for the remainder of our time then. Let us return to Judges chapter 13 and let us choose one text to focus our thoughts from verse 18. Verse 18 of Judges chapter 13. And the angel of the Lord said unto him, Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret? And we want to meditate upon this verse in context. We have been going through Judges, and we have embarked upon it believing that it has a very relevant and pertinent message to the church of today. And we have come to the beginning of the last judge in the book of Judges. There are other judges after Samson, but they are not in the book of Judges. We have Eli, of course, was a judge, and Samuel also was a judge, but they're not in this book. But we come here to the beginning of a new phase, and we have here God raising up another judge to deliver the people. And the title I want to give to our meditation tonight is simply one word, wonderful. One word, wonderful. And I want to tell you where I get this word, because I do believe it's in the text. Verse 18, and the angel of the Lord said unto him, why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret? If you do have a reference Bible, you will know that that word secret could be also translated wonderful. And that is where I get my title. because I'm taking the other interpretation, seeing it is wonderful. And this person who spoke to Manoa and his wife was indeed wonderful. But there are several things in this whole chapter that I wish to highlight with you tonight that are also wonderful. They are staggering. They are indeed amazing. And it is a pleasure and a wonder to be able to come before you tonight and to bring these things to your attention. So with that title in mind, I want to say three things, at least, concerning this wonderful The first thing we would notice is right at the very beginning of our chapter. And the heading that I've given to this is wonderful grace. Let us read verse one of chapter 13. And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord delivered them into the hand of the Philistines 40 years. You might say that It's a regular pattern that's happening here. The children of Israel sin. They do evil in the sight of the Lord. The Lord delivers them over to their enemies. But there is something glorious here. There's something different from previous occasions. We have noticed that when the people of Israel sin, And when God punishes them for their sin, very often they will cry out to the Lord. They will sigh and they will lift their voices and they will cry in bondage unto the Lord that the Lord might deliver them. We have noticed as we've gone through, judges, there is very little, if any, repentance. They cry out because of their sins, but not as a result of their sins. There is very little repentance. Maybe just before Jephthah was sent, maybe we could see a trace or a glimmer of repentance then. But by and large, there is no repentance. Yes, there is a crying out. Yes, there is the hard bondage. And yes, there is asking God to deliver them. but no repentance. But do you notice, friends, here, there is no crying out to the Lord whatsoever. The children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord delivered them into the hand of the Philistines 40 years. It is as if Israel had become accustomed to being under the thralldom of their enemies, Life in the promised land was far from promising. They had been accustomed to be under the dominion and the thralldom and the power and the fettering of their enemies. It had become normal to them. They sinned, and their enemies came over, and they didn't even bother crying out to the living God. We know we said this when we were looking at Gideon, that after Gideon had delivered the people from the Midianites, we know that the land had rest for 40 years. And we know, friends, that was the last time it said in the book of Judges that the land had quietness and the land had rest. Oh yes, there was some kind of normality, that is true. We looked very briefly at it last week. After Jephthah, he reigned six years. And after him was Ibzan, who reigned for seven years, then Eglon, who reigned for 10 years, and Abdon, who reigned for eight years. In total, in case you're not counting, in total, a period of 31 years. There was relative peace and quiet, but nothing like what it was under the days of Gideon. And now, friends, here were the people back to square one again, under the Philistines, under hard and cruel bondage, not being their own masters in any sense. And they had become so accustomed to it. that they didn't even bother crying out to the living God. No sign of repentance, no sign of tears, no sign of signs, no sign of petitioning the living God, happy in sin, happy to be fettered, happy to be under bondage. What a terrible position it is, friends, when this is the state of the world. When people are so happy in sin, they're so accustomed to it, they know nothing better. And they will not cry out to the Lord their God. They will not acknowledge there's a God in heaven who does as he pleases and that same God is able to relieve them. They will not utter prayers or penitence or repentance or anything. They're so fixed in their ways and they're so happy in some sense in their sin. Well, friends, I began this heading by saying, wonderful grace. Because the Israelites, in some sense, were content. The Israelites were, in some sense, happy. The Israelites were, in some sense, accustomed to life as it was in the promised land. But hallelujah, friends, someone was not happy. And who was that someone? It was the living God. It was God who had brought them out of Egypt with a mighty arm and a powerful hand. It was Him who placed them in the promised land. And God saw their misery. God saw the extent of their sin and what their enemies were doing to them. And God was not happy. And what did He do, friends? He began to work out a salvation for them. All other judges had been grown up. before they were called but here was a judge who had been called even before he was born. Samson was to come and he was going to deliver Israel or to begin to deliver Israel because friends God is a God of grace, wonderful grace, awesome grace, grace that should indeed transform us and humble us We might be happy in our sins. We might be happy going on the broad road to destruction. We may be happy going along with all the world, without any hope in this world, without God. But blessed be God, He is not happy in one sense, friends. He's not And he has worked out a wonderful and a glorious salvation. You see the situation of Israel, happy in sin, content in sin. is a picture of modern man, and it is a picture of all man, of all mankind. By nature, friends, we're happy. By nature, we love sin. You know this? It's incredible, absolutely incredible, that the natural man loves the thing that will ultimately destroy him. That's it. And this is what we find here. People content. Oh, this is the way it's going to be. But God has something to say. Wonderful grace. Life transforming grace. God moving unilaterally. God moving without any prayers, without any petitions, without any repentance, without any response from the Israelite. God moving Surely, friends, surely we can see it. Can we not see this wonderful application to ourselves? Do we not see that before the foundation of the world, the Lord Jesus Christ was crucified for us? He was foreordained to die on Calvary's tree on that very day that he died. Is it not wonderful? Does it not cause us to be amazed and to stagger at the great God who made all things? It's the God who has worked out this glorious plan of salvation even before Adam and Eve came upon the earth. Even before they were created, God had a plan to redeem mankind. Mankind who's happy in sin, But God is not. God is not. And this surely is our great hope, friends. as we look at our world in chaos, as we see a nation almost, almost at arms with each other, as we see chaos reigning, as we see rebellion all around us, as we face very uncertain times, and who can tell how far we will plunge before we shall be rescued? Friends, look up. Look up, Christian. Rejoice. The Lord has a plan. Does this not bring home to us this wonderful text in the book of Romans, where Paul says in chapter five, verse 20, but where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. Terrible days we're living in. Perversion is being promoted, it's being legalized. We gloat in our sins. We are, as a nation, shaking our fist at the living God. And Britain, once proud, great Britain, a nation of the book, has now become a nation that's characterized by sin. and many of us might well despair of this nation. But friends, the grace of God has not expired. His grace has not been exhausted. And as it proved here, when his people were content to wallow in sin and to wallow in their bondage, Behind the scenes, the living God was active and bringing forth his plan to bring about or to begin to bring about their redemption. Therefore, friends, let us be encouraged. Let us be encouraged. Difficult times, yes. Hard times for the church, yes. Hard times for the people of God, yes. Especially hard time for a nation that has not fully appreciated its blessings and does not recognize the bondage to sin that it lies under. This should encourage us to pray. The Israelites didn't. yet God still moved. That should encourage God's people to pray because he loves to hear the voice and the sighs and the cries of his people. And this should encourage every single one of us that we should remind ourselves that whatever God is, he is a God of grace. And your minister often reminds you that God will once judge us one day, that's true. But friends, that is not all that God is. God is holy and righteous, yes. He is pure and holy, yes, of course he is. But he's a gracious God. And every single one of you, all of you, You've all experienced the grace of God to some extent. For he has not treated us the way that we so richly deserve. And even when we should call out to him in prayer and we don't, and even when we should repent and we don't, God is still working out his salvation. Oh, friends, if we learn anything tonight, Let us rejoice in this wonderful grace and this wonderful, gracious God who does not treat us the way that we so richly deserve. Well, secondly, we might notice from this chapter, focusing on our text at this time, I want secondly to notice a wonderful Savior. If it is wonderful grace that God dealt with his people at this time, friends, it is by sending a wonderful Savior. And this is what we find here. And the angel of the Lord said unto him, why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret? I've said it to you before, friends. I hope you can remember. But the angel of the Lord is a special individual. The angel of the Lord is a divine person. He is the son of God in human form. He is the pre-incarnate Christ. And what Manoah and his wife saw was none other than the Son of God in a preview, as it were, coming in the form of a human to bring about his salvation to Israel at that time. And when Manoah asked for his name, He said, why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret or wonderful? And the point I want to derive from this, friends, is that that person there who met with Manoah and Manoah's wife twice and with Manoah once, was none other than the Son of God. And when we see him, friends, appearing in human form in the Old Testament, it is reminding us of this glorious person who in some sense was longing, yes, longing to come to this world. And why was he longing to come to this world? He was longing to come to this world that he might be a savior. that he might lay down his life, that he might offer up that once for all perfect sacrifice on Calvary's tree. Yes, friends, this is what motivated him. This is what moved him. This is what caused him to come away from heaven, to leave the glories of the eternal world and to come to the sin-cursed world. It was in order that he might go to the tree. It was in order that he might shed his blood. It was in order that he might put on the crown of thorns. It was in order that he would be humbled and humiliated. and that he would stand in our room and in our stead and take upon his own precious peerless body the sins of his people. That's what happened. That's what motivated him. Friends, we love when we see someone with drive and with enthusiasm. We love when we see youngsters applying themselves to their studies or a young man applying himself to his work or whatever. We love to see dedication in people. Friends, look at the Lord Jesus Christ, study his life, see what motivated him, see what stirred him up. It was that he might fulfill this wonderful royal commission that he would be our substitute. And friends, What a Savior. What a person. He is no mere man. He is the God-man. In him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, the Bible tells us. The Lord Jesus Christ is the most complex and the most wonderful individual that you could ever come across. Manoah asks, he wants to know about him. And the angel of the Lord says, it is secret or it is wonderful. Friends, this could be said of our triune God. Our God is absolutely wonderful and glorious. You can never comprehend God. God might reveal certain things to us in his word. We can know him, that's true. But you cannot know him completely. You cannot know him exhaustively. It's impossible. And even, friends, if we are ones who are brought to glory to be with the Lord Jesus throughout all the ages of eternity, you will never plumb the depths of God the Father, the Son, or the Holy Spirit. They are wonderful beings, wonderful, glorious individuals. Impossible. And this is especially true of our Savior. Two natures. A divine nature. A human nature. One person. Does it not stretch your mind? Do we not stand in amazement of this individual? No wonder they went to their knees when they saw him disappear up into heaven as the sacrifice was opened or offered on the rock. And this glorious Savior, this One who is so great, this One who is so high and mighty, the fact that He came to this world and did what He did, and does what He does at God's right hand today, and will come in the clouds and bring all things to the end. Friends, it should cause us to prostrate ourselves, to humble ourselves, before this great God. You ever read the book of Romans? Paul there, he outlines the gospel. He deals with election in chapters 9 and 10 and 11. He deals with hard doctrine. He deals with the sovereignty of God. He deals with the rejection of Israel. And he talks about them being engrafted one day. And how blessings will fall to the Gentile church when the Jews are restored. Terrible, awesome things. Things that stretch us are found there in these chapters. And as Paul comes to the end, He offers up a doxology. That's what he does. Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are his judgments and his ways past finding out for who hath known the mind of the Lord or who hath been his counselor. For who hath first given to him and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him and through him and to him are all things to him be the glory forever. Amen, he says. Friend, we're dealing with a God who is wonderful. We're dealing with a God who is beyond us. who should cause us to be amazed. And that's the Savior that came. That's that wonderful Savior. This is the one who, at this particular point, promised that a Savior would come, Samson. He was to be born to a barren woman. We don't even know her name. We know that she was Manoa's wife. She was a nobody. At that particular time in the history of Israel, it was a terrible thing to be childless. And here was this childless nobody, an anonymous person, Yet she was going to, in the fullness of time, bear a son who would begin to deliver Israel. God does wonderful things with nobodies. You see, God doesn't need us. We might think that God needs us. The church is declining. Its influence is going, not just here, but all throughout this country, all throughout the Western world, all those nations who have been singularly blessed by Christianity and who are turning their backs upon Christianity. The church is declining, its influence is waning, And some of us might, in some sense, be somewhat sorry for God. Oh, friends, wake up. God doesn't need us. God can bring salvation from the most unlikeliest of sources and from the most unlikeliest of places. And you can be sure The Lord is working out his salvation. And this should again cause us to be faithful, cause us to call upon God, and to believe his promises. Because we live by faith, we walk by faith and not by sight. And during this time, when the Savior was promised, he had to grow up. And during that time, they were under oppression of the Philistines. There was no light at the end of the tunnel, as it were. But we're told, the Spirit of the Lord began to move him at times in the camp of Dan, between Zorah and Eshtoel. In other words, God was working, bringing forth his wonderful savior and his wonderful salvation. Well, finally, and thirdly, friends, I want to meditate upon the wonderful salvation. Manoah began to realize that the person he was conversing with was God. And the Bible does teach us that you cannot see God and live. And therefore, he rightly concluded that since he had seen God, he was going to die. But his wife, who was a better theologian than himself, we believe, rightly concluded If the Lord were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands. Neither would he have showed us all these things, nor would he at this time have told us such things as these. The ends of the Lord had told them that she was going to bear one who would begin to deliver Israel. them instructions as to how the child was to be brought up. He was to be brought up as a Nazirite from birth. No wine, no strong drink, no grapes. He wasn't to cut his hair. He wasn't to touch any dead body, anything like that. These were the vows that belonged to the Nazirite. He was to be completely and utterly consecrated and separated to the living God. And she rightly concluded, since this has been revealed to us, God is not going to destroy us. In other words, God is going to use us. And through him, there is going to be a wonderful salvation. And notice, friends, he was, verse five tells us, he shall begin to deliver Israel. Israel wasn't totally delivered from the Philistines until the time of Samuel. But Samson was indeed a savior, and he did begin to bring that salvation that was prophesied here. And as we think upon the salvation that Samson began to bring, It points us to one who brought a full and complete salvation. And of course, we are thinking of the Lord Jesus Christ. You go to Calvary again, friends, we must always go there. We see him there on Golgotha. We see him there. as the blood is pouring out of his hands and his feet and his side. And as we hear his cries, it is finished. It reminds us, friends, that the Lord Jesus, unlike Samson, did not begin to deliver Israel, but the Lord Jesus Christ truly did bring about a glorious salvation. He delivered us from sin, from its guilt and from its power. And yes, friends, we're waiting for that day when we shall be delivered from the very presence of sin itself. This world is tainted, it's surrounded, it's corrupted by sin. This world is long past its sell-by date. but the salvation that Jesus Christ has won by his life and by his death and by his resurrection is full and it's free and it is complete. And as Manoah's wife said to Manoah, so the preacher says to you tonight, is it not true that in one real sense, God is all out for us. If God was going to destroy us, he would have destroyed us long ago. But the very fact that he sent his priceless son, He gave the ultimate gift. He gave the highest gift. He didn't give an archangel. He didn't give legions of angels. He gave his only begotten Son. And does this not tell us, friends, that God, in one real sense, and yes, I will stand upon this, in one real sense, God is not out to destroy us. That's the glorious salvation. We look at the salvation that the judges brought. It was purely physical. It was purely temporal. It was never perfect, pointing to one who would, the Lord Jesus Christ. Friends, where do you stand today? in relation to Jesus Christ? This is the most vital question you can ask. Let us not discuss God. Let us not speak in general terms. It's easy to speak to this individual about God or about the Bible or about this or about that. Friends, let's get to the heart of the matter. Where do you stand in relation to the Lord Jesus Christ? because to be saved, we must believe upon the Lord Jesus. What did the jailer say to Paul? What must I do to be saved? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved, thou and thy household. This is what will divide all humanity. On that day, It will be our response to the Lord Jesus. Samson began to deliver Israel from his enemies, but Jesus has delivered all his people from all their enemies, and he will bring all of them to glory. Come then, is he not worthy of your trust? Is he not worthy of your adoration? Is he not worthy? Is there any like him? None. He is the only mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. Therefore, receive him. Follow Him, call upon Him, trust Him, even today. Amen. May God bless His word to us. Let us pray together.