The safety of the Elect assured (Quality: Good)

[0:00] Let us commence our afternoon worship with hymn number 149, the tune is Hull 714. There is a friend who sticketh fast and keeps his love from first to last, and Jesus is his name.

[0:20] An earthly brother drops his hold, it's sometimes hot and sometimes cold, but Jesus is the same. He loves his people great and small, and grasping hard embraces all, nor will the soul apart.

[0:41] No tribulations which they feel, no foes on earth or fiends of hell. She'll tear them from his heart.

[1:15] 149 There is a friend who sticketh fast, and this is a promise to God.

[1:41] And Jesus is his name. And every brother brought his home.

[2:00] He loves his people great and small, and he loves his people great and small. He loves his people great and small. Thank you.

[2:34] Thank you.

[3:04] Thank you. Thank you.

[4:04] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

[4:38] Thank you. Thank you.

[5:10] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

[5:42] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

[5:54] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

[6:06] Thank you. Thank you. And price with tears in sighing prayer In sin esté again forbid Let hope the arrangements of the Lord He showed his love with honor o'er, and hallelujah sing.

[6:59] proclaimship Daddy.owych capableigh and blessing crying as you can.

[7:23] He is your cup of Amen. Amen.

[8:29] Amen. Amen.

[9:29] Therefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.

[9:41] For until the law, sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.

[10:07] But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.

[10:28] But not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift. For the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification.

[10:43] For if by one man's offence death reign by one, much more they which receive abundance of grace, and of the gift of righteousness, shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.

[10:59] Therefore, as by the offence of one, judgment came upon all men, the condemnation, even so by the righteousness of one, the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.

[11:17] For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

[11:28] For as by the law entered, that the offence might abound, that where sin abounded, grace did much more abound, that as sin hath reigned unto death, even so, might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.

[11:53] May the Lord bless the reading of his word and help us now in prayer. O Lord, O Lord, O Lord, O Lord, O Lord, O Lord, when we think of that free gift to poor unworthy sinners, in spite of all their deeds and actions, Lord, continually sinning in the flesh, but by the grace to be saved from the eternal banishment and punishment in outer darkness.

[12:25] All weWhich경 shall come.

[12:42] but of the Spirit. And so Lord we do pray and pray for the Spirit to lead us and guide us into all truth this afternoon and to apply it.

[12:57] We need concrete evidences Lord from on high that thou hast saved us thou hast eternally loved us and still determined to save in spite of our sins.

[13:14] And so we would deserve to exhort Jesus by the help of thy Spirit to have a clear view of him and faith to believe in the word of God.

[13:29] Though it's a pathway of tribulation more or less it might work Lord for us by experience. And that we have this experimental legend Lord in things known and found for thee to take the words of the Bible which thou dost see suitable for us as individuals or collectively that shall be applied and that we can lay claim to something Lord of the witness and sealing of the Spirit through the preaching of the Gospel through Lord the reading of the word and may be if it by thy will through the experimental language of the hymn writer.

[14:20] Oh do keep us faithful to thee Lord for thy word and though Lord we may feel that the truths that we read or speech Lord go over our heads and do Lord we pray that he bless the people and stop that if he has opened their hearts to receive the truth that they Lord might be favoured to see and to believe in the word of God which applied is able to make them wise and to salvation no matter how old or how young that true favour that will thou dost impute to us those precious promises that are young and many cries oh we do long for realities Lord we long for the blessing of the Lord we long for thee to drive out the buyers and the sellers that get into us Lord and raise doubts and fears in our minds as well as we know anything of this religion so Lord do come and overcome their own belief bless us Lord with that faith to believe in thee as we have been reading that just shall live by faith and we need thee Lord to confirm that thou art the author of our faith and the substance of it and the end of it will bring us eternal life but while we are sojourned here below Lord fond of many trifling toys Lord that are perishing and using though Lord while we are here below that we might from time to time know what it is to receive a token and evidence of thy love toward us in spite of our sins and our iniquities how great they are that they are not beyond the limits of thy love so Lord bind us to get in the truth we do pray here through the remain system that I am blessed of things that are the young ones in particular who care and concern poor Lord in their schooling that they might be held that they might be preserved from the devil's agents that may surround them at times and oh Lord we do pray that as they grow through their school years that there is something real in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ that we come to one thing needful to their never dying souls and the saving knowledge of him

[17:12] O Lord do not leave us to forsake thee that we might truly Lord be favoured to realise that thou art in a moment able to take thy word and grant that that witness within that we are born of God and that our treasure is above be with our family members that we have a concern over them wherever they might be and do bring back prodigies Lord to Zion to build again a broken wall to Jerusalem and do be with those Lord in trouble amongst us both here Lord and wherever our hearers are today and do make their crooked fingers straight and their rough places plain and their darkness lie before them O Lord that thou art able to do far more exceeding abundantly for us for by what we can ask or even think such as the infinite wisdom and help of God help us to trust through them

[18:21] Lord help us to look to their continually and supply a need and to deliver us Lord from their enemies for many enemies Lord against the truth against religion they want to destroy the Bibles and to deliver us Lord thou alone art able to prevent them and preserve unto us Lord these blessed truths of the Word of God and those taken and applied by the Spirit are able to make us wise unto salvation through faith in Jesus Lord Lord keep alive thy name in the earth deliver us of those false religions those dry doctrines that you never say but take thy word and see it upon our souls that we might know the love of Christ that we might know this friend that's to be close and a brother or is anything too hard for him to perform as we even read this morning of Abraham and Sarah

[19:26] Lord what a remarkable a remarkable Lord that was the birth of Isaac Lord how great is thy mercy how great is thy power to create a nation of followers of thee Lord do them Lord we pray thee Jesus dear Jesus send us help on the high now this afternoon to preach the gospel of the dying sinners not unto us but unto thy none in me all the praise and all the glory due unto thee so Lord do it here after him have mercy upon our governments do Lord overrule them in doing those things that they are contradictory to thy holy mind and will for this nation's good turn us again O Lord God of hosts whose eyes face to shine upon us that we might be safe from their enemies both within the land and with outside of the land in this sin stained world we do beg of thee and there what wait before Lord our hope is in thee do not leave us destitute do not leave us Lord without hope that thou hast gone before us and that thy voice might be heard through the medium of the gospel and that we might be made willing in the down of thy power to take heed of the divine instruction and teaching of the blessed cross of Christ who we would see as suffer bled and died for the sins of thy people who do hear us in these things and do forgive our sins and we ask it for Christ's sake alone

[21:19] Amen let us further sing hymn 202 from the tune is Uzalwell 201 now may the Lord reveal his face and teach our stammering tongues to make his sovereign reigning grace the subject of their songs no sweeter subject can invite the sinless heart to sing or more display the glorious right of their exalted King 202 202

[22:23] Amen. Amen.

[23:23] Amen. Amen.

[24:23] Amen. Amen.

[25:23] Amen. Amen.

[25:55] Amen. Amen.

[26:11] Amen. As the Lord may be pleased to help me, I would again quite proud to direct you to chapter 4 of the Romans and reading verse 7, saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are covered.

[26:38] And so it goes on to say, Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. And we think, dear friends, on how we are born in sin and shape and iniquity, in sin that our mothers conceive us.

[26:59] And yet here is pardon, through the merits of the Son of God, all that we might value more, to save acknowledge of the dear Son of God.

[27:13] We say, we read here, where there is no law, there is no, there is no wrath of God upon us. But the law was given to judge us by our walk and our conduct, by those sins that we were conceived in, and how we do need that grace of God, which is the new birth.

[27:45] So creating us a clean heart, renewing us a right spirit. Whereby we are looking to the Lord to say unto ourselves, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love.

[28:05] Therefore, with loving kindness, have I drawn thee. Our wealth is the drawing influence, the spirit for you and me, once you are quickened.

[28:18] There may be desire in your soul for the Lord Jesus to come right down where you are. We see the condescending love and the stooping of the Lord Jesus Christ to sinners in this wretched world.

[28:37] he did not have to save any but it was the point in will of God the Father for we read and it's a free will text but not if we rightly view it that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that who should believe in him should not perish but have everlasting life and this is the secret dear friends of the Lord which is with them that fear him it's not as we have said before a slavish fear but it is an exercise in your soul to know that all those sins that we're born and conceived in and all those sins that we committed and all their iniquities need to be washed away cleansed by the imputed righteousness of the Lord Jesus these are basic matters these are real matters and we should not be light hearted about it we should not have a floppy excitable religion we should not be deep down in our souls to be truly convinced that except we repent and believe we shall die in our sins and we hear some terrible tragedies in the world but we cannot judge where those souls have gone but we do know a little according to God's promises according to his sermons that by their fruit she shall know them and there seems to be so little fruit dear friends of repentance so little fruit dear friends of the godly sorrow for sin so little fruit and evidence is that we have that hunger and that thirst after righteousness and we shall know as we journey on and what we know not now we should know hereafter but Lord we have to pray

[31:02] Lord do grant me the reality of having that faith of God's elect to look to thee to confess our sins and to know that he has been the one that is stood in their own place and stayed to save us from their sins you see whatsoever is not faith is sin here upon the earth a hideous monster is sin and you see evidences of it don't you of the way the world is going but God is the just judge of the whole earth and he will do right according to his sovereign will and we need him to grant us that work of grace to be born again the born of the spirit to be given a desire in our soul to know him we grow up in our youth as children in our youth young men and in middle aged you know life too men and women too and we have our families but what is that to me what is that to you and me dear friends is it not the desire that we might have these iniquities blotted out as a thick cloud as he says return unto me and I will heal thee

[32:36] I will restore unto thee the joy of salvation since since God's dear people fell by into sin they cannot lift themselves out of it and so whoever we are we're guilty of sin and is the hideous monster and all creation groans through thee pregnant calls and misery but blessed that the blessing of the Lord is opposite to the curse of the Lord curse is everyone that continue not in the whole book of the law to do the things that contain therein but blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven this is something that you and I will be made conscious of you see the good that you would do that you do not even that the good not is ever present with you such is the pathway and if you read the

[33:43] Romans you'll see very much the operation of the Spirit upon Paul who was sought of Tarsus and was brought to realise the folly of his so-called religion and so I want it to use with you and me to know these truths the truth might be burnt into your soul to keep you as you meditate upon perhaps a word here and there that's been applied to your soul when you ponder the path of your faith and you see I believe you will use the word of truth to seek the Lord that he might be your guardian your guide and that friend that stick it close in the brother because you see blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin and how can he not impute sin upon you and me by standing in your room place instead before the broken law and so we're condemned by the broken law but there's no condemnation there

[34:58] Marie Christ Jesus who will not after the flesh but after the spirit yes you will have these temptations you will have used trials you will have this burden of sin because as we said I think this morning what is not faith is sin but he has said sin shall not have dominion over you if you are one of Christ you are not under the law which you are guilty of breaking but you are under grace oh you know you are so under grace and a greater debtor daily unconstrained to be let that grace Lord like a feather by my wandering soul to thee it'll be here's my heart Lord take and seal it seal it from thy courts above you drop a word into your soul he will favour you and me to feel this that when you look to find your sins you cannot find them because he has blotted them out as a thick cloud and says return unto me for

[36:11] I have redeemed thee to know that you're redeemed and live it while vital this is here you die yes you might by step into by path meadow side step into by path meadow but you see you bring you back you bring something into your life but may you consider your ways and seek to follow in the footsteps of the flock of God the safety in the promises safety in Christ safety in what he has done that he does not infuse to use sin oh blessed be the Lord if he given you a touch or a token justified freely by his grace through redemption that is in Christ Jesus so blessed are they and look it will be tribulation as we read this afternoon these are they that come out of great tribulation wash their robes and made them white in the blood of the land and they should walk worthy in me for

[37:32] I have chosen them yes in the thorns of affliction they've been chosen blessed is the Lord and so we have to say to the Lord why me why such a wretched man must forever lie in hell for not salvation free so that money you can't buy it at one step to heaven oh how solemn it is and yet how blessed if the Lord has blessed yourself delivered you from the curse of the broken Lord blessed you with a little hope and mercy that you're following on to know the Lord he said ye shall know me ye shall know the truth because I am the way the truth this is when he says I hear you shall know me because he is the way the truth and the life and all that the Father given him shall come to him he says come unto me all ye and labour and heavy laden

[38:36] I will give thee rest you rest in the promises of the enemy Christ you rest in his love all we ponder that love don't we the love of Christ rich and free fixed on his own eternally what a refuge we read elsewhere don't we that the Lord is a tower the righteous runneth into it and the saved they are following on to know the Lord their safety is in Christ their safety is in the exceeding rate and precious promises that he reveals to you through his word as he says unto you and me fear thou not for I am with thee be not dismayed for am thy God when we think of those poor things in the world that have no knowledge of the truth that have no knowledge of eternity they are weak they sickly they faint and they know not anything about after death the judgment seat you've been favoured to know that and will try you to know where the case stands with your soul and mine and you want to know this love of

[39:56] Christ which is rich and free fixed on his own eternity fixed on you eternally and he's revealed his love to you blessed be the Lord so therefore that you will not stagger at the promise of God for unbelief like Abraham that was strong in faith giving glory to God and being fully persuaded that what he had promised he was able also to perform impossibilities with you but they're possible with a performing God so you go again you go again don't you like one in the scripture waiting for the rains to come my doctrine shall drop as the rain my speech shall disturb the view size of a little man's hand was declared and it came and we've experienced haven't we in

[40:59] Victoria these great and heavy rains as well as elsewhere in the country when everything seemed to be so barren and dried up we lose sight of the wonders don't we when we are in such and we are people in government in authority trying to say all about this climate change they may be speaking the truth but they don't realise that God is in control and will be he's in control down to the minutest circumstance in our lives it's open to his eye and he will honour them that honour him or may we not lose sight of the almighty power of God able to do these things for you and me and this blessedness upon the man that fears his name and desires to have a closer walk with

[42:03] God a calm him in frame a light that shines upon the road that leads them to the lamb slain before the foundation of the world for the sins of his people great mystery but by faith you believe it and it is all of his free and his sovereign grace for it is by that grace you saved through faith that none of yourselves is the gift of God not at worse lest any man should boast all be very weary of work still in you know it says faith without works is dead yes but it's God that works in not you not me it's God that works in you both the will and do of his good will he works in you both and do of his good will and it works with faith that he's the author of you'll be brought there as he tells you without me he can't do nothing but blessed is this man blessing the blessing of the

[43:23] Lord and mine is brought to the door post and you'll pray for that for one stop my deaf ears Lord loosen my stammering tongue that I might speak of the wonders of thy redeeming love that I might have a union and communion with thee from off the mercy seat it's a good place to be he draws you by the cords of man by the bands of his love there's no breaking up of this love you know like like men and women break up their friends their so called love oh no this is the love of God once in him in him forever thus the eternal covenant stands in this love mine's an everlasting love he says there's no ifs or buts with the love of Christ and a poor sinner and having loved his own that were in the world he loved them to the end and that's the love you and

[44:33] I can stand to and hope to we can stand here if it's been applied to our souls blessed mercy to know this everlasting love and you're going to strength of that meat for many days or in early days the sincere milk of the word that you might grow their life your bosom grow with love through these precious truths things that that has applied make you wiser for salvation and he will never leave you he will never forsake you as men and women forsake one another for a mass of pottage or for the gold and the silver this life is all we want to love the Lord with heart and mind and soul because he has blessed you with iniquities are forgiven and your sins are covered oh this is the greatest gift you can have sin be pardoned iniquities forsaken and you're not forsaken blotted them out as a thick cloud and says return unto me for I have redeemed thee

[45:51] I know we may repeat these sayings but you see it's so real to know your redeemer liveth and will stand at the latter day upon you to receive your spirit into heaven itself start a new life in a never ending eternity in singing God is love true love is more than motion it's known and felt in our souls and you can't create it but he creates in you a clean heart and the news of ice filled in him and you savour this love your buzzer glows with this love and you're gone you are rejoicing this is the day the Lord has the day the Lord has made we will be glad and rejoice in it glad and rejoice in the gospel glad and rejoice to be able to gather together on his day and gather round his word lose sight of sinners and may preach dear friends the gospel according to the truth that is your soul you shall surely be winners he says of the truth as he applies it you win

[47:16] Christ and be found in him not having your own righteousness which is of the Lord that righteousness through the blessed comfort and hope of the glorious gospel of Christ what a refuge then the gospel makes known it's found in the merits of Jesus alone and he bids you come he draws you irresistible grace draws you to follow him his track I see and I'll pursue the narrow way to him I view not seen now but seen by the eye of faith through the lattice of the gospel you won't stagger the promises even like Abraham because Abraham is such a great man he's no greater than you and me if we're called by grace friends because Abraham and you are all that the father give it he said the order the father give it he shall come to me so it's

[48:21] God's chosen people that will live to show forth his praise not of him that will live it but God alone that rules by the cause of man by the bands of his love and so you see there will be a performance of these things in your life and mine it's by faith we walk by faith and not by sight we yield obedience to his law what a mercy and this faith is by grace the unmerited mercy and favour of God to your poor sorrow Jesus then my friend that hung on the tree would open the channel of mercy that's a new channel channel dear friends of mercy mercy is welcome indeed to sinners in distress you will feel very tempted and tried when the

[49:23] Lord starts to deal with you you begin to wonder where the scene will end but if he's begun that good work in your soul he will continue it and he will exercise you in it and your truth will be burned into your very soul and you will look back and reflect upon those times and those sweet moments when he applied a word to yourself he might say to you my presence shall go with me in the world guiding you directing you protecting you preserving you keeping you from harm from the devil's agents you might shine as lights in the world bless you if you do because there will be something secret working your soul both the will and do his good pleasure even though you're amongst your friends many of the devil's agents around you they'll make you honest and they'll keep you honest and they'll keep you upright and they'll preserve you and they'll supply every need according to his riches in glory by Christ

[50:38] Jesus all them that honour me I will honour they despise me shall be like this to you this is a work of grace not in you not in your will and your good pleasure but by God's grace he makes you willing he keeps you in that straight and that narrow line living honestly and uprightly before mankind and you'll be steadfast as grace is given and unmovable always abounding in the work of the Lord or may you ever be kept honourable in your walk and conduct keep you unspotted in this present evil world dependence holy upon God he says thy whole dependence on thee fixed and entertain a thought thy work is fears of mind and peace but to seek the Lord's will to seek his divine guidance uphold him by thy spirit and show you now his one yes in the world but not of it this is how we look to the

[51:45] Lord to deal gently and wisely with us that our footsteps might be ordered by the Lord because you see you will hate sin and you will pray to be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation that it had been revealed the last time because David said and described it in that 32nd Psalm blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are forgiven because he had his sins pardoned and to have your sins pardoned is the most blessed thing that you and I could ever have you may have to wait long for it but the time he is set to heal up your woes and see his love to disclose and he does say tarry here in the city of Jerusalem that is a place where his honour valid where we speak of the new

[52:52] Jerusalem that new heaven and earth where it was righteousness we speak of that Jerusalem here below where Jesus was truly working and preaching the gospel and they said away with him crucify him but the sons and daughters of God knew what it was to prove that the Lord Jesus said that why are ye so sad when ye walk along this road because they did not realise that it was appointed for Jesus Christ to lay down his life for his friends and so even the donate that we live in he says to you and me if ye love me keep my commandments but my commandments are not grievous but they're God honouring and blessed be the sons and daughters of God who know what it is to prove that he has blotted out my sins and my transgressions and he has taught me to number my days to apply my heart and the wisdom to observe these things through the scripture and in my walk and my conduct as he sets before your open door and no man can shut it and if he shuts the door no man can open it and so we put our trust in the

[54:27] Lord and ask to wait us on with our faces for the world that we might yet get the victory over this body of sin and death through the merits of Jesus another refuge have I none hangs my help with soul on thee leave oh leave me not alone still support and comfort thee for blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are covered may we be favoured and privileged to know him in due time if it be his word as we ask his favour upon the day's services and the part of all the midst for Christ say Amen Let us conclude with him 107 the tune is

[55:27] Southwell 239 Our high privilege it is to know our sins are all forgiven to bear about this pledge below this special grant of heaven to look on this when something appears while each repeated sigh like some revive and cordial cheers and makes temptations light 107崇 107 Medved 114 toh 107 107 Amen.

[56:41] Amen. Amen.

[57:41] Amen. Amen.

[58:41] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[58:53] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[59:05] May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, rest in the Bible this age.

[59:17] Amen.