1 Peter chapter 4, we'll continue
our study in this wonderful little book that's written to God's
suffering saints. 1 Peter chapter 4, and today
we'll be looking at verses 6 to 11, but I would like to read
the context of the whole, where these verses are located, and
so we'll read from 1 Peter 4, 1 to 11. For as much then as Christ hath
suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with
the same mind. For he that hath suffered in
the flesh hath ceased from sin, that he no longer should live
the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the
will of God. For the time past of our life
may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles when
we walked in lasciviousness, lust, excess of wine, revelings,
banqueting, and abominable idolatries. Wherein they think it strange
that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking
evil of you. Who shall give an account to
him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead? For this
cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead. They
might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according
to God in the spirit. But the end of all things is
at hand. Be ye therefore sober and watch unto prayer, and above
all things have fervent charity among yourselves, for charity
shall cover the multitude of sins. And charity there being
love, being agape in the Greek. So love shall cover a multitude
of sins. Use hospitality one to another
without grudging, As every man hath received the gift, even
so minister the same one to another as good stewards of the manifold
grace of God. If any man speak, let him speak
as the oracles of God. If any man minister, let him
do it as of the ability which God giveth, that God and all
things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise
and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Now last week we looked
at the beginning of this chapter in the first five verses, where
we looked at how we are to be armed and standing ready in Christ.
And we looked at how the thought brought forth in the first 11
verses is a continuation from chapter 3, bringing forth before
the blood-washed saints who are suffering. They're suffering
for their faith, and Peter's writing to them, And he writes
them the contrast between Christ's suffering in chapter 3 and the
beginning of chapter 4, the contrast between Christ's suffering and
the believer's suffering. And he shows them that our suffering,
although very real to every one of us, because everything we
suffer in this life is very real to us. We really do go through
things that are very, very hard. But He shows us that our suffering
pales in comparison to the suffering that Christ went through to redeem
us from our sins. And we who are the unjust are
redeemed by He who is the just one, the perfect one, the holy
one, the sinless one. We looked at how we're in a spiritual
battle and how we are armed and ready as believers with the whole
armor of God. And we went over to Ephesians
and we looked at how the whole armor of God points us to Christ.
It's all about Him. It's all about Him. And we are
to stand ready for battle. We do not move forward unless
the Lord moves forward. We stand until He commands us
to move forward and we only move under His banner. We also looked
at how the world, the people who once knew us, wonder at the
fact that we do not want to do the things which we did before,
because we are new creatures in Christ. We have new desires. We still have this outward tent,
but inward we're new people. We're born again by the Holy
Spirit of God. So let's look at our text with
that in mind, starting at verse six. We'll read verse five along
with it to get, again, the context of the verse. Who shall give
account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead?
For this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are
dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh,
but live according to God in the spirit. And so we see here
that there will be a judgment in verse five, and the judge
will be the Lord Jesus Christ himself. And they shall one day,
those who have rejected Christ and died in their sins and perished
in their sins, give an account to he who is ready to judge the
living when he comes and the dead. Marvel of marvels though. Here's a marvel for the believer. For those who are in Christ,
there's no judgment. No judgment at all. But all who
die in their sins shall be judged justly and fairly according to
their works. And so what mercy, what mercy
we have received, we who are His blood-bought saints. And
that's what Romans 8, 8-1, you've heard me say it often, there
is therefore now no condemnation, that's judgment. Now we're standing
there and here, God sees us in Christ's blood, clothed in His
perfect spotless righteousness. And note verse 6, in light of
that, that Christ will be the one who will judge the living
and the dead. For this cause was the gospel
preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged
according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in
the spirit. Now this is the reason the gospel
of Christ was preached to those who are now dead, such as Noah
and Abraham and Moses, David and all the Old Testament believers.
They were men in the flesh just like us. We sometimes look at
these Bible characters and we think, wow, look at these guys.
They were just like us. They were just like us. They
struggled just like we struggle. They needed a Savior desperately
just like we need a Savior. We sometimes forget that. We
sometimes lift these guys up. But they're men just like we
were. Favored of God, of course, but
so are we favored by God, aren't we? We who are his blood-bought
people. And they were subject to like
passions just as we were. Remember Elijah? I'm the only
one left, Lord. No, you're not. Got 5,000 who
haven't bent the knee to Baal. Oh, so they were subject to like
passions just as we were. They were chastened of God just
as we are. They were hated and misunderstood by natural man
just as we are. They lived and now live for the
glory of God and the Spirit just as we do. And so the saints of old had
been judged according to man while they were on the earth,
and this judgment was in the form of persecution. because of their Christian testimony.
And the same thing occurs to believers even today. Even today. And it will continue until the
Lord comes on, comes back. So the suffering saints that
Peter's writing to would receive strength from these words, knowing
that the saints of old, who went before them, suffered just as
they were suffering. Just as they were suffering.
And how did they walk? How did the saints of old walk?
They walked like us, by faith. How did the suffering saints
that Peter's writing to walk? They walked by faith, just like
we do. Again, sometimes we forget that.
They went through the same things we go through. So what strength,
we who are reading this book right now, can glean from this?
is we go through sufferings and trials and tribulations and persecutions. We're persecuted for our faith.
Might be from family members, it might be from friends, it
might be from co-workers. It happens. They judge us and say, you all
think you're holier than thou. Oh, if they only knew how we
felt. If they only knew how we see
ourselves. Sinners. So we who are even going through
things here on this earth can look and see that God carried
the saints of old, beloved. God carried the suffering saints
that Peter's writing to. And God carries you and I, who
are his blood-bought people. Just like he did them. Just like
he did them. And we looked at that on Wednesday
night in studying the faithfulness of God. We looked at Jeremiah
chapter 32. I want to read you a couple verses from Jeremiah
32. You don't have to turn there.
I'll just read these. But it speaks of God's faithfulness.
If you want to turn there, you can. Jeremiah 32, though, and
it speaks of God's faithfulness. Look at, I'll just read these
wonderful words as God promises. He says, I will give you, I will
give them one heart in one way that they may fear me forever. Who's the one way? Christ. Christ. And it's God who does
this. It's God who does this. He says this. I will make an
everlasting covenant with them. That I will not turn away from
them to do them good. That I will put my fear in their
hearts. That they shall not depart from
me. What's the reason we don't ever depart from the Lord as
believers? Because God has said, you will not depart from me.
He keeps His people. Those He saves, He keeps. And
then there's another wonderful verse which says this, I will
rejoice over them to do them good. And I will plant them in
this land surely with my whole heart and with my whole soul.
God says that. Oh, what love he has for his
people. What love he has for his people. And those I wills,
those I wills of God, oh, we can hang our souls on those,
can't we? And remember, those are promises of God. Those are
promises that God makes to His people. And think of that. I'll give them one heart. We're
born again by the Holy Spirit in one way that they may fear
me forever. Oh my. I'll make an everlasting
covenant with them. He did that in eternity. I will
not turn away from them. Think of that. Have you ever
had people turn away from you when you get in a dire situation?
I bet you every one of us has had that happen at one time in
our lives. Someone turned away from me. God says to his people,
I'll not turn away from you. Never. Never. I'll put my fear in their hearts
and they shall not depart from me. Well, that destroys people
saying that a believer can lose their salvation, doesn't it?
If ever there's a verse for eternal security, and I actually use
this, it's funny because the day after I preached on Wednesday
night, Thursday, I just went over to get a iced tea across
the road and sat down just for a few minutes with the guys and,
oh, we were just talking about eternal security, Wayne. And
I said, Jeremiah 32, 40. What's it say? The guy who was
reading it, he was shocked. He said, well, this is for Israel.
And I said, no, that's not just for Israel. Israel's a picture
of the church. That's for God's people. And
you know, he sat there and read that, and I just left him with
it. I just left him with it. I might
see him Monday, maybe, if I go over there, but just leave him
with it. That's what we do. You just leave
him with the scripture. Let the Holy Spirit do the work,
beloved. And then I'll rejoice over them to do them good. God
says that about his people. I'll plant them in this land
assuredly with my whole heart and with my whole soul." My!
So these are promises of God that will sustain the suffering
saint as we're journeying through this world. And while we live
by faith, as I said, we live by faith just as the Old Testament
saints lived and just as the ones who Peter's writing to and
Paul's writing to, they all live by faith just like we do. And
they walked in the spirit. So those spoken of in in our
text in verse six did the same. And now they live eternally by
God's grace. And, you know, it's the same
gospel that saved them. That saved us the same Holy Spirit
that quicken them. Quickened us. Oh, it's wonderful. And we know that from the words
of our Master in John 8.56, when He said to the Jews, He said,
Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day. Christ said that. He said, Your father Abraham
rejoiced to see My day. He rejoiced to see Christ. And he saw it and was glad. Have
you not been glad since the Lord showed you who He is? Since He's
revealed Himself to you? Let's consider verse 7. But the
end of all things is at hand. Be ye therefore sober and watch
unto prayer. Our lives, beloved, are like
a vapor. They're like a vapor. And the end of our lives is near. And it gets closer with each
passing day. I remember Brother John said
he looks at each year as he's getting a year closer to being
with the Lord. And that's true. That's true. Because we are closer
to the end of our life than we've ever been before. With each passing
minute, with each passing second, with each passing day. But so
is the end of the world. Christ is coming. He's coming. In the day of His wrath, is near
each day. Each day. And it says here we
are to be sober and watch. We're to be calm and collected
in the spirit, one Greek translator said. We're to be sober and watch. Which again is to be calm. Which
in the Greek literally means with a view to. So we're to be having a view
of the coming of Christ. We don't know when it is, not
one. Anyone who says they know when he's coming, they're lying.
Because no man knows the hour of the day. That means no man
means no man. No man. But God knows. God knows, and we rest in his
sovereignty, don't we? Trusting that he will return. And we're to be a prayerful people,
so that our minds are not crowded with fears and worries. We're
to take our cares and our concerns, and what are we to do? We're
to cast them before Christ, aren't we? We're to cast them before
Him. Now, I know all of us can struggle
with fears and worries. If someone says they don't, they're
lying. And just wait, because God will put them through. So it's a struggle for everyone.
But we're not to let those things consume us. We're to cast our cares before
the Lord. Because He cares for us. And
here before us is Matthew Henry brings forth a noble rule. In
verse 8. Look at verse 8. Now we're coming
to verse 8 here. In Paul's writings and in James'
writings. Here in 1 Peter, this thought
is brought forth, the love of the brethren. The love of the
brethren. And again, Matthew Henry brings
forth that this is a noble rule in Christianity. We are to be
forgiving and forbearing with one another. Because look what
verse 8 says, and we know charity there again is agape, and agape
love is love like no other. And above
all things have fervent love among yourselves, for love shall
cover the multitude of sins." And this love is not a cold heartless
love, which is really no love at all.
This love is a fervent, sincere, strong, and lasting love. This is speaking of God's love,
which is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit of God. And one excellent effect one
commentator brings forth of this love is that we will love the brethren.
And again, another effect that's brought forth is what Peter brings
forth right here. Love shall cover the multitude
of sins. So therefore, there ought to
be in all Christians a more fervent charity of love towards one another
than towards any other man. We should love the brethren above
any other man. We're going to spend eternity
together. And we're all redeemed by the precious blood of the
Lord Jesus Christ. And I'll tell you what. If a man doesn't love the brethren,
I'll doubt his profession. Because this is a fruit of the
Spirit. We love God's people. We do. We love the Lord's people. We might not always get along
with them, right? But we love them, don't we? to love one another. And what's the reason why we're
here? What is the main reason why we're
all gathered together as believers? It's the furtherance of the gospel,
isn't it? It's the furtherance of the gospel. So love covers
a multitude of sins, beloved. We set aside trifle little things
for the furtherance of the gospel. And again, we are to show love
one to another. And then look at Turn, if you
would, to 1 Thessalonians 4. 1 Thessalonians 4. And then put
your finger in Hebrews 13.1. This isn't just something that
Peter's writing about. We'll see over in 1 Thessalonians
4. Look at what Paul writes here.
And he writes the fact that God's people are taught this precious
truth. This is a precious truth that is taught to us by the Holy
Spirit of God. Because look what Paul writes
here in 1 Thessalonians 4. Again, this is a special love.
This is a love like no other. It's the love of God shed abroad
in our hearts. 1 Thessalonians 4, verse 9. But as touch and brotherly love,
ye need not that I write unto you, for ye yourselves are what?
Taught of God to love one another. See, God's people are taught
by the Holy Spirit of God to love one another. And we do,
don't we? We love one another. By the Wednesday, the second
Wednesday of our trip, I was ready to come home and be with
you all. You're my family and I love you
guys. And I was ready to come home. Ready to come home to be
with you, to fellowship with you. There's no one else I want
to be with. And then turn, if you would,
to Hebrews 13.1. Now Peter's, again, now remember who Peter's
writing to in our text. Peter's not writing to pagans.
He's not writing to idolaters, is he? Neither is Paul. They're writing to God's blood-bought
people. They're writing to genuine believers. And they're saying, look what
here is in Hebrews 13.1. This is wonderful. Let brotherly
love continue. Let it continue. It's wonderful. Isn't it amazing? Think of this,
too. Now, you guys have been together longer than I've been
with you all. But isn't it amazing how God can take us, different
personalities from different stations of life, and bring us
together, and we share a common bond in Christ, and we love one
another? It's amazing. We might not have
hung out with each other at all in our natural state, but God
brings us together. It's amazing. And we're here
for the furtherance of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And
each of us have different giftings. We'll see that too later on.
It's absolutely incredible. And so this love is a special
love, a special relationship between all sincere Christians.
And we're not to bear malice towards one another, but we're
to fervently love one another. Because love covers a multitude
of sins. And it's not hard for us to forgive,
is it, others when we consider the great amount of forgiveness
that we've received from our great God and Savior. It's incredible. So true brotherly love covers
a multitude of sins. It forgives and forgets offenses
which have occurred among brethren. And we are to consider the mercy
and forgiveness that we have in Christ. And again, it will
help us to forgive others quickly. Because let me tell you, If we
remember the pit that we were in before the Lord saved us,
if we remember the pit that we were in, and think of this, we'd still
be in that pit if God hadn't taken us out. The pit of Sinai. If we remember the pit that we
were in, and the state that we were in, and the thoughts that
we thought, and the things that we did, and that except for God's
grace, we'd still be in that pit. And we'll forgive our brethren
who've sinned against us, because love covers a multitude of sins.
So Peter's exhorting believers, he's writing to, to love one
another. To love one another. And the
reason for this exhortation to love one another is because love
covers a multitude of sins. And this is when one Christian
truly loves his fellow brother or sister, he'll not publish
abroad his failing. He won't publish abroad his failings,
but here cover them up from the sight of others. And how much
gossip would be eliminated if we truly followed that rule? Over in the book of Matthew,
Matthew pens this by inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God. He
says, for if you forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly
Father will also forgive you. But if you forgive not men their
trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Matthew 6, verses 14 and 15. So God's people are forgiving
people because we've been forgiven much. Now Peter continues this
exhortation here in our text to the suffering saints that
he's writing to. Let's now look at verse 9. use hospitality one
to another without grudging. Now the word hospitality here
is the translation of a Greek word which literally means friendly
to strangers, friendly to strangers, hospitable, loving strangers,
a friend of or kind to strangers. Again think of the time when
this letter was written and keep in thought Keep the thought in
mind that Peter is exhorting the believers here to be hospitable
to other Christians. And think of this, because there
would be Christians who were traveling for the Lord Jesus
Christ, for whatever reason, they may be in need of food or
shelter, and fellow believers are to be hospitable to them.
The persecutions which some of the Christians were enduring
deprived them often of the necessities of life, and such an exhortation
was needed. So maybe a brother was, because
of a profession in Christ or a sister, lost the ability to
have an income or to have anything. And so the other believers were
to help them. Help them out. Be hospitable to them. Oh my. And the generosity and hospitality
are marks of grace, one commentator said, I think it was Matthew
Henry who brought that out, were to be hospitable one to another
and to all believers, whether we know them or whether we first
meet them. Then look at verse 10, as every
man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another
as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. There's nothing
we have in nature, in our natural state, giftings or grace that's
not from the Lord. That's not from the Lord. Each
believer has received a particular talent, a divine endowment or
certain power in certain areas, whether physical, material or
spiritual, in order to employ that talent for the furtherance
of the gospel as good stewards of the grace of God. As one commentator
brings forth, God did not bring us into His body for our own
comfort and satisfaction alone, but for His glory. For His glory. And for the good of the whole
body of Christ. No one's insignificant. No one. Think of the stones that were
placed in that temple to build the great temple of the Lord,
right? Every stone was important. Remember what those stones represent?
Every stone represents God's people. Oh my. We're built upon the foundation,
aren't we? Oh my. If you're one of God's people,
you're precious in His eyes. You're precious in His eyes. Weiss brings forth that the word
It says, as many men have received the gift, the word as in the
Greek text is in whatever quality or quantity. And he continues,
the word gift here is not the usual Greek word, but one that
refers to a special spiritual enablement given graciously to
certain Christians as an aid in the discharge of the special
duties to which God has called them. as in 1st Corinthians. Let's turn to 1st Corinthians
chapter 12. 1st Corinthians chapter 12, and we'll look at a portion
here in 1st Corinthians chapter 12 to see more understanding
of the verse here in 1st Peter. 1st Corinthians chapter 12, we'll
read verses 1 to 11. And remember, any gift that the
believer receives is to be used for the glory of God. To be used
for the glory of God. 1 Corinthians chapter 12 verses
1 to 11. Now concerning spiritual gifts,
brethren, I would not have you ignorant. You know that ye were
Gentiles carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led. He's very bluntly bringing the
state of natural man out, isn't he? That's pretty clear. Pretty
clear. Wherefore I give you to understand
that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed,
and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the
Holy Ghost. Now there are diversities of gift, but the same Spirit,
and there are differences of ministrations, but the same Lord.
And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same
God which worketh all in all. but the manifestation of the
Spirit is given to every man to profit where all. For to one
is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom, to another the word
of knowledge by the same Spirit, to another faith by the same
Spirit, to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit,
to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another
discernment of spirits, to another diverse kinds of tongues, to
another the interpretation of tongues, But all these work at
that one and the self-same spirit, dividing to every man severely
as he will. So in whatever quality or quantity
each believer has received a gift, we are to be ministering it among
the body of Christ, as good stewards of the grace of God. And let
us remember that the gift of which we have been given, whatever
ability we have of doing good, we must own it to be the gift
of God. Own it to be the gift of God
and ascribe it to His grace and to His grace alone. And again,
think of even in your natural state before the Lord saved you,
any knowledge, anything that you could do, the ability that
you can do to work with things, that's all given to you by God.
We get awful proud, don't we? We boast and say, well, I'm the
ones who've done that. God gave you the ability to learn
that. to be able to do those things. Because not everybody,
think of it too, not everybody can do what you do. Everyone
has different giftings that way. Whether it be within the body
of Christ or whether it be in the natural realm. And we are to use any gifts we
receive for the glory of God. And for one another within the
body. And we're to serve the Lord as good stewards. In receiving
and using the manifold gifts of God, we must look upon ourselves
as only stewards. We're only stewards. And we act
accordingly. The talents with which we are
entrusted with are the Lord's, and it is He who has given them
to us. And they must be employed in
His service, in His service, as He directs. And this leads
right into our next verse. Look at verse 11. If any man
speak, let him speak as the oracles of God. If any man minister,
let him do it as the ability which God giveth, that God in
all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise
and dominion forever and ever. Amen. So take note here that
Peter brings forth In our text, two gifts are particularly speaking
and ministering. Speaking and ministering. If
any man who ever preaches or teaches, let him declare the
Word of God according to the Scriptures. Let him say what
the Scriptures say. Don't let him get up and say
his own opinion. You don't want me up here telling
you stories. Charlie, you've talked to me about that where
you guys went before, they just tell you a bunch of stories.
You have no interest in hearing stories from me, and I have no
interest in telling you a bunch of stories. Now, I may use something
as an illustration, but the thrust of the message each time the
gospel's proclaimed, whether it's me or anyone else preaching
or teaching, is Christ and Him crucified. That's it. And for the preacher to have
an opportunity to proclaim Christ is wonderful. It's absolutely
wonderful. And we want to give the glory
to God. We want Him to get all the glory and all the honor and
all the praise. We do it according to the strength
and the ability that God has given. So in our text here, if
any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God. If any
man minister, let him do it as the ability which God giveth.
Notice who it is who gives that gift. It's God. Every preacher
will tell you, we weren't seeking to be preachers. not want. But God has given us the ability
to proclaim Christ and Him crucified. Whoever prays, or sings, or gives,
or witnesses, or waits on tables, or does anything, visits the
sick and the poor, or visits widows and orphans, or in any
way makes a contribution to the kingdom of God, let him do it
without complaining and with strength of purpose, out of gratitude
and the love of love to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy
Spirit, all to the glory of God, to whom be praise and glory forever
and ever. So no matter what your placement is in the church, do
it to the glory of God. Do it to the glory of God. It's
wonderful. It's wonderful. If any man minister
either as a deacon or distributing the alms of the church, or taking
care of the poor, or in private, by charitable gifts and contributions,
let him do it as of the ability which God has given him, and
let him do it joyfully unto the Lord. As one commentator brings
forth, he who has received plenty and ability from God ought to
minister plentiful and according to his ability. And these rules
should be followed that God may be glorified in all things we
do, in all our gifts, in all our serving. So think of this,
everything we do in the church, we do for the glory of the Lord.
We do for His glory. And any gifts that we've received
from God, they're gifts from Him. Who made you to differ?
And what do you have that you didn't receive? There's nothing that I have that
I didn't receive from God, from His hand. Therefore, it's natural
for the believer to give Him all the glory then, isn't it?
Give Him all the glory, all the praise. And think of this. Did you make yourself born again? Was it God who wrought a mighty
work in you? Was it God who gave you the gift of faith and repentance
to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ? It was, wasn't it? Give them all the glory, beloved.
Give them all the glory. Those are gifts too, aren't they?
It's a gift of God. Faith and repentance are gifts
of God. My. So God in all things must
be glorified through the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the only
way to the Father. And note the latter part of this
verse, that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus
Christ, to whom be praise and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
The apostles' adoration of the Lord Jesus Christ and ascribing
unlimited and everlasting praise and dominion to Him. This is
a verse that you can use to prove the deity of Christ. Because
He is the Most High God and blessed forever. That God in all things may be
glorified through Jesus Christ to whom be praise and dominion
forever and ever. Amen. And this is who the Apostle
Peter is pointing the suffering saints to. He's pointing the suffering saints
to Christ, and Christ alone. And this is who the Gospel preacher
points you to. No matter whether it's me preaching,
or Joe or Drew when they come, or any other Gospel preacher
you listen to, we're pointing you to Christ. And Christ alone. And it's not hard to figure out
preachers that aren't doing that, is it? Because they're not real
preachers, are they? They're preachers about your works and
about what you've got to do, but the gospel preacher will
say, look to Christ and Christ will look to the one who has
all dominion. All dominion. Look to the one
who needs to be praised forever and ever. And as we go through
things, as we suffer through things in this life, let us keep
our eyes upon our blessed Redeemer and our Lord. Heavenly Father,
we thank Thee for the time that we've had together. Oh Lord,
we thank Thee for the wondrous scriptures and how they point
us right to You, Lord Jesus. Lord, help us to keep our eyes
upon You as things occur in this world and things occur in our
lives. You can suddenly come up and help us to look to Thee
and Thee alone. Be our strength, O Lord God.
Give us grace and strength in time of need, and we are such
a needy people, and we need Your grace and strength each day,
Lord. And we know, though, that Your mercies are new every morning.
Help us to rest and trust and repose in Thee. In Jesus' name,
amen.