Watch and Pray

The clouds are dark and angry and foreboding. Soon the gathering storm and its full blast will fall on the head of the innocent Christ Jesus, God's wonderful Son. These loud cries on what we call Palm Sunday, Hosanna to the Son of David, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. These voices are now strangely silent. And in these last hours of our Savior's life prior to the cross, these last dark agonizing hours, we see our Savior this morning in the stillness and the shadows of a garden, the Garden of Gethsemane. Last week as we continued our study in Matthew's Gospel, we sat, as it were, and observed the Lord as the Institute of what we call the Lord's Supper.

That has now ended. The eleven, Judas having left of course, sing the final Passover hymn, possibly Psalm 118, will give thanks to the Lord for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever. The disciples leave the upper room. They go down the Kidron Valley. They cross the Kidron brook and they go to the Mount of Olives. And so, we come this morning, I ask you to open your Bibles to Matthew chapter 26. We're going to be looking from verse 30 through 56, a large passage, so we'll move fairly quickly, I trust.

And we are, for those of you who are new, thanks for coming. We are going consecutively through this Gospel, this wonderful Gospel of Matthew, and we come in our study to Matthew chapter 26 verse 30. And we're going to look at this passage under three words, a prophecy, a prayer, and a betrayal. First, a prophecy in verse 30 through 35.

And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Then Jesus said to them, you will all fall away because of me this night, for it is written, I will strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered. But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.

Peter answered him, though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away. Jesus said to them, truly I say to you this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times. Peter said to him, even if I must die with you, I will not deny you. And all the disciples said the same. A prophecy of desertion, of death, and of denial. First, Jesus prophesies the desertion of his disciples.

And here in verse 31, he quotes from the Old Testament, from the book of Zechariah, chapter 13, verse 7, which is a messianic prophecy. And it is this, it is written, I will strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be scattered. When the shepherd is struck down, sheep are scattered. Without the shepherd, sheep go in all kinds of directions.

And now that Old Testament scripture, Jesus applies to himself. He is, of course, the shepherd. He is the good shepherd who's going to give his life for the sheep.

Who are the sheep? His disciples. And Jesus is prophesying, I, the shepherd, are going to be struck down and you, the sheep, are going to be scattered. Think of this, the striking of the shepherd that clearly is referring to the suffering of Christ. We're almost at the cross. The Lord's supper is instituted on the very night our Savior is betrayed. And the Lord Jesus is reminding his disciples that he had come to suffer.

He is the man of sorrows. And the Father's plan, yes, the Father's eternal plan of salvation always includes the cross, the death of his son, our Lord Jesus Christ. No, the cross is not an afterthought.

It's not plan B. It's not a contingency, but rather it is ordained from all of eternity. So Peter, on the day of Pentecost, can stand and say, this Jesus, delivered up, referring to the crucifixion, delivered up according to the definite plan and for knowledge of God. You crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. This is God's plan of salvation from all of eternity, that his son, our beloved Lord Jesus Christ, will come to this earth into time, into space, and be the Savior of the world. And Jesus is saying, I'm about to suffer, and when that happens, you're going to be scattered. But Jesus also prophesies of his own death.

He knew he was going to die. Look back at chapter, at verse 2 of chapter 26. He said to his disciples, you know that after two days, the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.

Four times up to this point, our Lord Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew is prophesying that not only is he going to die, he's going to be crucified. The shepherd is going to be struck. Let me ask you, who does the striking? Who does the striking of the shepherd? Judas, the Sanhedrin, the Pilate, the Roman soldiers.

Yes, all of them in their own way strike the shepherd, that's true. But this striking is predicted in the Old Testament. Turn with me to Isaiah 53. If you're new to studying your Bible, you must study this wonderful prophecy, Isaiah 53. Again, it's a messianic prophecy written 750 years before the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let me read Isaiah 53 verse 4.

Think of the prophecy regarding the Messiah. Surely, he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we esteemed him, notice, stricken, smitten by God and afflicted, but he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. Upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord, notice that, the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Verse 10, yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him. He has put him to grief. When his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring.

He shall prolong his days. The will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. There is no other way for sinners like you and me to be saved. It was essential that the Lord Jesus Christ is struck down. And it's true, man, Judas, Pilate, the Jewish leaders, the Roman executioners, they're all held responsible, but behind it all is the divine plan of God, and the Father is striking the Son. Did you notice in Isaiah 53 that he is pierced, wounded for our transgressions? The Messiah is going to be pierced, a violent death, pierced. This is the deliberate assault by man the sinner on the innocent Christ.

The Messiah, says Isaiah, not only is going to be pierced, he's going to be crushed. The metaphor is that our sin is a heavy, heavy Lord, and that Lord is being placed on our Savior. He's the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. How does he take away the sin of the world? By bearing the sin, and he is being crushed by the weight of our sin. He's pierced. He's crushed.

Why? For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting love. It is in love for your salvation and for the forgiveness of my sin that the innocent shepherd is struck down.

You say, well that's tragic. Please do not look on Jesus Christ as a victim. It is true that the Father strikes him. It is true that man the sinner assaults him and nails him to a tree, but behind it all, the Son, our Savior, willingly gives his life on the cross.

He's not a victim. He predicts his death. He predicts his resurrection, as we read.

He comes to do the will of the Father to bear the sins of the world. He is the good shepherd, and as he says in John chapter 10, no one takes my life from me. I have power to lay it down. I have power to take it up again. This commandment have I received from my Father.

It's not wonderful. No one takes the life of the Lord Jesus Christ in this sense, that at the point and in the way ordained by God from all of eternity, the Son willingly comes. He is a willing sacrifice as he goes to the cross.

What amazing love. A prophecy of desertion will all be scattered. A prophecy of death pierced on the cross. He also prophesies, as I read, the denial of Peter. Jesus had said in verse 21 that one of the twelve will betray him.

We'll think of that in a minute. That's Judas. But he says in verse 31, you will all fall away because of me this night. And here is Peter. Can you imagine some of us there?

I think I'd be like Peter. No, I'm not going to deny you. I mean, some of these fellows, they're weak. I'm strong. I'll never deny you, Jesus.

I'm prepared to die for you. Peter. Jesus says, no, Peter, this very night.

Before the rooster crows, you're going to deny me not once, but three times. Peter is a strong, courageous man, but he fails. And yet Jesus loves his disciples, even though they desert him, even though they deny him. So, first, a prophecy of desertion, death, and denial. Secondly, a prayer of perfect submission. Now here, we're going to go onto holy ground.

We should take the shoes off our feet, shouldn't we, as we read this. Verse 36, then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, sit here while I go over there and pray. And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, my soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch with me. And going a little further, he fell on his face and prayed, saying, my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.

Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will. When he came to the disciples and found them sleeping, he said to Peter, so could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, my Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done. And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. So leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again. Then he came to the disciples and said, sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going.

See, my betrayer is at hand. Prophecy, secondly, a prayer. A prayer of perfect submission. What's Gethsemane?

It means the oil press. It's a garden at the Mount of Olives. Some of you have been there. And Jesus, as we see him and as we listen to him in his garden, the garden of Gethsemane, an olive press, he is in agony.

He agonizes in the garden. Three times the disciples fail to keep watch in Gethsemane. Have you been in a time of crisis?

Many of you have. What's one of the things we do as followers of Christ? We ask people to pray, don't we? In times of crisis, we look to others to pray for us.

And Jesus is asking his disciples, watch and pray. He is in deep emotional, physical, and spiritual agony. You say, why the agony?

Why the deep grief? Is he afraid of death? Is he afraid of the crucifixion? That's a terrible death. Well, many people have faced death with serenity, with calm and even eagerness.

And Jesus was the most courageous of men. No, this was no ordinary death. In fact, this was no ordinary crucifixion.

The Romans crucified thousands of people. No, the answer to the question of why such agony and why such deep grief is surely found in the meaning of this cup. Did you notice it is a red verse 39? Going a little further, he fell on his face and prayed, my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. What's this cup?

It's obviously a metaphor. It's not a literal cup. No, this cup is the cup of God's judgment.

It's the cup of the outpouring of God's wrath against the sin of the world. You say, well, I don't know if I want a God like that. What kind of God do you have? You say, God is love.

Yes, he is love. We've been singing about that. But he's also a holy God, and he's a just God. Then he can't look on sin, and the wages of sin is death. And here is our Lord Jesus anticipating that he's going to enter into that death. He comes as the Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world. He's about to give, as he had prophesied, he was about to give his life as a ransom for many.

And he must drink that awful cup which the Father gives him. Think of it this way. We as imperfect, sinful people, we are repelled and repulsed by some dreadful sins. We think of that recent shooting in Buffalo. We think of what's going on in Ukraine with the assault and the rapes and the murders of innocent people. We think of the killing of the innocent. We think of people who abuse women and who abuse children. And as human beings, sinful although we are, we shrink from such evil.

It's horrible. And yet, we ourselves are sinful. But here is a holy God, a perfect God.

And if you think sin is awful, how much more our perfect, holy God. And for the sinless Savior who comes to bear the sin of the world, there is no shelter from the shame, from the guilt, from the horror, the evil of the sin of the whole world. He is the sin bearer. He is the Lamb of God. He's to drink, as it were, the last drop of that awful cup as God's wrath is poured because of your sin and mine. See, Jesus Christ is accomplishing God's plan of salvation and the only plan whereby sinners like you and me can be saved.

No, this is a cup no one else can share. Verse 38, His soul is very sorrowful even to death. But notice this, in the midst of the agony, Jesus is submitting to His Father's will. Did you notice how Jesus addresses God? Verse 39, my Father, if it be possible. Verse 42, again, for the second time He went away and prayed, my Father. When Mark is giving the same account, Mark says he prayed, Abba, Father.

Jesus had taught us to pray, our Father who art in heaven. But here He doesn't say, our Father. He doesn't say, God. He doesn't say, my God. He says, my Father.

A relationship of intimacy, of endearment, of love, yes, and of submission. As a God-man, Jesus' will is distinct from the Father's will, not in opposition to it. Yesterday I was teaching a membership class and we were thinking of the Trinity. It's a difficult doctrine to get our minds around, isn't it? There is one God, but three distinct persons. And as a God-man, the will of Jesus Christ is distinct from His Father's will, but it's not in opposition to it.

He says in John 6, verse 38, I've come down from heaven not to do my own will, but the will of Him who sent me. And in the awful shadows and horror of Gethsemane, Jesus, now doing the Father's will, He goes out into the darkest of all hours this world has ever known. He says, verse 45, sleep and take your rest later. See, the hour is at hand.

What is the hour? The hour of His death, that darkest of all hours. And the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.

Rise, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand. The first man, Adam, was tempted in the garden, wasn't he? And he fell and he sinned. Now the second man, the Lord from heaven, our Lord Jesus Christ, the perfect man, truly God and truly man, He now is tempted in the garden, but He is victorious. And He prays that perfect prayer of submission.

Did you notice it? Verse 39, nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will. It's not that Jesus didn't want to do the Father's will, but is there any other way other than the cross?

No. It's the only way. And He's now going to the suffering of the cross. There's no plan B. There's no way out.

He must drink that awful cup. Paul in Romans 8, that wonderful Mount Everest, as it were, of Romans. Romans 8, Paul writes that God the Father did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all. Remember the story of Abram and Isaac? Abram is prepared to offer Isaac, but there's a substitute for Isaac, the ram caught in the thicket. But for Jesus Christ, there is no substitute. The Father does not spare the Son.

Why? He's going to experience the wrath of God so that those of us who trust Him will never, ever experience that. That sermon jam we had as I came up to speak anticipates that day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns and He'll set up His glorious kingdom. Then He comes with a rod of iron. Then everyone will bow. Then those who reject Him will experience the judgment of God.

But if your trust is in Christ, if you're saved by the grace of God, you're sheltered, eternally sheltered from the wrath of God. Here, then, is this prayer of perfect submission, perfect surrender, perfect obedience to the Father's will, not as I will, but as you will. A prophecy of desertion, death, and denial. A prayer of perfect submission. Third, a betrayal of treachery.

Think of this. Think of Judas. He's with Jesus for three years, and He's going to betray Him.

For what? Thirty pieces of silver. Verse 47, while he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve. Matthew doesn't want this to be in any doubt. Judas is a fairly common name, but this is the Judas of the Twelve. And he comes with a great crowd with swords and clubs from the chief priests and the elders of the people. Now the betrayer had given him a sign saying, the one I will kiss is the man. Seize him. And he came up to Jesus at once and said, Greetings, Rabbi.

And he kissed him. Jesus said to him, Friend, do what you came to do. Then he came up and laid hands on Jesus and seized Him. And behold, one of those who were with Jesus, we know from other Gospels, this was Peter, stretched out his hand, drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. Jesus said to him, Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword.

Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father and He will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled that it must be so? At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, Have you come out as against a robber with swords and clubs to capture me?

Day after day I sat in the temple teaching and you didn't seize me. But all of this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples left him and fled. A betrayal of treachery. How does Judas do it? With the symbol of love, Judas betrays Jesus into hateful hands. Now Jesus knew that Judas was a betrayer. That was clear.

We saw that last week. Verse 25, Judas who would betray him with his apocryse, he says, I Rabbi, and he said to him, You've said so. Of course, Jesus knew that Judas was the betrayer. For three years he had known the Messiah. He'd sat there and listened to the greatest sermons ever preached.

He'd been in the upper room. He'd seen the Lord at work. And of all things, he uses a kiss, the symbol of love, as a sign of betrayal. This is where the expression kiss of death comes from. A hateful act is accomplished with a kiss, the very height of hypocrisy, betraying the innocent Son of God for 30 pieces of silver.

What treachery. And then there's Peter. Peter is prepared for a fight here. He takes the sword. Obviously, he's not a very good marksman or the servant of the high priest ducked very quickly.

But the year came off. The disciples still did not understand that Jesus, as the man of sorrows, must suffer. He must be crucified. He must give his life a ransom for many. And now in fulfillment of scriptures such as Isaiah 53, he's led as a lamb to the slaughter.

And there's a sheep silent before his shearers. And here is the blessed Son of God betrayed and he turns and all of his disciples. Verse 56, leave him and flee. He doesn't resist the rest. He reminds them that he could have called on heaven and legions of angels would have rescued him. He's the omnipotent Christ, but know in fulfillment of scripture he allows himself to be captured. And he's alone, betrayed, denied, deserted, surrounded by his evil accusers.

Do you see that? You say, well, I wouldn't have done that. I wouldn't have betrayed him. I wouldn't have denied him. I'd have been right there by his side. Well, here are the living men who had walked with him, who touched him, who had broken bread with him, and they're gone.

And he's left alone, the spotless Son of God to face his trials. Some lessons as we conclude. I have three lessons for you. First, prayer is the key to spiritual strength and victory. Now, you know this. One of our themes this year is praying without ceasing. There is not one follower of Jesus Christ who would deny the importance of prayer.

You know that. But my question is, are you praying? You find yourself spiritually weak. You find yourself falling into temptation over and over again. You find yourself lacking wisdom. You find yourself confused. You find yourself anxious.

You find yourself worried. If we're honest, often at the very heart of it is a lack of prayer. Did you see Jesus praying in the garden of Gethsemane? Throughout the life of the Lord Jesus Christ, he prays. He gets up early in the morning, separates from his disciples, and prays. He's a man, as it were, on his knees.

The perfect man. And as he goes into the garden of Gethsemane, he's challenging his disciples to watch and pray. Notice verse 41.

We need to hear this. Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. But they don't pray, they're lazy, they're tired, and they fall asleep. Sounds familiar? I've known people to fall asleep in a prayer meeting.

Group of men praying. That's happened to me. And someone said to me, did you fall asleep there, John? I said, oh, oh, oh, you know.

Easily done, isn't it? End of the day, gathering for prayer. In Scotland, we used to get down on our knees, praying. Why would you pray? Our Lord Jesus Christ is the perfect high priest. He knows about suffering.

No one ever suffered like Christ. He knows your situation. He knows that betrayal. He knows what it is to be tempted. He knows what it is to be lonely. He knows what it is to be tired.

And he asks you and me to pray. Anyone here need wisdom? Anyone here a little fearful about the future? Anyone anxious? Anyone spiritually stale?

Anyone spiritually out of sorts? Pray. Watch and pray that you don't enter into that temptation. You're being tempted. Whatever it is, you know what it is.

And what do you do? You say, well, I have a little accountability group. That might help, but you can easily, if you're smart, deal with someone asking you questions. No, the real problem is you're not praying. What does Isaiah the great prophet say? That those who wait on the Lord, let's pray, those that wait on the Lord shall be renewed in strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary.

They shall walk and not faint. Too many of us are fainting. Too many of us are spiritually lazy. Too many of us are anxious. Too many of us are feeling sorry for ourselves. Too many of us are falling into temptation. Too many of us are fearful instead of sharing Christ.

What's the answer? Pray. Pray without ceasing.

This is our theme, one of the themes for the year, and I say to you to pray. Get on your knees. Pray and pray and pray. Watch and pray.

Pray. That's the key to spiritual strength, to spiritual wisdom. I've told the story before. I had a friend, and we would go out for lunch, and I realized this man is really smart. I've known a lot of smart people in my time, but as we dealt with different situations, I thought, this man is really smart. And so one day I said to him, how is it that you seem to have so many answers to so many questions, good answers? He said, John, you should know that. And I thought, yes, I should. What does James say if anyone likes wisdom? You call the counselor, right? You go into some yoga exercise, meditate?

No. If anyone likes wisdom, ask of God, and ask in faith. That's prayer. Prayer is the key to spiritual strength and victory.

Secondly, this is hard. Surrender to God's will in each circumstance of life. Surrender to God's will in each circumstance of life. Life is sometimes very, very difficult, and life does not go the way that all of us would want. The plan, the blueprint you have doesn't always work out, does it?

But we believe, I believe, Bible-believing Christians believe in the sovereignty of God, in the providence of God, that God is in control. You're going through some excruciatingly difficult circumstance right now. Are you, as it were, presently in your own personal Gethsemane? You're struggling with it, and it's difficult. You say, John, what am I to do? These circumstances are awful.

Yes, I don't dispute that. Life can be awful. Life can be terrible.

There's tears and disappointments and betrayals and all kinds of things blow into our life, don't they? I want you to look at the Savior. Will you do that? Do you see Him?

He's flat on His face. Do you listen to Him? Not my will, but Yours be done. Can you pray that? Pray that?

Not my will, but Yours be done. I drew your attention to the way Jesus refers to God in the garden. My Father, I love that. Mark says, Abba, Father.

What's Abba? Father. It's a particular, intimate term. I never called my father actual father.

Nothing wrong with that. I called him Dad. Here in the south, you use the expression Daddy.

In Scotland, after four years old, we stopped using that, but that's the point. There is an intimacy, a great love. Here is my God. Abba, He is my Dad. He is my Daddy, Father. You see, that's going a little far.

No, it's not. Listen to Paul in Romans 8. Romans 8, writing about the Spirit, he says, verse 15, for you did not receive the Spirit of slavery to fall back into fear.

You're listening? But you have received the Spirit, capital S, the Holy Spirit, of adoption as sons by whom we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. We cry.

The Greek word is kratzo. You can almost feel it. This is a cry to our God, to our Father in the time of Nate. Fathers, you've got a little three-year-old boy or girl, and that little boy or girl falls. What does that child say? What does that child cry out?

Daddy, Daddy. And where do you as a father go? You go and you wrap your arms around that little boy or that little girl and hug them and say, it's all right.

A relationship of love. Here is our Lord Jesus Christ in the agony, in His deep, deep need. He addresses the eternal God as Abba, Father. You do that in your time of need. It's the instinctive cry of the true believer. It's not just God in a time of need. It's not first and foremost saying, oh, why did this happen to me?

No. From our hearts, in this time of deep, deep need, we cry out, Abba, Father. And God, in an amazing way, with His Spirit witnesses, with our Spirit reassures us, John, you're my child. Just as you take your little boy or little girl and say, it's all right. Daddy's here.

There's nothing to worry about. You're part of this family. I'm going to watch over you. So, in our time of deep need, have you experienced that?

I trust you have. The Spirit witnesses with your Spirit that you are a child of God. Do you think of the wonder of that? In the grace of God, you've been adopted into the very family of God. And once we're in that family, God never throws us out.

Another time of deep, deep, deep, deep crisis. This is what we cry. In Deuteronomy 1, verse 31, there's a wonderful saying that talks about the Lord regarding Israel as it went in the wilderness. He says, the Lord your God carried you as a man carries his son. What a God we have. That father, strong father, picks up that little boy who's hurt himself and he carries him. He takes him and puts him on his bed and his arms around that little fellow. So, our God, our Heavenly Father, as we surrender to His will in each circumstance, He assures us of His presence, of His love for us, that we belong to Him.

Here's the final one. Trust Christ as your personal Savior. You say, well, we know that. Not all of you know that.

You may know it, but I'm asking you, have you experienced it? Do you understand why it was so essential that Jesus Christ went through the horrible circumstance of drinking that cup and bearing the sins of the world? There is no other way of salvation. The cross is the only way of salvation. Sin is an offense against God. And here we are, separated from God. And here comes our magnificent Lord Jesus Christ, the God-man, bridges that gulf between a holy God and sinful people like us at the cross, and advice us to trust Him as our Savior, and to walk with Him in life, and to trust Him in all circumstances of life. I was at high school this week, and just looking at the slogans on the wall, and one was this, believe in yourself, and then below it was unstoppable.

I thought, what a terrible lesson to teaching high schoolers. Believe in yourself? No. That's the cry of the atheist. It's not that we believe in ourselves, and I'm in a difficult circumstance and someone says, John, believe in yourself.

You've got the answer deep within, man. Come on, pick yourself up. Dust yourself down. Believe in yourself. You're an educated, smart man. You can do it alone.

No, I can't. The gospel is not believe in yourself. The gospel is that salvation is outside of yourself.

The answer is not within. It is in our Lord Jesus Christ who in His grace comes to us, and the gospel is believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved. That's it.

That's it. Believe in Him. And as you go through life with the trials, and with your own, as it were, personal Gethsemane experience, surrender to Christ.

Trust Him with all of your heart. He carries you as a man carries his child, and our students reminded us of that great, glorious future that we shall be in a city of joy. We want every single person in the sanctuary to put their trust in Christ, but all of us, we praise our Savior.

Father, help us now. We do pray. We thank you for the Scripture. There's a mystery there. We confess.

We don't understand it all, but thank you. Our Savior drunk that cup. Thank you for the love that true salvation's planned, for the grace that brought it down to man, for the mighty gulf that you did span at Calvary. May boys and girls and men and women even now be trusting the Savior and living for Him. In His name, amen.