour and the glory to the one who is in the midst of the throne, the Lord Jesus Christ.
[61:45] In His name we ask it, amen. Our concluding praise is going to be in Gaelic. It's going to be from Psalm 48.
[62:00] If our technician manages to get the finger in at the right place, then we're going to say, I'll just read it in English.
[62:15] Psalm 48, the last three verses, because Thy judgments are made known, let Zion, Mount Rejoice of Judah, let all daughters send forth a cheerful voice.
[62:29] Walk about Zion and go round the high towers there of Tel, consider ye our palaces, and mark her bullworks well, that ye may tell posterity for this God doth abide, our God forevermore, he will even unto death our sky.
[63:12] Amen. Amen.
[64:12] Amen. Amen.
[65:12] Amen. Amen.
[65:32] Amen. Amen.
[65:52] Amen. Amen.
[66:12] Amen. Amen.
[66:32] Amen. Amen.
[66:52] Amen. Amen.
[67:12] Amen. Amen.
[67:32] Amen. Amen.
[67:52] Amen. Amen.
[68:12] Amen. Amen.
[68:32] Amen. Amen.
[68:52] Amen.