Let's seek the Lord's blessing on the reading and preaching of his word. Our great God in heaven, that is the desire of our hearts that you would speak to us through your word. Give us attentive ears, receptive hearts, keen minds, that your word may take firm root in us, that we might hear glorious truths upon which we can build our lives. So bless us now. in the reading and the preaching of your word. We ask this in Jesus' name, amen. Well, let me ask you to open up your copy of scripture to Hebrews 2. We're gonna read verses 14 through 18, but our focus this morning will be the last two verses of this chapter, which Lord willing, we'll be wrapping up this morning. Hebrews chapter 2, beginning of verse 14, This is the true word of the living God. Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared in the same that through death he might destroy him who had the power of death, that is the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For indeed, he does not give aid to angels. but he does give aid to the seed of Abraham. Therefore, in all things, he had to be made like his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself has suffered being tempted, he is able to aid those who are being tempted. The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of our God endures forever. our hearts this morning. Dearest congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, in verses 10 through 18 of Hebrews 2, you find an answer to the question, why did Jesus come in the flesh? And again, the reason this question would have been on the mind of these Hebrew Christians is because they were being persecuted. And they're beginning to think, why did He come in the frailty? of human flesh. Now, in those verses 10 through 18, the questions answered in several different ways. You may recall I entitled last week's sermon, Death's Destroyer. And I chose that title because it describes one of the reasons for which the Son of God became incarnate. He took upon Himself a nature like ours so He could die in our place and through His death He could destroy the devil's tyranny who uses the fear of death to hold people in bondage. In other words, He took on flesh to die for us to release us from that terrible bondage. And this morning we're actually given more reasons for the incarnation and more of the blessings that we receive on account of it. I've entitled this sermon, He is Able, based on that last phrase there in verse 18. But the impetus of the argument in Hebrews 2 is that Jesus is able to do all things for us as our mediator and redeemer because he did in fact take to himself a true human nature. Now what we're going to learn this morning from verses 16 through 18 is that God became man first to savingly take hold of us, second to represent us before the throne of God, And then third, to give us powerful help in times of temptation. So first up, the second person of the Trinity took on flesh to savingly take hold of us. Look there once more at verse 16, for indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham. Now the English doesn't quite convey the full flavor of those opening words, for indeed. It tends to sound rather formal, but the idea here is the author's about to say something that ought to be crystal clear to everyone who hears it. It's what we would call a no-brainer. Don't even have to think about this. And here's the truth that we shouldn't have to even think about. It's awesome, but it's crystal clear. Jesus didn't come in the flesh to give aid to angels. He came in the flesh for the seed of Abraham. Have you ever paused to consider that there's no possibility of salvation for fallen angels? None. You'll remember Lucifer was a beautiful angel. He may have actually functioned as a kind of chief musician in heaven's worship. But when Lucifer said, I'll ascend into heaven, I'll exalt my throne above the stars of God, his prideful rebellion resulted in being cast out of heaven along with a third of the angels. And we know that the devil and his fallen angels will receive the dessert for their sin. Jesus said in Matthew 25, 41 that that's the purpose for which hell was actually created, for Satan and his demonic hordes. And now the everlasting fires of judgment, is there certain destiny? Certain destiny, dear ones. There's no hope of redemption for angels. And the author of Hebrews wants the church to contemplate this contrast. There are fallen angels who are justly condemned to hell and God didn't provide them a means of salvation. They're going to receive their just penalty for their cosmic treason against their creator. And what's the contrast? But to you, seed of Abraham, he gives aid. You see, you too have sinned and you've rebelled against God. Yes, you too have committed cosmic treason against the good and loving Creator. It's not that you're morally superior. Yes, your just penalty for those sin is separation from God and the everlasting fires of judgment. But to you, seed of Abraham, to you and for you, there's aid. Last week in Sunday school, talked a little bit about why it's imperative for God's people to be pro-life, so I'm not going to belabor that here. But this is one of the little indications we get that it's not often thought about. Of all the creatures, only man has a Redeemer. Not the splendid angels who have fallen, man. Jesus took on flesh and in doing so he gave humanity a special inherent dignity. Now the word that's translated there in verse 17, give aid, doesn't actually give us much aid because it would be much better translated take hold of. That's what the word means, to take hold of. It doesn't mean to give aid. It doesn't mean to simply offer help. Those are reasonable translations, but it doesn't capture. The idea here is take hold of, to seize with force, to grip firmly for the purpose of rescue, right? That's what He does for the seed of Abraham. It's the same word used back in Matthew 14, when Jesus was walking on the water, His disciples, they were out on the boat, and they see Jesus, and at first they don't recognize Him, and they're afraid, but He spoke to them, and He said, be fear not. And Peter said, Lord, if it's you, command me to come. And Jesus said, come. Well, you know the story. Peter stepped out on the water. He was okay at first, and he looked around, And as he started looking at the waves, he began to sink. And Peter actually prayed one of the most remarkable prayers in the Bible. He prayed, Lord, save me. That's the prayer we want all our unbelieving relatives to pray, isn't it? Lord, save me. And Jesus stretched out His hand and He took hold of Peter. He took hold of Peter to rescue him. That's the same word and same idea here in Hebrews 2.16. Jesus didn't come in real flesh and blood to take hold of and rescue angels. He became a man to take hold of you as the seed of Abraham. Now, who is the seed of Abraham? Well, this is clearly talking about the spiritual seed of Abraham, and we get some help here understanding this from Galatians 3, 26 and 29. There the apostle Paul writes, for you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And if you're Christ's, then you're Abraham's seed. and heirs according to the promise, right? So Jesus was born in a manger to a virgin in the earthly line of Abraham so that he could take hold of the seed of Abraham to rescue them. Now, you see, it would be very easy, and I know many in our church communities They would read this and their first thought would be, I'm not a Jew. How could this apply to me? I have no Semitic blood running through my veins. But Paul tells us something very helpful in Galatians 3. It's not a share in Abraham's DNA that blesses us, it's that we share the one same faith. of Abraham. That's what blesses us. Jesus took on flesh to take hold of the spiritual seed of Abraham. And by faith, dear ones, you are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. And there's something we don't want to miss. As we've been working through Hebrews, we've been given these little hints. that the Christ came to save a particular people. Not everyone. He didn't die for everyone. So far, those particular people have been described as heirs of salvation. They've been called sons of God. They've been called the brothers of Christ. They've been called the children of God. And now they're called the offspring of Abraham. You see, the author of Hebrews is narrowing it down and he's saying God's promised Messiah came into the world for God's people, God's elect. He came to save his people from their sin and behind God's choice to lay hold of the seed of Abraham. is the amazing comfort in knowing that we don't lift ourselves up to heaven, but heaven has come down to us. When God took on flesh and with that firm and loving grip of grace, the God-man has taken hold of us, and he really, and he powerfully, and he sovereignly saves us. That's a foundational truth to comfort and assure the child of God. As I was thinking about that this week, a hymn came to mind that some of you are probably familiar with. I was sinking deep in sin, far from the peaceful shore. Very deeply stained within, sinking to rise no more. But the master of the sea heard my despairing cry. From the waters lifted me, now safe am I. Love lifted me, love lifted me when nothing else could help. Love lifted me. My friends, that's the truth we need to get fixed in our hearts. It's God's love that moved his heart to send Jesus. It's God's love that brought about the second person of the Trinity to be incarnate. And it's God's love that has reached down and taken hold of you as the seed of Abraham to secure your salvation, that you might be rescued now and for all eternity. Well, that brings us to our second heading this morning. God became man to represent us before the throne of God. Look again there at verse 17. Pardon me. Therefore, in all things, he had to be made like his brethren that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God to make propitiation for the sins of the people. Let's unpack this. Hopefully you'll remember from last week I mentioned that it was in verse 11 that we were first given specifics concerning the doctrine of the incarnation. It says in verse 11, both he who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all one. And by that it means that the humanity of Jesus and the nature of man is truly one and the same. That's how closely Jesus is identified with us. And in verse 14, he continues to build on that teaching. Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared in the same. And then when we get to verse 17, we see that again the writer bounces back to the doctrine of the incarnation. Therefore, in all things, he had to be made like his brethren. You see, if Jesus was to be a real help to sinners, He needed to fully identify with us in our humanity. Now we spent some time last week learning that Jesus didn't just appear to be a man, He was a, He had a true human nature. He was, in His human nature, He was 100% man. He's just like us from head to toe. What we are physically, so was Jesus in His human nature. Now listen to the rest of verse 17 where the writer actually moves from that doctrine of the incarnation to the blessing of it. In all things, he had to be made like his brethren that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the things pertaining to God. This is the first time in the book of Hebrews that Jesus is specifically mentioned as our high priest, but it will become one of the main themes in this book, and one the author will continually go back to and develop in some rich and wonderful ways. It will teach us how Jesus perfectly fulfills the office of high priest and how he perfectly represents us as mediator. And while we might not be overly familiar with the Old Testament priesthood, And the various allusions and imagery of the priesthood would have been really clear to this group of Hebrew Christians. Remember, they were essentially Jews who were converted and became Christians. Now, we know Aaron was the first high priest of Israel. He served in the tabernacle in the wilderness. And like every high priest after Aaron, they were selected and ordained by God to represent the people of God before the throne of God. And Jews knew how important the office of high priest was. They knew they couldn't approach God directly. The only way they could come to God was through the mediation of a priest. But when you survey the history of the priesthood in Israel's long trajectory from the wilderness all the way up to the time of Christ, there was an inadequacy with the Levitical priesthood. It was not perfect. The priests were imperfect and the sacrifices that they made were inferior. But when the high priest entered into the Holy of Holies once a year on the Day of Atonement, before he could offer up sacrifices for the sins of Israel, he would have to first offer up the blood of a bull for his own sins. None of those Old Testament priests were perfect. They were sinners just like the rest of Israel. So you had imperfect priests offering inferior sacrifices. And that's why sacrifices had to be made year after year for almost 1,500 years. And they always pointed to the need for a perfect priesthood and a perfect sacrifice. God's people needed a priest who was worthy to enter into the presence of God, who would be a perfect mediator between God and man, and who could offer a sacrifice that would be once and for all received by God. And that high priest needed to be a true man if he was to rightly represent us and identify with us. Now we're going to be spending a lot of time learning about Christ's superior priesthood and the many benefits that it provides, but there are two in our text that I want to zero in on this morning. Notice there again in verse 17, it tells us that Jesus is a merciful and a faithful high priest. So this reminds us that Christ's mediatorial work as a priest is in two directions. He's merciful toward us and he's faithful toward God. Now, when we think of mercy, we often contemplate it as an attitude or maybe an emotion, but it's more than that. Mercy is the response or the action of a person who feels pity or compassion for another. I mentioned in the confession of sin that Ordinarily, the word for mercy, it simply means compassion or pity. That's the word that's used here. It's not the mercy seat word yet. And the point is, mercy is compassion acted on. Let me illustrate it this way. If I'm driving down the road and I see a train wreck, I might very well feel pity and compassion for the victims, but unless I stop to help them, I'm not showing them mercy. Mercy involves help. And the point is, Jesus looked at us and he saw how sin had made a train wreck of our lives. And he had compassion and pity for us. And as our high priest, he did something to help us. The creator of humanity became humanity so that he could act on that pity. And what's truly remarkable about His mercy is that He offered help and deliverance and rescue to His enemies, to fallen men who had rebelled against Him. We deserve justice, but our High Priest looked at all those He represented, all the elect throughout all the ages. He looked at our sin and pity welled up inside of Him, and He acted on it. He helped us. He took hold of us. That's mercy. But he's also faithful toward God. You see, unlike all the high priests throughout Israel's history, Jesus could actually enter into the Holy of Holies on his own merit, based on his own righteousness. Jesus was a worthy high priest. He didn't have to first atone for sins because he is the unblemished Lamb of God. He is our sinless high priest. When God looked into the heavenly sanctuary, After Christ's death and ascension, he goes to heaven and spreads out the blood on the mercy seat in the true tabernacle, which is in heaven. And when God looked in the heavenly sanctuary and he saw Jesus in the Holy of Holies applying his blood on the mercy seat to cover our sins, God was actually delighted to see this priest. This was a priest who glorified God and was even glorified by God. So finally, there's a priest who stood before God for us in perfect faithfulness. And by the way, do you know how far Jesus' faithfulness extended? All the way to the cross. All the way to the cross. You see, that's the greatest demonstration of His mercy toward us and His faithfulness toward of God. And verse 17 explains one of the most important aspects of Christ's work on the cross. Our great high priest made propitiation for the sins of the people. Although I've taught on the doctrine of propitiation a number of times, in fairness, it's not a word that many are familiar with, but it is a really important word. And let me say something. If you're thinking, Pastor Byrd, we don't need to learn about a doctrinal word like propitiation. It's not a man-made theological word. Propitiation is a biblical word. A basic definition of propitiation would be the turning away of wrath, the appeasement of anger, right? And again, propitiation was made on the mercy seat. Now, the reason propitiation is needed is because God is holy. Again, it's important to keep this in our minds, dear ones. Of all God's attributes that we learn about in His Word, the one that's taught most frequently is His holiness. It's good and proper to extol the love of God. We ought to think deeply about how much God loves us. The fact that God is love is an amazing attribute. It ought to bless our hearts and soul. But the attribute most frequently spoken of in Scripture is His holiness. And sin is infinitely offensive to an infinitely holy God. And what that means is that sin incites God's anger and wrath. Now keep in mind, God's anger is not like ours. If you're anything like me, you sometimes get angry and when things settle down, you realize your anger wasn't a holy anger. In many cases, our anger comes from sinful motives, but the anger of God's not a temper tantrum. It's not God having an emotional response. God has no passions that way. It's the just, right response of a holy God to the sin that exists in his creation. His holy character demands it. It's interesting when you talk about an angry God, that kind of puts us in unpopular waters. As I said, most people love to think about the love of God. But here's what I would say to you, dear ones, please hear this. You can't properly understand the love of God if you don't understand how His anger and wrath burns against sin. You see what Jesus did for us. He propitiated our sin. He is our propitiator. And by being our propitiator, that means on the cross, he bore our sins and then bore the full wrath of God for us. So that God's wrath, instead of being directed to us, instead of being directed to you, instead of being directed to the ones who deserved it, it was turned away and directed at him on cross. You see, if we diminish the anger of God, we'll diminish the love of God and what He accomplished on our behalf. That's why the Apostle John says, this is love, not that we love God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. You see, that's the incomprehensible love that God has for you, O seed of Abraham. He appeased his own anger so it wouldn't burn against you. Philip Hughes said it this way, our hell, he made his, that his heaven might be ours. That's our merciful and faithful high priest who mediates our relationship. to God. Well, God became man to savingly take hold of us, to represent us before the throne of God, and thirdly, we see this morning, God became man to give us help in times of temptation. Look there, verse 18, for in that he himself has suffered, being tempted, he's able to aid those who are tempted. Now, I want to go back to the doctrine of the incarnation. The writer of Hebrews is teaching us something really important here about Jesus' human nature. He not only had a real human body, he had a real human mind, a real human will, real human finite thoughts, he had real human emotions. Of course, all that without sin. I say that because many Christians who understand that Jesus was fully a man in a physical sense, seemed to struggle in understanding that in his human nature he also possessed a real human psychology. Jesus experienced happiness and joy, sorrow and grief, anger, compassion, disappointment, distress, and he processed all those things that produce laughter and tears in our lives. Calvin said it this way, he put on our feelings along with his flesh. You see, Jesus understands what it means to live in a fallen world in every way. And he knew what it was like to suffer temptation. And remember the context of these Hebrews. These weary, beleaguered Christians were facing persecution, and apparently there were some who were thinking that a good way to alleviate the problem would be to revert back to Judaism. That was the temptation facing them. Being a Christian was hard, and it really was hard for them. And so they were thinking about taking the easy way out. So here's a question we might ask of Jesus. Did he know anything about that kind of temptation? Can Jesus relate to people who are struggling with the temptation to take the easy way out? To be sure. Think about it, after his baptism and both the accounts of Matthew and Luke, we're given this information that tells us he was led by the Spirit into the wilderness where he fasted for 40 days and 40 nights and the devil came to tempt him. And there were three major temptations recorded in that event. And the central theme in all three of those temptations is Jesus being given the opportunity by the devil to take the easy way out. For example, listen to the third temptation. This is Matthew 4, verses 8 and 9. Again, the devil took him high up on an exceedingly high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory. And he said to him, all these things I'll give you if you'll fall down and worship me. Now, again, we know when Jesus ascended, God crowned him king over all. But at this point, Satan's tempting Jesus. He's basically saying, you know, Jesus, you can bypass that suffering. You can bypass the pain. You can bypass the heartache. And mostly, you can bypass the cross and go straight to glory if you'll just worship me. You can take the easy way out. You can avoid the hard stuff. Isn't that a temptation for us often? We see Jesus can relate to these Hebrew Christians who are fighting with the temptation to take the easy way out. That's the encouragement that verse 18 offers. God's priest, excuse me, God's people have a high priest who can fully sympathize with us when we're tempted. And you see the reason Jesus can always relate to us when we're fighting and struggling with temptation is that He actually suffered with temptation to a degree that we can't actually fathom. He wrestled with temptation in a way that exceeds anything in our experience, and that's true for a couple reasons. One, Jesus was God's Son who came into the world to save sinners, and that means that the devil held nothing back. Jesus faced the full onslaught of the devil. If the devil was ever gonna bring out his big guns, It was with Jesus. But there's another reason that Jesus suffered under temptation in a way that exceeds our own battle with temptations. He never gave in. He never gave in to temptation. Some might say, Jesus never sinned, so how can he know about temptation? But that's the point. He persevered. I mean, you and I, we don't know what it means to fully persevere in temptation, do we? We give in at some point, but not Jesus. He was tempted, and he withstood it, and he was tempted, and he withstood it, and he was tempted, and he withstood it. He never gave in. Here's an old illustration that I find helpful to help us get our minds around this. Think of it this way. Which bridge has undergone the greatest stress, the one that collapses under its first load of traffic, or the one that bears that same traffic morning and evening, year after year? You see, for 33 years, Jesus faced temptations, and he bore that load without fail, so he knows what we're facing when the stress of temptation is upon us. But verse 18 offers us more than a tremendous blessing of a high priest who can relate to our fight with temptation. He is a high priest who is able to aid those who are tempted. So Jesus offers us real help to overcome temptation. Many of you have probably memorized 1 Corinthians 10, 13, no temptation. has overtaken you except that which is common to man. But God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond that you're able, but with the temptation will also make a way of escape that you may be able to bear it. My friend, Jesus is on the throne where he rules and reigns as king, and he remains ready to come to your aid to help you and to me on our moment of temptation. I was thinking this week and asking myself, When I'm faced with temptation, do I look to the power of heaven to help me? Do you? Or do you try to do it in your own strength? That's a failed recipe, dear ones. Because Jesus was made like his brethren in every way, because he became man. He can and he will help us. What temptation are you fighting with? How are you seeking to overcome it? And most importantly, are you looking to Christ? Well, I mentioned last week it's really quite impossible for us to fully wrap our minds around the two natures of Christ. Is He fully man or is He eternal God? The answer, of course, is yes. He's true man and true God in one person. Even the Apostle Paul said in 1 Timothy 3.16, great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. And that's who our glorious high priest is. God manifest in the flesh. He's a merciful and faithful high priest. He is a sympathizing and helping high priest in our moment of temptation. And he's the one who came to savingly take hold of you, O seed of Abraham. Look to Christ this morning and marvel that he's taken hold of you. Amen. Let's pray. Father, we bless your great name and just thank you for these marvelous truths that we have a high priest, a perfect mediator who mediates God to us. and us to God, so that we have the amazing privilege of being in communion with the Godhead. Help us to marvel at these truths, to meditate upon them, that they might become sweetness in our lips and fat and marrow in our bones. We ask all this in Jesus' name, amen. Well, brothers and sisters, as we prepare to come to the Lord's table, the invitation to celebrate this wonderful sacrament is extended to all those who are trusting in Jesus Christ alone for their salvation. We could say it this way, those who know the only way they have access to heaven is through the perfect high priest, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is both our perfect priest and our perfect sacrifice. And the sacrifice he made is the only and exclusive sacrifice we need. to come to God. If you're trusting wholly in the finished work of Jesus, you're a baptized commuting member of an evangelical church, then please do come and feast with and upon the Lord. If that doesn't describe you, if you haven't closed with Christ, if you're not a believer, or if you're a believer living in unrepentant sin, Then when the elements are distributed, let them pass by, repent, come back, celebrate next time. Well, as we come to the Lord's table with the historic church, we confess what we believe using the Apostles' Creed. That's on page 851 in the back of your hymnal, 851. So dear Christian, what do you believe? I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only begotten son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified dead and buried. He descended into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From there he shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. Let me ask you to give your attention to the reading of Isaiah 53. I'm going to read verses 3 through 11, and then the meditation is from a wonderful Scottish minister, Thomas Havis. Isaiah 53, beginning in verse 3. Speaking of our suffering servant, he's despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and we hid, as it were, our faces from him. He was despised and we did not esteem him. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. Yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement for our peace was upon him, and by his stripes we're healed. All we like sheep have gone astray. We've turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment, and who will declare his generation? For he was cut off from the land of the living, for the transgressions of my people he was stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, but with the rich at his death. because he had done no violence nor was any deceit found in his mouth. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him. He has put him to grief. When you made his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed. He shall prolong his days and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see the labor of his soul and be satisfied. By his knowledge, my righteous servant shall justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities." Now, if you can follow along with the meditation or listen, whichever is best for you. Herein remember also the inescapable justice of God. Though love would pardon, yet must it be in a way where justice should be satisfied. Sin required an atonement equivalent to its high demerit. Neither earth nor heaven afforded any such. I looked and there was none to help. Justice demanded righteous judgment. Such has been poured out upon rebel angels cast down into hell on their first transgression. The thunderbolt of wrath was lifted up to smite us sinners to the lowest pit. Jesus steps between and cries. They shall not go down to the pit. I have found a ransom." And he received the deadly shafts in his own body on the tree. That manifests the justice of God more gloriously than could have been done by the destruction of the whole human race. For who is this? This is Jesus, the Son of God, the brightness of His glory, the express image of His person. This is the Father's equal. The man that is his fellow, this is the eternal God, come to atone for his creature's crimes. Satisfaction was demanded. He offers to pay, to overpay every demand. The price agreed, the judge executes his claim. Awake my sword, he cries, against the shepherd. The sword awoke to smite to the uttermost. and take full vengeance for the sins of a fallen world. It pleased the Lord to put him to grief. He laid upon him the iniquities of us all. And what would have utterly crushed us into hell, bruised to death the only son of God. Behold the severity of God. He spared not his own son. See herein what a flaming sword justice holds and how it's honored by such a sacrifice. See from this what a fearful thing it is to fall into the hands of a living God. And in this ordinance, learn to tremble whilst you see nothing but the blood of God himself capable of atoning your guilt and satisfying the demands of his own righteous law. We're gonna sing this morning before we come to the table. So let me ask you to turn in your Hamilton number 440, 440, come ye sinners, 440. Let's pray. Our great God in heaven as we come to this table. Help us to meditate on all that Christ has done for us. He hung on the cross and bore our sins and absorbed the wrath of God as our substitute. He's our propitiator. Help us to remember that. Help us to know, oh God, that he ministers to us here and now. And as surely as we take these common elements of bread and wine that are used ordinarily to nourish the body, that the spiritual presence of Christ will nourish us. And help us to know, oh God, that the Jesus who offered himself for us, the one who nourishes us now, will come again to take us to himself. Help these great gospel truths to be in our mind as we reach out with the empty hand of faith to take the bread and the cup as we commune with our great God and Savior. even Jesus Christ. Amen. I ask you to stand, dear ones, to receive the Lord's benediction. Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. And all of God's people said, Amen.