[0:00] As the Lord helps us now, let us turn again to this chapter we've read and focus on words we have from the beginning of the chapter.
[0:12] The Gospel according to John and chapter 17. And we may read the first three verses and seek to speak on them for a short while.
[0:25] These words spake Jesus and lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour is come. Glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee.
[0:37] As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
[1:00] Now in this chapter we have the Lord at prayer.
[1:11] The Lord Jesus at prayer. It is, I suppose one could say, a parting prayer.
[1:23] Because it marks, as it were, the point between the whole of the Lord's previous ministry over three years.
[1:38] And now his descent into a darker, deeper suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane.
[1:51] And also on the cross of Calvary itself. Besides it being a parting prayer, it is also a family prayer.
[2:07] In that Jesus is our elder brother. And here we see him making petitions on behalf of his people, the family of God.
[2:22] And I'd like just to say two or three things under three headings. First of all, to look at Jesus as his eye is lifted up to his Father in heaven.
[2:39] And secondly, Jesus' eye upon his people as he prays for them and for their salvation.
[2:51] For eternal life to be given to them. And thirdly, the description that he gives in verse three of the life everlasting or life eternal.
[3:04] And he says, this is life eternal. That they might know thee. The only true God. And Jesus Christ.
[3:15] Whom thou hast sent. Jesus here is in the upper room. Having spoken to his disciples. And having dispensed to them the first Lord's Supper.
[3:32] And having given them various words of counsel and encouragement. In view of the fact that he is soon to leave them. And when he descends from this upper room.
[3:47] Having finished this prayer. We see at the beginning of chapter 18. When Jesus had spoken these words. He went forth with his disciples. Over the brook Kedron.
[3:59] Where was a garden into the which he entered. And his disciples. So we see here. First of all. Jesus.
[4:11] Lift his eyes. Unto his father. In prayer. Now he prays for himself. First and foremost.
[4:24] Jesus speak these words. Lifted up his eyes to heaven. And said. Father the hour is come. Glorify thy son. So that thy son also may glorify thee.
[4:37] That is a prayer. On his own behalf. It's interesting isn't it. How different. He comes into the presence of God the father.
[4:51] Different from. Different from. The tax collector. Who went into the temple to pray. And you remember the tax collector. Would not lift his eyes up to heaven.
[5:04] But smote his breast and said. God be merciful to me. The sinner. Jesus had no sin. Of his own.
[5:15] And he lifted up his eyes. As the mediator of his people. Requiring that. The petition he was making. Be fulfilled.
[5:29] John doesn't often. Mention. The gestures. Or the looks of our Lord. Throughout the gospel. But there were some occasions.
[5:41] When the impressions. Created upon John's mind. As he looked upon Christ. And saw him perform miracles. And speak particular words.
[5:53] He stuck with John. And this is one of these occasions. The occasion was so significant. And he saw Jesus. Lifting up his eyes to heaven.
[6:05] And addressing his father. There's another instance also. When John recalls. And records. That Jesus lifted up his eyes. And addressed his father in heaven.
[6:18] That was. At the grave of Lazarus. When Jesus prayed. There. And then he addressed the dead. Lazarus come forth.
[6:31] And he who had been dead. Came forth. Wrapped with grave clothes. We have here. The mediator of God's people. And now he is addressing.
[6:42] His father in heaven. And as he addresses his father. He says. Father the hour has come.
[6:55] The hour has come. This was an hour. Having been set apart. From all eternity.
[7:06] From all eternity. In God's eternal counsel. In God's eternal purpose. The hour when our Savior was to enter into.
[7:19] That deeper and darker experience. Of Gethsemane. And Calvary. And you remember. When his enemies came.
[7:31] To arrest him. In the garden of Gethsemane. He could easily. Have dispatched them. And destroyed them. With a word. Because. He said to them. If it is.
[7:42] Me who are seeking. Let these go their way. The disciples. But he said to his enemies. This is your hour. The hour. And the power of darkness.
[7:54] The hour when God in his purpose. Allowed Satan. And all Satan's forces. To crowd around Christ. The hour when.
[8:07] God allowed the enemies of Christ. To surround him. And do their worst. In his experience. And Jesus says. Father this hour has come.
[8:18] Little wonder that. The whole picture of. Our Lord praying. And his eyes. Turned up to heaven. And. His address to his father.
[8:30] Being so personal. The hour has come. It's as if the clock. Of God's eternal purpose. Had now begun. To strike the midnight hour.
[8:43] Of his. Dark experience. And. He asks. Father glorify thy son.
[8:55] That thy son also. May glorify thee. What does he mean. When he says. Glorify thy son. We must remember that.
[9:07] As God. Our savior. Did not need to be glorified. God. What I mean by that is. He.
[9:17] In his person. Was all glorious. What he actually means. Here I believe is. When he asks. Glorify thy son. He asks.
[9:29] Honor me. In the work. That I am now. Engaging with. Enable me. To fulfill. All that I have come. Into the world.
[9:40] To fulfill. Glorify thy son. Support me. Under all these. Sorrows. Under all these. Sufferings. Enable me.
[9:51] To carry it all. Through. That I might be able. To conquer. The power of darkness. That I might be able. To destroy. The power of Satan. And crush the head.
[10:01] Of the serpent. As was. Prophesied of me. So long ago. In Genesis. Chapter 3. For of the seed. Of the woman. Will come. He who will.
[10:12] Bruise the. Serpent's head. And in so doing. And in so rendering. Perfect obedience. To God's law. I will then. Obtain eternal.
[10:24] Redemption. For the people. Of God. Of course. The Lord Jesus.
[10:34] Could call. Upon. The promises. Of God. In the Old Testament. As he looked. To this dark hour. And this dark passageway. Of sufferings. For example.
[10:45] In Isaiah 42. It says. In verses 1 and 4. Behold. My servant. Whom I uphold. My chosen one. In whom my soul. Delights.
[10:56] He will not grow faint. Or be discouraged. Till he has established justice. On the earth. Christ.
[11:06] As our mediator. In this world. Had that promise. And many others. For example. Psalm 16. At verse 10. You will not. Abandon my soul.
[11:17] To hell. Or let your holy one. To suffer corruption. These were promises. Given. By the Old Testament. Prophets. Under the inspiration.
[11:28] Of God's spirit. That applied. To Christ. In his working. Out of our salvation. And now. As he comes. Into this dark chapter. Of suffering.
[11:39] He calls upon his father. And he says. The hour has come. Glorify thy son. Fulfill these promises. In my experience. That I might be able.
[11:50] To bring. Salvation. To your elect people. And if he were.
[12:01] To be. Able to bring. Salvation. To God's elect people. It says. So that thy son. Also may glorify thee. You glorify me.
[12:14] Enable me. To fulfill this work. Fulfill the promises. In my experience. And I will glorify thee. In other words. If I am able.
[12:26] And there was no doubt. In Christ's mind. But that he was able. And that he would. Fulfill every detail. Of what had been entrusted. To him. There was no doubt.
[12:37] About it. In so doing. He would glorify God. He would glorify the wisdom. He would glorify the wisdom of God. God's.
[12:49] Eternal wisdom. Devised. This way of saving sinners. Some people say. Surely God could have found another way. Whereby sinners could be saved.
[13:00] Without Christ. Coming into the world. As the. Only begotten son of God. Suffering and dying. I don't believe God. Had any other way.
[13:13] Known to his infinite wisdom. But this way alone. And when Christ suffered unto death. And made reconciliation. And peace.
[13:24] Through the blood of his cross. That glorified the wisdom of God. And the justice of God. And the grace of God. And the holiness of God. And the power of God.
[13:34] And the faithfulness of God. And the goodness of God. All of these things. Were manifested. Through. The work of salvation. As Christ completed it. In our womb.
[13:46] And in our stead. The hour has come. Glorify thy son. That thy son also.
[13:58] May glorify thee. A prayer. For himself. Secondly. He now prays. For his people. In verse 2.
[14:10] As thou hast given him. Power over all flesh. That he should give eternal life. To as many. As thou hast given him. Christ acknowledges here.
[14:24] That he has been given power. Over all flesh. As the mediator. Of God's people.
[14:36] He has power. Over the whole universe. The whole universe. Is under his control. He is not only the creator of it.
[14:46] But the sustainer of it. And he is the one who appoints. All the details. That occur. Throughout this whole universe. Scientists wouldn't agree with that.
[14:59] They talk about the subatomic particles. And the fact that you cannot. Be sure how a particle is going to. Perform. But Christ knows.
[15:13] Because he is the sustainer. Of all things. And all power. Is given to him. Over all flesh. Not just the universe.
[15:25] Inanimate. But all the animate. Aspect of the universe. All creatures. And all people. All nations. The providences of all nations.
[15:37] The providences of individuals. Within families. God has appointed it. And he says. Thou hast given him power. Over all flesh.
[15:49] What a comfort that is. In my little. Depression this evening. Or in your little. Problem this evening.
[16:02] How am I going to get out of it? How are you going to get around it? Well remember that Christ. Your mediator and saviour. Has power over all flesh. There is nothing out with his control.
[16:15] And this is what he says. By way of background. To what he is going to say. About his gift to his people. As thou hast given him power.
[16:26] Over all flesh. Then the focus of verse 2 is. That he should give eternal life. To as many. As thou hast given him.
[16:39] Out of the whole. Of this world's population. From the beginning. To the end. Of human history. Christ. Has a particular focus.
[16:51] On a particular people. A group of people. And he names them. In this verse. As many. As thou. Hast given him.
[17:04] In other parts of the Bible. We find. The word. Elect. The elect of God. Those whom.
[17:15] God the Father. Has given. To God the Son. In. The eternal covenant. And he gave them. To the Son.
[17:26] That they might be saved. By him. This was before. The world was created. We read. And had. Discussion today. About a verse. In Proverbs.
[17:38] Chapter 8. And in that particular. Chapter. It talks about. Christ. Having his delights. With the sons of men. Even before the world.
[17:49] Was created. His delight. And his focus. And his love. Was for these. Whom God the Father. Had given him. Was it anything.
[18:00] In any of them. That. Gave them to deserve. To be elect. More than any other. No. What was the reason.
[18:10] For God's elect. Or electing. Some people. And leaving others. The reason. God knows. It's his own.
[18:21] Good pleasure. That he elect some. And didn't elect others. We cannot challenge. God.
[18:31] On any of these matters. This is his doing. But this is the point. That Christ is here saying. He is going to give. Eternal life. To as many.
[18:43] As thou. Hast given him. Now we see. They're mentioned. Throughout this chapter. For example. In verse 7. Of this chapter. They. Have known.
[18:53] That all things. Whatsoever. Thou hast given me. Are of thee. They. That is. The elect. The people of God. The believers. In Christ. His children.
[19:05] His bride. As it says. In the song of Solomon. They are a people. Set apart. By God. From all eternity. That Christ. May give them.
[19:16] Eternal life. Christ. Is empowered. To give them. This life. Christ. And Christ. In his.
[19:27] Appointing. Of the providences. Of this world. With all. Its. Generations. And all. Its. Peoples. And all. Its. Circumstances.
[19:39] He. Works. Things. In such. A way. That the elect. Will meet. Up. With God. In Christ. All.
[19:53] Things. Are. For you. It says. That. In the. Epistle. Of. Paul. To the Corinthians.
[20:04] All. Things. Are. For your. Sakes. In other words. The world. Exists. It. Exists. As a. As a. Physical. Entity.
[20:14] For the people. Of God. Primarily. It is. What they call. Nowadays. The theater. In which. God. Deals. With his people.
[20:26] And prepares. Them. By his blessing. For eternity. And this is. What Jesus. Is saying. As many. As you have. Given me. I am going.
[20:37] To give them. Eternal life. And the third. Point. I would like. To make. Is. The way. He describes. Eternal life.
[20:49] That is. Of course. The great. End. Which the. Christian. Religion. Sets. Before people. Even. The eternal. Happiness. And the. Eternal. Security.
[21:00] Of our. Immortal. Souls. And our. Whole. Being. At last. In the. Vision. Of God. And the. Fellowship. Of God. Eternal. Life. Involves.
[21:11] Many. Things. But this is. What he. Emphasizes. In this. Particular. Context. This is. Life. Eternal. That they.
[21:21] Might. Know thee. The only. Through God. And Jesus. Christ. Whom. Thou hast. Sent. That they. Might. Know. The.
[21:32] Eternal. Life. Is. Knowledge. Of God. Getting. To know. Him. Revealing. He. Reveals.
[21:42] Himself. To us. In such. A way. That we. Get. To know. Him. This is. Eternal. Life. And of course. He makes.
[21:53] The point. That they. Might. Know thee. The only. Through God. There were. Many. Other. Gods. Worshipped. By. People. In Jesus. Day. There were. Twelve.
[22:03] Deities. Commanding. The attention. Of the Roman. Citizens. There were. Twelve. Deities. Commanding. The attention. Of the Greek. Citizens. But Jesus.
[22:14] Says. There is. Only. One. Through God. And. It is. The knowledge. Of the one. Through God. I'm. Talking. About. All the others. Are.
[22:25] As. They still. Are. In our. Own. Day. And. Generation. People. Bow. Down. To this. God. God. Maybe. It's. The God. Of. The God. Of. Or. The God. Of. Of. Carnal. Appetite.
[22:35] Or. The God. Of. This. Or. That. Or. The other. Thing. But. There is. Only. One. True. God. Who. Is. The living. God. Who. Is. Able. To. Give. Life. And. Life. Everlasting. To.
[22:46] All. Those. To. Whom. He. Reveals. Himself. The only. True. God. Now. That.
[22:56] They. Might. Know. The. In. The book. Of. Job. It. Tells. Us. That. Man. By. Searching. Cannot. Find. God.
[23:08] We. Just. Haven't. Got it. Within. Our. Capacity. To. Search. Out. God. As. We. Are. By. Nature. In. Fact. We. Don't. Want. To. Know. Him. In.
[23:19] Fact. We. Run. Away. From. Him. That's. The way. Sin. Has. Warped. Our. Appreciation. Of. Who. God. Is. And. Warped. Our. Appreciation. For.
[23:29] The. Things. That. Are. Good. And. Holy. And. True. We. Tend. To. Run. Away. From. Them. And. Turn. Our. Back. Upon. Them. We. Seek. To. Have. Soul.
[23:41] Satisfaction. From. Involving. Yourselves. With. The. Things. Of. This. World. Things. Of. Time. And. Sense. But. Jesus. Says. This. Is. Life. Eternal. That.
[23:52] They. Might. Know. The. How. Is. He. Going. To. Be. Known. By. Us. Well. There. Is. Only. One. Way. Isn't. It. In.
[24:02] That. God. Comes. To. Reveal. Himself. To. Us. How. Does. He. Reveal. Himself. To. Us. The.
[24:13] Only. Through. God. Well. Can I. Say. First. Of. All. That. When. God. Draws. Near. You.
[24:24] May. Very. Well. Have. Been. Aware. Of. This. That. He. Is. Your. Creator. The. One. Who. Made. You. The.
[24:35] One. Who. Sustains. You. He. Is. Your. Creator. God. He. Comes. And. Makes. Clear.
[24:45] To. You. In. Your. Mind. Through. The. Work. Of. His. Spirit. That. He. Is. That. He. Is. A. Reality. That.
[24:56] He. Is. Your. Maker. Sustainer. The. Provider. Of. Every. Good. Thing. You. Stand. In. Need. Of.
[25:08] But. Also. As. God. Draws. Near. He. Makes. Clear. To. You. That. He. Is. Holy. And.
[25:20] That. You. Are. Sinful. He. Reveals. Himself. To. You. As. Your. Law. Giver. Not. Just. Your. Creator. But.
[25:30] The. One. Who. Gives. You. Gives. You. The. Standard. By. Which. He. Wants. You. To. Live. In. This. World. Do you. Remember. When. God. Gave.
[25:41] The. Ten. Commandments. To. Israel. On. Mount Sinai. And. Moses. Came. Down. With. The. Two. Tables. Of. The. Law. And. The. Law. Written. With. The. Finger. Of. God.
[25:52] This. Was. God's. Commandment. To. The. People. He. Says. This. Is. The. Way. You. Need. To. Live. Now.
[26:03] We. Don't. Have. Us. Written. On. Them. But. We. Have. The. Word. Of. God. And. The. Word. Of. God. Reveals. To. Us. The. Law.
[26:14] Of. God. And. The. Standard. By. Which. God. Wants. Us. To. Live. And. God. Reveals. To. Us. As. We. Read. His. Word. That.
[26:24] We. Come. Far. Short. Of. What. The. Standard. Requires. Of. Us. Do you remember the experience. Of.
[26:36] The. Prophet. Isaiah. When he saw the Lord. High and lifted up. And his. Train or his garments filled the temple.
[26:47] The temple of God was. Full of the glory of the Lord. And what did I say? I say. Woe is me. For I am undone.
[26:58] I am a man of unclean lips. And I dwell among a people of unclean lips. For mine eyes have seen the King. The Lord of hosts.
[27:10] The Lord drew near him. And the Lord. Made that impression upon him. He felt sinful. In his presence. You remember also.
[27:22] When Jacob. Had his dream. As he lay upon. The wilderness. With a stone under his head. And he saw the Lord.
[27:33] High and lifted up. And the Lord. Spoke to him. From the top. Of that ladder. That joined earth. With heaven. And when Jacob. Rose up in the morning.
[27:44] He said. This is a terrible place. He said. He said. He said. He said. He said. He said. He said. He said. He said. He said. He said. He said. And the words there. In the original. Point to him. Having goose pimples.
[27:55] As it were. All over his body. Aware. Of the divine presence. How awful. Is this place. Fills me with awe. And the people of God still.
[28:12] The elect of God. Who are to receive eternal life. God reveals themselves to them. In that way. In the light of.
[28:24] His word. And his requirements of them. Oh they say. I am undone. I am undone. There is nowhere to go from here.
[28:35] There is no refuge for me. Is there? Well he spoke to his people. Long ago. In the days of Hosea.
[28:47] When they had sinned greatly. And the Lord said to them. Oh Israel. You have destroyed yourselves. But in me.
[28:59] Is your help. The Lord hadn't finished with them. The Lord had shown them their sin. As he had shown Isaiah his sin. As he had shown Jacob his sin.
[29:12] As he had shown Peter his sin. Remember when the Lord Jesus. Commanded the disciples. To cast their net over the side of the ship. And they enclosed a huge shoal.
[29:23] Of fish. The previous night. They had caught nothing. And you remember what Peter said. Depart from me oh Lord. I am a sinful man. He realized he was in the presence of the holy.
[29:36] And he knew himself as a sinner. Christ revealed himself. As a holy God. This is life eternal.
[29:48] That they might know thee. The only true God. And the true God. And the true God. The true God. The true God. And the true God. Impresses.
[30:00] In such a way. That people bow before him. And acknowledge themselves. For what they are. Needy. Lost.
[30:11] Sinners. In his presence. In his presence. But Jesus doesn't stop. With that statement. That they might know thee. The only true God.
[30:23] And Jesus Christ. Whom thou hast sent. He's not saying that Christ is a different God. From God the Father. No he's not.
[30:36] He is acknowledging that Christ is God. Equal with the Father. The same in substance. Equal in power. And in glory. But in this particular context.
[30:47] When God is revealing himself. He reveals himself. As the lawgiver. And creator. But also. To those who feel. That they have. A lost soul.
[30:59] And a sinful personality. Jesus Christ. Reveals himself to them. As their savior. And as their Lord. He reveals himself.
[31:13] As mediator. He reveals himself. As the one. Who is able. To take your sins away. The one who is able.
[31:26] To bring peace. Instead of turmoil. Who is able. To bring love. To rule. And reign. To reign. In our lives.
[31:37] Instead of the hatred. And the distrust. Of God. That existed before. He is able. To bring forgiveness. For all the sins.
[31:48] That you have ever committed. You get to know. Christ. In that way. You get to know him. As the one.
[31:59] Who receives sinners. And eats with them. Who isn't ashamed. To call his people. His brethren. But who has worked. A salvation for them.
[32:11] That they might know. The pleasures. And the joys. And the security. Of everlasting life. We know.
[32:26] The apostle John says. In 1st John 5. We know that the son of God. Has come. And has given us. Understanding. So that we may know him.
[32:38] Who is true. And we are in him. Who is true. In his son. Jesus Christ. He is the true God. And eternal life.
[32:48] What a marvelous thing this is. Eternal life. Is a relationship. A relationship.
[32:59] With the eternal God. A relationship. With the God man. Mediator. Who has the whole universe. Under his control. The God man.
[33:11] Mediator. Who took the sins. Of the elect. Upon himself. And went to Calvary. And there. Paid the ransom price.
[33:22] That you might. Be set free. When God called Abraham. Out of Ur of the Chaldees.
[33:35] He made himself known to him. It says in Acts. That the God of glory. Appeared to Abraham.
[33:47] In the Ur of the Chaldees. And told him to get out from here. To a place. Where I will show you. And Abraham.
[33:59] Obeyed. He was in the presence. Of the living God. The God who commanded. His attention. Who filled. His mind.
[34:10] And his heart. And his affections. In such a way. That he bowed. In submission to him. And he obeyed him. In faith. And in love.
[34:22] Another example. From the Old Testament. Little boy Samuel. There in the temple. Helping Eli. Keeping things.
[34:35] Organized. In the temple. Opening and closing the doors. And this night. The Lord called. Samuel. Samuel. He didn't know.
[34:47] It was the Lord. Maybe that's the way you are. Maybe the Lord's been calling you. And calling for your attention. Down through the years. And you took a long time.
[34:58] To realize. This is the Lord. Lord. And Eli eventually told the little boy. If he speaks to you again. Say. Speak Lord. For your servant is hearing.
[35:11] And the Lord spoke to him. And all Israel knew. That Samuel. Was a prophet of the Lord. It's the Lord who made him a prophet.
[35:22] It's the Lord who makes you a believer. When he comes into your experience. And joins. With you. In the bonds of eternal life. The new birth.
[35:32] Is the experience of those. Into whose experience. The Lord comes. One more example. From the Old Testament. Manasseh.
[35:43] The king. The king. Manasseh. He had been a terrible rebel. Against God. He had led his people. Down the path of idolatry. Committing all kinds of heinous sins.
[35:55] In the presence of God. The Lord saw fit. To bring something into his life. A time of difficulty and trial. Manasseh.
[36:06] And then from that situation. Manasseh called upon God. And he entreated him. And God answered him. And Manasseh was a new man.
[36:19] Because of that. Encounter with his God. He knew him. As his creator. As his lawgiver. As the one who was condemning him.
[36:29] And he got also to know him. As his savior. Because God had made provision. For sinners. Who repent. Of their sins.
[36:44] Think of the. Variety of experiences. People have. As God makes himself known to them. And gives them eternal life.
[36:55] Two examples. From the New Testament. And we'll finish with that. Think of Lydia. Who was there. In the. Town of Philippi. And she went out there.
[37:07] To a prayer meeting. With the women. Who were gathering. At the riverside. And the apostle Paul. Began preaching. And the scripture says.
[37:17] The Lord. Opened her heart. So that she. Hearkened. To the words. Spoken by the apostle. Isn't that a gentle experience.
[37:28] The Lord. Comes in. So quietly. Almost. Imperceptibly. Nevertheless. He opened her heart. Opened her ears.
[37:39] And enveloped her. With his arms of love. And forgiveness. And blessing. Imparting eternal life. To her.
[37:51] What about the jailer. In the same city. Of Philippi. He had been a rough man. And he came.
[38:03] And he asked the apostle. What must I do. To be saved. He was on the point. Of committing suicide. Because of the circumstances. In which he found himself. Don't harm yourself.
[38:15] He said. Believe on the Lord. Jesus Christ. And you will be saved. And that whole picture. As it were. Is an illustration. Of what may happen.
[38:26] In a person's experience. It's as if. The whole prison house. Of our sinful existence. Is shaken all around us. We become aware.
[38:36] Of our evil deserts. And we call. For this question. To be answered. What must I do. To be saved. Believe.
[38:47] In the Lord. Jesus Christ. And thou shalt be saved. And he believed. And he was baptized. What an amazing.
[39:01] Saviour we have. This is life everlasting. That they might. Know thee. The only true God. And Jesus Christ. Whom thou hast sent.
[39:13] The Jesus who came. The Jesus. The Jesus. Who ministered for three years. In this world. The Jesus. Who went to the cross.
[39:24] Who died. And the Jesus. Who rose again. And who is now ascended up. Onto the right hand of God. In heaven. That's the Jesus who saves.
[39:37] No other Jesus saves. There is a Jesus. Of history. But the Jesus who saves. Must become a personal Jesus.
[39:49] That you trust. With your whole life. For time. And for eternity. And that's what happens. When the Holy Spirit comes.
[40:01] To reveal to you. The glory of God. In the face of Jesus Christ. You are enabled. To trust in Jesus. Jesus. And commit yourself to him.
[40:13] For time. And for eternity. Jesus' prayer here. Will have an answer. It will be answered. In the experience.
[40:24] Of all of God's elect people. Down through the centuries. Until the very last. Soul is taken in. If you have had the experience.
[40:38] Of knowing yourself. As a sinner. Before God. Knowing your guilt. In the presence of his holy law. And knowing the ability.
[40:50] To flee to Christ. And trust in him. Alone for salvation. The experience. Of knowing his peace. In your heart.
[41:01] The experience. Of knowing. His love. Shed abroad in your heart. By the Holy Spirit. Well these are pointers. I would say. That you are an elect child of God.
[41:14] Whatever difficulties. Might come your way. Whatever temptations. Whatever discouragements. You keep going. The Lord Jesus.
[41:26] Who loved you. And gave himself. For you. Is determined. To bring you at last. Into heaven. As he says here. Father I will. That they also.
[41:38] Whom thou hast given me. Be with me where I am. That they may behold. My glory. Which thou hast given me. May the Lord bless these thoughts.
[41:49] Let us pray. Help us. Lord to be thankful. For thy great kindness to us. This evening. I thank thee. For this glorious word.
[42:02] Of truth. We have been privileged to read. And meditate upon it. We pray for thy blessing to follow. All that we seek to do in thy name.
[42:13] And remember. And remember. The services. Following this. We pray for thy servant. Who is expected to preach here tomorrow.
[42:24] That he may be filled with thy spirit. And led by the spirit. And that thy name would be glorified through him. And that the kingdom of God would be strengthened. Through his preaching.
[42:36] And through his witness. Go before us now. And cleanse our sins. It's for Jesus' sake. Amen. We conclude singing.
[42:47] Verses 15 to 18. Of Psalm 89. O greatly blessed the people are.
[42:59] The joyful sound that know. In brightness of thy face. O Lord. They ever on shall go. They in thy name shall all the day. Rejoice exceedingly. And in thy righteousness.
[43:10] Shall they exalted be on high. Because the glory of their strength. Doth only stand in thee. And in thy favour. Shall our horn and power exalted be. For God is our defence.
[43:22] And he to us. Doth safety bring. The Holy One of Israel. Is our almighty King. These stanzas. Verses 15 to 18. Of Psalm 89.
[43:33] O greatly blessed the people are. The joyful sound that know.
[43:53] In brightness of thy face. O Lord. May ever on shall go.
[44:08] O Lord. May ever on shall o'erly. For God is our virgin. May ever on shall justify.
[44:36] be on high. Because the glory of their strength does only stand with thee, and in thy favor shall the Lord and bow next on the knee.
[45:13] For glory is our defense and thee to us, God, sin thee bring.
[45:28] The glory of God is higher, is thou not mighty King.