Thank you once again David and it's good to be with you again in the gospel hour this evening and we trust the Lord will bless us as we turn to his word together. We're turning to Luke's gospel in chapter 18 please this evening. Luke's gospel in chapter 18. I want to thank you again for your fellowship. It's been a blessed day again. And I'd like, as always, to thank our dear brother Sam and his wife Ruth for their hospitality and kindness, as always. And we trust the Lord will bless you. And thank you once again. Luke's Gospel, chapter 18. And we're commencing to read verse Verse nine, Luke's Gospel chapter 18 and verse nine. Again, a very familiar portion of scripture to us. And he, that is the Lord Jesus Christ, speak this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others. Two men went up into the temple to pray, the one the Pharisee and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week. I give tithes of all I possess. And the publican standing afar off would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smoked upon his breast, saying, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. Could I just pause there for a moment and say that if there's anyone listening to this message tonight, that's the simple call that you need to make if you're not saved. And we have it here from the very lips of the Savior himself. God, be merciful to me, a sinner, for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Moving on, verse 14. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified Simply by calling upon the name of the Lord. God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you this man went down to his house justified. Nobody didn't need to work for his salvation. He didn't need to do anything but simply call upon the Lord to have mercy upon his soul. Because he realized his soul was stained with sin. and he was condemned, but in a moment of time he was justified. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other. For everyone that exalteth himself shall be a beast, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. And may the Lord bless the reading of his precious word to our hearts tonight for his name's sake. There can be no simpler cry And there can be no simpler call than the call of the sinner for salvation. Here was a man and he passed from death to life in a moment of time. He came to the temple condemned and yet he went home justified. And here we see him speaking only seven simple words. The other man's prayer was full of a multitude of words, very impressive. They sounded, but they carried no weight with the Lord. But here this publican prayed seven simple words and he was saved. Seven we know in scripture is the number of perfection, the number of completeness. And here I believe we see four things that are manifest. First of all, before we go any further, could I say the fact that he prayed seven simple words is very significant here. Because the number seven speaks of perfection and completeness. That tells us very simply this evening that his salvation was complete in Christ. Absolutely complete. He was justified. But four things were manifest here, and we see them very simply. We see, first of all, his ruin by the fall. He called himself a sinner. He knew he was a sinner. And how many times have I spoken, and perhaps some of you here tonight, perhaps all of us, when we have sought to witness for Christ on a one-to-one level with somebody, perhaps in the workplace or on the street. How often do we hear these words, but I'm not a bad person. I've never done anything bad. Yes, I may have made a few mistakes, but I'm not a bad person. Just yesterday morning, I met a young man on the street in Belfast as we were setting up our Bible texts and so on, and as we were getting ready for the outreach that was going to be taking place at that abominable gay pride parade yesterday. And there was a young man, and he was walking by, and he saw the gospel texts. Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures and he looked over and he said, Jesus, yeah, Jesus, he said. And he had a beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other. And he was under the influence of alcohol. And I said to him, you know, you need to be saved. And I began to talk with him and I said, did you ever make a profession of faith? And he began to justify himself. And he began to talk with me, and I couldn't get a word in edgeways. He was talking and talking and talking, talking about how wonderful Jesus was. And then he said, but Jesus turned the water into wine. And I quoted Proverbs 20 in verse one to him, and I said, wine is a mocker. That's what the scripture says. Wine is a mocker, and strong drink is raging, and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise. I said, that's what the Bible says about strong drink. And I said, you're under the influence of alcohol. And he said to me, are you saying that I'm condemned? I said, yes. I said, the Bible says you're condemned already. And I said, I'm a sinner just like you. And then he tried to point the finger at me and he said, are you telling me that you're a good person and I'm not? And for about half an hour I spoke with that young man and I just had to keep bringing him back to the simple truth of scripture. And in the end I prayed with him and I said, you know, you need to repent and you need to trust the Lord Jesus Christ as your saviour and trust in him alone for salvation. It transpired that he came from a nominal Roman Catholic background, but he had gotten into sin. The young man was only in his early twenties. And during the course of our discussion, you know, he began to curse and swear and blaspheme and I had to rebuke him and say, listen, you're cursing and you're swearing and you're blaspheming and you're telling me you're not a sinner. And I quoted Romans 3 in verse 23 to him, all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. But this publican here, he had it right from the very outset. He knew that he was a sinner. No one needed to tell him. So we see his room by the fall first of all, but secondly we see something else We see his repentance Repentance now. We know it's not repentance that seems but repentance is necessary. It's required It simply means to turn To turn from sin and to turn to the Lord Jesus Christ. It's as simple as that And we see his repentance here. Hi. He beat his breast He beat his breast That tells us that he hated his own sin and he was looking to the Lord alone for mercy. It tells us that in his heart of hearts he was wanting to turn away from the sin and turn to the Lord for mercy and for salvation, his repentance. But then thirdly we see something else. We see his regeneration, or rather the regeneration that the Lord brought in him by the Spirit of God. Regeneration by the Spirit, he went home a new creature. He went home a new creature. If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away, behold all things are become new. But then fourthly, we see something else. We see his righteousness by faith, not his own righteousness. but the imputed righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. Why? The Lord Jesus himself said clearly here that this man went down to his house justified. Brethren, isn't it wonderful to look back to that moment in our own experience when we came to an end of our own sin and we simply called upon the name of the Lord to have mercy upon our souls and we went home justified through faith in the precious blood of Christ. It was the simple cry that I myself made in the summer of 2003, a young man of 26 years old. I was saved, but I found myself in a very backslidden condition. I had made a profession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ at the age of four, brought up in a Church of Ireland background initially and then later in charismatic circles. And I was baptized in the sea in Bangor at the age of 12. But I got into the wrong company. I continued well for a time. Grew in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord. Was even involved in outreach and various other activities in Bangor and further afield as a young man. But at the age of 19 I began to backslide. The things of the world began to entice me. I got into the wrong company. And I thought that I could have the world and Christ. And to put it very simply, for seven years I backslid And I began to taste of the pleasures of the world and that led me down a path of sin. And I attempted to justify myself just like this Pharisee did. He was justifying his own sin by looking at his good works and his good deeds and even having the audacity to tell God about how much he did. But then I came under conviction of sin through the influence of godly grandparents mainly. who were praying for me. And my grandfather began to invite me to gospel meetings in Hollywood and County Down in the year 2000. And it took several years, but I came under strong conviction of sin. And I remember one evening I was standing in a queue in Belfast, waiting to enter a public house with some friends. And a young man came up to me in the street and he was handing out gospel tracts. And he came to me and he offered me a tract and I accepted it gratefully. And I said to him, thank you very much. I said, I'm a Christian too, by the way. And he said, you're a Christian, are you? He said, are you saved? And I paused for a moment. And I thought to myself, I cannot lie to this man. I'm going to have to be honest with him, tell him that I am. And so I said I was, and he said, what are you doing going into a place like this? And he began to challenge me. And the first thing he did before he said anything else, he began to quote the scriptures to me. And you know, that young man, I've never seen him since. But he was able to quote word for word from the authorized version of the holy scriptures without even taking his Bible out of his pocket. And he began to ask me, he said, have you read such and such a verse? One of them, if my memory serves me right, was from 2 Corinthians chapter five. What fellowship hath light with darkness? What concord hath Christ with Belial? He's saying if you're truly saved, if you're a Christian, you're having fellowship with darkness. And he began to challenge me and put me on the spot and then he said, are you backslidden? And I had no answer for it. I began to seek to justify myself, began to make excuses. Began to tell him, well I'm trying to be a witness to my unconverted friends. That was the first one he gave him. But praise God, it didn't wash with him at all. And he began to reason with me from the scriptures. And he was saying, you're backslidden. You're walking in disobedience to the Lord. And you need to repent. And he began to quote the scriptures to me further. And I'll never forget it, he left me with this one. Now I didn't know anything about doctrine. But I knew the passage of scripture he was referring to. And he said, I'm sure you're aware of the parable of the unprofitable servant and how he was cast into outer darkness, weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. Now we know now, rightly dividing the word truth. Our Lord was speaking of service and really it points forward to the judgment seat of Christ. I was listening to ministry from our dear brother Bert on the internet just last week on that very same passage. But back then I didn't know anything about dogma, but I knew this and I was able to make the application to my own heart. I knew that I was walking in disobedience to the Lord. I knew that I was in a wretched and sinful and backslidden condition and I knew this, that if I met the Lord at the judgment, It was not going to be good. And by God's grace, I was led to that place of repentance. Now it didn't happen overnight. It took another three years, approximately, before I came to an end of my own sin and my own backsliding and wickedness. And by God's grace, in 2003, now I can't remember the words I prayed, but I got down on my knees by my bedside. Once, one afternoon in the summer of 2003, and I can't remember the exact words that he used, but it was similar to the cry of this man for mercy, God be merciful to me, a sinner, and by God's grace I turn back on my sin, and by his grace, and only by his grace alone I am what I am, and only by his grace I've never looked back. Never had another desire ever to go into a pub or a den of iniquity or a nightclub or any such place ever again. Never touched another drink. Never touched another cigarette. By God's grace, the rock and roll music went. The ungodly dress and the ungodly worldly lifestyle went only by His grace. Before I'd attempted to give up those things over and over again. But it was only when I came to that point of true repentance and acknowledging that it was sin Love not the world, the Apostle John said, 1 John 2 and verses 17. Verses 15 to 17. Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. And I knew those two verses even whenever I was living in the world and living that ungodly and worldly lifestyle. And I knew that our love for the Lord cannot be divided. And I knew that I would never have any peace until I repented of my own sin and wickedness and backsliding. Love not the world. Can I ask you tonight, listening to this message, dear friend, are you a believer, but you have a love for the world in your heart? The scripture is very clear. If any man loved the world, the love of the father is not in him. You can't love God and love the world at the same time. Take the world, but give me Jesus to him, writer put it. And praise God by God's grace, that is exactly what this man said. God be merciful to me, a sinner. He didn't want to sin anymore. He wasn't coming to the Lord looking for mercy, but wanting to hang on to some of the sin, no. God be merciful to me, a sinner. He beat his breast. He hated his own sin. Righteousness by faith. He went home justified. Praise God for justification through faith in the precious blood of Christ. It's remarkable here to see that one man was justified but the other was not. There's hardly a starker contrast between the one man and the other man. It's like black and white. Speaking reverently tonight, it's like chalk and cheese. One remained in the darkness of his own sin and his own self-righteousness, but the other had the light of the joy of salvation in his heart. The first thing we note here is simply this. We see those to whom the parable was addressed. Those to whom the parable was addressed, the self-righteous. the self-righteous. Notice verse nine, and he, that is the Lord Jesus Christ, spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous. Now there's the key word, themselves. They were looking to themselves that they were righteous. And they despised others. And so here we see a crowd of people justifying themselves, trusting in themselves that they were righteous, and looking down their noses as it were in utter contempt upon others. Seeing the sin in others but not seeing it in themselves. And sadly that is what many do today. And I've spoken to many people who fall into this category. They look to themselves as righteous, they think they're good people and they point the finger at others and look at the sin in others but they can't see it in themselves. And here we see very clearly who our Lord was directing this parable to. Those to whom the parable was addressed, the self-righteous. Now the Pharisees were known for this. In verse 10 we see that one of these men was a Pharisee. And notice that both these men are going up to the same place. They both went up into the temple to pray. There is nothing wrong with that. Outwardly, there may have been no difference between them, but the Lord looketh upon the heart. Man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh upon the heart. Our brother Bert mentioned it this morning, 1 Samuel chapter 16. And so the Lord was able to see right into the hearts of these very men. He knew what was in their hearts. The Pharisees of course were known for their self-righteousness. If we turn back for a moment to chapter 16. Chapter 16 and of course in chapter 16 we have that very well known account and it wasn't a parable it was a real account of a rich man who went to hell. The beggar Lazarus who went to the bosom of Abraham. But in chapter 16 our Lord Well just look at verse 14 for a moment. And the Pharisees also who were covetous heard all these things and they derided him. And notice what the Savior says to them here in verse 15. And he said unto them, ye are they which justify yourselves before men, but God knoweth your hearts. For that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God. That is what man's self-righteousness is. Dear friend, if you're justifying yourself tonight, looking to yourself for righteousness, trusting in yourself that you're righteous, and not trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ, then dear friend, your self-righteousness is abomination in the sight of God. And those are not my words, those are the words of Scripture. And so they were known for their self-righteousness. But the publicans, on the other hand, They were known for their extortion. And we see this in verse 11 of chapter 18. And the Pharisee makes mention of this in his prayer. Now notice how the Pharisee prays here first of all. Notice rather what he says in his prayer. He mentions the word extortion. Now he was right that these individuals who he lists here in his prayer Sinners in the sight of God, they're condemned of course they are We know from first Corinthians chapter 6 that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God and extortioners are mentioned in first Corinthians chapter 6 And so we can have no doubt this evening that when he mentioned the word extortioners He was thinking of the public and beside him We know that The tax collectors were known for adding a little bit on, perhaps more, adding a percentage on for themselves. And we can be sure that perhaps in his past the publican had done the very same thing. After all he beat his breast and acknowledged himself to be a sinner, there's no doubt about that. And we know later in chapter 19 the account of Zacchaeus. and how, following his repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, he promised to give half of his goods to the poor, and if he had taken anything from any man by false accusation, he would restore unto him threefold. And so that tells us that the publicans were given to extortion. They were given to fraud and corruption and so on. So there's nothing wrong in that sense with what the Pharisee prayed in his prayer But notice how he prays here The Pharisee stood verse 11 and prayed thus with himself with himself He's not praying to God here. In fact God is hardly in his thoughts at all He prayed thus with himself There's absolutely no accident here that the Lord Jesus included this word himself. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God. He just simply said God. Notice the abruptness here. There's an abruptness here. There's a lack of reverence here. God. It shows us that he prayed thus with himself and then God. Now, it shows us that he was thinking only of himself. God was not in his thoughts at all. I thank thee that I am not as other men are." Friends, he was only conscious of himself. He had no thought for God at all. And here we see two men, both of them went up to the temple, and really at the outset we could say one was as bad as the other. The Pharisee was self-righteous, praising himself. He was pretending to praise God. He said, God, I thank Thee, but really he's praising himself. Because of everything that he did. Thanking God that he wasn't as other men were, and he lists them here. Extortioners are first on the list. And no doubt he was thinking of the other man as he stood beside him. Unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. And then in verse 12 he began to, he said in verse 12, I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all I possess. You see both of these men went up into the temple and yes one was as sinful as the other. The Pharisee, with the Pharisee it was the sin of self-righteousness and with the publican it was genuine sin, extortion and so on, sin that was perhaps open, and could be seen by all, but only one found mercy. Only one found mercy. And so we see those to whom the parable was addressed, the self-righteous. And really the Lord Jesus was directing this parable to his listeners on that occasion, and they also were self-righteous. They were as bad as the Pharisees. And so the Pharisee was not alone here. He was really an example of what the crowd were in the sight of the Lord. And so we see those to whom the parable was addressed, the self-righteous. But secondly this evening, we see the one whom the parable describes. The one who the parable describes. And we see this from verses 11 to 12. And here we see this man and he's sanctimonious and religious. He's sanctimonious and religious. We've seen already that his prayer is really directed to himself and not to God. And he's thanking God that he's not as other men are. And so he's looking at the sins of others first of all, not acknowledging any sin on his own part. And then in verse 12, he's telling the Lord what he does. I fast twice in the week. I give tithes of all that I possess. Now isn't that remarkable? This was what he was basing his salvation on. This was all he was basing his salvation on. I fast twice in the week. I give tithes of all I possess. And he's comparing these good works with the sins of others. And this is what he's basing his salvation on. And sadly that is what many do today. They list their own good works. And perhaps, dear friend, you attend a church. Perhaps you attend a church twice in a week. And perhaps you put your money in the box once a week, every Sunday faithfully. Perhaps you even give tithes. And that's a good thing. There's nothing wrong with that in and of itself. It's not specifically commanded in the New Testament epistles, but we know that giving is a principle, and we find it in 1 Corinthians chapter 16 and other portions of scripture, the collection for the saints and so on. It was for the purpose of those believers who were in real and genuine need. But here we see this man as basing, as justifying himself on these grounds and on these grounds alone. And dear friend, perhaps that's what you're doing tonight. church attendance, paying tithes, giving to the church, supporting the clergyman, and perhaps you're basing your salvation upon this, first of all, and then, secondly, upon something else, that you're not as bad as others. And many people tonight are looking at the crimes of others, and mind you, they're bad. And the evil that this man mentions in verse 11 is, as evil indeed, extortioners, stealing from others, unjust, adulterers. Yes, those are the people that will not inherit the kingdom of God, that's true, according to 1 Corinthians chapter 6. But dear friends, pointing at the sins and crimes of others will never justify you in the sight of God. The sins of others will never absolve us. The sins and the crimes and the unjust acts of others will never justify us in the sight of God, no matter how many good deeds we do. And the publican on the other hand, verse 13, standing afar off, wouldn't even lift up his eyes so much to heaven, but smote upon his breast saying, God be merciful to me, a sinner. We don't see this publican looking to any of his own good works for the hope of mercy. We don't see this publican thinking about the sins of others to justify himself. No, he's looking to God alone for mercy. And dear friend, that's what you need to do tonight. You need to look to the Lord Jesus Christ alone for mercy. And so there's the one who the parable describes, the sanctimonious and the religious, the Pharisee. But thirdly this evening, we see the one who the parable vindicates, The one who the parable vindicates, and this is the sinner who found redemption. The sinner who found redemption. The public in here, verses 13 and 14. And we've read verse 13 already, so let's look at verse 14. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other. For everyone that exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. In conclusion tonight, we look at the end of verse 14. He that humbleth himself shall be exalted. Praise God for that. You see, dear friends, exalting oneself and looking upon others with pride and contempt shows an unconsciousness of your own sin. And that is what many are like today. But on the other hand, the one who humbles himself is only conscious of his own sin and of his own need of mercy and not of others. And this we can illustrate from Isaiah chapter 6. We can think of Isaiah the prophet who said in chapter 3 of Isaiah, woe unto the wicked, woe unto their soul, and so on. Speaking, of course, of the children of Israel who had gone, who had turned their back on the Lord, who had rebelled against the Lord and His holy commands, and had gone after the way of the nations around them, and had sinned against the Lord. And we could think of Isaiah preaching and pleading with the people, woe unto the wicked, urging them to repent, and so on and so forth. But then we come into chapter six of Isaiah, and what do we read there? Woe is me, for mine eyes have seen the Lord. Woe is me, for I am condemned and unclean, and dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips, and so on. He got his eyes upon himself. Dear friends, that's what every single one of us need to do. We need to get our eyes upon, off the sins of others and upon ourselves. And friend, tonight that is what you need to do. Stop looking at the sins of others as if somehow that will justify you. Look at your own heart. See yourself as a sinner just as this man did. And come to him repentantly, seeking mercy. Come to the Lord Jesus Christ and simply cry out to him, God be merciful to me, a sinner, and he will on the authority of his word. You see, dear friends, with the Pharisee, it was a case of woe unto others. Woe unto this man standing beside me and so on. But with the publican, it was a case of woe unto me. He was unaware of anyone else's sin but his own. And again, hypocrisy and the sin of others will never vindicate you in the day of judgment. During the 1859 revival in this province, in Linenhawk Street in Ballymena, there was a young man who ran down that street crying these words, unclean, unclean, God be merciful to me, a sinner. And the thing that marked that move of the Spirit of God back in 1859 was this. Those who were calling upon God for mercy, those who were saved, those who were converted were not looking at the sins of others. They were conscious only of their own sin. In so much that they were crying out to God in the middle of the streets to have mercy upon their souls. Unclean, unclean. And that young man was conscious only of his own sin and not of the sins of others. God be merciful to me, a sinner. It must be applied personally and individually to the sinner. One man here despised others and the other man despised himself. He found mercy. He went home justified, forgiven, born again and ready for heaven. Friend, how about you this evening? Think of the temple. The temple spoke of the holiness of the Lord's presence. That was why the publican stood afar off. He stood afar off. He wouldn't even so much as lift up his eyes onto heaven. He was conscious of the absolute and infinite holiness of God. And we could think of how the veil was in there. And he knew what that would have signified. He would have known about the mercy seat within the veil and so on. And he stood afar off. He knew that because of his sin, he couldn't enter into the holy presence of God. And so he cried onto him to have mercy upon his soul. But we could direct our attention forward to chapter 23 and verse 43. And what our Lord said to the thief on the cross beside him. Chapter 23 and verse 43. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with me in paradise. And it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple, the veil of the temple was rent in the midst. It was rent in the midst. And then verse 46, Father into thy hands I commend my spirit. Now this man might not have been aware of it at the time. But really this account is pointing forward to the cross. When our Lord Jesus Christ offered himself without spot unto God. This man simply called out upon God to be merciful to him, a sinner, and to have mercy upon a soul. And praise God he went home justified. He didn't need to think about standing afar off from the presence of the Lord as he went home. And dear friend, there's mercy available to the sinner tonight. We could think of Isaiah and 66 and verse 2. If you care to turn back to it for a moment. Isaiah 66 and verse 2. Isaiah 66 and verse 2. And the end of it. But to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit. and trembling at my word. There's a perfect description of what this publican was. He was simply a man who was poor and of a contrite spirit and trembled at the presence of God. Simply called upon the Lord for mercy. And dear friend, there's mercy available. to the sinner who simply calls upon the name of the Lord to be saved. God be merciful to me, a sinner. Praise God for the simplicity of salvation. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved on the authority not of the word of the preacher, but on the precious and fallible truth of the word of God. Friend, will you make that call this evening? God, be merciful to me, a sinner, and on the authority of the word of God, you can go home justified, and know peace and joy, and the blessed assurance of sins forgiven, and a home in heaven, an inheritance that is incorruptible and undefiled and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for those who are kept by the power of God. You might be saying tonight, I could never keep it. None of us could keep it. It's He who keeps us because we're kept by His power. And praise God, Him that cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out. May God bless His word to our hearts for His name's sake. Shall we pray? Father in heaven, we thank Thee for this glorious gospel message that we have to preach. Father, we can think of our own unworthiness just as this publican stood afar off and beat upon his breast. But we praise Thee, Our Father, that we can rejoice in the knowledge and assurance of sins forgiven. Peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We thank Thee, Our Father, for that moment when we simply called upon Thyself to have mercy upon our souls. God, be merciful. to me a sinner, and we praise God that thou wilt indeed be merciful to the whosoever will. We thank thee, our Father, for those wonderful words of the Savior, this man went home justified. And we praise thee, our Father, that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved and is able to go home justified, washed in the precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. We thank thee, our Father, that when our Lord cried with a loud voice and gave up the ghost and said, it is finished. We praise thee, our Father, that the veil of the temple was rent in twain, signifying that the way into thy holy presence, the way to a home in heaven, was freely offered and freely available to the whosoever will. We pray, our Father, that thy word would go forth tonight We bless Thee, Our Father, that Thy Word will not return unto Thee void, but will accomplish the purpose whither to Thou hast sent it. We thank Thee, Father, for the ministry of this assembly, and we thank Thee, Father, for the ministry of the internet. We pray Thy blessing upon it. We pray, Father, for the salvation of precious souls. We can think back to those wonderful accounts of souls coming under conviction of sin, just as in 1859 in this province. But, Father, we have to acknowledge we're living in perilous times now, where men are lovers of their own selves, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God. pray father that thy spirit would be pleased to move and bring men and women and boys and girls under conviction of their sin and of their need of a saviour. We remember those in this assembly who have real and genuine needs, we pray for them, Father, we lift them up before the throne of grace. We pray for this little girl who has been mentioned already, this relative of Sadie, we pray for her, Father, that thy hand will be upon her and bless Geordie and all the family. And Father, we pray for our brother Sam and Ruth and Davy and May and our brother Bert, And all the sisters and other brethren who attend here, bless them all drawn very graciously near to each one and meet them at the point of their need. Pray now, Father, for thy blessing upon our time of fellowship together around a cup of tea. May all things redine to thine honour and to thy glory. In the Saviour's precious name we pray. Amen.