Hebrews 2:1

Well, we have been preaching verse by verse through the book of Romans, and we have spent the past two weeks in chapter 6 thinking about what it means to be set free from sin.

! I have been attempting to help you see the tightrope we walk as Christians, knowing that we are saved by grace alone through faith alone and the personal work of Jesus Christ alone,

but also knowing that if we have been saved, set free from the power of sin, given a new nature, then our faith will be a faith that works in the pursuit of holiness.

I do not think that I have done a good job of helping the church see this careful tension over the past decade and a half.

It seems to me that I have overemphasized sanctification as evidence of justification.

Not an untruth, but perhaps a truth with too much emphasis.

I want you to know that this comes from a desire for you to persevere, but the imbalance comes from a reaction to the cheap grace preaching of our day.

Perhaps you remember me recently reading from John MacArthur's commentary.

There he wrote,

Perhaps the most common reason why Christians find it hard to believe they are freed from sin's tyranny while they are still on earth,

is that their continued battle with sin seems almost constantly to contradict that truth.

If they have a new holy disposition and sin's control has truly been broken,

they wonder, why are they still so strongly tempted, and why do they so often succumb?

So this morning, I want to step away from Romans 6 before we complete it, Lord willing, next week,

and I just want to encourage you.

The planned text for today, sufficient for the task.

Verses 15 through 23.

It can be accomplished there, but not the way I wrote it this week.

So I'd like to labor with it a bit more that we might get that balance correct in that text.

In Isaiah chapter 42 and verse 3, it is prophesied of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Isaiah 42 · chapter mention

A bruised reed he will not break,

and a faintly burning wick he will not quench.

And I think that most people in our church are like me, are hard on themselves.

I am my own worst critic.

I don't think Satan has any concern with being an accuser to me,

because I take care of it all on my own.

I think perhaps because we're a church that takes the Bible seriously,

because we care about holiness,

perhaps because people can tend to be attracted to the preaching of someone who feels the way they feel.

We're kind of alike in this way.

So, this morning you may feel beaten down.

You may feel like the flame of your faith is just barely lit.

You are in good company.

I often feel this way.

Many of us do.

In fact, as I just searched,

kind of thinking towards the end of this week,

perhaps not the way I wrote Romans 6, 15 through 23.

This text that were coming to my mind,

things that we had preached on before,

I thought, oh, that's a good, encouraging text to this point.

And I would go and I would read those sermons and go,

whew, that was really hard on us in that particular passage.

And so I just want to be an encouragement to us today.

I want to prod at us,

help us to consider the completed work of Christ on our behalf.

And we're going to do that by looking at Hebrews chapter 2, verse 1.

Hebrews 2:1

Before I read it, let me remind you, beloved,

that this is God's word to us,

written for his glory and our good.

And so we would do well to listen to it

in order to believe its promises.

Let me emphasize that part of this thing I say when I preach.

Believe its promises and obey its commands.

Hebrews 2 and verse 1.

Therefore, we must pay much closer attention

to what we have heard,

lest we drift away from it.

There is one exhortation or encouragement in today's text,

and it is the ruling or overarching exhortation

of the entire letter to the Hebrew people.

The original audience for Hebrews

is a church of Hellenistic Jews,

think Greek-speaking Jews,

that had not seen Jesus,

but they had heard the gospel and believed.

Most likely a small church meeting on the outskirts of Rome.

They had endured much suffering to this point,

and the author is anticipating that they will suffer further.

So there exists among them the temptation

to forsake their faith in Jesus Christ

and return to Judaism.

Jews practicing Judaism

had long been accepted in the Roman Empire,

and this remained true

in the days that this letter was written.

So they're being tugged at.

Perhaps we can still worship God in that way,

this way that won't cost us

our possessions and our comfort and our lives.

And apostasy had already happened in the life of the church,

so there's lots of warning in this letter.

And we find that there's an accompany warning in this verse.

And we're not going to neglect it altogether,

but we're going to focus our energy together

on the exhortation from the letter.

Therefore, we must pay much closer attention

to what we have heard.

The exhortation begins with a therefore,

and as you may be thinking,

how is this text meant to encourage me this morning?

Well, here it is.

Everything contained within that therefore.

That is what is meant to be an encouragement to you today.

The therefore refers back to all that the author has said

of Jesus Christ in chapter 1.

Now, we don't have time this morning

to unpack all of chapter 1.

Perhaps we could fly over it,

but I think that would be unfair to you.

So we're just going to look at two verses from chapter 1.

Hebrews chapter 1, verse 2 and verse 3.

Hebrews 1:2

So let me read verse 1 just to get us into verse 2 and 3.

Long ago, at many times and in many ways,

God spoke to our fathers by the prophets.

But in these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son,

whom He appointed the heir of all things,

through whom also He created the world.

He is the radiance of the glory of God

and the exact imprint of His nature.

And He upholds the universe by the word of His power.

After making purification for sins,

He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.

Behold, in these two verses,

the supremacy and the finality of Jesus Christ.

Kent Hughes, a contemporary pastor,

in his commentary on this text, said,

the grand theme of these verses

is the supremacy of Christ as God's final word.

Christ is held up like a great jewel

to the sunlight of God's revelation.

And as the light courses through it,

seven facets flash with gleaming brilliance.

Christ's supremacy and His finality

is refracted for us to consider.

This is the encouragement this morning,

who Christ is and what He's accomplished.

So let's give these seven refractions,

titles, to help us in our study.

Christ is, so this is an outline if you care for it.

I'll repeat these.

But Christ is an inheritor,

a creator, a sustainer,

a radiator, a representer,

a purifier, and a ruler.

So first, Christ is an inheritor.

We see in verse 2,

whom He, God, appointed the heir of all things.

It follows that because Jesus is the Son of God,

then He is also the heir of God.

The writer of Hebrews identifies for us

Jesus Christ as the anointed and Son of Psalm 2

when He cites Psalm 2-7 in chapter 1 and verse 5.

You are my Son.

Today I have begotten you.

He's referring to Psalm 2.

In Psalm 2 and verse 8,

the psalmist writes,

Ask of me,

and I will make the nations your heritage

and the ends of the earth your possession.

Referring to this anointed one.

So Psalm 2 teaches us

that the inheritance of Jesus Christ

is the earth and its peoples.

But Colossians chapter 1 and verse 6

Colossians 1 · chapter mention

teaches us that all things,

so the very cosmos themselves,

were created for Him.

Him.

But not only that, beloved,

if you are in Christ Jesus,

then you,

specifically you,

are His inheritance.

You belong to Him.

Through the sacrificial work of Jesus Christ

on the cross,

He has purchased you

and He treasures you

as His inheritance.

In Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 18,

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

Paul tells the Ephesian believers

that He always prays

that they may know

what are the riches

of His glorious inheritance

in the saints.

What an astounding truth.

But not only are we Christ's inheritance,

we are also His co-heirs.

Heirs.

In Romans 8 and verse 17,

Paul calls us heirs,

heirs of God

and fellow heirs

with Christ.

Christ is the heir of all things.

He is the heir of God,

but as followers of Christ,

we are found in Him,

so we are also heirs.

1 Corinthians chapter 3,

1 Corinthians 3:21

verse 21 and following says,

So let no one boast in men,

for all things are yours,

whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas

or the world or life or death

or the present or the future,

all are yours,

and you are Christ's,

and Christ is God's.

We are heirs with Christ.

Secondly, Christ is creator.

Verse 2 says that God created the world

through Him.

Not only does Christ inherit all things,

but He also created all things.

The Greek word here,

translated world,

could be more literally translated ages.

And it is a wonderful word

because it includes all things.

Not only space,

but also time.

Brooke Westcott,

who was a 19th century British theologian,

defines this Greek word in this way.

The sum of the periods of time,

including all that is manifested

in and through them,

an order which exists through time,

developed in successive stages.

Everything,

all of it,

forever,

was created by Christ.

Our galaxy is an average-sized spiral galaxy.

Those of you who know me

know I like this kind of stuff.

It's over 100,000 light years across,

which is 600 trillion miles.

I dare you to comprehend a number like that.

600 trillion miles across our galaxy.

We can see with modern telescopes

about 100,000 million galaxies.

Each galaxy contains

100,000 million stars.

The average distance between these galaxies

is 3 million light years.

This is astounding.

The universe is absolutely astounded.

And it was created by and for Christ.

John 1 and verse 3,

All things were made through Him,

and without Him was not anything made

that was made.

1 Corinthians 8 and verse 6,

Yet for us there is one God,

the Father,

from whom are all things

and for whom we exist,

and one Lord Jesus Christ,

through whom are all things

and through whom we exist.

Colossians chapter 1 and verse 16,

Colossians 1 · chapter mention

For by Him all things were created,

in heaven and on earth,

visible and invisible,

whether thrones or dominions

or rulers or authorities,

all things were created

through Him and for Him.

And Romans 11 and verse 36,

For from Him and through Him

and to Him are all things.

To Him be glory forever.

Amen.

Amen.

The cosmos were created

that we might praise Christ.

And we are a new creation, beloved,

for the praise of Christ.

2 Corinthians 5 and verse 17,

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,

he is a new creation.

Behold, it's passed away.

Behold, the new has come.

Christ is the creator of all things,

including us.

A powerful word has spoken all things

for the praise of God into existence.

Not only is Christ the creator,

He's also the sustainer.

Verse 3 tells us that He upholds the universe

by the word of His power.

Jesus Christ created all things.

And sustains them, keeps them going.

He actively sustains by the word of His power.

That means that Jesus says to the world,

move like this.

Behave like that.

Rain here, snow there,

and the world obeys.

This means that nothing will cease to do

exactly as it is told

until Jesus says to do otherwise.

I think that's very cool.

Jonathan Edwards,

one of the greatest minds

that this country has ever produced,

much less greatest theological minds,

he's often given credit for being

just one of the greatest minds,

believed in something that he called

continuous creation.

And that was to say that he thought

that the world was being created

moment by moment,

spoken into existence moment by moment.

And to be frank,

this makes my head explode

because I am no Jonathan Edwards,

in case you were unclear about that.

But just listen to what he says.

It's just fascinating.

So, quote,

It is plain,

nothing can exert itself or operate

when and where it is not existing

because what is past entirely ceases

when present existence begins.

It does no more coexist with it

than it does any other moment

that had ceased 20 years ago.

Here's my dumb summary of that.

The past does not have the power

to sustain that which is in the present

or in the future.

I believe that's what he just said.

But he goes on.

Here's the part I want to get you to.

Quote,

God's upholding created substance

or causing its existence

in each successive moment

is altogether equivalent

to an immediate production

out of nothing

at each moment

because its existence at this moment

is not merely in part from God

but wholly from him

and not in any part or degree

from its antecedent existence.

He's saying the past ceased to exist

in the past,

so the present must exist

by the power of God.

Now,

you could rewind this idea

of continuous creation

and hear that whatever he's saying

is that Christ,

by the word of his power,

holds us together.

Have you ever really considered

what it is that keeps us together?

Why is it that our atoms exist

the way our atoms exist

and that those atoms exist together?

There are scientific explanations for this.

I understand.

But I just want to posit to you

that if Christ would cease

holding us together

by the word of his power,

what makes us up

would just fly off into oblivion.

In a moment,

it would all be gone.

Christ is the sustainer.

If Jesus Christ has the power

to sustain the universe,

the cosmos,

then, beloved,

he has the power

to sustain our faith.

As feeble as it can be at times,

he can hold that together.

This is why Paul was able to say

with such confidence

to the Philippian believers

in Philippians 1-6,

I am sure of this,

that he who began a good work in you

will bring it to completion

at the day of Christ.

Christ is the sustainer.

Notice fourthly

that Christ is the radiator.

We see in verse 3,

he's the radiance of the glory of God.

Radiance here is a better translation

than the oft-used reflection.

Maybe your translation this morning

says reflection.

The moon reflects the light of the sun.

The sun, though, radiates that light.

Jesus does not merely reflect God's glory,

he is part and parcel of God's glory.

He is part of the source of that glory.

John writes in John 1 and verse 18,

no one has ever seen God,

the only God, referring to Jesus,

who is at the Father's side,

he has made him known.

The Nicene Creed,

325 A.D.,

an important confession,

states,

we believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,

the only Son of God,

begotten from the Father

before all ages,

God from God,

light from light,

true God from true God,

begotten not made

of the same essence

as the Father.

And this is what

the biblical evidence bears out,

including Hebrews 1 and verse 3.

Jesus is God,

so when we see Jesus,

we see God.

And this is an astounding reality

for us living in the New Testament era.

Colossians chapter 1 and verse 15 says,

Colossians 1 · chapter mention

Jesus is the image

of the invisible God.

Christ is the radiator.

Christ is also the representer.

Verse 3 says,

he's the exact imprint

of God's nature,

of his nature.

Now this phrase balances out

the previous phrase.

Jesus as God's radiance

speaks to his oneness

with the Father.

Jesus as God's representer

or imprint

speaks to his distinctness

as the Son.

So the author of Hebrews

gives us a taste

of the mystery

that is the Trinitarian nature

of God.

Many people have attempted

to give some analogy for this

and they all fail miserably,

which is why I never try.

Beloved, this reality

of the triune nature of God

should move us

to odd speculation.

A God who is one

but three in one.

A mystery that I look forward

to having unraveled

in glory.

I often joke,

you may know,

that I feel like

there's going to be

a frequently asked questions

video when we arrive

in that day.

They're just going to be like,

hey, wait, wait, wait,

hold the questions.

An old VHS will be popped in

to help us understand

these types of glorious truths.

But I don't know

that we're going to fully comprehend

this one ever.

It's possible

that we may explore

the glory of this God

one but three in one

forever.

We might constantly be becoming

new revelation,

awe and wonder

and worship

for eternity.

Now, exact imprint

refers to the image

on a coin made by a die.

So a stamp,

an exact imprint.

Once again,

when we see Jesus,

we see God.

We know how He thinks.

We know how He speaks.

We know how He feels.

We know how He relates

to mankind broadly.

We know how He relates

to us as His people.

God has spoken to us

in His Son.

And listen to what Jesus says.

There's one thing

from Matthew chapter 11,

Matthew 11:28

verse 28 and 29.

Come to Me,

all who labor

and are heavy laden,

and I will give you rest.

Take My yoke upon you

and learn from Me,

for I am gentle

and lowly in heart,

and you will find rest

for your souls.

So Jesus,

as the

representer of God,

we do have the confidence

that when He speaks,

He speaks to us

from Him,

and that we can find

rest for our souls

in Christ,

the representer.

Sixth,

Christ is

the purifier.

Once again,

verse 3

says,

after making

purification

for sins,

Jesus Christ

is the supreme

priest.

He was the agent

of the purification

for our sins

and the sacrifice

necessary

for that

purification.

He is the supreme

priest

and

the final

priest.

We no longer

have a need

for sacrifice,

and we no longer

have a need

for a priest

to offer that

sacrifice

on our

behalf.

That's why

in this church,

you will never

hear an altar

call,

because we do

not have

altars

in a New Testament

church.

Christ died

once for all.

The sacrifice

has been made.

Maybe someone

will ask you

to come

to the stage,

but there is

no altar here,

and there is

no priest

except

for the Lord

Jesus Christ.

The author

of Hebrews

will go on

to expand

on both

of these

realities,

that he

is the

sacrifice,

and he

is the

great

high priest.

In his

letter in

Hebrews

Hebrews 10 · chapter mention

chapter 10,

listen to

verse 11

and following.

There he

writes,

and every

priest stands

daily at

his service,

offering

repeatedly

the same

sacrifices,

which can

never

take away

sins.

They're

always meant

to point

us to a

greater

sacrifice

than is

Christ.

Verse 12,

but when

Christ

had offered

for all

time

a single

sacrifice

for sins,

he sat

down

at the

right hand

of God.

Sat down,

so significant,

waiting from

that time

until his

enemies

should be

made a

footstool

for his

feet.

For by

a single

offering,

he has

perfected

for all

time

those

who are

being

sanctified.

By that

single

offering,

he guaranteed

the purchase

of his

church

and their

perfection

through time.

He guaranteed

the thing

would be

accomplished

that is

now

being

accomplished.

John

John 19 · chapter mention

chapter 19

and verse

30,

Christ said,

it is

finished.

And he

bowed his

head and

he gave

up his

spirit.

Romans

Romans 6 · chapter mention

chapter 6

and verse

10,

for the

death he

died,

he died

to sin

once

for all.

But the

life he

lives,

he lives

to God.

He has

completed it.

He is the

purifier.

It is an

accomplished

work.

And

seventh,

Christ is

the ruler.

He sat

down,

verse 3

says,

at the

right hand

of the

majesty

on high.

Jesus

Christ does

not have to

work as

the Levitical

priests

work.

They

never

sat.

The

temple,

the

tabernacle

preceding

it,

had lots

of furniture

in it,

with lots

of purposes,

not a

single place

to sit

down.

They

never,

they were

always,

when they

were on

their shift,

continually

making

sacrifice

for the

sins

of Israel.

Meant to

teach us

something,

there is a

greater

sacrifice,

one who

will

come.

The

writer of

Hebrews'

words are

astonishing

here.

Don't

let this

be lost

on you.

The

original

hearers of

this letter

would have

taken such

courage

from this

phrase,

he sat

down at

the right

hand of

the majesty

on high.

They would

have remembered

that Jesus'

sacrificial

work is

finished,

completed.

Romans chapter

three,

verse 21 and

22,

but now the

righteousness of

God has

been manifested

apart from

the law.

Although the

law and the

prophets bear

witness to

it, the

righteousness of

God through

faith in

Jesus Christ

for all

who believed.

It is of

great significance

that Jesus is

at the right

hand of the

majesty on

high.

Having

completed that

work, the

right hand

historically was

the place of

highest honor

power and

power.

Second only to

the king was

the one that

sat at the

right hand

of the king.

Ephesians 4,

Ephesians 4:10

verse 10,

he who

descended,

being Christ,

is the one who

also ascended

far above all

the heavens

that he might

fill all

things.

Where Jesus

is now,

bodily,

is in what

is called his

session, his

reign over

all things.

Paul tells us

this session

means something

for us.

He's doing

something specific

for those who

believe in

him.

He's carrying

out a specific

task.

Romans chapter

Romans 8:31

8, verse 31

and following,

just after a

grand explanation

of God's

elective purpose,

calling together

a people for

his possession,

says,

what then

shall we say

to these

things?

If God is

for us,

who can be

against us?

He who

did not

spare his

own son,

but gave

him up for

us all,

how will

he not

also with

him graciously

give us

all things?

Who shall

bring any

charge against

God's elect?

God.

It is God

who justifies.

Who is to

condemn?

Christ Jesus

is the one

who died.

More than

that,

who was

raised,

who was at

the right

hand of

God,

who indeed

is interceding

for us.

He's making

a case for

us to God.

He sees

you in

him and

he says

mine to

God.

He belongs

to me.

She belongs

to me.

Regardless of

their performance,

but because of

mine,

they are

ours.

So Christ

is the

inheritor,

the creator,

the sustainer,

the radiator,

the representer,

the purifier,

and the

ruler.

And that's

what's contained,

at least that

is what's

contained in

the word

therefore

in Hebrews

2

and verse

1.

But let's

look at the

rest of the

verse.

Because of

Jesus'

supremacy

and finality,

we must

pay much

closer attention

to what

we have

heard.

The author

of Hebrews

is referring

to all

they knew

of Jesus,

his person,

and his

work,

which he's

referring back

to in this

therefore of

verse 2

and 1.

and then

he refers

forward to

it in

chapter 2

and verse

3 as

such a

great

salvation.

We're

to pay

much

closer

attention.

The Hebrew

verb

pay attention

is in the

present

tense,

which means

that the

author does

not have

in mind

the completion

of the

task in

any given

amount

of time.

This suggests

that one

can pay

attention,

but that we

must all

continue

paying

attention.

The work

of paying

much closer

attention

is not

a work

that will

be

completed.

We're to

pay much

closer

attention

and pay

much

closer

attention

and pay

much

closer

attention.

But note

with me

the emphasis.

Not pay

much closer

attention

to

yourself.

your successes

or your

failures.

Our faith

cannot be

sustained

if the

focus of

it

is on

ourselves.

Our faith

is sustained

by focusing

on what

we

have

heard.

Saving

and sustaining

faith must

find its

focus

on

Christ.

Just

pay attention

to what the

author of Hebrews

is saying

here.

Remember

a people

who are being

tempted

to apostatize,

to walk

away

from

the

faith.

Different

than we

may be

feeling

beat

down,

but they

were

feeling

beat

down

by being

followers

of

Christ.

And he

says to

them,

therefore

we must

pay much

closer

attention

to what

we have

heard

lest

we drift

away

from it.

Turn

your

focus

on

Christ

so

that

you

will

not

drift.

And we

don't

want to

ignore

that

warning.

We're

just

going

to

minimize

it

a bit

this

morning.

But there

is a

warning

there

that

accompanies

this

exhortation

lest

we

drift

away

from

it.

The

picture

the

author

is

painting

here

is of

a

ship

safe

at

harbor

not

having

its

anchor

properly

set,

slowly

moving

out

toward

the

danger

of

the

sea,

imperceptibly

being

drug

in

that

direction.

Now

the

ship

was a

common

early

symbol

of the

church.

You

can

see

some

examples

of

this.

1

1 Peter 3 · chapter mention

Peter

chapter

3

Peter

makes

a

connection

between

Noah

and

his

family

being

carried

safely

through

the

flood

and

the

church

being

in

Jesus

Christ.

Mark

Mark 4 · chapter mention

chapter

4

Jesus

calms

a

storm,

a

little

tossed

ship

on a

troubled

sea.

When

the symbol

of the

cross

had to

be

hidden,

it

could

be

easily

disguised

in the

mast

of a

ship.

And this

constantly

happened.

They put

crosses

in those

masts

of the

ship.

Brothers

and sisters,

this picture

of drifting

is meant

to elicit

imagery

of subtle

movement,

of movement

toward danger

made by

degrees

and increments

at a

time.

And so,

we must pay

much closer

attention and

continue

doing it

lest we

drift

from it.

later in

Hebrews,

the author

writes in

chapter 6

and verse 19

and following,

we have

this as

a sure

and steady

anchor

of the

soul,

a hope

that enters

into the

inner place

behind the

curtain

where Jesus

has gone

as a

forerunner

on our

behalf.

So notice

again that

language.

He's trying

to draw

us to

this careful

consideration,

this closer

attention

to Christ

himself,

his person

and his

work.

Him

being

the

anchor

because we

don't want

to drift

from him.

In Hebrews

Hebrews 6:7

6,

verse 7

and following,

having just

spoken of the

apostate,

the author

of Hebrews

uses a

different

metaphor.

Here he

says,

for land

that has

drunk of

the rain

that often

falls on

it and

produces

a crop

useful to

those who

forsake it

as cultivated

receives a

blessing

from God.

But if it

bears thorns

and thistles,

it is worthless

and near to

being cursed

and its

end is

to be

burned.

There's the

drifting

taking place

there.

Let us be

careful lest

we drift.

Paul speaks

of the same

concern in his

first letter

to Timothy.

Chapter 1

and verse 19,

Paul makes

mention of

Hymenaeus

and Alexander

who made

shipwreck

of their

faith by

rejecting

faith and

a good

conscience.

And then

in 1 Timothy

1 Timothy 6:20

chapter 6

verse 20

and 21

he says,

O Timothy,

guard the

deposit

entrusted

to you.

Avoid

the irreverent

babble

and contradictions

of what is

falsely

called

knowledge.

For by

professing

it,

some have

swerved

from the

faith.

Back to

Hebrews 6

Hebrews 6:9

verse 9,

though we

speak in

this way

of this

good

cultivated

soil

and this

thorn

producing

soil,

he says

there,

yet in

your

case,

beloved,

we feel

sure of

better things,

things that

belong to

salvation.

So how do

we ensure

that we are

not drifters?

Therefore,

we must pay

much closer

attention to

what we have

heard lest

we drift

away from

it.

Love the

person and

work of

Jesus

Christ.

You

will

serve

what you

love.

Set your

gaze on

him.

Recognize

that all

the promises

of God

are confirmed

in his

completed

work.

Consider it

and consider

it and

consider it

and surround

yourself with

people who

are doing

the same

and will

help you

do this.

People who

will speak

the truth

to you

when you

most desperately

need to

hear it.

Christ is

the inheritor,

the creator,

the sustainer,

the radiator,

the purifier,

and the

ruler.

In

closing,

I would

like to

read to

you a

prayer from

the Valley

of Vision,

which is a

collection of

Puritan

prayers.

And I

want you

just to

note the

great

humility and

self-awareness

and recognition

of frailty

of this

author.

The

attitude of

his heart,

which I

will assume

led him to

pay much

closer.

attention.

This is

the prayer.

You are

the blessed

God,

happy in

yourself,

source of

happiness in

your creatures,

my maker,

benefactor,

proprietor,

upholder.

You have

produced and

sustained me,

supported and

indulged me,

saved and

kept me.

you are in

every situation

able to

meet my

needs and

miseries.

May I

live by

you,

live for

you,

never be

satisfied with

my Christian

progress,

but as I

resemble Christ

and may

conformity to

his principles,

temper and

conduct grow

hourly in

my life.

Let your

unexampled

love constrain

me into

holy obedience

and render

my duty,

my delight.

If others

deem my

faith folly,

my meekness

infirmity,

my zeal

madness,

my hope

delusion,

my actions

hypocrisy,

may I

rejoice to

suffer for

your name.

Keep me

walking

steadfastly

towards the

country of

everlasting

delights,

that paradise

land which

is my true

inheritance.

Support me

by the

strength of

heaven that

I may never

turn back

or desire

false pleasures

that will

disappear

into nothing.

As I

pursue my

heavenly journey

by your

grace,

let me be

known as

a man with

no aim but

that of a

burning desire

for you and

the good and

salvation of

my fellow men.

Let's close

in prayer.