the Lord at hand. Be careful
for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication. With
thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. And the
peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your
hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever
things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things
are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely,
whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue,
that there be of any praise, think on these things, those
things which ye have both learned and received and heard and seen
in me do, and the God of peace shall be with you. Let's pray. Our Heavenly Father, we come
in the high and holy name of your darling son. Seek him first, that Christ be
glorified. Let all that we do here this
evening, song, prayer, the message redound to the glory of Christ.
Lord, we're feeble, nothing creatures, but we seek your presence that
we might worship this evening. Give us grace, breathe life into
every heart here tonight, give Todd a message, and may we attempt
to worship Christ tonight, Lord. Give us grace, Lord, that we
bring everything before you and know that you do all things well.
Cause us to find our place at your feet. May we worship the
lamb as he is worthy to be praised. We're so consumed, Lord, with
everything in our daily lives, what's going on in the world,
in our country. Stop us this hour, Lord, and give us grace
that we focus on things above. cast out the thoughts that consume
us on a daily basis, and may we feast on Christ this evening,
Lord. As Todd prayed, remember Claire
and Jess and any of your people, Lord, that are going through
the trial, sick. May your hand of healing be upon them if it's
your will, Lord. But in all things, Lord, cause
us to be grateful. Cause us to be thankful, knowing
that you do all things well. Thank you for these, my brethren.
May they cause us to strive to keep unity in this place, Lord,
and may your gospel go forth. Be with Todd and give him a message
of peace for our hearts, Lord. Thank you for all things, in
Christ's name we ask, with thanksgiving, amen. We're going to look at the last
beatitude tonight. And I want you to remember that
these beatitudes are not things a believer are to strive for. It's what a believer is. Every
single believer, without exception. As a matter of fact, if you would
ask me to go to the word of God and show me what the Bible says
a believer is, I believe that I would go to the Beatitudes.
I think this demonstrates more than anything else what a believer
really is. And we're going to look at the
last Beatitude tonight. Verse 10, blessed are they which
are persecuted for righteousness. sake for theirs is the kingdom
of heaven. Look in verse three, blessed
are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. And
then in verse 10, the blessing of being blessed is repeated. Blessed are they which are persecuted
for righteousness sake for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Now
here we read where both the poor and the persecuted are the ones
to whom the kingdom of heaven belongs. And in reality, only
to them. Theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
And I believe I have some understanding as to why these two things go
together. If you're poor, that means you
have no righteousness of your own. And if you have no righteousness
of your own, I know what you're going to be preaching and believing,
His righteousness only. And that's where persecution
comes from, because when you preach His righteousness only,
when you stand for His righteousness only, you're going to be taking
away what somebody else is hoping in. And that's where the persecution
comes from. Blessed are they which are persecuted. That doesn't sound right, almost
does it? Blessed are they that are persecuted
for righteousness sake. Now is this persecution for marching
against an abortion clinic? Is this Persecution for going
to the Capitol and insisting on prayer and schools and posting
the Ten Commandments. Is this persecution about confronting
people about sin in their lives and you get their angry response
and you think I'm being persecuted for righteousness sake? That's not what the Lord's talking
about, let me assure you, when he talks about being persecuted
for righteousness' sake. In Psalm 71, verse 16, David,
the man after God's own heart, said, I've made mention of, listen
to the language real carefully, I've made mention of thy righteousness,
even thine only. Now why did he say, even thine
only? Because his righteousness is
the only righteousness there is. There is no other righteousness
to mention. Now, this is what men are ignorant
of. I think of what Paul said with
regard to his Brethren, the Jews, I bear them record, they have
a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge for they being ignorant
of God's righteousness. The same righteousness that David
was speaking of in Psalm 71, 16, when he said, I've made mention
of thy righteousness, even thine only. They being ignorant of
God's righteousness, going about to establish their own righteousness.
have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God.
For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness. Do you
hear that? Listen to what's being said.
Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone
that believeth. Paul said in Romans 4, for to
him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of
debt. God becomes your debtor if salvation
is by your works in any measure to any degree. That means God
owes you salvation, but to him that worketh not. Would that describe you? You
understand that you can't be saved by your works. You've got
that down. You struggle with it, but you
still got it down. You understand, I cannot be saved
if salvation is dependent upon me first doing something. Before
God can do something for me, there's no hope for me. To him
that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifies the ungodly,
his faith is counted for what? Righteousness. That's the righteousness
that David was speaking of when he said, I've made mention of
thy righteousness, even thine only. This is what Paul was talking
about in Philippians chapter three, when he said, oh, that
I'm going to win Christ and be found in him, not having my own
righteousness. I don't want to have, I don't
want to have anything to do with a righteousness that has my fingerprints
on it because I know it's no good. O that I may win Christ and be
found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is of the
law, but that which is through the faithfulness of Christ, the
righteousness which is of God, by faith. Now let me show you
a couple of scriptures in the Old Testament. This is what the Bible's
always taught. Turn to Isaiah 45. Verse 24. Now that means this is for sure.
This is for sure. Surely shall one say, in the
Lord have I righteousness and strength. Now this is what the
Old Testament has always taught. Turn to Isaiah chapter 54, verse
17. No weapon that's formed against
thee shall prosper. And every tongue that shall rise
against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage
of the servants of the Lord. Watch this. Their righteousness
is of me, saith the Lord. Don't you love his title, Jehovah
T'kenu, Jeremiah 23, six, this is the name wherewith he shall
be called the Lord our righteousness. And it says in Jeremiah 33, this
is the name wherewith she shall be called, that's me, that's
you, that's every believer. This is the name wherewith she
shall be called the Lord our righteousness. Do you understand
what the Lord meant when he said to John the Baptist, thus it
becometh us to fulfill all righteousness? Do you understand that when he
fulfilled all righteousness, if you were in him, you did as
well? Do you believe God's righteousness,
his righteous character? Do you believe he'd be righteous
If you're an unbeliever, if he passed you by and didn't show
you mercy and let you go to hell, would he be righteous if he did
that? Do you see his righteousness in the gospel? How, if you're
saved, his very righteous law, his very holiness, his righteous
character demands your salvation. Do you see that? Blessed are they who are persecuted
for righteousness sake. Now, what is this thing that
brings on persecution? When we preach the gospel, we
are telling men that what they're hoping in will not save them. It is no good. The only righteousness that God
will accept is the righteousness and the merits of his son, Jesus
Christ. That's all that God will accept. Your righteousness is nothing
more, according to the scriptures, than filthy rags. Now, this is brought out in the
very first story after the fall, so I'd like you to turn with
me to Genesis chapter four. This is about being persecuted
for righteousness' sake. Genesis chapter four. We see here where Abel was persecuted
to death and murdered. And this was being persecuted
for righteousness sake. Now let's look at this story.
I can't possibly emphasize enough the significance of this story.
It's the first story after the fall. It's the first story God
was pleased to make known after the fall of our first parents.
So this gives us some idea of the importance of this story. Verse one. And Adam knew Eve,
his wife, and she conceived. And bare Cain and said, I've
gotten a man from the Lord. And I have no doubt what she's
saying is, I've got the promised seed. The one he's promised to
come, I've got him. I've gotten the man from the
Lord. Now she was wrong, but she thought
that's what had taken place. Verse two, and she again bare
his brother, Abel. I think it's interesting that
Abel's name means vanity. What kind of name would that
be? Vanity. That was his name. And Abel was
a keeper of the sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And
in process of time, it came to pass that Cain brought of the
fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. Now remember,
this was a ground that God had already cursed. He said, curse
would be the ground for thy sake to Adam. He was bringing something
to God from that which God had already cursed. And Abel, he also brought of
the firstlings of the flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect. Now, that's a powerful word,
isn't it? The Lord had respect unto Abel
and to his offering. Now, Abel could not be separated
from his offering, could he? And God actually had respect
to his person. Now, you know what it is for
someone to have no respect for you. It's a horrible feeling.
And you know what it is for someone to respect you. It's a good feeling.
Well, God had respect to Abel and his offering. Abel glorified
God in his offering. His offering was the act of obedience. This is what God told him to
bring, a sacrifice. No other way you can come into
my presence. And he was saying by this, his offering, God is
so holy that I cannot approach him apart from the blood of the
coming Lamb of God. The only way I would dare come
into his presence is through the sacrifice. You know, he was
saying and bringing this sacrifice, what can wash away my sins? Nothing
but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh, precious is the flow that
makes me white as snow. No other fount I know, nothing
but the blood of Jesus. That is the way Abel approached
God and the scripture says God had respect. The respect of God? God had respect
to Abel and to his offering. And if you come the same way
Abel did, God respects you. Now, you obviously respect God. The ultimate respect to God is
looking to Christ only, bringing nothing but his sacrifice. Only that shows a true respect
and reverence for God's person. Bringing your works shows how
much you disrespect him and how highly you view yourself. Now
let's go on reading. But, verse five, unto Cain and
his offering he had not respect. God had no respect for Cain. And let me say this, Cain obviously
had no respect for God because if he thought he could bring
his works into God's presence. He demonstrated what a low view
he had of the living God. And he demonstrated what a high
view he had of himself. He had no respect for God. God
had no respect for him. Now you know what it's like.
Everybody in here has experienced somebody that doesn't respect
you. It's a bad feeling. Well, Cain was upset over the
fact that he was not respected by God. He thought it was not
fair. This is not right. Verse 5, And Cain was very wroth,
and his countenance fell. This is not fair. He respected
Abel's offering, and he treats me with complete disrespect and
contempt. Something's wrong with this.
This doesn't feel right. His countenance fell. And the Lord said unto Cain,
Why art thou wroth? And why is thy countenance fallen?
If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? And if thou
do'st not well, sin lieth at the door. Now here's the first
time the word sin is mentioned in the Bible. And he says to
Cain, and I love the way he says this, if you do well, you'll
be accepted. If you come the way your brother
Abel did, looking only to the coming sacrifice of my son, you'll
be accepted. Problem's not with me, problem's
with you. You'll be accepted if you come pleading only the
blood of my Son. You'll be accepted. And if you
don't, if you come on your own, if you come bringing your own
works, sin lieth at the door. The first time the word sin is
used is with regard to bringing the wrong sacrifice. That's what
Cain did. He had no regard for God. And unto thee shall be his desire,
and thou shalt rule over him as the elder brother. And Cain
talked with Abel, his brother. And it was a heated conversation. Cain was upset over the fact
that God respected Abel and didn't respect him. He gave his works,
he gave his best. He was upset. Evidently, he didn't
really hear what God had said to him. And here they are having
this heated talk in the field, and I know what they were talking
about. They were talking about the sacrifice. Holy Abel said,
Cain, God's holy. We're sinful. He can't be approached
except for the coming sacrifice that this animal sacrifice represents,
the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. He understood the gospel.
The scripture says by faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent
sacrifice than Cain. God testifying of his gifts.
God testifying that he was righteous. God testifying of his gifts.
I have no doubt that Abel was saying the only way we can be
accepted by a living God is through the blood sacrifice and Cain
gets angrier and angrier and all of a sudden he I don't know
how he did it. I don't know if he hit him in
the head or bashed his brains out. I don't know how he killed
him, but he killed him. He was a man. His blood running on the
ground. What is this? Persecution for
righteousness sake. That's exactly what that is.
The first event after the fall is a story about persecution
for righteousness sake. How blessed Abel was when he
entered heaven, the first martyr, persecuted for righteousness
sake. Now, when the Lord walked upon
this earth, he was not persecuted for feeding the poor. He was
not persecuted because of healing the sick. He was not persecuted
because of the miracles, any of the miracles he performed,
unless they were done on the Sabbath day and they thought
he was breaking the Sabbath, then they'd get upset with him.
But why was the Lord persecuted? Because of what he said. Now
let me show you an example of this. John chapter six, would
you turn with me there to John chapter six. Verse 59, these things said he
in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum. Many, therefore,
of his disciples, people who claimed to be his followers,
when they'd heard, notice this is in italics, when they'd heard
really everything said up to this point, they said, this is
a hard, harsh saying. Who can hear it? Who can be expected
to listen to stuff like this? When Jesus, knowing himself and
his disciples, murmured at it, he said, does this offend you?
Now, what did he say? Well, look in verse 44 of this
same chapter. No man can come to me. No man has the ability to come
to me, except the Father which has sent me draw him. Now, what is he saying? Man has
no righteousness. That's the bottom line. Man can't even come, he's so
unrighteous. Look what he says in verse 37, all that the Father
giveth me. shall come to me. What's that?
Divine election. What does that say? Man has no
righteousness. The only way you can be saved
is if God the Father freely, by his sovereign grace, elects
you unto salvation and gives you to his son. See, the issue
is man has no righteousness. That's the preaching that creates
this persecution. Man has no righteousness. Look in verse 39. And this is
the Father's will which is sent me, that of all which he hath
given me, I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again
at the last day. Now this is an example. The only people who
are going to be saved are the people I died for. Not one of
them will be lost. Here's why. Man has no righteousness. And the only way a man can be
saved is if I die for him. If I live for him, obey the law
for him, die for him, put away his sins, and am raised from
the dead. for Him. Look in verse 45, this
is about God's irresistible grace. It's written in the prophets,
and they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that
hath heard and hath learned of the Father cometh unto me. Now
what's the issue? You've got no righteousness.
And the only way you can hear and come to the Father is because
He causes you to by His invincible and irresistible grace. Now this
is the issue. This is the issue. Persecuted
for righteousness sake. I think of the parable of the
Pharisee and the publican. Go ahead and turn there, Luke
18. There's not a more significant
passage of scripture. This tells the story of everybody.
Verse nine. And he spake this parable unto
certain which trusted in themselves, that they were righteous and
despised others. Is there anybody that's exempt
from this description? This describes me. This describes
you. certain that trust in themselves
that they were righteous. You at least think you could
be righteous if you were put in the right environment and
given the right set of circumstances. I know maybe I'm a bad person,
but if I was put in a different, it's not my fault. I've been
put into this, society has made this, religion has made this,
my upbringing has made this. I could be righteous. certain
that trusted in themselves that they were righteous and they
despised others. If you think you're righteous,
you can always find somebody you're more righteous than, and
you can feel pretty good about yourself. There are these people
that trusted in themselves. This describes every human being.
Don't think this is those Pharisees. No, this describes me. This describes
you. that were certain, that trusted
in themselves, that they were righteous. Two men went up into
the temple to pray, the one a Pharisee, the most moral man alive, and
the other a publican, the most despised man alive, who ripped
off his Jewish brethren working for the Roman governments and
padded the price for the taxes and enriched himself. The Pharisee
stood and prayed thus with himself. I love that detail. He thought
he was praying to God, but he wasn't. He prayed thus with himself. Didn't get any further than the
ceiling. God, I thank thee that I am not as other men are. He didn't say, God, I thank you
for your mercy and your grace and the gift of your son, the
gift of faith, the gift of repentance, justice, nothing like that. His
hope was in what God had enabled him to be. Look at my life. I
give you the credit for it. The guy was reformed. I give
you the credit for it. No doubt. I'm not giving myself
the credit. I'm not an Armenian. I give you the credit, but I
thank you that I'm not as other men are." And he commenced to
bragging on himself and everything he said was a lie. He said, I'm
not an extortor. I'm not unjust. I'm not an adulterer.
He was all of those things. He thought he wasn't, but he
was. He says, or even as this publican, I fast twice in the
week. I give tithes of all that I possess, and the publican standing
afar off would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven.
This is Cain and Abel, isn't it? This is Cain and Abel. This is Abel speaking, and the
publican standing afar off would not lift up so much as his eyes
unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be The word
merciful is propitious. Be a sin-removing sacrifice to
me. I can't make my sin go away.
Only you can do that. Be a sin-removing, atoning sacrifice
for me. And then the Lord said, I tell
you, this man went down to his house. What? justified. That's better than
forgiven. If you're justified, that means
you don't have any guilt. You're seeing there is none.
It's gone. This man went down to his house
justified rather than the other. And that's what that's the what
the message of the Bible is about. How God can be just and justify
the ungodly. Who is the embodiment of persecution
for righteousness sake? Oh, you know the answer to that,
don't you? The Lord Jesus Christ is the one who embodies persecution
for righteousness sake. Now I'd like you to turn with
me to Galatians chapter five for a moment. Galatians chapter five, I'll
read verse 11. And this has something to do
with the persecution for righteousness sake. This verse is very critical
in understanding what is meant by being persecuted for righteousness
sake. Verse 11, and I brethren, if
I yet preach circumcision, if that's what I'm preaching right
now, if that's my message, if I yet preach circumcision, and
remember this, the preaching of circumcision, he's not just
talking about the physical act. Circumcision represents anything
you do that will cause God to do something for you. It's salvation
by law. It's salvation by works. You
must first fill in the blank, whatever it might be. You must
first before God can do something for you. Something you must first
do. That's circumcision. Now look
what Paul says. And I, brethren, if I yet preach
circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? You see, I'm being
persecuted for my preaching. And you know, he said everywhere
he went, he was either imprisoned or stoned or beaten, thrown in
jail. He knew everywhere he was going,
this was his end. And he says to the Galatians,
if I am preaching circumcision, nobody be persecuting me. I'd
be preaching the message the world agrees with. There would
be no persecution. But look what he says about this.
And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer
persecution? For then is the offense of the
cross ceased. Now, that word offense is the
word scandal. Scandal. Something that causes
moral outrage. That's scandalous. Scandalous. Then is the scandal of the cross
ceased. What is the biggest scandal that
you and I can think of if we're believers? What's the biggest
scandal that I can think of that I would be in heaven, in that
holy place? That's the biggest scandal. That's scandalous. That makes
your ears ring. that I would be in that holy
place and that God would say to me, well done, thou good and
faithful servant. I'm going to hear that. Why,
that seems scandalous. That's the scandal. That's the
offense of the cross. If I preach circumcision, why
am I being persecuted? I am being persecuted everywhere
I go. I'm getting ready to get beat with a cat and nine tails.
I'm gonna be thrown into jail. I'm gonna be stoned. I'm gonna
be hated. I'm gonna be persecuted. I know
that if I was preaching circumcision, that wouldn't be happening. Look
up in verse one of this chapter. Let's see what he was talking
about. The offense of the cross. And the cross makes the scandal
that somebody like me is in heaven. I love the way he calls it the
scandal of the cross. It makes it so somebody like me or you
can be in heaven. The cross, the whole counsel
of God, the doctrine of God, the cross that tells who God
is in His holiness, in His justice, in His mercy, His grace, tells
who I am in my sinfulness and inability. Salvation by what
Christ accomplished on the cross. That's the message of the cross.
It's called the word of the cross. The offense of the cross. Now, look in verse one. Stand fast, therefore, in the
liberty, the freedom. You know, religious people are
afraid of freedom. Lots of religious people that
say, well, if I believed what you did, I'm afraid it would cause, I'd
go out and rob banks and go to, everywhere I shouldn't go. Religious
people are afraid of freedom. They've never been given a new
heart, is why. They're afraid of freedom. Paul
says, you stand fast, therefore, in the liberty wherewith Christ
hath made us free, and be not entangled again with a yoke of
bondage. Behold, I, Paul, say unto you,
that if you be circumcised, Christ will profit you what? Nothing. If any aspect of your salvation
has anything to do with something that you've done, forget Christ. You're on your own. And that's
not a good place to be. You'll have to stand before God
in your sins. Verse three, for I testify again
to every man that's circumcised, if you think anything that you've
done has moved God to do something for you, here's what you're gonna
have to do along with it. Keep the whole law perfectly.
That's all God knows. Perfect obedience for His law.
There's no such thing as partial obedience or imperfect obedience.
I testify again to every man that circumcised that he's a
debtor to do the whole law. You need to stone your rebellious
kids. On and on. There's what, 623
laws in the Old Testament. You gotta keep every one of them. Verse four, Christ is become
of no effect unto you. Whosoever of you are justified
by the law, you've fallen from grace. You've left grace. I think that it's interesting
that term, people, well, they fell from grace. No, they haven't.
You have. Grace is their only hope. For we, through the Spirit, wait
for the hope of righteousness by faith. For in Jesus Christ,
neither circumcision avails anything. I'm circumcised. Doesn't avail
a thing. Nor uncircumcision. Well, I understand
that circumcision doesn't avail anything. That doesn't avail
anything either. Neither one of them. But faith
which worketh by love. You did run well. Who did hinder
you that you should not obey the truth? This persuasion. Cometh not of him that calleth
you. A little leaven. Leaven's the whole lump. You
put one work in there, you make the whole thing of works. I have
confidence in you through the Lord that you will be none otherwise
minded, but he the trouble of you, you shall bear his judgment,
whosoever he be. And I, brethren, if I yet preach
circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? Then is the offense
of the cross ceased. the offense of the cross, men
find the message scandalous, offensive. Why? Well, the cross offends men because
it takes away what they're hoping in, their own righteousness. It says you have no righteousness
at all. None, nada, zero, nothing. The cross offends men's sense
of fleshly distinctions because it says there are none. There's
no difference. There's no difference. All have
sinned and come short of the glory of God. The cross offends
men's sense of control because it says you have none. You're
in the hands of a living God. A sovereign God who can do with
you whatever He's pleased to do. You have no control. The cross offends men's sense
of personal righteousness because it strips it all away and says
you have none. It offends men's sense of wisdom
because it says you can't figure this out. You're completely dependent
upon God to reveal Himself to you. You can't, by searching,
find out God. The cross offends men's sense
of rights because it says you have no rights. Condemned criminals
have no rights. The cross offends men's sense
of self-love because we're called upon to deny ourself, take up
our cross daily and follow him. The cross offends our sense of
pride because it says we have nothing to glory in. Paul said,
God forbid that I should glory, saving the cross of our Lord
Jesus Christ. Now, Paul says, if I preach works,
circumcision, the offense of the cross has ceased. And I looked
up this word. I love this definition. The offense
of the cross has been rendered idle, unemployed, inactivated,
inoperative, no further efficacy. deprived of force, influence,
or power, disannulled. If I preach circumcision, that's
what I do with the message of the cross. Now, if I am persecuted
for righteousness sake, it's because I'm poor and I have nothing
to recommend myself to God. And it's because I mourn over
my sin, because I see that's all that comes from me, as far
as my flesh, is sin. And I mourn over it. I'm not
indifferent about it, or apathetic about it, or use it as an excuse. No, I mourn over my sin. And I meek before God. Whatever
he does is right, because I have no righteousness. And I hunger
and thirst after righteousness, because I know I don't have any,
and I can't produce it. And I'm merciful because I know
the only way I can be saved is by the sheer mercy of God. And I know the only reason I
feel this way is because of the pure heart he's given me in the
new birth. That's where all this comes from. And I'm a peacemaker. I preach the gospel of peace. Ironically enough, Every peacemaker
is persecuted for righteousness sake. Because every peacemaker
says the only righteousness there is, is the righteousness of Christ. Your righteousness is no good
and persecution will come with that. Blessed are they who are persecuted
for righteousness. Theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Let's pray. Lord, we ask that we might be privileged by your
grace to be poor, to mourn, to be meek before you, to hunger
and thirst after your righteousness, to be merciful, to be pure in
heart, to be peacemakers. And Lord, we ask that you would
allow us the blessed privilege in this life, in this world,
to be persecuted for thy righteousness sake. Bless this message for
your glory and our good. In Christ's name we pray, amen.
We're gonna close with hymn number
96. We'll sing it to the tune of Jesus, Savior, Pilot, Me.
Hymn number 96. As with gladness men of old Did
the guiding star behold As with joy they hailed its light Leading
onward, beaming bright So most gracious, Lord, may we Evermore
be led to Thee As with joyful steps they sped To that lowly
manger bed There to bend the knee before Him whom heaven and
earth adore, So may we, with willing feet, Ever seek thy mercy
seat. ? As they offered gifts most
rare ? At that manger rude and bare ? So may we with holy joy
? Pure and free from sins alloyed ? All our costless treasures
bring ? Christ to thee our heavenly King ? Holy Jesus every day ?
Keep us in the narrow way ? And when earthly things are past
? Bring our ransomed souls at last ? Where they need no star
to guide ? Where no clouds thy glory Thank you. Okay. Yeah.