Now please come back with me to the portion of scripture that we read in 1 Samuel chapter 12. In 1 Samuel chapter 12, and there at the end of verse 24 of 1 Samuel chapter 12, The prophet, admonishing the people of God, said to them, consider what great things he has done for you. And so I want us this morning to consider what great things God has done. Consider what great things God has done. Now, chapter 11 of 1 Samuel ended on a note of excitement. There was excitement in Israel. Israel was celebrating a victory and they looked forward confidently to more victories in the future. So there was this great excitement. They now had a king. And they have a king, a king who had already proved himself as a capable leader and a capable soldier. He has defeated Nehas, the king of the Ammonites. He has won victory, victory that they badly needed. He has given victory to the children of Israel. So at this point, they had a strong sense of well-being in themselves. They were rejoicing. really celebrated and just rejoicing in the fact that they have chosen a king, he's led them to victory, now he will lead them even to more and greater victories. But for Samuel, Israel had sinned. Israel had sinned against the Lord, who is their true king, because the Lord has always been the true king of his people. Israel had sinned in their passion for an earthly human king, pride out for a king. Samuel had resisted the Lord and said, give them the king, that is their desire. But they had sinned against the Lord. And Samuel, of course, calls the people now to Gilgal. He calls them to the place where he now analyzes the present situation. And then he explores as it were the past in order that he may provide some guidance for them for the future. And this is what he's doing. So here, Samuel makes it clear that the future did not depend on the king that they have now chosen. Their future was not dependent on having this human king that they have chosen. It was not dependent upon their abilities or their capabilities. No, their future was totally and completely dependent upon the true and the living God. And he wants them to know that and never to forget it. He doesn't want them in any way to forget that. So that indeed Samuel's agenda for calling them to Gilgal was very simple. It was to make Israel acknowledge their sin. It was to make Israel repent of their sin. And it was to make Israel renew their allegiance to their true King, the true and the living God. This is his mission. This is his goal. This is his agenda. So as we think of consider what great things God has done, I want us to consider, first of all, the sin of Israel. Secondly, I want us to look at the power of God. And then thirdly, I want us to consider the grace of God. So these are the three things I want us to consider even this morning, the sin of Israel, the power of God, and the grace of God. So let's begin then with the sin of Israel, the sin of Israel. So as we have mentioned and noted already, Samuel's primary burden is simple. It is to press home to Israel has sinned. Israel has sinned. And this is the primary focus of Samuel at this point in verses seven to 12, that they may recognize and acknowledge their sin. But before that, Samuel obtains Israel's testimony, vindicating his leadership. He wants Israel to come and to show clearly where he had sinned against them, here in verses two to five, and where he has in any way cheated any of them so that he might truly confess, make amends, and look forward to God helping them. And so we read here in verses two to five, and now here is the king walking before you. And I am old and gray-headed. And look, my sons are with you. I have walked before you from my childhood to this day. And in truth, Samuel has been a public child before he became a public man. Right when he was a child, his mother took him, remember, to Eli. And there he has remained in the public eye until he grew and took over from Eli. So he has always been in the public eye anyway. Verse three, here I am, he says, witness against me before the Lord and before his anointed, whose ox have I taken? And his anointed here is King Saul. Whose ox have I taken? Or whose donkey have I taken? Or whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed? Or from whose hand have I received any bribe, which is to blind my eyes? I will restore it to you. And they say, in verse 4, you have not cheated us or oppressed us, nor have you taken anything from any man's hand. Verse 5, then he said to them, the Lord is witness against you and is anointed, is witness to this day, that you have not found anything in my hand. And they answered, he is. So he obtains this vindication, as it were, from them. And having done that then, he shows the children of Israel that not only has he been faithful as the Lord's prophet to them, no, much more important, he tells them that the Lord has been consistently faithful to them. Much more important, if you can vindicate me as a man, then think of this, God has been much more consistently faithful to you than any human being can be. And this is the point that he wants them to see and to understand. And so he says to them in verses seven to 11, remember, consider all the righteous acts of the Lord, which he has done to you and to your fathers up to this time." He said, think of that. Just consider how faithful God has been to you, to your fathers, and then to you, even up to this point in time. It reminds them of the fact that the pattern has always been the same. You, like your fathers, you forsake God, Trouble comes your way and when you repent because of the trouble and the pain and call upon the name of the Lord and cry to him, God sends a deliverer, he delivers you out of your troubles. So that has been the passage. He says, remember for example, when he gives them an example, remember for example, he seems to say the bondage in Egypt Israel cried when in bondage and trouble. The Lord sends Moses to deliver them, and he does. And then he goes further and give them example of the time of the judges, how the children of Israel will sin against the Lord, will turn against him, rebel against him, and then the Lord will punish them. In their pain and in their trouble and punishment, they will cry to the Lord, then he will send then you will deliver them. Look at what it says from verse 7 of 1 Samuel chapter 12. Now therefore stand still that I may reason with you before the Lord concerning all the righteous acts of the Lord which he did to you and to your fathers. You see what Samuel does? He has obtained their vindication. I have not cheated any of you. I have not done anything. You have witnessed to that. You have done that before the Lord and before His anointed. Now come, listen. Here is the Lord. Let me reason with you, he says, before the Lord concerning all the righteous acts of the Lord, which He did to you and your fathers. And he wants them to consider at this time. Not only what he has done, but what the Lord has done. And so he continued in verse 8 when it says, when Jacob had gone into Egypt and your fathers cried out to the Lord, then the Lord sent Moses and Aaron and brought your fathers out of Egypt and made them dwell in this place. And when they forgot the Lord, their God. He swore them into the hand of Caesar, commander of the army of Hazel, into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab. And they fought against them. Verse 10, then they cried out to the Lord and said, we have sinned because we have forsaken the Lord and served the Baals and Astorites, but now deliver us from the hand of our enemies, and we will serve you. Verse 11, and the Lord sent Jeroboam, Baden, Jaffa, and Samuel, and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side, and you dwelt in safety. Samuel is looking at the children of Israel and saying to them, you think Moses just thought about it, got up one day, and decided I'm going to save Israel? No, he did not. It was the Lord who called him. It was the Lord who equipped him. It was the Lord who prepared him. And we know the story of Moses, how he complained, how he didn't want to go, and how the Lord had to ask him to go and call his brother Aaron to come with him and go to Pharaoh and deliver the children of Israel. Do you think they all did it because they felt they were mighty and strong and able? No, it was the Lord. It was the Lord that called them. It was the Lord that sent them, equipped them, and used them to deliver your fathers and ran them to the woods. Then he says to them, but in your recent crisis, you forgot. You forgot all that. You do not remember what great things God has done. You forgot all the great things that the Lord has done. And it seems to say to them, you forgot all the great things that God has done for your fathers and for you, even in the past, because the current crisis in your lives, like in every other person's life, current crisis always seem to be worse than past crisis. You know, the new crisis, whatever problem comes, it always seems to be greater than everything that has come before. So now that this crisis has come, this trouble has come, what do you do? You forget the Lord. Instead of remembering, instead of considering all that the Lord has done for you. So in verse 12, he says, instead of crying now for help to God, what did you do? Remember, God is your true King. is the true king of the children of Israel. Instead of crying out to him, asked in the past, what did you do? No, you demanded for a king. You wanted to be like all the other nations who have kings, to lead them. So you insisted and demanded for a king. And you know what that means? It means you have no trust in the true and the living God. and in his ability to deliver you as he has done in the past. This is what you have done. You have forsaken the Lord, you have sinned against him, you have slighted him. So he says him here in verse 12, and when you saw that Nahash, king of the Ammonites, came against you, you said to me, no, but a king shall reign over us. When the Lord your God was your king. When the Lord your God was your king, you turned from him and asked for your own king. You wanted a king like all the other nations. Instead of the Lord, who is your true king, who has always delivered you in the past. So he says, now you have a king. You've got your king. If people and king will fear the Lord, if you will serve the Lord, if you will obey the Lord, then you will prosper. If not, then you will perish, you will suffer. So in verses 13 to 15, it says, now therefore, here is the king whom you have chosen and whom you have desired, and take note, The Lord has set a king over you. If you fear the Lord and serve him and obey his voice and do not rebel against the commandments of the Lord, then both you and the king who reigns over you will continue to follow in the Lord your God. However, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then the hand of the Lord will be against you as it was against your fathers. The warning is clear. You have chosen your king. If your king and yourselves will continue to obey, serve the Lord, and walk according to his commandments, it shall be well with you. But if you turn and forsake the Lord, be sure that the hand of the Lord will be against you. Secondly, the power of God. So we've seen the sin of Israel, now the power of God. Now to emphasize the sin of the children of Israel in choosing for themselves a king, and perhaps to emphasize the seriousness and the danger of forsaking the Lord and turning away from the law. Samuel says, Israel will now be given a sign of God's power. And that will be by thunder and by rain. And so in verses 16 to 19, he goes on to demonstrate this. You see, a deafening and perhaps A drenching thunderstorm can normally terrify anybody who goes through it, but it may never or may not cause that kind of fear and conviction that actually leads to repentance. May fear for a moment, try to hide, and when the thunderstorm is over, back to normal. It frightens people sometimes. It frightens a lot of people, especially children. But it doesn't necessarily lead to that fear and the conviction that is necessary to bring the person to repentance. But in this case, Samuel is making them understand that this thunder and this rain will be during the harvest season. In other words, it will be during the beginning of the dry season when nobody expects rain. Nobody expects thunder, why? In order that they may see the miraculous nature of the thunder and the rain and the ability of God to bring it to pass and to use it whenever it sees fit. And so here in verses 16 and 17, Samuel says, now therefore stand and see this great thing which the Lord will do before your eyes is today not the wheat harvest, I will call to the Lord, and he will send thunder and rain, that you may perceive and see that your wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of the Lord, in asking a king for yourselves." Every Israelite, every one of them knew that rain was extremely rare, extremely rare at this time of wheat harvest. They knew that, they understood that, they had grown up with that. It doesn't happen, you don't have thunderstorm at this time, it doesn't come. Moses, I'm sorry, Samuel says, this is a sign from the Lord. And if it is a sign from the Lord, if this storm is a sign, what did it signify? What was it telling the children of Israel? What does it say to them then if it happens after someone calls for it? And what Samuel wants them to understand and see clearly is that it will show the agencies of destruction that God has. The agencies of destruction that were there in God's arsenal, as it were. The agencies of destruction that were there in God's armory. agencies that he's able to use at any time. And it will show them how easily God will bring this to bear upon them and upon their land if they turn away from him. He wants to show them something, if you like, of God's power. And the fact that he's able to use even natural phenomena against them. He's able to bring thunder and rain and to destroy not only them, but they are not. He wants them to understand that, that this is the true and the living God, the one who alone has power to control everything. And everything in nature is at his core and back. He does as he feels. He has the power to act and to use them. He wants them to see this and to understand this very clear. And when he calls, and the storm comes, and the rain comes, at last, the point hit home. The children of Israel got the message. Israel began to fear. They were afraid of perishing. And as they say, they were afraid of perishing because in addition to all their sins, they have now either the evil of asking for a king over them. And so we read in verses 18 and 19. So Samuel called to the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day. And all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel. Verse 19, and all the people said to Samuel, pray for your servants, to the Lord your God, that we may not die. For we have added to all our sins the evil of asking a king for ourselves. Only when God's people see their sin from God's own perspective, not from their perspective. You know what the natural man normally says? I'm not a worse sinner than that one. I try to be a good man with the woman, do my chores, go about my business, I don't offend, I don't cheat. So, you know, I'm all right. No, it is only when we see our sin against God from God's own perspective. when we understand that this is rebellion against the true and the living God. When we see it from God's perspective and not our perspective, that is when there is hope that we will fear the Lord and then repent. This was the case with the children of Israel. The power of God. Thirdly, the grace the grace of God. So they cry to the Lord in fear, and they plead with someone, pray for them, because they have now realized that in addition to all their sins, they have added this one, of actually replacing God as their true king, as a human king. And they realized that this was a grievous sin against the truth and the living God. And so they cry in fear to the Lord. And when they called on Samuel, Samuel says to them, in verses 20 and 21, he says, do not fear. Do not fear. You have done all this wickedness, yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart, and do not turn aside, for then you will go after empty things which cannot profit or deliver, for they are nothing. Do not fear. You have done all this wickedness, yet Yet, says Samuel, and here you have a future and a hope for them. You have done wickedness. You have done evil in the sight of the Lord. Yet, do not fear. That is the hope, and that is the future. You're not going to perish. He's saying to them, you have a future. You have a hope. How would God say that? How could God ask Samuel to say to them that they should not fear? Why was, if you like, the Lord still have dealings with people who have committed such wicked sin against him? This is rebellion against the Lord. This is rebellion. They've turned against him. They've replaced him. They've removed him. How could he do that? Verse 22. for the Lord will not forsake his people for his great name's sake because it has pleased the Lord to make you his people. This is God's grace at work here in the lives of the children of Israel. The Lord has chosen to have a people. He has decided he will have a people. And so the Lord has chosen you. You see, because the Lord has decided to have a people, he will have a people. Because he has chosen to have a people, he will have a people. This is God's choice. He will never go back on his decision. He has made a choice. He has made a decision. He has chosen that he will have a people. He never goes back on his word. He never does that. He will not abandon his commitments. When he is committed, he never turns. He never abandons. Last Lord's Day, after Mrs. Sylvia Bell turned 80, she was speaking, justifying simply, and saying she always remembered that scripture says, When you have put your hand on the plough and you turn back, then you are not worthy to have put your hands on the plough in the first place. God is much more than us. When he has committed to his people, he never, ever gives them up. Big evil is it. Because of trials, because of difficulties, because of pressure, God not so. Samuel says, God has chosen to have a people and he will have a people. He has chosen you. He has made commitments to you. He never, never, ever forsakes or abandons his commitments. After all, Samuel is saying here, his whole reputation, the whole reputation of the true and the living God is wrapped up in it. And that's what he means when he says here, his name. It has pleased the Lord, he says, for his great name's sake. For the Lord will not forsake his people for his great name's sake. That is his reputation. That is everything to do with God. His name is everything about him. for his name's sake, for his reputation, for everything that says he is the true God, he is the faithful one, he is the one who remains the same from everlasting to everlasting, it's all in that name. It is all wrapped up, he says, in God's reputation. There's no way he can abandon and forsake his people. He has chosen to have them, he will have them. And when he answers the plea of Israel in verse 19, we read, and all the people have said to Samuel, pray for your servants to the Lord, your God. When he answers their prayer, he says in verse three, in essence, he says to them, if the rejected God, because it is God you have rejected, If the rejected God refuses to forsake you, how can I forsake you? It's impossible. I can't do otherwise. This is what he says here in verse 23. He says, moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord in season to pray for you. I can't stop praying for you. They're asking him to pray for them. I can't stop. It's my calling. It's my responsibility. I cannot turn away. If the God you have abandoned has not abandoned you, has not forsaken you, how can I abandon my faith? It can't happen. So don't even suggest it. So they ask someone to pray for them, and they're asking you to pray for them as a favor. Do us this favor, they're saying. Please, pray for us. Pray for us. Someone says, yeah, no, I will pray for you, not just because it's a favor to you. No, it's my duty. It's my responsibility, and I cannot shackle. I cannot run away. It is my calling. So they ask him to pray for them now. He says, I have no sense to pray for you. In other words, I'll continue to pray for you. They want prayer at this time that they are in trouble. He says, I will pray for you now, but I will continue to pray. I will not cease from praying for you." And when they ask him to pray, that's what they are only interested in him praying for them, but he promises much more than just to pray. He says, in essence, I'm not only going to pray for you, but I'm going to teach you. This is what he says in verse 23, when he says, moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I shall sin against the Lord in season to pray for you, but I will teach. And he's not only just going to teach them anything, no, he says, I will teach you the good and the right way. I will teach you the good way that come from God, but I will also teach you the right way, the way that leads to this God. I will teach you the good and the right way. I will not only pray for you, I will never cease from praying for you. But beyond that, I will teach you and not just anything. I'm going to teach you the good and the right way. I'm going to teach you God's own way. But then he says in verse 24, Israel must in gratitude and thanksgiving. They're not going to do this in order that they may be saved or delivered. No, but in gratitude to God, they must hear God and serve the Lord in truth with the heart, considering all the great things that the Lord has done for them. Verse 24, only fear the Lord and serve him in truth with all your heart, for consider what great things he has done for you. Consider what great things he has done for you. What a God of mercy. You rebelled against him, you turn against him, replace him from the throne, Then when he punishes you, there you are in fear, you call on him, he turns again. He says, do not fear. Consider, just serve me. I need to be well with you. But then there is the warning in verse 25. If you still do wicked, shall be swept away, both you and yoke him. But think of this. Samuel said, you'll sin. But then he asked, but God never forsakes his own. He never forsakes his own. But you have to consider his word. You have to fear him and then serve him and he'll do well. Now this is grace, greater than all us, the grace of God, which surpasses all understanding. Remember how Paul puts it in Romans chapter five, there in verse 20 of Romans chapter five. Paul says, moreover, the law entered that the offense might abound, but where sin abounded, grace abounded much more. Grace abounded much more. So let's just make two or three applications as we close this morning. Samuel says, consider what great things the Lord has done for you. Only fear, only serve. Serve the Lord in truth with all your heart. You see, we are prone by nature to dwell on our miseries. That's who we are by nature, because we are fallen, because of our sinful nature. We are prone by nature to dwell in our miseries and forget our mercy. So he says, consider, remember. We remember our injuries for long. That's what we do. We remember all that has been done against us for long, but we soon forget God's favors to us. That's what sin has done to our nature. All the evil, all the bad things that have been done for us, all the misery that has been caused, we'll remember almost all of that. But the good things that God has done for us, before you know it, we have forgotten. And that's why we do not remember to ask and to thank the Lord. We are always asking. We never forget to ask. And when God answers, what do we do? We forget to thank him. We forget to praise him. We forget to adore him. We forget very quickly his favors. So the Lord says, consider the great things the Lord has done for you. Consider. The Lord has given us his son for our ransom. The Lord has given us his spirit as our guide. This is what he has done. He has given us his word as our directory. We have all that is necessary for God to live here in the true and the living word of the living God. We have it all here. The Lord has saved us from hell, delivered us. Bound for hell, that's where we were by nature. He has delivered us from hell. He has changed our hearts from being enemies to becoming friends. I call you my friends, says the Lord Jesus. He has forgiven our sins when we deserve but his wrath, not his mercy. But in mercy, he has forgiven our sins. He has given us faith to trust in him because it is the gift of God, remember. He has given us faith to trust in him. He has given us promises to plead with him. He didn't have to, but he has given them. He has chosen to give them. And he has asked us to plead them to him. And he has promised that he will answer them. He has supplied for our needs. He has disciplined us. He has corrected us when we've erred. He has conquered all our demons. The Lord has shown proofs of his faithfulness in our lives, each and every one of us. As nations, he has shown proofs of his faithfulness to us. He has delivered our nation in the past from many wars. And today he is delivering us just as he is delivering many nations from this pandemic, COVID-19 pandemic. It is the Lord who is doing it. Indeed, no good thing has the Lord withheld from us. Let us remember and praise him for the past. And then let us trust him more for the future. Let us remember what great things the Lord has done. Thank him and praise him and adore him. In the second place, to impress on us the importance of remembering to thank him and praise him for the past and trusting him for the future, the Lord may scare us by a sign of his holy anger. He might do like COVID-19. It is from the Lord. He might scare us from his holy anger so that we may fear him and repent. That is the purpose. in order that we may fear him and repent. And that shows the covenant curses that we have here in scripture are not just words that are written in scripture, but they are living threats from the living God. It's important that we remember that. living threats from the living God who has the power to act and to implement all his threats. It's important that we remember. In Leviticus chapter 26, in verses 14, right through to the end, but we'll just read verses 14 to 16. But if you do not obey me, and do not serve all these commandments. And if you despise my statutes, or if your soul abhors my judgments, so that you do not perform all my commandments, but break my covenant, I also will do this to you. I will even appoint terror over you, wasting disease and fever, which shall consume the eyes and cause sorrow of heart, and you will sow your seed in vain. or your enemies shall eat it. It is not a brain threat. It is a living threat from the living God who has the power to bring it to us. And it's important that we remember that again, all these covenant curses that we have in scripture, they're not just there. to adorn the pages of scripture. The Lord who spoke them means them. And if we dare him, he will bring them to us. If God gives us a sight of our sin, if God causes us to see that he is displeased with us, in other words, if he gives us a sight of his displeasure with us, then we can be sure of this. It is not merely to shake us. Yes, it is to shake us, but it is to shake us and to restore us to himself. It is for a purpose. God does not please him simply in punishing. It is always for a purpose. And here we see again, what the apostle describes as the goodness and the severity of God. He will be severe, he will be sick, but he's good to them that lie, to his will. In Romans chapter 11, and there in verse 22 of Romans chapter 11, the apostle Paul writes and says, therefore consider the goodness and severity of God on those who fell severity, but towards you, goodness, if you continue in this goodness, otherwise you also will be cut off. The Lord intends fear as the way to bring us to repentance. Not just to shake us for the sake of shaking, but in order that we might come to our senses and repent and seek the Lord. And like Israel of old, if ever a nation and a people, if ever a nation and a people owed everything to the Lord, our nation does. We, as individuals, owe everything to the Lord. We, collectively, as a people, owe everything to the Lord. Let us consider And we come and praise Him finally. You see Samuel here in his priestly intercession and prophetic teaching of the children of Israel. Here he is. He is a prophet. He teaches the people of God. He is an intercessor. He intercedes for them. So that the man Samuel filled the offices of priest and prophet for the children of Israel. A fire greater than Samuel has arisen. A fire greater than Samuel has come. The man, Christ Jesus. As our prophet, he calls us. He says we should take our yoke upon ourselves. And he makes sure that he tells us that it's easy. But in addition, he tells us that we are to learn from him, in Matthew 11, verse 29. So he comes as a prophet to teach us. He comes indeed as our priests to intercede on our behalf. And as our priest, he always leaves to make intercession for us, we weak, sinful, faltering and covenant-breaking people. But that's how we are, very weak by nature. We falter along the way, always making mistakes, breaking God's covenant, the covenant that is made with his people. In Hebrews 7, 25, and there it says, therefore he is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through him, since he always leads to make intercession for them. That's what he does. And if you're not a believer, this morning. You're not a true Christian. You must then first of all see your great evil in sinning against the true and the living God, in sinning against grace, against mercy. God in love and mercy has sent his son, the Lord Jesus, to suffer and die for you and for me. And as you continue to sin against this grace, as you continue to sin against this true God, the one who has loved us with an everlasting love, as you continue to sin against him, you will end up in hell. So you must first see your sin against the true and the living God. And yet, you must also see his great saving grace that is found in the Lord Jesus Christ. see your sin, the awfulness of your sin, where it will lead you. But there is grace, there is mercy in the Son of God whom God has sent to save sinners like you and me. So let the sign of God's holy anger against you because God's wrath is upon the wicked and if you do not believe and repent you will go to hell. The word of God is very simple and clear. So let the sign of God's anger, and the prospect of going to hell. Let that scare you out of your life. And let that drive you and bring you to repentance and to faith in our Lord and our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Cry out, as the Apostle Paul puts it in 2 Corinthians chapter 4. And I will read that to us, 2 Corinthians chapter four. And there in verse six of 2 Corinthians chapter four, it is God who commanded light to shine. Let the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness. This one who was shown in the hearts of believers and giving them light, let him shine in your heart. Let him give you light of the knowledge of the glory of God that is found in the face of Jesus Christ. Pray this prayer, that he will cause you to see him and to know him whom to know truly is to have everlasting life. And then you will know that not only do we become God's children by grace alone, but that it is also by grace alone that we remain and continue as the children of God. So we come to God by grace, but we are sustained by grace. We lead by grace, we continue by grace unto glory. It is grace all the way through. When you know the second grace in your life, then you'll be able to sing, amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now I'm found, was blind but now I see. The second verse begins, it was grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved. Do you see that? Grace taught my heart to fear, and it is grace that caused my fears to be relieved. Grace When we see the terror of hell, when we're frightened and we're in fear, it is grace prompting us and bringing us to the Savior. And it is the same grace that will redeem us of that fear, force us to know him and to love him and to pray for the rest of our lives. May that grace, even today, even today, save one sinner, one sinner, and bring him to that saving knowledge of the Son of God, of Jesus Christ. May the Lord bless us and help us to remember and consider all that the Lord has done for us, so that we may truly thank Him and praise Him and adore Him in the beauty of holiness. Amen. Let us pray.