So a bit of a story before we jump into God's word.
Wednesday, April 17th, 2014, at 11am,
the Iron Lady, the Right Honourable Baroness Margaret Thatcher of Kestevin
! was laid to rest at St. Paul's Cathedral in London.
Her funeral was a state funeral attended by heads of state the world over, royalty and dignitaries.
It had all the pomp and ceremony and to the delight of a minister,
it was full of scripture, hymns and prayers.
For us this morning, I'm not going to do a deep dive into a funeral that happened 11 plus years ago,
almost 12 years ago, but for us this morning, what is of particular note is the recessional hymn.
When the coffin was taken out of St. Paul's, the Nunc Dimittis was sung.
It was put to music and sung.
If the Nunc Dimittis is unfamiliar to you, no problem.
It's the Song of Simeon.
In fact, it is the song we'll be looking at this morning, starting in verse 29 and going to verse 32.
It is also the song that is sung or prayed at the end of evening prayer every single day in the Book of Common Prayer.
The Book of Common Prayer is scripture put to prayers that it's really part of our tradition in the Anglican world.
The words are fitting for the bookend of one's day and especially of one's life,
as one rests satisfied with a job well done.
So agree with her politics or not, I don't bring her up to get political, agree with her politics or not,
Lady Thatcher accomplished a great deal in office and in life in general.
She came from humble beginnings.
She led the United Kingdom through turbulent times, including the Cold War.
She accomplished much.
And I would think that at the end of her life, she had a degree of satisfaction for what she did.
She had a very, very rich and full public life.
However, for the Lady Thatcher and for us this morning,
if we were given some quiet, which is a bit of a hot commodity for some of us with young kids,
if we were given some quiet to think about life and the things that truly matter
and we felt comfortable with sharing from our heart of hearts,
what would we describe as a life that is truly full, a life of complete satisfaction?
I think it's an important question for us to consider, regardless of where we are at in life.
If you are visiting or new, we've been asking some big questions in light of these four songs for the Savior
in Luke's early narrative in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 1 and 2.
And we come finally to the Nunc Timidus, which is just to say Latin for,
now let your servant depart in peace, which is the opening line in the song.
This prayer, this song of Simeon, has been in use in the church for at least since the 4th century.
It's very ancient, included in the daily prayers of God's people.
And as such, it has deeply shaped generations of Christians to take stock of their life,
whenever it would end, at the end of each day, in light of eternity.
And it helps us to ask this question.
If my life were to end, would I depart in peace?
A profound question, especially in our day.
You know, we have a very interesting culture here in the West, and in Canada in particular.
On one hand, when we're considering death, on one hand, death is tucked away.
It is unseen.
We live in a very kind of sanitized time.
We are not acquainted with death.
And yet, there's a bizarre obsession with the experience of death as we are eager to read or watch accounts of people
undergoing health treatments or end-of-life care, or to follow people as they post or vlog about their grief or loss.
It's a really interesting, I don't know if you want to call it a confusion, but maybe a lack of clarity around what death is and how we should live in light of it.
So, how should we prepare for the end?
What must we do to live a life of true satisfaction?
How can we, like Simeon, declare,
Now, let us, thou, thy servant, depart in peace?
As we consider some of these questions, let's turn our attention to the final song for the Savior.
And we're going to look at two things from the text.
First, we're going to look at the strength of faith.
And second, the satisfaction of peace.
A bit of a background just to orient us with the narrative before we jump into these two points.
Mary has had the baby Jesus.
And as per Jewish custom, after about 40 days, she is to present herself at the temple to be cleansed from ritual impurity.
Now, I'm not going to get into this at length.
Only just to say that Mary is going to the temple not because she has sinned, necessarily,
but because the law of Moses says that she has to offer sacrifice for her ritual impurity.
Now, not only are they at the temple making the trip from Nazareth to the temple in Jerusalem for that purpose,
but also Jesus being the firstborn out of Mary is, again, according to the scriptures, he has to be redeemed.
I won't get into that.
Only just to point out that Mary and Joseph, although they are very poor,
and we know they're poor because the sacrifice that they alter is not a lamb, but two doves,
which is like the very minimum for poor people to offer in the temple,
that they are devout people, that they are seeking to follow the law as the Lord has commanded.
So, with that as a background, we're going to look at the story and look at our first point,
the strength of faith.
So, turn with me, verses 25, and we'll read 25, 26, and 27.
Verse 25.
Now, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon,
and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel,
and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit
that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ.
Christ is just the Greek term for the Hebrew word of Messiah.
It speaks of God's anointed one.
So, he was promised that he'd see the Lord's Messiah or anointed one.
Verse 27.
And he came in the Spirit into the temple,
and when the parents, that is Mary and Joseph,
brought in the child Jesus to do for him according to the custom of the law,
verse 28, he took him up in his arms and blessed God.
Let us pause there before we continue on.
Simeon has waited and waited and waited
for the long-promised deliverance of Israel.
To say consolation is to say a deliverance or a redemption
or salvation of the nation from their centuries-long exile,
both in body and in soul, as promised by God.
A bit of a background to where Israel's at by the time the first century comes.
They have been scattered across the known world.
They have been in exile for six, seven hundred years.
They have settled in faraway lands.
And as is the case for all kind of geopolitical movement,
they have assimilated and synchronized their customs and faith to local practices.
Oftentimes, retaining some key aspects of the faith,
but also incorporating things that were not commissioned by God in any way.
And yet, even in the land, so there's Jews scattered across the known world,
but in the land of Israel, there were also Jews,
Jews, although they were under Roman occupation.
And likewise, they were a hodgepodge of beliefs and customs.
Many were Hellenized, which is to say they acted and spoke
and participated in Greco-Roman life.
Others were adherents of various sects and cults
that emphasized certain parts of the Bible over others.
Some were violent.
They were freedom fighters or terrorists,
depending on what side of the equation you were on.
Some were violent.
Some were reclusive.
Some had power.
Some had none.
But most believed that there would be a Christ or a Messiah or a chosen one
that would deliver them from their enemies,
whoever their enemies would be.
They differed wildly on who that Messiah would be,
but certainly there would be a Messiah.
I guess the too-long, didn't-read of the whole matter was
Israel was a giant collection of various beliefs.
Very few followed the faith of the Scriptures.
Why was this?
I think in part because of the natural reality
of large amounts of people moving to different regions.
But on a spiritual level, I'll suggest to you this morning
that it is because the promises God made didn't come true
as fast as they wanted them to.
Trusting God is hard.
Having faith that endures is extremely difficult.
Waiting for God to confirm and do what he says in Holy Scripture
is not an easy thing.
So the temptation is either to twist or reimagine God's words and promises
so that they say something different,
or to make them overly figurative,
or even abandon Scripture altogether.
So you see, waiting is a very difficult thing,
and it has been the problem with God's people time and again
so that they wait, and then they wait, and then they begin to forget.
Constantly in the Scriptures, God tells them to remember,
and yet so few do.
If you or someone you know has gone through a deconstruction of their faith
or has left their faith,
I would wager that it is in part due to this relatable difficulty of trusting God
when he seems absent.
And I know that it is more complex than that,
but I would suggest that that aspect is included in somebody's story
or journey towards deconstruction or leaving the faith completely.
And as a result, a despondency can come when God is seen as untrustworthy,
when he is seen as unworthy to be the object of our praise and devotion
and our faith.
Waiting is hard.
This is why Simeon is such a fantastic example of a faithful waiting,
a faithful trust.
So his age isn't given.
And I kind of wrestled with this
because almost all the commentaries suggest that he was a very elderly man,
especially with what he was saying.
But in nowhere does it say that he was an elderly man.
I'm just going to take it that he is.
That there's a lot of very learned people that went before me
that say he was an aged man, so he's an aged man.
So although his age isn't given, he is almost certainly elderly,
and he is eagerly awaiting God's salvation.
He says that he is both righteous and devout,
meaning he is careful in his conduct with people,
and he is reverent before the Lord.
He seems to have understood that the Lord would make good on his promise
to send the Messiah and to console or redeem Israel.
And more than that, he was promised to see that consolation in the Lord's Christ
with his own eyes.
How does one fight against despondency,
against losing one's trust in the Lord?
By faithfully waiting.
And here we have such a prime example to emulate.
Simeon has waited well.
If he is an elderly man,
it suggests in the text that he has waited a very long time.
He has not given in to the cults and the customs around him,
nor has he abandoned the biblical faith.
Which isn't to say, what I'm not saying is that he is this perfect person,
but that through the years he has maintained his faith.
He has remained faithful to believing in the promises that God has spoken of in the scriptures.
But, you know, put on your skeptics hat.
It could easily be said that anybody would have such a faith
if they were promised to see the fruition of that faith.
It says that the Holy Spirit revealed to him that he would not die before seeing the Lord's Christ.
But I want to suggest a bit of a pushback.
I've heard it said by some people that have struggled with their faith
that if God would only reveal himself to me,
okay, if God would only speak,
then I would believe it.
But I'm to believe that there is some being up there that I've never seen,
I've never heard,
I'm supposed to believe in this book,
how am I supposed to make sense of this?
Here's a bit of a pushback to that.
Simeon was an elderly man who was already walking in righteousness and devotion.
The text seems to imply that he was promised that he would see the Lord's Christ later in life.
That this wasn't something that he was given from this promise when he was a little boy,
but that he received this as an elderly man.
The text also implies that this righteousness and devotion that he exhibited was longstanding.
That he had a faithful walk with the Lord for many decades in his life.
And he was given the revelation from the Holy Spirit that he would see the Messiah
precisely because he was walking in faith,
not because his faith was waning or non-existent.
There's this very remarkable story later on in Luke's Gospel.
Jesus himself is teaching about,
he's giving a parable and it's about the rich man and Lazarus.
And what's interesting is that out of all of Jesus' parables,
which are instructive stories to communicate,
especially truth about the kingdom of God,
Lazarus, this poor man, is the only one who is named in any of the parables.
I'll try to sum up and be brief about this,
but Jesus tells this story about this rich man who was exceedingly wealthy
and this poor beggar, Lazarus.
They both die.
And in the afterlife, Lazarus is in heaven.
He is beside Father Abraham.
And the rich man is in hell.
The fire of hell is licking at him.
He is in anguish.
And he thinks that he can command Lazarus, who is in heaven,
to do his bidding like he could command Lazarus
to do his bidding when they were on earth.
And it becomes very clear that this is not the case.
The tables have turned.
And right at the end, he says,
if I can't be saved, then send Lazarus to visit my family
and tell them from the grave to believe in God
and to walk a faithful life.
And Father Abraham, he replies like this.
And this is from Luke chapter 16, verse 29.
But Abraham said,
they, that is the rich man's family,
they have Moses and the prophets,
which is to say the scriptures.
Let them hear them.
But the rich man said,
no, Father Abraham,
but if someone goes to them from the dead,
they will repent.
And Abraham said to him,
if they do not hear Moses and the prophets,
neither will they be convinced
if someone should rise from the dead.
I'll just say this.
We are so inoculated from belief in God,
okay,
as a people,
as human beings.
We will come up with all sorts of excuses
or proofs that that wasn't really what we experienced,
if we had some kind of religious experience.
We are so inoculated from believing in the Lord
that time and again,
and this is one example,
there's a few others,
where even the most dramatic instance
of God revealing himself
would not result in a saving faith.
And I would say to you this morning
that that's probably still the case.
Religious or not,
people will look to something metaphysical.
And when I say metaphysical,
beyond just the material world that they see,
saying it to the universe
or whatever kind of belief system
that in a time of crisis we lean upon,
say,
if only I can get through this,
I will believe,
or universe,
pay me back for all the good karma I have given.
Whatever it may be,
we are constantly
looking past this material world
and sometimes it works.
Maybe it's coincidence,
okay,
maybe it's not.
Sometimes it works,
and yet,
we continue on in cycles of unbelief.
I bring this up just to say,
Simeon is walking in a righteous and devout way,
and because of that,
he is given this promise,
but he doesn't become righteous and devout
because he was given a promise first.
Waiting is difficult.
It is very, very hard.
Having faith in God is a very,
I mean,
a near impossible task,
and yet,
this is what we are called to.
What is important to note in our text today
is that Simeon was led by the Holy Spirit,
which is to say that God had empowered him
to act righteously and devoutly
to do the things that God had called him to do.
So, back to the text.
Salvation had indeed come to
the one who,
with expectant faith,
waited for the Lord God to do
what he had promised.
And, as I have said,
Simeon's faith, I'm sure,
was beyond,
was far from being perfect,
and yet,
he was blessed because
he chose to believe.
The result was great comfort.
Not in a life free of pain,
but in one so satisfied
in purpose and meaning
that it says that he could
die a fulfilled man.
I want to say to you this morning
that faith
isn't so much
the amount of faith we have,
but the degree of,
or the,
not the degree of faith that we have,
but the person that our faith is in.
So, what can rid a man
of fear of death?
How can Simeon say,
I can depart in peace?
What can take away the terrors
of the graveyard?
What can help us see
soberly and clearly
so that the false promises
that money and power
and standing
and even health
will not bring us
ultimate satisfaction in this life?
How can we have clarity
in that regard?
It has to be nothing
less than faith
in God
who gives His redemption,
who gives His deliverance,
who gives His consolation
to all peoples.
This is what we see in Simeon.
That this faith that he has,
it buoys him up.
That God strengthens him
as he is walking with the Lord,
as he is choosing
to trust the Lord
and not in other things,
and the Lord is keeping him afloat.
And this will then bring us
to our next point.
For having such a faith in God
that brings about this consolation
will ultimately
also give us peace.
And a peace that is so profound
that life,
that the life to come
will be more of an exciting
journey
and prospect
and adventure
than anything else
in this life.
So we'll get to our second point,
the satisfaction of peace.
Look with me
at the Nunc Dimittis,
this prayer
and song of Simeon.
We'll look in verse,
actually we'll start
in verse 27
and read down to 32.
And Simeon came in the spirit
into the temple,
and when the parents
brought in the child Jesus
to do for him
according to the custom of the law,
Simeon took him up
in his arms
and blessed God
and said,
Lord,
now you are letting
your servant depart in peace
according to your word.
For my eyes
have seen your salvation
that you have prepared
in the presence
of all peoples
a light for revelation
to the Gentiles
and for glory
to your people Israel.
In some ways,
I imagine Simeon
as that knight
in the last crusade
who is pale and old
and has been waiting
for centuries
guarding the chalice.
He is weary,
and yet he is delighted
that his job is finished
and his time
has now come to an end.
Yet,
these words
are not those
of a man
who is weary
from pain
or frustrated
with his life.
Rather,
they are words
of a man
whose desire
for genuine peace
has come to fruition.
consider the peace
Simeon possesses
and how it is grounded
not in speculation
but in promise.
A peace so powerful
that he is ready
to die
without regret.
He is ready
to die
without fear
of unsaid words
or unfinished work.
Can you imagine
an ending
more glorious
than this?
A peace
that God
himself gives,
a peace
that God
has promised
in his word
that has come
to pass,
these promises
that were made
because mankind
lacked peace,
because it
was such
an elusive thing.
He may have
struggled
and muddled
through life
at certain
points,
but nevertheless,
here he is
at the end
of the day
and he has
peace,
so much peace
that he is
ready to depart.
Last week
during our
Lessons and
Carol service,
we read
a whole
number of
different
scripture verses,
nine in total,
and they were
communicating
to us
redemption,
redemptive history,
and it began
in Genesis 3.
I guess it would be
on this side
for you guys.
Genesis 3,
this promise
that was made
to Adam
and Eve
immediately
after they
sinned,
after they
broke covenant
and relationship
with God
because of their
selfish pride,
that God
would send
someone to
crush the serpent.
It's kind of
really interesting
language,
but it was
the first promise
that God
would not
allow mankind
to exist
in this state
of evil
and brokenness
indefinitely.
that this
promise
throughout the
Old Testament,
whether explicitly
or there
be allusions
to it,
it was
constant in
scripture that
God would
make a way
for peace.
No longer
would we have
enmity or
frustration in
our relationships,
either with one
another or
between us
and God.
And the
wonderful thing
about this
and what
we see
in Simeon's
prayer
is that
it was
according to
your word,
which is to
say that
it wasn't
a contingency
plan,
it wasn't
a plan B.
This was
not some
kind of
fix-up
because God
somehow
didn't get
the ingredients
in the
creation soup
just right
and dinner
was ruined.
That salvation
was planned
from the
beginning
and in the
presence of
all people,
which is to
say in the
ancient world
and according
to the
scriptures,
there were
the Gentiles
and then
there was
Israel.
And here
it is not
saying that
salvation,
even though
just previously
it said that
Simeon was
waiting for
the consolation
of Israel,
it isn't
just for
Israel,
it is for
all people.
So that
Gentiles,
those that
are not a
part of the
Jewish nation,
the Israelite
nation,
they are
no longer
destined to
walk in
superstition
and darkness.
And for
the Jewish
nation that
since they
have gone
off course,
they would
be brought
back home
and given
such an
incredible
honor that
the Savior
of the
world was
born through
them.
We sang
O Holy
Night and
I mean
capturing it
incredibly in
verse,
the thrill of
hope,
the weary
soul rejoices.
This is
exactly what
we're reading
about here
in Simeon's
song.
But the
temptation will
always be to
consider that
peace through
Christ is not
enough.
That what he
truly gives is
good but not
great.
That we must
add something
that is lacking.
I one time
went to,
there was a
Starbucks,
that was like a
massive frou-frou
Starbucks down
in the market
and I had my
birthday free
drink so I went
down there with
Christine,
I don't think
we had any
kids and I
ordered,
it was called a
Siphon Brew
Coffee and it
was like $11
for a coffee and
it took 25
minutes.
This lady was
like very
passionate about
coffee.
This is how I
give back to my
community.
Kind of like
interesting way to
give back to your
community that can
afford $12
coffees.
Okay, the
point is,
the point is
after all of
that, okay,
after all of
that, I'm
expecting the
best coffee I've
ever tasted,
okay, life
changing coffee
and she
says, do you
need room for
dairy?
And I think
you put dairy
into this, it's
like putting
lipstick on a
pig.
Like, why
would we do
this?
Is this supposed
to be the
best coffee and
we're going to
add to it to
make it better?
It's supposed to
be the best.
And I think we
do something
similar,
potentially,
with trusting
in the Lord for
his peace.
We have to
augment it.
We have to put
a bit of salt on
this Michelin
star dinner
that is in
front of us.
And yet,
if we do
that, it is
not a guarantee
that we will
have a higher
degree of
peace, but it
robs God's
salvation of the
peace that it
gives.
You cannot
have Jesus
plus, okay?
You cannot have
salvation plus,
plus whatever you
want to add after
that.
You can't have
that.
It's Christ
and with him
this divine
peace or
nothing at all.
Friends, let
us, like
Simeon, find
the satisfaction
that is divine
and worthy of
our faith.
This peace
that passes
all understanding.
And as we
wrap this up,
let's read the
narrative that
follows the
Nunc
Dimittis,
verses 33
and 35.
It's not a
part of the
servant song,
but it's
connected and
has just a
deep insight
that is worthy
of our
attention.
Read with
me verses
33 to
35.
And his
father and
his mother
marveled at
what was said
about him.
And Simeon
blessed them
and said to
Mary his
mother,
Behold,
this child
is appointed
for the fall
and rising
of many in
Israel and
for a sign
that is
opposed.
And a
sword will
pierce through
your own
soul also,
so that
thoughts from
many hearts
will be
revealed.
He says
three things
here.
We're going to
focus briefly
on just two
of them.
The first
is that
Christ will
be a
divisive
figure.
He was a
divisive
figure in
his day.
He continues
to be a
divisive
figure in
our day.
Why?
Because with
the coming
of Christ,
God will
make it
very plain
to the
human race
that we
are very
non-self
sufficient
people.
We cannot
enjoy either
consolation or
peace that
results in
long-lasting
satisfaction
because at
our core
we lack
a peace
and
consolation.
So we
cannot
create
something that
we desperately
need from
nothing.
Okay?
There's a
void
of peace
and
consolation
and
therefore
we
can't
produce
it
ourselves.
Sin and
evil are
so very
prevalent
and impossible
to deal
with.
It will
take nothing
short of
Christ dying
in our
place for
our sins
because we
cannot atone
for the
wrongs we
have done.
Which is to
say that
we cannot
save ourselves.
We cannot
give ourselves
lasting peace.
And the
coming of
Christ has
made that
very,
very clear.
there's no
amount of
good that
we can
achieve that
will tip
the scales
in our
favor that
we may
enjoy a
self-wrought
satisfaction.
And why
will this
cause many
to fall
and rise?
Well,
for those
that it
will cause
the fall,
be that
those that,
and maybe
some among
us or maybe
even seasons
in our lives
where we
think that
we can
actually exist
and live
completely
satisfied,
like a
deep,
like core,
heart of
heart satisfaction
apart from
Jesus.
Okay?
That is
what the
scripture will
call delusion.
And if you've
tried that
and have
come up
short,
you can say
actually it is
a bit of a
delusional
thought.
But for
those that
can recognize
that they
are in
deep need
of a
savior,
what Christ
extends
is mercy
and joy
and love
and an
eternal
satisfaction
that will
transcend
this world,
that will
be rooted
in an
unchanging
God and
therefore will
never change.
And it's
offered to
us as a
free gift
of grace.
The second
point that
he makes
is related
to the
first,
but it
speaks to
Christ being
both God
and judge.
Notice at
the very
end,
Simeon
says that
Christ will
cause the
thoughts
from many
hearts to
be revealed.
Throughout
the New
Testament,
there are
13 uses
of this
word
translated
here as
thoughts,
and in
every
instance,
it comes
with a
negative
constant,
it is
pejorative,
it's negative.
These thoughts
are bad
thoughts,
these thoughts
are vain
thoughts,
these thoughts
are doubting
thoughts,
these are
thoughts all
of which are
hostile to
God and
his purposes.
It is
really the
condition of
one's heart
that our
thoughts are
then reflecting.
Therefore,
when Simeon
says that
the thoughts
from many
hearts will
be revealed,
he means
that the
coming of
Christ will
show how
utterly
broken and
sinful and
deceived the
human heart
truly is.
And on one
hand,
the life of
Christ will
be so
utterly and
completely
perfect that
all of
existence will
see this
life as the
ultimate
exemplar and
therefore the
standard of
goodness and
of kindness
and love so
that even
people outside
of the Christian
faith can
talk about
Jesus and
often wonder
why his
followers don't
look like
him.
But it will
also mean that
no human soul
can hide their
wickedness from
his just
judgment.
Simeon is
saying that
Christ sees
all.
God sees
all.
And he knows
all.
And he is the
only one who
will perfectly
judge all
who ever
lived.
And all
who ever
lived will
be judged.
It's a
terrifying
thought,
okay?
It's a
terrifying
thought.
But maybe
not so
terrifying if
we consider
this incredible
scene once
again.
For what
we see is
Simeon,
this elderly
man, at
the end of
his life,
holding this
tender,
helpless baby
in his arms.
And yet
that child
was the
creator,
is the
creator of
all things.
The one who
actually is
holding Simeon
and holding
us this
morning.
That in the
incarnation,
God literally
became a
human being,
took on
flesh,
that God
became
enfleshed.
And it is
nothing short
of God
knowing our
sinful estate
and our
utter helplessness
becoming
himself helpless.
And although
he knew no
sin,
became sin
for us so
that,
what 1
Corinthians
tells us,
that we
might become
the righteousness
of God.
I'll end
with this.
God loves
you.
He loves
you.
He loves
you,
and he
loves you
in such
a way
that he
is willing
to go to
great length
so that you
will be with
him.
And yet,
he does so
knowing all
of your junk,
all of your
history,
all of the
things that
you would
blush to
confess.
He knows
it all,
and he
loves you.
His great
desire is to
console you
with an
everlasting
consolation,
to give you
peace and
satisfaction
to such a
degree that
this life,
although it is
wonderful and
good and
worthy to be
enjoyed,
it will
pale in
comparison to
the life to
come,
the satisfaction
and peace
that he
will give.
For he
will give
you himself.
The eternal
God has
welcomed us
into his
very presence
if we are
but to
trust in
him.
Again,
not a
perfect
trust,
but put
our faith
in Christ
himself
to remind
ourselves and
believe that
no achievement
that we
could do
can bring
us such
satisfaction,
that there's
no amount
of good
living we
can do
that will
bring us
a consolation
that will
even hold
a candle
to what God
is offering
us to us
in Jesus
Christ.
So I think
what Simeon
is telling us
to do this
morning with
his life
is to
trust in
Christ and
like Simeon
to enjoy
a holy
satisfaction,
a deep,
deep trust
that we
may know
the Prince
of Peace
all the
days of
our life.
as