2 Corinthians 1:3-7 "Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ. And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. And our hope of you is stedfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation." "Blessed be God, even the Father of our LORD Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort." The heart of Paul’s message beats here. Every word of praise that flows from his lips is born out of affliction and yet rises heavenward in thanksgiving. Comfort is not born in ease; it is born in the furnace of suffering. This comfort is not sentimental—it is strength. It is the divine consolation that flows from the Heart of Christ into the hearts of His afflicted people. God is called the “Father of mercies.” All mercy originates in Him, flows through His Son, and is applied to the soul by His Spirit. When we speak of Mercy, we are speaking of the very Nature of God revealed in Jesus Christ. The Father is the Fountain; Christ is the Reason. The Mercy that spares, the Mercy that saves, the Mercy that sustains—all of it comes through the Son Who suffered for us. And He is “the God of all comfort.” That phrase is the foundation of all true God-given consolation. It means that there is no sorrow to which He does not have a Word of Peace, no affliction to which He cannot minister strength, no desolation in which His presence cannot be felt. All comfort begins with God and ends with God. The same LORD Who once said, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28), still calls His people to Himself. Paul knew this comfort in the deepest trials. He was pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that he despaired even of life (2 Corinthians 1:8). Yet out of that darkness he discovered that God comforts us in all our tribulation. Not in some, not in most—but in all. There is no circumstance too great for His comfort, and no child of God so broken that He cannot hold them and keep them, seeing that it is God's gracious Hand in Christ directing every loving chastisement for His glory. The comfort of God is the ministry of Christ to the soul through the Spirit, Who is the Divine Paraclete (John 14:16). He comforts us as His children, not merely to soothe us, but that we may be able to comfort others. Every believer becomes a vessel of consolation, carrying to others what they have first received from Christ. The afflictions of God’s people are not wasted. They are sanctified for the good of others. The sufferer becomes a minister. The wounded are blessed by their comfort to bring healing to others. The one who has been consoled by the God of all Comfort becomes a living testimony of His faithfulness. The sufferings of Christ abound in us, but so also does our consolation abound by Christ. He who drank the bitter cup to the very last dregs now gives the Water of Life to His people. The measure of our suffering is the measure of His comfort. As His afflictions overflow into our lives, His consolation overflows in greater measure. Christ Himself is the Comfort. He is the Mercy of God incarnate, the Divine “Yea” and “Amen” of every promise (2 Corinthians 1:20). Paul declares, "whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation; or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation" (v. 6). In both suffering and comfort, God is working the same purpose—to glorify Christ in us and to build His church in Love. Nothing is wasted. Every tear has meaning. Every trial becomes an instrument of Grace. Our Hope is steadfast, because Christ is ever the Faithful One. The same God Who raises the dead (2 Corinthians 1:9) sustains His people through every trial. The Comfort of the Father through the Son by the Spirit teaches us to trust Him more fully. The afflicted learn the language of praise. Out of tribulation comes thanksgiving. Out of weakness comes strength. Out of sorrow comes the sweetest fellowship with Christ, the Man of Sorrows Who is acquainted with grief (Isaiah 53:3). Blessed be the God and Father of our LORD Jesus Christ. He is the Father of mercies. He is the God of all comfort. In Christ, He comforts us in all our tribulations, that we might comfort others with the same comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. By Him, and His gracious disciplines in love, we find again and again that all our sufficiency is of God alone, and all our consolation is in Christ.

Job 10 "My soul is weary of my life; I will leave my complaint upon myself; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul. I will say unto God, Do not condemn me; shew me wherefore thou contendest with me. Is it good unto thee that thou shouldest oppress, that thou shouldest despise the work of thine hands, and shine upon the counsel of the wicked? Hast thou eyes of flesh? or seest thou as man seeth? Are thy days as the days of man? are thy years as man's days, That thou enquirest after mine iniquity, and searchest after my sin? Thou knowest that I am not wicked; and there is none that can deliver out of thine hand. Thine hands have made me and fashioned me together round about; yet thou dost destroy me. Remember, I beseech thee, that thou hast made me as the clay; and wilt thou bring me into dust again? Hast thou not poured me out as milk, and curdled me like cheese? Thou hast clothed me with skin and flesh, and hast fenced me with bones and sinews. Thou hast granted me life and favour, and thy visitation hath preserved my spirit. And these things hast thou hid in thine heart: I know that this is with thee. If I sin, then thou markest me, and thou wilt not acquit me from mine iniquity. If I be wicked, woe unto me; and if I be righteous, yet will I not lift up my head. I am full of confusion; therefore see thou mine affliction; For it increaseth. Thou huntest me as a fierce lion: and again thou shewest thyself marvellous upon me. Thou renewest thy witnesses against me, and increasest thine indignation upon me; changes and war are against me. Wherefore then hast thou brought me forth out of the womb? Oh that I had given up the ghost, and no eye had seen me! I should have been as though I had not been; I should have been carried from the womb to the grave. Are not my days few? cease then, and let me alone, that I may take comfort a little, Before I go whence I shall not return, even to the land of darkness and the shadow of death; A land of darkness, as darkness itself; and of the shadow of death, without any order, and where the light is as darkness." In these words the Spirit teaches us that all Scripture speaks of Christ, and here Job stands as a shadow of the Suffering Savior (Luke 24:27) . The anguish of Job typifies the anguish of Christ. The bitterness of Job’s soul foreshadows the bitterness of the sin-Bearer Who entered into the full darkness of sorrow, as the God/Man, the "man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief" (Isaiah 53:3), on behalf of those sinners chosen by His Father that He should come and bear their sin debt. Job’s cry opens the mystery of redemption: the innocent suffering in the place of the guilty. Job’s weary soul mirrors the hour of Gethsemane, where Jesus said, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death” (Matthew 26:38). The bitterness of soul is the bitterness of the Passover herbs—symbols of affliction fulfilled in Christ. In the garden He drank the cup that none but He could drink, the cup of God's just wrath, and in that cup was all the wormwood and gall of sin. Job’s despair shows the depth of what Christ would bear when He became the Offering for sin. He was without sin, yet made sin for us—not personally sinful, but made a sin offering  (2 Corinthians 5:21). When Job pleads, “Show me wherefore thou contendest with me,” (Job 10:2), it echoes the cry of the cross, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Psalm 22:1; Matthew 27:46). Job’s bewilderment foreshadows the holy forsakenness of the Redeemer, but not abandoned by the Father. Job felt condemned, but Christ was truly condemned that His people might never be condemned again (Romans 8:1). The eye of the Father was ever on His Son, even as it was ever on Job, and therefore was not abandoned, but rather ordained to remain on the cross to fully accomplish God the Father's law and justice before laying down His life, because He had to answer the exacting holiness of God the Father for those for whom He hung on the cursed tree and died. Therefore, Job, the sufferer of Uz, points forward to the Sufferer of Calvary, where the Righteous was delivered into the hands of the wicked by the determinate counsel of God (Acts 2:23). “Thine hands have made me and fashioned me together… yet thou dost destroy me” (Job 10:8). Here we behold the mystery of God's absolute sovereignty. Job cannot understand how the same God Who formed him now breaks him. This is but a shadow, however, of how in Christ the wonder grows deeper: the Creator Himself became the creature, fashioned in the womb to be broken on the cross (Philippians 2:9-11). The Hands that shaped the universe were stretched upon the tree. The wounds of those Hands remain the only scars in heaven, eternal witnesses of His redeeming everlasting love. “These things hast thou hid in thine heart” (Job 10:13).  Job perceives the secret purpose of God’s unfolding decree is hidden, but never unjust. Christ “foreordained before the foundation of the world” to be the Lamb without blemish and without spot, (1 Peter 1:19). The suffering of the Son was not an accident of history but the revelation of God's eternal purpose: the holiness of God satisfied, the horror of sin unveiled, and the Grace of Salvation revealed in the saving of sinners of God's choosing by His suffering unto death. When Job speaks of descending into “the land of darkness" (Job 10:22), he contrasts his uncertainty with the sure triumph of Christ. Before the cross, the Old Testament believers went down into the land of darkness, or 'sheol,' the place of the dead, waiting for their redemption when Christ would come and pay their sin debt (Job 19:27-29) . But when Christ entered death, He went into the depths of greatest darkness to bring His people out into the light. “Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell,” said the prophecy (Psalm 16; Acts 2). Death’s land is now conquered ground for the elect of God. Now, to die is to be with Christ, which is far better (Philippians 1:21; 2 Corinthians 5:8). By way of contrast, Job’s lament ends in silence, but Christ’s anguish ends in victory. Job asks, “Why?” Christ answers, “It is finished.” Job sits in the ashes; Christ sits at the Right Hand of God, (Hebrews 1:3) . The bitterness of Job becomes the sweetness of redemption. The darkness of one man’s complaint becomes the dawn of everlasting life for all who are His. Therefore, we are exhorted to behold the Man of Sorrows. In every weary soul, in every night of affliction, He has gone before us, as the Forerunner, (Hebrews 6:20). All our chastening is without wrath, because He bore it all. Job’s cry rises into the voice of our Redeemer: weary, wounded, forsaken—yet victorious. Out of the bitterness of His soul has come Eternal Peace for each elect sinner for whom He paid the debt.

Ecclesiastes 1:12-18 "I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem. And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith. I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit. That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered. I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I am come to great estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all they that have been before me in Jerusalem: yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge. And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit. For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow." The Preacher’s voice echoes through the ages: " I, the preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem." God put him there, and from that high place he began to seek out all that is done “under heaven.” He gave his heart, not just his mind, to know wisdom. Yet in the end, after all his searching, he declares that all is vanity and vexation of spirit. The more he looked upon the works of men, the more he saw the crookedness that cannot be made straight, the lack that cannot be numbered. What is wisdom if it leaves us still empty, still fallen, still vain? That's why the LORD declared in Matthew 6:23, " But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!" There is a wisdom that belongs to this world, and God has endowed His creatures with it. It is the kind of wisdom that enables one to build, to heal, to govern, to invent. It is not of man’s making, but from the hand of God Who formed dust and breathed life into it. Yet even this wisdom cannot lift a soul heavenward, for it is limited to things under the sun. It may shine for a time, but it ends in death. All that is born of this fallen creation perishes with it. And so Solomon, taught by experience and by grace, turns his eyes upward. There is another wisdom—a spiritual wisdom—that no man has naturally. It is not found by reason, effort or study. It comes from above. It is the Wisdom of God in Christ. To know Him is to know Truth. "To be found in Him, not having one’s own righteousness, but that which is of God by faith" (Philippians 3:9), is to have the Wisdom that endures forever. Without Him, man seeks after a god of his own imagination; but in Christ, the Light of God's Wisdom breaks into the darkness of our ignorance and pride. Solomon’s heart, like ours, had to be humbled. When he was young, the LORD appeared to him in Gibeon and said, “Ask what I shall give thee” (1 Kings 3:5). He could have asked for long life, riches, or the death of his enemies, but instead he asked for an understanding heart. The LORD was pleased because He had given this cry of need to Solomon. Such a request did not spring from ambition but from need. Solomon confessed, “I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in” (1 Kings 3:7). That is the beginning of wisdom—to know one’s lack and to seek it in God alone. So God gave him a wise and understanding heart, a heart that saw more deeply than the outward works of men. Yet in that same wisdom he came to see the vanity of all things under the sun. The more he knew, the more he mourned. “In much wisdom is much grief,” he wrote in our text, “and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.” Knowledge of the world exposes its futility; knowledge of self reveals our corruption. All is vanity. The curse of Adam has touched everything—the earth groans, creation travails, the very air sighs beneath the weight of sin (Romans 8:18–22). But the LORD has subjected this vanity in Hope. The crooked cannot be made straight by human hands, but there is One Who came to make all things new. In Him, Righteousness is fulfilled. In Him, Wisdom is not a concept but a Person— “Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption” (1 Corinthians 1:30). To see ourselves rightly is affliction, yet it is mercy. God weans us from this world by showing us its emptiness, until our affection is drawn upward to where Christ is seated at the Right Hand of God (Colossians 3:2). True Wisdom is to be brought low and to cry to Him in Whom all the treasures of Wisdom and Knowledge dwell (Colossians 2:3) . To increase in such knowledge is indeed to increase in sorrow toward ourselves because of our depravity, but a sorrow that ends in joy when blessed by the Spirit of God—the joy of knowing that all vanity is swallowed up in His Glory, satisfied in the death of Christ on the cross. Only in Christ alone is true, lasting satisfaction.

Revelation 21:9-10 "And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God," “Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife” (v.9). The vision shown to John is not a literal city, but a revelation of Christ and His church —the bride, the Lamb’s wife, the redeemed people of God in glory. The angel shows him "that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God" (Revelation 21:10). This is not an earthly structure, not mortar and stone, but the Spiritual dwelling of God with His people , redeemed by the LORD Jesus, the Lamb of God, and prepared and adorned for her Husband in that Righteousness that He earned and established for them in His obedience unto death. It is The Revelation of Jesus Christ . Every part of it—its Light, its Wall, its Gates, its Foundation—speaks of Him Who loved us and gave Himself for us . The city’s beauty is His Righteousness; its security is His Strength; its Light is His Glory. It is the bride, the Lamb’s wife , made holy by His blood and perfect by His Grace. John is carried in the Spirit to a great and high mountain , and there he sees Peace and safety, a Refuge and a Stronghold. This is not Mount Sinai , where the law thundered, and fear reigned; this is Mount Calvary , where the Lamb of God was crucified (Hebrews 12:22-29) . Sinai has no comfort, but Calvary is the mountain of Grace. There the church was founded, and there God revealed His Love to His elect in Christ. The angel’s message to John is the same to every believer in tribulation: “Come, I will show thee the bride.” In the midst of suffering and exile, God shows His servant the finished Glory of Redemption. The inheritance is sure, not because of man’s works, but because God has decreed it, and the LORD Jesus has procured it by His death as Testator, (Hebrews 9:16) . His purpose cannot fail. The angels are "ministering spirits sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation" (Hebrews 2:14). The holy Jerusalem is the city of Peace, but not the old city that has never known peace. This is the new Jerusalem, Spiritual, heavenly, and eternal (Galatians 4:26). It is the true Israel of God , the completed church, every stone set in its place, none missing, none lost. It is the fulfillment of God’s promise in Christ Jesus before the world began. The walls are strong and high, signifying separation and safety. Christ Himself is the Wall, the Refuge, the impregnable Defense of His people. The foundations bear the names of the apostles and prophets, for they proclaimed the Truth that Jesus Christ Himself is the Chief Cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20). Upon Him the whole city rests, and without Him there could be no foundation at all. The gates are twelve, never shut, always open. Each gate is a pearl, reminding us of the Pearl of Great Price —Christ Himself, Who through suffering and death became the entrance for His people. Through these gates come those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. It’s the LORD Who determines who will see and who won’t. The gates stand open, but only those whom the Spirit draws may enter. The Gospel is freely proclaimed, but the call is divine, and the Entrance is by Grace alone (Matthew 22:14). The jasper stone, clear as crystal, speaks of His purity and perfection. The pure Gold like transparent glass reflects His divine Nature. Every gem, every color, every measure declares His worth and His beauty. The city has no temple, for "the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it" (Revelation 21:22). It has no need of the sun or the moon, for "the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof" (Revelation 21:23). This is the city prepared by the Lamb for His bride—the completed work of redemption, the assurance that all for whom He died will be gathered home. It is not being built by our prayers or works, but purposed from eternity, revealed in time, and waiting in glory. The Lamb is ALL the Glory of that city. The Beauty, the Peace, the Light—all are Christ. And those whose names are written in His book shall walk in that light forever, for " the Lamb is the light thereof" (Revelation 21:23).

Proverbs 3:1 "My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:" These are the words of the Father to His Son, and this entire book is the record that God has given of His Son. What we read here is what God the Father required of His Son to satisfy His law and justice, in order to be just and to declare righteous those that the Father had given His Son from eternity. When we read these words, we are not reading a rulebook for self-improvement. We are beholding the LORD Jesus Christ , The Obedient Son. He is the One of Whom the Father says, “My Son.” He is the One Whose heart kept every commandment. In Him there was no forgetting, no failing, no transgression. Every jot and tittle of the law was fulfilled perfectly in Him. The law says, “Do and live.” We could not do; but Christ did. The Father’s demand was perfect obedience. The law requires that every commandment be kept from the heart. “Thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind” (Matthew 22:37). None but Christ ever did that. He loved His Father with a perfect love, and He loved His neighbor as Himself (Matthew 22:39). " Though He were a Son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered" (Hebrews 5:8). " For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh" (Romans 8:3). Here is the marvel of the Gospel—what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son condemned sin in the flesh; that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us (Romans 8:3–4). The righteousness of the law is fulfilled in Christ, and by substitution is counted to us as "fulfilled in us". He obeyed where we disobeyed. He remembered where we forgot. He kept what we broke. He did not lean on His own understanding, but trusted perfectly in the Father. To understand perfect obedience, it's not in us! It's in that Righteousness that the LORD Jesus earned and established in His obedient life, and culminated in His death in fulfillment of the penalty for the disobedience of those sinners for whom He paid their sin debt. The law demanded holiness, righteousness, and truth. All of that is seen in the Person of the LORD Jesus. The law reveals God’s justice; the Gospel reveals His justice satisfied through the perfect obedience of the Son unto death. We all stand condemned under that law— “There is none righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10). But when Christ Jesus stood in our place as elect sinners by the Father, He fulfilled the law’s demands, and bore its curse. Either Christ finished the work or He didn’t. Thanks be to God, He did finish it! On the cross, He cried, “It is finished.” In His life He fulfilled the law; in His death He satisfied the penalty that God's justice required. By His resurrection God the Father declared His people already righteous because of His death. " Now there is therefore no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1). He alone is The Obedient Son, the Beloved in Whom the Father is well pleased. The command, “My son, forget not My law,” finds its complete obedience in Him. Every precept of Proverbs 3—trusting in the LORD with all the heart, acknowledging Him in all ways, fearing the LORD and departing from evil—was lived perfectly by Christ. He is the Wisdom of God. He is the One Who feared the LORD and turned away from evil. He is the One Who honored the LORD with all His substance. We do not come to this passage to learn how to make ourselves righteous. We come to see the righteousness of Another. “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth” (Romans 10:4). The believer’s Hope is not in his own obedience, but in the obedience of Christ. When the Father looks upon His people, He beholds them in His Son, clothed in that perfect righteousness which satisfies His law forever. So, as we read Proverbs 3, let our eyes by the Spirit be turned to Christ—to behold Him and Him alone. He is The Faithful Son, The Perfect Substitute, the One in Whom the Father delights. In Him the command is kept, the justice of God is satisfied, and Grace reigns through Righteousness unto Eternal Life by Jesus Christ our LORD (Romans 5:21).

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 "But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our LORD Jesus Christ, Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do." This is the distinguishing Grace of God—to call out a people for His name, to the honor of His Son. If any of us are children of Light, it has nothing to do with us having done anything. It is a work of God’s Grace. The only reason we see is that we have been given eyes to see. Who hath made thee to differ? The LORD has given us eyes to look to the cross of Jesus Christ and to see Him and His death as ALL of our salvation. Thank God for the revelation of His Son in His death on the cross for wretched sinners such as we are. Paul never strays from this Gospel of Christ and Him crucified. “Who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.” (v.10) Here is substitution—Christ dying in the place of others. There’s One Who died, One Who paid the price, satisfied Holy God that He might justify them and justly call them the children of Light. When God declares a sinner to be a child of Light, it’s founded on the Truth of a just satisfaction for their sins. Until the LORD reveals in sinners Christ the Light, men continue to follow the imagination of their minds—just like we did who know the LORD in truth today, until He gave us Light. Darkness is ignorance and unbelief—rebellion against the Light. We were in darkness until the LORD taught us of Christ. We were not submitted to His righteousness, going about to establish our own, which was nothing but UNrighteousness (Romans 10:2,3) . But now, thank God, the obstacle that stood between us and God has been put away. Sin was put to Christ’s account, and that sin being put away, there remains no more transgression. So complete was the work of the LORD Jesus to the satisfaction of the Father that He has put His Seal of approval upon that finished work—having imputed that Righteousness, and reckoned it to the spiritual account of every one of God’s elect. God has been satisfied. “Ye are all the children of light.” (v.5) How have we been made so? The word means to have Light given. Light is understanding, knowledge, truth, and life. “ In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” (John 1:4) To be children of the Light is to be children of Christ. He is the Light. “While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light” (John 12:36). This Faith is the manifestation of those who are children of light. It is God-given Faith, called THE FAITH, once delivered unto ALL the saints or justified ones by the death of Christ forever, (Jude 1:3). Christ said, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me” (John 12:32). This He said signifying what death He should die. Was His death effectual? Absolutely. He will have everyone for whom He died. He is the Object of God’s eternal purpose, the Object of redemption, the Object of the Spirit’s calling, and the Object of our hope in His coming again. ALL whom He draws, He paid their debt completely by His death on the cross. To learn Christ is to be taught of Him. True knowledge, when revealed by the Spirit, not only enlightens the mind but humbles the heart. The Spirit persuades us that there is no other justification, no other righteousness, no other standing before God but the Person and work of the LORD Jesus Christ. We believe it and rest in Him alone when taught by His Spirit (John 7:17). We are not of the night nor of darkness. Children of Light are watchful and sober. There’s a seriousness about their lives—a rejoicing in Who Christ is, but not the frivolity of the world. What is that Light? It points sinners to Christ. What motivates obedience? Who is the Source of Faith and Love? It’s Christ. He is the Breastplate of faith and love, the Helmet of salvation (Ephesians 6:14). He covers the heart and the head. He is our Righteousness, our Satisfaction, our Hope of glory. We have not been appointed to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our LORD Jesus Christ (v.9). Once, in Adam, we were under wrath, not as children of wrath, but having the same nature (Ephesians 2:3), but now, in Christ, the debt has been fully paid. The matter is settled—those whom the Father has given to the Son will come to Him, and He will never cast them out (John 6:37). Therefore, as God's elect, redeemed, and called out children, we comfort yourselves together and edify one another. Be thankful for the Light. Thank God for the Revelation of His Son. Thank God for the cross of the LORD Jesus Christ. We live as children of Light, waiting for Him Who died, rose again, ascended, and Who is coming again. Worthy is the Lamb that was slain.

Matthew 3:11-17 "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance. but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." John’s message was distinct. To those drawn by the Spirit, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God" (John 1:29). He is to Whom sinners are to look for Salvation. To the curious, the religious, the Pharisees and Sadducees who observed, the message was a warning of the wrath to come. Regardless of who hears, it is a message of repentance toward the LORD Jesus Christ. John preached, “Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance” (v.8). Repentance is a change of heart and mind, produced by the Spirit, turning the sinner away from themselves and to the work of the LORD Jesus Christ alone. It is not something we create; it is the fruit of union with Christ, the Root, the Vine. We see it in their repentance toward God and in faith toward the LORD Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21). John addressed the religious leaders who trusted in their heritage, saying, “Think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father” (v.9) , warning that God is able of the stones to raise children to Himself. He further warned, “Every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire” (v.10). This is a declaration of judgment, a warning that the True Hope rests not in lineage, nor in human tradition, nor in zeal, but only in the LORD Jesus Christ. Many looked for a Messiah and wondered if John himself was that one. Yet, John points them to the One he was appointed to proclaim: the LORD Jesus Christ, the Son of God. "Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). Even that declaration was a pronouncement of God's distinctive grace in Christ to Gentile sinners (the world) and Him passing by apostate Israel (the Jews). " Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan to be baptized of John" (v.13). John resisted, saying, “I have need to be baptized of thee” (v.14), but Jesus answered, “Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he suffered him" (v.15).  This baptism marked the beginning of Christ’s public ministry as the High Priest, a testimony that He would fulfill all righteousness. It is also the testimony of the work He came to do, declaring that Salvation rests only in Him. He is the Root, the Vine, the Lamb of God, the Savior, in Whom God is well pleased (v.17). His visible anointing at 30 years of age, according to the law for the entrance of the priests into the ministry, was when the Spirit descended upon Him like a dove, and the voice of the Father declared, "This is my beloved Son in Whom I am well pleased" (John 1:32-34). Jesus’ baptism was not for purification, for He had no sin. It was a declaration of the work He came to accomplish on behalf of sinners. John’s water baptism (immersion) looked forward to Christ’s work that He came to accomplish. Today, given eyes by the Spirit, we look back to His death, burial, and resurrection. That's why baptism is by immersion, Christ Himself coming up out of the water as a type of His resurrection upon completion of His death and burial (v. 16). Water baptism identifies us with Him, declaring His righteous work accomplished alone and our dependence on His finished work. John emphasizes, “He that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear” (v.11). The work of separating wheat and chaff, of gathering the elect and executing judgment on the unrepentant, belongs to Christ alone. He shall baptize with the Holy Ghost and fire. The kernel is the fruit that Christ came to redeem, the chaff is representative of sinners that are worthless before God, and are still unjust, being left to their own condemnation. Wheat represents the elect of God, and the chaff the reprobates. Christ has come and fulfilled all Righteousness by His death, burial, and resurrection on behalf of those that the Father gave Him before the foundation of the world to save (Ephesians 1:3-7). "H e came unto his own, [apostate Israel] and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (John 1:11-13).

Psalm 56:3,4 "What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me." Psalm 56 is a song for the distressed. Though written by David, it points to our LORD and Savior Jesus Christ in His humanity when He was upon this earth. Truly, no man suffered as He suffered. He was "a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief" (Isaiah 53:3). David was a type of which Christ is the fulfillment. David, as a sinner, deserved affliction and suffering; but our LORD, without sin , endured it all as the sin-Bearer of His people, that He might be the true and faithful High Priest (Hebrews 2:17). David’s cry, “Be merciful unto me, O God, for man would swallow me up” ( Psalm 56:1 ), is both the cry of the LORD Jesus from the cross, but also, by the grace of God, is the cry of every elect child of God when regenerated by the Spirit. Man is the problem because of the fall of Adam. Take man out of this world and you take sin out of it. " By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned" ( Romans 5:12 ). The curse upon this world is because of Adam's disobedience. Every affliction, upheaval, and sorrow can be traced back to him. Men make speeches and promise solutions, but the real problem is not addressed: we are all sinners, and we all ought to be flat on our faces before a holy God, crying for mercy. And it was for such that the Father gave Him out of all of fallen humanity, that the LORD Jesus came, lived, and died to redeem them, and from the cross cried out to the Father that He would be merciful to Him as the sin- Bearer in accepting His perfect Sacrifice and raise Him again from the grave (Hebrews 5:7, 8). David, though anointed king, faced trouble upon trouble. Yet he turned where every believer must turn— “Be merciful unto me, O God.” As the publican cried, “ God be merciful to me, the sinner” ( Luke 18:13 ), so David cried in humility. Grace teaches us that whatever opposition or affliction comes, we would be no different from our enemies were it not for His mercy. This psalm was written when the Philistines took David in Gath (1 Samuel 21:10–15) . The LORD shut him up to the point that all he could do was cry unto Him. Surrounded by danger, he confessed, “What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.” This is not natural courage—it is God-given faith that looks away from fear to Christ. David’s heart was trembling, yet grace lifted him to say, “In God I will praise His word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me” ( Psalm 56:4 ). The title of the Psalm is “Jonath-elem-rechokim” which means “the silent dove afar off.” The dove pictures meekness, harmlessness, and patience. Christ Himself was harmless, undefiled , separate from sinners (Hebrews 7:26). Our LORD said, “Be ye wise as serpents and harmless as doves” ( Matthew 10:16 ). Even as with the LORD Jesus, the believer is called to flee to God like the dove seeking her refuge in the face of danger. When David feigned madness before Achish, spittle on his beard, it was not deception but divine deliverance. God provided a way of escape (1 Corinthians 10:13). The LORD preserved His servant, for His purpose must stand (Daniel 4:35). Yet beyond the physical danger, David saw a greater Refuge—his spiritual Refuge in God. He said, “This I know; for God is for me” (Psalm 56:9). Such was the faith of the LORD Jesus in His Father, and that Faith revealed in the elect child in Christ. The enemies may be many; they may gather themselves together and mark our steps (v. 6), but "if God be for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31). The Spirit of God reminds us that man by nature is a destroyer—ravenous, deceitful, at enmity with God. Scripture says, “The wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh” ( Psalm 27:2 ). And if they did so with David, how much more when Christ Himself walked the earth? "He came unto His own, and His own received Him not" (John 1:11). Yet even when surrounded by hatred, He trusted His Father perfectly. David’s experience mirrors that of the LORD Jesus. He fled from Saul, fell into the hands of the Philistines, yet found refuge in God. Christ, in His hour of affliction, was surrounded by enemies, yet He cried, “Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit” ( Luke 23:46 ). His confidence never wavered. Because He trusted, we can trust. Because He conquered fear, we are delivered from fear. Thus, Psalm 56 is not only David’s testimony—it is Christ’s song. It is the golden psalm of the Redeemer, " For thou hast delivered my soul from death: wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?" (Psalm 56:13). When fear comes, faith answers: “I will trust in Thee.” And in that trust we see Christ—the merciful, faithful Savior—our Refuge, our Deliverer, our Peace.

Luke 2:11 "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the LORD." Here we have the divine birth announcement—God’s own declaration of the coming of His Son into the world. The angel’s words to the shepherds echo through all of redemptive history: " a Savior, which is Christ the LORD."  Simple, yet infinitely profound. Short, yet containing the sum of the Gospel. Jesus—Whose very name means “Savior”—is called " Savior , Christ , and LORD" . These titles reveal His Person, His purpose, and His power. The Gospel in one verse: Who He is, why He came, and what He accomplished. The Reality of the Savior’s Birth “Unto you is born this day.” This is not myth, legend, or allegory—it is history. God entered time and space. Peter said, “We have not followed cunningly devised fables,” (2 Peter 1:16). The Eternal Word Who was “with God” and “was God” (John 1:1) was “born this day.” The One Who is “from everlasting to everlasting” took on human flesh. "Great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh" (1 Timothy 3:16). This is the Good News of God’s sovereign grace embodied in a Person—Jesus Christ the LORD. Promised from the beginning, He is that Seed of the woman Who would crush the serpent’s head (Genesis 3:15) . Through all the types, shadows, and prophecies of the Old Testament, the promise pointed to this moment— "born in Bethlehem, the city of David." How fitting that He should be born in Bethlehem, “the house of bread,” for He is the Living Bread come down from heaven (John 6:51). God moved kings and empires to bring Joseph and Mary to that appointed place. Caesar Augustus issued his decree, but it was God’s decree that ruled it all. He Who rules the universe brought His Son to be born in a lowly stable, laid in a manger—God manifest in the flesh. And who first heard the announcement? Not kings, not rulers, but shepherds—lowly men watching their flocks by night. The message was personal: “Unto you is born this day.” Grace is always personal, never general. It is sovereign grace that calls by name. Not “unto Caesar,” not “unto the mighty of this world,” but “unto you.” What mercy, that God would reveal His Son to poor sinners! The Identity of the Savior “A Savior, which is Christ the LORD.” He did not come to offer salvation, but to accomplish  it. “Thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). Not might  save, not try  to save—but shall save . Salvation is not a mere possibility; it is a certainty, founded in His finished work. He did not come to be a teacher, a reformer, or a revolutionary. He came to save . From what? From sin—its guilt, its power, its penalty, and one day, its presence. “He was made sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him" (2 Corinthians 5:21). Christ is the Anointed One—the Messiah. As the Prophet, He reveals God to His people; as the Priest, He represents His people before God; as the King, He rules and defends them. In Him alone are the offices of Prophet, Priest, and King perfectly united. Salvation is not man’s achievement; it is God’s accomplishment. Don’t ask, “When did you get saved?” Ask, “When did God save you?”—and the answer is, when Christ died for His people. The Supremacy of the Savior He is Christ the LORD -- LORD in Bethlehem, LORD in the manger, LORD on the cross, LORD in the tomb, LORD in resurrection, and LORD in glory. The Child Who lay in the feeding trough was upholding the universe by the Word of His power (Hebrews 1:3). The Creator nursed at His mother’s breast—sustaining her even as she sustained Him. To call Him LORD is to bow to His sovereignty. “No man can say that Jesus is LORD but by the Holy Ghost” (1 Corinthians 12:3). Many may say “Jesus is LORD,” but only those taught by the Spirit truly know what that means—that Salvation is of the LORD, from beginning to end. He is not waiting to reign; He reigns now. All whom the Father gave Him shall come to Him, and none shall be lost (John 6:37). The One born in Bethlehem, crucified on Calvary, risen from the dead, and ascended on high is ruling all things according to His eternal purpose (Philippians 2:11). So we bow before Him—Jesus the Savior, Christ the LORD—and confess with joy that salvation is His work alone. He shall save His people from their sins was forward-looking to the cross, but now we can say, He HAS saved His people from their sins by His finished work at the cross. He is  LORD and to Him belongs all glory, now and forever.

John 16:33 "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." Christ speaks these words as He stands upon the threshold of His suffering. He is on His way to the cross, where He will meet the full weight of divine justice and the darkness of the sin of those sinners that the Father gave Him before the foundation of the world, to come in the fullness of the time to pay their horrible sin debt (John 17:24). Yet His heart is steadfast. There is no wavering in His purpose, no shrinking back from the work the Father has given Him to do. He speaks peace to His disciples even while the prospect of His death on the cross looms. Here is the greatness of His love — that He, Who must soon be smitten, comforts those who would soon be scattered. The LORD Jesus Christ, the Son of God, stands as the surety for His people, and before He suffers, He declares His victory: “Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” The message is entirely about Him — not about what we must do, but what He has done. Every word of comfort, every note of cheer, flows from His finished work. Peace is not found in circumstance or religion or human strength, but only in Him . “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace.” The world cannot give this peace, for it knows nothing of Him. True Peace is not the absence of trouble, but the presence of Christ in the soul — that quiet assurance that all has been accomplished at Calvary for the salvation of His people. Christ says plainly, “In the world ye shall have tribulation.” He does not hide the truth. The path of faith is not free of sorrow but filled with trials, opposition, and persecution. “Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you” (1 John 3:13). The disciples were to be “put out of the synagogues,” hated and hunted by those who thought they served God. And so it remains. The believer is not promised ease, but union with the One Who has already overcome. Tribulation is certain, but so is victory — for Christ’s triumph is the believer’s triumph. The word “cheer” carries the meaning of comfort, courage, and confidence. It is not a shallow optimism stirred by emotion, but the settled confidence of the heart resting in Christ’s accomplished redemption. The believer’s cheer is born at the cross, where sin was put away and righteousness established forever. On that hill, He Who knew no sin was made sin for us, “that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). There He faced the full storm of judgment, and when the work was finished, He cried with authority, “It is finished.” The world’s power was broken. The serpent’s head was crushed. Death itself was conquered. That is why He says, even before He suffers, “ I have overcome the world.” What comfort flows from those words! “Be of good cheer.” Christ has done what no man could do. He has overcome every enemy that stood between His people and eternal life. He has overcome the world’s hatred, the law’s curse, sin’s dominion, and death’s terror. The believer’s assurance is not found in self or circumstance but in the risen, reigning Savior Who never loses one of His own. “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; and I give unto them eternal life” (John 10:27–28). The weakest and the strongest alike are safe in His hand, for their standing rests not on their hold of Him, but His hold of them. The world offers a false peace — a peace of emotion, ritual, and outward religion. But the Peace of Christ is inward and eternal. It is the peace of a conscience cleansed by blood, the Peace of knowing that justice has been satisfied, and that nothing can separate us from the Love of God which is in Christ Jesus our LORD. When tribulation comes — and it will — His word steadies the heart: “Be not afraid.” He calls His people to look beyond their affliction to His victory. The waves still rise, but He is at the helm, the Captain of salvation Who guides His ship safely home. Thus, the believer can say even in sorrow, “Though the fig tree shall not blossom… yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation” (Habakkuk 3:17–18). Our cheer does not come from what we see, but from Whom we know. Christ has overcome the world. His cross is our victory, His resurrection our assurance, His Word our Peace. Let every trembling heart take courage. The battle is over. The victory is won. “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”

Obadiah 1:3 "The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground?" “The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee.” Here the prophet speaks the Word of the LORD against Edom, the descendants of Esau, who were lifted up in their own hearts and trusted in their own strength. They dwelt in the clefts of the rock, their habitation was high, and they said within themselves, “Who shall bring me down to the ground?” But the LORD answers with holy authority, “Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down” (v.4). The pride of man cannot stand before the sovereignty of God. Edom is a picture of the natural man—strong, confident, self-sufficient, and deceived. The pride of the heart blinds the sinner to his true condition before God. Esau despised his birthright; he sought the blessing by his own will and works, but the blessing was given to Jacob according to God’s eternal purpose. “Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated” (Romans 9:13). This is the testimony of Divine sovereignty. The LORD will have mercy on whom He will have mercy. "Salvation is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy" (Romans 9:16). Edom’s sin was not merely against Israel; it was against the LORD Himself. When Israel was afflicted, Edom stood aloof; when the enemy invaded Jerusalem, Edom rejoiced in her calamity. The LORD saw it all and said, “Thou shouldest not have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction” (v. 12). Every proud act, every boastful thought, every trust in self is rebellion against the LORD’s Christ. For Christ is the True Israel of God, and to oppose His people is to oppose Him. The pride of the heart says, “I will ascend; I will be like the Most High" (Isaiah 14:14). But God says, " For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted" (Luke 14:11). Pride always deceives. It promises strength but brings ruin. It seeks to rise but falls into judgment. “When thou shalt make thyself small, thou shalt be greatly despised.” The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. The strongholds of Edom’s mountains could not protect them, for “the day of the LORD is near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee” (v.15). Yet in this word of judgment, the LORD reveals His Righteousness and His Grace. For while Edom is brought down, Zion is lifted up. “Upon Mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions" (v.17). The LORD will not forsake His chosen. The kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our LORD and of His Christ. The proud are cast down, but the humble are exalted. Christ Jesus, the True Jacob, humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. He took not the mountain stronghold of Edom, but the hill of Calvary. There, He bore the wrath due to the sins of His people. The judgment that fell upon Edom is the judgment that fell upon Christ in the stead of His elect. " For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him" (2 Corinthians 5:21). Now the redeemed look not to their own strength but to His finished work. Their confidence is not in the clefts of the rock of their own making, but in the Rock of Ages that was cleft for them. Pride is slain at the foot of the cross. Grace reigns through Righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our LORD. “The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee.” But the grace of God humbles and saves. The LORD brings down the lofty and exalts the lowly. Edom’s high places are made desolate, but Zion stands forever. The Deliverer shall come out of Zion, and the kingdom shall be the LORD’s. In Him alone is all our Hope, our Righteousness, and our Peace. May we then take heed to the solemn warning of Edom’s fall, for the same deceit still lurks in every human heart. Pride whispers false security, persuading us that strength, wisdom, or privilege can make us stand apart from the need of Grace. Yet the higher man exalts himself, the deeper he will fall. True safety lies only in humility before God—in casting down every lofty thought and resting wholly in the Righteousness and Mercy of Christ. May the LORD teach us to walk low before His throne, that we may find in His condescending grace the Refuge which no mountain of pride can ever provide. To Christ be the glory forever.

Philippians 3:1-3 "Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe. Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision. For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the Spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh." "Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the LORD." This is the very heart of worship. We meet as brethren to rejoice in the LORD, to sit quietly before His Word, and to hear again of His redeeming grace. The Spirit of God draws our hearts aside from the noise of this life, that we might rest and reflect upon the blood and righteousness of the LORD Jesus Christ. True worship is not a matter of fashion or form, but of simplicity — a quiet and worshipful time where we sit and listen, not to the word of man, but to the Word of God that exalts His Son. We rejoice in the LORD because Christ is our Chief Joy. He is very God of very God, the greatness of His Person, the Delight of our souls. We rejoice in the fullness of His incarnation, for the Son of God took upon Himself the form of a servant, bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh. The body prepared for Him was offered in perfect obedience unto death, even the death of the cross. There, He accomplished redemption for His people, and by His blood and righteousness, they are justified before God. That is our rejoicing — Christ our Righteousness. The Spirit of God teaches the heart to rest there, to find acceptance only in Him. The condition of salvation was fulfilled by the God-Man. His blood shed unto death, His righteousness imputed to His people — this is the one means of acceptance with God. What joy it is to hear it again and again! The LORD’s people never tire of hearing of Christ’s finished work. To the believer, it is not grievous but safe. It draws our thoughts and minds, just like a magnet, to Christ. It brings us into submission to Him and His righteousness. We rejoice also in the comfort of His good providence. In all that He brings, even affliction and trial, our hearts are taught to say, “Thy will be done.” There is comfort in that. For He works all things according to the counsel of His own will. The believer can bow and say, “Have Thine own way, LORD.” The clay rests in the hands of the Potter. His purpose and providence are perfect. We rejoice in the glory of His intercession and His glorious return. Christ is seated in heaven, His work complete. He is not now bearing our sin — He bore it away on the tree. His very presence in glory is intercession for His people. And He shall come again. When we hear of His coming, our hearts echo the words of John, “Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus.” To love Him is to long to see Him. That is the believer’s joy — to be with the One Who redeemed him. We meet together also to be reminded of the Gospel. As Paul said, “To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe.” The Gospel must be heard over and over again. It keeps us from error and guards us against false teaching. “ Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.” Beware of any who preach up conditions for salvation, any who turn the message of Grace into works. Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. Those taught of the Spirit have submitted themselves unto the Righteousness of God. We meet as the true circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. The Spirit of God has done a work of grace in the heart, bringing life to the soul. This is true worship — not outward form or ceremony, but worth-ship, the heart bowing before the One Who is worthy. “Thou art worthy,” we cry. Worthy in His person, worthy in His work, worthy in His glory. Gracious Father, teach us again and again of Him. Draw our hearts to Christ. Cause us to rejoice in His blood and righteousness, rest in His providence, and long for His return. For He alone is worthy. Amen.