Transcription downloaded from https://yetanothersermon.host/_/stornowayfc/sermons/63646/the-faith-of-moses-parents/. Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions. Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt. [0:00] Let's turn now to Hebrews, in the New Testament, Hebrews, and chapter 11. Hebrews chapter 11, and reading at verse 23. [0:16] Hebrews chapter 11, and reading at verse 23. [0:46] Exodus chapter 1 and chapter 2. And we saw there, really, in chapter 1, when we were reading it, it makes horrible reading. Because we can see the brutality of the Egyptian regime at that time on the Israelites. [1:04] And we see that a form of infant genocide had begun. So it was a backdrop to Moses' birth. [1:15] And when you read that chapter, at that particular time, there must have been a fearful sense of helplessness and despondency and despair amongst the Israelites as they lived in the land. [1:27] And it must be an awful thing to be living at a particular time in a particular country where there is a form of oppression and brutality and genocide taking place. [1:44] And what we read about there, sadly, has continued to happen down throughout the ages, throughout the centuries, even to this very day. It's one of the most awful things that can happen in any place. [1:58] And I cannot even begin to imagine the fear of living in that kind of climate. Living where there is this daily fear that it might be your last, that you're liable to be put to death, or those whom you love being put to death. [2:14] Well, that's how it was in Egypt at that time. Now, as so often happens in the Bible, you will find, although the Bible is a very historical book, it's also a book that deals very much with individuals. [2:29] And very often you will find that there's a picture being painted, as there was there, the backdrop to Moses' birth. And the backdrop, of course, was this brutality, this awful, the awful social condition that the Israelites were living in. [2:48] But then the Bible, as we say, it moves into a particular home and identifies, in the end, one little baby. [2:58] And you'll often find that in the Bible, that you have a big picture being painted, and then it homes in on a particular family. Because the Bible is full of individuals, of individual characters. [3:13] And we've also got to remember, the New Testament tells us that God has chosen all these individual people there as spiritual examples for us. [3:23] Because sometimes we wonder, why do we read about, or study about the life of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and David, and all these characters who lived long, long ago? Well, the New Testament tells us that they're there for our example. [3:37] And that they're there to teach us lessons about victories of faith and also defeats in faith. Or defeats when there's a lack of faith, I should say. Not defeats in faith, but defeats when there's a lack of faith. [3:50] And that's one of the beautiful things about the Bible. Well, it paints the characters and shows us the characters and the life of the characters, warts and all. [4:01] The Bible doesn't gloss over the sins and the failings and the faults of God's people. Because when you go through the Bible, many of the great characters, it also shows their sins, their mistakes, the times that they got it wrong. [4:17] Because they're human. And here we come to the life of little baby Moses. Now, we see also by this that God is a very personal God. [4:31] That while the whole nation is taking, everything's going on within the nation, God also homes in on the individual. And God is a personal God. And he hasn't changed. In fact, that's the great word Emmanuel. [4:43] God with us. The name that is given to Jesus. Because Jesus Christ came into this world to become one with us. He identifies with us. [4:54] And it's one of the wonderful things. Sometimes we take it for granted. But he's still what he was in this world. He remains today. He is God with us. [5:05] And that means that we can go to him with anything. Whatever we're worried about. Whatever problems we have. Whatever needs we have. Whatever confusion might be in our heart and life. [5:18] We are, in fact, invited. We don't need to question it and say, I wonder if God will accept me. I wonder if God will listen to me. You might be here and you say to yourself, well, you know, I don't pray very often. [5:30] I wonder, can I come to God? Of course you can. That's a beautiful thing. 24-7. The door of heaven is always open to our cry. [5:40] To our need. Whatever it is. And we're invited to come, as it's called, to the throne of grace. So we see from our reading in chapter 2 of Hebrews, and we've got to keep that in mind, that the focus then goes into a particular home. [6:00] And we're told in Genesis 2 of this couple. We're not given their name there, not until chapter 6. Their names were Jochebed and Amram. [6:10] But we aren't told at the beginning of their particular names. The only thing that we're told is that they were of the tribe of Levi. They were Levites. [6:21] And I think that's important also to take note. Now a man from the house of Levi went and took us his wife, a Levite woman. Because it was to be from, you remember how all the sons of Jacob, they became the head of different tribes. [6:39] Except there wasn't a tribe of Joseph. It was Joseph's two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. There was a half-tribe of them. But the tribe of Levi was from where the priests came. [6:54] And this is highlighted at the very beginning because of Moses and Aaron. Moses, of course, became the great leader of the people of Israel. And Aaron became the first high priest. [7:07] So Moses, as he opened his eyes, as a little baby boy born into this world, as we said, opened his eyes into a very, very cruel world. [7:20] And there was, as we said, there was this program of infant genocide of all male children born amongst the Hebrews were to be put to death. They were to be thrown into the Nile. [7:31] It's an unbelievable picture. So we have to ask ourselves why. Well, again, the background in chapter 1 tells us a bit about that. [7:42] Because you remember when Joseph had been sold as a slave by his brothers into Egypt, that eventually, he had been in prison for years. Eventually, remember how he was released from prison, and he became, what you could say, prime minister. [7:57] Second only to Pharaoh, the most important person in the country. And through his wisdom, and through the guidance that God had given him, he saved Egypt because of the terrible famine. [8:10] And he saved all the surrounding countries as well because it was a devastating famine. And remember, it was through his planning, through his foresight, through what he had told Pharaoh to do. [8:23] And because of that, Pharaoh was so indebted to Joseph that when Joseph's father and his brothers came down to live in Egypt, he gave them really the best part. [8:36] He gave them the land of Goshen, which was probably an incredibly fertile part of Egypt. And so they lived there, and they dwelt there. And, of course, God had given great promises to Joseph's great-grandfather. [8:52] We've been looking at the life of Abraham recently. And also to his grandfather, Isaac, to his father, Jacob. For instance, he had said to Jacob, Be fruitful and multiply. [9:03] A nation and community of nations will come from you. And so in Exodus 1, verse 7, we find that that's exactly what has happened. The nation of Israel is growing and growing and growing. [9:17] There are just so many children being born. But verse 8 has an ominous note to it because it says there arose a new king over Egypt who did not know Joseph. [9:32] Now, when it says that he did not know Joseph, it doesn't simply mean that he had no knowledge of Joseph. It wasn't like the records were lost, that the great account of Joseph's life and what he had done for Egypt. [9:48] It doesn't mean that that was lost or that this Pharaoh who came to power, he just didn't know his history. He didn't. Of course he did. He knew everything about it. He knew perfectly well what Joseph had done for Egypt. [10:02] But when it says he didn't know him, it means very simply he didn't want to know him. He didn't want to acknowledge what Joseph had done. He wanted, as it were, to blot out that part of history out of his thinking. [10:17] He didn't want the Israelites there. And he began to see that the Israelites, in fact, were becoming a threat. Because he was saying he felt that they might destabilize the whole way of the Egyptian life. [10:32] And then there was this added worry that if Egypt was attacked by a nation from outside, the Israelites might join with the nation from outside. [10:44] And so the enemy would be within. And so this Pharaoh thought, no, he says, I'm going to deal with this. I've got to stop this. And he decides then that he's going to really destroy Israel. [10:59] And there's going to be no more families being born into this world. He's going to stop this happening. And so it's quite interesting what it says here that he did not know Joseph. [11:13] And, you know, there's a spiritual parallel with that as well. Because there's a lot of people, when we come to God, who will say that they do not know God. [11:26] They did not know God. It's not that they don't know anything about God. But that they have chosen to not have anything to do with God. Or try not to have anything to do with God. [11:40] It's as if God does not exist. Some people, they say there is no God. There are many people say, I don't know if there is a God. But a lot of people choose not to investigate. [11:54] They choose not to come to the Bible. They choose not to come to where God may be discovered and known. Because the heavens declare the glory of God. [12:06] We're told in Romans 1 that the creation speaks to us about God's eternity and God's power. About his Godhead. And so to say that there is no God in the face of the marvels of this creation. [12:25] Because I often think about it. People say we need faith to believe that there is a God. Yes, that is true. But for my way of thinking, it takes an even greater leap of I don't know what to say that there is no God. [12:43] Because this world is so awesome. And when you go from, it doesn't matter whether you go to the greatest things, to the great mountain ranges or the vast oceans. [12:57] Or just go and look at a flower growing. Or look at ourselves. The complexity of the human body is unbelievable. And to think that that's just random. [13:08] That it's by chance. That it's by a process of evolving over all these years from what? So your alternatives really, I find it really difficult to understand how people will say there is no God. [13:26] And once we come to the conclusion there is a God, it challenges us then to find out what kind of God he is. And that's why we're given the Bible. [13:36] So that we're not left there just to kind of work it out for ourselves and say, you know, I think there is a God. But I have no idea what he's like. And people sometimes say, well, yeah, I believe there's a God. But I have no idea. [13:47] No idea. Well, this is what the Bible tells us. The Bible reveals to us what we cannot work out ourselves. And so there are people who have chosen not to accept God or to believe in God. [14:03] And we ask the question, why? Well, I think it is because the moment that you choose or the moment that you accept that there is a God, that places a responsibility upon yourself. [14:16] It means that you have to deal with this. And that's why a lot of people say they just blank and say, no, I'd rather just get on with my life. Don't want to think of any outside interference. [14:28] And Romans 1, in fact, talks about this very thing. And that's what it says. That's about the people who refuse to have anything to do with God. [14:40] It says this. And that, as I say, is how so many people live. [15:05] That's exactly what they have done. And in a sense, that's the way that this Pharaoh was operating with regard to the history of Joseph, what Joseph had done in Egypt. [15:18] And all he could see were these people, they were prospering and they were becoming a threat to him. And so, little baby Moses was born into this world, this world of cruelty, this world of threat, and this world that really where the fires of hell were burning. [15:35] And as I said earlier, it's still happening to this day. You know, that's one of the incredible things that happens in this world. It's one of the reasons, one of the things that shows us the reality and the nature of sin. [15:48] Because if we were to logically follow the whole idea of us constantly evolving and getting better, we would be living by now. [16:01] You know, you'd say, surely by the stage we're at now, the society we should all be living in should be perfect. But we know it's not. Because history repeats itself over and over and over and over and over again, down throughout the centuries. [16:18] Yes, we're moving at one level, everything's moving with regard to medicine and technology and science and all these things wonderfully, at an incredible rate. But socially, in many ways, we find ourselves going back repeating over and over and over again. [16:35] And it shows the nature of who we are. Because of sin. Sin is that which just doesn't go away. Because we're all, not just flawed, we've all got this inbuilt failure within our heart. [16:52] And it's, that's why God has sent his son Jesus into the world. To deal with us. And he says, hey, you can't deal with it yourselves. It's one of the important things. One of the things the Bible shows us. [17:04] Why we need to have a saviour who deals with what we can't deal with ourselves. Anyway, as we said, here's Moses and he's been born into this world. [17:16] Now, it must be one of the very hardest things. It must have been really difficult for all the Israeli women to try and keep, to try and hide a new baby. [17:31] Because the one thing, a baby, you cannot really keep a baby quiet. You cannot say to a baby that starts crying, hey, now don't cry. You can't, you can't reason with them. You can't explain to them. [17:42] You can't say to them, hey, if you cry, you might be killed. That doesn't mean anything to them at that particular stage. Babies will cry. That's the way they express themselves. When they need something, if they're sore, if they need to be changed, they cry. [17:57] It's their way of telling. So it would be incredibly difficult to try and conceal having a little baby. But we're told that they did something wonderful. [18:12] By faith, Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents. That's what happened. And why did they do that? [18:22] Well, they did it by faith. That's what we're told. By faith. Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months. Now, at a natural level, that's what every parent would want to do. [18:35] I would imagine in every Israeli home, when a male baby was born, they'd be saying, how on earth are we going to try and keep this quiet? [18:47] Very opposite of what happens today. We want to tell. It's one of the great things when a baby is born. And it's one of the great news. But it wasn't news in those days. [18:57] It was something you had to conceal to try and hide as much as you possibly could. But they did this by faith. Because faith sees God. [19:09] And what did faith see? Well, first of all, they saw the blessing of God in giving them this little child. The fruit of the womb, we're told, is his reward. Now, I know that, particularly on a day like this, a day of baptism can be quite difficult for some families. [19:25] Because some families have gone through terrible trauma and pain. Some have, they know all about losing children, the most awful thing that can happen. Some don't, have never had, been able to have children. [19:39] So sometimes a baptismal day can be quite difficult for some people. But faith here was seeing that this was God's purpose. [19:50] That they were part. This is the key to it. They were part. This is the important thing. God had said to Jacob, Jacob, you and your families be fruitful and multiply. [20:03] Now, it would have been very easy for Jacob and Amram to say, right, we mustn't have any more children. The law of the land forbids any baby boy. [20:17] And it's a 50-50, whether it will be a boy or a girl, we don't know. So we better not have any more children. That would be the natural way of thinking if you were adhering to the law of the land. [20:29] But they were seeing by faith. And God had said, be fruitful and multiply. That was what God had said to Joseph's father, Jacob, and to his people. [20:40] So they didn't listen to the king's command. They weren't afraid of the king's edict. Even although he had said what he said, they saw God. [20:52] They believed in God. They trusted God. And by faith, they believed, that's what I believe, that God would protect and God would look after. [21:04] It's a great statement of faith. They were bold in their faith. And you know, as we live out our life, we should have this great awareness all the time that God is the one who is ruling over everything. [21:19] But we also see that faith works. Faith doesn't just believe. Faith acts. [21:30] Faith works. Faith without works is dead. And so we see their faith here. Because they hid Moses three months. And you see, faith sees God in everything. [21:43] And you know, it changes your life radically when you see God's hand in everything. You know, it changes the world that you live in. [21:56] Because you can go through this world in two different ways. You can go through this world never looking to God. Never seeing him, as the word says, that it's in him we live, move, and have our being. [22:08] Never laying hold upon the fact that it says that every good and every perfect gift is from above. Isn't that a thought? We're also told in the word, what do you have that you did not receive? [22:23] You see, God, maybe people get on very well in this world. But we've always got to remember that it's God who has actually given us the intellect, the ability. Often to do things, to advance, to achieve. [22:36] All these things. The Bible brings us back all the time to recognizing these things. And that's why I said it's so important that we discover what kind of God is it. [22:48] Is he, I should say, that rules and overrules? Well, he is one who equips us in life. One who guides us through life. One who makes provision for us through life. [22:59] All these things. And that's what faith does. Every day. Even in the most mundane things. Paul says, whether you eat or drink, whatever you do, do to the glory of God. [23:14] You know, that changes everything. Because it makes you realize, you know, it's not just about me in this world. It's about God. I owe God everything. [23:27] And that brings a new responsibility. And a new sense of purpose. A new sense of identity. Do you know, these are wonderful things. [23:38] Because when you begin to acknowledge God, and you take God as your God, it changes, because you know why you're here. You know where you're going. You know what you're about. [23:50] And so many people are lost today. And they say, why am I here? What am I doing? What is the purpose of life? People often ask that question. But when God is at the center of it, then it changes everything. [24:04] An ordinary life really becomes extraordinary. And so if you're without the Lord today, please ask him to come into your heart, into your life, and change you. [24:15] So Moses' parents hid Moses. And in a spiritual sense, that is what we ought to do with our young as well. Is to hide them. [24:26] And I don't mean to mollycoddle them to such an extent that they're incapable of standing on their own feet in this world. But certainly in the very early years, we've got to remember that this world hates Christianity. [24:43] Hates the Bible. The powers of darkness are at war all the time. And people will say, that's a bit strong, to say that the world hates Christianity. [24:54] Well, who is at the very heart of Christianity? Jesus Christ. What did the world do to Jesus Christ? He was only three years in public ministry when they put him to death. [25:08] They couldn't tolerate him. So that's why I'm saying, when little children are growing up in an environment that is seeking to destroy their soul, it is not a God-friendly environment. [25:26] And that is why it is important to hide, as it were, to protect our young ones as they're growing up. And that protection means, in a positive way, is feeding them with the truth. [25:43] Bringing the truth from the earliest possible age into their lives. Feed them with the truth. We want the best for our young people. [25:55] Every parent wants the best. And every parent, as they say, look at this newborn baby, will be wondering, I wonder, I wonder what life holds for you. [26:08] And we don't know, but we always want the best. For however long we are given this little treasure, we want the very best. And the very best means, not just that we look after them physically, and mentally, and socially, and emotionally, in every way, trying to build them up, and to help them along the way, but also spiritually. [26:35] They have precious souls. And it is so important, that from the earliest age, that the little children are directed, in the way of God. And, Moses is a prime example of that. [26:49] We're not going to, we haven't time to go into that, but, the great way of how, he was put in this little basket, and Miriam, his sister, was watching, Pharaoh's daughter, heard the baby, saw the little baby, Moses, oh, she said, I'm going to have, I'm going to adopt him. [27:03] I'm going to have him as my own. Miriam comes onto the, onto the side, Moses' sister, and she says, will I get a nurse for you, somebody to look after him, when he's young, then you can take him. [27:15] Pharaoh's daughter, I think, brilliant idea. And we find, Miriam running home, and, it's wonderful, the protection. Little baby Moses, is allowed back home, and his mother, brings him up. [27:31] And all these, young, early years, were so important, in the life of Moses, because, in a wee while, he's taken, once he's, kind of grown up a wee bit, the princess takes him. [27:44] And he grows up, the rest of the time, in the palace in Egypt. In the most, godless society, yes, Moses had all the privileges, that money could buy. [27:55] And he had all the learning, and God was using that, for the future, that Moses was to be. But the great thing was, his upbringing, never left him. [28:06] And when it came, the point, where he had to make a choice, between, going down the way of Egypt, or siding with God's people, he sided, with God's people. [28:19] Train up a child, the Bible says, in the way that, he or she shall go. And when, they are old, they will not depart, from it. Now maybe some of you, here today are saying, well you know, I brought up, my children, as well as I could, in the gospel. [28:37] But you know today, they're breaking my heart. Well you bring that promise, to the Lord. Because it says, when they're old, they won't depart from it. The seeds, that are sown, when they're young, they have a bearing, and an influence. [28:52] There might be some years, when they turn away from it. But they'll come back. That's what the word is saying, train up a child, and the way they'll go. And so you take that, that promise, to the Lord. [29:04] So, you see the importance, of bringing up, our children. Teach, our children well. And so, we find that, as Moses was brought up, in this way, the good seed, that was planted in him, from an early age, never left. [29:21] You make sure, that this good seed, sinks down, deep, into your hearts, as well. Let us pray. Lord, our God, we give thanks again, for your word. And we pray, that we might take, to heart, what we've heard today, and that, these things, might be blessed to us. [29:38] We pray to bless, little babies, who are just going to come in. Bless, mums and dads, and respective families. And we commit them, all to your care, and keeping. And it's a wonderful, thing to be, in the place of blessing. [29:51] We pray to bless, all the children, from the Gresh, the Twinnies, the Sunday School, who will also be coming in, to view the baptism. Bless us all, we pray, and take away our sin, in Jesus' name. [30:03] Amen. We're going to sing now, from Psalm 25. And this is from, the Scottish Psalter, it's on page, 231. [30:15] Psalm 25, the first version, and we're going to sing, verses 1 to 6. Psalm 25, verses 1 to 6. [30:32] And the tune of Selma, To thee I lift my soul, O Lord, I trust in thee. My God, let me not be ashamed, nor foes triumph over me. Let none that wait on thee, be put to shame at all, but those that without cause, transgress, let shame upon them fall. [30:50] Show me thy ways, O Lord, thy path, so teach thou me, and do thou lead me, in thy truth, therein my teacher be. These verses, down, in fact, we'll sing to, to end of verse 7. [31:07] To thee I lift my soul. Amen. Amen. To thee I lift my soul, O Lord, I trust in thee. [31:29] My God, let me not be ashamed, nor foes triumph for me. [31:42] Let none that wait on thee, be burdened, shame at all. [31:56] But o'er the midst of cross transgress, let shame upon them fall. [32:11] Sure be thy ways, O Lord, thy path, O teacher, me. [32:25] I know the limit, and my truth, that and mighty teacher be. [32:41] For thou art God, that does, to me salvation, say, and I am only, all of the day, expecting to attend. [33:11] Thy tender mercies, Lord, I pray thee to remember, and loving kindness is for thee. [33:33] I'll be noble forever. forever. My sins and faults, O Lord, do thou, O Lord, forget. [33:56] After thy mercy, take on me, and for thy goodness, great. [34:12] Amen. Amen. I'm just going to read a few verses from Matthew chapter 28. Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. [34:28] And when they saw him, they worshipped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. [34:47] And behold, I am with you always to the end of the age. Now we're just going to baptize for we once who have just come in. And as we've been emphasizing the importance of teaching them in the way of the Lord, you only get one chance at this because we only have them as little children for a short time. [35:12] And it's so important that when they are young, that you teach them not only to read the word, you read the word to them once they're old enough, read Bible stories to them, and then read the Bible to them, and teach them also to read a little of the Bible every day. [35:35] Teach them to pray. Pray with them. Bring them to church. Bring them to Sunday school. Bring them to all the activities that are within the congregation. Because the home is the most important place. [35:50] There's so many people have access to your children, but you have more access to them than anybody else. And so make sure that while they're young, as we said earlier, that you look after them not only from a physical and mental and emotional and social way, but most importantly, spiritual. [36:14] Teach your children well. And what you invest now is something that will never be lost. So I'm going to ask the congregation to be upstanding, because we're now just going to have the vows. [36:34] I'm going to ask you, and I'll just go down the line, asking, I'll start with you, Scott. [36:59] Do you believe that God, as is revealed to us in the word of God, is the only living and true God? And do you believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is the only Savior of sinners? [37:22] And do you promise to bring up your child in the fear and in the nurture and in the admonition of the Lord? Amen. Kitty Bell, MacLeod, I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. [37:51] And may God bless you and keep you and may his shyness face upon you and keep you safe. Amen. Ila Rose, Martin, I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. [38:10] And may God bless you and keep you and may he shine up his face upon you and keep you safe. Amen. Amen. Willow Eve Morrison, I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. [38:30] And may God bless you and keep you. May he shine his face upon you and keep you safe. Andrew, John, MacLeod, I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. [38:50] May God bless you and keep you and may he shine his face upon you and keep you safe. He's protesting that I put water. Let us bow in prayer. [39:05] Oh Lord, our God, we give thanks for this moment, a very, very special moment. And we pray to bless these beautiful children that are in front of us. We pray for Katie Bell, for Isla Rose. [39:19] We pray for Willow Eve and for Andrew John. We pray that you will bless them and keep them and protect them in this world. May you shine your face upon them and keep them safe. [39:30] And may they be a blessing to their parents and their parents a blessing to them. And we give thanks for our families. We give thanks for the great blessing that they are. [39:41] And may we joy in them. May we today, as we witness this baptism, have these families and these children in particular in our hearts and in our prayers. [39:53] May it please you, Lord, to do great things in them and for them. And bless their respective families. We commit them all to your care and keeping. Do us good, we pray, and forgive us our every sin. [40:07] In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Scott, Fiona, I think I'll make sure I give this a right. [40:19] Yeah, that's Kitty Benz. Hi, little roses. There you go. Pull it. [40:34] I'm afraid they'll run out of it. It's a short set. What's that? We're going to conclude singing from Psalm 23. [40:45] And this is from Sing Psalms. The Lord is my shepherd, no want shall I know. He makes me to lie down where the green pastures grow. He leads me to rest where the calm waters flow. [40:58] My wandering steps he brings back to his way in straight paths of righteousness, making me stay. This he has done his great name to display. Though I walk in death's valley where darkness is near, because you're with me, no evil I'll fear. [41:14] Your rod and your staff bring me comfort and cheer. The last verse, so surely your covenant of mercy and grace will follow me closely in all of my ways. [41:25] I will dwell in the house of the Lord all my days. Psalm 23, the tune is Jehovah's, St. Kenya. The Lord is my shepherd, no want shall I know. [41:47] He makes me lie down where the green pastures grow. He leads me to rest where the calm waters flow. [42:03] He leads me to rest where the calm waters flow. By wandering steps, he brings back to his way. [42:20] In straight paths of righteousness, making me stay. And this he has done his great name to display. [42:35] Though I walk in death's valley where darkness is near, because you are with me, no evil I fear. [43:02] Your rod and your staff bring me comfort and cheer. Your rod and your staff bring me comfort and cheer. [43:19] In the sight of my enemies a table you spread. The eye of rejoicing ear pour on my head. [43:35] My cup overflows and I'm graciously fed. My cup overflows and I'm graciously fed. [43:52] So surely your covenant and mercy and grace will follow me closely in all of my ways. [44:09] I will dwell in the house of the Lord all my days. I will dwell in the house of the Lord all my days. [44:27] Now may the grace, mercy, and peace of God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit rest and abide upon each one of you now and forevermore. Amen.