All right, well, please follow along as I read Psalm 27.
We receive God's word trusting that it is inspired by him.
! It's breathed out by the Holy Spirit.
And it is the sword of the Spirit in his hand, so to speak.
It's sharper than any two-edged sword, and it pierces through to man's heart.
We ask that he will do that today.
A Psalm of David.
The Lord is my light and my salvation.
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life.
Of whom shall I be afraid?
When the wicked came against me to eat up my flesh,
my enemies and foes, they stumbled and fell.
Though an army may encamp against me, my heart shall not fear.
Though war may rise against me, in this I will be confident.
One thing I have desired of the Lord, that I will seek.
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.
For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion.
In the secret place of his tabernacle he shall hide me.
He shall set me high upon a rock.
And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies, all around me.
Therefore, I will offer sacrifices of joy in his tabernacle.
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.
Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice.
Have mercy also upon me and answer me.
When you said, seek my face, my heart said to you,
your face, Lord, I will seek.
Do not hide your face from me.
Do not turn your servant away in anger.
You have been my help.
Do not leave me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation.
When my father and mother forsake me,
then the Lord will take care of me.
Teach me your way, O Lord,
and lead me in a smooth path because of my enemies.
Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries.
For false witnesses have risen against me
and such as breathe out violence.
I would have lost heart unless I had believed
that I would see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living.
Wait on the Lord.
Be of good courage,
and he shall strengthen your heart.
Wait, I say, on the Lord.
The word of God for the people of God.
Thanks be to God.
Please be seated.
The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of the Lord stands forever.
Lord, please pray with me.
Oh, Lord, we pray that you will please give us
a glimpse of your majesty,
your glory, your goodness.
Lord, by the ministry and the intercession
of Jesus Christ,
whose body was torn like the veil,
please give us access into the secret place
of your tabernacle,
into the holy of holies,
where your glory dwells, Lord.
Teach us to receive you by faith today.
We ask this, Lord, for Christ's sake alone.
Amen.
A father's house is where he rests,
where he retreats with his family,
where he protects and teaches his children,
and where he welcomes, serves,
and feasts with his close friends.
The house is a special place.
When you get invited over to someone else's house,
it's a sign of love, trust, and honor
to be invited as a guest,
to be in the place where your close friend dwells.
We read in Psalm 27 another Psalm of David.
We don't have any other firm indications
of the exact occasion,
but we do know from our study of 1 Samuel
that David was often homeless,
and we could imagine when he was in the cave
and hiding in darkness,
outside of the kingdom,
on earth,
he was very homesick,
and his heart was not there,
not in the land of the Philistines.
His heart was in the land that God had promised
to be in the presence where God promised
to rule over and be with his people.
Psalm 27, David confesses
that homesickness in his heart.
Would you look at verse 4?
He's homesick for one thing
above all others.
He says in verse 4,
One thing I have desired of the Lord,
that I will seek,
that I may dwell
in the house of the Lord.
We'd never dream of asking for that
if it weren't for the Spirit
breathing those words out.
But this is so fitting,
this revelation
of who God is
according to all of his word.
You and I, like David,
we are weak, aren't we?
We're broken.
And Jesus said,
I came exactly for you,
for you who are sick
and weak.
He came for those who are fatherless
and hopeless.
We who are most needy
in that moment of our greatest need,
we best reflect
the mercy,
the grace,
and the power
of God
who came to seek
and save us
who were lost
and hopeless without him.
So my prayer today
is that the Spirit
will help us
as we walk through
verse by verse
Psalm 27
with four encouragements
for people like you and me
answering this question,
the title of our sermon,
Who needs to be
in the house of God?
Who needs to be
in the house
of God?
Number one,
we whose hearts
tend to fear,
we need to be
in the house of God.
We whose hearts
tend to fear
need to be
in the house
of God.
Look at verse one.
The Lord is my light
and my salvation.
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is
the strength
of my life.
Of whom
shall I be
afraid?
I loved how Jeremiah
pointed out
in our Bible study
this morning,
the Lord is my light
and he exposes
all that we are
and we should be afraid
but we know also
in that the same
holy God
whose light is so bright
exposing everything
in us,
he is also
our salvation.
And that great fear
of God
and reverence
and trust in him
as our Savior
leaves no room
in our hearts
to fear man.
Of whom shall we
be afraid
compared to God?
Confesses our weakness.
God himself
is the strength
of my life.
I have no strength
on my own.
God is all my strength.
Who shall
I be afraid of?
He says next,
when the wicked
came against me,
he's referring to this
in the past tense,
looking back,
the wicked
came against me
and he says
something very surprising
in Hebrew poetry,
they came
to eat my flesh.
We don't know
historically
of cannibals
in this land
but that's how it felt.
They're coming like
ravenous wolves
or beasts
and jackals
that are going to
try to devour
and eat up his flesh.
That's what the enemies
were like.
It's a terrifying thought.
Saul,
my enemies,
my foes,
looking back
against God's power,
they stumbled
and fell.
Saul was one
of those enemies
and he couldn't
lead a campaign
against David
without stumbling
all over themselves
and looking foolish
and ultimately
that's how the kingdom
of Saul
is described,
a fallen kingdom,
echoing the fallen
state of mankind
under the first king,
Adam,
pointing to our need
for a much greater king
who will not fall
and that's our Lord
Jesus Christ.
In verse 3 he says,
though an army
may encamp against me,
now he's looking forward.
It's a hypothetical threat
in the future.
This is a terrifying thing
for someone
who's going to be receiving
the responsibility
of protecting
as king over a people
and to encamp
against a nation
is to besiege them.
It's like a cold war.
We're going to bring
our troops
all the way around
the walls of their city.
We're not going to let
anything come in
or anything come out
until they starve.
They're under siege.
And he says,
if that were to happen,
my heart shall not fear.
Well, what if it gets out
of that cold war?
He says,
though war may arise
against me.
And so now they're
no longer just waiting
and watching us starve
and get weak.
Now they're attacking us.
It's war that's broken out
against God's people.
David says,
in this I will be confident.
The same truth about God.
God remains the same.
He is still my light.
He is still my salvation.
My heart shall not fear
even then
because the Lord
is the strength
of my life.
David's describing
the fear of his heart
in a very real way.
He sensed this fear
welling up.
The wicked are coming
after him
and he can even fear
things that haven't even
happened yet in the future.
But what truth
did the Lord minister
to David
in the midst
of those fears?
He said,
David,
I've been strong
for you in the past.
I've protected you.
I've caused your
enemies' plans
to falter
before
and I will do this again.
And then what did
the Lord lead David
to respond with?
He said,
David,
when your fears
are welling up
and you're wanting
to look out there
at the world,
at men,
remember
who I am.
Look at me instead.
And the response
from David then
of this truth
of who God is,
he says in verse 3,
my heart
shall not fear.
To me,
it reads like he's saying,
I do fear now,
but the Lord
is leading me
to trust
him
and who he is
that my heart
at least eventually
shall not fear.
I will trust
in the Lord's
victory
and I will find
comfort
in the presence
of God.
I will be reminded
over and over
of who God is
and what he has done,
his wondrous works
and the Lord
will work into me
a confidence
in him
that pushes out
my natural fear
of man.
Where is it
that David
would get these
reminders
of who God is
and the great works
of God?
The language
in this whole psalm
is,
it's like a man
in exile
pushed out,
but he's,
at least in his mind
and his soul
and his heart,
he's remembering
the worship
in the house of God
that's the theme
of the psalm.
He's approaching
the Lord
as if it were
through the old
covenant ceremonial laws.
Richard Sibbes,
one of the Puritans,
made this comment,
for the Jews,
there was one
national congregation
and only one place,
only one tabernacle,
only one holy of holies
where you could have
communion with God.
But now,
through Jesus Christ,
God has
has made Jesus
himself
the holy of holies,
the place where God
meets with sinners
and calls us
righteous and clean
and pardoned
and safe in Christ.
And Jesus said,
where you gather
in my name,
in me,
there the Lord
dwells with you.
God has erected
tabernacles
all over the world,
particular churches.
Richard Sibbes
went on to say,
the tabernacle
or house of God
now
are the visible churches.
These same places
are where
the means of salvation
are ministered
over and over again.
This is where
God's people
in the new covenant
receive Christ
through his word.
It's where we hear
reminders of the
wondrous works of God.
We hear reminders
of who God is
and what he promises
to us as people.
It's where
the church gathers
and we picture
the gospel
through baptism
and we celebrate
the gospel
visible at the Lord's
Supper
when we gather
in his name.
Every true
local church
is now
a house of God
where God dwells
with his people
and where he meets us.
So like David,
we whose hearts
also tend
to fear
in this world,
we love to be
in the house
of God.
We love to be
reminded together
of who God is,
what he has done,
and what he promises.
Number two,
who needs to be
in the house of God?
Not only we
who tend to fear,
but also we
who experience
times of trouble.
We need to be
in the house of God.
We who experience
times of trouble
need to be
in the house of God.
In verse four,
David goes on to say,
One thing I have
desired of the Lord
that I will seek,
that I may dwell
in the house
of the Lord
all the days
of my life.
Why, David?
Why do you want
to be there?
To behold
the beauty of the Lord
and to inquire
in his temple.
Verse five,
For in the time
of trouble,
he shall hide me
in the pavilion,
in his secret place
of his tabernacle.
There he shall hide me.
He shall set me
as up high
upon a rock.
This is describing
a man who's been hunted
in the wilderness,
away from home.
He has no place
where he can go
that he knows
he will be safe.
But yet he's trusting
that if God
had nowhere else
to tuck David away
and hide him
from his enemies,
the Lord would put him
in the Holy of Holies.
That place where
a sinner like David
has no right to be.
The Lord would do that
to keep his servants safe.
And think of this
wonderful foreshadowing.
David is reflecting
upon the pavilion
of the Lord,
the tabernacle
that is lifted up
according to the regulations
God gave through Moses
and Mount Sinai
to all the people
of Israel
for them to follow.
This is how you will
worship the Lord
and this is how you will
approach the Holy God.
And we're told
that Moses was given
these instructions,
every detail
about the tabernacle,
following the pattern
of heaven.
It's the pattern
of God's plan
to redeem his people
from all time.
The tabernacle
was a shadow,
the book of Hebrews
tells us,
of the future work
of Jesus Christ.
It's a pattern
of the Lamb of God,
Jesus Christ.
The book of Revelation
said Jesus was slain
as that Lamb
before the foundations
of the world.
This is what
the tabernacle
was ministering
by faith
to men like David
and Moses
and all those
who would worship
the one true God
under the old covenant
ceremonial law.
And in David's
times of trouble,
that's where
he wants to be.
He wants to be
in the tabernacle
of the Lord.
He says there
in verse 5,
He shall set me up,
up high upon a rock.
That will be my fortress.
That spiritual meeting place
where the Lord
himself
and his presence
will be my shield.
Verse 6,
he says,
now my head
shall be lifted up
above my enemies
all around me.
He feels hunted down now.
He feels like
he has to be like,
you know,
like a beast
of the field
that goes into hiding
and finds a hole
in the ground
to not get devoured.
But there,
the Lord will
lift him up,
head above
all of his other enemies
that want to kill him.
And his response,
it comes next
in verse 6,
I will offer
sacrifices of joy
in his tabernacle.
I will sing,
yes,
I will sing praises
to the Lord.
Verse 7,
Hear, O Lord,
when I cry with my voice,
have mercy also upon me
and answer me.
All of this,
David is crying out
to the Lord,
at least spiritually.
He's with the Lord
as if it were
in the Holy of Holies
in the tabernacle.
But it's in the midst
of times of trouble.
Times of trouble
are moments
when we feel
so overwhelmed
that we start
to misinterpret
current frustrations
as if they are going
to be permanent
threats on us.
We've been through that,
many of you,
maybe even this week.
I feel like
I cannot go on
one more day
with this level
of intensity,
this much trouble
and frustration.
And in my mind,
I can start to think
there's no light
at the end of this tunnel.
There's no end to it.
We can see this
sometimes more easily
in others.
If you work with children,
you'll notice a child
that's,
they're just stuck
in that mode of despair.
Fight,
flight,
or freeze.
And they just
can't get out of it.
Nothing seems to be able
to pull them
to a place of safety.
Maybe you know a person
and just seems stuck
in that for a while
like a doom loop
where they just,
you know,
one answer is going
to be met
by another refutation
and there's no hope,
there's no good answer
that I can give this brother
or this sister.
They're stuck.
Those are times of trouble
that we understand as well.
Verse 6 implies
that David's head
was drooping down.
And in this trouble,
when he's low,
what did the Lord
minister to David?
He says in verse 5,
the Lord shall hide me
in his pavilion.
Come to my house, David.
Come within my walls.
Come be in the secret place
of my tabernacle.
It will be your rock,
your fortress.
In the holy of holies,
a place of intimate proximity,
communion with the Lord.
Not only will David
be kept safe there,
what's more,
we're told in verse 4,
while you're safe with me
in my presence, David,
you will behold
my beauty there.
There, David says,
I will behold
the beauty
or the delightfulness
of God.
God.
This commentary
was helpful to me.
The beauty
of the Lord
to be seen
in his house
in this life,
in the tabernacle,
in the old covenant,
in the church today.
It is not the beauty
of the essence
of God
as if we could see
God who is spirit
with our own
physical eyes.
No man can see God
and live,
Exodus 33 tells us.
And it's before
this essential glory
of God
that the angels
have to cover
their faces
with their wings
as Isaiah 6 describes.
So what is
the beauty
of the Lord?
The beauty
of the Lord
is a revelation
of who he is
and what he has done
through his word.
It's the truth
of God
as our redeemer.
This is ministered
to us
through the word,
through the sacraments,
baptism in the Lord's Supper
within his church,
within the house
of God today.
There with the eyes
of faith
by the ministry
of the Spirit,
he enlightens to us
his goodness,
his justice,
his love,
and his mercy
in Jesus Christ.
This is the beauty
of God
that he ministers
to us by faith.
And when God
brings David there
for safety
and to behold
his beauty,
how does God
lead David
to respond?
In verse 4
we read that
the Lord
replaced David's fears
with this great
overriding desire.
That one thing
above all others
that I desire,
that I will seek,
it's to dwell
here
in the house
of the Lord.
The Lord
led David
to inquire
in his temple,
to be around God,
to hear
more of God,
like wave
after wave
from the ocean,
like all of the
sand of the shore,
the beauty of God,
it's immeasurable.
We'll never get
to the bottom of it.
I want inquire
of the Lord.
I want more
and more of him
in his house.
In verse 6,
the Lord led David
therefore to respond
with sacrifices
of joy
in God's tabernacle.
He says,
I will sing,
yes,
I will sing praises
to the Lord.
The Lord
leads his people
like David
to cry out,
desiring this
from God
and praying
that God
will hear us
in return.
Verse 7,
Hear, O Lord,
when I cry
with my voice,
have mercy upon me,
answer me.
It's a communion
with God
that's reciprocal.
The Lord reveals
who he is to us.
We respond
with joy.
He says,
Hear me, Lord,
when I cry to mercy
and let me know
that you have heard
my prayer.
In times of trouble,
in Jesus Christ,
according to Hebrews 10,
we need to remember
that through the ministry
of our Lord Jesus,
we too approach
with boldness
our holy God
in the holy of holies
by the blood of Jesus,
by a new and living way
which he has consecrated
for us
through the veil
that is his flesh
and we have him,
Jesus Christ,
as our high priest
over the house of God
and so through Christ
we draw near
with a true heart
in full assurance
of faith.
In Jesus Christ,
brothers and sisters,
we find the mercy of God.
In Jesus Christ,
we behold the beauty
of our creator.
Our Lord Jesus
heals his people
from our fear
and he stirs in us
a response of joy.
So we who know
times of trouble,
we love to be
in the house of God
in the midst
of those troubles.
There's nowhere else
we want to be.
This is the one place
we desire
because here
God's people
celebrate Christ's
sacrifice for us
with joy.
When we gather
in his name
as a church,
we shout
and we sing
like we do
nowhere else.
we remember
our Lord
in praises
and songs
that magnify
who he is to us.
In our trouble,
we need to be
in the house
of the Lord.
Who else needs
to be in the house
of the Lord?
Number three,
we who know
what it is
to feel abandoned,
we need to be
in the house
of the Lord.
We who know
what it is
to feel
abandoned
or rejected,
we need to be
in the house
of the Lord.
In verse 8,
David says,
When you said,
seek my face,
my heart said to you,
your face,
Lord,
I will seek.
Do not hide
your face from me.
Do not turn
your servant away
in anger,
for you have been
my help.
Do not leave me
nor forsake me,
O God of my salvation.
In verse 10,
he describes
what it would be like
if God were
to forsake him.
We know that David
had a father,
Jesse,
who seems to have
feared the Lord,
so David was not
a literal orphan,
but David knew
rejection.
And many of us
know rejection
and abandonment.
Even some of the
physiological symptoms
of trauma
or rejection
that a person
has suffered
in childhood
still affect us
as adults.
The pain of
rejection
lingers.
David compares
the rejection
that he had
experienced
to the most
powerful imagery
available,
to being an
orphan child.
And he cries out
in verse 9,
Do not
turn your servant
away,
Lord,
in anger.
Do not leave me
nor forsake me.
He had seen
Saul rise up
against God
and Saul
rejected God
as the king
over the people
and the Lord
rejected Saul
as king.
David says,
Lord,
please don't do
that.
Don't reject
or forsake me.
He said,
when my father
and mother
forsake me,
I know that
even then,
Lord,
that's not who
you are.
You will still
take care of me.
The Lord
ministers
to David
in that time
of abandonment
and feeling
rejected.
in verse 8,
God says,
seek my face.
It's like God
says to David
and to you
and me,
dear child,
like we would
to one of our
own children
that we love,
look me in the
eyes.
Turn your face
to me.
Seek my face.
I remember
as part of
training to
become a
foster parent,
you learn
about the
powerful connection
between a
child and
their parent
or an
adoptive parent.
And the
child that's
been abandoned
or neglected
has serious
trauma that
they've experienced
even on their
whole nervous
system.
But when a
parent holds
that child,
no matter the
age of the
child and
lets them
have face-to-face
communication
and connection
with the
parent,
the Lord
somehow ministers
a healing
there.
Through eye
contact,
facial expression,
warm words,
warm tone,
the parent
contributes to
the healing
of a
profoundly
traumatized
person.
The face
of the
adoptive
parent,
it helps
to regulate
the nervous
system of
that orphaned
child.
Face-to-face
connection
reassures
that person
they are
safe,
they are
loved,
they are
cared for.
You see,
the kindness
of God
in calling
David,
calling you
and me,
seek my
face,
commune
with me.
And how
does David
respond?
See,
God initiates
it,
seek my
face,
David,
and then
David responds
by saying,
Lord,
your face
I will
seek.
I love
Thomas Goodwin's
comment here.
God speaking,
telling us
to seek
God,
to pray
to God,
is such
as his
speech first
was.
Think of
the very
first words
God ever
said when
he made
the world.
He said,
let there be
light and
there was
light.
So here
God says,
let there be
prayer and
there is
prayer.
That is,
he pours
upon a
person,
a spirit
of grace
and supplication,
a praying
spirit.
He heats
up and
enlarges
our affections
with a
longing
to be
alone
with God,
to pour
out the
soul to
God.
And God
does this
in his
children
that he's
adopted
until you
and I
commune
with him
in prayer.
His
encouragement
is when
the Lord
is doing
that to
you,
through
whatever
means it
takes,
causing
you to
seek
the face
of your
creator.
Observe
such times
and do
it.
Don't
neglect
it.
Strike
while the
iron is
hot.
This is
a special
opportunity.
God
has called
you to
seek his
face.
It's
God's
fatherly
love and
care that
lead David
to desire
and to
ask for
more of
this
communion
with God.
In
verse 9,
he asks
do not
hide
your
face
from
me.
The
Lord
has
taught
David
that
he
is
trustworthy.
The
Lord
has
taught
David
that
he
will
not
abandon
him.
Instead,
the
Lord
does
for
David
what
he
does
for you
and
me.
As a
loving
father,
he
causes
us
to
commune
with
God,
to walk
with
God.
And
the
response
in
verse
11 is
David
says,
teach
me
your
way,
Lord.
Show
me
how
so
when
you
and
I
also
feel
abandoned,
rejected,
or
forsaken,
Jesus
Christ
draws
near
to
us.
Remember
his
words
in
John
14
18
that
we
read
a
moment
ago.
Jesus
said,
will
not
leave
you
as
orphans.
I
will
give
you
my
Holy
Spirit.
He
will
keep
you
near
me,
near
my
father
until
that
day
when
I
come
back
for
you
again.
Our
Lord
calls
us
his
children.
He
reminds
us
that
we
belong
in
his
family.
He
is
near.
We
are
safely
held
by
him,
our
loving
father,
and
he
leads
us
on.
Our
Lord
teaches
us
his
way,
and
he
does
this
through
his
church,
through
the
house
of
God.
1
Timothy
3
15,
the
house
of
God
is
the
church
of
the
living
God.
It's
the
pillar
and
ground
truth.
We
who
know
what
it
is
to
feel
abandoned,
we
love
to
be
in
the
house
of
God
for
this
reason
too.
It's
here
in
the
house
of
God
where
his
people
seek
his
space.
It's
here
where
the
Lord
stirs
up
our
hearts
to
pray,
to
hear
from
him,
and
to
commune
with
him
as
his
children.
Well,
fourth and
finally for
today,
we
who
know
that
on our
own,
we
would
lose
heart.
We
need
to
be
in
the
house
of
God.
We
who
know
that
on
our
own,
if
left
to
our
own
strength,
we
would
despair,
we
would
lose
heart,
we
would
give
up
on
this
Christian
walk.
We
need
to
be
in
the
house
of
God,
don't
we?
Look
at
verse
13.
David
confesses,
I
would
have
lost
heart
unless
I
have
believed
that
I
would
see
the
goodness
of
the
Lord
in
the
land
of
the
living.
David
says,
I'm
weak.
My
faith
is
weak.
But
it's
this
promise
from
the
Lord
that
what
my
soul
experiences
now
by
faith,
I
will
get
to
know
this
fully
one
day.
I
will
see
the
goodness
of
the
Lord
in
the
land
of
the
living.
But
he
says,
I'm
not
in
the
land
of
the
living
yet.
So
what's
the
opposite
of
the
land
of
the
living?
It's
the
land
of
the
dying.
There's
either
this
age
or
the
age
to
come.
We're
not
yet
in
the
age
to
come,
the
land
of
the
!
We're
still
in
this
present
evil
age,
what
scripture
calls
it.
And
in
this
time,
verse 14,
David
instructs
God's
people
under
the
inspiration
of
the
Holy
Spirit,
wait
on
the
Lord,
be
of
good
courage,
and
he
shall
strengthen
your
heart.
Wait,
I say,
on
the
Lord.
David
is
confessing
that
the
people
of
God
are
weak
people,
but
the
Lord
loves
to
minister
his
strength
to
weak
people
like
you
and
me.
Here's
the
truth
that
David
receives
and
preaches
to
us.
Unless
we
believe
that
we
will
see
the
goodness
of
the
Lord
one
day
in
the
eternal
state,
we
will
lose
heart
in
this
life.
There
will
be
no
hope.
We
should
despair
if
we
don't
have
that
promise
and
we
know
it's
ours
in
Jesus.
You
will
see
God
in
the
land
of
the
living
one
day.
And
the
Lord
will
use
that
promise
to
strengthen
your
heart
and
mine.
How
did
the
Lord
lead
David
to
respond
in
these
verses?
be
of
good
courage.
Wait
on
the
Lord.
The
Lord
will
strengthen
your
heart.
You
wait
on
the
Lord
believing
in
this
hope.
Believe
in
this
one
thing
for
which
God
is
preserving
you
until
the
very
end.
You
wait
until
you
get
to
the
top
and
you
can
look
back
and
see
all
of
God's
providence
throughout
every
trouble
every
attack
of
the
enemy
every
deep
place
of
abandonment
and
despair
you
wait
in
this
life
with
the
hope
of
that
great
vision
one
day.
I
found
myself
reflecting
and
wondering
why
is it
that
the
Lord
gives
us
little
tastes
of
this
even
in
this
life?
Some
of
you
will
use
this
summer
to
travel
and
maybe
drive
going
on a
long
road
trip
like
to
the
Grand
Canyon
and
the
kids
are
asking
a
hundred
times
when
we
will
be
there
are
we
there
yet
how
many
more
minutes
and
you
just
tell
them
it's
going
to
be
worth
it
just
wait
till
we
get
there
you
get
to
the
edge
of
the
Grand
Canyon
and
it's
so
much
wider
and
deeper
than
anything
I
keep
going
and
that
vision
of
360
the
western
slope
the
front
range
as
far
as
the
eye
can
see
and
you
can
even
imagine
a
little
beyond
that
it
was
worth
waiting
till
we
got
there
it
will
all
be
worth
it
you'll
get
to
view
the
goodness
of
God
displayed
in
his
creation
and
that
will
stir
up
your
imagination
trying
to
picture
that
the
new
heavens
the
new
earth
beyond
what
even
our
own
minds
could
conceive
of
now
so
much
more
glorious
David
says
Christian
believer
wait
upon
the
Lord
I
say
wait
on
the
Lord
through
this
life
in
the
land
of
the
dying
the
Lord
will
bring
you
to
the
land
of
the
living
where
you
will
get
to
behold
the
goodness
of
the
Lord
fully
it
will
be
so
worth
it
let
that
be
your
strength
now
to
take
one
more
step
put
your
foot
in front
of the
other
one
more
time
do it
with
the
church
the
Lord
is
with
us
in
John
14
our
Lord
Jesus
Christ
spoke
these
words
that
echo
and
fulfill
Psalm
27
let
not
your
heart
be
troubled
believe
in
God
believe
also
in
me
in
my
father's
house
are
many
mansions
and I
will
go
to
prepare
a
place
for
you
there
I
will
come
again
and I
will
receive
you
to
myself
that
where
I
am
there
you
may
be
also
this
is
what
Peter
then
turns
around
having
heard
that
from
Christ
himself
and
he
tells
the
church
in
2
Peter
3
13
we
hold
on
to
this
promise
from
Jesus
we
look
forward
to
a
new
heavens
and
a
new
earth
where
righteousness
dwells
this
is
Hartley
reminded
us
in the
Bible
study
of
Stephen
the
martyr
he
was
in
the
land
of
the
dying
stones
were
pounding
him
you
remember
what
happened
to
Stephen
the
body
of
Christ
torn
like
a
veil
by
faith
gave
!
more
than
a
glimpse
united
his
soul
to
the
holy
of
holies
in
heaven
and
God
allowed
witnesses
!
One of
them
was
Saul
who
would
become
the
apostle
to
witness
this
man's
face
glowing
from
being in
the
presence
of
Christ
in
the
house
of
God
!
Revelation
22
5
tells
us
that
in
the
eternal
state
night
will
be
no
more
remember
how
this
psalm
began
God
you
are
my
light
you
are
my
strength
Revelation
22
says
that
we
will
need
no
light
of
lamp
or
sun
for
the
Lord
God
will
be
our
light
and
we
will
reign
with
him
forever
and
ever
our
Lord
grows
in
us
he
swells
up
in
us
that
one
great
desire
that
David
experienced
and
described
God
will
preserve
that
in
us
this
hope
that
one
day
he
will
satisfy
it
consummately
we
will
dwell
in
the
house
of
the
Lord
and
we
will
be
forever
with
him
in
the
meantime
here
in
the
land
of
the
dying
God's
people
wait
upon
the
Lord
together
encouraging
one
another
admonishing
one
another
with
songs
and
shouts
of
joy
receiving
Christ
by
faith
we
trust
that
we
will
soon
behold
God's
goodness
fully
unhindered
by our
own
limits
by our
own
sin
we
look
forward
together
to
behold
God's
delightful
glory
by
sight
until
then
as
the
hymn
says
till
with
the
vision
glorious
our
longing
eyes
are
blessed
and
the
great
church
victorious
shall
be
the
church
at
rest
amen
let's
thank
our
great
God
oh
Lord
we
praise
you
we
praise
you
for
your
Holy
Spirit
ministering
the
finished
work
of
Jesus
that
we
know
what
Psalm
27
was
prophesying
and
pointing
toward
and
we
taste
it
Lord
by
faith
now
stir
up
this
desire
in
us
Lord
please
more
and
more
you
promise
you
will
that
we
will
seek
your
face
and
enjoy
communion
with
you
now
which
is
a
foretaste
of
that
rest
we
will
have
with
you
forever
more
for
all
eternity
amen