Prayer
O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker. For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Today if ye will hear his voice (Psalm 95:6-7).
Today’s Hymn
Words: Reginald Heber, 1826. Heber wrote this hymn for Trinity Sunday while he was Vicar of Hodnet, Shropshire, England.
HOLY, HOLY, HOLY
Click here for tune.
Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee;
Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessèd Trinity!
Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore Thee,
Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
Cherubim and seraphim falling down before Thee,
Who was, and is, and evermore shall be.
Holy, holy, holy! though the darkness hide Thee,
Though the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see;
Only Thou art holy; there is none beside Thee,
Perfect in power, in love, and purity.
Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
All Thy works shall praise Thy Name, in earth, and sky, and sea;
Holy, holy, holy; merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessèd Trinity!
Thought Provoker
As part of the Lord’s prayer, Jesus instructs us to pray, lead us not into temptation. And yet the Bible also teaches that God does not tempt any man (James 1:13). As we come to the end of David’s rule we discover from David’s sin the purpose of temptation and also its origin.
Dad’s Study
The last chapter of 2nd Samuel opens with God being angry with David for his sin of numbering Israel. Read carefully the 1st verse and discover who it is that tempted David. That’s right, God moved David to number Israel. Yet the account of this same sin in 1 Chronicles 21 tells us that it was Satan that provoked David to number Israel (1 Chron. 21:1). We see this same pattern repeated in Scripture. In the book of Job it was God’s idea to tempt Job when he said, Hast thou considered my servant Job . . . (v. 8)? When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, Matthew tells us, Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil (Matt. 4:1). In other words, God the Spirit led Jesus to be tempted by the devil. Which is it, God or the devil that tempts us? It is both! God sovereignly tempts His children, like Job, for the purpose of trying them that they might be found faithful unto His glory. Even if God’s testing results in a spiritual fall, the Christian is strengthened and God is glorified through His divine chastisement. Remember that temptation itself is not sin (James 1:15). How does God tempt? Frequently, through the agency of Satan himself. Like in Job, God lets Satan’s leash out just far enough to accomplish God’s sovereign purpose. Satan’s purpose in tempting is to defeat the Christian and bring spiritual ruin. Although David gave in to the temptation, which resulted in 3 days of pestilence and the death of 70,000 men, he was not defeated. David humbly confessed his sin and sought forgiveness by building an altar and making sacrifice (vs. 17, 25). In summary, who tempts you in your Christian life? Both God and Satan. God tempts for the purpose of refining you and proving you to be GENUINE unto His glory. Satan, on the other hand, tempts to spiritually destroy you. Remember that Satan could not tempt if God did not pull back His restraining hand in your life.
Click here for Matthew Henry’s Commentary.
Truth in Practice
How are you to resist sin? First, prayer is essential! Bow in prayer today and ask God not to lead you and your family into temptation, but to deliver you from evil. Ask for God’s strength to resist the temptations of the evil one. Secondly, you must know Scripture. When Jesus was tempted, He responded with Scriptural truth (Matt. 4:1-11). If you are being tempted in a specific area, take your concordance and make a list of Scriptures that deal with that sin and trust in them during moments of temptation. Finally, we must take advantage of the God-given ways of escape (1 Cor. 10:12-13). Think of how you have been tempted in the past. Intentionally avoid those things, places, and people that tempt.
Catechism
Question 31
Q. What benefits do they who are effectually called, partake of in this life?
A. They who are effectually called, do in this life partake of justification, (Rom. 8:30), adoption (Eph. 1:5), sanctification, and the various benefits which in this life do either accompany, or flow from them (1 Cor. 1:30).
