very appropriate psalm that we have come to. We didn't choose it specifically for today, but as we are going through the scriptures, we have fallen upon this psalm where it is speaking about praying for the peace of Jerusalem. And as many of you, I'm sure you've heard about the war that is taking place right now there and the unrest in Israel right now. Here the Psalmist explains and says, he was glad about something. What was he glad about? What is it that is causing him to rejoice? Something that someone said to him. There are people who encouraged him and there are people who said to him, let us go. Let us go into the house of the Lord. Let us all go to Jerusalem. Let us go to worship God. What friends he had. These are the kind of people that you should have around you. These are the friends that are true friends who encourage you. Let us worship God. Let us live for Him. Let us live out all of our lives for Him. What a testimony, dear friends. So the psalmist says, this is the kind of friends I have. And he says, it made me glad. I was glad. They made me glad. The very thought of going to worship God made me glad. And so his thoughts then go regarding Jerusalem, where the temple was. And of course, in the time of David, when he wrote this, there was no temple yet. But he's looking forward to that period of time. And dear friends, when we think about these things and think of these truths that the psalmist speaks about, we think of that great work of Jesus Christ. He is the one who is building his people, building a great house. a great temple for the worship of God. His spirit comes and dwells within our temple of our bodies. But the temple that he makes is made with living stones, lively stones, the Bible says. And this is God's people. The people of God have been purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ, and they are compacted together, united by the blood of Jesus Christ, We need to pray for one another, pray for unity and peace as we pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Dear friends, what a joy it is. If you are a child of God, it's a joyful thing to come together. It's an oasis each Lord's day coming together to worship God. How there can be any peace for the physical Jerusalem? How can there be any peace for the spiritual Israel of God? The peace is in Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace. He's the only one who can calm the storms of your life and heart, the unrest that there can be, that sin brings unrest in our lives, only Jesus. The scripture says He is our peace. And dear friends, one day, even those who crucified Him will look to Him and would be blessed and would receive the Prince of Peace. Well, dear friends, let us be encouraged. from these Psalms, let us be thankful to God that we have these opportunities of coming together like this. Let us never take our gathering together for granted. There may come a time that these times may be limited because of health issues, because of even persecution. that may come and I believe this is what is awaiting us. The judgments of God are already upon us as a people and who can tell if God was take off his hand even more from our society, his people will experience much suffering. There are dark days, dear friends, ahead. And yet, in the midst of it all, the Lord Jesus Christ is the sovereign ruler of the skies, as the hymn says. He remains unbeatable. His church continues to grow, never losing any of his true members. The Lord Jesus Christ ultimately is victorious above these things. So let us, as we see the dark clouds approaching, realize we are the light of the world still. We are still that beacon, because the light that the church of Jesus Christ gives forth is the light of the gospel. And what a wonder it is. It is transformational. It changes the world. It affects people's lives. So be encouraged, dear friends. And let us now pray.