Daily Meditations for February

February 21

THE HEART OF THE MATTER
Psalm 15:2

To enter a house whose doors and windows are locked requires a key. To get an audience with a high governmental official demands documents of identification. And in this day of terrorism, you may even have to be searched to see whether you carry dangerous weapons. How much more are there severe requirements to come before the holy God and to be a guest in His house.

Wisely does the psalmist ask in Psalm 15:1, "Lord, who shall abide in Thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in Thy holy hill?'' There also is a reason why Jesus spoke of the keys of the kingdom of heaven.

What the psalmist writes after his question ought to be before our minds daily. He writes, ''He that walketh uprightly and worketh righteousness and speaketh the truth in his heart'' Psalm 15:2 . In the verses that follow, the psalmist tells us what an upright walk and doing righteousness are. But the heart of the matter is speaking truth in the heart. There will be no upright walk and works of righteousness unless we speak the truth in our hearts.

Out of the heart are all the issues of our life. Even as every cell in our bodies must receive blood from the heart in order to live, so our whole being is controlled by the spiritual ''blood'' that comes out of our spiritual center, which Scripture calls the heart.

Since by nature our hearts are spiritually dead — Adam died the day he disobeyed -- the answer to the psalmist's question is: "No one!"   No one has the right to be a guest in God's house.

Listen to this versification and ask whether it describes you:

    He who walks in righteousness,
    All his actions just and clear;
    He whose words the truth express,
    Spoken from a heart sincere.

How much then ought we to appreciate the love of God that sent His Son to take away all our unrighteousness and to implant in us by His Spirit that beginning of holiness. And the evidence that this life is in us is the confession that we have no righteousness of ourselves.

Read: Matthew 5:1-20
Psalter versification: 26:2

Daily  Meditations
on the Heidelberg Catechism

Song for Meditation: Psalter number 60
Sing along!!

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Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:
Leviticus 11 ; Leviticus 12:1-8
Mark 5:21-43
Psalm 38:1-22
Proverbs 10:8-9
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Quote for Reflection:

    “Today there are innumerable abominations which would seek to capture the minds of God’s people. And who will arise to defend God’s Truth? Perhaps we will not have our names written in the history books, as did Athanasius, but every father can stand before his family as God’s representative, and proclaim and defend God’s Truth. Perhaps our efforts will not influence the entire church, as did Athanasius, but our efforts can bless and prosper our family. Perhaps we will not turn back the forces of darkness from every corner of the world, but we can say, ‘In this my house, God’s Truth will be established, and honored, and praised. The blasphemies of this world will not breech the sanctity of this place. When the pagan philosophies of our age seek to capture my family, I will stand against them, and by the grace of God, defeat them and destroy them.’“ --D. Gamble

February 22

LIVING IN LOVE TO THE NEIGHBOR
Psalm 15:3

If one speaks the truth in one's heart, one will walk up rightly and work righteousness. This one will then be living in love toward the neighbor. For love toward God always produces love toward the neighbor. And if we live in hatred of the neighbor, it is because we are acting in hatred of God. So serious is the matter.

One cannot face toward the north and toward the south at the same time. One cannot open one's mouth and keep it shut that very same moment. And because God demands that we love the neighbor, it is an act of hatred against God to hate the neighbor.

For that reason David, in Psalm 15:3, in answer to the question as to who will dwell with God in heavenly glory states, "He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbor, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbor." And one of our versifications declares:

    He that slandereth not his brother
    Does no evil to a friend;
    To reproaches of another
    He refuses to attend.
    Wicked men win not his favor,
    But the good who fear the Lord;
    From his vow he will not waver,
    Though it bring him sad reward.

Plainly what we do today here below reveals whether we will dwell above and taste God's love, when we are called out of this life.

No, we will not earn a place in God's house by our works here below. We can earn nothing from Him upon Whom we depend for everything. But to those whom God has chosen to live with Him in covenant fellowship, He gives that new principle of life that causes them to love Him. And in that love we will watch our tongues and fight against slander, backbiting, gossip, and foolish speaking of every sort. And we will call all of these deeds acts of hatred against God.

Then we will agree with David that holiness must be found in us, if we are to live with our holy God. And we will fight against all the unholiness that still remains in us.

Read: Ephesians 4:17-32
Psalter versification: 24:

Daily  Meditations
on the Heidelberg Catechism

Song for Meditation: Psalter number 131
Sing along!!

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Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:
Leviticus 13:1-59
Mark 6:1-29
Psalm 39:1-13
Proverbs 10:10
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Quote for Reflection:

    … let us learn that none are partakers of true faith, except those who are scaled with the Spirit of adoption, and who sincerely call on God as their Father; and as that Spirit is never extinguished, so it is impossible that the faith, which he has once engraven on the hearts of the godly, shall pass away or be destroyed. – John Calvin

February 23

A BLESSED ASSURANCE
Psalm 15:5

You are a member of an established congregation. You are called a Christian by those outside as well as by those within the church of God here below. But note the words of David wherewith he closes Psalm 15, namely, "He that doeth these things shall never be moved'' Psalm 15:5.

He had asked who shall dwell with God in covenant fellowship in His house of many mansions; and he had answered that it was only those who walk uprightly and work righteousness because they spoke the truth in their hearts. And now he points out that we must do these things, if we are to be God's blessed guests. We must do more than agree with David. We must do what is holy to live with our holy God.

Sing the versification that goes thus:

    Doing this and evil spurning,
    He shall nevermore be moved;
    This the man with Thee sojourning
    This the man by Thee approved.

Did you note the comfort here? Because of our flesh we will slip and slide into sin. But while we walk uprightly, we have God's word for it that we shall not be moved. And the idea is that our names will not be removed out of the book of life. We will have the forgiveness of our sins, through the blood of God's Son.  And if we fall into sin we will be brought back to sorrow and an upright walk, because "He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ" Philippians 1:6.

However, we will have this comfort only while we are doing the things David listed, If no sorrow for sin arises, and we do not feel bad about our sins, we do not even want to live with the holy God in heaven. Then we do not even want the assurance of enjoying the rest Christ prepared.

If you do hate sin and are fighting your sinful flesh, this comfort is yours. Satan cannot recapture you. There is a place for you in God's house of many mansions prepared by Christ and reserved for you. And once you get there, you will never have to move or be removed. It is an everlasting blessedness God has for His people.

Read: II Peter 1
Psalter versification: 24:3

Daily  Meditations
on the Heidelberg Catechism

Song for Meditation: Psalter number 54
Sing along!!

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Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:
Leviticus 14:1-57
Mark 6:30-56
Psalm 40:1-10
Proverbs 10:11-12
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Quote for Reflection:

(On the thief on the cross)   …. Now the first proof which he gave of his repentance was, that he severely reproved and restrained the wicked forwardness of his companion. He then added a second, by humbling himself in open acknowledgment of his crimes, and ascribing to Christ the praise due to his righteousness. Thirdly, he displayed astonishing faith by committing himself and his salvation to the protection of Christ, while he saw him hanging on the cross and near death.     – John Calvin

February 24

A JOYFUL FORETASTE
Psalm 100:1-2

When in Psalm 100:1,2 the psalmist writes, ''Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness, and come before His presence with singing,'' there is a matter that we ought to take note of, for a right understanding of these words.

Although it was in God's temple that Israel came before His face, the statement ''come before His presence,'' for us today means "come into His house of prayer upon the Sabbath day." And we do well to bear in mind that it is God Himself Who is speaking these words to us through the psalmist. Remember that He says to us today:

    All people that on earth do dwell,
    Sing unto the Lord with cheerful voice;
    Him serve with mirth, His praise forth tell
    Come ye before Him and rejoice.

We have here a command of God to His people in every nation, tongue, and tribe. And, indeed, these have every reason to rejoice and sing. For in His house they meet God in a special way, and to a special degree. There they meet Him not only in His Word preached, but also in His Word as it is sung, and while it is sung by the sheep of His flock. And the Sabbath ought to be the happiest day of our week. We ought to look forward to it; and the joy of it ought to carry us through the week ahead. There, indeed, we should be glad that we can join hearts and voices with others to sing His praises.

Regardless of our physical condition, even though we are in financial straits, yea, even when in the last days we can not buy or sell because we refuse to take the mark of the beast, we will have reason to make a joyful noise and to come before God's presence with singing. For there He gives us spiritual food and drink, assures us that our sins are blotted out by the blood of His Son, reminds us of His faithfulness to His promises, enriches us in our faith, and in all this gives us reason to come before His face singing of His work and grace.

Read: Psalm 100
Psalter versification. 268:1

Daily  Meditations
on the Heidelberg Catechism

Song for Meditation: Psalter number 91
Sing along!!

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Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:
Leviticus 15 ; Leviticus 16:1-28
Mark 7:1-23
Psalm 40:11-17
Proverbs 10:13-14
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Quote for Reflection:

    John Calvin on excommunication: "Paul’s course of action for excommunicating a man is the lawful one, provided the elders do not do it by themselves alone, but with the knowledge and approval of the church; in this way the multitude of the people does not decide the action but observes as witness and guardian so that nothing may be done according to the whim of a few. Indeed, the whole sequence of the action, besides the calling on God’s name, ought to have that gravity which bespeaks the presence of Christ in order that there may be no doubt that he himself presides at his own tribunal" (Institutes, 4.12.7).

February 25

A REASSURING REASON

The psalmist states in Psalm 100:3, "Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture."  Plainly He is not referring to the work of creation but of bringing the church into being. For note that he speaks of us as being God's people and the sheep of His pasture.

Truly that is an undeniable reason for coming before His presence with praise and singing. His work of creating calls for praise when we see the smallest creature that is made so delicately, or when we look up into the vast expanse of the heavens. But to come before Him as our covenant Father in Christ, as well as our Creator, calls for boundless joy and songs.

He has given us church buildings to use, even as He gave Israel a temple where they could meet Him. That should fill us with gladness. But what He says there in His house should overwhelm our souls with the truth that He loves us and sent His Son to make us His people, who by nature are Satan's slaves. Indeed there is reason to come before His presence with singing. And that He cares for us as such a wonderful shepherd should move us to make a joyful noise.

Have this in mind when you enter His courts today, tomorrow, or whenever the next Sabbath arrives. Commit to memory and take with you, as you leave home to come before His presence in His house, these words:

Know that the Lord is God indeed;
Without our aid He did us make;
We are His flock, He doth us feed,
And for His sheep He doth us take.

What a truth and what a comfort we have in those words!  Almighty in power, not in the least dependent upon us, as God He can and will fulfill every word of every promise that He has given us. As sheep of His flock there is nothing we need to fear. We have absolute protection and supply of all that we need and really counts. Make then a joyful noise as you enter His courts. May the confidence of the truth that our Shepherd is the almighty God, upon Whom all creatures depend, move you to sing with gladness His praises in His house.

Read: Psalm 23
Psalter versification: 268:2

Daily  Meditations
on the Heidelberg Catechism

Song for Meditation: Psalter number 130
Sing along!!

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Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:
Leviticus 16:29-34 ; Leviticus 17 ; Leviticus 18:1-30
Mark 7:24-37 ; Mark 8:1-10
Psalm 41:1-13
Proverbs 10:15-16
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Quote for Reflection:

  On Philippians 4:8 “It is hardly necessary to repeat that the virtue of which the apostle speaks is the fruit which grows on the tree of salvation.  The trunk of this tree is faith, and its roots are imbedded in the soil of God’s sovereign, saving grace ( Eph. 2:8-10 ; II Peter 1:5 ).   To be sure, the believer is not at all blind to the fact that “there remain in man, since the fall, the glimmerings of natural light, whereby he retains some knowledge of God, of natural things, and of the difference between good and evil, and shows some regard for virtue and for good outward behavior” (Canons of Dort III/IV, article 4)….But surely when Paul told the Philippians to be constantly thinking about anything that is virtuous and worthy of praise, he, great idealist that he was, could not have been satisfied with anything that was less than goodness in the highest spiritual sense (that proceeds from faith, is done according to God’s law, and to his glory).” -- William Hendriksen

February 26

THANKFUL PRAISE
Psalm 100:4

Our singing in God's house must be singing His praises and thanking Him for all the blessings of salvation that He gives us. The psalmist in Psalm 100:4 states, "Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise; be thankful unto Him and bless His name."

Here we have three words of similar and yet complementary meaning. The broadest word is praise, for thanking God and blessing His name are forms of praise. To praise God is to extol Him for His virtues. To thank Him is to praise Him for the virtues which He displays in what He does for us. Blessing His name is praising Him for what He is. Therefore, the main thought of the verse is that we praise God when we enter His courts.

We must be a God-praising people. Therefore we must thank Him for all the blessings of salvation which He. freely gives us, beginning with sovereign, eternal election in Christ, worked out for us through His Son from Bethlehem through Calvary to heavenly glory, where He is seated as our Head and Redeemer Who is preparing the way for us to come before God's presence in the new Jerusalem.

Therefore also we must bless His name, as the psalmist does in verse 3. We must bless Him as God alone, Who saves us without our help, and by His own almighty power.

How careful then we ought to be in choosing the songs which we will sing together in His house, but also in our own homes. He made us to be His people and His sheep. And the meaning is that He made us to be a God-centered people. And a God-centered people will also be a God-praising people. The silly songs, the words of unbelief which the world sings, should never be on our lips. And we must not provide our children with God-denying songs.  He created music for His own glory, and so that we might sing:

    With thankfulness enter His gates,
    His praise in His temple proclaim;
    Your voices in thanksgiving raise,
    And bless ye His glorious name.

Read: Isaiah 51    
Psalter versification: 269:3

Daily  Meditations
on the Heidelberg Catechism

Song for Meditation: Psalter number 21
Sing along!!

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Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:
Leviticus 19 ; Leviticus 20:1-21
Mark 8:11-38
Psalm 42:1-11
Proverbs 10:17
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Quote for Reflection:

   … Irrepressible praise is in the heart of Sion. That is a fact. And so now that praise of Sion ought to appear on our lips and in our hearts. We who understand so much better what it meant when Jesus came to Jerusalem, we who have seen his battle, his deliverance in the power of his resurrection, we who have tasted him, how should we be silent? Irrepressible praise; it is so often repressed by the flesh. But listen, if the children of Sion should be still, the stones would cry out.        – Herman Hoeksema

February 27

EVERLASTING MERCY
Psalm 100:5

Having called us to praise God, to thank Him and bless His name, the psalmist in Psalm 100:5 gives us the reason why He is worthy of our praise. He writes, "For the Lord is good, His mercy is everlasting; and His truth endureth to all generations.''

Take note of the fact that he speaks of God's goodness, and then explains that this goodness consists in God's mercy and faithfulness. His mercy covers the whole realm of our salvation. Most of the time the word here translated ''mercy'' is translated as ''kindness'' or "loving kindness.'' This covers all the work that God performed for us in Christ, the Son of His love. His faithfulness is that virtue which makes our salvation so very, very sure. Now back of that faithfulness is His almighty power, because of which He can do as He pleases. Thus behind His faithfulness is the truth that He is God, upon Whom every creature depends for every breath of life. We cannot bless His name more fully than to say that He is God.

Because of God's faithfulness we can sing sincerely:

    For gracious and good is the Lord,
    His mercy to us never ends;
    His faithfulness, true to His Word,
    Through ages unending extends.

Be careful then that you do not complain today about any of God's works. Grumbling does not become a child of God. Singing His praises does. And fear for the future will never bring forth joyful singing of thankfulness to God. Unshaken faith in God, as one Whose truth endureth for ever, will produce thanksgiving.

Good and faithful is our God; and our calling is to be good, in that we bless His name and praise Him with thanksgiving and in that we are faithful in coming into His house on the Sabbath with joy in our hearts and songs on our lips that praise Him.

If we come that way to God's house, we will, after meeting Him, go home even happier than we were when we came. Before you leave home next Sabbath, and on your way to church, think of God's everlasting mercy.

Read: Psalm 136
Psalter versification: 269:

Daily  Meditations
on the Heidelberg Catechism

Song for Meditation: Psalter number 18
Sing along!!

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Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:
Leviticus 20:22-27 ; Leviticus 21 ; Leviticus 22:1-16
Mark 9:1-29
Psalm 43:1-5
Proverbs 10:18
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Quote for Reflection:

O. Palmer Robertson: "No return to the old form of temple, priesthood, and ritual is possible. The perfections of Christ’s priestly ministry in the heavenly sanctuary of the new covenant can never be replaced or augmented by the weaknesses of the shadowy, temporally and spatially limited service of the old covenant. If a third temple were ever erected in Jerusalem on Mount Zion, it would not open a way of access to God. The priesthood of Jesus Christ in the heavenly temple of the new covenant is perpetual and eternal, and none of the earthly forms of the old covenant can replace or supplement it" (The Israel of God, pp. 72-73).

February 28

DAILY PRAISES
Psalm 100:2

Although the psalmist in Psalm 100:2 exhorts us to serve God in His house of prayer, this also applies to our entire walk of life, and to our serving Him wherever we are. One of our versifications of "Come before His presence with singing'' is:

O make a joyful noise, ye lands.
And serve the Lord with fear:
With gladness wait His high commands,
And with a song draw near.

The Psalm does indeed speak of God's gates and courts, referring to the temple. But, as in this versification we must in all our walk of life, also during the week, wait God's high commands. We must serve Him every day and sing His praises seven days a week.

It is so much easier to serve Him and sing His praises when we are with other sheep of His flock. But we must not hesitate to do so when we are with those who never step into His house of prayer. The simple truth of the matter is that if we praise God only on the Sabbath, and do not serve His high commands the other six days, our praise is mockery. It certainly is not with sincere gladness.

Not keeping God's commandments means that we deny that He is God. And actions speak louder than words, when our life is one of sin all week. Then we make a noise on the Sabbath that only sounds like praise to God. The unbelievers round about us put more stock in what we do than in what we say. Both cannot be true. And we should bear in mind that during the other six days of the week, we are just as surely in God's presence as in His house of prayer on the Sabbath. He is God, and from Him we cannot hide.

Very important then it is that we come to His house of prayer to learn more and more of His mercy and faithfulness, but also of our calling to bless His name before those with whom we come in contact during the week; and that we show thankfulness to God for His mercy and faithfulness by a walk of love to Him. While we walk in sin our words of thankfulness for salvation from sin are not true. God blesses us daily. And in the measure that we enjoy our salvation we are going to sing praises and walk in love to God.

Read: Psalm 96
Psalter versification: 270:1

Daily  Meditations
on the Heidelberg Catechism

Song for Meditation: Psalter number 4
Sing along!!

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Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:
Leviticus 22:17-33 ; Leviticus 23:1-44
Mark 9:30-50 ; Mark 10:1-12
Psalm 44:1-8
Proverbs 10:19
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Quote for Reflection:

John Owen: "Aaron was made a priest with a great outward solemnity. The sacrifices which were offered, and the garments he put on, with his visible separation from the rest of the people, had a great ceremonial glory in them. There was nothing of all this, nor any thing like unto it, in the consecration of the Lord Christ unto his office. But yet, indeed, these things had no glory, in comparison of that excelling glory which accompanied those invisible acts of divine authority, wisdom, and grace, which communicated his office unto him. And indeed, in the worship of God, who is a spirit, all outward ceremony is a diminution and debasement of it. Hence were ceremonies ‘for beauty and for glory’ multiplied under the old testament; but yet, as the apostle shows, they were all but ‘carnal.’ But as the sending of Christ himself, and his investiture with all his offices, were by secret and invisible acts of God and his Spirit; so all evangelical worship, as to the glory of it, is spiritual and internal only. And the removal of the old pompous ceremonies from our worship is but the taking away of the veil which hindered from an insight and entrance into the holy place" (Hebrews, vol. 5, p. 451).

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