Address—A.C. Hayhoe
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I'd like you to turn with me please tonight to the third chapter of Genesis and the ninth verse. And the Lord God called unto Adam and said unto him.
Where art thou? Where art thou? Usually this verse is applied in the Gospel, and I feel responsible to present a word of warning and of entreaty in the Gospel at the beginning of this meeting.
For here we have the voice of God addressed to man long ago, when man had sinned and tried to hide his nakedness from the presence of God, and to hide himself behind the trees of the garden. But let us remember this, God's Word solemnly declares.
All things.
Are naked and open under the eyes of him with whom we have to do. That means that absolutely every one of us in this company, whether we mock or ridicule, whether we refuse to believe or whether we neglect, every one of us will meet.
God and meet the God who knows all about us.
And has faithfully told us long before that day, when we shall meet him, that all things are naked, and open unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. And I hope, my friend, as you hear these words, where art thou, that you will answer them right now in the sight of God.
Are you sheltered by the precious blood of Christ?
Are your sins blotted out? The eye of God now looks down upon you and me by wondrous grace, and sees us redeemed, cleanse from all that guilt, and on our way home to the glory. But I believe there's something else in this question, and it really touches my heart.
With something that stirs very, very deeply. It seems to me as though the Lord so delighted in the company, the communion, the fellowship of his creature, that when he comes down on this occasion to walk with him in the cool of the day, Adam is nowhere to be found. And it seems to me that there's a tender outreach of love in these words.
That I've just seen but lately.
In fact, just today, as I looked at this verse today and as it came up again at the supper table, I believe I see in it a tender yearning in the heart of God. Adam, where art thou? As though I came home expecting to find my loved one there, and the place was empty. Would there be accusation in that cry?
Art thou, would there not be something of a yearning, a longing, a desire for the company, the fellowship that had meant so much to me? I believe I see that in these words the Lord God in the cool of the day, comes to this garden, where I doubt not, he had enjoyed fellowship with Adam and Eve. And he cries out Adam.
Where art thou? To me it means Adam.
I want your company, Adam. I miss you.
All beloved brother and sister in Christ, there's something so precious to my soul about the fact that God wants my company. He wants.
Your company and He has paid the fullest price possible in order that He might have that yearning desire his heart realized for eternity. But I'm not telling you anything new when I say that God doesn't want to have to wait until He has you home to enjoy your company. He wants your company.
Now, day by day.
Did you give him that pleasure today? Did I give him that pleasure? Oh, I know you and I naturally think about the pleasure that we receive in the sweet company of the Lord Jesus. But remember this, the love, the yearning, the desire, the seeking, it all originated in His heart and has been made known to us in this wonderful book.
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I believe all that we see in Scripture concerning anything that might come from our hearts.
Is but a response to that which originated in his Oh, I think of that when I read those words in the 27th Psalm. One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the House of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple. But step by step, as I slowly go through that verse, I see.
That every one of those steps originated in the heart of God.
Who did the seeking? Did I seek Him? Who did the yearning, the desiring? Did he or did I? Oh, it all originates. Fill of it in His heart. And it's going to be realized. Here we are at Genesis chapter 3. Suppose we turn to Revelation chapter 21.
Verse 3 where we have a glorious picture of the wonder of that which shall exist for eternity.
Revelation 21 verse three and I heard a great voice out of heaven saying.
Behold, the Tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people and God Himself.
Shall be with them and be their God. This question.
Where art thou betrays, I believe, a yearning and a longing in the heart of God that is going to be gloriously realized in a coming day.
Would you turn with me, please to the 25th chapter of Exodus? Exodus 25 verse one. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, verse eight. Let them make me a sanctuary that I.
May dwell among them.
All this is beautiful to my soul. Here for the first time, the Lord speaks of a desire to dwell with His people. I believe He visited and communed with Adam and Eve in the garden.
I believe he visited and enjoyed the hospitality of Abram and Sarah at their tent, but now he speaks of a desire to dwell with his people.
For the first time he looks down upon a redeemed company and expresses this desire to dwell among them. How well did he know them? Did he know that which would be seen in their journey? Did he know about the murmuring and the complaining and the rebellion of their hearts? Yes, indeed he did. But he loved them, and he wanted.
Dwell among them. You know you have to love someone a great deal to want to dwell with them. A visit from time to time might be very pleasant with some folks, but to want to dwell with them indicates a very real depth of love.
And it's a delight to my soul. And I say it again, I trust with reverence He had in mind bringing them across the sands of the desert and establishing them in that land that flowed with milk and honey. And he promised them that when they arrived at that land, he would choose a place to put his name. There he would dwell with them. But all I say once again with the eagerness of love.
He would not wait until that day. He wanted their company along the way.
Oh, dear brother, dear sister, he wants your company and mine, and wants it with such earnest yearning that he went to the cross in order that you and I might be with him in Yonder glory, to the delight of his own heart. But once more, I say, and oh, let us remember it. He wants our company from day-to-day along the journey homeward, and you know as well as I do that the happiest Christians you've ever met in your life.
Are not those who necessarily have the biggest bank account, but those who know the most about the company of the Lord Jesus Christ. Do I speak the truth? You know I do. Those who know the most of the company of the Lord Jesus Christ are the happiest Christians, young or old, that I've ever met in my life. And I've met quite a few. I've met them in varied circumstances, adversity.
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Bereavement, poverty and plenty. And I say again, that which brings joy and gladness that really abides is the company of the Lord Jesus. Let's go on with verse 10 of this same chapter. And they shall make an ark of Shittim wood. 2 cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof. And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold within. And.
Shalt thou overlay it, and shall make upon it a crown of gold roundabout.
And I shall cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in the four corners thereof. And two rings shall be on the one side of it, and two rings in the other side of it. And thou shalt make staves of **** and wood, and overlay them with gold. And I shall put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, that the ark may be born with them. The stays shall be in the rings of the ark, they shall not be taken from it. And thou shalt put into the ark.
That testimony which I shall give thee. And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold. 2 cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a Cuban and a half the breadth thereof. And thou shalt make 2 Cherubim of gold of beaten work. Shalt thou make them in the two ends of the mercy seat, and make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end. Even of the mercy seat shall he make the cherubim on the two ends thereof.
And the cherubim shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings.
And their faces shall look one to another toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be. And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark. And in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. And there I will meet with thee. And I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark, of the testimony of all things which I will give.
Commandment unto the children of Israel.
I read these verses because I believe it's most important for us to see.
That the company of the Lord Jesus, the company of the God of Israel, was not that which was lightly enjoyed. God immediately gave specific, detailed, careful instruction as to what was necessary in order that He might have the joy of dwelling in the midst of that people whom He loved so dearly.
We won't take time to turn to many another Scripture, but you remember that Moses was called up to the top of that mountain that smoked and burned with fire, and there upon the top of that mountain he received from the Lord those commandments and ordinances which he was responsible to entrust to Israel. You remember too, that when he came down from that mountain.
Israel was already.
Breaking the very commandments that the finger of God had written upon those two tables of stone, what could Moses do if he were to carry those two tables of stone into the midst of the camp? I believe the presence of God.
Would have been such that guilty Israel would have been smitten before the presence of Jehovah. Moses casts then upon the ground, and they are broken to pieces.
What can God do? If I had never read the story before, it would certainly be a dilemma. What can God do? Will he reduce the severity of these commandments? Will he reduce their number to 9:00 or 8:00 or 7:00?
Perhaps man might be able to keep them if they were not so severe, if they were not so many of them. But God's holiness is not going to be adjusted to man's guilt. And here is the wonderful, the glorious answer to this.
Surprising question. The commandments of the Lord remain unalterable, but they are to be placed in this arc. This wooden box covered completely with gold and covered over with a lid spoken of here as the Mercy seat. And on either end of that covering lid, there where these cherubim.
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Which looked downward upon, but God's word declares to be the mercy seat. Isn't that a lovely? Isn't that a precious word? The mercy seat? There beneath that mercy seat, where those two tables of stone, they had not been reduced in their severity nor in their number. God is determined that he will indeed dwell in the midst of his people, guilty though they were, but he has.
Found a way, He has provided a means whereby, maintaining His Holiness, his righteousness, he is able to dwell in their midst in this most beautiful picture of our Lord Jesus Christ. I'd like you to turn with me, please for a moment to the Epistle to the Hebrews. Hebrews.
Chapter.
9 Hebrews, Chapter 9.
First one. Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service and a worldly sanctuary. For there was a Tabernacle made the first, wherein was the Candlestick and the table, and the showbread, which is called the sanctuary. And after the second veil, the Tabernacle, which is called the holiest of all, which had the golden sensor and.
The Ark of the Covenant.
Overlaid roundabout with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant.
Three things were in this arc.
The tables of the Covenant, that holy and solemn and unreduced series of commandments.
That God gave to his servant Moses. But in there with those two tables of stone was a golden pot of Manor and Aaron's rod that budded. There were rings on either side of that ark, and staves through those rings so that this arc could be carried on the shoulders of the priests.
In all their journeys through the wilderness.
Until at last they reached that land of promise. All that. It is a delight to my soul to picture this in a limited little measure, in which I can see the wonder and the beauty of it. I see the Person of my Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, in all the holiness and wonder and perfection of who He is and beloved. Let no one ever tarnish that.
Marvelous image. It grieves. It saddens my heart from time to time.
To hear of those who would dare to suggest that Jesus Christ, God the Son.
Could have sinned but didn't.
Perhaps you've heard that. Let me warn you solemnly and faithfully, beloved, that the Lord Jesus Christ, your Savior, my Savior, is none other than God, the Son in whom is no sin.
There was no possibility of sin in that holy, blessed, precious Son of God. I say this because I know that such teachings are becoming more and more prevalent and are heard too from the lips of those who are supposedly sound in the Gospel.
An advertisement came round to our home just before I left on this trip, advertising a series of 24 lectures in our town. The titles of those lectures seemed so very, very interesting, and I feel quite sure that many questions in our town would be swept away by their interest in the topics that were to be discussed.
But I laid my hands on the literature of those who were presenting this message.
And I found these words.
The nature possessed by our Savior Jesus Christ is that which is described in Romans chapter 3.
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I almost dread to repeat it to you, beloved friend. Isn't it a marvelous thing that in this arc, made of wood covered with gold, the perfect blending of the humanity and the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, there within it where those two tables of stone?
A marvelous picture of the holy and wondrous Person of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Lest some here may not have heard the illustration that I heard in the days of my boyhood concerning the significance of the temptation in the wilderness, I would like to repeat that illustration. For I remember one time talking with a young fellow who seemed to love the Lord so much. But he said, of course the Lord could have sinned, and he didn't.
Oh, I said Clifford. No, no, the Lord Jesus was God the Son.
Why do you say he could have sinned? Well, Albert, if he couldn't have sinned, I see no point, no purpose whatever in the temptation. The temptation indicates a possibility of failure and of sin. Thank God he didn't. But surely you admit he could have. And I used the illustration that many of us have heard repeatedly. Suppose I see someone here wearing a ring.
And he mentioned something about his fine gold ring, and I say I don't believe it. That's only brass.
No, no, he insists. That's real gold. No, I don't believe it. It's only brass. How are we going to settle this? Well, I don't know anything about how metals are tested, but come with me and use our imagination. We go to a jewelry store. You take off that ring and you tell the jeweler about this discussion. The jeweler says, well, I'll show you whether it's gold or whether it's brass.
Or a little bit of both, and he immerses this ring in a vial of acid, leaves it there for a period of time, brings it out again, and says pure gold, in no way tarnished, in no way tainted by the test that demonstrates pure gold.
If I were honest, I'd turn to you and say you were right. What was the purpose of that test? Was there any possibility that your ring might have been damaged or tarnished by that test? None. Whatever. It demonstrates the truth of the claim that you made for it. Pure gold. Adam came into this world. Sad to say, he promptly fell under the test to which he was subjected. But the Lord Jesus, the last Adam.
The eternal Son of the living God comes into this world, is presented to man, and is subjected to that test which proved Him to be.
Pure gold, all that God claimed for him and all that he claimed for himself. I'm very thankful to say that having used this illustration. Clifford's eyes lit up with gladness. And he said, oh, I'll never say that again, for I wouldn't want to say anything that would lower the beauty of my precious savior. Oh, friend, when I see this ark, when I look within it and see those commandments there, when I see that pure gold that.
Blending of the gold and of the wood, I see a marvelous picture, but it's only a picture of the person of God's beloved Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But also in that ark I see a golden pot that had manna and Aaron's rod that budded.
And this accompanied the children of Israel all through their wilderness journey. Oh, what wonderful provision is ours. Not only the wonder of the person of our Lord Jesus Christ in all his worthy deity, but the golden pot of Manor, that wondrous and faithful promise that.
All the way through our journey homeward.
The faithful, unchanging grace of God will be with us. We'll meet our need every step of the journey until we reach home. Ah, as those children of Israel went across the sands of the desert, day by day that heavenly manner was ministered to them until at last they stepped into the Promised Land. And so is golden pot of Manor.
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A memorial of the faithfulness of God's changeless grace accompanied them.
Day by day in that ark. And from whence does all this grace flow for you and for me? Is it not also from the heart of Him whose faithful presence delights to be with us along the way? Oh, how good it is from day-to-day to magnify the grace of God that accompanies us until at last we reach home.
You remember those precious words in the 23rd Psalm. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.
And I will dwell in the House of the Lord forever. We won't need that grace of God when we reach home, but we surely need it day by day as we journey home, don't we?
You know, I remember back home in Ottawa.
There was a dear brother whose name was RJ Watson.
And he was straight from Ireland and you could tell it every time he had something to say.
He was telling us about that precious verse and what it meant to him, he said. You know, years ago when I was a boy in Ireland, I used to love to go out and watch those rare occasions when the Squire rode past with his beautiful coach and team.
There up in front of that coach where the I guess you'd call them the horsemen who handled the team.
And there in that beautiful coach sat the Squire, and there on a platform behind him, where 2 foot men who stood one-on-one side and 1:00 on the other, keeping their eye on the Squire and on everything around them, that all might go well. And he said, you know, as a boy I just admired the pleasant situation of that Squire.
So well cared for. And then he said, one day as I was reading the 23rd Psalm, and I came to that verse, Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me.
All the days of my life, all, he thought, I have two faithful footmen too, and at the end of every day I can look behind and say they followed me again today. Goodness and mercy, not just once in a while, but all the days of my life.
All beloved brothers and sisters, you and I have ended some of our days with tears.
Our bereavement, our sorrow of one kind in another.
Did that wonderful mercy, grace, goodness fail us that day? Ah, no, perhaps already you and I have looked back to some of those tears that we have shed and thanked God for them with all our heart. But now not only did this golden pot of manner go with them in this arc, but also there was Aaron's wrongs.
That budget, now I'm sure there are various ways of looking at that rod, but I believe one way would be for it was given at the time of the rebellion of Cora Dathan and Byram. One way would be a reminder of the government of God, and you and I will experience both.
All the way home. Perhaps we're rather thankful for the grace of God.
And perhaps we rather resent the government of God. Should we? Dearly beloved, what is the government of God? It is because you are his child and because He loves you, and because He wants you to be happy here and an abundant entrance and a full reward that he. And there were times.
When in rebellion.
I doubted my father's love, and I resented my father's discipline.
But I just want to pass on here little thought that I hope may be a help to all of us. In the 15th chapter of Romans I read these words.
I also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that you are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another. That's the last statement in the verse, not the first one. What was the first one?
Full of goodness.
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Filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.
Just let me pass this on, beloved brothers and sisters, as that which I believe can be so helpful in family discipline and in assembly admonition too, for the verse begins with full of goodness.
I hope you don't mind these personal references, but I'll tell you this that when my father punished me very very severely so that I had to go off to my room and sit there alone, if I could even sit down, for he was pretty severe in his punishment.
I would try to work up a real case of resentment against my dad. He didn't love me at all. He took great pleasure in administering that punishment, but I wasn't there very long till the memory of his love, his kindness, his goodness.
Would melt it all away.
And I'd come out submissive.
Knowing that my father loved me.
Fathers and mothers, remember this. Dear brothers and sisters in the assembly, remember this where there is the liberty and the opportunity to show that love, show it abundantly, so that its admonition is called for. It's made, we trust, be accepted. So I see in His ark that which speaks of the holy and wondrous person of our Lord Jesus Christ. I see that which reminds me of His grace.
Faithful mercies toward me all along the way. And then I see that Rob all beloved. Let us thank him for that. Rob. Let us remember that there is a hand and heart of love and faithfulness.
Behind every occasion when the rod is ever felt upon us. If I were to see two boys out in the streets arguing and the argument gets fierce and it turns into a real scrap with some bad words used, and one of the boys is my own son and the other is the neighbor boy, what do I do? Go out and scold the neighbor boy and chase him home?
I hope not. I hope I would go out and lay hold of my own son. A neighbor boy is not my affair, but my son is. Will bring him in.
And chastise him for what I saw out there in the street, beloved friend, Because you and I are. And we're thankful for it. We're his.
Were his by choice, were his by adoption, were his by birth, were his for eternity. And because he loves us so much.
That rod will accompany us all the way home.
But notice, please, if we turn over for a moment to I believe it's First King, First Kings chapter 8 and verse six. And the priest brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord unto his place, and the Oracle of the house to the Most Holy Place, even under the wings of the cherubim. For the cherubims spread forth their two wings over the place of the ark, And the cherubim covered the ark and the staves thereof above. And.
They drew out the staves at the ends of the staves, were seen out in the Holy place before the Oracle, and they were not being without. And there they are unto this day.
There was nothing in the ark, say the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horrid, when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel when they came out of the land of Egypt.
Here we find the Ark has arrived at its resting place.
The two stays are drawn out and they are placed in a particular location so that those days could be seen. And they are there until this day. Oh, when I read this description, I am reminded of that glorious day that awaits us, beloved brothers and sisters, when we are safely home at last.
The staves are drawn out, the wilderness wandering is ended, but those days are placed where they can be seen. And I have no doubt that you and I in the glory will have a glad memory of our journey home. The glad.
Recounting of His faithfulness, His care, His presence, His mercy toward us all along the journey, all. When Israel recounts this in the Psalms, we read a pause after every statement with these precious words. For His mercy endureth forever. Oh, what a day that will be, when from the glory we look back to His goodness.
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His faithfulness, His the manner, and the rob. But they will no longer be needed up there. There will be no more need of the grace of God up Yonder in the glory. There will be no more need of the rod of government up there in the glory. And so when that ark is set down in His final resting place in the temple, there was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stove.
That which speaks of that unchanging, perfect holiness of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The one who is the same yesterday and today will remain the same forever. I say what a precious memory it will be in the glory that you and I will be able to look back and recount in a fuller way than we can ever recount along the way, the perfection of his faithful journeying with us all the way through the sands of the desert.
Perhaps we should turn back for a moment to the Book of Leviticus.
To see that this mercy seat, where the Lord promised to meet and commune with His people, was stained with blood. Leviticus chapter 16.
And verse.
14.
And he shall take of the blood of the Bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy seat eastward. And before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger 7 times.
We won't go into this in any more detail, but I'm sure you and I realize that in order for the Lord to dwell in the midst of His people and confess as they were with infirmity and with iniquity, there must be the stain of blood there on and before the mercy seat, And in order that you and I might be able to draw near and enjoy the sweetness of fellowship.
One who loves to have our company. There must be, and there has been that shedding, that sprinkling of the precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, so that as the eye of God looks down this very evening upon those who are gathered together, He looks.
At your heart as he looks at mine, and if the precious blood of Christ.
In all its wondrous power has been applied by faith, that part of yours and this heart of mine have been cleansed forever from the stains of sin that once were there. But I paused once again to ask you, every one of you, For I see boys and girls here tonight, and I know that much that has been said is not very easy to understand.
But this I hope you will understand that the Lord Jesus loves you so much.
That He died on the cross. He shed his precious blood. And you and I are invited to accept the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, to know that that precious blood that was shed there upon the cross was shed for you as well As for me. And as I look at that ark and realize that in that arc there are those two tables of stone, and I see that ark completely covered.
By that blood sprinkled mercy seat I look up and with all my heart I thank God for the yearning love of His heart that so desired my company, that He would go to such depth in order that I might be privileged. Yeah, invited to draw near you remember in the days of Moses.
At that burning Bush, he was told, put off my shoes from off my feet.
Draw not my hitter for the place where on our standards is holy ground.
But you and I are privileged to draw near. Is the ground any less holy than it was in the days of Moses? Indeed, it's no less holy. Why then, can you and I draw near? All, beloved, the blood has been shed, it has been sprinkled, and by God's matchless grace, you and I are now fitted, invited to draw near with a true heart, in full assurance of faith.
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When we turn, please, to the book of Joshua.
Chapter 6.
And verse 4.
And seven priests shall bear before the ark 7 trumpets of Ram Horn, and the 7th day ye shall compass the city 7 times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets. Just a very brief look at this, but it's a beautiful picture to me.
Hear this same arc with its covering the blood stained mercy seat and all of it I believe covered over with a cloth of blue, was carried around that guilty doomed city of Jericho once a day for six days and then on the last day seven times that city was encompassed by.
This arc and its blood stained mercy seat, this covering of blue as though to suggest.
The origin of this matchless display of grace came from up Yonder, from the very heart of God. And I believe all I believe with all my heart, dear Saints of God, that we're in the very last moments of His long-suffering, lingering grace. And I thank God for every effort that is being made to surround this poor, doomed world with the message of God.
Matchless love and grace with the story of a blood sprinkled mercy seat with the tail of a grace that came from heaven's glory down here to meet us in all our needs.
And I would say to my own heart, as I would say to everyone here.
Hyundai knew that tomorrow was a day that we were going to be called home.
What would we do?
Would we just have no heart for those who are still in this doomed Jericho in which we live? This poor heart of mine is so indifferent to the loss that are all around me. And when I see the doomed city of Jericho and I believe, and I see it all around me today, and I see the ark of the Lord, the blood sprinkled mercy seat, the symbol of heavens.
Wondrous offer to man surround that doom city 7 times on the last day. It stirs my heart that this message that I see beginning with his cry, Adam, where art thou tells me of a heart of love that yearn.
To bless man, to seek him out wherever he may be hiding, but for to point the accusing finger at him and bring to mind his guilt. All because God loves. Because God desires a company and a fellowship of man that you and I know that it must.
Must be based upon the unchangeable holiness of the person of our Lord Jesus Christ and upon the blood sprinkled mercy seat. Could we turn please to yet another scripture in Second Samuel, Second Samuel chapter 6? As you realize, I'm just reading a verse or two here and there and I would suggest that you might wish to go home and read in a little more.
Setting of these verses. But time doesn't permit this evening. Second Samuel 6, verse three. And they set the ark of God upon a new cart, and brought it out of the House of Abinadab that was in Gibeah, and other and Ohio. The sons of Abinadab Dre the new cart. And they brought it out of the House of Abinadab, which was in Gibeah, accompanying the ark of God. And Ohio went before the ark, and David and all the House of Israel played before the Lord on all manner of instruments.
Made of fir wood, even on harps, and on psalteries, and on timbrels, and on cornice, and on cymbals. And when they came to Nacon, freshing for other, put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it, for the oxen shook it. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against other. And God smoked him there for his error, and there he died by the ark of God.
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Why did that story permit me? Please speak a word that burdens my heart Sometimes there were very, very careful instructions given.
As for the honor that was due to this arc, perhaps the Israelites didn't realize why, but you do. You realize as you read about this arc and its wonderful content and a blood sprinkled mercy seat that covered it over that we have here a marvelous display of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
And all almighty work of redemption that has caused that blood stained mercy seat to be available.
Or whosoever will.
But there was carelessness in the way in which this ark was handled. There was an imitation here of the manner of the Philistines, who didn't know any better. God had given them careful instructions concerning the honor that was due to this sacred arc. It was to be born upon the shoulders of the priests, to be exalted above them.
Not to be set upon a cart, and the names of those who accompanied and drove that ark given to us.
Beloved, just let me speak a word of caution. I believe we live in a day when there is an increasing attempt to imitate.
That which I feel has been introduced by the Philistines. Do you understand my expression? Is there not a singular honor, beloved, that is due to our precious Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ? What difference does it make whether the ark is carried on those shoulders lifted above all those who surrounded it?
The names of those who bore it are not known to us.
What difference does it make whether it's handled that way or placed with every good intention on a new cart driven and conducted by men whose names are given to us? They went before the Ark. There is a little bit too much preeminence here given to man, and there is an unintentional, I repeat that and unintentional dishonor to the Ark.
Because they had seen the Philistines do it that way. God was grieved about it. God spoke to them about it. And thank God David recognized the significance of that rebuke. And we find the ark being carried where it truly belonged, upon the shoulders of those faithful priests. Oh, beloved, once again, as I briefly recount this evening.
The wonder and the significance of this art and of its content and that our souls.
Lay hold of this lesson, that this is a yearning desire of God Himself. This was not the thought of the Israelites. It was not very quest that God would please dwell among them and on their terms. It was God's desire, It was God's request, It was God's provision and all. How honored they were, as we look back upon it, to carry there through the sands of the wilderness that which exalted Jehovah.
Which spoke of the preciousness and the significance and the worthiness of the Lord Jesus Christ and the value of His finished work of His precious blood.
All honor will be His in that day. Your voice and mine, by matchless grace, will resound throughout the endless ages of eternity in praising and in thanking the One whom God belies to honor. But we're not going home yet. We're still going through the sands of the desert.
And he disappointed in us. No, beloved, He loves us. He wants your company. All of it that you will grant to him. He wants my company.
Let us remember that the company of the Lord Jesus brings with it that marvelous, endless, matchless grace.
And also the rod of his government. And let us remember that there is an honor that is due to him.
And do all that is attached to him, until at last we reach home.
Could I ask you please to turn to one more verse? A very solemn verse, I believe.
In Revelation Chapter 11.
Revelation Chapter 11, verse 19. And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark, the ark of his testament, and there were lightnings and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail. Why all this? Here is the ark, the last mention of it that I know of in the word of God.
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But notice no mercy seat.
No Mercy seat. The Ark, Yes, but without a mercy seat. If that mercy seat were listed and removed from the Ark, what would be seen within those two tables of stone? The men of Vashemish listed that mercy seat to take a look within, and many of them were smitten. Death.
Oh my friend, there is a day coming when the blood stains Mercy seat will no longer be available.
The holy Person of the Lord Jesus Christ will be exalted in that day, and you and I, made fit to be there by virtue of that precious blood, will rejoice to be there, worthy to be there, by matchless grace and because of the work of Calvary. And when this temple of God is opened in heaven, when the ark of God is seen there without its covering mercy seat, what do we hear and what do we?
Thunderings, lightning, earthquakes, great hail, There is a day coming, and it's very near in hand when the mercy seat will no longer be available. And that holy and unchanging one will act according to his true character, injustice and righteousness and holiness upon his poor world that has spurned the provision of the mercy seat.
The Ark of His Covenant without the Mercy seat.
Friend, where will you be in that day? The mercy seat. The blood stained mercy seat is available tonight and the invitation to you is offered to come and avail yourself of that which cost God, the giving of His own Son, which cost the Lord Jesus the shedding of His own precious blood. But perhaps.
Perhaps before tomorrow morning, this Mercy seat will no longer be available. The Ark.
A table of stone, that which speaks of the unchanging character of our Lord Jesus Christ will abide forever. But woe to this world when the mercy seat is no longer available. Let's just go back over it then. First yearning cry of the heart of God, Adam.
Where ourselves would you like to put your name in there? I feel happy to put my name in there. My name. As though the Lord actually looked down at me and said, I want your company. I want your company. Oh, I thank God for the day when I stepped out from behind that tree and stood there at all my guilt.
And founded Lovely found that the blood of Christ was shed for me. But I wondered if He has said those same words to me from time to time, because I have turned aside to go my own way, because I have not granted to Him. Shall I dare to say it the privilege of my company? Just think of it.
Isn't that a wonderful thing to say, to spend a day without the enjoyment of a company of the Lord Jesus? How does he feel about it? How does he feel about it? He would say to you, Where are you? He loves you, He wants your company. And as I trace it through the word of God, as I see him, look down upon rebellious Israel and say, Let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.