Hebrews 12, reading from verse 18. And the word of the Lord reads, For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words, which voice they that heard entreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more, for they could not endure that which was commanded. And if so much as a beast touched a mountain, it shall be stoned or thrust through with a dart. And so terrible was the sight that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake But ye are come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly, and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven. and to God the judge of all, and to the spirit of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. See that ye refuse not him that speaketh, For if they escape not, who refused him that speak on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven, whose voice then shook the earth. But now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I seek not the earth only, but also heaven. And this word, yet once more, signify the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear, for our God is a consuming fire. And so reads the word of the Lord. Hebrews chapter 12. And from these verses just read, our theme is this evening, not Sinai, but Sion. These verses have been variously used. and sadly too often without any reference to the context in which they are found. This is not a passage about heaven, or the future of the Church, nor a description of Corban worship. No doubt all or some of these things may be found here, or at least the words and phrases found here could be used to develop those subjects, but that is not what they are about. The context, remember, goes back as far as chapter 10 and the exhortation in the verse 19, which was the beginning of this section, an exhortation to boldness. having therefore granted boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. It's also a context of perseverance in the face of reproach. Chapter 10 verse 32, But call to remembrance the former days in which after you were illuminated you endured a great fight of afflictions and so on. For ye had compassion on me and my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance. Cast not away therefore your confidence, which has great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience, that after ye have done the will of God ye might receive the promise. Verse 39, for we are not of them who draw back on to perdition, but of them that believe to the saving of the soul. And chapter 11 was designed to demonstrate the various circumstances in which faith will be found to be exercised. Chapter 12 is then the application, wherefore, in light of all of these things I've said since verse 19 of chapter 10, especially in chapter 11, and what follows are a series of exhortations, a series of arguments to drive home yet further the need for perseverance by God's people. He speaks of patience in verse 1. He speaks of objectivity in verse 2 and 3 of chapter 5. Looking on to Jesus. With knowledge in verse 5. With thankfulness for others in verses 12 to 14. And with dedication in verses 16 through to 17. So verses 18 to 29. is a continuation of his argument and what an argument it is that Paul presents. It is a fascinating and an astonishing statement that we have here. Now what we mustn't miss and we need to be clear about one or two things before we come down to particulars. Paul is here contrasting the economy of law with the economy of the Gospel. What we mustn't miss is the plain fact that he is using two Old Testament places in order to demonstrate the contrast. between the era of ceremonies and the era of the gospel without those ceremonies. Sinai and Zion are those Old Testament places that he uses. We also mustn't forget, as we are looking at what he is about to say, of the glory of the Old Testament economy. With all its laws, with all its ceremonies, there was a glory that was attached to it. And Paul speaks of that glory in 2nd Corinthians. What then is being contrasted is the administration of the covenant in the Old Testament era. with the administration of the covenant in the New Testament there. It's the same covenant but you have those two contrasting administrations of it. This was a matter that Paul had been labouring before, hadn't he? And we spent some time in that. Chapter 10, verse 18, indeed from chapter 5 right through to 10.18. But in chapter 10.18, now where the mission of these is, there's no more offering for sin. There you get his summation of that contrast between the old administration and the new. And he returns to that waiting point. that took five chapters here as a final argument. Essentially, his point is, if those Old Testament believers that we've looked at in chapter 11, if they persevere, then there is every reason why New Testament believers should persevere. If they did, there's no reason why we cannot. And notice firstly then in verses 18 to 21, the disadvantages of the old administration. The disadvantages. For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire. nor on to blackness and darkness and tempest and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words which voice they that heard entreated that the word should not be spoken to them anymore. Paul goes back to the day when the congregation of Israel stood at the foot of Mount Sinai. And what a terrifying sight it was. The mountain burned with fire. It was the fire of God. The very glory of God descended upon the mountain. And the mountains shook and the earth shook. And all around was blackness and darkness. And then there came the voice of words. And the manner in which God spoke to them filled them with such fear that they asked Moses, you go up the mountain and take the words from God and you bring them to us. So terrible was the sight, verse 21 tells us that even Moses was afraid. I exceedingly fear and quake. What is in view then is the people of God in what Deuteronomy calls a waist-tiling wilderness at the foot of the mountain with the fire of God on top and God proclaiming His law, proclaiming His statutes, proclaiming His judgments. John Brown in his commentary says, this striking emblem said the leading features of this administration. The darkness you see, the obscurity, the trembling and the fear. The holiness and the justice of God were clearly and plainly seen. The grace and the mercy of God by mediator, those seen, were less clearly seen Because they were communicated to them by means of statutes and judgments. All of the ceremonial laws that God gave to them. And it is that difference in administration that is being contrasted with what follows. Old Testament believers knew the gospel. It's not what Paul says in Galatians. that the gospel was preached unto Abraham. Paul, when he's seeking to explain and define justification by faith and the origin of it and the continuity of it in the Old and New Testament, he goes back to Abraham of old. He goes on to David, king of Israel. It's an Old Testament truth he's saying. It's not that they didn't hear the Gospel. We must never come to that conclusion. It's not that they did not know of Christ. We certainly cannot come to that conclusion either. For Abraham rejoiced to see my day. Moses wrote of me. They knew the Gospel. They knew the Saviour. And Old Testament believers put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. But the disadvantages that they had are here spelled out by the Apostle. It was presented to them in a typical and in a ceremonial way. Let's look at three passages in Hebrews. Hebrews 10 verses 1 to 3. For the law, having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered, because that their worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year." And then in chapter 9, And the verses 9 to 11, which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect as pertaining to the conscience, which stood only in meats and drinks and divers washings and carnal ordinances imposed on them until the time of reformation. But Christ being come, and high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is to say not of this building. And chapter 7 of Hebrews and the verse 19, For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did, by the which we draw nigh unto God." So in that small selection of texts you can see the disadvantages of Old Testament believers. How obscure, how things were typified, how difficult evidence it was. And yet they were believers nonetheless. But Paul is laboring in all of these verses, verses 18 to 21, he is laboring heavily to emphasize the disadvantages of the old administration. And we must grasp something of their disadvantages. We cannot really understand all that follows unless we see their disadvantages. And that leads me to the second point in verses 22 to 4, the advantages of the new administration. Mine Zion, that ye are come unto mine Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly, and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirit of just men, made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant. Mine Zion, was for Old Testament believers a wonderful symbol of heaven, of the church. It had in it everything that they needed to understand what it meant to be a believer, what it meant to know God, what it meant to believe in Christ, what it meant to worship God. The glories of Mount Zion. It's full of these rich spirits of truth. And so the Old Testament is full of Mount Zion. And all that we shall say is all that they knew. Psalm 48, Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised. In the city of our God, in the mountain of His holiness, beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth is Mount Zion. On the sides of the north, the city of the great King God is known in our palaces for a refuge. God is known in our palaces for refuge. This they knew when they came to Zion. It spoke to them, God is our refuge and our strength. And he goes on to speak of those who were opposed to Zion and how they feel. And then he says in verse 9, We have thought of thy lovingkindness, O God, in the midst of thy temple. When the believers stood in the temple of Mount Zion, the believer thought of God's lovingkindness. Not only was he a refuge for them, but he loved them and he was kind to them and good to them. According to thy name, O God, so is thy praise unto the ends of the earth. Thy right hand is full of righteousness. Let Mount Zion rejoice. Let the daughters of Judah be glad because of thy judgments. Walk about Zion, and go round about her. Tell the Tars their law. Mark ye well her bulwarks. Consider her palaces. that ye may tell it to the generations following. Tell them what? This God is our God forever and ever. He will be our guide even on to death. Mount Zion. Oh how wonderful it was for those Old Testament believers. How much they really did know and understand despite all of the types and shadows, Psalm 122. I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord. Our feet shall stand within thy gates. Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem is built as a city that is compact together. It's a perfect place. Whether the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, unto the testimony of Israel, The Lord's people are gathered in Zion. Why are they gathered in Zion? To give thanks unto the name of the Lord. For there are set thrones of judgment, the thrones of the house of David. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. They shall prosper that lovely peace be within thy walls and prosperity within thy palaces. For my brethren and companions sake, I will now say, Peace be within thee. Because of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek thy good. He says, What I have given and the profitability of thy, it will flow from me even to others. So the advantages of the new administration. Verse 22, ye are come unto Mount Zion. Here, of course, he's using it figuratively. He's not saying that they literally come to a literal Mount Zion, but he's using it figuratively. It stands in marked contact with the mountain that might be touched. You see that? The only reason why Sinai could not be touched was because God forbade it. But Mount Sinai, that literal mountain that might be touched, stands in stark contrast with that spiritual desire. You can't touch it in that physical sense. It's called the heavenly Jerusalem to underline the contrast between earth and heaven, between the literal and the spiritual. And he's telling us, ye are come unto. Unlike the congregation of Israel, they could not come near unto Mount Sinai. They had to stand at a distance. and they stood with fear and trembling, unable to approach. And even if a beast, an irrational animal, was to accidentally touch that mountain, it would have to be put to death. But oh, he said Zion is not like that. The spirit of Zion is not like Sinai. Here we enter into Jerusalem and we mingle with the inhabitants of the city you're come unto and what a company there is in this spirit of Zion. He says to an innumerable company of angels the unfallen angels who love God and who serve him day and night who constantly do his bidding his ministers, his messengers. And so great is their number that they're simply described as to an innumerable company. The next phrase is considered by Most commentators, and they're probably right, the General Assembly refers to angels, but whether we can be as strict as that or not, our punctuation does give us some enablement there, a bit of leeway I think. Whatever the case, it is this, when God brought us, by His grace, into His Kingdom, Theodosian worshippers in Zion. We mingle with this astonishing company. You have in this kingdom, it is inhabited by these angelic beings. We must not become fanciful As some people mention angels and they seem to go off the radar scale of rationality. All he's doing is telling us, in this marvellous Zion of God, you have all of these inhabitants. And he starts first with angels. They are part of God's Kingdom. They are part of this Zion. And then he says to the church of the firstborn. Now in its immediate usage, in the Old Testament, firstborn refers to Israel as God's chosen. So for example, in the book of Exodus, chapter 4, verse 22, Thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord, Israel is my son, even my firstborn. So, firstborn refers there clearly to God's chosen people. Here Paul takes that Old Testament phrase, and you know this is the wonderful thing about reading through the New Testament, all of the Old Testament phrases that are used to describe the Church in the Old are carried over into the New to describe the Church in the New, reminding us it is in fact the same to which of course we have been added later. So he takes this Old Testament phrase and he's applying it to all of God's elect, to the General Assembly, to the Church of the Firstborn. But he then adds, which are written in heaven. The names of God's elect. are all recorded in heaven. From before the foundation of the world, they were known unto God. Now all this Church of the Firstborn, there are those who have already left this theatre, this world, haven't they? All those believers in Hebrews 11, they have passed on. Then there are all those who are living, even at the time at which he was writing. And then of course, looking forward, those who have not yet been effectively called by God's Spirit into his kingdom. But in terms of the totality of God's elect, their names are written in Heaven. And that's why Christ says, the day will come when those from the East and from the West and so on were all going to sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The sum total of the firstborn gathered together. He's saying to these believers, I want you to understand just how amazing all this is what God has done for you and what He's brought you. He has brought you into this spiritual time. and look at its inhabitants, angels. He's on to speak of the elector there and then he adds next, to God the judge of all. At Sinai the people stood far off and God was high above them there upon the mountain. And the mountains shook because God had come down upon it. And as he tells us, if so much as a beast touched a mountain, it shall be stoned or thrust through with a dart. But here in this spirit of Zion, we draw near to God. That's why he said, you see, in chapter 10, was it? Yes, having therefore brethren boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. This God, who is the God of all Zion's citizens, we come unto him. So in Ephesians 3, we'll look at a few texts. Ephesians chapter 3 verse 15. Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is kneeling. He's speaking of the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of whom the whole family heaven and earth is near. Now let's look at some texts. We'll start with Romans 3 and verse 29. This God who is the judge of all, is he the God of the Jews only? Is he also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also, seeing it is one God. And then, turning over to Ephesians chapter 4, Ephesians chapter 4, verse 6, 1 God, and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all, God the Judge of all, 1 God, Hebrews 8, And in the verse 10, for this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, said the Lord, I will put my laws into their mind and write them in their hearts, and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people. And then finally, the book of Revelation, Revelation 5, and the verse 9 and then Revelation 21, Revelation 5 verse 9 and they sung a new song saying thou art worthy to take the boot and to open the seas thereof for thou was slain and has redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation. Chapter 21 of Revelation And the verse 3, And I heard a great voice out of heaven, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. Well, what is the Apostle saying in Hebrews 12? Coming into the very presence of God. ye are come unto God the judge of all. But though he is the judge of all, he is our God and we are his people. And then he adds, and to the spirits of just men made perfect. Here he refers to those believers who have finished the course. like those of the chapter 11 of Hebrews. Remember what the Savior says in Matthew 8 verse 11. And I say unto you that many shall come from the east and west and shall sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. The spirits of just men made perfect. In this Zion, when we're thinking of all of its inhabitants, He says there are angels. And then we think of the totality of God's elect. Then we think of God who was there. And we think of all those who have passed on before us. They have of course entered into their eternal rest. And then he says unto Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant. and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel." Here for the Apostle is the apex of it all. What does the church mean for the Apostle? He says, I think of the angels, I think of gods, I think of gods alike, I think of those who have gone before. But you know, in the heart of it, the climax of it all, is Jesus. Jesus, the mediator of this covenant. Without whom I would not be in heaven. This heavenly Jerusalem, this spiritual Zion, Jesus is there. We do not come to the ironic high priest of the old administration. No, the high priestly line of Aaron is gone and the one to whom it pointed has come. And the weakness of Aaron and all the high priests was this, they all had to make an atonement for their own sins before they could make atonement for the people's sins. He says the blood is sprinkling. It's an Old Testament figure isn't it? that points to the cross work of Christ. They would have taken the blood, sprinkled it on the mercy seat, and underneath there was the law that man had broken. But the mercy seat, there's mercy with God. And it pointed them to Christ. He would keep the law on their behalf, in their place. Do what they could not do. The superiority of Christ's work is here being driven home. You see under the old administration, they waited for the consolation of Israel. But in the new administration, the consolation has come. He says that speaketh better things than that of Abel. Abel's blood you will remember cried out from the ground for vengeance. The blood of Christ proclaims pardon, peace and forgiveness of sins. So we say the blood of Christ speaks better things. The contrast then in these verses is between, and I want you to understand what I'm saying, the ineffectual work of Old Testament sacrifice. as opposed to the effectual sacrifice of Christ. That's why he says that if the Old Testament sacrifices could have done what Christ did, then we would still be offering them. But they couldn't. That's why they offered them and then they were abolished. All that he's made clear in Taperea. So the Old Testament administration simply declared Christ to come. The New Testament administration proclaims that Christ has come. The message is the same. The gospel is the same. But he says you have to grasp the disadvantages they had as opposed to the advantages we have. What advantages we have, we can see so and more clearly than the Old Testament saints. Oh yes, when they went up to Zion, there was a great contrast with Mount Sinai. Those Old Testament believers entering into Zion, how wonderful it was for them. That's why, you see, they would have drawn it on the palm of their hand, if I forget the Old Jerusalem. Oh, may my hand be cut off? When I'm away from Jerusalem, I only have to but open my hand and there I would see a picture of Jerusalem. There's the temple in the middle. The apostle says, all those old shadows of God, the realities are here and I want you to grasp and understand, he says, the advantages you have. Now let's come thirdly to application of this, and that's the remainder of the verses. Hebrews open, you will recall in chapter 1 verse 1, with a statement on the sufficiency and finality of revelation regarding salvation in the person of Christ. God wrote Sunday Times in a diverse manner, speaking time passed on to the fathers by the prophets. hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, who made the pointed error of all things, by whom also he made the world." This entire section then, from chapter 1, it closes with a warning in verse 25. See then, that ye refuse not him that speaketh. He's saying to these Hebrews, You've seen the disadvantages they have? You've seen the advantages you have? Well here's a warning for you. See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. The question is who is doing the speaking? Well the simplest explanation in light of chapter 1 is that God is doing the speaking. It is God who speaks. So in chapter 1 verse 1, God who at Sunday times spake, how did he speak? He spoke by the prophets. In these last days he has spoken by his Son. Chapter 2 verse 3, how shall we escape if we neglect the great salvation which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him? God also bearing them witness, God spoke through Christ. God speaking on earth is equivalent to speaking by the prophets. Chapter 10, verse 20, And he that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses. He spoke by Moses. If we go back to chapter 3 and verses 7 to 9, Wherefore, as the Holy Ghost said today, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation in the day of temptation in the wilderness, and so on. He spoke through the Old Testament. So he says, see that ye refuse not him that speaketh, for if they escape not who refused him that speak on earth, much more shall not we escape if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven. Throughout the Old Testament era, God spoke. He spoke by the Prophets. The Prophets wrote their words down. It became known as Scripture. It was led up in the Temple, in the Tabernacle first. Then in the Temple. He spoke by Scripture. As the Scripture said. As the Holy Ghost said. Word and Scripture. But God hasn't just spoken on earth. He speaks from heaven and this is supremely in the person of Jesus Christ. And he tells us that failure to listen to God, remember what God said to Christ, this is my beloved son, hear ye him. Failure to listen to God through Christ will lead to punishment. You think of the disadvantages they had in the Old Testament administration? Under the old administration all disobedience against the law was punished. Now we're in the new administration. God has spoken from heaven by His Son. Do you think that God will not punish those who refuse to listen to Christ? Oh, He shall. The superiority of the messenger is in, of course, the divinity of that messenger from heaven. His voice then shook the earth, but now he is promising yet once more, I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. What are these verses 26-7 saying? I'm simply following the classic Reformed position as seen in the notes of the Geneva Bible, Calvin's commentaries, John Brown and any other Reformed commentary. Verse 26, he's voiced, then shook the earth. Well, the then is evidently referring back to Sinai, because then the earth shook. The once more refers not to the future, but to the great change that occurred in terms of the administration of the covenant. What happened? Well, with the resurrection of Christ and with the commissioning of the apostles and Pentecost, the gospel went out into the midst of the Gentiles. That's what's being said there, as we'll see more clearly as we go on a bit, verse 27. And this word, yet once more, signify the removing of those things that are shaken as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. So verse 27 is the explanation of verse 26. And what's he saying? He is telling us that there are things that were movable, changeable and those things that could be shaken have been shaken in order that a more permanent state be brought in. You see he is quoting from the book of Hagia. The new economy is permanent. And is this interpretation right? Well let's go back to where he brings this quotation from. It's Haggai 2 verse 7. And I will shake all nations and the desire of all nations shall come. And I will fill this house with glory said the Lord of hosts. Paul quoting from Haggai thus makes it clear what he is referring to. That the old administration could be shaken, was shaken, was removed and the permanent final state of the church was thus brought in. Indeed, that next line, the desire of all nations shall come, he's looking forward to that incarnation, the coming of Christ. Calvin says this, all nations have never been gathered into one body except under the banner of Christ. Nor was the temple of Solomon exceeded in glory until Christ. Verse 28, simply ratifies what has been said. Wherefore we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved. With Christ the kingdom of heaven came. The church which had been an Old Testament Jewish church had suddenly and dramatically been changed by the bringing in of the Gentiles. receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved. It's simply a repetition. Things, verse 27, things that are made that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. That line is simply a repetition of the previous. Yet once more I shake not the earth also, or only but also heaven. This dramatic change that came about So the gospel state of the church is the final and permanent state of the church. Whereby, he says, we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. Grace has been given to you and I, says the apostle, in order that we may worship God right. That we may worship Him reverently and with godly fear. And Paul closes this chapter with the words of Deuteronomy 4, for our God is a consuming fire. The Geneva Bible makes this common in these verses. A general exhortation, verse 28, to live reverently and religiously under the most happy subjection of so mighty a king, who, as he blessed his most mightily, so doth he most severely revenge the rebellious. And this is the sum of a Christian life. So Paul then and exhorting these believers to persevere in the midst of great hardship and trial and problems and difficulties. He says, I want you to grasp, he says, that you're a citizen of this church, of this Zion. I want you to see how wonderful it all is. I want you to see the company that you mix with. I want you to grasp something of the inhabitants of this kingdom of our Savior. I want you to pause and think for a while at the grandeur of this spiritual Zion. What God has done for you. And he says this stands of the church. John Owen would call it the gospel state of the church. He said this is it's final and permanent state and you're part of this church. Do you think you cannot persevere in light of what God has done for you? You have need of patience he said. Where not of them he draw by, why not look at what God has done for you. Look at what he has brought you into. Mind Zion, with all its glories, all its luster. Look at who's in this Zion. What are you trying to tell me? That you cannot persevere? You cannot endure the hardships of this world? Do not be looking for any further changes. There won't be any. You know, the fallacy of dispensationalism is that they're looking for another changed state of the church. Life's going to be so tough, the only way out is up. Let's get out of here. No, says the apostle. The way to persevere The means to acquire patience in this world of trouble is to ponder your position. Consider to what God has brought you. Consider who your company is. Your company is all of this. Let me finish with this one point of application. The wonder and marvel of the gospel. The wonder and marvel of the gospel. You have heard the gospel. You have come to faith in Christ. But have you ever contemplated the magnitude of what has happened? You know when Paul says we're being translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God's dear Son. What does that actually mean? This is what it means. You've been brought in and you're part of all of these inhabitants. Part of the totality of God's alive. Part of that innumerable company of angels who serve God day and night. You can come to God the judge of all with boldness. And then there is the Saviour, Jesus Christ. He who died for us upon the cross, shed his blood, thereby signifying the law is satisfied, and that his righteousness that he wrought on the cross is now our righteousness. And oh, what the cross proclaims, that there is peace with God, pardon for sin, forgiveness, all our iniquities. Can you not endure and persevere yet more in this world? Yes you can. May God bless these words to our hearts. Amen.