Prayer
Abba . . . Father, how we thank you for the invitation to draw near to You, and in so doing You have promised to draw near to us. We would wash our hands and cleanse our hearts as we approach You, knowing that You are the holy God on high. We ask that You would reveal Yourself to us in this time by You Word and Spirit, and teach us Your ways.
Today’s Hymn
WE REST ON THEE (Click here for tune.)
Words: Edith G. Cher¬ry, cir¬ca 1895.
Music: FIN¬LAND¬IA, Jean Si¬bel¬i¬us, 1899
We rest on Thee, our shield and our defender!
We go not forth alone against the foe;
Strong in Thy strength, safe in Thy keeping tender,
We rest on Thee, and in Thy name we go.
Strong in Thy strength, safe in Thy keeping tender,
We rest on Thee, and in Thy name we go.
Yes, in Thy name, O Captain of salvation!
In Thy dear name, all other names above;
Jesus our righteousness, our sure foundation,
Our prince of glory and our king of love.
Jesus our righteousness, our sure foundation,
Our prince of glory and our king of love.
We go in faith, our own great weakness feeling,
And needing more each day Thy grace to know:
Yet from our hearts a song of triumph pealing,
We rest on Thee, and in Thy name we go.
Yet from our hearts a song of triumph pealing,
We rest on Thee, and in Thy name we go.
We rest on Thee, our shield and our defender!
Thine is the battle, Thine shall be the praise;
When passing through the gates of pearly splendor,
Victors, we rest with Thee, through endless days.
When passing through the gates of pearly splendor,
Victors, we rest with Thee, through endless days.
Thought Provoker
“Who do men say that I am?” This was a question the Lord Jesus asked His disciples on one of their journeys. He was told that men had varying opinions of Him. Jesus’ response indicates that people’s opinions can be wrong, and that we are not allowed to just invent some idea of whom we think He is. In other words, saying “this is what Jesus is to me” is not enough if it is not truly who He is.
In our Psalm today, we will see some comparisons between what the Word of God says about the Lord, Jehovah God, revealed in the Old Testament, and their parallels to the Lord, Jesus Christ in the New Testament.
Dad’s Study
This Psalm can by simply outlined as follows:
A Perpetual Commitment to Praise the Lord. – vv.1, 2
An Earnest Exhortation to Not Put Trust in Man – vv.3, 4
The Blessedness of the One Whose Hope is In the Lord -v.5 Numerous Reas
ons that the Lord is Worthy of our Praise and Confidence – vv.6-10
The Psalmist gives us a meditation in contrasts between the nature and works of the sons of men and of God. He reminds us that we should not put our ultimate hope and confidence in men, as their schemes, no matter how grand, eventually come to an end. The most noble, famous, or rich all come to that point, whether through natural causes or accident, where their heart doesn’t beat, their brain stops sending and receiving signals, and their lungs cease expanding. Even though their heirs or others seek to carry on their legacy, their desires eventually diminish and disappear.
But how different is the Lord our God? He is worthy of all our praise and hope because of who He is and what He does. He is the Creator of all things (v.6), the Source and Keeper of truth and justice, the benevolent Giver of our needs and Redeemer of the prisoner (v.7). He is the great Healer and Exalter of the humble (v.8). He is the Protector (v.9), adoptive Father and Husband (v.9). At the same time, He is the great Opposer of the wicked (v.9), and of His Kingdom there is no end (v.10).
But let us think for a moment about how this God was revealed in THE Son of Man. All that is said here about Jehovah is reiterated in relation to the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Creator of all things (Colossians 1:16), the Source and Keeper of truth (John 14:6) and justice (John 5:22), the benevolent Giver of our needs (John 5:51) and Redeemer of the prisoner (Luke 4:18). He is the great Healer (Matthew 4:24) and Exalter of the humble (Matthew 15:28). He is the Protector (Matthew 28:20), adoptive Father (Hebrews 2:13) and Husband (Ephesians 5:25ff). At the same time, He is the great Opposer of the wicked (Matthew 23:1ff), and of His Kingdom there is no end (Luke 1:33).
It is no wonder that all but the heretical offshoots of the Christian church from the earliest days recognized the Lord Jesus as God in the flesh, the almighty Jehovah. It is no wonder we are taught in the Scriptures to put our ultimate trust in Him, and called to praise the Lamb forever and ever.
There is but one Man in whom we are to trust, who though He saw death did not return to the dust. There is but one who we are committed to worship throughout eternity: the Lord Jesus Christ, God taking on a human nature. Click here for Matthew Henry’s Commentary
Truth in Practice
Family Worship
Let us refocus on the person of Jesus Christ, and in so doing:
Commit ourselves to eternally praise Him . . . beginning right now.
Call others to put no trust in anyone else but Him.
See ourselves as greatly blessed, as it has been revealed to us who this Jesus is.
Blessed are you . . . for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven (Matthew 16:17).
Pastor Stephen Gambill – Reformed Baptist Church of Nashville
Catechism Question : 10
Q. How did God create man?
A. God created man, male and female, after his own image (Gen. 1:27), in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness (Col. 3:10; Eph. 4:24) with dominion over the creatures (Gen 1:28).
