WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.220 is a psalm about the city of the great king. You don't have to go very far into the psalm 00:00:08.220 --> 00:00:11.980 to realize that it's about something much more than geographical. 00:00:12.759 --> 00:00:21.640 There is a lot here to do with the theology of God as the God of his people, as the one who resides 00:00:21.640 --> 00:00:29.039 within his church. Yes, it is about Zion. It's about the city of God, literally Mount Zion, 00:00:29.039 --> 00:00:37.019 near Jerusalem. It's about Zion's king, literally, kings such as David, Solomon, and so on. 00:00:37.659 --> 00:00:44.439 And yes, it's about the defenses of that city in the days of the psalmist himself. But as we say, 00:00:44.519 --> 00:00:49.700 as you go on in the psalm, you realize that there's a lot more here than just literal Zion, 00:00:50.140 --> 00:00:56.659 a literal geographical location on earth, that it is, in fact, carrying us upward to the residence 00:00:56.659 --> 00:01:04.700 of God in his holiness, in his kingship, in the midst of his people. And the psalm actually incorporates 00:01:04.700 --> 00:01:12.439 both conflict and victory in the experience of those that are written about in the psalm. The 00:01:12.439 --> 00:01:20.400 conflict that is mentioned, as you see the likes of verse 4, all the way through to verse 8, 00:01:20.400 --> 00:01:28.240 where you find certain opponents coming to attack Zion and trembling in response to the way that 00:01:28.240 --> 00:01:35.780 they came to know of the impregnable nature of Zion and of God's people under the Lord's own direction. 00:01:36.640 --> 00:01:42.780 So Zion really here, as so often you find in the Psalms and in the prophecies, is really to do with 00:01:42.780 --> 00:01:52.099 God's people, especially as they are presided over by God. Zion itself was, of course, not very significant 00:01:52.099 --> 00:02:00.180 to look at, very small hill in comparison to many other hills or mountains. But as we'll see in the psalm, 00:02:00.420 --> 00:02:08.800 in the spiritual, theological sense of it, Zion is massive. Zion is impregnable. Zion is, 00:02:08.800 --> 00:02:17.620 all the way through what's spoken of here, it is something that's set before us as God's own 00:02:17.620 --> 00:02:24.480 residence among his people. And there are two things that we can divide the psalm into two, 00:02:24.580 --> 00:02:30.160 really. We're looking at the whole psalm briefly. First of all, it speaks about great praise to the 00:02:30.159 --> 00:02:39.379 great king of Zion. Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised. And then as you go through the psalm, 00:02:39.879 --> 00:02:48.479 you come down to the final verses from verse 12 especially, and you find the psalmist speaking 00:02:48.479 --> 00:02:55.500 there about inspecting the defenses of Zion. You go around and look at the walls, considering her 00:02:55.500 --> 00:03:02.340 ramparts, going through her citadels. And the specific reason for that is that we take stock of 00:03:02.340 --> 00:03:08.699 the nature of the church, the nature of God's own place in the church, so that that's passed on to the 00:03:08.699 --> 00:03:14.920 succeeding generations. Consider it well, he says, so that you may tell the next generation that this is 00:03:14.920 --> 00:03:23.520 God. This is our God forever and ever. He will guide us forever. So it's great praise to the great king, 00:03:23.520 --> 00:03:30.420 first of all. As we said, Zion itself literally was not very significant. But here is great praise to 00:03:30.420 --> 00:03:36.760 the great king. Zion is significant as the dwelling place of God, as the location of the temple on earth 00:03:36.760 --> 00:03:42.120 associated with the presence of God amongst his people, with the gathered people of God to worship 00:03:42.120 --> 00:03:48.740 this God. And it's important that we see how the psalm presents the king as actually living in Zion, 00:03:48.740 --> 00:03:54.300 being a resident of Zion, being somebody who actually presides over it, but living within 00:03:54.300 --> 00:04:02.439 Zion as well. Great he is to be praised in the city of our God, his holy mountain, Mount Zion in the 00:04:02.439 --> 00:04:11.340 far north, the city of the great king. It is the greatness of God, the greatness of Zion's God, 00:04:11.340 --> 00:04:19.259 that makes Zion great. We can't speak about Zion being great of itself, but by virtue of the great 00:04:19.259 --> 00:04:27.000 king being in residence, by virtue of his greatness, Zion is spoken of as being great in that spiritual 00:04:27.000 --> 00:04:32.620 theological sense. But it's also, you notice, great is the Lord and greatly to be praised. 00:04:33.220 --> 00:04:38.340 The reason the praise of God's people is to be great praise, not just a little thing, 00:04:38.339 --> 00:04:45.039 not a little trickle of praise, but great praise, great in the sense of its nature as 00:04:45.039 --> 00:04:51.639 ascription of glory and praise and honor to God. Great in its volume, great in its extent, 00:04:52.079 --> 00:05:00.459 great in its continuance. And it's the greatness of God that calls forth that greatness of praise. 00:05:01.439 --> 00:05:07.879 He is great and greatly to be praised in the city of our God. And we come here tonight, 00:05:07.879 --> 00:05:13.860 with that conviction in our own minds, a small group of people compared to the world in which we live. 00:05:14.740 --> 00:05:19.860 And yet with God in our midst, we come here tonight, conscious of the fact that because God 00:05:19.860 --> 00:05:24.800 has promised to be where his people are gathered, and where in your heart of hearts and in our hearts 00:05:24.800 --> 00:05:29.219 together, we seek that we'll know the Lord's presence, that he will speak to us, that he will 00:05:29.219 --> 00:05:35.240 come and make himself known to us. But by virtue of the fact, we know it's the great God we're talking 00:05:35.240 --> 00:05:41.780 about. We want our praise to be great. We want to have a praise that's great in its quality, 00:05:41.780 --> 00:05:48.180 as much as possible, to be a praise that is as perfect as it can be. Whether it's in our singing, 00:05:48.879 --> 00:05:56.100 in our dealing with God's word, in our interaction with his truth, the praise of God 00:05:56.100 --> 00:06:03.080 is to be a great praise. He is to be greatly praised. And as we come together this evening, 00:06:03.080 --> 00:06:08.840 that is surely one of the chief convictions in your heart, that the God you come to worship 00:06:08.840 --> 00:06:14.420 is a God who is greatly to be praised. You don't want to go out of this building tonight 00:06:14.420 --> 00:06:20.560 thinking of God as worthy only of just a minimum amount of praise on your part, 00:06:20.560 --> 00:06:26.060 or an out part as a people. Whether you think of him praised in our lives privately or here together 00:06:26.060 --> 00:06:32.060 in formal worship, or praised as we live out our lives in the world, our lives have to reflect that 00:06:32.060 --> 00:06:37.920 it is this great God we serve and worship. And therefore, as far as possible, we pray that God 00:06:37.920 --> 00:06:44.420 will show through our lives how great he is and how greatly he is to be praised. 00:06:44.420 --> 00:06:52.080 You see, he's saying the joy of the whole earth, his holy mountain, beautiful in elevation, is the joy 00:06:52.080 --> 00:06:58.800 of all the earth. So often in the Psalms, you find a prophetic note here and there that really stretches 00:06:58.800 --> 00:07:06.319 well beyond what you find in the days of the Psalmist himself. Zion, when this was written, was not the joy 00:07:06.319 --> 00:07:12.580 of all the earth. It was only known pretty much in its own locality or the immediate surroundings 00:07:12.579 --> 00:07:20.519 of Zion or of Jerusalem. But Zion was to be the joy of all the earth. The gospel through the Lord's 00:07:20.519 --> 00:07:25.159 people and the Lord's blessing, as it came to touch the lives of millions of people, 00:07:26.079 --> 00:07:33.120 that becomes obvious that this is the joy of all the earth. This is the location of true satisfaction 00:07:33.120 --> 00:07:42.800 and lasting joy. The worship of God, the praise, the great praise that we owe to God. So here's the great 00:07:42.800 --> 00:07:52.699 king and greatly to be praised. And he's also speaking here of Zion being a fortress. Mount Zion in the far 00:07:52.699 --> 00:08:00.959 north, the city of the great king, within her citadels, God has made himself known as a fortress. 00:08:00.959 --> 00:08:09.799 In those days, every city needed defenses, needed to be a fortress against the many enemies that 00:08:09.799 --> 00:08:17.060 threatened to come around and overtake them. And it's no less the case with the church. You're aware 00:08:17.060 --> 00:08:22.659 here tonight, you're aware as we're praying to God tonight, that one of the things we pray for is the 00:08:22.659 --> 00:08:28.779 Lord's protective care, the Lord taking care of our lives in this world, the Lord taking care of our 00:08:28.779 --> 00:08:36.980 witness, the Lord actually himself being our defense, our shield, our citadel, as he comes to 00:08:36.980 --> 00:08:43.740 make himself known as a fortress to us. Now, that doesn't, we'll look at the end of the psalm later, 00:08:44.240 --> 00:08:51.279 it doesn't displace our responsibility in checking the defenses of Zion, in making sure that the 00:08:51.279 --> 00:08:56.819 ramparts, the citadels and all of that represents spiritually are actually in good order. 00:08:56.820 --> 00:09:08.160 But it is God himself who is especially known as a fortress. And when it says here that God has made 00:09:08.160 --> 00:09:14.520 himself known as a fortress, I think that really, the psalmist is really casting his mind back 00:09:14.520 --> 00:09:24.100 to times when God made himself known as the God who gave his people victory over their enemies. 00:09:24.100 --> 00:09:29.940 In other words, the psalmist really is reflecting here on times when God had made himself known 00:09:29.940 --> 00:09:36.379 as the one who protected his people, who gave them victory, who actually enabled them to overcome 00:09:36.379 --> 00:09:43.620 their enemies. And here we are tonight, and that's what we're conscious of. The God who is our citadel, 00:09:44.060 --> 00:09:51.259 who is our protector this evening, has made himself known as such down through the ages of the church. 00:09:51.259 --> 00:09:57.600 You think of the many times in the Bible's own record, when it seemed that the cause of God, 00:09:57.840 --> 00:10:04.899 that the church of God was about to peter out, was about to be annihilated, was about to be destroyed 00:10:04.899 --> 00:10:11.319 by their enemies. All the way through from the earliest Old Testament times, through the days of the 00:10:11.319 --> 00:10:17.019 psalmist, through the days of the prophets, even right into the New Testament, the days of the apostles, 00:10:17.019 --> 00:10:23.419 the opposition they faced, the tiny fragment of people that were there in the upper room with Jesus, 00:10:24.299 --> 00:10:28.840 that he was teaching in respect to their responsibility to go out into the world. 00:10:29.299 --> 00:10:34.360 Then came Pentecost. Then came the thousands added to the church. It seemed that it was about 00:10:34.360 --> 00:10:40.679 just to be destroyed, about to disappear. And what happens? God made himself known 00:10:40.679 --> 00:10:48.399 as a fortress. How many times in your own life, to some extent, small or great, 00:10:49.399 --> 00:10:54.099 you felt things ebbing away from you. You felt your vulnerability. 00:10:55.559 --> 00:11:00.639 You felt that in the presence of all the pressure of the world, and the pressure of within God's 00:11:00.639 --> 00:11:06.219 providence of things that you knew were against you, things that you knew were actually setting out 00:11:06.220 --> 00:11:12.340 to deflect you from the path of obedience, setting out to trouble you, setting out to displace the 00:11:12.340 --> 00:11:19.840 thoughts in your mind that gave the praise to God. How many times God then came and made himself known 00:11:19.840 --> 00:11:27.200 to you, and the power of his word brought you back to the conviction of the psalmist here. God has made 00:11:27.200 --> 00:11:37.460 himself known as a fortress. God again and again has come to convince his people that this is who he is. 00:11:38.020 --> 00:11:44.259 And that's so important for us in today's world, isn't it? Because let's face it, as a believing people 00:11:44.259 --> 00:11:51.860 of God in this nation itself, we are vulnerable. We feel vulnerable. We're facing the might of an 00:11:51.860 --> 00:11:57.220 unbelieving world. We're facing the might of heresy within the church. We're facing the might of 00:11:57.220 --> 00:12:03.460 defections from the church, and all sorts of things that really are a damage to the gospel itself. 00:12:04.639 --> 00:12:11.539 We have to come back like a psalmist here, just to remind ourselves of who is our God? What is he like? 00:12:13.139 --> 00:12:19.320 And how has he made himself known in the past? He has made himself known within our citadels. 00:12:19.320 --> 00:12:27.640 He has made himself known as a fortress. And so he's not just the great king. He's the great king 00:12:27.640 --> 00:12:34.480 whose fortress this is, whose citadel this is, who is in fact himself, strictly speaking, her fortress. 00:12:35.140 --> 00:12:43.080 And that's why it leads to rejoicing people. We thought upon, he says, we thought upon, 00:12:43.080 --> 00:12:50.780 your word. We thought upon these things. And as we thought upon these things, so we came to realize 00:12:50.780 --> 00:12:57.300 more and more that this, in fact, is who God is. In verse 9, we thought, especially on your steadfast 00:12:57.300 --> 00:13:05.180 love in the midst of your temple, as your name, O God, so your praise reaches to the ends of the earth. 00:13:05.179 --> 00:13:11.199 Now, when it's saying here, we thought upon your steadfast love, O God, it doesn't just mean to 00:13:11.199 --> 00:13:19.639 think now and again and briefly and in a shallow way about the steadfast love of God. It means to 00:13:19.639 --> 00:13:25.939 really ponder this, to really reflect upon this, to keep coming back again and feed our souls with the 00:13:25.939 --> 00:13:33.859 great fact of God's own steadfast love. And what is a steadfast love? Well, a steadfast love cuts two ways. 00:13:33.860 --> 00:13:40.139 His steadfast love is the love by which he has gathered his people, by which has brought them 00:13:40.139 --> 00:13:48.980 to be his own people. The steadfast love that has given so much for them, as especially seen in 00:13:48.980 --> 00:13:55.440 that ultimate giving of the Lord Jesus Christ, God's own son. But you know, the steadfast love of 00:13:55.440 --> 00:14:03.080 the Lord is not just God's commitment steadfastly in their favor and on their behalf. 00:14:03.860 --> 00:14:12.899 It has another side to it. It's a two-sided coin. Because God is as steadfast against his enemies 00:14:12.899 --> 00:14:21.720 as he is for his friends. The steadfast love of the Lord is an assurance to God's people that their 00:14:21.720 --> 00:14:28.820 enemies will not prevail. It's the steadfast love of the Lord that persuades us tonight that the church 00:14:28.820 --> 00:14:35.240 will not be destroyed, however low it may become in its influence in any generation. 00:14:37.040 --> 00:14:45.840 And tonight, you're so thankful, and we're so thankful together, that this is, in fact, the conviction of 00:14:45.840 --> 00:14:51.640 God's own truth. We have thought upon your steadfast love, O God, in the midst of your temple. 00:14:51.639 --> 00:14:57.519 And then he says, as your name, O God, so your praise reaches to the ends of the earth. In other words, 00:14:57.919 --> 00:15:03.740 the name of God, God's self-revelation of himself, what he has made clear and known about himself. 00:15:03.740 --> 00:15:11.560 Well, as that is the case, so also your praise reaches to the ends of the earth. 00:15:12.360 --> 00:15:19.340 In other words, the revelation of God of himself is what precedes his praise, reaching out, just like you 00:15:19.340 --> 00:15:26.019 would find perhaps on dry, parched land, another great image from the Bible, the Old Testament 00:15:26.019 --> 00:15:33.399 especially, and then in times of refreshment, times of new rains, when you find the parched land suddenly 00:15:33.399 --> 00:15:40.519 being covered over with the water that flows in, and then the growth begins, and you get some wonderful 00:15:40.519 --> 00:15:48.559 transformations of desert-like conditions. Well, the name of God, the power of God, the way in which God himself 00:15:48.559 --> 00:15:55.079 reveals himself as God, it goes before his praise reaching out to the ends of the earth. 00:15:55.080 --> 00:16:03.800 The effect of that, the growth that emanates from God, revealing himself through his people. 00:16:05.460 --> 00:16:10.500 And of course, it is righteous as well. Your right hand is filled with righteousness. 00:16:11.759 --> 00:16:19.840 Let Mount Zion be glad. So it's not really just the mere power of God, the greatness of God and his power 00:16:19.840 --> 00:16:27.379 and majesty that's brought before us. He here is speaking about righteousness, the righteousness of God. 00:16:27.980 --> 00:16:37.940 God himself as the one who is in his character so perfect, so true to himself, so true to his promises, 00:16:38.360 --> 00:16:44.180 so true to his people. Your righteousness, your right hand is filled with righteousness. 00:16:44.179 --> 00:16:49.779 This is not a despot. This is not a God who is something of a tyrant, who just sweeps in everybody 00:16:49.779 --> 00:16:57.559 and anything out of his way. No, his right hand, the right hand of power, the way in which God's works 00:16:57.559 --> 00:17:00.979 is a work filled with righteousness. 00:17:00.980 --> 00:17:10.660 Great praise to the great God, to the great king. 00:17:11.620 --> 00:17:18.799 And as he speaks there of those that came to assemble themselves in verse 4, came on together. 00:17:19.680 --> 00:17:25.180 As soon as they saw the nature of God's protective care, they were in panic. 00:17:25.180 --> 00:17:31.340 They took to flight, trembling, took hold of them, their anguish as of a woman in labor by the east wind. 00:17:31.400 --> 00:17:34.519 You shattered the ships of Tarshish. 00:17:35.480 --> 00:17:42.860 A great God, great in power, great in righteousness, and greatly to be praised. 00:17:43.840 --> 00:17:49.340 But he goes on to speak about our responsibility in terms of walk about Zion, verse 12. 00:17:49.339 --> 00:17:57.639 Walk about Zion, go round her, number her towers, consider well her ramparts, go through her citadels, and so on. 00:17:58.099 --> 00:18:02.459 Here is the psalmist. He's taken all this time to present the greatness of God, 00:18:02.599 --> 00:18:08.519 the fact that God is the fortress of his people, that he provides that wonderful security for us. 00:18:09.659 --> 00:18:15.980 And yet he comes now to turn the thing towards our responsibilities in reflection and in relation to that. 00:18:15.980 --> 00:18:24.539 The fact that God is this great God doesn't devolve us of responsibility in looking after each other and looking after ourselves, 00:18:24.860 --> 00:18:27.519 looking after his cause from our point of view. 00:18:27.980 --> 00:18:28.799 So what is he saying? 00:18:29.559 --> 00:18:36.940 He's saying, walk about Zion, go round her, number her towers, consider well her ramparts, go through her citadels. 00:18:37.380 --> 00:18:43.180 In other words, he's saying, like you would especially after a siege or after an attack. 00:18:43.180 --> 00:18:49.019 I was speaking, as we said earlier, of those who came to attack and were turned back. 00:18:50.700 --> 00:18:59.600 And the people within the citadel that was attacked would have the responsibility then of going back outside and it was safe to do so, 00:19:00.279 --> 00:19:06.680 and checking up the walls of the city, checking up where the ramparts were in danger of being breached, 00:19:06.680 --> 00:19:13.900 checking up any breaches that had been made so as to provide security against the next attack whenever it came. 00:19:14.600 --> 00:19:16.960 You find the same thing in many respects. 00:19:16.960 --> 00:19:21.180 It's the first time I ever saw it. 00:19:21.259 --> 00:19:30.900 It was quite touching in a sense when after the plane had landed and while we were getting off the plane, 00:19:30.940 --> 00:19:32.400 it was one of those turboprop planes. 00:19:32.400 --> 00:19:39.300 And the two pilots came outside, went round the plane, started inspecting the propellers, 00:19:39.400 --> 00:19:43.780 turning it just by hand, turning it round, looking at it, making sure there are no cracks there, 00:19:44.240 --> 00:19:46.000 making sure it's safe for the next flight. 00:19:46.140 --> 00:19:52.500 And that's what we're told here about the inhabitants of Zion. 00:19:52.660 --> 00:19:57.080 Walk about her, go round her, number her towers, consider well her ramparts, 00:19:57.079 --> 00:20:01.759 check out the defences, make sure they're okay against the next attack, 00:20:02.059 --> 00:20:05.220 make sure they're kept up in terms of their efficiency, 00:20:05.779 --> 00:20:09.279 make sure the defences are in good shape. 00:20:09.339 --> 00:20:14.579 And that's what we need to do in regard to ourselves as the church of God in the world. 00:20:14.679 --> 00:20:20.460 It's our personal responsibility to ensure as far as possible that my own defences, 00:20:20.619 --> 00:20:22.720 your own defences are in place. 00:20:22.720 --> 00:20:28.100 And that means that as every individual looks at the defences of their own life, 00:20:28.600 --> 00:20:31.220 making sure there are no leaks there as far as possible, 00:20:31.579 --> 00:20:34.720 no breaches through which the enemy can gain access to your mind, 00:20:35.220 --> 00:20:38.640 to your thoughts, to your actions, to your words. 00:20:39.900 --> 00:20:45.559 As everyone does that, so the whole of the people of the citadel of God 00:20:45.559 --> 00:20:49.139 are checking the ramparts, checking the defences, 00:20:49.399 --> 00:20:54.159 because it's important that any breaches are actually made up. 00:20:54.200 --> 00:20:55.519 And of course, we have to remember, 00:20:55.919 --> 00:20:58.099 one of the really important things to remember 00:20:58.099 --> 00:21:03.480 is that the defences of the church are often breached from the inside, 00:21:04.240 --> 00:21:05.940 not just from the outside. 00:21:06.500 --> 00:21:10.960 In fact, it's much easier to see the enemy that attacks you from outside, 00:21:10.960 --> 00:21:17.319 whether it's another kind of belief or ideology that comes from outside the Christian faith altogether. 00:21:17.680 --> 00:21:22.860 You can see that much more easily than the heresy that works from within, 00:21:23.360 --> 00:21:27.480 that comes creeping up slowly, as Jude put it, 00:21:27.840 --> 00:21:33.160 when he was writing his epistle and appealing to those Christians he was writing to, 00:21:33.259 --> 00:21:39.480 to maintain the faith, keep it, that was once delivered once for all to the saints. 00:21:39.480 --> 00:21:43.319 For he says, certain men have crept in unawares. 00:21:45.160 --> 00:21:48.000 They have crept in unawares, they've not been noticed. 00:21:48.660 --> 00:21:50.360 They're already inside. 00:21:51.099 --> 00:21:53.740 And as they're inside and not faithful to God 00:21:53.740 --> 00:21:56.539 and determined to pursue their own agenda, 00:21:56.779 --> 00:21:59.500 so the walls begin to show signs of cracking. 00:22:00.480 --> 00:22:04.319 So breaches begin to open up in the walls. 00:22:04.319 --> 00:22:11.899 Breaches from bad teaching, from doctrine, from practice. 00:22:13.439 --> 00:22:17.319 And how well you're aware of that in our own particular day, 00:22:17.339 --> 00:22:20.720 as you look at the state of the church throughout our nation, 00:22:20.799 --> 00:22:22.299 and I'm talking here of all churches, 00:22:22.720 --> 00:22:24.599 but not leaving aside our own, 00:22:24.759 --> 00:22:29.679 because we're all part of the process of examining the walls of the citadel. 00:22:29.680 --> 00:22:33.620 But where you find, in certain cases, 00:22:33.799 --> 00:22:38.600 that other ideologies are given a place even in the worship of God. 00:22:39.080 --> 00:22:45.320 It's a very sad thing to see other so-called faiths involved 00:22:45.320 --> 00:22:50.100 in the celebration of King Charles as he came to Scotland, 00:22:51.100 --> 00:22:55.920 where you find somebody there who's a professed Buddhist, for example, 00:22:55.920 --> 00:23:03.019 appealing to the Buddha and appealing to the idolatry 00:23:03.019 --> 00:23:08.420 that is part of all of these systems that are against the gospel itself, 00:23:08.539 --> 00:23:10.039 but of course are so persuasive, 00:23:11.620 --> 00:23:14.720 because they're not outwardly antagonistic. 00:23:16.080 --> 00:23:20.800 And the thinking of our day has, over many, many years now, 00:23:20.900 --> 00:23:24.060 come to present this view of all the faiths together, 00:23:24.059 --> 00:23:29.000 having a valid place in relation to God, in relation to the truth. 00:23:30.220 --> 00:23:32.039 And it's only as you put them all together 00:23:32.039 --> 00:23:36.200 and actually just take parts of each of them 00:23:36.200 --> 00:23:38.740 and see where there's common ground that you come to realize 00:23:38.740 --> 00:23:40.819 more and more what the truth of God is. 00:23:40.919 --> 00:23:43.139 Well, Jesus says, I am the truth, 00:23:44.279 --> 00:23:45.819 and the way, and the life. 00:23:47.359 --> 00:23:48.940 Not a Buddha, not Islam, 00:23:49.679 --> 00:23:50.799 not secularism, 00:23:50.799 --> 00:23:53.559 not any of those ideologies 00:23:53.559 --> 00:23:56.240 that are quite contrary to the gospel. 00:23:56.960 --> 00:23:59.359 And it's your responsibility and it's my responsibility 00:23:59.359 --> 00:24:02.899 to make sure that the walls of Zion are in good order, 00:24:03.779 --> 00:24:05.919 to call out heresy what it is, 00:24:06.740 --> 00:24:09.700 to actually show that we care for the truth of God, 00:24:10.079 --> 00:24:12.440 that we care for it so much that we realize 00:24:12.440 --> 00:24:16.579 and are convinced that without maintaining that truth of God 00:24:16.579 --> 00:24:18.599 as it was passed on to us, 00:24:19.339 --> 00:24:22.500 we're going to be facing further breaches 00:24:22.500 --> 00:24:26.179 in the ramparts and the walls of God's citadel. 00:24:28.839 --> 00:24:34.240 And it's not a cursory examination we're called upon to do. 00:24:35.679 --> 00:24:38.740 Consider well our ramparts. 00:24:39.419 --> 00:24:41.319 Make a good study of it, he's saying. 00:24:41.319 --> 00:24:44.279 In other words, he really is saying to us, 00:24:44.399 --> 00:24:47.439 know what you believe. 00:24:48.399 --> 00:24:50.119 Know why you believe it. 00:24:51.339 --> 00:24:54.700 Familiarize yourself with the teachings of the past 00:24:54.700 --> 00:24:56.319 that have been true to the gospel 00:24:56.319 --> 00:25:00.240 that are now put aside as no longer relevant 00:25:00.240 --> 00:25:01.980 for the age that we belong to. 00:25:02.879 --> 00:25:08.259 Know why there were so many faithful people of God 00:25:08.259 --> 00:25:10.299 that stood out against the idea 00:25:10.299 --> 00:25:13.559 that a person was not justified by faith in Christ, 00:25:13.559 --> 00:25:14.799 but through works. 00:25:16.039 --> 00:25:18.879 Or whatever other defection from the gospel 00:25:18.879 --> 00:25:20.339 people had to stand up against. 00:25:21.019 --> 00:25:22.140 That's where we stand. 00:25:22.240 --> 00:25:24.500 That's what we've actually come all the way through 00:25:24.500 --> 00:25:25.619 from the Old Testament, 00:25:26.259 --> 00:25:28.480 you know, through the days of the apostles 00:25:28.480 --> 00:25:30.420 and the early church after the apostles. 00:25:30.940 --> 00:25:34.119 How did the great doctrines of the great creeds 00:25:34.119 --> 00:25:37.200 like the Chalcedonian Creed, the Nicene Creed, 00:25:37.200 --> 00:25:39.680 all the way through down to the Westminster Confession 00:25:39.680 --> 00:25:41.940 and other confessions faithful to the Bible? 00:25:42.140 --> 00:25:43.220 How did they come about? 00:25:45.059 --> 00:25:48.740 They came about because there were responses to heresies. 00:25:50.819 --> 00:25:53.120 There were responses to false teaching 00:25:53.120 --> 00:25:54.600 about the person of Christ, 00:25:54.960 --> 00:25:55.759 about the Trinity, 00:25:56.000 --> 00:25:58.059 about God's work of salvation. 00:25:59.400 --> 00:26:00.799 And these great people of God, 00:26:01.120 --> 00:26:03.860 as they got together in councils or in meetings, 00:26:03.859 --> 00:26:06.979 they came up with these wonderful confessions 00:26:06.979 --> 00:26:08.639 of faith 00:26:08.639 --> 00:26:11.059 that we benefit from today. 00:26:11.719 --> 00:26:13.019 How did they come about? 00:26:13.319 --> 00:26:16.279 They came about because they considered well 00:26:16.279 --> 00:26:18.240 the ramparts of the church. 00:26:18.719 --> 00:26:20.659 They could see where they were being attacked, 00:26:20.759 --> 00:26:21.679 where they were being weakened. 00:26:22.219 --> 00:26:24.219 They could see where they needed strengthening. 00:26:24.219 --> 00:26:26.939 They familiarized themselves with the truth of God 00:26:26.939 --> 00:26:28.719 and what the truth of God was 00:26:28.720 --> 00:26:31.519 and what truth he had passed on to his people. 00:26:31.839 --> 00:26:32.039 Why? 00:26:32.279 --> 00:26:33.360 So that as we'll see in a minute, 00:26:33.519 --> 00:26:36.079 that we may pass it on to the next generation. 00:26:38.980 --> 00:26:39.920 Consider well, 00:26:41.420 --> 00:26:43.259 our ramparts and go through our citadels. 00:26:43.360 --> 00:26:45.759 Why do we do this? 00:26:46.299 --> 00:26:48.519 Well, so that we will pass it on 00:26:48.519 --> 00:26:49.779 to the next generation. 00:26:50.460 --> 00:26:52.960 Not just for our own security, 00:26:53.839 --> 00:26:55.720 not just for our own assurance, 00:26:55.720 --> 00:26:57.819 assurance spiritually and so on. 00:26:57.860 --> 00:26:58.880 That's part of it, of course. 00:26:59.519 --> 00:27:02.620 But it's so that you may tell the next generation 00:27:02.620 --> 00:27:04.980 that this is God 00:27:04.980 --> 00:27:08.059 and that this God is our God. 00:27:08.519 --> 00:27:11.660 This is our God forever and ever. 00:27:13.799 --> 00:27:15.960 Why do we make such an effort 00:27:15.960 --> 00:27:17.500 to teach our young people? 00:27:17.600 --> 00:27:20.100 Why are there so many things in this congregation? 00:27:20.660 --> 00:27:21.980 So many wonderful things. 00:27:22.299 --> 00:27:24.140 So many people committed to doing things 00:27:24.140 --> 00:27:25.180 with our young people, 00:27:25.340 --> 00:27:26.680 not just in Sunday school, 00:27:26.780 --> 00:27:28.820 but many of the other related activities 00:27:28.820 --> 00:27:30.060 that we have throughout the week, 00:27:30.160 --> 00:27:31.420 as well as on the Lord's Day. 00:27:31.500 --> 00:27:32.160 Why is that? 00:27:32.300 --> 00:27:33.300 What's all that about? 00:27:36.400 --> 00:27:37.960 It's so that the next generation 00:27:37.960 --> 00:27:39.880 will know that this is our God. 00:27:41.240 --> 00:27:42.860 That the God of the Bible, 00:27:43.460 --> 00:27:44.580 the God of our fathers, 00:27:44.840 --> 00:27:47.320 the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, 00:27:47.940 --> 00:27:49.000 David, Solomon, 00:27:50.420 --> 00:27:52.220 Paul, Peter, John, 00:27:52.220 --> 00:27:56.440 John Knox, 00:27:57.920 --> 00:27:58.920 Thomas Chalmers, 00:28:00.019 --> 00:28:01.220 Martin Lloyd-Jones, 00:28:02.640 --> 00:28:03.559 R.C. Sproul. 00:28:05.660 --> 00:28:07.600 Their God, this is our God. 00:28:09.259 --> 00:28:11.160 And as we consider these, 00:28:11.160 --> 00:28:12.579 well, it's so that we will tell 00:28:12.579 --> 00:28:14.279 the next generation. 00:28:14.559 --> 00:28:15.660 And what are we going to tell them? 00:28:16.019 --> 00:28:18.480 Well, the legacy that has been passed on to us 00:28:18.480 --> 00:28:18.819 is this, 00:28:18.819 --> 00:28:21.539 that this God is God. 00:28:22.259 --> 00:28:23.019 This God, 00:28:23.099 --> 00:28:24.139 the Bible speaks about, 00:28:24.379 --> 00:28:25.379 not the God 00:28:25.379 --> 00:28:27.179 that's presented as 00:28:27.179 --> 00:28:28.859 just taking bits of the Bible 00:28:28.859 --> 00:28:29.619 and leaving out 00:28:29.619 --> 00:28:30.899 some other important bits 00:28:30.899 --> 00:28:31.659 and saying, 00:28:31.740 --> 00:28:33.379 well, this is the God we need today. 00:28:34.460 --> 00:28:35.319 We need a God today 00:28:35.319 --> 00:28:36.339 who is really 00:28:36.339 --> 00:28:38.579 friendly towards certain 00:28:38.579 --> 00:28:39.879 ways of thinking 00:28:39.879 --> 00:28:40.960 of human behavior, 00:28:41.119 --> 00:28:42.200 through human morality, 00:28:42.700 --> 00:28:43.899 not the God of 00:28:43.899 --> 00:28:45.019 the Old Testament, 00:28:45.159 --> 00:28:46.259 not the God of the apostles, 00:28:46.619 --> 00:28:48.419 not the God of the reformers, 00:28:48.420 --> 00:28:50.380 but the God of 00:28:50.380 --> 00:28:51.519 the thinking 00:28:51.519 --> 00:28:53.259 that sees 00:28:53.259 --> 00:28:54.920 adjustments to the Bible 00:28:54.920 --> 00:28:55.779 as necessary. 00:28:57.080 --> 00:28:57.980 The thinking that says, 00:28:58.440 --> 00:28:59.100 if Paul were 00:28:59.100 --> 00:29:00.580 alive today, 00:29:00.820 --> 00:29:01.800 he wouldn't have written 00:29:01.800 --> 00:29:02.759 as he wrote. 00:29:03.080 --> 00:29:03.700 You know what that is? 00:29:03.820 --> 00:29:05.440 That's a complete misunderstanding 00:29:05.440 --> 00:29:07.820 of what the Word of God is. 00:29:09.259 --> 00:29:10.539 Of the fact that this 00:29:10.539 --> 00:29:11.420 whole book 00:29:11.420 --> 00:29:12.860 is the Word of God. 00:29:13.380 --> 00:29:14.340 It doesn't just contain 00:29:14.340 --> 00:29:15.380 the Word of God. 00:29:15.880 --> 00:29:17.279 It is the Word of God. 00:29:17.279 --> 00:29:18.420 The Word of God 00:29:18.420 --> 00:29:19.599 that is given 00:29:19.599 --> 00:29:20.660 to God's people 00:29:20.660 --> 00:29:22.000 for every generation. 00:29:22.139 --> 00:29:22.920 And it doesn't matter 00:29:22.920 --> 00:29:24.660 what changes take place 00:29:24.660 --> 00:29:25.660 from one generation 00:29:25.660 --> 00:29:26.559 to the next. 00:29:27.099 --> 00:29:28.220 What changes take place 00:29:28.220 --> 00:29:29.740 in the succeeding generation 00:29:29.740 --> 00:29:30.639 to our own? 00:29:31.059 --> 00:29:32.299 What sort of circumstances 00:29:32.299 --> 00:29:33.339 our children 00:29:33.339 --> 00:29:34.079 and grandchildren 00:29:34.079 --> 00:29:35.099 will face 00:29:35.099 --> 00:29:36.200 when we're no longer here? 00:29:36.700 --> 00:29:37.339 In a sense, 00:29:37.399 --> 00:29:38.559 that's not the important thing. 00:29:38.639 --> 00:29:39.359 The important thing 00:29:39.359 --> 00:29:40.519 is that they consider 00:29:40.519 --> 00:29:41.779 this Bible 00:29:41.779 --> 00:29:43.299 to be the Word of God 00:29:43.299 --> 00:29:44.920 and seek to live accordingly. 00:29:44.920 --> 00:29:49.120 this God 00:29:49.120 --> 00:29:50.900 is God. 00:29:51.900 --> 00:29:53.100 Not the God 00:29:53.100 --> 00:29:54.759 of those who 00:29:54.759 --> 00:29:56.240 are the revisionists 00:29:56.240 --> 00:29:58.779 of the Scriptures, 00:29:59.779 --> 00:30:01.460 of the modernists, 00:30:01.980 --> 00:30:04.160 of whatever otherists 00:30:04.160 --> 00:30:05.220 you might think of. 00:30:06.560 --> 00:30:08.700 This is God. 00:30:09.700 --> 00:30:11.300 But equally important, 00:30:11.299 --> 00:30:14.339 this is our God 00:30:14.339 --> 00:30:16.379 forever and ever. 00:30:17.379 --> 00:30:18.559 He is not just God 00:30:18.559 --> 00:30:19.859 in the sense of being 00:30:19.859 --> 00:30:20.940 the true God 00:30:20.940 --> 00:30:21.879 and the only God. 00:30:22.039 --> 00:30:23.339 He's concerned here 00:30:23.339 --> 00:30:24.099 to pass on 00:30:24.099 --> 00:30:25.099 to the next generation 00:30:25.099 --> 00:30:27.500 that this is our God. 00:30:27.700 --> 00:30:28.599 This is the God 00:30:28.599 --> 00:30:30.099 not just as our God 00:30:30.099 --> 00:30:30.579 in the sense 00:30:30.579 --> 00:30:32.019 that we believe in, 00:30:32.440 --> 00:30:33.519 but our God 00:30:33.519 --> 00:30:34.740 who looks after us. 00:30:35.639 --> 00:30:36.519 Our God 00:30:36.519 --> 00:30:38.039 who has given us so much 00:30:38.039 --> 00:30:38.659 and who promises 00:30:38.659 --> 00:30:39.700 to give us more. 00:30:40.740 --> 00:30:41.720 He's our God. 00:30:43.920 --> 00:30:44.740 And that's why 00:30:44.740 --> 00:30:45.379 the likes of 00:30:45.379 --> 00:30:47.180 writer to the Hebrews 00:30:47.180 --> 00:30:49.259 could say that 00:30:49.259 --> 00:30:50.879 he is not ashamed 00:30:50.879 --> 00:30:51.680 to be called 00:30:51.680 --> 00:30:52.740 our God 00:30:52.740 --> 00:30:54.720 for he has prepared 00:30:54.720 --> 00:30:56.740 a city for us. 00:30:57.480 --> 00:30:58.159 He is true 00:30:58.159 --> 00:30:59.099 to his promise. 00:31:00.319 --> 00:31:01.480 He is our God. 00:31:03.680 --> 00:31:04.720 It wouldn't be right 00:31:04.720 --> 00:31:05.599 just to say that 00:31:05.599 --> 00:31:08.579 he is possessed 00:31:08.579 --> 00:31:09.659 by us, 00:31:09.879 --> 00:31:12.299 but he is confessed 00:31:12.299 --> 00:31:12.899 by us 00:31:12.899 --> 00:31:14.179 and he is himself 00:31:14.179 --> 00:31:15.299 committed to us 00:31:15.299 --> 00:31:16.500 as his people. 00:31:17.419 --> 00:31:19.279 This is our God. 00:31:19.339 --> 00:31:19.839 In other words, 00:31:20.819 --> 00:31:21.259 the psalmist 00:31:21.259 --> 00:31:22.139 really picking up 00:31:22.139 --> 00:31:23.639 such an important thread 00:31:23.639 --> 00:31:24.439 and theme 00:31:24.439 --> 00:31:24.899 all the way 00:31:24.899 --> 00:31:25.480 through scripture. 00:31:25.679 --> 00:31:26.339 This God 00:31:26.339 --> 00:31:28.240 is our covenant God, 00:31:28.480 --> 00:31:29.559 a God in covenant 00:31:29.559 --> 00:31:30.379 with his people, 00:31:30.819 --> 00:31:31.659 a God faithful 00:31:31.659 --> 00:31:32.339 to his people 00:31:32.339 --> 00:31:33.519 in covenant promises. 00:31:33.519 --> 00:31:35.900 This is our God. 00:31:35.960 --> 00:31:37.200 This great God 00:31:37.200 --> 00:31:37.700 who is greatly 00:31:37.700 --> 00:31:38.579 to be praised, 00:31:39.099 --> 00:31:40.220 but he's a God 00:31:40.220 --> 00:31:41.240 of relationship. 00:31:43.579 --> 00:31:44.579 A God who 00:31:44.579 --> 00:31:46.099 loves his people 00:31:46.099 --> 00:31:46.940 in a spiritual 00:31:46.940 --> 00:31:47.940 marriage that will 00:31:47.940 --> 00:31:48.660 never end. 00:31:50.000 --> 00:31:50.779 This is 00:31:50.779 --> 00:31:52.059 our God. 00:31:53.000 --> 00:31:53.799 And he says 00:31:53.799 --> 00:31:54.759 forever and ever. 00:31:56.099 --> 00:31:57.019 The constancy 00:31:57.019 --> 00:31:58.779 of God. 00:32:00.119 --> 00:32:00.299 And 00:32:00.299 --> 00:32:02.099 the words 00:32:02.099 --> 00:32:02.799 that are used 00:32:02.799 --> 00:32:03.500 there at the end 00:32:03.500 --> 00:32:04.799 of the psalm, 00:32:05.059 --> 00:32:05.879 where he says 00:32:05.879 --> 00:32:06.680 this is our God 00:32:06.680 --> 00:32:08.019 forever and ever. 00:32:08.220 --> 00:32:09.099 He will guide us 00:32:09.099 --> 00:32:09.579 forever. 00:32:10.519 --> 00:32:11.000 The repetition 00:32:11.000 --> 00:32:12.460 of these words 00:32:12.460 --> 00:32:13.059 forever, 00:32:13.319 --> 00:32:14.119 forever and ever, 00:32:14.339 --> 00:32:14.680 forever. 00:32:15.680 --> 00:32:16.319 It's really 00:32:16.319 --> 00:32:17.419 in the Hebrew 00:32:17.419 --> 00:32:18.720 text of 00:32:18.720 --> 00:32:20.259 the Old Testament 00:32:20.259 --> 00:32:21.059 and of the psalm 00:32:21.059 --> 00:32:21.279 here. 00:32:21.279 --> 00:32:22.299 It's putting 00:32:22.299 --> 00:32:23.419 in the strongest 00:32:23.419 --> 00:32:24.859 possible terms 00:32:24.859 --> 00:32:26.500 how reliable 00:32:26.500 --> 00:32:27.659 God is. 00:32:27.660 --> 00:32:29.240 how true 00:32:29.240 --> 00:32:30.000 God is 00:32:30.000 --> 00:32:30.740 to himself 00:32:30.740 --> 00:32:32.160 and to his 00:32:32.160 --> 00:32:32.960 promises to his 00:32:32.960 --> 00:32:33.360 people. 00:32:34.000 --> 00:32:34.620 He's our God 00:32:34.620 --> 00:32:36.040 forever and 00:32:36.040 --> 00:32:37.180 ever and ever. 00:32:38.060 --> 00:32:38.620 He will not 00:32:38.620 --> 00:32:39.940 change and we 00:32:39.940 --> 00:32:40.460 don't need to 00:32:40.460 --> 00:32:41.100 change anything 00:32:41.100 --> 00:32:41.460 about. 00:32:44.259 --> 00:32:45.100 And that's 00:32:45.100 --> 00:32:45.960 why we inspect 00:32:45.960 --> 00:32:46.600 the defenses 00:32:46.600 --> 00:32:48.300 so that we 00:32:48.300 --> 00:32:49.200 will pass on 00:32:49.200 --> 00:32:49.720 that great 00:32:49.720 --> 00:32:50.500 conviction and 00:32:50.500 --> 00:32:51.820 truth to the 00:32:51.820 --> 00:32:52.240 succeeding 00:32:52.240 --> 00:32:53.100 generations 00:32:53.100 --> 00:32:55.420 that we may 00:32:55.420 --> 00:32:56.080 tell the next 00:32:56.080 --> 00:32:56.680 generation 00:32:56.680 --> 00:32:58.680 this is God 00:32:58.680 --> 00:33:00.440 our God 00:33:00.440 --> 00:33:01.580 forever 00:33:01.580 --> 00:33:03.240 and ever. 00:33:03.860 --> 00:33:04.279 May he bless 00:33:04.279 --> 00:33:04.840 these thoughts 00:33:04.840 --> 00:33:05.519 to us. 00:33:05.600 --> 00:33:06.019 Let's pray. 00:33:09.740 --> 00:33:10.420 Lord, we 00:33:10.420 --> 00:33:11.120 thank you for 00:33:11.120 --> 00:33:11.519 all the 00:33:11.519 --> 00:33:12.279 assurances we 00:33:12.279 --> 00:33:13.640 receive from 00:33:13.640 --> 00:33:14.100 your word, 00:33:14.200 --> 00:33:14.720 from you in 00:33:14.720 --> 00:33:15.220 your word, 00:33:15.480 --> 00:33:16.740 of the relation 00:33:16.740 --> 00:33:17.380 that you have 00:33:17.380 --> 00:33:18.080 to your people. 00:33:18.940 --> 00:33:19.880 We bless you, 00:33:19.960 --> 00:33:20.299 Lord, that 00:33:20.299 --> 00:33:20.940 tonight you have 00:33:20.940 --> 00:33:21.779 drawn our minds 00:33:21.779 --> 00:33:22.880 to this great 00:33:22.880 --> 00:33:23.640 portion of your 00:33:23.640 --> 00:33:24.039 word, 00:33:24.420 --> 00:33:25.380 that you have 00:33:25.380 --> 00:33:26.220 presented yourself 00:33:26.220 --> 00:33:27.059 to us as the 00:33:27.059 --> 00:33:27.680 great God 00:33:27.680 --> 00:33:28.640 who is greatly 00:33:28.640 --> 00:33:29.500 to be praised. 00:33:30.620 --> 00:33:31.400 Lord, we pray 00:33:31.400 --> 00:33:32.480 that our 00:33:32.480 --> 00:33:33.400 presentation of 00:33:33.400 --> 00:33:33.940 you through our 00:33:33.940 --> 00:33:35.779 lives may not 00:33:35.779 --> 00:33:36.720 be a God who 00:33:36.720 --> 00:33:37.319 is seen to be 00:33:37.319 --> 00:33:39.240 small, a God 00:33:39.240 --> 00:33:39.720 who is seen to 00:33:39.720 --> 00:33:41.500 be weak, a God 00:33:41.500 --> 00:33:42.019 who is seen to 00:33:42.019 --> 00:33:43.500 be irrelevant for 00:33:43.500 --> 00:33:44.120 the needs of the 00:33:44.120 --> 00:33:44.839 present day. 00:33:45.839 --> 00:33:46.559 Help us truly, 00:33:46.740 --> 00:33:47.400 Lord, to present 00:33:47.400 --> 00:33:48.200 you as the great 00:33:48.200 --> 00:33:50.100 God you are and 00:33:50.100 --> 00:33:50.700 to present the 00:33:50.700 --> 00:33:51.620 great privilege we 00:33:51.620 --> 00:33:52.299 have of being 00:33:52.299 --> 00:33:52.860 your people. 00:33:52.859 --> 00:33:54.599 help us to be 00:33:54.599 --> 00:33:55.899 confident in 00:33:55.899 --> 00:33:56.379 your covenant 00:33:56.379 --> 00:33:57.379 relationship with 00:33:57.379 --> 00:33:58.939 your people and 00:33:58.939 --> 00:33:59.519 help us to be 00:33:59.519 --> 00:34:00.159 true to you, 00:34:00.299 --> 00:34:01.659 O Lord, as we 00:34:01.659 --> 00:34:02.259 would seek to 00:34:02.259 --> 00:34:03.139 walk faithfully 00:34:03.139 --> 00:34:04.939 and embrace the 00:34:04.939 --> 00:34:05.699 promises you have 00:34:05.699 --> 00:34:06.339 given us. 00:34:07.139 --> 00:34:08.059 And help us to 00:34:08.059 --> 00:34:08.739 reach out into 00:34:08.739 --> 00:34:09.460 the world, O 00:34:09.460 --> 00:34:10.139 Lord, as we 00:34:10.139 --> 00:34:11.480 already heard in 00:34:11.480 --> 00:34:12.179 prayer, a world 00:34:12.179 --> 00:34:13.000 that's so needy, 00:34:13.579 --> 00:34:14.239 a world that has 00:34:14.239 --> 00:34:15.099 so much turned 00:34:15.099 --> 00:34:15.900 its back upon 00:34:15.900 --> 00:34:17.380 God, a world 00:34:17.380 --> 00:34:18.199 that is so given 00:34:18.199 --> 00:34:19.299 to opposition to 00:34:19.299 --> 00:34:20.920 the gospel, a 00:34:20.920 --> 00:34:22.099 world, O Lord, 00:34:22.099 --> 00:34:24.119 that is so 00:34:24.119 --> 00:34:24.980 proud of 00:34:24.980 --> 00:34:26.719 itself, proud 00:34:26.719 --> 00:34:27.739 of its own 00:34:27.739 --> 00:34:30.599 imagined authority. 00:34:31.619 --> 00:34:32.299 O Lord, our 00:34:32.299 --> 00:34:33.960 God, grant us 00:34:33.960 --> 00:34:34.860 grace, we pray, 00:34:35.519 --> 00:34:36.039 that we may 00:34:36.039 --> 00:34:37.000 indeed be your 00:34:37.000 --> 00:34:37.880 believing and 00:34:37.880 --> 00:34:38.860 witnessing people, 00:34:39.759 --> 00:34:40.019 and that you 00:34:40.019 --> 00:34:40.699 would use us, 00:34:40.839 --> 00:34:41.440 Lord, we pray, 00:34:41.579 --> 00:34:42.799 for the generation 00:34:42.799 --> 00:34:43.400 that has come 00:34:43.400 --> 00:34:45.219 upon us to 00:34:45.219 --> 00:34:46.019 hold forth the 00:34:46.019 --> 00:34:46.920 word of life 00:34:46.920 --> 00:34:48.559 and seek by the 00:34:48.559 --> 00:34:49.239 gospel and by 00:34:49.239 --> 00:34:50.759 your grace to 00:34:50.759 --> 00:34:51.659 see many turning 00:34:51.659 --> 00:34:52.739 into the ways 00:34:52.739 --> 00:34:53.359 of the Lord. 00:34:54.239 --> 00:34:54.739 Hear us, we 00:34:54.739 --> 00:34:55.500 pray tonight, in 00:34:55.500 --> 00:34:56.139 our prayers, 00:34:56.779 --> 00:34:57.379 silent and 00:34:57.379 --> 00:34:57.759 spoken. 00:34:58.699 --> 00:34:59.319 Accept our 00:34:59.319 --> 00:35:00.099 thanks, hear 00:35:00.099 --> 00:35:01.659 our praise, and 00:35:01.659 --> 00:35:02.679 all we ask is for 00:35:02.679 --> 00:35:03.519 Jesus' sake. 00:35:04.000 --> 00:35:04.319 Amen. 00:35:04.319 --> 00:35:04.460 Amen. 00:35:07.179 --> 00:35:08.159 Let's sing now to 00:35:08.159 --> 00:35:20.019 God bless you, 00:35:20.019 --> 00:35:21.279 God. 00:35:21.319 --> 00:35:23.179 Let's sing now to 00:35:23.179 --> 00:35:25.019 the word of life, 00:35:25.079 --> 00:35:25.619 Lord, our 00:35:25.619 --> 00:35:26.819 grace to 00:35:26.819 --> 00:35:27.739 thank you. 00:35:27.739 --> 00:35:28.019 Amen. 00:35:28.019 --> 00:35:29.399 Holy 00:35:29.399 --> 00:35:30.539 amen.