How can we bow together and let us unite our hearts before the Lord in prayer? Let's all pray. Heavenly Father and our eternal God, we draw near to Thee, entering into Thy holy presence this Lord's Day, coming to the throne of grace in Christ's name. And as we make our way to Thee, we do so with thankfulness and with gladness. We rejoice, O Lord, that Thou hast called us even to seek Thee, Thou hast bid us come to the throne of grace to obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. And we rejoice today that in that very command to come and obtain that grace and mercy, there is the revelation of Thy favor toward Thy people. We thank Thee that in Christ Jesus there is everything that meets the need of our souls. And we thank Thee that He is unto us all that we require in the Christian life and in our walk with God. And so we pray that Thou wilt bless us here in lesser study of the Word. Bring it with freshness to our hearts. And O Lord, bless us in the things of God throughout this day. We pray that Thou wilt keep Thy hand upon us in a very real manner. We pray that in great measure we will know the power of God and the blessing of heaven. Hear and answer prayer and receive our thanks and praise in Jesus' name and for Jesus' sake. We're turning to 2 Peter today, 2 Peter, and we'll read some verses in chapter 1. 2 Peter and the first chapter. Reading together from verse 1. Let me welcome you all to our adult Bible class and also our webcast viewers. We welcome you as well and we pray that the Lord will bless you today as you tune in. 2 Peter 1 and the verse 1. Simon Peter as servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, according as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue, whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises, that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue and patience, and to patience godliness. And to godliness brotherly kindness and a brotherly kindness charity. And we know that God will bless the reading of this His own infallible Word. As we come to this epistle of 2 Peter, we can say immediately that there are some basic points that are easily discerned concerning this epistle. For example, the very first verse verifies that Peter was the writer. of the epistle. His name stands at the very head of the letter. It also confirms this epistle, that is, that Peter wrote two epistles. If you look at chapter 3 and verse 1, he says there, This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you. It was also written, according to that verse also, this epistle was written to the same people. as Peter addressed in his first epistle, where he says, This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you. So, immediately he tells us that he had written one letter to these people. Now he writes a second letter to them. It was written by him close to the end of his life. Look at chapter 1, verse 14. He says, Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath showed me He's about to leave the world. He, we believe, is an older man. We're not exactly sure, of course, at all what age he was when he died. But he is a much older man than he was when we meet him in the Gospels or in the book of Acts. And he is about to leave the world. And, of course, when he says there, even as our Lord Jesus Christ has showed me, he's making reference to what you find in John's Gospel, both in chapter 13, 36. And chapter 21, I'm going to look at those verses with me. Chapter 21, 18 and 19. John 13, verse 36. And there we read, Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered him, Whither I go thou canst not follow me now, but thou shalt follow me afterwards. So verse 36 of John 13. And especially those words at the end of the verse, thou shalt follow me afterwards. And that was a clear intonation that Peter was going to leave this world in the same way that Christ did. That is, his life would be taken from him. His life would be forfeited for the sake of the gospel. That's the sense of those words. Thou shalt follow me after. Thou shalt follow me the same way as I leave the world. And then John 21. May a more familiar passage dealing with Peter's future, as far as this point is concerned, in John 21, verses 18 and 19. The Lord said to him, When thou wast young, thou girdest thyself, and walkest whither thou wouldest. But when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldst not. This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And we certainly learn there The Apostle Peter glorified God in his death. I don't know, again, exactly what it all involved. I mentioned in a message lately that tradition is that Peter was crucified. In fact, tradition would tell us that he was crucified upside down. Now, whether that's true or not, nobody knows. Only the Lord knows. But we certainly know that he died a martyr. That's what the Lord is indicating in these verses, that he died a martyr for the faith, and by that he glorified God. So, that's another point of interest that 2 Peter brings before us, as well as these other things that I've mentioned. We find as well, going back to 2 Peter 1, 17 and 18, that this man had been a witness of the transfiguration. We'll actually come back to those words later. I'll just mention that right now. There's another simple detail that this epistle tells us. He'd been a witness of the transfiguration. Going to chapter 3 and verse 15, we're told there that he was acquainted with Paul in close bonds of fellowship and love. 2 Peter 3.15, he says, Even as our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given unto him, hath written unto you. So, Peter and Paul were close companions in the Gospel, brothers in Christ. That's interesting because you'll remember perhaps From our study in Galatians, and other times as well, the point made in Galatians that there was a time when Paul had to rebuke Peter. Had to deal with him very clearly and forthrightly with regard to that issue of justification. And yet, Peter doesn't hold it against Paul. The fact that Paul had rebuked him and had to check him. Because now he says as an old man, He talks about his beloved brother Paul. We find from that verse as well that Paul had written to the same people as Peter is now addressing. So it's actually amazing when you go through this little letter to discover how many points and many facts that are part of the narrative. That's how we should read the Bible, picking out these facts about the author, about the people to whom to whom the epistle is written, whatever it might be. That's how to study your Bible. That's how to glean information that will be good and helpful to you with regard to knowledge of the Bible, with regard to knowledge of the particular book that you're dealing with, or whatever the case might be, maybe a verse or two. But just pick out facts, historical facts, details that the Holy Spirit has recorded for us, obviously for our benefit and our own information. Now chapter 1 verse 14 makes it clear that the apostle Peter had no fear as he approached death. It says in that verse, knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath showed me. He had no fear about death. He could talk about death in a manner that shows that while he didn't treat it in some frivolous way, yet he treated it at the same time with confidence. The Lord has told me how I'm going to die. I have to put off my tabernacle. The word tabernacle is really a reference to his body. The word means tent. And he's saying here, the time's approaching very quickly and I'm going to have to fold up my tent and put it away because I'm going to die. That's how he looked at death. He could deal with death calmly and confidently simply because he knew the Lord He knew the one who takes the sting out of death, and therefore there was no fear of death for Peter, even though it was going to be death by martyrdom. But while he wasn't concerned for himself about death or any of those matters, he was concerned for the well-being of these people to whom he wrote, their spiritual protection and their safety. And the reason why he was so concerned about them was because they were under serious assault. at the hands of devious and unscrupulous men, men who were apostates from Christ and from the gospel. Now again, the epistle is full of information about the kind of men who were troubling these believers and who had to be exposed by the apostle Peter. And you'll find that there are many references to them and to their errors. Look with me at some of them. Chapter 2, verse 1. Read this verse. But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction." Notice here that these men who were troubling these Christians denied the Lord. It says, denying the Lord. And the title there is a reference, of course, to the Lord's true deity, who he actually is, the Lord. I've said to you before that in the New Testament, the word Lord, as it's used of Christ, is really the counterpart of the Old Testament Jehovah. And it's a term or a title, therefore, that signifies the true deity of our Lord Jesus Christ. So they denied his person, but they also denied his work. For it says, even denying the Lord that bought them. Now, here is a verse that has caused a lot of controversy or debate among people. And I'm talking about Bible-believing people. And you may see immediately the reason why. Because he's talking here about deniers of the Lord, false teachers and so on. And he says, denying the Lord that bought them. And I think I need to pause with that verse and try to explain it to you. What does it mean? Well, there are those who tell us, of course, from one perspective, well, Here is the proof that the Lord bought everybody, even apostates, who may or who do deny Him eventually. He bought them as well. And surely this is what this verse is teaching, we are told. That's the Arminian view, if you want to put it that way, placed upon this verse. Well, obviously I can't accept that, as you would know. So how do I explain it? Well, first of all, here's one explanation. First of all, these apostates had professed Christ. I want you to think about that, because whenever the New Testament talks about an apostate in the church context, of course, it's talking about a man who was in the visible church, who professed faith in Jesus Christ, and undoubtedly even preached. Because it's talking here about teachers. And while Peter calls them false teachers, Their teaching was within the confines of the visible church. So at first, you see, until they actually showed their true colors, at first they were moving in the circles of the visible church. And yes, the true church, therefore, they were moving in those circles. They were teachers and preachers and they were accepted as such. You think of Judas. Judas was such. Judas was accepted by all the apostles and by the people for those few years until it came out what he actually was, an apostate. So, we're not surprised, therefore, that even later on you find the same kind of situation where there are many such men, according to Peter, false teachers, plural. So, they're part of the visible church. They're accepted by the visible church. They teach in the visible church. And then, eventually, they start to deny the Lord and, as I say, show their true colors. And what I'm saying therefore is that being part of the visible church and teaching and preaching within it, by profession they had claimed that the Lord had bought them. And that is true because an apostate will always, or before he actually shows he is an apostate, he'll start out with that claim that he's a believer. that he believes the Bible, that he believes in Christ, and so on and so forth. And then he vankily shows what he is. But you see, he's claiming that the Lord has bought them, and that he's trusting in Christ, etc. And then he denies the Lord. That's one way of understanding these verses. I don't believe it's the best way. It's a very common way of trying to explain this verse, but I don't believe it's the best way at all. Look at that with me again. Let's read the whole verse. There were false teachers also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privilege shall bring undamnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them." You see the emphasis. These false preachers or teachers are among the people or among you. as it changes then a little farther down. And the point is, the Lord bought the people. The Lord bought them. And the apostate comes along and he denies the Lord who bought his own people. Who bought you as it also is. And that's another way of understanding what it says here. But it talks about these men denying the Lord that bought them as a reference back to the people, to the Lord's people in the verse who were bought by Christ. And long come these men and they deny the Lord who bought his own people. So I leave it with you. And I would certainly say to you, of course, in the foundation of all Scripture, that there's no way that the Lord ever bought an apostate. He did not shed his blood for a man who eventually apostatizes and goes to hell. That would be an undermining of the entire work of Jesus Christ. But he did buy his people. Then the apostate comes and he denies the Lord who bought them and is his own people. But anyhow, they were deniers of the Lord. They were also flagrantly immoral. Look at chapter 2, 13 and 14. It says, And they shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the daytime, spots they are, and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings, while they feast with you, having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin, beguiling unstable souls, and heart they have exercised with covetous practices, cursed children, and on on it goes. Even verses 19 to 22 talk about these same people are verses that really describe their wickedness, their immoral behavior. And you will find in the history of the church of Jesus Christ that apostasy and immorality go together. You'll find that. You'll find that many, many men who prove to be apostates are also men at some point or other who give themselves over to wickedness and to uncleanness and to immorality. The Apostle here makes that clear about these men. Then chapter 2 again, verse 18, it says, For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh through much wanton as those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. Notice the reference here to their words of their great swelling words of vanity. And then chapter 3, verse 16, where it refers to them toward the end of that verse as those who rest the Scriptures onto their own destruction. So there's an emphasis here on the fact that they are adept at using words, even God's Word, in order to justify and excuse their wickedness. This is what Peter is teaching in these verses. They are deniers of the Lord. They are immoral men. They are men who are able to take God's Word and twist it and rest it in order to suit their own ends and to promote their own agenda. And that same verse, chapter 3, verse 16, shows that while they pretend to give respect to the Scriptures, they pervert them to gain support. And to gain support for their empty theories. It says there just in that same verse, 2 Peter 3, verse 16, which are some things hardly understood as Paul's writings which they that are unlearned and unstable rest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction. And the idea there is, when it talks about them resting the scriptures, it means that they take them and that they pervert them, but in order to gain support, in order to promote their empty theories. So, they are skilful at taking God's word in a sense to try to justify their wickedness. They're also skilful at taking God's word to try to support their own theories, their own empty vein theories. Peter makes all these things absolutely clear as he writes this epistle and he deals with those who are troubling these believers to whom he sends this particular epistle. Now, again I must remind you that these wicked men and their wicked doctrines were present among the Lord's people. and therefore they were imposing great danger upon God's work, which means that Peter writes this epistle to combat that. And if you take 2 Peter and then a little epistle of Jude, you will find that those are the two New Testament books that, above all others, are designed to expose apostasy. They deliver a devastating exposure and condemnation of apostasy all for the purpose of alerting and instructing God's people to stand fast in the face of that apostasy. Now, Peter's method of enabling believers to stand fast is by setting before them in this epistle the basic truths of the gospel. And you'll find that five times throughout the epistle, he stresses the need to be reminded of the foundational truths of the gospel. Go back to chapter 1. Look at verse 12. He says, Wherefore, I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things. Notice that expression. It is purpose to put them in remembrance of these things. That is the gospel. We'll come back to that in a moment or two. Verse 13. He says, As long as I'm alive. That's really what he's saying. As long as I'm still here, I won't stir you up by putting you in remembrance. Verse 15. He says, well then, after I've gone, I want you to have these things in remembrance. And that's why he's writing the letter. He's still alive, and he stirs them up by putting them in remembrance of what he had taught. And he says, after I'm gone, even I want you to remember these things. So, he's really saying that's why I'm writing this book. And then chapter 3, verses 1 and 2, he says, this second epistle, beloved, I now write on to you. in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance, that ye may be mindful." So five times the Apostle Paul says to these people, my purpose in writing to you is to get you to keep in mind, is to get you to remember these basic gospel truths about Christ so that you will be able to stand against the wickedness and the error to which you are now being exposed. Now go to the very end of the epistle, chapter 3, verses 17 and 18. And here is Paul's final exhortation. He says, Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness, but grow in grace. And in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, to Him be glory both now and forever. Here's his final exhortation, and it really underlines that the only way to withstand error and persevere in the Christian life is by growing in our knowledge of Christ. Now, would you understand that carefully? This epistle, as I've shown you, is an epistle that exposes error. It exposes apostasy. It exposes wicked men and what they were doing, what their agenda was in those times. It's therefore very relevant no matter what age we live in. It's up to date. It's a very vital book in the New Testament. But it shows us that the only way to withstand apostasy is to keep reminding ourselves of what the gospel is and what its foundational truths actually are. That foundation is the authority of the Word of God, both the Old and New Testaments. And that's actually one of Peter's other major points in this epistle, the authority of Scripture. And he brings attention to it in the very first chapter. So look with me at chapter 1, verse 16. If we had time, we could read from verse 16 through to verse 21, but we don't have time. But just put your eye in that verse. And from verse 16 to 18, Peter focuses on one of the fundamentals of the Christian faith, namely, the second coming of the Lord. Because this is one of the things that these men were also denying. When you get to chapter 3, you will see that. It talks there about those who are scoffing at the promise of the Lord. And apostates always do that. They will mock at the doctrine of the coming of Christ. They'll try to get rid of it. Because if there's a coming again of the Lord, there's a judgment. And they don't like that. And therefore, you will find the doctrine of the coming of Jesus Christ, the second coming, one of the major focuses of the attack of evil men in any generation. So right away, Peter refers to it here in chapter 1. Look at verse 16. He says, We have not followed coming the devised fables when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. That's the subject right here. The power and coming of the Lord. The second advent of the Lord. And he says, listen folks, when we spoke to you and preached you about these things, we did not use cunningly devised fables. Then he said this, But were I witnesses of his majesty? What does he mean? Well, read verse 17. For he received from God the Father honour and glory, When there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, this is my beloved son, to whom I am well pleased. You remember I mentioned this a while ago, and I said it's a reference to the Mount of Transfiguration, the Lord's Transfiguration. And Peter is saying here that the Transfiguration was actually a preview of the second coming of the Lord, and so it was. I haven't time to study it with you now, but you may read about that in the New Testament, in the Gospels. And you will find that the transfiguration is a marvellous preview of the coming of the Lord. And Peter is therefore saying here, the Lord is coming back. And when we talk to you about these things, we didn't use comingly devised fables. We were eyewitnesses of an event that actually is a preview of the coming of the Lord. And therefore, we know from that experience that the Lord is coming back. Here is a man who is an eyewitness and an earwitness. of that great event. He saw the Lord transfigured. He heard the voice from heaven. And he saw in all of that, as I say, a preview of the coming of the Lord. And therefore, he can say to these people, the Lord is truly coming. We're eyewitnesses of the preview of it all. But Peter doesn't stop there. In fact, he does something remarkable. Look at verse 19. We have also a more sure word of prophecy. That literally reads in the original language, we have also the prophetic word. It talks about the more sure word of prophecy. We have also the sure prophetic word. And he's talking there about the Scriptures. And therefore, he's actually saying, I'm an eyewitness. and an ear-witness of what happened on that mount. I saw the Lord's glory. I heard the voice from heaven. It's all a preview of the coming of Christ. But he's saying, listen folks, that is not the foundation on which I want you to stand. Merely that I was an eyewitness of the whole thing that previews the coming of the Lord. Here is your foundation. The Scriptures. The prophetic word, as he puts it here in verse 19. Then he goes on to show that the authority of Scripture, for that's what he's talking about, rests upon the truth of its divine origin. Look at verse 19. He says, knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture, there's the same idea as you have at the beginning of verse 19, the prophetic word. No prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation, which means is of any private origin. So no part of Scripture is of any private origin. In other words, it's not of human origin. And that's verified in verse 21 where he says, For the prophecy came not in old time, but of the will of man. But holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. So what is he saying here? He's saying that the authority of the Bible rests upon the inspiration of the Bible. Holy men of God were moved by the Holy Ghost. Scripture does not come from a human origin or a human source. Yes, man wrote it. He makes that clear. Holy men of God were moved to write this. But they were moved by the Spirit. And what he's really, therefore, saying is the Holy Spirit gave them the words. So, God's Word is inspired. That gives the Word of God its authority. And, of course, because God's Word is inspired, it's preserved. We have God's Word. This is the sure Word of prophecy, brethren and sisters. He is laying claim here to inspiration for both parts of the Word of God. And therefore, he is showing us that the knowledge of Christ is derived from the authority of the Scriptures. And because the Bible is the Word of God, the Bible is sure. And therefore, Our knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, everything about Him, who He is and what He has done, what He will yet do, it's all drawn from the Scriptures of truth. And therefore, our knowledge of the Lord is based on a sure foundation, which means that when we stand up against evil men who deny His coming, who deny anything about Him, because remember, that's what apostasy is, may I say. Apostasy is departure from Christ. Apostasy is denial of our Savior. That's really what constitutes apostasy. That means we must be very careful how we use the term. But we know from the authority of Scripture that our knowledge of Christ is sure and steadfast and it's that knowledge that will help us, enable us and that alone to stand against wicked men or systems that come along to deny our Lord Jesus. The knowledge of Christ, secondly, is comprised of the fundamentals of His person and His work. Now, go to chapter 1 and verse 12, please. Chapter 1, verse 12. He says, Wherefore, I will not be diligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them. Now, listen to these words. and be established in the present truth. In the term there, the present truth signifies what the believer already possesses. The gospel that we have already received and by which we are saved. That is what it means. The present truth. What you already have. That which saved you. That which brought you out of darkness. The gospel. You see, every true Christian already has that. A person is not saved if he doesn't have that truth and if it doesn't grip his heart and has not changed his soul and so on. So what Peter is saying here is, you already have the truth, the present truth, that which actually reached you and saved you. And this is therefore pointing out to us that our knowledge of Christ in order to be safeguarded against error, is comprised of the fundamentals of His person and His work by which we have already been saved. Now, think about it very carefully. The truth that has saved you is all you need to stand against error. It's all you need. That is why I am saying here that the knowledge of Christ is comprised of the fundamentals of His person and His work, that which has already saved those who are the true people. Now, in many circles there is the thinking, the mistaken thinking, that spiritual maturity only comes as a result – and I can't understand this thinking, but this is the thinking – that spiritual maturity only comes as a result of growing beyond the basics of the Gospels. Now, won't they consider that to be the people who talk that way? I'm not really sure. That is a great mistake, because the basics of the gospel, the fundamentals of the gospel are just that. They are the basics and they are the fundamentals, and there's nothing beyond that, you see. Now, our knowledge of that and a sense of understanding develops and grows as we go on with the Lord. There may be more clarity. There may be a deeper grasp of things. Yes, that will happen. But the point is, it's the same gospel. It's the same basic fundamental truth that your knowledge, in which you're growing in knowledge or in clarity or understanding, but you're not going beyond the basics in the sense that there's something beyond the gospel. Because there isn't. And that's a very important thing. You'll find that there are people from various backgrounds who come along and they'll bamboozle people because they talk really a load of rubbish. But it's all very high for living. And it sounds very intellectual. And they get what I might call ordinary, sincere Christians sometimes all mixed up because They talk in such a way that leaves the impression these are very knowledgeable people. They really have got a tremendous grasp of things. And I don't understand this at all, so I'm just nobody. And they leave that individual feeling very inferior and very intimidated. And what's really going on there is that person is being shaken in his or her faith by a load of hot air. That's all it is. But if we want to talk today here about, and we are talking here today, about the knowledge of Christ as being the bulwark against apostasy. It is the basic, the fundamental truth that saved your soul. It is that that will enable you to stand firm and stand against wickedness when it comes along or error when it comes along and therefore never shift away from that foundation. Our Peter says here, you're established in the present truth. I want you to keep that in mind. I want you never to forget that, because that is what will enable you to stand against apostasy and error. And the knowledge of Christ, therefore, is who He is and what He has done. Look at chapter 1, verse 1. Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ. To them that have obtained light, precious faith with us. Then he says this. through the righteousness of God and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Now, look at those terms as we close here, for our time has gone already. It talks about God and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. There, the apostle Peter is talking about one divine person. That one divine person is both God and Saviour. It is a reference to the person of Christ, the original Language here in the Greek text makes it absolutely clear from a grammatical point of view that he's not talking about God the Father and God the Son. He's talking about God the Son only. And God the Son, our Savior, is God. That's the meaning of those words. There's His person. He's a divine person. And of course, He took a human nature onto His divinity. Obviously. He couldn't be Savior otherwise. But then it also mentions His work. For it says, the righteousness of God and our Savior Jesus Christ. The righteousness of our Savior Jesus Christ, who is our God. And that righteousness, of course, is the righteousness that flows out of His work. His perfect obedience. His atoning death. All that He has done. in that substitutionary work for His people. Righteousness flows out of that. So in the very opening verse of the Epistle, Peter fastens the minds of these people on Christ's person and on Christ's work. And he says, I want you never to forget who He is and what He has done, because that's the way to withstand apostasy and error no matter what it is. And it's on that basis, on the basis of that knowledge of the person and work of Christ, who He is and what He has done, that we grow, that we develop. Oh yes, as I said a while ago, the truth itself doesn't change, but our understanding of it can grow and should grow and develop and become more clear. But you're always dealing with the same truth. And therefore, it's the truth of who He is and what He has done. That's the foundation, brethren and sisters, That's what Peter sets before these people as he writes an epistle that's designed to help them counteract, stand against wicked men and wicked teachings. He sets Christ before them. Oh, how marvelous it is to have the knowledge of Christ. How marvelous it is to know the Gospel and to be on that foundation, knowing that we're on an impregnable foundation on a rock that will never be shaken, on which we may stand forever. May the Lord help us to do that. May He bless His Word to our hearts. Heavenly Father, we pray that Thou wilt go with us this day, even now as we think about the morning worship service. Help us, O Lord, as we go to pray. And bless us there. Solemnize our hearts. Help us not to treat Thy Word lightly, but, O God, help us to take it to our souls and to ourselves and bless it to us this day. Abide with us now, we ask, and help us to stand for Christ and in the knowledge of who He is and what He has done for our souls. We pray this all in Jesus' name and for His sake.