Prayer
Praise ye the LORD. Praise the LORD, O my soul. While I live will I praise the LORD: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being (Psalm 148:1-2).
Today’s Hymn
WE REST ON THEE
Words: Edith G. Cherry, circa 1895
Music: FINLANDIA, Jean Sibelius, 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
In support of whole hearted worship, Charles H. Spurgeon wrote, “God is to be praised with the voice, and the heart should go therewith in holy exultation.” Where the last Psalm was a hymn in praise of the Creator, today’s Psalm 149 is a hymn of whole hearted praise to the Redeemer. Spurgeon wrote a devotional classic entitled, “Morning and Evening.” Today we sit at the feet of the Prince of Preachers as he stirs our heart to great worship!
Dad’s Study
Psalm 149:2
Be glad of heart, O believer, but take care that thy gladness has its spring in the Lord. Thou hast much cause for gladness in thy God, for thou canst sing with David, God, my exceeding joy. Be glad that the Lord reigneth, that Jehovah is King! Rejoice that he sits upon the throne, and ruleth all things! Every attribute of God should become a fresh ray in the sunlight of our gladness. That he is wise should make us glad, knowing as we do our own foolishness. That he is mighty, should cause us to rejoice who tremble at our weakness. That he is everlasting, should always be a theme of joy when we know that we wither as the grass. That he is unchanging, should perpetually yield us a song, since we change every hour. That he is full of grace, that he is overflowing with it, and that this grace in covenant he has given to us; that it is ours to cleanse us, ours to keep us, ours to sanctify us, ours to perfect us, ours to bring us to glory–all this should tend to make us glad in him. This gladness in God is as a deep river; we have only as yet touched its brink, we know a little of its clear sweet, heavenly streams, but onward the depth is greater, and the current more impetuous in its joy. The Christian feels that he may delight himself not only in what God is, but also in all that God has done in the past. The Psalms show us that God’s people in olden times were wont to think much of God’s actions, and to have a song concerning each of them. So let God’s people now rehearse the deeds of the Lord! Let them tell of his mighty acts, and sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously. Nor let them ever cease to sing, for as new mercies flow to them day by day, so should their gladness in the Lord’s loving acts in providence and in grace show itself in continued thanksgiving. Be glad ye children of Zion and rejoice in the Lord your God. C. H. Spurgeon, “Morning and Evening.” Click here for Matthew Henry’s Commentary
Truth in Practice
Family Worship
Has the Lord given you new life? Has He graced you with a new heart? Have old things passed away and all things become new? Then God has placed on your lips a new song of praise to your Redeemer! Today, God has brought to you new mercies and appreciation of His infinite glory! Therefore, make a new song to God. Sing together as a family the old words of the old hymns, made new by new affections!
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).
