A CALL TO SING UNTO GOD
Psalm 96:1, 2
There is an important difference between speaking and singing. In both of them we express what is in our souls; but singing is expressing thoughts that fill us with joy. And in Psalm 96:1, 2 we are exhorted to do that. There we read: "O sing unto the Lord a new song: sing unto the Lord, all the earth. Sing unto the Lord, bless His name; shew forth His salvation from day to day."
Worth taking note of here is the fact that we are to sing unto the Lord. That certainly means that we have Him in our thoughts when we sing at home, in the church services, or in the choral society. And it must not be the music that makes us happy and pleases our souls. It must be the truth we are expressing. And our singing must not simply be expressing the truth about God. It must be singing the truth unto Him.
That we sing a new song unto Him means that a change has come in our lives. Our old man of sin used to sing the songs of the world with the world. Now, as born again children of God, we are thrilled by spiritual matters, the things of our salvation. We sing what the holy angels sing, and the saints already in heaven sing. As the psalmist states it, we bless God in our singing.
Notice that the psalmist literally exhorts us to shew forth in our singing His salvation from day to day. The singing of the child of God is characterized by that singing. Christ is the center and heart of our singing. What God did for us in Him makes us so happy that not only do we sing unto God, but we want others to do so as well. Here then is our versification of the psalmist's words:
Sing to the Lord, sing His praise, all ye peoples,
New be your song as new honors ye pay;
Sing of His majesty, bless Him forever,
Show his salvation from day to day.
Is that the kind of singing your mouth and vocal cords produce? Are your songs those of the old man of sin, or of the new man in Christ? Drop, push aside those of the world and bless God in your singing.
Read:
Psalm 96
Psalter versification: 259:1
(Words and Music of the
Psalter)
Daily Meditations
on
the
Heidelberg Catechism
Song for Meditation: Psalter number 25
Why not sing along??
****
Through the Bible in One
Year
Read today:
Job 40
;
Job 41
;
Job 42:1-17
2 Corinthians 5:11-21
Psalm 45:1-17
Proverbs 22:14
****
Quote for Reflection:
… Peter’s tears, which he shed in secret, testified before God and the angels that his repentance was true; for, having withdrawn from the eyes of men, he places before him God and the angels; and, therefore, those tears flow from the deep feelings of his heart. This deserves our attention; for we see many who shed tears purposely, so long as they are beheld by others, but who have no sooner retired than they have dry eyes. Now there is no room to doubt that tears, which do not flow on account of the judgment of God, are often drawn forth by ambition and hypocrisy. – John Calvin
JOYFUL SINGING WITNESSES
Psalm 96:3, 4
In this day and age it is hard to escape the songs of the world. Radios blare in stores, offices, and factories. One cannot listen to the news without a product being advertised by means of singing to praise it.
The word of God, however, exhorts us otherwise. There we read: "Declare His glory among the heathen, His wonders among all people. For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised: He is to be feared above all gods" Psalm 96:3,4.
The wonders for which He is to be praised, as the psalmist pointed out in the preceding verses, are the works of salvation in Christ. Indeed there is no more wonderful work, no miracle like the work of God when He saved us by a virgin birth, an accursed death, and a glorious resurrection of His own Son. What a miracle to make dead sinners alive with the glory of Christ — as holy as He is, and with heavenly beauty and glory!
Do we really need to be exhorted then to praise Him and to sing His praises before the world? The joy of that salvation ought to impel us to singing songs of His praise so that we just cannot keep still.
Our versification presents it that way in these words:
Tell of His wondrous works, tell of His glory,
Till through the nations His name is revered;
Praise and exalt Him, for He is almighty,
God over all let the Lord be feared.
This brings to us an awesome calling and reason for soul-searching. What songs do the unbelievers hear you sing? Are they the songs of the world that deny that He is above all the gods of man's imagination? Are you a joyful witness of His power and wonder-working grace? Are you eager to have Him praised by all men, and want them all to confess that He alone is God?
Keep the songs of the devil out of your home, and let your lips sing God's praises before all men. Be a joyful witness in this vale of tears and sorrows. We have reason to sing and ought to give the world this reason, and show them the folly and sin in their singing.
Read:
Psalm 145
Psalter versification: 259:2
(Words and Music of the
Psalter)
Daily Meditations
on
the
Heidelberg Catechism
Song for Meditation: Psalter number
72
Why not sing along??
****
Through the Bible in One
Year
Read today:
Ecclesiastes 1
;
Ecclesiastes 2
;
Ecclesiastes 3:1-22
2 Corinthians 6:1-13
Psalm 46:1-11
Proverbs 22:15
****
Quote for Reflection:
“It is well, therefore, that we never forget the proper place of the law in Reformed preaching. It always must serve only as a rule for a life of thankfulness to God for the great salvation which He has sovereignly wrought in Christ Jesus, and equally sovereignly bestowed upon His people. The effect of the preaching of the law may never be that the people of God attempt to add to the righteousness which they have in Christ, and that they begin to imagine that their own good works have anything to do with their salvation, except as a fruit of thankfulness wrought by the grace of God in their hearts. The righteousness of Christ is perfect. No one can ever add to it. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and ye shall be saved. Such is the truth. No preaching of the law can or ever may detract from that truth. ...The fruit of such preaching is rather, in the first place, a deepening of the knowledge of sin and a more earnest appreciation by faith of the blood of Jesus Christ our Lord, in Whom we have reconciliation and the forgiveness of sin and perfect righteousness. ...Secondly, the proper preaching of the law has through the grace of God a sanctifying influence upon the Christian.” Rev. H. Hoeksema
TRUST IN AND THANKS UNTO GOD
Psalm 96:5,6
What man makes depends upon man. An engine can lift a heavier object than the man who made it can. But a man must put the fuel into the tank, turn the switch to start it, and place upon it the object to be lifted. And it came into being by the work of man's hand and mind.
How foolish it is then for man not to trust in and worship God Who made him, rather than to trust in and worship the things that he thought up, made, and must carry about if they are going to be moved. And how wise it is to take heed to the words of the psalmist as in Psalm 96:5-6 he wrote these words: "For all the gods of the nations are idols: but God made the heavens. honor and majesty are before Him: strength and beauty are in His sanctuary." Our versification sings it thus:
Vain are the heathen gods, idols and helpless;
God made the heavens, and His glory they tell:
Honor and majesty shine out before Him,
Beauty and strength in His temple dwell.
This is presented by the psalmist because he had called us to sing praises to God and to tell the world that He is God alone. He made the heavens which are the highest point in creation. Upon Him all things depend; and He depends on no one and on nothing. If we do not trust in Him and worship Him, we trust in and worship that which has no majesty and honor, no strength and beauty. The unbeliever trusts in and worships that which does not exist and is an imaginary god.
In wisdom we sing praises to God and tell the world round about us that He is God alone. Man and his idol depend upon God. Unto Him only should we look for blessings; and Him we should thank for everything we receive.
Every morning when we awake, we should look to God for the needs of the day. Every night thank Him for what we received. And that does not simply mean our material, earthly needs. Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary. There typically men saw the strength and beauty of the cross that brings us all the heavenly blessings of our salvation.
Read:
Psalm 115
Psalter versification: 259:3
(Words and Music of the Psalter)
Daily Meditations
on
the
Heidelberg Catechism
Song for Meditation: Psalter number 190
Why not sing along??
****
Through the Bible in One
Year
Read today:
|
Ecclesiastes 4
;
Ecclesiastes 5
;
Ecclesiastes 6:1-12
2 Corinthians 6:14-18
;
2 Corinthians 7:1-7
Psalm 47:1-9
Proverbs 22:16
****
Quote for Reflection:
The Power of Sin: “…the sun shining into a neglected room does not create the dust and cobwebs, but simply reveals them. Thus it is with the Christian. The more the light of the Spirit is turned upon him inwardly, the more he discovers the horrible plague of his heart (1 Kings 8:38), and the more he realizes what a wretched failure he is. The fact is, dear discouraged soul, that the more you are growing out of love with yourself, the more you are being saved from the power of sin. Wherein lies its fearful potency? Why, in its power to deceive us. It lies to us. It did so to Adam and Eve. It gives us false estimates of values so that we mistake the tinsel for real gold. To be saved from the power of sin, is to have our eyes opened so that we see things in God’s light: it is to know the truth about things all around us, and the truth about ourselves. Satan has blinded the minds of them that believe not, but the Holy Spirit hath shined in our hearts "unto the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Cor. 4:4, 6). ” -A. Pink
THE BEAUTY OF GOD'S HOLINESS
Psalm 96:9
There are beautiful musical compositions that we enjoy hearing over and over again. There are flowers that because of their beauty we use to beautify our yards and the rooms in our homes. And there are breath-taking scenes of mountains and waterfalls that we call scenic beauty spots.
But an important question is whether we consider holiness to be beautiful, as the psalmist does when in Psalm 96:9 he wrote, "O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: fear before Him, all the earth." As we are by nature, it goes against the grain to see and call holiness beautiful. We find joy and pleasure in unholy things. For to be holy means to be cut off from sin. And we sin in order to get what we call a beautiful life. Did not Adam and Eve sin to become like God? They did not want Jehovah to be God alone and above them. His beauty they sinfully wanted.
You see, the root meaning of the word holy is to be cut off, to be separated. In the context the psalmist had presented the holiness of God, which consists in His being separated from all creatures as being God and God alone. The idols were made of materials which He created. And we must worship God in that beauty of being God alone.
Note that the psalmist, all through the psalm in the Hebrew, uses the name Jehovah, the I Am. Only God can rightfully say that He is God. And every time we sin, we say, "No, you are not! I can do as I please!" God's holiness is not beautiful to us.
Listen to our versification that urges us to flee from this pride:
Give unto God Most High glory and honor,
Come with your offerings and humbly draw near;
In holy beauty now worship Jehovah,
Tremble before Him with godly fear.
To worship God in the beauty of holiness means that we must humble ourselves before Him and approach Him as well as serve Him with the fear of reverence and awe.
Do you see God in the beauty of that holiness of being God alone? Do you consider it to be a beautiful life to flee from sin and to serve Him?
Read:
Revelation 4
Psalter versification: 259:4
(Words and Music of the Psalter)
Daily Meditations
on
the
Heidelberg Catechism
Song for Meditation: Psalter number 412
Why not sing along??
****
Through the Bible in One
Year
Read today:
Ecclesiastes 7
;
Ecclesiastes 8
;
Ecclesiastes 9
2 Corinthians 7:8-16
Psalm 48:1-14
Proverbs 22:17-19
****
Quote for Reflection:
Christian Warfare: “Believers are plainly taught to use active personal exertion, and are addressed as responsible for doing energetically what Christ would have them do, and are not told to 'yield themselves' up as passive agents and sit still, but to arise and work. A holy violence, a conflict, a warfare, a fight, a soldier's life, a wrestling, are spoken of as characteristic of the true Christian." -J. Ryle
CAREFUL, GOD-GLORIFYING SPEECH
Psalm 96:10
Among the unbelievers living around us the events of the day, or the desired events of tomorrow, are so often ascribed to "Mother Nature." And though those unbelievers have no graven image that they worship, they have an idol whom they honor and look up to for what they want. They rule out God and ascribe what happens to a non-existent idol. Truly it is harder to smash in pieces a mental image than one made of wood, stone, or of the hardest kind of metal.
We have the calling, nevertheless, that the psalmist presents in Psalm 96:10 in these words: "Say among the heathen, that the Lord reigneth: the world also shall be established that it shall not be moved: He shall judge the people righteously." Or as our versification sings it:
Make all the nations know God reigns forever;
Earth is established as He did decree;
Righteous and just is the King of the nations,
Judging the people with equity.
We do have that calling as surely as the saints did in the Old Testament times. And the sad truth is that so often we ourselves need to be rebuked and told to keep the Psalmist's words. Every time we ascribe anything to luck, or speak of our good luck or bad luck, we reveal that we have a mental image, an idol in our heads, even though we have no graven image of wood or stone.
It is so easy to look down on those with graven images and fail to look into the mirror of God's Word and see that we have a more subtle and crafty idol than those who have idols of gold, silver, brass.
The psalmist, yea, God through the psalmist, calls us to be very careful in our speech before the world and to speak in such a way that we positively say before the world that God reigns. And in these last days, when fear of a nuclear war that will wipe all life from this earth is expressed, we do well to tell the world that this earth will be established as it pleases God, and shall not be moved in any way that He has not eternally decreed. A kingdom of glory is coming.
Read:
Psalm 104
Psalter versification: 259:5
(Words and Music of the Psalter)
Daily Meditations
on
the
Heidelberg Catechism
Song for Meditation: Psalter number 149
Why not sing along??
****
Through the Bible in One
Year
Read today:
Ecclesiastes 10
;
Ecclesiastes 11
;
Ecclesiastes 12:1-14
2 Corinthians 8:1-15
Psalm 49:1-20
Proverbs 22:20-21
****
Quote for Reflection:
… In short, in order to walk uprightly, we must necessarily put away ‘respect of persons’, which obscures the light and perverts right judgment, as God frequently inculcates in the Law, (Deuteronomy 1:16; 16:19,) and as experience also points out. - John Calvin
A JOYFUL NEW CREATION
Psalm 96:11-13
If you love God, you will want all men to acknowledge Him as God alone, and to serve Him with all their being. You will, as the psalmist did in Psalm 96:11-13, also declare, "Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fullness thereof. Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice before the Lord: for He cometh, for He cometh to judge the earth; He shall judge the world in righteousness, and the people with His truth."
Of course only man can, as the psalmist wrote in verse 9, worship God in the beauty of holiness. Fields and trees, seas, the sun, moon, and stars cannot rejoice. Consider, however, that in the day when Christ returns and brings forth a new creation, those whom God in His righteous judgment in Christ brings into that creation will use all that inanimate and irrational creation in the fear of reverence and awe before God in all His majesty and glory.
Today most men worship a non-existent god and commit sins which that irrational creation cannot commit. But that new creation will not, the psalmist says, be moved, and that means that it will not be misused, or, if you will, be removed from the service of God, as man has done since he fell into sin. All men in that new creation will use it to glorify God.
This will happen through Christ, for only through Him can there be a righteous judgment that brings man into this service and glory. No wonder is it then that the psalmist began this Psalm with these words: "O sing unto the Lord a new song; sing unto the Lord all the earth."
Shall we not then do this with the words of this versification?
Let heaven and earth be glad; waves of the ocean,
Forest and field exaltation express;
For God is coming, the Judge of the nations,
Coming to judge in His righteousness.
We now live in a vale of tears and sorrow. But a day is coming when there shall be an earth with everlasting joy. For all creation shall through sinless men be directed to God and glorify Him.
Read:
Isaiah 65
Psalter versification: 259:6
(Words and Music of the
Psalter
Daily Meditations
on
the
Heidelberg Catechism
Song for Meditation: Psalter number 131
Why not sing along??
****
Through the Bible in One
Year
Read today:
Song of Solomon 1
;
Song of Solomon 2
;
Song of Solomon 3
;
Song of Solomon 4:1-16
2 Corinthians 8:16-24
Psalm 50:1-23
Proverbs 22:22-23
****
Quote for Reflection:
… the reason why God deals with such liberality towards us is, that we may be led to celebrate his praise; but at the same time he condemns our inconstancy, which hurries us away to any other object rather than to God. - John Calvin
POSSESSING TRUE WISDOM
Psalm 119:97,98
Would you call it wise for a couple to put their children to bed, and then also themselves retire, even though they know that a tornado or earthquake is going to destroy their house in about an hour? Would you then call it an act of wisdom for one who knows that he is going to die to continue to walk in unbelief and sin, when death for such means entrance into an everlasting torment? No, man does wisely when he with the psalmist declares, "O how love I Thy law! it is my meditation all the day. Thou through Thy commandments hast made me wiser than my enemies; for they are ever with me." Psalm 119:97-98. Plainly, true wisdom comes through knowing and loving God's commandments.
Loving God's law means loving God, for that is what His law reveals is our calling. And loving God means that we are by Him assured that death brings us closer to Him, with a more blessed covenant life with treasures that are everlasting. The world may know how to gather earthly treasures and pleasures. In fact in Daniel 12:4 we read that in the last days knowledge will increase. Surely man today knows much more than a couple of decades ago. And he will learn much more than computers, satellites, laser beams, and the like. But the child of God knows about everlasting blessedness through Christ and is truly wise when be chooses to walk in God's law. How important is it not that we sing:
How I love Thy law, O Lord!
Daily joy its truths afford;
In its constant light I go,
Wise to conquer every foe.
Yes, in the measure that we meditate in God's law we are wise and we learn how to walk wisely and seek what has true, lasting value. Sin may bring fleshly pleasure: but it is the height of folly to walk in it.
The question is not whether we can amass earthly things which are going to be taken from us when we die. The question is whether we love God and therefore love His law. Meditating in that law we will see the need for Christ: and one who sees that need is truly wise. Him God will assure that in His love He sent Christ to bring us where we in love of God's law will walk perfectly in it in sweet communion with God.
Read:
Psalm 119:97-112
Psalter
versification: 333:1
(Words and Music of the Psalter)
Daily Meditations
on
the
Heidelberg Catechism
Song for Meditation: Psalter number 54
Why not sing along??
****
Through the Bible in One
Year
Read today:
Song of Solomon 5
;
Song of Solomon 6
;
Song of Solomon 7
;
Song of Solomon 8:1-14
2 Corinthians 9:1-15
Psalm 51:1-19
Proverbs 22:24-25
****
Quote for Reflection:
… We do not want to throw the lambs to the wolves. In the Christian school, we are preparing them for the inevitable conflict that is coming. There is a war going on. It is not a carnal war, not a war "after the flesh," as the apostle writes in II Corinthians 10: 3ff., but a war that is spiritual, a war that has to do with "imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God." It is a war of ideas; of thoughts: of doctrines; of teachings. These are the great issues and battlefronts: the sovereignty of man versus the sovereignty of God; the reign of Antichrist versus the reign of Jesus the Christ; the authority of man's word versus the authority of God's Word, Holy Scripture; a life of pleasure-madness versus a life of holiness; despair versus hope; the worship of the totalitarian State versus the worship of God, the Father of Jesus Christ. - David Engelsma
KEPT IN GOD'S LAW BY HIS GRACE
Psalm 119:99-102
Do you know any people with "I" trouble? Their vision may be very good, and they may not need a magnifying glass for fine print. But the "I" trouble wherewith some are afflicted is their conceit and boasting. And it would almost seem as though the psalmist who wrote Psalm 119 had such "I" trouble. In the third through sixth verse of the thirteenth section of the Psalm he writes, "I have more understanding than all my teachers. . . . I understand more than the ancients.... I have refrained my feet from every evil way. . .. I have not departed from Thy judgments." It is I, I, I, I!
However, by no means was he boasting. For in verse 102 he adds, "I have not departed from Thy judgments: for Thou hast taught me." And all these verses which begin with I, follow his first verse in this section, where he wrote, "O how love I Thy law," and also that God's commandments had made him wiser than his enemies. All this makes a big difference.
We may be personal and say "I have this," or "I did this," if we plainly reveal that this is because of what God has done in us. Remember Jesus' parable. The Pharisee instead of thanking God, boasted of what he had done, as though God owed him thanks for what he did. If we so speak, we have "I" trouble and also behave as though God owes us thanks.
Always for all things we owe God thanks. Surely we owe Him thanks for teaching us His law. This means that He taught us that He loves us, chose us in Christ, and gave us a new life in Christ. Many there are in the church and out of the church to whom He has revealed His law. But only those whom He redeemed by the blood of Christ are taught that law by God Himself.
We cannot thank God enough for all the blessings which He bestows upon us. And surely we owe Him thanks for being able to sing:
While my heart Thy word obeys,
I am kept from evil ways;
From Thy law, with Thee to guide,
I have never turned aside.
Here all boasting is excluded and confession is made of what God in His grace has done. Surely every day should be filled with praise and thanks to Him for keeping us and guiding us in a walk of love to Him.
Read:
Isaiah 40:28-31;
Isaiah 41:1-10
Psalter versification: 333:3
(Words and Music of the Psalter)
Daily Meditations
on
the
Heidelberg Catechism
Song for Meditation: Psalter number 91
Why not sing along??
****
Through the Bible in One
Year
Read today:
Isaiah 1
;
Isaiah 2:1-22
2 Corinthians 10:1-18
Psalm 52:1-9
Proverbs 22:26-27
****
Quote for Reflection:
Jesus’ Ascension: “Our Lord is doing the best thing for His Kingdom in going away. It was in the highest degree expedient that He should go, and that we should each one receive the Spirit. There is a blessed unity between Christ the King and the commonest soldier in the ranks. He has not taken His heart from us, nor His care from us, nor His interest from us: He is bound up heart and soul with His people, and their holy warfare, and this is the evidence of it, "Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be." (Rev. 22:12) -C. Spurgeon
RIGHTEOUS HATRED AND DELIGHT
Psalm 119:103, 104
To commit a sin, no matter what kind of sin it is, always means that we are walking in a false way. Not only are we not walking in the right way, the way designed by and demanded by God, but we are saying something false. To ourselves we will be saying that this is a pleasant thing to do; but we are also saying to God that He is not God, may not tell us what to do, and has no right to intrude into our lives and tell us what to do.
That is why in Psalm 14:1 we read, that the fool hath said in his heart that there is no God. We say that there is no God every time we sin! But we ought to say what we read in Psalm 119:103-104, namely, "How sweet are Thy words unto my taste! yea sweeter than honey to my mouth. Through Thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way."
Did you notice that the psalmist stated that God's precepts give him understanding? That means that they give us the truth. God's law in no uncertain terms tells us the truth that He is God and that we are His servants. Through His precepts He causes us to understand that to sin is to walk in a false way, and that to obey Him is the true way in which we should walk.
Think that over today. If you sincerely say that to sin is to walk in a false way, you say with the psalmist that God's commandments are sweet in your mouth and that you hate that false way. You will then sing:
Sweeter are Thy words to me
Than all other good can be;
Safe I walk, Thy truth my light,
Hating falsehood, loving right
The false way will lead you away from and against Christ and into the lake of fire with a bitter taste in your mouth. Walking in God's law you will be walking with Christ Who never left the way of love to God. Then you will come to God's house where you will enjoy the sweetness of His mercy and love. Then you will hear it said unto you, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."
Read:
Matthew 252: 1-30
Psalter versification: 333:4
(Words and Music of the
Psalter)
Daily Meditations
on
the
Heidelberg Catechism
Song for Meditation: Psalter number 130
Why not sing along??
****
Through the Bible in One
Year
Read today:
Isaiah 3
;
Isaiah 4
;
Isaiah 5:1-30
2 Corinthians 11:1-15
Psalm 53:1-6
Proverbs 22:28-29
****
Quote for Reflection:
Discipleship: “Take my yoke upon you…” (Matt. 11:29 a) For many of today’s supposed Christians—perhaps the majority—it is the case that while there is much talk about Christ and even much furious activity, there is actually very little following of Christ Himself. And that means in some circles there is very little genuine Christianity. Many who fervently call Him ‘Lord, Lord’ are not Christians (Matt. 7:21)... There are several reasons that the situation I have described is common in today’s church. The first is a defective theology that has crept over us like a deadening fog. This theology separates faith from discipleship and grace from obedience. It teaches that Jesus can be received as one’s Savior without being received as one’s Lord… When Jesus used this image, he was saying that to follow Him was to submit to Him. It was to receive Him as Lord of one‘s life.” -J. Boice
MEETING GOD IN HIS HOUSE
Psalm 84:1,2
The question is not how beautiful your church building is. The important thing is not where do you meet, but Whom do you meet? When the psalmist wrote in Psalm 84:1-2, "How amiable are Thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God," he is not thinking of the earthly beauty of the temple with its gold, delicate carvings, and beautiful tapestry. Notice that he states, "My heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God." It is God Whom he wants to meet.
He writes about God's courts and tabernacle because there the everywhere-present God meets man in a special way. There He meets man not simply in His providence but in His grace in Christ His Son.
All over in the tabernacle and temple were types and shadows of Christ, but especially in the Holy of Holies, that secret place behind the veil, where God dwelt symbolically between the cherubim on the mercy seat.
There was God's mercy, for there was Christ's blood that paid for all our sins, sprinkled on the mercy seat. In that tabernacle God said, "I love you; and my mercy is upon you." Therefore that tabernacle was amiable, that is, lovely, because there God revealed His love in Christ.
That same truth we ought to see in the place where we worship God. Never mind the surroundings. Let not the earthly beauty or crudeness keep you from seeing God as in Christ He is preached. Now that Christ suffered, died, and is risen from the dead in victory over sin, we hear more clearly and powerfully of God's love and mercy than the Old Testament saints did in the temple. Hearing Christ preached, you can sing:
How lovely, Lord of Hosts, to me
The tabernacles of Thy grace:
O how I long, yea, faint to see
Thy hallowed courts; Thy dwelling place;
For Thee my heart and spirit sigh,
For Thee O living God, I cry.
Do you look forward to going to church on the Sabbath Day? God will be there in His love and mercy where Christ is preached. Go then, and meet Him. The veil has been rent in twain. And He will reveal Himself in Christ in the word preached.
Read:
Psalm 84
Psalter versification: 229:1
(Words and Music of the Psalter)
Daily Meditations
on
the
Heidelberg Catechism
Song for Meditation: Psalter number 21
Why not sing along??
****
Through the Bible in One
Year
Read today:
Isaiah 6
;
Isaiah 7:1-25
2 Corinthians 11:16-33
Psalm 54:1-7
Proverbs 23:1-3
****
Quote for Reflection:
Religious Indifference: “Indifference in religion is the first step to apostasy from religion.” -W. Secker