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Pursuing the Pattern of the World · Stornoway Free Church of Scotland - Sermons

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We're going to begin our worship this evening, and we're singing firstly in Psalm 48a.
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48a, that's on page 63, singing to Choon Paisley, and we're singing verses 1 to 8.
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Great is the Lord who rules on high, with praise his temple fill, within the city of
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our God and on his holy hill.
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Mount Zion, with its graceful height, gives joy to all the earth.
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The great king's city far excels, the mountains of the north.
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Within her citadels and towers, God's presence is revealed, for he has shown himself to be
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her fortress and her shield.
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Down as far as verse 8, these verses, great is the Lord.
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Mount Zion, with praise his temple fill, within the city of our God and on his holy hill.
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Mount Zion, with its graceful height, gives joy to all the earth.
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Mount Zion, with its graceful height, gives joy to all the earth.
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The great king's city far excels, the mountains of the north.
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John 9.
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FI 29a, this day has beenures by king and on his holy hill.
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God's presence is revealed.
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For he has shown himself to thee,
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had fortress and earth shield.
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When kings joined forces to attack,
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as one they marched ahead.
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They saw hand and they were amazed,
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they all in terror play.
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Like women giving birth in pain,
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they trembled in disdain.
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You wrecked them like a merchant tree,
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by tempest blown away.
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As we have heard, so have we seen,
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God's city will endure.
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The Lord Almighty evermore
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has sent in his Savior.
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Let's once more join together now in prayer.
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Let's call upon the Lord in prayer.
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Lord, our ever-bressed God,
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gracious and merciful,
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full of kindness,
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full of loving kindness toward his people,
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God who will by no means clear the guilty,
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yet you have provided forgiveness for us.
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We bless you, Lord our God,
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that we come together tonight to praise you.
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And we have already used these words in your praise
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that remind us and teach us
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of the way in which you are so unchangeably
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the king of your people,
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and of which they too are your people,
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your flock,
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that city that you prepare
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for your abode forevermore.
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We thank you, Lord, tonight,
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that we come in acknowledgement of your greatness.
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And we thank you that as we sing your praises
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and acknowledge your greatness,
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so we also take note for our own assurance
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of your interest in your people,
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of your provision for them,
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of your care and attention to them
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each and every moment of their lives.
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Lord, we pray that these great truths
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may be impressed upon us tonight
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as well as we come to worship you here together.
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We pray that they may be a reality for us
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throughout each and every day of our lives.
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Lord, we need your truth each day
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to occupy our hearts and our minds
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and guide our thoughts.
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We need the power of your truth
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working within us
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by your Holy Spirit's energy
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in such a way that will daily lead us
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in the ways of righteousness.
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Lord, we come before you
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not only to bring you our praises
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and our thanksgivings,
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but also our confessions.
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A confession of our sin,
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confession of our own failures
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in so many ways
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to be what we should be.
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A confession, Lord,
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how far short we come
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in every way,
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in every aspect of our lives,
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short of glorifying your great name
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as we ought to.
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Forgive us, we pray,
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and cleanse us
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from our iniquities this night.
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We thank you
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that your word reveals to us
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the extent of our sinfulness
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and the various ways
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in which our sin itself
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is active in our lives,
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from the root of sin within us
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in our fallenness
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to the very acts of transgression
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and of sin
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that we ourselves
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are guilty of each day.
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And we thank you
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for the freeness
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with which pardon
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is available to us.
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You have opened a fountain
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for us
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for sin
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and for uncleanness
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in our Lord Jesus Christ.
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We give thanks,
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O Lord,
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as we come to you
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and claim his merits
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and place our trust in him
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that we are assured
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that you will forgive us
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our sins
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and cleanse us
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from all unrighteousness.
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and we thank you tonight,
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Lord,
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for the assurance
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that that gives us.
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For we know that sometimes,
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indeed very often,
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Lord,
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on a daily basis,
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our sin troubles us.
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We find ourselves,
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Lord,
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sometimes perplexed
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at how easily
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we find ourselves
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straying into
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the ways of sin,
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even in our thoughts of mind.
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We pray, O Lord,
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that you would grant us
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the garrisoning
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of your truth
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and the guidance
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of your spirit
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throughout each day.
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And once again,
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we bring before you
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our needs
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as a congregation.
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Lord,
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we thank you
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for all
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that you continue
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to be for us,
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for everything
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that you have proved
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yourself to be
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down over the course
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of the years.
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And as we have begun
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another new year
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and our experience
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as a people,
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we ask, O Lord,
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that you would
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go before us
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and that you would
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prepare us
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to live as your people
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in the world
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and to hold forth
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the word of truth,
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that word of righteousness,
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which is so necessary
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not only for ourselves
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but for the circumstances
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in which we find ourselves
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in our day,
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when your word
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is so easily set aside,
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when your word, Lord,
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is all too commonly despised
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and ignored.
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And in many ways,
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Lord,
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your word
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is trampled
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under people's feet
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and the way
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in which they're treated.
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We pray for
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our community.
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We pray for
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each and every home
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that we know of
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around us.
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We pray
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for the congregations
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of your people,
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not only
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in this town
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and this community
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but throughout our land
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and indeed
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throughout the world.
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We pray, O Lord,
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that you would prosper
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your people.
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We pray that today
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they may know
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of your own work
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amongst them,
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advancing the understanding
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that they have of you
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and increasing
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their commitment to you.
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We pray in all
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our own activities,
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O Lord,
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as a people,
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that you would bless us
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and bless us
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through these activities
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to the world
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around us too.
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We pray for all
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that happens
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throughout the course
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of each week
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in addition to
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the services
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of worship
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on weeknights
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and weekdays
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and also
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on the Lord's day.
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And we give thanks
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for this day
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and we give thanks
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that you have sanctified it
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and given to us,
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Lord,
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that conviction
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that it is our privilege
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to know
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and to acknowledge
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your day
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and to come to seek
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to keep it holy
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as you have commanded.
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And we ask, Lord,
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when we depart
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from that too
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that you would redirect
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our steps
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and that you would
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especially grant to us
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as a community
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and as a people
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that we may once again
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turn to value your day.
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Turn to prize
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all that it means
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and all that it has
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to offer us,
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especially in the ways
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of the gospel.
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And we ask,
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O gracious one,
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that you would
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return to us
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and return us
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to that way
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in which your day
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should be honored
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and upheld by us
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and exalted.
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Help us,
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we pray,
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to commend your day
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and all its values
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to our people,
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to the community
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around us.
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Remember,
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we pray those
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who rule over us
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at this time,
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be near to them,
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Lord,
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we pray to give them
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the help
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and the insight
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that they need
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and perhaps
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that they themselves
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do not look
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for in yourself.
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We ask that you would
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bless our first minister,
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bless his ministers,
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bless the prime minister,
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bless his cabinet,
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bless the government,
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bless each and every assembly.
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Lord,
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bless us,
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we pray,
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with light from on high.
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Turn us away
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from the ways
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of man
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and of sin
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and of secular thinking.
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Give us,
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we pray,
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to have our confidence
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reset in the Lord.
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Enable them,
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Lord,
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who rule over us
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to meaningfully reflect
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upon what you have been
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to this nation
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over the course
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of the centuries
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and how much,
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Lord,
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we lack
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of those values
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that have now
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been set aside.
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Gracious one,
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we pray
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that you would return us
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into your ways
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and help us to repent
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over the many ways
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in which we
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have fallen short
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of your glory
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and your praise
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and which you have
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despised your ways.
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We ask tonight
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that you bless those
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who belong to us
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as a congregation
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who are ill.
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We know that there are
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many, Lord,
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during this past week
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or two
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who have picked up
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illnesses
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of various kinds.
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And we ask
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that you would
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grant blessing
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to them
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to restore them
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to health
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and to strength.
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We pray
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bless those especially
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who have gone
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to hospital
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in these recent days.
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We pray for
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little Matthew McLeod
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and ask that you
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bless him
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and bless his parents
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as he once again
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has gone into hospital
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here.
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We pray for Donny Graham
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as he's been taken
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to hospital
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in the mainland.
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We ask for him
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that your blessing,
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Lord,
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will be with him
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with all who care
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for him.
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Grant that your good
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hand may be upon him
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and that you'd be
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pleased, Lord,
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to grant your own
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recovery to him
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if it please you
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and your protective
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care of him.
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Remember all
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who in these days
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mourn the passing
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of loved ones.
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Remember those families
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in the past week
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or two
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who have lost
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loved ones
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who belong to us
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as a people.
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Grant them
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your comfort,
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we pray.
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Give to them
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that they may know
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of you as their God
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and as their guide
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and as their stay
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in this time.
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We ask that you
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would graciously,
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Lord,
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bless all others
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who have begun
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this new year
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thinking of times
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gone by
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and have loved ones
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no longer with them.
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We pray that you
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would continue
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to bless them
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and continue
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to uphold them
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and strengthen them.
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Continue to give them,
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we pray,
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to look to yourself.
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and we ask
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that you would
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grant blessing now
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to all whom
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we commit to you
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in the wider church.
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We pray for,
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Lord,
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all our students
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in the seminary,
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for all who teach there,
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for all the activities
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related to that training.
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We pray for Scott
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with ourselves
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and ask that you
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would continue
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to bless him
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in his preparations.
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Bless Fiona
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and the family
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and give them,
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Lord,
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as they wait upon you
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that they will know
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of your further direction
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of their lives.
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Bless all others,
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we pray,
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who in different institutions
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throughout the world
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seek to prepare
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for gospel ministry.
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We pray for all
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of these institutions,
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especially for
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Reformed seminaries
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and colleges
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throughout the world.
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Lord,
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grant that they may
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be kept
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from straying
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from your truth
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and that they may know
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that your blessing,
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Lord,
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is assured
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to those who trust in you
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and seek to put
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your word above
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the thinking
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and the wisdom
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of men.
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Graciously bless us
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now,
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we pray.
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Hear us in our prayers
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and cleanse us
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from all our sin.
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For Jesus' sake,
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Amen.
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We'll sing again
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to God's praise.
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We're singing this time
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Psalm 106.
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That's on page 382.
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And from verse 43,
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the tune this time
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is Argyle.
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He many times
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delivered them,
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but with their counsel
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so they him provoked
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that for their sin
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they were brought
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very low.
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Yet their affliction
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he beheld
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when he did hear
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their cry,
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and he for them
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his covenant
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did call to memory.
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And Psalms like
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Psalm 106,
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as you know,
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reflect upon
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some of the history
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of God's people,
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covenant people
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in the Old Testament times,
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and how frequently
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they provoked the Lord
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by their idolatry,
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by their turning
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to idols,
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and so on.
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And yet also
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the psalmist
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reflects us here
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on God's
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great patience
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with them,
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his mercy
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and redirection
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of them.
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And we need
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these things
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for ourselves,
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that we sing them
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meaningfully
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as we remember
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the Lord's patience
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with ourselves.
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Psalm 106,
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then from verse 43,
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he many times
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delivered them.
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He many times
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delivered them,
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but with their counsel's soul,
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they did promote
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that for their sin
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they were
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from their
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very low.
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Yet their affliction
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be held
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when he did hear
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their cry,
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and before them
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his covenant
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go of the Zhou
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malting
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heart of
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may
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cả
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thing
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else in death
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Let's turn now to read God's Word, and you'll find that this evening in the first book of
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Samuel, first book of Samuel in chapter 8.
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We'll read through from the beginning to the end of the chapter.
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So that's 1 Samuel, and chapter 8 is around page 278 or so.
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When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel.
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The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second Abijah.
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They were judges in Beersheba.
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Yet his sons did not walk in his ways, but turned aside after gain.
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They took bribes and perverted justice.
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Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, and said to him,
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Behold, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways.
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Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.
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But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, Give us a king to judge us.
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And Samuel prayed to the Lord.
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And the Lord said to Samuel, Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you.
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For they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.
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According to all the deeds that they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt
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even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you.
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Now then, obey their voice.
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Only you shall solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.
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So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking for a king from him.
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He said, These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you.
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He will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen and to run before his chariots.
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And he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties,
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and some to plough his ground and to reap his harvest,
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and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots.
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And he will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers.
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He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his servants.
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He will take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards
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and give it to his officers and to his servants.
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He will take your male servants and female servants
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and the best of your young men and your donkeys and put them to his work.
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He will take the tenth of your flocks and you shall be his slaves.
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And in that day you will cry out because of your king,
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whom you have chosen for yourselves.
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But the Lord will not answer you in that day.
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But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel.
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And they said, No, but there shall be a king over us,
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that we may also be like all the nations,
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and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.
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And when Samuel had heard all the words of the people,
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he repeated them in the ears of the Lord.
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And the Lord said to Samuel, Obey their voice and make them a king.
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Samuel then said to the men of Israel,
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Go, every man, to his city.
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And may God again bless to us that portion of his word.
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Before we turn to this chapter, let's sing again, this time in Psalm 47.
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47 in Sing Psalms, that's page 62.
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And soon as Duke Street will sing these five verses.
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All nations, clap your hands and shout.
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Let joyful cries to God ring out.
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How awesome is the Lord Most High,
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great King who rules the earth throughout.
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He has subdued beneath our feet
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the nations who had been our foes
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in blessing Jacob whom he loved,
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a heritage for us he chose.
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So the whole of Psalm 47,
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all nations, clap your hands and shout.
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All nations, clap your hands and shout.
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Let joyful cry to God ring out.
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Let joyful cry to God ring out.
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How awesome is the Lord Most High,
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great King to the rules the earth through us.
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God bless you.
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He has subdued beneath our feet
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the nations who have been our foes
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in blessing Jacob whom he loved,
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and blessed in blessing Jacob whom he loved,
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a heritage for us he chose.
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God has got a wish of God,
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grace of joy that false e ingly tries,
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God has got a place
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and jösden.
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And blessed are Michigan for you.
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His ifiов.
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And so strong who have been the fairest,
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God has got a place to God,
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in the hält Casa on r einen like God,
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in the industrial world where he loved,
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God gives us the »c labouratio 6ºC2–
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To God our King let praise God.
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For God is King of all the earth.
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Sing sounds of praise to Him alone.
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God who's the nations come on high,
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He sits upon this holy throne.
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The leaders of the nations come,
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To heal themselves, to reign as God.
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To Him belong, the kings of all earth.
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And the kings of the King, the kings of all earth.
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Let's turn for a short time now as we wait on the Lord to 1 Samuel chapter 8.
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And we're looking at most of what's in this chapter.
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I'd like just to read verse 7 first of all and then on to verse 19 as well.
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So at verse 7 we actually read these words.
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The Lord said to Samuel,
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Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you,
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for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.
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And then in verse 19,
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The people refused to obey the voice of Samuel and they said,
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No, but there shall be a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations,
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and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.
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Well, this is another crucial, critical time in the history and the development of God's people
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in the Old Testament times, God's covenant people of Israel.
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As they come to this juncture, they've come to this point where they're demanding really a king of Samuel.
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And you can see the context in which it happened.
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It was a very difficult situation for them to manage,
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and sadly they got it wrong, as they all too often did.
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They came in these circumstances.
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At the beginning of the chapter we read that Samuel had become old,
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and he had made his sons judges over Israel.
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But his sons did not walk in his ways,
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but turned aside after gain, they took bribes and perverted justice.
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In other words, the sons of Samuel turned out to be very different to their father.
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At least in this respect, they didn't judge in a way that was righteous,
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though he had appointed them to these positions.
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And it does remind us, of course, that we cannot have a guarantee
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that a generation that knows the Lord and serves the Lord
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and is true to the Lord will be followed by one of the same caliber.
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It's the same as true of individuals, of course.
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But why did they not manage it so well?
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What was it about the situation that they got wrong?
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Well, why was it that they got it wrong?
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Because, as we'll see, they actually put their own preferences
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ahead of God's direction of them, ahead of God's provision.
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They put their own wisdom ahead of God's wisdom.
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They put their own way of looking at things ahead of the way
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that God himself had arranged things for them up to that point.
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I want to look at two things from the passage.
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We'll focus on the verses we've mentioned, but we'll see how they fit into the context.
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First of all, we'll look at the people's demand for a king.
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And in looking at the demand for a king,
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we'll see that they turned against Samuel,
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but more importantly, they rejected God.
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That's what God himself said to Samuel.
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And they have not rejected you, they have rejected me from being king over them.
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And not only did they turn against Samuel and reject God,
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but they also rejected the solemn warning that Samuel gave them,
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having been instructed by God to warn them of what would happen
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if they got their own desire and got this king that they were looking for,
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a king to be like the kings of the nations around about them.
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All that is built into the demand they had for a king.
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Secondly, we're going to look at the people's desire to be like the nations around them.
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Because as we'll see, that's really a fundamental part of their thinking at the time.
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They wanted a king like the nations, as they put it, that surrounded them.
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The pagan nations around them, they wanted to be like those nations
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in the sense that they wanted a leader like those leaders in these nations,
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kings that went out to battle and proved to be,
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as they knew very well, these nations had kings that were very much given to pomp and ceremony
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and attracting a lot of attention to themselves
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and a lot of resources to themselves, as Samuel indeed warned them.
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So the two things, the people's demand for a king and also their desire to be like the nations.
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Now the demand for a king meant a turning against Samuel, first of all.
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All the elders gathered in verse 4,
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they came to Samuel at Ram and said,
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Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways.
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Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.
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The fact that their sons were corrupt, to that extent at least,
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that they took bribes and perverted justice,
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there's no blame attached to Samuel in that.
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And there's no hint of any fault with the way that Samuel presided over the people as a judge,
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approved of by God and appointed by God.
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And yet what they're doing is really looking for an excuse
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so that they'll have a king like the nations around them.
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So not only do they point attention or give attention,
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point out the difficulty of having these sons of Samuel who are taking bribes and perverting justice,
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they're also including Samuel himself and saying,
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You are old. You're past it.
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We need somebody other than you.
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We need something different.
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We need a king like the nations around about us.
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You've saved your time, but you're getting old.
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In other words, they're really saying,
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You're no longer fit to be leader, and we want a different type of leader to the leader that you were to us.
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And that's a very sad reflection, isn't it,
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in our thinking of the people at that time,
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because Samuel at this point was probably around 60 or 65 years old,
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and yet they're really here saying about him that he's pretty much basically too old to continue as leader,
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especially in view of the way his sons are behaving.
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And it's a very sad reflection on their thinking as a people,
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that they're using the failure of these sons and the relative age of Samuel himself
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to be an argument for change.
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And the argument for change turned out really to be not so good,
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because, of course, as you know, the history,
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they were given a king, King Saul,
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who turned out not to be the best thing at all for the nation.
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Where could they have gotten a better leader than Samuel as a judge?
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If you go back just to the previous chapter,
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chapter 7 and verses 3 to 10,
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you'll find there Samuel judging Israel
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and doing things that really he was led by the Lord to do.
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But here he is at that time actually leading the people
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in terms of the way in which they need to resist their enemies,
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the hands of the Philistines.
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So the people of Israel, they put away the bales,
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and then Samuel said,
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Gather to Israel, I will pray to the Lord for you.
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So they gathered at Mizpah and so on,
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and they confessed we have sinned against the Lord.
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And then as you go through the chapter,
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the people of Israel said to Samuel,
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Do not cease to cry out to the Lord our God for us,
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that he may save us from the hand of the Philistines.
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And all the way through there,
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you find an emphasis on how successfully he led them
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then against the Philistines.
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How soon they forgot.
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How soon they failed to take account of
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or just dismissed from their thoughts.
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What Samuel had been to them
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and the demonstration of God's blessing
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that they had come to know through Samuel.
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Well, it's very human, isn't it?
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Our failures are really reflected in that in many ways.
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And here they are saying,
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You are old,
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and your sons don't walk in your ways.
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It's not good enough for us anymore.
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Make us a king.
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Appoint us a king who will go before us.
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And that's sadly how you find it down through the course of history as well.
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And you find it on the part of people who even today will say to us,
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not necessarily within the church,
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but certainly outside the church in our society,
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people will say to us,
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Look, we don't actually want,
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we don't think that people who are really committed Christians,
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especially of the type that go to the free church,
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we don't think they should be given political power or political office.
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They're not really fit to be in office.
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It's not a new thing,
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but it fits into the same category,
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really in principle,
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people saying,
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Well, you know,
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that's no longer something that's relevant or fit for our times,
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for our days.
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So here's a turning against Samuel.
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But more importantly and more seriously,
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they're really turning against God.
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Samuel took the matter to God.
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That's so typical of Samuel.
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He actually took the matter to God in prayer.
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And God said to him,
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Obey the voice of the people,
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for they have not rejected you,
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but they have rejected me from being king over them.
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And he went on to say,
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This is just how they had always been.
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They showed themselves to have been very fickle people,
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people who very soon forgot what the Lord had done for them
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and turned to idols or to other ways of living their lives.
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And that's what he says,
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They have rejected me.
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According to all the deeds they have done
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from the day I brought them out of Egypt,
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even to this day,
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forsaking me and serving other gods,
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so they are also doing to you.
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Now, therefore, obey their voice.
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Now, God is not approving,
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in principle, of what they're asking for,
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not approving of the way they're going about it,
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but they're going to find out
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that if God gives a people or a person
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over to their own desires,
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it's not going to be a very good outcome.
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And what God is really saying to Samuel is,
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Obey them, give them what they're asking for,
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but tell them at the same time
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what it's going to mean for them.
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They have not rejected you.
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They have rejected me.
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In other words, they were tired.
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They had gone tired of God's arrangement of their lives,
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of their lives as a people,
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of God's provision for them.
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And once you start getting tired
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or not really seeing the relevance
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of what God is providing for us in the gospel,
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that's very much a danger signal to yourself
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and to myself or to any society or people.
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If we find the ways of God becoming somewhat boring,
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if we're saying, well, we need a change
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because this has just been going on,
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the same emphases in the gospel for years,
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the same type of thing being emphasized
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in the teaching of the Bible,
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the same kind of things that the Bible
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is bringing out for us.
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It was okay for Paul's day.
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It's okay in the Old Testament days.
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But really, we need to change that for our day.
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You know, if you and I get tired ourselves
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or begin to just become a bit weary
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of reading the same things in the Bible
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that are so central and so important
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to a Christian life
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and to a life of pleasing God,
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well, we have to really beware of that
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because that means we're on the path
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that really leads to decline
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and to maybe even falling away from God altogether.
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So that's what they had become tired of.
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And you know, all the way through history,
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not least with these people of Israel
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during the Old Testament days,
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you really have to admire the patience of God.
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We sang in some of the Psalms tonight
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that of God's patience with the people of Israel,
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despite the fact that He had done so much for them,
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they turned against Him,
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they rebelled against Him,
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and yet for His mercy's sake,
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He again forgave them.
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When they cried out to Him,
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He heard them.
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You know, tonight,
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we just cannot possibly measure
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the patience of God,
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the forbearance of God,
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the long-suffering of God.
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Look at your own life
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as I need to look at mine.
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How many times have you and I provoked the Lord?
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How many times have we failed
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to do what He requires us to do?
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How many times has our thinking gone astray
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in our thoughts about God
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and about His wisdom
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and about His arrangement of our lives as well?
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And yet He's not gone away
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and He's not kicked us into touch,
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as it were,
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and just left us there.
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Tonight,
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we are worshiping the patient God.
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That's no excuse for us
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to continue to resist Him
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or to reject Him
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or to choose some other way
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rather than His,
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but it does demonstrate
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the caliber of our God,
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the glorious nature of our God
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as a God of patience
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and of mercy
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and of long-suffering.
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And here He is with Israel
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as well so many times
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proving that.
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So, there's a turning against Samuel,
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but there's also a rejection of God
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and along with that,
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there's a rejection of very solemn warnings
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because God said to Samuel,
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now then,
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obey their voice,
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verse 9,
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only you shall solemnly warn them
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and show them the ways of the king
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who shall reign over them.
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In other words,
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Samuel was to tell the people,
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if you get a king
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like the nations that are around you,
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you'll suffer for it.
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It's not going to be an easy journey for you.
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He's going to take lots of the things
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that you presently prize
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and hold precious
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and he's going to use them for himself
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and he's going to be greedy
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of his own personal gain
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and his own personal prestige
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and you're going to have to give him
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as much,
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at least as you're now giving,
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to the service of God
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in the tithes that you're giving
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in the offerings of the temple
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and the offerings of the sanctuary.
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That's what He's saying to them.
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This is the kind of king He will be
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if He's going to emulate,
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as you want,
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the kings of these nations.
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If you're going to be led
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by that sort of king,
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this is what it's going to mean for you.
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So Samuel came back
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and told them this.
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In that day,
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he says in verse 18,
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you will cry out because of your king
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whom you have chosen,
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but the Lord will not answer you
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in that day.
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If you go down this route,
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he's saying,
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this is really going to be
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the situation you'll be in.
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What did they do?
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They said,
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no, but we will have a king.
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Whatever God says,
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whatever you say,
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whatever your advice is,
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whatever your counsel is,
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this is how we want it.
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We insist on this.
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We want to be like
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the nations around us.
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So you can tell us what you like,
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really,
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pretty much is what they're saying
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to Samuel.
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You can say what you like,
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but we will have a king
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to rule over us.
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You see,
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God is letting them have their way
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for the moment.
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And that's always very ominous.
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And it's something that you and I
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have to be always careful to avoid
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that we don't provoke the Lord
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by a long-term departure
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or sinning against Him
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and Him saying to us,
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well, have it your way.
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See how you get on.
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See what it means for you.
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You know,
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He did that more than once
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with the people of Israel.
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Remember back in Numbers
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chapter 11,
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how they complained
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so much about the food
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and that they had left Egypt
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and left the delicious food
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they'd left in Egypt
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and hankered back
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for these delicacies in Egypt.
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And here they were
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rising up against Moses
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and complaining against God
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and His provision.
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And God said to Moses
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pretty much in these words,
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give them food.
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Or He's saying,
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I'll give them food.
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I'll give them so much
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that they'll loathe it
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by the time I'm finished with them.
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So the wind came
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and drove hundreds and hundreds
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of quails
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into the camp of Israel.
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And they began to eat the quails
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and I'm sure they tasted
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delicious to begin with.
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And yet,
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that chapter goes on to say,
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while the food
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was still in their teeth,
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it's not just saying
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literally still in their teeth,
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but it really means
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as they were eating
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and as they were enjoying
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the quails that they had,
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or the food that they had demanded,
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the Lord plagued them greatly.
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It doesn't say how many died.
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It doesn't say anything further than that.
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But the Lord plagued them greatly.
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Sent a great plague amongst them.
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God was teaching them
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or seeking to draw their mind
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to the fact,
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you have it your way
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and it's going to hurt you.
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You have it in a way
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that departs from my ways.
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It's not going to be good for you.
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It's going to be very painful.
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Might even mean
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something like it was
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for the Israelites.
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A life of much suffering.
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Well, here is the demand for a king.
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A turning against Samuel,
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despite all that he had been to them
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over the course of his life.
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And a turning against God,
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a rejection of God as king.
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And a rejection of the solemn warnings
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that God had sent through Samuel.
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Now we're going to look in a minute
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at how important the Word of God is
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in all of this.
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But let's just stop at that juncture
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and ask ourselves tonight,
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have we been neglectful
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of God's Word to us?
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Have we been dismissing
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the promises or the warnings
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or both in God's Word
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that He brings to us?
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Has God's Word struck our hearts
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at any time or more than once
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in such a way
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as has convicted of our need
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to turn from sin
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and to come to trust in the Lord,
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to repent of our sin,
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to confess our sin,
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to follow Christ,
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and yet we're still not
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complying with that demand of God?
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Well, be careful.
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Don't actually treat God
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as if it's just some
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piece of human advice.
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Here is what Samuel said to the people.
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And here is the response.
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No, but there shall be a king over us.
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That's the second point we want to look at.
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The people's desire to be like the nations.
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Now, if you go back to verses 4 and 5
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where they gathered together
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and said,
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You are old
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and your sons do not walk in your way.
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That, in a sense, is a pretext.
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It's not that it wasn't true,
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but they were presenting that
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as a pretext for the real reason
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that they wanted a change
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in their circumstances
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was because they wanted to be like
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the nations round about them.
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That's really what they were
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concerned to be,
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even though they could say
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Samuel was old
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and his sons were corrupt
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and took bribes.
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This is really what was moving them.
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This is really the real reason
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behind their request.
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They wanted to be like
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the nations around them.
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They wanted to be similar to them
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or identical to them
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in this sense,
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that they would have
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a king set over them
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just like the nations.
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Well, it's always
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a really serious matter
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when God's people
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don't want to be different
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to the world.
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When God's people
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are not really careful
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to make that distinction
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between themselves
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and the world around them.
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Here are God's covenant people.
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Here are God's people
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instructed over the years
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that God is their king,
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that they have their life
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regulated and governed by him
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and not only by him
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in a general sense
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but in a very specific sense
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at many times.
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The God who led them
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out of Egypt,
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who delivered them
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out of Egypt
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as he reminds them
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in this chapter
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through Samuel.
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The God who actually
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brought them
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the redemption from Egypt
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that they enjoyed
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and are enjoying.
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Who brought them into
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the land that he had promised them.
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Who fulfilled all of these things.
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And what is he saying now
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through Samuel?
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They have not rejected you
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but they have rejected me.
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They don't want me
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to be a king
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invisibly over them
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and yet certainly
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their leader,
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their guide,
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their protector,
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their carer.
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They want someone
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they can see.
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They want someone
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like the nations.
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They want a figurehead
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that they can actually
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point to and say
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look at our king,
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look at how glorious he is.
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And when we find ourselves
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tempted to fall in
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with the ways of the world,
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that again is a really
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serious issue for us.
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There are many places tonight,
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many worshiping groups tonight,
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many churches,
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many denominations,
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many congregations,
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many individuals
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who preach the gospel,
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who preach,
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at least to preach
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from the Bible,
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who have come to embrace
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the ideologies of the world,
47:44
who have come to embrace
47:45
the ideology
47:46
that's so concerned
47:48
to adjust our thoughts
47:50
about marriage,
47:51
about gender,
47:52
about education,
47:53
about religious freedom,
47:55
so many things you could add to that
47:57
in our own society right now.
47:59
I'm not talking about the world,
48:01
I'm talking about
48:01
confessing Christians
48:03
that want to be
48:04
as like the world
48:05
as to import
48:06
that ideology
48:08
into their own thinking.
48:11
They're just like Israel
48:12
in those days.
48:14
We want a king
48:15
to be like the nations
48:17
that are around us.
48:20
You know,
48:20
when you come
48:20
to actually find
48:22
any people
48:23
who confess
48:25
the Lord
48:25
as their God
48:26
to say,
48:28
well,
48:28
we need to really adjust
48:29
our lifestyle
48:31
to suit the thinking
48:33
of the age.
48:34
We need an ideology
48:36
that takes away
48:37
from this ancient
48:38
Reformed view
48:40
of the Bible
48:41
and of a Christian life
48:42
and of what
48:42
a people
48:43
and a society
48:44
should look like
48:45
and how they should behave.
48:46
And what have you left with
48:52
if you lose
48:55
the gospel
48:55
in its throughness
48:56
and its fullness?
48:59
Well,
49:00
let me just
49:00
take you back
49:01
to 1 Kings
49:02
or forward
49:03
to 1 Kings
49:03
because Solomon
49:06
was followed
49:08
by his son
49:08
Rehoboam
49:09
and Rehoboam
49:11
consulted
49:13
with the old men,
49:15
the senior men
49:16
who were there
49:18
at the time
49:18
after Solomon's death
49:19
and King Rehoboam
49:22
took counsel
49:23
with the old men
49:24
who had stood
49:24
before Solomon
49:25
his father
49:26
while he was yet alive
49:27
saying,
49:28
how do you advise me
49:29
to answer this people?
49:31
And they said to him,
49:32
if you will be a servant
49:33
to this people today
49:34
and serve them
49:35
and speak good words
49:36
to them
49:37
and when you answer them
49:38
then they will be
49:39
your servants forever.
49:41
But he abandoned
49:42
the counsel
49:43
that the old men
49:44
gave him
49:45
and took counsel
49:46
of the young men
49:47
who had grown up
49:48
with him
49:48
and stood before him.
49:51
And so that's
49:52
where he turned,
49:53
that's where he turned to.
49:54
And then as you go on
49:55
you can see
49:56
the kingdom
49:57
was divided
49:58
and then you go forward
50:00
to chapter 14
50:01
and what you find
50:02
in chapter 14
50:03
from verse 25
50:05
is that Shishak
50:07
the king of Egypt
50:08
he came
50:10
against Jerusalem
50:11
and he took away
50:13
the treasures
50:13
of the house
50:14
of the Lord
50:14
and the treasures
50:15
of the king's house.
50:17
He took away everything.
50:19
He also took away
50:20
all the shields
50:21
of gold
50:22
that Solomon
50:23
had made
50:24
and King Rehoboam
50:26
made in their place
50:28
shields
50:29
of bronze.
50:31
How pathetic
50:32
is that?
50:34
He gave away
50:35
the shields
50:35
of gold.
50:36
He probably
50:37
had not much
50:37
option
50:38
because Shishak
50:38
had come to him
50:40
and he had not
50:41
followed the ways
50:42
of the Lord
50:42
anyway
50:43
so he was weakened
50:43
in many ways.
50:45
He couldn't stand
50:45
against King Shishak
50:46
of Egypt
50:47
at that moment.
50:48
Shishak took away
50:49
all the shields
50:50
of gold
50:51
that Solomon
50:51
had made
50:52
and he fashioned
50:54
in their stead
50:56
replicas.
50:58
Replicas
50:59
made of bronze.
51:00
Now from a distance
51:01
you might think
51:02
bronze is actually
51:03
gold
51:03
if the sun
51:04
is shining
51:04
and you polished
51:05
it hard enough
51:06
but it's not gold.
51:12
And unless you look
51:13
very hard
51:13
at versions
51:14
of the gospel
51:15
that want to make
51:17
it fit into
51:18
the ideologies
51:20
of the moment
51:21
you might think
51:22
well you've still
51:23
got the gospel.
51:26
No you don't.
51:27
If you give away
51:30
the essentials
51:31
of the gospel
51:32
you don't have
51:33
a gospel left.
51:34
You have nothing
51:35
left here
51:36
that will really
51:36
reform the lives
51:38
of people
51:39
through the blessing
51:40
of God of course
51:41
but the Lord
51:42
will have us
51:43
always to retain
51:44
the essential matters
51:46
of the gospel.
51:47
That's why we have
51:47
to value
51:48
our reformed heritage
51:50
and I'm going to mention
51:51
two things in that
51:52
in closing.
51:53
Our reformed heritage
51:53
for the day
51:54
in which we live
51:55
there's so much
51:56
within that
51:56
that we need to
51:57
maintain and prize
51:58
and promote
51:59
but especially
52:01
I want to emphasize
52:01
the Bible itself
52:04
and the ethics
52:06
of the Bible.
52:07
The Bible itself
52:09
and the ethics
52:11
of the Bible
52:12
because the Bible
52:13
is to be
52:14
our ethical base
52:15
our basis for
52:16
morality
52:16
what a life
52:17
should be like
52:19
what a life
52:19
should be like
52:20
as we live it.
52:21
A conviction
52:22
about the Bible.
52:25
Why am I
52:25
saying a conviction
52:26
about the Bible?
52:27
Why is that central?
52:28
Why is that
52:29
of first importance?
52:30
Surely you might say
52:31
well surely you should
52:32
be emphasizing
52:33
Christ first.
52:35
Shouldn't you be
52:35
emphasizing keeping
52:36
to the person
52:37
of Christ
52:38
that we have
52:39
in our reformed
52:39
theology and thinking
52:40
that's been passed
52:41
on to us
52:42
through the years?
52:43
Yes of course
52:43
but where does
52:44
that come from?
52:46
What is the source
52:48
of our information
52:49
about Jesus
52:51
and about his atonement
52:52
and about his person
52:53
about the fact
52:55
that he's God
52:55
and man fully
52:56
in both senses?
52:58
You come to that
52:59
from the Bible
53:00
and once you adjust
53:01
the Bible
53:02
then there's no telling
53:03
where you're going
53:04
to end up
53:05
adjusting all other
53:06
sorts of doctrines
53:07
that follow on
53:08
from the doctrine
53:08
of scripture itself.
53:10
You give away
53:11
the shields of gold
53:12
and you're going
53:13
to be left
53:14
with at best
53:15
bronze
53:16
maybe even copper
53:17
maybe even lead.
53:19
What I'm saying
53:20
is give away
53:21
the essential
53:22
core issues
53:23
of the gospel.
53:26
What have you got left?
53:29
At best you've got
53:30
a very faded replica
53:32
which is not
53:34
the real thing.
53:37
Friends,
53:39
prize your Bibles.
53:42
I know you're doing that
53:44
but I know also
53:45
for me and for you
53:46
there's always a voice
53:48
not far away
53:49
from the dark one.
53:51
That will say
53:52
as he said
53:53
long ago
53:54
to our first parents
53:55
to Adam
53:56
has God really said
53:58
don't you need
54:00
to adjust this
54:01
to fit the thinking
54:02
of the day?
54:03
Don't you need
54:04
to just give away
54:05
some of those
54:06
more robust
54:07
reformed teachings
54:08
because people
54:09
don't want that
54:10
nowadays
54:10
and you don't want
54:11
a gospel
54:11
that people don't want?
54:14
That's the argument.
54:15
That's the ideology
54:16
of the age
54:17
and that's the kind
54:18
of temptation
54:19
that we face.
54:22
But what is
54:23
the Bible?
54:24
That's where you
54:25
have to begin.
54:27
You don't have to
54:27
you don't begin
54:28
with what does
54:29
the Bible say?
54:31
That comes next.
54:34
First thing you do
54:34
is what is
54:36
the Bible?
54:38
And the Bible
54:39
is the Word of God
54:41
and we just
54:42
briefly mention
54:43
from the confession
54:44
of faith.
54:46
This paragraph
54:47
in chapter 1
54:48
paragraph 5
54:50
We may be moved
54:52
and induced
54:52
by the testimony
54:53
of the church
54:54
to a high
54:55
and reverent esteem
54:56
of the Holy Scripture.
54:58
Then listen to this.
55:00
The heavenliness
55:00
of the matter
55:01
the efficacy
55:03
of the doctrine
55:04
the majesty
55:05
of the style
55:06
the consent
55:07
of all the parts
55:08
the scope
55:10
of the whole
55:10
which is to give
55:11
all glory to God
55:12
the full discovery
55:14
it makes
55:15
of the only way
55:16
of man's salvation
55:17
the many other
55:19
incomparable excellencies
55:20
and the entire
55:22
perfection thereof
55:23
are arguments
55:24
whereby it
55:26
doth abundantly
55:27
evidence itself
55:28
to be the Word
55:30
of God.
55:33
Nevertheless
55:34
notwithstanding
55:35
our full persuasion
55:37
and assurance
55:38
of the infallible truth
55:39
and divine authority
55:40
thereof
55:41
is from the inward
55:42
work of the Holy Spirit
55:43
bearing witness
55:44
by and with the Word
55:46
in our hearts.
55:48
Now where people
55:48
reject the Bible
55:49
as authoritative
55:51
as God's Word
55:53
that has certainly
55:54
not come
55:55
from the inward
55:56
work of the Holy Spirit
55:58
bearing witness
55:59
by and with the Word
56:00
in our hearts.
56:04
That's why we pray
56:05
for God to keep us
56:07
not just the likes
56:08
of myself
56:09
and others
56:09
who preach the Gospel
56:11
but yourselves
56:12
as well
56:12
as people
56:14
in this world
56:15
who live for Christ
56:16
make sure
56:19
that you have
56:20
the Bible
56:20
centrally
56:22
foundationally
56:23
daily
56:24
constantly
56:25
in your life.
56:28
It's from it
56:29
you receive
56:30
everything you know
56:32
and understand
56:32
of every other topic
56:34
that's vital to you
56:35
including God
56:37
himself
56:37
and the Lord
56:38
Jesus Christ
56:39
and salvation.
56:42
But secondly
56:42
not just a conviction
56:44
about the Bible
56:45
but conformity
56:46
to the Bible's
56:48
ethic.
56:51
Our conformity
56:52
to the Bible's
56:53
ethic
56:54
I'm talking here
56:54
about the teaching
56:55
of the Bible
56:56
as a whole
56:57
with regard to
56:58
what our moral
56:59
Christian life
57:00
should be
57:01
and should be like.
57:02
conformity
57:03
to the ethic
57:05
of the Bible
57:05
not the other
57:07
way about.
57:08
Not the Bible
57:09
conforming
57:10
to what I think
57:11
my ethic
57:12
should be
57:13
or what I
57:13
insist on it
57:14
to be.
57:16
Romans chapter 12
57:17
verse 2
57:19
Do not be
57:21
conformed
57:21
to this world
57:23
but be
57:24
transformed
57:25
by the renewing
57:27
of your mind
57:27
that you may prove
57:29
what is that good
57:29
and acceptable
57:30
and perfect
57:31
will of God.
57:32
See what it's saying?
57:33
Don't be
57:34
conformed
57:35
to this world
57:36
but be
57:38
transformed.
57:40
And here we are
57:41
in a society
57:42
where from
57:43
the government
57:44
downwards
57:45
we're now being
57:46
led down
57:48
the path
57:48
of insisting
57:50
that people
57:51
should not
57:52
be asked
57:52
or demanded
57:53
to have their lives
57:54
changed in any way.
57:56
Be what you want
57:57
to be.
57:58
Be what's good
57:59
for you
57:59
as you see it.
58:01
Let your gender,
58:03
let your behavior,
58:03
let whatever is
58:04
pleasing to yourself
58:05
let that be
58:06
what you follow out
58:07
and don't
58:08
let anyone else
58:10
seek to change
58:11
that for you.
58:12
And that's why
58:13
we're facing
58:13
and friends
58:15
I'm saying this
58:16
because
58:16
the Bible
58:17
has to be applied
58:18
to our present
58:20
circumstances
58:20
and our present
58:22
circumstances are
58:22
that our own
58:23
government in Scotland
58:25
Westminster I think
58:27
is involved too
58:28
to an extent
58:28
but our own
58:29
government has
58:29
made it known
58:30
that they do
58:31
have thoughts
58:32
and plans
58:33
in what they
58:34
call
58:34
a law
58:35
that would
58:36
actually ban
58:37
gender conversion.
58:40
Whatever is
58:41
meant by that
58:41
they don't give you
58:42
a plain answer.
58:43
But what that
58:46
means is
58:46
and you know
58:47
this is what
58:48
the Christian
58:50
Institute said
58:50
about it
58:52
Scottish government
58:54
wants to outlaw
58:55
practices
58:56
that seek
58:58
to change
58:59
suppress
59:00
or inhibit
59:01
someone's
59:02
sexual orientation
59:03
or gender
59:03
identity.
59:06
Activists
59:06
that's people
59:07
out with the
59:08
government as well
59:09
activists
59:09
are campaigning
59:11
for this
59:11
to cover
59:12
quote
59:13
casual
59:14
conversations
59:15
quote
59:16
gentle
59:17
non-coercive
59:19
prayer
59:19
and even
59:21
depending on
59:22
your parents
59:23
consent
59:23
to change
59:24
gender.
59:25
In other words
59:26
if that were
59:27
to become law
59:28
I could actually
59:29
find myself
59:30
in a court
59:31
of law
59:32
accused
59:33
of having
59:34
prayed
59:34
with someone
59:35
and asking
59:36
God
59:37
to either
59:37
change
59:38
their mind
59:39
or to give
59:39
them a different
59:40
perspective
59:40
on life.
59:41
I would be
59:43
criminalized
59:44
for being
59:44
faithful
59:45
to God.
59:48
That's
59:49
what's likely
59:51
to be the case
59:52
and despite
59:53
assurances
59:53
and we're
59:54
thankful
59:54
there are
59:54
assurances
59:55
that say
59:55
well
59:56
religious
59:57
practices
59:57
will not
59:57
actually
59:58
come under
59:58
such
59:59
a proposed
1:00:00
law.
1:00:05
believe
1:00:08
believe that
1:00:08
if you
1:00:08
will.
1:00:10
That's
1:00:11
not the
1:00:11
pattern
1:00:11
from the
1:00:12
past.
1:00:14
Now if
1:00:15
there is
1:00:15
to be a
1:00:15
consultation
1:00:16
I'm not
1:00:16
politicizing
1:00:17
the pulpit
1:00:18
this is
1:00:18
part of
1:00:19
the
1:00:19
gospel's
1:00:20
presentation
1:00:20
into the
1:00:21
world of
1:00:22
our day.
1:00:23
If there
1:00:24
is a
1:00:24
consultation
1:00:25
please
1:00:26
make sure
1:00:27
you complete
1:00:28
it.
1:00:29
A government
1:00:29
consultation
1:00:30
for your
1:00:31
views
1:00:31
on this.
1:00:32
and if
1:00:33
you want
1:00:34
to consult
1:00:35
the Christian
1:00:35
Institute
1:00:36
they will
1:00:36
give you
1:00:37
the words
1:00:38
that you
1:00:38
need to
1:00:38
put them
1:00:39
into your
1:00:39
own words
1:00:40
but they'll
1:00:40
give you
1:00:40
guidance
1:00:41
as to
1:00:41
how to
1:00:41
fill in
1:00:42
the various
1:00:43
parts of
1:00:43
that
1:00:43
consultation.
1:00:48
Friends
1:00:49
we are in
1:00:49
a war.
1:00:51
We're in
1:00:51
the midst
1:00:52
of a
1:00:52
conflict
1:00:52
not just
1:00:54
for the
1:00:55
soul of
1:00:55
the country
1:00:56
but for
1:00:56
the soul
1:00:56
of the
1:00:57
church
1:00:57
for the
1:00:59
soul of
1:00:59
the gospel.
1:01:02
we're in
1:01:04
a situation
1:01:05
which says
1:01:06
no
1:01:07
let's be
1:01:10
like the
1:01:11
world around
1:01:11
us.
1:01:13
A situation
1:01:14
that says
1:01:14
you Christians
1:01:16
you really
1:01:16
should
1:01:17
take note
1:01:18
of people's
1:01:19
preferences
1:01:19
and not
1:01:21
try to
1:01:22
insist on
1:01:23
such things
1:01:24
as the
1:01:24
Bible says
1:01:25
about being
1:01:26
born again
1:01:26
or being
1:01:28
changed
1:01:29
in such a
1:01:30
way as to
1:01:30
come to
1:01:30
comply
1:01:31
Christ's
1:01:32
commands.
1:01:36
Well there's
1:01:37
the people's
1:01:37
demand for
1:01:38
a king
1:01:39
and there's
1:01:40
the people's
1:01:41
desire to
1:01:42
be like
1:01:43
the nations.
1:01:46
Above all
1:01:47
friends let's
1:01:48
pray.
1:01:49
Let's pray
1:01:50
and appeal
1:01:52
to God
1:01:52
and do
1:01:54
everything else
1:01:54
practical we
1:01:55
can to
1:01:56
protect
1:01:56
what has
1:01:58
come to
1:01:58
us
1:01:58
sometimes at
1:02:00
great cost
1:02:00
from the
1:02:01
past.
1:02:02
Principles
1:02:03
for life
1:02:04
and practices
1:02:04
for life
1:02:05
which in
1:02:07
some cases
1:02:07
people died
1:02:08
for.
1:02:10
We're not
1:02:10
going to let
1:02:11
them slip
1:02:11
through our
1:02:12
hands are
1:02:12
we?
1:02:15
We're not
1:02:15
going to be
1:02:16
like those
1:02:16
of Israel
1:02:17
who say
1:02:17
let's just
1:02:18
be like
1:02:19
the world
1:02:19
let's just
1:02:20
fall into
1:02:20
and fall
1:02:22
in with
1:02:22
the pattern
1:02:23
of the
1:02:24
world.
1:02:25
Let's just
1:02:26
be as like
1:02:27
the world
1:02:28
as we can
1:02:28
and then
1:02:28
we'll win
1:02:30
them over
1:02:30
to the
1:02:31
gospel.
1:02:32
It won't
1:02:32
happen.
1:02:37
Let's be
1:02:37
true to
1:02:39
our King
1:02:39
Jesus
1:02:40
to his
1:02:41
truth.
1:02:42
Let's pray.
1:02:45
Lord our
1:02:46
God our
1:02:46
Father in
1:02:47
heaven we
1:02:47
thank you
1:02:48
for your
1:02:48
truth.
1:02:49
We pray
1:02:50
for grace
1:02:51
and for
1:02:51
your own
1:02:52
equipping
1:02:52
of us
1:02:53
to maintain
1:02:54
that truth
1:02:55
in its
1:02:55
purity
1:02:56
in the
1:02:56
gospel
1:02:56
in our
1:02:58
own way
1:02:58
of living
1:02:58
it as
1:02:59
well.
1:03:00
And we
1:03:00
ask oh
1:03:01
Lord that
1:03:01
for us
1:03:02
as a
1:03:02
nation
1:03:02
too we
1:03:03
be turned
1:03:03
back into
1:03:04
your ways.
1:03:06
Lord deliver
1:03:07
us we
1:03:07
pray from
1:03:08
the counsel
1:03:09
of mere
1:03:10
mortals
1:03:10
especially
1:03:12
when that
1:03:12
counsel is
1:03:13
contrary to
1:03:13
your word
1:03:14
and so
1:03:15
obviously
1:03:16
at odds
1:03:16
with your
1:03:17
will.
1:03:18
Lord we
1:03:19
pray that
1:03:20
in mercy
1:03:20
you'd
1:03:21
remember
1:03:21
and come
1:03:23
to us
1:03:23
in such
1:03:24
a way
1:03:24
that would
1:03:24
even surprise
1:03:26
your people
1:03:26
by coming
1:03:28
with reviving
1:03:28
and quickening
1:03:29
power to
1:03:29
us.
1:03:31
Continue
1:03:31
with us
1:03:31
now and
1:03:32
bless us
1:03:32
and pardon
1:03:33
our sin
1:03:33
for Jesus
1:03:34
sake.
1:03:35
Amen.
1:03:39
Our final
1:03:40
item of
1:03:40
praise this
1:03:41
evening is
1:03:42
Psalm 135
1:03:42
and that's
1:03:45
in the
1:03:45
Sing
1:03:46
Psalms
1:03:46
version
1:03:47
to tune
1:03:49
Stuttgart
1:03:50
that's on
1:03:50
page 176
1:03:51
singing
1:03:53
verses
1:03:53
8 to
1:03:54
14
1:03:55
Here are
1:04:04
the
1:04:04
exploits
1:04:05
of the
1:04:05
Lord
1:04:05
again in
1:04:06
the
1:04:06
psalmist
1:04:07
way of
1:04:09
putting it
1:04:09
in these
1:04:09
verses
1:04:10
He struck
1:04:10
down all
1:04:10
Egypt's
1:04:11
firstborn
1:04:12
man and
1:04:12
beast alike
1:04:13
were slain
1:04:14
mighty signs
1:04:14
he showed
1:04:15
in Egypt
1:04:16
routing
1:04:17
Pharaoh
1:04:17
and his
1:04:18
men
1:04:18
many
1:04:19
nations
1:04:19
he defeated
1:04:20
kings
1:04:21
he slew
1:04:21
with mighty
1:04:22
hand
1:04:22
all
1:04:23
Gophbation
1:04:23
and King
1:04:24
Sihon
1:04:24
all the
1:04:25
kings of
1:04:27
Canaan's
1:04:28
land
1:04:28
all their
1:04:29
lands he
1:04:30
gave to
1:04:30
Jacob
1:04:30
to his
1:04:31
people
1:04:31
Israel
1:04:32
as a
1:04:33
heritage
1:04:33
he gave
1:04:34
them
1:04:34
lands
1:04:34
where they
1:04:35
might
1:04:35
safely
1:04:35
dwell
1:04:36
Lord
1:04:37
your name
1:04:38
endures
1:04:38
forever
1:04:39
your
1:04:40
renown
1:04:40
is ever
1:04:41
great
1:04:41
for the
1:04:42
Lord
1:04:42
sustains
1:04:43
his
1:04:43
servants
1:04:44
and his
1:04:45
folk
1:04:45
will
1:04:46
vindicate
1:04:46
these verses
1:04:47
from verse
1:04:47
8
1:04:48
and the
1:04:49
tune
1:04:49
of
1:04:49
Stuttgart
1:04:49
Amen
1:04:52
He
1:04:57
struck down
1:04:58
all
1:04:59
Egypt's
1:05:00
firstborn
1:05:01
but
1:05:02
not
1:05:03
peace
1:05:04
like
1:05:05
firstborn
1:05:07
mighty
1:05:09
signs
1:05:10
he
1:05:11
showed
1:05:12
in
1:05:12
Egypt
1:05:13
right
1:05:14
in
1:05:15
Jerusalem
1:05:16
and
1:05:17
his
1:05:18
men
1:05:19
when
1:05:21
the
1:05:22
nations
1:05:23
he
1:05:24
defeated
1:05:26
kings
1:05:27
he
1:05:27
slew
1:05:28
with
1:05:29
mighty
1:05:30
hand
1:05:31
all
1:05:33
of
1:05:33
patient
1:05:34
the
1:05:35
king's
1:05:36
child
1:05:37
all
1:05:38
the
1:05:39
kings
1:05:40
of
1:05:41
Canaan's
1:05:42
land
1:05:43
all
1:05:45
their
1:05:46
sons
1:05:47
he
1:05:47
gave
1:05:48
to
1:05:48
Jacob
1:05:50
to
1:05:50
his
1:05:52
people
1:05:53
Israel
1:05:55
as
1:05:57
the
1:05:58
head
1:05:58
it
1:05:59
takes
1:06:00
he
1:06:00
gave
1:06:01
lands
1:06:03
where
1:06:04
they
1:06:04
might
1:06:05
save
1:06:06
me
1:06:07
dwell
1:06:08
Lord
1:06:10
your
1:06:11
name
1:06:11
endures
1:06:13
forever
1:06:14
you
1:06:15
will
1:06:16
be
1:06:17
now
1:06:17
this
1:06:18
ever
1:06:20
made
1:06:21
for
1:06:21
the
1:06:22
Lord
1:06:23
says
1:06:24
Jesus
1:06:25
serve
1:06:27
and
1:06:28
his
1:06:29
hope
1:06:29
will
1:06:30
be
1:06:31
came
1:06:32
after
1:06:35
the
1:06:35
benediction
1:06:35
I'll
1:06:35
go to
1:06:36
the
1:06:36
main
1:06:36
door
1:06:36
and
1:06:38
now
1:06:38
may
1:06:39
grace
1:06:39
and
1:06:39
mercy
1:06:39
and
1:06:40
peace
1:06:40
from
1:06:40
God
1:06:40
the
1:06:41
Father
1:06:41
the
1:06:41
Son
1:06:41
and
1:06:42
the
1:06:42
Holy
1:06:42
Spirit
1:06:42
be
1:06:43
your
1:06:43
portion
1:06:44
now
1:06:44
and
1:06:44
ever
1:06:45
more
1:06:45
Amen
1:07:02
through