WEBVTT 00:00:00.200 --> 00:00:08.060 Well, as we just sang there in Psalm 103, verse 15 reminds us just of the nature of our 00:00:08.060 --> 00:00:14.320 ! remembrance today when we think of the words there, each human life is like the grass and like a meadow 00:00:14.320 --> 00:00:22.660 flower it grows. Its place will never be recalled once over it the tempest flows. We see there the 00:00:22.660 --> 00:00:31.899 nature of the loss of life during times of war. It reflects too into our own lives today as well, 00:00:32.140 --> 00:00:41.640 how human life comes and goes. But verse 17 in the Psalm reminds us, but everlasting is God's love for 00:00:41.640 --> 00:00:49.560 those who fear him and their seed, for those who keep his covenant and carefully his precepts heed. 00:00:49.560 --> 00:00:56.100 And these words lead us into Psalm 33, where we're going to reflect this morning together. 00:00:56.880 --> 00:01:04.240 A Psalm that speaks to us as well about the steadfast love of God and how that is unchanging 00:01:04.240 --> 00:01:12.219 in its nature and how much we need it. Today is a day of remembrance when we pause to reflect. And as 00:01:12.219 --> 00:01:19.540 we pause, we want to do so coming to God's word and seeing what God has to say to us. Around the 00:01:19.540 --> 00:01:28.240 world today, millions will join in, in acts of remembrance, reflecting on those who gave and 00:01:28.240 --> 00:01:35.100 continue to give that ultimate price of laying down their lives for their friends, for the peace of 00:01:35.100 --> 00:01:44.240 nations throughout the world. But as these times of remembrance and reflection come, do we all realize, 00:01:44.239 --> 00:01:51.979 do people around the world realize just where our help comes from? That's the question for ourselves 00:01:51.979 --> 00:01:59.959 today. In our remembrance, are we seeing where our greatest help comes from? In Psalm 33, as we look 00:01:59.959 --> 00:02:07.699 at it in verse 16 and 17, we are reminded there of where our help doesn't come from. The king is not 00:02:07.700 --> 00:02:15.659 saved by his great army. A warrior is not delivered by his great strength. The war horse is a false hope 00:02:15.659 --> 00:02:25.319 for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue. So there is not salvation found in the greatness of 00:02:25.319 --> 00:02:33.400 armies or the powers of this world. So where is our help found? Well, it goes on to say, 00:02:33.400 --> 00:02:40.420 behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him. And so our eyes to be upon that Lord, the Lord who 00:02:40.420 --> 00:02:48.200 looks down upon us, the one who our soul waits for, as the psalmist describes. He is our help and our shield. 00:02:48.439 --> 00:02:56.400 In verse 20, there's that expression of faith, that expression of our help is found in the Lord. But often, 00:02:56.400 --> 00:03:04.659 it takes various sets of circumstances to bring us to realize that our ultimate help is found 00:03:04.659 --> 00:03:12.260 in the Lord. And there's many stories told from times of war when people have seen deliverance in 00:03:12.260 --> 00:03:19.580 amazing ways, in amazing circumstance. There was a young teenage girl who, during the Second World War, 00:03:19.580 --> 00:03:27.720 she was living in Malta because her father had been stationed there as a harbormaster in Malta. Malta 00:03:27.720 --> 00:03:33.580 and the Mediterranean was a very important island during, especially maybe the Second World War, 00:03:33.660 --> 00:03:41.439 because the base was there that ships could come and go from. Many stores were brought there. And 00:03:41.439 --> 00:03:49.040 therefore, there was a lot of battles fought over it to gain control of the island. And during this 00:03:49.039 --> 00:03:54.859 young girl's time on the island, it was coming under attack very often. But there was one particular 00:03:54.859 --> 00:04:01.219 day she remembered when they seemed to be bombing so close to her where she could feel the shudder and 00:04:01.219 --> 00:04:07.539 the sound. And so they were hiding herself, her father and the family, hiding in a room of a building 00:04:07.539 --> 00:04:15.539 with other civilians there, waiting for the bombs to pass. And they were waiting there, sheltering, 00:04:15.539 --> 00:04:22.159 hearing all this noise going on outside and just waiting for that all clear bell to be rung. 00:04:23.060 --> 00:04:28.800 And when it was, her father went outside first, out the front door of the room they were in, 00:04:29.159 --> 00:04:38.060 outside. And he said, come and see this. And when they went outside, they realized just the destruction 00:04:38.060 --> 00:04:45.160 that was all around them. The town in which they were meant much of it had been flattened and destroyed. 00:04:45.339 --> 00:04:51.399 And even the building that they were sheltering in, most of it had been destroyed apart from the room 00:04:51.399 --> 00:04:59.759 that they were in. And there was this sense of awe and this sense of wonder among them. How had they 00:04:59.759 --> 00:05:06.920 been spared? But as a teenage girl, she didn't quite understand. She didn't quite realize it. And she went on 00:05:06.920 --> 00:05:12.720 in her life. And it was only later on in life she realized, looking back, and she was able to say, 00:05:13.240 --> 00:05:20.759 only now can I see the unseen hand of providence that spared me then. When she had come to faith 00:05:20.759 --> 00:05:28.200 in the Lord Jesus Christ, she was able to look back. And it's so often after events that we are able to 00:05:28.200 --> 00:05:36.400 look back and realize just what we have been spared from. And it sometimes helps us then to realize 00:05:36.399 --> 00:05:42.479 what we really need in life. What we really need in life is to realize the unseen hand of providence that 00:05:42.479 --> 00:05:49.079 has kept us, not just throughout times of war, but throughout our lives in many different circumstances. 00:05:49.560 --> 00:05:55.379 How it has been the Lord that has upheld us and the Lord that has kept us, and that we are to come 00:05:55.379 --> 00:06:04.359 and acknowledge that. And that is what this psalm is about. Psalm 33 is about acknowledging the Lord 00:06:04.360 --> 00:06:15.439 Lord in worship. We pause in silence to remember and to reflect. But we don't want to stay in silence. 00:06:15.800 --> 00:06:20.280 And so often when a minute's silence is observed, and you'll see it maybe particularly 00:06:20.280 --> 00:06:27.060 on Tuesday, the 11th day of the 11th, the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, when there's 00:06:27.060 --> 00:06:33.199 those silence in remembrance, it's often broken by the sound of a trumpet or the sounds of pipes 00:06:33.199 --> 00:06:42.599 being played. But for ourselves today, the silence that we observe, it is broken by coming to worship 00:06:42.599 --> 00:06:50.379 God, to worship Him with praise, and to worship Him in coming under His Word. And so we're going to 00:06:50.379 --> 00:06:57.579 look at this psalm, Psalm 33. We're going to look at it in light of something I read, of what we are to 00:06:57.579 --> 00:07:03.779 see in times of remembrance, of how we are to behave in times of remembrance. Somebody suggested there's 00:07:03.779 --> 00:07:12.079 three things that we are to do, that we are to pause, reflect, and remember. And it's those three 00:07:12.079 --> 00:07:21.500 things I want to tie in to Psalm 33 and the sense of worship that it gives to us. Because we pause 00:07:21.500 --> 00:07:30.860 in worship. Worship makes us pause. We reflect in worship because worship makes us think about 00:07:30.860 --> 00:07:40.980 things that are going on. And we remember in worship. Worship helps us in focusing and remembering, 00:07:41.459 --> 00:07:48.379 and remembering in particular the Lord and His goodness to us. So we're going to pause, reflect, 00:07:48.379 --> 00:07:56.379 reflect, and remember. So first of all, we see how the psalm directs us to pause. Worship always makes 00:07:56.379 --> 00:08:01.899 us do this, to come away from everything else that we might be doing in life. We can come away 00:08:01.899 --> 00:08:09.860 for a time of worship. But what is worship, and how do we understand what it means to worship God? 00:08:10.779 --> 00:08:18.079 Worship can mean coming to church. We can see that as part of our worship. Worship can mean hearing 00:08:18.079 --> 00:08:25.959 God's word. It can mean praying to God. It can mean singing praise to God. These are all aspects of 00:08:25.959 --> 00:08:34.079 our worship. But is that what worship is in its entirety? Well, worship is about giving. 00:08:35.079 --> 00:08:44.819 Worship is about giving praise and glory and honor to God. And that's what pausing makes us do. 00:08:44.820 --> 00:08:52.760 It makes us look to God. And God's word directs us in that way. When you look at verse 1 to 5, 00:08:53.120 --> 00:09:01.800 here in this psalm, Psalm 33, there's this sense of giving this praise to God. Shout for joy in the 00:09:01.800 --> 00:09:08.900 Lord, O you righteous. Praise befits the upright. Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre. There's this 00:09:08.899 --> 00:09:18.659 sense of coming. Coming to God giving him what is due to his name. And in order to do this, in order to 00:09:18.659 --> 00:09:27.079 worship, we must pause. We must come aside from everything else in our lives, whether it's in our 00:09:27.079 --> 00:09:34.679 homes, in our families, in our workplace, in the week. We come aside from it all. We pause to give worship 00:09:34.679 --> 00:09:46.759 worship to God. Otherwise, how will we hear what God has to say to us? When you think of it, imagine if 00:09:46.759 --> 00:09:54.539 soldiers, sailors, or airmen, they were going to be given instruction to go into battle. And they've all 00:09:54.539 --> 00:10:00.299 gathered together to hear their commander speak to them, to give them instruction, to give them their 00:10:00.299 --> 00:10:08.479 orders. Imagine the commander coming into our room, and the people in the room just start carrying on as 00:10:08.479 --> 00:10:14.899 they were, or just talking amongst each other, not listening to what the commander is saying. 00:10:15.659 --> 00:10:21.759 They wouldn't carry on for very long, because they would be told in no uncertain terms to be silent. 00:10:22.779 --> 00:10:26.799 Because what they have to hear is important, not just for their own safety, 00:10:26.799 --> 00:10:32.699 but for the safety and protection of many others. They need to listen. 00:10:34.339 --> 00:10:42.219 Well, what about ourselves when it comes to worship? When we think of God as our Lord, 00:10:43.079 --> 00:10:50.519 do we pause to listen to him? Or do we just carry on with our own train of thought? Do we carry on, 00:10:50.599 --> 00:10:56.519 even as we sit in silence, our minds can be drifting away, thinking of so many other different things, 00:10:56.519 --> 00:11:03.240 and we're not pausing to reflect and to listen to what God is saying to us? God is speaking to us 00:11:03.240 --> 00:11:15.059 through his word. And so we are to pause to listen, to give that ear to him who is speaking to us. 00:11:16.059 --> 00:11:24.340 The word of the Lord is upright, it says in verse 4, and all his work is done in faithfulness. 00:11:24.340 --> 00:11:32.340 This is the God who is speaking. He is the faithful God. Let us be faithful and pause and listen to him. 00:11:33.780 --> 00:11:39.120 The eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month is a time when we so often hear 00:11:39.120 --> 00:11:50.759 the phrase, the nation stood still. There's that sense of the nation pausing. But what do we think of 00:11:50.759 --> 00:11:58.679 in that silence? Where does our minds go? For many, it'll be remembering maybe people. People can still 00:11:58.679 --> 00:12:04.919 remember those who were lost in the war. Not many now in the First and Second World War, but other 00:12:04.919 --> 00:12:12.519 conflicts since then as well. People remember those who have lost their lives. People remember experiences 00:12:12.519 --> 00:12:18.319 that they've gone through. You can imagine those who have been through times of war remembering 00:12:18.319 --> 00:12:27.000 the kind of scenes that were before them or the noises that they were hearing. So many reflections that we 00:12:27.000 --> 00:12:37.879 can have. But do our minds come to God? And do they come to the hope that he is able to give? 00:12:37.879 --> 00:12:49.779 When we realize that peace is found in him. There are so many emotions that can grip our hearts in life. 00:12:50.559 --> 00:12:59.259 And so many emotions during times of war. There's fear. There's anger. There's unforgiveness. There's all 00:12:59.259 --> 00:13:11.240 kinds of emotions that can be very difficult for us. But worship helps us. It helps us to see a God who is 00:13:11.240 --> 00:13:20.279 worthy of all praise. As verse 5 makes clear for us here, he loves righteousness and justice. The earth is 00:13:20.279 --> 00:13:29.120 full of the steadfast love of the Lord. You know, if our nations would pause and realize who 00:13:29.120 --> 00:13:36.700 God is, would our earth not be full of the steadfast love of the Lord more and more? An acknowledgement of it. 00:13:36.700 --> 00:13:45.000 A recognition of it. As verse 12 says, blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has 00:13:45.000 --> 00:13:54.500 chosen as his heritage. We must pause and reflect. But it's to look to God. 00:13:54.500 --> 00:14:04.299 To stop what we are doing and to see what is God saying to us today in the freedoms that we enjoy, 00:14:04.840 --> 00:14:14.820 in the silence that we observe. Let's not see it what seems hopeless, but look to God who is able to give 00:14:14.820 --> 00:14:26.260 us that hope. So we are to pause. Secondly, we are to reflect because worship gives us reason to think. 00:14:27.620 --> 00:14:36.460 We are created in the image of God. We are created with body, soul, and mind. And all of us have our 00:14:36.460 --> 00:14:43.980 thoughts. Our thoughts are always active. Our thoughts are always on the go. And a time of 00:14:43.980 --> 00:14:51.340 reflection and looking to God's word, it makes us think. Surely our minds are thinking, what does this 00:14:51.340 --> 00:14:59.980 mean for me? Is this important to me? What difference does it make in my life? Is God really, Lord? Is the 00:14:59.980 --> 00:15:06.700 steadfast love of God really abounding in all the earth when we see so much war and rumors of war and 00:15:06.700 --> 00:15:16.700 so many atrocities taking place? Is God really ruling over us? Well, as we pause for worship and as we reflect 00:15:16.700 --> 00:15:24.120 on God's word, we realize who this God is. In verse 6, we are told, 00:15:24.120 --> 00:15:29.879 by the word of the Lord, by the word of the Lord, the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth, 00:15:30.139 --> 00:15:37.580 all their host. He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap. He puts the deeps in storehouses. So 00:15:37.580 --> 00:15:47.440 there we are reminded of the power of God. As we reflect in worship, we realize who this God is. 00:15:47.440 --> 00:15:56.360 But as we reflect too, we realize the pain and suffering of this world. And in particular, 00:15:56.860 --> 00:16:04.620 at a time of remembrance. And if you do go and visit a war memorial, and you look at the names 00:16:04.620 --> 00:16:12.700 on the war memorial, the age of so many who gave their lives in their young years, many in teenage 00:16:12.700 --> 00:16:20.740 twenties, thirties, just young men and women who lost their lives. The pain and sorrow of that. 00:16:21.620 --> 00:16:26.580 But when you look at these names, it's a reminder too of the suffering of those who were left behind. 00:16:27.360 --> 00:16:36.120 The suffering of parents, of wives and husbands, of children. The devastating impact on communities 00:16:36.120 --> 00:16:42.180 far and wide. And as we know in our own communities here, the devastation and loss that war brought, 00:16:42.179 --> 00:16:49.579 and the pain and grief that was often hidden within people's hearts. They couldn't speak about it. Such 00:16:49.579 --> 00:16:56.179 was the pain and sorrow that they felt. And these kinds of things, they lead us to question. 00:16:57.059 --> 00:17:03.779 To questions like such as, well, what is the point in it all? Why does God allow these things to happen? 00:17:03.779 --> 00:17:11.019 And yet, when we look at it, there are things we cannot understand. But yet we can look to God and 00:17:11.019 --> 00:17:18.639 see, well, he is able to bring good out of everything. He is able to bring us through. He is the God who 00:17:18.639 --> 00:17:27.639 turns wars into peace. And it's no coincidence that after times of war, there's often a time of revival. 00:17:27.640 --> 00:17:34.640 When people recognize God has delivered. When people recognize that without the Lord, 00:17:35.160 --> 00:17:40.759 they would not have come through. And this is the God that we see in this psalm that reflects 00:17:40.759 --> 00:17:50.160 who this God is in verse 6 through to verse 12. The psalm causes us to reflect and worship, 00:17:50.820 --> 00:17:55.800 even in the hopelessness of war and all that it seems to just leave us feeling dismayed about, 00:17:55.799 --> 00:18:07.019 that God is still sovereign, that God is still ruling. He has made all things. We are to stand 00:18:07.019 --> 00:18:14.240 in awe of him, as it says in verse 8, let all the earth fear the Lord, let all the inhabitants of the 00:18:14.240 --> 00:18:22.000 world stand in awe of him. For he is still the one who is able to speak and he sends his commands 00:18:22.000 --> 00:18:29.960 forth. Even in the midst of war, we remember that it is him that brought peace in it all. 00:18:31.859 --> 00:18:38.299 Why does he allow it? So often in these things is that we might come close to him again. When you read 00:18:38.299 --> 00:18:43.700 through the Old Testament and the New Testament, you find that when people were turning away from God, 00:18:43.700 --> 00:18:49.700 God often brought hardship into their experience to bring them back to himself. 00:18:52.039 --> 00:18:58.200 And the personal sacrifice of so many should make us reflect and ask, well, what was the price 00:18:58.200 --> 00:19:07.299 for our freedom? What was the cost of the freedom that we enjoy today? So many gave their lives that we 00:19:07.299 --> 00:19:13.059 might be able to do what we are doing today, to have this freedom in worship, to have the freedom 00:19:13.059 --> 00:19:21.659 to live our lives on a day-to-day basis. But as we worship today, does it make us reflect on all that God 00:19:21.659 --> 00:19:31.639 has done for us through his Son, Jesus Christ, the one who gave his life, that we might have life 00:19:31.639 --> 00:19:39.519 through him? Does it bring us close to him? Just like that young teenage girl in Malta, 00:19:39.519 --> 00:19:44.819 it was later on in life that she realized the deliverance she had experienced in the hand 00:19:44.819 --> 00:19:51.460 of God in it. And so often maybe it's as our lives go on, as the years go past, we begin to realize 00:19:51.460 --> 00:19:59.720 the providence of God, the way that he has delivered us in so many ways, the way that he has been with us 00:19:59.720 --> 00:20:07.400 and helped us throughout so many of our experiences. And through it all, does he not bring us to reflect 00:20:07.400 --> 00:20:19.880 and to see that he is a good and a gracious God? Let us stand in awe of him, for we find blessing 00:20:19.880 --> 00:20:28.580 when we look to him. Again, there's so many accounts of people who sacrificed themselves 00:20:28.580 --> 00:20:36.580 during times of war. Many of you will have heard about the River Kwai. Films were made about it, 00:20:36.660 --> 00:20:41.060 books have been written about it. But one book that was written about it was called Miracle 00:20:41.059 --> 00:20:49.179 on the River Kwai. Many Scottish soldiers were forced by their captors there, the Japanese captors, 00:20:49.259 --> 00:20:57.039 into laboring on a railroad that was being built. And they were in atrocious conditions and much 00:20:57.039 --> 00:21:03.599 suffering in their midst. And over a period of time, those who were being held captive, 00:21:03.599 --> 00:21:12.859 they started to lose morale and they started to turn against each other. It was a very difficult time. 00:21:13.779 --> 00:21:20.839 But one day something happened that changed the whole atmosphere in the camp. Every time they were 00:21:20.839 --> 00:21:27.240 coming back to the camp that they were being held in from having been working on the railroad for all day, 00:21:27.719 --> 00:21:33.500 they had to go through checkpoints. And at each checkpoint, they were accounted for the number 00:21:33.500 --> 00:21:39.039 of people, but also all their tools were accounted for as well, in case they were trying to hide 00:21:39.039 --> 00:21:44.799 something or keep something for themselves. One day they were on their way back and they came to the 00:21:44.799 --> 00:21:52.380 first checkpoint. And after the count, it was found that a shovel was missing. And the Japanese commander, 00:21:52.859 --> 00:21:59.339 he became very angry at this point, demanding that this shovel would be returned. And it wasn't 00:21:59.339 --> 00:22:04.939 forthcoming. And eventually became so angry, he took out his gun and he threatened them with his gun. 00:22:04.939 --> 00:22:14.139 And this was going to be maybe death for them all. But one man stepped forward, one who was being held 00:22:14.139 --> 00:22:21.980 captive, he stepped forward. And immediately the commander killed him in front of everybody else. 00:22:21.980 --> 00:22:31.120 And they were dismayed. And they started walking to the next checkpoint. When they reached the next 00:22:31.120 --> 00:22:38.819 checkpoint, again, they were accounting for all the tools. And when they counted all the tools, 00:22:38.940 --> 00:22:45.420 they found that there hadn't been one missing at the last checkpoint at all. It had been miscounted. 00:22:45.420 --> 00:22:53.560 And the men realized at that point that the man who had stepped forward had sacrificed himself for the 00:22:53.560 --> 00:23:02.519 rest of them. That he had given his life for them. And all of a sudden, in that moment, the whole atmosphere 00:23:02.519 --> 00:23:10.740 changed when they realized what he had done. And all of a sudden, the bonds began to grow in their midst. 00:23:10.740 --> 00:23:21.799 They became stronger in themselves. And so that when freedom finally came, instead of having all that 00:23:21.799 --> 00:23:31.400 emotion of hatred and anger, what they said was, no more hatred, no more killing. Now what we need 00:23:31.400 --> 00:23:42.160 is forgiveness. Sacrifice makes us realize that. But doesn't it not remind us of the greatest sacrifice 00:23:42.160 --> 00:23:53.660 of all? The Lord Jesus Christ who gave his life. Who stepped forward for us. Who went to the cross. 00:23:53.660 --> 00:24:05.060 Who died for our sins. We remember today the sacrifice of many. But the greatest sacrifice of all was Jesus 00:24:05.060 --> 00:24:14.340 who bore our sin on the cross that we might have life. That is what the steadfast love of God is. 00:24:15.160 --> 00:24:21.100 He gave that we might have life through him. So we reflect. 00:24:21.099 --> 00:24:30.740 We reflect today on many sacrifices made for us. But above all, that the hope that is found in the sacrifice 00:24:30.740 --> 00:24:42.799 of Jesus. So we pause, we reflect, and thirdly and finally, we remember. From verse 13 to the end of the 00:24:42.799 --> 00:24:52.720 Psalm, there's this sense of remembering the one who is our God. Worship is due to him. 00:24:57.940 --> 00:25:07.200 The Lord looks down from heaven, it says. He sees all the children of man. God's eyes are always upon 00:25:07.200 --> 00:25:14.299 his people. And so as we remember today, those fallen in conflicts past and even present. 00:25:15.200 --> 00:25:20.500 And we know that there will be more who will perish in conflicts to come. That's the nature 00:25:20.500 --> 00:25:28.180 of the world in which we live. It's hard. But is there hope in it all? Well, the hope is found 00:25:28.180 --> 00:25:41.600 in God in God and remembering him. As we read previously, our salvation is not found in the horses 00:25:41.600 --> 00:25:52.340 or the armies of the king or any of these things. But our salvation is found in the Lord. The king is 00:25:52.339 --> 00:25:57.299 not saved by his great army. A warrior is not delivered by his great strength. None of these 00:25:57.299 --> 00:26:06.939 things can save us. But our remembrance today is directed towards God, the God who holds all things 00:26:06.939 --> 00:26:13.759 together. And again, you see it in verse 18. Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him. So 00:26:13.759 --> 00:26:21.759 there's this theme of God looking down from heaven. God's eyes are upon his people. And in verse 20, 00:26:21.759 --> 00:26:29.680 our soul waits for the Lord. He is our help and shield. There is what we are to remember today. 00:26:30.440 --> 00:26:37.660 That our salvation, our hope is not nothing that this world offers us, but that our hope 00:26:37.660 --> 00:26:45.940 is in the Lord Jesus Christ. He sees everything that happens. He sees all our pain, our suffering, 00:26:45.940 --> 00:26:54.680 our anxieties, our fears. He sees all of these things. And he is able to help. Isn't it a wonderful 00:26:54.680 --> 00:27:03.720 thing to think that God sees you today? That he knows you in that personal and intimate way. 00:27:05.340 --> 00:27:13.180 A lost world, a lost people live in fear because they do not know God. There is no hope found apart 00:27:13.180 --> 00:27:22.160 from God. And yet here is the hope that we can have found in God today. A God who is great. A God who 00:27:22.160 --> 00:27:29.860 shows steadfast love up to his people. And the psalm ends with that word, those words, let your steadfast 00:27:29.860 --> 00:27:38.820 love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you. There's that prayer in these words. It's not just for 00:27:38.819 --> 00:27:46.359 today, but as we go on, as we go forward, that we would see the steadfast love of God upon us. 00:27:47.240 --> 00:28:00.179 But it's as we hope in him. And so today, as we reflect, as we pause, as we remember, is our hope in the Lord? 00:28:00.180 --> 00:28:11.880 He is worthy to be praised. You may have seen some of the programs on this week where veterans have been 00:28:11.880 --> 00:28:20.580 on various news programs speaking about their experience during times of war. One World War II veteran was on 00:28:20.580 --> 00:28:27.980 a program this week reflecting on his experience during those times. He's now a hundred years old, 00:28:27.980 --> 00:28:35.420 and yet he's able to remember those days as if it was yesterday. And in his reflections, it was so 00:28:35.420 --> 00:28:41.440 moving to hear him speak, to speak about everything that he had gone through, the friends that he had 00:28:41.440 --> 00:28:50.920 lost, the things that he had seen. But it was a question that he was asked at the end that was quite 00:28:50.920 --> 00:28:58.900 telling. He was asked the question, what are your thoughts now on Remembrance Day? And his answer was 00:28:58.900 --> 00:29:07.480 this, or part of his answer was this, I remember my friends and my colleagues who lost their lives. 00:29:08.480 --> 00:29:19.240 And when I look at the nation now, I think it wasn't worth it. When you think of that, when he sees the 00:29:19.240 --> 00:29:27.940 state of our nation, he thinks today, it wasn't worth it. How sad is that? 00:29:30.359 --> 00:29:40.799 Because our nation has turned away. Our nation is not a nation that says we are blessed because God is the Lord. 00:29:40.799 --> 00:29:50.639 And so today, we need to see that we need God. That he is our greatest need in our day. 00:29:51.539 --> 00:30:01.159 But we need to see too, that although that man said it wasn't worth it, that when we look to the cross of Jesus, 00:30:01.160 --> 00:30:11.200 Jesus never says that. In fact, he says the opposite. When you go back to Isaiah chapter 53, 00:30:12.200 --> 00:30:20.100 that whole passage is speaking about the suffering of Jesus. And in verse 11, it says this, 00:30:20.099 --> 00:30:31.259 Out of the anguish of his soul, he shall see and be satisfied. In other words, he's saying there, 00:30:32.139 --> 00:30:42.939 it was worth it. For the salvation of his people, out of the anguish of his soul, he sees and is satisfied. 00:30:42.940 --> 00:30:53.680 He is satisfied with all that his suffering achieved. He is saying it was worth it for those who believe, 00:30:54.240 --> 00:31:02.940 for those who put their trust in him. There is so much sorrow in our remembrance today looking back. 00:31:04.080 --> 00:31:09.420 And in our remembrance of Jesus, there is sorrow that he died for our sin. 00:31:09.420 --> 00:31:21.980 But there is hope because he says it was worth it. He gave his life that we might have life through him. 00:31:22.660 --> 00:31:29.240 So we remember today those who served and who serve even to this day for our freedom, 00:31:30.180 --> 00:31:33.820 the many who gave that sacrifice of their lives being given. 00:31:33.819 --> 00:31:39.980 But in it all, let us not lose heart and think it wasn't worth it. 00:31:40.799 --> 00:31:45.659 When we think of Jesus, and when we think of the cross, 00:31:47.039 --> 00:31:51.220 and when we think of how he gave and was satisfied, 00:31:52.839 --> 00:31:55.019 is he satisfied with you today? 00:31:55.019 --> 00:32:00.039 Are you putting your hope in him? 00:32:01.160 --> 00:32:04.400 Because that is where salvation is found. 00:32:05.339 --> 00:32:07.440 Nothing of this world, 00:32:08.259 --> 00:32:10.180 but looking to the cross, 00:32:10.980 --> 00:32:13.420 we can have peace through him. 00:32:14.220 --> 00:32:15.039 Let us pray. 00:32:17.700 --> 00:32:19.619 Lord, our gracious God, 00:32:19.720 --> 00:32:22.119 help us in all our remembrance today 00:32:22.119 --> 00:32:25.939 to think of the great sacrifices made for us, 00:32:26.439 --> 00:32:29.179 but to think especially of the greatest of all, 00:32:29.799 --> 00:32:33.079 that Jesus Christ gave his life, 00:32:33.599 --> 00:32:35.599 that we might have life through him. 00:32:36.359 --> 00:32:37.839 Lord, be with us, 00:32:37.899 --> 00:32:40.500 be with the many who gather this day 00:32:40.500 --> 00:32:42.419 in remembrance and reflection. 00:32:43.339 --> 00:32:46.299 May it be that there is worship in the midst of it all, 00:32:46.899 --> 00:32:49.179 that glory is ascribed to you 00:32:49.179 --> 00:32:51.319 as God and Lord of all. 00:32:51.319 --> 00:32:53.819 For we ask it all in Jesus' name. 00:32:54.279 --> 00:32:54.639 Amen. 00:32:58.639 --> 00:33:01.720 We'll conclude by singing to God's praise 00:33:01.720 --> 00:33:03.599 in Psalm 16. 00:33:08.000 --> 00:33:10.559 Psalm 16, the Sing Psalms version, 00:33:11.500 --> 00:33:13.339 page 17 of the psalm books. 00:33:13.399 --> 00:33:14.759 We're going to sing from verse 8 00:33:14.759 --> 00:33:16.960 down to the end of the psalm, 00:33:17.039 --> 00:33:18.339 a psalm that reminds us 00:33:18.339 --> 00:33:20.779 of the hope that there is in the Lord. 00:33:20.899 --> 00:33:22.059 Before me constantly, 00:33:22.199 --> 00:33:23.619 I set the Lord alone. 00:33:24.079 --> 00:33:26.179 Because he is at my right hand, 00:33:26.259 --> 00:33:28.159 I'll not be overthrown. 00:33:28.220 --> 00:33:30.500 We stand to sing from verse 8 to 11 00:33:30.500 --> 00:33:31.899 to God's praise. 00:33:31.899 --> 00:33:32.019 Amen. 00:33:32.019 --> 00:33:44.299 Before me constantly, 00:33:44.299 --> 00:33:54.039 I set the Lord alone, 00:33:54.039 --> 00:34:03.519 because he is at my right hand, 00:34:03.519 --> 00:34:11.000 I'll not be overthrown. 00:34:11.000 --> 00:34:19.860 Therefore, my heart is glad, 00:34:19.860 --> 00:34:28.780 with joy with joy with joy with sing. 00:34:28.780 --> 00:34:37.780 My body too will rest secure 00:34:37.780 --> 00:34:45.780 In hope unwavering 00:34:45.780 --> 00:34:54.780 For you will not allow 00:34:54.780 --> 00:35:03.780 My soul in death to stay 00:35:03.780 --> 00:35:12.780 Nor will you leave your Holy One 00:35:12.780 --> 00:35:21.780 To see the tombs decay 00:35:21.780 --> 00:35:29.780 You have made known to me 00:35:29.780 --> 00:35:38.780 The path of life divine 00:35:38.780 --> 00:35:48.780 Bliss shall I know at your right hand 00:35:48.780 --> 00:35:56.780 Joy from your face will shine 00:35:56.780 --> 00:36:00.780 After the benediction I'll go to the main door 00:36:00.780 --> 00:36:06.780 Now may grace, mercy and peace from God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit 00:36:06.780 --> 00:36:09.780 Rest upon and abide with you all 00:36:09.780 --> 00:36:10.780 Now and forevermore 00:36:10.780 --> 00:36:12.780 Amen 00:36:12.780 --> 00:36:24.780 Thank you 00:36:24.780 --> 00:36:28.780 Thank you 00:36:28.780 --> 00:36:32.780 Thank you 00:36:32.780 --> 00:36:37.780 Thank you