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The Keeping God · Stornoway Free Church of Scotland - Sermons

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Turning to Psalm 121, and along with Psalm 23, this is probably the two most familiar Psalms in the Bible.
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We're very, very familiar with them.
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And sometimes our familiarity is such that we maybe lose, because we're so used to them, so used to singing them,
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and we have memorized them, and I'm sure everybody here can sing this with their eyes closed and repeated.
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Certainly from the metric, because we're so used to it.
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But it's always worth going over these again and again.
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As we know, it's a pilgrim psalm from Psalm 120 through to Psalm 134.
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They're termed a song of ascent.
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And these psalms were sung by the people as they made their way up to Jerusalem for the various feasts.
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That's why they're termed songs of ascent.
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And the great theme in this psalm is the idea of being kept.
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Very recently, a prayer meeting, just maybe the last one I did one before,
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we're also looking at that theme where we saw in 1 Peter chapter 5,
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1 Peter chapter 1, verse 5,
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where we're kept by the power of God unto salvation, ready to be revealed at the last time.
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And here again, we have this great idea and this great theme of being kept.
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And you and I know it is the one thing, it is one of the things above all that we constantly pray for, to be kept.
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Every day, we might pray for many things, and we do pray for many things, and about many things.
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But we always pray to be kept, to be kept safe, to be kept from falling, to be kept from danger.
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We pray to be kept from hurt, from committing grievous sin, to be kept from shame, to be kept.
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The list is endless.
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Every day we pray, and we might not be conscious of the fact we do,
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but it is almost an automatic part of our prayer life that we pray in order to be kept.
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And so, this is a really wonderful psalm.
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It is such an encouragement to us, because we live in such an uncertain, such a difficult world, such a threatening world,
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a world that is just so full of surprises, and often not good surprises,
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that sometimes we fear, what will happen to me?
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The Lord assures us of his keeping.
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In this psalm, really, you could say that there are two aspects to it,
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that the Lord, it proclaims that he is the keeper, and he promises to keep.
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Now, the opening verse here, verse 1, is not really clear,
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because it just says, I lift up my eyes to the hills.
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And it doesn't, in a sense, expand on that,
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because we don't know exactly what was in the psalmist's mind.
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It could very well be that the hills were in his view.
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Maybe he was nearing Jerusalem, and he was seeing the hills all around.
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I don't know.
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Maybe the psalmist felt oppressed, and that he wanted to run away.
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You know, sometimes you feel hemmed in, feel claustrophobic,
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and you feel you want to get away.
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You feel everything is in on top of you.
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And we know that David, like in Psalm 11, he says,
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he expressed the desire that he might, like a bird, flee to the mountains.
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That's the way he felt.
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And I'm sure there are times that we felt like that as well.
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I wish I could just fly away.
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I wish I could just get away for a little,
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because everything is pressing down upon you.
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And, of course, again, the hills and mountains, they're great places.
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I'm sure we've all, at different times, gone up into the hills.
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And when you get up into the hills or into the mountains,
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your perspective on life changes,
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because you see things from a different perspective.
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You're looking down on things.
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And quite often, your whole,
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it's not just that the vision of what you're seeing changes,
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but sometimes it's almost therapeutic to your mind,
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because you begin to see things,
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maybe even issues and problems that you had.
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You begin to see things more clearly.
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And it's interesting how often, in fact, in Scripture,
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we find God's people in the hills and in the mountains.
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We find Jesus himself, that he used to go up into the mountain.
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He would go apart into the mountain in order to pray.
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It was in a mountain that he was transfigured.
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It was in a mountain that Moses met with God.
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And he met with God in such a powerful way
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that when he came back down,
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his face shone so brightly from being in the presence of God
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that he had to wear a veil on his face.
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The people couldn't look at him.
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His face was shining so brightly.
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It was on a mountain we find that Elijah
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had his great prayer battle with the Lord.
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It was in the mountain again that Elijah
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discovered through the still, small voice
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the presence of God.
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And right throughout the Bible,
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you will find the huge part that mountains and hills
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have to play in the lives of God's people.
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But when the psalmist is looking to the hills,
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he's not looking to the hills
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as his place of help and strength.
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Now, we know that there is an element of what you would say
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the hills are strong in the sense that
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if you went away for 30 or 40 years,
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supposing you went to live in Australia or Canada or somewhere
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and you came back,
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you would see massive change here in Stornoway.
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But if you went around the island,
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you would say, well, you know,
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there's so many changes,
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so many new houses,
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places that were used to be there,
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they're no longer there.
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Gallows Hill is the same.
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And the Oog Hills are the same.
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And the Harris Hills are the same.
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These are the things that are always foundational.
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They're unchanging.
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But again, the first psalm that we sang,
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Psalm 125,
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again talks of the hills.
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Remember how it says there,
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that as the mountains surround Jerusalem,
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so the Lord surrounds his people
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from this time forth and forevermore.
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But as a psalmist looks to the hills,
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he's looking way beyond the hills
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to where his help comes from.
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His help doesn't come from the hills.
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And he's not making any statement
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that his help comes from the hills.
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But it's quite possible
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as he lifted up his eyes to the hills
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and he saw the creative power of God
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in the formation of these hills.
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That his mind went out
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and he began to think of the creator God.
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Because it is God.
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We read in Jeremiah in chapter 10,
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verse 11,
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Thus shall you say to them,
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The gods who did not make the heavens
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and the earth shall perish from the earth
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and from under the heavens.
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It is he who made the earth by his power,
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who established the world by his wisdom,
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and by his understanding stretched out the heavens.
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And you know,
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I'm sure there are many times as a Christian
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that we stop because
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the Bible makes it very clear to us
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that the special revelation that we have
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is in the word of God.
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But there is a general revelation
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that is given to us in the creation.
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And we see God's power
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and we see God's handiwork
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in the sky.
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It tells us from the Psalms as well
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very clearly
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that when we look up into the sky
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on a starry night
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and we see
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the way that his fingers framed.
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God's handiwork in the sky
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and there's nothing random.
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Whatever people will tell you today
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about explosions
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and this and that
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and just coming together,
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God had a deliberate plan.
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God is a God of wisdom
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and a God of order.
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And he ordered and planned
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and structured this world,
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this whole universe.
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And it is there as a great display
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of his creative power.
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And that's why there is such an attempt made
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to undermine the creative power of God.
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Because when we do that,
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we take God out of the picture.
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And of course,
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it's been one of the most powerful weapons
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in Satan's toolbox
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where there's this attack upon the creation
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of God as a creator God.
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And when we look at the power
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and the majesty
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and the glory of our creation
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and then we see the wisdom,
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the intricacy of everything,
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just go to the human body.
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And we look at ourselves
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and we marvel at
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just how everything works.
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It's quite extraordinary.
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And so the psalmist
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is realizing
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as he's thinking about
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the great wisdom that planned
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and the great power
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that brought into being.
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He says,
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that's where my help comes from.
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And that's where your help
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and my help comes from as well.
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And I suppose
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we've always got to ask ourselves
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this question.
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Is this God,
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the God
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that I lean upon
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every single day
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in all the situations
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in my life?
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Or do I depend
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often on others?
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Or do I depend on myself,
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my own wisdom,
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my own structures,
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my own plans,
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my own guidance?
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And it's only when
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I'm completely stuck
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that I turn to the Lord.
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You know,
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all the time,
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every day,
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we should begin the day
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with the Lord
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and ask him
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as a great,
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wise,
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altogether,
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wonderful God
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who loves us.
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Let's not forget that.
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The Lord loves us
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more than ever
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we could ever begin
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to understand.
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You know,
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sometimes we find it difficult
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to understand
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how much the Lord loves us
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because sometimes
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we have real difficulty
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loving ourselves
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because of our sin.
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Sometimes when we look
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in at our own lives
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and we see the failure
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and we see all
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that we've done wrong
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and all these things
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and sometimes we say,
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oh,
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what an awful person I am.
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But we've got to remember
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that we are his treasure
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in this world.
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We are his possession.
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He's going to take
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nobody and nothing else
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out from this world
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but you and me.
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All his people.
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And we mustn't lose sight
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of that.
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And it's important
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to the Lord
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because he is our keeper
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because of that.
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So we should every day
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depend upon him.
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And he is our covenant God.
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He has entered into covenant
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with us through his son.
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With us an ending faithfulness.
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Despite the fact
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we disappoint him.
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Despite the fact
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we let him down.
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And the Bible is full
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of God's people
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who let him down.
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And you see your Davids
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and you see your Peters
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and all these.
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And yet the Lord
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brings them back.
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And then in verse 3
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after saying,
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where my help comes
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from the Lord
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who made heaven and earth.
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And then he says,
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he will not let your foot
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be moved.
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He who keeps you
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will not slumber.
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And then in verse 4,
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behold,
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he who keeps Israel
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will neither slumber
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nor sleep.
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And in a sense,
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if you could hear
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people singing this,
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it's almost like
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verse 3 is making
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a statement.
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He who keeps you
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will not slumber.
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And then the affirmative
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is coming back
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in verse 4.
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How right you are.
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He who keeps Israel
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will neither slumber
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nor sleep.
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And so we are promised
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this constant assurance
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that we are being kept
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by a God
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who is constantly on guard,
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constantly watching us,
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never sleeps.
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We know that a sentry,
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when they were put on guard,
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a sentry had to remain vigilant,
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had to stay awake back,
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in the way back,
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in the old days,
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if you slept on duty,
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you would be shot.
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It was such because
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the whole camp
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depended upon
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your vigilance,
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upon you being alert,
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on you being awake.
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And so the watchman,
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wherever the watchman is,
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it's an extraordinarily
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important duty.
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You've got to be,
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you've got to be alert,
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you've got to be watching.
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And often the watchman's place
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can be very difficult.
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I remember my father
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telling me during the war,
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he was on the destroyers
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and up above the bridge,
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it wasn't like the crow's nest
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as such,
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like in the old sailing boats,
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but it was something similar.
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And he used to take turns
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of watch up there,
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irrespective.
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And he was telling me like that
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in the North Atlantic,
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he was involved
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in the Arctic convoys.
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And you say sometimes,
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and that would be a fearful day,
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and you'd be up there,
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the rain and the wind
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and the ice
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and everything like that.
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But you had to be,
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because you on that spot
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were able to see beyond
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what anybody else
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would be able to see.
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There's a,
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in a sense,
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almost a,
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quite a,
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when I say that,
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I remember him telling me,
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and this was earlier on
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in the war,
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when he was up there,
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the first time he had been up there,
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it was a really,
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really wild night.
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And when he was coming down
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or an evening,
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the other sailor
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who was going up to relieve him
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said,
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Captain wants to see you.
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So we thought,
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what I wonder what this is.
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So he went to the bridge
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and the captain said to him,
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you were up there
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these last four hours,
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yes?
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Well, he said,
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in future,
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stop that screeching.
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And you see,
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there was a,
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like a tannoy or whatever,
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where you could get in touch
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from there
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down to the bridge.
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And what would happen was,
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my father,
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to pass the time,
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was presenting to himself
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in Gaelic.
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And he was putting out the line
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and he was never the best singer,
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but he would give full volume.
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So for these four hours,
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the captain was getting this,
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blasting.
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And he said,
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I forbid you,
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he said,
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again,
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to ever do that.
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And my father said to him,
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well,
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I'm sorry,
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but he said,
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I was singing psalms
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and the psalms I was singing
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were actually prayers,
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asking for God's protection.
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And the captain said,
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oh,
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right,
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in future,
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do it quietly,
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he said.
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So,
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and it was,
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it was also interesting
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that from that point,
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and I'm totally digressing,
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before the war,
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my father felt
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being called
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into the ministry,
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he had never preached.
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And he thought
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to himself,
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well,
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if I go forward
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and present myself,
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people will think
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I'm trying to
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get out of going
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to the war.
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So he said to the Lord,
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Lord,
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and nobody knew then
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how long the war would last.
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If you,
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if you mean me to come through,
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to go into the ministry,
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take me through this war.
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So he asked the captain,
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he said,
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would it be all right
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if we're quiet
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on the Lord's day,
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if I take some of the
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Lewis or Island men
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who have Gaelic
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and do a wee service?
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And the captain said,
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that's all right.
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So he got his permission.
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So that's where he,
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where he first started preaching,
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or as he said,
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trying to preach
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on the destroyer.
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So it all came from
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that night on,
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on watch with,
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what the captain termed,
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screeching.
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But the thing is that
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it was,
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it was a vital,
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it was such an important place,
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the watchman.
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And even,
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the thing is a watchman
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might be very alert,
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but might also
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not be observant.
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But here we have
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the greatest watchman of all,
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the Lord,
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who,
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who misses nothing.
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Nothing will ever come
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into your life.
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Nothing will ever threaten you.
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Nothing will ever come near you,
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but he knows exactly what it is.
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And nothing will touch you.
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But by divine permission.
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Just as the Lord
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was the cloud of fire by day
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and the cloud of,
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pillar of fire by night
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in the desert
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with his people,
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so he is still
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with us as well.
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And so he is this watchman
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who protects us constantly.
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And then it says,
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the Lord is your keeper.
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The Lord is your shade
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on your right hand.
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The sun shall not strike you
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by day,
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nor the moon by night.
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And again,
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it's a beautiful idea
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because we're not,
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well, it's very timely
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because the doctor,
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Dr. Mosley,
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he died.
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And there's probably,
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I don't know exactly,
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but it's reckoned
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it could be heat stroke
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that contributed
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to his death.
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We sometimes don't hear,
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do not understand
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the intensity of the heat
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that can be elsewhere.
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But the Lord is,
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the Psalm is saying,
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and it's not,
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I will make you a shade.
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Like the Lord made Jonah.
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Remember how he made a shade
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for Jonah outside Nineveh.
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The Lord is saying,
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I won't make you a shade.
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I am your shade.
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I'm your shelter.
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And when it says
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the sun and the moon,
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it really is talking
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about everything.
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It means daytime
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and nighttime
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and everything in between.
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But we could almost,
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you know,
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we use the expression
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24-7.
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And at my,
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at your right hand,
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that is a place
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of protection,
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the place of defense.
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And that's where the Lord
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is saying that
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he positions himself.
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And the Lord will,
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will keep you from all evil.
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He will keep your life.
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Now,
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sometimes it's translated as soul.
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I'll keep your soul
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or keep your life.
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But both in a sense
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are the same
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because life involves everything.
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Body, mind and soul.
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And as somebody said,
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if the soul is kept,
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then all is kept.
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Because as we know,
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there is nothing
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more precious to us
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than our soul.
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You might have a bodyguard
19:52
and you might have
19:53
the best bodyguards.
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They might have been
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the best SAS soldiers
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and who went into,
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as we know,
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many of them
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go into security
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and work as bodyguards
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for people.
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And you'd say to yourself,
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wow,
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this will be the best bodyguard
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in the world.
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Yes,
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he may keep your body,
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but he can't keep your soul.
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There's nobody
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that can protect your soul
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but the Lord.
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And so he is the protector
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of body,
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mind and soul.
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He's protecting everything
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with us
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that we have.
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The Lord will keep you
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from all evil.
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In other words,
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keep you from evil
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and keep evil from you.
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Now,
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that doesn't mean
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that we live a cushioned life.
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We all know
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that we have struggles
20:40
in it.
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But whatever struggles
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we go through,
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it is by divine permission
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with holy end in view.
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And then it says,
20:48
the Lord will keep you
20:49
going out
20:50
and you're coming in
20:51
from this time forth
20:52
and forevermore.
20:55
You and I know
20:56
that our life
20:57
is filled with
20:58
going out
20:58
and coming in.
21:00
Going out to work,
21:01
coming home afterwards.
21:03
Going out on holiday,
21:05
coming back.
21:06
Going to school,
21:07
coming back.
21:08
Wherever it is,
21:08
our life is involved
21:10
in constants,
21:11
constantly going out
21:13
and going in.
21:15
And again,
21:15
it really is this idea
21:17
of encapsulating everything.
21:19
Every day,
21:20
going out and in.
21:21
Every month,
21:21
going out and in.
21:23
It means that the Lord
21:24
is with you at work,
21:25
he's with you at home.
21:26
He's with you during the day,
21:28
he's with you at night.
21:30
It means that he's with you
21:31
wherever you go,
21:32
whenever you go.
21:34
It's this constant idea
21:36
of his presence,
21:38
his help,
21:39
his keeping,
21:40
his support.
21:41
It governs everything
21:43
from the dawn of our life
21:44
to the dusk,
21:46
from our birth
21:47
to the grave,
21:48
all the time,
21:49
all the way through.
21:51
And the beauty of this psalm
21:52
is that it deals
21:53
with our past,
21:55
it focuses on our present,
21:57
and it is also speaking
21:58
about the future,
21:59
not just to the end of time,
22:03
but time without end.
22:06
That's the Lord we have.
22:08
That's the keeper we have.
22:10
And we're doing tonight,
22:13
all we're doing
22:13
is refreshing our mind,
22:17
helping us to remember
22:18
who it is
22:19
who is keeping us.
22:21
Nobody in the world
22:22
has a greater keeper.
22:24
Nobody in the world
22:25
has a greater protector.
22:26
Nobody in the whole wide world
22:29
has a security
22:31
like the Christian.
22:33
Let us pray.
22:35
Lord our God,
22:36
we give thanks again
22:38
for your word
22:39
and for reminding us
22:40
so simply
22:42
of just the marvel
22:44
of who you are
22:45
and what you do
22:46
in us and for us.
22:48
And we give thanks
22:49
that you preserve us,
22:51
that you keep us.
22:53
And even when we
22:53
can't keep ourselves,
22:55
and how often that is,
22:57
you still keep us.
22:58
And we give thanks,
23:00
Lord,
23:00
for the fact
23:00
that you renew us
23:02
and you restore us.
23:03
And even when we wander off,
23:05
you bring us back.
23:06
You are the good shepherd,
23:08
the good shepherd
23:09
who knows
23:09
and loves his sheep.
23:11
So we pray
23:12
your blessing
23:13
upon each one of us
23:14
tonight here.
23:15
Again,
23:16
we pray for Norman McKenzie,
23:17
remember him
23:18
as he goes to hospital
23:19
in Aberdeen.
23:20
Pray that you'll be
23:21
with surgeon
23:21
and give him healing
23:23
and restoration.
23:24
We pray for Annabelle
23:25
and Angelbraith,
23:27
Lord,
23:27
and we pray
23:28
that your healing hand
23:30
will be upon both of them
23:31
and bring them home
23:32
soon again.
23:34
Lord,
23:34
we remember
23:35
Christine McMillan
23:36
and the boys,
23:38
Andrew and John
23:39
and respective families.
23:41
Lord,
23:41
we commit to your care
23:42
and keeping
23:43
and we're reminded
23:44
just as we heard
23:45
how suddenly
23:47
our lives can change,
23:49
how uncertain life is.
23:51
Help us to live
23:52
in preparation
23:52
for the great change
23:54
that will come one day.
23:57
Grant us your grace
23:58
and be with us
23:58
as we will soon
23:59
make our way home.
24:01
Part us with your blessing,
24:02
O Lord,
24:03
we pray.
24:04
Take away our every sin
24:05
in Jesus' name.
24:06
Amen.
24:08
We're going to sing this psalm
24:10
in the Scottish Psalter.