All right, let's take our hymn books and turn to hymn number 488. My Redeemer. These are great hymns. I'm thankful to be able to have them to sing. I will sing of my Redeemer and His wondrous love to me. On the cruel cross He suffered from the curse to set me free. Sing, O sing of my Redeemer. With His blood He purchased me. On the cross He sealed my pardon. ♪ Fade the dead and made me free ♪ ♪ I will tell the wondrous story ♪ ♪ How my lost estate to save ♪ ♪ In His boundless love and mercy ♪ ♪ He the ransom freely gave ♪ Sing, oh sing of my Redeemer, with His blood He purchased me. On the cross He sealed my pardon, paid the debt, and made me free. ♪ I will praise my dear Redeemer ♪ ♪ His triumphant power I'll tell ♪ ♪ Of the victory He giveth ♪ ♪ Over sin and death and hell ♪ ♪ Sing, oh sing of my Redeemer ♪ ♪ With his blood he purchased me ♪ ♪ On the cross he sealed my pardon ♪ ♪ Paid the debt and made me free ♪ ♪ I will sing of my Redeemer ♪ ♪ And his heavenly love to me ♪ He from death to life hath brought me, Son of God, with Him to be. Sing, O sing of my Redeemer, with His blood He purchased me. On the cross He sealed my pardon, ♪ Paid the debt and made me free ♪ For our scripture reading, let's turn to James chapter five. James chapter five. There are many people that read James' epistle with misunderstanding. As you read it, prayerfully, you see in it the work of Christ and how it is that he, by his grace, works in those that he has redeemed by his precious blood. But as you read it, you're reminded that we are sinners, sinners by nature, sinners still. When you put a bunch of sinners together in a congregation, though they may be redeemed, you're still gonna have trouble, such as our nature. So the Lord used James, who would have been one of our Lord's half-brothers. In other words, he, of course, was born of a virgin, but one of the siblings, who initially, as you read in the Gospels, did not believe on Christ. And it takes the same work of grace to save a James as it does anybody else as a sinner. And so as James is writing here, you have to be reminded this is a time of great persecution in the first century. And many of these were scattered. That's how he begins his epistle there in chapter one, verse one. James, a servant of God, and of the Lord Jesus Christ. He did not take any pride in being of that family in which Christ was raised. As a half-brother, he calls himself a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. I believe the same with Mary, who birthed the Lord Jesus Christ, yet she was a sinner, just like anybody, and called Christ her Savior. So it was written primarily to Jewish believers that were scattered abroad by the persecution there in Jerusalem that God purposed that these should be settled throughout the then known world. And so James is writing to them about things that we all face in this life. this world, but we're not of it. And because we're in this flesh, we can expect conflict, not only with the world, but even amongst ourselves. And that shows us all the more why we need the grace of God, why we need his bloodshed. But here in James five, he's addressing primarily those that were persecuting the believers as they were scattered throughout the world. And so when he writes in chapter five, go to now ye rich men. These would be like the religious Pharisees of the day that thought themselves to be blessed above others simply because they were men of wealth and used prey on the people and increase their wealth. If you go out on the internet and do a search and look at some of these popular preachers' incomes and salaries and what their net worth is, it's just unbelievable. Where did they gain that wealth? Well, it was from the hands of people for whom they preach and preside. And so here's a warning that James that shall come upon you. We know this would have been written just prior to Jerusalem being destroyed. God bringing the Roman army in and completely wiping out Jerusalem and the temple. And these in their pride never thought that this could ever happen to them. And yet, storm clouds were building even at this point when James was writing, because James Remained in Jerusalem, even though these were scattered. He was the primary pastor there for the church in Jerusalem at this time. So he warns them. Verse two, your riches are corrupted and your garments are moth eaten. Such is the end of any that make riches their end, their gain. I'll tell you, there are a lot in religion that do. That's why they do it. It's because there's a lot of money Nonsense going on in religion today, but all of that is corruption. He says your riches are corrupted Taking anything the Lord gives for a self-serving purpose especially In the name of the Lord is an abominable Attitude said your gold and silver with what they have earned off the backs of their followers, that it's canker, and the rest of them shall be a witness against you. It's pretty clear here, he's not talking about true servants of the Lord, but people in religion. And so, remind, there's nothing new. way of saying that their wealth building is nothing but fodder for the fire of eternal condemnation. He says you have heaped treasure together for the last days. I believe James here may even have been speaking about preachers and others take a work that they are doing and put the Lord's name to it and yet they are doing it for their own gain. So the Lord purposes that some live to a certain point, even in their corruption, in the name of using religion as their cover, but ultimately God sees all things. one of these that enriched himself in his religion, but it pleased God to stop him in his tracks and draw him out. Otherwise, there remains nothing but condemnation. People can't imagine or picture that, that hell will be filled with souls of men And yet, to their surprise, finding out that the very preacher that preached for them is also condemned with them altogether. He says here in verse five, you have lived in pleasure on the earth and been wanted. You have nourished your hearts as in a day of slaughter. So feasting Christ spoke even in his day against these leaders. Woe unto you, ye scribes and pharisees. These were religious leaders, and same here with James. This word here could be spoken of the majority of preachers preaching around the world today. They use the so-called ministry for their own gain. It says here, They crucified him. When it says that he was delivered into wicked hands, it was these very men who delivered up the Lord Jesus Christ because they clung to their own self-righteousness. There's only one just one, and that's the Lord Jesus Christ. And those justified in him. So however you want to read that, you have condemned and killed the just just one, the justified one, ever since Cain killed Abel. What was it over? It was over how God accepted sinners. It's only through a blood sacrifice that was depicting the person of the word of the Lord Jesus Christ versus those that came with the works of their hands. So the same battle In other words, even as Peter recommended the ones to whom he wrote in his day, that as Christ was persecuted and they spoke evil against him, yet he answered not a word. So he says, be patient, therefore, brethren. So in contrast to those that oppose. And the same spirit is in religion today. Some of the meanest people in the world meet in places of worship, much like what we do. They have the Bible. And yet, if you that God has ever accepted, and that is the work of his son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Are you gonna get him upset? Because they believe that somehow, something they do and how they live is of goodness before God. That's how they see it. But he says, be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. I find this interesting because people in the first century. Do you realize the Lord did come again in the first century? He said he would. When did he come? When he destroyed Jerusalem. He came in power and glory and destroyed that city, destroyed that temple. I believe as this Be ye also patient. In other words, no matter what affliction or trial we may face, to be patient means to wait under whatever the temptation or trial is. Don't try to get yourself out of it. The Lord's directing. Establish your hearts. See, every affliction that the Lord's people face in this life is for the exercise of their heart, for the coming of the Lord, Again, I believe here in this context he's speaking of that imminent judgment that was to come. Where the Lord himself said before he went back into glory, that when it comes, don't hesitate. The government tied us to come in and destroy the city. They couldn't believe it. So the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. I would say for us today, the Lord is coming in our generation. He's either coming to take us in death, that would be the execution of his judgment, because when he comes, he comes in death. And even for ourselves, who are the lords, he's coming in our generation. We're not going to get out of this alive. But it may be also that those that are alive when he comes, and if it is in our generation that he comes again in clouds of glory to take his own unto himself, either way he's coming. And knowing these things to be so, in that faith that he gives, that of all those that he's redeemed, he's not gonna lose one. That's our hope. In light of that, then he says, grudge not one against another. It's one thing for how the world treats the church, but don't you be found. That's something you expect from the world, in that spirit of antichrist, but as far as the church, grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned. I don't believe he's talking there about eternal condemnation, but he's talking about the very grudging of one another being in and of itself a condemnation, where nobody gets along. Each one thinking themselves better than the other. ever present, never absent. And so in whatever manner it is, we're to live in light of who we are in Christ. We stop and think about how Christ took the sin debt of his people. And that sin was imputed to him. And thereby we stand forgiven before him in the work of Christ. How is it then that we treat one another? We don't impute. See, that's what it is to grudge one another. We don't impute to somebody else their wrongdoing. That's not how Christ has dealt with us. And he says there in verse 10, take my brethren the prophets. So all of this goes back to the scriptures. Take my brethren the prophets who have spoken in the name of the Lord for an example of suffering, affliction, and of patience. suffering and affliction at the hands of the world. It's one thing to be afflicted by the world, but it's another to afflict one another as sinful creatures. No, we commend all this to our Lord. Behold, verse 11, we count them happy or blessed which endure. And you have heard of the patience of Job and have seen the end of the Lord, that the Lord is very pitiful Tender mercy. Think about how Job was afflicted, even by his friends, so-called. They were sure that there was something that wasn't right and he needed to get right, be right. It was all works advice that he was getting. And yet in the end, he was justified by God. God did all that for his learning. And in that, he could see how the Lord of all things my brethren. See, in the beginning he's addressing all these that are like wolves, preying on the church, the sheep, but now he turns it to these, his brethren. Swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath, but let your yea be yea and your nay, nay, lest ye fall into condemnation. In other words, again, fall into condemnation, not eternal condemnation, being judged by your words. And some thinking themselves more spiritual perhaps than others, that's what it is to swear. Some thinking that if they just follow this path then everything's gonna be okay. Again, that's not within our power, any of us, to determine even a second from now how things are gonna be. And when the Lord sends the winds of trials and affliction That is purpose to drive the sail, that's the ship, into the harbor of Christ and not try to predict, that's what swearing is, by heaven or by earth. If we do this, then this is gonna be the outcome. We've got a lot of that kind of thing going on with preachers today. They call it sowing seeds of faith. It's all about getting you to do more and be better and all these things. not in our power. It only leads to condemnation because there are a lot of people that are deceived thereby. He says, is any among you afflicted? So here again, it's a reminder that just because we're the Lord's doesn't mean we're not gonna know trouble. Is any among you afflicted? Let him pray. In other words, address God himself. Let him be your refuge. Supplicate him. Is any merry, let him sing psalms. There's times where the Lord purposes affliction, there's times where he purposes merriment, but all the glory belongs unto him. Let him sing psalms, that's a good thing to do. Take the word that is already inspired and sing these back to the Lord. Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church and let them pray over him. When it says anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord, this would be, in essence, like oil being of healing powers. That's basically what this was, that you pray for them, but you use whatever means the Lord has given to for their healing. But do it in the name of the Lord. Don't put any confidence in the medicine. that he loves should be sick. And yet the prayer of faith, you ask what's the prayer of faith? That's submitted unto the Lord, I will be done. And it shall save the sick and the Lord shall raise him up according to his will. I like the thought too that even for one of the Lord's children, death is a salvation. Someone that's struggling, doesn't mean they're not going to know sickness and affliction. But I remember when the Lord took a dear saint, I heard the preacher say, now he's well now, no longer suffering. And that was how God answered that prayer. But the prayer of faith is to commend purposes that they be raised up, they'll be raised up. For purposes to take them, take them. And if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. In other words, the Lord chastens his children sometimes because of sins in their heart and mind that we may not even know about, but it's the Lord that means confess to one another that you are equally sinners. We're not to think ourselves higher than anybody else. Confess your faults one another and pray one for another that you may be healed. Without the Spirit, we don't know how to pray as we ought. This is the Lord directing through his people, but also, more importantly, the affectionate, fervent prayer of the righteous man, that would be the Lord Jesus Christ himself, avails much in that God always hears his prayer. We never need to doubt it. We pray according to the will of the Father, that situation to him in all things. He gives us an example here of Elijah. Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are. He prayed earnestly that it might not rain and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months and he prayed again and the heaven gave rain and the earth brought forth her fruit. Made like us, he was tempted all things like us, yet without sin. There's a difference. But the Lord accomplished his purpose through him, and so he does through his son today. That's why we commend all things to him. So he concludes, brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one, convert him. See, conversion is not just a one-time thing. I read this and I think my heart is constantly bent toward error. And the Lord will use one of his messengers or it might be even one of his people to speak truth to my heart and my heart converted once again to him. That's an ongoing thing. That's why we're meeting here. We need to hear a word from the Lord. Let him know that he which converteth a sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death and shall hide a multitude of sins. That's what conversion is. Those that God by his Son has redeemed, he continues to deliver them from the error of their way. May we see your grace and mercy in the Lord Jesus Christ. That though we're of like nature as anybody else, yet through Christ's name we can hear and answer prayer. And while you never condemn anyone Christ's redeemed for their sin, yet we know that many times you will use our sin to correct us. and chasing us by that sin. All that's designed to draw us again to Christ as the only hope, the Redeemer. I pray that you grant us this patience to bear up under whatever the trial, whatever the affliction, and know that for Christ's sake you deal with us in tenderness and mercy. I pray that it's Sing hymn number 485 and then we'll get to the message of the hour, 485. Revive us again. How we need it. We praise thee, O God, for the Son of thy love, for Jesus who died and is now gone above. Alleluia, thine the glory. Alleluia, amen. Alleluia, thine the glory. Revive us again. We praise thee, O God, for thy Spirit of life. who has shown us our Savior and scattered our night. Alleluia, thine the glory. Alleluia, amen. Alleluia, thine the glory. Revive us again. All glory and praise to the Lamb that was slain. Who has borne all our sins and has cleansed every stain. Alleluia, thine the glory. Alleluia, amen. Alleluia, thine the glory. May he so be rekindled with fire from above. Alleluia, Thine the glory. Alleluia, Amen. Alleluia, Thine the glory. Revive us again. That third verse is precious. All glory and praise to the Lamb that was slain. Let's take our Bibles and look in 1 Kings chapter 17. And not likely get much further than verse one. I want to speak with you about Elijah, the prophet. After all we've been reading about various kings in Israel and Judah, good, bad, and the ugly. Yet, here we read of a sudden, in verse one of chapter 17, and Elijah, the Tishbite, will tell you that there's no greater blessing than for God to raise up a prophet in the land. Especially when that land is given over completely to idolatry, much like we see here such as the United States. It's not in its wealth. It's not in its religion, that's for sure. But it's where God has been pleased to raise up a voice. And where he's been pleased to raise up a voice such as Elijah here, that tells me there's hope. That there are yet some who are hope and comfort to true good news to certain individuals. It's not many. That's what we're going to read about here as we transition now into Elijah. What good news, what weigh you down, and especially now Ahab, that we read about last time, that reigned all those years in Samaria. And in verse 30 especially, as we saw last time, it says, Ahab, the son of Omri, did evil in the sight of the Lord above all that were before him. It's like someone taking this, holding your head underwater, and you can't breathe. anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him. And yet, this is what I find to be such a blessing reading here, as you turn to chapter 17, verse one, and Elijah, the Tishbite. We have nothing revealed in scripture about his beginning or his end. He's not like Melchizedek, the Lord raised up. says who was of the inhabitants of Gilead. This would have been a mountain range probably about some 22 miles south of the Sea of Galilee in the northern part of the lane. And the Lord raised him up He's read about this over in James chapter five, how he prayed and the Lord for three and a half years held the rain back according to his word. Now this wasn't just Elijah praying on a whim, because if you go back and read in the Old Testament law, the Lord had said that he would do this, he would shut up the heavens and the earth if the children of Israel would ever depart from him into idolatry. So it was simply Elijah here declaring the word of the Lord. And the spirit of God directing him to pray as he did, it was the spirit doing the directing. We know not how to praise God. We can't just randomly go out and put a curse on people. That's not what Elijah's doing here, but he was praying according to the word of the Lord, and that's why the Lord answered. He said, as the Lord God of Israel liveth before whom I stand. We're talking about Ahab, the wicked king, and we're gonna see just how wicked he was and how wicked his wife was, Jezebel, who sought the lives of these prophets to put them to death, and yet none of that moved him. None of that deterred him from carrying out the mission for which the Lord had raised him of much opposition and persecution. It's difficult for me to read what I'm reading here about Elijah and not see a type of the Lord Jesus Christ, where it says he came unto his own, is all received and not. Our Lord entered this world in such a time of that people that the Lord had purposed to save. And as we read through, we're gonna find different ones of these people that as bad as the nation was, yet the Lord had preserved for himself a remnant, beginning with the widow of Zarephath that the Lord sent him to. And she was, you talk about a hard time, she was gathering up sticks, and thinking that it was the last time that she was gonna be able to prepare a meal, and yet the Lord sent his prophet to her and sustained her daily because of his blessing on that prophet. That's why I say it's difficult to read this and not see a type and picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. He didn't come to save everybody, but there were such as this widow, Christ was raised up as God's prophet for a particular people, in spite of all of the opposition that was going on in what he faced particularly. And when it says here, there shall not be dune or rain these years, but according to my word, again, he's not just speaking on a whim here. This was as the spirit of God was directing him. I think about how this, I don't want to get too far because there's a lot here. So this is somewhat of an introduction concerning Elijah, the prophet. Beginning with his name, it says, and Elijah, the Tishbite. We see here Elijah as a type of our Lord Jesus Christ in the name. Elijah literally means my God is Jehovah. It's just like the name Jesus, thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sin. The word Jesus means God saves, Jehovah saves. And even as when Christ came into this world, he came for a dual mission, if you will, to save people. hearing they might not hear, and seeing they might not see. And so as we study through Elijah's ministry here in these next few chapters, and there are quite a few, we see him standing as a representative of the Lord Jesus Christ. His name being, my God is Jehovah. And you start to think, well, what is, So in the midst of all of this apostasy in the land, here stood Elijah, as it says there, that he stood before the Lord God of Israel. Picture there a meteor. And he's there not to try to save everybody. No, but he's there as God's representative. My God is Jehovah. And even as Christ prayed there in John 17, he thanked and glorified his father that the father had given him authority over all flesh. He stands before the God of Israel, having authority and power over all flesh, even this King Ahab, who was the worst of the worst, yet would not be able to do one thing more or less than what God has purposed. So in that we see how he is God's And secondly, we see this comparison in his sudden appearance. That's what our Lord Jesus Christ, it describes his coming in the world as the day dawning, the daylight shining in the darkness. There's all this darkness and it seemed like God had given this nation over to its own reprobate mind and yet here now like the sun rising, here's Elijah. That's the transition, and Elijah, the Tishbite. You start searching around thinking, did I miss an introduction here? No, because that's how God does his work. And as sad and as dark as the situation was here, It says the Tishbite, if you go and look at Tishbite, there's not a whole lot said about the Tishbite, that area, that region. But like our Lord Jesus Christ, like they spoke of him, can anything good come from Nazareth? What's important here is this one being raised up, was raised up to stand before the Lord God. of the king and his minions against him. But thirdly, one thing that I want us to see, and that's really why I don't believe we're gonna be able to get much beyond verse one, we'll come back to this, but this has to do with Elijah's influence throughout the scriptures in both Old and New Testament. And that's what I wanted you to see Malachi was raised up to prophesy 400 years before Christ came into this world. And here in Malachi chapter 4 verses 5 and 6, notice he says, behold I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. Those are the two of the Old Testament that the Lord took up into heaven that did not die. And we're gonna see the reason for that in a little bit. But here he says that he will send you, Eli, to the prophet. It says before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. This would be speaking in the context of the day when the Lord would come for the One of salvation, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, the heart of the children to their fathers, but also of condemnation, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. You say, well when was this fulfilled? When Christ came to this earth, a lot of people thought that he might be Elijah. That's what they were looking for. But if you look over in Matthew chapter 11, and verses seven down to verse 14. It says, and as, Matthew 11, seven, and as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John. Speaking here of John the Baptist. What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? There was no prophet raised up after Malachi. Between Malachi and John the Baptist, 400 years went by. The Lord didn't raise up a prophet. And now all of a sudden here appears John the Baptist. And he's telling them that this is with purpose. For this is he of whom it is written, behold I sent my messenger before thy face, That's exactly what the Lord said should happen. He says, verily I say unto you, among them that are born of women, there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist, notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. Why did he speak this way concerning John the Baptist? Because John the Baptist was to be the forerunner. For all these prophets of the Old Testament you would see the fulfillment of all that was prophesied. And from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffered violence. It's not talking there about coming at it with a sword like the crusaders tried to do to establish an earthly kingdom, no. But the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence. see this Christ, even though the Pharisees and others opposed. And the violent take it by force. The violent there, it's not in the physical violence, but such was their determination. None could stop those that the Lord was drawing. The Pharisees tried to. And ultimately, even John the Baptist, they had him arrested and put in prison. Within a year he was dead, all of these, and yet none of that stopped the Lord, or kept these that the Lord was drawing from entering in the kingdom. And he says in verse 13, for all the prophets that the law prophesied until now, now here's what I want you to see, and if ye will receive it, this is Elijah. Elias is the way it's written from the Greek, Again, even though Elijah had been taken up, he didn't die, he was taken up into heaven. And there were even in Christ's day, those who read the Old Testament, like so many do today, they look for some literal interpretation. And so they were literally looking for Elijah to come back. And yet here we see, if he were that this is that one of whom it was spoken that should come and prepare the way in the same spirit of Elijah. See, that's the thing about these Old Testament prophets. Peter said they had the spirit of Christ in them. So what they did was to the glory of Christ, even as John the Baptist here. And it says in verse 15, he that hath ears to hear, let him hear. of the sufferings that he should suffer and the glory that should follow. But secondly, a point of comparison has to do with Elijah and God's sovereignty. See that God, when it says he stood before the Lord God of Israel, declared what he did. He is a representation of God's sovereignty. If you look in Luke chapter four, And that's why I'm going over this right now, that we see that the life which the Lord gave to Elijah, and raising him up, and that work that he had, has lessons for us for the rest of Scripture. Here in Luke chapter four, remember Christ was in the synagogue, and they had given him the book of Isaiah to read, and when he found the book, the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book and he gave it again to the minister and sat down. It says, the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, this day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. And all bear him witness and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, is not this Joseph's son And he said unto them, ye will surely say unto me, this proverb, physician, heal thyself, whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country. And he said, verily I say unto you, no prophet is accepted in his own country. Now here's the point that he's gonna begin to make, because what does he do? He goes back to Elijah. Elijah was not He said, I'll tell you the truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias when the heaven was shut up three years and six months. That's exactly what we're reading about. And great famine was throughout all the land. Now here's the point. But unto none of them was Elias or Elijah sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon. We're gonna read about this shortly in this chapter with Elijah. unto a woman that was a widow. But the key point here is none of them in Israel was Elias. Elijah was raised up there for a purpose and that was to serve again as an example of God's sovereignty to save whom he will and to pass by whom he will. Probably one of the greatest examples that we have It has to do with Elijah, the Mount of Transfiguration. Remember I mentioned there were two in the Old Testament that never knew death. Enoch and it was Elijah. And when we come over here to Matthew chapter 17. So these parallels are important. I don't want us just to start reading and studying Elijah without seeing his place in God's redemptive history. But also the honor that was given to Enoch would have been before Elijah walked with God. It says the Lord, and he was no more, it's the way it's put. That was God's power even through Enoch. But here now we see both of them, though they didn't live in the same generation, both of them reappeared. here on the Mount of Transfiguration. It says there in chapter 17, that Peter, and after six days, Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John, his brother, and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart, and was transfigured before them. And his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. talking with him. Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here. If thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles, one for thee, one for Moses, and one for Elias. And while he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them. Behold, a voice out of the cloud which said, this is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased, hear ye him. And it says, and when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face and were sore, afraid. And Jesus came and touched them and said, arise and be not afraid. And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man save Jesus only. And so we have a picture here where it says that, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. Moses representing the law. Elias representing the prophets, and together that one subject being the Lord Jesus Christ, to whom all the glories do. So none of this is just in passing. That's the point I want us to see here, that Elijah the prophet, he was placed there in that time and that era. Well, we'll suspend there for now and pick up with this next time as we see how the Lord directed Elijah and we'll be studying him for some time. Let's take our hymn books and sing hymn number 304. ♪ Nearer, still nearer ♪ ♪ Close to thy heart ♪ ♪ Draw me, my Savior, so precious to thee ♪ as Thou art. Fold me, O fold me close to Thy breast. Shelter me safe in that haven of rest. Shelter me safe in that haven of rest. Nearer, still nearer, nothing I bring, naught as an offering to Jesus my King. Only my sinful, now contrite heart grant me the cleft Thy blood doth impart. Grant me the cleansing. Thy blood doth impart. Nearer, still nearer, Lord, to be Thine. Sin with its follies I gladly resign, all of its pleasures found and its pride. Give me but Jesus, my Lord crucified, Give me my Jesus, my Lord, crucified. Nearer, still nearer, while life shall last. Till, safe in glory, my anchor is cast. All right, well, the Lord bless us. We go from here, look forward to the next time. you