Luke chapter 2 and we're going to read at the verse 36. And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age. and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity. And she was a widow of about four score and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. And she coming in that instant, Give thanks likewise unto the Lord, and speak of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem. And if we think not only of the Jerusalem mentioned here, but let us borrow from the language and think about our Jerusalem, then We would want to have many in this locality looking for that redemption which the Lord has promised. There's a two-part redemption, the redemption at Calvary and then the completion of that redemption at the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. For he will not only redeem the soul, that's Calvary, he will redeem the body. That's at the resurrection, that's the second coming. So the scripture speaks not only of the redemption of the soul, as I say, that's Calvary. But scripture also makes reference to the redemption of the body. The Lord redeemed my body as well as my soul. And that redemption's still future. It will occur when he comes. And he's not only going to redeem the body, but do you know as the kinsman, the kinsman redeemer, when he comes back also takes the land. If you study it in the Bible, and you should, study the work of the Redeemer, not only in the way that, first of all, you begin to think of him, but in the wider connection in the Bible, it falls to the kinsman not only to redeem the family, but to take back the land that was lost. And when the Kinsman comes, he's coming to Zion, he will take back the land for his ancient people, Israel. There's no mistake, no mistake about that in the Bible. We're comforted then to know the Lord's coming back again. And we're among those who today are looking for redemption. in our Jerusalem. And we know that over there in Israel, and we pray for the peace of Jerusalem, that God has a remnant people still to this day who are looking for Him. Having read these words and keeping our Bible open, let us ask for help from God. And I want you to pray, pray earnestly, Lord, come by, speak to my soul today, and give me that kind of look that was in the saints of God, to whom Anna spake in time past. And isn't it lovely to speak about Him? That's our calling. That's the business of a minister, to speak about Him. I, more than anything else, our talk, you see, our talk is to be about the Lord, and it rejoices the believer. It's the best thing the Christian can talk about, to talk about the things of the Lord, to speak about Him, to speak about the Savior. And will you think more about that? And you can say, if you remark to yourself, I don't know what I could say, Just say, well, Lord, help me to say something. Let's make a start at it. Let's ask for help. And say, Lord, give me a wee word to say about him, for I don't have it. Be honest with God. And that's the best thing, because we all have to start, you see, in the low place. You start with the ABCs. You start with nothing. So don't be dismayed about that. Don't let that put you off. But make it a matter of prayer and say, Lord, "'You'll have to forgive me, for here I confess "'I can't talk about him. "'I want to, I really do, but I can't talk about him "'for I feel I have nothing to say. "'Well then, just say, Lord, the God of Anna, come by, "'give me a wee word to say about him.'" God answers prayer, praise the Lord. Let's keep these things in mind as we turn to the portion. We'll ask for help today. Our God and Father, petitions have already gone up to Thee. In the service, from this pulpit, and right down there on the floor, among the congregation, hearts have been opened up to Thee. We come now, Lord, to Thy Word. What a privilege it is to hold this book, this book of all, in our hands. to have the Holy Scriptures given to us, to be able to make reference to the Word and read it and think about it and pray about it, pray that Word into the soul. Oh God, grant to us the fire that Jeremiah had when he contemplated this Word. The Word was like a fire, he said, like a fire in my bones. Lord, it would be dreadful to contemplate the fire going out dreadful, Lord, to think about discouragements that come and disappointments and grievances and all sorts of ups and downs we have in life that the devil can use to take away our zeal and our love and our vigor for God. Lord, the fire could go out. For we pray for thy mercy, that the fire in the soul may be like the fire in God's altar in days of old, that the fire will always burn and the flame will never go out. Kindle the flame again. Let us love thee, Lord, more and more. Lord, we don't want to drift back. We don't want to lose out. We don't want to lose the zeal. We want, Lord, to be revived and refreshed, to pick up and go on, to pick up today with new strength as if we never lay down, as if we never took a step back. For Lord, you can do that. You can restore the years the locusts have eaten. Praise your name. We think of Elijah in the Negev, lying down, fainting under the juniper. Lord, you provided for him there. And he got up and went on as if there had been no juniper tree at all. O God, visit this congregation. Remember friends on holiday. Refresh their spirit and in their body. Bless them too. And Lord, for all who have yet to go, keep us safe these days. And bless the word and help the congregation. Help me, Lord. And all whom we love and pray for, hear prayer just now. In Jesus' name, amen. You will have gathered from the reading, I was speaking about Anna last Lord's Day, what a remarkable, what a remarkable woman she is, a woman of great faith, a woman of unswerving devotion to God and characterized by godly living. Then we said a little word in the Bible reading there, How? That she was a powerful witness. A powerful witness for God and for God's Word in her generation. Just look at the verses 36 and 37 where her life is summed up in those few words and you can see verse 36 and allow me to abridge what is being said there, if you will. You can see in verse 36 that she's a prophetess. She's of great age. And in verse 37, the information is, she departed not from the temple, could not tear herself away from the house of God, but served the Lord with fastings and prayers night and day. And last Lord's Day, just to sum up, because some of you were maybe on holiday, Last Lord's Day spoke about our great age and about our family history. The significance of those names, for example, in the verse 36. Names that stand in the inspired record. And it just remains to be said that Anna is a woman who served the Lord, as verse 37 says. And that's why I mentioned her undeviating vigor all the days of her life, you see. That is the implication in verses 36 and 37. That's why I believe the Lord refers to her great age, and then at the same time talks about night and day her devotion, her unswerving devotion, that was the way I put it at the beginning, unswerving devotion throughout those long, long years. What a record, what a testimony, what an example she is. Do you see, if I may borrow from Last Lord's Day, and I hesitate to do that, But do you see how faithful and diligent she is? Remember God has put this in the Bible for you and for me. She's to be an inspiration to us. She's to be a guide, an example. We are to take from what we learn about her and then say with prayer, Lord, work that into my soul. Work that into my life. That's the way of it. It really is. Faithful and diligent, these are the words that I use. You can see faithful and diligent in her attendance at the house of God. In the verse 37, no way, no way that you can mistake that. She did not miss and as long as she was able. I worked it out last Lord's Day that by my reckoning she was 107 at least, 107 years of age. What a character! What an example! Getting along to the house of God and with a record like this, you've got to say she would not miss and did not miss as long as she was able. She did not miss in her attendance at the house of God. And then there's another little point. I shouldn't say little, it's a big point. Please look at it. The last lines of verse 37. She was faithful and diligent in her prayers. Her prayers are earnest because they're accompanied with fastings. Her prayers are continuous because night and day she sought to prevail with God. And her prayers are public as well as private, and there has to be both. There should be attendance at the prayer meeting if you can possibly do it. And every child of God should endeavor for all he's worth, or for all she's worth, to get at least to one of the prayer meetings in the house of God. You see, the Christian can say, and sometimes does say, sometimes does say, I can pray at home. I can worship at home. Well, so you can. Praise the Lord for that. But there has to be, you'll agree when you think it through, when you really think it through, frankly, you'll agree there has to be prayer at the house of God. There has to be public prayer. And private prayer never, never, never can take the place of public prayer. And likewise, on the other side of the coin, public prayer can't take the place of private prayer. But the two must run together like the parallel lines of the railway track. I tell you this today. The child of God, borrowing from the example of Anna, will want to say, right, let this quality be observed in me. And if it has to mean a change in your whole way of life, well then, hallelujah, so be it. But it would be quite the wrong thing for the Christian to shelter behind the truth, I can pray at home, I can worship at home, but that's not all the Lord wants of you. There has to be the public worship, the public prayer. What if every Christian just took the line maybe you're taking? What would they say then of the church? There'd be no prayer meeting at all in the church. unthinkable. This burn church with no prayer meeting because every Christians praying at home you see you can observe in it it's not God's way and it's ah this is what I've got to say it's put down here to the credit of Anna do you see this this is most significant verse 37 the last part it is put down on to the credit of Anna that she never got away from the house of God no matter what happened. And she never stopped getting along to the house of God for prayer no matter what happened. We have to be honest, things happen. We have wee upsets. They even happen in your family when you think about it. In this old world I regret to say things don't run smoothly. And sadly, there are upsets. I wish we didn't. I wish we didn't have them. But I can't do anything about that. I don't want you to be offended. I don't want you to feel hurt. I think you and I have got to pray, Lord, don't let me feel hurt, because we're sensitive. A Christian is like that. That's why people say, well, it never happens out in the world. Well, really it does happen in the world, but it doesn't happen in the same way because out there in the world, there's hardness. But you've got to see the nature of the Christian, Christian sensitive, and therefore may feel an injury. And sometimes there's nothing intended. Sometimes it's imagined, and that's terrible, but it's true. Sometimes it's just the imagination playing overtime. But when it's real, then you have to go by to the Savior and say, Lord, help me to pick up now and to go on like Anna. I never want you to forget Anna. Surely she didn't live that long and serve the Lord with that remarkable consistency. For this example to be left in the Bible for you and for me, that we just forget about it and say we're different. No, we're not. I gave a little piece out, oh it's years ago now, but I remember distinctly standing in this pulpit and saying it. What kind of church would my church be if every church member was just like me? You can't really stay away from the prayer meetings. Do you see, and I know this is a wee bit repetitious, but we have to repeat ourselves occasionally. I'm not repeating myself, I assure you, because I'm stuck for words. I'm repeating this because the old brain lets us all down, lets me down, and you're bound to say the same thing, I'm sure. But you've got to take this in, that without fail, day and night, Anna brought her petitions before God. There was no deviation, no turning back. And it's put down to her credit here. I think that's the thing. It wouldn't do you any harm to take that wee note and write it in at the bottom of the page in your Bible. It is said to her credit that she departed not from the house of God. She didn't give up on God. Hallelujah. never stopped praying and when we talk about prayers at the temple at the house of God remember she like the rest of us can pray at home and worship at home but it's said to her everlasting credit she got to the house of God and to the hour of prayer. So let us learn from that and seek to have that wrought into our lives as well. Then we got on as far as verse 38 and had to stop with just barely the mention of the verse and she coming in that instant. And I asked the congregation just as we closed last Lord's Day to take note of that, the time she came And I suggested she came at the promptings of God. I paralleled her life with that of Simeon, who's also mentioned here. Two old people in the house of God. And Simeon came by the Spirit, it says. So the Holy Ghost put it on his heart to get to the house of God today, as it were. And right now, at this time, so to speak. And she coming in likewise, You see there, verse 38, and I suggest that then, and I believe with correctness, that she comes to the house of God that instant, that instant, the same hour. Don't miss this. She came at the promptings of God. The Lord put it in her heart. You and I have got to take these things much more with conviction and say, Lord, don't leave me out in this matter, but let me learn that I may know something about the promptings of God in my soul before I get to heaven. Has the Lord prompted you to do this or to do that? And you'll have to say, you don't have to make a show of it. Well, there can be a quiet thing between you and the Lord only. Keep it private, maybe. I'm not laying down the law on that, but sometimes that's a matter for you and the Lord. At the promptings of God, the Lord told you to do it. And you ought to be saying, Lord, tell me, and speak to me. Now, there could be a bit of a risk there because oftentimes when the Lord says, well, go and do that, you don't want to do it. And you may say, I'm not able to do it. So you have to come back, as we have said today already, in another connection and say, Lord, I can't do it, but you'll have to give me the grace to go and do it. At the promptings of God, she came in that instant. And what can we expect? Put off a woman who serves the Lord with such devotion, fasting, prayers, night and day, coming into the house of God, that should just be there the day the Lord came. Never missed out. Never missed out. Now there may have to be changes in your soul, changes in your life, changes in your thinking, given what we see here in the Bible. Can't be coincidence. that I found myself last Lord's Day ministering the Word from Luke chapter 2, and here again today of necessity of a kind, following on to try and get the matter completed. I am led to the view that here and there in this congregation, there's a man, there's a woman, there's a young person saying, well, if I'm going to comply with this example, it'll have to be a change here. Well, my prayer is, Lord, let it be so. Prayer meetings will increase. People are still on holiday right through August. maybe a few in September, but by and by to the autumn and the winter, we're looking for the increase, for increase of devotion, for commitment to prayer, for just a new start with God in this congregation. A few years now have gone by since the church opened, and if we talk about the honeymoon period, that may just have got over now. So if that's the case, Then the day has come for us to examine our hearts, make a new commitment, start with new resolve and say, here's a peerless example that we've got in the Bible. You talk about the Lord outlining the thing in black and white and making it ever so plain. Yes, he's doing it. And there has to be the response, you see, the answer. what the Lord says. Let me come back to verse 38, coming in that instant. The Holy Spirit makes reference to the time and that means when we read about Anna in this portion and all those good things we've been saying about her, that means we've got to give attention to the time and say, well what time was that? The Lord doesn't mention a time for nothing. He doesn't say, well, she came in at that hour precisely, and that's all you're to reckon with in that regard. No, no. Oh, no, not at all. The Lord has a purpose in this. She came in that hour, that hour, that time, that very instant. So then, why is that? What's going on? And somebody will say, well, at that instant, Simeon was lifting up in his arms the infant Christ and making that wonderful statement that we have got from him about Christ the Savior and about the witness of God to his soul. And yes, that's right. She was there to see Simeon and to hear him say those remarkable things. But I believe there's more than that. There's a service going on, you see. There's a service being held. It's not the great service. It's not the service for the entire congregation at Jerusalem. But rather, it's like a family service this day is being arranged. And that family service is spoken off there in the scripture. If you get to the verse 22 through to verse 24, you'll see there the service that was being conducted just then. And that's the hour that's spoken of, that Anna was guided by God to come to the temple at this time when a family service was being begun. And the family service itself has got to be studied. Maybe we can't study it as fully as we would like to do. But you can see, first of all, verse 22, let's learn three things about the service. They're there. You've got to look at the Bible, mind you. What I'm saying will just float over your head, and you'll not be able to take it in unless you look at the book. And that's what I'd like you to do. If you've lost the place, it's Luke chapter 2. It's the verse 22. And the first thing you see about this service is this service certifies something. It certifies that the days of Mary's purification were accomplished. More of this in a minute or two. But the certification here is that Mary is not sinless. She never made any claim to be sinless. And there are some who hold to what is called the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, meaning that Mary herself is sinless. And that's maybe a device employed to try and explain how Jesus Christ, the Son of God, could be born without sin. Nevertheless, it's an error And Mary is not born without sin. And Scripture, the Scripture record you have, is ever so careful to indicate that to you. That Mary's just like the rest of us. She's a sinner needing God's grace. And in this case, the days of her purification are accomplished. That's what the Bible says. And so Mary needs purification and she needs cleansing from sin. That's the first thing about the service. That's an essential feature of the service. It is arranged to certify her purification. And then secondly, verse 22, this service is arranged to present the infant Savior to the Lord. Do you see that at the end of the verse? They brought Him, that is the infant Christ, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord. And by that official act, being presented to God, He becomes God's property. as the firstborn son. That's explained to you in verse 23. He's presented because he's the firstborn son in the family. And the law of the Lord is saying, verse 23, every male that openeth a womb shall be called holy unto the Lord. Becomes God's property. Now in the case of our Lord Jesus Christ, this enactment is symbolic because already the Lord Jesus is God's dear Son. He's the Savior. But in the symbolism of the thing, he's presented to God, just as is the case with every family in Israel, with the governance of the law of the firstborn, presenting him to God, handing him over, putting him into God's hands. And mind you, that's what we want to do with all the children, all the wee ones, just to take them by our prayers and put them into his hands. for safekeeping. And if they're a bit older than that now, you can still do it and still bring them. You know the names. They're on your heart. You can run down the list and you can say each one. I'm just tempted to go into some names, but that would be a digression. To bring this one to the Lord and place that dear one in His hands again. And even if The family members sealed. You still do it. And you say, Lord, today, just take this offering. And they presented him, put him into God's hands. That was a lovely thing for Joseph and Mary. That was a public service. That was a service conducted in the temple. And it was at that instant, Anna came in to witness. that the service certified the days of Mary's purification were over. And moreover, the infant Christ is presented as God's property, exclusively God's property in the service. And there's a third thing. And by the way, in regard to verse 23, if you're taking a note, you'd want to look at Exodus 13, verse 2. Just write that reference in. I haven't time now. I'd planned to use it, but time will not permit. Exodus 13, verse 2. And the substance of it is this, that the firstborn is mine. That's what I want to get to. Mine, it's a simple word, four letters, M-I-N-E, and God's saying that in regard to the firstborn son in the family, he's mine. And I've said of the Savior, in actuality he is God's dear son. So in this marvelous way it can be said of him above all, he's mine. That's why, listen, that's why it's important for you to receive Christ, because God says of Him, our Savior, He's my, my Son, my Savior, my Redeemer, and you're to have Him. He's mine, that's Exodus 13 verse 2. And we're not departing from that. That's the whole essence of this service conducted in the temple at which Anna was present. And Simeon also said last Lord's Day, the only congregation they had for the service that's mentioned anyway, the two old people making up the congregation. Aye, what a service, what a service. And the third feature is in the verse 24. Oh, how important this is to offer a sacrifice. In the temple that day, that very hour, as Anna came along and Simeon also, there was to be the offering of a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtle doves or two young pigeons. They were to offer a sacrifice. You can see the significance of that sacrifice if you turn back to Leviticus chapter 12. Now you'll have to let me summarize as I look at the chapter because, well, it's not a long chapter, eight verses in it, but just the same. I'm not going to go through all eight verses in fine detail and I want you to give me the liberty of summarizing In verse 2, Leviticus 12, this is the setting for the scene. This is the scriptural injunction that establishes the service at which Anna was present. So you can't understand Anna in her attendance at the sacrifice or semi and either unless you look at Leviticus 12 and you can't understand about the presentation of Christ and the purification of Mary unless you have a look at Leviticus 12. Oh you must do that. In verse 2, if a woman have conceived seed and born a man child Here's the firstborn, first of all, and then this would relate, of course, to other children coming along in the family. Then she shall be unclean seven days. We're talking about the ceremonial law. So ceremonially unclean, that's what we're talking about. You remember that in the burnt offerings and the sacrifices of the Old Testament, God was teaching his people by picture. And that's what we have here, telling us that all mankind, even in birth, by nature we're sinners. And there's need for purification. And there's need for cleansing from sin. But it starts with the mother. It begins there and her purification is spoken of. She shall be unclean seven days. According to the days of the separation for her infirmity, shall she be unclean, so twice over. And this is what Mary consented to. There's no protest from her as if she's saying, oh no, but I'm different. I'm not obliged to enter into this ceremony because you see, I'm born without sin. No, no, she makes no claim. merely makes no claim to being sinless. There's no such a thing in the Bible, my friends. No such a thing. But rather, to the contrary, by her submission to this ceremony, she's saying to all, I'm a sinner too. Do you see it? How important that is. We're not praying to her. We're not looking for her to be an intercessor or a savior. She never put herself up for that. Oh no. Rather does she say by her careful and willing submission, I'm a sinner too. I'm unclean by nature. She needs cleansing. And the verse four, she'll continue after those seven days in the blood of her purifying three and 30 days. So we can make a calculation then, 33 and 7, 40. 40 days have expired since the birth of the Lord Jesus. Our Savior, the infant held in the arms of Simeon is 40 days old. The Bible says it. It's according to the scripture. 40 days old. And it says further in verse four, she shall touch no hallowed thing because ceremonially, that is by type and by picture, she's like the person unclean and can touch no holy thing. And further, she cannot come into the sanctuary. Who ever said she was the mediator? Whoever said she was the intercessor when God says by virtue of this service and her own natural uncleanness she cannot come into the sanctuary during this whole period until the days of her purification have been fulfilled. It is abundantly clear then she can't be a mediator when at this time she's not even allowed into the sanctuary, and dare not touch any holy thing, because there's contamination in her, and she's a sinner too, just like you and me. Do you see how clear the word of God is about that? And I wrote a wee note here, and I suggested, well, did the Lord introduced this law, this injunction in Leviticus 12, did he do it just because of the errors which in after times were to circulate concerning Mary and the sanctuary. She's not the co-redeemer because in her uncleanness, in her real state, she cannot touch the holy thing, nor can she enter into the sanctuary. And she can't be a mediator. And she isn't. And she never thought of herself as a mediator. Bless the Lord, Mary's in heaven. Saved by grace, we'll meet her in the glory. But just like the rest of us, she'll have gotten there because of the redeeming blood of Christ. And then look at this. as we look at verse 6, she'll bring a lamb of the first year and it will be offered before the Lord, verse 7, to make an atonement for her, for her, for her. And did the Lord write this just especially for Mary, for us that is, in regard to Mary, that an atonement must be made for her by means of the slain lamb. She needs the atonement for sin. She needs the cleansing the blood can bring. And that is the case there. And it shall be offered, verse 7 says, to make an atonement for her and she shall be cleansed. She'll be cleansed. So Mary is saved, saved by grace, cleansed in the blood, washed and made clean. She never pretended anything else. And she belongs to God's family. We praise the Lord for that. But then you come to verse 8. And you must not miss the start of it. For it says there, if she be not able to bring a lamb, that is to say, she can't afford it. She's too poor. Even today, if you were to buy a whole lamb, maybe some of you have, if you have a huge freezer, you pay quite a bit And back then, I'm taking this from what we read, it wouldn't be possible for some families to provide the land, they wouldn't be able. Too poor. And once more, Mary brought two turtle doves, the two young pigeons. That was the law. You can bring the two doves or the two pigeons, one for the burnt offering and the other for the sin offering. And thus atonement can be made and she shall be clean. God shows you that. Mary needed the atonement. The birds were brought. If you have the money for the lamb, And so she was poor. And what does that say to you and me? Mary's just a poor sinner. And do you know God makes provision? Here it is. Here it is, men and women, in Leviticus, God making provision for poor sinners. that they might be redeemed and cleansed, that their sins could be put away. God made provision and Mary, the scripture shows it ever so plainly, is just a poor sinner. Cleansed, redeemed, the blood of the Lamb. her atonement. If you want information about the sin offering, because one of the files is used for the sin offering, that would be back in Leviticus 5 and verse 7. The two turtledoves are the two young pigeons, one for a sin offering and the other for the burnt offering. That's why there were two. That's why Mary had to bring the two. Two pigeons or two turtledoves, either way. One for a sin offering, one for a burnt offering. Both these offerings picture the atonement. The sin offering, the manward aspect of the atonement. The burnt offering, the Godward aspect of the atonement. And they'll bring them, verse 8, to the priest and the sin offering is first. That's the first thing that has to be settled. And you can see there the bird has to suffer a violent death, picturing the violent death of Christ. It is in the symbolism employed of the pigeon or the bird from heaven, the Lord coming down from heaven to suffer in our place. And then the shedding of the blood, substitutionary sacrifice there, you've got to see that. And the sprinkling of the blood, verse 9, on the side of the altar as if there on the side of the altar that blood is lifted up to God. And the rest of the blood, verse 9, poured out at the bottom, wrung out at the bottom of the altar as if reaching down to the depths, reaching down to the depths of man's sin. And that's the sacrifice of Christ. for me, making atonement in regard to the realms most high, atonement before God, settling the matter there. That's the blood at the side of the altar, outwards to God, and then the blood down at the bottom signifying how far down the mercy of God goes, right down to the very bottom to reach and to redeem. sinful man. And then there is the burnt offering, and that's Leviticus 1, in verse 14. The sacrifice is of foils. The priest will bring it to the altar, and he'll stand on the east part by the place of the ashes. The tabernacle faced toward the east, And the priest officiating at the brazen altar stood with his back to the east. And the altar there was before him. He stood at the altar looking toward the mercy seat. And he was always doing that in his official capacity. Standing there at the altar, looking toward the veil, looking toward the mercy seat. What a picture of the Christian. Always looking toward the mercy seat. And the ashes there behind him. Remember, so his back was to the east. And when the sacrifice of the burnt offering was made, verse 16, he took the crop and the feathers and cast it on the east part by the place of the ashes. That is to say, behind him there. Behind him there. You remember the psalm, as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. And there's a wonderful piece in Isaiah 38 and verse 17. And with this, I close. Hezekiah is saying, and we ought not to lose track of this. Indeed, maybe you'd like to underline it in your Bible. because it has a vivid application to what we see here on the occasion of the burnt offering in regard to the offering of the pigeon or of the dove, cast in the place of the ashes. And as I have explained, that means it's behind him because he's standing on that east side and he's looking toward the mercy seat all the time. And that's how the Christian comes to God, looking toward the mercy seat. But here in Isaiah, Isaiah 38, 39, no, 38 rather, had it first time. 38 and verse 17. And there it is. If you could get along to the mosaic altar and close to the place of the ashes, And you could see the priest standing there and the ashes behind him. You could write these words plainly upon the ground, thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back. You can never see them again. The eyes of the Lord will never be upon them. God has dealt with my sin. Do you know that's the sacrifice in which Mary was involved? That's the sacrifice described in the Gospel of Luke chapter 2 with Anna being there that instant and giving thanks because she could see in the picture of it all the redemption provided by Christ. What a wonderful Savior! This is my Savior and she gave thanks and spake of him. She saw it all fulfilled in him, Christ the Lord. Let's bow in prayer. Oh, the important thing is, believer, for you to recognize what Christ has done with sin. And the Lord has cast all your sins behind his back. never to be resurrected, never to be brought into view again. Are you clear about that? Have you peace with God? What about someone here unconverted? You haven't really thought about the Lord as you should. Have you come in today hearing God's voice? And you need the Savior. We were singing earlier, take time to be holy. Speak off with thy Lord. Abide in him always and feed in his word. Make friends of God's children, nobody else. Help those who are weak. Forgetting and nothing is blessing to seek. What about today? What about right now? God speak into your soul. Father in heaven, hear our prayer. Come by, Lord, grant that some who have never looked, never seen what Christ has accomplished for us at the tree, that they may see through the precious blood that is shed, through the redemption made, that like Mary we can get the glory. Our uncleanness can be put away. Our sins can be cleansed. Atonement is made once and for all. Hear prayer now. May there be that glad response, saying, Lord, I come, a sinner poor and needy. I come now to Thee, trusting Thee to save me and make me whole. Lord, hear prayer. In Jesus' name. Amen.