We turn to Psalm 73 again. Psalm 73. Our focus tonight is verse 26. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion. forever. Let's pray. Our Father, now we come to you, confessing our inadequacy, and so we pray that in weakness you would show your strength, that you would be our teacher. Please send your spirit to make your word live tonight, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. On top of Mount Psalm 73 is a treasure. Verse 26. You've got to climb the mountain to get there. The view up there is great and the treasure is precious, but we have to do some trekking to get there. It's a well-traveled hiking trail. There are mileposts along the way. We'll note them as we go. So, lace up your hiking boots, strap on your backpacks, get your camelback ready, because here we go. The psalmist begins in verse one with this statement, Surely God is good. God is good to Israel. Not just that God is good in himself in the abstract, but God is good in his interactions with his people. This is how God consistently deals with his people. Surely God is good to Israel. Somebody asks, who is Israel? Well, we want to be really clear about that. Asaph appends to that statement, to those who are pure in heart. So it's not just the Israel, externally religious, people, people born to religious parents, but he's talking about the genuine people of God, the pure in heart, not just people who do religious things to show up in church, because that's what people expect them to do. They've got to keep the image up. That's what they've always done. But people who deep down in their hearts seek God and serve God and fear God, the pure in heart, or the real thing, through and through. Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. Now, Asaph talks a lot about the heart in this psalm. The struggle that he goes through and that we'll track through with him is an inward struggle. And his triumph is inward. When he speaks of the wicked in verses 3-12, He is sure to point out that it's not just what they do that's wicked, but it's what they think in their hearts. Verse 7, the imaginations of their heart run riot. It's not just they're wicked externally, but it's what they're thinking about and what they're wanting and what they imagine themselves doing. The imaginations of their heart run riot. That's the essence of their wickedness. And when he talks about his own envy of the wicked, he notes that it seemed like it was pointless for him to keep his heart pure. Verse 13, Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure and washed my hand in innocence. See how he identifies himself with the people of God. God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. And he says, verse 13, In vain I have kept my heart pure. When God lets the wicked prosper, why was he working so hard at inward religion? And then when Asaph comes to his senses after coming face to face with God in verses 17-20, his repentance and his sense of guilt for his envy is inward. Verse 21, my heart was embittered. And then in verse 26, our verse, twice the heart is highlighted. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." Asaph is all about the heart all the way through this psalm. God is good to Israel, to the pure in heart. Asaph begins then with this ringing affirmation, what is essentially the solid conclusion to all his struggles that are recited in this psalm. We move to verse 2. But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling. My steps had almost slipped. God is good to Israel to the pure in heart. What about me? Asaph asks in verse 2. I am far from good. In fact, I almost lost it, guys. I stopped believing that God is good to Israel. Let me tell you about it. Let me tell you the story. And we have the rest of the psalm. And so we come now to Milepost 1 on our hike up Mount Psalm 73. Milepost 1 says, I was envious. Verses 3-14, I was envious. Verse 3, I was envious of the arrogant as I saw the prosperity of the wicked. Why do the wicked prosper? You know, I look at my friends and my neighbors, my co-workers. Maybe you look at other kids in school. You hear about celebrities and corrupt politicians. They don't care about God. They don't care about righteousness. They are incredibly arrogant. Verse 3, but they got it good. They're prospering. They don't respect God's laws, but they always seem to win. They have it all. Plus, they don't seem to have any problems. Verses 4 and 5, there are no pains in their death. Their body is fat. They're not in trouble as other men, nor are they plagued like mankind. How can this be? Asaph asked as he was envious of the wicked. All prosperity and no pain. All gain, no pain. Such a deal. How do they do it? More importantly, why does God allow it? How can God allow it? And you know they say, verse 11, How does God know? Is there knowledge with the Most High? God doesn't care what they're doing. God is not watching. God is oblivious. God doesn't know if I sin. I'm not accountable for my actions. I just go on and on, do whatever I want, drink up iniquity like water and prosper all over the place. So why am I trying to be pure in heart? Verse 13, Esau says, surely in vain. It's pointless. Why am I keeping my heart pure and washing my hands in innocence? Why am I working so hard at fighting sin? Why am I working so hard at doing what's right? All this to no purpose, for no reason at all. I was envious. But we keep hiking. We come to milepost number two. It reads, I came into the sanctuary of God. Verses 15-17. The more I thought about this, Asaph says, the more troubled I became. Verse 16, when I pondered to understand this, it was troublesome in my sight. You better believe it is. You better believe it is. Until I reached a critical turning point. And from that point on, my thinking was radically changed. In fact, nothing was the same. after that. What made the difference, Asaph? Well, I met with God. It was troublesome in my sight, verse 17, until, and I can tell you the day and the hour, until I came into the sanctuary of God. The sanctuary. What's that? Well, these were the days of the temple, the days of holy places. The sanctuary was the holy place where God dwells and makes himself manifest. And so, it's where I meet with God. It's where I go to find God. And so, Asaph retreated from the rush of worldly affairs and he went to find God in his holy place, the sanctuary, where God promised to be. So, no temple around. Where do you find the sanctuary of God today? Well, let me ask you, where does God promise to be? Matthew 18, 20, for where two or three have gathered together in my name, there I am, Jesus says, in their midst. So you find God where his people gather in his name. You find God there because he promised to be there. But you also find God when you seek him with all your heart in a quiet, single-hearted way. Jeremiah 29.13, you will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart. Where do I find God? You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart. So, there is a sanctuary still. A place to find God. Well, back to Asaph. So, what happened when Asaph went to meet with God. What happened when Asaph went to listen to God instead of just listening to his own heart? Well, a couple of things. I guess these are sub-mile posts in the first place. Then I realized where sinners end up. Then I realized where sinners end up. Verses 17-20, until I came into the sanctuary of God. Then I perceived their end. Surely Thou dost set them in slippery places. Thou dost cast them down to destruction. How they are destroyed in a moment. They are utterly swept away by sudden terrors like a dream. When one awakes, O Lord, when aroused, Thou wilt despise their form. Verse 17, I perceived their end. You know, sometimes you don't understand a story. Until you read the last chapter. I mean, some people write their stories that way. Some it's clear all along, but some, you know, you don't get it till you read the last chapter. Who were all these characters, especially the detective things? Who were all these guys and what were they trying to do? And what was the red scarf about? And what was the meaning of what was happening? How does it all fit together? You go to the end. You read the final chapter and then you get it. It all falls together. Then I perceived their end. It didn't make sense why the wicked could prosper. And I'm struggling keeping my heart pure for no purpose until I perceived their end. Then it all fell in place. Judgment and condemnation and destruction come suddenly, verse 19, how they are destroyed in a moment. They live all their lives. They prosper. Their stock goes nothing but up. All of their fields yield in abundance. Everything they touch turns to gold. Wow! How they are destroyed in a moment. They are utterly swept away by sudden terrors. In a moment. And then, realization of reality and the irrevocable, unchangeable choices and the way the wicked have lived their whole lives, sweep them away with sudden terror. In a moment of consciousness, they see they had it all wrong all their lives. every choice. This is too late. Sudden terror in a moment. God is real. What I had vaguely feared has come to pass. The nightmares of my conscience were real. And the fantasies that I lived in and lived for and lived out were make-believe. God lets sin go unpunished for now, because he's merciful. He's giving time and space for sinners to repent. But not forever. He can't let sin go unpunished in the end. God is holy. God is just. God's not going to let the world spin out of control. God intervenes. Verse 20, that's what it says. I could dream when one awakes, O Lord, when aroused. God, as it were, wakes up. Well, He doesn't wake up. He knows exactly what's going. But it's time. Now it's time. Now it's time. And God shakes it off and goes to work. The work of judgment. O Lord, when aroused, thou wilt despise their form. God is the judge. You see, it's not just the judgment, some impersonal event of responding to the law. No, it's the judgment of God, because God himself is the judge. God who made you. God who designed you. God who watches you all your life. That's the God you answer to for all your actions. We answer personally to a personal God. Then I realized where sinners end up. I perceived their end. Then, verses 21 and 22, and I realized how foolish I'd been. I realized where sinners end up. I perceived their end. And I realized how foolish I had been, Asaph says. You see, Asaph had two struggles. One was in verses 2 through 14. And there he struggled with the prosperity of the wicked. But really, this struggle was with God. This struggle was with God in the justice of your ways. God, how come they're getting off and I'm working so hard and I'm trying to please you? Asaph's problem was not with the wicked. Asaph's problem was with God. Asaph became bitter against God. Asaph became self-pitying for what he was enduring for God. I mean, that's the story behind the story, isn't it? That was Asaph's first struggle. His second was in verses 21 through 22. And now he struggles with his own foolishness and bitterness. He has a struggle over his own previous struggles. Well, this is repentance. This is a realization of what he had done in complaining against God and a sense of the bitterness of that sin. My heart was embittered, verse 21, and I was pierced within. I was senseless and ignorant. I was like a beast before thee. This is the struggle of repentance when we face God, when we come to grips with ourselves and our sin and we're sick enough of it all to turn from it. It's repentance. And I was senseless and ignorant, verse 22, when I envied the wicked. By definition, therefore, wishing I was in their place, right? I envied the wicked. It means I wished that I was in their place, getting what they get, having what they have. As it says, as Jesus says in his parable, the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16, 25, receiving their good things. I wanted the good things of the wicked. And when I was bitter against God, I was not wise. I was senseless and ignorant. I was foolish. I was thinking and acting like a fool, like a pleasure-seeking, God-rejecting fool. I was like a beast before thee, like a cow who lives for yummy grass. What is the meaning of life? Grass. Yummy grass. Making all of life's decisions based on where the next pasture is, without thought. Without understanding, I was like a beast before thee, not thinking about who I am, where I am going, what does it mean. Then I realized where sinners end up and I realized how foolish I'd been. And then verses 23 and 24. Yet God doesn't let me go. Whom? Verses 23. Nevertheless, I am continually with thee. Nevertheless, despite my folly, despite my similarity to the beasts of the field, despite my stupidity, nevertheless, I am continually with thee. Regardless of my sinful rebellion and my wandering from God, God has not turned away from me. You get it? Nevertheless, I am continually with thee. That's an awesome prepositional phrase. With thee. He hasn't left me. Though Asaph had been so foolish, so beastly in forgetting God and leaving him out of the equation as he evaluated life and its meaning, my sin which now distresses me is no surprise to God. He knows all about it. He knows all about me. We're the only ones ignorant of our sin. God knows. In fact, God is in the process of saving me from my sin. So, if I cling to my sin and I love my sin and I treasure my sin, it will keep me from God. But if I am troubled by my sin and I am broken by my sin and I realize my folly, God does not keep me at a distance. Nevertheless, I am continually with thee. My sin is not separating me from God. But when I, like Asaph, in repentance, taste the bitterness of my sin and am sick of it and ready to turn from it, God receives me. Nevertheless, I am continually with thee. Thou hast taken hold of my right hand. With Thy counsel, Thou wilt guide me and afterward receive me to glory. Yet, God doesn't let me go. Thou hast taken hold of my right hand. How about that? How tender, how personal. Not only does God not leave me, but He takes me by the hand. Here, let me grab your hand. I know how you feel. I know how crushed you are. You're really stupid. But you're getting that. You're understanding some small fraction of how stupid and destructive sin is. You're coming back. Let me take your hand. It's not just that God puts a seatbelt on me to keep me from destroying myself, but He takes me by the hand. He treats me with such dignity and individuality. Every sinner is treated as a person. He takes each one by the hand. What tender care from a merciful God who's in process of saving me. I'm deeply grieved by my sin. And God does not just put me in the cattle car of safety. But He conveys His love to me and care for me. He takes me by the hand. And it's very purposeful and specific. It's not my left hand. It's my right hand. Nevertheless, I'm continually with thee. Thou hast taken hold of my right hand. And with thy counsel thou wilt guide me. Verse 24. Today he talks to me. With thy counsel thou wilt guide me. And tomorrow he takes me. And afterward, receive me to glory. Today he talks to me. And tomorrow he takes me. With thy counsel thou wilt guide me. some stuff you need to know. Let me talk to you about it. And afterward, receive me to glory, I who was envious of the wicked, who questioned the point of keeping my heart pure. He talks to me, instructing me and correcting me and guiding me. Boy, do I need that. Boy, do I need that. Look how off track I got. But God didn't put me on Craigslist. He graciously keeps talking to me. And when He's done, He afterward receives me to glory. He won't reject me. He'll receive me to glory. Verse 25 Mahapostle 3, so I chose God alone. So I chose God alone. Whom have I in heaven but thee? And besides thee, I desire nothing on earth. I brokenly, verses 21 and 22, and gladly, verses 23 and 24, turn to God alone. Whom have I in heaven but thee? And besides thee, I desire nothing on earth. No one else. Nowhere else. Well, what else could I do after facing the emptiness of this world? I perceive their end. Where else was I going to go? What else could I do after being faced with the grace of God? Nevertheless, I'm continually with thee. You take my right hand. What else was I going to do? Whom have I in heaven but Thee? And besides Thee, I desire nothing on earth. So, the psalmist comes to rest in what God is to him, however unpromising his own situation is. God alone. God alone. Verse 22, he talks about being before Thee. Verse 23, Nevertheless, I am continually with thee. And now in verse 25, Whom have I in heaven but thee? And besides thee, I desire nothing on earth. God is all he sees. He fills the whole windshield. So, the psalmist has come a long way. I desire nothing else on earth." I mean, it was at the bottom of this mountain that he was saying, I was envious. Which is to say, I desire what I don't have. And now, he says, besides thee, I desire nothing on earth. Which is to say, I don't even care what I have, if I can just have God. He's come a long way by the grace of God. Asaph is saying he desires God himself. Whom have I in heaven but thee and besides thee I desire nothing on earth. He desires God himself, not just what God gives, not just what God does. We desire blessings, therefore we pray. But Asaph doesn't just want blessings from God. He wants God. Besides thee, I desire nothing on earth. More than blessings, more than answers to prayer, more than gifts from God, even more than forgiveness, even more than power, even more than victory, he desires God Himself. Besides thee, I desire nothing on earth. And not only does he desire God, but he desires nothing but God. Nothing in heaven. Whom have I in heaven but thee? Do we look forward to heaven? What do we desire about heaven? Reunion with loved ones? Relief from pain? End of a bad marriage? Rest from our weariness? Freedom from trials and troubles? Peace? Joy? Yes, all this is legitimate. That is not what makes heaven heaven. Heaven is God's presence. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. We want to know what heaven is like, don't we? But we are told very little. But we are told the most important thing. God is there and we will be there with Him. Christ is there and we will be there with Him. This is heaven. Everything else His details. And if that doesn't click with us, then something's wrong in our perspective. Whom have I in heaven but Thee? He desires nothing but God. Nothing in heaven and nothing on earth. And besides Thee, I desire nothing on earth. This is where he had gone wrong earlier. He wanted what sinners had. He wanted to be pain-free. and debt-free and trouble-free. But now this has been fully resolved. Besides thee, I desire nothing on earth. God is enough. God alone in heaven. God alone on earth. Our fourth mile post. Verses 27 and 28. Far from thee versus the nearness of God. Far from thee versus the nearness of God. For behold, those who are far from thee will perish. Thou hast destroyed all those who are unfaithful to thee. But as for me, the nearness of God is my good. I have made the Lord God my refuge that I may tell of all thy works." Well, this psalm has been about living near to God. The sanctuary, verse 17. Before thee, verse 22. You will guide me and receive me, verse 24. And then everything that's in verses 25 and 26. First, let's look at the far from thee part. For behold, those who are far from thee will perish. Well, these are those who choose the world instead of God. Verses 3-12, we've already heard about them. And this is parallel to the second half of the verse. Those who are unfaithful to thee. Those who are unfaithful to thee. We are married to God. We've made vows. We've made them to God and God has made them to us. And that is why we must be pure in heart, verses 1 and 13, with hearts given to God alone and desiring God alone. King James Version translates this second half of the verse, I was destroyed, all those who go a whoring from God. Pretty blunt. Dramatic. In other words, those who are far from God are those whose eager desires lead them to break faith, break vows, break covenant with God. Despite our promises, despite His promises to us, despite His past and promised care, His nurturing of us, I want something else. I want something more. I want something exciting. Far from God. Oh, buddy, you want something that doesn't exist. It's a dream. It's a fantasy. It's a lie. Being far from God, those who are far from thee will perish. But as for me, verse 28, the nearness of God is my good. Aesop's made his choice. It's firmly established by this point. As for me, the nearness of God is my good. Now, what has he said in verse 25? If it's not that, I choose God. God alone. What's the concept of the sanctuary, right? To approach unto God. I've made the Lord God my refuge. That's where I retreat when danger alarms. My choice has been made. I am decided. Well, here we are. We made it to the top. Top of the mountain. Let's now focus on verse 26. And I've got another 1, 2, 3, 4, but these are much shorter. 1, 2, 3, 4 of verse 26. My flesh and my heart may fail that God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Number one, my flesh fails. Number two, my heart fails. Number three, but God is the strength of my heart. Number four, God is my portion. First then, my flesh fails. You know the thing about that? When you run out of strength, you feel like you can't keep on going. Maybe you're sick. And your flesh fails. Gas tank empty. Maybe you're weak. Maybe you have a progressive disease. And you know what the signs of progression are. And you look out the window and they're just quizzing by. Oh, I'm doing that. And now I'm doing that. And now I'm doing that. And here I go. Downhill. My flesh fails. What about aging? My peers can identify with me. Things hurt that never used to hurt. I can't do what I once did and I find that very difficult to accept. I can't remember. Portugal, Pakistan. Know what I mean? I can't see. My glasses get stronger and stronger. Lots of things I can't do. Sometimes I look in the mirror and I am shocked. That is actually a very uncomfortable feeling. But who got behind that mirror when I was standing here? This is unbelievable. When and how did that ever happen? Maybe I count the years. I'm 55. So some people retire at 65 or 70. So like, wow, there's a defined number of years and it's getting smaller all the time. I don't like that. My flesh fails. And what will I do when I become old? If you have aging parents and you see it happening to them, what will I do when my strength and faculties fail? And as I move from hobbling to cane to walker to wheelchair to bed, My flesh fails. How am I going to face that? Will I go blind slowly? Will I know as my mind slips away? My flesh fails. Will I be on oxygen? Will I not be able to feed myself? My flesh fails. And the ultimate, final, inevitable failure of the flesh, death. Nobody escapes it. My flesh fails. Asaph says it's going to be alright. Because God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. It's alright when my flesh fails. God will be the strength of my heart. My flesh fails. Me? Yeah. But God, I may trust Him entirely. My flesh fails. My heart fails. Perhaps you know what this means. Your courage fails. Fear slips into the driver's seat and pushes on the gas. Fear overwhelms me. Fear suffocates me. Perhaps I'm overcome by panic. Or on the other hand, perhaps I face annoying fear every moment of every day. Perhaps I must deal with depression, a darkness, a grayness that settles upon me that I cannot shake, a sadness that always tugs my heart downward. Or one of a thousand other. failings of the heart. My heart fails. And you know, maybe this is a greater ill than the failing of the flesh. Flesh fails and my heart does not. I can face my fate. I can face my future. But if my heart fails, even if my flesh does not, I can't face anything. I'm like the cowardly lion in the Wizard of Oz. I can't face crisis. I can't face danger. I can't even face a minor bump in the road when my heart fails. What do I do when my heart fails? What do I do when my courage evaporates? What do I do when fear gets the upper hand? I run to God. Because He is the strength of my heart. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart. Well, that's exactly what I need. Strength for my heart when my heart is failing. That's just what the doctor ordered. You know, I feel like when my heart fails, it's over because I don't know what to do. I don't know how to face anything. I got nothing to draw on. It's like it's over. But read this verse, my flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart. Now, I just ran out. My heart failed. But the sentence isn't over. But God is exactly what I need. The strength of my heart. I'm empty. The tire is flat. But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. How long can I hold out on borrowed strength? A few minutes? Till the morning? Forever. God is the strength of my heart and my portion. Forever. How long can you live in borrowed strength from God? Forever. My flesh fails, my heart fails, but God is the strength of my heart. Contrast the weakness and impermanency of me. My flesh fails, my heart fails. Contrast that with God. God is the strength. The word there is the rock. What do you think about when you think about a rock? It's just there. It's impervious to the weather. It's not going to melt when it's hot. It's stable. It's a rock. God is the rock of my heart and my portion forever. We're talking permanent. My flesh, my heart fails God, rock forever. God is the strength of my heart. Well, as we've seen on the whole trip up this mountain, God is all. Whom have I in heaven but Thee? God is enough. Even when everything else fails and gives way, God is what I need. Psalm 2911, the Lord will give strength. to His people. Now, He wouldn't give it if they didn't need it. Which means they're weak. Their flesh and their heart is failing. The Lord will give strength to His people. Psalm 138 verse 3, Thou didst make me bold with strength in my soul. I ain't very bold. But God gives enough strength to even make me bold in my Weakness in my fear. Psalm 68, 35. The God of Israel Himself gives strength and power to the people. Direct from God. Personal, direct infusion from the Great Physician. The God of Israel Himself gives strength and power to the people. How can God be the strength of my heart when my heart is failing? Hebrews 11.34, from weakness we're made strong. That's how it works. Because we're talking faith here. Hebrews 11. From weakness we're made strong. They ran out and there was no help visible. There was no exit sign. There was no fire extinguisher on the wall. There was nothing. From weakness, we're made strong. God has to empty us so that we will by faith look to Him. If we had one option left, then God isn't our strength. We're our strength. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart. We come to the end of me. It's not comfortable. It's not comfortable. And we look to God. God alone, God, is enough. My flesh fails. My heart fails. But God is the strength of my heart. And finally, God is my portion. God is the strength of my heart in my portion forever. So if you want God to be your strength, he must be your portion. You got a pie here. It's pumpkin because it's going to be Thanksgiving. It's all cut in pieces. Some of the pieces are little. Some of the pieces are big. Pick a piece. Which piece do you want? You can only have one. I have a cake here. frosting, cherries, it's all cut up into slices. Some of the slices have cherries on them, some have extra frosting. Which piece do you want? You can only pick one. Which piece do you want? Here's life. It's full of choices. Choices galore. Which piece do you want? What will be your portion? You want stuff? How about image? Somebody that people can look up to and respect. Maybe you want people to think you're cool. Is that the piece you want? The slice of life? Want the party life? You can pick that piece. You can do it. You want accomplishment? Winning? Being the best? Is that the piece you want? You can have it. You want success? You can have that peace. You want love? You want a friend? You can have that peace. You want money? Because you know you can buy happiness with money. You can have that peace. Or you want God? You want God to be your portion? You can only have one. You can't serve God and Money. What portion do you want in life? What will you take for yours? The whole pie is there, but you can only have one piece. The whole cake is there. You can only have one piece. What will be your portion? What do you choose for yourself in life? What do you want? Because by choosing that one, that's what you get. God is the strength of my heart. In my portion, forever, Asaph chooses God. God alone, whom have I in heaven but thee, and there is nothing I desire on earth besides thee. Asaph chose God as his number one, his goal, his portion in life. Well, let me just close with one question. So, are you off track? Did you get off track? Are you now off track like Asaph? Have you lost perspective? Does it seem unfair to you that your neighbor, Prosperous, well, he doesn't give a fig for God, and you're barely scraping by? Are you bitter against God? You've never out and out said that out loud before, I'm sure. Are you bitter against God for what he's given you to cope with? Well, you need, like Asaph, to get with God. You need to meet him in the sanctuary. Just you and God. You need to stop running around and you need to retreat to the sanctuary. Working harder, running faster, doing more is not going to do it for you. Stop being propelled in life by your desires, your lusts, your fears, your desire to have, your desire to control, your desire for security. You need to do what Asaph did. Get with God and get your fundamental perspective on life fixed. Everything will always seem wrong until you reorient yourself to God. And you find, like Asaph, that God alone, God is enough. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Father, we thank you for your Word, which is always true and always right. We thank you that you tell it to us straight. Sometimes we don't want to hear what you have to say. But we pray that you would be free with any here tonight who are off track. We pray that you would point them to yourself and that they would be completely uncomfortable until they get with you. meeting you and understanding what is really important in life. We thank you for your grace and your mercy. We thank you that though we are sinners, that for your people, this does not keep us from you. Nevertheless, I am continually with thee. We thank you for your tender mercy in dealing with us. We thank you for this wonderful promise that we have read this night. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Help us to cling to it. Help us to put it into practice in our lives. We find our flesh and our heart failing again and again. Help us to look to you, not unto ourselves. May God be enough for us. In Jesus' name, Amen.