This morning if you will turn with me in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 5. Matthew chapter 5 I'll be reading to you from verse 17 to verse 20 but I'll only be preaching to you on verses 18 and 19. I want to speak to you once again as I have in previous Sundays about God's holy law. And specifically this morning, I want to speak to you about the believer keeping God's holy law. So let's bow together for prayer before I begin to speak to you. Father, how I thank you that you have gathered all of your dear people who are here today to hear your blessed word. We glory in you. We glory in Christ Jesus. We would make no provision for our flesh to fulfill its lusts any longer. We would be spiritually minded even now at this time, and take in all the truth that is here for us. We pray, Father, that you will work in every heart, and may the truth come with power to every heart, and may you show us all how it is that the law can be fulfilled in us. who walk according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh. Give us grace to gird up the loins of our mind and take in these truths. We pray it in Jesus' name, amen. Matthew chapter five, verse 17. Do not think, Jesus says, that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. So let me ask you at the outset of this message, do you desire to glorify God during the time of your stay here upon the earth? For we've seen in past messages that Christ has fulfilled The law. But here in these verses, our Lord is talking about how it can be fulfilled in you. That is to glorify God, you must learn to keep his commandments. Jesus says, if you love me, keep my commandments. And to do that, there are three things that I would have you consider from this text. First of all, every Christian should consider what they should do to become more like Christ who fulfilled the law. Second, every Christian should consider what it means to break the least of God's commandments. And third, every Christian should consider whether they will be great in the kingdom of heaven. And as you hear this message, my dear brothers and sisters, will you not consider how you might better keep God's holy law. First of all, every Christian should consider what they should do to become more like Christ who fulfilled the law. In verse 18, Jesus says, For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass away from the law until all is fulfilled. So the law of God is like God himself. It is absolute. It is absolute in that it perfectly represents Him and what He expects all men to do. As long as heaven and earth will last, His law will be standing and it will be a standing witness as to what is morally right and wrong. That's what Jesus is saying here. And I've spoken to you in several past messages about how Christ did not come to destroy the law, but to fulfill it. And he did fulfill it in all of its aspects, moral, ceremonial, and judicial, on behalf of sinners. He kept all the commandments and precepts of the law in his heart, his mind, and his actions. Christ has fulfilled the law, but the triune God, I'm saying, would have his law fulfilled in you, who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. Now if you're an unbeliever, you are in the flesh, and you are walking according to the flesh. But if you are a true believer, you are walking according to the Spirit, and you are in the Spirit. as you incline your heart to Him, as you seek God in your heart and mind, as you want to be filled with the Spirit. Jesus says to us at one place in the Gospels that we should pray for the Spirit, pray for more of the Spirit, so that we might be those who keep God's commandments better and better. Well, Christ has fulfilled the law I'm saying, but the triune God would see his holy law fulfilled in you and me. And Christ assures us here that until heaven and earth pass away, not one jot or one tittle will pass away from God's moral law as represented in the Ten Commandments until that time. Now we know that he's speaking of the Ten Commandments because of what follows in verses 21 to 30 of Matthew 5 here when he goes on to speak about what God is expecting in terms of our keeping his commandments against murder and adultery. He says here, in verse 18, that the present heaven and earth will not pass away until every jot and tittle, the smallest, the jot, the yod, the smallest letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and every tittle, the smallest stroke of the letter, is fulfilled. Indeed, until all is completely fulfilled. So Christ has fulfilled the law. But God's moral law, he's saying, must be fulfilled in us, in everyone who believes in him, if they are to be proved to be a true follower of his. Now when I say this, I'm not intending that you think that the law is being fulfilled by us. For only Christ could fulfill the law perfectly, and he's already done so. by keeping every one of God's commandments perfectly. But God's law is fulfilled in us when we learn to obey it out of love to God and Christ. The law is fulfilled in me when Christ's grace is at work in my heart. leading me to obey it from good motives, that is, love to God and men around me. And Jesus is saying in verse 18 of our text that God's holy law will be fulfilled in the righteous thoughts, words, and deeds of every single true Christian in all generations to the end of the age. That's why he says every jot and tittle. Honestly, you stop and think about it, that's a lot. But when you stop and think about all the believers who have ever lived, as much as they can, according to the Spirit's working and their own desire to follow Jesus Christ and to be faithful to Him, walking in terms of keeping the commandments of God, what a blessed thing this really is to think about. Now the end of the age is going to be the end of the world, as we know it now, when Christ comes back again. At that time he will judge the world in righteousness. He will judge every man according to their works. You see this in Revelation chapter 22 verses 12 to 14. Our Lord says, and behold I am coming quickly and my reward is with me to give to every man according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter through the gates into the city. And Revelation 20 verse 13 says, And they were judged, each one, according to their works. And so it's true that men are saved by faith in Christ. apart from the works of the law. But let's take notice of the fact that they're going to be judged, that all of us will be judged according to our works. That is, whether we have loved and kept God's law to show forth the reality of our having been saved by him. Let me ask if you are trying to do that, dear Christian. That's what your main responsibility is. in living the Christian life. We're living in a day where this truth about God and his law, as something which should be received and thought about, is being suppressed. And God's law is largely being ignored. It's being deliberately taken away from the public square, and for the most part it's being removed from the public discourse. It's as though, by doing this, people think that they will not have to think about it. that somehow God and his law will go away and moral relativism will prevail. But we need to joyfully remember that our God is not going anywhere. Our God has created us for his own glory. And he has not changed one iota. His law, which perfectly represents him, is absolute. And so it's for us to heed it. and to do it and to keep it if we are wise. But there's the very problem. How will men come to conviction of sin around us in order to turn away from sin? How will they learn to do righteousness? Well, I hope that you'll understand that it will only be when the Holy Spirit convicts them of sin. Does he do that in an immediate sense? Yes, I'm sure that he does. But does he use you and I to help people around us to understand the truth of God's holy law, that it is absolute, and that they see that we ourselves walk orderly and are attempting to keep the commandments of God by the grace which Christ supplies? That's the question that I'm asking. Because people around you will come to conviction of sin when they see God's commandments being lived out by you. That's the beauty of what we're talking about here, that the Holy Spirit uses people like ourselves to teach people around us about the commandments of God. Why? So that they might see the perfect standard of righteousness, so that they understand that they fall short of it, and that they understand that perfect righteousness is found in Jesus Christ alone. That's the gospel. And we need to share that with people around us. You see in Romans 3 verse 20, it says, by the law comes the knowledge of sin. It says there. So even though you may not presently see much conviction of sin, as you look at people around you, it doesn't mean that you can't help further the knowledge of what is right and wrong by speaking up about what God's law says. Speak up and tell them about how a person can change to do what is right through Jesus Christ our Lord by the Spirit's power when they have Christ in their life. I want you to turn with me over to John chapter 16. And I want to read to you verses 5 to 15. Here's what it says, but now I go away to him who has sent me, Jesus says, and none of you asks me where are you going. But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away. For if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I depart, I will send him to you. And when he has come, he will convict the world of sin. and of righteousness, and of judgment, of sin, because they do not believe in me. Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and you see me no more. Of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of Truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth, for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears, He will speak, and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine, Therefore I said that he will take of mine and declare it to you." Now think about this with me for a few moments. These words are spoken by the Lord Jesus to his disciples before he went to the cross. And he's speaking to the apostles about their future usefulness in ministry to himself. And some of these words were given to show them how they would receive direct inspiration from the Holy Spirit on how and what they should write down in the scripture. he's saying that even though he would not be with them physically in person that he would be with them by the presence and wisdom and power of the Holy Spirit in their lives and it was to their advantage he says that he would go away because when he did go away he would send the Holy Spirit to them and not only to them but also to the whole church to abide with each and every believer in every generation to the end of the age. And it's he, the Holy Spirit, Jesus says, who would convict the world of sin and righteousness and judgment. Of sin, because by nature Men do not believe in Jesus, and so he would convict them of sin. But you will notice that he would do this through their ministry. That is the ministry of the apostles. And even though these words are written directly to them, the principle is still true for us. We should understand that the Holy Spirit will convict people around us of their sin. through our words and actions and ministry to people around us as well. How does he do this? Well he will often do this when we tell them, I've been trying to say to you God's law, when we tell them the Ten Commandments, when we tell them the two greatest commandments, that you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and your neighbor as yourself. We need to tell people this. People are wandering in darkness in this generation. Like I said, the law has been largely taken out of the public discourse, so how will they know? How will they be convicted of sin unless you somehow tell them and teach them? when they're breaking one of God's commandments, or maybe even many of them at the same time. We can tell them that all men are by nature sinners. We can tell them that we were sinners before Christ came to save us. We can tell them that Christ has saved us from our actual sins, that he's worked in our heart. He's worked in a tremendous way to change us from what we once were, our love of sinning. And sometimes we sing that, don't we? Take away the love of sinning. Alpha and omega be. End of faith as it's beginning, we sing. Well, that's what it all means. We have to start somewhere. We have to start living our Christian lives in light of the law of God. The law of God is just and holy and good. It is not something that will fail to be absolute in its demonstration of the righteousness of God himself, first of all, and then of the Lord Jesus Christ and the perfections in him, secondly, and then to ourselves and others as we understand that we fall far short of the glory of God in keeping of his commandments. Now, the only way that you can succeed effectively in telling other people about the sinfulness of sin is, first of all, when you see the importance of prayer. In other words, in order to be able to tell people about right and wrong, and about good and bad, and about what's wrong in their life, you need to pray yourself. about what's going on in your own life, in your own heart, at any given time. First of all, whether you have love, true love for people around you. Love rejoices in the truth. Love does not speak wrong of a neighbor. Love isn't looking to be a fault finder. In regard to other people, love is looking to see how it might help. And the Holy Spirit is our helper, I'm saying. So we begin with prayer. We begin to ask the Lord, Lord, show me how I can speak to such and such, a co-worker of mine. Or, Lord, help me and show me how I can speak to such a person who's so difficult for me to talk to. I don't understand how I can even begin to share with them things related to my faith in you, but you can help me. You can show me. And we have to understand that Jesus knew perfectly, during the time of his earthly ministry, how to approach all of these things. Sometimes he had to be very stern and forthright in his witness, such as to the scribes and Pharisees, as I mentioned to you in one of my previous messages in Matthew 23, when he pronounced woes upon them. Now they deserved those things. He could show them no mercy at that point because of the fact that they had deserved everything that he said to them. But you see Jesus at other points being very tender-hearted with people around him. The woman at the well, for instance, and many other people like her, and those people who saw themselves as sinners. You see, underneath it all, people do have sin there. in their hearts and their lives. And the only way that you can minister them is somehow you can put your finger on their wound of sin and press it a little bit so that you can have them pay attention to that. I remember a dear lady back when I was in college who did this with me. She was the supervisor in the cafeteria that I worked in. And I was very much into grandiose displays of what I could do in, oh, I don't know, you've taken karate when you lift your leg up real high and you can kick things up at about this height. Well, we had all of these doors and I was serving all of this food. and it was hot food coming up to the line, and I was bringing it up there, but my hands were full with the tray of food, and so I would take and open it, but then when I would shut it, I would turn around and I would kick it shut. It was showing my own pride and foolishness and all the rest of what I was involved in at that time. But I had many sins in my life, and I didn't hardly realize it. But what happened to me that day was that this supervisor was a Christian. And she took me into her office and sat me down, and she said, Paul, she said, what is wrong with you? There's something wrong. There's something you are hurting somehow, and I don't see it. And I was just baffled because I thought, why would she want to talk to me in this way? But later on, I thought about it. And I thought to myself, you know, she put her finger right on what I needed to know at that point in time. I was vulnerable to her discernment because of the Holy Spirit working in her life. And I was able to start thinking about my own sinfulness. It wasn't for another year or two that I was saved. But God uses people like you and me in the lives of people around us. So I need you to understand something about this that Jesus has gone before us in this and so I want to read to you from Hebrews chapter 10 and verses 7 to 10. Jesus says, behold I have come in the volume of the book it's written of me to do your will oh God previously saying sacrifice and offering burnt offerings and offerings for sin you did not desire or have pleasure in them which are offered according to the law then he said behold i've come to do your will oh god he takes away the first that he may establish the second by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of jesus christ once for all So in thinking about this truth, if the Lord Jesus was to fulfill the law by doing the will of God, if it's by his will that we have been sanctified to do God's will, then is it not true that we ourselves will want to keep God's law, the Ten Commandments, as a rule of life ourselves, as Christians, so that we can become more like Christ? It must necessarily be. For this is the whole new covenant, that Christ laid down his life to be the basis of our whole salvation, including our sanctification. But the Holy Spirit, it says here in Hebrews 10, 14 to 17, by one offering, he has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. By one offering, he has perfected them forever those who are being sanctified. But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us, for after He had said before, this is the covenant I will make with them. After those days, says the Lord, I'll put my laws into their hearts and in their minds I will write them Then he adds, their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more. So you see, when you believe in Christ, you receive the forgiveness of all of your sins, but you were also given a new heart. And in that new heart, God places his law, it says here. And it's his law that's there written on your heart in the New Covenant. Now that may be a revelation to some of you here today that that's what the new birth is all about, that's what the new covenant is all about, but if God's law is written upon your heart, then I just want to ask you, how is it that you cannot say that it's not a rule of law, a rule of life for you, God's holy law? It must necessarily be. You don't keep it perfectly even as a believer, but it's necessary for God's law to be fulfilled in you. And it will be when you begin to obey his commandments out of faith and love in the Lord Jesus Christ. Did Christ love God with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength? And his neighbor as himself? Well, he most certainly did. and you want to be more like him, then you have to pray that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and your neighbor as yourself. Well, these things are very practical, aren't they? They're very practical, and they're very good. Now, second, every Christian should consider what it means to break the least of God's commandments. Oh, this is a very interesting statement here of our Lord Jesus Christ. You see here our Lord giving a principle by which he judges our sincere obedience. And he's saying that he who breaks one of the least of God's moral commandments, the commandments which are found in the law, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven. That is, they'll be considered least in the kingdom of heaven in God's estimation. This is not just simply being talking about the church. in the church, this is what men will be called as, because some churches don't even affirm the things that I'm talking about to you this morning. We're talking about what's taking place in God's estimation. They'll be considered least in the kingdom of God, in God's, in the kingdom of heaven, in God's estimation, both in this life, in terms of their labors in the church, and in terms of their personal future reward. than in the heavenly state when they see Christ face to face. Now all Christians, by the way, are going to be rewarded according to their works in the future state. That's the truth of the matter. The works of the true Christian will be evaluated most carefully. Your works will be evaluated most carefully. Dear Christian, at the time when Jesus returns, in the days of the eternal, Now Christ does not say that the person who breaks one of the least of these commandments and so teaches men will certainly end up in hell. Be sent to hell because of their duplicity. That's not what Jesus says here. If a person practices any one known sin and they will not repent of it, then they certainly will go to hell. And certainly they'll go to hell if they teach others. that they can be a true Christian and practice any known sin. But rather I believe that we should put the best possible construction on what Christ is saying here because of the differences of understanding among believers concerning certain aspects of commandment keeping in which they differ in their understanding. A brother's faulty understanding concerning keeping the least of God's commandments may lead him to break a commandment and even to teach others to do so also. And so I believe that our Lord is saying here that these brethren that we're talking about here shall be least in terms of their reward and commendation when they come to the heavenly state. We cannot say that any true Christian will be excluded from this evaluation. We must say that any true Christian cannot be commended by Christ for their breaking any of his commandments. We must say that based upon the wording of what Jesus says here. They cannot be commended for teaching others by their words or their bad example what was not true. in terms of how a commandment should be kept or not kept. We should always remember that salvation is not by the best of our works and yet we must always teach others to engage in good works after they become a Christian and keep all of God's holy commandments in order that they might honor and glorify him and walk worthy of the calling wherewith they are called. But in order to understand this statement better We should ask ourselves this simple question to make it more practical and understandable. What is the least of God's Ten Commandments? Have you ever thought upon this? Well, it may be different according to what you think in your own mind. The Lord is aiming at this, though, here in these statements. And even though Christ does not tell us what the least of the commandments is here, we can say this. The least of the moral commandments of the Ten Commandments in the eyes of many Christians is the Fourth Commandment. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. No other commandment of the Ten is so neglected, so set aside, so rationalized away as this one, as not applying to this New Testament dispensation that we're living in. And no other commandment of the ten is less thought about by Christians than this one, even though it ought not to be the case. There are Christians who break this commandment themselves, and they also teach others to do the same thing. They do. And so we have to ask ourselves, are they really on the way to hell? Well, it is possible that they are if they have no regard for Sunday, the Christian Sabbath, or the day of worship. In New Testament times, if they never seek out a church of believers to worship with, if they think that Sunday is just like any other day of the week, if they think that they can labor on it if they want to, some people may indeed end up in hell by despising God's commandment. But I think it will be wise for us to believe exactly what our Lord teaches here. Those Christians who do not remember to keep the Sabbath, the Lord's Day, holy and teach others to do the same, they are considered by God as being least in the kingdom of heaven. They may think themselves sincerely right, and they may think that their obedience is sufficient, as it presently is. In terms of the Sabbath day, in terms of the absolute moral law of God and the fourth commandment, the day of rest and worship, which God has ordained for the good of his creature man, even before the giving of the law on Mount Sinai, at the beginning of the world, when God himself, after the six days of his creative work, rested on the seventh day, and instituted the ordinance of the Christian Sabbath. Wonderful, is it not, to think about? It's just simply wonderful. In creating man this way, God expected all men to remember the Sabbath day from that day forward. He expected all men would love and obey him, to glorify him in this way of regular rest and regular worship one day of the week from the foundation of the world. It was one of the creation ordinances from the very beginning of the world along with, by the way, the ordinance of work which was also established there in the garden before the fall of man. God worked and then rested and he expects man to work and also to rest on one day every seven. So in the redemption of God's elect people, God through Christ then fulfilled everything related to the law of our first creation. I've said this to you in past sermons, that is made up for everything that Adam fell and did. He became the second Adam and also the moral law of the Ten Commandments through Jesus Christ our Lord was fulfilled. And Christ kept the Sabbath perfectly. And all of God's commandments perfectly. And then he afterwards rested in the tomb on the Jewish Sabbath day and night. and then he rose from the dead on the third day, that is on Sunday, the first day of the week, and thus the Sabbath day changed from Saturday to Sunday because of the new creation being brought in through Jesus Christ. The real intent of the Sabbath commandment, from God's perspective, is not to bind men up with it, as the Pharisees did by adding many other commandments to it. In doing this, when Christ came, they condemned him for not keeping the Sabbath. Can you imagine? These proud Pharisees condemning the Lord of glory, the one through whom the world was made, the one who gave the Christian Sabbath, the one who gave the Sabbath in the beginning, and here they are condemning him. They condemned him for not keeping that commandment in a way that they could approve of. Which has often been the problem with our own being able to understand how we should keep that commandment. You know, Christ did not approve of those Pharisees and their false zeal. And we should not, none of us should ever commend zeal, which is not according to a true knowledge of the Bible. And so Christ deliberately healed men on the Sabbath day. You'll notice that in the Gospels. He deliberately did it to show them that the additions to his law were false and that they were wrong. And then we must ask ourselves this question, what is God's expectation then? of His New Covenant, New Testament people in regard to the Sabbath day. It's to observe that day by ceasing from our six-day labors and by coming to worship God and giving the day to Him. Now that's the intent of the commandment. It's as simple as that. And yet how many people, Christians or not, want to add to that simplicity? But that's all you see there in the intent of God. And that should encourage your heart to want to keep that commandment, to love the Sabbath, to call it a delight. What a great thing it is. Without the Sabbath day, many people would work seven days a week. Not even think about it. They would force other men to do so, like they used to do or probably still do. down at Alcoa in Davenport. Men working seven days a week. Do you have a life? Do you see your family? Can you worship God if you work all that time? Well you cannot do it. So we need to be those who treasure the Christian Sabbath and let us be those who keep the least of God's commandments. And then thirdly and finally, every Christian should consider whether they'll be great in the kingdom of heaven. There's an importance here to doing and teaching the commandments of God. Commandment keeping which glorifies God does not think of any of the commandments in terms of greatest or least. It just says, Lord, what are they that I can do them? It considers all of them as important. The sincere Christian concerns himself or herself with all the little details of what it will mean to keep all of his commandments to the glory of God. And then you will pray about it. As I said before, how you can keep the commandment better. Psalm 119 verse 5, O that my ways were directed to keep your statutes, then I would not be ashamed when I look into all your commandments. You see, a person like that's thinking about the details of their obedience to God. And they're thinking about it in relation to their own heart. The thoughts of their heart. Negatively, that's going to mean putting sin to death. where you find it in your heart. You remember Romans chapter 8 verse 13, but if you by the Spirit put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. That is, you will live forever because you really had dealings with God over your sin. That is the sins of your heart, the sins in your life. Not just the outward deeds, are being talked about here, but that which leads to the outward deeds, the motions and thoughts of your hearts, which come from your flesh, the remaining corruption of your heart, as a true Christian. Now your thoughts, I'm saying, and your motions of your heart are the source of all that you do with your body. Do you see that? The thoughts of your heart are the source of all that you do with your body. You're not going to do anything with your body unless it comes from your mind. and your thoughts, and your heart. You're not. But when you're walking with the Lord as spirit, you're praying the prayer of Psalm 119 verse 5, which says, oh that my ways were directed to keep your statutes. Then I would not be ashamed when I look into all your commandments. You see, you're thinking about the details of your obedience to God. Let me just simply ask you, Whether you're doing that, dear Christian, do you think about all the details of your personal obedience to God? Proverbs chapter four, verse 23. Keep your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the issues of this life. From it spring the issues of this life. And then, positively, you will heed the commandment of Romans chapter 12, verses one and two. I beseech you, therefore, by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Oh, that's so precious. Have you given God your body? What you do with your body? Do you pray about it when you get up in the morning, Lord? This body is yours. I'm giving it to you anew and afresh. I'm presenting my body to you, a living sacrifice. This is acceptable to God. This is an act of worship, he says. And then we will find that we will not be conformed to the world so much. We're still going to feel these urges and desires of the flesh, and we'll have to mortify them when we see them in our thoughts of our heart. But I want you to remember in closing that Psalm 119 verses 97 to 100 are not just for Old Testament believers, but they are for New Testament Christians today. O how I love your law, O Lord, it is my meditation. day and night, thy commandments make me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever mine. I have more understanding than all my teachers, for my testimonies, for your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the ancients, the older people, that I know, because I keep your precepts, that's the kind of thing that needs to be going on in your heart and mine in order that we might be able to see the law of God fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the spirit. Let's pray together. Father, we thank you for this time around this passage and we pray that your commandments would be our delight, even as they were your delight, It was for the joy that was set before you that you endure the cross and bore the shame on our behalf and sat down at the right hand of the Father on high. And so therefore let us not be dismayed, O Lord, but may we delight ourselves in your commandments day after day and have good and holy fellowship with you over them by the power of the Holy Spirit. We ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Well let's close by singing hymn number 585, Like Zion's steadfast mount are they. Hymn number 585. Let's stand together. Like Zion's steadfast mount are they, Who in the Lord can find security. they stand forever to abide. As round about Jerusalem the mountains give defense. His people's guard, their ever evidence. Let's do these a cappella. O thou Jehovah to the good, thy goodness now impart. The loving kindness showed to them that upright are in hope. All those that turn from righteousness with wayward wandering With sinners God will lead the poor, the sinners to me. O Thou who art Thy people's shield, Upon them let thy grace and peace forevermore abide. Our soul waits for the Lord. He is our help and shield. For our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His holy name. Let your mercy, O Lord, be upon us, just as we hope in you. And all of God's people said, Amen. You are dismissed. May the Lord go with you.