WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.640 34 and verse 19. 00:00:04.419 --> 00:00:17.539 When the king heard the words of the law, he tore his clothes, and the king commanded Hilkiah, Ahicham, the son of Shaphan, Abdon, the son of Micah, Shaphan the secretary, and Isaiah the king's seventh, saying, 00:00:17.539 --> 00:00:28.560 Go, inquire of the Lord for me, and for those who are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book that has been found, and so on. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:45.899 If you heard claims to a revival, and at the same time said, but there's no involvement at all of God's law in any of this, you would immediately be suspicious, I would hope. 00:00:46.299 --> 00:00:59.620 Because every genuine revival that's ever taken place has involved the law of God bringing conviction of sin and getting people to think about themselves and their relationship to God. 00:01:00.560 --> 00:01:02.679 That, of course, comes from the scriptures. 00:01:02.920 --> 00:01:14.879 When the scriptures are expounded, when God blesses his word, when the law of God makes its own impact upon our souls, it brings to light our own sinfulness and God's holiness at the same time. 00:01:14.879 --> 00:01:23.140 And this was a wonderful discovery, a very significant discovery, one of huge significance in the time of Josiah the king. 00:01:23.140 --> 00:01:29.579 He had set about reforming the nation of Judah after a long, long period of decline. 00:01:29.579 --> 00:01:43.379 And as he had set about this reform, this regeneration, if you like, of the nation, especially the way in which they related to the Lord and to the Lord's house. 00:01:43.379 --> 00:01:57.079 We've come here in this passage to look at how the house of the Lord, the temple of the Lord that had been left and neglected and gone to great ruin, was being repaired. 00:01:57.079 --> 00:02:02.379 And in the course of being repaired, they found this book of the law. 00:02:02.840 --> 00:02:06.920 This is what was reported back to the king that they had found. 00:02:06.920 --> 00:02:14.620 And the Hilkiah answered, said to Shaphan, I found the book of the law in the house of the Lord. 00:02:14.719 --> 00:02:15.939 He gave the book to Shaphan. 00:02:16.159 --> 00:02:17.360 He brought it to the king. 00:02:17.479 --> 00:02:21.379 And when it was read in the king's presence, the king tore his clothes. 00:02:21.379 --> 00:02:29.780 And that is always in the Old Testament, a sign of coming to realize your sinfulness, your defilement before a holy God. 00:02:30.539 --> 00:02:34.699 This is what the effect was of this book being read to the king. 00:02:35.039 --> 00:02:38.859 And that was passed on through to the people as time went on. 00:02:39.919 --> 00:02:40.979 Now, it's significant. 00:02:41.120 --> 00:02:44.519 It probably was, we're not told exactly what this book was. 00:02:44.960 --> 00:02:50.120 Most of the commentators feel it was either the book of Deuteronomy or a portion of the book of Deuteronomy. 00:02:50.120 --> 00:02:55.740 Because as the chapter goes on and Huldah the prophetess brings a message back to the king, 00:02:56.640 --> 00:03:02.920 it's clear that some of the directions that were given in Deuteronomy are very fitting here. 00:03:02.920 --> 00:03:10.480 Because the Lord had said that if they departed from him and forgot his ways and took up the ways of the pagans, of the heathen, 00:03:10.900 --> 00:03:16.860 then they would come under the covenant curses that are set out in the likes of Deuteronomy chapter 28. 00:03:16.860 --> 00:03:24.120 So we can't be sure, but there's certainly some indication that it would have been a section of Deuteronomy or the whole of the book of Deuteronomy. 00:03:24.220 --> 00:03:26.340 In any way, that was the effect it had. 00:03:26.860 --> 00:03:34.940 It was very much a case of giving acceleration to the work that had already begun of renovation and repair, 00:03:35.100 --> 00:03:36.960 not just of the temple, but of the community. 00:03:36.960 --> 00:03:45.900 And that really gave the acceleration to that work, this discovery of the book of the law and its interpretation or meaning. 00:03:45.900 --> 00:03:54.099 Josiah had taken over the kingship after a long, long period of not just neglect, 00:03:54.860 --> 00:04:01.900 but sometimes vehement, evil hatred of God by the likes of Manasseh. 00:04:01.900 --> 00:04:12.259 Manasseh, and then following Manasseh, you have Manasseh's son Ammon, who also did not walk in the ways of the Lord and did what was evil, 00:04:12.640 --> 00:04:16.780 as Manasseh, his father, had done at the end of the previous chapter. 00:04:17.120 --> 00:04:23.800 So after a long, long time, many, many years, this book of the law had been misplaced. 00:04:23.800 --> 00:04:28.720 It was a discovery, a rediscovery of this book. 00:04:28.819 --> 00:04:30.040 It had obviously been lacking. 00:04:30.540 --> 00:04:35.199 How it had gotten lost, we don't know, but really it just seems to have been sheer neglect. 00:04:36.020 --> 00:04:42.000 Because when you put the law of the Lord aside, and then you take up other things in its place, 00:04:42.199 --> 00:04:47.639 obviously, the more they entered into the ways of the pagans and the heathen and the people of Canaan, 00:04:48.160 --> 00:04:50.120 the more the law of God was neglected. 00:04:50.120 --> 00:04:56.079 And the more the law of God was neglected, the more they themselves became steeped in idolatry. 00:04:56.840 --> 00:04:57.660 It always happens. 00:04:58.100 --> 00:05:01.199 They don't actually get rid of the law of God and find neutrality. 00:05:01.840 --> 00:05:06.699 They'll find something very different, very opposite, put in its place always. 00:05:07.540 --> 00:05:10.819 And it's similar to the context that we ourselves are in today. 00:05:10.879 --> 00:05:16.720 We've had a long, long period of gradual decline spiritually and morally, 00:05:16.720 --> 00:05:24.100 really going back to the late 19th century, if you like, when the ideas that came to be full-blown evolution 00:05:24.100 --> 00:05:30.800 and an emphasis on human ingenuity and human wisdom, when all of these things began to really be promoted, 00:05:30.800 --> 00:05:49.379 misuse of scientific discoveries against the ways of the Lord have themselves come to bring us to where we are today. 00:05:49.939 --> 00:05:53.500 I need not tell you that we are in a dire condition. 00:05:53.500 --> 00:06:01.259 You can say in a sense, if we can think metaphorically, that the law of the Lord, by and large, 00:06:01.319 --> 00:06:06.360 of course, we're thankful for all the groups that meet like ourselves that are seeking to be faithful to the Lord 00:06:06.360 --> 00:06:07.839 and seeking to reach out with the gospel. 00:06:08.240 --> 00:06:11.879 But by and large, as we heard in prayer, large swathes of our country, 00:06:11.879 --> 00:06:19.740 the law of the Lord lies buried under the rubble of collapsed Christianity. 00:06:21.439 --> 00:06:22.579 That's where it's found. 00:06:23.279 --> 00:06:25.959 That's why it needs to be rediscovered. 00:06:26.920 --> 00:06:29.639 This is what happened in the days of Jeremiah. 00:06:30.219 --> 00:06:32.600 And we can draw hope from this passage. 00:06:32.600 --> 00:06:40.520 After all these long, long years of decline, of spiritual and moral darkness, of opposition to God, of idolatrous practice, 00:06:41.080 --> 00:06:45.520 the Lord raises up Josiah, an eight-year-old boy. 00:06:46.180 --> 00:06:49.879 And that doesn't really seem to be very encouraging to begin with, does it? 00:06:50.220 --> 00:06:54.080 I'm sure many people might have been saying, well, this is just likely to be more of the same. 00:06:54.439 --> 00:06:58.080 But it wasn't, because this young boy developed into a reformer. 00:06:58.079 --> 00:07:04.599 And he set about reforming the nation and the people and the practices and the house of God. 00:07:05.219 --> 00:07:08.139 We can draw hope from this tonight. 00:07:08.439 --> 00:07:09.039 What happened? 00:07:09.899 --> 00:07:10.899 What was the result? 00:07:11.439 --> 00:07:17.180 What were the consequences of them finding this book of the law and coming to discover its contents? 00:07:18.319 --> 00:07:26.060 What would it mean for our own people today to rediscover the Bible, to rediscover the law of God, 00:07:26.060 --> 00:07:34.319 to rediscover these precepts, these principles, these laws, these promises that God gave and has given to us, 00:07:34.540 --> 00:07:38.220 not just for our individual use, but for national use? 00:07:39.780 --> 00:07:46.399 The law of God, the word of God, the gospel is designed for people, not just for individuals, 00:07:46.540 --> 00:07:51.699 designed for communities, for nations, as our own nation's history testifies. 00:07:51.699 --> 00:07:57.959 Although, sadly, that's so much in the past and even despised and neglected in some cases. 00:07:58.620 --> 00:08:05.420 Well, what would happen would be, first of all, it would restore a consciousness of God to us as a people. 00:08:05.719 --> 00:08:06.639 That's what happened here. 00:08:07.000 --> 00:08:09.060 Restoring a consciousness of God. 00:08:09.159 --> 00:08:12.240 You see, verse 19, he tore his clothes. 00:08:12.480 --> 00:08:14.500 Now, Josiah, of course, knew the Lord. 00:08:14.560 --> 00:08:16.539 He knew the Lord from his young days. 00:08:16.540 --> 00:08:23.000 And yet, when the contents of this book were read, his first reaction was to tear his clothes. 00:08:23.319 --> 00:08:28.020 He came to realize how much they had departed from the ways of the Lord, 00:08:28.260 --> 00:08:31.820 how much they had bought into the philosophy of paganism, 00:08:32.000 --> 00:08:35.480 how much they had actually taken that on board and followed that, 00:08:35.600 --> 00:08:39.399 and at the same time, putting the law of God and the word of God aside. 00:08:39.399 --> 00:08:45.259 He tore his clothes because he realized his sinfulness and the sinfulness of the people. 00:08:45.620 --> 00:08:53.559 He realized, especially as he sent the message with Shaphan, the secretary, and Asiah, 00:08:53.720 --> 00:09:00.179 go and inquire of the Lord for me, for great is the wrath of the Lord that is poured out upon us, 00:09:00.759 --> 00:09:06.019 because our fathers have not kept the word of the Lord to do according to all that is written in this book. 00:09:06.019 --> 00:09:15.079 Now, Chronicles was actually written for the benefit of those who were coming back from exile in Babylon. 00:09:16.379 --> 00:09:21.480 So, in the likes of Chronicles, you'll find the history of the people of Judah and of Israel, 00:09:21.919 --> 00:09:30.220 but it's a history lesson with a purpose so that they will realize why it was such a disaster came upon them, 00:09:30.220 --> 00:09:32.819 that it was because they abandoned the ways of the Lord, 00:09:32.820 --> 00:09:36.940 despite the many warnings that God had sent through his prophets. 00:09:38.060 --> 00:09:40.920 And now that they're back and beginning to rebuild, 00:09:41.440 --> 00:09:47.100 the book of Chronicles comes to actually be, for them, a source of much encouragement 00:09:47.100 --> 00:09:51.640 and a source of much historical reference. 00:09:54.240 --> 00:09:57.060 God is not mocked. 00:09:57.059 --> 00:10:05.339 Whatever God says, we need to take note of, whether it's by way of warning or by way of promises. 00:10:06.199 --> 00:10:08.539 Judah had forsaken the Lord. 00:10:09.819 --> 00:10:15.319 And forsaking the Lord, as we said, does not bring you into a neutrality or into a vacuum, 00:10:15.859 --> 00:10:17.019 spiritually or morally. 00:10:17.399 --> 00:10:21.079 It will always bring you into some alternative to God. 00:10:21.080 --> 00:10:26.900 And, of course, the alternatives to God are usually the ungodly, the ways of the ungodly. 00:10:28.780 --> 00:10:32.160 That's why you find here the wrath of God mentioned. 00:10:32.440 --> 00:10:36.000 Now, the wrath of God sometimes, in fact, very often in history, 00:10:36.639 --> 00:10:39.340 has not been revealed by a sudden bolt from heaven. 00:10:40.920 --> 00:10:48.379 The wrath of God doesn't always, in fact, seldom comes in a great thunderclap of judgment. 00:10:48.379 --> 00:10:54.120 The wrath of God can take many generations to work itself through. 00:10:56.000 --> 00:11:01.759 It sometimes is just God saying, if you follow the first two chapters of Romans, 00:11:01.879 --> 00:11:03.039 you'll see something like that. 00:11:03.439 --> 00:11:06.159 It's God simply saying from heaven, well, there you are. 00:11:06.240 --> 00:11:09.939 You've kept on refusing my overtures, my invitations. 00:11:10.700 --> 00:11:13.039 You've kept on despising my law. 00:11:13.139 --> 00:11:15.740 So I'll just let you go your own way. 00:11:15.740 --> 00:11:19.600 I'll just let you follow the ways of sin. 00:11:20.700 --> 00:11:22.560 And, of course, the more that that happens, 00:11:23.379 --> 00:11:25.980 well, the more that that happens, 00:11:26.980 --> 00:11:30.740 the more disastrous the situation becomes. 00:11:32.340 --> 00:11:35.639 And that's what Josiah came to realize. 00:11:36.620 --> 00:11:42.620 Because the law of God is really a transcription of God's nature. 00:11:42.620 --> 00:11:49.740 It is something that reveals to us the holiness of God and our sin in relation to that. 00:11:50.600 --> 00:11:53.039 And when we take the law of God out of the picture, 00:11:53.299 --> 00:11:55.620 and we simply say, well, we've got plenty of other things. 00:11:55.700 --> 00:11:56.899 We don't need that nowadays. 00:11:57.340 --> 00:11:59.740 We've got plenty of things we can put in place of that. 00:12:00.019 --> 00:12:02.019 Let's just emphasize love. 00:12:02.220 --> 00:12:07.700 Let's emphasize love in the way that really you find so meaninglessly put across. 00:12:07.940 --> 00:12:08.879 Love is love. 00:12:08.960 --> 00:12:09.740 What does that mean? 00:12:09.860 --> 00:12:10.759 It means nothing. 00:12:12.620 --> 00:12:15.340 Love is respect for God. 00:12:16.580 --> 00:12:22.960 Love is an acknowledgement of his authority, of his will, of his love. 00:12:24.299 --> 00:12:29.120 It wasn't hated on the part of God that gave the law to Judah, to the people of Israel. 00:12:29.419 --> 00:12:35.419 It's not hated on the part of God or of God's people that seek to call us back to respecting 00:12:35.419 --> 00:12:39.279 and honoring the law of God and following it as far as we can. 00:12:41.479 --> 00:12:45.240 It's God's kindness that has provided this for us. 00:12:45.279 --> 00:12:50.339 And it's his kindness that has kept at least a semblance in the mind of some of our people, 00:12:50.339 --> 00:12:56.860 of the richness of our history as a people who have come to know the Lord and his ways. 00:12:56.860 --> 00:13:10.100 You don't need to ask why the law of God is not liked by ourselves in our natural state or by the world in which we live. 00:13:10.159 --> 00:13:15.080 It's not liked because it highlights our sin and therefore it highlights our need of change. 00:13:15.759 --> 00:13:17.980 It highlights our need of being born again. 00:13:17.980 --> 00:13:20.399 It highlights our guilt before God. 00:13:21.399 --> 00:13:27.019 We mustn't, of course, ever leave it at that because even in the use of the law by the Lord himself, 00:13:27.120 --> 00:13:32.180 very often it brings us towards the gospel, towards the salvation that's in Christ. 00:13:32.179 --> 00:13:37.699 Restoring a consciousness of God. 00:13:37.779 --> 00:13:42.000 And, you know, one of the things that disappears when your consciousness of God, 00:13:42.099 --> 00:13:46.399 a people's consciousness of God disappears or wanes, 00:13:46.719 --> 00:13:51.779 one of the results of that itself is a lack of dependence upon God. 00:13:52.719 --> 00:13:53.359 Here were Israel. 00:13:53.459 --> 00:13:54.859 Here were the people of Judah. 00:13:55.000 --> 00:13:59.120 This was the people that had the history of having been saved from Egypt, 00:13:59.120 --> 00:14:04.560 delivered from Egypt, led by the Lord through the desert for these 40 years. 00:14:05.139 --> 00:14:09.639 How could they have managed to go through the desert for 40 years without their dependence on God? 00:14:09.679 --> 00:14:10.620 Of course, they couldn't. 00:14:10.960 --> 00:14:14.740 That's why the Lord had led them out so he could depend on himself. 00:14:18.659 --> 00:14:20.340 But you remember he warned them. 00:14:21.340 --> 00:14:24.899 He warned them, and you find it recorded in the likes of Deuteronomy, 00:14:25.720 --> 00:14:28.740 chapter 6 and verses 10 to 15. 00:14:29.960 --> 00:14:33.320 Where do you find the Lord actually saying to the people, 00:14:33.399 --> 00:14:35.820 and this is, of course, before they entered the promised land, 00:14:36.139 --> 00:14:38.700 on the borders of the land, as Moses spoke to them, 00:14:39.100 --> 00:14:40.320 or God through Moses. 00:14:40.799 --> 00:14:43.720 In chapter 6 and verse 10 of Deuteronomy, 00:14:43.779 --> 00:14:44.740 this is what the Lord said. 00:14:44.799 --> 00:14:49.060 When the Lord your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, 00:14:49.060 --> 00:14:51.379 to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, 00:14:51.539 --> 00:14:55.019 to give you with great and good cities that you did not build, 00:14:55.019 --> 00:14:57.799 houses full of good things that you did not fill, 00:14:58.360 --> 00:15:00.000 cisterns that you did not dig, 00:15:00.439 --> 00:15:03.139 vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant, 00:15:03.439 --> 00:15:05.319 and when you eat and are full, 00:15:05.720 --> 00:15:07.519 then take care. 00:15:07.519 --> 00:15:10.000 Take care of what? 00:15:10.799 --> 00:15:15.899 That you do not forget the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, 00:15:16.139 --> 00:15:17.899 out of the house of slavery. 00:15:18.299 --> 00:15:20.600 It is the Lord your God you shall fear. 00:15:21.039 --> 00:15:22.079 Him shall you serve, 00:15:22.360 --> 00:15:23.539 and his name you shall swear. 00:15:23.799 --> 00:15:26.439 You shall not go after other gods, 00:15:26.679 --> 00:15:28.939 the gods of the peoples who are around you. 00:15:29.259 --> 00:15:32.019 For the Lord your God in your midst is a jealous God, 00:15:32.019 --> 00:15:35.840 lest the anger of the Lord your God be kindled against you, 00:15:36.100 --> 00:15:38.899 and he destroy you from off the face of the earth. 00:15:39.039 --> 00:15:42.419 That's what they were told prior to entering the promised land. 00:15:42.779 --> 00:15:45.039 That's what they failed to do. 00:15:47.539 --> 00:15:51.559 Instead, they did go after the ways of the pagans, 00:15:52.220 --> 00:15:57.000 and so the wrath of God, as promised, came upon them. 00:15:57.000 --> 00:16:02.200 You see, we've come to the stage in our national life, 00:16:02.259 --> 00:16:03.059 in our society, 00:16:03.980 --> 00:16:05.799 where we really have come to the opinion 00:16:05.799 --> 00:16:10.279 that we can be perfectly just in having confidence in ourselves. 00:16:10.840 --> 00:16:14.980 We don't need the light of this word of God, 00:16:15.039 --> 00:16:18.240 and especially of the Christian religion or the Christian gospel. 00:16:19.179 --> 00:16:22.559 We have confidence in ourselves. 00:16:22.559 --> 00:16:24.480 When you reject God, 00:16:24.600 --> 00:16:26.960 then inevitably you turn to human ability. 00:16:27.379 --> 00:16:28.200 In some way or other. 00:16:30.120 --> 00:16:31.419 And that's what's happened. 00:16:32.200 --> 00:16:34.080 Now we're in the position of thinking 00:16:34.080 --> 00:16:37.139 that we can take charge of our own life, 00:16:37.419 --> 00:16:40.059 and that we can take charge of our death 00:16:40.059 --> 00:16:41.779 and the circumstances of our death. 00:16:42.440 --> 00:16:44.600 We don't see it wrong anymore, 00:16:44.820 --> 00:16:47.139 by and large, as a society, as a people. 00:16:47.600 --> 00:16:48.860 We don't see that it's wrong 00:16:48.860 --> 00:16:51.600 to end the life of the unborn in the womb. 00:16:51.600 --> 00:16:53.259 We don't see that it's wrong 00:16:53.259 --> 00:16:55.600 to prepare some proposed legislation 00:16:55.600 --> 00:16:59.279 legislation for assisted suicide, for euthanasia. 00:16:59.980 --> 00:17:01.279 How did we get there? 00:17:02.560 --> 00:17:05.960 We got there because the law of God was put aside, 00:17:06.220 --> 00:17:10.259 because we don't live by absolutes anymore. 00:17:11.519 --> 00:17:13.019 Instead, it's all relative. 00:17:13.019 --> 00:17:17.740 It's really all a matter of competing rights. 00:17:17.740 --> 00:17:20.059 My right versus your right. 00:17:20.539 --> 00:17:22.440 Their rights versus our rights. 00:17:22.799 --> 00:17:24.599 And it becomes a hierarchy, 00:17:25.599 --> 00:17:28.000 a table, if you like, of competing rights. 00:17:28.279 --> 00:17:29.660 Something like a league table, 00:17:29.900 --> 00:17:33.400 where you find the strongest inevitably coming out and tall. 00:17:33.940 --> 00:17:35.079 The one that shouts the most. 00:17:35.299 --> 00:17:37.180 The one that has the most clout with government. 00:17:37.180 --> 00:17:43.340 That array of competing rights 00:17:43.340 --> 00:17:47.920 is because we've turned away from the absolutes of God's word 00:17:47.920 --> 00:17:52.960 and replaced them with the relatives of human wisdom. 00:17:53.960 --> 00:17:57.660 And we need the restoration of the absolute. 00:17:58.720 --> 00:18:00.360 It's a crucial matter. 00:18:00.359 --> 00:18:04.019 However, we must give God no rest 00:18:04.019 --> 00:18:07.279 until he reestablish 00:18:07.279 --> 00:18:12.099 a consciousness of himself among us as a people. 00:18:13.679 --> 00:18:15.379 That's what this is saying to us. 00:18:16.240 --> 00:18:17.839 It's very fresh. 00:18:18.539 --> 00:18:19.740 It's very relevant. 00:18:19.899 --> 00:18:23.959 It's very applicable to Scotland in 2023. 00:18:23.960 --> 00:18:28.039 And we need that God would bring us 00:18:28.039 --> 00:18:30.180 and bring those who rule over us 00:18:30.180 --> 00:18:35.039 to rediscover this great book of the law of God, 00:18:35.160 --> 00:18:37.059 of the word of God, of the gospel. 00:18:38.400 --> 00:18:41.700 So it would restore consciousness of God. 00:18:42.420 --> 00:18:45.000 But also, I think it would restore 00:18:45.000 --> 00:18:49.600 an appreciation of the law in the Christian life. 00:18:50.440 --> 00:18:51.579 And maybe that sounds strange. 00:18:51.660 --> 00:18:53.559 We're just developing the point a bit further. 00:18:54.440 --> 00:18:56.579 Josiah, then the next chapter, 00:18:56.759 --> 00:18:58.900 you actually see Josiah keeping the Passover. 00:18:59.720 --> 00:19:01.600 And the arrangement of the material here 00:19:01.600 --> 00:19:02.900 is very significant. 00:19:03.319 --> 00:19:05.519 Here is the discovery of the book of the law. 00:19:05.779 --> 00:19:08.240 Here is the reaction of Josiah himself. 00:19:08.680 --> 00:19:10.680 Here is what he then ordered be done. 00:19:10.740 --> 00:19:13.880 And that's immediately followed by the Passover. 00:19:14.400 --> 00:19:18.779 In other words, the Passover lamb 00:19:18.779 --> 00:19:21.120 that signified the atonement 00:19:21.120 --> 00:19:23.360 that was required to atone for sin 00:19:23.359 --> 00:19:25.740 immediately follows the discovery 00:19:25.740 --> 00:19:27.459 or the rediscovery, if you like, 00:19:27.500 --> 00:19:29.539 of the depth of their sin and of their guilt. 00:19:30.119 --> 00:19:31.399 They're put beside each other, 00:19:31.579 --> 00:19:33.079 these two chapters very deliberately. 00:19:35.339 --> 00:19:38.679 And that's really always what happens 00:19:38.679 --> 00:19:43.099 when the law comes to expose their sin here. 00:19:43.099 --> 00:19:45.439 Then what follows is the atonement 00:19:45.439 --> 00:19:47.579 that's set out in the Passover lamb. 00:19:48.059 --> 00:19:51.119 That is God's answer to the guilt of sin, 00:19:51.859 --> 00:19:53.779 to the depth of our depravity. 00:19:53.779 --> 00:19:58.940 And really that's the gospel pattern as well. 00:19:59.440 --> 00:20:02.000 I'm not saying that what we need as a people 00:20:02.000 --> 00:20:04.099 is a big dose of the law 00:20:04.099 --> 00:20:07.119 and that that's inevitably going to bring us to Christ. 00:20:07.500 --> 00:20:08.920 Sometimes God works that way, 00:20:09.379 --> 00:20:11.539 bringing us a sense of our guilt individually 00:20:11.539 --> 00:20:12.660 or collectively, 00:20:12.960 --> 00:20:15.200 and then brings us to think of the gospel. 00:20:15.339 --> 00:20:16.779 But it doesn't always work that way. 00:20:17.259 --> 00:20:20.160 God has other ways of bringing us to know the truth. 00:20:20.160 --> 00:20:23.140 And we are saved by grace. 00:20:23.279 --> 00:20:24.240 And it's important, of course, 00:20:24.300 --> 00:20:25.480 we always remember that. 00:20:25.800 --> 00:20:28.200 That's one of the great burdens of Paul's writings, isn't it? 00:20:28.259 --> 00:20:30.100 We are saved by grace, 00:20:30.140 --> 00:20:32.120 not by the works of the law. 00:20:32.580 --> 00:20:34.960 We are not justified by the works of the law, 00:20:35.060 --> 00:20:37.460 but through the grace of God in Christ, 00:20:37.620 --> 00:20:41.580 we are justified by faith in his name, 00:20:41.700 --> 00:20:43.060 in the Savior. 00:20:45.300 --> 00:20:48.680 The atonement in Christ's obedience 00:20:48.680 --> 00:20:52.279 not ours to the law 00:20:52.279 --> 00:20:54.299 is what God receives 00:20:54.299 --> 00:20:57.120 as a sufficient provision for sin. 00:20:58.680 --> 00:21:00.340 But when you become a Christian, 00:21:01.440 --> 00:21:04.460 when the Lord brings you to Jesus 00:21:04.460 --> 00:21:06.039 as the Passover lamb, 00:21:06.779 --> 00:21:09.880 when he brings you by his grace to receive him, 00:21:10.160 --> 00:21:11.779 to embrace him, to acknowledge him, 00:21:11.900 --> 00:21:13.620 to give your life over to him, 00:21:13.960 --> 00:21:17.240 does the law of God just simply disappear from your life? 00:21:17.240 --> 00:21:21.259 Does it continue to have any relevance at all in your life? 00:21:21.599 --> 00:21:22.620 Of course it does. 00:21:23.359 --> 00:21:29.279 Not everybody will actually go along with that view. 00:21:29.620 --> 00:21:32.180 But if you go back to the Reformed view, 00:21:32.779 --> 00:21:35.960 you'll find especially John Calvin's view, for example. 00:21:37.720 --> 00:21:39.779 John Calvin developed, 00:21:40.259 --> 00:21:41.000 he didn't begin it, 00:21:41.000 --> 00:21:46.140 but he developed a threefold use for the law of God. 00:21:46.920 --> 00:21:49.359 The threefold relevance or threefold use. 00:21:49.460 --> 00:21:52.480 The first was he described as being a mirror, 00:21:52.880 --> 00:21:53.559 like a mirror, 00:21:54.119 --> 00:21:57.579 in which you saw the holiness of God 00:21:57.599 --> 00:22:00.700 and the sinfulness of your own heart held out to you. 00:22:00.859 --> 00:22:01.180 In other words, 00:22:01.240 --> 00:22:03.819 the law was there to bring you to the knowledge of sin, 00:22:04.140 --> 00:22:06.339 but also a holy God in relation to that. 00:22:07.000 --> 00:22:07.759 That was the first use. 00:22:07.759 --> 00:22:10.900 The second use was the use of a restraint, 00:22:11.059 --> 00:22:13.619 what Calvin called the civil use of the law, 00:22:14.119 --> 00:22:15.259 a law for society, 00:22:15.700 --> 00:22:19.160 a law for people to actually have their lives restrained 00:22:19.160 --> 00:22:22.180 in order that sin didn't break out 00:22:22.180 --> 00:22:24.599 or they didn't go headlong into sin 00:22:24.599 --> 00:22:26.519 as they would without God's law. 00:22:27.220 --> 00:22:28.160 That's why, as we said, 00:22:28.480 --> 00:22:30.440 the more the law of God is put aside, 00:22:30.500 --> 00:22:32.079 the more you find the lack of restraint. 00:22:32.079 --> 00:22:35.079 And Calvin's view, 00:22:35.339 --> 00:22:36.740 the civil use of the law 00:22:36.740 --> 00:22:40.059 is one we've simply got to try and get back to 00:22:40.059 --> 00:22:41.379 and promote 00:22:41.379 --> 00:22:43.899 and get people to really see 00:22:43.899 --> 00:22:45.960 that that's why God has given us this law, 00:22:46.079 --> 00:22:48.720 not just for my life and your life individually 00:22:48.720 --> 00:22:50.439 to bring us a sense of sin 00:22:50.439 --> 00:22:51.539 and the holiness of God 00:22:51.539 --> 00:22:53.859 so it will then be brought to embrace Christ. 00:22:53.960 --> 00:22:54.480 It is that, 00:22:55.019 --> 00:22:55.980 but it's there for people, 00:22:56.079 --> 00:22:57.159 it's there for nations. 00:22:57.160 --> 00:23:00.019 There's a civic use, 00:23:00.920 --> 00:23:01.640 as Calvin said, 00:23:01.700 --> 00:23:03.540 of the law as a restraining influence, 00:23:04.080 --> 00:23:04.740 as a restraint, 00:23:04.860 --> 00:23:05.980 but there's also the third use, 00:23:06.380 --> 00:23:08.500 which is where it comes into the life of the Christian 00:23:08.500 --> 00:23:11.440 because the third use, he said, 00:23:11.480 --> 00:23:15.940 was one of being a guide to us in the Christian life. 00:23:16.519 --> 00:23:17.420 Now, he didn't mean by this 00:23:17.420 --> 00:23:20.880 that you needed to actually obey the law 00:23:20.880 --> 00:23:24.080 and that by that you then came to be saved. 00:23:24.079 --> 00:23:27.539 And that's exactly what Paul was arguing against. 00:23:28.500 --> 00:23:30.220 But then Calvin said that 00:23:30.220 --> 00:23:32.419 the law is not irrelevant 00:23:32.419 --> 00:23:35.740 to a Christian who's been saved by grace 00:23:35.740 --> 00:23:38.939 because that law still brings to us 00:23:38.939 --> 00:23:41.839 something to do with the holiness of God. 00:23:42.319 --> 00:23:44.599 It gives a boundary to your life. 00:23:45.240 --> 00:23:47.279 It gives you a guide as to what is 00:23:47.279 --> 00:23:49.139 and isn't a holy life, 00:23:49.140 --> 00:23:53.800 especially as the Ten Commandments 00:23:53.800 --> 00:23:56.680 form the summary of God's moral law. 00:23:58.580 --> 00:24:02.940 Think of when you have to go through an airport. 00:24:04.820 --> 00:24:06.220 You find a scanner there 00:24:06.220 --> 00:24:07.660 that you have to actually go through 00:24:07.660 --> 00:24:08.520 in some way or other 00:24:08.520 --> 00:24:10.660 and that scanner is there 00:24:10.660 --> 00:24:11.660 so that it'll show up 00:24:11.660 --> 00:24:13.340 what you have on your person. 00:24:14.060 --> 00:24:15.740 If you're carrying something on your person 00:24:15.740 --> 00:24:17.880 that's illegal or not allowed 00:24:17.880 --> 00:24:19.160 to carry through 00:24:19.160 --> 00:24:21.539 to the boarding of the aircraft, 00:24:21.700 --> 00:24:23.559 then it's shown up on the scanner 00:24:23.559 --> 00:24:25.700 and you have to then come back and give it up. 00:24:25.799 --> 00:24:26.700 Or maybe it's your suitcase 00:24:26.700 --> 00:24:27.579 that's being scanned 00:24:27.579 --> 00:24:29.279 and as it goes through the scanner, 00:24:29.500 --> 00:24:31.220 it shows up anything there 00:24:31.220 --> 00:24:32.319 that shouldn't be there. 00:24:32.859 --> 00:24:35.120 You think of a terrorist coming 00:24:35.120 --> 00:24:40.220 and terrorist thoughts of a scanner. 00:24:40.220 --> 00:24:42.819 Well, that's a huge inconvenience. 00:24:43.819 --> 00:24:44.880 That's something that really, 00:24:45.319 --> 00:24:45.900 for a criminal, 00:24:46.180 --> 00:24:47.100 is an irritation. 00:24:48.100 --> 00:24:49.940 That rather there be no such thing 00:24:49.940 --> 00:24:51.380 as a scanner at an airport, 00:24:51.620 --> 00:24:52.380 that they were free 00:24:52.380 --> 00:24:53.880 to actually take what they like through. 00:24:55.779 --> 00:24:56.640 It's annoying. 00:24:57.720 --> 00:24:58.759 You wish it wasn't there. 00:24:58.900 --> 00:25:00.720 Why have this restriction? 00:25:03.360 --> 00:25:04.620 But then for somebody 00:25:04.620 --> 00:25:05.559 who's law-abiding 00:25:05.559 --> 00:25:07.920 and respects the need 00:25:07.920 --> 00:25:10.120 to not just abide by the law, 00:25:10.220 --> 00:25:10.600 themselves, 00:25:10.839 --> 00:25:12.360 but be careful 00:25:12.360 --> 00:25:13.460 for the well-being 00:25:13.460 --> 00:25:14.180 of other people, 00:25:14.440 --> 00:25:15.240 that scanner, 00:25:15.460 --> 00:25:16.839 that's an annoyance 00:25:16.839 --> 00:25:18.299 to the criminal 00:25:18.299 --> 00:25:20.259 is a means of security 00:25:20.259 --> 00:25:21.720 to the law-keeper, 00:25:22.279 --> 00:25:23.600 to the person 00:25:23.600 --> 00:25:25.920 who really wants to be safe 00:25:25.920 --> 00:25:27.720 when they board that aircraft. 00:25:28.860 --> 00:25:30.079 And the Christian looks 00:25:30.079 --> 00:25:31.600 at the law of God in that way. 00:25:32.600 --> 00:25:33.559 The person who doesn't want 00:25:33.559 --> 00:25:34.200 anything to do 00:25:34.200 --> 00:25:35.839 with the Christian religion, 00:25:35.980 --> 00:25:36.460 with Jesus, 00:25:36.680 --> 00:25:37.539 with the Bible, 00:25:38.079 --> 00:25:39.860 sees the whole of God's law 00:25:39.859 --> 00:25:40.719 as an irritation. 00:25:40.899 --> 00:25:41.500 It's something that 00:25:41.500 --> 00:25:42.740 we'd be better without. 00:25:42.879 --> 00:25:43.839 Just get rid of it. 00:25:44.079 --> 00:25:45.119 Don't give it to me 00:25:45.119 --> 00:25:47.719 as something that's recommended 00:25:47.719 --> 00:25:49.459 or don't present it to me 00:25:49.459 --> 00:25:50.899 as if it's got any relevance 00:25:50.899 --> 00:25:51.619 to my life. 00:25:52.459 --> 00:25:53.740 But then for you as Christians, 00:25:54.399 --> 00:25:56.079 you're thankful to God 00:25:56.079 --> 00:25:57.759 that he hasn't taken away his law, 00:25:58.000 --> 00:25:59.599 that he hasn't actually come to you 00:25:59.599 --> 00:25:59.919 and said, 00:26:00.139 --> 00:26:00.479 that's fine, 00:26:00.519 --> 00:26:01.599 you don't need that anymore. 00:26:01.979 --> 00:26:03.119 Just go on your own way 00:26:03.119 --> 00:26:04.159 and make up your own mind 00:26:04.159 --> 00:26:05.459 as to what is and isn't right. 00:26:05.460 --> 00:26:11.259 Now, for the law-abiding people of God, 00:26:12.019 --> 00:26:13.160 the law of God 00:26:13.160 --> 00:26:15.740 is part of their security, 00:26:15.940 --> 00:26:17.660 part of their guidance, 00:26:17.880 --> 00:26:18.180 at least, 00:26:18.279 --> 00:26:19.480 on a safe path. 00:26:20.620 --> 00:26:21.519 And that's what you find 00:26:21.519 --> 00:26:23.759 in so much of the Psalms 00:26:23.759 --> 00:26:24.460 that we sing, 00:26:25.019 --> 00:26:26.900 so many references positively 00:26:26.900 --> 00:26:28.680 to the law of God. 00:26:29.440 --> 00:26:31.140 The law of God being a means 00:26:31.140 --> 00:26:32.880 by which the Psalmist's feet 00:26:32.880 --> 00:26:35.120 are guided on the right path, 00:26:36.140 --> 00:26:37.400 in contrast to those 00:26:37.400 --> 00:26:38.800 who are the wicked, 00:26:38.940 --> 00:26:40.480 who don't acknowledge 00:26:40.480 --> 00:26:42.100 the law of God. 00:26:43.380 --> 00:26:44.260 And that's why you, 00:26:44.800 --> 00:26:45.320 as Christians, 00:26:45.440 --> 00:26:46.500 and I ask as Christians 00:26:46.500 --> 00:26:48.720 why we can follow the Psalmist 00:26:48.720 --> 00:26:50.200 in so much of what he says. 00:26:50.320 --> 00:26:51.080 Psalm 119, 00:26:51.180 --> 00:26:51.940 just one example 00:26:51.940 --> 00:26:53.120 out of many, many verses. 00:26:54.080 --> 00:26:55.960 119, verse 165. 00:26:56.720 --> 00:26:57.660 Great peace 00:26:57.660 --> 00:27:00.820 of those who love your law. 00:27:00.819 --> 00:27:02.139 Nothing 00:27:02.139 --> 00:27:04.519 can make them stumble. 00:27:05.339 --> 00:27:06.240 Wonderful words. 00:27:06.619 --> 00:27:07.279 Great peace 00:27:07.279 --> 00:27:09.019 of those who love your law. 00:27:09.539 --> 00:27:11.059 Nothing can make them stumble. 00:27:11.679 --> 00:27:12.679 What he means by that is 00:27:12.679 --> 00:27:14.179 as long as they're giving 00:27:14.179 --> 00:27:15.819 the respect to the law of God, 00:27:16.259 --> 00:27:17.679 guided by the law of God, 00:27:17.839 --> 00:27:19.119 even as Christian people 00:27:19.119 --> 00:27:20.500 who are not saved 00:27:20.500 --> 00:27:22.059 by works of the law 00:27:22.059 --> 00:27:23.559 or obedience to the law, 00:27:23.919 --> 00:27:24.960 they still use the law 00:27:24.960 --> 00:27:25.659 as a transcript 00:27:25.659 --> 00:27:27.319 of God's own nature, 00:27:27.319 --> 00:27:29.519 and they see the law 00:27:29.519 --> 00:27:31.039 as setting out for them 00:27:31.039 --> 00:27:31.619 the path 00:27:31.619 --> 00:27:33.319 in which they walk 00:27:33.319 --> 00:27:34.439 in following Christ. 00:27:35.980 --> 00:27:36.700 Great peace 00:27:36.700 --> 00:27:38.819 of those who love your law. 00:27:39.539 --> 00:27:40.439 Nothing can make 00:27:40.439 --> 00:27:42.000 them stumble. 00:27:43.119 --> 00:27:44.879 So there's the restoration 00:27:44.879 --> 00:27:47.019 of the rediscovery 00:27:47.019 --> 00:27:48.079 of the law of God, 00:27:48.639 --> 00:27:49.919 bringing back 00:27:49.919 --> 00:27:50.919 to the people of Judah 00:27:50.919 --> 00:27:52.439 a consciousness of God, 00:27:53.240 --> 00:27:54.259 bringing back 00:27:54.259 --> 00:27:55.279 that consciousness 00:27:55.279 --> 00:27:55.920 of God 00:27:55.920 --> 00:27:57.220 by which they would come 00:27:57.220 --> 00:27:58.859 to be drawn 00:27:58.859 --> 00:27:59.879 to the Passover 00:27:59.879 --> 00:28:01.460 and to the partial lamb, 00:28:02.200 --> 00:28:02.879 and once again 00:28:02.879 --> 00:28:04.160 have reestablished 00:28:04.160 --> 00:28:04.819 amongst them 00:28:04.819 --> 00:28:06.019 that relationship 00:28:06.019 --> 00:28:06.579 with God 00:28:06.579 --> 00:28:07.440 that they'd lost. 00:28:08.819 --> 00:28:10.119 And for ourselves, 00:28:10.379 --> 00:28:11.299 as Christians, 00:28:11.480 --> 00:28:12.440 it has that place 00:28:12.440 --> 00:28:13.980 where it is 00:28:13.980 --> 00:28:15.599 still a guide for us, 00:28:16.259 --> 00:28:17.599 and where we thank 00:28:17.599 --> 00:28:18.079 the Lord 00:28:18.079 --> 00:28:19.759 that we do have 00:28:19.759 --> 00:28:20.299 his law, 00:28:21.039 --> 00:28:21.940 that he has given us 00:28:21.940 --> 00:28:23.840 a love for it. 00:28:24.640 --> 00:28:25.340 Let's pray. 00:28:28.460 --> 00:28:29.660 Our gracious God, 00:28:29.740 --> 00:28:30.559 we give thanks 00:28:30.559 --> 00:28:31.779 for the whole of your word, 00:28:32.960 --> 00:28:34.160 for the word as law 00:28:34.160 --> 00:28:35.380 and gospel to us. 00:28:36.620 --> 00:28:37.320 We bless you 00:28:37.320 --> 00:28:37.980 that your law 00:28:37.980 --> 00:28:38.940 brings to us 00:28:38.940 --> 00:28:40.259 a sense of our own need, 00:28:41.200 --> 00:28:42.299 that you, O Lord, 00:28:42.440 --> 00:28:43.720 impress upon our mind 00:28:43.720 --> 00:28:45.180 our own guilt, 00:28:45.380 --> 00:28:46.100 our sinfulness 00:28:46.100 --> 00:28:47.240 before your law, 00:28:47.759 --> 00:28:48.759 before your eyes. 00:28:49.640 --> 00:28:50.420 We thank you 00:28:50.420 --> 00:28:51.140 for your kindness 00:28:51.140 --> 00:28:52.060 in giving us 00:28:52.060 --> 00:28:53.480 the moral law. 00:28:54.440 --> 00:28:55.019 And we thank you 00:28:55.019 --> 00:28:55.480 for the way 00:28:55.480 --> 00:28:56.820 that it has already 00:28:56.820 --> 00:28:57.519 been fulfilled 00:28:57.519 --> 00:28:58.480 for your people 00:28:58.480 --> 00:28:59.779 in the obedience 00:28:59.779 --> 00:29:00.820 of their saviour, 00:29:00.900 --> 00:29:02.060 the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:29:02.920 --> 00:29:03.759 We thank you, 00:29:03.860 --> 00:29:03.960 Lord, 00:29:04.039 --> 00:29:05.460 for his perfect life, 00:29:06.279 --> 00:29:07.580 for his atoning death, 00:29:08.500 --> 00:29:09.279 for his resurrection 00:29:09.279 --> 00:29:10.160 from the dead. 00:29:10.880 --> 00:29:12.220 And we bless you tonight, 00:29:12.340 --> 00:29:12.480 Lord, 00:29:12.539 --> 00:29:13.600 that we can look to him 00:29:13.600 --> 00:29:15.100 as one in whom 00:29:15.100 --> 00:29:15.759 we are found 00:29:15.759 --> 00:29:16.960 acceptable to you, 00:29:17.860 --> 00:29:18.560 one in whom 00:29:18.559 --> 00:29:20.419 we truly find 00:29:20.419 --> 00:29:21.899 our grounding, 00:29:22.319 --> 00:29:23.119 our foundation 00:29:23.119 --> 00:29:23.859 for life. 00:29:24.599 --> 00:29:25.579 We pray that you 00:29:25.579 --> 00:29:26.059 would help us 00:29:26.059 --> 00:29:26.879 to honour him 00:29:26.879 --> 00:29:27.980 and to honour 00:29:27.980 --> 00:29:29.299 the way in which 00:29:29.299 --> 00:29:30.119 we are to walk 00:29:30.119 --> 00:29:31.559 in obedience to him. 00:29:32.639 --> 00:29:33.359 Bless to us 00:29:33.359 --> 00:29:34.899 every aspect 00:29:34.899 --> 00:29:35.779 of your word, 00:29:35.859 --> 00:29:36.240 O Lord, 00:29:36.980 --> 00:29:37.559 whether it be 00:29:37.559 --> 00:29:38.220 in the promises 00:29:38.220 --> 00:29:39.899 or in the commands 00:29:39.899 --> 00:29:40.940 and precepts. 00:29:41.339 --> 00:29:42.440 We give thanks, 00:29:42.539 --> 00:29:42.859 O Lord, 00:29:42.960 --> 00:29:44.139 that you give 00:29:44.139 --> 00:29:44.599 your people 00:29:44.599 --> 00:29:45.579 a love for you 00:29:45.579 --> 00:29:46.839 and a love 00:29:46.839 --> 00:29:47.599 for your word. 00:29:48.439 --> 00:29:49.179 We pray tonight, 00:29:49.279 --> 00:29:49.559 O Lord, 00:29:49.599 --> 00:29:50.259 for those who 00:29:50.259 --> 00:29:51.679 are particularly needy 00:29:51.679 --> 00:29:52.480 that we know of, 00:29:52.799 --> 00:29:53.419 already mentioned 00:29:53.419 --> 00:29:53.980 before you. 00:29:54.220 --> 00:29:55.460 We think especially, 00:29:55.679 --> 00:29:55.859 O Lord, 00:29:55.939 --> 00:29:57.639 tonight of those 00:29:57.639 --> 00:29:58.500 who are to be married 00:29:58.500 --> 00:29:59.119 tomorrow. 00:29:59.819 --> 00:30:00.960 We pray for Emma 00:30:00.960 --> 00:30:02.000 and Donald. 00:30:02.220 --> 00:30:03.099 We pray for Catherine 00:30:03.099 --> 00:30:03.599 and Gary. 00:30:04.240 --> 00:30:05.220 We ask for them, 00:30:05.379 --> 00:30:05.619 O Lord, 00:30:05.679 --> 00:30:06.259 as they enter 00:30:06.259 --> 00:30:07.240 into married life, 00:30:08.000 --> 00:30:08.619 that your blessing 00:30:08.619 --> 00:30:09.439 will be with them, 00:30:09.799 --> 00:30:10.299 that you will be 00:30:10.299 --> 00:30:10.899 their portion, 00:30:11.559 --> 00:30:12.059 that you will be 00:30:12.059 --> 00:30:12.599 their guide, 00:30:12.699 --> 00:30:13.139 that you will be 00:30:13.139 --> 00:30:13.819 their protector. 00:30:13.819 --> 00:30:15.139 And we ask, 00:30:15.319 --> 00:30:15.419 Lord, 00:30:15.500 --> 00:30:16.000 that they may 00:30:16.000 --> 00:30:16.899 enjoy you 00:30:16.899 --> 00:30:18.059 as they share 00:30:18.059 --> 00:30:18.919 together the things 00:30:18.919 --> 00:30:19.500 of God 00:30:19.500 --> 00:30:20.740 and the things 00:30:20.740 --> 00:30:21.700 of his gospel 00:30:21.700 --> 00:30:23.000 and the life 00:30:23.000 --> 00:30:23.960 that is in Christ. 00:30:24.659 --> 00:30:25.299 We ask, 00:30:25.399 --> 00:30:25.480 too, 00:30:25.559 --> 00:30:25.819 O Lord, 00:30:25.899 --> 00:30:26.559 tonight for 00:30:26.559 --> 00:30:28.099 Alan Murray 00:30:28.099 --> 00:30:28.759 and for 00:30:28.759 --> 00:30:30.200 Annie Mary's sister 00:30:30.200 --> 00:30:31.039 and for her family 00:30:31.039 --> 00:30:32.599 as they mourn 00:30:32.599 --> 00:30:33.480 George's passing. 00:30:34.200 --> 00:30:34.960 We pray that as they 00:30:34.960 --> 00:30:36.559 prepare for the funeral 00:30:36.559 --> 00:30:37.379 here tomorrow, 00:30:37.960 --> 00:30:38.559 that you be their 00:30:38.559 --> 00:30:39.279 strength and their 00:30:39.279 --> 00:30:39.639 guide, 00:30:39.779 --> 00:30:39.960 Lord. 00:30:40.659 --> 00:30:41.539 We ask that you 00:30:41.539 --> 00:30:42.579 would be pleased 00:30:42.579 --> 00:30:43.439 to give your comfort 00:30:43.440 --> 00:30:45.080 to them as they 00:30:45.080 --> 00:30:46.080 mourn George's 00:30:46.080 --> 00:30:46.500 passing. 00:30:47.380 --> 00:30:47.640 And grant, 00:30:47.759 --> 00:30:47.799 too, 00:30:47.840 --> 00:30:48.259 your blessing 00:30:48.259 --> 00:30:49.140 to William Graham 00:30:49.140 --> 00:30:49.580 tonight, 00:30:49.700 --> 00:30:49.880 Lord, 00:30:49.940 --> 00:30:51.059 as he lies 00:30:51.059 --> 00:30:51.640 in the hospital 00:30:51.640 --> 00:30:52.059 bed, 00:30:52.120 --> 00:30:52.759 as he seeks, 00:30:53.480 --> 00:30:53.840 Lord, 00:30:54.000 --> 00:30:55.500 still to recover 00:30:55.500 --> 00:30:56.559 or begin to 00:30:56.559 --> 00:30:57.259 recover from 00:30:57.259 --> 00:30:58.100 his injury. 00:30:58.820 --> 00:30:59.580 We ask, 00:30:59.759 --> 00:30:59.840 Lord, 00:30:59.900 --> 00:31:00.340 that you would be 00:31:00.340 --> 00:31:00.799 with him and 00:31:00.799 --> 00:31:01.380 with Morag, 00:31:01.440 --> 00:31:01.860 his wife, 00:31:01.940 --> 00:31:02.880 and with their 00:31:02.880 --> 00:31:03.220 family. 00:31:03.820 --> 00:31:04.799 We pray again 00:31:04.799 --> 00:31:05.580 for his recovery. 00:31:06.420 --> 00:31:07.120 We ask that your 00:31:07.120 --> 00:31:08.100 own healing hand 00:31:08.100 --> 00:31:09.039 may be upon him, 00:31:09.779 --> 00:31:10.519 that your comforting 00:31:10.519 --> 00:31:11.360 hand will be with 00:31:11.360 --> 00:31:11.779 him and with 00:31:11.779 --> 00:31:12.519 Morag as well. 00:31:12.519 --> 00:31:13.099 We thank you 00:31:13.099 --> 00:31:14.220 that you are 00:31:14.220 --> 00:31:15.119 able to reach 00:31:15.119 --> 00:31:15.839 into the 00:31:15.839 --> 00:31:17.379 innermost recesses 00:31:17.379 --> 00:31:18.139 of our soul, 00:31:18.200 --> 00:31:18.639 even when 00:31:18.639 --> 00:31:20.220 outwardly we 00:31:20.220 --> 00:31:20.799 may seem 00:31:20.799 --> 00:31:21.660 largely 00:31:21.660 --> 00:31:22.619 unresponsive. 00:31:23.339 --> 00:31:23.740 Bless him, 00:31:23.799 --> 00:31:24.200 we pray, 00:31:24.319 --> 00:31:25.460 and sanctify 00:31:25.460 --> 00:31:27.079 to them this 00:31:27.079 --> 00:31:28.119 particular 00:31:28.119 --> 00:31:28.879 providence, 00:31:29.599 --> 00:31:30.240 and grant that 00:31:30.240 --> 00:31:30.559 you would be 00:31:30.559 --> 00:31:31.639 with them in 00:31:31.639 --> 00:31:32.220 these days to 00:31:32.220 --> 00:31:32.680 come and with 00:31:32.680 --> 00:31:33.059 a wider 00:31:33.059 --> 00:31:34.440 extended family 00:31:34.440 --> 00:31:35.420 as well. 00:31:36.079 --> 00:31:36.680 So go before 00:31:36.680 --> 00:31:37.059 us now, 00:31:37.139 --> 00:31:37.539 we pray. 00:31:38.180 --> 00:31:38.639 Hear us in 00:31:38.639 --> 00:31:39.259 our prayer and 00:31:39.259 --> 00:31:39.839 cleanse us from 00:31:39.839 --> 00:31:40.339 our sin. 00:31:40.879 --> 00:31:41.400 For Jesus' 00:31:41.400 --> 00:31:41.880 sake. 00:31:42.040 --> 00:31:42.320 Amen. 00:31:42.320 --> 00:31:42.440 Amen.