Our scripture reading this morning is Psalm 51. Psalm 51. Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness, according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight, that thou mayest be justified when thou speakest and be clear when thou judgest. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. Purge 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 thy free 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 desirest not sacrifice, else would I give it. Thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. A broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion, and build thou the walls of Jerusalem. Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings. Then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar. So far we read God's holy word. The text for the sermon is verse 12. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation and uphold me with thy free spirit. Beloved in the Lord Jesus Christ, this psalm is, above all, the song of a repentant sinner to his merciful God. There are, however, three sections in this psalm. It's divided into three parts. The major part of the psalm is verses one through nine. And there you have a confession of sin along with a plea for forgiveness and for cleansing. That's verses one through nine. The last part of the psalm is 13 to the end, verses 13 to the end, and that is a song of thankfulness. The text for the sermon tonight will be taken from that section. In the middle section, verses 10 through 12, this is where the text is found. The psalmist has seen his sins and confessed them from the heart, asked God to forgive those sins, but he desires more than merely that the guilt of his sin is taken away. He fervently desires to enjoy God's favor That's put negatively in verse 11, cast me not away from thy presence and take not thy Holy Spirit from me. The text we consider is the positive side to that. The positive side, restore unto me the joy of thy salvation and uphold me with thy free spirit. The text is fitting for a communion service Because we have examined ourselves in preparation for the Lord's Supper, as a result, by God's grace, we should also have seen our sins. And the guilt of our sins and of our sinful nature has troubled us. And we cried out with the psalmist in verse 4, against thee, thee only have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight. We've asked for forgiveness. We've received the assurance you are forgiven. And the sins are washed away in the blood of Jesus Christ. This is the only way a person should ever come to the table of the Lord. The only way we should ever dare to come to the table of the Lord. But now we do come. And a table is a place of fellowship. We come seeking fellowship with our God at His table. We come seeking His grace, that all-important spiritual strength that we may go forward from the table to be able to serve God in whatever calling and station He has given us, to put down the old man of sin, and to walk A new life of glad obedience. So we take as the theme for the sermon this morning, seeking the joy of salvation. Seeking the joy of salvation. Notice first of all what that is then, the joy of salvation. Secondly, the restoring spirit, the spirit that will restore the joy of salvation. That's the second part of the text. And then finally, the believer's prayer, because that's what this is. It's a prayer for restoring the joy of salvation. The psalmist has been deprived of the joy of salvation. What does he mean? Well, the text, first of all, notice says, thy salvation. It is God's salvation. He recognizes that from beginning to end. It is not man's. It is God's. It is God's because from all eternity He planned this salvation. In all eternity, He chose Jesus to be the Savior and the Mediator of the covenant. In all eternity, He chose His people who would be saved in Jesus Christ. And then in time, He executed that by sending His Son and His Son accomplishing the payment of sin and the full salvation of His people. for us, but also salvation in us is all God's work. And it's particularly that aspect that the psalmist has in mind, that work of God in us. Thy salvation in us, which would include deliverance from the bondage of sin, includes deliverance from the corrupting power of that sin, and then causing the believer not only to be freed from that, but to know that he is saved and to know the joy of salvation in Jesus Christ. That joy. is not earthly. It's not in this, not of this earth. It doesn't come from earthly things. There are earthly joys, of course. There's the joy of a family getting together and fellowshipping, or friends coming together and having a good time together. There's the joy of having one's stomach filled with good food. Some really get excited and have a lot of joy about winning a game. But all those things are temporal. They soon fade. And there are so many other earthly sadnesses and griefs that counterbalance the joys of this life. The joy of the salvation that the psalmist speaks about is the joy. It's the only true joy. It really is the joy, no matter what the circumstances of life may be, this joy abides. It dominates his life, his mind. Only God can give it. It is a spiritual gift from God. What is it? Specifically, it is happiness from the intimate covenant life we have with God. Friendship with God Himself. It is striking that when God speaks of how He will take away joy from Israel in the Old Testament, take away joy from Jerusalem, He describes it in terms of removing all of the joys of life, all the activity of the covenant. He said, I will make Jerusalem to be a desolation. You will not hear the voice of a bride. You will not hear the voice of a bridegroom. You will not hear anyone working. You will not see the light of a candle. The city will be desolate. That's the very opposite of the joy of covenant life and fellowship with God. This joy comes to a sinner who has experienced God's forgiveness. God convicts of sin. He makes a sinner to know that he is worthy of God's dreadful wrath. He is aware that his misery of life is not because of what a person does or even because of a sickness, but it's because God's wrath. That's the cause of misery in this life. And so a sinner, conscious of that by God's grace, grieves over his sin. He has offended God. And then by that grace of God, he knows his sins are forgiven. They're gone. The dark foreboding clouds of God's wrath are replaced by the sunshine of His love and favor that rests upon the believer. God's favor shines upon him. But there's more to it. That sinner is drawn by bands of love that draw him unto God and into his covenant life. God identifies that sinner as his own child. reassures him of his love, promises him blessings beyond anything that this life can possibly offer, things even almost beyond our imagination. He calls that sinner, one of his children says, you have an eternal inheritance that I will give you. Promises to be a God unto him and to his children after him, to dwell with him in love and in favor. So that that man wakes up in the morning, conscious of the fact, God loves me. God loves me. His mercies are new unto me every morning. And yes, the sorrows and the troubles of life are there, but even those are working together for my good. I know that too. The effect is overwhelming joy, a salvation so rich, a salvation so undeserved, so glorious. You can illustrate that for a moment if you just compare the life of an orphan compared to the joy of a child in a home, the orphan who's lost father and mother, and is forsaken, and no one cares about him, and he's left out in the streets to fend for himself, and he faces a short life of misery and sorrow. But then think of that orphan being adopted and brought into a family where he's loved, where he's cared for, where he enjoys the blessedness of a family life. He has joy. He has joy. That's the joy of God's salvation that is experienced by a believer. But how is it lost? The text says, restore unto me. It's been lost. How is it that an elect child of God, redeemed in the blood of Jesus Christ, drawn by bands of love into covenant life and fellowship with God, how could he lose the joy of that salvation? And the answer is obvious. It's sin. His sins. Notice what is lost. Not salvation. That's impossible. You cannot lose your salvation because it's God's work. And he will preserve his people. Psalm 121 says that. He will preserve thy soul, he says. Jesus in John 10 said, I give them eternal life and they shall never perish. Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hands. They are preserved. So he doesn't lose his salvation, but the joy. And that's closely tied to assurance. That he's lacking assurance is evident from a couple of things in the text. First of all, the fact that he says, restore unto me the joy of thy salvation. Thy salvation. Many times, even most times in the Psalms, when the psalmist is talking about salvation, he doesn't use the pronoun thy, but my. my salvation, when he's confident, when he's assured, when he's enjoying the blessings of that. In Psalm 25, 5, lead me in thy truth and teach me for thou art the God of my salvation. And he's not claiming that he has done it. No, God is the God of salvation, but it's mine. It's mine. I can claim it. I'm sure of it. Or, again, the Lord is my light and my salvation. My salvation. But now, he says, thy. Uphold me. Uphold me. That's the other indication that he lacks assurance. It indicates weakness. It indicates a consciousness of the fact that he needs to be sustained. He is slipping. He is falling. He needs strength to be upheld. Uphold me. What has done this? What has brought him to this? And the answer again, his sins. Sin, bold, rebellion against God, unconfessed, for months by David. And the result is that God's love was hidden from him, not taken away. God never ceases to love his people. It's an unchanging love, an unconditional love, unconditional, but the experience of it is not constant. And God can hide his face. so that we do not experience his love, we don't experience his favor as we did before. The psalmist expresses that in a parallel psalm, Psalm 32, verses three and four. When I kept silence, that is, didn't confess my sins, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long, for day and night thy hand was heavy upon me, my moisture is turned into the drought of summer, The Canons of Dort express it in the Fifth Head, Article 5, by such enormous sins. Listen to what the effect is of enormous sins. They, the sinners, very highly offend God, incur a deadly guilt, grieve the Holy Spirit, interrupt the exercise of faith, very grievously wound their consciences, and sometimes lose the sense of God's favor for a time. Have you ever experienced that? David's Life and experience is hardly a daily occurrence. It is obviously extreme because of the severity of the sin and the fact that he did not confess them for months. And yet, the deeper any one of us travels down this road of sin, And the longer that we continue in it and do not repent, do not turn, the more hardened we become and we lose the sense of God's favor, the joy of His salvation. When that happens, it's not enough merely to cry, Father, forgive me. that he has done in the first nine verses but he also cries out oh restore unto me the joy of thy salvation and there's a way in the original hebrew to To draw a line under that, to make it in bold letters, and that's what he does. The Spirit gives the psalmist the words, restore unto me in bold letters, so to speak. This is an emphatic cry. But how will that be accomplished? Restored the joy. The text explains by adding this, and uphold me with thy free spirit. The spirit is the one who will restore the joy of salvation. Who is this? And what exactly does David expect when he says, uphold me with thy free spirit? Well, the Spirit is the Holy Spirit of God, and if you're wondering why is it not capitalized, then I don't have a good explanation for that. It's a translation issue, of course. The Hebrew does not have capitals in small letters. So when the translators would move it into English, they would have to make decisions. Capital S, small s. I think they made two mistakes in this psalm. In verse 11, cast me not away from thy presence and take not thy Holy Spirit. They kept that in small letters. It should definitely be capitalized. And here to uphold me with thy free spirit. The spirit of God is the third person of the Trinity. He's the divine spirit. And that definitely is what it means here. But the questions remain, how does the Old Testament saints pray for the Spirit? Did they have the Spirit? Did they not have the Spirit? And of course, we have the Spirit in a special way when Jesus ascended up into heaven God gave him the spirit to pour out on his church and we have the spirit of Jesus Christ as the old testament saints did not only the prophets priests and kings had that spirit and yet they had to have the spirit working in them because all through All of God's works are triune. They are of the Father, through the Son, and by the Holy Spirit. So if there's any work in the saints in the Old Testament, it had to be by the Spirit, and he had to continue to live in them and continue to uphold them, otherwise they would cease to be believers. But David nonetheless prays that God will uphold him by his free spirit. Why does he call him? Why does the spirit give David the words to describe himself as the free spirit? Free here is a word that means willing and ready. Willing and ready and generous. In a sense that one is not required to do something. One is not forced to do it, but he freely does it, willingly, readily. That's the sense of the free spirit. So in three ways, then, in three ways, the spirit is the free spirit. In the first place, he's willing and ready to help. Willing and ready. to rush even to the aid of God's people. He does not need to be forced. He does not do any of his work in us grudgingly. Oh, it's free, it's willing, it's ready. Secondly, that he is the free spirit emphasizes freeness in the same sense that grace is free. It's unearned. Every gift that the spirit works in his people is a free gift. There's nothing that we've ever earned. It's graciously given. So it's willing and ready to give. It's not an earned gift. It's a free gift that the Spirit gives. And thirdly, the Spirit is generous. Generous with His gifts, with His favor. He does not give meagerly. He doesn't give the bare minimum. Abundantly he supplies. He's the free spirit, willing to give, giving graciously without earning it, and generously giving to his people. And he is the one who restores. You understand there's a parallelism here. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation is explained then with and uphold me with thy free spirit. Clearly it's the spirit who must restore. And he does that. Dwelling with his people, upholding them spiritually, upholding them giving them all the blessings of salvation. Remember, salvation itself is the joy. That is what gives the joy. And God is the source of that. God is the fount of all joy. Only He is able to give it, and He gives it by His Spirit, of course. Freely and abundantly He gives the forgiveness of those sins that are tormenting the child of God. The Spirit forgives. The Spirit gives covenant fellowship with God so that we know the love of God personally, experientially. And the Spirit makes us holy. He's the Holy Spirit. He sanctifies. And this is of interest to David. David has sinned. David has committed sins that have separated him from God. And he wants to be restored to the favor of God, the joy of his salvation. And he knows that will only be restored in the way of holy living. He knows that. He knows as soon as he returns to sin, he will begin to lose that joy once again. It's in the way of holiness that he experiences life with God, fellowship with God. And so it's a plea. Sanctify. Deliver me from the power of sin and the corruption of sin. Give me the grace that I need to fight off the temptations of this world and to put down my own nature and to walk in a new and holy life. That's the same is true for us, of course. There is no joy for us apart from a holy life, not true spiritual joy. When a child of God is walking in sin, he's not experiencing joy and and favor from God, that's not what he's experiencing at all. Our cry as we come to the Lord's table, therefore, is not merely, I have sinned, forgive me. Yes, that's our cry as we come to the table, but it's also, make me holy. Make me holy. We come, do we not, resolved to live a new and holy life? Do we not come with that resolve? This is the way of fellowship, holiness. And so the Spirit is the only one who can do that, the only one that can restore us, that can make us to live a life of holiness and obedience. And that's our prayer. That's the believer's prayer. It's a prayer of faith. Why does the believer pray this? In addition to the prayer forgive, why this also? And the answer is because the loving kindness of God is more than life to me. It's more than life to me. It's more important than my life, enjoying life and family and food and all the things that I enjoy. Loving kindness of God is more than any of that. It's the most important thing in my life. Nothing is as important as God's love and favor upon me. Not the pleasures of sin, not money, Not even my own family life or the life of a husband and wife or the closest of friends, not that either compares with the joy of salvation. If that is lost, we must have it. We cry out with the same urgency, oh, restore unto me the joy of thy salvation. Only a believer can pray this, obviously. Only someone who has experienced the joy of salvation will long for it. Only someone who sees his sins and sees how those sins begin to cloud up the relationship between God and himself and he begins to lose that joy. He begins to see that and he knows those sins are the fault. He must take away those sins. They must be removed. On what basis does he expect to receive a positive answer? This is our prayer. This is our request. The fact that he prays Thy salvation shows us where he expects this to come from and why. It's on the basis only of what God has promised to do through the mediator. For David, that meant taking sacrifices, which pointed to the coming Messiah and the shedding of blood and the forgiveness of sins in that blood. For us, we don't have to look at an animal. We look at the reality. We look at the cross of Jesus Christ, His atoning suffering. Through it, we are given forgiveness. How else would we even dare to come to God and ask for forgiveness if we did not have the cross? We have sinned against God. Let's acknowledge that. Next, acknowledge that we are sinners. We have a nature that is vile and corrupt. We confess with the psalmist here in verse five, behold, I was shapen in iniquity, in sin did my mother conceive me. That's my very beginning, iniquity, sin, that's who I am. We deserve only God's eternal wrath. But the believer knows forgiveness. The shed blood of Jesus Christ is not merely for others, but it's for me. Faith makes us to know that. And God, therefore, welcomes us into his presence and to his table. The believer knows that he will be received, that God's, on the basis of the work of Jesus Christ, God will do this, will restore to the joy of salvation, but he knows something else. He knows that it is God's will for his people that they have joy. That they have joy. God's idea of salvation is not that he saves people, but that they have to live now for the rest of their life kind of down in the dumps. that they have to live a life where they are living in terror of this holy God that they are always doubting whether or not they are saved that's not God's plan for his people no his will is that already in this life we have we experience the joy of His great salvation. He commands us, rejoice evermore, rejoice in all things. In this way, He is glorified as a sinner who is worthy of wrath, now begins to bring forth praises, God's work in that sinner. comes out in his life. His great grace, his free spirit are magnified even before the face of the ungodly who see this person full of joy and recognize it's not because of money, it's not because of earthly circumstance, but it's because of the great salvation that he has, that he's filled with joy. The part of the Lord's Supper, by the way, that indicates that is the cup of blessing, the wine, a picture of celebration. Yes, the wine points to the blood of Jesus Christ which was shed for us, but we take the cup and we say the cup of blessing, that is to say, the cup which is blessing, the cup of thanksgiving with which we give thanks to God. We bless His name. That's the sense. So there is that aspect in the Lord's Supper as well. So God calls us to His table. He commands us to come to experience fellowship, life, joy, a foretaste of eternal life, unspeakable and full of glory. Amen. Let us pray. Father in heaven, how glorious is thy work. Salvation from sin, salvation from hell itself, and the gift of eternal life, and all the joy that thou hast put into the hearts of thy people. Lord, if we are downcast and full of sorrows, lift us up and restore to us the great joy of thy glorious salvation. In Jesus' name we pray it. Amen. We turn now to the form for the administration of the Lord's Supper, as that is found on page 91 in the back of the Psalter. Beloved in the Lord Jesus Christ, attend to the words of the institution of the Holy Supper of our Lord Jesus Christ as they are delivered by the Holy Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 11, 23 through 29. For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread, And when he had given thanks, he break it and said, take, eat. This is my body which is broken for you. This do in remembrance of me. And after the same manner also he took the cup when he had sup saying, this cup is the New Testament in my blood. This do ye as oft as ye drink it in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come. Wherefore, whosoever shall eat this bread and drink this cup of the Lord unworthily shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. That we may now celebrate the supper of the Lord to our comfort is above all things necessary, first, rightly to examine ourselves, secondly, to direct it to that end for which Christ hath ordained and instituted the same, namely, to his remembrance. Last time we looked, we read the true examination of ourselves last Sunday evening. We turn now to page 92, the second column toward the bottom. Let us now also consider to what end the Lord hath instituted His supper, namely, that we do it in remembrance of Him. Now after this manner are we to remember Him by it first. that we are confidently persuaded in our hearts that our Lord Jesus Christ, according to the promises made to our forefathers in the Old Testament, was sent of the Father into the world, that he assumed our flesh and blood, that he bore for us the wrath of God, under which we should have perished everlastingly, from the beginning of his incarnation to the end of his life upon earth. and that he hath fulfilled for us all obedience to the divine law and righteousness, especially when the weight of our sins and the wrath of God pressed out of him the bloody sweat in the garden, where he was bound that we might be freed from our sins, that he afterwards suffered innumerable reproaches that we might never be confounded, that he was innocently condemned to death, that we might be acquitted at the judgment seat of God. Yea, that he suffered his blessed body to be nailed on the cross, that he might fix thereon the handwriting of our sins, and hath also taken upon himself the curse due to us, that he might fill us with his blessings, and hath humbled himself unto the deepest reproach and pains of hell, both in body and soul, on the tree of the cross, when he cried out with a loud voice, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? That we might be accepted of God and never be forsaken of him. And finally, confirmed with his death and shedding of his blood, the new and eternal testament, that covenant of grace and reconciliation, when he said, it is finished. Secondly, that we might firmly believe that we belong to this covenant of grace. The Lord Jesus Christ in his last supper took bread, and when he had given thanks, he break it and gave it to his disciples and said, take, eat. This is my body, which is broken for you. This do in remembrance of me. In like manner also after supper he took the cup, gave thanks, and said, Drink ye all of it. This cup is the New Testament in my blood, which is shed for you and for many for the remission of sins. This do ye, as often as ye drink it in remembrance of me. That is, as often as ye eat of this bread and drink of this cup, ye shall thereby, as by a sure remembrance and pledge, Be admonished and assured of this my hearty love and faithfulness towards you, that whereas you should otherwise have suffered eternal death, I have given my body to the death of the cross and shed my blood for you. And as certainly feed and nourish your hungry and thirsty souls with my crucified body and shed blood to everlasting life, as this bread is broken before your eyes, and this cup is given to you, and you eat and drink the same with your mouth in remembrance of me." From this institution of the Holy Supper of our Lord Jesus Christ, we see that he directs our faith and trust to his perfect sacrifice once offered on the cross. as to the only ground and foundation of our salvation, wherein he has become to our hungry and thirsty souls the true meat and drink of life eternal. For by his death he hath taken away the cause of our eternal death and misery, namely sin, and obtained for us the quickening spirit. that we by the same who dwelleth in Christ as in the head and in us as his members might have true communion with him and be made partakers of his blessings of life eternal, righteousness and glory. Besides, that we by this same spirit may also be united as members of one body and true brotherly love as the holy apostle Seth For we, being many, are one bread and one body, for we are all partakers of that one bread. For as out of many grains one meal is ground and one bread baked, and out of many berries being pressed together, one wine floweth and mixeth itself together, so shall we all, who by a true faith are engrafted into Christ, be altogether one body, through brotherly love, for Christ's sake, our beloved Savior, who has so exceedingly loved us. Not only show this in word, but also in very deed towards one another. Here to assist us, the almighty God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, through his Holy Spirit. Amen. that we may obtain all this, let us humble ourselves before God, and with true faith, implore His grace. Let us pray. O most merciful God and Father, we beseech Thee that Thou wilt be pleased in this supper, in which we celebrate the glorious remembrance of the bitter death of Thy beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to work in our hearts through the Holy Spirit, that we may daily more and more with true confidence give ourselves up unto Thy Son, Jesus Christ, that our afflicted and contrite hearts, through the power of the Holy Ghost, may be fed and comforted with His true Body and Blood, yea with him, true God and man, that only heavenly bread. That we may no longer live in our sins, but he in us and we in him, and thus truly be made partakers of the new and everlasting covenant of grace. That we may not doubt, but thou wilt forever be our gracious Father, never more imputing our sins unto us, and providing us with all things necessary as well for the body as the soul, as thy beloved children and heirs. Grant us also thy grace that we may take up our cross cheerfully, deny ourselves, confess our Savior, and in all tribulations with uplifted head, expect our Lord Jesus Christ from heaven, where he will make our mortal bodies like unto his most glorious body and take us unto him in eternity. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Strengthen us also by this Holy Supper in the Catholic, undoubted Christian faith, whereof we make confession with our mouths and hearts, saying, I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried, he descended into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence he shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit. I believe in Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. While the table is being prepared, we will sing Psalter number 330. Stands as 1 and 3. Stands as 1 and 3 only of 230. O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Holy Grace, we delight in Thee. In us once more have Thy salvation's joy restored. that we may now be fed with that true heavenly bread, Christ Jesus, let us not cleave with our hearts unto the external bread and wine, but lift them up on high in heaven, where Christ Jesus is our advocate at the right hand of his heavenly Father, where all the articles of our faith lead us, not doubting, but we shall as certainly be fed and refreshed in our souls through the working of the Holy Ghost, with His body and blood, as we receive the holy bread and wine in remembrance of Him. Psalm 69 is very prophetic. as to the death of Jesus as you recognize as we read part of Psalm 69. Save me, O God, for the waters are come in unto my soul. I sink in deep mire where there is no standing. I am coming to deep waters where the floods overflow me. I am weary of my crying. My throat is dry and my eyes fail while I wait for my God. They that hate me are without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head. They that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty. Then I restored that which I took not away. For God, thou knowest my foolishness and my sins are not hid from thee. Let not them that wait on thee, O Lord God of hosts, be ashamed for my sake. Let not those that seek thee be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel, because for thy sake I have borne reproach. Shame hath covered my face. I am become a stranger unto my brethren and an alien unto my mother's children, for the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up. And the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me. When I wept and chastened my soul with fasting, that was to my reproach. I made sackcloth also my garment, and I became a proverb to them. They that sit in the gate speak against me, and I was the song of the drunkards. But as for me, my prayer is unto thee, O Lord, in an acceptable time. O God, in the multitude of thy mercy, hear me in the truth of thy salvation. Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink. Let me be delivered from them that hate me and out of the deep waters. Let not the water flood overflow me, neither let the deep swallow me up, and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me. Hear me, O God, for thy lovingkindness is good. Turn unto me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies, and hide not thy face from thy servant, for I am in trouble. Hear me speedily. The bread which we break is the communion of the body of Jesus Christ. Take eat, do so in remembrance of Him. you Oh, my God. The cup of blessing which we bless is the communion of the blood of Christ. Drink ye all of it and do so in remembrance of him. Beloved in the Lord, since the Lord hath now fed our souls at this table, let us therefore jointly praise his holy name with thanksgiving, and everyone say in his heart thus. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgiveth all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases, who redeemeth thy life from destruction, who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies. The Lord is merciful and gracious, low to anger and plenteous in mercy. He has not dealt with us after our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy towards them that fear him. And as far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. who has not spared his own son, but delivered him up for us all and given us all things with him. Therefore God commendeth therewith his love towards us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more than being now justified in his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. Therefore shall my mouth and heart show forth the praise of the Lord from this time forth forevermore. Amen. Let us bow before God in a prayer of thanksgiving. Almighty, merciful God and Father, we render Thee most humble and hearty thanks that Thou hast of Thine infinite mercy given us Thine only begotten Son for a mediator and a sacrifice for our sins, and to be our meat and drink unto life eternal, and that Thou givest us lively faith, whereby we are made partakers of such great benefits. Thou hast also been pleased that Thy beloved Son Jesus Christ should institute and ordain His Holy Supper for the confirmation of the same. Grant, we beseech Thee, O faithful God and Father, that through the operation of Thy Holy Spirit The commemoration of the death of our Lord Jesus Christ may tend to the daily increase of our faith and saving fellowship with him through Jesus Christ, thy Son, in whose name we conclude our prayer saying, our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. At this time, the thank offering for benevolence will be received and we will sing Psalter number 230 again. stanzas four through seven, stanzas four through seven of 230 while the offering for benevolence is received. ♪ And from our calling we will cease ♪ ♪ Our salvation will appear ♪ ♪ To heaven and earth and all the earth ♪ and peace shall be. O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? shall come before the righteousness of God. The Master, we the mighty one, devil, the God of Israel, God is love, and He's important. Then blessed be his glorious name, Long as the ages shall endure, For all the earth extend his name. Amen, amen, for evermore. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.