Tonight we continue our series on a few of the Psalms of Lament. We take notice that about a third of the Psalms are Psalms of Lament. Tonight we'll be looking at Psalm 61. Psalm 61. There are some similarities of Psalm 13 and Psalm 61. You'll notice the movement in Psalm 61, similar to Psalm 13, where there's despair at first, and by the end, the psalmist is singing praises unto God. So Psalm 61 is the passage we read and the text for tonight as well. The introduction to the psalm to the chief musician upon Nagina, a psalm of David. Hear my cry, O God. Attend unto my prayer. From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee when my heart is overwhelmed. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For thou hast been a shelter for me and a strong tower from the enemy. I will abide in thy tabernacle forever. I will trust in the culvert of thy wings. For thou, O God, hast heard my vows. Thou has given me the heritage of those that fear thy name. Thou will prolong the king's life and his years as many generations. He shall abide before God forever. Oh, prepare mercy and truth which may preserve him. So will I sing praise unto thy name forever that I may daily perform my vows. Thus far, we read God's holy and inspired word. Let's pray together. Father in heaven, we pray that our consideration of Psalm 61 would help us if we are hurting and despairing right now, or that it would help us for times when we look back and we were hurting and despairing, or times that we may face in the future and where we feel overwhelmed May we see and know that Thou art the rock of our salvation. So we pray that through our consideration of this psalm, our faith would be strengthened and we would be able, even in the midst of trial and hardship, to sing praises to Thy great name. We give thanks, Father, for the psalms. And we give thanks, Father, that we may hear instruction from them as we do in this night. We pray this in Jesus' name, Amen. We do know that Psalm 61 is a psalm of David. However, we do not know the historical background of this psalm. We're not told it. There's some indications in the text of what it might be. And many commentators think that David is reflecting again on the time when he had to run from Jerusalem because his son Absalom had rebelled against him. We've had opportunity to look at that history a bit in connection with our consideration of Psalm 3. But it could be that this also fits with the time when David was running from Saul. But probably it is the time when David had to flee Jerusalem under the uprising of Absalom. And especially that comes out in the beginning verses as David speaks of being at the end of the earth, and then also in verse 4 speaks of abiding in the tabernacle. So there's a period of time when he could not be in the tabernacle, probably when he ran from Absalom. But again, knowing the historical context is not absolutely necessary for understanding the truth as it is found here in Psalm 61. But what is striking about the psalm is what I noted even before we read the psalm is that David moves from affliction and inner turmoil to praise. He moves from inner turmoil to praise. And the question is, how does David move from that, from that inner turmoil and struggle that is going on, to praising God in song and in life? Well, we notice here in the introduction three things that bring David to that praise. First of all, it's the consideration of God as his rock. He sees God as the rock that is higher than he is. Secondly, he remembers God's past protection and mercy. There's past precedent. He sees what God has done and he knows what that means for him presently. And then thirdly, he sees God's covenant goodness and faithfulness. He remembers the covenant mercies of God, the heritage. That's where the text is pointing to the covenant mercies of God. What happens is that in this affliction, in the times when he feels overwhelmed, That feeling of being overwhelmed fades the more he sees the greatness of God. So it's not as if the affliction goes away. It's not as if that feeling of being overwhelmed suddenly disappears. But the more he sees God and His greatness and His faithfulness in the past and looking towards the future, the more that feeling of being overwhelmed recedes and he's led to sing praise to God. And that's where the psalm is very important for us in times when we feel overwhelmed and when we are struggling, we can move from that to praising God as we see God and His goodness and His faithfulness. So we consider Psalm 61 tonight under the theme of prayer for the overwhelmed. A prayer for the overwhelmed. We notice first, requesting to be led. Secondly, remembering God's goodness. There's the precedent, the past. And then finally, resolved to praise God. David's cry in Psalm 61 arises from the affliction that he experienced in which he feels overwhelmed. That feeling of being overwhelmed comes out in two ways here in the text. First of all, in verse 2, David says that he cries out to God from the end of the earth. the end of the earth. And the question is, what does David mean here when he refers to himself at the end of the earth? Well, it could be physically and geographically he's been separated from the tabernacle and from Jerusalem, and thus he feels in that being far from God. But it could also be that David is using this phrase metaphorically for an internal struggle that he goes through that made him feel like he's alone. Like he's out at sea all by himself, lost at sea, or in a remote location. And we know that David felt that when he was fleeing from Absalom. We know that David felt that in his life as well when he was running from King Saul before David was made King of Israel. But whatever it is, David felt far from God. He is feeling a spiritual distance from God. It could be that he lacked the assurance of his salvation at this time. It could be that he lacked the knowledge of the forgiveness of sins that he so desperately needed. And so he's struggling here. He's calling out from the end of the earth, far away, feeling far away from God and far away from God's people. And then along with that, he says in the same verse that his heart is overwhelmed. That word in the Hebrew means literally covered over. He despairs. He feels abandoned. That's the idea here. We might call it being depressed in our own day. And there is depression. And those who struggle with depression And this depression is not a disease. It's not a sickness or an illness, although there can be physical things that are part of that. But there's also a spiritual dimension to this. There can be all kinds of contributors to this why someone may feel depressed. Where they lack joy in life and struggle, they despair. and they are downcast. David knows this. David feels this. He experiences this in his own life. And that's why we have passages like this in the Word of God to speak to those who may struggle with this at times in their own lives. And so the question then comes, have you ever felt overwhelmed by life's experiences? Maybe the waves of trouble have washed over you again and again and again. Maybe in times of affliction and hardship, you have felt far from God. God has seemed distant to you. Not that God has moved far away, but that's the experience that we have. Like being in a rip current. You know what a rip current is. Kids, you know what a rip current is too. They're dangerous out in Lake Michigan or in the ocean as well. A rip current will carry a swimmer away from the shore. And we feel like that maybe in our own lives, like we're in that rip current being pulled away from God, being pulled away from others in our lives as well. And it may seem that there is none to help That's what David says here. That's what he was experiencing. And maybe some of you have experienced that as well. And that can lead to the depths of struggling with the assurance of salvation and knowing the forgiveness of sins. In this, we may have felt overwhelmed then by all that has come our way. We know God's in control and we know that He is sovereign. Yet at the same time, there's wave after wave, and maybe we have felt like in our lives the wind was knocked out of us. And that's what David was going through in his life. But notice, in the midst of this, David cries out to God. David cries out to God. That's verses 1 and 2. Hear my cry, O God. Attend unto my prayer. From the end of the earth will I cry unto Thee when my heart is overwhelmed. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. We see here in the psalm that even as David feels far away from God, yet the truth of the presence of God wins out within him. It wins out in his consciousness as he is a believer and knows the promises of God. It feels a certain way. He's overwhelmed by this, yet at the same time, he knows down in the depths of his heart the nearness of God, and he cries out to God. He prays to God, and he worships in this time. And this is because David knows the promises of God. He knows the faithfulness of God. He knows that God is near. He never abandons His people. So in the assurance of that, even as he is despairing and hurting, in the assurance of that, while he is overwhelmed, he cries out to God. We can put it this way. At this time in his life, David rejects the lie that he is too overwhelmed to pray to God. He rejects that lie. Sometimes that can be the lie of Satan to us and the lie even of our sinful flesh. It's too much. I cannot cry out to God. I cannot pray right now. David, he rejects that and says, no, I can't. Even I must. And so he does. Even as he is overwhelmed, he cries out to God. This cry out to God is a cry for help. It's not David trying to fix everything. Again, think of a rip current. And you've heard enough about rip currents that you know that when there's a rip current, what you're not supposed to do is try to swim for shore. Because the more you swim for shore, the harder you're working against this current. And in the end, the person who tries to fight a rip current by swimming to shore probably will drown. They're trying to do it in their own way. That's not David here. He's not trying to find his own way out of this current that seems to be pulling him from God. That's not what this prayer is. An attempt of David to try and fix his situation. But instead, he simply turns to God and he cries out to God for the help that he needs in this time when he feels overwhelmed. What we learn then is that the believer who may be overwhelmed gives himself, gives herself to prayer in this time and to worship. When our hearts are overwhelmed, our only recourse is to give ourselves to the pursuit of God in prayer and in worship. David uses the means of grace that are given. He hears the Word of God. He hears the promises of God. And he calls out to God in prayer. Because this is the way to find joy. even when we are overwhelmed. That's what desperation does. It brings the believer to his knees. Remember what we read in James 5, verse 13. Is any among you afflicted? Let him pray. Is any merry? Let him sing psalms. Well, this is what David does. He is afflicted and he prays to God, crying out for the mercy of God. And so also, that's what we learn to do in those times when we are overwhelmed, whether it's a momentary thing in everyday life where something comes that is completely unexpected, and we learn to call out to God, or it's a longer period of time. When we are overwhelmed, we turn to God in prayer. Why? Because there is safety in Him. We know we can cry unto Him. He is the God who helps us. As we look at that and we see that here in this psalm, we should see and understand that there is a psalm that is similar to it. It's Psalm 102. In Psalm 102, the psalmist there also cries out feeling overwhelmed. We sang that psalm at the beginning of our worship tonight. He cries out being overwhelmed. But this is what we know about Psalm 102. It's messianic. It's pointing to Christ. And that reminds us again, we've seen that as we've gone through these psalms of lament, it points us ahead to Christ, even to what He did in His earthly ministry. When He was overwhelmed by the cross and His bearing the wrath of God, what did our Savior do? Well, in the Garden of Gethsemane, He prayed. He prayed all night long. He prayed from the time that they arrived in the garden until the time that the leaders of the Jews came and arrested Him. He was praying there. He asked His disciples to pray as well. But this we know, that Jesus, as He prayed, His prayer was answered. His prayer was answered not in that cup of having to go through the cross being taken away, but it was answered in this. There was glorification for Him. There was resurrection for Him. And so we know victory and glorification for us as well. That's why we cry out to God in the knowledge of that victory and resurrection. Now, specifically notice that in Psalm 61, David prays this at the end of verse 2. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. We're very familiar with that verse in Psalm 61. And what a beautiful verse it is because of the figure that is given there. God is compared to a rock. What does the rock teach us about God? Well, this metaphor of a rock teaches us that God is strong. That like a rock, God is unchanging. The waves of the ocean may crash against a rock. Or it may be that the storms over the years, they beat upon that rock, but that rock remains unmovable and unchanged. And that's the idea that is portrayed here. God is unchanging. He is immovable. He is strong. And He perseveres. That's what this figure tells us about God. And it's a familiar one. It's used over 20 times just in the book of Psalms. You find the very idea in the very next Psalm, Psalm 62, verse 2, He only is my rock and my salvation. He is my defense. I shall not be greatly moved. So in that term rock, we learn something about our God. But this metaphor of a rock also teaches us about our Savior, Jesus Christ, it's messianic. We know that from Psalm 118, as Psalm 118 is referenced many times in the New Testament. Jesus Christ is the rock of offense. He's a stone of stumbling, but at the same time, He's the cornerstone upon which the church is built. So Jesus Christ is rightly the rock of our salvation. David here prays, lead me to the rock that is higher than I. And this is what he knows about God in His strength, His unchanging character, and His unchanging mercy, and the God of His salvation. He says that this rock is higher than I. What is David saying by that? Well, he's showing the excellency of God. He declares in this the greatness of God. God is greater and higher than I am. God is greater and higher than all of us. There is none who is like Him. He is infinitely exalted over all. David here speaks of His moral and spiritual excellence. There is no one who is like God. And therefore, the rock, this rock who is God, is the one who David needs when he feels overwhelmed. And this God is the God that we need when we feel overwhelmed as well. Because what this points out, this rock that is higher than we are, is that this rock is always sufficient in him. is found everything that we need. In God Himself and in Jesus Christ, whom He has sent, we find everything that we need when we feel overwhelmed. And that's why David cries out then, lead me to the rock that is higher than I. Now that's striking. He doesn't say, I'm going to set myself on the rock who is higher than I. No, he calls out, God, lead me to the rock that is higher than I. David knows that he cannot find this rock himself. He knows himself. He knows His own weakness. He knows His own sin. And He knows that for all people in this world as well. He knows that there is none who will go to the rock in their own power and strength. God is the one who opens eyes to see and know that He is the rock of their salvation. Remember what Jesus said in John 6 verse 44. when he said, no man can come to me except the Father which has sent me draw him. David understands that. He cannot find the rock himself, and especially when he's overwhelmed, he cannot, so he cries out, he calls out, lead me to the rock that is higher than I. David's not trying to fix it. David's not trying to do it in his own strength. He knows he has none. And so He calls out, lead me to that rock. Beloved, this is what we are to do when we feel overwhelmed. When we feel overwhelmed in our lives and what we're going through, call out, lead me to the rock that is higher than I. We must learn to orient our lives to the Rock, who is God Himself, and see our lives and all things that happen in it in the light of Jesus Christ, who He is, and what He does. That's what David is learning through this trial that he goes through. So David cries out for this leading. Lead me to the Rock. But we see also here in the psalm, and this is how David goes from being overwhelmed and despairing to praising. He cries out, lead me to the rock that is higher than I. But secondly, he remembers God's goodness. Now here, if you're using an outline that I sent out, I made a change here. Point B is going to be a bit different, and I'll indicate that when I get there. But just to notice here that faith is based on precedent. Faith is based on precedent. What that means is that our faith is based on the past. That's what David is saying here. David speaks looking back at the protection of God, and David remembers that in this time when he is overwhelmed by the trouble that is found in his life. Notice that in verse 3. In verse 3 we read, for thou hast been a shelter for me and a strong power from the enemy. Notice there in the text it's in the past. But in the Hebrew, the idea of it is completed action. So when you read the past tense in the Old Testament, the idea is completed action. It's not as much a time element as completed. And so David is saying there, this is what I know of God. Thou hast been a shelter for me and a strong tower from the enemy. Again, notice the language here has pictures, it has metaphors that are found here that David uses to describe this. First of all, shelter. A shelter is found naturally. It would be like a cave into which one would go for protection from a great storm that has come or rain that is falling. That's the idea of a shelter. And then a strong tower. Now, a strong tower is a structure that is built for defense, so that when the enemy attacks, People who are being attacked might retreat into the strong tower behind the walls of the strong city for protection. That's the idea. God is such a strong tower and God is such a shelter. David said, I experienced this in my own life. Just think about David in his own life, how he experienced that. He was but a young man, older boy, and the transition between the two when he was taking care of his father's sheep. And remember when he stands before Saul and Goliath is threatening the army of Israel, and what does David recall as he's ready to go out and fight Goliath? Well, God had protected me from bears and lions. I was able to kill them with my bare hands because God protected me. And then, think about Goliath. David had gone up and fought the ten-foot giant Goliath. And God gave him the victory. It wasn't because he was so great with a slingshot. It was because God gave him the victory. David remembers the protection of God in his life. And not just in his own life, but looking back upon the history of the people of Israel. God had delivered them out of the bondage of Egypt and done that through the ten plagues, and then drowned Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea after bringing Israel across that sea on dry ground. And then God preserved them and protected them through the wilderness and brought them to the promised land. God was good to His people. And David is saying here, God has a perfect track record of taking care of His people. What an amazing thing. God has a perfect track record of taking care of His people. And David then sees and knows that what he is going through right now, because God has done it before, he can do it again. The same thing is true in our lives. We look back, yes, in biblical history and we see what God has done, not only taking care of Israel, not only taking care of David. But giving his son, Jesus Christ. To deliver us from the punishment of sin that we deserve. But it's not only that. We can look back in our own lives at times where there are hardship and times that we're struggling. And we may be wondering in those times, how can I possibly get through this? Where will the strength come from? And then we look back and we found God protecting us and preserving us in what we went through. How has God protected you? How has God cared for you through a great trial? Don't forget that in the present, right now. What God has done, He can do and will do again. We must see the precedent of God's care in our lives. Now, that doesn't mean there won't be attacks. That doesn't mean there won't be storms. That doesn't mean there won't be trials. But in the midst of this, He will keep us from falling from grace, and He will keep us in His inheritance. David knows that. But not only does he speak of the past, but going forward in the text, verse four, he says, I will abide in thy tabernacle forever. I will trust in the covert of thy wings. Again, two more metaphors that he uses here. Abide in thy tabernacle forever. The tabernacle, of course, refers to the place of worship that the people of God went to in that day. There, God met them in that place and they fellowshiped with God. David here has a longing for the worship of God with God's people. But along with that, he speaks that he will trust in the covert of thy wings, the covering of thy wings. David might be referring to the animal world here. But I believe that he's referring to different wings. The wings of the cherubim on the mercy seat that covered the Ark of the Covenant in the tabernacle. Because he's referring to the tabernacle in the first part of the verse, and we have parallelism here, I believe David's referring then to the covering of those wings, and the covering of that mercy seat, and the mercy of God. He knew the covering of God, the covering of the promises of God, and he knew safety there in the tabernacle. And that's what David longs for. He longs for the tabernacle to be there because this is a place of safety. This is where he feels closest to God. We stop there and we think about that. Where do we feel closest to God? Is that not when we are worshiping God here in this place? Because it's here where God speaks to us through the means of grace that are given. He speaks to us through the preaching of the gospel. He speaks to us through the sacraments, the sign and the seal of the sacraments of baptism and the Lord's Supper. And here in this place, God cares for us and he ministers to our every spiritual need. And we know his nearness and his presence. What that tells us is when we feel overwhelmed. The place where we need to be. Is here in worship. Under the ministry of the word, hearing the promises of God, because this this is a place of safety for us. This longing that David had is the longing we have as well. And even though we could worship online for many weeks, the longing was no to be together. And there's that longing that we still have to be together more fully and more completely as a congregation that we together may draw near to God. But this is where we need to be. Satan, who is that great liar, will constantly tell us in the afflictions and troubles that we're going through, no, don't go to church. Don't go and worship. That's the last place you want to be. There are other people there and maybe they'll ask you questions. They'll maybe talk to you. And there are people who are going to look down at you maybe. And all kinds of lies flood our minds. And Satan loves that when we hold on to those lies and we think, no, my distress is too great. I can't be near to God. And this is exactly where we need to be. That's what David is saying here. Because he knows the past goodness of God, his past protection, he then desires to dwell near to God and worship Him and be under the ministry of His Word. Not only does David remember God's protection, but also he remembers God's covenant goodness. Here's our letter B in point two. David remembers God's covenant goodness. That's what we find in verse 5. When David says, For thou, O God, hast heard my vows, thou hast given me the heritage of those that fear thy name. That word heritage is a covenant term. And it's a beautiful and rich term. It actually refers to inheritance. So think of God's covenant. God's covenant is the relationship of love and fellowship that he establishes with his people. That we have a relationship of love with God in which He is our Father and we are His children. We have this because God has done everything to bring us into that relationship. He's the one who establishes it. He's the one who maintains it. He's the one who perfects that relationship. This covenant is a covenant of grace. It's not anything we do. It's completely the work of God, and it is completely undeserved that we have such a relationship with our God. But in this covenant, He gives us a heritage. He gives us an inheritance. What is that? If you go back to Genesis 12, God promises it to Abraham. And there are three things that are part of that heritage that God promises to Abraham. He promises him a land. Which is the land of Canaan, a picture of heaven. Secondly, he promises them seed. as the number of the sand on the seashore and the number of the stars in the sky, referring to all of the spiritual seed that belongs to Jesus Christ. And then thirdly, God promises that the nations of the earth would be blessed in him. that many among the nations would be blessed, not everyone, not all, but pointing out that God would save his people out of the nations of the world at some future time. What then is this heritage that is ours today? It's not the land of Canaan. Yes, there is a seed that God promises us, but not the same as to Abraham. This heritage is everlasting life with God. It's everlasting life with our Savior, Jesus Christ. It's the fullness of life. You see that? The fullness of life is not found in the United States of America when the economy is humming. Not even close. The fullness of life is everlasting life with our God. And David says, This is mine presently. I have it now. The fullness is yet to come, but I have the beginning of this now. That's what we see and know as well. In the midst of these times when we're overwhelmed and afflicted, we have the heritage of God. We have fellowship with Him. We have it in part now, and the fullness is yet to come. And the idea is, This comforts David when he is overwhelmed. It's part of being led to the rock that is higher than he is. The Savior who is to come. He sees the heritage, the inheritance that is his in that rock who is coming and none can take it away. As he looks at that heritage, that inheritance, that covenant blessing that is promised by God. David is conscious of the corporate dimension of this. It's the heritage of those that fear thy name. He doesn't just speak personally. It's not just my heritage. It's the heritage of those that fear thy name. It's really part of the heritage. We're going to dwell with God forever with God's people. Our relationship with God means relationship with other people, other believers in Jesus Christ our Lord. David knows he's part of a covenant community. Those that fear God's name, they're in awe of God. They fear Him as those who believe in Him. He's one of many who are joint heirs of everlasting life. He knows this sense of community. And so that's true for us as well. We need each other. When we're overwhelmed, we need each other. And we need to help each other. And point each other to the rock of our salvation. Point each other to the promises of God. Point each other to the blessings that we have as those who are loved by God. Because God is the rock that is higher than we are. Unchanging in His love and unchanging in His mercy. And so David, he knows the past precedence of God's goodness, his past protection, his past goodness in the covenant. And so that helps him in this time in which he is overwhelmed. And so David then is resolved to praise God. He is resolved to praise God. But we should see is he is resolved to praise God. Really, this all comes together here at the end of the psalm when he says that in verses six and seven, thou will prolong the king's life and his years as many generations. He shall abide before God forever. Oh, prepare mercy and truth. Which may preserve him. David, speaking of a king. But He is King. Who is this King that David is speaking of? Well, it's not Himself. He's not talking about Himself here as the King of Israel. He's talking about a King who will rule forever. He's talking about the Christ who is promised by God. Here at the end of the psalm, David is still focused on that rock of his salvation, that king that is higher than he is. David here is speaking of Christ, the one who is promised to him that would come in his line. And he is praying for the coming of that king and for the rule of that king. So that David here too, as he is overwhelmed, what's he focused on? Not himself. That's what can happen to us when we are overwhelmed. We can more and more become self-focused. Fall into self-pity. But here David is turned by God, led by Him as he cries out for it. He's led to focus on Christ in the midst of these times when he is overwhelmed. David finds his only comfort in the coming Messiah. And that's where we too, when we are overwhelmed, we find our only comfort, our only strength. in the King who has come, our Savior Jesus Christ. He is the one who rules over us. He is the one who guides us by His Word. And we see in Jesus Christ that our God is faithful to His promises. He promised to send Him. He has come. We're reminded of that in 2 Corinthians 1. 2 Corinthians 1. At the very end of that chapter, 2 Corinthians 1, verses 19-22, we read there, for the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who is preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in Him was yea. For all the promises of God in Him are yea, and in Him, amen, unto the glory of God by us. Now he which establisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us is God, who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts. All the promises of God in him are yea, and amen." Amen means truly, certainly. All the promises of God fulfilled in Jesus Christ. And because that is true, we are established in Christ. And we are firm and we are unmovable then in Him. David, knowing the past goodness of God, knowing the coming of the King, knowing the covenant faithfulness of God, he ends this psalm by praising God. That's what we find at the end of Psalm 61. So will I sing praises unto thy name forever, that I may daily perform my vows. Even his resolve to praise and thank God for what he knew and for God's goodness. How will he do this two ways? With singing, with worship. And secondly, obedience, he says, so I sing praises unto thy name. That's one of the reasons we sing in our worship to praise God for his great goodness to us, even when we're overwhelmed. It's those very songs by which we're turned to sing praises to God for His great goodness. And secondly, obedience. He says that I may daily perform my vows. He desires to live in obedience to God, do what he promised to do before God as God's friend servant. We ought to remember what it is that we vowed to do. We have vowed as members of this church to lead a new and godly life. We have vowed as members of this church to live by the word of God, the truth of that word. We have vowed as members of this church to submit to the authority that God has placed over us. And we have vowed to do this because we're thankful for what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. And so David moves. He moves from being overwhelmed to praise. Praise in singing and praise in life because of what he's seen of God. He knows that God is the rock of his salvation. He knows the past goodness of God is protection. And he knows of that King who is coming, that King we know, Jesus Christ our Savior, May this move us to when we feel overwhelmed, whether that's in this week or we have ongoing feelings of being overwhelmed and we feel far and distant from God. May we cry out to God and be strengthened to praise him in song and in our lives. Amen. Let us pray. Father in heaven, we're thankful for Psalm 61 for the beauty of what is found here. And tonight, as we end our service, we praise thee because of thy covenant goodness to us, goodness that we have experienced in the past as thou has protected us through difficult and trying times and goodness that we know presently as thou has promised us the beautiful heritage, the heritage of those that fear thy name. Father in Heaven, we're thankful for the rock of our salvation, Jesus Christ. May we cling to him and we pray, Father, lead us to that rock in this week. We pray this on the basis of his finished work. Amen.