foreign [Music]
Our first scripture reading our scripture reading this morning comes from the Book of Judges in his chapter five. Please turn with me then.
‘Sing, Deborah and Barack the son of Abinoam. On that day that the leaders took the lead in Israel, that the people offered themselves willingly, bless the Lord! Hero, Kings, give ear, O princes! To the Lord I will sing; I will make melody to the Lord, the God of Israel. Lord, when you went out from Seir, when you marched from the region of Edom, the earth trembled, and the heavens dropped. Yes, the clouds dropped water. The mountains quaked before the Lord, even Sinai, before the Lord, the God of Israel.
In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were abandoned, and travelers kept to the byways. The villagers ceased in Israel; they ceased to be until I arose, I, Deborah, arose as a mother in Israel. When new gods were chosen, then war was in the gates. Was shield or spear to be seen among forty thousand in Israel? My heart goes out to the commanders of Israel who offered themselves willingly among the people. Bless the Lord!
Tell of it, you who ride on white donkeys, you who sit on rich carpets, and you who walk by the way. To the sound of musicians at the watering places, there they repeat the righteous triumphs of the Lord, the righteous triumphs of his villagers in Israel. Then down to the gates march the people of the Lord. Awake, awake, Deborah, awake! Awake, break out in a song! Arise, Barack, lead away your captives, O son of Abinoam.
Then down march the remnant of the noble; the people of the Lord marched down for me against the mighty. From Ephraim, their root, they marched down into the valley, following you, Benjamin, with your kinsmen. From Makir marched down the commanders, and from Zebulun those who bear the lieutenant’s staff. The princes of Issachar came with Deborah, and Issachar, faithful to Barack, into the valley they rushed at his heels.
Among the clans of Reuben, there were great searchings of heart. Why did you sit still among the sheepfolds to hear the whistling for the flocks? Among the clans of Reuben, there were great searchings of heart. Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan, and Dan, why did he stay with the ships? Asher sat still at the coast of the sea, staying by his landings. Zebulun is a people who risked their lives to the death; Naphtali too on the heights of the field.
The kings came, they fought; they fought the kings of Canaan at Tanakh by the waters of Megiddo. They got no spoils of silver. From Heaven, the stars fought from their courses; they fought against Sisera. The torrent Kishon swept them away, the ancient torrent, the torrent Kishon—march on, my soul, with might.
Then loud beat the horse’s hooves with the galloping—galloping of his steeds. Cursed, Meroz! Says the angel of the Lord—curse its inhabitants thoroughly, because they did not come to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty. Most blessed of women be Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, of tent-dwelling women most blessed.
He asked for water, and she gave him milk; she brought him courage in a noble’s bowl. She sent her hand to the tent peg and her right hand to the workman’s mallet—she struck Sisera; she crushed his head; she shattered and pierced his temple. Between her feet he sank, he fell, he lay still. Between her feet he sank, he fell; where he sank, there he fell dead.
Out of the window she peered, the mother of Sisera, and wailed through the lattice: ‘Why is this chariot so long in coming? Why tarry the hoofbeats of his chariots?’ Her wise princesses answer—indeed she answers herself: ‘Have they not found and divided the spoil? A womb or two for every man—spoil of dyed materials for Sisera; spoil of dyed materials, embroidered, two pieces of dyed work embroidered for the neck as a spoil.’
So may all your enemies perish, O Lord, but your friends be like the sun as he rises in his might! And the land had rest for forty years.’
This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Let us pray. Lord, we are taught in scripture to sing your praise. We gather and worship to sing of your might, to worship you, to sing of your glory and your deeds. Help us to remember them and let your great works of salvation that we remember in song encourage us, build us up, and fill us in faith for you to strengthen our trust and our resolve to depend upon you always and for all things. We pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
So following the Israelite victory over Sisera’s forces, the death of the enemy commander, and the Lord’s subduing of Jabin, the king of Canaan, the pattern that we have begun to see develop in the history of God’s people is an act of divine deliverance followed by the people’s temporary obedience, which is followed by the resumption of idolatry and sinfulness.
Of increasing sinfulness prompts God to send someone to oppress or subjugate Israel—enemies who get worse and worse in proportion to Israel’s sinfulness until the Israelites finally repent and call upon the Lord for help. Then he graciously and lovingly raises up a deliverer and/or a judge to rescue them once more.
This pattern is interrupted by something different: a musical interlude. Not only are we presented here with a song, a hymn of praise to the Lord and of thanksgiving to God, the song is like a ballad recounting the Lord’s mighty deeds and his great work of salvation by delivering Israel from the power of her enemies.
Yet this is not as strange as it may sound. In fact, what should seem more strange is the fact that we do not find this happening more often in scripture or in the lives of God’s elect in our own lives, since praise and thanksgiving should always be our first response to the Lord’s work of salvation.
But there is another moment of deliverance in biblical history which this occasion echoes: the crossing of the Red Sea and Moses’s song of the sea. Where immediately following the destruction of Pharaoh’s army, after the whole multitude of the Israelites had crossed the sea upon dry land, Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the Lord:
‘I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation. This is my God, and I will praise him; my father’s God, and I will exalt him.’
Continuing the song, Moses sings of the might and the prowess of the Lord as a divine warrior defending his chosen people, his miraculous control over nature as the sovereign God, and the fearful response of Israel’s enemies to this great display of his saving power.
Then at the conclusion of the song, his sister Moses’s sister, Miriam, led the women of Israel to sing in antiphonal response: ‘Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tambourines and dancing. And Miriam sang to them: ‘Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.”
Thus together all of God’s people sang the Lord’s praises for his saving triumph—not so very different, right?
So now, just as Moses and Miriam sang of the Lord’s victory before them, then sang Deborah and Barack the son of Abinoam on that day together. They sang. However, there is no clear differentiation between their parts of the song. The overall unity with the context of the story suggests that Deborah was probably the primary singer. Thus, Church tradition names this passage as the song of Deborah.
And our song begins with a declaration of praise and thanksgiving to the Lord. ‘That the leaders took the lead in Israel, that the people offered themselves willingly. Bless the Lord!’
It is good and right that we praise God when our leaders take the lead, when they follow a God-honoring path of faithfulness. Then God’s people are justified and expected to offer themselves willingly. When our worldly authorities do what is right in God’s eyes and are aligned with his will, then the elect, God’s chosen people, should surely volunteer themselves by joining their cause and joyfully submitting to their temporal authority.
By giving and acting freely and confidently in alignment with the Lord’s will, our singer proclaims that she is singing her praise and blessing to God above. She sings for his glory and honor, not theirs nor for their enjoyment. This is not a performance for victorious heroes; this performance is a joyful offering for an audience of one.
As Deborah does, nor should we care about the thoughts and feelings of any others overhearing our devotional worship. These kings and princes before whom she sings—They’re the rulers, powers, and authorities of Israel. They are men holding positions of authority and leadership, the captains and lieutenants of victorious Israel, and they are witnesses invited to join with her in song to their sovereign Lord.
‘When you went out from Seir, when you marched from the region of Edom, the earth trembled, and the heavens dropped; yes, the clouds dropped water. The mountains quaked before the Lord, even Sinai, before the Lord, the God of Israel.’
Deborah’s words evoke the power and majesty borne by the Almighty—how the earth trembles and the mountains quake in reverence and fear at his passing. Creation knows who its Sovereign is, and it rightly and humbly responds by paying respect to its Creator.
‘In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath, in the days of Jael….’ It’s a statement akin to ‘Once Upon a Time’ or ‘In a galaxy far, far away.’ Deborah sets the time and the context of her ballad of praise, reminding us that even though this was a singular occasion of deliverance, the glory and honor given to the Lord will last.
This song is meant to be repeated. We are meant to remember all that God has done for us in the past and know that his glory will never fade. Her references to both Shamgar and Jael presume the hearer of this song’s familiarity with their deeds, their knowing the history of Israel.
But then during that time the highways were abandoned, and travelers kept to the byways. The villagers ceased in Israel; they ceased to be until I arose, I, Deborah, arose as a mother in Israel.
In those days all the people remained in their homes. Few traveled. There is very little unity or fellowship between the people, between towns and tribes. Israel as a people was divided until Deborah arose as a mother in Israel.
Deborah does not lay claim for herself the divine anointing of a prophet, nor does she declare or elevate herself over the men and elders of Israel by her exercise of authority in judgment. Instead, she claims the more lofty title and worthy role of mother.
Deborah does not usurp the power of men or insist upon holding a position of authority; instead, she considers her ministry as one to nurture and grow Israel, to tend and care for the Lord’s lost and wayward children. She wants to gather them up as a hen does her chicks, to protect them and teach them in the way which they should go.
However, as a mother of Israel, she expects people to heed the wisdom that the Lord God has given to her, to submit to her motherly authority in love, honor, and humility, just as they should to their own mothers’ authority.
‘When new gods were chosen, then war was in the gates. Was shield or spear to be seen among forty thousand in Israel?’ Recall that after Ehud died, the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.
The common and repeated cause of the people’s evil and sinfulness is always idolatry. And we Christians still share this same weakness and failing with ancient Israel and with all of God’s people in all times. From Adam until our present, John Calvin wrote that the human mind is a perpetual forge of idols.
Our sinful heart loves to choose new gods and thus turn us away from the Lord. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way. Each of us wanders away from the fold of Jesus Christ, and none of us, none of us are among the ninety-nine who have never strayed.
But fortunately, we are also each the single solitary one in that story over whom our Good Shepherd rejoices, because he goes out with such great intention to seek and to save us. But every idol that we raise up in the place of the Lord, in place of Jesus Christ, places us in open rebellion against our divine sovereign and king.
Whenever we rebel against him and his authority, preferring the lies and dominion of Satan, we cannot expect to continue enjoying God’s favor or his blessing. Joy will cease; division, enmity, and fear will increase; sorrows will multiply, and injustice shall reign. Whenever we do not stand upon the Lord’s side, my heart goes out to the commanders of Israel who offered themselves willingly among the people. Bless the Lord!
Choosing to remain on the side of right, to be faithful and obedient to God’s command and word, is never easy, much less shouldering the burden of godly leadership. So praise God! Thank God that he chooses to raise up leaders to guide and protect his elect—men who are willing to sacrifice of themselves for the cause of Christ and for the benefit of God’s children.
Oh, bless the Lord! Tell of it, tell of it you who ride on white donkeys, you who sit on rich carpets, and you who walk by the way to the sound of musicians at the watering places. There they repeat the righteous triumphs of the Lord, the righteous triumphs of his villagers in Israel.
Who is being called to sing and proclaim the Lord’s deliverance? Those whom he has truly blessed—those who ride, those who sit, and those who walk by the way. They are the righteous, God’s chosen, the elect. They are the ones who shall repeat the Lord’s triumph, who shall tell and sing of them, because God’s triumphs are also theirs. All of God’s triumphs, especially those over sin and death, have become ours through our union in Christ Jesus.
So let us all join the grateful chorus and bless the Lord!
Then down to the gates march the people of the Lord. ‘Awake, awake, Deborah! Awake! Awake, break out in a song! Arise, Barack, lead away your captives, O son of Abinoam.’
Then down march the remnant of the noble; the people of the Lord marched down for me against the mighty. The divine call to arms was sounded, and the people responded. The faithful leaders of Israel were called upon to lead, and they led the faithful into battle.
The remnant of the noble are those among Israel who remained faithful and obedient to the Lord God Almighty. They are the ones who hear his call and come at his command. They are the ones who march out against the mighty ones of this world, who march out against those mighty lords of men, those swollen with unholy power gained by their devotion to Satan and his devices.
They trust that the weakness of the Lord will overcome the strength and might of the devil, and they will always heed Christ’s call, assembling for the battle, and will march forth into his victory. It is through the prophetess Deborah and their war chief Barack that the Lord called his people out to do battle in that day.
But how did they respond? ‘From Ephraim, their root, they marched down into the valley, following you, Benjamin, with your kinsmen. From Makir marched down the commanders, and from Zebulun those who bear the lieutenant’s staff. The princes of Issachar came with Deborah, and Issachar, faithful to Barack, into the valley they rushed at his heels.’
Among the clans of Reuben, there were great searchings of heart. ‘Why did you sit among the sheepfolds to hear the whistling for the flocks?’ Among the clans of Reuben, there were great searchings of heart. Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan, and Dan, why did he stay with the ships?
Asher sat still at the coast of the sea, staying by his landings. Zebulun is a people who risked their lives to the death; Naphtali too on the heights of the field.
Israel may have been united in crying out for deliverance to God, but they were not united in obedience or their willingness to answer his call in faith. Ephraim, Deborah’s tribe, marched north, and Benjamin came along with them. Zebulun, those who were sorely oppressed by Jabin of Hazor, came providing officers and commanders of men. They gladly risked their lives, only surrendering in death, because they considered obedient faithfulness to the Lord better than life, serving a wicked king.
Naphtali came with them also; they fought and died defending their family and homes, their inheritance from the Lord.
Issachar, the tribe through whose territory the river Kishon flowed, whose land included the Jezreel Valley where the battle was fought, they also sent men to follow Deborah and to faithfully obey Barak’s command. But Reuben, to the southeast of the Dead Sea, did not come. In Reuben, there were great searchings of heart, but with all their searching, they did not find courage; they did not find confidence, nor did they find their faith.
Instead, they remained safe and secure out with their flocks in the fields, asking why should I care about what’s happening to my brother? Why should I go to help him? Why should I risk myself on their account? They did not trust God Almighty to defend, to protect, or to fight for his elect, nor do they remember the duty which we all share towards our neighbor and our brothers and sisters.
Those Israelites who resided in Gilead, east of the Galilean Sea, the tribe of Manasseh also stayed away beyond the Jordan. The tribe of Dan, south and west of Ephraim on the Mediterranean coast, stayed with their ships. While Asher, north and west, on the far side of Sidon’s Fortress, remained in their port cities.
Perhaps Asher and Dan were more concerned about preserving their trade and supporting their economy with the Gentiles rather than defending their kinsmen or honoring the Lord. Now there is no mention of Judah, Simeon, or Gad, and since there’s no mention of either their refusal to come or other equivocation, we can only assume that they were not called out to join in this conflict because of their remoteness, their physical distance from them.
Now Israel, they may have been a divided people, but their strength was not found in the number of soldiers that could muster. Israel’s strength, our strength, is always and only found in the mighty right arm of our God before whom the mountains quake and the earth trembles.
The kings came; they fought. These kings are the princes and nobles, the elders of Israel, the noble remnant of God’s faithful people who came out to fight. Then fought the kings of Canaan, and they are the kings of men and the petty rulers of Canaan—men whose allegiance belonged to their overlord Jabin of Hazor and Satan, his master.
They got no spoils of silver from Heaven. The stars fought from their courses; they fought against Sisera. The torrent Kishon swept them away— the ancient torrent, the torrent Kishon—before the cities of the Valley of Jezreel and Tanakh and Megiddo. War was waged, but there were no spoils of silver.
So completely was the enemy destroyed that there was no plunder left behind to be abandoned for the victors. Sisera’s army was washed away entirely by the flood of the Kishon, swept away in the mighty power of God, as the whole host of heaven, as spiritual forces, as the angels fought alongside Israel against their oppressors.
‘March on, my soul, with might!’ Oh, bless the Lord!
Then loud beat the horse’s hooves with the galloping—galloping of his steeds. The enemies of God were utterly defeated, trampled underfoot by the whole war host of Heaven.
Sisera’s army was swept away and trampled, crushed underfoot. Thus, the Lord has and he will triumph over all of his enemies, whether they be down here on Earth or up in heaven.
Now Deborah turns her song to the heroine of our tale, the woman whom God raised up and used to secure his victory—Jael.
‘Most blessed of women be Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, of tent-dwelling women, most blessed!’ Deborah blesses Jael, declaring her a woman truly blessed by God.
Why Jael was a murderous? Why is she elevated in praise? Because she asked for water, and she gave him milk. She gave him curds in a noble’s bowl. Sisera asked her for water, but she gave him milk—something far better. She brought him curds, a dairy product like butter or cottage cheese, and served it to him in a noble’s bowl, a bowl fit for royalty.
She honored him; she showed him a proper kind of respect as to a man condemned before she executed the Lord’s divine justice upon him. But even as she executed God’s righteous judgment, she also showed him mercy. She sent her hand to the tent peg and her right hand to the workman’s mallet—she struck Sisera; she crushed his head; she shattered and pierced his temple.
‘Between her feet he sank; he fell; he lay still. Between her feet he sank; he fell, and where he sank, there he fell dead!’
Sisera’s end was surely quick, brutal, but quick. He was not made to suffer, and his end was an ending of full destruction. He did not just die at the hand of Jael; he did not just fall down dead at her feet. No, Sisera fell down at her feet, destroyed.
He was completely and utterly ended, just as the Lord’s mighty power had completely and utterly destroyed Sisera’s army. So too, in this, Jael completed the Lord’s good work. She destroyed the enemy of God’s people, and by her killing of Sisera, she inflicted the worst kind of humiliation and defeat imaginable to him and his cause.
Meanwhile, out of the window she peered, the mother of Sisera. She wailed through the lattice: ‘Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why tarry the hoofbeats of his chariots?’
Her wise princesses answer—indeed she answers for herself: ‘Have they not found and divided the spoil?’
Sisera’s mother waits for his return home, but she waits in vain. She worries and wonders at his delay, but she is so certain of his strength and of his prowess that she comforts herself by imagining his victory.
She does not imagine him being fed, or by being invested with titles and lands; instead, she finds her comfort and solace by imagining him in the midst of pillaging and plundering: ‘A womb or two for every man—spoil of dyed materials for Sisera; spoil of dyed materials, embroidered—two pieces of dyed work embroidered for the neck as spoil, a womb or two.’
The idea of women being taken by force, raped and abused—that is what comforts this mother! Gathering and plundering of wealth and property taken from the dead, embroidered cloth, woven and dyed cloth, fine clothing taken from the bodies and homes of the dead and defeated.
Sisera’s mom is a far cry from Deborah, a mother of Israel, finding her solace, comfort, and joy in the acts of violence, theft, and oppression by her child. Whereas Deborah, and the Lord for whom she speaks, seeks only the comfort, safety, and well-being of God’s children, stepping out into violence only to defend and protect them.
However, once the cup of God’s wrath begins to be poured out, it will not stop. He will not stop until the cup is drained and he stands triumphant against all of his enemies.
See the difference between these women is like the difference between Christ and Satan. Sisera’s mother is concerned only with herself and her seed, with no consideration for others—no respect, no kindness, only violence, death, and ruin. She is selfish, self-righteous, self-assured, and self-justified—immoral and wicked.
But Deborah and the Lord are concerned only for the well-being of his children, correcting them whenever they go astray or rebel against him. Yet God will also defend them fiercely, even at great cost to himself.
Sisera’s mother found pleasure and joy in the thought of pain inflicted upon others by her child, whereas the Lord remains merciful and gracious even in the execution of his righteous judgment.
The death of Sisera at the hand of Jael, as brutal as it was, was quick, was immediate, because God takes no pleasure in the destruction of the wicked. We must always remember that even as judgment will come for us all—every one of us will still receive a measure of mercy from Christ’s hands.
Yes, even the wicked—he will be merciful, because being consigned to the fires of hell will be a fate far kinder than any human person can possibly deserve for our sin, for our rebellion and treason— for our cosmic treason against the true sovereign of the universe.
So praise God and bless the Lord!
Deborah concludes her song, singing, ‘So may all your enemies perish, O Lord, but your friends be like the sun as he rises in his might!’ May the enemies of God be defeated and destroyed utterly according to his wise judgment, yet still with grace and mercy being shown to all.
And may the friends and children of God be raised up with all honor and glory like the sun, bright and powerful and beautiful, glorified. Thus, the song of the Lord’s victory was sung, and the land had rest for forty years.
Deborah’s victory song is an exemplary song of praise and thanksgiving to the Lord. We remember who he is, and we are reminded of his many works of deliverance for his chosen. We are reminded that he alone is the true savior of his elect.
We are reminded that although not everyone called will respond in faith and obedience, those who do prove themselves to be numbered among the chosen, adopted children of God, and they will be protected and preserved by him, and they shall share in his glorious triumph.
Deborah’s song, summarizing the preceding narrative, shows us that the true victory of our God and King will not be achieved through conquest or by a show of great strength or through the might of armies, but that triumph truly comes through submission—through the modesty and humility of one who is meek and mild.
Ordinarily, in these stories of biblical history, it is the judge, the prophet, or the priest or the king who is anointed by the Lord to deliver Israel—to be the Mashiach, the Christos. But in this one, although there is no pouring of oil, nor is there an expression of the Holy Spirit filling one or another person, it is the person of Jael who appears the most Christ-like in this tale.
The humble foil to Sisera, who represents the oppression of Satan, Jael is the person who achieves and completes the Lord’s victory in this story. Jael submits to Sisera’s delegated authority in all humility. She satiated his appetites.
However, it was when he was most certain that he had gotten away from Barak and had escaped to safety with his allies that this meek and mild, this humble woman struck, crushing his head with a single blow, leaving Sisera destroyed, defeated, dead.
Let us too, in Jesus Christ, that Jael’s story directs us. Jesus completed the Lord’s greatest and final victory. Jesus submitted to the religious authority of the Jewish elders, the Sanhedrin. Jesus submitted to the worldly authority of Rome, of Caesar, personified by Pontius Pilate, meekly, mildly, and in all humility. Jesus submitted to their unjust judgment and condemnation.
The Son of Man and Son of God was condemned to die by those whom he came to save at their command. He carried his cross to Calvary and there he was pierced for our transgressions—the just dying for the unjust.
Then, when the master of this world, Satan, cried out his victory song, believing that he had finally triumphed over the Lord God Almighty, the stone was rolled away from the tomb, and Jesus rose up from the grave, defeating death itself and breaking all of Satan’s power, releasing his captives from their bondage to sin.
Satan, that ancient serpent, although he first bruised the heel of our Savior King on the cross, had his own head crushed in return by Jesus—the victorious offspring of Eve—and Satan’s defeat was made complete.
So all God’s children, bless the Lord! And let us sing the song of victory!
The final thing to take away from the song of the story of Deborah is this: our proper first response to God’s deliverance should be thanksgiving and praise. Then it must be followed by obedience and faithfulness, coupled with our continuing thanksgiving. We are given a song of praise to sing so that we may better remember his works of salvation, so that we may remain thankful through the son refrains of this constant reminder, helping us become and continue to be more faithful and obedient to our Lord.
Christ has come and delivered his people from the power of Satan, and he is also the king come to conquer. The war is won; Satan is defeated. He is a toothless old lion, and all that he can now do is roar in anger and frustration. Yet still, he holds some power and influence over the world. He is defeated, but not yet destroyed. Although he is bound now and his final destruction is yet to come, we Christians are still called to battle against his forces. We are still called to defend the cause of Christ and to defend his people.
Jesus has raised up his standards and he sends out the call, just as Deborah and Barak sent out the call in Israel. The question remains: how will you respond? How are you responding to Christ’s call upon your life?
Will you? Have you answered his call with a firm yes? I pray that you have. And I hope, and if not, I hope and pray that you soon will. Are you living faithfully, obediently to your God and King? Will you be like the men of Zebulun who risked their lives to the death—people who risked everything for the Lord? Or will you be like the men of Reuben, who with great searchings of heart sat still among the sheepfolds, content and unconcerned with the well-being of their neighbors?
I know the choice that I have made and the path that I am on. I will answer his call. I will continue to go where he leads, and I pray, I believe, I hope, and I expect that you are there right beside me, following Jesus on his march to victory. Amen.
Let us stand and say what we believe using the words of the Apostles’ Creed:
‘I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and Earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried. He descended to Hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended to heaven and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.’
Our closing hymn is number 353, ‘Victory in Jesus.’ [Music]