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[0:00] Shed thine heart on the highway, even the way thou wentest. Turn again to the virgin of Israel.

[0:14] Turn again to these, thy cities. Two preliminary observations. It will appear that by the Lord's grace and the unction of the Holy One, that the discourses of the morning and the afternoon, in his sacred and sovereign will, may be in the order of a holy and gracious sequence and continuity from our anniversary services in our mother church at home recently, when by the grace of God we dilated upon this the 12th.

[1:12] May it please the Lord, therefore, to give to us the same sweet heavenly unction of the Holy Ghost that is so requisite that we may glorify him and feel drawn to his loving grace and that there may be precious fruit in this spiritual experience being perpetrated amongst the dear people of God gathered here together today in the purest name of our blessed Savior, Jesus Christ.

[2:04] the next observation is this. You will recognize as students of the Scriptures, prayerful, loving, gracious students of the Word of God, and this is the most profitable employment that we can ever know on this planet to go aside.

[2:34] I would say, sadly enough, we dissipate much of our precious time and energy in that which is unprofitable to our immortal souls.

[2:54] But you will know as reading prayerfully and with delight and solemnity the holy inspired book of God that in this particular prophecy as in so many places in the Old Testament there occurs something that is truly remarkable and obvious to the spirits of the discerning people of God.

[3:32] Namely, there is a remarkable change in the whole movement movement just as in this prophecy of Jeremiah the change occurs at chapter 30.

[3:52] And so the whole of the subject matter of this beautiful chapter is altogether evangelical.

[4:02] it is the glorious gospel of our blessed God looking way beyond the captivities the 70 long weary painful distressing years that were requisite and needful to chastise looking way beyond them to the death of our Savior and the coming of the times of his glorious gospel and no longer thunder and lightning and distraction and condemnation that the sweet news of mercy and boundless immutable ineffable love and the emergence of a better covenant better that is to say not morally better because the new covenant is efficacious to say and is unconditional and is summarized in this way in the old covenant

[5:34] God said if thou wilt in the new covenant I will fill with grace mercy compassion boundless love promises and blessings all sealed by the most precious rich shed vital blood of the dear Redeemer and so we may summarize the subject matter of this chapter in this way good news to a people in exile well that is where they were in Babylon seventy years of captivity good news wonderful news you will recognize that their captivity was so prolonged and chronic not a cute but chronic that they felt as we know from

[6:54] Ezekiel as if they were buried in graves and forgotten and obviously the Lord had a blessed remnant according to the election of grace amongst those from Judah in that captivity for so it seemed to them so delighting in the harmony of music in the melody of praising God dispensing with those instruments the harps upon the willow branches and so on how could they sing the Lord's song in a strange land land and those poor dear souls just as if so long had they been left in darkness and sorrow and misery and incarceration and bondage just as though their graves had been dug and they were buried and forgotten

[8:14] I wonder if any of you in certain facets of that subject may feel to be in the same place well this is what the Lord said there are three stages to the emancipation he said thus said the Lord I will open your graves oh my people you had your grave open for sinners when you slept in nature's death and darkness and in your deepest trials and distresses and also under the condemnation of the law he said I will open your graves oh my people and cause you to come out of your graves and bring you into the land of Israel you know it the three sweet wondrous stages emanating from the divine principle that is operative throughout the whole election of Christ the principle of the victory of Christ demonstrated in his glorious resurrection let me just emphasize that the wondrous divine sacred principle of the resurrection of our blessed

[10:02] Lord from the dead is permanently operative in all the election of grace you'll never cease to experience the wondrous resurgence in your souls and in your lives in the quickening of the dead into life that he loves the deliverance of your souls bringing you into gospel liberty renewing and reviving you and refreshing you delivering you from all your troubles and out of all your afflictions and at last transforming you into glory that emanates and is operative from that divine principle of his glorious resurrection sure now the remarkable thing is that these children of Israel were still in captivity when they received this good news to this people in exile they were not to be in their graves they were not to be forgotten they were not forgotten the

[11:30] Lord would do great things for this and so we have that beautiful son of celebration in gratitude and praise and adoration of the glorious trinity what did the Lord do for them hearken to their music to the melody of heaven in their song when the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion we were like them that drink there was our mouth filled with laughter and their tongue with singing then said they among the heathen the Lord has done great things for them the Lord has done great things for us where are we are glad turn again our captivity

[12:36] O Lord as the streams in the south they that sow in tears shall reap in joy he that goeth thorn and weepeth daring preciously shall doubtless come again with rejoicing bringing his sheaves with him no wonder set the up way marks make thee high heaps have you come under the influence of the holy ghost to forest fold today to set up your own personal way mark and to make a high heap well let me just pursue a little further the holy concept of the whole of this narration and prophecy here these dear people then were to be delivered it the lord would manifest to them something that every seeking soul longs to be filled with and longs for the dear saviour to personally tell them what is it the lord appeared at all unto me saying i i have loved thee with an everlasting life therefore with loving kindness have i drawn thee as he said it to you now then these dear people the godly people the gracious remnant they were going home they would be emancipated from babel they would go back to their own land there was a highway and cities cities that in many cases were in ruins and a highway the way that they had gone all this you will see equated in the gospel there's a highway and there are cities turn again oh virgin of israel that all people are here with their two under this sacred inspired terminology turn again oh virgin of israel that is to say they are espoused to christ as a chaste virgin they're not for another man not born into this world for the things of the flesh the mundane things and the things of gravity not for the devil but the christ and they're to turn again they will leave babel they'll come out of all their bondage there's the highway and they are to turn again to these cities i just want to get over the concept because it will be quite obvious to those who are deserting that there is a wealth of blessed truth here gouging beneath turn

[16:36] again to these thy cities why why why turn to them because they are to be rebuilt restored the wall was repaired there was so much still they they got them those that were repairing the wall they scoffed they jeered all the hostility of those wicked men but one day we read in the United the wall was finished it was finished it was repaired and these waste cities rebuilt turn again to these five cities now then you may see instantly the location of the initial exhortation of my text it has told them simply out way marks make the high heat what is a way mark it is something that marks that is the simple definition of it it marks the highway it is something that indicates this blessed highway that you're in it a way mark it is like a landmark or a signpost but especially something that has been set up that is indicative that this is the way walk in it so he says now look you mature saints you who are the precursors of this blessed emancipation you who are first on this journey home home are you going home and also those who succeed you as you go along the highway set up way marks and make the high heaps so that all those that follow in the generations shall see these way marks and rejoice and say we're in the same blessed highway as Abraham and Isaac and Jacob walked and Moses and Noah and all the prophets and the apostles we're in the same blessed highway now this is what your dear pastor did over all the many abundant years and rich years of his spiritual and expository ministry what he was doing here was setting up way marks so that you who follow and all who follow shall see these way marks he did it by preaching by the power of the holy ghost the glorious gospel of our blessed

[20:14] God he was setting up way marks this is why and by his example that was the doctrine that he taught he was setting up these blessed way marks so think of the wonder and the blessing of this are you setting up way marks how many of you precious souls have set up a way mark and make thee high so the Lord who passed by the way shall observe these high heaps and be so impressed by them and understand the blessed meaning of them and the interpretation of them make thee high heaps now listen there are a number of you on this anniversary day whose sacred privilege it is to set up way way mark what has the

[21:24] Lord done for you he has done great things for you whereof you are glad he has taken your poor afflicted and frail body and touched it with his healing power so so that although we never expected to see you in the sanctuary today you are here with us blessed be God we praise him so he has given you the sacred joy this day of setting up a way now and adding to the heat now this is a very wonderful thing in fact all of us who love and fear God and who experience his unmerited favor and divine faithfulness and love and goodness for hitherto hath the Lord helped us we are here my friends to hear the message from heaven to our souls set the up we know set it up and not only the healing of your bodies but also the rich blessing of your souls how many here have been in a precarious state you have hovered between life and death many of us have been in that state and the dear Lord

[23:07] Jesus has done cures today and tomorrow and he has blessed our poor needy sin afflicted souls with his atoning love and blood he has blessed us and so shed abroad his love in our souls that our cup has run over we're here to hear the admission and exhortation of heaven set the upweigh now thus is our delight when the Lord fulfills this in the flock when there are these precious souls that we travel for and we do travel for souls when they hear the exhortation set the upweigh now and there's no ambiguity about it a living soul knows what it means to set up weigh now and then the dear saints of

[24:18] God here in longevity who have reached perhaps four score years or more than that for after all 70 is the allocated span of human life according to the word of God more or less to those who are 70 to those who are 80 to those who are 90 I do not suppose we have any who have reached 100 years of age but now just a word to you what about your long life what about when the Lord quickened you and dead in sin what about that marvelous work of the spirit when he took one who was a swile a rebel and an alien and a foe and by his electing love and redeeming grace made you a child put you amongst the children made you his unworthy sons and daughters brought you into a filial relationship with the majesty of heaven and filled your spirit with that filial grace grace now what about it and what about when under condemnation and sinking into the pit ready to perish as it seemed when he revealed his son in you and when the repulsion glory those being shot into your spirit and you anchored within the veil and the sweetness of divine love and heavenly compassion overwhelmed you and you knew that you were an air of bliss on the way to glory what about those wondrous days the days of his spousals and those halcyon days of deliverance forgiveness pardon and peace what about the Lord's divine providence to give you a dear wife a beloved husband to enrich you with a dowry to give you dear loving children and also to give you a place in the various souls and hearts of his ordained ministers and his holy church what about that and to bring you with delight and willingness in his boundless love through the sacred waters of holy baptism to the communion of his body and blood and what about his divine providence there that

[27:52] God who has fed me all my life long who has never let me sink in trouble who has always heard my cry who has looked in divine compassion upon a miserable sinner a poor wretch deserving endless misery boundless dying life now what about it set the up way night make thee high heaps set thine heart see it's all a matter of fixation the work of the spirit is a fixation set thine heart set your affection on things above it's fixation it's not something that is transitory or occasional it's a complete fixation it is done forever once your soul is fixed on Christ it is fixed on him forever more all your days and throughout boundless eternity so

[29:14] I have spoken a brief word to you who are old and many others are in the more latter days of our lives now and we contemplate in the retrospect the amazing faithfulness and goodness of God to us see how he has fed you nourish you put a good roof over your head giving you a sweet home you can say the Lord has made room for us this is a true realloc now think of all the blessings the blessings of this life and the blessings of eternal life the constant flowing of the river the constant communication out of his fullness of all grace and every blessing and the constant supply of all needs set the up way nice well I have already referred to this this is just what your dear pastor did he set up my nice and made a high knee and I am humbled as I am reminded that I was favoured to be in this pulpit of his silver jubilee and that's a long time ago now and what we did was to set up a way mark and make a high knee and then a golden jubilee this is just what happened but not just isolated to those occasions all along the line he was setting up way marks so that all you who pass by the way may see see the way marks you'll say this is the way to heaven and make the high heaps what can you make a high heap of all the blessings all the promises all the favours all the goodness all the faithfulness of

[31:38] God to you take it all and make a high heap and make it higher still today see what sort of a heap you can make by the grace of God take the history of all your life and all his goodness and especially your spiritual life every promise every favor every blessing all that he has done for you would make a high heap have you now this is one of the joys of the saints of God I would suggest to this congregation that everything you do by the Holy Ghost is this whatever God has done to you there is the spiritual intelligence that God has given you and you recognize it increasingly you recognize the

[32:41] Lord's hand his goodness his faithfulness his mercy his compassion in everything his wisdom and there is a response now that is a part of the realization of immortality that you have an immortal soul and that you have a spiritual understanding so that you respond to God you see what I mean really the whole purpose of God in salvation in the economy of salvation is expressed in this response that there will be an eternal permanent response from the persons of those who are saved and glorified their response that spiritually intelligent response why does the

[33:59] Lord bless you so that you might glorify him why does the Lord favor you so that you may respond in all the praise and adoration and worship of your ransomed soul and your person that is to say when soul is glorified it will be in all perfection then and then body partake of the immortal glories of the first resurrection and so glorified body and soul there will be this everlasting response for what will your song be not unto us O Lord not unto us but unto thy name give glory for thy mercy and for thy proof sake now do you understand this are you saying this morning oh what great things the

[35:05] Lord has done for me I may not as yet have received the full assurance that he has blessed me with a living hope with the expectation of glory and he constantly nourishes my ransomed soul with immortal meat and with the wine of the kingdom what great things the Lord has done for me he has healed me in soul and body he has strengthened me he has given me his price now what about your response to him set the up way night you have come this day beloved friends exactly to do this it is by the spirit to set up your way marks every testimony that you give to the glory of God every sermon that is preached to his prize and honor every living

[36:25] Bible note of prize in your spirit every single expression by the Holy Ghost of gratitude to him in your letters every syllable from your lips in adoration of his divine majesty every note of praise and also every expression of the nature and spirit of Christ all this is setting up way marks and you will appreciate that I have in mind walking in holy obedience to your savior and master coming to his church and in that church setting up your way mark giving your testimony of love and praise and gratitude to his holy night blessed be

[37:41]  God