Address—Eric James
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Well, let's turn back to the book of Ephesians.
Like to look over at chapter 5?
Stop.
Three well known verses in Ephesians 5, verse 25. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it.
That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word. That he might present it to himself. A glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle.
Or any such thing that it should be wholly and without blemish, and if you keep your finger there and just turn a few pages over to Galatians chapter 2 and other well known verse.
Galatians chapter 2 and verse 20. I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.
The life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. And then over in the book of Matthew.
Keep your finger if you would in Ephesians 5 because I'd like to turn back there about 3:00 to few verses in Matthew 25.
Matthew 25 verse one. Then shall the Kingdom of heaven be likened unto 10 virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
And verse five, while the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made. Behold, the bridegroom, go ye out to meet him.
Well, back in Ephesians 5, those verses we've read so often, it speaks about the.
The work the Lord Jesus has done, that's what we have in verse 25. Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it. It speaks of the work He's carrying out right now in the next verse, verse 26, that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word. That's the subject I really had before me today. And then verse 27, future that He might present it to Himself.
A glorious church.
That's future not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be wholly and without blemish.
I mentioned in my prayer how that it seems like the topic of conversation today often is when you leave it. We've enjoyed these three days before and three, three days together now, and we realized that many are going to leave now, perhaps today, perhaps tomorrow.
But many are leaving and you know, I've enjoyed a subject, brethren, I wanna call this little talk today preparation for his presence because very soon we're going to leave, aren't we? And it's a good subject to be taken up with our preparation for entering into the Lord Jesus presence because very, very soon that's exactly what's going to happen. You know, sometimes we, we, uh, commiserate one with another that we live in a week day.
We know very well, there's no doubt in our minds that we live in the very end days of the church, and we know that before the sun comes up that the night is the very darkest, isn't it? And so morally, it's true too, that before the Lord Jesus appears, it's the very darkest of times. Morally, in some respects perhaps the most difficult I remember, even when I was a young person.
The meetings were much larger. Conferences are much larger. Much, much easier to kind of go along with the flow, isn't it?
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But today it's even a more challenging day. And for those of you that are young people, I feel that for you because if the Lord leaves us here for a number of years, we don't know how long, but it will be even more challenging. But the bright side is that we're soon going to be in the Lord's presence.
And so He has, in His precious Word, prepared us for His presence, and that's what I wanna speak about. We read there what He is doing, that He might sanctify speaking about the church and cleanse it with the washing.
Of water by the word, that he might present it to himself. A glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing.
Well, that verse 26, I believe is active. It's what he's doing, not the fixed work that's done. We're so thankful for that, but it's the active work, work that the Lord Jesus is doing. And so in those verses over in, uh, Matthew 25, he might have noticed I left the word out that was in the King James because it doesn't really belong there. It's not even his coming that were taken up with. It's his person. If we're in the right state of soul, isn't it? Just think the Lord Jesus is soon going to come. Behold the bridegroom.
Very soon the Lord Jesus is going to come.
Take us home to be with himself. We talked about the patience, the Kingdom and patience of our Lord Jesus Christ. He has waited now almost 2000 years and very soon He's going to take us to be with Himself. But he's still preparing us and we need to prepare ourselves to be in the Lord Jesus presence. Let's look at a few illustrations of this before I get to the main topic I'd like to cover this afternoon or main passage I should say.
Let's turn back to the book of Esther.
We see the same thought, I think.
Esther, chapter 2.
We remember this story here.
The Gentile queen had been unfaithful, had not responded to the king as she ought to have, and so she was going to be replaced. So we know the type here. The type is that, uh, once again, the Gentile church is in the last stages of our existence. I say Gentile, of course we know that Jews and Gentiles, but it's primarily Gentiles today. And then the Jew is going to be restored to a place of prominence. That's the figure.
But morally, it's much like our own day, isn't it?
And, uh, so this Ester was called with a number of other young women and prepared to enter into the King's presence. Look at verse 12 of chapter 2, Esther two, and verse 12.
Now in every maid's turn was come to go into King a Hazarius. After that she had been 12 months, according to the manner of the woman, For so were the days of their purifications accomplished, to wit, six months with oil of myrrh.
And six months with sweet odors and with other things for the purifying of the woman. Then thus every came, every maiden under the king. Whatsoever she desired was given her to go with her out of the House of the woman.
Into the King's house, preparation for entering into His presence. Brethren, we're very near to the time when the Lord Jesus is going to take us home. We need to be prepared.
How important it is, You know, part of the reason I wanted to start that hymn that I started was that too often we sing a different tune to it, don't we? The sands of time are sinking. But it's rather a mournful tune. And I wanted to make sure we got a tune that was a little more upbeat. Because we're looking forward to the Lord's coming, aren't we? I went to a wedding here recently, uh, just a few weeks ago. It was a very happy occasion and we were very, very happy to be there.
We had known the bride for all her life and, uh, known the bridegroom for most of his life as well as well as their families. And it was a happy occasion. And in fact, we know that a great deal of preparation went into that wedding. My daughter was the maid of honor.
And, uh, she and the bride spent a great deal of time together talking about things. And in fact, we know that that particular bride had been looking forward to her wedding from the time she was a little girl. We know that for a fact because we know the family so well. And so it's our place, isn't it, To prepare ourselves. The Lord is preparing us. And it's our great privilege, brethren, to prepare ourselves.
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For the Lord.
But when it comes to take us home, prepare ourselves for His presence because very soon we're going to be there and we want to be suited to His presence. And so Esther, again, it's just a picture, but a similar picture, isn't it? She and the other woman were carefully prepared before they entered into the King's presence. Let's look over in Genesis chapter 24, we get a similar picture.
Preparation for the Bridegroom's presence. Very, very soon we're going to be there. The Lord grant that our preparation might be suited to Him according to His precious Word. Isn't that what it said in Ephesians chapter 5? The Lord Jesus does the preparing there. There's our side of responsibility as well, but He washes it by the Washington washes us by the water of the Word, and that's what I want to look at.
But chapter 24.
Of Genesis.
Just to read a few verses here, it's hard to know where to start. Perhaps, uh.
Uh, perhaps 50 of Genesis 24 Then Leyden's and Bethoul answered and said, The thing proceedeth from the Lord, we cannot speak unto thee, bad or good. Remember this is Abraham's servant was sent to bring back a bride for his son Isaac his heir. Verse 51 Behold, Rebecca is before the take her and go, and let her be thy master's son and wife, as the Lord has spoken and came to pass.
That when Abraham's servant heard their words.
He worshipped the Lord, bowing himself to the earth, and the servant brought forth jewels of silver and jewels of gold and raiment, and gave them to Rebecca. He also, he gave also to her brother and to her mother. Precious things. I suppose these are some of this is a picture of some of the precious things we've had before us these days, the gold, the silver.
Jewels of gold, Jules. Jules of silver and raiment. He gave them to Rebecca. We've been learning about these.
Jewels of gold and silver and raiment, haven't we? That which belongs to us even now, but we're gonna enjoy it far more when we're in our bridegroom's presence. And so it's a picture of, of, uh, the church in a distant land. And then verse 54. And they did eat and drink, and he and the men that were with him carried all night, and they rose up in the morning. And he said, send me away unto my master. And her brother and her mother said that the damsel abide with us a few days at the least, 10.
After that she shall go. And he said unto them, Hinder me, not, seeing the Lord hath prospered my way, Send me a way, that I may go to my master. And they said, We will call the damsel, and inquire at her mouth. They called Rebecca, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go. And they sent away Rebecca their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham's servant, and his men.
And they blessed Rebecca, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions in let thy seed possess the gates, gate of those which hate the hate them. And Rebecca arose.
And her damsels. And they rode upon the camels and followed the man. And the servant took Rebecca and went his way.
Well, this is what's happening now, isn't it, brethren?
We're like that Rebecca. She's a picture of the church.
We're with the servant of the master. He's a picture of the Spirit of God, and he's leading us across that desert to the bridegroom. What do you think he did during that time? I know the Scripture doesn't tell us exactly, but I don't think we have to let our mind wander too much to fill in some of the details. Don't you think He was telling her about her Master, about his master, and about what he'd had?
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About Abraham, about the promises made to Abraham, those wonderful promises, about the wealth that the Lord had bestowed upon Abraham and Isaac because of their faithfulness to God. Don't you think he was regaling her with stories of what she would find when she got home to her beloved?
I don't doubt that for a moment. And so we've done that over the last few days too, haven't we gone over stories, true stories of our portion and of our beloved that we're soon going to be with and see face to face as we were seeing in our hymn. And so finally then verse 62 and Isaac came from the way of the well of La Jolla.
Forty, 12Th in the South Country, and Isaac went out to meditate in the field.
At the eventide. And he lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold the camels were coming. I think we live at this time, right now. Isaac's lifting up his eyes. He can hardly wait for his bride. He waited many, many years, and now he sees her in the distance, very close.
And Rebecca lifted up her eyes.
And when he saw, when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel. That's what's gonna happen soon, isn't it? We're gonna light off the camera like Rebecca. We're gonna be with the Lord Jesus, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. But we need to be prepared to be with the Lord. It's not just enough that we have our sins forgiven. Thank God for that. It's not even enough that we have these blessings we were speaking about in our meeting. That's the portion of all believers that's true.
But there is a preparation for his presence, just as Esther had to be prepared, just as those in Matthew 25 had to prepare for the bridegroom, even though we're not talking about the bride there. But those others too had to be prepared for the bridegroom because he's coming soon. And that's what we have here too. She, she lighted off the camel. And brethren, it's very soon going to happen.
We're gonna light off the Campbell.
For she had said unto the servant, What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? And the servant had said, It is my master. Therefore she took a veil and covered herself. And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent and took Rebecca, and she became his wife. And he loved her. And Isaac was comforted after his mother's death. Let's turn now over to the 119th Psalm.
The 119th Psalms. Largest chapter in the scriptures by far.
Broken into 22 pieces.
It's a particular pattern. It's an acrostic Psalm, which means that it takes each one in order of the 22 Hebrew letters and it spells them out. And in fact each section has 8 verses as you we can see.
And each of those 8 verses in the Hebrew, I'm told, starts with the same Hebrew letter that's at the head. So the 1St 8 verses all start with a left, which is the 1St letter in the Hebrew alphabet. I believe what we have here is a picture of preparation for the Lord's presence. I've enjoyed it that way at least. Like to just share that with my brethren for a few moments.
I will confess that I read a number of sources on these chapters and on these, uh, subsections and it seems they don't all agree. You read what one says and it's, uh, you read what I read with Mr. Grant said, and I read what, uh, uh, what, uh, Mr. Hamilton Smith said and, and, uh, read with Mr. Wigram said, read what our brother Bruce said. I don't know where he got that, but they don't, they don't really say the same. They're close, but you'll find that, uh, the summaries of each of these sections are really quite different. I, I doubt if half of them.
Are even similar before the between those four writers that I read, you might check that out on your own. I thought about that some. You know, I don't really have a problem with that because I do believe this is the pattern that the Lord Jesus is developing, the preparation he's developing for each of us and each of us are different. We do follow a similar pattern, but that pattern is expressed differently in each one of us.
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And so I'm not too surprised that the, uh, the different commentators would come up with a little different thought, even though the main thought is the same, there is a similar pattern. The Lord Jesus is preparing us for himself and it does fit an overall pattern. We won't see that pattern until we're home. Uh, and I believe in a certain sense, this Psalm, uh, you'll find it's in the 5th book of, of, uh, Psalms. Psalms, as you well know, has five books.
It's important to understand that, and this 5th book is sometimes called the Deuteronomy of the Psalms, and I think that's quite appropriate because Deuteronomy was the instructions given to the Lord's people by Moses, really by the Lord. But through Moses, the preparation for entering into the land, that land of milk and honey that they were soon going to possess. They had been in the wilderness for 40 years now. Before that they were slaves in the land of Egypt. And now at long last they were entering into the promised land that the Lord had promised to them.
That he would give them and that they where they would be blessed. And so it's an apartment picture again, isn't it, of our preparation for entering into the Lord Jesus presence.
Let's look at these verses. Much more that could be said. Let me just say one more thing. There are 8 verses in each Section 8 commonly speaks of a new beginning. We have seven days. That's completion. The 8th day is a new beginning. I suppose there's several ways to look at that from a prophetic standpoint, of course, perhaps we can say it speaks of the 10 tribes and it speaks of their preparation for entering into blessing in the land. We don't have time to look at the verses that speak about that.
But that's the great theme of this 5th book of, of Psalms is the 10 tribes particularly are being prepared to, uh, they return and they're being prepared for the Lord's presence. And that involves an attack of the Assyrian. Why does the Lord allow such things? We might wonder, why can't they just have an easy life and skate through? No, the Lord teaches us lessons and adversity that we could never learn.
In times of peace. And so that's what happens in this song.
Well, there are eight, eight verses to each, and I think if we can apply it morally to the believer today, we can say that the Lord Jesus is forming us in his image, 8 verses in each section. He's taking us from what we were. He's forming us into what He wants us to be suited for his presence. You say, aren't we already suited? Yes, as far as standing, we're already suited for the Lord's presence.
But isn't there a moral likeness that the Lord wants to develop in US? Absolutely. Be holy, for I am holy. You wouldn't have to tell us to be holy. If we say in our Lord we're already holy, that's true, we are holy. But now we need to walk like it. One is standing, the other is state. It's important that our state live up to our standing, isn't it? And that's what we have here. Well, let's go through.
I know it's a long sum. I think we can go through it fairly quickly. I do remember many years ago that our brother Eric Smith spoke at a conference. I don't remember exactly what he spoke about. I always appreciated what he did speak about. But on this occasion I remember he made a statement that put a thought in my mind and that, as he said years ago when he was a young person, he had studied Greek, knew that relatively well, but he thought he would like to study a little Hebrew.
So he met with a Jewish man, I don't remember whether he was a rabbi or not, but he met with a Jewish man that was well versed in Hebrew.
And he said, just for a short time, they studied some Hebrew together. And he mentioned that they began with the Hebrew alphabet, which certainly makes sense, doesn't it Begin to study a language? It's a good place to start. Start with the alphabet. And one comment he made I never forgot was that each of these letters of the alphabet in Hebrew are more than merely letters. They have meaning.
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That's true in Chinese, for instance, and some of the other language, that the words or symbols or letters or symbols actually symbolize something. And so with a little diligence, we can find out that each of these letters of the Hebrew alphabet have a particular meaning. They're not just letters as in our language ABCD. That's all they mean. They're building blocks for words. But in the Hebrew, each of these words, each of these letters.
Has a particular meaning. Let's go over those meanings. It's a key to understanding what that section is about, but we'll have to hurry here. Psalm 119, the first word. As you can see, there is a left.
That means aux and so in these verses, what do what do we have look at the first verse. Blessed are the undefiled in the way who walk in the in the law of the Lord.
It's the blessedness of obedience, isn't it? Isn't that what we read about that ox in the New Testament? Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly, and he shall find rest unto your soul. That's not the rest of salvation. That's the peace of God. Not the peace with God. That's the rest of communion that comes from walking with the Lord Jesus in yoke with Him. Aleph means ox.
And so we have the blessedness.
Of the obedient walk. I've often thought of this, as I shouldn't say often, but in my meditation on this recently, I thought of 119 Psalm 2 as a as a quilt made-up of many quilt pieces, each of these separate sections of quilt piece. And brethren, isn't that what our preparation for the Lord's presence is? It's individual, It follows a particular particular pattern, but each one is unique quilt piece.
The Lord Jesus is forming us for his presence, and so in each of these pieces we're gonna see it intricately formed and sewn together with a particular purpose. And so the Lord Jesus is doing with each one of us to prepare us for his presence. So the first is the ox. The blessedness of an obedient walk. I might say too. I know I get sidetracked here. There are 10 Hebrew words.
Used in this, uh, Psalm for the scriptures. You'll see it's quite diverse. Uh, if you look into Mr. Vines, uh, exposition of Old Testament words, for instance, you'll see he says 1010 words and he gives you those 10 words and then he says a lot of them are synonyms. He says, I can't really tell the difference sometimes. I guess if I could put it in my lay layman's language, they do overlap. They are different in some respects, but they also overlap a great deal. Well, here's a laugh and Ox.
Beth, we know that name, Bethel.
We know what it means. The House of God, Bethel, right? L is God, Beth is house, and so this means house. Well, what does this mean? Look at verse 9. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto, According to thy word, Verse 11, thy word. Have I hidden my heart, that I might not sin against Thee. We're not our own. We're bought with the price.
Our bodies are the temple of the living God, the house, perhaps we can say, of the living God. And So what we have here is the way of cleansing. We belong to Him, not to our, not to our own. That's why I read that verse in Galatians 2. I am crucified with Christ, you know, Socrates said many years ago.
The unexamined life is not worth living, and many of us have studied that as we had to take philosophical classes and so on in in college and so on and so forth.
He said the unexamined life is not worth living. I wanna make a comment to you, dear young people, particularly I wanna make this. I hope you take it to heart. Rather than saying the unexamined life, I wanna say that.
If we're not consecrated, life isn't worth living. The unconsecrated life is not worth living.
Well, that's what Beth is. It speaks of consecration to the One who died for us and rose again. We're not our own. We don't own our bodies. Ye are not your own. Look it up if you want. First Corinthians chapter 6 towards the end of the chapter. We're not our own. We've been bought with the price. Therefore, glorify God in your body, which is His.
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God grant us to prepare ourselves, but may I say that the unconsecrated life for the believer is not worth living?
Beth Gimmel Not too hard to figure out what this is. It's, uh, sometimes moves a little bit to gamble and then it's camel. And that's exactly what it means is camel. It's the camel that we're well known of. Well, what happens when we turn to the Lord Jesus and obedience and consecration? What do we find? Well, the camel is the caravan of the desert. He doesn't live in the lush parts of the world.
You have to go to the desert to find the camel. And so when we are consecrated to the Lord as part of our preparation, we become strangers and pilgrims in this world, don't we? The world becomes a wilderness. This will, this world, the wilderness wide. And so that's the camel. And so we have that here. Verse 19. Look at it. I am a stranger in the earth.
Hide not thy commandments from me, verse 22. Remove me from reproach and contempt. There will be reproach and contempt from those who make this world their home. It's what those are called 10 times in Revelation. Earth dwellers. We don't wanna be earth dwellers. They're ones who have made this world their home, but the believer is an outcast by them.
We're strangers and pilgrims. Look at verse 22. Remove me from reproach and contempt, for I have kept thy testimonies.
So we have that. We're outcast. We've become strangers and pilgrims.
When we belong to the Lord, there's another piece of the fabric the Lord uses to prepare us for His presence, for this quilt. Again, I thought of it as a quilt, each of these little pieces of fabric, and more than fabric, because my wife has made quilts before. Some of the quilts, she hasn't made them, hasn't made a lot of them, but some of the quilts she's made have been very, very intricate, intricate. Each one has a particular theme, I think we could perhaps say like we have here.
But each one is intricate and beautiful in itself. And then finally the whole, the whole quilt is put together at the end and as beautiful to see. But in the meantime, it's kind of hard to figure out. We just see one piece at a time until finally the whole thing is put together. So we have camel where strangers and pilgrims day left. That means door.
What else do we have here then? Uh, we have a door where strangers and pilgrims in this world. But is that all we see? Remember what Jacob experienced at Bethel? As a matter of fact, when he had a stone for his pillow, he was fleeing from his brother Esau. He had a vision that night. We call it Jacob's ladder. There was a door opened in heaven, the apostle John says. And so as strangers and pilgrims were not left to our own resources.
But we have a door to heaven.
We don't just look at the seed world as those around do, but we know there's an unseen world known to the eye of faith, which is far more real than this world that seemed that surrounds us. So there's a door to heaven. Notice what it says here. Look at verse 28 for instance. It is the realization of our own weakness.
But the realization that our strength lies through that door.
Verse 28 My soul melteth, for heaviness strengthened me according to thy word.
Key is interesting. If you look at the figure there, you might guess what it means. It means window. We have a door. We have a window, We have a door into the unseen world. That's the secret of the Christian walk, isn't it? Of the proper Christian walk is that door into the unseen world. We live in view of things that are unseen, and yet there's a window too. And what does that mean? That's where we get our instruction. That's where the Lord Jesus lives.
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That's where our object is.
If we might have a reference in my Bible here, our object is in that unseen world. 2nd Corinthians 317 and 18 You might have other verses that are more suitable, perhaps, but that's, uh, uh, well, let's just look at it very quickly. I know our time is limited, but second, second Corinthians 3, So I get it right here. 18 But we all with open face beholding.
The glory of the Lord.
Are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord, we have a window into heaven. That's where our object is. And as we're taking up with that object through that window, we're not quite there yet in that sense. But as we're taking up with the Lord Jesus as our object, we become transformed into His image.
That's that #8 isn't it? We changed from what we were. You know, Paul was an insolent, overbearing man by nature.
Not a very pleasant picture, is it? But he says that of himself, that he was an insolent, overbearing man. The Spirit of God picked him up, saved him, formed him into the image of the Lord Jesus little by little. And he could say, I was among you as a nurse. Cherish with your own children, cares for her own children.
Had been changed from an insulin overbearing man who cared for nobody but himself and what he thought was important to somebody who had the care like a nurse. The nurse is trained, knows how to care for his children. The care of a mother is wonderful, but a mother who's a nurse has even a more a greater advantage, doesn't shape because she's been trained to help the children, to raise the children. And so Paul had been changed from an insolent, overbearing man.
To somebody who was like a nurse caring for his own children when he was among the Thessalonians, what a transformation. That's the transformation the Lord Jesus wants for us. Look at verse 33. Teach me, oh Lord, verse 34, give me understanding.
And then verse 35 make me to go. Sometimes we don't get there, do we? Sometimes we like teaching tickles, the intellect. Maybe we like to understand it. That's good too.
But then sometimes we stop before verse 35, make meet to go.
Well, means a pin or a nail. The Scripture speaks about a nail set in a sure place, speaks of testimony. And that's in fact what we have here. It speaks of testimony to the world. The Lord Jesus has called us not to live for ourselves, but to be a testimony for Him. And so look at verse 42. So shall I have wherewith to answer Him.
That reproacheth me, for I trust in thy word. Verse 44.
So will I keep thy law continually, forever and ever, and notice the next step, and I will walk at liberty, for I seek thy precepts, and then the testimony. Verse 46. And I will speak of Thy testimonies also before kings, and will not be ashamed testimony. A nail set in a sure place. The Lord has called us to be a testimony.
Part of our preparation. Another quilt square.
Part of this quilt that he's growing, that we might be prepared for his presence.
Zane.
While we're in the midst of reproach. But the Lord hasn't left us defenseless. Zane means sword. It's a weapon, or particularly a sword. He hasn't left us, as they said, defenseless.
Uh, verse 50. This is my comfort in my affliction, for Thy word hath quickened me. The proud have had me greatly in derision. Are we defenseless yet? Have I not declined from Thy law? Not on our own strength, but the Word of God, which is the sword of the Spirit. So we have a sword, and He wants us to learn how to use it diligently and well. Chess.
The next one means offense.
We don't have to think too long to figure out what that means. A fence. You know, like you have around a property. A fence.
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And our preparation there is such a thing as separation, is there not? If we're going to be suited for the Lord's presence, we must be separated believers. Now separation has two parts.
The first part is separation unto the Lord. That's the great part of separation. Separation can be a very, very challenging, legal, difficult thing if it's only separation from things. Don't do this, don't do that, don't do the other. That's not very fun separation.
But if we're first separated to the Lord, that makes all the difference in the world. We know he's preparing us for our for his presence, and he separates us. Perhaps a versatile look at later Paul spoke to the Corinthians, uh, that he was separating them as a chaste virgin.
And so this young lady that got married recently.
She was separated, no doubt, to the Lord, to her, I should say, to her beloved, her bridegroom. She didn't want to defile herself because she had promised herself the one. They said she had looked forward to her wedding almost all of her life. She wasn't going to spoil it. Is that a bad thing? Not a bad thing at all. It's a wonderful thing to be separated solely. And that case to her beloved, and so the Lord.
Builds a fence around us for our own preservation. Notice what it says here.
Thou art my portion. Verse 57. Separation is first unto the Lord. Oh Lord, I have said that I would keep thy words, and then there is other separation. Verse 63. I am the companion of all them that fear Thee, and of them that keep thy precepts. There is separation from others, but the first part of separation.
Is the fact that thou art my portion.
Test.
We heard about this this morning from our brother John. It means snake. There is a snake out there, isn't there? A serpent who would love to trip us up? And if the Lord knocks down a little sense around us like he did Job, what's the snake like to do? He's gonna be there right away, isn't he? He's gonna do whatever he can to try to spoil and destroy our testimony, to make us unsuited for the Lord. Does the Lord allow that?
Indeed he does.
For our, our building up, for our preparation for His presence. Another quilt square, if we can put it that way, as part of this beautiful quilt that the Lord is creating in preparation for each of our lives. Look what it says here. It's the, uh, test the snake. What these 8 verses speak of is the blessing through chastening.
Uh, look at verse 67. Before I was afflicted, I went astray.
As the Lord used affliction for good purpose, indeed He indeed He does. But now have I kept thy word. Look at verse 71. It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I might learn my statutes. The snake has a purpose, but remember, the Lord is behind all the scenes that He is behind.
JAD.
JAD means a hand, and I puzzled about this for a while because the next one also means hand, but it means a closed hand. And I thought, well, what in the world? How can we apply that a closed hand? Well, I think the secret is often as it is, it's pretty close. Look at verse 73. It's not our hands, it's thy hands have made me and fashioned me. Give me understanding that I may learn thy commandments.
The truth is that He holds us and He protects us in his closed hand. That's a wonderful truth, isn't it? Another square. He wants us to learn that He's the one who's holding us and protecting us. Look at verse 75. I know, O Lord, that thy judgments are right, and that Thou in faithfulness hath afflicted me. It's the Lord Jesus holding on to us.
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Kaf, we have to move quickly.
Means a fist. What's it a fist mean? It means that we hold on to the Lord. First He holds on to us with a closed hand, and then we hold on to the Lord. By grace my soul faintheth verse 81 for thy salvation, but I hope in thy word, verse 87. They had almost consumed me upon earth, but I forsook that thy precepts, and so we have comfort.
Through the word.
Perseverance holding on through affliction. Lamet means ox gold. You know, the oxen in those days were not too much unlike us. They worked in the fields and there were long sticks, pointed sticks that were behind their their, uh, behind their legs. And as they walked along those pointed sticks would just give a little jab constantly. I suppose oxen, I don't know much about them, but.
I suppose by nature they're like, we are lazy and uh, we tend to sit down and do nothing in much grass, I guess, if we have a choice. But those little ox goats, keep them going, just doesn't hurt them normally unless they kick against it. That's what Paul talked about, wasn't it? When he said it's hard for thee? The Lord told Paul it's hard for thee to kick against the ******. If the ox kicks against that prick, it can, it can injure itself. That hurts.
But left to itself, those little ****** keep us going. What does that mean? That's God's faithfulness daily. Look what he says in verse 90. Thy faithfulness is unto all generations. Thou hast established the earth, and it divided. Verse 91 They continue this day. That's daily according to thine ordinances, for all are thy servants.
Well, there's so much more here, but we don't have time. Look at mem.
The next one, it means water. It speaks of the refreshment of the Word of God. Look what it says, verse 97. Oh, how I loved thy law. It is my meditation all the day. You know what that love is? Dear young people, do you know what it is to love the word of God, the law of God?
It's refreshment when we're in the Lord's presence if we neglect it.
It becomes something we maybe have to do, but if we're walking in the Lord's presence in communion with Him, we find that it's a refreshment. And so the psalmist says, look at verse 103. How sweet are thy words unto my taste, ye sweeter than honey to my mouth.
Though through thy precepts I get understanding, therefore I hate every false way. When we have good food, we don't want bad food. That's what the word of God is, Refreshment. None speaks of fish.
The Hebrew symbol for fish, Well, if we turn back to Leviticus 11, don't turn there. But if you turn to Leviticus 11, we learn something about the clean and the unclean animals. And there we have fish mentioned. Some fish were clean, some were unclean.
What made a fish clean? Two things. First of all, look at verse 105. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. First, the fish had to have fins to be able to swim against the current, Divine guidance to swim against that current. Secondly, the fish needs scales to protect them from this environment with which we're surrounded, which would destroy us if we didn't have scales. Look at verse 109.
Uh, rather 110 the wicked have laid a snare for me.
Yet I err not from thy precepts. Scales, Samich means a prop. We might say a cane today, but it's a prop. The word of God holds us up, doesn't it? It's a prop. Look at verse 116. Uphold me according unto thy word, that I may live, and let me not be ashamed of my hope. Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe, and I will have respect unto thy statutes continually.
Pain means I. It's the eye of faith that anticipates deliverance. We're not gonna be here forever, brethren. Very, very soon the Lord Jesus is going to take us home to be with themselves. Look at verse 123. Mine eyes fail for thy salvation and for the word of thy righteousness. 126 It is time for the Lord to work, for they have made void thy law. Don't we see all around us things that tell us that we're in the very last days of the church?
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Let's lift up our eyes. Our deliverance is nigh.
Pay means mouth speaks of communion and dependence on the Lord. Verse 129 by testimonies are wonderful, therefore doth my soul keep them. The entrance of thy words giveth light, it giveth understanding under the simple I opened my mouth that's paid and panted, for I longed for thy commandments.
SETI means fishhook.
Recalled to be fishermen. Aren't we not just called to live for ourselves, but to be fishermen? Look what verse uh 39139 says, My zeal. This is zeal for God. My zeal have consumed me because my enemies have forgotten thy words. Verse 141 I am small and despised, yet do not I forget thy precepts. Sometimes we complain that we are small and despise.
But the Lord wants to be zealous for him. Daniel was a man that was zealous even in a difficult day. Think how small and despised he was. Very, very few that were held as opinions. But.
Yet do I not forget thy precepts?
COPS, Anybody who knows German has a little sense of that. Cost is the German word for head, isn't it? But this isn't exactly head. It's actually the back of the head. Head is actually the next word, resh. But cops speaks of the back of the head. It speaks of dependence because in those days when they prayed, they often prayed on their faces with the back of their head up. Look what it says. Verse 145. I cried.
With my whole heart hear me, O Lord, I will keep thy statutes. I cried unto thee. Save me, and I will keep thy testimonies. I prevented the dawning of the morning and cried, I hoped, and thy word dependence, the back of the head rest. That is the head. The head is what encases our brain, our mind. And so we have steadfastness and trial here.
Look at verse 157, We've made-up our mind to follow the Lord by His grace, not in our strength, but in His. Verse 157 Many are my persecutors and mine enemies, yet do I not decline from thy testimonies. Verse 160 Thy word is true from the beginning, and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth forever. Shin.
Means 2.
What do we do with our teeth? Well, we chew food, don't we? And so that's what we have here. It's the light in God. The light in God and in His word. Look at verse 162. I rejoice at thy word. Do we feed on God's word? Do we enjoy it? I rejoice at thy word as one that findeth great spoil verse 165. Great peace have they which love thy law and nothing.
Shall offend them.
That brings us down to the last Tau.
What is Tau? Well, if you look at look it up, it looks like a mark or a cross. I believe it's what we would call a signature. It's the final signing off. When a person makes a quilt, they put all the pieces together and they sign it. The work is done, it belongs to them. And so the Lord Jesus is building us.
Quilt piece by quilt piece, forming us into a finished quilt that we might be prepared for His presence. I know I might have to face that here, but let's, uh, just look at two more passages and I'll stop. Second Corinthians Chapter 11.
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2nd Corinthians Chapter 11 Remember, our theme here is preparation for His presence.
Verse 2.
I am jealous, the apostle Paul speaking over you with a godly jealousy, For I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
But I fear lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtleties, so your mind should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. Brethren, there's many things that distract that wedding we went to recently.
Oftentimes there's many things that distract, aren't there? Let's not be taken up with those things. I don't say not to be faithful. That's not the point at all. But let's not be distracted with things that are a dishonor to the Lord.
Just when the wedding is about to be taken place. That's a sad thing. Too often at weddings that happens, doesn't it? Dissension comes up and, uh, people have their feelings hurt and so on and so on and so forth. Let's worry about the bride and the bridegroom. Let's be prepared for his presence. Not only not be distracted, but not 'cause grief to the one who has waited so long for US1 Last verse, Revelation 19.
2 verses here. The marriage of the Lamb. The time finally comes. The marriage of the Lamb doesn't take place immediately after the rapture. Probably takes place about the middle of the week if I understand it right. There is a preparation time. Read what it says here. Revelation 19, verse seven. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his wife.
Hath made herself ready. What does that mean? Her wife has made herself ready.
I believe I'm right in saying that that's the judgment seat of Christ. We often fear the judgment seat of Christ, but it's the time when the Lord Jesus will sit down with us and go over our Psalm 19, if I can put 119, if I can put it that way, go over each of these quilt pieces with us and show us how He directed and how He led us in the way until He put His signature on the whole.
And were in his presence the bride hath made herself ready, and to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white. For the fine linen is the righteousnesses of the Saints, not imputed righteousness, not the righteousness God imputes to us, but the actual righteousness, practical righteousness, that comes from preparing ourselves for the Lord's presence. Brethren.
Of Lord Grannis, that we go on.
We live at the very last days of the church. What a difficult time. And what a blessed time. He's soon gonna come out of heaven. He's been watching, waiting for us so long. Take us home to be with himself. But let's prepare ourselves for his presence. Blessed God our Father, we thank.