Thank you.
And then,
thank you.
Thank you.
living our Jesus.
Thank you.
Though the storms may rage, He is strong to save. He's the King forever, Jesus.
When I plead His case, I will sing my praise to the King forever, Jesus.
All my sorrows past, I am home at last with my King forever, Jesus.
With my King forever, Jesus.
So as we've joined our voices in praise, let's now unite our hearts in prayer. Let us pray.
Our Father in Heaven, we thank You that we have much cause to give You praise and to give You thanks.
We thank You that You are great and good. We thank You that You are mighty and powerful.
We thank You that You look upon us with grace and favor.
We ask that You would guide us tonight as we read Your Word, as we consider its truth.
We ask that You would remind us that as Your people, we have great and precious privileges.
We have this open access to Your throne of grace.
We are Your witnesses, Your ambassadors.
We are those that represent You here on earth.
So help us, Lord, to represent You well with our character, with our words, with our actions.
We pray that we would be signposts like John the Baptist.
Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
We thank You that You have placed us here in this church, in this community, in this city.
We thank You that there are many people in this city who call upon Your name.
And we thank You that You do not leave Yourself without a witness.
We pray that You would strengthen Your work, Your church here in Edinburgh.
And we thank You that there are many pulpits from which the good news of Jesus sounds forth.
So we pray that You would strengthen that work and that You would extend that work.
That there would be many churches that would soon be planted.
And many new people who would come in contact with the gospel.
We pray for the work of chaplaincy, whether in prisons or in hospitals, in schools, in the armed forces.
We thank You that You place Your people in these key strategic places.
We thank You for organizations like Gideon's who give away thousands of thousands of copies of Your word.
And who supply schools and prisons and the armed forces with copies of the scriptures.
And we thank You that there are many of Your people who have come to faith through the reading of Your word.
And through the circumstances that place them in difficult settings.
Heavenly Father, we pray that You would bless Your word now as we read it.
That You would speak to our hearts.
That You would encourage us.
That You would strengthen us.
That You would correct us.
That You would renew us and restore us.
Lord, You know each of one of our stories.
You know each of our circumstances.
You know the burdens that weigh us down.
You know the joys that bring us smiles.
You know the hope that leads us forward.
And You know at times that sense of sadness or sorrow or despair that can so easily entangle us and bring us down.
So Lord, whatever is needed, we pray that You would amply provide.
And now as we turn to Your word, we thank You that the Holy Spirit promises to accompany the reading of Your word with Your power.
With Your presence.
And You tell us that Your word can never go out and return to You without effect.
So we commit ourselves to You this evening.
In the name of Jesus.
Amen.
Well there are two passages I'm going to read to us.
The first comes from Exodus chapter 19.
And the second from Leviticus.
Again in my prison work I try to explain the Bible to people.
And to say most of the books of the Bible either have the name is where it was written to or who wrote it.
Of course that doesn't hold for books like Exodus and Leviticus or Numbers.
But you know you quickly get corrected if you say something that is not completely true.
Exodus chapter 19 verses 1 down to 8.
In the third month after the Israelites left Egypt.
On the very day they came to the desert of Sinai.
And after they set out from Rephidim.
They entered the desert of Sinai.
And Israel camped there in the desert in front of the mountain.
Then Moses went up to God.
And the Lord called to him from the mountain and said.
This is what you are to say to the house of Jacob.
And what you are to tell the people of Israel.
You yourselves have seen what I did in Egypt.
And how I carried you on eagle's wings and brought you to myself.
Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant.
Then out of all the nations you will be my treasured possession.
Although the whole earth is mine.
You will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.
So Moses went back and summoned the elders of the people.
And set before them all the words that the Lord had commanded him to speak.
The people responded together.
We will do everything the Lord has said.
So Moses brought their answer back to the Lord.
And if you move forward a few pages.
We'll pick up in Leviticus chapter 19.
Leviticus 19 and we'll read from verses 1 down to 18.
The heading is various laws and Leviticus means the law or laws.
The Lord said to Moses speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them.
Be holy because I the Lord your God am holy.
Each of you must respect his mother and father.
And you must observe my Sabbath.
My Sabbaths I am the Lord your God.
Do not turn to idols or make gods of cast metal for yourselves.
I am the Lord your God.
When you sacrifice a fellowship offering to the Lord.
Sacrifice it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf.
It shall be eaten on the day you sacrifice it or on the next day.
Anything left over until the third day must be burned up.
If any of it is eaten on the third day it is impure and will not be accepted.
Whoever eats it will be held responsible because he has desecrated what is holy to the Lord.
That person must be cut off from his people.
When you reap the harvest of your land.
Do not reap to the very edges of your field.
Or gather the gleanings of your harvest.
Do not go over your vineyard a second time.
Or pick up the grapes that have fallen.
Leave them for the poor and the alien.
I am the Lord your God.
Do not steal.
Do not lie.
Do not deceive one another.
Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God.
I am the Lord.
Do not defraud your neighbor or rob him.
Do not hold back the wages of a hired man overnight.
Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind.
But fear your God.
I am the Lord.
Do not pervert justice.
Do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great.
But judge your neighbor fairly.
Do not go about spreading slander among your people.
Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor's life.
I am the Lord.
Do not hate your brother in your heart.
Rebuke your neighbor frankly so that you will not share in his guilt.
Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people.
But love your neighbor as yourself.
I am the Lord.
Amen.
And may God add his blessing to these readings from his own word.
Let's pray together before we turn back.
Father God, we do again thank you for your word.
We ask once again that you would speak to us from it.
That you enable us to hear and to store up in our heart.
And to put into practice those things that you have for us.
Amen.
So we are continuing to think about the mission of God's people.
Thinking about this reality, as we mentioned at the beginning, that we are called to represent God to the world.
Often when we hear the word represent, representation, maybe we think in terms of the privileges that that involves.
In certain cases, in certain cases, other times responsibility.
For those of us who were paying attention to football yesterday, World Cup qualifying was on again.
And you'll notice whenever somebody is called up to represent their national team for the very first time.
They'll always, without fail, talk about the honor that they have in representing their country.
Of course, that also brings with it a certain measure of responsibility.
And Scottish players have that responsibility to make sure it's not another 20 years before we have a major championship.
So there's privilege, there's responsibility.
Closer to home, perhaps we have been asked to represent our school, our university, or our company in some way or another.
Giving a talk, perhaps.
Launching a new product.
And there, while there is privilege, perhaps the emphasis there falls on responsibility.
For that time, you become the face of your school or your business and industry.
So these are the ideas that we're going to focus on together.
That sense of the privilege of being chosen by God's grace.
We've seen that week after week as we've been in Genesis and Exodus.
But also the responsibility.
The responsibility to represent God well in the world for His glory and on His mission.
So again, as with our usual pattern tonight, we'll look at the Old Testament to see this theme.
In our community groups and student and young workers group, we'll look at the New Testament.
So we'll turn first of all to Exodus 19.
Where we'll see privileges and responsibilities as the people are called into covenant with their God.
So we're told at the beginning, the setting.
So this is the first day of the third month after the Israelites left Egypt.
So three months ago, they were enslaved.
But now, by God's grace, by God's power, they've been set free.
And they're meeting God at Mount Sinai.
They're about to get the Ten Commandments.
This covenant relationship is about to be established where God will say to them,
You will be my people and I will be your God.
It's a covenant of grace, as we've seen all the way through for the last few weeks.
And that's crucial to understanding the place of the law for the people.
It's crucial to understand how they are to live in the promised land and for their mission.
Exodus 19 is crucial for the people of God in helping them to understand,
And indeed, by extension, helping us to understand who are we?
And what are we here for as God's church?
And this chapter helps us to do that by looking at these privileges and responsibilities within the covenant.
So let's begin thinking about the privilege.
Verse 3,
So Jacob, Israel, here are reminders for them that God has already spoken promises to their forefathers.
This is recalling for us that original promise made in Genesis 12 that then gets passed down the generations.
And it's a reminder that God has been faithful to his promises and will continue to be faithful when it comes to the covenant.
And then in verse 4,
Again, the privilege of God working for his people and working for his intended goal.
Why does he set them free?
Why does he bring salvation?
That they might know God.
That they might enjoy relationship and life with God.
That's always the goal of salvation, to know and enjoy our God.
The privilege continues in verse 5, the second part.
If you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession.
Boys and girls, when we think of treasure, probably we think something like pirate gold.
Might be our first connection.
Perhaps if you've read The Hobbit, you'll think of Gollum and my precious.
But it can be anything that we have and hold on to dearly.
And what God is saying to the people here is that God has a special Father's love for his church.
He looks at his people and considers them to be precious, treasured in his sight.
Who are we as the people of God?
Exodus 19 says we are a people who've been saved by grace.
We are a people who've been saved by God's power.
The New Testament reminds us we've been saved at great cost.
The cost of the blood of the Lord Jesus.
Saved from slavery to enjoy freedom.
For us, again, that's slavery to sin leading to death.
Freedom to know forgiveness and life with God.
And who are we as the people of God?
We are precious to him.
We are loved by him.
And as Christians and as the church, we need to feel that sense of privilege.
That amazing grace, as it were, would be the song of our heart.
Amazing grace.
How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.
That we understand how desperate our situation was because of sin.
And to understand God's grace in saving us and opening blind eyes.
We need to feel it.
We also need to believe it.
We need to be telling ourselves the truth of the gospel.
We need to learn to listen to the right voice.
Because we have in the devil an accuser.
Who would be very glad to pull away any sense of security and joy we might have
from knowing God by pointing to our sin and taking our eyes off our Savior.
We need to let the privilege of the gospel shape our identity.
Individually as Christians and together as a church.
That our unity comes from being united to the Lord Jesus.
Our whole Christian life then is to be built on this.
To recognize it is an honor to represent our Savior God.
So, so much for privilege.
What does Exodus 19 tell us about responsibilities for the people of God?
Verse 5 speaks of responsibility.
Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant,
then out of all nations you'll be my treasured possession.
God has acted in saving grace.
The people, God's people, are to respond with obedience.
We've said it before, but the order is vital.
In chapter 19 we have,
You have been saved by grace, therefore obey.
Ten commandments begins with that reminder of rescue, redemption from Egypt,
therefore obey.
The law was, never, is, never, will, never be
God's way for people to be right with Him.
Rather, the law as it gives us God's perfect standards
show just how far short we fall of that and how much we need a Savior.
We need the saving work of God first.
Because when that happens,
we're given a new heart.
We're given a new will to obey.
And we're given the Spirit,
so we have a new power to help us to obey.
So we don't use the law as a way to earn God's favor,
to earn God's salvation.
Following this, in verse 6,
there are two pictures of God's people,
two ways to think about the reality,
how do we represent God,
and they're very much connected.
First of all,
in verse 6,
there's the idea of being a kingdom of priests.
Although the whole earth is mine,
you will be for me a kingdom of priests.
Now, to help us to understand that,
we need to think about,
well, what did a priest do
that God is then saying to the people of God collectively,
we are then to do?
Well, we know that one of the key jobs of a priest
was to teach the law.
The law of God was brought to the people.
And we also know that the priests
had the responsibility to offer sacrifices,
offer the right sacrifices,
so that the people's sin could be atoned for,
it could be forgiven,
it could be cleansed.
And the priests also had a responsibility
to speak God's blessing over God's people.
Ed Welch has written a whole book,
little book on this topic called
Created to Draw Near,
what it means for the church to be royal priests.
And in that book,
he emphasizes holiness
for the sake of relationship.
God calls us to be holy
so that we might be near to our holy God
and that we might serve our holy God
because we are in a living fellowship,
relationship of love with him.
When we think about the task
of representing our school
or representing our job,
we are saying, you know,
these are our values.
This is the product.
These are the skills we offer.
What are we saying as we represent God
as a kingdom of priests?
What's the mission of God's people?
We're saying we represent not ourselves,
we represent the one true and living God.
And we are saying these are his ways
in the way that we live,
in our obedience,
in our ethics.
And we'll think about that in a few moments.
And as we say,
this is the way to be right with him
as we speak of Jesus
and salvation
through his work on the cross.
We are to be that kingdom of priests
representing our holy God.
And for the nation of Israel to do that,
for the church today to do that,
what must we be?
And the answer is there in verse six.
We must be holy.
You will be for me a kingdom of priests
and a holy nation.
And again, it's important for us to recognize here
that the whole nation is in view.
Their shared life together
is what is being referenced here.
God understands
and wants the people to understand
from the beginning
the power of Christian community
to make God's truth
and to make worship
credible and attractive.
that our shared life
and worship
is to draw attention
to our God.
I was thinking about this
in terms of
baptizing people.
Like over the years,
thinking about people
who've come for baptism.
People from very different countries,
very different backgrounds often.
But one common feature
of their stories,
especially if they didn't have
any Christian background at all,
was coming around a church
or coming around a group
of Christian friends
and receiving a welcome
and seeing a different kind of love
in operation
and enjoying hospitality
from people who were strangers
just moments before.
And all of those things
serving to give that sense of intrigue
and a compelling quality
then to the Bible
that we read and spoke about,
the Jesus that we spoke of as Savior.
There is something compelling
about the shared life of God's people
when we live God's way.
And so he calls on his people
to be a holy nation.
Now recognize
that that in one case
is a fact.
You will be a holy nation.
New Testament letters
speak of Christians
as being saints,
not something that happens
when we die
and we go up to heaven.
Saints today set apart
from the world
to belong to God
in our relationship
of love and response.
That's fact.
That's who we are
as Christians.
It's fundamental
to our identity,
but it's also,
at one and the same time,
our mission.
We're called to live out
who we truly are.
In a sense,
verse 8 is the ideal.
Moses went back
and summoned the elders
of the people
and set before them
all the words
the Lord had commanded
and the people responded,
we will do everything
the Lord has said.
That's the ideal.
We know that Israel
falls short.
We know that we fall short,
but the ideal is that
we seek to live
in joyful obedience
so that others might see
something of God
in us,
something of Christ
in us.
So when it comes
to representing God,
we have this wonderful privilege,
but we also have responsibilities.
Now,
perhaps we're asking the question,
well,
what does it look like
to be a holy nation?
We might understand that
as concept,
but how do we see it
on the ground?
That's why we need
to turn to Leviticus 19.
So turn with me
in your Bible
or your device
to Leviticus 19,
and let's see
very briefly
what representing God
in all of life
looks like
according to this chapter.
It's a wonderful chapter
and we read half of it,
Bob read for us,
half of it
and it's a wonderful chapter
because it's so remarkably diverse
in its laws
and we'll think about that
in a moment,
but it's governed
by one great reality
which is there in verse 1.
Speak to the entire assembly
of Israel
and say to them,
Be holy
because I,
the Lord your God,
am holy.
And that's then repeated
in shorthand
and perhaps as you read
you noticed
the number of times
the verse would end,
I am the Lord your God.
See it there in verse 3,
each of you must respect
your mother and father,
you must observe my Sabbaths,
I am the Lord your God.
But then you can go
to verse 4,
verse 10,
verse 12,
verse 14,
it's all the way through.
What's the point?
God is saying,
keep these laws,
do these things
to reflect me.
He's saying to his people,
let my holiness
shape your,
our whole of life,
holiness.
How can we go wrong
when we think about
the idea of holiness?
holiness?
Two ways I think
we can easily go wrong
is we can think holiness
is for special Christians,
some kind of special category,
but not for a,
might be for a monk,
or it might be for a minister,
but not me.
You might be tempted
to think that.
Holiness is for special people.
Or we might think holiness
is for special occasions.
Well,
we know Sunday
is the Lord's day,
that's a holy day,
but maybe sometimes
we struggle to think,
well,
how does that holiness
work through Monday to Friday?
How does it work
through my nine to five
or life at school
or university
or in the family?
How does holiness
apply there?
That's why Leviticus 19
is so important,
because as we look
at the details
very briefly,
we're going to notice
that holiness
isn't just for some people,
for a special category,
it's for every one
of God's people.
Holiness is for every Christian,
and holiness
isn't just for Sunday.
Holiness is for all of life.
As Chris Wright
puts it in his book,
Old Testament Ethics
for the People of God,
holiness is thoroughly practical,
social,
and very down to earth.
Holiness was a community ethic
with a wide range
of implications.
So what we're going to do
is we're going to
very briefly survey
just how wide
this idea of holiness
goes in this chapter.
So let's think about
how these various laws,
and these aren't all the laws
by any stretch,
but these are various laws,
how do they impact
on society
in the first place?
We could go to verse 11.
Do not steal,
do not lie,
do not deceive
one another.
There is to be
truth-telling
within the community.
Verse 14,
do not curse the deaf,
or put a stumbling block
in front of the blind,
but fear your God.
There is to be
care and compassion
for those with disabilities.
Verse 17,
do not hate
a fellow Israelite
in your heart.
Rebuke your neighbor
frankly,
so that you will not
share in their guilt.
There is to be
love within the community,
a love that sometimes
says hard things
in order to draw
a person back from sin.
Verse 32,
stand up
in the presence
of the aged,
show respect
for the elderly,
and revere
your God.
respect
within society,
respect for
our elders is there.
Verse 34,
the foreigner
residing among you
must be treated
as your native-born.
Love them
as yourself.
In light of the gospel,
in light of God's
saving grace,
love those
who come
from other countries.
So when you see
how wide-ranging
this is,
holiness applies
to so many levels
of society.
Let's take a couple
of examples
as it applies
to family.
Verse 3
gives us that
command that heads
up the second table
of the law.
Each of you
must respect
your mother
and father.
Essential,
family essential
to society,
and essential
to good family living
is respect
and honor.
But there's also
reference
to family
in verse 29,
a very different way.
Do not degrade
your daughter
by making her
a prostitute,
or the land
will turn to
prostitution
and be filled
with wickedness.
So God's people
are to follow
God's sexual ethic,
not that of
the surrounding
countries.
There are laws
about agriculture
in here.
Verse 9,
When you reap
the harvest
of your land,
do not reap
to the very edges
of your field.
Do not go over
your vineyard
a second time
or pick up
the grapes
that have fallen.
Leave them
for the poor
and the foreigner.
As they went
about their
essential business,
they were to be
concerned for the
weakest and the
most vulnerable
within society
and to make
provision for them.
Justice is mentioned
in verse 15.
Do not pervert
justice,
do not show
partiality to the
poor,
or favoritism
to the great,
but judge
your neighbor
fairly.
The idea that
justice is to be
blind.
Now,
we don't show
favoritism on
either side.
What about
business?
Verse 35,
do not use
dishonest standards
when measuring
length,
weight,
or quantity.
Use honest
scales
and honest
weight.
Integrity
in business
practices.
Religion is in
here as well.
Verse 3,
you must observe
my Sabbaths.
Verse 4,
do not turn
to idols
or make metal
gods for yourselves.
Verse 30,
observe my
Sabbaths
and have
reverence
for my
sanctuary.
So,
religious life
matters
because God
is holy,
but so too
does family
life and
business life
and agriculture
and life
in society.
All of life
matters to
God.
All of life
is an
opportunity
to represent
God.
Holiness
represents
a morally
consistent
and good
God.
So,
in these
values,
we see
honesty,
we see
compassion,
we see
truth-telling,
justice for
all,
respect,
generosity,
care for
the weak,
racial equality,
all of these
reflecting the
character of
our God
and all of
them matter
to God,
all of
these and
more.
and in
that way
then,
we have
so many
opportunities
in day-to-day
life
to bear
witness to
the character
of God,
to live
for the
glory of
God,
to recognize
what a
gift it
would be
to our
workplace,
to our
school,
to our
family,
to our
community
if we
were to
live out
these holy
lives as
recognized
here in
Leviticus 19
and throughout
God's
Word.
And think
about this
as well.
Think about
what a
difference it
would make
to your
Monday morning
if you
were to
get out
of bed
or to
go out
of the
door
recognizing
I go
as one
of God's
representatives.
I have
been called
to be part
of that
kingdom
of priests,
to go
to our
work,
to go
into our
day,
to go
onto our
university
campus saying
I want
to be a
blessing
to others
and to be
on the
lookout for
how that
might happen.
I want
to be able
to speak
God's
Word to
others
just as
the priest
used to,
to encourage
a fellow
Christian or
to perhaps
share with
a non-Christian
friend something
that we've read
in the Bible
or something
we were thinking
about on Sunday.
Imagine what
difference it
would make
if we went
out praying
day by day.
I want to
bring the
hope of
God's saving
grace to
someone.
I want to
have the
chance to
tell someone
about the
good news
of Jesus.
Can you
imagine what
difference it
would make to
our sense of
purpose and
mission,
our sense of
dependence on
God,
our prayerfulness,
if we were to
recognize that
we're called to
be that kind
of ambassadors,
to be those
kingdom of
priests,
to be that
holy nation.
So as we
close,
let me,
I'm not a
teacher so I'm
going to invite
you to do a
homework assignment.
Teachers don't
usually invite you
to do it.
But imagine,
go home tonight
or find some
time in the
next few days
by yourself,
in your family,
with a friend,
read through
Leviticus 19,
ask yourself,
what is the
principle being
taught here?
And how would
this law apply
to my
21st century
context?
Bearing in mind
that holiness
matters,
and representing
God well
matters,
how can I
take these
laws that
reflect the
heart of
God to
understand them
in our
context and
then to
prayerfully seek
to live them
out?
Why do that?
Why take the
time to do
what would
seem like a
homework exercise?
Because of our
privilege.
God's
because it's a
privilege to
represent our
holy God who
saved us through
Jesus.
It's a privilege
to be part of
God's holy
priesthood.
But it's also
a responsibility,
a responsibility
we want to do
well for the
honour of our
God and for
the sake of
those around
us.
God says,
be holy
because I,
the Lord,
your God,
am holy.
Let's pray
together.
Lord,
our God,
we thank
you for
these passages
that we have
read and that
reminder that
you are a God
who entered
into covenant
with your
people, a
covenant with
grace.
And we thank
you for the
new covenant
in the body
and blood of
Jesus given
for us.
Thank you for
your saving
and eternal
commitment to
love your
church and to
save your
church.
And Lord,
as you have
called us,
we ask that
you would
enable us to
be that royal
priesthood and
that holy
nation, that
you would give
us that sense
of privilege and
wonder, a joy in
the gospel day
by day.
But you'd also
give to us that
sense of
responsibility,
that we would
be aware of
our mission,
of our
calling, so
that we would
want to think
about how to
live holy
lives for you,
recognizing that
we all have
different families
and friendship
groups and
different workplaces
and different
levels of
responsibility.
Lord, may you
make each one
of us wise to
make the best
use of our
time and to
be aware of
you at work
in the people
around us and
to see how you
might use us for
your kingdom and
for your glory.
And please help
us together to
endeavor to live
those holy lives
as we recognize
that we are saved
by your grace,
we are united to
the Lord Jesus
and united to
one another
through faith.
We pray in his
name.
Amen.
Now, we will
close singing
Psalm, the first
nine verses of
Psalm 105
together, and
then we will
sing by way of
response,
Speak, O
Lord, and we'll
stand together
to sing.
Give thanks to
the Lord God
and call on
his name,
his wonderful
deeds to the
nations proclaim,
sing praises
to him and
his exploits
record.
Let all
those who
seek him
rejoice
in the
Lord.
You
chosen
ones,
look to
the Lord
and his
might,
seek ever
his face
and his
wonders
recite.
his miracles
too, and
his judgments
divine.
You
children of
Abraham,
Jacob's
own
line.
The
Lord is
our God,
and he
rules all
the earth,
remembering
his
covenant,
the
word he
set forth.
He
vowed for
the
ages
to come
to make
good,
his
promise
to
Abraham,
to
Isaac,
renewed.
faith and
he
and
thy
them
come to you to receive the food of your holy word. Take your truth, plant it deep in us,
shape and fashion us in your likeness, that the light of Christ might be seen today in our acts of love and our deeds of faith.
Speak, O Lord, and fulfill in us all your purposes for your glory.
Teach us, Lord, full obedience, holy reverence, true humility.
Test our thoughts and our attitudes in the radiance of your purity.
Cause our faith to rise, cause Christ to see your majestic love and authority.
Words of power that can never fail, let their truth prevail over odd belief.
Speak, O Lord, and renew our minds. Help us grasp the heights of your plans for us.
Truths are changed from the dawn of time that will echo down through eternity.
And by grace we'll stand on your promises. And by faith we'll walk as you walked with us.
Speak, O Lord, till your church is built and the earth is filled with your glory.
Say, O Lord, till your church is built and the earth is filled with your glory.
Let's close with that wonderful blessing from Aaron.
Amen.
This is how you are to bless the Israelites.
Say to them, the Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you.
The Lord turn his face towards you and give you peace.
Amen.