Rev. Seth Yi
Newberry Reformed Presbyterian Church Sermons
(8/4/24) Nehemiah 2:11-20 - Prospering in the Lord’s Work
Our scripture reading taken again from Nehemiah chapter 2 begins at verse 11 to verse 20. You can follow along in the pew Bibles on page 398 or the large print 469. Let us give heed now to the reading of God's holy word. "So I went to Jerusalem was there three days, then I rose in the night, I and a few men with me. And I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. There was no animal with me, but the one on which I rose. I went out by night by the valley gate to the dragon spring and to the dungate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that were broken down in its gates that had been destroyed by fire. Then I went on to the fountain gate and to the king's pool, but there was no room for the animal that was under me to pass. Then I went up in the night by the valley and inspected the wall, and I turned back and entered the valley gate and so returned. And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing. And I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, and the rest who were to do the work. Then I said to them, 'You see, the trouble we are in. How Jerusalem lies and ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build a wall of Jerusalem that we may no longer suffer derision. And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, 'Let us rise up and build.' So they strengthened their hands for the good work. But when sandalot the hornite and tabaya the Ammonite, servant and guestion, the air heard of it, they jeered at us and despised us and said, 'What is this thing that you are doing? Are you?' Then I replied to them, 'The God of heaven will make us prosper. When we, his servants, will arise and build, but you have no part or right or claim in Jerusalem.' Here ends the reading of God's holy word, the grass withers, and the flowers fade, but the word of our God endures forever, amen. As we ended last week in verse 11 or verse 10, we saw clearly that Nehemiah would have a mission, even though it was clearly of God, who had sent him and who had also prepared him for this work, that it would not be free of opposition. It would come on multiple fronts from various sources, not to mention Satan of course himself. But even Satan will have his means, those who are temporal individuals in fact, who will be part of this effort to squelch the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. And even though God's grace was evident in empowering and demonstrating in Nehemiah's life that this was clearly what he was to do, we see that Nehemiah was not ignorant of the clear task that was before him. We had seen how he has spent over four months praying and seeking the Lord's will. And then after almost likely a four-month journey, he comes now to inspect and eventually to gather the congregation, the people of Israel there, in Jerusalem for the task that God had clearly appointed that he might accomplish. And so we see in this passage how the Lord uses willing and ultimately able servants to advance his kingdom all for his own name's sake. In verse 11, we're given this time marker, as oftentimes we see throughout Scripture, especially in narrative where when Nehemiah arrived, he was there for three days. And of course, we're not told exactly what he did, but I think we can have some reasonable sense of what he might have done. Like I said, it took him four months to travel this arduous journey. And so even though, of course, he may not think much about the fact that he may have rode on some sort of animal, nevertheless, there were dangers, there are clearly issues that they would have had to face with just the environment and the hostility that they may have to face on the way where they had to face the reality that this was a difficult journey. And so, naturally, I think it's not far-fetched to think that Nehemiah simply rested to give himself refreshment over these three days, and three days oftentimes, as we find in Scripture, has this sort of symbolic representation of waiting and preparing for a period of transition. And that's clearly what you have here, Nehemiah has gone before the Lord to know exactly what he is to do in being able to approach even our desertities, and then now he has arrived. And before he jumps ahead of acting, he again takes a time to reflect, to pray, and to gather his thoughts as to how he might approach. And so, even during these three days, as we see in verse 12, he may have looked about and see, "Who can I trust? Who are the men that at least early on in these days that I can confide in and be able to count on for the work that is ahead?" Well, it appears, at least in verse 12, over these three days, he had found a few men. They're not named, or not even told how many, but at least there were those who Nehemiah had some measure of confidence. They were probably men who knew something of the surrounding. They probably knew the terrain, because as we see, they're going to go out by night and inspect the walls to see exactly what would be involved in restoring and rebuilding the walls back up to the capacity that was necessary to be a true protection for Jerusalem. So we read there in verse 12, "I rose in the night," as mentioned multiple times throughout this passage, "that Nehemiah purposely did not want to draw attention to what he was doing." Now, of course, it was likely also the case that there may have been, I'll call them spies, at least those who are at least in league with these governors who had some measure of authority over Israel and over Jerusalem. And so, as much as possible, as long as he possibly could, Nehemiah thought that he would do a somewhat of a covert operation, not give his hand fully, even though it wouldn't be long before he would announce to all what would need to happen. But nevertheless, his first step is to get a first hand inspection of exactly what would be involved. And it's interesting, in verse 12, it says there, "And I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem," which indicates likely that even though, of course, these few men were part of this work, he didn't say exactly why and for what purpose this sort of investigative work would take place, especially at night. It was probably somewhat confusing, it would have been much easier to see, of course, during the daytime. And so, there was a small group and only one animal, likely a mule instead of a horse, that would have been more distracting at that time, where they go throughout the outer walls and depending on some of the ancient archeological findings, it's hard to say for sure exactly where some of these locations are based upon some limited information. It's likely the case he started sort of on the southwestern end of Jerusalem, kind of went on a counterclockwise position towards the east and then returned. He didn't do a full circle of the whole wall of Jerusalem. And it was enough, of course, for him to know that there would be a great challenge, a serious effort and a combined effort of all those who were there. So what's interesting, as we read in verse 12, is how Nehemiah looking back wrote what God had put into my heart to do. Now the actual verb tense of that word put there is one of those participles, which at times may be hard to translate in English. It has a more accurate reading of putting, so it implies something of a continuous revelation in a sense that was taking place in Nehemiah's heart. In other words, we know from the very first chapter that the Lord was impressing upon Nehemiah what he was ultimately going to do. That is to return and begin the process of building the walls of Jerusalem. And yet over these now eight months from the first instance where information was brought to Nehemiah, there is implied by that participle that God was in a sense showing him more and more and more of what was necessary for him to accomplish. And I think that's true with our lives. In the sense of we may have some great desires and God may have laced it upon our heart in a sense the way he does with the in Nehemiah, but he doesn't show us a complete picture let's say of every step that will be involved. He doesn't tell us oftentimes all the challenges and the struggles that will have to face to reach that goal. It says no God wants simply for us to put one step in front of another to trust them for another if you will, work of revelation and truth where our faith grows increasingly as we demonstrate obedience to the Lord and even with someone of Nehemiah's character and status and clearly one upon whom the Lord's will was evident. We see here Nehemiah demonstrating trusting the Lord even as we read from Psalm 1 is a process of walking and listening, responding, obeying and clearly being in tune with the Lord and he wants us to recognize that this battle that we're going to have to face in this life will mean clearly not just a once and for all trusting in the Lord but a continuous daily walking with him. And as we find here they go about and they do the work but even here there is clearly a sense of Nehemiah waiting and looking to the Lord as to what he might discover. What is it through even this sort of miniature expedition of the wall? What it might be that the Lord might show more clearly as to what he is to do. And so we see how even not revealing to the officials and all the other people there in Jerusalem, Nehemiah trusts that what he is doing is in conformity to the Lord's will. Because we are oftentimes too quick to speak instead of listening and I suspect even during these three days, Nehemiah didn't just say, "Hey, I'm here, the Lord has called me and I'm going to build the walls of Jerusalem." Instead he kept it almost all totally to himself knowing that this would be at work that would obviously draw opposition as we saw even at the end there of verse 10. And there is wisdom in learning how to keep our lips silent at times. We get excited when we know things and we want to demonstrate our knowledge of certain things that we speak wanting people to hear. But that's not the disposition of Nehemiah. He is very wise and almost cunning, if you will, in terms of how we can see the response and even sort of the lay of the land, not just physically but even spiritually of those who would need to respond to the Lord. And this is a truth that is not only that we should recognize and follow, but it is clearly what characterizes our enemy. Satan, as you know, is the father of lies. He is a deceiver by his very nature. He doesn't reveal necessarily all things, even in his own scheming and his cunning as well as his trueness, he only gives enough of what is necessary to draw and to tempt people into darkness and even deeper darkness. And Jesus, of course, reminds his own people that as we are about the work of spiritual conflict in a world where there is clear opposition to God's truth, we must likewise be as gentle as dogs and yet it's an interesting analogy, nevertheless, wise as serpents. It's the one instance I guess where we see the serp being used as a positive metaphor. But if that's not enough, we know that Jesus, in that very unique parable of the shrewd minister, demonstrates how the church, how his people must also not be gullible and naive about the opposition that we are up against. In Luke chapter 16, within that parable, Jesus concludes by saying, "For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light." But Jesus said those words, not as a way of commending the church and his people, but almost pointing out how oftentimes the world is much more, in a sense, strategic. The devil is much more involved in working out his plans and his schemes against the church than we are in response. Well, if you read Paul and what he had to face, he was not blind to the spiritual opposition that he was up to 11, for example, he writes, "So that we would not be outwitted, outwitted by Satan." Do you at times feel that way or do you observe that in the world that so oftentimes Christians are outwitted by Satan? For we are not ignorant of his designs, which raises the question, of course, how would Paul know that? How would Paul be aware of Satan seeking to outwit his people and in the process knowing of his designs or his plans? Well, I would submit to you because he was engaged. He was in the battle. He saw the workings of the evil one, and he was not blind to the plans and the schemes of the evil one. Sadly, the church is not often that way. We are sadly to say asleep and are not, in a sense, able to discern the schemes of the evil one. When Nehemiah goes out by night with this small bend of faithful men, and they go about the city around the walls and comes back with a more precise and a detailed plan, I suspect, from Nehemiah's vantage point of what it will take, not just the resources of material, but more importantly, the actual laborers. So the next day, or sometime we're not sure, we're not told between verses 15 and 16 how much time has passed, the officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing. These officials are likely reference to the heads of household, various rulers of clans, those who were part of Jerusalem, and I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, and officials again, and the rest who were to do the work. So again, after having seen all that was required, Nehemiah is ready to set his case and to usher the people into the great work that God has called him to do. So verse 17, again, we're not told exactly how long, it just simply says, "Then I said to them, you see the trouble we are in." Now, you would think that that would simply mean look about you, look at the ruins, look at these tumbled walls and the burned gates, especially after Nehemiah himself had sort of done an inspection of all that was around him, but I think there's more to it than just seeing what their eyes. I think what Nehemiah is doing is, in a sense, waking them up, because what happens oftentimes is familial rarity breeds contempt, even to the point where you just sort of get comfortable. You don't really care, and it's been over years since the work that Art deserxes, in fact, had order in ceasing the building of the walls. So for these Israelites, for these inhabitants of Jerusalem, when Nehemiah says, "See the trouble we are in," he's not referring mainly to the physical structure of what the walls are in. The word there trouble is that word that we've seen elsewhere translated as sad or even evil. Remember this was the word that was used of Nehemiah himself and how he appeared before Art deserxes. And so that same contrast of good and evil or sad is being presented here. And so it implies much more than just the ruins of the walls and the gates themselves. Nehemiah is saying, "Look at your spiritual condition. Look how you, in essence, have given up at what it means to be the people of God, what it means to dwell in the city of God, where God's name is supposed to dwell. Look and see how you have become spiritually poor and unattuned to your own condition." Again, this is, I would say, a clear reflection of where the church in America is today. For decades we have reaped the benefits by and large of our forefathers. We kind of live in a Christian culture, but there is no doubt whatsoever that we are living in a post-Christian society. It's not even debatable that it's in the Bible about, if you will, that there is a clear decline, if not an ignorance of the situation, the spiritual decline, if not the despondency that we are actually in. And so what Nehemiah represents, in a sense, is not just one who is saying, "Look about you," and all the work, the physical labor that must be done, but he's really calling them almost as a prophet. Nehemiah is not a prophet proper, as we know, of others in the Old Testament, but he is prophetic, not in foretelling, per se, of what's going to happen, even though, of course, he knows that it is God's will that the walls be built, but in foretelling he is saying, "This is the condition you are in. Look in the mirror, wake up, and call out to God that his mercy and his grace might be shown, ruins, with its gates burned." And we all know that a wall that has burned gates and obviously areas where there's no clear protection, the city was vulnerable to not only attacks, but it was indefensible. There was nothing that they could do to resist any sort of opposition. And again, they were completely comfortable with that situation. It didn't at all occur to them that this was not the Lord's will. It's something akin to that illustration that I'm sure you've heard where if you put a frog in a pot of cold water and gradually raise the heat to where it begins to boil, that frog will just die. Instead, if you're to put it immediately into hot water, it will try to leap and get out with a prosperity, unfortunately, that we have experienced the comforts that we have enjoyed as a church for decades have likewise desensitized us. It has made us almost as sleepwalkers of being unattuned to the decline and the condition that the church is in. Likewise, we need a Nehemiah sort of prophetic call to the church, "Wake up people, look around you. You have clearly let down your defenses. There are false teachers and false doctrines all throughout the church today." And so we must respond in faith to how God is calling His people so that He is no longer mocked as this was clearly the picture that Nehemiah was pointing to. The enemies about those who also worshiped their gods, and some, especially the Samaritans, of course, will have some measure of worship of God, but they were syncretists, of course. They had brought in foreign gods, along with what remained of Judaism, and they sort of created their own religion. But especially those pagan nations, they would mock Yahweh as they related to the condition of Jerusalem, the city of God. They would say, "What sort of God do you have that would allow His city to remain in such ruins? And who are you a people where God's clear presence and His grace was no longer evident in their lives? We must be likewise attuned to the condition of the church. It's the climb is without a question throughout our land. And what is first and foremost in bringing about a turn is what that word, in fact, is often translated in the Old Testament. It is the word repent. There will be no revival. There will be no working of God's blessing until God's people repent. It begins with us. And so He says, "You see the trouble we are in. Do we see the trouble we are in? Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem that we may no longer suffer the region." Did these Jerusalemites even hear Nehemiah and were they able to recognize it's not just a physical condition. It is we are suffering the region. We are being mocked. Our witness for Yahweh is being trampled upon. The great and mighty name of God is no longer feared among the nations. And yet He doesn't just bark at them. He doesn't just pound them. You see how He identifies Himself with them. He's just arrived in the past three days or however many days it may have been. But it was recent. Nevertheless, He says, "Let us build the wall." He has identified Himself with their need and even their shame. And we saw that even in His prayers back in chapter 1. He didn't just blame this on the generation who were disobedient. He saw Himself corporately as part of the people of God, not only in its fall, but as we see here in God's use of bringing back and restoring His people in His honor once again. And so the spiritual poverty is what Nehemiah wants them to see, to awaken their hearts to the greater need that must begin from within. Yes, there will have to be effort in building up these walls. But if it's not rooted in a heart of loving God and seeking His glory, that initial push will come to a quick and tragic end. Nehemiah, as we have noted, is an example of not just a leader, but a believer who is able to identify Himself with Christ and with the people of God. There's a horizontal understanding of who He is, but also if you're going to be effective in leadership or effective in how the Lord uses you with His people, you must also be very attuned to your surroundings and especially people, the most important aspect of your surrounding, the people that God surrounds you with. This is obviously not a term that they would have used in Nehemiah's day, but we would say that Nehemiah possessed a high EQ, not an IQ, but an EQ, meaning emotional intelligence. We would say in our day, Nehemiah had great self-awareness. He knew of his limitations, but he also knew who he was in Christ, who he was as a servant of the Lord, and how the Lord would use Him with the people that were set before Him. He was very much attuned to how it would be that the Lord would take His gifts, His talents, and His ability along with all the circumstances around Him and be most effective in building, not just the wall, but the kingdom of God. And so we see here in verse 18, I told them now of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good. What does He begin with? He doesn't tell them, "I've got all the supplies I need. I've got even orders from King Artaxerxes. We are clearly under His authority and permission to do this work." No! He reminds them that all of this, even their fallenness, is ultimately the hand of God. And so he encourages them of how it was that the Lord has brought Him to this place and to remind them that there is nothing that is impossible with the Lord. This may seem like to them an insurmountable wall to climb, but with the Lord's help, nothing is impossible, and He will use even a small boy's lunch of five loaves and three fishes to feed thousands. What the Lord seeks are not just our gifts and our desire. He wants willingness to trust that He might use us to glorify, magnify His grace and power. And so He opens, of course, with how the Lord has been with Him, going all the way back even likely in Sousa. And He testifies so that day two will see that the Lord's hand will continue to be upon them as they do the work that He sets before them, along with the words that the King had spoken to me. And I suspect that this wasn't only to affirm, of course, the letter that He had been given by King Artaxerxes for the task, but there may have been some of those who were sort of on the fence. And we'll see some of those for sure. Say, "Okay, Nehemiah, this is great. Okay, I get your God talk here, but what about the King? How are we going to deal with His other decree that He had written? How are we going to get past that, Nehemiah?" And so for those who may be wondering who may not be all on board with thus say at the Lord, Nehemiah lets them know, "Yes, God has moved in Artaxerxes' heart that we are given full permission and even resources to do this work." And so He encourages and gathers them to a place where you see there, He says, "Let us rise up and do them. They are all on board." They see that this is not only approved by the Lord, but even how He has worked through human agencies' secondary causes to confirm that this will definitely move forward to the point where they strengthen their hands for the good work. This is not mainly a picture of their physical devotion, but that's a word or a phrase that's oftentimes used throughout the Old Testament to speak about their inner disposition, the strength that motivates and empowers them to do the good work. The work of God is fully evident as Nehemiah has set before them, the course the day must take. And therefore, as encouraged and motivated as they are to do God's work, we see once again another revelation or another example of God coming alongside, not just to Nehemiah now, to those who are now supposedly on board with God's purpose. Verse 19, "But just as we see God pressing these people forward, what do we find another obstacle? But when Sanbalat, the Hornite, and Tabbaya the Ammonite servant, now this time we are told of Gershen the heir heard of it. There is not clear indications at least in Scripture as to who Geshim was, but some scholars suspect that he and his sons were rulers of a league of Arabian tribes that controlled Moab and Edom. So Moab and Edom, at least in terms of Jerusalem, was sort of on the southeastern half of Jerusalem. And if you take into consideration where Sanbalat and Toab were, they were virtually surrounded. All parts of Jerusalem would face some enemy that would resist the work that they would be about. And this may be a bit puzzling to us. If this is clearly God's will, if this is what the Lord wants us to do, why does he not give us a smooth and easy pathway forward? Because the prosperity gospel, my friends, is a lie. If the road for Jesus was not smooth and easy, why would we think it would be any less for us? Jesus is our forerunner. He is our captain. He goes before us and clearly has won, and yet the path that he tread, we must follow. This is part of God's will. It is the very testing that the Lord will use to build up and strengthen his people, not just the walls. Again, this is not a physical mission. This is as much of encouraging and spiritually uplifting the people of God of the kingdom. And what do we find as their primary attack? They jeered at us and despised us and said, "What is this thing that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?" In other words, their form of attack is with words. They tried to bring down their morale, they questioned their motives, or even possibly threatened them as if though this was against the king, Art of Xerxes' desires. Now, I suspect, based upon what we read in the last chapter, Nehemiah had shown them the letter that Art of Xerxes had given to him. So they knew, at least, that this was a part of Art of Xerxes' will. And yet they want to put a little seed of doubt, let's just say. How do you know? These kings are pretty emotional. They're not the most stable guys. What if he decides all of a sudden, when he sees the walls begin to rise up? This is a rebellious city, remember how they've always done evil against their leaders. And I suspect, out of the masses, who suggest we will build. We are all ready to do so when they heard these words or however they were communicated to them, they began to fear the way we were reminded this morning in our Sunday school lesson. They saw the opposition and they seemed way too big for them to overcome. This word, this propaganda, was, I suspect, enough for some of those who were on the fence. I don't know, I've got too much at risk here. I don't want to lose what I have if Art of Xerxes all of a sudden comes and thinks, "I want to take names," and all of those who are part of this rebuilding project. And so these rulers do what they can, knowing it is limited in ultimately stopping it, but they're going to do what they can with words to put out their sum doubt, this work being indeed of the Lord. And yet we see Nehemiah's response. He doesn't, in fact, even give any heed to the questions that are asked of them, because they're not really questions, they're really accusations, to even to entertain such an answer, or to give some credence to these allegations. It's almost the way we see Jesus, of course, during his mock trial, never responding to his accusers. But instead, Nehemiah's reply is, "The God of Heaven will make us prosper." You're questioning our motive? Our motive is none other than the God of Heaven. This would have been a term that would have been familiar in that period that spoke to not just the God of a region or the God of a realm, like a lot of these pagan idols were, but the God of Heaven, the one who rules over all, and who has given us the authority and all the resources necessarily, the God of Heaven will make us prosper. And again, this was as much a response and a word of encouragement to the Jerusalemites as it was to these antagonists. Nehemiah is saying to his people, "God is for us. Who can be against us?" And we, his servants, therefore, will arise and build, but you, speaking of these foreign governors and antagonists, you have no portion or right or claim in Jerusalem. What's Nehemiah doing? He is making a clear line of demarcation. He's almost a threat. He's saying, "Here's the line. Do not cross. We will not just sit back and be passive. And as we'll find out later on, even as they're building in one hand, they'll have a sword to do the work." And it really speaks to the attitude, Christian believers and servants of God must have. First, have we drawn a line? Or has that line become so muddled? We don't know where it begins or in. There's so much gray. We don't know what's truth from lies. Nehemiah says, "Here's a line." And these three words that he uses, portion, right and claim, speak of not just what scholars refer to as sort of legal. That's the word portion or in terms of what is granted to them by our dessertsies and then the legal rights that he has also granted them. And the last word, their claim is a little bit difficult, but many scholars suspect it relates something to their religion. In the end, what Nehemiah is saying is, "We are distinct. We are set apart. We are the people of God and everyone else who is not with the Lord is against the Lord." There's no doubt, my friends, in our day that line has been at least drawn by the enemy. The question is, do we know where that line is? We ought to be like Nehemiah. And frankly, there should be more ministers of the word who point out to the people of God, "Here's the line. Every day as you go out into the world, do you see the line?" These are the signs of the lines that have been crossed, that the enemies has clearly come over. Are you prepared to confront the enemy? Are you prepared to show that you are on the Lord's side? No portion or right or claim. Again, Nehemiah speaks with prophetic authority because he is under the leadership and the guidance of God. As Christ followers, we must be willing to draw a line and be willing to stand as soldiers of Christ because the kingdom of darkness is resilient in their efforts. We know the Lord doesn't sleep. He neither sleeps nor slumbers. We know that. I don't think Satan sleeps much either. These demonic beings, they don't need rest like we do. And yet we as the church have oftentimes been asleep and do not see the ruins in which we reside. And so as faithful followers of Christ, there is a clear difference that we must be able to distinguish and disturb between the kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness. And as we'll come to realize, Nehemiah knows the cost, what it will take in terms of effort, in terms of perseverance, and in terms of prayer to stand fast. And yet it is all worth it because the name of God and the glory of His fame will once again reverberate through the up building of these walls. Whatever the pain might be, it is worth it because Christ has given His all. What does He ask of us one day at a time? One encounter at a time, one word at a time. You don't have to know everything and you don't have to do everything. Are you willing to do what is before you? Are you discerning enough? Are you awake to the opportunities that the Lord sets before you? And because Christ has already won because He is already victorious, we know that our service is not the end all. How small, how insignificant it may appear, it is simply a privilege to be a part of the larger tapestry of God's kingdom building, whatever you're calling may be. And because of Christ's life, death, and resurrection, His victory, and His triumph, we need fear nothing. That's the glory that we have. Even our own failures, we don't fear because we know that in Christ, we are forgiven. I trust you take great comfort in Peter who denied the Lord three times even though he showed himself to be brave at least initially and that the Lord knew and even total what would happen. And when it happened, he broke down into tears. He sobbed over his failures. But the Lord promised them, "When you have been restored, you will be a great and mighty tool in my hand." That's all of us to some degree or measure. No matter how often we fail, the Christian can always rise because of the cross. Satan would want you to stay down and waller and self-pity and shame, but that diminishes the gospel. Christ has triumphed for our sake that we might continue to glory in His grace and be empowered by the truth, that the power that braves Jesus from the dead is the same spirit of God who dwells in us. We lack nothing that God will not supply to do His purpose. So may we take great joy in being part of the kingdom of God. John Newton's hymn, "Glorious Things of Thee" are spoken. Says, "Fading is the world's treasure. All is boasted, pomp and show. Solid joys and lasting treasure, none but Zion's children know." Are you one of Zion's children? Look at what you are privileged to be a part of. Solid joys and lasting treasures. May we in hope boast of our great Redeemer and King. Let us pray.