Will you open your Bibles with
me to 1 Samuel? 1 Samuel. I'm summarizing this book to
one message. I've tried to make two points
from this book, and that is that the house of Eli as the priest
of Israel was replaced by the house of Samuel. and that the house of Saul as
the king of Israel was replaced by the house of David. We have a picture of the priesthood
of Christ in Samuel. We have a picture of the kingship
of the Lord Jesus Christ in David. We have in the sons of Eli, Hophni
and Phinehas, a picture of an unfaithful priesthood, a priesthood
of flesh. We have a picture in Saul of
an unfaithful king, a kingship of flesh. The Lord Jesus said
to Nicodemus in John chapter three, that which is born of
the flesh is flesh. And that which is born of the
spirit is spirit. Man by nature is nothing but
flesh. And unless the Lord intervenes
as he did with his covenant people Israel and overrides, overrides
their desires, we will remain as nothing but men of flesh.
But the message of grace is that the Lord had made a promise to
Israel to keep them. And though they were unfaithful
in their priesthood and though they were unfaithful in their
kingdom, the Lord intervened and brought grace and salvation
to Israel through Samuel and through David. The three main
characters in this book are Eli, Samuel, four main characters,
Saul, and David. Eli, Samuel, Saul, and David. The truth is that the flesh must
die. We have the death of Hophni and
Phinehas. We have the death of Eli's lineage. as the priest of Israel and the
birth, the miraculous birth of a new priest by the name of Samuel. You remember in the early chapter
of this book that Hannah was without child and she went to
the temple and prayed earnestly from the heart. And though she
was barren, the Lord enabled her miraculously to have a child. She dedicated him to the Lord
and he became After the Lord called him, he became the last
of the judges. Samuel served as the priest of
Israel. The one thing Samuel was not
was a king. He was a judge, he was a priest, he was a prophet.
He was not a king. There was only one man that could
hold all three of those offices. Both, all three, prophet, priest,
and king. All throughout the Old Testament,
we have David, who was a prophet and a king, but he wasn't a priest.
We have some, several men that serve in one or two capacities,
but never all three. The Lord Jesus himself is our
prophet. He's the one who brings to us
himself the word of God. He is our priest, our one and
only high priest, who ever liveth to maketh intercession for us.
He intercedes on our behalf. He presents us before God. That's
what a priest does. And he's our king. He's our Lord
and master. He rules over us. He keeps us. The reason that Israel in the
book of Samuel wanted a king, they told Samuel, they said,
we want a king so that he can fight our battles for us. That's
what a king was to do. Well, we have a king, King Jesus. And he has fought our battles
for us, and he has defeated the enemy, and he has gotten the
victory. These all pictures are seen in
this marvelous book. But just like Eli, Hophni, and
Phinehas had to die, Saul had to die. Horrible deaths. Hophni
and Phinehas, you remember, were killed in a battle against the
Philistines. And Eli, as an old man, fell over dead when he heard
that the ark had been taken. Saul, also in a battle with the
Philistines, ended up falling on his own sword and committing
suicide. A shameful, horrible deaths. But the flesh had to
die in order for the Spirit to be born. That's a biblical principle. Let me show you that in the New
Testament. Will you turn with me to 1 Peter chapter 3? 1 Peter
chapter 3. Verse 18, For Christ also hath
once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might
bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened
by the Spirit. The body of the Lord Jesus Christ
had to be put to death. The flesh had to die in order
for the Spirit to be given to us. We see that in the very death
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Look back with me to 1 Corinthians
chapter 5. 1 Corinthians chapter 5. Here's a picture of the flesh
having to die in order for the spirit to live. And the apostle
Paul is instructing the church at Corinth to take this one who is living a shameful life. And
he says to him in verse five, deliver such a one unto Satan.
for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved
in the day of Christ Jesus." In order for his spirit to be
saved, the flesh must die. We saw in Philippians chapter
3 at verse 3 in the first hour. Let's turn back there again.
Philippians chapter 3. Here's the principle that The
house of Eli had to be brought to an end. Death had to come
to Hophni and Phinehas. Eli's house had to be destroyed
because it was a house of flesh in order for the house of Samuel,
the house of spirit, to be brought to life. The house of Saul had
to be destroyed in order for the house of David to be born. This is a picture of the flesh
dying in order for the spirit to come alive. Look at Philippians
chapter three, verse one. Finally, my brethren
rejoice in the Lord to write the same thing to you. To me
indeed is not grievous, but to you it is safe. Beware of dogs. Beware of evil workers. Beware
of the concision, those of the circumcision that are trusting
in their works for their salvation. For we are the true circumcision
of God. We worship God in the spirit
and rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh. There is no confidence to be
had in the flesh. The flesh must be brought to
an end in order for the Spirit to be brought alive. Christ was
crucified in the flesh, but quickened in the Spirit. In His flesh,
in His flesh, He bore our sins. That's what the Scripture says.
In His body, on that tree, He bore the sins of His people.
And so his flesh became ours, became our sin. And that flesh
had to be put to death. God made him who knew no sin
to be sin, to be sin. God imputed to the Lord Jesus
Christ as our substitute, the sins of his people. That flesh
had to die in order for him to be quickened by the spirit. The
fleshly house of the Eli had to be destroyed. The fleshly
house of Saul had to be destroyed in order for the spiritual house
of Samuel and David to be risen from its ashes. Priest and king. We are in need
of a priest and we are in need of a king. Now men by nature
want to be their own priest. They want to present themselves
to God based on the merits of their own goodness. They believe
themselves to be acceptable in the sight of God. They believe
God to be satisfied with them. Men by nature believe that they
can approach the throne of God and receive mercy on their own. They act as their own priest.
A priest is one who intercedes to God on the behalf of another. We are in need of a priest. not
a human priest like men have today. We are in need of a priest
that is acceptable in the sight of God. Not a priest like Hophni
and Phinehas, but a priest like Samuel. A priest who's pleasing
and acceptable before God. We're in need of a judge. Now,
when the children of Israel said, we want a king to judge over
us, They didn't mean that they wanted someone to judge them
in the sense that we would be judged. No one wants to be judged. They meant we want one who will
keep order in society. That's what the judges did. People
would bring their grievances to the judges and the judges
would make decisions that would, they would pass laws and they
would create order in society. And the children of Israel said,
we want a judge. We want a king that will judge
over us. And we want a king that will
go to battle for us and fight against our enemies. What were
they saying? We want there to be peace and
harmony in the world, in society. We want that sort of a king.
Well, they had a king like that, but they weren't satisfied with
him because they couldn't see him. They wanted a king like
other nations. Turn with me to chapter two of
1 Samuel. Chapter two. The fleshly house of Eli must
be destroyed. The spiritual house of Samuel
must be resurrected. in order for there to be a faithful
priest in Israel. Israel needs a priest. Now the
question for me and for you this morning is, do you need a priest?
Are you in need of a priest? What kind of priest do you have?
What kind of priest do you need? A priest like Hophni and Phinehas?
priests like Samuel. Look at chapter 2 of 1st Samuel chapter verse 12. And now the sons of Eli. The
sons of Eli were sons of Baal. They were false prophets. They knew not Jehovah. They didn't know the Lord. And the priest's custom with
the people was that when any man offered sacrifice, the priest's
servant came while the flesh was in the seething, with a flesh
hook of three teeth in his hand, and he struck it into the pan
or kettle or cauldron or the pot, and all the flesh hook brought
out for the priest took for himself. So they did in Shiloh unto all
the Israelites that came thither, also before they burnt the fat.
Now according to the law, the fat of the animal was to be burnt
as a sin sacrifice for the people. But the fat being the sweetest
part of the meat, the priest, what was the sin of Hophni and
Phinehas? They were stealing the sacrifice
for their own benefit, for their own profit. This is always the
tell-tale signs of a false priest, isn't it? Rob Christ of His glory. in order to profit themselves. So they took the fat of the offering. The priest servant came in verse
15 and said to the man that sacrificed, give flesh to roast for the priest. For he will not have sodden flesh
of thee, but raw. If any man said unto him, let
them not fail to burn the fat right now. You brought a sacrifice
before Hophni and Phinehas. Hophni and Phineas would say,
we want that piece of meat right there. And you would say, no,
that's the fat of the animal. That's what's to be sacrificed
as an offering for my sin to God. And it's to be consumed
by fire as a picture of the wrath of God consuming Christ for my
sins. Hophni and Phineas said, no,
we want that for ourselves. We're going to take that sacrifice
for ourselves and then take as much as they
desired. You see that in verse 16? Then
he would answer him, Nay, but thou shalt give it to me now,
and if not, I'll take it by force. You don't give that sacrifice
to me, I'll take it by force. Wherefore the sin of the young
men was very great before the Lord, for men abhorred the offering
of the Lord. They abhorred the offering. They didn't honor Christ in the
sacrifice of the lamb that was made for their sins. And they
led the entire children of Israel to dishonor the Lord Jesus Christ. Look at verse 30. Halfway down through verse 30,
Be it far from me, for them that honor me I will honor, and they
that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. They were despising
the sacrifice. They were despising Christ. They
were robbing from Christ His glory and salvation and taking
it to themselves. And the Lord was going to judge
them for that. This is the practice of all false priests. They won't
give honor to Christ as the one who intercedes. They'll take
that honor to themselves and take the claim to themselves
and use it for their own profit. Look at chapter 2 at verse 22. When Eli was very old and heard
all that his sons did unto all Israel, and how they lay with
the women that were assembled at the door of the tabernacle
of the congregation, He said unto them, Why do you do such
things? They were guilty of fornication. They were guilty of adultery.
These evil sins before God. Physically they were doing it.
Spiritually they were doing it. They were leading the people
to not be satisfied with Jehovah. And as a result of that, Eli
saw their sins. Eli was a man of God, but he
didn't, he challenged them, but he didn't restrain them. He didn't
stop them. He didn't remove them as he should
have. He tolerated their behavior. And as a result of that, the
evil priesthood of Eli's family had to be brought to an end. Look at chapter 2, verse 35. The Lord speaks to Eli. Verse 31, He says, Behold, the
days come that I will cut off your arm. The arm of flesh will
be cut off. and the arm of your father's
house, and there shall not be an old man in thine house. And
thou shalt see an enemy in my habitation, in all the wealth
which God shall give Israel, and there shall not be an old
man in thine house forever. And the man of thine, whom I
shall cut off from mine altar, shall be to consume thine eyes,
and to grieve thine heart, and all the increase of thy house
shall die in the flower of their age. And this shall be a sign
unto thee, that thou shalt come upon thy two sons, Hophni and
Phinehas, in one day, and they both shall die." Both of them. Death will come as a result of
this unfaithful priesthood. Now look at verse 35. And I will
raise up a faithful priest. that shall do according to that
which is in mine heart and in my mind, and I will build him
a sure house, and he shall walk before mine anointed forever." You see, the house of Eli had
to be destroyed. Death must come to the flesh.
But God remembers His covenant mercies to Israel and He says,
Though you have walked this way, but God, who is rich in mercy,
with love, wherewith he hath loved us, he's going to raise
up a faithful priest. A faithful priest. One that will
be faithful to God. One that will do everything that's
in the mind and the heart of God. There's only one that meets that
qualification. Only one. This is not so much a reference
to Samuel. This is a reference to the Lord
Jesus himself, isn't it? The law of God. Love the Lord your God with all
of your heart and all of your mind and all of your soul. Somebody
was telling me recently they were teaching some children about
the law of God. telling them that, you know, the problem is
with God's laws, we can't keep it. And ask the children, have
you ever broke one of God's commandments? And they all say, oh no, never.
Never, never. Well, we would never do that. Well, pray that in time, The
Lord will show them that that's what we are, lawbreakers. But there is one that's faithful.
There's one that's faithful. And God says in verse 35, I will
raise me up a faithful priest. I'm gonna raise him up myself.
One that will be faithful to me. One that will satisfy me. One to whom I can say, this is
my beloved son. With him, I'm well pleased. One
who can intercede on behalf of his people and have the commendation
of the father to say, I'm satisfied. A faithful priest. That's what
we need. That's what the Lord promised
to do. I will raise me up a faithful priest that shall do according
to that which is in my heart and in my mind. He's gonna know
my mind, He's gonna know my heart, and He's gonna be faithful to
do everything that I desire. And I will build for Him a sure
house, a certain house, a house that has got foundations. And these foundations are laid
by God Himself. They're sure foundations. This
city that Abraham was looking for was not a city that had foundations
built by men. Its foundations were sure. And
that's the house that God builds. This is my church, which I'll
build upon this rock. And he shall walk before mine
anointed forever. He's going to walk before me
and he's going to do it forever. He's going to be my anointed
one. My anointed one. He's the one that was given the
Spirit of God without measure. He's the one that was anointed
with the oil of gladness above his fellows. He's the one chosen
of the Father. God said, I'm gonna do it. I'm
gonna give you a priest. Although the house of Eli has
failed, I will not fail. I'll raise him up. Verse 36,
and it shall come to pass that everyone that is left in thine
house Do God speak in Eli? This is
the house of flesh. This is me and you. Apart from
the intercession of Christ. It shall come to pass that everyone
that is left in your house shall come and crouch to him for a
piece of silver and a morsel of bread. They'll come before him. They'll
fall at his feet. He will become the object of
their mercy begging. I love that story of the Syrophoenician
woman. Our Lord called her a dog. And
her response was, truth Lord, that's what I am. But would you
not, would you not brush a few crumbs off the master's table
for this poor dog? That's what our Lord's saying
here. It's going to come to pass that everyone who is by nature
of the house of Eli, the house of flesh, is going to come and
crouch down before this one that I'm going to raise up, this faithful
priest that's going to do everything that's in my mind and in my heart.
This one pictured by Samuel. They're going to come before
him. They're going to beg for a morsel of bread. They're going
to beg for some silver. Everything they need, they're
gonna get from Him and they're gonna beg for it. And they shall
say, put me, here's what they're gonna say. Have you done this? Have you come before this faithful
priest? Have you begged for riches of
grace? That's the picture of the silver.
Have you begged for morsel of bread that you might live? And
have you said to him, have you said to him, Would you please
put me in the place of one of your priests that I may eat of
the bread? Would you make me a member of
your priesthood? Would you give me access to the
tabernacle? Would you allow me to eat of
the sacrifice? Could I come to your table and
eat of your flesh and drink of your blood? It's up to you, Lord. It's up to the high priest to
choose the other priest. The Lord said, I've made you
a kingdom of priests before your God. Would you put me, I pray thee,
into one of the priest offices that I may eat a piece of bread? The object of mercy beggars,
the sovereign dispenser of all grace is seen in this faithful
priest that was given in place of the house of Eli. Now we have
the changing of the kingship from Saul to David. Turn with me to chapter 8. Verse 5. You know, as faithful as Samuel
was, here's a lesson from Scripture that's so true and so sobering
and so humbling for all of us. Parents and children alike ought
to be humbled by this. We understand Eli was tolerant
of his boys, Hophni and Phinehas. He should have corrected them
more than he did, and he didn't. He should have removed them from
the office of priesthood, and he didn't. And he suffered the
consequences of that. Eli was a man of God, but he
was lacking in his discipline to his children. You don't expect
to see that same thing happening with Samuel. But it does. It does. Look at verse 5. The people said to Samuel, Behold,
thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways. Now make us
a king to judge us like all the other nations. You're old and
you're about to die, and if your sons take over, we're in trouble. Samuel's sons were doing the
same thing that Eli's sons were doing. There is no guarantee that our
children will receive the blessings of grace just because they were
in our homes and in our presence. Yes, we ought to do everything
we can to instill God's Word in them, to train them in the
way that they should go. But first and foremost, and finally,
we've got to pray for God's mercy on them. For if the Lord's not
pleased to save them, they'll turn out like Eli's children
or like Samuel's children. And there's not a thing in the
world we can do about it. So they said, make us a king,
give us a king to judge us. You see that, judge us? To take
care of the things in society. to settle our grievances so that
we can have peace and comfort in this world. Give us a king.
Verse six, but the thing displeased Samuel when they said, give us
a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the Lord.
And the Lord said unto Samuel, hearken unto the voice of the
people to all that they say unto thee, for they have not rejected
thee, but they've rejected me. You know, it's great sometimes when
we share Christ with our family members or friends, we might
feel as if we're being rejected. They're not rejecting you, not
rejecting me, they're rejecting Christ. The Lord told them, give them what
they want. Here's another lesson. Be careful
what you wish for. You might just get it. Be very careful what you wish
for. If we insist on having something
from the Lord that's not right or not good for us to have, the
Lord may very well give it to us and then cause us to suffer
the consequences of that for many, many years to come. I've
seen it happen in men pursuing wealth, and they get it, and
then they live in the pleasures of this world and lose any interest
in the things of God. Seen it with young people, single
people who know that they ought not to be unequally yoked together
with an unbeliever, but out of desperation, they end up marrying
somebody they ought not to marry. And they suffer the consequences
of that for many, many years to come. Seen it in individuals pursuing
a dream career, a dream job, and that dream turns into be
a nightmare. The truth is that you and I do
not know what we ought to pray for in this world. We don't. We don't know what's best for
us. We really don't. Let me show you that from the
word of God. Romans chapter eight. Romans chapter eight. Verse 26, I want everybody to
look at this verse. Likewise, the Spirit also helpeth
our infirmities, for we know not what we should pray for. When it comes to the temporal
things of life, we don't know what's best for us. What we think
might be wonderful will turn out to be our greatest curse.
and what we think might be awful turn out to be our greatest blessing. Don't pursue the things of this
world with such obstinance that you fail to say, Lord, Thy will
be done. Thy will be done. And follow
carefully the things that you know to do right. We don't know what we should
pray for, but the Spirit Himself maketh intercession for us with
groanings which cannot be uttered. The Spirit of God, through faith,
will make intercession for us. He will pray to the Father on
our behalf for those things that are best for us. Children of Israel, give us a
king. Give us a king. Give us a king. They kept insisting.
Samuel said, no, God's your king. Give us a king. We want a king.
We want to be like everybody else. We want a king that's going
to fight our battles for us. We want a king that's going to
keep order in society for us. We want to be like other nations.
All right, Samuel. They've not rejected you. They've
rejected me. And God gave him a king. Who did he give him?
Well, look what he gave him. Look at verse chapter eight of
1 Samuel. The Lord told him, in verse nine,
he said, the Lord said, Samuel, hearken to their voices. Give
them what they ask for. How be it, protest solemnly to
them. Let them know clearly that what
they're asking for is not what's best for them. Give them what
they want. but warn them up front of what's
gonna happen. So Samuel told them all the words
of the Lord unto the people that ask of a king, of him of a king,
and he said, this is what the king's gonna look like. Before
Saul was ever discovered or anointed, God told him this is what the
king's gonna look like. the king that's going to reign over you,
he's going to take your sons and he's going to appoint them
to himself for his chariots and to be his horsemen and they shall
run before his chariots. And he will appoint him captains
over thousands and captains over fifties and he will set them
to ear his ground and to reap his harvest and to make his instruments
of war and instruments of his chariots. Now all the battles
that Israel had engaged in up to this point didn't require
the strength of an army. The Lord fought all their battles
for them. You remember just in the previous book of Judges,
we've got the story of Gideon defeating the Philistines with
300 men. against thousands of the enemy.
God fought all their battles for them. The Lord said, I'm
going to continue fighting. No, we want a king. Alright,
you want a king? Then that king is going to enlist your sons
into his army. And now your battles are going
to be fought through your own blood, your own sweat, your own
tears, your own blood, your own power, your own strength. You're
going to fight your battles. That's the kind of king you want? He's going to take your daughters,
Verse 13, and they're going to be confectionaries and be cooks
and bakers. And He will take your fields
and your vineyards and your olive yards, even the best of them,
and give them to His servants. And He will take the tenth of
your seed and your vineyards and give them to officers of
His servants. And He's going to take your manservants
and your maidservants and your goodliest young men and your
asses and put them to work. And He's going to take the tenth
of your sheep and He's going to take your servants. And you're going
to cry out today, if you're a king, which you have chosen, but the
Lord will not hear you. I'm gonna give you a harsh tax
master as a king. That's what you want? Do you
know that that's what most people want today? You know what this
picture, you know what Saul's a picture of? Everything you,
does that sound familiar to you, what we just read? That's a description
of legal religion. where men fight their own battles
and they work themselves and they sacrifice themselves in order to defeat the enemy
and in the end they cry out in agony and God doesn't hear them.
You say, people don't want to be under that kind of law. Galatians
chapter 4. Look at verse 21, Galatians chapter
four, verse 21. Tell me you that desire to be
under the law. You see men of the flesh are
just like Israel of the flesh. They want a king of the flesh.
They desire to be under Saul. They desire to be under the law.
Do you not hear the law? Have you not heard what the law
requires? Samuel is warning them up front. You want a king? This is what
he's going to be like. Don't you know what the law is
going to require? Go back to our text. 1 Samuel chapter 8 verse 19 after all these warnings
nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel and
they said no we will have a king over us we heard what you said
but we want to be under the law We want to be under the law. Oh, the reign of Saul is a sad
chapter in Israel's history. They got under the law and they
suffered greatly as a result of Saul's reign over them. But in time, Saul finally, as
a picture of the flesh and as a picture of the law, tried to
usurp the authority of Samuel. He tried to present himself as
a priest before God and making the sacrifice. Remember Samuel
told him, he said, you wait for me. And Saul waited and waited
and waited and then he made the sacrifice. And when Samuel got
there, God spoke through Samuel and said, finish with Saul. Finish
with Saul. Let me show you that in chapter
15. Chapter 15 of 1 Samuel. Verse 28, And Samuel said unto
him, The Lord hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day,
and hath given it to a neighbor of thine that is better than
you. in the same way that Samuel's
priesthood was better than Eli's, David's kingship was better than
Saul's. The flesh had to die in order
for the Spirit to be made alive. The flesh had to be turned over
to the destruction of Satan in order for the soul to be saved,
in order for the Spirit to live. This fleshly kingdom, this fleshly
priesthood, this fleshly kingship of Saul had to be destroyed in
order for one that was better to be risen up. Look at the one
that was better. Chapter 16, verse one. And the
Lord said unto Samuel, how long without mourn for Saul, seeing
I have rejected him from reigning over Israel, fill thy horn with
oil and go. I've got another one that I'm
going to anoint, just like I promised a faithful priest that would
be the anointed one of God. Fill your horn with oil, and
I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided
me a king among his sons." I will raise me up a faithful priest.
Isn't that what God said in response to Hophni and Epiphanius? And
now what's he saying in response to Saul? I am going to raise
me up a king. And I know who he is. I know
where he is. He's not looking, Saul was head and shoulders above
all the other men of Israel. Scripture says he was a physical
specimen of strength and authority and people looked at him and
they thought, now that looks like a king. Samuel went to Jesse's
house and all of Jesse's sons were paraded before him and they
were all stalwart men. But God said, he's not the one,
he's not the one. Samuel says to Jesse, do you
have any others? Well, I've got a little boy out in the yard
tending the sheep. Bring him in. He's the one. Man after God's own heart. Men look at the outward appearance.
God looked at the heart. I've got one who's better than
Saul. What's he look like? Well, look at chapter 16, verse
11. Samuel said to Jesse, are these
all your children? He said, there remaineth yet
the youngest, and behold, he keepeth the sheep. He's a shepherd
of the sheep. He's a picture of that good shepherd
that laid down his life for the sheep. And Samuel said to Jesse,
send and fetch him, for we will not sit down till he come hither. And he sent and brought him in.
Now he was ready, and with all of a beautiful countenance, and
goodly to look to. And the Lord said, Arise, anoint
him, for this is he. Samuel took the horn of oil and
anointed him in the midst of his brethren. The Spirit of the
Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up
and went to Ramah. It was a beautiful countenance. Interesting, as we continue reading
this chapter, that Samuel needed someone to come comfort him,
Saul needed someone to come comfort him, and it just so happened
that David, who was filled with the Spirit of God, came and the
Lord ultimately destroyed the house of Saul, even his son Jonathan. and raised up this one who was
of beautiful countenance. Of the root of Jesse, the son
of David, the Lord Jesus Christ is the King of Israel, who reigns
according to the Spirit, not according to the law. The house of Eli had to be destroyed
for the house of Samuel to be risen The house of Saul had to
be destroyed for the house of David to be risen up. The flesh
has to be destroyed for the spirit to be made alive. Let's pray together. Our Heavenly
Father, we thank You for the pictures of
Christ and salvation that You've given to us in Your Word. We
pray that You would speak effectually to our hearts far beyond what
lips are able to say. We thank you for the ordinance
of your table, the Lord's table, the body and the blood of the
Lord Jesus Christ. We pray, Lord, that we would
come worthily as sinners, as those who are without strength,
ungodly, discerning the body and the blood of the Lord Jesus
Christ and dependent upon him alone as our priest and our king
and our prophet. For it's in his name we ask it,
amen. If the men will come and distribute
the bread and the wine, we'll sing number one in the Sop Actimno.
You can remain seated, number one.