My Redeemer Lives!

[0:00] Well if we could, with the Lord's help and the Lord's enabling, if you could turn with me to the book of Job in chapter 19.

[0:16] Job chapter 19, page 514 in the Pew Bible. Job chapter 19 and if we read at verse 23.

[0:41] Oh that my words were written, oh that they were inscribed in a book, oh that with an iron pen and lead they were engraved in the rock forever.

[0:52] For I know that my Redeemer lives and at the last he will stand upon the earth and after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself and my eyes shall behold and not another, my heart faints within me.

[1:13] For I know, as it says in verse 25, for I know that my Redeemer lives. I know that my Redeemer lives.

[1:31] If there was ever a statement that came from one of the lips of the Old Testament saints, and a statement that every Christian can claim and confess for themselves, this is it.

[1:44] This is the declaration of every Christian. And these words, they have been the testimony of every Christian in every century all over the world, in which they have been repeated and they have been claimed for for themselves by all of the Lord's people.

[2:03] I know that my Redeemer lives. But these precious words, as you know, they belong to a man who knew what it was to suffer in life.

[2:16] Job had a hard life. And I'm sure that many of you are familiar with the book of Job and that the book of Job is all about the problem of suffering. And as a book that is, it's part of, as we said, the wisdom literature, it draws our attention to one of the most relevant questions today.

[2:36] The question which everyone was asking, or is asking, why does God allow suffering? Why does a good God allow bad things to happen? Why is there so much suffering in the world we live in today?

[2:51] And these are big questions. And they're hard questions. But they are the questions which many people are asking. Maybe it's the question we're all asking tonight. And although they are relevant questions, the book of Job wants to remind us that that's not the question which we should be asking.

[3:09] Because even Job asked the question, why? But the question which we are confronted with in the book of Job is not, why does God allow suffering? Because no one can answer that question.

[3:22] The answer to that question and that situation, as hard and as trying as it may be, the answer to the question belongs to God and to God alone.

[3:32] No matter how painful it is, we have to leave it there. We have to leave it with the Lord. There are things in this life that we will never know the answer to. And there are things in our experience that we will never understand.

[3:45] Why? These things belong to the Lord. His ways are not our ways. But what the book of Job reminds us and draws our attention to is the question, where do I go when I'm suffering?

[4:01] Who do I turn to when my whole world falls down around me? What do I do when life takes an unexpected turn? And how do I cope with the lot that has fallen to me?

[4:16] And these are deep questions. But if the book of Job is trying to teach us anything, it's teaching us how to respond to suffering in our lives. Because I'm sure that many of us have experienced suffering, or some of us are experiencing suffering at this present moment.

[4:36] And I'm sure that what we read in Job chapter 1 and 2, you could see yourself somewhere in the life and experience of Job. Maybe not to his extent. Where you can see your own experiences of suffering in his suffering.

[4:50] And you know, the longer I go on as a Christian and meet many of the Lord's people and hear about their experiences and all the providences in their lives, all I see is people who are hurting.

[5:04] People who are battered. People who are bruised. People who are broken. People who are even tired of the journey. Where life is hard.

[5:16] Their providence is a struggle. Their experience has been difficult. But what we find here, right in the midst of this man's most difficult providence, is this ringing affirmation of confidence in the Lord.

[5:31] Because in the midst of adversity, Job presents to us our greatest hope and our greatest assurance as a child of God. That God is not apart from our suffering because he is in the midst of our suffering.

[5:45] And the message that Job has is not hope instead of sorrow. It's hope in the midst of sorrow. And Job comes to us on the pages of Scripture and he gives to us the greatest assurance of God's faithfulness because he says to us, for I know that my Redeemer lives.

[6:06] I know that my Redeemer lives. And this evening, by considering this short passage that we read, verses 23 to 27, I'd like us to see three personal statements from the lips of this man of sorrows.

[6:23] There are three personal statements, three my's. My words, my Redeemer, my eyes. My words, my Redeemer, my eyes.

[6:35] So if we look firstly, the first personal statement. Where he says, my words. Look at verse 23. He says, And in these verses, Job describes this fourfold desire that he had for his words to be written down.

[7:03] He wants his words written down. He wants them inscribed in a book. He wants them engraved in a rock. And he wants them written with an iron pen.

[7:14] He wants his words to last forever. But it's not out of pride that he has this desire for his words to be recorded and written down and engraved and then read by everyone.

[7:26] It's not because of pride. No, it's so that his experience and what he went through in his life, that it will be passed on from generation to generation.

[7:37] He wants his words to be permanently written. He doesn't want them to be forgotten. And that long after he has gone and long after he has left the scene of time and left this world, as he says himself, long after his flesh has been destroyed, he wants his words to keep on speaking to those in a different day and in a different generation and those who are going through similar experiences.

[8:05] He wants the testimony of his life and his experience to be remembered. Job's desire is that what he is about to say will be put down in writing.

[8:19] And my friend, when we come to this book, all his words are written. And how precious it is that God gave Job the desire of his heart.

[8:31] He wanted all this written and engraved in a book and written with an iron pen and lead and engraved in the rock forever. And yet, that's what we see.

[8:42] It's all there. His words have been written. They have been inscribed. They have been engraved. And they have been engraved in the book of books.

[8:53] The word of God. And we are the beneficiaries of it. Because these words, they are still speaking to us tonight and still calling us to trust in the Lord with all our heart and to lean not upon our own understanding.

[9:07] And all the words of Job, they've been recorded for us and they're written down for us so that we will be encouraged to know that God is still in control in the midst of suffering.

[9:20] And there are so many memorable statements from the book of Job that give us encouragement in times of suffering. Not only this one. For I know that my Redeemer lives.

[9:31] There's also the words of chapter 13 at verse 15. Though he slay me, yet will I praise him. Or the words of chapter 3 verse 10.

[9:43] He knows the way that I take. When he has tried me, I shall come forth as gold. Or even the confession of Job at the end of the book. After all that he's gone through, he says, I know that you can do all things.

[9:56] And that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. My friend, the words of Job have been written and inscribed and engraved in the book of books.

[10:06] And they're still speaking to us. And they're still calling us to trust the Lord of providence. Trust the Lord of providence.

[10:19] Because as we read the record of this man's life, we read the word of providence. That was the providence that we read of Job's life in the opening chapters of the book.

[10:33] And we were the onlookers into the life of one who had this personal struggle with what God had given to. And Job, he's introduced to us as this man who was blameless and upright.

[10:46] One who feared God and he shunned evil. It's not that he was sinless, but he was a righteous man. He loved the Lord and he loved to serve the Lord. And Job is described to us in these written words as a man who had a large family.

[11:03] He was a family man. Seven sons, three daughters. He was a wealthy businessman. He had thousands of animals. He had sheep. He had camels. He had oxen. He had donkeys.

[11:14] Which meant that he also had a lot of land. He also had servants. People who worked for him. He had this large workforce. He had everything that life could give him. All the temporal blessings of life.

[11:27] A large family. Prosperous business. Many people who worked for him. And the testimony of this man is that it was all going so well. And then it happened.

[11:41] Then it happened. In a matter of moments there was this onslaught of disaster. One trial after another. One heartbreak after another. One darkness after another.

[11:52] In which his business was destroyed by theft and by fire. Then the hardest providence of it all. Job lost all his children in a moment. Everything was stripped from him.

[12:03] He was left with nothing. Bereft of everything. And yet he still wanted all this recorded for us. We would want to keep all that to ourselves.

[12:17] Job wants us to know it all. He wants us to know the mountain tops. As well as the valleys. But in all this we're told that Job did not sin or blame God.

[12:30] His response was one of the most profound statements in scripture. Naked I came from my mother's womb.

[12:41] Naked I shall return thither. The Lord gave. The Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. But that wasn't the end for Job.

[12:55] His trials hadn't finished. Because he was then struck with a severe illness. He was covered with painful boils. From the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. Where he sat and he scraped all his boils.

[13:06] With a piece of pottery. And then to top it all. His wife turns on him. His closest companion in life. Turns against him. They'd lost all their children. Their family was falling apart.

[13:18] They'd been struck at every turn. And then Job's wife says. Curse God and die. And yet. And yet. We're told that in all this Job did not sin with his lips.

[13:31] Or blame God. And then we see that Job had three friends. They sat with Job to comfort him. But when you read through the book of Job.

[13:43] These three friends. They said it best. When they said nothing at all. They sat with Job in silence for a week. But when they finally opened their mouth.

[13:55] It wasn't words of comfort or consolation. It was words of condemnation. They began to debate with Job about the cause of his suffering. And like many of us.

[14:07] Instead of sitting in silence. And just listening. They said too much. And Job's friends in all their conversations throughout the book. They're speaking back and forth.

[14:18] Back and forth. Where everyone is speaking. And everyone is giving their opinion on Job. And they all have their own ideas. As to the root cause of his suffering. But their theology was all wrong.

[14:31] They had a wrong view of God. They thought that Job was suffering because he had sinned. They thought that Job must have this hidden sin in his life.

[14:43] That's why he's getting this punishment. And you know Job's friends. They were just. They're acting like the disciples. In Jesus' day. You remember the occasion in John chapter 9.

[14:55] Where Jesus encountered that man who was born blind. A wonderful chapter. And you remember the questions that the disciples asked Jesus. Who sinned?

[15:06] Who sinned here? Was it this man? Or was it his parents that he was born blind? And do you remember what Jesus said to these confused disciples? He said neither have this man sinned nor his parents.

[15:21] But that the works of God should be made manifest in him. It wasn't anyone's fault that the man was born blind. It wasn't because of his personal sin. Yes it was a result of sin.

[15:32] But not his personal sin. And the providence of God in that man's life. It was for one purpose. One purpose. It was for people to see the glory and the beauty of Jesus Christ.

[15:46] That the works of God would be revealed through Jesus. And my friend the providence in the experience of Job. Was that God would be revealed.

[15:58] That God would be seen. That God would be made known. That's why Job experienced this dark providence. In which everything in his life changed.

[16:09] In only 32 verses. 32 verses. Everything went wrong. In 32 verses. And the point that the book is trying to get across to us.

[16:21] Is that life can change so quickly. And so unexpectedly. Where there are things in life that aren't planned.

[16:32] And like Job he never saw it coming. And in 32 verses it all changed. Everything changed. In 32 verses Job lost his family. In 32 verses his wealth and his business was all destroyed.

[16:45] In 32 verses his health deteriorated. In 32 verses maybe you could say his marriage broke down. In 32 verses Job's entire life fell apart.

[16:58] And he spends the next 40 chapters trying to understand why. And isn't Job's life so telling of many of the experiences that we go through.

[17:11] Where there is pain of death. Loss of work or illness. Or marriage breakups. Marriage breakdowns. Or so many sorrows that go on behind closed doors.

[17:24] And here we are looking at this Old Testament book. And we're confronted by the realities of life. And maybe for you my friend. It was 32 verses in the story of your life.

[17:36] That changed everything. It was in 32 verses your world came crashing down around you. It was 32 verses of bad news that you weren't prepared for.

[17:48] And it happened so quickly. It came so suddenly. So unexpectedly. That you weren't prepared for it. And maybe like this man Job. You have to spend the next 40 chapters.

[18:01] The next 40 years. Trying to understand why. And in all your pains and suffering that you maybe carry about in your heart daily.

[18:12] Things that weigh you down. Things that burden you. And maybe you ask like Job. Does God really care about me and my situation? Is he interested in me at all?

[18:23] Is God there? And yet. What we see in this man's situation is that Job. Points us away from himself. He points us away from his suffering.

[18:34] To someone else. To someone who was still there. To someone who did care about him. And to someone who was still interested in his situation.

[18:49] And he points us away from himself. To the only one who could give him hope in the midst of suffering. After all that Job has been through.

[19:00] After all that Job has seen. He wants what he's about to say. He wants it written down. Inscribed in a book. Engraved on a rock.

[19:11] Written with an iron pen. And he wants these words to last forever. So that they will be a testimony to everyone else who suffers in life. My friend.

[19:22] Job's faith may have been tested by his providence. But his faith was strengthened when he proclaimed those precious words. I know that my Redeemer lives.

[19:36] Is there greater hope for this world which is full of sorrow? Is there a greater statement of faith in the midst of trial?

[19:47] Is there a more beautiful declaration for the Christian? I know that my Redeemer lives. And so we've considered the first personal statement.

[20:00] My words. My words. But we see in the second personal statement that Job's faith is based upon the one he calls. My Redeemer.

[20:12] So we look secondly at my Redeemer. He says in verse 25. For I know that my Redeemer lives. And at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed.

[20:25] Yet in my flesh. I shall see God. Whom I shall see for myself. And my eye shall behold. And not another. My heart faints within me.

[20:37] Job's faith was tested by his providence. But it led him to make one of the greatest confessions of faith. In scripture. In which Job asserts that. God was his Redeemer.

[20:50] And in the Old Testament understanding of a Redeemer. A Redeemer was someone. Who was. He was someone's nearest relative. Whether it was an uncle or a cousin.

[21:02] And as a Redeemer. They were obliged when a family member had lost all that they had. It was the Redeemer's obligation to buy back the family property.

[21:14] The family inheritance. And retain it as part of the family inheritance. And what we see is that in the Old Testament. Redemption was all about the family name.

[21:26] All about the family name. It was the Redeemer's responsibility to pay the necessary ransom price. To save the other family members from being sold into slavery.

[21:37] And with everyone giving their opinion on Job. His wife had told him to curse God and die. And his friends had pretty much disowned him completely. They had written him off as someone who had defied God.

[21:50] And they believed that whatever he had done. He deserved it. And at this point Job sees himself as one who is dying. That's the language he's using here. He's lost everything.

[22:02] He feels that his life is slowly ebbing away. Everyone has turned against him. They're speaking ill of him. And he feels that he has nowhere to turn. No one to listen. No one who will listen to him.

[22:12] No one to plead his cause. He has no earthly help. You can almost hear him through the words of Psalm 69 that we were singing earlier on.

[22:26] A psalm as we said which is about the true man of solace. Jesus Christ. And yet you can hear them. You can hear Job echoing these words. Reproach hath broke my heart.

[22:39] I'm full of grief. I looked for one to pity me. But none I found. Comforters found I none. But what we see here is that Job's hope was not an ordinary man.

[22:53] It was an extraordinary God. And he has confidence that he is a redeemer. He is a relative. A near kinsman. An elder brother in fact.

[23:04] And Job is sure that he is a divine kinsman who will be his redeemer. And that this redeemer will plead his cause.

[23:17] He will speak a word in his favour. This redeemer will pay his ransom. And present a legal case that will gain God's hearing.

[23:29] And that this redeemer he will protect the family name. Protect his family name. He will look after those who are his. And Job's longing is that his redeemer will take care of him.

[23:42] But what we see in this confession of his faith is that Job is without doubt. No doubting. He is absolutely convinced and convicted. That the one who is standing on his side.

[23:55] Standing on his behalf. Upholding his cause. And praying for him continually. Is a redeemer who lives. He's a redeemer who lives.

[24:07] He says I know. I know that my redeemer lives. And this wasn't just a mental exercise. In which Job had to think positively.

[24:17] In order to try and get through the trials of life. Many secular counsellors will tell you that you need to think positively. You need to think happy thoughts. You need to stay positive. Stay focused on things to get you through it all.

[24:31] And then it'll be okay. But my friend Job's confession was one of deep, intimate, personal faith. And it was in his redeemer. My redeemer.

[24:43] I know. I know that my redeemer lives. He was certain. He was convinced that his redeemer is living. And it's not that he will live.

[24:55] It's that he lives now. He lives now. And that's what the writer to the Hebrews tells us. About this redeemer.

[25:06] Jesus Christ. He says this man. He continues forever. And he has an unchangeable priesthood. And he's able to save to the uttermost.

[25:21] All that come to God by him. And this is what he says. Seeing. This is why he's able to do it. Seeing that he ever lives to make intercession for us.

[25:33] He ever lives. He ever lives. I know that my redeemer lives. My friend. These are beautiful words. And these words are the words which are at the heart of our gospel.

[25:48] They're the words which should be upon the lips of every one of the Lord's people. They should be upon your lips and at my lips. Because the greatest news in all the world today is that this redeemer lives.

[26:01] This redeemer lives. And he ever lives. And this is the reason for our gathering here tonight. We don't just gather like this for no reason.

[26:13] We gather because this is the Lord's house. This is the Lord's day. We gather to worship a redeemer who lives. This is why we come around the word of God.

[26:23] And consider what this living word is saying to us. Because this redeemer lives. This is why we come to God with all our burdens. With all our sorrows. With all our tears.

[26:35] With all our heartache. Because this redeemer ever lives to make intercession for us. He hears every single cry. Sigh. Moan. Groan. He hears it all.

[26:45] Because he lives. My friend. This redeemer lives. Death couldn't hold him. The grave couldn't keep him. He is not here.

[26:58] For he is risen. He ever lives. And you know. I have to ask. Do you know that this redeemer lives?

[27:11] Do you know that he lives? Are you trusting in the redeemer who lives? Are you praying to the redeemer who lives? Are you confessing to the redeemer who lives?

[27:23] Are you pouring out your heart to the redeemer who lives? Do you walk every day praying to this redeemer who lives? Confessing, I know that my redeemer lives.

[27:34] do you know him for yourself? Because he's a redeemer who has redeemed his people, not with corruptible things such as silver and gold, but with his precious, precious blood.

[27:51] Through his death, through his resurrection, we have the greatest comfort in life and we have an even greater assurance in death. Because what this Old Testament saint wants us to remind us of is that for the Lord's people, there is life after death.

[28:11] There's life after death because he says, I know that my redeemer lives and at the last he will stand upon the earth. At the last, at the latter day, when time shall be no more, he's saying, our redeemer shall stand as king upon the earth.

[28:29] Job is looking forward to that great resurrection day because that's the great hope for the people of God, that there will be a day when all of this will come to an end and this redeemer will stand upon the earth.

[28:45] He'll come in the clouds with the glory of his angels and he will stand upon the earth. He'll literally stand upon the dust, the dust which man was made from and the dust to which man has to return.

[29:00] That's the curse. Now from dust we came, to dust we shall return. But Job is saying, long after he has gone, long after he has been put in the grave, long after he has returned to the dust, he says, after my skin has thus been destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God.

[29:19] I shall see God. And with this, the image which Job is presenting to us is the image of that great resurrection morning when the trumpet will sound and time shall be no more.

[29:36] Job is speaking about the last day, at the last he says, the last day, the day of judgment. But here Job isn't viewing the day of judgment in a negative way.

[29:51] He's not thinking about God's wrath or condemning sinners to hell. The day of judgment for the Christian, it's a day of vindication. It's a day of freedom.

[30:04] It's a day of rejoicing. At the last day, there will be no more suffering on that day. At the last day, all of the Lord's people will be free from sin and heartache and sorrow.

[30:18] At the last day, the Bible reminds us that God will wipe away every tear from our eyes. At the last day, death shall be no more. At the last day, there shall be no more mourning.

[30:28] At the last day, there'll be no more crying. At the last day, there'll be no more pain. Because at the last day, the former things will have passed away. And the one who is seated on the throne will say, Behold, I am making all things new.

[30:49] My friend, Job is throwing our attention to the last day for our encouragement to keep going. To keep on going. Because the last day will be a great day.

[31:05] Is that what Paul said to the Thessalonians in his letter? He spoke about the day of judgment. And he said, The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, with the trumpet of God.

[31:21] The dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so shall we ever be with the Lord.

[31:32] And it's in that Paul gives that little word of encouragement and instruction right at the end of, I think it's chapter 4, he says, Comfort one another with these words.

[31:45] Comfort one another with these words. And my friend, this is the greatest comfort in life and in death. Death is not the end.

[31:57] There will be a resurrection morning. which means that death is not the end. It's not, doesn't have the final say. Because we have a Redeemer.

[32:09] A Redeemer who lives. A Redeemer who lives. And at the latter day, this Redeemer, he will stand upon the earth, upon the dust. And he will call every grave to be opened.

[32:28] And you know, I believe he'll call us all by name. Every single one that is his. Call them all out. Just like it was for Lazarus.

[32:42] Lazarus, come forth. And you know, I love the shorter catechism. We're trying to go through it.

[32:54] And the more I go through it, the more I want to know it. The more I want to learn it and remember it better. But in particular, I'm always amazed with questions 37 and 38.

[33:09] Probably the two most beautiful catechisms that we have. What benefits do believers receive from Christ at death? It gives the beautiful answer.

[33:19] The souls of believers are at their death made perfect in holiness and do immediately pass into glory and their bodies still being united in union with Christ.

[33:33] They do rest in their graves until the resurrection. Then question 38, it goes on to ask, what benefits do believers receive from Christ at the resurrection?

[33:43] And again, the catechism, it gives this beautiful answer. At the resurrection, believers being raised up in glory shall be openly acknowledged and acquitted on the day of judgment, made perfectly blessed in the full enjoying of God to all eternity.

[34:03] My friend, the death and resurrection of this Redeemer Jesus Christ, it's all about the benefits of glorifying and enjoying him forever.

[34:16] This Redeemer Jesus Christ, he is our benefactor and these are all the benefits. Our justification, our adoption, our sanctification, our redemption, our union with Christ, our resurrection, our glorification and we are the beneficiaries.

[34:38] He's the benefactor, these are the benefits, we are the beneficiaries. We receive all these benefits from our Redeemer according to his abundant grace. That's what Paul said, we have received every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ.

[34:57] And you know, looking at all this, why would anybody not want to be a Christian? Why would anyone want to go through this life on their own, in their own strength?

[35:15] Why would anyone want to stay away from Jesus if he is the Redeemer who lives? Why do you want to stay away from Jesus if you know that he's the Redeemer who lives?

[35:33] So we've considered these personal statements of Job. My words, my Redeemer, and lastly, Job says, my eyes. My eyes. I know that my Redeemer lives and at the last he will stand upon the earth and after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God whom I shall see for myself and my eyes shall behold and not another.

[35:57] My heart faints within me. my eyes shall behold and not another. The hope and confidence which Job had was that he would see his Redeemer face to face.

[36:14] He would see the one who was with him when life was going so well and he would see the one who was still with him when his family were taken away from him.

[36:25] He would see and stand face to face with the one who was still with him when his business was destroyed. He would see the one who was still with him even when you could say his marriage fell apart. He was still with him when his health deteriorated.

[36:39] Still with him all the way through life and he would see this Redeemer face to face and here Job he contemplates the day when his own eyes will see his Redeemer and this thought it just it overwhelms him because he longs to see no one else.

[36:59] No other will satisfy him. No other person will cause him so much joy. No other will give him such hope and confidence and his heart it's overwhelmed and it's overflowing at the thought of seeing his Redeemer face to face.

[37:16] Job he's lost in his love for Jesus. He's lost in his love for Jesus. Maybe he longed to say with Solomon my beloved is mine and I am his.

[37:33] And this should be the testimony of every believer. This should be our longing. This should be our unwavering hope. This should be our utmost desire in life to see none other save Jesus only because he is our Redeemer.

[37:48] redeemed us from death the grave hell sin and you know that's what the psalmist was talking about in Psalm 17 we'll sing the psalm shortly but in that psalm the psalmist it's just like Job he's struggling with the providence that God has given to him but as he closes the psalm he does so with the words of his greatest hope and his greatest longing he says but as for me I thine own face in righteousness will see and with thy likeness when I wake I satisfied shall be.

[38:36] My friend our greatest hope today in Jesus Christ our hope is in this Redeemer who lives and because there is hope in Christ it means that death is not the end it means that although this life is filled with so much pain and so much suffering so much heartache there is still nothing absolutely nothing that is able to separate us from our Redeemer that's what Paul said I am persuaded that neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor power neither height nor depth nor any other creature is able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord my friend nothing shall separate us from the Redeemer who lives we're not holding him he's holding us kept by the power of

[39:42] God through faith unto salvation nothing shall separate us from the Redeemer who lives and there was an old hymn written in the 1960s by Bill and Gloria Gaither it's on the intimations they explained that they wrote this hymn when their youngest son was born because they were assured that whatever their little boy was to face in life whatever would come his way he could get through it because the Saviour lives and I'm sure you're familiar with the chorus because he lives I can face tomorrow because he lives all fear is gone because I know he holds the future life is worth the living just because he lives life is worth the living just because he lives and you know that's Job's message to us tonight they are the words he wanted every generation to hear and to believe that in the midst of all the pain and the heartache of life

[40:51] Job had learned that life is worth living because our Redeemer lives our Redeemer lives and my friend how do we keep going when life is hard how how can we face tomorrow with all its uncertainty how can we go through another day of illness or pain or sorrow or heartache the only way is because you believe in your heart and you confess with your mouth this great confession of your faith I know that my Redeemer lives but for you unconverted uncommitted however you want to describe yourself if you don't know this Redeemer my only advice is get to know get to know

[41:52] I cannot tell you how much he is worth knowing so get to know so that you too will confess with all of the Lord's people I know that my Redeemer lives may the Lord bless these thoughts to us let us pray O Lord our gracious God we bless and praise thee tonight that we deal with a God who is living that we do not worship one who is dead but one who ever lives one who rules and who overrules one who reigns and who is sovereign in every aspect of our lives we bless thee O Lord that even the psalmist reminds us that even in our darkness our darkness is as light unto thee help us Lord we pray to trust thee with all our heart to lean not upon our own understanding but in all our ways to acknowledge thee for thou art the one who shall direct our path keep us on the road

[43:04] Lord keep us on the journey the journey that leads to life help us Lord we pray to seek that better part to look towards the better country to set our affection on things above where Christ is seated bless us Lord in the week that lies ahead a week as we are often reminded is unknown to us but a week that in every sense of the word it is known to thee and everything is in thine hand O Lord help us then to cast everything even ourselves into the hands of the God who knows us the God who sustains us and the God who keeps us do us good we pray for we ask it in Jesus name and for his sake Amen We shall conclude by singing in that psalm in Psalm 17 Psalm 17 in the

[44:05] Scottish Psalter page 217 So we're going to sing verses 5 to 9 and then the last verse verse 15 Psalm 17 verses 5 to 9 and then the last verse Hold up my goings Lord may guide in those thy paths divine so that my footsteps may not slide out of those ways of thine I call it have on thee O God because thou wilt me hear that thou mayst hearken to my speech and to me incline thine ear verses 5 to 9 and then verse 15 of Psalm 17 to God's praise God's God's Lord of my goings Lord may guide and those thy paths divine so that my footsteps may not side out of those ways of thine

[45:27] I call it hour on thee O God because thou wilt be here but thou mayst harken to my speech to me it like thine ear thy wondrous loving kindness show thou thou hath thy right hand sits them that trust in thee from those that up against them stand asppa love the ivy king hep thy wind shake me close from loering so he hark harks s he round us deadly foes.

[47:10] But as for me, I thine own face, and righteousness will see.

[47:27] And with thy likeness when I wake, I satisfied shall be.

[47:45] 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.