A Voice in the Wilderness

All right, well this morning as we continue our way through the Gospel of Luke,

we've already covered now the first two chapters of the book.

And just as a bit of a recap, these are some of the things that Luke has told us about.

The first sign that God was about to do something was the angel Gabriel

appearing to Zechariah in the temple.

And we heard the announcement of John's birth.

Then there was the appearance of the angel to Mary.

And we heard the announcement of the birth of Jesus,

the one who would be the Messiah and the Son of God.

Then there was the miraculous conceptions of both women,

one elderly and one a virgin.

Then we heard about the birth of John and then the birth of Jesus.

We heard the prophetic praise of both Mary and Zechariah.

Luke told us about the circumcision and naming of both John and Jesus.

And then there was the dedication of Jesus as an infant at the temple

and the prophetic words that were spoken about him by Simeon and Anna.

And then last Sunday, we heard about one memorable moment from Jesus' boyhood

when he was 12 years old.

We heard about Jesus' understanding of who he was.

And from there, Luke now fast forwards 18 years

to the events leading up to the public ministry of Jesus.

And things began to unfold in this way.

From Luke chapter 3, let me read the first couple verses for us.

Luke 3 · chapter mention

In the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar,

when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea,

Herod, tetrarch of Galilee,

his brother Philip, tetrarch of Aeturia and Trachonitis,

and Lysanias, tetrarch of Abilene,

during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas,

the word of God came to John, son of Zechariah, in the wilderness.

So Luke anchors the chronology of this whole next part of the story

in the historical reigns of several well-known political figures.

We notice that there's been a change of emperor in the Roman Empire.

If we just glance back at Luke chapter 2,

Luke 2 · chapter mention

it says,

In those days, Caesar Augustus issued a decree.

Well, now there's a new Caesar,

and it's Tiberius.

Augustus, he ruled up until about 14 AD and died.

But 10 years prior to this,

he formally adopted his stepson, Tiberius,

making him an heir to the imperial throne.

And Luke tells us that what we're about to read

happened in the 15th year already of Tiberius' rule.

Luke also lets us know who the local rulers were at the time in Israel.

And we notice here, too, that some things have changed.

When Jesus was born,

Herod was king of the whole land of Israel,

though it was under Roman rule.

But not long after Jesus was born,

King Herod died.

Upon his death,

Herod's kingdom was divided up into four parts,

and his sons and daughters became the rulers of each of those parts.

Rome did not grant them the title of king or queen,

but gave them the title of tetrarch,

meaning ruler of a fourth part.

By this time,

the southern region of Judea,

where Jerusalem is,

is now a Roman province,

and it's ruled by the Roman governor,

Pontius Pilate.

And Galilee in the north

is ruled by Herod the tetrarch.

So this is not King Herod,

but King Herod's son,

a man who is named Herod Antipas.

So this kind of sets the political landscape for us.

It helps us know when all this happened,

and who's in power.

And both Herod and Pilate are going to play

a role in what's about to unfold.

So it's good to know a little bit of who they are.

In addition to all this,

Luke sets the landscape on the religious side of things

a little bit,

as far as the temple goes.

He says,

this happened during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas.

And both of these men will also factor into

what happens with Jesus.

So this is kind of a long intro

to what Luke is about to tell us.

But Luke wants us to know precisely

when these things took place.

He wants us to know this stuff that happened

happened at a definite time.

These are real people.

And finally, we come to Luke's main statement

in all of this.

During the reigns of these men

and the high priesthood of these men,

the word of God came to John,

son of Zechariah, in the wilderness.

The word of God came to John.

This is a figure of speech that's often used in the Old Testament

to describe how God would speak to people.

We often read there,

the word of God or the word of the Lord came to

men like Abram,

Samuel,

Nathan,

Solomon,

Elijah,

Isaiah,

Jeremiah,

Ezekiel,

and many more.

And the majority of these references

describe not just how God spoke to people,

but specifically how he spoke to men called prophets.

And these men were then tasked with relaying the word of God

which came to them to the people,

to others.

In fact, I would argue that's the very essence

of what a prophet is in the scriptures.

It's a person to whom the word of God comes.

They begin to hear the voice of God speaking to them

and are responsible then to speak those same words to others.

So this statement of Luke's lets us know

that there was a specific time

when God began to speak to John,

the son of Zechariah,

and then threw him to the people.

He wasn't born a prophet.

The sense we get here is that he didn't become a prophet

until he began hearing the voice of God

all these years later

during the reigns of these men.

And so this is yet another sign that God is at work.

And this one is going to be very visible

compared to some of the other ones

that many did not know about.

Do you remember what Gabriel said about John

to his father Zechariah

even before John was conceived?

Gabriel said that John would go on before the Lord

in the spirit and power of Elijah

to turn the hearts of the parents to their children

and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous

to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

Do you remember what Zechariah prophesied

on the day that they named John

when his tongue was set free

and he was able to speak again?

He said,

So they waited about 30 years.

30 years.

And then finally,

God's word came true.

The word of God came to John.

John began hearing the voice of God

while he was out in the wilderness

and he began speaking the word of God to the people.

Verse 3.

John went into all the country around the Jordan

preaching a baptism of repentance

for the forgiveness of sins.

So John begins traveling around

kind of the lesser inhabited regions of the Jordan River

and as he goes about,

he is preaching.

He is proclaiming the words

that he is hearing from God.

And what does God have to say to people?

Luke sums it up with

a baptism of repentance

for the forgiveness of sins.

And that's a loaded phrase there.

There's a lot in there.

So we're going to unpack it.

We'll go one word at a time.

First of all,

he was preaching a baptism.

In other words,

he was proclaiming that people should come

and be baptized.

The word baptized is a transliteration

of the Greek word baptizo.

And it means to immerse

or to plunge

or to dip

or to wash in water.

And so John was proclaiming

that people should come

and be dipped

into the water of the Jordan River.

And this physical immersion of people

into the water

had a symbolic spiritual meaning.

This baptism signified repentance.

Repentance means

to have a change of mind

or a change of heart.

And it often includes

an element of remorse

or regret for wrongs done.

The Bible frequently speaks

of repenting of sins,

which includes this idea

of confessing

or acknowledging to God

the wrongs that we have done.

So it's not just an intellectual

change of mind

like a change of beliefs.

The call to repent

is a call to personally own

and admit

your sins,

your wrongs

to the Lord.

And I can't emphasize

this relational aspect

of repentance enough.

You know,

this isn't just about

seeing the negative consequences

of our sins

and then resolving

to do something different

or something better.

This is about understanding

that in all our sins,

we are sinning against

God himself.

There's a relational aspect there.

We transgress

against God himself.

And so repentance

is this relational thing.

And some of the most

helpful words here

are the words of Jesus,

which he spoke later on

in Luke.

Luke chapter 17,

Luke 17:3

verse 3.

Jesus says,

If your brother or sister

sins against you,

rebuke them.

And if they repent,

forgive them.

Even if they sin against you

seven times in a day,

and seven times

come back to you

saying,

I repent,

you must forgive them.

Notice the relational nature

of repentance.

It involves going to the person

that you sinned against

and acknowledging

that you wronged them.

Why would you do that?

Because the relationship

is broken.

And in order to restore it,

you must go to that person.

You must admit the wrong

that you've done

to that person

and seek their forgiveness.

Now this example

of repentance

and forgiveness,

which Jesus

mentions here,

is between human beings.

But now John

is calling people

to repent

of their sins

against God.

And here's

the wonderful good news.

He was preaching

a baptism

of repentance

for the forgiveness

of sins.

So come,

repent

of your sins

against God.

Confess the wrongs

that you have done

to Him.

God is eager.

He is willing

to forgive you

of your sins.

Be dipped

in this water

here,

now,

right there

in the Jordan,

believing

that God

will wash

you clean

of the guilt

of your sins

against Him.

This is what

the baptism

symbolized.

It was an act

that God gave

for people to do,

very tangible,

as they were

confessing,

as they were

repenting.

They'd give

that confession

of their sins

to God

and then John

would dip

them in the water

as a sort

of tangible,

visible,

outward show

of what God

will do

for the person

who repents.

He will wash

them clean.

He will cleanse

them of their guilt.

And so this is

what John is doing.

He's going around

the countryside

of the Jordan River

proclaiming that

people should repent

of their sins

and be baptized

and in so doing

find God's forgiveness.

And Luke

lets us know

that as John

went about

and did this,

an ancient

word of God

spoken through

the prophet Isaiah

was being fulfilled

right in front

of their eyes.

John did all this

as it is written

in the book

of the words

of Isaiah

the prophet.

And then he quotes

the very words

of Isaiah

written some 700

years before this

and these words

come from

Isaiah chapter 40.

Isaiah 40 · chapter mention

A voice of one

calling in the

wilderness.

Prepare the way

for the Lord.

Make straight

paths for him.

Every valley

shall be filled

in.

Every mountain

and hill

made low.

The crooked roads

shall become

straight.

The rough ways

smooth.

And all people

will see

God's salvation.

Now if you go

back in your Bible

to Isaiah

and you look up

this passage

you'll notice

the wording

is a little

different there

and I just

want to address

that briefly.

There are several

reasons for this.

First of all

Luke is writing

this in Greek

but Isaiah

was penned

in Hebrew.

They are two

different languages

and therefore

we expect to see

some differences

because no two

languages have

perfect word

to word

or phrase

to phrase

equivalents

especially when

it comes to

poetry

or figures

of speech

which this

contains.

So that's why

we see a slight

difference

in the wording

especially in the

back half

of the quote.

We see

crooked roads

becoming straight

as a translation

for rough ground

becoming level.

And we see

the it

of Isaiah

Isaiah 40:5

40 verse 5

specified

by Luke

as God's

salvation.

These were

translation

decisions

made by those

who produced

the first

Greek translation

of the Old

Testament

known as

the Septuagint

over 100

years before

Jesus was

born.

We also

notice that

Luke feels

free to

paraphrase

and condense

a few lines

of this quote.

He condenses

and paraphrases

Isaiah 40

Isaiah 40:3

verse 3

make straight

paths for

him

instead of

make straight

in the desert

a highway

for our

God.

And he also

feels free to

leave out the

first line

of Isaiah

Isaiah 40:5

40 verse 5.

He just

goes straight

to and all

people will

see

God's salvation.

And so

that's why we

see some

differences here

if we look

back.

But they

shouldn't

concern us

or alarm us

because there's

natural reasons

for these

differences

both in

language

and in

the way

that people

often refer

to or quote

things that

are written

by others.

In addition

to that we

trust and we

believe that

Luke quotes

this the way

that he does

under the

guidance and

inspiration of

the Holy Spirit.

Let's dig

into the meaning

of these words

though.

Isaiah says

a voice of

one calling

in the

wilderness.

What is it

that Isaiah

was prophesying

700 years

before this?

I mean we

don't have

time to look

at the full

context of

the book of

Isaiah or

even chapter

40.

But to sum

it up Israel

has been

disobedient to

God and God

has promised

to bring the

punishment on

them that he

had foretold in

the law of

Moses.

But Isaiah

40 tells of

how God

will again

in the

future comfort

his people

and reveal

himself to

his people

and save

his people

and restore

them.

And these

words of

Isaiah quoted

by Luke tell

of how it

will begin.

It will

begin with

a voice

calling out

or crying

out in

the wilderness.

Luke's

saying that's

what John

the son of

Zachariah

was.

He was

that voice.

Look at the

details of the

prophecy.

What is the

voice crying

out?

What is the

voice saying?

The message

of the

voice

is prepare

the way

for the

Lord.

Make straight

paths for

him.

to put it

in other

words.

Get ready.

The

Lord

God

himself

is coming.

He's

coming

to us.

Let's

prepare

for his

arrival.

Until the

prophecy

foretold

this voice

calling out

in the

wilderness

telling the

people to

get ready

for the

coming

of the

Lord.

And we

should

notice

back in

Isaiah

where the

prophecy

is stated

the

Lord

is the

divine

name

of

God.

Prepare

the way

for

Yahweh.

And what

follows

this statement

is a

metaphorical

poetic way

of describing

how we

should prepare

for his

arrival.

What

should we

do to

get ready?

And

Isaiah

speaks

with the

language of

road

building.

Prepare

the way

for him.

Make

straight

paths

for him.

If we

glance back

to Isaiah

Isaiah 40 · chapter mention

chapter 40,

the original

quote,

the longer

version in

verse 3,

make straight

in the

desert a

highway

for our

God.

The

Lord God

himself is

coming to

visit us

and so

let's get

the road

ready by

which he

will arrive

to us.

And then

the lines

which follow,

we're back

in Luke

Luke 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3

here,

verse 5,

are all

about road

building as

well.

Every valley

shall be

filled in,

every mountain

and hill

made low.

The crooked

road shall

become

straight,

the rough

ways

smooth.

All of

this is

figurative

and poetic

language

which describes

what happens

when you

build a

highway.

The point

of a

highway

is to

make

travel

easy

and fast

from one

place

to another.

And so

rather than

winding the

narrow road

from one

place to

the next,

taking the

easiest path

in the

landscape,

highways are

built in the

most direct

and straight

way possible.

So when you

come to a

dip in the

land or a

valley,

instead of

going around

that dip,

the goal

here is to

make it

faster,

to make it

direct.

So we'll

fill in that

and put the

highway right

through.

if you

want to

travel by

cart or

carriage,

pulled by

an animal

back in

these days,

this is

important.

The road

can only

be so

steep.

You don't

want to

have a

steep valley,

staircase right

in the middle

of the road.

How are you

going to get

down that

with your

animals?

The same

thing applies

when you

come to a

hill or a

mountain.

I mean,

you could

build that

road all

the way

around,

but the

whole point

of a

highway is

for easy,

fast,

direct travel.

And so if

there's a

hill in the

way,

let's flatten

it down.

If there's

a mountain,

let's cut

through it

and make

it low

and level

in the

place where

the road

goes through

because we

don't want

to waste

time getting

from here

to there.

We don't

want to

have a

crooked road

that takes

us farther

out of the

way and

then has to

come all

the way

back.

We want

that road

straight.

Make the

road straight

and make

that road

smooth.

We all

know out

here in

rural Saskatchewan

that those

rough gravel

roads are

just a little

slower and

more difficult

than the

smooth paved

asphalt of

the highway.

All of

this is the

language of

road building

and making

these kinds

of changes

to build

a highway

is a lot

of work.

Why go

to all

this effort?

Why not

just use

the long

and windy

road with

the difficult

sections that

we already

have?

And it

has to do

with the

purpose of

the road.

It has to

do with who's

going to be

traveling on

it.

It has to

do with that

need for

efficient travel

between two

places.

Think about

roads in our

modern times.

roads.

You know

the roads

that just

don't get

a lot of

people traveling

down them?

They're usually

gravel for a

reason.

If it's even

less traveled

than that it

could be a

dirt road and

it could be

almost impassable

in some of

the wet

months.

So the

number of

people that

are going

from here

to there

increases the

importance of

that road or

the goods that

flow along

that road

increases the

importance of

the road and

that's why we

spend hundreds

of millions

of dollars

adding lanes

and paving

and widening

our major

highways between

our major

cities.

But we'll

just let the

local grader

do his best

on that

country road

out by where

all the farms

are.

I remember

when they were

still twinning

some of the

major highways

in northern

Alberta up to

Grand Prairie

it was a

massive project

on some

stretches.

The amount

of dirt that

had to be

moved was

amazing.

There was all

kinds of

heavy machinery

and equipment

and there

were trucks

coming and

going constantly

taking dirt

from where

there was too

much moving

it over to

where there

wasn't enough

trying to

level it out

so that that

second part

of the

twinning

would be

level with

the first.

Why go to

all that

work?

Because the

growing amount

of traffic

on that road

required it.

Industry

which pays

the bills

needs those

major arteries

to move

trees or

oil or

whatever

equipment,

parts,

food,

fuel.

people,

I'm not

an expert

in it by

any means,

but I

loved learning

a little bit

about the

challenges

involved with

punching the

railway through

the Rockies

to the west

coast of

Canada.

Insane

amounts of

work had

to be done

blasting

through solid

rock of

the mountains

and carefully

planned tunnels

and switchbacks.

Why go to

all that

trouble?

Again,

because of the

importance of

connecting that

the western

coast with

the rest

of the

country.

It's a

massive amount

of work,

but the

payoff is

going to

far outweigh

that.

But now

let's look

at the

text.

What's he

talking about?

What's the

importance here?

What's so

significant that

we need to

go about

making massive

changes in

the landscape

to build a

highway?

What's so

important here

is that God

himself is

coming?

God himself

is coming

to his

people.

The days

of kings

and queens

are mostly

behind us,

but we still

use the phrase

once in a

while,

roll out

the red

carpet.

Back in the

day, you

know, if the

king of your

country was

coming to

visit your

little town,

would you

not make

special

preparations?

Would you

not touch

things up a

little bit?

Maybe he's

going to stay

at the

local inn.

Let's do

something about

this lumpy,

dirty, muddy

parking lot.

You know, we're

going to make

that path smooth

for him.

We're going to

fix it up so

that when he

comes, he

doesn't have to

walk and get

his feet all

muddy and

dirty between

his carriage and

the hotel.

Queen Elizabeth

came to

visit in

Regina in

2005 and

my parents

worked downtown

at the time.

My mom

noticed that

they spray

painted the

lawn of the

Sask Hotel

green before

she arrived.

I mean, it

was probably

more like a

liquid dye or

something, but

you know, we

do this sort

of thing to

honor royalty,

people of

great importance

to us.

I mean, can

you imagine

the queen

coming over

from Europe

and then

staying at a

hotel with

all this

crispy brown

grass?

Like, don't

they have

water here?

Fertilizer?

Is this the

best you could

do?

But these

preparations

should go far

beyond that.

This is not

about some

human king or

queen coming.

It's about

God himself

coming to

us.

It's the

Lord.

It's the

Almighty, the

creator of

heaven and

earth.

Prepare the

way for him.

So absolutely,

we should roll

out the red

carpet.

Absolutely, let's

knock that

mountain down.

Let's raise

that valley up.

Let's make a

smooth highway,

direct travel

for him to

arrive on.

But hold on a

second.

What does that

even mean?

In what way

is God

coming?

As we'll see

next week,

John declared

the arrival

of Jesus

because in

Jesus,

God,

the Lord,

has come

to us.

Jesus

himself is

the Lord

incarnate,

enfleshed,

come to

visit,

come to

live among

us.

It's maybe a

different way

than people

were expecting.

So now,

how do we get

ready for him?

How do we make

preparations?

In what sense

are we to

fill in the

valleys and

flatten the

mountains and

straighten the

crooked and

smooth the

rough places?

Well, we need

only to look

down the

page at

what John

told the

people to

do, to

understand what

kinds of

changes Isaiah

is talking

about with

his highway

building

metaphor.

And we see

very quickly

here that

Isaiah and

John are not

talking about

massive changes

to the

landscape in

Israel.

They're talking

about massive

changes to

the landscape

of our

lives.

In other

words,

preparations

need to be

made for

the Lord's

coming, but

they don't

involve changes

to the

earth, but

changes to

our hearts.

This brings

us back to

that key word

that we heard

earlier,

repentance.

There's a

major need

for changes

to be made

to get

ready for

God to

come to

us, to

prepare

ourselves to

welcome the

Lord.

These changes

must start in

here, with a

turning away

from sin and

self toward

God.

truthfully,

moving actual

mountains and

filling actual

valleys would

be easier

because we

have some

pretty tall

mountains in

here.

We have some

pretty low

valleys in

here.

We have some

pretty crooked

things in

here.

Some pretty

rough places

which need

to be

smooth.

But let's

not miss the

last line

quoted of

Isaiah's

prophecy.

A voice is

going to cry

out in the

wilderness for

preparations to

be made, to

get ready for

the coming of

the Lord.

Some massive

changes need to

happen to

welcome him,

and all

people will

see God's

salvation.

All people

will see

God's

salvation.

Isn't that

so obviously

what the

story of

Jesus is

all about?

God's

saving us.

And at the

very center of

his plan to

save us is

this man

whom we're

about to hear

next week,

whom John

is declaring,

Jesus.

never has

God's

salvation been

so visible,

so tangible,

so flesh and

blood, and

yet so

powerful and

divine.

God's

salvation is

not just a

plan hatched

by God

before the

world began.

His salvation

is not just a

concept of

theology.

His salvation

is not some

invisible

intervention that

cannot be

explained at

all or seen

or understood.

God's salvation

is the person

of Jesus

Christ who

all may see.

Think about

this.

He's going to

walk through

their streets,

travel their

country roads.

The young

and the old

will see him.

The rich

and the poor

will see him.

and he's

going to

deliver people

from illnesses

and injuries

and even

birth defects

that have

plagued them

for years

and he's

going to do

even more

than that.

He's going

to save

people from

their sins,

from their

guilt.

All people

will see

God's

salvation.

That's what

Isaiah declared

700 years

before this.

And now

the voice

has come,

Luke saying,

John

was that

voice letting

us know

that the

time is

here.

Next Sunday

we're going

to hear some

of the actual

words of

John as

he was doing

this preaching

of repentance,

as he was

preparing the

people for

the coming

of the Lord.

And let me

warn you,

John's

words,

which as we

heard,

they came

from God.

The word

of God

came to

John.

John's

words are

not for the

faint of

heart.

If you

want to

talk about

hellfire and

brimstone

preaching,

John's

preaching has

some of

that in

it for

sure.

But

alongside of

that is

the greatest

news that

our world

has ever

heard,

which John

declared.

More on

that next

Sunday.

For today,

I wonder

if you can

begin to

imagine

yourself

there in

the land

of Israel

all those

years ago.

Can you

imagine

everybody in

your country

flocking

out to

this remote

place by

the river

to hear

this man

whom they

realized many

was a

prophet?

can you

imagine him

preaching to

you as

you stand

on the

shore?

Can you

imagine him

saying,

come down

here into

the water,

confess your

sins to

God.

You have

sinned against

him.

We all

have,

but God

is eager

and willing

to forgive

you.

repent,

come,

be cleansed,

be washed

of all

your guilt.

God is

merciful.

He is

mighty to

save.

He's about

to come

to us

just as

he said

long ago.

His great

salvation is

about to

appear.

His kingdom

is near.

Would you

go down

into the

water?

would you

confess?

Would you

seek God's

forgiveness?

Would you

be baptized

in the

water?

These

things are

not just

what people

needed to

do way

back then.

This

thing of

repentance

is the

thing that

we all

need to

do.

Even

today,

even

now,

in order

to

prepare

ourselves

to

receive

the

Lord

Jesus.

Have you

repented?

Have you

confessed

your sins

to God?

Have you

sought

his

forgiveness?

Many

of us

in this

room have

done

this.

But if

you haven't,

God is

waiting for

you to

do

this.

Jesus

himself

said that

God is

waiting like

a loving

father

with his

arms wide

open,

waiting for

you to

come

home.

Have you

repented?

Have you

come

home?

all of

this

sweet,

powerful,

wonderful

forgiveness

that's

offered

comes

through

Jesus

Christ.

So I

want to

urge you,

if you

haven't done

this,

don't wait

until it's

too late

to make

your peace

with God.

as we're

going to

hear next

Sunday

from the

words of

John,

there is

a too

late.

There is

a moment

that comes

when God

says,

I've

given you

ample

opportunity

and time

and now

you're going

to get

what you

deserve

because I

am just.

There is

a too

late for

those who

ignore God's

mercy.

And so I

want to

urge you,

just as

John did,

if you

haven't done

this,

repent and

believe the

good news

that God

is eager

and willing

to forgive

you.

He desires

to save.

He desires

us to be

washed clean

as the

baptism points

to.

And so

come to

him,

call out

to him

if you

haven't

done

that

already.

Let's

pray.

Father in

heaven,

we thank

you for

the chance

to know

what happened

in the days

leading up

to your

son revealing

himself to

the whole

nation.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

for some

of us

it's

maybe not

the message

we want

to hear.

Repent.

But I

pray that

you would

help us,

Lord,

for those

who haven't

done it,

that you

would help

them to

humbly

bow before

you and

come to

you.

and for

those of

us who

have,

Lord,

I pray

that we

would

remember

that we

live

because of

your mercy,

your grace,

your kindness,

your eagerness

to forgive.

love.

We thank

you for

that,

Lord.

I pray

that we

wouldn't be

ashamed of

these words

and this

message,

which was

your message

through John.

Lord,

I even

pray that

we would

be willing

to speak

these words

to the

people around

us.

Lord,

we know

it's not

comfortable,

we know

it's not

popular,

but these

are the

words that

prepare

people,

that get

our hearts

ready

for

salvation's

arrival.

Give us

courage,

Lord,

to speak

them.

I pray

this in

your name.

Amen.