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[Music] than [Music] he [Music] call beginning in verse 7 hear O Lord when I cry with my voice have mercy also upon me and answer me when you said seek my face my heart said to you your face Lord I will seek do not hide your face from me do not turn your servant away in Anger you have been my help do not leave me nor forsake me oh god of my salvation when my father and my mother forsake me then the Lord will take care of me Teach Me Your Way O Lord and Lead Me in a smooth path because of my enemies do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries for false Witnesses have risen against me and such as breathe out violence I would have lost heart unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living wait on the Lord be of good courage and he shall strengthen your heart wait I say on the Lord amen well please turn in your hym books to Psalm 134 Psalm 134 we'll stand as we sing [Music] [Music] together you Greatful Ser of who in his house to stand by God and praise him with all your [Music] heart your hands pray for to to high oh bless the Lord he and his and worship him with [Music] bless you from from Z in his God to Heaven and Earth bless be his [Music] great let us pray Our Father what a joy to gather in your house again on this Lord's day and what a blessing to be able to sing the song concerning the boundless love of our gracious God we thank you for that love demonstrated at the cross we thank you for that love demonstrated in the application of redemption by your spirit to us and we bless you for that love demonstrated in the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ and for the privilege to gather together tonight for corporate worship and to remember our Lord's death in a very spe special way we pray that you would be glorified even father Son and Holy Spirit in this glad hour that you would strengthen and encourage each of our hearts that you would build us up in our Most Holy Faith and that you would indeed be pleased to to look with favor upon this congregation we bless you that you are The God Who made the world and all things in it we thank you for your Sovereign Providence that you uphold all things it's such an encouragement when we see so many chaotic things around us to know that you sit upon your throne and that your government is stable it is sure and it is always toward the blessing of your people we thank you as well for Redemption through our Lord Jesus Christ and for all of the benefits that you have conferred upon us we ask that you would forgive us now for all of our sins and transgressions we know God you call us to live in a manner that is consistent with our High Calling in the gospel yet we have that remaining corruption that we confess now trusting in the Precious Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ to cleanse us from all iniquity we pray for any and all who've come here tonight in their trespasses and sins that you would open their hearts to receive the truth that they by Grace would believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved we pray for your blessing upon this local church we pray for those who are struggling with ongoing physical challenges and trials we pray for all of us God with the spiritual uh difficulties that we face on a regular basis give us that Grace and that presence of the Holy Spirit to resist temptation to resist sin and to truly glorify our blessed God each and every day we pray for your grace to be upon our CH uh fellow churches and Sy and in Armstrong and in pinoca and in Medicine Hat and in Regina we thank you for these brethren we pray for the conference that all would go well that it would redown to the praise and glory of God that it would increase our our bonds and The Fellowship of The Gospel that you would indeed bless this Association cause us to be at work for your glory in this nation and God for this nation we pray that you would be merciful we know these are tumultuous and troubling times help us to remember to be still to know that you are God that you will be exalted among the Nations and in the earth and we pray that you would give wisdom to those in in civil government we pray that you would turn their hearts in the direction of righteousness and Justice those things that are absolutely crucial for a body politic we pray that you would be merciful as well with reference to the sins of our nation she would indeed bring uh uh uh repentance with reference to abortion and youth in Asia and all matter of sexual perversion we know that these things abound and they go unchecked and they are often times celebrated so God be merciful and cause the gospel to go forth in this land may it run swiftly and be glorified and many PE and may many people come to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ we pray for the missionary Enterprise and for the endeavors to take that gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth we thank you for good reports that we hear of Faithful Men heralding the truth of Christ and for Sinners believing that gospel and for Saints growing in light of it we think specifically of Myanmar we pray for the ongoing situation there we know it is a very difficult and very a hard situation for our brother Peter we pray that you would give this man continued wisdom continued Grace and strength and provision father for for him for him and his family and for all the orphans under their care and we just pray God that there would be a ceasefire in that land and some degree of stability restored be with our Brethren and Elder at and in kumu we thank you for these men we pray that they would be faithful laborers in the word and in Doctrine we pray for our sisters as well for Carla and that team in Kenya and for lesie and and Jane and Cuba we just pray that you'd watch over them and Grant them safe travel and a bless blessed time as they minister to the people they meet we ask now that you would continue with us that you would be glorified As we sing praises to you as we call upon you in prayer as we direct our attention to the holy scriptures and as we remember our Lord in the supper and we ask this through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen well you can turn again with me to 459 459 we'll stand as we sing together [Music] Jesus BL and righteousness I not TR we pray but holy Le on Jesus name Christ ground is sing s all ground [Music] s his I rest on his unchanging Grace in every High St my anchor holds place in the H on Christ the Sol rock all other ground is sing all other ground his sinking [Music] s and his blood support me in the in when all around my soul then is All My Hope and on Christ the [Music] S all other ground is sinking all other ground is sinking when we shall come with trumpet oh I found in his right alone to stand the throne on Christ the Sol Ro all other ground is sinking all ground s well please turn with me in your Bibles to First Kings chapter 8 for our meditation before the Lord's Supper First Kings 8 I'm going to read a long section from verses 22 to 53 essentially what we have is that Solomon builds the temple according to First Kings we have him build it properly in chapter 5- 7 and then Solomon dedicates the temple here in chapter 8 and there are five sections in chapter 8 essentially what you have is the placement of the Ark in the temple verses 1 to13 the words of Thanksgiving giving in verses 14 to 21 the section we're going to look at not in exhaustive detail but the prayer of dedication in verses 22 to 53 and then you've got a benediction pronounced on the assembly in verses 54-61 and then the dedication proper of the temple in verses 62 to 66 so that's an outline or a map of that particular chapter as I said 22 to 53 though we may bounce around a little bit to other sections here in First Kings 8 so I'll begin reading in verse 22 then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the Assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven and he said Lord God of Israel there is no God in heaven above or on Earth Bel below like you who keep your Covenant in Mercy with your servants who walk before you with all their hearts you have kept what you promised your servant David my father you have both spoken with your mouth and fulfilled it with your hand as it is this day therefore Lord God of Israel now keep what you promised your servant David my father saying you shall not fail to have a man sit before me on the throne of Israel only if your sons take heed to their way that they walk before me as you have walked before me and now I pray oh god of Israel let your word come true which you have spoken to your servant David my father but will God indeed dwell on the earth behold Heaven and the heaven of Heavens cannot contain you how much less this Temple which I have built yet regard the prayer of your servant in his supplication oh Lord my God and listen to the cry and the prayer which your servant is praying before you today that your eyes may be opened toward this Temple Night and Day toward the place of which you said my name shall be there that you may hear the prayer which your servant makes toward this place and may you hear the supplication of your servant and of your People Israel when they pray toward this place here in heaven your dwelling place and when you hear forgive when anyone sins against his neighbor and is forced to take an oath and comes and takes an oath before your altar in this Temple then here in heaven and act and judge your servants condemning the wicked bringing his way on his head and justifying the righteous by giving him according to his righteousness when your People Israel are defeated before an enemy because they have sinned against you and when they turn back to you and confess your name and pray and make supplication to you in this Temple then here in heaven and forgive the sin of your People Israel and bring them back to the land which you gave to their fathers when the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against you when they pray toward this place and confess your name and turn from their sin because you afflict them then here in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants your People Israel that you may teach them the good way in which they should walk and send rain on on your land which you have given to your people as an inheritance when there is famine in the land pestilence or blight or mildew locusts or grasshoppers when their enemy besieges them in the land of their cities whatever plague or whatever sickness there is whatever prayer whatever supplication is made by anyone or by all your people Israel when each one knows the plague of his own heart and spreads out his hands toward the toward this Temple then here in heaven your dwelling place and forgive and act and give to everyone according to all his ways whose heart you know for you alone know the hearts of all the sons of men that they may fear you all the days that they live in the land which you g gave to our fathers moreover concerning a foreigner who is not of your People Israel but has come from a far country for your name's sake for they will hear of your great name and your strong hand and your outstretched arm when he comes and prays toward this Temple here in heaven your dwelling place and do according to all for which The Foreigner calls to you that all peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you as do your People Israel and that they may know that this Temple which I have built is called by your name when your people go out to battle against their enemy wherever you send them and when they pray to the Lord toward the city which you have chosen and the temple which I have built for your name then hear in heaven uh hear in heaven their prayer and their supplication and maintain their cause when they sin against you for there is no one who does not sin and you become angry with them and deliver them to the enemy and they take them captive to the land of the enemy far far or near yet when they come to themselves in the land where they were carried captive and repent and make supplication to you in the land of those who took them captive saying we have sinned and done wrong we have committed wickedness and when they return to you with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies who LED them away captive and pray to you toward their land which you gave to their fathers the city which you have chosen and the temple which I have built for your name then here in heaven your Dwelling Place their prayer and their supplication and maintain their cause and forgive your people who have sinned against you and all their transgressions which they have trans uh which they have transgressed against you and Grant them compassion before those who took them captive that they may have compassion on them for they are your people and your inheritance whom you brought out of Egypt out of the iron furnace that your eyes may be open to the supplication of your servant and the supplication of your People Israel to listen to them whenever they call to you for you separated them from among all the peoples of the earth to be your inheritance as you spoke by your servant Moses when you brought our fathers out of Egypt oh Lord God Amen well let us pray Our Father in heaven we thank you for this word we thank you for the temple the Tabernacle what they pointed forward to and prefigured in terms of our blessed Lord Jesus Christ we thank you for your mercy we thank you for the fact as Solomon so so uh wonderfully relates here that you are God who forgives that you are God who does show Mercy a God who hears the prayers of his people and we rejoice in that reality even now again we confess to you our iniquities our sins as we prepare to come to the table we pray that you would be glorified in this time of worship fill us with your Holy Spirit and guide us according to your truth and we ask this in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ amen well there is a lot of Bible in the background to what we see here in First Kings chapter 8 and he makes frequent Illusions to that not direct quotations to be sure but definitely Illusions when he refers to his father David he is referring at least in a summary form to 2 Samuel chter 7 what we call the deic Covenant when God promised that David would have a Dynasty that he would have a succession of Kings who would follow him and that would ultimately terminate in the coming of the son of David the Lord Jesus Christ as well when he speaks of the various things that may obtain should the people of Israel be unfaithful in their Covenant relationship to God he's invoking Leviticus CH 26 and Deuteronomy chter 28 when he speaks of War when he speaks of plague when he speaks of Exile when he speaks of those eventualities that we know come he is speaking in light of that law of Moses that promised blessings for faithfulness and cursings for Disobedience so as we look at this particular prayer of dedication again we're not going to look at every jot and tit but that section in verses 22 to 53 I want to notice first the foundation of the prayer secondly the petitions of the prayer and then thirdly the conclusion of the prayer the foundation of the prayer very simply is God it is God it is theology proper Solomon knows theology Solomon was brought up at the feet of David and of course David knew theology David wrote us the Psalms full of theological goodness with reference to who our God is and so when Solomon comes to dedicate the temple he begins first with God he highlights certain Perfections or attributes of our God that's the foundation of his prayer similar what Jesus teaches us in the Lord's Prayer we don't begin with a request for our food for our forgiveness or our protection we end there but we begin with God's name God's kingdom and God's will the Ten Commandments are structured in a similar way certainly that second table is crucial for our interpersonal relationships and for societal blessing but it doesn't start there it starts first with a Prohibition against idolatry and blasphemy and Sabbath break relative to our god so Solomon is in good company starting with God so with reference to these Perfections that we see in the foundation of his prayer notice in the first place the incomparability of God the incomparability of God there's nothing that compares with God and he says as much in verse 23 Lord God of Israel there is no God in heaven above or on earth below like you and then he gives a rationale for that who keep your Covenant in Mercy with your servants who walk before you with all their hearts if you turn back to the Book of Exodus you'll see a similar situation in the song of Moses Moses writes or Moses composes this song and in 1511 he says who is like you oh Lord among the gods who is like you glorious in Holiness fearful in Praises doing wonders we see a similar thing in the prophet Micah in Micah chap seven playing off of his own name who is a God Like You So these men ask the question but then fulfill or rather fill out why it is the case they're stressing the incomparability of God Almighty in Micah 7:18 he asks who is a God Like You Again he's incomparable how do we know he's incomparable well theology proper for sure but in terms of his Perfections in terms of his acts toward his people so who is a god like you pardoning iniquity passing over the transgression of the remnant of his Heritage he does not retain his anger forever because he Delights and mercy he will again have compassion on us and will subdue our iniquities you will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea you will give truth to Jacob and mercy to Abraham which you have sworn to our fathers from Days of old it's a great way to frame our minds before we come to the supper as we eat this bread as we drink this cup we proclaim the Lord's death till comes and we know it's as a result of that death we have that pardon for our sin we have the casting of all of our sins into the depths of the sea he doesn't throw them into the shallowest parts of the sea so that they can bubble up once and again uh uh once again he doesn't put them in just the the the the the shallow Waters so they can continue to haunt us no he goes deep sea fishing with our sin and cast them into the depths of it so the incomparability of God there is none like the living and the true God that they may Know Thee the only true God he is isolated there's a Unity of Singularity he is all alone it's not the case that God shares a sort of Pantheon with other gods and he's the best version of it secondly he speaks of the faithfulness of God he does that in verses 24 to 26 again the backdrop is the devic Covenant in 2 Samuel 7 he says you have kept what you promised your servant David uh your servant David my father you have both spoken with your mouth and fulfilled it with your hand as it is this day Solomon is saying we're not here building the Temple because of our faithfulness we're not here building the Temple because of our goodness we're not here building the Temple because we have undertaken this project on on behalf of you and we're going to accomplish it for you no we're here because you promised we would be here we're here because you made a covenant With My Father David we're here because you made good on those Covenant promises and you vanquished his enemies through his Warfare and under that reign of peace that he secured Solomon then was the temple Builder he was the house builder for God most high he goes on or draws an implication from that in verses 25 and following therefore Lord God of Israel now keep what you promised your servant David my father saying you shall not fail to have a man sit before me on the throne of Israel only if your sons take heed to their way that they walk before me as you have walked before me he prays for a secure succession of the kings of Judah such that ultimately that Son of God will ultimately come and build a house for God remember in 2 Samuel 7 that's the nature of the promise David is sitting there in his Palace and he's musing on the fact that he's in a palace and God is dwelling in a tent and David makes known to the prophet that he wants to build a house for God and initially the prophet authorizes it and then God speaks to Nathan and says tell David not to do this David is a man of Bloodshed that's not an ethical judgment he's not impinging upon David's ethics he's not saying David's a bad guy he's got blood on his hands I'm not going to let him anywhere near my temple that's not it David was a man of blood shed to secure the Kingdom so that his son Solomon could then come and build that house so David says I want to build a house for God the chapter continues in 2 Samuel 7 and God says to David actually I'm going to build a house for you and that's that dynasty that's that succession of kings that culminates in the Lord Jesus Christ a Son of God who builds the house for God and we see that in Matthew chapter 16 Jesus says who do men say that I the son of man am they answer the question and then he says who do you say that I am and Simon Peter confesses Thou Art the Christ the son of the Living God uh uh the son of the Living God uh Jesus anounces a blessing on him and then he says that on this rock the confession that Christ is the Son of God I will build my church so you've got a Son of God who builds a house for God that Solomon typifies and all the kings of Judah typify David as well and Jesus is the Fulfillment of that so this invocation of David and the promises made to him is very important for biblical theology the third thing we ought to appreciate is the Transcendence of God the Transcendence of God God is removed God is other he's holy other he's not like us there is a Creator creature distinction and Solomon at the dedication to the temple acknowledges that see the Nations around Israel they had temples they had Tabernacles they had Gods their gods lived in those Tabernacles their gods inhabited those Tabernacles when they went to visit uh uh uh who was it wasn't molok who's the Philistine God well who is it who deeon that's right just jumped out of my head that was a senior moment actually I'm not that senior but I certainly feel it coming I'm not going to lie to you the memory doesn't hold in pains as you get older you wake up out of bed what what's that one deeon when they went to see deeon when the Ark of the Covenant was in there they went to see deeon and deeon had fallen over well there's a great deal of theology there they put the Ark of the Covenant that they W in battle in that Temple of deeon why it showed Conquest we beat the Israelites we beat their God and as a result we're going to put the Ark of the Covenant in the temple of deeon to show that subjugation of course they go and visit deeon and he had fallen down so they prop him back up they go to him the next day he had fallen down and his hand broke off so they have to glue it super glue or Gorilla Glue to put it back on their gods lived in the temples that's not Israel's God the Tabernacle and the temple were the special presence of God but he wasn't located there God transcends God is in heaven as the prophet Isaiah tells us Heaven is his throne and Earth is his foot stol according to Isaiah so Solan before he gets to all the particulars and petitions he wants as it were to not only praise God for this truth but to remind Israel that this tab or Temple that we have built doesn't contain God it's not the the the specific location of God God is immense God is omnipresent God is transcendent so notice in verse 27 but will God indeed dwell on the earth behold Heaven and the heaven of Heavens cannot contain you how much less this Temple which I have built he's not a Philistine he's not a hittite he's not a hivite he doesn't have any concept that this this building actually how es God as if it actually contains God God is transcendent but that God who is transcendent is also imminent and imminent means he is near us he is with us again immensity omnipresence the fact is is that God is near his people notice in verse 28 yet regard the prayer of your servant and his supplication oh Lord my God and listen to The Cry uh uh and the prayer which your servant is praying before you today that your eyes may be open toward this Temple Night and Day toward the place of which you said my name shall be there that you may hear the prayer which your servant makes toward this place imminence and Transcendence you get rid of either and you're a herant you get rid of imminence and you're a deist you get rid of transcendence you're a pantheist you've got big problems with your theology If you deny either of those truths and in short Compass Sol and confesses these truths in prayer to God and I think there's a great model here based on what we saw this morning in our studies in John's gospel that they may Know Thee the only true God in Jesus Christ whom thou has sent notice how the knowledge of theology proper and who God is plays into our prayer life if we are to bless God for every spiritual blessing in the Heavenly places because of uh in Christ then how can we come to God with an formed mind if we don't understand these truths Solomon I think is a great example Jesus is a great example in terms of prayer as far as it goes but again that's not the main emphasis with Jesus here Solomon dedicating the temple as the public man as the king praying to God to be sure but there is instruction in this in terms of the children of Israel and for us the New Covenant Israel so the foundation of his prayer is theology proper Solomon knows God then secondly and we'll run pretty quickly through this the petitions of the prayer and a central theme is forgiveness Solomon not only knows God but he knows man Solomon not only knows the Holiness and the righteousness and the justice and the goodness of God but he knows all those contrary attributes that man is about so notice that Solomon prays for God's assistance in the adjudication of matters verses 31 and 32 Solomon was a wise man you've got that in First Kings 2 and three you've got Solomon requesting specifically from God wisdom I mean imagine that God gives you a a wish God gives you the desire of your heart he comes to you by way of vision and says what is it that you would like what is it that you would like I don't actually want to hear or know if you're like me it's probably wisdom wouldn't be the first thing that popped up but that's what Solomon says why Solomon is the king in Israel and he takes that responsibility seriously and part of the king's function in Old Covenant Israel is to adjudicate civil matters to deal with the crimes committed in the body politic you see this in Moses as well there's that scene in Exodus 24 where they ascend the mount and yet there's Elders left left down below to make sure that the law and to make sure matters of Justice are carried out among the body politic just because Moses is up on the mountain doesn't mean the children of Israel aren't going to sin it doesn't mean they're not going to commit crime they're going to do that and so all throughout you see God's insistence on a well-regulated civil poity so Solomon prays for assistance in the adjudication of civil matters notice then secondly the defeat beat by enemies in verses 33 and 34 again you've got Leviticus 2617 uh Deuteronomy 28:25 behind the scenes so in verses 33 and 34 when your People Israel are defeated before an enemy because they have sinned against you he doesn't say if he doesn't say potentially possibly he knows this has already been their history up to this point Solomon is not a fool he knows the heart of man read the Proverbs some times he knows the heart of man he knows it's deceitful above all things he knows it's desperately wicked and he knows one of the curses associated with Covenant breaking was defeat by enemies in battle when your People Israel are defeated before an enemy because they have sinned against you and when they turn back to you and confess your name and pray and make supplication to you in this Temple then here in heaven and forgive the sin of your People Israel and bring them back to the land which you gave to their fathers notice then thirdly drought verses 35 and 36 here you've got Leviticus 26:19 Deuteronomy 28:23 drought sent by God and notice in this particular section the reality that God sends Affliction we're going to tease that out a bit later when we come to some final thoughts but with reference to Affliction notice in verse 35 when the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against you because they have sinned against you that he doesn't say you know baal's not working properly as the storm God he's not suggesting that you know there's just these Natural Forces at play and the Israelites have been corporately unlucky for this time no when you read of drought or you read of famine or you read of those sorts of things in Old Covenant Israel you know that the Judgment of God is lurking behind that so verse 35 when the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against you when they pray toward this place and confess your name and turn from their sins notice because you afflict them the psalmist says it was good that I was afflicted afflictions are blessed of God to bring us back to the path of God he says then here in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants your People Israel that you may teach them the good way in which they should walk and send rain on your land which you have given to your people as an inheritance and then notice uh famine and pestilence and other disasters again you've got Leviticus 26 uh 1625 and 26 Deuteronomy 28 21 22 27 38 42 52 Deuteronomy 28 is no walk in the park Brethren Deuteronomy 28 is a house of horrors with reference to a promise to the children of Israel that if they' breach break or or or disregard their Covenant obligations before Yahweh they will reap all these things associated with their unfaithfulness so when you look at those passages in chapters 26 of Leviticus Deuteronomy 28 Solomon is all too aware of that and what is Solomon's recurring theme forgive them forgive them forgive them hear from heaven and forgive them notice then in verses uh 41 to 43 this isn't a forgive them section this is a gentile inclusion in the Covenant Promises of God section Solomon as well knows the Oracle of Noah that Shem will find or H uh japheth will find a safe harbor in the tents of of Shem the promise throughout the prophets the promise throughout the Suter that all nations shall come to the Lord notice in lit uh First Kings 8:41 moreover concerning a foreigner who is not of your People Israel but has come from a far country for your name's sake I love this parenthetical remark for they will hear of your great name and your strong hand and your outstretched arm Brethren I think implied there is that when we know our God when we commune with our God when we enjoy our God we tell others about that God and once we tell others about that God the word spreads and in this particular instance the Nations here remember the case of Rahab the Harlot in Joshua chapter 2 she had heard of the mighty power of Yahweh she had understood All Too Well the god of Israel so she gives Safe Harbor to those spies spying out the land of Jericho as well you've got the bride described the bridegroom in the Song of Solomon and the daughters of Jerusalem say where is your beloved that we may seek him too so I think what we've got here is that people who know God people that love God people that have been saved by God will tell others about that it's just the natural sort of a sort of a response we we tell people about how how great our God is and Solomon assumes that that will in fact be the case he then goes on to say when he comes this is the Foreigner and prays toward this Temple here in heaven your dwelling place and do according to all for which The Foreigner calls to you that all peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you as do your People Israel and that they may know that this Temple which I have built is called by your name this is in Ephesians 3 in the Old Testament or at least in this prayer of Solomon at the dedication of the temple remember Paul's emphasis in Ephesians chapter 3 that the Gentiles are included in the Covenant Promises of God this is the mystery of Christ again not mystery as if it's brand new not mystery as if it was hidden without any expression whatsoever Genesis chapter N9 you've got the the prophets you've got the Psalms you've got uh Solomon here dedicating the temple he's speaking of Gentile inclusion Paul shouldn't have been opposed for being an an apostle to the Gentiles in Acts 22 when he got to that bit in his sermon or presentation and he mentioned the Gentiles that's when the Jews in the synagogue lost their minds well they shouldn't have lost their minds because yahweh's purpose was always to demonstrate his power and glory in the reconciliation of the world to himself by his son the Lord Jesus Christ he says to the servant in Isaiah 4249 it is too small of a thing for you simply to redeem the Lost tribes of Israel but I will give you as a light unto the Gentiles so Solomon is praying that Solomon understands that and Solomon recogn recognizes the beauty of that he then moves on to the presence of God in Battle verses 44 and 45 we've just finished the book of Joshua in our readings on Sunday night what do do we see in the Book of Joshua we see God fight for Israel what do we see in the alter we see that we uh uh through God we shall do valiantly for he it is that shall uh tread down his enemies in Psalm 60:12 the Lord God most high fights for his people Paul picks up this theme in Romans chapter 8 if God is for us who can be against us who can condemn you who can bring a charge against God's elect it is Christ who died and who who has risen again so what we have is the god of Heaven and Earth fighting for us and Solomon praise that that would be the case and then he comes to the prospect of Exile in verses 46-51 here you've got Leviticus 26 40-45 Deuteronomy 2836 and 37 and then Deuteronomy 28 49- 68 lot of time spent in the Covenant curses upon Israel with reference to Exile and that's precisely what you see subsequent to this a uh uh this time and Redemptive history you see the collapse of the of the northern kingdom under the the Assyrians you see the collapse of the Southern Kingdom Under the Babylonians so what he sees and what he says has specific reference to that reality of their defeat in battle and then exile to foreign lands notice in verse 51 in this particular section he says for they are your people and your inheritance whom you brought out of Egypt out of the iron furnace I think this functions two ways in his prayer on the one hand God you brought them out of Egypt as your own prized possession you brought them out of Egypt and this is your project in terms of this Covenant people you did this For Your Glory so see it through to your glory but then secondly if they are exiled into foreign lands you've shown yourself faithful to fetch your people out of those foreign lands you redeem them from the iron furnace in Egypt you redeem them with reference to the Babylonian exile we saw that after or we see that after the 70 years many Judah sites return to the land so that's the petitions in his prayer the conclusion is with reference to God's goodness notice in verses 52 and 53 that your eyes may be open to the supplication of your servant and the supplication of your People Israel to listen to them whenever they call to you for you separated them from among all the peoples of the earth to be your inheritance as you spoke by your servant Moses when you brought our fathers out of Egypt oh Lord God other words you have shown yourself faithful you have made your promises you have kept your promises and we are trusting in your care and in your mercy to bless us and to keep us and to to see us through well just a few lessons in conclusion first with reference to the faithfulness of God toward his people he often invokes God's faithfulness through Moses and he invokes God's faithfulness toward David it wasn't just for Moses and David Moses and David were public men so as a result of his faithfulness to Moses guess what the whole of Israel prospers as a result of his faithfulness to David the whole of Israel prospers second L the presence of God among his people we're going to jump out of the prayer just a little bit in the surrounding context notice that his Holiness necessitates sacrifice verse 5 also King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel who were assembled with him were with him before the ark sacrificing sheep and oxen that could not be counted or numbered for multitude and then turn to the end in verses 62 to 64 so as far as the general heading the presence of God among his people the Holiness of God necessitates sacrifice verses 62- 64 uh let me pick it up here then the king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices before the Lord and Solomon offered a sacrifice of Peace offerings which he offered to the Lord 22,000 bulls and 120 uh 120,000 sheep so the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of the Lord on the same day the king consecrated the middle of the court that was in front of the house of the Lord for there he offered burnt offerings grain offerings and the fat of the peace offerings because the bronze altar that was before the Lord was too small to receive the burnt offerings the grain offerings and the fat of the peace offerings as well the presence of God among his people promotes reverential awe reverential awe I think that if you go to church you ought to fear not the people they're not going to steal your wallet or break into your car while we're singing hymns there ought to be a fear of God there ought to be reverential awe levity and jocularity and joking that's not what we see notice in First Kings 8 specifically at verses 10 and 11 and it came to pass when the priest came out of the Holy place that the cloud filled the house of the Lord so that the priest could not continue ministering because of the cloud for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord as well The Nearness of God in terms of his presence produces dependence that's the nature of his prayer specifically in verses 31 to 50 he is calling upon God and he says Hear From Heaven and answer hear from heaven and forgive God's presence Among Us amongst us provokes dependence by us upon him as well his uh blessing or his presence rather produces joy and gladness look at verse 66 verse 66 on the eighth day he sent the people away and they blessed the king and went to their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the good that the Lord had done for his servant David and for Israel his people they had gladness they had Joy they had Thanksgiving so that fear that reverential awe is mingled with joy I love that scene at the tomb the women run and they're trembling with joy serve the Lord with Jo uh uh fear rejoice in him says Psalm 2 I would suggest secondly the centrality of theology proper for his people Solomon knows good stuff Solomon understands truth it affects the way that he prays it affects the way that he lives it affects the way that he functions now I know First Kings 11 gives a disfavorable view of that but we're not going to consider that particular ch chapter tonight but with reference to Solomon he rehearses the attributes or the Perfections of God Almighty Turan speaks of the attributes this way they are the essential Properties by which God makes himself known to us who are weak and those uh by which he is distinguished from creatures or they are those which are attributed to him according to the measure of our conception in order to explain his nature he says now the definitions of the Divine properties are rather of our conceptions conceiving God under this or that relation than of the thing itself which is one and most simple basically basically what he is saying is all that is in God is God God is love God is Justice God is Holiness God is righteousness those Perfections revealed to us demonstrate who God is his nature says whatever God is he is that completely and simultaneously then he quotes Augustine God has no properties but is pure Essence God's properties are really the same as his Essence they neither differ from his Essence nor do they differ materially from each other that's a great way to look at it so with reference to the explanation notice then the enumerations he speaks of incomparability he speaks of faithfulness and notice in verses 25 and 26 what God's Perfection of faithfulness does verse 25 therefore Lord God of Israel now keep what you promised your servant David my father said saying you shall not fail to have a man sit before me on the throne of Israel only if your sons take heed uh take heed to their way and they walk before me as you have walked before me and now I pray oh god of Israel let your word come true which you have spoken to your father David my father isn't that beautiful the faithfulness of God evokes from us prayer for God's faithfulness as Davis says in short act in the future as you have acted to date yahweh's Fidelity in the past becomes the basis for expecting the same in the future God has joined Fidelity and expectancy we pray the way Spurgeon tells us as men and women who have tried and proven their God that's precisely what verses 25 and 26 indicate you have been faithful continue to be faithful we see your faithfulness in the past it gives us expectancy with reference to your faithfulness in the future Transcendence imminence Singularity it's all there Solomon was a theologian and then I would suggest there are some practi lessons we'll run quick through here the centrality of God's word for the people of God the centrality of God's word for the people of God Solomon isn't making this up he's not ad hoc he's not spitballing he's got scripture in his head he's got scripture in his heart he's got scripture at the throne of grace as he prays as well the necessity of obedience from the heart he emphasizes that in verses 40 and 58 and 61 that's a good lesson for us in the New Covenant Christ has saved us he has forgiven us he has given us his righteousness and therefore we're are to let our conduct be worthy of the Gospel as well Solomon understands the Perpetual need for forgiveness so do the apostles if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness John writes that in 1 John 1 ver9 so when we look at men of God who understand God and people they understand the need for forgiveness and then the last practical lesson here is the usefulness of Affliction the usefulness of Affliction verse 35 from their sin because you afflict them then here in heaven maybe I'm alone here but I doubt it when bad things happen do you ever say I wonder why or how is this or why me or I I don't get it I mean we default into a Pentecostal or charismatic way why is this happen happening to a child of the king we become health wealth and prosperity people all overnight bad things happen and we're wondering how could bad things happen to me I'm such a great guy I'm such a child of the king afflictions are God's means to conform us un the image of his blessed son Psalm 119 verse 67 Psalm 119 verse 67 before I was afflicted I went astray but now I keep your word before I was afflicted I went astray but now I keep your word how does he get to the but now I keep your word he went astray but now I keep your word what's the magic potion Affliction notice in verse 71 it is good for me that I have been Afflicted that I may learn your statutes Spurgeon makes a comment here or actually on verse 67 he says Grace is in that heart which profits by its chastening it is of no use to plow Barren soil when there is no spiritual life Affliction Works no spiritual benefit but where the heart is sound trouble awakens conscience wandering is confessed the soul becomes again obedient to the command and continues to be so whipping will not turn a rebel into a child but to the true child a touch of the rod is a sure corrective before his trouble he wandered but after it he kept within the hedge of the word and found good p Ure for his soul the trial tethered him to his proper place it kept him and then he kept God's word sweet are the uses of adversity and this is one of them it puts a bridal upon transgression and furnishes a spur for Holiness it's beautiful statement it's a beautiful concept A Beautiful exposition of that portion of scripture and one that unfortunately flies out of our minds the moment that adversity comes Bridges quotes Martin Luther in his treatment of verse 71 Luther I never knew the meaning of God's word until I came into Affliction I have always found it one of my best school Masters that's encouraging it's one perspective the perspective that I would encourage all of us to get a hold of and Solomon understands that principle all too well because you afflict them then here in heaven forgive the sin of your servants your People Israel that you may teach them the good way in which they should walk and send rain on your land which you have given to your people as an inheritance and then the typological significance for the encouragement of God's people Solomon is a Son of God who builds a house for God Jesus is the son of God who builds a house for God the temple is the old Covenant shadow of the New Covenant reality destroy this Temple and in 3 days I will raise it up what do you mean it took us 46 years to build this Temple what's John tell us he was talking about his body Revelation chapters 21 and 22 there's there's no Temple God and the lamb are its Temple Tabernacle and Temple were temporary they were not forever they pointed forward by way of prefiguring by way of shadowing by way of foreshadowing the glory of Jesus Christ as as well we've got the in gathering of Gentiles among the people of God dster says although the temple is built by Israelites in Jerusalem it has Universal implications it is designed to be a place where all peoples of the earth may know your name to fear you like your people that's Jesus Jesus is the one in whom all the promises of God are yay and amen and then the Fulfillment of the purpose of the temple in the the Lord Jesus Christ This is the end of of of Steven's sermon he traces God's presence that theme in an old Covenant biblical Theology and he brings it to pass with reference to Jesus Christ Our Lord well hopefully those are some encouragements to us not only in the manner of prayer but in some of those things that Solomon exhibits in the nature of his prayer and may God indeed encourage us to study him to know him to Delight in him to understand those Perfections as best we can uh we're finite you know seeking to know the infinite there's always going to be a Chasm there's always going to be some hurdles but may the Lord guide us in that direction well let us pray Our Father in Heaven thank you for your word thank you for what we have here in First Kings chapter 8 and we pray that these things would be of benefit to our hearts that you would go with us into this coming week you would cause us to constantly and always depend upon you to know the presence and the power of your holy spirit to guide to direct to lead and to help us each and every day and we pray through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen well you can turn to Matthew's gospel Matthew chapter 26 those of you who have been with us for any amount of time realize that within the last couple of months we've changed a bit in terms of the procedure with reference to the to the uh distribution of the supper I think there's a tweak or two that we still need to make so next month there might be another little bit of a change but tonight we'll do it as we did last week and essentially the idea is is to tr try and conform as much as we're able to what we see in scripture in terms of the order that our Lord sets forth and then our confession picks up on that order as well so we want to make sure that we are uh engaged in in proper proper procedure just by way of reminder the sacrament or ordinance of the supper for believers only if you're not a Believer we just kindly ask you not to take the main order or main point a business for a non-believer is to believe to come to the Lord Jesus Christ it is to look to him in faith and know the joy of being found in him not having your own righteousness which is from the law but that righteousness which is from God through faith in Christ as well from 1 Corinthians 11 we learn that the sacrament is for believers who are dealing with their sin not perfectly not sin less but they're dealing with their sin in 1 Corinthians 11 you had some problems there the halves were neglecting the Have Nots at a common meal and Paul says that's not the Lord's table whatever you're doing there it is not the supper because you are you are are are compromising the the unity of the body of Christ but specifically the body of Believers that is Christ's body as well the sacrament is a means of Grace but the elements are not changed we don't move from bread to Wine to the actual body and blood of Jesus we're not papists we don't believe in transubstantiation we're not lutherans we don't believe in consubstantiation those both present some christological problems with reference to the supper and then never forget the sacrament points us to Christ it's about Christ typically or often times we come to the supper and we bemoan our sin we should bemoan our sin and we should confess our sin and repent of our sin and take the supper and remember how glorious Jesus is to forgive us of our sin so I will move now to the table and then I'll ask the brothers to pass out the bread in just a moment the brothers will come up we'll sing Psalm 130a you can remain seated Psalm 13A as an alpha as the brothers pass out the bread [Music] [Applause] to you I oh to and give attention to my voice my God for Mery you oh Lord should our sin you all good the Lord can found with you that you [Music] makeen I W my soul PR the Lord my [Music] all his word let for and watch and wait for God my [Music] soul the Lord [Music] the Lord for Mery is with with Will s is so in Matthew 26 at verse 26 we read and as they were eating Jesus Took bread blessed and broke the bread and gave it to the disciples and said take eat this is my body well let us pray our gracious God and Holy Father all that Solomon says concerning our great God is true for us we see these things we love these things we thank you for that broken body of our Lord Jesus Christ we know some would question such a statement like that but we know it's our hope it's our foundation it's the reality of that hour that had come upon the son of man and he followed through to the uttermost we thank you for that redeeming work of our savior we thank you for all that we have in him namely every spiritual blessing in the Heavenly places in Christ so bless strengthen and encourage us now as we eat this bread and we pray in Jesus name amen we'll take together juice is outer all right the brothers will pass out the the wine if you prefer to take juice it's in the outer part of the plate and we'll sing 352 again remain seated [Music] 352 for son [Music] hallelu [Music] what all in [Music] my still I with his blood hallelujah what [Music] a [Music] andless of Mer for [Music] hallelujah what [Music] a to in his was his all [Music] was he comes our glorious all his [Music] toing will sing Hall was [Music] continuing in verse 27 then he took the cup and gave thanks and gave it to them saying drink from it all of you for this is my blood of the New Covenant which is shed for many for the remission of sins but I say to you I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my father's Kingdom and when they had sung A Hymn they went out to the Mount of Olives well let us pray Our God in heaven we know that first Covenant was ratified through the blood of bulls and goats and we know as well that could never take away sin but it pointed forward to that Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world we thank you that he shed his blood on our behalf we thank you for that washing and that cleansing and that purification we have thank you so much for the Forgiveness of sins as Micah says who is a God Like You pardoning iniquity casting sins into the depths of the sea we rejoice in your loving kindness we rejoice in your mercy we rejoice in that provision of an advocate with the father even Jesus Christ the righteous we thank you for this time we thank you that we as a body gathered together seek to do honor to our great God may you receive this and may you be glorified and we thank you in Jesus name amen we'll take together will you can stand and we'll sing Psalm 10 16a in verse 30 when it says when they had sung A Hymn they went out to the Mount of Olives Psalm 116 would have been one of those in that section of Hal Psalms so we'll do 116a but we'll do stanas one and four so only stands as one and four [Music] I love the Lord for he has my heart he her my pleas for mercy and for gra s he [Music] in Fe to my reest call on in long as shall last oh my soul from Lord has bless to well for you oh Lord from Death red my soul you my tearing St I the land of life before [Music] oh Israel hope in the Lord for with the Lord there is Mercy and with him is abundant Redemption and he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities amen please be seated [Music] for h