Our help be in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth, who keeps truth forever, and who never forsakes the works of his own hands. Amen. Grace be to you and peace, mercy, and comfort from God the Father, from God the Son, from God the Holy Spirit. Amen. Let us sing Psalter 210, verses 1 and 2. Psalter 210, verse 1. To God will I direct my prayer, and he will make my needs his care. I trust him still, though in my grief no answer yet has wrought relief. With hands stretched out through all the night, uncomforted, I sought for light. Stands a tomb, the thought of God brought me no peace, but rather made my fears increase. With sleepless eyes and speechless pain, my fainting spirit grieved in vain. The blessedness of long ago made deeper still my present woe. Verses one and two of Psalter 2.10. Thy cross, in silver, o'er it I bring, O rest again, yet from me be. ♪ Glory ♪ ♪ Grace, grace, grace, grace, grace, grace, grace, grace ♪ Let us do confession of faith with the Dutch Confession, Article 17, where we with the Church of the Reformation confess about the recovery of fallen men as follows. We believe that our most gracious God, in his admirable wisdom and goodness, seeing that man had thus thrown himself into temporal and eternal death and made himself wholly miserable, was pleased to seek and comfort him when he trembling fled from his presence, promising him that he would give his son, who should be made of a woman to bruise the head of the serpent and would make him happy. Reading of this afternoon, you find in the New Testament, Acts 13, verses 14 to 39. Acts 13, beginning at verse 14, through verse 39. In the first 13 verses of chapter 13 of Acts, you can read that Paul and Barnabas were sent as missionaries. And then in verse 14, we read the what follows in their first missionary journey and where God's holy and infallible word in Acts 13, beginning at verse 14, is as follows. But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and sat down. And after the reading of the law and the prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on. Then Paul stood up and, beckoning with his hand, said, Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience. The God of this people of Israel chose our fathers and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with an high arm brought he them out of it. And about the time of 40 years suffered he their manors in the wilderness. And when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he divided their land to them by lot. And after that, he gave unto them judges about the space of 450 years, until Samuel the prophet. And afterward, they desired a king. And God gave unto them Saul, the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, by the space of 40 years. And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king, to whom also he gave testimony and said, I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfill all my will. Of this man's seed hath God, according to his promise, raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus. When John had first preached before his coming the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel, and as John fulfilled his course, he said, Whom think ye that I am? "'I am not he, but behold, there cometh one after me, "'whose shoes of his feet I am not worthy to loose. "'Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, "'and whosoever among you feareth God, "'to you is the word of this salvation sent. "'For they that dwell at Jerusalem and their rulers, "'because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets, which are read every Sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him. And though they found no cause of death in him, yet desired they Pilate that he should be slain. And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a sepulcher. But God raised him from the dead, And he was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people. And we declare unto you, glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers, God hath fulfilled the same unto us, their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again, as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee. And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David. Wherefore, he saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer thine holy one to see corruption. For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep and was laid unto his fathers and saw corruption, but he whom God raised again saw no corruption. Be it known unto you, therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins, and by him all that believe are justified from all things from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses. Let us pray. Almighty God, whatever was against the promise, thou hast fulfilled thy word, because thou art truthful and faithful, also powerful and thou art not changing, as we people do. Thou art not a man that thou should lie, or the son of man that thou would deceive, to promise a Savior and not to give him. But as Balaam had to say, thou art truth, and that thy promises are true, that they were fulfilled till now, and they will be fulfilled after this day, till the end of time. Not only that thy son was brought out of the death and returned to the holy throne at thy right hand, and is sitting there till the end of time, but also the promise that all the enemies will be overcome and made the footstool for him. And that he, during those ages, from generation to generation, will reign by the gospel setter and that thou wilt preach salvation as in the synagogue of Antioch by thy servant Paul. And thou hast blessed it also time and again. And we pray now again we are allowed and privileged to meet each other and thy word is read and Thy psalms we were singing, and also we now may come to thee in prayer, that thou wilt bless thy proclamation of thy word. My, thy servant, it is a powerless word what we speak, but it is a powerful word what thou speakest. O Lord, make it powerful in our hearts and lives, personally, spiritually, and also in our relations to each other, in everyday life, church life, and wherever thou has given us a place, and our responsibility. that by thy grace our lives may be turned from darkness to light and from death to life, that our lives, our hearts and souls and all our being may be brought in the narrow way to salvation, to follow the footsteps of Jesus. that we may belong to the sheep of this good shepherd, that we may draw near to him to be kept, preserved against all dangers of sin and Satan of the world and of ourselves. We are not to be trusted. but thou art not to be distrusted. So we pray, Lord, grant us the blessing to never trust ourselves and never to distrust Thee, but to put our trust in Thee, to believe Thy word, and to commit ourselves unto Thee, that thou wilt save us, that thou wilt keep us and preserve us, that thou wilt bless us, not because we are good or are doing good things or are doing things well, but only because thou art good. Lord, let this afternoon service for every one of us be a means to salvation. for the first time, or more and more, that we may grow in the knowledge, in the grace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and we do know thee. long time ago, perhaps for the first time, or not so long ago, but we may then follow thee and still we need to be kept and to be granted daily grace. Give to speak and to listen, not because we are worthy. No, Lord, forgive us our sins. but grant us salvation and grant us to see by faith the smile of divine favor in Jesus Christ and for his sake alone. Amen. Let us sing the other stanzas of Psalter 210. Stanza three of Psalter 210, recalling days when faith was bright, when songs of gladness filled my night, I pondered over my grievous woes and searching questioning arose. Will God cast off and nevermore his favor to my soul restore? I asked in fear and bitterness. Will God forsake me in distress? Shall I His promise faithless find? Has God forgotten to be kind? Has He in anger, hopelessly, removed His love and grace from me? These doubts and fears that troubled me were born of my infirmity. Though I am weak, God is most high, and on His goodness I rely. Of all His wonders I will tell, and on His deeds my thoughts shall dwell, as Paul did in his sermon in the synagogue of Antioch. On all His deeds their thoughts did dwell. It is Psalter 210 verses 3, 4, and 5. I love you. Amen. you Amen. you. Some years ago I received as a birthday present from my first in Canada born son Willem a wooden plaque and on it a text out of the third epistle of John where is written in verse four, I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. Willem knew that this was the greatest joy for his father and mother. As for all parents who love the Lord and His truth, that they desire and are glad when they see that their children walk in the truth. But what is truth? When Jesus stood before Pontius Pilate, And Pilate asked him, are thou a king? And where dost thou come from? Jesus told him, I am come to bear witness of the truth. And then, perhaps you know it, what was the answer, the reaction of Pontius Pilate? He said, perhaps with a sneer, what is truth? as if no one ever could know what is true, perhaps even among people. Who is true? Who is trustworthy and faithful? They perhaps seem to be, but when you come better to know some people, you will be disappointed because it is true. what the Bible tells about us, that all people are liars. So Pilate was asking, what is truth, especially about God or religion? Because you cannot see God and you cannot give an evidence that will convince intellectual questions and doubts about God. So the question of Pilate is still in the midst of people, in the hearts of people. And therefore, in our modern time, people say, truth? There is no one truth. Everyone has his own truth. And when you think this is true for you, OK, believe it, but keep it with yourself. and do not bother me with your truth. I have another truth and I will keep it for myself. So we leave each other on our own ways of what is true. But the Bible does not tell us this. About the truth, the truth, not a truth, the Bible tells it is in God. And most especially in his promises. about which we did read in the chapter of Acts 13, where Paul is relating the history, a little bit of the history of Israel. And of course Luke would have condensed it and made a short summary of his sermon. But most obviously, it was important for Paul to speak about what God did. When you see the sermons in the book of Acts by Luke condensed in some words, some verses, you see twice a very long relation of the history of Israel by Stephen when he was placed from the Sanhedrin and now by Paul when he was preaching in the synagogue of Antioch. And most important in his sermon or at least very important in his sermon is what we read in the verses 23 and 32. In the verses 23 and 32, Paul is speaking about the promise. Verse 23 of Acts 13, of this man's seed, the seed of David, has God, according to his promise, raised unto Israel a Savior, Jesus. And then, verse 32, And further, and we declare unto you glad tidings how that the promise which was made unto the fathers, God has fulfilled the same unto us, their children. And again, he speaks about Christ. The promise of a person, what can you do with it? Is he honest? Is he able? two very important questions when he promises to help you in difficult circumstances. If he's not honest, his word is empty. But if he is not able, still his word is powerless. The promise of God. Oh yes, there are many circumstances against the fulfillment of God's promises. When you read the history of the human race, from Adam till the coming of Christ in human nature, in his incarnation, you see many, many times all kind of actions and all kind of threatenings that the promise will never be fulfilled. And still, it did happen. The first promise we know in paradise about the seed of the woman that would crush the head of the serpent, it was fulfilled. Yes, it took a long time. God did not tell the people how many centuries would pass. People were waiting. God fearing people were longing. with a strong desire that the promised Savior would eventually come, perhaps these times or this day even, but still they had to wait. And perhaps many times it was as with Psalm 77, about which we did sing in Psalter 210, where Asaph says, I was in despair because it seems that the promise of God was never to be fulfilled. Why because he could not see how God could go on in that difficult time personally or also nationally. His promises long ago pronounced, time and again repeated to fulfill them. And so he was doubting. To doubt is not always bad. Then you doubt about yourself. Am I honest? I think I'm a converted man, but am I? It's not bad to search your heart if you are honest and if you are converted and so on. But to doubt God, if he is powerful enough or if he is faithful enough, that is a terrible sin. Unbelief, not believing his promises that he will fulfill what he says. that he will give what he promises, it is a terrible sin. And our nature is full of it. And many people of God have to fight, bitterly fight against it, bitter fights against it, that unbelief that is so many times conquering all in their hearts, as we did sing of Asaph about Psalm 77. and we'll sing it again in the last psalm this afternoon. But the Lord did fulfill his promise because he is faithful, a very important attribute of God or that what I already mentioned this morning, a virtue of God as Peter writes about it. The word virtue is not in the English translation, but Peter mentions it in the Greek text and also in the Dutch translation, you can read the word deugd. that is virtue about the people that are called by God's almighty grace out of darkness into his wonderful light and that they may proclaim the virtues or as in your translation it is the praises of that gracious God. to proclaim, to show forth, to make known the praises, the virtues, the attributes, the properties, the excellencies of our God. Did you also do it, children of God? Is it your desire to do it, to receive from the Lord a mouth to speak his great deeds, praises and whatever he did, perhaps also in your life and also in the life of the country or of the church or of the Bible. His praises, one of his attributes is his truth of faithfulness. And we may see in the chapter read that Paul is stressing or emphasizing this very important virtue of God. And let us suppose one moment that we never heard about it. As I said already this morning concerning the word of mercy, grace, long-suffering, kindness, in Jonah 4, verse 2, if we would never have heard about it, that God is gracious, never have heard that he is merciful and so on, so also now, if we would never have heard that God is faithful, What would we have to think about these promises? How could we ever believe them or commit ourselves into the hands of that promising God? It is very important to be convinced that God is faithful. But then we have not to listen to the voices outside. People around about Satan, and also insight in our own hearts, as Asaph did. Then we have to incline our ear to the holy word of God and to ask the Lord, teach me to believe that I may hear thy word with faith and know by the convincing power of the Holy Spirit that thy promises will be fulfilled. Whatever promise you can mention, God did fulfill or will fulfill. But especially in the chapter read, it was about Christ, about the sending of his son. Again, we are used to this message. We have heard it so many times. Whatever preacher came on this pulpit, or wherever you went to church, always they speak more or less about the coming of Christ and why he came, what he did, and we are so used to it that we are even falling asleep while the most important and most gladdening message is proclaimed. That would not happen when you had a very terrible illness and a doctor could tell you how you could be healed from it. If only you would do this or do that, then you would be one ear completely listening because it belongs to your illness, your health, and you are so related to it that you are not falling asleep when the doctor is speaking about your illness and your health. Now about the heavenly doctor. God sent his son to be a savior, that is a rescuer, one who takes people out of the biggest, greatest, and most terrible misery. And are you falling asleep in church when it is read at the table after meal? Is it so common and so, are you so used to it that it doesn't sound as a message of gladness? Or is your misery really great? Is your sin really terrible? And is your despair almost without end? seeing to yourself, then you listen, reading the Bible. Or as that strange preacher, Paul, for the first time entering the synagogue of Antioch, was allowed to preach about the promise, that God fulfilled it, most especially out of the house of David, that the son of David did come, that he was crucified and also risen from the dead, and what he accomplished by his work. As the chapter is following the words of Paul and where we stopped reading, it was the climax It was the top of the history of the proclamation that there is forgiveness, that people can be justified from all sins. They cannot be justified by the law of Moses. By doing this and accomplishing that, it is impossible for us to pay for our sins. It is only by the grace and by the work of Jesus Christ that promise is fulfilled. And that is because God is faithful. He is truth. And when you know this truth, it is very important to keep to it. I remember the sermon, or at least the text of the sermon, of my mentor, Dominic Katzburg, from Gadren, when I, on May 5th, 1981, was becoming a minister of the gospel in Ghenemaden. He preached about John 8, where Jesus says to the people around about him, if you remain in my words, you will understand the truth and the truth will make you free, will set you free. Very important about the promise of God, the truth that he proclaimed in the Old Testament by prophets, in the New Testament by Jesus himself and the apostles, and still is proclaiming by his servants that it is the truth that makes free, the truth to understand it, and then to be set free by it. To understand it is very important. Therefore, the preaching is there. Paul had to preach in the synagogue. And when you read on, perhaps at home this evening, you read the rest of the chapter, you'll see that, yes, there were also people disagreeing with Paul, but also many who were very glad to hear this. And most importantly, people outside of the Jewish people, they, being Greeks, or heathens listening to the word of God in the synagogue because they were more or less becoming religious Jews. They heard the good news of Jesus Christ and salvation and forgiveness of sins. And then they asked Paul, please tell us again of it. Next Lord's Day, Sabbath day, preach about it again to us. They wanted to hear. because the truth must be understood. That is also a prayer. When before service, an elder prays in the consistory room, Lord, give us to hear and to understand thy truth. Then we need light or teaching from the Holy Spirit. because we are blockage and we do not know, we do not understand what is sin and what is grace. Or if we do understand a little bit of the words, we do not really believe it. And ask with Pilate, what is truth? You tell me that I am a sinner, but is that true? You tell me that I am unable, incapable, as the catechism asks in question eight, to do anything good, that I am inclined to all kinds of iniquity, but is that true? Many people not only doubt it, but deny it. Of course, I suppose that we do not deny it. But be true and honest for yourself. Is it true in your heart that you have to confess, O Lord, The Catechism took it out of thy holy word and confesses it according to everyday experience also of my life, that I am incapable of doing anything good, that I am inclined to all kinds of iniquity. It is only by thy goodness that those sins are not coming out in practice. Because if God will leave me and forsake me and that I may go my own way, how terrible it will end. Therefore, the truth, people do not believe it. And Jesus says, if you understand it, then it will set you free. It begins with the truth about us and then also the truth about God. Of course, many people ask the same question as Pontius Pilate, what is truth? How do you know if not Allah is the true God but the God of the Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the Father of Jesus Christ? You can say it, but you cannot convince people. You cannot give an evidence. What is in the Bible, perhaps yes, you can proclaim it, but that's all. So people do not believe it. And what does happen? Try to imagine a moment, people in a city as Corinth or Philippi, hearing for the first time about God, the truth, about the one true God. They all, their life, had believed that there were many gods, that they all had their own place, and that everyone beside the other could be admired and served and worshipped. And of course, when Paul comes and he speaks about the God of the Jews, okay, he's welcome. Put that God beside the other ones. There are so many, one more, no problem. No, says Paul, it is the only true God. What do you think? Did people believe it all of a sudden? that they say of course you are right there is only one God and what you say about us that we are so terribly sinful we believe it and that there is no one able to save himself we believe it and that we have to trust that man on the cross, far away in Jerusalem, long ago perhaps, or not that long ago, dying and rising. Yes, we believe it. No, that's not how it happened. People could not and would not believe it. They would hear it and think, well, Perhaps there is a God more than I knew. And perhaps, yes, we are sinful, yes. When you look around, you see so many criminals and so perhaps Paul is more right than I wish to believe, but okay. And then to be rescued, well, don't say me that I have to trust a man called Jesus. Nevertheless, it happened. What? People did believe it. How could it be that people believe all the gods of my forefathers and all the religious thoughts of the priests in Philippi or Corinth or Athens? They were wrong. They were no gods. They were false gods. I throw them away and I believe the one true God. It did happen. People did believe it. But it was not because Paul's words were so powerful or he could give evidences of it or could convince people by his own way of arguing. No, it was by the power of the Holy Spirit. most unlikely. Still, people did believe it. All places, countries, Europe, many, many hundreds, many, many thousands, even millions, during the ages that passed, by the power of the Holy Spirit, they did understand and believed the truth. How important to know the truth. How important by the light of the Holy Spirit to understand the truth. The truth about us, about God, and about the mediator between God and us, Jesus Christ. all summarized in the sermon of Paul in the synagogue of Antioch, all summarized in that one word twice in this sermon, the word promise. the promise of God, the promise from the beginning of time, paradise, the fulfillment in Christ coming in the manger of Bethlehem and dying at the cross of Golgotha and being a conqueror of all the foes, the enemies of God and of God's people. This is what Paul preached. This is what the people did believe by the almighty grace of God. So let me ask you, do you know the truth? Do you long to know more of the truth? Do you do what you can in the way of the means given by God in the Holy Bible? and also books explaining the Bible, applying the Bible, and preaching on weekdays and Lord's Days, and also by meditating, taking time, quiet time, to be still and quiet before God, listening to His voice out of the Word into your heart about the truth The truth about you, always more distressing, more disappointing. The truth about God, always more reason to believe in Him, always more reason to trust Him, always more reason to honor Him. When you hear about God, When you hear about the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, the Triune God, how the three persons are involved in saving sinners, the Father by electing grace, and making that counsel to send his son, the son by being willing, as he says already in the time of David in Psalm 40, as you will sing about it, oh, that he was willing to proclaim the word of God by suffering, becoming a sacrifice, not the animals, but he, the fulfillment of all those sacrifices in the Old Testament, And what he did, you will never come to an end in studying the truth about Jesus. Therefore Peter could write in his second epistle, the last verse, as admonishing and to try to people to bring them to grow in the knowledge and grace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, to know more of him. You will never say, I know enough of him. As Paul writes to the Philippians in chapter three, that I may know him. As if he didn't know Christ. that I may know him. Yeah, but Paul, you do know him, isn't it? Yes, you're right. He revealed himself. I know him as my savior. I know him as my prophet, priest, and king. I know him as my Lord Nevertheless, that I may know him, he could write it to the Philippians because it was in his heart, as if he didn't know, as he ought to know. That's the reason I ask, do you do, young and old people, what you can in the way of the means to get knowledge of the truth, the truth about Jesus? not only about yourself, but also, and most importantly, the truth about Jesus, to know him, and also about the Holy Spirit, what he accomplished, why he is called the Holy Spirit, for example. Or, when it is about the truthfulness and faithfulness of God, this evening sermon, this day that he fulfilled his promises, it is very remarkable that Jesus, when he speaks about the other comforter in John 14, 15, and 16, he three times calls the Holy Spirit the spirit of truth. and promised his disciples that the spirit of truth would teach them, lead them into all the truth. And that is what he also prays for his father when he is about to leave his disciples. Just before he was arrested in Gethsemane, praying the Lord's Prayer of John 17, or high priestly prayer, we call it. He says, thou art the only true God. And he prays, keep them in thy truth and sanctify them by thy truth. The truth of God, the truth of the Holy Spirit, the spirit of truth. God is faithful. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are faithful. You can trust him or them, that one God in three persons. You will never be disappointed when you commit yourself into his hands and confess all what you need, all your sorrows, all your iniquities, and ask him to be merciful, to be gracious, to be a forgiving God, He will not disappoint you. Although perhaps inwardly you say, will it ever happen? Perhaps it lasts already so long. You are looking for it, desiring for it, and it doesn't happen. It is dark in your soul. You cannot find any repose or relief. still at his feet. The truthfulness of God will be known and then you will be set free as Christ says. And that is what Paul says in the sermon we read in Acts 13 where it ends in verses 38 and 39 about forgiveness of sins and justification. Justification is a most important word in the Bible, Old Testament, New Testament and mostly in the epistles of Paul where he time and again speaks about God as a judge and he says this criminal will not be judged or punished because there is one taking his place. He took his place at the bar of Pontius Pilate. He was innocent, yet he was condemned. He was willing to be crucified in the place of people who are deserving that cursed death at the cross. How many are there here that can say, that's my name? I am that person. I deserve to be killed at the cross and the anger and the curse of God forever. Jesus says, I will take the place of such a boy, girl, man or woman and I will bear the sin and the guilt and the punishment. And now when you commit yourself into his hands and believe the promise as it is written in Acts 13 and many other places, then the Lord will not disappoint you. It is the same as in chapter 10. The Bible does repeat this most important topic by Peter. It is there in the house of Cornelius in Caesarea Philippi. where Peter was preaching about Christ, that he was anointed with the Holy Spirit, that he went through the country doing good, and that all the prophets in the Old Testament told about this man, this Jesus, that whosoever believed on him would receive forgiveness of sins. All the prophets not only said it, wrote it, but testified it. It was a witness because God is true. And they knew it by the Holy Spirit. And that Spirit is still working and gives the same assurance and certainty that you can know God is truth. He is faithful and his promises will be fulfilled. When the Bible speaks about this and all other virtues of God, the purpose is what we can read, for example, in the Heidelberg Catechism in question and answer 122. I will read it for you. There it is about the first petition of the Lord's Prayer. And the first petition is, of course, hallowed be thy name, or let thy name be sanctified. What does it mean? That is, grant us first rightly to know thee. To know thee has to do with the truth, of course, to know thee about God. And to sanctify, glorify, and praise thee in all thy works, in which thy power, wisdom, goodness, justice, Mercy and truth are clearly displayed. In God's works, his attributes, our virtues, are displayed. His power, as we heard in Genesis 17, verse 1, two weeks ago, his power as God Almighty. And then the Catechism says his wisdom, As we heard in that afternoon from 1 Corinthians 1 and 2 about the foolishness of preaching. But what people call foolish is the wisdom of God. He uses weak means to show his almighty power, the wisdom of a crucified Savior. People of the Greeks did not accept it. I told you already, people did not accept it by themselves. It was by the power of the Holy Ghost, that in Corinth, people did believe that message of foolishness, as people thought it was the wisdom of God. Then the goodness of God, as we heard from Psalm 86, last Lord's Day. Thou art good and ready to forgive. Do you believe it? And also the justice or righteousness of God. as we heard last week in the afternoon from Matthew 3, that Christ said to John the Baptist that this was the way to fulfill all righteousness, all the demands of the holy law of God, all the punishment that we deserve, Christ said, I am fulfilling all righteousness by being baptized and then going the way to the cross. And this morning we heard of the mercy of God. Although the prophet was speaking in a very bad mood, he did not wish the people to receive that gracious, merciful gift In Nineveh, nevertheless, he spoke the truth. Thou art a gracious God, merciful, long-suffering, and of great kindness. So this afternoon, this evening, we hear about the truth of God, the six virtues of answer 122 of the Heidelberg Catechism. What is the purpose? That God reveals those virtues and many more about His eternity, that He is omniscient and many other virtues and properties or attributes of God revealed in the Bible by so many words or by speaking about his deeds, creation and so on, redemption, what is the purpose? Well, says the Catechism, teaches the Catechism us that we may sanctify, glorify and praise thee in all those attributes. Did you do it? Sometime to praise God for his power. to praise God for all those other futures and many more, that you study the Bible and ask yourself by reading it, what does God reveal in this portion about his essence? His being, who He is, what He is, and how powerful, gracious, and strong He is, and that I may glorify Him, that I may admire Him, and also that I may trust Him. Every virtue of God is an invitation to put our trust on this God that is not powerless but powerful, that is wise and not as we foolish or without wisdom, that is good and not a God of badness and iniquity. that we put our trust in Him, that we commit ourselves and our children unto Him, that we say, O Lord, we have heard of Thy justice in Christ fulfilled. Let me trust Thee as the God of righteousness that is still forgiving as John writes in his first epistle when he confesses our sins. He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness And so all the other virtues or all those attributes of God, every one, time and again, when you read in the Bible, they invite us to commit ourselves to this God, this almighty God, this wise God, this good God, this righteous God. And as we heard this morning, this merciful and now this faithful God, never to distrust him anymore. Whatever may be your situation, however dark the pathway of life can become, how many doubts may rise in your heart, how many questions are put in your path, how many things are against what you think is true and still commit yourself to this God and say, O Lord, I have heard in six sermons six virtues of thee. Let me know thee more and more. Let me glorify thee. Let me honor and sanctify thee. Let me believe and trust thee. Let me love thee, the God of such a great power, and so on. May the Lord bless these six sermons in your midst. Three weeks I was privileged to be in your midst, and the Lord knows how I came, how I'm here, and I'm very thankful that after so many years again, I was in this congregation. and hopefully the Lord will bless it for everyone of us for Jesus' sake. Amen. Let us sing Psalter 112. Psalter 112 about that Savior that was giving himself as a sacrifice and then Before thy people, I confess the wonders of thy righteousness. Thou knowest, Lord, that I have made thy great salvation known. Thy truth and faithfulness displayed, thy lovingkindness shown. And may it be that for me personally, I may sing it in a true wandering admiration. that the Lord gave me this privilege. But it is of course about Christ that he did sing it in the Old Testament prophecy as Psalm 40 is one great prophecy of him. But also all the preachers of God may agree with it. and not only preachers or pastors, but also fathers and mothers or Christians, common in everyday life, that they may say, that they may desire at least, to say what is in verse one of Psalter 112. Verse two, withhold not thou thy grace for me, O Lord, thy mercy, let me see. So I proclaim it, but then also let me for myself experience it. See it. To me, thy loving kindness show. So not only to say it to your children, but also to pray by preaching or by teaching or by testifying, praying, Lord, show it to me. Thy truth be still my stay. Let them preserve me where I go and keep me every day. Verse three. It is a loving heart that can sing the third stanza. Let all who seek to see thy face be glad and joyful in thy grace. Let those who thy salvation love forevermore proclaim, oh, praise the Lord who dwells above and magnify his name as answer 122 tells us in Heidelberg Catechism. Thy name be hallowed, sanctified. Sanctify his name. Stanza four. Although I poor and needy be. That is the situation of every true preacher, every Christian father, mother, every Christian, whatever place he may occupy. Out of ourselves we will never grow rich. And if you think you are growing rich in yourself, it is a mistake. And pray the Lord to discover your mistake. The Lord, that's the other way, the opposite that belongs to it, the Lord, in love, takes thought for me. Thou art my help in time of need. My Savior, Lord, art thou. Then, O my God, I pray, I plead, stay not, but save me now, the four stanzas of Psalter 112. Thy great salvation, O! mercy. you ♪ It's the time of the year ♪ Let us pray. O Lord, most gracious, although we cannot fathom the depth of Thy wisdom and goodness and righteousness, We cannot measure Thy power and all those attributes as Thou hast revealed Thyself in Thy works and in Thy word. We may admire them, we may admire Thee for them, and grant every one, old and young, present and at home, this grace to admire, to glorify, and to sanctify Thee. for all thy properties. For thou art such a God, never to be comprehended. Our understanding is so small, our intellect is so little, and our heart is so many times distrusting. But, O Lord, thou art worthy Yes, so worthy to be trusted by us, whatever may be the situation. Although perhaps we have to confess that we are not converted, but still enemies of the cross and of Christ and of thee. And in the power of Satan and without rebirth or regeneration and without whatever is good and having all what is bad. Still, thou art revealing thyself and inviting thereby every one of us to flee unto thee, not to flee away from thee, because of thy holiness and thy righteousness, and we as sinners have to dread these properties, but to flee unto thee, because as sinners we need thy holiness in the spirit of holiness, and thy righteousness in Christ, the righteous servant of thee, and the suffering servant of thee. We pray, O Lord, reveal Thyself to every one of us. And let so this congregation, members and visitors, and whoever may be listening, be blessed with more knowledge or a first beginning of knowledge of Thee in faith by Thy Spirit. and that it may grow all the days of our lives, that we may become smaller in ourselves, that Christ may become greater in our eyes. We pray for the consistory, the elders and deacons present or not, the pastor and his family also, for the wedding service, the marriage day this week, for their son and brother, and those surrounding them and belonging to them, that thou make it a blessed day. We pray for every one of us, especially we may say, Lord, bless Johannes and Petra Lynn. Now we have to leave and that thou may be with them and that thou wilt do what we did sing and pray in singing to lead them in the way, to be with them as a marriage couple, and in all the things of everyday life, spiritually, and whatever may belong to it and their relatives. We are thankful that we were allowed as a family to be witness of that marriage, that wedding day, and we pray, O Lord, give us also to be thankful for the warm congregation in which they may be and to which they may belong. And let thy servant in preaching and the elders and deacons and the members and visitors all be a blessing for each other and for those two young people. Grant us what we need, and we leave each other, perhaps never to see again. Old people, many years ago, for the first time to meet, and many times. But now, Lord, we will all go to die. That's not really terrible for all those that are inheritors, inheriting that country. where we will know Thee without any defection in all Thy properties, all Thy luster, and all Thy glory, and where, O Lord, grant every one of us that it may be true that we all, young and old, may glorify Thee and forever praise Thy name. as thou art worthy. Forgive us all our sins on the pulpit and in the seat. O Lord, be gracious unto us. Grant us that real surprise of thy gracious nearness in Christ and only for thy name's sake. Amen. Let us sing Psalter 440 verses 2 and 4. Psalter 440, again Psalm 77, again verse 2, will the Lord cast off forever? Perhaps somebody is fearing this. Ties of covenant friendship sever Will He show His face no more as He did in days of yore long ago? Will the word to Israel spoken by our Father's God be broken? Must we in our grief complain that His promises are vain? First of all, I'll remember, O my Savior, how the years of joy and favor, like the dew on arid land, dry land, came to me from thy right hand. That's very important. Remember the promises. I'll recall thy works confessing all the wonders of thy blessing. With my mouth will I proclaim great and glorious is thy name. Psalter 440, stanzas 2 and 4. Yeah. O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Amen. Amen. The Lord bless thee and keep thee. The Lord make his face shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee. The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee and give thee peace. Amen.