Prayer
May I be consistent in conversation and conduct, the same alone as in company, in prosperity and adversity, accepting all they commandments as right, and hating every false way. Help me to carry into ordinary life portions of divine truth and use them on suitable occasions, so that its doctrines may inform, its warnings caution, its rules guide, its promises comfort me.
(The Valley of Vision, page 109)
Today’s Hymn
Words: Joachim Neander, in A und Ω Glaub- und Liebes¸bung (Straslund: 1680); translated from German to English by Catherine Winkworth, 1863.
PRAISE TO THE LORD, THE ALMIGHTY
Click here for tune.
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!
O my soul, praise Him, for He is thy health and salvation!
All ye who hear, now to His temple draw near;
Praise Him in glad adoration.
Praise to the Lord, Who over all things so wondrously reigneth,
Shelters thee under His wings, yea, so gently sustaineth!
Hast thou not seen how thy desires ever have been
Granted in what He ordaineth?
Praise to the Lord, Who hath fearfully, wondrously, made thee;
Health hath vouchsafed and, when heedlessly falling, hath stayed thee.
What need or grief ever hath failed of relief?
Wings of His mercy did shade thee.
Praise to the Lord, Who doth prosper thy work and defend thee;
Surely His goodness and mercy here daily attend thee.
Ponder anew what the Almighty can do,
If with His love He befriend thee.
Praise to the Lord, Who, when tempests their warfare are waging,
Who, when the elements madly around thee are raging,
Biddeth them cease, turneth their fury to peace,
Whirlwinds and waters assuaging.
Praise to the Lord, Who, when darkness of sin is abounding,
Who, when the godless do triumph, all virtue confounding,
Sheddeth His light, chaseth the horrors of night,
Saints with His mercy surrounding.
Praise to the Lord, O let all that is in me adore Him!
All that hath life and breath, come now with praises before Him.
Let the Amen sound from His people again,
Gladly for aye we adore Him.
Thought Provoker
“Experience is the best teacher” is an expression that has been readily embraced in our culture. Unfortunately, it may not be a true expression. Solomon pens his proverbs as a father to his son, not that the son would have to experience failures in order to learn life’s lessons, but that through Solomon’s own failures, his son would learn and be wise. Solomon’s words to his son, he believed, were his best teacher. So too, parents, may we humble ourselves and, transparently, share with our children our failures and the lessons we learned, lest our children fall into the same traps this world deceptively sets along the journey.
Dad’s Study
So it is in Proverbs 3 as Solomon opens his heart, life’s best textbook, before his son. The first twelve verses constitute another “My Son” speech and contain six couplets, each of two verses. A general wisdom saying is introduced and then the result of heeding that wisdom is declared.
- 3:1-2; Keep God’s Word on the frontal of your heart.In so doing, fullness of days and abundance of peace will follow.
- 3:3-4; Practice mercy and truth (which is faithful love) continually. In so doing, favor and reputation from God and man will follow.
- 3:5-6; Trust in God’s way as you make Him known. In so doing, direction for life will follow.
- 3:7-8; Fear God who is omniscient and good. In so doing, health and refreshment will follow.
- 3:9-10; Honor God first in your finances.In so doing, provision and blessing will follow.
- 3:11-12; Accept the corrective chastening of God. In so doing, assurance of sonship will follow.
Click here for Matthew Henry’s Commentary.
Truth in Practice
God will always but always do His part. The undoing occurs when we do not follow through with our part of doing. Parents, as you review the six couplets above, help your children identify specific acts they can do in order to obey God’s Word. Then discuss with your children in concrete, distinct ways the blessings God promises for each of these steps of obedience.
Here’s a start:
1. 3:1-2; Read the Scriptures daily. Memorize passages regularly.
In so doing, …
2. 3:3-4; Don’t let annoyances invade your relationships.
In so doing, …
3. 3:5-6; Let God’s Word have the final say in every decision.
In so doing, …
4. 3:7-8; Watch out for pride swelling up inside.
In so doing, …
5. 3:9-10; Set aside the first part of your allowance for an offering.
In so doing, …
6. 3:11-12; Expect consequences from wrong choices.
In so doing, …
Wisdom—the best teacher for your children may not be their personal failures but first, your biblical counsel and guidance to them in the wake of your failures and resultant God-learned lessons from life. In so doing, you will bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.
Pastor Jim Stevanus – Fellowship Baptist of Dublin, Ohio
Catechism
Question 6
Q. How many persons are there in the Godhead?
A. There are three persons in the Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one God, the same in essence, equal in power and glory (1 John 5:7; Matthew 28:19).
