In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the importance of knowing and believing in the truth of God. Christians are called to walk in the truth, rejoice in the truth, and preach the truth. The preacher highlights the tremendous responsibility that comes with being a Christian and the privilege of being brought into the knowledge of God. The sermon also touches on the consequences of not being faithful to God and the need for worship and faithfulness in our lives. The preacher references the book of Deuteronomy and shares stories from the Bible to illustrate his points.

I want us to look together this evening into the book of Deuteronomy. The book of Deuteronomy. And into the fourth chapter. Fourth chapter of the book of Deuteronomy. In verse 30. When thou art in tribulation, and all these things have come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the Lord thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice, for the Lord thy God is a merciful God. He will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy father's which he swears. Before we turn to the next passage, into the seventh chapter, we will remember those words, for the Lord thy God is a merciful God. Time for the seventh chapter. In the seventh chapter, in verse six. The seventh chapter, verse six. Thou art a holy people unto the Lord thy God. The Lord thy God has chosen thee to be a special people unto himself. Above all people, there are consortations of the earth. If that is true of Israel, it is certainly true of God's people today. Look at that verse again. Read it again. Thou art a holy people unto the Lord thy God. The Lord thy God has chosen thee to be a special people unto himself. Above all people, there are consortations of the earth. And the Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because you were more in number than any people, for you were the fewest of all people. But because the Lord loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, that the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh to the region, know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keepeth commandments to a thousand generations. The word there in verse nine, the faithful God. Another verse twenty of the same chapter. Moreover the Lord thy God will send a host among them until they and the rest will hide themselves from thee, thou shalt not be excited at this, for the Lord thy God is among you, a mighty God and terrible. The Lord thy God will put out those nations from before thee by little man-settles. Thou mayst not conceal them at once, lest the beasts of the field be pleased upon thee. But the Lord thy God shall deliver them unto thee and shall destroy them with a mighty destruction until they be destroyed. And he shall deliver their kings unto thine hands, thou shalt destroy their name from the heavens. There shall no man be able to stand before thee until thou hast destroyed it. The word there in verse twenty-one, a mighty God and terrible. Now in the thirty-second chapter, chapter thirty-two, verse three, because I will publish the name of the Lord, ascribing greatness unto our God. He is a rock. His work is perfect. For all His ways are judgment. A God of truth, and without a difference, just and right is He. The word there in the fourth verse, God of truth. And then in the thirty-third chapter, the thirty-third chapter, and verse twenty-seven, the eternal God is thy victory, or thy hope. The eternal God is thy hope. And ever need thou the everlasting power, He shall thrust out the enemy from before thee, and shall say, Destroy the first twenty-nine, hath he a thou, O Israel, who is like unto thee? O people, saved by the Lord. These are the scriptures that we hope to look at for a brief time this evening. We have put together five attributes of God. The merciful God, the faithful God, the mighty God, the God of truth, and the eternal God. And these are but five attributes of God that is revealed in this book of the Bible. The essence of God is love. We read that God is love. That is precisely and exactly what God is. If I really want to know what God is, that is there. God is love. But His attributes, venerable and our many, and we are just going to look at five of them together here this evening. It never declares in the scriptures that God is just as He is. That is but one of His attributes. God is just. That is just one of His attributes. And the first that we are going to look at this evening was the first that is recorded in this book of the Deuteronomy. And this is where we really begin. This is where we really begin, everyone of us, with the mercy of God. We depend on Him. We are entirely, totally dependent on the mercy of God. And sometimes there is a good thing that God has more mercy with us than sometimes we have on each other. He is, as we have been reading together, the merciful God. How different that is from the dictators and the tyrants that have sought to impose their authority on the world and objected. The devils, the Napoleon's, the Hitler's, the Mussolini's, the Stalin's, the Khrushchev's, the willful, brutal, ruthless, and often without any faith of mercy whatsoever. Now, if anybody is here this evening and you've been thinking about God and you feel Him only as a vindictive tyrant waiting to strike in Khrushchev's, you have been harboring wrong thoughts of God. He is the God of judgment. That is definitely possible. God really will by no means hear the guilty. That is true. But judgment, as revealed in the Bible, is always a strange word. God never delights in judgment. He delights in lust. There's some kind of a of a man that feels the lust. Nine hundred and sixty-nine years old. Did you get that? Nine hundred and sixty-nine years old. The oldest man that ever was. His name, that he is, the interpretation of his name, when he is dead, it will come. And it did come. And even then after the death of Methuselah, God gave him on top of that another hundred and thirty years before the deluge came. God gave him medicine in his right house to be the oldest man that ever lived. God does not delight in judgment. And I repeat it again. And even on top of that, gave him another one hundred and twenty years before the deluge came eventually. Now when we talk about the mercy of God, listen to these words. We are told that His mercy is precious. Precious in mercy. And we read words like this. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. His abundant mercy. We are told that His wish is mercy. It is one of the things that God is wish, not the only thing. His wish is mercy. And we are told that His mercy is great. High as the heavens are above the earth. So great is His mercy towards them that fear Him. We are told that His mercies are sure. Sure. This is one of the things that you can be sure of. In a world without person, anybody in this congregation alive, and you are a stranger to the grace of God, you can be sure of His mercy here in this congregation this evening. The prophecies we read are tender. His tender mercy. And we also read that the endurer follow Him. There never will be a good Lord of His mercy. Now listen to these wonderful words. Let the wicked forsake His way and the unrighteous bend His form and let Him return unto the world. And He will have mercy upon His brethren and love God for He will abundantly love. More abundantly more graciously He will abundantly love. So then we read we got to the temple to pray. One of Pharisees and the other of Moses. The Pharisees we read prayed thus with himself. The only one in the congregation he prayed thus with himself and began to compare himself with another that was nearer. And the public in the meeting said the Father doesn't even have mercy. And what did he pray? He spiked himself upon the breast indicating the cause where the trouble is. Right in his mind spiked himself upon the breast of his God be merciful to me thus said. And we read that that man went down to his house justified rather than the other. God be merciful to me thus said. There is a record in the Old Testament of David coming to him because of numbering the people. What was wrong in numbering the people? It was an act of disobedience. It was a lack of faith. It was an indication that he was beginning to trust in his battalions instead of having his confidence in God. He sinned in numbering the people. And the justice of God in this case demanded that David shall be punished. He gets the choice of people having testaments of war. Now God says to David this is the punishment this is the punishment you choose one of these three things famine testaments or war. What is David's choice? This is what he believes that before he said into the hands of the Lord I have famine or I have testaments but I won't have war. Let me fall he said into the hands of the Lord for His mercy is great. Let me not fall into the hands of men. David knew something of the mercy of God. Because you know if you want the greatest display of the mercy of God you'll get it at the cross. In the 85th psalm and verse 17 you read these words mercy and truth not mercy at the expense of truth how accurate the scriptures are mercy and truth are met together that was a challenge righteousness and peace of peace be done that took place at the cross. It is only on the basis of the cross work the redeeming work of our Lord Jesus Christ that we can come and cry from us God be merciful to me a sinner. The bible knows nothing at all about forgiveness apart from sacrifice. Now God is waiting and willing and ready to extend his mercy to anyone and everyone in this congregation this evening. Now let us look at the second part. In the second part the faithful God trust mine know therefore understand the chapters know therefore that the Lord thy God he is God the faithful God which keepeth covenant and mercy redemptive loving and keepeth commandments to a thousand generations. The covenant keeping God. God is the faithful God. God never breaks his word. He is never known to have broken his word. He couldn't break his word. He never will break his word. He is the faithful God. Agreements and pacts as they are called today between governments and between nations have happened these days to in many instances to be respected and not just a paper that ever written to you but not so regarded. God keeps his word. He is the faithful God. With them policy not piety, policy is the ruling factor today. And there is nothing more corrupt in the world than power politics. You've got it in the States. We've got it over in Britain. They've got it in Germany. They've got it in Russia. The roughest thing in the world today power politics. The agreements mean nothing at all but scratches. And I do not want to be in that. But not so God. God is the faithful God. We leave if we believe not. If we believe not yet we leave he of private faith. He'll always be faithful. He cannot, we believe, deny himself. There are two things that God cannot do. One we've read it here. He cannot deny himself. And the other we believe is that God cannot lie. He cannot lie. He is the faithful God. He will ratify every pact shall I put it that way, that he has made with the Jews, with the Gentiles, and with the Church of God. Not one just article shall say, not one. He is the faithful God. Whoever doesn't know it. But you know he expects you and I to be faithful too. We read these words in the second chapter of the book of Revelation verse 10. He is all faithful unto death. That's not merely faithful until you die. That means more than that. We are faithful unto the death. Even if it means martyrdom, that's what it really means. God is calling upon people today, good people, believers, we are faithful even unto the death. That's what it really means. Are we faithful? How faithful are we, I wonder. Are we faithful in our worship? We become faithful. We become regular. We become always with the Gentiles, regardless of their age, with quite a lot of believers. We become many things. They like this. So we read the interpretation in the New Testament. Not to seek the affinity of yourselves together as the men of righteousness. Faithful in our worship. There is the story of two servants of the Lord on a Sunday morning in the promontory standing outside with a very few men and the traffic was going by car after car hundreds of them going by. And one of the brethren said to the other day one we'll take them away from God. And the other shook his head and said now you've got it the wrong way not we but we. We. Any brother or any sister wills to come to the fetching of God's people not a thousand multi-cars will keep him away. If he wills to come it's all to do whether you will become or not. Are we loyal in our worship? Are we faithful in our worship? Are we faithful in our business? Let God decide. Come on. In the business in the shop in the factory in the home God is calling Christian people to be witnesses, to be faithful witnesses. Have you caught something? To be faithful. Not merely to be positive but to be faithful. Not merely to be successful but to be faithful. God is calling us to be faithful in our witness in our service and in our stewardship too. You know one of the great ethics that the church of God has today men and women who are constant constant, constant people of God can be paid off. Let's be faithful. Be thou faithful as it is here and will appear. And I was reading these words today if we suffer and sometimes it means that we're going to be faithful it means that sometimes if we suffer we shall also reign with him and then you read these words if we deny him he will also deny us. So to do he is the faithful God. Now look at the 51st verse of the 10th chapter. Thou shalt not be afraid of the Satan for the Lord thy God is among you a mighty God and terrible. He is a mighty God and terrible. God says don't you be afraid of them they had enemies all right and they were real enemies too. And if you and I had been faced with all the enemies probably you and I would be frightened too. You and I would be fearful too. But God said don't you be afraid of them, don't you be frightened. For the Lord thy God is among you a mighty God and terrible. It's never safe to underestimate the power of the enemy. Never do that. We have an enemy too. We have more than one enemy. The world, the flesh and the devil. Real enemies that we're up against every day and every moment of the day. But these people have told that so long as God was amongst them they had nothing to fear. The time depends on it when you meet or have to meet the enemy alone. That's the time depends. But so long as God was amongst them they had nothing to fear. Except in precisely so a time of the enemy that we're up against. And we're up against it. Do you find it so? Do you find it a struggle? Do you find it a battle? The devil, the flesh and the devil. Every day every moment of the day. But so long as God is with you so long as the almighty is with you you have nothing to fear. Nothing to fear. But to meet him alone he's too strong. He's too cunning. He's too crafty. You'll never succeed if you meet him alone. But if God is with you you could be more than conquered. Listen to these words. If your trust and faith is in God. And I don't know a more appropriate word for us Christian people today. No weapons. There are some terrible weapons in the Navy today. And when you think of those terrible weapons think of these words. No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper. Never may for God's people be trembled. Not again. However dark the horizon is however many clouds there are above whatever the difficulties are whatever the threatenings are from the enemy no weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper. And then you read these words. When the enemy shall come in like a flood the spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against thee. You need never fear if your faith and trust is in God. Never. Whatever happens yourself in life or in death if your faith is in Him yourself no weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper. There are more than conquerors who are hidden than blunders. We need fiddle to the Ephesians. We read these words. We wrestle not against flesh and blood but against notice the word against. We wrestle against the Lord against criticality against powers against the rulers of the darkness of this world against spiritual wickedness in high places. And then we read Therefore, take unto yourselves the whole armour of God. And you need it. Every part of it. We need it. Take unto yourselves the whole armour of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil days and having them all to stand and God can make us. Our help it is. Like you in your country here we have some delightful places in the old country. Lake District in the north of England is a very beautiful part of the country. It's very Scotland. Down in the south of England in Devon and in Crawley. Very delightful place. But I spent quite a bit of my time up in the Lake District in the north of England. There's a delightful little place called Ambleside not very far from Chesney where the great Chesney Convention is held every summer. Ambleside is a place of hills, mountains and lakes. In that little place Ambleside there's a delightful rock garden cut out of the rock. Quite natural. Nothing artificial about it at all. You could walk up the hillside and it's all planted with rocks and rock trees. One of the prettiest places in Scotland that you would ever see in your life. You could walk up amongst these rocks and amongst these beautiful trees and flowers. You wind yourself right up, walking right up till you get to the top. When you get to the top there's a city that you can sit down and when you sit there to the right you're looking over across at some delightful mountains the Langdale Heights. Right in front of you is Lake Windermere. Twelve miles long. You won't get any of that in this country. Twelve miles long the lake. A beautiful place. Behind you on the seat that you're sitting there are some words of scripture carved into the wood and they're most appropriate words. I will lift up my eyes unto the hill. How appropriate to read those words. In a setting like this I will lift up my eyes unto the hills. Compensate. Commit. But you know those words although they're true, it's truth. It's only half the truth. It is not the truth. And half truths are dangerous. To read the truth, the whole truth, it is read like this. I will lift up my eyes unto the hills. Then the question from where cometh my help? And then the reply. My help cometh from the Lord. Not from the hills but from the Lord. And your help and my help will always come from him if he wants. Ask the Saviour to help you. Guide and comfort and help you. He is with the angels. He will carry you through. He is the mighty Lord. Let me give his name for that fact. Now look at chapter 32 in verse 4. He is the rock. His work is perfect. For all his faith and judgment, the God of truth. Without iniquity, just and one is he. There is no time to say much about this. I didn't go into such a topic. I don't know whether you had it or not. But I have it. I've just seen it now. Our time has come. The God of truth. God is the God of truth. There is also the sun and sunshine of the Bible. And the best antidote for error is always the truth. We have no need to defend the truth. As someone has said, the truth is like a lion. Let it loose and it will defend itself. No need to defend the truth. Propagate the truth. Spread it out. And it will defend itself. The Bible and the New Testament tells us that there are those who are destitute of the truth. Isn't that so? People who are destitute of the truth. And they told that there are those who seek to undermine the truth by preaching false doctrine. And there are those who are denied the truth by those who are paid to teach. Isn't that so? That is true. The prophecy in professing Christendom is the rejection of the revealed truth of God. Although still maintaining a form of religion. That's the prophecy. And a prophecy is under the judgment of God. And it is true. God gives the truth about himself. He has no time to give it. He gives the truth about himself. He gives the truth about us. He gives the truth about sin. He gives the truth about life. He gives the truth about death. He gives the truth about the past, and the present, and the future. We shall know the truth, it says. And the truth shall invade you God has made the truth available. You can have it. You can know it. If you want to. If you want to. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man can come again to the Father, but Christ. So may rejoice with me, that by the grace of God he has brought us to know the truth, and to believe in the truth, and I trust to love the truth, and to walk in the truth, and rejoice in the truth, and preach the truth, for a responsibility of ours as Christians. A tremendous responsibility. And you know, your privileges, and my privileges, always carry with them this tremendous responsibility. If you have been brought into the good of this, then God will hold you responsible to tell others about it, and to live it out in the world rather than in this. Let us pray. Oh God, our Father, may we thank Thee for the miracle of Mary, that Thou ever brought upon us, and walkest through thyself. Behold what manner of life the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God. Oh God, our Father, how must we pray Thee if we are disloyal, if we are unfaithful. We pray, oh God, in this service this now, to Thee with every one of us. We are before Thee as Thy people. Thou hast done great things for us whereof we are there. For now, Lord, we want to give Thee the best of our lives. We want to give Thee equity. Take us, we pray Thee, take my life, and let it be consecrated Lord to Thee. Take my organs, and my veins, let them flow in ceaseless Christ. Bless me, pray Thee, Thy truth to every one of us, and send us out into the world. Into a dark world, into an unbelieving world, into an apostate world. Send us out, oh God, to be living witnesses to Thy saving grace and to Thy keeping power. This we ask in the name and for the sake of our saviors who loved us and gave Himself for us. In the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.