Last week, I told you I was going to do a series this month on the heart, not able to touch all of the metaphors used in the Bible about the heart, but at least four of the very important ones, I think. And last Lord's Day, we considered a fainting heart, what happens to us when we are in fear and overwhelmed by experiences in our lives. And this Lord's Day, I'd like to address you on the subject of a broken heart. Next week, Lord willing, we'll talk about a renewed heart and then finally a pure heart. For our scripture reading this morning, in the Old Testament, we turn to Psalm 51, our text being verses 16 and 17, but I would read the entire psalm this morning for us. Psalm 51, David's prayer for pardon. Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy loving kindness. According to the multitude of thy tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done that which is evil in thy sight, that thou mayest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part, thou wilt know me, thou wilt make me to know wisdom. Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean. Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness, that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence, and take not thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways, and sinners shall be converted unto thee. Deliver me from blood guiltiness, O God, Thou God of my salvation, and my tongue shall sing aloud of Thy righteousness. O Lord, open Thou my lips, and my mouth shall show forth Thy praise. For Thou delightest not in sacrifice, else would I give it. Thou hast no pleasure in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou will not despise. Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion. Build thou the walls of Jerusalem. Then wilt thou delight in the sacrifices of righteousness, in burnt offering, in whole burnt offering. Then will they offer bullocks upon thine altar. Our New Testament reading comes from the 21st chapter of the book of Revelation, the end of your Bibles, Revelation 21, where I'll begin the reading at verse one. John says, And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth are passed away, and the sea is no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of the throne saying, behold, the tabernacle of God is with men. And he shall dwell with them, and they shall be his peoples. And God himself shall be with them and be their God. And he shall wipe away every tear from their eyes. And death shall be no more. Neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore. The first things are passed away. And he that sitteth on the throne said, behold, I make all things new. And he saith, write, for these words are faithful and true. And thus far the reading of God's word. The Christian religion teaches that man is a creature of God. Man is not an accident of the cosmos. The man didn't simply show up as some kind of result of an evolutionary experimentation in nature, that man is the personal creation of a personal God. And because man has been made in the image of God, and indeed has been made to know God and to have fellowship with God, because man is personally related to God from the moment of creation, Men have never been able to shake the idea of God from their consciences. Now, they have done much to pervert the idea of God, and many have gone out of the way to try to expunge altogether the idea of God from themselves, but they never can do that. In man's heart of heart, he is related to God. He must always know God, and he will respond to God in one way or another. Now, because men have not responded to God properly, because they have devised their own ways of living and having a relationship with God, we have, of course, a plethora of false religions in the world. We have a whole host of ways in which men have concocted ideas to relate to God. What you will find interesting, however, in all of the diversity of the world religions is that in one way or another, religions call for sacrifice. They're not all the same kinds of sacrifice, to be sure, but if you study the anatomy of religion, you will see that around the world, men have it within themselves to offer sacrifice to God. That's very appropriate. I don't mean to say that all the sacrifices given in these religions are appropriate, but the notion that we owe God sacrifice is appropriate. We cannot get rid of that because we are dependent creatures. We are made for his purposes. Gifts are called for. Even in those religions, interestingly, that have an impersonal view of the universe, Confucianism and so forth, where you have Shang-Ti and the impersonal heavens. as the power that overwhelms us. Even in religions like that, sacrifices are offered. There's something about the act of sacrifice, the act of offering gift or gifts or even atonement to that which is beyond ourselves that is part and parcel of the religious spirit that pervades all mankind. Man is created as a personal creature dependent upon his personal creator. And in our heart of hearts, we know that we owe God gifts. We owe him thanks. In some way or another, sacrifices to be given. But you see, man is not simply a creature of God. Man is also a sinner before God. And even as men cannot get rid of the idea of God altogether in their consciences, and even though they try to suppress the truth in unrighteousness and cannot do so, they have to deal with their Creator and deal with that sense of deity within them in one way or another. Men must also deal with their sin. Because though there are psychological schools aplenty that would try to tell us that we need not feel guilt or there's always an excuse for what we've done, fact is such psychologists are not successful with us. Even in sophisticated post-Christian America, such psychologists cannot convince us that our guilt doesn't have to be dealt with. And throughout history, all cultures have had to deal with the guilt that is felt because men know they are alienated from their maker. They know in one way or another they are unholy, they are unclean, they are unacceptable. And though they are not able to put the proper words on it and conceptualize it correctly, in their heart of hearts, they know there is that distance and alienation that has to be overcome. And so for a second reason, you will see that throughout the history of mankind and the history of religions, People offer sacrifices to God in one way or another, trying to, in most cases, buy off the deity. In most cases, to offer some kind of a bribe, saying, be good to us, make our crops grow, give us safety on the sea, whatever it may be. Don't be angry. Placate the fates, if you will, by offering some kind of a gift. Man is a sacrificing creature. He is so because he owes God his existence and because he is guilty before God. If you turn in your Bibles to Genesis, the fourth chapter, you will see that at the very beginning of the human race, as I've already told you, there was the felt need to offer gifts and sacrifices to God. And we find the first human family struggling with this question of how God is to receive gifts or what kinds of sacrifices are acceptable to him. We read in Genesis four that, uh, the man knew Eve his wife and she conceived and bear Cain and said, I have gotten a man with the help of Jehovah. And again, she bear his brother Abel. And now the story, Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in process of time, it came to pass that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto Jehovah. So the very first story we have in the Bible after man's fallen to sin is after the development of this family, the first event. And the plot that becomes the biblical history is the story of men offering sacrifice to God. And what we've read is that Cain brought the fruit of the ground as an offering unto God, and Abel he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And Jehovah had respect unto Abel and to his offering. But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. And Jehovah said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth, and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shall it not be lifted up. And if thou doest not well, sin coucheth at the door, and unto thee shall be its desire, but do thou rule over it. And the story goes on, you know very well how Cain killed his brother Abel out of jealousy, because what? Because Abel's Sacrifice was acceptable and Cain's was not. His countenance fell, sin crouched at his door, he did not rule over it, and became the first murderer. Now why is it that God accepted the one and rejected the other? You'll hear elaborate theories given by some commentators and theologians about that. We're told, I think the biggest mistake that can be made in reading this text is that somehow it has to do with the nature of the gift itself. That because later in the Mosaic Law, God will require animal sacrifice, therefore we are told, kind of in an anachronistic way, reading back from future history into this account, that for that reason it was Abel's sacrifice from the firstlings of his flock that God was satisfied, but from that which came out of the ground, the gift that grew of its own, God was not. There was no blood or fat involved, we'll be told. That is not the way to read the story. In fact, even in your English translations, I think you can see what the nature of the difference was when we read at the end of verse four, and Jehovah had respect unto Abel. and unto his offering." You notice that? God did not have respect unto his offering, and therefore Abel was found acceptable. But God had respect unto Abel. And given who Abel was, and given the condition of Abel's heart, his offering was found acceptable. You will find a confirmation, I believe, of this interpretation of the text if you'll turn to Hebrews the 11th chapter, verse 4. The author of Hebrews, of course, in this chapter is extolling the great heroes of faith in the Old Testament. And at verse 4 he says, By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he had witnessed born to him that he was righteous, God bearing witness in respect of his gifts, and through it he being dead yet speaketh. You notice that it was by faith that Abel offered the sacrifice acceptable to God, and that witness was born to him, to the righteousness of faith in Abel, that made his sacrifice acceptable. So at the very beginning of human history, as recorded in the Bible, we see man as a sacrificing creature, man feeling the need to offer gifts, man feeling the need even to offer atonement to God, and not all sacrifice is acceptable. Kain's was not. There was something wrong with Kain's heart. God condemned him for that. He said, sin is crouching at your heart. You'd better be careful. But Abel, through the righteousness of faith, offered a sacrifice that was found acceptable. Now later, we read in the Old Testament, in the Mosaic law particularly, extensive details about sacrifice. There are different kinds of sacrifice. And maybe some of you will remember our brother Steve Schlissel being with us this last year and sharing with us the three major categories of sacrifice and some of the details of them, the purposes of them. I want to remind you, as we go on in this morning's message, that not all sacrifice is blood atonement sacrifice. In the Old Testament, there are gifts and offerings that are made to God as well. For instance, the peace offering, which is not made to cover sin, but is made as a condition of fellowship with God, or actually showing the fellowship that exists between man and God. Mosaic law, has long chapters detailing these different kinds of offerings, whether they be the sacrifices for sin, or the sacrifices of fellowship and dedication, detailed stipulations in the Mosaic Law. Man is a sacrificing creature. God determines what sacrifices are acceptable, and God lays down the rules for sacrifice, gift, and offering. But now there's the problem. The problem is, and in the Old Testament you'll also read that God doesn't want that. God lays down the stipulations for how to bring blood atonement, how to offer sin sacrifice, how to offer gifts and offerings to him as a sign of fellowship with him. And yet we read in the Old Testament that God sometimes subordinates those things and often rejects those things. I'm only going to look at two examples, though if you do a little homework on your own, you may be surprised how often the Old Testament just kind of throws that out. In Isaiah 1, I trust many of you will remember the scathing words of the prophet. Beginning at verse 10, hear the word of Jehovah, you rulers of Sodom. Give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah. What unto me is the multitude of your sacrifices, saith Jehovah? I have had enough of the burnt offerings of rams and of the fat of fed beasts, and I delight not in the blood of bullocks or of lambs or of he-goats. Verse 15, he says, and when you spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you. Yea, when you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood. This is rather surprising. God says, don't pray to me. Don't bring sacrifices to me. What are your sacrifices and prayers to me? I don't have regard for them. And it's interesting that the language used by the prophet is the language of the Mosaic law. I've had enough of burnt offerings of rams, the fat of fed beast. I don't delight in the blood of bullocks or lambs or he goats. And yet the law says, God delights in these things. God requires these things. And so here we have what appears to be, and it only appears to be a contradiction. God wants sacrifice and he wants the sacrifice according to his stipulation, what is acceptable to him. And then having laid that down, he says to the prophet, I've had enough of it. I don't want it. And Hosea, the sixth chapter, verse six, we see another example of God rejecting, apparently rejecting what he in the law has required. God says, for I desire goodness and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. The Hebrew idiom was, not this, but that. Where, in our language, our way of putting it would be, not so much this, but rather that. God says, don't you understand, it's not so much your burnt offerings that I want, It's the goodness of your heart, the loving kindness and faithfulness within that makes the sacrifice acceptable. Now in Psalm 51, which is our text for this morning, David seems to be doing what we read elsewhere in the Old Testament. He seems to be throwing out, as it were, those sacrifices ordained by God. David says that God has no pleasure in burnt offering, verse 16. For thou delightest not in sacrifice, David says, or else I would give it. Thou has no pleasure in burnt offering. And yet, if you read on, the last verse of the chapter says, then wilt thou delight in the sacrifices of righteousness in burnt offering and whole burnt offering, then will they offer bullocks upon thine altar. So here we seem to have the tension right within one psalm itself. It's not like pitting Moses against Isaiah or Hosea, but David himself at one point says, God has no delight in burnt offerings. And then he goes on to say, we will offer these burnt offerings that God takes pleasure in. How do we resolve this? How do we understand the kind of sacrifice we are to bring to God? Well, obviously we have to see that there is a prerequisite, something that is necessary in order for even God's own atoning provision of sacrifice to be effectual in our lives and acceptable in his sight. God says there is a kind of sacrifice that precedes even the sacrifice that he provides for salvation. David refers, by the way, in Psalm 51, not simply to the sacrifices for atonement, but he also uses the word for the peace offering that is necessary for fellowship with God. David is encompassing all that is involved in our relationship to God, be it atonement or fellowship, our entire relationship to God, And in this, he says, when it comes to sacrifice, God doesn't want bullocks. God doesn't want the blood atonement. God doesn't want these things that the Mosaic law requires. What then is needed? What sacrifice will God pay attention to? What is it that must precede these other offerings to give them any religious significance or power in our lives? Well, contrary to all of the works, righteousness, religions of the world, and contrary to what you would be left to, to scheme and to imagine on your own, if that question were put to you, what does God want from you in terms of a gift because he created you and an atonement because you are a sinner before him? If you were to imagine what God would want, I don't think in all your years you'd come up with the answer David came up with. In verse 17, David gives us the answer to the question. He says, the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart. Oh God, that will not despise. Now with a broken and contrite heart, God will not despise the other sacrifices either. The sacrifices of praise and righteousness and Bullock's upon his altar. But when it comes down to the very bottom, when it comes down to the heart of our relationship to God, David says, what is necessary above all else is a broken heart. What do we mean by a broken heart? Last week I talked to you about a fainting heart and I spent a little bit of time as I'm going to this morning talking about a broken heart. I talked about what it meant to have a fainting heart. And I hope you remember that I said a fainting heart is not the same as being faint-hearted. David was not a faint-hearted person. He was a courageous person. He was the leader of Israel. He slew Goliath. You can go on and on talking about David's accomplishments. He was no wilting coward, and yet he talked about having experiences in his life that just overwhelmed him and made his heart faint. David now speaks to us, however, about a broken heart. It was difficult enough to preach last week's message because of my own fainting heart, and it is all the more difficult to talk to you about a broken heart. But I am able to do that because I think that I don't stand alone here in this congregation as someone who knows what it is to have a broken heart. And if God can somehow use the experience that he's put me through in breaking my heart to minister to you, I would like to share with you what I've learned. A broken heart, in the first place, is a heart that feels deep pain. A broken heart doesn't simply have superficial wounds. When we talk about a broken heart, we're not simply talking about the annoyances of life. When you go to the supermarket, maybe you, like me, are annoyed when people who are in the eight-item-only line have 18 items in their basket. That annoyance is not what we mean by a broken heart. You may go home, and you may fume, and you may even stomp on the gas pedal on the way home. You're so angry about something like that. But that kind of annoyance is not what breaks a person's heart. And we're not talking this morning about simply social snubs, if you will. that we sometimes confuse with broken hearts. People let us down. And our need to be supported in our self-esteem is not met by people that we thought would meet it. And so we feel snubbed socially. But that doesn't constitute a broken heart. And nor do the disappointments that we go through in life. You know, coming in second in an election that you wanted to win or in a contest that you were competing in or something. That may make you sad, but that does not break your heart. Now, when I speak of a broken heart, I'm talking about something that goes beyond the superficial wounds of life, the annoyances and the snubs and the coming in second and the disappointments and so forth. We're talking about a very deep, deep pain. What breaks our hearts? Well, I can't make a complete list of all the things that breaks our hearts, but you know there are, it's frightening when you think about it, how many things in this life do break the heart. There are a lot of them. There are the broken hearts that come of loneliness, and there are a lot of lonely people. that stinging emptiness that's inside. There are lonely people here today. You know what I'm talking about, don't you? You know what it is to feel lonely, maybe because of bereavement, losing a loved one to death. Or you know what it is to feel that unspeakable homesickness, where you wish you could have, again, the comfort of being in your home. or the emptiness of not having a companion to talk to. Not only to joke with and to have fun with, but to share things with and to get advice from and comfort from and to listen to you. There's the broken heart that comes from loneliness. Secondly, our hearts are broken by the hurt that is done to us by others. The hurt that comes to us from others in ways that we don't really deserve. And there's so much of that in this world. God's punishment may be well-deserved, but the punishment that people put upon us that doesn't come from God as a direct punishment, that hurts deeply. The malicious gossip that you later hear about that breaks your heart. The loved one who leaves you. or the friend that betrays you. So at just the time that you feel that you need support, the person that you counted on wasn't there. And that breaks your heart. Despair breaks our hearts, the hopelessness that comes. Sometimes people are deprived of opportunities in this life that are no fault of their own. Doctors make medical mistakes and people for no fault of their own suffer the consequences of not being able to walk again, or not being able to form a sentence again, not being able to enjoy social fellowship again. Innocent people suffer in automobile accidents and lose their vocations, lose their lives, lose the quality of their lives. Some of you know the heartbreak that comes from a loved one committing suicide. And there's no opportunity after that to make things right. And then there's the broken heart that comes from personal failure. We suffer from our loneliness and we suffer from the hurts that others do to us that we don't deserve. We suffer from lost opportunities that are beyond our control. And we suffer from our own personal failures when we judge ourselves as harshly and as honestly as anybody else could. And we're right that we have failed. And it kills us inside to admit that. David, of course, in Psalm 51 is speaking particularly of that kind of heartbreak. When David reflects upon his sin and the need for God to blot it out and put it from his sight, David is devastated. that he could, as the man that was so close to God, nevertheless have committed adultery and had another man killed for his own personal desires. Maybe you haven't sinned in the way David has, but you know what it is to feel personal failure. moral failure, to really be unworthy. And not because we're overdoing it or we just are, we got up in a bad mood someday, but because we very honestly deserve that harsh judgment. We are not what we want to be and we are certainly not what God requires of us. And so you see what I'm getting at. A broken heart is not a superficial wound. A broken heart is a very, very deep pain. I could say, secondly, of a broken heart, I think that it's a hurt that is an intense pain. When your heart breaks, that pain is so intense that you can feel it. Physically, you can feel it. We don't just say, ouch, to that kind of a pain. We sob about it. And then we say we can't describe it. We can't describe the hurt that goes that deep. It's just so intense. These kind of pains. debilitate us. They debilitate us mentally. We don't think clearly when we're in that kind of pain. They debilitate us emotionally. We're just a wreck. They debilitate us and paralyze us physically. I am not proud of the fact, but I do confess to you that there have been days recently when I didn't even want to get out of bed in the morning. And lastly, the hurt of a broken heart is a lasting pain. It's not superficial, it's deep. It's not something that you can ignore, it's intense. And it's not something that goes away easily. It's a lasting pain. I think of the story here of Prometheus in Greek mythology. Those of you who remember will know that Prometheus was chained to a rock on Mount Caucasus. And there a vulture attacked him and with his beak pierced through the abdomen of Prometheus and began to chew at his liver. And Prometheus was in intense pain all day long. And then to his horror, at night, the vulture would leave him bloodied and in agony, but his liver would grow back. And so the next day would be as painful as the previous. The vulture would return and attack him again and again. And when you have a broken heart, that's what you feel. It's like day after day, the vulture just keeps attacking. And I ask you, what could possibly be beneficial about such deep, intense, and lasting pain inside us. What could possibly be good about that? A broken heart can turn one of two ways. A broken heart can first of all turn in on itself in self-pitting. It's possible when people have a broken heart. It's possible, I'll bet you've done it, I know I have. It's possible when our hearts are breaking to dig an emotional hole from which If we were to keep going, finally there would be no escape because we are just so sorry for ourselves. A broken heart turns in on itself and perhaps expects that someone, maybe God, will remunerate our pain as though it's just so sad that we're going through it. There's got to be somebody or some force in this universe that's going to compensate us. A broken heart can turn in on itself in self-pity, or, and this is what David is referring to in our text this morning, or a broken heart can turn to God in honest, contrite humility. Because at a time that your heart breaks, you are able, unlike any other time in your life, you're able to acknowledge that you are nothing in yourself. And that as a matter of fact, you deserve much worse than you're going through. It brings an honesty before God, which cannot be matched. An honesty that is not simply in the words of correct theology written on a piece of paper, perhaps. Not just abstract truths, but an honesty that takes you down to the very depth of your being. And you say, God, I don't deserve your goodness. And I know that. I acknowledge that, that I am nothing before you. And a broken heart. lead you to acknowledge that you cannot make it on your own, but you need God. And we all know that, but there's something about a broken heart that drives that home in a way that nothing else can. I can't make it on my own. Only God is self-sufficient. I am not. And a broken heart leads us to acknowledge that only God's grace nourishes life. and only God's grace, therefore, can save us eternally. In the first epistle of John, John the Apostle writes that in this world, the only thing to be found is the pride of life. Now, we may not harbor conceited ideas about ourselves. Very honestly, may not be conceited people. And yet it's not until our heart breaks that we realize our utter dependence, our utter humility, It's when all the props are knocked out from under us when our hearts break that we then see how easy it was to take things for granted in the pride of life. And so with a broken heart, I'm humbled before my humanity. I'm humbled before my finitude. I'm humbled before my inability to take care of my problems. And I'm bowed down before my utter need of God's provision and favor. As a creature of God, with a broken heart, I say, God, what am I without you? And with a broken heart, even more, I cannot begin to be tempted with any thought of self-merit before God. When my heart breaks, not only do I not think I can make it through the natural affairs of life, but I wouldn't dare think in any supernatural relationship that I have anything to offer to God. My finitude and my emotional pain leave me helpless. And if that's true, just in terms of carrying on in life, how much more am I helpless because of my transgressions of the holy law of God? When you have a broken heart, you do not rush to make amends, to do some great act of penitence, or to fashion some kind of gift or favor. that God will accept, because with a broken heart, you say, I know you won't accept anything. I know that it would be worthless to try. And it's at that point of your brokenness that the only thing you have left to offer to God, ironically, is your helpless condition. Looking to his own provision for an adequate sacrifice. With a broken heart, you say, God, all I can give you is my contrition. my humility, my inability, and my dependence upon you." See, at that point, it's at that point in our lives that God alone receives the praise. He is honored for who he truly is, the source of every good thing in life, the only hope of gracious provision for salvation, the only way of acceptance. His grace and his provision now suffer no competition for the affection of my soul. When my heart is broken, it's only God's grace that can minister to me, and I know that. You don't have to appeal to me with arguments. You don't have to give me syllogisms. I don't even need proof text, because when my heart is breaking from inside, I cry out, God, only you can help. And the sacrifice of a broken and a contrite heart is necessary in order to plead the sacrifice of God's own son for my acceptance and forgiveness before his throne. It's when my heart is broken that I know that only Jesus can intercede. And so David tells us the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. A broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. Man is a sacrificing animal. Man must offer gifts to God. And here David tells us that at base, the only sacrifice that is worthy of God's attention and the only sacrifice that is a prerequisite for the others to be effectual is the sacrifice of a broken heart. Can you Can you thank God for breaking your heart? Because then he can give you the best gift of all, himself. The tears which flow from a broken heart are precious, I think, in the sight of our compassionate Heavenly Father. Because at such a time, he knows that we know that our hearts will ever be restless until they rest in him. The contrite helplessness which accompanies a broken heart, places us in a proper dependent frame of mind before the Almighty. And at such a time, we harbor no illusions about self-sufficiency or about a natural expectation of blessing. Our only hope becomes His loving kindness. And so David tells us a broken and a contrite heart is an acceptable gift to God. I think there is in the ear of God more music in the sobs of his people than in the songs of the angels. And for those who are truly brokenhearted and not simply self-pitying, the day is coming when our Heavenly Father, according to the book of Revelation, will wipe every tear out of our eyes. And then our sacrifices will turn to be the sacrifices of praise for the Lamb of God. Let's pray. God, we know we owe you gifts. and sacrifices which are appropriate and that will be acceptable to you. And for that reason, we thank you for breaking our hearts that we might learn to come to you through the righteousness of faith and complete dependence. And we thank you that you do care for our sorrow and that even through that sorrow, bring us everlasting relief. And we thank you for our Lord Jesus Christ, who was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we thank you that he was grieved for our sake, that we might enjoy that day where he will wipe the tears from our eyes and welcome us to his eternal kingdom. We confess that we are nothing apart from him. And so it is in his name that we pray.