Well, friends, we find ourselves this evening on the tenth day of a new year. It might seem like a long time ago already, since the dawning of the new year, but we are only in the second week. And the new year is a unique time. It's a time, particularly a devotional time of year, a time when we can think back over the year that has been passed and record our thanks to God for all the way the Lord has led us, to thank the Lord for the grace that we have been given, to meet with every trial, for the deliverances that he has afforded us, for the answers to prayer that we have known, and for the blessing of his presence. And as we look to the year ahead, we can commit that year to the Lord. And whatever we might live to see of 2024, should it please the Lord, we can leave it with him, knowing that whatever we face, we face with him at our hand, knowing that he will be with us. But the turn of the new year is also a time when many pause to take stock of their hopes. Of course, we know that sadly the world do this in vain. They speak of the new year as being a fresh opportunity, a new beginning, a new start. And very often they're very glad to see the back of the last year and they look ahead to the year that is to come thinking that this will finally be the year when they achieve their desires. And they do not understand the folly of it because next year will come and they will say the same things again. Good riddance to the last year and look forward to the new. And part of the reason for this vain and empty thinking is that perhaps the devil has tempted them to believe that the life they desire is just one small step away, just always one small hurdle before they reach it. And so people will say things like, well, if I can just get myself out of this situation, if I can just overcome this present difficulty, If I can just make this for myself, well then all will be well. And so the life they desire seems within reach. Yet there's always one more thing. There's always that one more step. And so the hope they have really is just wishful thinking. But for the believer it's a different story. Because we can begin the new year taking stock of our hopes. Because by grace through Christ, we have in his word sure and certain hope. We have hope that cannot be taken away, hope that cannot be diminished. And so we can go into 2024 carrying with us these sure and certain hopes. What are those hopes? The church can proceed into the year with hope, hope of the presence of God at each meeting, knowing that where two or three are gathered together, there will the Lord be in our midst. And so with every Lord's Day that comes, every midweek meeting, every ladies' prayer meeting, every meeting of evangelism, we have that hope that God will be with us. We will be more than just in name, Emmanuel. God with us. And we can come, Lord's Day by Lord's Day, with excited anticipation of what the Lord might do among us. The church also has the hope of victory and being built up, for Christ has promised that he will build his church. And the gates of hell will not prevail against it. We have the hope of the gospel being preached in all the world. This promise that God has given that all people in all nations will hear the joyful sound of the gospel. We have the hope of revivals to come, days of rain upon the mown grass, days of outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the rending of heaven and God coming down. Days when the doctrines of grace that were held so firmly in this land will be held again and heralded again. Days of conversions, of souls being won for the Lord. For the elect, we read, the redeemed are a multitude that no man can number. And so we can have that hope of seeing souls saved to Christ. There are more of his sheep whom he will call who will come to him. We have the hope of salvation coming to the Jews, where they will turn to the true Messiah and be saved. the gathering in of them will be life from the dead to the Gentile world. We have the hope of the earth being full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. We have every reason to hope, dear friends, and not just the church as a whole but the individual believer can go into this year with the hope of Christ's presence. We have that promised put in the negative way. I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. We have that promise put in the positive way. Fear not, for I am with thee. I am thy God. The Lord is with us. We have the hope of Christ's grace to meet with whatever we will face. And so we mustn't fear what might be in this year. For whatever we come across, we face it with the Lord at our hand. We have the hope of growth in grace, that he who has begun a good work will perform it until the day of Christ. We have the hope of the providence of God working for us, that whatever we meet will have first come to us through the hand of a gracious and wise God. We have the hope of our prayers being heard and answered, that never in this year will we call upon the Lord in vain. He will hear our cry. We have the hope of forgiveness whenever we confess our sin. He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin. He will heal our backsliding. He will love us freely. Oh, we have many sure and certain hopes. And we can hold fast to these hopes because He is faithful, that promise. and let us then proceed into this year hopeful and trusting. But friends, there is yet the greatest hope that the Christian has. This hope we read of in Isaiah 33, and it's a hope that I want to focus on for a little while this evening. The greatest hope of the believer. And it's there in Isaiah 33 and verse 17. Well, the Lord's people are told, Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty. They shall behold the land that is very far off. Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty. My friend, these words, perhaps they have a smaller fulfillment in the life of Hezekiah. Because there was a time in Hezekiah's day when Sennacherib, king of Assyria, came against Jerusalem. He besieged the city. And in that day, the people of Jerusalem saw their king rent his clothes and adorn himself with sackcloth. He was in the garments of sorrow and of mourning. But the promise came through the prophet Isaiah that God would turn about the situation. God would put to flight the enemy and give freedom and liberty to Jerusalem again. And they would see their king no longer in the sackcloth of sorrow, but in his beauty as a king reigning in his kingdom. And though these words have a smaller fulfillment in Hezekiah, we are told in this passage to look above to the heavenly Hezekiah. Look above to the King of kings and the Lord of lords, for we shall see Christ, the King, in His beauty. We are told this in verse 22 of the chapter. says, for the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king. And so this verse lifts our eyes up above Hezekiah, and it points us to the hope that the Christian has, the hope of seeing Christ in glory, the hope of being with him in heaven, this sure and certain hope And my friend, are we living in the light of this great hope? Are we looking for the blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ? Because whatever might lie between now and eternity, this is sure and this is certain, that each child of God at the appointed time will be called into the bosom of the Savior, will behold the King in his beauty. My friend, dear Christian, take stock of your hope this evening, for ere long this text will be fulfilled, this promise will be realized. We don't know if we will live to see 2025, but we know we will see Christ in his kingdom. We will behold the King. Every believer possesses this sure and this certain hope. And as we consider this, our greatest hope this evening, I want us to note that it comprises of two main parts. There is the hope of the king. Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty. And then there is the hope of the kingdom. They shall behold the land that is very far off. The king and the kingdom. Firstly then, let's think about the hope of seeing the King. Thine eyes shall see the King in his beauty. And friend, what a hope is this? This is all the hope of hopes to us, that we shall see Christ. Our eyes will behold him and not another. As Revelation 22 and verse 3 and 4 tell us, His servants shall serve Him, and they shall see His face. They shall see His face. And what a sight it will be to behold the King. Christ is our hope of glory, and He is the glory of our hope. And we will one day see Him face to face. We will see the King who was eternally appointed. We read in Psalm 2 and verse 6, Yet have I set my King upon my holy hill of Zion. We will see God's chosen king reigning in his kingdom, the monarch whose reign is from eternity and to eternity. Earthly kings, they reign for a while, but then ultimately they are succeeded. But of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end. Upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom to order it and to establish it with justice and judgment from henceforth even forever. He is the eternal king. He is the king who is mighty in power. the one who by the power of his word created all things, who spoke light out of darkness, life from nothing. By his mighty power, he calmed the seas. He healed the sick. He opened the blind eyes, made the lame legs to walk. By his word, he raised the dead. By his power, he fed thousands. He is the mighty King who does all His pleasure and none can prevent Him. We shall see the King who rules sovereignly in the world, who always performs His will, whose will is done on earth as it is in heaven. And all the angels and the saints minister to His purpose in His work. His will is wise and good, and His judgments are just and final. He is the King who is magnificent in His regal splendor. Not even Solomon, in all his glory, is worthy to be compared with Christ the King. He is the King who reigns by divine right. the eternal son of God, who exercises his divine right over his creation, just as the potter has right over the clay. And we owe our homage, our praise to him as the eternal son of God. As Psalm 47 and verse seven says, for God is the king of all the earth. Sing ye praises with understanding. He is the king who reigns by divine right, but more than that, he is the king who reigns by conquering grace. He is the king who has overcome our hearts. We've seen, haven't we, in the last year or so, people protesting, sometimes outside Buckingham Palace, and they're there with big placards and with shouts saying, not my king. And that's what the world is saying to Christ, not my king. I will not have him to rule over me. My friends, we as the Lord's people, we unashamedly profess him as our king. They might say not my king, we say my Lord and my God. He is my king, for by his grace he has conquered my heart. With His redeeming love, He broke down the stronghold of my unbelief. He took away every weapon of my warfare. He melted away the hard bitterness of my rejection of His gospel. And in the day of His power, I was made a willing subject of the King, of the Lord of lords and the King of kings. He has conquered my heart. My heart is all His. As Samuel Rutherford said, he took my heart away with him to heaven. He has my heart. And before long we shall see him whom our souls love. We shall gaze upon the face of our glorious king and render to him immortal praise. We shall enter into the courts of the king and we shall be with Christ, which is far better. And then we shall experience his love more intimately than we have ever known it, and we shall be eternally comforted with his presence. We shall be satisfied with his likeness. We shall see him who is more precious than rubies, and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared with him. Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty. And friends, consider the state which Christ is in when we shall see him. We are told here that thine eyes shall see the King in his beauty, in his beauty, and all the beauty of the glorified Redeemer, the beatific vision of the Son of God in his glory, It shall be a sight that infinitely exceeds the highest thoughts that we have of him. Not just the king, but the king in his beauty. We're reminded here as we think of this, aren't we, of the words of 1 John 3 in verse 2. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him. For we shall see him as he is. Friends, note, we shall see him as he is, not as he was, but as he is. We shall see him not as he was in his humiliation, when he made himself of no reputation, took upon him the form of a servant, was made in the likeness of men, and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. No, not as he was in his humiliation, but as he is in his exaltation. Wherefore, God also hath highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name. We shall see him as he is, with every knee bowing to him, with every tongue confessing him to be Lord. We shall see him not as he was, clothed in the robes of sorrow, like Hezekiah, mourning over the kingdom. No, we shall see him not as he was, despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. But we will see him as he is, seeing the travail of his soul and being satisfied. We will behold him as the king in his beauty. For now, by faith, we behold him in the Gospels. And when we do so, we see in his life on this earth, we see the king at war. We see him doing battle, warring against sin, warring against death, spoiling principalities and powers. In the sweat of that battle, that spiritual warfare, But when we see him, we will see him in his glory and behold the triumphant conqueror who has gotten to himself the victory. We will see him sat down at the right hand of the Most High, having accomplished all his will. When Christ first came, the full splendor of his divinity was concealed within his humanity. But when we see him as he is, we shall see the full beauty of his God-given glory. Didn't he pray in the garden of Gethsemane, Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me. That is how we will see Christ. We will see him in the glory that God has given him. We will see him in his beauty. Now we see him through a glass, darkly, but then face to face. Not as he was in the tomb, but as he is on the throne. Not as he was on the cross, surrounded by those who mocked him, who cast scorn at him, who bade for his blood with those dreadful cries of crucify him, crucify him. No, but we will see him surrounded by myriads of angels, surrounded by the glorified saints made perfect in heaven, bowing down to him and praising the lamb that was worthy. We will see him in the beauty that he adorns him as the captain of our salvation. When John was given a glimpse of glory, he saw a lamb as it had been slain. And friends, here is a wondrous thing, that the cross of Christ, as well as being one of the lowest points of his humiliation, has become one of the highest points of his exaltation. For thereby has he saved his people from their sins. Thereby has he opened in Zion a fountain for sin and for uncleanness. Thereby has he opened the channel through which divine grace and mercy can justly flow to undeserving sinners. It was when Thomas touched his scars that he then said, my Lord and my God. And what is the song of praise that heaven gives to Christ? It is worthy is the lamb that was slain. The scars and the wounds of Christ add to his glory as the redeemer who has saved his people from their sins. He is the king in his beauty, having saved us. and our eyes shall see the king as the savior who loved me and gave himself for me. The beauty of the king, my substitute, who bore all my guilt and all my shame, who suffered the full weight of the wrath of God against my sin, laid down his life for me. Oh, my friend, we will see him who is altogether lovely. What a glorious hope we have. My Christian friends, we will see the King in his beauty. And shouldn't we live every moment of our lives in the light of this blessed hope? And when we see him, our eyes will never be taken away from him. We will never be separated from him. These eyes shall see him in that day, the God that died for me, and all my rising bones shall say, Lord, who is like to thee? Who is like to thee? The great hope of seeing the king. But secondly, friends, the hope of the kingdom. Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty. They shall behold the land that is very far off. They shall behold the land that is very far off. In Hezekiah's day, under that siege, the people of Jerusalem were locked into the city. They couldn't go forth. They were kept captive in their own country. But here the promise came of such a reversal of their situation that they would behold the land again. They would go out and come in and have liberty once more. And from the second part of our greatest hope is that we will behold the King's kingdom. Heaven is our inheritance. It is our rest. And all the Lord's people are journeying heavenward. By grace, we have been made citizens of Zion. And friends, if we are the lords, we belong more to heaven than we ever will to the earth. This world is not our rest. We are passing through. We are pilgrims on a journey. We are headed home. Spurgeon once noted that his horse always seemed to trot faster and perhaps with a more cheerful speed on the homeward journey. And shouldn't it be for us? Whatever we face with, can we complain of the journey since we are heading home? We are heading to the kingdom of the king. We shall behold the land that is very far off. And maybe we've been blessed to see some beautiful sights of God's creation. but not even the most beautiful of earthly vistas can be compared with the sights we will see in heaven's kingdom. Now they desire a better country that is unheavenly, wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he hath prepared for them a city. My friend, do we live in the anticipation of heaven? But notice what is said about this kingdom. It is said that they shall behold the land that is very far off. The margin tells us that it literally is the land of far distances. Now, what does this mean in relation to our hope of heaven? Because it might seem at a first glance that this is telling us that heaven is far off. that it's almost out of reach, that it's a long time that lies between now and our beholding it. Is that the case? Definitely not. For God's word never encourages us to think of eternity as being a long way off, rather the opposite. We are always to live with eternity in view. For but a short time separates us from eternity. The coming of Christ, we know, will be sudden and unexpected, like a thief in the night. Indeed, the Savior says, as the word of God concludes, surely I come quickly. And also, none of us may boast ourselves of tomorrow. We don't know what the day may bring. And before this day is done, this text may be fulfilled in our experience. We may be called to the Lord. Why then is it described as a land that is very far off? Well, friends, as we draw to a close, let us offer some thoughts. I think firstly we can say it is a land that is very far off because it is far off from what we have ever known. Far off from what we have ever known. Here in this world, we joy to go up to the house of God, for a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. For here in this place, we have enjoyed time and again a little of heaven on earth. when the Spirit of God has been known and felt among us, when we have been stirred up to pray and to praise, when we have heard the voice of the Lord in his word, and we long for such occasions, for more of it. But even the sweetest of those times here on earth doesn't give us a full reflection of the blessedness of what is to come, of what it will be to see the King in his beauty in the kingdom of the Lord. Heaven, my friend, will exceed our every experience here. It will exceed our highest thoughts and our grandest expectations. As it is written, I hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. And when this promise is fulfilled, and our eyes behold the land, we will have every reason to say, Howbeit, I believed not the words until I came, and mine eyes had seen it, and behold, the half was not told me. When this passing world is done, when has sunk yon flaming sun, when I stand with Christ in glory, looking back upon life's story, then, Lord, shall I fully know, not till then, how much I owe. It is a land that is very far off. It is also the land that is far off from sin. There is never a moment when we are not troubled by sin here in this world. We know all too well that sin is always present within us. It is the natural bent of our hearts to fall away from the Lord For the good that I would not, that I do, the evil which I would, sorry, for the good that I would, I do not, but the evil which I would not, that I do. Oh, wretched man that I am. And we daily lament our sins and our failures, which are many. And not just within us, but everywhere we go in this dark world, we are surrounded by sin. We find it in our family. We find it in our neighbors, in our colleagues. It's in every avenue of the media, everywhere our eyes turn. And we always have cause to say rivers of waters run down mine eyes because they keep not thy law. And though we are surrounded by it here, Heaven is a land that is very far off from iniquity. We shall be free from the presence of sin. Revelation 21 and verse 27 says, There shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth. Neither whatsoever worketh abomination or maketh a lie, but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life. Think for a moment, my friends. How peaceful will it be to the soul to be free from sin? We poor and wretched sinners will be glorified. We shall be like him. Heaven begins, said Thomas Adams, where sin ends. Far off from sin. and is the land that is also very far off from sorrow. Here, sorrow daily attends us. This world is, to the Christian, a veil of tears. There are seasons where we seem to go along weeping, times where, like David and his men in Ziklag, we weep until we have no more power to weep. that this is not so in glory. For God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. There shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away. My dear troubled Christian friend, one day you will have shed your last tear. And this veil of tears will make way to a place of delight and purest happiness, of uninterrupted joy. There will be no cause for sorrow. There will be no ability to sorrow. Thomas More said, Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal. It is the land that is very far off. is also a land that is far off from tribulation. Our Lord told us that in the world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. We shall have tribulation, but it is a tribulation that is confined in the world. Ye shall have tribulation. One day this world will be no more and tribulation will not reach us in heaven. It will not follow us to the new heaven and the new earth. There shall be peace. We shall be at rest. It is a land that is very far off from weakness. We know ourselves to be poor and needy creatures. We are feeble. How often do we feel ourselves to be like the bruised reed and the smoking flax? But when glorified in heaven, there will be no spiritual nor physical weakness. There will be no doubting. There will be no depression and no melancholy spirit. There will be no thorn in the flesh that has troubled you for years. No, we shall be sat at the feet of Jesus in our right mind, no weakness at all. And see how the resurrection is promised here in our text. Thine eyes shall see the King. We shall be there with a body fit for heaven. In my flesh shall I see God. It is a land also far off from unbelief. Friends, I wonder if you find it that the more you go on as a Christian, the more you feel the need to pray, Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief. And a lack of faith, it mars all that we do. And maybe it prevents us from aiming at doing more for Christ's glory. But then, when we behold the land, faith will give way to sight. We shall see him, and there will be no more unbelief. It is also, friends, a land that is very far off from loneliness. We can, at times in this life, feel lonely, feel as though no one sees or understands. And perhaps we don't always enjoy the felt sense of God's presence, and we are cast down, but there will be no such feeling in glory. The king will be our company. The multitudes of the redeemed will be our company. The myriads of holy angels will be our company. no loneliness in that land. No, it is a land that is very far off, at great distance from what we have known. Far better is to come. And my friends, this is our greatest hope. And before long we shall hear the king say, Come up higher. The place that I have prepared for you is ready. There is a crown here in heaven that will fit only your head. Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom. This is our hope. My friends, as we conclude, what is hope? I think we could say that hope is our hold upon the certain promises of God. And so our hope cannot diminish, but in a way our hopefulness can. And so I ask you this evening, are you holding fast to the promises of God that are sure and certain? We read in Hebrews 6 and verse 18 that we have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us. Are you laying hold? upon the hope that is set before you. The things that we hope for, they are in themselves the will of God. And so if our will is more in line with God's, then greater will be our hopefulness. Hope, my friend, is what we need because hope maketh not a shame. And when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life. And our hope, faithfully grasping the promises of God, will bring glory to our Savior. And so, my friends, how are you proceeding into 2024? Is it with a spirit of hopefulness? Thine eyes shall see the King in his beauty. They shall behold the land that is very far off. But Lord, tis for thee, for thy coming we wait. The sky, not the grave, is our goal. O trump of the angel, O voice of the Lord, blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul. Amen.