The title of my message this
morning is Things Pertaining to Peace. In Leviticus chapter
3, where we have a description given of the peace offerings,
the word translated peace offerings, everywhere it is used in the
scriptures except in Amos chapter 5, is given in the plural. And
the best English equivalent really is things pertaining to peace. But before we look at that passage
in Leviticus 3 and those things pertaining to peace described
in it, let me tell you a story, a true story. I shared it with
Walter and Betty and some folks at dinner the other night. It's
a couple who were missionaries in China back in the 30s, John
and Betty Stamm. They met in Bible college in
1930. Betty was raised in China. a daughter of missionary parents.
She went back to China in 1931 and shortly thereafter John followed
and they were married in October of 1933. God gave them one child. Fourteen months after they were
married, the communist insurgents under Mao Zedong captured the
town where they lived. Their infant child, Helen, was
taken from them, and the Chinese discussed before them how they
would kill the baby. As they did, a poor farmer stepped
forward and begged for the child's life. And the soldier said to
him, fine, we won't kill her if you're willing to die in her
place. And the farmer agreed. The soldier shot him. The next
morning, those same officers forced John and Betty Stam to
leave their house without their little baby daughter. They stripped
the couple down to their underwear, marched them through town, mocked
them, jeered them. Crowds formed, of course, around
them. And the Stams were on the spot, sentenced to death. A Chinese
doctor who had been converted but was, like Joseph of Arimathea,
silent for a while, stepped forward and broke his fear, making a
last-minute plea for their lives. And the soldiers asked, are you
also a Christian, a follower of this Jesus? And he confessed
Christ as his Lord, and they killed him on the spot. John
and Betty warded to their knees. The soldier pulled out his sword
and beheaded John Stam. As he did, she reached and grabbed
her husband's hand. The same soldier beheaded her
as well. That in itself is quite some
remarkable story. But when Betty Stam's parents
were informed of her death, this is the telegraph they sent back
to the China Inland Mission. Deeply appreciate your consolation. Sacrifice seems great, but not
too great for him who gave himself for us. That's peace. They continued experiencing God's
grace, believing wholeheartedly, Romans 8.28. You see, Bedestam's
parents knew the peace of God. They found strength and comfort
in his free grace in Christ, as well as in his wise, adorable,
and good providence, which had brought this thing to pass. They
knew no matter what the circumstances, even in death, we who believe
are more than conquerors through him that loved us. Betty's sister
Helen, for whom the baby had been named, wrote similarly to
her bereaved parents. These are her words. Dearest
Daddy and Mother. You don't need to hear me say
how much we love you and are thinking of and praying for you
in these days. I have such radiant pictures
of Betty and John standing with palms of victory before the throne,
singing a song of pure joy, that I just cannot break loose and
cry about it as people expect. Crying seems to be too petty
for a thing so manifestly in God's hands alone. But my heart
is very, very sore for you. Now it is this peace, the peace
of God that passes understanding, that is set before us in the
peace offerings in Leviticus chapter 3. It is this peace found
only in Christ, obtained only by faith in him, that inspired
those who worshiped God in the Old Testament, bringing their
peace offerings. Those who truly worshiped God
were inspired by this peace, the peace that Christ alone gives. As we come to Jesus Christ, sinners
trusting him, we find peace in him and feed upon him so that
our souls continually walk before God in this peace. Peace which
the world can neither understand nor take away. Now it is my prayer
that God the Holy Spirit will be pleased to make it yours and
mine for Christ's sake. Let's look at what God the Holy
Spirit reveals in Leviticus chapter 3. Just hold your hands in your
Bible there and we'll look at these verses one at a time. And
pray that God the Holy Spirit will teach us things pertaining
to this peace from the typology of the peace offerings. You'll
recall we read earlier in Romans 4 that the Lord Jesus was delivered
because of our offenses and was raised again for our justification.
And then the apostle declares, as the result of this, as the
result of Christ's accomplished justification, accomplished redemption
for us, therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom also we have access by
faith into this grace wherein we stand and rejoice in hope
of the glory of God. It is this peace arising from
justification by the finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ
that is pictured in Leviticus chapter 3. Now we'll look at
these 17 verses in three sections. First, the scriptures here describe
peace offerings from the herds, peace offerings then from the
lambs or the flocks, and then peace offerings from the goats.
First, in verses 1 through 5, we're told the peace offering
might be an offering from the herd. Look at verse 1. And if
his oblation be a sacrifice of peace offering, if he offer it
of the herd, whether it be male or female, he shall offer it
without blemish before the Lord. Now understand when you read
the peace offerings, these were not offerings made in order to
obtain peace. These were offerings made as
a declaration of a worshiper that peace has been obtained.
These offerings have nothing to do with the putting away of
sin. These offerings have nothing to do with the accomplishment
of redemption. These offerings have nothing
to do with justification being accomplished. But rather, these
offerings are declarations of faith, declaring that sin has
been put away. Justice has been satisfied. We
are justified before God. And now we worship Him, bringing
to God that which represents Him by whom redemption was accomplished. So the connection between the
peace offerings and the burnt offerings of chapter 1 and the
meat offerings of chapter 2 is just this. The redeemed sinner. The redeemed sinner. You and
I who are born of God. You and I who have been lifted
from the pit. You and I who have been set upon
the rock. You and I who now live before
God. The redeemed sinner. gladly,
with willing heart, lifts his heart in praise to God, because
God has given him peace. Peace. Peace by the blood of
Christ. Peace before God. Peace in my
soul. Peace in this world, because
I'm accepted of God. Now that'll give you peace. That'll
give you peace. And that'll cause you to worship
Him. The psalmist said, O Lord, truly I am thy servant. I am
thy servant and the son of thine handmaid. Thou hast loosed my
bonds. I will offer thee the sacrifice
of thanksgiving. I will call upon the name of
the Lord. That's what it is to have peace.
God has loosed my bonds. I was a prisoner, held in captivity
and bondage, held in the chains of darkness under judgment, held
with just condemnation, sentenced to die. And the Lord Jesus Christ
has ransomed my soul by the sacrifice of himself and set me free. I'll
worship him. I'll call on his name. I'll praise
him gladly. Now notice in our text that the
animal sacrificed for peace offering could either be male or female. When I read that, I couldn't
help scratching my head saying, why? Why? The answer is simple. The burnt offering pictured atonement. Atonement by Christ, the Lamb
of God, the Son of God, the God-man, our mediator, the representative
man who is our surety. The peace offering, however,
declares the result of atonement. The peace offering declares peace
with God, which flows to believers through the blood of Jesus Christ,
whether they be male or female. Through the redictive accomplishments
of Christ, all who are gods stand before him as believers and priests,
whether they be male or female, the sons of God, the daughters
of the Almighty, all are the recipients of peace. And so the
peace offering speaks of that which we receive in common as
believers, not that which Christ has accomplished for us by the
sacrifice of himself. And then the peace offering,
we're told, though it be a male or a female, must be without
blemish, because the peace offering constantly points to Christ,
the Holy Lamb of God, that one who knew no sin, though he was
made to be sin for us, the altogether lovely one in whom the Father
delights continually. You see, were he not perfect,
Were he not spotless? Were he not without blemish before
God? Our Lord Jesus Christ could never
have been our substitute. He could never have satisfied
the justice of God. He could never have put away
sin. He could never have brought in righteousness. He could not
give us peace. So that one who is represented
in the peace offering, the one to whom we look for peace, is
the holy, spotless, pure, immaculate, sinless Lamb of God, God in man,
in one glorious person, perfect in the totality of his being
as God, perfect in the totality of his being as man, perfect
in the totality of his obedience as our representative. Now look
at verse 2. And he shall lay his hand upon
the head of his offering and kill it at the door of the tabernacle
of the congregation. And Aaron's sons, the priest,
shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about. As we
go through these verses, I'm going to just simply pick up
things that we have not dealt with before. And I'll, of course,
refer to some of those things as well. By laying his hand upon
the sacrifice, The believing sinner, as we've seen, identified
himself with the victim. But more importantly, by laying
his hand upon the sacrifice, the sacrifice of his peace offering,
he's declaring that this one, who was slain as my representative,
the Lord Jesus Christ, that burnt offering back in chapter 1, and
now this peace offering, I lay my hands on his head and declare
that my peace is altogether outside myself. Now get hold of that. Get hold of that. My peace has
nothing to do with how I feel. It has nothing to do with how
I behave. It has nothing to do with anything
but here. My peace with God flows from
the finished work of Jesus Christ the Lamb of God slain in my stead. This offering is offered at the
door of the tabernacle. Because we cannot cross the threshold
of the sanctuary. We cannot enter into the presence
of God. We cannot approach him who is
holy in his august light, holiness. We cannot come to God but by
the blood of Jesus Christ. Blood that speaks better things
than the things of Abel. You remember Abel's blood cried
to the ground for vengeance, for wrath, for the death of his
brother. The blood of Christ, we're told, speaks better things
than that of Abel. That blood which speaks for us in heaven
speaks for mercy, speaks for grace, speaks for peace on the
grounds of justice satisfied. Look now at verse 3. And he shall offer of the sacrifice
of the peace offering, an offering made by fire unto the Lord, the
fat that covers the inwards, and all the fat that is upon
the inwards, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them,
which is by the flanks and the call above the liver, with the
kidneys it shall he take away. These portions of the animal
offered for peace offering, which were to be set aside from the
rest to be burned unto the Lord. were considered the richest and
the best portions of the animal. Not only were they the richest
and the best, but they were those which were seated deep nearest
the animal's heart. Pictures worship. Worship. Worship. I don't pretend to know
much about it. I used to think I did. I'm trying. And my God, I want to worship
him. not just here, in the total experience of my life. Worship
Him. But if we worship God, we come
to Him not as a God to be reconciled. Did you hear me? We do not come
to Him as a God to be reconciled. This is the difference between
that which is preached here and that which is preached throughout
this religious world. The whole religious world in
the exercise of religion is trying to get God to be friendly. It's
trying to get God to take a notion to be good. It's trying to get
God to be reconciled. You'll never worship God like
that. That's the way pagans worship
their totem poles. How do we worship God? We come
to him as one who has been reconciled with peace. We come to Him on
the basis of reconciliation done. We come to God. We hold communion
with Him. We fellowship with the eternal
God, like those before His throne in heaven, with absolute right
to stand before Him. Did you hear me? With an absolute
right to stand before Him. Not in ourselves, oh no, but
in the sacrifice by whom our sins have been put away. We who
believe, laying hold of Christ, believing on Christ, are now
meet to be made partakers of the inheritance of the saints
in light right now. That means we have a right to
be there. We come to Him and lay hold of Christ, believe in
Christ, we worship Him in peace. What can we bring Him? This God. Who by the sacrifice of his own
darling son, what can we bring him? Except the deepest, richest
love and affection of our hearts. Our very loins were once filled
with pain when sin lay heavy upon us, when God the Holy Spirit
made us to know our sin. so that we could speak as Isaiah
the prophet in Isaiah 21 says, therefore my loins filled with
pain. Pangs took hold upon me as the
pangs of a woman that prevails. I was bowed down at the hearing
of my sin. I was dismayed at the seeing
of my corruption. My heart panted fearfulness affrighted
me. The night of my pleasure thou
has turned into fear unto me. But now, he who spoke peace, where once
in the seat of my deepest being, I felt nothing but pain, now
I have peace and joy. Shall I not then bring him the
deepest affection of my being, the deepest affection of my heart,
and sing praise to his name for the peace he's given? as our
Lord Jesus Christ who is our peace offered himself to God
as our substitute offered himself to God's holy law and justice
with the very depth of all affection with every feeling of love with
every desire of compassion with every tender emotion imaginable
he offered himself to God Almighty for me Shall we not now worship
him then in spirit and in truth from the depths of our souls?
And then the text mentions fire. Because we must never forget,
we must never fail to recognize and give thanks to God for him
who offered himself an offering made by fire of a sweet savor
unto the Lord. We have peace with God only because
the Son of God is our substitute. When he was made to be sin for
us, endured the fire of God's unmitigated wrath and extinguished
it forever. Fire. Fire, sacrifice of a sweet
smelling savor. Such a sacrifice as Christ is demands my heart. Shall not the heat of his love
for me melt my heart for him as the fire of God's wrath melted
his very soul for me? Nothing else makes any sense,
does it? That's just reasonable. Look
at verse 5. And Aaron's son shall burn it
on the altar, upon the burnt sacrifice which is upon the wood
that is on the fire. It is an offering made by fire
of a sweet savor unto the Lord. How I wish I could make this known around the world
and make it known here and really make it known here. Nothing regarding the worship
of God in the Old Testament sacrifices was to be random, unplanned,
or haphazard. Nothing. Nothing. People today
Talk about worshiping the Spirit, you know, well, we don't have
any plans, we don't have any program, we don't know what we're
going to do until we get there and the Spirit just sort of moves
us and we just have a whoopee good time. You may have a good
time playing with yourself, but you ain't worshiping God. I just
didn't so. I just didn't so. Nowhere in
this book did such a thing happen. So I didn't worship, I'll be
spontaneous. Planned worship arises from a spontaneous affection
to the heart. But planned preparation, deliberate,
determined preparation, means that we reverence our God whom
we worship willingly. Well, it's time to go off to
peace, I'll pray the Buddha. No, I don't. There's something
else come up. Nothing else comes up. Not if
you plan to worship God. You're playing your life around
it. But my kids came in, bring them with you, it won't hurt
them. But they won't come, let them go to hell by themselves.
It's exactly right, exactly right. I will worship God. I'm gonna
worship him as he said. Believers you see, in gratitude
to God, make preparation to worship him. We plan what we will give. We plan how we will worship.
We plan where we will go. We plan what we will do because
we worship God. If we worship Him, we must worship
Him after the due order as He has required, and we must worship
Him with care, with diligence, and with preparation. I wouldn't
think about getting up here to preach to you. Scribble out a
few things while I'm sitting there. That's good enough. I'll
just see what the Lord does. No. There's no responsibility
in that. No respect for you in that. No
respect for God in that. No respect for this Word in that.
But rather, with diligent prayer, study, and preparation, seeking
a message from God, bringing to you that which God has graciously
allowed me to get from His Word with preparation. and you ought
to seek to worship him just the same way. Let us make this the
business of our lives, worshiping our God. That portion of the
peace offering to be burnt must be burnt on the altar upon the
burnt sacrifice that is upon the wood that is on the fire. Now there's a distinct reference
here to the daily sacrifice which typified the atonement by the
blood of Christ, and this is what it means. Our daily fellowship
in communion with God, our day-by-day worship, praise and thanksgiving,
be it public or private, must be that which arises fresh to
God from a fresh sense of Christ's sacrifice for us. Did you get
that? If we would worship God, Ron
Wood, we must worship God with fresh hearts, burning with fresh
love, from a fresh sense of Christ's sacrifice for us. If somehow God will be pleased
to keep Christ ever before our minds and our hearts. We will,
by Him, offer the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. Else,
Lindsay, it will just be exercise. That's all. All right now, look
at verses 6 through 11. The peace offerings could also
come from the flock of sheep. And if his offering for sacrifice
of peace offering unto the Lord be of the flock, male or female,
he shall offer it without blemish. There's those words again, without
blemish. Have you noticed how frequently those words are used
throughout the book of Leviticus with reference to the sacrifices?
Surely this is intended to teach us. that the sacrifices offered
to and accepted by God point to our Lord Jesus Christ who
is the infinite delight and constant delight of his Father. That we
recognize. The constant repetition of those
words also has this to teach us. Our God who is infinitely, perpetually,
immutably delighted with his son who is without blemish is
infinitely, perpetually, immutably delighted with us who are in
his son for we too in him are without blemish. Can you get hold of that? Hold
of that! Unblameable! Unapprovable in
God's sight. In God's sight, so that God Almighty
looks on His people through the blood and righteousness of His
darling Son, in His Son, who is our head. And God declares
that we're holy, unblameable, unapprovable, without spot, without
wrinkle, without blemish. Now that'll give you some peace.
You remember what Rex read the other night? The Lord thy God
in the midst of thee is mighty, he will save, he will rejoice
over thee with joy, he will rest in his love, he will joy over
thee with singing. How come? Because he beholds
you in his Son without blemish. Nothing can be more unspeakably
delightful to the believing sinner's heart than this. The holy Lord
God is totally satisfied and forever satisfied in all His
holy demands by the sacrifice of His Son as our substitute.
He who pardons our sin by Christ is truly a just God and a Savior. All right, let's hurry and look
at verse 7. If he offer a lamb for his offering,
then he shall offer it before the Lord. And he shall lay his
hand upon the head of the offering and kill it before the tabernacle
of the congregation. And Aaron's son shall sprinkle
the blood thereof round about upon the altar." Here's a rich man who comes and
brings his prime, purebred, black Angus, registered Oh what a gift, look at that
fat thing, look at that shiny coat, oh what a beautiful gift.
And here's a fella who brings a lamb. Oh boy, this fella, he'll be
accepted, look what he brought. The lamb is just as fully accepted
as is the calf, how come? Because the value of the sacrifice
is not in the sacrifice, but in the one the sacrifice points
to. And that's the reason the Lord
continually in these offerings gives a, you bring a bullock,
you bring a lamb, you bring a goat, you bring a turtle dove, you
bring a pigeon, whatever it is you bring according to God's
stipulation. You bring exactly what he said,
but it matters not whether you bring the sacrifice of the rich
or the sacrifice of the poorest in the land. You bring Christ
the Lord. He's the one whom God accepts,
not the sacrifice that was brought. There is therefore now no condemnation
to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh
but after the spirit. That's what faith is, we walk
after the spirit. For the law of the spirit of
life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and
death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through
the flesh, those, the bullock or the lamb or the goat or the
turtle dove could never take away sin. But God sending his
own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, condemned
sin in the flesh, that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled
in us. Alright, look at verse 9. And he shall offer it of the
sacrifice of the peace offering, an offering made by fire unto
the Lord, the fat thereof, and the whole rump, It shall he take
off hard by the backbone, and the fat that covers the inwards,
and all the fat that is upon the inwards, and the two kidneys,
and the fat that is upon them, which is by the flanks, and the
call above the liver with the kidneys, it shall he take away.
Now there's just one additional thing here mentioned in regard
to the sacrifice of the lamb that was not mentioned with regard
to the sacrifice of the bullock, and that's the rump. The rump
without going into detail, was considered in those days to be
the very richest portion of the lamb, the best, the best. Now this is totally a matter
of opinion, I understand that. If you ask me what's the best
piece of meat on a hog, give me that tenderloin. Best there
is. Ask me what's the best piece
of meat on a beef, I know, there's contradiction of opinion. Give
me an old chuck roast. Best there is. Best there is.
Mixed up with fat all over it. Best there is. That's what the
rump was. The richest, the tastiest, the
best piece of meat on the lamb. What's the teaching? Listen to
me, my brothers and sisters. Only our best ought to be brought to God. Only
our best. If we worship God, we'll give
Him our best. The best of our affections, the
best of our times, the best of our labors, the best of our gifts.
We will say with David, I will not offer the Lord that which
doth cost me nothing, to offer Him anything less. Now listen
to me. You listen to me. You try to bring God your leftovers. You're left over time, you're
left over money, you're left over talents. I've had fellows
in recent times tell me, well you know when I retire I'm thinking
about going into the ministry. Just stay where you are and go
fishing. God doesn't want your leftovers and he won't have it.
I don't care how pious it sounds. God calls it despising me and
polluting me. That's what God calls it. Read
Malachi chapter 1. He said you take your You take
your lame cattle. You take your diseased sheep
and offer them to your governor and see what he thinks about
it. You take him your leftovers. You take him your hand-me-downs.
I won't have it. That's to despise me. That's
to pollute me. All right, look at verse 11.
And the priest shall burn it upon the altar. It is the food
of the offering made by fire to the Lord. Here the expression changes.
Instead of calling it a sweet savor, it's called a food. Bread. Because the Lord God and the
believing sinner both find complete satisfaction in the sacrifice
of the Lord Jesus Christ. All that thrills my soul is Jesus. He is everything to me. Is that true or is it just something
we say? Alright, now verses 12 through
17. The peace offering might also be a sacrifice of the goats. If his offering be a goat, then
he shall offer it before the Lord. He shall lay his hand upon
the head of it and kill it before the tabernacle of the congregation.
And the sons of Aaron shall sprinkle the blood thereof upon the altar
round about. The goat, like the turtle dove,
pictures the sacrifice of the poor. What a picture we have
here. A man goes out. God requires
a sacrifice and he goes out into the herd of goats and he picks out one. One goat is brought before the
Lord, one goat is killed, one goat is sacrificed, one goat
is burned, one goat is accepted and all the rest were spared
because of that one that died. Does that need any preaching? Behold, I have laid help upon
one that is mighty. I have exalted one chosen out
of the people. It is expedient for us that one
man should die for the people and that the whole nation perish
not, the high priest said. And so it is written, the Lord
Jesus Christ is that one, whom God the Father has made to be
sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him. For Christ hath once suffered
for sins, the just in the place of the unjust, that he might
bring us to God. Now this is what substitution
is. Merle Hart, the son of God, became one of us and God took
him and laid on him our sins and
slaughtered him instead of us. And now we live by him. That's
substitution. That's substitution. Look at
verse 14. And he shall offer thereof his
offering, Even offering made by fire unto the Lord, the fat
that covers the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the
inwards, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them,
which is by the flanks and the call above the liver with the
kidneys, it shall he take away, and the priests shall burn them
upon the altar. It is the food of the offering
made by fire for a sweet savor unto the Lord. Let me just summarize. The whole
sacrifice is brought. And the whole sacrifice is accepted. Fully, completely, absolutely
accepted. God Almighty has accepted forever
the sacrifice of His darling and justice will not demand more. Now buddy, that gives me peace. Payment God cannot twice demand. First at my bleeding surety's
hand and then again at mine. Verse 17. It shall be a perpetual
statute for your generations throughout all your dwellings
that you eat neither fat nor blood. Let me give you three
things in this verse and I'll send you home. I hope rejoicing
in peace. The fat is the Lord's. That means the best is God's. The firstborn of everything is
mine, he said. The first fruits are mine, he
said. The fat is mine. Let us ever,
ever give God our best, not in order to attain peace. Oh, no,
no, no. You do that, you'll never have
peace. But give him your best because Christ obtained peace
for you by the sacrifice of himself. Secondly, the statute given was
not for one generation or two. And it was not for the house
of God alone, but throughout the generations of God's people
on this earth and to be observed in all their dwellings. Now,
obviously, we're no longer to observe the rituals of the law.
People who teach are still under the law. By doing so, make the
grace of God of none effect and the cross of Christ of none effect.
Christ is the end of the law. To go back and keep Sabbath days
and observe rituals and ceremonies and holy days and such things
as that is to declare that Christ is not the end of the law. But,
now listen carefully, we are to worship God in exactly the
same way, in exactly the same way as men of old worshipped
him even under the law. How is that? By faith in Christ. You see those men in the Old
Testament who kept Sabbath days, kept the Sabbath day looking
to Christ, resting in Him. They came and brought their sacrifices
looking to Christ, resting in Him. They brought their peace
offerings looking to Christ, finding peace in Him. And that's
exactly how we're to worship God. By faith in the Son of God. We're to worship Him not merely
in the house of God at the appointed time of public worship, but in
our homes. Our homes are to be sanctuaries of worship. In other
words, we are to live as redeemed sinners, devoted to God our Savior
in all things. For you're not your own. You're
not your own. Hear me, my brothers and sisters,
you are not your own. Do I testify anything that you
don't know in your soul? You're not your own, you've been
bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your
body and in your spirits, which are God's. You have no right
to use that which belongs to God for anything except God. And then thirdly, in all things
we are to remember and honor the blood, the precious blood
of Christ. By which we have peace. Oh, the precious, precious blood
of Christ. God keep it ever fresh before
my eyes. Fresh on my heart. Fresh to the
taste of my soul. I'm redeemed by the blood of
Christ. Now here's my peace. Christ redeemed
me. He put away my sin. he's accepted and because he's accepted I'm
accepted in him and he who redeemed me sits on the throne of the
universe and rules the world for me and that's peace the peace
of God that passeth understanding Let's turn to number 256. Sometimes
I tell you stories about hymns, and I think they are, I know
many of them are embellished. I'll give them to you the best
I can, but folks who write stories kind of tend to embellish a little
bit. This one I know is true. I got a letter from Horatio Spafford's
granddaughter. She lives in England, and she
communicated to me a little bit concerning him just a few months
ago. after his children had been drowned. He's going to meet his
wife and he steps out on the bow of the ship. The captain
called him up to the bow, I guess it's the bow, I don't know what
you call it. He called him up in front of the ship and he said, as best I can
calculate, this is where the ship went down that was carrying
your children. And Spafford went back to his
cabin. and worship God and he wrote
these words, when peace like a river attendeth my way, when
sorrow like sea bellows roll, whatever my lot thou hast taught
me to say, it is well, it is well with my soul. Let's see
if we can sing all four verses.