[0:00] Let us now turn to the part of the chapter we read, Matthew chapter 21, and reading again from verse 33. Matthew 21 from verse 33, where the Lord Jesus says, Hear another parable.
[0:16] There was a certain householder who planted a vineyard and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it and built a towel, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country.
[0:28] And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servant to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it. And the husbandmen took his servants and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another.
[0:41] Again he sent other servants more than the first, and they did unto them likewise. But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son.
[0:51] And so on to the end of this parable, having in mind these words in verse 37. But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son.
[1:05] Now this parable was directed by the Lord Jesus at the Jews in the temple at Jerusalem. And it was a barbed arrow, aimed at them by the divine marksman, and he didn't miss.
[1:23] For it is obvious that this parable and the others in this chapter wounded them, wounded them. Because we are told in the last verse that they sought to lay hands upon him.
[1:33] And they wanted to lay hands upon him, we are told in verse 45, because they saw that the arrow was directed towards themselves. And that what Jesus was speaking, was saying in the parable, was directed towards them, the Jews in the temple.
[1:51] But the parable was not only for the Jews in the temple, or anywhere else. For the parable is for all who read it.
[2:02] And for all who are prepared to learn from it. And to be taught by it. For Jew and Gentile. And we are not to hide ourselves behind the Jew.
[2:15] And say, well this parable really is for the Jew. And has nothing really to say to us. For that is not the case. This parable is part of the word of God.
[2:26] And the word of God is for all men and women everywhere, all the time. And the word of God has its own piercing, and penetrating, and humbling work to do.
[2:38] And it may be that God will use this part of his own word to pierce and penetrate our hearts. And humble us. And especially so in view of the communion season.
[2:52] For this is a time of humiliation and prayer. And as we draw near to God, we need to be humbled. And we need to be humbled, not in our own estimation, but humbled through his word.
[3:07] As it pierces and penetrates and brings before us our need. Well, this parable is about an estate owner. Who rented out his fruit farm to tenant farmers.
[3:22] On a share crop basis. And at the harvest time he sent his servants to secure their master's share of the crop. According to the arrangement and the agreement.
[3:34] But as the parable points out, the tenants manhandled the master's servants. And worse, they killed them. And they even did the same thing to the master's own son.
[3:48] Whom he sent last of all. Last of all he sent. And to them his son. Saying, they will reverence. They will respect. They will have regard for my son.
[4:00] Well now, as we look at this parable, there are two divisions, I think, in it. And the first is this. To notice the amazing mission that was undertaken. The amazing mission that was undertaken.
[4:14] The mission of the owner's servants. One after the other to the tenants. In order to get the master's share of the crop. And of course, the Lord Jesus here is undoubtedly referring to himself.
[4:27] For there's no question about that verse 37. In verse 37, he is referring to himself. Last of all, he sent unto them his son. Saying, they will reverence his son. That's the point of the parable.
[4:38] That the Lord Jesus is being brought out and brought before our eyes. And at the same time, our sinfulness and our evil hearts are brought before us too.
[4:49] As we look at the treatment that was meted out to God's eternal son. Well now, as we look at the amazing mission that was undertaken. Notice first of all, thinking of the Lord Jesus right away.
[5:01] That he was sent. That's the first thing. He was sent. All the owner's servants were sent. Not one of them who arrived at that fruit farm was unsent.
[5:17] Everyone was sent. Sent by the owner. And the owner's own son was sent by the father. As this parable indicates.
[5:28] Now, that's precisely what is said of the Lord Jesus in the New Testament. We are told, for example, that the father sent the son.
[5:38] To be the savior of the world. And the son himself testifies to his being sent. When he says, as my father has sent me.
[5:50] So have I sent you. My father has sent me. And I think it's interesting to remember that in John's gospel alone. The Lord Jesus refers in different ways to his being sent over 40 times.
[6:08] Which indicates the mission that was his. He was sent as a prophet from the royal court of heaven. To reveal to us the will of God for our salvation.
[6:18] He was sent to preach deliverance to the captive. The opening of the doors and the prison houses to those that were bound. The opening of the eyes to those that were blind.
[6:30] He was sent to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. Or to preach the year of the Lord's favor. And we're still in that time. It is still the time of the Lord's favor.
[6:41] Make sure that we are making most of the time of the Lord's favor. He was sent then as God's ambassador. As God's envoy. As God's messenger.
[6:53] He was sent. As the prophet Isaiah points out so marvelously. He was sent as the servant of Jehovah. He was sent. Now although the Lord was sent.
[7:07] That did not mean for a moment that he therefore came unwillingly. Or discontemptedly. Or grudgingly. We might send someone on an errand. And that person might do the errand very well.
[7:18] But he might go very unwillingly to do it. But of course we cannot for one moment think. In terms like these of the Lord Jesus Christ. For he who came to reveal to us.
[7:29] The will of the Father for our salvation. Came willingly. For he says. I delight to do thy will oh my God. I delight to do thy will oh my God.
[7:42] He was no reluctant messenger. No hesitant Messiah. No unwilling mediator. And not only did he not come unwillingly.
[7:56] As one who was sent. But neither did he come in ignorance of his mission. He wasn't like someone. Whom we might send.
[8:07] To do something. Without telling that person. The why or the where for. Just do as you're told. Don't ask any questions. And so the person does. Whatever is asked. But not knowing why. Not knowing the reason behind it.
[8:19] The Lord wasn't like that. There are those mind you. In the church. In the church as a whole. In the church of Christ. In different parts. There are those who believe this very thing. That the Lord Jesus didn't really know why he came.
[8:31] And he was really taken unawares when he had to go to the cross. It was something that he hadn't counted on. Such a thing of course is not only nonsense. It's. It brings great dishonor.
[8:43] To the name of the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus was deeply aware of his mission. And he needed no one. To instruct him about his mission. For he who came from the Father in human form.
[8:58] Was also a divine person. And this is the answer to the question some people ask. How could Jesus as a human being know this or that or the other? If he was really human.
[9:09] How could he know this or that or the other? The answer is. That although he was very born of our very bone. And very man of very man. He was also in a human nature. Also a divine person.
[9:20] Two natures in one divine person. And therefore no one needed to instruct him as to his mission. So he who was sent. Did not come ignorantly.
[9:32] He knew from the beginning. That he came to raise the fallen. To cheer the faint. To heal the sick. And to lead the blind. He knew that he had come into the world.
[9:42] To prepare and make ready of people. Make ready of people prepared for the Lord. And he knew that ultimately. It was his mission to present them faultless.
[9:53] Before the presence of his glory. Of his Father's glory. With exceeding great joy. My dear friends. Let us keep an eye on the one who was sent. For our destiny.
[10:05] Is bound up with him. The Father sent the Lord Jesus into the world. He was sent. But there's more to it than that.
[10:16] Not only was he sent. But he was sent as God's son. The Father. The owner. Said last of all. I will send my son.
[10:26] Saying they will reverence my son. And likewise. The Lord Jesus was sent. As God's son. Now you notice that the owner.
[10:38] Didn't keep the poorest messenger to the end. The weakest messenger to the end. He kept the, as it were, the best wine to the end.
[10:51] And when all the other messengers were massacred. He sent the best. He sent his own son. Saying they're reverence my son. But we know they didn't.
[11:04] And so did the owner of the kingdom of heaven. The one whom the Father sent. Was his son. His only son.
[11:16] Luke says his beloved son. Mark says his well-being. Well-beloved son. Having yet one son. Well-beloved. Now God has only one son.
[11:31] He has a multitude. And this will be seen at the great day. He has a multitude. Which no man can number. A multitude of sons. By regeneration and adoption.
[11:43] A multitude of sons. Made sons. By becoming partakers. Of the divine nature. And being brought. By the spirit of adoption. Into the divine family. And the Lord Jesus.
[11:55] We are told. Came into the world. As the captain of our salvation. To lead. Many sons. Unto glory. So God has. A multitude of sons.
[12:08] Which no man can number. On the one hand. And yet on the other. Only one. Having yet. One son. His well-beloved.
[12:20] He sent him. Into the world. God has many sons. By regeneration and adoption. But he has only one son. By eternal generation.
[12:31] By eternal generation. Who was eternally begotten. Of the father. Before he was ever humanly conceived. In the womb of the virgin. And that's the son God sent.
[12:45] So what does this tell us? It tells us this. That the envoy. The messenger. The prophet. Whom God sent into the world. Was God. God the father.
[12:58] Sent into the world. God the son. One who was his. Co-equal. Shareers of his father's throne. Shareers of his father's.
[13:08] Sovereignty and power. And when the Lord Jesus. Came into the world. He laid aside. Not his deity. But his dignity.
[13:20] He laid aside. His scepter. And his royal robe. The symbols of his dignity. And made himself of no reputation.
[13:32] And took upon himself. The form of a servant. But all the time. He retained his deity. For in fact. He but wrapped his humanity. Around his deity.
[13:42] Two natures. In the one person. Now. It is Jesus. Made of no reputation. In the form of a servant. Whom we see.
[13:55] In this parable. He sent his son. Last of all. The only son. The owner had. And that's the third thing.
[14:09] I want to say about the son. He was sent. He was sent. As God's son. And also. He was sent. Last of all.
[14:21] Last of all. Now the Lord Jesus. Was not sent. Last of all. In the sense. Of. A last resort.
[14:32] That would be blasphemy. To think. In such terms. Nor was he sent. As a last minute attempt. On the part of the father. To put things right. As a temporary expedient.
[14:44] As a kind of. Holding operation. Not like that. At all. That the Lord Jesus. Was sent. Last of all. Tells us two things. One. It tells us.
[14:57] Of God's long suffering. His long suffering. In the parable.
[15:09] The owner's son. Was the last. In a long line. Of servants. Sent to the fruit farm. To get from the tenants. The owner's share of the crop. And it shows.
[15:23] Just how very patient. The owner of the farm was. He didn't just send. One servant. And when nothing happened. He went down. And stormed. The place himself. Not at all.
[15:35] But he sent another. And another. And another. And he was very patient. With those tenants. And gave them opportunity. After opportunity.
[15:45] To put things right. And to hand over the fruit. That was their duty. To hand over. But of course. We know that. They didn't. And you see.
[15:55] It was precisely like. It was in this way. That servants. And messengers. Were sent to God's people. Israel. The Jews. And the parable.
[16:07] As I said at the beginning. Was. Was directed. Originally. At them. The Jewish people. They had sent to them. Prophet. After prophet. From the days of Moses.
[16:21] Right on. To the days of. John the Baptist. The last of the prophets. Was. And all the prophets. From Moses. To John the Baptist. Had one basic message. And the message.
[16:31] Was a message. Of repentance. Because every prophet. Had to meet. With a Jewish people. That were. As Paul says. Gainsaying. Or obstinate. An impenitent people.
[16:45] An arrogant people. Instead of being humble. And thankful. At all God's mercies. They were arrogant. And impenitent. And stubborn. And so there was a message. Of repentance. And so John the Baptist.
[16:56] Said to them. Repent. For the kingdom of heaven. Is at hand. And so the messengers. Were sent to the Jewish people. From Moses. Right on. And among God's messengers.
[17:07] I believe. Sent to the Jewish people. Were. Some of those Jewish. Kings of Judah. And Israel. There weren't very many. Of them good. But those of them.
[17:18] Who were good kings. Were God's messengers. To their own people. Men like Josiah. And Hezekiah. And then David. And then.
[17:29] From David. That David's line. There came great David's. Greater son. The Lord Jesus Christ. The greatest. Messenger of all. The ambassador.
[17:40] Extraordinary. And he came to. Exercise the office of a prophet. In revealing to us.
[17:51] The will of God. For our salvation. Well now. We are recipients. Of. That noble succession. That was sent to the Jews.
[18:03] For we have the words. Of the prophets. The very words. That they addressed. To the. To the. Gain saying. Jewish people. And also. We have the words.
[18:13] Of the New Testament. Apostles. To benefit from. And supremely. We have the word. Of the apostle. And high priest. Of our profession. The word.
[18:25] Of the one. Who by profession. We follow. We have his word. So that we are without excuse. But even then.
[18:35] You see the long suffering. Of God. He has given us. The words of the prophet. He has given to us. The words of the apostles. He has spoken to us. By his son. Jesus Christ. And as an extension.
[18:46] Of that. Paul tells us. That he has provided. For us. In his patience. Pastors. Evangelists. Teachers. For the perfecting.
[18:57] Of the saints. For the work. Of the ministry. And for the edifying. Of the body of Christ. And such come today.
[19:07] To us. And they preach. Not themselves. But Christ Jesus. The Lord. That is their message. And through the preaching.
[19:18] Of the gospel today. Through God's servants. The Lord is looking. For fruit. From his vineyard. Just as the owner.
[19:29] Sent the messengers. The servants. One after the other. For fruit. Well. The Lord of the heavenly vineyard. Through the preaching of the word. Is looking for fruit. And he goes on looking.
[19:42] As he goes on. Sending his. Saving message. Through his. Saved messengers. To us. Showing just how. Long suffering.
[19:54] And gracious. The Lord is. The Lord. Our God is merciful. And he is gracious. Long suffering. And slow to wrath. In mercy plenteous. But what about. What about the fruit.
[20:05] What about the fruit. Is he getting fruit. Is he finding fruit. Does he find us. To be fruitful. In our lives. Having the gospel. For so long. Being brought up. To the gospel. Having messenger.
[20:15] After messenger. With the gospel. Are we still barren. And fruitless. Or are we bearing fruit. That is to his glory. That's something. We should examine ourselves about. As we view this communion season.
[20:29] And certainly. We should remember. The words of the apostle Paul. To his own people. Whom he loved so much. In the flesh. He said to them. Despises thou. The.
[20:40] Despises thou. The riches. Of his goodness. And forbearance. And long suffering. Not knowing that the goodness of God. Lead you to repentance. And we have to ask ourselves.
[20:52] My dear friends. Tonight. In view of all God's goodness. To us. And giving to us. The message of the gospel. And his saving message. We have to ask ourselves. Are we at heart.
[21:04] Despising that. Despising the message. And at the same time. Despising the forbearance. And long suffering of God. Forgetting that it is in the goodness of God.
[21:16] That we are led to repentance. Despising the forbearance. And the extension of forbearance. Which is long suffering. And if we.
[21:26] When we. When we despise God's forbearance. And when we despise. The extension of that forbearance. Into long suffering. Then we are on dangerous ground. We are as cumberers of the ground.
[21:41] Fruitless. How we must grieve. The spirit of God. Well. That's one thing. That he sent. His son. Last of all. And that first of all.
[21:52] Tells us of the long suffering of God. And the second thing is this. That. Last of all. Tells us. Of the. Not only of the. Long suffering of God. But of the.
[22:03] Finality of God's provision. The finality. Of God's provision. Christ. Is God's last word.
[22:15] He has nothing more to say to us. Until the day of judgment. That is. He has nothing more to say to us. Redemptively. Than what he has already said. And what he has already put.
[22:26] Within the canon of scripture. And that means that God has nothing to add. To what he has to say. What he has said. And about what he says in the Bible. He has nothing new to tell us.
[22:36] About the way. About the provision made. He has no new arrangement. For our salvation. He has. There is nothing new to say. Apart from what is already said.
[22:49] And written. In the pages of Holy Rit. For he has in these last days. Spoken unto us by his son.
[23:00] Whom he has made heir of all things. And by whom also he made the worlds. And neither is there salvation. In any other. And you see what this tells us. That since Jesus Christ is God's last word.
[23:14] And since that speaks to us of the finality of God's provision. That there is absolutely no second chance after death. And there is absolutely no larger hope beyond the grave.
[23:29] Because Christ is God's final word. See that we do not reject him or refuse him. Who speaks from heaven. And who has spoken to us last of all.
[23:41] Through the messenger. The his own dear son. And yet although this is God's final word. His final word. Redemptively. What a word it is.
[23:54] For we see in the Lord Jesus. A word that is full of hope. Laden with blessing. What an amazing mission has been undertaken.
[24:06] By the son of God's love. To you. Is the word of this salvation sent. That's what the Bible says. That's what was.
[24:16] That was. That's what said. In Acts chapter 13. To you. Is the word of this salvation sent. This is the amazing mission that was undertaken. Jesus was sent.
[24:28] He was sent as God's son. He was sent as God's last word. Showing the long suffering of our God. And the finality of his provision.
[24:41] Now we notice the second part of the parable. And it is this. Not only do we have here the amazing mission that was undertaken. But the astounding crime. The astounding crime that was committed.
[24:54] The astounding crime that was committed. The first lot of servants arrived at the fruit farm. The vineyard. And they were beaten and stoned and killed. And the second lot we are told.
[25:04] Greater than the first arrived. And they were beaten and stoned and killed. And so it went on. Until the son was sent. And they recognized the son and said. This is the heir.
[25:15] Come let us kill him. That the inheritance may be ours. And that's what they did. They killed the owner's son. And you remember that the Lord Jesus said. Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem.
[25:26] Thou who killest the prophets. And stonest them that are sent unto thee. How often would I have gathered thee as a hen. Gathers her chickens under her wings. But you would not. You stone the prophets.
[25:39] And you kill those. Who are sent unto you. And last of all. Instead of reverencing the son. They cast him out of the vineyard. And killed him.
[25:51] Just as Jesus was cast out of the city. And was nailed to a cross outside the city wall. Well one or two things about this. First of all.
[26:02] This is what was done to our Lord. This is what was done to our Lord. They caught him. Verse 39. And cast him out of the vineyard.
[26:14] And slew him. Now from the very beginning. Our Lord was persecuted. From his very infancy. He was persecuted. By Herod. Who wanted to destroy him.
[26:25] And in order to do so. Herod made sure that. He slew Christ. By slaying. All the innocent children. Under two years.
[26:37] Under two years old. And this opposition. Against the person of Christ. That began in Christ's infancy. Was continued. Right out through his life. He was despised. And rejected of men.
[26:48] He came unto his own. And his own received him not. He was wounded. In the house of his friends. And then at the very end. Of his life. He went from one. Place of persecution.
[26:58] To another. He first of all. Went to Gethsemane. The oil press. And from Gethsemane. He went to Gabbatha. The place of a pavement. Where he was officially. Handed over.
[27:09] To his enemies. And from Gabbatha. He went to Golgotha. The place of a skull. And from the center cross. On Golgotha.
[27:21] The seven last words. Have echoed down. Through the ages. Words beginning. Father forgive them. For they know not what they do. Right on to the last one.
[27:32] Into thy hand. I commend my spirit. And having said this. He gave up the ghost. He breathed his last. This is the air. Come.
[27:43] Let us kill him. That's what was done to our Lord. Whose sorrow was like unto his sorrow. He gave his back to the smiters.
[27:54] He gave his hands to the nails. He gave his side to the spear. He gave his life. As a ransom for many. This is the air.
[28:07] God's eternal air. Come. Let us kill him. Let the inheritance. This may be ours. That's the first thing. That's what they did to our Lord. The second thing is this. That. This is what was done by us.
[28:21] To our Lord. This is what was done by us. To our Lord. We have killed the air. Of all things. Not only were the Jews.
[28:32] And the Roman soldiers. Responsible. But we were there. When they crucified our Lord. Of course. None of us. Can be charged. With doing that. Literally.
[28:44] Or actually. But as C.H. Spurgeon. Points out. He says that. That. A person can do. Virtually. What he cannot do. Actually.
[28:54] And although we weren't there in person. Nevertheless. Our sin was there. We cannot separate ourselves. From our sin. We can't disjoin ourselves. From our sin.
[29:06] And it was because of us. That he hung and suffered there. He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. And the chastisement that produced peace for us.
[29:18] Was laid upon him. It is therefore no groundless charge. That we have a share in Christ's death. It was our sin that crucified the Lord.
[29:30] It was because of sin that he died. And he died. As John says. For the sins. He became a propitiation. Not for ours only. But for the sins of the whole world.
[29:43] And let's remember this. That in Hebrews chapter 6 and verse 6. We are told. That those who once professed to believe in Jesus. And then fell away.
[29:56] The writer says. They are guilty with having crucified the Son of God afresh. A second time. And have put him to an open shame.
[30:07] So Christ's existence on earth. Proclaims as clearly as it can be proclaimed.
[30:18] The fact of our sin and our ruin. For it was because of it he came. And it was to remedy it that he came. And that he died on the cross.
[30:29] That's why he was sent. Because of the sin that was ours. That he might bear it away in his own body. And put it to death on the cross.
[30:39] And that's what he has done for all who believe. Our sin is crucified. It's nailed to the cross. Oh the blessedness of the death of death.
[30:50] And the death of Christ. So that's what was done to our Lord. That's what was done by us to our Lord. We have a share in that crucifixion and his death.
[31:02] But now the last thing is this. What will be done to us by our Lord. If we don't repent. Well what did the owner do? He said.
[31:14] I will miserably destroy those servants of mine. That is. I will bring them to a miserable end. I will bring them to a wretched end.
[31:26] And that's exactly what they deserve. Now all who reject the Lord Jesus Christ. And cast him out of their lives. As these people cast the servants out of the vineyard.
[31:37] And the son of the owner out of the vineyard. And they will be rejected. And they will be rejected. By the very one. Who they cast out. And they will not see the kingdom of God.
[31:49] More than that. They will be crushed. To powder. Says Jesus here. In referring to Psalm 118. By the very headstone of the corner.
[32:00] Which they rejected. So what happens to those. Who are responsible because of sin. For the death of the Lord. And do not repent.
[32:12] Well just this. That the weight. Of offended deity. Will rest on them. The weight. Of offended deity.
[32:22] Will be borne by them. And nothing could be more miserable. Or wretched than that. And the appropriateness. Of their punishment. Will be confirmed. By the voice of their conscience.
[32:37] Well then. What are such people to do? In their sin. Having no part or lot. With the Lord Jesus. Having cast him. Out of their lives.
[32:49] Dying in their sin. What is their remedy? Well. We go back to Psalm 2. And we can go back to many places. For our remedy. And the Psalm says. Kiss the son. The son who was sent.
[33:00] God's son who was sent. God's last word who was sent. Kiss the son. Lest in his eye. You perish from the way. Let us give to him.
[33:10] The kiss. Of reconciliation. And receive from him. The kiss. Of reconciliation. And you see. When that happens. When we have kissed the son. And are reconciled to the son.
[33:21] Then we can say. As the psalmist says. In Psalm 85. Thine. Thine anger. Is turned away. And thou comforted me.
[33:36] What a great thing that is. Crushed. By the head of the corner. Into powder. That's the one side. And through laying hold. Upon the son.
[33:47] And kissing the son. And being reconciled to the son. By the death of Jesus. We can say. God's anger is turned away. And he comforts us.
[33:57] And where did God's anger turn to? It turned to the Lord Jesus. In propitiation. For propitiation. Is not. That somehow or other. God's anger turns into love.
[34:08] But it is rather. That God's wrath. Terminates on Christ. And because his anger. Terminates on his son. Then we can say. Thine anger is turned away. And thou comfortedst me.
[34:22] Now this is precisely the position. Of all who will go to the Lord's table. On the coming Lord's day. That is who will go. As those who have a. The privilege of going.
[34:33] And the right to go. Because of their union with Christ. They will go. As those who have kissed the son. Who are no longer under the wrath of God. But who are comforted.
[34:45] By the presence of the Holy Spirit. They will go. As friends. Of the king. And they will go. As those. To whom the king.
[34:56] Has given. The promise. Of an inheritance. These people were looking for an inheritance. They weren't going the right way about it. But the inheritance. That the believer gets.
[35:06] Is incorruptible. Undefiled. That fades. Not away. Reserved in heaven. For you. Who are kept by the power of God. Through faith. And to salvation. Ready to be revealed in the last time.
[35:17] And we have the promise of that inheritance. From the very king's son. Whom we kiss. And what a comfort. To go to the table.
[35:29] Believing that it speaks to us. Not only of the inheritance we have here and now. But also of that which is to come. Where his banner over us. In that banqueting house.
[35:40] Will be left. Now how is all this possible for us. Simply because God sent. His only begotten son into the world. Not to condemn the world. But that the world through him.
[35:52] Might be saved. God is. Christ is God's last word. Christ shows us God's long suffering. And Christ shows us the greatness.
[36:04] Of God's salvation. God's life. And when we think of this. And when we think of the communion that lies ahead. There are many things we can say.
[36:15] Many things we ought to say to the Lord. But one thing is this. As we think of the owner's son. Sent last of all. To show the patience of the father.
[36:25] And the finality and adequacy of the father's provision. One thing we should say is this. Thanks be unto God. For his unspeakable gift.
[36:40] Let us pray. Lord may we. Even at the beginning of this communion season.
[36:51] Be able. To give thanks to thee for this gift. Jesus was sent. Sent as God's son. Sent as God's last word. And we bless thee for.
[37:05] Not only the finality of the provision. But its utter adequacy. To meet our every need. And forbid. O Lord our God. That we should be living under the judgment of God.
[37:16] Under the wrath and curse. When such a provision has been made for us. And for our sin. May we know what it is to have thine anger turned away from us. And to know thy comfort.
[37:27] And to know the love of God. Shed abroad in our hearts. By the Holy Spirit. And O Lord may it be that we. Approach the table.
[37:38] With this great comfort and hope in us. That we have not cast out the sun. But we have kissed the sun. And have been reconciled. To God the Father by the death of the sun.
[37:51] And being reconciled. We shall be saved by his life. Hear us we humbly pray. Again we commend to thy love. And tender keeping.
[38:02] Thy believing people here. May they look forward to the Lord's day. With comfort. And with expectation. And may they receive strength. Not just strength to go.
[38:13] But strength. As they sit at the Lord's table. May they see it as a means of grace. Whereby God communicates grace. Even to the weakest of his people. For we do not see the Lord's table.
[38:26] As a reward for our diligence. But we see it as a means for strengthening. Our weak faith. Come then we pray O Lord. And remember us at this time.
[38:38] We commend the whole congregation to thee. Thy servants who will yet minister here. That minister and elders. And members. And all who attend. Will receive a blessing.
[38:50] So that they would look back. To this particular communion time. With thankfulness. Giving thanks to God. For his unspeakable gift. And in the name of Jesus.
[39:01] We pray that thou wilt accept. Our worship. And our thanksgiving. And our petitions. Through his finished work. And mediation.
[39:12] For his name's sake. Amen.