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Amen. Right, Isaiah 37 now and last week in chapter 36, it was what Isaiah had been mostly prophesying about for the preceding chapters of this book on the whole, right? There was this gear and also a style change, so with the book going from the previous preaching style of prophecies, some being obviously more cryptic than others, to a narration of what happened when the Assyrians came to Jerusalem, or at least close to it. However, the prophecies didn't end either, so although it changed this sort of narrative style, there were still prophecies in there like we've seen pretty much throughout the book of Isaiah, there being many pictures of the tribulation, God's people surrounded or besieged by the enemy with Rab Shaky, probably picturing the Antichrist or perhaps a false prophet, trying to convince the people to turn away from God and his house and worship the King of Assyria. But aside from end times application, it was also just a great example of how we're tempted in our Christian lives, wasn't it? And you could apply that a lot to our Christian lives. And how the answer so often is for us not to answer, okay, when we have these tribulations, this affliction, et cetera, but instead to bring it to the Lord. Verse 18, back in Isaiah 36 said, beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying the Lord will deliver us. Have any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the King of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arphad? Where are the gods of Sephardim? Have they delivered Samaria out of my hand? Who are they amongst all the gods of these lands that have delivered their land out of my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand? But they held their peace and answered him not a word, for the king's commandment was saying, answer him not. Then came Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah that was over the household, and Shebna the scribe and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder, to Hezekiah with their clothes rend and told him the words of Rabshakeh. That was the end of chapter 36, chapter 37 of verse 1 starts like this, and it came to pass when King Hezekiah heard it, that he rent his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth and went into the house of the Lord. I'm going to pray and then we're going to get started. Thank you Lord for this chapter of the book of Isaiah, please help me to preach it clearly, accurately and boldly Lord, and preach the topics that I've decided to focus on in this chapter, just in a way that people will want to apply them Lord, will want to take them home and think about them, apply them to their lives, and for us all to just improve in these areas that I'm going to look at today, Lord, and for it to just be a sermon which changes lives as we want every sermon to do Lord, and obviously for the better, and Lord please just fill me with your spirit as I do this, in Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Okay so, and it came to pass when King Hezekiah heard it that he rent his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth and went into the house of the Lord. So Eliakim, Shebna and Joah told in the words of Rab Sheki, that's what's just happened, that's what we saw at the end of chapter 36, right? Sennacherib, remember that was his representative, Rab Sheki, and Hezekiah does something associated with mourning, with grief, when afflicted, this is an outward sign of grief, renting your clothes or ripping, tearing your clothes, covering yourself with sackcloth, it's basically wearing something uncomfortable, afflicting yourself, it's a sign of mourning or a sign of grief, a sign of bad things happening in your life. We looked at this previously where, you know, there are different ways people might do that nowadays, maybe the wearing of black or something else, you know, there's ways that people give an outward sign of their grief and of the problems that they're going through, trouble etc. So what did he do, what did he do after that? So he's rent his clothes, he's covered himself with sackcloth, he did what so many instead avoid at bad times, sadly, so many people, you know, Christians, believers, people sadly that are probably members of this church, they have bad times in life and what do they do, they then avoid going to the house of God, they then don't go to the house of God, they find excuses not to go to the house of God, but check out what Hezekiah did, he didn't just, it wasn't that he just went to the house of the Lord, he didn't for example just go there after the service for prayer time, because there are people and, you know, that kind of want to turn up a bit late, turn up, you know, just turn up and then we can just say a magic prayer in the house of God and that will solve it, right? He didn't just go there to go through the motions, because some people do that, they're like, well I need to be in the house of the Lord, but you know that while they're sitting there, there's probably everything going through their head, barring what's being preached from the pulpit. He wanted to hear what God's preacher had to say, so he went to the house of the Lord to hear what God's preacher had to say, it's said in verse 2, and he sent Eliakim, who was over the household of Shepner the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, unto Isaiah the prophet the son of Amos. So Eliakim, if you remember from chapter 22, we're not going to go there, but he was a really godly guy, okay, Eliakim was prophesied to be a father to the house of Judah. He was also picturing Christ, the elders of the priests, it said here as well in verse 2, he sent the elders of the priests covered with sackcloth. I mean, these are likely some pretty knowledgeable guys, these are the elders of the priests, right, they're the top guys, yeah, the top priests, holy men, perhaps some of them had more knowledge about certain things than Isaiah, wouldn't you think? I bet some of them did, I bet there were certain subjects, certain stuff where they knew more than Isaiah, perhaps Eliakim, maybe he really had the holy separated life bit down, he was going to be a father to the house of Judah, he pictures Christ, maybe this is a holy righteous guy, right? Did it stop them going to Isaiah, though? Didn't it stop them going to Isaiah, did it? Didn't Hezekiah think that they were probably a little bit too spiritual to hear what the man of God there had to say? No, I mean, that's not for them to go, he didn't think that, did he? He sent these guys, he's a holy guy, spiritual guys, knowledgeable guys, he sent them to the prophet. Said in verse 3, and they said unto him, thus saith Hezekiah, this day is a day of trouble and of rebuke and of blasphemy, for the children have come to the birth and there is not strength to bring forth. It may be the Lord thy God will hear the words of Rabshakey, whom the king of Assyria his master sent to approach a living God, and will reprove the words which the Lord thy God hath heard, wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that is left. What they actually did, they even asked him to pray for them all, but it shouldn't have to just be in the worst times in life to do that, should it? So when you come to the house of God, and I want to make this clear, it's not about me, right? Whoever is preaching, whether it's me, whether it's one of the other men here, whether it's a guest preacher, whether it's six men on a men's preaching night or something like that, we need to come humble, don't we? Humble and ready to hear what God's got to say to us through that preacher. That's how we should be coming into the house of God, because that's ultimately what we look for, is for God to talk through someone and not come in thinking, and I don't think we have that, but there are people out there, think they know it all, that you can see, sometimes you do see it, sometimes though, when you're preaching, you just, you know, they're just like, trying to look like the puzzled look while they're looking at bibles, it's like, what on earth, man? So come here with like, come here, and look, by all means, search the scriptures, right? But you know what, you need to come and just, with a humble attitude, listen to what God's got to say, right? Through the man of God, through whoever it is that's preaching. Whether you're a hill cire, whether you're a priest elder, and I'll tell you what, also, or a kid here, or a child maybe, who would prefer to be doing anything other than being in the house of God. Maybe it's one of you kids who prefer to be like watching superheroes or something, prefer to be doing something, and you know, I understand that, right? As a kid, as some of the young children here, maybe you're not, I can't wait to hear what that preacher's got to say today. Oh, I mean, what's he going to make of Isaiah 37? I mean, last time I read through it, I was just wondering, what's he going to make of this one? Maybe you don't, but you know what, maybe you need to start trying to think like that. If you really want to make it in life, because you ain't going to make it, you might think, oh yeah, he's just coming out with that stuff again. Look, we've all been there. You know, pretty much here is just a big group of pretty much first generation Christians. At least first generation saved, right? And you know what, we know what the other side's like, kids. And when you come to the house of God, you want to come and actually want to listen and want to change your lives and not just be like, oh no, I'm just going to have to sit for it. And then at the end I can get on with something else. But it goes for everyone, right? Because it's not just kids that do that, adults do that as well. When you come to church, right, God's got something to say to you. And my thoughts with it, and this is my thoughts, it's not that, look, you don't want to just be sitting there just like scribbling, scribbling, scribbling, because the reality is you're probably going to miss some stuff that way as well, right? But I do think it's worth having a pen. And just now and then there might be something that's being talked to to you, right? There's something that maybe that God's laid on my heart or that's just in the Word of God, or maybe it's just come out and it's like, yeah, I can apply that to my life. Well, that makes me think a bit. And you know what, it's pretty useful to make a note of that because sermons are an hour long in general. And that might be at the beginning of the sermon, you know. Fifty-five minutes later you've completely forgotten what it was. So what was that point again? Make a note maybe on you, but that's what that bit on the bulletin is for. Go home and actually think about trying to apply it to your life, because look, so much can be said, but it comes back to you in the end, doesn't it? And you hear when you hear something preached and it's like, yeah, actually, that might help me, that might. That's something that I should think about. Take it home with you as well, right? Well, here they were sent to hear God's Word by King Hezekiah. So he sent them to Isaiah to hear the Word. It says in verse three, and they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble and of rebuke and of blasphemy, for the children have come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth. So the image is of an impending labour, but a labour that seems doomed. Without God's intervention that would be. It says in verse four, It may be the Lord thy God will hear the words of Rabshakey, whom the king of Assyria his master has sent to approach the living God, and will reprove the words which the Lord thy God hath heard. Wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that is left. So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah, and Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say unto your master, Thus saith the Lord, Be not afraid of the words that thou has heard. Wherewith the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me, behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumour, and return to his own land, and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land. Now a blast being a sudden strike, something quick, I mean, think, you know, we use the term, for example, like a blast from the past, it's something, you know, sudden, shocking, and here it's referring to swift judgment, okay, it's a strike really, it's something swift. He said, Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumour, and return to his own land, and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land. And as we see at the end of the chapter, this is exactly what happened, and this is paralleled in Second Kings, I think it's 19 is the account, but verse 36 here said, where we are, said, Then the angel of the Lord went forth, verse 36, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and four score and five thousand, and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses. So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned and dwelt at Nineveh, and it came to pass that he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelek and Shereza his son smote him with the sword, and escaped into the land of Armenia. In Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead. With perhaps verse nine fulfilling verse seven's he shall hear a rumour, do you think? Because verse nine said, and he heard say, notice it said, and he heard say concerning Teahakkah king of Ethiopia, he has come forth to make war with thee, and when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah saying. So maybe a part of why he returned and didn't send for reinforcements, he thought that Egypt and Ethiopia were coming as well maybe. Well Isaiah told them, be not afraid, and Rabshakeh who had come to negotiate his surrender returned to Sennacherib. So it says in verse eight, so Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah, for he had heard that he was departed from Lachish. Now Rabshakeh goes back to his king who's warring against Libnah. Libnah is nearby to Lachish, and just interestingly it's only about thirty miles from Jerusalem, so less than a day's march. Thirty miles, and I suppose the army itself, you know, some maybe think they didn't necessarily have to come to the walls with Rabshakeh, but I believe that they probably had, as we're going to see as we go on. I think they got pretty close at least. It said in verse nine, he heard say concerning Teahakkah king of Ethiopia, he has come forth to make war with thee, and when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah saying. So the he in the final sentence, by the way, is Sennacherib as opposed to Rabshakeh. So it's when he heard it being Sennacherib, he sent messengers to Hezekiah. So he sends this letter to Hezekiah as we see, you don't have to tell him, according to verse seventeen, we see it's clearly Sennacherib talking, so it's not Rabshakeh he sent this letter. Verse ten says, Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not thy God in whom thou trustest deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. So notice how he stepped it up now. In the last chapter he was claiming to be sent by God. Isaiah 36 10 said this, And am I now come up without the Lord against this land to destroy it? The Lord said unto me, Go up against this land and destroy it. So he claimed to be of the Lord, didn't he? Claimed that God had told him to do this. Now earlier he said that Hezekiah was against the Lord. Isaiah 36 7 said, But if thou say to me, We trust in the Lord our God, is it not he whose high place and his altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and said to Judah and to Jerusalem, You shall worship before this altar. So he's gone from that, to now he's calling God a deceiver. So he's claimed he's of God, he's claimed that Hezekiah is not of God, but now God's a deceiver. Verse 10 says, where we are, Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, in chapter 37, saying, Let not thy God in whom thou trustest deceive thee, saying, Let not God deceive you, saying, Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. Because my point is that this is what a lot of God's enemies do, they claim to be of God. So they claim they're of God, then they claim that we're doing it all wrong, they claim that whatever way you're doing it, you know, your church's got it all wrong, they slander the leaders, like he was here, Hezekiah's telling you to do this, he's getting it all wrong, you're not godly, you're not doing it God's way. They claim to be so holy, claim to know what God wants, what he doesn't want, how we should behave, everything else. Then eventually, have many years down the line, it's God they're attacking. Suddenly they no longer believe. You get this a lot with these types of people, it's like they were so seemingly so zealous for, oh, we've got to help, you know, and suddenly, and then several years down the line, it's all gone, they don't even care, they don't even believe anymore. Or now they believe in a false version, you know, now it's suddenly they hate, you know, the true God, the God of the Bible, the God that's being preached from, you know, for believing grace through faith churches, and now it's like, well, actually, no, no, no, it's someone else, and they hate that grace through faith, they hate that whatever it is, right, they hate that, they don't believe the Trinity anymore, they don't whatever like just key doctrines of the Bible. So my point is with that is, don't get conned by that whole, oh, yeah, you know, we're just so of God type people, and then when they're just attacking, you know, your faith, attacking what you believe, attacking your church, etc. So often, further down the line, these people end up turning on God as well, because they were never saved in the first place. Verse 11 says, Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by destroying them utterly, and shalt thou be delivered? Have the gods of the nations delivered them, which my fathers have destroyed as Gozen, and Haran, and Rezef, and the children of Eden, which were in Telusar. So Gozen, Haran, and Rezef in Mesopotamia, which is mostly found in today's Iraq, if you're wondering on the map, Telusar too, with Eden being some sort of luxury mart, it seemed a place where luxury goods were sold, as we see in a couple of other places. The point is that these were strong places, this is the point, they were fortresses, these were people of power, people of strength. Verse 13 says, Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arphad, and the king of the city of Sivavim, Hina, and Ivah? So Hamath and Arphad were cities of Syria, Sivavim was in northern Mesopotamia, Hina and Ivah too, so near Babylon, modern day, sort of not far from modern day Baghdad, right? So Sennacherib, he's boasting of their conquests that none of these other places were able to stand up to the Assyrians. Okay, so that's what he's saying, look, you know, basically, none of those were able to be delivered, we basically smashed all these places, we took these places, some of them were then occupied by them. Do you know what it makes me think of? It makes me think of the naysayers that said things like, and this is from early on, a proper church in the UK will never last. They were basically saying it will never last, for example, look at what happens to street preachers there. Have they been able to stand up to basically the god, small g, of this world? I mean, that's what people were saying, weren't they? Look what happens to those obnoxious street preachers, you know, who just get like beaten up by the police, dragged down, you know, smashed about, and then they get arrested afterwards, it's like, you know, you'll never be able to cope. Look at what we've done, basically, to all that, or look at what they've done to all these different types of people. Look at what happens to people baking cakes. Do you remember those stories? Daring to say they didn't want to bake a pro-sodomy cake, you know, and suddenly they're like being sued for thousands or something, it will never work. Look, no one can stand against the, you know, the LGBTQ agenda, no one can stand against the government of the UK, no one can stand against all this stuff. Look at what happens to anyone who says anything against Islam. Look what happens to them. You'll never be able to do it, it will never work, because the rest of them can't do it. Look what's happened, that's the sort of stuff, and we had this building up to this church, it will never work, it will never last, it will never happen, and it continues as well. Verse 12, have the gods of the nations delivered them? And that's really what it comes down to, because that invariably is what these people are, and that's what they miss out. This is what people don't get, right? Or maybe they do get it, right? They just want to, you know, throw a load of fear-mongering at us. They're basically worshippers of the gods of the nations. So those street preachers getting like bent out of shape by the police, you know, the old 70-year-olds getting like tripped up and slammed on the floor, usually when they've resisted arrest and acting like idiots, they usually repent of your sins, or some version of. They're like, oh, well, look what happened to these guys, yeah, they worshipped the gods of the nations. The lordship salvation Jesus being preached from their soapbox at some poor old lady walking past, you know, but sometimes it's worse, sometimes it is like busy areas and stuff, and they preach your false gospel. They go and preach, for example, at a load of sodomites during Pride, to repent of their sins for salvation, and people are like posting these things, going, oh, look, you know, Christianity, it's just, you know, you've got no freedom of speech in England, it's terrible, and everything else. It's like some idiot preaching repent of your sins at a load of sods at a Pride festival. I mean, what on earth, right? I'm glad he got beaten up. You know what I mean? No, the Jesus of the Bible said in Matthew 7, 6, give not that which is holy unto the dogs. Neither cast you your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet and turn again and rend you. That's the God of the Bible, right? They're not preaching that God. They're preaching another God. It's another religion. We believe in the Jesus of the Bible, right? And we want to try to follow him to the best of our ability here, right? What the gods of the nations can and can't do just, it doesn't concern us. It doesn't concern me what the repent of your sins preacher can and can't get away with. It doesn't concern me, because it's a spiritual battle. So we can look at all that, oh, no, I mean, these Christians getting clapped up, they ain't Christians. Not real Christians. Don't worry about that stuff. Worry about what, you know what, now we're like how many years down the line here, four and a half plus years down the line, and we're going strong. And why? Not because of me, not because of anyone here, because of him. Because the Lord's got us, because he's got our back and he's helping us do what we need to do here, right? Said in verse 14, and Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it, and Hezekiah went up onto the house of the Lord and spread it before the Lord. Now, this is another great example from Hezekiah, okay? He didn't isolate himself in despair. He didn't find the supposedly wisest men in Jerusalem to, you know, help him work out what to do. He went up to the house of the Lord and he spread it before the Lord. Turn to Philippians 4, Philippians chapter 4. Psalm 55, 22 says, Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee. He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. See, God wants us to bring our burdens to Him. He wants us to spread it before the Lord, spread out our burdens to the Lord. First Peter 5, 7, your turn to Philippians 4. First Peter 5, 7 says, Casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for you. He wants us to cast it upon Him, and He does care for you. He does love you. That doesn't mean that you won't have to go through anything in life. You still have to suffer the same afflictions that are accomplished in the world, right, that are accomplished amongst our brethren. We still have to go through life, but He cares for you. He'll help you through it. Ask Him to help you through it. Pray to Him to help you through it. And here in Philippians 4 it says this, Philippians 4 says in verse 6, Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. So careful meaning full of care or worry. He's not saying like, oh, just, you know, throw caution to the wind. He's saying you don't need to be full of care or worry. Try not to worry. Instead, bring it to the Lord. And the peace of God, verse 7, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. And when your faith is strong, you can have that peace, knowing that God has your back, right, knowing that things will work out, God's got your back, it's going to be okay. How do we bring it to the Lord? How do we spread our troubles out before the Lord? Well, verse 6 explains it. Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. Funny, isn't it? He's saying don't care for anything. So but in everything by prayer and supplication, yeah, you're like, yeah, fair enough, yeah, ask God with thanksgiving. You need to remember to thank God. And when you remember to thank God for things, you're appreciating God for things, then it might stop you being that, you know, a bit resentful and everything else that sometimes we can get, right? He's saying, no, no, with prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, don't forget to thank God. And ultimately what you do with thanksgiving as well, you're putting it back in God's hands, you're giving God the glory, aren't you? For so many things in your life. So it's prayer, it's putting it in his hands. And that's how we bring things to God, and that's exactly what Hezekiah did. It says in verse 15, and Hezekiah prayed unto the Lord saying, O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, that dwells between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone of all the kingdoms of the earth, thou has made heaven and earth. So he started with some proper reverence, didn't he? Didn't he there? That was some reverence. And again, this is something else, right? This is a good habit to get into. And you know what? This might help you in life. When you pray to God, when you come to God, when you call out to God, give him some reverence, right? Call him by his holy name, call out and give him the reverence, give him the respect that we should to not treat the God of all the kingdoms of the earth who made heaven and earth like some sort of optional genie in the lamp. You know, I call on man again and then I get the empathy doesn't give me what I want, right? Give him some reverence, give him some respect. Sometimes it's good to start prayer by thanking him for things, you know? You're giving him the credit, giving him the glory, giving him the respect that, yeah, he answers my prayers, give him some reverence. Here he's saying, O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, that dwells between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone of all the kingdoms of the earth, thou has made heaven and earth. I mean, that's a great start to a prayer, isn't it? And when you get, when you're making that start to a prayer, you're giving him the due respect that we should. I think maybe it might help you then not to murmur and complain in life when you don't get what you want necessarily. Because he's not just the sort of, you know, like I said, the optional genie that, you know, didn't answer this one. So it's a God of the world. It's the God of this whole world of all nations. It's the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, of all the kings of the earth. He made heaven and earth. Who on earth are we to complain at him? Who on earth are we to moan at him, to complain, to murmur? But it's not just for prayer as well. I think that when you're giving him that reverence, there are other things. Maybe you're less likely to treat his house disrespectfully. Or if you think, yeah, here he goes. What have we done now? No, I'm not thinking about anything in particular, but you know, it just helps us to have that respect for godly things, right? Coming into the house of God. And of course, look, you know, aside from services, this is a building that we meet in. But once we meet together, this is a house of God. We're in the house of God. To treat, then, his children with respect as well. Because we're all made in the image of God. And as we treat each other and give respect and don't give respect to each other, ultimately, we're talking to God's children. And he cares about that stuff, doesn't he? How we treat each other, his word. How about having respect for the word of God? The God that's made heaven and earth. That dwells between the cherubim. The God even now alone. I can't bother with this today though. Nonsense. I'm bored. Give me something more exciting to do. Yeah, well, I know he wants me to read it, but whatever. Whatever. When you give him the reverence, maybe you're more likely to give him the respect in other areas of your life, do you think? I think it helps. I think that's why he wants us to do that. We see the examples in the Bible are doing that. Giving him the respect, giving him the reverence, and we're more likely to then respect other things, the things of God, maybe. Not to handle the word deceitfully, not to neglect it, not to, God forbid, maybe even hate on it. Look, God's children can do that. I don't like that bit. Those verses or that bit, trying to tell me to live this way or do that or behave this way or behave that way. I don't like that and start to get angry with it. Get angry with the word of God, which often manifests instead of angry with the preacher or angry with something else in life. Verse 16, I, Lord of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even now alone. Of all the kingdoms of the earth, thou has made heaven and earth. Incline thine ear, O Lord, and hear. Open thine eyes, O Lord, and see. And hear all the words of Sennacherib, which is sent to reproach the living God. Of a truth, Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations and their countries and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were no gods but the work of men's hands, wood and stone. Therefore, they have destroyed them. So Hezekiah said, yeah, the Assyrian Empire has been crushing all those different kingdoms, right, which at the same time was destroying all of their idols. So they're getting crushed, you know. The false gods were getting exposed for what they were when the Assyrians destroyed the nation and burnt their idols, right. It didn't really show much power of their silly idols as they're just getting smashed, crushed. Idols are getting burnt. What made them false gods? Well, they were the work of men's hands, okay. That's what it says here, for they were no gods but the work of men's hands. Now this works on two levels, okay. So number one, they were physically created by men. They were idols of wood and stone, carved, made. They were the creation of men's imaginations and men's hands, okay. So there's that. And, you know, these guys were, it's a funny old thing to think that, isn't it, that people were like, well, you know, I like the idea of this god, so I'm just going to carve it and now worship it. But isn't that what people do? That's what someone, I was talking to someone today who was, you know, got a young lady saved but her friend was kind of like just the complete opposite, was angry at God, was angry because her brother's a sodomite and she knew without me even explaining to her that he was, there was no chance for him. What she was basically saying, she was going, well, I don't want, I don't, she's claiming to be an atheist on one hand and on the other hand, I don't like a god that does this or does that and basically she was just saying, I don't like the true god and I just want to make my own god. I would like a god that says, oh yes, you know, that he just has no problem with sodomy and whatever else I've done in my life and everything else but he doesn't like, you know, but he's this or that and that's what people do and that's ultimately what so many people do, don't they? And now, of course, you've got the ones where they claim, they go to the Bible and they claim to understand the Bible and they go, well, you know, the faith that works is dead or something else, right? But so many are just like, well, I think that God just loves everyone. I think that, and what it, it's just, it's the work of your own hands. It's a god of your own making. You've just designed your own god. You've gone, yeah, take a bit of heaven and hell. Some of that's all right, maybe for the really bad people, the hell bit. Yeah, you know, well, there's a Bible but I'm going to go with, no, not every word's preserved by God or inspired by God. I'm just going to go with it's got some nice things in it if I want to follow them or not. I like some of it, right? And then I'm just going to go with sort of, well, most nice people that I think are nice are going to go to heaven. Other than that, don't even bother with him the rest of the time. Maybe sing a couple of hymns at Christmas just for fun. You know, that's about the extent of, you know, what he wants from me in life. And that's what people are doing, aren't they? And this is all over the world. People just create their own god. It's a work of men's hands. So on one hand you've got that, okay? That's ultimately what it is, whether it's an actual image they worship or not. But then you've got, you've got, you've got a second way, okay? The second way is that they're a false god that responds to the work of men's hands. So he said, for they were no gods but the work of men's hands. So basically all of these false gods are just different forms of a workspace of salvation. That's what they are. That's what false gods are, pretty much across the board. They're just the work, they're also a god that responds to the work of men's hands. So they make the god but the god is the work of men's hands in terms of they respond to the work of men's hands, they respond to works. But Galatians 2 16 says, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ that we might be justified by the faith of Christ. And not by the works of the law, for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. And that's ultimately the difference between the god of the Bible and all other gods. Pretty, I mean that's it down to a T isn't it really? They're the work of men's hands. And if everyone tries to put doubt in your mind and make you unsure, well you know that word repent could mean that you've got to try and give up all your sins or anything else. That's just the work of men's hands. Well maybe I do have to make him lord of my life for the rest of my life or maybe I could lose my salvation or something else. That's just the work of men's hands. That's the other religion. And the other religion comes in different angles of trying again and you're not going to lose your salvation but maybe put a bit of doubt in your mind, make you a bit unsure, make you less confident about doing the things of God, going to church, preaching the gospel and all those things just to make you, I'm not sure, maybe stop wanting to think about it, get confused and just give up on God and everything else. That's what a lot of those angles are about. You're not going to lose your salvation but they might make you just get to the point where you're not confident about preaching the gospel but ultimately that's what it comes down to. There's two types of God in life. There's the God of the Bible, the true God, where salvation is offered freely, it's gracefully, faith alone. And then there's the other religion, just some version of works. The work of men's hands. And that's how they're cast into the fire. And I think that's how we can cast them into the fire as well, by the reality of the absurdity that sinful flesh can work its way into God's grace. And I think for me that's the angle I try and go at a lot when I'm preaching the gospel. It's just to show that there's ultimately just two ways in life. You're either going to try and work your way to heaven one way or it's gracefully faith. And we kind of destroy those idols often when we're preaching the gospel just like the Assyrians were to all these nations by destroying them. So therefore, here it said they have destroyed them. It said therefore, in verse 19, they have destroyed them. Why? Because they were the work of men's hands. He then says now therefore our Lord our God save us from his hand that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the Lord even now only. Now for me this is key to a successful prayer. So number one here, Hezekiah is praying that God comes through with the result being that God is glorified. So he's saying now therefore Lord our God save us from his hand that all the kings of the earth may know that thou art the Lord even now only. Now that's something that we should be seeking, okay? We should be wanting to be able to glorify God due to his answering our prayers, shouldn't we? So I don't know if you ever do that. Sometimes, you know, especially like for example when someone's like seriously ill and stuff like that it's like please God because then, you know, you know, if you if you answer this prayer, if you make this person well then it's going to glorify you. You can show other people that you do answer prayer, that you do, you do heal, you do these great things. And obviously in hard times of things like that, that's something we should want to see, right? We should want to see God glorified. For example, just on that, what does the end of the example prayer, the Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6 13 say? It says then lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil for. So he said don't lead us not into temptation, deliver us from evil for because thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. So he's saying deliver us from evil for because the glory goes to him, because it goes to him when he does that, when he delivers us, when he helps us, we should then be putting the glory, giving the glory to the Lord. Hezekiah doesn't want all the kingdoms of the earth to know that he's so great, does he? It's not like if you could just help us, everyone thinks I'm an amazing king, that he's so strategic, he wants glory to go to God. It's a great example isn't it? But here's another way of looking at this as well. It's in verse 20. Now therefore our Lord our God save us from this hand that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the Lord even thou only. So why do we as a church want to be delivered from the enemy? Is it so that we can all continue to have a jolly good time together? Why do we as individuals want to be delivered from the enemy? Is it so that we can have a lovely peaceful life, a pleasant retirement, just be able to really put our feet up and not have to worry about anything for the rest of our lives? I believe it's so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the Lord even thou only. See when we're asking to be saved from hard times and trouble, maybe even certain death like it was looking like here, whatever it is, a good reason would be that we want to continue spreading the truth to the rest of the world. Wouldn't that be a good reason to be praying and a good thing to be saying in prayer maybe? Look, Lord, deliver me, deliver our church from this trouble, deliver us from these problems, deliver me, deliver my family, help us out of this, so that, that all the kings of the earth may know that thou art the Lord even thou only, because I'm going to go forward and keep preaching the Gospel, because I'm going to keep going out, I'm going to keep serving you, I'm going to keep just reaching the lost with the truth. And we're saying, Lord, deliver me so I can continue to serve you, Lord, deliver our church so that we can continue to reach the lost. And you kind of feel like, if that's your attitude, you're probably more likely to get those prayers answered, right? Because what are we even here for? Oh, Lord, just help me out of it so I can kind of, you know, just get back to my hobby. Lord, thy will be done, deliver me so I can, you know, get back to relaxing on a Sunday and doing what I want. I'm not saying you have to, it has to be like this life of hardship, not saying that, but ultimately what are we asking? Why are we even coming to the Lord? Why aren't we just saying just end me? Just kill me early. I mean, that would be your prayer otherwise, wouldn't it? Because he's got work for us to do. He's got a job for us to do. And you could apply that in that way. He said, now, therefore, our Lord, our God, save us from his hand that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the Lord even thou only. And that's going to happen when God's people are saved and kept living to hopefully then go out and preach the gospel to the lost. Now, what happened here when Hezekiah prayed in this way? Look at verse 21. Then Isaiah, the son of Amos, sent unto Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, whereas thou has prayed to me against the Nakarim, king of Assyria, this is the word which the Lord have spoken concerning him. The virgin, the daughter of Zion, hath despised thee and laughed thee to scorn. The daughter of Jerusalem has shaken her head at thee. So the image is basically of being mocked by a young lady. Now, just in case, you know, women here might not understand this game, this is a fearful thing for many men out there. Especially many single young men being mocked by a young maiden is like, this is kind of the worst thing that could happen. Here he's saying that that's how it will be for Sennacherim. So basically all that posturing, all that flexing, there are guys that do that, don't they? When we were in the high street on Sunday, this guy literally walked past about five times, and he had this one rolled up, this t-shirt, and he had this brand new tattoo, and he was walking like this. And he just kept going backwards and forwards. And he was like, what? But he just looked so silly. But maybe there were some girls or some young maidens somewhere nearby that he was just so wanting to impress, right? So that's what he's saying. He's saying, all of this by Sennacherim, all this, look at what I've done, look at all these people I've taken out, look how great I am. And he's saying, the virgin, the daughter of Zion, who despises, she's hated him, laughed him to scorn. And that's a fearful thing for a young man to think he's going to be laughed to scorn. The daughter of Jerusalem has shaken her head at thee. Said, whom has thou reproached and blasphemed? And against whom has thou exalted thy voice and lifted up thine eyes on high, even against the Holy One of Israel? So when you go for God's people, okay, when you approach God's house, you're approaching the Lord. That's what you're doing. But also when you give yourself the credit for something that came from God. And that would go to both, that's God's people and those that aren't God's people. If it's something that God's done that's come from God, you're approaching blaspheming him if you're trying to take the credit. He said in verse 24, by thy servants has thou reproached the Lord, and has said, by the multitude of my chariots am I come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon, and I will cut down the tall cedars thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof, and I will enter into the height of his border and the forest of his Carmel. I have digged and drunk water, and with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of the besieged places. So basically, excuse me, Sennacherib is lifted up, he wants to take the credit. Said in verse 26, it said, has thou not heard long ago how I have done it? This is God saying this. And of ancient times that I have formed it, now have I brought it to pass, that thou shouldest be to lay waste to fenced cities, and to ruin its heap. So what the Lord's saying is that it was because he willed it, okay, that the Assyrians were able to do what they did. And just point out that that's not to say that everything in life is ordained by God. Because of course, you know, you get people that would look at this and be like, see, nothing can happen without God ordaining it in life. That's nonsense, okay. There's so much free will preached throughout the Bible. I mean, where do you even start with that, right? However, however, this particular empire and their judgment of the surrounding nations was of God. That was of God. Okay, he chose the Assyrians to judge the people of that region. Verse 27 says, therefore their inhabitants were of small power. They were dismayed and confounded. They were as the grass of the field and as the green herb, as the grass on the housetops, and as corn blasted before it be grown up. So basically, he's saying they were just like, destroyed quickly, right? It was easy. It wasn't that the Assyrians were anything special, though. Instead that the Lord weakened the surrounding nations. Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, they were dismayed and confounded. So he made them dismayed and confounded, which incidentally is a result of just rejecting the Lord as well, isn't it? You're going to be dismayed, you're going to be confounded, you're going to be confused with life, with things, you know, and that's a result of a rejection, but however that's worked, God's ordained this to happen. He said, but I know thy abode, and I going out, and I coming in, and I rage against me. So how's the rage at God manifested? How are they raging at God? Like, where is it directed when people rage at God? I tell you where, it's at his people. Usually, isn't it? Now and again, you get those people that go, I'm so angry with God, but usually they don't. Usually they won't verbalize that, instead they'll be angry at his people. At Jerusalem, it is here, and what's in Jerusalem, what are we seeing mentioned so much? It's the house of God. So people do this today. So instead of saying they're so angry with God, they're so angry with the church, so angry with, you know, I just can't believe it, you know, those people, and then they start coming out with their holier than thou's, or their this, or their that, their hypocrisy and everything else, and these people, a lot of the time it's just angry at God, or the preaching. You say, I just can't believe, you know, the preaching on this, or preaching on that. Brother or sister so-and-so, people do that, don't they? And I'm talking about, like, saved people do that, and obviously, like, you know, unsaved people that come in amongst us as well, but saved people, they just, you know, instead of admitting that they're angry with God, they're so angry with this person, this person in the church, something else, whatever, people just find excuses, don't they? But the rage really is at God, and God knows your heart, so you can fool other people, but he knows. He said in verse 29, because I rage against me and thy tumult is come up into mine ears, therefore will I put my hook in thy nose and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest. And this shall be a sign unto thee, ye shall eat this year such as growth of itself, and the second year that which springeth of the same, and in the third year sow ye and reap and plant vineyards and eat the fruit thereof. So the sign being that it won't just be a temporary reprieve, so they're going to start rebuilding the nation again with time, is what he's saying. So they're going to eat that which grows of itself for the first two years, or what springs off that for the second that is, and in the third year they're going to sow and reap and plant vineyards, so they're going to rebuild, basically. And I say rebuild, because look, verse 31 says, and the remnant that is escaped from the house of Judah shall again take root downward and bear fruit upward, for out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and neither the scape had a mount Zion, the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall do this. Now, just a reminder in case you're going, well, you know, why is it going to take all this time? What's this about, just a remnant? Where's everyone else? Isaiah 36 one said this, now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah that Sennacherib, king of Assyria, came up against some or all, all the defence cities of Judah and took them. All the defence cities. I mean, it's a lot of people. Now, that's got to have been a lot of disruption. Now, I'm going to give you Sennacherib's. Now you can take this for what you want, okay? This is Sennacherib's account of the invasion that's giving in the Assyrian annals, okay? So this is basically, you know, what was written by him and they've dug it up now and managed to translate it. This is what Sennacherib said happened. He said, because Hezekiah, king of Judah, would not submit to my yoke, I came up against him and by force of arms and by the might of my power I took forty-six of his strong-fenced cities, and of the smaller towns which were scattered about I took and plundered a countless number. From these places I took and carried off two hundred thousand a hundred and fifty-six persons. Now, he's pretty precise here with the numbers, isn't he? Again, you might go, well, do we, do we, no, it's not scripture, but it's quite interesting that he claims to have taken away over two hundred thousand people from the southern kingdom of Judah. He said, old and young, men and female, together with horses and mules, asses and camels, oxen and sheep, a countless multitude. And Hezekiah himself I shut up in Jerusalem, his capital city, like a bird in a cage, building towers round the city to hem him in and raising banks of earth against the gates so as to prevent escape. It then continues, then upon Hezekiah there fell the fear of the power of my arms. He sent out to me the chiefs and the elders of Jerusalem, with thirty talents of gold and eight hundred talents of silver, and divers treasures, a rich and immense booty. All these things were brought to me at Nineveh, the seat of my government. Okay, so this is what he claimed, and as we know that there was actually, he did pay him certain amount. Now, Sennacherib didn't want to basically admit to what happened, a defeat, so he didn't record it unlike it being recorded in the Word of God, but he did at least record, I have no reason to argue with that, because what it said in the beginning of Isaiah chapter 36, where it said that he took all the defensities of Judah and took them, 200,000 probably sounds about right, I mean it was immense, right, this was like destruction, like this was almost the whole of the southern kingdom destroyed, which would have basically, it would have been like, but what happened to the, what happened to the prophecies, what happened to, you know, basically that line of David continuing because it was nearly destroyed, and they got this close, they took out everyone else first, then got to the, basically to the walls of Jerusalem pretty much, which by the way, because obviously the remnant survived, it was those that trusted the Lord and came to Jerusalem, which I think, I don't know, do you think maybe that was probably expected to be taken first? So that didn't seem like the sensible option to go to Jerusalem where he was going to come and try and take and invade and take the king either captive and to torture and everything else or whatever he's going to do, so I'd imagine that probably the sensible option was like, just go into one of the outer cities and then see what happens, but God said go to Jerusalem, so there was a remnant that had their faith in the Lord that listened to the preacher Isaiah and said we're going to stay in the walls, and then all those others that went to these other cities and other places, they end up getting taken out, right? So God though said that they would be safer through Isaiah, and what is it, the remnant that survived were those that did what? They stayed closest to the Lord, and where was it that was closest to the Lord? Jerusalem. What was in Jerusalem? His house. It's the house of God, isn't it? And that's where we're closest to the Lord. What's the result? They will take root downward, it said, and bear fruit upward, which is what? By the way, Psalm 92, if you want to turn there quickly, Psalm 92 promises this. It says this in Psalm 92, we're going to look at verse 13. We've just seen that he said, and the remnant that has escaped to the house of Judah shall again take root downward, they're going to be planted and bear fruit upward, and they're going to bear fruit. Well Psalm 92, like I said, it all comes back to the house of God, says this in verse 13, Psalm 92, 13. Those that be planted in the house of the Lord, they're planted, they're fixed there, shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age. They shall be fat and flourishing. To show that the Lord is upright, he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him. So that's the result of staying close to the Lord. That's where we all want to be in the future, don't we? Planted in the house of the Lord, flourishing in the courts of our God, bringing forth fruit in old age. Fat and flourishing. Maybe if we don't go too fat, you know. Healthy, you know. But meaning, you know, just flourishing, doing well, blessed, and to show that the Lord is upright, he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him. Again, look, I don't want to sound like repetitive with this inclusion, but it's just what it always comes back to. Like, obviously, it comes back to the word of God, reading the word of God, hearing the word of God, it comes back to the house of God. And those are the people that survive in the long run is those planted in the house of the Lord. And that's what we see in Psalm 92, that's what we've just seen back in Isaiah 37, where it said in verse 31, the remnant that is escaped to the house of Judah, those that stayed in Jerusalem, that were by the house of God, shall again take root downward and bear fruit upward, for out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape out of Mount Zion, the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall do this. And rather than the Lord of hosts just doing this, notice how it's a zeal of the Lord of the hosts, which for me is that zeal of the remnant, which does this. He said, for out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, neither to escape out of Mount Zion, the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall do this. I think that's the zeal of the remnant. It's a zeal of the Lord of hosts, or maybe it's a zeal that they get from the Lord of hosts, it's a zeal for the Lord of hosts. Point being, if you want to make it, you want to make it in the Christian life, you want to keep going, you want to stay planted, you want to take root downward, bear fruit upward, you need to get a bit of zeal, don't you? You need a bit of zeal for the things of God. Bit of excitement, bit of like fervent zeal to just get souls saved, to read your Bible, to learn, to grow, hear preaching, preach yourself, all those different things just to make the things of God work out, just get some zeal, get some excitement for it, right? Some zeal for living the Christian life, some zeal even maybe for the battles, zeal for all of it. You need some zeal, don't you? You need to be zealous. How do you get that? You go, how do I get, I haven't got the zeal, pastor, I'm here by thread, right? I much prefer to be watching, I don't know, midweek, is it Europe Champions League, I don't know, maybe something like that, whatever it is, there's something on. I much prefer, I'm finding it hard, I don't really have that zeal, what do I do? Get around other zealous people, it's contagious. It's contagious, isn't it? When you're around people that just have zeal for the Lord and they're talking about the things of God, they're excited about soul winning, they're excited about, you know, the word of God, they're excited about preaching, excited about what this might mean, what that, it just, it's contagious. It gets, it brings a bit of zeal out in you a bit, doesn't it? Where on earth are you going to find some zealous people for the Lord? Anyone know? It's got to be Strong Tower Baptist Church, isn't it? I'll tell you where's some zealous people for the Lord on a Wednesday night in Strong Tower Baptist Church. Wednesday night down in Strong Tower Baptist Church, that's the place to be, isn't it? That's where you're going to find some zealous people and that's where you're then going to increase your zeal for the Lord, right? You need to get around zealous people. He said in verse 33, with that in mind, he said, the zeal of the Lord the host shall do this, therefore, thus saith the Lord concerning the king of Assyria, he shall not come into the city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shields, nor cast a bank against it, by the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into the city saith the Lord, for I will defend this city to save it for mine own sake and for my servant David's sake. So the prophet Isaiah was standing in front of him saying, thus saith the Lord, it's not happening, Sennacherib will not get in here. He won't even attempt to besiege it. Do you think maybe Hezekiah took comfort? I reckon so. He's got like the prophet of God there just going, you're going to be all right, you're going to be all right. And of course what the Lord says will come to pass, right? So it's not just Isaiah saying, you know that it's going to happen. I reckon Hezekiah probably did take comfort from that. And you can take comfort from the promises of God. You take comfort when you're hearing the word of God preached and it's reminding you of the promises, reminding you of the blessings, reminding you of God being there to answer your prayers, to hear your prayers, to be there for you, to protect you, to save you. This is what he's saying here. You will be delivered. Verse 36 said, then the angel of the Lord went forth and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and four score and five thousand. That's a hundred and eighty-five thousand. And when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses. Now how he smoked them isn't clear, but whatever it was, he wiped out a big army. And notice how it's the angel of the Lord. I mean, I don't think, maybe, I know sometimes you kind of read that and you think, does he just mean plural? I think it probably was just the angel of the Lord, right? Here it goes, he's referring to the Lord Jesus Christ himself there. Maybe, maybe not. Maybe it was just an angel came down and just went to work, right? And maybe that could be in many ways. It could have been some pestilence. It could have been, it could have just been sheer slaughter. It could have been anything, right? But he killed a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the morning. They're all dead. That must have been amazing to see, amazing to know that he just wiped out this whole army in one night. Said in verse thirty-seven, so Sennacherib, king of Assyria, departed and went and returned. And just on that, when you see God come through, and a lot of people are long enough in the tooth theatre to have seen it happen, sometimes in big ways in their life where they just, you know, they've had hard times, they've had problems, maybe they've had like attacks, maybe whatever, right? Whatever it is in your life. And then you see God come through in an amazing way. Isn't it great for your faith, right? It's a great faith strengthener. And I know some people write these things down. I never kind of have, because I think sometimes your memory, like you block it out, the flesh, you want to start trusting the flesh again and forget. But maybe it's a good idea, because they're like, if you look back in your life, there's so many ways, times and ways God's come through for you where things like this, where a hundred and eighty-five thousand people just wiped out must have just, wow. Just amazing, isn't it? It said that he departed and went and returned to dwelt Nineveh, and you can imagine that he didn't want to come back to Judah again. Well, he went off the idea. In fact, he didn't come back for the remainder of his twenty-year reign. Because it says here in verse thirty-eight, and it came to pass that he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelek and Shereza his sons, smote him with the sword and escaped into the land of Armenia, and these are had and his son Raiden instead. Now this was apparently six hundred and eighty-one BC. And the prophecy in verse seven, where we are, was, Behold, I will send a blast upon him and he shall hear a rumour and return to his own land, and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land. Now the Lord didn't do it for twenty years, okay. Perhaps, I was thinking about this, perhaps knowing that Sennacherib wouldn't himself return to Judah, maybe he kept him alive knowing that he had that first hand experience, he would not be coming back there, maybe it was a way of protecting them as well. But eventually he had him killed. And what a way to go by two of his sons. I mean that's savage isn't it. Two of his own sons killed him, smote him with the sword while he's worshipping his false god. I mean that is a judgement of God that isn't it, right. And what a stain on him as well then. So this guy who reproached the Lord, who blasphemed against God, who God is clearly angry with, he waited, so sometimes you've got to wait it out to see God do these things, he waited, but then twenty years later this king of Assyria is killed by his own sons, and what a stain on his reign really isn't it. Throughout history Sennacherib was known as having been murdered by his own sons. And God did what he said he would do, it just took a while. And it's not that it had to take a while, he chose for it to take a while, and sometimes God will come through for you, sometimes you just have to wait to see what he does, see the judgement of God on people. He does it in his own timing, but when he says he'll do something he'll do it won't he. And that's what happened that went down in history that Sennacherib was killed eventually by his own sons. And twenty years later, but it happened. And everything God says will happen does happen. And on that, that was our 37, and we're going to finish in prayer. Father thank you Lord for the truths of that chapter, and especially Lord just the examples we see in prayer, and giving you that respect, giving you that reference, Lord help us to all do that, help us to bring things to you, lay them out, spread them out before you Lord, bring all our troubles, all our cares to you, and to have that faith, that trust that you'll answer our prayers Lord, help us to have more, just you know more faith in our prayers Lord, help us to just be a church here that just is you know is constantly in prayer Lord, a church which prays for each other, which prays for everything in life, that just knowing that that will be a strong church Lord, help us to be a strong church, help us to all just get home safe and sound this evening to have a good rest of the week with you at the centre of it Lord, and to return on Sunday, and before that for Saturday's trip for the ladies to go, great Lord, and in Jesus' name I pray all of this, Amen.