Many years ago, indeed boys and girls, I would have to confess it was sometime last century, we ran a children's mission in the parish in Scotland, over which I was privileged to exercise a ministry. As we sought to appoint the children who came to that summer mission to the Lord Jesus Christ, we spoke about the necessity of the confession of sins and of closing with Christ. Even as we have sung together from that wonderful hymn, Ye Who Think of Sin But Lightly. I remember well a young girl, I think she was probably only something like ten or eleven, and she seemed to come under conviction of sin. And as she returned to her own home, it was obvious that she had been affected and was thinking of her own sins and was mourning them. And it was not long before I had a complaint from her father. If religion makes you unhappy, it's not worth having, he declared to me. And I tried to reason with him from Scripture about he being unconverted. wanted none of it. He wanted his daughter, understandably as a father, only to be happy and had no thought that there should be anything that would ever cause his daughter to mourn and to weep. Well, brethren, as we consider why we are here on this particular night, why do we meet together on a Friday night? It is not our custom. Perhaps this is about the only Friday night of the entire year in which we will assemble together in order to sing as a congregation the praises of our God, to read His Word and to meditate upon the same. We do so on this particular day because we would remember God's grace to us in the Lord Jesus Christ and His suffering upon the cross. I will not bring to you humorous anecdotes on such an occasion. It would be entirely out of place. we are meant on such an occasion to mourn, as we would recognize that Christ died upon the cross. Why? Because events overtook him, as events have overtaken many a good man, because evil men do evil things. We have had evidence even in this week that has passed where people going about their ordinary business were suddenly snatched from this world into the world that is to come by evil and wicked men who thought nothing of wrecking havoc in an airport. But it was not that wicked men perpetrated their evil crimes just because they were wicked. It was not that he was overwhelmed by the powers of the state, who perhaps perceived him to be a threat to tranquility and the rule of law. It was because he freely offered himself in your place and in mine. We assemble, therefore, this evening with something of a heavy heart For we would by faith gaze upon Christ, and know that it is your sins and mine that are placed upon the cross. And we would not think lightly of him, and we would not think lightly of our sins. The passage that is set before us here in Zechariah speaks to us of mourning, and there is indeed, as we read through the passage an encouragement. They shall mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him as one weeps over a firstborn. Now as we contemplate those words and would have them written upon the flashy tables of our hearts, we think, what is it like to lose a child? perhaps by the grace of God we are able to say few of us here have had that singular sorrow to have buried a child, to have brought that tiny coffin into a place of worship and there hear a minister preach upon such a harrowing subject. The words of scripture are therefore carefully chosen to show us that as we consider these things, As we would say in our human experience, there can be few sorrows quite like that of burying a child. Many of us might say we know what it is to bury a parent and know the pang of grief in burying a loved father or mother. Perhaps some of us are able to say we know what it is to bury a husband or a wife. and how acute that sorrow is in the heart. And though we would not minimize such distress of soul, perhaps even above such distress is that of burying a child. And so the prophet says, when men weep, we should liken it to that deepest and most distressing of all sorrows, the burying of a child. they shall mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him as one weeps over a firstborn." The Word of God, therefore, would draw to our attention that when we speak about mourning for sins, it is not merely to express some kind of regret over things that have preceded us, as though we are merely disappointed at the absence of some particular joy. Something which we participated in as a youth, perhaps, and yet those days are past. We look back, perhaps, with fondness to a time when we were at school, and we remember the association of our friends, and we smile as we think of the days spent in their company. But those days are, for many of us, long since past. or it might be some occasion, we think back upon some happy days, the birth of our firstborn, or a honeymoon, the time when we were able at last to rejoice in the person that we love most in the world. We look back on those days and we wistfully think, ah, I regret that those days are over. Perhaps it may be that as we think about things that we have done that there is a degree of regret, that we know that there have been words that we have spoken, words that you have spoken. You wish, if only I could turn back the hands of the clock and take those words back It is as impossible for us as to snatch in the breath that we have just breathed. Once the words have departed from our lips, there is no recalling of them. We might say to ourselves, I wish I hadn't said that. There may be things that we have done which we're able to say, I wish that I had not done that. I wish that nobody had seen me do that. And why? Perhaps it is that now such things are an embarrassment to us. And we wish that others did not know that we acted so foolishly. But then we speedily pass on. as we recollect that our neighbors and our friends must be guilty surely of just as many foolish words or foolish deeds. But that is not the nature of repentance of which the scriptures speak. It is not merely a regret at the passing of the years. It's not merely a wistful looking back and wishing that we could have those years over again. It is not a regret or an embarrassment about something said or done. It is a breaking of the heart over our sins. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of, but the sorrow of the world worketh death. Now, as we consider the text that is before us, I would draw to your attention this. that that sorrow comes from looking at the cross. Let me read to you the opening verses again. I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him. When they look They shall mourn. There is no denying the sequence in Scripture. It is looking to the cross, first of all, and then it is mourning as a result. It's not mourning first and therefore because your heart is heavy, then you come to the cross to have your sins roll away. No, says scripture at this particular point, you come to the cross and as you gaze upon the cross, it breaks the heart and you mourn for your sins. Not merely a casual regret, not even a wistful thinking of the hurt inflicted, the broken relationships or the relationships that have been damaged by a harsh word here or a thoughtless deed there. Does not the world feel such pangs of sorrow? Nor the sorrow which Scripture would bring to our attention. is that which springs from looking to the cross. We see as we look to the cross a crucified Savior, and in that we see all the malignity, guilt, and vileness of sin set before us. Ye who think of sins but rightly. Perhaps you will remember another looking of Christ. In the week which we would sometimes refer to as Holy Week, the week that is all but past now, you might remember how Peter entered into the courtyard, following at a distance when Jesus was arrested. Let me read to you some verses from the Gospel of Christ by Luke. And when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the hall and were sat down together, Peter sat down among them, that a certain maid beheld him as he sat by the fire, and earnestly looked upon him, and said, This man was also with him. And he denied him, saying, Women, I know him not. And after a little while another saw him, and said, Thou art also of them. And Peter said, Man, I am not. And about the space of one hour after another, confidently affirmed, saying, Of a truth this fellow also was with him, for he is a Galilean. And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest. And immediately while he yet spoke, the cock crew. And the Lord turned and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said to him, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And Peter went out and wept bitterly. We cannot imagine anything else than that look of Jesus towards Peter on that dark and cold night, that Peter took that look with him to the grave. that with oaths he had denied his master, the master that had loved him and counseled him and cherished him. And yet, as he was there around the fire warning himself, this person and that person challenges him. They hear him speaking. They hear his accent that betrays him as being a Galilean. I said, surely you are a Galilean. I recognize your accent. And he denies it with an oath. And at that point, Jesus turns and looks at him. And that look from his Savior broke his heart. He went out and wept bitterly. Peter, where is your boasting now? Where is our boasting? before our God, the look of Jesus crushed the heart of Peter. And in this text, we begin to understand how it is that when we look upon him whom we have pierced, our response is to mourn, to mourn as at the death of an only child, to mourn as at the death of a firstborn. Now, this may seem to us to be a harsh medicine which God, in his wisdom, would have us take. It seems bitter upon the tongue. But secondly, I'd have us see in our text this, that it is a work of the Holy Spirit. See how our text begins. And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy. It is God who is pouring out the spirit that leads us to repentance. God is doing a work of preparation in the hearts of men. Because we know, as we examine our own hearts, it does not naturally come to us to be men who are repented, men who feel the weight of their sin. How many of your neighbors, of your friends, of your colleagues at work, seem to go completely through this life without any thought? You never hear them speaking about their sin. They never feel, seem to feel, any heaviness of heart for their actions. They sin and they speak glibly of these things. But as you examine your own heart, as, by God's grace, you enter into the closet, the secret place of prayer, and you begin to mourn your sins, you know what it is when Jesus speaks of the publican who would not lift his eyes heavenward. But in the place of worship, in the temple there, he beat upon his breast and cried out, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. I am but a sinner. I need God's grace. But brethren, do you see how God is saying, and I am preparing these things for you? I will pour out my Spirit upon you, and that Spirit is a Spirit of grace, a Spirit of pleas for mercy. And so we receive it gladly. Surely there is an illustration even in that portion of God's Word which we have considered in recent weeks from the book of Genesis and how those brothers who had committed so many sins against their brother, Joseph, and against their father, Jacob, were led through the wisdom of Joseph to the point at which they confessed themselves to be sinners and were willing to bear the blame to take the penalty of their sins. How is it that Judah was led to make that speech? It was because the circumstances had been so constructed as to lead him to that point. And surely that's what God is telling us here in His Word. You feel the weight of your sin? My dear believing people, do not think of that, but praise God. Praise God that God has so ordered your footstep. He set you upon a path. He's saying, I have prepared this path for you, that you should receive the spirit of grace and a pleas for mercy. I poured out my spirit to bring you to this point so that you would confess yourselves to be sinners and in need of God's healing and mercy. And that brings us thirdly to how the 13th verse opens up before us. On that day, there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness." Do you see that the the development of the idea. Do you see the path along which God would lead us as he explains these things to us? It begins by a sovereign outpouring of the Spirit of God. He says, I will pour out my Spirit and that Spirit will do strange things for his people. After the flesh, of course, we always want to be happy and without a care in the world. How is it that God would pour this strange blessing out upon us? Why? Because this is the path that will lead us to the fountain. the fountain at which we will find refreshment. On that day there shall be a fountain opened. God has begun the work. He has led us along the path. It's not an easy path. It is a path that is soaked in tears, we might say. But it's the path, and it's the only path that will lead us to the fountain. the fountain at which we will experience cleansing from sin and uncleanness. These are God's wonderful purposes, to convict us of sin, the work of God's Spirit. Do you desire forgiveness? I trust that each of your hearts, I desire to know more and more of God's forgiveness. How many times have I fallen into sin Time without number. Even though I know my own weaknesses in myself, fallen to sin again, and it grieves me. I trust that each of you are able to say in your own hearts, yes, I'm known times. When perhaps unseen by anyone else, I have mourned over my sin. God has graciously given me a time when I have knelt upon my knees, perhaps placing my arms upon a chair, and wept for my soul." That's what Zechariah is talking about, the breaking of the heart before God. Why? Because a broken heart and a contrite spirit, O Lord, Thou wilt not despise. Why God is leading us along that path and giving us that spirit by which we cry out to Him to say, It's not my righteousness. I have none. I examine my heart and I say, I have broken Your commandments in thought and in word and in deed. There is no hope in me. There is no hope in me. And look upon him whom I have pierced. I look upon him and know that it is my sins that have nailed him to the cross. Do you desire forgiveness then? I trust that you do. Not like Adam, frightened to look, but look God in the face, hiding from him in the garden. I was afraid, he complains to God. Well, perhaps after the flesh we're going to too often say, I did not come because I was afraid. I want to know God's forgiveness. And if to know God's forgiveness means that I must walk the path which he has prepared for me, then, sweet Father, take me by the hand and lead me there. If the path is the path that is set before us, which is a path of mourning, such bitterness of soul, such mourning, that it is to be likened to the loss of a firstborn child or an only child, to be likened to the death of a firstborn, then Father, by thy grace, lead me. Take me by the hand and lead me through that path. Because I know this, that when my Father in heaven takes me by the hand and leads me along that path, he will take me to that fountain, that fountain which he has opened. Again, do you see how this is all of God's grace? Who is it that opens the fountain? Why, it can be none other than God Himself. On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David. It is not that David opens it for his own household. No, it is God that opens the fountain. For if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. This is a path of God's making that leads us to the fountain that he has opened. What billions have been poured out in the eradication of disease and of sickness. What billions have been poured out in the purification of water supplies in this land and in others. Yet what angst is ever expressed over the plight of those who are hungry of spirit or diseased of soul? There should rather be a cry that goes up from us. Lord, not only feed those pathetic infants that we see on our television screens that are suffering from malnutrition. Is not the plight of our own land We don't need to think about the wastelands of Africa to think about those that are diseased of spirit. We have evidences of that and more and more multiplying day by day. Oh, that the Lord would pour out a spirit of grace and a spirit of pleas for mercy on our land this day. that those who celebrate wickedness, abominations, and join together in their parades to celebrate their wickedness, that they would be, what, chastised? No. Oh, that they would be converted and come to Christ. Do we desire the destruction of the wicked? We see evil men. We see them perpetrating wicked deeds. It is our thought of revenge and of the punishment of God. Or is our desire that they would know what by his grace we have known, that they would know true repentance and come to a saving knowledge of Christ. Now, as we just ponder lastly, the fountain that is set open before us, see that it is quite clearly the work of God. That God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not imputing our trespasses to us, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. This is not the work of man. Man, by contrast, is perishing in the wilderness. Think of that illustration which perhaps comes to mind from scripture. There are the people of God in the wilderness and they're complaining because there's a lack of water. And what does Moses do? He strikes the rock and the water flows and everyone's thirst is quenched. You see that that's not just a picture to us of what happened long ago in the history of God's people in the wilderness. is a most wonderful illustration to us of when Christ is beaten, the flowing waters come out of him, that those who drink at those waters may be refreshed, may be strengthened. We would say, therefore, as we began our service this evening, come, come and buy food without money, without price. Drink, even as God has prepared for you. When we turn to the last verses of scripture, we read there in Revelations 22 and verse 17, the spirit of the bride and the bride say come, let the one who hears say come, let one who is thirsty come, let the one who desires to take the water of life, let the one who desires to take the water of life without price. As Jesus himself affirms, all the Father gives me will come to me and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. How many millions have come to that life giving water and drunk deeply? Millions have. The woman at the well in Samaria found Jesus there and found a Savior. She returns to her village, come see a man who told me everything he ever did. And many believed, and Jesus stayed there two or three days. and many more believed on Jesus. And they said, we believed to begin with because you told us and we believed you. But now we have heard his words and now we not only believe you for your sake, we believe him for his sake. The apostles preaching the gospel message. How many thousands heard it directly from the apostles. Within a short time, A Christian writer wrote in the time of the Roman Empire, we have taken your palaces, and we've taken your markets, and we've taken your streets, we leave you only your temples. That was all that was left untouched by the gospel in a remarkably short period of time. Can we not say, ah, but we see in this that whoever comes will never be turned away, still thirsty they come, And they drink deeply. Well, we might say, what hinders us from coming to Christ this night? And I would speak not assuming that you are either converted, and not assuming that you are unconverted. for the same message is surely a blessing to the soul of each and every one without exception. If you are not a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, then I would urge you to come to that fountain, the fountain that is open before you, the fountain to which millions have come and been refreshed, the fountain to which millions have come and tasted and been brought close to Christ and found their sins forgiven. But if you have been a believer these many years and are able to say, but I have drunk in the past from this life-giving fountain, then, oh brother, sister in Christ, ponder afresh that you can come this night. Do you sometimes feel yourself almost overwhelmed by the things of this world? Man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upwards. We don't need to go looking for sorrow. Sorrow comes looking for us. Dear brother, dear sister, we have a somber theme, the death of Christ tonight, and yet it is not to leave us there. but to bring us this comfort, that whatever your sorrows might be, God has opened up a fountain for you, a fountain of never-failing grace. And this night, as we make our way home, then, in the silence of your own heart, or to that dear husband or wife, make mention of this. Here is where My comfort is found. The path has been a long one. It's been a difficult one. Many tears have been shed along the way. But my God has brought me to the fountain. And I have drunk deeply of Christ. And I have known what it is not only to sorrow for my sins, but I've known something more. I've known what it is to be refreshed of soul. For the hand of God from the very beginning in His great providence and His great plan has ordained even from the beginning that He would pour out His Spirit, a Spirit of grace and a Spirit of peace for mercy. And yes, He brought me to repentance of my sin and I wept and I mourned my sin. Why? Because I'm wiser than my neighbor? No, because God brought me to the point of repentance. But He did not leave me there. It was always with a purpose. The path was not an unending path. It was not a dead end. It was a path that took me to a fountain. And I gazed upon Him who was pierced for me, and I was refreshed of soul. God had mercy upon me and dealt with me not as I deserved, but according to His loving kindness. What hinders you then this night, whether you have known Christ these many years, or whether you are at this point unconverted? What hinders you from coming to Him? Let me drink from that fountain and refresh my soul, because that is your work, God. is your purpose. Let's pray together. Our gracious God and our heavenly Father, we do thank Thee that we see Thy hand so clearly, from first to last, the hand which pours out Thy Spirit, a Spirit of grace, unmerited favour, a Spirit of pleas for mercy, so that when we look upon Christ, that work of thy Spirit brings us to the point where we repent of our sins, that we, like Peter on that dark night, that cold and dark night so long ago, saw the look of Jesus, looked towards Jesus and was broken of heart. and went out and wept bitterly. We bow heart and head in thy presence and would confess that it is only by thy grace that we have known what it is to weep bitterly for our sins, because thy spirit has been poured out upon us. But how we thank thee this night that that path is no dead end, that it is not a path without end, but that thou hast set before us a fountain. O Father, may we each, even now, as we bow heart and head in thy presence, drink deeply of Christ, that we may be comforted, that we may be strengthened, that we may be fortified and refreshed that we may be thy servants in this dark world. To thy glory. Hear us, we pray, in Jesus' name and for his sake. Amen.