Please turn with me in the Word of God to the Gospel of John, to chapter number 5, and my text is verse number 39. The Lord Jesus Christ says in verse 39, �Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and they are they which testify of me." The Lord Jesus Christ had healed the impotent man at the Pool of Bethesda, but because he had healed that man on the Sabbath day, the Jews sought to slay him. In the discourse which followed, the Lord Jesus Christ claimed absolute equality with God the Father. Indeed, between verses 17 and 29, we have one of the most profound portions of Holy Scripture in which the Lord Jesus Christ makes seven claims concerning himself. By way of introduction, I mention but three of the seven claims that our Lord makes in those verses. The first claim he makes is there in verse number 17. But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto. and eye work. In this one verse, the Lord Jesus Christ claims absolute equality with God the Father. There can be no misunderstanding of his words, no mistake in the force of his language here. In this one utterance, Christ places himself on the same level as God the Father, co-equal and co-eternal with the Father. and his accusers fully understand the force of Christ's statement that he was making himself equal with God. And at once their anger is kindled against him for the Jew sought the more to kill him. The second statement I draw your attention to is in verse number 19. Then answered Jesus, and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what things he seeth the Father do. For what things whoever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. And when you compare that with verse 30, I can of mine own self do nothing. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just. because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me. It is clear in these verses that the Lord is claiming that he cannot act independently of the Father's will. Christ's will is absolutely one with that of God the Father. His will is in perfect unison with that of the Father. In John 6 and verse 38, our Lord says, for I came down from heaven not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. In John 10, he says, I and my father are one. His first recorded words, wished he not that I must be about my father's business. And in the wilderness, he declared my meat is to do the will of him that sent me. So Christ's will is absolutely one with that of God the Father. The third statement of our Lord to which I draw your attention is in verse 21. For as the Father raiseth up the dead and quickeneth them, even so the Son quickeneth whom he will. And in this one verse our Lord claims divine sovereignty. The healing of the impotent man was a clear demonstration of his power and his absolute sovereignty, for we read at the beginning of the chapter around that pool of Bethesda that there lay a great multitude of impotent men. The Lord only healed one. He fixed his eye upon that one man and healed that one man, singling that one man out. He quickeneth whom he will. So our Lord makes seven statements, I've mentioned but three of them, where he claims equality with God the Father and then having made these claims, he declares in verse number 31, if I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. He has borne witness of himself and now he cites for others who bear witness of him. And the first of the four that he cites is God the Father. Verse 32 and verse 37. There is another that beareth witness of me, and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true. Verse 37. And the Father himself which hath sent me hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape. So God the Father has borne witness of him. This is my beloved son. in whom I am well pleased. The second witness which he cites is Mr. John Baptist in verses 33, 34, and 35. You sent unto John and he bear witness unto the truth, but I receive not testimony from man, but these things I say that he might be saved. He was a burning and a shining light and you were willing for a season to rejoice in his light. So he cites God the Father bearing witness to him. He cites Mr. John Baptist and then he brings forth a third witness. The miracles which he had performed in verse 36. But I have greater witness than that of John. For the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do bear witness of me that the Father hath sent me. The very miracles that he performed bore witness that he had been sent by God the Father. Indeed, our friend Mr. Nicodemus had to confess, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God, for no man can do these miracles that thou doest except God be with him. But in spite of the extravagant claims of many in our day, we do not witness those biblical miracles. We do not see the leper instantly cleansed. We do not witness paralysed and shriveled limbs restored whole in an instant. We do not see those born blind receiving their sight. We do not see the dead being raised to life. To our Lord cites these three witnesses, the father, then Mr John Baptist, and then the miracles which he had performed. And the fourth witness which he cites are the Holy Scriptures. In our text, verse 39, search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and they are they which testify of me. This is the last witness which our Lord brings forth. And without question, it is the most important witness of all. For Mr. John Baptist has long since passed away. The miracles of Christ are no longer before our eyes. And the voice of the Father no longer thunders from the heavens. But the Scriptures remain. And the Scriptures testify of Christ. And the Scriptures affirm his deity. And the witness of the Scriptures is the climax. The Holy Scriptures, given by inspiration of God, are the final court of appeal. Beyond them, there is no court of appeal. Above them, there is no higher authority. And after them, there is no further witness. And so we turn to our text in verse 39. Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and they are they which testify of me. Very simply this afternoon, three points. First of all, we shall look at the Scriptures, and then we will look at the search, and then the Saviour. First then, the Holy Scriptures. Search the Scriptures. The Holy Scriptures. The fifth aim of the Trinitarian Bible Society is, quote, to uphold the Bible as the inspired, inerrant word of God. Inspire the inerrant word of God. This is no common book. Let me make three points regarding the scriptures. First, regarding their inspiration. The Apostle Peter writes in 2 Peter chapter 1, for the prophecy came not in old time by the will of but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. As David, Moses, Solomon, the prophets, the apostles took their quills in hand and dipped those quills in the ink and began to write upon those ancient papyrus scrolls, something happened to those men, those godly men. Peter tells us they were moved by the Holy Ghost. The third person of the Blessed and Holy Trinity took hold of those godly men and moved them and bore them along and carried them. They were moved by the Holy Ghost. The Greek word there translated moved in 2 Peter 1 is the same Greek word which in Acts chapter 27 verse 15 is translated by the English word drive. We read in Acts 27 verse 15, and when the ship was caught and could not bear up into the wind, we let her drive. It's the same word. You see the picture there. Here is the Apostle Paul being carried to Rome on that sailing ship in the Mediterranean. It's caught up in this tremendous scale caused by the Euroclidon wind. And the captain of that sailing boat tries to hold that boat up into the wind, but to no avail. If He is to save that boat and all that are on that boat, He has to let that boat be taken by the wind and carried in the direction that the wind would take it. We let her drive. And in like manner those holy men of God, when the Holy Spirit came upon them, He took hold of them, moved them, drove them in the direction that the Holy Spirit Himself would have them go. so that the Apostle Paul can declare in Timothy that all scripture, not some of it, not most of it, all scripture is given by inspiration of God. And yet this is not mechanical dictation. Far from it. The Holy Spirit carried those godly men along, he drove them, he bore them along, but in such a manner that the Holy Spirit used the individual gifts intellectual abilities and personalities of those holy men of God, so that we are left, for example, with the rough simplicity of the Gospel of Mark. We are left with the wonderful poetry and harmonic melody of the Psalms of David, and we are left with the matchless, the majestic eloquence of the Apostle Paul's eighth chapter to the Romans, their inspiration. The second thing I'd like to say about the scriptures is their purity. God, we are told in Titus 1, cannot lie. God, who alone is truth, cannot inspire falsehood. He cannot inspire error, for God is truth. And the psalmist wrote in the psalm number 12, verse 6, the words of the Lord are pure words. As silver tried in a furnace of earth purified seven times. The picture that is brought before us there by the psalmist is of the silversmith who receives the ore from the mine. And he makes a furnace in the earth. And then he puts a crucible on that furnace. and then the ore which he has received from the mine he puts it into that crucible and then the furnace is heated up to 962 degrees Celsius at which temperature the silver in the ore melts and is drained away and is collected in a basin, leaving just the dross and the base metal behind. And then what the silversmith does, he takes that crucible and he tips the dross and the base metal out of it. And then he puts that crucible back on the furnace. And then that once refined silver he puts back into that crucible and once more he heats it up to 962 degrees Celsius. And that is repeated seven times so that the silver which emerges is the purest, the finest silver imaginable without any trace whatsoever of base metal or dross. It is silver of silver. Now says the Psalmist, the words of the Lord are pure words. silver tried in a furnace of earth purified seven times so that Agio the son of Jacob declares in Proverbs 30 verse 5 every word of God is pure not some of it not most of it every word from Genesis 1 in the beginning God to the last amen at the end of Revelation 22 and every word between every word of God is pure That's why a man like William Tyndale would not alter one syllable of God's word against his conscience. So the inspiration of scripture, the purity of scripture, and the third thing I say concerning the scriptures, their preservation. To read the articles of faith of many Christian societies, including many Bible societies, to read the articles of faith of many a church, It is clear to me that they do not hold to this vital doctrine, the preservation of Holy Scripture. For usually the first statement of faith reads somewhat like this, quote, we believe the Scriptures as originally given are inerrant. Well, that sounds fine. But there are great problems. Because what they mean is that the Only inerrant scriptures are those actual handwritten scriptures written by the hand of Moses, David, the prophets and the apostles. But we no longer have them. What we do have are accurate, meticulous copies of those original autographs. The Westminster Confession of Faith, The Baptist Confession of 1689, the Savoy Declaration of 1658, all of them, chapter 1, article 8, read like this. The Old Testament in Hebrew and the New Testament in Greek being immediately inspired by God and by his singular care and providence, listen, kept pure in all ages are therefore authentic. They are referring to those copies. of those original manuscripts. One of the gifts the Lord promised to his church would be scribes, men who would meticulously, painstakingly, accurately copy the word of God from generation to generation. Consider for a moment Isaiah 59 and verse 21, a remarkable verse. Isaiah 59, 21, As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the Lord. My spirit that is upon thee and my words which I have put in thy mouth shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and forever. In this remarkable declaration in Isaiah 59 verse 21, Jehovah himself promises two things. First, that the Church will always have the presence of the Holy Spirit. And second, the Church will always have the pure Word of the Living God. Consider the glorious 100th Psalm. How does that Psalm conclude, verse 5? for the Lord is good, his mercy is everlasting, and his truth endureth to all generations. But according to Mrs. Tischendorf, Westcott, Hort, and a multitude of so-called Greek scholars in our day and generation, according to them the Church did not have the pure word of God for the better part of 1,400 years, not until the so-called discovery of Codex Vaticanus, Codex Sinaiticus. Codices squirreled away, one in a monastery of idolatry, St. Catherine's Monastery, the other in the Antichrist Library in Rome. In other words, listening to Messrs. Wescoff-Hort and all the other Greeks, so-called Greek scholars, 35 generations did not have the pure word of the living God. Which means that the Reformers were bereft of the pure word of God. The Puritans did not have the pure word of God. Those mighty preachers of the 18th century awakening did not have the pure word of God and even Mr. Spurgeon did not have the pure word of God. I prefer to believe my Bible. The word of the Lord endureth to all generations. We believe that his truth has endured to all generations and his truth is to be found in the Hebrew Masoretic Text of the Old Testament and the Received Text of the Greek New Testament. Texts which underlie the Authorized Version and all those great Reformation Bibles of Europe. First then the scriptures, their inspiration, their purity, their preservation. Now secondly, the search. Note that the Lord Jesus Christ did not say read the scriptures, profitable as that is, nor did he say memorize the scriptures, valuable as that is. He said search the scriptures. Search the scriptures as you would search for hidden treasure deep down in the earth. Dig down deep and discern what lies beneath the depths. For these things do not lie on the surface to be discovered by the casual reader. They lay like some hidden treasure buried deep and we need the help of the Holy Spirit. Now there is a grammatical problem with the verb search at this very point. Those interested in a fuller treatment of this can read the article by Larry Brigden in the Quarterly Record, number 619, pages 12 onwards. And in my opinion, it's an article which I think the committee ought to consider having printed as an article in itself, a very vital article indeed. But the question is this. Is the verb search in the indicative mood? Or is it in the imperative mood? Now, we're not all grammarians here, so let me illustrate. Versions like the NIV read like this, you diligently study the scriptures. The New English Bible reads, you study the scriptures diligently. The RSV, the so-called New King James Version, the English Standard Version, the NASD, all have it in the indicative, you search the scriptures. Men like Erasmus, Theodore Beezer, Matthew Poole, Bengal, Doddwich, Hendrickson and even Dr. Gill think that the verb is in the indicative, you do search the scriptures, indicating that this was something that they were already doing. Or is it in the imperative For men like Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Royer and Bishop Wordsworth believe it to be in the imperative mood, search the Scriptures. In other words, here is a command from the lips of Christ, commanding them to search the Scriptures. The imperative mood seems best to fit the context. If they were in the habit of diligently searching the scriptures, as the NIV would have us believe, surely they would have found for those that seek shall find. And yet our Lord in the previous verse has just declared, ye have not his word abiding in you. So I believe the imperative mood is more appropriate. It's a command from the Lord himself. Search the scriptures. And this word search, it's a word used in connection with hunting. I have two sons. Both, I was going to say both in their 30s, but one's in his 40s now. Both of them go deer stalking. The youngest son probably does more than the eldest son. And I've observed them. They look at the ground and they look for evidence of deer. And they can spot evidence where I cannot see it. They look for the hoof marks. They look for the dung. And they can tell from the form of the dung and the smell of the dung how recent that is and how near they are to the quarry. And once they see that, they never take their eyes off the ground and they are pursuing their quarry. They keep their heads down, looking at the bark on the trees, looking at any disturbance there might be in the woodlands, till at last they see the quarry. And that's the force of this word here. We are to concentrate all our attention upon the Word of God, diligently searching, examining each expression, tracing every occurrence of it, ascertaining the meaning of its usage. It is as though the Lord says to them, go and search your own scriptures, examine them, become deeply acquainted with them. And if you do that, you will soon discover that the scriptures, the Old Testament scriptures testify of me. If you wish to know God the Father's testimony of me, then go and search your own scriptures. So he refers them to the scriptures of truth. So first, the scriptures. Secondly, the search. And thirdly, the Savior. The Jews, of course, had a very high view of Holy Scripture. The Apostle Paul says in Romans, for unto them were committed the oracles of God. They knew the letter of the law, so much so that the scribes in particular had counted the number of each Hebrew letter. And they could tell you how many Alephs there were, how many Beths there were, how many Gimels there were in the Tanakh, the Old Testament scriptures, so much so that they knew there were 42,377 letter alias in the Old Testament. And there were 38,218 Beths, 29,537 Gimels. They knew the Scriptures and to them had been committed the oracles of God. They professed that they had life in the Scriptures They thought that only a knowledge of the scriptures were in and of themselves life-giving. But for them it was a dead letter. Our Lord says, for in them ye think ye have eternal life. And they are they which testify of me. Just having the scriptures does not give eternal life. My dear friends, the whole life of our Savior from His birth to His ascension and descending forth of the Holy Spirit may be seen in the words of Moses, in the words of the prophets. Indeed, without referring to the four evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, the whole history of Christ in its great outlines, in its minute particulars, has been foretold by the prophets through the scriptures. The Old Testament Scriptures testify of our Lord as one who would die for perishing sinners, as the only mediator between God and men, as the only one through whom the Father can be approached. The Old Testament Scriptures speak of His wondrous perfections, His various offices, the sufficiency of His finished work. Apart from the Scriptures, He cannot be known, but in them alone He is revealed. Christ, Jesus Christ, is the key that unlocks the scriptures. Consider prophecy for a moment. We ask concerning his birth. And Genesis 3 informs us that he is emphatically to be of the seed of the woman, not of the seed of man. The seed of the woman, Genesis 3, 15. And Isaiah teaches us that the mother of the Saviour, the great Emmanuel, is to be a virgin, and that the child thus born is the son who is given, whose name is Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. We enquire further. Whose son is Messiah to be? And the Old Testament scriptures single out Shem, Genesis 9, God shall enlarge Japheth and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem. And then further we are directed in Genesis 12 to Abraham and then further in Genesis 17 to Isaac as distinguished from Ishmael. And then further we are directed to Jacob. And then from among the sons of Jacob, the patriarch on his deathbed singles out the tribe of Judah. Out of him shall come forth Shiloh, and to him shall be the gathering of the nations, Genesis 49. But the scriptures are even more definite. The son of Jesse, even David, receives the promise of the great king and redeemer. So that we know that Messiah is God and man. born of a woman, born of a virgin, a Sethite, a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob of the tribe of Judah of the house of David. We ask further, where is he to be born? Well, we might think with the wise men from the East, Jerusalem, the holy city, the city of the great king, but Micah knows differently. and points out Bethlehem Ephrata, little among the thousands of Judah, out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be a ruler in Israel, whose goings forth have been from of old from everlasting. We ask further, when? When will he be born? Jacob predicts the period. Genesis 49, the scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet until Shiloh come. But Daniel is more definite. And Daniel speaks of seventy periods of seven which are to elapse from the going forth of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem before the coming of Messiah the Prince. Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon the holy city to finish the transgression and to make an end of sins and to make reconciliation for iniquity and to bring in everlasting righteousness. Born in Bethlehem, we are told by Micah. But Hosea tells us he will be taken out into Egypt, called my son out of Egypt. We ask, what great event is going to prepare the way for the coming forth of Messiah? Malachi and Isaiah both tell us, the voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord. Make straight in the desert a highway for our God. what is to be his current. He will come as a shepherd in that wonderful 40th of Isaiah. Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand and his arm shall rule for him. Behold, his reward is with him and his work before him. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd. He shall gather the lambs with his arm and carry them in his bosom and shall gently lead those that are with young. He will come as a shepherd. We read further in Isaiah 42, Behold, my servant whom I uphold, mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth, I have put my spirit upon him. He shall not cry nor lift up nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flack shall he not quench. What is to be the work that he will perform? Again, we read in Isaiah 35, The eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the layman leap as an heart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing. What will he preach when he comes? Isaiah 61 tells us the Spirit of the Lord God is upon him, because he hath anointed him to preach good tidings unto the meek. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to them that are bound. But when he comes, how will he be received? Isaiah tells us, he will be despised and rejected of men. Will he appear as Jerusalem's king? Well, Zechariah tells us, Behold thy king cometh unto thee, he is just and having salvation lowly and riding upon an ass and upon a coat the foal of an ass. How will his life end upon earth? The prophet Daniel tells us in Daniel 9, After three score and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off. who is to deliver him into the hands of his enemies. Well, the psalmist tells us in Psalm 41, yea, mine own familiar friend in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his keel against me. And Zechariah says, so they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. We ask further, will his disciples stand by him in his last dreadful agonies? No, because we read in Zechariah, Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the Lord of hosts, might the shepherd and the sheep shall be scattered. How is he to die? He is the Lamb of God, and he will suffer a painful and excruciating death. And though we read in Psalm 22 that all his bones are out of joint And they look and stare upon him, yet we read further, that not a bone of his body will be broken. Psalm 34, he keepeth all his bones, not one of them is broken. And we can go on asking question after question after question. And we see the fulfillment of these Old Testament prophecies. And the Lord Jesus Christ commands us to search the scriptures. not to be content with a cursory reading of them, not to be content with a mere head knowledge of the scriptures. We need to seek the help of the Holy Spirit, that he might enable us to gird up the loins of our minds, that he might open our eyes, the eyes of our understanding and show us wondrous things out of his law. The command to you and I is to search the scriptures, For in them ye think ye have eternal life, and our Saviour says, and they are they which testify of me. Now by way of application, let me make three points of application. First of all, an application to preachers, and there are a goodly number of preachers gathered here today. And it's sad that I make this comment. But I have noticed, especially over the last five years, that there is an increasing tendency in reformed churches, I say reformed churches, for ministers to preach sermons in their entirety from the Old Testament and not once mention Jesus Christ. I've witnessed it on numerous occasions, an entire sermon from the Old Testament but not once is Jesus Christ mentioned, and this in Reformed churches. Sermons that would be well received in a Jewish synagogue, but should never, never be tolerated in the Church of Jesus Christ. I have lost count of the number of times that I have heard what I have called Christless sermons. Now I'm a wicked sinner, I acknowledge that. And when a preacher, and I'm sitting in the pew, and a preacher begins to preach, you know what I do? I look at my watch. And I note the time that the preacher begins to preach. And then I wait until I hear the name of Jesus Christ, that precious name of my Saviour. Sometimes I've got to wait 30 minutes into a sermon before my Saviour is mentioned. And sadly there are times I listen right the way through to the end of the sermon and not once has my Saviour been mentioned. Consider the two on the road to Emmaus, who I believe were Cleopas and his wife Mary. We read, and beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself, the Old Testament scriptures, in all of them, page after page our Lord opens unto them the things concerning himself. No wonder they said one to the other, did not our heart burn within us while he talked with us by the way and while he opened to us the scriptures, showing them page after page after page the things concerning himself. And then when Cleopas and his wife Mary returned to Jerusalem and found the eleven, Jesus himself came and stood in the midst of them and said, Peace be unto you. And then the Lord said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you while I was with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses and in the prophets and in the Psalms concerning me. Then opened he their understanding that they might understand the Scriptures. If you do not see Christ in the Old Testament Scriptures, you are not understanding the Scriptures at all. Think of the eunuch from Ethiopia. The gods of Ethiopia Multitudes of them, but not one of them could satisfy the longing of the eunuch's heart. Carved in Jerusalem, God is worshipped. And so he makes that long journey from Ethiopia to Jerusalem. And there is no doubt he would go into the temple and there he would sit at the feet of the scribes and the rabbis. But he does not find God in Jerusalem. And he's returning home, still seeking. than God in his hands, the parchment scrolls of the Old Testament opened at what we know to be Isaiah 53. And in the meanwhile, Philip joins himself to the chariot and the eunuch turns to Philip. Of whom speaketh the prophet this? Of himself or some other man? And we read that Philip opened his mouth and began at the same scripture and preached Jesus unto him. Oh, Mr. Eunuch from Ethiopia, you're reading the prophecy of Isaiah? Are you on your way back from Jerusalem? Did you not hear what they did to Jesus Christ of Nazareth? Did no one tell you how he was taken by wicked hands and nailed to that shameful tree? Did no one tell you that God the Father, as you've just been reading there, laid on Him the iniquity of us all, and He who was without sin was made sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him? Did no one tell you that He offered that one sacrifice for sin forever and put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself? Oh, Mr. Eulach, He preached unto Him Jesus. Crucified, dead, and buried, but Mr. Eulach, He rose again the third day. preached unto him Jesus and the eunuch believes. When the Apostle Paul invited the Jews to his prison home in Rome, they appointed him a day and they came to that hired home where Paul is kept, a chained prisoner. What did Paul do? He turned to the Old Testament scriptures. and he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses and out of the prophets from morning till evening. My dear preacher friends gathered here this afternoon, my preaching days are fast coming to an end. But let us have that determination of the Apostle Paul who when he went to Corinth determined not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and him crucified. Let us preach to Jew and Gentile alike the unsearchable riches of Christ, Christ in whom dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead body. Those sermons that you have prepared that never mention Christ, throw them on the fire and seek the help of the Holy Spirit that you might preach Jesus Christ, the things concerning Jesus Christ. Now a point of application for believers, especially to those who have to tolerate and to endure Christless preaching. Tolerate it no more. Emulate those Greeks who went to Philip and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus. Go to your midweek prayer meeting. Plead with the Holy Spirit for the preacher on the Sabbath day that we would see Jesus. Oh, may the preacher's lips be full of Christ. May he preach Christ, may he exalt Christ in our midst. We would see Jesus. I trust my dear Presbyterian friends gathered here will forgive me if I quote a verse written by William Hammond. Gracious Lord, incline thine ear. My request vouchsafe to hear. Hear my never-ceasing cry. Give me Christ, or else I die. And in each of the six stanzas that Hammond wrote, the refrain at the very end is, give me Christ or else I die. Or there may be things of theological interest, yes. There may be those things that stimulate intellectual curiosity. But I tell you this, a dying man needs to hear of Christ. Believers who face all the trials and tribulations of life. Believers who have to endure in the workplace the blasphemous hatred of this godless generation. They need to learn of Jesus Christ who himself suffered being tempted and is therefore able to succor them that are tempted. Then a final point of application to the Trinitarian Bible Society. I was converted in 1968, 51 years ago. Prior to my conversion, I had never stepped foot inside a place of worship. But on December 17, 1965, someone put into my hand a Bible. Thank God it was an authorized version Bible. And they challenged me to read the Bible. So from December 18, 1965, I began, for the first time in my life at the age of 19, to the Word of God. I was going to say I couldn't put the Word of God down, but that would not be strictly correct because the Word of God would not put me down. Day after day I was reading the Word of God, studying the Word of God. Many times I read through the Word of God. Never attended a place of worship, but I read the Word of God. Through the reading of the Word of God between December 17, 1965 and April 18, 1968, I was convicted of my sin and convicted of my need of a saviour. And through the reading of the Word of God applied by the Holy Spirit, I was converted to Christ. I then sought a church where the Word of God was preached. I went from one church to another. It was evident to me the man in the pulpit did not believe the Word of God. But eventually I found an old, primitive, Methodist church. godly people. And I thank the Lord upon every remembrance of that godly people. And it was they who introduced me to the work of the Trinitarian Bible Society in 1968. And I've been a supporter of the TBS for the past 51 years, virtually from the day of my conversion. Why is it that so many churches and individuals will have nothing to do with this great society? For I believe with all my heart that every evangelical church throughout the British Isles should prayerfully and practically support the Trinitarian Bible Society. And though we are encouraged by the numbers gathered here, which I think is larger on this occasion than in previous years, we are greatly encouraged by this, yet this building should be packed to the rafters with people supporting the work of the Trinitarian Bible Society. Why then is there so little interest among so-called Christian churches in our land regarding the work of the Trinitarian Bible Society? At the back of the annual report, and indeed at the back of every issue of the quarterly record and most of our articles, you will see the six aims of the Trinitarian Bible Society. The third and the fourth aim, that is the middle two, are the key to our stand regarding the other four aims that we have. The third aim is to be instrumental in bringing light and life through the gospel of Christ to those who are lost in sin and in the darkness of false religion and unbelief. And the fourth aim, to uphold the doctrines of Reformed Christianity, bearing witness to the equal and eternal deity of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, one God in three persons. And those two middle aims, the third and the fourth aim, are the reason why we take our uncompromising stand for the authorised version and for the underlying Hebrew and Greek manuscripts of the authorised version. And because the modern versions, both modern English Bibles and the majority of modern foreign language Bibles are deficient in their doctrine of the Godhead and in their doctrine of the deity of Christ. At key verses like 1 Timothy 3 verse 16, great is the mystery of God, as God was manifest in the flesh. Revelation 1 verse 11, that divine title of Christ. I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last. That is not to be found in some of the modern English Bibles, such as the ESV, the NIV. Acts 8, 37, the unit that we've already referred to. Here is water, what doth into me to be baptized? If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. That verse is missing in most modern versions. Romans 14.10, instead of the fact that we all stand before the judgment seat of Christ, the modern versions say we shall all stand before God's judgment seat. Colossians 1.14, in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins, the reference to the blood omitted in modern versions. My dear friends, we take our uncompromising stand because we believe that these modern versions are defective. when it comes to the doctrine of the person and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, when it comes to the doctrine of the Trinity. And it is vital, absolutely vital, that this society continues to earnestly contend for the faith once delivered unto the saints. It is vital and necessary in these dark and fearful days of declension and apostasy that this society defends the underlying text of the authorised version and exposes the errors of the modern versions. But the danger is this. We can be so focused upon the letter of the law, we lose sight of that third aim, to be instrumental in bringing light and life through the gospel of Christ to those who are lost in sin and in the darkness of false religion and unbelief. As I close, may the Lord Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ who is the chiefest among ten thousand, Jesus Christ who is the altogether lovely one, Jesus Christ the bright and the morning star, Jesus Christ the Alpha and the Omega, Jesus Christ the one mediator between God and men, Jesus Christ who is the way, the truth and the life, Jesus Christ, of whom we really please the Father, that in him should all fullness dwell. Jesus Christ, the brightness of his glory, the express image of his person. May Jesus Christ have the preeminence. May Jesus Christ be all and in all. Let us resolve, as a society, that Jesus Christ shall be at the centre and the circumference of each and of every activity that this society engages in. Our Lord commands you and I, search the scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and they are they which testify of me. Amen.