They shall make an ark of acacia wood. Two cubits and a half shall be its length, a cubit and a half its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height. You shall overlay it with pure gold inside and outside. You shall overlay it. And you shall make on it a molding of gold around it. You shall cast four rings of gold for it and put them on its four feet, two rings on the one side of it and two rings on the other side of it. You shall make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. And you shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark, to carry the ark by them. The poles shall remain in the rings of the ark. They shall not be taken from it. And you shall put into the ark the testimony that I shall give you. You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold. Two cubits and a half shall be its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth. And you shall make two cherubim of gold, of hammered work shall you make them on the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub on the one end and one cherub on the other end. Of one piece with the mercy seat shall you make the cherubim on its two ends. The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, their faces to one another. Toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be. and you shall put the mercy seat on the top of the ark. And in the ark you shall put the testimony that I shall give you. There I will meet with you. And from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will give you in commandment for the people of Israel." And chapter 37, beginning at verse 1, Bezalel made the ark of Acacia wood. Two cubits and a half was its length, a cubit and a half its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height. And he overlaid it with pure gold inside and outside, and made a molding of gold around it. And he cast for it four rings of gold for its four feet, two rings on its one side and two rings on its other side. And he made poles of Acacia wood and overlaid them with gold. and put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry the ark. And he made a mercy seat of pure gold, two cubits and a half with its length and a cubit and a half its breadth. And he made two cherubim of gold. He made them of hammered work on the two ends of the mercy seat, one cherub on the one end and one cherub on the other end. Of one piece with the mercy seat, he made the cherubim on its two ends. The cherubim spread out their wings above. overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, with their faces one to another toward the mercy seat were the faces of the cherubim. The grass withers and the flower fades, but the Word of our God shall stand forever. Amen. Well, brothers and sisters, in Jesus Christ, Save the best for last. Most of us operate on that principle. Most of us like to operate upon that principle, and better yet, we like to be acted upon on the basis of saving the best for last. For many of us on days like Christmas, children, the best gifts come at the end, the biggest the most exciting, the one gift that you've been looking for the entire year. You've opened up all the other presents. You've opened up your stocking, but yet there's that one large gift that is still to come. Even reading a good book, a mystery novel in which the conclusion, the cliffhanger, it all comes together at the end. You save the best. You don't want to spoil the surprise. Even our Lord Jesus Christ, in a sense, we might say, acted in this way, saving the best for last. On one occasion, there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and when the host had given all the wine and those who had drunk of the wine had drunk all the wine that was left and themselves become as it were drunk, our Lord Jesus Christ created wine out of water. And the reply was, you have saved the best for last. The best wine was ordinarily placed at the beginning because the person would eventually have their taste buds taken over, their senses, no longer their wits, with them. And then later on, the watered-down wine, which no one would know the difference anyway. Our Lord Jesus Christ saved the best wine for the end. What does this have to do, then, with the tabernacle in the wilderness? Remember, as we mentioned last Lord's Day, If you were a worshipper there in Israel, in the camp of the Israelites, you would see amidst all of the tents of the tribes of Israel, they would all have their places. In the midst of the congregation, in the middle of those millions of people, would be the tabernacle structure. As you approach the tabernacle, you would first see the large white curtains that went around the entire courtyard, making up the tabernacle area itself. And as you walk towards the opening of that curtain, you would then penetrate into the courtyard. The first thing your eyes would see, they would be lifted up above the earth and they would see the great altar, the bronze altar upon which sacrifices were offered every morning and every single evening. As you walk beyond that, you would see the bronze altar, you would see then the pool in which ritual washings occurred, a bronze basin that was hammered together with water within it to cleanse the priests ritually from their impurities. You would then look beyond that, just beyond that, and you would see the great curtain dividing the court from the tabernacle itself. The whole of the tabernacle is covered up in all kinds of animal skins, but yet that curtain would be revealed, colorful, scarlet, purple, blue, cherubim woven into it. If you would see the wind blow and maybe see a priest come in or out, you would glimpse inside. On the right side was a table. Twelve pieces of bread, six pieces and two robes, representing the people of God. On your left you would see the great candlestick, the menorah, lighting up the inside. You would see smoke because at the very end of that first room, there was an altar of incense burning every morning and every night, signifying the prayers of the saints. If you were the high priest, you would see beyond that place, you would see a great curtain, a veil, itself one piece. And beyond that, of course, the Ark of the Covenant, the best was saved for last. As you went from outside into the tabernacle courtyard, into the holy place, into the most holy place, the holy of holies, you would eventually come to that one great piece of furniture, the Ark of the Covenant. The best saved for last. The most important piece of furniture itself. the place that our text says, upon which, above it, God Himself would meet and speak to His people. But notice something. We notice that as we move our way into the tabernacle, it is, of course, the best thing is saved for last. But yet, in the structure of the book of Exodus, the way in which the narrative unfolds, the best is built first. The first thing that is made, after we read in chapter 25, verses 8 and 9, God says, let them make for me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them. Exactly as I have shown you upon the mountain, you shall make it. The first piece of furniture, the first article, the very first thing God instructs Moses to create for that tabernacle, for the purpose of meeting with his people, is the ark. It's placed at the forefront. It is emphasized. It's shown to be the prime thing itself. This is where God meets. Although it is in the last place in the tabernacle structure, it is made and created and instructed first. The Ark, then, is a prime place. The Ark, then, the greatest piece of furniture the people of God knew. We come, then, to the narrative in our text in 25, And 37 would speak about the instructions and the construction of the Ark. Why was the Ark of the Covenant so important? And for us today as Christians, why is it important for us to understand its importance for them there in the tabernacle? The importance of the Ark of the Covenant is found in these things. First of all, it is the place of presence, the place of presence Secondly, its importance is its importance is found in this. It is the place of propitiation, the place of propitiation. And finally, its importance is found in this. It is the place of pleading, the place of pleading. So may God, the Holy Spirit, as always, open our eyes and hearts to understand those things this day. The first thing that we learn about the Ark of the Covenant is this, that it is the place of presence. This is where God Himself meets with His holy people. The whole tabernacle was constructed for this great purpose, verses 8 and 9, that I may dwell in their midst. But then, in a more specific, particular way, God sets apart this ark as the exact place of His presence. It's not just the tabernacle itself. The whole thing is a picture of God dwelling amongst His people. But it is in that localized place I will dwell in their midst. I will meet with you there, He says in verse 22. On the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you. God meets. God speaks. Even as the text will go on to say about Moses, God speaks to him face to face as with a friend. And here, loved ones, the eternal God Himself Who is not bound by time. The infinite God Who is not bound by space. The transcendent God Who dwells above all time and space. An immense God Who fills time and space, but yet cannot be contained by them. For His own children's weakness condescends down. so low as to be identified amongst his sinful, rebellious, bickering, backbiting, complaining, grumbling people. Sound familiar? The part about the grumbling and the complaining, I mean. Sound familiar? God himself dwells amidst His people. We saw last Lord's Day, John 1, 14, and the word became flesh and tabernacles among us in Christ. God dwells amongst his people. But how was he present then? How was the tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant the place of the presence of this eternal, infinite, transcendent, immense God? Notice two brief things. The presence of God was visibly demonstrated in two graphic ways. God doesn't just say it. He shows it. God doesn't just merely preach the gospel to them. He signifies and He seals the gospel to them with this presence, the same way He works with us. Notice this, firstly. that the Ark of the Covenant was the throne of God Himself. As we read the narrative, did you ask yourself this question? Why is it that at the base of the Ark there are four legs and upon those four legs there are four rings? Why are there poles that had to stay in the rings? They could never be moved. Why rings? Why poles? Why so much detail? It was because just as in the ancient world kings were lifted up above their people, just as kings processed through their congregations, their nation, their own peculiar people, lifted up upon a chariot, lifted up upon a throne, elevated above so God Himself would dwell above His people. And they would see the ark lifted up as the tabernacle would be taken down and move. The cloud would elevate above the ark and lead them on once again into the wilderness, and there was the ark elevated, lifted, carried, born above them, their king leading the procession. Then you read this. We read in our text about this thing, verse 17, called the mercy seat. It is placed, as chapter 37 said, upon the ark of the covenant. This is the lid. This is the top. And on that lid were two cherubim. Those cherubim act as the footstool of God. The whole ark is lifted up. The chair of them act as the footstool of Almighty God. He dwells amongst, but he dwells above his people here in this place. It's as it were, his presence is so great. God's immensity is so. Large and uncontainable. That when it says that he would dwell amongst his people, it's only his footstool that dwells amongst his people. It's just like in Isaiah chapter 6, where Isaiah sees the Lord high and lifted up, and the train of His robe fills the temple. Just the hem of His garment fills the whole entire temple. He dwells amongst His people, but yet He dwells only as it were His footstool. He's above, the narrative says. Verse 22 again, that God would dwell with them above the mercy seat, between the two cherubim. It's His throne. It's His footstool. The psalmists say in Psalm 80, for example, Give ear, O shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock, you who are enthroned upon the chair of Him, shine forth. The psalmist says in Psalm 99, verse 1, The Lord reigns. Let the peoples tremble. He sits enthroned upon the chair of Him. Let the earth quake. This is the throne of Almighty God. The Holy of Holies is His throne room. The Ark is His footstool. His presence is near them. The second visible way in which the Lord showed His presence was by the cloud of glory. What cloud, we might ask ourselves? The cloud that we saw back in Genesis 15. The smoking fire pot. The burning torch that passed through the carcasses signifying to Abraham the covenant was ratified and put into place. The same cloud that we saw led the Israelites up during the day. The pillar of cloud by day. The pillar of fire by night. The same cloud that descended upon Mount Sinai in chapter 19 and 24. The cloud that engulfed the top of the mountain where God Himself dwelt. The same cloud we'll see in Exodus 40 that fills the temple, the tabernacle, and Moses can't even enter it. It is so glorious. And what is so fascinating is this. According to Leviticus chapter 16, the chapter of the Old Testament that chronicles the ritual of the Day of Atonement, that once a year sacrifice, God tells Moses to tell Aaron, the high priest, he must not enter the Holy of Holies at any time he wishes. Why? He would die. Why would Aaron die if he would walk beyond that veil into the Holy of Holies on a day other than the Day of Atonement? Because God says this in Leviticus 16 verse 2, that He appeared in the cloud over the mercy seats. His glory was there. His power was there. His justice was there. And Aaron, like Isaiah, would have had to have cried out, Woe is me! I dwell among the people of unclean lips. I have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. He is undone. And so this is God's throne. This is His throne room. But yet, although this high and lofty, although this majestic and resplendent King of Glory dwells in such a glorious way amongst His people, He brings to them in the Ark of the Covenant assurance that He dwells. It is the place of His presence that it condescends down to them They grumble, and yet He dwells. They complain, yet He lives amongst them. We bicker, but yes, God still is with us. We sin. He's ever more close to us. Loved ones, the Lord is near to His church. He is near to His people. He is amidst them in their sins. He is amidst them in their sufferings. He is amidst them in their sorrows. The prophet Isaiah says in Isaiah 63, verse number 9, a wonderful phrase, describing to the Israelites when they would return back from exile, the Lord speaks of the Exodus and says this, in all their affliction, He was afflicted. But His presence is so near to His people that the prophet could say when they suffered, God suffered. Our Lord, Jesus Christ, found here then dwelling amongst His people in His glorious presence, but yet in His condescended presence. But how could a holy God like this dwell amidst a sinful nation? How can God even pretend and how can we pretend to say He dwells amongst us full of sin today? How can we and how could they approach a holy God and not be destroyed by His justice? It's because the Ark was a place of propitiation. Children, I want you to repeat after me. Propitiation. In our Catechism class this morning, those of you in my class, we said that word. I told you I was going to say it this morning. Propitiation. A large word. An important word. Children, what does it mean that the Ark of the Covenant, and what does it mean when I pray this morning that Jesus Christ is a propitiation for our sins? Think of it like this. When you sin against your mother or your father, no doubt they get angry with you. Even mothers and fathers sin too. When you sin against your father and mother, you don't listen to what they've said to do. You don't obey them. You disobey and they are angry. How can you get them to change from being angry to being happy? Well, in our house, this is how it works. Our sons must tell us, first of all, have time out. And secondly, they must tell us what they've done. And thirdly, they must express their sorrow and ask for forgiveness. And then we give them big hugs and kisses to show them that they've been forgiven. That's what propitiation is, children. Propitiation is turning away anger. It is God Himself who is a wrathful judge, who is a God who must punish sin, children. He can't look away. God must punish sin. But children, He has provided a way in which He no longer looks upon us in anger, but He turns His face away from us in anger. And in fact, He looks back upon us in love and in favor. The Ark of the Covenant was the place for the Israelites to find propitiation, to go when they knew that God was angry with them because of their sins, to find a place where God's anger would be turned away and that they would hear the Gospel The priests would raise their hands up just as your pastor does. The priest would bless them in the name of God. The Lord bless you and keep you and so forth. They would hear that God was favored towards them, that God loved them, that God was gracious to them because of what happened in the Holy of Holies. Our narrative describes really two distinct instructions. There are instructions in verses 10-16 of chapter 25 that describe the actual ark, the box itself. The bottom and then the four walls to it. But then in verses 17-22, there's a second thing that's built that's distinguished, and that's that thing called the mercy seat. The lid. The top. The cap, really. The Ark. Our translation gives it as Mercy Seat. The Hebrew word, Kaporet, merely means a place of propitiation. Children, it was a cap. It was a lid upon that Ark. And upon that lid, blood was shed. God gave them a place to go. That His wrath would be turned away from them. And you see that there was out in the courtyard though, there was an altar, a bronze altar that was elevated. Every single morning and every single evening there was a sacrifice performed upon that altar in the courtyard. And any worshipper could bring their own sacrifices. There were constant sacrifices upon that altar. But yet once a year, There was a great sacrifice that was then taken into the Holy of Holies, beyond the veil, one priest, once a year, with one sacrifice, showing them that the other sacrifices, although they were meant to show them the forgiveness of their sins, in a sense, they only merely covered over their sins. That one sacrifice upon the one place of propitiation, that alone could forgive sin. But even that we know. Even that one sacrifice in that one place on that one day by that one high priest was a mere shadow. The blood of bulls and goats cannot forgive sin, Hebrews 9 says. The blood of bulls and goats cannot, will not, and never will forgive sin. There must be another. There must be something greater. And although God there gives to them, as I mentioned, the tabernacle is like a big crayon drawing. Merely a representation of what God himself, how he dwelt in heaven amongst his people. Here is merely child's play, as it were. This is merely an illustration. This is merely a picture to them. This is just a hands-on way in which God shows them forgiveness. To point them to a greater sacrifice. To point them to a day in which there would no longer be sacrifices upon the high bronze altar in the courtyard. And there would no longer be annual sacrifices. upon the Ark of the Covenant. Notice how Hebrews 9 describes this. If you turn there, Hebrews 9, verses 13-14. God dwelt amongst His people and God provided a place of propitiation. But yet, this is only a picture, a type, A shadow. A sketch. And Hebrews 9 verses 13 and 14 describe that in terms of outward and inward propitiation. Verse 13, for if the sprinkling of defiled persons with the blood of goats and bulls and with the ashes of a heifer sanctifies the purification of the flesh, describing the sacrifices there of the old covenant, purifying the flesh, meaning the outward, covering over sins, as it were, merely covering them. How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself, notice, not bulls and goats or a heifer, offered Himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead work. to serve the living God. The death of our Lord Jesus Christ is efficacious. It is powerful. It does the work that God intends for it to do. It is not a mere picture. It is not a mere sketch. It is not a mere type or shadow. His blood offered actually does what He intends. And while those sacrifices, in a sense, only could cover over sin, In a sense, merely shielding them from God's wrath, Jesus Christ's sacrifice does not merely cover, it actually takes them away. It doesn't merely shield us from God's wrath, it removes the wrath of God. It cleanses us from our sins outward as well as inward. It purifies our consciences. The innermost being of our soul is cleansed. Dead works are just that. They are dead. They are put to death. They are slain. They are buried. They are drowned. Jesus Christ brings salvation. The Ark pictured forth this propitiation which only our Lord Jesus Christ could do. The perfect God. The perfect man together. The perfect sacrifice. He provides not a merely outward, but an inward cleansing. A cleansing not merely of body, but of soul. Not merely of actions and words, but of actual thoughts. This Lord's presence. This Lord has come. This Lord is near us. This Savior, just as He was there, above the cherubim, in the tabernacle, He comes to us today. Will He look upon you in justice or in grace? When God is present, loved ones, there are only two inevitable outcomes. Condemnation or justification. There is either death or life. There is judgment or there is salvation. You cannot hide from his presence. You cannot flee from his spirit. He comes today and even stands in our midst and he offers us this offer of salvation. Will we hear it? Will we stand here today? Will we sit in our seats? Will we reject His offer? Will we go on our merry way under judgment? Will we leave unclean? Will we leave living in dead works? What an oxymoron. Living in dead works. Or will we die to ourselves and live to God? Today He comes and He offers you salvation. Our Lord Jesus Christ stands in our midst to turn away God's wrath from you, to cleanse you of all of your sins, to strip you of all of your dead works, to grant to you His righteousness, to cover you, to cleanse you, to cancel out your sins, to nullify their power, to bring you into the presence of God. He comes to offer you access beyond that veil into the most holy place to go before that presence and to see God and to be received by God. When we turn from ourselves, when we cast ourselves before His judgment seat, pleading for mercy, acknowledging that we are guilty, when we accept Christ as our propitiation, God's wrath is turned away. and His favor is turned towards, just like with a parent to a child. We confess and we are received. And that wonderful offer of grace, the wonderful work of Christ, this efficacious, powerful work that He's offered for us, brings to us a wonderful benefit that I want to conclude with. It is this. that the Ark of the Covenant is not only a place of God's presence and a place of propitiation, but it brings to God's people a place of pleading. A place of pleading. You see, because of the sacrifices that were offered there, that were lifted up, that were slain, that were sprinkled, that covered that mercy seat year upon year, The Israelites eventually begin to look to the Ark of the Covenant as a basis upon which they can pray to God. They could pray to God on the basis of what He Himself promised to do in that Holy of Holies. They could plead with God for mercy and grace, for help in time of need, because of what He said He would do. He would cover sins, he would send them away, he would propitiate his wrath. I would encourage you to read, as we've been singing in our evening service, we've been singing through the Psalms one by one. And we've come to a very interesting section of the Psalter in Psalms roughly 60 through 85, in which I would encourage you to read those Psalms and note down how many times you read of things such as the word restore. or revive, or God to arise and to arouse Himself from His temple. Just one example to turn to as we conclude. Psalm 80. Psalm 80 we sang this last Lord's Day evening. Here, Asaph, the writer of the psalm, prays, notice in verses 3 and 7 and 19, this prayer. Restore us, O God. Let Your face shine, not in wrath or justice, but in mercy and grace. Restore us, O God. Let Your face shine that we may be saved. Verse 3, you see it. Verse 7 again. Verse 19. a prayer that the people of God would be restored once again, that their sins would be covered, that they would again be restored to favor, that they would feel and experience the grace of God, that they would not be exiled again to a foreign nation, that they would live in the land of God, the promised land in blessing. And notice in verses 1 and 2, notice why Asaph and the church today can pray this prayer. There's a basis upon which the people of God can pray for God to restore His people. Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel. You who lead Joseph like a flock, you who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh. They look, as it were, in faith to the altar that is there in the Holy of Holies, between the wings of the cherubim. There is God. He's enthroned there. He's keen. He's present. He's propitiated. Restore us, God. Forgive us of our sin. Save your people. Bring in your elect from all four corners of the earth. Revive our souls once again, O Lord, because you have promised to propitiate your wrath and Christ. Asaph is praying an old covenant prayer, but we can pray it. praying that God would, the One who dwells in heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ with the right hand of God, that He would now, because of His once and for all sacrifice, once for all turning away God's wrath, that He would restore His people. And He calls us. He exhorts us. He commands us. You and me together, pastor and people, all together as one. To pray as our forefathers prayed. As we think of the Ark of the Covenant. The work of Christ foreshadowed there. God calls us to pray for restoration, to pray for reform in the church, for God to revive His people. Plead with the Lord, then, for your own forgiveness. Be struck at the depths of your sins. Repent in sincerity of heart. Call upon God to keep His promise. O God, if we confess our sins, You have promised to be faithful and just, to forgive me of all of my sins, to cleanse me from all of my unrighteousness. O God, I plead with You, forgive me. We can plead for God to save our children. They've all been baptized in Christ's name. They belong to the church. They belong to Christ. And in that baptism, God has offered a promise to them. He's offered a promise to them that they too, if they turn away from themselves, if they turn to Christ, they too shall be cleansed. They too shall have their sins washed away once and for all, forever to be forgotten. Parents, pray. Plead with God every day that He would give your children new hearts. Pray that God would give you energy to sit down and read the Word, to catechize your children, to speak to them of the Lord. You are their chief evangelist, not their Sunday School teacher, not your pastor. You, as parents, lead your children by the hand to Christ. You can plead for that because of what Christ has done. The Ark promises salvation. And finally, we can plead for the Lord because of Christ's work foreshadowed by that arc of the salvation of the lost. Hundreds of thousands of people walk by us, drive by us weekly, who are in peril of death, who are in peril of judgment. The Lord's sacrifice, beloved, is not merely efficient for the elect, it is sufficient for the sins of the world, sufficient for all who would call, sufficient for all who would turn, sufficient for the sins of an infinite number of worlds, an infinite number of sins. There is no other sacrifice or propitiation that can do that. Only Christ. Plead with God to save the lost. Plead with God to bring the unsaved into your life. Plead with God to bring you courage to share the Gospel and to bring them to hear Christ speak. Pray then, as the psalmist prayed, Restore us, O God. Let Your face shine forth. We shall be saved. We need to be restored. We need to be reformed. We need to be revived by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. May the Holy Spirit lead us to experience that presence, to experience that propitiation, and to experience the blessed promise that if we plead for the sake of Christ, God is well pleased to answer. Amen. Shall we turn to God in prayer as we sing together from that wonderful psalm that I read, psalm number 99, which is number 194. Jehovah reigned in Madison, but all the nations quit. Let us sing to God, and let us expect Him to meet with us here at the Lord's table, and to feed us of Christ Himself. Number 194, shall we stand. ♪ Shall over great things majesty ♪ ♪ Let all the nations praise ♪ ♪ Keep the sweet peace of Jerusalem ♪ ♪ Let earth's salvation praise ♪ ♪ Supreme in Zion is the Lord ♪ ♪ Praise God in glorious peace ♪ He makes us resist Him, and love the Holy One is King. Evermore to Thee, God's justice, love, and equity are things. He fulfills people's righteousness, and faithfulness remains. O that we might adore your God, who hath in heav'n known the King, with worship at his footstool on the holy mountain king. Then we can promise, O God, we bear His blood He willed, that man might have faith to make His word. O standing guard, let's forbear sin, before Him praise shall sing. Exalt the Lord, and worship Him, the only One in sin. Amen. You may be seated. To all of you who have confessed your sins and affirmed your faith in Christ, upon whom Jesus is assured, whoever eats my body and drinks my blood has eternal life and will not come to condemnation. For in that which our Lord has betrayed, he took bread. And when he had given thanks, he broke and said, This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. After saying that, he took the cup, saying, This cup is a new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me. All remaining bread and wine of these sacred elements nevertheless become so united to the reality they signify, that we do not doubt but joyfully believe that we receive in this meal nothing less than the crucified body and shed blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. For all who live regarding this God and want to leave, this holy food and drink will bring only further condemnation. If you do not yet confess Jesus Christ, and seek to deliver His grace and grace, we ask you to abstain. That all who repent and believe are invited to this sacred meal, not because you are worthy in yourself, but because you are clothed in Christ's perfect righteousness. Do not allow the weakness of your faith, or your failures in a certain life, to keep you from this day. For it is given to us because of our weaknesses, and because of our failures, in order to increase our faith, by feeding us with the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. As the Lord has promised us God's favor, so also our Heavenly Father has added this confirmation of His unchangeable promise. So come, believing sinners, for the table is ready. KHNC, the Lord is good. Let us pray. Almighty and everlasting God, who by the blood of your only begotten Son has secured for us a new and living way into the Holy of Holies, cleanse our minds and hearts with your Word and Spirit that we, your redeemed people, drawing close to you through this Holy Sacrament, may enjoy fellowship with the Holy Trinity, through the body and blood of Christ our Savior.