We turn to God's Word this morning to the book of Hebrews. Hebrews chapter 4. We'll begin reading at verse 11, and we'll read into chapter 5 and the entirety of chapter 5. Hebrews chapter 4, beginning at verse 11. Let us labor, therefore, to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. For the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight, but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. Seeing then that we have a great high priest that is passed into the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession, For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins, who can have compassion on the ignorant and on them that are out of the way, for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity. And by reason hereof, he ought as for the people, so also for himself to offer for sins, And no man taketh this honor unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron. So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest, but he that said unto him, thou art my son, today have I begotten thee. As he saith also in another place, thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared, though he were a son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him. called of God and high priest after the order of Melchizedek, of whom we have many things to say and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing, for the time ye ought to be teachers ye have need that one teach you again, which be the first principles of the oracles of God, and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For everyone that useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil." Thus far we read God's holy and inspired word. It's on the basis of this passage in Hebrews 4 and 5 and others like it. We have the teaching of the Heidelberg Catechism in Lord's Day 45. Lord's Day 45 of the Heidelberg Catechism found on page 25 in the back of the Psalter. Lord's Day 45, question 116, why is prayer necessary for Christians? Because it is the chief part of thankfulness which God requires of us and also because God will give his grace and Holy Spirit to those only who with sincere desires continually ask them of him and are thankful for them. What are the requisites of that prayer which is acceptable to God and which he will hear? First, that we from the heart pray to the one true God only who hath manifested himself in his word for all things he hath commanded us to ask of him. Secondly, that we rightly and thoroughly know our need and misery that so we may deeply humble ourselves in the presence of his divine majesty. Thirdly, that we be fully persuaded that he, notwithstanding that we are unworthy of it, will, for the sake of Christ our Lord, certainly hear our prayer as he has promised in his word. What hath God commanded us to ask of Him? All things necessary for soul and body, which Christ our Lord has comprised in that prayer He Himself has taught us. And what are the words of that prayer? Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Beloved congregation, in our Lord Jesus Christ, with this Lord's Day, Lord's Day 45, the Heidelberg Catechism begins a rather lengthy treatment on the subject of prayer. And recall that the Catechism is developing the main truths of Scripture under three headings. that we would know how great our sins and miseries are. Second, how I may be delivered from all my sins and miseries, namely through Jesus Christ. And now here, finally, beginning with Lord's Day 45, how I shall express my gratitude to God for such a deliverance. The viewpoint of the catechism then in this third section is that we show our gratitude to God for the salvation He has given to us in Jesus Christ, and that we would show our gratitude especially in two ways. In the first place, by living in true conversion to God as we adhere to the Ten Commandments of God's law. Are you thankful for the salvation that you have been given in Jesus Christ? Well, God gives us the first way to express our thankfulness. God gives us the Ten Commandments. And in loving those Ten Commandments, obeying them and following them, we show our thankfulness to God for all his goodness to us. But in the second place, we show our gratitude to God for salvation by engaging in prayer. In prayer, we thank God for all His blessings. In prayer, we seek those blessings, seeking them only from Him. So now the catechism from Lord's Day 45 to the end will instruct us in a life of gratitude and thankfulness by explaining to us the petitions of the Lord's Prayer. We consider this morning with an introductory Lord's Day on prayer from the viewpoint of Hebrews 4, and especially verse 16, when the Word of God says, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. And in that section of scripture that we read from the last part of chapter four and the first part of chapter five, the writer to these Hebrew Christians is speaking about Jesus' priesthood and how the priesthood of Jesus is far superior far superior even to the priesthood of the Levites in the house of Aaron. And in that way, the main theme of the book is developed of Hebrews, which is the superiority of Jesus Christ as our one and only high priest. You see these Jewish Christians to whom this epistle was written, they were struggling. They were being pressured on every side, being pressured especially by their fellow countrymen, the Jews, to abandon the Christian faith. And so these Jewish Christians, they are so discouraged, they are so downcast. Some of them are ready to abandon the Christian faith and go back to the old ways of the Jewish religion. Well, the book of Hebrews was written to show them the superiority of Jesus Christ and what they had in Jesus Christ, how Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of all of those Old Testament types and sacrifices, which knowledge, which truth they should not abandon. And so the author to the Hebrews goes on, and we don't know who the author is, maybe it was Paul, perhaps it was somebody else, but the author to these Jewish Christians goes on to show that Jesus, while he was on earth, that Jesus was touched with the feelings of our infirmities, so that whatever the struggles that you and I face day after day, whatever the hardship, whatever the difficulty might be, Jesus understands, and He knows, and He sympathizes. Now, the Old Testament high priests, they were good, they were compassionate, but they were lacking in the sense that they themselves were sinners. and they needed somebody to have compassion and sympathy for them. And that Old Testament high priest was therefore not able fully to satisfy the deep needs of God's people. Well, this is the superiority of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ has come in the flesh as our high priest, perfect. Sinless, in fact, tempted. Tempted as in all points as you and I are yet without sin. And as our high priest, then Jesus knows our struggles. He's touched with the feelings of our infirmities and he can devote all his time, all his energy, and give himself entirely for the comfort and the wellbeing and the salvation of his people. The conclusion of the matter is this, therefore, let us come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. We have a high priest, the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, beloved, do you do that? Do you come before the throne of God's grace? Do you come boldly? And know this, that every time that you and I pray, we are approaching the throne of God's grace. And the Word of God says that every time you pray, you ought to come boldly and confidently because of the high priest we have in Jesus Christ. We consider this Lord's Day and its basis in scripture from Hebrews 4 and 5, the theme of the sermon, coming to God in prayer. Let's take a look first at the meaning. Secondly, the purpose of coming to God in prayer. And finally, the manner, coming to God in prayer. Let's start with Hebrews 4 verse 16. Hebrews 4 verse 16 speaks of a throne. And whenever we think about a throne, we must think about the king who sits on that throne, because you cannot divorce the throne from the king who sits on that throne. And now you think back in Bible times, and there were many famous kings. many kings who had tremendous power and influence over the people. You think, for example, of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. You think of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. You think of even Ahasuerus, who was the king of Persia. And in these cases, the thrones of these kings were thrones of terror because for the most part these kings were tyrants and they ruled the people with an iron fist. And anybody who would come to the throne of these kings were terrorized. They were fearful for their own lives. And you remember that from In the book of Esther, how Esther, who was the wife of King Ahasuerus, when she went to plead for her people, the Jews, then as she stood before the king, she feared for her very life because she knew that this king was a tyrant who could do what he wanted whenever he wanted. And as a wicked king, his throne was the throne of terror. But now consider different thrones and the men who sat upon those different thrones. Think of the thrones of David. Think of the throne of Solomon. And these were thrones of grace. Why is that? Because these kings were benevolent kings who ruled in a good way. They sought the welfare of the people in all of the way that they governed the nation. They were merciful kings. They were gracious kings. They ruled over the people in a good and gentle way. Now, David and Solomon were not perfect kings. They had their own sins, but nonetheless their thrones marked the high point in the nation of Israel because they were good kings, full of grace and full of mercy to the Israelites over whom they ruled. Well, the throne of grace referred to in Hebrews 4 verse 16 is the throne that stood behind. It was the throne that becomes the basis for David and Solomon's throne. Hebrews 4 verse 16 speaks of the throne of God. God rules all things from his heavenly height and God's throne is in the heavens. In the Old Testament, that throne was symbolized for the people in the tabernacle. That throne of God was symbolized in the most holy place because there in the most holy place was the Ark of the Covenant. And on top of the Ark of the Covenant was the mercy seat. And that mercy seat was considered the throne of God. placed upon the heights of Mount Zion, the highest place in the land, and then symbolically, Jehovah God ruled the people from that throne. The reality being that God is in the heavens, sitting upon his throne. And that throne of our Heavenly Father is a throne of grace. Now, it's not a throne of grace to all. His throne is a throne of terror to many because God is a gracious God but also a holy God and a just God who hates all sin. and who punishes all sin to the extreme with both temporal and eternal judgments and from his heavenly throne God rules over the ungodly world with a rule of terror but But not that we confuse God as ruling in the same way as wicked, ungodly kings. A better way would be to say that God rules over the wicked with a rod of iron. From his throne, he brings judgments upon the wicked in his wrath and in his hot displeasure. But God doesn't rule over you and me that way, for you and for me. For all the church, for all His elect people, God rules graciously. As the God of grace, He has eternally chosen us unto Himself. eternally chosen unto himself a people in Jesus Christ with whom he will live forever in covenant love and fellowship. In his grace, God sent his only begotten son to the cross of Calvary to receive the terror of God's wrath against our sins. And in God's grace, he sent Jesus Christ to obtain salvation for his elect church. And now when anyone approaches God's throne of grace, in Jesus Christ and through Jesus Christ, that person will find that indeed, God is merciful and God is gracious and God is an all forgiving father. And so, beloved, you and I are called to come to God's throne. We're called to come to God's throne day after day. We approach God's throne when we come to Him in prayer. Prayer is us coming before God and having an audience with God the King who sits on the throne. Now we know that because there are so many different words, so many different expressions for prayer as we find it all over the Old Testament, all over the New Testament. In fact, in the Old Testament, there are some 12 different words for prayer. In the New Testament, there are some nine different ways that prayer is expressed. There's a word in the Old Testament and the New Testament that means Meeting with God because that's what prayer is. It's us coming to God and meeting with Him and communicating with Him. Other words the Bible gives us such as requesting and asking and giving thanks, making our petitions, supplicating unto God, and more words besides, but these are all the things that we do when we would go before any king. If we're in Old Testament times, you request of something, you ask of something, and you give thanks for what the king has done for you. And furthermore, a number of phrases in the Bible that describe what prayer is. Prayer is calling upon God, Prayer is drawing near to God. Prayer is entering into his sanctuary, pouring out one's heart to God, seeking God's grace, and then even what we have here in the book of Hebrews, approaching the throne of grace. And now from all of these different words and from all of these different phrases, the Bible teaches us what prayer is. In prayer, we approach the God of heaven and of earth and we stand in His presence. We can't see God. That's something that the world of ungodly unbelief would mock us for serving and praising a God that we can't see. But nonetheless, in a very real way, we communicate with and we speak and we stand before God. That's prayer. And what a wonderful privilege that is, a gift that we are able to come to God in prayer. And I say that's such a wonderful gift because access to God in prayer is not a privilege that's given to everybody. It's a privilege God gives only to his elect church in Jesus Christ. It's a privilege God has granted his elect people whom he has saved in Jesus Christ, his son. And here's where the beauty of God's covenant of grace shines through, even with regard to this gift of prayer, because it's God's eternal purpose in Jesus Christ to establish and to maintain His everlasting covenant of grace with us, His people. Fellowship and friendship in which we love God and serve Him forever, and we are the delight of God's heart. And in that covenant, there are many privileges given to us of God's grace. And one of those privileges is that we are able to approach God through Jesus Christ. and thereby to receive all of the blessings that Jesus Christ has merited for us. But it's only through Jesus Christ. The Bible declares in John 14, 6, Jesus says, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. And so we are not so foolish. We are not so proud to think that we can come to God apart from Jesus Christ on the basis of our own works. Any person who does that will not find the grace of God. They will find only the terror and the wrath of God. But when you and I come to God in prayer, And when we come to God in Jesus Christ, we find the throne of God to be a very gracious throne. And we find him who sits upon that throne to be a very gracious, loving, heavenly father. Well, how often, how often do we avail ourselves of this wonderful gift of prayer? And mind you, not only do we have the right to approach the throne of God's grace in prayer, we have the right and the ability to do that anytime, from any place that we might be. And that's amazing when you think about it. Continual access to God. That ought to be something, let that sink into our hearts because you and I, we don't even come close to having that kind of continual access even to earthly rulers. Well, you can call, I suppose, you can leave a message to an earthly ruler, you can send an email and send it off, but what are the chances that the Premier of Alberta, that the Prime Minister of Canada, that the President of the United States for that matter will listen personally to your message. Or even the President of a very large corporation that he would even open your email. Now I mean maybe in very few instances, maybe once in a while you might find yourself to be in such a position that you do stand before a very important earthly ruler and it may very well be that you're given the right to approach one of those earthly dignitaries, I suppose that's possible, but you better make an appointment in advance. You better state quickly what you need. You better not overstay your welcome because if you do, you will be ushered out quickly and immediately. That's to have access to earthly rulers. Earthly rulers who are not always kind, who are not always patient. Earthly rulers who do not always have your best interests in mind. Earthly rulers, mind you, who are sinners themselves. But beloved, we have continual access to Jehovah God himself, the creator of the heavens and the earth. the one who sits upon his throne of power and glory, who slumbers not nor sleeps, that's of good comfort and cheer for you and for me. The door is always open, continual access, stay as long as you need to stay, pour out all the concerns of your heart, and we're never told, okay, now it's time for you to leave. We can come as often as we want, as often as we need. In fact, the more we come, the longer we stay, and the more delighted the God of heaven and of earth is, and never will you hear, it's time for you to leave now because I have more important things to attend to. You will not hear that because you are important to God. His church, His elect sheep for whom He has sent Jesus Christ into the world to merit salvation for you. God has sent His Son to die for you and that means that you are important to your Heavenly Father. God loves you, He thinks of you and it pleases Him when we come and bring our needs to Him. And we have that comfort knowing that we will never be cast but that we may pray and pour out our hearts to God. What a privilege it is to come before God in prayer. Let's make use of this gift and use prayer for the purpose which God has designed it. And that leads us then to the second point of the sermon, the purpose of approaching God's throne of grace and prayer. Well, the first purpose is what we read from Hebrews 4, verse 16. Hebrews 4, verse 16, speaking of approaching God's throne of grace, and then it says, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. that we may obtain grace, that we may obtain mercy. Grace and mercy here are very closely connected. We need mercy. Mercy is God's compassion and pity for his people in their misery. And what person doesn't have a certain amount of sympathy and pity when you see starving children from other places of the world. Our human hearts go out to those. Well, in a similar way, God in his mercy, he sees us in our misery and And not only does God's heart go out to us, that's part of mercy, but then God in his mercy actually does something and he reaches out and he grabs hold of us and he lifts us up out of that pit of despair and lifts us up to be with Him, to enjoy love and fellowship with Him. That's the mercy of God. Grace has a little bit different emphasis. Grace is God's undeserved favor. Grace emphasizes that God showers us with bountiful blessings and favors which we do not deserve. This grace and this mercy was necessary for these Jewish Christians here in the book of Hebrews. They stood in need of grace and mercy, exactly. And that's what verse 16 says, because these Jewish Christians were in time of need. They were in time of need. They were a very needy people. There was a great trial they were experiencing. They were experiencing all kinds of pressure to abandon the Christian faith. Their lives became very hard because of this pressure. Pressure from the Jewish community in which they lived. Pressure perhaps even from their own family members. These Jewish Christians were in need. In need of the grace and mercy of God. And for us too, we find ourselves many times to be in a time of need. It's not perhaps the exact same type of need that these Jewish Christians had, but this phrase help in time of need is something that we all can identify with because we are often in need, great need, and desperately we need help. And the Word of God instructs us to approach the throne of God's grace in prayer during these times of need. Because what we stand in need of is grace. What we stand in need of is mercy. And so we pray to God for grace. We pray to God that he would be merciful unto us. And that means, beloved, that we ought to bring all our needs to the throne of God's grace in prayer. Present them before the Lord, your God. Ask sincerely and humbly for his grace and mercy. And you will not leave disappointed. So having an experience that God is indeed gracious and merciful, that's the first purpose of prayer. We pray that God would bestow that upon us. And then that leads us to, logically, to the next purpose of prayer. And this is something that even you children, you understand what the next purpose of prayer is all about. Because if you've ever fallen down on the ground and you've cried out for help and somebody comes along and lifts you up and gives you the help that you need at that moment, what do you say? If you receive a present, a gift, something that was above and beyond your expectations, something that you know you don't deserve and that you surely haven't earned, and yet that gift is given to you, what do you say? Well, the catechism says that prayer is the chief part of thankfulness that God requires of us. so that God has given unto us the privilege of prayer and the privilege of approaching His throne of grace so that we can thank Him, so that we can thank Him from the bottom of our hearts for that grace, for that mercy, to thank Him for Jesus Christ. And now That has to be, and it ought to be, a significant part of our prayer life that we include those portions in our prayers of thanking God for all that He has done for us. There are other parts of prayer as well. There is adoring God, there is confessing our sins, there is supplicating unto God, making our petition to Him And then another major component of prayer is thankfulness. Do you thank God from the bottom of your heart in prayer? That's what prayer is designed for. And thanking God not only for giving unto you physical health, giving unto you a decent car and a decent home that you may live in. Yes, we do thank God for those earthly gifts, but thankfulness for salvation Because when we come to God in prayer, we must do so consciously that God has delivered me from the miseries and torments of hell only through the Lord Jesus Christ. that we must come knowing that I have new life only because of Jesus Christ and that I'm called to serve Him, I'm called to have fellowship with God. And beloved, that does not leave us unmoved knowing what God has done for us, undeserving sinners. And so having contemplated God's grace and mercy, now in gratitude, we come to God in prayer and we express our profound thankfulness for all that God has done for us. But now, beloved, that raises a question. I need the grace of God. I need the mercy of God. I need a way to show my thanks to God. The question is, why do I have to continually bring my needs before God in prayer? Doesn't God know my needs already? Isn't He omniscient? Doesn't He know all things? Why is it the case then that God has determined that I must come before Him and ask these things in prayer? And that's as much the question of the catechism in Lords Day 45. Why is prayer necessary for Christians? Because God will give His grace and Holy Spirit to those only who with sincere desires continually ask them of Him and are thankful for them. Now that teaches us a lot of things. One of the things it teaches us is that God does not give His grace and Holy Spirit to those who casually ask these blessings of Him. There's no grace and no Holy Spirit for that person. God does not give His grace and mercy to those who are really indifferent towards these blessings of God. They don't really see the pressing urgency of asking these things and of experiencing these things in their lives. God does not give His grace and mercy to those who do not ask them of Him. Now, does that mean that prayer becomes the condition for us to receive grace and mercy of God, and then we have to meet the condition of prayer in our own strength? And so long as we meet that condition, then God will give us His grace, and mercy. And the answer to that question is no, absolutely not. Prayer never becomes a condition that we have to perform in order to get something from God. But what we have to understand is that God is a God of means. And God uses prayer as the means whereby we would humble ourselves and seek every good and perfect gift from him alone who is able to give it. And you see, God shows his supreme wisdom in giving us his blessing only through prayers. of faith. God shows himself to be so wise because how thankful do you think you and I would be if God simply gave us blessings day after day without us humbling ourselves and without us recognizing our need and dependency upon God for these things. How much do you think you and I would live consciously out of the hand of God if magically every single day There was food, there was all the physical gifts I need, but without us asking God for them. seeking them from God and depending upon God for those things and I say well we would not be, we would not be as thankful as we ought to be, we would not acknowledge the source of all blessings to be Jehovah God as we ought to be, the Lord says come I've opened the way through Jesus Christ for you to approach my throne, know your need, know your misery, lay it all out before me, ask of me and you shall receive. Knock and it shall be opened. And God says, I will bless you with an abundance of mercy and grace. And that's the purpose of prayer, that we may obtain grace, that we may obtain mercy, and that we may thank Jehovah God for all that he has done for us. And how are we to do all of this? We are to do this as we approach God. We are to approach God with boldness. That's what the word of God instructs us. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace. And this word boldness emphasizes a certain freedom in speech. It emphasizes that one who approaches you in boldness that doesn't come to you with an apology, doesn't stutter, doesn't stammer, isn't reluctant to speak from that point of view, but one who comes boldly is one who comes confidently. One who comes boldly comes knowing that his petition will not only be heard, but will be answered besides. And that's how we are to come to the throne of God's grace in prayer. We don't come hesitatingly. We don't come fearful to speak. We don't come to God doubting and wondering whether he actually is strong and powerful or even will give us grace and give us mercy, but we are to come boldly and confidently. Do not mistake that with pride. We do not come before God in pride. We do not come before God making our arrogant assertions. We do not come before God in prayer like that Pharisee in the temple. He came to God in a certain respect boldly, but a boldness that is interpreted as pride. Look at what I have done. Look at what you ought to do for me, God, and look at how much better I am than others. No, that Pharisee was pride. He did not go down to his house justified. His prayer was not heard by God, but it was heard. by that publican, that publican who humbled himself, that publican who came in a very humble way, but that publican also who came very boldly. You know why the publican came boldly? Because he made the petition of God, God be merciful, be merciful to me, a sinner. And so beloved we are to come humbly before the throne of God's grace. And yet at the same time, boldly, but humbly, we come conscious that we are creatures of God's hands, that we are creatures of the dust. We are to come as those who have no right to any of God's blessings in and of ourselves. In fact, we're sinners who, if God dealt with us as we deserved, then we would be destroyed with that rod of iron. But when you pray, beloved, come with that awareness that your existence depends on God, that your spiritual existence depends upon God, and that God is the one who feeds you, who strengthens you. And beloved, in that way, come boldly, not doubting that God will receive you. and bless you. And how is it possible that we can have such boldness to make those requests of God, that publican in the temple, God, be merciful to me. And for us, when we pray to God, Heavenly Father, give me wisdom, give me grace, give me strength every day. That's bold. Where does that boldness come from? comes from the Lord Jesus Christ because we approach God in Jesus' name alone because of who He is and of what He has done. That's the whole point of the book of Hebrews. Look at what Jesus Christ has done and continues to do as our eternal high priest. He has offered himself as the perfect sacrifice to cover our sins. He's paid the price. He stood in our place to receive the terror of God that our sins deserved. And now that gives us the right to approach the throne of God's grace. That gives us the right to all of the blessings of God's grace and to the inheritance that awaits us in Christ and in Him alone. We come boldly before the throne of God's grace. And the catechism summarizes all of this when it speaks of the requirements of that prayer which is acceptable to God and which prayer He will hear. The catechism states among other things in answer 117 that we must rightly and thoroughly know our needs and miseries so that we may deeply humble ourselves in the presence of His divine majesty and that we be fully persuaded, bold, faith that we be fully persuaded that God notwithstanding that we are unworthy of it will for the sake of Christ our Lord certainly hear our prayer as he has promised us in his word. And so humbly and boldly, humbly and confidently That's how we approach God's throne of grace in prayer and approaching God only through Jesus Christ. And so, beloved, let us be a people who are constantly engaged in prayer. Confident that God will hear our prayers when we pray in Jesus' name. And what a great motivation becomes ours to pray because God will hear, he will answer, he will give grace, and he will give mercy to help in time of need. Let us show our thankfulness by being a prayerful people. Amen. Let us pray. Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. We thank thee for thy word to us. Bless it to our hearts. Give us grace and mercy to help us in time of need. We are not afraid to make this bold petition of thee because we come to thee in the name of Jesus Christ. And we thank Thee that He is our eternal High Priest who makes continual intercession for us. And so, Heavenly Father, shower down upon us all of the blessings of salvation that Jesus Christ has merited for us. Make us always to be a humble people, knowing that we are sinners by nature, but that What we are and what we have become by thy grace is thy work in us. Forgive us when we do fall into sin, restore us unto thee, and go with us now and always. We pray this in Jesus' name alone, amen. We sing Psalter number 72. Psalter number 72. Lord, hear me when I pray and answer me in grace. Oft as I hear thee say, come ye and seek my face. Let's sing the four stanzas, Psalter number 72. ♪ Answer me in praise ♪ ♪ All that I hear, listen, love me and save me ♪ I pray, should Father, Mother, both forsake, ♪ Who loves and gives as true love loves ♪ ♪ O Lord, do not fight so blasphemously ♪ ♪ Age, I say, would I be, which thou not promised o'er me? ♪ Praise God the Lord, God made perfect, Gracious and great, the Lord is King. Oh. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Ghost be and abide with you all. Amen.