Seeking for the help of the Lord, I direct your prayerful attention to Matthew, the Gospel according to Matthew chapter 12 and verse 42. We have one of our free Bibles, that's page 897. Matthew chapter 12 and verse 42. This is our Lord and Saviour speaking. The Queen of the South, that is, the Queen of Sheba that we read of, shall rise up in the judgment with this generation and shall condemn it, for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, a greater than Solomon is here. Matthew 12 and verse 42. You read from verse 38 that the scribes and Pharisees came to our Lord saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. Of course, the Lord has worked many miracles. He had given them many, many signs in the things that he had said. the things that he'd done, the miracles that had been performed, and yet they did not believe, they did not receive him. And just previous in this chapter, they were accusing him of casting out devils by the prince of devils. And so our Lord then directed them to a previous generation He directs them to Jonah and he says that as Jonah was three days, three nights in the whale's belly, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Really a prophesying of what he was to go through in his death, his burial, his rising again. But then he refers to the men of Nineveh that Jonah was sent to preach to and whose preaching brought them to repentance. And he says that those men of Nineveh shall rise in the judgment with this generation and shall condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah's. Beholder greater than Jonas is here. So he's comparing himself with Jonah. And then, in the words of our text, he's comparing the Queen of Sheba with himself as well, and, or comparing Solomon with himself, and that the Queen of Sheba came to see Solomon, to see his wisdom, And he concludes with this application, and behold a greater than Solomon is here. And so it is my desire that on this occasion when we would remember the reign of our Queen, and we could say in this whatever may be said of our monarch, that the Lord Jesus Christ is greater. It's a good thing if we're led from kings, queens, that we can actually see here below and to then think that our Lord and Saviour is greater and in what way He is greater. In the words of our text, what way is our Lord greater? than Solomon. And so I want to look then at four things and we introduce them as we come. Firstly, as this is a comparison with Solomon and his greatness, then let us just think again what we read in 1 Kings chapter 10 of Solomon's greatness. The Queen of Sheba had heard the report, but when she comes, she herself has things that she has to say of his greatness as a first-hand witness. The things that she perceived as she came and saw him was concerning the Lord his God, concerning the name of the Lord, in verse one of chapter 10. And then it was the wisdom that God had given him that was so evidenced in the questions that she asked, the things that she tested and tried him in. And then when she saw his table, all of the evidence of that well. Sometimes we get pictures of the banquets in Buckingham Palace and we see all the layouts of that table so different than ours in our homes and how all of the officials are all dressed and those invited are and it is a picture of great great wealth and great pomp and great evidence just in looking at it of a wealth that is far beyond most people's even expectation. And then she viewed his servants. She viewed how happy they were. She viewed how he went up to the house of God, how he worshipped the Lord. And then she viewed all of the material wealth that he had, the gold, the silver. The silver really wasn't accounted anything in his days, but gold and everything made of that. Then we had the throne, the ivory throne, and the observation again and again made that there is nothing like that made of any kingdom. The whole picture is really the greatest, most wonderful, blessed kingdom, and in material things, in wisdom, that ever could be. And this is the picture that she has, and we are told later on further, Things were told of his navy, were told of his chariots, his horsemen. And in verse 23, so Solomon, King Solomon, exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and wisdom. Now those to whom our Lord spake, they would have known this in the Old Testament scriptures. They would have been well aware of that. And for this man, Jesus of Nazareth, who they had only just been likening or saying that he was casting out devils by the Prince of Devils, for him to compare himself with Solomon and say that he was greater than Solomon, that surely must have made such an impression on those that were listening to him. And I want then to look secondly at a greater than Solomon. Our Lord makes this statement, this comparison. Behold, a greater than Solomon is here. How is our Lord greater? Well, what they could not see was here was God manifest in the flesh. This was God himself. This was he of whom Solomon said, the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee. How much less this house that I have builted, but will God in very deed dwell upon the earth. This is he. The Lord Jesus Christ, veiled in flesh, the Godhead see. This was he that had given that wisdom to Solomon. I well remember some years ago speaking to one of the businessmen in this town, and they were seeking to, he's one of the counsellors, to have a Sunday market. And I'm very thankful to say at that time they listened and they did not have that market. But he said to me, he said, you know, in these council meetings, he said, we need the wisdom of Solomon. I said, yes, that's right. But you've got to remember where Solomon got his wisdom from. And I gave him the printouts of the Proverbs, the Ecclesiastes and these accounts of Solomon and what God had given him. Our hymn that we've just sung, it refers to the time that Solomon had the dream and God asked him what he would give him, what he should ask when he first came to the kingdom, that is in 1 Kings Chapter 3. And Solomon answered the Lord and said, Thou hast showed unto thy servant David, my father, great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth and in righteousness and in uprightness of heart with thee. Thou hast kept for him this great kindness, Thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. Now he felt but as a little child, and so he confessed, he said he knew not how to go out or how to come in, and in the midst of the people that is the people of the Lord. And so he asked this, give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad, for who is able to judge this? Thy so great a people." And that speech, it pleased the Lord. And he said to Solomon, because he had not asked for riches for himself, or long life, or the life of his enemies, but had asked that thing, asked wisdom, and to understand judgment and discern judgment, that he would give him that wisdom, but also the riches and honour as well. And so the scriptures very clearly said before us that that wisdom that came from the Lord. So where the Lord says that he is greater than Solomon, Solomon had the wisdom that was given him, but here in the Lord Jesus Christ, was the one that was the source of that wisdom and source of the riches as well. If you were to go back to Deuteronomy chapter 8 and the Lord charging his people when they had to go into the promised land and the Lord would bless them and he warned them that when he had blessed them, that they say, even in their heart, not even outwardly, but just in their heart, my power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth. But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God, for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant, which he swear unto thy fathers, as it is this day. And so when our Lord says a greater than Solomon is here, first level we would look at it when you're just looking at those riches that he had, that they all came from the Lord. He was the giver of them. We need to remember that whatever the Lord blesses us with in this life, it is that the Lord has given us power to get those things and he has given them to us. That is then for temporal things. But what about eternal things? Solomon must needs die. Solomon was a sinner. His sins are recorded. He went after the idols, the gods of his many, many wives, and they turned his heart away from the Lord. Solomon was not at all perfect. And yet before he was born, the Lord blessed his father David and showed him something of the manner of his kingdom. And David sat before the Lord and said, is this the manner of man, O Lord God? I believe David looked right past the son that was to be born and to sit on the throne of Israel. and to see our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Our Lord backs this up in this comparison here. Many times in the prophecies, some people would stop short at what is being described of a king, whether it be Hezekiah or Solomon or other kings, David himself, but the whole teaching of scripture is to go past those earthly kings and to the king of kings. When Israel wanted to imitate the nations, the heathen nations, in the days of Samuel, and they wanted a king, and God gave them King Saul, But Samuel, he was very grieved at it. And the Lord said, they have not rejected thee, they have rejected me. And he made them to understand what a solemn thing it was, that they should want to imitate the heathen or to have a king in that way. And yet when he gave it to them, he said, if you and your king, if you serve the Lord, then he will bless you. But if they were to turn aside and turn away from serving him, then the Lord would deal with them both. Which of course, later on in their history, he did. In the carrying away into Babylon, and before that, the 10 tribes into Assyria. are greater than Solomon is here. Here is the spotless, pure, innocent Son of God, God Himself, manifest in the flesh. Here is the giver of natural life and the giver of eternal life. Here is the Redeemer, the Saviour, the only name given among men, whereby we must be saved, however much Solomon might have a name that is a great name, or any king, a great name. The Lord Jesus has a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow. And that is because he was obedient, even unto death, the death of the cross. Therefore God hath highly exalted him. So with our Lord Jesus Christ we are directed unto where his greatness really lay and how many they saw just Joseph and his son Jesus. They saw the brethren of our Lord. They were offended at him. they could not see that greatness. And nor can we, unless the Lord opens our eyes and shows that greatness to us. On to look then thirdly, at hearing of his fame. Our Lord says in our text that she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon. In the portion we read, we read that the first step was hearing of his fame. When she came, she says that the half had not been told her the wisdom, the fame had exceeded the report, but the report was needed It was vital. We're not told how she heard, but she did. And when we put that to hearing of the fame of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord has so ordered it that sinners do hear of him. It's not left to there is an organised way that the Lord makes sure that his name is set forth and what he has done is made known. And so the Lord has given us the Word of God, the Bible that we have, in all the scriptures our Lord spoke, those two are the way to Emmaus, the things concerning himself, the whole of the Word of God. It speaks to exalt and lift up and to show the Lord Jesus Christ in the very words that the Holy Spirit, God himself, has designed he should be shown forth. It is not man that has thought, well, this would be nice to save him, or that would be nice. God has. as it were written, his own testimony and own account of his beloved son. And that is set forth in the word of God. So when the Queen of Sheba heard of his fame, if we have read the word of God, then we also have heard of his fame. The Lord has not just left it there, he has also sent forth his servants and as at the end of this gospel the sending of them forth was prefaced by the Lord saying that all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Over all kings, over everyone, all power is given unto me. Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you all the way even unto the end of the world. The Lord has ordained that his fame that which he has accomplished and finished at Calvary, the putting away of sin or the sacrifice of himself, the finished work that he declared was finished, that work that he said when he was 12, wished he not, that I must be about my father's business, that work that he came to do and did accomplish and did do, the death that he died the rising saviour, the empty tomb, those things are to be preached. Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And that fame of Him is to go forth. He is lifted up in this way. Another way that His fame is set forth is in His people, those that have seen those who have been partakers of his grace, those who have been blessed with spiritual life. This people have I formed for myself, they shall show forth my praise. When the Lord healed those like the mad Gadarene and others, many they wanted to be with him, but he sent them, go to thy friends and tell how great things God hath done for thee. And each one of them became ambassadors, became of those that spake well of the Lord Jesus Christ, the man that was born blind. He says even to the scribes and Pharisees which were speaking against him, will ye also be his disciple. So we have his people, the means that his fame is noised and heard. Then we have the ordinances of the house of God. We have the ordinance of baptism and of the Lord's Supper, showing his death till the Lord come, doing this in remembrance of him so that his fame, especially in what he has accomplished in putting away sin by the sacrifice at Calvary, never forgotten. And there are many that do not have any idea of the Christian faith and yet their idea is of a worship is of the Lord's Supper, the communion. Can we sit down? Can we join in that? And especially those brought up with a Church of England tradition where every service or every Lord's Day especially there is the ordinance, there is the Lord's Supper, the communion service. I remember I have spoken to several in Leverting some years ago and been questioned, especially on this point and just before this service as well. And the thought that a person cannot sit down and partake of the ordinance The immediate thought is, well, I can't have anything to do with this service. There's nothing for me at all. They're not used to the preaching of the word. They're only used to the ordinance. And yet, if it is rightly taught, even in that, it is exalting the Lord, it is setting him forth. how vital we do need a right teaching of it. We know, of course, the Roman Catholics teach it as another sacrifice instead of a remembrance service. It is a sacrifice again of our Lord as he is somehow supposedly turned into the bread and into the wine. The Lord has ordained these means then of hearing of his fame. And before I pass on to our last point, maybe think of the way it's put here. We may think, well, we've heard of the Lord Jesus Christ. We've heard the gospel. Sometimes we can be gospel-hardened. We've heard it so many times. But maybe here is a different way that it is set forth, the fame of Jesus. Maybe think of those times we've heard the word preached, we've heard it from his people, we've heard their testimonies, we've read it in the word of God. And may, when we go from the Lord's house today, we think of this in this way, What is the Lord famed for? Why is he so spoken of with such high regard from those that know him? We know the world is in the Psalms. They only consult to cast him down from his excellency. But the people of God in his temple, everyone does speak of his glory. Why is there such a disparity? Some just trying to cast him down and others they're speaking of his glory. May we be of those that hear of his fame, we see the beauty, the grandeur, the preciousness of Christ greater than Solomon is here. When we're thinking, this time of our own sovereign, we have a comparison very nigh at hand. Here is a greater, a greater than our sovereign. What a solemn thing it is. How many go after a king, a queen, that they can see, but despise and have no time for the king of kings? The Queen of Sheba, when she heard, she came. So I want to think of this coming to him. You know, it was not just the Queen of Sheba. When the wise men heard of the star, they came to see him. When the shepherds heard from the angels about the Lord being born and where he was in the stable, they went and to see him. When Philip would speak to Nathaniel, and Nathaniel under the fig tree says, can any good thing come out of Nazareth? Then Philip says, come and see. And Nathaniel did and believed. The woman at the well of Samaria when the Lord had blessed her with that eternal life, those living waters, showing her what her life, her heart was, and telling her very explicitly that He was the Christ. She doesn't say to the men of Samaria, come see a man that told me He was the Christ, but come see a man that told me all things that ever I did. And she puts that question to them, for them to decide, is not this the Christ? And they did come, and they saw Him. They heard Him for themselves. And then they believed, they were brought to believe. What response? Does it move our hearts at all? Does it bring us in prayer? Does it draw us to Him? We know our Lord has said, that no man can come unto me except the Father which sent me draw him, and I'll raise him up at the last day. Be a blessed thing, we're able to see through the lattice of the Word, see through this Word here this evening, a greater than Solomon, and that our response is like unto the Queen of Sheba, that we desire to go after Him to see more of his glory, to see that which is revealed by the Holy Spirit. One thing that the Queen of Sheba said was that when she came, it was more than the report. And we may say this, that those who hear the report, even in an outward way, that is very, very different than having the Holy Spirit precious things of Jesus. Give faith and give one to see his beauty, his loveliness, his suitability to a sinner. And we will say, when we have seen that, that the half was not told us. You say to the ministers and the pastors, you have not described the Lord as we see him now. To those that have been converted or given their testimony to the church, you say, your words have not really described what now we see in him and how beautiful he is. This was the effect when the Queen of Sheba she came. May we be a coming sinner. coming on the report to the throne of grace, coming seeking like the Greeks did, serves. We would see Jesus. What had they heard? What had they heard to make them want to see him? What had the eunuch heard that he wanted to read the word of God? and to be found in it and to be found in the very place where the Lord was to be revealed to him. And so may we, from this word, a greater than Solomon is here, the comparisons that we have at this time, that we be drawn to the Lord and to his fame as a saviour of sinners and to the King of Kings So may the Lord bless this word to us. A greater than Solomon is here in our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.