One of the nicest places to go and
be with the Lord at the rapture would
be to go right from here, wouldn't it?
Did anyone say amen?
Well, thank God for that blessed hope.
Shall we turn in our prophecy of Zechariah
to chapter two, please?
The second chapter of this great prophecy, in
which we are, and by the will and
the grace and the help of the Lord,
we trust to go through the prophecy during
our stay this week through next Lord's Day.
Reading in chapter two, shall we read it
through?
Zechariah writing by the Spirit and saying, I
lifted up my eyes again and looked, and
behold a man with a measuring line in
his hand.
Then said I, whither goest thou?
And he said unto me, to measure Jerusalem,
to see what is the breadth, or how
great is the breadth thereof, and how great
is the length thereof.
And behold the angel that talked with me
went forth, and another angel went out to
meet him, and said unto him, Run, speak
to this young man.
Say, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without
walls, for the multitude of men and cattle
therein.
For I, saith the Lord, will be unto
her a wall of fire, round about, and
will be the glory in the midst of
her.
Ho, ho, come forth, and flee from the
land of the north, saith the Lord.
For I have spread you abroad as the
four winds of the heaven, saith the Lord.
Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with the
daughter of Babylon.
For thus saith the Lord of hosts, After
the glory hath he fed me unto the
nations which spoiled you, for he that toucheth
you toucheth the apple of his eye.
For behold, I will shake mine hand upon
them, and they shall be a spoil to
their servants.
And ye shall know that the Lord of
hosts hath fed me.
Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for
lo I come, and I will dwell in
the midst of thee, saith the Lord.
And many nations shall be joined to the
Lord in that day, and shall be my
people, and I will dwell in the midst
of thee.
And thou shalt know that the Lord of
hosts hath fed me unto thee.
And the Lord shall inherit Judah, his portion
in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem
again.
Be silent, O all flesh, before the Lord,
for he is raised up out of his
holy habitation.
May God the Spirit bless the reading of
his word, and give the help in the
ministry of this wonderful book.
The prophecy of Zechariah, as we've stated in
the preceding message, is divided into four distinct
sections.
Chapters 1 verses 1 through 6.
We learned in our mess this morning that
there was a call to national repentance, and
then beginning in chapter 1 and verse 7
and going down to the end of chapter
6, we have eight separate visions that were
given to the prophet Zechariah in one night.
Those visions speaking not only in the present
tense of the days in which Zechariah lived,
but more particularly of the future purposes, and
the determined purposes of Jehovah in relation to
Jerusalem, in relation to Judah, and in relation
to the nation and land of Israel.
The third section is in chapters 7 and
8, where we have a question brought to
the prophet by a deputation from Babel, inquiring
in regard to a self-imposed or other
beside but one other imposed facts when they
were in Babylonian captivity.
To the answer of those facts and its
questions, the prophet is told by the Lord
that there will come a day when the
fasting will give place to continual feasting at
the coming of the Messiah.
The last section of the prophecy is in
chapters 9 to the end of the book,
which is covered by two great burdens.
The first great burden in chapters 9 through
11, and the second in chapters 12 through
14.
They again touch, as even the whole prophecy
does, not only upon the people of Israel,
not only upon Judah and Jerusalem, not only
in relation to the nations of the earth,
but they bring before us the purposes of
God as they are centered in and around
the blessed Messiah of Israel, even our Lord
Jesus Christ.
We saw two of the visions in the
second chapter in our preceding message.
We come in chapter 3, or chapter 2
rather, we come to the third vision that
the prophet is given in this one night,
and in that third vision we have the
prophet certainly seeing what we have read before
us.
We certainly see him looking upon a man
with a measuring line.
May I read verse 1 please?
I lifted up mine eyes again and looked,
and behold a man with a measuring line.
Who is this man with a measuring line?
Would you go with me to chapter 1?
May I read verse 16 and 17?
For in verses 16 and 17 of chapter
1 we saw that the Angel of Jehovah,
that blessed person who is very divine, the
one who is the second person of the
triune Godhead, whose title is given in the
Old Testament again and again as the Angel
of the Covenant, the Angel of his faith,
the Angel of Jehovah, none but the Lord
Jesus in the blessed manifestation of his glory
and deity.
And in these verses we read that he
speaks in chapter 1 saying, therefore thus saith
the Lord, I am returned to Jerusalem with
my sins.
My house shall be built in it, saith
the Lord of hosts, and a line shall
be stretched forth upon Jerusalem.
Why yet saying, thus saith the Lord of
hosts, my cities through prosperity shall yet be
spread abroad, and the Lord shall yet comfort
Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem.
My beloved, the very center of this prophecy
is the one whose glory is seen in
the book, and who reveals himself as the
Angel of Jehovah.
And it is he who declares, as we
have read in verse 16, I am returned
to Jerusalem with my sins.
And when you and I contemplate the purposes
of God in relation to Jerusalem, we must
confess that only he who is the Angel
of Jehovah will yet come again and return
to Jerusalem with mercy.
Now connect it with the verse that we
have read in chapter 2, and recognize with
me that the man with the measuring line
is the same Angel of Jehovah as the
prophet sees him.
A man with a measuring line in his
hand.
Reverse 2, then said I with a gorest
thou, he said, underneath a measured Jerusalem, to
see what is the breadth, or literally in
the Hebrew rendering, to see how great is
the breadth thereof, and how great is the
length thereof.
For the measuring line is in due to
the expansion, and the glorious expansion, and the
indefinite expansion of Jerusalem.
For what the prophet is told is that
the city of Jerusalem will be expanded in
a great way.
Read with me, if you please, as we
go to verse 3, and read through verse
5.
Behold, the angel that talked with me went
forth, and another angel went out to meet
him, and said unto him, Run, be in
haste, speak to this young man who was
undoubtedly the prophet, speak to this young man
saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without
walls, for the multitude of men and cattle
therein.
For I said, Jehovah will be unto her
a warmer fire about, round about, and will
be the glory in the midst of her.
The man with the measuring line sends an
angel with a message to the prophet.
The message concerns Jerusalem.
We have mentioned in our preceding message the
repetition of Jerusalem in this prophecy is marvelous.
For the many times that it is repeated,
and it is a literal Jerusalem, please don't
spiritualize it, as many have attempted to do.
And spiritualize the prophecy in relation to the
heavenly Jerusalem, the spiritual Jerusalem, the holy Jerusalem
which is from above.
For it is a concern in the heart
of the prophet, and it was a concern
in all of the prophets that which was
God's purpose regarding the literal city of Jerusalem,
the chosen site of high in the city
of God.
Read the great prophecy of the book of
Daniel, and when you read the searching of
Daniel's heart in the presence of God, and
the pouring out of his desire, his desire
concerns Jerusalem and the people of God.
What would be the purpose of God following
the Babylonian captivity?
And we have a similar prophecy closing the
Babylonian activity as God deals with the prophet
Zechariah, and the city, the literal city of
Jerusalem on the earth is before the purposes
of God in the message that is given
by the angel who is commanded to run,
take the message with hate, it's a message
of good news concerning my purpose regarding Jerusalem.
And Jerusalem will be expanded, note particularly it
shall be inhabited as towns or villages without
walls, for the multitude of men and cattle
therein.
Oh, this is the message of the angel,
unrestored and an enlarged Jerusalem, and the city
will overflow her boundaries in that coming day.
Would you note one expression that is very
important?
For the message declares in the fourth verse,
Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns or villages
without walls.
I believe I'm correct when I speak that
the city of Jerusalem has never been a
city without walls, with the exception of when
it was destroyed.
But those walls have been rebuilt again.
You can go into the environment of that
city, as I was recently, and you can
find the walls of that city have been
rebuilt and are standing as such, and you
would count perhaps, as it has been estimated,
that the population of that holy city, the
old city, is a population of 50,000
Arabs living within it.
But the promise of Jehovah is that it
will be a city without walls, and it
will be expanded, and it will be in
an indefinite expansion, reaching out across the plains
that should be existent in that day.
Oh, may I give you the precious thought,
as you have it in the last chapter,
that when our Lord Jesus comes back, and
if He touches the Mount of Olives, in
that day the Mount of Olives shall cleave
from the east to the west, and there
will be a very great mountain.
In that day, upon which Jerusalem, the city,
shall stand, and the great valley will be
before it.
And if you were to read, as I
commend the reading of this chapter in the
book of Psalms, chapter 48, when in that
day of the city's glory, and the palace
of the great king will be in that
city, the inhabitants of Jerusalem will invite the
nations of the earth to come and behold
the glory of the city of the great
king, and the palace of the great king.
For, without question of doubt, the metropolis of
the world will be the glorious city, the
restored and the enlarged city of Jerusalem.
And Jerusalem, which at the present time may
have an altitude of twenty-five hundred feet
above sea level, may even be higher as
it stands now, shining in its glory in
that coming day as the city of the
great king.
Beloved, this is a prophecy of its prosperity.
This is a prophecy that its prosperity will
be great, and there will be unwalled villages.
At the present time, and through the ages
of time, the city, and many cities of
old, have been protected by their walls, and
fortified by their fortresses, in order to protect
them from their enemies.
But, in that coming day, there shall be
no need of the wall, for, verse five,
I set the Lord will be unto her
a wall of fire round about, and will
be the glory in the midst of her.
Oh, may I point out two precious facts.
In that glorious day, Jehovah will be the
protector of the city, and God will protect
her without, and also Jehovah will be her
glory within.
He will be the protector without, and he
will be the glory within the city.
The protection and the presence of God is
assured in that coming day, a wall of
fire round about, and the glory in the
midst.
May I transfer the application and the precious
truth of it to the believer of today?
Oh, the joy of knowing the believer has
the Lord himself as the wall of fire
to protect, and indwelling the illuminating presence of
the Holy Spirit, indwelling the believer within.
You know, I'm glad I'm saying.
A protector without, and an illuminator within.
The presence of the glory of God that
I have found shining in the face of
Jesus Christ.
Oh, what a protection, and oh, what a
presence, and the glory of his presence will
be within.
Go with me to Isaiah chapter 60, please.
May I read in chapter 60 of the
book of Isaiah a word or two in
relation to that glory that will be the
presence of Jehovah within the city in that
coming day?
Chapter 60 in the book of Isaiah, reading,
if I may, the 19th verse.
Oh, may I read verse 16 together with
the 19th verse, a contemporary scripture regarding the
glory of that city?
And will you notice something in the 19th
verse that declares the character of the walls?
Verse 19 says, violence shall no more be
heard in my land, wasting nor destruction within
thy borders, but thou shalt call thy walls
salvation, and thy gates praise.
Oh beloved, do you know one of the
most fascinating things about the city now, is
indeed the historic reference that one can recognize
from the scriptures.
The walls of the city, the gates of
the city.
They excavated recently, right near the temple area,
to the very base of the foundation of
its walls, and proved that was the foundation
of the city walls.
I don't know, there's no truth if I
do not believe, but it was told to
me that there was a rumor given that
when the archaeologists excavated that particular place of
the city, outside the wall, they found a
stone upon which was inscribed these words, the
generation that finds this stone will see the
coming of the Messiah.
Well, I don't put much credence in it,
but I do believe He's coming, and that
very soon, for every indication of His return
certainly is given to us in all that
takes place today, according to the word of
God.
But in that coming day, one of the
fascinating things today, is to see those walls,
is to behold those gates on each side
of the city as long ago described in
the scriptures.
But when Isaiah the prophet describes them in
the millennial day, in the day of the
kingdom, thy walls shall be salvation, and thy
gates shall be praise.
Hallelujah!
I'm glad I'm saying my walls are salvation,
and my gates are praise.
You know, you're never safer, you're never more
secure than when you say the walls of
salvation are yours, and when you can lift
your heart in praise and worship to the
one who saved you.
Salvation, praise, and then read on in verse
20.
Thy sun, or verse 19 rather, thy sun
shall be no more thy light by day,
neither for brightness shall the moon give light
unto thee, but the Lord shall be unto
thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy
glory.
O beloved one, a day that will be
for Israel, when the Lord shall be unto
thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy
glory.
O all that fly around about to protect,
and the glory of that everlasting light, and
the God of glory, and stout with it.
You know, that's just exactly what is the
portion of the believer today.
I wonder if you believe it, and enjoy
it, that you and I, we have to
protect her, who round about as if it
was a wall of fire, and who within
us is the everlasting God, who is thy
light, and who is thy glory.
But there's one thing about us as children
of God, we do not manifest as we
should that glory, and that light, and enjoy
it.
And may I say to you that may
not be saved, you can have this salvation.
This same salvation that is coming for Israel
will come through the same blessed person who
can save you tonight, and who desires to
be your savior tonight.
That your salvation may be found in him,
and that your soul may have the joy
of praising him.
As the poet says, praise the savior, ye
who know him, who can tell how much
we owe him.
And beloved, salvation, praise, and the everlasting God,
thy light, and thy glory within.
What a day that will be in that
city of glory which is to come.
Go back to our chapter in Zechariah, please,
and let's continue on as thus we recognize.
In verse four, the prosperity of the city
is promised.
Would you note something precious in that verse?
I value it when you read in verse
four, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as villages without
wall, for the multitude of men, and the
multitude of cattle therein.
Oh beloved, may I say it's a wonderful
thing to see the prosperity even now in
that land, when one looks behind the centuries
that have passed.
It's remarkable.
The productivity of the land is remarkable today.
But beloved, may I say without question of
doubt, all that the Jew is laboring for
will someday come under the judgment of God,
when the nations around them will afflict them.
But when the Messiah comes, when, as we
said in verse 16 of chapter one, I
am returned to Jerusalem with mercy, may I
emphasize, it was not only a temporal visitation
of mercy in the day of Zechariah, in
the days of Haggai, in the day of
Ezra and Nehemiah, when they rebuilt the house
and rebuilt the wall and the city and
the gates, but the Lord is looking down
to that time when he will return in
his power and in his glory at his
second advent to bring prosperity to Jerusalem, and
the inhabitants will stretch out, and for multitude,
as I stated, the old city of Jerusalem,
you cannot accommodate more than 50,000 people
within it approximately, and it is expanding out
even now in its modern expansion.
But it will stretch out, and I think
the Hebrew suggests it will be stretched out
not just as villages, but as plains for
distance, for distance, for distance to the south,
to the north, to the east, and to
the west, in its blessing in that coming
day of the Messiah.
And he will protect, and he will dwell
with his people as the glory in the
midst.
Now, when you come to the sixth verse
of our chapter, to the end of the
chapter you have a more detailed explanation of
it.
First of all, in the sixth verse and
the seventh, there is a call that God
gives to the captives in Babylon to flee
from Babylon.
Ho!
ho!
come forth and flee from the land of
the north, saith the Lord, for I spread
you abroad as the four winds of heaven,
saith the Lord.
Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwelleth with the
daughter of Babylon.
May I point out to you, as customary,
with much that is prophetic, the teaching of
prophecy may often have, and usually does, have
a double application, and there is a primary
application in the days of Zechariah.
But in the days of Zechariah, Haggai, Ezra,
Nehemiah, approximately 50,000 Jews returned from Babylon
after the 70 years of captivity.
According to Josephus, approximately one million Jews were
taken into captivity, and when the edict of
King Cyrus came to return and build the
city, to build the house of the Lord
at Jerusalem, there was only a fraction of
those people who came back 50,000 approximately
in number.
The remainder of them had settled down in
Babylon.
They had their businesses in Babylon.
They had accumulated wealth.
They had built houses and homes, and they
desired not to return to the desolate land
of Judea.
And, beloved, God gives a call to come
out of Babylon to return back to the
land.
Now, God had two reasons.
One reason was this, that they should escape
out of Babylon before God's judgment came upon
Babylon.
If you remember back in chapter one, the
rider upon the red horse, the angel of
Jehovah, did you ever stop to think of
the meaning of that red horse upon which
he sat?
For it is indicative of the fact that
blessed one is coming to deal in judgment,
and in judgment to deal with a nation
who has oppressed his people Israel.
For, if you recall the words that we
read, may I go back to verse 12
and 13, or 14 rather, and 15.
Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, I am
jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a
great jealousy.
I'm very sore displeased with the nations that
are at ease, for I was but a
little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction.
And, may I say, my beloved, God has
never failed to recognize and to take worthy
note of what the nations have done to
his earthly people.
Never!
And, there will be a day of remembrance.
The great prophecy of Joel tells us in
the third chapter, that in that day of
Armageddon, multitudes, multitudes will be in the valley
of decision.
And, in that day, God says, I will
have a controversy with the nations.
And, beloved, may I state the primary reasons
for that call out of Babylon in the
days of Zechariah was that God knew, I'm
going to visit Babylon with judgment, and with
ultimate destruction.
But, you know, it's a sad fact.
Too many people will fail to give heed
to the message of God as he gives
the message of judgment.
May I pause for a moment?
May I interject the truth of the gospel?
You that may not be saved, may I
say there's a far worse day of judgment
coming to this world than came upon Babylon
long ago?
And, that day of judgment, if it finds
you unheeding, is invitation to flee from the
rastakhan.
That day of judgment will bring you everlasting
destruction.
But then, on the other hand, God had
a second purpose, and that was to bring
his people to the land where he wished
to bless them.
You know, it's amazing today, I've kind of
grasped it, but there is a manifestation amongst
the Israelites of today to go back to
their land.
Some of them have been driven, we know,
driven by hatred, driven by persecution, but there's
an element, a younger element, within the land.
They have been drawn, they have been attracted,
and they have been brought back because they
are curiously interested and vitally concerned to have
a part in what's taking place.
Behind it all is the call of Jehovah,
for through it he's going to bring the
remnant, ultimately, into that blessing that he has
promised even within this chapter.
"'Deliver thyself,' he says in verse 7, "'O
Zion, that dwelleth with the daughter of Babylon!'
and may I again revert to the application
of the gospel.
My beloved, if you are not saved, you're
nearer hell than you've ever been in your
life, because the day of judgment is very
close, and the coming of the Lord is
on the threshold.
And if our Lord were to come tonight,
and you had heard, and you had had
an opportunity to be saved and received it,
you would never deliver yourself.
Take home the words, deliver thyself.
You say, how?
We find the wonderful words.
At the cross, at the cross where I
first saw the light, and the burden of
my heart rolled away, it was there by
faith I received my sight.
Now I'm happy all the day.
My beloved, the invitation of the gospel is
still going on.
I can't save you.
You know, I read the story one time
of a man that was saved, and he
was a prize-fighter by occupation, and the
night that he was saved, his evangelistic friends
told him, now you try to win others.
Bring others to Christ.
And the next night, after the evangelistic service
had finished, some of the brethren heard a
commotion on the outside of the building.
They went out, and as they went out
to see what was taking place, here was
this man that had been saved the night
before, and he was sitting on the chest
of another man, and he was beating him,
and he was saying, will you believe?
Will you believe?
Well, they pulled him up and said, you
can't do that.
Well, he says, I only know how to
use my fists.
Look, there is no question of doubt that
if it were possible physically for some of
us to save you, we'd be glad to
do it.
We cannot.
Deliver thyself, my beloved sinner friend.
Within the power of your own choice lies
your salvation, if you'll only come to Christ
tonight.
And say just as I am without one
plea, for that thy blood was shed for
me, and that thou bid me come to
thee, O Lamb of God, I come.
Now, go on to verse eight of our
chapter, for, oh, here we have the greater
explanation continuing, as we find the Messiah's character,
as well as his mission described.
For thus saith Jehovah the Most, and please
let me re-emphasize, I cannot help but
magnify, this is the person of the Son
of God, the Angel of Jehovah, the Angel
of the Covenant, the Angel of His Faith,
the very second person of the Divine Trinity,
the Eternal Son of God.
O beloved, as you recognize who the person
is, what joy and what character it gives,
here is Jehovah, as it were, sending another
person of the Trinity.
Read chapter sixty-one of Isaiah.
Couple it together with Luke chapter four, where
the Lord speaks in the synagogue at Nazareth,
His first message, the first sermon He ever
preached, from Isaiah sixty-one, when He says,
Jehovah hath sent me.
My beloved, may I solemnly say, it is
the person of Jehovah sending another person whose
name is Jehovah.
Hallelujah!
Beful with the Father, the Lord hath sent
me, and after the glory hath He sent
me.
And though it is the Jehovah Lord of
hosts who is the person, and His mission,
what is it?
After the glory hath He sent me.
Now, what Jehovah has sent Christ for, and
what He will yet send Him for in
the day of His second coming, for that's
what is indicated here, is to vindicate, as
well as to display, the glory of God.
Oh, may I go back?
You know, it's a joy to realize, as
a believer in Christ, the two advects of
the Savior.
Oh, when we think of our beloved rabbinical
leaders of long ago, some of the ancient
rabbis, they stumbled over the Scriptures.
They so stumbled over the Scriptures, they're told
of a suffering Messiah, and then told of
a glorious Messiah, that some of them believed
that there were two Messiahs to come.
One who would be called Messiah, Ben-Joseph,
who would have a ministry of suffering only,
and later a Messiah whom they called Messiah,
Ben-David, who would come to conquer and
reign in glory.
Beloved, there's not two Messiahs, there's only one,
and that blessed one has come.
And when you think of the presentation of
His glory in the Gospel of John, John
writes in that 14th verse, the word was
made flesh and dwelt among us, and we
beheld His glory, the glory of the only
begotten of the Father, full of grace and
truth.
My beloved, may I say that blessed one
has been on the earth, and He has
displayed, He has manifested the glory of God,
and it shines in the face of Jesus
Christ.
For all to look upon, if they will,
and that glory has been revealed in all
of its perfection.
No man cometh unto the Father, said he,
but by me.
And when Philip said, Lord, show us the
Father, He said, Philip, have I been so
long time with you?
Yet sayest thou to me, show us the
Father?
He that hath seen me hath seen the
Father.
Hallelujah!
What a revelation of the manifestation of God
displayed in all the great love of His
Father, heart to the world and to His
own.
And when you and I look at the
display of that infinite love upon Calvary's tree,
you have the complete display of the affection
of the Father's heart.
O my beloved, you and I can never
fathom how much He loves.
You and I can never fathom the greatness
of that infinite heart of love.
He loves me, and He loves you.
And the display of that love and grace
was manifested by the first advent of the
Lord Jesus Christ.
But our verse refers to the coming second
advent of our Lord Jesus Christ.
For, go on to read, after the glory
hath He sent me unto the nations which
spoiled you.
Why may I say this?
The Lord Jesus, in His second advent, is
going to justify and display and vindicate the
glory of God.
He's going to vindicate it and display it
in two ways.
He will vindicate the glory of God in
visiting the nations and the ungodly with judgment.
Judgment is the strange word of God.
But may I say, contrary to many that
blaspheme the precious name of our beloved Savior,
contrary to the fact that the word of
God is denied, and not only denied, it
is defied, the judgment of God will yet
fall upon this ungodly earth.
Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of
His saints to execute judgment upon all the
ungodly.
And beloved, the Lord Jesus is coming to
execute judgment upon the nations, judgment upon even
the ungodly of Israel.
But then, He's going to not only vindicate
the glory of God by the way of
judgment, He's going to display the grace and
the glory of God by delivering His earthly
people.
And what a day of deliverance that will
be.
Nobody says, after the glory hath He sent
me unto the nations which spoiled you, for
He that touches you touches the apple of
His eye.
Beloved, these are the most solemn words and
precious words in relation to Israel.
Deuteronomy chapter 32 and verse 10, the Mosaic
prophecy declared how God brought down Jacob in
a wilderness, brought him out of that howling
wilderness, and He says, I preserve thee as
the apple of mine eye.
What's the meaning of this wonderful expression?
The apple of mine eye, the apple of
God's eye, meaning the pupil of God's eye
in the Hebrew original word.
And always, you and I think of that.
Well, you should think of it, the word
pupil and the eye.
The pupil, or the apple of the eye,
is the proverbial figure for that which is
most precious, most easily injured, the hardest to
repair, and also demanding protection and care.
All the light that comes into your body
physically comes through your eye, the pupil of
the eye.
God says, my people Israel, they're the apple
of the pupil of my eye.
And may I tell you of the light
of salvation you and I owe to the
Jews.
The light of salvation came through God's earth
to people, to you and me.
The woman at the well, Jesus said, ye
worship that ye know not what we Jews
know what we worship, for salvation is of
the Jews.
And my beloved, from the light of that
pupil of the eye, God's eye, Israel, has
come the light of salvation to you and
me.
Hallelujah.
And then when you think of that pupil
of the eye, the divine provision even to
protect the pupil of the eye physically, God
has given strong frontal bones to protect it
from serious blows.
God has given, put upon it, the eyebrow
and the eyelashes to keep the dust out
of that tender pupil.
God has given a lid to that eye
to keep the painful glare of the sun
from penetrating, and then God has given tear
glands to cleanse it, and thus to continuously
to cleanse it.
And the expression, the apple of the eye,
sometimes is translated the little man of the
eye.
Where does the word pupil come from?
A pupil means a boy, a boy.
And the pupil of the eye is sometimes
translated the little man of the eye.
And when God, you look in God's eye
in the Old Testament, you see Israel reflected.
Israel, the apple of his eye.
Oh, but this signifies the tender affection of
God for his people Israel.
But I don't want to leave it just
for that.
Oh, thank God I can say with the
psalmist myself, the words of the psalmist, I
think in Psalm 17 and verse 8, keep
me as the apple of thine eye, hide
me under the shadow of thy wings.
My beloved, I want to ask a question.
Are you in the apple of God's eye?
Are you under the shadow of his almighty
wings?
For thank God that every soul who trusts
Christ is brought into the same tender affection
and place of consideration and safety and security,
when thus they can say indeed, keep me
as the apple of thine eye, and hide
me under the shadow of thy wings.
I want to tell you Christians something.
You don't know, and neither do I know,
how much and how dearly we honor God.
You don't.
You might think he's neglecting you.
You might think that he's forgetting you.
So did Israel.
No, said Jehovah, I've engraven thee upon the
palms of my hands, and I'll keep thee
as the apple of mine eye.
Hallelujah!
I'm glad I'm that precious to God.
You know, if I wasn't saved tonight, I'd
get saved.
To be so considered by Jehovah God, by
the Savior who loved me and gave himself
for me, and say, John, you're the apple
of mine eye, you're under the shadow of
my wings.
Hallelujah!
That's where every believer is.
My, I'm glad I don't have to be
an Israelite.
The joy of knowing when I trust the
Savior, that's my place forever.
Oh beloved, if Israel can be so tenderly
and affectionately loved by Jehovah, how much more
the bride of our Lord Jesus.
And I'm glad I belong to the rye.
Love with everlasting love, led by greatest love
to go, spirit breathing from above, thou has
taught me.
It is so!
My beloved, won't you let the word speak
to you?
Believer and unbeliever, God wants you to know
you're the apple of his eye, and you're
under the shadow of his almighty wings.
And he that touches you, touches the apple
of mine eye.
Better be careful what you do to a
Jew.
You remember what God told Abraham, then that
cursed thee will I curse, then that blessed
thee will I bless.
Now go on and see what God is
going to do in his love for Israel.
He's going to give them a deliverance.
For behold, I shake mine hand upon them,
the nations that have touched you.
They shall be a spoil to their servant,
and ye shall know that the Lord of
hosts has sent me.
May I say with confidence that the tables
will be reversed?
The nation that has been despised will then
in that coming day be elevated and exalted,
and Israel will be the greatest nation upon
the earth.
Oh yes, you can talk about the western
powers, the eastern powers, the northern powers, the
southern powers.
The day is coming when Israel will be
the greatest of all the nations, that little
land of 200 miles running north and south,
and not more than 50 or so miles
running east and west.
And that nation will be above all the
nations of the earth.
Well might the prophet close with a song
of praise as the prophet is told in
verse 10.
Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for
lo, I come, and I will dwell in
the midst of thee, saith the Lord, and
many nations shall be joined to the Lord
in that day, and shall be my people,
and I will dwell in the midst of
thee, and thou shalt know that the Lord
of hosts has sent me unto thee, and
the Lord shall inherit Judah, his portion in
the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again.
May I say this verse that we have
read, the 12th, is the only one in
the whole Bible where you have the expression,
the holy land.
When I was invited some years ago to
visit the holy land, I always said I'd
like to go when it was really holy,
because I can't call it the holy land
today and speak truthfully.
But when the Lord will be on his
throne, as you may read at the end
of Zechariah, which we ultimately will reach, holiness
unto the Lord will be manifested in all
Jerusalem, and in all the land, and it
will be literally the holy land.
I wouldn't mind living in one right now
like that, when I think of the conditions
we have around us.
Now, oh, in that day, Jehovah shall inherit
Judah, his portion in the holy land, and
shall choose Jerusalem again.
The prophet closes by saying, Be silent all
ye who hold all flesh, be silent before
the Lord, for he is awaiting to rise
up out of his sabotage.
My beloved, thank God that Jehovah Messiah is
coming again, and the prophecy that he gave
to his own, I will come again and
receive you unto myself, that where I am
there ye may be also.
That will be fulfilled, but then when he
comes in his power and glory to the
earth, he will deliver his earthly people.
Oh, may I close with an appeal, a
twofold appeal, an appeal to you and I
who belong to the Lord.
Shall we not go homeward tonight to our
places of abode, saying, Lord, keep me as
the apple of thine eye.
Lord, I thank thee that I'm precious to
thee, and I'm hid under the shadow of
thine almighty wings.
What a place of comfort!
What a place of safety!
But then, sinner friend, how is it with
your soul?
Do you not wish to be in that
place of security, where salvation is found in
that person and through the work of the
Lord Jesus on the cross?
And may I say to you tonight, the
Lord Jesus waits, that you come to him
just as you are, and receive him as
your savior, make him your own.
Say, Lord, I want to be sure I'm
under thine almighty wings, I'm under the shadow
of those wings trusting, I'm being kept as
the apple of mine, of thine eye.
You know, I'm glad I'm saved, and I
pray that if you are not, please, will
you listen to an invitation which our brethren
are going to sing at this time, inviting
you to Christ.
Oh, how we'd like you to go home,
saying, I found the savior, I'm his forever,
the apple of his eye.
Hallelujah!
I'm glad he loves me, I'm glad he
saved me, I'm glad he keeps me, I'm
glad, just as all believers, I'm precious to
him.
Sinner friend, listen to the song that our
brethren will sing, as the invitation is given
you, and come to the savior tonight.