I suppose next to the 23rd Psalm,
John 3.16, that this is one of the most well-known portions
of Scripture to be found anywhere in the Word of God, and I suppose
the least understood. Beginning with verse 1 of Matthew
5, and seeing the multitudes, He went up into a mountain, and
when he was set, his disciples came unto him, and he opened
his mouth and taught them, saying, Now let's stop there just a moment.
These are called the Beatitudes. And many times when a man speaks
on these Beatitudes, he spends a great deal of time talking
about the beauty of this Sermon on the Mount, or the mechanics
thereof. But I feel that the mechanics
of this sermon and the beauty of this sermon must not be emphasized
to the point of losing the message of this sermon. Now the Lord
climbed up on a mountain or up to a high place to be clearly
seen and to be clearly heard. That's the reason for his going
up into the mountain. It wasn't to escape the crowd.
It wasn't to speak privately to his disciples because much
of this sermon is to the multitude. If you'll turn to the last words
in Matthew 7, verse 28, when he completed the sermon. Now
turn over there just a moment, because you will hear those who
speak from this scripture, the Sermon on the Mount, say that
the Lord went up into a mountain to be alone with his disciples
to get away from the crowd, but he didn't at all. He went up
on the mountain to be seen, that they might hear for he spake
to the multitude. And it says in Matthew 7, 28,
and it came to pass when Jesus had ended these sayings, this
Sermon on the Mount, the people were astonished at his doctrine. The people, not just his twelve
disciples, but the people, for he taught them as one having
authority and not as the scribes. So the Lord went up into a mountain
to be seen. so that he could be heard. He
climbed up in a pulpit and he sat down. Now that was the custom
in that day, to sit down to teach. And the multitude gathered about
him and he opened his mouth and taught them, saying, Now, here's
where we start the message. Blessed or happy. The word blessed
means happy or to be envied. To be envied To be envied, happy,
are the poor in spirit. Now all mankind are poor spiritually. We have nothing to eat, especially
in this day. We have been and we are feeding
on the husk that the swine eat. We have nothing spiritually to
eat. We have nothing to wear. We're
clothed in filthy rags of our own righteousness. We are in
debt, we have nothing to pay. We are diseased, Isaiah said,
from the sole of our feet to the top of our heads, there's
no soundness, nothing but wounds and bruises and putrefying sores. We are spiritually poor, all
of mankind. We are beggars, the prophet said,
on the dunghill. We are enemies of the Lord God. We are ignorant, our righteousness
filthy rags, our wisdom foolishness. And our Lord Jesus said in John
chapter 5, turn over there with me just a moment. In the fifth
chapter of John, our Lord is describing the spiritual condition
of the multitude, and he says here in verse 38, you have not,
John 5, 38, you have not his word abiding in you. For whom
he hath sent him you believe not. In verse 40, and you will
not come to me that you might have life. In verse 42, I know
you that you have not the love of God in you. Verse 43, I am
come in my Father's name and you receive me not. Verse 44,
how can you believe which receive honor one of another and you
seek not the honor that comes from God? Spiritually poor, spiritually
bankrupt, All mankind are spiritually poor. We have not God's Word
in us, we will not come to Christ, we have not God's love in us,
we receive not God's gift of life, and we seek not the honor
that comes from God. But will a man admit this? Most
of mankind are insensible to their condition. Look at Revelation
chapter 3. rather than mourning over our
spiritual poverty, rather than mourning over our spiritual bankruptcy,
rather than mourning over our nakedness and our disease and
our ignorance. You know what we're saying? In
Revelation 3, verse 17, thou sayest, Revelation 3, 17, thou
sayest, I'm rich. I'm not poor. I'm rich. I'm increased
with goods. I have more than I need. I have
need of nothing. And knoweth not, and knoweth
not, that thou art wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. Our Lord said, Blessed are the
poor in spirit. Preacher, all mankind are spiritually
poor. Yes, but they do not know it.
Having eyes, Christ said, they do not see. Having ears, they
do not hear. Having hearts, they do not understand. Thou sayest, I'm rich, I'm increased
with goods, I don't need anything. But there are some, there are
some who see their spiritual poverty. There are some who see
their spiritual need and their wants. and they freely acknowledge
it, and they mourn over it, and they're humbled by it, and they're
broken under the sense of this spiritual poverty. They're poor
in spirit. They're beggars at the door of
mercy. They are guilty before God, and
they cry with the publican, O God, be merciful to me, a sinner. And Christ says in this Sermon
on the Mount, happy are the poor who know it, the poor in spirit. For the Lord is known to them
of a broken heart. The Lord saith it such as be
of a what? A contrite spirit. And to them
belongs the kingdom of God. Blessed are the spiritually poor,
for to them belongs the kingdom of God. In what way? Well, he
said, I came to preach the gospel to the poor. That's why my Father
sent me. The Holy Spirit hath anointed
me, and the Father hath sent me to preach good news to the
poor in spirit. And these who are poor in spirit
not only hear the gospel preached, but they receive the gospel,
and they embrace the gospel, and eternal glory is theirs,
for it was prepared for them, and it was purchased for them.
And Peter said it is reserved for them. Blessed, happy to be
ended, is the man who has a broken heart and a contrite spirit,
who realizes that he is nothing, that he knows nothing, that he
has nothing, that he is a beggar at the back door of mercy, seeking
not justice but grace. Blessed is that man, for he will
receive the mercy which he seeks. His is the kingdom of God. Years ago I read a story about
an ancient king. There was an uprising in his
kingdom, and a number of his trusted lieutenants and captains
joined the uprising. Well, the king won the victory,
and men were being slaughtered all around for choosing the wrong
side. There were four men who came
before the king, and they had clothed themselves in rags. And they had ropes about their
necks, tied with a hangman's knot. And the rope was dangling
free, and they came in before the king, and they knelt down
on their knees before him, and bowed their heads with the ropes
about their necks. And then they looked up into
the face of their king, and they said, Guilty. But my Lord, we
seek mercy. And he turned all four of them
loose. Do you suppose that any man,
woman, boy or girl in this congregation could come before the Lord of
Glory on His throne of mercy with the rope of confession about
our necks and fall on our knees before Him and then look into
His blessed, glorious face and say, guilty, guilty. But, O Lord, we seek mercy. Blessed are the poor in spirit,
theirs is the kingdom of God. Now, notice the second statement
our Lord makes. He says, Blessed are they that
mourn. Blessed are they that mourn.
Now, this mourning is not an outward show, because our Lord
tells us when we fast, when we are under spiritual burden, when
we are going through particular trial, when we are having blessed
communion with him, not let anybody know about it. Wash our face,
comb our hair, shave our whiskers, dress in fine clothes, and don't
let anybody know that you're fasting or that you're praying.
So this is not an outward show. This is not an outward mourning.
This is not coming before the congregation and falling down
at a prepared bench and spending some time mourning publicly.
This is not it at all. This is a deep, inward, personal
grief over sin. Blessed are they that mourn.
Mourn over their own sins against God. Now, what do we mourn about?
Well, we mourn, first of all, over S-I-N. the sin of our nature. We say with David, O God, I was
shapen in iniquity. I was conceived in sin. In sin
I was brought forth. I mourn over the unbelief of
my heart. Lord, said the centurion, I believe. And in the same breath he said,
Lord, help my unbelief. What do they mourn over? They
mourn over S-I-N. They mourn over unbelief. and
they mourn in their hearts over daily infirmities. The things
I would not, I do, and the things I would do, I do not. They mourn over their sinful
imaginations, O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver
me from this body of death? They mourn over the sin of others.
They do not rejoice in the iniquity of others, or the fall of others,
or the failure of others. They grieve over it. And they
mourn over the sins of their world and their race. Blessed
are they that mourn, for they'll be comforted. God says, I'm going
to comfort those who really mourn. I'm going to comfort them right
here in this life. First of all, they shall be comforted
by the Father of mercies. God says, I will show mercy. I will be gracious. Our Father
delights to show mercy. He delights to show grace. They
are comforted in this life not only by the Father of mercy,
they are comforted by the Lord Jesus Christ, for He is our blessed
Redeemer, who said, Though your sins be as scarlet, I'll make
them as white as snow." Some people may wonder why I get a
great blessing out of going to the penitentiary and preaching.
I get a great blessing out of going to the penitentiary and
preaching to those men and corresponding with them and writing to them
because, number one, they know their sinners. And what a delight
it is to find a man who is not justifying himself, but before
God he is saying, I'm a sinner. For the Lord Jesus Christ said,
Though your sins be as scarlet, though they be red like crimson,
they shall be as wool. And they should be comforted
in this life not only by the Father of mercies, not only by
the Lord Jesus Christ, who loves sinners, who died for sinners,
who arose for sinners, who pleads for sinners, and who's coming
back for sinners, but they're comforted by the Holy Spirit,
who through the word of promise gives us repentance, gives us
faith and gives us every assurance. They shall be comforted, and
not only by the Father of mercies and the Lord Jesus Christ and
the Holy Spirit, but by the ministers of Christ. We are sent to warn,
that's true. We are sent to invite men to
Christ, that's true. We are sent to comfort God's
people, for the Scripture says, Comfort ye, comfort ye my people. Find the sinner. and comfort
that sinner, not in his sins, but in his Savior. We comfort
nobody in his sins, but we comfort them in the Savior. And they
shall not only be comforted in this life, but they shall be
comforted in the life to come. David said, I shall be satisfied,
I shall be satisfied when I wake with his likeness. In Revelation 21, Verse 3 and
4, Blessed are they that mourn, mourn over sin, mourn over unbelief,
mourn over infirmities, mourn over imaginations, mourn over
the sins of others, they shall be comforted. Brethren, it says,
I heard a great voice, Revelation 21.3, a voice out of heaven,
saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with me, and he will
dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself
shall be with them, and be their God, and God shall wipe away
all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death,
neither sorrow nor crying, and neither shall there be any more
pain, for the former things are passed away. They shall be comforted. But you who do not mourn have
nothing for which to be comforted, do
you? Now the third thing, Matthew chapter 5. Blessed are the meek. Blessed are the meek. Now will you stay with me just
a moment? is the spirit and attitude that
arises out of genuine humility. Meekness is the spirit and the
attitude that is born of humility or arises out of humility or
is produced by a humble heart. What is a meek person? A meek
person is not one who is weak There's difference in meekness
and weakness. Some people think because a man
folds his hands in front of him and wears a silly little perpetual
religious smile that he's meek. He may be the most wicked rebel
in the world in his heart. What is a meek person? It is
one who thinks the worst of himself and the best of you. A meek person
is one who is not easily provoked to anger. A meek person is one
who sincerely loves others and can bear all injuries and slights
which they may do unto him. A meek person is one who does
not envy, but rejoices in the gifts and talents and graces
of others. A meek person is one who is willing
to be instructed and willing to be admonished, Charles Spurgeon
said, even by the least saint. A meek person is one who disclaims
any righteousness or any holiness of his own. A meek person is
one who can say with the Apostle Paul, by the grace of God I am
what I am. I ascribe all that I am and all
that I have. to the grace of God. Now a meek
spirit is pleasing to God. Turn to 1 Peter 3. Now men admire
pride. Men admire a haughty spirit,
a cocky spirit, but not God. God says He resisteth the proud. God says, I'll give grace to
the humble. Listen to 1 Peter 3, verse 4. Let it be, this is talking about
adorning the gospel. Let it be the hidden man of the
heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and
a quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price."
A meek and a quiet spirit. It makes a man more like Christ.
Turn back to Matthew chapter 11. In the 11th chapter of Matthew,
verse 29, our Lord Jesus Christ has just said, ìCome unto me,
all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.î
And in verse 29, Matthew 11, He says, ìTake my yoke upon you,
and learn of me, for I am meek, and I am lowly in heart, and
you will find rest unto your souls.î Let this mind be in you,
which was also in Christ Jesus, who thought it not robbery to
be equal with God, yet made himself of no reputation, took upon himself
the form of a servant, was made in the likeness of sinful flesh,
and became obedient unto death, even not just any death, but
the death of the cross." Turn to 1 Peter 5. I want you to read
this scripture. In 1 Peter 5, verse 5, I'm saying,
blessed are the meek. Meekness is well-pleasing to
God. It makes a man more like Christ.
And meekness is the saint's clothing. In 1 Peter 5, verse 5, listen
to this. Likewise, ye younger, submit
yourselves to the elder. All of you, be subject one to
another. Be clothed with humility. For
God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble
yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may
exalt you in due time. And then God will guide the meek.
Let me read this to you. You don't have to turn to it.
Psalms 25 quickly, verse 9. Listen to this. The meek shall
he guide in judgment, and the meek he will teach his way. And it says here in Matthew 5
in our text, blessed are the meek. And that's the spirit that
is produced by a humble, broken heart. For they shall inherit the earth. The new earth. God's going to
make a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. And the earth
is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. And He's going to share
it with the meek. They shall inherit the earth.
Now the fourth point. Our Lord continued, Blessed are
they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness. Now we know what the flesh hungers
and thirsts for. The flesh hungers and thirsts
for riches. Somebody asked J.C. Penney one
time how much money it would take to make a man happy, and
he said a little more. The flesh hungers and thirsts
for honor, fame, popularity. The flesh hungers and thirsts
for pleasure. The flesh hungers and thirsts
for ease. The flesh even hungers and thirsts
after a legal and moral righteousness. But here Blessed are they that
hunger and thirst after righteousness is intended, here is intended,
the righteousness, the justifying righteousness of God which is
in Christ. Happy is the man, blessed is
the man, to be envied is the man who has a sincere and genuine
hunger and thirst after God's righteousness in Christ. Turn to Philippians again, chapter
3. That's what Paul hungered for. Here are the great Apostle
who wrote 13 books of the New Testament. Here are the great
Apostle who was personally called by the Lord Jesus Christ to be
the Apostle to the Gentiles. Here are the great Apostle Paul
who founded more churches in the New Testament than any other
Apostle, who preached to more people, who preached to kings
and statesmen and leaders. The Apostle Paul says in Philippians
chapter 3, verse 8, Yea, doubtless I count all things but loss,
for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for
whom I suffered the loss of all things, and I do count them but
done, that I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having
mine own righteousness." You think of that next time you talk
about your goodness. Next time you feel in your heart
maybe you're good enough to go to heaven, you're good enough
to walk with God, you're good enough to keep company with the
Lord of glory, perhaps you could think about this apostle who
was the greatest man who ever lived outside of the Lord Jesus
Christ, and the greatest apostle who ever lived who said, I don't
want to be found in my own righteousness, but I want to be found in him,
in his righteousness. O that I may know Him, O that
I may know the power of His resurrection, the righteousness of God, which
is Jesus Christ. Blessed are they who hunger and
who thirst, like the thirsty deer after the water brooks,
who hunger and thirst for the right thing, the righteousness
of God in Christ. For he says they shall be filled,
they shall be satisfied, they shall receive it. What is it
to hunger and thirst after righteousness? Well, it supposes several things. Number one, I don't have it. That is, I don't have a suitable
righteousness. I wouldn't hunger after another
if I had it. And secondly, it supposes that I have a sincere
desire for it. Now let the potsherds of this
earth strive with the potsherds of the earth, but let not a man
mock his Maker. Don't you hunger or claim to
hunger after something unless you have a special sincere desire
for it. Don't you mock God. So to hunger
and thirst after righteousness in such a way as to be filled
or satisfied is to have a God-given Holy Spirit-created sincere desire
for it. And thirdly, It is to suppose
that I have discovered where it's to be found. It's not in
the water. It's not in the table. It's not
in the bench. And it's not in the minister.
It's not in the law. It's in Christ. That's where
it's to be found. That's what Paul discovered.
Oh, that I may win Christ and be found in him. That I may know
him and the power of his resurrection. And the fourth thing that this
hunger and thirst after righteousness supposes is that I'm not going
to be content till I have it. I'm not looking for special gifts. I'm looking for the giver. I'm not looking for special feelings. I'm looking for the presence,
the indwelling, blessed presence of a person. I'm not looking
for any proof that there's a God. I'm looking for fellowship with
a God whom I know lives. And I will not be content until
I can walk with him. If, as Frank says, it's in the
valley or the mountaintop, it doesn't matter, but I want to
walk with him. If it's in rags or if it's in
shiny satin clothing, I don't care. Blessed with a sense of
his presence, a palace, a toy, would appear. And prisons would
palaces prove if Jesus would dwell with me there. Blessed
are they that hunger and thirst after his righteousness, after
his holiness, after his presence, they will be filled. We have
his word for it. And then last, in the next place,
quickly, blessed are the merciful. What does that mean? Blessed
are the merciful. Well, will you listen to me a
minute? First of all, the merciful are those who show mercy to the
bodies of men. That is, they sympathize with
them. and they pity them, and they're quick and ready to relieve
their needs and their wants by supplying those needs and those
wants. They're merciful. They're merciful
to the hungry. They're merciful to the poor.
They're merciful to the sick. They're merciful to the handicapped.
They're merciful to those who have need. They're merciful to
the bodies of men. Secondly, blessed are the merciful.
Who are they? They are people who are merciful
to the feelings of others. And they show that mercy by being
kind, by being gentle. They show that kindness and that
mercy by forgiving and by speaking thoughtfully and tenderly and
kindly. They are merciful to the feelings
of other people. And then thirdly, the merciful
are those who show mercy to the hearts of others by loving them.
Somebody says, what does everybody in the world want? To be loved. The merciful are those who show
mercy to the character of others by speaking well of them and
not evil of them. The merciful are those who show
mercy to the souls of men by speaking the truth of the gospel
to them. They are merciful to the bodies
of men, to the feelings of men, to the hearts of men, to the
character of men, and to the souls of men. And my Lord says,
those who are merciful shall obtain mercy. Mercy. First of all, they'll
obtain mercy from men, because he who would have friends must
show himself friendly. I've never seen it fail. Love
begets love. Kindness begets kindness. Somebody
wrote a poem one time, you'll find if you move away because
you don't like the neighborhood, you'll find the same kind of
people in your new neighborhood as you left, because others reflect
your own personality. And not only that, but in Matthew
6, blessed are the merciful, they shall obtain mercy not only
from men, but they'll obtain mercy from God. Look at Matthew
6, verse 14. If you forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also
forgive you. But if you forgive not men their
trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. In Matthew 5, the next statement
our Lord made is this, Blessed are the pure in heart. There
is no need to have any trouble with this, no need at all. If we establish some things,
first of all, that are true, blessed are the pure in heart.
The heart of man is naturally unclean. The heart of woman is
naturally unclean. It's not in the power of man
to make it clean. Can the leopard change his spots?
Can the Ethiopian change his skin? Neither can you do good
but are accustomed to doing evil. It's not in the power of man
to make his heart clean or to make it pure from all sin. There's
no way in this life for a heart to be entirely pure from sin. Anyone who says that it's so
is a liar and the truth's not in him. I didn't coin that phrase. John said, if any say he hath
not sinned, he's a liar. He deceives himself and the truth's
not in him. Our righteousness is in Christ.
The only heart that ever existed on this earth, pure from all
sin, was the heart of Jesus Christ, the perfect man. Well, what is
the Lord talking about here then, blessed are the pure in heart? First of all, the pure in heart
here is a pure and sincere faith and love for Christ. Now, I can
have that. My faith in Christ is a sincere
and pure, unfeigned faith. There is no mixture of hypocrisy
with it and no mixture of insincerity. I can have a pure and sincere
love for the Son of God that is not hypocritical and is not
feigned, unfeigned love. Yes, pure love can dwell in an
impure heart. And then secondly, the pure in
heart are those who not only have a pure, sincere faith and
love for Christ, but a pure and sincere love for other people,
not who say they love them, but who do. And only you and God
know if this is true. Brother Fitzer said last Wednesday
night in his prayer meeting message, the Apostle Peter made a lot
of mistakes. He was an impulsive man. He was
a man who said the wrong thing too many times. But he was never,
never an insincere man. He was never a cunning, deceitful
man. I am not afraid of an honest,
impulsive, error-prone individual. I am afraid of a cunning, sly,
deceitful person. And that's what this is talking
about here, blessed are the pure in heart. They are pure in They're
pure in faith, they're pure in a sincere love for others, and
they have a pure and sincere desire to live for Christ's glory. They're not looking for any praise
for themselves, but praise for their Lord. They're not looking
for any credit for themselves, but only exaltation of their
Lord. And it is a pure and a sincere
desire. David was a man after God's own
heart, and there's never lived a man that made more mistakes
than he did. Why in the world was that kind
of man a man after God's own heart? Because God knew his heart.
And only God knew his heart. Everybody else knew his errors,
and his stumblings, and his failings, and his fumblings, and his mistakes.
God knew that every mistake he made was out of a pure and sincere
motive. And then what is a pure heart?
Blessed are the pure in heart, it is a pure and sincere desire
to be like Christ. And these people, he says, are
going to see God. They're going to see God. The
pure in heart. Not the feigned faith. Not the babbling, wordy faith. Not the professions of faith. Not the decisions for Christ.
Blessed are the pure in heart. pure in motive, pure in love,
pure in faith, honest in their relationship with God. They're
going to see God. They're going to see God in this
life. They're going to see His grace, all the abundance of His
grace. They're going to see His beauty,
all the greatness of His beauty. They're going to see His loveliness,
all the loveliness of His mercy, and they're going to see Him
in glory. Because they're the only ones that really appreciate
Him. the ones who have been looking for him. And unto them that look
for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. Now, in closing, number seven. Blessed are the peacemakers.
Now, this is not peace with God, because no sinner can make his
own peace with God. That's foolishness. I hear people
say, well, he made his peace with God. Well, he's in bad shape, Have you made your peace with
God? Somebody will say, I hope you never tried. Only Christ
can make peace with God. That's the reason the angel came
down here at his birth and said, now, peace on earth and goodwill
toward men. Christ is our peace. God was
in Christ reconciling the world unto himself. Christ put away
the enmity. Christ made everything all right
in my father's house. Who are these peacemakers? Now,
you listen to me. I may not always be right, but
I'm not wrong here. These are those who are of a
peaceful disposition. These are those who labor in
love and in life to be peacemakers between men and men. That's exactly
what Christ is talking about here, because I can't make peace
with God. And I can't make peace between
you and God. Only Christ can represent you
and plead for you and work for you and intercede for you and
move in your heart. That's between you and God. But
I can make peace between Charles and Jack. And I'll tell you this,
and I make bold to say this in front of everybody, a contentious
spirit is an unregenerate spirit. A troublemaker is a man in trouble. He's in trouble with God. A man
who soweth discord between brethren is a man God hates. God said
that. I didn't. He said seven things
I hate. A proud look, a lying tongue,
and he that soweth discord among the brethren. God said I hate
that. God said that in Proverbs. A grudge-bearer, a man who bears
a grudge, is a man who bears his own sins. Christ doesn't
bear them, he bears them. A man seeking revenge is a man
who is not seeking God. You can't seek them both. They
are in opposite ends of the pole. A man seeking revenge is not
seeking God. God said, vengeance is mine,
I'll repay. Blessed are the peacemakers.
Read it. Read it. Blessed are the peacemakers.
They and nobody else will be called children of God. I have no right to call myself
a child of God if I'm not a peacemaker. I have no right to call myself
a child of God if I bear a spirit of hatred and malice. It doesn't
matter who the person is. It doesn't matter what color
is his skin. I'm not a child of God if I'm
not a peacemaker. Be ye merciful as your Father
in heaven is merciful. Be ye holy as God is holy. And if you call Him Father, in
this sojourn, in this journey of life, if you call him Father,
then you show by your life that he is your Father, and that you
have some of the characteristics of your Father. Blessed are the
peacemakers, they are the children of God. Our Father, we commit
the message unto thee. We can touch the ear We can't
touch the heart. We can speak to men's minds,
but only the Holy Spirit can make thy word, thy powerful,
sharp, two-edged sword that can reach down into the very thoughts
and imaginations of the heart. Only the Holy Spirit can make
a person think upon these things and think to such an extent that
they'll be affected by them and affected to such an extent that
they will fall on their faces before thee, all of us. We will
cry, O God, be merciful to me, the sinner. Let the blood of
Christ be perpetuation for me on the mercy seat. May the fruits
of the Holy Spirit of God be produced in my life. Lord,
send a revival and let it begin in me. In Christ's name we pray
and for his glory. Amen.