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The Covenant · Stornoway Free Church of Scotland - Sermons

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We're going to begin our worship this morning singing to God's praise in Psalm 105 and sing psalms.
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! This is page 138 in the Blue Book.
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The tune will be Centennial.
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We're going to sing from the beginning through to verse 11.
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So four stanzas.
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Give thanks to the Lord God and call on his name.
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His wonderful deeds to the nations proclaim.
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Sing praises to him and his exploits record that all those who seek him rejoice in the Lord.
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It's good for us to come with joy into the presence of our God and worship today.
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So let's sing with joy to his name.
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We'll stand to sing if we're able.
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Give thanks to the Lord God.
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Let all those who seek him rejoice in the Lord.
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You've chosen one's look to the Lord and his might.
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Seek help of his face and his wonders beside.
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His miracles too and his judgments divine.
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You children of Mepra and Jacob's own life.
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The Lord is our God and he rules all the earth.
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Remembering his covenant the word he set forth.
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He vowed for the ages to come to make good.
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His promise to Abraham to rise and renew.
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To Jacob is sovereign.
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He was made sure.
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With Israel his command would always endure.
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To you I will give us your portion to stand.
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The country of Canaan.
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The beautiful land.
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Let's bow our heads in prayer to God.
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God and our Father in heaven.
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We come before you this morning with these words of praise on our lips.
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That we have today so much to give thanks for.
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Because of your goodness and your grace towards sinners like us.
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We want to thank you today for your covenant.
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You are the one who has entered into an agreement.
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First and foremostly within the Trinity.
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Between the Father and the Son.
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A covenant before the foundation of the world.
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Where our Lord and our Savior Jesus agreed to come into this world.
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In the fullness of time.
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And to bear the sin and reproach of his people.
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Let me thank you that in the fullness of time he did indeed come.
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And come into this world that was full of sin and rebellion against him.
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A world that would ultimately reject him.
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And yet out of your great love.
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He fulfilled the terms of that covenant.
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And so our peace and our security was made sure.
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So we thank you today for the fact that we worship a covenant keeping God.
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We worship a God who has established a plan of salvation.
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Who has fulfilled all that is necessary for us today.
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To know the security of that salvation in its fullness.
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And so we are therefore today free to come and worship you like this.
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We are today free to look with hope on the future.
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To know that your purposes will be unfolded in their fullness.
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That there is the promise of a new heavens and a new earth.
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And that in the midst of all of the sorrow and travail of this world.
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There is much that we can look forward to.
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And so we pray that today we would meet with this living God.
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That we would meet with the covenant keeping God.
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That we would today rejoice in our salvation.
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And that we would have a confidence given to us.
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An assurance of the completeness of the work of Jesus.
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And that our faith in him would deepen and strengthen.
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And so receive our worship this day.
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Receive our confession of sin.
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Forgive us our sins.
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And bless us with your own presence.
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And we ask this for Jesus' sake.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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So boys and girls.
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Over the last few months when I've been here preaching.
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I have been sharing with you some of the exploits from our house.
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Because it's getting done up just now.
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And today I bring you a box.
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This box is, if those of you who are electricians will understand some of the jargon that's written on the side of this box.
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This says it's a two gang double pole switched socket dual earth.
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If you're an electrician, you will know what that means.
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If you're not an electrician, it will suffice for you to know it had a plug in it.
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And that plug is now mounted on the wall in one of the rooms in our house.
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I don't even know which room this woman into.
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Because there's about 50 of them.
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I don't know.
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There's loads and loads and loads of these.
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Maybe that's something you could do this afternoon when you go home, boys and girls.
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You could go home and you could count how many plugs are in your house.
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That would be an exciting thing to do.
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Our house has got more plugs in it now than it used to have.
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And the reason today that I know that our house has more plugs is not only that I can go around and count them.
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But because I also found sitting in my kitchen this week this box.
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And unless my electrician is messing us around, I was fairly confident that he hadn't left a full box to go out to the recycling.
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I was pretty sure it was in fact an empty box.
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And if I open the box, I can show you inside it.
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It is an empty box.
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And an empty box is a good thing when you're employing someone to do some work for you.
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Because that means they've done the job.
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And so you can be really glad when you find an empty box.
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Now, in the Bible, there is a story, a very important story, about an empty box.
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And it was after Jesus had been crucified.
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So you remember Jesus went to the cross and he died in our place.
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And at the cross, he took our sin and our guilt for all of the bad things that we do.
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He took all of that on himself and he paid the price to satisfy divine justice.
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To satisfy God's just punishment for our sins.
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Jesus paid that price.
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And then he died.
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And after he died, a man called Joseph of Arimathea came and asked for the body of Jesus.
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And he took the body of Jesus and put the body of Jesus in a tomb, in a garden.
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And then they rolled a big stone over the front of the tomb.
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So that was on Friday night.
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And on Sunday morning, Mary and some other women went to the tomb to find if they could anoint the body of Jesus with spices, anointments and things that they used to do when they buried someone.
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And they found that the stone had been rolled away and that inside the tomb, there was no body.
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Think of it like this.
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The tomb was an empty box.
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And they were confused.
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They were thinking, why is this an empty tomb?
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Why is it an empty box?
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Now, what did I just tell you?
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What does an empty box tell you?
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An empty box tells you the work has been done.
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And on that first Sunday, when they went to the empty tomb of Jesus and they found the tomb empty like that.
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What that says to them and what it should say to us today and what it's going to say forevermore is the work is done.
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Jesus died.
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Jesus died.
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And then he rose again from the dead because the father was pleased with all the work that he had done.
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The work is finished.
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And that's why today we can trust in Jesus completely for salvation.
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There's nothing else that we need to do.
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There's no extra work that we need to do.
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Sometimes we say to ourselves, well, God will love me if I'm just a little bit better.
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If we were going to add anything to the finished work of Jesus, that would be like saying the box isn't really empty.
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There's a little bit more inside the box that we have to do.
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But actually the box is empty because all of the work is complete and done.
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And so today we can trust Jesus because he has done all of the work for us.
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We're going to say the Lord's Prayer just now.
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And then after we've done that, we'll sing again.
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So let's bow our heads in prayer to God.
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Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
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Your kingdom come.
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Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
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Give us this day our daily bread.
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And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.
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Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
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For yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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We're going to sing again to God's praise.
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This time from Psalm 2027.
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Again, in Sing Psalms, page 31 in the Blue Book.
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The tune is Jackson.
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We're going to sing from the beginning through to the second half of verse 4.
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So 5 stands as to God's praise.
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The Lord's my Savior and my light.
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The Lord's the stronghold of my life.
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Why should I be afraid?
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Again, we'll stand to sing to God's praise.
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The Lord's my Savior and my light.
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The Lord's my Savior and my light.
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The Lord's my Savior and my Savior and my Savior and my Savior and my Savior and my Savior and my Savior and my Savior and my Savior and my Savior?
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When people do hurt, threaten me to take my life away.
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My adversaries and my foes will stumble in that face.
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Though an army hands me in, my heart will feel no dread.
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Though one against me should arise, I will lift up my hand.
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One thing I'll plead before the Lord, and this I'll seek always.
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That I may come within God's arms and dwell there all my days.
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But from the beauty of the Lord, I constantly make it.
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And in his arms may seek to know direction in his ways.
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Please pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray,
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After these things, the word of the Lord came to Abraham in a vision.
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Fear not, Abraham, I am your shield. Your reward shall be very great.
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But Abraham said, Lord God, what will you give me?
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For I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus.
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And Abraham said, Behold, you have given me no offspring, and no member of my house will be my heir.
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Behold, the word of the Lord came to him, This man shall not be your heir.
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Your very own son shall be your heir.
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And he brought him outside and said, Look towards heaven and number the stars, if you are able to number them.
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Then he said to him, So shall your offspring be.
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And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.
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And he said to him, I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.
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But he said, O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?
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He said to him, Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtle dove, and a young pigeon.
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And he brought him all these, and cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other.
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But he did not cut the birds in half.
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And when the birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
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As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram.
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And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him.
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Then the Lord said to Abram, Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs,
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and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years.
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But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterwards they shall come out with great possessions.
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As for yourself, you shall go to your fathers in peace.
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You shall be buried in a good old age, and they shall come back here in the fourth generation,
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for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.
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When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking firepot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces.
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On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying,
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To your offspring I give this land from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates,
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the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites,
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the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.
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Amen.
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Again, this is God's word to us.
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Let's once again bow our heads in prayer to God.
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Our Heavenly Father, we come before you today.
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We give you praise and thanks for the great privilege that we enjoy today gathering for worship like this.
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How good it is for us to come into the presence of our God, to give you thanks for your goodness to us,
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for us to gather on the first day of the week in particular, remembering the resurrection of our Savior Jesus.
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We thank you that he has indeed defeated death.
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We thank you that the work of salvation is indeed complete, that all that is necessary to satisfy your justice over our sinfulness and our iniquity has been fully met,
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that the price has been paid in full.
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And today we can have that confidence to therefore draw near to you, knowing that your wrath has abated against sinners like us,
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because Jesus has borne the curse.
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We thank you today for the fact that Jesus is not merely in the grave and not even merely risen to life, but that he has ascended up to heaven.
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That today he is seated at your right hand.
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And from there he continues to rule over all things until one day we know he will return to judge the living and the dead.
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And so, Father, we seek today to give you due homage and praise because of the work of salvation,
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and because as well that Jesus reigns, that Jesus is Lord over all things this day.
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And, Lord, we have to confess the mystery of that, because as we worship you today,
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each one of us will know in our own different ways, in our own different experiences,
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the strangeness of your providence.
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There are, O Lord, so many times when the things that happen to us in our lives,
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the things that happen to us day by day, week by week, are a real mystery.
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We don't understand why so much suffering is sometimes allowed to continue.
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We wonder at why pain endures.
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And we are left, Lord, so often uncertain about what the real plan is.
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We often feel like Abraham did.
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In that passage that we've read today.
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And we thank you that we can rest in the knowledge that you have a purpose in all things.
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That you are working out that purpose in its fullness.
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And that one day we will see the mystery of that marvelous interweaving of all of the events of our lives,
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woven together into your glorious pattern.
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And so we pray, Father, that you would give us faith.
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Simply enable us, Lord, to trust in you when things from our perspective seem to be so difficult.
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We ask and pray for those, therefore, who are going through times of profound sorrow at this moment.
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We pray for those who are grieving the loss of loved ones.
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Those who are anxious over the health of loved ones.
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Perhaps even the health of those who are near to death.
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May you minister to them into these trying times, your own grace and your love and compassion.
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May they know and experience the mercy of the living God,
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whose promise to them is that he will never leave them nor forsake them.
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We thank you for that experience that is so often shared by your people.
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That when we feel our own strength has failed and where there is no hope for us,
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that we find that underneath are the everlasting arms of God.
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And that you continue to lift us up and to carry us through hard and difficult experiences.
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We pray, therefore, for that strength today.
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Not for a strength merely to endure,
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but for us to know the strength of God that enables us to thrive in the midst of great turmoil and sorrow.
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We want to pray, Father, for the congregation today and all of its different needs.
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We pray especially for Calamurto as he ministers to us.
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We ask and pray your blessing on him and his family.
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We pray for the vacancy in the congregation.
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We pray that you would raise up a pastor who will minister in this place
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and lead the congregation in the study of your word and in the pastoral care that needs to be exercised.
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We pray for the eldership of the church,
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that you would give them wisdom and understanding in the roles that they exercise.
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Lord, we know that in this day pastoral care is such a challenge
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because the problems that are in the world
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so often press into the lives of your people as well.
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And we ask, Father, therefore, for wisdom and grace
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in how pastoral care is exercised,
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that it will be done so, Lord, full of gentleness and care and love
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in the way in which Jesus cared for his people.
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We thank you that you do not abandon us when it comes to pastoral ministry.
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We thank you that we have the Holy Spirit to help.
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And we do pray, Father, for the working and the power of the Holy Spirit in the life of this church.
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We pray, Father, that day by day, week by week,
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we would be more aware, in fact, of that,
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that we would see the fruit of the Holy Spirit's work in our lives
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overflowing in the lives of each and every one of us,
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and that we would know and experience a deepening love and care and compassion,
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that we would see patience and endurance increase,
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that we would see tenderness grow in the way in which we deal with one another,
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Father, that you would make us a congregation of men and women who love one another
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as Christ loved us.
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We pray, Father, therefore, for humility to possess us.
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We pray, Father, that our lives would be characterized by that overflow of grace,
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and that we would know your hand and your work upon us.
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We want to pray today, Father, for the wider church on the island and across our nation.
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We pray, Father, for the vacancies in the church.
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We thank you, Father, for ministries beginning at the moment.
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We lift up and pray, Father, for those who are undertaking studies
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and preparing for ministry in our seminary.
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We pray for the staff there.
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We ask and pray your blessing on the training
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of those who will go out into the work of the vineyard of the gospel.
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We pray, Father, that you would continue to raise up others
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who will serve in different capacities and ministries
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throughout the life of the church.
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We pray for the health of the church in our land.
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We pray, Father, for healthy gospel churches to spring up
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and to be encouraged across our nation,
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for the light that shines in the darkness,
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to shine more brightly across our land,
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not because we are great, but because our gospel,
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the gospel that we herald and proclaim,
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the good news that we have is a wonderful message
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and that it does make a difference in the lives of men and women.
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And so, Father, bless us with an evangelistic zeal.
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Bless us with a desire to make Jesus known.
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And so across our nation this day,
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whatever the gospel has been preached,
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may you add fruit and multiply the blessing
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of the preaching of the word.
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Father, just as we long for that blessing in our own nation,
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we pray for the nations of the world.
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Lord, our news, Lord, just now is full of dire warnings
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and calamities that are happening in different places,
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concerns that people have about the movement of the nations
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and the hearts of rulers.
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We thank you that you are the one who establishes all things.
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And we pray that in the midst of strange times
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that you would give us a resilience in the church.
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Help us to see the seasons for what they are,
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the unfolding of the great plan of the fullness of time,
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and to remember that Jesus is the one,
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the Lamb who is slain, standing in the midst of the throne,
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who alone is worthy to unravel the scroll of history.
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We thank you that Jesus rules,
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even over the crises that we see in the nations.
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We thank you that Jesus rules over the uncertainties of war,
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the uncertainties of regimes that are violent and iniquitous,
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that Jesus rules over all of this.
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And therefore, we pray for the resilience to endure in these days,
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not only for ourselves, but for our brothers and sisters
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who face far more difficult circumstances than we can imagine.
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May they shine brightly for Christ,
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and may the radiance of Jesus be reflected in the faces of your children,
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especially those who languish in prison,
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who are facing persecution and violence
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for gathering in Jesus' name this day.
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Because in all places,
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the triumph of the resurrection is worthy to be proclaimed,
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the triumph of the cross over sin,
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and the good news that salvation is for us,
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may, Lord, our persecutors discover this message for themselves.
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May men and women everywhere taste and see that God is good,
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and may your blessing flow.
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And so be with us, we pray this day,
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as we continue to worship you,
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and as we reflect on your word.
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Bless us in the truth.
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Strengthen us in your service,
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and uphold us by your Holy Spirit.
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And we pray in Jesus' name.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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We're going to sing once again to God's praise
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in Psalm 23 in the Scottish Psalter.
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This is page 229 in the Blue Psalm book,
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the tune of St. Columba.
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James was pointing out to me this morning, actually,
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Psalm 23 appears three times in the bulletin sheet today.
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We have the Scottish Psalter version this morning.
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We'll be singing the St. Psalms version tonight,
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and it's also part of the memory verse.
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That's in the bulletin as well.
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So the Lord must be speaking to someone from these verses today.
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It's good to remember these words, then.
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The Lord's my shepherd, I'll not want.
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He makes me down to lie in pastures green.
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He leadeth me the quiet waters by.
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We'll stand and sing the whole of the psalm to God's praise.
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The Lord's my shepherd, I'll not want.
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He makes me down to lie in pastures green.
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He leadeth me the quiet waters by.
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And so the love restore again.
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And leadeth me the quiet voyque.
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Oh, I thought it just not will, yet will I fear the hell.
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For thou art with me and thy watch, and stop me comfort still.
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My table that has furnished it, in presence of my foes,
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my hand the dust with oil anoint, and my cup of gold.
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Goodness and mercy on my life shall surely follow me.
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And in your sight forevermore, my dwelling place shall be.
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Amen.
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Well, as we turn back to that passage in Genesis 15,
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let's just bow our heads in prayer to God.
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Heavenly Father, as we come just now to your word in the Bible,
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we pray for your blessing today.
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We need, Lord, your Holy Spirit working in our hearts.
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Otherwise, everything that we do today is just words.
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It's just meaningless in its ultimate import,
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because without the Spirit to open up our hearts,
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and without the Spirit to direct us to see what is most important,
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and to help us to understand,
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then all of this will be meaningless to us.
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And so we do pray today, Father, for that work of the Spirit amongst us.
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We thank you that what we're reading today is
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truly one of the most important verses and scriptures and passages
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in the whole of your word.
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And we thank you that it's a passage today that if we understand it,
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we'll see clearly what binds together the Old and the New Testament.
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We'll see what it is that really the whole of your revelation is about.
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And so we ask and pray today that we would see clearly Jesus in these verses,
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that we would see clearly what it is that Jesus has done,
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and that we would be blessed to be like Abraham,
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believing God and have been counted to us as righteousness.
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We ask this in Christ's name.
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Amen.
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So as we kind of begin today looking at this chapter,
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I think it's worth kind of just remembering the context
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in which all of this takes place.
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Abraham has been called by God from the city of Ur of the Chaldeans.
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He has moved from there and has been on this journey towards the Promised Land.
34:37
And having arrived in the Promised Land,
34:39
God has been giving him more and more promises.
34:42
There's been assurances that have come to him
34:44
that Abraham's descendants would inherit all of the land in which he is going.
34:50
However, there is a problem.
34:53
And the problem is simply this.
34:55
Abraham has no child who will inherit.
35:00
And so in his thinking at this particular point,
35:05
he's entering into the thinking of the ancient Near East,
35:08
which was common in his day,
35:10
which was that if the lord of the household had no heir to inherit,
35:19
then the inheritance passes to the chief steward.
35:24
And the chief steward would then hold this in trust
35:27
and perpetuate the legacy of his master.
35:31
And so this is before there's any sign of Ishmael or anything else.
35:36
Abraham is literally thinking,
35:38
this man, Eliezer of Damascus,
35:40
is the one who will inherit everything that he has received.
35:45
All of his flocks, yes.
35:48
All of his tents and earthly possessions, yes.
35:52
But also, crucially, will Eliezer of Damascus be the one to inherit the promise of God?
36:02
And that's the big question.
36:04
This hope of salvation,
36:07
is Eliezer of Damascus going to carry it on?
36:10
Is Eliezer of Damascus a man who loves the Lord?
36:13
And these are the things that are occupying or preoccupying Abraham's mind.
36:20
And so it's into this that God,
36:23
this picture of doubt and uncertainty,
36:25
that God intervenes,
36:28
clarifying his promises
36:30
and giving Abraham something to hold on to.
36:34
And as we'll see,
36:36
a covenant is really important
36:39
in that sense of what Abraham can latch on to
36:44
and trust in.
36:47
It's also a passage where we have one of the key verses in the Bible.
36:52
Verse 6,
36:54
Abraham believed the Lord
36:55
and he counted it to him as righteousness.
36:59
He believed the Lord
37:01
and it was counted to him as righteousness.
37:02
Abraham wasn't considered righteous by God
37:07
because of his good works.
37:10
He was considered righteous by God
37:13
because of his faith.
37:19
He believed, he trusted in God.
37:24
And these verses are reiterated in the New Testament
37:27
as crucial to understanding what we continue to believe today.
37:32
that our salvation,
37:35
our hope,
37:36
our hope of being counted as righteous
37:38
and saved by a merciful God
37:42
is rooted not in our obedience,
37:45
not in our goodness,
37:47
not in our general ability to keep God's law,
37:50
but rather in our trusting in his promise.
37:55
And the promise that we have
37:58
is essentially the same promise that Abraham has.
38:02
A promise that God will give him a future.
38:08
A promise that God will persevere with him and his descendants.
38:12
And that promise,
38:15
as we'll see,
38:15
is found in its fulfillment in the person of Jesus.
38:18
And so therefore,
38:19
for us today,
38:20
the same holds true.
38:21
If we believe and trust in Jesus,
38:25
then that will be counted to us as righteousness.
38:29
That is where salvation is to be found,
38:32
believing in Jesus Christ.
38:35
And so I would urge you all today,
38:38
just from the outset,
38:38
to understand this passage in that light.
38:43
God is making promises to us.
38:46
God is offering to provide for us.
38:51
And God offers us a sure and certain pledge.
38:55
And the response is not to therefore say,
39:00
I must be good enough to be worthy of God's promise
39:03
and to earn God's provision
39:05
and to receive God's pledge.
39:09
The right response is to say,
39:11
I believe him.
39:13
I will trust in him alone.
39:18
So that's our points today.
39:20
Firstly, that God promises.
39:22
The passage starts with God
39:25
reiterating his promise to Abraham.
39:28
These wonderful words,
39:30
Fear not, Abraham.
39:32
I am your shield.
39:33
Your reward shall be very great.
39:39
God takes Abraham outside
39:41
and invites him to see the stars of the heavens
39:44
and says,
39:45
Your offspring shall be numbered
39:46
in the same innumerable way.
39:49
As you look back through the pages of the Bible
39:52
up to this point,
39:53
there's not many.
39:53
You can go home and read
39:55
from Genesis 1 to Genesis 15 this afternoon.
39:58
It'll take you about 20 minutes maybe.
40:00
Not even that.
40:02
But as you read through these chapters,
40:03
you'll see that
40:04
God is giving promises repeatedly.
40:10
The first of these is right after the fall.
40:14
As Adam and Eve
40:15
are being cast out of the garden
40:18
and as the judgment of God
40:19
is announced over them,
40:22
there's a promise given there
40:23
that the seed of the woman
40:26
will bruise the head of the serpent
40:28
and that in the process
40:30
the serpent will bruise his heel.
40:33
And that's the beginning of the promise
40:35
of an offspring
40:37
one day coming
40:38
who will triumph over
40:40
the entry of sin into the world,
40:43
who will deal with sin and brokenness.
40:47
We know that's found ultimately
40:49
in the person of Jesus.
40:52
Then again, after the flood,
40:54
again when terrible destruction
40:56
has been wrought,
40:59
Noah is given another promise.
41:01
And the promise that's given to Noah
41:03
is that God will never again
41:04
destroy the world in a deluge,
41:07
that the seasons will remain until the end.
41:09
And that there's some kind of hint
41:13
of a cost to this promise
41:15
because the Lord puts a bow in the heavens.
41:19
And it's said that the idea there
41:21
of the rainbow is not merely
41:22
that there's this multicolored sign
41:25
in the heavens,
41:26
but that it's an actual bow
41:27
pointed heavenward.
41:30
The arrow that it shoots
41:31
piercing the heart of God himself.
41:34
Again, the idea there
41:37
of the promised one
41:40
being in some way wounded
41:42
in the process of salvation.
41:47
Long after all of these things
41:49
are given,
41:50
God's promises are ultimately fulfilled
41:52
because the seed of the woman
41:54
did arrive.
41:56
And because the promised one
41:58
did come and bear the cost
42:00
in himself.
42:01
And you see it in the life
42:04
and ministry of Jesus.
42:07
That cost is born.
42:09
The person who does come,
42:10
he comes in the fullness of time
42:12
to deliver on the promise of God.
42:15
And it's fascinating to do it
42:17
if you go through the life of Jesus
42:19
and you look and you see
42:21
all of the occasions
42:22
in which his life and his ministry
42:24
leading up ultimately to his death
42:26
and to his resurrection.
42:28
All of these things fulfill
42:29
promises established
42:32
in the Old Testament.
42:35
He comes to deliver
42:37
the promise of forgiveness.
42:40
He comes to deliver
42:41
the promise of eternal life
42:43
to his people.
42:45
Remember these precious words
42:46
in John 14,
42:47
I am going to prepare
42:49
a place for you.
42:52
The promise is not merely
42:54
of a physical place
42:55
in this world
42:56
for Abraham and his descendants,
42:58
but it's of an eternal dwelling place
43:00
for God's people
43:02
to be with him.
43:04
An eternal home.
43:05
An eternal rest
43:07
that we're looking forward to.
43:09
The promise,
43:10
ultimately,
43:11
as well,
43:11
of justice.
43:14
I mean,
43:14
we look upon a world
43:15
which is full of injustice.
43:17
And there's all sorts
43:21
of attempts
43:21
to exert justice
43:23
in the world.
43:26
And yet,
43:27
these attempts
43:28
are so often flawed
43:29
and inadequate.
43:32
But one day,
43:33
when Jesus comes,
43:36
justice will be done
43:37
in full.
43:39
All wrongs
43:40
will be righted.
43:42
The guilty
43:43
will indeed
43:44
carry the penalty
43:45
for their sin.
43:48
And for us
43:48
who are in Christ,
43:50
we should remember
43:50
what that means.
43:53
Jesus has borne
43:54
the penalty
43:54
for our sin.
43:55
Justice
43:56
has been done
43:57
for our wrongdoing.
44:03
His heel
44:03
was indeed bruised.
44:06
The arrow
44:07
of God's
44:08
wrath
44:09
was directed
44:10
towards
44:11
Jesus
44:12
to bear
44:14
the penalty
44:14
of our sin.
44:19
And just as God
44:21
had made
44:22
promises to Abraham
44:23
and says to him,
44:24
I will fulfill
44:24
these things,
44:25
God today continues
44:26
to make promises
44:27
to us.
44:31
The same promise
44:32
extends to us today.
44:34
Fear not,
44:34
I am your shield.
44:36
Your reward
44:37
shall be very great.
44:38
God's promise
44:40
to his people,
44:41
the offer
44:42
of the gospel
44:42
today that comes
44:43
to all of us
44:44
is the same.
44:46
God is promising
44:46
protection
44:47
and incredibly
44:49
good things.
44:54
And that promise
44:55
comes into
44:56
the sorrow
44:58
of our lives
44:59
right now.
45:01
It comes into
45:02
the sorrow
45:02
of a world
45:03
marred
45:04
by death
45:05
and suffering.
45:06
and it invites
45:08
us to put
45:09
our faith
45:09
in a God
45:10
who puts
45:10
his promise
45:11
over against
45:12
that weight
45:13
of suffering
45:14
in our experience.
45:18
And who says
45:19
there are good
45:20
things
45:20
that lie
45:22
in store.
45:24
There is a hope
45:25
given to his
45:26
people.
45:31
And the condition
45:32
on this
45:32
is one of faith.
45:34
faith.
45:35
Because just
45:35
like the promise
45:36
came to Abraham,
45:37
the same promise
45:38
comes to us
45:38
and says,
45:40
fear not.
45:42
I've been
45:43
thinking about
45:44
this in the
45:45
face of
45:46
difficult
45:47
circumstances
45:47
and
45:48
the invitation
45:52
there is to
45:52
have faith.
45:55
That's what
45:55
Abraham is
45:56
invited to do.
45:57
He's invited
45:58
to trust
45:59
God
45:59
rather than
46:00
fear the
46:01
future.
46:02
fear.
46:04
And that's
46:05
the same
46:05
for us.
46:07
As our
46:08
God is
46:09
speaking to
46:10
us today,
46:10
as our
46:10
God is
46:11
inviting us
46:11
to continue
46:13
trusting him
46:14
today,
46:15
the invitation
46:16
is just
46:17
the same.
46:19
He says
46:20
to us,
46:21
fear not
46:21
because my
46:25
promise
46:26
is of
46:28
myself
46:29
and I
46:29
am
46:29
greater
46:30
than
46:30
any of
46:31
the
46:31
things
46:31
you
46:31
fear.
46:34
I wonder
46:35
today if
46:35
that's
46:35
true of
46:36
us.
46:40
Do we
46:40
fear?
46:43
What
46:43
things might
46:44
we fear?
46:46
I suppose
46:47
like Abraham,
46:48
the fear
46:49
was that
46:50
there might
46:50
be no
46:51
legacy,
46:52
nothing to
46:53
carry on.
46:55
Sometimes
46:55
that's true
46:56
in the
46:56
church.
46:58
We might
46:58
be fearful
46:59
about what
46:59
the future
47:00
looks like,
47:00
especially
47:01
when we
47:01
see the
47:03
church
47:03
nationally
47:04
and perhaps
47:04
locally
47:05
declining.
47:06
We see
47:06
congregations
47:08
shrinking.
47:10
We wonder
47:10
what's the
47:11
future going
47:11
to be like
47:12
for the
47:12
church.
47:13
perhaps you
47:17
fear
47:18
personal
47:19
things.
47:21
You fear
47:22
for your
47:22
kids
47:22
or you
47:25
fear for
47:26
your own
47:27
future.
47:28
Perhaps you
47:29
fear for
47:29
your parents'
47:30
health.
47:31
Perhaps you
47:31
fear for
47:32
your own
47:32
health or
47:34
the health
47:35
of your
47:35
loved ones.
47:40
And into
47:40
all of
47:41
these fears,
47:41
God is
47:42
saying to
47:42
us the
47:42
same thing
47:43
as he
47:43
was saying
47:43
to Abraham.
47:45
Fear not,
47:47
I am
47:48
your shield.
47:53
The
47:54
invitation to
47:54
us is to
47:55
trust him
47:56
who is
47:56
greater than
47:57
these fears,
47:59
to relinquish
48:00
our uncertainty,
48:02
to relinquish
48:02
our doubts,
48:03
to give them
48:05
all to him
48:05
and to
48:07
believe in
48:07
him,
48:08
to trust
48:09
in his
48:11
sufficiency.
48:12
God is
48:15
a God
48:15
who is
48:15
making
48:15
promises.
48:17
But he
48:17
is also
48:17
secondly a
48:18
God who
48:18
is providing.
48:20
This
48:20
passage, it
48:21
tells us about
48:22
God as a
48:23
provider.
48:23
God tells
48:24
Abraham that
48:25
it is true
48:26
not only of
48:27
the past,
48:27
but that God
48:28
is going to
48:28
continue to
48:29
provide for
48:29
him in the
48:29
future.
48:30
So you
48:30
look at the
48:30
way God
48:30
speaks to
48:31
him.
48:32
And this
48:32
is really
48:33
interesting because
48:33
this is the
48:34
way covenants
48:34
in the
48:35
ancient world
48:35
were formed.
48:36
God, the
48:37
overlord, the
48:38
mighty one, the
48:39
powerful one,
48:40
would come and
48:40
say, this is
48:42
how I
48:43
deserve to
48:44
be setting
48:46
the terms of
48:46
our relationship
48:47
because I
48:48
have already
48:49
done things.
48:50
And I want
48:51
you to see
48:52
the things
48:52
that I have
48:53
already done
48:54
in order for
48:56
you to trust
48:56
me going
48:57
forward.
48:58
So God
48:59
comes to
48:59
Abraham and
49:00
says,
49:00
Abraham, I
49:01
am the
49:01
Lord your
49:02
God that
49:02
has taken
49:03
you out
49:04
of the
49:05
Chaldeans.
49:06
And what
49:06
I was saying
49:07
to Abraham
49:07
is simply
49:08
this.
49:09
You can
49:09
look back,
49:10
Abraham, on
49:10
what's already
49:11
happened in
49:11
your life.
49:13
You can
49:13
look back over
49:14
recent years
49:15
and you can
49:16
see the
49:17
journey you've
49:18
been on and
49:19
how I have
49:20
been with
49:21
you through
49:22
all of this.
49:23
Now, again,
49:23
if you go
49:24
back and you
49:24
read the last
49:25
few chapters
49:25
in Genesis
49:26
before this,
49:27
you'll see
49:27
all of the
49:28
ways in which
49:29
God has
49:29
really been
49:30
helping Abraham.
49:31
God has
49:31
really blessed
49:32
him.
49:33
Abraham has
49:33
become
49:33
powerful,
49:34
so powerful
49:35
in fact,
49:36
that nations
49:37
around about
49:38
look to
49:39
Abraham for
49:39
help.
49:41
When an
49:41
invader comes
49:42
and carries
49:43
away the
49:43
people of
49:44
some of the
49:44
cities around
49:45
about,
49:45
Abraham is
49:46
the one who
49:46
goes to
49:47
rescue them.
49:49
I mean,
49:49
Abraham's that
49:50
successful and
49:51
God has
49:52
blessed him and
49:53
enriched him and
49:54
strengthened him.
49:56
And so
49:57
Abraham, as he
49:57
looks on his
49:58
past, he's
49:59
able to say,
49:59
well, God
50:00
hasn't let me
50:00
down thus
50:01
far.
50:03
And so
50:03
if God has
50:03
been with
50:04
me this
50:04
far, he's
50:05
not going
50:06
to let me
50:06
down in
50:06
the future.
50:07
I know
50:08
his character.
50:09
I know
50:09
he's dependable.
50:10
I know
50:11
I can trust
50:12
him.
50:14
And God
50:14
is saying,
50:15
I am
50:16
providing for
50:17
you.
50:17
I've brought
50:18
you here.
50:19
Look back.
50:20
I will take
50:20
you forward.
50:21
Therefore,
50:22
look ahead.
50:22
Abraham's
50:28
whole life
50:30
has been
50:31
characterized
50:32
by this.
50:35
God has
50:36
provided for
50:37
him.
50:39
And if you
50:40
go down to
50:40
verse 14,
50:41
you see that
50:42
God says,
50:43
I'm going to
50:43
do that in
50:43
the future
50:44
for your
50:44
offspring.
50:46
The
50:47
exodus is
50:47
actually
50:48
prophesied
50:48
in verse
50:49
14 and
50:49
15.
50:50
the
50:52
children of
50:52
Israel are
50:53
going to
50:53
go down
50:53
into another
50:54
land.
50:56
They're going
50:56
to be
50:56
enslaved
50:57
there.
50:58
And for
50:59
four generations,
51:00
that will be
51:00
their experience.
51:01
But at the
51:02
end of it,
51:02
they will
51:02
come out
51:03
into a
51:04
place of
51:05
freedom and
51:07
huge enrichment.
51:08
And that's
51:09
exactly what
51:09
happened in
51:10
Exodus.
51:11
The Israelites
51:11
left Egypt.
51:12
They plundered
51:13
the Egyptians.
51:14
Such was the
51:14
Egyptians'
51:15
desire to
51:15
get rid of
51:16
them in
51:17
haste.
51:18
God has
51:20
provided.
51:21
God will
51:22
provide.
51:24
God has
51:24
begun to
51:25
provide for
51:25
his people.
51:27
He's going
51:27
to keep
51:27
doing that.
51:29
And the
51:30
invitation to
51:31
us today is
51:32
just the
51:32
same.
51:33
The invitation
51:34
to us today is
51:35
to look back
51:36
over our
51:37
lives, to
51:38
look at all
51:39
of the awful
51:40
things that we
51:40
have already
51:41
come through.
51:43
And if you're
51:43
a Christian,
51:45
it's a
51:46
healthy thing
51:47
to do, to
51:49
look back
51:49
over your
51:50
life, not
51:50
with rose
51:51
tinted
51:52
spectacles as
51:52
we are
51:53
sometimes wanted
51:53
to do, but
51:54
rather with
51:55
honesty.
51:57
And to
51:57
see all of
51:58
the times
51:59
that God
51:59
in his
52:00
grace has
52:01
delivered us
52:02
from absolute
52:03
disaster.
52:05
All of the
52:06
times that
52:07
God has
52:07
lifted us,
52:09
our feet,
52:10
out of the
52:10
mighty clay,
52:11
and set us
52:12
on a rock.
52:13
All of the
52:14
times in our
52:15
experience where
52:15
our foolishness
52:16
and where
52:17
our sin
52:18
has warranted
52:19
nothing but
52:20
failure and
52:21
misery and
52:22
disaster upon
52:23
us, and
52:23
yet God
52:24
has been
52:25
gracious and
52:26
delivered us
52:27
from all of
52:27
these things.
52:30
And that's
52:31
what God
52:31
does in his
52:32
grace.
52:34
God in his
52:35
grace delivers
52:36
us from the
52:38
worst of our
52:39
own failings,
52:41
let alone the
52:42
failings that
52:42
might have been
52:43
visited upon
52:44
us by other
52:45
people vindictive
52:46
and vicious
52:47
or anything
52:47
else.
52:49
God delivers,
52:51
and God
52:52
has provided,
52:53
and God
52:54
has strengthened,
52:55
and God
52:56
has been with
52:57
us and
52:57
helped us
52:58
and presenced
52:59
himself amongst
53:00
us.
53:02
He's blessed
53:03
us.
53:05
And so we
53:06
can look
53:07
forward.
53:07
God will
53:09
deliver, that
53:18
God will
53:19
help, that
53:20
God will
53:20
provide, because
53:22
he is a God
53:23
who provides.
53:24
And so when
53:25
God calls us
53:26
to have faith,
53:27
when he calls
53:28
us to start
53:28
following him
53:29
and trusting
53:30
in him, he's
53:31
not just asking
53:32
us to do that
53:33
with a vague
53:33
sense of some
53:35
sort of cloudy
53:36
purpose that
53:37
we have no
53:37
idea how it's
53:38
going to work
53:38
out.
53:39
He asks us
53:40
to trust
53:40
someone who
53:41
proves himself,
53:43
who demonstrates
53:44
himself to be a
53:46
God who is
53:46
worthy of
53:47
trust.
53:49
And Abraham,
53:50
we're told in
53:51
this passage,
53:52
Abraham believed
53:53
God, and it
53:54
was counted to
53:55
him as
53:55
righteousness.
53:57
Salvation
53:58
comes from
53:59
learning to
54:00
trust in
54:02
God.
54:02
God.
54:05
So there's a
54:06
God who
54:06
promises, a
54:07
God who
54:07
provides.
54:08
There's also
54:08
in this
54:09
passage a
54:10
God who
54:10
pledges.
54:16
And that's
54:16
when the
54:17
passage takes
54:17
for us a
54:18
really weird
54:18
turn.
54:19
Because in
54:21
the middle
54:21
of the
54:21
passage, God
54:23
gives Abraham
54:23
a very specific
54:24
instruction.
54:25
Bring a
54:26
three-year-old
54:26
heifer, a
54:27
three-year-old
54:27
female goat,
54:28
and a
54:28
three-year-old
54:29
ram, and a
54:30
turtle dove,
54:30
and a young
54:30
pigeon.
54:31
And split
54:33
them.
54:35
And so
54:35
Abraham takes
54:36
some kind of
54:38
instrument and
54:39
cuts the
54:39
animals in
54:40
half, slaughters
54:40
them and
54:41
cuts them in
54:41
half.
54:44
And he
54:44
puts one
54:45
half over
54:45
here and
54:45
one half
54:46
over there,
54:47
and then
54:47
keeps the
54:48
birds away
54:49
from them,
54:49
the vultures
54:50
and the
54:50
birds of
54:51
prey that
54:51
will come
54:51
and scavenge
54:52
the meat
54:53
from these
54:53
things,
54:54
until he
54:55
falls asleep.
54:57
And in
54:59
his sleep,
55:00
the Lord
55:00
comes to
55:00
him, and
55:01
this profound
55:01
vision that
55:02
he has of
55:05
God's
55:06
promise and
55:08
God's
55:08
provision.
55:10
And to
55:10
us, that
55:10
looks completely
55:11
alien.
55:12
It looks
55:13
really strange.
55:15
But to
55:16
Abraham, it
55:17
was entirely
55:19
normal.
55:21
Because all
55:22
over the
55:22
ancient Near
55:23
East, this
55:23
is what you
55:24
did when
55:25
you were
55:26
signing a
55:27
treaty between
55:28
an overlord
55:29
and this
55:30
vassal.
55:32
The overlord
55:33
would come
55:33
along and
55:34
say, I
55:34
am giving
55:35
you promises
55:35
of things I
55:36
will do.
55:37
Here is the
55:38
story of
55:39
what I have
55:40
done in
55:40
order to
55:41
deserve to
55:41
be in this
55:42
position of
55:43
authority over
55:44
you to
55:44
dictate these
55:45
terms.
55:46
I will
55:47
provide for
55:47
you.
55:48
I will
55:48
provide
55:48
security.
55:49
Normally, it's
55:50
because I've
55:50
already beaten
55:50
your army.
55:51
My military
55:52
force is
55:53
greater than
55:53
yours.
55:54
but I've
55:56
already
55:56
demonstrated my
55:57
power.
55:59
Now, we're
56:00
going to cut
56:00
some animals
56:01
in half and
56:03
we're going to
56:03
make an
56:03
agreement.
56:05
What we're
56:05
going to say
56:06
is, if we
56:07
break the
56:08
terms of
56:08
our agreement,
56:09
may the
56:10
same thing
56:10
happen to
56:11
us.
56:13
As you
56:13
walk between
56:14
the animals
56:15
that have
56:15
been cut
56:16
in half,
56:17
the terms
56:18
of the
56:18
covenant
56:18
are, if
56:19
I break
56:19
my loyalty
56:21
to you,
56:22
both the
56:23
overlord
56:23
breaking his
56:24
loyalty to
56:25
us and
56:25
us breaking
56:26
our loyalty
56:26
to him,
56:27
rebelling
56:27
against him,
56:28
the terms
56:29
are, the
56:30
same thing
56:30
will happen
56:30
to us.
56:31
We deserve
56:31
to be
56:32
cut in
56:32
half.
56:34
And that's
56:34
a really
56:35
solemn
56:35
thing.
56:37
This is
56:38
like a
56:38
blood bond
56:39
that has
56:40
been instituted.
56:43
You're
56:43
saying we
56:44
will be
56:44
loyal upon
56:45
pain of
56:46
death.
56:50
And so
56:50
Abraham is
56:51
expecting a
56:52
covenant
56:52
agreement
56:54
that he
56:54
recognizes,
56:55
a legally
56:56
binding
56:56
framework
56:57
to be
56:58
signed
56:59
between
56:59
him and
57:00
God.
57:02
But he
57:03
falls asleep.
57:06
And I
57:07
think that's
57:07
where the
57:07
thick darkness
57:08
kind of comes
57:09
into this.
57:10
It's
57:10
an evidence
57:11
almost of
57:11
Abraham's
57:12
distress.
57:13
He expects
57:14
he has to
57:14
be a party
57:15
to this.
57:16
But how
57:16
can he?
57:17
Because he's
57:18
lying unconscious
57:19
on the
57:19
ground.
57:19
And then
57:21
something
57:23
miraculous
57:24
happens.
57:26
There's
57:27
two entities
57:28
appear.
57:30
There's
57:30
this
57:30
smoking pot
57:32
and there's
57:33
this fiery
57:34
flaming torch.
57:38
And we
57:39
have to
57:39
understand that
57:40
both of
57:41
these are
57:41
somehow
57:41
God.
57:43
One of
57:43
them maybe
57:44
represents
57:45
Abraham or
57:46
acts on
57:47
Abraham's
57:47
behalf.
57:47
and one
57:48
of them
57:48
acts on
57:49
God's
57:49
behalf.
57:50
But neither
57:51
of them
57:51
are actually
57:52
Abraham.
57:52
Abraham
57:53
doesn't walk
57:53
between the
57:54
slain animals
57:55
and say,
57:56
well, if I
57:56
break the
57:57
terms of my
57:57
loyalty to
57:58
you, O
57:58
God, then
57:59
may the
57:59
same thing
58:00
happen to
58:00
me.
58:01
No, God
58:02
himself somehow
58:03
walks between
58:04
the slain
58:05
animals.
58:07
And God
58:08
himself says
58:09
on his
58:10
behalf, may
58:10
the same
58:11
thing happen
58:11
to me if I
58:12
break my
58:12
loyalty to
58:13
you, Abraham.
58:13
Abraham, but
58:15
equally, a
58:16
divine presence
58:17
is there who
58:18
says, I
58:19
will take the
58:19
consequences of
58:22
Abraham's sin,
58:24
Abraham's
58:25
rebellion,
58:26
Abraham's
58:27
inability to
58:28
keep faith.
58:29
And Abraham
58:30
does.
58:30
I mean, you
58:31
go on reading
58:31
the next few
58:33
chapters in the
58:33
book of Genesis,
58:34
you see Abraham
58:35
can't keep
58:35
faith.
58:37
He thinks,
58:38
well, I still
58:38
don't have a
58:39
son, my
58:39
wife's getting
58:39
too old,
58:41
I'll maybe
58:41
have an affair
58:42
with one of
58:43
my servants
58:44
and her
58:45
child will
58:45
become my
58:46
heir.
58:48
And then
58:49
they go down
58:49
to Egypt and
58:50
he tries to
58:51
pass off his
58:52
wife as a
58:52
sister.
58:53
I mean, Abraham
58:53
is not
58:54
righteous.
58:54
He doesn't
58:55
manage to
58:55
keep perfect
58:56
righteous loyalty
58:57
towards God.
58:59
He is a
58:59
sinner and a
59:00
failure.
59:02
But the
59:03
covenant that
59:04
God has
59:04
entered into
59:05
with him
59:05
doesn't depend
59:07
on Abraham
59:07
keeping the
59:08
terms of the
59:09
covenant.
59:10
It depends on
59:10
this other
59:11
divine figure.
59:12
this other
59:14
divine figure
59:15
who comes
59:15
and passes
59:16
between the
59:17
slain animals
59:18
and who
59:19
says,
59:20
if my
59:20
people
59:21
fail to
59:22
keep the
59:23
terms of
59:23
the covenant,
59:24
if my
59:25
people are
59:26
unable to
59:27
live
59:27
righteously
59:28
enough,
59:30
I will
59:31
bear the
59:32
consequences.
59:35
And this
59:36
is none
59:36
other than
59:37
God the
59:37
Son.
59:40
Acting
59:40
as our
59:41
representative,
59:43
as Abraham's
59:44
representative,
59:45
and going
59:47
between the
59:48
slain animals
59:49
and saying,
59:50
I will
59:51
take the
59:51
consequences
59:52
of their
59:53
sin upon
59:54
myself.
59:55
death.
59:58
And you
59:58
jump forward
59:59
to the
59:59
cross
1:00:00
where
1:00:04
Jesus
1:00:05
is torn
1:00:08
asunder
1:00:08
practically.
1:00:10
I don't
1:00:11
want to go
1:00:11
into it,
1:00:11
but that's
1:00:12
what crucifixion
1:00:12
really does.
1:00:13
It shreds
1:00:14
with the
1:00:15
terms of the
1:00:16
damage that it
1:00:17
does to your
1:00:17
ribcage.
1:00:18
It tears
1:00:19
your ribs
1:00:20
apart.
1:00:20
heart.
1:00:21
He's
1:00:22
pierced.
1:00:24
He's
1:00:25
nailed to
1:00:25
the tree.
1:00:28
He
1:00:28
experiences
1:00:29
not only
1:00:30
the physical
1:00:31
turmoil of
1:00:32
this,
1:00:33
but at the
1:00:33
cross he
1:00:34
experiences
1:00:35
the wrath
1:00:36
of God
1:00:37
upon sin.
1:00:38
That God's
1:00:39
justice
1:00:40
is meted
1:00:41
out on the
1:00:42
person of
1:00:42
Jesus,
1:00:44
hung on
1:00:44
the tree
1:00:44
for our
1:00:47
sin.
1:00:47
because he
1:00:50
agreed to
1:00:52
be our
1:00:53
representative in
1:00:54
this covenant
1:00:54
between God
1:00:56
and man.
1:00:58
In this
1:00:59
covenant between
1:01:00
God and
1:01:00
Abraham,
1:01:02
which is the
1:01:02
same covenant
1:01:03
that we come
1:01:04
into in the
1:01:06
New Testament.
1:01:08
And that's
1:01:09
why today we
1:01:10
can trust the
1:01:11
promise of
1:01:11
God.
1:01:12
Because the
1:01:13
promise of
1:01:14
God to us
1:01:15
doesn't depend
1:01:16
on our
1:01:17
obedience,
1:01:18
it depends
1:01:18
on the
1:01:19
obedience of
1:01:19
Jesus.
1:01:20
And as
1:01:21
long as
1:01:21
Jesus is
1:01:22
obedient,
1:01:23
as long as
1:01:23
Jesus bore
1:01:24
the price of
1:01:25
our failure
1:01:26
on the
1:01:26
cross,
1:01:27
then God
1:01:28
will not
1:01:30
forsake
1:01:30
us.
1:01:33
It's
1:01:33
finished.
1:01:35
The work
1:01:36
of salvation
1:01:36
is now
1:01:38
an empty
1:01:38
box,
1:01:39
because it's
1:01:40
done.
1:01:42
It was
1:01:43
done figuratively
1:01:43
here for
1:01:44
Abraham,
1:01:45
and Abraham
1:01:45
believed God
1:01:47
and it
1:01:47
was counted
1:01:47
to him as
1:01:48
righteousness.
1:01:49
It was
1:01:49
ultimately done
1:01:50
at the
1:01:51
cross,
1:01:52
and today
1:01:52
we're invited
1:01:53
to the same
1:01:54
faith,
1:01:55
to believe in
1:01:55
God,
1:01:56
to say,
1:01:56
yes,
1:01:57
Jesus has
1:01:58
done it
1:01:59
all for
1:01:59
me.
1:02:00
My salvation
1:02:01
is secure
1:02:02
in him.
1:02:02
My future
1:02:03
and my hope
1:02:04
is promised
1:02:05
in him.
1:02:07
All of my
1:02:07
needs will be
1:02:08
met in
1:02:09
him.
1:02:11
It's all
1:02:11
of Jesus.
1:02:12
Jesus,
1:02:13
because he
1:02:16
went to
1:02:17
the cross
1:02:17
to fulfill
1:02:20
the promise
1:02:21
of Genesis
1:02:22
15,
1:02:24
that the
1:02:26
terms of
1:02:26
our sin
1:02:27
being dealt
1:02:28
with
1:02:28
would be
1:02:32
him torn
1:02:33
apart.
1:02:33
And so
1:02:37
today,
1:02:38
we are
1:02:39
invited
1:02:39
to trust,
1:02:42
to trust
1:02:44
in these
1:02:44
words,
1:02:45
fear not,
1:02:46
I am
1:02:47
your shield,
1:02:49
your reward
1:02:50
shall be
1:02:51
very great.
1:02:54
Will you
1:02:55
not believe
1:02:55
in him?
1:02:56
let's
1:03:01
pray.
1:03:09
Heavenly
1:03:09
Father,
1:03:10
we want
1:03:11
today to
1:03:12
come to
1:03:13
you seeking
1:03:15
encouragement
1:03:16
to have
1:03:17
faith like
1:03:17
Abraham.
1:03:19
We know,
1:03:20
Lord,
1:03:20
you are the
1:03:20
one who
1:03:21
gives great
1:03:21
promises.
1:03:22
As we look
1:03:23
back in our
1:03:23
lives,
1:03:24
we can see
1:03:24
ample evidence
1:03:25
of your
1:03:25
provision.
1:03:26
You have
1:03:26
not forsaken
1:03:27
us thus
1:03:27
far,
1:03:27
and you
1:03:27
never will.
1:03:30
And ultimately,
1:03:31
we thank you
1:03:31
that you've
1:03:32
made that
1:03:33
through the
1:03:33
promise and
1:03:34
the pledge
1:03:34
of Jesus.
1:03:36
That before
1:03:36
the world
1:03:37
existed,
1:03:37
he agreed
1:03:37
to come
1:03:38
and die
1:03:38
for his
1:03:38
people.
1:03:39
That in
1:03:41
the fullness
1:03:41
of time,
1:03:41
he did.
1:03:43
And we see
1:03:44
many examples
1:03:45
of that being
1:03:45
carried out
1:03:46
in promise
1:03:47
form throughout
1:03:48
the Old
1:03:48
Testament.
1:03:50
And ultimately,
1:03:51
the climax
1:03:51
of that was
1:03:52
at the cross.
1:03:54
And so we
1:03:54
thank you today
1:03:55
for our
1:03:55
Saviour
1:03:56
Jesus.
1:03:56
We thank you
1:03:56
for what
1:03:57
he has
1:03:57
done.
1:03:58
And help
1:03:59
us today to
1:03:59
be assured
1:04:00
of that
1:04:00
truth,
1:04:01
that the
1:04:01
work is
1:04:02
finished,
1:04:03
that salvation
1:04:04
is entirely
1:04:05
done,
1:04:06
entirely
1:04:06
accomplished,
1:04:07
and we can
1:04:08
trust in
1:04:10
him alone.
1:04:11
Bless us
1:04:12
with that
1:04:12
kind of
1:04:12
faith.
1:04:13
We ask
1:04:14
this in
1:04:14
Jesus'
1:04:14
name.
1:04:14
Amen.
1:04:24
We're going
1:04:25
to sing
1:04:25
in conclusion
1:04:26
just now
1:04:27
in
1:04:27
Psalm
1:04:29
150.
1:04:32
This is in
1:04:33
Sing Psalms,
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page 195.
1:04:36
The theme
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of the
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Old Testament
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is that
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ultimately the
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climax of
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creation will
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be the
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praise of
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all resounding
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to the
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glory of
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God.
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And Psalm
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150 is
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really all
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about this.
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It's about
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the all
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encompassing
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praise of
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the whole
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of creation
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gathering in
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together.
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It begins
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in the
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temple,
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but it
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seems almost
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to spread
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out from
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there with
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all things
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rejoicing and
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crying out
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hallelujah,
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praise the
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Lord.
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God's
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salvation in
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Christ is
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complete.
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And all
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shall praise
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the Lord.
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So we're
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going to
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stand and
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sing the
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whole of
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this psalm
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to God's
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praise.
1:05:17
Praise God
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and his
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holy temple.
1:05:19
Praise the
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Lord in
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heavens high.
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Praise him
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for his
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acts of
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power.
1:05:23
Praise him
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for his
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majesty.
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We'll
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stand to
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sing to
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God's
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praise.
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praise him
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for his
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praise him
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for his
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acts of
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power.
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Praise the
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Lord in
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heaven's
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high.
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Praise him
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for his
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acts of
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power.
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Praise him
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for his
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majesty.
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praise him
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with the
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sounding
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trumpet.
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Praise him
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with the
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harp and
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lute.
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Praise him
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and
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dancing.
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Praise him
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with the
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strings
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and
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flute.
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praise him
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with the
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clash of
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cymbals.
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Without
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cymbals,
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praise
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the
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Lord.
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Praise him
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everything
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that's
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breathing.
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Hallelujah.
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Praise the
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Lord.
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Praise the
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Lord.
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voy
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voy
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Thank you.
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Thank you.