We're turning God's Word tonight to Revelation 19. We're gonna read the first 10 verses, and those 10 verses will be the text for tonight as well. So let's now give our attention to the reading of God's holy and inspired word. And after these things, I heard a great voice of much people in heaven saying, Alleluia, salvation and glory and honor and power unto the Lord our God, for true and righteous are his judgments. For he hath judged the great whore which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up forever and ever. And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne saying, Amen, Alleluia. And a voice came out of the throne saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great. And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thundering, saying, Alleluia, for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice and give honor to him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white. For the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, Write, blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God. And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not, I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. And thus far we read God's word and the text that we consider tonight. We are coming into that season of the year when we listen to that familiar piece of music, the Messiah. Written by George Frederick Handel, written in 1741. And probably the most familiar part of that impressive piece of music is the Hallelujah Chorus. And I call our attention to that tonight because some of the words of the Hallelujah Chorus arise right out of Revelation 19. First of all, verse six, alleluia, for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. And then in verse 16, we read of the name of this one, King of kings and Lord of lords. So when you listen to the Hallelujah Chorus in this season of the year and maybe other seasons as well, think of Revelation 19. But I call our attention to that because when Handel wrote that chorus, reportedly he told his servants that he saw heaven before him. And when we hear that chorus sung, we might say the same thing. We see heaven opened before us. That's what's before us here in Revelation 19. We're given a view of heaven. The curtain is pulled back upon heaven We're given a glimpse into heaven and what it will be like. We're given a glimpse into the worship that will be found in heaven. Notice the different songs that are found here in the passage, beginning in verse one. Alleluia, salvation and glory and honor and power unto the Lord our God. Alleluia is repeated through this passage. Songs of praise are repeated in this passage. What's the reason for these songs of praise to Almighty God? Well, these songs in Revelation 19 arise out of the context and also they arise out of what we find here in this passage. First of all, we have to look back at the context. Let me tell you a little about the chapters that come before Revelation 19. In these very chapters, God has been revealing that there will come a time when the anti-Christian kingdom and the anti-Christ himself will be judged by the Lord Jesus Christ. In chapters 15 and 16, you come to the vials of God's wrath. Remember the sevens in the book of Revelation, seven seals, seven trumpets, and then that seventh trumpet opens up into seven vials. The last couple of vials, which are the vials of God's wrath, indicate that judgment of God that is coming when the anti-Christian kingdom will be judged. Then chapters 17 and 18 describe that judgment of Babylon, the anti-Christian kingdom, and the wicked world. I call your attention to that because the beginning of this song in Revelation 19 flows out of that. We read in verse one, and after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven saying, and then verse two tells us the reason for this singing of praise to God. For true and righteous are his judgments, for he hath judged the great whore which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, So this is one of the reasons for these songs of praise to God. But there's another reason. The other reason is what we read in the text itself. especially in verse seven and following. Let us be glad and rejoice and give honor to him for the marriage of the lamb has come and his wife hath made herself ready. In Revelation 19, there's a transition here in the book of Revelation. The chapters before this have been about the judgment of God upon the anti-Christian kingdom. Now, there's more of a forward-looking way and direction towards heaven. And that begins in Revelation 19. It's developed further, especially in Revelation 21 and 22. So we are comforted as the church today by knowing that there is coming a final defeat of Satan, the Antichrist, and their kingdom, but we are also comforted by the life which is to come. So our worship of God in heaven and our worship of God here on this earth arises out of the knowledge of that victory and of what is to come. With that in mind, we consider tonight the marriage supper of the Lamb. The marriage supper of the Lamb. Notice first the marriage, secondly the supper, and then finally the worship. It's interesting to consider that history essentially begins and then ends with a wedding. If you go back to Genesis chapter two, we're taught there about the first wedding that took place. The crowning act of God's work of creation was not just the creation of Adam and Eve, but it was the marriage of Adam and Eve. You'll remember on the sixth day of creation that God formed Adam out of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and he became a living soul, a living being. And then after that, on that very same day, God took a rib out of Adam, and from that rib, he formed Eve, and then after that, brought Eve to Adam, and that was the very first wedding at which God himself officiated. He brought Eve to Adam, and they were joined together there in marriage in paradise. Now, as we come to the end of scriptures, we're in Revelation 19, and we read of another wedding, a beautiful bride being brought to her bridegroom. But the idea of this wedding is that it goes on forever and ever. And there's a relationship between these two weddings, the one at the beginning of history and the one at the end of history. God ordained the first wedding and God has ordained our marriages even today with an eye on that marriage and that wedding, which is to come. The first wedding had this last wedding in mind in God's perfect plan. And what that means then is that earthly marriage points us to the everlasting reality of Christ and the church. Now, before we consider the marriage itself, we should first look at and identify very clearly who is the bridegroom and who is the bride, although we understand who that is, but it is important to see it. And as we do that, I wanna take just a moment with each of them to apply that to our own marriages tonight, because our marriages are to point us to the marriage and the supper, which is to come. Who is the bridegroom? The bridegroom is the Lord Jesus Christ. We know that from many passages of scripture and we know it from this passage as well. We know it from many other passages where Jesus Christ is identified this way. That's true in Psalm 45 that we sang earlier, but it's also true in many New Testament passages. John the Baptist in John 3 verses 28 and 29 identified Jesus as the bridegroom. Jesus himself called himself the bridegroom. in the parable of the wise and foolish virgins in Matthew 25. But the passage that especially stands out identifying Jesus as the bridegroom of the church is Ephesians chapter 5, the outstanding New Testament passage on marriage. If you go to verse 23 in Ephesians 5, we read there, for the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church, and he is the savior of the body. Then verse 25, husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it. And then at the end of the chapter, verse 32, this is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Jesus Christ is the bridegroom of his bride, the church. Not only do we know that from these other passages of Scripture, but we also know this from the text itself, because in the vision, this bridegroom is identified as the Lamb. Who is the Lamb? Well, it's the Lord Jesus Christ. Why is He identified here as a Lamb? Well, remember what the Lamb did. He laid down His life. for the church. In that very name Lamb, we see how much Jesus Christ loves his bride. he gave his life for her. Not just a little bit of his life, but the reality is, is he came down from heaven as the son of God, and he united a human nature to himself, and he suffered through the whole of his life, and then he died all for the salvation of his bride. The entirety of his life was lived in love for his bride. I think that comes out beautifully in the familiar words of that hymn, The Church's One Foundation. Remember these words. From heaven he came and sought her to be his holy bride. With his own blood he bought her and for her life he died. So not only do we identify Jesus Christ as the bridegroom of the church, but we see the great love that he has for his bride. Husbands. There's a word for us in this, isn't there? The bar has been set extremely high for us. The bar that's been set for us is we are called to reflect the love of Jesus Christ, this love, where He gave the entirety of His life for His bride. Husbands, we are called to love our wives with that kind of love, not just a little self-sacrifice. but our lives are to be lived giving ourselves for the good of the wife that God has given to us. That's what Hebrews 5.25 says. Husbands, love your wives as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it. Well, that's the bridegroom. The bride in this vision is the church. The bride is the entire church gathered in heaven. It's all of God's people from the Old Testament and from the New Testament, his people who are chosen by God and redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ and taken to heavenly glory. They're identified in the vision as saints. This bride is made up of all the saints of God, God's people who belong to him. But notice how the bride is described here. Verse 8, We're told here what that white linen, what that white gown represents. The righteousness of the saints. Literally, this word Righteousness means righteous deeds. Now, let me tell you why that's important. Right away when we read that word righteousness, and we think of the righteousness of the bride, we think of justification. We think of the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ, and that's why she's wearing white. But the word here is a different word. It means righteous deeds. Now that doesn't take away from the reality that the bride of Christ is righteous before God only with the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ. This word here doesn't mean to say that the bride has standing before God because of her deeds. That's not at all the idea. In fact, what gives her the right to be the bride of Jesus Christ is the righteousness of Jesus Christ. But here the focus is on the fact that the bride keeps herself unspotted from the world. She's kept herself separate from Babylon. That arises out of the things that you find in Revelation 17 and 18. She's been faithful to Christ. She's come out of Babylon. She was not involved in Babylon's fornication. She was a bride who was faithful to the bridegroom, Jesus Christ. And that's the idea here, the church as she is faithful. Well, that tells us something that's important for wives today. And it's important for those young girls who think about being brides someday. First of all, for wives, reminded here by this vision that a bride is to be faithful to her husband like the church is faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ. And part of that faithfulness is faithfulness in love and faithfulness in service, living in that love that the church has for Christ. But this is also important when you girls and you young women think about your wedding day and you think about a wedding dress. Why do brides wear white? Sometimes we forget why. Those white gowns not only point out to us the beauty of the righteousness of Jesus Christ, but also a beauty of the righteous deeds of the church as it's set before us here in this vision. Girls and young women, when you think about a wedding gown, don't think first how you'll look in it. I'm not saying that's unimportant. But don't think first about this. Think first about the church. Think first about the righteousness of the church. Think about representing the church of Jesus Christ. And then when you're thinking on that, then modesty is going to follow. Many of the gowns on in the world today are immodest. They're not about that. They're about the body. But we look at it differently. The white here in that beautiful gown is to point us to the righteousness of the church as she stands before Jesus Christ. And we've identified the bridegroom, we've identified the bride here, but now then we get to the marriage. That's what we read of in verse seven. We read of the marriage of the Lamb which is come. What is marriage? Well, marriage is the close and most intimate union of love between one man and one woman. It is a union by which husband and wife become one flesh and live one life as a reflection of the union between Christ and his church. So tonight, as we think about this, we don't just think about marriage and one man and one woman living together, one life, but we think of what that is to picture. It's the relationship that we have with our Lord Jesus Christ. There's union that we have with Christ that is actually more intimate, that is actually better than the best marriage that is found here on this earth. The word for marriage in the text comes from a word that means to bind or unite. And so in a godly marriage, there is closeness and intimacy, isn't there? A husband and wife share things together that they share with no one else. They share things in their conversations. They share things in their physical closeness. and intimacy. They don't have that with anyone else. It's devoted to the other in their marriage. But as close and as intimate as earthly marriage is, it does point us to that which is higher and better, the closeness and intimacy that we have with Jesus Christ. Beloved, do we know an intimacy and closeness that is better than the intimacy and closeness of our marriages? It's our relationship with Christ. We have this because the Holy Spirit works within us. The Holy Spirit brings to us the life of Jesus Christ, and we know Jesus Christ as our bridegroom. We know his love. We know his kindness. We know his mercy. We know that he forgives us. We know that our relationship to him changes us. Marriage changes us, doesn't it? Those of us who have been married for quite a while, we've changed over the years and marriage was used by God to do that. But our relationship with Jesus Christ is that which truly changes us and sanctifies us and changes the way in which we live so that we love Him and we serve Him and we live for Him in all of life because He first loved us and He served us in His life. What is pictured here in this vision is what we will have with Christ in heaven. Our relationship with Christ right now is something like an engagement. I don't mean to say that we're not married to Christ or that we're not the bride of Jesus Christ, we are, but we don't yet experience the fullness of that marriage. That is to come when Jesus Christ returns and brings the entirety of the church to dwell with him in heavenly glory. So our relationship with him is Like when a couple is engaged. They love each other. They're close to one another. They're growing closer to one another as well. And that's what we have with our Lord Jesus Christ. But the fullness is coming. The fullness of that union with Christ, when the church is brought to heavenly glory, this is what we will have. And so the vision here is talking about the consummation of this and the fullness of that relationship. And I'm here to tell you tonight, it's amazing. It's beautiful. It's better than any other relationship that we have ever experienced. If your marriage is strong and you are close in your marriage, give thanks to God for that. But this, this is better than that, this relationship we have with Jesus Christ. But we don't have the fullness now. Right now we sin. Right now the evil one is attacking us. Right now we're not with Jesus Christ in heavenly glory. But then we will be. One day we will be. We'll be with Him. We'll see Him face to face. We'll hear Him speak to us face to face. We will know his love even more deeply, and we will glorify him and live for him. That's this marriage that the vision speaks of. Now, one other detail of this that is important, we read here at the end of verse seven, after reading of the marriage of the Lamb that has come, we read there, and his wife hath made herself ready. I think many of us here know the preparations that are made for a wedding. I've had three daughters get married. I know all the planning that goes into a wedding. I know what happens on the morning of a wedding day. We've had ladies and girls in our home with hairspray and everything else that's going on on that morning, and I just kind of stay out of the way. All of that's going on. All these preparations are being made for that wedding day. But there's greater preparations to be made. God wants his bride to prepare herself for this wedding. What are we doing to prepare ourselves for this wedding day? We are to prepare by walking in righteousness now. We are to prepare by living for Christ now. We are to prepare by longing for the fullness of this marriage. And longing for the fullness of it is going to determine how we live right now here on this earth. Just like an engaged couple, when they're longing for the fullness of marriage, that determines how they live as they prepare for it. They're preparing themselves to live together in a godly marriage. They're doing everything that they can, not like the world does, no, not like them, but we prepare ourselves for living in godly marriages. We long, we long for this, and that's part of that preparation. God is preparing us for this great marriage to come. But now, there's another element to this. We might wonder, well, what is this all going to be like? Well, that's revealed in the supper, the supper. So first we read of this marriage of the lamb in verse seven, and the wife, she's made herself ready, and we see what she looks like in verse eight. But then we come to this in verse nine, and he saith unto me, write, blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the lamb. we consider this marriage supper. It is separate from the wedding or the beginning of the marriage. Now, this marriage supper of the Lamb is not a one-time event, but essentially this is a picture that is given to us in the text of what heavenly life will be like. It tells us what we will experience in our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ and with our heavenly Father. But before we look at that, picture with me, if you will, a wedding reception here on this earth. Maybe you'd picture your own wedding reception. You maybe picture a Fancy banquet room that has been prepared for a wedding reception or you think of as many people do today, they have an old barn and it's all decorated very nicely. Just think of walking into this wedding reception. fancy chandeliers hanging from the ceiling or hanging from the beams in that barn. You come in and you see all the tables, they're all in order. Chairs are around them, perfectly situated. There are the place settings on the table, beautiful place settings. Everything is in its place. There are the centerpieces, maybe flowers in the middle of those tables, and everything seems perfect and in order. As you come in, you hear maybe a stringed quartet playing some music off in the corner, or in another corner maybe a piano that is softly playing some background music. You come in and you see tables that are filled with food, hors d'oeuvres. cheese, and meat, and crackers, and fruit, maybe some huge charcuterie board there on a couple of tables, and people are around there, and they're grabbing some food, and they're standing around in circles, and they're talking, and they're laughing, and they're enjoying themselves, because it's a time of celebration for the couple with their friends and their family surrounding them. It's a time of great joy. And maybe for some of you who aren't married, you think about such a reception and you say, yeah, I long for a reception like that. But the idea is that this marriage supper or wedding supper of the Lamb is so wonderful and so amazing that what I just described to you looks like a dinner of boiled hot dogs, potato chips, and a pop on a picnic table when compared to the marriage supper of the lamb. The reality is that the best banquets in this world, the most planned banquets of this world with the finest of food and the finest of drink pales in comparison to what is to come. That's what's pictured here in this vision. Something better is pictured here. Because this marriage supper of the lamb is not something that lasts for a few hours. It lasts forever and ever and ever. What it pictures is the everlasting joy of fellowship with Jesus Christ, where the church dwells with him and lives for him and feasts with him forever and ever. In the book of Isaiah, We find a beautiful description of this, Isaiah 25, verses 6 through 9. Notice this description. And then in this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the leaves, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the leaves well refined, And He will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death in victory, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces, and the rebuke of His people shall He take away from off all the earth, for the Lord has spoken it. And it shall be said in that day, lo, this is our God. We have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the Lord. We have waited for Him. We will be glad. and rejoice in his salvation. Death swallowed up in victory. The Lord God will wipe away all tears from all faces. Endless joy in life with Jesus Christ. Not like a wedding reception, which is, you can have a beautiful time at it, a wonderful time, It only lasts for a little while. Then everybody leaves and everything has to be packed up and you go back to normal life. That's not what'll be in heaven. This will be life in heaven. It's the joy of feasting and the joy of life with God in Jesus Christ. It's the blessing of this fellowship with God and his people in perfect love. It's the fellowship that we enjoy and the friendship that we enjoy is described by Jesus in John 17 verse 23. I in them and thou in me that they may be perfect in one. It's the life of perfect satisfaction, everlasting joy and no sorrow. The Lord Jesus Christ wants us to keep our eyes fixed on that. And that can be hard at times in our lives because of what we see, what we actually see with our eyes. But He wants our eyes fixed on this, don't forget what is to come. And that means in all of life we keep our eyes fixed in that. That is application even for the planning of wedding receptions. With the planning of our wedding receptions, we have to keep in mind what is to come. Our wedding receptions must not be drunken feasts. Our wedding receptions must not be places where the music of the world is played and the dancing of this world is carried out. It must be godly places. Places not only where we're celebrating a wedding, but we're celebrating something much more and something much higher that which we have in our Lord Jesus Christ. And that's what God wants us to fix our eyes on in all of life as we live this life, even in our tears and in our sorrows. This is what is to come. There is a joy that is coming that we don't even fully know yet, but we know it is ours in Jesus Christ. And so we read in the vision that John has commanded this, right, he's commanded right. Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. Who are those who are called to the marriage supper of the lamb? Well, it's the same as the bridegroom, or I'm sorry, the bride. It's the same as the bride. It's the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. I believe here, the idea is the individual members of that church. As we're the bride of Christ, we also have a place at this banquet in celebrating what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. And we have a place at this supper because God has called us He's called us effectually. He calls us by the preaching of the gospel, by the work of the Holy Spirit within us. We're called out of this world and we're called into this relationship of love and fellowship with Him. And not only are we called into that relationship, but He preserves us and protects us so we arrive at this wedding feast. Sometimes you come to a reception, you're maybe sitting at a table, but there was a couple of chairs empty. And it used to be sometimes at wedding receptions, you'd have these name cards that you'd have to pick up on your way in. And sometimes you'd go by that table later on in the reception and say, oh, there's some name cards that are there. I wonder who's not here tonight. And maybe someone was sick or something else came up and they couldn't make it to the wedding reception. At this wedding reception, there will be no empty seats. Everyone filled. according to God's perfect decree of election. Each place numbered and each place filled according to God's perfect plan. And the word is, blessed are they which are called. There's eternal blessing and joy at this everlasting wedding feast. There's nothing better in all the world than this wedding feast because there we will feast on the Father's love. We'll enjoy the love of our bridegroom, Jesus Christ. We'll enjoy all the blessings of life, all the blessings of marriage to Jesus Christ, and we'll enjoy those blessings to the fullest. That gives us hope tonight. It gives us great hope. There may be some of us who have sorrow in our marriages, And marriage is hard. It is hard. But we know that there's something much better that is coming. In fact, in some ways, God wants it to be hard so that we remember there is something much better that is coming. Some of us desire to be married. And maybe we're not, maybe we won't be. But if that's you, you will have your wedding day. And you will have your wedding reception. and it will be with all of God's people who will live with him forever. For some of us it's hard in this life and there's sorrows in this life as well, but this is what is coming, the joy and blessing of this wedding feast. Notice what is said there at the end of verse nine. These are the true sayings of God. This is the true saying of God. This is yours and this is the church's forever and ever. We live in anticipation of that day. We live in anticipation of that day, not only because of what this marriage supper pictures, the love of God and the fellowship that we have with God in Jesus Christ, but let's end on this note, because the vision does, it's going to be time of worship, everlasting worship. If we go back to verse one of Revelation 19, we read this, and after these things, I heard a great voice of much people in heaven. Then in verse six, and I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the voice of many waters, and the voice of mighty thundering, saying, alleluia, for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. John is trying to explain not only what he sees, but what he hears. So maybe you've been someplace where there's been this large choir. I think, for example, you go to a Covenant Christian choir concert, and then at the end, all the choirs are up there and they're singing together, and it's noticeable the sound that comes. It's loud, in a good way. Or maybe you're at the 100th anniversary and you got together in the DeVos place with however many that place seats and we were all singing together and you were moved to tears by the beauty of it and the power of that singing. That's a little bit of what John tries to convey as he hears these songs of praise to God. And what's the focus of these songs? It's the victory of God and the glory of God. That comes out in the very beginning, verse one. Alleluia, salvation and glory and honor and power unto the Lord our God. And remember what alleluia means. Praise Jehovah, praise the Lord. Praise the Lord for who he is. and for what he does. Then verse 6, and we know it from the Messiah, Alleluia for the Lord God omnipotent, Re'Neph. God is praised here in this vision for two things, and I said that in the introduction. He's praised for the victory that is accomplished over Babylon and the anti-Christian kingdom. The powerful opposition to the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ is broken and it's destroyed and it's because God is sovereign. The Lord God omnipotent reigns. God is praised because Babylon the Great is fallen, is fallen. And it's all God's work. So God is praised for the judgment that he carries out upon a wicked world and upon the anti-Christian kingdom when it arises. And don't just think of the anti-Christian kingdom from the perspective of the future. There is coming the anti-Christian kingdom. But all around us in the world today, is an anti-Christian kingdom. Great opposition to Jesus Christ and his church and the gospel, and all of that will be destroyed. God is to be praised for this victory that he gives to the church. God is to be praised in these songs for the victory that he gives to his church. But it's not only that victory over the enemy, but God is to be praised as he brings his people to the fullness of life and fellowship with him. And so the saints in heaven are commanded to do this. That's verse seven. Let us be glad and rejoice and give honor to him. Why? For the marriage of the lamb is come and his wife have made herself ready. Let us be glad and rejoice and give honor to Him. What this teaches us is that in heaven, at this everlasting wedding feast, worship will be the central activity there. Worship. I'm not talking about an everlasting worship service. I don't think heaven will be that. I think we'll have work to do and other things bring that out in other passages of Scripture. But in everything that we do, the focus will be on worshiping God and worshiping the Lamb who died for our sins. That's what's brought out here. Worship is central. And that comes out at the very end of the vision in verse 10. and I fell at his feet to worship him. This is John falling at the feet of a messenger. I fell at his feet to worship him and he said unto me, see thou do it not. Literally, see not. I am thy fellow servant and of thy brethren, that of the testimony of Jesus. No, worship God, he says, for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. Worship God. That's the commission. for all those in heavenly glory. Worship God. And if that's true then, then that's what God says to us tonight as we begin this new week. What does he send us out to do? Worship. Worship him. Serve him. Glorify him. Knowing what's to come. And knowing what we've been given. May we do our work with a song in our hearts. May we do our work to the glory of God. May we sometimes suffer and hurt even doing that for the glory of God because this is what we will do forever and ever in heavenly glory. And then we think again of the Messiah. Listen to it this week. Listen to the Hallelujah Chorus. Think of Revelation 19. Alleluia for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Amen. Let's pray. Father in heaven, we are thankful for the book of Revelation and now this amazing, beautiful, glorious vision of what is to come. Fill our hearts with hope. Strengthen us for what we endure in this life right now. May we know the victory is secure because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And may we live in the hope of this marriage supper, which is to come, at which we have a place because of thy grace and the finished work of Christ. Comfort us and now strengthen us for worship. This we pray in Jesus' name, amen.