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Blind Devotion · Stornoway Free Church of Scotland - Sermons

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I'm going to begin our worship and singing, first of all, this evening from Psalm 96a.
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Psalm 96a, that's on page 126.
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The tune is Glasgow.
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We're singing verses 1 to 10.
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O sing a new song to the Lord, sing praises to his name, and his salvation day by day
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let all the earth proclaim, his glory and his mighty deeds to every land declare, how
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great and awesome is the Lord, with him no gods compare.
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Psalm 96a, we're singing verses 1 to 10.
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If you're able to stand, please stand to sing.
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O sing a new song to the Lord, sing praises to his name, and his salvation day by day.
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Let all the earth proclaim, his glory and his mighty deeds to every land declare, how great,
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and awesome is the Lord, with him no gods compare.
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For other gods are wood and stone, the Lord made heavens high.
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all power and majesty and his, he dwell in glorious light.
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All nations to the Lord has cry, the glory that is due.
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Glory and strength as cry to God, and praise his name, my youth.
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Enter his court with joy and grace, and offer thee with you.
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Worship the Lord in holy fear, all earth behold him above.
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Tell every land the Lord is king, he establishes the earth.
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And can all prove, the Lord will judge the peoples in his truth.
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Now we're going to pray, let's join together as we call upon the Lord.
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Gracious and eternal God, what wonderful truths you have given us in these words that we have sung,
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exclaiming and setting out for us the glory and the majesty and the greatness of our God,
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the uniqueness of our God, the fact that there is none like you in the whole creation,
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for you are the creator, you are the one who is above all things that exist.
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We thank you, Lord, tonight that this is our portion in life,
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that we are privileged to come and call upon your name and join together in worship.
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And we give thanks, Lord, for the way in which your word has guided us already
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to such high thoughts about you, and to such thoughts about ourselves
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as we would humble ourselves in your presence and would come and bring an offering,
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an offering of praise and of thanksgiving to you.
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And we pray, Lord, that you would draw near to us.
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We seek to draw near to you, and we know from your word that
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if we draw near to God, that he will draw near to us.
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That is your promise.
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And we ask that you would help us, Lord,
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tonight to experience the reality of that promise for ourselves.
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For it would be but an empty gathering for us, O Lord,
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if we only met with one another, precious though that is in itself.
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Yet, Lord, we ask that we will know of a meeting with you,
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of a fellowship with you, of a communion deep in our souls
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with our creator and our saviour.
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And, Lord, we ask tonight that your Holy Spirit will draw us,
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that you would work in our hearts, work in our minds,
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enlightening our minds further in the knowledge of your truth.
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We pray that we may once again see the great privilege we have
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of knowing and confessing you as our God,
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above all other false gods in the world,
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as we have been reading and singing in this psalm.
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O Lord, our God, we thank you that you have delivered us
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from any thoughts that there may be rivals to you.
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And yet we confess that so often, Lord,
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we find ourselves giving our devotion all too much
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to those things of this present age,
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and that we find ourselves so easily distracted, O Lord,
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from focusing our minds upon you
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and from placing you foremost in our thoughts and actions day by day.
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We come before you again tonight, Lord,
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confessing our need of your forgiveness and cleansing,
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confessing, Lord, that we appear before you defiled in our sins,
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that we sin against you every day we live.
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Indeed, from hour to hour we are conscious, Lord,
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that we sin against you,
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that sin is very much a part of our fallenness
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and comes to the fore in our thoughts and actions.
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And we pray tonight, Lord, for that cleansing of our lives.
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We ask that you would draw us to yourself,
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that we may in our confession
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come to realize the truth of your word once again,
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even though we may have known your forgiveness
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in times gone by.
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Yet we thank you that every confession of our sin,
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Lord, as we engage in that in your presence,
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is met with the promise that if we confess our sins,
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the Lord is faithful and just to forgive us our sins
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and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
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So we pray that your holy word will be beneficial to us tonight.
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We thank you for it.
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We thank you that it is so central to our worship, O Lord,
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that you have taught us the importance
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of having your word central in our worship.
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For it is by your word indeed that we are guided
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faithfully and infallibly
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to those things that have to do with your glory
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and your praise and your worship.
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And we do pray, O Lord,
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that you would open up our minds
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to receive your word once again.
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Help us in our understanding of it.
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Help us in our conveyance of it
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to the world around us,
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as we've been singing,
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to tell every land that the Lord is king.
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Lord, help us, we pray,
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to do this in our own locality and beyond,
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wherever we have opportunity to make you known.
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Give us grace, Lord,
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to take advantage of that opportunity
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and to seek to fulfill
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the remit you have given your people in the world,
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to go forth to make disciples of all nations,
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baptizing them in the name of the Father
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and of the Lord Jesus
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and of the Holy Spirit
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and teaching them all things
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that you have commanded us.
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We thank you for every evidence of your blessing
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that we have from day to day,
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from week to week.
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We give thanks for that in our own lives personally.
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We give thanks, Lord,
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in the life of the congregation
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for continued evidence of your blessing.
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And we seek further that you would bless us
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and bless the gospel to us.
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We pray that we may be more and more
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a light in the world in which you have placed us,
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that we, as we seek to live for you,
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would form, Lord,
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that light that reaches out
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into the darkest recesses of society.
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And to that end,
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we pray that you would use us
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and enable us in all our activities,
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O Lord,
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to know that you are guiding us,
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that you are blessing
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all that we seek to do in your name.
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We pray for your guidance
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in all of these things.
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We ask that you would help us
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as we seek, Lord,
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to know how to reach out with the gospel,
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how to confront the thinking of our age,
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how to go forth and engage with people
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who themselves may not at all care for the gospel,
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may be hostile to it,
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and all kinds of ideologies
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that we meet with in our society.
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Lord, we pray that you would grant us help,
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that you would grant us,
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that your Spirit may guide us
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and may further teach us in these ways.
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We pray that you would bless all those
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who are preparing themselves,
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O Lord,
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for the ministry of the gospel.
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We pray for Scott with ourselves.
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We pray for all his fellow trainee ministers.
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We ask that you would bless them
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as they receive their training and teaching.
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We pray, Lord,
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that they will indeed form a great force
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in the world for good
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and that you would use them, Lord,
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as even now they are preparing
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for permanent ministry.
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We pray that you would continue
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to use them and encourage them.
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And we ask, O God,
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that you would give to them
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the weight with all
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and the resources of your Holy Spirit
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to preach the word of Christ
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and to do so in a way
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that unashamedly holds forth
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the gospel of truth.
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We pray that you'd bless our seminary.
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We ask, Lord,
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for the regular teaching
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that takes place there
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from week to week.
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And as they anticipate
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a new session,
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we pray for all those
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who prepare themselves
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to teach,
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those who come
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to be educated there.
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We ask for all the lecturers.
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We pray that they will know
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of your own blessing
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accompanying their efforts.
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We pray for the principal,
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Principal Martin,
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and all who serve with him
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in that capacity.
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And we pray, gracious one,
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that they may know
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of your constant provision
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for them
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and of your encouragement
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of them in such
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an important work.
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And we pray for
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all the church plants
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that we know of
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throughout our denomination.
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And we ask, O God,
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that you would encourage them also.
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We pray that they may be
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further established
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in the truth,
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in your ways,
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that they will be encouraged
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as they seek to reach out
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with the gospel,
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that you would help them,
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Lord, to know of your blessing,
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building them up,
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not only in terms of numbers,
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but spiritually as well.
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And we pray that we may see days,
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Lord, of much rejoicing yet
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and seeing many coming
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to the Lord
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through the efforts
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of those who are engaged
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both in church plants
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and in long-established
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congregations like our own.
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Lord, our longing is
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that we will know
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that sound of heaven,
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that wonderful sound
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of your Spirit at work,
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the great sound
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of people coming
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to attend to your truth
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and coming to be changed
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in their lives under it.
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We ask that you would
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bless tonight those two
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who have particular problems
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in life.
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And we pray for those
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who face addiction
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and seek from day to day
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to live with such difficulties
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and challenges in life
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as this provides for them.
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We pray for those, Lord,
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who seek to help them.
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We pray for David Chisholm,
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and all others like him, Lord,
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or in our own local road
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to recovery.
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We ask that you would bless him
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and bless all who assist him
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in the work
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and bless all who come together
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from time to time
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to seek to discuss
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and to help each other
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through these difficult times.
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And we pray that especially
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your Word might truly
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be blessed to them.
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We pray that you would bless
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the work of safe families.
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Again, we commend them to you
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and ask, Lord,
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that you would continue
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to provide for them
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and encourage them.
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We pray for all the families
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already being helped,
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and we ask, O God,
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that that would multiply
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and that there may be
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many more who will come
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to offer themselves
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as volunteers
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to help Catherine
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and all others
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and the staff
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of safe families.
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We ask, Lord,
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that your blessing
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will continue to be with them
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and encourage them
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and strengthen them, Lord,
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to carry through
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with the important work
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that they're involved with.
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Remember those also
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in our community
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who help us
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in various ways.
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We ask for all
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in the hospital,
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in the hospice,
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in our care homes.
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We pray for them
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and ask that they may
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know your blessing too
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as they minister
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to the needs of others
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so faithfully
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each and every day.
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We do commit to you, Lord,
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those who teach
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in our schools,
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both in the state schools
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and in the Christian school.
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Remember them all,
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we pray.
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We pray,
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give to those, Lord,
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who teach our young people
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that they may be able
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to do so,
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seeking that wholesome teaching
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that comes through your word
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may itself be conveyed
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to the children.
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We pray that you bless
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headteachers
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throughout our own islands
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and that they may,
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in facing the challenges
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of our age,
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that they may know
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that wisdom
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from the Lord himself.
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And we commit them to you
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and ask that you would
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strengthen them
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in mind
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and in their thoughts
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and in their actions
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to face the difficulties
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and challenges
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that they face particularly.
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Remember now,
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we pray,
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those who are in hospital,
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those who are ill,
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those who are being cared for
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by others at home,
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remember the carers
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in our community.
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We thank you for them
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and pray
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that you would continue
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to bless them
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and bless also
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the social work department.
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We pray for them
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and for all who help
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in these ways
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in our community.
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We ask,
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O Lord,
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too,
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for those who are
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tonight bereaved,
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those who mourn
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over the passing
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of loved ones.
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We pray,
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too,
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for the undertaker
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and for all his staff.
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We commit them to you
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and give thanks
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for their dedication
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to their work.
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And Lord,
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in all of these areas
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of our land
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locally and nationally,
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we pray that you would
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continue to provide for us.
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We pray that we may
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continue to depend upon you,
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realizing that it is
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in your goodness
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that all of these things
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are extended to us
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and provided for us.
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Bless us now,
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then,
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we pray,
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as we continue here
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in your presence.
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Bless all the gatherings
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of your people
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throughout our local districts,
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throughout our nation,
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throughout the whole world.
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Bless your people.
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Bless those of them
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especially facing
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persecution,
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poverty,
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deprivation,
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attacks of various kinds.
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Lord,
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our God,
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we pray that your kingdom
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will nevertheless advance,
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that your will be done
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on earth
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as it is in heaven.
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And we ask that
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all of these things,
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Lord,
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as we present them
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before you,
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may be pleasing to you
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to answer our prayer.
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We ask it all
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with the pardon of our sin.
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For Jesus' sake.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Now we're going to sing further
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to God's praise
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from the Scottish Psalter
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this time,
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Psalm 90,
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and verses 13 to 17.
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That's on page 350.
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The tune this time is Kilmarnock.
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Turn yet again to us,
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O Lord,
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how long thus shall it be?
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Let it repent thee now
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for those
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that servants are to thee.
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With thy tender mercies,
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Lord,
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us early satisfy.
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So we rejoice,
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shall all our days,
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and still be glad in thee.
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The psalmist,
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in his prayer,
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appealing to the Lord
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to come and reveal
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his power once again
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as he seeks to
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appeal to God here
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to let the beauty
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of the Lord,
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our God,
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be us upon
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and for him to
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establish the handiworks,
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the works that
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they do in the Lord's name
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in the psalmist's own time.
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And this, of course,
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is our prayer as well
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in our day,
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that the work
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and the power of God
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may appear to
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us as his servants
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and show unto
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our children, dear,
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his glory evermore.
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So to the tune
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Kilmarnock,
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verses 13 to 17,
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to God's praise.
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Amen.
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Turn yet again
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to us, O Lord,
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how long
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thou shall live
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be.
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Let it repent
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thee now
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for those
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that surrounds
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are to thee.
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O with thy tender
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mercies, O Lord,
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God certainly
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satisfied,
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so we rejoice
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shall o'er
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our days
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and still be glad
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in thee.
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или
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according
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us
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the
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days
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of thee
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CBD
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whey
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whey
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reap
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the
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ground
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large
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on
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years
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when
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When we ill have seen, so do thou make us now.
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O let thy work and power appear, thy servant's face befall,
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and show fun to their children dear, thy glory evermore.
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And let the beauty of the Lord our Lord be as the whole.
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Our heavenly words each love, each love, each love, each love, each love, each love, each love, each love.
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Let's turn now to read God's word in the first book of Samuel, chapter 5.
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1 Samuel, chapter 5, that should be around page 275 in your pew Bibles if you're using the church pew Bibles.
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So it's 1 Samuel, chapter 5, and we're going to read from the beginning through to the end of the chapter.
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When the Philistines captured the ark of God, they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod,
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then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon and set it up beside Dagon.
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And when the people of Ashdod rose early the next day,
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behold, Dagon had fallen face down on the ground before the ark of the Lord.
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So they took Dagon and put him back in his place.
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But when they rose early on the next morning,
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behold, Dagon had fallen face down on the ground before the ark of the Lord,
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and the head of Dagon and both his hands were lying cut off on the threshold.
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Only the trunk of Dagon was left to him.
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This is why the priests of Dagon and all who enter the house of Dagon
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do not tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.
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The hand of the Lord was heavy against the people of Ashdod,
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and he terrified and afflicted them with tumors, both in Ashdod and in its territory.
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And when the men of Ashdod saw how things were, they said,
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The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us,
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for his hand is hard against us and against Dagon our God.
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So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines and said,
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What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?
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They answered, Let the ark of the God of Israel be brought round to Gath.
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So they brought the ark of the God of Israel there.
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But after they had brought it round, the hand of the Lord was against the city,
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causing a very great panic.
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And he afflicted the men of the city, both young and old,
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so that tumors broke out on them.
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So they sent the ark of God to Ekron.
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But as soon as the ark of God came to Ekron,
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the people of Ekron cried out,
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They have brought round to us the ark of the God of Israel to kill us and our people.
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They sent therefore and gathered all the lords of the Philistines and said,
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Send away the ark of the God of Israel and let it return to its own place,
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that it may not kill us and our people.
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For there was a deathly panic throughout the whole city.
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The hand of God was very heavy there.
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The men who did not die were struck with tumors,
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and the cry of the city went up to heaven.
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And may God bless to us reading this part of his word.
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Before we turn to this passage, let's sing again.
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We're singing from Psalm 115.
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Psalm 115 and sing Psalms, page 152.
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Singing verses 1 to 9 to the tune Tiverton.
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A psalm which compares and contrasts the idols of pagan nations with the Lord, the God of Israel.
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And so that, of course, fits in with the passage we've just read,
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and we're going to look at it later just in a few moments.
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Lord, not to us, O not to us, but to your name be the praise,
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because your love and faithfulness endure, O Lord, always.
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Why do the nations question us?
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Where is their God, they say?
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Our God inhabits heaven high and over all holds sway.
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Their gold and silver images are crafted carefully,
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but they have mouths which cannot speak and eyes which cannot see.
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Their noses have no sense of smell.
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Their ears can hear no sound.
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They have no feeling in their hands, nor can they walk around.
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Although these idols do have throats, no word can they proclaim.
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Their makers and their worshippers will all become like them.
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And so on down as far as verse 9.
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Lord, not to us, O not to us.
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Amen.
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Lord, not to us, O not to us.
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To your name be the praise.
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Because you love unfaithfulness, and you rule our whole way.
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Why do the nations question us?
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Where is their God, they say?
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Our God inhabits heaven high and over all holds sway.
26:59
Their gold and silver images are crafted carefully.
27:14
But they have mouths which cannot speak.
27:16
But they have mouths which cannot speak, and eyes which cannot see.
27:30
Their nooses have no sense of smell.
27:35
Their nooses have no sense of smell.
27:39
Their ears can hear no sound.
27:46
They have no feeling in their hands, nor can they walk around.
28:01
Although these idols do have throats, no word can they proclaim.
28:16
Their makers and their worshippers will all become like them.
28:32
O in service will bless your trust upon the Lord alone.
28:48
He is almighty help and shield of all who are his own.
29:03
O in service will be the Lord alone.
29:04
O in service will be the Lord.
29:06
O in service will be the Lord.
29:07
Well, please turn with me now to 1 Samuel chapter 5.
29:12
We're going to look at the main points in this chapter that we've read through.
29:16
1 Samuel chapter 5, which tells us about the incident where the Philistines, having captured the ark of Israel,
29:27
the ark of the Lord, experienced the consequences of that as described in the chapter.
29:33
1 Samuel chapter 5, which tells us about the fact that the human heart is a factory of idols.
29:44
The human heart is a factory of idols.
29:48
That is where the production of idolatry always takes place.
29:53
But what is an idol?
29:55
And what defines idolatry?
29:59
As we'll see, it's a lot more than just carving a little figure or a large figure,
30:06
such as these Philistines had in their god Ekron, in their god Dagon,
30:12
and setting him in a particular place that they regarded as sacred.
30:19
An idol is whatever is given the devotion that's due to God alone.
30:28
An idol is anything that is given the devotion that is due to God alone.
30:34
It can be an object such as it was here for the Philistines or other objects like that.
30:41
It can be people.
30:42
It can be people.
30:43
It can be wealth.
30:44
It can be work.
30:47
It can be ideologies.
30:49
A whole host of idols can be fashioned in the human heart and given the devotion that is due to God alone.
31:00
And that is why all the way through Scripture you find severe denunciation by God of idolatry.
31:08
One of the things that he constantly set before the people of Israel was the need to avoid idolatry,
31:17
the need to have no other gods but him,
31:21
and to avoid being sucked into the idolatry of the nations around them.
31:26
As they moved through the desert and as they settled in Canaan,
31:31
again and again the Lord emphasized that they needed to beware of idolatry,
31:35
because idolatry was a direct challenge to God, a direct replacement for God.
31:42
And even though at times later on, as you find in the times of the prophets,
31:47
the Isaiah, Jeremiah, smaller prophets,
31:51
many of these refer to the idolatrous ways of Israel.
31:55
And it was the idolatry of Israel that actually led ultimately to their exile in Babylon for those 70 years.
32:04
They had repeatedly refused to receive the message that God sent through the prophets,
32:11
the warnings that he had sent.
32:13
They didn't actually think that that was worthy of being followed up by themselves.
32:18
So what happened was, just as God himself had specified,
32:23
they were taken under the yoke, the power of the Babylonians,
32:30
who ravaged their temple, took many of the objects there captive to Babylon,
32:35
and actually had to live there for the 70 years until they began then to come back to Jerusalem.
32:44
So the production of idolatry is in our own human hearts.
32:53
And whatever it is we place instead of God or alongside of God
32:58
and give the devotion that's due to God,
33:01
then we're engaging in idolatry in doing that.
33:05
And it all comes, therefore, from our own fallen self.
33:10
Remember that Jesus more than once said,
33:14
if we were to follow him, if anyone was to follow him,
33:17
one of the central features of that, one of the necessities of that,
33:21
one of the indispensable aspects of following Jesus,
33:25
let him deny himself.
33:28
Because denying yourself means turning against the inclination of your own sinful heart
33:34
and giving your devotion to God instead.
33:37
If you were to ask tonight, what is the oldest religion in the world?
33:42
If I was to ask, what is the oldest religion in the world?
33:46
Many people would answer different ways.
33:48
Some people might say, well, surely it's something like Buddhism,
33:52
or perhaps even Hinduism, which goes back many, many generations,
33:56
thousands, in fact, of years.
33:59
And would say, well, surely that's the oldest religion in the world.
34:03
But it's not.
34:04
The oldest religion in the world is the worship of self.
34:09
Ever since man fell, he's been worshiping himself.
34:13
Setting himself out instead of God.
34:16
Setting himself out in a way that's above God.
34:20
Refusing the direction of God to turn to himself,
34:23
to come back to him, and instead following his own way.
34:25
And we can see in this chapter tonight just how blind devotion to idols is.
34:33
Whether it's a figure like this, or any of the other things I've mentioned,
34:36
or adding to that list.
34:39
Whatever we give our devotion to blinds us to the reality of God,
34:44
and if not completely, then certainly to the extent that we do not give God
34:48
the place that is due to him.
34:50
So all of this is contained, really, in this passage,
34:56
especially verses 1 to 4.
34:59
Let's look first of all at Israel's loss of the ark,
35:04
which takes us back into the previous chapter.
35:07
And then we'll look at the ark among the Philistines.
35:10
Some of the things chapter 5 describes happened when the ark was taken by the Philistines
35:15
to the house of Dagon, their idol, their god.
35:19
Well, Israel's loss of the ark, you know, call yourselves that the ark was this box
35:25
that was made of a special wood and then overlaid with gold.
35:29
It was around a meter long, by half that again in width and in height.
35:34
And the Lord had specified in Exodus chapter 25
35:38
that this was to be a very important object in the ritual of Israel
35:43
in terms of their worship of God.
35:47
The ark was placed in the Holy of Holies, in the tabernacle, in the temple afterwards.
35:53
And it was associated especially with the presence of God.
35:58
They were required to make a lid for the ark, which became known as the mercy seat,
36:03
with the two cherubim carved of gold on the mercy seat facing each other.
36:09
And it was there that God met with his people.
36:12
It was there that the presence of God was made known to the people.
36:17
The cloud that dwelt between the cherubim on the top of the ark
36:23
was itself an indication of the presence of God.
36:27
So from that you can see that as the ark represented the presence of God,
36:32
it was absolutely central to the ritual that God himself had specified
36:36
that represented that cleansing from sin.
36:40
Chapter 16 of Leviticus talks about the day of atonement that took place once a year,
36:46
where the high priest who alone was allowed to go into the Holy of Holies,
36:51
took the blood of the goat that was killed for a sacrifice,
36:54
and sprinkled that over the mercy seat and in the presence or in the front of the mercy seat.
37:00
It was very central to the whole ritual of atonement in Israel,
37:06
to teach them that God's presence, in the way that it was represented there,
37:12
that they could only live with God's presence by following the directions of God himself,
37:17
by providing propitiatory blood, which of course itself is symbolic of the death of Jesus.
37:25
But they went out in chapter 4 here.
37:30
You can see what had happened, chapter 4 and verse 2, if you just cast your mind back,
37:35
and we'll read a few verses there.
37:36
The Philistines, here they were coming to battle against the people of Israel.
37:41
The Philistines threw up in line against Israel,
37:44
and when the battle spread, Israel was defeated by the Philistines,
37:48
who killed about 4,000 men on the field of battle.
37:51
And when the troops came to the camp, the elders of Israel said,
37:56
Why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines?
37:59
That's an interesting way of putting it, wasn't it?
38:02
They were seeking to cast the blame upon God and not upon themselves.
38:06
Why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines?
38:10
Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord here from Shiloh,
38:14
that it may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies.
38:18
So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts,
38:24
who is enthroned on the cherubim.
38:27
What are they doing?
38:29
What kind of thinking is this?
38:32
What has become of these people?
38:35
Well, what they're doing is treating this ark in a sense as if it were God.
38:39
They know that it represents God.
38:42
They know that, strictly speaking, it is not, of course, God.
38:45
It's not like the idol of the Philistines.
38:48
But they're treating it as such.
38:50
They're looking on it superstitiously or looking at it as some kind of miraculous operation,
38:55
that if they carry this ark into battle,
38:58
then they're bound to be successful against the people that are fighting against them.
39:03
They've become superstitious.
39:05
They've become a people who have just lost sight for a moment of what the ark represented.
39:10
And they regarded it as if it were God himself,
39:14
as if the ark, just carrying the ark in itself,
39:18
was going to guarantee them victory against the Philistines.
39:22
Israel lost the ark because they lost what it represented.
39:29
They lost sight of what it represented.
39:30
And therefore, it was taken captive by the Lord just to, as it were,
39:36
remind them that their trust must not be in the ark
39:40
because the ark was a representation of God.
39:44
It wasn't to be treated like the idols of the Philistines.
39:49
Now, we can do the same with some of the privileges that we have.
39:54
And it's altogether too easy to fall into the same mindset as Israel here,
40:01
who said, let's bring the ark, take the ark of the covenant of the Lord,
40:04
that it may come amongst us.
40:05
It'll save us from the power of our enemies.
40:09
You can become that way minded even about the likes of your baptism
40:13
or taking communion in the Lord's Supper,
40:16
where the things themselves become, although the representations of God,
40:21
they become, as it were, looked at magically or superstitiously
40:25
or looked at in such a way that would say, for example,
40:28
well, I was baptized as a child,
40:30
so if you ask me, well, what's my relationship with God?
40:35
I'm bound to be saved because I was baptized.
40:37
There were promises taken about me.
40:39
There are prayers about my future.
40:44
Same thing with taking communion.
40:47
People can actually come and say about taking communion,
40:50
that makes me a Christian.
40:52
That guarantees my salvation.
40:55
None of that, of course, is true.
40:58
It can be just like the ark was for Israel,
41:03
that we just trust in the possession of them,
41:06
trust in the history that's brought them to us,
41:10
trust in perhaps the ritual that's involved in baptism
41:15
or in taking communion
41:16
and thinking that just from the mere possession of it,
41:20
from the mere act of it,
41:22
that that guarantees our acceptance with God.
41:25
And it doesn't.
41:26
Unless we have what's represented there,
41:29
then we cannot be saved.
41:31
We cannot be in a right relation with God
41:33
just by taking communion.
41:35
Communion itself is an indication
41:37
that you have that relationship with God already.
41:40
And the same is true when you come to think of baptism too,
41:46
that that is something that represents
41:48
being connected to Christ,
41:51
being united to Christ.
41:53
So here is something that's important for us to remember
41:56
from this Old Testament passage.
41:59
If you go back to Romans,
42:00
or forward to Romans chapter 2 and verses 28 and 29,
42:04
this is how Paul put it.
42:06
Because he was dealing, of course,
42:08
with people like himself who were Jews by birth
42:11
and who, just like the Pharisees,
42:13
as we saw this morning,
42:14
were placing great emphasis on the fact
42:16
that this is how they were brought up.
42:19
This was their privilege.
42:20
This is what God gave them to be.
42:22
They gave them to be Jews
42:23
in contrast to the Gentiles
42:26
and the rest of the world.
42:28
And here were the people
42:30
that Paul was writing to
42:32
in the letter to the Romans
42:33
actually thinking that
42:35
because this was the case with them,
42:38
in terms of their ancestry
42:39
and their privileges over the years,
42:41
that they themselves were already right with God,
42:44
automatically, as it were.
42:46
Well, here is what Paul said.
42:48
No one is a Jew
42:49
who is merely one outwardly,
42:53
nor is circumcision outward and physical.
42:57
I didn't mean, of course, by that,
42:59
that circumcision had stopped
43:00
to be something physical
43:02
that was applied to Jewish young boys
43:06
when they were actually circumcised.
43:09
That still was the case
43:11
at eight days of age.
43:13
But now he's saying,
43:15
a Jew is one inwardly,
43:18
and circumcision is a matter of the heart
43:21
by the Spirit and not by the letter.
43:24
His praise is not from man,
43:26
but of God.
43:27
In other words, he was saying to those,
43:29
he was writing to them in Romans,
43:30
reminding them that
43:31
being circumcised did not of itself,
43:35
though it was an advantage,
43:36
it didn't of itself convey any grace.
43:39
It didn't convey any salvation.
43:42
It was an outward symbol
43:44
of something that needed to be inward.
43:46
Circumcision of the heart.
43:48
And it's really the same with ourselves.
43:50
That's why the Lord said to Nicodemus,
43:53
who had come to him by night,
43:54
and he was quite sure
43:56
that he himself being
43:57
one of the doctors of the law
43:59
in those days,
44:00
one member of a Sanhedrin,
44:02
he would never have questioned
44:03
whether or not he was
44:04
within the kingdom of God.
44:07
And Jesus, of course,
44:09
brought him up short
44:10
and said,
44:10
except a man be born again,
44:12
born of water and of the Spirit,
44:14
he cannot enter
44:15
the kingdom of God.
44:17
So here is something
44:20
that comes across
44:21
all of these generations tonight
44:22
to actually teach us
44:25
about the need
44:26
for a proper spiritual
44:29
heart relationship with Christ,
44:31
with God in Christ,
44:33
and not to rely on anything
44:35
which may be in itself
44:38
a great advantage to us,
44:39
but not to rely upon it in itself.
44:42
We need to come to the Lord.
44:44
We need to receive the Lord.
44:46
We need to accept the Lord.
44:47
We need to depend on the Lord.
44:49
We need to have our trust
44:50
in the Lord.
44:51
We need to make sure
44:52
that He is the foundation,
44:53
not any ritual
44:54
that's associated with Him.
44:58
This is why Israel
44:59
lost the ark,
45:01
because they lost
45:02
what it represented.
45:05
But secondly,
45:05
look at the ark
45:06
among the Philistines.
45:08
What did the Philistines
45:09
do with the ark?
45:10
Well, chapter 5 now,
45:11
when they captured the ark,
45:12
they brought it from Ebenezer
45:14
to Ashdod,
45:15
and the Philistines
45:16
took the ark
45:17
of God,
45:17
and brought it
45:18
into the house
45:18
of Dagon,
45:20
and set it up
45:20
beside Dagon.
45:23
See, they saw
45:24
this ark
45:25
as being a god
45:26
to Israel,
45:28
just like Dagon
45:29
was to them.
45:30
So, it was a trophy
45:31
of war
45:32
in many respects,
45:33
but to the people
45:34
of the Philistines,
45:36
they were actually saying,
45:37
we've actually managed
45:38
to capture
45:39
one of the gods
45:40
of Israel.
45:41
Because when you go back
45:41
again to chapter 4
45:43
and verse 6,
45:45
notice what it's saying there.
45:46
When the Philistines
45:47
heard the noise,
45:49
when the ark
45:49
actually did come
45:50
into the camp,
45:51
Israel gave a mighty shout
45:53
so that the earth resounded.
45:55
And when the Philistines
45:56
heard the noise
45:57
of the shouting,
45:57
they said,
45:58
what does this great shouting
45:59
in the camp
46:00
of the Hebrews mean?
46:01
And when they learned
46:02
that the ark of the Lord
46:03
had come to the camp,
46:05
the Philistines
46:05
were afraid,
46:06
for they said,
46:07
a God
46:08
has come into the camp.
46:10
And they said,
46:10
woe to us,
46:11
for nothing like this
46:12
has happened before.
46:13
Woe to us.
46:14
Who can deliver us
46:15
from the power
46:16
of these mighty gods?
46:17
These are the gods
46:18
who struck the Egyptians
46:19
with every sort of plague
46:21
in the wilderness.
46:23
Take courage
46:23
and be men,
46:25
O Philistines,
46:26
lest you become slaves.
46:28
To the Hebrews,
46:29
as they have been to you,
46:31
be men
46:32
and fight.
46:34
They regarded the ark
46:36
as a god of Israel.
46:39
That's why they brought it
46:40
into the house
46:41
of their god,
46:42
Dagon.
46:45
And what happened?
46:47
Well, you read down
46:48
through there,
46:49
when they rose early
46:49
the next day,
46:52
Dagon had fallen
46:53
face down on the ground
46:54
before the ark
46:56
of the Lord.
46:59
And the passage
46:59
is really telling us
47:00
by that,
47:01
and the passage
47:02
telling the people
47:02
of Israel by that,
47:04
as they would read
47:04
that later,
47:06
telling them,
47:07
or even from that moment
47:08
that they realized
47:09
this had happened,
47:11
telling them that
47:12
God,
47:13
their God,
47:15
was the true God,
47:16
was the only God.
47:17
Because here is Dagon.
47:18
And you notice
47:18
it's interesting here,
47:20
this fall of Dagon
47:21
was not done
47:22
by human hands,
47:23
this happened overnight.
47:25
Nobody went
47:26
into the place,
47:27
took Dagon down
47:28
and put him
47:29
on the ground
47:30
beside
47:30
or in front
47:32
of the ark
47:32
of God.
47:33
This was something
47:34
that happened
47:35
miraculously.
47:36
God himself
47:36
had brought it about.
47:39
But you notice
47:40
the difference
47:40
in the language.
47:42
Just look carefully
47:43
how the language
47:44
says,
47:44
when they brought
47:45
the ark
47:46
into the house
47:47
of God,
47:47
they set it up
47:48
beside Dagon.
47:52
And then when
47:52
Dagon fell,
47:54
he fell to the ground
47:55
before the ark
47:57
of the Lord.
47:58
You see,
47:59
they had put Dagon,
48:01
this statue,
48:02
this idol,
48:02
they had put it
48:03
beside the ark
48:04
of the Lord.
48:06
And when he fell,
48:07
it's no longer
48:08
beside the ark
48:09
of the Lord,
48:10
he's in the presence
48:11
of the ark
48:11
of the Lord.
48:12
He's bowing down
48:13
to the ark
48:14
of the Lord,
48:14
as it were,
48:15
showing the supremacy
48:16
of the God
48:17
that the Israelites
48:18
worshipped.
48:20
And so,
48:21
the sovereignty
48:21
of God.
48:23
Here is Dagon
48:23
in a position
48:24
of homage
48:26
and subservience
48:27
and obedience
48:28
and acknowledgement
48:30
of the superiority
48:31
of God
48:32
because Dagon
48:34
is here
48:34
before the ark
48:36
of God
48:36
as if he were
48:37
bowed down
48:38
and worshipped
48:38
to him.
48:40
See,
48:40
language makes
48:41
a difference.
48:43
And you can see
48:43
that this is the message
48:44
conveyed
48:45
by that change.
48:46
It's no longer
48:47
beside Dagon,
48:48
no longer beside
48:49
the ark,
48:50
he is before
48:51
the ark.
48:52
He's fallen down
48:53
in the presence
48:54
of what represents
48:56
the God
48:56
of Israel.
48:57
And that,
49:00
of course,
49:01
is true of all
49:01
idolatry
49:02
and all idols.
49:04
Even if they're
49:05
placed on the same
49:07
level as God.
49:09
Even if they're
49:10
just taken in,
49:10
as it were,
49:11
into a pantheon
49:12
of gods.
49:15
Nevertheless,
49:16
the Bible assures
49:17
us and tells us
49:18
again and again
49:19
that there is
49:20
no equality
49:21
with God.
49:23
That none
49:23
can actually
49:24
come to the level
49:25
at which our
49:26
God is placed
49:27
as our creator
49:28
and as the
49:29
saviour of his
49:29
people.
49:30
That's why
49:30
Psalm 115,
49:32
as we sang,
49:33
is so graphic
49:35
and so powerful
49:36
in the description
49:37
of the contrast
49:38
between God
49:39
and all idols.
49:41
He is God.
49:42
He is a lone
49:42
God.
49:45
And it doesn't
49:45
matter tonight
49:46
what people worship.
49:48
I don't say
49:49
it doesn't matter
49:50
in the sense
49:51
of it's not
49:51
important.
49:52
Of course,
49:52
it's important,
49:53
but it doesn't
49:54
change this,
49:56
that God
49:57
remains God
49:59
and God
50:00
remains
50:01
alone God.
50:04
He remains
50:05
the unique
50:05
creator
50:06
and saviour
50:08
of his people.
50:11
So,
50:11
what do the
50:11
Philistines do?
50:15
Well,
50:16
you might think
50:16
that they would say
50:17
now that our idol
50:18
is prostrate
50:20
in the presence
50:20
of the ark,
50:21
you might think,
50:21
well,
50:22
surely any
50:23
right thinking
50:23
would say,
50:24
well,
50:24
this ark
50:25
must be superior
50:26
to our God.
50:27
Let's actually
50:28
now give
50:30
ourselves to
50:31
the ark of God
50:32
or to the God
50:32
of Israel
50:33
instead of
50:34
to our Dagon
50:34
because our Dagon
50:35
has fallen
50:36
in his presence.
50:37
That's not
50:37
what they do.
50:39
What do they do?
50:40
They pick him up.
50:42
They set him
50:42
back on his feet
50:43
again.
50:48
They came
50:48
and put Dagon
50:49
back in his place.
50:53
You know,
50:54
the Lord
50:55
doesn't mind
50:56
a touch of humour
50:57
in his word.
50:59
It's not comedy.
51:01
It's not that
51:01
sort of thing.
51:02
But there is a touch
51:03
of humour there,
51:04
isn't there?
51:05
Because how
51:06
can a God
51:07
help anybody
51:09
if he needs
51:09
to be helped
51:10
to his feet?
51:11
How can any
51:13
object that's
51:14
given devotion
51:15
that rightly
51:16
belongs to God
51:17
be of any use
51:18
to any human being
51:19
if these humans
51:20
themselves have
51:21
to help him
51:21
back on his feet,
51:23
have to help
51:23
put him back
51:24
in his place?
51:25
You see,
51:26
the foolishness
51:26
and the blindness
51:27
of the idolatry
51:28
of the Philistines
51:29
as they're doing this,
51:31
whether they realise it
51:32
or not,
51:32
what they're saying is
51:33
this is a useless God.
51:35
We can't possibly
51:36
go on worshipping
51:36
this God.
51:37
He needs to be
51:38
helped to his feet.
51:39
And we humans
51:41
who have created
51:42
him as our God,
51:44
we should look
51:44
at ourselves
51:45
and think,
51:46
how can this be
51:47
any help to us
51:48
at all
51:49
to trust
51:49
and to worship
51:50
to be devoted
51:51
to this Dagon?
51:54
Of course,
51:55
they're blinded
51:56
by their paganism,
51:59
blinded by
51:59
their idolatry.
52:03
Yet that's
52:04
our instinct
52:06
as well.
52:07
is this not
52:09
something that
52:09
just you leave
52:10
in history
52:12
back in the days
52:13
of the Philistines?
52:16
What do we do
52:16
when our gods
52:17
fail?
52:19
Whatever God it is
52:20
other than
52:21
our God himself.
52:23
What do we do
52:24
when we find
52:24
our gods
52:26
not actually
52:27
helping us
52:27
but being a hindrance
52:28
at times to us?
52:29
Do we just
52:30
instantly leave them?
52:31
Of course we don't.
52:31
We sometimes
52:32
just put them
52:32
back in place.
52:33
And in our own
52:35
generation
52:37
and our own
52:38
day especially
52:39
this is exactly
52:41
what you're seeing.
52:43
Because the powers
52:44
of the world
52:45
and of worldliness
52:46
and the powers
52:47
that are against
52:47
the gospel
52:48
the ungodly powers
52:50
of the present day
52:51
are in a sense
52:52
the equivalent
52:53
of the Philistines.
52:54
What are they
52:55
trying to do?
52:56
They're trying
52:56
to actually take
52:57
what is essential
52:58
to our Christian faith
52:59
and to take it captive
53:01
and to put it
53:01
in the house
53:02
of Dagon
53:03
as it were.
53:05
Their aim
53:06
is to nullify
53:07
the Christian faith
53:08
if it were possible
53:09
to deprive us
53:10
of its arc
53:11
of its most central
53:12
basic foundational features.
53:15
That's why you find
53:16
that the Christian faith
53:17
so often nowadays
53:18
sadly
53:19
is placed alongside
53:20
other so-called faiths
53:22
as if they're really
53:23
on the same level
53:24
as if the combination
53:26
of them really
53:26
is a much better way
53:28
towards ensuring
53:29
your eternity
53:30
than just worshipping
53:31
the one true God.
53:37
And what happens
53:38
when the gods
53:39
of secularism
53:40
the gods
53:42
of worldliness
53:44
the thinking
53:46
of these gods
53:47
what happens
53:48
when they are
53:49
demonstrably
53:50
failed?
53:53
They're picked up.
53:55
They're put
53:56
in another form
53:58
perhaps
53:58
but they're not
53:59
abandoned.
54:00
I know
54:02
the approach
54:04
of governments
54:07
today
54:08
and our own government
54:08
is certainly
54:09
one of the governments
54:10
in this category
54:12
that approaches
54:13
human problems
54:14
of behavior
54:15
social problems
54:17
not from a
54:18
biblical perspective
54:19
not from a
54:20
spiritual perspective
54:21
but from the
54:22
perspective of
54:23
human wisdom.
54:25
The human wisdom
54:26
that largely
54:27
that largely
54:27
comprises
54:28
a liberty
54:29
of behavior
54:30
that lumps
54:32
all of that
54:32
behavior together
54:33
and says
54:34
you know
54:34
the more liberty
54:35
you have
54:36
the more people
54:36
will be educated.
54:38
The more people
54:39
will come to realize
54:40
what's necessary
54:41
and what isn't
54:41
in human life
54:42
and in human progress
54:43
that is nonsense.
54:45
if you look
54:47
at the statistics
54:47
take for example
54:49
even sexually
54:50
transmitted diseases
54:51
in Scotland
54:52
just last month
54:54
the last statistics
54:55
showed
54:56
that there's been
54:57
an increase
54:58
not a decrease.
55:00
Why is that?
55:01
Because the wisdom
55:02
of the world
55:02
cannot actually
55:03
deal with the problem.
55:06
Permissiveness
55:06
does not deal
55:07
with the problem.
55:09
Opening things out
55:10
so that everybody
55:11
does what's right
55:11
in their own eyes
55:12
does not solve
55:13
the problem
55:14
it makes it worse.
55:16
And it doesn't matter
55:16
how you tinker
55:17
with that
55:18
how you adjust that
55:19
how much you put
55:20
Dagon back
55:21
on his shelf
55:22
maybe in a different form
55:23
you're still ending up
55:25
with the same problem.
55:26
There's nothing
55:27
there that can supply
55:28
what meets
55:29
our human need.
55:33
And it's
55:34
at the moment
55:35
such a sad
55:36
sad thing
55:37
that our governments
55:39
throughout the western world
55:41
are capitulating
55:43
to the ideology
55:44
of Dagon
55:45
you might say
55:45
capitulating
55:47
to the idea
55:48
that really
55:50
if we just
55:50
all get together
55:51
and use
55:52
our human wisdom
55:53
then we'll solve
55:57
the problems.
55:58
Throw some more money
55:59
at it.
56:01
Do it in a different way.
56:06
There is only one
56:07
power that can solve
56:10
and deal with
56:11
our human problems
56:12
and that's the power
56:13
of Christ
56:14
the power of God
56:15
the power that
56:17
has already dealt
56:19
with sin
56:19
and with evil
56:20
in the person
56:21
of Jesus Christ.
56:24
And I have to say
56:25
also that sadly
56:26
one of the powers
56:28
that
56:28
or the influences
56:30
assisting
56:31
the increase
56:33
in this
56:34
dreadful
56:35
human wisdom
56:36
approach
56:37
to the problems
56:38
of human beings
56:39
one of the
56:41
main
56:41
assistances
56:42
comes from
56:42
the church
56:43
itself
56:43
from the church
56:47
itself
56:47
as you look
56:48
at it in our day
56:49
Christianizing
56:50
ungodliness
56:52
you can call it
56:54
Christian this
56:55
and Christian that
56:56
but if it's ungodly
56:57
then it's ungodly
56:58
and if it's ungodly
57:00
it's of no use
57:01
to actually solve
57:02
our human problems.
57:05
Indeed what you find
57:06
sadly all too often
57:07
is the reverse
57:08
of what you see there
57:10
in verse 2b
57:11
they took
57:13
the ark
57:14
of God
57:15
and they took it
57:17
into the house
57:18
of Dagon
57:18
and they set it
57:20
up beside
57:20
Dagon
57:21
let's just
57:23
reverse that
57:23
in your thinking
57:24
that's bad enough
57:26
because of what
57:28
it represents
57:29
but when you're
57:31
seeing
57:31
what you're seeing
57:31
in our day
57:32
sadly is
57:33
nothing less than
57:34
Dagon
57:35
being taken
57:35
into the house
57:36
of God
57:37
and that is
57:40
such a serious
57:41
matter that
57:42
it has to be
57:44
spoken about
57:45
for what it is
57:46
because when
57:48
Dagon
57:49
comes into
57:50
the house
57:50
of God
57:51
when human
57:52
wisdom
57:53
replaces the
57:53
gospel
57:54
in its essence
57:55
in its power
57:56
what you're left
57:59
with is just
57:59
a mess
58:00
what you're left
58:02
with is just
58:02
despondency
58:04
what you're left
58:06
with is
58:06
something that
58:08
has no power
58:08
whatsoever
58:09
to fix
58:11
our human
58:11
hearts
58:12
so here is
58:15
the fall
58:15
of Dagon
58:16
but here is
58:18
something that
58:19
we can learn
58:19
from
58:20
because you
58:21
and I
58:22
who believe
58:22
in the gospel
58:23
who believe
58:24
the gospel
58:25
is the power
58:25
of God
58:26
and to salvation
58:27
as Paul wrote
58:28
to the Romans
58:29
to everyone
58:29
who believes
58:30
whether it's
58:30
Jew or Gentile
58:31
whatever the
58:32
problems human
58:32
beings have
58:33
that's why
58:34
our concern
58:35
is to bring
58:36
the power
58:37
of the gospel
58:37
to bear
58:38
upon human
58:39
lives
58:39
young and
58:40
old
58:40
whatever
58:40
backgrounds
58:41
whatever way
58:42
they're wasting
58:42
their lives
58:43
presently
58:44
whatever addictions
58:45
they may have
58:46
whatever things
58:47
may characterize
58:48
their life
58:49
at the moment
58:49
this is what
58:50
God has given
58:50
us
58:51
and it is your
58:52
duty and my
58:53
duty together
58:54
and individually
58:55
to seek to
58:56
convey this
58:57
to the world
58:58
as we sang
58:58
in the psalm
58:59
tell every land
59:00
that the Lord
59:01
is king
59:02
tell them about
59:04
Jesus
59:04
why did Jesus
59:05
come
59:05
who was he
59:06
what did he do
59:07
where is he now
59:09
why do you love him
59:10
why do you serve him
59:11
what is he to you
59:13
what is he to you
59:13
what is he to you
59:16
what is he to you
59:16
what is he to you
59:16
it's all part of
59:17
our witness to Christ
59:19
in the world
59:20
a world in which
59:22
the daggone of the day
59:24
is so powerful
59:25
thankfully
59:27
God is above all that
59:30
and this is the God
59:32
we pray to
59:32
the God we worship
59:34
the God we love
59:35
and of course
59:38
what happened then
59:38
was that
59:39
the daggone again
59:41
fell down the next morning
59:42
the head of daggone
59:44
and both his hands
59:45
were lying
59:45
cut off
59:46
on the threshold
59:48
significant details
59:50
you see
59:50
because what that is
59:51
really saying to us
59:52
is the head
59:53
does it represent
59:53
the intellect
59:54
or the ideology
59:56
of Philistinism
59:57
and the hands
59:58
which represent
59:59
the practicality
1:00:00
the activity
1:00:02
of that idolatry
1:00:03
what happens
1:00:04
they've been severed
1:00:05
from the trunk
1:00:06
of this idol
1:00:07
he's lying there
1:00:08
useless
1:00:08
and it's being
1:00:10
demonstrated there
1:00:11
quite categorically
1:00:12
that neither in terms
1:00:14
of intellect
1:00:15
or ideology
1:00:15
or practicality
1:00:17
is there any use
1:00:18
in idolatry
1:00:19
and so you're back
1:00:23
to Jesus
1:00:24
and the gospel
1:00:25
the power for our mind
1:00:28
and for our action
1:00:29
well you know sadly
1:00:31
as you very well know
1:00:33
in our own day
1:00:33
despite the efforts
1:00:35
of the church
1:00:36
those in the church
1:00:37
faithful to God
1:00:38
or those denominations
1:00:40
people in all denominations
1:00:42
faithful to God
1:00:43
despite their
1:00:44
attempts and appeals
1:00:45
to those in government
1:00:46
to those in authority
1:00:47
to those with influence
1:00:49
it's really a bit like
1:00:50
what you find here
1:00:51
with the ark
1:00:52
in the Philistines
1:00:53
and they realize
1:00:54
that they can't hold on
1:00:55
to this ark
1:00:56
without it being
1:00:56
a means of further
1:00:58
destruction amongst them
1:00:59
what do they do
1:01:00
they send it on
1:01:01
to another place
1:01:02
and that place says
1:01:03
no we're not having it
1:01:04
let's move it on
1:01:05
to Gath
1:01:06
and to Ashdod
1:01:08
to all of these other
1:01:11
places in the region
1:01:14
of the Philistines
1:01:15
and that's what people do
1:01:20
with the gospel
1:01:20
they don't want it
1:01:23
they move it on
1:01:25
let it go somewhere else
1:01:28
but don't leave it here
1:01:29
it's dangerous
1:01:32
it doesn't fit with our
1:01:35
modern secular thinking
1:01:36
so we can't have it
1:01:39
it's not for us
1:01:41
instead of
1:01:44
turning to God
1:01:46
instead of saying
1:01:48
our secular unbelieving
1:01:50
ungodly philosophy
1:01:51
has failed us
1:01:52
and saying
1:01:54
let's turn to God
1:01:55
let's turn to what
1:01:56
these Christians are saying
1:01:57
let's get back to
1:02:00
what was the case
1:02:01
in our land
1:02:02
so long ago
1:02:04
when the power
1:02:04
of the gospel
1:02:05
made such great inroads
1:02:07
into people's lives
1:02:09
when you go back
1:02:13
into
1:02:13
not only the reformers
1:02:15
but some
1:02:15
of the great philanthropists
1:02:17
that were
1:02:18
in the free church itself
1:02:19
back in the 1800s
1:02:21
why was Thomas Guthrie
1:02:23
so successful
1:02:24
as he headed up
1:02:25
the ragged school movement
1:02:26
why was the church
1:02:28
of the time
1:02:29
so successful
1:02:30
in actually locating
1:02:31
and dealing with people
1:02:32
in the terrible conditions
1:02:34
in which they lived
1:02:35
in these closest
1:02:36
in Edinburgh
1:02:36
or Glasgow
1:02:37
wherever
1:02:38
because
1:02:40
the power
1:02:42
of the gospel
1:02:43
was let loose
1:02:45
amongst them
1:02:46
because people
1:02:47
like Guthrie
1:02:48
and Chalmers
1:02:49
and others
1:02:49
believed
1:02:50
the word of God
1:02:51
and didn't adjust
1:02:53
the word of God
1:02:54
to suit the thinking
1:02:55
of the age
1:02:56
but we're convinced
1:03:00
that this is the power
1:03:01
of God
1:03:02
unto salvation
1:03:03
to everyone
1:03:04
who believes
1:03:06
but let me ask
1:03:10
a final question
1:03:11
what about yourself
1:03:12
what about yourself
1:03:15
and myself
1:03:16
on what are we
1:03:20
basing
1:03:21
our hopes
1:03:22
is it just
1:03:24
belonging to the church
1:03:26
is it having
1:03:28
been brought up
1:03:28
in Stornoway Free Church
1:03:30
or wherever
1:03:30
hopefully not
1:03:32
surely it is
1:03:35
in Christ
1:03:35
and having
1:03:37
your trust
1:03:38
in him
1:03:38
and having
1:03:40
received him
1:03:41
as your own
1:03:42
personal saviour
1:03:44
as you look
1:03:45
around you
1:03:46
at all
1:03:46
the philosophies
1:03:48
and ideologies
1:03:49
of the age
1:03:49
and all the
1:03:50
horrible things
1:03:51
that you see
1:03:52
and the debauched
1:03:53
behaviour
1:03:54
that you see
1:03:54
all around you
1:03:55
what do you say
1:03:56
Lord
1:03:56
as the Lord
1:03:58
says
1:03:58
well will you
1:03:59
go with them
1:03:59
are you going
1:04:01
to join them
1:04:02
as well
1:04:02
are you going
1:04:02
to approve
1:04:03
of that
1:04:03
aren't you
1:04:05
like Peter
1:04:06
John 6
1:04:08
where he says
1:04:09
Lord
1:04:09
to whom
1:04:10
shall we go
1:04:12
you alone
1:04:14
have the words
1:04:16
of eternal life
1:04:18
may God bless
1:04:20
these thoughts
1:04:21
to us
1:04:21
we're going to
1:04:21
conclude now
1:04:23
by singing
1:04:23
to God's praise
1:04:25
in Psalm
1:04:25
Psalm number
1:04:27
97
1:04:28
that's on page
1:04:31
128
1:04:32
Psalm 97
1:04:33
verses 7
1:04:35
to 12
1:04:36
the tune is
1:04:36
Warrington
1:04:37
all those
1:04:38
who worship
1:04:39
images
1:04:39
are put to
1:04:40
everlasting shame
1:04:41
their worthless
1:04:43
idols
1:04:43
are their boast
1:04:44
you gods
1:04:45
bow down
1:04:45
before his name
1:04:46
to Zion hill
1:04:48
and Judah's towns
1:04:49
your judgments
1:04:49
Lord
1:04:50
great joy
1:04:51
supply
1:04:52
above the earth
1:04:53
and all the gods
1:04:54
exalted
1:04:55
is the Lord
1:04:56
most high
1:04:58
and of course
1:05:00
we too
1:05:00
remember those
1:05:01
who are evangelizing
1:05:03
amongst the
1:05:04
religions of the world
1:05:06
the great world religions
1:05:07
that are themselves
1:05:09
given to such measures
1:05:11
of idolatry
1:05:12
and to remember
1:05:14
them as they carry
1:05:15
the gospel
1:05:16
to them
1:05:17
so these words
1:05:18
verses 7
1:05:19
to 12
1:05:20
Psalm 97
1:05:21
all those
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who worship
1:05:23
images
1:05:24
are put to
1:05:40
ever
1:05:42
in shame
1:05:45
their worthless
1:05:48
idols
1:05:50
are their foes
1:05:54
new God
1:05:56
how dumb
1:05:59
he put
1:06:00
his name
1:06:04
to Zion
1:06:06
hill
1:06:08
and
1:06:09
Judah's
1:06:11
hands
1:06:13
your
1:06:14
judgments
1:06:16
heart
1:06:18
rejoice
1:06:19
the fire
1:06:22
above
1:06:24
the earth
1:06:26
and all
1:06:29
the gods
1:06:31
exalted
1:06:34
is
1:06:36
the Lord
1:06:37
most high
1:06:41
he
1:06:43
his
1:06:43
evil
1:06:44
youth
1:06:46
who
1:06:47
love
1:06:48
the
1:06:49
Lord
1:06:50
his
1:06:52
faithful
1:06:53
ones
1:06:55
he
1:06:56
will
1:06:58
defend
1:07:00
and
1:07:01
from
1:07:02
the
1:07:03
hands
1:07:04
of
1:07:05
wicked
1:07:07
men
1:07:09
to
1:07:09
them
1:07:11
deliverance
1:07:14
he
1:07:15
will
1:07:16
save
1:07:18
upon
1:07:20
the
1:07:21
righteous
1:07:23
light
1:07:25
will
1:07:26
shine
1:07:27
and
1:07:29
joy
1:07:30
all
1:07:31
those
1:07:33
of
1:07:33
our
1:07:34
right
1:07:36
wings
1:07:37
your
1:07:38
righteousness
1:07:40
will
1:07:42
the
1:07:42
Lord
1:07:44
rejoice
1:07:46
and
1:07:47
to
1:07:48
his
1:07:49
holy
1:07:51
name
1:07:53
give
1:07:54
praise
1:07:55
I'll go to the side door to my right here after the benediction
1:07:59
now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ the love of God the Father
1:08:04
and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you now and evermore
1:08:09
Amen