[0:00] Please turn in your Bibles to Luke chapter 23 this morning and to words that we find in verse 34.
[0:12] ! Luke chapter 23 verse 34. A few years ago there was an 18 year old young man called Brant Jean who was in the witness box at the trial of the individual who murdered his brother.
[0:50] The woman was a lady called Amber Geigor. She was an ex-police woman and she found Brant's brother in what she thought was her flat and she shot him dead.
[1:06] He was actually in his own flat and for whatever reason that they couldn't quite ascertain she had been so disorientated she thought that he was in her flat and she shot him dead.
[1:18] It was what Brant Jean did during his time on the witness stand that means we have heard about his actions.
[1:30] So in the witness books he addressed directly this young woman whose life was now forever going to be changed for what she did.
[1:41] And he addressed her with regard to wanting the very best for her. And knowing that his murdered brother would want the very best for her.
[1:54] He explained to her that the very best for her would be to know Jesus Christ as her own personal saviour. Now this was highly unusual as he explained what was taking place but he then turned to the judge and he asked the judge for permission to come out of the witness box and to go and hug the accused to show that he really had forgiven her for murdering his brother.
[2:26] And the judge agreed and so Brant Jean went and he hugged this accused young woman and it was the image of him hugging her as a sign of his forgiveness toward her that was being around the US and actually around the world.
[2:45] And so when we live in a culture where we have this clamour to cancel people. Where we want people punished. We want people sidelined.
[2:59] We want people to pay the penalty for the wrongs that they've done. Because in our generation there always has to be somebody who has to pay the price isn't there. But in such a culture it's quite remarkable just how genuine forgiveness shines out.
[3:15] Now I don't know how you react to hearing a story about that. In one sense it's lovely to hear. It's remarkable. But if you try and put yourself as I try and put myself into the shoes of this young man Brant Jean.
[3:30] I wonder how we would react if somebody had done something barbaric to our family. Humanly speaking there's absolutely no chance that I would behave in the way he had behaved.
[3:44] Because if it's one of my loved ones then every instinct is to somehow seek revenge. Humanly speaking there's no chance. But spiritually speaking there is.
[3:56] Because spiritually speaking when we have a living connection with Jesus Christ. Then the way in which our lives are transformed by that means that we have a very different relationship with wrongdoing.
[4:12] And a very different relationship with forgiveness. So when this young 18 year old man was talking about her deepest need and her need to connect with Jesus.
[4:22] And how he wanted to show his forgiveness offer. Perhaps he had in mind the words of Jesus in Luke chapter 6. When Jesus says but love your enemies and to good to them and lend from them.
[4:36] Maybe he had in mind the teaching of Jesus. Maybe he had in mind however the example of Jesus that we find here. Because the example of Jesus in this episode is that Jesus himself is on the receiving end of barbaric treatment.
[4:53] By this stage of verse 34. Jesus is his body is processing the impact of these large iron nails being hammered through his wrists and his feet.
[5:10] Severing the nerves and all of the pain signals that are going from different parts of his body. And flooding to his brain so that his brain realizes what's taking place.
[5:22] He's in the middle of beginning to endure some of the physical torture that crucifixion involves. Not simply is it that his nerves will have been torn to shreds through these nails that were used.
[5:40] But then he's now feeling the impact of gravity. Gravity that he himself called into existence. As it pulls down upon his joints and muscles.
[5:54] Potentially dislocating some of them as he tries to push himself up and push himself out to somehow be able to breathe. Jesus is here. The one who was present at the very dawn of time.
[6:06] The one who's the power of whose word actually put into existence all that we can see and hear and feel and touch and smell. He is the one on the end of this horrendous treatment.
[6:22] If there was ever in one sense an injustice perpetrated in this world it was on this occasion. And so what does Jesus do?
[6:33] He asks his heavenly father to forgive those soldiers who are doing their job and the others implicated.
[6:44] Because they don't appreciate what they've done. Father forgive them. And so this morning I want us to pause over these words.
[6:56] And to hopefully have our own souls warmed as we think of the forgiveness that is available for us through Jesus Christ and all that he has done.
[7:10] Those of you who enjoy novels or drama series or whatever movies will know that there is one. There's a standard technique amongst many techniques that the scriptwriters have.
[7:23] About placing characters in circumstances that really doesn't fit for them. So it tends to go in one of two ways. Either you have the spoiled rich kid who is put into a situation where they have to slum it with the underclass.
[7:39] Or the opposite. You've got the hardened tough nut who is now mixing it with the rich and the powerful and influential. And at some point within the plot, usually reasonably near the start, the words, You don't belong here, are communicated.
[7:54] Now Jesus was in neither of these categories. But there was a very real sense in which he did not belong in this scene that we have just read about here at Calvary.
[8:06] The scene that was unfolding at Golgotha. He, in that one sense, he didn't belong in that environment. Now I see this because we have possibly sanitized what Golgotha, what Calvary was actually like.
[8:24] But if we actually were on the ground in that era, then it would be the type of place that we really would have to prepare to enter. It would be the type of place that we would have to get ready for the sights and the sounds and the smells of what was going to be evident.
[8:44] Because it genuinely was grotesque. If this had been made into a movie, the British Board of Film Control would be struggling to get a proper rating for this movie.
[8:57] Because an 18 rating wouldn't be enough because some of the sights that would be seen. The sights of the brutality of the crucifixion process.
[9:09] The sights of nakedness. The sights of shame. But more than that, it wouldn't simply be the sights that would be placing the events that would unfold at Calvary into a category all of its own.
[9:22] It would even be the sounds. The sounds of what was taking place. The sounds of screams. Of sobbing.
[9:35] Of groaning. Of the abuse that would be thrown at those being crucified by passers-by. The sights were graphic. The sounds would be haunting.
[9:48] And the smells. Well, the smells would be just catching in your throat. It would be the type of place that you would be holding your breath.
[9:59] You'd be breathing out your mouth rather than out your nose. Because you don't want to inhale the noxious smell. It's a place where there's constant burning taking place. Where the refuge of the city is being burnt.
[10:11] But on top of that, you've got human remains that are being burnt within that also. Because frequently those who had been crucified, once parts of them had been eaten by vultures, the rest is just thrown into gaps.
[10:26] And then eventually it's going to be burned. And so you think if there is ever a location that the Lord of glory ought not to be in, it is in that location.
[10:39] We could turn around and say to Jesus, you really don't belong here. And I want to contrast that image as it is portrayed for us in our minds with how very different it was at the start of the world.
[10:56] I want to contrast just the grotesque brutality and awful horror of what takes place at Calvary. With what we imagine from what the Bible teaches us, the Garden of Eden to be.
[11:11] A place that would be so lush. A place that would be so beautiful. The variety of colour.
[11:23] The aroma coming from the various different flowers and fauna, whatever else would be there. The place where the Lord God would walk in the cool of the day with the pinnacle of his creative work.
[11:41] The place that is ultimately the place that we've been longing for ever since. But that place of beauty, that place of delight, that place of rest.
[11:53] That place of being in the very near, close presence of God. And can you contrast anything greater than the place of the skull?
[12:06] The very mention. The place of the skull. It implies that connection, does it not, with the curse that sin has brought into this very world. And the place of the skull is contrasted with the place of beauty that God created for humanity to inhabit.
[12:27] And to enjoy. And to enjoy him. And so where the Lord God once walked in the cool of the day. Here you have the Lord of glory.
[12:38] And he's now barely able to walk. Isn't that what the passage says to us in verse 29? That they compelled Simon to help carry the cross behind Jesus.
[12:50] It had been an evening whereby Jesus would have had little, if any, sleep. It would have been an evening whereby he would have had little, if any, food. Following the first Lord's Supper that he inaugurated, instituted with his disciples that evening.
[13:07] It had been, in the intervening hours, he had been beaten. He had been flogged. And sometimes we read that and we forget just how brutal even that was.
[13:17] Flogging used to have leather ropes. And it used to have bits of bone. And other sharp objects in it. And it would go diagonally across the back of the person being flogged.
[13:28] And the bits would dig into their skin. And then it would be yanked. So that the skin would be ripped. And it would go over one side and then diagonally the other side. And it would keep going. And it's recorded in Roman history that many, many people died from being flogged alone.
[13:45] So here you have the Savior. He's had no sleep. He's had minimal nourishment. He has had abuse. He has been flogged. And now he's been asked to carry this piece of wood upon which he himself is going to be impaled.
[14:03] And his strength is almost non-existent. And so he is the Lord of Glory. The one who would have walked in the cool of the day.
[14:14] As the Lord God walked in the cool of the day with Adam and Eve. Here you have the Lord of Glory now stumbling. But his alertness is not in question, however. We note that from the intervening section from verse 27 onwards.
[14:28] As he turns and he addresses those almost professional mourners who had gathered. And who were expressing their sorrow over what was unfolding.
[14:43] Realizing these men were being led off to their graves. And Jesus turns and he speaks to them and he tells them not to weep for him. He speaks to them that if this can happen to somebody who's innocent like him, what may happen in a day for those who are not so innocent.
[15:00] And so he is very aware of the people who are there. And then even as his hands are held down and his feet are held down and as he is then manhandled and hoisted vertical.
[15:13] He is alert enough to utter these words. Father, forgive them. For they don't know what they do. Well, let's press in a little deeper. And think about this prayer itself.
[15:25] And I want us to notice two or three things. I want to notice first of all to whom he prays. The Lord Jesus says, Father. Here at the start of his time upon the cross.
[15:41] Our Savior is very much aware of that father-son relationship. That bond. That presence. That has accompanied him through his ministry.
[15:54] On multiple occasions he spoke about his father being with him. And him seeking to do his father's will. And him saying the words that the father has given him to say.
[16:05] And him reminding people that he's not alone. That the father is with him. Here he is at the start of his time on the cross. And he is aware that the father-son relationship. That he has so prized and has been so precious to him.
[16:19] That that is still in existence. There's going to come a point. In a number of hours time. And even that itself. As we see a number of hours. I think there's only been once or twice in my life.
[16:32] That have known you know real acute horrendous pain. And if you've been in such a situation. That every second. As you wait for pain relief to kick in.
[16:44] Every second. Seems far far longer. And here we have. In a number of hours time. Jesus is going to reach that place.
[16:55] Where he's not going to be alert. To the comforting presence. Of the father who has accompanied him. Through his ministry. He's going to cry out.
[17:06] My God. My God. Why have you forsaken me? Because it's almost as if this cloud has enveloped his soul. In a similar way to the darkness that has enveloped his body at Calvary.
[17:19] Where that darkness. Wrapped that scene. For these three hours. It's almost as if there is this cloud that has enveloped the Lord's soul. Because he's calling out.
[17:30] Because he doesn't sense the felt presence of his father with him. And he cries out. And he cries out. My God. My God. Why have you forsaken me?
[17:43] The one individual who has never experienced a distance. From his father. Is now sensing that there is a distance.
[17:55] You see. For you and I. Being at a distance from God. Is almost our default natural position. It's not something that we had to necessarily work at. It's what we are as humans.
[18:07] We're at a distance. Through our sin. By nature and by practice. But not the Lord. Not the Lord at all. And so if there was anybody less prepared.
[18:18] To be. To sense himself at a distance from his father. It was the Lord Jesus Christ. And of course by the time he. He's coming towards the end of his time on the cross.
[18:31] We see that once again. He's back. Thinking in terms of his father. So at the start of his. Of the time on the cross. And at the end of his time on the cross.
[18:42] At the start. He says father forgive. And at the end he's saying father receive. And so at the start. And at the end he's conscious of his father's presence. But as he plumbed the very depths. He's not.
[18:55] And so we remind ourselves. That that sense of utter forsakenness. Was not constant. Through the time. That our savior was on the cross. But that there was that.
[19:07] That. That time of. Of where this cry of dereliction. This cry of abandonment. Articulates that sense. Of being. That sense of being cut off.
[19:21] And then we look at that. And we. And we. We. We realize that actually we're connected. To what's taking place there. And we realize that. That I. That we.
[19:32] Caused. That. And so he is. At the start. Of. This. Time in the cross. He is conscious of his father. And. And he's coming to the father.
[19:43] With a prayer that. That in many ways. Would meet. A warm reception. In the heart of the father. Because. Jesus has. Has told us. We. We have it recorded for us.
[19:54] In John chapter 3. That. That God so loved the world. And the world. In John. Is. Is. The. The. The. The. The. The. Created order. And rebellion. And rejection of God. God so loved this.
[20:05] Rebellious. Rejecting world. That he. That he gave his one and only son. That whoever believes in him. And will not perish. But will have everlasting life. And so here you have. The son. Reflecting the heart of the father.
[20:18] Praying for those. Rebel. Those rebellious. Those rejecting. Those who are. Actually. Putting the Lord of glory himself. To death. And so the first.
[20:29] The first component. That we. That we. We highlight. With regard to this prayer. Is. To whom. He prays. He prays to the father. And then we notice.
[20:40] What he prays for. We notice what he prays for. He doesn't pray for rescue. He had mentioned to Peter. When Peter thought that it was time to.
[20:52] To somehow. Resort to. To physical violence. To secure Jesus's release. We learn that. That he is. That there were legions of angels. That he could have called on.
[21:04] To come and rescue him. That's. But he's not going to come. It's not going to call for rescue. It's not going to call for those to come to his aid.
[21:15] To help him. In his current plight. he's also not crying out for justice we're very quick to communicate to friends and families when we've been unfairly treated when things have been said about us that are not accurate when things are done to us that are grossly unfair we don't just sit back and absorb that we very much plead our case we very much try and make the injustice known we very much try and take control of the situation that's not what Jesus is doing he's not praying for rescue he is not praying for justice he is not praying for retribution you need to make them pay for what they're doing here you need to intervene this has to stop he doesn't pray for that instead he prays
[22:21] Father forgive them Father forgive them for they don't know what they're doing now Jesus' prayer for these soldiers to be forgiven we need to contrast his prayer for their forgiveness as we pray when we're seeking to forgive others because when we are struggling with forgiveness one of the things that gives a degree of clarity to us is the fact that we ourselves have sinned that we ourselves have not behaved in the way that we ought to have done that we ourselves have said and done and thought and acted in ways that have needed us to be forgiven by God and so it's on the basis that we have been forgiven that we then forgive others and so we forgive other people's debts as we have our own debts forgiven as Jesus makes that clear in the prayer he taught his disciples and so when we are seeking to forgive somebody else we're doing so and in fact we can probably only do so from the basis that we ourselves have been forgiven and been forgiven much worse but Jesus has never been forgiven has he he's never had to come before his heavenly father and acknowledge a word spoken inappropriately or an act done with the wrong motives or anything like that he's never had to come with any word of repentance there's never been a single stray sinful thought in the mind of our master not even for a nanosecond so when Jesus is coming and he's asking for their forgiveness he's coming in a different way in which we come and ask for forgiveness for others and ask for forgiveness for ourselves because he's never himself been forgiven there was never a moment of rebellion or rejection or going off on his own timeline or timetable because everything was lived in accordance with the will and purposes of his heavenly father and it's also worth noting when we think of what Jesus is praying for here that when he's praying for forgiveness he's asking the father to forgive and you may be correct in concluding but didn't Jesus himself declare people forgiven in other episodes within the gospel and if you're thinking along these lines you'd be correct you remember when the guy's mates took him to meet Jesus best thing you can do as a mate is to take your mates to meet Jesus well they carried this mate they carried him there's four of them carrying him they can't get in and so they're beginning to take the ceiling off this roof and they're going to lower this guy down and he's in front of Jesus and it's you know the commotion must have been quite something but he's in front of Jesus they're waiting what's Jesus going to say and Jesus says son your sins are forgiven he doesn't say father forgive his sins he says son your sins are forgiven and then there was another occasion when this woman is coming and she's wiping Jesus' feet with her tears and with her hair and Jesus is declaring her that her sins are forgiven and Jesus has said it's recorded for us in Matthew chapter 9 that the son of man has power to forgive sins so why is he not forgiving the soldiers directly at this point why is he asking the father to forgive because by this stage
[26:22] we have the saviour he has been lifted up from the earth he is now the one who is absorbing sin himself he is the one who has been designated as a sinner not because of anything he has by nature or by practice but for everything that we have by nature and by practice and so here he is upon the cross and so he is not declaring forgiveness for these soldiers because he as the one who has become sin is needing the father to forgive rather than him to forgive so we note to whom he prays he prays to the father at this point whose presence he is aware of and we note that what he prays for that it is not for rescue and it's not for justice or it's not for retribution but it is forgiveness and we notice that who it is that he is praying for forgive them for they know not what they are doing forgive them well the immediate context there is there's people who have crucified him and who have placed him in a particular position at Calvary's cross and those for whom that task has been delegated were these Roman soldiers they were experts in crucifixion you would have to be because if someone was sentenced to be crucified and they didn't die well you would die in their place and so it's in their self-interest to ensure that they know exactly what they are doing and so these soldiers are the immediate beneficiaries of this prayer in that sense because these soldiers who are going about their day's work these soldiers who woke up that morning and went on shift not quite knowing what was about to happen and then they turn up to the barracks and they're told well there's three guys you're going to go and crucify and there may be a bit more of a crowd this time so keep an eye out for any unrest that may happen we've been given a tip off by some of these religious guys some of these leaders in that temple place over there that they may be a bit of trouble today so all eyes on what you're doing make sure you know what you're up to and these soldiers they're doing their job aren't they and they're holding them down and they're putting the nails through his hands and his feet and they're hoisting them upwards and no doubt they've been splattered a little bit by blood and they're conscious of quite a number of eyes upon them but these are people who it's highly unlikely have heard a word that's come from Jesus' mouth it's possible they may have been on duty in different places when Jesus has spoken but it's also highly unlikely it's even more unlikely that they've seen any of his miracles they may have heard a little rumour or two as to who exactly this person might be but it didn't really didn't really compute it didn't really connect for them and so largely largely in a position of of ignorance they are taking into their hands the Lord of Glory and they are crucifying him and as such they are then being prayed for just as Isaiah said would happen
[29:36] Isaiah some 700 years beforehand said that he would make intercession for the transgressors and there's multiple levels in which we can apply that these words but here we have Jesus making intercession he is praying for those who have done wrong in that sense and he's praying for these soldiers but what about others what about others who acted in a way that they didn't quite understand because is it not what we learn in Acts chapter 3 in verse 17 when Peter is communicating the gospel message he says now brothers I know that you acted in ignorance as did also your rulers but what God had foretold by the prophet actually went and was unfolded exactly as was predicted that there is a level of ignorance that took place here because certainly the Roman authorities and even the Jewish authorities they didn't realise the enormity of the sin that they were perpetrating at this point they didn't realise the enormity of it and yet they were directly involved in the very crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ and we can take it a step further that actually you and I many of us in here now realise that there is actually a direct relation between what took place here and what happens in our lives for long enough we didn't recognise that there was a direct relationship for long enough this is just this is something that just took place and it's not particularly pleasant and you know
[31:14] I don't quite know how to feel about the whole thing but it's nothing to do with me but it actually does it does have to do with us because it's our sin that was laid upon the Saviour and so we were in a position of ignorance with our connection to what's taking place here but actually we've come to a position where our eyes have been opened and our ears have been unblocked and we've heard and we've seen what our sin has caused and we've bowed our knee gladly before Jesus the Saviour who has died in our place and so here we are learning that sins of ignorance need to be paid for just as well as sins that are committed from a position of knowledge sins of ignorance need to be forgiven just as sins of knowledge sinning against the light need to be forgiven and how wonderful it is that there is a Saviour who is very conscious of the sin that needs to be paid for the sin that is willfully by rejecting and ignoring God in the world he's created not being or doing what he asks in his law in his word that the actual sin willfully in rejection of God as well as the sins committed in ignorance that there is a Saviour who is willing to ensure that all sin all sin the the particular sin that is an issue for me and the particular sin that is an issue for you maybe maybe more than one but there tends to be one that that each one of us struggles with in particular all sin sin of willful disobedience as well as sins of committed in ignorance that they have to be dealt with and they are being dealt with on the cross by the Saviour who knows all about them and so we take these words to ourselves and we remind ourselves that that sins of ignorance they are still sins and they have to be paid for praise God that there is a Saviour who can deal with it we remind ourselves that actually what's more uncomfortable to us is not our sins of ignorance but our sins in knowledge because there are many things that we know many directives that we're given in scripture that we do not live out many some perhaps even here today who don't have a living relationship with Jesus yet you know who Jesus is though and you know what Jesus has done and you know the invitation that Jesus has given to you to follow and so you cannot claim ignorance in that sense you too have got light and you too need to respond to the light and to the invitation of this most remarkable this precious Saviour who is willing to go through this for you but for those of us who are the people of God
[34:23] I mean how often how often do we gossip when we know that gossip is listed very highly among the sins in the New Testament how often do we harbour resentment towards brothers and sisters in Christ when we ought not to how often do we let pride take a position and twist the impression that we have of ourselves and so often there are sins of ignorance and there's also sins that are willfully sinning against the light and our sin all of it led to this particular place and so we remind ourselves of that and we are so thankful we are so thankful today that it is here at this place in this person of the eternal son that our sin is being dealt with we also learn from a passage like this that when we are opposed for being the people of God and living a life seeking to please God with folks not understanding and folks mistreating us perhaps let's not be surprised because if there was blindness in the way in which our saviour was treated that spiritual blindness continues today and let's recognise that if Jesus was dealt with in the way he was well what right do we have to always be understood what right do we have to always be treated in the right way we're very big on our rights and our generation aren't we but then we look at the one who put his rights to one side and then we therefore finish off by just asking ourselves where where does your level of forgiveness reach today if we have been forgiven then our level of forgiveness forgiveness for the things that have been said and done or not said or not done then our level of forgiveness needs to be as high as it possibly can be because we have received forgiveness for all that we have done through the saviour on the cross who was able to pray at this moment father forgive them for they know not what they do amen let's pray father we thank you for these words they are precious and we pray that they would sink deeply into our hearts and souls that our lives would be shaped by the person and work the example the teaching of your son and our saviour forgive us for our sins against you against the truth you've given to us forgive us even for the many sins that we've committed in ignorance thank you that there is a full and free and total forgiveness available in
[37:34] Christ keep our eyes fixed on him then we pray we ask it in his name amen well we focus on our saviour through the word that's preached but also through the sacrament that we're going to partake of today and it is helpful it is useful it is biblical for us to pause and to ask ourselves who is it that ought to be remembering the Lord's death by taking bread and wine today and very simply I want to enlist for you three things that first of all it is for those who love the Lord Jesus Christ those who love the Lord Jesus Christ that is for whom this table has been prepared it's not those who feel that our love could not be better because we know it could our hearts as well as our minds are so very divided but we know even in our most fragile condition even when we have placed ourselves through our wanderings away from our saviour and we've placed ourselves and we've wandered away he's never wandered from us we wander from him but even when we're in the messiest mess we can be we know deep down that we love the
[39:03] Lord Jesus Christ and we love him because he first loved us and when we turn around and we echo Peter's words and we say Lord you know all things you know that I love you in our right spiritual mind we love the Lord Jesus and so if you love the Lord Jesus today your place is at his table those who love the Lord Jesus also want to live for the Lord Jesus don't we and the Lord's table is for those who are living for the Lord Jesus and we're living for the Lord Jesus knowing that we're not living a perfect life knowing that there are gaps knowing that we wish that our prayer life was more vibrant and we wish that our absorption of God's truth was more steady and flowing we wish our witness was brighter we wish these things would be on a different level perhaps most of the time but we are seeking to live for the
[40:07] Lord Jesus Christ we're no longer living for ourselves we're no longer living for our reputation we're no longer living for our careers we're no longer living for other things that can be perfectly legitimate but we are seeking to live for the Lord Jesus Christ he could have taken us home to glory the very instant we came to a living faith but he hasn't he has left us here to serve him to live for him and so this table is for those who love the Lord Jesus Christ and are seeking to live for him and then thirdly it's those who are longing for him too that we love him that we're living for him and that we're longing for him that we're longing to know more of him here now we're longing to have more of the seasons that we perhaps had perhaps recently perhaps way way back when we had that felt sense of his very near presence with us and it was so precious and we longed to have that sense of his presence with us again and we longed to know his nearness and the whisper of his peace to our souls and we longed to know more of what he said and when he said it and why he said it and how he said it and what he did and when and why and how we longed to know more of him because we actually long to be with him and that's not to say that we don't love our families and it's not to say that we're not thankful for all that we have we do but there is something about Jesus that we want to know more about a friend of mine died a number of years ago he was a pastor in Aberdeen and latterly he was doing different things helping younger pastors like me and he helped me hugely and I remember listening to the last time I heard him speak was actually down in
[41:57] Keswick at the convention and he was asked a question what is it that you're what is it that you most want just now and by this point he'd had cancer for a number of years and he said I just I just want to see Jesus and I want to be with him because he's the Lord's table it's not it's not the free church table it's not the Storname free church denominations none of that this is the Lord's table for the Lord's people who love him who live for him and who long for him and how that describes you and as we sing now Psalm 118 then if you haven't already taken your place at his table then please do so we're going to sing in Psalm 118 singing from the sing Psalms verse in Psalm 118 we're singing from verse 15 to verse 24 page 1 5 6 triumphant shouts of joy resound in places where the righteous dwell the Lord's right hand is lifted high his mighty hand does all things well we're going to stand as we praise God triumphant triumphant shouts of joy resound in places where the righteous dwell the Lord's right is lifted high his mighty and does all things well
[43:43] I shall not die but I shall live!
[43:53] the Lord's great works I will proclaim the Lord so dearly chastened me but rescued me from death's domain through wide the gates of righteousness I enter and give thanks to God this is the gate of God through which the righteous come before the
[44:56] Lord you answered me I will give thanks salvation comes from you alone the soul the builder shall reduce!
[45:24] As thou become the the Lord himself all this this the Lord himself has done this this is this is the heart of the inner sky this is the kingdom Lord has made let us take way delight!
[46:13] Let us take the light to us take the to us to us to us to us