The Spirit & The Bible

[0:00] Well if we could, this evening, for a short while, if we could turn back to that portion of scripture that we read, 1 Corinthians chapter 2, 1 Corinthians chapter 2, and if we just read again at the beginning, Paul writes, and I when I came to you brothers did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom, for I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified, and I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

[0:58] Now as you know, a couple of weeks ago we began our study on the portion and work of the Holy Spirit, and last time as an introduction to our study we were asking the question, who is the Holy Spirit?

[1:12] Who is the Holy Spirit? And from that we considered the portion of the Holy Spirit and the purpose of the Holy Spirit. And we saw that the Holy Spirit, he is a person, he's not a force or just a power, but he's a person, he is the third person in the Godhead, he is the one who has proceeded from both God the Father and God the Son, he is God the Holy Spirit. And as God and as a person of the, well as the person of the Holy Spirit, he is infinite, eternal and unchangeable in his being. And he is infinite, eternal and unchangeable in his wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth. And like God the Father and God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, they are all the same in substance, they are all spirit, they're all equal in power and in glory. So we saw the portion of the Holy Spirit, but then we also saw that the Holy Spirit has a purpose. And we said that the purpose of the Holy Spirit is to do with form, fullness and fellowship. Because it's the Holy Spirit who brought form and fullness into our formless and emptiness, empty world at creation. And it's the Holy Spirit who brings form and fullness into our formlessness. So the Holy Spirit, he also brings form and fullness. The Holy Spirit, he not only brings form into our formlessness and fullness into our emptiness, but he also restores fellowship.

[2:53] Fellowship between sinful man and holy God. And we saw that the last time, and even as we know, we know that only too well, that all mankind by their fall lost communion with God. We lost fellowship with God. But the purpose of the Holy Spirit is to restore that fellowship, that communion that we can enjoy with God the Father. And so we grappled with the Persian and the purpose of the Holy Spirit.

[3:23] And I can't say that we exhausted the Persian or the purpose of the Holy Spirit. Because like the Trinity, the Holy Spirit is inexhaustible. But this evening, I want us to think about the role of the Holy Spirit in Scripture. And what I mean by that is not where we find the Holy Spirit mentioned in Scripture, because he's mentioned everywhere. And we'll see various passages where the Holy Spirit is mentioned in the Bible. We'll see that in the coming weeks.

[3:49] But what I want us to think about this evening is how the Holy Spirit works to make the Bible a living word. How does the Holy Spirit work to make the Bible a living word? Because, well, the question that may come to your mind is, how does the Holy Spirit make a three and a half thousand year old book that was written by 40 different authors spanning over 1500 years, written on three different continents, with 66 books, 1,889 chapters, and over 31,000 verses? How does the Holy Spirit make this book, the Bible, a living word? How does he do it? And how does the Holy Spirit make this book that once meant maybe nothing to us, or we hardly ever read it? How does he make this book alive to us? How does he make it precious to us? And these are some of the questions I'd like us to think about this evening.

[4:55] And I just want us to think about them under two headings, Spirit and Word, and Spirit and Wisdom. Spirit and Word, and Spirit and Wisdom.

[5:08] So we look first of all at Spirit and Word. Spirit and Word. And listen to what Paul says at the beginning of this chapter. He says, and I, when I came to you brothers, I did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling.

[5:35] And my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

[5:49] Now Paul's first letter to the church in Corinth, it was a letter to Christians. But the Christians in Corinth weren't acting like Christians.

[6:02] They weren't living a holy life that was distinct from the world with a different worldview from those around them. In fact, it's said that the church in Corinth was the most carnal church that Paul ever dealt with.

[6:19] The Corinthians, they were a worldly church. They were a worldly church that was obsessed with worldly distractions and worldly desires. And as a result of their worldliness, there was divisions among the members of the church.

[6:34] We see that in chapter 1. If you go back to chapter 1 and verse 11, it says, For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers.

[6:46] What I mean is that each one of you says, I follow Paul, or I follow Apollos, or I follow Cephas, or I follow Christ. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you?

[6:57] Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? So Paul explains that he has heard that there are divisions among the Christians in Corinth. But there was also immaturity.

[7:09] There was so much immaturity that they were taking one another to court. And to top it all, their worldliness resulted in many sinful activities taking place in the church. Because there was sexual immorality, there was homosexuality, there was pride, there was idolatry, there was the abuse of spiritual gifts.

[7:27] And they were even abusing the Lord's Supper. Because, well, there were some who were excessively eating at the Lord's Supper. And there were others who were getting drunk at the Lord's Supper.

[7:40] And, you know, if we were there in the first century, and if we were to see the actions of the Christians at Corinth, you know, if we were to see it all firsthand, we would probably write them off and think that the church in Corinth was actually a synagogue of Satan.

[7:55] And yet what we see here is that Paul loved the church in Corinth. And Paul loved the church in Corinth simply because Christ loved the church in Corinth and gave himself for them.

[8:11] And because of Christ's love for the Corinthians, Paul addresses them here as brothers and sisters. He says in verse 1, And I, when I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom.

[8:30] Now, of course, Corinth, the city of Corinth was a place of wealth. Corinth was a place of wealth and a place of wisdom. It was a place of wealth because it was one of the key trade routes along the Mediterranean Sea.

[8:44] Corinth was a seaport and it brought in great wealth. All these ships passed through Corinth. But Corinth was not only a place of wealth, it was also a place of wisdom.

[8:56] Because it was in Corinth that there were many Greek philosophers and thinkers. They spent their time there discussing all the things of life. Corinth was a city built upon a good economy and a good education.

[9:10] But, you know, what's interesting is that Paul explains to the Corinthians here that when he came to them, he didn't speak to them with words of wisdom. No, Paul says that he presented to them the simplicity of the gospel.

[9:26] In fact, Paul says that he didn't even try to preach a message with lofty speech or with wisdom. Paul didn't even attempt to preach a message that would entertain the wealthy and the wise.

[9:38] No, Paul says that he came to them with the simplicity of the gospel. Christ and him crucified. But, you know, why? Why did Paul preach such a simple message?

[9:51] Why didn't he use his academic learning? Why didn't Paul try and tap into all these philosophies of the day and explain to these philosophers how foolish they are?

[10:04] Why didn't Paul use his wealth and his wisdom to surpass and succeed with these worldly people of Corinth? Why didn't he do it?

[10:15] Because, as Paul explains, that's not where the power is. That's not where the power is. You know, Paul's point here is that the power of the gospel, it's not in patronizing speech.

[10:28] It's not even in wisdom. The power of the gospel is not in academia or in education. The power of the gospel is not in eloquence or fluency of speech.

[10:39] The power of the gospel is not in self-confidence or self-assurance or self-reliance. No, Paul says here to the Corinthians that the power of the gospel is all because of the power of the Holy Spirit.

[10:52] It's all because of the power of the Holy Spirit. In fact, Paul goes on to say in verse 3 that the message he preached to the Corinthians, it wasn't a message of wisdom or eloquence or self-confidence or self-reliance.

[11:10] No, he says that he came with a simple message of Christ and him crucified. And he delivered his message. How did he deliver it? He says in weakness.

[11:22] In fear and trembling. But when Paul delivered his message, there was power. When Paul preached the gospel, it came to his hearers with the power of God behind it.

[11:37] And we may well ask, how is there power in the simplicity of the gospel? How is there power in the preaching of God's word? And the answer, of course, as Paul says here, is the Holy Spirit.

[11:51] And that's what Paul says actually in verse 3 to 5. And when I was with you, I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling. And my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.

[12:06] So that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. And you know, this is the beauty of preaching.

[12:19] The beauty of preaching is that the power of the gospel is not in man's education or his eloquence or his energy. The power of the gospel is in the effectual work of the Holy Spirit.

[12:35] And you know, there's power in the gospel and there's power in the word of God all because the word of God is spirit filled. The word of God is spirit filled.

[12:50] And you know, when you look at what Paul wrote to Timothy, Paul was reminding the young pastor Timothy as he was starting out in the ministry. Paul said to him, all scripture is given by inspiration of God and it's profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.

[13:10] Why? So that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. Paul says that there is power in the word of God. Why? Because it has been inspired by God.

[13:23] How? Through the power of the Holy Spirit. And you know, I love the word that Paul uses to describe the word of God. He said to Timothy that the word of God is inspired.

[13:38] It's inspired. In Greek, the word literally means God breathed. God breathed. That's the word he uses. The word breath that can also be translated as spirit or wind.

[13:53] And so what Paul is saying is that all scripture, the Bible, is God breathed. It's the divine breath of God. God has breathed it out by the Holy Spirit.

[14:06] And it's because the word of God is breathed out by the Spirit of God, this word is spirit filled. This word is spirit filled.

[14:17] And so when the word of God is read, or when it's sung, or even when it's preached, there's power in it. It comes with power, it comes with authority, and it comes with life.

[14:32] There's power in the gospel, and there's authority in scripture, and there's life in the word of God, and it's all because the Bible is God breathed. It's spirit filled.

[14:44] It's the divine breath of God, the Holy Spirit. And that's what brings life. That's what brings life. And you know, when I read this, I was thinking about, earlier on I was thinking about, well, when God created Adam.

[15:07] You remember that on the sixth day of creation, God made Adam. Adam was created as the apex of creation. He was the climax and culmination of all that God had made.

[15:20] I remember last time when we looked at Genesis chapter 1, we saw that the creation was a Trinitarian act. It was God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

[15:31] They were all working. We're told that in Genesis 1, 26, then God said that was God the Father speaking. God the Father spoke through the word of God, who is God the Son.

[15:44] And God said, let us make man in our image and after our likeness. So God the Father spoke through God the Son. And by the power of God, the Holy Spirit, the Triune God, they created mankind in his image and in their likeness.

[16:01] Mankind was created, as the Catechism reminds us, with perfect knowledge, righteousness, and holiness. But then you come to chapter 2, Genesis chapter 2, verse 7.

[16:12] And we're told that the Lord God formed, he brought form into Adam's formlessness. He formed and fashioned Adam. Just like a potter with a lump of clay.

[16:25] God made Adam, we're told, from the dust of the ground. But when God made Adam from the dust of the ground, at that very point, Adam was lifeless.

[16:37] Adam was lifeless. And Adam was lifeless until, as we're told in Genesis 2, verse 7, God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and he became a living soul.

[16:52] And you know, it was the divine breath of God the Holy Spirit that brought life into Adam. And Adam had life, not only physical life, but also spiritual life.

[17:04] And Adam, as we read from the Bible, he walked with God. Adam had communion and fellowship with God. But when Adam fell from that perfect estate wherein he was created, the curse of Adam, the curse that was put upon Adam, was the curse of death.

[17:26] And you know, this is the thing about the fall. It not only brought physical death, but it also brought spiritual death. The curse of the fall was that at death, Adam and all his posterity would physically breathe out their last breath.

[17:44] What was breathed into them would be breathed out because of the curse. And you know, that's how we always describe death, isn't it? We say that they took their last breath, they breathed their last.

[17:56] But more than that, when Adam sinned, when the fall took place, the spiritual life that was breathed into Adam was breathed out when he fell.

[18:10] And it was breathed out of all his posterity. The catechism reminds us all mankind by their fall lost communion with God, the curse. Because of the curse, they're all under his wrath and so made liable to all the miseries of this life, to death itself and to the pains of hell forever.

[18:27] And so when Adam died, we died. That divine breath of God, the Holy Spirit, that had brought life into Adam, he breathed it out for himself and all his posterity.

[18:41] When Adam sinned, he breathed out the spiritual breath of God for all the generations after him. That's why the Bible always says that when we're born, when we take our first breath, we're born in sin.

[18:57] And even though we have physical life, we're dead. We're dead in trespasses and sins. We're spiritually dead. We're lifeless and powerless to save ourselves.

[19:09] And what we need more than anything else is for God to take our lifeless and powerless corpse and for the Holy Spirit to breathe life into us and make us a living being, a living soul.

[19:23] we need the Holy Spirit to breathe life into us, to regenerate us, to make us alive again like Adam was before the fall.

[19:34] We need the divine breath of God the Holy Spirit to breathe life into us and fill us with his Spirit. And what Paul is actually reminding us here is that that life-giving breath of God only comes through the Word of God.

[19:49] life is found in the Word of God because the Word of God is the breath of God. It's God-breathed. It's Spirit-filled.

[20:00] It's the divine breath of God the Holy Spirit. That's why the Bible tells us that it's living. It's living. It's been made alive because God breathed into it.

[20:12] It's living and it's active and it's sharper than any two-edged sword. And it's the Word that brings life to a dead sinner. It's amazing.

[20:24] The Word that brings life to a dead sinner. And you know, is that not why Jesus said, man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.

[20:38] It's God-breathed. And even Paul, when he was speaking to Timothy, encouraging Timothy and reminding Timothy that this Bible, it's God-breathed. He said, all Scripture is given by inspiration of God.

[20:51] It's profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness that the man of God may be complete and equipped for every good work. Paul emphasized to young Timothy, this preacher, he said to him that the Word of God, when it's read, when it's sung, when it's preached, it comes with power, it comes with authority, it comes with life.

[21:13] Therefore, says Paul to Timothy, preach the Word. Preach the Word in season and out of season. Preach this life-giving, God-breathing, Spirit-filled Word of God and be ready with it, he says.

[21:29] Be always ready with it in season and out of season. Why? Because it has the power, it has the authority, it has the life to convince sinners, to rebuke saints and to exhort servants.

[21:42] Preach the Word, he says. Preach just the simplicity of Christ and Him crucified. Why? Because it is the power of God unto salvation to those who believe.

[21:57] And you know, this is what Paul is reminding the Corinthians, that when he came to them, he didn't come with a message of human wisdom. He came with a message that was power, power, powerful, Spirit-filled and life-giving.

[22:14] He preached the Word to them. He preached the simplicity of Christ and Him crucified. Because that message is the power of God unto salvation.

[22:27] But you know, Paulie explains in verse 5 that he didn't come to the Corinthians with persuasive words of human wisdom. He came in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.

[22:38] Why? So that their faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. You know, that was the problem with the church in Corinth.

[22:52] They were trusting, they were resting more in the wisdom of men than in the Word of God. But as Paul goes on in the rest of the chapter, he goes on to remind the Corinthians that the Spirit not only brings power to the Word of God, the Spirit also brings the wisdom of God.

[23:12] And that's what I want us to see secondly. So we've seen the Spirit and Word, how the Spirit works in the Word. But secondly, we see Spirit and wisdom, how the Spirit brings wisdom.

[23:24] So Spirit and wisdom. Look at verse 6. He says, yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age who are doomed to pass away.

[23:38] But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would have not crucified the Lord of glory.

[23:53] So as Paul continued to address the Corinthians about the work of the Holy Spirit in the church, Paul explained that the Holy Spirit not only gives life and power to the Word of God, he also says that the Holy Spirit gives wisdom and knowledge from the Word of God.

[24:12] And the reason Paul mentions this is because, well as we said earlier, the church in Corinth was a worldly church. Corinth was a church that had worldly desires and they were being overrun and led by all these worldly distractions to the point that the Corinthian church, they were actually embarrassed and ashamed of the gospel.

[24:37] They were embarrassed and ashamed of the simple gospel message of Christ and him crucified. In fact, they were even embarrassed and ashamed of Paul's method of communicating the gospel.

[24:50] They were embarrassed and ashamed of preaching. And because of this, the Corinthians sought to use all their worldly wisdom in order to communicate the message of the gospel.

[25:02] They sought to use worldly methods and means to try and persuade men and women to embrace Jesus Christ as their saviour. Because, you know, in the delivery of their gospel, they would try and compete with all the philosophies of the day.

[25:19] And they would try and argue their position with them. And they also sought to try and argue against all the thoughts and the theories of the academic Greek scholar. But in many cases, it was to no avail because they had neglected preaching the simple message of Christ and Him crucified.

[25:41] And you know, what Paul is reminding us is that God's ordained means, method, and message is preaching Christ and Him crucified.

[25:52] God's ordained means, method, and message is preaching Christ and Him crucified. Nothing else will do.

[26:03] Nothing else will change lives. Nothing else will convert sinners. Nothing else will bring people from darkness to light apart from God's ordained means, method, and message of preaching Christ and Him crucified.

[26:18] And this is why Paul addresses them in these verses in verses 6-8. He speaks about this age. And he repeats that phrase again and again in these verses.

[26:30] I think it's translated better in the authorised version when it says this world. Because Paul is emphasising to the Corinthians that worldly wisdom is of no use when it comes to the things of God.

[26:45] Paul says in verse 6, I'm quoting the authorised version, how be it we speak wisdom among them that are perfect, yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world that come to nothing.

[26:59] But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the world unto our glory, which none of the princes of this world knew. For had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

[27:17] And with this, Paul is affirming the foolishness and the folly of using worldly wisdom to further the cause of Christ and extend the kingdom of God.

[27:28] Because as Paul says, it was worldly wisdom, it was worldly wisdom that led the Jews to crucify Jesus Christ. And you know, what Paul is actually saying here, it reminds me of that occasion.

[27:43] I'm sure you've all read Pilgrim's Progress, John Bunyan's wonderful book, The Pilgrim's Progress. And if you haven't read it, well, I'd encourage you to read it or reread it.

[27:56] But in The Pilgrim's Progress, Christian meets this man called Mr. Worley Wise Man. And as you know, Mr. Worley Wise Man was from a town called Carnal Policy.

[28:08] Mr. Worley Wise Man was from the town of Carnal Policy. It's a brilliant description. But it's in a conversation with Mr. Worley Wise Man that Christian is told to consider.

[28:21] He's told to consider, you could say, he's told to consider every other means, method and message to get rid of the burden that's on his back. He's told to consider every other means, method and message other than God's appointed means, method and message to get rid of this sin upon his back.

[28:43] Mr. Worley Wise Man from the town of Carnal Policy, he points Christian, he points him away from the simple gospel message of Christ and him crucified.

[28:55] And he advises him to try everything else. Try all the other means, methods and messages to get rid of this burden of sin on your back. And you know, that's what Paul is telling the Corinthians here.

[29:09] At the Corinthians, they were trying to persuade people to consider every other means, method and message to get rid of their sin other than the God appointed means, method and message of coming to the cross of Christ.

[29:26] The cross of Christ and him crucified. And you know, the reality was the Corinthians, when you actually bring it down to what it really is, the Corinthians had no confidence in the word of God to penetrate people's hearts.

[29:47] And they had no confidence in the spirit of God to give wisdom to those without Christ. And this is what Paul draws attention to in verses 9 and 10. Paul emphasises that it doesn't matter how much worldly wisdom someone has.

[30:03] No one can understand the mystery of salvation until the Holy Spirit works in their heart through the word of God to give them the wisdom of God. And Paul says this, he quotes from Isaiah chapter 64.

[30:17] But as it is written, what no eye has seen nor ear heard nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him. these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit.

[30:34] For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. And so the point that Paul is making is that no one can understand the Gospel without wisdom from the Holy Spirit.

[30:48] No one can see the beauty and the glory of the Gospel, the Gospel of Christ and Him crucified. No one can see it or understand it without the wisdom of the Holy Spirit.

[30:58] No one can grow in grace and in the knowledge of their Saviour, Jesus Christ, without the imparted wisdom of God, the Holy Spirit. My friend, it wouldn't matter if we had read the Bible from cover to cover and sat under sermons all our life.

[31:16] No one can make this book precious to us. No one can make us see how wonderful the Bible is. No one can make us understand the simplicity of the Gospel without the work of the Holy Spirit.

[31:31] Because it's the Spirit who works through the Word, that life-giving Word, and it's the Spirit who imparts wisdom. And that's what Paul goes on to say in verse 12.

[31:43] He says in verse 12, Now we have received not the Spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God, and we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom, but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.

[32:02] The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one.

[32:17] For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. And with us, Paul emphasizes to the Corinthians and to us that worldly wisdom will not save souls.

[32:34] Worldly means, methods, and messages that distort, disguise, and disengage the beauty of the gospel. They will not walk spiritual life, and they will not impart spiritual wisdom.

[32:46] And so what we have to do, what we must do, is use the God-given means, method, and message of preaching simply Christ and him crucified.

[33:02] That's all we have to do. Preach Christ and him crucified. That's what we're told to do. But you know, it's sad to say in the day and age we live in, we have seemed to have forgotten this wonderful biblical truth that the Holy Spirit works in and through the preaching of God's word.

[33:25] And that it's the Holy Spirit who not only gives life, but he also imparts wisdom. And you know, we've lost confidence in the word of God and the spirit of God. And you know, when we've lost confidence in the word of God and the spirit of God, we will use worldly means, methods, and messages to try and win people to Christ.

[33:44] When we've lost confidence in the word of God and the spirit of God, we will make church an intellectual experience rather than a spiritual experience.

[33:55] When we've lost confidence in the word of God and the spirit of God, we will have sermons that preach to the head, but not to the heart. My friend, when we've lost confidence in the word of God and the spirit of God, we've lost sight completely of the power of the gospel.

[34:12] that this gospel of Christ and him crucified, which we have been entrusted with to preach faithfully and fearlessly in our congregation and in our community.

[34:24] When we've lost sight of the fact that this gospel is God-breathed, spirit-filled, and Christ-exalting, we've lost sight of the fact that it's full of power, it has authority, and it will bring life.

[34:39] And you know, my friend, Paul is reminding us this evening that we don't need anything else to reach the lost in our congregation and our community apart from the Holy Spirit.

[34:55] That doesn't mean we sit back and do nothing. The Spirit works in us and through us, but we don't need anything else to reach them apart from the Holy Spirit.

[35:07] it's the Holy Spirit of God who works through the Word of God to impart to lost sinners the wisdom of God.

[35:19] It's a wonderful reminder tonight that we should have absolute confidence in this Bible. You should have no doubt about it, that it is living, active, powerful, sharp, able to save sinners.

[35:36] our responsibility is to pray that the Spirit works through it and in it to bring people to life. So that's the Spirit in the Bible.

[35:49] We've seen the Spirit in the Word and the Spirit and wisdom. Well, may the Lord bless these few thoughts to us. Let us pray. Amen. O Lord, our gracious God, we marvel, Lord, that all that Thy Word speaks to us, that we could say like the psalmist that how precious is Thy law.

[36:15] It is my meditation all the day. And Lord, we confess that there was a day in our lives where the Word of God was a dead book to us. We had no care or consideration of it.

[36:27] We had no desire to live according to it. And yet we bless Thee and we praise Thee tonight that Thou art the God who breathed life into us by Thy Spirit, that we are those who were once dead but we have been made alive again.

[36:43] And we pray that all that we would seek the wisdom of God by reading the Word of God, that Thou would guide us and be the only rule to direct us on how we may glorify and enjoy Thee forever.

[36:56] And help us to have confidence, confidence in Thy Word, to know that this Word is so precious and it is able to speak into every and any situation.

[37:07] We bless Thee, Lord, that it does speak, that even when we are downcast, that Thou art a God who speaks to us then. When we are in the darkness, Lord, that Thou art the God who gives to us the light unto our path.

[37:21] And Lord, we pray that Thou wouldest continue to speak to us, that we would always hear Thy voice speaking to us in Thy Word, reminding us that Thou art an ever-present help, even in times of trouble.

[37:33] Oh, Lord, undertake for us, we ask. Keep us, we pray. Keep us ever looking to Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith. Cleanse us then, we pray, for we ask it in Jesus' name and for His sake.

[37:48] Amen. We'll bring our service to a conclusion by singing the words of Psalm 119, Psalm 119, at verse 33.

[38:06] So it's page 402 in the Scottish Psalter, Psalm 119, at verse 33. Teach me, O Lord, the perfect way of Thy precepts divine, and to observe it to the end I shall my heart incline.

[38:24] Give understanding unto me, so keep thy law shall I, yea, e'en with my whole heart I shall observe it carefully. I'm going to sing on down to the verse marked 37 of Psalm 119, to God's praise.

[38:38] thing of his name is to be a reread of the Lord, O Lord, the perfect wish of thine presence divine, and to observe O servant to the end, I shall my heart incline.

[39:16] Give understanding unto me, so keep thy law shall I.

[39:34] Give with my whole heart I shall observe it carefully.

[39:51] And thy lost path make me too cold, for I delight that end.

[40:11] My heart unto thy testimonies, and Lord to be inclined.

[40:30] Turn thou away my sight and eyes, from you in magnatee.

[40:48] And in thy good and holy way, be pleased to quicken me.

[41:10] The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all, now and forevermore. Amen. Amen.