Let's turn to Job chapter 41. Job chapter 41. And with the Bible, the Word of God open, we'll just unite briefly in prayer. Our gracious Father, our loving Savior, and blessed Holy Spirit, we gather in the triune name of the living God. We rejoice in the Trinity that worked our redemption. We thank Thee for the Father choosing a people and giving a people to the Son. We thank Thee for the Son who came and died for His people for He shall save His people from their sin. We thank Thee for the Spirit of God who worked in our hearts, illuminating our minds, regenerating our hearts and souls. We rejoice, O God, for the drawing of the Spirit who drew us on to the only Redeemer of God's elect. And Lord, we worship Thee in the persons of the sacred Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Bless our time around thy word, and minister to our souls. We offer prayer in Jesus' name, amen. Let's read from verse one of Job 41. Canst thou draw out Lavanian with a hook, or his tongue with a cord, which thou lettest down? Canst thou put a hook into his nose, or bore his jaw through with a thorn? Will he make many supplications unto me? Will he speak soft words unto thee? Will he make a covenant with thee? Will thou take him for a servant forever? Wilt thou play with him as with a bird? Or wilt thou bind him for thy maidens? Shall the companions make a banquet of him? Shall they part him among the merchants? hath'st thou fill'd his skin with barbed irons, or his head with fish-spears, lay thy hand upon him, remember the battle, do no more. Amen. Lavanian, believed by many to be of sea monster was an animal that Job was unable to catch and to conquer due to its ferocious strength and its fierce nature. Job was simply encouraged by God with regard to that particular animal, verse 8, to lay thy hand upon him, remember the battle, and do no more. Around the table of remembrance, I want to take these words completely out of their context, for that's what they are, completely out of their context and apply them to none other than the Lord Jesus Christ of the one whom we come to remember in God's appointed way. Three things I want us to note from the verse. The verse speaks first of all of recollection, recollection, remember the battle. remember the battle on Friday of the past week and again today we have remembered battles of a bygone age. We think of the two world wars, the conflicts in the Falklands, Iraq, Afghanistan and the troubles. But today we come to remember another battle, a battle that took place on Calvary's hillside when Christ the great creator died for man the creature's sin. How quickly we seem to forget that conflict, the conflict that raged on Calvary's hillside. It was a conflict between the Savior and Satan, between righteousness and sin, between light and darkness, between truth and falsehood. The battle raged. Jesus Christ came forth the victor, having crushed the head of the serpent to the wounding of himself, yet he came forth the victor. And today in this service we recollect, we remember Calvary's battle, the place of bloodshedding, the place of conquest, the place of victory for our Redeemer. This communion feast assists us in remembering that battle. May we not forget the battle, the greatest battle ever fought, the greatest battle ever won. There's recollection in this verse. Secondly, there is appropriation in this verse. Lay thy hand upon him. When we reach out our hand and lay hold of a particular object, we are appropriating that object to ourselves. We are as it were, bringing that object to ourselves. We have now taken personal interest in that particular item. And in the gospel, we appropriate Christ to ourselves. We lay hold of Him in the gospel by faith. We look to Him by faith. We receive Him. Every believer has laid their hand on Christ. They have taken Him to themselves. They have trusted in His work. the work that he did for them at the cross of Calvary. They have laid their hand on him, but these words, lay thy hand on him, takes me and makes me think of the work of the officiating priest on the day of atonement. On that day, the high priest placed his hand on the head of the scapegoat, and he would confess them the sins of the people over that particular animal, and then that animal would take the nation's sins to an uninhabitable place. They laid their hands on the sacrifice. And that's what we've done by faith. We've laid our hand on Him, and thank God He has taken our hand into His hand. He is the one who has borne away our sins, and that's what we come to remember today. And thank God, those who gather here, all who savingly know him have appropriated Christ. There is appropriation, there is recollection. Finally, there is cessation. Cessation. Because the text ends with these words, do no more. Do no more. Having remembered him, what he did, And having then by faith received Him, laid our hands on Him, taken Him to be our own and personal Savior, we are then to do no more. We're to do nothing else. All that is required of us in the gospel is to appropriate Christ by faith. And then we do no more. Do no more in the sense that we do no more to secure salvation for ourselves because all that is required for our salvation has been done by Christ on our behalf. I'm not saying do no more with regard to Christian living, but with regard to salvation, do no more. Christ has done it all. Christ has honored the law. Christ has lived the righteous life for us that was demanded for us to live. Christ has paid the price of sin. It is then for us to rest on the finished work of Christ. How glad we ought to be that we need to do no more. Christ has done all that is required to see to our reconciliation with God. Child of God cease from doing and start resting for all the doing has been done. Isn't that a wonderful thought? All the doing has been done and we're resting our souls today on a finished work, the atoning sacrifice of Christ. if you have believed on Christ and by faith have received Him, the hand of faith, as it were, reaching out to receive Christ in the gospel, then today we can say, do no more. I need to do no more. He has done it all for me at the place called Calvary. There is in this text recollection. Remember the battle. There is appropriation. Lay thy hand upon him. There is cessation. Do no more. May God help us to just thank him today for all that the Savior has done on our behalf. Amen.