Praise the Lord for the sunshine this morning. We start in Psalm 80. A Psalm asking God to cease His punishment of Israel and to restore His people to their former state. “Restore us, O God; make your face shine upon us that we may be saved.” This is repeated two more times like a chorus (These are Psalms after all). The purpose of the judgment was to cause repentance and a return to the Lord. In Ezekiel we come across his fantastic vision of the throne of God coming to earth. Compare this with John’s vision of the throne in heaven in Revelation 1. Israel’s promises are earth bound, a Christians hope is in heaven. Ezekiel is an exile in Babylon taken there after the second invasion of Israel by the Babylonians. He falls before the throne of God that stands before him. In Matthew 3 John the Baptist preaches the gospel of repentance. Turn from your sin and follow Jesus who comes to inaugurate His earthly ministry by ritual baptism. Jesus had nothing to repent of and that is revealed with God the Father’s declaration that He is “well pleased with His Son.” Have a blessed day everyone.