[0:01] I'm going to sing now to God's praise from Psalm 139, Psalm 139, and we're singing from verses 14 to verse 15.
[0:16] The evil I praise, for fearfully and strangely made I am. Thy works are marvellous, and right well my soul doth know the same. My substance was not hid from thee, whenas in secret I was made, and in earth's lowest parts was wrought most curiously.
[0:37] Thine eyes my substance did behold, yet be unperfect, and in the volume of thy book my members all were writ, which after in continuance were fashioned every one, whenas the yet all shapeless were, and of them there was none.
[0:56] How precious also are thy thoughts, O gracious God to me, and in their sum how passing great, and numberless they be. If I should count them, then the sand they more in number be.
[1:10] What time soever I awake, I ever am with thee. And so I will go to sing these verses. Psalm 139, from verse 14 to 18.
[1:23] The evil I praise, for fearfully and strangely made I am. Thy works are marvellous, and bright, and bright, and bright, and bright.
[1:58] My soul hath known the same. My substance was not hid from thee, whenas in secret I was made, and bright, and bright, and bright.
[2:28] Met McHäもう suive. God here is the only for the night.
[2:39] God here is the only for the night. He shall be zeal of new men, and Wendy's Ife he will know this. The nations have beenNOISE, O подпис-inspiring Dios. Lord here is the only for the night.
[2:53] God here is the only for the night. King and perfect And in the holy and holy I bid My name there's always Which after him O did you ask Where passion death be won When us sing it O shipless with And of them there was none
[4:00] O precious O star Thy thoughts O gracious God Give me And in Their song My passing trip Mah To His lick O Thou To H number be for I so ever find away
[5:08] I ever am pretty shall we turn now to the passage that we have read from the book of the prophet Malachi chapter 3 and we'll read again we'll read verse 16 and 17 then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another and the Lord hearkened and heard heard it and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord and that thought upon his name and they shall be mine saith the Lord of hosts in that day when I make up my jewels and I will spare them as a man spareth his own son that serveth him then shall you return and discern between the righteous and the wicked between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not particularly the words of verse 17 and they shall be mine saith the Lord of hosts in that day when I make up my jewels we are told that the name
[6:28] Malachi means the messenger of God and we know from reading this prophecy that he brings the word of God to a people who are for the most part steeped in godlessness many are backslidden and many are engaged in activities that demonstrate their godlessness they are a people who have lost all sense of what true religion really is all about formalism is the order of the day and the comments of the prophet tell us what God thinks of the religion in the first chapter we read there how the
[7:38] Lord considers the kind of spiritual activities that they are engaged in who is there among you that would shut the doors for not neither do ye kindle fire on mine altar for not I have no pleasure in you says the Lord of hosts neither will I accept an offering at your hand for from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles and in every place an incense shall be offered unto my name and a pure offering for my name shall be great among the heathen says the Lord of hosts it's not that they don't worship but they don't worship God they worship a God of their own making a God that they have created out of their own imagination salvation in the second chapter we read you have wearied the
[8:49] Lord with your words yet you say wherein have we wearied him when you say everyone that doeth evil is good in the sight of the Lord and he delighteth in them or where is the God of judgment their conclusions are that God is willing to receive at their hand because he receives from all no matter what they believe their offerings or their service or their walk before him is equally consistent in the eyes of God no difference he is willing to accept all but that shows us the way in which so many are oblivious to the extent of their spiritual corruption the two things walk hand in hand there is not just the failure to embrace through formal religion or through an understanding of what
[10:10] God expects from them but they are incapable of recognising that this is what they have to offer that this is all the religion is made up of what when we read throughout read the whole of the book it's not difficult to read in a sense it's not difficult it's a short book but it makes hard reading that's what I'm saying it's not an easy read although it's a short read and yet while they are oblivious to their own sinfulness with regard to their spiritual activities there are those amongst them who are spiritually active and who God is aware of he has always and he demonstrates here in this book a faithful remnant that do serve him as they ought to serve him and we may blanket brush all of societies such as the society that's described here and say there's nothing good to be found there there's nothing wholesome to be found there and yet the scripture reminds us again and again that
[11:48] God will have his own people wherever he chooses to place them there is always a remnant after his grace and that is found in this passage people who will walk before him and fear him as they are required to fear him just an example that we are familiar with in the first book of kings and the life of Elijah the prophet you will remember how he himself succumbed to this spirit where he surveyed society round about him and his conclusion was that there was nobody he alone what said God I have been very jealous he says for the lord of hosts for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant thrown down thine altars and slain thy prophets with the sword this is what he says I only
[12:49] I am left and they seek my life to take it away and it's so easy for us to come to that understanding or come to that conclusion when we fail to recognize that God will have his witnesses and he will not leave himself without witnesses at any time Malachi identifies the fact that there are this godly remnant and they are to be identified by their conduct and they are stimulated by their love for God and their fear of God the living relationship that they have that they enjoy with him I'm going to focus just briefly on the words of this verse 17 in particular and just a few thoughts about that although we can't separate it from everything else that he says the first thing that we can say about these words is that they are first of all a promise that God makes to that remnant the people that are his that he knows very well he knows all that they have done and he knows all that they had heard they that feared the
[14:30] Lord spoke often one to another and the Lord hearkened and heard that a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord and thought upon his name God God doesn't keep a diary he doesn't have a log book he doesn't have a record book in the way that we understand it he is the Lord and his capacity for recording all that is ongoing in the world the world that is before his eye is impossible for us to recognize or appreciate because of the detail that he is able to take on board but that's a statement that is made concerning that not only is his eye an all seeing eye not only is he omnipresent he is omniscient he is here just now and just as really present as you are present but he's not an observer just on where you sat he is also the discerner of the thoughts and the intents of the heart his capacity to examine every one of us is beyond our ability to reckon but nevertheless that is what must be true of him because of the activity that he speaks of that is here we are told that he listens to every conversation he knows what matters to us not just you know it's all very well for us to say well
[16:29] I think the church is important to me I think the Lord's people are important to me I think the word of God is important to me and we can say that but God has this divine ability to recognise the difference between what is said and what is really the truth what is really the case not just a matter of saying it he understands what is important to us and he sees it and he is aware of it he is the Lord of hosts I think that this statement offers this power more than anything else some of the translations speak of it the Lord of the heavenly hosts and that's just descriptive of his superior position as the heavenly hosts or the myriad hosts of heaven be they angels or spirits whatever he is
[17:40] Lord over them and that is a name that belongs to him amongst every other name the Lord of the armies of heaven but it speaks of his authority and his power and his capacity to undertake what he has purpose to undertake and what is that well he says in this passage they shall be mine he says that itself is a thought provoking statement they shall be mine because clearly what it says is if we understand it it is something that is future something that speaks of something that has yet to take place but in what sense are we meant to understand that because we know that
[18:42] God's people are his people always they are his elect they are his choice people and that election and choice has taken place before the world was they are chosen in Christ Jesus and in that sense they are already his there are some verses from Paul's writing God has chosen us in him in Christ before the foundation of the world writing his second epistle to the Thessalonians God has from the beginning chosen you to salvation again the Lord knows then that that is numerous passages that we could refer to that tell us that declare to us the possession that
[19:46] God has declared as his own his people are his people in a very clear and distinct way and yet in this verse they shall be mine he says so in what sense is he wanting us to understand that again what we have to remind ourselves of is what exactly he is speaking about he is anticipating a day they shall be mine said the Lord of hosts in that day when I make up my jewels and it is not something that will become true of them at that moment but something that will be made known about them at that moment in that day that anticipated day when he knows his relationship to this people will be made known and if you if you take with you if you bear in mind his grievance with this people their their stance was that there was no difference between them and others between those who were professed believers and those who weren't those who were the people who were
[21:18] God's people by covenant and those who had no interest in God they were all the same and God treated them the same but God is saying there is a day coming when I will show that there is a difference and I am the one who will differentiate there is this day which she is looking towards when those who are his people will be shown to be his people and the things that matter that make them his people will be revealed to all as they as his people will be revealed to all the commentator T.V.
[22:06] Moore uses this statement this description the day of final adjustment is what he calls it I'm not really sure if I like that description the day of final adjustment the day is the day of judgment but that description suggests to us that it's it's what is being adjusted well the misconception of the masses the mis apprehension the misunderstanding that is governing the mind of so many the blindness that prevails amongst the societies of every generation that suggests that that God is there to be served or not ignored or whatever the day would come when that foolish notion will be dealt with they shall be mine saith the
[23:18] Lord of hosts in that day what they have done what they have shown in their actions that marked out the reality of their relationship to them will be something that testifies and bears testimony to the reality of their relationship with himself that they are God's true people that they are his treasured possession and that they do fear the
[24:22] Lord and that they belong to the remnant people who value who God is and the provision that he has made for them by way of sacrifice a sacrifice that has been promised and is yet to come to pass these will be mine and at this point many of the commentators the modern translations is favoured they will be mine as my treasured possession and in some of the passages we find in Deuteronomy and where the Lord is speaking of his relationship to his covenant people the covenant nation of Israel there is this emphasis that he owns them that they are his that they are like they are given the land to possess it is his to give to them because they are his possession and as they possess the land he possesses then some passages have that emphasis which fits
[25:42] I suppose as far as the preciousness of the people that he is in relation to they shall be mine says the Lord of hosts in that day when I make up my jewels when I reveal them to be my treasured possession but then my own preference and I don't mind saying it is the translation that we have here the day that I make up my jewels that God's people are seen by him in this way I don't suppose just think of it for a moment precious possessions they are not necessarily precious in the sense of being jewels or gold or silver or whatever they can be anything that we consider to be replaceable they can be part of our relationships that part which we consider important the importance lies in the nature of that relationship but the preciousness here is to be seen in the eye of the
[27:24] Lord their value in God's eyes equates with the price that he was prepared to pay for their redemption all of the saints of God are God's jewels all of the saints of God are precious in that respect he possesses them they are his to possess because the church is his and he owns the church because he bought it at the price of the precious blood of Christ the precious blood of the Lamb of God I go back always to my early Christian experience and the sermon preached where attention was drawn to the breastplate that was worn by the high priest and that breastplate is bejeweled and it's got twelve glorious jewels in it each one of them precious each one of them different each one of them depicting one of the tribes but also in their own remarkable way they are describing to us the extravagance of God's grace and his willingness to take to himself all manner of people to be his saints they are precious in that respect
[29:10] I remember the sermon preached by Carla Matheson where he described you know I have to say the reason probably why it appealed to me was that when you are newly converted or recently converted you are thinking that you are not really like the people of God that you are seeing the saints of God many of them to be saintly and to be holy and to be so different to yourself and you are more aware of what you were and where you came from and you question whether you belong in this esteemed group of people but being able to understand that God took his church from all kinds of situations and all kinds of backgrounds and all kinds of of of vice
[30:21] I suppose you have to say that and that's one thing I remember about the description that was given of that that some of the jewels were found in the mire some of them were in the pit some of them even after being removed it took a lot to take the dirt off them before you revealed their true beauty and I think possibly that's what we have to remember about what God is saying here the day will come and this day I will bring my jewels and reveal them to be my jewels and I will declare them to be my jewels and they are all precious and they are all well they may vary as to quality and to those who are interested in looking at diamonds will know that even diamonds you could say they are all diamonds but in the hand of the person who is skilled in using them they will look at them and they will describe how many facets they have and if there are flaws in the diamond and some are more precious and more valuable because it's not just the size but the clarity and all that goes in there so you see within the church of Christ there are
[31:56] God's jewels and they are all jewels who are his jewels and they are all valuable in his sight they are all mine and in that day none will pluck them out of my hand and he says just to emphasize that and I will spare them as a man spareth his own son that serveth him and what he is doing there is he brings you right back to where this belongs this day where his jewels will be declared and revealed and shown to be jewels is the great day where separation will take place the great day where division will take place then shall you return and discern between the righteous and the wicked between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not and that's the whole point of what he is saying here
[32:58] I will judge all but I will spare them I will spare them because they are mine I will spare them because I will treat them as my sons that son who serves God and I will separate them from those who do not serve me all must appear we are told before the judgment seat of Christ I will do this God says and this is what we are presented with and it's an encouragement to the Lord's people however often they find themselves comparing themselves to others which we inevitably do contrasting ourselves to others if we are of this number well if I ask you is it important to you that the godly remnant is not a remnant is it important to you that the numbers that God will ultimately declare as his own will be greater than those who are not his own is that what is important we believe that God will be glorified in what he has done when he separates the sheep from the goats that separation will glorify his name the sheep that are his the jewels that are his he will be glorified in them but he will also be glorified in the condemnation of those who chose not to serve him who chose to live their life to his exclusion and God's glory will not diminish because of any of them being lost we can't think that it can't be right if we do think like that he shall be mine he says the Lord of us he will lose his glory if any one of these jewels is lost he will lose the honour that is his but he won't no one will pluck any one of his out of his hands whoever they may be and we pray that
[35:31] God would give us that ability to understand and to believe that the Lord does indeed know them that are his let us pray let be blessed God we give thanks for the simplicity of the word and at the same time the complexity that it contains we are encouraged to add to our knowledge and to increase our knowledge and yet we know that our knowledge is limited and it is infinite it is very much finite and yet knowledge of our God is the knowledge of a God who knows all things a knowledge that will allow him to act as a judge who will judge all us there needing to be judged with equity and with honour and with righteousness and justice and we give thanks that your people are those who delight in mercy because the
[36:43] God that they look to is a God of mercy and he has made his own trophies of his grace and jewels in his crown and we give thanks for that help us to look to you at all times cleanse us from sin in Jesus name amen going to conclude singing in Gaelic some verses from Psalm 84 Psalm 84 and we're singing from verse 11� The.
[37:44] Sir Sir Sir Sir Thank you.
[38:41] Thank you.
[39:11] Thank you.
[39:41] Thank you.
[40:11] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[40:25] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[40:40] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.