Ryan King - Geography of the Holy Lands - Class 1 - The Glory Of All Lands

Automatically transcribed. Accuracy is good but not perfect, and words are sometimes wrong. Trust the audio over the text.

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   The general heading of the geography of the Holy Land and today’s topic being the glory of all lands. Look, good afternoon, dear brothers and sisters and young people. It was our brother Thomas who said that the Deity delights in stimulating the intellect of His creatures. And our Heavenly Father, who made our minds, has taught us the same simple principles in a variety of ways. He knows that if His people are to be successful in their battle against sin that they will need lots of power on their side, lots of mental stimulation.

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   And so He has given us the same pack of lessons in His word, but in many, many different ways. Just think about some of the ways that our Heavenly Father teaches us.

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   These are just to name a few. There is proverb and parable. He does it by miracle and sign. He speaks through creation and nature. Doth not nature itself Teach you, said the Apostle, through history and genealogy. The plant in the animal Kingdom tells us about our nature through prophecy and vision, song and praise, type and shadow, law and commandment, sacrifice and offering.

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   You know, when you think about it, brothers and sisters, God could have recorded every fundamental doctrine, all that we need for salvation in a small book. But he has given us a whole Bible of 66 books, whereby we can find many different ways, many different reminders as to how we can serve Him. He made our minds.

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   He knows what we need. And this week, we’d like to consider, God willing, a way that our Heavenly Father teaches us that you might not have considered, but one that I think you will find to be very, very powerful, one that falls under this category here of creation and nature. Because out of all God’s creation, which we know declares His glory, there is one particular creation that is very, very special, and that creation is the land of Israel itself. I’d like you to turn to Ezekiel Chapter 20 as we open our studies.

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   Ezekiel Chapter 20 is where we have taken the theme for our opening session, Ezekiel 20. You’ll notice that chapter that deals with the two great exoduses of Israel, one past and one yet to come. And in speaking about the past, he says in verse six of Ezekiel Chapter 20. And the day that I lifted up my hand unto them to bring them forth of the land of Egypt into a land that I aspired for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands.

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   So out of all the places upon the earth, there is one place that God has created that is very special, the land of Israel, which is the glory of all lands. So here’s the question we have to ask ourselves. Why is it the glory of all lands? Is it because it’s the biggest? We can fly over the breadth of Israel in a jumbo jet in about 3 minutes.

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   Is it the glory of all lands because it’s the prettiest? No, it can only be the glory of all lands, brothers and sisters, because there is a spiritual dimension in that land that no other land has. The land, as we will see, God willing, this week, was created to teach lessons. Even researchers who know nothing about the Bible tell us that the Land of Israel is unique.

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   Its topography is different from many other places that we find in the earth. In one day it will become the center of God’s Kingdom where all the focus of the world will be turned. Something else that’s interesting about that land that you may know is that it really sits in the center of the earth itself.

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    You have probably seen this painting that sites or depicts Jerusalem as being the center of the earth. In the very middle of Europe, Asia and Africa is the land of Israel. So in the midst of the whole earth, you will know that the Mediterranean, the word Mediterranean means the middle of the earth.

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    In the middle of the earth there sits this little jewel, this glory of all lands. And God willing, this week we want to see why it is the glory of all lands and why one day the desire of all nations will come into that place. So let’s just look at a few facts about this land.

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    It’s small, not very large. Again, certainly not going to rank amongst the largest countries of the earth. It’s roughly the size of the state of New Jersey. These studies were kind of designed for an American audience, but although it was a is a small country, brothers and sisters, it’s a land that really has everything.

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    There are snow capped mountains in the north which we’ll see when we go to Mount Hermon. In the very north there is the Nygev desert. Lying to the South. Roughly 60% of the land is the Nygev desert. The word Nygev is the Hebrew word for South. So most of the southern part of Israel is what’s known as the Nygev hills and valleys. Down the middle we will see that there is a hump that really goes right up the middle of the Land of Israel. We will have a look at that hump in a few minutes, and there are three great bodies of water, and for lack of a better phrase, we call them the Med, which is to the West, the large body of water.

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    To the West, the dead, which you’ll see right there in the center, the lowest point on the Earth’s surface, and the red, which is the little tip that you see coming up at the bottom. The Med, the dead and the red. 3 Great bodies of Water whereby Israel, a small country, is able to have a pretty thriving economy because it has these great natural advantages.

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    So although it’s a small land, brothers and sisters, it’s a land that really has everything. It’s as though God has packed into this little land all of these different facets of life. And so the land is now going to take all of those things and teach spiritual lessons by them. Let’s come to Deuteronomy Chapter 11, and to the to the reading that we have where we see the uniqueness of the land of Israel being highlighted to the new generation that was leaving Egypt and was going into the land. And this generation is going to be told straight away that there’s something different about the land that you’re going into.

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    They had come from Egypt, and Egypt was vastly different to the new land that they were about to enter. Deuteronomy Chapter 11 and verse 10 tells us this. For the land whither thou goest in to possess it is not as the land of Egypt from whence you came out, where thou sowest thy seed and waterist it with thy foot as a garden of herbs.

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    So the first fact that we learn about the land of Israel is it’s not like the land of Egypt. Egypt is a flat land. It’s watered by the Nile. There are canals that run all the way through Egypt. And so easy was it to water Egypt that you could do it with your foot.

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    There were these, what they call sluice gates that you see now that they used to open dams of water. And with these sluice gates, they were operated by a foot pedal. And so when you wanted to water your field in Egypt, you just kick the foot pedal open. Out would come the water, and then when it was sufficiently watered, you would just kick it closed.

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    You watered it with your foot, no effort at all required because Egypt was flat. But it’s not like that in the land of Israel. You’re going to need something more powerful if you want to survive in that land. Because verse 11 says the land, whether you go to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys and shrinketh water of the rain of heaven. This is a topographical map of Israel. It’s a land of hills and valleys. You see, right down the center is the hump that we just spoke of.

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    You’ve got all these foothills leading up to the central spine of the Judean hills. It’s not like the land of Egypt. You’re going to need something more powerful. As a matter of fact, if you look at the 12th verse, Deuteronomy 11 and verse 12 says it’s a land which Yahweh thy God careth for now the word careth it, for there actually means to tread, to tread. It’s the same word.

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    If you look over at verse 24 of this chapter, every place where the soul of your feet shall tread will be yours. It’s a land which Yahweh, your God treadeth for. In other words, you could water Egypt with your foot.

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    If you’re going to survive in my land, you’re going to need my foot. There’s nobody that can water that with their foot. You’ve got the hills of Judea, 3500 feet above sea level. Go 10 miles east down to the Arabah, the depression of the Jordan Valley, 1000 feet below sea level. There’s nobody that can water that with their foot. God says you’re going to need my foot. I’m putting you in that land that you might learn to develop faith in me because in that land you have to rely upon me. So God put them in that land for a reason that they might learn to trust and put their confidence in Him. In Isaiah Chapter 5, just to lay some foundations in our studies we’re told something else about the the land of Israel. Isaiah chapter 5.

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    This is the song of the vineyard. We know that Yahweh had a vineyard Israel. He expected that vineyard to produce fruit, which is the one purpose of a vineyard to produce fruit. And in order that vineyard might produce fruit. He gave it many, many privileges. Isaiah chapter 5 and verse one which reads, Now will I sing to my well beloved, That’s to God. A song of my beloved touching his vineyard. We know the vineyard is Israel.

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    From verse seven my beloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill. What did he do for this ecclesia? Well, verse two says he fenced it. He gathered out the stones thereof. He planted it with the choicest vine. So what Yahweh did was he gave this ecclesia, this vineyard which was Israel, every advantage, every means whereby they could produce fruit.

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    And verse two says he fenced it. And I want to show you how he fenced it. The land itself is really designed to be a box. Now today you don’t have to worry about that because there’s airplanes and and means of getting around these things, but they didn’t have it in those days. The land of Israel is designed as a box. If you go to the western side, what you see on that chart as the phrase coastal plain, the Mediterranean coast, there is not one natural harbour anywhere along that western coast. And so much of a problem was that that when the Romans came in, in the days of Christ, they actually had to dig one. They called it Caesarea.

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    God didn’t give them, you know, miles of shoreline that they could expand beyond the oceans. He didn’t give them natural seaports. Why? Because he wanted them in that lane. So it wasn’t easy for them to go West, and nor was it easy for them to go north at the top of the land of Israel.

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    If you can see on the chart where it says upper Galilee, you will find Mount Hermon 9000 feet above sea level. Not easy to go north with a mountain that’s 9000 feet high and off of Mount Herbane. There are the Lebanese and the anti Lebanese ranges, making it difficult for Israel to venture beyond that territory. So they can’t go West, they can’t go north. What about going east?

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    You’ve got the depression of the Jordan Valley sloping down 1000 feet below sea level. You’ve got the hills of Gilead and Moab beyond there, making it difficult for them to go east. In the South you’ve got the Negev desert, dry arid, stretching right down to Egypt. And So what God did through this land was he fenced his people in.

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    He didn’t want them expanding far and wide like Tyre and other powers. He wanted them in that land. Why? Well, Deuteronomy 11 has just told us so that they could look to him for blessing and for sustenance. He wanted their focus and their faith to be in him. It’s not like the land of Egypt where you could water it with your foot.

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    It’s a land that drinks in the water of the rain of heaven. And I want you to look to me for faith. And the lament of Isaiah 5, of course, is, is that despite providing them these things, they were unable to produce the fruit that he desired. So we want to look at some of the unique features of that land, God willing.

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    This week I think that you’ll find many of the principles that we all know to be true. Some of our first principle doctrines, some of the principles that we know from everyday life, we’ll see reinforced in the land of Israel that we’ll consider. So let’s look at a few of the facets of it. More particularly, this is another topographical map of the Land of Israel.

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    You see how from the seacoast to the Dead Sea is only 45 miles, but there is this huge hump over that 45 mile stretch. Jerusalem, which is really right in the center there, is at the top of the Judean hills. It’s about 2700 feet above sea level, but if you just go to the east down to the Dead Sea, you drop down below sea level. It’s really like a sliding board on either end. And this hump in the middle is what we’d like to focus on a little bit more.

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    There are three ranges of hills along this hump. I want to try and just get the overview of the land here in our first session so that you’re somewhat familiar with its its locations. There are three ranges of hills along Israel’s Hump. You’ve got the Galilee Hills in the north, the Samaritan hills in the center, and the Judean hills in the South. That’s along this hump of land, Galilee Hills, Samaritan hills, Judean Hills.

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    These hills are about 3500 feet above sea level, and they run up and down the central part of that particular land. Now, on either end of the hump, we’ll see that there are two famous plains. There’s what’s known as the Plain of Sharon, and these are the biblical names for these places. There’s the Plain of Sharon, which is on the western side, what we sometimes refer to as the coastal plain or the maritime plain, known in the bottle as the Plain of Sharon. The city of Tel Aviv is in the plain of Sharon, and that runs all the way up to Haifa or Mount Carmel. On the other end of the hump we find what’s known as the Arabah. And this Arabah or the Jordan depression runs really from the Sea of Galilee, which you see there in the north all the way down below the Dead Sea.

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    It’s flat, it’s arid, and most of it is below sea level. So the land is really not all that difficult to understand. We’ve got a hump in the middle, 3 ranges of hills, the Galilee hills in the north, the Samaritan hills in the center, the Judine hills on the in the South. And then on either end we’ve got these two famous plains, the Plain of Charan and the Arabah. It’s a very unique land and it’s a land that I think you’ll all find very, very easy to follow.

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    Let’s just zero in on a couple of these places a little bit more. We mentioned earlier that there are a series of bumps. You see these little bumps right here leading up to the Judean hills. All of these little undulating hills are what’s called in the Bible, the Shephilah. It was famous in the times of David. The Valley of Elah is here.

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    It’s famous in the we’ll see in the times of Samson, Zora and SJO where he operated, or in this territory known as the Shephilah. And that is the biblical name for this territory. If you just turn to Zechariah Chapter 7, we’ll show you how this word Shephilah is in fact used. Zechariah Chapter 7.

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    The Shephilah. These are the hills that lead up to the central spine of the land, lead up to the hump. Zechariah Chapter 7 and verse 7 not always rendered Shephilah by the authorized version, but rendered either by a couple of different terms. Zechariah 7 and verse 7. Should not she hear the words which Yahweh hath cried by the former prophets when Jerusalem was inhabited in prosperity, and the city is thereof round about her when men inhabited the South and the plain. Now the word plain there is actually the word Shephilah. It’s the word that means the lowlands. It’s the lowlands.

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    It broadens its way out down towards the coast, but it also works its way up towards the Judean hills. And as you make your way into the Shephilah, you’ll find that the hills get more and more compacted, more and more constricted. It was the area where David very often would hide from Saul, this territory known as the Shephilah. It’s going to be a very famous territory that we’ll go to in our studies.

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    Now you notice that there’s another word in that verse, the word for Seth, and this is a part of the land that we we, we might get to as well, this territory of the Niigip. That word there for South there is the word Negev. So all of this territory down here at the bottom, which in ancient times was inhabited by the tribe of Judah that is known as the Negev, and it’s the usual word translated South in the Old Testament and in that verse there in Zechariah Chapter 7.

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    So I think that you will find these things are very easy to follow. Some of us may not be geographically inclined, but it’s a very simple land to look at. There’s a hump that goes right down the middle, 3 ranges of hills and then plains on either side. I could just look at a couple of examples where an understanding of the land, brothers and sisters can help us in our Bible study passages that might mean absolutely nothing to us without an understanding of the land.

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    I like to look firstly at Psalm 60. Psalm 60 mentions a lot of different locations in the Holy Land and we perhaps wonder when we read this Psalm what it’s all about. Psalm 60 says in verse 6 God has spoken in His Holiness. I will rejoice. I will divide Shechem and Mete out the valley of Succoth.

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    Gilead is mine. Manasseh is mine. Ephraim also is the strength of mine head. Judah is my lawgiver. Moab is my washpot over Eden will I cast out my shoe? Philistia, triumph thou because of me who will bring me into the strong city? Who will lead me into eat them? And you wonder when you read all of those those places there. Well, what’s that all about?

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    What’s that for? Well, we have to get the setting of this particular Psalm to understand just what it’s about. In the 60th Psalm we’re given in the superscription to the Psalm. The context of these words, the superscription or the heading to Psalm 60 which we find in our Bibles, says this and this does of course form part of the original scripture.

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    It says a Mctam of David to teach when he strove with Aram Nahariam and with Aram Zoba when Joab returned, and smote of Edom in the valley of salt 12,000. So now we know the background to these words in Psalm 60. So it was that time when David was extending by faith the territory of the land of Israel.

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    He was up there in Aram Nahariyam and Aram Zoba. Now on the map here we can see roughly where David was. David was up here by the Euphrates River. He was extending by faith the work that Joshua had begun. Remember, the promised land in the beginning was intended to be from the now to the Euphrates. And David here in Psalm 60 was endeavoring to extend Israel’s territory all the way up to the entering end of Hamath between the two rivers, as Aram Nahariyam means between the Tigris and the Euphrates River.

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    And it says they are in the heading of Psalm 60. And with Aram Zoba, which was around this territory there the Orantes. So David was way up in the north, conquering all this territory, extending the borders of the land of Israel. Now while David was up there doing that, the Edomites invaded the land.

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    The land was undefended. The army, his most able generals, were all up in the north, helping him conquer that territory. And meanwhile the Edomites invade the land. Psalm 44, which actually goes with Psalm 60, was written around about this time by a son of Cora. And Psalm 44 is the perspective of a son of Cora who was caught in the land when the Edomites invade it. So what’s David going to do?

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    Well, David wrote Psalm 60 appealing to God for help. Verses one to five is his appeal. Oh God, thou hast cast us off. Thou hast scattered us. Thou hast been displeased. Thou turn thyself to us again, as he’s trying to come to grips with the Providence of God. He he was up here doing a good thing, extending by faith the territory of Israel to the borders that God had intended.

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    And meanwhile this terrible thing happened. What we what are we going to do? Verse 2. Thou hast made the earth to tremble. Thou hast broken it. Heal the breaches thereof, for it shakes. Thou hast showed thy people hard things. Thou hast made us to drink the wine of astonishment. Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee that it may be displayed because of the truth that thy beloved may be delivered.

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    Save me with thy right hand, and hear me So here’s David’s appeal to God for help. Save me with thy right hand and hear me now. In verses 6 to 8 we find God’s answer, Or verses 6 to 9 we find God’s answer. God has spoken in His Holiness, which is the language of the covenant promise of Second Samuel 7.

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    God has spoken in His Holiness, and this is what he had to say. You just look at the territory of the land and you look at all the places that are mentioned in those verses. You’ll notice that they cover just about every direction of the land. I will divide Shechem. Well, Shechem, we’ll go there tomorrow.

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    It’s on the West side, right in the middle and meet out in the valley of Saketh. Saketh is on the east side, just over on the other side of Jordan pretty much even with Shechem on the other side of the Jordan on the east.

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    Gilead is mine, That’s on the east. Manasseh is mine. Manasseh, you’ll know, had a double portion. He had portions on both the eastern side of Jordan as well as on the western side. Manasseh is mine, Ephraim also Ephraim was one of the tribes in the north. It’s the strength of mine head. Judah in the South is my lawgiver, Moab.

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    Moab was to the east, As you can see, on that neck is my wash pup over Edom. That’s to the far South. Will I cast my shoe, Felicia, that’s to the West. Triumph thou because of me. So what God was saying to him in that very simple answer was, David, I promised the whole land

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    to you. It will be under your control. It’s mine and I have given it to you. And we know from the book of Chronicles, which is coterminous with Psalm 61st Chronicles chapter 18 says that David dispatched two of his ablest generals, Joab and Abhishek, and they came down into the land and they smote of the Edomites in the valley of salt. 12,000 And the record of Chronicles says, And David got himself a name. And so in God’s very thorough and very complete answer, he signaled to David.

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    Don’t worry, David, I’m still with you. You’re doing the right thing. I promise the whole land will be under your control. And David responded by sending his ablest generals. And they went down there and slew of the Edomites, 12,000 men. Now, without an understanding of the land bows and sisters, that passage doesn’t mean anything. It’s just a random list of places seeming to have no connection.

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    But when you look at each one of those places listed there in verses 6 to 9, you’ll see that they cover all the different aspects of the land. East, West, Middle NS, all that would be promised to be under David’s control, and David knew by that very language that God would give that to him.

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    He sent forth Joab and Abhishek I and they went and they got David a name when he slew the Edomites. So Psalm 60 is one of those passages where having an understanding of the land is immensely helpful. Let’s come and have a look at another one. In the book of Judges, Judges, Chapter 16,

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    we know about Samson and some of his heroic acts of faith. Now Samson was a man who operated. He spent most of his time operating in the Shefila, which we mentioned was the bumps, those little bumps, those undulating hills that lead up to the Hill Country. The Shefila is right here. That is where Samson spent most of his time between Zora and Estayol.

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    The tribe of the Danites, of course, had been promised the northern part of the Shefila, but they were unable, through lack of faith, to take that territory. And the great struggle, as we know of Samson’s life, is that his tribe had not taken the inheritance that God had promised. It was just the camp of Dan rather than the inheritance of the tribe.

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    And so Samson has all of these various exploits against the Philistines. He’s trying to to get back the territory that belonged to his tribe, which the Philistines stood in occupation of. So in Judges Chapter 16, we know the great story of Samson in Gaza taking the gates of the city. Samson took those gates and he did something very significant with them and this is where an understanding of the land is going to really, really help you. In Judges chapter 16 verse two.

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    And it was told the Gazites saying Samson is come hit her. And they compassed him in and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city and were quiet all the night saying in the morning when it is day we shall kill him. And Samson lay till midnight and arose at midnight and took the doors of the gate of the city and the two posts and went away with them, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders and carried them up to the top of the hill.

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    That is before Hebron. Now where in the record of the judges prior to this would you have read about Hebron? I mean, the last time we read about Hebron in the account of the Judges was many years earlier with Caleb. All of a sudden now it gets a mention when Samson takes the gates of the Philistines to that particular place.

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    Now, Samson didn’t normally operate in the area of Hebron. Hebron is the highest point in the Judean hills. Samson lived up here at Zora, the northern part of the Shephilah. Now, when Samson took those gates, he would think logically that he would just go home. After all, that’s what Samson had done on earlier occasions.

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    For instance, if you just come back to Chapter 14 of Judges after he had slain, the 30 men in Ashkelon, taken their garments as as payment to the Philistines for interpreting his Riddle. We’re told there the Spirit of Yahweh, chapter 14, verse 19, came upon him. He went down to Ashkelon, slew 30 men of them, took their spoil and gave change of garments unto them, which expounded the Riddle. And his anger was kindled.

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    And he went up to his father’s house. And after each successive skirmish against the Philistines, he finds Samson just returning to his house. Now his house was in Zorro, in the Shefila. That’s not where Samson takes the gates. When you come over to Chapter 16 and verse 3, Samson doesn’t take the gates to Zorro. We find that Samson takes the gates this time to Hebron. Now Hebron, as you can see here from the map, is is quite a long ways from Zora, where Samson operated. Not only is it a fair distance away, Hebron is at the top of the Judean hills.

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    He is down here on the plain, on the floor of the Philistine plain in Gaza, and he takes it all the way up to Hebron. 3500 feet high is Hebron. Imagine carrying these big gates all the way up through the Shephilah, up those hills to Hebron, far away from where Samson normally operate.

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    Now, why would he take the gates to Hebron? What was in Hebron? Well, the Hebron is of course the burying place of the Fathers, where the faithful fathers of Israel and their faithful wives are buried. Just join me in Genesis chapter 22, because you probably know this point, but I think it is. We want to see it now from the standpoint of the geography of the land in Genesis chapter 22,

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    the last of the promises, the 7th, that God had made to Abraham. Now no longer any conditions in Genesis chapter two. He says in blessing, I will bless you. Genesis chapter 22, verse 16.

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    And God said to him by myself have I sworn, saith Yahweh, because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son. Thine only Son, then in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven. And as the sandwich is upon the seashore. And thy seed Samson will possess the gate of his enemies. And he took the gates not back to his hometown in Zora. He took the gates to Hebron, the burial place of the fathers, where the promise of Abraham would have been ringing in his ears.

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    Thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies, and by that act Samson was telling us where his heart rested. He had his weaknesses, but his heart and his faith was there in Hebron with the Fathers as he carries these gates on his back, far away from home. He was showing by that his faith and what God had spoken many years earlier to Abraham.

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    My brothers and sisters, if you didn’t know the geography of the land, it was just a simple fact that Samson took the gates to Hebron. No, he went out of his way to do that because he wanted to show where his heart was. His heart was there in Hebron with the Fathers and with their faithful wives, and he wanted to be a part of that promise that thy seed would indeed one day possess the gate of his enemies.

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    And we hope to find many points just like that, God willing, brothers and sisters, over the course of this week. I think that as we go through the land, you will see just how remarkable it is that it has so many lessons to teach us about our walk and the truth, about the doctrines that we all believe and cherish, and about the great hope that we have that one day that land will become truly the glory of all lands.

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    And we pray for our Heavenly Father’s blessing in our endeavors as we look at His Land, the land of Eretz Israel. On behalf of everyone, I’d like to thank our brother Ryan for his most interesting talk this afternoon. We look forward with interest in tomorrow’s class, which is entitled Shechem, The Place of Decision.

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    We’re going to close off our afternoon session. We’re singing from Hymn 389 and please remain standing afterwards for a word of prayer through the mouth of our brother, Don Short, So Hymn 389. Reading from verse two, it says pilgrims on the earth and strangers like the fathers in the land, we in their one faith united in their city, hope to stand. Hymn 389.

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    The there one thing to Isaac in their city hold his hands strength, and always by yours presence and the hell may be talking strike me out to oh Jesus, and they have seen to you. The.

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    Father in heaven, we would draw 9 to thy throne of grace once again this day, to give thee all the praise and the glory and honour which is due to thy most holy name, and indeed to thy most holy name alone. And indeed, Father, what a privileged people we we are, to have had this opportunity once again this day, to come together around the table.

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    If thou is prepared for us in the presence of our enemies, sin and death, and in remembering of the Lamb that was slain from the foundation of the world, to be enlightened, and reminded once again of these wonderful and great things that thou has done on our behalf, when we were yet in our sins, that Christ died for the ungodly which was us. And as we have come together this morning, Father, and here thy words of exhortation from thy wordest day, to be gathered here to hear about thy great and wonderful land, Israel, May we be encouraged by these things.

80. 41:48

    May our minds may be in two to that great and Holy Land, that great witness that thou hast laid for the world round about that one bright light of hope for the world to see. Maybe we be encouraged by these things this week, Father, And may thou add thy blessing, and each and every single one of us as we leave this place. Now May we be encouraged this day, and as we return again this afternoon, this evening, to hear Thy word expounded once again to us.

81. 42:25

    Maybe we be strengthened and encouraged by it. May our hearts rejoice in the hope of Thy salvation. Hear our prayer, Father for us through Jesus Christ. We ask it. Amen.

82. 42:48

    None.