Well, good evening, everyone. It's good to see you. Good to see you. And this evening's passage is about how God is going to achieve his will. God is going to work his plan in spite of man's best or in spite of man's worst efforts to stop him and to reject him. And it is human to be against God. It is the human condition to be against the Lord. And the sad thing is that those of us that have met Christ as our Savior still have that tendency, don't we? And we will have it because we're in the flesh. We are living in this body. You know, Paul told us in Galatians 2, verse 20, he said, I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. Okay, that issue is settled between me and God. Christ is living in me, and that's the basis of my relationship with the Father. That's the basis of my acceptance with God, is that Christ lives in me. I've been born again, and Christ lives in me. And the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. We're living this life in the flesh. And so that means we have all of the desires of the flesh, all the urges of the flesh. And we might like to think, well, that's not so bad. There's nothing wrong with being hungry. There's nothing wrong with getting tired and all of those kinds of things, those natural urges. But the urges of the flesh include attitudes and thinking that is against God. Let's go over there to Galatians Galatians chapter 5, and I think really, I know that this is kind of a long list and it's maybe kind of boring to go through it, but I think it's good to have it uppermost in our mind because it helps us to realize whenever we are having thoughts that are coming from the flesh rather than coming from the spirit. And we need to recognize that. The apostle says here, the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness. So all kinds of sexual immorality. And then he goes on in verse 20, idolatry, witchcraft. You know, there is a draw of the flesh to enjoy, to view, to be involved in spiritual things that are contrary to God. to be involved in spiritual things that are contrary to God, to be interested in the occult, to be interested in all of those kinds of things. And that's a trap that even Christians can fall into, to think, well, I'm just gonna enjoy this book, or I'm gonna enjoy this movie that's about witches and all other kinds of things that are contrary to God. Watch out. Watch out for that. Those kinds of things, idolatry, worshiping things that are not truly God and those kind of things. Those are works of the flesh. Also, the next one, hatred. Hatred. Is it possible for a true believer in Christ to actually hate somebody? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. It's really possible. It's really possible to be so offended, so hurt, to have so much accusation in our heart against somebody that we we cannot experience love for that person because we are so angry and have such a grudge against that person. Christians are really quite capable of that. Instead of being instead of being a group that comes together and loving each other, a group of Christians can be a group of people that come together and that group is over there and that group is over there and there are certain people you just don't talk to, you just walk by them. So that kind of thing goes on, watch out. Variants. Emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, wrath. Now, any man that will tell you he doesn't have a problem with wrath will probably lie to you about other things, too, because it's just so characteristic of men to be angry. I don't know if anybody has noticed that before, but, well, even Paul told us there in Ephesians 2, didn't he, the first few verses, the children of wrath, even as others. So anyway, he has this list here of the works of the flesh. Sedition is rebellion against a legitimate authority. heresies, believing things that are not true. You know, there is such a thing as a person saying, well, if so and so believes the raptures before the tribulation, well, I'm not going to, you know, and just taking a stand contrary to somebody and holding on to a false doctrine just to be different, you know, just to be your own person, so to speak. Anyway, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like, of the which I tell you before, as I told you in time past, they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But for a believer in Christ, we have the righteousness of God imputed to us. We've been born again. God looks on the heart and he sees, that is the spiritual man, the inner man, he sees the quality of Christ there. And that's why we are accepted with him. But while we have those qualities of Christ, we also have the qualities of the flesh and the urges of the flesh to go the wrong way. And we need to be aware of that. And the idea that I'm sharing at this time is just simply that While we seek to serve and please the Lord, we can find ourselves under the urges of the flesh to go the wrong way. And we need to be wise and turn away from those things. Tonight, we're going to finish up Psalm 118. And Psalm 118 is all about how God is going to fulfill his purpose. He's going to accomplish his plan in spite of man's worst or in spite of man's best efforts to stop him. He will triumph. He will prevail. He will prevail. I remember just a few days after September 11, 2001, President George W. Bush gave a speech to Congress about what had happened, and they determined that it was al-Qaeda. that had been behind the bombings of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and that had the plane headed toward the Capitol building that was thwarted by the passengers on the plane. But he stood before the Congress and stood before the world that night and said, we will prevail. We will prevail. And of course, what that means is we're going to win. We're going to win. That's just an example of that determination. But the Lord will prevail. The Lord will prevail. His plans will be accomplished. Well, let's go here to Psalm 118 and we will finish it up this evening. Psalm 118, as I mentioned last time, Psalms 113 to 118 are the Hallel Psalms, which are the Psalms of praise sung during the Jewish festivals of the Passover and the Feast of Booths and the Feast of the New Moon. They're not sung during Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement because that's a time of afflicting the souls. But the ones that are celebrations, these particular Psalms are sung. Tradition has it, I don't know for sure, the scripture doesn't say it, but it does tell us in the book of Mark that after the Lord had the Passover meal and after he instituted communion, as we call it, the Lord's Supper among them, it says that they sung a hymn and they went out. And the marginal reading there says that they sung a psalm and went out, and it was likely this particular psalm that they sang. Boy, wouldn't that have been interesting to be there and hear Jesus and the disciples singing? Well, that would be a men's group I'd really like to hear. Who knows? It may have been more of a joyful noise than anything else, but what a tremendous privilege. Do you suppose Jesus will be singing in heaven? You know, the book of Zephaniah tells us that the Lord will rejoice over over his people with singing. That day is that day is coming. So anyway. Psalm 118, and we're going to jump in here. Verses one through four. O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good, because his mercy endureth forever. Okay, just a quick pause right here. A part of our communion with the Lord, a part of our prayer life, and a part of our personal conversation and testimony should be this, God is good. God is good. God wants to benefit. God wants to bless. He does judge and he does chasten and bad things do happen and the Lord uses difficult circumstances, but he does those things and he allows those things for our good. Our good. The Lord is good. His mercy endureth forever. And I'm so grateful for that in my life. How about you? You know, we are, as I pointed out, we are in the flesh. We're prone to fail. But the Lord's mercy is forever. Let Israel now say that his mercy endureth forever. Let the house of Aaron now say that his mercy endureth forever. And let them that fear the Lord say that his mercy endureth forever. So he's covering all different kinds of classes of people there to say the Lord is good, his mercy endureth forever. And then we go into the portion of this psalm that is a personal testimony of how God was good and how God manifested his mercy to the psalmist, which more than likely was David. And let's dive in here, verses five through nine. The Lord is on my side and it's better to trust in him than to trust in men. Let verses five through nine say this. I called upon the Lord in distress. The Lord answered me and set me in a large place. The Lord set me in a place of safety. He set me in a large place. The Lord is on my side. I will not fear what man can do unto me. The Lord taketh my part with them that help me. So the Lord is helping me and others that are helping me. They're in this together. And of course, David had his mighty men. He had his mighty men. I see my desire upon them that hate me. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes." And of course, we mentioned this last week, how we are prone to put our trust in human beings, and especially in princes, aren't we? Here we are. We are now, in January 2024, we are now in an election year, right? And there's such a tremendous human pressure to put our trust in whoever the next president is going to be. And we've got to get beyond the point of thinking the next president is going to make life better. Right. We we need a man in there that will be wise and make wise decisions for our country. But whether my life is better or not really has more to do with the Lord and my relationship with the Lord than who's sitting in the White House. And we we need to we need to keep that in mind. OK, then versus 10 through 16. He's talking about how he's rejoicing in the Lord's deliverance. And look at the Lord's deliverance here, verses 10 through 16. All nations compassed me about. But in the name of the Lord will I destroy them. They compassed me about. Yea, they compassed me about. But in the name of the Lord, I will destroy them. They compassed me about like bees. They are quenched as the fire of thorns. For in the name of the Lord, I will destroy them. Now, please go back with me and remember who this David is. Do you remember the original, the first king, the first king of Israel was Saul, right? And Saul started out, he was little in his own eyes, but then he became self-willed and he did what he wanted to do in spite of what God told him to do. And the Lord sent Samuel to find a man after God's own heart. The Lord had chosen a man after his own heart. And of course, that man turned out to be a shepherd boy. And so David was considered the man after God's own heart. He was anointed by the Lord to be the shepherd of Israel. And of course, David was surrounded by nations that wanted to destroy Israel. The Philistines and the Moabites and other nations wanted to destroy David and wanted to destroy the nation. But David had that confidence in the name of the Lord, I will destroy them. They compass me about like bees, they are quenched as the fire of thorns, for in the name of the Lord will I destroy them. Thou hast thrust sore at me that I might fall, but the Lord helped me. The Lord is my strength and song and has become my salvation. The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tabernacles of the righteous. The right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly. The right hand of the Lord is exalted. The right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly. This is what I was referring to at the very beginning. Man may do his best to stop God's plan. God's plan was for the nation of Israel to be there in the land of Canaan. I'm going to go ahead and use the term the land of Canaan rather than the land of Palestine because we're talking about in the biblical times there. So there they were in the land of Canaan. And the Canaanites resented them and all the surrounding nations resented them and wanted to destroy them. But God's plan was for the people of Israel to be there and to be obedient to his law so that he could bless them and he would give them a king. And Samuel told them, if you will continue to serve the Lord, even though I'm giving you a king, God will bless you. So that was God's plan. But the nations around them wanted to destroy them even at that time. But they did not prevail. They did not prevail because the Lord was with David to give him victory over those enemies. God will prevail, not man. And the ultimate example of that is found in the book of Revelation chapter 19. So let's go there. What David is talking about here was fulfilled in his life but it's going to be fulfilled yet again in the future. Let's go there to Revelation chapter 19 and just read the account here. Revelation 19, we're going to begin in verse 11. And I saw heaven opened, And behold, a white horse, and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, on his head were many crowns, and he had a name written that no man knew but he himself. And he was clothed in a vesture dipped in blood. And his name is called the word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, and out of his mouth go with a sharp sword that with it he should smite the nations. Now, why is he going to smite the nations? He's going to smite the nations because the nations don't want him to rule over them. That's man's best efforts. to stop the Lord from having dominion on the earth. But he's going to come, and he's going to smite the nations. He shall rule them with a rod of iron. And he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God, God's judgment on the God-rejecting world. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And I saw an angel. standing in the sun, and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God, that ye may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together, to make war against him that sat on the horse and against his army. So this is the time that the nations of the world are gathered together specifically for the purpose of stopping Christ from ruling the world. Talk about as, and he's going to mention it in a few verses here, a few verses later, the stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner. These builders, the leaders of the nations are set against the Lord. They've rejected him, but he's going to be the head of the corner, he will prevail. Let's go to verse 17, Psalm 118, verse 17. 118, verse 17 and 18. Psalm 118, 17, I shall not die, but live and declare the works of the Lord. The Lord hath chastened me sore, but he hath not given me over to death. Now, David, David did experience the chastening of the Lord, but his enemies did not prevail against him. Let's go back to Psalm 18, not 118, Psalm 18. And notice David's testimony there, Psalm 18. Just the first few verses, he says this. I will love thee, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer. I'll tell you what, we've got to read the note here that goes with this psalm. There it says Psalm 18, and then after Psalm 18, there's the notation that says, to the chief musician, a psalm of David, the servant of the Lord, who spake unto the Lord the words of this song in the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. So David had a point where all of the nations that were set against him were defeated. He had rest from his enemies and from Saul. And he said, I will love thee, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress, my deliverer, my strength in whom I will trust, my buckler. That's my my arm shield. and the horn of my salvation, my high tower. I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised. So shall I be saved from mine enemies. The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. The sorrows of hell compassed me about. The snares of death prevented me. In my distress, I called upon the Lord and cried unto my God. He heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him into his ears." And then the rest of the psalm goes on to describe how the Lord defeated David's enemies. So they wanted to come and kill him, but the Lord rescued David from death. In fact, notice what the scripture says about David here in 1 Chronicles chapter 29. There when it came time for David to pass on, 1 Chronicles chapter 29 and verse 28. Thus David, the son of Jesse, reigned over all Israel. From the time that he reigned over Israel was forty years, and he was anointed when he was thirty years old. 40 years, seven years reigned he in Hebron, and three years reigned he in Jerusalem. And he died in a good old age, full of days, riches, and honor. And Solomon, his son, reigned in his stead. So David died in a good old age. He didn't die from the efforts of his enemy. He died in that good old age, as Moses referred to there in Psalm number 90. Our days are threescore years and 10. But, so David was delivered from those that wanted to kill him. David, he did not die. Now, when he says that in the context, the context was not, I'm never gonna die. David's still walking around somewhere today. No, no, he wasn't going to die in the context there. He was not going to die from the efforts of his enemy to destroy him. But you know, David was speaking of himself there, but those that wanted to put Christ to death succeeded in putting him to death, but he did not remain dead, did he? He overcame. He overcame death. I'd like to ask you to come with me to Psalm number 16, Psalm number 16, David's Psalm there. Notice what he says there about death. OK, Psalm 16. We're going to just look here at verses 8 through 11. It says this. I have set the Lord always before me because he is at my right hand. I shall not be moved. Therefore, my heart is glad and my glory rejoices. My flesh also shall rest in hope for thou will not leave my soul in hell. Neither wilt thou suffer thine holy one to see corruption. Thou wilt show me the path of life in thy presence is the fullness of joy. At thy right hand, there are pleasures forevermore. So this is a psalm of David. But I want you to come with me to the book of Acts chapter two. In Acts chapter two, the apostle Peter refers to this psalm of David. And it's remarkable what he says here is Acts chapter two, beginning in verse twenty five. Acts two twenty five says this. David speaketh concerning him, that is concerning Christ. I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved. Therefore did my heart rejoice. My tongue was glad. Moreover, also my flesh shall rest in hope. See, he's quoting Psalm 16 here, isn't he? because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou hast made known to me the ways of life. Thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance. Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulcher is with us unto this day. Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne, he, seeing this before, spake of the resurrection of Christ. that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we are all witnesses." What Peter is saying there is that David was a prophet. David was a prophet and some of the things that David said clearly were in reference to Christ. So what we have here in Psalm 118 is a reference to David. He was not going to be put to death by his enemies. There's the Christ, although he was put to death, he overcame. He overcame death because he was raised from the dead, as it pointed out there in the Book of Acts. Well, now let's go on to Psalm 118 and let's look at the triumphant entry. The triumphant entry. Psalm 118, verses 19 through 27. Open to me the gates of righteousness. He's continuing here. So he's saying that the nations compassed me about to destroy me, but through the Lord. They were destroyed. Through the Lord, I prevailed. He said, I shall not die, but live. He was not going to die due to the efforts of his enemies. And now, because he has been victorious over his enemies, now what we have is open the gates of righteousness. Now comes the triumph. Now comes the triumph. Verse 19. Open to me the gates of righteousness. I will go into them and I will praise the Lord. This gate of the Lord into which the righteous shall enter. I will praise thee for thou hast heard me and art become my salvation. Does this business about opening the gates remind you of another psalm? Who is it that's going to enter those gates? Well, let's go. Let's go over there to Psalm number 24. Psalm number 24. Hey, that comes right after Psalm 23, doesn't it? Well, we all know what Psalm 23 is, right? The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. So it's noteworthy that here in Psalm 22, 23, and 24, we really have a trio that really kind of goes together. On Psalm 22, we have Christ on the mountain. Mount Calvary. It's a description of the crucifixion. In Psalm number 23, the Lord is my shepherd. He's down in the valley. And then in Psalm number 24, he is on the mountain of victory on Mount Zion. Come with me here to Psalm number 24, and we'll put in here at verse seven. Lift up your heads, O ye gates. Be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in. You see, David's entry into the gates, David's entry into the gates was a foreshadowing of the King of glory coming to enter into the gates. Yeah, so David wasn't that king of glory. David was a glorious king, but he was not the king of glory. Lift up your heads, O ye gates. Be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors, and the king of glory shall come in. Who is this king of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty. The Lord, mighty in battle. Lift ye up your heads, O ye gates, even lift them up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in. Who is the King of glory? The Lord of hosts. He is the King of glory. And so, of course, that's that's talking about the triumphal entry of the King of glory into the city of Jerusalem to reign. Let's go back to Psalm 118. Now at this point, we do have the King of Glory coming in, and then he's going to take us back to where did we come from? Where did we come from? Here's the king of glory in the gates of righteousness, the gates that only the righteous can enter. And of course, Christ was the righteous. He was the one that had the right to enter those gates in triumph. But where did he come from? Verse 22. Here it is. The stone which the builders refused is become the head of the corner. This passage is quoted seven times in the New Testament. Seven times in the New Testament. One of those times is whenever Christ referred to it. But the idea of the stone which the builders refused has become the head of the corner. So there are those that want to build an edifice. They want to build a building. And so they're picking out the stones that they think will be the best one. And here's a stone. And they look at it and they say, this does not fit our expectations. This does not fit what we want to build. Let's set it aside. And of course, there are stories about that kind of thing happening in the in the building of Jerusalem. And what the Lord says, that stone that didn't meet your expectations is the one that's going to be set as the cornerstone. It's going to be the basis of the building. So the stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner. This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes. Man wants to reject the Lord and wants to reject the Lord's plan and reject the Lord's Christ and the Lord's King. But the Lord's going to prevail. The Lord's going to prevail. Let's go there to Matthew chapter 21. Here in Matthew 21, I'd like for us to see where the Lord Jesus referred to this. And in doing that, he's referring to himself. Here in Matthew chapter 21, we see Christ enter into Jerusalem and he has proclaimed the king. And then he goes into the temple and he casts out the money changers. And then people come to him and they ask him, who do you think you are? And then he tells them this account in verse 33. Here are another parables. So here they are in the courtyard of the temple and the leaders of the temple, the chief priest and the elders and the scribes have come and they're confronting him about the fact that he's cleared out the temple here. He actually came in here and acted like he was in charge, acted like this was his house. Here another parable he told them. There was a certain householder which planted a vineyard and hedged it round about and digged a wine press in it and built a tower and let it out to husbandmen and went into a far country. And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen that they might receive the fruits of it. And of course the husbandman refused to give over the fruits to those servants and they beat some and they killed some. And ultimately the husbandman said, I'm going to send my son. They will reverence my son. Verse 37, last of all, he sent unto them his son saying they will reverence my son. But when the husbandman saw the son, they said among themselves, this is the heir. Come, let us kill him and let us seize on his inheritance. And they caught him and cast him out of the vineyard and slew him. And when the Lord thereof of the vineyard cometh, what will he do to those husbandmen? They say unto him, those, the scribes and Pharisees, they said to Jesus, he will miserably destroy those wicked men and will let out the vineyard to other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons. Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures the stone which the builders rejected? The same has become the head of the corner. This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes. Therefore, I say unto you, the kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation, bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken, but on whomsoever it shall fall, it would grind him to powder. And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them. So the Lord used that, didn't he? This is the son. This is the heir. Come, let's seize on him and kill him. Isn't that what their plan was? Their plan was to seize on Christ and kill him and keep all the glory and the authority of the nation for themselves. They didn't want to give it over to him. He was the stone that they rejected. But he will one day become the head of the corner. Let's go back to Psalm 118. There's a passage here that is often used to refer to today. You know, like today is January 24th. And in a very real sense, the Lord did make this day. The Lord did set the planets in motion and set the earth in motion and has sustained all of the life and everything on this earth so that the existence of this day is something that God has done. And we should rejoice and be glad in it. But in the context of this psalm, in the context of this psalm, we're looking at a time that the builders rejected the stone. And the stone would become the head of the corner. And this is marvelous in our eyes. And this is the day which the Lord has made. We will rejoice in it. This is the day that God set as the day that he would overcome the schemes of the builders, the day that he would overcome the plans of the wicked. How is that gonna work? Well, come with me here to verse 25. Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord. O Lord, I beseech thee, send now prosperity. Now this is an interesting word, save now or save us, Lord. It's a Hebrew word and the Hebrew word is Hosanna, Hosanna. When Jesus came into Jerusalem on that day, Matthew 21, for the sake of time, we won't go there, but I'd encourage you to look at Matthew chapter 21, verses four through nine. Whenever Christ came in, it says that it was the fulfillment of the prophecy of Zechariah, which said, Rejoice, O daughter of Zion, thy king cometh unto thee. That was the day. That was the day that the Lord had made. That was the day that the Lord appointed. And the Lord had told the people that that day was coming. This is the prophecy of Daniel chapter 9. In Daniel chapter 9, we have the prophecy of the 70 weeks that said from the commandment to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah, the Prince, is going to be a certain number of weeks. And you can do the calculations from the time to build the commandment to build Jerusalem, not the commandment to build the temple, but the commandment to build Jerusalem. And that was a commandment that was given by King Artaxerxes. It's recorded there in the book of Nehemiah that the king commanded to go and build, and he commanded the nations nearby to give Nehemiah whatever materials he needed to do that. And from the time of that commandment, which was in the month Nice in 444 B.C., until the Messiah, the prince, was going to be a certain number of time. And we're not going to go into that tonight. We don't have time to. But it's amazing. That was fulfilled. That was fulfilled to the day. That was the day that the Lord had made. So those people were saying, Hosanna, Lord, save us. Verse 26. Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. We have blessed you out of the house of the Lord. OK, so that was that was the cry of the multitudes that day. But what was the cry of the leaders of Israel that day? We will not have this man to rule over us. And so they they set about to execute and destroy him. 27, the Lord ultimately triumphs. God is the Lord, which hath showed us light. Bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar. We are ready to sacrifice unto the Lord. And then verse 28, thou art my God. I will praise thee. Thou art my God. I will exalt thee. Okay, so these are the words of David in his victory over his enemies, but they are really a foreshadowing of Christ's victory over his enemies and how they sought to destroy him, the builders rejected him, and yet he arose from the dead and has become the head of the corner, he will come and he will rule the nations with a rod of iron, even though they've come out to go to war against him. He will prevail. And he ends here by telling us, So give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good. God's plan to have Christ rule and reign is good. That's best. That's better than any human. Remember, he told us earlier in the psalm, it's better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. He is the best leader. Oh, give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good. His mercy endureth forever. So the Lord will return. He will, and I've got a note here that I, that we're not, we're not, yeah, we are going to. Let's go to Matthew chapter 23. We'll close with this verse. Matthew 23. Here we are in Matthew 23, where we're just within a day or two after the multitudes were saying, blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord. And now Jesus is weeping over Jerusalem because although the multitudes received him that day, he knew that the leaders would say no. and put him to death. And he says this in Matthew chapter 23, verse 37, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not. Ye would not. The way that we would probably say that is, How often I wanted to do this, but you were not willing when he says he would not. He is indicating here it was an act of their will to say, no, we will not let you gather us unto you. And then the Lord pronounces judgment. Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. But I want you to notice what he says in verse thirty nine, for I say unto you, you shall not see me henceforth. You're not gonna see me anymore until you say, blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. And see the Lord fulfilled that even after he arose from the dead, he didn't go down to the temple and show himself to all the multitudes of the Jews in the temple or in the marketplace or Jerusalem, right? They're not going to see him until they say, blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord, until they as a people are ready to receive their Messiah, and then he will return. So he'll return when they're willing to receive him. Praise the Lord. He is good and he will accomplish his plan in spite of man's worst efforts to stop him. He will triumph and he will prevail. I guess in a way you could say, hey, we're on the winning team. We're on the winning team. Things may not seem to be going our way, but the Lord's going to prevail.