Please turn in your Bibles to Psalm 121, Psalm 121, Psalm 121, Psalm 121, Psalm 121, Psalm 121, Psalm 121, Psalm 121, and boys and girls as promised there will be a number of times I'll refer to you in this sermon so you can listen and follow along as well.
Let's read the psalm again.
A song of ascents.
I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot be moved.
He who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord is your keeper.
The Lord is your shade on your right hand.
The sun will not strike you by day nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all evil.
He will keep your life.
The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.
Father God, our help is in you, the maker of heaven and earth.
And so we pray that you would come now and by your spirit illuminate our minds, conform our wills,
and stir our affections for your Son, our Saviour,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever praised, world without end.
Amen.
Life is tough, but so are you.
That's a quote I came across.
I think it was a tweet.
Life is tough, but so are you.
I thought the first part was refreshingly honest.
Life is tough.
Sure, there are happy moments and fun moments, but there are also sad moments and hard moments.
Life is tough.
Just think about your daily routine or just think about the things you need to do each day.
It's hard work, isn't it?
But then add to that the daily experiences of life.
The relational problem with that colleague at work.
The longing for companionship in marriage.
The hidden pain of infertility month after month.
The worry over a particular child or a strained relationship with a parent.
The boredom of an uninspiring job.
The financial constraints of a lack of a job or money.
The hassle involved in moving house.
The physical pains of old age or a chronic illness.
That issue in your marriage you keep arguing over.
The heaviness of depression.
Or the panic of anxiety.
The daily experiences of life make life hard going at times, don't they?
Life is tough.
And then there are the unforeseen crises of life.
The sad news of some terrible illness.
The breakdown in a relationship.
The sudden shock of the death of a loved one.
The daily routine of life is hard work.
The daily experiences of life are hard work.
And the unforeseen crises of life can be heartbreaking.
Life is tough.
I think the first part of that quote is refreshingly honest.
Life is tough.
Wouldn't you agree?
But the question is, what do we think of the second part of the quote?
Life is tough, but so are you.
If the first part is refreshingly honest, the second part is incredibly telling.
Not because I think it's true, but because I think it captures an underlying attitude in our secular culture.
And that is that you have the resources within yourself to deal with whatever life throws at you.
Life is tough, sure.
But so are you.
It's like that classic song by Billy Ocean.
When the going gets tough, the tough get going.
Right?
Or that Chumbawamba song.
I get knocked down, but I get up again.
Okay?
And boys and girls, have you seen the Trolls movie?
Remember it?
Or you're a very sanctified lot.
It's got that great song, Get Back Up Again.
Hey, I'm not giving up today.
There's nothing getting in my way.
And if you knock, knock me over, I will get back up again.
And if something goes a little wrong, well, you can go ahead and bring it on.
Because if you knock, knock me over, I will get back up again.
That is what our culture teaches us.
Life is tough, but so are you.
And when you get knocked over, you just get yourself back up again.
Tweets like that, and song lyrics like that, reveal one of the great pillars of our secular culture.
Another word, self-sufficiency.
Self-sufficiency.
Boys and girls, that just means that you have the power to do whatever you want to do, whenever you want to do it.
There's two pillars of our secular culture.
Autonomy.
Do what you want, when you want.
Because you're the master of your fate, the captain of your soul.
And the second pillar is self-sufficiency.
You have everything within yourself to be who you want to be, to do what you want to do, and to overcome whatever life throws at you.
Autonomy.
Self-sufficiency.
And when the going gets tough, the tough get going.
When you get knocked down, you just get back up again.
Well, there's one thing this psalm does for us this evening.
It's that it affirms the first part, and it denies the second part.
Life is tough, yes.
But so are you.
Well, no, says this psalm.
It says, no, our help is in the Lord.
Psalm 1-2-1 concerns normal life.
Everyday life.
It affirms that first part.
Life is tough.
You see in verse 3, the reference to our foot.
It speaks of a journey we're on.
Verse 8 speaks of comings and goings.
That's our life, our normal life.
And the psalm affirms that normal life is tough.
Verse 3, our foot sometimes slips along the journey.
Verse 6, the sun and the moon can strike us.
Verse 7, there is evil all around us.
So this normal life, life under the sun and moon life, everyday life is tough.
Life is difficult.
It's dangerous.
It's tough.
That's what this psalm affirms.
But then here's the thing the psalm denies.
Our culture says, life is tough, but so are you.
And this psalm says, life is tough, but our help is in the name of the Lord.
Life is tough, but our help is in the Lord.
Our world tells us to be self-sufficient.
This psalm tells us to be God-dependent.
And the psalm communicates that truth in two ways.
Number one, life is tough, but the Lord is our helper.
Life is tough, but the Lord is our helper.
Verses 1 and 2.
I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
Now this verse 1, I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come from?
That's been interpreted in different ways.
Some people think, I lift up my eyes to the hills.
It carries an ominous tone.
Hills were places of danger, where thieves and robbers would lie in wait in the mountain passages.
Or hills were places of idolatry, where idols were worshipped on high places.
So some people think this has got a negative connotation.
But I don't think that's the case.
In the Psalms, the hills of Israel, especially Jerusalem, has a positive connotation.
John Calvin thought that the hills symbolize might and strength.
And so the logic here is contrastive.
I lift up my eyes to the hills.
Where does my help come from?
Well, not even from something so great and mighty as the hills.
But from the Lord, the maker, not only of the hills, but of heaven and earth.
And that's definitely a possible reading.
But I don't think the hills are meant here in a contrastive sense.
I think they're meant in a complementary sense.
Just look, if you just take a look at the heading of the psalm.
A psalm of ascents.
And Psalm 120 to 134.
These are 15 psalms of ascents.
There's some debate what that means.
The psalms of ascents.
But I think the most sensible explanation is that it's a reference to the psalms they would sing as they made their way up to Jerusalem.
Which was on a hill, on a mountain.
And they would sing these psalms as they went up.
And if you've ever been to Israel, you know that Jerusalem is on the top of this mountain range.
When you fly into Tel Aviv, you're down by the sea.
You get on the bus and you just slowly make your way up to Jerusalem.
And you just keep going up and up and up and up.
Jerusalem was set up in the hills.
Your eyes as you drive up to Jerusalem are lifted up to these hills.
Now think of what that eye lifting up experience signified for an Old Testament Israelite.
As they walked up to Mount Zion, what were they looking at?
God's home.
His temple.
It was situated on the top of the hills in Jerusalem.
And so this psalmist is saying, I lift up my eyes to the hills.
Where does my help come from?
My help comes from the God who lives in those hills.
The God who lives in his temple.
The hills of Jerusalem have a positive sense here.
I think they're complementary.
Our help is in the hills.
In the God who lives in the hills.
But in order to make sure we don't just domesticate God to the hills of Jerusalem,
the psalmist adds,
Who made heaven and earth.
My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth.
The God of the hills of Jerusalem is the maker of heaven and earth.
He is not a domestic deity.
Heaven and earth is what's called a mayorism.
It's two parts that make a whole and everything in between.
My help comes from the Lord who made everything.
And this is the reason why God can help us with anything.
Because he made everything.
God can help us with anything.
Because he made everything.
Our God is our helper.
Because he is first our creator.
The reason why the gods of all other religions cannot help us
is first and foremost because they have never created anything in their life.
Never mind the heavens and the earth.
The gods of the nations are created, not creator.
They are made, not maker.
And that is why they cannot help people.
Because they were made by people.
But the great claim of this psalm
is that the God of Israel, the Christian God,
the God whose name is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
is able to help people
for this one basic fundamental reason.
He made everything.
He created everything.
And that's why he can help us with anything.
God is our helper because he is first our creator.
And that is what we need to remember.
Whatever happens in our lives,
whatever life throws at us,
whenever life gets tough,
our help is in the Lord who made everything.
When life gets tough,
it's so easy to look into ourselves
or around to others.
It's so easy to experience a difficulty in your life
and to turn to Google
before you turn to God.
But what this psalm says to us this evening
is don't look in,
don't look around,
but look up to God.
When life gets tough,
the Lord is our helper.
That's the first thing this psalm shows us.
And then second,
life is tough,
but the Lord is our keeper.
Life is tough,
but the Lord is our helper.
Verses 1 and 2.
And now,
life is tough,
but the Lord is our keeper.
Verses 3 to 8.
Now it's important to note
that verses 3 to 8
are not a prayer for protection.
Did you notice that?
Psalm 1 to 1 is not a prayer for protection,
it's a promise of protection.
And the promise is made sure
by the Lord,
who is our keeper,
our guard,
our protector.
That's the key word through these verses.
It occurs six times.
The word keep or keeper.
Verse 3,
verse 4,
verse 5,
verse 7,
verse 8,
six times,
the word keeper,
keeper is used.
Life is tough,
but the Lord is our keeper.
And we can see that in four ways.
Number one,
the Lord is our personal keeper.
The Lord is our personal keeper.
Did you notice how the psalm shifts
from the first person,
in verses 1 and 2,
to the second person,
you or your,
in verses 3 to 8.
Now some think that this is antiphonal singing.
Verse 1 and 2 would have been sung
by one group of pilgrims,
and then verse 3 to 8
would be sung by another group.
I think that's possible.
I think a better way to think of it
is that verses 1 and 2
is sung by the king of Israel,
and then verses 3 to 8
is sung by the priest,
or by the people,
to the king.
And I'll come back to that
at the end of the sermon.
But notice,
for now,
how deeply personal this sermon is.
The words your,
or you,
are repeated over and over.
Alright, boys and girls,
perhaps you can help me here.
I'm going to read out these verses,
and as I do so,
I want you to count on your hand,
okay,
with your fingers,
how many times
you hear the word your,
or your,
you say in England,
or you.
Okay,
so listen very carefully.
He will not let your foot
be moved.
He who keeps you
will not slumber.
The Lord is your keeper.
The Lord is your shield
on your right hand.
The sun will not strike you
by day,
nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you
from all evil.
He will keep your life.
The Lord will keep
your going out,
and your coming in,
from this time forth,
and forevermore.
How many did you get?
Ten.
Very good.
Ten times
in six verses.
Ten times
in six verses.
The psalmist is saying,
the Lord is your keeper.
He will keep you.
You see how personal it is?
Boys and girls,
it's a bit like that
kid's song you sing,
you know,
he's got the whole world
in his hands.
You know that song?
He's got the whole wide world
in his hands.
That's like verses one and two.
God is the maker of everything.
He's got the whole world
in his hands.
And then the second verse,
he's got you and me,
brother, sister,
in his hands.
He's got you and me
in his hands.
That's like verses three to eight.
God's got the whole world
in his hands,
verses one and two,
because he made everything.
And he's got you and me
in his hands,
verses three to eight,
because he's our keeper.
He's looking after us.
The creator of the universe
is our personal bodyguard.
He's got us in his hands.
So that's the first way
we see that he's our keeper.
He's our personal keeper.
Second,
he's our persistent keeper.
Verses three to four,
our persistent keeper.
He will not let your foot be moved.
He who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold,
he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
The foot slipping here
is not merely referring
to tripping up on a path.
That would suggest
that Christians
are not exposed
to the normal accidents
and tragedies of life.
And we know from experience
that we are as Christians.
Rather,
the foot slipping imagery
in the Old Testament
speaks of someone
falling off the path
to eternal ruin.
So for example,
Psalm 73 speaks of God
setting the wicked
in slippery places
so that they are swept away
and utterly destroyed.
And the promise here
is that
that will never happen
to the Christian.
And the reason
why it will never happen
is because the Lord
is our persistent keeper.
He does not slumber
or sleep.
There's perhaps
a progression here
in those verbs.
Slumbering is like
dropping off
for a wee nap
after a heavy meal.
I had a wee slumber
this afternoon.
Or a sleep.
It's like a deep sleep
at the end of the day.
So the verbs
may just be
a slight progression
from a micro nap
to a deep sleep.
Or,
they might just be
saying the same thing.
In either case,
we get the point
God's protective care
of us
never stops.
It covers day
and night.
God never nods off.
He never has
a micro sleep
while he's looking
after us.
The reference
to Israel
here in verse
4
indicates that
God is not just
our creator
but also our redeemer.
He redeemed
his son Israel
out of Egypt.
But the reference
to corporate Israel
doesn't take away
the personal nature
of God's protection.
If he's the keeper
of corporate Israel,
that means he's
the keeper
of individual Israelite.
He is the keeper
of the church
as well as
the Christian.
So this is
the second thing
we see.
The Lord
is our
persistent
keeper.
And this is why
as a church
and as a Christian
we can enjoy
our sleep
just like Jesus did.
Have you ever
noticed that?
Jesus enjoyed
his sleep
even in the midst
of a storm.
Why did he sleep
in the storm?
Because he knew
that his father
neither slept
nor slumbered
over him.
Our sleep
can be sweet
because God
does not sleep.
Alexander the Great,
the king of ancient
Greece,
was once asked
why he slept
so well
while he was
on his military
campaign.
In those days
for a king
to sleep in his
tent in the midst
of a war
was a great risk.
His own men
could come in
and kill him
or the enemy
could come in
and kill him.
But Alexander the Great
was asked
why do you
sleep so well
in your military
campaigns
and he replied
because Parmenion
does not sleep.
Parmenion
was his bodyguard
and that's why
he slept so well
because he knew
that Parmenion
never slept
when he looked
after him
and that is
what God
is like to us.
He is like
our personal
bodyguard
and he does
not sleep.
Our anxiety
about life
in general
could be lessened
if we would
just remind
ourselves
that God
does not
sleep
or slumber
in looking
after us.
He is attentive
and he is
our personal
persistent
keeper.
Well third
he is also
our present
keeper.
The Lord
is our present
keeper.
Verse 5
and 6
the Lord
is your
keeper.
The Lord
is your
shade
on your
right hand.
The sun
shall not
strike you
by day
nor the
moon
by night.
Now the
reference here
to the sun
and the moon
are intriguing.
Obviously the
sun and moon
are not known
for dropping
out of the
sky like
some meteorite.
Have you seen
that recently
boys and girls?
Being hit
by a star
have you recently?
Walking along
the street?
No.
The sun and moon
don't really fall
out of the heavens
do they?
So I don't
think this is
a physical
literal meaning.
I think it's
symbolic.
Just as the
hills were
symbolic of
where God
lives,
where our
health is,
just as the
foot was
symbolic of
slipping in
an eternal
sense,
so the sun
and the moon
here are
symbolic of
danger.
Danger by
day,
danger by
night.
The daytime
dangers and
then the
nighttime
dangers.
Perhaps the
moon here
could refer
to moon
stroke,
imagined
danger by
a person's
unstable
mental state.
Perhaps those
of us who
suffer from
anxiety or
panic attacks
can identify
with that.
But whatever
it means,
this daytime
danger or
nighttime
danger,
we get the
point that
nothing can
strike us
a deadly
blow.
And that's
because of
what's in
verse 5.
The Lord
is your
keeper,
the Lord
is your
shade at
your right
hand.
Notice that.
It's not that
God sends us
an angel,
it's that
God sends
us himself.
He is so
close to us
that he is
our own
shade.
Now boys
and girls,
I don't know
if you've ever
tried to
chase someone
else's shadow
and stand on it.
Have you ever
tried to do
that?
The sun,
yeah?
And what
do you have
to do if
you're going
to stand
on someone
else's shadow?
How close
do you have
to be?
You've got to
be very close.
You can't do
it 20 yards
away, you've
got to get
close to
them.
And if the
Lord is
our sheath
at our
right hand,
then that
means that
we are close
to God and
God is close
to us in
order for
him to be
our sheath.
If in
verse 2 he's
our creator,
and if in
verse 4 he's
our redeemer,
here in
verse 5 we
might say that
he's our
companion.
He's the
one who
comes and
walks close
beside us so
that we live
in his
sheath.
The Lord is
your sheath on
your right
hand.
So we have
those three
pictures of
God here,
creator,
redeemer,
and companion.
Sounds a
bit like the
Trinity,
doesn't it?
God the
Father creates,
God the
Son redeems,
and God the
Spirit comes
alongside us.
Psalm 121 is
the Holy
Trinity
incognito.
And it's
this aspect of
God's companionship
as our ever
present help
that is
highlighted here.
Life is
tough,
but the
Lord is our
personal keeper,
he's our
persistent
keeper,
and he is
our present
keeper.
He stands
beside us
and is
our shade
at our
right hand.
And then
fourth,
the Lord is
our perpetual
keeper.
The Lord is
our perpetual
keeper,
or eternal
keeper.
But we
needed a
fourth P,
didn't we?
The Lord will
keep you from
all evil,
he will keep
your life,
the Lord will
keep your going
out,
and you're
coming in
from this
time forth,
and forever
more.
We see the
totality of
his care
in these
verses.
Do you
notice that?
The Lord
keeps us
from all
evil,
the all
encapsulates
day and
night.
Verse
7,
our life
in all
its fullness
is kept
by God.
Verse
8,
he keeps
our going
out and
our coming
in,
another
merism,
two parts
to communicate
the whole
of life.
God watches
over our
everyday
wanderings,
our comings
and goings,
from womb
to tomb.
God watches
over us.
His care
is total,
but also,
notice the
final words,
his care
is perpetual,
it is
eternal,
from this
time forth
and forever
more.
God's keeping
does not end
in this life
and in this
world,
it continues
into the
next world.
When we get
to heaven,
God's
protecting care
of us is
not over.
You could
say it's
only just
beginning.
When our
loved ones
get to
heaven,
God does
not stop
keeping
them,
he is
still
keeping
them.
The
Lord is
our
perpetual
keeper
from this
time
forth
and
forever
more.
So those
are four
aspects of
God as
our
keeper.
He's
our
personal
keeper.
Remember
boys and
girls,
how many
you and
yours
were there?
Ten.
He's
our
personal
keeper.
He's
our
persistent
keeper.
He doesn't
sleep or
slumber.
He is
our
present
keeper,
but he's
the shade
at our
right hand,
and he's
our
perpetual
keeper.
He will
keep us
forever and
ever.
And this
is the
second
great truth
that this
psalm gives
us in the
midst of
life's
difficulties.
Our
culture says
life is
tough,
but so
are you.
This
psalm says
life is
tough,
yes,
for the
Lord is
our
helper.
The
Lord is
our
keeper.
In
closing,
I want
to ask
what does
the Lord
keeping our
goings and
comings
actually mean?
What does
it mean for
him to
keep us
from all
evil and
to keep
our life?
What does
it mean that
the sun and
the moon
will not
strike us?
What does
it mean that
our foot
will not
slip in
verse 3?
Is this
some kind
of health,
wealth,
and prosperity
gospel?
Is it
the Christian
life is
trouble-free?
Well,
no.
We walk
along the
same paths
in life as
unbelievers
do.
We live
out our
lives under
the same
sun and
moon,
and we
encounter
the same
evils that
they do.
Life is
tough,
whoever you
are,
wherever you
are,
and being a
Christian doesn't
make it less
tough.
So what
exactly is
this keeping
that the
psalmist
promises us?
Because
remember,
it's a
promise,
not a
prayer,
that God
will keep
us.
Well,
the answer
to what
the Lord's
keeping means
is in
those final
words,
from this
time forth
and forever
more.
Let me
unpack those
words by
telling you
about a
Vietnamese
pastor and
translator
called
Hien.
After
Vietnam
fell in
the 1970s,
Hien was
captured by
the Viet
Con and
imprisoned and
tortured.
his captors
beat him
continually,
they forced
him to
clean the
toilet latrines,
they brainwashed
him with
communist
material,
and eventually
after some
time he
cracked and
stopped
praying and
he became
an atheist.
But a
couple of
years later
the guard
put him on
toilet duty,
and as he
was cleaning
out the
toilet he
saw a
piece of
paper that
had been
used as
toilet paper.
he noticed
some writing
on the
top corner
of it,
Romans.
He rubbed
off the
human excrement
that was on
it, folded
it up and
put it in
his pocket,
and that
night in
the darkness
of his
cell he
switched on
his torch
and he
read these
words,
And we
know that
in all
things God
works for
the good of
those who
love him,
who have
been called
according to
his purpose.
What then
shall we say
in response to
this?
If God
is for
us,
who can
be against
us?
He who
did not
spare his
own son,
but gave
him up for
us all,
how will
he not
also along
with him
graciously
give us
all things?
Who will
bring any
charge against
those whom
God has
chosen?
Who shall
separate us
from the
love of
Christ?
Shall
trouble,
or hardship,
or persecution,
or famine,
or nakedness,
or danger,
or sword?
No, in all
these things we
are more than
conquerors through
him who loved
us.
For I am
convinced that
neither death
nor life,
neither angels
nor demons,
neither the
present nor the
future, nor any
part, neither height
nor depth, nor
anything else in
all creation,
will be able to
separate us from
the love of God
that is in Christ
Jesus our Lord.
God.
He began to cry.
And then he said
these words,
Lord, you would
not let me out of
your reach for
even one day.
You would not let
me out of your
reach for even
one day.
That's the kind
of keeping that
Psalm 121 is
talking about.
It's the
preservation of
God's people in
relationship with
him now and for
eternity, come
hell or high
water.
The next day,
Hien asked if he
could do toilet
duty again.
And would you
believe it, he
recovered the
whole book of
Romans from the
toilets.
And his faith was
restored.
He later escaped,
became a pastor to
Vietnamese people in
America.
Psalm 121 is to
Old Testament
saints what Romans 8
is to New Testament
saints.
It's the
reassurance that
nothing in this
life or the next
life can separate
us from the God
who has redeemed
us in his son,
Jesus Christ.
The help and
protection promised
in Psalm 121 is
the promise never
to be separated
from the love of
God that is in
Christ Jesus.
Because that is
where Psalm 121
finds its
fulfillment.
Because every
benefit we receive
in this life,
including protection,
comes to us
through Christ.
And only when we're
united to Christ
do we receive the
benefits.
And those benefits
are only ours
because they were
first Christ's.
Remember earlier I
said that one way
to read the shift
from the first
person in verses
1 and 2 to the
second person in
verses 3 to 8
is to see verses
1 and 2 sung by
the king of
Israel and then
verses 3 to 8 sung
by the people to
the king.
And I think that's
the best way to
read that.
Here's the king of
Israel saying,
I lift up my
eyes to the
hills.
Where does my
help come from?
My help comes from
the Lord who made
heaven and earth.
And then the people
sing to the king,
yes, he will not
let your foot slip.
In other words,
Psalm 121, it was
sung by Christ.
Remember, he sung
the psalms.
These experiences
were his experience.
And the psalm is
first for the king,
for Christ, and
then for the
Christian.
Because think about
it, Christ sung and
experienced what is
in this psalm.
The Lord was his
helper.
The Lord did not
let his foot slip
in battle with
the devil.
The Lord watched
over him.
The sun did not
strike him by day
nor the moon by
night.
The Lord kept him
from all evil.
He resisted the
devil's temptations.
The Lord kept his
life.
He raised him from
the dead.
The Lord kept his
going out from
heaven and his
coming back into
heaven.
Christ experienced
Psalm 121 as
the faithful
Israelite as
Israel's faithful
representative king.
Verses 1 and 2
may well be a
statement of faith
with his people
then speaking the
promise of
protection over him
in verses 3 to
8.
And because Christ
was kept by his
father, he can now
keep us.
He is after all the
good shepherd who
said, my sheep are
in my hands.
None shall pluck
them from me.
because I am in
my father's hands.
He was the one
who first experienced
God his father as
helper and keeper.
And that is where
our trust should lie
tonight.
Not in ourselves,
but in the Lord who
made heaven and
earth and sent his
son to be our
savior.
Life is tough and we
are not.
Just think of
Hien, the Vietnamese
pastor.
When life got tough,
he did not get
going.
When he got knocked
down, he didn't get
back up again.
When life got tough,
Hien did not get
going, but God did.
God did not sleep
nor slumber over him
because God never
slept nor slumbered
over his son, Jesus
Christ, when he was
on earth.
It is just as Hien
said after he read
Romans 8 in the cell
that night, Lord, you
would not let me out
of your reach for
even one day.
Nothing shall
separate us from the
love of God which is
in Christ Jesus our
Lord.
That is what it means
for God to be our
keeper.
So brothers and
sisters, when life
gets tough, and it
will get tough, we
don't get tough.
When life gets
tough, our help is
in the Lord, the
maker of heaven and
earth.
Let us pray.