Worship

Matthew Henry, in his commentary, writes:

“This psalm has in it as much of warmth and lively devotion as any of David’s psalms in so little a compass. As the sweetest of Paul’s epistles were those that bore date out of a prison, so some of the sweetest of David’s psalms were those that were penned, as this was, in a wilderness.

That which grieved him most in his banishment was the want of public ordinances; these he here longs to be restored to the enjoyment of; and the present want did but whet his appetite. Yet it is not the ordinances, but the God of the ordinances, that his heart is upon. And here we have,

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I just got reminded of this passage while listening to a radio podcast… have you ever thought of and understood our Lord and Savior’s love thus? Nary an earthly love story even comes close to this!

Let us stand still, and admire and wonder at the love of Jesus Christ to poor sinners; that Christ should rather die for us, than for the angels. They were creatures of a more noble extract, and in all probability might have brought greater revenues of glory to God: yet that Christ should pass by those golden vessels, and make us vessels of glory,-oh, what amazing and astonishing love is this! This is the envy of devils. and the admiration of angels and saints.

The angels were more honourable and excellent creatures than we. They were celestial spirits; we earthly bodies, dust and ashes: they were immediate attendants upon God, they were, as I may say, of his privy chamber; we servants of his in the lower house of this world, farther remote from his glorious presence: their office was to sing hallelujahs, songs of praise to God in the heavenly paradise; ours to dress the garden of Eden, which was but an earthly paradise: they sinned but once, and but in thought, as is commonly thought; but Adam sinned in thought by lusting, in deed by tasting, and in word by excusing. Why did not Christ suffer for their sins, as well as for ours? or if for any, why not for theirs rather than ours? ‘Even so, O Father, for so it pleased thee,’ Mat. xi. 26. We move this question, not as being curious to search thy secret counsels, O Lord, but that we may be the more swallowed up in the admiration of the ‘breadth, and length, and depth, and height of the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge.’

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By Steve Camp

Glory in the cross, our faithful High Priest
Went beyond the veil as our Prince of Peace
Clothed with our sin, its guilt and shame
Our sinless Substitute, Jesus His name

Glory in the cross the Law now fulfilled
Righteousness displayed on Calvary’s Hill
Imputed to all who’d ever would believe
The Lord, the spotless Lamb, hung cursed upon a tree

Glory in the cross where grace doth abound
Where the Man of Sorrows wore transgressions crown
Wounded and chastened for our iniquities
Our faithful Redeemer, God the Father pleased

Together for the gospel; redeemed by the risen Lamb
By grace alone, through faith alone, on Christ alone we stand
Clothed with His righteousness; peace with God forevermore
By His word and for His glory, we proclaim the gospel story
That salvation is through only, Jesus Christ our Lord

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I hear the Savior say,
“Thy strength indeed is small;
Child of weakness, watch and pray,
Find in Me thine all in all.”

Refrain
Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.

For nothing good have I
Whereby Thy grace to claim,
I’ll wash my garments white
In the blood of Calv’ry’s Lamb.

And now complete in Him
My robe His righteousness,
Close sheltered ’neath His side,
I am divinely blest.

Lord, now indeed I find
Thy power and Thine alone,
Can change the leper’s spots
And melt the heart of stone.

When from my dying bed
My ransomed soul shall rise,
“Jesus died my soul to save,”
Shall rend the vaulted skies.

And when before the throne
I stand in Him complete,
I’ll lay my trophies down
All down at Jesus’ feet.

The shortest verse in the Bible — John 11:35 — has always intrigued me. To me, it is this verse that fully captures and reflects His humanity (for Christ was fully man too during His ministry on earth), more than what the temptations in the desert, the hunger our Lord experienced (Matthew 4:2, Matthew 21:18, Mark 11:12), and the thirst and weariness (John 4:6-7) did.

It also speaks volumes of the compassionate nature of the Lord our God whom we serve.

With regards to understanding this particular verse in the context of the account of Lazarus’ death and subsequent raising by our Lord as recorded in John 11:1-44, I love what Matthew Henry wrote in his commentary [Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible (mhcc.xxxv.xi)]:

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This is the second Shabbat that I have opted to feature a sermon instead of a song. This week, I will be sharing this short sermon by John MacArthur on how and why we should confess our sins with an exposition of Psalm 51. So, if you have your Bible at hand, join me as we listen together to John MacArthur teach.

I pray that you’ll blessed by this sermon as much as I have.

Shabbat Shalom.

This article originally appeared here at Grace to You.

We’re going to turn to a subject in the New Testament that as I think about it is largely ignored and overlooked. And I’ve been made aware of that in recent months. It was not too many months ago that I was flying on one of those jumbo jets from Los Angeles to London, in the process reading a book that dealt with the issue of slavery in the New Testament time and in the New Testament text. It set me thinking in all kinds of directions. I actually finished the book on the flight I was so rapt in my attention to this particular theme.

Being a slave of Christ may be the best way to define a Christian. We are, as believers, slaves of Christ. You would never suspect that, however, from the language of Christianity. In contemporary Christianity the language is anything but slave language. It is about freedom. It is about liberation. It is about health, wealth, prosperity, finding your own fulfillment, fulfilling your own dream, finding your own purpose. We often hear that God loves you unconditionally and wants you to be all you want to be. He wants to fulfill every ambition, every desire, every hope, every dream. In fact, there are books being written about dreams as if they are gifts from God which God then having given them is bound to fulfill. Personal fulfillment, personal liberation, personal satisfaction, all bound up in an old term in evangelical Christianity, a personal relationship. How many times have we heard that the gospel offers people a personal relationship with Jesus Christ?

What exactly does that mean? Satan has a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and it’s not a very good one. Every living being has a personal relationship with the living God of one kind or another, leading to one end or another.

But what exactly is our relationship to God? What is our relationship to Christ? How are we best to understand it?

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It’s Karen’s recommendation this Shabbat.

Funnily enough, I’ve never heard this great song until it was featured on a radio program, but she has and was singing along to it when it came on! Hmm…

We’ll also like to take this opportunity to wish our dear American brethren and sisters a very happy 4th of July.

Shabbat Shalom!

Boldly proclaim the Truth and let not those who seek to compromise or mangle the Word of God discourage you by their words of man’s condemnation. God’s Word and Truth is the Light that shall overcome darkness. Men hate the Light for their deeds are done in darkness, but we who walk with the Lord must do our utmost to shine His Light in the world, aye, even to the detriment of our lives.

When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is it you, you troubler of Israel?” And he answered, “I have not troubled Israel, but you have, and your father’s house, because you have abandoned the commandments of the Lord and followed the Baals.

1 Kings 18:17-18

There is no God like JEHOVAH!

Shabbat Shalom.

Regrettably, I have never heard Steven Curtis Chapman until the tragic death of his beloved daughter Maria just this May. Since hearing this song by him when it was played on a radio station to comfort him and his family, it has become one of my favorite songs.

God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.
God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
God will help her when morning dawns.
The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
he utters his voice, the earth melts.
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

Come, behold the works of the Lord,
how he has brought desolations on the earth.
He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the chariots with fire.
“Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!”
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

Psalm 46:1-11

Shabbat Shalom.

I love reading testimonies, and in recent days I’ve come across this by Richard Ganz that I want to share with you. It was first posted by Tim Challies over at his blog, Challies.com.

The Revival Of A Rebel Jew

by Richard Ganz
First published at Challies.com, reproduced in part.

In my youth I spent every afternoon studying the Hebrew Scriptures, five days a week, and on Friday night and Saturday I worshiped. As I grew older I worshiped for a time each day in the synagogue morning and evening. I would rise before dawn and before going to the morning service, in obedience to rabbinic tradition, I would put on tefillin — the boxes containing God’s law — on my forehead and arm.

Then one cold, clear midwinter night my life was shattered. My father had a heart attack and I ran for comfort and hope to the one place I thought I would find it — the synagogue. The doors were locked and as I hammered on them I looked up into the New York night sky, cold, crystal-clear and filled with stars and I cursed God. “I am through with you!” I said. But that night, as I turned away from the God of Israel; the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, little did I realize that he was far from through with me.

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Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”

And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying,

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NSFW: This song will make you cry.

While writing the response to “ordinary guy” and going through those verses myself, I am reminded of how much God has done for me. I think this song rightly sums up how much I want to praise God for His love and faithfulness!

Amen!