[0:00] Welcome to our service this evening, and as we come together around the Word of God, let us seek his blessing upon his Word. Let us pray.
[0:14] Let us pray.
[0:44] Let us pray.
[1:14] Let us pray. Let us pray. Let us pray. Let us pray.
[2:22] Let us pray. Let us pray. Let us pray. Let us pray. Let us pray. Let us pray.
[2:34] Let us pray. Let us pray. Let us pray. Let us pray. Let us pray. Let us pray.
[2:46] Let us pray. Let us pray. Let us pray. Let us pray. Thanks that where thou hath begun that good work, that that work will be brought to perfection in the day of Jesus Christ.
[3:03] Remember those who are ill. We pray, O Lord, that thine own healing hand may be upon them. And bless those who care for them.
[3:15] We pray, O Lord, that thou would bless all thy servants who have gone forth with thy word at this evening hour. Oh, may they know the unction of thine own spirit upon them.
[3:30] We pray for those who are more in the passing of loved ones, that thou would, O Lord, fill the emptiness and void that they find in their hearts and in their families tonight.
[3:41] We pray, O Lord, for those who may be lonely, for whom these further restrictions on visits will be particularly unwelcome.
[3:53] Especially in days when there are longer nights. We pray, O Lord, that they may know and have that reassuring measure of thine own peace upon them.
[4:07] That they would come to know that thine own presence overshadows them. Or that they may come to know the blessedness of putting outrust under the wings of Jesus Christ.
[4:20] We pray, O Lord, that thou would bless us now as we come to wait upon thee. As we come, O Lord, to acknowledge our sinnership.
[4:33] As we come to acknowledge that we are dependent upon thee. For without thee we can do nothing. So we seek that thou would bless thy word and that portion of thy word that we shall meditate upon at this evening hour.
[4:51] We pray, O Lord, that in everything that we endeavour to do, that thy own name would be magnified and glorified. For that is our desire, to glorify thee.
[5:02] We ask, O Lord, that thou would bless our homes, our families, all our loved ones, wherever they may be. Bless those who are in bondage and slavery to the many ills that have come into the experience of mankind due to sin.
[5:19] We pray, O Lord, that thou would set them free through the gospel of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. That thou, O Lord, would bless all attempts that there is made at peace and reconciliation through our world where there is so much tension.
[5:39] We pray that every attempt at peace and reconciliation would find their source in the Lord Jesus Christ. We now commit ourselves into thine own tender care.
[5:52] Forgive us for all our sins. In Jesus' name. Amen. May we now read the word of God as we find it in the New Testament, in the first epistle of Paul the Apostle to Timothy.
[6:10] Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope. And to Timothy, my own son in the faith, grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ, our Lord.
[6:27] As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine, neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions rather than godly edifying, which is in faith.
[6:46] So do. Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart and of a good conscience and of faith and faith, from which some, having served, have turned aside into vain jangling, deciding to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor whereof they affirm.
[7:06] But we know that the law is good if a man use it lawfully. Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and prevailing, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for menslayers, for whoremongers, for them that defile themselves of mankind, for men-stealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and let it be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine.
[7:37] According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust, and I thank Christ Jesus, our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, who was before a blasphemer and a persecutor and injurious.
[7:54] But I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love, which is in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.
[8:13] Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ may show forth all longsuffering for a path unto them which should yet after believe in him to life everlasting.
[8:26] Now unto the King, eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory forever and ever, Amen. This charge I committed to the son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience, which some having put away concerning faith, hath made shipwreck, of whom is Hyamaus and Alexander, whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.
[9:03] May the Lord bless unto us the reading of that portion of his word. And seeking his help and blessing, let us read from the beginning of this chapter of first letter of Timothy.
[9:16] That is Timothy chapter 1. First letter of Timothy and chapter 1. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God, our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope, and to Timothy, my known son in the faith, grace, mercy, and peace from God, our Father, and Jesus Christ, our Lord.
[9:40] And I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some, and that they teach no other doctrine, neither give heed to fables, and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying, which is in faith, do so do.
[9:58] Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned. First Timothy belongs to that group of letters that are called pastoral epistles, along with Second Timothy and Titus.
[10:20] These letters were written by the Apostle Paul when he was at the close of his ministry, and they contain instructions that would be crucial for young leaders of the church to understand, such as discipline, appointment of elders and deacons, and the maintenance of doctrinal purity.
[10:40] Paul wrote First and Second Timothy in order to encourage Timothy in his responsibility for overseeing the work of the Ephesian church, and possibly other churches as well in the region of Asia.
[10:56] Paul met Timothy when he passed through Lusra on his second missionary journey, and invited him to join with him in his missionary endeavours. And it is generally accepted that he introduced, actually, Timothy to Christ.
[11:11] There was a unique relationship forged between Paul and Timothy in the Gospel. Paul speaks of Timothy with a great affection.
[11:23] Here in the first letter to Timothy, he writes, mine own son in the faith. And in his first letter to the Corinthians, he says, I send unto you, Timothy is, who is my beloved son and faithful in the Lord.
[11:36] And writing to the church at Philippi to which he was going to send Timothy, he says, For I have no man like-minded who will naturally care for your state. For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ, but ye know the proof of him that as a son with a father he has served with me in the Gospel.
[11:56] The relationship between them were both spiritual and personal. Their relationship was bound by their faith in Jesus Christ. Now, Timothy travelled together with Paul to Thessalonica, Corinth, and to Jerusalem, and was by his side as Paul was imprisoned in Rome.
[12:18] Paul attaches the name of Timothy to his salutations and another six of his letters in his second letter to the Corinthians, his letter to the Philippians, first and second Thessalonians, Colossians, and Philemon.
[12:34] It has been suggested that he mentions Timothy because he served as Paul's secretary by writing down Paul's transcript of his letters. However, as we noted already, Paul wrote this letter to Timothy as he had delegated Timothy to lead the church that he had planted at Ephesus.
[12:54] Now, we know that Timothy's mother was Jewish, but his father was a Greek, and that Timothy learned the scriptures at his mother's knee. In his second letter to Timothy chapter 1, Paul wrote, When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois and thy mother Eunice, and I am persuaded that in thee also.
[13:18] It's a reminder to us how often Christians owe so much to a mother's instruction. Augustine wrote how much his mother Monica travelled in prayer for his salvation.
[13:33] In the confessions that he made to God, Augustine testified to her faithfulness. He wrote, My mother, your faithful servant was weeping for me to you.
[13:43] Weeping more than mothers wept for the bodily deaths of their sons. For she, by that faith and spirit which he had from you, saw the death in which I lay, and you, Lord, heard her prayer.
[13:58] You heard her, and you did not despise her tears, which fell streaming and watering the ground beneath her eyes in every place where she prayed. Indeed, you heard her.
[14:11] And there has been many a person since who, for whom a mother's prayer has been blessed. Now this letter then opens in the customary way with a salutation.
[14:26] Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God, our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope. And to Timothy, my own son, in the faith, grace, mercy, and peace from God, our Father, and Jesus Christ, our Lord.
[14:43] He starts the letter by identifying himself with his name and identifies the one to whom he is writing and offers a prayer for him. But what is interesting in this salutation is the way in which he identifies himself, not simply as Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, but he adds, by the commandment of God, our Saviour, and the Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope.
[15:12] Paul's appointment as an apostle was not from men, but directly came from God, and this, he immediately asserts the authority by which he writes this letter. But interestingly, he adds the title Saviour.
[15:28] Now, this title is frequently applied to God in the pastoral epistles. In this letter, we have it in chapter 2 and verses 2 and 3.
[15:41] That we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty, for this is good and acceptable in the sight of God, our Saviour.
[15:54] And in chapter 4, verse 10, for therefore, we both labour and suffer reproach because we trust in the living God who is the Saviour of all men, especially of those that believe.
[16:08] It also appears three times in the letter to Titus. And this should not surprise us as Paul frequently ascribes the work of saving man to God.
[16:19] For instance, in 1 Corinthians and chapter 1, he says, For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
[16:33] And also, in his letter to the Philippians, in chapter 1, he says, And in nothing terrified by your adversaries, which is to them an evident token of petition, but to you of salvation and that of God.
[16:47] Paul also ascribes distinct acts in the work of salvation to God. For instance, in Romans 5, he says, But God commendeth his love to us, and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
[17:04] In Romans chapter 8, he says, He, that is God, that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all. In Ephesians chapter 2, he says, But God, who is rich in mercy for his great love for which he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ.
[17:24] By grace he hath saved and hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness told us to Christ Jesus.
[17:39] For by grace he hath saved through faith and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. But this is not only done by Paul, others also ascribe distinct acts to God.
[17:52] For instance, 1 John chapter 4 and verse 10, there we read, Here in his love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins.
[18:04] The whole Bible brings this important point before us that the whole redemptive plan of man is from God. the famous verse of John's gospel, For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.
[18:31] For God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. The Bible from foreordination to glorification ascribes our salvation to God.
[18:46] So, it would be strange to us if Paul would not have called God our Saviour. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour.
[19:02] in Romans chapter 5 we are told that in due time Christ died for the ungodly. In due time. Another translation would be in the appointed time.
[19:15] And what is the idea of an appointed time? Well, it takes us back before the foundation of the world, before time ever existed. God planned this mighty and glorious way of salvation.
[19:30] He planned that at a given point in time his son should come into the world in order to make the appointment whereby alone salvation would be made possible.
[19:43] In Galatians chapter 4 Paul writes, when the fullness of the time was come God sent forth a son made of a woman made under the law to redeem them that were under the law.
[19:56] It all shows us that salvation is not an afterthought for God had planned it all before the foundation the world was laid. What a thought this is in regards to the love of God for me and you.
[20:14] God knew about us. God was interested in us. And God was concerned about us. And God loved us with an everlasting love before the foundation of the world.
[20:25] And he planned that his son should die for me and you before we ever lived. So it should not be strange to us that Paul calls God our saviour.
[20:39] after identifying himself as a writer and his authority for writing and applying the title of saviour to God he says and Lord Jesus Christ which is our hope.
[20:55] Again this should not look strange to us because the Bible clearly reveals to us as we have it in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 that there on the cross God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself.
[21:12] Here is God's love demonstrated for us in Christ. He was giving himself even to the horrors of a sin bearing death on the cross and doing so for those who were powerless to rescue themselves.
[21:26] As we find in Romans chapter 5 there is demonstrated to us that we were powerless and godly and sinners or the wonder of the cross of Golgotha.
[21:43] The Lord Jesus Christ which is our hope the sins he bore there on the cross were ours but the death was his. In our place he received the penalty that our sins are deserved.
[21:58] And so we see here that from the very beginning of this letter that Paul's salutation is full of immense theology. Paul an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour and the Lord Jesus Christ which is our hope.
[22:19] Over the past number of weeks we have studied together the helpless and hopeless situation that pertains to the sinner. And we have studied God's intervention through his son and the cross of Golgotha.
[22:32] Well here again the same truth is brought before us. God our Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ which is our hope. And you know my dear friend the Christian hope is not uncertain like our ordinary everyday hope about the weather or our health.
[22:51] But it is a joyful confident expectation which rests on Jesus Christ. and the Lord Jesus Christ which is our hope.
[23:04] The writer to the Hebrews reminds us that we have a strong consolation who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us which hope we have as an anchor of the soul both sure and steadfast and which entereth into that within the veil whether the forerunners for us entered even Jesus made an high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
[23:34] Our hope is sure our hope is like the anchor our hope is not uncertain. But what is the object of this hope?
[23:45] Well Paul in writing to the Romans again in chapter 5 reminds us that one of the blessings that belong to our justification is that we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
[24:01] Although his glory has been continuously displayed in the heavens and the earth and uniquely made manifest in the Lord Jesus Christ and although we already see something of this glory it is through a glass darkly as Paul reminds us when he says for now we see us through a glass darkly but then he says there's a day coming when we shall see him face to face one day the radiant splendor of his glory shall be fully displayed this was Jesus desire for his people which he expressed to his father father I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me we shall stand in the presence of God and see the glory of God and of Christ without avail no longer darkly like a pale reflection in a mirror but we shall see it face to face on this day not only will
[25:03] Christ himself appear with great power and glory and not only shall we see his glory but we shall be changed unto it remember that great promise that we saw in our study of the letter to the Philippians who shall change our vile body that it may be fashioned like into his glorious body we shall be glorified for without our glorification we would never be fit or able to stand the glory of God that shall be revealed in us not only shall we see the glory of God but there is a glory of God to be revealed in us and through us and that can only be a reference to our glorification as John says beloved now are we the sons of God and it does not yet appear what we shall be but we know that when he shall appear we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is the Lord Jesus Christ which is our hope and this hope maketh not ashamed this hope does not disappoint this hope will never disappoint it will never betray us by proving to be an illusion after all such hope is not fantasy and this hope encourages us when we have to face opposition knowing that
[26:21] Jesus Christ our hope is coming for us encourages us to serve him faithfully Paul an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our saviour and Lord Jesus Christ which is our hope and Paul names the recipient of the letter and to Timothy my own son in the faith grace mercy and peace from God our father and Jesus Christ our Lord now we have already noted the intimate spiritual relationship that existed between Paul and Timothy remember when we studied Paul's allotation to the church at Philippi we noted that grace was a normal Greek address and peace was a common form of greetings among the Jewish people and we noted that the word grace as used by Paul in his letter to the
[27:22] Philippians and that is also true in this letter to Timothy it has the full biblical meaning the unmerited favour of God we noted that if we are ever going to have any true understanding of the grace of God we must begin with the knowledge that God has acted graciously in Christ entirely apart from any human merit and I think he is demonstrating this to us in his salutation here God our saviour and Lord Jesus Christ which is our hope and how he is invoking nothing less upon Timothy there than the favour of God then we have mercy and we can ask is there a difference between grace and mercy well mercy and grace are closely related while the terms have similar meanings grace and mercy are not exactly the same mercy has to do with kindness and compassion it is often spoken of in the context of
[28:35] God not punishing us as our sins deserved grace includes kindness and compassion but also carries the idea of bestowing a gift of favour in the Bible mercy is often equated with a deliverance from and grace is always the extending of a blessing to the unworthy we can put it like this God's mercy is not giving sinners what they do deserve God's mercy is not giving sinners what they do deserve and God's grace is giving sinners what they do not deserve God's grace is giving sinners what they do not deserve then we have the word peace grace is the unmerited favour of God tells us and mercy is not giving us what we deserve and peace is the result of that favour and mercy here at the very beginning of his letter he gives to us the heart of the gospel which is grace mercy and peace now peace can be considered in two ways first by the sacrifice of
[29:57] Jesus on the cross Jesus gives us peace with God this is what Paul refers to when he writes his letter to the Romans and says therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ but flowing from peace with God there is the peace of God that inner peace of conscience which arises from a sense of sins forgiven and reconciliation with God they are from God our Father and from Lord Jesus Christ when we find peace it is only because God first comes to us in grace and mercy and then Paul begins the body of his letter and he urges Timothy to stay on at Ephesus as I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus when I went into Macedonia now Ephesus was a city that Paul visited at least twice once briefly as recorded in
[31:00] Acts chapter 18 and once for more than two years of extended teaching as recorded for us in Acts chapter 19 Timothy was to stay at Ephesus so that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine now Paul does not name those who are teaching false doctrine but obviously they must have been known to Timothy and what were these people teaching well they seemed to be obsessed with myths and endless genealogies neither neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies which minister question rather than godly edifying which is in faith so do or as the ESV translated as I urge you when I was going to Macedonia remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith those who were teaching false doctrine were taking
[32:08] God's word and they were manufacturing all kinds of novelties which were leading the people away from the truth and leading to questions and speculations instead of godly edification but Paul wants Timothy to be a good steward of the word of God Paul is speaking of the preaching of the gospel says that he has been entrusted with a stewardship in first Corinthians chapter four Paul writes let a man so account of us as of the ministers of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God moreover it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful here Paul refers to himself as stewards of the mysteries of God and states that the chief qualification of a suit is that he is to be faithful the presence of course of false teachers was no surprise to Paul we read in
[33:08] Acts chapter 20 when he made his tearful farewell speech to the elders at Ephesus that he warned them about this eventually for I know this that after my departing shall grievous fools enter in among you not sparing the flock also of your own self shall men arise speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after them therefore watch and remember that by the space of three years I cease not to warn everyone night and day with tears it is a reminder to us that we are to be good stewards of the word of God that we are to remain faithful to the word of God this goes not only for the teachers of the church but for us all who profess Jesus Christ to be our Lord and Saviour that we be faithful to the word of God that we would be good stewards of the word of God now you may ask well why is it so important that no different or other doctrines be taught well doctrine affects our behaviour for what a person believes affects the way that a person lives there are those who falsely believe that the way to get to heaven is to be involved in a holy war and many give up their lives in a jihad and we know that this is false doctrine but millions follow it in chapter 2 verse 4 of this letter we read for this is good and acceptable in the sight of
[34:46] God our Saviour who will have all men to be saved and to come into the knowledge of the truth Paul defines for us that the only way to be saved is to come into the knowledge of the truth in other words if you believe what is not the truth then you cannot be saved that is why this charge given to Timothy is so important that we teach no other doctrine but that which we have received of Jesus Christ today we are taught that there are many ways to God we are told that we must not be exclusive but that we must be inclusive and tolerant however in Acts chapter 4 verse 12 we have an absolute something which is frowned upon by many today which say that we shouldn't make such absolute statements but in Acts chapter 4 we read regarding
[35:46] Jesus neither is their salvation and any other for there is none other name under heaven given among mine whereby we must be saved there are not many ways to heaven there is only one Jesus said I am way the truth and the life the writer to the Hebrew says how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation which at the first began to be spoken to by the Lord and was confirmed to us by them that heard him it is important for us that we do not false doctrine not accept false doctrine it is important that we do teach true doctrine and contend with those who teach false doctrine and who are leading people away from the truth there is only one way to heaven it is not through a holy war the only way to heaven is through Jesus
[36:46] Christ and as we preach the doctrine the true doctrine of Jesus Christ there are many who will accuse us of being too rigid they say that we ought to be more flexible in more modern times they say that our doctrine is so impractical and boring that we should not be so dogmatic but that we should simply express an opinion or a view no says Paul teach no other doctrine Paul confronted something of a similar problem another judge for reading his letter to the Galatians chapter one I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ into another gospel which is not another but there be some that trouble you and would pervert the gospel of Christ but though we are an angel from heaven preach any other gospel unto you that which we have preached unto you let him be accursed as we said before so say
[37:47] I know again if any man preaches any other gospel unto you than that ye have received let him be accursed however Paul reminds Timothy that the purpose of defending true doctrine is to create true love now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart and of a good conscience and of faith unfeigned the ESV translation the aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith our purpose in defending the true doctrine is out of love for surely it is love that wants a person that he or she is a sinner surely it is love that wants a person about judgment to one a person about eternal punishment is it not love that insists that Jesus is the only way to salvation but this kind of love can only come from a pure heart a pure heart cleansed by the blood of
[39:00] Christ is a living heart it is a heart that has no self interest that is untainted by mixed motives this love comes from a good conscience that is in harmony with the aim of God's law the first of all the commandments is hear O Israel the Lord our God is one Lord and thou shalt have the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind and with all thy strength that is the first commandment and the second is like namely this I shall love thy neighbour as thyself there is love that comes from a pure heart love that comes from a good conscience from a conscience that is guided by the truth of the word of God and you know that a good conscience examines oneself and passes judgment upon one's own state upon one's own emotions and thoughts and actions in accordance with the word of
[40:08] God a conscience that produces godly sorrow which works repentance into salvation a conscience that abhors the wrong and embraces the right a conscience that has received that ministry of the Holy Spirit that gives us that inner peace of conscience which arises from a sense of sins forgiven and being reconciled with God God the kind of love that springs from a sincere faith literally that means an unhypocritical faith a faith that is devoted and committed to Jesus Christ here we are reminded that we must have true love as well as true faith and true doctrine now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart and of a good conscience and of faith and faith we must be able to defend it through doctrine while at the same time living out the love of the gospel it is interesting that when we turn to the book of
[41:23] Revelation and chapter 2 we find that a letter was sent to this church at Ephesus and the letter said this I know thy works and thy labour and thy patience and how thou canst not bear them which are evil and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles and are not and hast found them liars and hast born and hast patience and for my name sake hast laboured and hast not fainted they are warmly commended for holding true doctrine but somewhere along the way the Ephesian church lost their true love nevertheless I have somewhat against thee because thou hast left thy first love remember therefore from whence thou art fallen and repent and do the first works or else I I will come unto thee quickly and will remove thy candlestick out of his place except thou repent you know there is something that we must remember and that is that truth without love can become judgmental it can become legalistic and we must also remember that love without truth can become an excuse for theological compromise and so let us endeavor to cultivate the garden of our own heart and make sure that what grows in it will be from a pure heart that it will be from a good conscience that it will be from a sincere faith that it will be true love may the
[43:09] Lord bless our thoughts let us pray eternal and ever blessed Lord we give thee thanks for the gospel for the gospel of Jesus Christ that gospel to which nothing can be added oh we give thanks that in him there is sufficiency to meet with our needs as sinners and we pray oh Lord that with the help of thy spirit that we would cultivate the garden of our own heart and we would make sure that what grows there would be from a pure heart that it would come from a good conscience from a sincere faith and from true love that we would have thy truth with love we pray oh
[44:11] Lord that thou would bless thy word to us and our meditation upon us oh Lord that we would endeavour to keep thy truth pure and spotless at all times we ask oh Lord that thou would go before us during these coming days that thou would forgive us for all our sins and for all our shortcomings and now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all now and forever more Amen