[0:00] Welcome to our service, and as we come together around the Word of God, let us seek His blessing upon His Word. Let us pray.
[0:13] Eternal and ever-blessed Lord, grant to us that we may have some understanding of the great privilege that Thou hast given to us when we can come together in an act of worship.
[0:28] When we can come together around Thine own Word. And we acknowledge, O Lord, that we need the help of Thine own Spirit, for without Thee we can do nothing.
[0:43] We need the help of Thy Spirit to prepare our hearts, that as we come together to worship Thee, that we would be mindful of who Thou art.
[0:54] Lord, that Thou art a holy God, that Thou art a God who is of pure eye than to look upon sin. Grant to us that through Thy Spirit we would be able to take that place that belongs to us, in humility of mind, of heart, and of spirit.
[1:16] And to come, O Lord, seeking repentance. Seeking, O Lord, to be sorrowful over our sin. And to seek the mercy of God in Jesus Christ.
[1:29] For we acknowledge our sinnership. We acknowledge that we sin in thought, in word, and in deed. But we give thanks for the great promise that Thou hast given to us.
[1:43] That if we confess our sins. That Thou art faithful and just to forgive us our sins. And to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We give Thee thanks, O Lord, for the efficacy of the provision that Thou hast made for sinners in and through Thy Son.
[2:01] For the efficacy of His finished work. And we give thanks for His continual ministry. At Thine own right hand in the intercession that He makes.
[2:12] On behalf of those who will put their trust in Him. Those whom He has redeemed. Redeemed us to Himself. And we give thanks that we have that great promise.
[2:24] That He will return not to offer Himself again as a sacrifice for sin. But to engather His people. And to bring them into the inheritance that He has prepared for them.
[2:37] We pray, O Lord, that today that we may enter into Thy gates with thanksgiving. And into Thy courts with praise. That we would be thankful unto Thee for all the tokens of Thy goodness and kindness to us.
[2:54] In things that are temporal. As well as in things that are spiritual. We give thanks that we can come with boldness and confidence to our throne of grace.
[3:07] That we can lay out our petitions before Thee. Knowing that Thou art the one who is able to meet with every one of us at our point of need.
[3:18] Out of the riches of Thine own grace. O Lord, we pray that Thou would bless our communities. That Thou would bless our homes and our families.
[3:31] That Thou would bless those who are careless and indifferent to the claims of Thy word. O Lord, that through Thy Spirit. That Thou would enlighten their minds.
[3:42] That they may come to see the lostness of their ways. And that they, O Lord, may return unto Thee. And come to experience Thine own salvation.
[3:55] Come to experience the sufficiency of Christ. To meet with their need. We pray, O Lord, that Thou would bring days of awakening among us.
[4:07] When our people would come in repentance. When our people would come confessing their sins. When our people would come seeking the Lord. In a day of grace.
[4:19] In a day of mercy. We pray, O Lord, that Thou would bring revival into Thine own church. That Thy people may be revived. We pray, O Lord, that Thou would bless those who are ill.
[4:34] May Thy healing hand be upon them. Remember those who mourn. O Lord, we pray that Thou would be their strong refuge and comfort today.
[4:47] We live in a world that is changing every moment. But blessed be Thy name that we can have our hope. In the unchanging God.
[4:58] Who is the same yesterday, today and forever. We give Thy thanks, O Lord, that Thou has brought us at this hour to be around Thy Word.
[5:11] And we pray that Thy Spirit would lead us into Thy Word. Enlightening our understanding. That Thy Word may be an encouragement to us.
[5:22] A strength to our faith. And we pray, O Lord, that if we are in need of rebuke. That Thy Word would rebuke us. That Thou would rebuke us in Thy grace, in Thy mercy and in Thy love.
[5:37] We pray, O Lord, that Thou would bless Thy Word throughout our nation. Even unto the ends of the earth. That Thou would bless Thy servants who have gone forth to proclaim Thy Word.
[5:48] That they may do so with boldness and with confidence. O Lord, we pray that Thy Word would penetrate the hearts of many people. And that there would be a turning unto the Lord.
[6:02] We pray for Thy people. O grant to them that they may be faithful witnesses for Thee in this world. That wherever Thy providence may set them.
[6:14] Wherever their lot may be. That there would be as lights that would shine forth. We pray for our young people and our children. We acknowledge that there are many things in the world to draw them and to entice them away from the Gospel.
[6:30] But we pray, O Lord, that it may please Thee to raise up a generation. That would hear Thine own name. And who would be faithful witnesses for Thee in this world.
[6:45] Remember, we pray Thee, those who are confined to their homes or to care homes. O Lord, that Thou would draw near to them. That they may know that there is one who sticketh closer than any other.
[6:58] We pray, O Lord, that Thou would continue with us as we come now to read and to meditate upon Thy Word. And all that we ask for the forgiveness of our many sins.
[7:10] It's in Jesus' name and for His sake. Amen. Let us now read the Word of God as we find it in the book of Psalms.
[7:21] And Psalm 99. The Lord reigneth, let the people tremble. He sitteth between the cherubims. Let the earth be moved.
[7:34] The Lord is great in Zion and He is high above all the people. Let them praise Thy great and terrible name. For it is holy. The King's strength also loveth judgment.
[7:49] Thou dost establish equity. Thou executest judgment and righteousness in Jacob. Exalt ye the Lord our God and worship at His foodstool.
[7:59] For He is holy. Moses and Aaron among His priests and Samuel among them that call upon His name. They called upon the Lord and He answered them.
[8:11] He spake unto them in a cloudy pillar. They kept His testimonies and the ordinance that He gave them. Thou answerest them, O Lord our God.
[8:22] Thou wast a God that forgavest them. Though Thou tookest vengeance of their inventions. Exalt the Lord our God and worship at His holy hill.
[8:32] For the Lord our God is holy. May the Lord bless unto us that reading of His word. Let us now, seeking the Lord's help and blessing, turn to Exodus and chapter 25.
[8:49] And we'll read from verse 17. And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold. Two cupids and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cupid and a half the breadth thereof.
[9:02] And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold of beaten work. Thou shalt 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.
[9:15] Even of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof. And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings.
[9:26] And their faces shall look one to another. To the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims 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.
[9:40] 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 shall give thee in commandment, and to the children of Israel.
[9:57] We come tonight to the last piece of the tabernacle's seven pieces of furniture. Last week we studied the ark, and we noted that the ark had a golden top, or cover, called the mercy seat.
[10:15] The mercy seat was of equal dimensions as the ark. Two cupids and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cupid and a half the breadth thereof. Hence it covered the ark exactly.
[10:27] Thus it was the cover for the ark, so that in a sense they both together form one vessel. Now last week we saw how the ark represents the holiness of God.
[10:41] Holiness is a characteristic of God's nature that is at the very core of his being. The prophet Habakkuk wrote, And we saw that only as we encounter God and his holiness, is it possible for us to see ourselves as we really are.
[11:07] And we refer to there Isaiah chapter 6. And the holiness of God is also brought before us in the incident, also that we refer to the incident regarding Isaiah.
[11:22] Now we know that while Jesus was on the cross, that his mind was taken up with Psalm 22. For in his sufferings he cried out to God, quoting words from the Psalm, asking God why he had been forsaken.
[11:38] Now I do not think that it would be too far for us to believe that Jesus recited the whole Psalm in his mind as he hung on the cross. So let us think of these words that we find in the Psalm.
[11:51] Why art thou so far from helping me? And from the words of my roaring, O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not, and in the night season, and I am not silent.
[12:05] Then the Psalm goes on with these words, Now I think that phrase, thou art holy, is a double-edged phrase.
[12:29] First, it explains the forsakenness. God is holy, and where there is sin, it must be punished. He, God, laid on him, Christ, the iniquity of us all.
[12:45] Thereby, he became liable for them. And that meant because of God's holiness, he must be punished. And that meant forsakenness.
[12:57] Because God is holy, even where there is imputed sin, it must be punished. And that means forsakenness. But secondly, these words are not words of complaint, as if the Psalmists were saying, you delivered them, but you have not delivered us.
[13:15] Instead, they are words of encouragement, by reflecting and recollecting God's true character. God is holy, and because he is holy, where there is sin, it must be punished.
[13:32] God is holy, and because of this, he has always shown himself to be faithful to those in the past who trusted in him. Our fathers trusted in thee, they trusted, and thou didst deliver them.
[13:49] And when we think of Jesus and his sufferings upon the cross, what encouragement he would receive. It is as if Jesus is thinking, will he not therefore be faithful to me and deliver me, even though I am forsaken now.
[14:07] The fathers trusted, and they were delivered. So, we must not think of God's holiness in a pure, negative way, but we must also think of it in a very positive way.
[14:25] Now, the reason I mention that is that here, in the Holy of Holies, we stand, as it were, before the Ark of God, and we are made aware of God's holiness.
[14:37] And like Isaiah, we could cry out, woe is me. We could ask, is there any hope? But at the same time, we are also made aware of the other side of God's holiness, as we look at the top of the Ark, and you the mercy seat.
[14:55] And we see there that God, by his grace, has made provision. This is a place where mercy and truth meet together, where righteousness and peace kiss each other.
[15:10] Regarding the mercy seat, God instructed Moses, and thou shalt make two cherubims 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.
[15:25] Even of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof. And the cherubims 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 cherubims be.
[15:45] The cherubims were not cast or moulded separately from the mercy seat and then attached to it, but they were beaten out of the solid mass of gold which formed the mercy seat.
[15:58] Now, our first encounter with a cherubim is at the very beginning at the Garden of Eden, for we are told that God drove out the man and placed at the east of the Garden of Eden cherubims and a flaming sword which turned every way to keep the way of the tree of life.
[16:15] At the tabernacle we encountered them as woven into the veils, and we also encountered cherubims in the book of Ezekiel. However, at the Garden they stood with the flaming sword, the sword of judgment, that they stood there as witness to the fact that God's holiness was against man and had closed up every way against man's return to Eden and to the tree of life.
[16:45] But here, on the mercy seat, there is no mention of a flaming sword. Instead, their faces are now intently turned towards the place of mercy.
[16:58] Peter writes regarding your salvation that it is things which the angels desire to look unto. The writer to the Hebrew tells us that angels are ministering spirits sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation.
[17:16] There is a sense in which the church teaches the angels regarding salvation. salvation. Now, as we noted last week, the Holy of Holies where the Ark and the mercy seat was placed was only entered one day in the year.
[17:33] The tenth day of the seventh month called the Day of Atonement and on that day only the High Priest could enter and on that day he could not enter without blood. Let us think for a moment what took place on the Day of Atonement.
[17:49] The High Priest would change his garments of glory and beauty and he would put on the holy linen cloth and he would have linen breeches upon his flesh and he would be girded with a linen girdle and he would have the linen miter upon his head.
[18:10] That was his attire. They were holy garments therefore he would wash his flesh in water and then he would put them on.
[18:22] After that he would enter the tabernacle and take the golden censer and fill it with burning coals from the brazen altar and return into the tabernacle making his way and going through the veil that separated the holy place and the Holy of Holies with his hand full of incense and he would pour the incense on the coals and that would produce that cloudy smoke that filled the Holy of Holies.
[18:48] then he would leave the Holy of Holies and return out to the brazen altar. He would kill the bullock as a sin offering for himself and his house and then taking a basin full of the bullock's blood he would return and enter the Holy of Holies to sprinkle the blood upon the mercies.
[19:08] Dipping his finger into the basin of blood he sprinkled the mercy seat seven times. The number seven of course speaking of completed atonement.
[19:20] Then he would repeat the same for the sins of the people. Much else took place on that day but I want to confine ourselves tonight to what took place in the Holy of Holies before the ark and the mercy seat.
[19:34] The mercy seat represented the throne of God. 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 cherubines which are upon the ark of the testimony of all things which I will give thee in commandment into the children of Israel.
[20:03] It is the place of God's special presence for Israel. Between the cherubines the glory of God dwelt. In Psalm 80 we read Give ear O shepherd of Israel thou that leadest Joseph like a flock thou that dwellest between the cherubines shine forth.
[20:23] In Psalm 99 which we read we have these words The Lord reigneth let the people tremble he sitteth between the cherubines let the earth be moved.
[20:36] 2 Samuel chapter 6 God is referred to there as the Lord of hosts that dwelleth between the cherubines. King Hezekiah prayed which is recorded for us in 2 Kings chapter 19 O Lord God of Israel which dwellest between the cherubines thou art the God even thou alone of all the kingdoms of the earth thou hast made heaven and earth.
[21:02] Now this special presence of God came to be known as the Shekinah. Now this expression does not appear in the Old Testament but it means that which dwells in a certain place.
[21:18] So that the ark along with the mercy seat was an earthly picture for us of a heavenly reality. So we have the high priest before the ark before the presence of God having sprinkled blood upon and before the mercy seat seven times.
[21:38] Now the mercy seat is only distinctly mentioned in the New Testament twice. Once in Hebrews chapter 5 where it is counted with the other vessels of the tabernacle and in Romans chapter 3 verse 25 where it is in our version translated propitiation or as we have it in Gaelic propitiation propitiation sacrifice.
[22:06] There are those who object to this translation simply because they do not like the concept of propitiation. What does propitiation mean?
[22:18] What is it to propitiate? The word has to do with wrath and here it has to do with God's wrath. It means to appease or avert wrath.
[22:33] John Owen said that there are four things which are essential elements in any propitiation. First of all there is an offence to be taken away.
[22:46] Secondly a person has been offended. Thirdly an offending person a person guilty of the offence. and fourthly a sacrifice or some other means of making atonement for the offence.
[23:05] Now those are important points for propitiation implies these four things and gives us an insight into what was happening at the mercy seat at the place of propitiation.
[23:17] redemption. It was not merely enough that the animal should be killed. No the blood had to be produced. Why was all this necessary?
[23:31] Well the answer is given in Hebrews 9 verse 22 without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins. Why? Because the wages of sin is death.
[23:43] sin cannot be dealt with apart from death. There is no remission of sins apart from the shedding of blood. That is why the Bible lays so much emphasis upon the blood.
[23:59] Blood in the Bible means life laid down in death. Blood is the final proof of the fact that death has been accomplished.
[24:11] So that in the animal sacrifices the blood means that the animal had to be put to death, life had to be taken and the blood was taken as proof positive of that, that the animal had suffered death.
[24:29] The punishment that should have come upon the people had come upon the animal as the substitute. The blood means therefore a sacrificial death.
[24:42] And the whole design of sacrificial killings was to propitiate God. They were directed Godward.
[24:56] Propitiation, averting the wrath of God was secured by the cancelling of the guilt of the sinner. Propitiation was affected by the vicarious punishment substituted by the offender and for him.
[25:17] On the day of atonement, the high priest took a bull or a goat and he laid his hands upon it, symbolically laying his sins and the sins of the people upon the animal. And then the animal was killed and his blood poured out and his blood taken into the presence of God and sprinkled upon and before the mercy seat.
[25:35] the effect of all this killing and sprinkling of blood was the pardon of those who had offended and the restoration into the favour and fellowship of God.
[25:51] The animal became the substitute for the offender. What we have learned from the day of atonement is that the killing of the sacrifice was only one part.
[26:07] It had to be followed by the sprinkling of blood on and before the mercy seat. And he shall take 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 seven times.
[26:24] Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering that is for the people and bring his blood within the veil and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat and before the mercy seat.
[26:38] The efficacy of the work of atonement was just as attached to the sprinkling of the blood in the holy of holies upon and before the mercy seat as it was to the pouring out of blood at the altar.
[26:54] You can see there the connection between the altar and the mercy seat. Now as we have emphasised since we began our study, the tabernacle and all its rituals were a shadow or a picture for the time being and also a picture for us of Jesus Christ and his atoning work.
[27:23] The writer to the Hebrew reminds us the Holy Ghost thus signifying that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest while as the first tabernacle was yet standing which was a figure for the time then present in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices that could not make him that did the service perfect as pertaining to the conscience which stood only in meats and drinks and washings and carnal ordinances imposed on them until the time of reformation but in those sacrifices there is remembrance again made of sins every year for it's not possible that the blood of bulls and of ghosts should take away sin they were all pointed to something that was beyond themselves and here is the answer but Christ becoming high priest of good things to come by a greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands that is to say not of this building neither by the blood of goats and calves but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place having obtained eternal redemption v gave all
[29:12] Jesus第二 day of atonement but Christ the fulfillment of those shadows having come and sacrificed himself offered himself there is no more need for sacrifice A man by the name of George Smeaton, who joined the Free Church at the time of the disruption in 1843 and became a professor of New Testament.
[29:42] Some of his writings on the atonement are presented to us in two books. One entitled Christ's Doctrine of the Atonement and the other one is entitled The Doctrine of the Atonement According to the Apostles.
[29:54] Now it is the second book that Smeaton asks, when did the true high priest enter within the veil? In other words, he is asking, when did Christ fulfill the shadow of sprinkling the mercy seat?
[30:11] And Smeaton says, the entrance of our high priest to sprinkle the mercy seat took place at the moment of his death. No moment of time intervened.
[30:24] The rending of the veil indicated his entry. You will recall how the gospel records for us that Jesus cried with a loud voice and gave up the ghost and the veil of the temple was rent in two from the top to the bottom.
[30:40] Well, according to Smeaton, that was the time when the true high priest entered within the veil. To sprinkle the mercy seat.
[30:53] The moment of his death. Smeaton goes on to say, In pouring out his blood on the cross and surrendering his spirit into the father's hand.
[31:05] The Lord must be considered as sprinkling the mercy seat and expatiating sin. While his lifeless body was hanging on the cross, the mercy seat was sprinkled.
[31:16] For he was still acting as a high priest, even when the lifeless inanimate body was on the cross and in the tomb. Even then the personal union was not dissolved.
[31:30] When did the true high priest sprinkle the mercy seat, which was a propitiatory act in the course of averting wrath? We must answer at the moment of death.
[31:42] Our high priest entered the true holiest of all with his own blood. His own sacrificial blood.
[31:53] Not the sacrificial blood of bulls and goats. And he entered only once, never to be repeated like the high priest of Israel who had to enter every year.
[32:04] When at that moment, that the true sprinkling of the mercy seat took place, the wrath of God was completely propitiated.
[32:17] The reality of the shadows had come. The blood-stained mercy seat was to cover the law under the eye of God.
[32:31] The mercy seat interposed between God and the law. Remember what happened when the men of Beth Shemesh removed the lid of the ark.
[32:42] When they removed the mercy seat, they exposed themselves to the law and immediately it meant death for them. Well, it is the same for me and you.
[32:58] John Owen remarks that Jesus, as our mercy seat, interposed between God and his throne and the law, that he may not enter into judgment with us in pursuit of the curses of it.
[33:14] The law required obedience and threatened the curse in case of disobedience. With respect into the obedience which he required, Christ was the ark in whom it was fulfilled.
[33:26] And with respect into the curse of the law, he was the mercy seat or the propitiation whereby atonement was made that the curse should not be inflicted.
[33:37] Jesus Christ obtained eternal redemption for us.
[34:07] All redemption respects a state of bondage and slavery as a result of sin. We were held as slaves and without strength or we were powerless to set ourselves free.
[34:20] But here we were told that Christ has obtained eternal redemption for us. How? By paying the ransom price.
[34:31] But what was the ransom price? The Bible tells us that we have been redeemed through our, by his blood. His sacrifice.
[34:43] His death. His place as our substitute. His place as our propitiation. His place as our mercy seat.
[34:56] His place as our mercy seat. His place as our mercy seat. His place as our mercy seat. We have already noted four things which John Owen mentions that are essential elements in any propitiation. Well, the sacrifices of the Old Testament taught at least those four things.
[35:14] They were directed towards God. Their design was to propitiate God. Their turning away of the wrath of God. And that is something that we have to remember about the cross of Golgotha.
[35:28] The cross of Jesus Christ. That it was first of all directed towards God. God was in Christ reconciling the world into himself.
[35:38] Yes, it is God's provision in his grace. God was making a way for us to be reconciled to him. God was in Christ reconciling the world into himself.
[35:53] That is what the gospel is all about. That is the good news that God in his grace has made provision for us whereby his wrath can be justly averted. The sacrifices of the Old Testament, they cancelled the guilt of the sinner and therefore made access to God possible.
[36:14] The high priest in Israel dare not enter into the presence of God without blood. For we read, but into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood.
[36:27] But Christ, having come a high priest of good things to come, has sent it not with the blood of animals, but by his own blood. Having obtained eternal redemption for us.
[36:40] Therefore we have boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. The veil has been rent. There is no more need for the separation between the holy place and the holy of holies.
[36:53] It has all been fulfilled in Jesus Christ. The Old Testament sacrifices, the offerer or sinner, was identified with the sacrifice, which was symbolically done by the laying on of hands on the head of the sacrifice.
[37:11] The sacrifice became a substitute for the sinner. The sacrifice suffered what the offerer or the offender deserved.
[37:23] So the sinner has to be identified with Christ by faith. And Christ becomes our substitute. And suffers what we as sinners deserve.
[37:38] He became identified with our sin in the sense that our sins were imputed to him. God laid upon him the iniquity of us all.
[37:51] And therefore he became liable to what those sins deserved. But we also have to become identified to Christ by faith. So that Christ becomes our substitute.
[38:04] That he there stands in our place, in our room. And that he suffers what we deserve. And therefore, have you identified yourself to Christ by faith? The offerer or sinner was pardoned.
[38:19] And fellowship was restored. And so, as we become identified with Christ by faith, we are pardoned and fellowship is restored.
[38:30] All this has become possible through Christ, our mercy seat. Over the past few weeks, we have taken a journey which began about four miles from the tabernacle structure.
[38:46] We have paused at the tabernacle. We have reflected upon its furniture. And I hope that we can join with the joy that would be felt in Israel as the high priest returned from the mercy seat, having made atonement.
[39:00] Putting off his linen garments and resuming his garments of glory and beauty. Beneath the hem of the high priest's robe, there were golden bells and pomegranates, made of blue, purple and scarlet.
[39:15] And as the high priest made the atonement at the mercy seat, he would move. And as he came towards the entrance of the tabernacle, those outside waiting anxiously would hear the sound from the bells and the pomegranates.
[39:32] And they would know that the high priest was alive. That he had made atonement. They knew that the high priest was alive, although they could not see him.
[39:42] They would hear the sound of the golden bells and pomegranates that was on the hem of his robe. The return of the high priest was a picture of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
[39:58] In Psalm 89 we read these words, Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound. Now in Israel, many heard the joyful sound of a completed atonement, but it is altogether something else, to know the sound of completed atonement.
[40:20] Think of an Israelite who had no conception of himself or herself as a sinner. They would hear the sound, but it meant nothing for them. They would hear, but they would not know.
[40:35] Is that yourself tonight? But the Israelite who was burdened with the conviction that he or she was a sinner under the wrath of God, the sound of the living high priest would be sweet music to their ears.
[40:50] Is that the joy it brought to them? Knowing that the high priest was alive and that he had made atonement for them. Is that true for you tonight?
[41:04] That the sound of the living Christ brings sweet music of joy to your ears. The angel's message to the woman at the grave, He is not here, for he is risen.
[41:18] Atonement has been made. The veil has been rent. We have access to a throne of grace. Eternal redemption for sinners has been obtained.
[41:32] Do you know the joy of hearing the high priest returning from the mercy seat? The golden bells and the pomegranates brought joy to the people of Israel.
[41:48] Does it bring joy to your own heart tonight? The work of Jesus Christ as our high priest.
[41:59] The work of Jesus Christ on our behalf. That atonement has been made. Does that message bring joy to your heart tonight?
[42:10] Do you hear and know the joyful sound? may the Lord bless our thoughts. Let us pray. We give thanks unto thee, O Lord, for the work of thy Son, our Lord and our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
[42:30] we give thanks to thee for his work at the cross of Golgotha where he sacrificed himself, where he offered himself as a propitiatory sacrifice, where he bore the wrath that was due to our sins, where the flames burnt brightly and yet, O Lord, we give thanks that he was there for us, that he was there not for his own sins, but for the sins that was imputed to him, our sins, my sins.
[43:16] We give thanks to thee, O Lord, that he entered the Holy of Holies, that he sprinkled the mercy seed. we thank thee for the efficacy of his blood, which is able to propitiate thy wrath against us, thy wrath against sinners, to avert thy wrath that is due to our sins.
[43:44] We give thee thanks that he is the risen Lord, that his sacrifice has been accepted, that thy justice has been satisfied, we give thanks that in and through him that we can have boldness and confidence to come to a throne of grace, that we can have mercy, and that we can receive grace to help us in our time of need.
[44:09] Grant to us, O Lord, that we would indeed know the joyful sound, that we not be mere hearers of the joyful sound, but that we would know it in our hearts, that we would have experienced it in our hearts, that our hearts would be full of joy, because the joy of the Lord is our strength.
[44:33] We ask, O Lord, that thou would continue with us in coming days, and may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all, now and forevermore.
[44:44] Amen.