Tonight, I invite you to turn with me to Psalm 107, Psalm 107, and as well in the back of the Psalter hymnal to page 17, Lord's Day 10, questions and answers 27 and 28. We confess, as we did earlier tonight, that we believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and our Lord Jesus Christ taught us to pray, our Father, who are to in heaven. And one of the beautiful, comforting teachings of Scripture with regard to our Heavenly Father is that He is the God of providence, the sovereign God who provides all things for His children. There are numerous places, of course, in Scripture where we can go to consider the providence of God, different details about it, different ways to think about it, I suppose you might say. The Psalms especially, if you've been reading along in the read through the Bible in the year that was given to you at the beginning of the year and been reading through Isaiah recently, in the recent days you see that, you've seen it there too, Isaiah 45 through 50 and beyond, the comfort of God the Father who provides for His children. Psalm 107 is also a psalm in which we consider our sovereign God and his hand of provision. Psalm 107. We read together the chapter. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord say this, those he redeemed from the hand of the foe, those he gathered from the lands from east and west, from north and south. Some wandered in desert wastelands, finding no way to a city where they could settle. They were hungry and thirsty, and their lives ebbed away. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He led them by a straight way to a city where they could settle. Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for men, for He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things. Some sat in darkness and the deepest gloom, prisoners suffering in iron chains, for they had rebelled against the words of God and despised the counsel of the Most High. So He subjected them to bitter labor. They stumbled and there was no one to help. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble and He saved them from their distress. He brought them out of darkness and the deepest gloom and broke away their chains. Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for men, for He breaks down gates of bronze and cuts through bars of iron. Some became fools through their rebellious ways and suffered affliction because of their iniquities. They loathed all food and drew near the gates of death. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble and he saved them from their distress. He sent forth his word and healed them. He rescued them from the grave. Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men. Let them sacrifice thank offerings and tell of his works with songs of joy. Others went out on the sea in ships. They were merchants on the mighty waters. They saw the works of the Lord, His wonderful deeds in the deep. For He spoke and stirred up a tempest that lifted high the waves. They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths. In their peril, their courage melted away. They reeled and staggered like drunken men. They were at their wits' end. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He brought them out of their distress. He stilled the storm to a whisper. The waves of the sea were hushed. They were glad when it grew calm and He guided them to their desired haven. Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for men. Let them exalt Him in the assembly of the people and praise Him in the council of the elders. He turned rivers into a desert, flowing springs into thirsty ground and fruitful land into a salt waste because of the wickedness of those who lived there. He turned the desert into pools of water and the parched ground into flowing springs. There He brought the hungry to live and they founded a city where they could settle. They sowed fields and planted vineyards that yielded fruitful harvest. He blessed them and their numbers greatly increased and He did not let their herds diminish. Then their numbers decreased and they were humbled by oppression, calamity, and sorrow. He who pours contempt on nobles made them wander in a trackless waste. but He lifted the needy out of their affliction and increased their families like flocks. The upright see and rejoice, but all the wicked shut their mouths. Whoever is wise, let him heed these things and consider the great love of the Lord. Page 17 in the back of the Psalter hymnal, again, Lord's Day 10, as we give expression to what we believe concerning the two questions found there. Question 27 asks, What do you understand by the providence of God? Providence is the almighty and ever-present power of God by which He upholds, as with His hand, heaven and earth and all creatures, and so rules them, that leaf and blade, rain and drought, fruitful and lean years, food and drink, health and sickness, prosperity, and poverty, all things, in fact, come to us not by chance, but from His fatherly hand. How does the knowledge of God's creation and providence help us? We can be patient when things go against us, thankful when things go well, and for the future, we can have good confidence in our faithful God and Father that nothing will separate us from His love. All creatures are so completely in His hand that without His will, they can neither move nor be moved. Beloved children of the Heavenly Father, we hear a lot about Mother Nature in the weather reports, don't we? Mother Nature blows her Santa Ana winds. She causes the high surf and the waves that pound against the pier. Mother Nature sent Hurricane Katrina to devastate the Gulf Coast. Mother Nature, even in this day, is dumping inches and inches, bucket loads, we might say, of snow on the northeast of our country. And according to the society in which we live, Mother Nature is uncontrollable. No one and nothing or nothing can do anything to change or direct Mother Nature. But as children of God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, we say, oh, how wrong those are who believe these things because we confess a Father who controls and directs this so-called Mother Nature. We believe in the God of providence, the one and only sovereign God who not only controls the big things like the weather, but as every single detail of life and of His creation in His hand. Now, although the Bible doesn't use the word providence, its teaching of providence is clear and it's most comforting. In the catechism, maybe you notice as we confess it, we confess a picture of the hand of the Father. God's providence is pictured as His hand. He upholds and rules or governs as with His hand. All things come to us not by chance, but from His fatherly hand. All creatures are so completely in His hand. A child, we know, feels safe and secure when the hand of a parent is leading that child. And when we think about the almighty and powerful hand of our Heavenly Father, beloved, we are like very small children who are being carried by the hand of their father because we cannot stand on our own two feet. That's comfort. And therefore, God's providence is also a picture of God's love. His love for His creation. His love for His creatures. And as believers, ours is the comfort of living out of the hand of the Father. It's the hand that provides. And it's the hand that comforts. Lord's Day 9, which talked about God, the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, introduced us to the subject of providence when it spoke of our Creator Father as being the one who still upholds and rules them, heaven and earth, by His eternal counsel and providence. In other words, beloved, there is an intimate connection between God's work of creation and His work of providence. That which came into being when God said, let there be, is now being provided for by the very same Creator Father. Providence is the ongoing work of the Creator. He makes provision for that which He has made. Of course, there are many who think that the day-to-day operations of life belong to us. They believe that we determine all that takes place. I believe simply reading Psalm 107, especially the last ten verses, puts an end to that kind of thinking. But the truth is, the sad truth is many believe that this world and this universe is like a smooth running machine that God set in motion in the beginning and now He has nothing to do with it. And it's interesting, beloved, that people believe this. But the Bible teaches us that the animals seem to know better. Psalm 104 speaks of the animals. And the psalmist says in verse 27, they all look to you to give them their food at the proper time. But the Scriptures teach us, especially again in the Psalms, that God has everything to do with what He has made. Again, Psalm 104 is clear about that as we read about God taking care of His creation. He provides food and drink for both man and animals. He nourishes the trees and makes them homes, turns them into homes for the birds. He provides homes in the mountains for the wild animals. He has everything to do with His creation because of His almighty and everywhere present power. Providence is a power of God. By the power of His Word, God created all things. By the power of His Word, He brought into being this world, the sun, the moon, the stars, the rivers, the mountains, all plant and animal life. By the power of His Word, He gives life and breath to man. And by this power called providence, beloved, our Father provides and accomplishes as with His hand, we might say, two great works, comprehensive works. The Catechism says He upholds and rules. The same two things Lord's Day 9 mentioned. He upholds heaven, earth, and all creatures. By His power, these things came into being. They exist. And by His power, these things continue to exist. You see, all these things are in His hand, as it were. And His powerful hand continues to give these things life and existence. If God were to take His hand away, nothing would remain. In an instant, it would all be gone. Now think about this. Who keeps the stars in their courses, boys and girls? God does. Who keeps the oceans in their appointed boundaries? God does. Who guides the path of the tornado? God does. Who brings about the different seasons in their appointed time? God does. Who causes the earth to bring forth its fruit? God does. Who keeps the tiniest insect in flight even in the wind and the rain? God does. Who keeps the different climates of this world the way they need to be for the different animals that depend upon those climates for their existence. God does. Who causes you and me to take each breath and keeps the breath of life in us and keeps our hearts beating for each and every appointed day of life? God, our Heavenly Father, does. In Acts 17, we read that He Himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. And then Paul says, for in Him we live and move and have our being. As hard as it may be for us to understand or comprehend, if God were to close His hand as it were against us, if He were to remove His power, His blessing from us, even for a moment, we would cease to be. God's hand is the light support for all that He has made. But that hand that upholds heaven, earth, and all creatures also provides for these things in another way. The Catechism says, And so rules them, that leaf and blade, rain and drought, fruitful and lean years, food and drink, health and sickness, prosperity and poverty, all things in fact come to us not by chance, but from His fatherly hand. God the Father governs or rules His creation. He is running the show. And He has been ever since creation. And He will continue until His foreordained purpose is reached, namely the new heavens and the new earth, and all that that means as the Bible speaks of it. This is all a part of His plan. But did you notice the things that the Catechism says are in His hand? The things He rules. It gives us a list of opposites. Rain and drought. Fruitful and barren years. Health and sickness. But also, this list, if you look closely, is a list of ordinary things. Opposite things, many of them. But also ordinary things. These things are a part of everyday life. So often, beloved, we only speak of God's providence when something unexpected or extraordinary happens that might even be coincidental with something else. For example, if you're driving along not really paying attention and you just miss hitting another car or getting hit by another car, we often say, well, God in His providence took care of me. He kept me safe. Or if you are in need of something, It's something you don't have the money to buy, to use to buy it. Have no way of knowing how to get it. And all of a sudden, somehow, that is provided. We say, God provided. God in His providence provided for me. There are certain things in which we say of them that such and such was providential. But we so quickly forget that every moment of life is providential. Everything is a God thing. It's all providential. Every time you take a bite of food, it's providential. Every breath you take is providential. Every headache you get or whenever you get the flu, it's providential. The fact that you're here tonight is providential. You say, well, this is where I belong. I wouldn't be anywhere else. That's good, but nonetheless, it's still by God's providence that you're here. You see, so often we remove God from the ordinary. And we only see Him or speak of Him in the extraordinary. In a thunderstorm, we tend to say, it's thundering. Of course, it makes sense to us, doesn't it? But the Bible says, God thunders. We say it's raining. But the Bible says in Psalm 147, God supplies the earth with rain. But then as we look at these opposites, we also see that some are what we might call the ups of life. The good things of life, the benefits, rain, fruitful years, health, prosperity, while others are the downs of life, drought, lean years, sickness, and poverty. And isn't it true, beloved, that it's a lot easier for us to accept from the hand of God the up things of life? Often during the downsides of life, it's difficult for us to feel the warmth of God's hand and to hear Him say, My child, I am not forgetting you. Accept this from My fatherly hand as a gift, as proof of My love. But that's difficult, isn't it? In the down times, to see that as proof of God's love, you see, it's only possible to see that by faith in Jesus Christ. In God's plan, He has permitted that these things, drought, lean years, sickness, poverty, He has permitted these things would happen There are difficulties of life that we know are the result of sin and the effects of sin in this life. But as we confess, these things come to us not by chance, but by His fatherly hand. These things are not just bad luck. Pastor Donovan reminded us of Ahab this morning, and that one arrow that struck in that tiny hole in his armor wasn't just coincidence. As he said, it was by divine appointment. Isaiah 45, verse 7, there the Lord says, I form light and create darkness. I make well-being and, are you ready? Create calamity. I am the Lord who does all these things. And of course, we know that Satan tries to take advantage of these down times as he goes around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. And ever since the fall, we know that Satan has been hard at work trying to destroy that which God created and pronounced good. And it seems that sometimes, like the devil is making headway, we can feel the effects of his work at times. But God upholds, protects, and rules His creation by His providing hand so that the devil cannot destroy the Lord's creation and His creatures finally, once and for all. Again, Psalm 107 is a beautiful picture of this. This psalm, if you notice as we read it, is made up of sections closed out by the same verse each time. And these sections, we might say, trace Israel's history and in some respect give us a picture of the sinner, the life of the sinner. And in each of these sections, each of them talk about four particular details. Each one talks about the attacks from the devil, the struggle of the people, secondly, cries to the Lord for help, and then finally, deliverance from the Lord. And again, at the end of each of these first four major sections, we find a resounding theme as we read in verse 8, let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for men. And that is repeated in verses 15 and 21 and 31. In the first section, verses 4 through 9, God keeps His people from the tyranny of the devil that would remove food and drink and life from them. In the second section, verses 10 through 16, God keeps them from the tyranny of the people, their enemies. In the third section, verses 17 to 22, God keeps them from the tyranny of themselves, of their own foolishness. And in the fourth section, verses 23 to 32, God keeps them from the tyranny of the power of creation. And then finally, really, in the last ten verses, we see God's sovereignty and how He uses all these things to either give His blessing or to remove His blessing from His people. But do you see how that through the devil uses different means and approaches, yet the scope of God's care is wider than all of these things. Everywhere the devil may attack, God preserves and upholds. Yes, beloved, we know that God permits Satan to play with creation. All you need to do is look at the headlines in the newspaper. He plays with the nations. He plays with communities. He plays with morals and ethics. He plays with our laws. He plays with people's lives. All we need to do is look at Job. Satan was allowed to take his possessions, his children, his health. But yet, Satan too is in the hand of the Father. not the same way as you and I, he does not recognize him as a father because Satan is God's enemy and God is Satan's judge. But Satan can do no more than what God permits him to do. Job is an example of that as well. Satan could not take Job's life. Beloved, as we recognize the downs of life as well as the ups, the troubles and the bad things as well as the good, then we begin to recognize we should begin to recognize that the governing power of God is not just to make our lives on this earth easy. But God has a greater purpose that you and I don't always see. God governs in such a way to bring His people closer to Him. God tries and tests us and these trials and this testing sometimes act as a two-by-four slapping us upside the head. Sometimes we joke about slapping someone in the head to knock some scent into them. Boys and girls, we don't literally take a two-by-four and whack somebody in the head. That's dangerous. It's just an expression. So don't go home and try that to your brother or sister, please. But God, you see, is faithful to His covenant. And that is to bring His people to Himself. And congregation, if that takes for a people, if it takes sickness, death, drought, natural disasters, or financial loss, or whatever, to bring you to confess that your only comfort in life and in death is that you belong to your faithful Savior, Jesus Christ. Whatever it takes, His hand will provide that. You see, the Father's hand is good even when it hurts. And he who has not dealt with God in fruitful years will certainly not be able to do so in unfruitful years. He who forgot God in times of riches will find it difficult to find Him in poverty. He who neglected God while healthy may miss the warmth of His holding hand in sickness. All of this apart from God's grace being poured out upon that one. But we praise our Father that sometimes He deprives His people of everything in order to give them back Himself. In that first section of Psalm 107, if you look at it closely, the people were lost. They were hungry. They were thirsty. They were tired. And God reveals Himself in such a way that He is the way for the lost. He is the bread for the hungry. Water for the thirsty. And He alone is rest for those who are lost, who are restless, who are tired. If you believe in Jesus Christ, then you have the assurance from the very own Word of God that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him to those who have been called according to His purpose. And once again, we must always be reminded with that verse of Scripture. Because so many people want to hear it incorrectly. It doesn't say all good things work together for good, but all things, good or bad. And of course, if you don't believe in Jesus Christ, then these things are not working for your good, but they're working for your destruction. But what a comfort, beloved, that God uses the troubles of life and the evil desires of men to accomplish His good and holy purpose. Again, beyond our reason, isn't it? We cannot even begin to fathom that. But as Joseph said to his brothers, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result to preserve many people alive. Beloved, God's Word tells us that all things are in the Father's hand. There is nothing that takes place that He does not provide. The manna in the wilderness for the people's pleasure. But also the captivity. Again, for their own good. And He provides all things for a purpose that we don't always understand, but we know. By faith we know that whatever He provides, it is all a part of His perfect plan for the good of those who believe in Him. And because we know this by God's grace, then we are also comforted as we live out of the Father's hand. His hand is the hand of comfort. How does the knowledge of God's creation and providence help us? The answer begins, we can be patient when things go against us, thankful when things go well. How are we to live in the power of God's providence? Well, first of all, we confess we can be patient when things go against us. The older version of the catechism is more pointed. I like the way it says it. Patient in adversity. Patient in adversity. We've been talking about adversity, the downs of life, more than the ups of life, and that's because adversity, the hard times, the tough times, adversity is definitely a part of our lives. Sometimes that seems to get our attention, doesn't it? A little bit quicker than the prosperity. And the fruit that God expects from His children in adversity is patience. Wow! That again, beloved, in a sense blows our minds. It doesn't make sense. Because when you and I face adversity, that's the time when our heart is beating the hardest, isn't it? That's the time when we are filled with stress and grief or whatever it might be. But the fruit that God requires is patience. And that means to accept what God's hand provides with a willing heart. Christian patience is bearing, enduring, persevering, in adversity, with a joyful heart. That's right. A joyful heart. It's not just a passive, heartless, bowing down with the attitude that says, oh well, that's just the way it is anyway. I can't do anything about it. I can't change it. I'll just have to live with it. It's not the way it is. Paul demonstrates this joy, I believe, in 2 Corinthians 4 when he says, we are hard-pressed, yet not crushed, perplexed, but not in despair. Persecuted, but not abandoned. Struck down, but not destroyed. Patience is the opposite of rebellion. Rebellion, we might say, is dragging the cross that we are called upon to bear. But patience is carrying that cross in the strength of the Lord Jesus Christ. Patience is glorying in adversity. Not because that's what we want. Not because we like it. You see, we may and we must pray for relief from adversity. We are to bring our needs and our hurts and our sorrows before God. But patience is glorying in adversity because there is much to glory about. Hebrews 12 says, the Lord disciplines those He loves and He punishes everyone He accepts as a son. Beloved, God uses trials and tough times for our purification and to bring His children closer to Himself. That we might say with Job, I know that my Redeemer lives. This morning we sang Psalter Hymnal 119, the setting of Psalm 66. And as we sang that, the second stanza in particular struck me. And these verses from Psalm 66 explain that. Verses 8-12. Praise our God, O peoples. Let the sound of His praise be heard. He has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping. It's a song of praise, you see. But notice what the psalmist says right after that. For You, O God, tested us. You refined us like silver. You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs. You let men ride over our heads. We went through fire and water. But at the same time, the psalmist throughout the psalm shouted with joy to God, praise Him. But notice, we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance. We can be patient in adversity because His hand provides comfort in adversity. And the way of escape, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10.13, God is faithful. He will provide that way of escape. Isaiah 43, we know the Lord says, When you go through the fire and through the water, I will be with you. Right by your side. Carrying you. Sustaining you. Why? Because you are mine. And I love you. We also live in the Father's hand in such a way that we are to be thankful when things go well. Patient in adversity. Thankful in prosperity. Again, that may sound strange, right? Because we're always thankful for prosperity, aren't we? Aren't we? The catechism, though, is talking about heartfelt thanks with an attitude of humility that says, I don't deserve any of this. In the fourth section of Psalm 107, in essence there, the writer talks about the waves being lifted high to the heavens and then dropping to the depths. In essence, a hurricane situation. And as one commentator rightly says, in essence, he says, a hurricane helps to remind us that we continue to live in this world by permission, not by good management. By permission. Not by good management. Unfortunately, so often prosperity tends to draw us away from God. We become independent. We become arrogant, walking all over God's goodness without thanksgiving. Again, thinking, yes indeed, it's by my good management that I continue, that I prosper. that I enjoy this life. The hand of God comforts His people in prosperity, not that we find comfort in that prosperity, in the things of this life, but we find comfort in the hand of the provider. Beloved, thankfulness to God has been described as life's posture of continuous conversation. Heidelberg Catechism, Lord's Day 45, there it says that prayer is the chief part of the thankfulness which God requires of us. But living in the Father's hand also provides comfort for the future. The catechism continues, and for the future we can have good confidence in our faithful God and Father that nothing will separate us from His love. All creatures are so completely in His hand that without His will they can neither move nor be moved. And maybe in that talk about the future you hear the echo from Romans 8, verse 35 says, Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword, as it is written, for your sake we face death all day long. We are considered as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. And that means that as children of the Heavenly Father, by faith, God causes us to be restful and balanced. That means, beloved, that we don't panic at the slightest news reports and we don't run back and forth nervously when danger is threatened. We don't do this for the simple reason that we have the comfort of being in the Father's hand. It doesn't mean, though, that we are irresponsible, that we simply let go and let God. You see, because God has provided the means for us. He has provided the means for us to handle such situations. To find safety and security. And to dig out, you might say, from the turmoils of life. You see, this doesn't mean we won't get bumps and bruises along life's path. The Bible never says that, right? The Bible does say that nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God. We may get hurt. But God's love can never be taken away from His children. When you go through the water, the waves will not destroy you. The fire will not burn you to pieces and destroy you either because I will be with you. You are mine. But even when we talk about the future, whether it's retirement one day or ten years down the road or boys and girls looking forward to a birthday party in a couple of weeks, whatever it might be, when we talk about the future as human beings, We are short-sighted. We only think about this year's business dealings with our company or about our personal financial future. And yes, we might have a bad year financially. We might lose our business or our job this year. We might lose all of our possessions this year. We may lose a loved one this year. But we are to be far-sighted, beloved. We are to look beyond this year's activities, this life's activities, and realize that God's fatherly hand reaches beyond this year, beyond this life, and He has our eternal well-being in view. Beloved, you can only be patient in adversity, thankful in prosperity, and look to the future with confidence by faith in Jesus Christ. These things are evidence of faith worked by the Holy Spirit. You see, the beauty of the Father's providential hand finds fulfillment in His Son, Jesus Christ. Our Father upholds and rules heaven, earth, and all creatures because of His love. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. And the Greek word for world means literally cosmos. And that includes His people to be sure. But more than that, the heavens and the earth. In Colossians 1 we read, He that is Jesus Christ is the image of the invisible God. the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities, all things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him and through Him, to reconcile to Himself all things. Do you hear what this means? The perfect plan of God the Father revolves around the Son from start to finish. All things have been created by and for Him. Through Jesus Christ, all things have been reconciled to the Father. And in Christ, all things are being held together. Satan will never finally destroy God's creation because he himself has been defeated by Jesus Christ. If you believe in Jesus Christ, that He died, that you might live, then you know the comfort. You know the comfort of being carried as a small child in His hand. And you have the comfort that all things, good or bad, pleasant or not pleasant, hard or easy, are being worked by Christ for your good. If you don't believe, then you cannot and do not have this comfort. And you are being dragged, as it were, along by the hand of the judge to that judgment day. Beloved, there are many who demonstrate their unbelief today. At least a few years ago, I saw a lot of commercials about that psychic friend's hotline. There are a lot who are wasting their time and money calling their friendly psychic friend's hotline to try to find out what the future holds. But there's only one who knows what the future holds because he holds the future in his hand. And if you are a child of God, then you don't have to waste your time and money on a long-distance call asking another mere creature what he or she thinks about the future. You don't have to do that because you are already at home in the hand of the Father. The hand that provides. The hand that comforts. Amen. Shall we pray? Dear Heavenly Father, we thank You and praise You for Your providential care over us. that indeed You provide all that we stand in need of for body and soul. We must confess, O Lord, that there are times when we feel like You have let us go. There are times when we feel like we are not safe in the palm of Your hand, but it's not because we are not in that palm of Your hand, it's because we have turned our backs on You for a season. But we thank You, Father, that You continue to give to us the comfort and the assurance to draw us back to Your heart, to Your bosom. And Father, we pray that this comfort may be ours each and every day of our lives in whatever experience we might face, whatever circumstance we might find ourselves in. O Lord God, we praise Your most holy name. We look forward to the day that we will see You face to face in all of Your glory. In Jesus' name we pray these things. Amen.