Latest / Stornoway Free Church of Scotland - Sermons / New Year's Day Sermon
Transcript
- 0:00Well, for our time we can turn back to their reading in Psalm 24.
- 0:05Just consider this psalm together.
- 0:13In verse 5 it says,
- 0:15He will receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
- 0:21Such is the generation of those who seek and who seek the face of the God of Jacob.
- 0:30Well, we're entering into a new year and as we do so,
- 0:33we always have that maybe sense of anticipation and maybe trepidation as to what may lie ahead for us in the year before us.
- 0:42But who is it that is leading us into the year?
- 0:46Who are we putting our trust in?
- 0:48And as we stand at what is often described as the gate of the year,
- 0:54is it the Lord, the one going before us?
- 0:58Well, this psalm reminds us of what it is to have the Lord going before us
- 1:03and who the Lord going before us is.
- 1:06He is the King.
- 1:08And not just the King, he is the King of glory.
- 1:12And he is the one that we are to look to as we go forward into this year.
- 1:17Psalm 24 is in the midst of this collection of psalms.
- 1:22Really, there's three psalms that you could take together from Psalm 22, then 23, and then Psalm 24.
- 1:30Psalm 23 is always the one we maybe know so well.
- 1:34We sing it so often.
- 1:36We are reminded there of the shepherd who leads his sheep.
- 1:40And it's very much, as you look at Psalm 23, it's that journey of life through all the different experiences of ourselves as people.
- 1:50Whether it's through the calm waters or the valleys of the shadow of death, we have that constant promise of the Lord with us.
- 1:57Psalm 23 is a precious psalm in that sense because it reminds us that for those who trust in the Lord,
- 2:05there is that end in sight where goodness and mercy shall follow all the days of our lives,
- 2:11and then we shall dwell in the house of the Lord all our days.
- 2:15So there's that great comfort and that great assurance in that psalm.
- 2:21But Psalm 23 can leave us with a question.
- 2:25How do we find our way to this place?
- 2:29How do we come to know the shepherd?
- 2:33Well, it is to know who that shepherd is.
- 2:36It is to know the Lord Jesus Christ as the one who is the shepherd of his people.
- 2:44And this cluster of psalms reminds us of who this shepherd is, who this Jesus is, who this Christ is.
- 2:53In Psalm 22, we see there the shepherd laying down his life for his sheep.
- 3:02Psalm 22 is a psalm that Jesus quoted on the cross.
- 3:08My God, why have you forsaken me?
- 3:11And we see in that psalm just how the shepherd lays down his life.
- 3:16So he has come that we might have life.
- 3:19He gave his life that we might have that life in full.
- 3:24And then you have Psalm 23, as we've seen there,
- 3:28just that wonderful reminder of the shepherd's leading, the shepherd's care.
- 3:33But then we come to Psalm 24.
- 3:36And then we see here the shepherd being crowned with glory.
- 3:43And the shepherd, again, just with this vision of leading his people, leading the host of his people into glory.
- 3:53And so there is this leading theme in Psalm 24 as well.
- 3:58It's very much a psalm of procession.
- 4:01And as we think of going into a new year, as we think of it in that sense of going on a journey into the unknown,
- 4:10there's so much that lies before us that is unknown to us at this time,
- 4:15but that the Lord will reveal as the days go on.
- 4:18And we seek the Lord's will as we go forward into this new year.
- 4:23But the question is, are we going forward with the King?
- 4:28Are we going forward looking to the King of glory and entrusting ourselves to him in all these things?
- 4:38Is he going to be our joy in this year?
- 4:43There is great joy to be found in him.
- 4:46As verse 5 here makes clear for us, he will receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
- 4:54God is able to provide abundantly.
- 4:57And that's what this psalm reminds us of, the abundance of God, the abundance grace he gives.
- 5:05So we go on in our journey of life.
- 5:09And it can be said of some in life that people have lost their way.
- 5:14It's a phrase that we hear used.
- 5:17People who have lost their way.
- 5:20Perhaps things were going well in life, but life has taken a turn, a twist along the way in a different direction.
- 5:29And that life can sometimes leave us in that situation.
- 5:33We so often think of it for others who have lost their way,
- 5:37but the reality is that we are all, we have all lost our way in this world.
- 5:42But it's the shepherd who brings us back.
- 5:46And that's the great hope of these psalms.
- 5:50That as we look to them, we see we as a people have lost our way.
- 5:55But that the shepherd came to gather his people.
- 6:00And we see in Psalm 22 that the cost of our care.
- 6:04We see in Psalm 23 the beauty of this care.
- 6:07And Psalm 24 speaks of how to know this care.
- 6:12There is an authority of God in this psalm.
- 6:16That he is the one who all people will come under this authority and this rule one day.
- 6:24There is a standard expected in this psalm.
- 6:28We see what is required of those who will come into God's presence.
- 6:33And we see too the rule of God here as well.
- 6:40The rule of our king.
- 6:41The one who will rule forever.
- 6:45And so we have this king in this psalm.
- 6:49But is he our king?
- 6:52And as we enter into this year,
- 6:55may we find that this is the king that we are looking to.
- 6:58This is the king we are entrusting ourselves, our congregation, our community, all things to.
- 7:05That the king of glory would lead us and go before us into this new year.
- 7:12So we're going to see three things from this psalm.
- 7:17And it's like this procession going forward.
- 7:21And we're struggling to find our way.
- 7:23Maybe our life has taken a different path, an unexpected turn.
- 7:28But we are being brought on track by looking to the Lord.
- 7:33And the three things that we're going to see are, first of all, the Lord's authority.
- 7:39Because the journey here begins with a recognition of God's authority.
- 7:45The very first words of this psalm.
- 7:47The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof.
- 7:51The world and all those who dwell therein.
- 7:57Everything belongs to God.
- 8:01Ourselves included.
- 8:04All our days belong to God.
- 8:08The psalms that we have sung, very often they think of time.
- 8:13And in verse 15 of Psalm 71, it says in the middle of that verse,
- 8:18Even all the day, for I thereof, the numbers do not know.
- 8:23There is this uncertainty on our side.
- 8:26We don't know the numbers of our days.
- 8:29But God does.
- 8:32And that's what this psalm reminds us.
- 8:34The earth is the Lord and the fullness thereof.
- 8:37Everything that we see around us.
- 8:40And when you think of it, when we look at the marvel of the created world,
- 8:47For he is the one who has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers,
- 8:52Verse 2 says,
- 8:53There is this wonder of creation all around us.
- 8:57The beauty of his creation.
- 9:00And we see it again and again, day by day.
- 9:04We walk around and we see the skies.
- 9:06We see the earth.
- 9:07We see the seas.
- 9:08We see all of these things.
- 9:10And they speak to us of the wonder of creation.
- 9:16Just a number of days ago, I was over in Uig at a cemetery over there.
- 9:21And we have had a great spell of weather recently where it's just been so calm and so mild, so peaceful.
- 9:28And that even standing in a cemetery and looking around there in Cliff and Uig, you're surrounded by just the beauty of creation.
- 9:39The cliffs, the sea, the shore, the sky, everything just so peaceful and so calm.
- 9:47And yet in the midst of that, there is something that reminds us of what is wrong in this world.
- 9:53As you stand in a cemetery before an open grave.
- 9:57And these are the things that speak to us again and again in the course of our days.
- 10:02The earth is the Lord's and the fullness is the Lord's.
- 10:05And all those who dwell therein, we belong to the Lord.
- 10:10So we see the beauty of creation in many ways.
- 10:14But we see the horror of sin before us too.
- 10:17And a cemetery and an open grave is where you maybe see it most vividly.
- 10:23There is peace.
- 10:25And yet there is worry.
- 10:26There is fear.
- 10:29What does the end mean?
- 10:30Well, it's to find ourselves under the Lord's authority.
- 10:37Because we are reminded here that God has made all things and he has made us.
- 10:44He has made us.
- 10:47We are his.
- 10:48All those who dwell therein.
- 10:52But we are reminded here that God has not abandoned us.
- 10:56God has not just left us to ourselves.
- 10:59But that he is still claiming us.
- 11:04That he still has that claim on his people.
- 11:07We belong to him.
- 11:10And that the words he reminds us that there is help.
- 11:14That it's not dependent on us.
- 11:18But it's looking to the Lord, the King of glory.
- 11:23The earth is the Lord's.
- 11:26It all belongs to him.
- 11:29But the attitude of many is that, no, it's not his.
- 11:33It's mine.
- 11:34It's my life.
- 11:35It's my way.
- 11:36It's my choice.
- 11:37All of these things.
- 11:39It's ours.
- 11:40And you see it so often when you look at the history of the world.
- 11:44You think of New Year's honors list.
- 11:46And so many of them receive honors for what they've offered up to society and the world in so many different ways.
- 11:54It's given, in some cases, rightful honor.
- 11:57That they've done well.
- 11:59They've done good in this world.
- 12:01But it's ultimately all of God.
- 12:05When we think of everything that this world has created, invented, and brought forth.
- 12:12Whether it's mechanical.
- 12:14Whether it's to do with health.
- 12:15Whatever it is.
- 12:16Whatever we've built.
- 12:17Whatever we've done.
- 12:19Electricity.
- 12:20Light.
- 12:20Light.
- 12:21All of these things.
- 12:22We can give praise and glory to others.
- 12:25But it's all of the Lord.
- 12:28There is nothing that we can do apart from him.
- 12:31It is all under his authority and his sovereignty.
- 12:36Abraham Kuyper, he said this.
- 12:39There is not one square inch of this entire creation about which Jesus Christ does not cry out,
- 12:45This is mine.
- 12:48This belongs to me.
- 12:50Everything belongs to him.
- 12:54Ourselves included.
- 12:57But as we go into a new year, that can either be a comfort or a distress to us.
- 13:05And what we want to find is, as we go into this new year, that we are looking to this Lord.
- 13:10Looking to this King.
- 13:11And have that assurance in him.
- 13:14Isaiah reminds us of what trusting in the Lord means.
- 13:17And Isaiah 43.
- 13:20But now thus says the Lord, he who created you.
- 13:22O Jacob, he who formed you.
- 13:24O Israel, fear not.
- 13:27For I have redeemed you.
- 13:28I have called you by name.
- 13:30You are mine.
- 13:31That is that assurance of God to his people in these words.
- 13:36But then he gives assurance of being with them on the journey.
- 13:40When you pass through the waters, I will be with you.
- 13:42And through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you.
- 13:45When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned.
- 13:48And the flame shall not consume you.
- 13:51There is that assurance that as we are looking to this Lord, our King,
- 13:56the earth is the Lord's and belongs to him, that we have him with us.
- 14:02Do you know that today?
- 14:05Is that where your trust is today as we go on on this journey?
- 14:12There was a man called James Simpson.
- 14:15James Young Simpson.
- 14:16He was a sir by name.
- 14:18As well, he was a doctor.
- 14:20And he was famous for many, much progression in medicine and medical procedures.
- 14:26And he was once doctor of Queen Victoria.
- 14:29But he was once asked in his life, what was the greatest discovery he had ever made?
- 14:37And his reply was this, that I am a sinner and that Jesus Christ is our great Savior.
- 14:45His greatest discovery in the midst of everything that he had done was that he was a sinner
- 14:51and that Jesus was our great Savior.
- 14:53Is there anything greater that we could discover for ourselves?
- 15:00To recognize we are sinners, great sinners, but that Jesus is our great Savior.
- 15:08We are all under the authority of the Lord.
- 15:12The earth is the Lord's and everything they're in.
- 15:16So how are we going forward?
- 15:19Are we looking to him as our King?
- 15:22That's the first thing that we see.
- 15:24We have the Lord's authority.
- 15:26Secondly, we see the Lord's standards.
- 15:31And in our journey here, it's like we're approaching a place.
- 15:37In verse 3.
- 15:39Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
- 15:42And who shall stand in his holy place?
- 15:46How are we going to get in?
- 15:51We can be journeying in this life and thinking that things are going well.
- 15:56But when it comes to the end, when it comes to that realization of a destination before us,
- 16:02we can stop and wonder, how do we go forward?
- 16:06We can be excited about going to a place or going to some kind of occasion.
- 16:14But then as we get closer to it, doubts start to come in.
- 16:19Fear starts to come in.
- 16:20For example, maybe you've had this in the past.
- 16:23You're a good singer and you love singing.
- 16:26And someone asks you, will you go on stage and sing?
- 16:29And your initial response is, yes, I'd love to go on stage and sing.
- 16:37But the closer it's coming, the more nervous you're getting.
- 16:42And then to go on to the stage or to appear beside the stage and to see an audience in front of you,
- 16:48suddenly that fear just increases and you're not wanting to go forward.
- 16:54You can't see yourself going in.
- 16:56And that's where the phrase stage fright comes from.
- 17:00Where you think, I can do this.
- 17:02I want to do this.
- 17:03I'd love to do it.
- 17:04And yet the fear takes over.
- 17:08And that can happen to us in so many ways in life.
- 17:12Even if we apply it to church and what lies ahead of us in this year in church,
- 17:18there can be so many things that we want to do.
- 17:20There can be so many things we're desperate to do.
- 17:23Maybe there's people at home today just desperate to come to church, but there's that fear.
- 17:28How can I come?
- 17:31Or there's that fear of going to a prayer meeting.
- 17:35There's that fear of going to the Lord's table.
- 17:38We want to do it, but there's a fear within us.
- 17:41And so as we think of what we want to do for the Lord in this coming year,
- 17:47how we want to honor him in this year,
- 17:49and all that we would love to give to him in this year,
- 17:52there's always that fear that comes into our mind as well.
- 17:58And especially when we see what's before us,
- 18:02when we see the Lord and his standards and what he might expect of us,
- 18:07because we're shown that in these verses.
- 18:12So the question is asked in verse 3,
- 18:14who shall ascend and who shall stand in his holy place?
- 18:18We're shown then the standards in verse 4.
- 18:22He who has a clean hands and a pure heart,
- 18:25who does not lift up his soul to what is false
- 18:28and does not swear deceitfully.
- 18:31The question that lies within us is so often,
- 18:39how can I go forward with the Lord?
- 18:41Because the questions that we see in Scripture
- 18:44are so often associated with that.
- 18:46The Philippian jailer, as he brought them out of the jail,
- 18:50he said,
- 18:51Sir, what must I do to be saved?
- 18:54That question.
- 18:56Or the rich young man who came to Jesus,
- 18:58as a good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?
- 19:05These are the questions that resonate in our hearts.
- 19:08How can I find myself right with God?
- 19:12And if this is the standards expected,
- 19:15clean hands and a pure heart,
- 19:18do I have that?
- 19:21Clean hands.
- 19:23There's that outward aspect of our lives,
- 19:26a pure heart.
- 19:27What is within.
- 19:29And so we look at ourselves and we say,
- 19:32I don't.
- 19:33My hands are filthy with all that I've done in life.
- 19:36My heart is filthy.
- 19:40The sin within me.
- 19:42And we think,
- 19:42I cannot go.
- 19:44I cannot ascend this hill.
- 19:47I cannot stand in this holy place.
- 19:50And so we're put off going forward.
- 19:55It's like it's an impossible requirement for us.
- 20:00But it doesn't end there looking to ourselves.
- 20:04And thankfully it doesn't.
- 20:06So as we are going into a new year,
- 20:09we are reminded our hands are unclean.
- 20:12Our heart is impure.
- 20:14But yet in verse 5 it says,
- 20:19He will receive blessing from the Lord
- 20:21and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
- 20:26Such is the generation of those who seek him.
- 20:30who seek the face of the God of Jacob.
- 20:37So we can never reach these standards.
- 20:40We can never attain them.
- 20:44But he gives us that invitation
- 20:46to seek him
- 20:48and to look to him.
- 20:50He will receive blessing from the Lord
- 20:52and our righteousness,
- 20:55which is filthy rags.
- 20:57It says,
- 20:58and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
- 21:01He is the one who enables us to stand
- 21:04and to ascend this hill
- 21:07and to appear before the Lord.
- 21:10Not through ourselves,
- 21:12but through what Christ has done for us.
- 21:17And so all the fears that we have
- 21:19for this year ahead,
- 21:20all of the desires we have for the Lord,
- 21:23we are to look to him
- 21:25and to trust in him.
- 21:28And again,
- 21:28Scripture is full of those
- 21:30who came to the Lord in this way,
- 21:33depending on him.
- 21:35And some of them are so surprising.
- 21:37The woman who had the issue of blood
- 21:40in the Gospel of Mark,
- 21:42Mark chapter 5, verse 28,
- 21:44she saw Jesus.
- 21:46And what did she say?
- 21:47If I touch even his garments,
- 21:51I will be made well.
- 21:54Simple faith.
- 21:56If I could just touch his garments.
- 22:00She didn't see herself as worthy.
- 22:02She didn't see herself as able
- 22:04to come forward
- 22:05in this proud and boastful way.
- 22:08But just humbly,
- 22:09if I can just touch his garments.
- 22:11Or the leper in Mark 1, verse 40,
- 22:16who came to Jesus,
- 22:17imploding him and kneeling,
- 22:20said to him,
- 22:21if you will,
- 22:22you can make me clean.
- 22:24There's just that dependence on him.
- 22:28Our hands are unclean.
- 22:31Our hearts are impure.
- 22:34We can come to Jesus and say,
- 22:36if you will,
- 22:37you can make me clean.
- 22:39And what did Jesus do to the leper?
- 22:43It says,
- 22:44moved with pity,
- 22:45he stretched out his hand
- 22:47and touched him
- 22:47and said to him,
- 22:49I will be clean.
- 22:52That is the authority that he has.
- 22:55That is the power that he has.
- 22:59So whose hands are pure,
- 23:00whose heart is pure,
- 23:02whose hands are clean.
- 23:04Not ours,
- 23:05but the one who has gone to the hill for us.
- 23:10The one who we are to go with
- 23:12into this year
- 23:13was Charles Spurgeon,
- 23:15who said,
- 23:16Our Lord Jesus Christ
- 23:18could ascend the hill of the Lord
- 23:20because his hands were clean
- 23:22and his heart was pure.
- 23:24And if we by faith
- 23:26are conformed to his image,
- 23:29we shall enter too.
- 23:32By faith.
- 23:33So we can go on
- 23:36looking to him.
- 23:38That is the way
- 23:38to go forward.
- 23:41So the third thing we then see
- 23:43is the Lord's reign.
- 23:46As the psalm concludes
- 23:48in verse 7
- 23:49to the end,
- 23:51the king of glory
- 23:53is here
- 23:54leading his people.
- 23:56They couldn't ascend,
- 23:58but he can.
- 23:59And so it says,
- 24:00Lift up your heads,
- 24:01O gates,
- 24:02and be lifted up,
- 24:04O ancient doors,
- 24:05that the king of glory
- 24:06may come in.
- 24:08Who is the king of glory?
- 24:10The Lord strong and mighty,
- 24:12the Lord mighty in battle.
- 24:15Lift up your heads,
- 24:16O gates,
- 24:16and lift them up,
- 24:18O ancient doors,
- 24:19that the king of glory
- 24:21may come in.
- 24:22Who is the king of glory?
- 24:24The Lord of hosts.
- 24:26He is the king of glory.
- 24:29The door will be open
- 24:33to the Lord,
- 24:34but also to his people,
- 24:38because he is the one
- 24:40who will keep us
- 24:41as we look to him.
- 24:44Jude makes that clear
- 24:45in his letter
- 24:46in the New Testament.
- 24:48In Jude verse 24,
- 24:50Now to him who is able
- 24:52to keep you from stumbling
- 24:53and to present you
- 24:55blameless before the presence
- 24:56of his glory with great joy,
- 24:59to the only God our Saviour,
- 25:00through Jesus Christ our Lord,
- 25:02be glory, majesty, dominion,
- 25:04and authority before all time
- 25:06and now and forever.
- 25:08Amen.
- 25:10The one who is able
- 25:11to keep you from stumbling
- 25:12and present you blameless,
- 25:15clean hands,
- 25:16and a pure heart through him,
- 25:17in the presence of his glory
- 25:19with great joy.
- 25:21That is the joy
- 25:22that we see in this psalm
- 25:24as the procession
- 25:25comes to a close.
- 25:27The king of glory
- 25:28entering in
- 25:29with all his people.
- 25:33And he is the king
- 25:34who is mighty in battle.
- 25:37He is the one
- 25:38who earned out to battle
- 25:40and returns victorious,
- 25:42reminding us of that victory
- 25:44in the cross.
- 25:45How are we made pure?
- 25:48How are we made clean?
- 25:49It's because he gave
- 25:51himself for us.
- 25:54And so we have that reminder,
- 25:55we look to Jesus
- 25:56who has gone up that hill.
- 25:59We look to him
- 26:00who has gone before us
- 26:02in all of these things.
- 26:04He has won the victory.
- 26:08And we look to him
- 26:09who will come and lead us
- 26:11into glory by his glory.
- 26:14because he is
- 26:16the king of glory.
- 26:19Glory represents
- 26:21the presence of God,
- 26:23a divine presence.
- 26:27And as we look
- 26:28in the New Testament,
- 26:29we see that this presence
- 26:30is seen in Jesus Christ.
- 26:34In John 8, verse 12,
- 26:36when Jesus spoke there,
- 26:37he says,
- 26:37I am the light of the world.
- 26:39Whoever follows me
- 26:40will not walk in darkness,
- 26:41but will have the light of life.
- 26:44That is the light
- 26:45of the glory of God,
- 26:48leading his people
- 26:49in the way.
- 26:51And so we have
- 26:52that promise
- 26:54of this light,
- 26:55the king of glory
- 26:57going with us.
- 26:59So we are to look to him.
- 27:02As we go into
- 27:03this year ahead,
- 27:05are we setting
- 27:05that king before us?
- 27:08Are we looking
- 27:09to him?
- 27:12There's a poem
- 27:12that says this,
- 27:14Another year is dawning,
- 27:16dear Father,
- 27:17let it be,
- 27:18in working
- 27:19or in waiting,
- 27:20another year with thee.
- 27:22Another year of progress,
- 27:23another year of praise,
- 27:25another year of proving
- 27:27thy presence
- 27:27all the days.
- 27:29Another year of mercies,
- 27:31of faithfulness
- 27:32and grace.
- 27:33Another year of gladness,
- 27:35the glory of thy face.
- 27:39When we lose
- 27:40our way in life,
- 27:42as we do,
- 27:44as we have done
- 27:44and maybe we are doing,
- 27:47we are to come back
- 27:48and see the one
- 27:49who is the king
- 27:50of glory.
- 27:53The one who has
- 27:54authority
- 27:55over all things.
- 27:57The earth is the Lord's
- 27:58and the fullness
- 28:00that of everything
- 28:01belongs to him.
- 28:02and the one
- 28:04who has standards
- 28:06of clean hearts,
- 28:09pure hearts
- 28:09and clean hands,
- 28:10standards that we
- 28:11cannot achieve ourselves
- 28:13but that we look to
- 28:14in his righteousness.
- 28:17And as we look
- 28:18to the king
- 28:18who goes before us,
- 28:21may he light
- 28:22our way
- 28:24and may we seek
- 28:25to honour him
- 28:27and to know victory
- 28:29with him
- 28:30as the king
- 28:31of battle
- 28:33who has gone
- 28:33for us
- 28:34to win that war
- 28:36and the king
- 28:38who leads
- 28:39his people
- 28:40home,
- 28:40the Lord
- 28:41of hosts,
- 28:42the king
- 28:43of glory.
- 28:46As we enter
- 28:47in the gate
- 28:48of the year,
- 28:50how we opened
- 28:51up the gate
- 28:52for the Lord
- 28:53of glory
- 28:53to go with us,
- 28:55to lead us.
- 28:57May it be so.
- 28:58individually,
- 29:00as families
- 29:01and as a congregation,
- 29:03may we know
- 29:03the king
- 29:04of glory
- 29:04with us,
- 29:06supplying our needs
- 29:07today
- 29:08and in all
- 29:08the days ahead.
- 29:10Let us pray.
- 29:15Lord,
- 29:15our gracious God,
- 29:16we thank you
- 29:17for your faithfulness
- 29:18towards us,
- 29:19for your sovereignty
- 29:21over us,
- 29:22that you have not
- 29:23abandoned the world
- 29:24that is yours,
- 29:26that everything
- 29:26within it
- 29:27belongs to you,
- 29:28that you hold
- 29:29all that is yours
- 29:32and your people
- 29:32to you,
- 29:33that you have
- 29:34that everlasting
- 29:35hold upon them.
- 29:37We thank you
- 29:38for your standards.
- 29:40We thank you
- 29:40that we see them
- 29:41as we look
- 29:43to ourselves
- 29:43as so imperfect.
- 29:46Our hands
- 29:46are not clean,
- 29:47our hearts
- 29:48are not pure,
- 29:49but yet we confess
- 29:50these sins
- 29:51before you
- 29:52and thank you
- 29:52for the righteousness
- 29:53of Christ
- 29:54that is able
- 29:55to make us whole.
- 29:57And we thank you
- 29:58for our King,
- 29:59the Lord of glory,
- 30:01the King of glory.
- 30:02May he go before us
- 30:04in every day
- 30:05of this year.
- 30:06May we confess
- 30:07all things
- 30:08before him,
- 30:09but may we look
- 30:10to him,
- 30:11trusting in him,
- 30:12seeking to honour
- 30:13our King
- 30:14and live for him
- 30:15as he lived
- 30:17and died
- 30:17and rose for us.
- 30:19So hear our prayers
- 30:21and go before us now,
- 30:22forgiving all our sin
- 30:24in Jesus' name.
- 30:25Amen.
- 30:35Our closing psalm
- 30:36is the psalm
- 30:38that we've been looking at.
- 30:39We're going to sing
- 30:39Psalm 24,
- 30:40the Sing Psalms version.
- 30:43We'll sing from verse 7
- 30:44down to the end
- 30:46of this psalm,
- 30:47page 28
- 30:48of the psalm books.
- 30:50And after we've concluded
- 30:54the singing,
- 30:55I'll pronounce the benediction.
- 30:56I'll go to the main door then
- 30:58and then just a reminder
- 30:59there's tea and coffee
- 31:01served in the hall next door.
- 31:02Everybody's very welcome
- 31:03to come through there
- 31:05for that time.
- 31:06And also today
- 31:07there is a collection
- 31:08for the congregation's
- 31:10benevolent fund.
- 31:12So we're going to sing
- 31:13from verse 7
- 31:14down to the end
- 31:14of the psalm.
- 31:15You ancient gates,
- 31:17lift up your heads,
- 31:18your doors be opened wide.
- 31:20So may the King of glory
- 31:21come forever to abide.
- 31:23But who is this exalted King?
- 31:25What glorious King is he?
- 31:27It is the Lord of strength
- 31:29and might,
- 31:29the Lord of victory.
- 31:31We'll sing from verse 7
- 31:32to the end of the psalm
- 31:33to God's praise.
- 31:35You ancient gates,
- 31:42lift up your heads,
- 31:47you doors be opened wide.
- 31:53So may the King of glory come
- 31:59forever to abide.
- 32:03But who is this exalted King?
- 32:13What glorious King is he?
- 32:20It is the Lord of strength and might,
- 32:26the Lord of victory.
- 32:30It is the Lord of strength and might,
- 32:39the Lord of victory.
- 32:46You ancient gates, lift up your heads,
- 32:54your doors be opened wide.
- 33:00So may the King of glory come
- 33:07forever to abide.
- 33:12But who is this exalted King?
- 33:22Who can this sovereign be?
- 33:27the Lord of victory?
- 33:28The Lord of victory.
- 33:31He is King of glory and mighty.
- 33:40The Lord of glory and mighty.
- 33:44The Lord of glory and mighty.
- 33:50The Lord of glory and mighty.
- 33:52The Lord of glory and mighty.
- 33:53The Lord of glory and mighty.
- 33:55The Lord of glory and mighty.
- 33:57Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
- 34:14Amen.
- 34:20Amen.
- 34:25Amen.
- 34:30Now may grace, mercy and peace from God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit
- 34:36rest upon and abide with you all now and forevermore.
- 34:40Amen.
- 34:44Amen.