The Beautiful Thirsting Soul
Psalm 63:1-11
January 20-21, 2024
Psalm 63 is on the list of many people's favorites when it comes to the Psalms. I don't know if you have a favorite. Mine is Psalm 27, but I've got to tell you, Psalm 63 is way up there. It is so amazing. The introduction tells us that it was a Psalm of David written when he was in the wilderness of Judah. There are two possible times when David was in the wilderness of Judah and in difficulties of trouble.
One was before he was king and Saul was the king, and David was on the run from the anger and jealousy and rage of King Saul, who was very threatened by David. The other was much later when David was the king, and his own son, Solomon, had connived a conspiracy that was so deep that Absalom was bringing an army to bear onto Jerusalem, and David had to flee Jerusalem into the Judean wilderness. I believe that that was the circumstance in which David was in when he wrote Psalm 63. I think one of the reasons for that is because of what he wrote in verse 11 where he said, the king will rejoice in God. I doubt very sincerely if he was referring to King Saul there because Saul was definitely not rejoicing in God. He was reveling in rage and anger.
David was king enduring perhaps the greatest difficulty of his life. Although when you've been through as many difficulties as David, he was through one trouble after another. He spent years on the run from Saul where he said he was one step away from death. When you've been through as many adversities and difficulties as David, can one difficulty be greater than another? Again, when we read Psalm 63, one of the great lessons that we gain from this Psalm is the attitude of faith needed to navigate through the adversities, troubles, and difficulties of life. If anyone understood how to navigate through a bearing and attitude of faith, it would be David.
I mentioned that the title of our message is The Beautiful Thirsting Soul. There are two parts to that that I think are very, very important. One is the beautiful soul. I believe that it is one of the greatest themes. I submit maybe it is the greatest theme that runs through the entire Bible, and that is that God wants to do a beautiful work on your soul. That the transforming power of the glory of God, the presence of God in your life will bring that which is beautiful upon the soul, the beautiful soul, but also the thirsting.
The thirsting soul means a soul that seeks for more. More of God's glory, more of God's presence, more of that which is beautiful. It's not a thirst driven by emptiness. No, it's a thirst that comes from being fully satisfied. There's a big difference between the two, and it's important that we recognize how important that is. It's not a thirst driven by emptiness. It's driven by a desire for more, because you've tasted and seen how good God is, and the glory of God does that which is so beautiful upon the soul, you are more. That's what we read. That's what we see in Psalm 63.
Let's read it.
I. The Beautiful Soul Seeks After God
We begin in Psalm 63:1 where he begins, "O God, you are my God." It's actually a very beautiful, powerful way to begin the Psalm. "O, Elohim, you are my God, and I shall seek you earnestly. My soul, it thirsts for you. My flesh yearns for you in a dry, in weary land where there is no water. For thus, I have beheld you in the sanctuary to see your power and your glory, and because your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips will praise you. I will bless you as long as I'll live, and I will lift up my hands to your name. For my soul is satisfied as with moral and fatness, and my mouth offers praises with joyful lips."
You might say, wait, I thought David was in trouble. I thought David had all this adversity and was under threat of life. Yes, he is. You say, then why is it so beautiful? It just seems like a beautiful song to me. No. David is giving us the bearing of faith to navigate through. He's giving us the foundation and bearing of that attitude of faith. Notice what he says next, "For, I remember you on my bed. I meditate on you in the night watches for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings, I sing for joy. My soul, it clings to you for your right hand." That's the power of God.
"The right hand upholds me, but those who seek my life to destroy it," yes, you see, David is in trouble, "they are sinking my life to destroy it. O Lord, let them go down to the depth of the earth. Do it, Lord. They will be delivered over to the power of the sword. They will be like, pray for foxes. Do it, Lord. But as for me, the king will rejoice in God, and everyone who swears by Him." What does that mean? It means everyone who pledges the allegiance of their soul unto God. That's what he means. Everyone who swears allegiance of their soul to God will glory. That is such a great word. They will glory, but the mouths of those who speak lies, they will be stopped.
What a great psalm is this. Again, David is giving us an insight and the attitude, the bearing of faith as the foundation to navigate through the adversities and the difficulties of life, but you notice the insight that David gives us, that the beautiful soul seeks after God. Verse 1. "Oh, Elohim, you are my God, and I seek you earnestly."
A. The soul thirsts for God
Some of your Bible versions, I think say, "I shall seek you early," but really they are aspects of the same great truth. In other words, seeking God was David's highest priority. He sought God earnestly. He sought God early. If it's important, you make it a priority. How important was that to David? Oh, it was important. When you've been through as many troubles as David, he needed, he depended, he trusted. It was everything to David. How important is it to you or to me? That's the question that we must put ourselves into the story. If it's important, you pursue it. It's a priority. I seek God earnestly. Interestingly, seeking God is also one of the great themes that run through the entire Bible. It's that theme that God wants you to never stop pursuing, never stop seeking for more. More of God, more of His glory, more of His presence. Never stop pursuing and seeking for more.
There are two aspects of searching and seeking God that we need to consider. The first is the searching and longing of the soul in the one who does not know God, and does not have a relationship to God, but there is a searching and there's a longing. The human soul was born with a soul separate from God, empty, longing, searching. You can see it in so many people out there in the world. There's something desperately missing, and they're looking and they're longing. What is it? They don't know? What is it? What is missing? There is something wrong. What is it? That thing, and the soul is searching and longing. That's why David gives this perspective, I love there in Verse 1, where he says, "My soul thirsts for you in a dry and weary land where there is no water."
The soul is searching for meaning, for a purpose, for a significance, for love.
There's a desperate need for relationship, for love. Many people think that they can satisfy this longing, this desire by things of the world, or maybe some, "If I could just have the right relationship." So many times when people are young, they think, "Oh, one day if I could just be married, it would solve all of my problems." Oh, and they think, "If I just had the right relationship, it would just solve all my troubles." There's no such thing as Mr. Perfect. Anybody want to say amen to that? The women are like, "Yes, let's say amen." There's no such thing as Mrs. Perfect either. There is no relationship that it's going to fulfill the thirst for the soul.
I thirst for you in a dry and weary land where there is no water. It's a little hard to relate to that when you live in Oregon and there's water, now that we had water today. You go to Israel and you'll see it is dry. David is in the wilderness, that's the desert, the Judean desert. He writes, a thirst in a dry and weary land. If you've ever been through a time of wilderness of your life, it's weary. You're away from God, the soul's not right. There's something deeply unsettled. It's not right. It's wearying, it's tiresome, it's heavy, it's dry, because the soul was made to thirst for God. It was made to thirst for God. There's a searching and a longing in the one who does not know, who does not have a relationship to God. The soul is thirsting and longing because God is the only one who can satisfy that. Maybe that's you. Maybe you're here today and God is just speaking that truth to you. There's something missing. Something's deeply unsettled here.
Your soul is searching, you're seeking, what is it? There's a worship song that we sing that touches the soul deeply. I want to just quote some of the lyrics, "Are you hurting and broken within, overwhelmed by the weight of your sin? Jesus is calling. Have you come to the end of yourself? Do you thirst for a drink from the well? Jesus is calling, oh, come to the author. The Father's arms are open wide. I love that picture. Bring your sorrows, trade them for joy. From the ashes, a new life is born." Jesus is calling, "Come to the Altar, the Father's arms are open wide."
If you've been in the wilderness, and you've been looking and longing and searching, you finally come to the point where you're at the end of yourself, when the pursuit of the world has left you empty and void of meaning in life. From that point of despair, from that point of emptiness, and longing, from there, seek God. You'll find Him when you search for Him with all your hearts, with all your soul. Notice what God said to Israel in Deuteronomy 4:29. He's speaking to Israel, "When you wonder, when you find the result of turning away, and you're in that desert place and that empty forlorn place," He said, "from there, you will seek the Lord your God, and you'll find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and with all your soul. When you find Him, you will discover that He was pursuing you all along."
I love Luke 19:10, where the Lord Jesus here tells us the heart of the Father. He said, "The Son of man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." Jesus is telling us here the heart of the Father. God sent his Son to go and seek out sinners. Go find sinners and save them, bring them home, reconcile them to the Father. Jesus is telling us, this is the Father's heart. This is so important because so many people have it wrong when it comes to this. This is so commonly wrong. People think because God is so offended of sin, that God is rejecting them. They're convinced God is offended of sin, so He rejects people. No, that's not what Jesus said. I was sent, God sent me to go and find sinners and bring them home.
Jesus gave so many parables to describe the heart of God to seek and to save the lost, the hurting, the broken. Once He found them, to reconcile them, to give them a relationship, and Jesus's parables express that God rejoices. When even one sinner repents, God rejoices, the angels of heaven rejoice the attitude of God. Notice, for example, where we read it in Luke 15. Luke 15 is amazing, it's got to be one of the most amazing chapters in the book of Luke. Notice how it begins where he says it this way, "All of the tax-gatherers and sinners, they were coming near to Him to listen to Him." You've got to see this in its right context. Tax gatherers were despised. They were Jews who essentially were working for Rome gathering taxes, and you can just imagine the attitude of Jews toward a tax-gatherer, who was a Jew, but gathering taxes for Rome.
You can imagine the attitude of the Jews when they would see a tax-gatherer, "You ought to be ashamed of yourself. You are despicable to me. How dare you do such? You gathering to you? You ought to be ashamed." You can just imagine. They were despised, looked down upon. Then it says, "And these were coming, tax-gatherers and sinners." You've got to know what kind of sinners we're talking about. There are sinners, and then there are sinners. We're talking about sinners. These are like sinners. They were coming near and listening. When the Pharisees and the Scribes, yes, these are the Jewish leaders who thought they were better, they were more righteous than others, and when they saw this, they began to grumble. Essentially they were saying, "Would you look at this? This man receive sinners, and he even eats with them. Can you believe it? He calls Himself a man of God. A man of God receiving sinners?"
Jesus heard that, and He gave parables. He said, "If someone had 100 sheep and lost one, would he not leave the 99 in the open field and go and search? He would search until he found it, and then when he finds it, would he not then lay it upon his shoulders and rejoice? And then when he comes home, would he not call together his friends and his neighbors and say, 'Rejoice with me, I have found the sheep which was lost.' Or, what woman, if she has 10 coins and then loses one, would she not sweep the house and search carefully until she found that? Then when she found it, would she not call together her friends and neighbors and say, "Rejoice with me, I have found the coin which was lost."?
Then He says in Luke 15:7, "I tell you, there is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over the 99 righteous who need no repentance." That's the heart of a Father. Really what he was saying to the Pharisees, you ought to be rejoicing that sinners have been found. If you've come to the end of yourself, if you thirst for a drink from the well, Jesus is calling.
B. Never stop pursuing God
"Come," He says to the altar. "The Father's arms are open wide." You have found Him, and you will discover that He was pursuing you all along, but may I suggest that once you have found Him, never stop pursuing Him. That is one of the great themes. Never stop pursuing God. I said earlier, there were two aspects of seeking God. David is seeking God, and is thirsting for God, not because he's empty, no, but because his soul has been satisfied and he longs for more. Notice Verse 2, "I have beheld you in the sanctuary. I have seen your power and your glory. I know that your love and kindness, it's better than life."
David has discovered that which God does is beautiful on the soul. He has discovered the beauty of the Lord. I don't think a lot of people really think of that particular perspective, the beauty of the Lord, but David did, and it's one of the great insights that David gives us into the soul. That the soul is made beautiful by the glory of God. That's why David wrote, again, Psalm 27, one of my favorite Psalms, Verse 4, it's got to be the highlight of the Psalm where he says this, "One thing I've asked from the Lord, and that is what I seek." I want one thing. I'm asking for one thing. That I may dwell in the House of the Lord all the days of my life to behold the beauty of the Lord, that's the one thing I seek. I want to behold. I know it's beautiful, I would love to spend my life, all the days of my life to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to meditate in His Temple. When you have found God, you have discovered how much God rejoices over you. You have discovered that that which God does is beautiful on the soul, and you want more. God wants you to keep thirsting for more. He's pleased, He wants you to search and to seek and to thirst for more. Never stop pursuing God for more.
Let me give you some great Scriptures where we see it. Hebrews 11:6, "Without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is," that's foundational, "and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him." Never stop seeking. Matthew 7:7-8, Jesus is, again, teaching here, and He says, "Ask, I tell you to ask." In the Greek, it's quite clear, and keep asking. "Ask and it will be given to you, seek, you will find. Knock and it will be opened unto you, for everyone who asks, receive. And he who seeks, finds. And to him who knocks, it will be opened." He's speaking here of God, the presence of God, the Holy Spirit, the Glory of God. Ask, seek, knock.
I'll give you another illustration. I love to speak of this example. When Moses, after he had led Israel out of Egypt and brought them to Mount Sinai, you remember there was a tragedy that unfolded there. As Moses was up on the hill those 40 days in the presence of God, receiving the Law, the Word of God, Israel grew impatient, "We don't know what has happened to Moses" so they said to Aaron, his brother, "Make us a god that we could honor him." Aaron took the gold and whatnot and fashioned a calf, and then the people started to revel and to party and whatnot. Moses came and here's Israel in this great sin. All right, at one point then, Moses is interceding. Israel has sinned greatly, and Moses is interceding. He's praying to God on their behalf, but while he is praying, while he's interceding, he asks something for himself. While I'm asking, something for me? What would you ask? What is the one thing that you would ask of God that is higher than any other thing? The highest ask? What is the greatest highest thing you can ask? The one thing that's higher than all other things?
C. The beautiful soul responds to glory
Moses says, "Something for me? Show me your glory." That was the highest. "Show me your glory." Why did he ask for glory? He had already seen more of God's Glory than any living person. He was in the presence of God with so much Glory abounding that there was literally a radiance of glory. He had already seen more of God's Glory than any living person, why would he want more? Because he knew, because he had seen how beautiful it is. I want more. God was pleased because he asked. God is pleased when that is what you want, that is what you seek, and then would you notice this out of Psalm 63, "That the beautiful soul then responds to that glory."
David wrote, "I have beheld you in the sanctuary, to see your power and your glory. I know that your loving kindness, it's better than life itself. Therefore," notice, "Therefore," David wrote, "Therefore my lips will praise you, I will bless you. I will bless you as long as I live, and I will lift up my hands to your name." What is that? That is the soul's response to glory. "I've seen your glory. I've seen your power. I've beheld you at the sanctuary. I know your loving kindness is better than life" and my response, "Yes, my lips will praise you, I'll bless you, I'll bless your name as long as I live, and I'll lift up my hands to your name. I give you glory."
Think of it this way, in the same way that the moon receives light from the sun and then responds by reflecting that light in return, the soul that receives beautiful glory wants to respond with glory. Notice Verse 11 where he wrote, "Everyone who swears the allegiance of the soul will glory." It's right there. Even creation itself declares the glory of God. Notice Psalm 19:1, "The heavens declare the glory of God, and their expanses declaring the work of His hands." Isaiah 6:3, "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Hosts. The whole of Earth is full of His glory."
Then Psalm 19 is amazing. Psalm 19:14 where he writes, "Therefore, let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable," which means pleasing, "in your sight, oh, Lord my rock and my redeemer." What does he mean here? What David is saying here is you have poured so much glory, it's beautiful. What you have done to my soul is so beautiful, I want the words of my mouth, and even the very meditations of my heart to be pleasing to you. I want to pour back glory, I want glory. This is so important for us to see. When you have received glory, when glory is abounded on the soul, and as you are filled and even overflowing, well, then what is it that comes out of you?
Again, if you have received that which is beautiful, the glory of God fills and overflows, and God does a beautiful work, what is it that comes out? God's filled you with glory, so what comes out is glory. God has filled you with that which is beautiful, so what comes forth is that which is beautiful, pleasing to God, edifying, uplifting. Jesus said a very similar thing. Jesus said the good men out of the good treasure of his heart will bring forth what is good.
The good man out of the good treasure will bring forth what is good. For the mouth speaks from that which fills the heart. What fills your heart? From that, you will speak. Jesus said, of course, the opposite is also true. The evil man out of the evil treasure will bring forth that which is evil, and ugly things will come out of the mouth. When I look at that equation, I want to be on the glory side of that. What comes out of my mouth, I want it to be pleasing to you, Lord. When I consider both, I want glory. I want to give you glory. I want the words on my mouth, even the meditations of my heart, I want them to be pleasing. Then he says, "For my soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness." All right, now that's a very beautiful expression. Morrow is literally bone marrow, and it was considered a delicacy. The choicest and best food. Like, "Ah, it is the best." In fact, in many parts of the world today, bone marrow is considered a delicacy.
I happened upon and it was interesting. I love to cook, and so I look up recipes, and somehow on my news feed came a description of how to prepare barbecued bone marrow. Have you ever had bone marrow? It is amazing. I'm kidding, I've never had it, but I understand from those-- In fact, Pastor Jean was telling me they eat bone marrow in South Africa. It's like you put it on top of the steak, it's like butter on the steak. No, no, it's like, "Oh, this is good."
David is describing marrow and fatness. Fatness, those of you who eat steak know that fat is the flavor of the steak. The more fat it is, the more flavorful it is. That's why you want a well-marbled steak. In fact, wagyu beef is-- Ever heard of wagyu beef? It's the most expensive beef you could buy. It is so beautifully marbled, and tender, and juicy. It is the best. An average cost of wagyu beef is $100 a pound. You can spend up to $200 a pound for wagyu beef. Although, I learned that there is a type of wagyu beef that comes from one prefecture beef actually in Japan called Kobe beef that is even more expensive, even better, up to $500 a pound. You're supposed to say, "Wow." Yes, that's what I'm talking about.
What David is saying is, David is saying, "My soul is satisfied as though God is giving the choicest food for the soul. I delight in the Almighty." Isn't it a beautiful understanding? I delight in the Almighty. That is another great theme of those who understand this depth of relationship. "I delight." David wrote, Psalm 34:8, "Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good. Taste." You need to taste. You need to experience the glory of God. It's like an illustration. It's like this, you don't go to a restaurant just to read the menu. Can you imagine going to a restaurant, and you and your wife sit there? They give you the menus and you start reading and you say, "Oh, this is amazing. Will you listen to this? This is amazing, right? Delectable, delightful, drizzling with this. Oh, it's mouthwateringly delicious, right?" Your wife says, "Oh, yes? Listen to this one." Then she describes a more amazing. "Oh, yes, yes? Well, listen to this one." Then you describe, "Oh, that sounds so amazing. Oh, it's mouthwateringly delightful. Oh, well, listen to this one. Oh, we haven't even got to the dessert yet." Then the waiter comes. "What would you like to order?" You say,"Nothing?" "Nothing?" "No, we didn't come to eat. We just came to read the menu." No, you did not. You're not leaving until you've had and tasted that it is good.
Did you come to church to read the menu? Did you come to church to read about how good God is, about how glorious He is, or did you come to taste, to experience? God's glory is meant to be filled in the soul. I thirst for that. I don't want to just read the menu. I want to experience the glory. I want to see. I want to know how beautiful it is. When it transforms the soul. That's why I love Psalm 36. It's one of my favorite now. Verses 7-9, where he writes, "The children of men take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They drink their fill of the abundance of your house. And you give them to drink of the river of your delights. For with you is the fountain of life." What an amazing description is that? Jesus says, "I am the living water. He who drinks will never thirst again." "You give them to drink of the river of your delights." What a beautiful picture is that?
II. By Faith Trust in God’s Help
Now we go back to Psalm 63 and understand, but David is in trouble. All of that is the attitude of his faith. The foundational bearing of navigating through the adversity. It shows us then that David, by his faith, is going to trust God. By faith, trust God's help. We know that David was in great distress because of what he wrote in Verse 9. "Those who seek my life to destroy it," David was under threat of life's. Absalom had an army ready to pursue David. David is in the midst of one of the most difficult times of his life, and he needs God's help, but would you notice the attitude of David's faith? He's not angry with God because of his troubles. David has been through so much adversity, and through so many troubles, that he's given up being angry with God a long time ago. That does not help anything. The whole Psalm, up to this point, has been about the attitude of his faith, that he seeks God earnestly. That his soul thirsts for God, that he will bless the Lord as long as he lives. This is the key to navigating through that turmoil of adversity and deep trouble. Would you notice then that David brings us to this point? You must recount then the ways that God has helped.
Notice Verse 6. "Oh, I remember. I remember you on my bed. I meditate on you in the night watches, for you have been my help." If you've ever been in trouble, and I mean really in deep, deep trouble, you're going through a really bad one, if you've ever been through a really bad trouble, you know that you can't sleep well. You just lie there on your bed at night, and you just think about it, and you think about it, and you think about it, and it just turns, and turns, and turns over in your mind. David says, "When I come to that place where I'm lying there, I remember you. I remember, I meditate on you in the night watches. You've been my help. God, you have saved me over. I can recount all of the times. I remember you did this, and then you did that. It was amazing what you did. Makes me rejoice when I think about it. So, Lord, here I am. I'm in trouble again. Do it again."
A. Recount the ways God has helped
Psalm 46:1, "God is a refuge and a strength, the very present help in times of trouble." Psalm 9:9-10, "The Lord is a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name will trust in you. For you, oh Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you." Recounting the ways that God has helped is a much better attitude of faith than being angry with God, which many do, or, frankly, being angry with anyone for that matter. Anger is a bearing and attitude.
It never helps. It only makes matters worse. David is giving us here an example of the attitude and the bearing of faith. When you recount all of the ways that God has helped, your faith is reminded, is stirred up. "God, I remember all of the ways that you've helped me over and over and over, I can recount them, but Lord, here I am now and I'm in trouble again. Do it again. Lord, I need your help. You've been amazing in my life. Do it again." In fact, at one point David wrote, "And it is God's help that makes me great." We look at David as an amazing man of faith, and of victory, and of accomplishment. David says, "No, it was God's help that made me great."
B. May your soul cling to the Lord
Then lastly, we'll close with this. He writes in Verse 8, "My soul clings to you." That's a great word. May your soul cling to the Lord. That word is a strong word. It's used in the Scriptures in many, many places to describe the soul that holds on. Clings is so important. "I cling to it, Lord."
Deuteronomy 30:19-20, where God is speaking here to Israel, and He says, "Choose life in order and that you may live." How? "By loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, by holding fast." There it is right there, clinging, holding fast to Him. This is life, and this is length of days. What your soul clings to will determine what your soul will become. Please let me say it again. What your soul clings to will determine what your soul will become. We are transformed by what we love, by what we desire, by what we seek.
David writes, "I will seek you earnestly. I seek you. My soul thirsts for you in a dry and weary land where there is no water. Your love and kindness, Lord, it's better than life, and I will bless you as long as I live. My soul. God, you've satisfied my soul, as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth offers praises with joyful lips. For the soul, the pledges, the allegiance of the heart will glory."
Let's pray. Lord, we are so amazed of what you reveal to us in your word that that which you do is glorious, beautiful on the soul. God, we thirst. We long for more. Only you can satisfy the desire, the hunger, thirst of the soul. We want more.
Church, as all eyes are closed, heads are bound, maybe you're here today and you have not yet found God, you've been searching, there's something deeply unsettled, something's wrong, haven't known what it is, you've come to the end of yourself, and you thirst for a drink of the well, then come. Jesus says the Father's arms are open wide. He delights to receive sinners. He's knocking, He's searching, He's calling your name. If that is you, if you would settle this matter with God today, I want to pray for you. I'm going to ask that if you would receive the Lord Jesus Christ into your heart as Lord and Savior, if you would trust Him for life, I want to ask that you would just lift up your hand. I want to just pray for you and just agree with you. Pray over you. Just lift up your hand if you would. I just want to agree with you in prayer today.
God bless you. I see you over here on my left. I see you over there in the right. God bless you. Anyone else? I see you there in the back as well. God bless you as well. Amen. Anyone else? I want to give you an opportunity. Anyone else? Praise God. I see you there in the back, onto my left. God bless you. Anyone else? Up here in the front, I see you too. God bless you. Anyone else? Let's settle this. I see you right there on the left hand side. I see you, friend, in the middle here. Anyone else? Let's settle this for God, He says. Let's settle this. "I love you. Oh, come. God sent me," Jesus says, "to bring you home. Come." Anyone else?
Father, I want to pray now for everyone who lifted their hand in response to that invitation. God, I pray that you would meet them here in this place. They have found hope. They have found the answer to their soul's deepest desire. It's you. God, meet them here, pour out your Spirit of life upon them. Fill them with your glory. Reconcile them to your Father, our Father. Show them life, forgiveness of sin, the renewing of purpose and meaning, God. Then walk with them in the course of this life. That you would honor your name in their lives. We give you this prayer and ask, God, that you would meet everyone who's made that decision now, in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. and everyone said. Can we give the Lord praise and glory and honor? Amen. Amen. Amen.