Lessons from Abraham's servant and Rebekah (Quality: Good)

[0:00] Dear friends, depending upon the help of the Lord once more, I invite your prayerful attention to that portion we read in Genesis chapter 24.

[0:15] The words in particular which I want to announce as my text this evening, though bearing in mind the context, are to be found in verse 58.

[0:27] And they called Rebekah and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go.

[0:40] This I feel is such a sweet portion, as I said this morning. I believe it's rich in instruction and comfort to the Lord's dear people.

[0:51] I again would emphasise what we thought about this morning regarding this servant, how at each stage he prayed, and how at each stage he thanked the Lord, he worshipped, he bowed down his head and worshipped the Lord at each part of the good news which was delivered to him.

[1:17] And hence, I think a lesson is there for us. And it is this, that perhaps we prayed to the Lord and he has delivered us from one and another trouble.

[1:32] And how often we find ourselves, yes, perhaps giving a tacit thanks for it, and yet not really worshipping.

[1:46] I think of those ten lepers which the dear Saviour healed, and he said when one returned to thank him, where are the nine?

[1:58] I find that word extremely searching, friends, because we have to say out of the ten petitions which we offer, how often do we remember to thank him for the answers of one?

[2:12] And yet this servant, he is constantly realising the wonderful mercies of God, and I would suggest he had an experience much like those disciples on the Emmaus Road.

[2:24] His heart burned within him, out of the gratitude of his heart to God, who had heard his prayer in his master's name, in the name of his master Abraham.

[2:38] And how he had that faith to pray in his name, knowing that Abraham was the son of God in that sense. He was a son in the sense of answered prayer, in the same way as we find the Apostle speaks of Timothy as his son.

[2:58] The favour, we see that same desire here. We see in the prayer, I believe, of Abraham for the wellbeing and the success of the journey, that same desire which we find Paul has to Timothy in the New Testament, wishing him well, to put it briefly.

[3:19] And so we see these things as we look at this particular portion. And then I was also struck in thinking in the 33rd verse, they cordially set meat before him, and there was set meat before him to eat.

[3:37] But he said, I will not eat until I have told mine Aaron. And he said, speak on. There was this pressing business. And friends, when we have a soul laden with sin, and we feel the weight of sin upon our souls, it is a pressing business.

[3:59] And it is that we want to find some relief. He could find no relief until he knew an answer as to whether his errand would have been successful, to see, to prove whether the permission would be forthcoming from the family, and then, of course, from Rebecca herself.

[4:21] And so he said that his family, we could say generally, I suspect the mother was present, and he said, I am Abraham's servant.

[4:35] Now, friends, what a lesson there is here. You know, every Christian who is truly called by grace is a servant of the Lord.

[4:46] They don't all preach. They're not all deacons. They're not all Sunday school teachers, just to run through a few things of thought that comes to mind. But they're servants of the living God.

[4:57] You know, it's some of the humble people in this world who teach us the greatest things. I don't think it would be wrong for me to say that I've had a sermon preached to me very much from one who I had the privilege to visit a little while before she died, one who I saw here for the first time, and she moved down to Appledore, and I went to see her.

[5:28] And it was a Tuesday after she'd been in on the Monday. And I said to her, hello. And she said, Mr. Farley, I'm so disappointed. And I said, are you?

[5:41] Yes, she said. I thought the Lord was going to take me home on Sunday. I couldn't say a word. It fills me up now when I think about it. The world knows nothing of that disappointment, my friends.

[5:54] She was ready to go home to glory. She was disappointed that the Lord had tarried just a little longer. That's grace. That is religion, real religion.

[6:05] My old pastor used to say, you dear young people, you remember this. You want a religion to live by, but you want more than that. You want one to die by. You want one that proves that in those everlasting arms, you're secure when you come to death.

[6:22] Another one, I had the privilege many years ago, who wanted to sing, told her she was dying, and wanted to sing on her deathbed. Same number nine, if you want to look it up.

[6:34] These are the things, my dear friends, which are positive. These are the things which are real. These things which are not just temporary for time.

[6:45] They are eternal in their nature. Eternal in their prospect. You see, these things that the Lord begins in the hearts of his people, they continue.

[6:57] When their body is laid in the grave, the soul returns to God who gave it. The dying thief, his request on the cross to the dear Saviour.

[7:08] Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. You see, and there, what was the answer? Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.

[7:20] It was not something in the future. It was not speaking of his body. That must lay in Mother Earth under the keeping eye of God until the resurrection morning. But the spirit was immediately with God in heaven, according to the Saviour's dying words on the cross.

[7:37] And we can't look for a more authoritative witness, I believe, than that of the dear Saviour. And so we see this servant bows down, but he's pressed urgently.

[7:53] He needs to know what their mind is. And he said, I am Abraham's servant, and the Lord hath blessed my master greatly, and he is become great, and he hath given him flocks and herds and silver and gold and menservants and maidservants, camels and asses.

[8:14] Now I want to note one thing. He gives the honour to Abraham's God. He didn't say Abraham was a clever businessman and he'd managed to do all this off his own bat, as it were.

[8:27] He gives the honour and glory to God, because the cattle on the thousand hills are all his and all the silver and gold is his. And Sarah, my master's wife, bear a son to my master when he was old, and unto him hath he given all that he hath.

[8:48] And my master made me swear, and then he rehearses that portion, that his experience has been exactly as his master had said, the angel of the Lord would go before him.

[9:02] He's proved that the faith of Abraham and his God worked out exactly according to what Abraham was led of the Holy Spirit to speak, and he witnesses to this, to the family gathered.

[9:19] And so it doubtlessly affected them. And even to the drawing of the water for the camels, you see the absolute detail and planning, as it were, of God's purposes.

[9:33] They're perfect. And he relates in the 46th verse how that Rebecca, she made haste and let down her pitcher from her shoulder and said, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also.

[9:51] So I drank, and she made the camels drink also. You see here a beautiful picture of the exact detail and that merciful answer to the servant's prayer that he might not be mistaken in the way which he was pursuing.

[10:10] What a good thing, friends, that is for us. Whatever we're pursuing in life, however right it may be, let us seek the Lord for his confirmation and for his hand in it.

[10:21] And friends, seek the Lord in it from the beginning. Don't have the Lord's leading as a second thought, an afterthought.

[10:33] Cast all your care upon him, for you will then go on to prove he careth for you. And so this sign was given.

[10:44] The practicality lays here. He would be thirsty. After a long journey, he's given a drink himself. His camels would also be thirsty. Need fulfilled in providence.

[10:57] But you see, the token was greater than the need in providence of his answer of prayer, of that confirmation to him thus far in what he was trying to do to be obedient to seek a wife for his master's son.

[11:16] Then he brings this forward and I asked her and said, whose daughter at thou? And she said, the daughter of Bethuel, Nael's son, whom Milka bear unto him.

[11:30] And I put the earring upon her face and the bracelets upon her hands. Here she must have been quite overwhelmed, I suspect, such an expensive token.

[11:45] A token of the love of the sender. I'm going to go into that a little more in a minute, if the Lord would be pleased to help me. Let us pass down a little more.

[11:56] And I bow down my head and worship the Lord and bless the Lord God of my master Abraham. Abraham. You see, friends, if a soul is saved by grace and there's a sweet realisation of it, we shall always have something to thank the Lord and praise him for.

[12:18] We should never run out of something to thank and praise the Lord for. For if we look within and see our sin and then we look and see a little token of his pardoning love upon our soul, my friends, we should sing the doxology every day.

[12:35] For the mercy of God. I often quote it, Thy mercy, my God, is the theme of my song and the joy of my heart and the boast of my tongue.

[12:48] Thy free grace alone, not mine, Thy free grace alone, from the first to the last, has won my affection and bound my soul fast.

[12:58] There was a binding fast of this servant's faith. He was seeing the confirmation as he went forward. He had to take those first steps.

[13:08] He was obedient. He took the first steps and he went on the journey. And now he finds his confirmation and the opening up of the purposes of his master's God.

[13:21] And now, and he says in the 49th verse, And now, if ye will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me, and if not, tell me, good or bad, I want to know, that I may turn to the right hand or to the left if I'm wrong.

[13:39] He means there, doesn't he, clearly. Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, The thing proceedeth from the Lord. You see, they could see that.

[13:50] I said this morning, so often, when the Lord works, there will be those standing by who can see it's the Lord's work.

[14:02] They will know. They won't be surprised. And so, were they surprised? No, they were not surprised.

[14:13] The thing proceedeth from the Lord. We, we're only men. We cannot speak unto thee, bad or good. No, the thing proceedeth from the Lord.

[14:26] And so they say, Behold, Rebecca is before thee. Take her, and go, and let her be thy master's son's wife, as the Lord hath spoken.

[14:38] And so, we have this little gathering there, all giving the honour and glory to the Lord for the manifestation of his purposes of will to them over this particular incident and requirement for Isaac to have a wife.

[14:58] And so, we see that he bows himself again to the earth. And then, in the 53rd verse, we see, and the servant brought forth jewels of silver and jewels of gold and raiment and gave them to Rebecca.

[15:18] He gave also to her brother and to her mother precious things. This clearly was a part of the purpose of God, Abraham, and his servant, in that he would settle them that this was a genuine offer.

[15:40] It was a genuine request for the hand of a daughter for Isaac. The proof in the sweetness of it is given to them.

[15:54] They're overwhelmed probably by the size of it because as we read at the outset of the chapter, Abraham was old and well-stricken in age, and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things.

[16:09] And so, he was able to do, like Boaz was able to do. He was a man of wealth, of honour, and of standing.

[16:20] He was able to redeem the things which were Naomi's and Ruth's. And he did it in what we call the court today, but in the gate of the city where the business was done.

[16:34] Here, this is all in a similar way, done in an honourable way, in a proper manner. And so, these jewels of silver and jewels of gold and raiment and gave them to Rebecca.

[16:51] He also gave her brother and to her mother precious things. And they did eat and drink, he and the men that were with him, and tarried all night.

[17:02] And they rose up in the morning and he said, send me away to my master. And her brother and her mother said, let the damsel abide with us a few days, at least ten.

[17:16] After that, she shall go. Here we see the human nature. We quite understand. We don't find any fault with the request, friends, because there was that love between them, obviously, and they didn't want to see Rebecca go so quickly.

[17:33] And yet, I put it to you, it would have probably been more and more painful day by day as the days went past, numbering up to ten, and the realisation that Rebecca had only got nine days, then eight days, and so on.

[17:46] And they would be concerned about it day by day. And yet, here, the servant says, send me away unto my master. And then he answers, he said unto them, hinder me not.

[18:00] Why? Well, he got a good reason to say this, seeing the Lord hath prospered but my way. Hinder not the work of the Lord. Now is the time.

[18:11] Let me go. I wish to be returned to the presence of my master to fulfil the commission which he gave me to do, to return and be, as it were, relieved of the responsibility of the, what he had had to do.

[18:30] And her brother and her mother said, let the damsel abide with us a few days, at least ten. After that, she shall go. Well, obviously the servant's, probably his facial expression was still set in the same manner to be sent away, we suspect.

[18:50] And he said unto them, Hinder me not, seeing that the Lord hath prospered my way and send me away that I may go to my master. And they said, We will call the damsel and inquire at her mouth.

[19:06] And they called Rebecca and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she answered, I will go. Now, friends, this is a wonderful text.

[19:19] This is something which I believe the Lord's dear people are brought to, especially if they've received those spiritual jewels of silver and gold in their soul's experience.

[19:32] If they've known some silver of answers to prayer. If they've known a little of the gold of godly contentment in that resting in the way that God has set for them.

[19:46] these things we can truly liken unto jewels of silver and jewels of gold and raiment. You see, she'd receive raiment.

[19:58] And friends, how that's like what the child of God receives of the dear Saviour's hand. That robe of righteousness which is spotless, full to cover our sins, free to poor sinners.

[20:13] But never forget the cost, dear friends, of that robe of righteousness. His own heart's blood on Calvary's tree. Oh, may we remember these things.

[20:25] The servant brought forth jewels. You see, the servants of the Lord endeavour to bring forth the jewels of the gospel and the silver of the precious promises, the gold of the truth of the gospel, the gold of the sure eternity of God.

[20:47] You see, we are used to dealing with men. We have a man in a prominent position. He may be a king, he may be a prime minister, he may be in a position of authority in a seat of education.

[21:02] There comes a day when he's too old and he must retire. But you see, Jesus lives forever. We have a high priest that is passed in the heavens, you see, and he sits there to make intercession for his people.

[21:17] His work on earth of redemption is done. That work is finished. When he, and I speak very reverently, when he spake those precious words on the cross, it is finished.

[21:31] Remember what happened? The veil of the temple was rent from the top to the bottom, not from the bottom to the top. It was God's work. The veil opened up in Christ Jesus.

[21:43] The veil came in the garden of disobedience. Our first father, Adam, in the disobedience, in the Adam fall, the veil fell across between God and man.

[21:58] And those ways of intercession were those appointed by the prophets and so on in the Old Testament time. But now, as the dear Saviour said, it is finished.

[22:10] The way was opened up. The veil which had been there through the years from Moses' day in the tabernacle and in the temple was opened up and a way of access and friends today that veil is still rent.

[22:27] There is still that access to God in heaven, hell, through Jesus' precious name, through that blood as shed once to end all sacrifice for sin.

[22:41] Not all the blood of beasts the hymn writer says to help me out on Jewish altar slain can give a guilty conscience peace or wash away a stain.

[22:53] But Christ, the heavenly Lamb, takes all our guilt away as sacrifice of nobler name and richer blood than they. Son of God, Son of Man, Emmanuel, God with us, you see, friends, here.

[23:09] So these jewels which were shown and given to Rebecca, they had taken her heart in love, they had shown her the security of her future, they had done everything to secure her, to be enabled to say, I will go with this man.

[23:35] And friends, when the souls of the Lord's dear people have these tokens along the pathway, there comes a time in their life when this question, will they go with this man?

[23:49] Will they leave the world? Will they be a follower of Jesus Christ? Will they go with Jesus? Will he be your all in all? Poor sinner, there's nowhere else to flee, no sanctuary, Lord, but thee, the hymn writer again helps me out.

[24:07] One place to look for your soul's peace and salvation. Friends, young and old, you'll never find peace anywhere outside of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit working in your soul.

[24:23] Peace by his cross as Jesus made. you'll find no peace of your soul. You may become very successful, you may be very rich, you may have great respect of men and so on, but it all disappears at the edge of the grave.

[24:40] There's nothing of that left. You can't take it with you. Your honour may linger a few days. I've been amazed sometimes even in those things.

[24:50] Great men who've made great impression upon society. They're remembered a little and then they're soon forgotten and the only thing you've got is a plaque or an anniversary that comes around where some studious soul brings some sort of remembrance celebration to the notice of the public.

[25:11] But you see, the Lord's work is permanent. When he gives eternal life, it is eternal. my friends, these things are vital. What about your soul?

[25:24] Where is it going to spend eternity? I may not be able to stand here. I'm very conscious of my mortality.

[25:36] The Lord has mercifully spared me almost 11 years since I nearly died and had to be revived three times with electric shock with a heart attack.

[25:48] I've come to some degree, not perfectly I'm going to add, to realise that a day could bring anything for me.

[25:58] I might not stand here before you, but I know one thing, I've got to stand before my God, and as I stand here before you this evening, I've got to be faithful to the commission which I humbly believe he's given me, and that is to say, where is your soul going to spend eternity?

[26:16] You say, well I'm not too bad, I'm as good as most, a little better than the others. No, you're a lost sinner. No righteousness, none of the righteousness of man is any use whatever. It's all as filthy garments, filthy rags before the holiness of God, because God cannot look upon sin with any degree of allowance.

[26:38] So serious is sin that God had to send his only begotten son, the prince of heaven, to fulfil what man failed to do from the very beginning, and that was to keep the law of God in perfection in every jot and tittle.

[26:59] My old pastors have a couplet, in him, that is in Jesus, the father never saw the least transgression of his law. In him, that is in Jesus, we then by faith perfection view, and the saints in him are perfect too.

[27:15] Note that, the saints in him. Is it your desire tonight to win Christ and be found in him? Come unto me, all ye that labour, Jesus said, and are heavy laden, what with sin, the weight of a guilty conscience, in sin.

[27:32] You'll find no relief anywhere else. Come to Jesus, confess your sin, and see if he will mercifully grant you a pardon in love. Precious, precious friends, everything, the difference between the death of a righteous person and an unbeliever is unbelievably vast.

[28:05] It's a complete gulf between the two. The scripture says, precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.

[28:19] Well, merciful that is, friends. Think of it. Think of the condescending love of the scripture there. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.

[28:32] What are saints? They're sanctified sinners. They're sinners saved by grace. They were sinners. They continue to be sinners whilst on the earth.

[28:43] But the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses from all sin. All sin, not part of it, all sin. You see, Christ, Jesus, came into the world, what for?

[28:56] To save sinners. Not the self-righteous, not the righteous it says in the world, but it means the self-righteous. The Pharisees, no, he didn't come to save them.

[29:06] They thought they needed no salvation. It was for sinners. Think of that. There might be someone here tonight saying to their self, or Satan saying in their ear, but you're such a great sinner, there's no help for you.

[29:19] You know, look, think of all the sins that you've committed all your life. He does, regularly. He pesters the people of God. My friends, I remember an old servant of God saying, referring to a dream that he'd had.

[29:35] He was speaking to my own father when I was a little boy at the time. He said, Fred, my father's name, he said, I met Satan coming up the stairs the other night in my dream. He said, I up with my fist and I clumped him one.

[29:48] He said, I nearly knocked my poor wife out of bed. And you see, I've thought about that since and I see exactly what he meant. That Satan, he brings so much upon the people of God to grieve them.

[30:02] and it made him feel in that way. Well, friends, it's a truth. Sin is in us.

[30:14] Satan has much to work on in us. But you see, I say, Jesus said, the prince of this world hath nothing in me.

[30:26] you boys, you're playing around with a piece of wood and a nail. I suppose you still do things like that. You'll find that if you've got a piece of wood and you've got, say, an old part of a broom handle and you roll it along the ground, you put a magnet on it, it won't pick it up, will it?

[30:46] But if you drive a nail into it with a hammer, the magnet will pick the wood up. Well, our souls are like that. piece of wood with a nail in it.

[31:01] And that nail is called sin. And because of the sin which is in us, Satan has something to draw us by when he tempts us.

[31:12] But you see, he couldn't tempt Jesus, could he? Because he was sinless. A few older ones, a minute, for many years I was so mystified as to why it was that after the dear Saviour had been baptised and the voice from glory said, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.

[31:36] The father expressed his pleasure at the work of his dear son. And then we read he was led of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

[31:48] Why, I thought. Couldn't understand it. Couldn't for years. Don't mind admitting it. But you see, now I believe I do see. And that's why I'm very mistaken.

[32:00] Because you see, the thing was, Satan had got to be defeated. And Jesus, the Prince of Glory, the Son of God, the Son of Man, as man, needed to defeat the power of the tempter.

[32:17] And in this test, this contest, you could say, that we read of the fact that when he went into the wilderness, and he was tempted of Satan in those three ways.

[32:31] You'll notice one thing, briefly to touch on this point, that each time the Lord Jesus answered Satan, he quoted scripture to him, the sword of the spirit. And Satan went away, a defeated foe.

[32:45] He was totally and utterly unable to cause any sin in the dear Saviour, because he was sinless, it was an impossibility.

[32:56] But in his manhood, we find he was weakened in it, because we find that the angels came to minister to him. But you see, Satan was defeated, and therefore we also read that he is able to succour those who are tempted.

[33:16] So when we're tempted, if only we could remember it, and I wish I could, we need to apply to Jesus. The only one is able to succour us in temptation.

[33:30] I've got to say that, although I'm most unsuccessful, I'll add it to my shame, I've got to admit myself, we forget, do we not? We know these truths are true, and yet we seem unable to keep them up most in our mind.

[33:45] But to return just a little bit now to these jewels, jewels of the mercy of God to the soul, the jewels of answered prayer, I believe this, and everyone won't agree with me perhaps, but I believe this with all my heart because I believe I proved it so, and that is in the beginning with the dear young people, people, the Lord often answers a prayer regarding something in providence or some great concern, and some of you dear young people, you may be very concerned about your exams at school, I was, I wasn't very bright when I was a boy, especially in the academic side of things, and I found that in my teens and in my apprenticeship time, I had those things that I had a job to keep up with, one part was alright but the other part, the science and the mathematics, I had to struggle, and I had to pray about it, and the Lord mercifully answered that prayer for me, and so you see the Lord uses these things as a little encouragement, a little jewel of encouragement that we might then say, well, the Lord answered my prayers in that, perhaps he'll answer my prayer in forgiving my sins, and you see, that's how

[35:02] I believe the Lord works with his dear children, young or old, might be a child here of 70, who's only just beginning to pray, you're young in the way, you try the power of prayer, people that despise the power of prayer are those who have never really prayed, not in spirit, and so you see, there's these many things which the Lord uses to bring on this journey, in the same way that the Lord blessed each step and showed those tokens and that love to the servant, and he was so thankful, he bowed down and worshipped the Lord, these number of times which we read it, and so as the presents were given to Rebecca, they are giving her that assurance assurance of Isaac's love, the assurance that he is able to keep a wife, to care for her, you see, it brought her to a secure point of trust, and what is trust?

[36:16] Faith. love. And when we are blessed by the answers of prayer, and of the things which the Lord has done for us in providence and preservation, and for us and our families, we have every reason to be thankful, and to take courage that our faith and our prayers having been answered, they are from the Lord, and when he says the servants of God say, will they go with this man?

[36:49] And she said, I will go. Will you go and be a follower of Jesus? Is it in your heart to do so? I'm not speaking free well, friends, don't get muddled over it.

[37:01] I'm speaking if the heart is prepared, it's the work of the Spirit that's been going on, you don't know how long, perhaps. I believe sometimes the child of God doesn't realise when the Lord began firstly to work with them, often they do realise.

[37:17] Some could take you to a place somewhere where the Lord first spoke to them, but others like Lydia, the Lord had opened her heart by gentle means.

[37:32] And yet, same place at the end, that need, that recognition of the mercy of God. You know, we must not let the Lord's mercy's life forgotten in unthankfulness and or without praises die.

[37:49] A personal word, if you'll pardon it, my late dear pastor Mr. Herbert Dawson in 1964, we, my wife and I, had had a wonderful answer to prayer after praying sometime for a little son.

[38:07] We asked the Lord because we'd been nearly five years, four years anyway, hoping for a child and no sign, and we said we must pray as Hannah did.

[38:20] And we did pray together that the Lord would give us a little child, a male child, and if he did, we would call his second name Samuel.

[38:33] And that prayer was answered, and that name was given. He's 43 now. Well, friends, at the end of that year, the pastor spoke of the things which we find in Psalm 126, the Lord has done great things for us whereof we are glad.

[38:58] And as the more he preached that morning, the more guilty I felt, I wriggled in the seat, and then the deacon gave out the hymn to close with, oh, bless the Lord, my soul, and the second verse, nor let his mercies lie forgotten.

[39:16] And it was as if an arrow went right through me from top to bottom. In those days, I was very strong, and yet it so took my strength away I had to sit down before we finished singing the hymn.

[39:29] My friends, I know what I speak of. I couldn't be silent any longer, and I didn't have any peace until I did speak to the pastor. Will go with this man?

[39:42] I was brought to that point then. I will go. My friends, if the Lord speaks to you, don't ignore it. Don't ignore the drawing of the Holy Spirit.

[39:55] It's a painful experience if we disobey the Lord, and I know quite a lot about that. I'll tell you something else. When I was exercised some long time for the ministry, and I kept thinking of every excuse why I couldn't do it, and I won't say wouldn't do it, but I didn't feel I could, and Satan gave me great assistance in it, and a man I had never seen before came to give a day through the sickness of another minister at Beatherson, and he spoke with Jonah, and Jonah was running from the Lord, and I never ever felt so uncomfortable in all my life as I did in that sermon, but I knew who he'd come to speak to.

[40:36] And friends, I say this lovingly to you, if the Lord speaks to you and says, will they go, will they go with this man, will they be a true follower of Jesus, be obedient to him, follow him through the waters of baptism, she said, I will go.

[40:57] Now, I want to press on just a little farther, because Rebecca arose, and her damsels, you see, she didn't say, I will go and do nothing, she immediately was obedient to the call, and Rebecca rose on her damsels, and they rode upon the camels and followed the man, and the servant took Rebecca and went his way.

[41:21] So the servant was faithful to his commission, God had blessed the commission, here he comes in return, journey to his master.

[41:31] master, what's his master doing? And Isaac came from the way of the well of Lahorei before he dwelt in the south country, and Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the evening tide.

[41:51] What a good occupation, friends. How often, I believe, when the saints of God finish today's work, and they perhaps go out, maybe not into a field, but even into a garden, and they have a few minutes quiet, the cool of the dew of the evening distills upon them.

[42:09] And friends, when that's spiritually applied, then the blessing of the Lord also descends upon their souls. It's good, the evening time. Do you know anything about an evening blessing?

[42:20] Think when you get home and the number of times we have on record of the dear saviour blessing his disciples in the evening of the day. They gathered together, the doors being shut, Jesus stood in the midst.

[42:36] Friends, that's what we need. We need Jesus to stand in the midst. Well, look, the servant had been sent, Isaac is meditating, and he lifts up his eyes, and Rebecca lifted up her eyes, and she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel, for she had said to the servant, what man is this that walk in the field to meet us?

[43:02] And the servant said, it is my master. Therefore she took a veil and covered herself, she humbled herself to approach him. We need to remember that, friends, as we approach the Lord Jesus and the King of Kings in his name.

[43:19] and the servant told Isaac all that he had done. That must have been a wonderful time for that servant and for Isaac, the fulfillment of the purpose which had been brought into his life.

[43:38] And we read these lovely words in the last verse of the chapter, Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent. This was a place where he would have felt much love from his mother in time past, a place which would have been security to him.

[43:59] He could find no better place than to take Rebecca in that circumstance at that time. And she became his wife and he loved her.

[44:13] And Isaac was comforted after his mother's death. I see such a beautiful picture there, friends. Allow me a little sentiment there, if you would, because here is a young man bereft of his mother.

[44:29] And then the Lord mercifully supplies a wife for his comfort and for his well-being and for his care. And my dear friends, I believe the dear Lord Jesus is a comfort above all the love of women.

[44:46] He can comfort the soul of those dear people for whom he has laid down his life in a way that is beyond the love of women. He comforts the downcast soul.

[44:59] He lifts them up. He holds them up. He brings them at length to himself. One day there will be that beautiful coming together at the last day when he will descend with all the holy angels with him.

[45:19] The dead in Christ shall rise first and they that remain will be caught up in the air to be forever with the Lord, referred to as his bride.

[45:31] Friends, there was never ever a bride that cost so much of the bridegroom as the church. The church cost the saviour his own heart's blood that he would have her.

[45:48] And why? Why did he suffer so? Why did he bear the ignominy of his own creation and the ill manners of his people and the misjudgment of the misjudgment hall as I call it?

[46:02] Why? We read it was for the joy that was set before him. He endured the cross despising the shame and he sat down at the right hand of the Father in heaven.

[46:15] This very evening he sits triumphant in heaven awaiting the appointed time of the Father for his bride to come. May we be found in that glorious number of the church of Christ.

[46:31] Friends, what a privilege and if we are it will be an eternal subject of praise unto him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood.

[46:44] Be honour and glory and power. Can't you hear the music of heaven in the very words? May it be so. May not one of you dear people be left out of that bundle of life.

[46:56] If I never see you again on this earth, if on earth like this we meet no more, I'll grant us all a joyful meeting there in paradise with the Lord.

[47:09] Amen.