Well, it's good to see each of you here today. Look forward to our time of worship together. Let's take our hymn books and turn to hymn number 256 to begin with. 256. It is well with my soul. 256. When peace like a river attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll, Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, It is well It is well with my soul. It is well with my soul. It is well It is well with my soul, Though Satan should buffet, Though trial should come, Let this blest assurance control, that Christ hath regarded my helpless estate and hath shed his own blood for my soul. It is well with my soul. It is well It is well with my soul. My sin, O the bliss of this glorious thought. My sin, not in part, but the whole. is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul, it is well with my soul. It is well with my soul. And, Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight. The clouds be rolled back as a scroll. The trump shall resound and the Lord shall descend. Even so, it is well with my soul. It is well. with my soul. It is well, it is well with my soul. Those were certainly the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, even as he faced going to the cross, that his soul rested in what the Father had given him to do, and he accomplished it. All of our sins were nailed there to the cross. That's why we can sing it. If he's paid our sin debt and taught us, it is well with my soul. Let's turn in our Bibles to Genesis chapter 14. And we'll continue this chapter to finish it up. Genesis chapter 14. Last time we saw how Abraham, or Abram still at this point, went to war against those kings of Canaan to deliver Lot and his family and bring them back. And now we see the follow-up, where in verse 18, we read, and Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought forth bread and wine, and he was the priest of the Most High God. And he blessed him and said, blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth, and blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all. We'll pause there for now. So here we have Abram meeting this one called Melchizedek. Here it says, and Melchizedek in verse 18, it could be read also then, because this is a progression of what took place. Then Melchizedek. Now we have no idea of where Melchizedek originated, how he came to be in Canaan, how he came to be a worshiper and priest of the true God, and how Abram, came to know about him, we only know that this was the Lord himself that appeared in this person of Melchizedek. Over in Hebrews, he's described as one like the Son of God, and I believe it was a pre-incarnate appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ to Abram. Because of the titles given here, it says Melchizedek, King of Salem, And that word Salem means peace. And then it also says that he was Melchizedek, that in and of itself means king of righteousness. So king of righteousness and king of peace. And so Melchizedek here is described as the priest of the most high God. And would have been here represented as one who worshiped God both as king and priest. That's why I say it's a pre-incarnate appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ, because it's in Christ that we see those two offices combined, priest, king, prophet, priest, and king. And it shows here that he was the priest of, notice the way it's put here, the God most high. not just God, but God most high. El Elyon would be the way it would be stated in the Hebrew. And it means the highest of gods. Whatever God there be, there's none higher than he, the supreme being. People challenge God's sovereignty all the time as if there could be anything less than a sovereign God. But Melchizedek here is not only an example of what a true worshiper would be, but as I said, I believe a type and picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. It says here that he brought forth bread and wine. How can you read that and not consider the body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, the foretelling of the Christ who should come and of that seed that should come from Abram that God promised that through him all the nations of the earth would be blessed. So I believe here in a manner looking forward to that redeeming sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ as the bread and the wine of the Passover and then ultimately the Lord's table. look at that redeeming sacrifice of Jesus Christ. So I would put there in the margin if you like to do that, Christ's blood, Christ's body and blood. That's what's presented here to Abram as a reminder of even why Abram is blessed. It's because of that seed that should come from his loins. And so even though Melchizedek seems like an obscure figure appearing out of nowhere, having no beginning of days or end of days is the way the writer to Hebrews puts it in Hebrews 7. Yet he becomes as from this point forward a key figure in the scriptures with regard to the priesthood of Christ. And according to the order of Melchizedek, is the way the writer to the Hebrews put it, not according to the order of Aaron. Christ didn't come from Aaron's lineage. In fact, he came from Judah and there was never a priest that ever was established from the line of Judah except for Christ. And so when you have the time, go over and read Hebrews chapter five through seven, five, six, and seven. Those three chapters are important in understanding the role of Melchizedek. In Hebrews 7.3, it says that Melchizedek was as without father, without mother, without genealogy is the way it's put. Having neither beginning of days nor end of life. Even after here, we don't ever read of Melchizedek dying. He appears without any origin and he continues on without end of life. That certainly is the type of the Lord Jesus Christ, but when you get over to Hebrews 7, you'll see what I mean when it says he was made like the Son of God. And so I believe that that was the Lord Jesus coming in before he appeared in the flesh, being in an incarnate state and whose priesthood then continued forever. That's the whole point of the order of Melchizedek. There's no end to it. And because of this passage, that's why many, I'm not alone in this, consider that Melchizedek was actually a pre-Bethlehem appearance of Jesus. The question cannot be settled completely, and I don't think that we need to try, it's just even if it wasn't Christ personified, it certainly was a type and picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. And it was almost as if Abram and Melchizedek together would foresee the work of Christ and his coming. And the blessing of Abraham being reaffirmed here, when it says he gave him a tithe of all, Abram gave unto the Lord. and he did it through giving to Melchizedek a tithe of all. It's interesting that the tithe here was established even before Moses wrote it in the law. That 10th that was given to Melchizedek was a 10th of all of his assets, not just his income, but everything that he had, but he gave it to Melchizedek because Melchizedek represented that line, that lineage from which Christ should come. On verses 21 down to verse 24, here's where we see that Abram refuses the plunder from the battle. He went out to battle and the Lord gave him the victory and yet he refuses the plunder. It says here, the king of Sodom, said unto Abram, give me the persons and take the goods to thyself. And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand of the Lord, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth, that I will not take from a thread even to a shoe latchet, and that I will not take anything that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich, save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshkol, and Mamre, let them take their portion." So when the King of Sodom said to Abram, give me the persons and take the goods for thyself, that Abram pushed back here on the King of Sodom. When he said, take the goods for yourself, that seemed proper, the King of Sodom wanted reward Abram in some way for all that he did in recovering what was taken by this league of four kings. And so he offered Abram a tremendous amount of plunder. But Abram said, I will take nothing. And here again, I see Abram as a type of Christ who takes nothing from man's hand. for what he does in his victory and his conquering and his delivering of those that are his. Abram would not take any of the plunder or the spoil taken from Sodom and Gomorrah. This was because, as he says there, he had lifted his hand. I have lifted mine hand, it says in verse 22. He made a vow that in going out to do this battle, that he would not, earn anything for himself in it, but it would be for the glory of God. Again, I see that as a picture of Christ. When he went to the cross, he did not seek his own, did not seek any personal interest that would come out of the victory that was to be won by his death there on the cross. And we could say that he swore, he left up his hand under the Lord, the most high God. That's who he came to represent, the father, the possessor of heaven and earth. What are you gonna give back to one who possesses all things anyway? And so the phrase, I have raised my hand to the Lord indicates that Abraham had made that vow. and the Lord enabled him to stick to it. But here it is particularly, lest you should say, I have made Abram rich. He did not want in any way that these evil kings that he had gone out and conquered and now delivered them from the oppression of these other kings that somehow they might say now, I have made Abram rich. That's the way most people think of the Lord Jesus, that somehow by their decision or will or contribution, that they have in some way contributed to the kingdom of God, and they're proud of their contribution. But the Lord takes nothing from man. Everything he received, he received of his father. And even as Abram here determined that all of the credit for his success and wealth should go to God and God alone. So it was with the Lord Jesus Christ. He commended himself to his father and would not take anything from man's hands in order to bring salvation. There's a reminder there that if success does not come from human measures or what we contribute or any kind of man-centered methods or wisdom, then it must be that salvation's of the Lord. And that's certainly what it is. I like those four questions for the thoughtful that I heard a preacher one time spoke on. He said, if God loves every single sinner in the whole world, and yet not every single sinner in the entire world is saved, what does the love of God have to do with salvation? You'd have to conclude it doesn't have anything to do with it. Or if you say that Christ died for every single person in the world, and yet his death does not actually save every single person in the world, you have to ask yourself the question, what does the death of Christ have to do with salvation? Or if you say that God loves everybody in the world, and yet that love does not actually save those that God loves, what does the love of God have to do with salvation? And grace, if you say, well, he wants his grace to be for every single sinner in the world. But if that grace doesn't actually deliver every single sinner in the world, what does the grace of God have to do with Salvation, you have to conclude it doesn't have anything to do with it. So what is the only conclusion? If you go down that vein of thought, which is a dead end, all you can say is it's up to man, that salvation is ultimately in man's hands. And that's what Abram was refusing here. He would not take anything that would in any way deter from God getting all the glory and everything that he did. At the same time, he said, let them take their portion Abram didn't want to refuse rewarding, if you will, those that had gone to battle and helped. And he recognized that because of what he had earned on their behalf, then that was their due. And again, I see that as a picture of Christ. Every spiritual blessing that we have comes from the Lord Jesus Christ. And I don't care whether it's election, I don't care whether it's redemption, salvation, justification, sanctification, that all comes from the work of Christ and what he has accomplished. And those that are his, we do benefit. Just like here with Aner and Eshphol and Mamre, Abram thought particularly on them, said, let them take their portion. These were like representatives of God's elect. the one that he went out and did the battle for, here indeed is their portion. But it's by grace, it's not by merit. All the work was done by Abram, just like all the work has been accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ. Gracious Father, I thank you for your word. Thank you for this portion of scripture, how mysterious it is, and so much when you first read it, we miss. what it is representing, but as you give us eyes to see, we see more clearly and plainly that this sets forth the future work of your son that he was to come and accomplish. Represented in Abram, going out, doing battle, coming back. And Melchizedek, also a type of your son, as Priest and King, who offered up bread and wine, representing his body and his blood. That's all our salvation. So as we read this, may we rejoice in your great work and what you have accomplished through your son, the Lord Jesus Christ. And we give you praise in his precious name, amen. Let's take our hymn book one more time. And let's turn to hymn number 263. 263, a shelter in the time of storm. The Lord's our rock, in Him we hide, a shelter in the time of storm. Secure whatever ill be tied, a shelter in the time of storm. Oh, Jesus is a rock in a weary land, A weary land, a weary land. Oh, Jesus is a rock in a weary land. A shelter in a time of storm. A shade by day, defense by night. A shelter in the time of storm. No fear's alarm, no foe's a fright. A shelter in the time of storm. Oh, Jesus is a rock in a weary land. A weary land. A weary land. Oh, Jesus is a rock in a weary land. a shelter in the time of storm. The raging storms may round us beat, a shelter in the time of storm. We'll never leave our safe retreat, a shelter in the time of storm. Oh, Jesus is a rock in a weary land, A weary land, a weary land, O Jesus is a rock in a weary land, A shelter in the time of storm. O rock divine, O refuge dear, A shelter in the time of storm. Be thou our helper ever near, a shelter in the time of storm. Oh, Jesus is a rock in a weary land, a weary land, a weary land. Oh, Jesus is a rock in a weary land, a shelter in the time of storm. Indeed. Blessed promise that is. Let's take our Bibles now again and look in Malachi chapter three. I'm going to read from verse one down to verse five, but I want to speak particularly from verse one about the messenger of the covenant. Still looking at the M's in the titles. Regarding the Lord Jesus Christ. And if you have a hard time finding Malachi, just go to Matthew and then go back one. Malachi is your last book of the Old Testament, between Malachi and the coming of John the Baptist, there were 400 years of silence where the Lord did not raise up a prophet. And so Malachi was at a pivotal time in the history of redemption with regard to the coming of Christ. So let's take our Bibles and turn here to Malachi 3.1. which is the text from which I'm preaching in this message. It's a blessing for us to gather and worship and to reflect together on God's word. And so I want us to consider this, this important title, not that the others aren't, every one of them is vital and important, but the messenger of the covenant. Here, the Lord says, behold, wherever you see that, that means pay attention, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to his temple. Notice, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in, behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. Actually here, if you notice, as I read it, There are two messengers that are introduced, aren't they? He says, first of all, behold, I send my messenger, this is the Lord speaking, and this prophesied messenger here was none other than John the Baptist. We know that, and you can write that in the margin if you want, Matthew 11, 10, actually in all three of the gospels, in Mark 1 and 2 and Luke 7, 27. Look over with me to Matthew 11, since that's just one book over. Matthew 11, 10. When the Lord asked them, when they went out to John the Baptist, who did you go out and look for? Who did you go out to see? Did you go out to see someone wearing soft clothing in King's houses? Like some of these popular preachers today that like to have the latest designer suits and the most expensive vehicles. Well, that's not a prophet of the Lord. He said, what went ye out for to see a prophet? Yea, he said, I say unto you and more than a prophet. Now he's talking about John the Baptist here and look how he applies the scriptures for this is he. of whom it is written, behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. So there's no question that the first messenger here in Malachi three in verse one is referring to John the Baptist. At the end of Malachi two, these chapter divisions have been put in there, help us find our place. Sometimes it's best to move them aside and read. And at the end of Malachi 2, you can see Israel had complained that God seemed to reward the wicked and did not exercise his justice in the world. Sometimes we get complaining like that. Look how bad things are. Can it get any worse? If this happens, then we're really in trouble. All this kind of cheap talk that really has nothing to do with believing God. or believing in sovereignty. And that's what they were doing. They were complaining. And you can see here that God responds to their complaint by saying, I will set things right with my Messiah. And before him will come my messenger. There'll be a forerunner. Speaking of John the Baptist, I like to say everything is exactly the way it's supposed to be right now. I don't care how upside down your world is and go yak a yak and talk to your neighbors and fuss and complain all you want to. The best answer is to look somebody in the eye and say, do you suppose anything is out of joint? Out of order? Go out there, look up at the universe. Look at the stars. Job, one of the oldest writers in scripture, speaks of those constellations that they're still out there. They haven't moved. God hadn't moved. God hadn't changed. So why would we run around fussing like somehow things are topsy-turvy? We say we believe, but we're really unbelievers. And if it's not for the grace of God and Christ's death on our behalf, we'd split hell wide open. Every one of us, just our complaints. You wouldn't even have to go out and rob a bank or kill somebody, do anything. You just keep complaining. That's how the Lord destroyed Israel in the desert. Loathe the manna. They demanded. Meat, they wanted like the leeks and the onions of Egypt. God gave it to them, but sent lemons to their soul. There were 30,000 killed in a day that the very meat they wanted stuck in their craw, couldn't even swallow. That means they were stuffing it in, you know, and the Lord killed them. So that's the answer between what you see there in Malachi 2.17, you have wearied the Lord with your words. Quit wearing the Lord with your words like. You're complaining is somehow going to change him. Yet you say we're in and have we wearied him when you say everyone that doeth evil is good in the sight of the Lord and he delighted in them or where is the God? Where is God of judgment? And that's when he says here this message he will prepare. The way before me. In an ancient. royal procession, the messenger went before the king to announce his arrival. Many times he'd ride ahead on a horse or whatever. He was the herald. And when you heard that trumpet, you know that there was a message to come. And often it was to indicate the route that the king would take and to remove the obstacles in the road. And we know that, again, John the Baptist fulfilled this exact ministry for the Lord Jesus. That same idea is seen in Isaiah chapter 40. Scripture says, let every word be established in the mouth of two or three witnesses. And that's why I like to compare scripture with scripture. And here in Isaiah chapter 40, and verses three to five, that's what we read. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord. Make straight in the desert a highway for our God. What's interesting there is whose way was he preparing? He was preparing the way of the Lord Jesus Christ. And here he's identified as God. Make straight in the desert a highway for our God. That's who that man, that Jesus of Nazareth was. He was God in the flesh. And John the Baptist was sent forth to prepare the way. Every valley shall be exalted, every mountain and hill shall be made low. There wouldn't be anything that would hinder our Lord Jesus in his coming, even though it says he came unto his own, his own received him not, yet none of that deterred him from accomplishing the salvation that he came to do. And it says in verse five, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed. The glory of the Lord in the person of Christ. Men didn't see it because it was hidden in the flesh. Yet on that Mount of Transfiguration, it pleads the Lord just to pull back the veil a little bit so that Peter, James, and John seeing it, they marvel. It was revealed and all flesh shall see it together for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it. God's purpose in bringing this specific prophecy through Malachi in his day was probably because Israel complained that the messianic promises given by Haggai and Zechariah were not fulfilled. They were looking for the immediate coming of that Messiah after they'd come back from captivity and had rebuilt the city of Jerusalem. They were there in anticipation. It's like people today, I grew up under that. You better be ready, because the Lord might come back today. And everybody is looking, you know, over nooks and crannies and signs and wonders and all that. That's still going on today. But the Lord has not said that he'd be coming even in our generation. No man knows the time or the hour. And so it was in their day. But here Malachi is showing that the way for the Messiah had to be what? Prepared. It's like Paul wrote to those that there was a letter floating around in his day that said that the Lord had already come and they'd missed it. And he said, I didn't write that. He said, the Lord won't come until there's what? A falling away first. And I know since that time, every generation, everybody's thought, well, that's gotta be our generation. How could it get any worse? But we don't know. This world could continue on another 100 million years. I just know that when the fullness of the time is come, that the Lord has determined, then Christ will come again. But that was their complaint. You notice here, again, coming back to my text in Malachi chapter three, In verse one, the Lord says that this messenger would be sent before him. You see that he shall prepare the way before me in verse one. So the Lord promised that he himself would come. That's what he's saying in it. If he's preparing the way before me, the God that's speaking, this is saying, I'll be there. That'll be me. and would not be just some new or better prophet, but the Lord himself. That's why John the Baptist is called the forerunner of the Lord. Now here is where he's called the messenger of the covenant. So the first messenger mentioned there in the first part of the verse, behold, I will send my messenger, that's John the Baptist. And then the second part here, when it says he shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, That's the Lord Jesus Christ. And his coming to his temple was the fulfillment of the old covenant that was announced here and the institution of the new covenant, coming into his temple. When did Christ come into the temple? As a babe in arms, eight days old. He went in to be circumcised. Remember, Simeon was there in the temple. And he saw the spirit of the Lord directed him to even that baby Jesus that was there. And he said, now I can die because my eyes have seen the salvation of the Lord. That's when Christ entered into his temple. And then thereafter, when he went back to teach and chased out the money, every time he was entering into his temple, and that's what he accused the worshipers of, making that temple a den of thieves, which was to be a house of prayer, a house of worship. So here in verses two through five, I'll read on in this context, it says, who may abide the day of his coming? And who shall stand when he appeareth for he's like a refiner's fire and like fuller soap. and he shall sit as refiner and purifier of silver, and he shall purify the sons of Levi and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in what? Righteousness. That's what Christ came to do, earn and establish righteousness, so that those that were believer priests, because he made of his own a kingdom of priests, that they might thereby truly offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. Then shall the offering of Judah in Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord. He wasn't pleased with the blood of bulls and goats, but then the offering would be pleasant of the Lord. Why? Because it's the sacrifice of Christ that fulfilled all of that, as in the days of old, as in former years. And I will come near to you to judgment, and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulterers, against the false swears, against those that oppress the hireling and his wages, the widow and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the Lord of hosts. And then the very next verse, for I am the Lord, I change not, therefore the sons of Jacob are not consumed. When he asked that question back there in verse two, who can endure the day of his coming? Verse one of Malachi three talked about those two messengers to come, one was to prepare the way of the Lord and the other would be the actual messenger of the covenant who's coming that in his coming, none could endure except that he came for those that the father gave him to save. That's why we see our Lord in that state of submission. There were many that mocked him, said all manner of evil against him, but he didn't lash out because there was a day of their judgment. That's what he said. He didn't come to judge the world in his first coming. He will in a second, but he came to save out of the world, those sinners that the father had given him. And so that's what we see here. He's like a refiner's fire. And like fuller soap, there's actually fuller soap that they used to go door to door and sell. I think the name of the person who started it was Fuller, so we shouldn't be thinking in terms of scripture in that regard. But nonetheless, what's fuller soap? But it's a launderer's soap. And here we see that the Lord came as a refiner to separate out Those that were his, they would indeed be purified, how? Through his death, and then the rest would be left for judgment. So we note that it says there he would sit as a refiner. What a comfort that is for those that are the Lord's to think that he, in his work at Calvary, sat as a refiner. He didn't sit down until the work was done, but when the work was done, we have that confidence that he sat because he had completed the work, and that he would purify the sons of Levi. As I mentioned, the sons of Levi, that was the priesthood. They served the high priest, and in type, That's who we are. If Christ has chosen us, we've been chosen him and has paid our sin debt. He's made of us a kingdom of praise unto God. We serve our high praise. Christ is a high praise, but we serve him by his spirit. Having been purified. We're not talking about here any kind of inherent purifying because we know our heart is just as evil as always been. How can we ever have hope of a righteous standing before God except for it be in this work of the Lord Jesus Christ? And he says, I'll be a swift witness against sorcerers and against all that stands against Christ. There are really only two spirits in the world, spirit of Christ and spirit of antichrist. And unless Christ has paid your sin debt, then you're in that group, that category. I don't care how clean you think you are, you're a sorcerer, you're an adulterer and a fornicator because you have no ransom. So that's a very profound verse there that when you read on, but when the Lord says in verse four, then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord. That's talking about the offering of Christ unto his father. And he said, I'll come near to you to judgment. You'll be a swift witness against sorcerers and against adulterers, everything that's antichrist. But at the same time, verse six, what a comfort. I'm the Lord, I change not, therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. Why are they not consumed? Because Christ has paid the sin debt. So to fully appreciate the significance of this portion of scripture that we're looking at here, we have to understand that context. And that's why I went back and looked at it with you. But in this complaining, in the day of Malachi, which was after the children of Israel would come back from captivity, there's that message of hope. And that's really what the significance of Christ as the messenger of the covenant, that John the Baptist paved the way That was the immediate fulfillment, but the ultimate fulfillment, the messenger of the covenant was none other than, or is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. And as the messenger of God, there's God, the father, then there's God, the son. So we see the triune God here working in harmony to bring about, you say, what covenant is he a messenger of? He's not a messenger of the old covenant. He didn't come back to get us back into a state of doing right and being right, touch not, taste not, handle not, like the Judaizers expected. But to rest, isn't that good news? When you hear the sound of the trumpet and the messenger coming, it puts a little fear in you because you're thinking, oh, the King's coming this way. Is he coming in peace or is he coming in condemnation? Well, Christ, the messenger of the covenant, is the one who brings the good news. That's what the gospel is. This is the new covenant of grace. Not by setting aside the law, but coming to fulfill it. This is a new covenant of forgiveness. The forgiveness of sins, so complete because of his work on the cross that there remains not one charge against anyone for whom he came to deliver them. That's a message this world doesn't know. They talk about Jesus, but they think it's by some prayer they pray or something they do to get right with God that somehow now they're going to be forgiven. I've often said to you that the very thing that they aim for is some end goal. Really, for those of us that are the Lord's, is our starting point, because Christ has finished the work. And when the Spirit deals in our heart and opens our eyes. It's not in order to forgive us our sins, but it's to show us that our sins were already forgiven, already put away. It's like you get a legal document in the mail and you kind of open it shaking because you know you had a case that was against you and you open it up and you see those works, that stamp on there, case closed, forgiven. That's the news. for everyone for whom Christ has paid the debt. Redemption, Christ called the new covenant, the New Testament in his blood. Without the shedding of blood, there's no remission of sins. And so all the way through the gospel, the gospels, we see how the Lord Jesus Christ came to fulfill all that the Old Testament pointed to and could not do Yet the Lord came and the preparation of the way, it wasn't just about physical roads or temples, but preparation of hearts to receive Christ as the Messiah. That's what it says back there in Malachi chapter three, when he says, even the messenger of the covenant whom ye delight in, he's talking about all those going all the way back to Job and Abraham, when Job said, I know that my redeemer liveth. They were given the spirit to look forward to Christ's coming, but they died without having seen the promise or the fulfillment. That's why John the Baptist was called one of the greatest prophets because he actually saw it. He saw that one who had been prophesied and he was the forerunner. And so the Lord himself would come into whose temple? His temple. They were arguing around Christ. It's interesting looking at all the buildings and the construction and Herod had been trying to add on to the temple and make it even prettier. The disciples were taken up with how beautiful it was. And that's when the Lord said, destroy this temple in three days, I'll raise it up. Well, that caused a uproar. They said, what? This temple has been in building all these 50 years and remodeling is what it's talking about. and you're going to destroy it and build it up in a day. But John very specifically says there in John chapter two and verse 19, that he spoke of his body, which is the temple. He spoke of his death and raising it up again. So this verse that we've been looking at culminates with a description of Christ as the messenger of the covenant. You see why it's such a profound title given to him? It speaks not of one messenger among others, but of the Lord Jesus as the one messenger who brings in that new covenant between God and that people that the father gave him even before time. In the Old Testament, God did make a covenant with a people through Moses, but it was a covenant based on the law. In order for it to bless, they had to obey it perfectly. Well, that's why the Lord had to destroy them. And you may wonder, well, is the Lord just setting up a new covenant based on the same rule to obey that law? Well, if it was, we'd all fail. Now this covenant, it is upheld by the law and it had to be worked out by the messenger of the covenant, but the reality is because of the finished work of Christ on the cross, complete forgiveness, grace, pardon, peace, salvation, justification, sanctification, all of those things belong unto those that he came to establish this new covenant. on behalf. So Jesus Christ is the messenger of that new covenant. His life, His death, He didn't just come to show the way, He is the way. His resurrection, all of that inaugurated this new and living way. The writer to the Hebrews, this will be my last verse, I'll show you over in Hebrews chapter nine. And I'd encourage you, I mentioned earlier about reading about Melchizedek all the way through here, five, six, and seven. But here in Hebrews chapter nine, notice what it says in verse 15. For this cause, he is not a mediator, but the mediator of the new Testament. That word Testament is covenant. that by means of death for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first Testament. So that's covering all those that were the Lords under the first covenant that had it been up to them, they could not have obeyed, but they awaited this establishing of the new covenant that they which are called might receive what the promise of eternal inheritance. It's not by merit, but it's by inheritance, named so. So the Lord Jesus as the messenger of the covenant, not only brings God's message of salvation to those for whom he came, but in that message of salvation is the complete restoration, reconciliation, propitiation, all those terms. that otherwise would have kept us separated from God, but because of Him now, we have that oneness with the Father. Oh, what a blessing to see Christ as that messenger of the covenant. That's that covenant that God made with His Son. The work was done between the Father and the Son. We're beneficiaries, that's what a will is. You're named, but the work is through the death of the testator. Christ has come and he has died and risen again and sitting on high where he ever lives to intercede on behalf of his people. Let that give rest to our souls. We sing that early on. It is well with my soul. That's the only way it can be well. Let's turn in our hymn books for one final hymn, 468. I will sing the wondrous story. Anybody here that would say that's not a wondrous story, what we just heard? it's glorious to my heart. I will sing the wondrous story. I will sing the wondrous story of the Christ who died for me. How he left his home in glory for the cross of Calvary. Yes, I'll sing the wondrous story of the Christ who died for me. Sing it with the saints in glory gathered by the crystal sea. I was lost, but Jesus found me, found the sheep that went astray. Through His loving arms around me, drew me back into His way. Yes, I'll sing the wondrous story of the Christ who died for me. Singing with the saints in glory, gathered by the crystal sea. I was bruised, but Jesus healed me. Faint was I from many a fall. Sight was gone and fears possessed me, but he freed me from them all. See as I'll sing the wondrous story of the Christ who died for me, singing with the saints in glory gathered by the crystal sea. Days of darkness still come o'er me, sorrows paths I often tread, but the Savior still is with me. safely led. I'll sing the wondrous story of the Christ who died for me. Sing it with the saints in glory gathered by the crystal sea. He will keep me till the river rolls its waters at my feet. Then he'll he bear me safely over where the loved one I shall meet. Yes, I'll sing the wondrous story of the Christ who died for me. Sing it with the saints in glory gathered by the crystal sea. Amen.