The Better King - Josiah, Part 1

Morning. I am Jason. I serve here as one of the pastors. Welcome to you. It's good to see you here. And it is a wonderful morning, resurrection morning, the celebration of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

I'm going to ask you if you'd open your Bibles. Find a Bible maybe. If you don't have one, there should be there. One there in front of you in the pew, maybe under the chair, I should say.

And maybe you've got an app, a phone. Find the book of Kings. 2 Kings. We're going to stay in 2 Kings. And if you're visiting with us, we'd like to invite you to join us on this journey that we have been taking through the history of the kings of Israel.

And today we get introduced to a new one in chapter 22. So 2 Kings, chapter 22, and this king's name is Josiah. Josiah.

2 Kings 22 · chapter mention

And I'll begin reading for us in verse 1. You can follow along with me as I read aloud.

Josiah was 8 years old when he began to reign. And he reigned 31 years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath.

And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and walked in all the way of David his father, and he did not turn aside to the right or to the left.

In the 18th year of King Josiah, the king sent Shaphan, the son of Azaliah, the son of Meshulam, the secretary, to the house of the Lord, saying, Go up to Hilkiah the priest, that he may count out the money that has been brought into the house of the Lord,

which the keepers of the threshold have collected from the people. And let it be given into the hand of the workmen who have oversight of the house of the Lord.

And let them give it to the workmen who are at the house of the Lord, repairing the house. That is, to the carpenters, and to the builders, and to the masons.

And let them use it for buying timber and quarried stone to repair the house. But no accounting shall be asked from them for the money that is delivered into their hand, for they deal honestly.

And Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord. And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it.

And Shaphan the secretary came to the king, and reported to the king, Your servants have emptied out the money that was found in the house, and have delivered it into the hand of the workmen who have oversight of the house of the Lord.

Then Shaphan the secretary told the king, Hilkiah the priest has given me a book. And Shaphan read it before the king. When the king heard the words of the book of the law, he tore his clothes.

And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Achbor the son of Micaiah, and Shaphan the secretary, and Asaiah the king's servants, saying, Go inquire of the Lord for me, and for the people, and for all of Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found.

For great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.

So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahiakam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asaiah, went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shalom, the son of Tikvah, the son of Harvah, keeper of the wardrobe.

Now she lived in Jerusalem in the second quarter, and they talked with her. And she said to them, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, Tell the man who sent you to me, Thus says the Lord, Behold, I will bring disaster upon this place, and upon its inhabitants,

all the words of the book that the king of Judah has read, because they have forsaken me, and have made offerings to other gods, that they might provoke me to anger, with all the work of their hands.

Therefore, my wrath will be kindled against this place, and it will not be quenched. But to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, Thus you shall say to him, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, Regarding the words that you have heard, because your heart was penitent,

and you humbled yourself before the Lord, when you heard how I spoke against this place, and against its inhabitants, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and you have torn your clothes, and wept before me, I also have heard you, declares the Lord.

Therefore, behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes shall not see all the disaster, that I will bring upon this place.

And they brought back word to the king. Can I ask you to bow your heads with me, and let's pray once more. Father, on this day, this day that we commemorate the resurrection of your son, we celebrate this moment, Lord, knowing that in him, and through him, is life.

And Lord, as we look into this rich history of the kings of Israel, teach us today. Father, we think of the needs within our congregation this morning.

Being a holiday does not change the burdens that many carry. We pray for those who are not well, who are sick. Father, we pray for some in our family, who are looking at the prospect of job loss, or who are looking for work.

And Father, this morning, we think especially of our sister, Erin Hollister. We pray for her family in the wake of this accident with her father.

We pray for her. We pray for your peace with the family. And we give this to you in Jesus' name. Amen.

Well, what's the first thing that we're told about this king, King Josiah? Well, other than that he's eight years old when he comes to the throne, which, I don't know, last time I checked, seemed a little young to rule a kingdom.

Other than that, we are told that, verse two, he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and that he walked in all the way of David, his father.

Now, if you're new with us this morning, let us try to catch you up. And I could probably sum it up pretty simply by saying this. The last couple of kings we've seen have been absolutely horrible.

They have been wicked, terrible. Men like Manasseh and Ammon were two of Judah's most vile and wicked kings, notwithstanding a brief end-of-life repentance from Manasseh.

But Josiah here is nothing like the men in his family, and that's a good thing. My wife often notices, and I've kind of been glossing over this throughout this book, how often that a new king, I think every time a new king is mentioned, the mother is mentioned.

And all we know about the mother is her name, Jedida. We don't know anything else, but maybe he took more after his mom, because he's actually a very good king.

Not just a good king, he's a great king, greater than his great-grandfather Hezekiah. Is he as good as the king David himself? Yes, he is. But you know what?

He's actually better. Because we're told that Josiah did not turn aside to the right or to the left, period, the end. And as great as David was, as much as David did right in the eyes of the Lord, and he himself did not turn aside from the commandments of the Lord,

1 Kings chapter 15 does offer us this one reminder. 1 Kings chapter 15, verse 5, David did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and did not turn aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.

1 Kings 15 · chapter mention 1 Kings 15:5

Yeah, there was that one time. That one exception where there was a major turning aside. In fact, I'd call it more than just turning aside. I would call it a complete U-turn.

He turned himself completely around into these destructive sins of adultery and murder. But not this king. Not Josiah. This son of David. Here's how he's going to be summed up.

Let me just jump you ahead. 1 chapter to chapter 23. 2 Kings chapter 23, verse 25. Listen to this. Before him there was no king like him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart, and all his soul, and all his might, according to all the law of Moses,

2 Kings 23:25

nor did any like him arise after him. You know what that means? It means that we can slap this label on Josiah as best king of Israel ever. Josiah is the ideal king.

And yet, what did we read in this chapter? What did the prophetess say about those words of judgment that Josiah read in the book of the law?

It makes us wonder, as good as this king is, is it too late? Is it too late for this kingdom?

Well, verse 3 jumps us ahead, about 18 more years into Josiah's reign. So he's no longer 8. He's 26. And while the parallel account that we keep looking at over in 2 Chronicles does describe some of the great reforms that he begins to make earlier in his reign,

how he started seeking after God in the 8th year when he was 16, about how he began to purge the land of idolatry at age 20, what our narrator wants to focus in on here, in verse 3, he jumps ahead,

and he focuses in on this particular moment in his 18th year. He now turns his attention to the repair of the house of the Lord, the Jerusalem temple.

And what he does is he commissions this Shaphan, secretary of the palace, to see to all the arrangements, and he's supposed to work in tandem with the high priest.

So it's a pretty good arrangement. And we're told it goes really well. They've already collected all the money from the people that they need to do the repairs, and they have everything that they need to buy the materials, to pay the laborers.

In fact, it's going so well, this effort to sort of whip the house of the Lord back into shape, it's going so well that we're told they don't even need an accounting from the workmen.

There's trust. There's honesty. And what a marked improvement from what we'd seen before. Because we wonder, how did the house get into such disrepair?

Well, probably due to the fact that kings before him, like Manasseh and Ammon, were using God's temple for wickedness, for despicable purposes.

And so again, they're doing it. Everything is working out well. The city is excited about this major renovation project. Transparency, honesty, no accounting needed.

As one scholar says, everything is being done by the book. And the workmen work hard. And speaking of by the book, it's as they're working, I'd imagine as they're doing some light demo inside the temple, they come upon a discovery.

Or really more like a rediscovery. We don't know whether it was holed up in some wall of masonry, or maybe unearthed somewhere in the floor, but they find a book, which technically speaking would be a scroll.

Experts tell us that scrolls like this were sometimes intentionally buried in the masonry of a temple, of a shrine. They would call these foundation boxes, almost like a time capsule or something like that,

that purposely people would sometimes conceal things in the base of a temple, and they would often in these boxes put things like the laws of the God.

Of course, this particular book that they found, this scroll, is the book of the law. And it should have been in plain sight. We get the sense that nobody's read this or seen this for some time.

What's been going on in Manasseh's 55-year reign, Ammon's two-year reign? That's the better part of half a century and more. Has no one been reading the book of the law?

It's wrong. It's out of order. Because the book of the law itself gave instructions about where it was supposed to be in the temple. Let me just share with you Deuteronomy chapter 31.

Deuteronomy 31 · chapter mention

Deuteronomy 31 verse 25. Moses commanded the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, take this book of the law and put it by the side of the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be there as a witness against you.

Deuteronomy 31:25

For I know how rebellious and stubborn you are. Moms and dads, this would be like making a rule, a set of rules for the household, writing them down on a notebook, and then telling your child, like, you just need to have this beside you everywhere you go, because I know how rebellious you are.

This is what God was saying to his people. And it makes us wonder how this could be lost. Certainly it wasn't accidental. We wonder, was it at some point conveniently removed from its proper position beside the ark of the covenant inside the temple?

And maybe it was removed because somebody didn't like its witness against them. Apparently that's exactly what happened. But this book is now found.

And as the construction foreman goes on to read it, he seems very unsettled by what he hears. The priest brings it to Chaffin the secretary.

And he's like, Mr. Secretary, we're working just fine. Construction's going well. But we found something. Verse 8, I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord.

And now Chaffin the secretary opens it up. And he starts reading it. And then in verse 9, he makes a beeline for the palace, doesn't he? And he gives King Josiah the construction report in verse 9.

You know, I can almost imagine how casual this must have seemed at first to Josiah, getting his daily construction briefing about the work going on in the temple.

Good old Chaffin the secretary is reliable as ever. Tell me again, Chaffin, how construction's going so well. Tell me about how hard the workers are working.

Tell me about how all the money's going exactly where it's supposed to. Chaffin concludes his quick report. And then I would imagine there's a pause.

The king looks up. He's got his full attention now. Oh, and one more thing, king. Hilkiah the priest has given me a book. And before Josiah can say book, what book?

What are you talking about? Shapin has already unrolled the scroll and begun to read aloud. Verse 11. Take a look. When the king heard the words of the book of the law, he tore his clothes.

That's not every day. He is wearing royal robes after all. And everyone knows what tearing your clothes means. It's a sign of great distress and mourning.

It's a way to express shock and alarm. Now, scholars speculate as to exactly what was being read. Surely not the entire Torah. They say it would take like 15 hours to read.

Trust me, I'm basing that on research. I didn't try it this week. 15 hours to read the whole thing. Most agree that it's probably a portion from the book of Deuteronomy.

That's how Deuteronomy refers to itself as this book of the law. And very likely it's from a section that's called the legal core. That would be from chapters 12 to chapter 28.

I looked over those verses. It's about 400, 440 verses in total. A normal person reading at a normal speed could read it in just over an hour.

We don't know. Maybe Shaphan read the whole thing. Or maybe, and I like to think, maybe he only read the last couple of chapters in that legal core.

Chapters 27 and 28. Because those happen to be the chapters where the blessings and curses for covenant obedience and covenant breaking are found.

We can't know for sure, but based on Josiah's desperate reaction, it would make sense. Especially if you heard something like this. Let me share a few passages with you.

Deuteronomy 28 verse 15. But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God, or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you.

Deuteronomy 28:15

Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field. That means no escape. Curses. Or maybe Josiah heard something like this.

Deuteronomy 28 verse 20. The Lord will send on you curses, confusion, and frustration in all that you undertake to do until you are destroyed and perish quickly on account of your evil deeds because you've forsaken me.

Deuteronomy 28:20

Or even maybe this. Verse 25. The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them.

Or even verse 36. The Lord will bring you and your king whom you set over you to a nation that neither you nor your fathers have known.

Check out Josiah's reaction. Here's these words. And you know what he does in tearing his clothes? It's such a sharp contrast to what his own son is going to do up ahead in the future.

Because we're going to read about a king named Jehoiakim who later will one day have someone read him the word of God. And you know what he's going to do?

He's going to sit there and ask for the scroll and cut off it piece by piece and throw it into the fire and burn it because he hates what he's reading because he has no heart because there is no repentance with Jehoiakim but with Josiah.

It's all heart and it's all repentance. Total and absolute humility.

And tearing his clothes is not the only thing that he does. In verse 13 he quickly assembles what you might call a task force. He says, I need a delegation to go to the nearest prophet to hear a prophetic word.

I need to hear from the Lord himself whether it is in fact too late for us. Verse 13, Go inquire of the Lord for me and for the people of Judah concerning the words of this book that has been found for great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us

because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book. We're told that they go over to the nearby second quarter of the city where it just so happens that the wife of another royal official the wife of Shalom keeper of the wardrobe lives.

Her name is Huldah and Huldah is a prophetess. And we're told that our delegation talked with her. And her prophetic word for the king comes in verse 15.

She says, Tell the man who sent you to me. And what she basically says is that yes, for the kingdom of Judah it is too late. Verse 16, Thus says the Lord, It's going to be disaster upon this place and upon its inhabitants.

All the words of the book that the king of Judah has just read, yes, they will happen. The Lord goes on through the prophetess to give reasons for this.

And these reasons would be to absolutely no one shock or surprise. It's because of all the forsaking of me. It's because of the generation after generation pursuit of idolatry that this kingdom has done.

It has all completely and utterly provoked me. The Lord says, My wrath has been kindled against this place and it will not be quenched. Talk about sobering words.

To hear the word from the Lord from a prophetess confirming the word of the Lord through Moses. But, verse 18, But to the king of Judah, listen to this, to the king who sent you to inquire of me, there's a personal message for him.

Verse 19, Because your heart was penitent and you humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard how I spoke against this place and its inhabitants, because you have torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you.

Did you catch that? Because you have heard me. Because you have listened to me, Josiah. I have also heard you, the Lord says. Therefore, behold, verse 20, I will gather you to your fathers

and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace and your eyes shall not see all the disaster that I will bring upon this place. being gathered to one's fathers, that means it's a death not by judgment.

And as for going to his grave in peace, that simply means he'll get an honorable burial. Not necessarily a natural death. And as a matter of fact, Josiah will not die a natural death.

But the Lord is telling him that he will pass and have an honorable burial before this city is invaded and this kingdom falls. And just like that, our chapter breaks as we're told that our delegation upon hearing this prophetic word from the prophetess,

they now brought back word to the king.

Maybe you're wondering why today we're doing second kings on Easter. Why, you might be asking, is it the life and times of yet another king, even a good one like Josiah, on a Sunday where we're supposed to be celebrating the resurrection?

Why stay in a series, in a book, that is 600 years removed from the events of Calvary?

I would maybe start by reminding all of us that Easter is about a king. a perfect king, a completely righteous king, a humble king, a crucified king, and a victoriously

resurrected king, right? So we have a good king in Josiah who foreshadows a better king in Jesus. And I would suggest to you that the parallels are just too rich to overlook.

Because this morning, as good as Josiah is, he's the very best king we have yet seen in all of first and second kings. He's the best Israel's ever had, but he's not the best they'll ever get.

He's the better David, but there is a better king still coming. I would submit to you that Jesus is that better king. And I want to show you how he is better in every way.

Because sure, while this king here might rediscover the word, isn't the better king the word himself? The word made flesh? And while today we might see a king make inquiry of God by sending a delegation of intermediaries,

our other king, he doesn't need intermediaries because he is himself the intermediary. But you know what? Really, I think it's in the actions of these two kings where the parallels are strongest.

And where I think we see one king emerge as better by far. And so, I'd like to focus our attention on these actions for just the next few moments with you.

I would like us to compare these two kings and I want to do that in the hopes of showing you three ways, three ways, that Jesus is the better king by far.

The first way is this. King Josiah brings salvation by the tearing of his clothes. the tearing of his clothes. King Jesus brings salvation by the tearing of his flesh.

His flesh.

From his childhood, think about this, from his childhood, Josiah has seen a lot of sin. Yes, there was that brief repentance of his grandfather for about five years.

years. So, maybe from ages two to six, it's some improvement from at least one man. The kingdom itself is still pretty wicked. But then it goes right back to business as usual with his father, Ammon.

So, that means this kid has had nothing but a front row seat to sin in all of its destruction for most of his life. And now, hearing the scroll read, now our king has heard about the consequences in those covenant curses.

And he knows what's coming. He knows what's rightly coming. And all he can do is show his remorse by tearing his clothes.

Verse 11, when the king heard the words of the book of the law, he tore his clothes. Of course, we know that that action was symbolic. We know that it was a customary way to express grief and distress and humility.

But the better king, he embodied all the distress and the humility. And he did it not in the mere tearing of his clothes, but in the actual tearing of his flesh.

When Jesus willingly gave himself over and hung there dying on that cross, as we read about Friday night, if you were with us, the gospel of Mark tells us that at the very moment where he breathed out his last, something happened.

Something else was torn. The curtain of the temple. Torn in two. His body was torn by crucifixion and there in the temple, the rending of that veil, separating the most holy place, signified to all the world

that separation between God and people was now gone. Here's how the book of Hebrews puts it. Hebrews chapter 10, verse 19. Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us

Hebrews 10:19

through the curtain, that is, through his flesh. Curtain torn. Flesh torn. The tearing of Josiah's clothes was noted by Huldah and it led her to prophesy

that the Lord has heard you and the Lord will spare you from disaster. But the better king, the tearing of King Jesus' flesh, as noted by the prophet Isaiah, led him to prophesy that my servants

shall bear their iniquities and make many to be accounted righteous. That's Isaiah 53, 11. Many to be accounted righteous. That's the first way that Jesus is the better king, but it's not the only way.

Here's the second way. Number two. Number two is this. King Josiah's penitent heart grants a temporary stay for himself. King Josiah's penitent heart grants a temporary stay for himself.

King Jesus' perfect heart grants eternal salvation for anyone. Eternal salvation for anyone.

That's what the torn clothes of Josiah represented, his heart, his penitent heart, and the Lord saw it. That's why the prophecy says, because your heart was penitent, and I've seen that you've humbled yourself.

The Lord says, I will grant you, just you, Josiah, a temporary stay. A reprieve, Josiah, but it's only for yourself. He says, I will gather you to your fathers, and it will be just you who goes to your grave

and peace. The disaster coming will be averted from your eyes. But as for the rest of the people, it's too late. The Lord's anger has been provoked, his wrath has been kindled, and it will not be quenched.

But for the better king, for King Jesus, when it comes to him, Hebrews 7 reminds us that he is perfect forever. So he didn't have to lay down a penitent heart.

He didn't have anything to repent of. He was sinless. He was perfect. He laid down a perfect heart. Hebrews 9 calls him the perfect tent, referring to his body.

And he did it not just to grant a reprieve, not just to give some person or some people a temporary stay of judgment. No. Hebrews chapter 5 verse 9.

Hebrews 5:9

Listen to this. Hebrews 5 verse 9. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him. Did you hear the part about eternal?

Hebrews 5:9

An eternal salvation, not a temporary reprieve. And it's salvation not just for one person, not even just one tribe or one people group. It's for all who obey him, for anyone and everyone who calls on the name of the Lord.

Listen, that's what the cross of Easter that we celebrate is all about. It's the instrument by which, it's the instrument upon which God's righteous anger was quenched.

His wrath was satisfied. His provocation against all human sin and wickedness was totally quenched and dealt with there. And if you're sitting here this morning and you're saying, I don't know if I like that.

That sounds kind of angry. It's true. And you and I have a deficient view of our own sin if we think anything less than it needed judged. And it was judged.

And if you come under that cross, this is some very, very good news. For the person who comes under that cross with a penitent heart, this is why we call it the gospel because it is good news.

But it's only good news for the person who comes under it with a penitent heart. And that means if you, like others in the kingdom of Judah right now, if you, in the kingdom of your own life, continue to keep pursuing things your own way and chase after the way you want to do things and serve your own gods

and your own idols and do what you want, it means that you remain spiritually dead in your sins. And it means the good news is not going to be applied to you.

The second way Jesus is the better king is by having that perfect heart which can grant salvation to anyone who will humbly ask. And finally, number three, a third way.

A third way Jesus is the better king. Number three, King Josiah repairs the temple and goes to his grave in peace. And maybe you see where this is going.

Because King Jesus resurrects the temple and leaves his grave in victory.

Resurrects the temple and leaves his grave in victory. Remember the words Jesus spoke about his own body when his disciples the week before were wowing at the temple and all of its buildings and he says, it's all going to come down.

And then speaking of his own body, he said, it will be destroyed. But three days later, it will be rebuilt. It will resurrect.

Back to Kings here, 2 Kings for a second. Look again at verses 3 through 6. What do we see? We see, we see Josiah making repairs for the temple.

We see our good king renovating God's house. And in the course of that work, of course, God's word is found. And those dreadful curses are heard.

And news of judgment sinks in. But because of our king's response, because of his humble, penitent heart, he is told, you yourself get to go to your grave in peace.

It is far, far better with our better king, King Jesus. Because again, this king doesn't just repair a temple. No, after willingly laying it down to be destroyed entirely, he then miraculously resurrects it three days later.

So that this king does far more than just go to his own grave in peace. He leaves his grave. That's what we celebrate this morning. He walks right out of it.

And he leaves in victory. Because while King Josiah went on to leave this world with disastrous judgment still coming, still to be drunk, King Jesus leaves our world with disastrous judgment

already drunk by himself. Because he did not let that cup pass from him. No, he scorned the shame of the cross. And after his resurrection, sat down at the right hand of the Father in complete victory.

The Apostle Paul puts it so well. He talks about what this victory means in 1 Corinthians 15 verse 20. He says, but in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead.

1 Corinthians 15:20

The first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. Listen, that's the joy of Easter this morning. It's not that spring is here, and I'm glad it is.

It's not that the temps are warming. It's not the great pictures that you'll take with family or friends today or the dinners you have planned or what other events we have added on to it which are fine.

But fundamentally, it's the story of the king. The story of a king who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the Father in heaven.

The story of a king who then declared victory to the cosmos because he walked out of his grave on the third day.

Yeah, as the angel told those women on that first Easter morning, you're looking in the wrong place. Why do you seek the living among the dead?

This is a tomb after all. He is not here for he has risen. This is the better king, King Jesus. And if you're listening to these words this morning and he is your king, then I would say serve him

and worship him and praise him for what he's done and continue to honor him with your life. Let your love for him grow deeper and your obedience fuller.

And if by some chance he's not yet your king, because it's not automatic, rebels have to come to him and he very much wants you to. And so I would say come and humble your heart.

He knocks gently. He will never force or compel the bended knee, not now. And if you open the door to him, this loving king will extend to you the table of his fellowship to give you the joy of your salvation

and you will know the peace that comes with being reconciled to the father. all the work that was done on this special day we celebrate today just about 2,000 years ago.

Let me ask you if you'd stand with me. Let's pray as the team comes and we sing this last song. Jesus, you are the better king.

You are the best ever, the king eternal,

a king who nevertheless emptied yourself, humbled yourself, became a human being, went to death for your people and even as Philippians 2 says, death on a cross.

Jesus, we thank you for that this morning.

Jesus, you were a king that died but you didn't stay dead for very long. You resurrected, you showed your great power by walking out of that tomb.

We praise you for that this morning. Thank you for the power of resurrection, a power that you promised through your apostles, you will share with all of your people as each one of us, Lord, will follow after the first fruits.

We look forward to that, Lord. comfort us with this news.

And Lord, for those we know and love and care about, some of whom may be with us today, listening, we pray that we would come and we would submit to King Jesus because he is a good and gentle and loving king.

And so, Jesus, we pray these things in your name. Please hear us now as we sing. Amen. Amen.