Living Church: Remember God's Grace

Exodus chapter 12, it's on page 68 of the Church Bible.

Exodus 12 · chapter mention

So Exodus chapter 12 and it's verse 1 to 14.

Exodus 12 · chapter mention

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt,

This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year.

Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month,

each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household.

If any household is too small for a whole lamb,

they must share one with the nearest neighbor,

having taken into account the number of people there are.

You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat.

The animals you choose must be year-old males, without defect,

and you may take them from the sheep or the goats.

Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month,

when all the people of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight.

Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the door frames of the houses

where they eat the lambs.

That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire,

along with bitter herbs and bread made without yeast.

Do not eat the meat raw or cooked in water,

but roast it over the fire, head, legs and inner parts.

Do not leave any of it until morning.

If something is left till morning, you must burn it.

This is how you are to eat it,

with your cloak tucked into your belt,

and your sandals on your feet,

and your staff in your hand.

Eat it in haste, it is the Lord's Passover.

On that same night I will pass through Egypt

and strike down every firstborn,

both men and animals,

and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt.

I am the Lord.

The blood will be assigned to you on the houses where they are,

and when I see the blood, I will pass over you.

No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.

This is the day you are to commemorate for the generations to come.

You shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord,

a lasting ordinance.

Okay, this reading is from 1 Corinthians 11, verse 12,

1 Corinthians 11:12

and that's on page 1152.

That's 1152.

I think I have a book in verse 17.

Oh, right.

Okay.

Yeah, that's 1 Corinthians 11, verse 17.

1 Corinthians 11:17

In the following directives,

I have no praise for you,

for your meetings do more harm than good.

In the first place,

I hear that when you come together as a church,

there are divisions among you,

and to some extent I believe it.

No doubt there have to be differences among you

to show which of you have God's approval.

When you come together,

it is not the Lord's supper you eat,

for as you eat,

each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else.

One remains hungry, another gets drunk.

Don't you have homes to eat and drink in?

Or do you despise the church of God

and humiliate those who have nothing?

What shall I say to you?

Shall I praise you for this?

Certainly not.

For I receive from the Lord

what also passed on to you.

The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed,

took bread,

and when he had given thanks,

he broke and said,

This is my body, which is for you.

Do this in remembrance of me.

In the same way, after supper,

he took the cup, saying,

This is the cup of the new covenant in my blood.

Do this whenever you drink in remembrance of me.

For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup,

you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

So, please keep your Bibles open at 1 Corinthians 11.

Kirstie's or Angelina are handing around pens and sheets.

If anybody would like that to take notes,

please feel free to do that.

Looking at different aspects of our gathering on Sundays

when we meet together.

Looking at things like hearing God's word from the Bible,

prayer, singing together,

and something we also do is to remember Jesus' death.

So, this morning we celebrate the Lord's Supper

and we're going to focus and look in that

and hopefully what we do this morning

is going to help us.

It will shape a little bit more

of how we should think about this very simple meal.

Well, let's pray together

and ask for God's help in this.

Our Father, thank you again for your amazing grace.

Thank you for the word of your grace.

Thank you that we can hear you speak to us

by your Spirit.

and we pray that you would continue to change us

and transform us

and as we think about the Lord's Supper,

something we do very often

and maybe we just do without thinking,

we pray that we would learn afresh

what it is all about,

how it changes us

and how it helps us to understand

your grace better.

So, we ask for your help in this this morning.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Well, depending on your church tradition,

the celebration of the bread and wine

is known by different names.

So, if you happen to come from a Protestant tradition,

you might call it something like Holy Communion

or the Lord's Supper.

If you come from a Catholic tradition,

you might call it the Eucharist,

which simply means Thanksgiving

or the Sacrament.

But we're not so much interested

in various church traditions.

We want to hear what the Bible has to say.

Primarily, when we're thinking about the Lord's Supper,

it is a dramatic visual picture

of the Gospel.

The good news that Jesus Christ died for our sins

and that we can be forgiven.

That's why we can call it,

or as I have termed it,

the Grace Meal.

As we gather,

we remember and we participate

in God's grace to us.

It flows from God to us.

And as we gather,

we practice

and we announce God's grace to each other.

So we receive God's grace

and we give God's grace.

The detail of this Grace Meal

is mentioned only five times

in the New Testament.

We read about it three times

in the Gospels,

Matthew, Mark and Luke,

and there's a couple of references,

one of which is here

in Corinthians.

It's a command from the Lord Jesus

as we read in verse 23 of chapter 11.

This is Paul writing, he says,

For I received from the Lord

what I also passed on to you.

So he got it from the Lord,

the Lord Jesus instituted it

and he passes it on to his church,

to his people.

So let's have a look at what this Grace Meal

is all about.

And to do that,

we're going to look at four things

as we share in this meal.

First one,

we remember God's grace.

Second,

we participate in God's grace.

Third,

we practice God's grace.

And fourth,

we announce God's grace.

So we're going to look at those four things

to help us better understand

this simple meal.

First,

we remember God's grace.

Look at verse 24.

When he,

that Jesus,

had given thanks for the bread

and broke it,

he said,

This is my body,

which is for you.

Do this in remembrance

of me.

In the same way,

after supper,

he took the cup saying,

This cup is the new covenant

in my blood.

Do this whenever you drink it

in remembrance

of me.

But what is it

that we are remembering

about Jesus?

Well,

there are two events

that we need to look at.

The first has to do

with the Passover.

Look at verse 23.

He says,

For I received from the Lord

what I also passed

unto you.

The Lord Jesus,

on the night

he was betrayed,

took bread.

But what happened

on that night?

The first time

Jesus celebrated

with his disciples.

Well,

Paul is giving us

a context

to help us

to understand

what we are to remember.

He's bringing to our minds

to think back

to what happened

when Jesus was with

his disciples

on that night.

Let me read to you

what happened

on that night.

It's Matthew 26,

Matthew 26:17

verse 17.

Just listen to these words.

The disciples said to Jesus,

Where do you want us

to make preparations

for you to eat

the Passover?

Jesus replied,

Go into the city

to a certain man

and tell him,

The teacher says,

My appointed time

is near.

I am going to celebrate

the Passover

with my disciples

at your house.

So the disciples did

as Jesus had directed them

and prepared

the Passover.

Now,

as we read

just a moment ago

in Exodus,

the Passover

was a special

annual meal

to remember

the rescue

of Israel

from their slavery

under Pharaoh

in Egypt.

And because Pharaoh

would not release

Israel,

God's people,

from their slavery,

God had promised

a plague.

He was going to send

the angel of death

who would pass over

every home

in Egypt.

And the eldest son

in each home,

God said,

would die

as a sign

of his judgment

and his justice

because of their sin,

because they would not

let the people go.

But it wasn't just Egypt.

We have to ask the question,

how would Israel,

God's people,

also survive

the angel of death?

Because, well,

let's face it,

they were as messed up

as everybody else.

They weren't pure

and perfect.

So as this angel of death

was going to pass over,

how would they survive?

Well,

they were told by God

to take a lamb,

to kill this lamb,

to eat it.

And then they were

to take some of the blood

from the lamb

and they were to put it

on the door frames

of the house.

And through this very act,

the people were learning

that this little lamb

would die

instead of them.

The lamb that they would

eat together

as a family

was being sacrificed

in their place.

So when the angel of death

passed over

and when he saw

the blood on the door,

he would pass over

that house

and all inside

were kept safe

from God's judgment

and justice.

And as we read

in Exodus,

every year following,

they were to remember

this rescue

with a Passover meal.

Every year,

they were to remember

God's rescue

and liberation

of his people.

That was until Jesus

gave it a new meaning

and a new interpretation.

Because as Jesus

celebrated that Passover meal

with his disciples,

on that occasion,

that very night,

something very significant

happened.

Look at verse 24

of Corinthians 11.

Jesus took some bread.

And when he had

broken it,

when he had

torn that bread

apart,

he gave it to them

and said,

this is my body

broken for you.

This is for you.

And then he took some wine

and he poured it

into a cup

and he said,

this is my blood.

It's for you.

So here we have

a bread,

a torn body.

We have this wine

representing spilt blood.

Jesus is obviously

talking about

a terrible

and a violent death.

Except Jesus

is no longer

talking about

what happened

to the lamb

in the Passover meal.

Jesus is talking

about himself.

You see,

in this text here

in Corinthians 11,

there's no mention

of a lamb.

There's no lamb here.

Why?

Because Jesus

is the true lamb.

What happened

in the Passover meal

was only a sign

of something

far greater.

The lambs

that were broken,

that were torn.

The blood

that was spilt

and that was put

across the door frames

could never

deal with sin

and deal with

God's judgment

and justice.

They pointed forward

to the greater need

for a bigger

and a greater sacrifice,

a perfect one

and a complete one.

So as Jesus

sat with his disciples

to celebrate

this meal,

he was talking

about his death

and the cross

which was just

about to happen.

His body

broken for you.

His blood

spilt for you.

Jesus was saying

to his disciples,

I have come

to die for you.

I have become

the sacrifice

for you.

I am the lamb,

the lamb that was cut

and torn up

and eaten.

I am that lamb

who's come to deal

with the judgment

and the justice

of God

so that you

can be kept safe.

So first,

as we remember

or come to this

simple meal,

it's a simple

remembrance

of God's

amazing grace

demonstrated

as Christ died

on the cross.

And second,

we not only remember

but we participate

in God's grace.

We're not only

to remember

this meal,

we are to get

involved in it.

Look at the words.

He says,

do this,

take this,

eat this bread,

drink this wine.

Flick back to

chapter 10,

verse 16.

chapter 10,

verse 16.

He says,

is not the cup

of thanksgiving

for which we give

thanks a participation

in the blood

of Christ?

And is not the bread

that we break

a participation

in the body

of Christ?

You see,

if we are to

experience

God's grace,

if it's going

to change us

and transform us

from the inside out,

we've got to

participate in this

meal.

We've got to be

involved in it.

Now,

there's two very

different traditions

when it comes to

participating in

this grace meal.

And I'm not

wanting to

pinpoint or

direct things

in any particular

way because

both of what

I'm going to say,

both,

I don't think,

get it right.

So hear me out.

First of all,

the Catholic teaching

takes the literal

view.

It says that

the bread and

wine actually

become the body

and the blood

of Jesus.

So when you

eat the bread

and when you

drink the wine,

you automatically

receive the

saving grace

of God.

In other words,

you can only

get eternal life,

you can only

have forgiveness

of sins

when you

eat and

drink.

Theologians

call it

transubstantiation.

Now,

the problem

with looking

at it like

that is that

the participation

is just simply

physical.

It doesn't

require you

to engage

the heart.

It's just

a physical act,

something you

do that you

don't necessarily

have to understand

or enter into

or be involved

and it's

just there

to cover

over sin

until the

next time.

So,

sin this

week,

take something,

cover over,

and so on

and so on.

There's no

assurance.

In fact,

it goes against

everything Jesus

teaches because

he is saying

that it's not

what you do,

not even what

you eat and

drink,

that brings

salvation.

It's faith

in what Christ

has done

and completed

on your behalf.

So,

that's the

literal view.

Protestant churches

talk about

the symbol

view.

So,

as Jesus

ate the meal

with his

disciples,

he didn't

mean that

the bread

and wine

actually became

his body

and blood.

No,

it was a

symbol,

a sign

of his

death

to come.

The bread

and the

wine

represent

Jesus.

We look

beyond them

to what

Jesus had

done.

So,

when we

see the

bread being

broken,

when the

wine is

being poured,

it's a

visual picture

of the

gospel,

the good

news that

Christ died

for us.

Now,

I think

that's

beginning to

get to

a right

interpretation.

We do

treat the

bread and

the wine

as symbols.

But there's

also a

problem with

that view.

The

emphasis

that the

bread and

the wine

are just

symbols

and that

they can

never

change

you

seems to

go against

what Jesus

is teaching.

In other

words,

we can go

so far to

try and

correct a

literal view

that we

lose something

of its

actual effect

and our

involvement

and our

participation.

So,

how do we

participate

in this

grace meal?

How can

we

experience

God's

grace?

Well,

look at

those

words in

chapter 10

verse 16

again.

Is not

the cup

of

thanksgiving

for which

we give

thanks

a

participation

in the

blood of

Christ?

And is

not the

bread that

we break

a

participation

in the

body of

Christ?

You see,

as we

eat the

bread,

as we

drink the

wine,

by faith,

we are

participating

in Jesus'

sacrifice

for us.

The very

physical act

of taking

something in

your hand,

of holding

the bread

in your

hand,

of drinking

the wine,

reflects our

absolute

dependence

upon the

sacrifice of

Jesus.

As I eat

the bread,

I am

saying,

Jesus had

to be

broken for

me.

As I

drink the

wine,

I am

saying,

Jesus had

to be

slain for

me.

That if

he didn't

do it,

I'm

lost,

I'm

nothing,

I need

God's

grace,

and I

need to

take it

into my

life.

But more

than that,

we are to

take the

grace of

God by

faith,

so that

it becomes

part of

us.

And I

think this

is what

Jesus wants

us to

grasp when

he says,

take and

eat,

this is

my body,

this is

my blood,

drink from

it,

all of

you.

John

Stott,

an Anglican

minister,

he's now

in heaven,

he wrote

and he put

it like

this,

our faith

looks beyond

the symbols

to the

reality

they

represent.

bread and

even as

we take

the bread

and wine

and feed

on them

in our

mouths by

eating and

drinking,

so we

feed on

Christ

crucified

in our

hearts

by faith.

we must

eat and

drink,

we must

as it

were

take in

by faith

the grace

of God,

we must

realise that

we are so

needy people

that without

God's grace

we are

nothing.

And so our

participation

isn't just

thinking,

oh well these

are just

symbols and

they're never

going to

change me

or do

anything to

me and

you know

it's just

as much as

reading the

Bible and

going to

church is

never going

to save

me, so

doing this

is never

going to

save me.

Yeah that's

right, but

we are to

engage, we

are to be

involved and

see that in

eating and

drinking we

are by

faith taking

in God's

grace to

transform us

and to

change us.

So we

must participate

in God's

grace.

Third, we

must practice

God's grace.

This grace

meal is

something we

don't just

do alone,

we participate

together, that's

why we're all

here.

We don't just

have our little

individual meals

at home.

But you

know what,

there was a

problem whenever

this church in

Corinthians were

meeting and I

don't think it's

unlike most

churches.

Look at

verse 18 of

chapter 11.

He says,

in the first

place I hear

that when you

come together

as a church

there are

divisions among

you and to

some extent I

can believe it

because, well,

you know, we're

people and people

make mistakes.

Verse 20.

When you come

together it is

not the Lord's

supper you eat.

For as you

eat each of you

goes ahead without

waiting for anybody

else.

One remains

hungry and

another one

gets drunk.

pretty mad,

eh?

You see,

unlike our

church practice,

the early

church would

have met for

a meal

beforehand.

And then they

would have

shared in the

Lord's supper.

It was a

little bit like

a potluck

lunch.

Everybody

brought their

own bit of

food and,

well, they

were all meant

to share it

and be together

in it.

But what they

were doing was

they were all

doing their

own thing.

Some were

just plain

greedy and

they had

lots of

money and

had nice

food and,

well, they

could just

eat away.

And there

were poor

people there

who didn't

have money and

maybe the

only actual

meal they

were going

to have was

the bread

and the

wine that

was there

for the

Lord's

supper.

And others

were just

too busy

getting drunk

on the

wine that

they bought

to notice

the needs

of anybody

else.

There was

chaos.

And Paul

was furious.

Verse 22.

He says,

don't you

have homes

to eat

in and

drink in?

Or do you

despise the

church of

God and

humiliate those

who have

nothing?

What shall I

say to you?

Am I going

to praise you

for this?

Well done,

you're behaving

very well.

Absolutely not.

It's a

disgrace.

Now, I

don't think we

have to be

too hard on

these guys.

Well, we

have to be

hard on

them because,

well, they

weren't doing

what's right.

But I

don't think

we're any

different to

some extent.

not saying

that we're

all turning

up drunk

or anything

else like

that, but

we're all

messy people,

aren't we?

And we

fail to

understand the

workings out

of God's

grace.

And instead

of joining

together as a

family, and

he's at these

people here,

they were all

huddling into

cliques.

The rich were

with the rich

and the poor

with the poor

and the insiders

were separated

from the

outsiders, and

well, all the

good people who

read their

Bible and

went to

church and

went to

prayer meetings,

they all

huddled together,

and then all

the bad people

who kept

messing up and

failing, well,

they were all

over here.

It was quite

ironic that the

meal that was

supposed to

unite the

family of God

was becoming

a meal of

division.

And in

response, Paul

directs them

back to the

grace meal.

We are to

remember God's

grace.

We are to

participate in

God's grace

so that we

can practice

God's grace

to each

other.

You see, the

grace meal is

a great

leveller, isn't

it?

It brings us

all into line.

We all think,

well, I'm here

and they're

there.

Well, actually,

no.

Regardless of

our class or

our culture,

our religious

background or

our heritage,

we are all

brought into

line equally.

The reality

is none of

us deserve

God's grace.

We're all in

desperate need

of God's

grace.

We're all

outsiders, but

we have become

insiders through

the sacrificial

death of

Christ.

So when we

gather together,

we are reminding

ourselves through

the grace meal

that there's no

room for

superiority, nobody

can think of

themselves better,

and there's no

room for

inferiority to

think that I'm

no good.

By remembering

and participating

in this grace

meal, we

accept one

another, we

welcome one

another, just

as Christ

accepted and

welcomed us.

So third, we

are practicing

grace as we

meet together.

Fourth, we're

announcing God's

grace.

Because this

grace meal is

not just to be

kept for

ourselves.

It is to be

announced, to

be proclaimed.

Look at how

this meal

finished in

this passage,

verse 26.

For whenever

you eat this

bread and

drink this

cup, you

proclaim, you

announce the

Lord's death.

You talk about

his grace

grace until

he comes

again.

At one level,

this meal is

exclusive.

It is for all

those who

come to

Jesus by

faith to

receive and

experience God's

grace.

But in

another way,

this meal is

open.

There's an

inclusiveness to

this meal.

There is this

open invitation

to all

those who

see their

need of

grace to

participate in

it.

The grace

that we have

received from

God is not

private.

It is to be

proclaimed.

It's to be

announced.

Jesus came for

sinners and I

reckon that we're

not the only

sinners.

As we're

reminded in

this text in

verse 23,

that it all

happened on the

night, Jesus

was betrayed.

Remember

Judas, the

one who turned

his back on

Jesus, the

betrayer, the

failure, the

sinner, was

present at

that meal.

And grace

was offered

to him.

He rejected

it, but it

was offered.

And in the

same way, we

are to announce

God's grace to

all who

will come in

faith to

receive and

experience God's

amazing grace.

So four things

that help us to

grasp and

understand a

little bit more

what we're going

to celebrate, and

we're going to do

that in just a

minute.

We remember

his grace as we

look back to the

cross.

We participate

in that grace as

we involve

ourselves by

faith.

And we

practice grace to

one another,

welcoming each

other as Christ

welcomed us, and

we announce that

grace, saying that

God's grace is

available to all

who will come

in faith.

we're going to

sing Behold

the Lamb, which

is a song that

really takes us

through the

whole story of

the grace meal.

We're going to

sing it all the

way through, and

then we're going

to share in that

simple meal together.

But just use these

words to reflect,

to meditate, and

also to give

thanks to the

Lord Jesus for

what he has

done.

We'll stand

together as we

sing this.

Behold the Lamb

who bears our

sins away,

slain for us.

And we

remember the

promise made

that all who

come in

faith find

forgiveness

the cross.

So we

share

in this

bread of

life, and

we drink

of his

sacrifice

at the

time

of our

palms of

peace.

Around the

table of

peace.

The body

of our

Savior,

Jesus Christ,

torn for

you.

Read and

remember

the wounds

that heal,

the death

that brings

us life,

save the

pride to

make us

one.

so we

share

in this

bread of

life,

and we

drink

of his

sacrifice

at the

side

of our

bones of

love.

Around the

table of

the

king,

the

blood that

cleanses

every stain

of sin

shed for

you.

Drink and

remember

he

drained

death

cup that

only enter

in to

receive

the

life

of

God.

so we

share

in the

bread of

life,

and we

drink

of

his

sacrifice

at the

side

of our

bones of

grace.

Around the

table of

the

king,

and so

with

thankfulness

and faith

we

rise to

respond,

and to

remember

our call

to follow

in the

steps of

Christ,

as his

body

here

on

earth.

As we

share

in

his

suffering

we

proclaim

Christ

will

come

again

and

we'll

join

in

the

feast

of

heaven

around

the

table

of

the

king.

Please

do take

a seat.

So as

we gather

to share

in this

grace

meal,

we want

to come

and we

need to

involve

all of

who we

are.

We need

to bring,

if you like,

our senses

to this

meal.

We need

to use

our eyes,

we need

to use

our ears,

and our

mouth as

we taste,

as we

celebrate

in this

grace

meal

together.

prayer.

We need

to use

our

life

as we

visualize.

We

think of

the cross

of Christ.

We

think of

Jesus

holding

the

bread,

speaking of

his

day.

His body

broken,

torn for

us,

ripped

for us,

broken

for us,

we visualize

and we

remember

Christ.

And when

he comes

to

the cross

to the

light,

we visualize

and we

remember

himself.

His blood

shed,

slain

for us,

dying

for us.

a visual

picture,

a reminder

of a

broken

body,

blood

in the

sense,

the

true

man

sacrifice

for us.

So we

use our

eyes as

we

visualize,

but we

use our

ears to

listen,

listen to

this from

God's

words,

for his

words give

interpretation

and meaning

to the

bread and

to the

wine.

I tell

you the

truth,

Jesus

says,

he who

believes,

who has

faith,

has

everlasting

life.

Jesus

said to

them,

I tell

you the

truth,

unless you

can eat

the flesh

of the

Son of

Man and

drink his

blood,

you have

no life

in you.

Whoever

eats my

flesh and

drinks my

blood has

eternal life

and I will

raise them

up at the

last day,

for my

flesh is

real food

and my

blood is

real drink.

Whoever

eats my

flesh and

drinks my

blood,

remains in

me and

I in

him.

Just as

the living

Father sent

me and

I live

because of

the Father,

so the

one who

feeds on

me will

live because

of me.

So we

use our

eyes to

visualize,

our ears

to listen,

and in a

moment we're

going to use

our mouths as

we taste

and eat

and drink

and by

faith we

receive and

experience the

grace of

God.

Before we do

that we're

going to read

together a

portion of

a psalm,

Psalm 32.

If you turn to

that's Psalm 32,

that's Psalm 32.

We come without

any masks,

we come without

any sense of

pretense,

we may hide

our sin,

our secret

sin from

one another,

but the

Lord knows

us and

he invites

us to

come as

we are

with all

of our

sin and

all of

our mess

and our

failures

to receive

his

forgiveness

because

he took

our sin

on himself

and died

in our

place.

So let's

read this

as a

means of

our

confession

and

reminding

us

of the

grace of

forgiveness.

Let's

read Psalm

Psalms 32:1–5

32 verses

1 to

5

together.

Blessed

is he

whose

transgressions

are forgiven,

whose

sins are

covered.

Blessed

is the

man whose

sin the

Lord does

not count

against

him and

in whose

spirit is

no deceit.

When I

kept silent,

my bones

wasted away

through my

groaning all

day long.

For day

and night

your hand

was heavy

upon me,

my strength

was sacked

as in the

heat of

summer.

Then I

acknowledged

my sin

to you

and did

not cover

up my

iniquity.

I said,

I will

confess my

transgressions

to the

Lord,

and you

forgave the

guilt of

my sin.

God's

will

pass the

bread

around

and you

will

taste,

you

will

visualize

and you

will hear

those words

we have

just read.

Hold on

to that

piece of

bread and

then we

will eat

together

because we

participate

together

and we

practice

grace

together

as God's

family.

so please

take the

piece of

bread,

hold on

to it

and then

we will

eat

together.

As we

visualize

and we

remember

Christ's

body

torn,

broken

for us,

taking

our sin

upon

himself,

by faith

we

participate

to

experience

and receive

his grace.

Let us

taste and

eat

and remember

let's

eat

together.

Let us

eat

together.

he made

known his

ways to

Moses,

his deeds

to the

people of

Israel.

The

Lord is

compassionate

and gracious,

slow to

anger,

abounding

in love.

He will

not always

accuse,

nor will

he harbor

his anger

forever.

He does

not treat

us as our

sins deserve

or repay

us according

to our