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"The splendor of the King"

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"Coming at the sleep," "that all the earth rejoice," "All the earth rejoice," "He wraps Himself in light," "He often tries to hide," "and trembles at His voice," "and trembles at His voice," "and trembles at His voice," "How great!"

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How great! How God! Sing with me! How great! How God! Oh, see how great! How great! How God!

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Thank you.

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Thank you.

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Thank you.

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Good morning. Thank you for joining us today. It's going to be a little different service, but Happy Easter, and we're glad you're here with us.

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We're going to read together out of Psalm 16, starting in verse 7 and going down through 11.

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I bless the Lord who gives me counsel. In the night also my heart instructs me. I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

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Therefore, my heart is glad and my whole being rejoices. My flesh also dwells secure, for you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your Holy One see corruption.

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You make known to me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy. At your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

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This is the word of the Lord. Let's pray. God, we thank you that we're able to gather today, and we're thankful for what today represents, and the victory that it represents that Jesus had over sin and death, and just the price that he paid so that we could also partake in that victory, and we ask that you be with our service today, allow it to glorify you, and thank you for all you've done for us.

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In Jesus name, amen. All right, we're going to do just two songs today, and the first one we're going to be doing is "Christ the Lord is Risen Today."

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Alleluia. Earth, let heaven and chorus say, Alleluia. Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia. Sing ye hands and earth reply, Alleluia.

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It's again our glorious King, Alleluia. Where all death is now thy sting, Alleluia. Once he died our souls to save, Alleluia.

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Once he died our souls to save, Alleluia. Where's thy victory boasting grave, Alleluia.

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God's redeeming work is done, Alleluia. For the fight, the battle won, Alleluia. Death in vain for bids him rise, Alleluia.

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Christ has opened paradise, Alleluia.

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I really like this song because it just kind of reiterates the hope and the victory that Jesus had when He died on the cross for us, and there's so much that I'd like to say about it, but we wouldn't have enough time, and so as you're singing this song, just focus on that hope and that victory that we get to have in Him.

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I searched the world, but it couldn't fill me. Man's empty praise and treasures that fade are never enough.

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Then you came along and put me back together. And every desire is now satisfied here in your love.

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Better than you, Lord, there's nothing. Nothing is better than you.

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I'm not afraid to show you my weakness. My failures and flaws, Lord,

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you've seen them all and you still call me friend. Because the God of the mountain is the God of the valley. And there's not a place your mercy and grace won't find me again.

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There's nothing better than you. There's nothing better than you. Lord, there's nothing. Nothing is better than you. Oh, there's nothing better than you. There's nothing better than you.

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Lord, there's nothing. Nothing is better than you. You turn mourning to dancing. You give beauty for ashes. You turn shame into glory. You're the only one who cares.

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You turn graves into gardens. You turn bones into armies. You turn seas into highways. You're the only one who can.

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Lord, there's nothing better than you. Lord, there's nothing, nothing is better than you.

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Lord, there's nothing better than you.

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For that, remind us that there is nothing better than you for our lives. Continue to be with our service, and bless it and allow it to glorify you. In Jesus' name, amen.

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Amen.

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Amen.

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Okay, we're back.

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Good and refreshing for our society.

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Good and refreshing for our souls. One of my favorite passages in Isaiah pictures this scene exactly.

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It says this, and it's a familiar passage because it encourages me so deeply, so I've read from it a lot, but it says this:

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"On this mountain, the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food and a feast of well-aged wine,

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of food, rich food, full of marrow and aged wine well refined, and He will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples,

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the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord God will wipe away all the tears from their faces,

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and the reproach of His people He will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken."

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And I love this picture that Isaiah paints of heaven, directly from God.

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This picture of a meal where God's people are gathered together, and there are good people, and there are good friends, and there are family members,

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and there is fellowship with one another, but more importantly, that God Himself is there with us. And not just present with us,

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but what does it say? It says, "The Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, that one day there will be a meal that we gather together joyfully and nourishing,

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and God takes away all of our tears." And verse 9 will say this, "And it is said on that day, it will be said on that day,

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Behold, this is our God. We have waited for Him that He might save us. This is the Lord. We have waited for Him. Let us be glad and rejoice in our salvation."

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And I love the picture there that is found, the picture of hope, the picture of encouragement, and the picture of strength in that meal.

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So as we gather this morning and we partake of another meal, a meal that Jesus partook of on the night when He was betrayed, when He took bread and He broke it, He took the cup and shared it with His disciples, pointing and reminding us of the cross.

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And so we look backward this morning to the meal that reminds us of the cross of Christ, but we also, as we eat together, are reminded of a meal that we will one day share in heaven because of the power of the resurrection.

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So would you pray with me, and then we'll go ahead and partake together.

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Father in heaven, thank you for your church and for your people. Thank you for how you encourage us. Thank you for how you strengthen us.

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We thank you for this meal, and so direct our attention backward to the good news of the gospel, to the sacrifice of your son to his body and to his blood, which purchased for us our salvation, and direct our attention forward to how the gospel has saved us and has promised us hope.

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And so help us this morning to be thankful, to be encouraged, to be nourished, to be strengthened. May you bless this bread and cup, and may we be a people who proclaim your son until he comes again. It's in his name we pray. Amen.

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If you would take your bread with me, Paul writes this. When he had given thanks, he took bread and broke it, and he said, "This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me."

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In the same way also, he took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me."

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Let's pray, and then we'll look together at the triumph of the resurrection. Father in heaven, we thank you for having blessed us, and we thank you for allowing us to gather around together, remembering the sacrifice that you've done and rejoicing in the promise of heaven.

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And we thank you for your power and your strength that has been poured out on our behalf, and your love that has been shown to us, and your grace that has changed us and transformed us.

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And so, this morning, I would ask that you move us to joy, not just in the moments where things go well, but when everything seems to come apart, and you would strengthen us and encourage us with joy.

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It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

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One of the things that I love about our kids, and I've shared this before, is that they are excited about everything all of the time.

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They're excited about big things, they're excited about small things, and they're excited about all of these things all of the time.

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However, there are times when it is a little bit difficult. And these times happen when everybody is excited about everything all at once.

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And so you have three little children trying to tell you about something that they are very excited about all at once.

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And one of them is telling you this thing, one of them is telling you that thing, and the other one is telling you another thing, and they're all telling you about the same thing.

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But it just seems like in many cases, it's sort of jumbled because the excitement is just overflowing out of them.

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The first accounts of the resurrection of Jesus are a little bit like that. Now we, on this side of it, know what is happening.

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But the disciples and the followers of Jesus are still coming to grips with the fact that Jesus rose again, despite the fact that Jesus tells them this repeatedly.

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And so, there's this exciting thing that is happening. And you have soldiers leaving the tomb. You have women coming to the tomb.

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You have Peter and John racing to the tomb. And you have people telling people this, people telling people that.

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And when you read the Gospel accounts, you kind of look at them and you say, "What is going on?" And I think that's intentional.

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Because it conveys the excitement of the moment as they're trying to figure out what has happened.

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There's confusion and surprise that eventually you lose this way into joy.

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And so, for me, one of my favorite accounts of the resurrection is on the road to Emmaus.

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And one of the reasons for that is because in that account, you can so clearly see the transition from sorrow to joy.

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Right? You see that the reality of the resurrection began to click with the

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disciples not simply in a way that they intellectually understand, but they emotionally understand,

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and they are transformed by it, not just in their thinking, but in their actual demeanor.

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And most of us are familiar with the story it's found in the Luke 24th chapter.

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And what you'll have is it's Sunday, probably late afternoon, maybe early evening, and two disciples are journeying from Jerusalem

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to this little town of Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem.

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And as they're walking along, they're trying to understand all of the things that have happened from the crucifixion of Jesus

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to the rumors that the tomb is empty. And as they're walking along, a third person joins them.

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And he will say in verse 17, the third person, "What is this conversation that you are holding with one another as you walk?"

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And here's what sums up the attitude and demeanor of these two disciples.

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The second half of the verse says this, "And they stood still looking sad."

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The words of this stranger stop them in their tracks. And it's not just that they're surprised at what he says,

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but all of these emotions over the loss that they have experienced come back, and they just are filled with that.

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And we know who's really talking to them, and we know that it's Jesus, and we know that for the next seven miles,

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they're going to walk with Jesus and talk with Jesus without knowing it, while Jesus teaches them how the Old Testament points to Him.

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And they're going to sit down for dinner, and Jesus is going to be in prayer, and they're going to realize who He is, and then in a moment.

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I love what happened in verse 32. They rose the same hour, and they returned to Jerusalem, and they found the eleven,

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and those who were gathered with them together saying, "The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to find Him."

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And then they told what happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of bread.

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And so they see Jesus, and they go from people who, at the mention and the question of what has happened with Jesus,

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and stand still, looking sad, to late in the evening, after already have walked seven and a half miles,

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they get right back up, and they go back to Jerusalem. And I imagine the walk back to Jerusalem is very different

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from the walk to Emmaus. The walk to Emmaus, they are sad, and they're talking, and they're trying to understand,

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and they're trying to wrap their minds around what is happening, Jesus is teaching them. And the walk from Emmaus back to Jerusalem,

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I imagine, is filled with joy because they have seen Jesus. You see, the resurrection of Jesus

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brings about a transformation. We see sorrow turned into joy, and not just for those who see Jesus,

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but for all Christians, we find joy being brought by the resurrection. And I think it's more than just sorrow

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turned into joy. What we see in the good news of the Gospel from the cross to the resurrection is joy

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that brings us through the midst of sorrow. It's joy that sustains us in the midst of suffering.

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One of my favorite books of the New Testament is the book of Hebrews. First of all, because it's an encouraging book.

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It's a book that is written to Christians who are discouraged, and it encourages us not to give up.

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It encourages us to see the greatness, and the wonder, and the power, and the majesty, and the work of Jesus.

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And in Acts chapter 12, we have this picture. And it says, "Therefore, as we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses,

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let us lay aside every weight, the sin which clings to us so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking at Jesus,

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the founder and perfecter of our faith, and the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the chains, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."

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And I want to direct your attention specifically this morning to verse 2 of Jesus chapter 12.

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Looking at Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the chains,

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and defeated at the right hand of the throne of God. And so what the author of Hebrews does, is he points us to Jesus, is he takes the weight of suffering and sets it against the weight of joy.

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And we've seen this kind of thing happen before, where there's a balanced scale where you have two different hands, one on each side, you put a weight on one side and a weight on the other, and you can see which side is heavier.

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That's what the author of Hebrews is doing here, is he's setting the weight of the suffering of Jesus on one side of this balance. The prayer in the garden, as our Savior's sweat drops of blood.

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The betrayal by Judas. The arrest as soldiers come, the torches in the middle of the night. The sham trials brought about by the team of the religious leaders.

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Jesus appeared before Pilate, and then to Herod, and then back to Pilate. The fogging, the mocking. The way to the cross settled upon our Savior's bloody shoulders.

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He stumbles under the waves. The nails, the humiliation, and the mocking of the crowds that stand at the foot of the cross. And beyond the weight of the physical and the emotional suffering

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is the weight of our sins upon the shoulders of our Savior. And on one side of the balance is that suffering, and it is an unimaginable weight. The weight of the cross.

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And on the other side, the writer of Hebrews says this, "For the joy is set forth." What the writer of Hebrews says

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is all of that suffering for the joy that is set before Jesus. That joy outweighs the heaviness of that suffering. That unimaginable amount of suffering of the cross that for Jesus, the joy that was set before Him outweighs them.

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And the question that I have is, what is this joy? What is this joy that is set before Jesus that outweighs the suffering and the agony of the cross?

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So I want to take a look at the Scriptures throughout the Bible. I want to begin where we read this morning in the 16th Psalm.

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And in the 16th Psalm, this is a psalm that's about Jesus. Peter preaches it. Paul preaches it. Both in the book of Acts.

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And we read it this way, starting in verse 9, "Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices. My flesh also dwells secure.

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For you will not abandon my soul to heal, or let your body, let your Holy One see corruption. You make known to me the path of life.

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In your presence there is fullness of joy, and at your right hand are pleasures forevermore." And what this psalm does is it directs us to the resurrection with a picture of glory and joy in the 118th Psalm.

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And the 118th Psalm is a remarkable psalm, and it is full of messianic imagery. And so this week before the crucifixion, the week before this Sunday,

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this psalm fills up this week as Jesus comes into the town on Palm Sunday, and the people are shouting, "Hosanna!" You know where that comes from? The 118th Psalm, verse 25.

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After the Passover meal, Matthew will tell us they sang a hand that went out on the Mount of Olives. Likely what they're singing in that moment is the 118th Psalm.

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Jesus will apply on Tuesday of this week as he has the day of questions. He will apply the words of the 118th Psalm to himself.

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In Acts 4 and 2nd and 1st Peter chapter 2, Peter will apply these words to Jesus. And in the middle of the psalm we find these words beginning in verse 17, "I shall not die, but I shall live."

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This is not the deeds of the Lord. The Lord has disciplined me severely, but he has not given me over to death.

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And just a few verses later in verse 22, "The stone that the Belders rejected has become the cornerstone." This is the Lord's doing and is marvelous in our eyes.

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This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. And so how does the stone that the Belders rejected become the cornerstone?

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Through the power of the resurrection, it leads to joy. And Jesus finds joy in his glorification.

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Looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the saints, and is seated at the right hand of God.

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Or as the psalmist says, "You have made known to me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy, and at your right hand are pleasures forevermore."

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The picture of our risen Savior is that he is glorified, sitting at the right hand of God. There is joy Jesus finds in his triumph over sin and grace.

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In Revelation chapter 1, I love this picture of Jesus. Oftentimes we think of Jesus as we see him in the Gospels, but in Revelation chapter 1, we see Jesus as he is, as he appears to John on the Isle of Patmos.

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And in his glory, John falls down at the feet of his Savior as though dead, and Jesus will come up to him in all of his glory and majesty and all of the symbolism that points to his power and his knowledge.

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And he puts his hand on John, and he says this, "Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys to death and to Hades."

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And when he says, "I'm in control of it now. I have the keys. I can lock it, and I can unlock it." Just like when we have the keys, we're in control. Jesus has the keys, and he is in control.

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Or 1 Corinthians chapter 15. "When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: Death is swallowed up in victory.

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O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God who gives us our victory through the Lord Jesus Christ."

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And so you have this joy of glorification, and the joy of victory, but then there is a joy of Christ's work on behalf of the people that He loves.

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And in Hebrews chapter 7, we find that we have an eternal high priest.

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This becomes more evident in Hebrews chapter 7, when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, who has become a priest

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not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life.

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For it is witness of Him, you are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. For on one hand, a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness.

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The law made nothing for you, but on the other hand, a better hope is introduced through which He's drawn near to God.

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There is joy in the salvation of God's people.

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One of the pictures that I love of Jesus and His church is that the church is the bride of Christ.

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And in Ephesians, Paul will talk about this. In fact, he's talking to husbands and wives.

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And in order to help them see the power of what is happening, he says, "This is a picture of Christ and the church."

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He will say, "Husband, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her."

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And he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the words.

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And he might present the church to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing.

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She might be holy and without blemish, in the same way husbands who love their wives."

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And it's a picture that we can understand. One of my favorite things when I do a wedding,

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and it's one of the most surprising things to me, looking back, that I learned about doing weddings,

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is that every time the men usually come in first, and so as the wedding begins, I'm standing here as a preacher,

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and the groom stands here, and it's happening in the church.

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We have somebody who opens those back doors, the bride is in position, and the back doors of the church open,

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and the groom sees his bride, and in almost every situation, the groom starts crying.

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Not tears of sadness, but tears of joy. It's an emotional moment as he sees his bride, and as the bride comes,

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I send the groom down to meet his bride, and it's one of my favorite parts of doing weddings,

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is when the groom gets to see the bride, and they get to meet each other, and the picture in Ephesians of the church

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is that Christ sees his bride, and then he loves her, and the joy that is set before Jesus

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is the fact that he is glorified instead of the Father's right hand. The joy that is set before Jesus

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is that he now has triumphed over sin and death, and holds the keys to death and to Hades, and the joy

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that is set before Jesus is his people that he has loved, and he has accomplished their salvation,

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and they are his bride. This joy is not simply for Jesus, but it's for us as well.

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In the Gospel of John, the 16th chapter, Jesus is at the Last Supper and he is speaking to his

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disciples, and he is trying to teach them, and he is trying to prepare them. In verse 1, he

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said, "I have said all these things to keep you from falling away." He is trying to encourage

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them and strengthen them so that when the trial comes, they won't fall away, and down in verse

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16, he is going to prepare them for the death and resurrection. "A little while you will

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see me no longer, and again a little while you will see me." And his disciples get confused

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and they are trying to figure out what is happening. And Jesus said this, "Truly I say to you,"

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verse 20, "You will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but

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your sorrow will turn into joy." He is what he is talking about. He is talking about Good

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Friday, and then his death on the cross, and he is talking about resurrection Sunday,

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and the disciples seeing him and realizing that he is alive. And so to help understand,

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he gives an illustration in verse 21. "When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow

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because her hour has come, because childbirth is unpleasant and painful, and there's often tears.

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So when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish for the joy that a human being

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has been born into the world. When Jesus says this is going to happen, it's going to be sorrowful,

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it's going to be full of anguish, but that joy will come." And look at what he says. "So also you will have sorrow now,

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but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one can take your joy from you.

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In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly I say to you whatever you ask in the Father's name,

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and he will give it to you, and tell it now you have asked nothing in my name. Asking you will receive,

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that your joy may be full." And so Jesus, there's a lot of things he says there that are wonderful.

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I just want to point you to two things. First of all, he says that your joy will be full.

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And the Greek word for full literally means full, all the way to the top, that there's no room to add anything more.

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One of my pet keys when I go to get coffee is when I order coffee, and they don't fill it all the way up, right?

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And there's especially one place in particular where they always ask me, "Do you want room for cream?"

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And I say, usually I say, "Yes, I have a little bit of cream in my coffee." And they fill your cup about three-quarters of the way full.

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And I go, "Well, I'm not going to put that much cream in there." Like, I want my coffee so full that when I add my cream,

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that if you bump it a little bit, it's going to spill because it's so full, right?

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So I like coffee. And the picture here of our joy is that we don't just get a little bit, right?

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Like when our kids share jelly beans, and they're like, "Here, you can have one out of my bag," right?

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Jesus doesn't just promise us a little bit of joy, but He promises that our joy will be so full we can't ask anything else.

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And the second picture that I love that He gives is that no one can take your joy from you. No one can take your joy from you.

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And I love that because we're used to our joy oftentimes being snatched away. I had this happen.

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I just talked about jelly beans, but somebody brought loose jelly beans, and he ate a bunch of them, and he was like,

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"All right, buddy. I'm going to take your jelly beans, and we'll save the rest for tomorrow," right?

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And what happens? All of a sudden, the joy just appears for that moment. That doesn't happen with Jesus.

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When you say, your joy will be so full that you can't add any more to it, and that nobody can take it away from you.

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No one can take your joy. So I think one of the things we need to realize is that we don't just have this, but in the midst of our sorrows and our

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culture, when we see Jesus, and we see the Gospel, this joy transforms how we walk through those sorrows.

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I want to give you an illustration of this in Scripture, and it's a familiar one, and it's one of my favorites, and it's in Acts the 16th chapter.

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In Acts the 16th chapter, Paul and Silas are in Philippi, and they're beginning a new church. And the church begins in a remarkable way,

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and we'll talk about this when we get to the book of Acts, but it comes with a bunch of unlikely people.

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There's a lady, a Jewish lady, a well-to-do Jewish lady named Lydia. There's a slave girl who has a demon cast out of her,

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and then there's a Roman jailer. And these people become the foundation of the church.

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But what has happened, in this scenario, Paul and Silas are walking through, and there's this demon,

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this slave girl following them, and so Paul finally gets tired of her head, so he turns her out,

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they cast out the demon, and the owners of the slave girl become so angry because they've lost all of their money,

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and their profit from this girl. They start a riot. They get Paul and Silas in before the court.

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And I'll pick up what happens in Acts 16:22. The crowd joined in attacking them,

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and the magistrate tore the garments off of them and gave orders to beat them with rods.

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So they ripped their clothes off and beat them. And when they had inflicted many blows upon them,

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they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely,

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having received this order to put them into the inner prison and fasten their feet and stop.

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And so their clothes are ripped off. They're beat with many blows.

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And they're taken and they're put into prison, not just in the ninth part of prison, but in the inner prison.

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The darkest, deepest part where no light would have gotten to be like a cave.

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And not only that, they're in a cell, but they're also chained in the cell.

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And the chains are not there necessarily to keep them from escaping, but they inflict additional punishment upon them.

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So in addition to the beating, in addition to the darkest part of the prison, they're now in chains.

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And I don't know about you, but my reaction to this would not have been very good.

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But look at there.

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"About midnight, Paul and Silas were praying," I can understand that, "and singing hymn, God."

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They're singing hymn in the midst of being either clothes stripped off, being eaten many clothes abroad, being thrown in the darkest part of the prison, and then fastened in disguise.

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You see what joy does in the darkest moments of our life? This joy that no one can take away, the joy of forgiveness through the death of Jesus, and the joy of victory through the resurrection of Jesus, given to us by Jesus, empowered by His Spirit, in those darkest times, there is joy in Jesus.

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You see, Jesus walks through the darkest moment imaginable because of the joy that was set before Him. And in His resurrection, He brings that joy to us in a way that is full and in a way that no one can take from us. Let's pray.

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Father in heaven, thank you for joy. It seems like it's been a season where oftentimes our plans have been changed. We face disappointment and suffering and loss. And so, help us to look to you, that you would remind us of the joy of our salvation, that we would clearly see Jesus in His sacrifice and in His exaltation and in His victory.

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And in His victory over death. And in His salvation over us. And you would move us to joy. Even in those moments where we walk through the dark valleys. Remind us that you are with us, strengthening us, encouraging us. And bring us to joy. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

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We're going to sing one more song. A song that points us toward our hope. And it's written almost like a catechism where there's a question and an answer. And so as we sing this, or as we consider the words, what we're doing is we're asking ourselves this question. And then we're answering it.

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What is our hope in life and death? Christ alone, Christ alone. What is our only confidence? That our souls to Him belong. Who holds our days within His hands?

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What comes apart from His command? And what will keep us to the end? The love of Christ in which we stand. Oh, sing hallelujah. Our hope springs eternal. Oh, sing hallelujah.

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Hallelujah. Now and ever we confess Christ our hope in life and death.

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What truths can cause the troubled soul. God is good. God is good. Where is His grace and goodness known?

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In our great Redeemer's blood. Who holds our faith when fears arise? Who stands above the stormy trial? Who sends the waves that bring us nigh unto the shore, the rock of Christ? Oh, sing hallelujah.

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Our hope is eternal. Oh, sing hallelujah. Now and ever we confess. Christ, our hope in life and death.

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Christ, He lives. Christ, He lives. And what reward will heaven bring? Everlasting life with Him. There we will rise to meet the Lord. Then sin and death will be destroyed. And we will feast in endless joy.

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Forevermore. Forevermore. Oh, sing. Hallelujah. Our hope springs eternal. Oh, sing. Hallelujah. Now and ever we confess. Christ, our hope and life and death. Oh, sing.

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Hallelujah. Our hope springs eternal. Oh, sing. Hallelujah. Now and ever we confess. Christ, our hope and life and death. Now and ever we confess. Christ, our hope and life and death.

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I want to thank you all for joining us this morning online. We are thankful that you are here with us. I'm going to go ahead and have a word of prayer, and then we will sing the doxology and be dismissed.

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Father in heaven, thank you that you are our hope, that through Jesus, you have saved us and have given us the promise of eternal life. Help us to declare this to our souls and to the world around us. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

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Maybe.

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Praise God, from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him, all creatures here below. Praise Him, above ye heavenly hosts. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

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Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

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Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

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Father, Son, Holy Ghost, Son, Holy Ghost, Son, Holy Ghost, Son, Holy Ghost.

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Thank you.

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Thank you.