Worship of God with hymn 1068.
The tune is Benedictus 632. Jesus, full of all compassion,
Hear thy humble suppliants cry, Let me know thy great salvation. See, I languish, faint, and die
in 1068. Jesus, Lord of all creation,
in Thy earth most happy abide. Let me now in praise of Thee
turn, ? Late at night ? ? The angels
sing a lullaby to my soul ? O praise the Thine increasing.
Send us heav'nly with relief. and the promise that our dying
world together ever will be. In the midst ? We come to have mercy ? ? Step
on over us gently ? ? Oh, when we are first blinded ? you. In the world of endless dreaming,
there did they not know this day? It has come again, From the Word of God, we shall
read the 15th chapter in the Gospel according to Matthew. The Gospel according to Matthew,
chapter 15. Then came to Jesus scribes and
Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, Why do thy disciples
transgress the tradition of the elders? For they wash not their
hands when they eat bread. But he answered and said unto
them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your
tradition? For God commanded, saying, Honor
thy father and mother, and he that curseth father or mother,
let him die the death. But ye say, Whosoever shall say
to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou
mightest be profited by me. and honour not his father or
his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment
of God of none effect by your tradition. Ye hypocrites, well
did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, This people doreth nigh unto
me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips, but their
heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me,
teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. And he called the multitude and
said unto them, and understand. Not that which goeth into the
mouth defileth a man, but that which cometh out of the mouth,
this defileth a man. Then came his disciples and said
unto him, knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended after
they heard this saying. But he answered and said, Every
plant which my Heavenly Father hath planted shall be rooted
up. Let them alone. They be blind
leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind,
both. shall fall into the ditch. Then
answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable. And Jesus said, Are ye also yet
without understanding? Do not ye yet understand that
whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly? and is cast out into the draft. But those things which proceed
out of the mouth come forth from the heart, and they defile the
man. For out of the heart proceed
evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness,
blasphemies. These are the things which defile
a man. But to eat with unwashen hands
defileth not a man. Then Jesus went thence, and departed
into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, A woman of Canaan
came out of the same coasts and cried unto him, saying, Have
mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David. My daughter is grievously
vexed with the devil. But he answered her not a word.
And his disciples came and besought him, saying, send her away, for
she crieth after us. But he answered and said, I am
not sent, but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then
came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It
is not meet to take the children's bread and to cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord, yet
the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their master's table. Then Jesus answered and said
unto her, O woman, Great is thy faith, be it unto thee even as
thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole
from that very hour. And Jesus departed from thence,
and came unto the Sea of Galilee, and went up into a mountain,
and sat down there. and great multitudes came unto
him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed,
and many others, and cast them down at Jesus' feet, and he healed
them, insomuch that the multitude wondered when they saw the dumb
to speak, the maimed to behold, the lame to walk, and the blind
to see, and they glorified the God of Israel. Then Jesus called
his disciples unto him and said, I have compassion on the multitude,
because they continue with me now three days and have nothing
to eat. And I will not send them away
fasting, lest they faint in the way. And his disciples say unto
him, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness,
as to fill so great a multitude? And Jesus said unto them, How
many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven. and a few
little fishes and he commanded the multitude to sit down on
the ground and he took the seven loaves and the fishes and gave
thanks and break them and gave to his disciples and the disciples
to the multitude and they did all eat and were filled And they
took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full. And they that did eat were four
thousand men beside women and children. And he sent away the
multitude and took ship and came into the coast of Magdala." May
God bless that portion. of his holy word. May he help
us in prayer. Most gracious God, we would bow
before thee in humility. And Lord, if we could break our
hearts we would. but thou alone canst do that. One sight of thy beloved Son,
Lord, how that humbles and breaks the heart when seen by faith. Oh, we would see Jesus. Lord,
we have just read of thy compassion to the multitude. Lord, we think
of us few here. We think of what we sometimes
say. Compassion, honest Lord, we pray. An empty, send us not away. Lord, thou art able to mend a
broken heart, to calm a troubled spirit, to grant hope where there's
none, to help the helpless. Lord, thy power is unknown and
unknowable, such is thy love. Then we would come in the name
of Jesus, precious Savior, pleading his worth, for we have not. pleading his merits, for we have
none, pleading his precious blood, O how we need it, that we might
enter into thy presence, through and by the blood of Jesus, that
glorious finished work. Then may our hearts be drawn
by the Father's love, heavenward and Christward. O do come, Lord
Jesus, come amongst us, grant Thy gracious presence. Oh, for
that feeling sense of it. May each seeker know it. And
if there are those here that do not seek after Thee, may Thy
mercy make them true seekers. Lord, we pray for the gift of
the Holy Spirit. We feel our need of it. We pray
for it. Come Holy Spirit, dove divine,
and enter into our hearts with those things that we need. Oh,
we need the grace of Jesus. Lord, we need divine wisdom. We need heavenly understanding. And all these dwell in a precious
Christ. And thou art able to grant them
to us each if it could please thee. That we might be made wise
unto salvation and be given wisdom as we meet again for worship
and gather round thy word. We do seek thy blessing upon
it, the portion we have read. O may thy word go forth in power
and in the holiest of hosts and with much assurance. May it Lord
accomplish that to which thou hast purposed, for thou hast
said thy word will not return unto thee void. We pray for that
blessing, that work, Lord, that takes place in the hidden recesses
of man, deep in the soul, hidden from all but thee, But may it
be begun here. May it be maintained. May we
be kept in the power of it. We do thank thee for thy word. We pray, Lord, that it might
do good as we gather round it. For, Lord, only thou canst do
good. For thou art a good God and Saviour. And all that thou hast done and
that all that thou art doing and will yet do is good. Then may thy goodness be known
here as we gather around it. We do seek thy blessing upon
it. May it meet the needs of thy
dear children. May it be a word in season and
a word of help. A word that instructs and guides
us. A word, Lord, that's helpful
to poor, needy sinners. We pray for each one gathered. Thou knowest the burdens, cares,
sorrows, the fears, Lord Jesus, that are in this place and in
the hearts of poor sinners. Whatever they may be, O may they
be met in thee, dealt with by thee. May poor sinners be enabled
to commit their way unto the Lord, to trust also in Him, and
know this blessed promise, and He shall bring it to pass. So help us, Lord, to cast out
all at thy dear feet. We do pray for the afflicted. Lord, that thou would grant healing,
strengthening mercies. Lord, that thou would grant upholding
mercies. That thou would make a way, perhaps,
where there seems no way. For Lord, thou art able to do
all things. according to thy will. For thou
hast said, Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there
anything too hard for me? Ah, what a question! What a sacred
answer! There is nothing too hard for
thee. Lord, have mercy upon us. to
bless the young, the children. None are too young to hear thy
voice. We think of dear Samuel, Lord
of the lad, he heard thy voice, and Lord thou didst answer him.
So hear the cries even of the young, if there may be such a
cry here. We pray for burdened sinners,
Then you have come with the burden of sin, the weight of guilt,
longing for relief, that thou wilt lead them by thy Spirit
to that place of sweet relief, even unto Calvary, to see one's
suffering in my place. Oh, the sweet relief that gives,
may poor guilty sinners know it. according to thy precious
word. Pray for the families, that thy
blessing might rest upon them. Any who have come with a crooked
thing, thou art able to make crooked things straight, and
the rough places plain. We pray, Lord, that thou wilt
bless the word here, and the labours of our dear brother,
thy servant, as he labours among them. May his labours in the
Lord not be in vain. May there be fruits following
him, be within this afternoon, help and uphold him. And Lord,
as we seek thy blessing here, we pray for it wherever thy dear
children gather. on the face of this earth, thy
one church. May thy blessing rest upon it. May help be given to those who
labour in thy name. May their work be of thee, blessed
by thee. May all be to the glory of God. We do pray, Lord Jesus, for those
that thy dear people who may be in the midst of conflict,
the midst of trouble, with many fears, do uphold and defend them. Bless thy dear children to the
ends of the earth, and may the name of Jesus be precious from
the rising of the sun to the going down again of the same. throughout this earthly ball,
may thy name be glorified. We pray that thou wilt be with
us as we turn to thy word. We pray for divine guidance,
heavenly help, and wisdom and grace, whether we speak or hear,
that we might hear to profit, souls might be fed, Sinners might
hear the word, the name of Jesus glorified. O Lord, have mercy
upon us. Forgive our many sins. We plead
thy precious blood and ask these mercies in thy name. Lord Jesus, amen. We'll continue the service with
hymn 393. The tune is Burn It, 109. A crumb of mercy, Lord, I crave,
Unworthy to be fed, With dainties such as angels have, Or with
the children's bread. and 93. O'er the land of the free and
the home of the brave? you. Amen O say does that star-spangled
banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? Oh, say does that star-spangled
banner yet O say does that star-spangled
banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of and angels all are blest. O say can you see, by the dawn's early light, Just a few words on my spirit
in the Gospel according to Matthew chapter 15 verse 28. And the few words are these,
O woman, great is thy faith. The Gospel according to Matthew,
chapter 15, verse 28. We'll read the whole verse. Then
Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, Great is thy faith. Be it unto thee even as thou
wilt. And her daughter was made whole
from that very hour. Not many, I think, in scripture
were given this glorious title, a woman of great faith. We rid
of little faith, we rid of faith. And in this instance, Jesus said
to the woman, great is thy faith. Abraham was the father of the
faithful, and by faith He did some great things. We particularly
think that when he took his son, his only son, up Mount Moriah
to offer him. And that was great faith. Where does this faith come from?
Does it come from man? No. Man may have faith in all
manner of things. but not in God. Great faith comes from a great
God. Jesus, the scripture makes it
clear, is the author and the finisher of faith. If we possess
living faith, it's a gift of grace. If we truly believe, It
is a gift from above. It is not in man to do that. And so it was with this dear
woman. So, with the Lord's help, let's
just look at what was happening. How have we come to this point? Go back to verse 21, at the beginning, of it all starts there. And we read, Jesus went thence
and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. That is where
present-day Lebanon is, right at the north. Or if you
turn to Mark, She was a Syro-Phoenician. And
of course Phoenicia in Bible days run along the coast of the
Mediterranean when Lebanon joins Israel along that part of the
coast. And also in Mark we're told that
she was a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by nation. Syro-Phoenicia being
that part of where this dear woman lived, the coast of Canaan. So Jesus went thence and departed
into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, the woman of Canaan came out
of the same coast that there was to be a meeting
between this burdened woman and a precious Christ. The Lord Jesus, if he needs to
go through some area, he must need to go to Tyre and Sidon. He always goes to his troubled
people. Are there any troubled souls
here this afternoon? This woman's trouble was her daughter. It's what we might call family
trouble. It was in the home that she was
grievously vexed with the devil. Return to Mark again. We're told there she was a young
daughter and had an unclean spirit. In verse 26 she begged, it cast
forth the devil out of her daughter. So the devil was having an effect
in the daughter. It entered in. One old preacher, many years
ago, made this comment. And that poor woman, he said,
in the home with the devil in her daughter, it must have been
like living on the edge of hell. I think he may not have been
far off. Who knows what sorrows and what troubles this dear woman
was in. Her daughter was vexed with the
devil. So that's how she came out of
the coast of tired and silent. It seems she had left the family
home Perhaps she had left the daughter
under the care of somebody else. She had obviously heard of Jesus
and she was making her way to Jesus. What of you? If there's one here, you're in
trouble. You've perhaps got something
you can't handle. She had. you have something you
can't deal with. She had. She had a difficulty
here, right in the home. And perhaps the more she tried,
the worse things got. She was in a helpless state. Behold, a woman of Canaan. She wasn't a Jew. She was a Gentile. That is, she
wasn't one of the family of Jews. But she still came. And let's just look for a moment as her prayer in verse 22. She cried unto him. The first
thing she cried for was mercy. Have mercy on me. If somebody
cries for mercy, They're crying for something
they don't deserve. She doesn't cry merit. She doesn't
say I don't deserve to be in this situation. She doesn't say
what have I done to deserve it, like some people do. Nor does
she turn to man and say what can you do to help me? But she
comes to Jesus. crying for mercy. Something that's
free. Something she doesn't deserve. Something she longs for. Have
mercy on me. And listen to how she addresses
the Lord. This woman wasn't ignorant. She
may have been a Canaanite, she may have been a Greek. She certainly
wasn't a Jew who had been brought up, perhaps under the sound of
the God of Israel. But the first thing she said,
Oh Lord! Yes, Thou art Lord of all. Thou art the Almighty. She comes
to him for mercy. The second part of her cry, Thou
son of David. Who is the son of David? With God manifest in the flesh. was addressing a man, a real
man, truly God. But she knew something of it.
Do you see her faith? Thou son of David. David's greatest
son in scripture is the Lord Jesus Christ. The Jews could never receive Thou Son of David. Really, if
you prayerfully ponder over it, she was addressing the Messiah. So the very way she prays tells
us so much about her. A cry for mercy, to who she cried,
the Lord, the Almighty, the Son of David, God manifest in the
flesh, She confesses the deity of Christ. Unlike many of the
Jews, he was just a man and nothing more. And then she lays her case at
his feet. My daughter. My daughter. I think this poor woman was at
the end of a tether. Are you? I rather think she'd come to
the point where she could scarce go on much longer with all the vexing things that
were around her. She must have wondered sometimes
where the scene would end, or what would happen next. Or what
would become of a daughter? Those of you with children could
understand that. My daughter. We could perhaps
say this afternoon, my trouble, my sorrow, my difficulty, my
perplexity, my impossible case. This case is too hard for me. This case that I cannot handle. This case that I cannot go on
in much longer. Stretched. Stretched beyond measure. The thing is she went to the
right place. That in itself, in the days of
Jesus, It is great faith, isn't it? But choose to display even greater
faith. I think of the words of the apostle,
that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than
that of God. And it is precious, it is precious
to God. If God gives us a little faith, God himself will try it. He doesn't leave it to man to try
it. He'll try it. And he'll prove the worth of
it to a poor sinner. What it is,
faith, completely looks to another, trusts into another, believes
in another, weaned from everything. My daughter is grievously vexed
with the devil. There she spread it in a few
simple words. But he answered her, not a word. Is it like that with you, poor
sinner? Do you feel like the hymn writer once sings, I cry
and shout, and all my prayer he blotteth out? He'll never do that to his dear
people. The hymn writer was expressing
how he felt. Silence. After that public confession
of faith in Christ and a cry for mercy and spreading in a
few simple words her deep sorrows, he answered her. Not a word. And the trial was yet deeper. His disciples came and besought
him, saying, send her away, for she
crieth after us. She had been to, shall we say,
church members. She had been to the disciples and cried to them for help. And then they come and pray to
Jesus. And their petition was send her
away for she cried after us. We've had enough of this woman's
cries. It seems to me something like
this. It was like a, shall I say a prayer meeting on a dusty road. And you've got the children of
God crying, like a prayer meeting. And you've got one person crying
one thing, and then you've got some others crying another thing.
What a picture! Surely the cries of the church
should be one, shouldn't they? Send her away, for she crieth
after us. We've had enough of her. It seems
that the poor woman had gone to them first. She had gone to
men who ought to have known better. It seems, if reading between
the lines is correct, they didn't say to her, you better go to
Jesus. Surely that's what grace would
command, wouldn't it? No, send her away. For she crieth after us. Maybe it was that old Jewish
notion. We're the people. The Gentiles,
the dogs. That's what they used to call
them. that they had no time for. They
thought, we're the special people. Stop here for a moment. In many of the portions of scripture,
particularly ones like this, I perceive that the teaching
is three-dimensional. When I say three-dimensional,
I mean there's the woman, and I mean there are the disciples,
and there's Jesus. Those three points. We have the
woman coming with a bird, and we have the disciples coming
with theirs. We know that the woman's petition
was right, and the disciples' notions were wrong. And this is the point. Jesus
was instructing them all. I perceive I see that on a number
of occasions in the Gospel. And sometimes, dear child of
God, it's like that in our trials. You and I can have a wrong notion,
wrong perception of something. And the Lord begins to instruct.
You've got one of one opinion, one of another opinion, and there's
Jesus. The disciples were good men,
and this woman was a good woman. But there's a variance. And the
dear Lord had the most wonderful ability to instruct them all. So they were crying, send her
away. She was crying for mercy. And he answers the disciples. He answered her, not a word. But then he spoke to the disciples.
They said, send her away. And he said, I am not sent but
unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. That's who I'm sent
for. That's why I've come. And he spoke that to the disciple. Now a perceptive reader, I think,
would realize he's speaking about this woman, a Gentile. Not just
Jews. That's why I perceive he's instructing
the disciples too. This is all I've come from heaven
to earth for. The lost sheep of the house of
Israel. Who are they? Well, we know Jew
and Gentile. And the disciples are to learn
that. In fact, if you follow it through scripture, they were
to go to the Gentiles. I perceived Jesus was instructing
them. I am not sent but unto the lost
sheep of the house of Israel. What effect did it have on the
woman? Look, then came she and worshipped She confesses he's God. She worships
him. With three words. Lord, help me. Again, that's where I felt the
poor thing had come right to the end of her tether. I am helpless. I have no control over the situation. There's nothing I can do. as
it were, to steady things. Here in the family home, the
effects of the ragings of Satan. There's nothing I can do. Lord,
help me. Then, we seek divine wisdom. Verse 26. Jesus answers her. And really, verse
26 is like a little parable, enfolded in the middle of this
scene. What is it? It is this, it is not meet to
take the children's bread and to cast it to dogs. The children, so far as the disciples
were concerned, for the Jews themselves, the
dogs, the Gentiles. Again, I see the Lord instructing
them. But he answered and said, it
is not me to take the children's bread and cast it to dogs. And
here comes her reply. O woman, great is thy faith.
Truth, Lord. Yet the dogs eat of the crowns
which fall from their master's table. And what a beautiful picture
that there's some glorious truths that are in it. It's more wonder
that the Lord commended her faith. First, truth. What she's saying is the truth.
I'm a dog. That's what I am. A dog. The Jews wouldn't let them in
the home. I'm a dog. You know, reading
that bit I think of Mephibosheth. Do you remember when he came
up from Lodibah? And David said, is there any
in the house of Jonathan, that he could help? Well they said
that there's Mephibosheth, he's right down in Lodibah, but he's
got a problem. What is it? He's lame on both
feet. He couldn't get to the king.
What did the king do? Send and fetch him. It's the
only way he'd get to the king. If somebody fetched him, there's
grace. What happened when Mephibosheth
eventually came into the presence of the king? He fell before him and said, I am
but a dead dog. And that's a good description,
child of God, of you and me. Lifeless, lifeless, but for grace. This woman, this is the truth. The picture is this, with the
woman, that there's the family spread, everything on the table, the food all ready, and they're
feeding. And some crumbs started to fall
off of the table onto the floor. And the little dogs come in and
start snapping up the crumbs. It's not meat to take the children's
bread and cast it to dogs. She says, truth Lord, yet the
dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their master's table. And she had confessed she was
a dog. What did she want? A crumb of
mercy, as we've sung together. A crumb of mercy, Lord, I crave,
willing to be fed. Oh, this is the truth, Lord. Though the food is good, The master has spread the table. And the children are fed. But the little dogs are eating
the same food that's on the table. And there's no difference between
what falls on the floor and what's on the table. It came from the
same hand. What did the woman see? Surely it's this. If she received but a crumb of
mercy, it would solve all her problems. All of them. One crumb. One touch of grace. One touch of divine power and
all would be well. Lord it's the truth. Dogs eat
of the crumbs. She could see that the smallest
touch of mercy from Jesus can do great things, impossible things. The tiniest thing, what's greatest
to us, is nothing to Jesus. It's much to us, but they're
Him. He says, behold, I am the Lord,
the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for
me? But rest assured, with God, God
the Saviour, a touch can make the most crooked thing straight.
the most difficult thing, pale into insignificance, just a touch
with Him. What we cannot do, He is able to do. There's the point. And that's what that dear woman
believed. Jesus then answered her. He said, O woman, great
is thy faith, Be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And what was it? My daughter. The devil has her. For us, dear child of God, for
you, for me, we have no control over Satan. But Jesus has complete control
over him. Devils tremble and worship. The
Bible tells us that. It's Jesus that can say and did
say, on more than one occasion did he, get thee behind me Satan. When Satan tempted Jesus And let's be clear, Satan knew
who he was tempting. The Son of God, God himself. How did Jesus deal with him?
It is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God. Not tempting. And didn't Satan
leave him? Christ over Satan. Satan cannot
hide himself from Christ. To enlarge the point, you remember with Peter, before
he fell, Jesus said, I think something
like this, I have somewhat to say unto thee, Peter, I've often thought of this. Satan
has desires to have you and sift you as wheat. He even knows the desires of
the devil. Oh, we can remember that. He
even knows what he desires to do. But Jesus thwarts his desires. He did bring dear Peter into
the net. Oh, and he did sift him. But one thing he never does,
prays. I have prayed for thee. The power
of Christ over temptation. and he's still the same beloved.
Oh, if you like this dear woman and Satan is raging and ragging
and tearing things apart. That's his work. Seeks to do
that. Remember that our Saviour is
greater than Satan. He created him. He made him. He knows him through
and through. Yes, great is the mystery of
evil, I can see that, the apostle Paul did. We haven't got the full picture
yet, but to return, this dear woman saw her dear saviour, her precious saviour, was able
to do impossible things. Be it unto thee, even as thou
wilt, and her daughter was made whole from that very hour. I rather think Mark adds a little
more to that. He said, for this saying, this is
Jesus, For this saying, go thy way, the devil is gone out of
thy daughter. That's Mark chapter seven, verse
29. And when she was come to her
house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon
the bed. All was quiet. All was tranquil. There was peace
in the home. There was unity. And the cause of it all? The
devil. The devil. He goeth about as
a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Oh, if you've
got that roaring lion round about you, beloved. Yes, it might be
in your home, in your soul. If you have an impossible case,
is it your sin? Your guilt? Is it something that's
ragging on, ragging your poor soul? Then what are we taught
here? Go to Jesus. I'll go to Jesus
with my sin. I'll go to Jesus with my temptation. I'll go to Jesus with the distraught
scenes in my home. I'll go to Jesus with regards
to my eternal salvation. Oh, you think of the multitude
of things that the Lord's dear people have to go to Jesus And
this same dear Saviour is at the right hand of the Father,
and He still hears His children's cries. Oh, that cause that is
too hard for you. May you be blessed with grace
to venture to Jesus. If this poor heart is so ragged,
so troubled, take some of these truths with you. The Lord give
you grace to faith, faith to believe, to believe that he is
able to save unto the uttermost all those that come unto God
by him. There's nothing too hard for
Jesus. May his dear people ever venture
away. And may we be kept from the spirit
of the disciples, Send her away. Send her to Jesus. Like an old
minister I heard of years ago, somebody went to him and they've
got something that was impossible. And he said, take it to Jesus. Tell him I told you to. Take it to Jesus in prayer. Even
with children, they have hard things. I told you this morning,
didn't I, about my toothache as a boy. Take it to Jesus. The smallest, the greatest. Eternal things, matters in our
souls, venture to Him. He is able to do all things.
There is nothing too hard for the Lord. The Bible repeats that. And if you say, I can't take
this, then pray for faith to take it. For that's what breaks
through. Living faith brings a poor sinner
to the feet of a living Savior. O woman, great is thy faith. Our closing hymn today is 229. The tune is Zor Chapel, 816. Omnipotent Lord, my Saviour and
King, Thy succour afford, Thy righteousness bring, Thy promises
bind thee, compassion to have, Now, now let me find the Almighty
to save. M229. With a tender heart, God is still
abiding. God is strong, fair, and kind, God in righteousness reigns. I promise to you, Johnny, a fresh
new day. Never let me in my bed, no, never. O come, O come, O come, O come,
O come, O come, to Bethlehem. O say can you see, by the dawn's
early light, What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's Christ, Lord, is aright, Heaven
and earth to see, Thy great justice, O Lord, thy righteousness, ? And with victorious ? ? Victory
shall be ? ? Victory, victory ? ? Shall come to thee, O Israel
? Now may thy grace, dear Lord
Jesus, and the love of God, the communion of the Holy Spirit,
rest and abide with us each now and for evermore. Amen.