[0:00] First chapter, reading at verse 17, and if you call on him as father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but was made manifest in the last times for your sake, who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
[0:45] Well, as you can see, there's so much in that passage. We won't touch on every aspect of it this evening, but looking just at the main contours of it, following on from last time, where we find the previous passages flowing naturally into this one. We called that last time, Hope and Holiness, and we're following on with that same title or theme for this particular study, Hope and Holiness, because that's really, again, what runs through the chapter and giving us different dimensions to it as it follows on from previously. Now, the last time we noticed that one of our great motivating factors in regard to holiness and seeking to live a holy life is, in fact, the fact that God has commanded it. You shall be holy, for I am holy. That is God's command that's his imperative to us. And, of course, that really in itself ought to be sufficient.
[1:40] The fact that God requires it of us ought in itself to be enough for us. But God has kindly opened up things for us so that there's more than just, if you like, a bare command from God, be holy, for I am holy. He's now leading us to another motivating factor, which in a sense is actually even higher than the fact that there's a command to be holy, because this second one really is the matter of what we have come to be saved by, by the blood of Christ. And as God's commandment requires us to be holy, so the blood of Christ, the death of Jesus, calls upon us and commands us and requires us to be holy. It's an incentive. It's a motivation. It's one of the great factors behind our concern to be holy and live a holy life for God. So there you have the two great factors that meet us in this passage.
[2:44] On the one hand, there's the command of God, be holy. Along with it, there is the cost of our redemption, the blood of Christ, the command and the cost, which is really the cross, if you like, as well.
[2:59] So the command and the cross are the cost, as they together make up in this wonderful passage, the background to our pursuing holiness and seeking to live a holy life and commend holiness to the world around us. And of course that reminds us too that our, if, if, if, if, I'm sure it's not true of anyone here, I hope it's not. But if you have people who know something about the command of God to be holy and know something about the death of Christ on the cross as the cost of redemption and still say, well, I don't care for this holiness matter at all.
[3:40] I wouldn't mind being a Christian, but I have no time for this holiness thing. Well, of course, what that's saying is really tantamount to rebellion against God's command. Where he commands something, and we actually say, I don't want that, that's rebellion. But it's not merely rebellion, it's also in terms of the cost of it to, to say, well, I don't want this holiness stuff.
[4:03] It's really to devalue, isn't it, the death of Christ, this great price, this great cost of our redemption. It demands that we be holy, that we live a holy life. We devalue that cross, that cost, that blood of Christ. If we at any time think, well, I don't really need to be that holy. I don't need to be holy as God is holy, because that's really a devaluing of the precious blood of Christ, the cost of our redemption. And that's why you have both here in this passage that we're looking at tonight. If you call on him as father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile. That, if you like, is again another imperative, another aspect of the command. Following through, be holy, he's saying, well, conduct yourselves in a holy way. And then added to that, you find the cost of a redemption, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers with the precious blood of Christ, like of a lamb without blemish, without spot. Let's look at those two.
[5:17] Firstly, the command to be holy, as we follow that through, and the cost of our redemption, that's another further motivation and incentive to be holy. We'll see thirdly, along with that, that there's a connection again with hope, hope and holiness together. Here's the command then, to be holy. If you call on him as father, that's God the father, of course, who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, then conduct yourselves. Conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile. Let's open that up a wee bit and see something of what it contains.
[5:54] He's calling here both father and one who judges impartially. In other words, God is brought before us both as the father of his people, but also as one who brings forth judgment. And it's not anticipating the final judgment as such, though of course that's God the judge that is anticipated in that. What this is saying to us is God is actually taking stock of our lives all the time. God is actually assessing our lives each and every moment of our lives. He is the one who is judging. That is the tense that's used. He is the one who is judging impartially. He's doing something which is going on all the time as our father and as our judge. This is combined in himself.
[6:40] It's not just that he's our father. He's also our judge. It's not just that he's our judge. He's our father. If we just simply thought of God as judge only, then we would cringe and we wouldn't have the kind of view of him that fatherhood gives us. But he is our father in mercy and in care and in compassion. And yet his father, his fatherliness also includes disciplining his children. And of course, discipline in the biblical sense of it is not merely or not even primarily a negative thing.
[7:13] discipline really amounts to caring for his people in a way that corrects them when necessary, in a way that actually keeps them guided by his spirit within that right path of holiness.
[7:28] Let me just point you back to Hebrews for a moment and Hebrews chapter 12. If you turn over with me just a few pages to Hebrews 12, you'll get something of an insight into it there. And when you see in Hebrews 12 and especially verses 9 and 10, he's talking here through this passage about how God disciplines his people and that that's an aspect of his care, that if we have a disciplinary aspect to our lives as Christians, it's not because God has ceased to love us or no longer loves us. It's an aspect of his fatherly care. And he's saying in verse 9, besides this, we have an earthly father who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them. But he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness, that we may come as we partake of his holiness, as we take up that holiness of life that really is mirrored or patterned upon his. So we actually reflect that in living a holy life. And that, as we'll see, is why he has come to redeem his people, so that they would indeed be holy. What he says here, he judges impartially according to each one's deeds or deed. What does that mean? And why is it here?
[8:58] Well, we tend perhaps to think of this very negatively. Here we are coming to a passage, speaks about God the Father, but he judges impartially. So what we tend to do is just cast our mind away from the fact that he's our Father and just focus in on the judgmental aspect of it. And we have a negative view of it. And he judges impartially according to each one's deed.
[9:20] And you come to really begin to have a sense of being afraid of God. And you get this picture of someone who's just very stern and really so concerned to keep everything just in the right place and doesn't allow you this or that. Well, that's really not what the passage is saying.
[9:38] It's saying that he is, as a father, he judges impartially. He doesn't actually judge by external appearances. He's not somebody who judges or comes to an opinion or a declaration about any of us by the rank we have in the world, by our social status, by the wealth that we have, by anything at all to do with externals. God does not judge us by the kind of clothes we wear to church or how we are in terms of those sort of external things. Peter is concerned to show us that God the Father judges impartially as he sees our hearts, as he looks in upon our inner being, upon each one's deeds as they are reflected in how we live. And as that is the case, you can see that what he's really saying is that the whole tenor of one's Christian life is acceptable to God, even though we acknowledge that there are things that are not right here and there, that we do things at times that we shouldn't do, that we sin against him by not doing things we ought to do as well. But what Peter is saying here is that because our life is seen by him in Christ, God actually as our Father receives and accepts us in the entirety of our persons and our life as he sees it in the whole tenor of our life. Otherwise, we would despair. If every time you and I sinned in respect to God our Father and we thought he was just going to immediately come and punish us and we were going to fall out of his favor, you would despair.
[11:24] That's not the kind of Father he is, although of course he keeps to his law and he would have us to keep to the law that he has set out as well as a pattern for our holiness. But he says, if you call on him as Father who is judging impartially according to each one's deeds, well, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile. Now again, you see, again we tend to perhaps look at that negatively following on from our tendency to be negative in our view of God as our judge and God dealing impartially with each one of us according to our deeds. And you follow in here, conduct yourself with fear. And you maybe have people thinking, well, that's just it, isn't it? That's what's wrong with religion. That's what's wrong with our Christianity. That's why people don't want it.
[12:14] It's just a matter of being afraid of God. It's a matter of living in such a way as just ticks the boxes here and there and that's what Christianity is about. That's what the Bible means is by living in holy life. It's not. It's not. Because fear here is very different to being afraid of God as if we were such a stern judge that there is no fatherly aspect to Him at all.
[12:43] There is such a thing as fear of punishment. There is such a thing as religiousness which lives by that sort of attitude or mindset that goes about really trying to tick the boxes, whether it's the boxes that Scripture itself makes for us in terms of the kind of life we should live or whether it's the boxes that other people make of us which actually more often we tick than we are prepared to accept, where we're scared what people will think of us, where we have the fear of man so often dominating our lives that we really don't follow through with what we really should be doing for the Lord. Well, Peter is saying that's not the kind of fear this is because that kind of fear, that slavish fear, that fear of man and that religious sternness that you find in ticking the boxes of that were holiness. Well, that really just comes actually from self. It's just all about self.
[13:51] And it's something that if you can call it obedience, it's certainly no more than an outward legalistic type of obedience. But this fear, the fear of the Lord as it's called elsewhere, fear, that's not a legalistic thing. And it doesn't lead to a legalistic obedience, it leads to a loving obedience. Because this fear is the respect and the honor that we give to God and want to give more and more to Him. It's a positive thing. It's a thing that recognizes His fatherliness and His redemptive grace and realizes that we have come to actually inherit things which we are utterly undeserving of.
[14:33] And that as He judges us impartially and does not deal with us with what He sees outwardly, though He could do if He had chosen, and that He sees us in Christ and accepts us in Christ and for Christ's sake is prepared to actually bestow His favor upon us again and again and again continually.
[14:51] What does that invoke in your heart? Not a slavish fear, but an awe and a respect for this majesty, for this grace, for this God and all that He has revealed of Himself.
[15:05] And allows you to be free in your love for Him as you cannot be under a mere religious ticking of the boxes.
[15:20] He says, pass the time of your exile. And we saw that at the beginning of the chapter. It included not just the literal exile in this world, but that it can be used as a description for the journey of life that we're on in this life.
[15:35] The time of our sojourn, our exile from heaven. For all of us who are Christians and are looking forward and hope to heaven. This is a time of exile. We're not at home. We're on the way home, but we're not there.
[15:47] We have to make our way through many experiences and many difficulties, many of them even that we cannot understand. But, He says, throughout that time, conduct yourselves in fear.
[16:03] In other words, the fear of God includes love for His holiness. Love for His splendid majesty and purity.
[16:15] Love for His law and for His gospel. Love for His promises. Love for everything that makes Him beautiful, as the Bible describes it.
[16:27] Love for everything that really belongs properly to God. And that we cannot ourselves fully comprehend. But you love Him for that. Otherwise, He wouldn't be God, would He?
[16:39] If you could understand everything about Him. You could get Him into your puny wee mind and my puny wee mind. Puny compared to God. Well, He wouldn't be much of a God to us, would He?
[16:52] But, such is His own majesty and glory. That we are to live in fear of Him, in loving respect for Him.
[17:07] And in a loving obedience to Him. Which is really what He said in the earlier part of this passage, isn't it? As obedient children, don't be conformed to your passions of your former ignorance.
[17:19] But, as He who called you is holy, you be holy in all your conduct. That's your childlike obedience. The obedience that you owe to Him as your Father. This is not a slavish obedience.
[17:29] An obedience out of slavish fear. But, the obedience of a child who wants to do the best for their father. Who wants to honor their father. Who wants to make the name of their father great.
[17:42] Who wants to preserve that father's glory and dignity. When it is so abused and so trampled upon in all that surrounds them. Spend your time, live your time in exile in this fear.
[17:57] So, there's the command to be holy. In respect to our father and judge. But, also living in fear and living with this awful, awesome respect, if you like, for Him.
[18:10] That loves Him for what He is. And who He is. And what He's done. And what He will do. And then there's the cost of redemption. It doesn't leave it at that. Because that flows into the next part as well.
[18:23] Conduct the time of your exile here in fear. Knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers. With the precious blood of Christ.
[18:34] Now, He's saying here, on the one hand, He's saying, this is what you were redeemed from. And secondly, this is what you were redeemed by.
[18:46] And it's interesting, isn't it, what He says, what you were redeemed from. Knowing that you were ransomed, is the word here. It's really the word redeemed. I'm not going to go into the details theologically of that.
[18:57] And we dealt with that not too long ago at our communion time. And dealing with the solas of the Reformation. Ephesians chapter 1, verse 7, you recall. In whom we have, that's Jesus, in whom we have redemption through His blood.
[19:11] And we saw that redemption involves, at its basic level, a purchasing of us back by God with the price of the blood of Christ.
[19:23] In other words, God redeeming us. God taking us back to a proper relationship with Himself. But doing it at great cost. And the cost of that, the payment price, the ransom.
[19:36] Nothing less than the death of Jesus. Now, He's saying, knowing that this is what you were ransomed by. Not with perishable things like silver or gold.
[19:46] But with the precious blood of Christ. But then look at what He's saying. You were redeemed from. Knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers.
[20:00] The Bible mostly talks about redemption or being ransomed from sin. Not that the aspect of sin is missing from that description.
[20:13] But it's mostly to do with sin or different aspects of sin itself. Remember that passage we just mentioned a minute ago. Ephesians 1, verse 7. In whom we have redemption through His blood.
[20:25] Even the forgiveness of sins. We are redeemed from all iniquity. As Paul's letter to Titus put it. So it's mostly from sin in the Bible.
[20:37] But here it's redeemed or ransomed from a particular way of life. From a particular lifestyle. Futile. Which He calls the futile ways inherited from your forefathers.
[20:50] Now if you were to go out there tonight. And ask people in the passing. Are you living a futile life? Are you living an empty life? Most of them, if not all of them, would say. Of course I'm not living a futile life. It's meaningful to me.
[21:02] And it's not empty. Because it's full of good things that I'm busy enjoying. And that makes my life meaningful and purposeful. And we might ask the question of ourselves tonight.
[21:15] Am I living a futile life? Are you living a futile life? An empty life? You might have the same sort of reaction. Well, of course it's not an empty life.
[21:26] Look at all the things I'm cramming into my life. Look at all the things I'm doing from day to day. Look at the activities I'm involved with. Look at the different aspects of what I'm doing from day to day.
[21:38] My life is full. Right up to the brim with things. Whether it's with what I'm doing with children. With family. With others. In my work. Or in my recreation. My life is full.
[21:48] It's not empty. It's not futile. But well, that all depends. That all depends on the ultimate reason for why we exist.
[22:01] Doesn't it? What Peter is getting at here. What God is getting at to me and to you is. Is my life fulfilling the end for which God created me?
[22:13] Is my life one that in Christ is now able by his grace to follow a holiness of life? Which is why God created me in the first place.
[22:25] To be like himself. To be holy as he is holy. And if we are not in Christ tonight. If we are not pursuing holiness of life in the biblical way in which we've briefly seen it tonight.
[22:40] A holiness of life that's anchored in and founded in Christ. And living a life for him that is seeking to please him. Then I'm afraid to say.
[22:52] If I'm not like that, my life is futile. And so is yours. You're not fulfilling the end for which God created you. You're falling short of the ultimate reason why you exist.
[23:07] Which is to glorify God. And to enjoy him forever. And Peter is saying this is what you were ransomed from.
[23:17] And that's really a very telling and a very powerful point isn't it? That a life that lives without Christ. A lifestyle however crammed it is with so many things.
[23:27] And I think Peter here was actually speaking or writing to people who were largely from a pagan background. And in terms of the Bible's presentation of paganism and pagan religion.
[23:40] It is a futility. It is a futile way of life. But you can extend that to all types of lives. Religious or otherwise. Without Christ at the center of them. Or at the foundation of them.
[23:51] It's futile. Because as we say it doesn't meet God's standard. And God's purpose in creating us in the beginning. And you know it's something that you and I need to be rescued from.
[24:08] Redeemed from. Have you ever thought of your lifestyle without Christ? As something you need to be rescued from? Well God is telling you tonight.
[24:21] If you're not in Christ you need to be rescued from the life you're living. It's not acceptable to God. It doesn't meet the end for which you were created. It's something that is itself.
[24:34] Very far short of that which God requires of us. To be holy as he is holy. In other words redemption. Let's just turn it around a wee bit.
[24:46] Redemption involves the restoration of man's lost holiness. I'm using man in terms of human beings. Redemption or salvation in Christ involves the restoration of the holiness that we lost in Adam.
[25:03] That's why Jesus came into the world. That's why this is saying. You are redeemed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers with the precious blood of Christ.
[25:13] What silver and gold could not do. What all the resources of the world itself could never achieve. The blood of Christ has achieved that for his people.
[25:26] You are ransomed from that futile way of life. You are redeemed from your father. Generation after generation of human beings. Inherit a Christless life.
[25:39] And that Christless life is one we need to be redeemed from, rescued from. And it is God who does that. And God who in his kindness points this out to us.
[25:52] That however fulfilling we may think our life is without Jesus. God is saying it's empty of the purpose for which you were created.
[26:04] It is a futile way of life. I was reading this week past in some of my morning readings. Going through a book by William Gurnall.
[26:17] Which I think I mentioned some time ago. Which deals with the Christian in complete armor. It's from Ephesians. The armor of God that's mentioned there in the letter to the Ephesians chapter 6.
[26:29] But he said something that really hit me with great power. And I thought I'd never come across this point before. And the way he put it was really powerful. He was talking about how Christ came into the world to make his people holy.
[26:43] It wasn't a commentary on this passage. It just simply fitted in with it. It so happened in God's providence. This is what he said. Had Christ or God sent Jesus into the world.
[26:55] His son into the world. Merely to pardon our sins. Then Christ would actually be a minister of sin to us. And nothing more.
[27:07] Why would he say that? How could you possibly think of Christ as a minister or sins minister rather than God's minister? Well because the salvation that God has come to perfect in Christ is not just merely a pardon from sin.
[27:27] Great though that is. That just takes away the guilt of sin. But you and I need the power of sin to be dealt with. The sin that exists powerfully and rules in our lives until God deals with it.
[27:41] Until Christ actually comes to overcome it by his grace. And when Christ comes into your heart, he doesn't just come into your heart to actually deal with the guilt of sin.
[27:52] And know that you are pardoned from your sin. And from the guilt of your sin. He comes to deal with the power of your sin. And he comes to deal with the power of your sin. As for example Romans 6 and through to Romans 8 tells you.
[28:05] In a way that powerfully masters it. Or enables you to gain the mastery over it. So that sin no longer reigns in your mortal flesh. But the Holy Spirit and Jesus does.
[28:19] And that's really what Peter is saying here too in these words. You are ransomed from the futile ways of your fathers. Not just from the guilt of a sinful life.
[28:29] But from its power. Its dominance. Its leadership. Its control in your life. And that's salvation. And a salvation that doesn't include the previous life being replaced by holiness.
[28:45] It's not salvation. It's not the salvation God speaks of in the Bible. It's not the salvation Jesus has come to perfect for us.
[28:57] So what an advantage we have tonight. That we are actually counseled by God through his word. Not only to be concerned that our sin be forgiven.
[29:09] But that the power of sin be overcome in our lives. How is that brought about? Only by the power of Christ. Only by being redeemed by the power of the blood of Christ.
[29:20] By his precious blood. And in other words you can say that God's glory. This again is borrowing from Gurnal's book.
[29:33] What he says is God's glory and man's happiness call for holiness of life. God is not glorified except we be holy as he is holy.
[29:44] And we will never be happy without holiness. Without holiness of life. In Christ. And for his sake.
[29:57] The cost of our redemption. Is the second motivation or incentive. For holiness. And very briefly thirdly. The connection with hope. He he says Jesus.
[30:09] Was foreknown before the foundation of the world. But was made manifest in these last times for your sake. Through him are believers in God. Who raised him from the dead. And gave him glory.
[30:21] So that your faith and hope are in God. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world. And I think it's best if the translation instead of the word but.
[30:33] Had the word and. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world. And was made manifest in these last times for your sake. In other words. The foreknowing that God had of his son.
[30:46] And this is more than just. Can't pack it all into a couple of minutes in closing. But. To foreknow is actually to set your love on something or someone. Previously.
[30:58] And for God the Father to foreknow his people. Is to set his love on them from all eternity. Romans chapter. Chapter 8 again. Those he foreknew.
[31:10] He justified. He glorified. And here. God is said to have foreknown. Or he was foreknown. And it's obviously by God the Father. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world.
[31:23] And. Was made manifest. He was revealed. He came to be exposed to our view. By his coming into the world. You see the Old Testament was. Something like.
[31:34] If you think of a. A work of art or a statue. That's got a veil over it. You can see something of its shape. And you know what it's about. But you can't really see the detail of it. And you're looking forward to its unveiling.
[31:47] That's for the Old Testament. What they look forward to. And when Jesus came. And when the Son of God came into the world. The veil was taken away. The wrapping was taken off. The detail was seen. He was made manifest.
[32:00] In these last times. For your sake. Now here's a thought. And here's a staggering thought. That the love. That God the Father.
[32:11] From all eternity. Had for his Son. Did not exclude. It being for your sake. Think about the enormity of that.
[32:26] Now. God the Father. The Father loves. God the Son. For his own sake. There's no doubt about that. He loves the Son. As the Son. But then the thing is. The people of God.
[32:37] From all eternity. Were never detached from God the Son. They were chosen in him. They are set in him. He came into this world. Carrying them in his heart.
[32:47] If you like. And so the love. That God the Father. Had from all eternity. For God the Son. Remarkably. And amazingly. And amazingly. Along with his being made manifest in the world.
[33:00] Is for your sake. And I don't know of much. That really. Ought to humble me in the presence of God. As much as that. That the love God has for his eternal perfect Son.
[33:14] The divine love. The divine love that God himself has. Within the depths of the Trinity. Is a love that in this way. Involves his people.
[33:27] As he loved them in Christ. As his love for Jesus. The Son. Was never detached from his love. For his people in him.
[33:38] He was foreknown. Before the foundation of the world. And was made manifest. In these last days. For your sakes.
[33:51] What a great message the gospel is. What a great God. The God of the gospel is. What a great redemption. The redemption of the gospel is.
[34:04] What a great privilege it is. To be part of this gospel. This church. This salvation. And he says then.
[34:16] Who through him are believers in God. Who raised him from the dead. And gave him glory. So that your faith and hope. Are in God. Again the translation there I think is.
[34:27] Not really adequate. The end of the sentence. They are in God. Would be better. Something like. So that your faith and hope. Might be in God.
[34:38] Or would be in God. Because the term that's used there. Is one that. Those who know the grammar. Of the New Testament. Tell us. That it's about. Either purpose or result.
[34:50] So what it's really saying here. Is that. The raising of Jesus from the dead. And giving him glory. Results in. Your faith.
[35:01] And hope. Being in God. And there's the connection again. You see. With the resurrection of Jesus. The power of his resurrection. Which works in the life of his people.
[35:12] Through the Holy Spirit. What's it about? It's about making them holy. It's about sanctification. Bringing them into conformity. To the image of Christ. Christ. And he says that.
[35:25] Your faith and your hope. As they are in God. You can trace them back to. What gave rise to them. And what is that? Well it's the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.
[35:38] And giving him glory. So that your faith and hope. Might be in God. God. There it is. The love of God from all eternity for his son.
[35:53] Was not without respect to his people. Or involvement of them. And that too. Involves the raising of Jesus from the dead.
[36:04] And giving him glory. It was directed. Specifically at this point here. It says. So that your hope. Your faith. Might be in God.
[36:18] And when you and I look at ourselves tonight. As we come to the end of this year. Yes. As we look upon. The many things we've enjoyed from God.
[36:31] But also look at the many ways we've failed him. The many ways we haven't matched up. And we say. Well. Lord. The kind of person I am is obvious to myself.
[36:45] And the fact that you would have done such a thing as this. For my sake. For my sake. Is the most intensely humbling.
[36:58] Thing that I know. That your love for your son. And your raising him from the dead. And giving him glory. Might be so that. My faith and my hope.
[37:11] Might be. In God. And as we come. To enter into a new year. Where I wish you. God's richest blessings. Let's take this with us.
[37:23] Across its threshold. The wonder of God's grace in Christ. The wonder of hope and holiness together.
[37:33] The wonder of the foundation. In Jesus Christ. And in the love of God. And let that be. Our great motivation.
[37:46] To be holy. For him. And for his sake. Let's pray. Let's pray. Lord our God.
[37:59] We thank you that. You are holy. And that your holiness is always perfect. That everything about you is marked by holiness. Every aspect of your being.
[38:11] Every attribute. That you have revealed of yourself. Is marked by holiness. We thank you tonight Lord. That your holiness never changes.
[38:22] That you are not subject to decay. Or deflection. From holiness. The way we are. We bless you that holiness. Is imparted to your people.
[38:33] And we thank you tonight. For the prospect of making us holy. We pray that you would help us. To love holiness. More and more. To hate sin. And everything that is contrary to you.
[38:46] That is unlike you. Help us to cherish in our hearts. Everything we know of. That salvation. And its existence in our lives. That is designed to make us.
[38:58] More and more. Like yourself. And grant we pray oh Lord. That such would be the portion. Of all your people. As we would seek. As a people in this world. To be holy for God.
[39:11] Hear us we pray. For Jesus sake. Amen. Well let's conclude our worship. This evening singing. In Psalm number 119.
[39:23] And that's again in the Scottish Psalter. Psalm 119. And at verse 129. Psalm 129. Singing to verse 133.
[39:38] To the tune Evan. Thy statutes Lord are wonderful. My soul them keeps with care. The entrance of thy words give light. Makes wise who simple are.
[39:49] Down to 133. Oh let my footsteps. In thy word are right still ordered be. Let no iniquity obtain dominion over me.
[40:00] These four stanzas to tune Evan to God's praise. Thy statutes Lord are wonderful.
[40:15] Thy statutes Lord are wonderful. My soul then keeps with care. The entrance of thy words give light.
[40:31] Makes wise who simple are. My mouth I have wide open it.
[40:48] And panted earnestly. While after thy commandments.
[41:03] I longed exceedingly. Look on me.
[41:14] Look on me. Lord. And merciful. Do thou. To me prove.
[41:27] As thou art. Want. To do. To those. Thy nameless.
[41:37] Thy distances. Do. газ. By name. O.
[41:48] Let my first steps. In thy word our rights still order thee.
[42:00] Let no way de clientee. I'll go to the main door after the benediction.
[42:20] Now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you now and evermore. Amen.