Oxford Bible Church - Living in the Last Days (audio)

God wants us to enter into deeper communion with Him, through the Holy Spirit, who will lead us into knowing more of the truth of His Word, and who will guide and empower us in our lives. The Holy Spirit opens our heart to believe and receive the extravagant, amazing and eternal love of God, which heals and restores our heart.

After his initial prayer (v1-7), he moves into a meditation on God’s attributes & acts, to fuel his prayers (v8-10): “Good and upright is the Lord; therefore, He teaches sinners in the WAY (of holiness)” (v8). In His goodness, He works to save us all from destruction, but only the humble receive His instruction, for they know their need of guidance and are willing to submit to God’s will. The proud go their own way, thinking they don’t need God. “The HUMBLE He guides in justice (righteousness), and the humble He teaches His WAY” (v9). The key to guidance is humility, asking God to show us His way. “All the PATHS of the Lord are MERCY and TRUTH (faithfulness), to such as keep (are loyal to) His covenant and His testimonies” (v10). We’re in a covenant grace relationship with God, but to enjoy His presence & blessing, we must be loyal to God and keep His Covenant, walking in love & truth. If we don’t, we can’t have His Presence. Based on this meditation, he makes this PRAYER: “For Your NAME’s sake, O Lord, pardon my iniquity, for it is great” (v11). God's Name is His revealed character (v8-10). He asks God to pardon his great iniquity according to His Name (His faithfulness to forgive those who repent). Also, He pardons us for His Name's sake, for His glory, as He is glorified by our salvation. As Absalom’s rebellion brought his past sins back to mind, he had to deal with condemning thoughts, so makes sure he has fully repented and received full forgiveness. Then he meditates on the BENEFITS of the FEAR of the Lord (v12-14): “Who is the man that FEARS the Lord? Him shall He teach in the way He chooses” (v12). The fear of God is the beginning of knowledge & wisdom (Prov 1:7, 9:10). “He himself shall dwell in prosperity (lit: goodness), and his descendants shall inherit the earth (possess the land)” (v13). “The SECRET (or friendship) of the Lord is with those who FEAR Him, and He will SHOW (reveal & manifest to) them His covenant.” Fearing God brings us into His intimate circle, to whom He shares His secrets, as with Abraham (2Chr 20:7, Isa 41:8, Jas 2:23). The closer we come to Him, the more He reveals & manifests Himself to us. We can’t comprehend spiritual things apart from the Spirit; we need His Presence in our soul to perceive & receive spiritual things (1Cor 2:12-15). Without Him we’re like a blind & deaf man. To explain His secrets to those without the Spirit is like describing colours to a blind man. It’s by submission to (fear of) God we receive the Spirit into our soul (Is 11:2,3). Thus, it is the beginning of wisdom & knowledge. This meditation (v12-14) built his faith, resulting in a DECLARATION of FAITH: “My eyes are ever toward the Lord (looking to God in expectation), for He shall pluck (lit: bring out) my feet out of the net” (v15). As David speaks, his enemies have already set a net for him, for Absalom's armies were closing in on him, but he trusts God for victory. His final PRAYER (v16-22): “TURN Yourself to me, and have MERCY on me” (v16a). He says: "I am looking to You (v15), please look at me and smile on me, and release Your radiant Presence on me, flood me with your grace." “for I am desolate (lonely) and afflicted” (v16b). He reminds God how much he needs Him for most Israel had turned against him. “The troubles of my heart have enlarged; bring me out of my distresses! Look on my affliction and my pain, and forgive all my sins” (v17-18). Again, he admits his sins are behind many of his problems, so asks for mercy to overcome the effects and forgiveness for any unknown sins. “Consider my enemies, for they are many; and they hate me with cruel (violent) hatred. Keep my soul, and deliver me; let me not be ashamed, for I put my trust in You” (v19-20, cf. v2). “Let integrity and uprightness preserve me (this is his own integrity) for I wait for You” (v21, cf. v1). He knew his need to walk before God with integrity (a whole heart), to stay in His Presence to be protected & delivered. He knows it’s God’s Presence that preserves Him, but we need to walk with God to abide under His Presence. He’s not trusting in his own integrity (“for I wait for You”), but in God. The acrostic ends at v21, then in v22 his prayer expands to Israel as a whole. It was not just the future of David on the line, but all God’s people: “REDEEM (ransom) Israel, O God, out of all their troubles!” (v22). He understood all blessings for which he’d prayed, are only available on the basis of the payment of a price. This is a prayer for the coming of the Redeemer, who would redeem Israel & all God's people by His Blood. Christ alone can bring the full forgiveness & restoration desired in this prayer by His (1) Blood (1st Coming) and (2) Power (2nd Coming). He prayed Ps 25 in his time of trouble and God answered him, but v22 expands it to all of Israel’s troubles, including her final & full restoration, so we can also pray it with confidence.

Ps 25 describes a man devoted to God & trusting in Him, but also aware of his faults & past sins, so his prayer is based on God’s mercy, not his own performance. It’s an Acrostic - each verse starts with the next letter of the alphabet, a literary device to add form & aid memorisation. Many elements fit with the time of Absalom’s rebellion. His reference to the sins of his youth (v7) shows it's set later in his life. David is in distress, on the run from his enemies, but also aware his sins opened the door to this rebellion, as Nathan predicted in 2Sam 12:11. So, seeking divine deliverance from enemies is a major theme (v2,3,15,16,17,18,19). He acknowledges the root of his troubles was his own sins (when we sin, we turn our back to God & open the door to the curse). So, asking for God’s mercy & forgiveness is also a major theme (v6,7,11.18). Thus, it's called a Penitential Psalm. So, he declares his faith that: “You are the God of my salvation” (v5) from both sin & enemies. Likewise, God saves us from our sins (the root problem) & rescues us from our enemies (the resulting curse). Part 1 is a PRAYER (v1-7). “Unto You, O LORD, I LIFT UP my SOUL” (v1). Like a windsurfer trying to catch the wind, we need to lift up our earthbound soul to God (Isa 40:31), seeking fellowship with Him. We need to put aside everything else and direct our soul toward God in faith, looking & waiting on Him, in submission, ready to receive His life. Then he prays for DELIVERANCE from his enemies (v2-3). Thus, he starts with his outer life. Even if we are at peace we should pray into our future: “Deliver us from evil” (Matt 6:13). “O my God, I TRUST (take refuge) in You; let me not be ASHAMED; let not my enemies triumph over me.” He bases his prayer on his covenant with God. By faith he draws near to God and lays hold of His protection. 'Ashamed' means to be disappointed, to trust in something that proves unworthy (Rom 5:5, 10:11, Isa 49:23). This is a prayer for public vindication thru victory, which will also result in God’s glory. “Indeed, let no one who WAITS on You be ASHAMED” (v3a), or better: “no one who WAITS on You (in faith) will be ASHAMED” (v3a). He is confident of this fact. To WAIT is to actively look to God & wait for His instructions, ready to obey, like a waiter. It’s an attitude of submission to God’s timing, leadership & wisdom, rather than rushing ahead in the flesh. This is how he responded to Absalom's rebellion. “Let those be ASHAMED, who deal treacherously without cause” (v3b). This describes his enemies who followed Absalom in his lies & treachery. Then he moves from praying for his outward life to his inner life by first praying for GUIDANCE (v4-5), for he understood outward victory & good circumstances require walking with God, as he did at the time of Absalom’s rebellion (prayer is superficial if all we pray for is our outer life): “Show me Your WAYS, O Lord; teach me Your PATHS” (v4). God's WAYS are love, righteousness, service, integrity, faith, and His PATHS include their practical application in our lives. Receiving His guidance is not enough, for he also knows he needs God to lead him step by step along His path: “LEAD me in Your truth and TEACH me, for You are the God of my salvation (from my sin & enemies). On You I WAIT all the day (patience in waiting, his settled attitude)” (v5). Guidance is part of our personal walk with God. It’s of the heart, not mechanical obeying of rules, a lifestyle of waiting & obeying. Then he prays for MERCY: “REMEMBER, O Lord, Your tender mercies and Your lovingkindnesses (chesed), for they are from of old (eternity)” (v6). To remember is to bring certain thoughts to the forefront of one's mind as a basis for our attitude & actions. It is used as a covenant word, as in remembering our covenant with God (1Cor 11:24-25), and God remembering us in His covenant love (Lk 23:42). He grounds His prayer on divine mercy, not justice (Ex 34:6). “Do NOT REMEMBER the sins of my youth (Bathsheba), nor my transgressions; according to Your MERCY REMEMBER me, for Your GOODNESS’ sake, O Lord” (v7). "Don’t let your attitude & actions toward me be based on my sins, but on your covenant love for me. Don’t just forgive my sins, forget them." He knows he’s forgiven (2Sam 12:13, Ps 32, 51), but his troubles reminded him of his past sins, that led to this situation, causing him to turn to God in humility and reaffirm before God his full repentance, and in faith plead for & claim God’s covenant promises of forgiveness (MERCY) & grace (GOODNESS) to overcome the effect of those sins. This was also needed as the situation would have triggered accusing thoughts of condemnation, encouraged by satan (this whole attack on David's Throne was part of a bigger spiritual warfare, where satan tried to stop God's purposes thru him), that would have paralysed his faith had he allowed them. So, it was necessary for him to bring these thoughts to God in prayer, claiming His covenant mercy & grace.

Pastor Derek looks at what the Bible Prophecy has to say about Israel in the End-Times.

Messiah's anointed Ministry is prophesied in Isaiah 61:1-3: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them BEAUTY for ASHES, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.” The Messiah came to set us free from the power of the enemy (Genesis 3:15). *(1) The POWER of the Messiah’s Ministry. Isaiah 61:1: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me" *(2) The PROVISION of the Messiah’s Ministry (Isaiah 61:2-3). He provides beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning (Psalm 45:6-7, Romans 14:17, 15:13, Nehemiah 8:10, Psalm 126:1-3) and a garment of praise (Psalm 30:11-12). *(3) The PURPOSE of the Messiah’s Ministry. Isaiah 61:3: "that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be GLORIFIED.” Isaiah 60:21: "Your people shall all be righteous; they shall inherit the land forever, the branch of My planting, the work of My hands, that I may be GLORIFIED." Also Psalm 92:12-15.

The dramatic words of v7-10 were spoken at the Gates of Jerusalem, when David brought the Ark of the Covenant to God's earthly holy Hill in a procession (2Sam 6, 1Chr 15). This was the ascension of the Lord Himself, enthroned on the Ark (Ps 132:5-8) to His chosen resting place in the city of the great King (Ps 48:2, Matt 5:35). Thus, it’s a type of Christ’s Ascension to His throne in the New Jerusalem, God's heavenly holy Hill, as well as His ascension to sit on David’s throne at His 2nd Coming. It’s a Messianic Psalm ultimately fulfilled in His Ascension. v3-6 poses & starts to answer a big question: “Who may ASCEND into the Hill of the LORD or STAND in His Holy Place?” (v3). God’s requirement to ascend & stand in His Presence is perfection (v4), so it’s impossible for us, but God provides salvation by grace (v5-6). In v7-10, He answers the big question, revealing the unique perfect Man, Christ, who ascended to Heaven, the King of Glory, mighty in battle who defeated all foes & accomplished our salvation. It reveals that with Him many will ascend, showing how God provides us salvation by grace (v5). We can’t climb to God, but He came down to us, so we could rise with Him (Heb 2:10). He fulfilled the conditions of v4; then ascended to Heaven (v7-10), to make a way for us to rise with Him. Before this no man ascended to Heaven (John 3:13). He alone fulfils God's standards. The scene describes this glorified Man ascending to Heaven & coming to its Gates to request access. v7-10: “Lift up your heads, O you Gates! and be lifted up, you everlasting Doors! and the KING of GLORY shall come in. Who is this KING of GLORY? (God does not seek entrance to Heaven, so this refers to Christ, His anointed human King). The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle (He’s the Lord God, who became a man, fought the battle & won the victory for us). Lift up your heads, O you Gates! Lift up, you everlasting doors! and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this KING of GLORY? The LORD of HOSTS (armies), He is the KING of GLORY. Selah.” v3 asked: 'Who can ascend?' Here is the answer. He lived a perfect life, defeated all foes & ascended, but not on His own. He’s the Lord of armies. When He enters thru the Gates, His army of saints enter with Him, united to Him by faith. He gained access to Heaven for all under His command. Thus Ps 24 deals with the issue of salvation, asking & answering: “Who may ascend?” (v3). To enter requires moral perfection (v4). When we receive Him, we receive His righteousness, so in Him we ascend into God's Presence & receive His blessing (v5). He’s the Head and we, His Body, rise with Him. He rose as our representative, so we ascend in Him. Thus Christ, the Righteous One, is the Way to God (John 14:6,12). Moses’ Tabernacle teaches our access to the Holy Place (v3) is only by His Blood. Ps 24:7-10 also reveals His future earthly ascension to David’s throne. He humbly offered Himself to Israel as her King with salvation, but the leaders didn’t receive Him. He said He’d only return when they repent & receive Him as King (Matt 23:37-39). They’ll do this at Armageddon & then He’ll return as King of Glory to Zion, save them from their enemies & establish His Kingdom (Zech 14:3-4). When Israel receives Him as King, He’ll manifest His glory to, thru & for her. Notice, He didn’t force Himself into Heaven, or force His reign on Israel, and He doesn’t force Himself on us. We must receive Him as our King, and then He’ll manifest His glory in & thru us. He reveals & offers Himself to us to be our Lord & Saviour. When we open the gates of our heart to Him, He comes in with His glory, 1st into our spirit, then into different parts of our soul. So v7-10 can be applied personally. He fulfilled it by ascending into the Heavenly Temple, but we’re also God's Temple & He has the right to enter our holy of holies & be enthroned there. The Gospel declares v7 (Rev 3:20). By these words, He seeks access to our Temple, and we must open our gates & let Him in. When we do, He enters our spirit & imparts His glory (manifested nature) to us, as a free gift, making our spirit righteous, holy, full of His life & light, enabling us to ascend into God’s Presence in Him. Since He’s already ascended, as soon as He enters into us, we automatically ascend in our spirit to the Father thru our union to Him, by His power & righteousness in us. He comes in as the Lord, delivering us from the power of darkness & translating us into His Kingdom. Then His glory (love) works in our souls from within, changing us from glory to glory, so we increasingly fulfil His righteous requirements (v4). As we increase in holiness, the more we can ascend into His Presence to commune with Him (v3). He continues to ask for more access to every part of our soul, with the words of v7, so as we open our doors, inviting Him in to reign, He manifests Himself in us as the King of Glory, the Lord strong & mighty in battle, releasing His power & victory in us.

The background to Ps 24 is the ascension of the Ark of the Covenant (God’s earthly throne) to its rightful place in Jerusalem in a great procession, with much rejoicing (2Sam 6, 1Chron 13,15). It signified God arising to be enthroned in Jerusalem, His chosen dwelling place (Ps 132). The event’s importance is reflected in the pomp & pageantry of Ps 24. This is a type of Christ’s Ascension to sit on God's throne in the New Jerusalem & future ascension to sit on His earthly throne in Jerusalem. What gave significance to this event is the holiness of the Hill of the Lord (His dwelling place) and the King of Glory enthroned on the Ark. The question & answers in Ps 24 were part of the dramatic ceremony, enacted before the city gates. The answers affirm only the King of Glory is worthy to enter thru the Gates and ascend to His place on the holy Hill. Likewise, Christ alone (the King of Glory) is worthy to ascend into Heaven, but He did it for us, so that in Christ, we also can ascend into God's holy Presence in Heaven. Ps 24 is in 3 parts: *(1) The Sovereign Creator, who owns all things (v1-2). *(2) The Heavenly Temple – the requirements for Ascension (v3-6), how can a man know such a high God, stand before Him & receive His blessing? Perfection is required, which is a problem for us. *(3) The true Redeemer – the King of Glory (v7-10). God became a man, and made a way to bring men to God. *PART 1. The Truth about God (v1-2): "The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness (expanded in next line), the world and those who dwell therein (its produce and people)" (v1). This is quoted x2 in 1Cor 10:25-28 (see Ps 50:10-11). WHY does it all belong to Him? He is its Maker & Manager: "For He has (1) founded it on the seas (Maker, Gen 1:2,9,10, 2Pet 3:5), and (2) established it on the waters (rivers, symbolic of His Providence)" (v2). ‘Established’ (imperfect tense) speaks of His ongoing management of the earth. He’s the rightful Owner of all things. We are just tenant possessors of the earth & stewards of God’s resources, for which we’ll give account. Our life is not for us to do with as we please. God’s authority is absolute over all, He has the right to do whatever He wants with us & the world. When we see this, it humbles us. The big question we must ask is: "How can I be right with God?" This seems impossible due to the infinite gap between us as sinful creatures & the holy God. Holiness is represented by height, so God is high above us (Is 57:15, 55:8). For man to be right with God & commune with Him requires us to ascend, but how is this possible? This is what David asks in PART 2: God’s requirements for Ascension (v3-6): "Who may ASCEND the Hill of the Lord? (Heavenly Jerusalem) or STAND in His Holy Place?" (v3). The answer, the moral requirements for ascension, is given in v4: "(1) He who has clean hands & (2) a pure heart" (v4a). Here Hebrew parallelism works like stereo vision to give a full 3D picture, emphasising both his (1) outward actions & (2) inward attitudes & motives must be pure & perfect. This is followed by another parallelism emphasising (1) perfect holiness & (2) perfect righteousness: "(1) who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor (2) sworn deceitfully" (v4b). These represent the (1) God-ward requirement of true worship, free from idolatry, and (2) man-ward requirement of integrity, being a person of our word (no lies, deception or bearing false witness). 'Idol' also means vanity (that which is hollow). Rather than finding meaning, comfort & identity in the Creator, man seeks it in the creation, superficial things, even things with no reality, that don’t ring true & against nature (like gender ideology). Thus, God requires perfection (Matt 5:48), but all sin (only Jesus fulfils these requirements), so what hope have we? But v5 says God provides a way for men to be saved and be made righteous by grace: "He shall receive blessing from the Lord (as a free-gift), and righteousness from the God of his salvation (enabling him to ascend)" (v5). These ones who ascend to God, not by their own righteousness, but by His grace, are described as God-seekers: "This is Jacob, the generation (the group of people) of those who SEEK Him, who SEEK Your face. Selah" (v6). They want to know Him & be right with Him. He promises they will find Him (Deut 4:29, Jer 29:13, Matt 7:7-8). David uses Jacob to represent those who are imperfect, but seek God (Gen 32:9-12), whom He brings to Himself by a process of coming to saving faith, when they come to an end of themselves & their own strength, knowing they can’t stand before God on their own, and so cling to Him for blessing (Gen 32:24-29). So, to ascend to God requires a perfect righteousness, which God graciously gives to those who seek Him. How He made salvation possible, solving our sin-problem is revealed in PART 3: The King of Glory (v7-10), which describes the Ascension of Christ, the righteous Man, the King of glory - the subject of the next study.

Knowing the faithfulness of God is foundational to your faith in God. Peter builds your faith by revealing what God's word reveals about His absolute faithfulness to keep all His promises to us.

Pastor Derek and Howard Condor discuss the identity of Tarshish in the Bible, and conclude that the evidence points clearly to Great Britain. They also look at 3 end-time Prophecies about Tarshish, and what they mean for this nation.

We study Ps 23 thru the eyes of our personal covenant relationship with the LORD = YEHOVAH, God's covenant Name. 8 compound Covenant Names cover all blessings of the New Covenant. The 1st is: “The LORD is my SHEPHERD” (v1), Yehovah Rohi. Jesus said: “I AM the good SHEPHERD” of Ps 23 (Jn 10:11,14), speaking of His loving care for us. I AM = YEHOVAH, so His I AM claims correspond to the YEHOVAH Names. As our risen Shepherd, as Ps 23 says, He leads us into our full inheritance, described by these Names. True shepherding means a devoted personal relationship between shepherd & sheep. He lives in personal relationship with his sheep & knows them all by name; they know his voice & follow him. This is seen in the word MY: ‘The Lord is MY Shepherd.' He cares for me, watches over, leads, feeds & preserves me. His constant presence protects them from danger. David, an experienced shepherd, knew of what he talked, a man (who sought) after God’s own heart to know Him (1Sam 13:14, Acts 13:22) and God revealed His heart of love to Him, the heart of a shepherd, that just as he cared for his sheep, protecting, providing, leading & rescuing them, so that’s how God is toward His people. As he was devoted to his sheep, so God is fully committed to us, laying down His life for us. He found comfort & security in the covenant-keeping God caring for him, as a devoted shepherd for his sheep. v1b: “I shall not want” = Yehovah Yireh, the LORD my PROVIDER (seeing ahead & providing for us by His Sacrifice, Gen 22;14). He said: “I AM the BREAD of LIFE” (Jn 6:35). By the provision of Himself, in His death & resurrection He meets all our needs (Ro 8:32, 5000). “I’ll not want” confesses covenant confidence in Him. v2: “He makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters” = Yehovah Shalom, the Lord my Peace (Jud 6:24). He said: “I AM the VINE” (Jn 15:1, Eph 2:14). v3: “He restores my soul” = Yehovah Rophe, the Lord my Healer (Ex 15:26). He said: “I AM the Resurrection & Life” (Jn 11:26). v3b: “He leads me in the paths of RIGHTEOUSNESS for His Name’s sake” = Yehovah Tsidkenu, the Lord my Righteousness (Jer 23:6, 33:16). He said: “I AM the DOOR” into God's Presence & Kingdom (Jn 10:7,9). v4: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for YOU are WITH ME Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me” = Yehovah Shammah, the LORD is PRESENT (Ezek 48:35). He said: “I AM the LIGHT” (Jn 8:12, 9:5). As sheep on their own are helpless, lost & defenceless, so without our Shepherd we’d be destroyed. Ps 23 is most beloved for believers, for it tells us we’re never alone, without help or hope. Now the scene changes. The Shepherd is now a King giving a bountiful Banquet. v5: “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies” = Yehovah Nissi, the Lord my Banner of Victory (Ex 17:15). The risen Christ claims this (Rev 1:18). A good host gave protection & provision for his guests. To prepare (set in order) suggests foresight & care, 'before me' means personal provision. He knows all our needs & prepared His perfect provision for us of every blessing, in this life (with our enemies present) & eternity. To dine together signified abiding friendship. In context, to sit at table with the Lord & partake of the meal He’s prepared is the manifestation of our covenant relationship & close fellowship (Rev 3:20). He shows His love, by preparing an everlasting feast for us in His Presence, under His Banner of Protection, for He won the Victory for us (Song 2:4). A fulfilment of this is Holy Communion. He invites us to come & partake of Himself. Every blessing revealed by Ps 23 & 8 Covenant Names is ours in Christ. He wants us to draw near & receive of His abundance. v5b: “You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over” = Yehovah M’kaddesh, the LORD my Sanctifier (Lev 20:8). He said: “I AM the WAY, TRUTH & LIFE” (Jn 14:6). A host anoints his guest with oil (Lk 7:44-46), representing sanctification & empowerment with His Spirit. ‘My cup runs over’ speaks of a generous host, ever filling our cup to overflowing (Eph 5:18), giving us life & joy in His Spirit (Jn 10:10). His abundant provision shows His great love for us, but the main blessing of the Banquet is to be with Him. Ps 23 concludes with a summary of the results of the Shepherd’s Ministry to us in this life & eternity, v6: “Surely goodness (grace) & mercy (chesed) shall follow (pursue) me (with vigor) all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the House of the Lord (Heaven) forever.” He’s sure of enjoying His Presence all his life, & that He’ll lead him thru the valley of death to Heaven, where he’ll dwell with Him forever - a key verse to comfort those facing death. Don’t follow (covet) blessings, but follow our Shepherd & the blessings will follow. His Ministry as our personal Shepherd continues forever (Rev 7:15-17). Grace & mercy covers all. In grace He gives what we don’t deserve & in mercy He doesn’t give what we deserve.