English Communion Service

Do please take your Bibles in hand once again and turn back to Leviticus 16.

! If you ever read through the book of Leviticus, you'll know Leviticus 16 is right at the very

! The first half of the book, chapters 1 through 15, deal with sacrifices and priesthood and

ritual purity in Old Testament Israel. They're all about how God's people then were to draw near to

God. Then the second half of the book, chapters 17 through 26, focus mostly on how God's people were

to live in light of having come near to him in holiness and obedience to him. They're about being

devoted to God. So the first half is about drawing near to God. The second half of the book is about

being devoted to God. And right at the very center, the hinge of the whole book is Leviticus chapter 16,

Leviticus 16 · chapter mention

the day of atonement, the holiest day in the Hebrew calendar, Yom Kippur, the day of atonement.

It is the supreme example of atoning sacrifice, how sin was dealt with for God's people. So if you want

to understand the Christian gospel, if you want to understand the meaning of the cross of our Savior,

the Lord Jesus Christ, you actually need to understand the day of atonement. This is in the background.

This gives us, if you like, something of a key to unlock the significance of what was happening that

day at Calvary. Leviticus 16 is the climax of the book of Leviticus. It is actually the literary heart

of the whole of the Mosaic law. And it's not just about drawing near to God, but really about how God

draws near to us. How God reconciles sinners to himself by means of the Lamb of God,

the Lord Jesus Christ. As we look at it together, we're going to consider four things.

First, I want us to think about the peril we must face, the danger, the peril we must face. We can't

deal with everything, all the details in this chapter, but to try and see the big picture, first,

the peril we must face. That's in verses 1 and 2, and again in verses 12 and 13. The presence of the

holy God is a fearful reality, the peril we must face, the danger we're in. And then secondly,

I want us to think about the priest that we really need. The peril we must face, and then the priest

that we need in verses 3 through 5, and especially in 11 through 14. The high priest, we read, is

alone permitted to perform this holy ceremony in the holy place. And yet, the details of the ceremony

all underscore and highlight the inadequacy of this man, the high priest, to really secure atonement for

anyone, not for himself, not for Israel. We need a better high priest, one who has no sin of his own,

the Lord Jesus Christ, the peril we must face, the priest that we so badly need. Thirdly,

I want us to think about the provision that we are given. We'll look at the sacrifices themselves.

These two goats, one that is slaughtered and the other that's sent out into the wilderness,

together comprising a single sacrifice. And we'll think about their significance, how

in the symbolism of these two goats, full, complete, perfect atonement for our sin is provided

in the one to whom they point us, the Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. And then finally,

the penitence we must embrace in verses 29 and 31. We have to repent and believe the gospel in order

to receive the atoning blessing that Christ has secured for us by his offering of himself at the cross.

So those are the four things I want us to think about as we approach this chapter together. The peril we

must face, the priest that we need, the provision that we are given, and the penitence we must embrace.

Before we look at the chapter together and think about those four themes, let's bow our heads

and ask for the Lord's help and blessing. Let us all pray.

Lord our God, we are like those Greeks who came to the disciples saying,

Sir, we would see Jesus. He is the one that we so badly need today.

And so as we hear your word expounded, we ask that you would give us eyes to see him, ears to hear him,

hearts receptive to his voice. Speak, O Lord, for your servants are listening.

For we ask it in Jesus' matchless name. Amen.

We won't read the whole chapter together, but do keep Leviticus 16 open before you and think with me,

first of all, about the peril we must face. Verses 1 and 2, you'll notice, connect the Day of Atonement

back to an earlier chapter, back to chapter 10.

And it reminds us, these instructions were given on the same day that Aaron, the high priest's two older sons,

Nadab and Abihu, died. You might remember what happened to them.

Back in chapter 10, they were consumed by fire from the presence of the Lord.

Because they sauntered carelessly into the holy place with their newfangled fire,

confident that God was really going to be impressed by their latest improvements on his sacrificial system.

They thought they could come up with something better than what had been given to them.

And so they entered the holy place with their own agenda, their own plan, their own approach to the worship of God.

It did not go well.

And God struck them down in a moment of terrible, solemn judgment.

And so now, God tells Aaron, through Moses, that he is, look at the text,

he is not to come at any time into the holy place inside the veil before the mercy seat that is on the ark,

so that he may not die.

For I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat.

And later, if you look at verse 12, God gives instructions on how Aaron may come into the holy place when he does come,

on this one day every year, the Day of Atonement.

And he says that Aaron must take a censer full of coals of fire from the altar before the Lord,

two handfuls of sweet incense beaten small.

He shall bring it inside the veil and put the incense on the fire before the Lord,

that the cloud of incense may cover the mercy seat that is over the testimony,

listen, so that he does not die.

There is a very real threat of death

hanging over this whole scenario,

this whole ritual that Aaron was to perform.

His two sons have been struck down already,

and now he himself is to go in to this incredibly dangerous venue

where the presence of the fire of the glory of God blazes.

Did you know that before the war in Ukraine,

you could actually take tourist trips

into the radioactive exclusion zone around the city of Chernobyl?

I don't know if that sounds like an exciting vacation to you.

It doesn't entirely appeal to me.

The nuclear power plant in Ukraine, remember,

that melted down 1986?

It's not exactly my ideal day trip,

but there's no accounting for some people's taste, I suppose.

And if you take the tour, the tourist trip to Chernobyl,

as you might expect, there's a long list of rules

telling tourists about safety protocols for their visit.

They're forbidden to eat anything while they're in the zone.

They may not set any personal items on the ground

while they're in the zone.

Nothing can be taken away with them from the zone.

And particularly important,

visitors may not stray from the safe paths

that have been laid out for them

while they're in the nuclear exclusion zone,

the radioactive exclusion zone.

Leviticus 16, 1 and 2 reminds us

that Nadab and Abihu,

they strayed from the safe paths

as they walked carelessly

into the white-hot presence of divine holiness.

And it destroyed them.

Sin, you see,

excludes people,

excludes all people

from the presence of God,

excludes me,

excludes you

from the presence of God.

He is holy

and we are not.

That's our fundamental problem, isn't it?

We are shut out of the presence of God,

liable to divine judgment.

So even this amazing chapter

where God is making provision

for his people's sin,

there's this refrain,

that you may not die.

The wages of sin

is what?

The wages of sin is death.

God is holy.

Our God is a consuming fire.

Hebrews 10, 26 and following warns us,

if we go on sinning deliberately

after receiving the knowledge of the truth,

there no longer remains

a sacrifice for sins,

but a fearful expectation of judgment

and a fury of fire

that will consume the adversaries.

Anyone who has set aside

the law of Moses

dies without mercy

on the evidence

of two or three witnesses.

How much worse judgment do you think

will be deserved

by the one who has trampled

underfoot the Son of God

and has profaned the blood

of the covenant

by which he was sanctified

and has outraged

the Spirit of grace?

The same threat

continues to obtain

in the New Testament age

and the days in which we live.

The threat of the judgment of God,

his perfect holiness,

is burning against our sin.

God is not safe for us

in ourselves

by our own nature.

Perhaps you've heard the gospel

countless times in your years

and you know

there is a safe path,

a safe way

into the presence of God.

Only by the sacrificial blood

of the covenant

that is by the blood

of Jesus Christ

can you come into

the presence of God.

But if you refuse him,

resist him,

reject him

in favor of your own

better ideas

like Nadab and Abihu did,

if you take your own path.

Hebrews says,

all that remains

is a fearful expectation

of judgment

and a fury of fire

that will consume

the adversaries.

Nadab and Abihu

are case studies

in divine judgment

showing us

the urgency

of our situation.

your sin,

my sin

will kill us

in the end.

Forever.

Destroy us

in the end.

We must

draw near to God.

We must be

reconciled

to God

and yet we cannot

do so safely

by any means

we can contrive

or invent

for ourselves.

There's only

one safe path

into the holy place.

Only one way

to deal

with our sin

and guilt

in the sight of God.

And showing us

the safe path,

opening the safe path

for you and me

into the presence

of God

is the purpose

of Leviticus 16.

So what is

the safe path?

How can you

and I,

how can we

draw near to God

with full assurance

of faith?

Confident

that he will

welcome us,

not destroy us

or condemn us.

Well,

think with me now

in the second place

about the priest

that we need.

The peril

we must face,

our sin exposes us

to danger,

to the judgment

of God.

Your sin

exposes you

to the judgment

of God.

It is an emergency.

How will you

deal with it?

Is there a safe way

to stand before him?

We need

a perfect high priest

who can deal

with our sin.

Look at verses

three through five

with me please.

God describes

how Aaron

should approach him.

Look at the procedure,

verses three through five.

He is to gather

a bull

for a sin offering

and a ram

for a burnt offering

for himself

and his family.

In verse five,

he is also to bring

two goats

and a ram.

The goats

are for a sin offering.

The ram

is for a burnt offering

to be made

on behalf

of the congregation

of Israel.

But before he can

offer these sacrifices,

you will notice

in verse four,

he is not allowed

to wear the usual

vestments

of the high priest.

There is an ephod,

this sort of

breastplate

that he wears

and a golden sash.

And all the finery

of this

high priestly uniform.

He would have been

an imposing,

striking figure

decked out

in this glorious regalia

and yet at this moment

they are all forbidden

to him.

On this day instead,

you will notice

in verse four,

he is to wear

plain,

unadorned linen.

He must bathe

and dress

in this simple costume.

There is no display

of personal glory

as he goes

into the holy place.

No pomp,

no show,

none of the insignia

and prestige

or privilege

of the high priest

as he steps

behind the veil

into the presence

of the glory of God.

Verse 17

tells us,

all the other priests

and the Levites

that would ordinarily

have made

the tabernacle

a busy place,

they were all absent

on this day.

On every other day,

the high priest

would have gone

all over the tabernacle,

although behind this

one great curtain,

he never ever

dared to venture.

But now,

on this day,

the day of atonement,

all alone,

this one man,

stripped of all his finery,

approaches the veil.

On it,

there are embroidered

images of cherubim,

these angelic guardians.

We meet them first

at the entrance

to the Garden of Eden.

You remember

when Adam and Eve

were expelled

because of sin,

they were placed there

to guard the way back

and to bar

the gates of paradise

to our first fathers.

Behind this veil,

the Shekinah glory shines.

The majesty of God

blazes in holy splendor

above the mercy seat,

this golden platform

placed on top

of the Ark of the Covenant.

No other human being

is ever authorized

to venture into this room,

into the most holy place.

But on this day,

the high priest

can draw back the curtain

and step inside.

And as he does,

he is a symbolic

second Adam.

Here are the cherubim

blocking the way

into the presence of God.

Adam the first

was prohibited

from going back there.

But here is a picture

of Adam the second

entering anew

into the presence of God,

passing the cherubim

into the place

where God dwells.

And he's dressed

not as a lofty dignitary

to impress,

to impress,

but as a simple supplicant

in plain linen,

a mere man,

one of us.

And he's not to go

empty-handed.

Notice in verse 11,

he is to kill the bull

as a sin offering.

This is important now,

to make atonement

for himself

and his house.

And then in verse 14,

along with the incense

that he is to burn,

he is to take

some of the blood

of the bull

and sprinkle it

on the front

of the mercy seat

on the east side

seven times.

The east side

of the mercy seat

is the direction

of the altar

and the entrance

to the tabernacle.

The east, remember,

was the direction

toward which Adam

was banished

when he was excluded

from the garden

and fell into sin.

He was sent east of Eden.

And so that is the direction

that atonement is made

for this symbolic

second Adam.

Seven times he is to do it.

Seven is a number

of completeness

in the Bible.

So the picture is

of a complete,

perfect,

full atonement

with no lack.

Full pardon

that God has provided

for him.

But there's one more

vital point to understand

about this extraordinary moment.

Aaron and every high priest

that would follow him

could never secure

forgiveness for his people

because the simple reason

is they were sinners themselves.

It's like they're trying

to pay off a debt

all the time,

accumulating interest

on that debt themselves.

Never able to pay off

the penalty.

Hebrews chapter 9

Hebrews 9 · chapter mention

actually offers

the best commentary

on this whole scene.

In Hebrews 9 verse 9

Hebrews 9:9

we're told

the high priest's work

quote,

cannot perfect

the conscience

of the worshiper.

But when Christ appeared

as a high priest

of the good things

that have come,

then through the greater

more perfect tent

not made with hands,

that is not of this creation

he entered once for all

into the holy places,

not by means of the blood

of goats and calves,

but by means of his own blood

thus securing

an eternal redemption.

For if the blood

of goats and bulls

and the sprinkling

of defiled persons

with the ashes

of a heifer

sanctify for the purification

of the flesh,

how much more

will the blood

of Christ

through the eternal spirit,

who through the eternal spirit

offered himself

without blemish to God

purify our consciences

from dead works

to serve the living God.

Here's the point.

The high priest

is only a picture

and an incomplete picture

because he's a sinner

of another Adam to come

who would go

and reconcile sinners to God,

who would go into

the holy place

without fear

and tear the curtain

from top to bottom

opening the way

for everyone

who trusts in him

to enter with confidence

into the most holy place

to obtain mercy

and find grace to help

in our time of need.

But this high priest,

this high priest,

was flawed.

He was a sinner

just like us.

You might know

the Snoopy cartoons,

Charles Schultz,

Peanuts cartoons.

Snoopy,

it turns out

that the dog Snoopy

is a writer.

He's an author.

And in one of the panels,

Snoopy's sitting

on top of his kennel

with a typewriter

writing his latest novel.

And he's thinking

about his lead character.

And he begins,

All his life,

he tried to be a good person.

And then he's pounding furiously

on his typewriter.

And the second panel says,

Many times, however,

he failed.

For after all,

he was only human.

And then the final panel,

in a flash of inspiration,

Snoopy explains

his character's

persistent failures.

Here's why

his every effort

fell short.

He wasn't a dog.

All his life,

he tried to be a good person.

Many times, however,

he failed.

After all,

he was only human.

He wasn't a dog,

like Snoopy.

If he'd read

Leviticus 16,

in light of the coming

of the Lord Jesus Christ,

Snoopy might have said,

of the high priest,

he played the part

of the second Adam

many times.

But every time

he failed.

For after all,

he was only a sinner.

He wasn't Jesus.

This whole drama,

this little,

this little enacted parable,

is a picture to us

of a better high priest

that we so badly need,

who opens the way,

who had no sin

of his own,

who was holy,

harmless,

undefiled,

and separate from sinners,

who with his own blood

can make full

perfect atonement

for sinners,

so that you and I

can go on safe paths

into the presence

of the blazing glory

of God,

and hear him call us

his dear children,

and speak to him

as Abba Father.

Israel needed,

we need,

you and me

right now today,

we need

a high priest,

doesn't deal

in the blood

of bulls

and goats

in an earthly

tabernacle

made with human hands.

We need the real thing,

don't we?

Not the picture,

not the shadow,

not the play.

We need the reality,

we need the Lord Jesus Christ,

our great high priest

over the house of God,

who with his own blood

has made satisfaction

once and for all.

He humbled himself,

do you remember,

like the high priest here,

stripped himself

of all his finery,

not in his priestly robes

with the ephod

and the gold,

but in simple,

plain linen,

the Lord Jesus.

Philippians 2.6

reminds us,

though he was in the form,

God did not count equality

with God,

a thing to be grasped,

but he emptied himself,

taking the form

of a servant,

a doulos,

a slave,

being born in the likeness

of men

and being found

in human form,

he humbled himself,

by becoming obedient

to the point of death,

even death on a cross.

Here's the high priest

that we need,

that you need,

available to you today.

One who opens the way,

who reconciles you to God

once and for all,

who makes a safe path

for you

into his holy presence.

There is no other way

that is safe.

Your sin exposes you

to a terrible liability

of judgment.

But Jesus

is the safe path.

Jesus

opens the way.

The peril we face,

the priest we need.

Thirdly,

the provision

that we are given.

In verses 5-10,

Aaron is to take

the two male goats

for a sin offering

and one ram

for a burnt offering

for the sake of the people.

Notice the two goats together

are constituted

a single sacrifice,

a special kind

of sin offering.

And look at what Aaron

has to do with them.

They're presented

before the Lord

and lots are cast.

Chosen in this way,

one of the goats

was to be killed

and its blood

sprinkled on the mercy seat

to atone for sin.

And the other goat,

notice in verse 8

and in verse 10,

is for Azazel.

Now,

there's a lot of debate

over what this word

Azazel might mean.

Is it,

as some suggest,

a proper noun,

a name

set in parallel

to the Lord?

So you have one goat

for the Lord

and one goat

for Azazel,

perhaps.

Some suggest

this is a reference

to the devil.

I don't think

that's right.

Other scholars

suggest Azazel

as a place

somewhere out

in the wilderness

to which this goat

was dispatched.

But in my judgment,

the best interpretation

is still

the historic interpretation.

It uses an expression,

if you've got

an old King James Bible,

I think you'll find it there.

It was first coined

by William Tyndale

in his English Bible

in 1535

when he translated

Leviticus 16.

The word Azazel

is interpreted

not as a name

for a demonic being

or even a place,

but it's a compound word

meaning a goat

for sending away.

Literally,

as Tyndale put it

famously,

a scapegoat.

That's what this goat is.

Literally, isn't it?

It's a scapegoat.

All the sins

of the people

were confessed

and as the priest

laid his hands

on its head,

symbolically,

those sins

were transferred,

imputed,

to the goat

and the goat

was sent out

into the wilderness

to carry them away

forever.

A scapegoat,

a goat for sending away.

Now look at verses

20 through 22.

Aaron is to lay

his hands

on the head

of both goats

and in verse 21.

He is to confess

over it

all the iniquities

of the people

of Israel,

all their transgressions

and all their sins.

He shall put them

on the head

of the goat

and send it away

into the wilderness

by the hand

of a man

who is in readiness.

The goat

shall bear

all their iniquities

on itself

to a remote area

and he shall let

the goat go free

in the wilderness.

Do you get the symbolism

of that now?

It's really simple

and crystal clear.

What a great vivid picture

it is

of what God does

through Jesus

when he deals

with our sin.

The goat doesn't

really deal with our sin

but the one

to whom it points,

the Lord Jesus,

really does

what this symbol

teaches us.

He carries

our sins

away.

He carries

them away.

These two goats

actually

together

provide a complete

picture of what

happens at the cross.

The first goat

is slaughtered

and its blood

is sprinkled.

This is a picture

of what the New Testament

calls propitiation.

1 John 2.22

He himself

is the propitiation

for our sins

and not for ours only

but for the whole world.

Propitiation

means a sacrifice

that satisfies

the white

hot fury

of the judgment

of God

that burns

against our sin.

This sacrifice

satisfies it

completely

and forever.

Propitiation,

the blood of Jesus

propitiates

the wrath

of God

so that if you

are a Christian

today

trusting in Christ

God's

wrath

never again

will burn

against you.

He is always

a father.

you may displease

him,

he may discipline

you

but he is

never anything

other than

Abba

father

toward you

because of the

Lord Jesus Christ.

Wrath

has been

satisfied,

paid

in full.

It is

finished

once

and forever.

In my place

bearing shame

and scoffing rude

in my place

condemned

he stood

sealed

my

pardon

with his

blood.

Hallelujah

what a savior

that's propitiation

that's the first goat.

The second goat

the goat that's

sent away

is expiation

carrying

sin

and guilt

away

so that if you

are a Christian

today

trusting in the

Lord Jesus

Christ

God the

Father

looks upon

you

and sees

you robed

in the

righteousness

of his

son.

Your sins

have been

carried away

by him

forever out

of sight.

He shall

throw our

iniquities

into the

depths of

the sea

and he

shall

remember

them

no more.

Expiation

and together

they describe

all that

Jesus

accomplished

for us

at the

cross.

Isn't

it

wonderful?

You may

know your

sin so

very

intimately

and profoundly

and feel

the dreadful

weight of

them.

The shame

and sting

of them

in your

conscience.

Some of

you

have such

a vivid

appreciation

for your

remaining

guilt

that it

leads you

regularly

as you

look at

your own

heart

to wonder

if you're

really

converted.

How can

I still

live like

this,

speak like

this,

think like

this?

Look at

me.

How can

I possibly

be a

Christian?

What's

the remedy?

McShane

told us

the remedy.

Do you

remember what

he said?

For every

one look

at self,

take ten

looks at

Christ.

Full,

full atonement.

Full

pardon.

Your sin

carried away

out of

sight.

Forgiven

and forgotten

before the

bar of

heaven's

justice.

Wrath

satisfied

so that

there is

no longer

any fury

of judgment

waiting for

you.

Look to

Christ,

not at

yourself.

Look at

your

Savior.

Lift

your head

from your

own wicked

heart to

your perfect

sinless

Redeemer.

Hide in

him.

He is

the remedy

for all

your fears.

Again,

1 John.

If anyone

says he has

no sin,

he lies

and the

truth is

not in

him.

But if

we confess

our sin,

he is

faithful and

just to

forgive us

our sins

and cleanse

us from

all

unrighteousness.

Clean,

clean by

the blood

of the

Lamb.

Clean

forever.

Clean

conscience,

clean hands,

clean hearts,

a clean

life because

of the

work of

Jesus

Christ.

Well,

how do you

get a hold

of this

for yourself?

How do you

make it

yours if

it's not

yours already?

How can

this

cleansing

work of

the true

perfect

high priest,

the great

second

Adam,

the Lord

Jesus

Christ,

be yours?

Look at

verses 29

through 34.

We learn

there about

the date

on which

the Day

of Atonement

was to be

commemorated,

the tenth

day of the

seventh month.

we learn

that it

was to be

celebrated

by every

successive

high priest

in Aaron's

line.

We learn

that the

day was

to be

observed

by Israel

as a

special

Sabbath

day,

a day

of rest.

And in

verse 29

and again

in verse

31,

Israel is

told on

this day

when it

rolls around

every year

they are

noticed

to

afflict

themselves.

that is

to say

not that

they are

literally

to beat

themselves

but they

are to

mourn

over their

sin.

This was

never to

be a

cold

perfunctory

external

ritual.

It was

to point

them to

one who

was to

come.

Who by

his blood

and righteousness

would do

forever what

the high

priest and

the blood

of goats

and bulls

never could.

The Lord

Jesus Christ.

And they

were to

receive the

benefit of

his atoning

work in

the same

way we

still receive

that benefit.

They looking

forward,

we now

looking back.

How do

you get

a hold

of the

forgiveness

of your

sin?

You repent

and believe

the gospel.

You afflict

yourself.

You stop

your self

confidence,

your self

reliance.

you stop

your avoidance

and your

blame

shifting.

You stop

passing the

buck.

You stop

accusing

others.

You stop

excusing

yourself.

You own

your sin.

And before

God you

cry out

like the

leper at

the side

of the

road when

Jesus was

passing by,

Son of

David,

have mercy

on me.

everyone

who ever

cried to

him like

that

received the

mercy

they need.

Afflict

your hearts,

rend your

hearts and

not your

garments.

Turn

back to

the Lord.

Turn

back,

turn

back.

Why will

you die,

O house

of Israel?

Full atonement

has been

made.

Jesus has

died and

risen and

reigns a

perfect high

priest for

you, opening

a safe way

into the

presence of

God.

Come and

rest on

him.

He has

done all

things needful.

He is all

your heart

could ever

need.

Trust in

him.

Turn from

your sin

and yourself

to your

savior and

he will

give you

entrance into

the holy of

holies.

That you

may come

all the

way in

to the

throne room

itself and

speak to

the one who

reigns there

and call

him father.

You will

have his

heart,

you will

have his

ear,

you may

call on

him and

he will

shower upon

you his

mercy and

his grace.

Not the

fire of

divine fury,

but the

bright sunshine

shine of

the smile

of God's

forgiveness

for everyone

who trusts

in Jesus

Christ.

May the

Lord give

us all

grace as

we turn

our attention

now to

his table

where the

great emblems

of his

self-giving

love are

provided for

us.

May the

Lord give

us grace

to look to

him and

rest upon

him.

Let us

pray.

Amen.

Lord Jesus,

our great

and perfect

high priest,

we bow

before you

and we

pour out

our wonder

and awe

that we

are reconciled

to God

not as a

formal

transaction,

not as a

form of

words,

it's not a

sort of

spiritual

bookkeeping

measure

transferring

from one

column to

the other.

It came

instead at

your great

cost.

You

entered

the heavenly

holy place

not with the

blood of

bulls and

goats but

with your

own blood

there to

make

atonement

perfect

satisfaction

for sin

for all

time.

it came

at your

death

that we

might

live

and so

as we

bow

before you

preparing

our

hearts

to

commune

with you

at your

table

we cry

out

together

now

like the

beggar at

the side

of the

road

when you

passed

by so

long

ago

son of

David

have

mercy

on us

for we

ask this

in your

matchless

name

amen

the

lord's

table

is a

simple

meal

instituted

by the

lord

jesus

christ

king

and

head

of

the

church

and

perfect

savior

of

sinners

it is

the

family

meal

for

those

who

have

been

forgiven

and

adopted

who

call

god

their

father

and

christ

their

elder

brother

it is

not

the

table

of the

free

church

of

scotland

but

the

table

of

jesus

christ

a

table

to

which

he

invites

and

commands

every

one

of

his

people

to

draw

near

and

attend

if

you

are

a

believer

in

the

lord

jesus

christ

having

repented

your

sin

and

trusted

in

him

alone

to

save

you

and

you're

a

member

in

good

standing

of

a

christian

church

where

the

gospel

is

preached

the

lord

jesus

christ

invites

you

to

come

with

bread

and

wine

if

you

are

not

a

christian

you

don't

know

what

you

believe

it's

not

bread

and

wine

that

you

need

and

so

as

the

elements

are

distributed

please

do

not

partake

it

is

jesus

christ

that

you

need

do

not

let

him

pass

you

by

as

the

elements

pass

you

by

do

not

let

him

pass

you

by

it's

not

bread

and

wine

!

they

can't

help

you

it's

jesus

that

you

need

and

so

in

the

quietness

of

these

next

moments

let

me

urge

you

if

you

have

not

yet

come

to

the

lord's

table

profess

your

faith

in

the

savior

to

do

earnest

business

with

him

to

repent

of

your

sin

and

cry

to

him

for

mercy

he

is

here

for

you

today

opening

a

safe

path

into

the

presence

of

god

do

not

do

not

miss

his

invitation

but

receive

it

with

a

glad

heart

repent

and

believe

the

gospel

well

now

as

we

prepare

to

enjoy

this

meal

together

we

are

going

to

sing

to

god's

praise

and

glory

psalm

118

in the

scottish

psalter

on page

398

we're

singing

stanzas

15

through

23

in

dwellings

of the

righteous

is heard

the

melody

of

joy

and

health

the

lord's

right

hand

doth

ever

valiantly

the

right

hand

of

the

mighty

lord

exalted

is on

high

the

right

hand

of

the

mighty

lord

doth

ever

valiantly

i

shall

not

die

but

live

and

shall

the

works

of

god

discover

the

lord

hath

me

chastised

sore

but

not

to

death

given

over

psalm

118

15

to

23

we

stand

to

sing

to

god's

praise

in

dwellings

of

the

righteous

is

heard

the

melody

of

joy

and

health

the

lord's

right

hand

doth

ever

valiantly

the

right

hand

of

the

mighty

lord

exalted

is

on

high

the

right

hand

of

the

mighty

lord

doth

ever

valiantly

i

shall

not

die

but

live

and

shall

!

the

works

of

god

discover

the

lord

hath

me

chastised

eyes

soar

but

not

to

death