Luke chapter eighteen and verse thirty-one. Luke eighteen thirty-one. Then he took unto him the twelve and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophet concerning the Son of Man shall be accomplished. For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitied on. and they shall scourge him and put him to death, and the third day he shall rise again. And they understood none of these things, and this day was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken. And it came to pass that, as he was come nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the wayside begging. And hearing the multitude pass by, he asked what it meant. And they told him that Jesus of Nazareth passes by. And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. And they which went before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace. But he cried so much the more, Thou son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus stood and commanded him to be brought unto him. And when he came near, he asked him, saying, What will thou that I should do unto thee. And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight, thy faith has saved thee. And immediately he received his sight and followed him, glorifying God, and all the people when they saw it gave praise unto God. Now, if you want a title for what I want to say today, I could call it, if you like, blind unbelief. Or a title I got from, I was reading, as I do every day, read the Scripture Union portion. And a few days ago, this story of Bartimaeus came into that portion. And that's really where I got the idea of speaking on this this morning. And the man there called it this. Twelve blind disciples. and a blind beggar. That's a good title for this what I have read. Twelve blind disciples and a blind beggar. As far as I know, this is the last miracle. The last one recorded in Luke, anyhow, that the Lord did. The first miracle is in John's Gospel, chapter two, and it says this. You remember the turning of the water into wine at Cana of Galilee. And it says in verse eleven of chapter two of John, this beginning of miracles, this first miracle, beginning of miracles, did Jesus in Cana of Galilee and manifested forth his glory and his disciples believed on him there. And I've always rejoiced in that. The first miracle and his disciples believed on him there. And yet when I come to the last miracle, because after this he's going up to Jerusalem and he's on the way up, going through Jericho. In fact, he's gone through, passed through Jericho and found this blind land. But here, after three and a half years with the Son of God, seeing miracle after miracle after miracle, they didn't believe him. The first miracle, it says they believed. Did they believe? Here it says they didn't believe. Not in those words, but as much. It says they understood none of these things, and this saying was hid from them. Neither knew they the things which were spoken. Now four little points here. First of all, God's way. I want to talk about this. God's way. my way, man's way, and the way of the cross. God's way, my way, man's way, and the way of the cross. God's way. Here it is. Verse thirty-one. Then he took unto them the twelve and said unto them, Behold, we go out to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. This is God's way, all things that are written by the prophets. God's way, God's plans, God's scheme, God's way of salvation, God's plan for the nations, God's plan for Israel, God's plan for the exaltation of His beloved Son. It's all written in this wonderful book, the Bible. That's God's way, the things which are written in the Scriptures. That's God's way. And in order to get in line with God's way, for my way and for man's way, for all of our ways to be in line with God's way, we've got to get in line with this book. That's fundamental. Fundamental. He took unto them the twelve and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man shall be accomplished. Now what was written? This is it. He shall be delivered unto the Gentiles." Did that happen? Yes. He was handed over to Pilate. He shall be delivered unto the Gentiles. And Roman soldiers scourged him. And Roman soldiers planted a crown of thorns and put on his blessed brow and took reeds and beat him on the head with that cruel crown of thorns on his head. And Roman soldiers nailed him to the cross and crucified him. He shall be delivered. unto the Gentiles. He shall be mocked. Did that happen? Oh, yes. They put on him a purple robe and a crown of thorns, and they bowed before him and said, Hail, King of the Jews. Let's read on it. And spitefully intriguing, it says they buffeted him. And the Old Testament writing about him says this, His face was marked, more marked than any man. Do you think of that? I remember when the war was over, I was walking down Regent Street in London, England, and a morbid curiosity must have got over me. I passed a little corner store, and it said, admission sixpence. And in there there were some of the pictures and things they'd gather up. telling about German atrocities in the war and some morbid desire got me into that. I paid the sixpence and got in and saw pictures of those terrible German camps, you know. But there was one picture on the wall that I'll never forget. It was a picture of a man's face whom the Germans or these people who were his captors had beaten so much that his face was just like a round football, the football they used in England for soccer, you know. around football. His eyes were slits. His mouth was a slit. His nose had disappeared. He'd been so beaten that his face was swollen. And it was an awful thing to look at. And as I looked at it, I thought of it. His face was more marred than any man. And I said, did my Savior suffer like that? That's what it says. His face was more marred than any man. He shall be spitefully entreated and spit it on him. And the Son of God allowed the very creatures whom he had made. He allowed them to spit on his blessed face, shall be spit in him, and they shall scourge him and put him to death. And the third day he shall rise in. How clearly the Lord said it, and how he said it's all written in the Scriptures. And the disciples had spent three and a half years with him night and day listening to his teaching. And it says they understood none of these things. Oh, how slow is the human heart to comprehend the weight of God. What did they think? They thought that Messiah was to come. Messiah was to set up a kingdom. Messiah was to reign. The Roman Empire would be defeated by him and all the enemies taken away. And they would reign and he set up his kingdom at Jerusalem and rule and reign supreme. And all those wonderful prophecies in the Old Testament will be fulfilled then and there. Now this is going to take place. The Lord Jesus Christ who hung in shame on Calvary's crop. whose face was marred by the spittle of man, whose face is now radiant with the glory of heaven, who was crowned with thorns upon whose brow now are many diagenes, the Lord Jesus shall sit upon the throne. And he's going to reign at Jerusalem, and he's going to rule over this world. But not yet. Not yet. I believe that day is very, very, very near. But I'm talking about two thousand years ago. He said, no, first of all, the Son of Man is going to suffer. And beloved, let me tell you this this morning, if the Lord Jesus had gone to the throne before he went to the cross, you and I would have been forever lost. We would have been forever outside that glorious kingdom we couldn't have got in. But the Lord Jesus went to the place called Calvary and shed His precious blood and died just for the unjust. and bore our sins in his own body on the tree. And he who knew no sin was made sin for us at the place called Calvary, that there might be a righteous basis upon which God could receive you and me. And there might be a redemption for all men of all race and all climes and of every land who will believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. There will be a kingdom. He will reign. The Jews will become the rulers of this world under their Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. We know that. Already the prophecies of the Old Testament are beginning to move and work, and the Jews have Jerusalem. The Lord Jesus said Jerusalem should be trodden down with the Gentiles in the very next chapter here. Jerusalem should be trodden down with the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. And last year, June, last year, the Jews got back into Jerusalem. After two thousand years the Lord's words are fulfilled, and shall I say the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled? Well, the Lord said it should be trodden down till the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled, and the end is so near. It enmires. I see it in God's plan. It's already fulfilled. It's ready for the Son of God to come back and read. Godway, according to this book, And he also said that the Son of Man shall rise again on the third day. And when you read the story of how he went on the third day of the week, on the first day of the week, and on that wonderful Easter morning, they went to the tomb. It amazes me because it says it. Now when they looked in and they saw the empty tomb, John chapter twenty, they went in. And they saw and believed, for as yet they knew not the Scripture that he must rise again from the dead. Although he told them, and told them, and told them, he'll rise again from the dead. And his enemies went to Pilate and said, let's have a seal on that grave, because he said he's going to rise again from the dead. And the enemies believed it, and they didn't. Oh, the unbelief. I called them twelve blind disciples. Was I right? Blind. Three and a half years with the Son of God and so blind that they didn't understand he was going to suffer and they didn't understand he was going to be raised in triumph over death on that wonderful Easter morning. They didn't understand it. Now, my way. Every man has his own idea about What's right and what's wrong. Every man has his own idea as to how he thinks he can get to heaven. I find when I talk to men and women about salvation, they all have their plan. And nearly all of them think that the way to get to heaven is to do the best I can. Keep the golden rule. Do unto others as you would that they should do unto you. And if they do that, they get to heaven. That is not God's way. God's way to get to heaven is by the way of the cross. God's way to get to heaven is through the suffering of his beloved Son. But man has his way. And all down from the time of Cain, the first man to be born into this world, down to the day in which we live, all men think, I do the best I can. Like Cain, he brought those beautiful fruits. that he grown in his garden and brought them to God. God said, that's not my way. Abel brought a blood sacrifice. And God says, my way of redemption is by blood, not by words. And if there's someone in our audience this morning and you're trying to get to heaven by your good works, let me tell you, that is not God's way. It's our way. It's our way. It's not God's way. And so we're blind. We're born blind. We're blind to the things of God. We're blind to the meaning of those things which are written, let the Lord talk about. We're blind to the meaning of this book. Now let me give you a wonderful verse in the New Testament, which definitely states this in clear, simple language. It's in First Corinthians chapter two and verse fourteen. I'll read it to you. The natural man, on Corinthians two fourteen, the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him. Neither can he know them because they are spiritually deserved. The natural man. He might have the finest education in the world. He might be a professor. He might be a man with degrees after his name as many as you like. But a natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, their foolishness unto him. Neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. And you can only know the ways of God and the things of God by the help of the Holy Spirit of God. The Lord Jesus said, When he, the Spirit of truth, shall come, he shall teach you all things. We cannot do it by the natural mind with all the education. That's why today they're taking the Bible out of the school. That's why today they're putting the Bible on the shelf. That's why today man say God is dead. That's why today people are living without God. They think they can do it their own way. My way. God says your ways are not my ways and your thoughts are not my thoughts. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my thoughts higher than your thoughts, and my ways higher than your ways, says the Lord. My way. The natural man, his way is the wrong way. He thinks he is right, but he is not right, because he is not going by the word of God. This book is forever settled in heaven. Heaven and earth shall pass away, my word shall never pass away. And God is going to judge men by this book. I was talking to a man here the other day. Man was here several weeks and he talked to me. He said, you know, my friend, I have some wonderful friends. But they don't know anything about that book. They don't read it. It's not part of their lives. As I tell you, my friend, God is going to judge those friends of yours by the things that are written in that book. Although they haven't read it. What a surprise they'd have one day when they find that God has spoken from heaven. and allowed his own words, unchangeable words to be written, and they despised it, and they laughed at it, and they put it on one side, and had nothing to do with it. But by and by the day of judgment, God's going to judge by the thing written in this book. This is God's way. So let's move on. Let's come back to the book. Man's ways. Now here I want to... I couldn't make a summary of all the wonderful things we've heard in our conference, but we've heard much about God's way and man's way. Man has set up his own religious systems, you know, and there are hundreds of different religious systems in the world today. Some have much ritual and liturgy and pomp and ceremony, and most have just taken the things of the Old Testament and brought them forward into this age, and they're using the things of the Old Testament. Let me give you some examples. Altars were things of the Old Testament. And when the Lord Jesus died on the cross, that was the end of altars. He was the answer to all the altars. He was the antitope of all the types. The Lamb, the precious blood of the Lamb of God is shed, so we don't need any more sacrifices, so we don't need any more organs. And when the Lord Jesus died upon the cross, with a loud voice he said, it is finished. Finished. Roads and vestments and... The mitres that they used to use in the Old Testament, you know, all these wonderful garbs and things that are used in many, many religions today, they belong to the Old Testament. Aaron had to wear the mitre. Aaron had to wear the robes of glory and beauty. And on the Day of Atonement, the pure white spotless robe with which he entered the presence of God once a year. But all that ended at the cross. We don't want it today. We don't have to have it today. That is not God's way, man's way. Because of their ignorance of the New Testament. Because of their lack of understanding by the Spirit of God. Because many of these men are not saved or born again and don't know the things of God. With their own knowledge and their own wisdom and their own education, they've taken the things of the Old Testament and brought them through into this age of grace. And so we have religions. We have... organizations all around us based on the things relying on the Old Testament. They're God. Some people think that a building, a beautiful old building, is God's dwelling. Some people think that because it's called the church, it's a holy place. And God has said, he delights it not in temples made with hands. We're the temple of the day. the children of God, the believers of the temple of the Holy Ghost. We are the building of Christ. He dwells in us. Not in these temples we make with hands. Not in these buildings that we make. They're nothing. There's nothing sacred about this place at all. I'll tell you what is sacred. Where two or three are gathered together in my name, they are mine, the Mid. And when we're gathered in his name, the Lord Jesus is here, and that's sacred. I remember when I was a boy, there used to be a man who came into our meeting. And I used to watch him come in sometimes from business, come a little late to the prayer. And with his head bow, you should quietly walk in as if he was in the very presence of the Lord Jesus. Didn't come in and chatter. We want a lot of people to come in and talk. And yet if you talk to those people, they'd say, well, this is a sacred place. Well, what in the world they're all chattering about? Listen. if the Lord Jesus is here, every mouse should be still, and there should be a reverend and an awe, not in the building, but in the presence of the Son of God, who says, where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst. And so man has his system. We could spend hours and hours and days and days talking about the ways of men, the systems of men, the religions of men. But he says all things that are written. And if the ways of men are not in accordance with the things that are written in this book, in the New Testament, the new revelation after the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, after the day of Pentecost, the Apostle's doctrine, if it's not in accordance with the Apostle's doctrine, it's not God's way. Not God's way. Now, some of us have had to learn great less. I remember as a boy, I was brought up in a kind of a tradition. very narrow, very close, very tight, and I had an ideal that we were about the only ones in the world, you know, that really did what God wanted us to do. But God's taught me many lessons. God didn't allow me to spend six years of my life with the British Royal Air Force, meeting with men, associated with men, and meeting with Christians from all denominations, and having the most wonderful fellowship God didn't do that for nothing. He wanted to teach me great lessons, that every true believer in the Lord Jesus Christ is my brother in Christ. And everyone here this morning who really believes in the Lord Jesus Christ is in the church, and there's only one church, God's church. There are many churches made by men now, men's ways. But I'm talking about the church of the New Testament. His body. the church which is his body. If you are a believer in the Lord Jesus, if you are born again, I don't care what denominations belong to, I say this, if you are born again, you are in the body of Christ. You are my brother in Christ, and on that basis only, on that basis only, as I see it, can we have real fellowship one with the other. These are great lessons to learn. to get out of men's ways, to get out of men's system, to get out of men's organization, and to take our place outside for Him. I tell you, we're blinded for years in you. We're blinded for years, and it takes a long time for the Spirit of God to work in our hearts and work in our hearts into our eyes and open. And here were disciples. They spent three and a half years, and they were still steeped in all the Jewish rituals, and they couldn't understand. And if you turn right over into the Acts of the Apostles, the Son of God raised and glorified, ascended and gone back to glory, you'll find that those disciples in Jerusalem were still steeped in those old things. And the Apostle Paul, to whom God gave this wonderful revelation, to go out and talk to the Gentiles and bring the Gentiles to Christ, for those old apostles at Jerusalem, they couldn't quite understand how God could reach outside. and go to the Gentiles. God's ways, my ways, man's ways. Then I said, finally, I'd say something about the way of the cross. Here's a man here living in a place called Jericho. Jericho was a city which God had cursed long, long ago. When he destroyed Jericho in the days of Joshua, He said, Curse be careful, and curse be the man that raises again and builds again the city of Jericho. But years after, the city was rebuilt. That doesn't change God's word. You see, we live in an age today where there's moral standards are gone. They're changed. But there is something these folk haven't changed. God still says, listen, I'll read it. Listen. Whosoever putteth away his wife and marrieth another committed adultery, God says that. It's never changed, never changed, never changed. It's true today. You see what we've got around us today, I tell you one detail. God has laid down a rule that this thing must not be. Is it day? I was listening to the television the other morning, and they were talking about the license for men and women to live together, unmarried men and women, as if it's a natural thing that you should have to do. And I turned to my wife, I said, what about the Bible? The Bible's out the door, they don't believe in it. But God hasn't changed. And all these people today are going to be judged by what's in this book, mind you. Everyone is going to be judged by what's in this book. This book will stand forever. He is a man at a place called Jericho, which is the city of a curse. They rebuilt it. It was still the city of a curse. And we're living in a world, and the curse of God is upon this world because of Adam's sin. God said so. And God brought a curse upon this earth because of Adam's sin. And God has said this, the soul that sinned, it shall die. God has said the wages of sin is dead. And listen, friends. There's not one here this morning. It's not a sinner. Not one. The wages of sin is death. So we've got to die because of our sin. God hasn't changed. Man's got his ideas. I've got my ideas. But God's ways he has to stay. The wages of sin is dead. We are all sinners. And he's a man in a curse seat. How about more than that? He was absolutely blind. Oh, when I look around the world today, listen to the preaching on the radio today, listen to it and see how many men, religious men, leaders in the religions of this world, listen how many are absolutely blind. They don't preach the gospel. And I don't want to criticize people. I want to preach the truth of God. Unless it agrees with this book, it's not right. God says the wages of sin is death. Not that I can get better and better, but I'm getting worse and I'm going down to a lost eternity. God says so. And God says that there's going to be a great white throne of judgment, and whosoever name was not written in the Lamb's book of life is cast in the wake of fire. I didn't write it. I didn't say, but it is written. It's here and it's true. He's going to come about. And that's where he dwells. But you know, he heard something. I love the way Scripture is linked up. If you go back to the fourth, we're reading the last miracle here in Luke, but let's go back to the fourth chapter in Luke and I'll read you some. Jesus was down in Nazareth where he was brought up, it says. He came to Nazareth, Luke four, sixteen. He came to Nazareth where he had been brought up. And as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Isaiah. When he had opened the book, he found the place where it is written, and this is what he read, quote from Isaiah fifty-one, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to captives, the recovering of sight to the blind, and the set of liberty them that have ruled. at Nazareth. At Nazareth he said that he had been sent to preach the recovering of sight to the blind. Now he's a blind man down in Jericho, and he heard all this stir. He heard the most Jews, and he asked what it meant, and he said, Jesus of Nazareth, Father in Christ. Oh, he says Nazareth. There was a prophet in Nazareth. A man called Jesus of Nazareth, and exactly in Nazareth, he said he'd come to give recovery of sight to the blind. This is the one I want. There's a man down there in that city of the church, in his darkness and blindness, somebody had told him that there was a Jesus of Nazareth who'd made this statement, he can give blind men their sight. This is what he wanted. And he hung on to that, and he clung on to that. and he found out what he heard that this man who could make a claim like that was the Son of David, the Messiah. And he says, as he heard him, they said that Jesus of Nazareth, prophet, by him cried, saying, Jesus, thou Son of David, that's the Messiah. Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me. And they which went before rebuked him and said, Hold your peace. but he cried so much more, thou son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus stood and commanded him to be brought unto him. You know, this man had one chance. Jesus didn't stay in Jericho, the city of a curse. If you'll be in it, it says in the next chapter, the first verse, Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. He didn't say this. He entered and passed through. This man had one chance in all his life. Jesus of Nazareth is passing by. Once in a lifetime he's passing, and he never let go of it. They said, Shut up, man. Keep quiet. He said, No, Jesus of Nazareth, have mercy on us. And they asked him to hold his feet, and he cried the more a grave deal. So much the more, thou son of David, have mercy on me. I tell you what, friend, it's a wonderful thing when a man finds out he's a sinner. And he cries to the son of God to save him. Why, they go football match, football match, a ball game and shout themselves, horse, you know. And then if you get in a gospel meeting and some people are shouting, Lord Jesus, Savior, they say, shut up now. Why do you talk? If there's someone here this morning not yet saved, why ask you one thing? call on Jesus, the Son of God, to say. Now there's no doubt in a man's mind. He stopped, and Jesus stood and commanded he to be brought to him, and when he came here he said to him, What will thou that I should do unto thee? Lord, I'm in rags. I need a better cloak. He didn't say that. Lord, I've had no food for two days. I'm hungry. He didn't say that. Lord, I want to be a better man and get better and do better and serve me better. He didn't say that. Listen, what will thou that I should do unto thee? He said, Lord, that I may receive my sight. He knew what he needed. He needed sight. And what you need this morning, dear friend, is sight, spiritual sight. The natural man cannot understand the things of God. They're foolishness things. And you need spiritual sight. Oh, that God would take every one of us this morning. And bow us at the foot of his cross. And we might say, Lord, that I might receive my sight. You and I, I in my way, you and your way, are stooped in traditions and things we've done all our lives. We do it many cases because we've always did. And we need spiritual enlightenment. And we need to understand this book better. Oh, may it be the prayer, everyone. Lord, that I might receive my sight. And so he said, Lord, that I might receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight. Receive thy sight. Ah, but he didn't stop there. Listen. Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight, thy faith has saved thee. Do you think that man was saved? Right. Thy faith has saved thee. By grace are ye saved through faith. By grace are ye saved through faith, not of worthless any man should boast. You can't get saved by doing the best you can, but you can get saved by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Thy faith is saved. And dear friend, I don't care who it is here this morning, young or old, is still out of Christ. if you'll come to the Lord this morning and say, Lord, reveal thyself to me. I want sight, Lord. I tell you what you do. It says, whosoever should call on the name of the Lord should be saved. If you come to him and tell him, I'm a poor blind beggar, I don't have anything. Let's bring it into modern language. Lord, I'm a lost sinner. Save me, Lord. Save me. Do you know what do you do? You say, thy faith is saved. The moment you admit that it was Jesus Christ who went to that cross and died for you, and there in shame and pain and agony he took your place, and that the blood of Jesus Christ God's Son cleansed us from all sin. And you don't understand or know all about that because you've only got a natural mind yet. You'll learn that when you're saved. But if you come to him in simple faith and say, Lord, save me. Jesus Christ, what of God? the Savior, not like me. He says, right when you are. Lord, that I might receive my sight. Receive thy sight. Thy faith has saved thee. Now very quickly it is. Immediately it received its sight and followed him, glorifying God. But let me go back to Mark's Gospel chapter ten in the last verse. And I'll read it to you very quickly. Chapter ten in the last verse. Jesus said unto him, Go thy way, thy faith has made thee whole. Listen. and immediately received his sight and followed Jesus in the way. Followed Jesus in the way. Four times in that tenth chapter, Mark, you get that term in the way. Do you know what it was? It was the way that led to the place called Calvary. And immediately he received his sight, and the first glimpse he ever got was at limbs of the face of the Son of God. And he was charmed and enchanted. and he followed Jesus in the way which led to the place called Calvary. Not to a kingdom. Listen, friends, we're not going to get a kingdom. I believe by and by we're going to reign with Christ when he reigns with his Jewish people. We shall reign over with him. We should be administrators in his kingdom. I believe that. But not here. Maybe a cross. Maybe suffering. May be scourging, I don't know. May be imprisonment for you and me. But we have to follow Jesus in the way. Oh, may God help us to make that decision now. An unsaved one here, say, Lord, give me my sight. Those of you that can't understand really the ways of God and what He would have you do, and can't quite understand all the meaning of the New Testament, say, Lord, that I might receive my sight, let's bow before Him now and yield ourselves to Him a friend. We come to the close of this meeting in His precious name. Blessed Lord Jesus, we thank thee that thou didst ever walk through that old cursed city of Jerusalem. And thou didst ever stop there when that man cried, Jesus of Nazareth, have mercy on me. Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. We thank thee for the grace, blessed Savior, that brought thee down from heaven's glory. so that thou the eternal Son of God, the Creator of the ends of the universe, did walk in our streets, and didst touch our blind and our safe and infirm. We thank thee, Lord, thou hast brought eternal life to everyone that believes in thee. Oh, bring that life this morning, we pray thee, to someone in our meeting. May we cry each one, Lord. that I might receive my sight. We know so little of thy precious word. Help us, Lord, to see more. Open our eyes. We thank thee, Lord Jesus, for dying for us on Calvary's cross, for bearing our sins in thine own body on the tree. We thank thee, thou art no longer in that place of shame, but amid the glories of heaven, and we hail the exalted, glorified Son of God, and ask for thy blessing on our meeting. May there be eternal We are precious, fearless, holy name. Amen.