Prayer
A Psalm or Song for the Sabbath day. It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High: To show forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night, Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery; upon the harp with a solemn sound. For thou, LORD, hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands. Psalm 92:1-4
Today’s Hymn
Words: S. Trevor Francis, 1875.
O THE DEEP, DEEP LOVE OF JESUS
Click here for tune.
O the deep, deep love of Jesus, vast, unmeasured, boundless, free!
Rolling as a mighty ocean in its fullness over me!
Underneath me, all around me, is the current of Thy love
Leading onward, leading homeward to Thy glorious rest above!
O the deep, deep love of Jesus, spread His praise from shore to shore!
How He loveth, ever loveth, changeth never, nevermore!
How He watches o’er His loved ones, died to call them all His own;
How for them He intercedeth, watcheth o’er them from the throne!
O the deep, deep love of Jesus, love of every love the best!
‘Tis an ocean full of blessing, ’tis a haven giving rest!
O the deep, deep love of Jesus, ’tis a heaven of heavens to me;
And it lifts me up to glory, for it lifts me up to Thee!
Thought Provoker
Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States, said, “It is better to be faithful than famous.” Are you a faithful person? How would you define faithfulness? If you were to define faithfulness as doing what one has promised or keeping one’s word, would you agree or disagree with Roosevelt’s statement? Why?
Dad’s Study
Kings normally went out to battle their enemies in the spring. The armies of that day were not “all weather” armies and they could not withstand the rigors of winter and warfare at the same time. But there was something abnormal about this spring. David sent Joab and the army out to battle, but he stayed in Jerusalem. On the surface this one sentence seems insignificant in Scripture, but read 2 Samuel 11 and see what happened when David stayed in Jerusalem.
It was during this time that David was delinquent in his duties as King that he committed his sin with Bathsheba. Yet, in the midst of this sin God was still merciful to David. God gave him victory over the Ammonites, He was merciful to David in His righteous judgment against Him regarding his sin of adultery and murder, and He continued to give him victory over his enemies, even the descendants of Goliath. 2 Samuel records 10 chapters in this period between the sin with Bathsheba and the final defeat of the giants of the Philistines in 2 Samuel 21. After this, the Scriptures never again mention giants.
Click here for Matthew Henry’s Commentary.
Truth in Practice
God is merciful and long-suffering with His people. Even though we yet sin, God forgives and is faithful in keeping His promises to His people. God is faithful in calling His people to salvation even though they are sinners (Romans 5:8); God is faithful in forgiving His people when they sin (1 John 1:9); God is faithful in keeping His people from temptation (1 Corinthians 10:13); and God is faithful to keep His people to the last day and fulfill all His promises to them (1 Corinthians 1:4-9).
Catechism
Question 45
Q. What is required in the second commandment?
A. The second commandment requires the receiving, observing (Deut. 32:46; Mt. 28:20), and keeping pure and entire all such religious worship and ordinances as God has appointed in his Word (Deut. 12:32).
