Hmm. Hmm. Let us commence our service this
afternoon by singing together hymn number 261 to the tune St
Stephen, 229. It is the Lord, enthroned in light, whose claims are all divine,
who has an undisputed right to govern me and mine. Hymn 261. ? Hold its golden light ? ? Whose
rivers all defy ? ? Live as an undisputed right ? ? To govern
the earth ? Minister, Lord, shall I this
cross? Or contract, in case when? There cannot e'er plant what
is not, and not be righteous still. ? It is the knowledge that sustains
? ? Beneath the heav'nly throne ? ? From her the saints have
come ? ? High on a plain ? ? Who tread
that stony road ? ? It is a long road ? ? That I shall share ?
And from affliction's brain that our eternity to fill with
ever-growing praise. It takes but an hour I have learned
God's right, blessed be His name. Whose gracious promise, still
with blood, His covenant will my soul defend,
Should nature's curse expire, and the great judge of all nations
in all the flames of fire. How can I, so without thy peace,
be sad and awe-rified? Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God. in the Prophet Daniel, chapter
9. Daniel, chapter 9. In the first year of Darius, the
son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made
king over the realm of the Chaldeans, in the first year of his reign,
I, Daniel, understood by books the number of the years whereof
the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet that he
would accomplish 70 years in the desolations of Jerusalem.
And I set my face unto the Lord God to seek by prayer and supplications
with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. When I prayed unto the
Lord my God and made my confession and said, O Lord, the great and
dreadful God, keeping the covenant of mercy to them that love him
and to them that keep his commandments. We have sinned and have committed
iniquity and have done wickedly and have rebelled even by departing
from thy precepts and from thy judgments. Neither have we hearkened
unto thy servants, the prophets, which spake in thy name to our
kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the
land. O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion
of face, as at this day, to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants
of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near and that are far
off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them,
because of their trespass that they have trespassed against
thee. O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings,
to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against
thee. To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though
we have rebelled against him. Neither have we obeyed the voice
of the Lord our God, to walk in his laws which he set before
us by his servants the prophets. Yea, all Israel have transgressed
thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice.
Therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is
written in the law of Moses, the servant of God, because we
have sinned against him, and he hath confirmed his words which
he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by
bringing upon us a great evil, for under the whole heaven hath
not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem. As it is written
in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us, yet made
we not our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn
from our iniquities and understand thy truth. Therefore hath the
Lord watched upon the evil and brought it upon us, for the Lord
our God is righteous in all his works, which he doeth, for we
obeyed not his voice. And now, O Lord our God, that
hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with
a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renowned, as at this day
we have sinned, we have done wickedly. O Lord, according to
all thy righteousness, I beseech thee that thine anger and thy
fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain,
for our sins and for the iniquities of our fathers. Jerusalem and
thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us. Now,
therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his
supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary
that is desolate, for the Lord's sake. O Lord, O my God, incline
thine ear here and here, open thine eyes, and behold our desolations
and the city which is called by thy name. For we do not present
our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but
for thy great mercies. O Lord, hear. O Lord, forgive. O Lord, hearken and do. Defer
not for thine own sake, O my God, for thy city and thy people
are called by thy name. And whilst I was speaking and
praying and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel,
and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the
holy mountain of my God. Yea, whilst I was speaking in
prayer, even the man Gabriel, that of course is the angel Gabriel,
whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused
to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation.
And he informed me and talked with me and said, O Daniel, I
am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. At the
beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and
I am come to show thee, for thou art greatly beloved. Therefore
understand the matter and consider the vision. Seventy weeks are
determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish
the transgression and to make an end of sins and to make reconciliation
for iniquity and to bring in everlasting righteousness and
to seal up the vision and prophecy to anoint the most holy. Know
therefore and understand that from the going forth of the commandment
to restore and to build Jerusalem unto The Messiah the Prince shall
be seven weeks and three score and two weeks. The street shall
be built again and the wall even in troublous times. And after
three score and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off but not for
himself. And the people of the Prince
that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary and
the end thereof shall be with a flood under the end of the
war desolations are determined and he shall confirm the covenant
with many for one week and in the midst of the week he shall
cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease and for the overspreading
of the abominations he shall make it desolate even until the
consummation and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate. May the Lord bless the reading
of his own word, grant unto us a spirit of real prayer. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty,
which is an art, an art to come, we bow before thy great majesty,
and like thy servant Daniel, we come with confession, confession
of our sins, our shortcomings, our ill manners in this wilderness
journey. We pray to be delivered from
our sins and from the power of sin by faith in Jesus Christ. We pray to be led and taught
and guided and directed by the Holy Spirit, and that the word
of truth may be a living word unto us. Oh, we pray that thou
wouldst guide us, O thou great Jehovah. We're pilgrims in a
barren land, we are weak, and Thou, Almighty, hold us with
Thy powerful hand. Oh, we pray that this afternoon
we may feel Thy presence as we gather round Thy Word and as
we gather round Thy table, that we may truly worship Thee in
spirit and in truth, and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
may rest upon us, and the love of God the Father and that sacred
fellowship of the Holy Spirit may be known and felt as we gather
around thy word. We pray to be led of the Spirit
of God, for as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are
the sons of God. We pray that there may be power
in the preaching, in the reading of thy word, in the singing of
thy praises, and that we pray that as the word is preached,
there may be that power and unction in the pew, that sinners' hearts
may be opened, and that thy people may be refreshed and renewed
and replenished, and that we may grow in grace and in the
knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We pray, O Lord,
that thou wouldst bless each one of our brethren and sisters
in church fellowship. Bless us with that rich grace
to love each other and to love thee, and that we may live to
thee, and that we may be enabled to honour thee in all we do,
we do humbly beseech thee. We feel how short we come, oh
do grant us that godliness which is with contentment which is
great gain, for we brought nothing into this world and it is certain
we shall carry nothing out. And we pray that each one present
here in the sanctuary this afternoon may feel the sweet power and
grace of the Holy Ghost, may be moved in spiritual things. There may be those that shall
be brought from spiritual death into spiritual life, and those
that shall be brought from spiritual darkness into spiritual light. Lord, grant that it may be so.
It is thy work and thy work alone that can accomplish this. We've
sung together, O Lord, in our opening hymn, that thou art the
sovereign Lord of heaven, and that thou hast a sovereign right
to govern me and mine. And Lord, it is so. And we pray
that for that same spirit that thou didst grant to thy servant
Eli, it is the Lord. Let him do what seemeth him good. May we be submissive to thy heavenly
mind and will. Whatever comes, O Lord, in our
pathway, however dark, however trying, however perplexing, however
sorrowful it may be, we know that thou art too good to be
unkind, thou art too wise to err, and all is for our spiritual
profit and good. We would, O Lord, be submissive
to thy heavenly mind and will concerning Enable us to commit
our way unto the Lord and to trust also in Thee. We do humbly
beseech Thee. Remember this village. Send out
the glory and light of the gospel into this village. May the power
that brings salvation be exerted in the word. Remember the surrounding
villages and hamlets that many precious souls may be gathered
in. and the strongholds of Satan pulled down, and the kingdom
of our Lord Jesus set up in the hearts of sinners. Gird thy sword
upon thy thigh, O most mighty, and ride prosperously, because
of truth and meekness and righteousness. Thy right hand shall teach thee
terrible things, dear Lord Jesus. We read of thee in the word,
he shall go forth conquering and to conquer. Lord, may we
see it in our day. May we see that sovereign power. We thank thee, Lord, for those
among our churches who in these past two or three weeks have
put thee on in an open profession of thy great name. We're thankful,
Lord, thou art still working, and the preaching of the gospel
is still effectual. We pray that there may yet be
an abundant harvest, Now I said, open thy mouth wide and I will
fill it. Oh, we do seek so to do. Meet with us, Lord, as we gather
round the table of the Lord in the close of this service. Grant
that we may truly worship thee, that we may truly remember thee,
and that our hearts may be knit together in love, that we may
remember those awful sufferings of our precious Redeemer. We
thank thee. Most gracious Lord, for our little
house of prayer, we thank thee for the supply of all our many
returning needs. We thank thee that thy mercies
to each one of us are new every morning, and great is thy faithfulness. We thank thee for the wonderful
glory of the incarnation of the Son of God, made of a woman,
made under the law, that he might redeem them that are under the
law. We thank Thee for that holy law that we have broken, He has
fulfilled and brought in everlasting righteousness. We thank Thee
that He took our sins and nailed them to His cross. He suffered
and bled and died in our room, place and stead. Oh Lord, we
do thank Thee. He died for our sins. and rose
again for our justification, and has now ascended into glory.
And indeed, O Lord, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus
Christ the righteous. Come and touch one's lips with
a live coal from off the heavenly altar. We ask for Jesus Christ's
sake. Amen. Let us now sing together hymn
number 803, the second part. The tune is Martyrdom 182. and did the darling son of God,
for sinners deign to bleed, the purchase of that precious blood
must need be rich indeed. Hymn 803, the second part. ? Lifted up his head above ? ?
O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave ? God's peace be with him today. ? The fame of choice ? ? Shall
praise the brightest days ? Tis good, like no river, that
joys, Tis love, and joyful days. Oh, say does that star-spangled
banner yet wave O Christ, that brought you nigh,
in valuable night. I that not see, nor him that
has, nor can the heart conceive of blessed joy, I am the sword that cuts in half ? Let faith foremost be sought
? Give thee, my love, to freely share ? What cannot last forever Greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, I would direct your attention to the chapter
that we read, Daniel chapter 9 and verse 26. And after threescore and two
weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself. And the
people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and
the sanctuary, and the end thereof shall be with a flood. And until
the end of the war, desolations are determined. Daniel was given here a vision. And it was given to him as he
prayed to the Lord. And these records in Holy Scripture
should be an encouragement to us to pray. And we read in the
prophecy of Isaiah that while they are yet speaking, I will
answer them. And we find this here with the
Lord's servant, Daniel. The setting, of course, is Daniel
was the right-hand man of the kings during the captivity of
the children of Israel in the land of Babylon. And this was
just when the Medes and the Persians took over from the Babylonian
kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar. They overran the city of Babylon. And so it says in the first verse,
in the first year of Darius, the son of Ahasuerus of the seed
of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans,
in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood by books
the number of the years whereof the word of the Lord came to
Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish 70 years in
the desolations of Jerusalem. And of course, It was coming
to the end of the 70 years. It is believed by many that Daniel
would have probably been about 14, 15 years old at the time
when the children of Israel were taken into captivity when Nebuchadnezzar
overran the land of Israel and the city of Jerusalem and he
burned it with fire. And at that time Daniel would
have been about 14 years of age or 16 years of age and as we
know from the book of Daniel, he was given much instruction,
went to what we would call school or university and by Nebuchadnezzar
and that he and his three friends Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego,
they were so far above all the others in intellectual power
It actually says in the scripture they were ten times better than
all that were around him. So they were given very prominent
positions in the government, what you might say the civil
service, of the land of Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar. And the
remarkable thing is that Daniel remained in those prominent positions
even when the Medes and the Persians overran the Babylonian Empire.
Daniel was still elevated to what is similar to the Prime
Minister. And the Lord had given him much wisdom. And no doubt
a very moderate man, you can tell that by the way that he
speaks. Now, so he knew by the reading
of books. Do we read the book of God? You
know, In Joshua, and Joshua is a wonderful character in the
Old Testament, he's one of the few characters that we find that
the Lord never, never rebuked him. He was a man that walked
uprightly all the days of his life. And so, such a witness
the life of Joshua was that it says in the closing part of Joshua
that the children of Israel followed the Lord all the days of Joshua
and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua. You see
the wonderful influence he had on Israel for his generation
and the generation following. But if we just look at the book
of Joshua chapter 1 and at verse 6 and these are the exhortations
the Lord gave unto Joshua when he was about to lead the children
of Israel over Jordan and into the promised land. Be strong
and of a good courage, for unto this people shalt thou divide
for an inheritance the land which I swear unto their fathers to
give them. Only be thou strong and very
courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all
the law which Moses my servant commanded thee. Turn not from
it, to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper
whithersoever thou goest. This book of the law shall not
depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day
and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is
written therein. For then thou shalt make thy
way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. And
we see this same pattern with godly Daniel. When he realized it was coming
to the time when the Lord would deliver Israel from the Babylonian
captivity and return them to Israel, he didn't just think,
well, the Lord's going to do this and fold his arms and say,
well, I can sit back. No, he said, I set my face unto
the Lord, God, to seek by prayer and supplication with fasting
and sackcloth and ashes. And I prayed unto him. unto the
Lord my God and made my confession. So we have the record of his
prayer here. The prayer of a godly man. He
humbles himself. He confesses his sins and the
sins of the children of Israel. And then he says in verse 9,
to the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we
have rebelled against him. And he goes on in that prayer,
and he said, we make our prayer for thy name's sake. You just
look at verse 17. Now, therefore, our God, hear
the prayer of thy servant and his supplications and cause thy
face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate for the Lord's
sake. You know, the Lord Jesus said,
whatsoever ye ask in my name, We have no right to ask God for
anything. We sin, we're sinners, we're
born sinners, we live sinners, we're alienated from God. But in scripture, we are taught
that we ask for Jesus Christ's sake. We know that's very essential
in any of our prayers, for Jesus Christ's sake. And as Daniel
here, he says, oh my God, incline thine ear and here open thine
eyes and behold our desolations and the city that is called by
my name, thy name, for we do not present our supplications
before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies. That's
the grounds that we come to God. Then in verse 20, and whilst
I was speaking. You know, what an encouragement
to us to wrestle with the Lord. And whilst I was speaking, and
praying, and confessing my sin, and the sin of my people Israel,
and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God, for the
holy mountain of my God, yea, whilst I was speaking in prayer.
Even the man Gabriel, that of course is the angel Gabriel,
whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused
to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation. And he informed me and talked
with me and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill
and understanding. And listen to what the Lord says
to him through Gabriel. At the beginning of thy supplications,
the commandment came forth, and I am come to show thee, for thou
art greatly beloved. Therefore, understand the matter
and consider the vision." There were 70 years captivity. And
here, as it often is in prophetical language, it says, 70 weeks,
that actually interpreted correctly as 70 years. 70 weeks are determined
upon thy people. and upon thy holy city, to finish
the transgression, to make an end of sins. Now, all these things
point, you notice in verse 25, it says, the Messiah, the Prince,
that's Christ, of course, the Prince of the kings of the earth.
The Messiah is the anointed one, Messiah, the Prince. You see,
and he will do what is written in verse 24, to make an end,
to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and
to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness,
and to seal up the vision and the prophecy, and to anoint the
most holy. So the Lord was revealing unto
his servant Daniel what Christ was going to do, and what Christ
was going to accomplish. He was going to finish the transgression
of his people. We all have sinned and come short
of his glory, but Christ has fulfilled the law on the behalf
of his people, for his people. He lived here upon earth as a
man and fulfilled and honored the holy law of God on the behalf
of his people to bring honor and glory to his eternal father.
And he was crucified on Calvary to finish the transgression.
Why was he crucified on Calvary? he was crucified because the
father laid upon him the iniquity of us all and when those sins were laid
on him as the apostle says he took our sins and nailed them
to his cross that's what christ has done and in doing so he finished
the transgression he fulfilled the law he satisfied all the
demands of divine justice And the church is accepted and justified
in and through the precious person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ
to finish the transgression and to make an end of sins and to
make reconciliation for iniquity. Oh my beloved friends, if the
Lord was just open to us a little of what Christ has done, he's
finished the transgressions of his people. He's made an end
of their sins. And he's made reconciliation
for iniquity. And to bring in everlasting righteousness. I do love, there are two verses
in Psalm 119, and it says, thy righteousness is an everlasting
righteousness. And that's mentioned twice in
Psalm 119. That's the righteousness of Christ. It is an everlasting righteousness. He makes his people righteous
forever. He does. That glorious everlasting
robe of the righteousness of Christ clothes his people and
they are made righteous forever. It's an everlasting righteousness. I find this a most beautiful
and most sacred expression and to bring in everlasting righteousness
and then he goes on here in verse 25 know therefore and understand
that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and
to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks
and three score you young people you may not understand what a
score is a score is 20 I was an apprentice butcher when
I left school, and at that time, it may still be the case. Peaks
were all sold by the score. So it's three score and so many
pounds, which means 60 plus whatever pounds was added onto it. And
that is how that was calculated. And here it says, three score,
that's 60, and two weeks. The street shall be built again,
and the wall even in trouble as time, And after, this is of
course the rebuilding of the Jerusalem by Nehemiah, and then
eventually the building of the temple by Zerubbabel. And they were all rebuilt, even
in troublous times. And after three score and two
weeks shall Messiah be cut off. You know, it would be quite a
difficult to fully understand and grasp, unless the Holy Spirit
opened to you, the Messiah, of course, is the Son of God, the
Prince of the Kings of the Earth. That's who the Messiah is. He
was cut off, but not for himself. But not for himself. We come
this afternoon to celebrate and to remember the solemn yet sacred
service of remembrance concerning our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We have the bread, which represents,
as Christ himself said, this is my body, broken for you, this
do, in remembrance of me. And then we drink of the cup,
the wine, and just as Christ instituted it, this, is the New
Testament in my blood. This do ye, in remembrance of
me. And you see, shall Messiah be
cut off, but not for himself? You know, in the prophecy of
Isaiah, in the 53rd chapter, it speaks of Messiah being cut
off. That beautiful chapter, which
speaks of the sufferings of Christ and what he accomplished to redeem
his people. And it says in the eighth verse,
he was taken from prison and from judgment, and who shall
declare his generation? He was cut off out of the land
of the living. Then he tells us why. For the
transgression of my people was he stricken. He made his grave
with the wicked and with the rich in his death, because he
had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise
him. He hath put him to grief. When
thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed,
that's resurrection and life. In verse five, those beautiful
words, but he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace
was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. And this is the meaning of the
word that is before us, really just the first clause of verse
26 that seemed to stand out to me. But after three score and
two weeks, shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself, but
not for himself. He was wounded for our transgressions. What a mercy, if you and I can
really spiritually relate to that, by faith, that Christ suffered
and bled and died for our sins. He was wounded for our transgressions. He was cut off out of the land
of the living for our sins. He suffered, he bled and died
for the sins of his people. At the very heart of the Christian
gospel there is sin and salvation. Sin brings condemnation and darkness
and unless we're redeemed from it eternal misery forever. That's what sin brings. But Christ
came to put an end to sin. Christ came to put an end to
sin. And that is exactly what he did.
When he lived that holy, pure and righteous life, he lived
under the law as a man. He fulfilled it, he honoured
it, he did no sin. Christ did no sin. fundamental
doctrine of our most holy faith. You might say, why is it so fundamental? If Christ had sinned, there would
be no salvation. It was essential that there should
be a virgin birth, then he is not tainted by Adam's sin. And it was essential that he
would live a life that was sinless. It was sinless. It was righteous. He's called my righteous servant. Christ is called my righteous
servant. It's his father speaking of him.
You see, that bringing in and to bring in everlasting righteousness. It's everlasting because he's
not just a man, he's not just a good man, he's not just a righteous
man, he's the God man. Righteousness brought out by
Christ is eternal righteousness. It's everlasting righteousness.
It's of infinite value and worth. And that everlasting righteousness
of Christ clothes the people of God. And he was cut off, but
not for himself. Because the Father laid upon
him the iniquity of us all, that's why he was cut off. out of the
land of the living. He died for our sins. He rose
again for our justification. You know this bringing in of
the everlasting righteousness and isn't it so beautifully set
forth in the book of the Revelation in chapter 7 and when John was
given that vision and the elders speak to him in verse 13 and
one of the elders answered saying unto me what are these which
are arrayed in white robes and whence came they and i said unto
you sir thou knowest and he said to me these are they this is
the whole church of god of course these are they which came out
of great tribulation and have washed their robes and made them
white in the blood of the lamb therefore that's a beautiful
connecting word They washed their robes and made them white in
the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the
throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple.
And he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They
shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more, neither shall
the sun light on them, nor any heat, for the Lamb which is in
the midst of the throne shall feed them. and shall lead them
unto living fountains of waters. And God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes. You know, my beloved friends,
through the cross, behold the crown. It is through the cross
of Christ that we are redeemed and delivered. It's because Christ
was cut off, not for himself, but for the sins of his people.
It's because he took our sins and he nailed them to his cross.
He paid the ultimate price. He gave his life. I lay down
my life for my friends. This is the meat and marrow of
the gospel of Jesus Christ. Shall Messiah be cut off, but
not for himself. And the people of the prince
that shall come shall destroy the city. That is, of course,
a prophecy of the Roman armies, the prince that shall come. And
when Christ was here upon earth, Israel was a colony of the Roman
Empire. And that's what it means here. And the people of the prince
that shall come shall destroy the city. After the Jews condemned
Christ to death, after they said in that awful way, His blood
be upon us and upon our children. It was the Emperor Titus, the
Roman Emperor Titus. The Jews were so rebellious that
he came down upon Jerusalem with a great army and he literally
destroyed it stone by stone. Tens of thousands of Jews were
slaughtered. They were so rebellious. As you
know, I was in Rome just recently and it was said there about Titus
bringing 50,000 of the Jews back to Rome as slaves and they built
Rome by those slaves. 50,000 Jewish slaves were brought
back and that was of course under the Emperor Titus and these things
are recorded in Holy Scripture and after three score and two
weeks shall Messiah be cut off but not for himself and the people
of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the
sanctuary and the end thereof shall be with a flood and unto
the end of the war desolation are determined." That was upon
the Jewish nation and after that they were scattered quite literally
to the four corners of the earth. And that was the solemn and awful
judgment of God in answer to their solemn words, his blood
be upon us and upon our children. Well, may the Lord be pleased
to bless his word and to grant that it may be made a living
word in each one of our hearts and it may remain with us. And after three score and two
weeks shall Messiah be cut off but not for himself. May the Lord add his blessing.