When Paul spoke to the believers in the first century of the Christian church, he had much of which he might boast. He could say that he was a Hebrew of the Hebrews. He was a Pharisee of the Pharisee. And that ethnic pride is something which I think is probably common to every ethnic group. There is an expression from my native land, which goes like this. There's only two types of people in this world. There are those who are Scottish, and those who wish they were Scottish. Well, you know, there may be grounds for boasting, just as Paul had grounds for boasting. He said, if you think you have grounds for boasting, listen to this long catalogue that I can give you. Hebrew of the Hebrews, Tribe of Benjamin, Touching the law blameless, and so he lists that. If you think you have something to boast about, listen to this. And perhaps this morning you're thinking, well, yeah, I have something to boast about. Well, let me tell you what I'm going to boast about then. John Knox, he built the Reformation Wall in Geneva. You've got John Calvin as the great reformer, and we all revere the name of John Knox. Who's standing right beside him and only just behind him? Well, of course, it's John Knox. born just outside Edinburgh. Well, of course you'd expect that, wouldn't you? And who else? Samuel Rutherford. Samuel Rutherford gets a mention quite often. One of the Westminster divines, Thomas Boston. Thomas Chalmers, leader of the evangelical revival of the 19th century, still being studied to this day. But outside of the things of the church, television was invented by somebody who live just outside Glasgow, so we'll rush on and not draw particular attention to that. But if we think of the telephone telephone was invented by somebody called Bell. Where was he born? Well of course Edinburgh. There we go. You would expect me to say that. The tarmac that your airplanes sit on, what was that? That was a yes, that was invented by a Scotsman. The Macintosh, a rainproof overcoat. Why is it called the Macintosh? Because it was invented by somebody called Macintosh. Guess where he came from. Penicillin, discovered by a Scot. Father of anesthesiology. Yeah, yeah, okay, you're getting the picture. Pneumatic tire, invented by a Scot. McDonald's. Well, you can't expect everyone to be a winner, now can you? But if you're wondering about that, just think you've been spared haggis. And there's no fast food chain in the world that will dish up haggis. And of course, I think Scotland is still the only place in the world where you can go into a fast food place and get deep fried pizza. Now, how do you deep fry a pizza? You're pulling faces. I'm not lying. You can get deep fried pizza in Scotland. No wonder it has the highest incident of heart disease in the world. You deep fry your pizza, you're going to come away with bad heart conditions. Well, why so many things can be traced back to Scotland? I know that it can be, and often is, a cause for boasting. After all, there is a book on the bookstores that you'll find, How the Scots Invented the Modern World, and it's hundreds of pages long. And I was thinking about giving it out to you at Christmas time, but it's far too expensive for that. And I am Scottish after all. Why did God use this obscure country on the edge of Europe? Nobody goes there for the weather, that's to be sure. But there are other, dare I say, barbarous people. The Scots were noted for fighting. The English put them into their armies so as to fight their battles for them. What made a difference to Scotland? I have no hesitation in saying it was a shorter catechism. When the Reformation was brought to Scotland, the children were taught the shorter catechism. They were taught how to think biblically. So it's not that Scotland has more than its fair share of geniuses. I mean, I'd like to tell you that. That's truly not the reason. It's no brighter than any other part. It was because of the education. The education traced its origins back to the catechism and teaching young boys and girls how to think. Well, what of Scotland now? Scotland's the first part of the United Kingdom to recognise same-sex marriages. Most of the presbyteries of the church in Scotland have now recognised homosexual unions. Does that make me feel proud? as a Scot, would it make you feel proud? Of course it doesn't. And then we think about other organisations or entities a bit closer to home. PCUSA, the denomination out of which the Orthodox Presbyterian Church came some 80 years ago. Everything I might say about the downgrade of the Church of Scotland, their willingness to accept unbiblical standards, can be said in perhaps far greater detail with the PCUSA, if one ever enters into PCUSA and finds a gospel being preached there, it is to our astonishment, not to our expectation. Did that happen suddenly, overnight? Did the PCUSA suddenly flip from being a confessional church, with the same standards that we have, to being a liberal denomination where we'd hardly recognize what's being taught or preached from the pulpits, didn't happen overnight. If our great-great-great-grandparents or however many greats you need to go back for 80 years had seen the denomination as it is now, would they recognize it? I suspect that they would not. Well, what happened to both Scotland and the PCUSA? It is that they failed to pass on to the next generation the truth of God's word. And perhaps we can, in our circumstances, begin to recognize the significance. Why does Ezra have this quite extraordinary response to the news that he is given? He doesn't consider this as being an insignificant matter. It's quite clear, his response. Unless we stop to think about it, the response seems totally out of all proportion to what he's been told. So they've married some unbelievers from some other nations round about. And so what? Well, this is so what. Here's a question I pose to you quite simply. Do you want to see your, if the Lord should tell you, your grandchildren? in heaven. I'm going to ask that question of the children. You may be eight or nine or just ten, only just into double figures. The last thing you're thinking about is your grandchildren. But here's a question. If the Lord should tarry, do you want to see your grandchildren in heaven? You haven't even thought about your husband or your wife yet, and you're asking me to think about my grandchildren. Yes, I am asking you to think about your grandchildren. because it is so important that we learn the lessons of Ezra. What was the problem with Ezra in Ezra's day? Well, let's just ponder how he responds. We read the physical way in which he responded. It's something that is such a shock to his system. He almost, as it were, collapses down on the ground. He pulls his robes apart. We see that elsewhere in scripture. literally pulling his hair out. He's not a Northern European. Northern Europeans don't tear their clothes. Why not? They'd have to go and replace them, and that would cost more money, wouldn't it? I'm not going to tear my jacket off. It's not long enough yet. I can't pull the beard out. I'm not going to do that. But that was just an outward expression of what was going on in Ezra's heart. He was devastated by what he had heard. Well, let's ponder just why he was devastated and see the response. This is a wonderful prayer. Perhaps it's not the sort of prayer that we say, I wish we heard more of these sort of prayers. Why? Because it is so heart rending. Just the opening up of the verses as Ezra unburdens his heart before the Lord. Surely it evokes within us a sort of an empathetic response to say here is somebody who felt keenly the thoughts and the actions of God. I know that I might feel just the way that Ezra did. Oh my God. I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads. My sin is taller than I am. Now, this clearly is Ezra recognizing, this is not Ezra saying this is something that I have personally done, so identifies with the people that he doesn't hesitate to say, I'm ashamed, I'm embarrassed by it, I blush when I think of the sins of my people. And he brings it into the presence of God and he makes those sins his own. And the significance of that we'll return to towards the end. But here there is a confession of sin. There's not an ignoring, there's not the making of the excuses that truly this is not so bad as you might think it is. After all, could we not hope that these pagans from all these different tribes round about might not be brought into the kingdom and that they might come to worship at the temple and be converted? Well, as I heard somebody put it very bluntly, but very astutely just recently, you know, marriage is not a mission field. Marriage is not a mission field. And it doesn't matter how much we want to excuse it, we say, don't marry an unbeliever is what it comes down to. Don't marry an unbeliever. Ezra opens up then by saying that he is repenting of it. It's a serious sin that they have engaged in. They're in over their heads. And just see how pervasive it is in the community. He talks about the kings. He talks about the priests. In other words, from king to commoners. We can use that expression. The people had lost sight. of what it meant to seek out a godly wife or a godly husband. He turns from the confession to the consequences. He says this is the very reason that you took the people of God off into captivity. Why? Because when the people of God had married unbelievers, it wasn't that they were able to influence the unbelievers towards a more mature and biblical faith, it was that the believers had their stance diluted. They were no longer as committed, and they started introducing pagan concepts. Just as we see so often in other churches. I was dealing with this issue with my catechism class just recently. and the regulative principle of worship. If you're not familiar with that, ask one of your elders to explain it to you in greater detail. The regulative principle of worship says simply this, that we only do in worship what God commands in scripture. We don't introduce anything else. Well, surely that is just so restrictive. Yes, you're right. Do you know what it restricts? It restricts the person out front, and here I am the person out front, from introducing into worship anything that I just happen to think is a good idea. Supposing I thought interpretive flag waving was a great idea. Let's just get the young people running around the church with flags. No, people don't do that. Yes, they do. And now with the modern use of the internet, you can go online and see them do it. So you could check it out. Or whether it's dancing in the aisles, or you know what? Let's have pancake tossing to the glory of the Lord. Let's just see who can toss the best pancake. What on earth are you talking about? Nobody's going to do that in worship. Well, have I told you that it's not difficult to find online a minister giving a blessing to his congregation dressed as Barney the Purple Dinosaur? Just go online. It's there. You'll find it. What are men thinking of if they come out front dressed as a dinosaur to give a benediction upon God's people? Clown-led communion? You're horrified! How is it possible for somebody to dress up as a clown and lead communion? It's a travesty! Why doesn't God just strike that fellow down with a thunderbolt? I don't know. It seems right for it. It's not the people of God, then, that are influencing the unbelievers. It's the unbelievers that are bringing all sorts of things. I tell you, the regular principle of worship, that only what we find in Scripture is your great safeguard. It stops me from just saying, I think it would be a great idea if we did this for Sunday. Well, you may not think it, but I'm the one out front calling the shots. No, we have the regular principle of worship that protects us from such things. What a blessing! Well, the people of God before Ezra's day had lost sight of that, and had imported into worship all sorts of things which were contrary to God's word. And God's judgment had fallen upon them. He recognized that there are consequences. If you don't do what scripture tells you to do, there will be consequences. It led the people of God into captivity. And you can hardly miss the fact that what Ezra is saying at the end of the prayer is if we don't learn from this, then God will send us back into captivity. Here, for a moment, we have God's favor. Here's a moment for us to seize it, but God has been gracious to us. He's brought us back. But if we continue in this way, we'll be back into Babylon so quickly it'll make your head spin. There are consequences for going against God's commandment. Confession, consequences. Third element here, contrition. He recognizes God's justice. No one can say, how does this prayer end? Behold, we are before you in our guilt. For none can stand before you because of this. So do you want to see your grandchildren in heaven, even though You are so young now that you haven't even thought about a husband or a wife. You want to see your grandchildren in heaven. You surely don't need to reflect terribly long to say, yes, with all my heart, I want to see my grandchildren in heaven. And if you are a grandparent, is there anything that you desire more than that? Well, you desire health and strength. You desire for them to prosper. You desire a good career for them. All sorts of things. But do any of them compare with eternity? Absolutely not. So let's scripture set the standard. Let me just say boldly, and no doubt perhaps even offensively, that throw your ethnicity away. Throw your ethnicity away. It's not your physical roots that are important. It's praying for a godly wife or a godly husband. And whether that person comes from the right tribe or not is immaterial. On what basis do I say, well sure, you can have both, can't you? But you see how the great danger to your soul, the enemy to your soul will raise up, I'll say, well let's have both. After all, don't we often think of ourselves, we have the rules that we make up for ourselves, and every group has it. You know, growing up in Scotland, we had particular rules. No Christian, no Christian young girl would ever put make-up on. You can't cover yourself with paint, because the Lord don't like you as you ain't, or something like that. Well, you know, no Christian girl would do that, and this may tread a little bit heavily on toes, but, well, so be it. No Christian young man would smoke in Scotland. They don't. They don't. Christian men, you give up smoking? No. I'm not going to argue whether that's right, or I'm not going to argue for cooking and feeding on make-up. Personally, I never do it. And I don't smoke. At least not publicly. That's not the point. If you think that's the point, then you're not listening to me. You see, what happens is we create these rules for ourselves, and now, because we have these rules, we fancy that we're making great strides in holiness. Well, how do you know you're holy? Well, I'll tell you how I know I'm holy. I'll give you a list. I don't smoke, and I don't drink, and I don't put makeup on, I don't go to the cinema, I don't go to the dancing. I've got a long list. And perhaps some of these things are on your list and some of them are not. That doesn't matter. We make up our own list. And that's how we measure our own sanctification, isn't it? Forget about what the Bible says about the checklist. Let's just make up our own list and then we can assure ourselves that we've made great strides in holiness. Why? Because the checklist is there. A list of do's and don'ts. What is it that Paul said when it came to His own boasting. He had this long list. It would have been longer had he been Scottish, but we'll forgive him that. A long list. I am a Hebrew of the Hebrews, a Pharisee of the Pharisee, dispensing the law and blameless. But I count it all but, to use the Greek word, skubala. I count it all but done for the excellency of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord. Boys and girls, you know what scubula is? You have a pet? A guinea pig? What would you have to do with that guinea pig? You go in every so often and you have to scoop out everything that's in because you haven't trained your guinea pig to use the toilet yet. So what's in the bottom of the cage? All that unmentionable. That's scubula. So you go into the cage with the scraper and you get rid of the scubula from the bottom hamster or your guinea pig's cage. Scubula. That's the word that Paul uses. You want to boast? I can boast. You can boast. Lots of things to boast about. But when it comes to comparing these things to the things of the Lord, I count it as being on the same level as what you scrape out of your guinea pig's or your hamster's cage. Scubula. So what should we be doing then? Throw away your ethnicity. Here's what you should be praying for. Pray for a godly wife or husband. Boys and girls, you may be only six or seven. It's so far away in the future. Well, what should you be praying for? That God would provide for you a godly husband or a godly wife. Why? Well, the standards that are set before us in Scripture are high standards. If you're a young girl, you're thinking to yourself, I want a godly husband. I want a husband who will love me as Christ loves the church. Is that something small? You want a husband who is going to love you as Christ loves the church, give himself for you. That's no small thing. Better start praying now, if you ask me. And there are so many temptations out for men. Temptations which your grandparents would not have known. Temptations which I would blush to mention from the pulpit. You want your husband to be kept safe from these things. Well, start praying for him now. You may not know his name, but God knows his name. Young men, you want a wife that will be a godly wife, a help meet for you. Why? Because it's not good for you to be alone. It's men that are incompetent on their own, not women. It's often overlooked, isn't it? It's not good for a man to be alone. He needs a wife. Never said that a wife needs a husband. You want a wife that will be truly supportive and encouraging? Start praying for her now. And if she is going to be in submission to you, pray for this. Pray for yourself. If you examine your heart, do you know how selfish you are? Is a wife just there in order to support you in your selfishness? Is that the nature of your desire? No. Lord, make me a husband fit for a godly wife. And be bold enough to say, don't give me that spouse until I am ready. Not one day sooner. If I am not a godly husband, worthy to have a godly wife, then don't give me a wife. The forefront of all our thoughts is, what is it that God would require of us? And ethnicity is not on the menu. It's godliness. That's all that is desired. I want a godly wife. I want a godly husband. I want someone with whom I can raise godly children. Why is that important? You know, if husband and wife and the parents, the father and mother are not agreed on this matter, Oh, well, instead of going to church this evening, it's the Super Bowl. So what's really important to you? Well, your sports are more important to you than attending upon the means of grace. It's when the husband and wife are determined, you know, I want to raise up godly children. Why? Because my heart's desire for them is that they should be with me in paradise. Do you think it's easy being a parent? Ask any parent. Ask any parent here, is it easy being a parent? They'll tell you no, it's not. No baby comes home from the hospital with a user's manual. And we get it wrong, a lot of the time. But unless we are united together with a godly spouse, saying this is the only thing that is of concern to me ultimately, it's this. To raise godly children. And I want to be entirely united with my spouse in this. Well, that's not easy for us to receive, now is it? I tell you what, it's not easy for me to get my head around as a Scot. You think the Scots are not proud? Of course they are. Sinfully proud. So I haven't used the obvious expression which is going through your heads that you know. So it's not me preaching to you to tell you that this is something that you have to do, it's something that we have to do. A godly wife. What am I praying for my children? A godly wife, a godly husband. The Lord has not seen grandchildren as yet, but what's my desire? What is your desire? Godly grandchildren that will be with us in paradise. I tell you this, there is an even harder aspect for us to get our heads around in this passage. How is the Son of God to find a godly wife? Do you see how this prayer is lifted out from Ezra chapter 9 to be the prayer of Jesus himself? Jesus identifies with fallen mankind. And he doesn't say these people down here. But he gets, if we could use the expression graciously and tenderly, he gets on his knees before the Father. And he says these people, these are my people. And I am ashamed of their sins. I'm ashamed that they have brought in to worship things that don't belong there. And it's not because they deserve your forgiveness, because we're all standing guilty for a period of time that is a day of grace. And Ezra prays for God's people, identifying them with himself. not because he had sinned that sin, but because they were God's people. And when we stumble and fail, when we fall, it's not because we have the strength to raise ourselves up again. It's because our gracious God reaches down, and in spite of all our faults and failings, lifts us up once more. It's because God is a God of grace. If you still find it difficult to let go of your ethnicity when desiring a godly wife or husband for your children, let me ask you this. Did Jesus limit his search to a nice Jewish girl. Your salvation depends on the choice of God being extended to the Gentile world. Throw your ethnicity away and pray for a godly wife, a godly husband, because these things are ultimately the only things that matter for raising up your grandchildren to be with you in paradise. Let's pray together. Our greatest God and our Heavenly Father, we do thank Thee for the day of grace for Ezra, that though the children of Israel had married into all the tribes around about that that had led to them forsaking thy ways and being taken off into captivity. We pray, O Lord, that we may not be seduced by thinking that if we but marry within our own ethnic group that that is following in biblical principles, but that our hearts' desire may only be focused on this, that we marry within the community of faith and not allow any other considerations to creep in. We pray for our unmarried children and young adults that thou wouldst raise up godly wives and husbands for them. We pray, O Lord, for grandchildren as yet unborn and ask, Father, that in thy mercy that we might see them in heaven if the Lord should tarry that the example of previous generations may not be played out in and among us, but that a desire for holiness would mark our marriages and that our children and our children's children we may yet see and bless thee for another covenanted generation raised up to know thee and to love thee. Hear us, we pray, for the sake of thy dear son, who looked beyond the Jewish community for his bride. In his name we pray. Amen.