Bathsheba - Helpful to the King (2)

[0:00] Well if we could, this evening with the Lord's help and the Lord's guidance, if we could turn back to that portion of scripture that we read, the first book of Kings, chapter 1, and if we read again at verse 28.

[0:16] 1 Kings chapter 1 and verse 28. Then King David answered, Call Bathsheba to me. So she came into the king's presence and stood before the king. And the king swore, saying, As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my soul out of every adversity, as I swore to you by the Lord, the God of Israel, saying, Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my place. Even so will I do this day.

[0:49] Last week we began looking at our, believe it or not, it's our 13th daughter of the king. But we never managed to finish the story about this woman who was helpful to the king, this woman Bathsheba.

[1:05] Because we were looking last week at some of the lessons which we can learn from the life of Bathsheba. And the first lesson we learned from Bathsheba was the lesson to take heed. To take heed.

[1:20] As you know, Bathsheba, she first appears before us on the stage of history, not in the most promising of circumstances. Where Bathsheba's late afternoon bath on the rooftop, it suddenly spirals out of control and it completely changes everything in her life.

[1:39] And through the life of Bathsheba we learned that one moment of madness can change our life forever. Therefore we must take heed lest we fall.

[1:50] Because for Bathsheba and David, their act of adultery had led to Bathsheba falling pregnant, resulting in a massive cover-up operation. And of course when lies and deceit are at the heart of our actions, people are bound to get hurt.

[2:07] But it was not only Uriah the Hittite who was the first to fall victim to Bathsheba and David's carelessness when he was murdered by being sent into the heat of battle.

[2:19] We also saw that the innocent child which was born out of Bathsheba and David's adultery, it fell victim to their actions. Because as a consequence of their sin, the Lord was displeased and after seven days the child died.

[2:35] And as we saw last week, 2 Samuel 12, it makes for difficult reading. And it probably leaves us with more questions than answers.

[2:47] But it does teach us that our actions always have consequences. And with sin there is always this knock-on effect of hurt, whether towards other people or personally.

[2:59] But through the life of Bathsheba, we are not only taught to take heed and also taught to take heart.

[3:11] Because with the devastating news of losing their son, there seemed to be no way of blessing for David and Bathsheba.

[3:22] And yet, despite all that happened, despite the lust, the lies, the adultery, the murder, the denial, the death of their son, the Lord reminded them that his plans and purposes are far greater than our mess and mistakes.

[3:38] Because we are told in 2 Samuel 12, David comforted Bathsheba his wife and went into her and lay with her. So she bore a son and he called his name Solomon.

[3:51] And the Lord loved him. And the Lord loved him. And that little detail of the Lord's love for Solomon was the assurance and the promise that the Lord's covenant with David still stood.

[4:05] That covenant which assured David and all his descendants after him who would come from the household of David, it assured them that through them the Messiah would come.

[4:17] A Messiah who would establish his kingdom and his throne forever. And through Bathsheba, we are enabled to see that the Lord's love for Solomon was not only a promise to David, but it was also a promise to the whole world.

[4:34] That salvation will come through a greater than Solomon, Jesus Christ. Therefore the Lord says to us, take heart. Take heart.

[4:45] Or I suppose as Jeremiah later put it, he said, For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you a hope and a future.

[4:58] And so in the darkness of Bathsheba and David's sin, the Lord promises light and hope. However, before Solomon is able to succeed his father David to the throne of Israel, there are a few obstacles that must first be overcome.

[5:16] And as we've read in the history of 1 Kings chapter 1, Bathsheba, once again she appears in the narrative. In fact, both her and her son Solomon, they have been absent since 2 Samuel 12.

[5:29] But now Bathsheba reappears at this crucial time in the history of the kingdom. And at this time she appears for all the right reasons. All the right reasons.

[5:40] Because Bathsheba, she not only takes heed and takes heart, but she also takes help. She takes help from Nathan the prophet in order to ensure that Solomon is now anointed as the new king in Israel.

[5:58] But as we read from the passage, Solomon's path to the throne isn't straightforward. Because Solomon had competition from his older brother Adonijah to be the next king to sit on David's throne.

[6:12] And so in order for us to follow this very interesting narrative in chapter 1, I'd like us to look at it under three headings. Three headings. The coup, the counter coup, and the covenant.

[6:27] The coup, the counter coup, and the covenant. So we look at verse 5. We look first of all at the coup in verse 5.

[6:39] So the coup, the counter coup, and the covenant. So first of all the coup. Verse 5. Now Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king.

[6:54] And he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen and fifty men to run before him. We are familiar now with the word coup from the awful events that have taken place in Turkey in the past week.

[7:11] Because, as you know, a section of the Turkish army, they sought to overthrow their president and push him out of power. And as ever, there were civilians caught up in the agenda to take over the nation and elect their own ruler.

[7:28] But like Adonijah, their quest for sovereignty over their nation. It was short-lived. And we say it all the time.

[7:40] And Solomon was right. There is nothing new under the sun. Whether you are living in 2016 AD or 1000 BC, there is nothing new under the sun.

[7:51] But in the case of the kingdom of Israel and the throne of King David, it seemed like it was all up for grabs for them. Because David hadn't made his successor known and his health was deteriorating at a rapid pace.

[8:05] And that's how the narrative is introduced to us in verse 1. It says, Now King David was old and advanced in years. And although they covered him with clothes, he could not get warm.

[8:18] David is old and he is now dying. And by introducing the first book of Kings with these words, it only seeks to underline the fact that change is coming.

[8:30] A new king is now on the horizon. One of the sons of David is going to receive the crown. But no one seems to know who. Because David, he had many sons.

[8:43] And he had many sons because he had many wives. He had 10 sons. And 8 wives. And you know, I believe that that was David's downfall.

[8:54] Polygamy in Israel was the curse upon the kings. Which, because it's... And that curse, it stemmed all the way back. To the period of the judges.

[9:06] God had ordained marriage to be between one man and one woman at creation. But during the period of the judges, we saw it before when we were looking at Deborah and Ruth and Naomi.

[9:18] We saw that during that period, the Israelites, they had adopted the practice of polygamy from other nations. And as time went by, like with most things, it later became the norm.

[9:32] But for David and for Solomon and their descendants after them, polygamy was going to wreak havoc in the kingdom. Especially in the royal family. And none more so than David's family.

[9:46] Because as David draws near to the end of his life, if we were to consider the family that David is leaving behind, and the next generation that he has produced, it's sad to say, but his family was a completely dysfunctional family.

[10:04] Because when you reflect upon the narrative of David's life, it's like something you would see in one of the soaps. Like Coronation Street or EastEnders.

[10:16] There's this rise of David from being a nobody in the fields of Israel to being the covenant king of Israel who was favoured by God. But the rise of David had soon changed to the fall of David.

[10:31] Whereas we saw last week, it took a massive nosedive when he committed adultery with Bathsheba. And it was all as a result of lust, which led to lies, which led to deceit and to murder and to denial.

[10:45] But David's actions didn't stop with him. Because his family also inherited his flaws. And unfortunately, when you read the narrative of David's life, all you see is the well-known saying, like father, like son.

[11:03] And it's a startling warning to those of us who are parents that we need to teach our children the right way through our example and our witness.

[11:15] And I know we're not perfect, but that's what we have to do. We have to teach them. But the result of David's adultery is that it was the cause of many of his family issues.

[11:27] Because David not only had sons who wanted to kill their father, he also encountered lies, deceit and hatred, and even had a son who tried to rape his own sister.

[11:42] And it's all there. It's all there in the life of David. And it's a sad story, really. Especially when we come to this passage and we see David now on his deathbed.

[11:53] Knowing what David's family are now like, it's no surprise that one of his sons wants to create this uprising and take the throne from his dying father.

[12:05] And that's what we're told. In verse 5, Adonijah exalted himself. He put himself forward. And he declared, I will be king.

[12:16] And the narrator tells us in verse 6 that Adonijah's reasoning for acquiring the throne of King David is that he had never displeased his father or was asked by his father, why have you done thus and so?

[12:31] In Adonijah's mind, he was a good son and he was deserving of his father's throne. But what we ought to be aware of is that the narrator is drawing our attention to another failed coup which took place in the Persian of Absalom who, as the narrator tells us, was another of David's sons and the older brother of Adonijah.

[12:54] That's what it says in verse 6. So the narrator tells us that he was another brother. Absalom, he was the other brother of Adonijah. And he appears in the narrative between Bathsheba's disappearance and Bathsheba's reappearance which is the chapters between 2 Samuel 13 to the end of 2 Samuel.

[13:18] And in that narrative, it's primarily taken up with this friction between David, the king of Israel and his son Absalom. Where Absalom, he's trying to usurp the authority of his father and take the throne.

[13:34] And there's this ever-growing tension between father and son. Where one moment, Absalom is hunting his father David. But then you turn the page and it's all changed and David is hunting his son Absalom.

[13:47] But Absalom's attempted coup, it dies when he dies by being hanged by his own hair on a tree. But it's interesting that when Absalom attempted to dethrone his father, the same words are used here to describe the actions of Adonijah.

[14:08] Because it says about Absalom, Absalom got himself a chariot and horses and 50 men to run before him. And it reads in verse 5, Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself saying, I will be king.

[14:21] And he prepared for himself chariots and horses and 50 men to run before him. And again, Solomon was right. There is nothing new under the sun.

[14:33] History is repeating itself all over again. And it may be true that the words which define the period of the judges where there was no king in Israel and every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

[14:49] Well, I believe that the words which define the period of the kings where there was a king in Israel and every son of David made himself king in his own eyes.

[15:02] That was the story of Absalom. That was the story of Adonijah. That was the story of many of the kings after Solomon. And that's why the narrator in the book of Kings, when you read through it, he always compares the ruling king, whoever he is, to the reign of King David.

[15:22] They're all compared to their father, David. But the reason many of them failed as kings is that they all made themselves king in their own eyes instead of making God king in their eyes.

[15:37] And it's safe to say that the lust for power, position, and prominence, they're not marks of leadership among God's people, whether that is 1000 BC or 2016 AD.

[15:56] As I know what the apostle Paul wrote to Timothy when he laid down qualifications for ministers and elders and deacons and also their wives.

[16:08] But Paul stressed godliness rather than giftedness. He stressed commitment rather than a casual attitude. He stressed humility rather than honorary skills.

[16:21] And if Solomon is right and that there is nothing new under the sun, then the Absaloms and the Adonijahs, they're still alive and well in the church today.

[16:34] Therefore, as a session, as a deacon's court and as their wives, our responsibility is to ensure that Jesus Christ is king in his church and that our eyes are not on position or power or prominence or pride.

[16:58] Our eyes must only be fixed upon King Jesus. And so we've considered the coup which tried to prevent Solomon becoming king.

[17:09] But in order to ensure Solomon's succession, there must first of all be a counter coup. So let's look secondly at the counter coup.

[17:23] The counter coup. Read in verse 11. Then Nathan said to Bathsheba, the mother of Solomon, have you not heard that Adonijah, the son of Haggith, has become king and David our Lord does not know it.

[17:36] Now therefore come, let me give you advice that you may save your own life and the life of your son Solomon. And so just like we saw with Turkey in the past few days in which the Turkish president, he formulated a plan to overthrow the efforts of the coup by rallying people together through patriotism where he called them to be faithful to their own country and to their own people.

[18:07] And that's what we see here in 1000 BC because Adonijah has attempted to take over the nation and make himself king by allying himself with key political figures.

[18:22] Joab who's the leader of Israel's army and Abiathar the priest. And he's called them and his brothers to this auguration party. But the narrator points out in verse 10 all who were missing.

[18:36] He says, but he did not invite Nathan the prophet or Benaiah or the mighty men or Solomon his brother. And the narrator, he mentions these names only to highlight that Adonijah's efforts were sure to fail.

[18:54] But in order that Adonijah would fail, Nathan the prophet comes to Bathsheba with a plan and some advice for Bathsheba. Because Nathan knows that if Adonijah's coup succeeds then Bathsheba and Solomon will be put to death.

[19:11] And the reason they would be put to death is that Adonijah would not be willing to coexist with Solomon. Because Adonijah knew that Solomon was not only an heir to the throne himself but he was also the preferred choice.

[19:26] Solomon was the preferred choice. And so Nathan the prophet comes up with this plan to ensure that the kingdom doesn't fall into the wrong hands.

[19:39] And as we read, Nathan gives some advice to Bathsheba. It says in verse 12, Now therefore come, let me give you advice that you may save your own life and the life of your son Solomon.

[19:51] But when thinking about it, this isn't the first time that Nathan the prophet has had to pass on wisdom to Solomon's parents.

[20:04] Because as we know, the first time Nathan issued some sound advice was after the act of adultery between David and Bathsheba. Nathan had to go to King David to tell him that his actions had been dishonouring to God and that he needed to repent.

[20:23] And of course telling someone that they're in sin and that they're doing wrong, it's never an easy thing to do. Issuing a rebuke is not the easiest of tasks, especially to a temperamental king who's in denial and who also has the authority to put anyone to death.

[20:42] And yet when Nathan told David, yes David would have been broken because of what he had done, but he would have also been thankful to Nathan for his honesty and his faithfulness to the Lord for telling him.

[20:58] And you know my friend, looking at this, we all need Nathans in our life. We all need those who will issue advice to us and give us direction when it's needed.

[21:13] We need those who will come to us and tell us when they think that we're not living as a Christian should. We need those who will advise us and direct us and teach us if we need it or if we lose our way.

[21:30] We need to be accountable to one another and take responsibility for one another, to encourage one another to godly and to holy living. And we need to do it in love and out of love.

[21:46] Because far too often when someone falls into sin or they commit a sin that's unbefitting for a Christian, then they're just left and they drift away from the church.

[21:58] But we need to be like Nathan and we need to have a Nathan in our life. We need a godly friend and we need to be a godly friend.

[22:09] Whether we're a wife or a husband or a close friend, we need a Nathan in our life and we need to be a Nathan. We need to be a Nathan to challenge one another and spar one another on in holiness and to speak to one another when we are in error in order that we will walk closely with the Lord.

[22:33] I mean, how many of us in our conversation with one another, how many of us have ever asked the other person, how is it with your soul? how are you getting on with your Christian walk?

[22:48] What are you reading at the moment? Or what difficulties are you encountering at the moment? It's all very good to say that we're fine, we're okay, we're just plodding along in our Christian walk, but it needs to be deeper than that.

[23:05] We need to get to the heart of it, we need to start talking about it, we need to discuss it and make it a priority in our conversation that our Christianity matters to us, and our Christian walk matters to us, because it's only then that we'll begin to grow together.

[23:24] We need to be like Nathan, willing to give advice, but we also need to be like Bathsheba, we need to be willing to receive advice, and take it on board, and respond accordingly, rather than getting annoyed or angry or taking offence at what's said or living in denial.

[23:48] Instead, we need to value the advice of older Christians or wiser Christians who have trodden the path before us, but as older Christians, we must never think that we know best, or we are too old to learn, or too old to be given advice.

[24:07] If we do, then we aren't actually growing in humility, we're growing in pride. But Jesus tells us that we're all disciples, and we're all to make disciples.

[24:20] We're all learners, and we're all learning from one another, wherever we are on our sojourn here. So my friend, we need to be like Nathan, and we need to be like Bathsheba, because when Nathan comes to Bathsheba, she displays humility, in the way in which she takes Nathan's advice to execute this counter-coup.

[24:45] Because he says in verse 13, go in at once to King David and say to him, did you not, my lord, the king swear to your servant, saying, Solomon, your son, shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne?

[24:58] Why then is Adonijah king? Then while you're still speaking with the king, I also will come in after you and confirm your words. Nathan's plan is that Bathsheba is to go to David and inform him of Adonijah's actions of a coup.

[25:18] And while she's still speaking, Nathan will come in as this second witness and confirm Bathsheba's testimony to David about Adonijah.

[25:29] And what we must notice about Nathan's plan and the advice that he gives to Bathsheba is that it's all in line with this two witness requirement that's given in the law of Moses.

[25:44] Because the book of Deuteronomy states that in the event of presenting a case to an authority, the testimony of one witness is insufficient.

[25:58] And it says in Deuteronomy 19, one witness shall not rise against a man concerning any iniquity or any sin that he commits. By the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established.

[26:12] changed. And Jesus also uses that teaching and he quotes it in the New Testament when he's dealing with the issue of a brother sinning against another brother.

[26:24] He says if your brother sins against you go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you you've gained your brother. But if he will not hear you take with you one or two more.

[26:39] And quoting Deuteronomy 19 Jesus says by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And that's just what we see here in verse 15.

[26:52] Bathsheba's word is established by Nathan the prophet. It says so Bathsheba went to the king in his chamber. Now the king was very old and Abishag the Shunammite was attending to the king.

[27:04] Bathsheba bowed and paid homage to the king and the king said what do you desire? She said to him my lord you swore to your servant by the lord your god saying Solomon your son shall reign after me and he shall sit on my throne and now behold Adonijah is king although you my lord the king do not know it he has sacrificed oxen fattened cattle and sheep in abundance and has invited all the sons of the king Abiathar the priest and Joab the commander of the army but Solomon your servant he has not invited and now my lord the king the eyes of all Israel are on you to tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him otherwise it will come to pass when my lord the king sleeps with his father that I and my son Solomon will be counted offenders while she was still speaking with the king Nathan the prophet came in and so on and what we see in the confirmation of both Bathsheba and Nathan is that all the eyes were on the king all the eyes of Israel were on the king on king

[28:11] David everyone was looking to the king for guidance and direction as to who would be the one to succeed king David and Bathsheba she's expressing to David her concern for Adonijah's coup because her own life and the life of her son Solomon is in danger and as we said earlier if Adonijah became king he would kill Solomon and Bathsheba because he doesn't like Solomon Solomon is the preferred choice to be king and all the eyes are upon the king and what happens next is that David makes his choice upon of who will sit upon his throne based upon the covenant and that's the area I'd like us to consider lastly he bases everything upon the covenant we've considered the coup the counter coup but the basis for David's decision for Solomon to succeed him was all upon the covenant the covenant so read with me in verse 28 then king

[29:25] David answered call Bathsheba to me so she came into the king's presence and stood before the king and the king swore saying as the lord lives who has redeemed my soul out of out of every adversity as I swore to you by the lord the god of Israel saying Solomon your son shall reign after me and he shall sit on my throne in my place even so will I do this day David's last act not only in the story of his life but also in the story of redemption his last act was to have Solomon anointed as king and when we read the narrative David acts with pace he doesn't delay for a moment because the kingdom is at stake God's kingdom is at stake and so he calls in Bathsheba and he makes an oath to her that Solomon will be king after him and he shall sit upon his throne today he'll sit upon his throne today not doesn't delay whatsoever but you know

[30:34] I love the testimony which David gives to Bathsheba because here is David at the end of his life on his deathbed and he's looking into the eyes of the woman who to some extent was his downfall she was the one who caused his life you could say to spiral out of control and fall apart and we considered earlier the type of family which David had this dysfunctional family and the chaos which had come as a result of meeting with Bathsheba but as David looks at Bathsheba there is so much history between them so many ups and downs so much sin and sadness so much hurt and heartache and yet out of it all what David says is one of the most beautiful testimonies in scripture in which at the end of his days David still testifies to the gracious and merciful character of the

[31:37] Lord when he says the Lord has redeemed my soul from every adversity the Lord has redeemed my soul from every adversity and David says this because what he had come to discover was that despite all the sin which he had committed the adultery the lies the denial the murder the polygamy the deceit the lack of leadership as a king and as a father despite all that despite all his failures David knew that the covenant of grace would not fail the covenant of grace would not fail because it's a covenant which shows unfathomable grace a covenant which displays unconditional love a covenant which promises unending forgiveness a covenant which assures us that there is nothing that is ever able to sever our ties without God the covenant will endure because God has promised

[32:47] I will be your God and you will be my people and that's the language which David is using here using it right at the end of his life using the language of the covenant of grace a covenant which began with Abraham and extended throughout every generation and every age of history because David says to Bathsheba that Solomon will sit upon his throne just as I swore to you by the Lord God of Israel and that word swore he swore it's the same word which the Lord used throughout the history of redemption the same word in order to affirm his covenant to his people in every generation because during the period of the patriarchs right at the beginning with Abraham Isaac and Jacob the Lord said to

[33:47] Isaac dwell in this land and I will be with you and bless you for to you and to your descendants I give all these lands and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father there's the promise there's the word then during the period of the exodus you move along the Lord affirms the same covenant of grace to Moses when he said I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham that's them Isaac and to Jacob and I'll give it to you as an inheritance and then during the period of the judges they've crossed over the Jordan they've now gone into the promised land and the Lord again he affirms his covenant to them I led you up he says from Egypt and brought you to a land of which I swore to your fathers and I said I will never break my covenant with you and here on his deathbed before the eyes of

[34:50] Bathsheba David is issuing the same covenant he's highlighting the same covenant and he's clinging to it and he's affirming it for the next generation because the Lord had affirmed that covenant to David back in 2 Samuel 7 and it was there that the Lord promised David that when his days are fulfilled when he lies down to sleep the sleep of death the Lord said to him he will continue his promise and he will establish his kingdom through his seed and he shall build a house for the Lord and establish the throne of his kingdom forever and so what we ought to see in David's testimony is that he had the assurance that in the portion of Solomon the covenant of grace would endure forever and so

[35:52] David says in verse 33 the king said to them take with you the servants of your Lord and have Solomon my son ride on my own mule and bring him down to Gihon and let Zadok the priest Nathan the prophet there anoint him king over Israel then blow the trumpet and say long live king Solomon long live king Solomon and you know my friend it's because of this beautiful covenant of grace which David is affirming it's because of that covenant that the Lord's people in every generation they're still saying long live king Solomon they're still saying it because the covenant of grace it will endure forever because the covenant king of grace endures forever long live king

[36:54] Solomon but what's remarkable and I'll close with this what's remarkable is that this history of God's covenant of grace beautiful history this history where Solomon is taking the throne it forms a backdrop for Psalm 72 a psalm which is well known to all of us but it's also a psalm which was penned by Solomon but in Psalm 72 Solomon is not speaking about himself he's pointing us away from himself and he's pointing to the covenant of grace that will endure forever and to the covenant king of grace whose name shall forever endure and last like the sun a name as we all know which is above every other name a name through which all nations of the earth will be blessed because there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved other than the name of Jesus the precious name of Jesus and so our responsibility as we leave here this evening and go home and go to our workplaces tomorrow or to our families or to wherever we go our responsibility is to leave here testifying to this covenant of grace that we have come to experience in our generation we've come to know and love we've come to be part of but not only the covenant of grace we're testifying to the covenant king of grace and we leave him we leave here with one voice saying long live king jesus long live king jesus may the lord bless these thoughts to us let us pray oh lord our gracious god we give thanks to thee that oh that thou has provided a greater king in jesus christ a greater than solomon and we thank thee that jesus said a greater than solomon is here and that he is still with us that he is always with us that his covenant promise is that he will never leave us and he will never ever forsake us we bless thee oh lord that it is a covenant bound in grace grace and grace alone that it is not by our works or by our efforts but it is solely based upon the gracious character of god oh we bless thee for thy goodness help us to keep looking to our king help us to keep saying in this wilderness journey long live king jesus because he is one who ever lives to make intercession for us lord bless us we ask thee remember us in our needs oh lord we have so many but we bless thee and we praise thee today that we have a christ who overcame them all who bore our griefs and who carried our sorrows do us good we pray and go before us for jesus sake amen we shall conclude by singing in that psalm and psalm 72 psalm 72 psalm written by solomon psalm

[40:56] psalm psalm psalm psalm 72 psalm 72 from verse 17 to the end. His name forever shall endure, last like the sun it shall.

[41:07] Men shall be blessed in him and blessed. All nations shall him call. Now blessed be the Lord our God, the God of Israel, for he alone doth wondrous works in glory that excel.

[41:19] And blessed be his glorious name to all eternity. The whole earth let his glory fill. Amen. So let it be. These verses to God's praise. His name forever shall endure, last like the sun it shall.

[41:47] Men shall be blessed in him and blessed. All nations shall have been called.

[42:05] Now blessed be the Lord our God, the God of Israel, for he alone doth wondrous work in glory that excel.

[42:38] And blessed be his glorious name, to all eternity.

[42:55] the holy place. Amen. The holy place is glorified. Amen.

[43:06] Amen. So let it be. 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.

[43:23] Amen.