Haggai chapter 2, beginning at verse 1.
In the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month, the word of the Lord came
by the hand of Haggai the prophet.
Speak now to Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua, the son
of Jehoshadak, the high priest, and to all the remnant of the people, and say, who is
left among you who saw this house in its former glory?
How do you see it now?
Is it not as nothing in your eyes?
Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the Lord.
Be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehoshadak, the high priest.
Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the Lord.
Work, for I am with you, declares the Lord of hosts.
According to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt, my spirit remains
in your midst.
Fear not.
For, thus says the Lord of hosts, yet once more in a little while I will shake the heavens
and the earth and the sea and the dry land, and I will shake all nations so that the treasure
of all nations shall come in.
And I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of hosts.
The silver is mine and the gold is mine, declares the Lord of hosts.
The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts.
And in this place I will give peace, declares the Lord of hosts.
On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the
Lord came by Haggai the prophet.
Thus says the Lord of hosts, ask the priests about the law.
If someone carries holy meat in the fold of his garment and touches with his fold bread
or stew or wine or oil or any kind of food, does it become holy?
The priest answered and said, no.
Then Haggai said, if someone who is unclean by contact with a dead body touches any of
these, does it become unclean?
The priest answered and said, it does become unclean.
Then Haggai answered and said, so is it with this people.
And with this nation before me, declares the Lord.
And so with every work of their hands and what they offer there is unclean.
Now then, consider from this day onward.
Before stone was placed upon stone in the temple of the Lord, how did you fare?
When one came to a heap of twenty measures, there were but ten.
When one came to the wine vat to draw fifty measures, there were but twenty.
I struck you and all the products of your toil with blight and with mildew and with hail,
yet you did not turn to me, declares the Lord.
Consider from this day onward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month.
Since the day that the foundation of the Lord's temple was laid, consider, is the seed yet in the barn?
Indeed, the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have yielded nothing.
But from this day on, I will bless you.
The word of the Lord came a second time to Haggai on the twenty-fourth day of the month.
He speaks to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I am about to shake the heavens and the earth
and to overthrow the throne of kingdoms.
I am about to destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations
and overthrow the chariots and their riders and the horses and their riders shall go down,
every one by the sword of his brother.
On that day, declares the Lord of hosts,
I will take you, O Zerubbabel my servant, the son of Shealtiel, declares the Lord,
and make you like a signet ring, for I have chosen you, declares the Lord of hosts.
So last week, we looked at Haggai chapter 1 and saw two key phrases.
First, Haggai said, consider your ways.
This is chapter 1, verse 5 and 7.
We saw there that God confronts us about our misplaced priorities.
Haggai was prophesying to the people who had returned to Jerusalem from the exile in Babylon.
They had been back in Jerusalem for 18 years,
but the temple which the Babylonians had destroyed was still in ruins.
And Haggai confronted the people.
He said, you've repaired your own houses, you've rebuilt your own houses,
but the house of God is an abandoned construction site.
It looks terrible.
And it's an indication of how little you care about God.
Because He promised that He would dwell among you if you build a house for Him.
Your priorities have been out of whack,
and your life has not been going well as a result.
So consider.
But the second phrase we saw in chapter 1, verse 13, was a word of encouragement.
I am with you.
When we take His word to heart, God encourages us.
Now, unlike many other Old Testament prophets who were ignored or persecuted,
the people actually listened to Haggai.
They took His word to heart and they obeyed it.
And so God encouraged them and gave them energy from His word and from His spirit.
And they began this project of building the temple once again.
But building the temple was a massive multi-year project.
I wonder, have you ever begun a new habit?
Or started a big project?
Or embarked on a long journey?
For the first couple of days or even couple of weeks, it's exciting.
Because it's new.
But after a few days or a few weeks, the initial enthusiasm dies down.
And the difficulty of the project sets in.
You know, many people, perhaps you, have made a New Year's resolution to start going to the gym.
But according to one study, of all the people who bought gym memberships in December,
20% of them quit by June.
Another 20% quit by the following December.
And the reason why fitness clubs stay in business is only half the people who still have their gym membership
actually go regularly, twice a week or more.
At this point in the year, the holiday season has come and gone.
And we're facing two or three more months of short days, long nights, cold and sometimes dreary weather.
And it's easy to get discouraged and defeated.
And the same pattern can happen spiritually.
If you're planting a new church, or starting a new ministry, starting a new small group,
the first couple of months or even a year can be exciting.
But after some time, all kinds of challenges can come up.
Relational tensions, disagreements about strategy and priorities, disappointing lack of response.
And you can begin to wonder, was it really worth it anyway?
Maybe there was a time in your life when you had great energy for God.
Maybe as a young believer.
But now that energy and that drive that you once had has faded away.
And your life as a Christian feels like the gray skies on a bone-chilling, rainy New Haven day.
Now what we'll see in this chapter, in Haggai chapter 2, is that God not only encourages us in our new beginnings,
He encourages us at each step along the way as well.
What we're going to see is that God encourages us in three ways.
He encourages us despite slow progress in the past.
He encourages us despite, sorry, despite slow progress in the present.
Despite lingering defilements from the past.
And despite dim prospects for the future.
So we'll look at each of those in turn.
So first, God encourages us despite slow progress in the present.
This is verses 1 through 9.
The end of chapter 1 tells us it was the 24th day of the 6th month when the people began to work on the temple.
And God sent them a message of encouragement.
I'm with you.
And just four weeks later, 7th month, 21st day of the month, God sent Haggai to the people with another message of encouragement.
Actually the same, He says the same thing.
I'm with you.
It expands on it.
But the date is significant, 21st day of the 7th month, because the 21st day of the 7th month, which would be late October in our calendar, was the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles.
It was sort of the end of the major Israelite holiday season.
The 7th month began with the Feast of Trumpets.
And then there was a fasting and prayer day, the Day of Atonement.
And then there was a week-long Feast of Tabernacles from the 15th to the 21st.
And large numbers of visitors would come to Jerusalem for that great feast.
It was sort of like a national campout.
They'd camp out in tents for a week, remembering how when they came out of Egypt, God had sustained them in the wilderness, when they lived in tents or tabernacles, temporary dwellings.
And they would also remember, at that same time, how hundreds of years ago, the great King Solomon, at the height of Israelite history, had dedicated his magnificent temple to the Lord in Jerusalem at the end of the Feast of Tabernacles, on the exact same day.
And the glory of God had come down in a cloud to dwell in this temple.
So the feast was a reminder not only of the Exodus, but also of the glory days of Jerusalem.
But for the returned exiles, for the people of Haggai's time, those glory days were long gone.
The king was gone.
The temple, once glorious, had been plundered and destroyed by the Babylonians.
And there was only a foundation that hadn't been worked on for 15 years.
In verse 3, Haggai put into words what people were thinking and feeling.
He says, who's left among you who saw this house in its former glory?
How do you see it now?
Is it not as nothing in your eyes?
I mean, after four weeks of working on an abandoned construction site, even with modern tools, it doesn't look like much.
And Haggai acknowledged the discouragement that the people felt when they saw the slow progress of the work.
And it was beginning to sink in how long it was going to take to carry out this project.
They looked back to a glorious past that was long gone.
They saw slow progress in the present.
And they projected their present condition onto their vision for the future.
But Haggai acknowledged that.
He gave voice to their discouragement.
But he didn't stop there.
In verse 4, he continued.
He says, yet now, be strong, O Zerubbabel.
Be strong, O Joshua.
Be strong, all you people of the land.
Work, for I am with you.
Haggai drew on the words that the Lord had spoken to Joshua a long time ago.
When Joshua was leading the people of Israel from the wilderness,
where they had lived in tents into the promised land for the first time.
And they had nothing.
They had no king, no temple, no land.
Nothing except the clothes on their backs and the tents they were living in.
And the Lord said to Joshua, just as I was with Moses,
so I will be with you.
I will not leave you or forsake you.
Be strong and courageous.
Be strong and very courageous.
Have I not commanded you, be strong and courageous?
Three times he repeats, be strong.
Don't be frightened.
Don't be dismayed.
For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
Haggai echoed those same words over 500 years later.
Three times he said, be strong.
To Zerubbabel, to Joshua, and to the people as a whole.
And he reassured them, I am with you.
God is with you just like he was when you came out of Egypt.
Remember what you were just celebrating in this Feast of Tabernacles,
that God was with you in the desert when you were living in tents,
when you had nothing,
and he led you with the pillar of cloud by day
and the pillar of fire by night,
the signs of his Holy Spirit dwelling among you.
He says, my spirit remains in your midst.
I promised that I would never leave you nor forsake you,
and I haven't and I won't.
So fear not.
Now in one sense, it's right to fear the Lord.
When Haggai confronted the people in chapter 1
about their misplaced priorities,
verse 12 says they responded by fearing the Lord.
In other words, with a reverential awe
that motivated them to listen and obey
because they realized who was speaking to them.
That's a right kind of fear.
But in chapter 2, verse 5,
Haggai warned them against a wrong kind of fear,
a paralyzing, faithless, debilitating fear.
He said, if you stand in awe of the Lord,
you don't need to be terrified by anything else,
and you will never be alone.
My spirit remains among you, fear not.
When we feel discouraged and defeated,
when we face long-term challenges
and see little or no progress in the present,
God mercifully speaks.
He speaks into our despondency and our depression,
and he speaks to us about his sufficiency
and his faithfulness.
Three times, Haggai reminded the people
who is speaking to them,
declares the Lord, declares the Lord,
declares the Lord of hosts.
That means the Lord of the armies of heaven.
When you're discouraged,
it's good to acknowledge
the source of the discouragement, to name it.
It's right to acknowledge our own feelings,
whether that's sadness or anger or disappointment
or whatever they may be,
but Haggai says, don't stop there.
Yet now hear the word of the Lord.
You see, it's very easy to focus in
on our present troubles
and our present lack of progress
and project that,
our present experience, into the future.
But Haggai says no.
Instead, you must fix your eyes
on what God has certainly promised to do
in the future
and let God's future promises
shape your present experience
rather than the other way around.
Verse 6 begins with the word for.
It's an important word.
Fear not for,
because thus does the Lord of hosts
yet once more in a little while
I will shake
the heavens and the earth
and the sea and the dry land.
And he promised
that one day he would fill
that house,
he would fill his temple
with glory
and peace.
God says you can know
that I'm with you now
despite the slow progress
because I'm telling you in advance
what I've resolved to do
in the future
with this.
Haggai said to the people,
I'm going to make
this temple more glorious
than it ever was.
More glorious
than when King Solomon
built it with gold
and silver
and bronze
and cedar
when he was the richest
and wisest man in the world
and all kinds of people
from all over the nations
as far away
as the Queen of Sheba
came to give tribute
to honor
this great king
and this great God.
Now you might ask,
did that ever really happen?
Did the temple
that they were building
actually become
that glorious?
Well in one sense
it did.
According to Ezra chapter 6
in Haggai's own lifetime
the Persian emperor Darius
paid the construction costs
for the rebuilt temple
in Jerusalem.
The treasures
from the treasury
of another nation
that built up
the house of the Lord.
And a few centuries later
the temple was expanded
and adorned by King Herod.
Treasures from a few
other nations
were brought into the temple
but only a few.
And it was never
a place
of lasting peace.
But in the New Testament
we see God
beginning to fulfill
Haggai's prophecy
in an even greater way.
We see God
beginning to shake
the heavens and the earth
to bring in the treasures
from all nations
and fill his house
with glory.
You see in the New Testament
the New Testament
shows us
that in the person
of Jesus
God was establishing
a greater temple.
A place where his glory
would dwell on earth.
Where God
and humanity
would meet
and be reconciled
for all eternity.
Jesus said in John chapter 2
he said destroy this temple
and in three days
I will raise it up.
And the people
couldn't figure out
what he meant.
But John says
he was speaking
about the temple
of his own body.
At Jesus' baptism
the heavens were torn open
and the glory of God
descended
in the form of a dove
on Jesus.
At Jesus' crucifixion
the earth shook.
And after his resurrection
we see Jesus
the risen Lord
breathing peace
on his disciples.
sending his spirit
upon them
sending them out
to the ends of the earth
to gather in people
from all nations.
You see the New Testament
says that
we who believe in Jesus
are God's temple.
That God now lives in us
by his spirit.
But the temple
isn't a physical building
but it's a community
of people
who are filled
with the spirit of God.
Through Jesus
we have peace
with God
we're now his ambassadors
extending that grace
and peace to the world.
And the book of Revelation
speaks of a future day.
It says there'll be a day
when there'll be
a great multitude
that no one can count
from every tribe
and every language
and every nation
and every people
who will stand before
the throne of God
and of the Lamb King Jesus.
And this Jesus
will one day
make all things new.
And God will dwell
with us forever
and wipe every tear
away from our eyes
and the new Jerusalem
will be a temple
filled with the glory
of God.
The kings of the earth
will bring their glory
and honor into it
and a river of life
will run through it.
And on either side
of the river
the tree of life
and the leaves of the tree
are for the healing
of the nations.
And it says
we will see his face
and there will be
no more night
for the Lord God
will be our light
and we will reign
with him forever
and ever.
God says
this is what
I'm going to do
with you in the future.
This is why
you can be confident
that I'm with you
in the present
as you build
the house of the Lord
even if it looks
small and shabby
right now.
God said
I'm committed
to building
a glorious temple
with my treasured
possession
my people
from all the nations
of the earth
for all eternity.
So if you're making
slow progress
in your life
as a Christian
if you're discouraged
by slow progress
in the church
in loving one another
and building one another up
in sharing
the hope
of Jesus Christ
with our city
and our world
if you're discouraged
by slow progress
don't project
your present circumstances
onto the future
and remain
despondent
and apathetic
but listen to what
God has promised
to do
for you
through you
to you
with you
let God's future promises
shape your present experience
and the New Testament
says this too
1 John chapter 3
he says
beloved
we are God's children now
and what we will be
has not yet appeared
but we know
that when he appears
we shall be like him
because we shall see him
as he is
and everyone
who has this hope
in him
purifies themselves
just as he
is pure
I urge the people
be strong
and work
on the temple
in Jerusalem
because that temple
was a physical sign
of God's promise
to one day
fill his temple
with glory and peace
and as followers
of Jesus
our job is not
to build a physical temple
our job is to build up
the people of God
and even though
that's sometimes
a slow and difficult process
it's all worth it
because God has promised
us a glorious future
so God encourages us
despite our slow progress
in the present
that's the first thing
second
we see that God
encourages us
despite our lingering
defilements
from the past
this is verse 10
through 19
verse 10
through 14
Haggai had a dialogue
with some of the priests
it might seem confusing
at first
like some obscure
bible trivia
but the basic point
is this
contamination
spreads
purity
doesn't
if you have
Ebola virus
you are a danger
to anyone
that you come
in close contact with
if you are in good health
unfortunately
you can't pass that on
just by touching
someone else
but the point
is what he said
in verse 14
he says
the people
were spiritually
contaminated
they were polluted
they were defiled
they were unclean
in their hearts
and so everything
they did
was contaminated
by their idolatry
by their sin
their work
was contaminated
their worship
offerings
were contaminated
nothing they did
was pure
because their hearts
weren't right
with God
it's the same thing
he said in chapter 1
he said
your priorities
are out of whack
you've disobeyed
God's command
and to build a temple
and it shows
how little you care
about him
verse 15
through 17
he reminded them
how their misplaced
priorities
has resulted
in frustration
and curse
sent by God
himself
but then in verse 18
and 19
Haggai unexpectedly
turns a corner
he says
consider
from this day
onward
it's the same word
that he used
back in chapter 1
when he said
consider your ways
consider your misplaced
priorities
consider how your life
is not going well
because your priorities
are not right
but then he says
consider
God's priorities
consider from this day
onward
consider
verse 19
from this day on
I will bless you
it's a strike
see
the book of Haggai
is not just about
our priorities
it's also about
God's priorities
and God is saying
my priority
is to bless
you
to care for you
to restore you
it's a striking
transition
in this section
from confronting
the people
about how
spiritually
contaminated
they are
and how devastating
the effects
of that
is
to promising
from this day
on
I will bless you
they had begun
rebuilding the temple
they had begun
responding in obedience
to God's word
but they were still
dealing with
the lingering
pollution
from their past
can you identify
with that
are you haunted
by lingering
defilement
from your past
do you look back
to a time
when you were
a slave
to addiction
deceiving
and being deceived
hated by others
and hating
one another
being foolish
and disobedient
and led astray
and even if you're
not using anymore
do you feel
discouraged
and defeated
and despairing
when you look
at the wreckage
caused by your
past life
or are you
living in shame
because
you've defiled
your body
you've secretly
indulged in behavior
that you know
is not pleasing
to God
and some days
in your mind
you may try
to justify it
other days
you may try
to forget
about it
but deep down
you still feel
dirty
and when Paul
says present
your bodies
as a living
sacrifice
holy and
acceptable to
God
that seems
like an
impossible
demand
instead of
a joyful
response
to God's
liberating
mercy
friends if
that's you
if you're
haunted by
lingering
defilement
from the
past
there is
good news
for you
the Bible
says that
Jesus Christ
is the
atoning
sacrifice
who has
taken our
sin and guilt
and shame
upon himself
and carried
it away
in his
death on the
cross
and now he
stands as the
risen and
victorious Lord
who promises to
all who turn to
him from this
day forward
I will bless you
you see Jesus
Christ is a
rebuilder of
broken lives
he's the
redeveloper
who loves to
buy boarded up
houses in bad
neighborhoods
not so he can
move far away
and make lots of
money by renting
out substandard
apartments as an
absentee landlord
but so he can
move in
and renovate
them personally
and reside in
them himself
and shine light
into the whole
neighborhood
as a result
that's what he's
done
with you
and me
with anyone
who turns to
Jesus in
faith
he's bought
us
with his
very own
blood
he's come to
live in us
by his spirit
personally
so that we
might be
channels of
his blessing
to the world
and so that we
might be part
of the eternal
city
that he is
building
yes
the road ahead
may be long
you may still
be reaping
painful results
of what you
have sown
in the past
Haggai
acknowledged this
verse 19
he was speaking
exactly three
months
after they
started rebuilding
the temple
on the 24th
day of the
ninth month
and he said
is the seed
in the barn
yet
none of your
trees have
yielded anything
in other words
the people
had obeyed
God for three
months
and on the
outside
nothing seemed
to have got
better in their
life
that Haggai
said just
wait
you see
Haggai
was speaking
in December
the ninth
month
of the
Israelite
calendar
and in the
agricultural
rhythm of
ancient Israel
they would
sow the seed
for the
following year
in October
and November
after the
harvest in
August and
September
and from
December
through February
they were the
cold months
and the seed
would lie
dormant in
the ground
and only in
March and
April and
after that
would they
see the
result
Haggai was
saying just
wait God
is determined
to bless you
and a plentiful
harvest is to
come
the apostle Paul
says the same
thing in Galatians
he says if we
sow to the
spirit we
will from the
spirit reap
eternal life
he says so
let us not
become weary
in doing
good for
in due
season we
will reap
a harvest of
holiness if
we do not
give up
see God
encourages us
despite our
slow progress
in the present
despite our
lingering defilements
from the past
and finally God
encourages us
despite our
dim prospects
for the future
this is the end
of the chapter
verses 20
through 23
Haggai concludes
with a word to
Zerubbabel
who was the
governor of
Judah
and Zerubbabel
had a glorious
lineage in the
past he was
descended from
King David
the grandson
of King
Jehoiachin
one of the
last kings of
Israel he had
survived the
Babylonian exile
but his
personal prospects
for the future
would have seemed
dim
he was not the
king of an
independent nation
he was the
governor
of a minor
outlying
province in
the Persian
empire
he had no
empire to
rule
no palace
to reign
from
no fortified
city to
defend
he was
responsible for
governing a
bunch of
refugees
and rural
poor people
who were
periodically harassed
by their
northern neighbors
and he was
subject at any
time to the
shifting demands
of his Persian
superiors
it wasn't
exactly an
enviable job
but Haggai
spoke his
final words
directly to
this man
verses 21
and 22
he says
to Rebabel
I want you
to know
that I'm
going to
bring judgment
on this
wicked world
he uses
the same
language
that was
used back
in the
exodus
about when
Pharaoh and
his armies
were and
their horses
and chariots
and riders
were pursuing
the Israelites
to capture
them and
enslave
them
and they
were drowned
in the
Red Sea
God says
I will bring
judgment
on this
wicked world
but he
said
verse 23
on that
day
I will
take you
my servant
and make you
like a signet
ring for I
have chosen
you
he says
to Rebabel
your personal
prospects for
the future
may look
dim
but in
God's
great
redemptive
plan
you have
a glorious
destiny
just like
I took
David
from the
humble
obscure
task of
tending
sheep
in the
middle
of
nowhere
to become
a great
king
of
Israel
I
will
take
you
as
my
own
just
like
I
called
David
my
servant
you
too
will
be
my
servant
I
will
make
you
like
a
signet
ring
for I
have
chosen
you
a
signet
ring
bore
the
owner's
name
and
mark
it
signified
a
close
relationship
even a
bestowal
of the
owner's
authority
two
generations
back
the prophet
Jeremiah
had
pronounced
God's
judgment
on
Zerubbabel's
grandfather
Jehoiachin
for his
wickedness
and
Jeremiah
said
though
Jehoiachin
were the
signet ring
on my
right hand
I would
tear you
off
and
give you
into
the
hand
of
those
who
seek
your
life
Jehoiachin
was
removed
from his
position
of
authority
and
taken
into
exile
but
here
Haggai
says
that
judgment
is now
reversed
the
exile
was
God's
judgment
on the
wicked
kings
and the
rebellious
people
of
Israel
but
it
was
a
temporary
judgment
and
not
a
final
one
in
other
words
he's
saying
God's
not
done
with
you
yet
despite
appearances
I'm
not
done
with
the
royal
line
of
David
because
I
promised
to
him
long
ago
that
his
throne
would
be
established
forever
and
I
don't
go back
on my
promises
even if
it appears
that I
do
I
will
not
now
Zerubbabel
didn't
become
king
in fact
we're
not
quite
sure
what
happened
to
him
after
the
temple
was
rebuilt
but
he
did
have
a
royal
destiny
in
God's
great
redemptive
plan
he
became
an
ancestor
of
Jesus
himself
Matthew
chapter
one
he's
right
there
in
the
genealogy
of
Jesus
in
that
line
leading
up
to
the
promised
king
the
promised
savior
the
promised
deliverer
maybe
your
personal
prospects
for the
future
looked
in
maybe
you're
in
a
dead
end
job
subject
to
unpredictable
demands
from
your
supervisors
in
charge
of
people
with
lots
of
difficult
problems
maybe
your
hopes
and
ideals
of
a
family
have
fallen
to
pieces
maybe
you're
literally
a
refugee
struggling
to
survive
in
a
foreign
land
maybe
you're
facing
death
itself
but
brothers
and
sisters
in
God's
great
redemptive
plan
you have
a
glorious
destiny
because
in
Jesus
Christ
God
says
I've
chosen
you
to
be
my
servant
you're
precious
to
me
and
I
love
you
I've
placed
my
signet
ring
my
name
my
image
my
mark
on
you
this
is
the
word
of
the
Lord
of
hosts
so
to
begin
this
new
year
brothers
and
sisters
let
us
be
encouraged
be
encouraged
despite
slow
progress
in the
present
be
encouraged
despite
lingering
defilements
from the
past
be
encouraged
despite
dim
prospects
for the
future
because
God
is
with
us
and
we
have
a
glorious
destiny
in
Jesus
Christ
let's
pray
a
prayer
for the
new
year
oh
Lord
length
of
days
does
not
profit
me
except
the
days
are
passed
in
your
presence
in
your
service
to
your
glory
give
me
your
grace
that
goes
before
me
that
follows
me
that
guides
sustains
sanctifies
and helps
me
every
hour
that I
might not
live one
moment apart
from you
but may
rely on
your
spirit
to supply
every
thought
speak
in every
word
direct
every
step
prosper
every
work
build
up
every
mustard
seed
of
faith
and give
me a
desire
to show
forth
your
praise
and testify
your
love
and advance
your
kingdom
I launch
my boat
on the
unknown
waters
of this
year
with you
oh
father
as my
harbor
with you
oh
son
as my
helm
with you
oh
holy
spirit
filling
my
sails
guide me
to heaven
with my
lamp
burning
my ear
open to
your call
my heart
full of
love
my soul
free
give me
your grace
to sanctify
me
your comforts
to cheer
your wisdom
to teach
your right
hand to
guide
your counsel
to instruct
your law
to judge
your presence
to stabilize
may your fear
be my awe
and your triumphs
my joy
amen