The Joy of Salvation

[0:00] well if we could with the Lord's help and the Lord's enabling this evening we could turn back to that chapter that we read Luke chapter 15 Luke chapter 15 and I want us to look at the whole chapter but if we take as our text the words of verse 7 Luke 15 and verse 7 where Jesus says just so I tell you there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous persons who need no repentance there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous persons who need no repentance

[1:01] I want to begin by asking you this evening what is it that makes you happy?

[1:12] what is it that causes you to rejoice? what is it that brings joy into your life? and I'm sure we could say I would give a number of answers maybe the men in here would say my wife makes me happy the women in here would say my husband makes me happy my children bring joy into my life my grandchildren bring joy into my life my sheep bring joy into my life my hobbies bring joy into my life my holidays bring joy into my life there are a number of good things in life that make us happy and cause us to rejoice and bring joy into our lives but when the Bible speaks about joy or rejoicing or happiness it says that there is only through lasting joy and rejoicing in salvation and that we will only experience that through happiness when we repent and when we turn from our sin and turn to God seeking forgiveness because all the things that make us happy or cause us to rejoice or bring joy into our lives we all know that they don't last they're only temporal they're all transient and momentary but the joy and happiness and the rejoicing we experience through repentance it's eternal because it's the joy of salvation and our sin it steals joy from us the joy of salvation from us it taints our joy and removes our happiness and takes away all our rejoicing and that was through of the experience of David which we were just singing in Psalm 51

[2:55] David's sin had caused him to lose sight of the joy of his salvation but it was through repentance of his sin repenting of his sin and David was asking the Lord restore to me the joy of thy salvation restore to me the joy of thy salvation David knew that through lasting joy through happiness through rejoicing it could only be found in God's salvation and David knew that he would only experience this joy of salvation when he turned to God in repentance and you know that's the teaching of Jesus here in this chapter that we will only experience the joy of salvation when we turn to God in repentance because even though Luke 15 it's very familiar territory to us we're all acquainted with the illustrations that it contains with the lost sheep and the lost coin and the prodigal son but you know the truth is we may be good at seeing ourselves in these illustrations and we may know in our heart that we're either lost or found that we're either like a lost sheep or a found sheep we're either a lost coin or a found coin or we're either still in the far country still far away from the Father or we have come home to know the Father's love and receive the blessings of his family we may be good at seeing ourselves in all these illustrations and we may in some way take comfort in the fact that we know they're speaking to us but the teaching which Jesus is emphasizing is that there is only joy in salvation and there is only rejoicing in heaven when we turn to God in repentance but if we don't turn to God in repentance

[4:49] Jesus says the opposite will be true we will never know the joy of salvation we'll never know the singing of angels in heaven because we have refused to repent and turn to the Lord and that's what Jesus says I tell you there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous persons who need no repentance and so the teaching of this parable it's very direct because Jesus is telling us that we need to repent and believe in the gospel and you know that was the message of Jesus' ministry that from the moment his ministry began until he was crucified Jesus was preaching the same message the kingdom of God is at hand repent and believe in the gospel and Jesus preached that message time and time and time again and he preached it to many different people and we're even told at the end of chapter 14 that there were great multitudes who followed Jesus crowds gathered to hear Jesus preach there were thousands upon thousands who came to hear

[6:02] Jesus and you know that's the first thing I'd like us to see from this well-known chapter the crowds these crowds who gathered to listen to Jesus preach so firstly if we look at at the crowds the crowds it says in verses 1 and 2 now the tax collectors and the sinners were all drawing near to hear him and the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled saying this man receives sinners and eats with them now to put it into context at the end of the previous chapter Jesus taught the crowds how much it will cost them to be one of his disciples and Jesus said to the crowds that it will cost them everything he says whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple Jesus said that in order to be his disciple it will cost you your life it will cost you everything but in chapter 14 at verse 25

[7:04] Luke tells us that this great crowd which followed Jesus and listened to him preach and heard him tell all the parables it says they went with him they came to hear him preach but many of them just went along in the crowd they were going along in the crowd and you know it's easy to just go along in the crowd it's easy to just follow the crowd it's easy to just go along with the crowd because in the crowd you blend in it's easy to get lost in the crowd it's easy to remain anonymous in the crowd it's easy to remain unrecognised in the crowd but we have to be clear in the gospels the crowds were often viewed as a negative thing we often think it's a positive thing all these people following Jesus but they were actually a negative thing because as we shall see Jesus isn't into crowds Jesus isn't into the numbers game of counting church attendance

[8:06] Jesus isn't into crowds there are crowds in hell there are crowds in hell but Jesus he says he wants disciples Jesus wants people to come after him and take up their cross and follow him and Jesus would far rather one disciple who is completely committed to him than 10,000 people who remain uncommitted in a crowd because being part of the crowd doesn't mean that they were actually following Jesus and this crowd that went along with Jesus it was a mixed crowd just like it is this evening there are some who are committed and some who are uncommitted some who are converted some who are unconverted and we're all going along with Jesus and we're all part of this crowd and Luke tells us in the last chapter of chapter 4 in the last verse of chapter 14 that everyone in the crowd heard Jesus preach but not everyone was listening to what Jesus was saying which is why

[9:14] Jesus says he who has ears to hear let him hear and then as we move into chapter 15 Luke identifies those who were part of this crowd because he says in verse 1 now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him but Luke says that the tax collectors and sinners weren't the only one who were present in this mixed crowd because he says the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled saying this man receives sinners and eats with them and what we see is that whilst everyone was going along in the crowd with Jesus and listening to Jesus distinctions were being made and they're being made between those who are listening to the message of Jesus and those who are grumbling against the message of Jesus the distinction is being made between those who see their need and want to be a disciple of Jesus and those who don't the distinction is between those who are sinners and those who are self-righteous and as Jesus preaches this distinction and separation it becomes more and more apparent and you know that's what happens every time

[10:28] Jesus speaks to us in his word a distinction is made a separation is drawn a line is drawn you could say by the gospel and the distinction in the crowd is between those who are committed and want to be committed and those who are uncommitted and want to stay where they are and so there's this contrast that emerges within the crowd as Jesus explains the joy of salvation when we repent and believe in the gospel but for the self-righteous Pharisees and scribes they couldn't see the joy of salvation because they couldn't see their need to repent and this is why Jesus emphasized again and again throughout his ministry that he came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance and so as we consider the crowds we can see that there's a contrast that emerges and the contrast becomes more apparent as Jesus tells this parable and so we've considered the crowds but secondly let's consider the contrast the contrast you look at verse 3 it says so Jesus told them this parable what man of you having a hundred sheep if he has lost one of them does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the one that is lost until he finds it what we ought to see from the outset is that these three illustrations of the lost sheep the lost coin and the prodigal son they're actually one parable they're one continuous story with the same meaning and the same emphasis and their emphasis is that there is joy in salvation and there is rejoicing in heaven when a sinner turns to God in repentance and as we said this parable it makes a contrast with within the crowd because there are some present who want to experience the joy of salvation but they don't think that they're worthy of salvation and there are others present in the crowd who think that they're so righteous that they have salvation already but the truth is they don't have it at all and so Jesus speaks to the crowd with a parable and that was the way in which Jesus always spoke the gospels tell us that Jesus never spoke to the crowds without using a parable and the parables they weren't just sermon illustrations used to entertain the crowd in order to to keep their attention the purpose of the parable was to get the listener deeply involved and see that they are in the parable itself they are being portrayed and represented in the parable and that when they see themselves in the parable it should compel them to make a personal decision about following Jesus and so the parable of the lost sheep the lost coin and the prodigal son it's seeking to ask us the question where are we in the parable we were asking this morning where are you in relation to Jesus but tonight

[13:45] Jesus is asking where are you in the parable are you lost or have you been found are you still in the far country or have you come home to the father is your heart still far away from God or have you come to know the love of the father where are you in the parable and that's actually the question Jesus asked the crowds because he says to them in verse 4 which man of you or which one of you and of course this question is directed towards the four groups within the crowd the tax collectors the sinners the Pharisees and the scribes and with this Jesus brings all four groups he brings them into the parable and he makes them see that this parable is actually about them they are being portrayed and represented in the parable and we have to hear it as they heard it because Jesus is compelling them and he's compelling us to make this personal decision about following him and he's asking us the question where are you in the parable which man of you which one of you tax collectors sinners scribes and Pharisees which one of you if you had a hundred sheep and you lost one which one of you would leave the ninety-nine in the field and go after that one lost sheep and search diligently for it until you find it and with this opening question there's an immediate separation there's a contrast made between all these groups present in the crowd because on hearing the question the tax collectors knew that they would never go and search for a lost sheep they have no interest in sheep sheep are filthy animals they're disobedient they certainly aren't the responsibility of a tax collector and they would say to themselves that's the job for the sinner but the Pharisees they wouldn't go either because their place was in the temple their place was a place of purity and honour and worship and righteousness and holiness so there's no way that the Pharisees would ever own sheep let alone look for one that is lost and they too would say among themselves that's the job for the sinner and then there's the scribes they wouldn't go look for and look for a lost sheep by them their position was far too important to go and do such a menial task their position as scribes was to read

[16:22] God's holy scriptures publicly they were to explain what God's word meant from their wealth of knowledge it certainly wasn't to go traipsing over the hills and valleys of Israel's landscape looking for one lost sheep and they would also say among themselves that's the job for the sinner and so by this opening illustration everyone in the crowd immediately knows that Jesus is talking about the sinners and even the sinners know that Jesus is talking about them because the sinners can now see themselves in the parable because they're so familiar with the illustration and they would have been the only group out of the four who would have kept sheep the tax collectors were paid by the Roman government the Pharisees and the scribes they were provided for by the free will offerings of the people but for the sinners sheep were their livelihood sheep were their source of income and survival and so sheep were precious to them and they would have done anything for them and had they lost one sheep they wouldn't have hesitated for a moment to leave the 99 in the field and go and search for that one lost sheep and like Jesus says in the parable the sinners would have continued to search for that one lost sheep until they found it and when they found their lost sheep that is so precious to them it would have been the greatest gift and it would bring to them the greatest joy they would have rejoiced that their sheep which was lost has been found again but you know with everyone now everyone in the crowd now engaged in the parable and everyone knowing that Jesus is talking about the sinners here

[18:12] Jesus turns the entire illustration on its head when he says just so I tell you there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous persons who need no repentance and with this Jesus emphasizes that there is joy in salvation and there is rejoicing in heaven when a sinner turns to God and cries for mercy and we have to see that there is a shock factor to what Jesus is saying here because everyone knew that the sinners were unwanted outcasts who were unworthy of salvation everyone knew that but what Jesus is shocking the crowds with is that unworthy and unwanted sinners can experience the joy of salvation and as we said Jesus came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance and so Jesus is saying to this crowd that true lasting joy in salvation doesn't come from religious righteousness or religious observance true joy in salvation comes when we acknowledge that we are an unworthy sinner in God's sight and that we turn to him in repentance and you know

[19:35] Jesus he's addressing the very thing that the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling about because they're grumbling in the crowds and saying that this Jesus he receives sinners and he eats with them and here Jesus affirms to them yes that's true God receives unworthy and unwanted sinners and he eats with them in fact Jesus says that God loves unworthy sinners so much that he searches diligently for them like a shepherd who searches for a lost sheep and he will not stop searching until he finds that one lost sinner and brings him home to be with himself that's the wonder of the salvation he's presenting to them the glory of salvation in Jesus Christ of course the flip side to all of this is that God doesn't receive those who think that they're righteous in God's sight Jesus says heaven will not rejoice over those who think that they're worthy of

[20:41] God's salvation no my friend Jesus says that heaven will only ever rejoice when there is a repentant sinner on their knees seeking the gift of God's salvation and he says the 99 righteous Pharisees and scribes who think that they need no repentance they will never know the joy of salvation and all the time Jesus is asking us where are you in the parable where are you where are you in the parable which one are you are you the repentant sinner who can see that God loves you and has been searching for you and has done everything for you in order to be saved or do you still see yourself as the righteous person who needs no repentance my friend Jesus is asking you tonight where are you in the parable where are you and so as we consider the crowds who are listening to Jesus preaching we can see that there's this contrast emerging between the right the self righteous and the sinner but as we continue to listen to this well-known parable there seems to be an apparent contradiction so there's the third point the crowds the contrast and the contradiction the contradiction if you look at verse eight

[22:04] Jesus says or what woman having ten silver coins if she loses one coin does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it and Jesus begins his second illustration of the lost coin with a similar question as before because as we saw earlier Jesus began his parable with the question which man of you or which one of you and in the first illustration of the lost sheep the crowd knew that Jesus was talking about the sinner and now in a similar way Jesus continues the parable by asking what woman and with that Jesus again he's asking which one of you which one of you where are you in the parable which one of you tax collectors sinners scribes and Pharisees which one of you if you had ten silver coins and you lost one which one of you would light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until you find it which one of you would do that and on hearing

[23:13] Jesus' second question everyone in the crowd knows that Jesus is talking about the tax collectors the sinners they would never sweep the house to look for money because they never had any their currency was animals and food the scribes they wouldn't need money because they had everything paid for them they worked for the church and their business was religion not money and the Pharisees they wouldn't dare to be found in possession of a coin because all the coins in Israel they bore the inscription of the Roman Caesar and as far as the Pharisees were concerned Rome was an enemy of the Jews as soon as Jesus uses the illustration of someone searching for a lost coin everyone knew that he's talking about the tax collectors and even the tax collectors knew that Jesus was talking about them and like it was for the sinners the tax collectors can see themselves in the parable and they listen intently to what

[24:19] Jesus is saying because they're familiar with what he's saying they're familiar with coins and counting money and accounting because they're tax collectors and they would have been the only group out of the four who would have dealt with money the sinners didn't have money the scribes didn't need money the Pharisees didn't want money but for the tax collectors counting money finding and collecting money that was their job that was their occupation and there's no doubt that we all grudge paying tax because it takes so much of our wage away from us but you know in ancient Israel the tax collectors they were hated by the Jews they were notorious for being dishonest and corrupt they would increase their taxes in order to pocket a higher percentage of the money but tax collectors they were also hated because they worked for the Roman government and at that time Israel it was under the rule of the Roman

[25:20] Empire and they were required to pay taxes to Caesar but what really got under the noses of the Jewish people was that all the tax collectors were Jews they were Jewish people and because they were imposing laws upon their own people and gaining from it and pocketing all this excess cash they were viewed by their fellow countrymen and women as traitors and they were hated by their own people especially the scribes and the Pharisees but you know it's interesting that in his illustration Jesus describes the person who lost a coin as a woman and the reason he does that is significant because in ancient Israel women didn't have much of a place in society they weren't to talk to men they weren't to sit and eat with men they were to be covered up in the mind of the Jews especially the scribes and the Pharisees women were only good for keeping the home and bearing children and you could say that women were on the lowest rung of the social ladder but in the minds of the scribes and

[26:33] Pharisees the tax collectors were even lower they were right down there they were below the bottom rung of society's ladder they were worse than the sinners and worse than women tax collectors were outsiders and they were scum and because of the religious righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees they made the sinners believe that they were unworthy of salvation and they made the tax collectors believe that they were going to hell and that there was nothing they could do about it but you know this is the very reason Jesus told the parable this is why Jesus tells this wonderful parable because with everyone in the crowd now engaged in the parable and Jesus talking and knowing that he's now talking about the sinners and the tax collectors Jesus again he turns the entire illustration on its head and he says in verse 10 just so I tell you there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents and again there's this shock factor to what

[27:40] Jesus is saying because Jesus is telling these unworthy sinners and these hell deserving tax collectors he says there is joy in salvation and there is rejoicing in heaven when a sinner turns to God in repentance and again Jesus he's affirming to us the wonder and glory of the gospel that God loves undeserving unworthy hell deserving sinners he loves them so much and he searches diligently for them and he will not stop searching until he finds that lost sinner and brings him home to be with himself and no doubt the scribes and the Pharisees thought this was a complete contradiction and that it was impossible for sinners and tax collectors to be saved but this is the wonder of what Jesus is saying to us this is the wonder of it we have to listen to what Jesus is saying that God loves unworthy and hell deserving sinners so much that he searches diligently for them but we have to understand as well

[28:51] God will not receive those who think that they are righteous in his sight God will not receive those who base their salvation upon their bible knowledge their law keeping their works of righteousness their church attendance whatever it is no Jesus says heaven will only rejoice when there is a repentant sinner on their knees asking for God's gift of salvation and you know my friend all the time Jesus is asking us where are you in the parable where are you in the parable which one are you are you the repentant sinner who can see that God loves you and has been searching for you and has done everything for you in order for you to be saved or do you still see yourself as the righteous person who refuses to bend the knee and seek God's forgiveness my friend

[29:52] Jesus is asking you where are you in the parable where are you tonight where are you and so as we consider the crowds who are listening to Jesus preaching there's the contrast we've seen the contrast emerging between the self-righteous and the sinner and the self-righteous scribes and Pharisees they claim that the offer of salvation it's just a contradiction God doesn't love sinners he doesn't love he doesn't love tax collectors they think it's a contradiction but that's Jesus says this is the truth then in the last section Jesus sets before the crowd this challenge the challenge as to which son they are really like so we've got the crowds the contrast the contradiction and lastly the challenge the challenge look at verse 11 and Jesus said there was a man who had two sons and the younger of them said to his father father give me the share of property that is coming to me and he divided his property between them not many days later the younger son gathered all that he had and took a journey into a far country and there he squandered his property and reckless living and when he had spent everything a severe famine arose in that country and he began to be in need and although this illustration it doesn't begin like the other two illustrations with the question which man of you or which one of you

[31:24] I believe that it should be implied and I believe that Jesus he's again asking where are you in the parable which one are you which one of you tax collectors sinners Pharisees and scribes which brother are you are you the younger brother or are you the elder brother which brother are you and what's remarkable is that because Jesus has already highlighted the scribes the sinners and the tax collectors he's already highlighted them using the two illustrations they can immediately relate to the younger brother because they can see the younger brother he lost his way he went away from the father and asked for the share of the inheritance and because of his greed he had this desire to spend all that he had the desire for money had taken over his life so much so that he wished the father dead so that he could increase his wealth and with that the tax collectors could certainly relate to the younger brother and his unhealthy desire for wealth but you know so too could the sinners because the sinners were those who didn't take the laws of God seriously they didn't take them as seriously as the scribes and the pharisees and to ask your father for his inheritance while he was still living that was a disgrace and then to go and squander that inheritance on prodigal living that was even more of a disgrace but then to lose everything and end up in a pig's die desiring the ponds that the pigs are eating and they're unclean animals remember unclean for the

[33:07] Jews he says that is going beyond salvation that's how the sinners and tax collectors viewed themselves they thought that they were beyond salvation they viewed themselves like the prodigal son as those who were beyond redemption beyond salvation and unlovable they viewed themselves as unworthy to be saved but that's only because they were told again and again by the scribes and pharisees that they were unworthy sinners and hell deserving tax collectors they were always told that they were too sinful to be forgiven and that God doesn't love them but the beauty and the wonder of this parable is that when the prodigal son came to see himself when he came to the end of himself it says he turned back to his father's house and confessed his sin he turned back that's what repentance means it means to turn back it means to turn away from your sin and your sinful lifestyle and to turn to the

[34:19] Lord seeking forgiveness and that's what we see in verse 17 when he came to himself he said how many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread but I perish here with hunger I will arise and go to my father and I will say to him father I have sinned against heaven and before you I'm no longer worthy to be called your servant treat me as one of your hired servants so when the prodigal came to the end of himself he realised that he was no longer worthy to be called a son he saw himself as unworthy as hell deserving he saw how sinful and unworthy he was of the father's forgiveness and love and yet when he repented of his sins when he turned back to his father's house he was met with rejoicing this is the wonder of it he was met with rejoicing and you know

[35:20] Jesus gives assurance to the repentant sinner he says to them you will not be met with rejection but rejoicing you will not be met with rejection but rejoicing that's what it says in verse 20 he arose and came to his father but while he was still a long way off his father saw him and felt compassion and ran which is unheard of in Jewish men to run and he embraced him and kissed him and the son said to him father I've sinned against heaven and before you I'm no longer worthy to be called your son but the father said to his sons notice how he didn't even answer him father said to his servants bring quickly the best robe and put it on him and put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet and bring the fattened calf and kill it and let us celebrate eat and celebrate for this my son was dead and is alive again he was lost and is found and they began to celebrate the beauty of this chapter that when the repentant prodigal when he returned to his father he wasn't met with rejection but restoration and rejoicing and what

[36:31] Jesus is saying to us tonight is that God loves lost hell deserving sinners and he moves with compassion towards us and he's seeking us and he wants us to come and embrace Jesus Christ because this Jesus he receives sinners and he has a love for sinners and he has a place for sinners in his heart and he came into this broken and lost world not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance but you know as Jesus tells this wonderful parable that there is joy and salvation that there's rejoicing in heaven when a sinner turns in repentance to God you know you can almost hear the scribes and the Pharisees asking one another they've heard about the tax collectors they've heard about the sinners being described and maybe they're asking well where are we in this parable we can see the sinners we can see the tax collectors where are we in the parable which one are we and you know wouldn't it be ironic that the scribes and the

[37:42] Pharisees can't see themselves in the parable because they can't see themselves at all and they can't see that their self righteousness is keeping them from Jesus but before they can ask where are we in the parable the elder brother finally appears says in verse 25 now his older son was in the field and as he came and drew near to the house he heard music and dancing there was rejoicing in the father's house over the prodigal who had repented but notice the reaction of the elder brother in verse 28 because he says he was angry and he refused to go into the father's house and celebrate he grumbled against his brother because he thinks that he deserves his father's inheritance but in his self-righteousness it's his self-righteousness it's preventing him from seeing the beauty of his inheritance and it only causes him to see his sinful brother as unworthy of the father's love and all the blessings of the father's house but Jesus emphasizes the point that the older brother was a foolish son and he was more foolish than a sinful younger brother because he refused to believe that his inheritance was a gift he thought that he could earn his inheritance much like the scribes and the pharisees thought that they could earn their salvation and like the elder brother they thought that God would accept them on their good merits but as Jesus has stressed throughout the parable we need to see that we're lost sinners in order to see the wonderful gift of God's salvation and my friend salvation is a gift it's freely given it's freely offered presented to you it's not earned it's not worked for it's not achieved by merit it's freely given freely given it's the greatest gift that God could ever give you and he's more than willing to give it to you more than willing all you have to do is ask all you have to do is ask when I was a ministry student and with this

[40:16] I'll close when I was a ministry student I did a placement in North Tolstair for seven weeks and every Sunday evening after the evening service Roddy John he would go through my sermon having preached that night but he would always say to me Mardo I wonder if someone's soul is bothering them tonight after all that they've heard and now as a minister every Sunday evening I remember those words and wonder if the soul of someone in our congregation is bothering them and some of you know I don't sleep well on a Sunday evening there are a number of reasons why thinking about what I said thinking about how the day went but most of all thinking about those who were under the sound of the gospel and you know I'm just being honest with you

[41:20] I feel I can be and I want to be at the end of a day I find myself pleading with the Lord that there will be as this chapter says rejoicing in heaven over sinners repenting and you know that should be the prayer of every Christian every Sunday evening pleading that there will be rejoicing in heaven over sinners repenting that we would pray for the crowd in Barbas that you my unconverted friends that you would know the joy in salvation and that you would know that there is rejoicing in heaven when you turn to God in repentance so may it be said of you as it was said of this prodigal it was fitting to celebrate and be glad for this your brother was dead and is alive he was lost and is found may the Lord bless these thoughts to us let us pray oh Lord our gracious God we marvel at the wonder of salvation and help us never to lose sight of it help us never to lose sight of its beauty of the love that has been demonstrated to us in Jesus help us

[42:54] Lord we pray to cling ever more to Jesus to cling to him more and more in this world and to keep our eyes fixed upon him bless thy truth to us we pray and we do ask and we do plead that there would be rejoicing in the presence of the angels this evening over sinners turning to thee and crying out for mercy seeking the Lord while he's to be found and calling upon him while he is near bless us each and every one bless us in the week that lies ahead a week that is unknown to us but a week that is known to thee that thou wouldst keep us on the way keep our going out and our coming in from this time forth until we shall meet again if it is in accordance with thine own will do us good and we pray thee for Jesus sake Amen we shall conclude by singing the words of Psalm 118

[43:54] Psalm 118 in the Scottish Psalter page 398 Psalm 118 we're singing from verse 15 down to the verse marked 19 in dwellings of the righteous is heard the melody of joy and health the Lord's right hand doth ever valiantly the right hand of the mighty Lord exalted is on high the right hand of the mighty Lord doth ever valiantly down to the verse marked 19 of Psalm 118 to God's praise rosy In welled of the righteous discern the melody Of joy and health the Lord's right hand

[45:03] Doth ever valiantly The right hand of the mighty Lord Exalted is on high The right hand of the mighty Lord Doth ever valiantly I shall not die but live and shall The works of God discover The Lord hath made chastise this Lord But not to take him over

[46:09] Oh set ye open unto me The gates of righteousness Then will I enter into them And I the Lord will bless 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