Our new covenant reading is from the book of Hebrews, the sixth chapter. So if you will turn there in your Bibles, with your Bibles open before you to Hebrews chapter six, we'll read there and then we'll go to the final chapter of Nehemiah, which is the 13th chapter of Nehemiah. When you find your place, please stand with me as we show respect to God as he speaks to us in his inspired, infallible, inerrant and sufficient word. Therefore, leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And this we shall do, if God permits. For in the case of those who have once been enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God, and put Him to open shame. for ground that drinks the rain which often falls upon it, and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God. But if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned. But, beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you things that accompany salvation, though we are speaking in this way. For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward his name in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints. We desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promise. Now back to Nehemiah, the thirteenth chapter. We're going to read the first nine verses and then I'm going to read a few others as well. We won't read the entire chapter, but I want you to get a flavor for this this evening. On that day they read aloud from the book of Moses in the hearing of the people, and there was found written in it that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly of God, because they did not meet the sons of Israel with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them to curse them. However, our God turned the curse into a blessing, so it came about that when they heard the law, they excluded all foreigners from Israel. Prior to this, Eliashib, the priest who was appointed over the chambers of the house of our God, being related to Jobiah, had prepared a large room for him where formerly they put the grain offerings, the frankincense, the utensils, and the tithes of grain, wine, and oil prescribed to the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the contributions for the priests. But during all this time, I was not in Jerusalem, for in the 32nd year of Artaxerxes, king of Babylon, I had gone to the king after some time. However, I asked leave from the king, and I came to Jerusalem and learned about the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah by preparing a room for him in the courts of the house of God. And it was very displeasing to me. So I threw all of Tobiah's household goods out of the room. And I gave an order, and they cleansed the rooms, and I returned there the utensils to the house of God with the grain offerings and the frankincense. And we'll read verse 10 and skip a little bit now. I also discovered the portions of the Levites had not been given to them. The Levites, the singers who performed the service, had gone away each to his own field. Verse 15. In those days I saw in Judah some who were treading wine presses on the Sabbath, and bringing in sacks of grain, and loading them on donkeys, as well as wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of loads. And they brought them into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. So I admonished them on the day they sold food." Verse 23, "'In those days I also saw the Jews had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. I altered my preparations and the sermon for this evening because I realized that there was far too much in these chapters to cover what I was going to cover. In the process, I cut it short, and there's going to be a little bit of academics in it, but I think it's to a purpose. This season, of course, is a season when there's a lot of travel, particularly for vacation. It's a great time to get away, isn't it? When we are engaged in those things, there are things that can happen. We can encounter hazards along the way, and we should not be unaware of those hazards. Some can be unexpected hazards. I can remember many years ago, we had actually traveled back to California. I can't remember whether it was for a general assembly or whether it was for my parents' 50th wedding anniversary. But I do remember that we were almost there. We were either in the deserts of Nevada or the desert of California to the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada. And as we were traveling through this barren, flat desert, sandy, scrubby, ugly land, you can believe it, in the middle of the desert, a storm came up and we were able to find a slightly elevated piece of ground, and while the rains came down, that was the only place that wasn't underwater. It could have interrupted our travel. It was a hazard of which we were not aware. I mean, who would have thought? Well, we should have because there were actually signs that said that, but we'd never experienced anything like that. It was a hazard, very difficult to prepare for because it came out of nowhere. Maybe contracting pneumonia in Ireland, that can distract, that can disrupt things as well. Fortunately, the Lord had other plans for us. Others you can prepare for in advance. For instance, you can have your vehicle prepared and you can check the tire pressure and you can make certain that the oil is clean and all those things. But even then, you're not guaranteed that you're going, but you can try to prepare for it. If you know where you're going and you're aware that the weather is going to be cooler or warmer, you can pack for those things. But any one of these things, any number of hazards, these and others, can bring your vacation to a sudden halt. Well, the scripture is filled with warnings also to assist us in avoiding the hazards that would disrupt our progress to our destination as well. We are embarked on a pilgrimage as well. We're on the way to glory, but there are hazards along the way, and we've seen them in Nehemiah. And I think this 13th chapter of the book of Nehemiah reminds us of those hazards that Paul warns us. We mentioned this morning, as we mentioned earlier in the book of first Corinthians, about that. It's not sufficient to begin the journey. You have to finish the journey, and there are all kinds of hazards along the way. In the 13th chapter of Nehemiah, there are four significant hazards to the progress of the kingdom and for the progress of reformation. Remember that Ezra and Nehemiah are books about the reforming of the people of God, the reformation of the church, the preparation for the Messiah and the growth of the kingdom. And they've been dealing with hazards all along the way. But in the concluding chapters of Nehemiah, he gives four hazards. And no, I'm just going to mention them. We're going to look at them more in depth. a little later on, because I want to look at them, because I think they're significant. But this evening, we are going to be reminded of our ongoing need of a Savior, that reformation is not a human work, that if men depend upon, if we depend upon ourselves, then that is going to come to a sudden stop. Now, in order to look at this, This is the academic portion, please forgive me, I just I found myself fascinated with it because the first verse presents us with a dilemma. In one sense, we read in verse 13, on that day, they read aloud from the book of Moses in the hearing of the people, and there was found written in it. And you can just go on with that. And but the question you want to ask is. On that day, what day? What's the day that he's referring to? And I was fascinated by it because as I read commentators, they were divided because the bulk of the 13th chapter of Nehemiah, the bulk of that chapter deals with things that take place after Nehemiah had returned to Persia and then had come back again. I want to, for a few minutes, just to talk about the time of the events recorded in this chapter. That's the main heading. It's rather academic, but I want to do this because I think it gives us an emphasis. What is the time? Well, as I've already mentioned, the timeframe for chapter 13 is disputed. The commentators are divided. Some think the entire chapter is about Nehemiah's return. The 13th verse of the 13th chapter, the first verse on that day, they read aloud. It's the day that Nehemiah returns. And and when they had the reading of the word of God again, it's talking about they think that this is talking about that time after Nehemiah had departed and gone back to Artaxerxes and has come back again. And on that day, they read again from the scriptures and these events took place. And then all of the restorations that take place, the dealings with Tobiah, the the provision for the house restored, the Sabbath restored, and the family addressed again. Some think that this first verse of chapter 13 is talking about that time when Nehemiah returns. And so verses 1 through 3 would refer to the initial events at Nehemiah's return. Verses 4 through 6 would record the events that were prior to his return while he was gone. And verses 7 through 31 would refer then to those reforms that were conducted after his return for his second term in office. Some think the chapter addresses two different times, that verses one through three would refer to the celebration of the dedication of the wall. And then the verses four through six would refer to events that followed the dedication of the wall during that time when Nehemiah was gone, very similar to the other, only the difference is It's looking at something that the first first three verses take place and then following that, these events take place and and then Nehemiah returns. Of course, he was gone. He was probably possibly gone for years. We're not told how long he was gone. We know that he was in he was in Jerusalem for 12 years. And after those 12 years, he returned and we're not told how long he was gone. I suggest it was a significant period of time. And verses 7 through 31 refer to the reforms that he engaged in again upon his return. And so you say, well, which is it? Well, I am inclined to think that it's the second option. I think that the day that he's referring to is a continuation of the narration of chapter 12. And there's a reason. There are a couple of reasons for that. Well, we'll get to that in a minute. I want to talk about the significance of the timeframe for Chapter 13. Why the big deal? What's the big deal about whether it's at the dedication of the wall or whether it's at Nehemiah's return? Well, I think the first view that looks at the whole chapter as being referred to as Nehemiah's return tends to de-emphasize the contrast between the chapters. Not that there isn't a contrast there, but it is not emphasized. Whereas the second view, I think, emphasizes a contrast between what took place at the dedication of the wall and then what Nehemiah found when he came back because of events that took place after the dedication of the wall. And I think the second view is preferred. And you might say, well, wait a minute. What about verse four? What about verse 4? Because how can you say that you think that this is the ongoing narration of chapter 12 when verse 4 says, now prior to this, the Elishi, the priest, was appointed over the chambers of the house of our God, being related to Tobiah. Wouldn't Nehemiah have dealt with that if he was still in Jerusalem? Wouldn't that be something? How can you say that you think that this is the continuation of the narration of chapter 12. Well, that fourth verse, I think, can be translated in a different way. And I think instead of now prior to this, it can be equally translated in the face of all this. Now, in the face of all this, something happened afterwards. And I'll give you my reasoning then for this and the reasons for adopting the second view. First reason is, The introductory words in chapter 13 and verse 1 seem to continue the narrative of chapter 12. Just go back to chapter 12 and verse 44 and you read identical words in both the English and the Hebrew. On that day men were also appointed over the chambers of the stores. And then 13.1 And on that day, a repetition of the very same thing. It doesn't seem to be a break at all. It seems to me that the writer is telling us here that there's a continuation of what is taking place here. I also think that there's something else in here, that verses four through six introduce a disruption in the process. This goes back to why I think there's an emphasis upon the contrast here. And so, therefore, chapter 13 is warning not only that generation, but us succeeding generations to beware of the hazards and to be aware of the need for the work of God's Spirit ongoing, not to be careless or to be satisfied with the things that are past. And that brings me to the second heading, which is what I want to say, and it's just kind of a summary of the chapter. We'll look at the details a little bit later. And that is this, that past reforms do not secure the future. That should be obvious to us, right? It should be obvious to us that past reforms do not secure the future. The motto, one of the mottos of the Reformation was, that they were reformed, but they were always being reformed. They recognized that even with the significant reformation that had taken place, there was yet much to be done. They were not content to rest upon that. They passed down those truths to succeeding generations, that succeeding generations might build upon those, not just say, well, we've arrived and we're ready to go and there's nothing more to be done. You can't rest on past performance. You know that from your own spiritual life as well. You've experienced significant works of God in your life, and you've been blessed by those, and you become satisfied with those. You grow careless. And what happens? Those past reforms seem to fade away, and you grow cold in your service to the Lord and your worship of the Lord, your joy in the Lord. The warnings on investment instruments are true in the spiritual realm. Past performance is no guarantee of future earnings. Past performance doesn't do that. And so what we see is this contrast. And I think the writer, the Spirit of God, is drawing our attention to several things. First, he's drawing our attention to the fervor of the people at the time of the dedication of the wall. And remember everything that they'd been through in those 12 years. remarkable deliverances of God again and again, the turning of the hearts of the people to build the wall, to resist the threats, to trust in the Lord in the face of overwhelming odds, and then the completion of the wall. And what we see there is that when Nehemiah left, God's people were zealous in their covenant duties. Now, this takes us back to chapter 10. And if you will, go back to chapter 10 because this is what is an expression of their zeal that they expressed. Remember, it's the covenant they made. And in chapter 10 and verse 29, we read this. We're joining with their kinsmen, their nobles, and are taking on themselves a curse and an oath to walk in God's law which was given through Moses, God's servant, and to keep and to observe all the commandments of God our Lord and his ordinances and his statutes, and that we will not give our daughters the peoples of the land or take their daughters for our sons. As for the peoples of the land who bring wares of any grain on the Sabbath day to sell, we will not buy from them on the Sabbath day or a holy day, and will forgo the crops of the seventh year and the exaction of every debt. We also placed ourselves under obligation to continue yearly one third of a shekel for the service of the house of our God, the showbread, for the continual grain offering, for the continual burnt offering, the Sabbath, the new moon, for the appointed times, for the holy things and for the sin offerings to make atonement for Israel and all the work of the house of the Lord. And it goes on for all those provisions. But but here you can see at the at the time of the of the this covenant making the dedication of the wall, there was this zeal for the Lord and for his people. When Nehemiah left, they were zealous. They were zealous in obedience to God's law, to keep and observe the commandments of God. They were zealous to establish and preserve godly families. They were zealous in observing the Sabbath. And they were zealous in supporting the work and the ministry of the church, providing supplies and fuel and support for those who labored in the temple. And they took an oath. They stood before God and each other and they took a blood oath saying that these were things that we promised to do. And they were zealous in that. And God's people, as we see in the 13th chapter in the first verse, God's people were devoted to proclaiming God's word. If there's anything that you see running through Ezra and Nehemiah, you can see that God brought Ezra and Nehemiah. But particularly in Nehemiah, you'll recall that That it was the people of God who said, Nehemiah, Ezra, bring the book, bring the book of the law, read from the book. God's people were devoted to proclaiming to the proclamation of God's word. It was a season that was characterized by reading and preaching of the word of God. And so we found that that time that the practice of the annual reading of God's law was revived. was something that was commanded by Moses, evidently had fallen into disrepair. But the Feast of Booths, there was the annual reading of God's word. And for a period of time that continued. But but not only then, we find that the reading of God's word continued at other special times. We see it even in the Book of Nehemiah as they gathered on the next day. It wasn't required for the reading of the law for the day after the Feast of Booths. But they said, we want to hear the word of God again. We need to hear. The Word of God was a season characterized by that and the practice of additional reading was introduced as well. I would remind you that when the preaching of the Word of God is retarded or stopped, then that's a hazard to the progress of the people of God to their destination. So God's people were devoted to proclaiming God's word and God's people were also devoted to perpetuating reformation. And we read this again in chapter 13 and verse one, as they read again, the law, the dedication of the wall on that day, they read aloud from the book of Moses and the hearing of the people. And there was found written in it that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly of God because they did not meet the sons of Israel with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them to curse them. However, our God turned the curse into a blessing. So it came about that when they heard the law, they excluded all foreigners from Israel. Now, why do I say that they were devoted to the perpetuation of Reformation? Because this particular item was not one of the things that is recorded in the covenant that they made. They didn't say that we're going to exclude the Moabites and the Ammonites. This was something they discovered again in the reading of the word. They learned of God's exclusion of the Moabites and the Ammonites. Isn't it amazing that they had that word and they came across it and they said, wow, you know, we've had that word read to us. It was probably read under Ezra. previously, and you know, I never really noticed that. But when they did notice, when they heard the word read, they learned there was still more to be done. This was recorded in Deuteronomy, chapter 23, verses 3 through 5. No Ammonite or Moabite shall enter the assembly of the Lord. None of their descendants, even to the tenth generation, shall ever enter the assembly of the Lord. because they did not meet you with food and water on the way when you came out of Mesopotamia, when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam, the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you. Moses said, no Moabite or Ammonite can enjoy the fellowship of the people of God for the tenth generation. Now, by the way, before we get in, you want to say, oh, how racist can you get? or xenophobic. I want to remind you this had nothing to do with race, because you'll remember Ruth. Ruth was a Moabitess. And she not only was admitted to the people of God, but she is in the line of our Savior. And I think what we learn from this is it's not just your nationality, but it has to do with your relationship to God. Remember, it was Ruth who said to Naomi, he said, where you go, I will go. Your people will be my people and your God will be my God. She was not a Moabite in the sense that the Moabites here, she was not one who repudiated the people of God and sought to do them harm, destroy them. She embraced the God of the people and she embraced the people themselves, devoting herself to her mother-in-law. So these were a people and we're reminded of the, as we think about that, who were the Moabites and the Ammonites? Well, if you go back to Genesis, you'll recall that these were the ancestors, the parents of the Moabites and the Ammonites were the offspring of Lot's daughters through incest. And so they were related. They were people who were genetically related to the people of God. They were descendants of Lot's daughters. They were kinsmen who should have welcomed their fellow kinsmen. And yet they were a people hostile to God's people. They would not welcome them. In fact, far from welcoming them, they did everything they could to hinder the people of God from entering the promised land. And you'll recall that it was the king of the Moabites who sought Balaam And he would have them to curse. Balak tried to have Balaam curse and he could not do it. But Balaam did something far worse. Balaam, it was the Moabites who seduced the people of Israel and brought God's wrath upon them. And so they learned of that. They learned and were reminded again of the history of that. And they hadn't been very careful about it. Significantly, and we'll talk about this at some future time, it's interesting that Tobiah, though he was probably a Jew, was the governor of the Ammonites. He was one, although he may not have been genetically an Ammonite, he was an Ammonite at heart, just as Ruth was a Jew because of regeneration. was an Ammonite because he was the enemy of the people. You read about him all through Nehemiah, and he is one who is always trying to disrupt the work of God. And they heard of God's gracious reversal of the curse. They read that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly, and for reason they didn't welcome them, and yet they remembered that God was the one who turns the curse into a blessing. And can I say that that phrase reminds us again that that's exactly what the Lord has done for us in the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus became a curse for us that he might be a blessing to us. And we are blessed in him. Though we are worthy of God's curse, for Christ's sake, who became a curse for us, God blesses us. And then as a result of that, they separated those excluded from their midst. In other words, they exercise discipline. By the way, one of the things that we should learn from this, we are being told, and it is a lie, that, I mean, it's a lie the way it is perpetuated, that we're being told that multiculturalism is the strength of a nation, and it is not. Multiculturalism is not the strength of a nation. There can be diversity within a people, but we must have a common God, a common purpose, a common goal, a common ethic. Multiculturalism is destroying all that, and you're seeing its fruit. And this is one of the things why this was given. The Lord recognized that having those enemies within your midst was not going to strengthen the nation of Israel. It wasn't going to promote reformation. It was going to disrupt it. It was going to be a hazard along the way. And you'll remember, as you think about the Moabites and the Ammonites that were about them, the people of God did exclude them. They didn't allow them to join in the work. They did not permit them to discourage them with their mocking of their work upon the wall. They did not allow them to seduce them either, as opposed to the time at Baal Peor. So this is the way it was when Nehemiah left them. But something happened. During Nehemiah's absence, covenant obligations were neglected. And so Nehemiah in the 13th chapter addresses the violations of the covenant that they had made. In contrast, the zeal and the reforms that he left a few years later, we find the people in a deplorable condition, falling back into the same problems that had been addressed before. When you stop being reformed by the Word of God, you lose the reforms that had been enacted previously. I can't help but think, I think about our denomination, and by the way, I think that there's still many good things that are being done. But I have distinct memories in the early days of General Assembly. And I went to every General Assembly that there was from 1974 until 1982. I didn't make that General Assembly because I was actually en route to come from California to assume the pastored here at Westminster and was not able to go to the General Assembly in Grand Rapids, Michigan. And I went to many after that. I didn't miss a General Assembly, but something changed over the days. In those early General Assemblies for many years, I can remember the debate being taken place on the floor of the General Assembly. And it was good debate. And I can remember people standing there before microphones with their Bibles open and making their arguments from the scripture. And it was exhilarating. I mean, we didn't always agree, but we were debating. We're looking at the scripture and something happened along the way. All of a sudden people were no longer debating using the scripture, but they were debating using pragmatic arguments, or previous court cases, or the book of church order, or something else. And it just struck me particularly when there was a debate over women in the military. A man got up, and by the way, I will say this, When you heard the scriptures open, it was usually somebody from Westminster Presbytery opening the scriptures, which I'm very grateful for. Folks from Westminster Presbytery get up and say, yes, but in this particular case, it was not a case of someone from Westminster Presbytery, but a pastor stood up and he read from passage, and I can't remember which of the Mosaic books it is, but it says, a woman shall not wear the gear of a man. And he was arguing that he was speaking about using that as an argument, saying that women should not be equipped for warfare. They're not designed for that. And he was mocked and ridiculed, why are you bringing that up? That has nothing to do with our debate. And I can remember another time, and I think I've mentioned this to you, we were talking about how to care for, the first time I heard about the notions of Obamacare was not in the political spectrum, it was in our denomination because we were having trouble with our health insurance and it was just getting way too expensive. And particularly for those that were older and had trouble getting insurance. And I was put on a committee and they were saying, well, what we have to do is we have to make certain that every employee of the General Assembly, whether it's secretaries or pastors or assistant pastors, whoever's employed in our churches, we need to require them to buy our insurance. That's the first time I heard about that. And I was on the committee, and I said, well, wait a minute. There's another solution. What about charity? What about people taking care of those who are in need? And again, that was just neglected out of hand by the committee. Charity won't work. That's exactly the word they said. Oh, that'll never work. You see the change that took place? A change has taken place that we've forgotten the previous and all you need to do is just look at just look at the history of the Reformation reading Dovigny's history of the Reformation in Scotland. What a wonderful thing and the Reformation in England these places they weren't they weren't heaven on earth by any means but they were places where the Word of God was taken seriously. What's happened to England Scotland and Wales all the former reforms Don't do them any good today. They've forgotten the very basics that they are. So what happened during Nehemiah's absence? Covenant obligations were neglected. God's word was being ignored. The worship and work of the church was being neglected. The Sabbath was not being observed and mixed marriages were being contracted. See all those reforms that had taken place previously. Now they've fallen by the wayside. Now, one would think, in conclusion, one would think that the remarkable effects of God's mighty deeds in their midst through Ezra and Nehemiah would have a lasting effect on God's people. But that's not the way it was, and it's not the way it is. In Paul's admonition to the Philippians in Philippians 2.12, he says, even as you've been obedient to my presence, even more so now. in my absence. It's important not just to rely upon the leadership because the leadership will come and go, but it's important for the people of God to rely upon the Lord himself. And so we see that we quickly forget God's grace and goodness. We quickly forget the things that he has done and the benefits that we receive. And so the progress of the Reformation on our journey to Zion And our sanctification requires the constant governance of Christ and his spirit. We are in desperate need. How were these things reversed? It was when Nehemiah visited them again. And I think that in this case, in this sense, Nehemiah is a type of Christ. He comes and he meets us in the midst of our coldness of heart, and he rebuilds what we tear down by our carelessness. And so I think the admonition to us is that we ought not to forget. Don't forget what God has done. Don't forget our dependence upon him. Don't forget your first love. And pray for God's mercy in your life day by day. Don't think that just because you've enjoyed his favor in the past and he will. He's not going to let you go. But so often we can we can we learn what it is to depend on him. And then when things start going well, we think we've got it all together. And we find out again, I was I was reading I was reading this this afternoon about the about how the Lord in in in bringing the people out in the wilderness wanderings, how it was God that brought them out of Egypt. And he was the one that put them in the wilderness. He let them get hungry. Right? That he might test them. He let them get hungry. And then he gave them manna. What was he teaching them? He was teaching them that they were dependent upon him every moment of every day of their lives. And just because they had enjoyed all the food that Egypt could provide, it was from God's hand. God is the one that gives it to us. But just as they were dependent upon God for their physical well-being, and we are dependent upon God for our physical well-being. You may have lots of food in your freezer and your refrigerator and all those things, but you remember God's the one who gives it to you. Give us this day our daily bread and just As he provides for us, we're dependent upon him for that. He can withdraw it just like that. And that's what the people of Israel learned. So it is even more so. It's a little harder to understand, but we're dependent upon him for our spiritual well-being. We're dependent upon him every day. What did Jesus say? Without me, you can do what? Nothing. Nothing. And so let's not be like Jeshurun that grew fat and kicked. But let's ask God for his mercy day by day, and let's use and improve the means of grace that we can deal with the hazards along the way. Let's pray together. Father, we do pray that you will remind us that you have done great things for us indeed, and yet how quickly we forget. And if there's anything that your word teaches us through the old covenant and even in the new, it is that we are prone to turn aside. and that you do great things, and you have to deliver us again and again and again. And we beg, Father, you will not let us go, that you will indeed come once again in favor, even as Nehemiah returned for those reforms. We pray that you will continue to do those things in us, that we would not be interrupted in our progress, that we would not be derailed, but that we would ultimately be brought into that destination that you've appointed for us, not because of any strength of our own, for we have none, but because you have given to us a great Savior. We are great sinners, but Jesus is a great Savior. Here are prayers we ask in Jesus' name. Amen. And now may you be the Lord's people, a treasured possession as He promised you. And may He give you grace to keep all His commandments. May the Lord set you high above all nations, which He has made for praise, fame, and honor. And may you be a consecrated people to the Lord God, as He has spoken. Amen.