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e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e welcome to everyone it's good to be back in the house of our God just one brief announcement there's a lot of Bibles that are stacking up on the Shelf back there so if you've left a Bible or have forgotten a Bible or think you might have lost a Bible please look at that shelf and if you find yours please take it home I don't want to have to sell them out in the parking lot to make a few extra shkel so well for our call to worship you can turn with me in your Bibles to Psalm 45 Psalm 45 we'll read the latter half mark read read verses 1 to9 this morning and that is a prophecy concerning the Lord Jesus Christ we know that specifically on verses six and seven this is applied to Christ in the book of Hebrews I think the second half deals with the instruction to the bride specifically the church so beginning in verse 10 listen oh daughter consider and incline your ear forget your own people also and your father's house so the king will greatly desire your beauty because he is your lord worship Him and the daughter of Ty will come with a gift the rich among the people will seek your favor the Royal daughter is all glorious within the Palace her clothing is woven with gold she shall be brought to the king in Robes of Many Colors the virgins her companions who follow her shall be brought to you with gladness and rejoicing they shall be brought they shall enter the king's Palace instead of your fathers shall be your sons whom you shall make princes in all the earth I will make your name to be remembered in all generations therefore the people shall praise you forever and ever amen will please turn with me in your hym books to Psalm 150 Psalm 150 c as in Charlie and we'll stand as we sing together 150 C hallelujah praise the Lord Praise in his s hallelu hallelu praise praise him in his heav high praise praise him for his praise him praise him hallelu hallelu hallelu pra God mesty praise Him Hu hallelu praise God with LIF [Music] [Applause] our PR Praise Him hallelu hallelu hallelu [Music] praise the [Music] Lord pra Hallelujah hallelu all praise now praise the Lord oh praise the Lord forever oh all praise him all praise him hallelu hallelu [Music] hallelu well let us pray our gracious God and Holy Father we gather together again on this Lord's day to call upon your great and awesome name we acknowledge that you are the most high that you are glorious and wondrous as the catechism says you are Spirit infinite Eternal and unchangeable in your being wisdom power Holiness Justice goodness and truth and we thank you for the grace of Faith by which we appropriate that and we confess it and we sing of it and we praise you for it we bless you that you are father Son and Holy Spirit we bless you for the Glorious Gospel of Salvation that in the fullness of the time you are well pleased to send forth your son born of a woman and born under the law to redeem those under the law and as we gather together tonight as we celebrate specifically that Redemption through his Precious Blood we want to return all praise and glory and honor unto you we confess to you now our remaining corruption our sin trusting in the shity of a better Covenant even our Lord Jesus Christ that great high priest who offered up himself on behalf of needy Sinners Lord cleanse Us in that precious blood plunge Us in that flood and cause us to lose all our guilty stains we pray as well for any and all who've come here tonight that are dead in their trespasses and sins that you by grace and that effectual call would awaken them we know God that you are able for that is precisely what happened to us we were not seeking you we were not looking for you we didn't Express a religious yearning to know Jesus Christ but you sought us and you found us and you you redeemed us and cleansed Us in the Precious Blood of the Lamb we're confident that you continue to do that and we pray God that you would do that even tonight here in our gathering together and throughout this Earth wherever the people of God are gathered we ask that you would bless with great grace each and everyone in this local body we know there are many physical needs and any trials and challenges and afflictions and hardships we just commend all the Brethren into you uh to you and to your care we pray for your blessing upon all of the churches here in our local community we thank you for those that we have a fellowship with we pray for your blessing upon their churches that all of the people of God in this community would grow in the grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus you would bless those pastors that are preaching the truth of Christ and him crucified and may they know The Nearness of God as their good as they undertake this task as well we pray for the churches in our association for sui for Armstrong we pray for Medicine Hat and pinoca and for Regina thank you for these churches thank you for these brothers that are ministering the word of God may they continually be faithful in laboring in the word and Doctrine we pray for all churches in this land we ask God that you would give them Grace and strength and cause us all to be faithful Witnesses and and testimonies of your Sovereign Grace in this land we ask that you would be merciful to those in high places those in government we know God that you have the heart of the king in your hand and you turn it the way you turn the rivers of water and this gives us great encouragement we know that nothing happens nothing befalls us outside of your Divine Providence yet we pray according to the re revealed will of God we know that righteousness exalts a nation but sin is a reproach to any people and we pray that you would have mercy on those in high places that you would restrain them that you would cause them to not engage in the corruption and the lawlessness that we so often witness and if it is your will God remove them and replace them with persons better suited for the task of civil government we pray for your blessing upon the missionary Enterprise we know that your gospel is going forth throughout this world and it gives us great encouragement we know from reading the book of Revelation that there is a great multitude that no man can number that will be assembled Before the Throne of God and the lamb who sits upon that Throne so Lord bless and prosper that word may it not return unto you void but may it always accomplish the purpose for which you sent it and may you save Sinners and may you sanctify Saints and may you cause us to to glorify you in this lower World Lord bless Peter and Myanmar may you watch over him may you give him the strength that he is in need of in the physical and in the spiritual Realm pray that he would know your nearness and that you would bless that that group of Orphans and give the provisions that are necessary and Lord again we pray for a ceas fire in that land for some degree of stability so that the gospel may go forth and many would come to a saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ we ask now that you would continue with us in worship may we approach you with that reverence and that awe that is fitting for such a great God and may it be mingled with that joy and that Thanksgiving and that gratitude that is fitting for conquered Sinners by Sovereign Grace and we pray this through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen we could turn with me again in your hym books to Psalm 1B as in bravo Psalm 1 just a quick note with reference to Psalm 1 I know that the modern commentators and and persons that write on such things usually see us as the psalm one man or us as we ought to be the psalm one man but previous generations understood that Psalm one is about Jesus he is the righteous man Psalms 1 and two FIT uh form a fitting introduction to the entirety of the alter there's lots of connection between the two the king that rules with absolute power and glory and Authority in Psalm 2 is the righteous man of Psalm 1 now certainly we need to pursue that and seek by God's grace and spirit to walk accordingly but we ought to rejoice in the righteousness of the Psalm 1 Man imputed to us and received by faith alone so let us stand and sing 1 B [Music] his the [Music] S his [Music] he is like a gring tree [Music] which His Highest his are all go Suess will [Music] be the the sh the will all the the [Music] Jud all for sers the [Music] rightous the theous the will be [Music] well please turn with me in your Bibles to Genesis chap 15 for our meditation tonight Genesis chapter 15 Genesis 15 I'll read the chapter and then we'll look at it in some detail so Genesis 15 beginning in verse one after these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision saying do not be afraid Abram I am your Shield your exceedingly great reward but Abram said Lord God what will you give me seeing I go childless and the heir of my house is Eleazar of De Damascus then Abram said look you have given me no Offspring indeed one born in my house is my Heir and behold the word of the Lord came to him saying this one shall not be your Heir but one who will come from your own body shall be your Heir then he brought him outside and said look now toward heaven and count the Stars if you are able to number them and he said to him so shall your descendants be and he believed in the Lord and He accounted it to him for righteousness then he said to him I am the Lord who brought you out of er of the calans to give you this land to inherit it and he said Lord God how shall I know that I will inherit it so he said to him bring me a three-year-old heer a three-year-old old female goat a three-year-old Ram a turtle dove and a young pigeon then he brought all these to him and cut them in two down the middle and placed each piece opposite the other but he did not cut the birds in two and when the vultures came down on the carcasses Abram drove them away and when the sun was going down a deep sleep fell upon Abram and behold horror and great Darkness fell upon him then he said to Abram know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs and will serve them and they will afflict them 400 years and also the nation whom they serve I will judge afterward they shall come out with great possessions now as for you you shall go to your fathers in peace you shall be buried at a good old age but in the fourth generation they shall return here for the iniquity of the amorites is not yet complete and it came to pass when the sun went down and it was dark that behold there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces on the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abraham with Abram saying to your descendants I have given this land from the river of of Egypt to the Great River the river Euphrates the kenites the canites the cadit the Hittites the perizzites the reame the amorites the Canaanites the girgashites and the jebusites amen will let us pray Our Father in heaven we thank you for your written word we know it's God breathed and we receive it as such and help us God to submit to the authority of Holy scripture to see in it our blessed savior the Lord Jesus Christ from cover to cover and to see your handiwork in all that you have done in terms of saving Sinners by him we ask that you would bless this time encourage our hearts cause us to reflect the fresh upon what we have in the gospel of our salvation and may all of this act of worship be an expression of praise and gratitude and thankfulness to you for your many blessings to us forgive us now for all sin and all unrighteousness and guide us by your Holy Spirit we pray through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen well on Wednesday nights we are going through the pentat as a whole so we started in Genesis we went through Exodus and Leviticus and now we're in the book of numbers and God willing will be in numbers 20 excuse me this Wednesday night and one of the things that we have seen seen repeatedly in the Book of Numbers is that they're wandering through the Wilderness on route to the land that God had promised and that promis re uh promise reached back all the way to the Book of Genesis God promised to Abraham to Isaac and to Jacob that he would give them the land of promise that land of Canaan that land that was flowing with milk and honey well as we see here in this particular chapter Mo Abraham was a man of great faith but even Abram wanted a sign he wanted confirmation this wasn't an expression of his doubt but similarly to what we find in a Gideon and what we find in a Hezekiah they ask God to confirm the promise and that's precisely what we have in Genesis 15 it's a covenant ceremony with Abraham so I want to look first at the promise to Abraham in verses 1 to6 and then the confirmation by Covenant in verses 7-17 so let's look first at the promise to Abraham in verses 1 to and there's a few observations here first note the comfort of God and if we look at this passage notice in 151 after these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision the after these things must refer to what takes place in Genesis CH 14 basically you had a coalition of Eastern Kings that launched an attack upon Western Kings and in that attack they subdued and and kidnapped and took lot then nephew of Abram and Abram then armed his servants and they went on a mission to recover lot and so Abram was victorious in that particular exchange and as he returns according to 1418 this is the instance where madc the king of Salem brought out Bread and Wine he was the priest of God most high and he blessed Abram and said so after these things this message comes to Abram at a time most likely that he desperately needed to hear it if the Coalition of Eastern Kings could launch one attack they could certainly launch an additional attack if a coalition of Eastern Kings could do that then a coalition of Western Kings could do that these were Marauders these were people that wanted to conquer these were people that wanted to subdue others and take their stuff and so as we look at 151 we need to remember that context so these after these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision saying do not be afraid he's encouraging the patriarch to not fear God has seen him through that battle God has enabled him to recover his nephew God has blessed him such that melkisedek the king of Salem brought out bread and wine to him and blessed him but as well note the reason why he says to not be afraid notice in verse one I am your Shield your exceeding great reward notice he doesn't say do not be afraid Abram because you're really good with those armed servants those men are crack shots those men are great with the weapons those men are great at stealth and Recon and every artart associated with military activity that's not why he tells him not to be afraid he tells Abram not to be afraid because I am your Shield your exceedingly great reward look back in 1418 so after we read in verse 19 rather he blessed him and said Blessed Be Abram of God most high possessor of Heaven and Earth and blessed be God most high who has delivered your enemies into your hand that's the fleshing out of what God relates here in 151 I am your Shield this Coalition of Eastern Kings can go so far but no farther this Coalition of wicked men can go so far but no farther I am your Shield so on the basis of who God is and what God does on behalf of his people he exhorts the patriarch not to be afraid but also notice he says I am your exceedingly great reward if you go back to chapter 14 look again at verse 20 after the section that I read read and he gave him a tithe of all so this is how malized King of Salem honors Abram now note the difference or the contrast with the King of Sodom he was one of the western Kings it says now the king of Sodom said to Abram give me the persons and take the goods for yourself but Abram said to the king of Sodom I have raised my hand to the Lord God most high the possessor of Heaven and Earth that I will take nothing from a thread to a Sandal strap and that I will not take anything that is yours lest you should say I have made Abram Rich so when God tells him in 151 do not be afraid I am your Shield God is the one who had defended Abram from all of his enemies but as well when God says I am your exceedingly great reward Abram already tasted that experientially the king of Sodom says go ahead and return my men but I will give you whatever else that you want and Abram says no I don't want that Arrangement because then you will attribute my blessing and my profitability to yourself he says no God is my exceedingly great reward now he does make provision in verse 24 except only what the young men have eaten and the portion of the men who went with me aner eshal and mamory let them take their Porche so Abram already tasted and seen that the Lord was good Abram already knew this by way of experience so when God comes to encourage him not to fear he simply reminds him of what he's already been and I think there's an encouragement for us in our Bible reading it's not so much new information that we're after rather it is a reminder of what we know God to be that's why you read your Bible that's why you listen to sermons that's why you re reorient yourself and re familiarize yourself with the promises of God they are yay and dayen in Jesus Christ we're not looking for a new angle we're not looking for a new discovery we're rather looking a new to see the same old God and I do not mean that disrespectfully I mean in the sense that God is a rock that God is there for us that he is our Shield that he is our exceedingly great reward certainly Abram could join us tonight in singing if we happen to be singing this one riches I heed not nor man's empty praise thou mine inheritance now and always thou and thou only first in my heart High King Of Heaven my treasure Thou Art so Abram don't be afraid I am your Shield I've got you I'm going to protect you and know that I am your exceedingly great reward that then brings us to the response of Abram notice in verses 2 and three he highlights his childlessness now this as far as Abram is concerned is a bit of a concern because God has promised that his descendants would be more numerous than the stars of the of the sky and of the sand on the seashore and thus far he didn't have any children so look what he says in verse two but Abraham said Lord God what will you give me seeing I go childless and the the heir of my house is Eleazar of Damascus then Abram said look you have given me no Offspring indeed one born in my house is my Heir so his suggestion is that this servant be made his Heir now he's going to suggest that with reference to Ishmael in chapter 17 in verse 18 but God is going to decline in in each of these instances why because the son of Promise is Isaac and while it may appear that you are too old to have children nothing is too hard for God God is the God of All Flesh God owns the cattle on a thousand hills God is able to open the womb God is the author of biology God is able to fulfill all that he has promised but at the same time we understand why Abram is expressing what he is expressing here notice then the Lord's promise and sign verses four and five and behold the word of the Lord came to him saying this one shall not be your Heir but one who will come from your own body shall be your Heir then he brought him outside and said look now toward heaven and count the Stars if you are able to number them and he said to him so shall your descendants be we know that ultimately this hinges upon the Seed of Abraham which is Jesus Christ Our Lord he is identified as such in Galatians 3 and verse 16 when we do look at the Book of Revelation and we see that great multitude that no man can number those stars that cannot be numbered that sand on the seashore that cannot be numbered it's not primarily due to Abraham Isaac and Jacob it is due to their seed the Lord Jesus Christ the one in whom all the nations all the families of the Earth shall be blessed so God basically says to Abraham just relax I've got this it's not going to be your servant it's not going to be the the the son born of the of the of the of the Bond woman uh Ishmael but it's going to be the son of promise that comes from you and Sarah namely it is going to be Isaac and then notice Abraham expresses his faith and this is the verse that launches a thousand ships in terms of scripture this is a verse that is utilized by a a multitude of men in the Old Testament and in the New Testament and throughout church history it is the doctrine of justification by faith alone look at what we read in verse 6 and he Abram believed in the Lord and He accounted it to him for righteousness so the promise was not conditioned by Abraham's Works Abraham performed well Abraham did well Abraham never feared again that's not what it says it tells us very clearly he believed in the Lord and He accounted it to him for righteousness this is the turning point I'm not suggesting that Abram was a reprobate prior to this time but this is the articulation of his relationship with our blessed God John Gil says he believed in the promise of God that he should have a seed and a very numerous one he believed that the Messiah would spring from his seed he believed him in him as his Savior and Redeemer he believed in him for righteousness and he believed in his righteousness as justifying him before God not the act of his faith but the object of it not the act of his faith not oh good for you Abram you express some Faith doesn't really matter what that faith is in but in so far as you have have faith thus I'm going to justify you no faith is only as good as its object and the glory of justification is by faith alone in Christ alone to the saving of The Sinner as our confession says not by imputing faith itself the act of believing or any other Evangelical obedience to them as their righteousness but by imputing Christ's AC of obedience unto the whole law and passive obedience in his death for their whole and sole righteousness by faith which Faith they have not of themselves it is the gift of God so how does Abram out of er the calans go from an idolator which he was he worshiped the gods of his fathers we know that it's confirmed for us in the in the Book of Joshua in chapter 24 just in case there was any misunderstanding coming out of er the caldan you were not a Yahweh worshipper coming out of er the caldan you were not given over to the true and living God so how does he go from point A to point B because he's a good man because he's a great man he a good man and he is a great man but he goes there by God's grace he goes there by the Saving Grace of faith and repentance he believed God he looked to the promise of God and I'll argue in a bit that he had a lot to go on he didn't have both the Old and the New Testament he doesn't have as much as we do but what he had he held on to and what he had he believed in Calvin makes the observation with reference to justification by faith he says the Merit of Works ceases when righteousness is sought by faith for it is necessary that this righteousness should be freely given by God and offered in his word in order that anyone May possess it by faith for it is especially to be be observed that Faith borrows a righteousness elsewhere of which we in ourselves are destitute Faith borrows a righteousness of which we are destitute we get the alien righteousness of another Nam the Lord Jesus Christ that's the language of of Luther we need an alien outside of our self righteousness and that is imputed to us and it's received by faith alone Calvin goes on to say otherwise it would be vain for Paul to set faith in opposition to works when speaking of the mode of obtaining righteousness and he's commenting there on Romans 4 remember Romans 4 that great Declaration of justification by faith alone where does Paul go he goes to Abraham he goes to the Old Testament he goes to David in the Psalms it's never been the case that old Covenant Israelites that were actually saved were saved by a result of their Works they were saved by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ their faith was forward-looking their faith was rooted in the promises of the coming of Christ but it was the same Christ that they believed in Abel went to heaven by virtue of Christ every patriarch went to heaven by virtue of Christ every Prophet every godly man every godly woman that entered into heaven went by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone so this is a wonderful statement concerning Abraham he believed in the Lord and He accounted it to him for righteousness I should qualify that it's a wonderful statement concerning God he justifies us freely by his grace according to Romans 3 and verse 2 3 so that's the backdrop so we've got this issue of childlessness and the question of Airship and God says don't worry about it you're going to have a great number of descendants that then brings us to this confirmation by Covenant in verses 7 to1 17 note in verse 7 you have what's called a preamble sort of the historical prologue to a covenant and we see there in verse 7 then he said to him I am the Lord who brought you out of er of the caldan to give you this land to inherit it same way that the Ten Commandments start I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt there's this Preamble there's this historical statement there's this confirmation of the facts and what God had performed or what God had done on their behalf that sets the context or framework for the coming Covenant then notice what we have God retip what he is going to do or he res stipulates it there in that verse to give you this land to inherit it now Abram says Lord God verse 8 how shall I know that I will inherit it let's just stop here I don't want to get psychological but I think we can enter in you kind of get the drift when he says Lord how's it going to be that my descendants outnumber the stars and the sand how is it going to be that I'm going to inherit this land I mean as far as Abram's concerned he just came out of a skirmish a battle with these Eastern Kings of the the Coalition of Eastern Kings H how's this going to how's this going to work that's what he's saying it it it's clear right like I'm not making that up let me just double check yeah Lord God how how shall I know that I will inherit it now we might think that how dare you you just expressed faith in the living and true God your faith is is concretely rooted in in his promises how how could you even dare to question if you'll inherit it you see God doesn't respond that way God doesn't upgrade him God doesn't rebuke him God doesn't reprove him God rather answers him and he answers him by way of Covenant the request for a confirmation whenham says how am I to know is a request for a sign to confirm the pro promise not the expression of Doubt let's let's see something a bit of a foreshadow a bit of a down payment a bit of a taste if you will knowing that this is in fact your plan that I inherit the earth so God doesn't rebuke him but God says to Abram in verse 9 he said to him bring me a three-year-old heer a three-year-old female goat a three-year-old Ram a turtle dove and a young pigeon for those of us who have been wandering through the Wilderness in on Wednesday ites and who lumbered at in Leviticus at siai this is the language of the levitical sacrificial system right this is foreshadowing this is typifying this is kind of advancing tipping the hand this is what's going to happen at least in terms of old Covenant Israel in their approach to a to a Thrice holy God so he tells them bring me a three-year-old effer three-year-old lamb a female uh goat three-year-old Ram a turtle dove and a young Pidge and then note that he prepared here's the animals and I think it's here that I want us to see the glory of Christ now that may seem a little bit counterintuitive but I hope by the end of the sermon you'll see the glory of Christ notice in verse 10 then he Abram brought all these to him and cut them in two down the middle that means what it said don't Wrap Me Out To Peta don't call you know the SPCA but that's what it meant take the animals cut them in half yes that means they would die unless they were super animals that could somehow survive being mutilated so they're cut in half and then they're put on either side right so half a dead animal here half a dead animal here there's an iway or a route right between the two he brought them or brought all these to him and cut them in two down the middle and placed each piece opposite the other but he did not cut the birds into two and when the vult came down on the carcasses Abram drove them away I think that speaks to something that's going to be covered later in the book of Deuteronomy but underscores judgment underscores condemnation the symbolism of these vultures is the ultimate fate of the Covenant breaker that's the significance of this ceremony by way of a of a spoiler the issue is is that the parties to the Covenant walk between these animals dead animal dead animal parties walk between them the idea being when you get to the end and you've ratified the Covenant that if I break my part of this Covenant remember a covenant is more than an agreement or a contract there's skin in the game with reference to a covenant I mean there's lots of technical definitions that one could give about Covenant but just understand there's skin in the game there are consequences for failure there are consequences for rening there are consequences for breaking and so the parties to the Covenant walk between these animals with the understanding that if I break the Covenant if I reneg on my obligation then may what happen to these animals happen to me in other words it's a maledictory oath I mentioned that this morning remember benediction and malediction malediction is what we see in Matthew 27 let his blood be upon us and our children it is invoking the curse and wrath and fury of God should we be found guilty that's the significance of this particular ceremony so Abram does it beautifully and as I said I think it points forward to Deuteronomy 28:26 or at least captures that thematically your carcasses shall be food for all the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth and no one shall frighten them away that is the Covenant curse or one of the curses placed on Old Covenant Israel should they go in the land and not be faithful if they reneg on their Covenant then they're going to be basically carrying now note then the promise of the Covenant in verses 12 to6 now when the sun was going down a deep sleep fell upon Abram this is the same sleep as Adam's in Genesis 2:21 so when a deep sleep fell upon him and behold horror and great Darkness fell upon him then God said to Abram know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs and will serve them and they will afflict them 400 years and also the nation whom they serve I will judge afterward they shall come out with great possessions now as for you you shall go to your fathers in peace but uh you shall be buried at a good old age but in the fourth generation they shall return here for the iniquity of the amorites is not yet complete so the reference to his descendants assumes the promise of descendants God never makes sort of any kind of a you know hypothetical plan here it's purposeful it is decree uh decal it's going to come to pass so he mentions your descendants he mentions as well their bondage in Egypt they're going to be strangers in a Strange Land they're going to be in bondage we know that in the book of Exodus that is precisely what we have as well there is a promise of redemption from the bondage in Egypt in verses 14 and 15 now when we look at a passage like that it should remind us that we usually want things right now we pray and we want it right now well no it might be 400 years you're not going to get it right now well why is that because that's God's purpose and plan that's God's decree that's God's means by which he does what he does for his glory and for our well-being so it's never a good thing for us to question well why is it taking so long are you ever going to answer are you ever going to respond remember that no is a response and that yeses at times may take some time and so patience is definitely a helpful requisite in the life of the Christian and then notice the return to the land of promise in verse 16 but in the fourth generation this is after Egypt after bondage they shall return here for the iniquity of the amorites is not yet complete amorites here is what's called a sity it's a part of a part for the whole it means all the Canaanites those mentioned in verses 19 to 21 their iniquity is not yet complete means that God does not deal capriciously or arbitrarily but he will bring upon them the Judgment of dispossession from the land and the brutality of war from the Waring Israelites because of their sin he doesn't just look down at Israel and say man I just love you so much more than these wretches go ahead and take their land these wretches asked for the judgment and fury and wrath of God when Israel goes into the land and they become wretches like the Canaanites then God deals with them in like manner through Assyria and through Babylon he brings the same Justice upon them that he brought upon the Canaanites through them so again lesson here don't ate the Canaanites don't imitate the Canaanites when you go into the land be faithful to what God calls you to in the Covenant and then note the ratification of the Covenant verses 17 and 18a and it came to pass when the sun went down and it was dark that behold there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces on the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram saying so this was the ratification of it tonight I'm going to read from Matthew 26 when we have the supper Jesus is ratifying the New Covenant in his blood the old Covenant was ratified through blood as well at the base of Si in Exodus 24 blood was sprinkled upon the people of God as they swore Fidelity to Y Yahweh this is a ratification of the Covenant that God is making with Abram to underscore his faithfulness not Abram's but God's faithfulness in response to the question about an heor and in response to the question about inheriting the land the Lord wants Abram to know that this is in fact promised this is in fact real this is in fact going to take place so the smoke and the fire are symbolic for the presence of God the smoking oven and burning torch were an emblem of the Divine being according to John Gil and I think he's right but what is intriguing here what is interesting I mentioned earlier if you and I were Contracting a covenant or ratifying a covenant we're ancient NE near easterners and we're going to Covenant together we bring our animals together we cut those animals in half we place them on either side we then walk down that aisle together you see here it's only God so here it's not Abraham it's God's unilateral Covenant that he is purposed to give descendants and to give the land to Abraham it is not conditioned upon the faithfulness of Abraham now the old Covenant was conditional as a covenant of work such that when they enter into the land they're not faithful God ejects them from the land but the giving of The Descendants the giving of the land god covenants to do that and God covenants to do that by himself now remember the symbolism involved the parties to the Covenant walk down in the midst of the animals what's the end game if I reneg on this Covenant then may what happen to these animals happen to me see God the Lord is the Covenant party God the Lord is the Covenant maker God the Lord is the Covenant keeper it's like I mentioned with reference to Psalm 1 yes don't walk that way don't live with evil people walk get far from from from Wretched people but that's a description of Christ the law of God is his Delight Brethren if you can honestly say that that's true of you 247 you've achieved what no other man this side of Jesus has achieved it is the god of Heaven and Earth that promises it's the god of Heaven and Earth that provides it is the god of Heaven and Earth that keeps Covenant John Gil mentions or comments it being usual in making covenants for the covenantor to pass between the parts of the of a creature slain signifying that should they break the covenant made they deserve to be cut aunder as that creature was a more recent Theologian op Robertson a little bit longer of a quote but he says by dividing animals and passing between the pieces participants in a covenant pledge themselves to life and death these actions established an oath of self- malediction if they should break the commitment involved in the Covenant they were asking that their own bodies be torn In Pieces Just as the animals had been divided ceremonially in the case of the abrahamic Covenant God the Creator binds himself to Man the creature by a solemn Blood Oath the almighty chooses to commit himself to the Fulfillment of promises spoken to Abraham by this Divine commitment Abraham's doubts are to be expected God has solemnly promised and has sealed that promise with a self maledictory oath the realization of the Divine word is assur now now back to Abram's question how do I know I'm going to inherit the earth a perfectly sufficient answer would have been because I said so right how do we know we're going to go to the park tomorrow dad because I I said so well I want a sign okay this this is a very serious sign to confirm the promise of God a self maledictory oath on the part of Yahweh such that if we pass through or I pass through this and it doesn't come to pass that you have a great seed and it doesn't come to pass that you inherit a great land then may what was done to these animals be done to God himself Brethren that's precisely the gospel that's precisely Galatians 3 God made Christ a curse Christ took upon himself the malediction Christ took upon himself the destruction Christ took upon himself the disolution that those animals deserve or that those animals got and those party parties to the Covenant deserve Christ is what we see in Genesis 15 in this ancient ceremony we half animals on on our our on other side and God passes through the midst of that he's preaching Jesus to him he's preaching the gospel to us he's teaching us concerning substitutionary blood atonement Christ bore the penalty for our sin I know that we affirm substitution uh uh substitutionary penal atonement I know that we confess that and we affirm it but do we ever stand in awe and Wonder at it he took our place on the cross uh Romans 3 God set forth Christ as a propitiation through his blood you know what a propitiation is it deals with wrath and that presupposes guilt so our guilt is heaped upon the Savior Our Savior stands in our place he takes that wrath and that Fury and that curse and that judgment he takes what happens to those animals upon himself so that his righteousness can then be given to us and so that our sins may be cleansed by his Precious Blood so God to Abraham to assuage him with reference to these what seems to be outstanding promises that are almost unattainable or seem to be unattainable in terms of seed and land God doesn't just say because I said so God goes through this elaborate situ situation or ceremony to confirm to Abraham that everything he says is true of course the Apostle picks up on this in Hebrews chapter 6 speaks about God swearing an oath well there's no one greater outside of God whereby God could swear by them so he swears by himself he's putting his Integrity on the line he's putting his faithfulness on the line he's putting it all on the line for us men and for our Salvation as we read this ancient ceremony as we read this odd sort of an answer or response to Abraham's question concerning seed and land never forget that it points us to the glory of the Gospel of Jesus Christ Our Lord this is precisely what takes place in the gospel of our Salvation the emblem of the Divine being passed between the animals alone not accompanied by Abraham as well the curse of the Covenant was taken by God himself should he reneg on his promises Gil again only God passed between the pieces not Abram this Covenant being is others God makes with men only on one side or we might call it unilateral God in covenanting with men promises and gives something unto them but men give nothing to him but receive from him Meredith Klein by passing alone between the peace God swore Fidelity to his Covenant promises and took upon himself all the curses symbolized by the carcasses so in that old Covenant setting there was no reneging on the part of Yahweh there was no forsaking on the part of God there was no infidelity on the part of God so therefore no decimation or dissolution of the Divine being for his having been unfaithful to the terms of the Covenant when we get to the the New Covenant the problem wasn't with Jesus but Jesus is that man of Psalm one Jesus is that representative of all that the father had given him jesus takes for us that punishment that is due to us because we broke Covenant because we are Unfaithful because we have transgressed the law and because we have lacked Conformity unto it so this text not only is it a wonderful promise to Abraham's inquiry about seed and land but it's a wonderful typology of what God does in the gospel the the section ends with the boundaries of the land the geographical the ethnological and the typological it's intriguing because Paul tells us in Romans chapter 4 that the promise made to Abraham was that he would inherit the world but if you read the boundaries that's not the world again it it it transcends AB it speaks concerning Abram's seed that Galatians 3:16 seed which is Jesus Christ how can it be said that Abraham inherited the world because of Christ Psalm 2 ask of me and I will give you the Nations for your inheritance the uttermost parts of the Earth for your possession Matthew 28 go therefore and make deciples of what all the nations Revelation men from every tribe Tong people and Nation so when God promises to Abraham it is certainly applicable to Abraham an old Covenant Israel but it looks beyond them as so much of old Covenant Israel is typological foreshadowing and prefiguring the kingdom of God in and through the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ Christ is the seed of Abram and all the elect in him are Covenant partakers of the blessings of God God so In this passage we see the faith of Abraham that Faith was not brought to God and then rewarded by God no that Faith was the instrument by which he laid hold of the promises of God specifically concerning Messiah the Lord Jesus Christ Faith was the instrument and we remember hopefully we remember in John chapter 8 when Jesus is disputing with the unbelieving Jews and he gets into Abraham where they claim Abraham as our father so Jesus says if Abraham was your father you wouldn't try to kill me pretty simple thing here if Abraham was your father you wouldn't want to kill me cuz I'm the Seed of Abraham just just so you know what does Jesus say to them Abraham Rejoice to see my day and he saw it and he was glad what do they respond you're not yet 50 years old have you seen Abraham before Abraham was I am but when he says Abraham rejoiced to see my day you you mean the faith of Abraham was such that it laid hold of Jesus Christ yeah he had Genesis 3:15 he had Genesis 3:21 he had Genesis 22 or he's going to have Genesis 22 they had a lot of data and the data that they had by God's grace believed it and thus received justification by faith alone through faith uh through Christ alone as well we see the faithfulness of God the exhortation given to him I am your Shield your exceedingly great reward the promise given to Abraham the reiteration of the seed promise and the land promise and then the confirmation by Covenant we have the infectability of the covenant not subject to failure or Decay it is grounded in the oath and promise of God himself in fact turn there we'll end in a moment Hebrews chapter 6 to see what the Apostle says concerning God and a Abraham Hebrews chap 6 verse 13 for when God made a promise to Abraham because he could swear by no one greater he swore by himself saying surely blessing I will bless you and multiplying I will multiply you and so after he had patiently endured he obtained the promise for men indeed swear by the greater and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute thus God determining to show more abundantly to The Heirs of promise promise the immutability of his counsel confirmed it by an oath God was determined to confirm to the likes of us that what he is saying he is going to accomplish it's amazing it's truly amazing Verse 18 that by two immutable things in which it is impossible for God to lie we might have strong consolation with fled for Refuge to lay hold of the Hope set before us this hope we have as an anchor of the Soul both sure and steadfast you know when you see these uh Jesus fish on cars you know the ichus symbol for Jesus that the early church used you know that another symbol that they used was the anchor I don't see anchors on cars but wouldn't be a bad pitch why because our God is a rock our God is one that we can anchor to our our God is is faithful our God answers a simple question with an elaborate ceremony invoking curse upon himself if he doesn't see through it with reference to seed and land that's our God so much so that in the fullness of the time God sent forth his son born of a woman born under the law to redeem those under the law notice he goes on and which enters or verse 19 this hope we have is an anchor of the Soul both sure and steadfast and which enters the presence behind the veil where the Forerunner has entered for us even Jesus having become high priest forever according to the order of mized and then just turn to Galatians 3 we should read Galatians 3:13 in light of Genesis 15 Galatians 3 we'll pick up in verse 10 for as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse for it is written cursed is everyone who does not continue notice in all things which are written in the book of law to do that the old Covenant was a covenant of works you had to do all things in order to be saved by virtue of the old Covenant God was operating according to promise and the the coming Covenant of Grace wherein he saved the Abels he saved the the Abrams he saved The Isaacs he saved the Jacobs but the purpose of that old Covenant as a system was to hedge the people of Israel in to keep them from jeopardizing the seed and as well it was to show them their need for the sea to show them their need for this Psalm one man certainly as they sang Psalm 1 they had to be mindful as I think we all are that ain't me I kind of want well I I really want to be that but I know I'm not I'm trying by God's grace I make a little you know Headway once in a while but but there's a Consciousness as you sing Psalm one that ain't us so they were taught to look forward to the fullness of the time when God sent forth his son born of a woman born under the law notice verse 11 but that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident for the just shall live by faith he invokes the prophet abach yet the law is not of Faith but the man who does them shall live by them verse 13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law having become a curse for us for it is written cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree he has become a curse for us he has toen taken upon himself the fate of those animals in that ceremony he has taken it upon himself that if a party in the Covenant reneges if a party in the Covenant fails and falters that party should suffer uh wrath and fury Christ took that for us he is our covenant head that The Blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Jesus uh in Christ Jesus that we might receive the promise of the spirit through faith well Brethren hopefully that's at least a bit of a sketch to show as to how Jesus is what Genesis 15 is pointing forward to we have much to be thankful for we've got a gracious and a faithful God and when it comes to our lives as God's people the supper is a great help uh witnessing baptism participating in baptism the the the preaching of the word the reading of the word The Fellowship of the Saints all those things are are calculated to feed our faith and encourage us and strengthen Us in the knowledge of God so that we live in a manner that is consistent with our calling in the gospel other words we know we're not that Psalm one man but as saved Sinners conquered by Grace we know who the psalm one man is and as a result we have his righteousness and and now we do want to follow him and we do want to go wherever he leads but we also need to be reminded of those other passes in the scripture that we are going to stumble we are going to falter we are going to sin there is remaining corruption Romans chapter 7 and Galatians chapter 5 there's the reality that we ought to just be upright and holy but we're not so we need to believe with every fiber of our being not only the the the imperatives that tell us to let our conduct be worthy of the Gospel but but the great indicative of a passage such as 1 John 2 Brethren if anyone sins we have an advocate with the father even Jesus Christ the righteous never forget that I'm reminded of a of a gathering of Scottish I think they were covenantor they were having their Lord's supper and it was uh not as common I don't think they had it every month I'm not sure it was quarterly whatever the time frame was but a minute the minister noticed as as the cup got closer to a particular particular woman she started you know crying even more what's she doing what's she going through probably something that you and I have gone through before I don't know it's been a rough week hadn't done everything I should have done haven't followed that Psalm one man like I should have you ever get that you don't have to raise your hand you don't have to nod you don't even have to look in my direction you kind of get that I I believe there's forgiveness but just yeah I don't know so the minister sees this woman crying and every time the cup gets closer and closer and closer and closer and he stands before and he hands it to it he says it's for Sinners this is for Sinners redeemed Sinners and sinners we have an advocate with the father even Jesus Christ the righteous by faith lay your hand upon the shity of a better Covenant confessing your sins and find Mercy from him Proverbs 28:13 is always true whoever confesses and forsakes will find Mercy you say but Pastor I'm not always the forsaker I ought to be I don't want to sound irreverent I don't want to sound cheeky I don't want to sound trivializing but welcome to the club none of us are the forsaker we ought to be that's why the psalm one man came that's why the psalm one man lived that's why the psalm one man died and that's why the Psalm 1 man was raised again for our justification praise God for his faithfulness and his mercies to us well let us pray our gracious God and our Holy Father we thank you for this ceremony with Abram and what it instructs us concerning our New Covenant situation and what a blessing that you sent your son that he was a curse for us truly an amazing thought an amazing reality that he bore our penalty on that cross you heaped our sin upon Him punished him in our stead and then heaped his righteousness upon us what a glorious exchange and what a wonderful God and may we tonight as we eat this bread and drink this cup proclaim the Lord's death until he comes and we ask this through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen well you can turn with me in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 26 remember this scenario this is the night before the Lord Jesus the night rather that he was betrayed and the night ultimately or the morning following he'd be arrested and of course they gather together for the Passover they gather together for that celebratory meal wherein they remember that great event of God in terms of The Exodus out of Egypt and so it's in this particular context that the Lord Jesus institutes the supper intrig intriguingly meis melkisedek brought what Bread and Wine to Abram God has used these symbols these emblems from the very beginning obviously in our context the bread represents the body of our Lord Jesus and the wine it represents his blood and so tonight we reflect upon that goodness and I want to ask the brothers to come up and pass out the bread we'll do as we've normally done I'll read the section after everybody receives the bread read the section and pray and then we'll take the bread together while they do that you can turn to 275 275 remain seated and we'll sing praise to our God [Music] my the might before the my the my is all he ever for me to inter all his precious to is for every for every rece our c for prise GL for all for for for pres my hisy voice I he for his child I can no long Fe with I in I and as they were eating Jesus Took bread blessed and broke it and gave it to to his uh the disciples and said take eat this is my body let us pray our gracious God and father thank you for what we see in our Bibles concerning your faithfulness and thank you for your condescension and swearing an oath by yourself confirming by way of Covenant to encourage and to strengthen our faith in in you we thank you as well for setting forth your son uh as a propitiation through his blood for us men and for our Salvation as we eat now we confess your goodness and your kindness and your mercy and we praise you and bless you for the sending of the son of your love and we pray in Jesus name amen we'll take together okay you can turn to number 283 remember the juice is in the outer ring if you are inclined to have juice versus wine the wine is in the center part so 283 again please remain seated [Music] is for Jesus the son of and Son of I Cher will I my soul GL are the are the the Jesus is Jesus is who makes the to see is the sun is a and all br Sor Jesus Jesus all the angels of the na son of God Son Of Glory and PR and now and forever go well continuing verse uh 27 then he took the cup and gave thanks and gave it to them saying drink from it all of you he goes on to explain the significance of this for this is my blood of the New Covenant which which is shed for many for the remission of sins but I say to you I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my father's Kingdom and when they had sung A Hymn they went out to the Mount of Olives let us pray Our Father in Heaven thank you for the blood of the New Covenant we thank you for the blood of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world truly a Marvel that the word became flesh and dwelt Among Us and it's by that glorious person that we have so great salvation thank you and we do proclaim the Lord's death until he comes in this wonderful Sacrament that you have given to the church bless and strengthen us now uh confirm us in our faith cause us to grow in our understanding of the glory of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and it's in his name that we pray amen take together all right you can take your hym books and turn to 114 remember that the Psalms that they would have sung in accordance with the Passover ritual was the halel Psalms 113 to 118 so as we're able to think it's good to sing a Psalm from that section of the Salter as we conclude our supper we'll stand as we sing together 114 [Music] holy in his is the the away the ly [Music] Mountain the HS little oh see what you why you turn away [Music] why Earth for the the of you The Rock [Music] [Applause] [Music] The Rock the oh Israel hope in the Lord for with the Lord there is Mercy and with him is abundant Redemption and he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities amen well please be seated for a brief time of medit ation e e e for