let us turn to God's Word in
the book of Proverbs chapter 8 and I'll read the latter part
of the chapter in Proverbs chapter 8 and reading from verse 30 then I was by him, as one brought
up with him, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always
before him, rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth,
and my delights were with the sons of men. Now therefore hearken
unto me, O you children, for blessed are they that keep my
ways. Hear instruction and be wise,
and refuse it not. Blessed is the man that heareth
me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the post of my doors.
For whoso findeth me findeth light, and shall obtain favour
of the Lord. But he that sinneth against me
wrungeth his own soul. All that hate me love death. Last Lord's Day evening I did
endeavour to take for a text those words that we have in verses
30 and 31, and said something therefore
on the delights of wisdom. It is wisdom that speaks, as
made quite clear of course in the opening verse of the chapter,
Doth Not Wisdom Cry? And here in verses 13, 31 she
says, Then I was by him, as one brought up with him, I was daily
his delight, rejoicing always before him, rejoicing in the
habitable part of his earth, and my delights were with the
sons of men. And so we looked at wisdoms delights. And I thought we might, with
Prophets, turn again to this portion but now taking more especially
those words that follow in verses 34 and 35. Blessed is the man, says Wisdom,
that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the post
of my doors, for whoso findeth me findeth life. and shall obtain
favour of the Lord. So with the Lord's enabling let
us come to consider the truth that he said before us in these
two verses Proverbs 8 and verses 34 and 35 and dealing with some
three headings really this morning to say something with regards
to the words of wisdom then the watching at the gates and then
the waiting at the posts of the doors. Those three headings as
we turn to this particular portion of the Holy Scriptures. First
of all the words of wisdom. As I said, we see quite clearly
from what we have at the beginning of the chapter that it is wisdom.
This is, of course, part of the wisdom literature. The writings
of King Solomon, who was the wisest man upon all the face
of the earth. And so, the chapter opens. Doth not wisdom cry and understanding
put forth her voice and we see how wisdom is here set before
us in very personal terms it's a person really that is speaking
in this part of God's words there are personal affections, personal
attributes we remarked somewhat on those things even last Lord's
Day evening In verse 13, remember, what we're told concerning this
wisdom, there is hatred. She says, the evil way and the
froward mouth do I hate. That's a personal attribute,
to have hatred in the heart, but not only that, we also have
mentioned, remember, of the opposite of hatred. In verse 17, I love
them. that love me she says as there
is hatred so there is also love and then of course in the words
that we were considering last time we see that wisdom knows
something of what joy is clearly this is language that belongs
to a person but who is the person that is speaking we have the
feminine wisdom spoken of as she and yet if we take account
of what the Lord Himself has declared in the New Testament
when He tells us all the Scriptures testify of Him. Speaking to those
Jews in the course of His earthly ministry, they imagined that they had eternal
life because they had the Word of God. The Lord had spoken to
them. It's only them that he had known
amongst all the families of the earth. They were a favored people.
They had the Scriptures of truth. But the Lord says, these are
they that testify of me. And is not Christ that one who
is true wisdom? Paul to the Corinthians, of him
are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and
righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption. And of course
that 181st hymn that we were just singing is in many ways
a paraphrase of that text of scripture. It is the Lord Christ
himself who is the wisdom of his people. And what wisdom is
that? The wisdom that is from above. which is first pure and
then peaceable and gentle and easy to be entreated and full
of mercy and good fruits and without partiality and without
hypocrisy what a description we have there in that epistle
of James at the end of chapter 3 and he's describing wisdom
and that wisdom we see in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ
so strikingly and here as I say we have wisdom and she cries
out when she speaks there in that chief place of concourse
where the people will be found where they gather together look
at the opening words again at verse 2 she standeth in the top
of high places by the way in the places of the paths she cries
at the gate at the entry of the city at the coming in at the
doors or she causes her voice to be heard We read again also
there in the opening chapter of the words that Wisdom speaks,
the language there at verse 20. In chapter 1, Wisdom crieth without. She uttereth her voice in the
street, she crieth in the chief place of concourse. In the opening
of the gates in the city, she uttereth her word saying, How
long? ye simple ones will ye love simplicity
and the scorners delight in their scorning and fools hate knowledge
turn you at my reproof behold I will pour out of my spirit
unto you I will make known my words unto you. Who is this one
who speaks in that cheap place of concourse where all the people
are gathered and speaks of the pouring out of the Spirit. We
have the fulfilment and we have the fulfilment of course in Christ
and in that ministry of the Lord Jesus. When we see Him there
at Jerusalem in the great Feast of Tabernacles and in particular
on the great day of that Feast. how He addresses the multitudes
as they are gathered there at the Temple of the Lord. Remember
the words that we have in John 7, 37, in the last day, that
great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any
man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. Neither believeth
on me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall
flow rivers of living water. What are these rivers of living
water? Why, John says, he spake of the
Spirit, which he that believeth on him should receive, for the
Holy Ghost was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. All that we read here in Proverbs
chapter 1 and again here in the 8th chapter concerning wisdom
is fulfilled, I say, in the Lord Jesus Christ and that gracious
ministry that the Lord exercised when in the fullness of the time
God sent forth His Son. And who is that one who is the
wisdom of God? Why, he is the Word of God. In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the
Word was God. And the Word was made flesh and
dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the
only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. There
is no disputing that the Lord Jesus Christ is that one who
is here in this 8th chapter. Look at the words. I know I've
referred to them many a time and I referred to them again
last Lord's Day evening. What does he say in verse 23? I was set up from everlasting
from the beginning or ever the earth was when there were no
depths I was brought forth when there were no fountains abounding
with water, before the mountains were settled, before the hills
was I brought forth, before ever there was any creation at all.
He is that One who was brought forth. This is the mode of His
very existence in the Godhead. He is brought forth. He is that
One who is eternally begotten of the Father, or the eternal
generation of the Son of God, the only begotten. of the Father,
full of grace and truth. He's in the Father's bosom. He's
one with the Father. Oh, the Father then, as we said
last time, He delights in the Son. The Father delights in the
Son. Remember those words that He
utters in the 30th verse, Then I was by Him, as one brought
up with Him. I was daily His delight. He delights in the Son. We can
observe two things surely here. Here we are reminded of that
essential glory that belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ as the
Son of God. and remember when he prays at
the end of his earthly ministry in that remarkable prayer, his
great high priestly prayer in the 17th chapter of John O Father,
he says, glorify thou me with the glory which I had with thee
before the foundation of the world he is one with the Father
and with the Holy Spirit and how the Father rejoices in him
in that blessed relationship between the three persons in
the Godhead, Father, Son and Holy Ghost. But the Father doesn't
simply delight in him in terms of the doctrine of God, the doctrine
of the Trinity. More particularly, he delights
in Christ in his office as the mediator. How willingly, how willingly
God the Son was the one who humbled himself. He thought it not robbery
to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation. He
was the one who took upon him the form of a servant. And the
Father says, Behold my servant whom I uphold, mine elect, in
whom my soul delighteth. Oh, how the Father delights in
the Son. We see it in the days of the
Lord's humiliation here upon the earth on those two separate
occasions that he's baptizing and then again in the Mount of
Transfiguration. Or remember there as he submits
to John the Baptist's ministry, he's baptized in the River Jordan
coming up out of the waters Now the Spirit descends upon him
in the form of a dove, and the Father speaks from heaven, This
is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And then again,
somewhat later, when those favoured three, Peter and James and John,
are in the Mount of Transfiguration, and they see beyond the veil
of all his humiliation, they see through the divine, through
the human nature, they see the divine nature, or the glorious
person of Christ, God and man, one person. And those favoured
men they behold, and He's transfigured before them. And again the Father
speaks from heaven, this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased. Hear ye Him, He speaks the words
of wisdom, and we're to hear Him. That's what the Father tells
us. All the Father delights in Him. The Father glorifies Him.
When He comes towards the end of His ministry there in the
12th chapter of John, clearly, greatly exercised with regards
to what lies before Him, He's a real man. And He's going to die. Now is
my soul troubled. What shall I say, Father, save
me from this hour? But for this cause came I to
this hour. Father, glorify thy name. And there comes a voice from
heaven saying, I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again. The wisdom then, who is speaking
the words that we have before us, this is the Lord Jesus Christ. who of God is made unto us wisdom
but as the father delights in the son so as we said last time
the son delights in the father we read of him there don't we
rejoicing always before him then I was by him rejoicing always
before him he says at verse 30 He delights in the service of
the Father. His meat is to do the will of
the one who sent him and to finish his work. I came down from heaven,
he says, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent
me. And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that
all that he hath given me I should raise up again at the last day.
the father has given a people to him and he must come and he
must redeem them and so he loves the father and he delights in
the service of the father but he also loves the sinner and as he serves the father what
is he doing? he is saving the sinner he is
saving the sinner he is rejoicing in the habitable parts of the
earth And He says, My delights were with the sons of men. These were the things we were
speaking of in some measure last Lord's Day. Oh, the grace of
our Lord Jesus Christ. Though He were rich, Paul says,
yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty
might be made rich. Why does He come? Why does He
come? not to be ministered on to, but
to minister and to give his life a ransom for many. Well, there's the purpose of
his coming. He will give himself, he will die that cruel death
of the cross, having loved his own which were in the world.
He loves them and he loves them unto the end. Or do we hear Him? Blessed is
the man, He says, that heareth mine. Do we hear Him? Do we want to hear Him? Do we
want to know something more of Him? We want to delight more
in the wonder of the person of this Lord Jesus Christ. The one who is never anything
less than God and yet at the same time is a real man. that great mystery of godliness
or to hear his voice, it's a mark of his sheep it's a mark of his
sheep, they know his voice they know not the voice of strangers,
you remember the words of the Lord there in the 10th chapter
of John as he speaks of himself as the good shepherd who give
us his life for the sheep what of the sheep? they know not the
voice of strangers they know his voice, they follow
him He gives to them eternal life and they shall never perish. Oh, are we those friends who
have heard that voice? The voice of a king. Where the
voice of a king is, the preacher tells us there's power. Another
book of King Solomon, the book of Ecclesiastes. He speaks there,
doesn't he, in chapter 8 of the the word of a king that's the
word of the Lord Jesus when he speaks, when he speaks to the
sinner when he says follow me what do those disciples do? they
leave their ships and they follow him he speaks with such authority when he speaks he communicates
faith That's the wonder, isn't it,
of the word of the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith cometh by hearing. Hearing what? Hearing that voice,
the voice of the Lord Jesus. And so what do we have here in
the text? Blessed is that man that heareth me, it says, watching
daily at my gates. Let us turn in the second place
to the watching daily at these gates. And what are we reminded
of? Two things really. When we think
of the gates, we can think in terms of the works of God. When I say the works of God,
I mean the providences of God. God is a creator, but the work
of creation is now finished. God rested on the seventh day
because all the work was completed. But God is now working in his
providence, the mystery of his providence. And it's interesting, isn't it,
when we think of gates, and all that pertains to gates, watching. Watching daily at my gates, says
wisdom. Remember the words of the Lord
Jesus when Peter made that great confession of faith, how what
the Christ, the Son of the living God, and Christ says, flesh and
blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is
in heaven. And he goes on to say that that confession is the
very foundation of the church upon this rock. It's what Peter
had said. He's not Peter. That's the nonsense
of Rome. The false church. They say their
church is built upon Peter the Rock. The true church is built
upon Christ. No other foundation can any man
lay than that which is laid, which is Christ Jesus. They know
nothing, really, of the faith of Peter, who said, thou art
the Christ, the Son of the living God, from this rock I will build
my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
Now why does the Lord say the gates of hell? Why the gates
of hell? Well, in days of old, often the
great gates of cities was the place where much business was
attended to. It might be the place where the
town council would meet and deliberate. Certainly, in a sense, I know
that was the case in Southampton, a walled city back in the Middle
Ages, and one of the great gates was the bar gate, and there's
a chamber on the top of that gate, and it was there that the
city council met. But when we look at the scriptures
we see the same truth in biblical times in that that we're told
in the book of Ruth. You remember how Boaz is the
near kinsman and he can therefore redeem that that was Marlon's
lot but Marlon is dead of course but his widow is there Ruth and Marlon has died but there is
that lot that really belongs to his widowed spouse and the
problem is though Boaz would be willing to redeem her possession
as it were there is one who is a closer kinsman than Boaz and
so we have the record there in the fourth chapter as to how
Boaz will go about the matter he will meet with this man at
the gate of the city and we have the record in Ruth
chapter 4 and there at the city gates,
there's a council of the people, Boaz is there and the Neri Kinsmen. And we're told in verse 2 of
chapter 4, he took ten men of the elders of the city and said,
sit you down here, and they sat down. And he said unto the kinsman,
Naomi, that is come again out of the country of Moab, selleth
a parcel of land which was our brother Elimelech's. And I thought
to advertise thee, saying, Buy it before the inhabitants and
before the elders of my people. If thou wilt redeem it, redeem
it, but if thou wilt not redeem it, then tell me that I may know,
for there is none to redeem it beside thee, and I am after thee. And he said, I will redeem it. Then said Boaz, what day thou
buy'st the field of the hand of Naomi, thou must buy it also
of Ruth of Moabites, the wife of the dead, to raise up the
name of the dead upon her, his inheritance. And then the kinsman,
the nearer kinsman said, I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I
mar my inheritance. So he steps back. But the point
I make is this, that it's significant that all of this deliberation
is taking place in the city gates. It is the place where they would
hold counsel, where they would make decisions. And when the
Lord Jesus says, the gates of hell shall not prevail against
that church that is built upon Himself, His person and His work,
what is the Lord saying? All the machinations of Satan,
all Satan's devices, all that he might seek to do to destroy,
Christ's church can never prevail. The gates of hell, the wicked
ways, the oppositions of that awful prince of darkness are
going to be frustrated. God's sovereign providence must
prevail and in his grace Christ will build his church and the
gates of hell will never prevail against it. So when we read of
watching daily at the gates we are to watch God's hand surely
we're to observe God's providential ways how the Lord is working
out day by day His eternal decree that decree that centers in the
person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ who is to see of the travail
of his soul even in the midst of all the wickedness and all
the confusion that seems to surround us we are not to lose sight of
what the Lord God is doing we are to be those who are wise
and observe these things and understand the loving kindness
of the Lord remember those words at the end of the 107th Psalm
if we would but observe God's providence we would learn something
of the loving kindness of the Lord wonderful expression used
many times in the authorised version God's loving kindness
what does it speak of? it speaks of his covenant faithfulness
it could be rendered really covenant faithfulness, sure mercies all we are to be those who are
watching watching the ways of God and the works of God and
in our prayers bringing these matters laying them before the
Lord our God but two things really here with regards to the watching
at the gates secondly there's also here surely reference to
the preaching not just the works of God but the word of God the
ordinances of God's house what has God appointed? He has appointed
the minister of his word the Lord loveth the gates of Zion
more than all the dwellings of Jacob," says the psalmist. Why
does the Lord love the gates of Zion? What is Zion? Zion is the church, isn't it?
We know in the Old Testament Israel, ethnic Israel, that's
a type of God's true spiritual Israel. The true Israel is the
church of the Lord Jesus Christ. And often times it goes under
the name of Zion. And the Lord loves the gates
of Zion, the ordinances of the Lord's house. Where does wisdom cry? What are
we told here in verses 3 and 4? She crieth at the gate, at
the entry of the city, at the coming in of the doors, unto
you O men I call, and my voice is unto the sons of man. What are the gates? These gates,
you know, they're open. We have wonderful imagery, don't
we, time and again here in the Word of God. We have so much
gospel, as you know, in a book like the Prophecy of Isaiah. And what wonderful imagery there
in that 26th chapter. The opening words of Isaiah 26,
in that day And immediately we're reminded
of what the day is. What is that day? When the prophets
of the Old Testament speak of the day, or the day of the Lord,
it's the Gospel day. It's that that is brought in
by the coming of the Lord Jesus in that day. Shall this be sung
in the land of Judah? We have a strong city. Salvation
will God appoint for walls and bulwarks, open ye the gates that
the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in." All
the gates are open, the gospel gates, that sinners may come
and enter before the Lord. It pleases God, you see, by the
foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. This is the
ordinance of God's house is it not? and what does the preacher
say? well we have it in the language
of the hymn number 11 in our book and what does John Stocker say
there? the door of thy mercy stands
open all day for the poor and the needy you knock by the way
or the word of God's mercy it's opened there's a way of salvation
in the Lord Jesus Christ And David, David again in the
Psalm, what does David say, Psalm 84? A day in thy court is better
than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper
in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. But
oh, what a favoured thing to have that position, a doorkeeper,
to ensure that the doors are open. The way of salvation is
there. Sinners are invited to come and
to enter into that city which has walls of salvation to surround
it. There's preaching here. Blessed is the man that heareth
me, watching daily at my gates. Always have what we desire to
do. We want to be those who would be about the gates of the Lord
we want to hear that gospel that gospel is a gospel of free grace
a salvation that can be had without money and without price we are to be those then who as
we come desire only to hear one thing and that is His voice we
don't come to hear the voice of a man O God, grant grace that
we might ever look beyond the preacher and desire to discern
the Lord Jesus Christ in his gospel. He speaks, you know. That language that we have there
in Romans 10.14, O then shall they call on him in whom they
have not believed, and thou shalt they believe in him of whom they
have not heard, and thou shalt they hear without a preacher.
and I think I've said it before more than once probably many
times maybe but that middle clause we're told is more literally
to be read as shall they believe in him whom they have not heard
I know we have the little word of there as shall they believe
in him of whom they have not heard Well, it's one thing to
hear of the Lord Jesus, for the preacher to speak of the Lord
Jesus, it's quite another thing to hear the Lord Jesus. How shall
they believe in Him whom they have not heard? Oh, it's His
voice. It's His voice. Now, that voice
came to those at Ephesus through the preaching of the Apostle.
He says, You have not so learned Christ, if so be ye have heard
Him and been taught by Him. as the truth is in Jesus? Are
we those who have heard Him? Are we taught by Him? Salvation
is of the Lord. It's not anything that the preacher
can do. The preacher is to proclaim the
Word, to set forth the truth as it is in Jesus. But salvation
is the work of the Lord. We have to hear His voice. And
how does He call that efficacious grace that we have in the Gospel? of our Lord Jesus Christ or to
be those who would be watching watching at the gates and it
says waiting at the post of my door so finally to look at that
expression also waiting at the post of my doors we read at the end of Luke of
the Lord Jesus he set his face, remember is it in chapter 9 of
Luke he sets his face to go to Jerusalem from chapter 9 through
then we read of that final journey as he makes his way to Jerusalem
he knew now you see the hour was come and he sets his face
as he gets there we see him previous to His death, oftentimes ministering
in and about the temple. And in Luke 21.38 we're told
all the people came early in the morning. They came early
in the morning to Him in the temple for to hear Him. That's what it says, Luke 21.38. All the people came early in
the morning to hear Him in the temple. There was an eagerness, you see.
Oh, they're eager, they want to be there, they don't want
to miss this. They are those who would be waiting,
as it were, at the post of the door, because they want to hear
the teaching of this One who is truly the Messiah, the Christ
of God. Oh, what eagerness! to hear Him. Are we those who are eager? We
have an appetite, we have a hunger, a thirst, and only the Lord can
satisfy that. He must come, He must come to
us, and He must come in His Word. He'll come to us by His Spirit,
but He'll come in His Word by His Spirit. And there we are to wait. Again,
in John 5 we are told, aren't we, Bethesda, the pool at Bethesda. And what does Bethesda mean?
It means the house of mercy. It's a house of mercy and we're
told of a man who was 38 years, 38 years waiting at the pool
at Bethesda for the moving of the waters. And remember what
we're told there in John 5 how the Lord Himself so graciously
ministered to that man and he'd waited 38 years until the Lord
met with him there. In John 5 At verse 6, when Jesus
saw him lie and knew that he had been there a long time in
that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole? The
impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man when the water
is troubled to put me into the pool. But while I am coming,
another steppeth down before me. Jesus saith unto him, Rise,
take up thy bed, and walk. And immediately the man was made
whole and took up his bed and walked and on the same day was
the Sabbath. Oh, what a Sabbath day was that
to that man. After 38 years the Lord healed
him and he took up his bed and walked. It was a great offense
to the self-righteous scribes and Pharisees and they attacked
the Lord Jesus. It's a great chapter. We know
John's Gospel is full of great chapters. The Word of God is
full of great chapters. But read John 5. And that man,
he waited, and he waited, and he waited, and he waited. The psalmist says, I waited patiently
for the Lord. And he inclined unto me and heard
my cry. Oh, friends, we cannot wait in
vain. But how are we to wait? We're
to wait in prayer. Surely we're to wait in prayer. We wait upon the Lord. We call
upon the Lord. We cry to the Lord. And if we're those who in our
prayers are waiting upon Him and seeking Him, we can rest
assured that we'll find Him. What does He say in verse 35?
Who so findeth Me? findeth life. Oh, there's a finding
here, you see. Twice we have that word, who
so findeth me, findeth life. There's life in the Lord Jesus
Christ, even for those who feel themselves to be dead in trespasses
and sins. Isn't that a strange, strange
thing really, because we are by nature, all of us, dead in
trespasses and sins. But it's only when the Lord begins
to deal with us that we feel what we are. Then we feel we
are dead, really dead. Impotent. What can we do? We're dead. Well, life is found
in the Lord Jesus Christ. I am the resurrection and the
life. He that believeth in me, though
he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth
in me shall never die. Believer sow this, says Christ. Do we believe that? Oh, there's
life with the Lord Jesus Christ. And so we're to look to Him.
We're to watch. We're to wait upon Him. Blessed
is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gate, waiting at
the post of my doors. For whoso findeth me findeth
life, and shall obtain favour of the Lord. what a favour, what
a blessing why he is the one who is made of God unto us wisdom
and righteousness and sanctification and redemption that as it is
written, whosoever glorieth, let him glory in the Lord he
is everything he is everything, what a favour to know this man
the Lord Jesus Christ remember again what James says in that
epistle we've already referred to the language at the end of
chapter 3 the wisdom from above which is first pure and then
peaceable and gentle and easy to be entreated the Lord Jesus
is that wisdom but in chapter 1 what does James say if any
man lack wisdom let him ask of God who giveth to all men liberally
but let him ask in faith not in wavering for he that waveth
like a wave given of the winds and tosses. No, we're not to
be like that. We're to ask the Lord that he
would grant to us that wisdom and ought to get that wisdom.
Whoso findeth me findeth life. It says again in chapter 19 and
verse 8, he that gathereth wisdom, loveth his own soul." Or do we really love our souls? Never-dying souls? What's a man
profited, says Christ, if he gains the whole world and loses
his own soul? What shall a man give in exchange
for his soul? We have souls. And he that gathereth
wisdom, loveth his own soul. all the importance in of getting
the Lord Jesus Christ and knowing the real union to Him waiting at the posts of my doors
I want to close with that strange thing that we read in the Law
of Moses remember the servant was to be released from his servitude
on the great day of Jubilee. There was freedom then. But what
if this man loved his master and didn't want his release? Well, there's that law, isn't
there, in Exodus 21 verses 5 and 6, "...if the servant shall plainly
say, I love my master, my wife and my children, I will not go
out ruined. Then his master shall bring him
unto the judges, he shall also bring him to the door or onto
the door post and his master shall bore his ear through with
an awl and he shall serve him forever all this is what it means
to be waiting at the gates or rather waiting at the post of
his doors it's to serve him forever and that's that's what's involved
you know ultimately there's no turning back We have to follow
Him. We have to take up our cross
daily. That's what it means. He that
shall endure to the end. He that shall endure to the end.
The same shall be saved. Oh, the Lord be pleased and to
bless His Word to us. Amen.