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[0:00] Well, if we could, with the Lord's help and the Lord's enabling this evening, if we could turn back to that portion of Scripture that we read, the Gospel according to Matthew, Matthew chapter 27.

[0:15] And if we read again at verse 20, Matthew 27 at verse 20. Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus.

[0:34] The governor, Pilate, again said to them, which of the two do you want me to release for you? And they said, Barabbas. Pilate said to them, then what shall I do with Jesus, who is called Christ?

[0:48] They all said, let him be crucified. And he said, why? What evil has he done? But they shouted all the more, let him be crucified.

[1:02] Let him be crucified. You know, whenever I think of Pontius Pilate, I'm always reminded of a story I heard many years ago about a child's drawing in Sunday school.

[1:21] The story goes that it was coming up to Christmas and all the children in the Sunday school, they were asked to draw different scenes of the Christmas story. And one child was asked to draw Joseph and Mary's flight to Egypt, which, as you know, was just after Jesus had been born when the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream.

[1:43] And the angel said to Joseph, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt and remain there until I tell you. For Herod is about to search for the child to destroy him.

[1:54] So the child was to draw this picture of Joseph and Mary's flight to Egypt. But in order to depict and describe the flight to Egypt, this particular child took the notion of drawing an aeroplane with Joseph and Mary and the baby Jesus on board.

[2:12] But when the Sunday school teacher came round to look at the children's drawings, what she saw was a British Airways flight with Joseph, Mary and the baby Jesus on board.

[2:25] And when the Sunday school teacher asked, well, who's sitting at the front of the plane? And the child said, please miss, that's Pontius Pilate.

[2:35] And, you know, it's amazing what children take in and what children learn and what they think and how their little minds work in imagining this flight to Egypt of Mary, Joseph, the baby Jesus and Pontius Pilate being the pilot.

[2:53] But, you know, this evening we're considering Pontius Pilate, not the aircraft pilot, but, as you'll learn, the Roman governor. Because, as we read in Matthew 27 and as we see throughout the Gospels and as we're considering from the Apostles' Creed, we see that Jesus Christ suffered under Pontius Pilate.

[3:16] He suffered under Pontius Pilate. Now, as you know, as we're considering and we're continuing our study of the Apostles' Creed, and we've said before that the Apostles' Creed has been read and recited and reaffirmed by Christians throughout the world for centuries because it's a statement of faith.

[3:34] That's why it's called a creed. The word creed comes from the Latin credo, meaning I believe. Therefore, the Apostles' Creed is a statement of faith which we are called to believe in our heart and also confess with our mouth.

[3:50] And as I said before, that that's what I'd like us to do each week as we study the Apostles' Creed together. I don't know if you have it in front of you, but I'd like us to believe and confess the words of the Apostles' Creed either silently or audibly.

[4:05] So, please, again, say it with me. I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried.

[4:27] He descended into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

[4:41] I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.

[4:54] Amen. And so, this evening we're considering the statement where it says in the center section in the Apostles' Creed where it says that Jesus Christ suffered under Pontius Pilate.

[5:07] He suffered under Pontius Pilate. And it's an interesting statement because Jesus suffered at the hands of many people. But why does the Creed draw particular attention to this man, Pontius Pilate?

[5:23] Why does the Creed draw particular attention to this man, Pontius Pilate? And I want to make three suggestions this evening. The Apostles' Creed draws attention to Pontius Pilate because of his character, his conduct, and his conversation.

[5:49] So, there are three headings this evening. His character, his conduct, and his conversation. So, first of all, his character. His character. Now, look at verse 1 of chapter 27.

[6:02] It says, Now, in our studies so far, we've discovered that the Apostles' Creed is a distinctly Trinitarian creed.

[6:22] Because, as you can see, it's divided into three parts which express and explain that there are three persons in the Godhead. There is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

[6:33] These three, as our catechism reminds us, they are one. They are the same in substance. They are equal in power and glory. But as we continue looking at the middle section of the Apostles' Creed this evening, as we've discovered in our study so far, it asserts and affirms that Jesus Christ is the only Savior of sinners.

[6:55] That there's no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved other than the name of Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ. And he's the Lord Jesus Christ because he's the Son of God who became man.

[7:10] And as we read in the Creed, he was conceived of the Holy Ghost and born of the Virgin Mary. But as we said earlier, what's interesting about the next statement in the Creed is that it states that Jesus Christ suffered under Pontius Pilate.

[7:30] He suffered under Pontius Pilate. And it's an interesting statement because, as you know, and as we read there in verse 1 of chapter 27, Jesus suffered at the hands of many people.

[7:42] Many Jewish people. We see that, what it says. It was the Jewish ruling council, the Sanhedrin, who arrested Jesus and then delivered him over to Pilate.

[8:03] And this is something Jesus had repeatedly prophesied to his disciples. We see it in Mark 8, Mark 9, and Mark 10. Jesus says, time and time again, the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed and three days rise again.

[8:28] And so we know that the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, they wanted to put Jesus to death because Jesus claimed to be the Son of God. He claimed to have authority over sin, sickness, suffering, and sorrow.

[8:42] But what we ought to notice is that Jesus never once mentioned that he would suffer under Pontius Pilate. He never once mentioned that he would suffer under this man, Pilate.

[8:55] He certainly said that he would suffer at the hands of the Jewish ruling council, but not the Roman governor and not the Roman Empire. But as you know, it was the Jews who wanted to put Jesus to death.

[9:10] Pilate actually had no interest in putting Jesus to death. But the Jews, they wanted to put Jesus to death, but they couldn't put Jesus to death because as they say themselves in the trial of Jesus, it's unlawful for them to put Jesus to death.

[9:25] It was unlawful for them to put anyone to death. It would make them morally and ritually unclean before the God of their imagination. And so the Jews, they passed the buck onto their scapegoat, Pontius Pilate.

[9:41] But you know, it seems that the Apostles' Creed, it draws our attention to Pilate. Because as the Roman governor, Pilate had the power and the authority to sentence Jesus to death by crucifixion.

[9:55] He was the only one who could sentence Jesus to death by crucifixion. Of course, if you stand back from the whole scene, well, we see God at work in the whole process.

[10:09] The ultimate decision and decree of Jesus being put to death on the cross was God's. As the Apostle Peter asserted and affirmed that, he asserted on the day of Pentecost, Jesus was delivered over to be crucified by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God.

[10:27] So the decision and the decree was all God's. God is working here in this scene. And you know, it always reminds me of what the 19th century preacher and writer Octavius Winslow once asked.

[10:42] When he was talking about the death of Jesus, Octavius Winslow asked, Who was it that delivered Jesus up to die? Who was it that delivered Jesus up to die?

[10:56] And Octavius Winslow says, Well, it was not Judas for money. And it was not Pilate for fear. And it was not the Jews for envy. It was the Father for love.

[11:07] Who delivered Jesus over to die? Not Judas for money, nor Pilate for fear, nor the Jews for envy, but the Father for love.

[11:17] My friend, God the Father. This is the amazing thing about this story. The greatest story ever told. God the Father so loved this world that he delivered, he sent his only begotten Son to Calvary.

[11:32] So that whosoever, whosoever, everyone is included, no one is excluded. Whosoever would call upon the name of Jesus would not perish but have eternal life.

[11:46] But even though Jesus was delivered to death by the desire and decree of his Father, that didn't make Judas innocent.

[11:58] It didn't make the Jews blameless. And it certainly didn't make Pilate guiltless. No, they were all involved. They were all part of this, what you could say, this conspiracy.

[12:08] They were all accomplices to murder. But Pilate gets mentioned in the Apostles' Creed because the buck stopped with him. Pilate made the final decision to sentence Jesus to death by crucifixion.

[12:23] Because were it not for Pilate's decision, you'd have to question whether Jesus would ever have been crucified. But who is this man Pilate?

[12:34] Who is this man Pontius Pilate? Well, the gospel accounts, they all assert and affirm to us that Pontius Pilate was the Roman governor of Judea. Did you get that?

[12:45] He was the Roman governor of Judea. And as a Roman governor, Pilate had the role and responsibility of collecting taxes for the Roman Empire. He also had the responsibility of managing construction projects and also keeping law and order.

[13:00] And it's interesting that the typical term for a Roman governor at the time, the term for a Roman governor in one place was typically three years.

[13:12] But Pilate served as the Roman governor, listen, for ten years. History tells us that Pontius Pilate was appointed the Roman governor of Judea in 26 AD by the emperor Tiberius.

[13:28] But in 36 AD, Pilate was removed from his post by the emperor Caligula. And he was ordered to return to Rome.

[13:40] And you know, there are many tales and traditions surrounding Pilate's removal from office and his subsequent death in 39 AD. Some claim that Pilate was ordered by emperor Caligula to kill himself.

[13:54] While others believe, and it's very interesting that they believe this, they believe that Pilate was put to death because he converted to Christianity. There's no evidence for that.

[14:06] But the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, they consider Pontius Pilate as a saint. But you know, the truth is, we don't know. We don't know what happened to Pilate after he left Rome.

[14:18] We don't know how he died. We don't know if he became a Christian or not. But what we do know is that Pilate could see that there was something different. There was something distinct about this Jesus who was brought to him.

[14:35] And Pilate, he was interested. He was intrigued by this innocent man. He was interested and intrigued by this Galilean. Which brings us to consider, secondly, his conduct.

[14:49] So why does the Apostles' Creed draw attention to Pontius Pilate? First of all, his character. He was the only man who could put Jesus to death. That was his character. But also his conduct, as we see secondly.

[15:01] His conduct. Look at verse 11 of chapter 27. It says, Do you know, on the night that Jesus was betrayed, by Judas and arrested by the chief priests and the elders, Jesus had to stand trial, listen, six times.

[15:46] Not once, but six times. Jesus had to stand trial six times. There were three religious trials and three Roman trials.

[15:58] So he stood trial six times. Three religious trials and three Roman trials. And we see that from the account given in the Gospels. Because when you read through the Gospel narratives, you see that the religious trials, they were the trials where Jesus was tried for claiming to be the Messiah.

[16:18] And he was tried before Annas, who was the former high priest. Then Caiaphas, who was the current high priest. And then also the whole Sanhedrin, who were the Jewish ruling council.

[16:30] So there were three religious trials. And then after those three religious trials, Jesus, as we read in this chapter, he was passed on to Pilate to stand three Roman trials.

[16:44] But when Pilate met Jesus at first, Pilate thought the whole thing was a joke. Pilate thought this was all a joke, because when the Jews brought in this young Galilean, he was a young man from the fishing village of Galilee.

[17:02] He's brought in before the Roman governor of Judea. And he's accused by all these Jews for causing riots and boycotting Roman taxes and claiming to be the king of the Jews.

[17:17] And Pilate probably looked at Jesus and thought, this is a joke. He thought this isn't on. Pilate couldn't understand why Jesus was being put on trial.

[17:30] And what's more was that Pilate was amazed that Jesus didn't even try to defend himself. Jesus didn't say anything to him. Jesus didn't open his mouth.

[17:41] He said, are you the king of the Jews? And all Jesus said was, you have said so. But because Jesus was a Galilean, Pilate decided, well, let's send him to Herod.

[17:54] And see what Herod thinks of this. Because Herod, as we read in Luke's gospel, Herod was in Jerusalem at the time for the Passover. And Luke tells us in his gospel that Herod was delighted to see Jesus.

[18:06] He was delighted to see this Galilean fisherman, friend of fishermen. In fact, Herod had longed to see Jesus because he had heard so much about Jesus from his preacher and pastor, John the Baptist.

[18:21] You remember how John the Baptist, he had preached and pastored to Herod for a long time, proclaiming that Jesus was the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world.

[18:33] And the thing is, like many of our unconverted friends, Herod enjoyed listening to the gospel that John preached. Herod enjoyed having his conscience challenged and convicted by the gospel.

[18:45] But like many of our unconverted friends, Herod, well, he wasted all his opportunities by refusing to repent and by refusing to respond to the gospel.

[18:57] And you remember how it was at Herod's birthday party that Herod, he wasted his last gospel opportunity when his wife asked for the head of John the Baptist on a platter.

[19:13] And wishing to satisfy the crowd, wishing to satisfy those who were his peers around him at the party, Herod silenced the only voice of truth in his life and he beheaded John the Baptist.

[19:28] And so when Jesus was sent to Herod, Herod questioned Jesus at length, but Jesus said nothing. Jesus stood silently before Herod.

[19:43] And Jesus stood silently because Herod had silenced his conscience when he silenced John the Baptist. Herod had silenced his conscience when he silenced John the Baptist.

[19:58] And as we'll see in a moment, Pilate did exactly the same thing. He silenced his conscience in order to satisfy the crowd. Pilate silenced his conscience in order to satisfy the crowd.

[20:14] You know, my unconverted friend, whether here or at home this evening, don't silence your conscience. And don't satisfy the crowd.

[20:25] The crowd will only lead you away from Jesus towards a lost eternity. Don't silence your conscience and don't satisfy the crowd.

[20:37] But as we know, Herod, he mocked the silent Savior. He dressed him like a king. He sent him then back to Pilate. And we're told that Pilate, he enjoyed the joke. And Herod and Pilate, they became friends from that day on.

[20:53] But when Jesus returned to Pilate for a sixth and final trial, Pilate could see that there was something different about this Jesus. There was something distinct about this Jesus.

[21:03] In fact, Pilate, he repeatedly reaffirms the integrity and the innocence of this Galilean. Because when Jesus stood trial for the last time, we read in the Gospels that Pilate, he called together everyone.

[21:18] He called together the chief priests and the Jewish rulers. He called them all together to give evidence as witnesses for the prosecution. And he said to them, you brought me this man as one who was misleading the people.

[21:34] But after examining him before you, I find no fault in this man. Neither did Herod because he sent him back to me. And then Pilate says, look, look, nothing deserving of death has been done by him.

[21:48] I will therefore scourge him and release him. I will scourge him and release him. And you know, Pilate, he said that because he knew that Jesus was innocent.

[21:59] He knew that Jesus spoke the truth and that Jesus certainly didn't deserve to be punished or put to death by crucifixion. But Pilate, Pilate tried to avoid standing up for Jesus by silencing his conscience and satisfying the crowd with scourging.

[22:21] Pilate tried to avoid standing up for Jesus by silencing his conscience and satisfying the crowd with scourging. Scourging, as you know, it was a form of whipping.

[22:34] It was a punishment using a whip. When a Jew was scourged, there was a law that you were not allowed to receive more than 40 lashes if you were a Jew or if you were receiving it from another Jew.

[22:50] But in the case of a Roman scourging, there was no limit. 40 was, well, that wasn't very many. It wasn't enough. And so, you would get more than 40 lashes and the whip of a Roman scourge, it often had knots in it and bones tied through it in order to cause even more damage.

[23:10] So that when the scourge hit Jesus, they will say, Jesus is back, the design of it was to rip and remove as much flesh from it as possible.

[23:22] And you know, it was customary for the Romans to scourge a condemned criminal before he was put to death. But in the case of Jesus, Pilate had him scourged only to silence his own conscience and also to satisfy the crowd.

[23:42] But the thing is, scourging Jesus was never going to satisfy and it was never going to silence the crowd. Nothing was going to satisfy or silence the crowd until they would see a crucified Christ.

[23:55] But it was one last attempt to appease the Jews and release Jesus. Pilate made one more offer to the crowd. He made one more offer to them.

[24:06] We read in verse 15. It says, Now at the feast, the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted. And they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabbas.

[24:19] So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, Whom do you want me to release for you? Barabbas or Jesus, who is called Christ?

[24:30] So it was the custom at the feast of Passover for the Roman governor to relieve the death sentence of a prisoner and to release him.

[24:41] And so Pilate thought to himself, Well, surely they're not going to want Barabbas to be set free. So he decides, well, he thought they would rather release Jesus than release Barabbas.

[24:52] Because, well, Barabbas, he was a murderer. Barabbas was a terrorist. He was a man who was hated and a hardened criminal. And yet when Pilate asked the question, Whom do you want me to release for you?

[25:07] Barabbas or Jesus, who is called Christ? The crowd didn't need to be asked twice. They say, Give us Barabbas.

[25:18] Give us Barabbas. And then Pilate asked, Well, what shall I do with Jesus? Crucify him. Crucify him. Crucify him. They knew what they wanted.

[25:30] The crowd knew what they wanted. They said, Crucify him. But you know, what's really fascinating is Pilate's question to the crowd. Because when you read Pilate's question to the crowd in its original language, Pilate's question is literally this, Whom shall I release to you?

[25:50] Jesus Barabbas or Jesus the Christ? Whom shall I release to you? Jesus Barabbas or Jesus the Christ?

[26:02] And it's really fascinating when you read it in its original language. In other words, the question that Pilate asks is, Which Jesus do you want? Which Jesus do you want?

[26:14] Do you want Jesus Barabbas or Jesus the Christ? Which Jesus do you want? What kind of Jesus do you want? And you know, my friend, we can take the question to ourselves, can't we?

[26:29] What kind of Jesus do we want? Which Jesus do you want? Do you want a Jesus that will let you love God and live as you please? Or do you want a Jesus who promises that he loves you and he gave himself for you?

[26:45] Do you want a Jesus that will ignore your sin? Or a Jesus whom you love for suffering for your sin? Do you want a Jesus that will send you to hell? Or a Jesus that will save you from hell?

[26:58] Do you want a Jesus that will do everything you want? Or do you want a Jesus that knows what's best for you? What kind of Jesus do you want?

[27:10] Which, what Jesus do you want? That's the question Pilate asks. And you look at this situation and this narrative and you've been reminded, well, don't follow the crowd because they chose the wrong Jesus.

[27:25] They chose the wrong Jesus. They chose Jesus Barabbas and they crucified Jesus the Christ. My friend, which Jesus do you want? Which Jesus do you want?

[27:39] But you know, before Pilate succumbed to the shouts of the crowd, he had a conversation with Jesus, which is what I want us to see lastly. I want us to see his conversation.

[27:53] What does the Apostles' Creed draw? Why does the Apostles' Creed draw our attention to Pontius Pilate? It draws our attention to Pontius Pilate because of his character. He was the only man who could put Jesus to death.

[28:05] His conduct, he wanted to satisfy the crowd. And then lastly, his conversation with Jesus. His conversation. Look at verse 24 of chapter 27.

[28:21] So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, I am innocent of this man's blood.

[28:33] See to it yourselves. And all the people answered, His blood be on us and on our children. Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.

[28:46] You know, it's often said that behind every good man is a good woman, and that you should always listen to your wife.

[28:58] Well, that's the advice I have often received. And it's the advice that Pilate should have listened to. Because, you know, when Pilate's wife had a nightmare about the innocence of Jesus and the injustice of his trial, she sent word to Pilate.

[29:15] We read about it in verse 19. She sent word to the judgment seat, saying, Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered much because of him today in a dream.

[29:30] And, you know, it seems that the pronouncement of Pilate's wife, it caused Pilate to question Jesus even further. And John, in his gospel, he records for us Pilate's last conversation with Jesus.

[29:47] Because in John chapter 18, we read that Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, Are you the king of the Jews?

[29:58] Now, this isn't the first time he's asking this question. He's asked this question before. Are you the king of the Jews? And Jesus says to him, Do you say this of your own accord? Or did others say it to you about me?

[30:11] Pilate says to him, Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done? And Jesus says to him, My kingdom is not of this world.

[30:23] If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world. Then Pilate said to him, So you are a king?

[30:36] And Jesus answered, You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.

[30:49] And then Pilate asks the question that everyone asks, What is truth? What is truth?

[31:02] And you know, is that not the question that everyone's asking today? What is truth? What is truth? Because, you know, it's a very post-modern question, isn't it?

[31:14] And yet it comes to us from the ancient world because, as you know, there's nothing new under the sun. Everyone is seeking the truth. Everyone is searching for truth.

[31:24] Everyone is striving for truth. Everyone is asking the same question as Pilate. Even when they're face to face with Jesus, they're still asking the question, What is truth?

[31:36] They're asking the questions of life. Why are we here? What's the point to life? What's the truth about Jesus? What's it all about?

[31:48] Many people have their thoughts and their theories about Jesus. Many people make their assumptions and their assertions and their accusations about Jesus. But, you know, don't you find it amazing that after three religious trials and three Roman trials, Pilate's conclusion about this man of Galilee was, I find no fault in this man.

[32:13] My friend, when Pilate came face to face with Jesus, he encountered and experienced the one who is the truth. More than that, he discovered that Jesus, Jesus is the truth.

[32:27] What is truth? Jesus is truth. And Jesus, as Pilate discovered, he is innocent. He discovered that Jesus is king.

[32:38] He's king of kings. He's the sinless savior. Pilate discovered the truth as he stood face to face with Jesus. But, but, there's a but because, as you know, the story of Pilate has a sad, a very sad ending.

[32:57] You know, Pilate discovered the identity of Jesus. He stood before the truth. He discovered Jesus is the truth. But, he didn't defend it.

[33:08] He didn't disclose it. And, he certainly didn't declare it. Pilate discovered that Jesus was the truth. The way, the truth, and the life. But, he didn't defend it.

[33:19] He didn't disclose it. And, he didn't declare it. Instead, Pilate, literally, he tried to wash his hands of the whole thing. But, my friend, no one can wash their hands from Jesus.

[33:33] And, we're told that Pilate, wishing to satisfy, not Jesus, wishing to satisfy the crowd, he released Barabbas, and he delivered Jesus over to be crucified.

[33:50] Pilate silenced his conscience in order to satisfy the crowd. What a way to go. He silenced his conscience in order to satisfy the crowd.

[34:07] You know, my unconverted friend, I want to speak to you personally and pointedly this evening. You know, when it comes to the gospel, do not silence your conscience.

[34:19] Please, do not silence your conscience. Don't shut off to the gospel. Don't silence your conscience and please do not try and satisfy the crowd.

[34:31] You will never satisfy them. But the call of the gospel is to come to this Jesus, very simply, to come to him, to ask him, ask, seek, and knock.

[34:44] That's what the gospel is. Ask and you shall receive. Seek and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. But whatever you do, don't silence your conscience and don't satisfy the crowd.

[34:59] And so the Apostles' Creed, it states that Jesus suffered under Pontius Pilate. He suffered under Pontius Pilate because of his character, his conduct, his conversation, and his conscience.

[35:14] because like many, Pilate silenced his conscience in order to satisfy the crowd. Mark tells us that wishing to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas, but delivered Jesus over to be crucified.

[35:33] And that brings us to our next statement in the Apostles' Creed, that Jesus Christ was crucified, dead, and buried.

[35:46] Jesus Christ was crucified, dead, and buried. And God willing, we'll consider that statement next Lord's Day. May the Lord bless these thoughts to us.

[35:57] Let us pray. O Lord, our gracious God, we give thanks to Thee for the gospel narrative, a narrative that has been written in eternity, a narrative that was penned by God the Father himself.

[36:15] And we thank Thee that that is the great plan and purpose of redemption, that sinners can be saved through a crucified Christ. And we thank Thee, Lord, that he was delivered up by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, but that Thou art the God who saw this way.

[36:37] And Lord, we pray that we would look at Pilate, we would see him as a man who pleased man, and not God, and that we would learn from his mistake, and that we might seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, knowing then that all other things will be added unto us.

[36:58] Oh, Lord, help us, we pray, to go the way of righteousness, to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, to seek him while he may be found, to ask him and seek him and knock on his door, knowing that it will be opened unto us.

[37:15] Lord, bless us in the week that lies ahead, a week that is unknown to us, but help us to know that we worship a living Savior, one who walks with us and talks with us on the way, and who promises to open up unto us the scriptures.

[37:31] Keep us then, we pray, go before us and cleanse us for Jesus' sake. Amen. Well, we're going to bring our service to a conclusion this evening by singing in Psalm 145.

[37:45] Psalm 145, in the second version of the psalm, the long meter version, Psalm 145, we're singing from verse 17 down to the end of the psalm.

[38:02] It's on page 445 in the blue psalm book. Psalm 145 from verse 17, The Lord is just in his ways all, and holy in his works each one.

[38:14] He's near to all that on him call, who call in truth, on him alone. God will the just desire fulfil, of such as do him fear and dread, their cry regard, and here he will, and save them in the time of need.

[38:32] We'll sing down to the end of the psalm of Psalm 145, to God's praise. verse 17. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[38:42] The Lord is just in his wisdom, and holy in his works each one.

[38:59] He's near to God. And which gek is known.

[39:26] All such as to him fear and dread, Their God reward the dearly will, And save them in the time of need.

[39:57] The Lord deserves all moralness, That bear to him a loving heart, That work of all the freedom is, This joy will be, and we suffer.

[40:37] Therefore my love and bliss I'll bring, To speak the praises of the Lord, To magnify his holy name, Forever there, all flesh shall fall.

[41:16] The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, The love of God the Father, And the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, Be with you all, now and forevermore. Amen. Amen.

[41:27]  Amen.