Thank you very much. Now we're turning in God's Word to Ezekiel, chapter 33. Ezekiel, chapter 33, and we'll commence reading at verse 1. Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, let the people of the land take a man of their coast, and set him for their watchman. If, when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people, Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning, if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning, his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul. But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned, if the sword come and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity. But his blood will I require at the watchman's hand. So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel. Therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me. When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die. If thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity. But his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it, if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity. But thou hast delivered thy soul. Therefore, O thou Son of Man, speak unto the house of Israel. Thus ye speak, saying, If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live? Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways, for why will ye die? O house of Israel. Amen. And we know that God will add his own blessing of his word. Can we bow together now just for a few minutes prayer. Let us all bow before the Lord and let us seek his face. Our Father in heaven, once again, we assemble ourselves in thy house and we come before thy face in the attitude of prayer through the merits of the atoning blood of the Lord Jesus. O God and Father, we do humbly pray just now that we will know Thy presence and know Thy touch as we turn to Thy Word. We pray, O God, that in this time of preaching, that the very atmosphere of this meeting will be congenial to the preaching of the Word. And we pray, O God, that every heart will be prepared. We pray that every person will know the presence of the Lord. We remember especially any here who are not saved. And, O God, we pray that the Holy Ghost will grip them by His mighty power, that He will awaken them to their need, that He will show them their lost condition, reveal to them the reality of hell, and that He will turn them to gaze upon the Lamb for sinners slain. Know God as they look on the Lamb of God. May they see in Him their place of safety, their refuge, their ark, and the rock of their salvation. Lord, work to this end, we pray, and do give us help in the preaching of the Word, and use it for Thy glory and for the honour of King Jesus' name, we ask it for His sake alone. Amen. I want to speak to you tonight on verse 11 of Ezekiel chapter 33. That verse says, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn ye, turn ye, O from your evil ways, for why will ye die, O house of Israel? In ancient biblical times a very important role was played by the watchman. And there were watchmen in many spheres of society. The most important and preeminent place that the watchman played his role was in regard to warfare. And we find from history that the armies would appoint a man to serve in this capacity. and in that position he was responsible for watching out for the enemy and then to give the warning of their approach and in so doing warn his own people, his own comrades to be ready and to be prepared to do battle. And as attacks often came at night, the watchman was especially employed during the hours of darkness The night time was divided into four sections. There was the evening, the middle, and the morning watch. I should have said three sections. The evening, the middle, and the morning watch. And each section was comprised of four hours. And during that time, different men would, during each time a different man would come. do his four hours and then another would come and he would carry out his space of time right on through until the night was by and the danger was past. There were also watchmen in the agricultural realm, men who were responsible for watching over flocks and crops and at the sign of wild beasts or looters coming, they gave the signal and so their flocks and their crops were saved. I had the great privilege of being in Israel a few years ago and I saw one of these watchtowers. It was simply a tower on the roof of the house of a shepherd. And around the tower there was a little wall built so that he could stand behind it. And he looked out over his fields and was able to see clearly and plainly just what was going on. So there were watchmen in all of these realms. But the most important sphere for the watchman was in the spiritual realm. And we find here from this passage that God had His watchmen. And one of them was this man called Ezekiel. Because the Lord said to him in verse 7, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel. And Ezekiel was a watchman in the sense that he warned Israel of the impending disaster of captivity and of judgment. And he told them exactly what was coming upon them. And as we read these verses, we find that the watchman's role in the spiritual realm is a very serious and a very solemn responsibility. And my friend, you note carefully that what the Lord told the watchman to say, he said it. he had to say it because if he didn't and the people as a result not being warned were slain and therefore taken away in their sin that man was held accountable for their blood. How many men there are today in the religious world who haven't the courage to speak out and warn the people and tell them exactly what is coming upon them. And there are countless numbers in religion associated with churches. And they don't know what lies before them. For the watchmen have not been faithful. They have deserted the towers. They have come down. And the people are not warned. And many are perishing in their sin because they haven't been warned and told of what lies before, of which man has a very serious task indeed. And part of the message which Ezekiel was to tell these people was that concerning their death. He spoke to them of death and of judgment and of what lay ahead of them. And then, as we read and come to this final verse, of the passage which we read, we find that the Lord, in the midst of this warning note, or at the end of this warning note, He gives a wonderful word to the people. And concerning their death, He proclaims His attitude, God's attitude to the death of a sinner. That's what this verse is all about. God's attitude. to the death of a sinner. And there are three things that we want to note about God's attitude concerning the death of the man or woman who dies in sin and is lost. First of all, we see here that God has no delight in the death of a sinner. It says very clearly, as I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked. God has no pleasure, no delight in the death of a man who is in sin, who is in iniquity, who has no blood on his soul. That is, the blood of Christ has not been applied. God has no delight in the death of that man. And as we read the book of Ezekiel, We find that on three occasions the Lord emphasised that, that he had no delight in the death of the wicked. Chapter 18 and verse 23 says, in the form of a question, have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? And then in verse 32 of the same chapter he says, for I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord. And here in our text, he says, as I live, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked. You read those verses, my friend, and you will find that as they progress, the emphasis increases. on this fact that God has no delight or no pleasure in the damnation of a soul. He starts off, as it were, in the form of a question as if he were surprised that such a thing could be thought of him that he would have any delight or any satisfaction or any thrill in his soul being launched out into hell. He says, have I any pleasure at all? And then he gives a positive assertion in verse 32, for I have no pleasure. And here in our text, to emphasize it and underline it, he swears. And because he can swear by no higher, he swears by himself and he says, as I live, as I live, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked. You know, there are people who will try to tell you that God is some cold, clinical being, and souls being lost in hell does not cause them any sorrow. My friend, that is contrary to Scripture, because God states here and in many other places, He has no pleasure in such a a happening that gives him no thrill, that gives him no joy to see a poor, guilty soul having wandered in sin, having rebelled against his law, having been stubborn and wayward throughout life, going out into the blackness of the darkness of a lost eternity. God has no pleasure in that. God has no delight in that. And although my friend, in his justice and as a result of his justice he must send those souls to hell and he must banish them forever from his presence. Even then he is sorrowful and he has no pleasure over their awful and terrible plight. It could be demonstrated in many ways. Many proofs could be given that God has no pleasure in the death of the sinner, and no pleasure in the consequences of that death. One proof is the scarcity of judgment among men. Now, don't be getting me wrong, because the Lord does intervene from time to time, and he judges mankind with catastrophes, etc. But those instances of judgment, they are very scarce. You read this book and you'll read of some of the most wicked men who ever lived. And you will read the accounts of some of the most terrible deeds ever perpetrated by mankind. And on manifold occasions when their sins were crying out for judgment, God did not send the judgment. God spared them. God passed by. And that very fact shows that he has no pleasure in the death of the wicked sinner, in the death of those even who shake their puny fists in his face. and rebel against him blatantly and openly and with an awful hatred of himself, even then God will pass by and will allow them to live. And my friend, look at the state of the world tonight. Look at the awful, dark, vile sins which mankind is guilty of? And is it not an amazing thing that the whole world has not been judged long ago? Is it not a wonder that God has stayed his hand and withheld the vials of wrath? It is a wonder. Governments legalizing the most obnoxious sins known among humanity. legalizing sodomy, legalizing abortion, making it easy for marriages to be broken up, for families to be thrown into division. All that has been done and even worse things. Yet, my friend, the catastrophes and the judgments which those sins surely call for, they haven't come. God has withheld them, showing that he has no delight in the overthrow or the death of those who have been guilty. And then they could prove this fact again by noticing the easy manner in which God's wrath is appeased. Again, you turn to the Scripture, to 1 Kings chapter 21. In verse 29, for example, and you'll read of an instance when a man's sin should have been judged when the wrath of God, yea, the wrath of God pronounced to fall, it was withheld. 1 Kings chapter 21 and verse 29, the Lord says, seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth himself before me. I will not bring the evil in his days, but in his son's days will I bring the evil upon his house. God had formerly stated that Ahab would be judged and smitten. When Ahab heard those words, he put on cycloth and ashes. had an outward veneer of repentance, although it was not heart repentance. And yet, my friend, it was enough to appease God's wrath, enough for Him to withhold the judgment, stay His wrath, although it came later against Ahab's house in the days of those who came on the throne after him. But that shows That very fact shows that God has no delight in the death of a wicked man. Another proof is the length of time, the length of time given to stubborn, hard-necked, rebellious sinners. You know, you look at man and compare those who belong to the Lord with those who are unsaved and wicked in their ways. And I've often wondered why it is that when God's people, when the old saint of God who is seeking to live for the Lord is being afflicted and is having hardship and trial, at the same time the wicked man is flourishing and his days are long upon the earth and everything for him is easy, it seems, and he has nothing to worry about. I've often wondered why that situation should exist. Well, my friend, the simple answer is that God is sparing those sinners as long as he can, for he has no delight in the day of their death. He has no delight in that moment when they will go out into eternity and face the consequences of their sin. He bears with them through youthful folly. He bears with them through their days of manhood and womanhood when they go on in a stiff-necked rebellious way and even in old age, when they have completely hardened their hearts, when there is no sign of repentance, when there is no evidence of remorse. And they continue to go on as they always did. They're spared and their days are lengthened out. Why is that? Because God has no delight in their death. Dear sinner friend, Let me speak to you now. Let me say to you at this moment that you deserve, in fact we all deserve, to have been cut off and banished in hell long ago. You think of the sins that you have been guilty of. You're lying. You're swearing. You're taking of God's name in vain. You're breaking of his day. And a host of others. All violations of his commandments. My dear friend, if you had been getting what you deserved, your soul would have been in the flames of hell long ago. But why are you here in this meeting tonight? Why has God permitted you to live at all? Why has God not let His stroke of judgment fall upon you simply because your death and your perishing in hell do not give Him any delight? Just think on how privileged you are to be here in this Gospel meeting. Privileged to hear the Watchman's voice, to hear the warning note, to be told of your danger, to be warned, my friend, that while God has permitted you to love, and while He has spared you, and while He has withholding His judgment, yet, dear friend, it is surely coming. that is surely coming for God. One day His mercy will be extinguished and the filth of your sin will cry out in such an awful way that God will no longer withhold His hand, His rod, and you will surely pay the consequences, or reap the consequences of your sin. Remember that. That day is coming. And for that reason, we notice here, secondly, that God's desire is for the deliverance of the wicked. He says, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. His delight is not in the death of the wicked, but his delight and his desire is that the wicked would turn, turn from his sin, turn from his evil ways, turn from the mad road of folly that he is upon and seek the Lord as God desired for you. My dear sinner, let me say something. Among the highest of divine joys and delights is the turning of the sinner to seek the Lord. The Lord says in Psalm, or the psalmist says in Psalm 147 verse 11, The Lord taketh pleasure in him, in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy. Those are the kind of people whom God has pleasure in, whom he is delighted with, those in whom there is the sign, even the least sign, of repentance and sorrow over sin and faith in Jesus Christ. Tell me, my friend, is in your heart tonight even a glimmer of anxiety about your soul? even a trace of the feeling of guilt over your sin, and there, down there in the darkness of your heart, a little pinpoint of concern over your past living and over your future state. Even that brings pleasure to the Lord God of heaven. But as great as joy is when a sinner turns, turns from his wicked ways and seeks salvation. How will the sinner turn? Whom will he turn to? In what attitude will he make that turn? The sinner must turn in repentance. And the sinner must turn to no other but Jesus Christ. And he must turn by faith. Because we read in Hebrews chapter 11 and 6 that without faith it is impossible to please Him. Why turn to Jesus Christ? Why is it that God has such a delight in the man or the woman, the young person who does turn from sin and who places his faith in Christ and the Son of God? It's because, my friend, God is fully satisfied with and has a full delight in His Son and in His work and in His shed blood. And when he sees a sinner sheltering beneath that blood, when he sees a guilty soul seeking the covering of the atonement with which God is infinitely satisfied and pleased, that is why God is delighted in that sinner's action. The cross work, the sacrifice, all that the Lord Jesus did in his life and in his death, because he not only died for me, he lived for me. All that he did in his life and in his death, it pleases God, satisfies God, delights the heart of God. My dear friend, the Lord loves to see sinners trusting in that shed blood. It brings joy to his heart to see a sinner plunging by faith into the fountain of blood. You read there, those well-known words in Luke 15 and 10, where it says, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth. Some people will quote that verse as if it said, the angel Rejoice. Or the angels have joy over sinners repenting. They probably do. But the verse says there is joy in the presence of the angels. What does that tell us? It tells us that when a sinner repents and turns to God and forsakes his sin and moves by faith to the finished work, there is someone rejoicing in heaven in the presence of the very angels. And I'm sure the angels do rejoice. And it could be that the saints who have already gone home rejoice. We don't know those things. And I'm telling you, dear friend, the Lord certainly rejoices. The Lord is certainly delighted. He's thrilled. when he sees the guilty soul returning to him, when he sees the wandering sheep coming home, the Lord is delighted. I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but, and that but implies that his delight, his pleasure is in the turning of the wicked from his evil ways. Dear sinner, you can never please God. Get this fact into your mind. You can never please God of your own accord, by your own attempts, by anything you do. You can only please God when you're resting in His Son. You can only bring His approval upon you when you're sheltering beneath the blood of the Lamb. Then and then only. will God turn His smile upon you. That's when God will have any delight in you, and His delight will only be for Christ's sake, and on the account of Christ's blessed work. But what a work that is, all sufficient, all powerful, dealing with all sin, with regard to those who come and believe. Will you come tonight? Will you come tonight? Because we read here that God's demand is for the sinner to turn now. He says, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked may turn from his way and live. in any demands of the sinner, turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways, for why will you die? Well, my dear friend, hear not the voice of this preacher tonight. Hear the voice of God Almighty. Turn ye, turn ye, for why will you die? The Lord puts a question to you there. Why will you die? What is he saying? He is saying why will you go to hell when you can have heaven? Why will you be lost in the torments and in the afflictions of that awful place when you can have glory? And you can have an inheritance that is undefiled, that is incorruptible, that will never fade away. Why give up all that, dear friend? Why will you die? Because if you go to hell, you not only lose your soul, but you lose heaven, and you lose a savior, and you lose a crown, and you lose all that heaven affords, and you lose all the blessings One at the cross. And that's why God puts that very pertinent question, why will you die? And he demands turn. Turn. It's personal. Turn ye. Turn ye. For why will you die? If you're honest, you can give no answer. You can say, you can never say, Lord, there is a reason why I should forfeit heaven and glory and the reward. You can never do it for Him. You're like the man whom we read of in the Gospel of Matthew. The man who was at the marriage feast and he had no wedding garment. And the Lord came in and challenged him. and ask him why, and he was speechless. Dear sinner, you're speechless now because you have no positive argument or reason for going to hell when you could have heaven. And how much more speechless will you be on the day of judgment when God will call you before him? When the Almighty in the person of Christ will summon you to the judgment, to the great white throne, and you will be held accountable for all your sin. It will all be declared, it will all be read, it will all be revealed how speechless you will be. Not an answer, not a word. Yea, my friend, I would say that on the day of judgment, when the degrees of punishment are meted out, sinners will fully realize that they're getting what they deserve, that their punishment is according to their sin, and God is simply being just. Would you ever imagine that you can answer God, that you can argue with God? Just come now, Turn from your wicked ways. Seek His grace. Call upon Him to have mercy on your soul. Be serious, be earnest about this matter. And the Lord will surely pardon. Let's bow together and have a word of prayer. Just now, in the quietness of the final few minutes of this meeting, with every head bowed and every eye closed, and I trust with every child of God really praying, could I talk for a few minutes to those who need the Savior. Dear sinner, your sin gives no pleasure to God. But the Lord says here that your death gives him no pleasure either. How merciful he is to even say such a thing. Just you remember that you will die As sure as you're alive at this moment, you'll die. That's the only thing you can be certain about in life, it's death. The Lord doesn't want you to die as you are. Die in your present state. He wants you to turn to Him. He has called you tonight. He's pleaded with you. He's implored you to turn. Will you turn? I've told you how you turn in faith. You turn by resting upon Christ alone and upon his finished work. If there's someone here who is willing and who desires to be saved, the Lord has spoken to your heart. If you want to be saved tonight, Just now will you quickly and quietly raise your hand so that I can see it. I want to give this opportunity, man or woman, boy or girl, young person, if the Lord has dealt with your soul, you're concerned and you're troubled and you want to be right with him, just now raise your hand right up so that I can see it. or there's someone here who has walked away from the Lord. You're backslidden. Your heart is cold. Fellowship with God is nonexistent. Return tonight and seek his mercy. Sinner or backslider, quickly now, raise your hands. If you couldn't get that hand raised, then, dear friend, as you go out the door, make your need known. I will be there, and I'll be glad to speak to you. Father in heaven, do write my word upon every heart, and we pray that it will bear fruit, and we pray that sinners will be turned by the power of the Holy Ghost and brought in faith and in repentance. to Jesus Christ. Part as with thy blessing, give traveling mercies to all. For we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.