So I Bought Her...

[0:00] Well, would you turn with me this evening to the book of the prophet Hosea, and this time in chapter 3.

[0:18] Hosea chapter 3, page 910, if you're using the Pew Bible. And we'll read that chapter together.

[0:54] And he said to her, In the latter days.

[1:26] But particularly the words of verse 2, where Hosea says, So I bought her for fifteen pieces of silver, and a homer and a lethek of barley.

[1:39] So I bought her. So I bought her. If I was to ask you this evening, what is the greatest chapter in the Bible?

[1:54] I'm sure I would get lots of different answers. Because maybe for some of you here this evening, the greatest chapter in the Bible is Psalm 23. It's the Shepherd Psalm.

[2:04] And the confession, the Lord is my shepherd. Maybe for some of you it might be Isaiah 53, where we're given the vivid prophecy of Jesus' death. And we're reminded that he was wounded for our transgressions.

[2:18] And bruised for our iniquities. Maybe the greatest chapter in the Bible to you is Romans 8. Where Paul reminds us that there is nothing that can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

[2:32] You know, there are so many chapters and verses in the Bible that are so full. And they're so encouraging and so fitting for our own particular circumstances and situations.

[2:43] And that's why the Bible is such a beautifully relevant book to us, even in the 21st century. But you know, it was the late James Montgomery Boyce who entitled his commentary on Hosea chapter 3.

[2:57] He called it the greatest chapter in the Bible. And he said the third chapter of Hosea is, in my judgment, the greatest chapter in the Bible. Because it portrays the greatest story in the Bible.

[3:11] In the most concise and poignant form to be found anywhere. James Montgomery Boyce, he claimed that Hosea chapter 3 is the greatest chapter in the Bible.

[3:22] Because it's in this chapter that we see the love of God for sinners displayed to us so clearly. In fact, this chapter, Hosea chapter 3, it's hidden in the pages of the Old Testament.

[3:35] And yet it sets before us the love of God demonstrated to us in the cross of Jesus Christ. But you know, what's remarkable is that God's love for lost sinners, it's portrayed to us in the book of Hosea.

[3:50] Through the life and marriage of one of his prophets. Because the story of Hosea's marriage was the story of Hosea's message. As the Lord's prophet, Hosea's marriage was to be a message.

[4:04] And it was to emphasize how immoral and unfaithful the people of his nation had been. By serving other gods and bowing down to idols.

[4:15] And so Hosea's marriage covenant was to be a message. A message of the Lord's marriage covenant with his people. And it was there to remind them that even though they had turned away from the Lord.

[4:28] They'd turned to this life of immorality and unfaithfulness. Even though they had turned away from the Lord. The Lord was reminding them through his prophet that the Lord still loves them.

[4:41] And this evening I just want us to consider chapter 1 and chapter 3. And we'll see that chapter 1, it sets the scene for chapter 3 to be the greatest chapter in the Bible.

[4:53] Because in chapter 1, which we read earlier, we're introduced to Hosea's family. And as we read, it wasn't a perfect family. And it certainly wasn't the perfect marriage. In fact, you could probably say that the marriage between Hosea and Gomer, it was flawed from the start.

[5:11] Which is just a reflection of our relationship with the Lord. It's flawed from the start. But as we look at Hosea's family, there are, well, three sets of people I'd like us to look at.

[5:23] We see first of all the unfaithful wife, which is Gomer. Then we have three unfortunate children. That's Jezreel, Loruchamah and Loamih. And then we see the unbelievable husband in Hosea.

[5:38] So there are the three headings this evening. The unfaithful wife, the unfortunate children and the unbelievable husband. So we look first of all at the unfaithful wife. The unfaithful wife.

[5:50] And we see, we find her in chapter 1 and verse 2. We're told there that when the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, Go take to yourself a wife of Hordom and have children of Hordom.

[6:04] For the land commits great Hordom by forsaking the Lord. So he went and took Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim. And she conceived and bore him a son.

[6:16] You know, these opening verses in the book of Hosea, they set the scene for the entire book. Because they alert us to the fact that the Lord has commanded his prophet to go and marry a prostitute.

[6:29] And you know, it wouldn't matter what generation you're living in. Whether it was the 8th century BC when this was first written. Or even today in the 21st century AD.

[6:40] It wouldn't matter what generation you're living in. When you read these words, the Lord's request to Hosea, it still comes as a shock. It comes as a shock because why would the Lord ask such a thing?

[6:54] Why would the Lord say, go take to yourself a wife of Hordom and have children of Hordom? And you know, you can almost imagine Hosea introducing us to his wife.

[7:06] And this woman he's fallen in love with, he's now married her and he's had children with her. And Hosea introduces us to his wife and says, this is my wife called Gomer.

[7:17] Gomer, she's a prostitute. And you know, it's a startling introduction. But that's the whole point. It might seem strange that the Lord would command one of his prophets to go and marry a prostitute.

[7:30] But that's what the Lord was doing. He was presenting a message and we'll see that in a moment. But you know, there are many people who have struggled with the idea that the Lord would ask one of his prophets to go and marry a prostitute.

[7:44] But that's what we're told here. We're told that Gomer was a woman of Hordom and she was unfaithful to her husband. In fact, it was the late Professor John L. Mackay from the Free Church College.

[7:58] He emphasised in his commentary. He said that Hosea's marriage is not a fictional narrative crafted to tell a story, but an account of real life incidents as factual as Israel's misconduct.

[8:12] When one reads through the narrative, he says, it soon becomes clear that Hosea was not being asked to do anything in respect of Gomer, which was not other than what the Lord himself has done with respect to Israel.

[8:26] And John L. says that's where the whole emphasis lies. Through Hosea's marriage, the Lord was pleading. He was pleading with his people to recognise that they've spoiled their relationship with him and they need to take appropriate action.

[8:45] You know, my friend, Hosea's marriage was a message. And the message was that the people in his community and the people in his nation, they were in a spiritual mess because of their immorality and their unfaithfulness to the Lord.

[9:02] But as we know and as we can see here, the purpose of Hosea's marriage was to attract attention. And it certainly would have. Marrying a prostitute would certainly have attracted attention, especially for one of the Lord's prophets.

[9:15] But in attracting attention, it was to show his community and his nation, and even our community and our nation today, that we are the Gomer in our marriage to the Lord.

[9:29] We've been the unfaithful wife in our covenant relationship with the Lord. We've broken the covenant. We've ran off with other gods and worshipped other idols and prostituted ourselves to them.

[9:41] We've sold our soul to the idols of this world. We are the Gomer in our unfaithful and immoral marriage to the Lord. Because as you know, marriage is a covenant.

[9:56] Marriage is a legally binding contract between two parties. And in the Bible, we're told, way back in the book of Genesis, that God entered into a covenant relationship with Abraham and all his descendants after him.

[10:11] And the thing about that covenant was there was nothing good in Abraham and there was nothing good in any of us that merited this special covenant relationship with the Lord. It was God out of his own good pleasure.

[10:24] And because of his great love and his mercy and his grace towards lost sinners, that he chose to make a covenant in order to redeem a people to himself.

[10:36] And even though the Lord knew that Abraham and all his descendants, including us, even though he knew we would be immoral and unfaithful and run after other gods and worship other idols and live our lives seeking to please and pleasure ourselves, even though the Lord knew all that, the wonder of it is he still bound himself to this covenant.

[11:01] And the Lord did it all because he loves sinners. The Lord married his Gomer. He covenanted himself to her.

[11:13] And you know, it was through Hosea's marriage to Gomer that the Lord was lovingly pleading, pleading with his people to recognize that they've been unfaithful to the Lord.

[11:25] They've been unfaithful in their relationship with him and they need to return to him. The Lord was lovingly pleading with his people that they would turn away from their sin and turn back to the Lord in repentance.

[11:41] My friend, Hosea's marriage to his unfaithful wife, it was a clear message. And it was a message that was presented to the people. Because, you know, there's no doubt that his community and his nation, they were hearing the Lord's message through Hosea's marriage.

[11:59] And they were hearing about their sin and their unfaithfulness. And tonight, you know, my unconverted friend here tonight, there's no doubt, there's no doubt that you've heard the Lord's message about your sin and your unfaithfulness.

[12:15] You've been hearing it loud and clear for many years. You've heard it again and again. And yet, you've been hearing this message for so long.

[12:28] But, you know, the area that you lack in is the same area that Israel lacked in. The area you lack in is doing something with what you've heard. You have received lots of information.

[12:44] But with information, you have to give application. You have to apply what you're hearing. You have to do something with what you've heard.

[12:54] My friend, you need to do something with what you've heard. You need to do what Israel had to do. You need to take immediate action. Because what Hosea's marriage is bringing before us is that the Lord is committed to restoring sinner.

[13:08] The Lord has covenanted himself to his people out of love. And, you know, the wonderful thing is that as you sit here week by week, you know, you need to be reminded of this very fact.

[13:22] Despite the fact that you might not know it yourself, the Lord has been watching over you. The Lord has been providing for you. The Lord has been keeping you. The Lord has been speaking to you.

[13:33] The Lord has been calling you to come to him again and again for so many years. And this evening, the Lord is reminding you that he still loves lost sinners.

[13:44] He still loves you. And he wants you to come to him. He wants you to recognize that you're just like Gomer. You've been unfaithful.

[13:56] You've been wayward. You've been disobedient for so many years. But, you know, like Gomer, everyone has a past. But the wonderful thing is you're still loved. You're still loved.

[14:09] And it's out of love that the Lord is calling you to come to him and asking you to cry out for mercy. My friend, Hosea's marriage to an unfaithful wife was a clear message to lost sinners.

[14:25] But so was Hosea's unfortunate children. That's who we see secondly. The unfortunate children. The unfortunate children.

[14:35] We read about them in verse 3. We're told that Hosea went and took Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son. And the Lord said to him, Call his name Jezreel.

[14:49] For in just a little while, I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel. And I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel. And on that day, I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.

[15:03] Like Hosea's marriage to Gomer, their children were also to be a message to the people. But they were unfortunate children because they were given unfortunate names with an unfortunate message of judgment upon the people.

[15:22] And the names of these children are very, very important because, as we know, names in the Bible are important. As you know, the name Adam means man because Adam was the first man.

[15:36] The name Abraham means father of many nations because Abraham, God promised that Abraham would be the father of many nations. The name David means beloved because he was God's beloved king.

[15:50] He was the first king of God's people, the first true king. The name Jesus means salvation because he was to save his people from their sins.

[16:01] And so in the Bible, names are important and they have meaning. And the same was true of these three unfortunate children with unfortunate names with, and all the names, they carried a message of unfortunate judgment.

[16:16] Because the eldest son in Hosea's family was called Jezreel. And the name Jezreel means God scatters. God scatters. Now Jezreel was an area of land in the northern kingdom of Israel.

[16:31] And it was an area that was very fertile and lots of crops were grown there. You could see most of the crops for the whole nation were grown in the valley of Jezreel.

[16:42] Therefore Jezreel, it was a place of prosperity. It was a place of wealth. And the Lord had blessed his people with prosperity and wealth. But what happens when you're prosperous and wealthy?

[16:55] You forget the Lord. That's what happened with Israel. Their materialism had taken them away from worshipping the God who had given them everything. And that caused them to be unfaithful in their marriage to the Lord and they worshipped the God of commerce.

[17:11] Jezreel was this key location to the people of Israel. It was key for their income and their wealth as a nation. You could see that Jezreel was their security.

[17:23] Jezreel was their place of security. In fact, Jezreel was the main trading route in Israel. It's where all the transactions were made. But the valley of Jezreel wasn't just the main trading route.

[17:35] It was also the main travelling route. That when the northern kingdom of Israel was destroyed and they were carried off into Assyria, they were brought to judgment, that's where they would pass through to go into Assyria.

[17:51] They would have to go through the valley of Jezreel and be exiled into Assyria. And you know, what the Lord is warning his people here, he says, in a little while this is going to happen to the northern kingdom.

[18:05] In a little while he's going to cause the kingdom of Israel to come to nothing. In a little while he'll bring his people to their end and they'll be brought to judgment.

[18:16] And that little while was 20 years. It wasn't long. In 20 years the Lord was saying judgment will come.

[18:29] In 20 years the people he says, you people are going to be stripped of your wealth, your health, your prosperity and happiness and you will be brought into judgment.

[18:42] And you know my friends, sometimes the Lord does that in order for us to turn to him. Sometimes the Lord will strip you of everything that you have so that you will see that there's nothing worth clinging to apart from him.

[18:58] Sometimes the Lord will even strip everything away from you in judgment because you repeatedly refused to turn to him for salvation. salvation. And maybe for you the Lord will do that.

[19:11] I don't know. And maybe the Lord will do it in a little while. 20 years isn't long. We all know that. But of course we're not promised 20 years.

[19:24] The Bible reminds us and we've seen it again and again in our community. We're not even promised tomorrow. You know my friend, Steve Lawson always says today is God's day.

[19:37] tomorrow is the devil's day. The Bible says to us now is the accepted time. Today is the day of salvation. Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today.

[19:54] Call his name Jezreel because in a little while judgment will come. But then we're introduced to a little girl in verses 6 and 7. We're told she conceived again and bore him a daughter.

[20:06] And the Lord said to him, Call her name Loruhamah on no mercy, for I will no more have mercy on the house of Israel to forgive them at all.

[20:18] You know at this point the ESV translates the names of Hosea's other two children as their meaning and that's fine but that's not what their names were. That's not what people called them because the name of this little girl was called Loruhamah.

[20:32] It's not the most popular name because it meant no mercy. Loruhamah, no mercy. And this was a shocking name because it conveyed that without repentance, judgment is coming.

[20:47] The Lord was affirming to his people that if they didn't repent, there's going to be no mercy. There's going to be no compassion. There's going to be no love shown to them. And when you look at the covenant, it was out of mercy.

[21:02] It was out of love and compassion that the Lord entered into a covenant relationship with his people in the first place. And yet the warning that's been given through this little girl called Loruhamah, the warning was that if there's no repentance, if there's no turning away from sin, if there's no turning away from the unfaithfulness and the immorality, then when judgment comes, there will be no mercy shown.

[21:30] Once the time of opportunity has passed, the Lord says there will be no mercy, no compassion, no love. There's going to be no forgiveness. Once judgment comes, there's no turning back.

[21:45] And you know, that's what happened. That's what happened to the northern kingdom of Israel. They were exiled through the valley of Jezreel into Assyria. Judgment came, no more opportunities were given to them.

[21:57] And what's amazing about the Bible is that once the northern kingdom of Israel is sent off in judgment to Assyria, you never hear a word about them.

[22:12] You don't hear any more about them. But Judah, the southern kingdom of Judah, they are shown mercy. They're shown compassion. They're shown forgiveness because of repentance.

[22:24] And through Hosea's unfortunate children, the Lord was asking his people, when judgment comes, which camp are you going to be in?

[22:39] Are you going to be an Israel that's sent into judgment, never to be heard of again? Or are you going to be like Judah that turns to the Lord in repentance? Which camp are you going to be in?

[22:52] Because you can't have a foot in both camps. which side are you going to be on? He says, because you can't go on halting between two different opinions.

[23:02] Where do you stand with the Lord? That's what Hosea was asking his people. Where do you stand with the Lord? Because if there's no repentance, then there's just there's no mercy.

[23:15] There's no forgiveness. There's no compassion. But if you repent, this is the wonder of it. The Lord is saying through his prophet, that if you repent, you'll be shown mercy, you'll be shown compassion, you'll experience forgiveness.

[23:30] And you know my unconverted friend, when all your opportunities have finally passed, I don't know how many you have left. You've had many in the past. You've wasted many.

[23:43] And I don't say that joyfully. when all your opportunities have passed and judgment comes, which camp are you going to be in?

[23:55] Which camp are you going to be in? Because you can't have a foot in both camps. I know that and you know that. You can't go on halting between two opinions.

[24:09] It's not possible. Where do you stand with the Lord tonight? Are you in Christ or are you out of Christ? Where do you stand with him?

[24:22] But you know then we're introduced to another family member in verse 8. When she had weaned no mercy or lo she conceived and bore a son. And the Lord said call his name lo or not my people for you are not my people and I am not your God.

[24:41] The youngest son in Hosea's family was to be called lo-ami which means not my people. And the Lord was saying that when judgment comes they will be lo-ami.

[24:53] They will be not my people. The covenant promise, the covenant relationship that God entered into with his people was I will be their God.

[25:04] They will be my people. But because of their repeated immorality and unfaithfulness they had forsaken the covenant, they turned away from the Lord, they prostituted themselves to idol, they chased after the pleasures of this world and the Lord was saying to them and to you, when judgment comes you'll be lost forever.

[25:24] This is the reality of it. The Lord was saying you will not be my people. You will be forsaken and rejected because you refused to repent.

[25:37] And on that day you'll be told as Jesus warns in the gospel, depart from me for I never knew you. You are to me loa me not my people.

[25:54] My friend, I hope and pray that you never hear those words because if you do they will haunt you in hell for all eternity.

[26:10] Loa me not my people. And so we've met the unfaithful wife, Gomer, we've met the unfortunate children, Jezreel, Loruhama and Loa me.

[26:23] But lastly we meet this unbelievable husband called Hosea. So the unbelievable husband, we see him at the beginning of chapter 3.

[26:35] We're told, it says there, the Lord said to me, go again, love a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress even as the Lord loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love cakes of raisins.

[26:51] So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a lethek of barley and I said to her, you must dwell as mine for many days, you shall not play the whore or belong to another man, so will I also be to you.

[27:09] You know, when we consider this unbelievable husband, we're made to realise why Hosea chapter 3 is considered to be the greatest chapter in the Bible. Because Hosea was not only commanded by the Lord to marry a prostitute who would be an unfaithful wife and live an immoral lifestyle, the Lord also commanded Hosea here in in verse 1.

[27:32] Go yet, go again, go and find Gomer, go again, he says. And you know, when we come to this chapter, we see just how much Gomer was immoral and unfaithful in her marriage.

[27:50] Because Gomer, she had run off with other men, she sought pleasure elsewhere, she'd committed adultery and prostitution. And it seems that it had gone on for so long that Gomer got entangled in her sin and she'd lost sight of her marriage.

[28:07] And with everything spiralling out of control, Gomer had lost her way and ended up being sold into slavery. You could say, my friend, Gomer became a slave to her own sin.

[28:21] And after all that Gomer had done against her faithful husband, Hosea, you know, you would have thought that Hosea would have just washed his hands of his unfaithful wife. You would have thought that Hosea would have just left his unfaithful wife to carry on in her sin and slavery.

[28:39] You would have thought that he would just have abandoned her completely. But the Lord said to Hosea, go yet. Go again. Go and find Gomer.

[28:52] And we're told that Hosea went. He went to seek and to search for his unfaithful wife, whom he loved so dearly. And you know, every time I come to this chapter, it's a short chapter, but I'm reminded why James Montgomery Boyce called Hosea chapter three the greatest chapter in the Bible.

[29:12] Because when you read his commentary, he's got this beautiful illustration where he describes the scene. He describes what it must have been like for Hosea to go and find his Gomer.

[29:23] Gomer. Because he says that she must have been down in the slave market. And that's where Hosea went. He went to the marketplace. And Montgomery Boyce, he says that it was on market day that slaves were bought and sold and Hosea goes down to find his Gomer and buy her back.

[29:44] And the whole chapter is full of the language of redemption. Where Hosea is going down to pay the ransom price. He's going in order to redeem Gomer from her sin and her slavery.

[29:56] And you can almost imagine the scene, can't you? Because he says that at the marketplace, Hosea would have been standing there just waiting and watching.

[30:07] Waiting for the one he loved. On market day, many slaves would have been bought and sold. They would have been brought out one by one. And people would bid for them.

[30:17] But Hosea was only looking for one of them. He wasn't looking for any other slave. He had his eye upon one particular sinner. And you know, when Hosea finally sees his Gomer, she's brought out to stand before the crowd.

[30:37] And his Gomer just stands there before everyone. She stands there in her rags that she now finds herself in. She's filthy because of all her sin and unfaithfulness.

[30:50] She's so thin because she hasn't been fed in days. She's gaunt looking. She's so weak that she doesn't even lift her head to look at the people in front of her who want to bid for her.

[31:01] This woman who had lost her way had become so impoverished that she had to sell herself. And now as a slave to her own sin, Gomer is up for sale.

[31:12] She's brought out before everyone. And she's going to belong to the highest bidder. And you know, James Montgomery Boyce, he says that at the marketplace that day there were many voices.

[31:25] Many voices ready to bid for Gomer. And the bidding started with just one question. What will you give me for her? What will you give me for Gomer?

[31:38] And the first bid that comes from the crowd, two pieces of silver. It's not much. just the price of an animal. But then there's another bid, three pieces of silver.

[31:52] And people start taking notice of four pieces of silver. There's another bid that comes, five pieces of silver. And the bidding, it keeps coming, it gets higher and higher. Eight pieces of silver.

[32:03] Someone's hand goes up, ten pieces of silver. I'll give you ten pieces. Someone else bids, twelve pieces of silver, fourteen pieces of silver. And then from out of the crowds of this people bidding for Gomer, there's this voice.

[32:19] A voice that Gomer knew so well. A voice that loved her and promised to her long ago that he would be faithful to her despite her failures and her immorality and all her unfaithfulness.

[32:35] Gomer knew that this voice was a voice that she probably thought she would never hear again, but it was a voice that she knew loved her. And yet Hosea, he begins to bid for his unfaithful wife.

[32:47] I'll give you fifteen pieces of silver. But there's still competition. It's not going to be an easy fight for Gomer. There's someone else who wants to take Gomer from Hosea.

[33:00] And the bid comes, fifteen pieces of silver and a homer of barley. And the stakes are getting higher all the time, but you know, Hosea, he loves his wife. He loves her, even though she's been unfaithful and disobedient and walking away from him all the time.

[33:17] He loves her so much that he puts everything on the line for her. And he says, fifteen pieces of silver and a homer of barley and a half homer of barley. No one can compete with him.

[33:32] Sold to Hosea. And you know, those in the crowd, they're all standing there wondering, well, she was never worth that much in a way. But you know, she was worth every penny to Hosea.

[33:45] She was worth everything to him. And you know, Hosea says about his gomer, so I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver and a homer of barley and a half homer of barley.

[34:01] He looks at his wife that he loves so dearly and he says, so I bought her. So I bought her. I redeemed her. I paid the ransom price for her and I paid the ransom for her release and I was paid in full.

[34:20] That's redeeming love. But you know, the beautiful thing about Hosea's name is that his name means salvation, which as you know is the same name given to Jesus.

[34:34] Call his name Jesus. Call his name salvation. For he shall save his people from their sins. My friend, Jesus is our Hosea.

[34:46] Jesus is our salvation because our Jesus, he went to the marketplace of Calvary to buy us back. Our Jesus went to redeem us, the gomer, entangled in sin, a slave to sin, unfaithful to our saviour.

[35:08] And yet, our Jesus, he went to pay to release us from slavery to sin. Our Jesus, the gospel says, came not to be served, but to serve and to give us life as a ransom for many.

[35:23] But you know what's remarkable is that in the experience of Jesus, he not only acted like Hosea, he was made to be like Gomer.

[35:36] Our Jesus, like Gomer, was stripped of all he had. He was humiliated and spat upon. He was ridiculed and rejected.

[35:48] He became a slave for our sin. And in the agonies of the cross, he endured our hell and died our death. And you know, my friend, our Hosea, he went to the marketplace of Calvary to save us, to redeem us, to deliver us, to restore us, to buy us back.

[36:10] And he did it, says Peter, not with corruptible things such as silver and gold, oh no, but with his own precious blood, redeemed by blood.

[36:28] And you know, it's no wonder the hymn writer could say, sing, oh sing of my Redeemer. With his blood, he purchased me. On the cross, he sealed my pardon, paid the debt, and made me free.

[36:43] Paid the debt, and made me free. Do you know, my unconverted friend, the glory of the gospel is that at the cross, our Hosea, our Lord Jesus loved us and gave himself for us.

[37:02] He went to the marketplace of Calvary in order to redeem, to restore, and to renew. To renew lost sinners. Therefore, as a lost sinner, and that's what you have to see yourself as tonight, a lost sinner.

[37:20] As a lost sinner, you need to come to this Jesus, because he paid the debt to make you free. He paid the debt to make you free.

[37:33] And you know, it's no wonder James Montgomery Boyce called Hosea chapter 3 the greatest chapter in the Bible, because in it we've heard the greatest story ever told, about the greatest saviour who ever lived, who accomplished the greatest salvation ever possible.

[37:51] And we're all invited, without exception, everyone is invited, whosoever, whosoever will, we're all invited to come to him, because he's paid the debt to make us free.

[38:09] So you come to him. You come to him. So I bought her. That's what our Hosea says.

[38:20] So I bought her. May the Lord bless these thoughts to us. Let us pray. O Lord, our gracious God, we give thanks to thee this evening for the wonder of the gospel, that the gospel is even found in the Old Testament, proclaimed through thine own prophets.

[38:44] And we thank the Lord and we praise thee for that wonderful reminder that thy people are redeemed not with corruptible things such as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ.

[38:57] Help us then, we pray, to be found under the blood, washed in the blood, thrusting in Jesus for time and for eternity. And Lord, help us as thy people, or to ever praise our Saviour, to sing of our Redeemer, who paid the debt to make us free.

[39:17] Lord, encourage us then, we pray, bless us in the week that lies ahead, a week that is unknown to any of us, but known only to thee. And where better to begin our week than found in the Lord's house, on the Lord's day, hearing about this wonderful Saviour, who saves to the uttermost.

[39:36] Lord, do us good then, we pray, keep us in the hollow of thine own hand, for we ask it in Jesus' name, and for his sake. Amen. We're going to bring our service to a conclusion by singing the words of Psalm 107.

[39:55] Psalm 107. It's in the Scottish Psalter, page 382. Psalm 107.

[40:09] As we were saying earlier, Psalms 105, 106, and 107, they focus upon the Lord's redemption of his people.

[40:23] Psalm 105 and 106, they give the history of the children of Israel being redeemed from Egypt. But in Psalm 107, the Lord's people are being commanded to praise God, for he is good, for still his mercy is lasting, be.

[40:40] And what the Lord's people who are redeemed are to say, he says, the Lord, let God's redeemed say so, whom he from the enemy's hand did free. Psalm 107, it's a psalm that gives many testimonies of the Lord's redeemed.

[40:56] That's how you should view this psalm. It's the psalm of the Lord's redeemed. So Psalm 107, from the beginning, we're singing down to the verse marked 8. We'll stand to sing, if you're able, to God's praise.

[41:08] praise God for he is good, for still his mercy's lasting fear, let up.

[41:43] And And gathered them at all the lands From north, south, east, and west This wicked deserts, but blessed way No city found to rest For the sun conquered in land fades Their soul and streets and grass Their cry unto the Lord unto thee

[42:51] Them flees from their distress Them also in a way to war That right is heated guide That they might in a city go Wherein they might abide Oh, that men to the Lord would give

[44:18] God the Father and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all Now and forevermore Amen