Thank you. Yeah. Yeah. you Oh. Congregation, let us rise to worship our Lord. Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. It's my privilege to greet you all this morning, especially the visitors in our midst. I do that in Christian manner. Grace and peace to you from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever. Amen. Let us together sing from his word, from Psalm 121. The verses 1 and 2, I lift my eyes unto the hills, from where will my help appear? ♪ From whence will thou appear, who really art here? ♪ ♪ The Lord is from the centurions. ♪ ♪ He who made earth and heaven, Heself is created. ♪ ♪ That you slip or fall ♪ ♪ For He is at your side ♪ ♪ Supporting over mine ♪ ♪ The Keeper of all Israel ♪ ♪ When, O God, encounter you ever ♪ Just as our Lord guided to safety Israel from the slavery in Egypt, He has brought us together, having called us by the work of His Word and Spirit, to the deliverance that we have through the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. And in equal thankfulness, we may hear again the words of God's holy law reminding us of what we have been delivered from, namely our own sin and misery. and the wrath of God against that, and the opportunity that He gives us now in the Spirit to serve Him in thankfulness. We'll respond to the reading of God's law with a singing of Psalm 119, the verses 43, 44, and 45, a prayer psalm after the law. And God spoke all these words, saying, I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or that is in the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me. but showing mercy to thousands to those who love me and keep my commandments. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work, you nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's. ♪ Our native home and divine abode ♪ ♪ I love your law and praise it with elation ♪ ♪ You are my shield, my refuge, my support ♪ ♪ No worse shall be my life than expectation ♪ ♪ That I may serve the God of my salvation ♪ ♪ The Holy Lord, answer my lifeless pain ♪ ♪ True to your promise, grant me preservation ♪ ♪ Let me not work when trusting you in vain ♪ ♪ For I rely on you for liberation ♪ ♪ Your status I will ever maintain ♪ ♪ I turn to them in reverent meditation ♪ ♪ All the truth from your statutes go astray ♪ ♪ You will reject it ♪ ♪ Who laid His head low ♪ ♪ Like worthless rocks ♪ ♪ Who cast them all away ♪ ♪ I therefore love Your laws ♪ ♪ Let me not stumble ♪ ♪ I dread the awesome judgment to display ♪ Let us continue our prayer. Our Lord and Heavenly Father, we give you thanks that we can be here again on this beautiful day that you have given us, a day of rest and worship. Lord, we pray at the beginning of this service that you would indeed, according to your promise, be with us in our midst, not because of anything in and of ourselves, because we realize, Lord, that we do not fully live up to your holy law. And if we reflect honestly upon that law and our own lives, We see all too often that we lack that perfect love that you have shown to us in Jesus Christ. A love that is so self-sacrificing that your son was prepared to die on the cross to take away our iniquity. And Lord, we do truly ask for forgiveness for everything that we have thought, said, or done that was not according to your will also in the past week. We pray that you would make us more and more realize how we offend you in our sin, and how we need your mercy and grace every day again. Lord, we pray that you would work in us by your spirit, that we would genuinely, indeed, as we have sung, love your law, and therefore use it to show you our thankfulness Not only as we sing your praises here together, but in our whole lives. And we ask, therefore, that you would bless also this service of worship this morning. Work in our hearts by the preaching of your word, by your spirit, we pray. In the name of your Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who together with you and the Spirit receives all glory and honor forevermore. Amen. Opportunity is given to you for the collection. The collection this morning is the special Thanksgiving collection. Following upon the collection, we'll be singing from Psalm 120, which is a prayer. We'll sing verses one and two. Okay. so so So, ♪ Whom God hath featured ♪ ♪ And was with him for his protection ♪ ♪ Earth's heavy load from his last sacrifice ♪ ♪ From God's hand will to consume us all ♪ ♪ Disciples of God shall be granted ♪ ♪ And with one voice shall be presented ♪ ♪ Tell the rest from the glorious birth of Jesus Christ ♪ ♪ In all contemplation ♪ ♪ All we share is one habitation ♪ ♪ Leaving us yet unforced to ponder ♪ ♪ Let us rest our dead will and plunder ♪ ♪ To love thy heavens resounded ♪ ♪ New days of peace and beauty brightest ♪ ♪ I am for peace this day abhorred ♪ ♪ Thus may I see thee face to face ♪ As we will hear a little later on Psalm 120 is one of those Psalms that was used in connection with the Feast of Booths and in connection with the Thanksgiving service this morning we will be meditating upon that feast in Israel and therefore we read about it in Leviticus chapter 23 Leviticus 23 from verse 33 to 43. This chapter of Leviticus gives us the ecclesiastical calendar for Israel. Then the Lord spoke to Moses saying, Speak to the children of Israel, saying, the 15th day of this seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to the Lord. On the first day, there shall be a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work on it. For seven days, you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. On the eighth day, you shall have a holy convocation. and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. It is a sacred assembly and you shall do no customary work on it. These are the feasts of the Lord which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire to the Lord, a burnt offering, a grain offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, everything on its day, besides the Sabbaths of the Lord, besides your gifts, besides all your vows, and besides all your freewill offerings which you give to the Lord. Also, on the 15th day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruit of the land, you shall keep the feast of the Lord for seven days. On the first day, there shall be a Sabbath rest, and on the eighth day, a Sabbath rest. And you shall take for yourselves on the first day the fruit of beautiful trees, branches of palm trees, the bows of leafy trees, and willows of the brook. And you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. You shall keep it as a feast to the Lord for seven days in the year. It shall be a statute forever in your generations. You shall celebrate it in the seventh month. You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All who are native Israelites shall dwell in booths. That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God. The most famous celebration of this feast is that which occurred in the year 445 BC under Nehemiah. The walls of Jerusalem had just been rebuilt with much effort and struggle against local inhabitants. And then this feast was able to be celebrated we read about that in Nehemiah 7 verse 73b through to 8 verse 18 When the seventh month came, the children of Israel were in their cities. Now all the people gathered together as one man in the open square that was in front of the water gate. And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses which the Lord had commanded Israel. So Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly of men and women and all who could hear with understanding on the first day of the seventh month. And he read from it in the open square that was in front of the water gate, from morning until midday, before the men and women and those who could understand. And the heirs of all the people were attentive to the book of the law. So Ezra the scribe stood on a platform of wood, which they had made for the purpose And beside him, at his right hand, stood Motiphiah, Shema, Ananiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Masiah. At his left hand, Bediah, Mishiah, Malkijah, Hashum, Hashbadanah, Zechariah, and Mashulam. And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people. And when he opened it, all the people stood up. And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. And all the people answered, amen, amen, while lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. Also, Jeshua, Barney, Shurabiya, Jamin, Akub, Shabtaiya, Hodijah, Maaseya, Kelita, Azariah, Jezebel, Hanan, Peliah, and the Levites helped the people to understand the law. and the people stood in their place. So they read distinctly from the book in the law of God, and they gave the sense and helped them to understand the reading. And Nehemiah, who was the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people, said to all the people, this day is holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn nor weep, for all the people wept when they heard the words of the law. Then he said to them, go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared. For this day is holy to our God, do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. So the Levites quieted all the people saying, be still, for the day is holy, do not be grieved. And all the people went their way to eat and drink, to send portions and rejoice greatly, because they understood the words that were declared to them. Now on the second day, the heads of the fathers' houses of all the people, with the priests and Levites, were gathered to Ezra the scribe in order to understand the words of the law. And they found written in the law, which the Lord had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month. that they should announce and proclaim in all their cities and in Jerusalem, saying, go out to the mountain and bring olive branches, branches of oil trees, myrtle branches, palm branches, and branches of leafy trees to make booths, as it is written. Then the people went out and brought them, and made themselves booths, each one on the roof of his house, or in their courtyards, or the courts of the house of God, and in the open square of the water gate, and in the open square of the gate of Ephraim. So the whole assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths, and sat under the booths. For since the days of Joshua the son of Nun, until that day the children of Israel had not done so. and there was very great gladness. Also, day by day, from the first day until the last day, he read from the book of the law of God, and they kept the feast seven days. And on the eighth day, there was a sacred assembly according to the prescribed manner. Let us sing in response to another one of the psalms that was used at the Feast of Booths, Psalm 123, also a prayer psalm. ♪ To you in heaven I also go ♪ ♪ And wait, I lift my eyes and wait ♪ ♪ As hearts of slaves look to their Lord eternal ♪ ♪ Then as the sacrosanct intently lingered ♪ ♪ Upon the mistress' fingers ♪ ♪ The human voice spoke to the masses ♪ ♪ Their song to be Christmas praise ♪ ♪ Merciful, O Lord, be merciful ♪ ♪ To our God have we been made to suffer ♪ ♪ The insults of the sufferer ♪ We have built a home, salty and derision, of all that grew oppression. By earth's tyranny and ground of baseness, He treats us disdainfully. Following upon the preaching of God's word, we'll be singing together from Psalm 125, the verses one and two. Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, as churches we have agreed But once a year, we will focus especially on thanksgiving to our Lord. Thanksgiving for the fact that we can eat and do not starve or live in famine. Thanksgiving for the work that we're able to do. And therefore, this morning we will be focusing on that theme, particularly as the Lord had instructed Israel in their way also, once a year to come together as a nation for thanksgiving. In fact, in Israel, the Lord God had required that the nation, in its representative males, come together three times a year in Jerusalem. We have to remember, in a country without automobiles or other faster means of transport, It was for many people quite an undertaking to make the journey all the way to Jerusalem, particularly if you lived way up north. But three times a year, the Lord required at least all the adult males to come to Jerusalem. Their wives, their children, their servants, their sojourners were also heartily welcome to come to Jerusalem as well, but at the very least, the adult males had to be there. The three feasts concerned, for which everybody was called to attend, were Passover, celebrating, of course, the deliverance out of the slavery in Egypt that occurred in the months of March or April, Pentecost, some seven weeks later, a one-day feast to celebrate the beginning of harvest. And finally, in the seventh month, the feast of tabernacles, or booths, as that is sometimes called. And that was a great thanksgiving feast, a feast in which you could particularly thank the Lord once again that the harvest was able to be brought in. And it's at that feast that you would bring the tithes of your harvest to the Lord. Or if you lived too far away, you were allowed to sell them in your own village and bring that equivalent in money to the temple. You also brought your first born animals that had been born in the last number of months. And you were asked during this eight day feast to celebrate and to rejoice before the Lord. You were also to live in booths in Jerusalem during those seven days, the seven days of feasting. You're to make them out of tree branches and you're to recall the fact that the Lord your God had brought you or your descendants out of Egypt, out of the slavery, had brought you through the wilderness and into that promised land of glorious harvest. Well, we've read this morning also from the most famous celebration of that feast in 445 BC. It was a special celebration under the governorship of Nehemiah. It had been some hundred years or more since the people of Israel had come out of exile and returned, and that time they had managed to lay the foundation of the temple, later on build or rebuild the temple itself. But when Nehemiah finally returned and became governor of Judea, he realized that the city was still in a very sorry state. And with all the difficulties that he was presented with, he managed to motivate the people and to get them to rebuild the walls so that the city and the people in it could once again be safe. And more importantly also, that the temple that had been rebuilt could be safe and safely used as a center of worship for the population. It's at this time that that cycle of songs that we find in the book of Psalms, the Psalms of ascents, Psalms 123 to 134, were put together as a group. How do we know that? Well, the latest Psalm in that collection is very definitely from the time of the exile. 126 speaks of coming back from exile. So at the very least, you could say this group of Psalms, many of which of course are much older, was put together after the exile. But Psalm 122 also prays specifically for peace within the walls of Jerusalem. and those walls had only just been rebuilt in the year 445 BC. It's clear too from these Psalms that the Lord is being thanked for the harvest and therefore We can appropriately see them as being gathered together and used for the procession that would have accompanied this feast of booths as it was celebrated in that year. processions in Israel were quite common for the feasts. We read about them in other Psalms as well. The Levites and the people who were going up to the temple to celebrate the feast would gather together, presumably in the gully underneath the city of Jerusalem. And as they marched up to the temple and procession, they would be singing. The Levites would be singing the Lord's praises. The people would be responding in song. And you see that in many of the Psalms. And it's for that purpose that we can see also this collection of songs, songs of ascents as you ascend up the gully into the city of Jerusalem and then further up to the temple of the Lord itself. And we'll be looking at those psalms this morning. With this sermon this morning, we want to understand Israel's thanksgiving from the perspective of these psalms that were used in procession at the beginning of this feast. And in doing so, we want to gain a broader perspective on the Thanksgiving feast of Israel, as that is also very applicable for us. When we think of Thanksgiving, what kinds of things ought we to be thinking about? And so I've entitled the sermon this morning, Ascending to Jerusalem's Temple with Thanksgiving. And we'll be essentially going through these Psalms, or most of them, and looking at them as that procession proceeded. Firstly, from the gully to the city. Secondly, marching toward the temple. And finally, the arrival in God's temple. So let's open our Bibles to these Psalms. As we begin, having assembled in the gully, we're about to proceed up to the Lord's Temple in thankfulness. It begins with Psalm 120. If you're thinking of a Thanksgiving feast, I don't think it immediately strikes you as the right kind of psalm to have here. We've sung it, but let's just read it through once again. In my distress, I cried to the Lord, and he heard me. Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips and from a deceitful tongue. What shall be given to you, or what shall be done to you, you false tongue? Sharp arrows of the warrior with coals of the broom tree. Woe is me that I dwell in Meshech, that I dwell among the tents of Kedar. My soul has dwelt too long with one who hates peace. I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war. Why would we want to begin a Thanksgiving procession with a psalm like this? Well, then you really do have to realize the context in which this celebration of the Feast of Booths was happening. In the past months, Nehemiah the governor had gotten the people rallied to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. But they'd had a very difficult time in doing that because many of the local people living in Judea were not Israelites. You see, when Israel was sent into exile, other peoples in far distant lands were resettled in Israel itself. And that's what's meant when the psalm here talks about dwelling among the tents of Kedar, or dwelling in Meshech, two totally different foreign areas. You're dwelling among foreigners in your own land. And these foreigners were horrified by the idea that the Jews were rebuilding Jerusalem and particularly its walls. And they made secret plots to stop the work. They planned to attack its leaders, Nehemiah as well. They planned to attack the people rebuilding the walls. And so during the rebuilding, the people had to work as it were, as Nehemiah describes it, with a trowel in one hand and a sword in the other. And there had to be a constant watch along the walls, day and night, for these local inhabitants that were very angry at the rebuilding of Jerusalem. They were for war. The Jews wanted to settle in peace and protection so that they could get on with the business of worshiping the Lord and thanking him for the deliverance. Psalm 121. I will lift up my eyes to the hills From whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to be moved. He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper. The Lord is your shade at your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve you from all evil. He shall preserve your soul. The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore. Indeed, we recognize at the beginning of that psalm the words that we use at the beginning of every worship service, what we call the votum. Words of dependence. That we realize that we cannot stand in this world by ourselves. And at the beginning of every worship service, we repeat them. My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. I cannot live effectively without him. Particularly in Israel at the time, we would be feeling so insecure. Nothing was protected, not even the great city. No walls, and plenty of people living around you that did not like you. In the midst of such insecurity, there are two things you can do. You can try your level best to guard yourself, and you can take extraordinary measures. You can live in fear and be afraid even to go to sleep. or you can put your trust in the Lord. And that's what the psalm is encouraging Israel to do. You're going up to a feast of thankfulness, put your trust in the Lord. Particularly, think about it, those people that are having to leave their fields, which they've just harvested, leave their barns, which are full of the grain that they've harvested, and go and worship the Lord. easy pickings for anybody that wants a free lunch or a free year of food with the Feast of Thanksgiving God really did ask his people to trust him leave them behind I will protect them you come and rejoice before me The Lord watches over us in so many ways that we cannot even think of. At the same time, of course, that does not deny due diligence. When they were rebuilding the walls, they still needed guarding and watches and the swords available, but they went on with the work and did not despair, trusting in the Lord. even as we learn to trust in the Lord, but it doesn't stop us locking our doors at night. Nevertheless, we sleep in the knowledge that ultimately, He is watching over us. Psalm 122. I was glad when they said to me, let's go into the house of the Lord. Our feet have been standing within your gates, O Jerusalem. Jerusalem is built as a city that is compact together, where the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, to the testimony of Israel, to give thanks to the name of the Lord, for thrones are set there for judgment, the thrones of the house of David. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. May they prosper who love you. Peace be within your walls, prosperity within your palaces. For the sake of my brethren and companions, I will now say, peace be within you. Because of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your good. As you're singing this psalm, you can imagine the procession has reached the gates of the city of Jerusalem and come inside them. You're now standing inside of the city proper. and your new goal is to march toward that temple which is now in sight. You pray for the peace of the city which has also become the dwelling place of the Lord on earth. You look forward to the fact that in this city belong the thrones of King David. No, there's no king yet at this point, but God has promised a king. He has promised the anointed one, the Messiah, who will reign again over his people, and you look forward to that. As we reflect upon these psalms from our own perspective, we then also, brothers and sisters, this morning need to ask ourselves, well, what am I doing when I sing psalms like this? I mean, we're not in Israel, we're in Australia. And even if we wanted to make a grand pilgrimage over to Israel and have a procession, we'd get in the way of all these Orthodox Jews and the Muslims at the top of the sanctuary, or where it used to be. There's not even a temple there anymore. What are we doing singing these songs? in Jesus Christ, brothers and sisters. We have a whole new perspective on Jerusalem and her temple. We know that King David has come. His successor is Jesus, the Christ of the Messiah. And we know that he has ascended into heaven and that he reigns at the right hand of God in the real temple, in the real Jerusalem in heaven, that Jerusalem that is promised when the Lord returns to descend upon a renewed heaven and earth. And if we look up to Jerusalem, do we not look up to the real Jerusalem? where our Lord is seated at the right hand of God and even now reigns over us. And we realize in faith that all the churches of the Lord Jesus Christ upon this earth, when they are worshiping, they are partaking in the worship of this heavenly temple. Our psalm singing is ascending, as it were, before the Lord. In a real way, we are partaking with the angels and departed saints, as the letter to the Hebrews explains to us. And when we pray for the peace of Jerusalem, are we then not also praying for the peace of Christ's churches here on earth? And that is very much a part of the thankfulness that we can be expressing to our Lord. The thankfulness that we are able, Lord stay in, Lord stay out, to come together to sing his praises, we are not disturbed. We have peace in this country of Australia, but we ought not to take it for granted. We have it only by God's grace and mercy towards us. And even the New Testament exhorts us to continually pray that we may live in peace. And as we can be very thankful for that peace, we should also be praying later on for those brothers and sisters that we have in other parts of the world where there is no peace, where there is great civil strife and war, and where groups like ISIS are persecuting and even murdering Christians. Yes, in a thanksgiving service, we ought to be thinking of the gift of peace. As the Psalms continue, you see the people marching toward the temple. We pick the thread up in Psalm 123. Unto you I lift up my eyes, O you who dwell in the heavens. Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of a mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God until he has mercy on us. Have mercy on us, O Lord. Have mercy on us, for we are exceedingly filled with contempt. Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scorn of those who are at ease, with the contempt of the proud. We look up. to the Lord, and although we know, and the Israelites of old knew just as well as we, that the Lord really dwells in the heavens, yet he allowed himself to be worshiped on earth, even now as we may worship him on earth in the expectation and knowledge that he hears us. His temple in the time was a sign to the Israelites of the promise of a restored paradise. which is why the curtains and everything of the tabernacle were pictured with palm trees, with pomegranates, with fruit trees. The Lord dwells in his restored Garden of Eden. And it's a sign and symbol of what he has promised for his people, that great restoration. And in times of difficulty in our own lives, as the Israelites were then with so many others living around them, we need to learn again and again to look to the Lord. Not to private ways of vengeance, not to cherishing hatred in our hearts against those that may have offended us, but to look to the Lord and to bring these things to Him in prayer. Psalm 124. If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, let Israel now say, If it had not been the Lord who was on our side when men rose up against us, they would have swallowed us alive when their wrath was kindled against us. Then the waters would have overwhelmed us, the stream would have gone over our soul, then the swollen waters would have gone over our soul. Blessed be the Lord. who has not given us as prey to their teeth. Our soul has escaped as a bird from the snare of the fowlers. The snare is broken and we have escaped. Our help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth. Again, finishing with that confession of dependence that we begin every worship service with. They were to be thankful, not just for the harvest, but they were taught to be thankful for the fact that the Lord had brought them out of exile. They were saved also from those opposing them in Judah. That's every bit as much a reason to be thankful to the Lord. 125. Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever as the mountains surround Jerusalem. So the Lord surrounds his people from this time forth and forever. For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest on the land allotted to the righteous, lest the righteous reach out their hands to iniquity. Do good, O Lord, to those who are good, and do those who are upright in their hearts As for such as turn aside to their crooked ways, the Lord shall lead them away with the workers of iniquity. Peace be upon Israel. You know, if we really do learn to trust in the Lord, and the real test of that, of course, is in times of difficulty. In times when we're completely uncertain about what's going to happen in our own future, if we learn to trust in the Lord, we really do become, as this psalm encourages us, as a steadfast mountain which shall not be moved. And that's the kind of people that our Lord wants us to be. putting really and truly that trust in him. You can only do that by relying upon him through his word and allowing the spirit to work in our hearts. 126, when the Lord brought back the captivity of Zion, We were like those who dream, that our mouth was filled with laughter, our tongue with singing. They said among the nations, the Lord has done great things for them. The Lord's done great things for us and we are glad. Bring back our captivity, oh Lord, as the streams in the south. Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. And of course, that's what the people are carrying as they're coming up in the procession, their gifts, their tithes to the Lord. They were finally able to sow and to harvest in their own fields again. Just as we can be thankful to our Lord, brothers and sisters, when we have work, when we're able to put the gifts and talents that God has given to us to use in society, and when we're able to provide for our families and for our children, We ought not to be thinking of our own efforts. We're giving thanks to the Lord. He is the one that provides the ability to do that. And we have to remember too that thankfulness for our work and the ability to work does not mean that we ought to idolize work. You know, sometimes you can suspect that there are people out there that almost idolize their work. From the wee hours of the morning until late at night, they're out there and they're working and they're feeling good about it because they're working a lot and they're working hard and they're earning money. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, maybe they'll stop for Sunday, hopefully. But that too can become an idol where we neglect other important aspects of life. And that's the theme that you see in the next psalm, 127. Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it. Unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It's vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows. So he gives his beloved in the sleep, a reference to Solomon who slept in the temple. And the Lord had said to him in a dream, ask me what you want, I will give it to you. Wealth, money, and you remember Solomon asked for wisdom. And the psalm goes then on. Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord. The fruit of the womb is a reward like arrows in the hand of a warrior. So are children of one's youth. Happy is the man whose quiver is full of them. They shall not be ashamed, but shall speak with their enemies in the gate. Here are some of the other important things of life that the Lord gives to us as gifts for which we ought to be truly thankful. The blessing and the thankfulness for covenant children. that we have among us, and the fact that we ought to be focusing also on them. The following Psalm continues to do that, to focus on that gift that the Lord gives of children. It's not all about work in this life. I just want to look at Psalms 129 and 30. If you read those, brothers and sisters, they read as follows. Many a time they've afflicted me from my youth. Let Israel now say, many a time they've afflicted me from my youth, yet they've not prevailed against me. The plowers plowed on my back. They made their furrows long. The Lord is righteous. He has cut in pieces the cords of the wicked. Let all those who hate Zion That's the mountain, the temple mountain. Be put to shame and turned back. Let them be as grass on the housetops which withers before it grows up, with which the reaper does not fill his hand, nor he who binds sheaves his arms. Neither let those who pass by them say, the blessing of the Lord be upon you. We bless you in the name of the Lord. And Psalm 130. Out of the depths, I have cried to you, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications. If you, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with you that you may be feared. I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I do hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning, yes, more than those who watch for the morning. O Israel, hope in the Lord, for with the Lord there is mercy, and with him is abundant redemption. and he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities. I wonder if you see the balance in those two Psalms placed side by side. In Psalm 129, we're thinking of those who hate Zion, those who persecute Zion. We're thinking of the enemies of the Lord, those who hate the Lord's temple, His temple mountain. And there's a prayer there, let them be put to shame, let them be turned back. Those people that are fighting specifically against the churches even today of Jesus Christ is an appropriate prayer for them. The work, for example, of those militant Muslims to root out anything that is against their own idea of civilization. And yet at the same time, as there's a prayer that the Lord take out those who are opposing him, There's a prayer of humility. Lord, if you should mark iniquities, who could stand? And you see the balance there. We ought not to think, even if we are praying, Let the Lord take out his enemies even as they are around us. We ought not to think that we are in and of ourselves any better able to stand before the law were it not for his mercy and for his grace. And even a feast of thanksgiving does not rule out a prayer for forgiveness of sins and humility before the Lord. Because it makes the thanksgiving all the more richer, does it not? When we realize that we don't deserve any of the blessings that the Lord our God has given us. And of course the greatest blessings are forgiveness of sins and that expectation of eternal life. But there are so many more blessings for us here in Australia. the wealth that surrounds us, the ability to work, the ability to do so many things unto the furtherance of God's kingdom. None of that is deserved and yet we have been given that. We ought therefore to remain humble before the Lord and also to use what he's given us for his kingdom. Psalm 132, sorry, Psalm 131 continues to speak on that theme of humility before the Lord. 132, on the expectation of a King of David to come. And finally, you arrive in God's temple. And that's where Psalm 133 really speaks, if you understand the Feast of Booths. So you'll have made for yourself temporary shelters out of branches of trees, certain trees, palm trees, pomegranate trees, trees that are supposed to remind you of the trek through the wilderness so long ago, when there were no established houses, when you had to make your own shelters for 40 years long until you were finally brought to the promised land, land flowing with milk and honey. And if you're going to live in those trees and those booths for the coming week and then get to sing this psalm, reflect on that. 133, behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. That's what you're doing. You've all come to Jerusalem for this feast to celebrate the harvest and you're all living together in the city for a week in temporary shelters. for brethren to dwell together in unity. It's like the precious oil upon the head running down the beard, the beard of Aaron, running down on the edge of his garments. It's like the Jew of Hermon, very famous hill in the north, so fertile the cows there was fat as anything. Like the Jew of Hermon descending upon the mountains of Zion, for there the Lord commanded the blessing life. forevermore. So this feast begins and closes with a day of worship. And those days in between are days of rejoicing and feasting before the Lord. The whole purpose is to celebrate the Lord's gifts and blessings for Him. We don't do that anymore, brothers and sisters, in a feast. Such an agricultural feast was given as part of the law of Moses for the nation of Israel. But it doesn't mean, as we're reminded in our Belgian confession, that we can just leave those laws aside and do nothing with them. We're to meditate upon them. We're to extract the basic principles that are there, given in them, also for us. Principles like thanksgiving. like having a time when we come together and when our particular focus is to thank the Lord for the gifts that he has given to us. And it's not just for the food on our tables as we've seen in these Psalms. It is for the peace. It is for the ability to work. It is for the gift of children, for salvation. And it is again the moment when we can pray. Pray for the peace of Christ's churches. Pray for his blessing. And at the same time, in humility, pray for forgiveness. And that's what we'll be doing. Before we do that, let us sing together from Psalm 125, the verses one and two. ♪ Heirs to the symbol of grace and hope ♪ ♪ Pants high and firm and sure ♪ ♪ With temple built and true ♪ His strength and worth evermore tremble, Sure is the ever-loving Savior, Lord, all-before-sav'n. To the roost the heavens roll around, To give her peace of mind, To build the Lord Himself her brother, To guide His own happiness and love, On behalf of the consistory, there are the following announcements. The Lord willing, we will celebrate Holy Supper next Sunday morning. As we read in 1 Corinthians 11, 27 to 29, lest anyone eat and drink condemnation upon themselves by eating and drinking in an unworthy manner, you are called to examine yourselves. As we confess on Lord's Day 30, only those may come to the table who are truly displeased with themselves because of their sins, and yet trust that these are forgiven them, and that their remaining weakness is covered by the suffering and death of Christ, and who desires more and more to strengthen their faith and amend their life. But hypocrites and those who do not repent eat and drink judgment upon themselves. Further, attestation has been requested by Sister Carmen Reitzemer to the Free Reformed Church of Melville. Consistory will meet tomorrow evening, Monday, 7.30 p.m., Lord willing. Home visits this week will be brought to family Reuben Pluck, Wednesday at 7.30 p.m., brother S. Yongling, Thursday at 7.30 p.m., brother K. DeYonga, Thursday at 7.30 p.m., and family Timmer, Wednesday at 7.30 p.m. In our prayer, we will also give attention to the fact that the grandfather of our brother Ben Wielstra, Jonson has passed away, and that there is also the birth of a baby daughter, Emma, to our brother and sister, Ray and Estelle Huizinga. Let us come before our Lord in prayer. Our Lord and heavenly Father, we come before you in humility this morning realizing that we do not deserve the many, many blessings that you have showered upon us. And there are so many. In the first place, the fact that we have been called together to be Church of your Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. For we know we cannot take that for granted, no, not even if we have been born into the covenant For Lord, you have enabled us to grow up. You have worked with your spirit and word in our hearts that we might embrace this salvation and this expectation of complete deliverance, of complete renewal of the heavens and the earth and of ourselves when your son finally returns. And we thank you, Lord, for that is the basis for our existence, the basis for our hope and the basis for our lives. We know we have not deserved it, as we have asked you already this service for forgiveness of our sins. So we continue to pray that you would work in and through us unto the furtherance of your kingdom, that we might be able to show you something of our thankfulness. But Lord, there are so many blessings also here in this life that you've given us in Australia. We thank you that there is no famine, that there is plenty of food available, and that none of us goes hungry. We thank you, Lord, for the work that we are able to have, that we're able to use our gifts and talents so that we can provide for families. At the same time, Lord, we pray for those who are struggling with work, We ask that you would yet be with them and grant them also this wonderful blessing as well. Lord, help us to show our thankfulness for the ability to work even when perhaps at work things are sometimes frustrated or strained. Enable us even there, Lord, to place our trust in you and therefore to have that peace and calmness that we might act and speak wisely and even in a difficult work situation, be a testimony to what it is to stand in Jesus Christ. Lord, we thank you for the children, the covenant children that you have granted to us, and even in the past week, especially to our brother and sister Ray and Estelle. We thank you, Lord, and we pray that you would enable us to bring them up in the fear of your great and holy name. We thank you, Lord, for so many blessings that we do not even realize much of the time. We pray that you would enable us, not just today, but in every day of our lives, to be joyful in you and to be thankful to you. Help us to show that not only in the gifts that we might bring to your church, but also in our whole manner and way of life. Lord, we pray also at this time that you would be with those in mourning, and we think particularly of our brother Ben Wheelster. We ask that you would surround him and also other family members with the comfort of your gospel. We pray, Lord, that you would also be with the ministers of your word in this federation. A number of them, Lord, are suffering under stress and under pressure. We pray that you would be especially close to them, that you would enable them also to be encouraged in this great work that they're able to do, and that you would give them the wherewithal to be able to do it fully. We pray too, Lord, that you would be with our sister Carmen Reitzmer as she departs to Melville, that you would grant that she would have her own place also in that congregation where her gifts and talents can be used under the edification of your body there. Lord, all these things we bring to you and we ask with great gratitude. We pray that you would therefore also be with us as you have promised this day and in the coming week. We ask it only by grace and in the name of your Son, our Lord and living Savior, Jesus Christ, for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. As I close the prayer, I recognize that there's one important thing I didn't pray for and we ought to pray for, and that is peace. If you don't mind, I'd just like to do that. Lord and heavenly Father, we come before you again and we ask that you would continue to grant us peace in this land. We do thank you. We do thank you for the peace that you have given us. We treasure that. The ability to come to church every week again without being under pressure or persecuted, and we think then also of brothers and sisters in other countries, and we ask that you would be with them. We ask, Lord, that you would grant them the fortitude that they need, the strength also to be a testimony under those difficult and trying circumstances. We pray, if it be your will, that you would yet take away those who are fighting so fiercely against you, against your churches. We think particularly of groups like ISIS, We ask, Lord, that you will then bless those that are working to take them out. We pray, Lord, also these things in a humble spirit, in the name of your Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. Our final song this morning you will find in Psalm 121, the verses three and four. He is no shelter on the plain, neither shade at all. ♪ The Lord will not desert you ♪ ♪ Holy, holy Christ, that you may reign ♪ When you go out, when you come in, the Lord will be with you. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.