We are released from Chapter 20.
Those paintings.
And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem: believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe His prophets, so shall ye prosper.
And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed them that should sing unto the Lord, and that should praise Him in holy array, as they went out before the army, and say, Give thanks unto the Lord; for His lovingkindness endureth for ever.
And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set liers-in-wait against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, that were come against Judah; and they were smitten.
For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another.
And when Judah came to the watch-tower of the wilderness, they looked upon the multitude; and behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and there were none that escaped.
And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches with the dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away: and they were three days in taking the spoil, it was so much.
And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Beracah; for there they blessed the Lord: therefore the name of that place was called The valley of Beracah unto this day.
— 2 Chronicles 20:20-26
Last night we mentioned that in the books of Chronicles we can see how important leadership is to a nation.
When there were good kings in the nation of Judah, who led the people back to God, then that whole nation was blessed, entered into rest, and prospered by God. But when there were bad men who led the nation away from God, then the whole nation entered into ruin and curse.
And we know that this is true even today. How important is spiritual leadership to God’s people! May God raise up good leadership that will lead His people into the full purpose of God.
As you look around today at the condition of the church in general, I believe you will discover that this is of most vital importance. It does not mean that God’s people are not responsible for what they are or for what they do. Of course, having the Holy Spirit in each one of us, everyone is responsible.
And yet, on the other hand, you will find leadership has much to do with the future of God’s people. I believe that in Chronicles there is much we can learn concerning leadership. And, of course, in a very general way, it can be applied to everyone.
Last night we began with one king, King Asa. He had a marvelous beginning with God, and yet toward the end somehow we find that he grew cold and became hard. Even in his last days, he did not inquire of the Lord, but only the physicians. I hope we have learned some lessons.
Now this evening we would like to go to another good king: King Jehoshaphat.
When King Jehoshaphat came to the throne, he was thirty-five years old. We know his father Asa was on the throne for forty-one years. So we can see that Jehoshaphat was born in the early days of the reign of King Asa—that is to say, when Asa did that which was right and good in the sight of the Lord.
Jehoshaphat was born when his father was serving God faithfully. Even later on, when his father became hard toward God, this young man, instead of following the fallen footsteps of his father Asa, learned the right lesson that he should learn.
Instead of following his father in his hardened heart, it served as a warning to him, and he was encouraged to serve God with a perfect heart. The Bible says that he walked in the first ways of his father David.
Now, dear brothers and sisters, when we see something before us, there is the possibility of two different kinds of reaction. One kind of reaction is to follow the bad example. But the other reaction is to see how bad it is, and by the grace of God react to it in such a way that it pushes us even more toward the Lord.
How we hope that this will be the way we learn. Whenever we see something that ought to serve as a warning to us, we need to take the warning and take it to heart, that we may really double our effort, as it were, in trying to follow the Lord.
So here you find Jehoshaphat. Not only did he not walk in the ways of his father Asa in the latter days, but you find that he walked according to the first ways of his father—indeed, the first ways of his father David.
We know throughout the book of Chronicles that God always raised up David as the standard. He measured every leader according to whether they served God with a heart as perfect as David’s, and whether they walked in the ways of David.
Just to follow Asa is not enough. Even to walk in the early days of Asa is not enough. You have to go back to the early ways of his father David.
Now, why is it that you find this expression, “the early ways of his father David”? That brings us back to the time of David, when he was a shepherd watching a few sheep in the wilderness.
He was unknown, neglected by his father, and despised by his brothers. There he was watching a few sheep. But during those days, you find how he developed a heart for God, and what is more, how he trusted in the Lord.
When the lion came, and when the bear came, how in the power of God he destroyed the lion and the bear and rescued the sheep. God delivered him from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear. That is David’s first way.
Even after he was manifested to the children of Israel, he was persecuted by Saul. For ten years he fled as a fugitive in caves and strongholds. Yet during those days, in the early ways of David, you find that in spite of all the adversities, they drew him closer to God.
How obedient he was to God! He would not even lift his hand against his enemy Saul, when God seemed to deliver Saul into his hand. These are the early ways of David. What obedience was David’s unto the Lord—not only a heart toward God, but a walk with God.
Now, why does it not simply say, “the ways of his father David”? Because we know that when David became king, something happened. His heart was still perfect toward the Lord, but his ways were no longer perfect.
In the matter of Uriah, and in the matter of counting the number of Israel, you find that even though David’s heart was still perfect, his way was not as perfect. But if you look into the early ways of David, it was perfect.
And this was what Jehoshaphat was. He had a perfect heart toward God, and he walked in the early ways of his father David.
Dear brothers and sisters, what God is looking for in leadership—what God is looking for in people in general—first of all, is a perfect heart. The heart is more important than anything else.
You must first have a perfect heart toward God. That is to say, your heart is wholly toward God. Then the second thing God will be looking for is your way. You may have a perfect heart toward the Lord, but how about your ways? Are you really walking humbly, in obedience to the Lord, in all your ways?
It does not satisfy God’s heart if we just try to be a little better than somebody else. Sometimes we try to compare ourselves with others: “I am better than the former generation.” But that is not enough.
The only standard that God sets up for us is Christ—nothing less than Christ. Christ is the golden rule. He is the only measurement that God has, and He will measure everyone’s heart and way by Christ.
Look at Christ. How His heart is meek and lowly. Look at His ways. How He was obedient unto the Father, even unto death, yea, the death of the cross. This is what God expects us to be.
The reason is that we have the life of Christ in us. So He will not accept anything less than Christ. Anything that is less than Christ does not reach the standard. That is what God is looking for, and that is what satisfies Him.
And thank God, you find Jehoshaphat began with such a heart, and he began to walk in such a way. No wonder God prospered him. He had honor and riches in abundance.
Of course, dear brothers and sisters, today in the new covenant, we are not expecting honor and riches in abundance in a material way. It may not work that way. But it does work in a spiritual way, because God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
Today, if we serve the Lord with a perfect heart and walk in the ways of Christ all the way, surely God will bless us and give us riches and honor in abundance. But that is in a spiritual way; it may not be material.
During that time, you find that in the third year he sent out his princes and priests to teach the people. He sent them out to travel over his nation, to the cities of Judah, and to teach the people to fear the Lord.
For the building of God’s house, there is a place for teaching. The word of grace is that which really builds us up.
So you find whenever there is a real heart toward the Lord and a walk according to the Lord, out of that there will be a teaching ministry going to the people. That teaching ministry comes out of your own walk with the Lord, out of your own experience with the Lord. It will build the nation and strengthen God’s people in a very marvelous way.
But there is one thing we do not understand. After God gave Jehoshaphat such honor and riches in abundance, he did not walk in the ways of Israel. At that time Israel was under the reign of King Ahab, one of the most wicked kings Israel ever had.
He led the whole nation away from the Lord God to worship Baal. Here you find that Jehoshaphat did not walk in the ways of Israel, because he walked in the ways of God. He was separated completely from Israel, because Israel was a bad example.
But there is something we cannot understand. We find that when he had riches and honor in abundance, he allied himself with Ahab by marriage.
We do not understand how it can be that a person who saw so clearly the bad influence of Israel, and resisted the ways of Israel so strongly, and walked so firmly in the ways of God, could yet ally himself with Ahab by marriage.
It is something we cannot explain. He walked in the first ways of David, but now there was a flaw in his walk. He had been separated, but he began to be joined to Israel—and that by marriage, the most intimate means.
Why? Was it because Ahab, seeing the prosperity of Jehoshaphat, was trying to get his help and laid a trap for him? And Jehoshaphat walked into that trap? That is possible. But why did he not inquire of the Lord?
Or was it because Jehoshaphat, in his great zeal for the Lord, saw that God’s people were divided? Perhaps he hoped that the nation of Israel and the nation of Judah would be rejoined into one. Because of this great aspiration for unity between the two nations, perhaps he took the way of expediency and tried to join the two nations together by marriage, thinking that he could influence Israel and lead Israel back to God. That might be possible too.
Dear brothers and sisters, wherever there is separation, you find the enemy will try every way to break down that separation. The enemy knows that separation has power.
But on the other hand, unity never comes by compromise.
You remember the prayer of our Lord Jesus in John 17. The main burden of our Lord—not only at that moment, but all the time—is that we may be one as He and the Father are one.
How the Lord prayed not only for His immediate disciples, but He prayed for those who believed in Him through His disciples. In other words, the Lord had the whole church in view. The Lord had all His people in view, and the burden and desire of our Lord is that we who believe in Him may be one, as He and the Father are one.
That is the burning desire of our Lord. Yet in the same prayer, before He asked the Father that we may be one, He said:
They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
— John 17:16
In other words, you cannot have that oneness in Christ unless there is separation from the world. The reason why God’s people cannot be one is because there is too much of the world in us.
In Christ, purely Christ, we are not divided. Is Christ divided? He cannot be. But the reason why God’s people are divided and cannot be one is because we have not been separated from the world. It is the world in us that hinders our oneness.
Separation is the secret to oneness.
Dear brothers and sisters, this principle is often overlooked. How people try to maintain oneness by compromise! I wonder if that was what Jehoshaphat did. He adopted the way of expediency. He sacrificed principles that he had kept very faithfully.
He tried to join the two nations together and arrive at the oneness of God’s children and God’s people. But that will not work. On the contrary, you find that it is always evil that has the upper hand.
Instead of helping Ahab bring Ahab and the nation of Israel back to God, Ahab drew Jehoshaphat into helping him. Jehoshaphat nearly lost his life.
The teaching of the Word is, “Be not unequally yoked with unbelievers.” Because there is nothing in common—nothing in common.
If we separate, then the Lord says:
I will be to you a Father,
And ye shall be to Me sons and daughters,
Saith the Lord Almighty.— 2 Corinthians 6:18
El Shaddai—the all-sufficient God. Therefore, brothers and sisters, in 2 Corinthians 7, we find that we need to cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit.
This is a lesson that we have to take to heart. Unfortunately, many of God’s people despise the plain Word of God. The Word of God says, “Be not unequally yoked.”
In Deuteronomy 22, we find that it is forbidden in the law to plow with an ox and an ass, because they have different temperaments. They are entirely different.
There is no fellowship between light and darkness, Christ and Belial, righteousness and lawlessness, believers and unbelievers, the temple of God and the temple of idols. There is nothing in common. Be not unequally yoked.
Unfortunately, Jehoshaphat somehow deviated from the early way of his father David. He allied himself with Ahab by marriage. Once that alliance was formed, he could not break it. You find this thing followed him all the way, even after he died.
Ahab entertained Jehoshaphat, but he had an ulterior motive. He did not entertain Jehoshaphat merely for fellowship; he entertained him in order that he might ask something from him.
After he had entertained him, he asked a favor: “Will you go with me to fight against Ramoth-gilead?”
Ramoth-gilead was a city of refuge. According to the book of Joshua, when the children of Israel entered into the Promised Land, God asked them to set apart cities as cities of refuge, where people could flee and have their lives preserved if they had done something unintentionally.
So probably Ahab used that as a pretext. Here was a city of refuge, supposed to be a city used by God, and now it was in the hands of the Syrians. Surely, they should get it back for God.
But Jehoshaphat said:
I am as thou art, and my people as thy people; and we will be with thee in the war.
— 2 Chronicles 18:3
Because of the unholy alliance, Jehoshaphat gave way. He joined himself to Ahab, and now he had to serve Ahab’s purpose.
Yet Jehoshaphat had some kind of uneasy feeling within him. He knew that something was not quite right. So he asked, “Can we inquire of the prophet first?”
He should have inquired of the prophet first, before he gave the promise. But unfortunately, he gave the promise first, and then he drew back a little and said, “Should we inquire of a prophet of the Lord first?”
Ahab had many prophets—hundreds of them, prophets of Baal. He gathered all these false prophets, and they prophesied according to what Ahab wanted them to say. They all said, “Go ahead, and God will deliver your enemy into your hand.”
But Jehoshaphat had discernment. He said, “Is there not here a prophet of the Lord besides, that we may inquire of him?”
Ahab said, “There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord, but I hate him; for he never prophesieth good concerning me.”
It is almost like the old story of a missionary who went to Africa and gave a chief a mirror. When the chief saw the mirror and looked into it, he smashed it because he saw an ugly figure there.
Here you find Ahab. Instead of seeing himself in the light of God, he hated God’s light. He said, “Yes, there is one prophet here, Micaiah, but he never prophesies anything good about me.”
So Micaiah came. He was warned by the messenger: “Every prophet is prophesying something good, so why do you not do the same?” But he said, “What my God saith, that will I speak.”
At first, when Ahab asked, “Shall we go, or shall we not go?” Micaiah said, in effect, “Go ahead, go ahead. You will prosper.” He was speaking ironically. He was not telling Ahab the truth that he wanted to hear.
Ahab said, “How many times shall I adjure thee that thou speak unto me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?” So Micaiah said:
I saw all Israel scattered upon the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd: and the Lord said, These have no master; let them return every man to his house in peace.
— 2 Chronicles 18:16
Ahab said, “Did I not tell thee that he would not prophesy good concerning me?”
But unfortunately, in spite of the warning of the prophet, Jehoshaphat was so involved that he still went to war with Ahab.
Ahab was a little afraid, so he used a trick. He said, “I will disguise myself, but you, Jehoshaphat, wear your royal robe and go into battle.” In other words, he was tricking Jehoshaphat—and Jehoshaphat accepted it.
All the Syrian captains surrounded Jehoshaphat because they were commanded to fight only against the king of Israel. Jehoshaphat cried out, and God heard him. They discovered that he was the wrong person.
It was only because of the Lord’s mercy that he did not die on the battlefield. Think of that.
Oh, brothers and sisters, how often we think lightly of God’s Word. Even though we know what God’s Word says—“Be not unequally yoked with unbelievers”—we still try. We think we can get away with it. We think it will not be so serious.
How often we fall in that respect! It was only because of the mercy of God that Jehoshaphat did not die. Ahab died instead. Someone shot an arrow aimlessly, and yet Ahab was struck and he died.
What a lesson! What a lesson to us. How we need to be in fear and trembling before the Lord.
Paul, in 2 Corinthians 5, mentions two things: knowing the terror of the Lord, and being constrained by the love of Christ. I believe these two go together.
Oftentimes we emphasize the love of Christ—how we need to be constrained by the love of Christ, knowing that One died for all, therefore all died; and that we who live should no longer live unto ourselves, but unto Him who died and rose again for us. That is true. That is true.
But oftentimes we forget there is the other side: the terror of the Lord. Our Lord is a consuming fire. We need to know the terribleness of the Lord.
When we know the terror of the Lord, we dare not act presumptuously. Sometimes we think of the love of Christ and stretch it in such a way as if we can do anything and get by with it. There is not enough holy fear.
It is true that 1 John says perfect love casts out fear. The fear there is the fear of punishment. If there is perfect love, you will not fear punishment.
But that does not mean that in perfect love there is not an element of fear lest we displease Him—lest we displease the One whom we love. That is fear, and that kind of fear is always present with love.
You do not fear punishment. No, perfect love casts out fear. But because you love Him so much, you are always afraid that you may displease Him. You want to do everything to please Him.
So Paul says that whether we live or die, our ambition is to please the Lord. Knowing the terror of the Lord, we need to learn this.
Brothers and sisters, in our time there has been a reaction, and I believe that reaction went a little too far. Maybe today it is coming back more into balance.
Five or ten years ago, you found such a reaction among God’s people, especially among young people. Everything was love—just love, just love. There was no reverence. There was no fear.
Perhaps the former generation overdid it in the other direction. They seemed to have reverence, and yet they were in bondage. Therefore, the pendulum swung to the other side, and people thought of nothing but love. Everything was love, and because it was love, everything was all right.
There was no reverence, no fear whatsoever. Brothers and sisters, you find quite a mess. On the one hand, there is the love of Christ, but on the other hand, there is the terror of the Lord.
Jehoshaphat came back in peace because of the mercy of the Lord. Sometimes there is an unholy alliance, and yet through the mercy of the Lord, God intervenes and rescues. But this is no excuse for us to let down. It is mercy—afterward.
When Jehoshaphat came back in peace, God sent a prophet, Jehu the son of Hanani.
Jehoshaphat had done foolishly. He nearly lost his life, and he came back. God sent Jehu the son of Hanani, who told him:
Shouldest thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the Lord? therefore is wrath upon thee from before the Lord.
Nevertheless there are good things found in thee, in that thou hast put away the Asheroth out of the land, and hast set thy heart to seek God.
— 2 Chronicles 19:2-3
Here you find God had to reprove him strongly and say, “Now you have done wrong.” But, dear brothers and sisters, how did Jehoshaphat react to God’s discipline? Very differently from his father Asa.
His father reacted violently against God’s discipline. He rebelled against God’s discipline. He put the prophet into prison, and then he began to oppress some of his people. His heart became hardened.
But thank God for Jehoshaphat. When God’s discipline came upon him, he did not resist. He put himself under the mighty hand of God.
Dear brothers and sisters, whenever we are under God’s discipline, we can either resist God’s hand and become hardened, or we can humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God. Then in due time, He will exalt us.
Thank God, Jehoshaphat accepted God’s discipline. Because he accepted God’s discipline, instead of rebelling against God, you find that he encouraged himself to serve God in a more perfect way.
He traveled again throughout his country and brought the people back to the Lord God of their fathers. He set judges in the land, and he admonished the judges to judge righteously.
In other words, he not only sought God with a perfect heart himself and accepted the discipline of God, but he desired the whole nation to serve God with a perfect heart together with him. That is the result of discipline.
I often think that God does not punish His children as He punishes people who do not know Him. They are punished. But for us who are the Lord’s children, He does not punish us merely for punishment’s sake.
No, He disciplines us in order to restore us to Himself. If we yield ourselves under this discipline, you will find that even out of weakness and failure there will be increase. That is the grace of God.
Because Jehoshaphat yielded himself under the discipline of the hand of God, God began to exalt him and increase him. The enemy could not stand this any longer. So now you come to Chapter 20.
The children of Moab, the children of Ammon, and with them certain of the Meunites came against Jehoshaphat. A great multitude came—the Moabites, the Ammonites, the Edomites. They all joined together to fight against Jehoshaphat.
Whenever God’s people really set their hearts toward God to serve Him, and God begins to increase them, you find the enemy comes. There will be conflict—immediately, spiritual conflict.
But when the great multitude came, what did Jehoshaphat do? First of all, you find Jehoshaphat feared and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout Judah.
He knew that in himself there was no strength. But he set his face to seek the Lord and proclaimed a fast. All the people gathered together in a great congregation—not only the men, but the women, their sons, and their little ones. The whole nation came together to seek the Lord.
There Jehoshaphat prayed. He reminded God of His promise—how God promised that if the nation had war, pestilence, famine, or any such thing, and if they came to pray to God in the temple, God would hear them.
So Jehoshaphat laid hold of the promise of God. He also reminded God that when the children of Israel came into the Promised Land, God did not allow them to take the land of Moab, Ammon, and Edom. Now these people had come to take Judah’s land away from them.
In other words, he reminded God of His righteousness. God is righteous. So he laid hold of God’s promise, reminded God of His righteousness, and told God, “Our eyes are upon Thee.” Now it is up to You.
In other words, he transferred the whole matter to God.
Dear brothers and sisters, I believe this is what we find in Philippians 4:
Rejoice in the Lord always: again I will say, Rejoice.
In nothing be anxious; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
— Philippians 4:4, 6
How can it be? In everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. In other words, learn to transfer everything to God.
We cannot expect that there will be no war, no conflict, and no problem. But if we know how to transfer everything to God, and say, “Now, Lord, it is Your business. It is not ours,” then the result is God’s responsibility.
And He says, “The battle is Mine.” It is true. You do not need to fight. “I am going to fight, because it is My business. It is My business.”
The Lord said, “You should go out, but you do not need to fight. You just go out and watch. I will do the work.”
When the Word of God came in that way, Jehoshaphat placed perfect faith in God. He and the people bowed down and worshiped God and praised God.
The next morning, when they went out, Jehoshaphat consulted with the people. He said, “Let us set up people to praise God.”
So they had the priests and the Levites marching before the army, praising God: “For He is good; for His lovingkindness endureth for ever.” The Bible says that when they began to sing praises, God began to work.
We usually sing praises after the work is done. But here you find Jehoshaphat sang praises before the work was done. Why? Because he believed as if it were already done. Now that is faith.
Of course, it reminds us of Mark 11. You remember that the Lord Jesus cursed a fig tree, and the fig tree withered. The next day Peter pointed it out to the Lord and said, “Rabbi, behold, the fig tree which Thou cursedst is withered away.”
Jesus said, “Have faith in God.” Literally, it is, “Have the faith of God.” Not merely faith in God, but the faith of God. What kind of faith does God have? That is the kind of faith we need.
Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou taken up and cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that what he saith cometh to pass; he shall have it.
Therefore I say unto you, All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
— Mark 11:23-24
In other words, you believe that you receive it first. You receive it in faith first, and then you will receive it in fact. Faith comes before fact.
Because you have the faith of God, you can praise Him first, as if it is already done. Here you find that it was done. It was done.
So, dear brothers and sisters, how important it is in leadership that there is faith. Faith is a very important element in leadership. You cannot lead if you do not have faith in God. You need the faith of God in order to lead the people into victory.
Everybody can praise after the work is done, after you have seen it done. But not many people can praise before they see it. Only those who have the eyes of faith.
Faith is an important element in leadership. Of course, we cannot create faith or manufacture it. We have to see God. If you see God, then faith is there. If faith is there, even though the fact has not yet come before your eyes, it is already done. God has already done it.
I remember Brother Nee used to say, “Not only is God able, not only is God willing, but God has done it.” Definitely.
They praised in faith, and God honored their faith.
Praise is not to be used as a formula to induce God to do something. That will not work. Praise has to be in faith. Then you will find it works. It is because you have already seen it.
Thank God, after that great victory, they gathered so much spoil that for three days they gathered the spoil. But how often we may gather the spoil, return home, and simply try to enjoy ourselves.
But not with Jehoshaphat. On the fourth day, he led the people into the Valley of Beracah and praised the Lord. In other words, they humbled themselves before the Lord and praised Him, knowing that everything came from God. Now that is important.
So we do thank God for this man Jehoshaphat.
But before we close, there is another warning. Because of his unholy alliance with Ahab, even after Ahab was killed, Ahab’s son Ahaziah, who did wickedly, joined with Jehoshaphat to build ships.
They desired to go to Tarshish and gain wealth—a business enterprise, a joint business enterprise. God was not pleased with that. He broke the ships, and they could not go.
If you read the last chapter of 1 Kings, you will find that afterward another son of Ahab, Jehoram, wanted Jehoshaphat to do the same thing again. But Jehoshaphat would not do it. He learned the lesson.
But there was another end. After Jehoshaphat died, his son Jehoram died. Then Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab, seized the nation of Judah, and she reigned over the nation of Judah for years.
So, dear brothers and sisters, you find that one step in the wrong direction can have continuing results. I believe that this is a real warning to us today.
How we need to walk carefully before the Lord—not only to maintain a perfect heart toward God, but to walk in the ways of the Lord every step of the way. If we miss a step, we never know what the result will be. It can continue on.
You find the same thing in David’s life. The sword never left his household; it continued on. So how important this is!
Of course, that shows us how fallible we are. Never think that because you are blessed of the Lord, you become infallible. But there is no excuse for us to fall. It is a word of caution, that we may walk all our lives softly before the Lord.
Shall we pray?
Our heavenly Father, we do praise and thank Thee that Thou dost not hide anything from us. Thou showest us how we should walk rightly before Thee, and Thou also showest us how possible it is for us to go astray, and how serious it can be.
So, Lord, we ask Thee that all these lessons may be taken to heart. Oh, we pray that Thou wilt keep us always in the spirit of humility, walking softly before Thee and serving with a perfect heart, that Thy people may be blessed.
In the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.
Thank you.
Our heavenly Father, we do praise and thank Thee that Thou dost not hide anything from us. Thou showest us how we should walk rightly before Thee, and Thou also showest us how possible it is for us to go astray, and how serious it can be.
So, Lord, we ask Thee that all these lessons may be taken to heart. Oh, we pray that Thou wilt keep us always in the spirit of humility, walking softly before Thee and serving with a perfect heart, that Thy people may be blessed.
In the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.