May 8, 2022 – Sunday Service Live Stream

Ascension Presbyterian Church Longwood

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It's too hard to to use this as our accompaniment because it can't track with our our pacing

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But just as a refresher of the tune, I'll play it real quick. And then um, do you want me just to lead and stuff?

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Yes, okay. Fine. Maybe we could have you sing the first Just to get it get started.

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Yeah, so I'll play it through once but again, we'll sing it acapella and then

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Let me go ahead and play that tune as a refresher for us here That's that should be somewhat familiar to us

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Kind of like we do in our practice. I'll start and then just join in and We're gonna go for loud not necessarily good, but As I always say remember to project and I think we'll we'll do fine.

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We'll definitely have it by verse 8. So All right, so verse 1 1 2 3, oh

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Come with thanks God's goodness Praising his firm and steadfast love endures

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Let Israel in the house of Refugee I Thank the

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Lord Oh Oh Salvation Is Please remain standing for the reading of scripture from Jeremiah chapter 12

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Jeremiah chapter 12 Righteous are you O Lord when I plead with you yet.

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Let me talk with you about your judgments Why does the way of the wicked prosper

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Why are those happy who deal so treacherously? You have planted them. Yes, they have taken root.

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They grow. Yes, they bear fruit You are near in their mouth, but far from their mind

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But you O Lord know me you have seen me and you have tested my heart toward you

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Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter and prepare them for the day of slaughter

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How long will the land mourn and the herbs of every field wither The beasts and birds are consumed

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For the wickedness of those who dwell there because they said he will not see our final end

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If you have run with the footmen and they have wearied you then how can you contend with horses and If in the land of peace in which you trusted they wearied you

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Then how will you do in the floodplain of the Jordan For even your brothers the house of your father

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Even they have dealt treacherously with you. Yes, they have called a multitude after you do not believe them

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Even though they speak smooth words to you. I have forsaken my house.

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I have left my heritage I have given the dearly beloved of my soul into the hand of her enemies

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My heritage is to me like a lion in the forest it cries out against me

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Therefore I have hated it My heritage is to me like a speckled vulture

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The vultures all around are against her Come assemble all the beasts of the field

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Bring them to devour Many rulers have destroyed my vineyard. They have trodden my portion underfoot

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They have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness They have made it desolate

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Desolate it mourns to me The whole land is made desolate because no one takes it to heart

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The plunders have come on all the desolate heights in the wilderness for the sword of the

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Lord shall devour From one end of the land to the other end of the land. No flesh shall have peace

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They have sown wheat but reaped thorns they have put themselves to pain but do not profit

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Be ashamed of your harvest because of the fierce anger of the Lord Thus says the

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Lord Against all my evil neighbors who touch the inheritance which I have caused my people

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Israel to inherit behold I will pluck them out of their land and pluck out the house of Judah from among them

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Then it shall be after I have plucked them out that I will return and have compassion on them and bring them back everyone to his hair to his heritage and everyone to his land and It shall be if they will learn

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Carefully the ways of my people to swear by my name as the Lord lives as they taught my people to swear by Baal Then they shall be established in the midst of my people

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But if they do not obey I will utterly pluck pluck up and destroy that nation says the

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Lord This is the word of the Lord Let us confess our common faith

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Together in the singing of the Apostles Creed and DJ. I'm going to ask if you would start us off The Holy Spirit See Resurrection Please take up the hymn hymnal again and turn to him number 455 and can it be

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Number 455 this is truly one of my favorite hymns and DJ I will ask you again if you will start us for us in Sound Amen Let us prepare ourselves now for the prayers of the people after this manner therefore pray ye our

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Father which art in heaven Hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as is in heaven

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Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts

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We forgive our debtors and lead us not into temptation But deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever

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Amen Pray that we may glorify God in all that we do as we live and work in the creation

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That displays his power and be pleased to dispose all things to his own glory

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Pray that Satan's kingdom may be destroyed and that the kingdom of grace may be advanced

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Ourselves and others brought into it and kept in it and the kingdom of glory hastened

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They Pray that God for Christ's sake would freely pardon all our sins

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And we are encouraged to ask this because by his grace we are able from the heart to forgive others

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Grace Pray that God would either keep us from being tempted to sin or Support and deliver us when we are tempted

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Our Father taking encouragement and prayer from you alone in our prayers

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We praise you ascribing kingdom power and glory to you and to testify of our desire and assurance to be heard

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We say together Amen All right, let us pick up the bulletin insert again and DJ I'll ask you to come forward as we sing our psalm of the month psalm 8 psalm 8

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Once again, we did it last week. I know I haven't I wasn't as judicious with the materials this week

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But we should be able to pick it back up again Once more because I just have the tune handy. I'll play it again once through but again, we'll sing acapella

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But just give us a reminder real quick and then I'll start us off and then This is another one.

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As I mentioned before it's an energetic one. So don't be afraid to Go all out to give it with do it with gusto

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So, let me play play it through once and then then I'll stop and we'll start But hope if I start in the right place

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So with much energy and gusto, I'll start us off Lord our

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Lord In the face

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You And Well, I'm particularly thankful that this was the psalm of the month psalm 8

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And I think it's very providential That that it is many of you know this past week

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That there was a leak Supreme Court Decision about striking down the national protection on abortion and it made me think

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Why abortion? I mean do people really just love killing that bad that they would want that type of protection and Then I was reminded of this and in Psalm 8 this verse out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants you have ordained strength because of your enemies that you may silence the enemy and the

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Avenger It is through children those arrows in the hand of a mighty warrior that our enemies fear the most

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I would encourage you to continue to pray for our nation and that God's laws would be respected.

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But now I ask if you would turn in your Bibles to Psalm number one The first Psalm and I will read here the words of God Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly

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Nor stands in the path of sinners Nor sits in the seat of the scornful

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But his delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law. He meditates day and night

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He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water that bring forth its fruit in its season

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Whose leaf also shall not wither and whatever he does shall prosper

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The godly ungodly are not so But are like the chaff which the wind drives away

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Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous

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For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish

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Let us pray Blessed Lord, you have caused all holy scriptures to be written for our learning

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Grant us that we may in such a way hear them read Mark learn and Edward Lee digest them that by patience and comfort of your holy word

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We may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life

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Which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ Amen, you may be seated in preparation for The sermon here this morning.

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I gave consideration on what to preach from And as I was thinking of perhaps bringing a psalm selecting a particular psalm

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I was reminded of something that one man had said about preaching

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He said that there are two books. You will rarely hear preached in the church One is the book of Psalms Simply because of its length

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I assume being a hundred and fifty chapters long and the second is the book of Revelation Because as this man said it is too hot to handle

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But I think the Psalms are a very good book for us to take a look at Periodically, I know that we have in our tradition a time where we sing through the

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Psalms And I think that is good for us to do so But the Psalms are a great value for the to the church for us to consider them

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There are several reasons for that and I'll mention a few of them It is the sum and summary of the whole

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Bible like the book of Romans, which is a summary of the biblical history of Redemption so the

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Psalms also is a Bible within the Bible Martin Luther called it a little Bible wherein everything contained in the entire

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Bible is beautifully and briefly comprehended and compacted its

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Placement in the scriptures almost puts it at the very middle or heart of the

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Bible itself but the reason to which I selected it is because Contained within it is what this one man called bite -sized

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Theology that we could pick up a psalm and be greatly blessed by it as we consider it

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Verse by verse the Psalter provides us of a picture of God of a picture of his design divine

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Perfections the excellencies and perfectness of his glories It shows us

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God in only a way that God can reveal himself to us It teaches us to fear and to praise him

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Psalm 96 for says this for the Lord is great and greatly to be praised

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Not only do the Psalms tell us who God is but he also tell us who we are

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What our condition is? this the Psalms show us ourselves as we really are and It provides us a range of feelings expressed and the depths of our condition clearly laid out fear

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Depression Abandonment uncertainty joy sinfulness and righteousness

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The psalm teaches us the Psalms rather teach us how we may approach

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God I Don't know if you have felt this but I remember and recall some of the first time that I read through the

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Psalms How struck I was how the psalmists spoke to God?

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sometimes they expressed a level of Desperation that I was surprised or a level of questioning.

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How could this be? Oh Lord and the imprecatory Psalms Were different than I had expected calling on the destruction of God's enemies

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Rather than what we consider to love it stood out to me as something unusual

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But it teaches us how we may speak to God and how we may bring our our deep feelings of our soul unashamedly to the

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Lord and that is a great and glorious blessing for us the

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Psalms also Give us the nature of the spiritual communion with God It is as a songbook a great songbook as we know

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But the Psalter is the music of the soul's friendship with God The Psalter is as one man says the whole music of the human heart swept by the hand of the maker

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The Psalms are also given to us to stir up godliness and deep affection for God's holy laws and the depths of his spiritual requirements

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It shows us the law of God and it's used to us. It shows us not only what the law says

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But it gives us a picture of what Christ has done for us It shows us what service and gratitude we owe him.

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It shows us our many deficiencies it gives us the rule of sanctification and Shows us what we one day will enjoy as mentioned as the the songbook of the

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Old Covenant people it helps us to join in with that Universal Church that we at all times and in all places for thousands of years and many generations

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May join together our voices with the Saints that have gone before The Saints that are here now and the

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Saints to come it gives us great hope in this life and in death

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But also and perhaps more importantly it gives us a heaven -drawn picture of Christ We must remember that when the

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Apostles went to teach in the New Testament era right after Pentecost that they used the

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Old Testament scriptures the New Testament hadn't been written and They were able to give a picture of Christ For that for from the scriptures and one of the books that is often quoted the most is the book of Psalms And we see a glorious picture of Christ This is truly

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I think an objective implementation of what we read in 2nd Corinthians 4 6 the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ Where do we see the face of Christ in his word?

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But the psalm that I picked this morning was psalm number one And the reason I picked that is that I don't know how often

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I'll get to stand here before you But it gives me a good place to start and then a good place to go to from there so Psalm 1 in many ways is a preface psalm has been called the introduction to the entire book of Psalms Thomas Watson the

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Puritan said that it contains the very pith and quintessence of Christianity For those like me

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I had to define that what that actually meant meant it is the excellence or the substance of Christianity this first psalm is the highest quality and the perfect example of our lives in Christ this psalm

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Desires to teach us two things The way of blessedness and it warns us and promises us the sure destruction of Sinners it is divided into two parts.

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The first part describes the happiness and Blessedness of the godly man and that would be in verses 1 through 3 the second part verses 4 through 6 6

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Contrast the state and character of the ungodly with the godly

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Revealing their future their ultimate doom. So let us take a closer look here at verse number 1

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Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly Nor stands in the path of sinners nor sits in the seat of the scornful

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The book of Psalms and this particular song Psalm start off with a benediction

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Blessed the Hebrew word is a plural. It's almost as if we could read this.

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Oh the blessedness This is an exclamation of the justified man's happiness joy

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Felicity and perhaps most important favor from God Blessedness is that pearl of great price?

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We are blessed by God and blessed in Christ. We are blessed in all times and under all circumstances

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We immediately may be thinking of two things or we should be thinking of two things. One of them is to be attitudes

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We're familiar with this blessed are blessed are it shows us the blessing the second thing we may think of here is that that great time when the people of God of old entered into the

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Into the promised land and they were commanded by God when they had done So that half of the the people of God would stand on one mountain echoing the covenantal blessings and The other half of the people of God would echo the curses

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And that was found in Deuteronomy 28 verses 1 through 9 those great blessings And we should be we should be thinking about this this is the goal of our

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Christian life To receive the blessing of God. So as we consider this blessed is the man

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May that benediction rest upon us? The righteous man the blessed man is both is described here both negatively and positively

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Negatively we see this he walks not nor stands nor sits in It is sometimes better to define things negatively

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For it gives us a stronger picture than saying positively if this psalm were to open if we were to say

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The righteous man the blessed man walks in the way of the godly

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It would not necessarily Eliminate not walking in the way of the ungodly as we see in the

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Ten Commandments There are things that are defined negatively so as to not leave us any kind of guessing what the

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Lord expects from us When it says here the the blessed man walks not nor stands nor sits

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We can take great comfort that God has given us those boundaries to which he rather Would rather have us follow

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His delight Moving to positively now. It says his delight is in the law of God it is in his law and in his law.

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He meditates Both day and night that's in our next verse

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That we would see that that would be the delight We'll take a look at that but when we look at the not not to walk in the counsel of the ungodly the

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Righteous man the blessed man has a wiser and much better counsel the commandments of God He has a much better counselor

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God himself God's ways are peace and pleasantness

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You're familiar with the greeting of the Old Covenant people. They use it today Shalom peace wholeness

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Blessedness the righteous man's ways are ordered and directed by the

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Word of God by the counsel of God One of my favorite verses in all the Bible are

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Proverbs 3 verses 5 and 6 trust in the Lord with all of your hearts and lean not on your own understanding in all your ways acknowledge him and He shall direct your paths.

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That is where the godly man is looking That is where the blessed man is looking

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He is not looking toward the cunning and wicked devices of carnal men.

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It is a sign of inward grace working out That the godly man not walk in the counsel of the wicked that the godly man is changed in his actions

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Further this verse talks about nor stands in the path of sinners

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The righteous man has better company to keep the first part says about the council

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The second talks about the company that he keeps the righteous man keeps the company of the righteous

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Although a sinner himself He is a blood -washed sinner made alive by the

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Holy Spirit and renewed in heart Standing in the rich graces of God.

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He does not traffic in the multitude of evil Nor sits in the seat of the scornful.

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It made me think for a moment what it meant to scorn To scorn is to have extreme content and disdain for a person or an object

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Deeming whatever that person or object is to be lesser than And The person thinking that thinks of himself better than we can see this quite a bit in our day.

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Can we not? Whether we see it in the Twitter crowd or in the media the elite utter have utter and complete disdain for the

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Christian they consider us bitter clingers to our

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Bibles that were Corn cones and rubes country bumpkins the village idiots

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The scornful may see themselves as being cool But the

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Bible has another name for them that rhymes with cool and that is fool Psalm 14 once as the fool has said in his heart there is no

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God Think of the scornful examples that we have in the Bible Remember when

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Moses went to the old covenant people of God and they said we will not have this man rule over us

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They scorned him or perhaps Alicia when the youths scorned him

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Crying out you baldhead But the greatest example was our

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Lord himself While he was on the cross the religious leaders

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Openly scorned him. He saved others Himself he cannot save and they wagged the head and felt of themselves better than Christ The righteous man the blessed man finds no rest

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No use for this scoffing Others may mock sin Laugh it off Others may mock eternity of heaven and hell

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Even God himself But the righteous man has learned the deep things of God and cannot endure to be in the presence of those who blaspheme

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We must also admit that the seat of the scornful is lofty and attractive

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It seems to appeal to our pride. Does it not we can see

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That it is attractive It is looks to be the place of power.

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It looks to be the place of riches. It looks to be the place of fame and that speaks to us in Our sinfulness and the things it is no wonder that Paul warns us about the world the flesh and the devil it says that because all of our members agree with it and the seat of the scornful is

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One of those things that so attracts us They seem to be in such a high place

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But yet their seat is very near to the gates of hell And I would like to point out the degradation on this verse.

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You'll notice that there's walking They're standing and they're sitting

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This is a living example that God is giving us that the sinful man goes from bad to worse

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He may start out merely walking in the council of the ungodly Forgetting God and sinning practically, but he's not habitually sinning

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You may have remembrance if you're if you're like me who were converted in adulthood Those times when you entered into the way of the council of the wicked

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After sin has become habitual They stand in the way of open sinners and willfully violate the commands of God But as they continue in that company and they continue to sin they grow more and more into the scoffer becoming teachers and tempters of Others to engage into the sin which they themselves engage

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This should remind us of what we read in Romans 1 After that long list of Sins, remember in Romans 1

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Paul tells us that there is not a single person who has ever lived That does not know that there's a

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God So much for the atheist so much for the agnostic Romans 1 tells us every single person who has ever lived and will live

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Knows that there's a God and it goes on to give this long list of sins that in itself is

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Degraded it's going from bad to worse But at the very end

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It says that those who practice them Also encourage others to do them

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To engage in those sins. That's the scoffer That's to sit in the seat of the scoffer

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Verse 1 is teaching us to beware of life and keep the life ways of life and keeping in the company of sinners

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It warns us of the progressive nature as I just talked about of sin the sinfulness of sin

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That's something that very rarely gets talked about The sinfulness of sin.

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We all know that each and every sin that we've ever committed no matter how small is

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Is guilty of the judgment and deserving of damnation But have you ever thought of the sinfulness of your sin?

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The ease to which sin comes on Mary men Rarely fall in the great sin at once.

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Yes men do sin greatly But we often think of sin as being that cliff a precipice that they walk up to and fall over But C .S.

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Lewis reminds us that the way of sin is often a gentle slope Soft underfoot.

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This is what some the first verse of this song warns us of The blessed man the righteous man the truly converted man to God has no communion with Folks like this he comes away from the wicked he like Moses Esteems the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt and the treasures of this world

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The New Testament puts it this way do not be conformed to this world We are in the world, but we are not to be of the world may

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God grant us the grace to separate ourselves from sinner Moving on to the second verse it shows us a positive description of the blessed man

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But his delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law.

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He meditates day and night His delight is in the law of the

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Lord First I think we have to put out there in order for us to delight in anything.

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We must know it We must know the Word of God. We must know what it says.

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We must know its contents We must not casually read it We must make it something that we can truly delight in think of this for a moment

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What if I was to say or any husband were to say that I really delight in my wife and then you were to say?

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Oh, how often do you spend time with her? Oh, not at all. None Zero, I mean we spent time some years ago, but I haven't spent any time

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You would think it very odd for me to say that I delight in my wife if I didn't spend any time with her

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So it is with God's Word. We must spend time in God's Word in order to delight in it

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But here it's not doesn't say God's Word. It says the law of God What is the law of the

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Lord? well it is not simply the dues and do nots that we may see listed in the

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Ten Commandments or in the five book of Moses or Anywhere else in scriptures.

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Yes, it's included But it's much broader than that The law gives us the breakdown of the general character of our father in God's Word we see the character of God Made very sharp in Relief in the law of God and So that's why the scripture here points us to the law of God as the epitome of God's Word That we should look to that law that we can see embodied in it the character of God if we are to delight in the

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Lord Remember what the Westminster shorter catechism first question says what is the chief end of man?

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To glorify God and enjoy him forever How will we enjoy him by delighting in the things that God delights in and what does he delight in his law?

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his word Psalm 119 is perhaps the greatest song is about the law of the

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Lord It opens with a with almost the same exact tone that we see in the first Psalm Blessed are the undefiled in the way who walk in the law of the

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Lord very similar language there But Psalm 119 also tells us very much about the law of the

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Lord how it is a nourishment and a comfort that is sweeter Than honey, and it is a light for our feet and for our path the righteous man the blessed man is not under the law as A curse or a condemnation

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We just gloriously sang that last verse of and can it be no condemnation now

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I dread What a great great verse The blessed man is not under condemnation yet He is in the law as a rule and guide for his life.

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The law of the Lord is his daily bread We just prayed through the Lord's Prayer today

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Give us this day our daily bread. And yes that does mean our food But it means so much more for man does not live by bread alone.

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We learn from our Lord quoting Deuteronomy 8 but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God and In his law, he meditates day and night

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Well, what does this mean I would like to throw out that it means that we meditate on it day and night all the time

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That we should consider it not only just read it consider Think about apply it

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Focus on the law of the Lord and how it implies applies to each area of our life

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This may remind us or should remind us of what we read in Deuteronomy 6

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Where in that particular case God is reminding what parents should do

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Right is to teach the law of the Lord to their children, but listen how he puts it You shall teach them diligently to your children what the commandments of God and shall talk to them talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up in short all the time

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These should things should be in front of you These verses go on to say they should be like frontlets to your eyes or things or a doorpost to your gate

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Right again the analogy of the husband and wife Can I truly say that I love my wife if I don't ever think about her if I don't ever consider

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Let's say you asked me that. Hey, what was the last time you throw it? I don't know Can't remember you would think it very odd indeed if I said that Do we delight in the

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Lord? Do we delight in his laws? Do those today receive positive blessings by meditating on his word now think about that for a moment

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Said the the blessed man is not like this and we can content ourselves

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With not trafficking in the counsel of the ungodly nor sitting Standing rather with the sinners in the way of sinners or sitting in the seat of scornful

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But if we neglect the second part Meditating in the law of the

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Lord I would say that we won't be can we won't be standing or sitting or staying out of the way of sinners for very long

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There are two sides of the same coin It is important for us to stay away from those things

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But it is equally as important for the full blessing as we prayed earlier to read mark memorize and Meditate on God's Word if we do then we will receive the full blessing

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Moving on to verse 3 we see what that blessing looks like He that is the righteous man.

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The blessed man shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water of water that brings forth its fruit in its season whose leaf also shall not wither and Whatever he does shall prosper

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Like a tree. I don't know what came to your mind when we read this whether it would be an oak tree or a palm tree

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Or an apple tree or some other type of tree, but one thing that we do know it's not a wild tree

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It is a cultivated tree a planted tree a cared for tree a chosen tree

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It is a tree that is cared for and planted by God himself

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It is a tree We are trees that our fear are other free from the fear of what we read in Matthew 1513 when

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Jesus said this and he answered and said every plant tree Which my Heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted

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We will not be uprooted. We are planted by rivers of water

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Remember a few weeks back pastor Breno We brought to us

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Romans 6 and in Romans 6 5 We heard this for if we have been united together in the likeness of his death

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Certainly we will we shall also be in the likeness of his resurrection Talking about baptism there to be united.

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We Earlier this week or other late last week We had the opportunity to witness a baptism and it reminded us of being united But in the

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King James Version the word that's translated united is planted That we are planted in the

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Lord Jesus Christ That we were planted in good soil This is the good seed that was so we may be thinking of that in the parable of the sower you remember that that some seed was cast in an area of rocky ground and the birds of the air came and snatched it other seed was scattered in Shallow earth where it was received gladly but died out it withered

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Because it didn't have any root Some seed was scattered and was received with gladness, but when the cares of the world and Various temptations came it bore no fruit in those but then there was seed that was scattered on good ground and It bore much fruit some 30 some 60 and some 100 fold

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That is the seed that is planted in the soil of the Lord Note that if this is a it doesn't say river but rivers

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Right, and I think to me this brought to the to the attention the idea of living water

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You may be familiar with this that older thinkers looked at rivers as being alive

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We could see it flow right if you go to a lake it just looked placid

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There's no movement, but not rivers. These are rivers of grace

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Rivers of pardon rivers of promise rivers of communion with Christ a never -failing river

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We immediately may have our minds go to John 4 Where our

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Lord was talking to the woman by the well and said for those who believe in me

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They will have living water welling up to them for everlasting life or we may recall the river in Ezekiel's vision that grows wider and Deeper as it flows from the temple of God But we also may think of that river in the book of Revelation That flows from the throne of God.

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This is a tree that is well nourished by the Lord But it isn't just a tree that's there planted that it brings forth fruit in its season

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Fruitfulness is the essential quality of the righteous man But note that it says fruit in its season

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That means there'll be young men fruit and old men fruit young women fruit and older women fruit

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Each according to its season we can think of Ecclesiastes 3 There's a season for everything under heaven the youngest newborn

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Christian bears fruit The oldest Christian who has walked with the

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Lord for decades also bears fruit But fruit in its season may apply to the cares and things of life

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Fruits of patience and the day of suffering fruits of faith and the day of trial

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Holy joy in the hour of prosperity But one thing that we should bring to our minds is that what we see in Galatians 5 the fruit of the

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Spirit And that fruit is love love for God and love for neighbor and remember that this fruit of love is the key characteristic of the

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Christian They will know that you are my followers or my believers or that you are

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Christians by the love you have for one another joy in the knowledge and the blessing of the

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Lord in all Circumstances peace and that's that peace that passes all understanding long -suffering patience

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Gentleness like Christ who a Bruise read he would not break and a smoking flax.

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He would not quench and perhaps the hardest fruit of all self -control

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This is a most needed fruit But remember that fruit is is and must be

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Cultivated. Yes. This is a work of God. Yes. It is the work of the Spirit in our lives, but we too

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Can cultivate our fruit? We have for several months now been considering the spiritual disciplines by Don Whitney these are ways for us to Cultivate our own fruit by Bible intake prayer worship service evangelism and so forth

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But it's not just fruit We read here also whose leaf shall not wither

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Yes, we will have Fruit to bear and that fruit will preserve to the end but also will the leaf

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We shall be strong and full of sap in green we think of Psalm 92 14

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Especially those as we get older that we can think of things like that that we will not wither

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The righteous blessed man will not lose his fruitfulness or his beauty

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For we unlike the seed planted in shallow ground have a deep root.

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We will not wither and It goes on to say and whatever he does he shall prosper

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This is a tremendous blessing But it is not the prosperity of the health and welfare

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Gospel who promised your best life now who promised you material blessing in this world

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But we have to admit and we must remember that we cannot always judge

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The blessings of in this life that God's give us gives us merely by what we see

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We may look at our lives and see with our eyes things that look like the exact opposite of a blessing

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Trials tribulations difficulties it is not the outward prosperity that we look for and Most desire but rather the inward prosperity the ones that require the eyes of faith to see

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Sometimes our worst things the worst things that we experience on our life are the best things for us

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We can think now here of pruning Many of you have seen trees that have been pruned to a point where they look not nothing more than the trunk of a tree over this winter we have this plant in our yard that when it got really cold all of the

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Branches turned brown and died Sheila went out and broke those branches off and it looks beautiful.

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It's gorgeous Sometimes our blessings are like that. They look hard and are difficult

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But let's not look at in the Psalms Where they point to the wicked they say the wicked seem to prosper look at them

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We have to remember this that there's a curse wrapped up in the wicked man's mercies and Prosperity just as much as there is a blessing

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Concealed in the righteous man's trials and sorrows It is a tremendous promise that we have in Romans 8 28

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And we know that all things Work together for good It does not say that all things are good

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But they work together for good to those who love God to those who are the called according to his purpose

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Moving on to verse 4 we have that great contrast with the ungodly and a very simplistic statement

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The ungodly are not so The contrast with the wicked is to show us what the wicked will weep reap rather But also to show us even more the blessings of the righteous man other

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Translations have this like the Septuagint or the Vulgate emphasize this not so the ungodly not so Just as that blessed word at the beginning of the psalm was a repeated the blessedness upon blessedness

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Here it is not so not so a repeat there that says that this is a sure and solid thing the ungodly will not receive the blessing

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Here the ungodly is the character of the ungodly and their destination are revealed for us.

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They are like chaff and If you don't know what chaff is when those who harvest wheat have the kernels of wheat

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They throw it up in the air and the light paper like skin that was around the the berry of the wheat flies off and the in the wheat kernel drops down and The chaff blows away in case anybody is wondering what chaff is good for Absolutely, nothing

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Not a thing They're intrinsically worthless the wicked

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The ungodly are without substance and they will easily be carried away and the wind drives them away

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Shows us that death will soon hurry them along moving on to verse 5 therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous

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They will stand Before the judgment seat of God But they will not be acquitted.

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That's what the psalmist is saying They will not stand when it comes time on that great day when the sheep are separated from the goats

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Not one goat Will be amongst the sheep The righteous will stand in judgment.

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I don't know just a side note I don't know if you've ever thought what will happen on Judgment Day when you go to stand before the

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Lord and They'll judge the wicked by the deeds that they have done and we know that we sin

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And we go to stand before God What will happen for us? Well, we can say one thing we will not be judged by our sins.

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Why? Because Christ has paid for those sins Think of that verse from that him him.

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Oh the bliss of this glorious thought My sin not the part but the whole is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more

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Even so it is well with my soul It'll be like the judgment books are open up and God the

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Father sitting or the Lord Jesus Christ sitting on the throne Will look and say I cannot read what is written here.

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It is covered in blood the blood of the Lamb but not the wicked on That day they will be like those from Luke 23 30 that our

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Lord said They will begin to cry out and say to the mountains fall on us and the hills to cover us

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But dirt and rock will be a poor covering on that day Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous now clearly they cannot be talking about the local congregation

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Because we have been told That the wheat and the tare will grow up together that there's a time when the sheep and the goats are together in the local

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Congregation, but we know that there is a day coming when that will not when that will be different And at the second coming no wicked man will be found there as I mentioned.

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No goat will be found amongst the sheep They are wholly unfitted

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For the world to come Even Between now and the second coming when we go if we die before the

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Lord returns and we go to be with the Lord There will be no unredeemed unrepentant sinner in heaven

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For those who are familiar with CS Lewis's the great divorce. There's a there's a picture of this

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Where the the there's people who come from hell to go to the outskirts of heaven They can't stand to be in that place.

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It is wholly unsuited for him To be in the congregation of the righteous will never be granted to a man who perseveres and his iniquities

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And this brings us to the last verse verse 6 For the Lord knows the ways of the righteous or the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly

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Should perish the Hebrew here is almost saying the Lord is knowing the way of the righteous

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And We might ask ourselves. Wait a minute. I thought God knew everything.

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I thought God was omniscient. He knows everything well there's a great difference between knowing about and knowing intimately and many of you know that in Hebrew that the term no is to know intimately

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Talks about Adam knowing his wife It talks about the level of God knowing those

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Intimately this is an intimate knowledge not just to know but remember that proverb I quoted before Proverbs 3 5 and 6 he directs the paths of the righteous

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Regardless of how dark the way may look how hard it is for us to see the storms of affliction and doubt that come

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Upon us yet, even the valley of the shadow of death The Lord knows the paths he is directing out

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And we should not fear Job 23 10 gives us a picture of this

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He says but he knows the way that I take when he has tested me.

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I shall come forth like gold That's the that's that's it. That's what the righteous man receives.

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That's the blessing But the wicked their way will perish Think of that promise we have in the in the

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Old Testament That the righteous those who fear the Lord will have a legacy to a thousand generations

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But the wicked man His way not only will he perish but his way will perish and he will not be remembered

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Anymore, and if he is remembered it will be remembered as bad as rot as a byword as a stench in the nostrils of the godly but as we sit here and think about this song and many of us know this song and Rejoice greatly when we see it

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There's something that we should take note of notice in that very first verse blessed is the man

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When it transitions to the wicked it says the ungodly There's a definite emphasis here on the man

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And if we were to be honest with ourselves If we were to look at this and to say have

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I? Walked in the council of the ungodly Have I?

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stood in the way of sinners Have I sat with the seat in the seat with the scornful in other words what we might call this in summary sin

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Do I sin? And Oftentimes and I was reminded this last week

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The Westminster shorter catechism question for 14 asked what is sin? It says sin is any want of conformity unto or transgression of the law of God Basically that sins of omission and sins of commission and when we think about this and it's laid out here for us in our psalm today we automatically go to to a

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Sins of commission walking standing sitting But David puts it a different way for us in psalm 24

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He says who may ascend the hill of the Lord and in the Old Testament That's a euphemism to who may go into the presence of the

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Lord He who has clean hands and a pure heart

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Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol no suit nor sworn deceitfully

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He shall receive the blessing from the Lord. It says there that's what we have here a picture of one who neither commits a sin or Omits a sin and as I was thinking about this

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When we think of a sin of omission we need think of only one thing You may remember and our

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Lord's ministry that he was confronted by the Scribes and Pharisees and he was asked

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What is the greatest commandment? And he answered you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul and with all your mind

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And he said this is the first and great commandment and the second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself

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I don't know about you But I have never loved the

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Lord with all of my being or as my neighbor as myself

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I do not have clean hands or a pure heart. I Have walked in the way of the ungodly

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Stood in the path of sinners in the seat of scoffers So clearly this blessing would not be to me.

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I am NOT that man And I dare say none of us are But we know who he is

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His name is Jesus When tempted in every way

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He did not sin He was tempted to stand to walk in the way of the ungodly

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He was tempted to stand in the way of sinners. He was tempted to sit in the seat of the scornful

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He has clean hands and a pure heart He never lifted his soul to an idol or spoke

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Deceitfully he earned The blessing of God We might ask ourselves.

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What about us? I'll bring you back to what we considered in Romans 6

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We have been planted in him, but Paul puts it differently in Ephesians 1 3

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So 6 3 through 6 blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every

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Spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ Just as he chose us in him from the foundation of the world that we should be holy

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And without blame before him in love having predestined us to be to the adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his will

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To the praise of the glory of his grace By which he has made us accepted in the beloved

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That's what it means to be planted in Christ. We are united with Christ We are adopted sons of God co -heirs with Christ We are recipients of that great transaction our sin for his righteous righteousness

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We can joyfully read this psalm and not look at our shortcomings But think of that blessing that is from us and how do we?

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receive this We look to the author and finisher of our faith as we know in that song that him we turn our eyes upon Jesus and look full in his wonderful face and The cares of this world will grow strangely dim and the light of his glory and grace for those who are in Christ Jesus you are

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That tree planted by the waters and you are in him Let us pray

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Gracious Heavenly Father We are thankful that we have worshipped you this day

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That we have been able to ascend your mountain and come into your presence

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We pray father with thanksgiving for this blessing, which you have granted us in Christ And we pray father that you will never allow us to forget these things

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But having them imprinted on our hearts, we may know the grace which you have given us

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We ask these things in the blessed name of Christ I'd like to ask a volunteer if I may to come and miles.

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Would you be willing to come and As we come to our time of offering and pray tithe and when miles has come up to the front

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Let us stand

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Heavenly Father We are thankful that you have blessed us That we you have blessed us with not only spiritual blessings

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But also material blessings we are thankful now Lord to return a portion of those blessings

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To you for the work in your kingdom. We pray father that as we have given

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With thankful hearts that this would be of use to your kingdom and we ask this in Jesus's name

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Amen let us rejoice in the glory of God by singing the glory of pottery

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Lord be with you Lift up your hearts Let us give thanks to the

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Lord It is right and good and a joyful thing

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That we should at all times and in all places give thanks to you Oh Holy Lord Father Almighty everlasting

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God Because you sent your beloved son to redeem us from sin and death and to make us heirs in him of everlasting life

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That when he shall come again Empower and great triumph to judge the world we may without shame of fear rejoice to behold is appearing

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Therefore with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven

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We praise and magnify your glorious name evermore praising you and singing

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Let us join our voices with great joy to praise

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God through the doxology Let us pray

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Gracious Heavenly Father We are thankful to have come to that mountain that cannot be judged to worship you in spirit and in truth

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We are thankful Lord that you have graced us with your presence in our singing and in our prayers

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We thank you that you have spoken to us through your word your word read and your word preached

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We are thankful for all these blessings and the promises that you have given us and that they are all yes and amen in Christ Jesus We ask you now to send us out from this service into the world

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Granting us grace to proclaim the gospel and your glory to the lost world

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That we would be so motivated to go forth singing and saying thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our

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Lord Jesus Christ We ask for these things and more also in the name of Jesus Christ our