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[0:00] People saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount. The people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods which shall go before us.

[0:16] For as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we what not, we do not know, what is become of him.

[0:27] Especially the words at the middle of that verse. They said unto Aaron, Up, make us gods which shall go before us.

[0:41] Now the chapter that we have read speaks for itself, and needs no elaborate reintroduction. It is a most vivid description of the behavior of the people of God in the Old Testament.

[0:59] During that important and most sacred time, in which Moses was up the mountain, receiving the tables of stone on which were engraved the Ten Commandments.

[1:14] These Ten Commandments, I might just mention, were given by God on three occasions. They were first of all delivered in a voice which they could hear.

[1:29] God, in Exodus 19 and 20, came down himself upon the mountain, with the flames of fire and darkness and smoke, and in a voice that sounded like a trumpet, God spoke these Ten Commandments, that all Israel could hear what his revealed will is.

[1:54] However, what is said in our ears is quickly forgotten, as every schoolboy will know. And God, in his wisdom, commanded Moses to go up the mountain, to receive these same Ten Commandments, written now with the finger of God, upon two little plaques, or tables as we call them, of stone.

[2:20] And that was what was happening, when the events of this chapter occurred. Now, you will have noticed in the reading, that on his way down the mountain, Moses was filled with righteous indignation, of the behavior of his people, and he broke these stones at the foot of the mount, which required that later on, at the command of God, he must needs go up a second time, with tables that they prepared themselves.

[2:47] And God, a second time, wrote these commandments, upon the tables, that this time, they had cut themselves. So that it is, true to say, that on these three occasions, and by different ways, God gave his revealed will, the Ten Commandments, to his people, and therefore, of course, to us all.

[3:10] So that, what you have in Exodus 32, really is a vast, open air service, or worship. And it is, one, in which, there were important elements, that we ought not to miss, there was the visible, representation of God, and there was, in front of it, an altar, built, according to the prescriptions, of men, and there was a form, of worship, which can only be called, the spirit of a carnival, because whatever else, they were doing, it is very clear, from the Holy Spirit's record, here, that the people sat down, to eat, and drink, and when they were finished, they rose up to play, and the state of their dress, and of their attire, was somewhat, unconventional, for an act of worship, as we see, from one of the verses, that we had occasion, to read in this chapter.

[4:13] The problem, also, which gave rise, to all these evils, was a familiar problem, which, I think, we're, used enough to, in these days, and that is, Aaron, their religious leader, on this occasion, suffered from, a superfluity, of softness, he was a good man, he was a converted man, and later, played an important part, in the history, of God's people, as the high priest, however, he was a man, who was, by no means, of the stature, of his brother, Moses, he was a soft man, a pliable man, and, regrettably, as we see, he could not, stand up to the demands, of the people, even the people, who professed, to be those, who follow the true God, and as a consequence, we have all the turmoil, and trouble, that occurs, in this chapter, it all seemed, to be so right, it was an act, of massive, popular worship, but the interesting thing, is that at the very end,

[5:19] God, executes, his just judgment, upon it, and he tells us, what he thinks, about it, and his verdict, is here written, for our instruction, and for our learning, I would like, therefore, for you and me, to consider, these words, that are given to us, in the passage, before us, in which, the Israelites, say to Aaron, up, make us gods, which will go, before us, for as for this man, Moses up there, we don't know, what's happened to him, get up, make us gods, that we can see, we want a type, of religion, which we can, thoroughly, understand, gods, who will go, before us, that then, is the picture, and it is of course, a massive event,

[6:20] I suppose, the number of Israelites, involved in this, would be, well over a million, I don't have, the exact figure, but if you care, to look at the book, of numbers, the first few chapters, indeed, I think the very first, chapter of numbers, you will see, that we are given, a list, of the number, an inventory, or an enrollment, of all the numbers, of Israelites, who were alive, at this time, and it was, from memory, very many more, than a million persons, men, and women, and children, so that the first, observation, we must make, in the light, of the chapter, here as a whole, is this, that great, numbers of worshippers, gathered in any one place, do not for a moment, necessarily, imply, that that act, of worship, is pleasing to God, it may be, or it may not be, but the numbers, of themselves, in no wise, imply, the blessing of God, and in no way, do they suggest, that God must be, in the midst, that is the superficial, obvious lesson, which we must learn, in the light, of what God says, to us here, in this chapter, and I want to make, certain lessons from it, first of all this,

[7:40] I believe, the first thing, we should see, from these words, is that sinful man, must, have a God, of some sort, they say to Aaron, up, make us gods, which shall go, before us, and you see, they wanted a God, of some sort, feeble, fallen man, is so, estranged, from God, that he does not know, that God, is wholly, spiritual, and wholly, glorious, in his essence, in his persons, in his attributes, and in his works, the God of the Bible, calls himself, the Holy One, of Israel, the God of the Bible, is celebrated, as the one, who is glorious, in holiness, fearful, in praises, doing wonders, that he, is the high, and lofty one, that inhabiteth eternity, who fills, heaven, and earth, from whom, no secrets, are hidden, unto whom, all our desires, are known, that is the true God, but fallen, sinful man, is so different, in his understanding, of the true God, that he cannot bear, to be without a God, of some kind, and because he does not know, the true God, he must needs, make to himself, a God, of his own, and there are very good reasons, for this, you see, these Israelites, knew that life, has its problems, they knew very well, that they were facing, an uncertain future, up they say, make us gods, who shall go, before us, they were afraid, of the future, they realized, that life, has its uncertainties, and its mysterious, windings, and because, they were afraid, of what they did not understand, and did not know, was going to happen, therefore, they wanted, some sort of God, to act, as a mascot, for them, and to be, a sign, of good luck, rather like Israel, when going to war, against the Philistines, superstitiously, took with them, the Ark, of the Covenant, in order, that this, might serve, as some sort of, religious badge, or symbol, of the presence of God, in their midst, and man, is the same today, men, want a God, who will, give them, some sort of, good luck, they want a mascot, and a badge, and a charm, rather like a person,

[10:42] I knew, who used to work, in the house, next door, to the old man's, and dear woman, that she was, she once said to me, I like, working in this house, next to the man's, she said, I feel so safe, well that is a very, charming thing to say, but there was a great deal, of religious superstition, in that, it's making God, out into be, a sort of charm, or a sort of, superstitious, object, and fallen man, is always, prone, to turning, the true God, into that, kind, of visible representation, there's a reason, why man wants, a God of some sort, and I think, we can see also, a second reason, in this chapter, surely, it is that, man is, aware, that his sinful, pleasures, are wrong, but he wants, to have, a smear of religion, and a cloak, of religion, in order, to cover up, what is rotten, in his life, putting that, another way, we can say, that man, wants to have God, in order, to be able, to say, in the midst, of his sinful pleasures, that he has, a cover up, for his, nasty, rotten, style of life, you see, men very well know, that they ought, not to be doing, many of the things, they're doing, and society, today knows that, and Scotland, and England, and Wales, today know that, and so, they want a little, smattering of religion, just enough, to be able, to justify themselves, in the courts, of their own, consciences, and in order, to sanctify, their carnal pleasures, and so, you see, when they're sitting down, to eat and drink, and rising up to play, they do all this, not in the name, of secular pleasure, but they do it, in the name, of the Lord of hosts, we want this, visible representation, of the true God, we want some, element in, our lives, which will give us, if you like, a cover up, for what is so, deceitful, and so fallen, and so wrong,

[12:50] I think we must say, that these, amongst others, are the reasons, why, fallen man, insists on making, an image to himself, now what is so wrong, with all this, well, it is because, of course, it does not, take into account, what God himself, has said, to us, in his word, this might, at superficial glance, appear to be, a glorious, act, of worship, after all, some people would say, it's better, that they should worship, somehow, than that they should not, worship at all, some people would say, surely, it's much better, that these Israelites, should have gathered together, for an act, of religious worship, than that they should be, let us say, engaged in warfare, or that they should be, left simply, to the lusts, of the flesh, pure and simple, and,

[13:51] I have to point out, to you here, that neither, of these excuses, for this wanton, willful, carnival, act of worship, was a justification, of it, because, the whole passage, of scripture, shows us here, the mind of God, about such things, what was wrong, with what they were doing, it was that they were, despising, and ignoring, the revealed, will of God, my friends, God is jealous, about nothing more, than about, his own worship, God has a zeal, to the purity, and truth, of his own worship, greater than, his zeal, for anything else, under the sun, and God, has prescribed, to men, how they should, worship him, and the Israelites, had heard this, and men, today, in this 20th century, also, have heard, in large measure, what the Lord, our God, is commanding us, as the right, and correct, mode of his worship, let's look at, some of these commandments, which they had heard, with their own ears, coming, sounding, as the trumpet, from Mount Horeb, and the first, and greatest, was these, thou shalt have, no other gods, before me, and the second, was similar, thou shalt not, make unto thee, any graven image, or any likeness, of anything, in heaven, above, or in the earth, beneath, or in the waters, under the earth, thou shalt not, bow down to them, nor serve them, for I, the Lord, thy God, am a jealous God, visiting, visiting the iniquities, of the fathers, upon their children, unto the third, and fourth generation, of those, who hate me, now that is, the gods, the command, in regard, to his own worship, and it boils down, to this, if we introduce, anything, into the worship, of God, which he, has not prescribed, by his own, revealed will, then we make, ourselves, abominable, in the sight of God, and if we introduce, anything, into the service, of God's worship, which he himself, has not prescribed, for us, then we are, offering a great, insult, to the majesty, of God, and it does not matter, that people say, but it is worship, but it is worship, on a grand scale, but it is worship, in which thousands, are engaged, in the eyes, of the Lord, our God, what is not, prescribed, by himself, in his worship, is not worship, at all, it is simply, an offering, of insults, to the mind, and to the will, of the Holy One, of Israel, and then there is, the third of these commandments, in which he tells us, thou shalt not, take the name, of the Lord, thy God, in vain,

[16:47] I don't know, why it is, that Aaron, had made, certain requirements, for the Israelites, in regard to their dress, as we read, a moment ago, in the reading, I can't tell you, why he did that, but it indicates, the extent, to which they had, failed to know, that God requires, circumspection, in his worship, that God requires, order, and decency, and reverential, fear, in his worship, why, we are even told, in this passage, that men, were dancing, and singing, carnal, songs, and worldly, songs, in the, open sight, of heaven, and they were, calling this thing, worship, up, make us gods, they said, and Aaron said, tomorrow, there shall be, a feast, unto the Lord, my dear friends, we see, the extent, to which, fallen man, has failed, to know, and understand, the spirituality, of God, and if that, is not enough, we ought, to see, how gross, and how carnal, and how fallen, was the character, of their worship,

[17:58] I do not know, and I've never heard, anyone explain, why it became, popular, to make God, into the representation, of a calf, why the holy one, of Israel, should be represented, by a calf, by a brute beast, by a beastly creature, it is most offensive, to the mind, of any spiritual person, but that is the way, in which God, was being worshipped, and my friends, the application, of these things, ought to be clear, to us all, the more men, are ignorant, of inward, spiritual, converting grace, the more, they will make much, of the outward, paraphernalia, of external, external, ritual, in the worship, of God, the more people, are ignorant, of the character, of God, and of Christ, and are ignorant, of his Bible, and of saving faith, the more, I say, they will make, of croziers, and copes, and crucifixes, and crosses, and altars, and external things, of every kind, because man, does not like a vacuum, and the mind of man, will always try, to compensate, for what it does not know, and if I do not know,

[19:13] God for myself, then, I will try to compensate, by having, the outward ritual, and the glorious show, and the man-made, impressiveness, and all the things, which God has forbidden, in his word, and in his worship, always come in, and they always, have come in, and they've been coming in, for centuries, in the Christian church, and today, is no exception, to this grand rule, that sinful man, left to himself, will make his own God, if he does not know, the true God, it is the thing, which God has revealed to us, and is a tragic thing, it is a terrible thing, it is an accursed thing, up says he, up make us gods, which shall go before us, go before us in life, with its problems, go before us into death, with the uncertainties of it, go before us into the tomorrow, which is unknown, up says he, make us gods, which we can understand, after our likeness, and according to our own, frail understandings, now secondly, from these words,

[20:24] I should like to point out to you, that there are some, very ominous elements, here in this, worship of God, some very suspicious, and very ominous elements, to be found here, in this act of worship, most of all, here was a worship, tailored according to the tastes, of men, make us our own gods, according to our own ideas, they say, now you know that when, Jesus Christ, was amongst men, in this world, in the sixth chapter, of John's gospel, they were so impressed, with his teaching, that our Lord Jesus Christ, was in danger, of being turned, into an earthly king, John chapter six, the people, were going to reverence him, in such a way, that they were under, the feeling and impression, that they would make him, into an earthly king, and you remember, what our Lord did, he immediately, went away, from those people, and he, went up the mountain, alone, to pray, that is, most instructive, because it tells you, what he thinks, about all forms, of carnal, and duulation, and fleshly, unconverted, types of worship, the people, were going to bow, down to Christ, and to worship Christ, which was good, but, they were doing it, ignorantly, they were not, worshipping him, with a spiritual mind, or with the understanding, that he was, the Lord of glory, who had come, to die upon the cross, for them, so what we find, our Lord doing, in those circumstances, was this, he began to preach, to them, and he preached, to the people, in John chapter 6, the most, devastating doctrines, that they could, possibly have heard, all that was, difficult for them, to bear, he, drove it, hard, whole, like six inch nails, into their consciences, such things,

[22:45] I mean, as the sinfulness, of man, no man, can come, to me, except it were, given him, of my father, verily, you come to me, not because, you seek the miracles, see the miracles, but because, you ate of the loaves, and were filled, you come to me, says Christ, simply because, of your belly, you do not, understand about God, and you cannot, come until, my father, draws you, you must eat, of my flesh, you must drink, of my blood, but that is not, a carnal thing, he says, even that, is spiritual, the flesh, profiteth nothing, it is the spirit, who quickeneth, and it's no wonder, at the end, of that chapter 6, in John, that the writer, tells us, the people, followed him, no more openly, but they went back, and Jesus, had to say, even to the two, or three, of his real disciples, will you also, go away, and you recall, how they said to him, to whom, shall we go, thou, hath the words, of eternal life, and we see, from these things, my beloved friends, this, that a religion, which is tailored, to popular taste, is a religion, which is, unspiritual, and offensive, to the mind, of God, now that's one, of the elements, which is suspicious, and which, on the very face of it, is ominous, in the chapter, we have here, another one, is this, it is an ominous, thing to my mind, here, that, this act, of worship, was invented, and devised, by, a spineless, and timid minister, who had not, the courage, to stand up, to his own people, now that again, is a very topical subject, there are, such things, as ministers, who ought to be turned, reverend pliable, or doctor facing, both ways, or professor turn about, and turn coat, there are, such ministers, in the world today, and their sin, is this, that they will do anything, to please themselves, and to please, the people, like the vicar of Bray, the vicar of Bray, used to boast,

[25:12] I think in the 17th century, because he said, at one time, he was an Anglican, and then when there was, a political change, in England, he became a Presbyterian, and then things changed, again, when the king came back, and he became, an Anglican again, and I think, he became a Roman Catholic, in the end, and he said, I've been consistent, all throughout my ministry, because my one principle, was this, I'm going to stay, the vicar of Bray, to my dying daddy did, and that was the principle, upon which he worked, you see, and there are many men, like that, they are vicars of Bray, and the acts of God's worship, do not matter to them, purity of worship, honesty before God, saving faith, the knowledge, of how to get to heaven, real gospel doctrine, they don't care, because they are, pliable, blown about, by every wind of doctrine, it's very ominous, that that's the kind, of act of worship, we find here, delineated for us, in this passage, let me mention, a third ominous element here, and it is this, it is that, this act of worship, was committed, behind the back, of a truly God sent, fiery preacher, of righteousness, it's very ominous, and very significant, that they did this thing, that they did, while Moses, was up the mountain,

[26:34] I'm telling you, they would have made, no golden calf, had Moses, been in the camp, that hardly, needs to be said, let me add, another application, they may, have done these things, under the shadow, of John Knox's statue, but they would never, have done the things, they did, had John Knox, been there, in his flesh, in his blood, that man, would have told them, the truth, of what they were doing, they did it, in a cowardly way, it's all very well, to do it, when the man's back, is turned, or when it's been, in his grave, it's an ominous thing, when men do that, under the shadow, of a great man, and when the great man's, influence, as it were, is withdrawn, for a time, and you and I, must see, that it is a terrible, and a shameful, and a shocking, provocation of God, that they have to do, these terrible, timid, and terrible things, when a good man's, back is turned, and when his influence, is withdrawn, for a time, and another, ominous element, in this, act of worship,

[27:37] I have to point out, is, it brought, great, disgrace, to the whole, nation, that is what, we are called, that is what, we are told, in this passage, Aaron had made them, naked, in the presence, of their enemies, to their shame, it was an act, of worship, which brought, national shame, and disgrace, upon them, and that is the way, God, describes it for us, all such, acts, of false worship, are, a national shame, and bring with them, possibilities, of judgment, too tragic, for you and me, to understand, now thirdly, a time, when God is silent, is always, a dangerous time, God, had been silent, if you like, for 40 days, now, the number of 40, is a number, which has, symbolism, in the Bible, that's not being, fanciful, we mustn't read, mysteries, into every Bible, number, but, this number 40, which,

[28:54] I think you'll find, clearly, somewhere up in this chapter, Moses was up the mountain, 40 days, that number 40, definitely, does, have symbolism, like this, it stands, for a period, of testing, or a period, of trial, or a period, of probation, for instance, you remember, that Jesus Christ, was tempted, 40 days, or again, the Israelites, were in the wilderness, 40 years, it is a divinely, ordained, period, of testing, or of trial, or of probation, now, on this occasion here, God himself, was silent, if you like, the people, were left, on their own, without the strength, of a great religious leader, Moses was receiving, the commandments, well out of sight, probably above, the level of the clouds, let us imagine, talking face to face, with God, now, a time, of, silence, on God's part, is always, a dangerous time, for men, and you and I, are living, in a time, when God is silent,

[30:01] I do not hesitate, to say that, God is silent, today, in our churches, today, is not a day, when we are seeing, widespread blessing, today, is not a day, when we are seeing, masses of conversions, today, is not a day, in any church, that I know of, in which, the man in the street, is running, to hear the gospel, or rushing, to hear open air preaching, now, we must remember, that this was not, always the case, the 19th century, was a day, when there was, tremendous blessing, let me remind you, that just along, the river front here, in 1843, when the spirit of God, was being poured out, upon Scotland, so that, the whole nation, was refreshed, and conversions, were taking place, everywhere, the highlands, and islands, were being, en masse, converted to God, almost, the whole of them, or large sections, of them, were being converted, to Christ, thousands, upon thousands, and in the lowlands too, well here, on the Eyre River Bank, just a few yards, from where we were sitting, in 1843, when the preacher, of the Free Church, of Scotland, was preaching, on the river bank, in the open air, the people, were sitting, on planks of wood, on a beautiful, summer's day, like this, and they were, so concerned, to know, how they could, be saved, that the preacher, said it is, as though, they were saying, to me with their tears, in their eyes, sir, we would, see Jesus, now that is what happens, when God is, speaking to a people, when God is near, when God is working, when there is blessing, conversion, awakening, reformation, within any community, but today, in the 20th century,

[31:46] God is silent, and there has been, no revival, in our country, since about, 1904, and five, and even that, was not a profound, work of grace, either, in certain parts, of our islands, so it was, when this, act of worship, in Exodus 32, took place, it was a time, when God, was silent, now I want to ask you, a question, why is it, that God is sometimes, silent, as he is today, and as he was, in Exodus 32, why does God, as it were, withdraw himself, and do nothing, and appear, to be at a distance, from the people, there is no doubt, why he does it, he does it, in order to test, men's obedience, to his revealed will, in the Holy Scriptures, that was why, God gave these people, these 40 days, it was to see, what they were made of, it was to prove, what was in their hearts, let us imagine, now that every seat, here was filled, let us imagine, that every week, we saw conversions, let us imagine, that the building, was so small, we were thinking, of moving out,

[33:02] God granted so, but, let us suppose, that were the case, there is no doubt, about it, that in such times, many come into the church, who are not, God's real people, at all, that they are carried, upon the crest, of a wave, the great proof, of this, was our old free church, before 1900, there were thousands, of members everywhere, but alas, so many of them, as we have reason to believe, were but hypocrites, unborn again, and unconverted to Christ, now a time of silence, is a time, when the true worshippers, of God, are distinguishable, from the false worshippers, of God, and when the converted, are marked out, from the unconverted, because the converted, will hold fast, to the truth, in a time, of divine silence, whereas the bulk, of the people, will turn away, to false gods, and worship, of their own imagination, my friends, we must see it, that way today, there is a grand, apostasy, in our country today, there is a massive, turning away, from gospel light, and gospel truth, from justification, by faith, alone, as Paul, and Peter taught it, there is a tremendous, tremendous, going after worship, which God never, instituted in his word, and turning aside, to that which is, pure idolatry, and the offering up, of high blasphemy, to God, the making of gods, which are no gods, the great test, for your life, and mine is, are we being, obedient, to his revealed will, in these difficult, and dark, and silent days, finally, and fourthly, we are taught, from this episode, as a whole, that when,

[34:56] God, returns to his people, and intervenes, it is always, to set his own people right, and to put them all, in their proper position, if you like, the whole of Exodus 32, is like, an enacted parable, at the beginning of it, you have the sin, of the people, and then at the end of it, you have God, coming down, to tell us, what he thinks, about it all, thank God, for the Bible, thank God, we're not left, to human traditions, and understanding, what's going on, in our times, and in our country, and in our day, I say again, thank God, for the inspiration, of the Bible, that we can look, at all this, and we can interpret, current events, in the light of it, whenever God, truly comes down, into a nation, into a community, into a church, it is always, to put that right, which was wrong, before, in the lives of men, that's what all this, judgment is about, when Moses said, who's on the Lord's side, take your sword, consecrate yourselves, by slaying the brethren, and your own sons, who have been guilty, of this apostate, idolatrous worship, judgment, must begin, at the house of God, and when God, truly comes, in revival, it is always, to inspire, repentance, and true, tears of sorrow, in the lives of men,

[36:34] I can prove that fact, not only from history, but from scripture, in Ezekiel 36, God describes, follows what it means, when revival comes down, and he says this, I will pour, pure water upon you, from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you, said God, then, will you loathe yourselves, in your own sight, there it is, when God comes down, men do not, congratulate themselves, they go away, shaking their heads, and they go away, to pray, for mercy, and for forgiveness, and for a sense, of renewed communion, with God, and the same is true, in Zechariah chapter 12, I will pour upon, the house of Israel, the spirit of grace, and supplications, and then he immediately, goes on to say, what the effect, of this revival, will be, they shall mourn, for Christ, as for an only son, and shall be, in bitterness, for him, as one that is, in bitterness, for his first born, you are an unconverted, person here tonight, in the sight of God, you are worshipping, some golden calf, of your own making, in your heart of hearts, if you are without Christ tonight, you have your own, golden calf, and you have said to yourself, up, let us make ourselves, gods, which will go before us, and maybe your God, tonight is the God, of money, or maybe it's the God, of pleasure, or maybe it's the God, of drink, and sensuality, or maybe it's the God, of gambling, or maybe it's some other God, which only you know about, you have said in the sight of, high heaven itself, up, make us gods, my friend, you read here, the judgment of the true God, upon your idol, when Moses, ground the calf, to powder, and made the people, drink of the water, as a sign, of true repentance, is it not time, for you, to plow up, your fallow ground, to sow to yourself, in righteousness, is it not time, for you, who are here tonight, without Christ, to understand, that you may not, be a worshipper of God, in quite such a gross way, as these idolaters, of old were, but, if you do not know,

[39:24] God in Christ, you are an idolater, as sure as you're alive, and you worship a God, of your own imagination, as sure as you're sitting there, what must you do, is there any hope for you, thank God there is, you must turn to God, from your idols, to serve the living, and true God, and to wait for his son, from heaven, Jesus Christ, who shall change, our vile body, and raise us up in glory, at the last day, but it all begins, when you change God, put away from you, the idols, of your own mind, whatever they have been, take the Lord, our God, as your God, and as your Savior, it will be worth, your while doing so, because there is, a day of judgment, coming, in which the wicked, shall be burnt up, as an oven, and all who worship, false gods, shall be ground to powder, under the heel, of the almighty, but blessed, is everyone, who serves,

[40:38] Jesus Christ, and who worships him, in spirit, and in truth, oh my friend, I want you, to be a worshipper, of the true God, and I want you, every one of you, here tonight, to know that God, and to worship, that God, for yourself, and it all begins, by the prayer, of the public, and God, be merciful, to me, the sinner, let us pray, ever blessed, and most, gracious God, we humbly, confess to thee, that we have, worshipped thee, ignorantly, many a time, and in our worship, have had our minds, on other things, besides thee, we have read, thy word, without concentration, we have uttered, prayers, and we have not, realized, what we were saying, when we prayed, we have heard, sermons, and forgotten them, as soon as, we have heard them, and in all these things, we all confess, that we have done, evilly, and have done, foolishly, and yet,

[42:00] O merciful God, the God of forgiveness, be thou merciful, to us all, and do thou upon us, sprinkle the blood, of Jesus Christ, this night, and deliver us, from the idols, of the flesh, and of the mind, and from all corrupt, and unscriptural, modes of worship, until we shall, worship thee, in spirit, and in truth, because the Father, seeketh, such to worship him, hear our prayer, for ourselves, for all our churches, for our nation, for the whole world, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, and Savior, Amen.