In this sermon, the speaker reflects on the sufferings of the apostle Paul while he was in prison. Despite the difficult conditions, Paul did not complain but instead encouraged others to rejoice. The speaker testifies that even though their own life has been stormy and challenging, Jesus has done all things well. The sermon also emphasizes the beauty and perfection of Christ, describing him as the tree of life and the one who offers mercy and salvation to all who come to him.

You'll find an authorized version of the Holy Scriptures before you in the pew, pick it up. And we're reading chapter 1 of the Gospel according to John. John's Gospel, chapter 1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not. There was a man sent from God, whose name was Job. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the light that all men through him might believe. He was not that light, but was sent to bear witness of that light. That was the true light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name. Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory. The glory is of the only begotten of the Father, full of truth, grace, full of grace and truth. Ending at verse 14, and God will seal the reading of His infallible truth to our hearts in Jesus' name. You turn in your Bible to Ezekiel chapter 34, and at the verse 29, I think it is, yes, the verse 29. And we read there, and I will raise up for them a plant of renown. I spoke this morning on two matters concerning this particular plant that is mentioned here. And I notice it had a miracle in its beginning. And you will find that in the 53rd chapter of the book of Isaiah. He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground. And then I spoke on the mystifying of its bewilderment. Because the same verse tells us that when God's Son was seen by sinful man, He was not seen in His loveliness. He was seen in a way that turned man's heart against Him, and against His men. And it says there was no comeliness that we wanted to have anything to do with Christ. We have there the mystifying of its bewilderment. But we turn thirdly tonight, and we see the mystery of its beauty. It is called the plant of renown. The hymn writer wrote the words, Christ's glory broke upon me when I saw Him from afar. He's fairer than the morning, brighter than the morning star. He's all my fancy pictured in its fairest dreams and more. Each day He grows more sweeter than He ever was before. The bewilderment has passed. And the mystery of the beauty of Christ has been revealed to the human heart that seeks after it. We are speechless when we consider the beauty of Christ. We are struck dumb by His loveliness. Only the inspired words of the Bible can explain the wonder and the glory and the heavenliness and the holiness and the eternity of the beauty of Christ. You turn over with me to the song of songs, which is Solomon. And look with me at the chapter 5 of the song of Solomon. You will find the Holy Spirit's description of this plant and the wonder of that plant. And what a plant it is, the plant of renown. Yes, in the song of Solomon, we read in chapter 5 these words. What is thy beloved more than another beloved, O thou fairest among women? What is thy beloved more than another beloved, thou that dost so charge us? And here is the answer. My beloved is white and ruddy. He is white because He is pure. He is ruddy because the redness of His blood brings purity to the heart. He is the cheapest among ten thousand. His head is as the most fine gold. His locks are bushy and black as a raven. Remember the raven was an unclean. And here we have the Christ of God. And if you look at His head and His hair, they are black as a raven. Why? Because upon His head was to fall your curse and my curse. Upon His head was going to be placed the crown of thorns. Remember they came from the curse. His eyes are the eyes of doves by the rivers of water washed with milk and fitly sapped. His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers. His lips like lilies dropping sweets. His hands are as gold rings set with the pearl. His belly is as bright ivory overlaid with sapphires. His legs are as pillars of marble set upon sockets of fine gold. His countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars. His mouth is most sweet. We learned that, didn't we believer, the day He spoke to us and we were won to salvation. How sweet were the words. How sweet were the words to me when I sought Christ from the day I received Him. And those words were, Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me. And him that cometh unto me I will in no wise. Oh, how beautiful were the words to my sinful heart and convicted soul on the night I closed with Christ freely offered in the gospel. His mouth is most sweet. Yea, He is altogether lovely. Yea, there is not a doubt about it. He, there is no rival to Him. Is, always in the present tense, there is no change in Him. Altogether, there is no flaw in Him. He is lovely. There is none. Do you know Him? Have you met Him? Is He in your heart? Is He in your soul? Is He in your mind? Is He the captain of your salvation? Is He Lord of all? Is He King of kings? Is He a light of light to your soul? Yes, we have here not only the miracle of His beginning and the mystifying of His bewilderness, but there is the mystery of His beauty. I trust, sinner, tonight that you will see that all the things of this earth are tinsel and tin, that all the things of this earth are wood, hay and stubble, and that you will begin to see the gold and the silver and the precious stones of the beauty of the Lord Jesus. But let's hurry along. We have not only the miraculousness of the beginning of this plant of renown, the mystifying of its bewilderness, but we have the mystery of its beauty. And then we have the magnificence of its bounty, the plant of renown. Christ told us Himself, and He said, I am the vine, ye are the plant of renown, was none other than the true vine. The true vine of God. And when I turn to John 14, I discover in the first five verses that there is bounty. There is bounty with the Lord Jesus. We read first of all in that chapter about fruit. We read secondly in that chapter that there is more fruit. We read thirdly in that chapter there is much. Do you remember a tree where a man and a woman stood in the paradise of God? A tree that was forbidden by God and its fruit was not to be eaten. But deceived by the devil, the woman ate and gave to her husband and he did eat. The fall of humanity came about, and you can look down the centuries and see the result of that fruit. But here is a fruit that leads to the bountiful blessing, that takes away the evil and forms the good, that brings heaven instead of hell to the human heart and the human mind and the human soul. Here is a tree, and if we partake of it, we live forever. Here is a tree that is now planted in the middle of God's heaven, beside the river of life, as we will see a little later on in this message. How magnificent is the bounty! Christ is always giving, and giving, and giving again. So much has God to give that over in the gospels, He tells us, you have no store that can hold my gifts for your soul. There is so much giving by God to His people who have been redeemed by the Savior's precious blood, that it is described, good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over. Who can explain the inexhaustible gift of God with His eternal life, and with eternal life, everything that God has, He gives to us. He says, He spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all. And by Him, He giveth us all things, all things. Who can describe the deliverance that God makes? There is a man called Paul, he was in prison, he was suffering the shame, and the darkness, and the fears of dark imprisonment. When I went to Rome, I went to see one of those prison cells, into which the ray of the sunlight never ever reached, down in the depths of the rock, where there was vermin and dump, and where there was no comfort, and that's where Paul was at this time. Do you know what he said? He said to the people that sent him a gift, that God shall supply all your need according to the riches in Christ Jesus. He wrote no word of complaint. He did not say, I am in a terrible, uncomfortable, filthy prison. He said, Rejoice! And again, I say, Rejoice! I'm talking about when God gives you what you need. And God wants to give every man, and woman, and boy, and girl in this service the very thing they need. Whatever you need can be supplied. Pick up your hymn book, and look with me at the hymn number 458. I think it is. 458. He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater. Page 361. Hymn number 458. He sendeth more strength when the labors increase. To addeth affliction, he addeth his mercy. To multiplied trials, his multiplied peace. When we have exhausted our store of endurance, when our strength has failed ere the day is half done, when we reach the end of our hoarded resources, our Father's full giving is only begun. His love has no limit. His grace has no measure. His power has no boundary known unto men. For out of his infinite riches in Jesus, he giveth, and giveth, and giveth again. My life on earth has been at times very stormy and very difficult. I have been more in the valley of opposition than on the heights of glory. But I can testify this night humbly and willingly and with rejoicing from the depth of my soul that my Jesus has done all things well. And above the rest, this note shall swell. My Jesus has done all things well. Oh, see with me the bounty of the blessed Saviour. But come a little farther and you'll see fifthly that there is mercy in his bestowment. Christ is typified in the Bible as the tree of life. The plant of renown is the tree of life. It appeared first in the unfallen world, in Eden's garden in time. And it will appear forever in the empty time when we see Jesus who is the tree of life. Notice where it is beside. In the last chapter of Revelation, you'll read it, it is beside the water of life. The tree of life grows beside the water of life. And in that same chapter, you will find also the book of life. Because all that God gives is to counteract the act of death that took place when man broke the law of God. But death is finished. And every enemy shall be destroyed. And the last enemy that will be destroyed is death. It flows with the water. Because heaven has in its center the tree of life, the plant of renown. And the leaves of that tree are for the healing of the nations. And from every nation ever known they shall come. I hear the tramp, tramp, tramp, tramp of the people of God from every nation, from every tribe, from every tongue, from every continent, from every generation. And thank God they are marching to Zion, the beautiful city of God. What to do? To partake forever. Dear unsaved one in this meeting, you can cross in life's up, and when you cross over that line, rejecting, find the summed up. He takes down the book of life. And he deletes your name from that book. He says he will take your name out of the book. Tonight, by a final rejection of the claims of the Lord Jesus, a man, a woman, a boy or a girl can commit that sin. And Christ will call for the great book of life. And heaven will hold its breath as Jesus Christ deletes the name of the final Christ rejection in your soul. My friend, don't do it. You have done it many times. You have left this house with a troubled heart and a troubled soul because you are not ready to meet your God. And you have been unhappy and you have found it hard to sleep. You should thank God for those serious thoughts because they tell you their name is still in the book. God is still working upon your soul. The Spirit of God is dealing with you about where you are going to be in the great eternity. Thank God this plant of renown is merciful in its bestowment. It can be bestowed on you tonight. Yes, miraculous in its beginning. Mystifying in its bewilderment. Mysterious in its beauty. Magnificent in its bounty. Merciful in its bestowment. Memorable, indeed, magnificent in its bounty and merciful in its bestowment. But there is something else. It is memorable in its blossoming. Turn over to Numbers chapter 16 and Numbers chapter 17 and you will read there this strange story of a rebellion in God's house. Some people think that the Old Testament and New Testament saints lived in special times. They did. But the same sins and the same rebellions that sweep the church today swept the church in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. And a man of the same pride as Aaron rose up against Moses and Aaron and tried to drive them from the place that God had given them in the Mosaic economy. Now it is very interesting as you look at those two chapters to find that God would never allow the children of Israel to reject Him. For the censers of the incense that was offered by these rebels against God, those censers were taken. And for all of the history of the Israelite people, they were made a covering for the altar outside the holy place and the holiest of all. So outside there was a testimony to the fact that they were sinners and God destroyed them. For as they stood arguing with Moses, God opened the earth and they went down into hell alive. The only record of such a happening in all the scriptures. But God said, I'll prove who should be God's man and lead this people. Tell Aaron to take a rod, take a plant and let him leave that plant before God. And let all the other heads of the tribes leave a plant before God. And in the morning come back to the tabernacle. And the plant that buds and blossoms and brings forth fruit, that will be the rod of my man, the man of my choice. And when they came back, Noah's rod, it budded, blossomed and brought forth. And the other rods were without fruit. And what did God say? This is never to be forgotten, but you have put the censures of these rebels already over the altar which they would have defiled. Is that not enough? No, God said, in the holiest of all, in the most sacred place on earth, I want that rod that budded, blossomed and brought forth. Because inside my house, as well as outside my house, there will be the testimony of my judgment upon those that reject the plant of renown. For Aaron and his rod was a type of Jesus Christ, the great high priest. Oh, do not treat the Lord Jesus Christ unworthily. Do not turn your back upon him. For if you do, the record will be without and within that God has rejected you because you have rejected his son. But last of all, on a brighter note, the final thing about this plant of renown, it was mighty in its benediction. If you turn over to Numbers chapter 10, you will find at the end of every day's march, there was a benediction offered. And Moses lifted the rod and he dismissed the people. The upraised rod was the sign of benediction and the rod indicated the source of the blessing. You remember when they came to the Red Sea crossing in Exodus chapter 14, verses 15 to 21, and verses 27 to 31, Moses was told, Take the rod. Take the rod. That rod was the type of Christ. And I'll divide the sea. For Christ is the divider of the waves. And he divides the waves of trouble to get his people through to the other side. He never stops planning and purposing for his people. Oh, this plant of renown speaks to me of a God mighty in his benediction. There's a little hymn that says, God leads his dear children along. And God leads them along and at their head is the plant of renown. I trust that some word will penetrate your heart and mind and soul. And as a believer, you'll see Christ in the full setting of his love and of his beauty and of his wonder and of his grace and of his benediction. And I trust, dear sinner friend, that the book will not be taken down. But another book will be taken down called the Lamb's Book of Life. And you'll be entered in that book because you've received the life of Christ into your heart. There is never a mention in the Bible of deletion from the Lamb's Book of Life. Every name in that book will make it to the glory shore. There will be no absentees when that book is opened. And when the call is recorded by the great final judge of where we're going to spend eternity. Whether it will be in hell, in the darkness, or in heaven, in the immortal light of God. I would say to you, in my final words, sinner, be in time. Be in time. While the voice of Jesus calls you, be in time. If in sin you longer wait, you may find no open gate, and your cry be just too late. Be in time. Let us bow our heads. O God our Father, write Thy precious Word in our hearts. And grant that God's grace may be in all our souls, and His blood upon all our stains. And may Thy grace, and Thy mercy, and Thy peace be with us. And as we adjourn upstairs, may we feel Thy presence there. And may we know Thy peace, the pass of knowledge, and all understanding. And the people of God said, Amen. Go upstairs now, just through this door. There's lifts. If you're old and stiff like me, you might need a lift. Well, there's lifts there. If not, you can walk the stairs, and the tea and goodies will be served, and we'll have a word with you all. All are welcome to stay and have fellowship with us. God bless you. Amen and amen. And please remember the preacher this week. He has a hard week's work before him, and he needs the strength of God. So I say, brethren, pray for me this week, that God will give me the wisdom that I need, and the strength that I so much need at this time. Amen and amen.