Deuteronomy chapter 7, page 186.
Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons.
For they will turn your sons away from following me to serve other gods.
And the Lord's anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy you.
This is what you are to do to them. Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down their asherah poles and burn their idols in the fire.
For you are a people holy to the Lord your God.
The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.
The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples.
For you were the fewest of all peoples.
But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers.
That he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.
Know therefore that the Lord your God is God.
He is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.
But those who hate him, he will repay to their face by destruction.
He will not be slow to repay to their face those who hate him.
Therefore, take care to follow the commands, decrees and laws I give you today.
If you pay attention to these laws and are careful to follow them, then the Lord your God will keep his covenant of love with you as he swore to your forefathers.
He will love you and bless you and increase your numbers.
He will bless the fruit of your womb, the crops of your land, your grain, new wine and oil, the calves of your herd and the lambs of your flocks in the lands that he swore to your forefathers to give you.
You will be blessed more than any other people.
None of your men or women will be childless, nor any of your livestock without young.
The Lord will keep you free from every disease.
He will not inflict on you the horrible diseases you knew in Egypt, but he will inflict them on all who hate you.
You must destroy all the peoples the Lord your God gives over to you.
Do not look on them with pity and do not serve their gods, for that will be a snare to you.
You may say to yourself, these nations are stronger than we are.
How can we drive them out?
But do not be afraid of them.
Remember well what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt.
You saw with your own eyes the great trials and the miraculous signs and wonders, the mighty hand and outstretched arm with which the Lord your God brought you out.
The Lord your God will do the same to all the peoples you now fear.
Moreover, the Lord your God will send the hornet among them until even the survivors who hide from you have perished.
Do not be terrified by them, for the Lord your God who is among you is a great and awesome God.
The Lord your God will drive out those nations before you, little by little.
You will not be allowed to eliminate them all at once, or the wild animals will multiply around you.
But the Lord your God will deliver them over to you, throwing them into great confusion until they are destroyed.
He will give their kings into your hand, and you will wipe out their names from under heaven.
No one will be able to stand up against you.
You will destroy them.
The images of their gods you are to burn in the fire.
Do not covet the silver and gold on them, and do not take it for yourselves, or you will be ensnared by it, for it is detestable to the Lord your God.
Do not bring a detestable thing into your house, or you, like it, will be set apart for destruction.
Do not bring a detestable thing into your house, or you will be set apart for destruction.
Thanks very much, Ralph, for leading.
Thanks there, Simon, for reading.
A long section.
So keep your Bibles open, please, at Deuteronomy chapter 7 and chapter 8.
Those are the two sections we're going to be looking at this morning.
Again, if there are questions that we come up against that you want to be able to talk through or ask, then please do that afterwards.
And as you're turning to the section there in Deuteronomy, just to remind you about the missions conference, which is happening next weekend.
Friday evening is for younger people.
Saturday morning, for all ages, there's a children and a creche programme as well.
And then Saturday evening, again for all ages and college-age students as well.
So do come along.
It will be a great occasion meeting with other people from other churches,
those who are concerned about seeing the good news of Christ go to all the world.
And so try and be there if you can.
Let's pray together and ask for God's help.
For the Lord, your God, who is among you, is a great and awesome God.
Father, our desire is that we get to know you better, the awesome God.
As we read your word, as we seek to understand it, that we would meet with you and hear from you.
And we pray that everything that you are would shape us and transform us.
That we would not try and fit you into our own box or understanding.
But that we would be people who love you and follow you.
As the great and awesome God that you are.
So please help us this morning.
In Jesus' name.
Amen.
Well, if there was one section of the Bible that I could rip out and throw away,
this would be it.
In fact, I would say it's the most controversial issue that has caused so many people to question
and ultimately reject Christianity.
So what is the big issue?
Well, if you listen carefully to the reading, you'll see it is all about the destruction of the nations.
And the difficulty is God commands it.
Look at chapter 7, verse 2.
And when the Lord your God has delivered them, that's the nations over to you,
and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally.
Make no treaty with them and show them no mercy.
Or look at verse 16.
You must destroy all the peoples the Lord your God gives to you.
Do not look on them with pity.
But not only does God command it,
He actually threatens it.
So look at chapter 8, verse 19.
Chapter 8, verse 19.
If you ever forget the Lord your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them,
I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed.
Like the nations the Lord destroyed before you,
so you will be destroyed for not obeying the Lord your God.
If you don't do what I say,
I'm going to destroy you.
Now this, it seems, is nothing less than what we would call ethnic cleansing.
Now according to the UN,
here's the definition of what ethnic cleansing is.
It is the process of eliminating unwanted ethnic or religious groups
by deportation,
forcible displacement,
mass murder,
with the intent of creating a territory
inhabited by a people of pure ethnicity,
religion,
and culture.
It is the most horrible
and evil of crimes.
It's the sort of thing that was attached to the Holocaust.
So what is God doing,
commanding,
and threatening
the total destruction
of these nations?
Richard Dawkins,
the popular atheist,
writer of the God delusion,
came to this conclusion.
He says,
God is a vindictive,
bloodthirsty,
ethnic cleanser,
a capriciously malevolent bully.
Now in the light of what we have just read,
we can understand why somebody like that would come to a conclusion.
And we too can understand why we would begin to think
that God could be charged with ethnic cleansing.
So what are we to make of this God who commands
and threatens the destruction
of peoples,
men and women
and children?
Well, first of all,
God's terrible judgment.
This is not about God
who has lost his temper
and who has it in for a particular people group.
This is about God's just,
fair,
controlled,
and settled response
to all sin
and evil.
So let's try and unpack that
under three things.
First,
a place without sin.
From the very beginning,
God had promised his people
a place,
a land
that would be good
and beautiful.
We're told what that land
is going to be like
in chapter 7,
verse 12.
He says,
if you pay attention to these laws
and are careful to follow them,
then the Lord your God
will keep his covenant,
the promise of love with you
as he swore to your forefathers.
He will love you
and bless you
and increase your numbers.
He will bless the fruit of your womb,
the crops of your land,
your grain,
new wine and oil,
the calves of your herds
and the lambs of your flocks
in the land that he swore
to your forefathers to give you.
You will be blessed
more than any other people.
None of your men or women
will be childless,
nor any of your livestock
without young.
The Lord will keep you free
from every disease.
He will not inflict on you
the horrible diseases
you knew in Egypt,
but he will inflict on them,
he will inflict them
on all who hate you.
This is the most,
if you like,
perfect place to live.
It's described as a land of blessing,
without sickness or disease,
a place where they are protected
from their enemies,
where their borders are secure
and where they enjoy
a full and prosperous life.
It's the kind of land and home
that we would want.
It's a place without sin,
without harm or danger,
without evil or crime.
It's a beautiful and a good land.
It's all about protection
and blessing.
Look at chapter 8, verse 7.
For the Lord your God
is bringing you into a good land,
a land with streams
and pools of water,
with springs flowing
in the valleys and hills,
a land with wheat and barley,
vines and fig trees,
pomegranates,
olive oil and honey,
a land where bread
will not be scarce
and you will lack nothing.
A land where the rocks are iron
and you can dig copper
out of the hills.
This land that is being described here
is a kind of paradise.
It's not unlike the Garden of Eden
before the curse.
And this is what we all long for.
And this is what God had promised
to his people,
a place without sin or evil.
But to make this land a reality,
God must first deal with sin.
You see, the place that God's people
were to live in
was occupied by nations
that were utterly sinful.
Look at chapter 7, verse 1.
He says to them,
look, when the Lord your God
brings you into this land,
remember this good land,
that you are entering to possess,
and he drives out before you
the many nations,
the Hittites,
the Girgashites,
the Amorites,
Canaanites,
Perizzites,
Hivites,
and Jebusites,
the seven nations
that are larger
and stronger than you.
These were nations
that for centuries
had lived in rebellion
against God,
had destroyed other people,
had ruined people.
Keep your finger there
in Deuteronomy 7
and flick back to
Genesis chapter 15.
In Genesis 15,
we read about God's
initial promise
to his people
about the good land,
the promised land,
the beautiful land
that they were going to go to.
But before they get into
this good land,
there's going to be
a long,
long delay.
And we're given the reason
for that delay.
Chapter 15,
verse 16.
God says,
in the fourth generation,
your descendants
will come back here.
That's back to the promised land.
But the reason why
it's going to take so long,
we're told,
is for the sin
of the Amorites
has not yet reached
its full measure.
Go back to Deuteronomy
chapter 7.
You see,
God is displaying
incredible patience
with the Amorites
and it's implied
with all these
other nations too.
God was giving them
four generations.
That's over 400 years
to sort themselves out.
But now the time
has come
and their lives
are no different.
So God punishes them
for their continued
and their persistent sin.
He commands
their complete destruction.
Look at Deuteronomy 7,
verse 2.
He says,
when the Lord your God
has delivered them
over to you
and when you have
defeated them,
then you must
destroy them
totally.
You see,
sin
is very destructive.
It wrecks
what God
has made beautiful.
It ruins lives
and it breaks
all that is good.
So God
in His response
deals
with these
sinful nations
by destroying them.
and to be sure,
the only way
to be sure
that you have
dealt with sin
is to destroy
the sinner.
Otherwise,
it just keeps
coming back
again and again
and again.
So what God
is doing here
is He's removing
the sinful nations
from the land
so that His people
can live
in a place
that is full
of peace
and prosperity.
In fact,
it must go
further than just that.
They must go
a step further
because God
knows
what a danger
it will be
if the people
are remain,
if the people
are allowed
to stay in the land.
So,
they must
cleanse the land
from those
who persistently
rebel against God.
Look at verse 3
of chapter 7.
He says,
do not intermarry
with them.
Do not give
your daughters
to their sons
or take their daughters
for your sons.
Why?
Verse 4,
for they will
turn your sons
away from following
me to serve
other gods.
In fact,
He tells them
they are to
cleanse the whole
land of anything
that will pull
them away from God.
Verse 5,
this is what
you are to do.
You are to break
down the altars,
smash their sacred
stones,
cut down the
Asherah poles
and burn their
idols in the fire.
For you are a people
holy to the Lord
your God.
You've been rescued
by God.
You now belong
to God.
You've been set
apart for God
to love Him,
to enjoy Him,
to obey Him.
So you must
remove
every possible
thing
that is going
to pull you
away from God.
verse 16,
He says,
you must destroy
all the peoples
the Lord your God
gives over to you.
Do not look on
them with pity
and do not
serve their gods
for that will
be a snare
to you.
They could
entice you
away.
Verse 25,
the images
of their gods
you are to
burn in the fire.
Do not covet
the silver and
gold on them
and do not
take it
for yourselves
or you
will be
ensnared
by it
for it is
detestable
to the Lord
your God.
To leave
any hint
of sin
would be
dangerous.
Like a deadly
cancer,
it would only
grow back
again
and it
would take
over,
ruining
and destroying
and breaking
everything
in its path.
you see,
this is not
about a
God who,
as Dawkins
claims,
is a vindictive,
bloodthirsty,
ethnic cleanser.
This is a
God who
is fair
and just
and is
rightly
angry with
all the
sin
that causes
so much
pain and
damage in
our world.
Let's try
and think
about something
that's been
fresh in our
news this
week.
I'm sure
you've all
heard about
Fiona Doyle,
now an
older lady.
But when she
was a very
young girl,
for ten
consistent
years,
she was
raped and
abused by
her father.
now when
you saw
that item
on the
news,
how did
it make
you feel
when that
happened?
He got
twelve
years,
nine years
of that
was suspended,
another three
years he was
let off on
bail.
Okay,
they went
back to it
and now he's
back,
but still
it doesn't
fit the
crime,
does it?
What does
it make you
feel when
you see
something like
that?
it made
me very
angry and
I'm sure
it made
you very
angry.
You're
wanting
justice,
you want
the innocent
to live
without fear
in peace
and safety
and security
and you
want the
guilty
punished.
Now if
that one
event could
make us
angry,
multiply that
the world
over,
of all the
crimes,
of all the
wars and
all the
violence and
of all the
damage
that is
done to
so many
children and
of all the
injustices that
there are in
the world
and God
sees and
he feels
every single
bit of pain
and now we
can only
begin to
sense
what God
feels
with the
brokenness
and the
hurt and
the damage
that people
do to
one another.
But you
see,
let's not
just be
looking at
other people.
take a
magnifying
glass and
pass it
across your
own heart
and across
our own
lives.
Because we
too have
done and
said things
to people
that has
caused hurt
and damage.
We've broken
relationships.
We've done
things we
shouldn't have
done.
and God
is rightfully
angry at
the things
that we
have done.
You see,
God longs
that we
would all
live in
peace and
prosperity.
God desires
that we
would all
live in a
beautiful and
good land,
a land without
disease and
sickness, a
place where
there's no
evil and
no crime
and no
injustice.
And so
he must
remove all
those who
are intent
on causing
harm.
And he
must remove
all those
who are set
in opposition
to him.
He must
cleanse the
world of
sin.
And the
only way to
get rid of
sin is to
destroy the
sinner.
Now, what
God does
here in
Deuteronomy
is very
specific and
very unique.
It is not
an example
for us or
for anybody
else to go
and do
likewise.
However, this
does show
us that God
takes all
sin seriously
and that just
as he judged
sin then,
so a day
is going to
come when
Jesus Christ
will return
and he
will judge
the whole
world.
Every person
and every
nation,
including you
and me,
will stand
before God
and we'll
be judged.
You see,
the real
question is
not,
why did
God do
this to
the nations?
But why
has God
not done
this to
me?
Because the
reality is
we have all
caused hurt
and upset
to other
people.
We've all
ruined and
wrecked the
good things
that God
has given
us.
So the
question is
not,
why did
God destroy
the nations?
But why
does he not
destroy you
and me?
That's the
real question.
God destroy
some people
is because
some people
are better
than other
people.
Well,
no,
that's the
wrong answer.
Because the
big surprise
in this
chapter is
God's
people are
actually no
different from
the other
nations.
Let's just
have a look
through verses
7 through
to 8 here.
First,
they were
specially
chosen.
Verse 6,
he says to
them,
for you are
a holy
people to
the Lord
your God.
The Lord
your God
has chosen
you out
of all the
peoples on
the face
of the
earth to
be his
people,
his treasured
possession.
Now,
God could
have chosen
another
nation.
He could
have chosen
the Hivites
or the
Perizzites
instead.
He could
have chosen
more than
one nation.
But God
says,
no,
I choose
you.
Out of
all the
peoples on
the face
of the
earth,
I have
chosen
you to
be my
treasured
possession.
They have
become to
God like
a king's
personal
treasure.
the greatest
possession
that he
has,
that is
beyond
value.
That is
what these
people are
like to
God.
But again,
we ask,
if God
chose them,
then he
must have
seen something
in them
that made
them stand
out as
better and
greater than
all the
rest of
the people.
No.
God does
not choose
us because
of who
we are.
Verse 7,
the Lord
did not
set his
affection on
you and
choose you
because you
were more
numerous than
other peoples.
For you
were the
fewest of
all peoples.
You know,
the way to
assess a
nation's
value in
those times
was by its
size.
The bigger
you were,
the more
powerful you
were,
and the
more respect
you had.
These are
the kinds
of nations
that hold
status and
privilege.
But that
is not
the basis
of his
choice.
He tells
them the
end of
verse 7,
he says,
you were
the fewest
of all
peoples.
In other
words,
you were
a nothing,
you were
a nobody,
in the
world's
eyes you
were
completely
insignificant.
God
does not
choose you
because of
who you
are.
Third,
God chooses
you because
of who
he is.
Verse 8,
but it
was because
the Lord
loved you
and kept
the oath
he swore
to your
forefathers
that he
brought you
out with
a mighty
hand and
redeemed you
from the
land of
slavery,
from the
power of
Pharaoh,
king of
Egypt.
God set
his affection
on you.
The Lord
chose you
and he
made you
his treasured
possession
for the
simple
reason
that he
loved you.
God
loved you
not because
of who
you are
but because
of who
he is.
If we
thought of
it in
this way,
if we
thought of
all the
nations
kind of
lined up
before God
in some
kind of
talent
competition
and they
all did
their party
piece
and God
had to
pick the
best one
to be
his
treasured
possession,
well there
was
nothing
that
made
them
better
or
superior
or
greater.
They were
no less
sinful
than the
other
nations.
They were
no different
to the
other
nations.
In fact
as we
read through
the Bible
we'll see
we could
actually make
the claim
that they
were worse
than the
other
nations.
They
didn't
earn
God's
love.
They
didn't
deserve
God's
love.
the
big
surprise
is that
God
even
bothered
to
love
them.
They
deserve
to be
treated
like the
rest of
the
nations.
And the
only
reason
why
they
are
not
destroyed
like
the
other
nations
is
because
God
chose
to
make
them
his
treasured
possession.
Do you
see what
God is
saying
here?
the
only
way
to
escape
being
destroyed,
the
only
way
to
be
a
part
of
the
good
and
beautiful
land
that
I
want
to
give
you
is
if
you
experience
my
grace.
Don't
ever
think
that you
can
escape
God's
judgment
because
you
are
better
or
greater
or
superior.
If
you
think
for
one
moment
that
you
earn
God's
love
or
that
you
deserve
God's
love
because
of
something
that
you've
done
because
of
your
heritage
or
your
background
you
have
not
understood
God.
Look at
chapter 8
verse 17
you
may
say
to
yourself
full
of
pride
as
it
were
my
power
and
the
strength
of
my
hands
have
produced
this
wealth
for
me
look
at
what
I
did
no
verse
18
but
remember
the
Lord
your
God
for
it
is
he
who
gives
you
the
ability
to
produce
wealth
and
so
confirms
his
covenant
which
he
swore
to
your
forefathers
as
it
is
today
God's
people
only
get
what
they
get
because
God
loved
them
because
he
promised
things
to
them
because
he
was
committed
to
them
and
it's
absolutely
no
different
for
us
today
God
deals
with
us
in
exactly
the
same
way
now
as
he
did
with
his
people
then
have
a
look
at
this
quote
here
it
comes
from
1st
Corinthians
chapter
1
Paul
is
writing
to
the
church
in
Corinth
and
he's
getting
them
to
think
back
so
he
starts
off
he
says
brothers
and
sisters
think
of
what
you
were
when
you
were
called
just
stop
for
a
minute
there
think
about
it
when
God
chose
to
love
you
when
he
put
his
affection
on
you
what
were
you
like
well
he
goes
on
not
many
of
you
were
wise
by
human
standards
not
many
of
you
were
influential
not
many
of you
were
noble
birth
in other
words
you were
nobody's
you were
nothing's
you were
insignificant
there was
nothing in
you that
attracted me
to you
but
God
chose
the
foolish
things
of
the
world
to
shame
the
wise
God
chose
the
weak
things
of
the
world
to
shame
the
strong
God
chose
the
lowly
things
of
this
world
and
the
despised
things
and the
things
that
are
not
to
nullify
the
things
that
are
so
that
no
one
may
boast
before
him
the
only
reason
God
would
set
his
love
upon
us
is
because
we're
foolish
because
we're
weak
because
we're
despised
because
we're
nothing
you see
the real
question
in all
of this
as well
is
it's
not
why
did
God
choose
this
nation
over
that
nation
we get
our
minds
bogged
with
that
one
why
did
God
choose
this
one
and
not
that
one
here's
the
real
question
why
would
God
bother
to
choose
you
or
me
there
is
nothing
in
us
to
attract
us
to
God
he
simply
loves
us
because
he
loves
us
and
he
wants
to
shower
us
with
his
blessings
it's
unconditional
it's
based
on
who
he
is
not
what
I
am
so
third
then
what's
it
going
to
be
for
us
is
it
going
to
be
God's
terrible
judgment
or
is
it
going
to
be
God's
incredible
grace
well look
at chapter
7
verse 9
know
therefore
that the
Lord
your
God
is
God
he
is
a
faithful
God
keeping
his
covenant
of
love
to
a
thousand
generations
of
those
who
love
him
and
keep
his
commands
but
those
who
hate
him
he
will
repay
to
their
face
by
destruction
he
will
not
be
slow
to
repay
to
their
face
those
who
hate
him
now
where
does
that
put
us
the
point
is
we
all
deserve
the
judgment
we
all
deserve
to
be
destroyed
not
one
of
us
manages
to
keep
his
commandments
and
love
him
wholeheartedly
the
reality
is
we
all
need
his
grace
and
we
all
long
for
this
promised
good
land
that
is
beautiful
and
good
without
evil
and
injustice
and
sin
and
crime
so
how
is
it
possible
for
us
to
know
God's
grace
day
to
day
but
not
his
judgment
well
two
things
first
we
must
run
to
Christ
you
see
as we
follow
the
story
through
we
come
to
this
climax
where
God
would
put
his
judgment
and
his
grace
side
by
side
on
display
for
the
world
to
see
before
the
nations
and
before
all
the
people
God
would
demonstrate
his
terrible
judgment
and
his
incredible
grace
all
in
one
combined
concise
moment
take a
look at
the cross
in your
mind's
eye
Jesus
and his
death
what do
we see
going on
on the
cross
we see a
man being
beaten
we see
somebody being
spat on
somebody being
punched
whipped
and scourged
we see a
man being
torn
his back
lacerated
ripped apart
we see
somebody being
nailed
to a
cross
we see
someone with
a spear
being thrust
up into
their side
what's going
on with this
violent
image
Jesus
is being
destroyed
physically
and
spiritually
for us
the
judgment
of God
that should
rain down
on all
the nations
and on
all people
the judgment
of God
that should
be for
my sin
and your
sin
is falling
on God
himself
and so
the cross
stands before
all nations
of the world
today
before all
peoples
no matter
what nation
what people
group
what tribe
what language
it is
the cross
stands before
it all
to say
look
God took
the terrible
judgment
that we
all deserve
for himself
why
why would
he do
it
so that
we might
experience
his
incredible
grace
Jesus
didn't
die for
you
because
there
was
something
beautiful
or good
about
you
God
didn't
set his
affection
on you
because
you were
better
or greater
to your
neighbor
or to the
person
in some
other
country
God
died for
you
because
he loved
you
God
was
destroyed
for you
broken
for you
so that
he could
redeem
you
and bring
you into
the ultimate
land
the new
creation
to bring
you into
the home
and the place
that we
all long
for
a place
where there's
no sin
and no evil
and no
sickness
and no
disease
and no
abuse
and no
rape
and no
injustice
and no
crime
to bring
you into
the land
that is
beautiful
and good
of protection
and blessing
he did it
so that you
would experience
his grace
so run
to Christ
every day
run to his
cross
and enjoy
his grace
but second
and we finish
with this
we must
also
be ruthless
with sin
if we
have run
to Christ
and if we
see how
he was
destroyed
for our
sin
and what
he's bringing
us to
then we
will want
to destroy
the sin
in our
lives
not to
look
outwards
at other
people
turn your
eyes around
and look
into our
own
hearts
we
will want
to root
out
the
destructive
patterns
and the
destructive
behaviours
that cause
so much
hurt
to other
people
and to
ourselves
and to
God
we need
to be
ruthless
with sin
we need
to clean
out
the
attitudes
in our
lives
where we
have the
mask on
and we
pretend
that
well no
it's
actually
all
okay
but it
just keeps
on growing
back
wrecking
relationships
and breaking
the good
things that
God gives
to us
so we
must run
to Christ
run to
his cross
experience
his grace
day to
day and
allow the
cleansing
work of
the Holy
Spirit
to be
at work
in our
own lives
in our
own
hearts
dealing
with the
sin that
is there
changing
us and
transforming
us
removing
our
hearts
of sin
and instead
giving us
a heart
of love
for this
is what
God calls
us to
run to
Christ
and be
ruthless
with the
sin in
our lives
and
experience
his
incredible
grace
day to
day
let's
pray
I'm just
going to
read a
poem
you can
meditate
on the
words
as we
just
listen
i saw
one
hanging
on a
tree
in
agony
and
blood
he
fixed
his
loving
eyes
on
me
as
near
his
cross
i
stood
my conscience felt and owned the guilt
and plunged me in despair
I saw my sins
his blood had spilt
and helped to nail him there
a second look he gave which said
I freely all forgive
this blood is for thy ransom paid
I die that thou might live
thus while his death my sin displays
in all its blackest hue
such is the mystery of grace
it seals my pardon too
oh can it be upon a tree
the saviour died for me
my soul is thrilled
my heart is filled
to think he died for me
father thank you
that you have not destroyed us as we deserve
but that Christ was destroyed for us
that we might know
your incredible grace
every day
that we might know you and enjoy you
and we pray that this would sink deep into our hearts
and that we would bring to the nations
the seriousness of your judgment
but your incredible grace
and please would you empower us
by your holy spirit
to go on rooting out the sin in our own lives
please continue to cleanse us
so that we become more beautiful
that we become more like Christ
so that the broken image
would be restored
so that we reflect God
in all his beauty
and all his kindness
and all his goodness
please help us we pray
we thank you for your mercy
your grace and your love
in Jesus name
Amen