Well good evening folks and we welcome you again in our Saviour's precious name to our midweek Bible study and prayer meeting live here from the manse in Portland Owen and we're praying that the message that the Lord has given to us tonight will be an encouragement, a help and a comfort to you in your time of need. We'll begin by going to the Lord in a word of prayer so let me encourage you to by your head and heart before the Lord and pray that God will help even as the Word of God is preached. So let's seek the Lord together in a word of prayer. Let's pray. Our Heavenly Father, we do thank Thee for the opportunity to again meet together by this means and yet, Lord, to meet at the mercy seat, the throne of heavenly grace, We bless thee, O God, for thy mercy and goodness toward us, mercy and goodness that has followed us every day of our lives. We look back, dear God, and we remember the moment we first trusted in Christ. And we can say, happy day, happy day, when Jesus washed my sins away. We thank Thee, O God, for Thy hand upon us since that moment, and we thank Thee that day by day we have known Thy grace. We thank Thee, dear Father, that Thou art with Thy children in every circumstance of life. Thou hast promised never to leave us nor to forsake us, and therefore we come before Thee with grateful hearts to thank Thee for Thy goodness towards us. We come, dear God, aware of our great need, how we need to be instructed by thee, how we need to be found at thy feet, how we need the Spirit of God to be the great teacher in this Bible study tonight. Lord, if it simply is a word from a man, then we'll remember it for a few moments, and then we'll forget. But if this word comes with the power of the Spirit of God backing it home, then we'll remember it not only tonight but tomorrow and in the weeks and the days and the months and the years that lie ahead. Therefore we pray that thou wilt come down by thy spirit. Oh may he be the great teacher, may he be the great illuminator of the mind tonight. Grant dear father a word to be fitly spoken. Lord, grant to us a word in season, that we may speak, O God, such a word to them that are weary. We pray, O God, that thou wilt lift our drooping heads, and Lord, that thou wilt strengthen our weakened faith, and grant, dear God, Lord, our faith to be renewed, our vision, O God, to be refreshed, and our hearts to be lifted, even around thy precious word. We pray for every individual who meets with us, from the youngest to the oldest. We pray that the Lord himself will speak. We think of that occasion when Christ sent his disciples into those vast crowds to distribute the fish and the loaves, having taken that little lad's luncheon. taken it up in his hands and blessed it and broke it and then distributed it to his disciples. And how every individual, Lord, every person, from the youngest to the oldest, male and female, young and old, all were satisfied and all were filled. Lord, let that be the testimony of every individual. who gathers to hear thy precious word tonight. And so come, meet with us around thy precious word. We think of those who mourn tonight. Comfort their hearts, we pray. Bind up the broken heart, we pray. Grant, dear Father, thy comfort and thy consolation to be given to such, we ask. And may they find, O God, thee to be the God of who thou art, the God of all comfort. and the Father of all mercies. So meet, O God, such in their time of need, we pray, and grant, dear Father, our hearts to be blessed, even now as we meet around thy word, for we pray these prayers in and through the Saviour's precious and worthy name. Amen and amen. Well, we welcome you again in the Saviour's precious name, wherever you're watching in. tonight and we want to thank you for joining with us at our Bible study tonight and we're praying that the Word of God will be a blessing to your soul. If you have a copy of God's Word let me invite you to take it and turn to Isaiah and the chapter 26 and we're turning to Isaiah and the chapter number 26 and as you turn there Let me remind you, some of you may know, some of you may not, but let me remind you that on Monday evening, God willing, we're going to have a Bible quiz via Facebook Live. And so we're having a Bible quiz via Facebook Live. That's on Monday, the 4th of May at 7pm. Now the quiz will start near 7 o'clock as we can get it because we want boys and girls to be there. and to participate and adults and all to participate. And so let me remind you Monday coming, this Monday coming, Monday the 4th of March or 4th of May at 7pm we'll be having a Facebook Live Bible Quiz. All you'll need is a paper and pen or pencil and a brain that would help and we'll be doing a number of different rounds. You'll have to self-mark yourself and then we'll find out who the winners are. So that's on Monday night, God willing, at 7 p.m., just to maybe break up, as it were, the boredom of being confined to our homes. But so, let me encourage you to join with us on Monday night. As I said, we're in Isaiah chapter 26, and we'll read from the verse number one. In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah. We have a strong city. Salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks. Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation, which keepeth the truth, may enter in. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the Lord forever, For in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength. For he bringeth down them that dwell on high the lofty city, he layeth it low, he layeth it low even to the ground, he bringeth it even to the dust. The foot shall tread it down, even the feet of the poor and the steps of the needy. The way of the just is uprightness. Thy most upright doth sway the path of the just. Yea, in the way of the judgments, O Lord, have we waited for thee. The desire of our soul is to thy name and to the remembrance of thee. With my soul have I desired thee in the night. Yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early. For when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. Let favor be showed to the wicked. Yet will he not learn righteousness? In the land of the uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the Lord? Lord, when thy hand is lifted up, they will not see, but they shall see, and be ashamed for their envy, and the people, yea, the fire of thy enemies shall devour them. Lord, thou wilt ordain peace for us. for thou also hast wrought all our works in us. Amen, and may God bless the reading of his precious word together. Now let's unite, please, in a word of prayer together, and just at this time. Let's unite in a word of prayer, please. Our Heavenly Father, again, and our Saviour's precious name, We come before thee to pray that our hearts might be receptive to thy word. We recognize, O God, that at times we are unresponsive to the word. But we pray, Lord, that we may know the spirit of Samuel when he said, Speak, for thy servant heareth. Lord, grant, dear Father, our hearts to be open, our ears to be open to thy word. And grant, dear Father, now the infilling of thy spirit for both the preacher and those who will hear thy word, for I offer prayer in and through the Savior's precious and worthy name. Amen and amen. Well, tonight, again, we turn to this 26th chapter of the prophecy of Isaiah for our Bible message this evening. We gave consideration on the Lord's day to those words that we find in the verse number 20. Come, my people, Enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee. Hide thyself, as it were, for a moment, until the indignation be overpassed. There is a growing concern in medical circles that with the extension of the lockdown measures due to COVID-19, that there will be a price to pay with regard to the mental health of the citizens of our nation. Mental health and well-being are important issues. but unfortunately there are those who do not see that to be the case. However, the Bible has much to say about the human mind and to its well-being. And I want to just take a little moment at the beginning of this message to draw your attention to a number of passages within the Word of God that speak about the Christian's mind and the state that the Christian's mind ought to be in. I want you to notice first of all the devotion of the Christian's mind. In Matthew chapter 22 verse 37 we read these words, Jesus said unto him, thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind. Here Christ speaks about the devotion, the love that is to exist not only in the heart, not only so, but also in the mind of the Christian towards the Lord, the Lord God we are to love with all of our minds. Paul speaks about the humility that should mark the Christian's mind. In Acts chapter 20 verse 19, Speaking of himself he says, serving the Lord with all humility of mind and with many tears and temptations which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews. Paul spoke about his mind in the state of humility and that's how we ought, that's how our minds ought to be. I think about the warfare that goes on in the Christian's mind. Romans 7 verse 23, but I see another law of my members warring against the law of my mind and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. There are other passages of scripture that speak about the warfare that goes on in the Christian's mind. And that is one of the reasons why God provides for the Christian soldier the helmet of salvation and the armor of God that is set forth presented to us there in Ephesians chapter 6. There is a warfare that is going on by the wicked one within the mind and we are to place upon us the helmet of salvation. in order to protect our minds from the wicked one. We read about the renewing of the Christian's mind that ought to be daily taking place within our lives. Romans 12 and the verse number 2. And be not conformed to the world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is a good and acceptable and perfect will of God. We read about the like-mindedness of the Christian's mind with others within the family of God. Philippians 2 verse 2, Fulfill ye my joy that ye be like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord and of one mind. We read about Christ's likeness that is encouraged Within the christian's mind philippians 2 verse 5 let this mind be in you which was also in christ jesus We also read about the soundness of the christian's mind there in 2nd timothy 1 verse 7 for god has not given us the spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind Tonight we have read about the peace That comes to the mind of the christian when it is stayed upon the Lord. In Isaiah chapter 26, in the verse three, we read, thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee. These are the words that I want to take as my text for this evening as we consider together a stayed mind, a stayed mind. mind. The first thing that I see from these words here in Isaiah 26 in the verse 3 is a promise or a pledge made. A promise or a pledge made. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace. Now you and I are well aware that we are incapable of keeping ourselves and our minds in perfect peace, the smallest thing, the slightest annoyance, the least trouble disturbs the peace of mind. Sadly, many of the things that disturb our peace and cause us to worry and fret are really things that should not destroy our peace at all. Some years ago, a professor at a leading American university studied the things that people worried about. His research discovered that 40% of the things we worry about never actually materialize or happen. 30% concerns the past, which we cannot change. 12% are needless worries about health. 10% are about petty issues. That only leaves 8% that are legitimate fears. And that means that 92% of our worry time is really wasted time and is most certainly wasted energy on our parts. And yet we are all expert worriers, men and women. However, there is a peace of mind and heart that we can, thank God, attain to. But that is not within our own power. It is not within our own power to bring our minds and our hearts into such a state of peace. God knowing that to be so, inspired the prophet then to write what he does right here in the verse 3 of Isaiah chapter 26. will keep him in perfect peace. Speaking of God, the prophet Isaiah says, thou wilt keep him in perfect peace. Just think for a moment of who is entrusted with this much needed task to keep us in perfect peace. This is the God of peace. That is a title that we find repeated over and over again in the scriptures. The God of Peace. We find that particular title there in Romans chapter 15 in the verse 33. We also find it in Romans chapter 16 in the verse 20. This title, the God of Peace, is found in Philippians 4 and the verse number 9, 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 and the verse 23, and Hebrews chapter 13 and the verse number 20. On each of those occasions we find that very title, the God of Peace. This is the one who is entrusted with bringing our minds or causing our minds to be at peace. This is the one who is known as the Prince of Peace. We meet him there in Isaiah chapter 9 in the verse number 6. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. It is the Prince of Peace who is the one who will keep us in perfect peace. This is the God who is the very author of peace. 1 Corinthians chapter 14 verse 33, for God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints. This is the king of peace, the king of Salem, that Abraham met and gave a tenth part to in Genesis chapter 14. This is the God who made peace through the blood of his cross according to Colossians chapter 1 in the verse 20. And this is the God who is the instigator and the executioner of the covenant of peace. This is the one who will keep us in perfect peace. It is not ourselves, but rather it is the God of peace, the author of peace, the king of peace, the prince of peace, the one who made peace through the blood of his cross, and the one who is the instigator and the executioner of the covenant of peace. It is to him that the task of bringing the child of God's mind into peace, it is that task that is entrusted to such a one. And shall he fail? Shall God fail in this exercise? Has he failed in any other task allotted to him, assigned to him? Never. And thereby, our faith is strengthened to know that though I cannot bring my mind into peace, though I cannot keep or maintain my mind in this peace, yet the God of peace will do this for me. Now concerning this pledge or this promise, I want you to notice what God promises to do, what he pledges to do for his trusting child. He promises to keep, underline the word, keep him in perfect peace. The word keep in the Hebrew is the word guard, to protect, to maintain, to preserve. He will maintain him in perfect peace. He will guard him, protect him, preserve him in perfect peace. The Word of God and many different places teach us the truth of the divine keeping of God's people. This is the only source of all true security and confidence to know that I am being kept by God. Verses that speak of God's keeping are plentiful. Let me give you just three. Psalm 121, verse five to seven. The Lord is thy keeper. The Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil. He shall preserve thy soul. In 1 Peter, chapter one, verse five, we read that we are kept by the power of God. through faith onto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In Jude verse 24 we read now on to him that is able to do what? To keep you from falling and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy. And thus it is God and God alone who can and does keep us in perfect peace. Fellow Christian, maybe you doubt that tonight. Or maybe your faith in that truth is at a very low ebb to think that God can keep me in perfect peace with fears heightened and worry and anxiety within my heart concerning myself My family, the nation in which I live, could God really keep me? Is it within his ability? Is it within his grasp? Is it within his remit to do this for me? If you doubt that, then I want you to consider a man by the name of Peter. I want you to go to a prison cell. Peter has been arrested and has been imprisoned. He's going to suffer the same fate as James, who had been beheaded by Herod. That was the most likely end of Peter's imprisonment. He was going to probably most likely die as a martyr. But I want you to look at this man. He's in prison. And what's he doing the night before his trial? He's sleeping between two prison officers, between two prison guards. There's a man whose mind and whose heart is being kept in peace by God. Or if you doubt, I want you to think about Paul and Silas, again in prison, singing praises and praying on to God at midnight, though they had been beaten and falsely imprisoned and were heading to the magistrates at dawn. And yet, there are men, in the midst of the storm, and in the midst of life's trial, whose minds were being kept in perfect peace by God. I want you to think about your Saviour. If you doubt this thought, that God can keep the child of God's mind in perfect peace, I want you to think about your Saviour, who calmly, when through the horrendous events of Gethsemane, Gilgabatha, In Golgotha, to secure eternal redemption for his people, there's a man, a man like no other man, the God-man, whose mind and heart is being kept in perfect peace by his God. I want you to think about that Christian widow who's been bereft of her husband, What do you think about that widower who now resides in the family home without his much-loved wife? What do you think about those parents who sorrow over the stillbirth of their child? And yet such people remain calm and composed despite the storms of life. They are people whose minds and hearts are being kept in perfect peace by their God. With all these examples to hand, why then doubt God's ability to do the same for you, child of God? Has His power, has His love for you diminished in any way? Let me ask you, is He going to break this promise? Here in Isaiah chapter 26 in the verse 3, is he going to break this promise? Will this be the first promise that he ever breaks? Never. Then, trust him to do what he has promised to do. Trust him to do what he has said that he will do. And he will keep you in perfect peace. Mark something else about this promise or this pledge. God promises not only to keep us in peace, but he promises to keep us in perfect peace. Underline the word perfect. Perfect peace. The Hebrew construction of this verse would have us to read the verse in this way, Thou will keep him in peace, peace. That's how the Hebrew construction is literally rendered. Thou will keep him in peace, peace. The repetition of the word peace denotes emphasis. As is usual in the Hebrew used here, the repetition of the word peace evidently means undisturbed, perfect peace. Now the ungodly know nothing of this perfect peace. Rather, they are found at the opposite end of the spectrum of peace according to Isaiah chapter 57 in the verse 20 and 21. Let me read what it says there concerning the ungodly, the wicked. But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked. That is the state of the ungodly. Now outwardly they may appear to have peace, but inwardly fears reign and rule. Inwardly the heart trembles. Inwardly the soul is terrorised. Ode may look outwardly, that all is at peace, but the word of God tells us that they're like the sea. When the storm rages upon it, the waters casting up mar and dirt, this restlessness, this is what the sinner is like. That's the spectrum that the sinner is on with regard to this spectrum of peace. They're at the other extreme, but no, The child of God, they're not at that extreme, but instead they're at this extreme. They are at peace. Peace. Perfect. Peace. The child of God, now at peace with God. Having been justified by faith, we have peace with God. The child of God now at peace with God. Has God's peace deposited into their hearts and into their mind and into their soul? It's been deposited into us. And if you doubt that, let me quote a number of verses here that prove that to be the very case. Psalm 29 in the verse 11. The Lord will give strength unto his people. The Lord will bless His people with peace. This is part of God's blessing, to bless His people with peace. John 14 verse 27, peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you, none as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Romans chapter 15 verse 13. Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing. Philippians 4 verse 7. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. There's a New Testament equivalent of what we have here in Isaiah chapter 26 in the verse number three. The peace of God that passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and your minds through Christ Jesus. We would all have to admit that our peace, because of our ignorance, because of our lack of faith, because of our unbelief, because of what we hear, because of what we see on the television screens or what we see in our newspapers, we would have to confess that our peace is often imperfect. It's an imperfect peace. Here God promises to give his child a perfect peace. Granted this peace may not extend to our external circumstances. I'm not saying that we'll never have to face some trial or time of trouble, some time of sickness or sorrow within our lives. Of course we do. That's just part of living in a fallen, sinful world. We're going to experience such things. So I'm not saying that the peace is going to extend right out to every external circumstance, but what I am saying and what the Bible is saying, that this perfect peace does reach the inner man. There's a peace within, though there be no peace without. There is a deep calm There is a profound peace. There is a supernatural tranquility that takes possession of our minds and our hearts and our souls, even when our circumstances are trying. And so, if God says that he'll give us this peace, let us then seek him for it. That such a peace would rule in our hearts and in our minds. these days. There is something that we need to note however as to how this perfect peace is obtained and how it is maintained and that brings me to a second consideration this evening. Not only do we have the promise or the pledge made in these words of our text but we have a practice required, a practice of I direct your words there, those next words in our text, whose mind is stayed on thee. You see, the person who is kept in perfect peace is the person whose mind is stayed on God. And that brings us to our responsibility. Yes, it is God's responsibility to keep us in perfect peace, but we have a responsibility to stay our minds on the Lord. The word stayed has various meanings attached to it. It can mean to prop, to lean upon, to take hold of, to bear up, to lie hard, to rest oneself. The staying of one's mind when the Lord is the very key that unlocks the secret to our possession of this perfect peace. It is only whenever that happens, when we stay our minds upon the Lord, that then we know this perfect peace reigning within. J. C. Ryle made this remark on this very statement in verse number three. He said, the reason so many of us do not find the blessing and are disturbed so often by such trifles of care or sorrow or loss is because our minds are not stayed on God. We are distressed at every little disappointment, by every failure in plan or expectation of ours, by every hardness in our circumstances or our condition, by every trivial loss of money as if money were life's soul's dependence, as if man lived by bread alone. A trifling illness frightens us. The most trivial things in our common life disturbs us and sends us off into pitiful fits of anxiety, spoiling our days for us, blotting the blue of the sky and putting out the stars. The trouble is, he said, the trouble is that we're not trusting God. Our minds are not stayed on him. We could all say a personal amen to these words from J.C. Ryle. We have failed to repose ourselves, to stay ourselves, to prop ourselves upon our God and thus fear instead of peace is what is ruling our hearts and our minds, even tonight. So then how can I stay my mind upon the Lord if this is what I am to do? How can I actually do it? Well, I believe that we do this. We stay our minds upon the Lord when we think of Him, when we meditate upon Him, when we consider Him. This will require then a forsaking of those thoughts that would have us to trust in ourselves, would have us to trust in others, It is an abandoning of all such thoughts and a centering of our thoughts upon Him, who our God actually is and what He has promised to do. Let me try and be as practical as I can. You know, folks, sometimes our inner peace is disturbed by thoughts of our past sins or even our present sins. There's guilt. shame, disgrace associated with our sin, that robs us of our peace. How is that peace restored? Well, it's not restored by us focusing our minds on our sin, continually thinking about what we have done and where we have gone wrong, but rather it is restored by staying our minds on the fact on the fact that our God is a God who pardons. Our God is a pardoning God. Our God is a God who's abundant in mercy. Our God is a God who promised that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And as we consider those facts, and as we meditate upon those facts, and as we believe in those facts, then our mind is stayed upon God and our peace is restored. Sometimes our inner peace is disturbed by thoughts of our own weaknesses. We are maybe weakened through some form of sickness, or maybe we're about to embark upon some task for God and we're reminded by the devil of how weak we actually are. And what happens? Our peace evaporates. It disappears. And we're full of anxiety and worry and fear. How is that peace then restored? Well, it's not restored by focusing our minds on our weaknesses, nor rather it was restored by us remembering that our God is a God of infinite power and that through Him we can do all things. Maybe our peace, the inner peace is disturbed by our own foolishness. The Psalmist Asaph made this honest confession to God in Psalm 73 verse 22. So foolish was I and ignorant, I was as a beast before thee. How many times in our lives have we not been foolish? We've thought foolish thoughts, we've done foolish things, we've said foolish things, the consequence of which is that our peace is disturbed. How can the peace be restored? Well, it's not restored by us focusing our minds on our foolishness. It is restored by us repenting of our sin and remembering that God is all-wise and that His wisdom is available to all who ask Him for it. And so the way to stay our minds on the Lord is by remembering what the Word of God says about Him. That's how I stay my mind on Him. I get to the book, I get to the revelation of God that we have within the Word of God, and I receive by faith that which the Scriptures tell me about Him. And then I lean on that truth, I repose myself, I stay myself upon that truth, and as a result, peace floods the soul again. Peace, wonderful peace, coming down from the Father above. Sweep over my spirit forever, I pray, in fathomless billows of love. That's how we stay our mind. Mr. Spurgeon said, some are staying themselves upon a friend. Others are staying themselves upon their own ability. But blessed is the man who stays himself on God. We are to have no confidence except in the almighty arm. Our reliance must be placed there only. You know this staying of ourselves upon God is something that Isaiah returns to in this book over there in Isaiah 50 verse 10. Isaiah writes, who is among you that feareth the Lord? that obeyeth the voice of his servant that walketh in darkness and hath no light. Let him trust in the name of the Lord and stay upon his God. There he is again, encouraging the reader to stay themselves upon God. Are you staying your mind on the Lord in these days? Are you leaning entirely upon your God as we thought about a few Wednesday nights ago? Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness leaning on her beloved? Leaning, staying, resting, reposing oneself upon the Lord. When you and I do that, when we stay ourselves and our minds and our hearts on God, then I believe that we'll become the most steadfast, the most settled, the most grounded, and the most tranquil people in this world. One preacher said to rest in God's word, to rejoice in God's covenant, to trust in the divine sacrifice, to be conformed to God's will, to delight in God's self, this is to stay yourself upon God. And the consequence of it? Perfect peace. One of my favourite hymns in her hymn book was written by Frances Ridley Havergill. When she was holidaying in the south of Wales in 1876, she caught a severe cold accompanied by inflammation of the lungs. Hearing how ill she was and that she might die, she replied, if I'm really going, it's too good to be true. Her friends were amazed at how peacefully she received the information of her impending death. And yet, Frances Havergill survived the illness. And later on in that year, 1876, she wrote the hymn, Like a River Glorious, in which she pointed to the source of her perfect peace. Stayed upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blessed, finding as he promised, perfect peace and rest. Note thirdly, and very quickly, a premise expressed A premise expressed. The child of God can have perfect peace through the staying of their minds upon God because they have complete trust in God. Note the final statement. Because. There's the reason. There's the reason why I can stay my mind on God. This is the reason why my mind will be kept in perfect peace. Because He trusteth in thee. You see, the premise of this peace is our faith in God. The Christian life is a life of faith. We walk by faith and not by sight. And here, Isaiah, he connects. Here, Isaiah connects the peace we experience with our faith. We could say that our peace is directly correlated with our faith in God. It is faith in God that creates and nourishes peace. And that's why Isaiah then goes on to say in verse four, trust ye in the Lord forever, for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength. The more I trust him, the more you trust him, the greater our peace will be. Let us then pray for an increase of faith, because that will result in an increase in peace. We often pray, Lord, increase my peace. Lord, bring peace to my soul. Bring peace to my mind. Bring peace to my heart. But we should really be praying, Lord, give me an increase of faith. faith in thee because when we have faith in thee then peace is a by-product of such a faith. William Gladstone for 40 years had in the wall of his bedroom this very text that we've been considering this evening that will keep him in perfect peace whose mind has stayed in thee. These were the first words on which the great statesman's eyes opened every morning, and they were one of the sources of his calm strength. We may never be the Prime Minister of this nation as Gladstone was, but we can still know the peace that he knew, a peace promised to us here within the words of our text, a peace that comes to a person whose mind has stayed on the Lord. May we all have such minds in these days. Minds that are stayed on the Lord. And the reason why we can stay our minds upon the Lord is because we trust in Him. We trust Him. We trust Him that He knows what is best for us. And so, May you know this peace. May you experience it within your mind and heart and soul tonight. Oh may God be pleased to bless his word to all of our hearts. Amen. Well let me encourage you to now just whenever we make these few announcements to just log off and to spend a little time with your family or with your husband, your wife, or just on your own, there with the Lord, just to take a little time to pray. And so let me give you a few prayer pointers to pray for. Pray for the Lord's Day services, 12 noon and 6 p.m. Do your best to invite people to listen in, to watch in, use the advertisements that are put up on Facebook, send it out set up a watch party, use these means to extend the reach of our broadcasts in these days and then share also those messages that are put up on Sermon Audio on Monday and send them out and do your part, be evangelistic in these days and use the means that God has given. But remember to pray for the services, pray that God will give messages for the services, pray for the congregational family, All are well and there are no sicknesses. We thank God for that. Remember Patsy Boyd in your prayers, please. Pray for a turning of the tide and the turning of hearts back to the Lord. We're not seeing that and we certainly need to see that in these days and in our nation. And so let me encourage you to pray for the turning of men and women and young people on to Christ. And then finally, we want you to pray for The Rowe family. The Rowe family. I want you to pray for Wolsey and Marion. I want you to pray for Margaret. I want you to pray for Phyllis and for Johnny. And then for all the members of the Rowe family. Because yesterday Davy Rowe passed away. That's Wolsey and Margaret and Phyllis's brother. And so we just want to make that known. We extend our sympathies to those families and to the entire family circle. of the Rose. The Rose family is a family connected with our congregation, has a great history with our congregation and so I want you to pray for them at this, in their time of need. And please make contact with the family, telephone them, send them a sympathy card, send them an email, send them a text message. Please do that and show your love for those within the family of God. That funeral service is tomorrow and pray for the one who will officiate at that service. Pray that God will help him and that the gospel will go forth and hearts will be challenged even in these days. So please pray even for the family circle and may the Lord comfort their hearts even tonight. Let's unite in prayer and then as when we close down then you'll be able to get to the throne of grace yourself. Let's pray. Our Father in heaven, we just commit all things into thy care. We commit especially the Rowe family to thee. We think of Wolsey and Marion, we think of Margaret, we think of Phyllis and Johnny, and their family circles, and then the wide family circle of the Rowe's. We pray for those 11 siblings of the late Mr. Davy Rowe. We pray, Lord, that thou wilt comfort their hearts, and Lord, bring each to a saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We ask, O God, that in these days that they may turn to thee, and that standing somewhere in the shadows that they'll find the Saviour, that he'll know, and they'll know, they'll know that he cares and understands, that standing somewhere in the shadows that they'll find him. and they'll know him by the nail prints in his hands. We pray, O God, for the Lord's Day services. Bless him, we pray. We thank you for the early morning prayer meeting at 8 o'clock. Help us to rise and help us to seek the Lord. And may we know the benefit, may I know the benefit of a congregation praying for us. Continue, Lord, to be with, O God, all the ministries, all the outreaches, we pray. And may there be a turning on to Jesus Christ. We pray, Father, for our congregation. Keep all safe and well, and grant, dear Father, Thy hand to be upon such, we pray. And so we look to Thee. Help us now as we get to prayer, and bless Thy people as they supplicate the throne of heavenly grace. We offer these petitions in and through the Saviour's precious name. Amen and amen. May the Lord bless you until we meet again, God willing, on the Lord's Day, 12 noon, 6 p.m. Let me encourage you now to seek the Lord to gather in prayer. Thank you. God bless