Why Should I Become a Christian?

[0:00] Well, if we could, this evening, with the Lord's help, turn back to that portion of Scripture that we read in Paul's letter to the Romans in chapter 8.

[0:12] Romans chapter 8, and we'll read again from verse 31. Romans 8 and verse 31. What then shall we say to these things?

[0:26] If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

[0:38] Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died. More than that, who was raised.

[0:49] Who is at the right hand of God. Who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?

[1:03] As it is written, for your sake we are being killed all the day long. We are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. Knowing all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

[1:14] For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 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.

[1:31] Last Lord's Day we began by asking the question, What is a Christian?

[1:45] What is a Christian? And, as I mentioned last week, this question is relevant to all of us. Because, some of us in here, this evening, we are already Christians.

[1:59] We are already followers of Jesus Christ. We profess the name of Jesus Christ. But, there are others in here this evening, of whom I am quite sure would like to be a Christian.

[2:13] And, so we ask the question, What is a Christian? What is a Christian? And, by looking at the confession of a Christian from the words of the Apostle Paul in Galatians 2, verse 20, we saw that a Christian is not just someone who is good living, in which they've stopped drinking, and they've stopped getting drunk, and going out at the weekend, and they've cut out all the bad language.

[2:38] And, a Christian is not just someone who attends church, both ends on the Lord's Day, and goes to the prayer meeting, and reads their Bible, and spends time in prayer. Of course, these things are beneficial for a Christian, and ought to be part and partial of a Christian's life.

[2:58] But, when Paul spoke from his own experience, and gave his confession of a Christian, he said that Christianity isn't based on the outward appearance, and our outward acts of religious righteousness.

[3:10] No, he says, Christianity isn't about what we do. Christianity is all about what Jesus has done for us. Christianity is all about what Jesus has done.

[3:22] And, that's why Paul confessed to the Galatians, I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live, yet not I, but the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

[3:38] And so, last Lord's Day, we asked the question, what is a Christian? What is a Christian? But, this evening, I would like us to ask the question, why?

[3:50] Why should I become a Christian? Why should I become a Christian? And, before we go any further, I suppose, the simple answer to this question, why should I become a Christian?

[4:05] The simple answer would be to say that, if you die without Jesus Christ as your Saviour, you will go to hell. If you die without Christ as your Saviour, you will experience the condemnation, and the wrath of God, which is due to you because of your sin, the sin that you have committed.

[4:26] Therefore, the simple reason, and the most obvious reason, why you should become a Christian, is that, as a sinner without Christ, you are going to hell.

[4:37] But, I want to say that, although the fear of going to hell is the most obvious reason for becoming a Christian, I think it looks at our question from a negative perspective.

[4:49] Because, becoming a Christian is not only about what you're being saved from, it's also about what you're being saved to. And, when we come to Paul's letter to the Romans, Paul is touching on that exact subject, what we're being saved from, and what we're being saved to.

[5:07] In fact, Paul touches upon every aspect of the Christian life, in the letter to the Romans. He covers every area of Christian theology and doctrine, in this one letter.

[5:21] And, he does so because, Paul, he never managed to reach the church in Rome. He visited many other churches, and he planted many other churches, and he encouraged many of the Lord's people, in different regions.

[5:34] But, Paul never made it to Rome, to meet the Roman Christians there. Yes, Paul made it to Rome as a prisoner, but he never made it to Rome as a preacher.

[5:45] And, because his wish was to visit the church in Rome, because it was never fulfilled, Paul decided, he decided, to write to them. And, instead of explaining the beauty of the gospel, and the wonder of being a Christian in Persian, he did it with his pen.

[6:01] And, what Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome is, it's so full and so precious, that we ought to read it, and digest the depth of his teaching.

[6:13] And, it was the reformer, Martin Luther, he said about the book of Romans, he said that, it can never be read, or considered, too much, or too well.

[6:23] And, the more it is handled, the more delightful it becomes, and the better it tastes. A Luther statement, it's certainly applicable to the words that we find in Romans chapter 8.

[6:37] Because, for many a Christian, down throughout the centuries of the church, they have found the words of Romans 8, to be, what you could call, sweeter than honey.

[6:50] And, none more so than the words that we are considering this evening. Because, in these closing remarks of Romans chapter 8, Paul is giving this summary of what he's been teaching throughout, chapter 7, and throughout chapter 8.

[7:05] And, Paul does so, by asking all these, he concludes by asking all these rhetorical questions. But, each rhetorical question, which Paul asks, it only seeks to emphasize, why everyone, should become a Christian.

[7:21] And, I believe that there are four reasons, Paul gives as to, why everyone, should become a Christian. And so, let's ask our question, why should I become a Christian?

[7:33] Why should I become a Christian? And, Paul says, because when you become a Christian, there is no hesitation, there is no allegation, there is no condemnation, and there is no separation.

[7:48] When you become a Christian, there is no hesitation, no allegation, no condemnation, and no separation. So, we'll look at these, this evening.

[7:59] First of all, no hesitation. When you become a Christian, there is no hesitation. That's what Paul talks about in verse 31. What then shall we say to these things?

[8:12] If God is for us, who can be against us? And by asking the first question here, when he says, what then shall we say to these things? Paul is seeking to link all that he has said throughout chapter 7 and chapter 8, and he's linking it all to this concluding summary of rhetorical questions.

[8:34] And in this, Paul wants to re-emphasize to us the glorious teaching of what Jesus has done for us in the gospel. Because when Paul considers the beauty of the gospel and the wonder of being a Christian, he says without any hesitation, if God is for us, who can be against us?

[8:56] If God is for us, who can be against us? And without even trying to look at this rhetorical question any further, we have to say it's a bold statement.

[9:07] It's a bold statement, and it's a bold statement because there is no hesitation on Paul's part as to who is on his side. There's no hesitation, and there ought to be no hesitation if you're a Christian as to who is on our side.

[9:26] There ought to be no question. No hesitation, no apprehension, no reservation, no suspicion, no doubt whatsoever in your mind as to who is on our side and as to who is for us and who is with us and who is in us.

[9:43] There's got to be no hesitation but the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the one who is with us. He is the one who is in us. He is the one who is for us.

[9:54] And as a Christian, there ought to be this boldness to say without hesitation, if God is for me, who can be against me? And was that not the great confession of the psalmist when we were just singing in Psalm 46?

[10:12] That wonderful psalm which draws our attention away from self and away from circumstances and away from people and it points us to the God who is our refuge and our strength and an ever-present help even in times of trouble.

[10:31] Because even when the psalmist was faced with a situation of war and entering into the battlefield where he knew there would be enemies, where the arrows would be fired and the spears would be thrown and the swords would be crossed.

[10:47] But what's so beautiful about Psalm 46 is that the psalmist confesses that his victory is all because of the Lord. As he concluded the psalm, we were just singing, he said, Our God, who is the Lord of hosts, is still upon our side.

[11:06] The God of Jacob, our refuge, forever will abide. My Christian friend, what better words could remind us of our privileged position tonight?

[11:17] What better words could assure us and reassure us that our God is still with us after all that we've been through? what better words could affirm to us that it's not because of what we have done that he's on our side?

[11:34] It's not because of the way we have been that he's on our side. It's not because of our righteousness or our faithfulness that he is on our side. but it's all because of what Jesus has done for us.

[11:46] Our God, he says, who is the Lord of hosts, he's still upon our side. My friend, our God is for us.

[11:58] And if he is for us, then who can be against us? And what enemy? What enemy is able to stand and to withstand the arm that's full of power and the hand that's great in might?

[12:16] What enemy? If God is for us, who can be against us? Who can be against us? And of course, there are many things and many people who can be against us.

[12:27] And it's not that they can be against us. More often than not, they are against us. And you know, theology, it often speaks of the Christians' three greatest enemies.

[12:41] The world, the flesh, and the devil. The world is an enemy because Christianity is an offence to the world.

[12:53] Christianity is and the message of Jesus Christ is against the ethos of the world. And the world is against us because it wants us to be drawn away from Jesus and conform to its standards and its way of living and its understanding of God.

[13:10] The world wants us to be like them. But Jesus says about his followers, you are not of the world. I have called you out of the world because the world doesn't know me.

[13:24] and the Bible solemnly reminds us that friendship with the world is enmity with God. And whoever wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

[13:38] But it's not only the world that's against us. The flesh is against us too because the problem is not only from without, the problem is also from within where we seek to gratify the desires of the flesh and we fall into temptation and we're drawn away from the things of God and we live for pleasure and for gain and for wealth and for status and for popularity and for comfort and for entertainment where we're being entertained to death.

[14:11] And what an enemy the flesh is because it causes us to spend our years thinking that we will live forever. It makes us think we'll live on and on and on.

[14:27] But if that wasn't enough the enemy of our soul spends his time time time to convince us that we have plenty of time. The devil makes it his business to attack all our weaknesses and reveal our sins and our failings and our lack of self-control.

[14:45] The devil he's described in scripture as a roaring lion that seeks to devour us and make us slip up and trip up at every hurdle. My friend what enemies we have the world the flesh and the devil but we all know there's another enemy and we've become all too familiar with this enemy in our community the last enemy he's called death and it's a powerful enemy it's an enemy that steals an enemy that kills an enemy that destroys and it often appears on our doorstep without any prior warning to us but the wonder of all these enemies is that if God is for us who can be against us what are these enemies if God is for us these enemies have no hold over us if God is for us and you know if anyone knew this in their own experience it was

[15:55] David if anyone knew that the Lord was upon his side and constantly with him it was David he was a man who faced Goliath in his youth with only a sling and a stone he was a man of war who entered many battles with the Lord on his side and we saw that in our opening item of praise in Psalm 27 David had no hesitation as to who was on his side when he faced all his enemies he said against me though and host in camp my heart yet fearless is though war against me rise I will be confident in this David had no hesitation that the Lord was with him whoever or whatever he was going to face there was no apprehension there was no doubt in his mind because he had complete confidence and assurance of victory not because of himself but all because of the Lord and we know he had confidence because we're given the backdrop of David's testimony in the opening words of the Psalm we know he had confidence because he opens the

[17:13] Psalm and says the Lord he's my light he's my salvation whom shall I fear the Lord he's the stronghold of my life of whom shall I be afraid my friend David's hope and confidence was based entirely upon the Emmanuel God with us and that's the only place where our hope and confidence ought to be as Christians not in self not in circumstance not in others but in the Emmanuel God with us and that's what Paul is stressing to us here that for the Christian if God is for us if God is with us if God is in us if God is beside us then who in all creation can be against us and with no hesitation whatsoever the Christian says no no one can be against us no one why should

[18:16] I become a Christian because when you become a Christian you'll have no hesitation that God is for you and if God is for you then who can be against you but secondly when you become a Christian you will have no allegation you will have no allegation if you look at verse 33 Paul asks who shall bring any charge against God's elect it is God who justifies so Paul's second rhetorical question seeks to draw our attention to our position our standing before God as Christians in other words how does God view us because of what Jesus Christ has done and the language which Paul is using it's legal language it's legal terms it's the language of the courtroom and Paul often uses language of the courtroom in order to express our standing our position before God and so when

[19:25] Paul asks this rhetorical question who shall bring any charge against God's elect his point was that no one can no one can no allegation can be made against one of the Lord's people but if any allegation was to be made the allegation would come from the law of God it would come from the law of God just as it would be with the laws of our land any allegation that was to be made against us the basis of the charge against us or the allegation against us would be that we have broken the law and because we've broken the law the law is accusing us of our wrongdoing and Paul says to us in chapter 7 that that was always the intention of the law of God it was graciously given to Moses at Mount Sinai in order that the Lord's people would know the holiness of God and the holy standard which God had set the law was to be the manual for the

[20:31] Lord's people to live by it was to give them boundaries and direction and guidance not to oppress them but it was for their own good and for their own protection but the purpose of the law was not only to show us how holy God is it's also to show us how sinful we are the law was to be a light to illuminate our sin and show us our wrongdoing the law was to show us how much we've sinned and come short of the glory of God and that's what Paul says in chapter 7 he says I would not have known sin except through the law for I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said thou shalt not covet and Paul goes on to say that it was through the law that he came to realise how sinful he was because the law of God the word of God the bible it revealed his nature he had revealed his nature that it's a fallen nature the law of God the bible it revealed his heart that his heart is deceitful above all things destitly wicked the law of God the bible it revealed his mind that his mind is corrupt with evil thoughts and intentions that he wouldn't dare share with anyone and having considered the extent of the law and what the bible is saying to him and the power of the law and the fact that it reveals who he really was before a holy God and with all these accusations and all these allegations that the bible was making against him all Paul could say by the end of chapter 7 was oh wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from this body of death who shall deliver me he realised how far short he'd come but it was then that Paul went on to give the answer

[22:35] I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord but what's interesting about Paul's question here who shall bring any charge against God's elect the word for charge or allegation or accusation it's the word imputation which means that it's something that is attributed to us therefore Paul is asking who shall impute sin who shall attribute sin against us who's able to bring any charge against God's people who's able to present their allegation to God who's the judge of all the earth who's able to do it when God is the one who justifies and what Paul is stressing to us is that our deliverance from this body of death our deliverance from the power of sin and the power of the law it's all because of

[23:37] Jesus Christ Paul was asking who shall deliver me who shall deliver me from this body of death and yet Paul is saying here in his conclusion in verse 32 he who did not spare his own son but delivered him up for us all how will he not also with him graciously give us all things and of all the places for Paul to bring us Paul brings us right back to the cross and he tells us that the cross it's the power of God unto salvation to those who believe he tells us the cross is the message of salvation Christ and him crucified because upon the cross hung the greatest substitute upon the cross was the greatest transaction that ever took place because as we ask who shall deliver us from this body of death

[24:38] Paul is saying look to Calvary look to Calvary he delivered him he delivered him the father did not spare his own son his only begotten son the son of his own bosom he says he who did not spare his own son but delivered him up for us all how will he not also with him graciously give us all things he's given us all things my friend he's given us his grace he's given us his mercy he's given us his love he's given us his assurance all his promises he's given us his peace but in order to be justified he has given to us his righteousness in order to be justified he's given to us his righteousness righteousness and is that not what Paul emphasized to the Corinthian church he said for he made him the one at Calvary he made him who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in him and my friend that was

[25:51] Calvary's great transaction because at Calvary the allegation of the law and the imputation of sin the sin that was attributed to us by nature it was attributed to Jesus Christ at Calvary it was imputed to Jesus Christ at Calvary and the righteousness that belonged to him the righteousness which fulfills every requirement and allegation of the law of God it was imputed to us it was attributed to us so that our standing in Christ as those who are Christians those who follow the Lord our standing is that no allegation can be made against us no allegation whatsoever we stand blameless and that's what it means to be justified before a holy God the catechism read it what is justification justification is an act of God's free grace wherein he pardons all our sins and accepts us as righteous in his sight only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us and received by faith alone by faith alone my friend there is no allegation because of

[27:17] Christ's imputation no allegation because of Christ's imputation why should I become a Christian because when you become a Christian there is no hesitation God is for me when you become a Christian no allegation I stand in his righteousness but thirdly there is no condemnation no condemnation Paul asks in verse 34 who is to condemn Christ Jesus is the one who died more than that who was raised who's at the right hand of God who indeed is interceding for us so Paul's third rhetorical question it follows on very closely from what he has just said because with no allegation coming from the law able to be brought against a

[28:22] Christian due to God's act of gracious act of justification of imputing righteousness there is now not only no allegation there is also now no condemnation and this also follows on from what Paul was saying at the end of chapter 7 Paul was asking who shall deliver me from this body of death who will justify me before a holy God and Paul says I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord he is the one he's the one who brings justification he's the one who delivers us from sin and he imputes his righteousness to us and because there is now no allegation Paul begins chapter 8 with those beautiful words there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in

[29:22] Christ Jesus my friend do these words not just overflow with assurance there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus and it doesn't matter how many times you repeat them to yourself it's like they're being heard for the first time and they're reminding us of our privileged position as the people of God that Jesus is able to take the vilest of sinners and the most wretched people and the most hardened of criminals and he's able to present them as righteous before a holy God and if God is able to do that with them he's certainly able to do it with your deceitful deceitful and sinful heart my friend don't ever think that because you aren't good enough that the

[30:24] Lord won't save you don't ever think that because you aren't righteous enough by your own doing that the Lord will somehow overlook you don't ever think that because you have a checkered past and maybe you have sins that you would never want anyone else to know about don't ever think that the Lord will pass you by not at all not at all my dear friend don't ever think that salvation is for everyone else but for you because that's not true salvation salvation is for you the offer of salvation is offered to whosoever which means it has your name on it too the Lord is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance the Lord doesn't want you to go to hell the Lord wants you to be saved why else would he send his son into the world to die upon a cross and if you were the only person in all the world who was going to be saved he would still send his son to the cross because his love for you is so deep and so secure that when you trust in him you're given the all encompassing assurance there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ

[31:55] Jesus my friend if you know that Jesus Christ gave his life for you if you know you can say that Jesus is mine and I am his if you know Jesus Christ died for your sins then why do you think he's going to turn around and condemn you why do you doubt that you're saved why do you question the salvation of the Lord but maybe you don't doubt what Jesus has done maybe you doubt because of what you have done you doubt your own obedience and your own faithfulness to Jesus because every time you sin and every time you fall into temptation or every time you conform to the pressures of the world you may think well I've blown it now it's all over you say how can

[32:55] Jesus love me now how can Jesus forgive me for this blunder and this mistake how can I be restored after this but on top of that Satan comes and he tells you all the lies of the day you're far too sinful to be a Christian you don't deserve forgiveness you don't deserve to be saved but don't you just love the words of Psalm 130 don't you just love singing them where the psalmist is pouring out his heart before God and repenting because of his sin and he's saying Lord from the depths to thee I cried my voice Lord do thou hear unto my supplications voice give an attentive ear but then the psalmist he asks that all important question Lord who shall stand if thou

[33:57] Lord shouldst mark iniquity who could stand not one of us we're all guilty we're all condemned we're all we've all fallen short but the wonder is that the psalmist knew who could stand and who could stand on his behalf he knew that he had a mediator between God and himself he knew that he had an advocate with the father because he says but yet with thee forgiveness is that fear thou mayest be and that's what Paul is stressing to us here who is he who condemns who is able to condemn us who is able to accuse us for our sin it is Christ who died but he not only died he says he's also risen again and he's now at the right hand of God the father making intercession for us he's acting as our representative before a holy God he's our mediator between us and God he's our advocate with the father he is standing on our behalf because he is Jesus

[35:08] Christ the righteous who shall stand who shall stand my friend Jesus is standing on our behalf standing on our behalf and in him there is therefore now no condemnation not now and not ever is it any wonder that the hymn writer said man of sorrows what a name for the son of God who came ruined sinners to reclaim hallelujah what a savior bearing shame and scoffing rude in my place condemned he stood sealed my pardon with his blood hallelujah what a savior guilty helpless lost were we blameless lamb of

[36:15] God was he sacrificed to set us free hallelujah what a savior lifted up was he to die it is finished was his cry now in heaven exalted high hallelujah what a savior hallelujah what a savior there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus no condemnation no condemnation why should I become a christian because when you become a christian there is no hesitation god is for me when you become a christian there is no allegation i'm in christ's righteousness when you become a christian there is no condemnation he was condemned for me and lastly and briefly when you become a christian there is no separation there is no separation paul says in verse 35 he asks who shall separate us from the love of christ shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword as it is written for your sake we're being killed all the day long we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered knowing all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us for I am persuaded that neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor things present nor things to come neither height nor depth nor any other creature is able to separate us from the love of God that is in christ jesus our lord and so throughout the past couple of chapters paul has been creating this picture he's been creating this picture in order to emphasize how secure the christian's salvation is because it's based entirely upon the work of jesus christ and so paul concludes this section as he concludes it he does so by by asking the all important question who shall separate us from the love of christ and for paul such a question it need not be answered because there is nothing in all the world that is able to separate the christian from the love of jesus christ but what paul is drawing upon us is a theme which we touched on last week the theme of our union with christ that union or that connection which exists between jesus christ in heaven and the christian here on earth and in our union with christ christ is the fountain head and from him flows all the spiritual blessings to us the blessings of repentance and faith and pardon and justification adoption sanctification perseverance and then finally glorification and that's what paul has been talking about throughout chapter 8 he's been talking about all these spiritual blessings that flow from jesus christ because he says even from verse 28 onwards he says and we know that for those who love god all things work together for good for those who are the called according to his purpose for those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son in order that he might be the first born among many brothers and those whom he predestined he also called those whom he called he also justified and those whom he justified he also glorified and what paul is saying is that everything is encapsulated everything is bound up in the christians union with christ there is nothing that can separate us

[40:15] from him nothing absolutely nothing but just to be clear and to make sure that we understand how glorious this union with christ is this connection to christ that is unbreakable paul asks who shall separate us from the love of christ shall tribulation separate us from the love of christ no shall distress no shall persecution no shall famine no shall nakedness no shall peril or danger no shall sword no no no no nothing he says nothing is able to separate us from the love of christ nothing but what's interesting is that paul then quotes from psalm 44 he says as it is in verse 36 as it is written then he quotes psalm 44 for your sake we are being killed all the day long we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered now psalm 44 is a lament the psalm in which the psalmist is crying he's weeping over his circumstances he's crying to god because the land of israel has been invaded by the babylonians the enemy has come the enemy has invaded and in that invasion the israelites they experienced tribulation distress persecution famine nakedness peril and the sword and if we were to look at their circumstances if we were to be on lookers looking at the situation that the psalmist was writing about we would say well god is not for you god is not for you we would think that they are being accounted as sheep for the slaughter but in reality the hope of the psalmist and the hope of every christian is in the fact that the steadfast love of the lord endures forever it endures forever and that's how the psalmist concluded his lament because he said rise up come to our help redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love and that's the same cue that

[42:39] Paul took when he concluded this chapter said in all these things in all our tribulation in all our distress in all our persecution in all our famine in all our nakedness in all our peril in all our experiences of the sword in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us and by the time Paul has finished considering every spiritual blessing we receive as Christians who are united to Jesus Christ Paul says I am persuaded that neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor powers neither height nor depth nor any other creature is able to be to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord I'm persuaded he says therefore the only question left to ask is are you persuaded are you persuaded to become a Christian

[43:52] I hope that you're not almost persuaded to become a Christian but fully persuaded that if you were to become a Christian tonight you would have no hesitation because God is for you if you were to become a Christian tonight you would have no allegation because you're justified through the righteousness of Christ if you were to become a Christian tonight you would have no condemnation because there is no condemnation to those who are standing in Jesus Christ Christ and if you were to become a Christian tonight you are promised no separation not now not ever in time or in eternity nothing will ever separate you from the love of

[44:53] Jesus Christ why should I become a Christian why should I become a Christian maybe the question should have been why would you not want to become a Christian why would you not want to become a Christian may the Lord bless these thoughts to us let us pray O Lord our gracious God we stand in awe at the wonder of what thou hast done and Lord we thank and we praise thee that as the psalmist said yet with thee forgiveness is that fear thou mayest be all that we would have the fear of the Lord in our hearts which is the beginning of wisdom the wisdom of God Christ and him crucified

[45:54] Lord bless thy word to us may it find lodgment in our heart that we may be able to answer that question honestly and before a God who can see our heart Lord do us good then we pray bless us in the week that lies ahead a week again that is unknown to us but we commit this week into thy care and thy keeping go before us then we ask and do us good for Jesus sake Amen We shall conclude by singing in Psalm 44 the psalm that was quoted in Romans 8 Psalm 44 that's in the Sing Psalms version on page 56 singing from verse 20 down to the end of the psalm Psalm 44 from verse 20 if we forgot

[46:58] God's name or two false gods had stretched our hands would God not know for he our hearts and secrets understands and yet it is for your own sake we face death all the day we reckon like the sheep that are for slaughter led away awake oh Lord arise from sleep do not reject your folk why hide your face and quite forget our pain and cruel yoke for we've been humbled to the dust laid prostrate on the ground rise help redeem because within your covenant love we're found we'll sing these verses to God's place if we forgot God's name or to what God's had stretched our hands would

[47:59] God not know for he our hearts and sickness of their stands and yet it is for you all say we faced death in all the day we reckoned like a sheep but our more slaughtered let thou bring awick for hurt the night from sleep do do not reject your foe why hide your face and why forget our pain not burden you you or we feel humbled to the dust straight cross straight on the ground rise every day because within your covenant the fear 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 forever more amen to