Prayer
Be merciful O Lord. Save us from our iniquity, transgression, and sin. Show Yourself merciful that we may praise Your holy name and rejoice in Your love for Your people. Deliver us from our sin, sanctify us in Your truth, glorify Your name in us. Amen.
Today’s Hymn
ROCK OF AGES
Augustus M. Toplady, 1776.
Toplady, Thomas Hastings, 1830
Click here for tune.
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee;
Let the water and the blood,
From Thy wounded side which flowed,
Be of sin the double cure;
Save from wrath and make me pure.
Not the labor of my hands
Can fulfill Thy law’s demands;
Could my zeal no respite know,
Could my tears forever flow,
All for sin could not atone;
Thou must save, and Thou alone.
Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to the cross I cling;
Naked, come to Thee for dress;
Helpless look to Thee for grace;
Foul, I to the fountain fly;
Wash me, Savior, or I die.
While I draw this fleeting breath,
When mine eyes shall close in death,
[originally When my eye-strings break in death]
When I soar to worlds unknown,
See Thee on Thy judgment throne,
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee.
Thought Provoker
In Psalm 16:8 the psalmist says that he has set the Lord continually before him. What does this mean? Is the Psalmist indicating that all his conscious thought is upon the Lord with nothing else intruding? We know from our common experience that this cannot be. Even though we are not to be of this world, we do know that we are in this world and the things of this life do require our attention. Just as we are to rejoice always and pray without ceasing, so too are we to continually set the Lord before us. All of these are to be regular daily facets of our lives. We are to be so conscious of God, His presence, and His working that it shapes our view of the world and it becomes second nature to us to turn to God in all things. When we do, the Lord will be the center of attention and our affections, especially in those times when He is to be set before us without distraction. Ask your family what times, circumstances, or occasions are necessary for our total attention to be placed upon God?
Dad’s Study
One such time is seen in Psalm 130. In this Psalm the Lord is mentioned in every verse either by name or personal pronoun. The Psalmist is clearly focused upon God without distraction. What has brought him to this? Verse 3 tells us it is his iniquities. The sin of the Psalmist has caused him to sink to the depths and it is from here that he cries out to the Lord and makes his supplication before Him. He knows he is a sinner and confesses it before God, acknowledging that he cannot stand before a holy, righteous, and just God. The sinner acknowledges that if God were to judge him based upon his deeds that he could not bear to stand before God and would be utterly consumed by God’s righteous wrath against his sin. Yet the Psalmist knows the Lord. He knows He is a merciful God that forgives, and he comes before Him in confidence, waiting upon Him and trusting in the promises of His Word that He will forgive (Psalm 103:3). The sin of the Psalmist has left him in dire straits; he mourns over his sin, and he knows that apart from the Lord there is no deliverance. He knows that his only hope is in the Lord. Desperate men will give full attention to the One upon whom they know their very lives depend. Click here for Matthew Henry’s Commentary
Truth in Practice
Family Worship
Do you give full attention to the Lord? Have you felt the heavy conviction of your sin? Do not do as some men and turn away from God, but flee to Him, call out to Him from the pit of your despair. He is faithful and righteous and He will forgive us our sins (1 John 1:9) if we come to Him with a heart of repentance, confessing our sin and trusting His living Word, His Son Jesus Christ. If you have experienced His lovingkindness do you give Him the attention He is due in your daily life? Do you rejoice always and pray without ceasing, thanking Him for life everlasting and daily grace? Are you constantly aware of the Lord’s presence, grace, mercy, love, holiness and sovereignty? If not, give Him your attention. Give it to Him by being in His Word, in communion with Him in prayer, and in His service through a walk of holiness.
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; Mt. 28:19).
