WEBVTT 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:12.080 The reading coming from the word today is found in Romans chapter 12, verse 17 to Romans chapter 13 verse seven. 00:00:13.345 --> 00:00:15.665 And this is God's word to us all. 00:00:16.945 --> 00:00:23.105 Recompense no man evil for evil, provide things honest in the sight of all men. 00:00:23.265 --> 00:00:27.985 If it be possible as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. 00:00:28.940 --> 00:00:39.660 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place onto wrath for it is written, vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord. 00:00:39.900 --> 00:00:42.620 Therefore, if thine enemy hunger, feed him. 00:00:43.085 --> 00:00:49.405 If he thirst give him to drink for in doing so thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. 00:00:49.805 --> 00:00:53.565 Be not overcome of evil but overcome evil with good. 00:00:53.965 --> 00:00:59.240 That every soul be subject unto higher powers for there is no power but of God. 00:00:59.640 --> 00:01:02.520 The powers that be are ordained of God. 00:01:02.760 --> 00:01:11.945 Whosoever therefore resisteth of power resisteth the ordinance of God and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. 00:01:12.185 --> 00:01:18.105 For rulers are not a terror of good works but to the evil. 00:01:18.505 --> 00:01:20.825 Will thy then not be afraid of the power? 00:01:20.825 --> 00:01:41.025 Do that which is good and thou shalt have praise of the same for he is the minister of God to be thee for to thee for good but if thou do that which is evil be afraid for he beareth not the sword in vain for he is a minister of God a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. 00:01:41.425 --> 00:01:56.980 Wherefore ye must needs be subject not only for wrath but also for conscience sake for this cause pay ye tribute also for they are God's ministers attending continually upon this very thing. 00:01:57.380 --> 00:02:02.740 Render therefore to all their Jews tribute to tribute as Jew... 00:02:04.525 --> 00:02:13.645 Sorry, tribute to whom tribute is due, custom to whom custom, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor. 00:02:13.885 --> 00:02:14.365 Amen. 00:02:19.670 --> 00:02:23.030 Hi, Glynis was all nervous about that, but she did really, really well. 00:02:23.030 --> 00:02:24.150 Thank you very much, Glynis. 00:02:24.150 --> 00:02:25.670 Really appreciate you doing that. 00:02:25.910 --> 00:02:32.595 And she served the Lord for many years in the Ulster Defence Regiment in very, very difficult times. 00:02:33.715 --> 00:02:37.875 Now we come to God's word, and we want to make a few comments. 00:02:37.875 --> 00:02:42.115 We're gonna thank this morning about the biblical basis for a just war. 00:02:42.355 --> 00:02:50.860 And in this remembered Sunday, yes, it's good that we stand in silence before war memorials, and we wear puppies. 00:02:50.860 --> 00:02:53.580 And we remember the names of those who have fallen. 00:02:53.900 --> 00:03:03.035 And we remember the courage and the sacrifice of men and women who have laid down their lives so that others might live in relative freedom and peace. 00:03:03.595 --> 00:03:10.795 And yet the urgency of this act of remembrance, I think, is sharpened by the world in which we currently live in. 00:03:11.420 --> 00:03:33.875 Nations and governments are once again speaking openly of the possibility of a third world war, and leaders and commentators point to the interconnected regional conflicts raising tensions between major powers and the risk that local wars could escalate into something which is far larger. 00:03:34.435 --> 00:03:50.160 And in such a climate, the question we face is not merely historical or theoretical, but the question is, how can a people who follow the prince of peace and who are commanded to love their enemies and turn the other cheek ever speak of a just war? 00:03:50.320 --> 00:03:57.715 Is there a biblical foundation for the use of force by the state, or must the church renounce all violence? 00:03:58.275 --> 00:04:18.600 Well, the historic Christian answer carefully developed from scripture is that in a fallen world, the restraint of grave evil sometimes requires the use of armed force by legitimate authority and under strict moral limits and always aimed at the restoration of peace. 00:04:19.160 --> 00:04:21.320 And this is not a celebration of war. 00:04:21.725 --> 00:04:28.285 It's a sober recognition of its occasional necessity and its ever present tragedy. 00:04:28.685 --> 00:04:42.420 And precisely because governments are now discussing the prospect of a wider conflict, which has implications for those of a younger generation because the nation will call on you to make your stand. 00:04:42.900 --> 00:04:47.540 And it's important that when we think of the wider conflict and we... 00:04:47.540 --> 00:05:01.255 When we think of perhaps war, we need to ask ourselves as Christians, is there a biblical criteria by which to judge both the necessity and the limits of any resort to arms? 00:05:02.400 --> 00:05:06.880 Now in thinking about this, there are four things that I want to focus on. 00:05:07.280 --> 00:05:13.680 I want us to think, first of all, about a fallen world and the grief of necessary conflict. 00:05:14.320 --> 00:05:23.165 Then secondly, I want us to think about the authority of the state, which Glynis was reading about, God's minister bearing the sword. 00:05:24.365 --> 00:05:27.325 Then thirdly, the conditions of a just war. 00:05:27.725 --> 00:05:33.390 And then fourthly, the practical application for remembrance and for living. 00:05:33.630 --> 00:05:39.150 So first of all, let's consider a fallen world and the grief of necessary conflict. 00:05:39.550 --> 00:05:42.910 A fallen world and the grief of necessary conflict. 00:05:42.910 --> 00:05:46.190 Scripture doesn't pretend that war is good. 00:05:46.725 --> 00:05:50.165 It's a consequence of human selfishness after the flood. 00:05:50.165 --> 00:05:57.685 If you remember, God established the principle that human life made in the divine image is sacred and that the shed of... 00:05:57.685 --> 00:06:01.605 Shedding of innocent blood must be restrained by human authority. 00:06:02.040 --> 00:06:13.160 That's why Genesis chapter nine and verse six says, whosoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image. 00:06:13.320 --> 00:06:19.285 So civil authority exists in part because evil itself exists. 00:06:19.605 --> 00:06:38.590 Augustine of Hippo writing in the early fifth century in a great book that he wrote, the city of God, amid the collapse of the Roman world captured the Christian attitude with clarity when he wrote these words, for it is the wrongdoing of the opposing party which compels the wise man to wage just war. 00:06:38.830 --> 00:06:43.710 And this wrongdoing, even though it gave rise to no war, would be... 00:06:43.950 --> 00:06:50.555 Would still be a matter of of grief to man because it is man's wrongdoing. 00:06:50.555 --> 00:06:53.115 Even a just war is misery. 00:06:53.355 --> 00:06:54.635 It's lamentable. 00:06:54.715 --> 00:06:56.235 It's never to be gloried in. 00:06:56.235 --> 00:07:05.690 It's never to be sought after a fallen world, and the grief of necessary conflict is something that we must always keep in mind. 00:07:06.330 --> 00:07:09.770 And then secondly, let's consider the authority of the state. 00:07:10.090 --> 00:07:13.945 This idea of God's minister bearing the sword. 00:07:13.945 --> 00:07:18.745 In other words, governments, judges bearing the sword on behalf of God. 00:07:18.745 --> 00:07:24.505 And the New Testament distinguishes carefully between private revenge and public justice. 00:07:25.450 --> 00:07:29.210 Romans chapter 12 verse 19 forbids personal vengeance. 00:07:29.370 --> 00:07:33.450 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God. 00:07:33.770 --> 00:07:36.170 For it is written, vengeance is mine. 00:07:36.170 --> 00:07:38.585 I will repay, says the Lord. 00:07:38.665 --> 00:07:45.785 And immediately afterwards in Romans chapter 13, it declares that governing authorities are instituted by God. 00:07:46.025 --> 00:07:51.465 We're told in Romans chapter three and verse four, for he is God's servant for your good. 00:07:51.770 --> 00:07:56.410 But if you do wrong, be afraid for he does not bear the sword in vain. 00:07:56.410 --> 00:08:03.130 For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. 00:08:03.210 --> 00:08:08.415 And this is the foundational biblical text, of course, for the just war tradition. 00:08:08.575 --> 00:08:13.855 The sword is not given for national ambition or settling private scores. 00:08:13.855 --> 00:08:18.815 It's given so that the state may restrain evil and protect the innocent. 00:08:19.340 --> 00:08:27.420 Writing, in the thirteenth century, Thomas Aquinas in his Summa Theologica draws a logical conclusion. 00:08:27.420 --> 00:08:39.065 He says, just as rulers may use the sword against internal disruptors of the peace, so they may use it against external aggressors who threaten the common good. 00:08:39.225 --> 00:08:45.625 And the same distinction appears, of course, in the ministry of John the Baptist when soldiers asked what repentance required. 00:08:45.980 --> 00:08:49.580 He didn't tell them to abandon their profession and don't be a soldier. 00:08:49.660 --> 00:09:01.020 He told them in Luke Luke's gospel chapter three and verse 14, do not exhort extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages. 00:09:01.525 --> 00:09:11.925 And Jesus himself, of course, marveled at the faith of the Roman centurion in Matthew chapter eight, and the vocation of the soldier is not inherently sinful. 00:09:12.245 --> 00:09:20.200 Its moral character depends on the cause, the authority, and the intention under which that is exercised. 00:09:20.200 --> 00:09:25.720 The authority of the state, gods, ministers bearing the sword. 00:09:26.200 --> 00:09:38.095 And then thirdly, the condition of a just war itself and the conditions of a just war, this this understanding just didn't appear once, and that was it. 00:09:38.175 --> 00:09:46.800 It's grown through many centuries through the work of theologians reflecting in scripture in the light even of new circumstances. 00:09:46.800 --> 00:09:54.320 Ambrose of Milan in the fourth century already taught that force could be used to defend the innocent and uphold justice. 00:09:54.985 --> 00:10:00.265 His younger contemporary, Augustine, gave the the tradition its lasting heart. 00:10:00.505 --> 00:10:06.745 War is a grievous necessity compelled by wrongdoing, and it must be authorized by proper authority. 00:10:07.190 --> 00:10:10.870 And its only rightful aim at the end of the day is peace. 00:10:10.870 --> 00:10:15.990 That's what's taught at the military colleges, what was set out by Augustine. 00:10:16.470 --> 00:10:29.385 In the thirteenth century, Thomas Aquinas, who have already mentioned, gathered these insights into the clear threefold test of legitimate authority, just cause, and right intention. 00:10:29.705 --> 00:10:48.060 And later into the sixteenth and early seventeenth century, two Spanish theologians, Francisco de Victory and Francisco Suarez, applied and refined the same principles to the complex questions raised by European expansion and the rights of people. 00:10:48.380 --> 00:11:04.365 And then finally, there was Dutch Protestant theologian Hugo Grudius writing in the devastation of the thirty years war, set the just war criteria on a broader natural law foundation in his work on the law of of war and peace. 00:11:04.920 --> 00:11:09.240 And in doing so, he helped shape the rules that still underline... 00:11:09.720 --> 00:11:14.200 Or underlie, should I say, much of modern international law. 00:11:14.520 --> 00:11:17.720 And across these centuries, the core remained constant. 00:11:17.720 --> 00:11:21.005 War is never a good thing in itself. 00:11:21.245 --> 00:11:30.365 It may be entered only under strict moral limits by proper authority for a just cause and always for the restoration of peace in the end. 00:11:30.940 --> 00:11:36.380 And the church has never treated every war as equally just or unjust. 00:11:36.380 --> 00:11:49.595 Over the centuries, Christian theologians have worked out a set of morals tests so that the use of force would remain limited, purposeful, and aimed at peace. 00:11:50.715 --> 00:12:02.020 And in simple terms, they agree on four main conditions or criteria for a just war, all of which were originally led down by Augustine, but they've been developed. 00:12:02.340 --> 00:12:07.540 Condition number one, war must be a response to real injustice. 00:12:07.780 --> 00:12:10.900 A war is not just started for glory. 00:12:10.900 --> 00:12:14.340 It's not started for winning territory or national pride. 00:12:14.795 --> 00:12:24.475 It's forced upon the wise by the wrongdoing of others when a nation attacks the innocent and refuses to make amends or seizes what does not belong to them. 00:12:24.635 --> 00:12:33.650 And Augustine makes it very plain when he says the wrongdoing of the opposing party, which compels the wise man to wage just wars. 00:12:34.690 --> 00:12:36.930 And this is clearly taught in scripture. 00:12:37.010 --> 00:12:52.625 If you go to Psalm 82 and verses three and four and Psalm 72 verses four twelve through 14, Rulers are charged to defend the weak and the fatherless, rescue the weak and the needy, and deliver them from the hand of the wicked. 00:12:52.945 --> 00:12:58.145 Force then used by authority is free him to rescue from injustice. 00:12:58.620 --> 00:13:01.100 We can think of Genesis chapter 14. 00:13:01.180 --> 00:13:03.500 Abram, he wasn't Abraham yet. 00:13:03.500 --> 00:13:04.620 Abram was his name. 00:13:04.620 --> 00:13:11.980 He goes to war to rescue his his nephew Lot and others who have have been taken captive by aggressive kings. 00:13:12.140 --> 00:13:19.015 His action is a response to an existing injustice, not an unprovoked campaign. 00:13:19.415 --> 00:13:21.975 So that's condition number one. 00:13:22.375 --> 00:13:27.095 Condition number two, only proper authority may decide on war. 00:13:27.095 --> 00:13:31.860 Private individuals are not free to take up arms to settle scores. 00:13:32.180 --> 00:13:39.780 The power to wage war belongs to those who govern because they're responsible for peace and safety of the nation or the community. 00:13:40.415 --> 00:13:53.135 Augustine said the the natural order that seeks peace requires that, and he quotes, the power to declare and counsel war should be made in the hands of those who hold supreme authority. 00:13:53.630 --> 00:14:10.725 And remember Romans chapter 13 verses one to four, Paul locates the legitimate use of lethal force, the sword in the hands, of course, of those who hold authority, whether it be the government, whether it be the judiciary, whether it be the police, whether it be the army. 00:14:10.725 --> 00:14:14.885 It's not a right given to every individual or private group. 00:14:15.765 --> 00:14:22.165 And condition number three, the intention must be peace, not cruelty or revenge. 00:14:22.720 --> 00:14:32.160 And this is perhaps the strongest emphasis that Augustine makes even when forces use the heart must remain that of a peacemaker because he wrote like this. 00:14:32.160 --> 00:14:34.720 He said, peace should be the object of your desire. 00:14:35.075 --> 00:14:37.875 War should be waged only as a necessity. 00:14:38.035 --> 00:14:43.395 Therefore, even in waging war, cherish the spirit of peacemaking. 00:14:43.635 --> 00:14:58.460 And true religion, he said, regards as peaceful those wars that are fought not for motives of greatness or cruelty, but with the object of securing peace, of punishing evildoers, and uplifting the good. 00:14:58.860 --> 00:15:06.300 And the passion for harm, the cruel thirst for vengeance, and the lust of power are always to be condemned. 00:15:06.605 --> 00:15:08.605 Peace is always the goal. 00:15:08.685 --> 00:15:16.925 Romans chapter 12 and verse 18 says, if it is possible as far as depends on you, live at peace with everybody. 00:15:17.245 --> 00:15:23.800 Matthew chapter five verse nine, blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called the children of God. 00:15:23.880 --> 00:15:32.120 Hebrews chapter 12 verse 14, make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy. 00:15:32.440 --> 00:15:41.835 And scripture presents peace as both both the the commanded Christian aim and the proper outcome of any just use of force. 00:15:41.835 --> 00:15:50.360 Cruelty, personal or national revenge, gloating, unnecessary destruction are repeatedly forbidden. 00:15:50.760 --> 00:15:55.880 The state's sword exits are for good. 00:15:55.880 --> 00:16:07.515 It's used for good and good alone and to restrain the the wrongdoers so that a that a just peace might be restored, not so that cruelty or vengeance can be indulged upon. 00:16:07.515 --> 00:16:14.635 And this is the biblical foundation for a just war requirement that the ultimate intention and outcome must be peace. 00:16:15.515 --> 00:16:20.900 And then fourthly, even a just war is a grief never good in itself. 00:16:20.900 --> 00:16:34.340 Augustine refused at all times to glorify war, and the the wise person wages a just war only with sorrow because the injustice that made it necessary is itself an absolute tragedy. 00:16:35.255 --> 00:16:39.575 And if there were no wrongdoing, there would be no need for war at all. 00:16:39.575 --> 00:16:45.895 And the Bible consistently treats war even when it's necessary or even when it's commanded as the... 00:16:45.895 --> 00:16:52.850 It's it's looked upon as a tragic consequence of human sin, a cause for sorrow rather than celebration. 00:16:53.170 --> 00:17:02.130 And here are the clearest supporting passages, referring to to to war being, part of the brokenness of our world. 00:17:02.625 --> 00:17:05.825 You only have to go to Ecclesiastes chapter one and... 00:17:05.825 --> 00:17:08.705 Or chapter three, the great chapter about time. 00:17:08.945 --> 00:17:17.025 And we read in verse one and verse eight, there's a time for everything, a time to love, a time to hate, a time for war, and a time for peace. 00:17:17.025 --> 00:17:30.640 War is acknowledged as a reality in this age, but it's listed alongside other painful necessities of a disordered world, not as something good in itself. 00:17:31.195 --> 00:17:33.515 And scripture laments the destruction of war. 00:17:33.515 --> 00:17:37.835 You go to the book of Lamentations, chapters one and two and chapter five. 00:17:37.835 --> 00:17:43.915 Even the fall of Jerusalem understood to be part of divine judgment is mourned with real grief. 00:17:44.680 --> 00:17:48.920 And the destruction, death, and suffering are are never treated as good. 00:17:48.920 --> 00:17:59.320 They're a cause for weeping, and there's no biblical pattern of treating the the suffering of war as something to celebrate the conditions of a just war. 00:17:59.915 --> 00:18:12.155 Now in the twenty first century, debates about the justice of going to war have focused on banning aggression and and the huge human environmental and economic costs of modern war. 00:18:12.155 --> 00:18:20.480 Many argue that the only cause for war is self defense against aggression, but this idea has a problem. 00:18:20.800 --> 00:18:22.400 History is too varied. 00:18:23.120 --> 00:18:28.320 Is intervening in a country suffering under a brutal dictator aggression? 00:18:29.705 --> 00:18:36.025 If a state strikes first to prevent an obvious attack, who is the aggressor? 00:18:36.345 --> 00:18:38.905 And such cases make the distinction unclear. 00:18:38.905 --> 00:18:44.585 And it's also wrongly suggest that the defender is always right and the aggressor is always wrong. 00:18:44.720 --> 00:18:48.640 A just cause can be pursued unjustly. 00:18:49.360 --> 00:18:53.600 And modern destructive weapons make it harder to justify war. 00:18:53.760 --> 00:18:58.240 Fear of massive destruction rightly makes nations hesitate. 00:18:58.240 --> 00:19:03.295 We only have to think of the nuclear button and the nuclear war. 00:19:03.535 --> 00:19:11.695 However, this fear often comes with the belief that human life is the only ultimate value and that no political cause is worth dying for. 00:19:11.695 --> 00:19:23.090 People then use just war principles in an extremely strict way to reject almost every war, and then they move themselves into the position of being pacifists. 00:19:23.650 --> 00:19:29.815 A classic problem is that both sides in a war usually claim that they... 00:19:29.815 --> 00:19:39.335 Their their position is just, and sometimes outside observers can easily judge between them, but often both sides have reasonable arguments. 00:19:39.655 --> 00:19:42.375 And this doesn't make just war theory useless. 00:19:42.375 --> 00:19:58.030 It simply admits that politics is full of ambiguities, and the just war tradition does not claim to settle every dispute, but it offers a framework for thinking about and assessing them, the conditions of a just war. 00:19:58.235 --> 00:20:06.235 These things are significant in the day and age that we are living in and they will become more and more significant. 00:20:06.555 --> 00:20:13.355 And then fourthly and finally, let's consider the practical applications for remembrance and for living. 00:20:13.700 --> 00:20:20.900 The practical applications for remembrance as we have come today and for our living beyond this time. 00:20:21.140 --> 00:20:35.805 First, we may honor without embarrassment today those who served and died in conflicts that meet the just war criteria, whether it's the first or second world wars, whether it's military engagement since then, or the terrorist campaign in Northern Ireland. 00:20:35.805 --> 00:20:42.150 And I would say for the the younger generation, there is a great revisionism of history going on. 00:20:43.350 --> 00:20:47.990 What you're being taught or what you're hearing about the troubles is not what happened. 00:20:49.990 --> 00:20:57.035 There's a great injustice in the history that's being told by republicanism, and you need to be careful. 00:21:00.155 --> 00:21:05.275 And we we we come today and we give thanks for those who gave their lives. 00:21:07.100 --> 00:21:15.420 Their sacrifice reflects how ever imperfectly the words of Jesus, greater love has no man than this than he laid down his life for his friends. 00:21:15.420 --> 00:21:19.580 And we remember them with gratitude, and we remember them with a sense of loss. 00:21:20.235 --> 00:21:24.155 And second, we refuse to romanticize war or conflict in any way. 00:21:24.155 --> 00:21:29.515 Augustine's insistence that even just wars are to be lamented must shape our worship. 00:21:29.515 --> 00:21:31.195 They must shape our memory. 00:21:31.355 --> 00:21:38.880 We mourn the dead in every sight, the ruined cities, the moral injury suffered by those who returned. 00:21:39.600 --> 00:21:45.120 And then thirdly, we we pursue peace as the proper aim for all just force. 00:21:45.120 --> 00:21:46.480 We we pray for our leaders. 00:21:47.045 --> 00:21:51.205 We pray for our armed forces, for the victims of present conflicts. 00:21:51.205 --> 00:22:06.270 We support the work of reconciliation, the care of veterans looking after refugees who are truly fleeing from countries where, they are being persecuted, and the patient efforts of diplomacy. 00:22:06.910 --> 00:22:16.255 As citizens, we hold governments to account refusing to give any uncritical blessing to every military action undertaken in the nation's interest. 00:22:17.055 --> 00:22:22.815 And then, fourthly, we maintain the distinction between personal discipleship and public authority. 00:22:22.895 --> 00:22:33.250 The sermon on the mount, the great call is to love our enemies and to refuse private retaliation, and that remains binding upon every individual Christian. 00:22:33.250 --> 00:22:34.930 It's not abolished. 00:22:35.890 --> 00:22:41.090 The state's god given duty to protect the innocent is not abolished in any way. 00:22:41.525 --> 00:22:55.445 There's therefore room both for those who serve in the armed forces under just authority and for those who after careful conscience conclude that a particular conflict fails the tests and therefore they refuse to participate. 00:22:55.740 --> 00:22:56.940 So it's a big issue. 00:22:56.940 --> 00:22:58.700 It's a big it's a big subject. 00:22:58.700 --> 00:23:14.695 It's something that perhaps we could have met after church on a Sunday night and discussed, but the biblical basis for a just war is not a license for violence, but a disciplined framework for restraining evil when all other means have failed. 00:23:15.015 --> 00:23:28.380 It's grounded in the recognition that God has ordained governing authority to bear the sword for the good of the community, and it's hedged about by the demand for a just cause, a right intention, and a constant aim for peace. 00:23:28.540 --> 00:23:39.925 And on this Remembrance Sunday, we honor those who stood in that gap, and we lament them at the necessity that compelled them, and we refused to treat any earthly victory as final. 00:23:40.085 --> 00:23:43.925 Our ultimate hope lies elsewhere. 00:23:44.885 --> 00:23:54.540 The decisive battle was already fought and won at the cross, where the Prince of Peace absorbed the violence of the world and he overcame it. 00:23:55.020 --> 00:24:09.075 And it's incumbent upon us today to to come to Christ as he calls us in the midst of these things because one day he is coming back and we we look forward for those of us who are in Christ. 00:24:09.075 --> 00:24:16.835 We look forward that he can say, nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. 00:24:17.550 --> 00:24:27.550 There's a day coming when there will be true peace, but that true peace must be found in our hearts down here before it can be experienced in a new heaven and a new earth. 00:24:27.790 --> 00:24:35.265 And therefore, we stand before God as sinners today, and our only hope is Jesus Christ who can save us. 00:24:35.505 --> 00:24:48.411 And until that day we remember, we pray, we work for justice and we wait for the Lord who alone can bring the peace that is perfect and the peace that is everlasting. 00:24:48.971 --> 00:24:49.531 Amen. 00:24:49.531 --> 00:24:51.851 May God bless these words to our hearts.