[0:00] Well, if we could, with the Lord's help and the Lord's enabling this morning, if we could turn back to that portion of Scripture that we read in the book of Genesis, Genesis chapter 39, and if we read again at verse 1, Genesis chapter 39, and we're going to look at the whole chapter, but we just read again from the beginning.
[0:22] Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, had bought him from the Ishmaelites, who had brought him down there.
[0:33] The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master. His master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord caused all that he did to succeed in his hands.
[0:48] But particularly the words at the beginning of verse 2, where it says, the Lord was with Joseph. Joseph. The Lord was with Joseph.
[1:03] And I'm sure that we're all familiar with the phrase, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
[1:13] It's from a 17th century play called The Morning Bride, and it was written by the English playwright and poet. He was called William Congreve. Interestingly, William Congreve, he was a contemporary of John Bunyan, who wrote, as you know, The Pilgrim's Progress.
[1:30] But Congreve, he certainly wasn't a colleague of Bunyan, because as you know, Bunyan wrote about Christian experience, whereas William Congreve, he wrote comedies with lots of sexual innuendos.
[1:42] But he's remembered for this phrase. Congreve is remembered for the phrase, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. And you know, Congreve's words, they actually sum up Genesis 39.
[1:57] Because what we see is the fury of hell being shown to this man, Joseph. Joseph, and the fury of hell was shown to Joseph when he refused and he rejected Potiphar's wife.
[2:08] But you know, as we consider this chapter, what we need to notice from the outset is that despite the trials and the temptations that Joseph faced, what we read there in verse 2 was, the Lord was with Joseph.
[2:22] He had been sold into slavery in Egypt, but the Lord was with Joseph. He worked as a slave in Potiphar's house, but the Lord was with Joseph. He was tempted, as we read, by Potiphar's wife, but the Lord was with Joseph.
[2:37] He was falsely accused and then falsely imprisoned, but the Lord was with Joseph. And that phrase, it's repeated four times in this chapter in order to emphasize to us that the Lord was not only with Joseph, but the Lord was at work in the life of Joseph.
[2:53] Because as we said before in our study, the Lord is the main character in the story of Joseph. He's the author of the story. He's the director in the drama.
[3:05] He's written the storyline. Joseph might not understand the storyline. He might not foresee all the twists and the turns that are written into the narrative. But the Lord does.
[3:18] And the Lord was with Joseph. And the Lord was going to use all these things in Joseph's life for his good, but ultimately for God's glory. And so this morning, I'd like us to consider this chapter as we continue our study.
[3:33] I want us to think about this chapter under three headings. A faithful witness, a faithless woman, and a false word. A faithful witness, a faithless woman, and a false word.
[3:50] So first of all, a faithful witness, a faithful witness. We'll read again in verse one. It says, You know, when we concluded chapter 37 a couple of weeks ago, we witnessed Joseph being sold into slavery by his siblings.
[4:24] But then as we turned over the page and we read what happened next in the life of Joseph, but instead of actually reading what was going to happen, we expected to read it.
[4:35] But instead of reading it, we were given this colorful chapter, which we looked at last Lord's Day in Genesis 38. And as we learned last Lord's Day, Genesis 38, it makes for very interesting reading.
[4:47] And it's an interesting interlude, you could say, to the story of Joseph. Because we not only learned about Judah's misery, his mistakes, and the mess that he found himself in, we also learned about the marvelous Messiah, who is Jesus Christ.
[5:03] Because even though Tamar's twins, even though they weren't part of Judah's plan and purpose, they were part of the Lord's perfect plan, purpose, and promise.
[5:14] Because Tamar was part of the line and lineage of grace. You remember how we learned that Tamar was an ancestor of Jesus. She was a descendant of Jesus.
[5:25] She was part of the family of Jesus. Because Tamar, she's mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew chapter 1. But this is what's remarkable about the story of Joseph.
[5:37] And I believe that this is the reason this colorful chapter of Genesis 38 was placed where it was. Because, you know, in the Lord's perfect plan, purpose, and promise, Joseph was sent into Egypt in order to prepare, preserve, and protect the line and lineage of Jesus.
[6:01] You have to see Joseph as, in many ways, a forerunner. So, in the Lord's perfect plan, purpose, and promise, Joseph was sent into Egypt in order to prepare, preserve, and protect the line and lineage of Jesus.
[6:18] And, you know, I say all this because in Psalm 105, which we were singing, or not singing, earlier on, or considering, Psalm 105, as we said, it gives a historical account of the Lord's faithfulness to one family.
[6:32] And how the Lord was faithful to Abraham and all his descendants. He was faithful to Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob. And then if you read in Psalm 105 at verse 17, it says, The Lord sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave.
[6:50] So, Joseph was sent ahead of them in order to protect the line and lineage of Jesus. And, you know, what that ought to show us is that according to the Lord's perfect plan, purpose, and promise of redemption, Joseph was sent into Egypt in order to make sure that this line and lineage of Jesus was preserved down throughout the centuries.
[7:14] Joseph didn't know what the Lord was doing in his life, but the Lord knew what he was doing. The Lord knew what he was doing in Joseph's life. And the Lord, as we read, the Lord was with Joseph.
[7:27] And, you know, it's a wonderful reminder to us that we might not understand what the Lord is doing in our lives. We might not see what is the bigger picture. But just because we can only see one piece of the jigsaw, it doesn't mean that the Lord's perfect plan, purpose, and promise of redemption in our lives, it doesn't mean that it's not coming together beautifully.
[7:50] You know, the Lord is bringing all these pieces of the jigsaw together perfectly for his own glory. Because as the Bible reminds us, he knows the way that we take, and that when he has tried us, we will come forth as gold.
[8:04] That's his promise. That's his promise. And like Joseph, though, we have to rest upon God's faithful word, and we have to remain a faithful witness.
[8:16] We have to rest upon God's faithful word and remain a faithful witness. But that wasn't easy for Joseph because to be seized, separated, then sold into Egypt at the age of only 17, you know, it must have been a terrifying experience, not knowing what was going to happen.
[8:34] Being sold into Egypt. And yet, despite all these worries and all these anxieties, we read here in verse 2, the Lord was with Joseph. The Lord was with Joseph.
[8:47] And you'll notice in this chapter, whenever the Lord is mentioned, his name is always in capital letters. And as you know, when you see that, whenever you see that in the Bible, when you see the name Lord in capital letters, it refers to the covenant name of God.
[9:03] It's a title which means the one who keeps covenant. The Lord is the one who keeps covenant. And it's a title that refers all the way back to Joseph's great-grandfather, Abraham, where Abraham first received the covenant promise of salvation.
[9:21] That through Abraham, and through Abraham's seed, all the nations of the earth will be blessed. All these families of the earth will be blessed. Do you remember how the Lord promised to Abraham He said, I'm interested in your family.
[9:36] And I'm going to bless your family with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places. And the Lord said, I'm going to bless you, not because of your faithfulness to my covenant promise, but because of my faithfulness to my covenant promise.
[9:50] And the Lord said to Abraham, I am the Lord. I am the one who keeps covenant. I am the covenant making and a covenant keeping God. I make promises. And when I make a promise, I keep my promise.
[10:04] And you know, the interest which the Lord had in this family was that He was with them throughout every generation. He was with them throughout every generation. The Lord was with Abraham.
[10:16] The Lord was with Isaac. The Lord was with Jacob. And the Lord was with Joseph. And that's all because the Lord was interested in this family. And the Lord was with Joseph because His promise to Joseph and his family was, I will never leave you.
[10:33] And I will never forsake you. I will be your God. And you will be my people. And you know, my friend, the wonderful thing is that that promise still stands to this very day.
[10:45] The promise hasn't changed because the Lord hasn't changed. It's an everlasting promise. It's an everlasting covenant. And it's a family promise. It's a promise to our families, to us and to our children.
[11:00] And it's a promise, as it says in Psalm 105, it will stand to a thousand generations. I will never leave you. I will never forsake you. I will be your God.
[11:10] You will be my people. And the wonderful thing is we can all be part of this promised salvation. That's what the gospel says to us. We can be part of this promised salvation by faith in the promised Son, Jesus Christ.
[11:27] We can be part of the promised salvation by faith in the promised Son, Jesus. You know, the Lord was with Joseph. And my friend, if you're trusting in this promised salvation through the promised Son, if you're trusting in Jesus Christ this morning, then you have the assurance, the Lord is with you.
[11:49] The Lord is with you. And whatever sin you may encounter, whatever sickness you may face, whatever suffering you may endure, whatever sorrow comes into your experience, the Lord is with you.
[12:02] The Lord is with you. But you know, we have to be clear here. The Lord was with Joseph not because of Joseph's faithfulness to the Lord. The Lord was with Joseph because of the Lord's faithfulness to Joseph.
[12:18] And it was because of the Lord's faithful word to Joseph that Joseph was a faithful witness for the Lord. And Joseph was a faithful witness, as we read, both in his home and in his workplace.
[12:33] Joseph was a faithful witness at home and at work because, as we read, he worked hard in Potiphar's house. He wasn't lazy. He wasn't late. He wasn't lackadaisical like many can be.
[12:45] No, Joseph was committed. He was committed, first and foremost, to his covenant God. But he was also committed to his employer. He presented a consistent Christian witness.
[12:59] He had a consistent Christian character, conduct, and conversation among those whom he lived and those whom he worked. And it was because Joseph possessed and even practiced a faithful witness, we read that he prospered not only in the eyes of the Lord, but also in the eyes of men.
[13:20] Now, let's not be tempted to think that it was easy for Joseph to be a faithful witness at home and at work. It wasn't. Because, as you know, Joseph was living in Egypt.
[13:31] Egypt was very different to the rural, crofting community that he grew up in. Egypt was a cosmopolitan nation. Egypt was an idolatrous nation.
[13:42] Egypt was a polytheistic nation. They worshipped lots of different gods. In fact, Potiphar, whose house he was working in, Potiphar was named after the Egyptian sun god called Ra.
[13:55] The name Potiphar means he whom Ra has given. And unlike his brother Judah, who conformed to the worldliness of the Adulamites, we saw that last Lord's Day, Joseph was someone who didn't conform to the world of the Egyptians.
[14:15] And it was by refusing to conform to their world that there was something different. There was something distinct about the life of Joseph. Because the fact that the Lord was with Joseph, it was not only evident to Joseph, it was also evident to everyone around him.
[14:35] It was evident to Potiphar. We read that in verse 3. His master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord caused all that he did to succeed in his hands. So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him.
[14:49] And he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had. From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptians' house for Joseph's sake.
[15:01] The blessing of the Lord was on all that he had in house and in field. Those in Joseph's home and workplace could see that the Lord was with Joseph and that the Lord was blessing Joseph.
[15:17] But more than that, it was because Joseph was a faithful witness that he was promoted in the palace. He was entrusted with everything. Joseph was trustworthy and true as a faithful witness.
[15:31] And you know, as Christians, it should make us reflect upon our own character, conduct, and conversation, both at home and in the workplace. It should make us ask ourselves, am I a committed and consistent Christian?
[15:46] Am I trustworthy as a disciple? Am I a true disciple? Do I seek and strive to possess and practice a faithful Christian witness? Because the truth is, my friend, we might be the only Bible that someone reads.
[16:03] But you know, when they read us, you know, we have to ask ourselves the question, well, what kind of Bible are they reading? What kind of Bible are they reading? You know, Paul said to the Corinthians, he said, you are living epistles, seen and read of men.
[16:21] It was the evangelist D.L. Moody who once said, out of 100 people, only one will probably read the Bible. The other 99 will read the Christian.
[16:34] Makes you think about your Christian character, conduct, and conversation, doesn't it? My good friend, J.C. Ryle, we almost have to quote him. He said, a Christian is a walking sermon.
[16:47] They preach far more than the minister does because they preach all week long. Reminds us about our Christian character, conduct, and conversation, both at home and in the workplace.
[17:00] So my friend, we need to be like Joseph. We need to have a faithful witness. A faithful witness. That's what we see in Joseph's life. But then secondly, we see a faithless woman.
[17:12] A faithless woman. So a faithful witness and a faithless woman. Now look at the second half of verse 6. It says, Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance.
[17:25] And after a time, his master's wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, Lie with me. But he refused and said to his master's wife, Behold, because of me, my master has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has in my charge.
[17:39] He's not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?
[17:54] And you know, as we read this account of Joseph's faithful witness in his home and his workplace and in the face of temptation, when we read chapter 39, we ought to see that it's a complete contrast to chapter 38, where we saw there about Judah's misery, his mistakes, and his mess.
[18:13] All the mess that he found himself in. Because you know, when Judah conformed to the world around him, he proved faithless in his home, he proved faithless in the workplace, and he proved faithless in the face of temptation.
[18:28] And you know, the contrast between Judah and Joseph, it ought to emphasize to us that our Christian witness is so, so important.
[18:40] Our witness is so important. And of course, it needs to be a witness of honesty, not a witness of hypocrisy. We need to protect and preserve our Christian witness.
[18:51] We need to plead and pray that the Lord who is with us is the Lord who will keep us. We need to pray that the Lord who is with us is the Lord who will keep us.
[19:04] Because as the Bible reminds us, we cannot keep ourselves. You know, in his book on the life of Joseph, and I'd encourage you to read it, it's a great book, Liam Golliger, he wrote a book on the life of Joseph, and he says that being good-looking makes someone both visible and vulnerable to the attention and approach of temptation.
[19:25] So Joseph was both visible and vulnerable because we're told at the end of verse 6, Joseph was handsome in form and appearance. Literally, it says that Joseph was, he was beautiful and fair in appearance.
[19:39] Joseph was, you could say, he was your James Bond look-alike. He was your Daniel Craig, although Daniel Craig's now in his 50s. So Joseph was young. He was good-looking.
[19:50] He was physically fit. And as a servant in Potiphar's house, he would have been well-groomed. And undoubtedly, Joseph, he got his looks from his mother. He didn't get them from Jacob.
[20:01] He got his looks from his mother, Rachel, because we're told in Genesis 29 that Rachel was also beautiful in form and appearance. So he looked like his mother.
[20:11] And so, as a good-looking young man, Joseph was both visible and vulnerable. He was vulnerable to the attention and approach of temptation.
[20:23] And that's what happened when Joseph caught the eye of his boss's wife. Potiphar's wife came to Joseph and said, lie with me. Lie with me. In fact, she didn't even ask Joseph for consent.
[20:36] The way it is written in the original language, she commands Joseph, she says to Joseph to sleep with her. Lie with me. Lie with me. Now, as an officer of Pharaoh and the captain of the guard, Potiphar would have had a beautiful wife.
[20:54] Potiphar may have been an older man with a young Egyptian wife, but his wife would have been stunning. She would have been a very attractive young woman. She would have had a beautiful figure.
[21:06] She would have had beautiful hair as the Egyptians did, beautiful clothing, beautiful makeup. She would have been a beautiful woman. She would have been a well-kept woman who was given everything that money could buy.
[21:20] But, you know, I believe the one thing that Potiphar's wife really wanted was the attention of her husband. Because, you know, we have to ask the question, why was this woman looking elsewhere?
[21:35] Why was Potiphar's wife ever looking at a lowly servant in the house? Why did Joseph catch her eye? And was it not because her husband wasn't there?
[21:49] Potiphar was probably too busy with work, too busy with his commitment serving Pharaoh, too busy at, you could say, committees. Potiphar was working away all the time, serving in armies out in another country, and his wife was left behind at home all alone.
[22:05] And all she wanted from Potiphar was attention. She was looking for attention. And when she didn't get it from her husband, she went looking elsewhere.
[22:17] Oh, my friend, we need to protect and preserve our marriage promise because sin and Satan only seek to sever it.
[22:29] We need to protect and preserve our marriage promise because sin and Satan only seek to sever it. You know, when Potiphar's wife issued the command, lie with me, we read that Joseph, he rejected.
[22:46] He refused her attractive advances. And he did that by trying to reason with her. He starts reasoning with her. You see him talking to her.
[22:56] He says, because of me, my master has no concern about anything in this house. nor has he kept back anything from me except yourself because you are his wife.
[23:07] How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God? Joseph says that his master has given him everything but one thing. He had given him everything but one thing.
[23:22] And you know, can you not hear the echo from Genesis 3 in the Garden of Eden? Adam and Eve were given everything but one thing.
[23:34] Adam and Eve were given a garden full of yes but a single tree of no. And as you know, when Satan came as the serpent, he came to question God's word.
[23:45] He came to question their witness as God's people and Adam and Eve, they fell into temptation. They were faithless. But here, Joseph remains faithful.
[23:56] Joseph remains faithful. And what we should be seeing in this is the similarity between the life of Joseph and the life of Jesus. We said that before that we can draw similarities between the life of Joseph and the life of Jesus.
[24:12] And that's what we're seeing here that where the first Adam was faithless, Joseph was faithful because he was foreshadowing the faithfulness of the last Adam, Jesus.
[24:26] Because, as you know, my friend, it was our Jesus who encountered and endured temptation of sin, the temptation of Satan. But he rejected it.
[24:37] He refused it. He rebuffed it. He rebuffed all the advancements and the attacks that were made upon him. And he remained faithful, we're told, in all points. He was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
[24:51] which, you know, the wonderful thing is Jesus knows our trials of temptation. Jesus is well aware of the advancements and attacks of sin and Satan.
[25:06] Jesus has encountered them. He endured the enticement of temptation, which is why he taught us to plead in the Lord's Prayer, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
[25:24] You know, that should be our daily plea and our daily prayer, that we don't fall into temptation, but that we flee from temptation. We're not to fall into temptation, but flee from it.
[25:39] But you know, my friend, as long as there is sin in our hearts and Satan is in the world, then there will always be temptation. Temptation is not sin. Falling into temptation is when we sin.
[25:50] Temptation can't be avoided, but we can reject it and refuse it and run from it. Of course, that's often easier said than done.
[26:03] You know, that was King David's testimony. That was his testimony after he saw Bathsheba. He saw her in the bathtub. And in that moment, David could have rejected and refused and ran from the temptation.
[26:16] But in that moment, we read that one stare at sin, it led to lust, it advanced to adultery, it got lost in lies, and it ended in the messy murder of Uriah.
[26:31] And as you know, the Lord disciplined David because of his sin. But the Lord's discipline wasn't to reject David. It was because the Lord loved David.
[26:41] The Lord disciplined David in order to restore David. Because through David's repentance, David experienced reformation, restoration, and renewal.
[26:52] That's why we have Psalm 51, my favorite psalm. A psalm that reminds us and reassures us that there's no sin so dark and so deep and so dirty that the Lord is not able to cleanse and wash and make us as white as snow.
[27:09] But you know, even though David's experience gives us all hope when we fall into temptation, Joseph's experience here is teaching us to flee from temptation. You know, whatever temptation to sin that may be, whether it's pleasure or power or possessions, until we flee from temptation, it will keep following us and it will keep forcing us to fall.
[27:35] And that's what we read here. Potiphar's wife kept following Joseph. She kept tempting him to fall. And not just once. We read she was there every day asking him.
[27:46] She didn't give up. She kept pursuing, trying to persuade Joseph again and again with those words, lie with me. Lie with me. Lie with me. But Joseph, he wouldn't lie with her and he wouldn't listen to her.
[28:02] In fact, when the persuasion and pursuit of Potiphar's wife, when it became so strong, Joseph didn't linger for a moment. He fled the scene.
[28:15] He legged it. And you know, Joseph, he's a great example to us of how to treat temptation. We're to flee before we fall. We're to flee before we fall.
[28:27] And you know, as Christians, Christians, we have to be so cautious, careful, and Christ-like, especially when it comes to people of the opposite sex.
[28:39] We have to be cautious, careful, and Christ-like when texting or meeting people or speaking to people. We have to be so cautious, careful, and Christ-like when using social media.
[28:51] We have to be cautious, careful, and Christ-like in order to protect and preserve our Christian witness. We have to be cautious, careful, and Christ-like so that we maintain our Christian character, conduct, and conversation.
[29:10] But you know, what we read in this passage is that even doing all these things, it doesn't prevent someone making a false accusation against you. That's what we see lastly.
[29:22] A false word. A false word. A faithful witness. A faithless woman. And a false word. A false word. Look at verse 11.
[29:34] We read there, but one day. But one day. There's an emphasis there. One day he went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the house was there in the house.
[29:47] And she caught him by his garment saying, lie with me. But he left his garment in her hand and fled and got out of the house. And as soon as she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled out of the house, she called to the men of her household and said to them, See, he has brought among us a Hebrew to laugh at us.
[30:06] He came into me to lie with me and I cried out with a loud voice. And as soon as he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried out, he left his garment beside me and fled and got out of the house.
[30:16] Then she laid up his garment by her until his master came home. As you know, accusations and allegations of sexual misconduct, they can often lead to ruin people's lives.
[30:33] But when they're false accusations and allegations of sexual misconduct, they're often made because of rejection or revenge. And that was certainly the case with Potiphar's wife.
[30:45] Her accusation and her allegation against Joseph was because Joseph rejected and refused her and rebuffed her advances every day. And now in order to avoid an accusation or an allegation of misconduct, you know, when you think about it, Joseph, he could have reasoned in his own mind.
[31:08] He could have said to himself, Well, maybe it's just better for me to go with this. Maybe he could have said, Maybe it's better for me to acquiesce with all these advances.
[31:22] Maybe Joseph could have convinced himself that his actions would have been justifiable to lie with Potiphar's wife. He could have excused himself from guilt because he was commanded and pressured by his boss's wife.
[31:36] He could have claimed that he had no choice. He was backed into the corner. He was told what to do. He had to consent. He could have done that. But he didn't.
[31:48] He didn't. Joseph didn't consent. Joseph didn't conform. Joseph didn't submit to the commands put before him. Why? Because they weren't consistent with but contradictory to the Word of God.
[32:06] Joseph didn't consent or conform to the commands put before him because they weren't consistent with but contradictory to the Word of God.
[32:19] And you know it should be a reminder to us about our Christian character conduct and conversation because the accusations and allegations against Joseph they were actually a matter of life and death.
[32:33] Sexual misconduct or attempted rape as she claimed it was it was punishable by death. And yet for Joseph as a true disciple of Jesus Joseph was willing to lose his life for the sake of the gospel.
[32:49] It's not what Jesus says about discipleship. He says whosoever will come after me let him deny himself take up his cross and follow me for whosoever shall save his life shall lose it.
[33:01] But whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel is the same shall save it. And Jesus asks what shall it profit a man to gain the whole world and yet lose his own soul.
[33:14] And you know my friend Joseph knew that his soul was precious which is why he was willing to lose his life for the sake of the gospel. He was willing to lose everything his home his family his job his life he was willing to lose it all for the sake of the gospel.
[33:31] Why? Because the Lord was with him. The Lord was with him. That's what we read in verse 20. Joseph's master took him and put him into the prison the place where the king's prisoners were confined and he was there in prison but the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison and the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison and whatever was done there he was the one who did it.
[34:01] The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph's charge because the Lord was with him. And whatever he did the Lord made it succeed. You know Joseph he should have actually been put to death for the accusations and allegations made against him but the Lord was with him.
[34:20] Maybe Potiphar when he came home and had the allegation read to him maybe he didn't even believe his wife because Joseph had been so trustworthy and yet Joseph we read he was put in prison and in prison the Lord was with him there.
[34:36] The Lord was with him there showing him steadfast love. He was showing him covenant love. The Lord was there with Joseph showing him his unending and unchanging love.
[34:49] The Lord was with Joseph. And as we said that's the Lord's promise of salvation to all who trust in the promised Son Jesus Christ.
[34:59] The Lord promises you that whatever feelings whatever failings whatever falls you may have in this life the Lord promises you in his word I will not leave you and I will not forsake you.
[35:14] I will be your God and you will be my people. The Lord was with Joseph. Do you know I want you to cling and claim that covenant promise this morning that as you leave here you don't leave the Lord here you take him with you because the Lord is with you.
[35:37] The Lord was with Joseph. My friend the Lord is with you. May the Lord bless these thoughts to us.
[35:48] Let us pray. Oh heavenly Father we give thanks to thee for the wonderful promises of thy word that whatever we encounter in life we have that great assurance that the Lord is with us that he promises never to leave us and never to forsake us that he has assured his people that I will be your God and you shall be my people and help us we pray to trust in these promises to lean upon these promises to look to them and to read them day by day and Lord that we would be like ready to halt who was in the pilgrim's progress walking on his crutches leaning upon every promise of God's word all that we would keep looking to Jesus the author and the finisher of our faith bless us we pray guide us we ask lead us into the Lord's day that on this day we would seek to glorify thy name all go before us and we pray part us with thy blessing for we ask it in
[36:52] Jesus name and for his sake Amen well we're going to bring our service to a conclusion this morning by considering the words of Psalm 51 Psalm 51 it's in the Sing Psalms version it's on page 68 Psalm 51 we're looking at verse 7 down to the verse marked 15 Psalm 51 as you know it was David's prayer of repentance repentance when he fell into temptation and this is the great hope that when we do fall that the Lord is willing to forgive us and cleanse us and restore us and even use us for his own glory so Psalm 51 from verse 7 cleanse with his it purify me I'll be whiter than the snow let the bones you crushed be joyful may I joy and gladness know from my failure hide your face blot out all my wickedness we'll consider these verses to God's praise cleanse with his so purify me
[38:08] I'll be whiter than the snow let the bones in the cross be joyful may I joy and gladness know from my failure I knew grace bloters all my wickedness Lord create a new heart in me and a steadfast mind renew do not take your spirit from me cast me cast me cast me not away from you lift me back the joy
[39:28] I might keep my willing spirit light light then I'll teach you ways to save me then I'll teach you ways to save me rebels will turn back to you free me from what guilt my Savior from what guilt my Savior God most merciful and true then I'll praise you to righteousness teach my lips your name to bless Amen.