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The Lord's Wedding Reception · Stornoway Free Church of Scotland - Sermons

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We're going to begin our service today singing in Psalm 21, Psalm 21 in the Scottish Psalter,
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page 225, verses 1 to 6.
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The King in thy great strength, O Lord, shall very joyful be.
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In thy salvation rejoice, how vehemently shall he.
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Thou hast bestowed upon him all that his heart would have,
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and thou from him didst not withhold whate'er his lips did crave.
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Kingship in the Old Testament was really a representation, imperfectly of course,
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but a representation nevertheless of the Lord Jesus Christ himself and his kingship.
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And so we relate these verses to Jesus the King, and especially Jesus the King crowned in his exaltation,
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now following his work of atonement on earth.
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So these verses 1 to 6, the King in thy great strength, O Lord, and the tune is Arnold.
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The King in thy great strength, O Lord, shall many joyful be.
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In thy salvation rejoice, how vehemently shall he.
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Thou hast bestowed upon him all that his heart would have,
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and thou from him didst not withhold whate'er his lips did crave.
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For thou with blessings him bevend,
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For thou with blessings him bevend,
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Of goodness manifold,
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And thou hast said upon his head,
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A crown of purest gold,
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When he desired life of thee,
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Thou light to him didst care,
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In such a length of days that he For evermore should live.
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In that salvation brought by thee,
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His glory is made great.
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Honour and comely majesty,
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Thou hast upon him said,
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Because that thou forevermore Most blessed hast in me,
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And thou hast with thy countenance,
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Made him exceeding glad.
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Let's now join together in prayer,
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Refleer prayer at this point,
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And the service is mostly focused on the Sunday school,
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And the young folks,
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So let's pray.
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Lord our gracious God,
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We thank you that on this day,
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We are able to gather together as we do now,
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And we thank you that we have young ones and children with us,
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To be part of the service,
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And we thank you for them,
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For the way that you have brought them to be interested,
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And along with their parents to come,
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To attend upon the worship of God.
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We thank you, Lord,
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Today that they participate in worship,
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And that they are taught thereby how important it is for us to worship you,
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And to be a worshipping people,
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Not only when we come to church,
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But also as we live out our days each day in all that we do.
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We thank you today, Lord, for the children,
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Once again.
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We pray for them and ask that you would bless them here,
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And bless them elsewhere.
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We know that there are many of them, Lord,
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Away at this time.
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We give thanks for them,
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And we pray that they may have a time of refreshment with their families.
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We ask that your blessing, Lord,
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Will come to rest upon them day by day,
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And they may come to know your word living in their hearts,
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And guiding them in their steps through life.
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Remember the young ones at Scalladale,
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We pray as well today at the youth camp.
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We ask that your blessing will be with them.
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You bless your word to them as it is explained to them.
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And we pray that you would keep them safe and watch over them in all their activities.
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We pray now that you would go with us into the service and into the rest of this day.
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And we pray that in all of these things you would give great glory to your own great name.
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And help us to be thankful that we have so many special things to enjoy that you have given us in this life.
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Receive us now we pray in Jesus name. Amen.
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Okay, the twinnies are getting a bit older by the look of it.
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I know there are other children elsewhere in today.
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So I'm going to say a word to the children at this point.
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One word I want you to remember,
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It's easy enough to remember because you're very familiar with it.
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It's the word rain.
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I can hear the old ones groaning.
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Don't tell me he's going to talk about rain in church as well.
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Well, rain is very important, of course.
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And we're all very familiar with rain on the island, aren't we?
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Sometimes we complain about the rain.
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Sometimes we look out if it's raining in the morning and say,
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Oh, not another day of rain.
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But you know, rain is so important.
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Sometimes when you have too much rain, of course, you get floods.
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And floods bring huge problems to people.
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And we find places in the world, even in our own country,
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where severe flooding at times follows if there's a lot of rain.
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And that, of course, destroys people's possessions and homes
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and puts people in danger as well.
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And even some people sadly lose their lives when there are great floods
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in different parts of the world and even in our own country as well.
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On the other hand, the opposite of that is when you don't get enough rain.
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And when you don't get enough rain, of course, you get drought,
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which means the ground dries up and things don't grow properly.
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And then sadly, in parts of the world, certainly, because of drought, you get famine,
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lack of food and people facing starvation and all the problems that have to do with drought.
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So, we should be thankful that God has placed us in an island where we don't get severe weather.
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Sometimes we get severe gales.
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But apart from that, the weather is generally fairly balanced.
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Okay?
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We might get a bit more rain at times than we would like,
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but we hardly ever get drought and we don't really get severe flooding
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except a few low-lying places perhaps.
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Like a little boy once said to his teacher to say something about the rain in Lewis.
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And he said,
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Well, we do get a lot of rain, but it flows back out over the edges.
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And that's so true, isn't it?
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God has placed us in very favorable conditions even weather-wise.
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And we should be very thankful for that.
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But in the Bible, rain is used as a symbol or a picture of God's blessing,
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especially the blessing of God when He blesses His Word.
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I'm going to read one verse to you or two verses from Isaiah chapter 55.
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And Isaiah chapter 55 is a chapter that speaks about various things including the rain.
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He says here in verse 10,
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For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
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and do not return there but water the earth,
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making it bring forth and sprout,
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giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
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so shall my word be that goes out of my mouth.
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It shall not return to me empty,
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but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
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and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
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And God is saying there that just like the rain comes down and the earth needs the rain for things to grow,
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so His Word is like the rain as it comes down upon our lives,
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it causes things to grow in our lives if we receive the Word of God as we should into our hearts and to our souls.
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And as by God's blessing and as we receive God's Word and apply it to our lives,
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well, God is reminding us here that it makes things grow in our lives that otherwise wouldn't be there.
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Love for God, love for one another,
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faith in the Lord Jesus Christ,
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repentance of our sins and confession of our sins.
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All of these things grow when God comes to bless His Word,
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when His Word comes upon us like the rain on the earth.
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So, when His Word comes into our hearts and lives,
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it produces all of these wonderful things for us.
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And just like the earth needs the rain continuously,
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not just once now and again,
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but in order for things to grow, the rain needs to keep coming.
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And so, we in our lives today need the rain of God's Word to come into our souls.
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That's why we're here today.
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We're here to worship God.
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And you young ones are getting part of that as well.
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It's important that you're here to worship God with us as adults.
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You're a special part of the congregation.
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And as you receive the Word of God,
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I hope today that you'll listen to the Word of God,
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take it into your hearts, think about what it's saying,
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because the more you do that, the more these things will grow in your life as well.
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Your love for God, your respect for God, your love for other people.
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All the things that we need to have as Christians that make us marked out as Christians,
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so that in our lives too we will bear that fruit, as the Bible puts it elsewhere,
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to grow to the glory of God.
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So, we shouldn't really complain about the rain really, because it does such an important work.
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Ordinarily the rain, of course, is important, but spiritually the rain of God's Word is also very important for us to have in our lives.
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So, let's now say the Lord's Prayer together.
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Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
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Thy kingdom come.
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Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
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Give us this day our daily bread.
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And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.
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And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
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For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.
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Amen.
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We're going to sing again now to God's praise again from Psalm 45a.
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And all our singings for the rest of the service will be from 45a in Sing Psalms.
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That's on page 56.
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First of all, singing verses 1 to 5.
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And the tune is Warwick.
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A noble theme inspires my heart with verses for the king.
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My tongue's a skillful writer's pen composing lines to sing.
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Psalm 45a, verses 1 to 5.
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If you're able to stand, we'll stand again to sing.
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A noble theme inspires my heart with words is Lord the king.
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My tongue's a skillful writer's pen composing lines to sing.
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You, God, excel the best of men.
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Your lips are full of praise.
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For God has blessed you evermore.
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His light shines on your face.
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O mighty one, take up your sword,
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And bind it on your thigh.
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With glorious splendor,
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O pure self,
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And with pure majesty.
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Right forth and state victoriously,
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For meekest truth and right.
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Let your right hand display your deeds
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Of wisdom, power, and might.
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Let your sharp arrows pierce the hearts
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Of those who hate the king,
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And all the nations of the earth in due subjection bring.
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We're going to read God's Word now.
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There are two passages today.
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We're going to read firstly from Paul's letter to the Ephesians, chapter 5, from verse 22.
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And then we're reading some verses in the last book of the Bible, the book of the Revelation, chapter 19, and the first nine verses.
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First of all, Ephesians, chapter 5, and beginning at verse 22.
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Verse 22.
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Verse 22.
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shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.
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This mystery is profound, and I'm saying that it refers to Christ and the church.
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However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects
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her husband. And if we turn to Revelation chapter 19,
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we'll read from the beginning down to verse 9.
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After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven,
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crying out, Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for his judgments are
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true and just. For he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her
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immorality, and has avenged on her the blood of his servants. Once more they cried out,
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Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up forever and ever. And the twenty-four elders and the four living
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creatures fell down and worshipped God, who was seated on the throne, saying, Amen, Hallelujah!
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And from the throne came a voice saying, Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him,
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small and great. Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many
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waters and the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, Hallelujah! For the Lord our God,
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the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory. For the marriage of the Lamb has come,
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and his bride has made herself ready. It was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen,
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bright and pure. For the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me,
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Write this. Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he said to me,
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These are the true words of God. Amen. May God follow with this blessing our reading again of his word.
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Let's again join together in prayer.
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Lord our God, we thank you for the reminder that you have given us and the teaching of your word that you are the
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Almighty One, that you are the one who has complete control and charge over our destinies and over the
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events of history through to the end of the world. And we thank you today that this is part of what makes
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you worthy of our praise, that you are God and there is none besides you. There is none worthy to be
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worshipped but you. And we give thanks, O Lord, today that we are called and take delight in your worship.
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We pray that you would help us, O Lord, to fall down in your presence too. And as we come with bowed
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heads in prayer to you, and as we praise your name in singing your praises, and as we come to read and
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hear your word, so we give thanks, Lord, today that this is our great privilege, that you have been so
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favorable toward us as to place us in these favorable conditions. We can say with the psalmist, indeed,
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the lines have fallen to us in pleasant places. We bless the Lord for his kindness and goodness
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today. We thank you, O Lord, for all that it means to us to join together in this way, and for all that
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it means to us to belong to your church in this world, to belong to that number of your people who
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worship you, who call upon you, and who seek to make you known in the world. And we thank you,
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Lord, in anticipation for all that is prepared for your people even throughout eternity. You've
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reminded us in your word of that great event that is coming at your return, the marriage banquet,
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the marriage supper of the Lamb, when your people will enter into an eternal, everlasting celebration
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of your salvation. Lord, we thank you that as we anticipate that, that we can come and prepare
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towards it even during our time in this world. We pray that your word will be blessed to us once
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again. And we pray that as we gather together, your word might more and more flourish in our lives
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to give evidence of that fruit of righteousness and holiness by which we will be known as your people.
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We thank you that your word is so relevant, O Lord, for our own personal needs,
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for the context in which our lives are set in this world, and for the needs even of nations as well as
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individuals. We pray, Lord, today that your word will go forth as we have been reminded from that
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great prophecy of Isaiah, when your servant Isaiah was used by you as an instrument to declare your word
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to the people of his day, and when you assured him that your word would not return to you empty,
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that it would accomplish the very purpose for which you sent it out. We pray that in our own experience,
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O Lord, it might be that your word today will produce in us that fruit of righteousness.
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We pray that it may be so wherever your word today is sown in the hearts of human beings,
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wherever your word is heard. May we be like that good ground, O Lord, of which you taught your
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disciples in that great parable of the soils and the sower. May we never be like those who are close
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to your word, or those for whom your word is only just a formal recognition, and then overtaken by the
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cares and the deceitfulness of riches. O Lord, our God, we ask that your word may be constantly
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productive in our lives, that it may indeed be day by day for us a light which guides us through life.
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May we be like the psalmist who could say of your word that it was a light to his feet and a lamp to
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his path. And we thank you, Lord, for the guidance and the instruction that your word brings to us.
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We ask today that the gospel will be blessed wherever it is proclaimed. Lord, we pray that your gospel
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will indeed bring many to know you, many to close in with the offer of salvation and the invitation
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that you extend in the gospel through your Holy Spirit. O Lord, may it come to us as well to be that
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your Spirit today is active in our midst. We pray that we may know that for ourselves, that we have
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met with God, that we have come to be guided into his truth by your Holy Spirit, and so that we ourselves
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may more and more grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. We pray today for those
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of particular needs as they are known to us. Remember those of our number who are away at this time.
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Keep them safe, we pray, protect them. Remember the young ones in Scaladale as they meet in the
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Presbytery Youth Camp. Be with them, be with their leaders. Remember also, Lord, those who have
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difficulties in their lives through afflictions and trials that have come upon them in your providence.
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Remember those again today who mourn the passing of loved ones, for whom anniversaries and for whom
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this approach of the end of a year is a very poignant time. Lord, strengthen them, we pray, as they reflect
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upon times gone by and loved ones no longer with them. Lord, be pleased, we pray, to give to them in
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their hearts the consolation of your comfort and your presence with them. And we pray that you would
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bless all of us who remain to make the best use of our time, knowing that the years are fast passing us
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by, and that we ourselves, O Lord, more than we are possibly willing to admit, are finding that our
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lives are hastening past, and that we are nearer, many of us nearer, the end of our journey than the
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beginning of it. Make us wise, Lord, we pray, and to salvation. Teach us to number our days,
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to apply our hearts to wisdom, to receive the things of salvation, of the things of God and Christ,
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so that we may know that reconciliation with God that makes all things to work together for our good.
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And we pray today for those who are ill at this time in hospital or at home. We pray that you'd bless
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them, those who are suffering issues of mental health. We pray for them too. We pray for those,
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Lord, whose faculties have begun to fail or have lost their memory and even unable to recognize loved
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ones as before. We pray for these families. We pray for those who care for them. We ask, Lord,
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that there may be an increase in compassion and concern throughout our land to provide for those who
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are in need. We pray for those who are in poverty, those who have difficulty during these times,
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O Lord, and struggle to provide for their families. Those who have lost jobs, who have come to be
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unemployed, those who need the services of the food bank, and those who give up their time to staff it,
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we thank you, Lord, for it. And we pray that as we hear from time to time of special needs like this
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in our society and in our community, Lord, help us, we pray, to do whatever we can to help those who
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are in distress, even if it means only to come alongside them and say that we're there for them
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and to assure them of our friendship and of our help whenever we can. Help us as a congregation
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to do so likewise. And Lord, we give thanks for the privilege of being able to serve you in our
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own community. And we ask that you would enable us to take every opportunity we have to present the
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love of God to those around us. So receive our thanks, we pray now. Continue with us here and
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pardon our many sins. For Jesus' sake. Amen. We'll sing once more just before we come to
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our study of this chapter or the passage today in Revelation 19. We'll sing in Psalm 45 again,
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this time verses 6 to 11. And the tune is Tiverton.
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Your royal throne, O God, will last throughout eternity. Your kingdom's scepter will be one of
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truth and equity. Beginning at verse 6 down to verse 11 in Psalm 45a.
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your royal throne, O God, will last throughout eternity. Your kingdom's scepter will be one of
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of truth and equity. Anointing you with oil of joy. Your God has made you great. Because you care for
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your righteousness and wickedness you hate. With a lozmer and cassia in fragrant groves you're glad. From
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Hoglo Club and the Lord's Scepter will be one of your quarte,
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The women of your court, king's daughters take their stand.
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The royal bride in finest gold appears at your right hand.
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O daughter, listen and give ear, consider what I say.
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You must forget your father's house, your people far away.
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And especially verses 11, verses 9 following.
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The angel said to me, write this, blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper
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of the Lamb.
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And he said to me, these are the true words of God.
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We'll take account of the previous verses as well, from verse 6 especially.
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Well, this is our eighth study of Scripture portraits of the church, and today we're going
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to a marriage because it brings us to the final state of God's people in heaven after the resurrection,
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after the judgment, when we'll find it described as gathered together, the church gathered together
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to attend the marriage supper of the Lamb.
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As you know, the Bible uses the imagery of marriage fairly frequently to describe the relationship
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between God and His people, particularly so between Jesus and His church.
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For example, the book of Hosea in the Old Testament is really built about around that theme of marriage,
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the marriage between God and Israel, spiritually, that marriage which from Israel's side had broken down
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because they had gone after other gods, as it were, idols that they had imported into their practices
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from the pagan nations around them.
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And, of course, that's why God described their behavior and their departure from Him and their faithfulness to Him
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as spiritual adultery.
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They had gone after these other lovers, these other idols in place of God.
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They had broken the marriage that they had with God because they had set their hearts on idolatry.
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And the book of Hosea is built around that.
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And, of course, you've got Hosea's own marriage as a means by which God illustrated that for the people as well.
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It's a wonderful book in the Old Testament around that theme.
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And it's that really that defines for us, just in passing, it's that that defines,
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it's this relationship of God and His people that defines for us what human marriage is about or should be about.
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We read in Ephesians chapter 5 where Paul spoke there about marriage, the marriage of a man and his wife,
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and where that is based upon the relationship of Christ and His church.
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It's not as if somehow at some point human beings or the church decided that it would be a good idea to take human marriage
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and make that an illustration of the relationship between God and His people.
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It's the other way about.
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What God knows as the relationship between Himself and His people, the relationship between Jesus and His redeemed people,
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between Jesus and the church, that's the illustration for human marriage.
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That's why Ephesians 5 says such things, such challenging things as,
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Husbands, husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her.
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That's the challenge.
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That's the demand made upon husbands.
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It's not just the wife that's seeking to imitate or mirror the relationship by being obedient,
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by having the headship of the husband acknowledged.
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That is the case, but the husband has an equally, if not more challenging role to be as Christ is and was to the church.
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And so we're looking at this scene, a preview, really, of Jesus and the redeemed people of God in glory.
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We're going to look at the occasion.
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Then we'll look, secondly, more fully at the parties to the marriage.
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And then, finally, the marriage banquet.
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The occasion, He puts it here, is the marriage supper, the marriage banquet, the marriage reception of the Lamb.
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It's a culmination of salvation where the Lord and His redeemed people now have this eternity with one another in heaven
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to enjoy that unbroken fellowship in terms of a spiritual marriage that began here in this world,
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but that reaches its zenith, its peak in heaven in the state of glory.
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That's really what's before us here.
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And, of course, in the Old Testament arrangement of marriage, you had certain stages, four stages, really, you might say,
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although the fourth one is really pretty much too brought together.
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You've got the arrangement of the marriage, first of all, where the parents were involved in the arrangement of the marriage.
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You've then got the betrothal, which we might say is equivalent roughly to an engagement.
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That went on for a period.
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And then you have the marriage itself, where the bride made her way from her own home to where she was going to be married
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and eventually live with the husband.
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And then it's celebrated in the marriage supper, the marriage banquet.
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So you've got these stages, which took some time in the Old Testament until finally the marriage took place
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and the marriage celebration was then entered into.
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And that imagery is behind what you find in terms of descriptions of marriage,
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especially where you find this kind of imagery here.
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You also find elsewhere in the Bible, of course,
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Jesus spoke about marriage as an illustration, too, of the relationship between Himself and His people.
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And you can see here the introduction is a great hallelujah chorus, you might say.
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I heard, He says in verse 6,
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Well, you know, when you hear that, whether it's a piper or whoever outside,
38:10
just at the beginning of a marriage service, we're all familiar with that,
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and we hear that, the piping or whatever it is, and you think, well, that's it.
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The bride's about to come in.
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This is the introduction to the marriage service.
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And so we're all then just ready to receive the bride coming in.
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And then the marriage service gets underway.
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And then, of course, you anticipate the following reception as well.
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And really, when you see that happening, you realize this is about to take place.
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And what Revelation is saying here is that John here, as he had this preview, if you like,
38:50
of the final state for God and His people, this is what it was introduced by.
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Before the bride herself appeared and the description of the bride is given,
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there's this hallelujah chorus.
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There is this wonderful introduction.
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There's this great entrance music, if you like, for the bride to enter and for the marriage to take place
39:14
or to be finally reaching its zenith, its culmination.
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And that brings us to the parties to the marriage, because that's really what's mostly in the passage before us.
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The parties to the marriage are the lamb, the husband, called the lamb.
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That, of course, that, of course, is Jesus.
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And the lamb's bride, the church, his glorified, redeemed church, set out here as his wife or as his bride.
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Now, the lamb is mentioned in 28 verses of the book of Revelation.
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Jesus is described as the lamb.
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Why is he described as the lamb?
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You'll find it here, of course, as well in the passage before us.
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And all the way back to chapter 5 and verse 6, where you find the description there of Christ as the lamb,
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as praised in heaven as the lamb.
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Where you find the praise of God by his people focused on the lamb, the lamb who's taken the scroll,
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the book of history, of the destiny of the world, of the universe.
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And he took that and he began to open the seals of it.
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In other words, reminding us that Jesus is in complete charge of all that's going to happen between now and the end of the world.
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And the song that was sung there, of course, is all the believers between the throne and those standing in heaven.
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They saw a lamb standing as though it had been slain.
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You see, that's a wonderful description there.
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A lamb as though it had been slain, newly slain.
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In other words, heaven is really about praising the lamb, praising God, praising the Savior.
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But it's the same Jesus who lived on earth, the same Jesus who died the death of the cross,
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the same Jesus who suffered, the same Jesus who shed his blood for the salvation of his people.
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That's the lamb.
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That's why he's described as the lamb.
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The lamb being the sacrifice that redeemed them.
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The lamb being God's offering of his Son in order to be the basis of our redemption.
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And that's what's praised in heaven.
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It's not just Jesus, it is kingliness as if there was no reflection back upon the work of the cross.
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It's Christ the Lamb.
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The lamb and his bride.
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The lamb as the Savior, the redeeming Savior of his people.
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Now, the marriage focus is on the lamb and on his bride as well.
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But the marriage in terms of revelation and the picture revelation gives us of heaven,
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the focus is more so on the lamb than it is on his wife, the bride, the church.
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And I'm sorry to say this, gentlemen, but when you come to a marriage ceremony here in this world,
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the focus is not on the groom.
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The focus is on the bride, isn't it?
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And when you come to attend a marriage service and you're sitting there waiting for the bride to arrive
42:28
and the groom is up here at the front with his best man, well, with the best will in the world,
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however spectacular the groom looks, it's not going to be anything matching
42:38
when she comes through that door with her wedding dress on and her hair all made up
42:43
and everybody standing, especially the ladies waiting to see the bride coming in.
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And when she comes in, there's usually a gasp and they're saying,
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oh, that dress is fantastic.
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Look at her hair, it's beautiful.
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Beautiful.
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And here's the groom up there.
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Well, he's maybe well-dressed.
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It's usually a higher suit, isn't it, compared to the bride.
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She's made a special choice of this wonderful dress and she walks in with a dress
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and the groom himself welcomes her.
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And, well, he's not supposed to have seen it before, but sometimes maybe it is.
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He's never seen his bride dressed like this before.
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And to him as well, she is utterly beautiful.
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But in heaven, it's the beauty of Jesus that fills the bride's mind, that fills heaven's mind,
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that fills all the occupants of heaven are really more so focused on the Lamb than they are on the bride.
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The bride is spectacular.
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The bride is pristine.
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She is perfectly holy.
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She's been redeemed.
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There is no sin attached to her.
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As the Ephesians reminded us, this is why Jesus died, so that He would wash His bride by the water of His Word,
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that she would be pristine, that she would be spotless, that she'd be holy,
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that He would present her to Himself as a perfect bride.
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But He has the glory.
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He has the praise.
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As the hymn writer put it, it's a hymn taken by A.R. Cousin that she put together from the letters,
44:14
especially of Samuel Rutherford.
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And this is one of the verses.
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The bride eyes not her garment, but her dear bridegroom's face.
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I will not gaze at glory, but on my King of grace.
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Not at the crown He gifteth, but on His pierced hand.
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The Lamb is all the glory in Emmanuel's land.
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The Lamb is all the glory in Emmanuel's land.
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But you know, your privilege and my privilege today is we don't have to wait till heaven appears,
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till we have that dawning of heaven, till we actually are within the courts of heaven,
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to be able to see the beauty of Jesus.
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And that's what the gospel actually presents to you.
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Yes, it presents to you the ugliness of sin and your own ugliness and my ugliness as a sinner,
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devoid of righteousness and of holiness and of beauty.
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But it presents to us Christ and His beauty as God's answer to that, as God's antidote to that.
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And today, as you know yourself and the ugliness of your sin,
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God is inviting us today through the gospel to come to see the beauty of Jesus,
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the magnificence of Jesus, the wonderful, pristine, perfect glory of Jesus,
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His perfect righteousness and holiness,
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His suitability to be your Savior and my Savior,
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in His perfection, in His beauty.
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What can be more beautiful to your needy soul and to my needy soul today than the Christ in His beauty,
45:46
than this Jesus in all His magnificence, in His pristine beauty?
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Because that's what the gospel is saying to you.
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God is really saying to you,
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Yes, I know you're ugly.
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I know you're ugly in terms of your sinfulness.
45:59
But I have found you so important to me,
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you mean so much to me,
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that I have given you my beautiful Son
46:06
to be your Redeemer.
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And I gave my beautiful Son to die the ugly death of the cross,
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to make you beautiful,
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to make you like Him,
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to make you the perfect reflection of His beauty in your own salvation.
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Here is the bride,
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and here is her bridegroom,
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and what a magnificent picture He is,
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just as she is.
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What a wonderful picture they are together
46:42
as the Bible presents the perfect,
46:46
pristine glory of heaven to us.
46:50
The marriage supper of the Lamb has come,
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and He says,
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Let us rejoice and exult,
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and give Him the glory,
46:58
for here it is,
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ready to be consummated,
47:03
this wonderful Savior and His bride.
47:09
Psalm 45 is a marriage psalm.
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It's a psalm of the marriage of Jesus and His people,
47:16
where we say as His church,
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You are more beautiful than all the sons of men.
47:23
Grace is poured into your lips.
47:25
And all the way through that psalm,
47:28
you have different ways that describe the beauty of the King,
47:32
the perfumed love and exquisite beauty that He exudes.
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This is our Lord.
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This is our Savior.
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This is the one the world doesn't want to know.
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This is the one perhaps most of us in our hearts
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didn't want to know either
47:49
until He revealed Himself to us.
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And when He revealed Himself to us,
47:53
we then began to understand what beauty really is.
47:59
Because all beauty, real beauty,
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is the mirror of His beauty.
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And wherever beauty is found in the creation or in the world,
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it's a reflection of the beauty of God,
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its Creator.
48:13
And so it is in our salvation.
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He makes us beautiful in His salvation
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because He bestows His own beauty upon us,
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the beauty of His grace,
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the beauty of His salvation.
48:27
That's how we are made beautiful,
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and made beautiful with no less a beauty
48:32
than the image of Christ,
48:34
the beauty of the Savior Himself.
48:37
This is the bridegroom.
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This is the husband of the bride, the church.
48:46
This is what God is saying to us.
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He is like Himself.
48:51
What you see in Christ is what you know
48:53
is true of God.
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And He is altogether lovely.
48:59
He is the beautiful one.
49:00
Let me put it to myself,
49:04
and let me put it to yourself today
49:05
as I seek to present the gospel to you.
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How beautiful is Jesus to you?
49:15
How important is He to you?
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Is there anything in your life,
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is there anyone in your life
49:22
that comes near to matching
49:25
or replacing the beauty of Jesus?
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Surely not.
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Well, if there is,
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we're not in that right relationship with Him, are we?
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If He's not today
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the most beautiful person in your life,
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it's telling you that you need something
49:45
that you still don't have.
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Do you need this Jesus?
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Do you need His love?
49:52
Do you need His forgiveness?
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Do you need His wonderful compassion?
49:58
You need the salvation that's in Himself.
50:02
There is the Lamb Himself,
50:04
but here is the bride,
50:07
because it goes on,
50:09
the marriage of the Lamb has come,
50:11
and His bride has made herself ready.
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This is the redeemed church,
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as we're saying,
50:18
following the resurrection,
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following the judgment,
50:22
everything is now in its final state.
50:24
This is how things will be forevermore
50:27
from this point onwards,
50:28
that John is being told by God.
50:31
And she has made herself ready.
50:33
Now, what does it mean?
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The bride has made herself ready.
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Well, it means that all the way through,
50:40
her experiences in this life,
50:42
this is what she's been aiming at.
50:44
This is really what she's been looking forward to.
50:46
This is what the church in this world looks forward to.
50:49
This is what every individual Christian should look forward to
50:52
as belonging to this church of God.
50:55
They're looking forward to the day of the marriage supper of the Lamb,
50:59
the day of their being made perfect in holiness,
51:01
in heaven,
51:03
together,
51:03
not just individually.
51:06
The bride has made herself ready
51:09
all the way through our life in this world.
51:12
What is it about?
51:13
Well, it's about,
51:15
by God's grace,
51:16
being sanctified.
51:18
There's a whole lot of other things too,
51:20
but let's focus on that
51:21
because being sanctified,
51:23
being made holy,
51:25
being set apart by God
51:26
and the work of His Spirit going on in our hearts,
51:29
that is making us more and more like Christ.
51:32
That's what really God is set on.
51:35
It's not whether we imagine it to be so or not.
51:37
That's what the Bible tells us
51:39
God's work is about,
51:41
to make His people ready for glory,
51:45
to make them ready to be joined in marriage
51:49
in its ultimate sense in heaven,
51:52
to the Lamb Himself.
51:54
That's why John,
51:55
1 John chapter 3,
51:57
I remember there how
51:58
John is setting out the wonder of being loved by God.
52:02
What manner of love
52:04
the Father has bestowed upon us
52:06
that we should be called the children of God
52:08
and so we are.
52:12
And then he goes on to say,
52:13
it does not yet appear what we shall be,
52:17
but we know that when He,
52:18
or where it shall appear,
52:20
we shall be like Him,
52:22
for we shall see Him as He is.
52:24
And then what does it say?
52:25
And everyone who has this hope in Him
52:27
purifies himself even as He is pure.
52:31
Because it's part of the whole drive of your Christian life
52:36
to become more and more like your Lord.
52:38
I know that I do and you do complain so much
52:42
that you find yourself so far short of that.
52:45
You don't see yourself anything like that at the moment,
52:47
but you still believe the Bible that says,
52:50
when God has placed His Spirit in your heart,
52:53
that's God's work going on to sanctify you.
52:58
And He uses all sorts of ways
52:59
by which to sanctify us
53:02
and make us ready for heaven.
53:04
Well, this is what He's saying.
53:05
His bride has made herself ready.
53:09
And He says,
53:10
It was granted her to clothe herself
53:13
with fine linen, bright and pure.
53:17
That's interesting, isn't it?
53:20
She didn't produce this purity,
53:22
this bridal dress, this garment,
53:25
this wedding dress herself.
53:28
It was granted her, God granted her,
53:31
to clothe herself with fine linen.
53:34
She's got the most exquisite bridal dress
53:38
you could ever imagine.
53:39
In fact, you can't imagine it
53:40
because it is the perfect holiness
53:42
that God by His Spirit's work produces.
53:47
That is what she is arrayed in.
53:50
That is her wedding dress.
53:54
And it was granted to her.
53:58
The dress is not her own creation.
54:03
We might say it's a designer dress,
54:06
but it's got the Lord's label on it.
54:09
He has created it.
54:11
He died to produce it for her.
54:15
It's something that He was always set upon doing,
54:19
and He came into this world to accomplish it.
54:22
And when the bride appears there in her pristine glory
54:27
on the day of the marriage supper of the Lamb,
54:30
this is what she will be wearing.
54:33
She will be wearing bright linen,
54:36
bright and true,
54:38
perfectly pure and pristine in holiness.
54:42
But it's even more specific than that
54:47
because it goes on to say
54:49
that the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.
54:53
And you might say,
54:54
well, surely that's going against everything.
54:55
You've said,
54:57
if her fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints,
55:01
that in other words,
55:02
these are the good works that she engaged in,
55:05
how come that's mentioned
55:07
when you've just said it was granted her to clothe herself,
55:09
when it is the production of God?
55:11
Well, of course it is.
55:13
The answer to that is fairly easy.
55:15
The righteous deeds of the saints
55:17
are the fruit of God's work going on in their lives.
55:20
They haven't produced these works themselves.
55:23
It's a product of grace, isn't it?
55:25
Anything that you're able to do for the Lord
55:32
and the progress of your own Christian life,
55:35
it's really ultimately not your work
55:38
that begins it,
55:40
that ensures it,
55:41
that maintains it.
55:43
It's the work of God going on in your soul.
55:47
He is the one
55:48
who enables you by His Spirit
55:51
to involve yourself
55:53
and to be involved with righteous deeds.
55:55
Revelation itself tells us,
56:00
chapter 14, verse 13,
56:02
Blessed are the dead
56:03
who die in the Lord from henceforth.
56:07
Yes, says the Spirit,
56:08
that they may rest from their labors
56:10
and their works to follow them.
56:14
All the righteous deeds
56:16
that they were enabled to do in this life,
56:19
they follow them into glory.
56:21
They don't buy themselves a place in glory
56:25
because of what they have done.
56:27
The Reformation destroyed that idea,
56:30
I hope, once and for all,
56:31
though it's still,
56:32
sadly,
56:33
in place in the world
56:34
that you actually earn yourself
56:36
a place in God's kingdom
56:37
by your good works.
56:39
No, your good works
56:40
don't earn yourself
56:41
a place in God's kingdom at all.
56:44
The place in God's kingdom
56:45
and God's church
56:46
and God's redeemed church
56:48
has been bought by Jesus.
56:49
He paid the price of this dress Himself
56:53
with His death on the cross.
56:56
But the product of that,
56:57
the outcome of that,
56:59
the sanctifying work of His Spirit
57:01
is a result of that.
57:04
And that enables you to engage
57:06
in the righteous deeds of the saints.
57:09
And they follow you into glory.
57:12
They're part of your appearance
57:15
there before God
57:16
as God's redeemed people.
57:19
So there is the bridegroom
57:23
and there is His bride.
57:27
A marriage made in heaven.
57:31
A marriage made for heaven.
57:35
A marriage that will continue
57:37
through eternity in heaven.
57:40
A marriage, indeed, you might say,
57:43
for which we were created.
57:46
To live in fellowship with God.
57:49
As His people.
57:53
And that's what the gospel
57:54
is calling us to.
57:58
That broken relationship with God
58:00
that needs to be mended.
58:02
Jesus came into the world
58:04
to fix it.
58:05
To mend it.
58:07
Put us in a right relationship with God.
58:09
And the gospel is saying,
58:13
I have done this for you.
58:16
And I have done it for you
58:17
so that you would have the privilege
58:19
of being my bride.
58:22
Of sharing eternity with me
58:24
as my wife.
58:26
What a thing for God to say.
58:30
But as John was assured here,
58:33
these are the true words of God.
58:38
So there's the occasion
58:39
and the parties to the marriage.
58:41
Briefly, the marriage banquet.
58:44
Where he says,
58:44
blessed are those who are invited
58:46
to the marriage supper of the Lamb.
58:49
We're now at the reception.
58:51
Heaven is the reception
58:52
for this marriage of God
58:54
and His people.
58:55
We're not given the details.
58:57
How could we be given the details?
58:58
We wouldn't understand them fully anyway.
59:00
The details of this banquet.
59:03
But we can say
59:03
that this spiritual nourishment
59:06
that begins here in this world
59:08
goes on in eternity in perfection.
59:11
The spiritual nourishment,
59:12
the delight we have in God,
59:14
the satisfaction,
59:15
the pinnacle of Psalm 34, verse 8.
59:18
Oh, taste and see that God is good.
59:21
Well, we're going to be tasting
59:22
for all eternity
59:23
at the marriage supper of the Lamb.
59:26
And who are they that are called
59:27
to the marriage supper of the Lamb?
59:29
Well, strictly speaking,
59:30
blessed are those who are invited.
59:32
They are those who are in Christ.
59:34
Because here,
59:35
at this final stage of things,
59:37
it is those who have made
59:38
their peace with God,
59:40
those who are now in Christ,
59:41
those who have Him as their Savior,
59:43
those who are united to Him.
59:44
God is saying to them,
59:46
right, let's come in
59:46
and enjoy the banquet.
59:48
The marriage has taken place.
59:50
The ceremony is over.
59:52
The rest of eternity is yours
59:53
to enjoy at the marriage banquet.
1:00:00
Blessed are those
1:00:01
who are invited
1:00:03
to the marriage supper of the Lamb.
1:00:10
Are you on the guest list?
1:00:12
Are you on the guest list?
1:00:17
The gospel, in its invitation,
1:00:21
invites us to Christ,
1:00:24
invites us to come to Christ,
1:00:26
invites us to receive Christ,
1:00:28
invites us to come
1:00:29
and willingly be joined
1:00:31
in marriage to Christ.
1:00:33
And when you have that in place,
1:00:34
then you are being invited
1:00:36
or will be invited on this day,
1:00:38
on this occasion,
1:00:38
invitation to the reception,
1:00:40
to come to the marriage supper
1:00:42
of the Lamb.
1:00:43
You will have your ticket.
1:00:44
You will have your entrance requirement.
1:00:47
But meantime,
1:00:49
we all have the gospel.
1:00:52
We all have the invitation
1:00:53
to come to Jesus.
1:00:57
Here is the great question,
1:00:59
the thing of critical importance
1:01:01
for me and for you too.
1:01:02
Am I today
1:01:04
joined in marriage to Christ?
1:01:10
Is he my husband spiritually?
1:01:14
Have I taken God at his word
1:01:17
and said,
1:01:19
Lord,
1:01:20
I don't deserve
1:01:22
to be invited by the gospel
1:01:25
to be joined to you in marriage.
1:01:28
I am a poor,
1:01:30
wretched,
1:01:31
lost,
1:01:33
ungodly sinner.
1:01:35
But I thank you today
1:01:37
that it is for my likes
1:01:40
that you came into this world,
1:01:43
that you suffered
1:01:44
and died.
1:01:46
Because that's what you tell me
1:01:47
in the gospel.
1:01:49
I have not come
1:01:50
to seek righteous,
1:01:54
but to bring sinners,
1:01:56
to repentance.
1:01:59
May God bless
1:02:00
his word to us today.
1:02:02
We're going to conclude
1:02:03
our service now singing
1:02:05
in Psalm 45 again,
1:02:08
verses 13 to 17.
1:02:13
The same version of the Psalm
1:02:14
on page 58.
1:02:19
Singing these verses
1:02:21
from verse 13 to 17
1:02:23
to the tune Evan.
1:02:24
In glorious gold-embroidered robes,
1:02:29
the princess waits within,
1:02:31
in richly ornamented clothes
1:02:32
she's brought before the king.
1:02:34
You see,
1:02:35
there's the image of
1:02:35
the bride just waiting
1:02:37
and ready to go
1:02:38
to where she's going
1:02:39
to be married,
1:02:40
and then she's brought in
1:02:41
before the king
1:02:42
to be married to him.
1:02:44
Attended maidens follow her,
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and so to you are led
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they enter in,
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and with great delight
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the palace courts
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they tread.
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These four verses
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in conclusion.
1:02:55
Amen.
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In glorious gold-embroidered robes,
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the princess waits with him,
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in richly ornamented clothes
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she's brought before the king.
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attendant maidens follow her,
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and so to you are led.
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They enter on with great delight
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the palace courts they tread.
1:04:06
In places where your father stood,
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Your sons will take their stand.
1:04:23
You'll make them princes of the realm
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to rule throughout the land.
1:04:40
I will perpetuate your fame
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through ever-lasting days.
1:04:57
Therefore the nations of the world
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will ever sing your praise.
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I'll go to the door here to my left
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after the benediction this morning.
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Now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,
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the love of God the Father,
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and the communion of the Holy Spirit
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be with you now and evermore.
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Amen.
1:05:54
Amen.