The Blessing Of Repentance

And Samuel said unto all Israel, Behold, I have hearkened unto your voice in all that ye said unto me, and have made a king over you.

And now, behold, the king walketh before you, and I am old and gray-headed. And behold, my sons are with you, and I have walked before you from my childhood unto this day.

Behold, here I am, witness against me before the Lord and before his anointed, whose ox have I taken, or whose ass have I taken, or to whom have I defrauded, whom have I oppressed, or of whose hand have I received any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith, and I will restore it to you.

And they said, Thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither hast thou taken aught of any man's hand.

And he said unto them, The Lord is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that ye have not found aught in my hand.

And they answered, He is witness.

And Samuel said unto the people, It is the Lord that advanced Moses and Aaron, and that brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt.

Now therefore stand still, that I may reason with you before the Lord of all the righteous acts of the Lord, which he did to you and to your fathers.

When Jacob was come into Egypt, and your fathers cried unto the Lord, then the Lord sent Moses and Aaron, which brought forth your fathers out of Egypt, and made them dwell in this place.

And when they forgot the Lord their God, he sold them into the land of Sisera, captain of the host of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them.

And they cried unto the Lord, and said, We have sinned, because we have forsaken the Lord, and have served Balaam and Ashtaroth, but now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve thee.

And the Lord sent Jerobal, and Badan, and Jephthah, and Samuel, and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side, and ye dwelled safe.

And when ye saw that Nahash, the king of the children of Ammon, came against you, ye said unto me, Nay, but a king shall reign over us, when the Lord your God was your king.

Now therefore behold the king whom ye have chosen, and whom ye have desired.

And behold, the Lord has set a king over you.

If ye will fear the Lord, and serve him, and obey his voice, and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then shall both ye and also the king that reigneth over you continue following the Lord your God.

But if ye will not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then shall the hand of the Lord be against you, as it was against your fathers.

Now therefore stand and see this great thing, which the Lord will do before your eyes.

Is it not wheat harvest today?

I will call unto the Lord, and he shall send thunder and rain, that ye may perceive and see that your wickedness is great, which ye have done in the sight of the Lord, in asking you a king.

So Samuel called unto the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day, and all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.

And all the people said unto Samuel, Pray for thy servants unto the Lord thy God, that we die not, for we have added unto all our sins this evil to ask us a king.

And Samuel said unto the Lord, Fear not, ye have done all this wickedness, yet turn not aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart.

And turn ye not aside, for then should ye go after vain things, which cannot profit nor deliver, for they are vain.

For the Lord will not forsake his people for his great name's sake, because it hath pleased the Lord to make you his people.

Moreover, as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you.

But I will teach you the good and the right way.

Only fear the Lord and serve him in truth with all your heart.

For consider how great things he hath done for you.

But if ye shall still do wickedly, ye shall be consumed, both ye and your king.

Isaiah 40 tells us that the grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of the Lord stands forever.

In Luke 1, we're told that no word from God shall be void of power.

Would you pray with me?

Lord, we ask that your Holy Spirit will illuminate and apply your truth from your word to your people for your glory.

We thank you how you began a good work in each individual soul.

And you began a good work here with this congregation.

We trust, as we have the promise in Philippians 1, that you will also see it through to completion.

Lord, we ask for your power, for your strength, your energy to fulfill this ministry among us.

Amen.

Well, beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, my message for you and for me today is simply that we can see the blessing of repentance.

Repentance is a blessing.

To repent is to turn from one thing to another.

We're just saying, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty.

And repentance is when a sinner like you and me, born under Adam's curse with remaining sins in our own flesh, is brought into the presence of a holy God.

And our sin is exposed so that we hate it.

And we hate it because we behold the holy God.

We're in his presence by his grace.

And we hate it because we're in his presence.

And we hate it because we're in his presence.

Psalm 51 is one of the best illustrations and words for those of us in whom the Lord is working such repentance.

And there's a hard verse in this psalm.

David asks, Lord, would you cause the bones that you have broken to rejoice?

It's the Lord who breaks the bone that we will rejoice as he heals us.

Thomas Watson, pastor in the 1600s in England, made that same observation.

How welcome is a surgeon to a man who is bleeding from his wounds.

So first the Lord exposes it, then he comes and heals.

You're likely here because you or someone you love has experienced this.

What we have in our passage for today, 1 Samuel 12, is such repentance that you know you've experienced.

The Lord willing, you will soon because the Lord has brought you here.

What's special about this chapter is it happens on a national scale.

It's a corporate repentance.

And my goal today is simply to walk through this passage, reading it together,

and make four observations about the blessing of repentance.

A blessing is a gift from God.

It's a good thing.

It's a spiritual treasure from heaven given to us right now in this life to enjoy.

And that's what repentance is.

So the first observation from our passage is this.

The Lord raises up servants.

Whom he has taught the blessing of repentance.

The Lord raises up a servant like Samuel.

Why is Samuel qualified?

Because Samuel has experienced the blessing of repentance himself.

The Lord causes repentance as his people hear his word.

But who's going to stand up and deliver the word to God's people?

We've seen how Samuel has been criticized as a minister of God's word.

That's the last interaction between the nation of Israel and Samuel.

But now verse 12, Samuel stands up.

Now remember, there in Gilgal, they had this great deliverance from Nahash, that serpent.

The Lord's spirit rushed upon Saul, the most unlikely of men.

And now the beginning of chapter 12, Samuel says to all Israel, would you look at verse 1 with me?

Indeed, I have heeded or listened to your voice and all that you said to me, and I've made a king over you.

Verse 2.

And now there is the king, Saul, right here, walking before you.

Remember how the people rejected Samuel.

And they were begging for a king to be like all the other nations.

Their charges against Samuel were two things.

Samuel, you're old.

And your sons are corrupt.

Remember those two charges?

One of those charges is accurate.

His sons were corrupt.

And he was allowing that to happen.

The other charge of being old is not a sin.

It should not disqualify him.

So they were wrong on the other.

But before Samuel can minister God's word to the people, he needs to address those two charges.

Look at verse 2.

I am old and gray-headed.

There's the first one.

And here's the second charge.

He says, look, my sons are with you or among you.

My sons are not above you as judges any longer.

My sons are not in a position where they can continue stealing from you.

They're among you.

I've removed them from their office.

I agree with the commentators that conclude this shows now, at least at this point in history,

that Samuel has applied discipline to God's people as he should have long ago.

It's like Samuel saying, if I'm not qualified to minister to you any longer,

you must show me my sin so that I can make it right,

so that I can continue fulfilling the charge that the Lord has given me to minister to you.

Look at what Samuel says next.

I have walked before you from my childhood to this day.

My whole life is in a fishbowl in front of you to observe.

Verse 3, he says, here I am.

Witness against me before the Lord and before his anointed.

Samuel is a humble minister, establishing credibility to deliver this message he needs to give,

that the people need to hear.

And he's beating them to any objections that would disqualify him from doing the thing God has charged him with doing.

What's the courtroom that he's just set up?

He begins by putting himself as the defendant.

Isn't the minister saying, charge me with anything else that I need to make right?

Show me my sin so that I can confess and not be disqualified.

Well, who's the prosecutor?

It's the congregation of God's people.

And who's the judge?

This is so rich.

Don't miss this in verse 3.

Witness against me.

Here's the judge.

Before the Lord and his anointed.

Saw now as a type of Christ.

Among the people.

A man.

But he's the anointed of the Lord.

Set up as the judge.

Between Samuel and the people.

In verse 5.

He said, the Lord is my witness against you.

And his anointed is witness this day that you have not found anything in my hand.

There's nothing I need to confess and make right.

They answered, he is witness.

And then Samuel now has this freedom to enjoy.

Publicly.

Before God's people.

To fulfill the calling God's given him to do.

Satan does not want that to happen.

In God's people then or now.

And the Lord comes to declare.

Your sins are pardoned.

By my grace.

How is it that a saved sinner can stand up and proclaim the holy word of the holy God?

Only by God's grace.

And only by the Holy Spirit showing a people.

This is the humble means.

This is the earthen vessel.

God has designed for our souls on this earth.

We don't really understand it, do we?

But this is what he has set up.

And I believe, if you're like me.

It's very easy to hear the accusations of the enemy.

That I shouldn't take it from anyone.

Because we can sit up there, one preacher after the other.

Popular or unknown.

And tear them to shreds.

Giving ourselves an excuse from hearing the truth of God.

No matter who it's coming from.

And that same accusation is true in the family level.

Or in a relationship.

How can a husband minister God's word to his wife?

She knows his sins and his faults better than anyone else, right?

But yet it's what we're called to do.

To gospel one another through it.

To forgive one another.

Receive God's word.

Through those humble, broken, but forgiven means that he's given us.

How can parents minister to their children?

It's because the Lord and his anointed.

God the creator and Jesus Christ.

They tell you, parents.

Your sins are pardoned.

And your children can look at you and they can say,

I know all your faults.

But I know that there's nothing I need to hold against you.

Because your sins are forgiven in Jesus Christ.

And God gradually teaches us, his church,

to see one another clothed in Christ's righteousness.

Why?

Because that's how the Lord and his anointed see us.

They are the judge.

And that's what they declare over us, his people.

Don't you need this gospel?

That's how you can go out in the streets and preach the gospel as a saved sinner.

In verse 5, the Lord is witness.

And his anointed is witness.

That day and again this day.

Psalm 51 verse 11.

Psalms 51:11

Repentance begins by declaring, I am guilty.

Do not cast me away from your presence, O Lord.

Why should I be cast out?

It's because I am guilty.

And you are holy.

But you confess next.

It depends on God alone.

David prays, do not take your spirit from me.

I have your spirit in me by grace.

He's cut me to the heart.

He's regenerated me.

And that spirit inside the believer puts our loves in order.

Restore to me the joy of your salvation.

And uphold me by your generous spirit.

That's what makes a broken hearted evangelist.

The only type of evangelist God will use.

He says, then I will make transgressors know your ways.

And sinners shall be converted to you.

Why?

Because I am a broken hearted but joyful evangelist.

The Lord raises up servants whom he has taught the blessing of repentance.

The Lord wants to raise you up.

Raise up an army of such ministers.

Here's the second observation.

The Lord causes us to hear his word ministered to us.

It's the Lord who causes us, you and me, the people of Israel, Lydia in the book of Acts, to hear his word.

And it's applied powerfully in the hearing of his word as it's ministered to you by such ministers.

Well, what's the theme of Samuel's sermon to the people of God?

Let's look at verse 6 together.

Then Samuel said to the people, it is the Lord who raised up.

Fill in the blank.

He starts all the way back with Moses and Aaron who brought your forefathers out of slavery in Egypt.

Now remember, Samuel took them all the way to Gilgal.

And that's the first encampment of the people after they crossed the Jordan, the next generation with Joshua.

And what is it that's right there in Gilgal, an illustration for this sermon he's preaching to them that it was the Lord who raises up.

It's those 12 stones from inside the Jordan River that they carried out with them and sat there.

And this is where Samuel now wants the people to stand and see.

Now here's the pattern he sets up in verse 7.

Now therefore stand still that I may reason with you before the Lord concerning all the righteous acts of the Lord which he did to you and your fathers.

His argument is that the raising up of a servant deliverer, it always happens after the people cry out to God.

Then he sets the pattern this way.

In verse 8, when Jacob had gone into Egypt, that's all of Jacob's 12 sons, the 12 tribes, and your fathers cried out to the Lord.

See, there's the crying out.

Then the Lord sent Moses and Aaron who in verse 6 he just said he had raised up for that very purpose.

Who brought your fathers out of Egypt and made them dwell in this place.

But then the pattern begins that brings them up to this point in redemptive history.

The people forget the Lord their God.

Then in verse 9 he says, when they forgot the Lord their God, what happens next is the Lord hands the people over to the enemy.

He tells them in verse 9 that God sold them into the hands of Sisera, commander of the army of Hazor, into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab.

And they fought against them.

Well, what happens next in this pattern?

Number 3, the people cry out to the Lord again.

You see the cycle?

And in verse 10, then they cried out to the Lord and said, we have sinned because we have forsaken the Lord.

And we have served the Baals and the Asterisks.

Those are images of the pagan nations that we are worshiping now into the place of the true God, the creator.

And so they asked the Lord to deliver us from the hand of our enemies and then we will serve you.

And the last step in this pattern is that the Lord is faithful.

He delivers his people from the enemy.

In verse 11, and the Lord sent and he lists all these different judges, which is the book preceding this one.

And he delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side and you dwelt safely.

That was Samuel's sermon.

That's what he preached up to this point.

Don't forget the Lord who just delivered you.

He raised up Saul, but don't turn Saul into an idol.

Saul is another Samson.

He's another Samuel.

Another servant that the Lord raised up to accomplish his purpose.

But do not become like all the other nations.

The Lord knows your heart.

One generation after the other has to learn this.

Hitherto the Lord has been our help.

Don't forget the Lord causes us to hear his word ministered to us.

But here's the third observation.

Through his word, the Lord addresses our sin directly.

So he set up this pattern.

Now get ready for it.

Look at what Samuel does.

I think Thomas Watson expresses this so well once again.

The eye is both for seeing and for weeping.

Sin must first be seen before it can be wept for.

Watch what happens in verse 12.

When you saw that Nahash, the king of the Amorites, came against you, and you said to me,

No, but a king shall reign over us.

Then the Lord your God, he was already your king.

And you did not cry out to him.

Samuel is giving them a great twist now.

He set up this pattern.

When you get captured and you cry out to God, you turn away from being like all the other nations.

And you cry out for God, then he delivers you.

The twist is that you, people of Israel in this generation, you did not cry out in repentance to God, your king.

Instead, you cried out for a king from among you.

And you rejected God.

This is your sin.

Don't you see it so clearly?

If you had cried out to God, what would have come next in the pattern?

God would have been faithful to raise up a servant deliverer.

But you have still not repented.

That's what he's showing them.

The Lord delivered you before you even repented.

That's not the pattern that the Lord set up.

What's God doing here?

See, God is so merciful.

God is delivering his people using the very man for whom their hearts and their national identity lusted.

In verse 13, look at what Samuel says.

You wanted a king that was a man like all the nations instead of God himself.

Now, therefore, here is the king whom you have chosen and whom you have desired.

And take note, the Lord has set this king over you.

People of God, don't you see what you deserve for your rebellion is curses.

You are covenant breakers.

But the Lord's not cursing you for this.

He's giving you that sinful idol.

You wanted a champion.

You wanted a federal head.

The Lord says to them, I've given you what you wanted.

Now, let's see how well this man Saul represents you as a nation.

Your fate is in the hands of the king you chose.

In verse 14, if you fear the Lord and serve him and obey his voice and do not rebel against the commandment of the Lord.

It's a conditional blessing.

It's all stacked up.

All of this has to happen.

Then both you and the king who reigns over you will continue following the Lord your God.

Can you do it?

Verse 15, however, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandments of the Lord,

then the hand of the Lord will be against you as it was against your fathers.

What is God teaching his people here?

What are they to learn from this?

I think you can see hints of the gospel already.

While they are sinners, before they've even repented,

the Lord is binding the fate of his people with the fate of the king, the federal head.

And it's to teach them, and you and me, this principle.

As goes the kingdom, so goes the king.

And vice versa.

As goes the king, so goes the kingdom.

How are you going to do?

You and I need to pause for a moment of application here.

As Americans that value independence and individualism,

we can miss this important principle of a federal head and a kingdom.

But we can't escape the reality.

We are under one federal head or the other.

It's either under the curses of Adam in this world that has been taken over by Satan temporarily,

with God's permission, except for the church.

Or you're under Jesus Christ.

There are only two federal heads.

You're under one or the other.

You can say, I didn't choose to be under Adam's curses.

That's the nature of a kingdom.

How is it going for you?

With Adam as your federal head, by your own strength, your own power,

trying to secure blessings from God by doing it well enough.

How's it going?

Under Adam, what we got were curses.

We got thorns, death, and fear.

We got banishment away from the presence of the holy God, the creator.

And maybe some today, you still live under those curses, and that's all you know.

The light of the gospel and the kingdom of heaven on earth through Jesus.

It just sounds like empty words.

You don't know anything other than belonging to the curses of Satan,

with Adam as your federal head.

My prayer has been this week that you and I will see more powerfully today,

maybe some for the first time in your life,

this wonderful gift.

That Jesus Christ came to be your king,

to adopt you into his family,

that you belong secure in the borders of his kingdom,

safe, secure in him forever,

never to be taken hostage or drug back out.

You're his.

You're only his until he breaks the bone.

He first has to cause you and me to see our great need for him as our king

and enjoy the blessing of true repentance.

He does this through his word.

He addresses your sin and mine directly.

Through his word, as Psalm 51 says,

he searches and knows me,

and he shows which ways are unclean within me.

And he leads us on the path of righteousness

with Jesus Christ, the good shepherd,

our king and our savior, out in front.

My fourth observation from this passage,

the last one for today is this.

What leads God's people to repentance?

How does God do it?

What is it in this passage that shows us?

This is how God leads a rebellious, unrepentant people to repent.

Two things I see here.

First, God's greatness.

God's greatness is the first step toward repentance.

And the second one is God's grace.

First, you see his greatness.

You see your need for his grace.

And when you see those two,

he turns you around.

You repent.

First, God's greatness.

And my prayer is that we'll see it

just as God caused them to see it.

Look at verse 16.

Now, therefore, Samuel tells them,

stand and see.

Stand and see this great thing

which the Lord will do before your eyes.

Verse 17.

Is today not the wheat harvest?

I will call to the Lord

and he will send thunder and rain

that you may perceive and see

that your wickedness is great.

What makes our wickedness so great

is how great God is

against whom we have sinned.

And that you will see

what you have done in the sight of the Lord

in asking for a king for yourselves.

Rejecting the Lord as your king.

In verse 18.

So Samuel called to the Lord.

Can you picture that?

Gilgal.

This Ebenezer set up by Joshua.

This old gray-headed man.

A Nazarite.

Beard and hair never cut.

Crying out to the Lord

in front of the people.

That they will see

how great God is.

And how great their sin

before this holy God.

And the Lord sent thunder

and rain that day.

And all the people

greatly feared

the Lord and Samuel.

The Jewish historian Jerome

wrote that I have never

seen rain in June or July.

The time of the wheat harvest in Judea.

Someone said it would be like

getting six inches of snow

in Miami

on the 4th of July.

Never seen it.

What makes it even more remarkable

is that this was

the Lord ordering it

through his prophet

that very day.

Just as he said he would.

Now why is this

so fear striking on these people?

Well these were farmers.

Their wheat had been

growing slowly.

And now if you can picture

those barley and wheat fields

the heads of grain are dry.

Some are beginning

to harvest them already.

And the Lord sends rain

and thunder.

If it's raining

during the harvest

farmers can't collect the crop.

Mold starts to grow

on these heads of grain.

You'll lose the entire

year's wages.

The nation will now be

crippled by poverty

and famine.

And it's just a one day

just a display

of the great arsenal

available to the Lord

the creator of all.

The message is clear.

There's a creator

the Lord

Yahweh

commander of the Lord's army.

And he can control

the rain and the thunder

with his word.

These are the weapons

of destruction

at his disposal.

That's how quickly

you can become weak

poor

hungry

and get captured.

Do you remember

the great threat

of the wicked king

of the Ammonites

Nahash?

He besieged

Jabeth.

He cut off

their supply lines.

He was making them

feel hunger

and not have access

to supplies

and food.

Do you remember

Saul's threat?

It was that he would

kill their oxen.

Those very beasts

of burden

that pull the plow

to plant the field.

The crops represent

the security

of the people.

And those threats

by Nahash

and even Saul

they got the attention

of the people.

Don't you see

how in just one day

using rain

and thunder

the Lord's

mighty greatness

surpasses

all the other threats

these people

could possibly fear.

Here's the one

you need to fear.

It's the Lord God.

You fear man?

Look at verse 19.

All the people

said to Samuel

pray for your servants

to the Lord your God

that we may not die

for we have added

to all of our sins

the evil

of asking a king

for ourselves.

Not only did we have

Baals in the land

and Ashtoreths

we rejected God

as our king.

Please pray for us.

We need God's mercy

now more than ever

before we see

his greatness finally.

The bone has been broken.

Now watch the Lord

heal the bone

that he broke.

See God's grace.

Look at verse 20.

So Samuel said

to the people

when our sin

is exposed

our flesh

wants to

do one of two things

and I think

Samuel addresses both.

Samuel says

in verse 20

do not fear.

You have done

all this wickedness.

So yes

you have sinned

and God has exposed that.

He says

do not turn aside

from following the Lord

but serve the Lord

with all your heart

and do not turn aside

for then you will go

after empty things

which cannot

profit

or deliver

for they are

nothing.

When our sin

is exposed

we want to do

one of two things.

We either want to

try to pay

for our own penance

you know

let me

let me climb up

a hundred stairs

on my knees

until they're bleeding

to make right my sin

and to show

how sorry I am.

I need to pay

my own penance

and I do that

out of fear.

Or the second thing

we want to do

is simply give up

in despair.

And you see how

Samuel preaches

the gospel of God's grace

mitigating against

both of those

temptations of the flesh.

Do not fear.

Don't respond

trying to punish

yourself now

for the sin

God has exposed.

But also don't despair

and give up.

Follow the Lord

he says.

Follow him

with all your heart.

And just remember

don't go after

those empty things.

That's the gospel

call.

When you repent

you follow him.

And he is

a kind

and good

and gracious

king for you.

The motivation

do you see?

It's not fear

of punishment

from God.

That's what their

flesh wants to fear

but Samuel

preaches to them

God's grace.

His long-suffering

self-pledging

covenant

faithfulness

to his people.

Look at

this glorious gospel

in verse 22.

The Lord

will not

forsake

his people.

Why?

Verse 22.

For his

great namesake

because it has

pleased the Lord

to make you

his people.

God's greatness

and his grace

it has to fill

the hearts

of God's people

when he causes

us to see them.

There's simply

no other

response.

The Lord

will not

forsake you

not because

of anything

in you

or in me

but it's

for his

own namesake.

He's attached

who he is

to having

a people

that he

redeemed

by grace.

That's the

grounds of

our security

and our

assurance.

And that's

why we

don't

fear.

And as

one of his

servants

as a

broken-hearted

evangelist

as one

who has

experienced

the blessing

of repentance

himself

Samuel says

next

in verse

23

addressing

their fear

moreover

as for me

remember

there was a

wedge between

Samuel and

the people

far be it

from me

that I

should sin

against the

Lord

in ceasing

to pray

for you.

He tells

them

beloved of

God

I've been

praying for

you all

along

the Lord

won't let

me stop

now

and I

do it

out of

love for

the Lord

but I

will teach

you the

good

and the

right way

by God's

grace he's

prepared a

people that

are eager

and ready

to hear

that now

with Christ

as our

king in

the new

covenant

every believer

is part of

this great

nation of

priests

we get to

minister

and to

pray in

such a

way

the Lord

stirs the

hearts of

his people

and we're

told to

pray

continuously

for one

another

that's what

we do

as God's

people

because we

know how

great the

Lord is

and we

see his

grace in

our

lives

and that's

what we

pray for

in the

lives of

those we

love

in the

church

and there's

a special

charge and

a continuity

with Samuel's

ministry do you

see the two

things Samuel

has done

it's a

ministry of

the word

and it's

prayer and

that's the

very charge

given to

local churches

specifically to

the elders that

the churches have

set apart for

the ministry of

the word

and the prayer

see the

continuity the

Lord loves to

work through

these same

simple means

with every

generation

when we

pray we're

joining our

prayers to

the prayers

of Jesus

Christ

Hebrews tells

us he

ascended and

he is seated

at the right

hand of God

and he lives

to intercede

for his

people

when we

pray it's

because he's

already praying

for you

and he

stirs our

hearts to

pray for one

another simply

joining our

prayers to

his

the message

from Samuel

to the people

and to us

is do not

live in fear

God's perfect

love for

you it

casts out

all fleshly

fear

you don't need

to fear man

anymore God

is so much

greater and

you don't need

to fear God's

wrath if you

are in Christ

because the

judge and his

anointed have

declared you are

pardoned

there's no fear

of God's wrath

in Christ

but we do

live remembering

this is the last

thing Samuel says

in verse 24

do not fear the

Lord and serve

him in truth

with all your

heart for

consider what

great things

he has done

for you

remember these

things that he

has done

remember Joshua's

12 stones

Samuel could tell

them remember

my Ebenezer

remember he says

in verse 25

if you still do

wickedly you

shall be swept

away both you

and your king

the king

and the kingdom

will be bound

together from

now on

for the nation

of Israel

this is not

good news

what we see

through the rest

of redemptive

history is that

one king after

another and one

generation of people

after another

pull one another

into sin and

banishment and

exile until that

glorious day in the

fullness of time

when God himself

comes to be the

great king and

Jesus Christ as

God's humble

servant he is the

prophet and the

minister that our

hearts long for

we can look at a

man like Samuel or

Jason or you fill in

the blank and point

out so many faults

in that minister

but we can look at

Jesus Christ and no

guilt could be found

in him you won't

take it from a man

that's great take it

from Christ take it

from him because no

found can be found

in that prophet

Jesus Christ as the

Lord's anointed king

he is lifted up as a

judge with authority

and Jesus Christ looks

over his people that

he purchased with his

precious blood and he

says I do not

condemn you

who can

you're cleared by my

precious blood who

can hold court against

my bride that I

purchased and I've

covered up and the

Holy Spirit blesses the

eyes of every true

believer to both see

our sin and to weep

over our sins but it's

joyful tears we want to

rejoice that the bones

that God has broken have

been healed in Jesus

Christ what a blessing we

have in repentance and

through his word God

addresses our sin

directly still

continuously purifying

us preparing us for

heaven for eternity with

him what we deserve

under Adam and under our

own sin as the ruler of

our own lives we remember

these things but we

remember even more the

greatness of God the fear

of man gets washed away

when we see a minor glimpse

of how mighty God is one

more time from his word

I confess there are

things at work right now

stirring up a fear of

God in me and this story

encourages me in one day

the Lord can flash thunder

and rain and an entire

nation's GDP could go away

that quickly why would we

put our hope in anything

less than him and his

kingdom the Lord gives us

reminders to trust in him

more

he's the creator he's the

sustainer he's the Lord of

all and this very Lord is

our gracious redeemer would

you look one more time at

verse 22 the Lord will not

forsake his people for his

great namesake because it has

pleased the Lord to make you

his people yes you Thomas

Watson again what a vast

difference there is between

the first covenant and the

second in the first covenant

it was if you commit a sin you

die and in the second if you

confess your sin you shall

have mercy we are never more

precious in God's eyes than

when we are lepers in our own

we should be so quick to

confess our sin because what we

get and confessing it is more

of his grace we need to pray

in the words of Psalm 51 have

mercy upon me oh God according

to your loving kindness for

your namesake according to the

multitude of your tender

mercies on those grounds blot

out my transgressions dear

brothers and sisters and

friends hearing this today if you

can enjoy the blessing of

repentance again today and maybe

some for the very first time then

you can trust that it is Christ

who holds you fast his destiny is

secured and you are secured in him

as when our king so goes his

kingdom those he saves are his

delight precious in his holy sight

he'll not let my soul be lost his

promises shall last I'm bought with

him at such a cost that's why we

know and we'll sing in a moment

that's why he will hold me fast amen

let's go to the Lord in prayer and

thank him for this wonderful grace we

enjoy in Jesus

voy forbade

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