Well, it's great to see you this morning. Thankful for the opportunity to praise the Lord in song together and look at his word together. I was thinking this week that as a pastor, I have the joy and privilege of being a part of many great meetings, such as new member interviews, baptism interviews, elder meetings, premarital counseling, lots of great meetings. But I also have to be a part of some really difficult meetings as well. Some meetings that as I'm going to, I'm thinking in my head, I can't believe I'm having to go to this meeting. And one such meeting was with two pastors here in Missoula that I was involved in regarding a situation that I was involved in for mediation purposes. And again, it was one of those meetings that I was driving to, I was just praying and thinking, Lord, I can't believe I have to go to this meeting. As the meeting got started, it spiraled downhill quickly as I thought it might. It was centered around one of the pastors had performed a wedding in which he had married a couple who were both professing Christians. The problem was one of the individuals was still married to someone else. And in that meeting, I asked him, I said, what in the world possessed you to think it was okay to marry someone who was already married to someone else? He responded with this, I'll probably never forget this. He says, there's lots of stop signs in Missoula. And he said, I don't always stop for all of them. He said, they were going through a divorce anyways. And in his mind, the couple wanted to get married, and so performing the wedding was okay in his mind because marriage, he said, is a good thing. It's a gift from God, he said. And for this pastor, the end justified the means. It's true, marriage is a good thing. It's a gift from the Lord. I'm looking forward to the end of this month, which we can say now. I don't know about you, but I can't believe it's March. I feel the weight of, oh my goodness, I have four talks I have to prepare for our marriage retreat. But I'm looking forward to our time together as couples. It's a gift from the Lord. But God cares about the means to get there. This is true of all of the ends we see in scripture. All of God's ends are good. But God also cares about the means by which those ends come about. What we're seeing so far in 2 Samuel is many men who see the end and are willing to do all kinds of means to get the ends regardless of what it might mean. Just a handful of what we've seen so far. The Amalekite sees the end of David being king and is willing to lie about killing Saul in the hopes of gaining a place in the kingdom. protecting himself and his people. Abner sees the end of David being king and manipulates people in selfishness to try to get the end that he thinks that he wants, again, hoping to have a place in the kingdom. Joab sees the end of David being king and justifies killing others who could be a threat to that. And meanwhile, David knows the end as well. He knows it. But he also knows the means are just as important to getting there. He will not partake in wickedness to bring about the end that he knows God has declared. Instead, he continues to wait on the Lord. So turn with me in your Bibles to 2 Samuel 4. We're going to cover the whole chapter this morning. It's a short chapter, only 12 verses. When we get to chapter 5, we'll cut that one in half, but we're going to cover this whole chapter. So, begin in verse 1. keeping in mind that at the end of chapter 3 Abner had been killed by Joab. When Saul's son heard that Abner had died in Hebron he lost heart and all Israel was troubled. Now Saul's son had two men who were captains of troops. The name of one was Baana and the name of the other was Rechab, the sons of Rimon, the Barathite of the children of Benjamin. For Beoroth was also part of Benjamin because of the Barathites fled to Gittom and have been sojourners there until this day. Jonathan, Saul's son, had a son who was lame in his feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. And his nurse took him up and fled. And it happened, as she made haste to flee, that he fell and became lame. His name was Mephibosheth. Then the sons of Rimon, the Berethite, Rechob, and Baana, set out and came about the heat of the day to the house of Ishbosheth, who was lying on his bed at noon. And they came there, all the way into the house, as though to get wheat. And they stabbed him in the stomach. Then Richab and Baana, his brother, escaped. For when they came into the house while he was lying on his bed in the bedroom, then they struck him and killed him, beheaded him, and took his head, and were all night escaping through the plain. And they brought the head of Ish-bosheth to David at Hebron, and said to the king, Here is the head of Ish-bosheth, the son of Saul, your enemy, who sought your life. And the Lord has avenged my lord the king this day of Saul and his descendants. But David answered Rehob and Baanah his brother, the sons of Ramon the Barathite. And he said to them, as the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life from adversity, When someone told me, saying, look Saul is dead, thinking to have brought good news, I arrested him and had him executed in Ziklag, the one who thought I would give him a reward for his news. How much more when wicked men have killed a righteous person in his own house on his own bed. Therefore, shall I not now require his blood at your hand and remove you from the earth? So David commanded his young men, and they executed them, cut off their hands and feet, and hanged them by the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ish-bosheth and buried it in the tomb of Abner in Hebron." Last week we saw the author state three times in a row that David had sent Abner, Ish-bosheth's commander, the commander of Saul's army, out in peace. Three verses in a row it said that, despite all the problems that Abner had caused. David here is pursuing peace and he's pursuing unity, doing what's best for the nation, choosing to overlook all the harm that Abner had done. But Joab, seeing only his selfish desires and his hurts, was willing to risk peace and unity to get what he wanted because all he could see was himself. And so consequently, if you remember, he lashed out in anger at David. He chews David the king out, and then he deceives Abner and kills Abner. putting in jeopardy the very fragile peace and unity in Israel after seven and a half years of civil war. We saw David rebuke Joab, but he doesn't take action against him. David then mourns for Abner, writes this lament for his death and oversaw his funeral, having him buried in honor at Hebron. Through all of this, it was clear David had no part in killing Abner. But as we've talked about so often, one of the themes of 2 Samuel is sin has a ripple effect. Sin never just affects us. It spills out away from us and affects many around us. And we're going to see that again. So the first point on your outline is removing false hopes. Removing false hopes. When Ishmael heard that Abner had died in Hebron, the text says he lost heart. The Hebrew literally states his hands became feeble and hung to the side. The meaning is that he's now good for nothing. He has nothing left in him. The last he knew, Abner had, if you remember the storyline, the last he knew, Abner had abandoned him, saying he was going to go make a covenant with David and deliver the house of Saul to David, making David king over all Israel. And now the news comes that Abner has been killed in Hebron. And Ishmael knows his only hope to survive, literally survive, is that this peace treaty with Abner and David comes to fruition. Because he's a rival king. And if it fails, he knows he's probably going to be invaded and killed. And now he hears Abner is dead. And so in his mind, all hope is lost. He'd already lost hope of retaining the throne. Now he loses hope of retaining his life. David, he would have thought, is going to take the kingdom by force. And without Abner to protect he and Israel, he was hopeless against the force of David's army. You see, Ishmael lost hope. He lost heart because his hope was in a man. It was in Abner. Because of this, he does have much to fear. And we should learn from this that when we put our hope and we put our security in anything besides the Lord, there is much to fear. I have a family member who puts great hope in their physical appearance, but now they're approaching middle age. And guess what happens to physical appearance at middle age? It breaks down. So what then, when your hope is there? What happens when we put our hope in anything besides the Lord? We can put our hope in our health or in our experiences or whatever it might be. When we do so, we have much to fear, because when it is taken away, we lose heart, like Ishbosheth here. But we read here, it isn't just Ishbosheth who has lost heart and is concerned. We read in the end of verse 1 that all Israel was troubled. All Israel is worried and is fearful. And here we see Joab's selfishness and his only seeing himself and his desires has indeed threatened peace and unity in Israel because now all Israel is deeply concerned about what is going to happen because all they have heard is that Abner went for peace and was killed. And so they too would have believed that the attempt at peace had failed and they needed to prepare for war. But now they need to prepare for war with a king who's lost his heart and without their main commander Abner. How will they prepare for invasion without these things? And once again, we see, as we saw last week, how the pursuit of our desires and focusing on ourselves threatens peace and unity. We see the ripple effect of sin, that sin has ramifications beyond ourselves. And Joab's sin here results in all of Israel being troubled. The author now tells us that there are two men, two men who are captains. Maybe these are Ishbosheth's next hope. We read of these two men, the name of one was Baana, the name of the other was Rechab. These were captains of the troops, but these were raiding men. These are men of Ishbosheth's own tribe. They are Benjamites. In fact, the author goes to great lengths to tell us these are Ishbosheth's own men. And then all of a sudden we hit verse 4. Jonathan, Saul's son, had a son who was lame in his feet. And we think, what in the world is going on here? Here's this flow of the narrative, what's happening, and then all of a sudden it stops, kind of like when you're watching a YouTube show and all of a sudden it goes to some commercial on a weight loss drug or something. You're like, what? This is what's happening here. Like, why do we stop and go now and hear about Mephibosheth? Because it does nothing for this narrative. It seems that's such a massive interruption. We learn that Jonathan, Saul's son, David's close friend had a son named Mephibosheth, but he was lame, meaning he was crippled and he couldn't walk. And then we learn why, because when Saul was killed and his dad was killed, his nurse scooped him up when he was five years old and fled and either dropped him or he fell himself and he likely broke both of his feet and ankles and could not walk anymore. And now he's 12 years old and is a cripple. And when we get to chapter 9, well, if you've read 2 Samuel, you'll know that David seeks out Mephibosheth to show kindness to the house of Saul. The whole chapter is about this, and it begins with these words. Now, David said, is there anyone who is left of the house of Saul that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake? But here in chapter 4, Mephibosheth is just simply mentioned. And then in verse 5, the story picks right back up where it left off with Rikab and Baanah. So what's going on here? Why even tell us about Mephibosheth? What is the author doing? Because this doesn't make sense. Why the interruption? it would appear that the author is showing us that there is no longer anything to hope for in the house of Saul. Because all that's left of the house of Saul at this point is a king who has lost all heart and a 12-year-old crippled boy. Hardly a candidate for the throne. And a day when kings were expected to lead troops into battle, one could not look to a 12-year-old crippled boy to lead them to battle. And so the author here, I think, is showing us that God has taken away the throne from the house of Saul, just as God said He would, in order to make way for David the king. But even more so, God is making the way for Jesus Christ, the King. We read in Genesis 49, 10, You see, the kingship and the throne was promised to the tribe of Judah, not Benjamin. And likewise, the Messiah was to come from the tribe of Judah, not Benjamin. You see, God is working in all of this, and He's showing us this subtly, that He is working to ensure that His proclamation and His plans come to pass. Friends, we need to remember that God is working to bring about His kingdom and the return of Christ for His people. We read here, Israel was troubled. They were deeply troubled. It looks like trouble is brewing and they are worried, and yet God is working in all of this to unite Israel under the good and righteous King David. You see, very often, When God is bringing good into our lives, it actually looks like He's taking away that which is good. When God removes something that we have put our hope in besides Himself, such as health or a way of life, He is working there to bring about His perfect plan. And we can grumble and we can fight and we can complain and we can become angry fighting to regain what we deem to have lost, or we can trust God and we can submit to him. If Israel had only known that very soon they would have a very good and righteous king and would reach a level of prosperity that Israel had never experienced before, they would not have been troubled right here. They wouldn't have feared. But let's take this a step further. Had they known that eternity in heaven, their eternity in heaven hinged on the failings of the house of Saul, they would have rejoiced. You see, it was God's mercy to remove all hope in the house of Saul because they were not to find their hope there. It was God's kindness. And so friends, take heart for that which is going on in your lives that we get upset about or deemed to be lost because God is working in the midst of that. Were we privy to know the outcome of the result of what we are going through, we wouldn't want it any other way despite the real hardship and sorrow of it. God is working to bring about His sovereign plan, and we can trust Him. So much of 2 Corinthians has been dealing with this, and the last few weeks we've been in the thick of this. We recently went through this passage in chapter four for our light affliction, which is but for a moment is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Well, we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen for the things which are seen are temporary. But the things which are not seen are eternal. See, there is stuff going on that we see. And God is working it for an eternal weight of glory. And so a great question to wrestle with, for you and for I, is how much of your life is fighting against what God is doing in your life? Just look at where you begin to complain, or you begin to speak dissatisfaction, or you begin to be angry about something that's lost. I think here of Joni Eareckson Tada, who has spent most of her adult life in a wheelchair after a tragic accident. And at one point she refers to a conversation she imagines having with Christ when she gets to heaven. She wrote this, Jesus, do you see that wheelchair? You were right when you said that in this world we would have trouble because that thing was a lot of trouble. But the weaker I was in that thing, the harder I leaned on you. And the harder I leaned on you, the stronger I discovered you to be. It never would have happened had you not given me the bruising of the blessing of that wheelchair. profound words in looking at great hardship and suffering. Well, let's look at verse 5 as we continue to see the narrative unfold now. We read that going back to the sons that Rechab and Baanah set out and came about the heat of the day to the house of Ishbosheth, who was lying on his bed at noon, and they came there. to get wheat, and they stabbed him in the stomach. Then Rehob and Baana, his brother, escaped, for when they came into the house, he was lying on his bed in the bedroom, and they struck him and killed him, beheaded him, and took his head, and were all night escaping through the plain." So now, the story continues. A word from the sponsor is done, and we go back to the story. And we can picture this setting, right? It's a warm afternoon, if not a hot afternoon. And the two men, Baanah and Rechab, arrive at the door of the king's house. Guard likely said something along the lines of, hey guys, what's going on today? Oh, you know how it is. Getting some wheat for the troops. Yeah, I know how it is. As you go in, just be quiet. You know how Yishpesheth is these days. He's sleeping upstairs in his room. Will do. See you, Frank. We don't know. His name might have been Frank. Might not have been. But Rehoboam and Baana then quietly enter the house. They bypass where the wheat is stored, going into the king's bedroom, and there he is, laying there, sleeping. They silently creep up to the bed, knives drawn, and on a pre-arranged signal, drive the knives into Ishbasheth's stomach. I imagine Ishbasheth's eyes bursting open to see his tribesmen standing over him with bloody knives before dying. These two murderers then cut off his head, stuff it in a sack, and flee out the back door, making haste to David. They travel all night and another day and night with their grisly possession, eagerly anticipating David's warm welcome and enthusiastic thank you. What motivated these men to do such an act? And ultimately, we don't know for sure, but we have some clues from the text. it's quite possible these two men thought that if they killed Ish-bosheth, they could prevent further warfare. We remember that when the warfare kind of seemed to hit a peak in chapter 3, or chapter 2, no beginning of chapter 3, that Benjamin, the tribe, was caught in the middle. And it was mainly Benjamites that were killed. And so they're anticipating David's going to invade. And this civil war is only going to get worse. And so if we can get rid of Ish-bosheth, our tribe will not be caught in the middle again. However, like the Amalekite and Abner, from what David says, they likely thought this action would gain them a place of prominence in David's kingdom and really nice rewards. At this point, like Abner, they saw hope in Ishmael as a futile thing. So they take matters into their own hands and do what seems best in their own eyes. They are operating here with the wisdom of the world. just as Abner did, just as Joab did. And when they arrive in Hebron after a two-day journey, they gain an audience with David. They pull the head of Ish-bosheth out of the sack and triumphantly proclaim, here is the enemy who has sought your life. Now, they have greatly exaggerated things, which so often happens. David never called Ish-bosheth his enemy, nor do we have any evidence of Ish-bosheth seeking to kill David. But then they go on and they say this in verse 8, the end of verse 8, the Lord has avenged my Lord the King this day of Saul and his descendants. Okay, now here we have a host of problems. like Abner, they thought, we can help God out a bit. In fact, God is kind of hindered right now unless we act. And so we need to act. They thought they could accomplish God's purposes for Him. But they also, like Amalekite, the Amalekite servant, like Abner, like Joab, saw the end and wrongly assumed that the means didn't matter. Without remorse, they murder a man in cold blood and have the audacity to say, we are carrying out the Lord's will. They rightfully knew God had cursed Saul's house. They knew that. And therefore, they thought it was fine to murder a man in his sleep. They're king no less. We can do that. Because after all, God said, the house of Saul is going to go to David. Dale Ralph Davis often says things just straight to the point in his commentary. He says this, he says, oh man, I'm way behind my PowerPoint. There we go. They come with blood on their hands, but theology on their lips, expecting that the latter will magically bleach the former. It's very profound. Cuts right to the chase. Friends, this gruesome story should force us to evaluate our lives and the way we conduct ourselves as well. Do we use theology to cover our sins and to cover our wrongdoing? Do we use a verse in the Bible to justify our sinful actions while ignoring other verses in the Bible that would condemn our actions? You see, we can be passionate about truth, but that does not in any way justify speaking with anger, lashing out at people, or being unkind. Likewise, we can be passionate about love, but that does not justify accepting sin, tolerating ongoing sin, or ignoring what God's Word says. You see, we need the whole package here. We need what Paul says in Ephesians 4. We need truth speaking in love. The ends do not justify the means. God cares about them both. One text where you see these things in there is Philippians chapter 2. You see both of these things in tension. Paul writes, do all things without complaining and disputing that you may become blameless and harmless children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation among whom you shine as lights in the world. And then he goes on to say, holding fast the word of life. So that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain. It's a good text to help us see Paul holding these two things in tension. We need to hold fast to the Word of God, but how we do that matters. These two men, Baana and Recap, understood part of God's Word, but ignored other parts of God's Word. They did not obey God's clear command, don't murder. They do it anyways. They're functioning according to worldly wisdom here. But what is so dangerous about it, and flat out scary, is they do it hiding behind the promises of God. That's sobering. They are sinning and using God's word to justify it. So how will David respond? Well, that brings us to the third point, following righteousness. We read in verse nine, but David answered Rehob and Baana, his brother, the sons of Remon, the Berethite, and said to them, As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life from all adversity, when someone told me, saying, Look, Saul is dead, thinking you have brought good news, I arrested him and had him executed in Ziklag. The one who thought I would give him a reward for his news. How much more when wicked men have killed a righteous person in his house on his own bed? Therefore, shall I not now require his blood at your hand and remove you from the earth? So David commanded his young men and they executed them, cut off their hands and feet and hang them by the pool in Hebron. Probably expecting a warm smile These two men are instead met with a stern look. Expecting praise, they experience rebuke. Expecting prominence and promotion and reward, they instead experience execution and being cursed by God. David's first words are, as the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life from adversity. There's two very significant things in these two phrases here. The Lord lives. That refers to the fact that God is living and that He is active and that He sees all and He knows all. He has communicated who He is. And we are to live in righteousness. We are to live obeying Him because He is a living, present God. The second phrase. who has redeemed my life from all adversity, refers to David, knowing his deliverance comes from God, not the hands of sinful men. David saw God as his deliverer, recognizing his hope is in God. While these various men we have seen so far believe they needed to help God accomplish his plans, David will wait on the Lord. David doesn't forget his past deliverances and this keeps him from beginning to hope in deliverance from other places. See, remembering God's past actions helps us to keep from looking to idols for delivering us, for our hope. Up to this point, we have seen David consistently waiting on the Lord. He is unwilling to take matters into his own hands and try to get things done himself. He is unwilling to become impatient. He is unwilling to start sinning and justify it by the promises of God to him. We're going to return to this, but it would be good for us to observe here David's patience. To observe his waiting on the Lord. It's fascinating how many times in the Psalms we read either the phrase, wait on the Lord, or a variation of that phrase. Wait on the Lord. Psalm 27, 14, wait on the Lord. Be of good courage and He shall strengthen your heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord. Psalm 37, verses 5 and 7, commit your way to the Lord, trust also in him and he shall bring it to pass. Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him. How often we struggle with this. You see those around David and they're just scrambling and they're running around, we've got to do something, we've got to fix this, we've got to work. Meanwhile, David is content, resting in the Lord, waiting on the Lord. We can be like Abner, Joab, the Amalekite, Rehob, Baana, furiously thinking, acting, speaking, running around, trying to bring about what we think needs to happen. instead of humbling ourselves before the Lord and waiting patiently for Him. But we should see another thing in David to emulate here, and that's thankfulness. As Paul was sharing earlier, you can't be thankful and complaining at the same time. Those are two opposite ends of the spectrum. You want to kill complaining? Start obeying the Lord and be thankful. David remembers that in all of his adversity, God has delivered him from it all. And he is thankful here. He recognizes that God's faithfulness in the past proves he will be faithful in the future. God has not forgotten about him. And likewise, it would do us well to remember the Lord's faithfulness to us also. We should regularly recall all that the Lord has done in our lives and be thankful. But even more so, we should remember what God did to save us, how he sent Christ for us to free us from our sin and deliver us from hell. That is the ultimate redemption from adversity. We see this in Titus three, three through five, for we ourselves were once foolish and disobedient and deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy, He saved us." That is what we most ultimately have to be thankful for. Dale Ralph Davis, again, getting to the point, he says, this gratitude provides an excellent antidote for idolatry. Well, because of his trust in God here, David takes an action these two captains never expected. Tells them there was another man who thought he could get a reward, too. The Amalekite, whom David had put to death. And then David goes on and says, how much more when wicked men have killed a righteous person in his own house on his bed. I'm referring to Ishmael as a righteous man. David is not here saying he is a righteous man who is following the Lord and and therefore is seen in the eyes of God as righteous. What he's referring to here is that Ishmael has done nothing to deserve death. He was appointed as king there. He was murdered in cold blood. This was not, as these men have claimed, an act of God to deliver the house of Saul to David. You can imagine the dread filling Baana and Rehoboam's eyes when they hear David's words here and the cold sweat and their face going white when they hear David's words, I will remove you from the earth. Those are not words you want to hear from a great warrior. and they hear the command to execute them, terror must have filled their hearts as the sword plunged into their bodies. But we see David is not done with these wicked men. He has their feet and their hands cut off and their bodies hung at the pool of Hebron. It's a public demonstration here that these men are cursed by God for their wickedness. David will not tolerate wickedness in his kingdom. Remember Deuteronomy 21, the man has committed sin deserving of death and he is put to death and you hang him on a tree for he who is hanged is accursed of God. to further testimony of David saying this is not how we will function here. In fact, one of my professors in seminary, my Old Testament professor, said that what we see David doing here in the beginning of 2 Samuel is saying this is not how God's people respond to authority. And he's laying a foundation for how God's people are to respond to authority. David here is demonstrating, I will not seek to obtain God's promises of the throne through wicked men and ungodly means. These are two wicked men who deserve to die here, and yet we see here as New Testament Christians a tiny pointer to the cross. Christ hanging on the tree, hanging for our wickedness. We are no more innocent than Baanah and Rechah. And Christ hangs in our place so we could be cleansed from our sin and restored to God. Then we see here at the end of the chapter, they took the head of Ishbosheth and buried it in the tomb of Abner and Hebron. Like David did to Abner, like David did to Saul, David shows mercy and he shows kindness to Ishbosheth. Bearing his head in the tomb of Abner and Hebron. He seeks peace. He seeks unity. He's not seeking his desires. He pursues righteousness because he's willing to wait on the Lord and willing to trust God. And he obeys the Lord and does what is right because he waits on the Lord. So friends, here's the takeaway I think the Lord would have for us this morning. And it's this. Can you just settle down? and wait on the Lord. Can you do that? Or to put it another way, can you be content and just trust God? Can you do that? Is David being unfaithful to God because he waits? Is he? So often, as American Christians, we are so success-orientated. And we struggle so much with this idea of wait on the Lord. Wait on the Lord. David is patient. He is still. He is waiting on the Lord. He is trusting in Him. He is being content. Though think about it from David's standpoint. He had been promised the throne over ten years ago. And he spent the first several years just running for his life after being promised the throne. And now he's spent the last seven and a half years in civil war as king over one tribe. but he still waits on the Lord. He dwells where God has put him, and he lives faithfully before him. Could it be, as we search our hearts here in a moment, as we get ready to take the Lord's Supper, Could it be that so much of the angst and the conflict and the bitterness, the complaining, the grumbling, the lack of love, the unrest, the stress, the idolatry, and the experiences of all of these things is because we just don't do a very good job of waiting on the Lord? We, like Abner, Joab, Rehob, Baana, think we need to take matters in our own hands. We've got to get things done. Make things happen. We would do well here to take heart what we see in David. Richard Phillips states this in his commentary on this chapter. He said, David's example urges us to wait on the Lord to meet our needs and defend our interests, refusing to sin and honoring God through a life that obeys his word. David's an example for us here of that. that points us ahead to Christ who waits and waits and waits over 30 years here on earth, dealing with sin, waiting on the Lord. Later in David's life, he would write Psalm 37, which we've already briefly looked at. David later in his life wrote this, trust in the Lord and do good. Dwell in the land and feed on his faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the Lord and he shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord. Trust also in him and he shall bring it to pass. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you that it is living and active. We thank you that every word is inspired. We thank you that there's clear meaning here for us to see. And we thank you that as we look at it more closely and deeply, we see even more truth. And we see what it is you would have us to see from your word. We're reminded of what Paul wrote, the Corinthians and first Corinthians 10, that these things were written as an example for us, all of the Old Testament. It's an example for us of how we are to live. And what we see here. Is David waiting on the Lord? trusting in you, hoping in you, refusing to become impatient, refusing to take steps and matters into his own hands that would be sinful, and yet still living faithfully and in obedience to you. And so God, please help us. Lord, I don't know where each one's heart is at this morning. I don't know where there is unrest in everyone's heart, but you do. You know where there's unrest in my own heart. And so, Lord, would you drive us to better waiting on you, to, as David wrote later in his life, just dwelling where you have put us and feeding on your faithfulness. Help us, Lord. We need your help. And so, Lord, as we prepare our hearts to take communion, And we sing a song that reminds us of these things. We ask that you would work in our hearts to show us the things you need to show us. That we could confess that which we need to confess. And this morning have our hope realigned. We ask this in Christ's name. Amen.