Worship service 8/10/25.

Greetings and call to worship.

Greetings and good morning saints and holy brethren, the called and chosen of God, sanctified for His service and worship, grace, mercy and peace be multiplied to you through the redemption of the Son Jesus Christ who loved us and washed our sins away in His own blood, to whom we owe whole and sincere obedience. Let us come before Him in delight and adoration for worship as it is called “The Lord’s day” and let us rejoice in His truth. Eph. 1:7-9 says, “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and understanding;  and hath opened unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:” Inasmuch as we are called by God and forgiven of all our sins by His own calling and grace, let us come before Him and worship, for He is worthy.
A Puritan minister writes, “To give way to vain thoughts and drowsiness in hearing, gratifies Satan. He knows that not to mind a duty, is all one in religion as not to do it. ‘What the heart does not do, is not done.’ Therefore Christ says of some, ‘Hearing, they hear not.’ Matt 13: 13. How could that be? Because, though the word sounded in their ear, yet they minded not what was said to them, their thoughts were upon other things; therefore, it was all as one as if they did not hear. Does it not please Satan to see men come to the word, and as good stay away? They are haunted with vain thoughts; they are taken off from the duty while they are in it; their body is in the assembly, their heart in their shop. ‘Hearing, they hear not.’”

Prayer unto the public reading of the Holy Scripture:

Our holy and righteous Father,
Eternal, immutable, and full of all glory justice and righteousness,
Merciful, compassionate, and faithful—The God who will by no means clear the guilty, Yet showing mercy to thousands that love thee with the whole heart and keep thy commandments:
We come before thee solemnly and sincerely, as those whom thou hast redeemed and purchased by the precious blood of thy Son, called out of darkness and into the marvellous light of the gospel and the kingdom of Jesus Christ. According to thy word, we are bid and commanded to draw near to thee humbly, with a single heart and upright affections; and therefore we ask thee to grant it unto us, that it may be even so—Acknowledging that thou art incomprehensibly great, holy, and excellent, Glorious in power, fearful in praises, doing wonders. We are therefore careful to approach thy altar, knowing the severity of thy law, the holy requirements of the gospel, as well as our own vileness and unworthiness to draw so near unto thee.
We freely confess, O Lord, that apart from the mediation of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are justly denied entrance into thy glory, and must be cast from thy presence as an abominable thing. For we are guilty and polluted, unable of ourselves to repent or return, and altogether unfit to render thee any service that is not defiled by sin. Yet we believe that thou art our God, and the rewarder of them that diligently seek thy face. Therefore, we boldly cry unto thee for the free gift of thy grace: For pardoning mercy to cover our iniquities, And sanctifying mercy to make us meet for thy presence. Hear our prayers, deliver us from all trouble, cleanse us, we pray, by the blood of Christ. Assist us by the power of thy Spirit. Defend us from all evil, Strengthen our faith, subdue the lusts of the flesh that swell within us, And enable us to perform this holy service, Not in our own strength, But in the virtue which thou dost supply of thine own free goodness. And now, O Lord, as we come to the reading of thy holy word, we pray for a special blessing upon this portion of Scripture, that it may be effectual to build up thy holy church, which thou hast called thy special possession, and thy little flock. Open our hearts to receive it with meekness; Give us eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to worship thee by it; And may the same Spirit who spake unto the fathers, apostles and prophets, the reformers and Puritans, so guide our whole lives, That we may grow up in Him in all things, even He who is the Bridegroom and Head of the Church, Jesus Christ, our Prophet, Priest and King. All this we ask in his most worthy name,

Amen.

Devotional and doctrinal exposition on the Psalms:

Psalm 26 [8] (Verse 5): 1 David oppressed with many injuries, finding no help in the world, calleth for aid from God: and assured of his integrity towards Saul, desireth God to be his judge, and to defend his innocence. 6 Finally he maketh mention of his sacrifice, which he will offer for his deliverance, and desireth to be in the company of the faithful in the Congregation of God, whence he was banished by Saul, promising integrity of life, and open praises and thanksgiving.

A Psalm of David.

1 Judge me, O Lord; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the Lord; therefore I shall not slide.

2 Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.

3 For thy lovingkindness is before mine eyes: and I have walked in thy truth.

4 I have not sat with vain persons, neither will I go in with dissemblers.

5 I have hated the congregation of evil doers; and will not sit with the wicked.

6 I will wash mine hands in innocency: so will I compass thine altar, O Lord:

7 That I may declare with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works.

8 O Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth.

9 Gather not my soul with sinners, nor my life with bloody men:

10 In whose hands is wickedness, and their right hand is full of bribes.

11 But I will walk in mine integrity: redeem me, and be merciful unto me.

12 My foot standeth in an even place: in the congregations will I bless the Lord.

Exposition:

We saw previously the full escape of the Christian beyond the danger and reach of the world, even when the world closes him in on every side—family, friend, and foe. For though the ship rocks against the waves of the sea, yet it is not overcome by the water, but holds its course afloat. Now, inasmuch as this passage enjoins us to depart from the manner and motion of this age as sanctified persons, we are not bidden to do so indifferently or with apathy. None of the Christian’s activity is without care, without intention, without heart. If we are called to serve, we do it with love; and when we are called to separate, we do it with hatred. Yes—hatred, that pariah among the virtues in our feeble and effeminate generation—as though idolatry, iniquity, and moral filth were to be tolerated or met with neutrality. Scripture will have it otherwise, for thus saith the Lord: “Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good” (Rom. 12:9). “I have hated the congregation of evil doers” (Ps. 26:5); “I hate and abhor lying: but thy law do I love” (Ps. 119:163). This is the basis upon which the Psalmist refuses to sit with the wicked.

A brief word on the Hebrew will steady the hand and sharpen the edge of our exposition.

“I have hated the congregation of evildoers” uses the verb שָׂנֵא (śānēʾ) in the first-person perfect: שָׂנֵאתִי (śānēʾtî)—“I have hated.”

Note: not, “I hated” but “have” ever since being reborn and made anew, endowed with lively affections for God. To love God is to hate sin. This is not a passing burst of temper, then, but a settled, judicial aversion, a fix-ed stance formed by the Spirit through the instruction of the law of God. In the Old Testament, love and hate often carry covenantal weight—allegiance and rejection (Mal. 1:2–3; Prov. 8:13; Amos 5:15). Thus David is not shifting mood; but declaring his allegiance. Our hatred of the wicked is grounded in virtue not vanity. 

The object is קְהַל מְרֵעִים (qĕhāl mĕrēʿîm)—“the assembly of evildoers.” Note: not merely “a man,” but an assembly—a fellowship defined by shared counsel and sinful practice (cf. Ps. 1:1). He then vows, וְעִם רְשָׁעִים לֹא אֵשֵׁב (wĕʿim rĕšāʿîm lō ʾēšēb)—“and with the wicked I will not sit.” The verb יָשַׁב (yāšab), “sit,” is the language of settled fellowship, table-communion, and close counsel (cf. “seat of the scornful,” Ps. 1:1). David’s hatred therefore expresses itself not in passion or spite, but in refusal of communion—a necessary moral separation where association would imply approval.

Set alongside this are the cognate lines: “I hate and abhor lying; but thy law do I love” (Ps. 119:163); “Therefore I hate every false way” (Ps. 119:104, 128); “Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee? … I hate them with a perfect hatred” (Ps. 139:21–22). There the noun שִׂנְאָה (sinʾāh) is qualified by תַּכְלִית (takhlît)—completeness: a hatred complete not in sinful bitterness, but in holy consistency—measured by God’s command, not personal distaste. A deliberate, conscious hatred. Likewise, Proverbs and the Prophets bind these two inseparable principles: “The fear of the LORD is to hate evil” (Prov. 8:13); “Hate the evil, and love the good” (Amos 5:15); “Ye that love the LORD, hate evil” (Ps. 97:10).

A simple rule of warfare, then, for the peace of the conscience: detest the wicked and their ways, depart their councils, denounce their errors, and do them good. Such hatred is holy because it is bound by the first and second great commandments. We love God—therefore we cannot sit with those who dishonor Him. We love our neighbour—therefore we will not confirm him in his sin, but will do him good, pray for his repentance, and keep the church’s fellowship pure (1 Cor. 5:6–13; 2 Thess. 3:14–15).

Most men—even religious men—are content to drift where the current carries them. What the world applauds, they applaud, though it be without value or virtue; what the world disdains, they disdain, though no stain of sin be in it. And when it is a fault, they condemn in one what they excuse in another. Their departures from persons and parties are not holy sobriety but haughty censure: not fleeing idolatry, but fleeing for the sake of another idol. It is the flight to contemptuous clefts from which the Lord will bring them down. They do not pull down the world’s images; they carve their own. They level their bow at others while sparing their own bosom-sin; they are sooner to wound the righteous than to mortify their wickedness.

But the Christian is of another temper. He does not separate because he “likes them not,” or because some accident of offence has soured his taste. For all have certain standards and opinions of how a person should act, behave, dress, speak—some founded on sound judgment, others on vanity—but the truth is we all fall short of the mark. We all shoot at perfection, and having missed, gaze in wonder at others whose arrow is just beneath our own. Foolish mortals! The goal is not to miss by a lesser margin. If the target is not struck, the game is lost, and the punishment is death. Therefore the saint separates from the fellowship of sinners because he loves the perfections of God, and hates that which offends His perfect holiness. He has drawn near to God, and standing in His splendour, is made to shine like the sun. How can he then love that which eclipses the glory of God and promotes darkness, discord, and despair?

“We are children of the day,” not of the night nor of darkness (1 Thess. 5:5). “Walk as children of light” (Eph. 5:8). If we love God and are made of one mind with Him, we must love what He loves and hate what He hates. All sin and iniquity, all heresy and idolatry, all man-centred religion, vanity, profanity, greed, debauchery, adultery, sodomy, lust, lechery, and treachery are to be utterly abhorred—and are abhorred by the righteous. He will not be found in their company, though it cost him his life to cut himself off (cf. Mark 9:43–48). Therefore the charge stands: “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial?” (2 Cor. 6:14–15).

“They think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you” (1 Pet. 4:4). Mark the word—they run. They race to ruin as for a crown; but we run another course: “Run, that ye may obtain” (1 Cor. 9:24). The fault is not in running, but in the road; not in love, but in love of the world; not in zeal, but in zeal for idols. Yea, not in hatred itself, but in the hatred of what is good.

An objection resolved: How then can it stand that we are commanded to love our neighbour and yet to hate the wicked, when oftentimes our neighbour is wicked? Take note. We are to love him so far as to do him good, but never to bear affection towards his sinful nature. He carries many gifts from God—and shall we despise what cometh from the Almighty? Though he squander and defile those gifts by sin, we may not despise God’s goodness, but encourage whatever is truly good without hypocrisy, while condemning his ingratitude and unworthiness to receive it (James 1:17; Rom. 2:4). Thus we “abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good” (Rom. 12:9)—in him and toward him. When the rich young ruler testified before Christ that he kept the law (though he fell fatally short) our Lord saith not, “miserable wretch” but  “thou art not far.” He had many gifts, but he trusted in them. They were as many gold chains dragging him down into perdition, therefore his estate was woeful, his end was tragic and Christ dealt with him with sobriety. 

We are, in a sober sense, to hate men as sinners—that is, to hate in them what God hates—yet to hate without sin: to oppose the vice, while sincerely seeking the person’s good. As Augustine declares, cum dilectione hominum et odio vitiorum—with love of their persons and hatred of their sins. 
Luther speaks clearly, saying, “Thou needest no schoolmaster in this matter: ask counsel only of thine own heart, and that shall teach thee sufficiently that thou oughtest to love thy neighbor as thyself. Moreover, love or charity is an excellent virtue, which not only maketh a man willing and ready to serve his neighbor with tongue, with hand, with money and worldly goods; but with his body and even with his life also. And thus to do, it is not provoked by good deserts or anything else, neither is it hindered through evil deserts or ingratitude, etc. The mother doth therefore nourish and cherish her child, because she loveth it… Therefore nothing in the whole world can be held more worthy of love than our neighbor. But the devil hath a wondrous art, whereby he is able, not only to obscure this most noble object and remove it out of man’s mind, but also to persuade his heart of the contrary opinion, so that he judgeth his neighbor to be worthy of bitter hatred, and not of love… On this wise Satan is wonderfully able to change the disposition of loving in our hearts, so that instead of lovers of our neighbors we are made detractors, haters and persecutors, so that of that precept (‘Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself’) nothing remaineth but bare and empty letters and syllables.”

Hence, when David teaches us to hate the congregation of the ungodly, he does not teach us to hate our neighbour’s person, to spite him, or to plot his hurt and destruction. Bearing Christ’s cross in our bosom and on our back, which men have set there, we still do him good. Our Lord saith, “Ye have heard… Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies… pray for them which despitefully use you” (Matt. 5:43–48). Hatred of evil cannot nullify the duty of charity; but rather sharpens it. It teaches us to draw the sword against sin while binding up the wounds of the sinner. Yea, hatred of evil refers to our own ill will and suspicion of those men who were put here for our good! As Solomon saith, “For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to him that is good before God.” Beware not to be too hard towards sinners who bear their burdens that you might be rich! Will you stop the wheels of the cart which brings your wealth though it be wood and not gold? God makes his sun to shine on the righteous and the wicked, that they might reap their harvest for us. Let us not hinder the work of God but in all things work that which is good to our neighbor. Therefore to love, is not to bear affection for him as a sinner, but to serve him as a neighbor. “a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none; a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all” (Luther) So we render service “not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart” (Eph. 6:6), and we endure even “masters… that are froward” (1 Pet. 2:18), doing well and suffering for it, for this is “acceptable with God” (1 Pet. 2:20).

Hold fast, then, this double edge: love without flattery; hatred without malice. Love the good gifts of God wherever they appear; hate the work of the devil that mars it. Do good to all men, “especially unto them who are of the household of faith” (Gal. 6:10). And when you must refuse fellowship with the works of darkness, let it be evident that you refuse for love of God and love of men: loving the soul enough to oppose the sin; loving the truth enough to suffer for it; loving the church enough to keep her pure; and loving even your enemies enough to pray for them.

We must, then, draw the portrait of love before we may paint the contours of holy hatred. Our love is to men as creatures of God (and, for the brethren, as renewed bearers of Christ’s image); our hatred is to the sinful nature, the fount of original sin which damns them. So Paul honours office before Agrippa—“I think myself happy, king Agrippa…” (Acts 26:2–3)—yet flays the heretic Elymas: “O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil…” (Acts 13:10). And our Lord said even to the traitor, “Friend, wherefore art thou come?” (Matt. 26:50). To hate evil is not to pour malice upon a person, but to resist the plague that consumes his soul. And by the preaching of truth do we not present the best remedy? This is the purest love therefore. To bring down pride and set up before them Christ as the only sovereign elixir of salvation.
They will resist and refuse, but we do all things so they may be saved, even as our Lord, who healed many unthankful sinners, whose limbs were restored, and their proud hearts still carried them to damnation.

Such, then, is the cause of our separation. If we love purely and truly, we dare not sanction fellowship in wickedness. Our withdrawal springs from love of God and love of souls—not for their ruin, but that they may be ashamed and so turn unto God in repentance and holiness: “Note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed” (2 Thess. 3:14). Note carefully, the goal of the apostle is the salvation of men, not their destruction. If you so walk in this manner, walk on.

This holy hatred is ever mingled with the love of God, who “is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil” (Luke 6:35). We feed our enemy if he hunger (Rom. 12:20); and thus adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things (Titus 2:10). Our separation is unlike the world’s; they are sinners, and separate through pride and vanity. We are of another Spirit. Our light exposes the darkness, and men often depart from us as we from them (John 3:20–21). Yet we are not commanded to injure but to bless, to seek their temporal good while we abhor their sin.

Therefore, hating what is evil and loving what is good, we spend and are spent in service to others—especially to the brethren who bear His image and advance His kingdom: “Whosoever shall give… a cup of cold water… he shall in no wise lose his reward” (Matt. 10:42; cf. Gal. 6:10; 1 John 3:16–18).

Yet in all our striving for purity, let love be tempered with a relentless hatred of sin—most chiefly of idolatry and heresy in the church; for these are peculiar affronts to God. Those who treat them as small things plainly show that they love not God. “I have a few things against thee… repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly” (Rev. 2:14–16). “Though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel… let him be accursed” (Gal. 1:8–9). So let us love God, and let us hate every false way—yea, even “the garment spotted by the flesh” (Jude 23).

John Calvin,

“Thou shalt love thy neighbor.” (Matt. 5:43) It is astonishing, that the Scribes fell into so great an absurdity, as to limit the word neighbor to benevolent persons: for nothing is more obvious or certain than that God, in speaking of our neighbors, includes the whole human race. Every man is devoted to himself; and whenever a regard to personal convenience occasions an interruption of acts of kindness, there is a departure from that mutual intercourse, which nature itself dictates. To keep up the exercise of brotherly love, God assures us, that all men are our brethren, because they are related to us by a common nature. Whenever I see a man, I must, of necessity, behold myself as in a mirror: for he is my bone and my flesh, (Genesis 29:14.) Now, though the greater part of men break off, in most instances, from this holy society, yet their depravity does not violate the order of nature; for we ought to regard God as the author of the union.

Hence we conclude, that the precept of the law, by which we are commanded to love our neighbor, is general. But the Scribes, judging of neighborhood from the disposition of the individual, affirmed that no man ought to be reckoned a neighbor, unless he were worthy of esteem on account of his own excellencies, or, at least, unless he acted the part of a friend. This is, no doubt, supported by the common opinion; and therefore the children of the world are not ashamed to acknowledge their resentments, when they have any reason to assign for them. But the charity, which God requires in his law, looks not at what a man has deserved, but extends itself to the unworthy, the wicked, and the ungrateful. Now, this is the true meaning which Christ restores, and vindicates from calumny; and hence it is obvious, as I have already said, that Christ does not introduce new laws, but corrects the wicked glosses of the Scribes, by whom the purity of the divine law had been corrupted.

“He has already declared previously, that he commands nothing but from the Lord. Hence the man, that would not obey, would not be contumacious against a mere man, but would be rebellious against God himself; and accordingly he teaches that such persons ought to be severely chastised. And, in the first place, he desires that they be reported to him, that he may repress them by his authority; and, secondly, he orders them to be excommunicated, that, being touched with shame, they may repent. From this we infer, that we must not spare the reputation of those who cannot be arrested otherwise than by their faults being exposed; but we must take care to make known their distempers to the physician, that he may make it his endeavor to cure them.”

“Keep no company.” (2 Thess. 3:14) I have no doubt that he refers to excommunication; for, besides that the (ἀταξία) disorder to which he had adverted deserved a severe chastisement, contumacy is an intolerable vice. He had said before, Withdraw yourselves from them, for they live in a disorderly manner, (2 Thessalonians 3:6.) And now he says, Keep no company, for they reject my admonition. He expresses, therefore, something more by this second manner of expression than by the former; for it is one thing to withdraw from intimate acquaintance with an individual, and quite another to keep altogether aloof from his society. In short, those that do not obey after being admonished, he excludes from the common society of believers. By this we are taught that we must employ the discipline of excommunication against all the obstinate persons who will not otherwise allow themselves to be brought under subjection, and must be branded with disgrace, until, having been brought under and subdued, they learn to obey.”

“Shall I not hold in hatred those that hate thee?” (Ps. 139:21) He proceeds to mention how greatly he had profited by the meditation upon God into which he had been led, for, as the effect, of his having realized his presence before God’s bar, and reflected upon the impossibility of escaping the eye of him who searches all deep places, he now lays down his resolution to lead a holy and pious life. In declaring his hatred of those who despised God, he virtually asserts thereby his own integrity, not as being free from all sin, but as being devoted to godliness, so that he detested in his heart everything which was contrary to it. Our attachment to godliness must be inwardly defective, if it do not generate an abhorrence of sin, such as David here speaks of. If that zeal for the house of the Lord, which he mentions elsewhere, (Psalms 69:9,) burn in our hearts, it would be an unpardonable indifference silently to look on when his righteous law was violated, nay, when his holy name was trampled upon by the wicked. We thus see that he stood forward strenuously in defense of the glory of God, regardless of the hatred of the whole world, and waged war with all the workers of iniquity.”

Opening Prayer.

Our gracious and merciful Father in heaven,
Thou who art from everlasting, whose knowledge and wisdom exceedeth our highest apprehension—
We give thee praise for thy great work of salvation, and for sending thy word to seal thy love upon our hearts.

We see the world about us perishing; yet thou hast separated unto thyself a flock,
And hast led us into green pastures and beside the still waters.
Let all the members of Christ’s Church say, It is well, for thou art good, and we have proved it by experience.
Thou hast bestowed innumerable benefits—our daily bread, the forgiveness of sins, and the joy of the Holy Ghost.
Therefore we bow before thee in humble contrition, acknowledging thy majesty, thy grace, and thy wonderful condescension toward us.

Keep us in the way, O Lord; let us not go astray from thee.
Suffer us not to walk in the counsel of the ungodly, nor to stand in the way of sinners; but cause our delight to be in thy law,
Increase thy word in us as good seed, and cause it to take deep root,
That we may be as a tree planted by the rivers of water, bringing forth fruit in its season.

Judge us, O Lord, and try our reins and our hearts; for we would walk in our integrity.
Wash our hands in innocency, that we may compass thine altar with thanksgiving.
Gather not our soul with sinners, nor our life with bloody men;
But redeem us and be merciful unto us, that our foot may stand in an even place,
For we have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth.

Grant us a heart to walk in holiness and in the fear of God.
Sanctify us wholly by thy truth; thy word is truth.
Make us to follow the Shepherd, even our Lord Jesus Christ, who restoreth our soul,
To walk in the paths of righteousness for thy name’s sake;
Raise up faithful ministers and wise officers for thy Church;
Clothe her with the beauty of holiness;
And above all keep us from error, that thy Church may be ever established upon the truth to the praise of thy glory.

All this we ask in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,
Our everlasting Shepherd, Prince, and Governor—
In his holy and most blessed name. Amen.

Lesson 45. [1.2.20.] The Contents of Holy Scripture: The Histories: 2 Chronicles. Part 3.

Westminster Confession of Faith 1.2

Under the name of holy Scripture, or the Word of God written, are now contained all the books of the Old and New Testaments,
Genesis- 1 Chronicles…2 Chronicles
All which are given by inspiration of God, to be the rule of faith and life.

Intro.

John Calvin, The Necessity of Reforming the church. (1543)

I come now to ceremonies, which, while they ought to be grave attestations of divine worship, are rather a mere mockery of God. A new Judaism, as a substitute for that which God had distinctly abrogated, has again been reared up by means of numerous puerile extravagancies, collected from different quarters; and with these have been mixed up certain impious rites, partly borrowed from the heathen, and more adapted to some theatrical show than to the dignity of our religion. The first evil here is, that an immense number of ceremonies, which God had by his authority abrogated, once for all, have been again revived. The next evil is that, while ceremonies ought to be living exercises of piety, men are vainly occupied with numbers of them that are both frivolous and useless. But by far the most deadly evil of all is, that after men have thus mocked God with ceremonies of one kind or other, they think they have fulfillled their duty as admirably as if these ceremonies included in them the whole essence of piety and divine worship.

With regard to self-abasement, on which depends regeneration to newness of life, the whole doctrine was entirely obliterated from the minds of men, or, at least, half buried, so that it was known to few, and to them but slenderly. But the spiritual sacrifice which the Lord in an especial manner recommends, is to mortify the old, and be transformed into a new man. It may be, perhaps, that preachers stammer out something about these words, but that they have no idea of the things meant by them is apparent even from this ­ that they strenuously oppose us in our attempt to restore this branch of divine worship. If at any time they discourse on repentance, they only glance, as if in contempt, at the points of principal moment, and dwell entirely on certain external exercises of the body, which, as Paul assures us, are not of the highest utility (Col. 2:23; 1 Tim. 4:8). What makes this perverseness the more intolerable is, that the generality, under a pernicious error, pursue the shadow for the substance, and, overlooking true repentance, devote their whole attention to abstinences, vigils, and other things, which Paul terms “beggarly elements” of the world.

Having observed that the word of God is the test which discriminates between his true worship and that which is false and vitiated, we thence readily infer that the whole form of divine worship in general use in the present day is nothing but mere corruption. For men pay no regard to what God has commanded, or to what he approves, in order that they may serve him in a becoming manner, but assume to themselves a licence of devising modes of worship, and afterwards obtruding them upon him as a substitute for obedience. If in what I say I seem to exaggerate, let an examination be made of all the acts by which the generality suppose that they worship God. I dare scarcely except a tenth part as not the random offspring of their own brain. What more would we? God rejects, condemns, abominates all fictitious worship, and employs his word as a bridle to keep us in unqualified obedience. When shaking off this yoke, we wander after our own fictions, and offer to him a worship, the work of human rashness, how much soever it may delight ourselves, in his sight it is vain trifling, nay, vileness and pollution. The advocates of human traditions paint them in fair and gaudy colors; and Paul certainly admits that they carry with them a show of wisdom; but as God values obedience more than all sacrifices, it ought to be sufficient for the rejection of any mode of worship, that it is not sanctioned by the command of God.

We come now to what we have set down as the second principal branch of Christian doctrine: that is, knowledge of the source from which salvation is to be obtained. Now, the knowledge of our salvation presents three different stages. First, we must begin with a sense of individual wretchedness, filling us with despondency as if we were spiritually dead. This effect is produced when the original and hereditary depravity of our nature is set before us as the source of all evil ­ a depravity which begets in us distrust, rebellion against God, pride, avarice, lust, and all kinds of evil concupiscence; and making us averse to all rectitude and justice, [it] holds us captive under the yoke of sin; and when, moreover, each individual, on the disclosure of his own sins, feeling confounded at his turpitude, is forced to be dissatisfied with himself, and to account himself and all that he has of his own as less than nothing; then, on the other hand, conscience (being cited to the bar of God) becomes sensible of the curse under which it lies, and, as if it had received a warning of eternal death, learns to tremble at the divine anger. This, I say, is the first stage in the way to salvation, when the sinner, overwhelmed and prostrated, despairs of all carnal aid, yet does not harden himself against the justice of God, or become stupidly callous, but, trembling and anxious, groans in agony, and sighs for relief.

From this he should rise to the second stage. This he does when, animated by the knowledge of Christ, he again begins to breathe. For to one humbled in the manner in which we have described, no other course remains but to turn to Christ, that through his interposition he may be delivered from misery. But the only man who thus seeks salvation in Christ is the man who is aware of the extent of his power: that is, acknowledges him as the only priest who reconciles us to the Father, and his death as the only sacrifice by which sin is expiated, the divine justice satisfied, and a true and perfect righteousness acquired; who, in fine, does not divide the work between himself and Christ, but acknowledges it to be by mere gratuitous favor that he is justified in the sight of God. From this stage also he must rise to the third, when instructed in the grace of Christ, and in the fruits of his death and resurrection, he rests in him with firm and solid confidence, feeling assured that Christ is so completely his own, that he possesses in him righteousness and life.

Now, see how sadly this doctrine has been perverted. On the subject of original sin, perplexing questions have been raised by the schoolmen, who have done what they could to explain away this fatal disease; for in their discussions they reduce it to little more than excess of bodily appetite and lust. Of that blindness and vanity of intellect, whence unbelief and superstition proceed, of inward depravity of soul, of pride, ambition, stubbornness, and other secret sources of evil, they say not a word. And sermons are not a whit more sound. Then, as to the doctrine of free will, as preached before Luther and other reformers appeared, what effect could it have but to fill men with an overweening opinion of their own virtue, swelling them out with vanity, and leaving no room for the grace and assistance of the Holy Spirit?

But why dwell on this? There is no point which is more keenly contested, none in which our adversaries are more inveterate in their opposition, than that of justification: namely, as to whether we obtain it by faith or by works. On no account will they allow us to give Christ the honor of being called our righteousness, unless their works come in at the same time for a share of the merit. The dispute is not, whether good works ought to be performed by the pious, and whether they are accepted by God and rewarded by him; but whether, by their own worth, they reconcile us to God; whether we acquire eternal life as their price; whether they are compensations which are made to the justice of God, so as to take away guilt; and whether they are to be confided in as a ground of salvation.

We condemn the error which enjoins men to have more respect to their own works than to Christ, as a means of rendering God propitious, of meriting his favor, and obtaining the inheritance of eternal life: in short, as a means of becoming righteous in his sight. First, they plume themselves on the merit of works, as if they laid God under obligations to them. Pride such as this, what is it but a fatal intoxication of soul? For instead of Christ, they adore themselves, and dream of possessing life while they are immersed in the profound abyss of death. It may be said that I am exaggerating on this head, but no man can deny the trite doctrine of the schools and churches to be, that it is by works we must merit the favor of God, and by works acquire eternal life; that any hope of salvation unpropped by good works is rash and presumptuous; that we are reconciled to God by the satisfaction of good works, and not by a gratuitous remission of sins; that good works are meritorious of eternal salvation, not because they are freely imputed for righteousness through the merits of Christ, but in terms of law; and that men, as often as they lose the grace of God, are reconciled to him, not by a free pardon, but by what they term works of satisfaction ­ these works being supplemented by the merits of Christ and martyrs, provided only the sinner deserves to be so assisted. It is certain that, before Luther became known to the world, all men were fascinated by these impious dogmas; and even in the present day, there is no part of our doctrine which our opponents impugn with greater earnestness and obstinacy.

Lastly, there was another most pestilential error, which not only occupied the minds of men, but was regarded as one of the principal articles of faith, of which it was impious to doubt: that is, that believers ought to be perpetually in suspense and uncertainty as to their interest in the divine favor. By this suggestion of the devil, the power of faith was completely extinguished, the benefits of Christ’s purchase destroyed, and the salvation of men overthrown. For, as Paul declares, that faith only is Christian faith which inspires our hearts with confidence, and emboldens us to appear in the presence of God (Rom. 5:2). On no other view could his doctrine in another passage be maintained: that is, that “we have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father” (Rom. 8:15).

But what is the effect of that hesitancy which our enemies require in their disciples, save to annihilate all confidence in the promises of God? Paul argues, that “If they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect” (Rom. 4:14). Why so? Just because the law keeps a man in doubt, and does not permit him to entertain a sure and firm confidence. But they, on the other hand, dream of a faith, which, excluding and repelling man from that confidence which Paul requires, throws him back upon conjecture, to be tossed like a reed shaken by the wind. And it is not surprising that after they had once founded their hope of salvation on the merit of works, they plunged into all this absurdity. It could not but happen, that from such a precipice they should have such a fall. For what can man find in his works but materials for doubt, and, finally, for despair? We thus see how error led to error.

Here, mighty emperor, and most illustrious princes, it will be necessary to recall to your remembrance what I formerly observed: that is, that the safety of the church depends as much on this doctrine as human life does on the soul. If the purity of this doctrine is in any degree impaired, the church has received a deadly wound; and, therefore, when I shall have shown that it was for the greater part extinguished, it will be the same as if I had shown that the church had been brought to the very brink of destruction. As yet, I have only alluded to this in passing, but by-and-by I will unfold it more clearly.

Lesson. The Contents of 2 Chronicles.

I. Chapter 9 — Solomon’s visitation and death.
a. The nations stream to Zion as the Queen of Sheba proves that wisdom and worship draw the Gentiles, prefiguring Christ who is “greater than Solomon.”
b. Royal splendour serves holy ends when it adorns God’s house; riches are lawful when subordinated to religion (WCF 21.1; 16.1).
c. Magistracy is honoured insofar as it upholds true worship; power without piety is profitless. (as we see in Solomon’s sons)

II. Chapter 10 — The rending of the kingdom under Rehoboam.
a. Folly in rule divides the church and commonwealth; counsel against equity brings judgment on the people (WCF 23.2).
b. The schism exposes idolatry in the north and carnal severity in Judah; both are sins against the second table flowing from contempt of the first.
c. Schism follows when rulers (civil and ecclesiastical) despise the yoke of God’s law; harshness without holiness provokes revolt. Censure without sobriety is vanity.
d. We are warned here, also, that lineage cannot preserve a throne where prudence and piety are absent. Ecclesiastes 2:18-23: “Yea, I hated all my labour which I had taken under the sun: because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me. And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool? yet shall he have rule over all my labour wherein I have laboured, and wherein I have shewed myself wise under the sun. This is also vanity. Therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the labour which I took under the sun. For there is a man whose labour is in wisdom, and in knowledge, and in equity; yet to a man that hath not laboured therein shall he leave it for his portion. This also is vanity and a great evil. For what hath man of all his labour, and of the vexation of his heart, wherein he hath laboured under the sun? For all his days are sorrows, and his travail grief; yea, his heart taketh not rest in the night. This is also vanity. There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God. For who can eat, or who else can hasten hereunto, more than I? For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to him that is good before God. This also is vanity and vexation of spirit.”
e. God’s decree overrules man’s folly, yet never excuses it.

III. Chapter 11 — The fortification of Judah and the ordering of worship.
a. Restraint under God’s word (not to fight Israel) is the wisdom of a prince.
b. Priests and Levites gather to Jerusalem, proving that true unity forms around pure worship (WCF 25.2; 21.1).
c. The increase of the godly strengthens a realm more than battlements.
d. Reformation begins by restoring the ministry and ordinances.

IV. Chapter 12 — Shishak’s invasion.
a. When Judah forsakes the law, God sends the rod; when they humble themselves, He grants “some deliverance.” “And when the LORD saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah, saying, They have humbled themselves; therefore I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance; and my wrath shall not be poured out upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak. Nevertheless they shall be his servants; that they may know my service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.” v7-8
b. Servitude teaches humility and repentance: “they shall know my service” versus the service of the nations.
c. Temporal judgments are medicinal to the elect (WCF 5.5).
d. A realm may be spared, yet stained, if repentance is partial.
e. Shields of brass replace gold—religion dwindles and glory is diminished.

V. Chapter 13 — Abijah’s testimony and victory
a. Right worship and a lawful priesthood are pleaded against northern idolatry; truth is a weapon mightier than numbers.
b. God owns His ordinances when men own His covenant (WCF 27.1–4).
c. Prayer and priestly trumpets prevail where strategy cannot.
d. Victory is given “because they relied on the LORD God of their fathers.”
“And Abijah stood up upon mount Zemaraim, which is in mount Ephraim, and said, Hear me, thou Jeroboam, and all Israel; Ought ye not to know that the LORD God of Israel gave the kingdom over Israel to David for ever, even to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt? Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon the son of David, is risen up, and hath rebelled against his lord. And there are gathered unto him vain men, the children of Belial, and have strengthened themselves against Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and tenderhearted, and could not withstand them. And now ye think to withstand the kingdom of the LORD in the hand of the sons of David; and ye be a great multitude, and there are with you golden calves, which Jeroboam made you for gods. Have ye not cast out the priests of the LORD, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and have made you priests after the manner of the nations of other lands? so that whosoever cometh to consecrate himself with a young bullock and seven rams, the same may be a priest of them that are no gods. But as for us, the LORD is our God, and we have not forsaken him; and the priests, which minister unto the LORD, are the sons of Aaron, and the Levites wait upon their business: And they burn unto the LORD every morning and every evening burnt sacrifices and sweet incense: the shewbread also set they in order upon the pure table; and the candlestick of gold with the lamps thereof, to burn every evening: for we keep the charge of the LORD our God; but ye have forsaken him. And, behold, God himself is with us for our captain, and his priests with sounding trumpets to cry alarm against you. O children of Israel, fight ye not against the LORD God of your fathers; for ye shall not prosper.” (v4-12)
e. National reformation is commanded even to hypocritical kings. A people is blessed with prosperity under the right policies of wicked men. 

VI. Chapter 14 — Asa’s early reformation
a. Removing idols, repairing altars, and ordering gates: piety, worship, and justice to the wicked belong together.
b. Rest is God’s gift to a people who seek Him (WCF 21.6). In the nation and the conscience.
c. True faith pleads God’s name against “the multitude.”
“And Asa cried unto the LORD his God, and said, LORD, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O LORD our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O LORD, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee. So the LORD smote the Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah; and the Ethiopians fled.”
d. The Lord saves “whether with many or with them that have no power,” teaching dependence on His name.
e. Triumph is always unto further obedience, not unto ease and the lax of the law.

VII. Chapter 15 — Covenant renewal under Asa
a. “The LORD is with you while ye be with him”—the just government of God is impressed upon a nation.
b. Reform requires courage against ancestral sins and present idols. The disapproval of men ever accompanies true reformation.
c. Public covenanting binds both the rulers and the people to seek God “with all the heart.”
d. Reformation is ever crowned with joy.
e. The queen mother is deposed for idolatry: magistrates must suppress false religion even in their families (WCF 23.3).

VIII. Chapter 16 — Asa’s decline and rebuke
a. Trusting a foreign arm against Israel betrays his earlier faith; policy without prayer is mistrust. We must give all diligence to perform in faith what is owed to God without drawing back. You may say, “Asa drew back.” But we have him as a warning, so we are doubly guilty if we draw back, having the word before us as a lamp to guide us.
b. “The eyes of the LORD run to and fro”—providence searches for hearts perfect toward Him.
c. Anger at faithful reproof multiplies guilt; prisons cannot silence prophecy.
d. Disease unmortified by repentance hardens a king; physicians cannot heal what sin has wounded.

Conclusion.

2 Chronicles 14-16.

Closing Prayer. 

Our gracious and merciful Father in heaven,
We give thee thanks once more for thy blessed Word and for the fruit of redemption—the salvation of our souls.
We thank thee for Jesus Christ, very God and ever the Beloved of the Father, who became man and suffered the ignominy of men, the curse of the law, and the wrath of the Almighty for us.
We bless thee for the free imputation of righteousness—freedom from the guilt of sin and acceptance with the Father—for we know that by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
We praise thee for the operation of the Holy Spirit upon our very souls, working faith in our hearts and love toward God and our neighbour.

Perfect, we pray thee, the good work begun in us: conform us to thine image, make us zealous of good works, and willing servants to all for Christ’s sake.
Thy Word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path; cause us to continue steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.

Reform, O Lord, thy worship among us: deliver us from will-worship and the traditions of men; teach us to worship thee in spirit and in truth, with reverence and godly fear.
Keep pure the ordinances of Christ among us—the Word rightly preached, the sacraments duly administered, and discipline faithfully exercised—that thy Church may be holy and without blemish.

Raise up, according to thy promise, pastors after thine own heart who shall feed thy flock with knowledge and understanding; make them to declare the whole counsel of God, to reprove, rebuke, and exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
Establish us in the truth: grant that we may hold fast the form of sound words, contend earnestly for the faith once delivered unto the saints, and be kept from every wind of false doctrine.
Stop the mouths of gainsayers; preserve thy little flock from error and from the fear of man.

Beautify thy temple with living stones; build her walls in salvation and her gates in praise; be unto her a wall of fire round about and the glory in the midst of her.
And may the gates of hell not prevail against thy Church, but may the name of the Lord be magnified in all her assemblies.

All this we ask through Jesus Christ—the true Architect and Corner-stone, our Prophet, Priest, and King—who alone worketh salvation for his people;
In his holy and awesome name we pray.

Amen.

Youtube Audio: https://youtu.be/DlBUZGI6pHY