Seeking once again the Lord's gracious help to grant me the words to speak to you, this morning I would like to direct your thoughts to the chapter that we read together, 2 Chronicles 34, and the text you will find in verse 14. When they brought out the money that was brought into the house of the Lord, Hilkiah the priest found a book of the law of the Lord given by Moses. He goes on to say, And Hilkiah answered and said unto Shefhan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord. And Hilkiah delivered the book to It goes on as we know that he takes the book to the king, King Josiah. The book is read before the king. The king is so affected by what has been read that he rends his clothes in a sign of mourning and repentance and despair that the Lord has revealed to him, the consequences of the rebellion of the children of Israel. And then the king sends men on an errand to find someone who can rightly interpret the script as a prophet. And they go to this lady prophetess and she gives him the message that God is angry, indeed angry, with the people of Israel for their rebellion, their idol worship and such like. Yet because King Josiah was brought to repentance and he saw the error of his ways and the error of the ways of the people of Israel, he would go to his grave in peace and that he would not see all the destruction that was going to take place in the land of Israel. And it was not long after King Josiah died, there was four other kings, all wicked kings, but not long after King Josiah died, that then the Babylonian army began to come and attack Israel and they began to take off the different ones into captivity. The first lot were those like Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, those young men with great wisdom and knowledge that they took them off first to captivity. And so Josiah himself never saw the consequences of the rebellion of the children of Israel because he sought to set in order the land and he sought to set in order his own heart and his own household and that he was brought to godly sorrow and repentance because his heart was tender and he humbled himself before God when he heard the words of God and he sought to bring about a reform and he gathered the people at the temple and he spoke to them and he read to them from the word of God and he sought to follow the Lord his God all his days and the people followed King Josiah. so it is sad that the book was forgotten. There was one thing that set apart the children of Israel from all of the other nations in the world was that God himself had set them apart He had called them, he had established his law with them, he had a relationship with them, he indwelt amongst them and they had him as their father and they had his word. That was what was different between them and all of the other nations was that God was with them and they had God's word, God's law. Yet the very thing that they had that made them different was lost, was hidden away and no one had any interest in it. And as we go through the history of the kings of Israel you see that there are some good kings and some bad kings. Some good kings desired to follow the law of God, they read it, they sought to live it out and to order their country accordingly, but others rejected God's word. they turned away from it and they followed the ways of the nations round about them, having idols and worshipping the stars and the moon and things like that. It was the king before, just before, was Manasseh. Manasseh, the scriptor tells us, was a wicked king, came after Hezekiah but he was we could say born again near the end of his life and he brought about a reform, but that reform was not lasting. The people didn't really follow. Then his son, who didn't reign for very long, but he followed in the ways of his father, in a wicked way, and the people followed him. But Josiah, the scripture tells us, was eight years old when he came to the throne. I don't know if any of our children here are eight years old or around eight years old, but imagine the responsibility given to such a little child. We know that he would have been taken care of by governors who would have guided him and and watched over him until he came of age. And so he was eight years old when he began to reign and he reigned for 31 years. So he died at the age of 39. And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord and walked in the ways of David his father and declined neither to the right hand nor to the left. For in the eighth year of his reign, when he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father. And in the twelfth year, he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places and groves and carved images and molten images. So at the age of, he became king at eight, but at the age of 16, he began to seek after God. He had obviously heard of the God of Abraham and Isaac and he began to seek after that God. And at the age of 20, so he seeks God for four years and at the age of 20 he begins to purge the land of idols. the high places and the groves and the carved images and the molten images. He begins to break them down. He sends out his army. And some of those things, they were broken down in front of his face and ground into powder. And he burnt the bones of the prophets. And he began to bring about a reform of the whole land just at 20 years of age. He does that for seven years and then he begins in the 18th year of his reign when he had finished purging all of the land he now comes to the temple. As they had purged the land they had gone round and they had gathered money from the various tribes and they had been storing it in the temple. And as they come to redo, to renovate the temple because it had been neglected for so long, it was filled with idols and pictures of gods. You imagine that great temple that Solomon had built for the Lord, the dwelling place of God with the Holy of Holies and the Ark of the Covenant made into a shrine for idol worship. so neglected that it needed the builders to come and restore it. And so they collected this money and then as they began to renovate the building they came across a book. The book of the law of the Lord given by Moses. Now it could have been any of the first five books of the scripture, but people think it's probably the book of Deuteronomy, when he says, in blessing I will bless thee, and in cursing I will curse thee. If you depart from my ways, then I will bring curses upon you. And we know that that is how the old covenant was, that as long as the children of Israel followed the Lord and his ways, they departed not from it, then he would bless them. But as soon as they strayed, followed after other gods and began to make idols, then he would bring curses and judgment and plagues upon them to bring about a restoration. And as we go through the Old Testament we see how unfaithful the children of Israel were to God. how he had blessed them with so much, they had so much revelation, his presence, they had his word and yet they departed and went after gods that they could see, they began marrying people from other lands and defiling the purity of the nation of Israel and they went after and they rebelled against God and so time and time again he brings judgment upon them. And the very thing then that he had given to them that they might know how to live and structure their lives and their worship, they left it. And it took a young boy, Josiah, to bring about a restoration of the land. And in the restoration of the temple, providence we could say, God's hand guided them to the scroll that had been lost. And then Josiah was able to see clearly what he must do to bring about that restoration for the people of Israel. And so in searching for treasure, in gathering money, they found a greater treasure. It says they went into the storehouse to get the money. pay the workers but they found a greater treasure, the book of the law of the Lord given to Moses. And the scripture refers to itself as a great treasure. If King Charles wrote to us a very detailed and personal letter about himself and about his relationship with you and me as an individual. That piece of writing would be of a great treasure to you and me. We would treasure it and we would put it somewhere safe or even place it up on the wall and when we were downcast we would read it and we would be encouraged of our relationship with the King. Well there is a much more greater treasure, a greater letter written by a greater king, which is the king of kings. God himself has written down his law, his word for his people that they may know him, the only true God and his son, the Lord Jesus Christ. In Psalm 19, tells us here of the law of the Lord, verse 7. The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. We see that with Josiah. The law of the Lord, he finds it and it brings about a transformation, repentance and godly sorrow and he seeks for that reconciliation with God. The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the law are right, rejoicing the heart. The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold. than much fine gold, sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them is thy servant warned and in keeping of them there is great reward. And so God's word is described as something to be more desired than gold, not just any gold, it says much more than fine gold. Gold we know has a degree, there is impurities in some gold, there is false gold, there is gold that is less of a value and there is a pure gold and it tells us that God's word is to be more sought after, more desired than fine gold. Children and adults like sweet things. Children have sweets in chapel. We like to have puddings. We like to have lollipops. We like to have sweets on journeys. We like to have sugar in our tea. And we desire those things. But the scripture tells us we're to desire something sweeter. which is God's word. Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. God's word is precious, more precious than gold and it's sweeter than honey. Once you've eaten sweets the taste is gone. When you eat or you're satisfied with God's word it is continually there. It is a sweetness which does not depart It is sweeter than honey and the honeycomb, more to be desired than gold, much more than fine gold. Israel had gone after the sweets of this world and had forsaken the true sweetness, the true honey of God's word. They'd gone after false gold. And they had left the pure gold of the Word of God locked away in the temple. And they'd gone seeking idols and fake gods rather than serving the true and living God. And the very thing that separated them from every other nation upon the face of the earth, what God had given to them, they had totally neglected it. And they had lost it. And it took Josiah, a young man, searching, cleansing the nation and restoring the temple by the divine providence of God to fall upon this scroll that brought about great sorrow, but sorrow that brought about gladness. The Apostle tells us in the New Testament, he said that not a sorrow unto death, this sorrow that brings about reconciliation, this sorrow that brings one to turn from their sin and to look to the Lord. It restored that relationship. As we look around us today, we see the effects of a lost book. If we examine the Old Testament and we see the effects of this lost book on the people of Israel and we compare it to today we see exactly the same thing. You remove God's law, you remove God's word, everything plunges into sin. Everything slides backwards and not forwards. It's like pulling a plug on a great ship and the ship slowly sinks. The plug that holds everything together is the Word of God and you remove it. There's no foundation. There's no basis for any stable thought on morality. You only have to look at what Josiah had to restore, what he had to deal with to see that it's no different today. Idol worship, false religions. in chapter 33 when Manasa was king. The first thing that he did after his father Hezekiah was to get rid of everything that his father had done. And he built again the high places which Hezekiah, his father, had broken down. And he reared up altars for Balaam and made groves and worshipped all the hosts of the heaven and served them. Also he built altars in the house of the Lord, whereof the Lord had said in Jerusalem, shall my name be forever. And he built altars for the host of heaven and in the courts of the house of the Lord. And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom. Also he observed times, he used enchantments, he used witchcraft, he dealt with familiar spirits and with wizards and he wrought much evil in the sight of the Lord to provoke him to anger. And he goes on. Hezekiah, his father, had followed the ways of God. His son Manasseh pulled down everything that his father had done and began to follow his own heart. And what are the things that we see? Again, idol worship, causing his children to pass through the fire. He offered up his children to gods, false gods. He sacrificed his children. witchcraft, wizards and evil. Do we not see that in our day? The Word of God has been removed from school, it's been removed from the government, it's been removed from the home, it's been removed from society and now there's no basis for morality. Every man does after his own heart, does what he thinks, and what bubbles up through that hole? Sin. I looked yesterday at some statistics and over the past few years there's been a rise in witchcraft and worship of the times and the seasons Those of you about Stonehenge and the summer and winter solstice you will notice that year by year more and more and more people gather there. Everyone does what is right in their own minds. They follow after evil. That is the way we are programmed to go. We are so deprived that we go away from God all of the time and you remove the scripture and everyone just landslides into sin and goes into all manner of evil. If you look at popular music you will find it is full of satanic worship and signs. You find films are deprived and promoting evil, even children's films, Disney films and such like. There are subtle gestures, subtle teachings to the agenda of Satan and the world. You remove the scripture. And Satan wants everything and everybody to landslide with him into hell and he will do all he can to infiltrate every avenue of our life so that we will be corrupted and made lukewarm and accept everything that is taking place. So in the Old Testament The law of God disappears and immediately in its place Satan stands with his familiar spirits, fortune tellers, witchcraft, wizardry and evil. That is his agenda. That is his same agenda even today. You remove God's Word, You unplug a hole in the ship and in floods all manner of evil. In Kings we have the same account although it's written in a bit of a different way but it has a little bit more detail. 2 Kings 23. It goes from verse four, but we can read from verse six. And he brought out the groves from the house of the Lord without Jerusalem unto the brook Kidron and burned it in the brook Kidron and stamped it small to powder and cast the powder thereof upon the graves of the children of the people. Now here. And he break down the house of the Sodomites that were by the house of the Lord. where the women wove hangings for the grove. So next to God's house, God's holy temple was a we could say a brothel for sodomites. The sodomites are homosexuals. And as the law of God is removed from society, such is the deprived nature of the human mind. There's no basis, no foundation for moral thought. All manner of evil takes place and homosexuality rushes into society. And even next door to the church or next door to the temple, there's a brothel for these types of things. We only have to look at the news, don't we, of the Church of England. How they have removed the word of God and do whatever the intellectuals say. And we have priests and priestesses and all manner of evil that has come into the Church of England. Men who think they are women, who are preachers. all because of one thing. They began to alter the scripture and they moved the scripture and say it has no basis anymore. And so Satan has a doorway and he rushes in and because our nature is corrupt, so all manner of evil breaks forth. And all it is doing is history is repeating itself, which is exactly what happened in the Old Testament. Next door to the house of God, the Holy of Holies, They're the homosexual set up shop. And they're the women who make grass decorations for the idols. There they are next to the house of God. You remove the word. You remove God from society. You remove God from the thoughts. There's no limit to the depth of depravity that the human race can fall to. In Romans it tells us, Romans 1, the whole first chapter is quite suitable but we can't read all. But from verse 24 it says, therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lust of their own hearts to dishonour their own bodies between themselves. Who changed the truth of God, the truth of God which is the word of God, into a lie and worshipped and served the creature more than the creator who is blessed forever. Amen. For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections. For even their women did change their natural use into that which is against nature. and likewise also the men leaving the natural use of the woman burned in their lusts one toward another men with men working that which is unseemly and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet or the reward of their error which is suitable for them. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind to do those things which are not convenient. And it goes on. And if you read that chapter, you will see exactly what is taking place around about us. And you will see the agenda of Satan, how he infiltrates all manner of media to promote and to proclaim his gospel which is a gospel of damnation to cause multitudes of people to forsake God, to forsake God's word and to follow him. You remove the Bible. You open up a floodgate for sin. The Bible tells us about itself in the book of Jeremiah. Jeremiah 23. verse 28 it says, The prophet that hath a dream let him tell a dream, and he that hath my word let him speak my word faithfully. What is chaff to the wheat, saith the Lord? Is not my word like as a fire, saith the Lord, like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces? And so God's word, when it is removed from society, it is like the floodgates go in, the fire goes out. And every man does as he pleases. But when the word of God comes back, it comes back as a fire, a purifier. Fire in scripture is seen as a thing of purification. And Josiah the fire of God burning within his heart and he found the book of the law of the Lord and it set light to the nation of Israel purged the nation of Israel because God's word is a fire it has a purging effect it has a cleansing effect upon the heart and upon society Well, not only is it a fire, but it is a hammer. It is a hammer because it is able to break in pieces the hardness of men's heart and cause them to follow the ways of the Lord. God used Josiah as a hammer to smash down the altars of Baal and to cut in pieces the groves and the graven images and the molten images, and he made a dust of it. Because he had the fire of God's word burning within his heart, he was as a hammer, breaking open, knocking down those strongholds of Satan to establish the kingdom of God. My word is like a fire. Breaks in pieces the rock. The scripture also tells us that God's word in Psalm 119 is like a lamp. Psalm 119, 104. Through my precepts, or maybe go from 103. How sweet are thy words to my taste, yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth. Through thy precepts I get understanding, therefore I hate every false way. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my pathway. Not only is God's word then a fire, not only is it a hammer, not only is it pure gold, not only is it sweeter than honey but it's also a lamp to shine into the darkness, to shine on the road that leads to God. put out the lamp, darkness comes about and no one can see their way. Everyone is just groping in their own way, doing what they feel to be right. There's no foundation of truth. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet. Hebrews tells us also that God's word is a sword sharper than any two-edged sword, able to divide the heart asunder. Happened to Josiah didn't it? He heard the word of God and it cut him. It broke his heart and he tore his clothes as a sign of mourning and repentance. Oh that it might happen to us. that it may happen to hastings, that God may move and that His word may come like a fire, that it might come like a hammer, that it may come like a light, that it may come like a sword to lead people to God, that they may turn away from the lies of Satan, that this sinking ship, the whole might be boned with the word of God. and all the sin bailed out that we may sail on our way to Christ. But even with believers, you know, a hidden book is no good for us. The book needs to be where the book has to be in the right place, the right place in our life. and how often it's put to the wrong place. In Deuteronomy it tells us that that we are not to live only by the physical food for the nourishment of our bodies. Deuteronomy 8 and Jesus also quotes this when he is being attacked by Satan after he'd been baptised. Deuteronomy 8.3 and he humbled thee and suffered thee to hunger and fed thee with manna which thou knewest not. Neither did thy fathers know that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live. Every word. God's word is revealed to us here in this book. the book called the Bible. And we strive day by day, don't we? We work, which is right, to provide for things for our bodies. But how often the striving for things for our bodies, we neglect the things for our souls. We do not satisfy our souls with the word of the Lord. We don't feed on the word of the Lord. and we strive after that bread which passes away. And so in the life of Josiah the forgotten book was found. God has only given one book. There are many books that have been written about this book, but this is the only book that God has given. It is the way that God has chosen other than creation to reveal himself to us. It is the only way that God has chosen to reveal to us the testimony of his son, the Lord Jesus Christ. And it is through this book and through the preaching and reading of this book that the Holy Spirit works and brings people to godly sorrow and repentance of their sins and enables them to conform their lives to the teachings of this book. God has only given us one book and this one book is the book that is so often left aside, hidden away. This book is so often the book that we're too busy to read We go to sit down to read it and we then pick up another book or we go on our phones or we fall asleep. It's so often a book that is just left on the shelf that it's the one book that God has given that we might be able to know him. And as we read through the book we are getting to know God and we are getting to know his ways and we are getting to know his son the Lord Jesus Christ. And as the book of the Lord of Moses was hidden away, how often is this book, the Word of God, the Bible, hidden away, lost in the busyness of our lives. Speaking for myself, get up late, haven't got time to read, late for work, got to rush off, we forget, we think it doesn't matter and we neglected the one thing that is precious because we're too busy running this way and that way. It's always the last thing for us to read in our troubles. We don't turn to the Word of God to find comfort. We may turn to other things and then we think oh Let's turn to God's word and see if there's any promises there that may find me comfort. It was hidden away, but when it was found, it had an effect. Dosier had the book read to him and it brought him to personal repentance. Although he had tried to cleanse the land of idols yet when he came face to face with God's word then he was convicted of himself, of his sin and he rent his clothes then verse 21 it says go and inquire of the Lord he sought God true repentance brings us to God we seek God we know that he is merciful but then he receives that confirmation of salvation he is told in verse 20 7. Because thine heart was tender, and thou didst humble thyself before God, when thou heardest his words against this place and against the inhabitants thereof, and thou humblest thyself before me, and didst rend thy clothes and weep before me, I have heard thee also, saith the Lord. Behold, I will gather thee to thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered to thy grave in peace, Neither shall thine eyes see all the evil which I'll bring upon this place and upon the inhabitants of the same. So they brought the king the word again. And so the repentants brought about seeking which responded with an answer from God. You will go to your grave in peace. What a blessing that is. to go to the grave in peace, having peace with God, because Christ himself has removed the sting of death, which is sin. Hezekiah was able to go to his grave in peace. He didn't leave it there. He didn't say, oh, thank you. I'm going to my grave in peace. He then, because he was in that position of a king, sought to bring about a revival, a restoration of the law of the Lord and he goes to the temple and he begins to read out all of the words of the Lord to all the people so that they may hear the word of God. And all the days, all his days, they departed not from following the Lord. Now often, if someone brings about a purging of a place, the people's hearts weren't changed. And so when Josiah went, the people went back to normal. And so what is needed is the transformation of the heart. So there's a continuation. It doesn't rely on the salvation of mummy and daddy or granddad and grandma or your friends. When they go, you continue. And Josiah went, everything went backwards. But he himself had a desire to bring about a restoration. And he was changed. In the 1500s there was the man Martin Luther who through searching the scriptures realised and through the revelation of God realised all that the Catholic Church was doing and the unscriptured doctrine that was taking place. And so he and others brought about a revival, a restoration, an exposing of the word of God so that the common man could understand the scriptures. For years it had been hidden from them. But they sought to translate it and to expose it. And God, working with them, brought about a revival into which we are still reaping the benefits of it even today. But where did it come from? and exposing of the word of God. A lifting the word of God and lifting preaching back to its rightful position so that God through his mercy can work through his own word for the benefit of people. To turn them from witchcraft and Satan worship and worldliness and bring about a true restoration in Nehemiah. After Josiah died the children of Israel were taken off into captivity to Babylon and then they were in the reign of Cyrus allowed back and they built the temple and they built the walls. But what happened again was a bringing to the word of God back to the surface. In Nehemiah 7, sorry, Nehemiah 8, verse 8. So they read the book of the law of God distinctly and gave the sense and caused them to understand the reading. And God worked. The people were brought to mourn over their sin and they began to follow the Lord. And it's said that from that time, from the time of Nehemiah and that revival that took place there, there was never a going back to idol worship. Yet there was in the book of Malachi that departing away from the truth and they began to offer up sacrifices that were blind and maimed and such like. It was the bringing the Word of God to the surface and the reading of the Word of God, the people understanding the Word of God, the people obeying the Word of God. So we say today, bring back the book. Our land was once known as the land of the book, the land of the Bible. Our pulpits are in the middle because we say that the scripture must be centre, the preaching must be centre of our worship. Listening to the Word of God, understanding of the Word of God, living out the Word of God, purging our lives from things that are contrary to the Word of God. like a Josiah, a young man, not following after the ways of the world and the idol worship, but going against the grain, coming back to the word of God and acting upon it and bringing about a great change. And we know that Christ also is the centerpiece of God's word. He is the word. And if I be lifted up, he says, I will draw all men unto me. And Helkanah, the priest, found a book of the law, of the Lord, given by Moses. He says, I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord. And Helkanah delivered it, the book, to Cephan. And we have found the book. We have the book. What is left is to read the book, to meditate upon the book, and to obey the book. May God add His blessing. Amen. Our final hymn this morning is from Gadsby's hymn number 232. 232. Be gone, unbelief, my saviour is near, and for my relief will surely appear. By prayer let me wrestle and he will perform. With Christ in the vessel, I smile at the storm. Hymn 232, tune 807. ♪ Gone unbelief, my Savior is near ♪ ♪ And for my relief will surely appear ♪ ♪ By granite we wrestle and He will perform ♪ ♪ With Christ in the vessel ♪ Christ, one and the sole. Though dark be my way, since he is my guide, Tis mine to obey, tis his to provide, That systems be broken, and creatures all fail, The word He has spoken shall surely prevail. His love in time past forbids me to fear. He'll lead me at last in trouble to save. It's sweet Ebenezer, I have been reviewed. Convert is good pleasure to help me quite through. It's a myth to say he was to my power, when Satan's blind slave I sported with death. And can he have taught me to trust? and thus far have brought me to put me to shame. Why should I complain of want or distress, temptation or pain? ♪ He told me no less ♪ ♪ He has all salvation ♪ ♪ I know from his word ♪ ♪ Through much tribulation ♪ ♪ Must follow the Lord ♪ ♪ How bitter that love ♪ her heart can conceive, which even quite how that sinners might live. Its labels much rougher and darker than mine, dear Christ, These things, all that I need, shall work for my good. The bitter is sweet, the mental is good. The painful, at present, will cease before long. And they know how pleasant the conqueror's song. Heavenly Father, we do thank Thee for Thy Word, the Bible that has been given to us. We thank Thee that there were those long ago who risked their lives to translate it into a language that we can understand, and we pray that as we try to read it and speak from it and to think about it, We ask that it may be a seed planted within our hearts, that it may not be snatched away by Satan, but that it may bear fruit for our honour and for thy glory. Do bless us, we pray, in the interval. Do help us as we come again to worship thee and bless us as we sit around thy table. and do now dismiss us in thy with thy blessing and may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God the Father with the fellowship and the communion of the Holy Spirit to be with us each now and for evermore. Amen.