The confession, worship and praise of Christ (Quality: Good)

[0:00] In the name of God and by the Holy Ghost, as we humbly trust, let us read our text in St. Matthew chapter 16 and to preserve the continuity of the passage, let us commence at verse 13.

[0:25] In Matthew 16 from verse 13, when Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?

[0:50] And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist, some Elias, and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.

[1:06] He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

[1:25] And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon the Jonah, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

[1:45] And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

[2:04] A transcendent glory shines forth in this amazing portion of the book of God.

[2:18] And it is one of the most vital parts of Holy Scripture in relation to the three blessed points, the inquiry made by the Son of Man as he called himself for a specific purpose on a wider front as to what opinions the Jews had of him.

[3:01] Of what they thought of him as to who he was. He then narrowed his inquiry to his own disciples.

[3:20] And it is condensed in that amazing inquiry from the very heart of their Savior, first to those disciples and then to the whole election of grace.

[3:41] But whom say ye that I am? This is a test. This is a most beautiful and pregnant and positive inquiry and test that should continually, every day and every moment of our existence, your sons and daughters, by blessed adoption of the dear Lord, be applied by you in a soliloquy, speaking to your own soul.

[4:26] You want to continually say to your soul, ask this question. Put yourself to this divine test.

[4:37] But whom say ye that I am? You will see then immediately on this first point that everything in your religion, everything that relates to your faith, your hope, your love, your present position and condition and your expectation will be clearly mirrored in an honest reply to the Savior's incisive inquiry.

[5:28] Now, the second point is the amazing, beautiful, glorious, concise and wondrous confession of faith, most noble and beautiful in character of the great leader, of the disciples, and later of the apostles, who was evidently speaking for himself and the spokesman for them also, when he gave this glorious testimony.

[6:17] And now, for 19 centuries, this has been the testimony, testimony of all saints.

[6:30] Every child of God in the United Kingdom and around the world, in all nations, they, by the sovereign, efficacious teaching and grace of God, give the same concise, beautiful, glorious witness and testimony concerning the person of Christ, the Son of Man.

[7:04] How beautiful, then, is the testimony of Peter. That is why I prefaced the discourse by observing the transcendent glory, the light that is divine, that emanates from this passage by the Holy Ghost.

[7:42] That transcendent glory irradiates the soul of every one of the redeemed, in the consummate glory of it in the third heavens, measurably here, so that you are not left in any doubtful scale about your union with God in Christ, your adoption as his sons and daughters by his grace, your blessed relationship with him, the foundation upon which you rest, and the glory of your expectation in the third heavens.

[8:29] O blessed witness, holy testimony, O blessed witness, holy testimony, O blessed witness, holy testimony, and that within the context of the purposeful title that the Lord used concerning himself, whom say ye that I am first, that I, the Son of Man, the Son of Man, am.

[8:59] Thou art the Christ, the Messiah, that is, promised, prophesied, waited for, longed for, looked for.

[9:14] The Messiah, whose chief work was that of atonement to save his people from their sins. Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

[9:30] Did you notice the blessed refrain in the lesson? We have found him, of whom Moses in the law and the prophets did write.

[9:43] We have found him. Can you say that? Jesus of Nazareth, this blessed one, the Messiah, the Son of the living God.

[9:59] Now how many of you, how many of us in this little congregation of saints, can say from our very souls, we have found him? The preacher can.

[10:14] I dare not stand in the pulpit unless I could say to you, I have found him. I found him long before the Lord anointed me to preach the gospel.

[10:28] That is why I can bring to you a living Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God. Now, it will be to you one of the days of the Son of Man, if you can say, we have found him.

[10:47] Inexpressible joy, glorious satisfaction, holy rest, salvation, forgiveness, justification, adoption.

[11:02] Then we have the Lord's reply to Peter. And it may be that I could say to you that I have longed to preach from the whole of this subject.

[11:19] My soul has been irresistibly drawn toward this divine person. The terminology is so precise and wonderful being divinely inspired.

[11:33] But how many heretical doctrines there are in the world through the mistranslation of this holy inspired language.

[11:44] He said to him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona. Immediately a beatitude upon him.

[11:58] Blessed art thou. For flesh and blood hath not revealed this. Reveal this. Reveal. Revelation is a divine principle of his kingdom.

[12:13] Nothing comes to a sinner of any value, of any eternal worth, only by this divine method of revelation.

[12:27] Flesh and blood hath not revealed this unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say unto thee that thou art Peter.

[12:39] And upon this rock will I build my church. And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Now the whole of this passage to me is supremely attractive.

[12:58] And I shall need the wisdom of God made perfect in my, shall I say, comparative ignorance. So that I may to his glory expound this portion and feed your souls with the bread of eternal life this day, together with your dear pastor.

[13:24] Very well. You have then the three main sections. And it is astonishing if you go through to the end of the paragraph.

[13:39] He will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And so on. Peter used the keys. It's a pretty sorry affair if God doesn't put into our hands the keys in the ministry.

[13:57] The keys belong to the scribes. An emblem of authority. And it was their function to teach, to unfold.

[14:12] He put into the hands of Peter and the apostles. And although we are cast in a much, much lesser mould than they, he puts into the heart and hands of all ordained ministers the keys.

[14:31] So that they should open the door of knowledge and understanding concerning the person of Christ and the glories of the kingdom. Here you have the excess of both Jew and Gentile.

[14:47] And then he says in the terminal part, he charged them. They should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.

[15:00] That may be exceedingly difficult for you to fathom. But there are two things. And that is. That it is the holy province of God himself by his spirit to reveal the person of Christ.

[15:18] But chiefly this. They are now waiting. They will be taught to wait presently. When their savior has offered the one sacrifice for sins forever.

[15:34] They will be told to wait. To tarry in the city of Jerusalem. Until they are endued with power from on high.

[15:45] And then. When they go forth with that mighty efficacy of the effusion of the Holy Ghost. Then they will certainly tell all men.

[15:59] That he is the Christ of God. Very well. Now I hope we may be favored by his grace to give an exposition that is both in accordance with the eternal mind of God.

[16:19] And that means salvation to your immortal souls. Confirmation and edification to all his saints.

[16:31] And so we shall notice the introduction to the whole of the subject in this paragraph.

[16:44] When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi. I want to just make one or two observations on Caesarea Philippi.

[17:00] Within the context of what the Lord asked his disciples there. And the title that he used.

[17:11] The Son of Man. The Son of Man. When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi. He asked his disciples saying. Whom do men say that I.

[17:23] The Son of Man am. Now. To give you. An idea. Of this title. The Son of Man.

[17:34] The Son of Man. I may speak to you concerning the holy doctrine divine. The immaculate conception and virgin birth of our Savior.

[17:49] How that he assumed into indishable union with his divine person. In order to become our surety.

[18:02] In order that he might receive the imputation of our sins. In order that he might give his life sacrificially for us.

[18:13] And voluntarily die. In order that he should obey the law. As our surety. And magnify it. And restore honor to it.

[18:24] In order that he should assume all. His new covenant office characters. Of holy bridegroom. And father. And friend.

[18:35] And so on. I may speak to you. With great adoration in my soul. The adoration of this precious person.

[18:46] And be like the magi. Opening our treasures. And presenting unto him gifts. Gold. And frankincense. And myrrh.

[18:57] In fact. For a moment. This little diversion. You have come this day. To. The anniversary services.

[19:10] Of forest fold chapel. You have come. You have come. You have come. Primarily to worship God. In the beauties of holiness. I want to ask you something.

[19:23] Why have you come. And how have you come. You can answer that now. You can answer that now. Spiritually. And silently. Why have you come.

[19:35] Because there are two distinct facets. To divine worship. You may say. You may say. I have come. Because I hope. To receive something.

[19:48] For my immortal soul. Correct. Is that a full stop. You go no further. If so.

[19:59] Surely. You cannot. Yet grasp. The full meaning. Of divine worship. If you have come. Under the Holy Spirit's. Influence.

[20:10] You have come. With two things. In your soul. Certainly. To receive. Something. From him. The water of life.

[20:21] The bread of life. Immortal. Meat. A token. For God. To partake. Of the royal banquet. Divine. Full stop. No.

[20:32] You have come. To receive. But. The other part is. You have come. To give. Christ. Something.

[20:43] That is to say. You've come. You've brought something. To give to Christ. Does that surprise you? To give him your love.

[20:54] Your praise. Your worship. Your adoration. Your holy gratitude. Your tribute. Your honours. Your homage. To open your treasures. And present to him the gifts. Have you brought your gifts for Christ?

[21:13] Your gifts for Christ? I hear people. Praying that they may receive something. But I seldom hear people mention this fact.

[21:24] Concerning this vital facet of divine worship. The whole term worship. The adoration of the Trinity. And you know that beautiful couplet.

[21:38] Love so amazing. So divine. Demands my soul. My life. My all.

[21:49] May you come. To give him something. Take my all. My worthless heart. Make it. Holy thy.

[22:00] Now. How many of you. Have the confirmation. That you have thus come. To the sanctuary. To the holy place. To offer.

[22:11] Your praise. Your prayers. Your worship. Your adoration. Your gratitude. Your homage. Your honors. Your honors. To him. To put it in a.

[22:24] Word that is so well known. To crown him. Lord of all. For it is to him. That the praises of our lives belong.

[22:37] I hope you've brought your treasures with you. I hope you came up. To the house of God. This morning feeling. I'm going up to.

[22:49] I'm like King Hezekiah. I have said. What shall be the sign. That I shall go up to the house of God. Why? To praise him. Now they're the two.

[23:03] Beautiful facets of divine worship. Now if you come with this. To magnify him. To extol him. To lift him high. You'll certainly receive something.

[23:18] Very well. That is. Just a little. Divine. Diversion. And you must answer for yourself. There's something wrong somewhere.

[23:30] If you have not come. To worship and adore him. Because. He is. Who. He is. He is.

[23:41] He is. Although the fig tree shall not blossom. Neither shall yet fruit be in the vine.

[23:52] The labor of the olive shall fail. And. The field shall yield no meat. The flock shall be cut off from the fold.

[24:03] And there be no herd in the store. Yet I will glory in the Lord. And joy in the God of my salvation. And that expresses it.

[24:16] You see. Have you come. To give him your all. You want him to take you. Take you. Take you completely. Soul. Life.

[24:28] Person. Talents. Everything. So you adore him. You. I'm afraid. I'm. I'm. Rather tired.

[24:39] Of this sort of thing. You know. Where the. The emphasis is always. Unbalanced. It's a sad thing. When the emphasis is completely unbalanced.

[24:51] There's no spiritual equilibrium. Hardly a single syllable of praise. I know that we have different frames.

[25:02] But that is no reason why you should withhold your praise from the Lord. There should be this perfect balance. This equal poise.

[25:14] Spiritually. You've come to give him something. See what the dear friends have here to give him. Praise for. A loving gracious father in God.

[25:26] Your pastor. Praise for. A spiritual teaching. Ministry. That has been useful. To prepare. Many of his children for heaven.

[25:39] And they're there. And a few of you remain. Who are being prepared. Praise that God has. So far raised up. Our dear brother who is with us.

[25:52] His servant. Now see what you have to praise God for. Have you come to give him anything? And to receive. Well.

[26:04] Now. Let me look at this terminology. When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi. And then.

[26:17] He asked his disciples. You can think of this as. A time of seclusion. With his disciples.

[26:28] There was no multitude there. They were secluded. But why. In any case. Did all this take place.

[26:41] In. In the coasts of Caesarea Philippi. And within this context. In this context. Whom do men say. That I. The son of man am.

[26:54] Now. If you want. A commentary. On this title. That he used. Concerning himself. The son of man. And apart from this.

[27:05] There would have been no salvation. Because deity. In the abstract. Could not suffer. Or become a. A shorty. Or substitute.

[27:16] Or die. Or rise. Or no humiliation. Or exaltation. That does not belong to deity at all. But to the man.

[27:27] Christ Jesus. When he assumed that. Holy humanity. Into indiscible union. With his divine. Person. He was then. Capable.

[27:38] Of an infinite. Stoop. To become a servant. And. To be a poor man. And to. Voluntarily.

[27:50] Die. To offer the one sacrifice. For sins forever. But if you want. A beautiful commentary. On this title. The son of man. You have it in Isaiah.

[28:02] 53. Three. The son of man. Keep this in the background. Of your mind. For mine. He is. Despised. And rejected.

[28:15] Of. Men. A man of sorrows. And acquainted. With grief. And this is just about all.

[28:26] Most of them saw. They saw. A poor man. Who do they have. A man. Who had no manor. And no home. He had not where to lay his head.

[28:38] He had no single coin. He was a servant. Though the Lord of all. And that is. Just about all they saw. He was born of a poor woman.

[28:50] And he was despised. And rejected of men. Now he says. Whom do men say. That I. The son of man. This poor. Despised man. Who do they say.

[29:01] I am. You who are deeply taught. Will see. Some most important. Points. Of divine doctrine.

[29:14] Wrought out in experience. And translated into experience. Here. But first. A brief comment on. The significance. Of the coasts.

[29:25] Of Caesarea Philippi. Now there are two things. About this location. The first. That it was. The most northern point.

[29:36] Of the territory. Of Israel. And if you look at the whole. Of this passage. And by the time. The day has ended.

[29:48] You may see the force of this. Even more clearly. More clearly. But if you view. The whole. Of this passage. It will relate. To this. The gates of hell.

[30:01] Shall not prevail. Against it. His kingdom. And this is not. Defensive. It is offensive. That I must not. Give too much away.

[30:12] At this early stage. There's one point. There's one point. In my soul. Here. And that is this. That the whole. Of the work.

[30:23] Of this. Christ. Means. That his people. Will be. Fully delivered. They will be brought. To the borders.

[30:34] Of their land. And. As they are brought. To the borders. Of their land. They will no longer. Be in a beleaguered city. But.

[30:46] The way. Will be. Wide open. Into the full life. And glory. That lies. Beyond. Heaven itself. Fear not. Brethren. Joyful.

[30:57] Stand on the borders. Of your land. You're going home. To God. But there's another. And a very striking. Reason. For this. Caesarea Philippi.

[31:08] And it is this. As I understand it. It was here. There was so much. Idolatry. It was here. Obviously. And evidently. That Herod the Great.

[31:21] Built. A marvelous. White. Marble. Temple. To the honor. Of Caesar. Augustus. Now then.

[31:35] People could look on that. And be carried away. With all the wonderful glory. Of this white. Marble. Temple. Now he says. But whom say. Whom do they say.

[31:47] That I the son of man. This poor. Despised man. Who do they say. That I am. You can look over there. And see all this magnificence. You see.

[32:00] And many. Gloried in this. Exalting. Caesar. And so on. Which was a great. Element in it. Now look here.

[32:11] All you can see here. Is a poor. Poor. Disguised man. And. Whom do men. That I. The son of man. Now that's really.

[32:25] The context. It may not be possible. For you. To enter. Or for any of us. To enter. Into. The full meaning. Of this context.

[32:36] But I'm sure. That you get an inkling. Of it. It is very much. The same. Today. People. See mighty. Things. And great.

[32:47] Things. In the earth. Things that will. Fade away. And crumble. And perish. Now. Look at this. Dear one. Who was here. On the earth.

[32:58] There. The son of man. A poor man. And yet. Infinitely. Rich. A man. A man. That everyone.

[33:09] Nearly everyone. Despised. And rejected. The king. Already. By the time. We get. To this place. Recorded. By. St. Matthew.

[33:20] Was utterly. Rejected. The nation. Had utterly. Rejected. Now. You can see. The force. As we come. Into the subject. Here.

[33:31] He said. To them. Then. Intimately. Whom. Do men. Say. That I. The son. Of man. Am.

[33:42] Shall I give you. A leading thought. In this meditation. Viled. In flesh. The Godhead. See. Now. All. The majority.

[33:53] Saw. As flesh. They saw. The son. Of man. They saw. A hated man. They didn't see. Anything else. Nor. Did they see.

[34:04] How immaculate. And perfect. The sacred humanity was. That there were those. And this is why I use those words to introduce the subject.

[34:19] A transcendent glory. Breaks forth. They. From this temple. This temple. This temple. His. Train.

[34:30] Fill the temple. That is the train of deity. And all the divine perfections. Fill the temple of his sacred humanity. And. That glory. Breaks forth.

[34:42] And is seen by every one of the elect. They replied. To this inquiry. The wider scope of the inquiry. They told him.

[34:53] They told him things that were perfectly. Respectful. But inadequate. In relation to those. Who made these statements.

[35:05] They said. Some say that they were John the Baptist. He had been beheaded. And as you well know. Herod. And others.

[35:17] Seemed to be convinced. That although. He had beheaded him. That he would. Come back to life. And I believe. Herod was haunted with this.

[35:30] That although. You see. Even those who have no grace. They seem to have some understanding. Or appreciation of the mystic. Now here's a man.

[35:41] A good man. A holy man. I've beheaded him. But this is not the end. He will come back. So. Some said.

[35:53] Some say. That thou art John the Baptist. Some. Elias. And you. As you know. From Malachi.

[36:04] Thor. That he shall come. Some said. Now. Elias. And others. Jeremiah. Or one of the prophets. Now these things.

[36:15] Were perfectly respectful. All I want to say about that is this. Those who said those things. Had some realization.

[36:28] The realization. That there was something supernatural. About this person. But they couldn't go any further. They had no knowledge.

[36:41] That he was the Messiah. The son of God. Although they recognized. That he was. There was something supernatural about him.

[36:52] And they are. But. So. As the Messiah. That unless. In. The. That. In. In. In.

[37:03] In. In. In. In. In. In. In. In. In. In. In.

[37:14] In. In. In. In. divine revelation as the Messiah, the Son of the living God, they will perish.

[37:28] There's no salvation unless you know that. There must be, and this is the only method divine that God in his wisdom has given, divine revelation, which is something that is supernatural and by inspiration of the Spirit to discover to you something erstwhile hidden and unknown unless he makes this sovereign display of the person of Christ to your soul so that you can specifically say, Thou art the Christ.

[38:15] The Son of the living God. Unless we have that, we shall perish. It is of no value unto salvation to say, Thou art John the Baptist, or Elias, or Jeremiah, or one of the prophets, a supernatural person.

[38:37] It is of no value unto salvation. The only glorious thing is this, revelation, the Godhead's rays beaming forth from this despised man, the Son of Man, and irradiating your soul.

[38:58] then you have everlasting salvation. Blessed be the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

[39:12] Amen. I'll just mention again, although most of our friends know the arrangements, that the dinner is provided in the schoolroom.

[39:25] It will be ready, those of this service. and it will be a convenient if friends use the main entrance into the Sunday school, which is by the side of the Sunday school, the main entrance.

[39:38] Now, you are told this morning's worship by singing hymn number 99. Blessed Jesus, thee we sing, thou of life, the eternal spring, thou art worthy, thou alone, thou the rock and cornerstone.

[40:03] This from thee salvation flows, this the ransomed sinner knows, thou, O Christ, that all is free when he sees his poverty.

[40:26] M-99. M-99. M-99. M-99.

[40:36] M-99. Christ, Shalom.

[40:50] The Word of God his love and songs take the cross.

[41:29] Now that Christ God owns Auchan's live, reprisis glossy.

[41:40] God bless you.

[42:10] Thank you.

[42:40] Thank you.