Psalm 90

Would you turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Psalms,

right in the middle of your Bibles,

and please find Psalm 90.

It will be important that you listen carefully as I read,

follow along in your own Bible.

This is God's Word, Psalm 90.

Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations.

Before the mountains were brought forth,

or ever you had formed the earth and the world,

from everlasting to everlasting, you are God.

You return man to dust and say,

Return, O children of man.

For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past,

or as a watch in the night.

You sweep them away as with a flood.

They are like a dream,

like grass that is renewed in the morning.

In the morning it flourishes and is renewed.

In the evening it fades and withers.

For we are brought to an end by your anger.

By your wrath we are dismayed.

You have set our iniquities before you,

our secret sins in the light of your presence.

For all our days pass away under your wrath.

We bring our years to an end like a sigh.

The years of our life are 70 or even by reason of strength 80,

and yet their span is but toil and trouble.

They are soon gone and we fly away.

Who considers the power of your anger and your wrath according to the fear of you?

So, teach us to number our days,

that we may get a heart of wisdom.

Return, O Lord.

How long?

Have pity on your servants.

Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,

that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,

and for as many years as we have seen evil.

Let your work be shown to your servants,

and your glorious power to their children.

Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,

and establish the work of our hands upon us.

Yes, establish the work of our hands.

Let's pray together.

Father, we thank you so much for your love for us.

We know ourselves at least well enough to marvel at your love for us.

And you know us even better than we know ourselves.

And yet, you have loved us,

and you continue to love us,

and you have promised that you will never stop loving us.

And so we thank you.

We pray this morning that you would speak.

Father, I pray that you would help me to minister your word for your people.

We pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Well, I don't know what it's like for you as you think about the days ahead.

And when I say the days ahead,

I have in mind both your days ahead as a church,

but also, maybe especially,

your days ahead personally,

each one of us.

For some, as you look ahead,

it might seem like a fairly pleasant path,

at least as far as you can see.

For some, the days ahead might look kind of bleak,

unpromising.

For some, it might look like an obstacle course,

maybe a very challenging obstacle course,

one filled with all kinds of barriers,

some of them daunting barriers.

But the fact of the matter is,

for all of us,

we are walking forward into the days ahead,

and that walking forward is going to require some courage,

some going forth in faith.

And to help us with that,

I want us to consider this psalm this morning.

It is a psalm of remarkable wisdom.

This is ancient wisdom.

This is the oldest psalm that we have.

Most of the psalms, as you probably know,

were written by David or by his contemporaries.

This one was written by Moses

some 500 years earlier than David.

And as we look at this psalm this morning,

I want to make just two very simple points.

The first point is what occupies verses 1 through 12.

The second point is found in verse 12

to the end of the psalm.

In fact, let me just tell you right away

what the points are.

The first point,

life is short.

Like really short.

The second point,

live wisely.

Or we might say,

make sure not to waste your short life.

or any part of it.

Teach us,

Moses says in verse 12,

all of us,

no matter what your age,

teach us to get a heart of wisdom.

That's the second point.

But first,

point number one,

life is short.

Moses starts his psalm

talking to God

about what He is like.

Look at verse 1.

Lord,

You have been our dwelling place

in all generations.

We read that

and we're immediately drawn

to this dwelling place idea,

right?

Lord,

You have been our dwelling place.

That sounds

really nice,

comfortable,

attractive,

kind of secure,

especially if the circumstances

of our lives

have been a little challenging.

And it's true

what Moses says here.

God is the true

dwelling place

of His people.

We live in God.

The Bible wants us

to know that,

deeply know that,

experientially know that

about God.

But for Moses,

speaking here,

that is like a given.

He's operating with that

as a given.

What he's stressing here

is that

in all generations part.

Lord,

You have been our dwelling place

in all generations.

For my generation,

for my father's generation,

for my father's father's generation,

as far back as we can reach,

and that will be true

for all of the generations

to come.

You see,

Moses is not here

in Psalm 90

marveling

at the fact that

God is our dwelling place.

He knows that.

He loves that

as He should,

as we should.

But that's not

what he's marveling at here.

He's marveling

at God's

unchangeableness.

His

eternal

unchangeableness.

And that becomes

even more clear

in verse 2.

Before the mountains

were brought forth

or ever you had formed

the earth and the world

from everlasting

to everlasting,

you are God.

Now,

it's really important

that we see

that emphasis.

What exactly

about

God

Moses

is emphasizing,

but it's also

very important

that we see

Moses' purpose.

Why is he emphasizing that?

Because even though

Moses is stressing

the eternality,

the unchangeableness

of God,

his purpose

is actually

to confront us

with our mortality.

He's emphasizing

God's eternality

to heighten that

in stark contrast.

Just listen to the flow

of thought here.

Lord,

you have been

our dwelling place

in all generations.

Before the mountains

were brought forth

or ever you had formed

the earth and the world

from everlasting

to everlasting,

you are God,

you return

man to dust.

You hear that contrast?

And now in verses

four through six,

he proceeds to unpack

that point,

which really is

his main point.

Look at what he says

in verse four.

For a thousand years

in your sight

are but as yesterday

when it is past

or as a watch

in the night.

The point there

in verse four

is that even if we were

to live a thousand years,

even if you were

to live as long

as Methuselah,

still that is just

like a day

in God's sight.

In fact,

not even that long.

It's like a watch

in the night,

a mere four hour span

of time,

even if you lived

a thousand years.

And the fact is

we don't live

anywhere near that.

Look ahead to verse 10.

The years of our life

are 70

or even by reason

of strength,

80.

Obviously,

some people live longer

but not much.

I mean,

we get the point,

right?

We are not everlasting.

We are mortal.

Our lives are really brief

and then we return

physically to dust.

He goes on

in verses five and six

and says to God,

you sweep them away

as with a flood.

They are like a dream,

like grass that is renewed

in the morning.

In the morning,

it flourishes

and is renewed.

In the evening,

it fades and withers.

What's the point

of all of those images

in verses five and six?

Life is really short.

The Bible says that

repeatedly

so that we cannot

miss it,

at least if we're

paying attention.

In fact,

let me just give you

a little quiz

this morning.

You know those questions

where they give you

a list of

apparently unrelated things

and your job

is to find out

what all of those things

have in common.

You've got to kind of

figure it out.

Let me give you

a question like that

this morning.

What do these things

that I'm about to list

have in common?

You ready?

Mist,

the width of your hand,

a weaver's shuttle,

a runner,

a boat going down a river,

an eagle swooping

on its prey,

a dream,

and a plant that flourishes

in the morning

and withers in the evening.

What do all of those

have in common?

Well, I'm pretty sure

you either know

or can make

a pretty good guess.

Those are all images

that the Bible uses

to communicate

the brevity

of our lives.

What is your life?

For you are a mist

that appears

for a little time

and then vanishes.

James chapter 4.

James 4 · chapter mention

Behold, you have made

my days

a few hand breaths.

Psalm 39.

My days are swifter

than a weaver's shuttle.

Job 7.

My days are swifter

than a runner.

They flee away.

They go like skiffs

of reed,

like an eagle

swooping on the prey.

Job chapter 9.

Job 9 · chapter mention

You sweep them away

as with a flood.

They are like a dream,

like grass

that is renewed

in the morning.

In the morning

it flourishes

and is renewed.

In the evening

it fades

and withers.

Psalm 90.

The point is clear, right?

Life goes by

very quickly.

It's not very long.

And not many of us

would argue the point,

right?

I mean,

you feel this.

You feel it more

as life passes.

I am 57 years old.

In three years

I'll be 60.

Which right now,

to be honest with you,

just feels kind of cool

to me.

But the thing

that can throw me

is that in 13 brief years

I'll be 70.

And that can throw me a bit.

Because that's the number

that gets named here.

70 years

or by reason of strength,

80.

When I was 20

it was just unfathomable

to me

that I would ever

be 70 years old.

Now obviously

I knew that

as a fact

but it didn't register

at all anywhere.

I couldn't imagine that.

Actually,

I wasn't so much

that I couldn't imagine it.

I wasn't even trying

to imagine it.

I wasn't even thinking

about trying to imagine it.

It was far from

my concerns

and now

I'm 57

and I'm thinking about it.

Or to put it differently,

all things being equal,

I've lived two-thirds

of my life.

All things equal,

I've got just one-third left.

I'm not panicking.

It's just like,

wow,

where did it go?

So let's bring this

home a little bit

to you.

If you're in your 50s

or 60s

you're probably

already tracking with me.

But let's say

you're in your 40s

or your 30s

or let's say

you're in your 20s.

Let's just say

you're 25.

All things equal,

you have lived

close to one-third

of your life

and you should know

by the way

the second third

goes by a whole lot faster.

So it's not too soon

to come to terms

with this reality

that God's Word

is setting before us.

In fact,

it's good to come to terms

with this

younger than that.

One of my children

reminded me recently

of a time

when they were maybe

eight or nine years old

that I had,

apparently,

as matter-of-factly

as I could

at the kitchen table,

said to them,

there's my three children there,

and I said,

you know you're going

to die someday.

Great parenting, right?

And this particular child,

just like a month ago,

told me that she remembered that

and that as an eight

or nine-year-old,

that struck her.

She hadn't realized that yet,

and something registered for her.

Now, you might be sitting there

thinking this morning,

man,

why are you laboring this point?

I come to church

to get encouraged.

And part of me

wants to say sorry,

but the wiser part of me

wants to very quickly say,

no, I'm not sorry at all.

It's really important

we think about this.

Now, I learned

in my church history classes

way back when I was in seminary

that certain medieval theologians

would regularly place

a human skull

on the shelf

above where they were studying

so that it would remind them

of the brevity of their lives.

In our own history

as a culture,

as a country,

it was common practice

to tell about 70 or 80 years ago

for a church to have a graveyard

right next to the church building

so that every Sunday

there would be a regular reminder

of this truth.

Listen, God's word

is very clear here.

Life is short.

We will die.

And actually,

that raises

a very interesting,

philosophical,

kind of existential question.

Why?

Because somehow

the brevity of our lives,

our mortality,

just doesn't feel right.

We resist it.

There's something in us

that is not easily resolved

with that reality.

Why is death so hard?

Why is there death?

Why is life so short?

Well, verses 7 through 11

tell us.

They answer that question.

I just want you to know

these verses are not easy.

They're not easy to understand,

but then once you understand them,

they're not easy to accept.

Good verses 7 through 11.

For we are brought to an end

by your anger.

By your wrath,

we are dismayed.

You have set our iniquities before you,

our secret sins,

in the light of your presence.

For all our days pass away

under your wrath.

We bring our years to an end

like a sigh.

The years of our life are 70

or even by reason of strength 80,

yet their span is but toil and trouble.

They are soon gone and we fly away.

Who considers the power of your anger

and your wrath

according to the fear of you?

Listen.

Verses 7, 9, and 11

give us an explanation

for the shortness of life.

Now let's be very careful here.

These verses are easy to misunderstand.

When verse 7 says,

we are brought to an end by your anger,

that is not talking about some

kind of event of God's active anger

directed toward me during my life

like some kind of malevolent deity

striking me dead.

That is talking about a decision,

a judgment that God made

in his righteousness,

the result of which is

our mortality

and the brevity of our lives.

There was a little clue to this

back in verse 3.

Look there.

You return man to dust

and you say,

return, O children of man.

Does that remind you of anything?

Turn back just for a moment

to Genesis chapter 3.

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

You remember after Adam and Eve

sinned in the Garden of Eden,

God came and he pronounced a curse

and part of that curse to Adam

are these words.

Genesis 3 verse 19,

Genesis 3:19

by the sweat of your face

you shall eat bread

till you return to the ground

for out of it you were taken

for you are dust

and to dust you shall return.

In Psalm 90,

Moses is very clearly alluding

to Genesis chapter 3

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

which he wrote by the way.

He would be very familiar

with those words.

And do you see that phrase

back in Psalm 90 verse 3,

Psalms 90:3

O children of man?

Do you know what the Hebrew word

for man is there?

Adam.

Adam.

So Moses is very clearly

alluding to Genesis chapter 3

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

and he has his mind on the curse,

that righteous judgment

that God made on Adam

for his sin

and we see that echoed

in verse 10.

The years of our life are 70

or even by reason of strength 80,

yet their span

is but toil and trouble.

There's the language

of God's righteous judgment

again in response to man's sin.

That's why that reference

to our sin in verse 8.

You have set our iniquities

before you.

Our secret sins

in the light of your presence.

Do you see how that explains

verses 7 and 9?

For we are brought to an end

by your anger.

All our days pass away

under your wrath.

Our mortality

and the shortness of our lives

is a result of God's judgment

as a consequence of our sin.

And that also explains

that question in verse 11.

Who considers the power

of your anger

and your wrath

according to the fear of you?

In other words,

Moses is saying,

who thinks about this?

Who makes that connection?

You know, in all of my years

I've never once

had an unbeliever

come up to me and say,

you know,

I'm really experiencing

the wrath of God today

as my life hastens

towards its end.

And yet that's exactly

what's happening.

The Apostle Paul says

very clearly,

the wrath of God

is being revealed

against all unrighteousness

and a major part

of that wrath being revealed

is the brevity of our lives.

The shortness of our lives.

People don't typically think

of the relationship

between their mortality

and God's sovereign power

and His judgment.

Most people are too busy

living for the moment

to think about that.

Who considers

the power of your anger

according to the fear of you?

Our mortality

and the shortness

of our life

is the result

of God's just judgment

on the human race

due to our sin

and it puts us

in this place of dismay.

Did you see that

in verse 7?

We are dismayed.

We think and we feel

regarding the shortness

of our lives,

oh, how I wish

it wasn't this way.

So, point number one,

life is short.

That's not the way

it was originally

meant to be

and we feel that.

However,

all is not lost.

Verse 12.

So,

teach us to number our days

that we may get

a heart of wisdom.

So, here's the second point.

Live this short life wisely.

Wisely.

Live your short life wisely.

First part of verse 12

is simply reemphasizing

the point that Moses

has already made.

Teach us to number our days.

Teach us to recognize

that our days are,

in fact, numbered.

Help us to realize that.

That's the main thing

that Moses is teaching

in verses 1 through 11

and here is,

at the start of verse 12,

he's simply asking God

to help us get that point.

Teach us to number our days.

That's the main truth

so far.

But even in that restatement,

Moses is beginning,

I believe,

to suggest

what the rest of verse 12

says explicitly

so that

we might get a heart

of wisdom.

Point number two,

we want to live

our short lives wisely.

Life is short

and everything,

everything is at stake

in this short life.

Your life is like this, folks.

It's gone.

And that makes you,

when you realize that,

it makes you ask,

why am I here?

What is my life for?

How should I live my life?

And that calls for wisdom.

The place God wants us to go

with that reality

is to wisdom.

Teach us to number our days

so that we might get a heart

of wisdom.

Now please notice,

it's not,

life is short,

so

party hard, man.

And it's not,

life is short,

so

just give in to despair.

And it's not,

life is short,

so get as much stuff

as you can

or get all of the

adventurous experiences

that you can.

You know that company

that started

the stand-up paddleboard craze?

You know these

paddleboards

that you stand up on?

The company that started that,

it's called YOLO.

You know what that stands for?

Y-O-L-O?

You only live once.

I hate that.

I mean,

I really hate that.

You only live once,

life is short,

so make sure to go paddleboarding.

Or make sure to climb some mountain,

or make sure to try this,

or try that

before your life is over.

I've actually suggested

to my children

that we should start up

an alternative paddleboard company

and name it YALT.

Not Y-O-L-O,

but Y-A-L-T,

YALT,

which stands for

you actually live twice.

One short life

with a lot at stake,

so don't be foolish

and limit your life

to adventures

and experiences

and accomplishments

or cynicism.

And then a really long life

called eternity.

Two lives,

the dot

and the line.

And Psalm 90 says,

Moses says,

I mean,

this is ancient wisdom.

Teach us to number our days

so that we might get

a heart of wisdom.

So that we might live

this one short life well.

Be fully prepared

for eternity.

And the big question,

of course,

is how?

How does that happen?

What is living wisely?

And the answer

is right there

in verse 14.

And the rest of this psalm.

Listen,

Psalm 90 verse 12

Psalms 90:12

is not by any means

talking about

merely human wisdom.

No,

it's God's wisdom

he's speaking of.

This is being

in right relationship

with God,

Him,

being,

our dwelling place.

God's wisdom

is true wisdom

and it is found for us

in only one place.

Verse 14,

satisfy us

in the morning

with your

steadfast love.

So that we might rejoice.

and be glad

all of our days.

Listen,

let's back up

just a bit.

Right at verse 13,

something turns.

I don't know

if you noticed that

when we were reading.

Something dramatically turns.

While Moses is very aware

of the situation

that we live in,

that he's been talking about

in the first 11 or 12 verses,

he also knows

that that's not

the end of the story.

There is something

in him,

something very strong

in him

that cries out,

verse 13,

return,

O Lord,

how long

have pity

on your servants.

Translation,

do something,

God.

Don't leave us

in this situation.

Have pity on us.

In fact,

he just continues on

in that vein.

The rest of this psalm

is a prayer

with Moses

pleading with God.

I mean,

you could take those words,

O Lord,

from verse 13

and just distribute them

down to every verse

from that point on.

Verse 14,

O Lord,

satisfy us.

O Lord,

make us glad.

Verse 15,

verse 17,

O Lord,

let your favor

be upon us.

O Lord,

do something

to save us.

And that is not

just some desperate

prayer in the dark.

Moses knows

what he's asking for.

He knows what he wants

and he knows

what he needs

the Lord to do.

It is best summarized

there in verse 14.

In fact,

this is one of the

great summarizing

verses of the Bible.

Satisfy us

in the morning

with your steadfast love

so that we might rejoice

and be glad

all of our days.

That's what is needed.

Now,

the key thing there

is that little

two-word phrase,

steadfast love.

It's actually

just one word

in Hebrew

and it's a beautiful word.

It's the word hesed.

When I say beautiful,

I don't necessarily mean

beautiful sounding,

although I'm sure

after people understood

what it meant.

They came to love

that word.

Sometimes that word

is translated into English

by the word mercy,

sometimes by loving kindness.

You might see that

in your Bible,

but I think the better

translation is this one,

steadfast love.

It speaks of God's

eternal,

unbreakable commitment

to love his people.

Grounded in his being,

in his character,

in his heart,

it speaks of his eternal

and absolutely reliable love.

Sometimes it is spoken of

as his covenant love.

But the key idea

is the love

that flows out

of his heart

of love

for his people.

You see,

despite the reality

of his judgment,

there is still

this commitment

of God

to love his people.

And you see that,

how critical that is

to the thought

of verse 14.

And satisfy us

with your steadfast love

so that we can rejoice

and be glad

all of our days.

You can feel

the weight of that,

especially after what

verses 1 through 12

have said.

It's not just critical

to the thought

of verse 14.

It's critical

to our existence.

We have been wrecked,

just devastated

by our sin

and by God's judgment.

Our lives are short

and we sense

that's not the way

it's supposed to be.

Our lives are filled

with toil and trouble.

And we sense

that's not the way

it's supposed to be

and we live all

of our days

under the judgment

of God

with the reality

of death

always there

whether we think

about it or not.

So we cry out,

O Lord,

have pity.

Rescue us.

Bring us out

of the hopelessness

of all of that.

Show some favor

to us.

Instead of dismaying us,

satisfy us.

And we know

what will do that.

At least Moses knows.

It's your love

for us, O Lord.

the expression

of the demonstration

of your deep-hearted

commitment to love

your people,

your steadfast love.

That is the only thing

that will cause

a people who have been

so devastated by sin

and by your judgment

to be rescued

and therefore

to be able to rejoice,

in fact,

to be glad

all of our days.

The expression

of the demonstration

of God's heart

of love,

his purpose

of love,

his promise

to love

his people.

Some time ago,

a friend of mine

shared this story

from his own life.

Now, admittedly,

it wasn't the most

dire of circumstances,

but he felt it.

And I think we can relate

as we listen to this,

and it serves wonderfully

to illustrate the point

that I'm trying to make

from Psalm 90,

Psalms 90:14

verse 14.

Here's what he said.

When I was going

from high school

to college,

I was going

to a university

in a town

I had never visited,

a college I had never seen,

and my father took me.

We were driving

from St. Louis to Chicago,

driving up Highway 55,

and I started out

real excited,

talkative,

but the closer we got

to the university,

the more scared I got.

At some point,

my father looked over to me

and said,

you're scared,

aren't you?

And I said,

I am.

We were driving

up Highway 55,

we were in the cornfields

of southern Illinois,

and my father simply

pulled off to the side

of the road,

stopped the car,

turned off the engine,

and he said,

now,

you look at me.

You are my son,

and nothing is going

to change that.

I don't know

if you will do well

at that school.

I don't know

if you will do poorly,

but my home

is always your home.

I am your father,

and nothing you do,

nothing you fail to do

is going to change that.

I love you.

You are mine.

He goes on to say,

did that take all the problems

and struggles away?

No,

but it was a comfort,

and it was security,

and ultimately,

it was strength.

And then he makes this point.

God says to his people,

I love you,

and you are mine.

I have loved you

with an everlasting love,

and I have called you

with loving kindness.

What you do

did not get you

into that relationship

with me,

and what you do

will not get you

out of that relationship

with me.

You are mine.

This is God's commitment

to us.

It is God's steadfast love

for us,

and I want to just

come right out now

and say it.

That steadfast love

from God

for his people

is expressed.

It is demonstrated.

It is shown

particularly

in Jesus.

The whole Old Testament

anticipates it.

The New Testament

celebrates it.

It's there

in his coming.

It's there

in his living

a perfectly righteous life

for us

in our place.

You know,

we make so much

of the fact

that Jesus died

in our place,

and he did,

but his life

was in our place as well.

He fulfilled

all righteousness

for us,

and then,

yes,

he died in our place

swallowing up

the judgment

of death

so that those

who run to him

and trust in him,

their lives

are no longer defined

by being under

the judgment of God.

What a difference.

What good news.

God's judgment

on us

poured out

on Christ

in our place.

God's mercy shown.

God's steadfast love

demonstrated,

and because of that,

instead of being

under the sentence

of death,

we have life.

Listen,

if God doesn't show

his love for us,

we're still in verse 7

and verse 9.

We are brought to an end

by your anger.

All our days pass away

under your wrath.

If God doesn't show

his love for us,

we're stuck

in verse 10.

And then,

the terrifying prospect

of eternity

separated from God.

But now,

because God

so loved the world

that he gave

his only begotten son

so that whoever

believes in him

should not perish

but have everlasting life.

God's steadfast love.

And instead of

not giving any thought

about these things

like verse 11,

now we say,

verse 16,

let your work.

That's speaking of

God's salvation,

his steadfast love

shown in Christ.

Let your work

be shown to your servants

and your glorious power

to their children.

Jesus is what we need.

And living with wisdom

in this short life

is facing our need

and then looking

to God's steadfast love

for us in Christ.

That's what we are able

to be satisfied by.

And I don't know

that there is a greater

statement of that

in all the Bible

than in the book of Romans,

Romans 8 · chapter mention

chapter 8.

Just listen to these

incredible words.

What then shall we say

to these things?

If God is for us,

who can be against us?

Who shall bring any charge

against God's elect?

It is God who justifies.

Who is to condemn?

Christ Jesus is the one

who died,

more than that,

who was raised,

who is at the right hand

of God,

who indeed is interceding

for us.

For I am sure

that neither death,

nor life,

nor angels,

nor rulers,

nor things present,

nor things to come,

nor powers,

nor height,

nor depth,

nor anything else

in all creation

will be able to separate us

from the love of God

in Christ Jesus,

our Lord.

In Christ,

in Jesus,

the steadfast love of God,

the eternal kindness

of God for his people

has come to us.

And it is the ground

we stand on

to say,

with David,

as individual Christians,

and,

may I say,

as a local gathering

gathering of believers.

It's that ground

we stand on

to say,

satisfy us in the morning

with your steadfast love,

that we may rejoice

and be glad

all of our days.

Make us glad

for as many days

as you have afflicted us,

for as many years

as we have seen evil.

Let your work

be shown to your servants

and your glorious power

to their children.

Let the favor

of the Lord,

our God,

be upon you.

and establish

the work of your hands.

Yes,

establish the work

of our hands.

Even in this life,

with all of its uncertainties

and its ambiguities

and its frustrations,

even in this life

with its struggles,

there can be gladness

in our days

because of the steadfast

love of God

poured out in our lives

in and through

Jesus Christ,

the King,

to Him be glory.

Amen.

Let's pray together.

Father, thank You

for Your Word.

Thank You for Your Spirit

who takes it

and brings it to us.

Thank You for Your church,

gathering of believers.

I pray that You would

take Your Word

and by Your Spirit

bring it to us

as Your people

and give us strength.

Put faith in us.

Help us to obey.

Help us to persevere,

we pray.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.