Prayer
Gracious God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, humble our hearts before you, strip us of our self-righteousness, and cause us to trust only in the righteousness of Christ. Be merciful to us and cause your grace to abound to us and grant that by grace through faith the righteousness of Christ would be imputed to lost sinners that in you there would be life, and peace, and grace. Amen.
Today’s Hymn
Isaac Watts
Words: Isaac Watts, The Psalms of David, 1719.
Perhaps one of the most interesting occasions on which this hymn was used was that on which King George, the sable, of the South Sea Islands, but of blessed memory, gave a new constitution to his people, exchanging a heathen for a Christian form of government. Under the spreading branches of the banyan trees sat some thousand natives from Tonga, Fiji, and Samoa, on Whitsunday, 1862, assembled for Divine worship. Foremost amongst them all sat King George himself. Around him were seated old chiefs and warriors who had shared with him the dangers and fortunes of many a battle—men whose eyes were dim, and whose powerful frames were bowed down with the weight of years. But old and young alike rejoiced together in the joys of that day, their faces most of them radiant with Christian joy, love, and hope. It would be impossible to describe the deep feeling manifested when the solemn service began, by the entire audience singing Dr. Watts’ hymn…
Who so much as they could realize the full meaning of the poet’s words? For they had been rescued from the darkness of heathenism and cannibalism and they were that day met for the first time under a Christian constitution, under a Christian king, and with Christ Himself reigning in the hearts of most of those present. That was indeed Christ’s kingdom set up in the earth.
Notes on the Methodist Hymn Book, by G. J. Stevenson
JESUS SHALL REIGN
Click here for tune.
Jesus shall reign where’er the sun
Does his successive journeys run;
His kingdom stretch from shore to shore,
Till moons shall wax and wane no more.
Behold the islands with their kings,
And Europe her best tribute brings;
From north to south the princes meet,
To pay their homage at His feet.
There Persia, glorious to behold,
There India shines in eastern gold;
And barbarous nations at His word
Submit, and bow, and own their Lord.
To Him shall endless prayer be made,
And praises throng to crown His head;
His name like sweet perfume shall rise
With every morning sacrifice.
People and realms of every tongue
Dwell on His love with sweetest song;
And infant voices shall proclaim
Their early blessings on His name.
Blessings abound where’er He reigns;
The prisoner leaps to lose his chains;
The weary find eternal rest,
And all the sons of want are blessed.
Where He displays His healing power,
Death and the curse are known no more:
In Him the tribes of Adam boast
More blessings than their father lost.
Let every creature rise and bring
Peculiar honors to our King;
Angels descend with songs again,
And earth repeat the loud amen!
Thought Provoker
As I write this, our county fair is drawing to a close. Our local church had a booth at the Fair from which we distributed gospel tracts and engaged fair-goers in conversation regarding the state of their souls. A common question asked was “What is your hope for heaven?” How do you think most people answered that question? As you read Nehemiah 10 you will see that there is nothing new under the sun. The fair-goers of Park County Wyoming are still placing their hope for heaven in the same things as the Jews of Nehemiah’s day.
Dad’s Study
After making corporate confession of their sins in Chapter 9, the Israelites made a covenant with God, in writing, that they ” .…entered into a curse, and into an oath, to walk in God’s law, which was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the LORD our Lord, and his judgments and his statutes” (Nehemiah 10:29). In so doing they have bound themselves to the law and all of it’s obligations, to keep and observe all the ordinances of God. As such there is blessing promised to he who keeps and observes all that the law commands and cursing to those who fail to keep every part of the law. (Deuteronomy 11:26-28)
To gain favor with God by keeping the law is to take on a burdensome task. Scripture says that one can keep the whole law and transgress it at only one point and you will be guilty of all of it. (James 2:10) Furthermore, Christ said that even though the 10 Commandments say thou shalt not commit adultery or murder; that if we even look upon a woman to lust or are angry with someone we have violated the commandment.
This brings the requirement for obedience into the heart, demanding that we not only outwardly do, but also inwardly have a right heart. To earn favor with God requires that one live a sinless life of perfection. There is only one who has known no sin, the man Christ Jesus. (2 Corinthians 5:21)
Click here for Matthew Henry’s Commentary.
Truth in Practice
The purpose of the law is to point us to Christ. (Galatians 3:24) The law is there to show us that no sinner can keep the perfect law of God and that to trust in our own righteousness by the keeping of the law for our salvation is futile. (Romans 3:20) It is the wrath of God that awaits all those who trust in their own works of righteousness for salvation. (Romans 4:15) Our only hope for life and blessing is in Jesus Christ and His righteousness. (Philippians 3:9; Titus 3:5) For life and peace we trust only in the grace of God to sinners that is brought forth through Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 3:24; Romans 5:15) What is your hope for heaven?
Catechism
Question 56
Q. What is forbidden in the sixth commandment?
A. The sixth commandment forbids the taking away of our own life (Acts 16:28), or the life of our neighbour unjustly (Gen. 9:6), or whatever tends to it (Pr. 24:11,12).
