Please turn to Psalm 139. Psalm 139. The entire psalm is in your bulletin, in an insert, since we'll be looking to memorize Psalm 139. Those who would choose to take the mission, two verses a month And there's an insert in your bulletin that outlines what those 24 verses would be. So you do have it in your bulletin as well. It seems fitting, then, that it would be wise on the first Sunday of the year to walk through Psalm 139 as an aid to understanding it. And so we'll look at Psalm 139 this morning. But because of its length, rather than read it all at once, we'll read it as we go through it. And Psalm 139 is a wonderful example of the theology of God made personal. the doctrine of God for the head and the heart with the applications of the attributes of God to the believer. For the kids, of course, when we say kids, it means even adults can listen as well. If I asked you the question, what is God? Could you sing that? What is God? God is a spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable. In His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. It's interesting. I think if you would look at Psalm 139, you could pick out all of those attributes that are listed in that simple catechism song from Psalm 139. That would be an exercise you could do in your homes over the course of the year, if you would like, as we look at Psalm 139. But in particular, what we see in Psalm 139, we see God's infinite omniscience that he knows all things, his omnipresence, that he is everywhere present, and his omnipotence, that he has the power to do all things. Those are the three attributes mainly presented. Omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence. And it's not in mere theological abstractions, but in terms of the believer's personal experience of God through these attributes. And James Boyce in his commentary, which not surprisingly has much of the foundation for the sermon I'm going to preach on Psalm 139. James Boyce quoted Alexander McLaren who said that the fill and the thrill of the psalmist's soul in Psalm 139 is not mere omniscience, but a knowledge which knows him altogether. Not mere omnipresence, but a presence which he, the psalmist, can nowhere escape and not mere creative power, but a power which has shaped him. That is the fill and the thrill of the psalmist's soul. And it seems fitting that Psalm 139 is dedicated to the chief musician, the director of music, since the personal theology of Psalm 139 is the very essence of our worship, the responding to who God is and praising him for who he is. And so we'll look at Psalm 139 in four sections of six verses. And you have an outline in your bulletin as well. We'll look at the praise of His omniscience in verses 1-6. And the praise of His omnipresence in verses 7-12. And the praise of His omnipotence in verses 13-18. What you have in verses 19-24 is really the sense that all of this wrapped together shows His holiness. His altogether otherness. And so you have a response to the holiness of God in verses 19-24. And we'll see the description, but then look at the danger, if we can, of each of those four attributes, omniscience, omnipresence, omnipotence, and holiness. The description and then the danger of each of those attributes. But along the way, we'll also see the sanctity of life and the evils of abortion. And this psalm is one of the greatest passages that deals with that. And we hope to learn a greater love and appreciation for God from this. A greater love and appreciation for God and His care for us in the life He has given us, in the life that He has given all images of God, including those in the womb and that from conception. Let's look at verses 1-6, which I've entitled, The Praise of the Omniscient God. Let me read verses 1-6. O Lord, You have searched me and known me. Omniscient says He knows all things. You know my sitting down and my rising up. You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend or you winnow or sift my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. For there's not a word on my tongue, for behold, O Lord, You know it altogether. You have hedged me or enclosed me behind and before and laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me. It is high. I cannot attain it." The emphasis here is on the omniscience of God. And in short, the omniscience of God refers to Him seeing and knowing everything. And here David expresses it not dryly, but he confesses it in wonder and adoration. We can sometimes know a lot of things, and some of us think we know more than others, but we can sometimes know a lot of things, but God knows and notices all things about everything at all times and exhaustively. And he forgets and neglects nothing. His is a perfect knowledge and awareness without limit. But here in Psalm 139, as with the rest of the attributes of Psalm 139, God's omniscience is applied personally. It's personally applied. And you see the theme in v. 1. A very short verse that begins the whole psalm, O Lord, You have searched me and known me. What is it that He knows in v. 1? It's not just that He knows all things, but that He knows me. Perfectly. Even more, He has searched me. He has searched me. He knows all there is to know about me. As a Christian, He still knows me and loves me all the same. Only a redeemed believer can say this, and it's a great comfort that He knows all about me, but He loves me. And then in verses 2-4, He develops that theme God's omniscience, but in particular, how He knows me. He knows all things, but He knows me. Verses 2-4, You know my sitting down and my rising up. You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down. You are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, O Lord, You know it all together. He develops the details of God's personal knowledge of every soul. God has perfect knowledge of the psalmist's thoughts, verse 2. His ways, verse 3. His words, verse 4. In verse 2, all my physical or emotional positions, my sitting, my rising, God knows all of my thoughts. He knows all and sifts through in verse 3, or winnows through all my paths and positions. He knows all my ways. And then in v. 4, He knows every word that I speak even before I speak it. It reminds us of Jesus' teaching in the Sermon on the Mount that the Father knows your needs before you ask. But yes, you still ask. And then in v. 5-6, there's the theme in v. 1. There's the development of what that means in v. 2-4. Then in v. 5-6, you see the response. David is now looking at the omniscience and the knowledge of God, and he responds with great joy and astonishment. You've hedged me in, you've enclosed me behind and before, and you laid your hand upon me. There seems to be an overlap or an overflow from omniscience to omnipresence here, and it makes sense because in real life, God's attributes overlap and overflow into one another. He is one. And maybe David is anticipating that he's next going to look at God's omnipresence, but there's an overlap from omniscience But now you've hedged me, you've enclosed me behind and before, you've laid your hand upon me." I think what he's doing more fully, he's describing the comfort for the believer because of God's personal knowledge of him. What he's saying is, because you know all things about me, it's like a hedge around me as if you're everywhere present with me to guide me and direct me. God knows me and all my thoughts and my ways and my words, and so He's able to provide me the best care and direction and discipline and encourage my strengths and strengthen my weaknesses. His omniscience is like an omnipresent hedge of care and comfort around me. And in verse 6, David then fully reacts to the perfect knowledge of God Such knowledge is too wonderful for me. It is high. It's beyond me. I cannot attain it. That's because He is God and we are not. It reminds us of Paul's reaction after the fullness of God's plan of undeserved redemption is revealed in Romans 1-11. Of course, we're looking through Romans 1-11. We'll get to chapter 2 this month in our studies. But what you see in the first three chapters that Paul lays down the total depravity of man and he deserves wrath and he's storing up wrath day by day. Yet God in His mercy sends His Son to live and to die to provide righteousness and to take that wrath. So then we find that by faith the sinner can exchange his sin for the righteousness of Christ. He can exchange his spiritual death for the life of Christ. and enemies who are sinners against God, then become sons of God, to be made like the Son of God and given the Spirit of God. And then in Romans 11, you have that final thought that even Jew and Gentile are in the same church of Christ. There's no difference. So at the very end of all of that, it took 11 chapters to do that. At the end of all of that, then Paul breaks out and says, oh, the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God, how unsearchable are his judgments and his ways past finding out. It's the same sort of expression. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me. It is high. I cannot attain it. As we see the omniscience of God in David's rendering, We said we're going to be looking at the description of each attribute, but then possibly look at the danger of it. Maybe the danger sounds odd. What would be the danger of God's omniscience? Well, if we admit it, an all-knowing God, and I do mean all-knowing in thoughts, words, deeds, paths and ways, an all-knowing God makes us uneasy. Is it a little bit disturbing or even threatening? that the God of all eternity and of all power and of all holiness knows everything about you? It's not just that God knows all, but He knows all about me and He knows all about you. Actions, attitudes, thoughts, secrets, desires, hidden sins are all squarely in the sight of God Almighty. And so for the non-Christian, you should be terrified. And you should not ignore such a sense of terror. God is perfectly holy. He knows all sin and word, way, and thought. And there will be judgments. Jared has just read from our confession about what happens on the day of judgments. So the response should be, come to Christ who alone can propitiate your wrath that your sin deserves. Christ who alone can give forgiveness and who can provide righteousness that you might stand before God, not just with no sin, but with the righteousness of Christ clothing you. It's your only hope. For the Christian, like with David, omniscience is a comfort and a refuge. It's a comfort and a refuge. Because of Christ, sin's debt has been paid. A new heart has been given. Sonship is guaranteed. And again, God's knowledge means that you're still accepted and He will help and hedge and keep you, knowing all things about you. Knowing that He knows all things encourages the Christian in humble holiness and accountability to love Him and to serve Him all the more. So in verses 1-6, we see the emphasis on the omniscience of God. Verses 7-12, I think the emphasis is on the omnipresence of God. Let me read verses 7-12. Where can I go from your Spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend into heaven, you are there. If I make my bed in hell or Sheol, behold, you are there as well. If I take the wings of the morning, speaking of the east, the sunrise, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, speaking of the Mediterranean Sea, that's to the west, the sunset, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, surely the darkness shall fall on or cover me, even the night shall be light about me. Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from you, O God, but the night shines as the day, for God, The darkness and the light are both alike to you, speaking of God. There's an overlap between God's all-seeing and all-knowing knowledge and his constant presence. In a sense, God sees and knows everything because his presence is everywhere to see and to know everything. And it's natural for sinful man to try to flee from such omnipresence. I need to get away from this almighty God who knows everything and who is everywhere. Yet with verse 7, David praises that even if he wanted to, he could not escape his God's presence and care. David, as a redeemed believer, is not trying to escape God's presence, but rather he's comforted again that God is always present with him. Wherever he might go, Whatever he might try to do, even if he tried to go somewhere, he could never escape his father's watchful care. God will never leave you nor forsake you, brethren and sisters. Deuteronomy 33 says, the eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. From verse 7, he says, where can I go? Where can I flee? Well, there's no place to go, nor does he want to. And then in verses 8-12, he gives three general areas in which escape from God is impossible. Up or down. East or west. Darkness or light. In verse 8, if I ascend into heaven, you are there. If I make my bed in hell or Sheol, the place of the dead, behold, you are there. A soul can never climb so high or descend so low to be outside of God's grasp and presence. God's holy presence is even felt in hell. God is even there. His presence of favor is not there. His presence of judgment and wrath is there for eternity. And that's why hell is a terror. In v. 8, if I ascend into heaven or if I make my bed in hell, it reminds us of Amos 9. The whole chapter speaks of the folly of those who think they can escape God's judgment. In Amos 9. In Amos 9, verse 2, we read, Though they dig into hell, from there my hand shall take them. Though they climb up to heaven, from there I will bring them down. There's no up or down or heaven or hell that you can escape from God's presence. Verses 9-10, we're speaking of east or west. The wings of the morning represent how the sun rises in the east. The uttermost parts of the sea is speaking of the Mediterranean Sea, which was to the west. So it's speaking of going from east to west. It even hints at time as the sun moves through the day from the east to the west. God's hand to lead and to hold is always there. He is always present. It's interesting for Jonah, when he was told to go to Nineveh, Nineveh was to the east. Which direction did he try to flee? He went west. He could not outrun God going to the West. God's presence was there as well. It did not work for him. There's the up, the down, the east, the west, and then verses 11 and 12. It's the dark or the light. If I say, surely the darkness shall fall on or cover me, even the night shall be light about me. Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from you, but the night shines as the day. The darkness and the light are both alike to God. Dark or light. Usually we are afraid of the dark. But God is there. And He can see just fine in the dark. In fact, He created the light for us to see. He didn't need the light to see. Perhaps it was also created for His glory. And with God, even the night shall be light about the believer. And it shines like the day, even though the dark to God, dark and light means nothing to God. And so it's utter foolishness to try to seek to sin in the dark, in the secret, in the hidden place, as if you can hide from God. Generally, darkness and night is used as symbolism of sin. The idea of seeking sin in the dark, in the secret, as if you can hide from God is utterly foolish. God sees all, dark or light, day or night, and He's everywhere present in His omniscience and His omnipresence. So you can see the danger of omnipresence. It's much like the danger of omniscience. An all-present God makes this uneasy. It's disturbing. It's even threatening to us. But for the Christian, like David, it's a comfort, isn't it? And I hope you can see this. Even if you're in sin in secret places and you're trying to get away from Him, He will not let you go out of His mind, out of His sight, out of His presence. He has promised this. At the end of Romans 8, the conclusion there is that nothing can separate us from the love of God and Christ. Flee as you might. Sin as you might, God knows, and He will catch up to you. And it's a wonderful thing. In John 10, Jesus says, My sheep hear My voice, and I know them. And He knows with an omniscient knowledge. And they follow Me, and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. Our Savior is omniscient and omnipresent. And my Father who has given them to me is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of my Father's hand. The omnipresence of God is a great comfort to the Christian. But for the non-Christian, again, you should be terrified. And you should not ignore such a sense of terror. James Boyd speaks on this He says, if you are not yet a Christian, let me remind you that you will have to stand before God one day. As Jared providentially spoke of earlier, how do you suppose you will be able to escape his just judgment on you for your sins? The scriptures say nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. What will you do on the day when all your sins will be read out? On that day, you will be abased, confounded, speechless, and overwhelmed as God unfolds the records of your sinful past, paragraph after paragraph and page after page. Stop, you will cry. But God will not stop until every sinful thought, every sin every evil deed, every curse, every theft, every lie, every neglect of what you should have done is read out and justly punished. He finishes by saying, do not wait for that day. Jesus died so that sinners like you and me might be saved from judgment. He is pursuing you so you might be saved. And I would add that even today, He is pursuing you so you might be saved Today, by the appointment of God, you're in the midst of the worship of God's people who've been forgiven but not made perfect. You've heard the Word preached. This is not an accident. May today be the day of salvation for you. So we have the omniscience of God and the omnipresence of God. But then, I think in verses 13 through 18, we have the omnipotence of God emphasized. The omnipotence of God. And I think the connection is that God sees and knows all things because He is everywhere. And He knows all things because He has made everything and controls all things, which is His omnipotence. Specifically, in verses 13-18, David wraps up all three of the omnis, the omniscience, the omnipresence, and omnipotence. He wraps up all three of these in God's personally creating and caring for man in the womb from conception. God knows us from conception. He's present in the womb, and he miraculously and powerfully creates and forms us in his omniscience, his omnipresence, his omnipotence. H.C. Leopold has said, what is being demonstrated in verses 13 through 18 is the fact that in his very being, man establishes both the omniscience and omnipresence of God. Let's read verses 13-18. For you formed my inward parts, which speaks of kidneys, I think, specifically, but the organs, we're speaking in the womb. You covered me in my mother's womb, which speaks of being wove or weaved together and knitted together in my mother's womb. I will praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frames, thinking of bones and muscles, were not hidden from you when I was made in secret and skillfully wrought, intricately woven like embroidery in the lowest parts of the earth." You know, symbolism of being away from all things in the womb of the mother. Your eyes saw my substance being yet unformed. And in your book, they were all written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them. And he finishes with praise, which is basically praise for everything he said in the past 16 verses. How precious also are your thoughts to me, O God. How great is the sum of them. If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand. When I awake, I am still with you. Verses 13 through 16, we see God's power in forming David, in forming the human being in the womb from conception in the womb of his mother. As if David is saying, no wonder God knows me. He made me personally, forming me from my beginning in my mother's womb. Verse 13, you formed my inward parts, my kidneys, my organs. You covered me. You knitted me together in my mother's womb. Knitted together speaks of weaving together the complex genetic plan that uniquely produces each individual. The DNA is taken from the father and the mother and united of 23 chromosomes from each at conception. And then a new genetically unique person is created that will never exist again. It never existed before. weaving together chromosomes and the components of a person, the soul and spirit into a unique living image of God. And then verse 14, then he stops even with that thought and he praises God that he's being powerfully and personally made by the omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent God. In verse 15, he gets back to what he's describing. My frame was not hidden from you. Frame, speaking of bones and sinews and muscles being made He's personally being made in secret, in private, skillfully wrought, intricately woven together as if embroidering with colors. And you think of veins and nerves and muscles being intricately woven and weaved together, whatever the tense of that word is. I think verse 16 reminds us of Genesis 1. And some of us who are starting our new reading schedule are going through the first four chapters of Genesis already. We're reminded of these things. always without form and void. Everything was there. Then God takes and He molds together everything that we see now. It's the same thing here in verse 16. Your eyes saw My substance being yet unformed. It has the idea of something balled up before it's unfolded. It's all there like a genetic mass of the embryo. It's all there and God unfolds it frames and weaves from conception forming into the unique image of God that we all are. And in verse 16, it's amazing, even the days of the individual are uniquely fashioned. So we see the sovereign, powerful, caring God. And is there any greater example of God's wonder than his creation from one cell, an image of God? And then verses 17 and 18, again, we see the reaction in amazement to God's personal all-knowing, all-present, all-powerfulness. How precious are your thoughts to me, O God. How great is the sum of them. They're uncountable. When I awake, I'm still with you. On one hand, I think he's speaking of whether I go to bed, whether I wake up, you're still with me from day to night. But I think he's also pointing ahead to the resurrection. As he says, when I wake, I am still with you. Resurrection ultimately emphasizes the importance of all human life from the womb to the tomb, if you will, from conception to the resurrection. It speaks of God's omnipotence and omnipresence. It speaks to the fact that no matter what shape or size or age or health problems or defects or weaknesses or strengths you have, human life is sacred and protected and it needs to be considered sacred and protected. So we can see from verses 13 through 16 alone that human life begins at conception and is sacred and it's to be protected. That life is made in the image of God by the sovereignty of God and the law of God forbids the taking of that life. Those are three pillars. Life is made in the image of God by the sovereignty of God and the law of God forbids the taking of that life. We are made in the image of God. We see that in Genesis 1, 2, and 3. Uniquely made in the image of God. Thus we are told in Genesis 9 that capital punishment is a requirement. Because of the value of that image, if you wrongfully take the life of the image of God, then your life should be taken. And we see that being applied to the unborn in Exodus chapter 21, where if someone attacks a woman with child, the scripture says, that child in the womb is called a child. If that child is hurt, then there's an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. The life is made in the image of God and must not be taken from conception to death. And the sovereignty of God also means that life is sacred and to be protected. All life is in the image of God by His hand and for His glory. And taking that life robs God of His glory. And you have no authority to do that. And thirdly, it breaks both commands of the law. The law is summarized with loving God and loving neighbor. Certainly, it breaks the sixth commandment, thou shalt not kill. Abortion kills an innocent image of God. But it breaks both commands of the law, to love God and to love neighbor. You hate God so much that you would take a life made in His image, let alone hating your neighbor who you killed as well. Children are a gift from God. Psalm 127, all of Scripture makes that clear. They should be desired within marriage and protected from conception. So life begins at conception by God's sovereign power. Christ's incarnation, which we looked at last month, began at conception. He was formed in the womb. It's the same for all men and all women. In Matthew 1, we find that Mary was found with child of the Holy Spirit, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. So from the beginning, from conception, we find that Jesus was fully human, the same as you and me and all men. David in Psalm 51 says he was conceived in sin at conception. He was sinful. And He was brought forth in iniquity. So we are people, we are human beings from conception. So what would be the danger of God's omnipotence? Well, one application would be, one danger of God's omnipotence is that our society has become so callous and vile towards life that God's almighty power should be rightfully unleashed upon us in judgment due to our killing of inborn children in the womb. There may be no greater display of sinful depravity and of hatred of God and of man and of self than abortion. The killing of an image of God being formed by the intimate care of God is a result of hating the God of the image and ultimately hating oneself who is made in the image of God. The biblical, scientific, philosophical, common sense facts are clear. Human life is precious and begins at conception and is formed in what should be the most peaceful, protected place, the mother's womb. Yet a million unborn babies are murdered yearly in the United States, perhaps 70 million since 1973. This is satanic barbarism, like sacrificing children to Moloch. Evil enters into the womb, among the weaving and the forming we've just marveled at, and tears it apart. We must pray and work for laws to change and to elect representatives who stand for life. We must pray that hearts would change for Christ, for life, since the abortion is the murder of children. And if you're tempted to seek an abortion, even now, remember that the same omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent God who formed that life is able to provide for you in whatever circumstance you might find yourself in. And if you suffer from the grief and guilt of having or encouraging an abortion already, remember that the omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent Savior has provided full atonement, full of propitiation, full forgiveness, reconciliation, and righteousness to all who would come to Him in confession and repentance and faith. And the blood of Christ cleanses from all sin and never fails. And as God is ever present from the east to the west, He in Christ casts your sin as far as the east is from the west. So come running to Christ for forgiveness and freedom. We have six verses left. I think what we have in verses 19 through 24 is basically a response. Seeing all of these attributes of God together represents His holiness, His altogether otherness. Holiness describes the purity and the perfect righteousness of God, yes, but it also describes God's holy otherness, His above and unlike any otherness. He is the I Am God who is self-existent, self-sufficient, and holy over all. And so rolling His omniscience, His omnipresence, His omnipotence together in His psalm gets us to His holiness. There is no one, there is nothing like Him. He must be feared, served, and worshiped. in response to the holiness of God. All that's displayed in Psalm 139, David responds with an intense desire to be holy. To remove wicked people from his life. And then to remove wickedness from his life. Let's look at verses 19-24. Oh, that You would slay the wicked, O God. Depart from me, therefore, You bloodthirsty men, for they speak against You wickedly. Your enemies take Your name in vain. Do I not hate them, O Lord, who hate You? And do I not loathe those who rise up against You? I hate them with perfect hatred. I count them my enemies." Those last two verses then are words that should be used even in your personal devotions to allow God to search you. Search me, O God, and know my heart. In verse 1, he already says, I've been searched. Now search me again. Try me and know my anxieties and see if there's any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting. In verses 19-22, David desires to have wicked people removed from his life. Yes, King David is praying an imprecation to have God's enemies be judged, the bloodthirsty men. But he wants them taken away to be made to depart from him. Why? Because he wants the holiness of God to be upheld and not attacked. And why? Because he wants their influence, the wicked people's influence, to not have a wicked effect on him. and to not be tempted into the same wickedness or to damage his relationship with holy God. After being amazed at the greatness of God, he wants nothing to endanger his relationship with Him, certainly not the wickedness of the world or of himself. So then in verses 23 through 24, you see that he now desires to have wickedness removed from his life. his own wickedness. He now asks for his own wickedness. He says, search me and know my heart. Show me my own wickedness and smoke it out of my life and purge it from me. Yes, God, who has searched and known him, verse one, to a fresh search and know his heart. And his omniscience to try his heart and to see if any wickedness in his thoughts or his ways are there and his omnipotence to purge his heart and his mind and his soul of any wickedness. and in God's omnipresence to lead him in the godly way in relationship with his precious God. Search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me and know my anxieties and see if there's any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting. And so he sees the holiness of God and reacts appropriately. What about the danger of this holiness? Well, we've already covered this, I think. We've already seen this. God is holy and He will judge sin. He can nowhere be escaped. There's nothing He doesn't know. So it's a warning for the non-Christian. It's already been given. But for the Christian, it's again an encouragement to pursue God and holiness in Him. The summary of God's attributes in Psalm 139 should humble us before our majestic God. It should remind you that we are not like Him. It should comfort us, because though He is not like us, He stoops down to care for us personally, even into the womb. It should encourage us to live for Him in Christ. Our Father knows all things, all things about us. And He has power to do what is needed to help. And He's always near to be that help, so we can step out in faith and pray and serve Him and leave the results up to Him. Through His Son and Spirit, Through the word and through the church, he gives all the resources we need to do so. We said at the start of the sermon. We hope to learn a greater love and appreciation for God and his care for us in the life he has given us and the life he has given all images of God, including those in the room from conception. May this be true. May this be true. Our lives, in fact all lives, are precious lives because of God whose image it bears. May we be advocates for life. May God move mightily and revive on our land. Though God is holy, He is merciful and forgiving and His Son has lived a perfect life and died a perfect death so that undeserving sinners can have their sins forgiven, can have righteousness given, They have a new heart formed, which is a greater miracle even more so than the life formed in the womb. All sins can be forgiven in Christ, even sins associated with sexual immorality and abortion. So go to Him, go to Christ for cleansing and salvation. An even greater display of God's holiness and omnipresence and omniscience and omnipotence is seen in the new birth that he forms in the dead sinner. Let us pray. Dear Omniscient, Omnipresent, Omnipotent, Holy, Heavenly Father, we praise you and we are comforted and encouraged that in your majesty you stoop down to care for us personally in your mercy and in your grace. By your Spirit enlarge our hearts for you and humility and gratitude and adoration. And you have specifically stooped down in Christ who himself and his humanity was formed in the womb of a virgin to form within us new and eternal life and to hold us forever in your sovereign hand. And we pray for those who are outside of Christ. who should be rightly terrified because they are sinners inescapably before you and your holiness, bring them to the full realization of their sin and their condemnation and their need for Christ. Bring them in repentance and faith to Christ for forgiveness and redemption and form within them the new life of Christ. As we turn to the Lord's Supper, we ask that you prepare us. Father, search us. and know our hearts. Try us and know our anxieties. We praise You that Christ has taken the wrath as our God, man, Savior for our wickedness and has cleansed us and redeemed us and covered us with His righteousness. But search us and see if there's any wicked way in us and lead us in the way everlasting. Show to us the dirt on our feet that we might confess it and wash it in Your mercy and walk then in the way with purity in Christlikeness and freedom. We can then rejoice all the more in your grace and in communion with you through your Son and by your Spirit. In Jesus' name we pray these things. Amen.