Sunday Service

So, we're very, I am very thankful for all of you that volunteered, and I was very encouraged to see that, and the meals were certainly excellent and well-enjoyed by everyone. So, I also want to thank you for what so many of you did.

We have the privilege today of having the moderator of the Senate and the U .S. ARP Church, who is here with us. His name is Beard McCauley, and I asked him if he would just bring us a word of greeting this morning as the moderator of the U .S. Senate and the ARP Church.

I'm not sure if you would, Beard?

Well, as the moderator. Really, all that means is that I just have to run the meeting and go to a whole lot of other meetings for a year. I don't have any authority. I can't make any decisions on my own.

I'm not a pope. I'm not a bishop. Just a moderator, but as part of that position, I'm called on to attend meetings of other denominations and had the privilege of being one of the delegates from the ARP U .S. to the Canadian Presbytery and the Senate of the ARP Church in Canada this past week, and I must say that your hosting was great.

We were very well received and taken care of, and it was mentioned that, yes, we have such a thing as southern hospitality in the U .S., but there's also such a thing as, I think, maritime or Nova Scotia hospitality, and we have definitely seen that not only at the meeting of your presbytery, but everywhere we've been as we've traveled around and visited the sites and things.

Everyone here is so nice, and we've really enjoyed it, and another thing that has been glorious that we're here today far from home, now kind of on vacation, and we find ourselves in an ARP church, and that doesn't happen very often when we go on vacation because if you get too far away from the southeastern United States, there's not a whole lot of ARPs, but praise the Lord, there's plenty of ARPs in Canada, and we are happy to be here to worship the same God, the one true and living God, Father, Son, Holy Spirit, with you today.

Just a brief comment on our synod, which, you know, it's just over, or about a year now, that we said goodbye to the Canadian Presbytery as the Canadian Presbytery became its own synod, and we miss you.

We had a couple guys come as fraternal delegates to our synod to speak from Canada, but the men of the Canadian Presbytery are faithful men in their duties at the presbytery and the synod level, and it leaves a little bit of a void at the U .S. synod, you guys having formed your own, and I'm not saying that that shouldn't have happened.

Prayer for Laborers and Growth in Grace

I think it's a wonderful thing for you to form your own synod and establish yourself here in Canada, but you are missed, just letting you know that. So I would just say, in the U .S., and I'm sure it's this way in Canada, we feel the need to pray that laborers go into the harvest.

We called for a week of prayer and fasting, middle of September, to pray that the Lord would send laborers into the harvest. I'm just going to read that passage right quick, and then I promise. John said I only had 30 minutes, so Matthew 9, Matthew chapter 9, verse 36, Jesus speaking.

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them because they were harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.

Therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. So we had a week of prayer and fasting around that verse because there's a great need for church plants and church planters and even ministers to fill pulpits that are existing all over our denomination, and I'm sure it's that way here.

So pray for that. It was a good week of prayer. We had many churches coming together to pray together. We had videos sent out over our denominational website and so on. The last thing I'll leave you with is what we designated as our theme for the year in the ARPUS, and I pray that it would be so for you, and it's from the final verse of the book of 2 Peter, chapter 3, verse 18.

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. And so our theme is knowing Jesus and growing in grace, and that would be our prayer for you.

My challenge when I gave it back in June was a question. Do you know him? Do you know Jesus? Do you know him not just as an acquaintance, but do you know him intimately, and are you growing in your knowledge of him?

And that should be our pursuit all of our days until, as he writes, the day of eternity. So that is my prayer for you, and I appreciate the opportunity to come and speak to you and also to worship with you in an ARP church far from home.

Thank you so much. We really appreciate you coming and as a delegate to our presbytery and addressing us this morning. Very thankful for the church all over the world, aren't we? And, of course, we're very close to our brothers in the U .S. as we used to gather with them every year, and very thankful for all that they have done for us.

I have a couple of other announcements. The Truro Bible study is this evening at the Colchester Christian Academy. It's at 530. So please pray for that. Michael Yotnin will be leading this week. And next week, we're scheduled for the baptism of Chloe Barnes.

So we look very forward to that. I'm thinking that I'll preach a sermon specifically on the baptism of babies. I haven't had a sermon specifically on that in a while. There are some people that are new that I think would appreciate that, and hopefully all of us as we consider the great promises that God has made to us and the encouragement that we have in that.

So please pray that God would bless Chloe with the blessings that are represented by baptism, and also bless her parents as they endeavor and commit to bring her up in the training and admonition of the Lord.

Worship, Repentance, and the Call to Praise

All right. Well, we are gathered this morning to worship the Lord our God. So please stand for a time of preparation and silence as we quiet our hearts before we receive the call to worship. People of God, hear now the call to worship your God.

Sing praises to the Lord who dwells in Zion. Declare His deeds among the people. When He avenges blood, He remembers them. He does not forget the cry of the humble. Let's look to our God in prayer as we come before Him.

O gracious Heavenly Father, how we praise you that you have called us to praise you as the one who dwells in Zion. Zion is your city. It is your people that are now, as we have just seen even in speaking about church in Canada, church in the U .S., we know that the church is all over the world.

And we praise you that your city is in all nations now. And we thank you for the great work that you have done. And indeed, Lord, we pray that we would come before you with suitable praise and adoration that would be pleasing in your sight.

And Father, we know that in order for that praise to be acceptable to you, that we must be right with you. And we pray, O Lord, that you would help us, O Lord, that first of all, that all of those who are here would know what it is to trust in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and to receive the blessing of salvation that comes through Him alone.

O Lord, we are sinners and we're unworthy to come before you at all. We would be judged and condemned to do so apart from your mercy and grace. And so we thank you for our Lord Jesus Christ and His saving work.

And we pray that we would come resting in Him alone for our salvation as He is offered in the Gospel. But we also pray, Lord, that as we are disciples of Jesus Christ, most of us, many of us, we pray, O Lord, that you would also forgive us for the sins that we have committed, for we still commit sins.

And as we come before you, O Lord, we pray that you would have mercy on us and forgive us of those sins and cleanse us from them so that we won't continue in them. We pray that we would find true repentance, that we would turn to you, Lord, with a true heart of desire to serve you and to call on your name.

You are a great God and your mercies are great. And we desire to adore you and worship you. And if we come with a cold heart, a heart that is laden with sin that we haven't dealt with, there is no way that we can come and worship you as we should.

So, Lord, we look to you now to help us to truly come with repentance before you this morning, and that we would be able to truly give praise and honor to your great name, for you are worthy of that. We do want to declare your deeds today, to tell about the great things that you have done.

We pray that you would bless the preaching of the Word, that we might hear it and that we might be blessed by it, that you might be honored as your name is proclaimed of the great things that you have done for your church and your people.

We praise you, O Lord, that one of the things that you do is to avenge your people, that you bring down those who would oppose your church and try to destroy her. And we pray that you would continue to do that, Lord, for we would not last if you did not do that.

We praise you that you also restrain Satan and the demons and that you do not allow them to go beyond whatever bounds you set for them. You are the sovereign Lord, and we pray that you would continue to do that.

We pray against Satan and all of those who are in league with him. O Lord, we know that the demons tremble in fear when your name is called on in this way. And so we call upon you, O Lord, and we ask you to show yourself mighty and strong in behalf of all of us.

Do not let Satan have his way in us individually or corporately. We see that he is busy at work in our nation, that he is busy at work in the church, and we pray, O Lord, that we would be busy at work praying and calling upon your name and pursuing what is right, pursuing the way of godliness and repentance, and that you would raise up in our land those who fear God to lead our nation.

O Father, how we cry out to you. It seems like a prayer that could never be answered, but we know that you are able to do all things, and we look to you, O Lord, with hope and expectation, praying for our nation.

O Lord, have mercy upon us, we pray. Raise up strong churches. Raise up strong preaching. And indeed, send forth laborers into your harvest as we were just encouraged to pray. O Lord, bring forth from your great bounty those laborers who can nourish your people and who can call those who are outside to come back to you.

How we pray that this would be so, O Lord. Indeed, as the call to worship told us, you do not forget the cry of the humble. You hear our prayers, and you are pleased with them, and you answer them. Lord, we pray that you would also be with all of those among us who are afflicted.

I know there are some who are sick at this time, and we pray that you would be merciful to them and restore them and raise them up. Those who are afflicted spiritually, we pray, O Lord, that you would bring them out of that affliction and help them to find comfort in the Holy Spirit and to trust in your promises.

O Lord, our eyes are on you, and we look to you for blessing in this service that is now ahead of us. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, amen. People of God, let's confess our faith this morning. There's a confession printed in your order of worship from Psalm 119.

It's confession of God and His Word. So, people of God, what do you believe about God and His Word? Righteous are you, O Lord, and upright are your judgments, your testimonies which you have commanded are righteous and very faithful.

My zeal has consumed me because my enemies have forgotten your words. Your Word is very pure. Therefore, your servant loves it. I am small and despised, yet I do not forget your precepts. Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness.

Your law is truth. Trouble and anguish have overtaken me, yet your commandments are my delights. The righteousness of your testimonies is everlasting. Give me understanding and I shall live. Let's sing together a song of the adoration of our Lord Jesus Christ, Psalm 45a.

45a in the book of Psalms for singing.

Is there anything more lovely and encouraging.

Than our Lord Jesus Christ? Poised and ready to go out and to bring forth His kingdom, to bring justice and righteousness and truth to all the nations of the world. What a great Savior we have. What hope we have.

What glory there is in our Lord Jesus Christ. Our New Testament Scripture reading is from portions of 1 Peter and also from Mark. Several New Testament readings here. 1 Peter 2, 21 through 25 is the first reading.

For to this you were called because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that you should follow in His steps. Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth. Who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return.

When He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously. Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness, by whose stripes you were healed.

For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the shepherd and overseer of your souls. What better place to be than in the care of the shepherd and overseer of your souls? The one that we just sang about.

He has all authority and power in heaven and earth. And to be under the care of that Lord who is meek and who bore the cross in order that He might save us and calls us to live as meek ones in the earth pursuing His kingdom.

1 Peter 4, 19 -5, 11. Therefore, following His example, therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good as to a faithful Creator. The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed.

Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion, but willingly, not for dishonest gain, but eagerly, not as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.

And when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away. Likewise, you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another and be clothed with humility.

For God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him for He cares for you.

Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.

But may the God of all grace who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever.

Amen. What a glorious truth that though Satan is going about seeking to destroy and to lead us into all kinds of confusion and error, we have our confidence in this One to whom we entrust ourselves, the Lord Jesus Christ, risen and exalted forever as our God and King.

The last reading is of His own suffering in Mark 14, 32 -42, when He was anticipating going to the cross and was praying on that night that He was betrayed shortly after these prayers. This is Mark 14, 32, the Word of God.

Then they came to a place which was named Gethsemane. And He said to His disciples, Sit here while I pray. And He took Peter, James, and John with Him, and He began to be troubled and deeply distressed.

Then He said to them, My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch. He went a little farther and fell on the ground and prayed that if it were possible the hour might pass from Him.

And He said, Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me. Nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will. Then He came and found them sleeping and said to Peter, Simon, are you sleeping?

Could you not watch one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The Spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Again, He went away and prayed and spoke the same words. And when He returned, He found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy and they did not know what to answer Him.

Then He came the third time and said to them, Are you still sleeping and resting? It is enough. The hour has come. Behold, the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise and let us be going.

See, my betrayer is at hand. There we end the reading of God's Word. Jesus knew what it was to be in a situation where the wickedness and wretchedness of Satan and those who are allied with Him were getting ready to come heavily upon Him.

And He knew that this was what He was called to bear as He prayed and asked if it was possible that He might be spared from it, and it was not. And as He went to the cross, He was resolute that He would trust in the Lord and He would maintain by the help of even the Holy Spirit in His human nature that He would go forward in the calling that He had.

His disciples, on the other hand, they were unprepared. They didn't see the dangers of Satan and temptation that was getting ready to come upon them. And so they did not stand and endure. Nevertheless, the Lord kept them and restored them, all except, of course, Judas the betrayer, who was resolute and was never really in the Lord at all.

Let's sing a song then of supplication where we plead with God with our Lord Jesus Christ as our head. Psalm 55a in the book of Psalms we're singing. We're going to be singing this entire psalm today.

Just sing the A portion now and we'll sing other portions later. Psalm 55a. And be sure that you pray this earnestly. Don't be like the disciples who are dozy and sleepy in praying this and not really bringing these words before God.

Please stand to sing 55a. Give answer for I cannot rest. But must complain and sigh. Because I hear the voice of foes. Because the wicked press. For they in anger bear a grudge And bring distress. Deep anguish is within my heart.

Death's terror soar me Trembling fearfulness. And drag my soul Wings to fly. Then would I flee And try to find A restful place. So today our sermon will be from Psalm 55 and Psalm 55 is going to be our new song of focus to sing as we work our way through the part of 2 Samuel that we're in right now which is the part where you have Absalom's insurrection his coup against David where he actually tries to overthrow God's anointed king who is his own father.

Many believe that Psalm 55 may have been written by David when this happened. There's different discussion about when that happened. But David seems to refer particularly to Ahithophel his counselor trusted counselor that he had had for so long who then turned and sided with Absalom against the anointed king that God, David the anointed king.

Whether that's so or not whatever it was written about the early church fathers typically refer to Psalm 55 as Jerome did. He's sort of a witness of that a little bit of a later time when he did his Latin translation of the Bible and he entitled this psalm the voice of Christ against the leaders of the Jews and the betrayer Judas.

Spurgeon is very right when he says the spiritual eye ever in Anon sees the son of David and Judas and the chief priests appearing and disappearing upon the glowing canvas of this psalm. So you can picture as we just sang it you can think about those chief priests and Judas and all the things that Jesus was dealing with.

Andrew Bonner likewise states we may read these strains as expressing David's feeling some peculiar seasons of distress and as the experience of Christ's church in every age yet still it is in Jesus the man of sorrows that this psalm finds its fullest illustration.

His was the soul that was stirred to its lowest depth by scenes such as are described here. And Christopher Ash who recently published his commentary that I'm very delighted with I've had it for a while now it's only been out for a couple of years 2024 I think is when it was published but in his commentary he says when David what David experienced is fulfilled in Jesus when Jesus sang this psalm he did so with an intensity of feeling we can scarcely imagine.

And so these are thoughts from different leaders, different time periods in the church about this particular psalm and how it relates to Jesus Christ. I often tell you that the whole book of psalms are songs that Jesus has given to His church by His Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ is the one that was in the prophets who gave us the Word of God and these songs are given to His church to sing with Him as our worship leader.

We must have Him as our worship leader. When His prayer to His Father in Heaven was heard on the cross He promised that He would gather His whole church, the great assembly together and declare the gospel to them the good news that His offering had been accepted on the cross and that He would sing praise with us.

And that's what we do every Lord's Day. The Lord Jesus is the one who calls us together and He declares to us through His agents that He has appointed through the ministry of the Word, the good news of what God has done and we sing praise to God for this all.

He is our prophet, priest and king and all of the psalms are first and foremost the psalms of our anointed king and our priest and our prophet that the church unites with Him to sing. We only sing them in an acceptable way when we are united to Him in faith trusting in Him as our Savior from sin that we might come before God forgiven and renewed by His grace.

When we sing of the righteous man in Psalm 1 who is acceptable to God we would condemn ourselves if we do not have union with Jesus because we are not righteous apart from Him. The righteous man is Jesus Christ in Psalm 1 and it is also those who have union with Him by faith so that we are part of His righteous kingdom that God has accepted.

When we plead for mercy in Psalm 32 or Psalm 51 we join with Him who is our king and priest who intercedes for our forgiveness as His people. We cannot be forgiven apart from His work and faith in Him.

We come only to God in His name. I can't ask forgiveness of my sins unless I come through Jesus Christ. So when we sing these songs it's with Jesus Christ, our head. He is in heaven. He is with us when we gather for worship.

We gather before Him. Hebrews says that He is our liturgist. When we sing Psalms like Psalm 55 that call for the destruction of our enemies, we can certainly only sing them properly when we join Him as God's anointed king who will destroy Satan and all who are aligned with Satan.

We are to pray as our catechisms teach us for the destruction of the kingdom of Satan and all who are in league with Him. When we pray the prayer Thy kingdom come we necessarily also pray for the destruction of the kingdom of darkness and wickedness of sin.

So we certainly do not want those malicious opposers of God's kingdom to succeed. Like the martyrs in Revelation who were actually in glory and had been made just. What did they do as they saw the conditions on the earth?

They prayed and cried out to God to avenge their blood. This is a godly prayer. We do not want to see the wicked kingdom prosper, but we want to see it brought down. Let's read this psalm then where we see the expression of the heart of our gracious king against those who are his enemies and the enemies and destroyers of his church.

Of course, we pray as he also did that there would be repentance and forgiveness. But we know that with many such as Satan and those who are in league with him that there will not be such repentance and therefore we pray for the demise and destruction of that kingdom.

So here now is, hear the word of God, Psalm 55. To the chief musician with stringed instruments, a contemplation of David. Give ear to my prayer, O God, and do not hide yourself from my supplication. Attend to me and hear me.

I am restless in my complaint and moan noiselessly because of the voice of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked. For they bring down trouble upon me and in wrath they hate me. My heart is severely pained within me and the terrors of death have fallen upon me.

Fearfulness and trembling have come upon me and horror has overwhelmed me. So I said, O that I had wings like a dove, I would fly away and be at rest. Indeed, I would wander far off and remain in the wilderness.

I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest. Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongues. For I have seen violence and strife in the city. Day and night they go around it on its walls. Iniquity and trouble are also in the midst of it.

Destruction is in its midst. Oppression and deceit do not depart from its streets. For it is not an enemy who reproaches me, then I could bear it. Nor is it one who hates me who has exalted himself against me.

Then I could hide from him. But it was you, a man my equal, my companion and my acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together and walked to the house of God in the throng. Let death seize them. Let them go down alive into hell.

For wickedness is in their dwelling and among them. As for me, I will call upon God and the Lord shall save me. Evening and morning and at noon I will pray and cry aloud and he shall hear my voice. He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me and there are many against me.

God will hear and afflict them, even he who abides from of old. Because they do not change, therefore they do not fear God. He has put forth his hands against those who are at peace with him. He has broken his covenant.

The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart. His words were softer than oil, yet they were drawn swords. Cast your burden on the Lord and he shall sustain you. He shall never permit the righteous to be moved, but you, O God, shall bring them down to the pit of destruction.

Bloodthirsty and deceitful men shall not live out half their days, but I will trust in you. Thanks be to God for his holy and infallible and his most precious word. There are three things revealed here about our Savior and his response to treachery.

His anguish under that treachery and a world filled with that treachery. His anger and indignation against that treachery and the treacherous ones. And his assurance of the demise of that treachery and those treacherous ones.

Christ’s Anguish Under Treachery

So let's look at each of these. First, the anguish of our dear Savior about treachery. He describes deep anguish. You see how passionately he cries out to God as one who is wounded, deeply wounded and pained by these enemies.

Verse 1 and 2. Give ear to my prayer, O God. He's pleading and do not hide yourself from my supplication. Attend to me and hear me. I am restless in my complaint and moan noisily. That's a hard word to say.

Noisily. He is desperate for his Heavenly Father to see his sufferings under this opposition and to relieve him from them. And in many ways, he continues as mediator to intercede and to pray that way for his kingdom to come and be fully established.

He's pained when he sees the church and her sufferings being opposed and sometimes tempted and led to destruction by Satan. Not the whole church, but parts of the church. He does not want God to do what he forbids us to do.

He tells us that we should not, when we see our brother in trouble, not hide ourselves and pretend like we don't see it. He says, don't hide yourself, Lord. Like, pay attention to my prayer. He is pleading with God to pay attention.

He speaks of intense suffering as one who is restless and moaning under this affliction as we saw as he was in the Garden of Gethsemane. He gives the reason for his deep sorrow and pain. Verse 3 and 4.

Because of the voice of the enemy. They're making plans. They're plotting things. They're seeking our overthrow. Because of the oppression of the wicked. For they bring down trouble upon me. They actively are bringing trouble upon him and his people.

Remember how he spoke to Paul when he was persecuted. Why are you persecuting me? He said. He takes this in a personal kind of a way. He says and in wrath they hate me. My heart is severely pained within me.

He hates being hated. He hates his church being hated. If your house is damaged by a storm, then that hurts. But it hurts more if someone comes and deliberately sets your house on fire. Because then you have also been hated.

And you have been violated. Bad things can happen to us, but when they come from the hand of someone who is malicious and trying to destroy us, it is more painful. And our Lord Jesus, more than any of us, knows what that pain is.

Understand that this is much more the case. This pain and sorrow is much more His than it is ours. It should be ours. But though He is the Son of God, He took human flesh. And He experienced all of our sorrows and infirmities more than any of us will ever experience them.

That He is the Son of God makes His suffering in our human flesh even worse for Him. Because He is a righteous one in human flesh. He is a sinless, perfect man with a deep love for God who is more grieved when God is opposed and when His people are opposed than we are grieved.

Because we do not know what it is to love like He loves and to care like He cares. When His people are attacked and when His God is blasphemed. Think of the mother who loves her children and the pain that she feels when they are attacked.

Worse than if she herself is attacked. Because of her great love for her children. The love of Jesus is greater than any mother. As the Scripture says, a mother may forsake her children, but He will never forsake you.

And He knows and loves what human beings are meant to be. What God made us to be. Beautiful image bearers of Him. And He sees the difference in what we are not because of sin and what it has brought into the world and the hatred and the bitterness and the strife and the division and all the misery that has come because of sin.

He is pained by that. He is a man of great sorrows because of that. And He cares about you. And He prays for us and He intercedes for us with passionate cries and tears. He also speaks here of extreme terror.

From the middle of verse 4 he says, the terrors of death have fallen upon me. Fearfulness and trembling have come upon me and horror has overwhelmed me. That is exactly what he spoke of at Gethsemane.

He said he was overwhelmed. He was getting ready to bear the curse for his whole church. To experience the wrath of God where he would cry out and say, my God, my God why have you forsaken me? To him, this was anguish that was unbelievably bearable, difficult to bear.

He was so distressed that we're told that blood began to ooze from his pores as he broke into a sweat, a bloody sweat. He was terrified and horrified at the prospect of becoming the object of his father's curse.

We're told plainly that he did bear the curse for us when he was on the tree. He was the Lamb of God who was cut off from the land of the living, who bore our transgressions in his own body. That is what he did as our priest and also as the sacrifice itself that was offered, the only sacrifice that could atone for our sin.

If there was any way that it might be possible to save us without this, he pled that he might escape it. Let this cup pass from me, if it be possible. In verse 6 -8 in our psalm, he says, Oh, that I had wings like a dove.

I would fly away and be at rest. Indeed, I would wander far off and remain in the wilderness. I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest. This is, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.

He was not indifferent to being cut off from his father. He would have been a very cold-hearted savior if he had gone to that as if it was an easy thing, as if it was nothing to bear that. He loved his father more than any of us do, and he was cut off because of our transgressions.